ISSU E â„– 02
NORTH BY RON PA R K LA N DS
The Daily Splendou r inter view Alison & Jamie THE K ILLS
Saturday, 23rd July, 2016
T H E DA I LY SPLEN DOU R: S at urday, 23 July, 2016
By Lincoln Jubb
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T H E DA I LY SPLEN DOU R: S at urday, 23 July, 2016
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MEET THE KILLS By Alistair Klinkenberg
MOST INTERNATIONAL BANDS TREAT SPLENDOUR LIKE THE MINES—Fly in, get the job done, get paid, fly out. The Kills, however, have travelled a long way to get to the Byron Shire, and they’re damn sure going to have as much fun as they possibly can while they’re here. Dealing with musicians can be a painful affair, and it’s often not their fault. The trouble is that they’re surrounded by barricades of managers, PR, agents, lawyers, fortune tellers etc. and getting to them is like trying to get to the end of a Japanese game show without breaking your neck. But The Kills were accommodating from the start. One gets the impression that saying “yes” is part of their mantra. When we put forward the idea of shooting them for the cover of the second issue of The Daily Splendour, we were pleasantly taken aback when the, “yeah sure,” cascaded from Jamie and Alison, through the PR funnel and trickled into our inbox. Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince have been The Kills for 15 years, and they’ve been through a hell of a lot together, as you can imagine. There’s nothing that can come close to a friendship formed in the musical trenches, and you get the impression that these two know each other just about as well as humanly possible; 15 years in close quarters on the road would presumably give ample opportunity for whatever angels or demons you have lurking, to make themselves well known. “It’s hard to explain, and I get asked about it all the time,” says Jamie when we meet the two backstage before their Friday gig at Splendour. “Not that I mind talking about it, it’s just really hard to put my finger on our friendship. Sometimes you just meet people who you really like, and all the other nonsense just gets dissolved.” The two are evidently uber comfortable around each other, and it makes interviewing them a pleasure. “Obviously I love her to death and I think she’s very beautiful and talented,” continues Jamie. “But we’re also sort of forced together, you know,” he laughs. “It’s not like we’d hang out quite this much if we weren’t in a band together.” One of the rad things about The Kills is that they’ve been around for 15 years, and they’ve never gotten ‘huge’. Sure they’ve had a suitcase full of proverbial wins, but they’re not private-jetting. They’re ‘cool’ big, which is good for everyone. When bands get ‘huge’ they inevitably turn into massive dorks. They release shit music, join cults (pretty sure Scientology was solely created for this reason), and worst of all, they get sober. Who the hell wants a sober chia-eating rock star in their lives? Not I, rabbi. The Kills still party, and for this we are glad. The Kills just released their first album in five years, Ash and Ice, and the name couldn’t be more befitting of the pair. Jamie Hince—who Alison calls ‘Hotel’—is a London muso through and through, and Alison’s from Florida; a perfect starting place for a bona fide musical odd couple. The five years between drinks comes partly as a result of Mr Hince doing his finger a mischief by slamming it in a car door. He did himself some hefty tendon damage, and pretty much had to teach himself to play the guitar again. He got it done though, and the
album’s a triumph. The longest Kills record to date, it’s 50 minutes of vivacious ‘tude. If there are two people that the offsite Splendour extra-curricular activities this year are centred around, then it’s The Kills. They’ve been here since Wednesday, drinking espresso martinis at Rae’s in Byron, playing a secret(ish) show with The Avalanches at The Great Northern on
in a, ‘who did it better’ type of affair, The Avalanches and The Kills complemented each other perfectly. Watching The Kills perform is watching two perfect show-people (is that a word?) having a ball. At The Northern, they blasted a select crowd with a smattering of songs from their five albums, and they looked like they were having serious fun. One
Thursday, and rumour has it that they’re throwing a private bash at some point over the weekend, that you’re probably not invited to. Thursday at The Great Northern in Byron Bay was as good a gig in a small venue that you’ll see in Australia (and let’s face it, all really good gigs happen in small venues). Seeing The Kills and The Avalanches on the one bill is a real treat. It used to be a secret, invite-only affair, but the Thursday pre-Splendour gig is now a vital part of the DNA of the festival. Rather than face off
thing that became instantly clear is that Alison Mosshart is one of the world’s most electrifying front women. She’s a legitimate force. Pink hair flying, mike stand twirling, parading around the stage with her chest puffed awesome. And Jamie Hince, well, the man looks like he was born on the stage. You can tell when you watch a band perform who’s been doing it a while and who’s really comfortable performing. The Kills are in their element on the stage, no doubt the result of 15 years of constant gigging. When we meet The Kills backstage prior
to their Friday afternoon performance on the Amphitheatre stage, they look relaxed as all hell, but they admit that they’re a tad nervous. “Nerves are like my super power,” says Alison. “They change you from being a human, into a super human.” Alison Mosshart’s way taller than I imagined in the flesh. Hot pink hair, Camel in hand and aviators firmly bolted to her face. Her voice has the softest touch of American twang, and she’s effortless as she floats around in the black satin robe that we custom made for the pair: ‘The Kills’ on the back and ‘Alison’ and ‘Jamie’ on the front respectively. She arrived drinking out of a red cup that we swiftly changed to a flute of champagne. Alison Mosshart is the sort of woman that shouldn’t have to drink out of a red cup. Jamie Hince is the perfect British muso. Before he slipped into his custom robe he was wearing a satin jacket that I’d take a guess was Saint Laurent, oversized Ray Bans, and purple satin loafers. His manner’s friendly, cockney, with an androgynous touch; a characteristic shared by more than a few iconic British musicians. “This is our fourth day here,” says Jamie. “We’ve been staying in Byron Bay, and we really can’t remember if we’ve been here before.” They both laugh. “The Dead Weather (one of Alison’s previous bands) have played here before though haven’t they,” Jamie tells Alison, “So you must’ve been here before.” “I really can’t remember it,” Alison laughs. “No one wants to admit that they’ve been here with me before.” I ask them about the night before at The Northern. They sure looked like they were having a blast, and Jamie affirms that once they got going they were ok, but dragging themselves to the stage was a bit of an issue. “I felt like I got woken up in the middle of a fire drill, you know that feeling?” Jamie laughs. “But those are the shows that end up being the best a lot of the time,” responds Alison. “When you think that you really can’t do it, and then you get on the stage and the adrenaline just hits you.” Doing anything for 15 years is a tough ask. But being a touring musician who’s constantly on the road isn’t always as glamorous as it sounds. And it understandably leads to you forgetting if you’ve been to certain coastal towns in the north of New South Wales. If you’re gonna do it, and remain a sane, functioning human being, then you’d better love it. “Of course we still love it, we wouldn’t be doing it if not,” says Alison. “I feel proud on stage watching Jamie. I clap at him sometimes,” she chuckles. Standing side of stage, watching The Kills launch into their set as the sun sets on a perfect first Splendour day, they look anything but nervous. Alison strides onto the stage, blows a big plume of smoke from the Camel that she’s smoking, flicks her hair back over her head and it begins. Superhero mode well and truly activated, the crowd are dining on the duo’s unquenchable energy. In this age of slashies, selfies, self-help and superfoods, bands like The Kills help us sleep at night. We like our music loud, our cars fast, and our rock stars to act accordingly. Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince are the rockers you deserve, and for that we’re glad. ₴
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Alison Mosshart. Portrait & cover by Chris Searl
T H E DA I LY SPLEN DOU R: S at urday, 23 July, 2016
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MAKING FRIENDS
World Champion. Image by James Adams
By Alistair Klinkenberg
YOU KNOW YOU’RE IN TROUBLE WHEN YOU WAKE UP ON THE DAY OF A DEADLINE WITH TWO STAMPS ON YOUR ARM—Especially when you’ve spent the night before mingling with the other miscreants who’re supposed to be helping you fill this rag. “So great to see you n’ all…how’s those 1000 words going?” We’d be lying if we said that we didn’t slightly over-cook the goose on the first day of Splendour in the Grass (and possibly the day before the first day of Splendour in the Grass), but hell, that’s what we’re here for isn’t it? Normally, Monster Children’s presence at Splendour is an exercise in getting the best passes we can and partying as much
as possible. The work, well, that’s an aside. This year however, we signed ourselves up for the unknown. The Daily Splendour’s been a learning curve to say the least. Making quarterly magazines means that you only have four deadlines a year. And if you miss one? Well, what difference does a day really make? Newspapers on the other hand, as the name of ours suggests, are daily. That means that every night come ten o’clock, you’ve got to send whatever you’ve got to the printers, otherwise you’ve got blank pages. In a magazine, all you’ve got to do with a blank page is to write one word on it, or slap a tiny picture in the middle, and it’s thoughtful art. In a newspaper, blank pages are not a good look.
The great thing about being onsite at Splendour in the Grass, is that drinking booze is permissible. Meeting people that you don’t know, especially famous people, is usually a horrifying disposition for the anxiety-prone. But after you’ve spent the morning in a headache-inducing, airconditioned office (see also a shipping container in the backstage area), shotgunning cans of (insert sponsor here) beer, then it’s the most fun you’ll ever have. If there’s anything to take into the second day of this radical festival, it’s to go meet some strangers. Chances are they’re not freaks, but even if they are, we’re all in this thing together. We’re all hurting, tongues are loose and memories hazy. Go say hi to the freaks. Enjoy today. ₴
THIS DAY IN MUSIC HISTORY By Josh Rakic MUSIC, IT’S LITERALLY WHY YOU’RE HERE—But was the stuff that came before today’s sounds any good? And do we even care? The answer to both is a resounding yes. Thus, we delve back into the archives to uncover some of the biggest happenings in music on this very day, many moons ago. JULY 23, 1964—Take one guess who was at the top of the Australian music charts. The Beatles of course, with A Hard Day’s Night. It was their fifth No.1 Down Under and the first of the six weeks Hard Day’s Night remained at the top. The film of the same name helped with the popularity and remains 98% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. JULY 23, 1971—Hey, hey, hey, the good old Eagle Rock was in the middle of a 10-week run at No.1 on the charts and Daddy Cool were just that. Long before the Manly Sea Eagles and their supporter base the ‘Screaming Eagles’ - no shit - claimed the song as their own. JULY 23, 1971—Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham - already infamous for his unparalleled ability to trash hotel rooms and being a heavy-fisted thrasher - thought he’d try his luck on a moving object; a venue security employee at a gig in California. Maybe he didn’t have his pass or maybe he was just shit hammered, either way, Bonham teamed up with band manager Peter Grant and kicked the dude’s ass and found himself on assault charges. Even back then the US was litigious, Bonham settling out of court for $2 million. JULY 23, 2000—Farrah Franklin made the worst decision of possibly anyone in music history and was destined to a life of misery, opting to leave a little girl group by the name of Destiny’s Child after just five months. Kelly and Michelle only lasted a few years longer before Queen B shoved ‘em from the hive, but at least they cashed in. JULY 23, 2006—Forever remembered as a return to the glory hole days for George Michael, it was this day in 2006 that the Wham singer was caught engaging in public sex with another random dude some eight year after his original arrest. He threatened to sue but then thought “fuck it” and told the media he frequently cruises the streets for dudes. Good on him. ₴
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MONSTER CHILDREN ROADMAP TO DAY 02 By Dale Robinson
GET DAY 2 STARTED—with a little Ngaiire (Ny-Ree) in the Mix Up tent, this futurefolk/soul songstress will clear the haze from Day 1 straight away. We highly recommend splitting at the end of Ngaiire’s set to see Harts at the Amphitheatre, is this Jimi Hendrix reincarnated? Big crowds last year in the GW McLennan have seen him bumped up to the Amphitheatre this year. At 1:45 in the GW McLennan tent check out In Loving Memory of Szymon, a posthumous tribute to an incredible Australian artist. Right, now we’re off to watch psych-reptiles King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard followed by Gang of Youths, both at the Amphitheater. Time to break it up! Time to dance and release some endorphins, keep the energy alive! We’re off to the Mix Up tent to see Snakehips and The Meeting Tree, and then get to the Amphitheatre early because At. The. Drive-In! Fuck, this will be good! After that set I’m sure you’ll need the notoriously long set by The Cure (3-hours) to readjust.
If you want to speed it up a little, head to either Santigold in the Mix Up tent or L D R U at the Tiny Dancer stage, goodnight. ₴
MC PICKS : DAY 2 9.00- 12.00
THE CURE
10.30 - 11.30
SANTIGOLD
9.30 - 11.00
LDRU
7.30 - 8.30
AT THE DRIVE-IN
7:00 - 8:00
BALL PARK MUSIC
6.30 - 7.00
THE MEETING TREE
4.30 - 5.30
GANG OF YOUTHS
5.30 - 6.30
SNAKEHIPS
3:00 - 4:00
KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD
12:50 - 1:30
HARTS
1:45 - 2:30
IN LOVING MEMORY OF SZYMON
12:15 - 1:00
NGAIIRE
Image by Lincoln Jubb
SATURDAY 23RD JULY FULL LINE-UP A M PH I T E AT R E TIME
ACT
TIME
ACT
TIME
ACT
10:30 - 11:30
SANTIGOLD
10:00 - 11:00
MATT CORBY
9.30 - 11.00
LDRU
9:45 - 10:30
MOONBASE COMMANDER
8:45 - 9:45
WHAT SO NOT
8:30 - 9:30
DOM DOLLA
MOONBASE COMMANDER
JAMES VINCENT MCMORROW
8.00 - 9.20
8:00 - 8:45 7:00 - 8:00
CRYSTAL FIGHTERS
7:00 - 8:00
BALL PARK MUSIC
7:00 - 8:00
OPIUO
6:30 - 7:00
THE MEETING TREE
5:30 - 6:30
SNAKEHIPS
5:30 - 6:30
MICHAEL KIWANUKA
5:55 - 6:55
PACES
5:00 - 5:30
THE MEETING TREE
KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD
4:00 - 5:00
LIDO
4:15 - 5:00
KIM CHURCHILL
5:00 - 5:50
BANOFFEE
3:30 - 4:00
THE MEETING TREE
BEACH SLANG
2:45 - 3:30
BOO SEEKA
3:00 - 3:45
SPRING KING
4.00 - 4.50
DRELLER
2:15 - 2:45
PURPLE SNEAKERS
1:30 - 2:15
SLUM SOCIABLE
1:45 - 2:30
3:00 - 3:50
RUNNING TOUCH
1:00 - 1:30
PURPLE SNEAKERS
IN LOVING MEMORY OF SZYMON
12:15 - 1:00
NGAIIRE
12:30 - 1:15
MONTAIGNE
STICKY FINGERS
6:00 - 7:00
GANG OF YOUTHS
4:30 - 5:30
3:00 - 4:00
1:50 - 2:40
T I N Y DA N C E R
ACT
AT THE DRIVE-IN
7:30 - 8:30
GW McLEN NA N
TIME
THE CURE
9:00- 12:00
MIX UP
12:50 - 1:30
HARTS
12:00 - 12:30
PLTS
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T H E DA I LY SPLEN DOU R: S at urday, 23 July, 2016
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Jess & Paul. Image by Chris Searl
THE HEADS THAT CLASHED TO SPAWN SPLENDOUR By Alistair Klinkenberg
IT TAKES A PERSON OF A CERTAIN ILK TO START A MUSIC FESTIVAL: There are a few things in life that take such a mammoth effort to organise, but Splendour in the Grass founders Jess Ducrou and Paul Piticco just ooze passion for the festival that they’ve created, and that’s why they keep torturing themselves year after year in aid of your enjoyment. Both have roots that run deep in the music biz, and it was this that originally brought them together. Like all good double acts, Jess and Paul met in the pub. “We met in a bar in Byron almost 25 years ago,” remembers Paul. “Jess was pouring beers, and I was complaining about the world,” he laughs. At the time, Jess was taking a break from city living in Sydney where she worked at Rolling Stone as the “accounts chick”, and Paul was the manager of an up-and-coming band called Powderfinger. He gave Jess a demo, and the two stayed in touch. As we all know, Powderfinger’s star headed true north, and as a result Paul ended up travelling to Sydney with the band. That’s when Paul and Jess’s friendship went professional. “I was booking gigs at the Lansdowne,” remembers Jess. “I started giving the guys shows and then Paul and I started working together more formally as agent and manager. We worked together for a decade or so before we started Splendour.” Paul explains that one of the major issues they faced, that eventually led to the birth of Splendour in the Grass, was not being able to get Australian bands like Powderfinger a platform to perform on. “As Powderfinger developed into a big Australian band during the 90s, we had trouble negotiating our way into festivals like Big Day Out. So Jess and I had a meeting and decided to come up with our
own festival, and rather than compete with the other music festivals we decided to hold it in the winter. Because of what was happening in the Northern Hemisphere, it was just a natural time of year to have it. Festivals obviously originated in Europe, where summer is the only time of year when the weather would permit having these kinds of festivals. Whereas here, some summer’s
days are 40 degrees, so I suggested we try doing something in winter.” The slot in the calendar that Splendour occupies is a significant part of its charm; it’s one of the few winter festivals anywhere. And its date was a deliberate ploy from Jess and Paul to give the festival a different feel and character. “I had been doing Homebake up in Byron which had been in summer,” explains Jess. “And the council never approved anything in Byron in peak holiday time, so we
thought to do something in winter would be in line with what local council was going to approve. And Byron always resonated with Paul and I, we met there and established our working relationship there, it just seemed right.” One of the major challenges for the formative Splendour years was booking big international headliners. “In the beginning, the international festival calendar was so uncrowded that if you were a big event like Lollapalooza or Fuji Rock, once you staked your claim to a weekend people would avoid you. But in the last five-to-seven years, festivals have just exploded in America, there’s a festival on every second weekend now and they’re generally competing for those dates. Also, because in the Northern Hemisphere that window of when you can actually have a festival is a lot tighter in the colder countries, people don’t really have much choice.” The festival experience is such a personal one, that I wonder how as an organiser you can effectively gauge the success of what you’ve put on. Paul explains that for him, it’s the chatter among the masses that he overhears that acts as his barometer. “Just hearing people talk about it,” he explains. “When something becomes an ‘I was there’ moment, then that’s very satisfying for me. You know, 30,000 people jumping up and down and just going mad to a particular band that you’ve booked, and knowing that it’s the right music or the right band at the right time—that’s a pretty good validation for what you’re doing.” For Jess, who’s deeply invested in the multitude of other things that you can do at Splendour, often people going off on a tangent is what gives her the most joy. “I think people come to Splendour firstly because they want to see the bands that are
advertised,” she says. “But if they come along and get waylaid or side-tracked by anything else going on that’s not a band, then it’s a bit of a win for me. I can see they’re having an experience that is probably more than they had hoped for, and that’s pretty special.” The amount of toil that goes into the festival is monumental, and the staff— everyone from the technicians to the guys who clean the toilets—all play an equally important role. I ask the duo when they officially kick the boots off, and whether it’s one of the most satisfying moments in their calendars. Paul explains that it’s Monday that the Splendour hair really gets let down. “That’s when the official staff party is, and everyone’s ready to pop so you have to let the steam out pretty quickly,” he says. “On the Monday, when those last people leave, it’s like that house party when the last person lingering around leaves at 2am and you just really want to get them a taxi. That sense of relief when the last person leaves, it’s a good feeling.” Splendour in the Grass is known for its vibe of tolerance and fun, and in parting, I ask Jess and Paul what their advice would be for anyone planning to attend the festival for the first time. Their responses ref lected in many ways, their roles. Jess the practical replied, “Bring gumboots and warm clothes because it actually gets really cold at night.” Paul, the philosopher, went a little deeper. “Whatever the best version of you is, bring it along. Keep the Splendour spirit alive, be cool.” If you adhere to these shards of advice from the top, you’re likely to have a pretty damn good time at Splendour in The Grass. ₴
PLAY DIRTY? We’ve all been there. It’s a known fact that FESTIVALS AND FOOTWEAR DON’T MIX. The good news is HYPE DC IS HERE TO HELP. Simply post a picture on instagram of your cooked footwear with the hashtag #COOKEDFOOTWEAR OVER THE SPLENDOUR WEEKEND and we’ll choose the worst 20 to replace, BRAND NEW (value of $150). THE MORE COOKED THE BETTER!
@HYPEDC
T H E DA I LY SPLEN DOU R: S at urday, 23 July, 2016
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LEON By Erin Bromhead LOST AND FOUND IS GONNA BE BUSY TODAY. LAST NIGHT, 27-YEAROLD SOUL SINGING SENSATION, LEON BRIDGES, STOLE THE HEARTS AND EARS OF JUST ABOUT EVERY SPLENDOUR ATTENDEE WITH A GOSPEL-FUELLED SET OVER AT THE GW MCLENNAN TENT—Find out more about the man behind the great organ heist of Splendour ’16 here. Some things in life are impossible to refute. I believe these things are called “facts”. For instance, no person on Earth is stoked on getting the yellow Mentos in a fruit pack. Fact. Or, one of the most seminal scenes in modern television history was the Grey’s Anatomy episode where Katherine Heigl’s surgeon husband died of a brain tumour and they played Snow Patrol’s “Chasing Cars” while she wept over his dead body in her ball gown. Fact. And most pertinent to this discussion, it is beyond the bounds of possibility to hear Leon Bridge’s single, “Coming Home”, and not spend the rest of the day fancying yourself a 60s soul
sensation as you slide into every room belting the opening line, “Baby, baby, baby, I’m comin’ home to your tender, sweet lovin’...” FACT. Yesterday, Leon Bridges soaked Day One of Splendour in the Grass with his special brand of soul-sauce, leaving the ravenous crowd salivating for more. For existing fans, the set was a much-anticipated foray into the retro-revelling, gospel-guided world of their young idol. For new listeners, the experience was transformative, with each pair of fresh ears becoming life-long disciples. Since catapulting to fame, the story of Leon Bridges has been told and retold with great fervour, and for good reason—it’s an inspiring tale. Hailing from Texas, Leon spent his childhood between his father’s house in downtown Dallas, and his mother’s in suburban Fort Worth—where at one point, ten relatives from New Orleans temporarily came to live with him, his mother, and his half-sister after Hurricane Katrina. Growing up poor, he describes his upbringing as sheltered, compared to other kids. He was not surrounded by the music you would expect
to have influenced him in his formative years. It actually wasn’t until people began comparing him to soul king Sam Cooke that he even heard of the legendary singer. In fact,
“I NEVER ACTUALLY ATTENDED A FESTIVAL PRIOR TO BEING A MUSICIAN.” his childhood was so removed from such influence that until he played one himself, Leon had no idea music festivals existed at all. “I never actually attended a festival prior
to being a musician. I didn’t even know about any festivals,” he tells me over the phone. “You know, that was a culture that I was really far from,” he continues. “The people who I grew up around didn’t even know anything about those types of things, never really even attended concerts. So to go to a festival was definitely far from my knowledge.” The first festival he attended would be SXSW in Austin, where he performed in 2015. Since his late initiation, the soul singer-songwriter has become a huge fan of festivals. “I love them. I actually love playing festivals more than playing my own shows. It’s definitely fun at this stage to win over the crowd. At some festivals, the fans don’t necessarily know who you are, or they haven’t seen us play a show. It’s always fun to kind of shock people,” he says. After originally taking up singing and guitar as a hobby, Leon went on to play small gigs at local open mic nights under the name “Lost Child”. Experiencing little success, he maintained a job as a dishwasher at a local Mexican restaurant up until his debut
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Leon Bridges. All images by Ian Laidlaw
album’s release, which came about after White Denim’s guitarist Austin Jenkins saw him perform at a Fort Worth bar. Since releasing his first full-length, Coming Home, he’s been doing anything but. The album has taken on a life of its own, championed by Apple Music and going on to receive a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Album of 2015. Touring the record extensively for the past 18 months, the 27-year-old must clock some serious Netflix hours while on the road. “Oh, I never watch any TV, actually.” I mean, sure, 22-hour binges aren’t normal, I’m aware, but come on, nothin’? “I seriously don’t! When I’m on tour, I like to write songs, play some guitar, and stay glued to my phone or something like that. I don’t watch any TV.” His dedication to the cause is paying off, with a bunch of new material piling up for a second album. “I have been writing a lot of new music for another record,” he says, before expressing his shock at how well the last was received. “Surprisingly, the reviews were all pretty positive. There were one or two which weren’t, but even those weren’t
that bad.” With a near perfect record like his debut, how could the world’s collective enthusiasm for it catch him so off guard? “I dunno, I guess because usually when you put something out there, there’s always like, a balance on both sides,” he says. Fort Worth is a small town, and Leon’s global success has his local community beaming with pride for their homegrown hero. In fact, the singer recently made headlines in the Fort Worth Star Tribune for staying down-to-earth enough to run his own errands at the American pharmaceutical chain, Walgreens. “That time I ran into Leon Bridges at the Walgreens” reads the headline, before going on to explain that despite the singer “having the bestselling Coming Home album and his retro image, he didn’t arrive in a vintage T-bird convertible or Chevy Bel-Air. He showed up in a few-years-old Ford Fusion”. The article concludes by declaring that it’s “good to know Bridges hasn’t gotten so big-time he can’t just hang out in his adopted home town”. To Bridges, becoming the subject of tabloid fodder seems bizarre.
“Yeah, it’s funny. When I saw that I was like, ‘Wow, that is crazy.’ I think it’s kinda weird, you know, especially because of where I’m from. If I was in California or something like that maybe it’d be different, but basically it kind of shows that you have to constantly prove yourself to people. You know, they expect when you reach the first level of ‘fame’ that you just totally change on people and that they have to see stuff like that for it to be valid, like, ‘Yeah, he’s just a regular person, he’s in a Ford Fusion.’” “I’m actually in the car right now,” he says. When I ponder about the legality of interviewing while driving, he laughs. “Yeah, totally. I’m a good driver.” Still, it sounds like that wasn’t always the case. “I didn’t pass the test first go. I think it took me, like, two times. I was so happy when I finally got it.” I remind him that while he’s in Byron for Splendour, he’s gonna have to master the art of driving on the opposite side of the road, if he hasn’t already. “I haven’t tried it, and I’m glad I haven’t, either, because I’d be scared, and I’d probably crash.” Assuming he’d found the Walgreens
article care of a late-night self-googling session, I ask how often he types his own credentials into the search engine. “I don’t. I don’t like doing that. I actually saw that story because, of course, someone tagged me in it.” He continues, “It’s kinda weird. I don’t like looking at myself on Google or reading stories of myself, or anything like that. I do wonder what people are saying about me, but I think I’ll be totally fine if I just don’t know what’s going on.” Before Leon hangs up to concentrate on the road, I end our chat by scaring him off the ocean forever. Growing up in a town like Fort Worth, I assume you don’t see many sharks. Australia’s North Coast could take him by surprise. “I don’t really go [to the beach] much, but I love it when I’m there. I’m sure you’ve got some really beautiful beaches down there.” What does he think of our finned friends, though? “They’re not necessarily my friends. I’m just fine to like, chill on the sand, hopefully have a nice woman by my side, you know? But I might not get in the water.” ₴
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Image by James Adams
STICKY FINGER By Alistair Klinkenberg
THERE’S SERIOUS BUZZ AROUND THE DMA’S AT PRESENT—Their set in this afternoon at Splendour drew a serious crowd, like, a 10,000 + crowd. For the first afternoon of the festival, that’s a pretty hefty number. This fine gentleman flipping the bird is Paddy Cornwall the bassist from Sticky
Fingers. Contrary to the usual stigma of the bass player—they’re often a bit of an afterthought—Paddy’s one of the main protagonists of SF. Sticky Fingers are playing tomorrow in the Amphitheatre at 6:00pm, and obviously Paddy could’ve been side of stage with the rest of us VIPs. But DMA’s are longtime pals
of Sticky Fingers, and Paddy wanted to get the full experience of his mates’ biggest show to date. Both bands are from Newtown in Sydney— long the birthplace of iconic Australian creatives, and Sticky Fingers have literally watched DMA’s come up from the front row.
DMA’s are fresh off their biggest, sold out Australian headline tour, and it was the first time that they’ve had their own curated light show. Seeing that the gig today was on the main stage at Splendour, and in the middle of the afternoon, they had to ditch the lights and rely on the music. They did not disappoint. ₴
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MEET AND GREET YOUR FAVOURITE ACTS AT THE SONIC SHERPA RECORD STORE
By Monique Penning WANT TO MEET SOME OF YOUR FAVOURITE BANDS AT SPLENDOUR? Sonic Sherpa can help you out. Sonic Sherpa, also known as Simon, Shark, and Belly, are veterans of the Australian music scene. Together they’ve had years of experience owning a record store, managing bands, and “rubbing shoulders with more bands than
WALK INTO THE GIANT PINK POO AND GRAB YOURSELF A CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM By Alistair Klinkenberg
INTERVIEWING PEOPLE ON THE PHONE IS OFTEN AN ARDUOUS AFFAIR—But when they’re jumping outta their skin excited about what they do, and punctuate their rapid-fire sentences with slurps of coffee and, “ahhh”, then it’s actually good fun. Dave Glass is a part of Hungry Castle, a collective of artists hell -bend on creating “cool shit”. Hungry Castle’s based in Barcelona, but they have members worldwide, including six in Australia. Dave’s an Australian abroad, and you can tell that he’s rather excited to be coming back to Splendour this year. “Splendour puts a huge emphasis on art and the experience—about what happens between the music,” Dave tells me. “We do a lot of festivals and Splendour is definitely one of our favourites, it’s a great size and they take art seriously.” The Hungry Castle mob have had a presence at Splendour for a few seasons now, including such memorial installations as Nic Cage in a Cage, that featured a striped
jumping castle with Nicolas Cage’s head painted on it, and a giant Lionel Richie head with a constantly ringing telephone inside. “The phone was always ringing,” Dave tells me via satellite from Barcelona. “When
“RIDICULOUS IDEAS INSPIRED BY THE NET THAT PEOPLE CAN RELATE TO.” you picked it up it played, “hello, is it me you’re looking for, I can see it in your eyes…” He sang half the song to me, perfectly in tune, belting out just enough of the ballad to make me feel uncomfortable and question whether he wanted me to join in. I chose not to, and regretted it slightly.
This year, the Hungry Castle gang have brought a giant inflatable poo called Mr Poopie to Splendour. And as with all HC creations, it was inspired by the net. “Mr Poopie’s inspired by the poop emoji,” Dave tells me. “But the interesting thing about that is that the world’s divided on what it is. Half of the people you talk to think it’s a poo, the other half think it’s a smiling chocolate ice cream.” So what did Hungry Castle do? They installed a chocolate Mr Whippy machine inside Mr Poopie. Of course. “You climb through the mouth and get yourself a chocolate ice cream,” Dave explains. “It’s all about public, playful, interactive art,” Dave continues. “Ridiculous ideas inspired by the net that people can relate to. Having art that you can go into and get an ice cream is way more exciting than having it in a white box, to me.” Mr Poopie is open for business from 12am - 8pm daily. You’ll know when you see him, because he’s a giant, luminous, pink poo. ₴
WHATEVER YOU NEED, JADE SKELLY CAN GET IT By Monique Penning
NOT EVERYONE GETS TO BE COOL AND SCHMOOZY WITH FAMOUS PEOPLE—The most any of us can hope for is that if one day we run into a musical hero of ours, we don’t act like a complete peanut and yell words at their face while touching them weirdly. Meet Splendour’s International Artist Manager Jade Skelly, who does none of those things, and is going to tell us what it’s like to look after the bands that we stare at from afar. HOW DID YOU BECOME THE INTERNATIONAL ARTIST MANAGER FOR SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS? I kind of fell into it. I was a television producer and I did a lot of work with music. From there I started managing bands, moved overseas with one of my bands, then Big Day Out approached me. I started working for Big Day Out in event management, then I ended up as their talent director. I got into this job because my tour manager for Big Day Out was doing this job for Splendour and she needed an assistant, so we worked on it together. WHAT GETS YOU THE MOST STRESSED?
One of the most stressful parts is the visas, because if the bands don’t get into the country, they don’t get to perform. Also the unexpected things, like one year—and this didn’t happen at Splendour—one of my headlining acts was on stage and they had their own bathroom and shower, and shit started coming up through the shower at the compound. They were on stage doing their encore and people were stressing out, they were going to be finished soon and I had a team of ten guys standing around and we’re all mopping up shit whilst trying to fix the toilet. I just had to laugh about it and say, “this is not real life.” HAVE YOU EVER HAD ANY NO-SHOWS? Weirdly enough we haven’t, which is kind of a miracle. I think that says a lot for our tour managers, they make sure they know where their bands are at all times. We’ve obviously had bands pull out at the last minute, then we have to do a really fast turn-around to get another band in a few days. Those things are always a bit hairy and interesting. IGGY POP AND THE STOOGES ASKED FOR SEVEN DWARVES DRESSED AS THE DWARVES FROM THE DISNEY
FILM, AND MARIAH CAREY ASKED FOR 100 WHITE DOVES AND 20 WHITE KITTENS. DO YOU GET ASKED FOR ANY WEIRD SHIT? I actually enjoy it when you get the odd funny one. I don’t think I could actually do this job without the LOLs. Every so often you get asked for a puppy or something and you know they’re joking, but to be honest I actually wish I could provide a puppy, that’d probably be a lot of fun for everybody as long as we could give it back at the end. We really care about the experience that the bands have, we really like backstage to be like another festival within a festival. We provide special food, a wellness centre, a private bar. These days it’s next level. So there you have it, famous people probably have more fun than you and you’ll probably never experience the kind of VIP treatment that comes with having a list of your requests fulfilled. The most you can hope for is a mate bringing you some water while you lay hungover in bed with the cracked, dry remnants of a mouth. Enjoy, plebs! ₴
“RUBBING SHOULDERS WITH MORE BANDS THAN WIKIPEDIA HAS UNTRUTHS” Wikipedia has untruths”, and they’ve been at Splendour since day dot. The guys have combined forces to create a pop-up record store, where bands will be stopping in for signings to meet their adoring fans. Want to hang out with Prince? Well, we can’t quite arrange that, but you can meet the incredibly talented Harts who once jammed with Prince, and six degrees of separation and all that. Ball Park Music, Emma Louise, Violent Soho, and more; they’ve got quite the roster for you all. Practice the eloquent statement you’re going to project onto your favourite band, and then throw it all out the window and say something awkward you can cringe about later. There’ll be CDs and vinyl from your favourite bands performing over the weekend, around 1,500 vintage records for sale, and a sleeve face competition. So make sure you stop by the tent and don’t miss the opportunity to meet some of Splendour’s best, because remember—a hangover fades, but an autograph is forever. SonicSherpa.com.au SATURDAY: 1:45 MICHAEL KIWANUKA 2:30 HARTS 3:15 HERMITUDE 3:40 URTHBOY 4:00 BALL PARK MUSIC Pre show signing 4:45 BOO SEEKA 5:15 SPRING KING 5:45 KIM CHURCHILL SUNDAY: 2:45 3:15 4:15 4:45 5:30 6:00 8:00
JUNGLE GIANTS, Pre show signing MELBOURNE SKA ORCHESTRA LITTLE MAY CITY CALM DOWN MARLON WILLIAMS BOY AND BEAR, Pre show signing JAKE BUGG, Pre show signing
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Image by Noor Behram
ATTACK OF THE DRONES By Alistair Klinkenberg
MOST PEOPLE THINK DRONES ARE LITTLE MORE THAN A NERDY GADGET—However, there are darker, worrying uses for drones, and that’s something that we should be talking about, according to Dr Suelette Dreyfus—a journalist and researcher at the University of Melbourne’s Department of Computing and Information Systems. Suelette specialises in cyber security and she’s hosting a panel at the Splendour in the Grass Forum focused on drones. The military celebrates drones as a way to single out and eliminate targets without having to put soldiers’ lives at risk. However, there’s a lack of transparency from governments that use drones. Based on independent reports, drones are responsible for more civilian casualties than the public is led to believe, while military casualties within the program are not even assessed. Joining Dr Dreyfus on the panel is Lisa Ling and Cian Westmoreland, both former drone system technicians who are now speaking publicly about drone strikes, in particular the strategic flaws in the program. Cian Westmoreland made the decision to speak out after he was given a performance report lauding him for his role in building a signals relay station in Kandahar that had contributed to 2,400 missions and 200 enemy kills. “We’ll be exploring how drones are changing modern warfare and also discussing the gap between what is said, and what is done,” says Lisa. “There’s a narrative that’s put forward by governments who are engaged in drone warfare that ‘we don’t kill innocent people, we only kill terrorists,’ but photographic evidence and reports from independent journalists and NGOs suggest that there’s a lot more civilian casualties than
governments let on.” “The White House has said that civilian casualties from drone strikes has been between 64 and 100 people, but independent reports suggest that the numbers are far greater,” Cian explains. “That raises some questions about why there is such a big discrepancy.
“REPORTS FROM INDEPENDENT JOURNALISTS AND NGOS THAT SUGGEST THAT THERE’S A LOT MORE CIVILIAN CASUALTIES THAN GOVERNMENTS LET ON.” We also know that US citizens in the Middle East have been assassinated. Including a 16year- old boy—the son of another US citizen assassinated in a drone attack—who as far as we know, wasn’t involved in any active combat. The concern is if you come out in support of a group but aren’t actually engaged in terrorism, freedom of speech should protect you under law. But the son was assassinated. No trial, no jury, and no judge.” Another grey area with drones is that they’re being used in places that are not official
war zones, like Yemen. The United States hasn’t officially declared war on Yemen, yet this country receives many drone strikes that kill its citizens. “The drone program is essentially executing people without trial. In the process it also causes incidental loss of civilian lives,” says Lisa. “What’s amazing about Cian and Lisa,” explains Suelette, “Is that they worked on the drone–related systems in several different locations, and they understood what was happening and the implications that drones can have as they keep evolving. They spoke to people from countries that were being droned, sometimes face-to- face, to further understand the impact of the system that they had worked to build and support, while in the U.S. military.” As whistle-blowers, Lisa and Cian recently presented in Brussels at an event occurring just before the European Parliament hearing on armed drones. Yet a large chunk of recent material about drone use has come from anonymous sources. “In the last nine months, we’ve seen a number of revelations published about the drone program including the terminology of ‘find, fix, finish,’ ” Suelette explains. “It means that they find their target from the death list, fix their location, then go in with the drone and they finish them off. It’s a pretty chilling disposition. This information didn’t come from Cian or Lisa, they haven’t broken any secrecy requirements. It was from whistleblowers who have revealed major problems with institutional lack of transparency and oversight.” One of the main concerns of the Drones: Human Hunting panel is to create a dialogue on drones and bring the issue into the open. Drone strikes have been used since 2001, but the general public remains largely in the dark
about the ramifications of armed drones. It’s often presented as just a good way to reduce the number of troops getting killed around the globe. Yet there are concerns regarding civilian deaths and post-strike assessments. There are also more complex ethical dilemmas to consider, such as the impact of this technology on how ‘expensive’ and expansive it is for powerful nations in terms of whose lives are lost, and on matters of sovereignty of nations. Human rights lawyer Shahzad Akbar, who has represented more than 100 family members of drone victims, will be streaming into the panel live from Islamabad, Pakistan to describe what life is really like for the victims of drone warfare. He is a barrister and a fellow at the NGO Reprieve. The purpose of panels such as the one that Dr Suelette Dreyfus is hosting at Splendour is to encourage conversation. With technology evolving so quickly, it’s important for us to learn about what this could mean for the future. “It’s important to understand who whistleblowers are, why they do what they do, and why they need to be protected by law,” says Dr Dreyfus to conclude. “It doesn’t matter whether they’ve exposed big financial crimes or issues with the armed drone program. They are doing something in the public interest. Bringing them out of the shadows into the public discourse in a positive light is really important.” There will be two real life whistle-blowers on the Splendour panel in the Forum this afternoon. You should definitely go along to hear what they have to say. The Drones: Human Hunting panel will take place on Saturday at the Splendour Forum from 2:30pm - 4pm ₴
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BE FAMOUS #THEDAILYSPLENDOUR
This is Matt Mason the guitarist from DMA’s. He’s a bit of an introvert, but he’s got some super ‘out there’ tattoos. This was backstage just before they went out and played their biggest show to date on Friday afternoon at Splendour. Rumour has it that the tattoo on his dome refers to the prestigious top 8 friends on myspace, but Matt’s also really really into ibis’. His instagram handle is @ibisboy, and he’s got a tattoo of an ibis on his forearm. Photo: James Adams
Good morning from @splendourinthegrass @josiemc
Splendour Gals !! @robynscorer
Morning beer & the daily splendour @maccasurf
Collecting the Daily splendour - DAY 1 @nick_moore
“Chet Baker’s trumpet fingers. Yeah, that would make me irresistible to man, woman and beast— Lias Saoudi. Photo: Jam Hassan
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Image by Lincoln Jubb
THEY MET AT THE FESTIVAL: PART 2 By Vaughan Deadly WINFIELD FELT THE STRESS BEGINNING TO LIFT FROM HIS SHOULDERS—He’d come to Splendour to get away from his job, his Dad, his lunatic ex, his mailbox full of bills and his dead pot plant Bernie who’d done nothing but sit around like a lifeless fuckwit for months making him feel like an irresponsible plant murderer. Life had been fucking with him for too long it seemed, and lately he’d been catching himself thinking, “What’s the fucking deal?” But he hated thinking like that. He detested people who couldn’t own their shit and blamed others for their shitty predicaments. While he wasn’t the most philosophical guy, Winfield believed wholeheartedly that you make your own choices in life and that sometimes those choices were a pile of crap, and people who couldn’t accept that they were wrong were, in most cases, whining pains in the arse. But all that was behind him now. As he stood in the middle of the festival, eyes closed, he could literally feel the thick, muted bass beats of music playing on simultaneous stages, the tidal rise and fall of cheering crowds and the people flowing past and around him like whirlpools in the corners of a flooded river. To Winfield, this entire world away from the world felt like…release.
Dusty too had come to Splendour to escape. Nothing particularly bad had gone down, but then, nothing all that exciting had happened lately either. She’d been seeing
“THE FESTIVAL MEANT A ROAD TRIP, NEW PEOPLE, PARTIES AND THE CHANCE TO COMPLETELY NOT GIVE A FUCK ABOUT ANYTHING.” bands in Sydney, having drinks with the crew after work, doing some paintings and shit, but she was bored of the routine and the festival meant a road trip, new people, parties and the chance to completely not give
a fuck about anything. Thinking about stuff and making plans and being responsible… she didn’t know how or when it all snuck into her life but she was sure as fuck gonna let it all slide for the next four days and lose herself to the moment. The moment, she had decided, was the perfect place to lose it. So when they’d seen each other earlier in the day, of course there was chemistry, a sort of subconscious understanding that they were on the same plane and needing the same things. They’d both put it down to her boots, but cool as they were, the boots were a moot point because both Winfield and Dusty had failed to notice that Splendour was actually hot and dry. Yeah, it had rained a bit on Thursday, but now the sun was actually fucking shining and the only people likely to be bummed about that were The Cure, who don’t mind a bit of moisture in the air because it helps their mascara run. Winfield had told Dusty he was going to go watch King Gizzard whom she prized as a totally kick arse band. She’d been at their last show at the Espy and it was a goddamn riot of epic vibes. As far as she was concerned, this band was whirlwind freedom completely without pretence,exactly the kind of music she loved—and on that night she’d thrashed till her feet blistered and her cheeks were as ruby red as Dorothy’s magic slippers. You
see Dusty loved getting in the mosh and colliding with the crew and today would be no different. She was amped for a rumble. More than that, Dusty wanted to bury a couple of shoulders under Winfield’s ribs, she liked him she decided, and she wanted to be pushed against him by the surging masses. She was in the mood to sweat and be touched, so she headed for the Amphitheatre at three on the dot to see if she could find him. It was just as Gamma Knife (a mad Gizzy classic) kicked in and the whole place started going absolutely apeshit that Winfield spotted Dusty. At that point she was still a way off, getting blasted this way and that, but he liked how she held her own as she fought her way through. When she finally got to him she grabbed his head and, in a moment of pure impulse, sucker punched him right in the kisser with her soft pink mouth. Winfield’s heart exploded right then and there. The music, the energy, this girl he’d only known for a handful of seconds gently locked onto his bottom lip…he felt like he was riding a horse that was riding a comet that was riding a baby monkey that was riding a pig. She pulled her head back for just a second and their eyes met and from then on, this festival was theirs. ₴
, Don t miss us hitting ma.in stage today at 4:30pm e We will be playing som new tracks from our upcoming EP Let Me Be Clear. Your mate Dave
LET ME BE CLEAR (EP) OUT JULY 29
I’m playing the GW McLennan tent at 12:30pm where you’ll hear a bunch of songs from my debut album Glorious Heights, out on August 5! - MONTA I GNE
GLORIOUS HEIGHTS OUT AUGUST 5
T H E DA I LY SPLEN DOU R: S at urday, 23 July, 2016
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