central coast|hunter|north coast #060 July ’11
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music, arts & culture monthly
the mars volta Re-discover the muse
the antlers Take sight and deliver
seeker lover keeper
As simple as three
leader cheetah Touched from above
P O P pnau is dead, long live
Also inside: sea legs + no use for a name + diesel + mortal sin + lasue
No. 60
Reverb Magazine is locally owned & published by The Lockup Garage. Printed by Spotpress, Marrickville: sales@spotpress.com.au
index
contents
News 8-15 Lasue 16 No Use For A Name 17 Leader Cheetah 17 Diesel 18 Seeker Lover Keeper 19 Album reviews 20-22 Gig guide 23. 26-27 Pnau 24-25 Vents 28 Turner 28 The Mars Volta 29 Short Stack 30 Mortal Sin 30 The Antlers 31 Talking Shop 32 Melody Pool 32 Doomriders 32 Sea Legs 33 Jinja Safari tour diary 34 Local beer tasting 35 Motoring – Nissan R35 GTR 36 Cartoon 37 Horoscopes 37 Live reviews 38-39 Fashion 40-41 Film reviews 42 DVD reviews 43 Socials 44
Joan As Police Woman
editor’s letter
Credits
Here at Reverb, we aim to be informative and on the pulse. It’s music, it’s film and fashion, and this month it’s BEER. We put on our community service hat to taste some of the wide variety of ales that are being produced locally. Big thanks to all the brewers for their support, especially Colin from Happy Goblin in Mount Kuring-gai who personally delivered his wears. I think I need to make a return visit and shake your hand - that ale of yours was magic. The actual tasting involved six regular beer drinkers running their critical taste buds over some new and interesting brews. It was a tough day I must tell you.
Editor
DVD Reviewer
Cameron Edney
Madeline Smith
Editorial
Kevin Bull
Sallie Maree Pritchard
Courtney Fitzsimmons
Simon Threadgate
kevin@reverbstreetpress.com or 0410 295 360
Paul Frost
Lee Tobin
Much love guys, Kevin.
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magazine issue #060 — July 2011
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Kristyne Weiss
Sales, Newcastle & Central Coast
Kate Hamilton
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Rod Whitfield
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Gig guide
Stephen Bocking
Mitchell Alexander
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Luke Holdstock
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Jamie Nelson
Timmy Johnston
Senior Writers
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Amelia Parrott
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Production
Matt Petherbridge
Birdy
Lilen Pautasso
Ashlee Kellehear
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Max Quinn
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Film reviewer
Josh Clements
Chelsea Reed
Madeline Smith
Mark Snelson
Melissah Comber
Luke Saunders
Mick Daley
Jess Saxton
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Giveaways just email editorial@reverbstreetpress.com.au First come, first served
2 double passes
Win one of two double passes to The Potbelleez at Lalaland, Byron Bay, on Friday July 22.
5 copies
Five copies of The Vines Future Primitive on CD.
5 copies
Five copies of LMFAO Sorry For Party Rocking on CD.
5 double passes
Win one of two double passes to The Footage at the Civic Playhouse, Newcastle, between Wednesday August 3 and Saturday August 6..
5 copies
Five copies of City & Colour Little Hell on CD.
5 copies
Five copies of Jump Jump Dance Dance’s self-titled CD.
5 copies
Five copies of the Gomez Whatever’s On Your Mind on CD.
Bryan Adams
BARE BONES BRYAN ADAMS
With a career spanning more than three decades, Bryan Adams is no stranger to the world’s finest arenas and stadiums. His first ever tour of Australia back in 1984 saw him launch his touring career here at sold out stadium shows in support of The Police. From there his star shot into the stratosphere, selling out arenas with ease, for every subsequent tour of our shores. Fast forward to 2011, where Australia will be treated to their most intimate ever shows with Adams as he takes to theatres across the country for his critically acclaimed ‘Bare Bones’ tour. The solo performances, which have taken place intermittently during his world tours, since 2008, have had audiences in awe and their popularity has inspired his latest album Bryan Adams performs at the Civic Theatre, Newcastle on Thursday September 22.
PARKLIFE Line-up ANNOUNCED
Each year Parklife do their very best to bring you the freshest bunch of artists in styles of music we think matter the most right now, as well as constantly refining and improving everything about the show to give you a high quality Parklife experience. The line-up for 2011 includes Gossip, Lykke Li, Santigold, Death From Above 1979, Duck Sauce, Digitalism, The Streets, Mylo (DJ set), Little Dragon, MSTRKRFT, Katy B, SebastiAn, Example, Naked & Famous, Adrian Lux, Simian Mobile Disco, Magnetic Man, Nero, Diplo, Crystal Fighters, Sebastien Tellier, Wolfgang Gartner , Joker & MC Nomad, Feed Me, Tensnake, Kimbra, Gold Fields, The Aston Shuffle, Flux Pavilion, Yacht Club DJs, Harvard Bass, A-Tonez, Bon Chat Bon Rat, Donny Benet, Elizabeth Rose, Ember, Fake DJs, Glove Cats, Guillotine, Light Year, Nina Las Vegas, Nukewood, Oakes and Lennox, Randall Stagg, Rogers Room, Rubio, Rufus, Sam Scratch, The Immigrant and Tortoiseshell. Parklife occurs at Riverside and Botanical Gardens, Brisbane on Saturday October 1, and Kippax Lake, Centennial Park, Sydney on Sunday October 2.
SYDNEY BLUES AND ROOTS FESTIVAL Line-up
The Sydney Blues and Roots Festival returns this year with a line-up that boasts some of the best names in the local and international blues scene. The first line-up announcement includes Jeff Lang, Ash Grunwald, Jeff Martin, The Break, Chain, The Flood, Bondi Cigars, Chase The Sun, Brewster Brothers, Ray Beadle Band, Steve Edmonds, Paul Greene, Bridie King, Claude Hay, Spookyland, The Blues Preachers, Ashleigh Mannix, Sam Shinazzi, Johnny G & The E Types, and The Mick Hart Experience. The Sydney Blues and Roots Festival takes place in Windsor from Friday 28 to Sunday October 30. 8 reverb
mag azine issue #060 — July 2011
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Something With Numbers
COASTER 2011 Line-up ANNOUNCED
Some people give linen and silk on their fourth anniversary, others give fruit and flowers, at Coaster they are presenting you with a gift basket full of the best local talent, picked fresh from musical trees around the country. In 2011 Coaster is cooking up delights from the growing sounds found in our own backyard with an all-Australian line up — John Butler Trio, Drapht, Little Red, Jebediah, Bag Raiders, The Potbelleez, Something With Numbers, Horrorshow, Tim & Jean, Tonight Only, One Dollar Short, Gold Fields, Ajax, Ballpark Music, Andy Bull, Purple Sneakers DJs, Tom Piper, Nina Las Vegas, Strangers, Taylor and the Makers, Wolfpack, Naysayer & Gilsun, Cheap Lettus and TCDJs. Coaster 2011 occurs at Gosford Showground on Saturday September 17.
SEEKER LOVER KEEPER TOUR AND RELEASE DEBUT
Individually, they’re three of Australia’s most innovative songwriters. Sally Seltmann specialises in narcotic, dreamy, sweeping pop, aided by layers of cotton-soft vocals, pianos and synths. Holly Throsby is known for summoning melodies that sound beautifully crumpled, worn and decades-old, and matching them with hushed, cutting lyrics that read like a Carver short story. Sarah Blasko writes haunting songs that veer from intimate ballads to orchestral showstoppers, and sings with what’s now one of the most recognisable voices in Australian music. Bring them together in the studio or on stage, and you’ve got an entirely new band: Seeker Lover Keeper. Their self-titled debut album is out now, and the girls embark on a national tour performing at Lizotte’s Lambton on Thursday July 14; Civic Memorial Hall, Mullumbimby on Friday July 15; Memorial Hall, Bellingen on Sunday July 16.
LESS THAN STRENGTH
Less than Strength – describes a state of mind familiar to many. A place of hopelessness, where it feels like things will never get any better, when there is no strength left for the struggle to get better. It is also the name of a non-profit movement dedicated to finding help for people who are struggling with anxiety and/or depression, and providing support for those in need after a loved one leaves. Funds are raised through the sale of clothing and merch, and by hosting the monthly Hope In The East events at Newcastle Leagues Club. The next event will be on Saturday, July 23 with One Vital Word, Pledge This!, Saviour, Humans, I The Hunter and Beneath Night Skies performing. Follow us on Twitter
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SOUNDS OF SIRUS to play GOSFORD
BLISS N ESO RESCHEDULE COFFS HARBOUR WASHOUT
the baker suite
IN THE BAKER SUITE
Straight from the heart and reminiscent of a smoky, French café, The Baker Suite creates a seductive and potent world, carrying the listener through elegant ballads, gypsy romantica and a lurching night waltz in the rain. The lush instrumentation of The Baker Suite, with the addition of Paul Grabowsky on piano, ignite these stylish and elegant songs that reflect on love, family and strangeness. Grabowsky produced The Baker Suites’ album, in 2010, and since its release, the band has toured internationally to sold out shows and standing ovations. The Baker Suite perform at Lizotte’s Kincumber on Thursday July 14 (without Grabowsky), and Lizotte’s Newcastle on Friday July 15 (with Grabowsky).
FIREBALLS touring PSYCHOTIC MUSIC
Fireballs have long been one of the fastest and most furious outfits ever to terrorise Australian audiences. Now with a revitalised line-up, a new album and a backlog of manic energy, Fireballs are taking their psychobilly-metal-rock ‘n’ roll mayhem on the road for the national Psychotic Music for Neurotic People tour. Fireballs, with The Dark Shadows and The Casino Rumblers in support, will perform at the Great Northern Hotel, Newcastle on Saturday July 2.
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Due to the unexpected and extreme weather conditions that hit the north coast of NSW on Sunday, June 12, the highly anticipated Bliss n Eso concert at the Coffs Harbour Showground had to be cancelled three hours prior to the scheduled gates open time. “When making the decision to postpone the event, many things were taken into account, none more so than the safety and security of our patrons. Based on the level of rainfall and adverse conditions it was deemed that the event site was not safe to proceed as planned,” said chief operations officer at Illusive, Adam Jankie. The concert will now move forward to Saturday July 2 at the Coffs Harbour Showground. The show’s supports will include Ebb n Flo, Mind Over Matter, Choose Mics and Beats Working. All current tickets will remain valid for the rescheduled performance, and the original ticket should be presented at the venue on the new date.
UNIBAR GETS BASS HEAVY
Those crazy Uni students up in Lismore just can’t get enough of that Bass Heavy crew. Returning with visual projections and an extra 2000 watts of bass, as well as some of the best DJs delivering the freshest electronica, to SCU Unibar on Thursday July 7, including Luk LeChuck (Switzerland), Lucious Deed, Balance, Sista Ray and M-Phonik.
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Drawing on their time in previous outfits (Revolucion Street, The Grand Arcanum, Girl Pilot and Omniana), Sounds Of Sirus have developed a kicking live set with mesmerising vocal presence from lead singer, Josh Day. Covering every inch of the stage, there’s no question why they have built a solid reputation through touring Melbourne’s venue circuit over the past two years. Comparable to a mixture of Circa Survive and Dead Letter Circus, due to their hard hitting, solid rhythm section, massive delay-soaked guitars and unforgettable vocals, Sounds of Sirus perform at the Blush Nightclub, Gosford on Thursday July 28.
PINK’S GUITARIST JUSTIN DERRICO to PLAY in NEWCASTLE VIEW THE FOOTAGE
Every night at 2am, a video is uploaded on Youtube of a girl named Lilah. She has been kidnapped. She is in a basement somewhere in Australia. She is being tortured by someone. Eight young adults get tangled up in each other lives, both online and in the real world. Is the footage real? Is it fake? Does it matter? The Footage is a play by awardwinning American writer Joshua Scher, and Stooged Theatre is incredibly excited to bring the Australian premiere of the provocative work to Newcastle, in a new Australianised version of the text made in collaboration with the writer. It is also the second production of the text worldwide. The Footage performs at the Civic Playhouse between Wednesday August 3 and Saturday August 6.
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Australian audiences, who will remember Justin Derrico for his incredible guitar prowess while touring here with Pink, will get the chance to see more of Derrico when he revisits our shores in August. “I am so excited to come back. It’s almost become a second home over the years. Australia has some of the best music fans in the world,” says Derrico, who is now the permanent guitarist with Pink and has completed five world tours playing to millions of adoring fans. After her last tour here, Pink decided to take a break and start a family, which gave Justin the perfect opportunity to work on his debut solo album Justin Derrico performs at the Newcastle Leagues Club on Wednesday August 10.
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Newcastle Panthers TIX
FRIDAY WED 6 29 JUL JULY
Regurgitator
Mark Wilkinson
REGURGITATOR SET SAIL
PNAU
TICKETS $35 + BF DOORS OPEN 7:30PM, OVER 18’S
SATURDAY 30 JULY
TIX
While the buzz sparkerteers crash their way through a window dressing of approaches to releasing music, time shifts by to stir up a whole new basket of Regurgitator material tacking its way soon through the widening thicket of whatever flows… as the time of the year falls to rack up the dials and sluice some hot ticket items through the touring blender. Regurgitator, with Disasteradio in support, perform at the CBD Hotel, Newcastle on Thursday August 11; Great Northern Hotel, Byron Bay on Thursday August 18; Coolangatta Hotel on Friday August 19.
THE STILLSONS IN EARNEST
SHORTSTACK
TICKETS $50 + BF DOORS OPEN 7:00PM, ALL AGES
SATURDAY 27 AUGUST
TIX
A NIGHT WITH CAPTAIN SIG & THE HILLSTRAND BROTHERS
FROM DEADLIEST CATCH
PLATINUM A RESERVE $120, B RESERVE $69 (INC BF) DOORS OPEN 7:00PM, ALL AGES, <16 ACC BY ADULT
BEEROF THE : MONTH JULY
Panthers supports responsible service of alcohol
0 0 . ttle 4 o B $ PROUD SPONSORS
Melbourne alt-country roots band The Stillsons have announced the release of their single ‘Nobody Knows You Tonight’, the first track to be released from their forthcoming album . Full of colourful descriptions of a time when smoking was still legal in pubs, this upbeat country-rock track tells the story of a drunken Kiwi backpacker on a pubcrawl in the UK. He’s out on the town in one of the world’s biggest and dirtiest cities, London, and describes his feelings of total anonymity, personal freedom and inebriation. The Stillsons perform at the Wickham Park Hotel, Islington on Thursday July 7; Federal Hotel, Bellingen on Friday July 8; Rails, Byron Bay on Saturday July 9; Freemasons Hotel, Nimbin on Sunday July 10; Brewery, Byron Bay on Friday July 15; Ocean View Hotel, Urunga on Saturday July 16; Grand Junction Hotel, Maitland on Sunday July 17.
JORDIE LANE TOURS BLOOD THINNER
Melbourne’s Jordie Lane returns from an extended stint in the US to release his second album. To celebrate its impending release, Lane is thrilled to announce a national tour with more than 20 dates across our great big land in July and August. After spending much of the last year baking in the Californian desert, Lane’s second LP takes a sharp and unique turn away from his critically acclaimed studio debut, Completely stripped back to the bare bones of recording techniques, the tracks on were captured between a remote desert motel room, a basement and, finally, a bleeding hot garage in Eagle Rock, LA. Jordie Lane performs at the Wickham Park Hotel, Islington on Thursday July 28; Grand Junction Hotel, Maitland on Saturday July 30; Lizotte’s Kincumber on Sunday July 31; Mullumbimby Civic Hall on Saturday August 6.
MARK WILKINSON RESIDENCY AT LIZOTTE’S
Having released his debut album, Truth Came Running, in March 2011, Mark Wilkinson has taken up residency at Lizotte’s, Lambton during the month of July. Wilkinson has been a regular visitor to Lizotte’s, both in Lambton and Kincumber, so it is only fitting that it be the choice of venue for his extended stay in Newcastle. With two EPs released in 2006 and 2008 now only available at shows (having sold 15,000 copies and support spots to Michael Bolton and Brian Wilson in 2010), the stage feels set for Wilkinson in 2011. Mark Wilkinson performs at Lizotte’s, Lambton on Wednesday July 6, Wednesday July 13 and Wednesday July 20.
GREENTHIEF BRING RETRIBUTION to newcastle
From a spark to a revolution, Greenthief is a three-piece alternative rock band hailing from Brisbane. Only three years young, the band have not wasted any time spreading their word and music up and down the east coast of Australia crashing the indie scene with their blend of psychedelic rock. Through constantly playing live shows, the band has broken sound barriers and state lines while enchanting audiences with a sound akin to the lovechild of Jeff Buckley and Trent Reznor. In early 2011 Greenthief went into world renowned Rockinghorse Studio (Byron Bay) and recorded their brand spanking new EP, with legendary British producer Steve James (Sex Pistols, The Jam). The EP was mastered by Tim Young of the Metropolis Mastering Group (Bjork, Placebo). Greenthief performs at the Hamilton Station Hotel, Newcastle on Thursday July 7.
WHOLE LOTTA LOVE
In the 40th anniversary year of Led Zeppelin’s seminal album , the epic concert event ‘Whole Lotta Love — Led Zeppelin Celebration’ will be touring nationally performing all of the classics from this seminal album, as well as a collection of hits and rarities from the band’s entire 12 year career. The show boasts a spectacular line-up of guest vocalists including international rock legend and The Tea Party front-man Jeff Martin, Steve Balbi (Noiseworks), Simon Meli (Sway/The Widowbirds/Oohlala), Zkye and Natasha Stuart. They will be joined by a powerhouse eight-piece band, led by musical and artistic director, Joseph Calderazzo (guitars). ‘Whole Lotta Love — Led Zeppelin Celebration’ performs at the Laycock Theatre, Gosford on Friday September 9.
NEWCASTLE PANTHERS Tel 4926 6200 newcastle.panthers.com.au fb.com/panthersnewcastle
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mag azine issue #060 — July 2011
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POST PAINT SAY IT WITH LOVE
Latin for ‘I love, you love, they love’, Post Paint’s debut EP, is a collection of warm and wistful recordings. The Newcastle-based five-piece have had an unusual journey through the rigmarole of the Australian music scene. Being a self-managed and directed group, Post Paint have not had to adhere to any of the normal pressures of management or production. runs the gamut of sounds, notoriously hard to describe due to their eclectic sound. Classical instruments including violin, bassoon and harmonium combine with the traditional bass, guitar and drums to create diverse and complex soundscapes. Post Paint launches at the Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle on Saturday July 2 with Boatfriends, The Si Claros and In the Dollhouse in support.
MIAMI HORROR IN THE SUMMERSUN
In the midst of a highly successful world tour, Miami Horror have announced their last Australian shows for 2011. The Summersun tour will end a snowballing run of dates across the globe. Come August, the indie-electronic adventurers will re-locate to LA for a busy northern hemisphere summer spent performing and writing new material. This follows standout showcase performances at South By South West in Austin, Texas, where they played to crowds who jammed themselves into clubs and venues so tight that fire marshalls had to eject some punters due to overcrowding. With Ballarat’s Gold Fields in stride, Miami Horror will hit the Entrance League Club, Bateau Bay on Thursday July 14.
Caravana Sun
FEELING BETTER with CARAVÃNA SUN
Sydney based rootsy rockers Caravãna Sun are hitting the road this July in celebration of their new single ‘Feel Better’. Caravãna Sun are a frenetic fusion of roots, surf, ambient and world musical styles. From the gypsy culture of southern France to the mystery of Ord River in the Northern Territory, the earthy collective take adoring audiences on a soul moving, body invigorating journey through the world’s cultures. Caravãna Sun performs at The Aztec, Forster on Friday July 1; Finnians, Port Macquarie on Saturday July 2; Diggers Tavern, Bellingen on Sunday July 3; Brewery, Byron Bay on Thursday July 7; Ivory Tavern, Tweed Heads on Sunday July 10; Yamba Bowling Club on Friday July 15; Harrington Hotel on Saturday July 16.
old man river
OLD MAN RIVER DELIVERS 1,000 PAPER CRANES
Old Man River is embarking on a winter tour of Australia, performing songs in an intimate acoustic setting from his albums and, and supporting his new initiative, ‘1,000 Cranes For Japan’. Old Man River has an affinity with the people of Japan — a strong bond, developed over an extraordinary period of success in that country in 2008/09, and wanted to make a personal gesture to the Japanese people after the natural disasters of March 11, this year. Old Man River will fold 1,000 paper cranes and personally deliver them later this year, in a gesture of goodwill on behalf of his friends and fans. You can also add your goodwill to the campaign by attending one of the upcoming shows or logging onto the website to list your support. www.1000cranesforjapan.net. Old Man River performs at the Northern Star Hotel, Hamilton on Friday July 8.
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mag azine issue #060 — July 2011
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gossling
GOSSLING DECLARES WAR
Gossling (aka Helen Croome) will take to stages across Victoria and New South Wales in her first headlining tour of 2011 to support the release of her new single ‘War’, following stellar reviews during her recent national tour with Oh Mercy. Gossling has been gaining notoriety for her distinctive voice since the late 2009 release of her . Her current sophomore EP, has continued to delight existing fans, as well as win her many new ones along the way. It features first single, the insanely catchy, toe-tapper, ‘I Was Young’and current single, the magnificent ‘War’. Gossling, with Ryan Meeking in support, performs at the Northern Star Hotel, Hamilton on Saturday July 2.
THE BLACK SEEDS PLAY COOLANGATTA
Already confirmed to perform at Splendour In The Grass, New Zealand’s reggae-soul heavyweights, The Black Seeds have announced an extra Australian date at the Coolangatta Hotel on Saturday July 30. Having spent the last few months holed up in their Wellington-based studio, the band will pack up their gear and head to Queensland to test-drive brand new material from the forthcoming new album, as well as to play some old favourites. “We have been working really hard on our next (fifth) studio album for a while now”, says vocalist and guitarist Barnaby Weir. “Our new jams are sounding great and we can’t wait to take them to the stage for everyone to hear”.
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LIVE MUSIC L I V E S P O R T, G R E AT F O O D JUL 2
SAT
SILENT ROSE
THE PARADOX UNSEEN TO KILL A SUNRISE
JUL 6
THE MERCY BEAT DEBUT EAST COAST TOUR
Having launched their debut album to a 300-plus crowd at Brisbane’s most iconic live music venue, The Zoo, The Mercy Beat are making their maiden voyage down the east coast. The band have recently received airplay on Triple J and have completed a run of supporting national and international bands, including The Bronx, AC4, The Star Fucking Hipsters, Gyroscope, Birds of Tokyo, The Hard-Ons, Trash Talk, H20, Front End Loader, You Am I, Pangaea, Violent Soho and King Cannons. The Mercy Beat perform at the Hamilton Station Hotel, Islington on Sunday July 10.
ZEN & THE ART
WED MATT GRAHAM
the mercy beat
JUL 7
THU alibrandi
ALIBRANDI DEBUTS EP, touring EAST COAST
Alibrandi mix up infectious melodies and hard-hitting riffs with their own brand of indie-alternative rock. After they dug out their tape machines and nestled into a little studio called Loose Stones, they have emerged with a happy little ‘take home’ in the form of their debut EP release. Produced by Shane Graham and mastered in Seattle by Troy Glessner, this debut is full of tight rock anthems, reminiscent of Manchester Orchestra, Bloc Party and hints of Sparta. Having built a solid live following in their home state (Qld), July will bring the debut release tour for Alibrandi with Melbourne band Cave Of The Swallows. Alibrandi perform at the Hamilton Station Hotel, Islington on Saturday July 9, and Tattersall’s Hotel, Lismore on Saturday July 16.
GREEN TH I EF I AM THE AGENT
KARMA COPS
LITTLE KING
JUL 8
FRI
DARKER HALF SABRETUNG KATABASIS
SAGACITY
JUL 9
SAT
ALIBRANDI CAVE
OF THE
VAMP
SWALLOWS
GENTLEMEN
JUL 10
SUN THE MERCY BEAT JUL 14
THU
LEADBELLIES
JUL 15
FRI
Totally Unicorn
IRONHIDE
Safe Hands
JUL 20
WED
N I G HT H AG
TiRED MiNDS
B ITS AN D P I E C E S
JUL 21
THU
BITS AND PIECES
JUL 24
AIRBAG SUN DRIVERSIDE Floggin The Goods LARANGE BUCKET JUL 28
THU
no use for a name
NO USE FOR A NAME to PLAY COOLANGATTA AND NEWCASTLE
No Use For A Name are touring Australia this July, bringing their reputation of debaucherous awesomeness that spans nine albums and five continents, and a line-up more ready to shred punk rock songs than almost any other line-up in the history of not only NUFAN, but dare we say it, the galaxy. Fer real. Check it: new axe master Chris Rest from Lagwagon and bad-ass drummer Boz Rivera from the Mad Caddies join Tony Sly, who’s pretty much approaching legend status at this point. And as if that still isn’t enough of an upgrade, Tony went whole hog on bassist Matt Riddle and put him into the hospital where he made him die several times, lose 70 pounds, get rid of his ‘divalike’ gallbladder and ultimately emerge lean, mean and full of that brand new angst that only a seven figure hospital bill can provide. No Use For A Name perform at the Coolangatta Hotel on Sunday July 24, and the Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle on Wednesday July 27.
LUKE HOSKINS INEXPERIENCE
JUL 29 stellar green
STELLAR GREEN RELEASEs EP, launches TOUR
Having formed in 2008, Gold Coast power trio Stellar Green have honed their many influences (Radiohead, Funk and progressive rock) to produce their soon-to-bereleased debut self-titled EP. With a sound described as diverse and radio-friendly, yet densely layered, Stellar Green plan to spend the bulk of July and August travelling the east coast, performing at the Port Macquarie Hotel on Thursday July 21; Tattersalls Hotel, Lismore on Friday August 5; Salt Bar, Kingscliff on Saturday August 6.
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ONE VITAL WORD
SKINWALKERS
JUL 31
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8-BALL AITKEN TOURS FOURTH ALBUM
8-Ball Aitken is the redneck preacher at the shotgun wedding between country and blues. It doesn’t matter which part of the family you’re from — what does matter is the funky foot-stomping hullaballoo at the all-night party afterwards. Since the release of his first album in 2003, 8-Ball has toured across every state and territory of Australia. He has also built a strong international profile, having played festival and club shows throughout Europe, USA, Canada & Japan. Catch the farnorth Queensland guitar-slinger as he launches his fourth album, along the north coast of NSW, performing at the Port Macquarie Hotel on Friday July 1; Harrigan’s, Pokolbin on Saturday July 2; Seaview Hotel, Woolgoolga on Friday July 15; Coast Hotel, Coffs Harbour on Saturday July 16; Park Beach Surf Club, Coffs Harbour on Sunday July 17; Yamba Shores Tavern on Friday July 29; Rails, Byron Bay on Saturday July 30.
tion
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The Treehouse, Belongil
HIGH IN THE TREEHOUSE
Nestled just north of beautiful Byron Bay township is Belongil Beach. And for those lucky enough to go exploring along this stunning piece of coastline, there is a reward to delight the senses. The Treehouse on Belongil is a small slice of musical and dining heaven to be savoured, and one of those hideaway places that you dream of finding. There is no better winter experience than lounging back, quietly sipping on your mulled spiced wine and listening to beautiful music as the smell of your bubbling wood fired pizza drifts across the room. And along with it’s beautiful meals, the Treehouse also has a fine reputation for unearthing and supporting some of the brightest and best musical talent anywhere on the coast. So if you’re looking for the quintessential winter warmer, check out the Treehouse on Belongil. It will warm your soul.
JULY
Grand Junction Hotel NC173320
88 Church Street, Maitland 02 4933 5242 / MySpace / Facebook
Score a career in the entertainment industry through TAFE NSW. If you’re thinking of a professional career in music, screen, sound, digital media, production or the entertainment business, then we have a course for you. Call us on 131 601
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THU
CHRIS WILSON AND IAN COLLARD
FRI
FEATURING GLENY R AE, SUZ ANNAH ESPIE AND SAR AH CARROLL
FISH FRY & POW WOW JORDIE LANE
SUPPORTED BY MIK E NOGA THE DRONES
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TATTERSALLS’ BLUES
Some of life’s great discoveries are accidental. Toast started out as just burnt bread. And the saxophone was originally a piece of plumbing gone wrong. So when the management at Lismore’s Tattersalls Hotel accidentally double-booked their pumping little back room and had to put a blues band in the front bar, a beautiful thing happened. The whole pub rocked, and the Tattersalls Blues was born. Now every Saturday night, the Tatts jumps to the sounds of Blues in the front bar and pumping bands out the back. Really it couldn’t have worked better if you had tried. So here’s the plan. Get down to the Tatts early. Grab a great feed. Down a couple of ales and then spend the rest of your Saturday night jumping around like a loon. What could be finer?
MEAT LOAF to DINE IN THE HUNTER
STEVIE NICKS DREAMS OF NEWCASTLE
Stevie Nicks’s “In Your Dreams” tour will hit Australia in November, and joining her for these special shows will be celebrated musician and songwriter Dave Stewart from Eurythmics, who co-produced Stevie’s new solo album, In Your Dreams. Fans of both Fleetwood Mac and Eurythmics will be thrilled to know that Nicks and Stewart will be performing their greatest hits from their respective bands as well as highlights from their solo careers. Apart from Nicks’s incredible work with Fleetwood Mac, she has also had an extensive solo career, collectively having more than 40 Top 50 hits and selling more than 140 million albums worldwide. Stevie Nicks and Dave Stewart perform at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre on Wednesday November 30.
Some people think big. Some people think huge. Then there’s Meat Loaf. While other artists may have tried to match his scale and sound, so far none have come close. Happily, he’s heading back to Australia for a massive run of arena and A Day On The Green winery shows. Meat Loaf certainly requires no introduction. He burst on to the world music stage in 1977 with his landmark release Bat Out Of Hell, which transformed him from a stage actor into a rock ‘n’ roll icon. This album has sold more than 43 million copies worldwide and is the third biggest selling record of all time, selling in excess of 200,000 copies a year. Meat Loaf performs at Bimbadgen Winery, Hunter Valley on Saturday October 8.
dali’s angels
DALI’S ANGELS HEAD NORTH
Those eclectic indie pop-rockers Dali’s Angels are releasing ‘Don’t Leave’, the second single from , and heading north again on their second mini-tour. The band plans to repeat the fun and high energy, but are determined to keep the tour tales to a minimum. To pass the time between shows, skateboards and surfboards will be exchanged for ukuleles and harmonicas, after the last trip ended with a skull fracture and a helicopter flight for drummer Fletcher Charlton. Dali’s Angels perform at Tattersall’s Hotel, Lismore on Friday July 1, and Rails, Byron Bay on Saturday July 2.
LIVE & LOCAL AT LIZOTTE’S
There’s plenty of local music to be had at Lizotte’s this month. Lambton Lizotte’s: Wednesday July 6, Kristi James, Rhys Zacher, Marty Worrall, Mark Wilkinson; Wednesday July 13, James Thomson, Ollie Brown, Jupiter Menace, Mark Wilkinson; Wednesday July 20, Elisa Kate, The Andrew Geraghty Trio, Daniel Southward, Mark Wilkinson; Wednesday July 27, Kirsty Larkin. Kincumber Lizotte’s: Wednesday July 13, Hats Bennett, McLeans Break, Charlie Mayfair; Saturday July 16, Mike McCarthy and Sarah Humphreys; Wednesday July 27, Zac Miller, Jefrey Siler, Mark Moldre.
C=30 M=30 Y=30 K=100
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reverb magazine issue #060 — July 2011 15
lasue
Finding A Voice
How did the band find their sound? What influenced you? Jae Nelson I’m a fan of bands like Foo Fighters and Muse, and I wanted to write songs with big catchy choruses. I wanted to emulate that, but at the same time add our own quirk to it, to seperate it from everything else. Shae (Tuckerman, vocals) helped with this, she’s sort of our X-factor. I guess we just mashed all these different things to create an orgy of sound, which became Lasue (laughs). We wanted to sound like alternative-pop-rock (if that makes sense) and have these huge catchy songs with some dirty riffage thrown in. Your debut gig has been a long time coming; how did the band eventually come together? JN Well we aren’t good at anything else! Chris and I used to be in Vaudeville [who
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mag azine issue #060 — July 2011
performed at Big Day Out and have supported bands like Silverchair] and I started writing some of my own stuff — this was two years ago. Since then we have slowly got a band together and somehow ended up getting an EP recorded. Chris English The hardest part was finding a singer. I teach music at Warners Bay High School and my student, Shae, needed a back-up band for her HSC exam. We volunteered, and in the process made her the singer for our own band, which worked out well (laughs). What was the lead up to the recording process for Killer Mega Giga Terror? JN I’d written all of these songs, and one day I sheepishly went up to Chris and asked what he thought, and then over a long time we recorded them in a studio we
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built at my house. It was great recording there because we were working on our own time, and we didn’t have the pressure to come up with songs that weren’t fully formed. We came up with the name Killer Mega Giga Terror while we were transferring files back and forth on the computer and it just took fucking ages. Chris English We lost a lot of our stuff while we were sending files around.
Last mont h , Newcast le loca ls L a s u e took to t he stage for t heir debut per for m a nce at t he Ca mbr idge Hotel . M AT T GL EN wa r med up a seat in t he ba nd ’s new tour va n for a chat w it h song w r iter a nd d r um mer, Ja e N el son, a nd keyboa rd ist , C h r is Engl ish , about t he bir t h of Lasue , w r iting a nd record ing t heir debut E P a nd f ind ing t he r ight voca list .
CE We’ve been flogging the social media, and tried to spread the word as much as we could. We put posters on nearly every telegraph pole in Newcastle. We released our EP for free on our website, so that people could hear our songs before seeing us play.
So you named your EP after it? JN (laughs) We liked the way it rolled off the tongue. One day I was really angry at the computer and went, “Fucking terabytes, gigabytes, megabytes! Argh” and we came up with it from that. A really natural way to figure out an EP title.
So what are the band’s future plans after your big ‘coming out’ tonight? JN I’m gay! (laughs). Oh you meant the gig tonight! Well we have a couple of shows in Sydney and the central coast coming up, and then hopefully we can take the band forward from there. If we can get to the point where we can play music for a living I’ll be happy, but I suppose that’s always the dream, isn’t it?
You guys have created a lot of buzz in the lead-up to tonight, how did you do it?
Killer Mega Giga Terror is available for download now from www.lasue.com.au.
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n o u s e fo r a n a m e — L e a d e r C h e e ta h
Tell me about that. I just finished recording it and I’m mixing it tomorrow. It’s crazy. I had three days off in Sydney and I wrote five of the songs while I was there. One of the songs on the album is called ‘Devonshire and Crown’, after the intersecting streets. I was sitting at a bar there and that song just came to me. Obviously I had to leave to write it, because if you want to write lyrics you have to go to a place that’s not playing music already.
I think the question that everybody wants an answer to is how is Matt’s gall bladder? It’s good! Well, it’s been removed, so it’s completely gone. Actually, he just got out of the hospital about a month ago. He was in for about five months off and on starting in December. I don’t know what it’s like to be in that much pain. From what he told me it was horrible. But he’s healthy and ready for tour, so that’s good news. What was the response to your recent acoustic solo tour with Joey Cape? It was great. The acoustic thing is always hit or miss, you never know what the reaction will be. For instance, one of our biggest markets in the world is Japan, but when we went over there it was kind of a flop. We found out later that it was because, musically, they like songs with a strong beat; it’s not a lyrically-driven society as far as music goes. But when we did it in Australia and in Europe it was well received. How have people responded to your acoustic punk/folk hybrid in general? The initial response was basically people thinking it was a No Use For A Name demo. Then people who really listened to the record saw it as a kind of departure – something you couldn’t reproduce as NUFAN – and I agree with that completely because that’s what I was aiming for. I didn’t want it to be a one-time thing, so immediately I started writing songs for a new record. Funnily enough, I started writing when I had some time off in Sydney on the last tour, and now the record will be coming out in September.
Is the acoustic stuff more lyrically driven for you? Absolutely. And I think that doing the acoustic thing has led me back to a place where I see lyrics as really important. They always have been, but prior to going out with an acoustic guitar, I was always a melody-first kind of guy. But now I’m shifting to writing lyrics first and I’m transferring that over to NUFAN right now.
What’s In A Name? After 25 years in the business, No Use For A Name stand on the top rung of the punk rock ladder. As the band plans to head back to Australia, MAX QUINN talks to vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Tony Sly about his recent acoustic shows, bassist Matt Riddle’s hospital visit, and writing songs for a new album.
Tell me what you’ve been doing recently. Last night was the final night of a nineshow tour with The Middle East — way too much drinking and too many good times — I’m feeling a little hazy this morning.
It sounds like a really organic process. Right! As soon as The Sunspot Letters was finished we just kept writing and stockpiling. I think we’ve all gone through some major internal stuff in our lives, and I was at this stage where any time something would go wrong, I’d look at the universe and think: ‘Okay, you owe me one now. You owe me a song for going through this shit!’ And quite often it works.
How has the new material been received? It’s been great, actually! The new songs have gone down really well. The only older tracks we’ve been playing have been ‘Blood Lines’ and ‘Fly Golden Arrow Part One’, but the new stuff, on the whole, has probably been received better. Is that surprising for you? I guess yes and no. It seems like, with the new songs, by the time you get to the
Pulling Songs From The Sky Adelaide’s finest indie-pop quartet, Leader Cheetah, are set to debut their brand new album, Lotus Skies, this month through EMI. The morning after a nine-stop tour with label-mates, The Middle East, front-man Dan Crannitch caught up with MAX QUINN to talk about the band’s sophomore effort.
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No Use For A Name performs at the Coolangatta Hotel on Sunday July 24, and the Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle, on Wednesday July 27.
This album has a much broader sound and I think it’s well-balanced.
Is the last show on a tour like that one naturally more special? Yeah. We will be playing with them again at Splendour, but they’re lovely people and we’ve built up a really solid friendship. Being labelmates and having toured with them before, it feels like we have a bit of a family together.
second chorus most people kind of get it. The songs are quite simple in one sense; they’re very melody driven. As long as you’re pulling it off live and it sounds good, it doesn’t take too long for people to catch on.
How has it been for you writing and performing in that format and now coming back to writing for NUFAN? Well, I’ve only written a couple of songs for the new record, but I’ve noticed that the lyrics are written in a similar vein to the acoustic stuff. They’re punk songs, but the lyrics are still in this simple, realist form. Just telling the truth, you know? Being super-honest and changing nothing except the names in the stories.
I think the songs on this new album are maybe even more melodic than on the first one. Is that a fair thing to say? Definitely, I’d say so. I guess it’s just my progression as a songwriter. Hopefully you can hear it as well. It wasn’t a forced album
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— everything just came naturally. We were trying to stockpile a whole lot of songs and whittle them down. We did put a lot of energy and effort into writing and recording, but it wasn’t over-thought or a huge departure from the first album: it was a continuation.
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So I take it that some of these songs have been brewing for a little while? Yeah. When I think about it, it’s a 30/70 split between 2009 and 2010. Four or five of them came together in the last few weeks coming up to recording: ‘None Shall Pass’, ‘Crawling Up A Landslide’ and ‘Golden Age’, in particular. And it’s almost like, ‘fuck, we’ve got all this stuff we don’t want anymore!’, but you can’t turn the songwriting tap off. We thought these new ones were pretty good, so we had to put another bunch on the backburner. But that’s great when it’s really fresh; it’s a really exciting feeling to have new stuff to go in to record. An easy one to finish. I’m thinking about growing a beard. What do you think? I think you’ve just got to go with whatever feels natural, man! I’m a bit of a fan of some well-sculpted facial hair myself. I’m of the firm belief that it can make any man look better. Leader Cheetah perform at the CBD Hotel, Newcastle, on Saturday September 10. Lotus Skies is out July 15 through EMI.
reverb magazine issue #060 — July 2011 17
diesel
Honouring The Influence Mark Lizotte, a.k.a. Diesel, has had a remarkable and storied career in Australian music over the last quarter of a century. He’s played guitar for Barnesy, fronted his own 80s rock band, and achieved mega success in the 90s with multiple hit singles, ARIA awards and sell-out tours, followed by a somewhat ill-fated attempt to crack the US. The last ten years have seen Diesel settle into a very nice groove of releasing a new album and going on tour, with his stripped-back band, every few years. The man has pretty much seen and done it all apart from releasing an album of his favourite cover tunes. Until now, that is. Under the Influence is a punchy collection of songs from some of Diesel’s best-loved artists such as Hendrix, Neil Young, Al Green and the Sonics. Diesel joined ROD WHITFIELD in the Melbourne offices of Mushroom Records, to talk about the inspiration behind this collection. “I sat down with my agent one day,” Diesel begins. “And he said, ‘I’d really love you to do a show where you reveal what your influences are’. I said, ‘well I’ve kind of done that’. And he said, ‘no, you haven’t…’. So I put my cards on the table and said, ‘well, I better do it’. I came up with a name straight away, ‘Under the Influence’, we liked that. Then it was ‘Mind, Body and Soul’, put that on there as well!” he laughs. “So it has to be three artists: the body of work of ‘so and so’, the mind of ‘so and so’ and the soul of ‘blah blah’. “It took me about two seconds to think of Jimi Hendrix, Otis Redding and Neil Young,” he continues. “We did two shows at the Basement in Sydney. They both sold out. People dug it and I pinched myself and thought ‘I just got away with playing only a few of my own songs and no-one lynched me! Everyone just seemed to be rapt with it,
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mag azine issue #060 — July 2011
shows, and he said, ‘we have to make this into a record and we’ve got to make it all about the guitar’, which wasn’t too hard, because it kind of was anyway. So that was that… we did it in eight days — just smashed it out.” Diesel starts a very extensive tour in support of the album in late July, although Newcastle fans have to wait until November to catch the great man in action. The tour touches every state and takes him almost up to Christmas. Diesel himself is very much looking forward to belting these classic tunes out for his army of fans across the nation, especially since it’s going to be the first time he does a full ‘cover tour’, as opposed to throwing a smattering of the songs into the live show amid his own material. “We’ve been playing one here, one there,” he says, “I always feel conscious of laying too much on people too early. I like it when the people coming to the shows have the record, that’s the idea! Or at least go home with it. I’m just looking forward to playing more of the songs; obviously not the whole album, although that’s something I’ve thought about. Other artists have done it — gone out and played an album in its entirety. Don’t know which one, maybe the Injectors!” Now that would be a serious trip down memory lane!
and my songs just seemed to fuse in really nicely. I’d do an Otis Redding song, and then play ‘Never Miss your Water’ or something like that… it was just an excuse to play all these songs I’ve loved for a long time and never actually seriously played.” Before long, the three artists became many more and the whole ‘Under the Influence’ thing started to take on a life of its own. “We did series two,” he explains. “I thought there was really some space for BB King, Freddie King, Albert King and give me an excuse to play some blues. Bob Dylan — his catalogue alone, it’s just a walk-up, there’s so many songs to pick from, and what style do we wanna do them? I picked ‘Rainy Day Women’. “It was just so much fun, and so good. Even the guys in the band were saying ‘are we going to record this? Why don’t we record it?’ So then Michael Gudinski got wind of the
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Diesel plays Belmont 16 Foot Sailing Club on Saturday July 30. Under The Influence is out now through Liberation Music.
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seeker lover keeper
“ I think we had a really pure, simple aim in wanting to spend time together and record honest music…”
Keeping it simple Three of Australia’s most enchanting songstresses — Sarah Blasko, Sally Seltmann and Holly Throsby — came together to make an album that celebrates the simple joy of making music with friends. The result is Seeker Lover Keeper, their name they have given their collaboration and debut album, MATT PETHERBRIDGE spoke with Sarah Blasko, delving deep into the creative and emotional core of Seeker Lover Keeper. What have you found refreshing about being a part of Seeker Lover Keeper? It’s been a really wonderful chance to spend time with two people that I really love and respect as musicians and have a shared life experience, you know? The three of us really wanted to work on a project that was really fun, really relaxed. It’s something that I’ve craved… getting back to basics and having a simple, naive approach to new music. When you’ve put out a few albums, you gain a confidence in your approach to your own music, but I seek new challenges. I want to shake everything up. Put simply, you wrote songs for each other to sing on this record. What did you enjoy most about watching your songs transform through collaboration? That feeling when a song goes in a direction you couldn’t have reached yourself. There are always the songs you think are really strong, either melodically or chord-wise. And then there are dark horses: songs that start off just okay, but when you add an element like a rhythm section or someone else begins playing it on a different instrument, it transforms them beyond your imagination. When Jim (White, drums) and Shazhad
(Ismaily, guitar/bass) began recording my song, ‘Theme 1’, it went down a completely different path. Holly would agree with this, especially with her song, ‘Going to Sleep’. She wrote this very simple song on piano and then Sally, who is an amazing pianist, started playing and it just became this great big gospel song. Holly was really in awe of that.
a supergroup or even harping on about the fact that we are women. Our motivations are so much simpler than that and I think we had a really pure, simple aim in wanting to spend time together and record honest music… which sounds like a complete hippy answer (laughs). But it’s really true. I think that’s the best way to listen to the album.
Are there certain characteristics that you attribute to your songs, when writing for an album, that separate them from being album-worthy or not? I focus on trying to work out a collection of songs that really complement each other. ‘Bring Me Back’ was special because I’d written that song a long time ago and I never quite knew what to do with it. When I played it to Sarah and Holly, they immediately responded to it and added some harmonies that brought the song to life. A lot of people say to me in this day and age it doesn’t matter, it goes digital and nobody listens to albums anymore. But I really believe in albums and I like that way of presenting my music. It’s like reading a book, you get a sense that the author has really fixated on the idea and decided to capture it. To me, albums are a distilled version of what someone experienced and I love that feeling of capturing a moment.
If you were putting together a male version of Seeker Lover Keeper, who would you select, and why? I don’t know (laughs). I was quite excited when I heard that Monsters of Folk record, because I really love M. Ward and Bright Eyes and Jim James from My Morning Jacket. I was excited by that collaboration. But three guys? I don’t know. I think it’d be great to see a diverse group. I’d probably pick three people that came from really different backgrounds, like Kanye West, Nick Cave and (laughs)… Glenn Richards (Augie March). Poor Glenn, he’ll be so embarrassed now!
Like that Bon Iver album For Emma, Forever Ago, it just resonated so much with people because it captured this feeling of him living in a cabin in the middle of nowhere. Now that is a really beautiful thing. I love that sentiment of an album representing a distilled legacy of a moment in time. From your experience in New York recording Seeker Lover Keeper, is there a particular feeling you wanted listeners to get from the album? We didn’t have any grand aims. The three of us wanted to remind each other of the simplicity and the beauty of what we do. We wanted to reignite this love of music within each of us. I hate people trivialising this as
Seeker Lover Keeper perform at Lizotte’s Lambton on Thursday July 14; Civic Memorial Hall, Mullumbimby on Friday July 15; Memorial Hall, Bellingen, on Saturday July 16. Seeker Lover Keeper is out now through Dew Process/Universal.
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reverb magazine issue #060 — July 2011 19
album Reviews Feature albums
Lasue
Killer Mega Giga Terror Independent
4.5/5
Newcastle band Lasue have delivered a very polished first EP. On first listen Lasue sound like Paramore mixed with Muse, mainly because of the impressive female vocals and driving rhythms, but Lasue are a different beast entirely. Opener ‘Reverse Alchemy’ kicks things off with a bang, with restrained vocals over a sombre vocal melody, leading into a nice chorus and huge breakdown. ‘Raise Your Fences’ is a slower number, which helps pace the EP. Final track ‘The Last Sound’ features a catchy chorus which will drill itself into your head. Also worth noting is the EP’s impressive production - the nuances carefully added to each track deserve careful listening. ~Matthew Glen
Seeker Lover Keeper Seeker Lover Keeper
Dew Porcess/Universal
4/5
What happens when three of Australia’s most talented female vocalists get together in a New York recording studio? The answer: a mesmerising self-titled debut from Seeker Lover Keeper. Made up of Sarah Blasko, Holly Throsby and Sally Seltmann, Seeker Lover Keeper is a folk fan’s dream and delivers the stunning vocal performances listeners have come to expect from this trio of performers. It’s clear from the get-go that amazing vocals are what really make this group. The album opener, ‘Bring Me Back’, is a nostalgic lullaby led by the haunting vocals of Blasko. The soft acoustic accompaniment and raw production perfectly showcase glorious three-part harmonies, before giving way to the enthusiastic handclapping and synth-pop undertones of ‘Light All My Lights’. This is followed by the equally catchy first single ‘Even Though I’m A Woman’, sung by Throsby. Towards the end of the album there is a change of pace when the musical accompaniments become simpler and the songs less pop sounding. This is when the talent of the three performers really shines through. The ability of Blasko, Throsby and Seltmann to vocally hold their own against a single guitar or piano accompaniment is remarkable. Particularly noteworthy is Throsby’s heartfelt performance in ‘We Will Know What It Is’. Overall, Seeker Lover Keeper’s debut is a beautiful collection of heartfelt piano ballads and folk-pop songs with the occasional synth-pop curveball thrown in for good measure. Here’s hoping it’s not a one-off collaboration. ~Amelia Parrott
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magazine issue #060 — July 2011
Arctic Monkeys Suck It And See
The ellis collective
Friendly Fires Pala
Domino/EMI
Means What I Mean
XL Recordings
4/5
longhaul records
4/5
While the Arctic Monkeys earlier albums contain snippets of club raves and brief flings, Suck it and See is more a collection of love songs, with Jamie Cook masterfully executing riffs of windswept pop-rock. The enigmatic lyrics of ‘Don’t Sit Down, Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair’ are a marsh of confusion, with Alex Turner singing about macarenas and lightning. Indeed, none of the lyrics on this record are as straight-forward as previous albums — provocative and sprinkled with a more charming punch. ‘Piledriver Waltz’, which recommends “If you’re gonna try and walk on water/make sure you wear your comfortable shoes”, is also featured on Turner’s solo Submarine project, released earlier this year, and is a definite indicator Turner’s style has changed. ~Jamie Nelson
3/5
Barrel House
Fink
Cross Section/Inertia
Ninja Tunes
4/5
4/5
Species Vagabond
The Ellis Collective’s debut album opens with a string-driven melody, instilling high hopes for a melancholy approach to indie rock. Instead, Means What It Means is a startling vocal blast from one of the most ocker accents I have heard in Australian music. However what begins as irritating grows on you by the fourth track, ‘Secret Signs’. Rather than being discordant, the vocals become a beautiful contrast to the often yearning melodies. However by the title track at number eight on the album, they again overwhelm the music. It’s not all bad though, with the songs varying in sound from acoustic to a refreshing full band vibe, with consistently strong lyrics. A good debut with room for growth. ~Melissah Comber Perfect Darkness
With what they themselves refer to as only a “crappy EP” to showcase their music, Barrel House decided it was time to head back to the studio and deliver a recording that is a true reflection of their unique blues/rock/roots performances. The result is Species Vagabond, a debut album full of stories of lost love, lust, hopelessness, travelling, sticking it to the man and not having enough money, with a kicked-back rootsy rhythm that captures the raw energy and enthusiasm of Barrel House’s live performances. The stand-out track and first single from the album, ‘No Hope’, is a prime example of the band’s ability to combine strong songwriting with gutsy blues/roots rhythms that instantly get the toes tapping and the body swaying. While I considered their first EP a catchy collection, Species Vagabond steps up the mark for Barrel House — a must listen for blues/roots fans. ~Ross Beckley
Dananananaykroyd There Is A Way Dew Process
3/5
The energy and enthusiasm of Glasgow-based indie pop group Dananananaykroyd is enough to grasp the attention of any audience. With loud and fast-paced blasts of sound, even the most insipid music fan couldn’t fail to get excited. There Is A Way is an album very similar to Danananaykroyd’s debut Hey Everyone, filled with passionate screaming, distorted guitars, intense drum tempos and charming Scottish accents. The main flaw is that the tracks are all very similar and based heavily on the energy of the performers rather than the compositions themselves. There Is A Way is an engaging album with some quality singles, including ‘Muscle Memory’ and ‘E-Numbers’, but it would probably be better performed live. ~Josh Clements
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A little over a month ago, NYC’s LCD Soundsystem called it quits and an era came to a close. For nine years, James Murphy’s crew personified what a perfect dance/rock act should be, pioneering a sound that has resonated worldwide with everyone from French band Justice to Australia’s own Cut Copy. Enter England’s Friendly Fires. On their sophisticated sophomore effort, Pala they combine thumping bass lines, sparkling synths and soaring, over-the-top vocals to great effect. Opening track ‘Live Those Days Tonight’ is the perfect soundtrack for a strobe-soaked dance floor as it pulses its way into your head and refuses to leave. Likewise, second single ‘Hawaiian Air’ is a bouncy, sunny ode to new-found fame (despite still flying economy class). It features the fantastic lyric, “Ache in my leg from the broken seat/Skipping the meal for a G&T”. Never fear James Murphy, the torch has been passed. ~Nick Mackay
You can be forgiven if you haven’t heard of Fink, but this is definitely an artist worth checking out. Fink is an act created by English folk singer, songwriter, dubstep musician and DJ, Fin Greenall. He has been able to combine certain elements from each of these different styles to create Fink — something new and different but very intriguing. On the album Perfect Darkness we hear a very contemporary folk sound held up through mild electronica (very mild). The songs are captivating, often very slow and moody, with small moments of light that seep through and allow the songs to live. There are several points throughout the album where the songs do feel too slow but overall it is a beautifully-crafted work that will keep you wanting more. Fink is a unique and appealing artist who might be on the verge of bringing a brand new sound onto the market. Stand-out tracks include ‘Yesterday was hard on all of us’, the title-track ‘Perfect Darkness’, and the final song on the album, ‘Berlin Sunrise’. ~Mark henderson
Gomez
Flogging Molly
Hailing from St. Petersburg, Florida and featuring ex-members of Morbid Angel, Camilla Rhodes and Vile, Hate Eternal should be known as the band hailing from the depths of hell! Releasing album number five, Phoenix Amongst The Ashes, Hate Eternal have delivered their strongest offering to date. Filled with blistering down-tuned guitar riffs, blasting beats and gutteral vocals fit to wake sleeping demons, Phoenix Amongst The Ashes is everything you would expect from Erik Rutan and band, plus more. Tracks like ‘The Eternal Ruler’, ‘Hatesworn’ and ‘The Art of Redemption’ show not only the diversity of this death metal masterpiece, but also how far Rutan has come as a songwriter and producer. Three years in the making, this is one of the most twisted, melodic, evil albums Hate Eternal have releaed. ~Cameron Edney
Speed Of Darkness Other Tongues
4.5/5
Having fallen in love with this band of Irish American punks when they released Drunken Lullabies in 2002, it was easy to understand how their new album Speed of Darkness hit the billboard charts at #9. From start to finish, this seven-piece extravaganza delivers one of the best and most diverse albums I’ve heard this year. From instant upbeat favourites, like ‘Revolution’ and ‘The Powers Out’, to the laid back ‘So Sail On’, Speed of Darkness has something to offer everyone. No other punk band, that I can recall, can incorporate fiddles, cellos, trumpets and banjos the way Flogging Molly do! Speed of Darkness is an album that’s perfect for any occasion. For fans of: Green Day, Dropkick Murphys, Rancid. ~Cameron Edney
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Whatever’s On Your Mind ATO Records
3/5
There’s something about the Brits that makes their music so listener-friendly, and Gomez are no exception. With their tenth studio album to date, Gomez are at it again with Whatever’s On Your Mind. For those coming late to the party, the voice (the band has three singers) can be likened to Irish singer-songwriter Damien Rice, only packed with grunt. In this album, it’s matched with a sprawl of instruments ranging from heavy electric guitars to synth, sax and keyboards. The title track is a standout, a rock ballad with building momentum; while ‘Equalize’ features a catchy guitar riff and a beat that will have you tapping on the steering wheel by the second chorus. It’s a record that instantly feels familiar. ~Shelby Houghton
Hate Eternal Phoenix Amongst The Ashes Metal Blade Records
4/5
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album Reviews album of the month
Jamie Woon
Maids
The Antlers
Young The Giant
Polydor Records/Universal
Independent
French Kiss/Pod
Roadrunner
3.5/5
4/5
4.5/5
2.5/5
Mirrorwriting
An encapturing, soulful film of electronica, Mirrorwriting is essentially a Justin Timberlake epilogue, tainted with a neverfail nonchalance. The latest single ‘Lady Luck’ is a swooning R&B cradle song, and, like the rest of the record, strengthened by Woon’s glassy, fervently trained voice. ‘Shoulda’ follows a similar suit, but with symphonic melodies and a glass beat. It’s definitely not the workshop dub follow-up we expected from his 2007 effort, Wayfaring Stranger, but Woon’s singing is damn good and still impresses in a flowing, night-timeswim sort of way. ~Jamie Nelson
White Denim D
Downtown Music/Inertia
3.5/5
White Denim’s D sounds like it was created in a haze of pot smoke and floating yellow submarines. It’s a testament to the band and their production team that this album not only sounds like it’s from the 60s, it sounds like it was actually recorded in the 60s. Songs switch tempos early and often, from the Dead-funk of ‘At the Farm’ to the spastic flute acrobatics of ‘River to Consider’, which sounds like the bastard child of Jethro Tull and Will Ferrell’s flute solo in Anchorman. First single ‘Drug’ may be the most perfectly (and sincerely) titled song of the year but it’s the gin-soaked, ‘Street Joy’ that is the clear standout. While the rest of D is a peyote-fueled trip not to be messed with, ‘Street Joy’ is the soundtrack to the ultimate come-down. Soak it up. ~Nick Mackay
The Pigeon Detectives
Up, Guard and At ’Em Dance To The RAdio
2.5/5
When Matt Bowman sings, “I’m boxed in a corner/I can’t get outta here” on the opening track of The Pigeon Detectives’ latest album Up, Guards and At ‘em, you can be certain he is not referring to feeling boxed in by the band’s sound. When I first sat down to listen to this album I thought I was listening to the wrong band. The gritty drum machine and distant, reverberating vocals that kick off album opener ‘She Wants Me’ are a far cry from the straight-up rock of the band’s previous releases. In some instances, the recently acquired electronic influences work. ‘She Wants Me’ and ‘Turn Out The Lights’ blend the old and new well. But for the most part, synth parts seem to pop up randomly throughout the album for a bar or so, needlessly interrupting otherwise decent songs, before disappearing again. Sadly, this album sees The Pigeon Detectives sounding like the countless other indie bands producing electro inspired rock songs. As someone who loved The Pigeon Detectives debut release, with its simple yet catchy riffs and quirky, anecdotal lyrics, Up, Guards and At ’Em left me wishing they’d stayed boxed in the corner. ~Amelia Parrott
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Burst Apart
Maids
The newly-released self-titled EP from banging Newcastle stunt quartet, Maids, is an indicator of how well the local scene has been doing. The impressive Maids induces a heavy rocking swamp of goodness with a mix of distant vocals, raw grunge and audacious beats. ‘Let’s Get Lizard’, their most recent recording, is guitar-dense and complex (“I don’t know why/you think I’m crazy”), while ‘Death to Computer’ is a melodramatic bin of messed-up techno lyrics with an alien soundtrack to match. The barely vocalised dirty-cop jaunts of ‘Green’ are a timeless journey (or psychedelic stumble), not failing the rest of the EP’s moral killing feel. ~Jamie nelson
Tex perkins and the dark horses Tex Perkins and the Dark Horses Dark Horse Records/Inertia
3.5/5
Tex Perkins is a monolithic figure in the Australian musical consciousness, striding across rock, country and even, lately, jazz arenas like a great irreverent colossus. His Dark Horses band are an auxiliary appendage to flesh out the mystery, something they do superbly on this quiet record of a man and his contrary muse. Continuing a lifetime’s theme of fiery melancholy and backwoods brimstone with a brooding set of songs in the territory of the Tex Don and Charlie records, ‘Perko’ trumps it with deadpan humour in the midst of biblical umbrage. In ‘Snakes’ he rumbles, “Everywhere I go I smell smoke, I hear thunder”, but in bellicose Perkins fashion, turns it into a piss-take by the last verse, “everything I do is fucking genius”, neatly sidestepping some otherwise boilerplate philosophies. ~Mick Daley
Urge Overkill Rock and Roll Submarine Red Eye Records
2.5/5
Sixteen years is a long time between albums. Typically, Chicago alt-rockers Urge Overkill have thrown up an eclectic mix — horrendously bad album title aside. The jagged riffage of album opener ‘Mason/Dixon’ sets the scene, and first single ‘Effigy’ burns with a vigour that reminds us all of the potency of the Nash Kato /’King’ Roeser song writing team — their shared vocals cooler than a shaken martini. But you do get the feeling they may be reaching too far in their attempt to regain the magic of their past releases: the ironic swagger of old at times seems forced on this outing. While the album doesn’t lurch with the immediacy of their previous two albums, many will be happy with a familiar fit rather than a bold new bid for supremacy. And maybe that’s the way Chicago’s coolest want it. ~Paul Frost
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In 2009, The Antlers snuck up on the indie world with Hospice, a harrowing and all together astonishing concept record about sitting bedside in a hospital watching the person you love most in the world slowly die. Such an affecting record was always going to be impossible to replicate and Burst Apart is the sound of a band refusing to yield to those expectations. Present still are the trademark spaceless atmospherics on tracks like ‘No Windows’, ‘Tiptoe’ and ‘Corsica’ but it’s the up-tempo tracks where the band really begins to grow horns. ‘Parenthesis’ resembles a lost cut from Radiohead’s Hail to the Thief, while the gorgeous opening track ‘I Don’t Want Love’ allows front-man Pete Silberman’s falsetto to break out of the cage Hospice occasionally confined it to. A daring record; not to be ignored. ~Nick Mackay
Thurston Moore Demolished Thoughts Matador
4/5
The fourth solo effort of Sonic Youth frontman Thurston Moore is as mesmerising as a afternoon of daydreaming, saturated with soft, plucky melodies. ‘Illuminine’ sends the listener’s soul aloft on a moon ride (“Morning comes awake/To your wildest dreams”). Hello? Is that a serenading angel in my CD player? Producer Beck Hansen has chosen to keep Moore’s voice raw and architecturally placed throughout the songs, treating the elegant and compelling vocals like an instrument. ‘Blood Never Lies’ utilises this design as it builds a quiet weight — one of the few songs on the album with an instrumental as long as the lyric set. By the time we get to ‘Space’, we are well lost (albeit blissfully). Moore really brings out the passive adventurer in this one. ~Jamie Nelson
Guillemots Walk The River Polydor
3/5
Walk The River, the third album from UK four-piece Guillemots, is described by the band as an “astral triumph”. I beg to differ. Not to say that it is a bad album, it just varies between hit and average, as opposed to hit and miss. A standout song is ‘I Don’t Feel Amazing Now’, which layers instruments voices without compromising the soft-rock feel of the song. However, where the album is let down is in its repetitiveness, both lyrically and melodically, with many songs running too long, such as ‘Sometimes I Remember Wrong’ at nine minutes, including a twoand-a-half minute instrumental intro. Good but not quite “astral”. ~Melissah Comber
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Young The Giant
California five-piece Young the Giant have produced a swinging rock LP, crowded with vague topics and heard-it-all-before sounds. The album is equal parts U2, Kings of Leon and Sparkadia but sadly encompasses more of a clichéd sound than a clever mix. ‘Apartment’ establishes a slow, rainy day folk feel but is voided by ‘My Body’, which is more of a karaoke number. The rest of the album is a catchy collection of delightful autumny marching hooks but more often than not, the skin-deep lyrics fail in their attempt at poetry. There is a sweet depth in the riffs of ‘Islands’ and the start of ‘Guns Out’ which brings the record to a nice close. ~Jamie Nelson
Stanton Warriers The Warriors
Central Station/Universal
2/5
Usually when I’m asked to listen to electro dance muzak of the Stanton Warriors’ kind, there is a name attached to it — Lady Gaga or Usher on vocals. But The Warriors has nary a name in sight, and comes up lacking. I can’t help but feel the music has no point. The songs have every cliché found in dance music today; childish rapping, strong female choruses, minimalist Black Eyed Peas-esque dance beats, and vocalists yelling the names of American cities like drunk frat boys. But if you’re just looking for a boogie, give it a whirl. ~Mitchell Alexander
Genevieve Chadwick
Riding The Wind Forgetting Time Independent
4/5
Genevieve Chadwick has been paying her dues as a performer for years, and this debut album is the work of a confident artist. It’s an appealing package of blues, folk and rock and roll, complete with husky, well-worn vocals and beautiful acoustic guitar work. Chadwick’s compositional style evokes early Led Zeppelin, without sounding pastiche and though she sources inspiration from ‘old’ styles of music, her take is unique and refreshing. Her voice can knock ‘em dead with feisty attitude (‘One Time Thing’, ‘You Don’t Know’) or carry you away on a melody (‘Memory Lane’, ‘Adrian’). It’s easy to hear why Genevieve has been garnering such a strong reputation from her live shows. She’s not just another girl with an acoustic guitar. An instrument commonly associated with earnest, strumming balladeers is brought to life in her hands. This album will surely give Genevieve Chadwick some national and international recognition as an artist of tremendous potential. For fans of: Mia Dyson, Patty Griffin, Janis Joplin. ~Chelsea Reed
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album Reviews Feature albums
Death Cab For Cutie
Diesel
The Grates
Drapht
Codes and Keys
HepFidelity Records/Liberation
Dew process
Sony
Warners
4/5
4/5
3.5/5
4/5
It seems that somewhere between peddling six full albums worth of pessimistic brilliance and fuelling a small drinking problem, Death Cab for Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard has found the time to fall in love. His band’s ensuing album, Codes and Keys, is lyrically brighter and more optimistic than anything in their catalogue, but is still fed through the same melancholy framework that has distinguished their career. Codes and Keys is also considerably less guitar-centric than their previous work, which is surprising considering the album’s most powerful moment arrives in the form of an explosive Chris Walla guitar riff in the middle of ‘You Are a Tourist’. Still, the album does enough to satiate the whims of both new and old DCFC fans; in my opinion, it’s a completely different record to anything they’ve recorded before, but still every bit as good as Plans and Narrow Stairs. ~Max Quinn
teeth and tongue Tambourine Inertia
4/5
Teeth and Tongue is the moniker of multi-talented musician, Jess Cornelius, and Tambourine is the Melbourne artist’s sophomore album. Cornelius, ably assisted by guitarist Marc Regueiro-Mckelvie (Popolice) and Damian Sullivan on bass, delivers a stripped-back collection of darkly melodic pop tunes, melding expressive, wiry guitar lines, sparse drum machine beats and hauntingly soulful vocals. The result is a beautiful and rawly emotional musical journey. Cornelius has a special voice able to convey a range of emotions that commands the darker, ghostly arrangements. She can sound fragile and achingly sensitive one moment, seductive and edgy the next. ‘Walls’, the straight-forward, rocky opener feeds into catchy single ‘Unfamiliar Skirts’. ‘Love as a Word’ has a slinky, hypnotic rhythm underlying a mysterious, smouldering vocal and upbeat chorus. Other highlights include the shady dynamics of ‘Sad Sun’ and the simmering tension of ‘Vaseline on the Lens’. Underneath the bleak vibes and bleeding heart of the album there are hints of optimism, reflected in the occasional uplifting moment or hopeful vocal. However the darker lyrical themes and damaged love songs tinged with loneliness and despair form the core of the album. Despite the darkness, Tambourine avoids being overly morose or depressing, pulling the listener in and demanding repeat listens. One of the best Australian releases of the year. ~Luke Saunders
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magazine issue #060 — July 2011
Under The Influence
Secret Rituals
As one of Australia’s greatest performers, Diesel never ceases to amaze me and his new album, Under The Influence, beautifully showcases his panache. As the album unfolds, Diesel recreates songs made famous by Jimi Hendrix (‘Spanish Castle Magic’); Al Green (‘Can’t Get Next To You’) and Neil Young (‘Cinnamon Girl’), all of whom have inspired the growth and artistry of his own music. His renditions of these greats, which stay true to the original song structure while adding Diesel’s own flair, are entrancing and captivating. This comprehensive album features songs from so many different styles. The process of discovery through each track demonstrates without a doubt that there is something for everyone to connect to and love if you don’t already have an addiction to the sound that is Diesel. ~Courtney Fitzsimmons
Brisbane pop-rock outfit, The Grates, has long been Australia’s sweetheart rock band: their two previous albums loved for their innocence and sense of fun. However, bands must eventually move forward into new territory and The Grates have finally done so. The group has slimmed down from trio to duo, losing drummer Alana Skyring to a new career banging pots and pans, and in the process, reinvented their sound. Secret Rituals is a far more mature and bass-heavy record, with a greater emphasis on smooth and cohesive sounds rather than extreme energy, without sacrificing the fun, found in tracks ‘Like You Could Have It All’ and ‘Young Pricks.’ This album is just as enjoyable as their past material but establishes The Grates as a genuine rock outfit. For Fans Of: Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Hole, Tegan and Sara. ~Josh Clements
Eddie Vedder
The Future Is Medieval
Kaiser Chiefs
Ukulele Songs
Liberator
Universal
4/5
3.5/5
How much you want to listen to 16 relatively short songs by Eddie Vedder on ukulele depends really on how much you like Vedder himself. Everyone knows the voice. There are clumsy lyrical couplets alongside stellar refrains of broken hearts and redemptive love and the tinkling ukulele underneath it all. There are plenty of gems here, ‘Without You’ is an exquisite Vedder composition of simple melodic refrains and achingly beautiful vocal lines. ‘Broken Heart’ is a noticeably intimate recording on an album full of intimate recordings. If there is a downfall it’s the insistence on ukulele, it’s a niche instrument, and though Eddie’s voice works well with it most of the time, it does have a tendency to sound somewhat uniform throughout. It’s a good listen for Vedder’s many followers (of which I’m admittedly one) but far from essential. ~Roger Killjoy
Wagons
The Chiefs are back with an eclectic mix of witty 80s-style synthinfused pop melodies, along with burgeoning rock pieces. The Future is Medieval is the perfect album for the ADD listener: this CD never gets boring - from start to finish, it offers an anxious and volatile assault of pure satisfaction. Although diverse, the strong foundations of the Kaiser Chiefs’ originality are still very much apparent. A 60s pop influence shines through ‘When All Is Quiet’, a sweet little ditty reminiscent of The Kinks. The playful use of organs and various synthesised effects mash well with heavier songs like opener ‘Little Shocks’. It’s evident that the Kaiser Chiefs have undergone major re-development during their threeyear hiatus, and will surely be reclaiming their status at the top of the Brit-pop charts. ~Charli Hutchinson
Bill Wells & Aiden Moffat
Everything’s Getting Older
Rumble Shake and Tumble
Chemikal Underground
4/5
Spunk
3.5/5
There’s a lot to like about Henry Wagons. His country-rock songwriting sensibilities are second-to-none in the Australian music industry, his sarcastic drawl cuts like a knife through butter, and he sports a startlingly good beard. Wagons’ first two releases earmarked his band as one to watch and while Rumble, Shake And Tumble isn’t the ball-tearing masterpiece the band are capable of delivering, it’s the closest they’ve come to a consistent record from top to bottom. The album’s finest moment is the exegetical ‘Save Me’, which sounds like a Merle Haggard tune delivered by an over-enthusiastic Baptist choir. Well worth a listen for anybody who likes their Telecaster served with a side of extreme twang. ~Max Quinn
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It’s an age-old piece of advice; sing what you know. Bill Wells and Aidan Moffat have found the music of resigned wisdom that can only come with age and experience. Everything’s Getting Older is a six-track mood swing that speculates on life and the games we play, only to end up feeling jaded at the end of it all. The album begins with sweet and peaceful piano but grows more intense and astringent as each song passes. The climax, ‘Glasgow Jubilee’, is a dry narration of modern city squalor, sweeping a blinding light over the darkest corners of adulthood. Blunt lyrics are draped over a decisively spare soundtrack. The minimalist approach that barely conceals even the Scottish accent has an undeniable truth - a tale about life from one of life’s victims. For fans of: Bright Eyes, Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Everybody’s Free To Wear Sunscreen’ ~Jess saxton
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The Life Of Riley
It starts with D and ends in T – It’s Drapht, the greatest discovery in two thousand years! This big statement welcomes us to Aussie hip-hop artist Drapht’s latest offering The Life of Riley. If you aren’t overly familiar with the name Drapht you might recall the 2008 track ‘Jimmy Recard’ – and what a song that was. The latest album reports Jimmy Recard’s funeral in the song ‘R.I.P JR’, a catchy little tune, which cleverly develops on the previous hit. Apart from this, the album is mostly upbeat although we do hear Drapht’s political rants as well as a few other pet peeves, throughout. There are some very memorable melodies, beats and lyrics that I caught myself singing along to – ‘Rapunzel’, with its clever references to the hip-hop scene, and ‘Sing It’ are the standouts. There are moments of joy on the record along with some serious hip-hop flow – to say it’s the greatest discovery in two thousand years might be something of an exaggeration but it’s all in the name of fun. Check it out. ~Mark henderson
Papa vs Pretty United In Isolation Peace and Riot/EMI
4.5/5
In terms of melodic construction, enthusiasm, candid emotion and unmatched inventiveness, Sydney wunderkinds Papa vs Pretty have blown every other Australian rock record of 2011 out of the water with their debut album United in Isolation. Frontman Tom Rawle has melded his rhythm guitar-infused shredder tendencies into many different styles, from the Oz rock-influenced ‘One of The Animals’ and ‘Look For Me’; to the stark balladeering of ‘I Felt Nothing’; the helplessness of ‘Bitter Pill’ to the tumultuous album closer ‘You Are Not In Love Anymore’, replete with ominous outro. Drummer Tom Myers is at his tomthumping best in album-opener ‘Life’s Got A Hold on Me’, whilst bassist Gus Gardiner stamps his groove all over the record, including his orchestrations on the fiery ‘Conquistador’. Sonic comparisons to Radiohead, Jeff Buckley, Elliot Smith and Dinosaur Jr, are being thrown at this album by every other reviewing jobber, but none of them stick long enough to stain Papa vs Pretty’s thought-provoking cinematic rock. My advice - stop making comparisons, stop slagging their talent off to your talentless friends, buy United in Isolation, spread the word and watch as they reign supreme. ~Matt Petherbridge
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gig Guide North Fri, July 1
Lalaland, Byron Bay
Australian Hotel, Ballina
Lennox Point Hotel
The Floating Bridges
Ballina RSL Matt Zarb, Minnie Marks
Beach Hotel, Byron Bay The Melodics
Bellingen Memorial Hall Fyah Walk, Heart Tribe, Samba Soul
Brunswick Hotel The Troubadours
Cherry ST Sports Club, Ballina Lockie & Denny
Coast Hotel, Coffs Harbour Granite Revolution
Coorabell Hall, Byron Bay Rapskallion, Ivy Lucille
Federal Hotel, Bellingen Geoff Turnbull
Great Northern Hotel, Byron The Paper Scissors
Lennox Point Hotel Inside Outlaw, The Watchmen
Never Land Bar, Coolangatta The City Shake Up, Nine Sons of Dan
Pacific Hotel, Yamba Tim Stokes
Port Macquarie Hotel 8 Ball Aitken
Sawtell RSL Doc Neeson, Dark Town Strutters
Slipway Hotel, Ballina Richie Williams
Stone & Wood Brewery, Byron Songs From The Ether w/ Andrew Kidman and The Windy Hills
Tattersalls Hotel, Lismore Dali’s Angels, Leave House, Bats vs Snakes
The Aztec, Forster Caravana Sun
Treehouse, Byron Bay Emma Louise, Tori Lee
Valla Beach Tavern Luke Escombe & The Corporation
Discrow, Daniel Webber
Coffs Harbour Showground Bliss n Eso, Mind Over Matter, Ebb n Flo, Beats Working, Choose Mics
Finnians, Port Macquarie Caravana Sun
Great Northern Hotel, Byron Tres Hombres
Hoey Moey, Coffs Harbour Bliss n Eso after party
Lennox Point Hotel The Claymores, Slug
Never Land Bar, Coolangatta Regurgitator DJ Set
Pacific Hotel, Yamba Zues Baby
Rails, Byron Bay Dali’s Angels
Sawtell Hotel Round Mountain Girls
Slipway Hotel, Ballina Yolan
Tattersalls Hotel, Lismore Paish and Clancy
Treehouse, Byron Bay Jesse Mitchell
Rhys Bynon Black Lullaby
The Stillsons Quick Fix
Byron Bay Community Centre
The Earlybirds, Rhett Brambleby
Clocktower Hotel, Grafton
Thundergods of the Multiverse, Slug
Port Macquarie Hotel
CBD Dub Trio, Katie Brooke
Yamba Bowling Club
Aaron Bolton
Freemasons Hotel, Nimbin The Stillsons
Hoey Moey, Coffs Harbour Coastal Soul Caravana Sun Discrow, Daniel Webber
Dubmarine, Kingfisha Zebyah Rocksalt
Coorabell Hall, Byron Bay Sacred Earth
Digger’s Tavern, Bellingen Jack Carty
Federal Hotel, Bellingen The Stillsons
Great Northern Hotel, Byron Bell and Bone
Lalaland, Byron Bay And Oh!, Ryan Rushton
Lennox Point Hotel Altowave
Never Land Bar, Coolangatta Fifty Four w/ Himan, Sidwho?
Pacific Hotel, Yamba Mick McHugh
Port Macquarie Hotel Cleveland Blues
Seaview Tavern, Woolgoolga Josh Matherson
Slipway Hotel, Ballina Slim Pickins
Tattersalls Hotel, Lismore Turner
Treehouse, Byron Bay The Lucky Wonders
Valla Beach Tavern Rumba Downunda
Chris Cavill
Push
Phil Edgeley
8 Ball Aitkin
Chris Arenston
The 9th Chapter
Sawtell RSL
Glasshouse Theatre, Port Macq
Margaret Flanaghan, Rowland Stones
Peace Train - A Tribute To Cat Stevens
Goonellabah Tavern
Wed, July 13
Fossil Rock
Great Northern Hotel, Byron
Clocktower Hotel, Grafton
Mojo Juju & The Snake Oil Merchants
Harrington Hotel
Ben Francis
Harvest Cafe, Newrybah
Caravana Sun
Hoey Moey, Coffs Harbour
The Blue Birdy
Vanessa Lea and Roadtrain
Thur, July 14
Lennox Point Hotel
Beach Hotel, Byron Bay
Lismore Workers Club
Blind Lemon
The Floating Bridges
The Wolverines
Cex, Coffs Harbour
Memorial Hall, Bellingen
Lee Kernaghan
Seeker Lover Keeper, Tiny Ruins
Gollan Hotel, Lismore
Never Land Bar, Coolangatta
Swamp Meter
Hey Now!
Pacific Hotel, Yamba
Ocean View Hotel, Urunga
4 Way Street
The Stillsons
Port Macquarie Hotel
Sawtell Hotel
The Initiation, Mad Charlie, Sarah Grant
Slipway Hotel, Ballina Glenn Massey
Bronte Wake
Tattersalls Hotel, Lismore Brothers Grimm, Repentance Creek
Treehouse, Byron Bay
Tattersalls Hotel, Lismore Cave of the Swallows, Alibrandi, Inside Outlaw
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SATURDAY 02 THE JAYWALKS, THE AUTOMATIC ANDRIODS & THE WATCHMAKERS 7:30PM FRIDAY 08 KAMAKAZI THUNDERKATS 8PM SATURDAY 09 CLAY BLTH 7:30PM FRIDAY 15 VANESSA LEA & ROADTRAIN 8PM SATURDAY 16 THE PIERCE BROTHERS & ELLIOT FRIEND 7:30PM FRIDAY 22 LATE FOR WOODSTOCK 8PM SATURDAY 23 WANDERING EYES 7:30PM FRIDAY 29 TIGHTROPE ALLEY 8PM SATURDAY 30 DAN HANNAFORD 7:30PM
Sun, July 17
Fri, July 15
Lennox Point Hotel
Australian Hotel, Ballina
Marshall O’Kell
Park Beach Surf Club, Coffs
Vanessa Lea and Road Train
Beach Hotel, Byron Bay
8 Ball Aitken
Sawtell RSL
Rapskallion
Brewery, Byron Bay
Brian Stoddart, Rowland Stones
The Stillsons
Digger’s Tavern, Bellingen
Australian Hotel, Ballina
Civic Memorial Hall, Mullum
Tony Fallon Seeker Lover Keeper, Tiny Ruins
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Strauss and Co
Sawtell RSL
Cherry ST Sports Club, Ballina
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Coast Hotel, Coffs Harbour Federal Hotel, Bellingen
Sat, July 9 Clay Blyth
Block Bar Cafe, Yamba
Cherry ST Sports Club, Ballina
Sun, July 3 Caravana Sun
FRIDAY 01 THE FLOATING BRIDGES 8PM
Gyan
Lennox Point Hotel
Pacific Hotel, Yamba
Clay Blyth & the Cobblestones
Australian Hotel, Ballina
Byron Bay Community Centre
Australian Hotel, Ballina
Beach Hotel, Byron Bay
Sat, July 16
Brian Watt
Lalaland, Byron Bay
Ocean View Hotel, Urunga
Kamikaze Thunderkats
Caravana Sun
The Pierce Brothers, Elliot Friend
Ivory Tavern, Tweed Heads
Fri, July 8 Ballina RSL
8 Ball Aitken Bill Jacobi
Clocktower Hotel, Grafton
The Earlybirds, Andrew and Jackson,
It ’s nice & warm in atrhe fr o n t b
Tattersalls Hotel, Lismore
Sun, July 10
Gollan Hotel, Lismore
Seaview Tavern, Woolgoolga Slipway Hotel, Ballina
Rapskallion
Family Tree and Extended Branches
Vanessa Baker
The Edge
Treehouse, Byron Bay
Ali McGregor s Jazz Cigarette
Treehouse, Byron Bay
Lee Kernaghan
Sawtell Hotel
Tattersalls Hotel, Lismore
Caravana Sun
JULY AT THE AUSSIE
Port Macquarie Panthers
Sawtell Hotel
Brewery, Byron Bay
Marc Daley
Anarchist Duck
Rails, Byron Bay
Connor B Fitz, Emily Rose Sorenson
Slipway Hotel, Ballina
Pacific Hotel, Yamba
Invisible Friend
Beach Hotel, Byron Bay
Ocean Shores Tavern Richie Williams
Pacific Hotel, Yamba
Turner
M-Phonik
Sellouts, Sequence
Purple Sneaker DJs
Armidale Club
Lucious Deed, Balance, Sista Ray,
Jimmy D
Never Land Bar, Coolangatta
Never Land Bar, Coolangatta
Thur, July 7
Bass Heavy w/ Luk Le-Chuck,
Lennox Point Hotel
Lennox Point Hotel
Riley and Donna, Jim Dowling
Glasshouse Theatre, Port Macq Peace Train - A Tribute To Cat Stevens
Lalaland, Byron Bay
David Barry, Rowland Stones
Coast Hotel, Coffs Harbour
Tim Stokes
Glass Towers
Treehouse, Byron Bay
Federal Hotel, Bellingen The Bellingenies
Great Northern Hotel, Byron
Sawtell RSL
Digger’s Tavern, Bellingen Matty Devitt
Coastal Soul
Georgia Fair, Daniel Lee Kendall
Australian Hotel, Ballina
Block Bar Cafe, Yamba
Jimmy Webb
Rails, Byron Bay
Ben Martin
Mum Says Rock
Federal Hotel, Bellingen
Phil Edgeley
Bonny Hils Hotel
Automatic Androids
Matt Barker
Jim Kelly’s Thrill Seekers
SCU Unibar, Lismore
Coast Hotel, Coffs Harbour
Byron Bay Community Centre
Pacific Hotel, Yamba
Sat, July 2 The Jaywalks, The Watchmakers, The
Block Bar Cafe, Yamba
Wed, July 20 A & I Hall, Bangalow Clare Bowditch, Lanie Lane
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103 River Street, Ballina Ph 02 6686 2015 www.theaussiehotel.com reverb magazine issue #060 — July 2011 23
PNAU
i n to
t h e P O P universe Their vocalist went AWOL during a tour with über-successful side-project Empire Of The Sun, but now Pnau are back with their long-awaited third album, Soft Universe. This record veers away from their nightclub influences and into the uncharted waters of structured pop music. Guitarist Peter Mayes tells MAX QUINN why that’s far from a bad thing.
Hello from Newcastle, Peter. Hey, Max! We played a really great show in Newcastle on our last tour. Maybe it was the Workers’ Club. I think its name has changed now. It was really good, Daniel Johns came down and we partied at his house afterwards. The energy out there is great.
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magazine issue #060 — July 2011
What’s a party at Daniel Johns’s house like? It’s quite wild! He was in the middle of making a record in his living room at the time, so we all had a jam. I think at one point I passed out on his balcony and somebody carried me in to bed. But the show was great. It was at the end of a really long tour, so we had a great Sydney show and a great Newcastle show the night after. You’re about to start touring the new record. In July. We’re starting on the east coast and going from there. Considering that we don’t live in Australia at the moment, I think it will be a pretty big tour. Because you’re based in Europe now, aren’t you? I’m in London and Nick [Littlemore] is in New York at the moment. He’s doing the music for a Cirque Du Soleil production. That’s going to open in about a week now,
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so it’s all down to the wire for him. I imagine it’s very stressful. Let’s talk about this new record. What was your experience like making this one? This record was spaced out through many different periods over the last few years. We collaborated with a lot of people and each song evolved in a very different way. The first song that we wrote was called ‘Everybody’ — have you heard the record? I love that song. Cool! That was the first song we wrote for this one. For the last record, the song that set the standard for us was the song we wrote with Luke Steele, ‘With You Forever’, and on this one, ‘Everybody’ really set the tone for what we wanted to accomplish. It’s very much a Pnau song. We just wrote that ourselves at a really big house in London that we were living in at the time. We had the whole band
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there, so we sort of sent them away for the week — I’m not sure where they went — but that gave us the time to really be creative and just write. Then there are songs like ‘Solid Ground’, the single, which is a real New York song for us. We wrote it in a little hotel in New York and that’s why we shot the video over there. Then there are some songs that we wrote in LA; some songs we wrote just sitting at crappy pianos in weird hotels, and for the rest we’d lay stuff down and send it to each other wherever we were in the world. There were a great variety of experiences. Nick had been through a dark time, emotionally, he’d had his heart broken and all of that stuff was going on, so his lyrics are quite emotional. Yeah, that’s definitely something I noticed. I was actually really interested to read a comment that Nick had made about how the two of you were trying to make ‘real’ songs
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PNAU
“ We know each other really well, so, when we’re writing, sometimes the communication is literally telepathic.”
for this record. Is that something that resonates with you? That’s a very valid statement. It’s weird, I just said that today, but I didn’t know Nick had said that. We’re very hard on ourselves, musically, but we never sit down and define what we want to do, stylistically and conceptually. But I think there’s always a conscious effort to progress and move forward. Obviously, with the success of the Empire of the Sun record that we did, there was more pressure than ever for us to surpass what we’d done previously — to move beyond the semiinstrumental club-influenced music that we’d done in the past. I feel like this is more of a pop record. Yeah! To a lot of people that’s kind of a dirty word. But to me it just means that there’s more melody on the new record. The songs are shorter and structured more traditionally.
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Was that a conscious choice? Yeah! It’s not like we sat down and tried to write traditional songs, but that’s just where our heads were. It’s where they still are. I think the key to it all is Nick’s vocals. If you took them out, it would be quite a boring record! We were focused more than ever before on the melody and the story. What’s the story of this record? I don’t write the lyrics, so it’s a trip into Nick’s headspace over the last few years. With a track like ‘Solid Ground’… that was the most conscious effort we’d made to write a more positive song. There were some dark lyrical places on this record, so my job was to create a more vibrant, positive musical atmosphere: to create that sort of contrast to the really serious undertone of the record with a more positive musical landscape. I just sort of had to propel the music — we didn’t aim to make a dark album — Nick is a
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very honest lyricist, so he’ll write what is on his mind that day or that week, whatever it is. Even when we’re rehearsing he’s re-living that darkness, but at the end of the day it’s a positive thing because we’ve been able to turn those emotions into something musical. I think that’s such a neat trick that songwriters have. It seems counter-intuitive to write darker lyrics with lighter music, but for us it seemed to make sense. Some of my favourite records sound exactly that way. It’s nice to have something that on the surface is very melodic, but then to be able to reach in and dig a bit deeper. I tend to gravitate to darker pop records. Bands like Tears For Fears and Depeche Mode who make happy pop music that have quite serious undertones and depth to them.
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You mentioned that this record was a trip into Nick’s head. How long would you survive in Nick’s head, do you reckon? I think I’ve learned to navigate that head quite well over the years, but I don’t know. That’s a tough one to answer! We’ve known each other for such a long time. Does it ever feel like you’re part of an old married couple? Sure. But it can feel like that with anybody you’ve had a relationship with for that long, and I mean it in a positive way. We know each other really well, so, when we’re writing, sometimes the communication is literally telepathic. You just get on with it, you know, there’s no small talk anymore. We just get right down to the business of making music. Pnau perform at Newcastle Panthers on Friday July 29. Soft Universe is out July 22 through EtcEtc/Universal.
reverb magazine issue #060 — July 2011 25
NEWCASTLE Don’t forget — Live & Local every Wednesday night 2 Jul
Skipping Girl Vinegar
3 Jul
The Doors Experience
9 Jul
Glenn Shorrock
gig Guide North (from p23)
gig Guide Newcastle
Thur, July 21
Thur, July 28
Fri, July 1
Beach Hotel, Byron Bay
Ballina RSL
Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle
Raindance
The Big Gig w/ Dave O’Neill,
Port Macquarie Hotel Stellar Green, Angie Swannell, Truth Is
Tattersalls Hotel, Lismore Syndicate, Hybridize, Mofo Is Dead
Treehouse, Byron Bay
Fri, July 22
14 Jul
Seeker Lover Keeper
Australian Hotel, Ballina
15 Jul
Paul Grabowsky &
Ballina RSL
Jon English
Late for Woodstock
26 Jul
Bachelor Girl
28 Jul
Newcastle Comedy Showcase
Lennox Point Hotel Altowave, Blake Thompson
Never Land Bar, Coolangatta Port Macquarie Hotel Sarah and the King Bee
Seaview Tavern, Woolgoolga
Abba’s Back
Valla Beach Tavern
31 Jul
Choirboys
Gleny Rae Virus & Her Tamworth Playboys
Rhonda Birchmore, PJ Lane
Phil Emmanuel
Block Bar Cafe, Yamba
& Ricky Maymi (Brian
Bob Walton Bevan Spiers
Cherry ST Sports Club, Ballina Jabiru
Hoey Moey, Coffs Harbour The Ford Brothers
Monique Brumby
Never Land Bar, Coolangatta
13 Aug
Ian Moss
14 Aug
Shane Nicholson
(The Beautiful Girls) 20 Aug
Invisible Friend Surecut Kids The Hoochers Potbelleez
Sarah Roberstson (Playboy DJ)
James Johnston
Wickham Park Hotel, Islington
Young Revelry
SCU Unibar, Lismore M-Phonik
DV8
Sat, July 2 Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle
The Trip
Post Paint, Boatfriends, The Si Claros, In the Dollhouse
Fanny’s, Newcastle
Phil Mayer
Tattersalls Hotel, Lismore
Sunset Brothers
Great Northern Hotel, Newc
Valla Beach Tavern
Fireballs, The Dark Shadows, The Casino Rumblers
Heart Tribe
Woodford, QLD
Hamilton Station Hotel, Isling
Splendour in the Grass
Silent Rose, The Paradox Unseen,
Sat, July 30
To Kill A Sunrise
Harrigan’s, Pokolbin 8 Ball Aitken
Lass O’Gowrie Hotel, Islington The Anatolian Beefweek Show,
Australian Hotel, Ballina
The Canyoneersmen, Ian Sanders
Lizotte’s, Kincumber
Beach Hotel, Byron Bay
Jeff Lang
Lizotte’s, Lambton
Block Bar Cafe, Yamba
Skipping Girl Vinegar, Kieran Ryan, Colleen Hixenbaugh
Cherry ST Sports Club, Ballina
Newcastle Leagues Club
Coolangatta Hotel
Helmet, Motherlode, Memorial Drive
Northern Star Hotel, Hamilton Gossling, Ryan Meeking
Great Northern Hotel, Byron
Seven Seas Hotel, Carrington DJ Pucko
Stag & Hunter Hotel, Mayfield
Barrel House, Transvaal Diamond
Tattersalls Hotel, Lismore Dead Letter Opener, Keegan Sparke
Dr Dave
Wickham Park Hotel, Islington
Syndicate
Port Macquarie Panthers Ministry Of Sound w/ Sam La More, Mobin Master
Rails, Byron Bay 8 Ball Aitken
Bunch of Funkers
Sun, July 3 Catherine Hill Bay Hotel
Sawtell RSL
The Strides
Coolangatta Hotel No Use For A Name
Pacific Hotel, Yamba
Dave Strauss
Eye On You
Grand Junction Hotel, Mait
Slipway Hotel, Ballina
The Slowdowns
Hamilton Station Hotel, Isling
Yolan
Tattersalls Hotel, Lismore
Broadfoot
Sawtell RSL
Dead Beat Band, Bats vs Snakes,
Christine Lee Tyrrell, Rowland Stones
Switch Skate Park, Port Young Revelry, The Pixiekills,
Treehouse, Byron Bay Victoriana Gaye
Wed, July 27 Port Macquarie Panthers
Pawn Magz
Lizotte’s, Kincumber
Headphone Symphony
Treehouse, Byron Bay
Skipping Girl Vinegar
Lizotte’s, Lambton
Kindling
The Doors Experience
Woodford, QLD
Dirty Little Rebels
Yada Yada
Stag & Hunter Hotel, Mayfield
Jimmy D
Lennox Point Hotel
Beach Hotel, Byron Bay
or visit lizottes.com.au
Steve Edmonds Band
Young Revelry
Sawtell RSL
w/ Paul Greene
phone (02) 4956 2066
Days Diminished, State of Emergency
Black Seeds
Pacific Hotel, Yamba
Sun, July 24
information,
Fallen Angel, Enemy of the State,
Cath Simes Band
Alvin Youngblood Hart
For bookings and
Loft, Newcastle
Musgrave Hill
12 Aug
Mat McHugh
Mental As Anything, Jade Gannon
Never Land Bar, Coolangatta
The Electric Eclectic
Lennox Point Hotel
19 Aug
Lizotte’s, Lambton
New Orana Hotel, Blacksmiths
OK Live
Dan Hannaford
Jonestown Massacre)
16-17 Aug Jimmy Barnes
Sarah McLeod, The Firetree
Mick Buckley’s Piano Show
8 Ball Aitken
Pete Hawkes &
Steve Kilbey (The Church)
Lizotte’s, Kincumber
Yamba Shores Tavern
Wandering Eyes
Ballina RSL Ballina RSL Bowling Club
7 Aug
Tooksie Collective, Electric Love Affair
Mountain Girls
Method, Gallie
Australian Hotel, Ballina
Tim Freedman
Pear and the Awkward Orchestra,
Slipway Hotel, Ballina
Bill Jacobi
Sat, July 23
6 Aug
Lass O’Gowrie Hotel, Islington
Tightrope Alley
Seaview Tavern, Woolgoolga
The Ford Brothers
30 Jul
5 Aug
Steve Hill
Pacific Hotel, Yamba
Dub L Drop
Wolverines
(The Cat Empire)
King Street Hotel, Newcastle
Lennox Point Hotel
Potbelleez
29 Jul
Felix Riebel
Nothing Sacred
Clocktower Hotel, Grafton
Lalaland, Byron Bay
Tattersalls Hotel, Lismore
3 Aug
Fri, July 29
Cherry ST Sports Club, Ballina
The Strides
23-24 Jul Moving Pictures
Adam Hole, The Marji Curran Band
Jack’s Bar and Grill, Erina
Ballina RSL Round
Invisible Friend Tommy Memphis
James Valentine
Great Northern Hotel, Newc
Piston Broke, One Eyed Kings,
Australian Hotel, Ballina
The Hardword
Beach Hotel, Byron Bay
Digger’s Tavern, Bellingen
Mr Percival &
Port Macquarie Hotel
The Australian Beef Week Show
Count Effectz
Cherry ST Sports Club, Ballina
21 Jul
Joshua Matherson
Sea Legs, Double Denim,
1927
16 Jul
Street Band, Former Cell Mates
Grand Junction Hotel, Mait
SCU Unibar, Lismore
10 Jul
The Baker Suite
Ellen Briggs
Federal Hotel, Bellingen
Geoff Jones
Ilona Harker
A Death In The Family, The Smith
Wickham Park Hotel, Islington
Splendour in the Grass
Steve Edmonds Band
Sun, July 31
Wed, July 6
Lennox Point Hotel
Great Northern Hotel, Newc
The Firetree
Merewether Fats
Woodford, QLD
Hamilton Station Hotel, Isling
Splendour in the Grass 26 reverb
mag azine issue #060 — July 2011
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Lass O’Gowrie Hotel, Islington Nova Scotia, James Thomson, Indian Gun
Lizotte’s, Lambton Kristi James, Rhys Zacher, Marty Worrall, Mark Wilkinson
Thur, July 7 Grand Junction Hotel, Mait The Junes w/ Suzannah Espie, Gleny Rae, Sarah Carroll
Hamilton Station Hotel, Isling Greenthief, I Am The Agent, The Karma Cops, Little King
Lizotte’s, Lambton Sarah McLeod
Wickham Park Hotel, Islington The Stillsons
Fri, July 8 CBD Hotel, Newcastle Ebb n Flo
Grand Junction Hotel, Mait Chris Willson, Ian Collard
Great Northern Hotel, Newc Dali’s Angels, Holy Cow
Hamilton Station Hotel, Isling Darker Half, Sabretung, Katabasis, Sagacity
King Street Hotel, Newcastle Tenzin
Lizotte’s, Kincumber 1927
Loft, Newcastle DJ Dexi
Northern Star Hotel, Hamilton Old Man River
Stag & Hunter Hotel, Mayfield Moonlight Drive
Wickham Park Hotel, Islington Milestones
Sat, July 9 Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle Thy Art Is Murder
Fanny’s, Newcastle Havana Brown
Great Northern Hotel, Newc Sid Air
Hamilton Station Hotel, Isling Alibrandi, Cave Of The Swallows, Vamp, Gentlemen
King Street Hotel, Newcastle Stafford Brothers
Lass O’Gowrie Hotel, Islington Fun Machine
Lizotte’s, Kincumber Wolverines
Lizotte’s, Lambton Glenn Shorrock
Northern Star Hotel, Hamilton Loren
Seven Seas Hotel, Carrington Hunter & King
Stag & Hunter Hotel, Mayfield Matt Purcell
Sun, July 10 Bateau Bay Hotel Jebediah, Sea Legs
Grand Junction Hotel, Mait Loren
Hamilton Station Hotel, Isling The Mercy Beat
Lizotte’s, Kincumber Glenn Shorrock
Oasis Youth Centre, Wyong Thy Art Is Murder, Wish For Wings
Wickham Park Hotel, Islington Bob Corbett and the Roo Grass Band
Matt Graham, Zen and the Art Follow us on Twitter
Tues, July 12
Lizotte’s, Lambton
Newcastle Panthers
Seven Seas Hotel, Carrington
Elev8 Snow Winter Festival w/ DJ Serafin, Zannon, Steve Hill, Ajay, Warren Hook, MC D
Wed, July 13 Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle Young Revelry
Civic Theatre, Newcastle Peace Train - A Tribute To Cat Stevens
Great Northern Hotel, Newc Centresection, The Ravaged
Lizotte’s, Kincumber Hats Bennett, McLeans Break, Charlie Mayfair
Lizotte’s, Lambton James Thomson, Ollie Brown, Jupiter Menace, Mark Wilkinson
Jon English Are U Experienced
Stag & Hunter Hotel, Mayfield Bobby C
Sydney Entertainment Centre Rise Against, Sick Of It All, Break Even
Wickham Park Hotel, Islington Crimson Tide, Dan Arvidson
Will and Cassey
Hamilton Station Hotel, Isling Leadbellies
Lizotte’s, Kincumber The Baker Suite
Lizotte’s, Lambton Seeker Lover Keeper, Toby Martin
Wickham Park Hotel, Islington Psycho Pucko, Dead Beats
Fri, July 15 Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle The Cavalcade
CBD Hotel, Newcastle Vents
Grand Junction Hotel, Mait Fish Fry, Pow Wow
Great Northern Hotel, Newc The Paper Scissors, Of The Red Sea, Post Paint
Hamilton Station Hotel, Isling Totally Unicorn, Ironhide, Safe Hands
King Street Hotel, Newcastle Ember, Glovecats, Nightriders
Lizotte’s, Kincumber Amber Lawrence
Lizotte’s, Lambton The Baker Suite, Paul Grabowsky
Loft, Newcastle Signal The Firing Squad, In The Walls, Allay The Sea, The New Breed, The Storm Picturesque
Northern Star Hotel, Hamilton Jinja Safari, Husky
Stag & Hunter Hotel, Mayfield Dream Tambourine
Wickham Park Hotel, Islington Milestones
Sat, July 16 Beachcomber Hotel, Toukley Eye On You
Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle
Grant Walmsley & the Agents of Peace
Wed, July 20 Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle Inhale The Sea The Wireflys Night Hag, Tired Minds, The Hollow
Lizotte’s, Kincumber Ashleigh Grace
Lizotte’s, Lambton Elisa Kate, Andrew Geraghty Trio, Daniel Southward, Mark Wilkinson
Wests Leagues Club, Newc Lee Kernaghan
Thur, July 21 Cessnock Supporters Club Lee Kernaghan
Hamilton Station Hotel, Isling Bits and Pieces
Lizotte’s, Kincumber Sea Legs
Lizotte’s, Lambton Mr Percival, James Valentine
Wickham Park Hotel, Islington Sarah & the King Bees
Osmium Grid, War Faction
CBD Hotel, Newcastle Busby Marou, Avalanche City, Jackson McLaren
Great Northern Hotel, Newc Melody Pool, Jacob Pearson
King Street Hotel, Newcastle Ajax
Lizotte’s, Kincumber Tim Freedman, Perry Keyes
Lizotte’s, Lambton Ashleigh Grace
Nelsons Bay RSL Club Lee Kernaghan
Stag & Hunter Hotel, Mayfield The Levymen
Wickham Park Hotel, Islington Milestones
The Cadres, Sharon Friel
King Street Hotel, Newcastle Kid Kenobi, MC Shureshock
Lizotte’s, Kincumber Mike McCarthy, Sarah Humphreys Find us on Facebook
2 Jul
Jeff Lang
3 Jul
Skipping Girl Vinegar
Isobel Cambell, Mark Lanegan
8 Jul
1927
9 Jul
Wolverines
10 Jul
Lazy Sunday lunch w/
Elbow
Factory Theatre, Sydney
Monster a Go-Go Sun
Zoe K and the Shadow Katz
Doomriders, I Exist
The Owls, Dead Beat Band
Grand Junction Hotel, Mait Milestones
Hamilton Station Hotel, Isling Driverside Airbag, Larange Bucket, Floggin’ The Goods Troy Cassar-Daley
Mojo Juju
King Street Hotel, Newcastle Hook n Sling
Lizotte’s, Kincumber Mental As Anything, Chloe Tully
Lizotte’s, Lambton
14 Jul
The Baker Suite
Skinwalkers, Tired Minds
15 Jul
Amber Lawrence
21 Jul
Sea Legs
The Vaine, Crystal Cove, Karma Cops,
22 Jul
Tim Freedman
The Chestnuts, Berkely Hill Band,
23 Jul
Mental As Anything
24 Jul
Sunday lunch w/
King Street Hotel, Newcastle
Lizotte’s, Lambton
Moving Pictures
Wolverines
Metro Theatre, Sydney
Loft, Newcastle
Glasvagas
Wickham Park Hotel, Islington
The Guppies
Dai Pritchard
Metro Theatre, Sydney
Mon, July 25
Foster The People, Guineafowl
Newcastle Panthers
Enmore Theatre, Sydney
Pnau
Stag & Hunter Hotel, Mayfield
Modest Mouse
Metro Theatre, Sydney
Iguana
Troy Cassar-Daley 28 Jul
Menopause – The Musical
29 Jul
Choirboys
30 Jul
Bachelor Girl
31 Jul
Jordie Lane
5 Aug
Steve Kilbey (The Church)
Wickham Park Hotel, Islington
The Kills
Blues Rattlers
Tues, July 26
Sat, July 30
Lizotte’s, Lambton
Belmont 16ft Sailing Club
Bachelor Girl
Metro Theatre, Sydney
Diesel
Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle
The Kills
The Hollow
Wed, July 27
Grand Junction Hotel, Mait
Basement, Sydney
Great Northern Hotel, Newc
& Ricky Maymi (Brian Jonestown Massacre)
Jordie Lane, Mike Noga
Fitz and the Tantrums, Lanie Lane No Use For A Name
The Strides, Afro Moses
7 Aug
Pete Hawkes &
Hordern Pavilion, Sydney
Phil Emmanuel
DJ Shadow
Lizotte’s, Kincumber
Pulp
Bachelor Girl
Lizotte’s, Kincumber
Lizotte’s, Lambton
Zac Miller, Jefrey Siler, Mark Moldre
Lizotte’s, Lambton
Abbasback
Metro Theatre, Sydney
Kirsty Larkin
12 Aug
Ian Moss
13 Aug
Shane Nicholson
14 Aug
Monique Brumby
21 Aug
Alvin Youngblood Hart
James Blake
Metro Theatre, Sydney
Newcastle Panthers
Devendra Banhart, Husky
Short Stack
Oxford Art Fsctory, Sydney Wild Beasts
Seven Seas Hotel, Carrington The Wagon
Stag & Hunter Hotel, Mayfield
Thur, July 28
Brien McVernon
Sydney Entertainment Centre
Blush Nightclub, Gosford Young Revelry, Sounds of Sirus
Enmore Theatre, Sydney
Avenged Sevenfold, Sevendust
The Hives, The Grates
Sun, July 31
Factory Theatre, Sydney James Blake
Gaelic Club, Sydney
w/ Paul Greene
Wickham Park Hotel, Islington Crimson Lake
23-24 Aug Jimmy Barnes 27 Aug
Dragon
Grand Junction Hotel, Mait
Foster The People, Guineafowl
Hamilton Station Hotel, Isling
The Ngariki Electric Band
One Vital Word, Times Has Come,
Choirboys
Lizotte’s, Lambton
Belmont 16ft Sailing Club
Great Northern Hotel, Newc
Glenn Shorrock
Lizotte’s, Kincumber
Grand Junction Hotel, Mait
Marcia Hines
Hamilton Station Hotel, Isling
Anna Lunoe
Lizotte’s, Kincumber
Sat, July 23
Skin’s Geriatric Commitment w/
Half Nelson
Wickham Park Hotel, Islington
Hordern Pavilion, Sydney
Grand Junction Hotel, Mait
Great Northern Hotel, Newc
How To Survive A Bullfight
Enmore Theatre, Sydney
Pete Gelzinnis
Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle
Effectz, Crystal Cove, Karma Cops, Asteroids
Stag & Hunter Hotel, Mayfield
Fri, July 22 Mortal Sin, The Paradox Unseen,
every Wednesday night
Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle
Bunch of Funkers
Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle
Sea Legs, Double Denim, DJ Count
CBD Hotel, Newcastle
The Growl
Great Northern Hotel, Newc
Wickham Park Hotel, Islington
Don’t forget — Live & Local
Dananananaykroyd, DZ Deathrays,
Seven Seas Hotel, Carrington
Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle
Hamilton Station Hotel, Isling
Grand Junction Hotel, Mait
Annandale Hotel, Sydney
Grand Junction Hotel, Mait
CBD Hotel, Newcastle
Miami Horror, Gold Fields
Beneath Night Skies
Sun, July 24
Great Northern Hotel, Newc
Entrance Leagues Club, Bataeu
Saviour, I The Hunter, Humans,
Sun, July 17
Thur, July 14 Tracksuit
One Vital Word, Pledge This!,
Grand Junction Hotel, Mait
The Stillsons
CENTRAL COAST
Fri, July 29
Newcastle Leagues Club
The Firemen, Ray, Wopner, Tapioca Pudding
Hamilton Station Hotel, Isling
The Firetree
Eugene and the Mansours
Lizotte’s, Kincumber
Luke Hoskins Inexperience
Lizotte’s, Kincumber
Jordie Lane
Lizotte’s, Lambton
Menopause - The Musical
Maitland City Bowling Club
For bookings and information, phone (02) 4368 2017 or visit lizottes.com.au
Choirboys
Queens Wharf Brewery, Newc
Jimeoin
Manning Bar, Sydney
Steve Edmonds Band
Wickham Park Hotel, Islington
Warpaint
Metro Theatre, Sydney
Blues Bombers
Friendly Fires
Wickham Park Hotel, Islington Jordie Lane
Moving Pictures
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reverb magazine issue #060 — July 2011 27
vents — Turner
Aussie hip-hop artist Vents has been paying his dues in the underground scene for many years, gaining a reputation as an innovative lyricist and performer. His latest album, Marked for Death, has been met with rave reviews and features guest vocals from fellow artists Sesta and Hilltop Hoods. CHELSEA REED speaks to Vents as he prepares to head out for a string of national dates. In what ways do you think your sound has evolved since 2007’s Hard to Kill? Well, the last time I recorded an album was about four years ago. I’m 28 now, so I hope my sound has evolved. I’ve grown up and learnt how to hold a lot of my ideas up to scrutiny. I hope I’ve gotten better… my politics have gotten less shit (laughs). The production has gotten better. There’s some pretty heavy lyrical content. What fires you up and inspires you to write? Heaps, really. I just try to cram as many ideas as I can into three and a half minutes. Just living really, being alive and trying to work out where I fit in.
involved in pushing forward in some capacity. I guess a lot of people talk about the ‘scene’ like it’s some sort of abstract, dead entity or idea or something, but it’s really not. It’s just a big network of people who give up their time and energy for a common goal. It’s an active movement!
I just prefer playing to people that are there to hear the songs. I really like that, when people know the lyrics. I’d rather play to a smaller room of people that are there to see me than a massive room of people who are there to see someone else. I guess my last point of reference was my album launch. There were only abut 300 people but, you know, it was just the best show I’ve ever done, not necessarily because our performance was that stellar, but just because the energy in the room was so good. I feed off that. It’s such a good feeling. It’s weird getting on stage because you’re so nervous, it’s terrifying, and then that hour when you’re on is such a blur and you don’t really have any recollection of what’s
So who are some of your favourite artists in the local scene? Look I’d have to say legitimately that the Hilltop Hoods are my favourite artists, just because when I first heard them as a teenager, they were the best back then and probably still are. I have an immense amount of respect for their hard work and dedication. They rehearse so much and that’s why they are what they are. I mean a lot of people hate on them but, you only need to see how dedicated they are to really respect what they do.
giving Vent Anything that makes you angry? Yeah, lots. Just staying in touch with current events, I guess you can get overwhelmed with everything. I’m lucky I have my music to be able to get my opinions out. But what’s making me angry recently? The fact I’ve got a $250 bill that I can’t pay, rent, trying to find work… You’ve played at a variety of different venues. Do you prefer the big festivals or the pubs and smaller rooms?
Firstly, where does the Turner moniker come from? I was actually born a Turner… my natural father passed away when I was very young and living in the UK, and when mum re-married I took on my adopted surname Grewar. Family is such a massive part of who I am. The majority of the songs on Ghosts carry that content and reflect the interest I have in keeping the name going... using Turner as a moniker was the best way
happened, but you just feel good! Nothing’s better. It’s like drugs… except you feel good afterwards (laughs). How difficult was it to get gigs when you were starting out? Yeah, it was difficult to get gigs. I did a lot of stuff for free, you know, just for the opportunity to perform. But it’s still hard, to be honest. We’re really just doing it all ourselves. I’d love to do more festivals in the future I guess, but at the moment, we’re not knocking back
gigs willy-nilly, put it that way. And when you put out an album, especially in this country, you have to tour. We don’t have massive marketing budgets and a lot of commercial stations won’t play our stuff. Touring is the best way to get people to hear your music. What are your thought on the Aussie hiphop scene at the moment? Well, to me the scene is just a big network of people that I’m in touch with everyday. I’ve found that a lot of people in the scene are all fans too, myself included, and are
This new album is very different musically from your first two bands, The Eighth Colour and As We Are. What has brought on this change?
Having cut his teeth playing rock for the past decade, Richard Grewar has picked up the acoustic, gone solo, and produced a highly accomplished debut album, Ghosts. KEVIN BULL talks to Grewar about past successes and how they have shaped who he is as a musician.
Your debut solo album, Ghosts, has just been released. Can you tell me about the recording process? Finally sitting down in the studio with Caleb (James, producer) to start recording the album was such a surreal moment, because those crappy lo-fi demos recorded in nooks and crannies all over the UK had been burning a giant hole in the back of my mind, and my laptop for that matter, for so long, I never thought they’d see the light of day. I bombarded Caleb’s email with about 20 ideas, some just riffs and others fleshed out
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magazine issue #060 — July 2011
I think age has a lot to do with the stylistic change as well. It’s a natural thing for any musician, I think, that, as they learn more about songwriting and the importance of lyrics and melody, the music they start pumping out changes with them. I’m about three weeks away from turning 30, so let’s be honest, my ears can’t really cope with the hard rock anymore. Both The Eighth Colour and As We Are achieved what would be considered a certain level of success, having been signed to a label and touring overseas. Can you tell me about this experience? Where do I start… this is an industry based obviously on talent and hard work, but at the same time it relies so much on luck and
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What are your plans for the rest of the year? To tour the album really… I really believe in my music, I think it’s good and worth getting out there. We’ve really been dormant for a while so I just wanna try and jump back in and just tour a lot and let people hear me and hopefully give it the time of day. Vents performs at the CBD Hotel, Newcastle, on Friday July 15.
What have you taken away from this early experience that is now shaping your solo career? Such a great question… the best advice I give myself nowadays, and would quite happily give to anyone asking, is ‘don’t rely on anyone else to achieve your goals for you’ - the catchphrase of thousands. But in a band if you don’t have 100 per cent commitment from every corner of the project, you are destined to struggle. Being an unsigned solo artist, I only have myself to blame if a phone call doesn’t get made, or posters don’t get printed, and if I don’t conquer all those elements that are equally as important as writing a half decent song.
songs. I picked ten tracks, not necessarily the ‘best’, but the ones that meant the most to me, and away we went! All up, it’s taken 12-months to get the point where the album is being released, but I wouldn’t have done it any other way.
Turning it down I could find to, firstly, pay my respects to my father and, secondly, sum up what I’m about and what the project as a whole represents to me.
What other types of music do you listen to? Heaps. I really like heavy metal, which I grew up with. I listen to drum and bass… I wouldn’t say I really draw a lot of inspiration from it, but I like it. As far as lyricists go, I like a lot of local hip-hop artists and you know I guess, my crew, Funkoars and the Hoods. I think they are all pretty high calibre.
being in the right time and place for things to happen. On the amazing side of the coin we played live on Rove, got to travel with pro surfers, made some decent money, played in some great venues in the UK, played at the F1 Grand Prix at Silverstone and hung out with a few famous people, but on the not so amazing side of the coin, a lot of times I was guilty of taking these (in the musical scheme of things) tiny successes for granted and burning a good number of bridges that when things went to shite, I really could have utilised again. Word of advice — never quit your day job unless you are absolutely certain where the next lot of grocery money is coming from. Budgeting on $20 a week is not a fun experience.
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With Ghosts now available, what are your plans for the rest of the year? The next few months are going to be pretty busy with the tour starting this month, the film clip for ‘Move’ out in a few weeks, the second single release somewhere around September and a few more trips down the east coast before the year is out. I’ll also be streaming a special launch gig for Ghosts on www.stageit.com, on July 18, which will be a ‘pay what you can’ show beamed direct from my lounge room. Lazy or cutting edge marketing... you decide. Either way it’ll be a fun way to send the record off into cyberspace. Next on the agenda will be shows with a full band. I’m so very close to having the line-up nutted out and we’re getting very keen to start playing in places other than the little acoustic venues. Turner performs at the Armidale Club on Thursday July 7; Tattersall’s Hotel, Lismore on Friday July 8; Treehouse on Belongil, Byron Bay on Thursday July 14.
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t h e m a r s vo lta
“T
he whole prog-rock freak-out — we’ve done that already on, like, four records,” Bixler-Zavala points out. “Look, when a movie like Get Him To The Greek comes out and it name-checks us in the way it does, it totally makes you realise you’ve been stereotyped and pigeonholed, and I certainly don’t want that. The word ‘volta’ is actually an Italian word for ‘new thing’, ‘change’! What if I die tomorrow? What will it say on my tombstone? ‘That’s the guy from At The Drive In — the guy with the big hair that sings in Spanish and sounds like Zeppelin?’ I have so much more to offer in life and music. My ethics come from punk music and what I learned about punk was an indication, for sure.” According to Bixler-Zavala, not only have the band taken a big leap in a new musical direction — “future punk”, as the singer calls it — but apparently they’ve had an entire physical makeover, too. That’s right, gone is the vocalist’s trademark wild afro — a whole new look has taken its place, he reveals, although we’ll have to wait until August to see it for ourselves. Was it a risk? “Yeah, for sure,” he admits, but doesn’t that come part-and-parcel with punk, anyway? “We’ve got a cult following, so yeah it was a gamble — but, man, life is a gamble!” he claims. “We’re trying to embrace being entertainers, but at the same time, you don’t want to feel like some kind of Las Vegas act. We don’t want to be a Mars Volta cover band, either. I’m sure there’s a heap of people that will be disappointed by the changes we’ve made but I think it’s your responsibility as an artist to sometimes disappoint your audience. Every band changes at some point.
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Re-discovering Mars It ’s taken an entire year for Cedric Bixler-Zaval a to get the monkey off his back, but in 2011 the Mars Volta front man is rid of all drugs — including his beloved pot — and you can bet it ’s made a powerful impact on his music. But it isn’t just the change in lifestyle that ’s taken The Mars Volta’s upcoming sixth album in a whole new direction — you can blame Russell Brand’s film Get Him To T he Greek, too. Bixler-Zavala speaks with BIRDIE.
Do you think Radiohead would be happy if people still defined them as ‘that band that sang ‘Creep’?’ I don’t think they would at this point in their career. I like to think that we have a cult following because we embrace change. Even starting this band was a gamble in itself — I never for a second thought people would ever get into this music. Even I thought it was too weird.” On the subject of weird, Bixler-Zavala points out that while ‘krautrock’ may sound a little strange a description for the new album, it should all make sense once it hits the shelves. “The album is actually done!” the singer reveals. “It’s been recorded and mixed — yesterday was actually the final day of mixing, I believe. Well, I hope — knock on wood! The artwork is done. We’ve decided on the album name, there’s a whole story behind it now… We’ve decided we’re going to let our publicity people do the announcement, though, but we’re going to have so much fun playing it for people. Most of them won’t know what it is. At the end of the concert, we’ll play some older stuff to make them feel appreciated. We had an album kind of ready a couple of years ago but Thomas [Pidgen] was still in the band and Omar [Rodriguez-Lopez] had a falling out
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with him. In those two years the material had gone stale anyway. This is a whole new album — it’s very synth-heavy, it’s very krautrock as far as influences go, like Kraftwerk. The year 1975 was a big influence — when nothing was defined yet and punk wasn’t called punk yet, and electro wasn’t electro yet. Because we have a cult audience, I think a lot of them will like that.” Cult following aside, Bixler-Zavala admits that The Mars Volta have also had their fair share of criticism since the band’s formation in 2001. While some have hailed them as revolutionary and cutting-edge, others have slammed them as self-indulgent and just plain annoying. “Most of the criticism is because of the improvisation we do on stage,” the singer states. “Yeah, I’m not going to lie, it is improv, but for the most part, you rehearse it so that you can forget it, if that makes sense! We know the skeleton of the song in the back of our mind, but sometimes you take a right turn, sometimes you take a left turn, and sometimes it sounds magical and sometimes not.” If you ask those who have seen The Mars Volta live, most of the time it is indeed magical. As far as Bixler-Zavala is concerned, however, it all comes down to the ‘pink elephant’ in
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the room — a description he uses to define his relationship and chemistry with Rodriguez-Lopez. “If I put it into words, it stops existing — I can’t really explain it. It’s the fact that we finish each other’s sentences musically. It’s something we both honour. It’s this unspoken thing that we just don’t know how to describe. It’s like a big pink elephant that exists in the room, and we don’t want to see it go anywhere any time soon. I don’t want to call him by his name, I can’t really, I just leave some food out for him and I nurture him as best I can because he is a particular little creature. I’m just grateful that this band has even experienced the kind of success that we have so far — and I’m not talking about the Grammy because I don’t care about that. It’s the industry acknowledging us for busting our arses and throwing us a bone. I don’t have a high school diploma, so the Grammy statue sits in its place. In fact, before we won that Grammy, we’d organised an after-party at my house which was called the ‘We Lost To Judas Priest At The Grammies’ party. And then we won.” The Mars Volta play Splendour In The Grass, Woodford, July 29–31, and Enmore Theatre, Sydney, on Wednesday August 3.
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s h o r t s tac k — M o r ta l S i n
Short Stack & Long Odds Over the past six years, Newcastle band Short Stack have weathered criticism describing them as a cookie-cut, manufactured, internet band — but interestingly enough, it’s a sentiment that doesn’t register at all in the band’s mind. As they prepare to hit the road for their upcoming This is Bat Country tour, MATT PETHERBRIDGE speaks to vocalist/guitarist Shaun Diviney about these criticisms and more positively, the recording sessions for album number three and plans for a live DVD/documentary. In the past, Short Stack has been criticised for not paying their dues, but it’s not a well-known fact that you played around 200 shows a year before you even released your debut album, Stack Is The New Black. How do you deal with those criticisms? I dunno man… It affected us a lot more at the beginning than it does now. It’s something I try not to think about too much, because with every show, we’ve become a bigger band and it becomes more stressful if those little things become more significant than they really are. But what can you do? We’ve always been true to ourselves and we’ll just keep doing what we do. I heard a little rumour recently that Short Stack are recording at the moment... can you confirm that? Yeah, we are dude! We’ve recorded about half of the album with Lee Groves and Trevor Steel, they did Bat Country with us — and that mixture of glam-rock and pop punk has begun to shape our identity. The upcoming album is taking that a little bit further, we’re a lot more confident in putting forward something daring. We’re looking to release it early next year. What has been your plan of attack in the studio? Usually I’ll do the demos and I’ll take the songs to our producers in the pre-production stages. If a song comes up for a possible single, we’ll edit it down and harness the core arrangement out of it and make it a lot tighter. But I think if you want your song to succeed [on radio], you have to obey a certain set of rules without losing any artistic integrity. Having said that, I think Lady Gaga is one of the only people who can give anything to radio and they’ll play it. I love the song ‘Judas’, but I don’t think that the average person that just listens to the radio would like it. Short Stack has expanded into a live fivepiece band over the past year. Will we see this new incarnation in Newcastle? 30 reverb
magazine issue #060 — July 2011
There are a lot of electronic elements on Bat Country and we want to recreate that live, so we’ve expanded. Our friends, Lukey (Lukess) plays guitar for us, Sinj (Clarke) plays keys. A lot of bands would prefer to just press a button and play along to a track, but we wanted to make the live realm as real as possible, so we can have more fun and jam around with a song. Do you feel the five-piece has created a different live dynamic? Yeah, definitely! I feel like the band should have always been bigger than it was when we first started out — musically and memberswise. Bat Country was an avenue for the band to be more ambitious than just a threepiece rock band. Are you happy with the reception of your second album This is Bat Country so far? Definitely man, without a doubt — it went gold within the first fortnight it was released. The first single ‘Planets’ went platinum and the second single ‘We Dance to a Different Disco, Honey’ went gold. The Bat Country tour is coming to an end in your home town, Newcastle. That must be a really special feeling… Fuck yeah! To finish in our home town, that was a really important thing for us. It signifies a nice growth for us too. Last time we played at Panthers, we played in the small room, so to come back and play the big room is really cool! We’re also filming a DVD on this upcoming tour to release later in the year. Wow! What are the plans for the DVD? Maybe a biography of the band... we’ll see how it turns out! I love finding out more about bands through music docos — plus we’re going to record a couple of live shows. Hopefully we’ll be filming every show on the tour and picking the best performances. Short Stack performs at Newcastle Panthers on Saturday July 30.
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Original Sinners Hailing from Sydney and formed in 1985, Mortal Sin are Australia’s undisputed thrash metal kings. CAMERON EDNEY had the pleasure of catching up with the band’s main man, Mat Maurer, to discuss their brand new album, Psychology of Death, their upcoming Newcastle performance and celebrating the 25th anniversary of one of the most iconic Australian metal albums, their debut Mayhemic Destruction. I read that you wanted to make an album that could live up to the most recent and very successful Testament and Overkill albums. What we wanted to do was a simple thrash album. Sometimes you can get so caught up in the complexities of everything that you forget what thrash is all about. This time around we said we wanted to go back to our roots - simple old school thrash! What are you hoping the fans will take out of the new release? I don’t care what the fans take away from it (laughs). Well I do, but I really hope that we can finally take something away from this one! Finally get our name out to where it should be after 25 years. It’s a little disturbing when you tour overseas, and some metal fans know who you are but you still get people coming up and asking ‘oh, have you been around for 25 years?’ But back in the mid-80s Mortal Sin were considered to be the next Metallica! That’s the difference between having a major record label behind you and not having a major label behind you. It’s so much harder these days for any kind of band. I know people in bigger bands that are struggling at the moment - it’s just the way it is with downloads and everything else. There’s just no money to be made in records anymore. Is there any one show that stands out as being the craziest? Probably playing on the main stage at the Wacken Festival to a crowd that was between 60 and 80 thousand people. It’s not all the time that you get to play in front of a crowd of that size. It’s a festival and you know that not everyone’s there to see you, but you see that many people standing in front of you and you hope that
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music’s sinking into their heads and hope they walk away from your set having had a positive experience. What is the best advice you can offer upcoming local bands trying to get their names out there? If I had to give any advice to any Australian band it would be - don’t stay here, get going. Get out of here and go play! Go live in a car. Do whatever it takes. That’s one thing that I regret… I wish that we did that back in 1988-89; relocate and be where all the action is. When we had the push we still had that problem of being here and whenever a tour would pop up we’d say, ‘can we be on this or that tour?’. And they’d say, ‘no, you’re in Australia’. It’s the same thing now, we get overlooked because that’s the first thing they say and it’s going to cost two and a half thousand dollars just to get us over there. We’d have been happy to pay that ourselves, just get us on the friggin tours… There’s no money in record sales anymore so record companies aren’t pushing like they used to. Was there any special reason you guys chose to add a show in Newcastle? Well, to be honest… we’re just booking whatever we can get at the moment! In Sydney you can’t get a show anywhere until November. Newcastle popped up and we said ‘yep, let’s take it’. Hopefully everyone up in Newcastle will come and check it out, listen to the new songs and have a great night. Mortal Sin perform at the Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle on Friday July 22.
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the antlers
the new tattersalls hotel JULY LINE UP FRI 8 Turner from 8pm | FREE
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Rhett Brambleby from 8pm | FREE
The Earlybirds and Special Guests doors 8.30pm | $8 THU 14
and Repentance Creek doors 8.30pm | $10
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In 2009, The Antlers leapt out of New York’s over-filled talent pool with their transcendental concept album, Hospice. Two years, several continents and countless festival appearances later, The Antlers are back with their fourth full-length release, Burst Apart. Multi-instrumentalist Darby Cicci spoke to NICK MACKAY about great expectations, the New York music scene and his undying love for all things Aussie. This record is the first collaborative effort from yourself, Pete (Silberman, lead vocals/ guitar) and Michael (Lerner, percussion). Tell us a little bit about the process behind that and how it was different with all three band members contributing? All the songs from Hospice were written before we all got together and this time it was basically the complete opposite. We went into the studio for about a month, last January, and pretty much just hung out all day and were totally weird and experimented constantly, and I think a lot of the foundations for the songs came from there. Then we spent a lot of time just talking about it for five or six months, where we hashed out ideas, before we sat down in our studio and basically started recording. Was that exciting or was it a little daunting to start with nothing? Well for me it’s much more exciting and much more freeing. We’re all very creative and we enjoy sitting down and finding sounds and big sections of songs out of what we’re experimenting with in the studio. To not have any sort of guidelines or any sort of structure in place was really liberating. Pete is quoted as saying, because Hospice morphed and grew into a big, important record, so unexpectedly, he felt like you guys “bit off more than you could chew”. Was there any pressure when it came time to write Burst Apart? Well, I’m not sure I agree with Peter about “biting off more than we could chew”. I felt like it was a little nerve-racking when people started paying attention to Hospice so dramatically and so quickly. But I think that over the two years of touring that record, we gradually started to accept that we might actually have music careers. I think once we finally settled into that and we realised that people actually, genuinely, liked what we were doing, it made sitting down to record this record easier. I’ve read some reviews for Burst Apart and a few critics have noticed a bit of a Radiohead vibe going on during certain songs. It’s a massive compliment, but do you like hearing those comparisons? Well, as much as I do love Radiohead, I feel Find us on Facebook
Brothers Grim
it’s a bit of a lazy comparison. Radiohead are a band that has gone through every style of music and they have been around forever — you can pick randomly from their different styles — their more aggressive rock period, or Ok Computer or maybe Amnesiac — and hear different things in each of those styles. But they’re one of my favourite bands ever, so I’m not going to complain (laughs). The whole Brooklyn scene is so chock-full of great artists right now. As someone who’s on the inside, how do you see it? Is it a positive creative thing or is there a lot hype and not much substance? It’s kind of made up to be this sort of myth, to a point, because there are just so many bands that call Brooklyn home. People call places like Williamsburg this great creative hub but I don’t really agree with it all. I think New York has always been creative. Rather recently, in the last ten years or so, the real estate market has changed so much that all the artists have been kicked out of where they were living and relocated to Williamsburg. But there are hundreds and hundreds of bands here. I can walk to 12 different shows a night if I really want to, which means there is kind of an over-exposure to a point. You visited us last year for the Laneway Festival — how did you find the reception in this part of the world? Oh, my God! We all fell in love with Australia! It’s absolutely amazing. We were coming from, literally, three feet of snow in New York and flying out there we landed in this magical summer paradise. We got a lot of time to absorb some Australian culture which is not something you ever really get to do when you’re on tour. We even tacked on three days at the end of the tour in Perth and rented a little condo at the beach and hung out there. Enjoy your upcoming tour, and of course we’d love to have you back in Australia as soon as possible. It’s probably my favourite place in the world we’ve visited. I promise I will be back there at some stage, band or no band! Burst Apart is out now through French Kiss Records/Pod.
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Katie Brooke from 7pm | FREE
CBD dub TRIO from 9.30pm | FREE
SAT 16 Inside Outlaw Unplugged from 7pm | FREE
Cave of the Swallows and Alibrandi doors 8.30pm | $8 THU 21
Syndicate
with Hybridize and Mofo Is Dead doors 8.30pm | cover charge FRI 22
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from 8pm | FREE SAT 23
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from 9.30pm | FREE SAT 30
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Dead Beat Band with Bats vs Snakes & Headphone Symphony doors 8.30pm | $5
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with Gust of Gravity and Forever The Optimist doors 8.30pm | cover charge
weekly blues night from 9.30pm | FREE
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reverb magazine issue #060 — July 2011 31
Melody pool — Doomriders
Awaken Melodies
Tiptoe
A really good friend of mine passed away on New Year’s Eve a couple of years ago and I was so upset. He had been one of my best friends a couple of years before he died and we had drifted apart. I wrote the chorus one night and the rest of the song formed around it. It came more from his girlfriend’s perspective than mine, despite the fact I had never met her. It’s one of my favourite songs.
TALKING SHOP Profiling music industry professionals
Name? Julia Winterflood. For whom do you work? BMA Magazine, Canberra’s streetpress. Current position/title? Editor. How long have you been in this position? Two and a half years. What are your main responsibilities? Organising all editorial, then throwing the mag together. How did you get involved in the music industry? I started writing for BMA when I moved to Canberra in ’07. I also started managing Canberra band Fun Machine last year Proudest moment? When an old guy came up to me at the end of Fun Machine’s second EP launch, clasped me on the shoulder and said, “People are going to remember this night”. Is there anyone you would really like to meet (living or dead)? Mark Sandman of Morphine. He died of a heart attack on stage in ’99. Best live show you’ve been to? The Cure at Sydney Entertainment Centre in ’07, Leonard Cohen at Hanging Rock last year. Favourite venue? The Zoo, Brisbane. Favourite musical instrument? Harmonica. To whom should we be listening? Fun Machine! Check them out on Unearthed. What would be on your ultimate rider? Unagi sushi and pear cider. Best way to spend a Sunday morning? Reading in the sun Any advice for people trying to break into the industry? Be really, really nice to everyone. It goes a very long way.
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magazine issue #060 — July 2011
Hunter Valley folk chanteuse/singer/ songwriter, Melody Pool, has been on a voyage of self-discovery since her all-covers debut EP, Heart to Heart Talk, three years ago. After experiencing heartbreak, loss and enlightenment, Melody has crafted the impressive Awake, You’re All Around Me EP. MATT PETHERBRIDGE spoke to Pool, uncovering the stories and secrets surrounding her latest offering. For My Sake
When I was younger, I always thought I was a shocking songwriter. About three years ago, I wrote that song and I showed my singing teacher, because I didn’t know whether it was good or not. She said, “You’ve really written something great and you should work on your songwriting”. That made me really happy because I always wanted to be a songwriter and this song kick-started my creativity.
Worn Me Out
minutes. I told Rhys (Zacher, producer) that I had two different tempos for the song. We both agreed that the slower tempo really suited the chord progression. I wanted it to have a nice groove and he jumped on the drums and nailed it. It was pretty easy to record anything with Rhys — he easily anticipated what I wanted on a track. Benita
Awake, You’re All Around Me
It’s about a guy I liked, who turned out to be a floozy. He pretended he liked me, but it was all an act. He stayed at my house one night and left really early in the morning and I didn’t understand why. I wrote that song straight away in about 20
At first, I wanted it to sound like a backyard sing-along, but we ran out of time and it wasn’t really necessary. I was insistent on recording my piano on that song, it’s a beautiful old 1800’s piano — I bought it on eBay for $50. I recorded it at home and made Rhys slot it into the song (laughs).
It’s the only song on the EP, possibly the only song I’ve ever written, that isn’t about a particular person. At Splendour last year, I wore little bells around my ankles that day and I was wearing them all weekend. I was so inspired, I wanted to write songs and play... every time I saw a band, I wanted to be on stage instead of them! We were staying at my dad’s friend’s house on Bribie Island and one morning, I wrote and recorded half of the song on my phone. That little recording is so different to how the song turned out on the EP. Broken and Bound
It’s about a guy... again (laughs). I was getting a bit fed up with myself. When someone would come into my life, I would get attached to them straight away. I was angry at myself for being so naive. It was another one that I wrote really quickly. Most of the songs on the EP are ones that came to me straight away. I think that’s what makes a good song. I feel if a song comes out that fast then it’s meant to be. Melody Pool performs at the Great Northern Hotel, Newcastle, on Friday July 22.
Ride the Darkness In gloomy weather from his home in Massachusetts, the charming Doomriders front-man Nate Newton divulges fundamentals of the band, highlights on those scene-savvy kids and shares the significance of skateboarding with TERREASE MCCOMB. How was Doomriders birthed? Chris Pupecki (guitar) and I have been friends for a long time and we’ve always had similar taste in music. When I moved to Massachusetts, in 1999, he and I started playing guitar together. We never had any plans for it to go beyond that, but in around 2002 or 2003 we started jamming with other people. That was when we met Jebb (Riley) our bass player. We jammed with a bunch of different drummers and somewhere along the line it became a band. When we recorded Black Thunder, those were basically the first songs we wrote. With Q as your drummer, do you feel the current members have cemented? I surely hope there are no more changes. Chris (Bevilacqua) and J-R (John-Robert Conners) are both great drummers. I loved playing with them. It was very sad to see them both go. I feel like Q’s style kind of fits our music. He’s kind of like a perfect mixture of J-R and Chris.
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Doomriders have been placed in various genres, how would you describe the band? I have no idea [laughs]. We’re certainly influenced by metal, punk, hardcore and rock n roll but I don’t think we’re any more one of those things than another. I think it’s dependent on their frame of reference. It’s like if Thin Lizzy had a baby with Danzig and Entombed... and if they don’t know who those bands are then they probably won’t like us. When you were creating Darkness Come Alive did you predict its success? Honestly, I had no idea what to expect. It was a departure from the first record. I knew that we were in very different places in our lives when recording Darkness Come Alive, and I knew that the material was a lot more dark and serious. Vocally and lyrically, I really stepped out of my comfort zone and I was afraid of people listening to it thinking, ‘what the hell is this dude
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doing?’ I’m grateful that people liked it. Do you think the skateboarding scene has had an influence on the music you create? Absolutely! Had it not been for skateboarding, I may not have found out about Black Flag, The Misfits and so many other great bands that are important parts of who I am now. That’s how I got turned on to music. What are you looking forward to on the Australian tour? In Australia, it seems like people are a lot more uninhibited when it comes to music. They like to party and I think it’s a perfect fit for Doomriders. We usually have really fun, energetic shows so I’m excited to see how the Australian audience reacts. Doomriders, with I Exist and Safe Hands supporting, perform at the Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle on Sunday July 24. Follow us on Twitter
sea legs
Finding Their Sea Legs Modern Joy refugees, vocalist Byron Knight and bassist Cail Brog, have regrouped, added drummer Joshua Osbourne and set sail with Sea Legs. KEVIN BULL spoke with Knight about the Modern Joy experience, as well as Sea Legs’ upcoming EP and first national tour. Having been through the Modern Joy experience, are you approaching Sea Legs differently? Yeah, definitely. We learnt a lot from the Modern Joy venture, a lot of what to and what not to do. Looking back on the MJ experience, we had a lot of fun and had some pretty cool opportunities also. But being our first band, there are plenty of things that we probably would’ve done differently if we’d had the chance again, so it’s nice to be able to start a fresh project and approach it with the experience that we acquired from MJ. Playing live, you are definitely looking outside of your local region with the band’s first gig supporting Muscles in Wollongong, in April, then supporting The Beautiful Girls the following night in Batemans Bay. Why the focus outside the local region so early on? It wasn’t really a deliberate plan as such. These support opportunities came up and, being our first two shows as Sea Legs, we weren’t complaining. Muscles and TBG are great Aussie artists, so we were stoked to share our first shows with the likes of them. Also it was nice to get a couple of practice shows under our belts before we faced our home crowd. And, let’s face it, who doesn’t want to hang out with beautiful girls? You have an EP planned for release later in the year. How is the recording going? So good! We’re really pumped on the way things are moving. We are producing/ engineering it ourselves. All three of us are recording engineers and we’ve all been working on this EP together at our home studio on the central coast. It’s nice not being pushed for time in the studio; it allows us to get things sounding exactly the way we want. We had a lot of time to write this EP, around a year pre-production, so picking the best six tracks out of the dozens wasn’t an easy thing to do, but we have finally all agreed on the sexy six. Release is set for October. Exciting times await us.
Joy days? Yeah, there is one song that we pulled from the archives, although it was never released. We were set to release an EP just before Modern Joy split last year. We have slightly modified it, and it has made the cut and will be on the EP. It may even be the single. Prior to this will be the release of a single that will be excluded from the EP. Why would you not include the first song that a lot of people will be familiar with? Good question... I don’t really know. We had a few songs recorded and there was one track in particular that was too good to let go to waste, so we are currently shooting a film clip for it, and will release it pre-EP. I suppose it’s just going to be a teaser for things to come. There are free downloads of the track on our Facebook band page. You recently did a live acoustic set at SeaFM on the central coast. How did the band handle being unplugged? Apart from the fact the live broadcast was at 8am and I hadn’t even had a coffee, it went pretty well. We have a couple of shows at Lizotte’s in amongst our string of dates in July, where we will be showcasing our acoustic abilities. Just quietly, I’m loving the more mellowed down version of Sea Legs.
FRIDAYS
FROM 7.00PM
1/7
JAMES JOHNSTON DUO MOONLIGHT DRIVE DUO DREAM TAMBOURINE THE LEVYMEN IGUANA
8/7 15/7 22/7 29/7 SATURDAYS
2/7 9/7 16/7 23/7 30/7
DR. DAVE MATT PURCELL BOBBY C PETE GELZINNIS BRIEN McVERNON
What are your feelings as you approach your first national tour? There are plenty of feelings about this upcoming tour, all of which are happy! We can’t wait to showcase our new sound, and play with the likes of Jebediah. It will be off its tiny nipples. We look forward to seeing you all there! Sea Legs perform at Bateau Bay Hotel (supporting Jebediah) on Sunday July 10; Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle, on Saturday July 16; Lizotte’s Kincumber on Thursday July 21; SCU Unibar, Lismore, on Thursday July 28.
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reverb magazine issue #060 — July 2011 33
jinja safari tour diary
On Tour With Jinja Safari
Nineteen days and nine gigs between Perth and Brisbane, Jinja Safari offer a peek through the pages of their tour diary, having just completed their cross country tour with Boy & Bear.
Wednesday, May 18 Friday, May 20
Friday, May 27
Saturday, May 28
Tuesday, May 31
Friday, June 3
Saturday, June 4
Today we arrived in
Today our new tour
Melbourne is really
We were greeted by an
Tonight we found
Two fantastic nights in
Dear Tour Diary, today
opportunity for a little
By the end of the tour
Perth. Perthfect.
manager Oscar cooked
becoming a second
enthusiastic crowd in
ourselves in Newcastle.
Sydney reminded us it’s was the last show of the
while to watch both
we knew we were lucky
Tonight we play in
us an amazing breakfast home to all of us.
Geelong. A very
Luckily Boy & Bear and
good to be home. The
tour. Whenever we play
Emma Louise and Boy
to have been able to
Fremantle and stay in a
and celebrated his
Besides the fact that we
important fret on
Emma Louise were
crowds were incredible,
in Brisbane our good
& Bear take the stage.
play with other
lovely town called
achievements by
have as many friends
Pepa’s sitar broke
there too. The audience
screaming lyrics and
friend Shantanu hangs
Both the night and the
musicians we admire so
Cockburn. We don’t
wearing his pyjamas all
here as we do in our
before the show. The
also made it and we did
dancing freely. We love
around and takes
tour concluded with a
much and we really felt
know it yet but tomorrow day. We gave the lovely
current home town of
diagram illustrating
a show as normal. A few the Metro and enjoy
photos of us that later
gathering at Emma
we came out of it with a
we will get to spend
Emma Louise and her
Sydney, the crowds
how to reattach a sitar
things that weren’t
reflecting on some of
make people think we
Louise’s house, shared
new set of friends, not
time at a cafe with two
drummer Danny a lift
have really shown us a
fret indicated very
expected included a
the bands we’ve seen
are cooler than we
by Danny and others.
forgetting those we met
lady beetles. While
from the airport and
lot of love. Here are
clearly that we were
large spider appearing
play there - Fleet Foxes,
really are.
We were delighted to
on the road or after
sitting at the cafe Joe
messed around on the
some of our closest
going to have to invent
backstage, Oscar’s
Daniel Johnston, Brian
We threw ourselves
finally meet Emma’s
shows. Freshly inspired
draws a picture of what
hire car’s CB radio. I
friends on the streets of our own methods of
injured finger
Jonestown Massacre, to around on stage a little
bird Henry who was
by both the bands and
Alister looks like when
think we all bonded a
Melbourne including
repair involving nail
exploding blood all the
name a few. It’s a pretty
more recklessly than
extremely social. The
the audiences, our
the bottom half of his
little with each other
our friend and musician
cutters and hair
way to the roof and also
sacred stage to us.
usual. influenced by a
night was generally
upcoming headline
face disappears. Early
and the truck drivers on Mike McCarthy (far
elastics.
finding a laundry
combination of
free of incident
tour seems both
stages of the tour
the line. Later we meet
By this stage of the tour backstage and actually
adrenaline and a
excluding one mishap
challenging and
include meeting the
the rest of Emma’s band town doing shows.
it seems all the
using the washing
surging sense of
that saw Henry
exciting, something we
delightful and talented
- Graham and Hannah.
members of all three
machine to wash a
finality. We relished
mistaking Oscar’s hair
can go all out on, and
members of Boy & Bear
A highly enjoyable show
bands have really
shirt. Why not?
what we knew may have for a birds’ nest.
and being knocked over in Adelaide concludes
bonded - we really
Wollongong follows.
been our last
by their killer headline
the first trimester of the
couldn’t have asked for
Jinja Safari perform at
set.
tour… next stop,
a friendlier bunch of
the Northern Star
Melbourne.
people to tour with.
Hotel, Hamilton on
right) who was also in
we can’t wait.
Friday July 15.
34 reverb
mag azine issue #060 — July 2011
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lo c a l b e e r ta s t i n g
local Ales in hand We may be in the middle of winter, but that doesn’t mean a finely chilled ale need be too far from hand. With the age of the boutique brewer upon us, Reverb has bypassed the bottleshop to tap our dedicated local brewers. It’s a hard job, but somebody has to do it.
Hunter Kolsch
Happy Goblin Pale Ale
Wicked Elf Pale Ale
Just picking up the weighty 750 ml champagne bottle tells you this is a significant beer. Pale golden to the eye, this cloudy brew bubbles with excitement, tickling the nose with a fruity aroma. Clean, crisp and refreshing, the Kolsch hits with a cider bite that dances around the mouth. Perfect for a summer’s day, or any day as most of the tasters conceded, Hunter Kolsch was our pick of the beers and would appeal to most beer drinkers. According to one enamoured taster, the “nicest beer I’ve tasted in living memory”. It would be hard to pass this one up. Hunter Beer Company @ Potters Brewery, Wine Country Drive, Nulkaba, Hunter Valley, www.hunterbeer.com.au.
With the brewing date and alcohol content handwritten on the label, the Happy Goblin screams home brew - luckily this is the best home brew you will ever taste. If you could lay these down yourself, you would never visit a bottleshop again. Cloudy with wheat-coloured hues, topped with a strong head and fluffy bubbles, its look belies the aroma of light fruits and a hint of green yeast. To the taste, it’s mother’s milk - full of flavour, well rounded and clean - a beer that could be knocked back all night long, any time of the year. With a comment of “a beer I would buy”, why home brew when the Happy Goblin has already nailed it. Happy Goblin Brewery, Mt Kuringai, www. happygoblin.com.au.
Full-bodied in colour, the butter and brown sugar tones are the first sign that Wicked Elf is not a pale ale in the true sense of the word. With a nose full of hops and yeast, this strong, full-bodied brew coats the inside of the mouth, and sits rather heavily. This is not an all-night beer - after three stubbies, food was out of the question. Rather, Wicked Elf should accompany strongly flavoured food (best still, a good steak) to counter its sharp, strong after-taste. With a comment of “have three with a steak, a good night with the missus, and off to bed with a glow”, the ladies have been forewarned. The Little Brewing Company, Unit 1, 58 Uralla Road, Port Macquarie, www. thelittlebrewingcompany.com.au.
Mudgee Pale Ale
Stone & Wood Pacific Ale
Murray’s Nirvana Pale Ale
Light in colour, yet full of body, the Mudgee Pale dominates whatever you’ve tasted before it. As it hits the glass, its clean honey tones and bubbly head belie the impact this brew has on the taste buds. Its sharp, bitter palate may put hair on the soles of your feet, and is recommended for seasoned drinkers. If this was your first beer experience, it would take you a decade to get over it. Described by one Reverb taster as “a real drinker’s beer – would be great with Thai”, this is not a drop for the casual drinker. Mudgee Brewing Company, 4 Church St, Mudgee, www. mudgeebrewing.com.au.
Coming out of Byron Bay, Stone and Wood Pacific Ale imparts the taste of sun and surf. This pale yellow ale has some serious bubble action in the glass and a sweet, fruity tang in the nose. With this one, what you see and what you smell is exactly what you taste. This is a summer beer, light and crisp with a citrus bite that would be perfect overlooking the waves while devouring fish and chips. With a comment of “carbonated popper, a kid’s drink,” this is the beer equivalent to Black Ice for the ladies. Stone & Wood Brewing Company, 4 Boronia Place, Byron Bay NSW 2481, www.stoneandwood.com.au
Just holding the glass of gold-topped amber with its frothy head entices the drinker to enter royal Nirvana. Complex jasmine and malt notes dance into the nose as you take a first taste — it’s lighter than expected. There’s a lot going on with this herbal tonic, and the citrus fruits, balanced against a hoppy aftertaste, divided our tasters whose comments ranged from “could drink all night” to “don’t know if I could drink too many”. Worth grabbing a six-pack to see where you fall. Murray’s Craft Brewing Company, Taylors Arm Road, Taylors Arm, www.murraysbrewingco.com.au.
Alcohol content: 4.5% 750ml $15 per bottle
Alcohol content: 4.5% 330ml $70 per case (24)
Alcohol content: 4.4% 330ml $64.95 per case (24)
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Alcohol content: 4.4% 330ml $69.99 per case (24)
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Alcohol content: 5.4% 330ml $79.95 per case (24)
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reverb magazine issue #060 — July 2011 35
general motoring
“ It’s a slingshot and you may need the services of a physio if you drive the GTR to its full potential”
Good God-zilla Joy-rides aside, when you get your grubby little mitts on the new 2011 GTR Nissan as we did last week, everyone wants to know how good it is. Answer... it’s the best GTR (Skyline) yet — by a longshot — the fastest, quickest, best handling, most generously equipped and engaging car on the market this side of a quarter-of-a-million bucks. Big call? You’d better believe it. The 2011 spec R35 GTR makes cars three or four times the price look inadequate. It comprehensively out-accelerates pretty much anything this side of a Veyron or Koenigsegg and would do well over ‘the quarter’ in standard trim against super street drag cars. Turn up the turbo wick and anything would be possible. We have heard of 600kW GTRs being driven in the Targa Tassie. Can’t imagine what that would be like because the standard car is already wicked-as. Big-bore bike riders had better be wary too and make sure they don’t tangle with the new GTR lest they end up with egg on their face. GTR owners get the last laugh when it comes to a comparison between nearly everything, from Porsche, Lamborghini and Ferrari — and that includes around corners, under brakes and on the gas. Pretty the GTR ain’t — it looks like a committee designed the sleek, supercar front and rotundo bum. Overall appearance is better than the previous model, with new
36 reve rb
magazine issue #060 — July 2011
bumpers, lights and additional vents. The interior is mock-industrial strength featuring splashes of carbon fibre and metal fascia along with liberal use of leather and Recaros. A pair of large magnesium paddles attached to the steering column gives racer style sequential changes. The large centre readout screen (with satnav) tracks everything from g-forces to fuel consumption to lap times in real time and averaged. It might be a bit of a porker but with well over 500 horsepower (390kW) on tap and 612Nm of torque from low in the rev range, you have a caged beast in hand when you fire up the V6 engine — the same engine configuration as a taxi or the car your mum and dad drive. Matters not a hoot though, because this is king, and sounds the biz too. Engine designation is VR38DETT — a twin-turbo, 3.8-litre unit which was specially developed for the car. It’s handmade with each unit assembled by a single craftsman working in a special ‘clean room’ area of Nissan’s Yokohama plant. Changes for the 2011 version have seen power rise from 357kW to 390kW, while torque has increased from 588 Nm to 612 Nm. This increase is celebrated by the engine cover, which is painted red — a respectful nod to one of the car’s forebears, the legendary R34 Skyline GTR, which also boasted red cam covers. Changes to the engine include modifications to the turbo
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r e vi e wed
Nissan R35 GTR r e vi e wed by
Peter Douglas boost pressure, valve timing and air mixture ratio. The inlet pipes have been enlarged and the exhaust system modified, while a new catalyst using fewer precious metals has been fitted. The result is even higher performance, but without a price penalty. The benchmark 0-100kph sprint, for example, has been reduced to around 3.0 seconds. We saw 3.4 but reckon we could do better with time. As well as boosting power and torque, the changes have improved fuel consumption and emissions, both of which have come down as have CO2 emissions. The car gets 12 litres/100km on the combined cycle. All four wheels are driven through a six speed double clutch transmission, mounted trans-axle style at the rear. As before, the GTR has a number of different transmission modes: standing start performance (launch control) can be maximised in ‘R’ mode. When in R mode, full throttle is applied while the car is held on the brakes, which are then released as quickly as possible. The system monitors oil temperatures to ensure reliability isn’t compromised: if
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temperatures rise above a set level, the system prevents further use of R mode until they have fallen. Although high performance remains key to the GTR’s appeal, it remains tractable and easy to drive. Peak torque is available seamlessly from 3,200 to 6,000rpm. Precise monitoring of the airfuel ratio further improves high-performance fuel consumption by five per cent. Other technical innovations include a thermostatically controlled, air-cooled engine oil cooler system for greater efficiency. During extreme cornering, a scavenger pump maintains turbocharger oil flow. The oilcollecting structure inside the engine is optimised by a lateral wet-and-dry sump system. Similarly, a collector tank inside the fuel tank always stores enough fuel to maintain fuel flow even under strong g-forces. The GR6-type transmission was exclusively developed for the R35 GT-R. The six-speed dual clutch gearbox is highly efficient with minimum power losses, and response and fuel economy are therefore improved, compared to a conventional automatic. The driver can either shift gears manually, via paddles (now made from magnesium) located behind the steering wheel, or opt instead for automatic changes as the mood dictates. A computerised control predicts the driver’s next gear change, based on throttle opening, vehicle speed, braking and other information. In automatic mode, changes are made to maximise fuel efficiency. Higher gears are used whenever possible, making full use of the car’s long and flat torque curve. The car can be driven in sixth gear for long periods at low speeds, and still offers good throttle response. Such docile behaviour is at odds with most equivalently fast supercars and is one of the many unique aspects of the GTR. Hill start assist is also provided, momentarily holding the brakes to prevent roll back when starting on an incline as the driver moves to the accelerator pedal. Manoeuvrability at low speeds is further enhanced by the adoption of a two-wheel drive mode. When the steering wheel turned beyond half lock and the speed is less than 10kph, drive to the front wheels is temporarily disconnected to ease parking and other low speed manoeuvres. The all wheel drive system is improved offering a drive split of up to 100 per cent to the rear wheels and a torque vectoring function is achieved through electronic controls and limited slip differentials front and rear. Six piston front brakes measure 390mm in diameter and are squeezed by Brembo callipers. Rear brakes are four piston. Bilstein aluminium dampers offer comfort and sport modes and the 20-inch wheels weigh less than before and carry specially-made Dunlop sport rubber. Aerodynamic drag is now down to 0.26 — extremely low. This techo stuff is all very good, but what’s it like to drive? Well, it’s a slingshot and you may need the services of a physio if you drive the GTR to its full potential — as if. The car makes an average driver look like a champion thanks in part to its numerous electronic controls and aids. It has brutal acceleration from start to the 7,000rpm red line and the brakes don’t fade even though they are metal. It was an awesome drive — you’d pay for the experience. Price is $168,800, not bad for a four seater coupé with supercar performance and luxury car kit.
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toenail clippings — crunchy fortunes
fortunes
Steve Burrito’s crunchy fortunes
CANCER — On the count of three, you will hold your breath. One....Two.....Your lucky colour this month will be blue on the outside but black on the inside. A tall woman may also offer you a fish taco. Consider your options
LIBRA — You’re right. A monkey sword fight would be cool. But that’s the reason they won’t let you into the zoo anymore. Your lucky sensation this month will be running, your unlucky clothing choice will be thongs.
CAPRICORN — This month you will not understand your horoscope. No matter how much you try, it will make no sense at all. I mean, who writes these bloody things? All oogedy boogedy, talking-to-the-universe nonsense. Your lucky number this month will be a letter.
ARIES — The object now directly to your left is your weapon of choice when the zombies finally attack. Your lucky smell this month will be cinnamon.... mm cinnamon. Avoid being eaten by tigers this month.
LEO — This month you will swallow a fly. Disturbingly, three days later, it will reappear. You really don’t want to know what your unlucky flavour is this month do you? Try wearing lavender, but not the colour or the scent.
SCORPIO — The scorpion. You may have encounter a thong — look out. This month you finally realise that they never said Humpty Dumpty was an egg. Your lucky smell will be burnt orange, and your lucky brand of caravan will be the “Millers caravan”, the tin box of the kings.
AQUARIUS — Here’s some interesting facts for you this month: anyone who rides a jet ski is a wanker. Fish wish they could blink. The people of Lismore hate being called Lismorons. And rugby league is the sport most popular amongst the brain-damaged.
TAURUS: Strong like bull, smart like tractor. Your lucky flavour this month is cud and your lucky colour will be mono. On the bright side, at least you’re not a vegetarian, they stink. Oh hang on...
VIRGO — For reasons unknown – somehow 17 clowns have found a way to use you as their circus car. This month your lucky colour will be multi and you’ll fart streamers. You really should take a closer look at your social group
SAGITTARIUS — This month, the quaint old saying ‘a face like a smacked arse’ will suddenly take on a deeper meaning for you. You will also discover that there is a huge difference between planking and wanking but they’re both equally popular on the internet.
PISCES — I’m tired. You figure out your horoscope this month. Here’s the easy way: your lucky flavour this month will be Jack Daniels and your lucky sensation will be carpet. Avoid small white dogs.
GEMINI — So you think I can see into the future? Really? In that case I can see you sending me 20 bucks and a bottle of Jack Daniels. I can also see that you’re going to get drunk and start sexting me. I do so wish you weren’t so damn ugly, but don’t stop.
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reverb magazine issue #060 — July 2011 37
live Reviews Boy and bear
The Middle East
Airbourne
Bar On The Hill, Newcastle Uni Tuesday, May 31
Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle Sunday, June 19
Bar On The Hill, Newcastle Uni Thursday, June 9
Kinky Friedman & Van Dyke Parks Lizotte’s Lambton Tuesday, June 14
Boy and Bear ©Julie Lowe
It’s no surprise that every show on Boy & Bear’s recent tour sold out. Their outstanding performance at the Bar on the Hill gave the crowd a taste of their upcoming debut, Moonfire. Enchanting new songs, complete with their beautiful trademark harmonies and introspective lyrics, left the full house in awe. Their famous cover of ‘Fall At Your Feet’ sent the crowd into a frenzy of applause from its first unmistakable banjo line. After expressing the band’s “no encore policy,” singer Dave Hosking sincerely thanked the crowd and closed the set with new single ‘Feeding Line’, sure to bring these brilliant artists the success they deserve. If you missed out on a ticket, don’t be too concerned. Watching these talented young musicians perform live, I can say absolutely they’ll be around for a long time! ~Kaela Good
Storm in a Teacup Mullumbimby Civic Centre Saturday, June 18
It’s a cold midwinter night in Mullumbimby and the Civic Hall is thronging with folk clutching steaming cups of chai and nanna blankets, seduced away from their heaters (although not their ugg boots) by this übergroup of multi-talented musicians on the final night of their three-date tour — Melbourne, Sydney, Mullumbimby. The theme of the night is collaboration. Storm in a Teacup is a taster for the annual Mullum Music Fest, where most of the artists (signed to local label Vitamin) have performed, only this time they’re playing each other’s songs, as a single band. First to take the stage is a solo Harry James Angus, who woos the crowd with his guitar and storyteller’s hat (‘The Batsman’), followed by a duet by the owner of one of the most unique and haunting voices in Aussie music, Emily Lubitz (lead singer of Tinpan Orange) and Jen Cloher, both clad in ponchos (Lubitz’s jutting over a substantial baby bump). Lubitz describes the experience of writing ‘Bridesmaid 3am’ together as “like a first date”. “We drank tea and talked about heartache,” she said. “It was beautiful.” The band builds, passing mics and guitars from hand to hand, with drums, keys and the gorgeous sounds of Alex Burkoy’s (Tinpan Orange) violin, ukulele and mandolin. An all-star rendition of Jordie Lane’s ‘I Could Die Looking At You’, melts hearts all over the hall as the seven singers huddle around a single mic, like a camp fire, voices soaring with gospel-infused reverence. Long applause after the players leave the stage triggers a couple of covers, the Everly Brothers ‘Love Hurts’ and a rousing rendition of The Band’s Woodstock classic ‘The Weight’. A glass or two of red wouldn’t have gone astray but I settle for tea and a stash of chocolate from the only shop in Mullum still open at 7.30pm. Brisbane, eat your heart out! ~Kate hamilton 38 reve rb
magazine issue #060 — July 2011
The Middle East ©Cherri Fountain
The Middle East’s Newcastle performance was as anticipated as the release of the band’s debut album I Want That You Are Always Happy. Despite the chilly weather, punters clad in trendy winter attire packed the modest Cambridge band room nearly to capacity. Did the Townsville indie darlings live up to the hype? Well, that’s questionable. The set mainly showcased songs from I Want That You Are Always Happy, including subdued ballad ‘Deep Water’, impressive instrumental ‘Months’ and uplifting single ‘Land Of The Bloody Unknown’. Despite some drunken chit-chat (which prompted quite a few “shut the fuck up”s from the band), the audience generally received the new material well. The vocals – which alternated between Jordan Ireland and Rohin Jones – were tantalisingly smooth and flawless. Pianist Bree Tranter was equally sweet as she sung the pleasantly plucky tune ‘Jesus Came To My Birthday Party’. However there was something off about this gig. The Middle East’s sweet, sleepy melodies didn’t translate to live performance as well as they might have. This was perhaps due to the serious lack of crowd interaction. Their unwillingness to play beloved track ‘Blood’ – a simultaneously heartening and heartbreaking ballad from 2008’s The Recordings Of The Middle East – didn’t help. In an act of utter muso pretension, the band returned after a delayed encore to play an anti-climactic cover of Bob Dylan’s ‘I Shall Be Released’, making for a selfindulgent performance and a blood-thirsty crowd. ~Lee Tobin
Kinky Friedman ©Kevin Bull
Airbourne ©Courtney Fitzsimmons
When the road crew unveiled an impressive wall of Marshall Stacks, it was clear this show was going to be anything but soft, and after 20 minutes of menacing taunts from the crowd, Airbourne exploded onto the stage oozing raw energy and enthusiasm. With their fist-pumping powerhouse rock, featuring heavy distorted riffs and singer Joel O’Keefe’s screaming jet engine-like vocals, the Melbourne rockers ripped through a consistent set-list of hard-hitting songs from their two albums, Running Wild and No Guts, No Glory. Rough and rowdy drunkards lapped it up in a circle-pitting, crowd-surfing frenzy, to the modern rock anthems ‘Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast’ and ‘No Way But The Hard Way’. The Airbourne boys know how to put on a show; O’Keefe proved it as he chugged half a bottle of red before climbing the stage speakers and brutally banging a can of Toohey’s New on his head until it burst over the already beer-soaked, flanno-clad crowd, (much to their delight). Sirens blazed as the band returned to the stage for a deafening encore of ‘Running Wild’, and the band’s patriotic epic ‘Stand Up For Rock ‘N’ Roll’. ~Charli Hutchison
Morbid Angel Manning Bar, Sydney Saturday, May 28
Lasue Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle Saturday, June 11
There was an impressive crowd here tonight — even more impressive considering it was Lasue’s debut performance. The band worked very hard to create buzz and it paid off. First up were local acts Hawk Brooklyn, The Chestnuts and Sendfire, who proved the Newcastle local music scene is alive and kicking. A sizeable crowd had formed by the time Lasue hit the stage, and the band didn’t disappoint with their great stage presence. One of the highlights of the show was watching drummer Jae Nelson beating the living shit out of his drum kit, and loving every minute of it. Vocalist Shae Tuckerman also put in a capable and confident performance. Hopefully the band can keep the momentum going from an awesome debut show and will return for more soon. ~Matt Glen
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After waiting 13 years for an Australian tour, Floridian death metal giants, Morbid Angel, returned for the second time in just two years to support their latest album Illud Divinum Insanus. As anticipation grew for the self-professed “slime-dripping machine”, avidity was also brewing for two of Sydney’s most famous heavy metal bands Ouroboros and The Amenta. Unlike many other Australian bands that support heavyweight metal acts, Sydneybased Ouroboros came within millimetres of outweighing their international counterparts. Drummer David Horgan was technically enthralling, while front-man Evgeny Linnik captured the audience with his intensely powerful vocal performance. The notoriously theatrical melodic black metal band The Amenta was the second support of the night. With almost blinding flashes of the strobe light, the band got off
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Kinky Friedman and Van Dyke Parks are the personification of lifers in this game called music. What seemed like an odd billing beforehand made complete sense on the night, as they chewed the fat about music and life and told stories from their tour of America over 30 years ago, with casual mentions of friendships with Levon Helm (The Band) and a very famous Australian director who is desperate for Parks to score his upcoming film. Inspired by wine (and the like), Parks, backed by double bass, made a bitch out of his piano with rapid fire fluidity and strident yet squiggly melodic structures. Speaking in soliloquies between songs, Parks touched upon ‘Orange Crate Art’, ‘Jump!’, ‘Wings of a Dove’ and a dazzling rendition of John Hartford’s ‘Delta Queen Blues’. Sadly, not a whisper of the singles he has been steadily releasing this year. Kinky Friedman was a consummate performer, cracking jokes left right and centre. He also read from his latest book, Heroes of A Texas Childhood, the chapter about his father entitled, ‘The Navigator’, before Parks joined him on stage for an encore including, ‘Lady Yesterday’ and ‘Asshole from El Paso’. Playing a jam-packed room on a rain-laden Tuesday night was a perfect compliment to these fine gents, who stuck around for well over an hour after the show, greeting fans with warmth and wit. ~Matt Petherbridge to an interesting start. But before long, the music became sluggishly repetitive and the theatrics, boring and over-choreographed. Dressed in true heavy metal style, Morbid Angel stormed on-stage with ‘Immortal Rites’ which quickly transitioned into ‘Fall From Grace’ with little more than a five-second pause. Visually and musically appealing, the band’s energy was ferocious. Midway through the set, Morbid Angel drew the crowd’s attention to their new release, performing three tracks off the album. The echoing effect on David Vincent’s vocals during ‘Nevermore’, although repetitive and monotonous, was proof that the new album is loyal to their traditional death metal style. However a simple case of over-the-top guitar wankery by Trey Azagthoth diffused the mood with a heinous, sonically irritating ten minute guitar solo. Solo aside, Morbid Angel’s unmitigated energy and technical skill proved there is still gold amongst the mountains of pseudometal rubbish being produced today. ~Lilen Pautasso Follow us on Twitter
live Reviews
gig of the month
Jebediah
Amy Meredith
Elephant + Bat Yoghurt
Joan As Police Woman
Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle Saturday, May 28
Coolangatta Hotel Wednesday, June 1
Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle Friday, June 17
Community Centre, Byron Bay Sunday, June 5
Jebediah ©Chrissy Kavalieros
It’s been a while between outings for Perth’s Jebediah. Five years, in fact, since the quartet decided to take a break and concentrate on other projects. Returning to the eyes and ears of patient punters, Jebediah recently hit the road to play songs from their new longplayer, Kosciuszko. Having taken off his Bob Evans hat, Kevin Mitchell (and co.) bore none of the signs of rust that a five-year break can leave. Jebediah hit the stage with the same gusto with which they built their reputation in the early 90s, covering both ends of the catalogue, to the delight of the salivating sold-out crowd. ‘She’s Like a Comet’ predictably set the room ablaze and sat quite well amongst the older material. When a band goes on hiatus for an extended period of time, it’s always interesting to see the new fans that jump on board when the band reunites. Especially in this case, with ‘She’s Like a Comet’ getting significant airplay on commercial radio, I wondered whether a portion of the crowd had turned up to hear one song. Nothing could have been further from the truth. ‘Harpoon’, a back catalogue gem, saw young punters in tight jeans unite with their (often balding) older counterparts, to sing at the tops of their voices. It’s testament to both the band and their followers that returning after five years of silence can feel like they never left. ~Nick Bielby
Joan As Police Woman ©Kevin Bull
Elephant ©Ashlee kellehear
Amy Meredith ©Madeline Smith
With a surprising turn-out on a Wednesday night, Sydney synth-rockers Amy Meredith took stage, headlining their Higher Education national tour. After consistently touring as an opening act, Amy Meredith have broken through their bridesmaid status to headline their own sold out shows, skyrocketing to commercial stardom and success. The Coolangatta crowd got the songs they were waiting for, with well-known anthems such as the ARIA-charting ‘Lying’ as well as the ever popular ‘Pornstar’, getting the mosh-pit churning. But while front-man Christian Lo Russo performed with passion and energy, there was no denying the strain in his voice as he struggled to be heard above the two guitarists. As the lights dimmed and the sound came to a halt for a moment, the crowd looked slightly confused as the room boomed with Gnarls Barkley’s ‘Crazy’, before dancing along with enthusiasm. An impressive stage show, it’s just a shame Christian Lo Russo doesn’t have the vocal volume to be heard above his band. ~Madeline Smith
Newcastle trio Bat Yoghurt warmed the Cambridge stage for headliners, Elephant, with their hard-driven and distorted alternative rock: its heavy sound derivative of 70s prog. The impressively moustachioed Gerant Kenneth added bassinduced synthesiser to the band’s drums and occasional vocals, providing a dramatic touch to their experimental tunes, and an eerie on-stage presence. ‘You’re Heaps Sincere’ was a standout — jagged, intricate and fast-paced — it proved a crowd favourite, giving the performance a burst of energy towards the end of the set. The more contemporary-sounding Elephant followed on the bill, Kenneth taking to the stage once again: this trio made up of lead bass guitar, synthesiser and a notably large drum kit. Their contrasting dual vocals created an intense chemistry between the elements of thrashing drums and now melodic synthesised sounds. The band kept the audience mesmerised with a steady set of obscurelystructured songs, which were incredibly thunderous for a three-piece rock outfit. ‘Cannon Ball Gnome’ highlighted Elephant’s epic set and was the band’s most memorable song. ~Charli Hutchison
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Fifteen minutes into Joan As Policewoman’s show at the Byron Bay Community Centre, and frontwoman Joan Wasser had impersonated more Australian animals (three) than she had played songs (two). The early signs were that this was going to be a performance to remember, and Wasser and her homies in harmony (including Jeff Buckley’s ex-bandmate Parker Kindred) came through with the goods. The set was heavy on Wasser’s newer, livelier material, and while some fans might have been disappointed not to hear more of her pared-back, tortured tales of heartbreak, I came away more than satisfied with the plethora of bombastic numbers. Wasser paused between songs to tell stories to the sold-out crowd — if the rock and roll thing doesn’t work out, she could probably pursue a career in stand-up. Fittingly, Wasser closed the show with a cover of John Lennon’s ‘Woman’; much like her currawong impersonation, I don’t think I could string a sentence together that would do justice to its beauty. ~Max Quinn
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reverb magazine issue #060 — July 2011 39
fashion — photogr aphy by luke holdstock
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magazine issue #060 — July 2011
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fashion — photogr aphy by luke holdstock
Photography by Luke Holdstock Modelling by Tegan Martin Hair by Bianca lee Tinson Make-up by Bianca Lee tinson Clothes and styling by Rag and Bone
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reverb magazine issue #060 — July 2011 41
Film Reviews
Girl & Gun
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Hanna
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Mark Snelson r ated
3.5/5
With Hanna, director Joe Wright steps away from the emotionally-driven dramas that he is known for (Atonement, The Soloist) and launches head on into the action genre, with mostly pleasing results. Hanna opens with its namesake, a 16-year-old girl hunting deer in a remote area of Finland. Her ex-CIA operative father, Erik (Eric Bana), has sheltered her from the outside world and spent years schooling her in survival skills, hand-tohand combat and weapons training, creating the perfect assassin. Hanna is now ready to take on her father’s mission, which will see her travelling across Europe whilst
being targeted by ruthless intelligence agents, headed by the utterly determined Marissa (Cate Blanchett). Hanna does not score many points as far as originality is concerned and comes off like a hybrid of La Femme Nikita, The Bourne Identity and Run Lola Run — a fairly solid set of influences, nonetheless. Saoirse Ronan as Hanna is one of the main reasons to watch this movie. She puts in a commanding performance: her transition, from naive child to coldblooded killer, fascinating to watch. The action is thick and fast in Hanna with some impressive chases and
well-choreographed fight scenes, but too close an examination of the plot only reveals holes and unanswered questions. It’s best just to sit back and enjoy the ride. The soundtrack, by The Chemical Brothers, is pumping and the cinematography is great. The only problem with Hanna is that it introduces plenty of high concept themes but does not deliver enough depth to back them up. Hanna is by no means an outstanding action thriller but well worth checking out if you like your movies fast-paced, with plenty of fight scenes, and a captivating lead performance.
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Oranges and Sunshine r e vi e wed by
Mark Snelson r ated
4/5
The directorial debut of Jim Loach, son of veteran British director Ken Loach, Oranges and Sunshine is a well-crafted drama that packs an emotional punch. Loach has adapted for the screen the memoirs of Nottingham-based social worker, Margaret Humphreys (Emily Watson), who in 1986 uncovered the shocking truth that over 100,000 kids had been plucked from their families in the UK and forced to live in children’s homes, on the side of the world, in Australia. The majority of these migrations occurred in the 1950s but continued right up until the 1970s. On her arrival in Australia, Humphreys is shocked by the sheer numbers of children (now middle-aged adults) affected, and tirelessly sets about helping them reconnect with their families back in the UK. Among those she is enlisted to assist are Jack (Hugo Weaving), who carries his loss like a lead weight, and Len (David Wenham), who hides his pain behind a wall of stoicism. As she interviews the many clients seeking 42 reverb
mag azine issue #060 — July 2011
her help she learns of the atrocious conditions and unforgivable abuse that some of these children suffered at the hands of those charged with their care — far from the oranges and sunshine they were promised. Humphreys faces anger and even threats to her life from the religious institutions that ran these care facilities, when she raises allegations of abuse and neglect. There are some amazing performances in Oranges and Sunshine, with Watson in her best role in years, backed by a solid cast, most notably Hugo Weaving and David Wenham. Whilst Weaving and Wenham are lured to Hollywood for the likes of The Matrix and 300, it is character-driven dramas like this where both actors shine. Weaving puts in an emotionally powerful performance and Wenham is superb as the self-made man hiding behind his bravado. Loach handles this highly sensitive subject matter with great empathy, never resorting to sensationalism and the impressive recreation of 1980s Australia is sure to evoke nostalgia. Despite the sombre nature of the subject, there are moments of joy and hope in this film. It is a story I was completely unaware of and definitely one that needs to be told. Jim Loach has inherited some fine skills from his father and delivers, with the best drama seen this year.
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DVD Reviews
DVD Marathon
Stage Fright
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Black Swan r e vi e wed by
Sallie Pritchard r ated
5/5
Creativity theorist Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi must have had his work cut out for him, because one of the biggest obstacles to explaining the creative process is the people involved in that same process. Stephen King, for example, has likened writing to masturbation. And if you think that’s gross, then Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan is not going to make you feel any more at ease. Black Swan is the story of Nina (Natalie Portman), a dancer at a prestigious ballet company in New York. When she is given the opportunity to play the Swan Queen in the company’s production of Swan Lake, Nina
is presented with a difficult challenge; she can dance the Swan Queen Odette, or White Swan, perfectly but she needs to be equally adept at the evil Odile, or Black Swan. What Aronofsky creates — with the help of a flawless script, incredible cinematography, precision editing, and an impeccable cast — is the inner turmoil that accompanies a dancer’s creative process. Willing to do anything for the role she has waited her whole life for, Nina creates an alter ego who epitomises the personality she needs to tap into in order to play the demanding role. Her director Thomas tells her she needs to explore her sexuality,
embroiling her in a complicated ménage a trois. The end result is an often disturbing, emotionally draining experience for characters and audience alike. Portman’s psychology degree must have been vital to her preparation for the Academy awardwinning role. Part psychological thriller, part story of a young woman’s descent into madness, Black Swan is a twisted reinvention of the Swan Lake story, revealing the extreme dedication (or obsession) often demanded of artists. It’s not always a pretty picture, but it’s a fascinating one all the same.
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The Fighter r e vi e wed by
Technical Knock Out In boxing, a stepping stone is a fighter who represents an easy win in the path of their more skilled opponent. The stepping stone, however, is fighting for his (or her) life. Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg) is a junior welterweight boxer trained by his older brother Dicky Eklund (Christian Bale), a former boxer himself, dubbed the ‘Pride of Lowell’. Micky’s career, and indeed his whole life, is ruled by Dicky and his overbearing mother, who is also Micky’s manager. Powerless, it seems everything he does is for Dicky, until he meets Charlene, who wakes him up to his individual potential, beyond the needs and demands of his family.
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This is a fairly familiar story: a working class man from a small town struggles, but overcomes, through sheer will, determination and a good woman by his side. It’s Rocky with a New England accent: the classic Hollywood hero quest. While it is a traditional film plot, it’s also a true story. Films based on fact represent a challenge. To tell someone’s story on-screen often requires rough handling in order to serve the narrative and can lose something in the translation. However, David O’Russell’s careful construction of character and relationships ensures that while the story unfolds in service of the narrative, the voice of Ward and his family is strong and clear.
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Sallie Pritchard r ated
4/5
In his Academy award-winning performance, Bale is incredible. In both the ring and in life, Dicky’s fighting style is swift and restless. It’s almost tiring watching Bale move around the screen. And just as Bale’s acting style mirrors Dicky’s fighting style, Wahlberg is a brawler and a stepping stone in this film. He absorbs Bale’s energy, and moves in with a few forceful hits to the head and body. Wahlberg’s performance is strong and measured, but it’s a performance that ultimately allows Bale to take the title. It’s easy to see why The Fighter makes for such excellent spectator sport.
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Edge of Glory
The classic Hollywood narrative is propelled by psychological motivation, that is, by the will of a protagonist, who struggles against obstacles towards a defined goal. Films like Black Swan and The Fighter explore the inner turmoil necessitated by the pursuit of glory, earning both Portman and Bale (respectively) an Oscar (athough unfortunately not for Wahlberg). In Black Swan, Nina’s preparation is not only physically demanding but requires all of her mental energy, taking her to corners of her psyche she has never gone before. In The Fighter, Micky must reconcile his feelings of worth with his emotional ties to his family. Does he deserve his success or should it be his brother’s? In The Fighter the protagonist’s physicality eventually transcends all obstacles (emotional, mental and societal), with brute force, while Black Swan’s focus on the psychological motivation presents a more fraught journey - Nina’s body may be able to handle her demanding role, but is her mind up to it? Yet both represent the positive trajectory of the narrative - the protagonist overcomes obstacles to achieve his or her goal. It’s worth noting that both films close on an image of the exhausted protagonist, triumphant, surrounded by admirers and bathed in an ethereal light. The light of the winner. See also: The Wrestler (Aronofsky, 2008) and The Red Shoes (Powell, 1948). ~Sallie Pritchard
reverb magazine issue #060 — July 2011 43
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mag azine issue #060 — July 2011
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