# 10 • december 2015 FREE MONTHLY mintmagazine.com.au – bayside & peninsula
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THE SOUNDS OF THE BAYSIDE By Terri Lee Fatouros
The award-winning community radio station 88.3FM opened their doors the other day, allowing the public to meet its presenters. With a rich and diverse selection of shows, broadcasting live 24 hours a day to the southern, southeastern and bayside suburbs of Melbourne and streaming live around the world, people got an insight into how a community radio station operates.
endeavors to be an ambassador for MBAS (Melbourne Blues Appreciation Society) by informing listeners what’s happening around the town in venues, and what the association is doing. Blues Illustrated radio show – every second Thursday between 10pm and midnight. bluesillustrated.net.au facebook.com/GregFisherBluesIllustrated southernfm.com.au/program-guide/
Kansas Kitty, aka Frances Fairhall co-hosts a blues program with Mint’s very own Blues Illustrated columnist Greg Fisher on alternating Thursday evenings, between 10pm and midnight. However, Fairhall’s Thursday time slot, Woman in Blues, runs until 6am so she dedicates the first two hours (10 to midnight) to lead female vocalists from the 1920s, ’30s and ’40s, and in the past has featured the likes of Ma Rainey, mother of the blues and Bessie Smith. Once the bewitching hour arrives she plays whatever her audience designates as blues, which includes contemporary, traditional and new blues music from artists like Kimbra and often has live guests and interviews. After midnight, Fairhall picks up overseas audiences in America and the UK and has quite a big following. http://southernfm.com.au/ Stream LIVE @ www.southernfm.com.au #dreamboogie #blueslife #WomenInBlues Greg Fisher writes the ‘Blues Illustrated’ column for this magazine, supporting the blues world and keeps punters up to date on what’s happening around town.
Sunday mornings between 9 and 12 is his summer sports program that represents local sports featuring lawn bowls, cricket, tennis, basketball and any and everything sport.
and new, with all the latest CD releases, reviews, interviews, local music guides and regular roundups from the local blues clubs. In Fisher’s words, “Greg has an alter ego… he comes out on Thursday nights and he retreats very early on Friday to his other self,” he smiles. “So I morph and get white line fever crossing into this building… I have a lot of fun inflicting my taste in music on an unsuspecting world.”
Fisher’s program represents one of the three blues shows on 88.3FM, giving the opportunity to numerous emerging artists to showcase their band and launch their music. Established bands have even aired first-release songs, giving listeners the opportunity of hearing their latest stuff first hand. As a dedicated blues man, Fisher
On Sunday afternoon he produces Live Sunday Sessions – an hour of live-to-air concerts in the studio. This is where new, emerging and established bands get a chance to play live in the studio and showcase their music. So for any bands wanting to showcase their music on live radio, contact Mark at livesundaysessions@southernfm.com.au. How very fortunate for emerging, up and coming and even established bands and musicians to have a community radio station happy to showcase their music for free. Tune in to 88.3, Southern FM!
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However, his radio show on 88.3 Southern FM features only Australian blues, both old
Mark Missen is another announcer who has three programs. The first one is Saturday morning from 10am until 12pm and is a themed program called Radio GaGa, where he picks music based around particular themes. It might be a one hit wonder, or songs by left hand guitarists... anything can happen!
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A music, arts, events & entertainment magazine for the Peninsula & Bayside.
EDITOR: Cameron McCullough – editor@mintmagazine.com.au ARTS EDITOR: Andrea Louise Thomas – artseditor@mintmagazine.com.au CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Maria Mirabella – creative@mintmagazine.com.au SALES: Ricky Thompson – 0425 867 578 – sales@mintmagazine.com.au PHOTOGRAPHERS: Gary Sissons and Yanni CONTRIBUTORS Terri Lee Fatouros – terri@mintmagazine.com.au Greg Fisher – greg@mintmagazine.com.au Lachlan Bryan – lachlan@mintmagazine.com.au Ray McGrotty – ray@mintmagazine.com.au Stuart McCullough – stuart@mintmagazine.com.au Neil Walker – neil@mintmagazine.com.au Billy Dixon – andrew@mintmagazine.com.au CONTACT US: 1/2 Tyabb Rd, Mornington, 3931 – Ph: 5973 6424 FREE MONTHLY - 15,000 COPIES Available in over 1,000 outlets from Sandringham to Portsea and everywhere in between. For more info on locations visit: mintmagazine.com.au For advertising enquiries or info about sponsorship or event packages, contact Ricky Thompson on 0425 867 578 or sales@mintmagazine.com.au Facebook: mintmagazinehq
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MINT Magazine December
2015
bayside & mornington peninsula
1099 Point Nepean Rd, Rosebud P: 5950 0300 www.rosebudhotel.com.au
SKA vs. ROCKABILLY UNPLUGGED AND UP CLOSE By Terri Lee Fatouros Christine Bitomsky is one of those lucky individuals who has successfully combined her passion of rockabilly clothing and said genre of music into a working business model. Growing up on the “’50s scene� with her family in the UK in the ’80s, she wasn’t aware there was a ’50s revival going on as these clothes, this music and lifestyle (including their family business) was part of her normal family life. However, after moving from England to Melbourne and leaving her family lifestyle behind, she discovered there was a huge call for these beautiful clothes here. So, clever Christine started up her own shop in trendy Brunswick St, Fitzroy, ironically calling it Christine’s. She described it as “the best of 1940s & ’50s reproduction clothing,� catering to musicians, rock & rollers, and rockabilly divas. In her words, “making the world a more glamorous place.�
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Upcoming entertainment and current menus at www.thegpo.com.au 1003 POINT NEPEAN RD, ROSEBUD 5982 3200 6
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2015
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Cutting a long story short, it didn’t take long before the rockabilly and rock & roll crowd (including many known musicians) started frequenting her shop, allowing it to grow exponentially to the point where she’s now considered the queen of rockabilly. Whilst showcasing her clothes at the many rockabilly shows she became friendly with the bands and promoters, eventually coming across “The Infernos,” who she really liked – so much so that she became their manager. Over a short period of time she earned respect not only as the supplier of quality rock & roll and rockabilly clothes, but also as an astute manager. In fact, Bitomsky was instrumental in conducting a number of rockabilly weekends and even helped set up the Camperdown Cruise, the biggest festival of Rockabilly in Victoria. It became evident that if she wanted a quality venue for her band with quality money paid, then she would have to create her own superior gigs. Luckily for punters, she did. Bitomsky discovered a jewel of a place called The LuWOW, nestled amongst bars and cafes, at 70 Johnston Street, Fitzroy. The LuWOW is run by husband-and-wife team Barbara and Josh, who have spared
no expense or detail in creating a tribal Hawaiian feel throughout its many rooms. The Tiki Bar’s tropical island decadence has the main bar surrounded by intimate darkened spaces, with some thatched huts thrown in where one can indulge in the drinking of exotic cocktails. The Hidden Temple serves as the band room. Halfnaked female statues with dinosaurs on leads, exotic palms and multi coloured lights decorate the walls and ceilings. There are two raised circular booths adorned with palms and skulls on bamboo poles that partially hide the rainbow-lit second bar behind. The stage looks like a cross between the entrance to a Ghost Train Ride and something out of The Rocky Horror Show. There are skulls along the top of the stage and more skulls on tall bamboo poles garnishing small circular dance floors on either side of the stage that house the sexily-clad dancers during the bands’ performance. It feels like a volcano is about to erupt; the place is alive, vibrant, unpredictable, and loads of fun without the danger of being scorched to death. Recently, Bitomsky successfully staged the Ska vs. Rockabilly event, showcasing two rockabilly bands and a ska band.
The Infernos’ rockin’ three-piece outfit had Don Wycherley on the double bass and vocals, David Rogers at the drums and Rob Citroni on lead guitar. If you like Rockabilly then you’d really dig this band ’cause their tight, fast rhythm was infectious.
the progressive addition of different instruments has eventually led to its dilution. Apparently the term “rockabilly” is a mix of “rock” from rock and roll and “hillbilly” country music; nevertheless, just think Stray Cats and you’ve got an idea of rockabilly.
Rosie and the Mighty Kings; their polished combo of double bass, guitar and drums combined with Rosie’s vocals rocked. After their gig Don Giovinazzo, the bass player gave me their album Heath & The Mighty Kings and latest single, Voodoo Doll and I have to say, it’s pretty damn good. The Resignators ska band was a hybrid of vintage R&R, punk, rocket groove, awesome horn section and “groovy” organ thrown into the mix. Their crazy “all over the place” vibe was contagious and combined with The LuWOW décor, you could easily imagine you were in a Tarantino film. Rockabilly has been described as rock and roll come country music, western swing to boogie jump blues, and for good measure throw in Appalachian folk music too. With America’s southern influence on music blending country with rhythm and blues, some suggest thinking of rockabilly as a bluegrass style with rock and roll that holds for strong rhythms, vocal twangs and the common use of tape echo. But
Says Bitomsky, “There are a few versions of rockabilly. There is psychobilly which is like a cross between rockabilly and punk; maybe picture the Stray Cats crossed with The Clash, authentic rockabilly which is like hillbilly, but with strong rockabilly overtones, and there is neorockabilly, which bands like The Stray Cats embrace strongly.” With her years of experience and knowledge its no wonder Christine Bitomsky is known as the Queen of Rockabilly. The night was well executed, with much drinking of cocktails by all, gorgeous dancing girls shaking and shimmering, spacey, flashing illuminations, and the over the top but highly enjoyable décor. All in all, it was certainly a memorable night.
For more information please contact 1300 850 600 or 5950 1000 www.mornpen.vic.gov.au
NEW YEAR’S EVE | 2015 - 2016
NO ENTERTAINMENT NO NONSENSE Mornington Peninsula Shire is continuing to take a ‘No Entertainment - No Nonsense’ approach for the upcoming New Year’s Eve on the peninsula, working in partnership with a community-based steering committee, police and residents to reduce the negative impact of celebrations in the area. There are no organised public events or activities on the Mornington Peninsula on New Year’s Eve. Venues operating on New Year’s Eve will only be accessible by people who have pre-purchased tickets. Alcohol bans apply from December 30 to midnight 1 January 2016. Possession of sealed and unsealed containers of liquor in public places is prohibited (unless sealed containers are being transported from point-of-sale to vehicle or private residence for consumption). Possession of any glass container while in a public place is prohibited.
No camping is permitted in any public park or reserves.
There are no public displays of fireworks on New Year’s Eve. A person must not possess or discharge fireworks (fines apply).
The Rye Carnival will be closed on New Year’s Eve (day and night). Discharge of flares is prohibited except in cases of an emergency. CAR PARK CLOSED
Mornington Peninsula Shire working in collaboration with Victoria Police
Bus Service - Portsea to Safety Beach A free, one - way bus service will operate from Portsea to Safety Beach. *For route information please visit www.mornpen.vic.gov.au Security will be onboard at all times.
People are reminded to be extremely vigilant of fires: and particularly fire-safe on the peninsula. More information about fire safety can be found at: www.cfa.vic.gov.au or www.depi.vic.gov.au
The Rye Pier car park will be closed from approximately 4.00pm on New Year’s Eve (or at Police discretion). Minor road closures are expected in Rye from 11pm - 1am.
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Have a safe New Year
Fridays & Saturdays from 7pm
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10CC PLAYS FRANKSTON ARTS CENTRE By Terri Lee Fatouros
Back in the 1970s an interesting art rock band called 10cc, hailing from Salford and Prestwich in England burst onto the music scene achieving considerable commercial success. Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme wrote and recorded together for three years before assuming the name of 10cc in 1972. After Godley and Creme left the band in 1976, Gouldman and Stewart remained. When Stewart left the band in 1996, Gouldman continued to lead a touring version of 10cc all the way to present day, with Rick Fenn on guitar and vocals, Paul Burgess at the drums and multi-instrumentalists Mick Wilson and Mike Stevens. Back in the day, there was controversy on who originally came up with the name 10cc. The band says it’s a sly joke indicating the average amount a male ejaculates is 9cc, but they claimed 10cc cause they were a bit better than average. However, Jonathan King of UK Records claims he named them after a dream he had revealing they would become number one on the music charts.
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tight, polished and lively sound, the guys (not spring chickens anymore) belted out all their favourites with much story telling by Gouldman between songs, all creating a magical atmospheric journey down memory lane for new and old enthusiasts alike. Gouldman has managed to keep the band’s earlier appeal alive and did all their songs justice. In fact, during Feel the Benefit, a rift in the space time continuum opened up and swallowed the entire audience into a soupy mix of stunning guitar riffs, tight instrumental overlays and interstellar rhythms, thus dragging all into “The Zone” for what seemed like an ethereal eternity. When the song finished, revelers were unceremoniously ejected, leaving everyone breathless and stunned. Astounding! Abbey Stone was their support act and with a blend of pop, soul and rock music in her original songs performed on keyboard and guitar, her performance was greatly appreciated not only for her talent and good looks, but also for 10cc’s engagement of local talent to support them.
Regardless of the reason, with hits like Dreadlock Holiday, The Things We Do for Love, Rubber Bullets and Donna to name a few, King’s dream did in fact became a reality.
Stone has spent her time of late between New York, Nashville, Los Angeles and Australia writing and recording her own music and is creating a huge fan base for herself.
Recently, 10cc’s world tour graced Frankston Arts Centre and they most certainly didn’t disappoint their loyal supporters. Producing a
With this knowledge it’s no doubt 10cc knew her engaging vocals and sparkly personality would add that “touch of glamour” to the show.
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GET READY TO WORSHIP HOLY HOLY
By Neil Walker Before lauding Holy Holy’s debut album When the Storms Would Come it’s important to get one thing straight. Holy Holy’s influences include Dire Straits and Mint fears an unstoppable disaster may be gaining momentum: a dire Dire Straits revival. Bands such as The War on Drugs are also currently citing the 80s rock plodders as inspiration for their sound. In his defence, Holy Holy singer Tim Carroll says he and songwriting partner Oscar Dawson are “kind of the product of our parents’ record collection. “We grew up listening to Dire Straits, Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Patti Smith and Emmylou Harris, that kind of suite of songs.” Thankfully, When the Storms Would Come leads more towards those other influences including modern bands such as Midlake and Band of Horses. “I like that The War on Drugs album [Lost in the Dream],” Carroll says. To be fair, Dire Straits and main man Mark Knopfler had some more interesting material in their extensive back catalogue than the mammoth selling Brothers In Arms album that was played to death on every street in the late 1980s thanks to its popularity among CD buyers in the early days of that format.
But a Dire Straits revival must still never happen. Let’s be clear about that. With that tricky point negotiated, Carroll is happy to open up about the Australian band’s formation and album. Singer-songwriter Carroll and guitarist composer Dawson have taken the long way around to get together as a duo and put together When the Storms Would Come released earlier this year. The two actually met soon after Carroll left high school and the pair taught English in Thailand. This led to early collaborations that are now bearing psych rock fruit in Holy Holy. “We formed a friendship and I always enjoyed playing with him because he’s a phenomenal guitar player and fits in really well with what I play,” Carroll said. Carroll, from Brisbane, and Dawson, a Melbourne resident, went their own musical ways – Carroll as a singer-songwriter with “some degree of success” and Dawson as guitarist with electronic rockers Dukes of Windsor. “I was watching him from afar and was really proud that he’d done well,” Carroll says. The Holy Holy singer was thinking about putting together another solo album in 2011 when “I realised I didn’t want to do another folky solo project. I wanted to move into a different kind of
sound – more electric and drivey – the kind of stuff I was listening to.” Dawson visited Stockholm and stayed at Carroll’s home and the two picked up where they had left off all those years ago in Thailand. Although Carroll declares his songwriting has improved since his high school days when he first picked up a guitar. “I always enjoyed writing songs as soon as I learned how to play chords. They were pretty shit songs back then.” That’s not an accusation that can be levelled at the harmonic anthems featured on Holy Holy’s debut. Songs such as History, Sentimental and Monday and A Heroine soar in all the right places while earworming their way into listeners’ minds. The album was recorded in Berlin but Carroll says it’s just “a happy coincidence” that the band’s name is the same as a David Bowie track. The starman recorded a trio of albums – Low, Heroes and Lodger – in the German capital in the late 70s. It took four years to develop the ten songs on When the Storms Would Come and it’s easy to hear why Holy Holy are now making waves overseas. A recent gig in London saw former Oasis front-
man Liam Gallagher singing the band’s praises (they’re “the best band I’ve seen in years”, he’s reported as saying). Gallagher junior asked to meet Holy Holy after the London concert to express his appreciation of their music. “We had a bit of a chat. I was nervous but it was really nice because I listened to his records a lot when I was really young and I consider Oasis to be significant in the history of music,” Carroll says. An award win for Carroll’s songwriting from the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) shows the Brisbanite may soon mix it with the big boys and girls on the composing front. In the meantime Holy Holy are heading out on the road again in January next year and will play The Corner Hotel in Richmond on Friday 29 January. “We’ve got some pretty cool bands playing with us on this tour,” Carroll said. Holy Holy will be supported by Canadian alt-folk outfit The Franklin Electric and synth-pop purveyor Olympia on the tour. “I think they’re going to blow people away a bit. It’s always interesting when the support bands are really good since it means you have to make sure you bring it.” See cornerhotel.com for full details.
PELLY BAR
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WAXING LYRICAL ABOUT THE PAST By Keith Platt Steve warner is a journeyman musician. Versatility and a readiness to try anything connected with playing and performing has enabled him to make a living in what is a very fickle industry. He’s felt the adulation of fronting a band wearing colourful clothes onstage and he feels satisfaction when he hears interpretations of the knowledge he’s passed on to his students. In between those two ends of the musical spectrum, Warner has scored for TV shows, recorded for advertisements, weddings, and performed at parties and everything and anything else in between.
create their own sounds. Musical passages are handed down like stories and fables. “Your theory [about passing on influences] is a true one, and what a wonderful thing it is. That an essential part of our culture, our heritage, and in a way ourselves, is being transmitted through the generations via music and song,” Warner says in one of many emails we trade while preparing this article.
Quietly spoken and reflective, Warner has undoubtedly had an influence on the Melbourne music scene.
“I was influenced in my early years by my brother Tim and his guitar playing mates, six or eight of them, who were into the folk revival in the 1960s. They’d all go down to Fisherman’s Beach [Mornington] on summer’s nights with a guitar and a bottle or two, light a fire and start playing,” Warner says.
The music that influenced him is passed on to his young students who then use that knowledge as raw material from which to
“They’d play Bert Jansch, Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, Donovan, Davy Graham, Big Bill Broonzy and Leadbelly. They’d be doing all those
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2015
leading bass lines that connect the chords and lots of finger picking, Travis picking we call it now.
Lawrence Greenwood [playing in Whitley], whose music I love. To think I used to teach him baritone uke at primary school.
“This is at the roots of so much alternative folk and quite a lot of mainstream stuff that I work on a daily basis with the guitar students. I love it. Everything old is new again.
“The interesting thing is that you could sense, even as kids, that something significant would happen with each of them, no two ways about it.”
“Sometimes I see an old student playing somewhere, maybe in a fresh new band, and I see my guitar style hidden away in there among all the new sounds.
Warner compares this thread to “passing on a burning flame, which can ignite lives and ideas down the years.”
“Music is so amazingly adaptable. You can show someone a song or a pattern, or a technique, and you hear it later transformed and adapted to a new setting.
“I used to gig weekly at a bar in a rough neighbourhood. They booked me to play in the lounge, but really wanted me to play in the bar. I wondered what the problem was and why they were not being straightforward with me.
“Casey Benetto - who wrote the musical Keating! - I taught for a long time up at Montsalvat, then at our place at Warrandyte. Talk about The Human Dynamo as a kid. “And of course it’s a special thing when I hear
He says music can be powerful and subtle.
“On the third week they took me in to see the bar and I was not happy as it was very rough, very seedy and had a very sticky carpet. I agreed to play with a big bouncer each side of bayside & mornington peninsula
me, no kidding. Anyway, it all went well and I made peace with the locals and we would have these amazing nights. “Six months later they told me they’d hired me to try to get the violence level down in the bar. I looked blankly at the boss and he said: And it worked. “It worked because music can subtly charge your mood and your outlook without you ever realising it.” November saw a piece of Warner’s musical history repeated: the re-release of his solo, selftitled album, Steve Warner. It was first released in 1979 and now, repressed in yellow and blue vinyl, is also available digitally. Warner was already negotiating with the Australian label Buttercup when alerted to the value of original copies being traded on eBay, with at least one selling for $500. He’d already decided the time was right for a re-issue of his music which in today’s terminology would be seen as “psych (edelic) folk or maybe art-folk”. Back then it was described as “acid-folk.” “The way this album re-release came about was such a total surprise to me and I hadn’t really thought about it in a couple of decades. I’d had only a couple of tiny clues that there was a rekindled interest out there,” Warner says. “An old mate of mine, the stunning uke player A G Leonard, called and asked if he could have a chord chart for the opening track, Summer. He had become a little obsessed with it. This would have been in 2012 and the song from 1975. I didn’t quite get it, but was happy. “Maybe 12 months after that I was asked by someone up on the north New South Wales coast wondering if I had any spare copies. This guy had obviously listened to it a lot and made some astute observations about musical influences. “Again, I thought ‘what the’. “Maybe a year later an email came in from Scotti, who runs the small independent Aussie label, Buttercup Records, wanting to release it on vinyl, a really arty package with a mini poster, extra inner sleeve photos, download card, my music timeline - and a CD. This time I took notice and paid attention. This was fantastic. “It turned out that the guy who would do the mastering was an old guitar student of mine, Mikey Young, who went on to do a great job.” Fire Records, London, then asked Warner if he was interested in a worldwide release on its Earth label. “They would co-operate with artwork, even on some of the production. Well… err... yes. “All these folk have been great to deal with and the whole project has been interesting. I get the feeling with Fire that the music itself is on an equal footing with the act of making a buck. These two things must coexist to make the whole thing work, and unlike some enterprises they seem to have a healthy respect for the music arts events entertainment
actual music.” Much as he enjoys teaching, Warner believes it has held back his performing and composing career. “Because I enjoy teaching so much, I find it a very creative thing to do and it fulfils and satisfies [that] part of me that would normally be spent performing or recording more.” Warner grew up in Mornington and when aged 10 was inspired when his father introduced him to a jazz drummer. A few years later he was led towards the electric guitar curtesy of his brother Tim (who later ran the Mornington Music centre). “I began playing music with the Mornington Youth and Citizens Band, down in the park near the pier, every Wednesday night in the dusty old hall. Afterwards there would be cups of hot tea from the urn and sweet biscuits alongside the euphoniums and cornets. I was a kid drummer and on occasion we could be seen marching down Main St on Anzac Day or with the annual billy cart derby. “Practicing in the old hall I discovered a whole other world listening to The Banana Boat Song and The River Is Wide and the way the music operated on multiple levels - a bass line, a melody line and at least one more line in the middle. I loved the middle line, usually from a row of horns who sat just in front of the drums.” He says the citizens’ band helped him to “listen to music with more awareness, not just the obvious front vocal or lead guitar doing its thing, but also to how this music was made to work, how it achieved creating this mighty illusion of another musical place in your mind.” “Yep, even when I was a Cream and Hendrixobsessed teenager blasting it out on my Strat and a 100 watt amp at a local dance.” Warner’s first gigs were as a member of Satan’s Slaves, a four-piece that he now sees as having a name that seems incongruous when playing their regular gig – Mornington church dances. Eight years and many moves and sounds later he was freshly back from living in Tasmania playing with Spiff Rouch and the Untouchables. He left when “the fellas started making serious noises about taking it to the next level.” The remaining Spiffs kept exploring their “satire rock with a retro surf twist” before moving on to form “the core” of Australian Crawl. The formalities out of the way, Warner was about to enter the decade that in all probability remains the biggest influence on his life today. Warner’s recollections of making music in 1975-85 seems like he was caught in a creative whirlwind. There’s a seemingly never ending list of bands and appearances and bits of producing for other musicians. During a six-week stint at a club in Cairns came the realisation that “I could feed my young family by playing covers.” It hasn’t been done yet, but Warner says “a book could be written about that decade.” It was also the time of the initial release of that first album, Steve Warner.
Recorded in 1976 at a “big white three-storey house” overlooking Hobart, Warner tells of borrowing a trail bike to make it up the steep road each day. There was no rush to record and he experimented with slowing tapes and, for one track, fitting his guitar with “weird rope-core strings.” Looking back, he sees he was obsessed with playing every instrument, singing every part: “Others can do most of this better than I can – it’s just something I have a need to do. Later, listening back in the control room – hmm. This can be a heightened experience on a project that has had a lot of planning – and when it’s working, this moment is where it’s at, for me.” The sounds he chose for the album come from a variety of sources – guitar, piano, flute, bass, glockenspiel, percussion instruments (“some homemade or found”), a mono synth and clarinet. Before entering the studio Warner and a close knit group of musicians had performed regularly around Melbourne’s coffee houses and folk clubs “cutting our performing teeth.” “But this project sprang from a different beginning, one rooted in endless days and nights of recording at home as a teenager, making music in layers upon layers, discovering the concept of arranging, and of finding ways to make my reel-to-reel do things that it was never intended to do. “The actual recording experience was wonderful, down in quiet little Hobart. I’d lived in Tassie before, shacked up in an old farmhouse on 20 acres overlooking the water. It was pretty rugged living sometimes, but interesting with lots of quirky locals. We had a little trio with two guitars and all three of us sang in harmony. “I did a little freelance recording at a studio – Spectangle Productions – a couple of ads and a little composition for folk. “The ’70s was an interesting decade in which to write and record music. Coming on the heels of the ’60s when a lot of what I would call art music wasn’t hidden away in some tiny sparsely-attended venue, but right there in our faces. Sgt Peppers or Pet Sounds or Donovan’s Sunshine Superman – what an amazing influence that album had on me in retrospect. The ’70s dawned only a few years later, but so much had changed too. “It was a positive time to be making music with a certain freedom that the previous decade had left us, at least those of us on the alternative scene. “It seemed that pop music was becoming more and more restricted into formulas, while the alternative scene was flourishing. I reckon my peer group managed to live for an entire decade without once tuning in to commercial radio. Boy, were we off the radar. “I was enjoying writing songs that used weirdbut-beautiful chord combinations and changed key freely but, hopefully, still hung together by long threads of harmony. Listening back all these years later, I must have been listening to Debussy and Ravel – that Paris turn of the
century sound that I still adore. “I was certainly listening to Stravinsky alongside my three old Hendrix albums and Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Jackson Browne, James Taylor and Joni Mitchell. Now there’s a woman who carved out her own place in music history. I still listen to her albums from Blue to the jazzinfluenced Hejira. “James Taylor recently said that one of the strongest influences on his musicality was Anglican church hymns. When you listen to his guitar lines with that in mind, you really can hear it loud and clear. Music is such an interesting thing.” Sometime after it was recorded, having Steve Warner pressed was a solo project that Warner’s then girlfriend and now wife, Tammy, and a couple of friends “joined forces and made me promise to finally do.” Neil Young’s line “24 and there’s so much more” was also echoing around his head, “needling me to get this thing underway. I got there just in time.” He was also “leaving behind a couple of years of dark, brooding, debilitating depression. Like a long, hidden, gloomy, subterranean tunnel with no exit, it had confused, engulfed and battered me until I could hardly breathe.” Warner credits Tammy’s “love and perseverance” in helping clear his mind and getting him back where he felt at home – in the recording studio. “This was a world I understood, the colours and textures of chords and harmony, and the journey that they can take you on if you are willing to follow.” Back on the mainland and living in a mud brick house at Eltham near the Yarra River with 500 completed vinyl records, he and Tammy set about hand silk screening the album covers. They were in a rented house “we couldn’t afford,” with covers spread over the floors and “pots of thick ink everywhere, turps, rags, squeegees, big screens, cardboard cover blanks and the smell of printing.” The process was character building. Warner and Tammy now live in a house on a steep unmade road in Mt Martha. The main timber lined room looks out towards a bushfilled creek gully. It is open plan living. The kitchen is part of the room which also doubles as artist Tammy’s studio and is included on the annual Mornington Peninsula Artists’ Trail. Warner also released the CD “Sketches of Paradise” in 1991 and has started recording a new instrumental album “with a fantastic quartet.” The album is also retro packaged, coming in a protective clear plastic sleeve (they used to cost extra) the fold-out cover has liner notes, a rundown of Warner’s “musical moments and movements” and a couple of extra bits of memorabilia. There’s also a code for downloading a “free” digital version of the album. For copies of Warner’s album go to stevewarner.com.au or Nepean Music Centre, Mornington.
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ARTIST PROFILE:
EMILEE SOUTH By Lachlan Bryan There are few more exotic locations I can think of than Melbourne’s Northern suburbs. Ok, that’s not quite true – maybe Hawaii is a little more exotic, but only by a whisker. Then again, perhaps Paris gets the nod over both – thanks to a few hundred years more history and some more expensive shops. Well, if you can’t decide between the three, maybe you should simply check out the music of Emilee South – who has honed her craft in exactly those three locales. Working in the millinery business (that’s hatmaking, for us less-educated), South literally lived the endless summer for years, all the while honing her craft as a folky/bluesy/rootsy songwriter and impressive guitar picker. Her debut EP, Aloha Au Revoir, is heavily influenced by her Globetrotting (as demonstrated by the title itself). This fusion of musical styles and cultural references is an extremely refreshing package; one that has made Emilee the darling of Melbourne audiences during her frequent residencies and front-bar shows of late. She’s recently made a big impression on the festival circuit, debuting with a tight-knit band of Melbourne’s finest. Look out for Emilee in a local venue in 2016 and discover what she’s all about at www.emileesouth.com
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MINT Magazine December
2015
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bayside & mornington peninsula
RECORD CITY CALLS IT STUMPS By Ray Macgrotty - Record City After thirty years in business it’s pretty hard to accept that Record City is now closing up shop. About twelve months ago we were advised that City arcade had been sold and that plans were being made to redevelop. Thankfully the new owners allowed us to stay on for a while until the plans etc. were arranged. We gave some thought to relocating but after such a lengthy time in the one spot, it was decided that it was just too hard to move and start all over again. As of the 31st of December, Record City is officially closed. It’s been a great adventure and we have seen many changes over the years. music arts events entertainment
Back in the mid eighties I would never have dreamed that after about seventy years of artists making records that it would almost be killed off by the introduction of the compact disc, then ultimately downloads and online shopping .
record store in Australia to obtain accounts with all of the major (and independent) record companies.
However, our customers wouldn’t let go of their precious vinyl, so we just kept buying it by the ton, much to surprise of most people who said I was mad because it was dying out. Well guess what?
I really enjoyed being able to get records and CDs that people wanted, and it felt like Christmas every time I unpacked a delivery. I will miss that.
Anyway we showed ’em! We ended up having one of the largest stocks of vinyl in the country, much to the envy now of the shops who abandoned vinyl for those ‘self draining drink coasters’ (which are now on their way out...) I believe we were the first second-hand
We also imported huge amounts of vinyl from overseas which gave us an edge over some of the larger retailers.
I’ve been asked many times why we didn’t decide to move to a new location, but the thought of shifting over 50,000 records, cds, tapes, posters, memorabilia etc and having to start building and painting and carpeting etc, was just too mind blowing after thirty years of dedicating my life to the shop I had grown to love.
Actually I was going to chain myself to the counter and refuse to go but when I heard the sound of the bulldozers coming, well, I guess I had to accept that there is a new adventure waiting around the corner (maybe it’s another record store?) Anyway, we would like to thank our many loyal and happy customers who have supported us over the years and hope you enjoy listening to your records and cds for a long long time. Also, a big thank you to all the people who have told me how much they enjoy reading the ‘Classic album’ reviews in Mint magazine each month, which I will continue doing. Thanks heaps for the trip, it’s been a blast!!
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FRENZAL RHOMB By Andrew Dixon There’s no more quintessentially Aussie punk rock band than Frenzal Rhomb. They’ve had their music banned from the Aussiest of Aussie radio stations, Triple J, led the Vans Warped Tour around the country and opened for some of the century’s biggest punk acts like Blink 182, NOFX and Bad Religion. Lead singer Jason “Jay” Whalley’s even had on-air verbal shitfights with Austereo personalities Kyle and Jackie O. As individuals and as a group, they’re intimately familiar with controversy, fantasy and personal injury. Right now, Frenzal Rhomb are in the midst of their umpteenth tour of Australia. Seriously, you couldn’t make this stuff up. The story begins innocuously enough, with Jay and high-school chum Lex Feltham starting the band in the Sydney suburb of St. Ives shortly after leaving high school. Taking the name from a pet rat, they played Big Day Out in 1993 and were quickly absorbed by the fast-paced and unpredictable world of punk rock. “We’re experts at hospitalising ourselves… we’ve got a replacement drummer for the coming tour because Gordy broke his arm recently while educating members of the public on the art of stage diving, Lindsay had a detached retina, which is piss-funny when we’re out because it looks like he’s winking at everyone, and obviously the pig-worm thing… it’s crazy,” admits Jay, whose own mythical journey through the medical profession has spread rumours of everything from heart attacks to trench foot. His mum fell ill recently too, but at least they didn’t need an orderly. “I took her to my local hospital, straight to her room. ‘This way, mum…turn left here.’” All is well now, but it’s only ever a matter of time before their very own creative culture strikes again. These are the professionals who put their lives on the line, day in and day out, so that we might enjoy a few moments of furious fun. It’s a thankless job only heroes could bear, and yet all Jay asks for in return is “lots of money.” Their lineup has changed a number of times, but always with Whalley leading the charge. These days, Tom Crease dons the bass and provides backing vocals, drummer Gordy Forman has been part of the crew since the late ‘90s and Lindsay McDougall, also known as The Doctor on Triple J, backs up Jay on the guitar and moonlights his buttery-smooth radio voice for vocal support. Jay was actually The Doctor’s radio compatriot in their early days at Triple J too, with their breakfast radio show ironically titled “Jay and The Doctor.” All those early starts took a toll, as Jay explains that after “three years of breakfast radio… you start so early, I could feel my personality changing by the end of it
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MINT Magazine December
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all.” Bailing on the lot in 2007 for a trip around the world with his missus, Whalley returned to reunite the band in 2009. But they’d already been pretty much all over the globe. Sucking All Over the World, bonus content from their album Forever Malcolm Young (’06), showcased some of their antics in the UK, US, South Africa, Israel, Taiwan and Japan. More recently, they played with Clowns in Geelong (the Australian hardcore outfit, not the “terrifying props,” I’m assured), and they’ll be returning along with The Hard Aches and more on 8th January next year. “We’ll be going around to all the little towns, and playing our music there. It’ll be great, especially if there’s people in the towns… we’ll have someone check that out beforehand.” When he’s not on the road with Frenzal, Jay focuses on putting other Aussie acts on record and giving them some much-needed coverage. “I’ve been recording and producing for other bands… it’s fantastic seeing young guys come in, getting excited about aggressive punk rock.” Indeed, it was the commercial world’s borderline-disdain for Australian artists that
led to Whalley’s spat with Kyle Sandilands. Their set was cut short by the late arrival of MC Jackie O at Darwin’s 2004 Bassinthegrass festival, so they just started playing over her. It led to threats of blacklisting by Sandilands from the Austereo network, who Jay argued rarely played anything Australian anyway. It’s an interesting debate given the mandatory levels of home-grown content our television networks are required to broadcast – no such rules apply to radio. Of course, it’s not all about the music. “I share the care of my six-year-old child with my wife, so when I’ve got him we get to do guided reading in his class, show and tell at kinder and things like that!” But even his better half is into the art of sound. “We’re in a group called Neptune Power Federation… my wife is the singer. We’ve written a full 100-page graphic novel called Lucifer’s Universe, where every chapter accompanies one of the songs on the album (Music from Lucifer’s Universe).” Together, they “even built a giant space bong in the back yard with a smoke machine in it, so she sings her haunting lyrics from inside this huge smok-
ing bong!” It would be a bodacious prop to have on tour. “It’s modular, so it breaks down into pieces, but I don’t know about taking it through airport security.” Frenzal Rhomb, unlike other ‘90s rock bands that faded into obscurity only to suddenly hit the airwaves again a decade or more later, have been going strong for more than 20 years. “We hope to release our new album in September 2016. Gordy will be back on drums for the recording, so we’ve pushed the dates back a bit just to be safe. It’ll be great to get back out there.” When asked if he’s noticed his fans age over the years spent on-stage, Jay quips “most of our fans were about 13 when we started playing, so it’s not like they’re old. They’ve still got it!” Frenzal Rhomb are playing with Clowns, Heads of Charm and The Hard Aches at the Chelsea Heights Hotel on Friday 8th January, 2016. Tickets are available at the venue or from moshtix.com.au. bayside & mornington peninsula
INTERNATIONAL WOMENS DAY AT MOTH By Lachlan Bryan Looking ahead at the Mornington Peninsula’s live music calendar for 2016, it’s hard to go past the lineups scheduled for Music on The Hill, Red Hill’s monthly listening party at the football club pavilion. Especially impressive is the lineup scheduled for International Womens Day on March the 4th, headlined by Sally Seltman, one of Australia’s most successful and underrated songwriters. The artist often known as New Buffalo has released three impressive solo albums – two of which have been nominated for The Australian Music Prize – and one, 2007’s Somewhere, Anywhere, which won the ARIA for Best Adult Contemporary Album.
In some ways, the best known Seltman song is 1234, made famous by Canadian artist Feist (who co-wrote the track, originally titled “Sally’s Song” with Seltman). The track was used in a worldwide advertising campaign for the iPod Nano, making it one of the most heard songs of 2007 and placing in the Top 10 on America’s Billboard Charts. Supporting Seltman at MOTH is a selection of fine female singer songwriters including Western Australian-native (but now Peninsula local) Tash Parker, Melbournian Younis Clare and the gifted Indigenous performer and businesswoman Jessie Lloyd. Like many MOTH shows, this one is likely to sell out – so get your tickets quickly from www.musiconthehill.com.au
‘NO ENTERTAINMENT NO NONSENSE’ FOR A FAMILYFRIENDLY NEW YEAR’S EVE Mornington Peninsula Shire will again take a ‘No Entertainment-No Nonsense’ approach to New Year’s Eve on the southern peninsula, working in partnership with a communitybased steering committee, Police, residents and businesses to reduce negative impacts of celebrations in the area. The approach has assisted in providing a safe environment for holiday makers and residents since its introduction more than 10 years ago, in 2001-2002. Nepean Ward Councillor Tim Rodgers said: “The summer holiday period is a great time for the residents and visitors to the peninsula, and this strategy is to ensure everyone has a safe and happy New Year’s Eve.” Fellow Nepean Ward Councillor Hugh Fraser said: “The Shire’s community-led New Year’s Eve strategy is about maintaining and promoting a safe, family location for all to enjoy.” The Shire aims to make sure the southern peninsula is a safe place for people to enjoy the New Year period. The Shire’s liquor laws will apply from 30 Dec 1 Jan and precautions will be taken to ensure a safe and enjoyable New Year. There are no organised public events or activities on the southern Mornington Peninsula on New Year’s Eve. Southern Mornington Peninsula venues operating on New Year’s Eve will only be accessible by music arts events entertainment
people who have pre-purchased tickets. Alcohol bans apply from December 30 to midnight 1 January 2016. Possession of sealed and unsealed containers of liquor in public places is prohibited (unless sealed containers are being transported from point-of-sale to vehicle or private residence for consumption). Possession of any glass container while in a public place is prohibited. No camping is permitted in any public park or reserve, and all camping in permitted foreshore areas is fully-booked. There are no public displays of fireworks on New Year’s. A person must not possess or discharge fireworks without a permit (fines apply). Discharge of flares is prohibited except in case of an emergency. People are reminded to be extremely vigilant of fires; and particularly fire safe on the peninsula. The Rye Carnival will be closed on New Year’s Eve (day and night). The Rye Pier car park will be closed from approximately 4.00pm on New Year’s Eve. Point Nepean Road between Lyons Street and Dundas Street in Rye will be closed between 11pm 31 December to approx. 1am 1 January (at the discretion of Police). Detours will be in place. A free, one-way bus service will operate from Portsea to Safety Beach, stopping at designated bus stops. Security will be onboard at all times.
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THE BEAUTIFUL GIRLS The Beautiful Girls have announced they will be heading to The Grand Mornington on Friday 8 January as part of their annual Summer SoundSystem outings. Lead singer Mat McHugh has said that the band will perform again after a 9-month-long hiatus in which the singer/songwriter released his critically acclaimed album WAVES. The album was available to fans as a free download. It’s been a tumultuous year for Mat, who had to cancel the Australian tour in support of WAVES midway through due to extensive neck and back injuries. Mat says:”I’m feeling very healthy, the ongoing treatment is working and my neck/arm is improving so I’m looking forward to playing these TBG shows over summer (maybe no guitar playing though - yet)”. The Beautiful Girls will be doing show with a full band lineup. The performances will feature songs from The Beautiful Girls deep catalogue of albums as well as one or two musical surprises. Tickets at www.thegrand.net.au or call the venue on 5975 2001.
BRITISH INDIA Riding high on the success of their fifth album, Nothing Touches Me, Australian indie rockers British India will embark on a national tour to close 2015, playing The Grand Hotel, Mornington on Tuesday 29th December 2015. It has been an outstanding year for British India. Their fifth studio album Nothing Touches Me, debuted at #5 on the ARIA Albums Chart and saw the band complete their most successful national tour to date, with a string of 18 sold out shows, including three in their hometown of Melbourne. The four school friends emerged from Melbourne’s independent scene in 2007 with their critically acclaimed debut album Guillotine. They won the AIR Award that year and followed up the release with two Top 10 albums; Thieves in 2008 and Avalanche in 2010. The band signed to Liberation Music, releasing their fourth album Controller (their third consecutive ARIA Top 10 debut) in 2013, which also scored them their first ever gold record for their song “I Can Make You Love Me.” British India were handpicked to play with both The Rolling Stones on their recent “14 On Fire Tour,” and as replacement for The Black Keys at this year’s Bluesfest in Byron Bay. Their fifth album, Nothing Touches Me, reached #5 on the ARIA Albums Chart and yielded the singles “Wrong Direction” and “Suddenly.” “Wrong Direction” awarded the band their seventh-ever entry into triple J’s Hottest 100 countdown this year. British India kicked off their current 20-date tour on September 18, including two weeks of touring in the US. The acclaimed rockers are due to hit the Mornington Peninsula with perfect timing between Christmas & New Year, to play The Grand Hotel, Mornington on Tuesday 29th December 2015, with support Magic Bones. Tickets at www.thegrand.net.au or call the venue on 5975 2001.
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MINT Magazine December
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bayside & mornington peninsula
THE AUDREYS AT THE FLYING SAUCER CLUB By Lachlan Bryan Multiple ARIA-winning South Australians The Audreys are without doubt one of the finest roots acts this country has produced. At the band’s core is the duo Taasha Coates and Tristan Goodall, who first met in Adelaide before forming the band in Melbourne in the early 2000s. Coates’ distinctive voice and Goodall’s multi-instrumental work both compliment the subtle songwriting which has made its way onto Triple J, ABC regional and community radio stations for nearly a decade now. Fixtures on the festival circuit, The Audreys’ live show is fleshed out by a larger band, but exudes a warmth and gentility that would be at home in the most intimate of venues. They’ve also gained a reputation for their stage banter, known to be amongst the best in the business. On Sunday January 24, The Audreys venture to Elsternwick’s Flying Saucer Club where they’ll be joined by special guest, Gippsland’s Harry Hookey (who you may have seen opening for Kasey Chambers on tour in recent years). The show forms part of a loose set of tour dates for the band, hinting that a new album may be in the works. Visit www.flyingsaucerclub.com.au for tickets to the show, and treat yourself to one of the classiest acts you’ll see in 2016.
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MINT Magazine ď ¸ December
2015
bayside & mornington peninsula
LANTASIA - A LIGHT SCULPTURE EVENT IN THE NIGHT GARDEN Boneo Maze is a 27-acre nature-based attraction, nestled in the belly of Mornington Peninsula’s southern coastal townships. By day, the park is a hive of activity, offering peddle boats, maze treasure hunts, picnic gardens and mini golf. But after 6pm, the park’s magical side comes to life with the Mornington Peninsula’s inaugural lantern and light sculpture event: LANTASIA. For a limited season this summer, LANTASIA will open nightly from Boxing Day until Jan 27th, 2016. Direct from the Dandenong Festival of Lights, Boneo Maze invites visitors to experience an ethereal display of fantasy
music arts events entertainment
light sculptures, experienced as a journey into the night gardens. Born from an ancient tradition of lantern making, the beautiful sculptures are crafted over several months on hand-painted silk over wire frames. LANTASIA will feature more than 100 light creations and a long-held dream of owner Michael Wittingslow; “Many years ago I saw the lantern festivals in Singapore and thought how I’d love to bring them here to Australia”. “By opening the gardens of Boneo Maze at night and creating this unique light sculpture ambience, we’re hoping to bring a little bit of magic to the
Mornington Peninsula”.
of the Wittingslow family’s vintage carousel
Carefully placed along the 1.5 km of boardwalk, the colourful light sculpture scenes invite visitors to ‘watch the garden glow’. Casting long reflections are the larger 3m high sculptures that shimmer over the lakes and waterways. Charming, softly-lit creations of pink flamingos, ibis, lotus flowers, giant lilies, grasshoppers and butterflies brings LANTASIA to life. Offering a chance to view the light sculptures up close is the Dragon photo seat and falling tree light display: a feature in the Games garden. Add the music, lights and grandeur
(circa 1864) and the evening almost takes on a celestial atmosphere. Before departing, guests can play a round of night mini golf or enjoy a coffee, ice cream and dessert at the lakeside cafe. LANTASIA at Boneo Maze opens nightly from 26th December, 2015. Tickets available at the gate. Jump online for more information: www.lantasia.com.au
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Pictures: Belinda Strodder
JASON COLEMAN BRINGS WORLD FIRST URBAN THEATRE TO RYE Following on from the outrageously successful season of Jason Coleman’s Spiegelicious, Jason Coleman proudly presents “Razzle Dazzle,” performed exclusively in the Cabaret Cathedral in Rye! Located adjacent to the Rye Carnival Site on the ever popular foreshore, will sit the Cabaret Cathedral. Providing a state of the art, purpose built urban theatre space, exclusively for another Jason Coleman premiere event! Jason and his crew will treat the coastal community with an extravagant, lavish and
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MINT Magazine December
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unforgettable Cabaret experience in a world first venue! Enter a state of the art, purpose built theatre that marries the age-old art form of Cabaret with a contemporary, captivating and modernised venue. The theatre itself is a world first. A customengineered, 240 seat, 4 level theatre, created entirely from repurposed shipping containers. Designed by Jason Coleman and his team of talented artisans, the concept was derived from his desire to move away from ‘traditional’ theatres and provide a
unique, fully transportable space that can bring the magic of live performance to the people.
A lavish collection of cabaret, circus, dancing and singing.
Christened “Cabaret Catherdral,” the carefully chosen name came from Jason’s combined love of cabaret, art and contrast. Owner of the largest dance enterprise in the world, Jason Coleman’s Ministry of Dance, Jason has added the Cabaret Cathedral to his impressive list of world firsts. Jason Coleman’s Razzle Dazzle is the epitome of world class cabaret.
6.30pm and 9pm* Tues – Sun 17th December 2015 – 24th January, 2016 General Admission from $49.50* New Years Eve $120* Booking fees apply. Show times subject to scheduling Tickets at www.stickytickets.com.au
Stylish, surprising and sophisticated!
Opens Thursday 17th December
Cabaret Cathedral. Adjacent to the Rye Carnival Site. Corner Dundas Street & Point Nepean Road, Rye 3941. bayside & mornington peninsula
JASON COLEMAN’S
IT’S RYE’S TURN TO BE RAZZLE DAZZLED “Jason Coleman is a master craftsman of all things showbiz”” David Atkins
WORLD CLASS CABARET Surprising, stylish and sophisticated entertainment
Staring Wayne Scott Kermond and Jason Coleman Book Now at stickytickets.com.au facebook/cabaretcathedral Cabaret Cathedral: C th d l Adj Adjacentt tto R Rye C Carnival i l site, it CNR D Dundas Street & Point Nepean Road, RYE, VIC
FESTIVAL HITS THE WATERFRONT The Frankston Waterfront Festival will return this January. A Mornington Peninsula summer favourite, the annual festival attracts 35,000 people over two days and features live music, free activities, market stalls, food, wine, and much more. The Cold Chisel Tribute Band will lead the charge on the Live n’ Local Main Stage, while The Jackson Four, Avenues End, Eel Race Road, The Chris Commerford Band, Peta Evans-Taylor Band and more are set to perform. Other performances at the event will take place on The Voice of Frankston Stage and the Fresh Entertainment Stage featuring the talents of local artists ranging from live bands to chilled out acoustic acts. The Beer, Wine and Cider Garden will be home to the weekend’s live music, while the Mornington Peninsula Brewery, Cheeky Rascal Cider, and new additions Grand Ridge Brewery and Dromana Estate will be showcasing the best of the Mornington Peninsula. And for those in need of fuel, the festival food court
will feature a range of gourmet food from across the region including calamari, paella, street food from Saigon, Indian, Mexican, pulled pork and beef sliders, gourmet ice cream, sweet and savoury danishes, frozen chocolate bananas, Iced Tea, coffee and lots more. Aside from the music, attendees can also try out sailing, out-rigging, fly boarding, snorkelling and more. Down by the bay, the Waterfront Festival will offer opportunities to learn new skills like swing dance, bowling, chess, yoga and gardening. Those who love to shop can head over to the market stalls, which will feature locally and hand-made jewellery, ladies’ and children’s fashion and accessories, skin care and plenty of tasty treats, spices and other local hand-crafted items. And finally, there will be a variety of amusements and rides for all ages plus motor bike rides and chances to meet a mermaid. The Frankston Waterfront Festival runs on Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 January. For more information, visit frankston.vic.gov.au or find the event on Facebook; Frankston Waterfront Festival.
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THE FABULOUS JACKSON FOUR By Terri Lee Fatouros Peter Jackson is the dynamic, high-octane front man of The Jackson Four, yep four, not 4, and showbiz ain’t no stranger to him either. When you grow up in England with a father, Peter ‘Hank’ Jackson working at Abbey Road Studios for a decade from 1960 on, during the Beatles era, you’re going to meet some pretty interesting people. As a young boy, Jackson met The Beatles several times while waiting for his dad in the studio’s lunchroom. During breaks in their recording sessions, the lads would often buy him drinks or ice cream and chat and joke around with him. He also met Celia Black, Petula Clark, Eric Clapton, The Hollies, Freddie & The Dreamers, and Graham Nash before he went to America to form Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Wow what a resume! In fact, during the recording of Yellow Submarine song, to add a sense of reality, The Beatles recorded it in the boiler room with the help of Peter’s dad who lent his voice to the mix of background voices saying “Captain, Captain, full speed ahead Mr. Jackson, full speed ahead,” as well as making the banging and clanging sounds you hear during the song. When the family moved to Australia a few years later, his dad got a job working at 3DB radio station on The Dick Cranbourne Show, which was a travelling country music show, big in the ’50s and ’60s. This gave rise to the younger Jackson performing on the show, kick-starting his career in the industry. A few years later, Peter junior did his first demo tape with Greg Macainsh of Skyhooks fame followed by gigging in various bands. However in 1985 he joined a wicked rhythm and blues band called The Racouters, “Teller of Tall Tales” and gained notoriety. Jumping forward to present day, this vital and very experienced muso has his own band, The Jackson Four, an accomplished 4-piece outfit with a big attitude and dynamic, tight sound. With the likes of Jeff Mead on sax, Nick Miriesch on drums, Peter Jackson with vocals and percussion (these three
have gigged together since 1989 from the days of Sticky Soul band), and newer member Gary Jones on a Hammond B3 organ, The Jackson Four are making headways in reputation and giving solid performances. There’s no guitar in this band and quite frankly, none is needed. Says Jackson, “Late in 2012 I had the idea that a quartet with just sax, drums, vocal, and percussion built around the Hammond B3 Organ could make for an interesting sound and texture. And of course musical adventure! With handpicked musicians and style that occupy the space where Blues meets Jazz, or the crossroads of Blues and Jazz if you like. It wasn’t that we were against guitars; it was more that we wanted to see if we could build a distinctive Blues-Jazz sound based around the Hammond B3.” Jackson’s dynamic personality and showbiz persona oozes through and his timing and rhythm is tight and energetic. He knows how to draw the crowd out and get them involved in the music. Their sound is best described as “Georgie Fame meets Louis Jordan, both get drunk and go to
TIDBITS & TALES The Blues, Hip, Jive Dance Party is coming, The Blues, Hip, Jive Dance Party is coming, oh, did I say The Blues, Hip, Jive Dance Party is on its way? Keep your eyes peeled in next month’s Mint for your chance to be a part of this groovy event and to win some cool stuff. Beach 162 at 162 Beach St Frankston is not only a great place to catch quality
music arts events entertainment
New Orleans and my goodness, what a jam that is!” They have taken the cool blues of Georgie Fame’s R&B snug, jazzy sound and mixed it with the jump, jive and swing of Louis Jordan. Tight, polished, sophisticated and full of grunt! The Jackson Four’s new album, Love the Life captures their vibrancy with trance like Louisiana rhythms and crossroads of blues, groove and jazz. The classic sound of the Hammond B3 is infused with the interplay of sax and soulful vocals to form the band’s characteristic sound, all underpinned by a foundation of rhythmic grooves from drums and percussion to round out the quartet. Internationally, the album has had continuous airplay on a number of programs on iconic New Orleans station WWOZ, the station that was a central character of its own in the popular TV series “Treme.” “We visited New Orleans earlier this year and had the privilege of meeting and jamming with many of New Orleans/Louisiana finest musicians, including legendary trumpeter and singer, Kermit Ruffins, whom we exchanged CDs with! Our ren-
dition of the song “Congo Square” on the album is dedicated to the generous artists of the Congo Square Preservation Society who invited us to perform with them in Congo Square, which is part of the Louis Armstrong Memorial Park.” Love the Life is being played on many radio stations in Europe and the UK, as well as making headways around our Australian shores on most of the blues radio shows. The Jackson Four plan to write and produce their second album, and that’s going to be something to look forward to as half of it will be made up of original songs, including a guest horn section, guest players and female vocals. Something I look forward to hearing because if it is as good as Love the Life then it will be absolutely awesome! The Jackson Four are back at The Heritage in Balnarring in December and January and gigging at various local venues in between. wwwjacksonfour.com.au facebook.com/jacksonfourquartet Bookings (61) 0419230860
By Terri Lee Fatouros
musicians playing on a Sunday arvo in a chilled atmosphere while eating delicious food, it’s now boasting the ‘Open Mic Lounge 162 Beach’ on alternate Thursday nights. Michael Moss runs this and he plans to showcase local talent and feature guest artists. The first Open Mic night held recently was an absolute success. Guest artist Maria Cassar was joined by husband & wife team Nicole and Jason from Safari
Motel, the fabulous Andy Phillips, Sally Carter on violin (beautiful), Jeremy Vance, Jake Wood and Jenny Eborall. It was a superb night of acoustics. The next Open Mic should be Thursday 17th Dec starting at 6.30 but please check with Michael Moss first. If you’re a musician and want to be part of this then contact Michael on 0432341968.
https://web.facebook.com/ Musolounge162beach/ Well lovelies, another year has sped by so next time you read this it will be 2016. OMG!! I wish you all a wonderfully happy, safe and joyous Christmas and an absolute hoot of a New Years Eve. God bless.
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HIP TO BE COUNTRY By Lachlan Bryan
2015 was a huge year in country and roots music. Mainly thanks to a man named Chris Stapleton, this will be known as the year when outlaw country made its triumphant return. Without further ado, here’s my Top 10 country albums of 2016. It’s meant as a buying guide, and as such I haven’t ranked these albums against each other – but rest assured these are ten discs you MUST have in your collection. You should start with The Last Day of Winter by Jed Rowe. His work is always thoughtful and his latest is his best yet. Produced by Jeff Lang with help from Justin Bernasconi and Cat Canteri, this is an album for adults who appreciate the subtleties of fine, understated storytelling.
produced by Matt Fell and combines Fanny’s strong songwriting and alt attitude with Fell’s pop sensibility. Catherine Britt has made headlines this year due to her brave breast-cancer battle. Despite absences from the road, her album Boneshaker has still reached a lot of people and rightly so, for it’s her best yet. Britt has continued to reinvent herself and is careful to never do the same thing twice – the result is a challenging and inspiring record. Look out for the great duet with legendary Steve Earle.
Next up you should get hold of Shane Nicholson’s ARIA Winning Album Hell Breaks Loose. Much has been said about Shane and this record and I’m pleased to say it lives up to the hype. A fine release from one of our very best allround artists.
I mentioned Chris Stapleton at the start of the column and he’s pretty hard to go past this year. His album Traveller won three big American country music awards recently and his performance with Justin Timberlake made headlines. It may be his debut solo record but he’s been a hit songwriter in Nashville for ten years – so it’s hardly surprising that the songs and musicianship are so outstanding.
Keeping it local still, Fanny Lumsden’s Small Town Big Shot has impressed many, including me, this year. The album was
The final three that make my list are all by established artists. Jason Isbell’s Something More than Free is a good followup to his
stand-out Southeastern record of 2013, Lindi Ortega’s Faded Gloryville continues the Canadian songstress’s rise to front-line country star status and Kacey Musgraves’ (pictured) Pageant Material features Are You Sure? – a hidden track which is a duet with Willie Nelson and ranks among the best things I’ve heard in a long time. And finally, I should note that my band and I released an album in this genre this year and, whilst it’s doing pretty well and has scored a Golden Guitar Nomination for Best Alt Country Album, I’m going to leave it out of this list for obvious reasons of bias (but feel free to look for The Mountain by Lachlan Bryan and The Wildes at your local store or on iTunes). Lachlan Bryan is primarily a singersongwriter. His third album Black Coffee is out now. He also moonlights as a gifted observer and music journalist, writing monthly for mint magazine on all things folk/country/bluegrass. If you’ve got a new release, upcoming show or you’d like to get in touch with Lachlan, drop him a line at lachlan@mintmagazine.com.au
BLUES ILLUSTRATED By Greg Fisher
ROWAN MUMFORD Growing up in a musical family, surrounded by talented siblings it is no surprise that at the ripe old age of 26 Rowan Mumford (pictured) now finds himself as the resident Hammond player for JESSE VALACH PRESENTS BLUES MOUNTAIN and a go to player for many other acts in the Melbourne Blues/Soul/Funk music community. Essentially a self-taught keyboard player, Rowan accredits much of his personal musical growth to listening to his father playing Blues and R&R around the house from a very early age and credits his love of the Hammond to a very special relationship with his grandfather. Following a Starlight Foundation nomination at the age of 15, Rowan was introduced to his first Yamaha Keyboard at the age of 15 and graduated to his first Hammond at age 18. After entering the Melbourne Blues Appreciation Society (MBAS) Youth in Blues program in 2008, Rowan was awarded the Warren Hall award for Most Outstanding Musician in 2009 from where he moved to the newly formed JUSTIN YAPP BAND; and in mid 2012 was ultimately recruited by Jessie Valach. Since that time Rowan has toured extensively around town and in the Australian festival scene, has contributed to two very
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popular albums with the JESSE VALACH PRESENTS BLUES MOUNTAIN and an album with TIM GRIFFEN AND THE INSTRUMENTS as well as undertaking studio work on various compilation pieces and other specialist collaboration work.
WOMEN WHO SING THE BLUES MUSIC FESTIVAL Together, Frances Fairhall (aka Kansas Kitty) and the WOMEN IN BLUES radio show at Southern FM have produced a 15 track compilation album focusing on the women who sing the Blues. This album highlights classic blues covers blended with plenty of original and contemporary material where every tune demonstrates a slightly different slice of the genre. A mix of local and international Blues women have contributed to the album and the result is a diverse collection of artists who reflect the female take on the blues genre. In this release, Kansas Kitty has blended music with that raw vintage feel, some of the older styles of Blues music, some forgotten stars of the pre-war era and even some pieces that you may never have heard before. After 18 months of publishing and broadcasting, Kansas Kitty has taken
her passion for women who sing the Blues to a new level. Over 150 submissions, totalling 12 hours of music has been distilled into this first album and one can only hope that this visionary approach to presenting and publishing women who sing the Blues is just the beginning of more compilation works of this kind. Kansas Kitty and her team have worked tirelessly in this endeavour and many artists will benefit as a result of her tremendous effort. For more information please go https://www.facebook.com/ WomenInBlues
RED DIRT RED HEART The past few years have been a great musical journey for Russell Morris who has created and released two albums of blues and roots music that pertains to some of the iconic characters, events and moments in Australian history and folk law. RED DIRT RED HEART is the final instalment by Russell Morris in his Blues & Roots Album trilogy. Following on from his critically acclaimed releases; SHARKMOUTH & VAN DIEMEN’S LAND, RED DIRT RED HEART tells a story of the Australian interior and the people who have inhabited this country for thousands of years. This album goes on to tell the stories of two
bushrangers, another about a beautiful town, a song about a loner, a recluse, and an escape artist, a snake and the spectacular Nullarbor Desert. RED DIRT RED HEART is available in good music outlets
PENINSULA BLUES CLUB TThe Peninsula Blues Club is the home of the Blues on the Mornington Peninsula and presents live music on the second Sunday of each month at the Frankston Bowling Club, 64 Yuillie Steet (Cnr Yuille & William St) Frankston South.
AUSSIE BLUES VID OF THE WEEK Bag ‘o Nails at the Soundbar in Rosebud: Greg writes monthly for Mint and broadcasts on Southern FM - if you know of something special happening in the Blues world please drop him a line at: bluesillustrated@gmail.com or facebook. com/GregFisherBluesIllustrated
bayside & mornington peninsula
PENINSULA SURFERS’ CHOPPY RIDE TO NATIONALS By Keith Platt On Saturday 12 December, Peninsula Surfriders Club claimed consecutive titles by winning the Original Source Australian Boardriders Battle at Phillip Island. The event was held at the more protected Smiths Beach due to a large swell and strong onshore winds. PSC won with 5800 points, followed by Portland Boardriders Club, 5025; Phillip Island, 4850; 13th Beach, 4562; Torquay, 4474; and South West, 3874. Peninsula and Portland will compete in the national finals at Cronulla in January. “It was pretty tense in the Teams final,” PSC team World Surfing League qualifying series surfer Caiden Fowler said. “We were lucky enough to get through some surfers quick towards the end and everyone did their job. “We are super stoked to go back to the national final in Cronulla. It’s such a good environment and a really good opportunity to represent Peninsula and Victoria.” The peninsula club also claimed a women’s division heat, helped along by Georgia Fish in the teams division. music arts events entertainment
Portland was led by former Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach finalist, Adam Robertson who scored the second highest wave of the day, a nine point ride in the Teams division.
happy to put on the jersey for Portland.”
“We are only a small club and we are still in our infancy, but it is a great result for us and the town,” Robertson said.
Results: www.surfingvic.com. Series details: www.australianboardridersbattle.com or www.surfingvic.com
“I don’t compete individually anymore, but I am proud of where I grew up and always
To join Peninsula Surfriders’ Club go to www.psc.org.au
Phillip Island surfer Carl Wright claimed the highest wave score of the day (9.17) and won the hack of the day.
Winners in water: Top, members of the Peninsula Surfriders Club after their win at Phillip Island, front row from left, president Ben Hallam, Georgia Fish, captain Caiden Fowler, 2015 club champion Mikey Barber, Adam Morris and junior surfer Gully Eelhead; back row ,Mark Howey, senior men’s surfer Andrew Everist, junior reserve Jet Dickinson, Chris Fowler, Haden Forest, coach Lachlan Mc Donald, Ian Burns, Joel Wookey and vice-president Rob Hanley. Choppy stylists: Despite the chop, Georgia Fish, above left, and Caiden Fowler, above, make the most of their heats at Phillip Island.
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YOUTUBE GEMS CHRISTMAS SONGS YOU NEED TO HEAR... FAIRYTALE OF NEW YORK - THE POGUES Undisputedly the greatest Christmas song ever written. ‘You’re a bum, You’re a punk, You’re an old slut on junk. Lying there almost dead on a drip in that bed’ says it all.
THE SEASON’S UPON US - DROPKICK MURPHYS The Dropkick Murphys make us all feel better by showing there is at least one family out there more dysfunctional than our own.
CHRISTMASTIME - SMASHING PUMPKINS Everybody knows that Billy Corgan is hard to get a smile out of. This must have been the record company’s idea!
RIVER - JONI MITCHELL Not to be a downer, but Joni Mitchell reminds us that Christmas isn’t a fun time for everybody.
CHRISTMAS IN HOLLIS Run DMC stumble across Santa’s wallet, containing his licence with ‘A million dollars in it, cold hundreds of G’s, Enough to buy a boat and matching car with ease’.
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Mint Magazine, PO Box 588, Hastings, 3915 Email: letters@mintmagazine.com.au
Dear Mint Magazine, Firstly, let me say how honoured I was to be chosen to be Mint Magazine’s official delegate to the recently held Paris Climate Change Conference. When you passed me on the street recently, I actually asked you for some “small change” and was not trying to discuss “climate change”. That you were currently trying to find a suitable candidate to go to Paris was a stroke of luck for me, and the ensuing trip to Paris was one that I’ll treasure forever, even if I had to travel there in the plane’s cargo hold, squashed into a guitar case. My time presenting to 200 world leaders on Mint’s thoughts on climate change was spent well. Although I only had five minutes, I managed to perform an excellent cover of Snoop Dogg’s Drop It Like It’s Hot to the raucous applause of the entire crowd. The last few bars yelling “put your lighters in the air/if global warming is something you care... about” saw a sea of mobile phones in the audience, and was one of the highlights of the conference. The rest of the negotiations were a slog. Trying to get 200 world leaders to agree what to have for breakfast is hard enough. Trying to get them to agree on a policy to save the entire world is absolutely impossible. What actually happened differed quite noticeably from what you have read in the mainstream media. Thank goodness Mint Magazine was represented so the truth can be told. It all started when an argument broke out over items to be banned under the new climate control measures. The insistence of some countries to add tabasco sauce, dencorub and Chinese burns to the list of banned items caused an uproar. Obviously, the United States didn’t want tabasco sauce banned; apparently it represents over 2% of their gross domestic output, and is their second largest export, only just beaten by mullets, which they export a bucketload of each year. China took great cultural offence at the suggestion that Chinese burns be banned, saying that it was an attack on their sovereignty. Our own Greg Hunt took the stage to argue that dencorub shouldn’t be on the banned list and that he relied on it heavily during his annual 500 kilometre walks around his electorate each winter. Things were at a standstill. The entire agreement was on a knife’s edge, and it was quite possible that everybody would be going home empty handed, having achieved nothing more than a fantastic tax-payer funded party. Then what can only be described as a “miracle” happened. There was an audible ruffle of robes, and jangling of mayoral chains, and in what can only be describes as a ‘Kanye West storming Taylor Swift’s stage’ moment, our own Mayor,
Graham Pittock, was on the stage. What happened next was hard to accurately document. I had been supplied the incorrect headphones, so Cr Pittock’s speech was being pumped into my ears in Korean, meaning I had to translate it on my iPhone as I went. It started like this... “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” The crowd hushed, and Cr Pittock continued through his speech which lasted a mere 272 words. By the end, the mood had changed completely. North Korea’s President Kim Jong-un was weeping like a baby. And US President Barak Obama was seen to give China’s President , Xi Jinping, a Chinese burn to express solidarity with their rival superpower. Things just got better and better from there on in. The agreement was saved, and the world will no longer become like Waterworld in that crap Kevin Costner movie. Here ends my true account of what happened. To all those people who are bemoaning the fact that the Mornington Peninsula Shire sent a delegation to the Paris Climate Change Conference, just rest assured, that what we did there will affect mankind for a very, very long time. Yours sincerely, Gavin Hoopenthrew PCCC representative - Mint Magazine Dear Mint Magazine, I got hold of the last edition of Mint Magazine, and really enjoyed reading it. Possibly my favourite article was the one about the Prime Minister who was terribly misunderstood and who got knifed in the back by his colleagues. Did I read that or just dream I read that? Regards, Tony Abbott Dear Mint Magazine, I don’t know what all the fuss is about. Ice this, ice that. They say it sends people crazy. A few of us from the retirement home decided to give it a try, and I can tell you, it was rubbish. We ate about three trays of it, and it had no effect. Hector then got his tongue stuck on the inside of the freezer, and the fire brigade had to be called. That was the only excitement we got out of it. Oh well, back to my crocheting. Regards, Myrtle Magillingshow bayside & mornington peninsula
CLASSIC CUTS
Well folks it has finally happened. Looks like I’ve had one too many sugar fixes! Far be it from me to indulge in the world of glam rock but I couldn’t resist reviewing one of my favourite albums of the glitz era. Released in 1974 Desolation Boulevard was British band Sweets’ third album and includes one of their biggest hits. Fox on the run was written by all of the band members. The album version is different to the 7-inch single which stormed up the charts peaking at number one in Australia, two in the UK and even managed to make it to number five in the US. Lyrically the song is about groupies, but musically it is pure energy chart-seeking pop at its best. The original version is the one on the album but a re recording was done shortly after in order to achieve a more commercially accessible, pop oriented version for a single
release. Although the album contains one of their biggest hits, it does not rely on it in any way. In fact the album opens with another strong contender, “Six Teens,” which was also
By Ray McGrotty (Record City)
released as a single and charted well in many countries including Australia. It was one of the two album tracks penned by the hit making glamsters of the seventies, Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn who wrote many hits of that decade for artists such as Exile, Racey. Toni Basil (Mickey), Smokie and Suzi Quatro. However, by the time the album was due to be recorded, the band were relying less on the tinsel and trappings of the Chinn/Chapman compositions and instead concentrated on honing their own writing skills. “Solid Gold Brass” is a good example of this and shows they were quite capable of writing the necessary material needed for a great album all by themselves. “Turn It Down” is the other Chinn/Chapman track and although a pretty good song, it’s by no means any better than the ones the band were writing. In fact it was one of the three tracks not included on the US release along with
“Breakdown” and “Medusa” which I think is a bit of a shame, as Medusa adds some real variation and individuality to the album. (But the Americans know what they want – look what they did to the Beatles albums!!!) “Lady Starlight” is another nice little rockin’ track whilst “Man With the Golden Arm” is a bit of a strange one but does feature an interesting drum solo which momentarily incorporates the famous drum intro to “Ballroom Blitz,” their smash-hit single from the previous year. Interestingly, the album finishes with a cover of The Who’s “My Generation.” The connection here is that The Who’s guitarist Pete Townsend was a strong supporter of the band. In fact, The Sweet got their first big break as an opening act for one of The Who’s concerts. All in all, Desolation Boulevard is one loud rockin’ album, albeit with a touch of the glitters!
JERRY LEE LEWIS AND THE NASHVILLE TEENS – LIVE AT THE STAR CLUB, HAMBURG By Stuart McCullough I know what you’re thinking. Has he taken leave of his senses or is this a clerical error of epic proportions? Hasn’t he heard “Rudebox” by Robbie Williams? Has this column completely abandoned any last, remaining vestige of integrity and gone flat-out troppo? The answers to these questions in no particular order are; yes, no and probably. For what else could explain the appearance of the greatest rock and roll album of all time appearing in the column entitled “Missed the Mark?”
third), Myra. She also happened to be his cousin. Not to mention thirteen years old. Controversy duly ensued and he vanished from playlists.
Make no mistake, Jerry Lee Lewis and the Nashville Teens’ 1964 masterpiece, “Live at the Star Club, Hamburg” is nothing short of genius. It’s hard to think of another album that’s as visceral, vital and (quite frankly) violent as this one. Others may be content to tickle the ivories; Jerry Lee prefers a stand up brawl. That this record exists at all is nothing short of a miracle. That’s because, by this time, Jerry Lee’s career was over.
When Jerry Lee Lewis plays the piano, you can hear the hammers collide with the strings. From the moment he starts singing about his “mean woman,” the place erupts into something just short of a riot. By the time he bangs out “High School Confidential,” mayhem rips through the speakers. It reminds you that, once upon a time, rock and roll music was dangerous.
In 1964, Jerry Lee Lewis couldn’t get arrested. That changed in 1976, when he turned up in Gracelands, crashing his Lincoln
Despite his reduced circumstances, Jerry Lee continued to work. Even as comeback after comeback failed, he performed like a man possessed. Which brings us, inevitably to Hamburg. From the moment he and the Nashville Teens are introduced, it’s obvious that a room full of drunk Germans are in for the greatest night of their lives.
Continental into the gates, armed with both a bottle of champagne and a loaded Derringer pistol, demanding to see Elvis. But that was later. Along with Chuck Berry and Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis invented rock and roll in the 1950s but it all went pear shaped during a trip to Europe in 1958. Jerry Lee landed at Heathrow, accompanied by his wife (his
As the band tear through their set, some of the greatest rock songs of all time are rolled out including “Great Balls of Fire” and the set-closer, “Good Golly Miss Molly.” By the
end of the performance, piano keys must litter the stage like boxer’s teeth. It is nothing short of extraordinary. This album is the Rosetta Stone, the Magna Carta and the instruction manual for your air-conditioning unit all rolled into one. So why does it appear under “Missed the Mark” rather than “Classic Cuts?” Because it was never released in America. The album that should have resurrected his career was not available in Jerry Lee’s own country. Jerry Lee Lewis would need to wait a little longer before his career was back on track. But here’s the upside. “Live at the Star Club, Hamburg” is available for purchase now. If you don’t own it, go and get a copy. Immediately. Play it at every Christmas function you attend and marvel at how the party kicks up several notches as a result. That it failed to mend Jerry Lee’s tattered reputation was a tragedy. That you can buy it now simply by clicking a mouse button is proof positive that we live in a golden age. Go. Purchase. Enjoy. And have a very Merry Christmas.
mintmagazine.com.au music arts events entertainment
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PASSION FOR COOOKING - RESPECT FOR FOOD By Melissa Walsh With another chefs hat awarded to Terminus for the fourth consecutive year, Flinders Hotel head chef Giuseppe Pisciotta takes it all in his stride, remaining passionate about cuisine and inspired by his Italian upbringing. Born in 1981 in a small town called Mazara Del Valla, in the region of Palermo, Sicily, Giuseppe grew up surrounded by food with his mum and Nona teaching him how to make pasta, and quickly becoming the biggest influence in his life. “My best memories are at home when my Nona and mum would show me how to make pasta, and eating food was a time when everyone would come together and enjoy each other’s company,” says Giuseppe. “It made me want to be a chef and gave me a strong passion for cooking,
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and sharing this experience with other people. It all started when I was three years old. My Nona just loved food and her thing was to keep all the family together around the table. I will never forget the smell of the sauces in the morning and the fresh baked bread. Nona would call me at 6am and my cousins and I would make bread with her.” Although a far cry from southern Italy, Giuseppe has continued his family tradition of cooking right here on the Mornington Peninsula, after coming to Australia for a holiday five years ago, and deciding to stay. “I did my apprenticeships in local restaurants in Italy, as by that stage the family had moved to Milan. My most memorable time was at Camp di Cent
Pertigh, a famous restaurant in a 16th century farmhouse, between Milan and Como,” says Giuseppe.
These days, 34-year-old Giuseppe calls the peninsula his home, and has settled into the relaxed lifestyle beautifully.
Learning to cook with his family, and growing vegetables and meat on the farm, combined with classic Italian training was the best education, young Giuseppe could have asked for, but he still dreamed of working further afield and loved watching other chefs create and learning from them.
“I start my days going for a run along the beach or taking my two dogs for a walk, and love working in Flinders,” says the chef who has been working at the hotel for two years, and become an integral factor behind the success of Terminus, embracing his role as head chef and continuing to inspire his team with creative culinary flare.
“I worked in Michelin star restaurants and was able to learn from famous executive chefs like Carlo Cracco and Claudio Sadler, and when I came to Melbourne, worked at Caffe é Cuccina, Caffe Baci and Atlantic restaurant at Crown Casino, and Piazza San Marco as a business partner.”
“We have a great kitchen garden and we all love going out and foraging for fresh produce to cook the day’s meals with. It is important to have respect for all the ingredients we work with, from the fruit and vegetables to the meat which a farmer has had to nurture,” says Giuseppe bayside & mornington peninsula
explaining that it is about honoring the produce as well as being able to cook. ”To be a good chef takes a lot of dedication, patience and love of food. If you cook at a restaurant, or at home, you cook to make someone like it. What you cook has to be something that you would like yourself and you must cook with passion.” For the Italian chef this means recreating his heritage as much as possible and paying homage to his Nona using the basic elements that she taught him to use. “My favorite item on the menu is the handmade ravioli which is my Nona’s recipe. I just change the way it is presented but I have kept it in my heart for a long time since I was a child,” he says. Giuseppe explains that most of the dishes have some Italian background, fused with Australian and modern European influences. The unique dining experience at Terminus takes you on a journey of the senses with a strong influence on seasonal produce and some all year round favorites. “We are preparing for the summer menu now and have aged duck which is very popular in Australia with Italian radicchio, roast onion pieces and crumble made out
of pancetta and duck livers. The scallops and seafood are very popular too, as is our marinated salmon with sesame crust, and we use Australian and local ingredients as much as possible. Being in Flinders, the seafood is amazing with baby red mullet, and calamari locally caught,” says Giuseppe, who has taken himself off to the pier to catch calamari on the odd occasion, albeit unsuccessfully. Regardless of what Giuseppe is cooking, he insists the most important thing is to have respect for everything you put on the plate. “My secret to success is love and passion for food, and respect for every item on the plate. It has all been through a journey and other people have had to work hard to make it happen, whether its beef, chicken or vegetables, you must have respect for the people who have grown and touched the food. The meat on the plate has to be respected. It was once alive, eating grass and drinking just like us. I try to teach that to my boys in the kitchen, respect for food and passion for cooking. My Nona taught me that.” Flinders Hotel Terminus Phone 5989 0201.www.flindershotel.com. au
GPO HOTEL MORNINGTON PENINSULA
Rebranded, Refurbished, Refined Kitchen open all day - Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner
Upcoming entertainment and current menus at www.thegpo.com.au 1003 POINT NEPEAN RD, ROSEBUD 5982 3200
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Peter Helliar The Project.
Michala Banas
Upper Middle Bogan and Winners & Losers.
Damon Game
au
That Sugar F ilm and Love My Wa y.
SEEN TO BE HEARD By Andrea Louise Thomas
Sydney photomedia artist, Anne Zahalka has created iconic images of the everchanging face of Australian culture over the past two and a half decades. Her work explores issues of national identity, gender, multiculturalism and cultural stereotypes with critical insight, good humour and spectacular technique. She’s represented in all of Australia’s national galleries and in international collections. Her explorations of Australian leisure pursuits and beach culture are some of her most recognized subjects.
MINT: Where and when did your passion for photography begin? ZAHALKA: At art school I was introduced to a whole range of media but loved the magic and immediacy of photography. When I started studying photography more seriously, I began working with images in a very constructed way. While I was interested in taking photographs that captured things in the real world, I was also interested in trying to create my own world through images. MINT: What’s the difference between photography and photo media? ZAHALKA: Photography is working in a traditional way from a specific body of knowledge and history. Photo media is work developed across a range of photo-based technologies including movies and other film or digital media in a more expanded and conceptual way. MINT: Since shooting The Bathers in 1989 what do you find most different at the beach today? ZAHALKA: I think there’s a lot more ethnic and cultural diversity. In 1989 it was a lot more European and Anglo rather than Asian, Latin American, African or Middle Eastern. In making the New Bathers (2013) I wanted to create something that commented on these changes and the different make up of this beach scene – trying to reflect a combination of characters to tease out new meanings and challenge some of the old ideas and stereotypes. MINT: The beach features significantly in your work. Why is that? ZAHALKA: I’m interested in the way the beach has come to define us and how it has been represented and to look behind the façade of the bronzed Aussie and portray those others who don’t figure as prominently in this picture and give voice to those groups. music arts events entertainment
MINT: Do you think photography allows greater or lesser scope for social and political commentary than other art forms? ZAHALKA: Greater in many ways because it’s a visual language that everybody understands. In photography you’re working with a realism that painting and sculpture have to create. Part of the way I work is to conceptualize and plan my images and build different layers into them. These more constructed works are very much a way of speaking about something sociological or political that is current. MINT: What Australian social or political issues interest you the most now? ZAHALKA: I am very concerned about the demonising of Muslims. I find any kind of racism abhorrent. I’m particularly bothered by the treatment of refugees and the brutal policies of putting people in detention. Our treatment of our Indigenous people is shocking and disgraceful. It’s difficult to understand. My work attempts to give people from different backgrounds a voice by making my work more inclusive and allowing for this diversity to be reflected. Coming from a migrant family who were refugees makes me even more sympathetic to their plight. MINT: How would you characterize our national identity? ZAHALKA: We are a nation made up of a multitude of different identities and the figure of the Aussie that doesn’t quite fit that. Working on projects such as Welcome to Sydney (2002) introduced me to a very diverse group of people from a variety of migrant backgrounds and areas of Sydney that I hadn’t known. With so many culturally distinct communities living here our national identity is less simply characterized which I think is a good thing. MINT: What would you most like to be remembered for? ZAHALKA: I feel very fortunate to have forged a career as an artist. I think I’ve made work that has responded to at a particular moment with a contemporary medium that people relate to. These kinds of images dealing with Australian history and culture resonated with audiences. Today my work is being studied and collected! I already feel I have left a mark. See Zahalka’s The Bathers in On the Beach at Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery from December 11 to February 28, 2016. MPRG, Civic Reserve, Mornington. 5975 4395 www.mprg.mornpen.vic.gov.au.
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FAC’S 2016 PROGRAM IS LIVE WITH LIFE Frankston Arts Centre Come and live, life, live at Frankston Arts Centre. We have a range of new exciting shows coming to you in 2016 that cannot be missed.
focuses on the mental illness that plagued a man that would become one of the most revered artists in history.
Ara Ketu will be the first show to kick start the program for 2016. Featuring Brazilian carnival dancers, Afro-Brazilian music, dazzling costumes and stunning dance – it promises to create an irresistible experience. Don’t miss this night of pulsating rhythms and percussive grooves.
The Shakespearean classic Othello is a production of violent exploration of the thin line that separates love and jealousy, a relentless journey of vicious passion, contemporarily depicted as only Bell Shakespeare can.
The smash-hit production winner of the Obie Award, 4000 miles is a poignant and unsentimental family drama about the relationship between a grandson and grandmother from one of America’s brightest playwrights. Vincent is a dance theatre work about the life, loss and love of Vincent Van Gogh. This production
G I F T
Experience the classic story of Wuthering Heights, reworked for the stage featuring a breathtaking design and a stellar cast, shake & stir invites you to drop by the Heights and revisit an old favourite. A physical theatre performance without dialogue, If These Walls Could Talk, speaks volumes through movement, dance and music and a touch of visual arts.
there are a number of performances to delight the whole family in 2016. Circus Oz is an all-time family hit for all ages and will leave the audience with a jaw-dropping performance. Treat the kids with a day out to live educational adventures based on award winning books including; The 52-Storey Treehouse, The Little Prince and Hippo! Hippo! A Big Musical Adventure! We invite you to come live, life, live at the Frankston Arts Centre with our exhilarating 2016 theatre program. This is just a taste of what’s in store… full 2016 program @ thefac.com.au Tickets can be purchased in person at the FAC box office, over the phone on 03 9784 1060 or online at thefac.com.au.
And not forgetting the children,
C A R D
Christmas Christmas gifts all sorted!
G I F T
C A R D
Surprise them with Theatre tickets this year. The FAC has something for the whole family in 2016 including: Shadowland | The 52-Storey Treehouse | Comedy Festival Roadshow | Wuthering Heights | Giselle | Othello | Brazilian Carnival and much, much more! Check out WhatsOnFAC.com.au or let them choose for themselves with a gift card from $5 to Christmas wishes – thatʼs Christmas all wrapped up.
03 9784 1060 thefac.com.au @the_FAC | #theFAC
WHATʼS ON
Frankston Arts Centre is a Business Unit of Frankston City Council
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bayside & mornington peninsula
ON THE BEACH By Andrea Louise Thomas At the start of another red-hot summer what could be more apt than an exhibition about the beach in Australian life and lore? With paintings and photographs from some of Australia’s leading modernists and contemporary artists, including Jeffrey Smart, Anne Zahalka, Max Dupain, Tracey Moffatt, John Anderson and Guan Wei, this exhibition looks at how people relate to and enjoy the beach, its place in our national identity and its history as a contested place. Also featured in On the Beach are vintage photographs from George Caddy’s “beachobatics” of Bondi Beach circa 1936 to 1941 – a group of daringly clad suntanned acrobats who used their gymnastic skills to form complex human pyramids and other beach entertainments. At the same time, the Friends of the MPRG, present the winners of the 3rd annual “Life’s A Beach” student art competition featuring talented Mornington Peninsula students from twenty-one schools. Some impressive work will be on display. Gallery visitors are also invited to contribute to a community creation. On the Beach runs until February 28 at Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, Civic Reserve, Mornington. 5975 4395 www.mprg.mornpen.vic.gov.au.
Picture: George Caddy. Alf Stanbrough supports Bonnie Nixon and Hazel Balmus with Wal Balmus on top, Jack Goldberg observes, 25 September 1938. Gelatin silver photograph. State Library of New South Wales, Sydney. Courtesy of Paul Caddy.
REFINED An exhibition by Katrina Newman An exhibition of contemporary statement jewellery by local artist / gold and silversmith Katrina Newman, opening the 2nd January 2016 and running throughout January at Antipodes Bookshop Gallery Sorrento. Katrina’s exhibition is a collection of jewellery made using the ancient technique of cuttlefish casting. Each piece, be it a pendant or a ring, is refined into an elegant work of art. They have a character all of their own, with a special feature and design that reflects her sense of place, and her relationship to the natural beauty of Australia, from the erosion of our music arts events entertainment
ancient mountains to the movement of the sea and our oceans that surround the Mornington Peninsula. All Katrina’s work is made to the highest standard, the pendants and rings are bold statement pieces, you can expect quality craftsmanship and a unique design. You’ll be sure to find the perfect piece to complement your wardrobe. Katrina studied Gold and Silversmithing at Canberra School of Art graduating in 1983; and works from her bush studio with sea views on the beautiful Mornington Peninsula.
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SEXY, SIZZLING AND SAUCY – SPIEGELTENT IS BACK By Melissa Walsh The Spiegeltent is back with a bang, rolling into Sorrento all the way from Belgium and knocking audiences out with its raunchy night of fun with the show, Limbo. Local media and special guests attended the fabulous opening night last Thursday, greeted with bubbles on arrival and a magical journey back in time to the sexy days of vaudeville and cabaret. After a sellout season last summer, the dream of restaurateur and theatrical producer, James McPherson, continues with the second annual Spiegeltent production, Limbo. James, who had worked a lifetime in the
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MINT Magazine December
2015
entertainment industry doing PR for theatre and producing shows, is delighted about the reaction to the new show, which took lucky members of the audience to another world, where acrobats, musicians and dancers galore rocked the Spiegeltent stage. “Spiegeltent is also a tribute to George Coppin, the Father of Sorrento, himself a comedian, entrepreneur and politician,” says James, who continues to dedicate the fabulous experience to the late great Mr Coppin whose love of Sorrento, hard work and dedication made it the holiday destination it is today. James first fell in love with the Spiegeltent when he saw it in Melbourne many years
ago. Spiegeltent, meaning “tent of mirrors” is a luxurious pavilion constructed with wood, mirrors, canvas, and leadlight glass with velvet and brocade. Guests relax in booth seats surrounded by magnificent décor in this transportable entertainment venue that dates back to the late 19th century. Rumour has it that the mirrors were positioned so that guests could make discreet eye contact with one another, and only a handful of these mirrored tents are left in the world today. Having played host to the some of the world’s most famous artists, circus and
burlesque performers, whose essence remains in the mirrors and velvet canopy today, the Spiegeltent conjures up images of mystery and magic. Guests at the opening night included local media, sponsors and VIP guests, with Geoffrey Briscoe from BMW, Miss Australia International Jessica Martini, Emma and Travis from Neighbours, Rebecca from Flinders Hotel, director Scott Maidment, and producers, James McPherson, Simon Myers, Tony Healey and Belinda Visser. To book the Spiegeltent or for further information on shows, phone the Spiegeltent Box Office on 0477 833 288.
bayside & mornington peninsula
WHAT IT MEANS TO SHINE By Andrea Louise Thomas
Exploring art that illuminates the spirit and senses, but also casts a light on current issues, ideas and perspectives in spirituality is what Lamppost Gallery’s final exhibition of the year, Light Matter, is all about. 2015 is the International Year of Light so it’s fitting that the works represented in this show examine what it means to shine. A group of four artists, across a wide range of media from paint to plastic to textiles, look at light and all of its marvelous applications in cultural, scientific and spiritual fields. Light Matter shines at Lamppost Gallery at St. James the Lesser Church foyer at the corner of Nepean Highway and Koetong Parade, Mt. Eliza. Open Wednesday to Sunday from 12 – 4 pm.
UNCOMMON AUSTRALIANS By Andrea Louise Thomas Per capita, Australia has some of the most original minds on the planet ranking in the top 20 most innovative nations. Not often do these best and brightest get recognized in a “tall poppy” mindset, but Gordon and Marilyn Darling sought to change that by lobbying long and hard for a National Portrait Gallery. Thanks to their dedication, the faces of the inquisitive, intelligent, ingenious Australians who have made a difference are now nationally recognized and you can see them in Uncommon Australians: The Vision of Gordon and Marilyn Darling, a National Portrait Gallery Travelling Exhibition. Most sculptors make works for permanence, but artist Tim Silver does the opposite. He makes sculptures that decompose over time. Created with mutable materials such as builder’s putty, crayons, watercolour pigment and confectionary, his work literally melts away. Fortunately, he photographs his sculptures and installations because when creating something as unusual as an exploding self-portrait, it’s good to know it existed in the first place. Silver’s fascination with change, transition and transformation makes for exceptionally interesting work. In Talking to the Shadows, one can see first hand the blurred boundaries of permanence. Mary and Lou Senini set up an annual scholarship for student artists. The prize alternates yearly between sculpture, painting/printmaking, textiles and now ceramics. $3000 goes to a Victorian tertiary art student who shows outstanding ability and promise. See the winner and finalists in the 2015 Mary and Lou Senini Student Art Award in Ceramics. All three exhibitions on display until Sunday, February 21, 2016 at McClelland Sculpture Park and Gallery, 390 McClelland Drive, Langwarrin. Open Tuesday to Sunday 10 am to 5 pm. Admission by gold donation.
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