Raw Ink Magazine – September 2013 by Raw Ink Magazine

MAGAZINE

.COM

ISSUE 24, SEPTEMBER 2013

BRISBANE | GOLD COAST | TWEED COAST

---------------------------------------------------------------------------THE RAW INK TEAM

ROXY COPPEN

Graphic designer and editor roxy@rawinkmagazine.com www.roxycoppen.com

RUTH DUNN

Journalist ruth@rawinkmagazine.com

LIANA TURNER

This issue marks our second birthday! 24 issues later and we still love what we’re doing and can’t wait for the next birthday!

Journalist and photographer liana@rawinkmagazine.com www.liana-anitra.tumblr.com

From the whole Raw Ink team, we’d like to say thankyou to all of our readers for being with us for these two years!

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If you know of any creative events happening in your local area, or would like to contribute to the magazine, feel free to send us an email to: roxy@rawinkmagazine.com

COVER GRAPHIC BY

ROXY COPPEN ---------------------------------------------------------------------------FACEBOOK www.facebook.com/rawinkmagazine TWITTER www.twitter.com/rawinkmagazine ---------------------------------------------------------------------------2

Hello Readers,

Don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on our Twitter-tweets. We’ll see you next month. From,

THE RAW INK TEAM xx

CONTENTS 4 16

‘Brisbane Festival Highlights’ Ruth Dunn

‘Kim Salmon – The Darling Downs’ Liana Turner

‘Typism 2013’ Photographs by Claire Sewell

‘Chit Chat Corner with David Don’ Ruth Dunn

‘The Perch Creek Family Jugband’ Liana Turner

‘Bears With Guns – Rob Saunders’ Liana Turner

‘Bobby Alu’ Liana Turner 3

Brisbane Festival Brisbane Airport Light Garden Photograph by Lucid Metal

highlights

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Brisbane Festival kicked off with a bang and has continued to charge Brisbane with a creative pulse of energy for the last two weeks. With less than a week to go we thought our readers might like to see some of the highlights from the festival.

Opening Day Concert Atmosphere Photography

OPENING NIGHT The opening night of Brisbane Festival was met with approximately 50, 000 people attending free and ticketed events. The popular Santos GLNG City of Lights wowed crowds with its bright pulsing lights and new thrilling live performances from Melbourne-based collective Strange Fruit. Throughout the festival this collective has continued to captivate audiences with their mixture of dance and circus acts on the Santos GLNG City of Lights barge. Way to dial it up a notch I say. The opening day also included a concert during the day and a number of performances at The Spiegeltent and QPAC

stormie mills

The Stormie Mills Project When I visited Melbourne a few years ago I came across the work of Stormie Mills in a neat little gallery in Armadale. Mills is a Perth based artist whose iconic character based artworks are highly collected in Australia and have become internationally recognised. There is something about his emotionally open characters that strikes a chord with the human condition. We know what itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s like to feel sadness, joy, loneliness, happiness and puzzlement. This ability to relate to his characters as well as his incredible artistic style makes it hard to not become engaged with his artworks. His artworks are often black, white and grey, however he mixed things up a bit for Brisbane Festival. If you have been wandered through Brisbane lately you would have come across the giant pink bunnies that have mysteriously been popping up in various places. Brisbane Festival organisers commissioned Mills to create this huge street art project and have had a great response from the public. The first bunny appeared at Westfield Carindale on 23rd of August, disappearing on the 1st of September. Other locations have included Woollongabba, Queen Street, the University of Queensland, River Quay, The Barracks, Mt Coot-tha and King George Square to name a few. Three new artworks by Mills in his iconic style also appeared on the wall around The Spiegeltent at South Bank on the day of the opening. 9

Freeze Frame The world wide premiere of Freeze Frame headlined Brisbane Festival with a fusion of dance, music and theatre. The show created a portrait of the passion and pain in one of Los Angeles’ toughest neighbourhoods. Freeze Frame is directed, choreographed and written by threetime Emmy award-winning choreographer Debbie Allen and includes a powerful soundtrack directed by Rickey Minor. In her time Debbie Allen has been involved in projects with Michael Jackson and Sammy Davis Junior, has been a judge on So You Think You Can Dance and directed Grey’s Anatomy. Rickey Minor’s experience is no less exciting with a career including American Idol, the Grammy Awards and superstar tours such as Christina Aguilera, Ray Charles and Beyoncé. But let’s not forget the incredibly talented kids who graced the stage to share and stories from LA. Brisbane Festival Artistic Director Noel Staunton said “I am incredibly inspired by the dynamic performances of these children and young adults who are using music and dance as a creative output to share some extraordinary stories.” An exhibition called Body Language was held in conjunction with Freeze Frame and featured artwork on plaster torsos by young Australian artists from disadvantaged backgrounds. This project is part of the Boystown Art Program and was designed to give young people a medium through which to tell their stories. Both Freeze Frame and Body Language tell untold stories of how art, dance and music can transform lives. 10

Freeze Frame photograph by Douglas Kirkland

Hungry Kids of Hungary The Hungry Kids of Hungary came home to showcase their latest album at Brisbane Festival. Amidst a relentless touring schedule, the indie sensation performed a sold out show at The Spiegeltent on Tuesday 24 of September. Their second, eagerly awaited album You’re a Shadow was released at the beginning of the year and has already received raved reviews from Rolling Stone, Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian. An eager crowd enjoyed the toe tapping, body swaying hits of the Hungry Kids of Hungary as they played their new popindie hits as well as some favourites from their first album. Since they united as a bunch of friends with a shared love of writing music, the Hungry Kids of Hungary have landed multiple hit singles on triple j’s rotation, have toured with the likes of OK Go, Little Birdy and Washington and landed slots at festivals such as The Big Day Out, Spendour in the Grass and Homebake. Their tracks have also hit our television screens in shows like The Inbetweeners, Grey’s Anatomy, Ugly Betty and Cougar Town.

For more information about Brisbane Festival head to www.brisbanefestival.com.au

Hungry Kids of Hungary Photograph by Angelo Kehagias

Santos GLNG City of Lights Atmosphere Photography

KIM SALMON

THE DARLING DOWNS

The Darling Downs is one power duo indeed. After six years, Kim Salmon and Ron S. Peno have rejoined forces to produce their third album. Some would call it a hiatus. Others would call it a break”. But what is it, really? As Kim Salmon explains, it’s simply the way real music happens. In The Days When The World Was Wide is your first offering in six years. What were your expectations of this album compared to your previous work? It’s a strange reality that we’re only releasing it now. The album has been written and recorded since early last year. We’re very happy to be back. This is as good as our previous work. Maybe even better. Did having time away from The Darling Downs allow you to take on a fresh approach? It’s considered a big thing – how long we’ve been away. We’d recorded the one album, which surprised everyone. It was well received, so we followed up on that quite quickly. Our second album was received in very much the same way, from the same people. This album takes it from one level to another. It’s not about the commerciality. We had time away; Ron and I were both busy with other projects. But we said well, when the passions there to do it, we’ll do it.

With the first two albums, we felt like we’d said what we’d needed to say. There wasn’t a need to keep creating that same sound. I do feel that back then, we didn’t have the opportunity to make it a genuine experience. While it wasn’t a complete failure before, when the inspiration comes out of my life, I feel the material is more enduring. You and Ron have been friends for over three decades, after meeting backstage at a Surrealists show. Does it help to work with someone you have such a strong bond with? It helps. It’s nice to be working with your mate. It’s fun, there’s laughter. You get to have a nice time, have a few cups of tea. I wouldn’t want anything else. This album has had contributions from the likes of Mike Stranges and Julitha Ryan; what was it like working with them? Mike worked with me all the time anyway with Precious Jules, so having him on board to help produce was great. We had total trust. Julitha played piano for us, and she’s very good. Very intricate. This album is said to mark a musical shift in time and place – from Appalachia of the 1940s to Greenwich Village of the 1960s. We were mostly just making it up. We went with what we thought of at the time. We liked to capture the moment, rather than sounding too rehearsed. It was interesting to have done the recordings like that. It was an interesting way to record, to work out our repertoire in a more spontaneous manner. I find so much that things can just go right in the moment, when they don’t just sound thrown together. You, Ron and Mike produced the record with the help of Andrew “Idge” Hehir of Soundpark Studios, how did that work for you? Idge was able to get a sense of what we’re trying to do. It was very much like the original process,not pre-meditated. On writing with Ron – have you always felt this duo has simply worked? That’s how I feel. I was emphatic about it when we started. It was a good dynamic, with no backing band. Our two personalities do work together when we’re performing. Would you agree this album is even more strikingly evocative than your first two? I’d like to think they’re all striking and evocative. We’re just adding to it, with different aspects. The first album was more beautiful, then with the second album there was this darkness. With this album, the lyrics are more defined. This album was funded by Barry Williams – a fan who urged the two of you to create new material. How did it feel to have that level of support from a fan? He saw us playing at the old bar in Fitzroy. He was the last one there, and he offered to fund it if we could make new material. He was well off, so good on him. Ron had trouble accepting it, there was a bit of guilt there, but the guy really wanted to do it. I was okay with it. We had complete control of the music, and Barry encouraged that. If you look at art through the centuries, it’s always political people with money who dictate the art that’s made. Art does need to be independent, there should be no restrictions, it shouldn’t be censored. The thing is, you need money to produce something. All Barry wanted was for us to do what were already doing. Art is so important because it reflects society, it reflects society’s views. Art has its own intrinsic value long after its makers have perished. This album reflects that.

Typism Inspirational Conference 2013 Photographs by Sea Sewell Design Photography www.facebook.com/pages/Sea-Sewell-Design-Photography/21085 7195724653?ref=ts&fref=ts

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Marco Natolli

marconatolli@gmail.com

Raw Ink + Typism Comp Winner

CHIT CHAT CORNER with

DAVID DON RUTH DUNN

If someone asks ‘who is this David Don fellow?’ what would a clued up person reply? “Ridiculous Bastard” in the nicest way possible. A kind hearted soul who likes to question everything. He likes delicious food and lots of it. An ambitious artist who likes to push the boundaries in every respect including the law. The guy is always laughing. When did it all begin for you? I would say about 6 years ago, my first exhibition which was a collaboration show with a few friends. At the time a few of us lived in a house in Paddington, which was dubbed the “Frat House”. We decided to turn the exhibition space into a replica of our lounge room, bongs and all. A great success all round and that’s when I decided to dedicate my life to artistic pursuits. How has your artistic work changed over time? Well I began as a graffiti artist some time ago, and for most of my ‘artistic career” my practice revolved around the use of aerosol. Since beginning formal study a few years ago my artistic endeavours have 42

changed dramatically. The more traditional techniques such as painting and drawing have taken a back seat, and I now focus upon installation and performance. An interesting transition but I feel it was necessary to progress as an artist. What are the most important things to you as an artist? As a human, family & friends and their love and support! As an artist, music, wine and the freedom to experiment. Can you tell me about the main artistic mediums you work across and what you like about them? At the moment, video installation and performance dominate my practice. What I like about these mediums is that they are new and fresh to me. By harnessing these new formats I have transformed the way my work and the meaning behind it is interpreted. I still feel that strong links remain between my traditional practices and the new forms that I create today.

A NIGHT IN THE VALLEY (2013) 43

MURAL COLLABORATION

You are part of the upcoming RAW event called ‘Translations’ happening on the 27th of Sept. What can we expect from you in this show? All I will say is that it is an interactive installation involving lots of colour. What are you most looking forward to about this experience? To show-case my larger works on a public platform and the opportunity to meet and possibly collaborate with other artists in the future. What else do you have coming up on your agenda? Nothing solid at this very moment, but I’m currently working towards an exhibition at the end of the year. All the details will be on my website soon.

To show-case my larger works on a public platform and the opportunity to meet and possibly collaborate with other artists in the future. What else do you have coming up on your agenda? Nothing solid at this very moment, but I’m currently working towards an exhibition at the end of the year. All the details will be on my website soon. To check out more of David’s work head to www.daviddon.com.au

For more info about RAW visit ww.rawartists.org/brisbane

To check out more of David’s work head to www.daviddon.com.au

For more info about RAW visit ww.rawartists.org/brisbaneYou are part of the upcoming RAW event called ‘Translations’ happening on the 27th of Sept. What can we expect from you in this show? All I will say is that it is an interactive installation involving lots of colour. What are you most looking forward to about this experience? MIRROR BALL ROOM (2013)

The Perch Creek Family Jugband

LIANA TURNER Ahead of their Dressin’ Up & Shakin’ Down tour, there are many questions one might ask the Perch Creek Family Jugband. Where do these mystical sounds come from? How is their music so mysteriously beautiful it makes us want to run away with our non-existent bearded boyfriends, to start a folk band and learn to play the washboard (not exactly in that order)? We may not have discovered the meaning to life, but one fraction of the mostly-brothers-and-sisters-band, Lear Hodgkins had time to ponder some equally important matters. The Perch Creek Family Jugband has practically been performing as long as walking, says Lear.“We’ve been playing together for a very, very long time,” he says. “We all started out learning music. Our Dad got us started.” “He’d played a bit before but when our older sister started playing piano he picked up the guitar. They formed a band with some friends, and eventually everybody just learnt a different instrument and one day we decided to form a family band. It’s probably been about ten years, for the Perch Creek Family Jugband.” 48

Not many barely-adult bands could boast having played a handful of festivals around the country at such a young age. Nonetheless, Lear seems to take it all with a startling level of humility. “It’s been an epic journey,” he says, “ But in other ways it’s not… it’s just been something that’s grown as we’ve grown.” The Perch Creek Family Jugband’s recent single, Big Things Calling, has so far received a delightful response – and with good reason. The song is not only aurally superb; it represents a moment of transition of the band, as they become more intertwined and collaborative in their songwriting. In terms of the group working more closely together to make music, Lear seems to think it’s been working out quite alright. “We didn’t really know what to expect,” he says. “We thought there’d be a lot more disagreements with different ideas, but we tried our hand at it. We found we could collaborate together and find things we all really like. It’s been a great thing for writing and having new material that everyone really loves – that everyone’s had input into. There’s always a few [disagreements], but we definitely work them all out. It’s been a rather smooth ride, which has been really good.”

“Our music’s fairly diverse in terms of genre,” Lear says. “That single in particular contains a bunch of different stuff. It’s got a contemporary folky, rootsy sort of sound. I think this song draws on all the strengths of the band. All those instruments, the harmonies, and everything that makes us work together.” When asked whether or not their upcoming album marks a milestone in refining the band’s sound, Lear would probably have to say yes, fo’ sho’. “We’ve all got out our roles, we’ve got our harmonies we like,” he says, “There’s not too many disputes over who had which harmony and whatnot. It’s become quite a refined thing nowadays.” The accompanying film clip to Big Things Calling is set to grace the internet anytime now, with much anticipation in the air. “We filmed it at a really great location,” Lear says, “And we’ve been in on the editing process so that’s really cool.” Anyone who’s witnessed these lads and ladies live would know how eclectic and energetic they can be. Before even mentioning the infamous saw-player, the washboard or the tap-shoes, it’s clear these folks are getting

their inspiration from interesting sources. “We’ve sort of grown up with a whole heap of different music,” Lear says. “Dad’s pretty eccentric and he’s got a wide range of musical taste. He introduced us to all kinds of stuff: folk, rock and roll, we’ve grown up with all kinds of music playing around us. That definitely comes through with our writing and the sort of things we decide to play. Dad’s definitely been a big influence on our music.” The Perch Creek Family Jugband are now known as Melbournites, but it wasn’t always so. The group grew in the northern corner of New South Wales – widely argued as the creativity capital of the country. Nonetheless, they have found nothing but delight at their new home, a musician’s heaven by any standards. “Melbourne’s just an amazing place to be,” Lear says, “Especially in terms 50

of being a musician. There’s so many great bands, great venues. It’s a live music city. You see a lot of great musicians and it’s definitely inspiring for our drive to create music, to create original music. It’s really great. We’ve been gigging a lot more and definitely built up since moving here. It’s been a really great place to build up a fan base and get out to all the venues.” Of the upcoming Dressin’ Up & Shakin’ Down tour, Lear makes it clear that even after ten years, it’s still possible to be super-excited about going on tour. “It’s going to be a really fun tour,” he says. “ It’s really nice to have a whole repertoire of songs we haven’t played too many times before, which is always an exciting thing to be doing. This time around we’re dressing up all the venues. There’s lots of great bands playing alongside us, and

we’re playing at a lot of great venues. I love flying to all the different places and meeting new people. It’s just a fun thing to get out and travel around.” And well, if you haven’t yet had the chance to catch these guys, you’re missing out on all kinds of banter. “It’s pretty energetic, fun, diverse with all kinds of whacky instruments, tap dancing,” says Lear. “A bit of sibling rivalry thrown in there. There’s always a sense of fun and the joy of music and playing together.”

Fri 4 Oct – The Joynt, Brisbane, QLD With special guests The Mouldy Lovers Doors 8.30pm, Tix on the door 48 Montague Rd, Sth Brisbane

Bob Harrow Doors 8pm www.citydiggers.com.au Sun 27 Oct – The Vanguard, Sydney, NSW

Sun 6 Oct - Caloundra Festival, King’s Beach Park, Caloundra, QLD With Boy And Bear, Xavier Rudd, Eskimo Joe, Earth Wind & Fire Plus many more www.caloundramusicfestival.com Fri 11 Oct – Theatre Royal, Castlemaine, VIC With special guests Fraser A. Gorman and Big Harvest & Bob Harrow Doors 8pm www.theatreroyal.info Sat 12 Oct – Meeniyan Town Hall, Meeniyan, VIC With special guests Quarry Mountain Dead Rats Doors 7pm www.lyrebirdartscouncil.com.au Fri 18 – Sun 20 Oct – Patchewollock Music Festival www.patchewollockmusicfestival.com.au Thu 24 Oct – The Vanguard, Sydney, NSW With special guests Papa Pilko and The Bin Rats + Bob Harrow Doors 8pm $20+BF www.thevanguard.com.au Fri 25 Oct – The Polish Club, Canberra, ACT With special guests Moochers Inc. Doors 8pm www.canberramusiciansclub.org.au Sat 26 Oct – City Diggers, Wollongong, NSW With special guests Papa Pilko and The Bin Rats +

With special guests Papa Pilko and The Bin Rats + Bob Harrow Doors 8pm $20+BF www.thevanguard.com.au Sat 16Nov – Northcote Social Club, Melbourne, VIC With guests TBA www.northcotesocialclub.com Thu 21 Nov - Sun 24 Nov - Mullumfest, Mullumbimby, NSW Thu 21 Nov @ Civic Hall [6:00pm] Sat 23 Nov @ Civic Hall [6:30pm] Sun 24 Nov @ Courthouse [8:30pm] www.mullumfest.com Fri 22 Nov – The Soundlounge, Currumbin, QLD With special guest Daniel Champagne Doors 8pm, $22+BF www.soundlounge.com.au Thu 28 Nov – Moonshine Cider & Rum Bar, Hotel Steyne, Manly, NSW www.hotelsteyne.com.au/moon-shine.html Fri 29 Nov – The Small Ballroom, Newcastle, NSW With guests TBA www.thesmallballroom.com.au Sat 30 Nov – Diggers Tavern, Bellingen, NSW www.diggerstavern.com.au

Bears With Guns

Rob Saunders Liana Turner

How would you describe your sound? That’s always hard. I like to let other people develop their own ideas of it. It’s very genuine, dark and mysterious but still rhythm-driven and raw. Tell me a bit about the locations you chose for the Wandering Soldier video. Every human being can appreciate a sunrise. Bondi beach is so perfect for that, there’s the hustle and bustle and it’s also such an iconic place. It relates to us as we’re based in Sydney. What inspired your band’s name?  In the early stages, we were going to have this gig and we really just needed a name. A friend just shouted it out, and it had a ring to it – so it stuck. What was it like to work with ARIA award-winning producer Wayne Connolly?  Wayne is unbelievable. That man is a wizard. He has a

very good ear for music and for listening to people. It was a really comfortable atmosphere to record with him. We were able to be absolutely emotive.

can feel it. If they’re honest with themselves, the ideas conveyed are much stronger – really uplifting. It’s super-important to be absorbed by the music. Sometimes the most powerful music is the simplest.

Was is a big decision to move to Sydney for your music?  I moved down here with $90 to my name, a guitar and a backpack. After two weeks, we were sorted and everything just fell into place. Every step along the way was a cosmic coincidence.

What do you think of being signed to Highway 125 – Australia’s newest record label? They’re amazing. They’ve been really nurturing since the early stages. They truly take into consideration what it is we want.

You use some interesting instruments; do you have a favourite? We really just like to experiment with everything.

What’s the most exciting thing about being on tour?  Meeting new friends, playing news places. It’s like the movie Into the Wild, my happiness is derived from freedom, from new horizons and new experiences.

When you’re touring you tend to play at a lot of markets and suburban festivals; do you enjoy having the opportunity to connect with your fans?  There are two universal languages, smiles and music. Everyone

Bobby Al

LIANA TURNER Charles Wall has just released his second album, the aptly named Take It Slow under the persona of Bobby Alu. While he’s already hitting the road to celebrate its release, the Gold Coast-based king of smooth sound has taken time to chat about his new directions. What has made Take it Slow different from your debut album?  The album I released a couple of years ago was an experiment. It pretty much started from uni assignments. I wrote the whole album and performed it all by myself, then formed the band around that. It pretty much started Bobby Alu. Since then there’s been a full time band involved and we’ve spend a couple of years touring around Australia. When it came to write this album, there’s a big contribution from the other musicians. It’s not an experiment, it’s a full-fledged working band. It feels like it’s really the first release. I wrote all the songs on ukulele over the last few years. There’s three other guys that contributed to this album the most and without them it wouldn’t have the sound. We developed that sound amongst the four of us. It just wouldn’t be the same without those guys. Now you have Paulie, Stewart and Grant on board, the dynamics are quite different. What was it like having Stewart produce, engineer and mix the album, when he’s so close to the work? I guess it’s all dependent of what you’re feeling when you’re recording. Sometimes it’s important to get it outside of your own world. At this stage in the band’s life, it just totally felt right to use Paulie, because he knows the songs inside and out and we’re developing the sound and he’s very competent. It just made sense keeping it close. We’re really happy with the end result so it was definitely good to use him. How did the four of you meet? We’re really good friends from way back. Paulie and Hugh have known each other as long as I’ve been alive

– they went to primary school together. We all met about ten years ago just from being in the scene and just becoming friends. When the Bobby Alu project started, I just wanted to tour with my friends – how better than to get them on board? It’s really fun to finally be able to tour with your close mates. The Gold Coast is a bit of a paradox – with the relaxed beach culture and the buzz of consumerist society. A lot of people say this album’s all about escaping that hustle and bustle – how true is this I’ve spent a lot of time in Brisbane as well and that’s crazy in the city. It’s definitely needed, I love the city life – the hustle and bustle is good, it makes you get shit done. But I think it definitely won’t dominate my life and a lot of the time writing this album, it was about finding balance and taking the time to slow down and relax a bit, so you can take control of what’s happening. If you’re in the hustle and bustle all of suddenly you can find yourself doing things you don’t actually want to do. I don’t really think that’s any way to live, we’re here for a good time so it’s important to take the time out to enjoy yourself. It’s definitely the sort of chill vibe with the ukulele and Polynesian rhythms. I got a lot of that from my Samoan heritage and I visited there last year. I really just enjoyed the slowness of society there and I wanted that in my life. Although Australia is so different because there is the hustle and bustle, there’s no reason you can’t slow down and take a leaf out of Samoa’s book. I guess that’s pretty much what inspires my lyrics and inspired the album. Someone puts on the album for fifty minutes and they just chill out and enjoy it, then move on with their life. You just performed at Swell Sculpture Festival in Currumbin. What was it like to be in the midst of the intermeshing of art and music?  I feel really grateful to be able to play at Swell sculpture fest. It’s really great to have sculptures on the beach. Thousands of people can come through, it’s free, and now they’ve got a music aspect to it people can just come past and for us it was the perfect sound and the perfect setting. We were playing our set literally on the beach. This method of

having art and music in one place as a united front works to encourage arts and culture on the Gold Coast and I’m sure a lot of people really really enjoyed that day and they didn’t have to spend a cent. They just had to walk along the beach and enjoy the sunset, and I think that’s a really important thing to have and there should be more of it. It’s a pretty poignant time to be ingraining art into the Gold Coast culture. You don’t have to be an artist or musician to appreciate these things. The more these events happen, it’s just a great way for people to spend their time on the Gold Coast. Everyone’s a winner. This album marks the beginning of public collaborations for you. How important is it for you to collaborate with other musicians?  It’s been a big way of my learning as a musician. I’ve had really great opportunities to collaborate with amazing artist and it’s definitely moulded me as a musician. Touring with Xavier Rudd for two months in the states was a really great thing. It’s really fun and I get a good kick out of it. It’s the same with Bobby Alu, a few people collaborate there, and Xavier will probably pop up with us at a few shows. The Bobby Alu project and band is definitely a family. Josh and Elliot are really good friends of mine, as are all the guys involved in the record. All of them are really talented musicians in their own right, so it’s good to have all these flavours on the album because it wouldn’t be what it is without them and I look forward to working more with them in the future. Are you live shows are laid-back as the album name suggests? It does have that cruisey vibe but it does have a lot of Polynesian percussion, so parts of it are far from it, but actually quite intense. The shows we’ve got planned start pretty chilled and laid-back and just turn into a percussion and dance frenzy. I’m quite psyched to showcase these songs we’ve got, out on the road, so we can just have a really fun party night. I got into writing music from going to festivals and that’s where we really feel at home, playing at festivals. We try to bring that vibe into all every live show. We get a big kick out of getting people dancing and getting them smiling. It makes us feel like we’ve got the job done. We have a really good time playing music, so when the crowd’s feeling that and everyone’s having a good time, everything’s good.

Take It Slow Tour Dates Fri 13 Sep - Woombye Pub w/Sue-Anne 3/5-7 Blackall St, Woombye QLD $15 pre sale | $20 on Door | 8pm www.thewoombyepub.com.au Sat 14Sep - Swell Sculpture Festival, Gold Coast QLD Pacific Parade, Currumbin, QLD Free | 1pm www.swellsculpture.com.au Fri 20 Sep - Soundlounge w/Sue –Anne Currumbin RSL (Upstairs) 165 Duringan St, Currumbin, QLD $13 pre sale | $15 on Door | 8pm www.soundlounge.com.au Sat 21 Sep - Sunset Brisbane River Cruise Pick Up Points: Brett’s Wharf Hamilton 4.45pm OR Mowbray Park East Brisbane 5.00pm $42.50 pre sale tickets | 5pm – 8pm Cruise Includes: New Album, 3hr Cruise, Finger Food. Tickets available @ www.bobbyalu.com Sun 22 Sep - Hotel Brunswick w/Sue-Anne 4 Mullumbimbi St, Brunswick Heads, NSW FREE 4pm Sun 6 Oct - Caloundra Festival w/ Xavier Rudd, Boy & Bear, Earth Wind & Fire, & more King’s Beach Park, Caloundra, QLD 3.00pm www.caloundramusicfestival.com Fri 11Oct - Clancy’s Fremantle Support: Grace Barbe’ Acoustic 51 Cantonment St Fremantle WA Tickets on the door | 9pm www.clancysfishpub.com.au Sat 12 Oct - Indi Bar w/ special guests 23-27 Hastings St, Scarborough WA Tickets on the door | 8pm www.indianoceanhotel.com.au Sun 13 Oct - Clancy’s Dunsborough 1710 Caves Rd, Dunsborough WA Free Entry | 3.30pm Thu 17 Oct - Mojos Support: Simon Kelly Acoustic, Mister 237 Queen Victoria St, North Fremantle WA Tickets on the door | 8pm www.mojosbar.com.au

Acoustic Sunday Arvo Session Free Entry 25-27 Oct - Island Vibe Festival North Stradbroke Island, Brisbane QLD www.islandvibe.com.au Sun 17Nov - Bondi Yoga Festival Seagull Studio, Bondi Pavilion, Bondi Beach, Sydney NSW 8pm www.bondiyogafestival.com Sun 24 Nov - Mullumfest Mullumbimby, NSW, 8.45pm www.mullumfest.com Wed 27Nov - The Basement World Music Wednesdays 29 Reiby Place, Circular Quay, Sydney NSW $5 | 8.30pm Fri 29Nov - Heritage Hotel w/ The Strides 240 Princes Hwy Bulli NSW $20 | 9pm www.heritagehotel.com.au Sat 30 Nov - 505, w/The Strides 280 Cleveland St, Surry Hills NSW $20 | 9pm Sun 1 Dec - Moonshine Bar The Manly Steyne The Corso Manly 7pm, 2 sets *VIC Dates TBC

During the Bobby Alu Take It Slow tour Charles will be slotting in drumming dates with Xavier Rudd, Donavon Frankenreiter & Nahko And Medicine For The People’s National Tour XAVIER RUDD TOUR DATES Wed 25 Sep - Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide SA Sat 28 Sep - 3 Oceans Winery, Margaret River WA Sun 29 Sep - Fremantle Arts Centre, Fremantle WA Thu 3 Oct - The Forum, Melbourne VIC Fri 4 Oct - Big Top, Luna Park Sydney NSW Sun 6 Oct - Caloundra Festival, Sunshine Coast QLD Mon 7 Oct - YAC Amphitheatre, Byron Bay NSW Tues 8 Oct - The Tivoli Brisbane QLD

Fri 18 Oct – Prince Of Wales 41 Stephens St, Bunbury WA Free Entry | 9pm Sat 19 Oct - Settlers Tavern 114 Bussell Hwy, Margaret River WA Free Entry | 9.30pm Sun 20Oct - Settlers Tavern 114 Bussell Hwy Margaret River WA