DEAR EASTERN PROM. ISSUE ONE Pity Sex Lacklustre Records Postblue Easy Street Co. Flowermouth Scott M Harrison Ridd Dabhowale
ISSUE ONE
CONTENTS Photo by Ridd Dabhowale childrensublime.tumblr.com
PITY SEX LACKLUSTRE RECORDS FLOWERMOUTH RIDD DABHOWALE POSTBLUE EASY STREET CO SCOTT M HARRISON
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PITY SEX
BRITTY DRAKE - GUITAR/VOCALS
Pity Sex are a band from Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. This interview is a little out dated now. They are currently signed to Run for Cover Records and have just released their debut LP ‘Feast of Love’.
How did Pity Sex get started? Well, we’ve all been friends for a while, but I guess the first step was when Brennan and Sean dropped out of hardcore. They still wanted to play music, so they started an emo band with their roommate, Brandan. A few months later, I moved to Ann Arbor for school, and we all moved into a house together with a few of our other friends. My shoegaze band was kind of on a hiatus, and Pity Sex was looking for another guitarist/vocalist, so I joined in the middle of the Dark World writing process. What’s the song writing process? Do you all write together at practice? or does someone write at home? It varies depending on our schedules. We generally work collaboratively, which I really like. Though some songs are more collaborative than others, everyone has pretty equal input. Sometimes Brennan will come to practice with a few riffs, sometimes
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Brandan will have a few bass lines that we end up writing an entire song around, sometimes I have some weird ideas that need some structure, and Sean is more constantly giving his input, structuring, and filtering our bad ideas. Are there any plans for Pity Sex to come out to Australia? No plans at the moment, but we would definitely love to tour Australia at some point. I’m always curious of what International bands think of Australia. Do you guys even know any Australian bands? If you do who would you be keen on touring with if you were to come out here? I used to write letters to someone who lived in Australia. He was friends with the band Arrows. An Australian named Dave also lived with me for a while before he managed a few La Dispute tours. He, too, knew Arrows.
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That’s really all I’ve got, but I’ve heard good things! You released a stream of “Wind Up” a track off your new album “Feast of Love” yesterday, how has the reception been so far? Are you excited for the release? The reception thus far has been great! We absolutely cannot wait for this album to come out. It will be so gratifying to see the work pay off, and we are really excited to play the new songs live. In the comments section of the stream, some idiot was going on about how your band name is just a massive “desperate cry for attention”. Do you get many idiots like this that question your name, and is it really annoying?
What should we expect with Feast of Love? does it differ in anyway to your previous release Dark World? That’s a good question that I have a hard time answering. Feast of Love sounds like Dark World if it was recorded, produced, and mixed by Will Yip. It also has a bit more variety in regards to tempo. What are your plans for the future as a band? We plan on doing as much as we can before we are too old and too poor.
pitysex.tumblr.com pitysex.bandcamp.com runforcoverrecords.com Photos by Danielle Parsons dressingcold.tumblr.com
We come across this interpretation once in a while, but it doesn’t really bother us. The idiot who called me a bro hoe, though. wow. WOW. W000000000W.
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LACKLUSTRE RECORDS JORDAN LEEKSPIN
Lacklustre Records is a label run by Jordan from Canberra. He has currently put out two 7 inch’s, and just recently, a zine - ‘The Lacklustre Quarterly’.
How you’d come to the decision to start a label, and how did your first release go? Well I’d always wanted to something similar or in this vein, like when you walk in to a record store and see a dude just chilling there with the appearance of having the easiest job in the world, it seems quite appealing. So I took a leaf out of that book and decided instead of talking about doing something or always waiting for the right opportunity or moment to kick it off, to just kick it off and see what comes up first. The first release was the Clipped Wings 7”, I froth it, it’s really well done and recorded in my eyes, hopefully other people like it too! In terms of sales figures or whatever, I couldn’t care less… it’s there, if someone’s gonna buy it, they’re gonna buy it—and vice versa! I think I have 50 or so copies left on my end, the CW dogs might have some more but once it’s gone, it’s gone… The two current releases you have lean towards the melodic side of hardcore, is this something specific you’re targeting or do you have plans to
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branch out in the future? Not exactly specific, I do like melodic hardcore and in terms of hardcore bands, it’s my favourite style, and both Clipped Wings and Perspectives are pretty dashing that I couldn’t help myself… I don’t want to pigeonhole myself or anything, the mantra is “if it sounds good…” There is a lot of varied stuff coming up, so keep your eyes peeled! What the hell is up with the bowl cut? First up don’t be a hater. Shit is fly and only dudes that can’t appreesh drop hate on it. The 90s are back. I had a bowl cut when I was 5 and when Saetia dropped some crucial scream record, so I’m going to label it as a 90s throwback to emo. You released your zine the other week, how’d that go? Well the first zine was kinda me treading the water, I mean I’ve never done anything like that before,
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it’s pretty shabby in parts but I like it. I legitimately googled stupid photos, run them off a printer, cut and pasted over them and photocopied them a heap of times. If people like the content that’s all I can ask for really, I’m happy with the final product and am working towards a second issue for later this year at the moment as well, to keep the ball rolling. Zines or even just creative expression within music and especially hardcore is something pretty unique to the scene, you don’t see Mumford and Sons bringing out a zine with their $40 t-shirts when they play Hordern. What do you think about Pokemon X and Y? can we battle? Pokémon X and Y is gonna be off chops. I love my 3DS and will be heaps stoked to flatten anyone who steps against me. I swept a dude with a Swellow back in the DPP metagame and have been playing online since OG NetBattle so if you think you can handle my steeze of UU tier killers, feel free to get bodybagged.
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What’s next for Lacklustre? Hopefully a lot! I got the Sundial/Merryweather 7” coming out soon, the Vera/Reality tapes are being done when I get on semester break and have some time to dub 50 tapes in my room, and the Machina Genova 10” will be dropping really soon as well. Those boys are my best friends and I’m so stoked to have a part in it, it’s a collab release with Broken Hive so you know they’re gonna do big things. I’m always down to keep things moving. The most important part is to keep things affordable, to fuck off with profit margins and the idea that you can make money from hardcore, and to keep it on a DIY level. Why bother even doing anything if you just let it out to someone else? Do it yourself. Keep on keeping on with this zine, it’s ripper – thanks!
www.facebook.com/lacklustrerecords lacklustrerecords.bigcartel.com
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FLOWERMOUTH CAM - GUITAR/VOCALS
Flowermouth are from Perth. They’ve released a demo tape, have finished their EP, and have a split tape with Postblue in the works.
First off, who am I speaking with and what do you do in the band? Hey, you’re speaking too Cam. I play Guitar and I’m the Lead Singer for Flowermouth. Everyone was super excited on doing our first Q&A so I’ve sorted of spliced everyone’s paragraphs together. Bare with me hahaha! How’d Flowermouth come to fruition and what are your influences as a band? How Flowermouth came to be, was sort of a cross road with Jarred (Guitarist) and Colby’s (Drummer) previous band coming to an end and my own efforts to start a band. I was recording my own demos at the time at home in which I passed on to Colby and Jarred. The Demo’s where very much all over place sounding like a Prog Rock Seattle hybrid. But it was enough to spark some jam sessions which lead to my older brother jumping on the band wagon after hearing us jam out to demo tracks in
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our family shed. Our influences as a band would a tricky one to nail down. Everyone has a strong idea what Flowermouth should sound like but if I was too ask everyone what they listen too we would be using a lot of page space haha.Yeah we have brothers in our band, pretty funny. I love Perth bands, there must be something in the water or something, but Perth just seems to be pumping out some great bands, how do you think being based in Perth has affected your band? Being a musician in Perth has affected our band tremendously. I like to think we have a very strong back bone when it comes to live music in Perth. Sure not every show sells out but as a general statement it’s more than fair to say. Perth people enjoy live music. There’s always an opportunity to get behind something new and being one of the most isolated city in the world, it seems to breed some crazy originality into bands here. I think the opportunity
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to not only watch but play besides bands that are more than often on a complete different genre page than ourselves is what excites and affects our band the most! HQ just seems like the sickest venue ever, and I’m pretty sure the rest of Australia would agree. Is it really as cool as it looks? Too be completely honest, it is. I mean to have a Skatepark and a Venue in one place? How could that ever fail amongst a teen crowd? My older brother Tom (Bassist) had me going at the age of 12 skating/ watching bands. It’s just something that has always been there. This leads to it sometimes being not appreciated as much as it should be by locals. But basically. We all saw our first bands there, played our first gigs there so YMCA HQ is a super sentimental place for a lot of people here to say the least! You’ve finished recording your debut EP, when should we able to hear it?
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We have! I would like to say early July! A lot of people have honestly stuck there finger out and helped us make this EP a reality to this point. We recorded our Demo and EP at the same time so everything has been a working progress since then as far as releasing and recording music. Hopefully it won’t be too long until (Fingers crossed) people can start enjoying what we’ve wrote! Big thanks to Carl & Colby from Hindsight Records and the handsome prodigy that is Ron Pollard of Sleepwalkers Dread Studio. You played a secret house party show with Dune Rats, who are pretty much famous for smoking the most bongs in a film clip ever, I’m guessing it would’ve got pretty wild? That it did! A whole lot of spiced rum with no where enough mixer. Free pizza. That’s a fool proof party Hahah. The guys from Dune Rats are always super friendly and polite every time we cross paths. Both times rating outrageously highly in our personal
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party resumes. Admittedly we in no way could keep up with their antics though. What’s next for Flowermouth? We’re in the planning to put out a split tape with Postblue. Another EP after this one haha! Then looking into an album, I supposed that’s how it goes. Do more than our fair share of live shows. Everyone’s eager to be on stage at this point which is exciting. We’re always writing and recording so there’s always a constant flow of material about. We don’t plan on running dry anytime soon!
flowermouthau.tumblr.com www.facebook.com/hindsightrecords Photos by Ben Hardman
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ZINES ARE COOL AND VERY PUNX Zine Reviews
JERKSTORE FANZINE ISSUE 12 facebook.com/jerk-store-fanzine Heaps Punx. Printing and binding is all good. Heaps and heaps of content - lots of words. Straight outta 1985.
LACKLUSTRE QUARTERLY ISSUE 1 facebook.com/lacklustrerecords Cool interviews with cool bands. Cut/Paste which is heaps cool
THE LAST OF OUR KIND ISSUE 2 facebook.com/thelastofourkindzine Great zine. Big name bands - Touche Amore, Toy Boats. Colour cover, which is great.
You should also check out Bad Teeth Zine, Fun Times, Read it and Weep and Left Out Store.
RIDD DABHOWALE CHILDRENSUBLIME.TUMBLR.COM
The following pages contain photos taken by Ridd. In colour!
childrensublime.tumblr.com
POSTBLUE RILEY MCEVOY - GUITAR/VOCALS
Postblue are a band I really like. They’ve released a demo, and a EP which has now been pressed as a 7” which is out through Rest Assured Records.
How’d Postblue start, and what are your influences as a band? We started at the beginning of 2012. It was just Jordan (our ex-bassist), Joe and I trying to start a hardcore band, but it didn’t really work. So I showed them another thing I had kind of been working on an that turned into the song ‘Strange Things’ off the demo. You cover ‘Zero’ by the Smashing Pumpkins and that’s sick, was it a decision that came naturally? Jordan had been pestering us to do it for ages but no one really cared that much. After he left we got our friend Liam to play bass and ‘Zero’ came back up somehow, I’m pretty sure I watched that Simpsons episode, and wanted people to sway sadly to us. I missed your first trip down to Sydney, which i’m still bummed about. Any plans to venture back out of Byron any time soon?
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You didn’t miss much. Our next big trip is to Melbourne for the Poison City Weekender. I’m trying to book some shows on the way down, but nothing is confirmed. What are your thoughts about the recent outburst of Grunge influenced bands? Do you think people are just jumping on the bandwagon after bands like Basement and Daylight brought it to almost everyones attention? or is it something that’s here to stay? I think it’s cool because kids (who might not have otherwise) are being made aware of older stuff like Bush, Pearl Jam and Silverchair. Sure, some will jump on the bandwagon but at the same time, a lot of people were brought up listening to that stuff. My aunty used to drive me around when I was younger listening to Nirvana, Hole and a bunch of other bands, so I always thought that stuff was really cool, I just never had anyone to play it with. I can’t imagine it staying in its current state forever,
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actual grunge bands couldn’t even keep it up for more than a few years. You released your EP “Lap Year” late last year and it got pressed a 7” this year, how’d that process go?
and possibly tapes. I’d like to record another 7” or something. I am terrified at the idea of doing an LP, they are so daunting. There are rumours of tours but they’re only rumours.
We recorded the whole thing with our drummer, Joe, at his house, and were just going to give out burnt CDs and sell it on Bandcamp. The day after we put it up we got an email from Rest Assured Records. Ryan asked if we’d like him to press it and we jumped at the opportunity. The pressing took a little while because the plant closed over Christmas and New Years, plus they had a lot of orders, apparently. We got them back last month(?) and people seem to be enjoying it.
www.facebook.com/postbluemusic www.facebook.com/restassuredzine Photos by Jordan Saul - hangnail-moon.tumblr.com Matt Neil - 365daysofpunk.tumblr.com Joel - sleepthroughsumerr.tumblr.com
What are your plans for the future as a band? We just recorded two new songs which should be out shortly, most likely just a digital release
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EASY STREET CO.
Easy Street Co is a fairly new clothing label based on the Gold Coast. They produce premium soft goods that are hand screen printed in house.
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How’d you guys get started? Jumped in the deep end... we were always curious about screenprinting, had a bit of time of our hands, teamed up with a friend who used to print for a job / had the gear, did a lot of reading about the processes involved and here we are... Feels more rewarding doing it yourself.
are doing what we have a vision to do (let alone doing their own in-house printing). To be honest, I personally haven’t really looked into what labels in Sydney & Melbourne are doing (Besides WDV who are constantly doing it right)... We’d rather be busy doing our own thing and seeing what works for us instead of waiting to see what other people come up with and comparing You’ve got your winter range coming out soon, what should we expect?
What are your influences as a clothing label? From sketching at night, making a new letter structure to braving the cold at a night spot. I guess this kind of leads into the next question? Has being a label in Queensland influenced your style in anyway? Does is set you apart from other labels from Sydney or Melbourne?
I’d like to say it is all running smooth, but we’ve have had a few complications; Equipment upgrades / moving around... It’s in online now, sporting premium Zip Up Hoods & Duffle Bags (Made in the USA) through to our tee range as well, with plans to drop limited run designs throughout the following months.
Not really, There are great writers, typographers & artists producing original and amazing things but we feel there are no labels around this area that
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If you could wear one Easy Street tee for the rest of your life, which one would it be? Personally a sucker for cool characters, a favourite is the Good Times Roll tee or the 66 tee with the hand lines produced with the Krink K-66 Steel Tip Marker... an all time tool of the trade! If you were given a never ending amount of money to use on the brand, what would you do with it? Bigger space, bigger team and consisting work on making better product. We’d rather go that little bit extra way to have a longer lasting & quality product. We’d like to do some premium cut & sew jackets and button ups down the track.
www.easystreetapparel.com Instagram - @easystreetco
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SCOTT M HARRISON TATTOO ARTIST
Scott Harrison is a tattoo apprentice currently under instruction from well established Sydney artist Dean Carlyle. He is currently working out of Hibernia Tattoo Studio in Sydney.
You’re a pretty great illustrator and designer, what made you make the decision to become a tattoo artist, rather than a career as a designer? I’ve always wanted to be a tattooist since my early high school years, but I never thought it was possible for it to become a career. That’s why I first got into design and illustration, it was always my second choice. Then when I started getting tattooed and met a few artists I got a good insight into what the field was like. Tattooing then became my life and I put all my time into becoming an apprentice. I still do the odd web site or band merchandise for friends, but I’m in no rush to get back into commercial design.
interesting imagery or stories to base my work off. What was the first tattoo you did? I’m guessing you would’ve been pretty nervous? My boss, Dean Carlyle, got me to draw up a flash sheet during my first week at the Hibernia studio. I drew up a set of broken and bloody teeth and thankfully I had a bunch of close friends who put their hand up to get them. Honestly, I’m still surprised that I didn’t pass out from the nerves. I still get nervous as I progress, and I know some tattooists who have been at it for years still get nervous when trying something new.
What inspires you as an artist? A good Disney or Ghibli film will always get my creative mind flowing. Other then animated films and series I often watch documentaries or research European and Asian mythology to find some
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If interested in any of the work displayed, please contact Scott Harrison directly at scottmharrisontattoo@gmail.com
You work at an appointment only studio. Has this filtered out alot of the dumb tattoo jobs that would probably get lobbed onto you as an apprentice, if you were to work in a walk-in studio?
to deliver unique designs. Then there are artists that constantly blow my mind like Steve Moore, Rachi Brains and James Tex to name a few.
I occasionally get the ‘walk-in’ style request, but I think all private artists do. Fortunately working in an appointment only studio it lets me pick and choose what I want to tattoo. I can either try and convince them to get something more unique or recommend them to another studio. I do accept some of these pieces though, it gives me the chance to experience other tattoo styles and hopefully push my work into different areas. Who are some artists that you admire?
www.hiberniatattoo.com www.scottmharrisontattoo.com scottmharrisontattoo@gmail.com Instagram - @scott_m_harrison
There are countless tattooists that I admire! At the moment I must say Greggletron and Mike Moses are probably the artists I look up to the most, I’m always excited to see new pieces as they continue
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Cover photo by Ridd Dabhowale childrensublime.tumblr.com
deareasternprom.com facebook.com/deareasternpromzine deareasternpromzine.bigcartel.com
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