Music Feeds Issue 25

mUSIC Feeds

SUPPORTING THE INDEPENDENT MUSIC / ARTS SCENE OF SYDNEY AND BEYOND WWW.MUSICFEEDS.COM.AU

ISSUE 25 july 14 - july 28

later than your mum's period

I LIKE CATS GHOUL DANIMALS

EXQUISITE CORPSE 1st BIRTHDAY

3

T E L ED Well here it is a whole week late, and with half the stories we hoped to have in here. Don't you just love weed? We obviously do too much.

But anyway I digress.

25

It give me a great and unfathomably perverted pleasure to celebrate Exquisite Corpse's 1st Birthday with this special issue dedicated to recognising the night's passage from an uncontrollable crying, soiling and vomiting infant into the spectacular drooling toddler it is today, or depending on when you are reading this will be by the 30th of June.

In recognition of us recognising the event I talk to EC main man James Shirlaw about everything from pentecostal exorcisms and animal entrails to naked men gift wrapped in glass boxes and Kandinsky's obsession with returning to the womb.

We've got i like cats, Ghoul, Danimals, The Fumes, The Ray Mann Three, The Paper Scissors, The Bedroom Philosopher, Unkle Ho and Clutch.

We're sorry this was so late, but keep an eye out for forthcoming interviews with Michael Rother, GZA/Genius, The Black Ryder and many more to come.

R

ay Mann Three are a Music Feeds favourite, as is lead singer Ray. He has hair like Amy Winehouse and wears a vest; basically the guy’s a legend. However, it turns out that people are cottoning onto the stylish Ray and his sweet tunes. The Japanese have seen the potential and come a knockin’.

Mikey Music Feeds, but not as well as food does

“Since the end of last year we had a label from Japan get in touch with us, they were keen to put out our album in Japan, they had faith that it would appeal to people over there. So we spent the first few months of this year sorting out that deal and the album came out a few weeks ago in Japan.”

While simultaneously taking over Japan the band has also utilized the Internet. Instead of wasting precious monies on creating EPs, Ray Mann and his three, well technically two, have released songs digitally, whetting the appetites of their fans.

EDITOR Mikey Carr michael.carr@musicfeeds.com.au ART DIRECTOR Dan Clarke dan@musicfeeds.com.au WEBMASTER Toby Smith toby.smith@musicfeeds.com.au

SUB EDITORS Rochelle Fernandez, Janet King, Clare Molesworth, Jesse Hayward CONTRIBUTORS Thomas Mitchell, James Paker, Amelia Schmidt, Kurt Davies, Corinne O'Keefe, Matt Lausch, Zarina Varley & Pep's Mum.

“We’ve released a few digital only EPs on iTunes, it was little bits of music, either live versions or remixes. It’s been our version of live updates of what we’ve been doing creatively. It’s digital so there is no money spent on packaging, we can get things out quicker, we did three in 6 months which was a new experience for us.”

That’s not the only new experience for the band lately, with the line-up also changing. Bart (who knew people actually had that as a name?) left the group, and Grant came in, meaning the name didn’t have to change to the Ray Mann Two. In between these movements the band has struggled to find rehearsal time.

“Hopefully, nothing set as yet but we are keen to do it, in the meantime we’re waiting to see how it unfolds. The album came out a few weeks ago, the response so far has been really encouraging.

The initial response was good, the album debuted strongly on Japanese iTunes, retailers have been pushing it hard over there. We’re quite big in Japan.”

“Well funnily enough we haven’t played a lot together this year, most of what has been going on has been behind the scenes or administrative stuff.

So this tour that we’ve just started the shows are the first we’ve one in two months so that’s been kicking things pretty fresh for me and for Byron, and for Grant too.”

Everyone is big in Japan I think, the national height is like 27 cm, but I keep this witty remark to myself while Ray continues.

The same Grant I mentioned earlier. Keep up.

“Grant was playing with us last year before he joined the band full time. We do know the songs inside out but the thrill is getting to know each other better musically, that doesn’t seem to get old for us, it seems to be getting more exciting.”

While the Sydney scene has embraced the Ray Mann Three there is no doubting how lucrative the international market is. It’s just so lucrative.

So signing with a Japanese label is a big step, now to tour?

“The impression I’m getting is that the system is different there. Over here the label or the band has to sell the shops/retailers on stocking their work whereas in Japan the retailer kind of sells the label.

So they ask for a certain amount of stock and they push it as hard as they can. We’ve been sent photos of these racks of our CD’s on sale, with amazing signage, its surreal, the kind of display that here, someone like Pink would have.”

One thing Pink doesn’t have that the boys do have, besides penises, long hair and credibility you could rest your hat on, is a video made by a fan. Ray Man Three, because of their sensual and intimate music have fans that are equally sensual.

One particular Melbournian took it upon herself to make a tape and the rest is history.

“This dancer from Melbourne she introduced herself, liked our stuff, we ended up featuring her in one of the videos we made. That purely came about from us doing a lot of shows in Melbourne, keeping in touch with her and she sent me a video of her freestyle dancing to our song and I just looked t it and thought, ‘This is the clip.’ We just needed to insert ourselves. It was literally our audience dancing to our song.”

It’s beautifully cyclical and the video is sweet. In between taking over Asia, digitally controlling our lives and dancing with their fans the band has also found time for a tour that, by the sounds of it, will be quite tame.

“Try to get as much sleep as you can between rounds of shows, it’s such an old Nanna thing to say.

We did 30 dates last year, maybe 12 of them were in a row and that was a big learning curve for us. In all the years of touring with Kid Confucius we never did a run that was that intense.”

You can find Ray Man Three probably watching Antiques Road Show at 5pm with a milky cup of tea, but if that fails then catch their Sydney show on July 24th at the Basement as part of the Opa Opa tour.

Visit http://www.ray-mann.com/ for more info.

4

unkle ho by jesse hayward

5

A

by jesse hayward

h, Sunda Kelapa. Batavia. Jakarta. On the outskirts of the city the smells of exotic fruits and dung fill the air.

Old elephant tracks are preser ved in the dried mud of the jungle path that leads towards the old temple. It is there I am to meet with Unkle Ho, member of The Herd and Elefant Traks, to discuss the missing link that is his latest release.

“For Indonesians, music is a part of life as much as food, religion and family. Everyday in Jakarta there is some sort of festival going on in a park somewhere. Every young Indonesian I know is involved in a band or some creative pursuit. As well as Gamelan music which many people are aware of, I'm really enjoying Dangdut music. It is kind of Indonesian pop mixed in with Bollywood influences, it is quite unique.

“The EP is quite diverse, I find it hard to stick to one particular style. Lime Juice, Kindergarten and Subterranea are the instrumental hip hop songs that I'm still enjoying writing immensely.

Sarsaparilla is a venture into dancehall type territory, while Joy and Luck is a 3/4 ‘movie soundtrack’ song. I'm hoping my next release will be more consistent, perhaps another EP in only 3/4 style or a dub-styled bass excursion. I'm not that married to releasing full albums either, it is too much work for one person and people's listening habits are changing.

”I haven't written much Unkle Ho music lately, but there is a local hip hop scene which I've begun to tap into and I've started a project with a rapper and turntablist, both Indonesian. It is a challenge in itself to write music, let alone doing it in another language. Somehow we manage to communicate via high fives, hand signals and speaking some weird Indo-English dialect.”

”This EP is kinda like the missing link between my old work and the new work I'm about to embark on. Most of the songs include a lot of live playing, such as violins, guitars, bass and piano.

I've a got few people now that I want to use again for recording, I'll take them along my ride, time travelling through dusty crates of samples.”

The sound of music has been getting closer and now the source finally bursts round a leafy corner and into colourful view. A parade of people – children and adults – play music and dance their way past us and around the next corner. We wait until they have past.

THE BEDROOM PHILOSOPHER T

Hopefully some nifty new beats will be coming out of that collaboration. Unkle Ho makes extensive use of samples and is militant when it comes to the debate over sampling as a legitimate art form.

“For those who say that sampling isn't music, I'll say that people have been sampling ever since music started, borrowing bits that they liked from other music. Elvis Presley, Jimmy Hendrix, The Rolling Stones and umm, Jet. ”I do believe sampling is an art as there is a very tangible creative process. Firstly, you have to listen out for the right sample, it might be a 3 second piano line or a trumpet riff, but it has to have something that you can foresee working with an imaginary beat. Then you gotta cut the sample up, time it correctly, stretch it, fade it, layer it and make sure it is in key with other samples, then to progress the song, try creating a different pattern using the same samples, or find new ones altogether. After doing this for many days and nights, making it sound as seamless as possible, some punk will listen to it and ask why aren't there any vocals in it!”

We stroll through the temple grounds, nodding to the groundskeepers. They chuckle and smile knowingly. Smug bastards. Unkle Ho had to assemble a crack team of musicians to help with his live show, but as they never showed up Senator Jim now provide instrumentation.

“With instruments, both live and in recorded music, the results can sometimes be very unpredictable and spontaneous. There is an immediacy you just don't get with electronic music. During the live shows, I provide the backbone to the music, while Senator Jim can cut loose on the trumpet, melodica or theramin. We try to not make the songs too rigid, that way the songs always sound a bit different.”

Unfortunately we won’t be having the pleasure of an extended visit from Unkle Ho. “My wife got a job working for a company in Jakarta, so we had a big conversation… actually it was more like five, then decided to move here for a few years.

Luckily I haven't missed any Herd gigs because flying back is quick and relatively cheap.

I'm still able to work for Elefant Traks through the internet, in fact it is probably a good thing I work remotely because there aren't enough desks now at the Elefant headquarters. An Unkle Ho tour will not be possible, however I will be playing at the Garden Music Festival in Sydney on September 27.”

he Bedroom Philosopher looks like a man who enjoys a nice cup of tea, so we meet at my mum’s house. There we are served in glorious backyard splendour, in ill-matching mugs our tea and on toasty squares our marmalade.

Justin Heazlewood, the philosopher in the bedroom, has just released his fourth album and is eager to talk to us about it, like a person who is eager to talk about themselves is when being interviewed for an article about themselves.

Awkward enough? Wait.

“I opened a comedy show with a song about a depressed mother, all her kids have moved out and she’s wondering what to do with her life. Rule 101 in comedy, open up on a big note, come out punching. And I’m like, nuh. I rock up with this song about a sad woman.” Justin chuckles. “Life is light and shade, really funny, like hilarious, but also really depressing. In equal measure really. Most respected artists seem to cover that spectrum.”

We are talking about his new album. “It’s an exercise in overcompensating. Me trying to run screaming away from the whole comedy box that I’ve been shoved into, like a scared kitten after Christmas day when no-one wants me anymore. I’m like ‘I want to be taken seriously! Look at me, I can play my

instruments!’ It’s wanting to have an album you can put on at a party and everyone doesn’t leave the room. An album that you could have, well, not complete intercourse to but maybe just a light finger, only external.” My mum heard that. Justin seems determined to create these awkward scenes.

“When your audience haven’t worked out what you’re doing, that’s when you’ve got their full attention. So I’m constantly ducking and weaving, like some side-burned Cheshire cat. The thing about our gigs is that the audience have to do a bit of work, they’re over the top. You have to put bits of the puzzle together. It’s musical Ikea, we’re hurling the pieces out and people have to assemble them themselves. The average band is throwing deckchairs at the audience, pre-assembled items, but we’re all about the parts.”

The Awkwardstra, as Justin dubs them, are recent additions to his one-man stylings. Justin has recently (last year) added a percussionist and sitar player.

“I’m amazed sitars aren’t used in more music in general. I’m a massive Cornershop fan, they were one of the only cool bands who made it a feature.

The Beatles did great stuff with it and when I heard it I was like wow! You know, guitar 2.0. It’s that sweet drone.”

Justin also publishes in The Big Issue and works for RRR radio in Melbourne but is definitely focused on his folk/comedy music career. “It took me half a set to realise that I’m quite happy just to do songs. That’s the main reason why I’ve been doing all these music tours, so I can concentrate on the freakin songs and not have to worry too much about how funny it is. But then I get there on the night and I’m like ‘aah! It’s not funny! People will hate me’. I’m a slave to laughter. It’s an emotional addiction you get from doing stand-up comedy for too long. I’m still not free of its needy grasp.

Whereas your average musician can rock in and play his heartfelt ballads and, you know, a few claps will do. Jesus, I’m needy, I just need so much validation from the crowd.”

Brown and Orange is The Bedroom Philosopher’s latest album. It features album artwork reminiscent of early 90s neo-deco kitchen and high school kitsch. Justin has created an awkward persona and this is evident in the pictures as well as the lyrics. Songs such as ‘Party In My Head’ are at turns insightful and stupid, while ‘Jesus On Big Brother’ is, well, odd. The album, perhaps because of Justin’s intentions, seems to demand to be considered as a piece of art. Whether or not you like the brush strokes, you cannot deny its legitimacy.

My mum hands Justin a biscuit that he takes distractedly. He is too caught up in his vitriolic diatribe against popular music.

“A lot of lyrics are disposable and purposeless, really average poems put to music. The Flight of the Conchords album, it’s really obvious what they’re doing there. I have a real hard time with everything being neat and tidy, tied up in a neat little bow and everyone going ‘yes yes I totally get this’. I wanna smash the whole thing down a bit. I’m the weird kid in art class who’s just made some weird half robot half octopus thing out of clay, and no-ones talking to him. I’m really trying hard to go against the grain.

At the same time I do want to be respectful to the audience, I don’t want to be one of those artists who goes ‘I’m doing something really weird, fuck you’ then throws a bucket of black paint over the crowd and runs out.”

Justin then throws a bucket of paint over my mother and runs out. My mother blames me for the entire incident.

7

the paper scissors by daniel cunningham

T

he Paper Scissors are a band who get as good as they give. They give it loud, raucously and sometimes a little bit drunk so if the vibe is right, you can be sure that a Paper Scissors show will be the most romantic night of your life. Failing that, it should be a bloody good one at least. Their shows are everything aforementioned and a little bit more - communal, uninhibited and a full on exercise in reckless abandon. It's rollicking good fun.

The machine has started once more as the band return to the scene with all the swagger and fervour they left us with two years ago. They've just released an aptly titled new EP called "Howl", and are currently downing the vitamins in preparation for their forthcoming tour.

It's a good thing too, because like all their material, Howl is a collection of tunes dying to be played live. It's all still classic Scissors whilst flaunting a newer, shinier side to their coin and serves as a glimmer of what's on the not too distant horizon.

"It's been a long time and we just felt like we had to give people a bit of an idea of where we were

going, and I think that's really what this is." explains Scissors front man Jai Pyne. "It's a pretty brief little snippet, but it shows a different sound... an extension of what we were doing and where we're going. We wanted to still keep people happy and show them that we're still around."

With the Howl tour approaching ever swiftly, the kids can expect some intense good vibes from the shows, and Jai assures that his pleasant on the phone demeanour doesn't fool "We're all very obtuse, pretty chilled dudes, whereas when we get onstage we perform and we let everything go... It's good and it's kind of purifying in a way."

While the downtime of the last few years has seen the band change, it's certain that they haven't been the only ones. "I've noticed its kind of changing, maybe the crowds are a bit older these days." Jai muses. "By the same token you never know, and I'd like to do some more all ages shows. It's a pretty broad spectrum of Paper Scissor fans, people in their forties and fifties and people in their teens."

Regardless, he's proud of the fact there's no agenda when it comes to playing live "We just really enjoy making music and playing for as many people as possible and hopefully not cut anyone out, and I suppose that’s reflected in the crowd."

It's a bit of a blessing to be a universally enjoyed band, and it's mostly due to a robust live history of sparking the biggest responses possible from their crowds "I want the audience to sing with us and really reflect what we're giving to them" Jai affirms. "They lose their preconceptions and self consciousness and throw back at us everything that we give to them. That's what I want out of an audience and hopefully that's what they want to see from us."

Despite all their wins, the Paper Scissors remain a fiercely independent act and have predominately held their own from the outset. "I think in this day and age so many bands have to do it themselves and learn it as they go. I think we're in a good position now that we've learnt a lot about putting out records and the industry and its definitely good to have a knowledge of what's happening with your band."

Jai says it's an ideal The Paper Scissors endorse, but not without some mild trepidation.

"At the same time I think it can be too much.

I want to go out write a song but I'm too busy trying to make sure people come to our shows. It’s a bit of a conflict of interest trying to look after the business side of things and the creative side of things as well."

The Paper Scissors are surely back and in full swing, and you'd be hard pressed to miss them over the next few months. You'd also be hard pressed not to fear for another lengthy absence of new material from these caffeinated animals. Fear not, for the interim may be brief this time around. "We're going to be doing some more recording and working on some new music, so people can definitely expect something by the end of the year."

The Paper Scissors are rolling out an east coast tour with Ernest Ellis in Support of "Howl".

Howl is out on iTunes and in stores now.

9

I

t wasn’t all that long ago that I first had the chance to catch up with Steve Merry, shredder extraordinaire for demonic blues duo The Fumes.

When we last spoke he was looking forward to a few weeks off between tours, spending some time with his young family and doing some landscaping work for a Japanese man who resembled a certain character from The Karate Kid. Due to technical problems with that call, I also spent the whole interview sounding like I was talking from the bottom of a fish tank.

Two months down the track, and Steve is right in the middle of another regional rock-fest. I’m still having technical problems, this time of an entirely different nature, but I won’t realise it until it’s far too late to do anything about it.

We start to discuss the new tour, and Steve’s eagerness to revisit some of the regional venues The Fumes have covered in tours past. He tells me about a show they did in Maitland “the other week. People were hanging from the rafters, so that was a first I think. We sold out a venue in WA too, so that was impressive. We’ve had a pretty good response all round so far.”

With a tour schedule that rivals the most ambitious U2 world tours, The Fumes can end up spending quite some time away from family and friends while they tear around outback Australia in a rented van. Rather than spending this whole tour away from his young family, Steve tells me had a chance to give them a taste of the rock star lifestyle recently.

“I brought the wife and daughter on tour with me for a while. We had a good chance to spend some time together down in Melbourne. There were a couple of times, wakin’ up at five in the morning and getting in the car to drive for hours. I think they’re over the whole touring thing. They don’t want to come on tour anymore.”

Also along for the ride are indie darlings The Protectors. Steve says “some bands you tour with can be really stuck up, have their heads up their own asses” and I have to wonder whether he means the Sydney locals he’s been spending so much intimate time with lately. “Nah, they’re a really good bunch of blokes, good fun to be on the road with” he counters reassuringly.

The Fumes are booked to play the Coaster Festival in September. It’s an event that Steve admits to knowing little about. When I mention

that GZA/The Genius is headlining, he asks “Is he the guy with the lisp?” before realising “he was in Coffee & Cigarettes wasn’t he? With Bill Murray?”

I can’t say I blame a rock-infused guitar god for not knowing that much about US rap music.

As for what’s on the cards in the meantime, Steve says “we’re touring again in July and August. I think we’ll be on the road for the next year or so now. We’ll be writing some new material, playin’ around with some new tracks too.”

At this point, I decide to turn to my Dictaphone and see how long I’ve been talking Steve’s ear off.

It’s then that I realise the damn thing hasn’t been recording anything we’ve been saying.

“Ah that’s alright. You can just make some stuff up if you want” he says. I can almost see him shrugging his shoulders. I figure I better get on to a computer immediately to try and write down every little thing I can remember, but before I do I have to ask Steve about that Japanese landscaper.

“I’m still workin’ with Mr Miyagi when I get the chance” he says between laughs. “He hasn’t pulled out the opium pipe yet.”

That one, at least, you can quote him on.

CLUTCH 10

BY DAN CLARKE

11

N

u Metal burst onto the heavy rock scene in the mid nineties, delivering a slap in the face akin to that of a soiled diaper to established metal bands who thought they’d figured out what it was their adolescent fans wanted.

None of it really bothered Tim Sult, guitarist for U.S. rockers Clutch. “We just kind of had our blinders on when that whole thing was happening. We were just doing our own thing and not down-tuning,” he muses down the line from a hotel room somewhere in Europe.

“I mean, I guess that music is totally fine” he says, “but what really dates it is that tuning they use. The super low, drop D tuning or whatever they use.”

Clutch have just finished their latest tour of Europe and are getting ready to head back to the States.

“We'll be home tomorrow,” Tim says and I notice some relief in his voice at the prospect of seeing some familiar faces again. Not that their response on the mother continent has been disappointing.

“We definitely have a following over here, it's been getting bigger and bigger over the years. Now that we're on our own label and we're doing all of our own stuff it seems like we're actually getting somewhere over in Europe. In the past, when we were on major and other labels, no one really showed too much of an interest in breaking the band overseas. Now that we're doing it all ourselves it seems to be working out good.”

Weathermaker Music is their label, and the first big release on the imprint will be the first long player from Clutch in nearly three years. “It was really just time we did it for ourselves” Tim says of their decision to go it alone. Their last three albums were released on an independent label that “really didn’t have the resources or the time” to promote the band as much as they would have liked.

“Clutch has always been a band that has promoted itself through playing shows. On the music end, it's really no different to anything we've ever done, we just have a record company that's solely focused on Clutch right now.”

With each new album, the band has progressed and refined their hard rock sound, meandering through heavy metal and hardcore punk on the way. More recent releases have seen Clutch returning to the more bluesy roots of rock. Vocalist Neil Fallon has noted that “we’ve been really conscious of the blues over the last couple of years, and you have to admit that the blues really is the source of all rock and roll.

I think it’s important to go to the source to find that inspiration.”

Their latest release, Strange Cousins From The West, is on shelves now. Tim sees it as a true representation of what you might expect to hear at their live shows.

“It's very raw. It sounds like four guys in a room playing. It doesn't sound like a bunch of tracks that were put together on a computer, it sounds like four guys in a room playing songs.”

It does just that, if the four guys in question were bearded titans channeling lightning through their instruments, harnessing the full force and power of a thunderstorm. It’s frantic and edgy, and Tim explains that might have to do with the faster pace of recording this time.

“I would say we definitely recorded this album faster than any recent Clutch albums. We had all the songs written before we went in the studio and we just went in there and busted them out as fast as possible.”

From his hotel room in Latvia or France or wherever the heck Clutch played last night, Tim and the band leave tomorrow to return to their hometown of Maryland. There they’ll play a homecoming show before embarking on another exhaustive leg of touring in North America.

As for their Australian fans, Tim says Clutch are planning to head down under at sometime in the future. “At this point we’re planning to come over in January.” That’s conveniently close to the annual Big Day Out debacle but Tim is unsure whether or not they’re on the bill for that one. “It’d be cool if we were.

I'm pretty sure every show we've played in Australia has been awesome. ” Strange Cousins From The West is out now on Weathermaker Music through Shock Records.

12

13

EXQUISITE CORPSE by mikey carr

“I

think it was Kandinsky who had ideas about going back into the womb,” Exquisite Corpse founder James Shirlaw tells me, “but, with the prospect of hosting a handball handslam however, l ignored this inspiration for a 1st birthday performance.”

Held in the gallery bar of the Oxford Art Factory, Exquisite Corpse started out as a weekly event combining performance art, live music, DJs and projected visuals, and quickly built a following due to the (mostly) good music, free entry and confronting spectacles offered on display.

James himself is a raging workaholic and a large part of why the night has experienced such success. He runs Exquisite Corspe, handling everything from the music to the flyer art, as well as booking for Oxford Art Factory and working on other projects like Siberian Nights. However when I mention his inhuman workload to him he shrugs it off.

“Adding promotion to the role of booking/ organising sometimes come at a strain but it can be simpler to look after the majority of the workload yourself,” he laughs.

Concerns for his health, hygiene and sanity aside, all his work has paid off with the night now old enough to… well, wet itself and say dada. With a whole year behind him I ask James about some of his more memorable moments as organiser of EC. “My first performance at Oxford Art Factory, in April 2008 was quite memorable,” he begins. “Aside from the intentions and the more conceptual points involved in that performance, in regards to being most memorable it helped l was stark naked.

Despite covering the outside of the cube in wrapping paper l was quickly exposed to the entire club, two nights in a row actually, and soon after it landed me a job booking bands.”

But nudity-inspired job offers and mass litter aside, EC is not all about the art. The music and often the musicians themselves put on quite a show for the punters, some artistic, others hedonistic and some full blown satanic.

“After the Warhorse riot in November last year; l'd have to say another significantly memorable

evening would have to be the Taipan, Chemical Deth, Nigga Faggot Jesus Band show in January this year.

Chemical Deth supplied the night with a collection of utterly horrific visuals, hurled animal entrails all over the audience and had an enormous weightlifter pumping iron in amongst the band as they played; no one was left unimpressed and that was before a pentecostal exorcism went down in the cube.”

Art and music aside what Exquisite Corpse is really about and what all good events should be about, is having fun and involving the audience.

In a city where art can be considered by some to be a dirty word, the need to find a middle ground where people who may be a little less artistic can enjoy the performances is tantamount.

“It's worth remembering by placing art and performance in a busy, thriving, energetic nightclub environment the performances then that may be dubbed 'silly' generally do succeed in prompting a good reaction from the audience; absurdism is very important in winning over a nightclub crowd via performance. The 'silly' performances often excite and disgust; there has to be an element of humour a lot of the time.”

My personal favourite such event was when one night I saw a man piss on a woman in the cube.

I’m not a pervert, I just respect people with the courage to do something like that in public.

“The audience certainly got a kick out of that,” James reminisces with me. “They so often do with the illustrious 'SandS through the hourglass' duo.. hmm it reminds me l need to speak to Lucas Abela; he'd be great and just as poignant performing on the floor space or in the cube!

Well public urination, exorcism, nudity, gift wrapping and entrails has led us all to Thursday July 30th, The Exqusite Corpse 1st Birthday Extravaganza, an event which promises to deliver a mix of hedonism, music and art so potent and spicy that Dionysus himself would not be able to sip from it,

his stomach lining having deteriorated over an eternity of alcoholism and eating rich food.

“Yep lots on for the Exquisite Corpse 1st Birthday,” James answers brightly in a somewhat disturbing way almost as if he had been sleep taught the information. “We’ve got a very special Limited Edition Exquisite Corpse compilation featuring tracks and collaborations between all the bands on the bill; i like cats, Ghoul and Danimals. Liam O'Donnell will be hosting the The First Annual Handball Handslam, and Joel Burrows will be presenting two short films; Aquarium and Short Thread Count. The night's festivities will be intertwined with DJ sets by Tron 5, Gibbon Ranks, The Wog Jesus, and Leon Specs.”

So fang yourself a danga and get ready to party like it’s Thursday July 30th, because it will be, bitches.

14

15

N A D

S L A M I

“W

e’ve had a bit of a vote and decided that Danimals is probably more marketable,” Jonti Danilewitz, founder of Danimals tells me.

“Not to say I didn’t like the Frenchness of D’Animals,” he adds rakishly, pronouncing it Dee Animale in a velvety French accent, “but Danimals just sounds more innocent which suits the music better. D’Animals has this ravenous sexual energy and as much as I’d love my music to be ravenous and sexy it’s probably more innocent and childlike.”

Having founded Danimals as a solo side project from Sherlock’s Daughter, the band with whom Jonti ser ves as keyboard, sampling and Nintendo DS maestro, the project star ted out as a rather dif ferent beast to the multi-headed Cerber us it is today.

“I really wanted to pursue something that had a bit of hip hop production. I wasn’t even into many bands at the time you know, I was mainly into electronica and hip hop.

I thought it was really the most interesting thing happening at the time you know, it seemed like this whole new movement.

“But now being in a band, it’s gone full circle. I’m just tr ying to balance it out, just tr ying to merge the two worlds of being in a band and being able to explore those production techniques, which has resulted in Danimals.”

Danimals has only recently sprouted its extra heads with Will Russell (Sherlock’s Daughter, Joysticks), Julian Sudek (Mercy Arms, Nevada Strange) and Moses MacRae (Phrase, Good Buddah) having only joined the project earlier this year. Young though it may be, this beast is wild and live shows have been know to include three dr umming and instr ument hopping like you wouldn’t believe.

by mikey carr

“When we get together we’re just this coiled spring of sexual energy, like jungle cats, but that’s another stor y,” he tells me with a laugh.

Playing alongside i like cats and Ghoul as par t of the upcoming Exquisite Corpse 1st Bir thday, Jonti remains tight lipped about what to expect from their show.

“We want to be good businessmen you know and tell ever yone to come along and find out for themselves, keep it secret,” he teases me. I tr y to persuade him with the currency of the flesh, but to no avail. Taking pity on my pathetic desperation though, he tells me about the Limited Edition Compilation CD to be released on the night.

“We’ve got a few tracks recorded and some jams that we can hopefully fit into the schedule as well, you know just some per formance ideas and experiments we’re working on. All three bands I reckon are on the same page so yeah, it’s wor th exploring and hopefully a lot of unique things will come out of it.”

The band’s direction, apar t from looking bright with a slew of gigs coming up - as well as an ever-increasing fanbase due to this new fangled intranet, is still hazy and musically uncer tain. “Ever ything is in the air because the band is so new. I have no concept set in stone or anything, I have no idea even what the recordings will sound like in the future.

I mean I’m still going to do what I do on my own, just for my own health or whatever, but now that there’s other people involved I think it’s going to change naturally, I just don’t know how.”

Be sure to get down and see the band at Oxford Ar t Factor y on Thursday July 30th with i like cats and Ghoul.

Check em out at myspace.com/jontidanimals

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17

gs our ba ey lost ithout th , n a nt w ly m uck Ita e and we we Ghoul in Rom for 4 days,” Vižintin tells undies guitarist Ivan ent of his singer/rough treatm face. e, the his voice and p y k rs e me ovels showing in for som live oil o in genita m e ouse thpressed. st he d v, I suggend he’s not im ssist Pa houl ba snow and G relief a r, e th e his bro ony down th ight seem m an and th W ith Iv, guitarist An Melbourne itsome time in Italy er Hanno in are ‘taking selves.” Ivan drumm gh the band know them t all true. as thou or ‘getting toe this is not a tely apart’, er assures m omple s, in a c mates and it howev b to t r h othe ey’re my besd piss off ve eac “We lo exual way. Thood laugh anreally loudly.” homos ays have a g by playing e sort we alw thers parents ing som dertak ould forgive each o n u e b not ou c lfey may separation, ye off from se m, u m While th ial lb ti tr a e l t a u m ic b o of mus r needing s hcoming de hing with them foing their fort are approac producess the band nism. tells a proc ting perfectio e,” he g frustra 0% donre. “Soundin 6 e b y a e . m th .. d is d e n re a elop lbum “The a e lagging he d, more dev it so far. e f me voice, more refin ally proud o s. Heaps and massiv tter. We’re re some head ssion... and just be lly it will turn... and percu Hopefuof drumming heaps .” oul old, Gh rhythm ful of Gto a more th u o M in eir EP olving er and Since thave been ev band is eag h e h s T w st. sho us bea ferocio for blood. ur ry g risks. O hun bigger ld and e k ta fo g to trying to ved ten er. Tryin “We’reow has impro prove furth d ideas into live sh lly that will imtruments an nces have hopefuorate new ins y. Our influe up. Slowly.” incorp und constantl just growing our so a bit - we’re and areals s the b shifted g too aats and Danim in th y d a goo Birthda i like c And it’sperform with Corpse’s 1st band set to of Exquisite t where the as part tions, a nigh youth. n celebrant a lot of its ts,” Iva i like caset. Jaie misspe h it w s ig wa this intense nse st EC g te “Our fi “They playedmade this in was types. ats) and Pav whole place mask kept (i like c ck and the this DJ in a eird rape ards e some w the cube. bass sta . Afterw hil in shaking breakcore ws happening I scared playing ance art wa oor-tom and her for 3 perform broke our fl by glaring at Oh, we irl to death rd Art some g he Oxfo songs.” th at T es to once 0 3 ly u is nJ s and nt prom l exces place o Taking the free eve ht of musica ell in step Factory deliver a nig dulgence. W ps a few s again a te sensory inking, Ivan drosonic sillines compleis line of thin t dollops of the party. with thints as to wha bringing to is little h oul guys are oms th g any dwn,” he in g the Gh n ri o b not be supply yourpposed to ny will e u “Antho und so pleash. “There’s s , I will be time roe with a laug m at the endut stylings.” tells m e massive ja ica and hairc s be som lead melod ur lock ave yo h playing d n a down -psych-jam. to get id y on Be sureed by Ivan m Birthda se’s 1st chopp rp o C quisite play Ex Ghoul th. dney houlsy July 30 .com/g e c a p s out my Check

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SHERLOCK'S DAUGHTER W/ LAMPLIGHT

S

upergroup i like cats have been wowing audiences for just over a year, ever since they were gathered together by Charles M Diddy.

Diddy, to be born 2975 and a direct descendant of P-Diddy, will be a music collector specialising in the music of the early twenty-first century. Hearing of the band i like cats through a fellow collector, he will be so enamoured of the name that he will order their entire discography, only to find they were a shitty synthpop duo from Latvia. So in love with the band name will Diddy be, that he will invent a time machine, determining to preserve the name from an unworthy band.

Taking the simplest course, he will return to our time and kill both band members in their cribs. Returning to his own time he will find that his actions have dramatically altered the timeline both future and past. For instance, no one invented the theremin and also there are lots more possums. What will be worse, however, is that when he returns there will be a band with the name i like cats! Attempting to remedy his mistake, he will return again and again to the past, each time murdering a baby and each time returning to a world with more possums and an inferior band with the name i like cats.

“What can I do?” He will cry angrily to the heavens.

“And what's with all these goddamned motherfucking possums?!” After sitting in meditation for five nonyears in the space between time itself, he will realise what he has to do. “I've got it! Gathering together the greatest musicians of all time and all times, I shall create a band the likes of which shall never be seen again! And they shall be called i like cats!”

The rest is musical history. (Or it will be. Whatever. You try telling a story set in the future in past tense from a present perspective, see how far you get!) After spending centuries of objective time researching the future and past for the members of his band, he chose five men. Only five, for that is the number most holy to our Lady Eris, and only men, because Diddy was a bit of a misogynistic prick.

Rollo #23derson, guitarist from the year 17974, when the most popular fast food is yak nuggets; Dominico Mercera, cellist from the year 1723, an instrumental figure in the Mapuche uprising in Chile; Bill Stone, drummer gnome from the year 5003, hailing from the town of Muscaria in the Fungal Region, what we now know as Russia; Jaie Gonzalez, bassist from the year

2030, currently dating his mother and soon to father himself; and Dylan Baskind, who is the guitarist from the Winter People.

Bringing together these five in the one room in Stanmore, he dubbed the band i like cats in a special ceremony involving darts and the ritual blowing of the nose. In that room he would carve his greatest sculpture. His greatest ever, for this would be a sculpture born of the purest clay! But mostly because he had never sculpted previously, so by definition it would be his greatest sculpture. It would also be his greatest cake, his greatest poem; every metaphor you can think of that is appropriate, this would be his greatest one of those, and as you can probably tell, that's a lot of greatest. He'd made capsicum soup before, but the musical soup he would make in that room would still be the greatest soup he'd ever made, and that capsicum soup was pretty frickin great!

Working with the guys for days on end, he gave them the benefit of his musical knowledge. His mental music library spanned millennia; the breadth of his critical knowledge was vast. For hours he would lecture, pouring his wisdom into them like a quite large bucket full of wisdom.

Finally, i like cats were ready for their debut performance. Taking to the stage like huge musical cabbage, they leafed through the minds of their audience like an impatient Mediterranean man leafing through women's magazines at a doctor's surgery.

The audience, having never had their minds riffled before, went absolutely mad. The show was a fantastic success. Taking their final bows, they called for Diddy to take the stage and share in the glory that he himself had created.

But Diddy was not there. He had been rushed to hospital from his hotel room earlier in the evening.

The two fifteen-year-old girls with him at the time said he'd just had too much cocaine but Diddy was pronounced dead on arrival. Tragically, the seeds of hope that Diddy had planted with the massacre of those Latvian babies had finally come to fruition, yet he would never taste his own success. i like cats first studio album is currently being mixed and can be expected in about six weeks. You can see them live headlining Exquisite Corpse's enormous first birthday. In memoriam, Charles M Diddy.

PHOTOS BY KURT DAVIES