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No. 27
14 Mark Wells index 10 14 16 18 20
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letter from ed Dear Reader, Welcome to our biggest issue of Reverb ever! Please find enclosed a fascinating interview with Courtney Taylor-Taylor from The Dandy Warhols and Frank Black from The Pixies. They are two of the most entertaining conversations I’ve had as a music journalist. Recommended reading! Just don’t take them too seriously. The Reverb team is getting behind the Fat As Butter festival that’s happening at Camp Shortland, Newcastle, on November 2, 2008. The prospect of a successful annual Newcastle festival is very exciting. Grab a ticket and get behind it. I saw The Dandy Warhols headline Falls Festival at the end of 2005 and they were amazing. Don’t miss them!
This month Reverb is also showing its support for our own little festival, Coastal. Happening at Kantara House on Sunday October 19, 2008, the event is a superb showcase of Central Coast talent. I’d also like to give a huge shout out to The Seabellies, who are heading to New York for the CMJ Music Marathon, it’s a massive conference and they’re playing on a bill alongside Broken Social Scene. Best of luck to Mark Wells and the release of his solo rock album, Until The End. It’s a stellar record and will surely reach ears around the world. It’s well deserved! Until next month, Nick Milligan xx
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Editorial - nick@reverbstreetpress.com.au - 4929 4739 Entertainment Guide - gigguide@reverbstreetpress.com.au Sales Enquiries - sales@reverbstreetpress.com.au Sales Manager - kevin@reverbstreetpress.com.au - 0410 295 360 Production Manager.- kieran.ferguson@reverbstreetpress.com.au - 0414 672 095 6
Local News Mark Wells Frank Black Galvatrons Grafton Primary/ Reverb Coastal Music Festival CD Reviews Gig Guide End Of Fashion We Are Scientists Dandy Warhols The Vines/Bag Raiders Mixtape
32 Newcastle Music Week Preview 34 Fashion: Here Comes The Sun 36 Motoring: Mazda3 Extreme 37 This Is Not Art 38 Live Reviews 40 Coastfest/Coaster Review 41 Seabellies/Fleet Foxes 42 Games News/The Streets 43 Vinyl Reviews 44 Socials
giveaways What is Reverb giving away this month? Because the Central Coast’s premier live venue The Woodport Inn is celebrating its birthday, we’re offering a lucky reader and their friend the opportunity to have a Draught With Drapht! Don’t miss your chance to meet one of Australia’s best hip-hop artists. We’ve also got to giveaway 4 tickets to Fat As Butter (featuring The Dandy Warhols and Faker), which happens on November 2, Camp Shortland, Newcastle. Reverb also has 3 copies of Flying Colours, the new album from Bliss n Eso, who are performing at Friday October 10 at The Cambridge Hotel. We’ve also got 5 copies of the hot new album Book Of Lies by End Of Fashion. Just email editorial@reverbstreetpress.com!
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Sales Kevin Bull Tommy Lueng Any comments can be sent to editorial@reverbstreetpress. com.au or give us a call on 4929 4739.
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news
09 The Butterfly Effect
The Beautiful Girls
LAGWAGON - NOT JUST FOR OLDER BROTHERS
THE ART OF CONVERSATION The Butterfly Effect have experienced a lot in the past two years. Their sophomore album Imago attained the number two position on the ARIA charts and achieved gold status. In May they embraced selfimposed solitude in the sanctuary of NSW’s Grove Studios with producer Forrester Savell (Karnivool, Full Scale) to record what is has become their third LP titled The Final Conversation of Kings. The album is out now. You can catch them at Newcastle Panthers on October 22.
THE MOUNTAIN GOATS ANNOUNCE RETURN DATE
You Am I
YOU AM I ARE BACK! You Am I are returning after an uncharacteristically long break from playing in Australia, due to US touring commitments and of course the making of the new record Dilettantes. You Am I play The Cambridge Hotel with Tame Impala on Saturday November 15. Tix available from Moshtix, Beaumont Street Beat, The Rock Shop, and the venue.
NEWCASTLE VINYL FAIR Before hitting Fat As Butter on Sunday November 2, 2008, get along nice and early to Uniting Church Hall, Beaumont Street, for Newcastle’s Vinyl Fair. Doors open at 9am and close at 4pm. It’s set to be the biggest yet!
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With their Newcastle date almost sold out, it was hugely disappointing to hear the news that The Mountain Goats had to cancel their Australian tour. But as promised, The Mountain Goats are returning to The Cambridge Hotel on December 6, 2008. Jump on Moshtix now!
BEACH PARTY IS BACK, BABY! Newcastle’s favourite and most unique event, The Beach Party, is returning to Newcastle Uni. For the uninitiated, The Beach Party takes place on 120 tonnes of sand that is dropped on to the car park of The Bar On The Hill - a beach festival in the middle of Newcastle University’s campus! Some bands have been leaked by those crazy guys at Big Apachee - the 2008 line-up will include The Beautiful Girls, The Getaway Plan, Little Red, Rogerthat, Funkoars, Muph & Plutonic, Vinyl Slippers, Art Vs Science, The ELF, Here Come The Birds, Head Of State, Grant Walmsley AOP, Benjalu and Black Markey Rhythm Co. With indoor and outdoor stages, it goes with out saying that there is HEAPS more acts to be announced. The famous ‘Lost Thong’ hunt will be happening again, and there’ll be Jim Beam girls running party games throughout the day. Grab a ticket to the Beach Party and let it ride on Saturday November 29! Tickets on sale now from The Rock Shop, Billy Hyde music, uShops on campus and www.bigtix.com.au
Lagwagon, Santa Barbara’s pride and joy, are returning to Australia this November to deliver some Californian punk rock respite! Lagwagon are the original Fat band – the first band Fat Mike signed. They may have been belting out the hits since 1988, but they’ve maintained a sense of humour about their enviable longevity with the title of their latest offering I Think My Older Brother Used to Listen to Lagwagon. They play The Bar On The Hill on Saturday November 22, 2008. Tickets are available from The Rock Shop, www.bigtix.com.au, Billy Hydes and the venue.
Lagwagon
The Mountain Goats Chase The Sun
THE FALLS FESTIVAL ANNOUNCE SECOND LINE-UP Had you talked yourself out of spending shit-loads of money to go away for New Year’s Eve again? Bummer, dude. Now you have to go to Falls Festival because the line-up looks like this: Franz Ferdinand, Fleet Foxes, Mystery Jets, Santogold, The Hives, The Kooks, Gomez, Soko, The Grates, The Drones, Late Of The Pier, Lykke Li, Augie March etc. For full line-up details and ticketing information, head to www.fallsfestival.com.
CHASE THE SUN - A BIG CASE OF THE BLUES Reverb’s favourite dirty, blues band! Chase The Sun have spent no time garnering widespread critical acclaim for their soul-tinged song writing, blues sensibilities and the powerhouse live delivery of guitar star-on-the-rise Jan Rynsaardt. Combining elements of old-school acoustic blues, Stevie Ray Vaughn boogie, hillbilly finger picking and Hendrix flash; three-piece Chase The Sun crank out a new take on a classic sound. Catch them at the Wickham Park Hotel, Newcastle, on October 19, Railway Blues at Richmond Vale Railway on 22nd November and The Chilli Lounge, Wyong, on November 1. Hear their single ‘You Gotta Go’ at myspace.com/chasethesunband
Michael Franti
MICHAEL FRANTI SPEARS CIVIC THEATRE Michael Franti is bringing his band Spearhead to Newcastle’s Civic Theatre on October 12. A truly amazing live act, Spearhead fuse practically every genre - reggae, roots, hip-hop, funk - into an infectious explosion of feel-good vibes. He’ll be playing tunes from his new album All Rebel Rockers. Tickets are $50 and available now through Ticketek.
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Super Massive
MORE SUNDAY FUNDAZE AHEAD Thank God for warm weather! Newcastle’s favourite Sunday afternoon, Sunday Fundaze, is returning on October 26, 2008, at the Clarendon Hotel, Hunter Street, Newcastle. The line-up features Rye Rye from Baltimore, USA, along with local favourite Kato, Dan De Caires, Sol, Wellfair, Ned Kelly and Fizz. Tickets are $15 pre-sale or $20 on the door. Sunday Fundaze usually sell out, so don’t hesistate in buing a ticket! Available at the venue.
GET THE PICTURE? All girl act Girl In The Picture will be representing the Hunter Region this October, when they take the stage in the State Final of the National Campus Band Competition. After taking out the Local Final in style with their refreshing and diverse sounds the girls are preparing to battle it out at Sydney University’s Manning Bar. Go along and support them at the University of Sydney’s Manning Bar on October 9, 2008.
CUT COPY CLEAN UP IN NEWIE Cut Copy are returning to Newcastle Panthers on Friday November 21, 2008, with support from End Of Fashion, Cassette Kids, Modern Joy, Modular DJs and our home town lad, Kato. Entry is completely free. Sounds too good to be true? There must be a catch? Of course there is! Cut Copy are performing as a part of the Time2rock campaign - a collaboration between Clean Up Australia and Sony Ericsson. To get a ticket to this massive show, all you have to do is donate two hours of your time to cleaning up our fair city. Time2rock Clean Up Australia events are taking place at Stockton Beach on Saturday October 11, 2008 (10am-2pm), Will Bower Reserve, Glendale, on Saturday October 25, 2008 (10am-2pm), Warners Bay Foreshore on Saturday November 1, 2008 (10am-2pm) and Speers Point Park on Saturday November 8, 2008 (10am2pm). It’s a small sacrifice to receive a ticket to the hottest party of the year, so get a group of mates together and spend two hours of your time cleaning up Australia! For more information, head to www. time2rock.com.au. Get involved!
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PNAU PLAY THE BREWERY If you need an excuse to spend New Year’s Eve at home and save those pennies, then look no further than the Queen’s Wharf Brewery this New Year’s Eve. Ringing in 2009 will be none other than Pnau, Bumblebeez, Snob Scrilla, Amez, Boogie, D*Steady & Matt Saxon. After nine years of New Year’s Eve celebrations at The Brewery, this year there’s a special offer for early bird arrivals, from 6.30pm until 8.30pm, ticket holders will be granted a free sausage sizzle and complimentary soft drink on arrival to the venue. Also as a reminder The Brewery is a fantastic vantage point to view the fireworks which take place at 9.00pm and Midnight. Tickets are on sale from 9am, Monday October 13, 2008. Price is $80 plus booking fee from the venue, or log on to www.qwb.com.au
NICK MILLIGAN TO GIVE TALK ON JOURNALISM Reverb Editor and YEN Music & Film Editor Nick Milligan will be giving a talk on music journalism at 2008’s A Major Music Expo, which is happening in conjunction with Newcastle Music Week. The 24 year-old editor has been published in Rolling Stone, YEN, Frankie, Smash Hits, Hotpress, The Newcastle Herald, Uturn, Opus, and of course, Reverb! Taking place on October 30 at Newcastle City Hall, the Expo is a must-see for anyone interested in making their way into the music industry, or simply brushing up on the local scene. For more information on the Expo’s schedule, head to www.newcastlemusicweek.com.au
Thy Art Is Murder
THY ART IS MURDER TO HEADLINE PUNK’N’GRIND One of the highlights of the Newcastle gig season is Punk’n’Grind, which takes place as a part of Newcastle Music Week. A free event in Newcastle’s Wheeler Place (next to The Civic Theatre), the show this year will feature Thy Art Is Murder, The Storm, Picturesque, Safe Hands, Point Break, and Liberation Front. The action kicks off from 3pm on Saturday October 25, 2008! Be there!
YOUTH GROUP & theredsunband ANNOUNCE TOUR Sydney bands, theredsunband and Youth Group are about to set off on a mammoth 18date co-headlining tour. The month long tour kicks off on October 16 at The Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle, and winds its way through five states and territories over four weeks. The history of the two bands has long been intertwined: theredsunband played their first gig with Lizzie Kelly on keyboards supporting Youth Group at the Hopetoun Hotel in 2002. Lizzie was 16 years old and travelling on a fake ID. The fun has continued with the two bands now heading out on tour together in a 12-seater bus, on equal billing, sharing beer and gear and even performing a special encore. Don’t miss out!
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SOCIAL SUMMER FESTIVAL ANNOUNCED of Trashbags is definitely pivotal in the festival as it is one of the most well known and trusted nightlife brands in Sydney. A lot of kids actually come down to our parties from the Central Coast and we have always been surprised that there are no similar events the area. The interest is definitely there. Why the Beachcomber Hotel? Initially we had a few venues in mind but we thought the Beachcomber best catered to the desired arrangement of the festival. It’s a perfect location, we love the views and we have been in contact with the venue for a while.
Huoratron Festivals appear to be all the rage at the moment. Big outdoor events that sellout before you can even get near the front of the queue. Turning this whole concept on its head is the Social Summer Festival to be held at the Beachcomber Hotel, Sunday 14th December. The first lineup announcement has been made, and it is the DJs we get to see. You get Huoratron (Finland), Autokratz (London), Mark Dynamix (Ministry of Sounds), Pomomofo, One Glove On, Redial and Trashbags POSSE DJs. More DJ’s are to be added plus all the live bands. Reverb has been given a glimpse at the band lineup, and it is pretty major. We had a chat with organiser Diego Tobar to get his thoughts. 15 DJs, live bands, 4 arenas, it’s a big undertaking. Why is the Central Coast ready for this? Our events have had such widespread success that we thought it would be an enjoyable experience to host some parties in other places. The involvement
Are there plans for a yearly event? Ideally we would love Social Summer Festival to be a seasonal event. We are really excited for Social Summer Festival and who knows, it may open up some doors we weren’t expecting! First release tickets go on sale October 13th for a tiny $30. Keep up to date with all the announcements at www.socialfest.com.au and myspace.com/ socialfest. Remember, get your tix early.
Mark Dynamix
BACK FOR NYE 2008
Local artists have always played a big part of the PRF, with 2008 being no exception. When asked about the artist applications, Matt Grant
(Festival and Creative Director) said “ideally submit it with a full demo or album as it is very difficult to get a good understanding of a band’s sound on only one or two tracks.” Take note everybody. The first lineup announcement has been made. Playing PRF 2008 so far are the following, Salmonella Dub (NZ), Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, Jon Cleary (USA), Frightened Rabbit (UK), Hawksley Workman (CAN), Master Khalil Gudaz, Monsieur
OFF THE SATELLITE Hello again, here’s our final update for you from Canada. So our time in Vancouver is coming to an end. It’s been an amazing year, we‘ve been so inspired by all the people we’ve met and the experiences we’ve had. We’ve travelled all over and seen things we only dreamed of in the past. It will be sad to leave because this place has become a second home for us. But we feel like we’ve definitely left a mark. We’ve played sold out headlining shows, travelled across the country to play festivals and made some awesome fans and friends. So I guess you’re wondering where we’ll be going next? Well, we’re coming home! Our record is getting released through MGM in Australia on October 18th so we’re
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The first ever Railway Blues music event in NSW is set for Saturday November 22, with all funds raised going to The Iris Foundation for Suicide Prevention. The concept of bringing a range of musicians together at the historic Richmond Railways Museum, Leggets Drive, Richmond Vale site is one that aims to bring back the days of families enjoying music together regardless of age. And steam train? Who doesn’t enjoy a slow ride on a steam train? Musicians will not only perform on stage, there will be some who will join passengers on the train rides. The line up includes Mojo Juju & The Snake Oil Merchants, Chase The Sun, Ghost Road, Gail Page & Parris Macleod, Glen Terry & Paul Robert Burton, Dan Granero, Dave Anderson, Bluetongue Blues Band, with more being announced shortly. Ticket prices are adult single, $25.00, child 5yr to 17yr, $15.00, concession, $20.00, family ticket 2 adults 2 children, $70.00. For more information, go to myspace.com/railwayblues08
Parkway Drive
PARKWAY DRIVE INDUCE SWEAT FEST
In news that will whip local heavy music fans into a frenzy, the aptly titled summer tour, “Sweat Fest” is coming to Newcastle Panthers on December 13, 2008. The line-up features Byron Bay’s Parkway Drive, US acts Suicide Silence, A Day To Remember, The Acacia Strain and Melbourne’s Confession. Spending the majority of 2008 abroad, including two US tours and a sold-out European tour, Parkway Drive will wind down the year with a national tour on home soil. Their last Newcastle date at Panthers sold out, and this will definitely be no exception. Tickets are available from the Panthers box office, Moshtix, The Rock Shop, Beaumont Street Beat and www. resistrecords.com
SOUNDWAVE 2009 : NIN, AIC
PEATS RIDGE FESTIVAL Following the cancellation of its 2007 installment, the Peats Ridge Sustainable Arts & Music Festival (PRF) returns to its home in the heart of the magnificent Glenworth Valley for three days of innovative festival magic from Monday 29 December 2008 through to Thursday 1 January 2009.
RAILWAY BLUES
Metal Nirvana arrived with the line-up announcement for Soundwave 2009. It’s enough to make an Emo boy cry. Artists confirmed are Nine Inch Nails, Alice In Chains, Bloodhound Gang, Scars On Broadway, Lamb Of God, Alkaline Trio, Billy Talent, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Face To Face, In Flames, Rival Schools, Anberlin, The Subways, Every Time I Die, Devildriver, Funeral For A Friend, Less Than Jake, Poison The Well, Madina Lake, New Found Glory, From First To Last, Bedouin Soundclash, Hellogoodbye, Finch, Goldfinger, Say Anything, Chiodos, Silverstein, Saves The Day, Lacuna Coil, 36 Crazyfists, Straylight Run, Evergreen Terrace, Minus The Bear, Moneen, Ace Enders (The Early November), I Am The Avalanche, Jaguar Love, Unearth, Bayside, Emery, Houston Calls, The Audition, Attack In Black, Innerpartysystem, Valencia, In This Moment, The Riverboat Gamblers, Alesana, Horse The Band, Maylene & The Sons Of Disaster. The blackness will be out Sunday Februray 22. Venue TBC
Camembert, Chain, Sparkadia, Jill Barber (CAN), Chris Kayana Gudu, Firekites, The Curse of Company, LJ Hill, Hey Rosetta (CAN), Mick Hart, The Blackwater Fever, Dead Letter Chorus, Skipping Girl Vinegar, Perry Keyes, The Winnie Coopers, Mark Pritchard Harmonic 313, The Bakery, Wagons, Papa vs Pretty, Dallas Frasca, Yen, Cuthbert and the Night Walkers, The Jezabels, Rumpunch. Only a few hundred left to be announced. This is a massive three days. Tickets on sale now and available at www. peatsridgefestival.com.au and www. moshtix.com.au
XAVIER RUDD PLAYS THE BLUES
Maybe more than any of his previous albums, Xavier Rudd’s Dark Shades of Blue is a balance of darkness and light. That’s what the Australian singer-songwriter/one-man band/ didgeridoo virtuoso hears in the disc. Plenty of each went into making the disc. Dark Shades of Blue is the first Rudd album in several years to be recorded in Australia. As a result, it bears the joy and peace of mind that comes with an often-touring artist that gets a chance to catch his breath. Rudd is warming up for a massive national tour to support the record. You can catch him at Newcastle Civic Theatre on Sunday November 9, 2008, with support from Dallas Frasca. Tickets available from the Civic Box Office or Ticketek.
coming home to support that and play for you guys. We’re all really excited to come back and see our loved ones and show you guys what we’ve been doing for the past 18 months. The single will be at radio and on TV soon so keep an ears and eyes open and please help us by requesting ‘Last Time’. The next six months will be super busy for us. We have a bunch of touring plans being finalised right now and we need to keep writing songs for our next record. Keep checking our website for more details on where and when we will be playing.
3 of our documentary are up on all our websites so check that out too. That’s it from us for now…we’ll see you in November! -The Satellite Nation Stop Press....The Satellite Nation @ Chilli Lounge 29 Nov
In other news, before flying back to Australia we will be making a stop in New York to play the CMJ Music Marathon, which is like New York SXSW. We’re one of only a handful of international acts that have been invited to play so we’re even more excited to get back to New York and to be part of the festival. New York was awesome in June and we’re sure it will be even better in October! We may also stop into LA to play a show or two. Episode 2 and
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AT THE STATIO THIS MONTH....
Wed oct 1 Hot girls, Crosscheck Fri Oct 3 This is not Part Festival Sat Oct 4 This is not Part Festival Sun Oct 5 Nicko in the Beer Garden from 3pm, NrL Grand final 5pm Wed Oct 8 Avenue of the Allies, The Haccelocks Sun Oct 12 Daniel Hughes, Jaron Holmes, Tim Crossey Wed Oct 15 Conquest for Death, Cut Sick, Shitfight, White Male Dumbinance Sun Oct 19 James Wiley, Jessica Cain, Nick Saxon Wed Oct 22 Iridium, Zero Logic, The Tim Crossey Band Sun Oct 26 Like.. Alaska (play all night from 8pm) Wed Oct 29 The Zillers, Watch the Left
Coming Soon
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just start clicking on ‘Random Article’ for a little while and read about obscure history or recipes. I don’t know what I’ll stumble on to! But that’s the wonderful, internetpowered world that I live in now. I’m into it.
The Man In Black As the singer and songwriter in seminal American rock band the Pixies, Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV aka Frank Black aka Black Francis, is perhaps the most influential songwriter of the modern era. Since the Pixies originally disbanded in 1993, Frank Black has recorded seventeen studio albums. However, his prolific output will be forever outweighed by the mammoth influence his songwriting has had on popular (and unpopular) music. A very wry-humoured and candid Black Francis spoke to Nick Milligan about his upcoming Australian solo tour, and why he’ll never rest on his laurels. Your last trip to Australia was when the Pixies had reformed and you played in Australia for the very first time (in 2007). Was it a weird experience to travel to a country you’d never been to and receive such an overwhelming response? Yeah, it had its moments. It was enjoyable. However, there were enough conflicts among the band at that time, while the shows were going on, that made it feel like the end of the band the first time (back in 1993). It just felt like the end. It was kind of like, “Yep, this is it. We’re going back to our more obscure lives.” (laughs) Since you started releasing your solo work, have you had a desire to distance yourself from the sound of the Pixies? I don’t really have enough artistic vision to say, “I want to sound like this or that.” There may be a desire on my part to be respected as a writer, or even to supersede the success of the Pixies. But that’s all ego... which I stand behind. There’s nothing wrong with ego, it’s a part of being a musician. You’ve gotta have some ego, and I’ve got plenty of it. But you get what you get – it’s showbiz. Maybe you get to escape the shadow of something you did before, maybe you don’t. I’m not going to become a dentist! I’m in it to win it, on whatever
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level. I’m making money as a musician, so I have nothing to complain about. I didn’t start out (in music) saying, “Ok, I am going to rule the world. I am going to be the most important rock singer there ever was. I’m going to be the biggest thing ever! That’s my goal!” That wasn’t my goal! I just wanted to be in a cool, f*#king rock band, write some music, make some records and play in some clubs - take whatever show business has to offer me. So it’s mission accomplished. I’ve had complete artistic freedom since I became a musician about 22, 23 years ago. No one has ever told me any different. I’ve never signed a contract that dictated what I had to do. I can do whatever I want! I’m a f*#king artist! (laughs) I can never understand when I read about other bands that say, “Oh well, we had to do it because the record company told us to blah blah blah.” What the hell are they talking about? That has not been my experience. I don’t think anybody told Bob Dylan what to do!
You’re very prolific compared to other solo artists – do you become discontent when you’re not making a new record? I think that’s what it is – I’m just restless or something. I want to make music and I don’t want to sit around and analyse it to death. I know I occupy a niche – I’m not going to sit there and think, “Right, I really need to make a record that’s going to bring me to the next level.” I’ve done that stupid game and it doesn’t work for me. It’s not what makes me feel creative or vital. It might work for other people to move in that spirit, but for me it just rubs me the wrong way. I want to express myself and do it. I don’t want to sit around and wonder if something is going to get on the radio. I mean, c’mon, let’s just make some music. Do you try to avoid doing the same thing twice? No, I don’t even have any rules about that. I’ve got no rules. I just want to make music. I admire someone like Mark E Smith from The Fall. Let the fucker go! I’m not going to sit around and listen to every one of those fucking records (laughs), but I appreciate it. There’s someone that’s saying, “Fuck it, man. I’m going to express myself whether people love it or not. Sometimes it will be beautiful and resonate with most people. Other times it won’t.” [Mark E Smith] does it because he does it. I like that and I appreciate that. I appreciate other people who have a lot of artistic vision and contemplate. They’ll say, “I’m only
going to make a record every two or three years. I’m really going to think about it and construct it.” That’s just how they work. Some people make demos and sketches, and work on it in what I consider to be a tedious fashion. Other people are like, “Go! Put it into record. Woo!” They just blurt it all out. I understand both [approaches] and both are valid. I just happen to be more the type that doesn’t contemplate something for a couple of years. The music you made over 20 years ago with the Pixies has been embraced by a legion of new kids – why is that? It’s real, it’s not contrived. Whatever is pretentious about it, is pretentious in a heart-felt way. When I was being pretentious, it was in a sweet way and it’s passionate. It wasn’t like I was saying that we were great – to the people out there, I was just like they were, but I was in a band. People could still relate. I think the Pixies’ music had a lot of soul, that isn’t in mainstream music. I’m not saying all mainstream music is like that, but a lot of it is lacking in the soul department. Being young and naive had a lot to do with it too. You can only be young and naive once, before you’re just old. The Pixies was a short burst of creativity. It’s the first band I was ever in! So, it really represented this quick burst of creativity from some people that didn’t really know what they were doing. When that correlation happens, cool stuff happens. You only get that once – that’s not to say that you can’t be something else and do other things later in life, but you’re only in that virginal place at one time. Black Francis performs at The Metro Theatre on Friday October 3, 2008. Svn Fngrs is out now through Shock.
You’re currently promoting a mini album called Svn Fngrs. I believe the title is referencing a hero from Irish mythology called Cúchulainn – what made you choose that subject matter? Well, the concept of the mini-album is ‘Demi-Gods’. Cúchulainn is featured twice on the session, but there are songs about other Demi-Gods, and other subject matter, which through my artistic licence I have determined to be ‘Demi-Godish’ (laughs). Some songs are about an actual demi-god, while others are relating us to the concept of a demi-god in a different sort of way. But how did I come upon this? Do you ever go to Wikipedia? Well, if you look in the left hand column, you will see the ‘random search’ choice. I believe it’s called ‘Random Article’. I must have clicked on it for 45 minutes. It wasn’t like I just chose the first thing that came up! I still haven’t found what I’m looking for! (sings, referencing the U2 song) There I was, clicking away. “No, no, no, maybe, no, no, maybe, no no... ah Demi-Gods! Of course! Tell me more about these Demi-Gods” (laughs). I don’t know why some things appeal to you, but on that particular evening I had contemporary writer’s block – I was under a little bit of pressure. There was the ‘Random Article’ button! Maybe I’ll try it again some time. That’s the kind of guy I am. When the wife and the kids have gone to sleep, I might
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2DA %-',% 2- &#** 2KQN
CHASETHESUN
2008 Tour Dates 8th October The Hoey Moey Coffs Harbour 17th October* The Old Manly Boatshed Manly 18th October* The Clarendon Guesthouse Katoomba 19th October* The Wickham Park Hotel Newcastle 30th October* The Vanguard Newtown 1st November IN STORE Mall Music, Warringah Mall Brookvale 1st November* The Chilli Lounge, The Grand Hotel Wyong 2nd November The Beaches Hotel Thirroul 16th November The Seaview Tavern Woolgoolga *With special guests The Bluezone
Debut self-titled album available through MGM distribution
Australian Blues Awards group of the year 2007 www.myspace.com/chasethesunband info@reverbstreetpress.com - 02 4929 4739
edition 027 - Oct 08 - 17
in really shit bands (laughs) and toured around and done crap shows and played to no one - we’ve all done that. This band has just been overnight, it took off very quickly, we got signed on our fourth gig, and recorded and released an EP and we were kinda in the Top 40 about six months after our first show. But yeah it did happen really quickly! (laughs)
THE
KIDS
ARE ALRIGHT...
Already earning themselves fans Worldwide with their catchy electropop single, ‘When We Were Kids’, The Galvatrons are set to begin their Australian tour, as well as playing with such legends of rock as Def Leppard and Cheap Trick. These are the choice words of lead singer Johnny, as he took time to talk to Ashleigh Gray about the band, their growing popularity, and what it was like to meet Justin Hawkins of The Darkness. So you guys trekked to the UK recently - how did that go? Yeah sweet! We went over to the UK to play some festivals over there. [We did] the Download Festival which is like a mega heavy metal festival. In Flames, Children Of Bohdem, Testament, Kiss, Bullet For My Valentine [were there], you know a lot of real heavy metal bands and I’ve rocked up in a red t-shirt and a red jacket, and I was the only dude who wasn’t wearing black out of about 80,000 people! (laughs) But
when we went on stage, there’d already been two bands bottled off! I thought we were going to be killed! (laughs) But it went over quite well. And no bottles! Not one! (laughs)
What’s it like being the lead guy in a band? Do you think there’s more pressure or do you just milk it for everything it’s worth? (laughs) Well I’ve been in quite a few bands and this is the first band where I’ve been the singer. I wouldn’t say we’re at the point in our career where’s there’s a lot of pressure. I mean, we’re making the album at the moment, but no one knows who we are, so there’s no expectation from the media or general public.
So who would you say are the most memorable/famous people you’ve met so far? We went to London in February, which is like four months after we played our first gig, and we were playing this showcase gig in a little crappy club in London, and turned around at the bar and there’s Justin Hawkins from The Darkness. And I was about to go, “Oh, you’re Justin Hawkins from The Darkness!” and he goes, “Oh, you’re in The Galvatrons?” And I was like ‘Oh...my...god’! (laughs). And then I hugged him and wouldn’t let go! Did they have to call security, Johnny? Nah nah nah... well, yeah they did. (laughs) The Galvatrons play with Def Leppard and Cheap Trick on Thursday November 6, 2008.
Who else was a major influence on you when you were growing up? I guess The Galvatrons is, kind of, more soundtrack inspired than specifically ‘band’ inspired. The whole idea, the name of the band and everything, is from the 1986 Transformers film soundtrack. I just think a lot of that energy, ridiculousness and polar extremes of that kind of music is personified in the soundtracks of those classic films. I think our songs are very visual. The cinematic quality that comes with that music is something that really inspires me. So the cinema of the time seems to influence us more than the music. It seems like you guys have surfaced overnight - has it been easy or hard to gain exposure? Well, yes and no. I mean we’ve all played
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020 Primary’s sound? Warm and punchy bottom end, synth-hooks suitable for deep sea fishing, epic spaces, poetry, love, chaos.
S R U O L O C Y R PRIMA
A growing list of Australian electro bands have been dominating the local music industry and gaining international recognition. Grafton Primary’s debut album, Eon, might find them mentioned alongside Midnight Juggernauts and The Presets. Noah Cross spoke to singer Josh Garden. Are you looking forward to coming to Newcastle for the Fat As Butter festival? Definitely! We have only played one other show in Newcastle and it went off, so I expect another level of madness this time around. Hopefully we can all party and feel something real. Why did you choose the
name ‘Grafton Primary’? We were both born in Grafton and evidently leaving there halfway through our primary schooling had a catastrophic effect on our psyches, and the name is a symptom. Did you have a clear idea of what you wanted you new album, Eon, to sound like? I
Sarah Humphreys
REVERB COASTAL MUSIC FESTIVAL Here on the Central Coast, music is all around us. Coastfest and Coaster have just been played, and at the end of the year, the Peats Ridge Festival is back at Glenworth Valley. In the middle of all this, Reverb is proud to have put its name to a festival that is no less important, the Reverb Coastal Music Festival. To be held at Kantara House, Kincumber on Sunday October 19, it is a celebration of the musical talent we have here on the Coast. Reverb asked a number of the performers a simple question, “What is it about the Central Coast that makes it a special place for a Musician?” Sarah Humphreys I like the slow pace and it’s a place for me to relax, spend time with my beautiful family and write music. I like that there’s not that much to do. It means you have to be creative and imaginative! I like the fact that we all support each other as artists and that all of us are friends - that friendship and camaraderie keeps us all grounded and humble.
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think we had a clear idea of what we wanted the songs to sound like as we were writing them, but as an overall album, it really came together in the few months before release, as the vision took hold, invading our every waking and dreaming moment. What would you say are the defining aspects of Grafton
Is there a particular album that has had the most influence on Grafton Primary? Not really. One of the reasons we waited so long to release Eon was because we wanted to be able to say that we had crafted something unique to us. Not to say that we haven’t in any way been influenced by other artists, but I could argue I’ve been equally influenced by the ocean or the smell of thai food. Has your sound evolved a lot since you first started making music as Grafton Primary? Definitely. In the same way as we have evolved a lot as people. Making music is about feel, but it’s also a craft, and in both, we know, feel and are capable of much more than when we started out. What can people expect from a live Grafton Primary set? Energy, colour, flamboyance, keytar theatrics, sweat, spirit, electronics. Why was ‘Eon’ the most appropriate name for the album? A number of reasons. It suggests
the scale we are trying for with the music – a huge expanse of time condensed into 56 minutes. Eon is an anagram of ‘One’ - hence our debut album. It has three letters and there are three of us in the band. It evokes a certain feeling, at a certain time in history. Lyrically, what sort of themes can people find on your new album? Order versus chaos. Light versus dark. Cycles of time and space, time, life, death and rebirth. Beauty, horror. Silence. These are all things I am deeply involved with right now, and I believe there is no-one on earth who cannot say they do not understand these things. Whether they think about them is another matter. Can you tell us a particularly weird or disturbing fact about Grafton Primary? Quite often, on tour, we eat ‘Vital Greens’, a powder made of all kinds of ‘superfoods’ and plants. It doesn’t get you high, it just adds to your well being and health and gives you a healthy green glow of satisfaction. Why is this disturbing? Well, we’re a band! Catch Grafton Primary at the Fat As Butter festival, Newcastle, at Nobby’s Beach on Sunday November 2, 2008. Eon is available now through Shiny.
Chris Taylor The coast is the coast. It’s special in its own right. As a song writer, you’re never really short of inspiring places to sit and play, you know. As a musician on the coast, its different in that it feels like you have an entire community behind you. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Yeah!
Abrie I reckon it’s the fact that people on the coast are into music and art for the sake of music and art, and not for the potential “glamour” of the industry. They’re all about honesty, support, loyalty, encouragement and the love of music and art..
Lianna Rose Central Coast is special to me as a musician for one main reason, diversity. Lots of musical colour, all genres, all ages, loads of talent and a healthy support from fellow musicians. Lots of originality and encouragement to step outside the square! Beautiful people, beautiful weather, beautiful environment, beautiful music! Love it!
Nick and Liesl I think it’s special being a songwriter on the central coast because you can get inspiration from such a wide range of experiences from the outdoor lifestyle, from the remoteness of the bush to the vastness of the ocean, from environmental or social issues, whether they’re good or bad.
Lenore Bower – Ocea’s Meld The Coast seems to be a very nurturing area for local, original music. With the likes of Brian & Jo Lizzote’s ‘Live & Locals’, Ben Roberts and his ‘Live & Originals’, Yianni Johns’ ‘Smart Arts on ABC Radio’, Andrea from ‘Brackets and Jam’ as well of plenty of support from coast audiences, restaurants and musicians, it’s never hard to find yourself with a busy gig diary, even if you’re just hobbyists like us. The media on the coast is also very supportive of local music and with Reverb onboard with what’s happening around the coast, it seems the sky is the limit for musos on the sunny Central Coast.
Brett O’Malley - Organiser and Artist Having already played at a similar event [at Kantara House] a couple of years ago, I knew how perfect the venue is for this type of event. I basically look at it as a day to get together with some of my musical friends, play some music, enjoy listening to everyone else’s, and just enjoy everyone’s company for a day. What we have is an amazing bill which will give punters a day of music that will keep them highly entertained from start to finish. The Reverb Coastal Music Festival will be held on Sunday October 19 at Kantara House, Kincumber. Artists perfoming include Abrie, Lounge Act, Chontia and the New Colours, Chris Taylor, Sarah Humphreys, Brett O’Malley, Nick and Liesl, Ocea’s Meld, Dale Willis, Joshua Koutoulas and Lianna Rose. Tix are only $15.
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fine food with a musical mood
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Thursday, 2 October 2008 Mick Hart w/ Nic Walkinshaw - $18 Friday, 3 October 2008 Holly Throsby - $22 Saturday, 4, Sunday, 5 October 2008 John Paul Young - $99.50 Wednesday 8 October 2008
REVERB presents Live & Local - $12.50
Thursday, 9 October 2008 Rock Quiz - $10 Friday, 10 October 2008
Jenny Marie Lang - $20
Saturday, 11 October 2008 Adam Harvey - $95 Sunday, 12 October 2008
The Blues Preachers- $15 Wednesday, 15 October 2008
REVERB presents Live & Local - $12.50
Thursday, 16 October 2008
The Sunny Cowgirls - $25 Friday, 17 October 2008 Tim Freedman w/ Ash Mannix - $99.50 Sunday, 19 October 2008 Guitar Heroes - $25 Wednesday, 22 October 2008
REVERB presents Live & Local - $12.50
Thursday, 23 October 2008 Renee Geyer - $99.50 Friday, 24 October 2008 George Smilovici - $69.50 Sunday, 26 October 2008 Ami Williamson - $20 Wednesday, 29 October 2008
REVERB presents Live & Local - $12.50
Thursday, 30 October 2008
Karl Brodie, Nick and Liesl, and Daxton - $20
Friday, 31 October 2008
Monica Trapaga Goes To Rehab - $75
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cd reviews
022
FEATURE ALBUMS
TILLY AND THE WALL
o Dew-Process 3.5/5
BEN FOLDS
Way To Normal SonyBMG
4/5 It should be noted that Ben Folds went through a divorce not long before writing this album. The ‘male perspective’ on relationship break-ups is explored on the songwriter’s latest offering and Folds certainly doesn’t pull any punches. However, one musn’t mistake his jaded sense of humour on tracks like ‘Bitch Went Nuts’ and ‘Errant Dog’. Most of this album is pure, piano-based power-pop, with the trademark dose of ‘Brick’-esque melancholy and reflection on ‘Cologne’. Opening track ‘Hiroshima’ is more than a little nod to Elton John. ‘Effington’ is as humourous as it is infectiously catchy. On ‘You Don’t Know Me’, Folds duets beautifully with Regina Spektor and it makes for sublime listening. Existing fans of Folds’ music should love this as much as the uninitiated. Nick Milligan
Who needs drums when you’ve got a pair of tap shoes and a hard wood floor? Tilly and the Wall’s interesting choice of percussion – tapping, stomping and hand claps – is a stroke of genius, injecting incredible vitality into a series of songs that, while catchy, would not have been half as much fun otherwise. Tracks like ‘Tall Tall Grass’ have a simple lyricism, but it’s the massive pounding beats of others like ‘Pot Kettle Black’ that are the real strength of this album. Hugh Milligan
AMANDA PALMER
Who Killed Amanda Palmer Roadrunner 4.5/5
V2/Shock 4.75/5 OK, you can pick me up off the floor now. Snowflake Midnight is an utter surprise that I just did not expect. Mercury Rev have reinvented themselves with the use of electronica while keeping their renowned atmospheric textures. The six minute ‘People Are So Unpredictable’ begins with Jonathan Donahue’s vocals adrift on a minimal piano pattern, then drums crash in joined by pulsing electro. Following a return to vocals and keys, all hell breaks loose. Massive distorted rhythms, and all this in the first three minutes. What follows is a weightless coda drifting to its conclusion. It is this balance of opposites that is the most impressive. Mercury Rev are back. Album of the Year!!! Kevin Bull
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Remote Control 4/5
TV On The Radio have developed a skill for polarising their listeners. Previous albums have mixed moments of melodic brilliance with less accessible rhythmic soundscapes. But this is TV On The Radio’s mission statement - they’re turning conceptual and visual elements into an audible experience. You just need to have a finely tuned antennae to pick up their signal. Dear Science opens with the warm, kinetic pop of ‘Halfway Home’ before the channels are changed to ‘Crying’ a Prince meets Beck slice of sexy, disco-funk. The uber-slick ‘Red Dress’ is a definite highlight, while more trippedout excursions like ‘Shout Me Out’ provide a breath of fresh air. Dear Science is TOTR at their best and most accessible. Noah Cross
THE SOUND OF ANIMALS FIGHTING The Ocean and The Sun Epitaph/Shock 4.5/5
At times she conjures the heartbroken murmurs and screams of PJ Harvey, at others the guttural tirades of Eleanor Friedberger, but Amanda Palmer nevertheless creates a sound (and an emotional drama) that is very much her own in this, her first solo album. With shrieking brass, groaning strings and crashing piano she roars unabashedly in anthems such as ‘Leeds United’, while in songs like ‘Blake Says’ she resigns herself to bitter melancholy. So who killed her? Personally, I think ol’ Polly Jean clubbed her to death with a mike stand in a dimly lit backstage bathroom. Hugh Milligan
COLD WAR KIDS
BRENDAN CANNING
Shock
Spunk/EMI
3.5/5
Snowflake Midnight
Dear Science
This Californian five-piece are considered ‘progressive rock’ and that’s a loose enough term to use on them. There’s a male and female vocalist (their interaction echoes of Black Mountain), there’s weird electronic soundscapes, deliberately illusive time signature changes and massive rock-metal explosions that nearly blow the speakers apart. In other words, they’re impossible to pigeonhole and even harder to describe. While they seem very deliberate in their unpredictability, the power of their arrangements, dynamics and musicianship is stunning. By third track ‘I, the Swan’, TSOAF have made their intent clear. Dare to listen. Noah Cross.
Loyalty To Loyalty
MERCURY REV
TV ON THE RADIO
On their debut album, Robbers & Cowards, California four-piece Cold War Kids struck a chord with indie-kids looking for a fresh reinvention of Southern delta-blues and 70s Americana rock. Loyalty To Loyalty is much of the same - consistent in sound, vivid in lyrical imagery, dark and archaic - and spacious - in its production. Singer Nathan Willett’s piercing, yet fragile vocals slide across swampy arrangements, that stagger and stumble, rather than walking upright. Bar room piano gives the songs an immediacy and balances the otherwise raw nature of the songs. A safe, but strong follow-up. Noah Cross
YO MAJESTY
Futuristically Speaking...Never Be Afraid Domino/EMI
3.5/5
Yo Majesty are Shunda K and Jwl B - two ladies from Tampa, Florida, who mix hardcore hip-hop with layers of indie-electro. Using sexually-infused lyrics, the duo are turning the tables on a male-dominated industry. Shunda K opens the album with her aggressive raps - “Do you want to fight me?” - while Jwl B sings behind her with soaring soul vocals. ‘Night Riders’ is a stand-out tribute to the all-night party kids out there. The mix of rap and vocal melodies makes a potent cocktail. Shunda K can flow with the best of them, which becomes abundantly apparent by ‘Blame It On The Change’. Don’t mess with Yo Majesty. Noah Cross
Something For All Of Us... 4/5
We were promised this album when Canning’s fellow Broken Social Scene vocalist Kevin Drew released Spirit If.... Broken Social Scene Presents: Brendan Canning, is a far more eclectic mix than Drew’s (as the album title suggests). From the swamp disco of ‘Love Is New’ to the hushed lo-fi folk of ‘Snowballs & Icicles’, Canning keeps the listener guessing. There’s a large reliance on vocal effects and distortion, but these studio antics don’t detract from the pureness of his melodies. ‘Churches Under The Stairs’ is an uptempo, chiming piece of post-pop, while ‘Hit The Wall’ is a Sonic Youth/ Dinosaur Jr inspired ball of fuzz. Changing hats from DJ to 90s shoegazer, Canning’s collection is an immersive experience. Noah Cross
KAISER CHIEFS
Off With Their Heads Liberation 3.5/5 On their eagerly awaited third album, British pop-rockers Kaiser Chiefs prove that their infectious first and second albums were more than luck. They can craft immediately engaging pop tracks and in the modern musical landscape, their sound is instantly recognisable. Off With Their Heads is more reserved than previous outings - it’s less rock and more 80s twee-pop. Tracks like ‘Good Days Bad Days’ would make XTC proud, while Duran Duran will smirk at first single ‘Never Miss A Beat’ (which features vocal assistance from Lily Allen and New Young Pony Club). Current fans will lap up the guitar work, but this record requires multiple listens to be fully appreciated. Noah Cross
SLOAN
Parallel Play Fuse Music 4/5 Within the genre of power-pop, Canadians Sloan are experts. Timeless guitar-driven stabs that have you singing along with the first listen, and don’t feel tired with multiple plays. Following the 30 track, 80 minute monster that was 2007’s Never Hear The End Of It, Parallel Play is tighter, more refined, and clocks in at 37 minutes. Each track is crafted perfectly. All four members of Sloan contribute equally to the songwriting, giving the collection a wonderful change of pace. It is like being in a pop confection shop with a bag full of mixed lollies. You know that no matter want you pull out, it’s going to be tasty. If you have not discovered the joy of Sloan, do it now. Kevin Bull
HK119
Fast, Cheap And Out Of Control
One Little Indian 4/5 HK 119 (the sultry cybernetic persona of Heidi Kilpelainen) is here to show mankind a vision of our technologically driven future, and Fast, Cheap And Out Of Control pretty much sums it up. With pumping electronic beats and twisted melodies, she makes cynical statements on cloning, cryonics, social dictatorship, genetic engineering, consumerism and mass media. The sound is both robotic and wild, much like HK 119 herself, and while it occasionally runs on a little more style than substance, the energy never lets up. Hugh Milligan
JOSH PYKE
JUANA MOLINA
Ivy League 4/5
Domino/EMI
Chimey’s Afire The name of Josh Pyke’s new offering comes from the catch cry of ancient whalers, when their harpoon would send plumes of blood into the air. With a maritime theme, Chimey’s Afire continues the singer’s interest in rustic and historic subject matter, accentuated with particularly nostalgic and wistful melodies. There’s a beautiful ebb and flow to Pyke’s lulling folk - this feels like the brother album to Sarah Blasko’s What The Sea Wants. Less poporientated and more haunting instrumentation makes songs like ‘The Summer’ an instant gem. This is a lingering record and definitely Pyke’s best work. Nick Milligan
Un Día 4/5
It’s difficult to describe the unusual hybrid of styles in Un Día. Molina’s vocals are almost tribal chants, with lurking bass lines that evoke dark jungles. It’s reminiscent of Miho Hatori’s Ecdysis, a hypnotic blend of African percussion, electronic effects and wraithlike melodies. Every song is gentle and richly layered – this is easy listening at its easiest. Molina’s voice is undeniably alluring, and the tracks are lengthy enough that you can simply close your eyes and lose yourself in the lush wilderness she creates. Hugh Milligan
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Pnau
023
cd reviews ALBUM OF THE MONTH
KINGS OF LEON
Only By The Night SonyBMG 4.5/5 Watching the evolution of Kings Of Leon has been one of the most satisfying experiences of modern rock. They appeared on the scene as a band of bearded brothers (and one cousin), who had a dark and mysterious pentacostal past and a dangerous and raw sound - like four men entering a room and picking up instruments for the first time.
‘On Call’ cemented the band’s fame in Australia and Europe, as well as seeing them finally crack their home, American market. However, Because Of The Times was still very much a rock album. There were slower, anthemic moments, but tracks like ‘Charmer’ and ‘Black Fingernail’ showed that the Followill boys were still content to roll in the muddiest of rock and blues.
Their first two albums, Youth and Young Manhood and Aha Shake, Heartbreak, both drew upon their southern rock and gospel influences, Singer Caleb Followill was growing as a vocalist - his aching drawl was unmistakable.
Just over a year later arrives the fourth Kings Of Leon record, Only By The Night. Taking the slow, soaring ethos of ‘On Call’, the group has headed further in this direction. Decreasing the tempo has forced the band to seek subtlety in their melodies and instrumentation.
Their 2007 album Because Of The Times, we a concerted effort by the four-piece to move towards more spacious, epic stadium rock.
From the tangled love story of ‘17’ to the direct, euphoric rock of single
‘Sex On Fire’, Only By The Night feels like Kings Of Leon’s most assured album - the work of a band that is discovering themselves, rather than re-inventing themselves. This release also marks Kings Of Leon’s new found ability to craft a fluid, cohesive album, rather than putting out their latest collection of buzzing, Southern swagger. The tone is firmly set by opener ‘Closer’, with its vast, hollow production and pulsing electronic backbone. ‘Crawl’ sees the band upsize their songwriting, keeping their love of 70s blues-rock intact, but encouraging us to look past our preconceptions of them as bearded boozers. Kings Of Leon have grown into a truly important group. A promise fulfilled. Nick Milligan
THE DATSUNS Headstunts
Speak n Spell 3.5/5 The Datsuns only know one way, and that’s straight ahead, foot-to-the-floor energy. Within 20 seconds of the opening cut, ‘Cruel Cruel Fate’, the intensions are clear. It is hooky, driving rock that will be perfect in the pubs. ‘Human Error’ is relentless in its pace, as is ‘So Long’. ‘Eye of the Needle’ brings the tempo and volume down for a menacing extended intro before cranking it up. Songs like this and the eight-minute guitar frenzy ‘Someone Better’, bring a depth of colour to what is essentially a raw, full-force rock and roll album. If you like your rock fast and sweaty, look no further than Headstunts. Kevin Bull
info@reverbstreetpress.com - 02 4929 4739
Wall Of Sound
4/5 Despite instrumental music often being hit-and-miss in its quality, you can’t help but admire the bravery required to not follow the convention of a lead singer. Since their inception in 1995, Scottish five-piece Mogwai have indeed proven that you can engage an audience without the immediacy of vocals. Using the tools of shoegaze, ambience and post-rock, the lads have created another beautifully layered and surging collection of songs. They’re threaded together with twirling melodies that float throughout the walls of distortion and fuzzy instrumentation. Songs rise and fall, and swell in intensity - tracks like ‘The Sun Smells Too Loud’ feel effortlessly beautiful. Nick Milligan
THE WALKMEN You & Me Etch n Sketch 4/5
New York City’s The Walkmen return with another soulful set of Bob Dylan-esque folk-rock and blues, with the sparse, ambling arrangements of the 60s. Hamilton Leithauser’s anguished vocals soar across the always emotional, chiming delivery of each track. ‘In The New Year’ is a timeless piece - as sorrowful as it is uplifting - rolling and swirling on drifting waves of organ. You & Me will appeal to your parents (especially if they’ve got Eric Burdon or Procal Harum in the vinyl collection), but you’d be doing yourself a favour to grab a copy. Noah Cross
LADYHAWKE Self-Titled Modular 4.5/5 Ladyhawke, aka New Zealand songstress Pip Brown, has been waiting for the right moment to swoop. Travelling the world to collaborate with different songwriters (after leaving Teenager, which she shared with Pnau’s Nick Littlemore), Ladyhawke has come up with an undeniably gorgeous electropop masterpiece. Brown mines the caverns of 80s electro-pop and 70s disco-glam to come up with sexy, seductive and sultry dance anthems. There’s slick Bangles-inspired numbers like ‘Manipulating Woman’ and the swirling, space-age melody of ‘Crazy World’. Some tunes are more in the vein of the Eurythmics or even Depeche Mode. The singles, ‘Back Of The Van’ and ‘Paris Is Burning’ are unforgettable. No matter the influence, Ladyhawke will sweep you away. Nick Milligan
Hear Music
Independent 4.5/5
Wells has achieved international recognition
FEATURE ALBUMS
Life Death Love and Freedom
Until The End
Mark Wells isn’t trying to re-invent the rock wheel, nor does he rely on misplaced experimentation. He a gifted craftsmen, using melodic hooks and tried-but-true pop-song structures. In other words, Wells is a born rock star.
The Hawk Is Howling
JOHN MELLENCAMP
MARK WELLS recently as a country songwriter, but the Newcastle-based artist cut his teeth in rock band Supersonic. Until The End is Wells’ return to familiar territory and acts a showcase for his ability. There’s a re-worked version of the Supersonic track ‘In Your Room’, and a rock version of ‘Big Skies’, which was co-written with local country star Morgan Evans (Evans’
MOGWAI
4/5 version has been released through SonyBMG). ‘Gonna Make It’ falls at the dirtier end of Wells’ rock spectrum, while ‘The Hermit’ is effortlessly catchy. There are personal nuances to each lyric and absolutely no filler across these thirteen solid tracks. Oh, and ‘FPD’ is nothing short of genius. Nick Milligan
FORESHADOWED The City Lockout Independent
4/5 The City Lockout is a release that brings with it mixed emotion. On one hand, it’s a powerful and stirring EP by one of Newcastle’s finest hard rock/metal acts. On the other hand, it’s a posthumous release by Foreshadowed, who broke up on its release. The City Lockout is a fine recording, capturing the group’s broad sound. Justin Humphries’ massive voice plays over Tim Zilla’s monstrous guitar and the crashing rhythm section provided by bassist Grant Gibbons and drummer Ben Smith. Inspired by the greats - Sabbath, Maiden et al - Foreshadowed always had the chops, but they just may have been born in the wrong era. Nick Milligan
This is not an attempt for chart success, those days are behind Mellencamp and he knows it. It is a serious folk-blues statement of brutal honesty from a man who is old enough to have the scars. The title of this release gives a clear indication of the themes inside, and if it was not for the quality of the music and production, the message would be lost. It is a sparse and dark experience that leaves the listener questioning their own path. This is where Mellencamp succeeds, by giving you a total experience, rather than a three-minute fist-in-the air rocker. If Mellencamp continues like this, he may not trouble the Top 40, but he will create a legacy that is worth a lot more. Kevin Bull
YOU AM I Dilettantes EMI
3.5/5 Firstly, this is not the angry scream of Convicts, it is more the feeling you have once your temper subsides. There are very few occasions within these 12 tracks that Tim Rogers’ voice really lets fly. It is more tempered, and that is the beauty of Dilettantes. To be honest, there is a touch of The Temperance Union. Rogers is a masterful songwriter and a mighty wordsmith, proven again here. ‘Erasmus’ is a joyous romp, ‘The Boy’s Angry At The Water’ poignant and moving, and ‘Givin’ Up and Gettin’ Fat’ is one on the few times where the band lets rip. Solid You Am I. If you are fan, you will not be disappointed. Kevin Bull
THE MOFFS The Collection
Shock/Feel Presents 4.5/5 With one full length album, a mini album, and a number of singles being the extent of The Moffs released material, it could be considered overly ambitious to present a double CD of their material. You would be sorely wrong. Simply titled The Collection, this is a glorious slice of 60s psychedelia played from the inner-city streets of Sydney during the 80’s. ‘Another Day in the Sun’ and ‘The Meadowsong’ are full of melancholy, and hit a nerve. ‘I’ll Lure You In’ has the Pink Floyd soundscape happening, and the near eight minutes of ‘Stealing Cake to Eat the Moon’ is ambitious and grand. Atmospheric glory from a band who should be revered and praised. Kevin Bull
edition 027 - Oct 08 - 23
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Wednesday 1 October Cambridge Hotel Bright Yellow + Six and Sevens Hamilton Station Hotel Hot Girls + Crosscheck Lizottes, Kincumber Bob Corbett EP launch + Sam Buckingham + Kim Dewar + Sarah Humphreys
Thursday 2 October Cambridge Hotel My Disco Lizottes, Kincumber Mick Hart + Nic Walkinshaw
Tuesday 7 October Metro Theatre Joan As Police Woman
Wednesday 8 October Cambridge Hotel Empire Burlesque + Realhorrorshow Djs Chilli Lounge, Wyong Carpathian + Shipwreck AD (USA) Hamilton Station Hotel Avenue of the Allies + The Haccelocks Lass O’Gowrie Hotel Mojo Juju and the Snake Oil Merchants Lizottes, Kincumber Holly Clayton + Adam Miller + Steve Smillie and Simone Hartman
Thursday 9 October Cambridge Hotel Carpathian + Shipwreck AD (USA) + Hollow Lizottes, Kincumber Rock Quiz
Supergrass
Friday 3 October Cambridge Hotel This Is Not Art Diggers @ the Entrance The Sunpilots + Bec Willis Forum, Sydney Supergrass Gaelic Club Futureheads Hamilton Station Hotel The Is Not Part Festival Hunter Valley Brewery, Maitland Hard Ons Lizottes, Kincumber Holly Throsby Metro Theatre Black Francis
Saturday 4 October Beachcomber Hotel, Toukley The Paki Bros Belmont Sailing Club The Whitlams Blackbox Dead Riot + Old Kent Road + Liberation Front Cambridge Hotel This Is Not Art Enmore Theatre Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band Forum, Sydney Supergrass Hamilton Station Hotel The Is Not Part Festival Hunter Valley Brewery, Maitland Sublime CD launch Laycock Theatre Deep Blue Lizottes, Kincumber John Paul Young Lucky Country Hotel Dead Riot + Old Kent Road + Liberation Front + Free Agent Crew Woodport Inn, Erina Something With Number + Angelas Dish + Modern Joy
Sunday 5 October Croation Wickham Sports Club Spod + Mailer Daemon + Songs + Ionic + Sailmaker + Yes Pilgrim + The Frass Hamilton Station Hotel Nicko Lizottes, Kincumber John Paul Young Moore Park, Sydney Parklife Newcastle Uni We Are Scientists
Monday 6 October Metro Theatre We Are Scientists Oxford Art Factory, Sydney Yeasayer
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Mark Wells
Friday 10 October Cambridge Hotel Bliss n Eso + Motley + Mind Over Matter Chilli Lounge, Wyong Ethereal + I Am Sparticus + Eclectic Dreams + The Subtitles Lizottes, Kincumber Jenny Marie Lang Newcastle Panthers Deborah Gibson
Saturday 11 October Beachcomber Hotel, Toukley The Paki Bros Cambridge Hotel Existence Chilli Lounge, Wyong Rocktoberfest w/ Genedefect + Missing Deltora + Kindred + Rather Be Dead + Red Valley + Nucleus + Blind The Iris + North of the Border + Miramar + The Battle of Solace + Spread The Ashes Hunter Valley Brewery, Maitland Angelas Dish + Save The Cheerleader Kings Theatre, Lambton Mark Wells CD launch Lizottes, Kincumber Adam Harvey UNSW Roundhouse Down Woodport Inn, Erina Bliss n Eso
Sunday 12 October Beachcomber Hotel, Toukley Gail Page + Glenn Terry Cambridge Hotel Hot Damn Civic Theatre Michael Franti and Spearhead + The Winnie Coopers + DJ Nick Toth Dam Hotel, Wyong Lianna Rose Enmore Theatre The Bangles Hamilton Station Hotel Daniel Hughes + Jason Holmes + Tim Crossey Kincumber Hotel Nick and Liesl Lizottes, Kincumber The Blues Preachers Siren’s Nightclub, Terrigal Peter Healy
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Monday 13 October Roundhouse Meshuggah + Alchemist
Tuesday 14 October
Thursday 23 October Acer Arena Stevie Wonder Cambridge Hotel Sparkadia Lizottes, Kincumber Renee Geyer Lucky Country Hotel Each Revolving Door + Murmur + Shambhala
Spectrum The Warlocks + The Black Ryder + The Laurels
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Wednesday 15 October
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Cambridge Hotel The Heartbreak Club + My Dying Ember + Realhorrorshow Djs Hamilton Station Hotel Conquest For Death + Cut Sick + Shitfight + While Male Dumbinance Lizottes, Kincumber Chris Byrne + Gayle O’Neil + Abrie + Lynch Morello Sydney Opera House Patti Smith
Thursday 16 October Cambridge Hotel Youth Group + Red Sun Band Cardiff Panthers Kevin Bloody Wilson Chilli Lounge, Wyong Amity + A Secret Death + Rex Banner + House vs Hurricane Lizottes, Kincumber The Sunny Cowgirls Newcastle Entertainment Centre A Simple Plan + The Getaway Plan + Short Stack
Call 0433 830 001
Something With Numbers
Friday 24 October Beaumont St, Hamilton Boogie On Beaumont w/ Jade MacRae + The Porkers + Civic Big Band + Bob Corbett + Jolyon Briggs Band + Merewether High School Jazz Band + Cubana Cambridge Hotel BASSic FREAKuency w/ Tom Cosm + Krip + Rossco + Acoustic Shadow + Doob’e Lizottes, Kincumber George Smilovici The Loft Grey’s Ghost Newcastle Uni Something With Number + Amy Meredith + The Inheritors
Saturday 25 October
Six and Sevens (photo by Grayscale Media)
Friday 17 October Cambridge Hotel Custom Kings + The Nickson Wing + Nick Saxon Diggers @ The Entrance Peregrine + Nick and Liesl Erina Leagues Club Sarah Humphreys Lizottes, Kincumber Tim Freedman Newcastle Uni Epicure Northern Star Hotel Lisa Mitchell The Loft Six and Sevens
Saturday 18 October Beachcomber Hotel, Toukley Soul Connection Cambridge Hotel The Grates + John Steel Singers + The Vasco Era Club Tuggerah No Pressure Manning House, Sydney Uni Sounds In The Grounds w/ Midnight Juggernauts + British India + Van She + Bluejuice + Lost Valentinos + Children Collide + Numbers Radio + (is) + Purple Sneakers DJ’s feat PhDJ Newcastle Entertainment Centre Kenny Rogers + Beccy Cole + Felicity Urquhart Woodport Inn, Erina Epicure Wyndham Estate, Hunter Valley Opera in the Vines
Sunday 19 October Beachcomber Hotel, Toukley Chase The Sun Hamilton Station Hotel James Wiley + Jessica Cain + Nick Saxon Kantara House, Green Point Reverb Coastal Musicfest w/ Abrie + Lounge Act + Chontia and the New Colours + Chris Taylor + Sarah Humphreys + Brett O’Malley + Nick and Liesl + Ocea’s Meld + Dale Willis + Joshua Koutoulas + Lianna Rose Lizottes, Kincumber Guitar Wizards w/ Dia Pritchard + Luke Koteras + Dexter Moore + Peter Toohey Wickham Park Hotel Chase The Sun + Blueszone
Wednesday 22 October Acer Arena Stevie Wonder Cambridge Hotel Ashley’s Affair + The Conspiracy Plan + Realhorrorshow Djs Hamilton Station Hotel Iridium + The Tim Crossey Band + Zero Logic Lizottes, Kincumber Lenore Bower and the Swing Mania + Kaleah + Phil Edgeley Newcastle Panthers The Butterfly Effect + Trial Kennedy + Sleep Parade Wests Leagues Club Paul Young + Tony Hadley
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Boiler Shop, Honeysuckle Workshop Punk N Grind w/ Thy Art Is Murder + The Storm, Picturesque + Safe Hands + Point Break + Liberation Front Cambridge Hotel Pomomofo Lucky Country Hotel Six and Sevens Minmi Hotel 6th Annual Newcastle Blues Festival Northern Star Hotel The Holidays + Yves Klien Blue Tyrrell’s Vineyard, Pokolbin Jazz in the Vines Woodport Inn, Erina The Lazys
Sunday 26 October Acer Arena Slipknot + Machine Head Beachcomber Hotel, Toukley The Bag Raiders Beachcomber Hotel, Toukley Gail Page Band Clarendon Hotel Sundae Fundaze Hamilton Station Hotel Like.. Alaska Kincumber Hotel Lianna Rose Lizottes, Kincumber Ami Williamson Minmi Hotel 6th Annual Newcastle Blues Festival Queens Walk Brewery The Boardwalk Sessions w/ Benjalu + Jason Lowe + Grant Walmsley and the Agents of Peace + Of The Red Sea + Jenni B + The Rum Corps + Dactyl Spondee + Kaylah Anne
Monday 27 October Cambridge Hotel Monday Metal Madness w/ Dred + Sabretung + Indisperse + Soul Tremor
Tuesday 28 October Metro Theatre Dragonforce
Wednesday 29 October Cambridge Hotel Morgan Evans + Bloomfield + Roy Mac Hamilton Station Hotel The Zillers + Watch The Left Lizottes, Kincumber Mark Cashin Band Newcastle Uni Full Strength Rock w/ Here Come The Birds + Cotton Sidewalk + The Nickson Wing
Oct 1
Bob Corbett CD launch + Sarah Humphreys + Sam Buckingham + Kim Dewer
Oct 8
Holly Clayton + Adam Miller + Steve Smillie and Simone Hartman
Thursday 30 October Cambridge Hotel Dead Letter Circus Lizottes, Kincumber Nick and Liesl + Karl Brodie + Daxton
Friday 31 October Cambridge Hotel Ink + Kindred + Tensyle + Grim Demise Chilli Lounge, Wyong Thrillers nightclub Civic Theatre Resonate and Let There Be School Rock Final Lizottes, Kincumber Monica Trapaga Lucky Country Hotel The Hitmen + Dragstrippers The View Factory Rosie Burgess Woodport Inn, Erina Nick Skitz
Oct 15 Chris Byrne
+ Gayle O’Neil + Abrie + Lynch Morello
Oct 22 Kaleah + Phil Edgeley
+ Lenore Bower and the Swing Mania
Oct 29 Mark Cashin Band
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The Lies Of The Beholder End Of Fashion had seemingly disappeared after releasing their powerful debut album... but the Perth band was only soul-searching. Singer Justin Burford spoke to Nick Milligan about their dark second record, Book Of Lies.
W
ith a world of opportunity in front of them, End Of Fashion jumped at the chance to work with a big, American producer on their first record. The Perth four-piece chose Dennis Herring, who was fresh from his work with Modest Mouse. The result was a stripped back, yet highly polished version of their sound. Although they don’t have any regrets, singer Justin Burford and his band had to reassess their musical direction. Reacting accordingly, End Of Fashion have released Book Of Lies, a densely produced, yet raw sounding masterpiece. “End Of Fashion was the album we needed to make – it was our debut. Without it you can’t move forward. But it had an American stamp on it. When I was making it, I remember hearing songs like ‘In Denial’ as being these huge, layered, luscious sounding songs and Dennis heard them in a very different way. People told us that we’d made a very polished album and that it wasn’t how we sounded live. I’ll grant you that it wasn’t quite how we sounded live, but I view it as being quite skeletal,” admits Burford. “Books Of Lies has gone the other way,” continues the singer. “It’s a little bit more layered, but also less polished. Some of the production tricks give it a nice, full sound. That’s why we wanted to work with Magoo as a producer – we had big songs that needed to be presented in a rock ‘n’ roll, garage way. We call ourselves a ‘garage-pop’ band, and I think that sums us up nicely.” Where End Of Fashion’s debut record had the joyous sheen of love in full bloom, Book Of Lies has a decidedly dark and dangerous edge. It’s a reflection of the mental space that Burford found himself in. “I went through a time when I didn’t trust anyone, and was purposefully exploring a darker side to my art – a darker side to writing a pop song. ‘Book Of Lies’ was also what we jokingly named a notebook that we were using during the production,” explains Burford. The dark approach that Burford took to his songwriting, is manifested quite literally in the lyrics for single ‘Fussy’, as well as the accompanying video, where the singer is depicted as a serial killer. “’Fussy’ was written towards the end of the writing process for the album. I had been writing a lot from my own
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experiences, and putting my observations and feelings into song-form. I had worked a lot of stuff out after I’d been writing for seven or eight months. But to change my approach, I immersed myself in darker literature and watching movies about serial killers. I watched Schindler’s List a couple of time,” chuckles Burford. “It’s ironic that ‘Fussy’ is the first single, because it’s the only song on the album that’s not about the ‘real Justin’. It’s a dialogue between a serial killer and his victim, apologising for his wrong doings and attempting to find a grandiose act of forgiveness.” The album’s power ballads is ‘Force Of Habit’, which on first listen seems like a reminiscent break-up song. Burford explains that it stems from more immediate inspiration. “I actually wrote it while I was in the situation that the song is about. I was over in New York city and I met a girl who showed me around the city. I’d never been there before and it was an amazing, eye-opening experience. Me and this girl really hit it off. At the same time I was reading Breakfast At Tiffany’s, which is set in New York, and I was finding all of these strange parallels between what was happening to me and what Holly Golightly does in the book. I had a sense of adventure,” says Burford. “I missed New York before I’d even left.” A lyric in ‘Force Of Habit’ is, “Remember when we got caught stealing?” Was a crime really committed? “Umm,” pauses Burford. “I’m going to leave that up to the imagination... there was an incident...” Burford writes pop music very unashamedly – piercing melodic hooks and radio-worthy song lengths. These days ‘pop’ is still a dirty word for a rock band – does Burford still sense this stigma? “’Pop’ isn’t a dirty word in my vocabulary,” chuckles Burford. “I think it’s sad but true – pop is a craft that is misunderstood. It’s funny, because all the great songwriters consider themselves to be pop writers. Like Paul Kelly, who is known for being a great balladeer and an amazing lyricist, but he considers himself a pop songwriter and gets offended when people say he’s not. There is an art to getting a message across in three and a half minutes that people can sing along to and relate to.” End Of Fashion support Cut Copy at Newcastle Panthers on Nov 21, 2008.
Newcastle, Hunter and Coast’s largest music, entertainment and lifestyle magazine
Modern
SCIENCE Californian rock duo We Are Scientists have gained a reputation for messing with journalists who try to interview them. So with some trepidation, Nick Milligan spoke to bassist Chris Cain about their most recent album, their return to Australia... and gambling with Johnny Depp? We Are Scientists have a reputation for telling lies in interviews and messing with journalists – what’s the best lie that you’ve told recently? One that leaps to mind right now is a lie that we told at the Leeds festival. I can’t remember what the source was, but now the story seems to be making its way around every celebrity-orientated website. Admittedly, we told the story in an exceptionally straight-faced way, but it seemed so outrageous that we thought no one could possibly take it seriously. We said that we had visited the set of Pirates Of The Caribbean 2 slash 3 a couple of years ago, and had worked up a large gambling debt to Johnny Depp, who as it turns out, is a vicious dice gambler and a remorseless lone shark. We also explained in the story that Orlando Bloom owes Johnny Depp something like $800,000. Whoever we told that story to finally published it about four weeks ago and I’ve seen it in two dozen blogs and gossipy newspapers since. Are you looking forward to your return to Australia? Absolutely. Its been far too long, but the red tape has finally fallen away and we will return. Our last trip was really good, but any trip to Australia, in our situation, is doomed to feel rushed. When We Are Scientists first formed, did you have a clear idea of what you wanted to sound like? I think each step of the way we’ve had a clear idea of what sound we’re going for, but I don’t think in the beginning we had an over-arching goal that we reached years later. We tend to be very immediate in our songwriting. We’re responsive to whatever we’re interested in at the time, as opposed to sticking to some sort of idea that we have for the band, or what we’re supposed to sound like. Your most recent album, Brain Thrust Mastery, has a much more polished and produced sound compared to your previous record With Love and Squalor – how do tracks from these albums sit alongside each other in a live show?
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I think there’s a noticeable difference, but they sit fairly well. Like the first album itself, our live set used to suffer from being a little bit monotonous, in terms of the dynamic. Now being able to vary between the older songs and the new – which are ‘dance-rock’, essentially – is really nice. It gives the set a lot more nuance and a storyline, rather than that hammering that we used to do. We’ve also added a fourth guy on stage, who plays keys and guitar. That has added a thread to connect all of these songs. What was your first ever live show like? Our first ever live show was in Berkley at a student’s centre in the university – it was Keith [Murray, vocalist], myself and a friend of ours called Scott Lamb, who was the original third member of the band. Keith originally played drums and Scott was the guitarist. Keith was also the lead singer - he pulled a Phil Collins move. Keith worked at Berkley in the graduate school admission’s office and through his connections he booked himself an acoustic performance at the student’s centre on a tiny stage, and he was supposed to play in the corner while people bought quesadillas and pitchers of beer. He deliberately booked this show with the intention of We Are Scientists turning up and playing instead. I think we played three songs before the bar tender stopped us – we only had about five songs. We were undoubtedly atrocious. I’d been playing bass for about two weeks at that point, and had never played anything before. I was certainly the weak link... in a very shabby chain. Was it a deliberate decision to make Brain Thrust Mastery sound bigger and more slick than With Love and Squalor? We knew from the outset that the financial scale of Mastery was different – we had more money to spend on it. We wanted to go into a nicer studio and record on a more relaxed schedule. That said, we’re incredibly cheap bastards and to us, even a relaxed schedule still ended up being just a month in the studio, which isn’t that long for a major label record. We did as much as we could in the way of writing and sketching out ideas at
The sounds of Science: Vocalist Keith Murray (left) and bassist Chris Cain (right).
our practice space in Brooklyn. The biggest decision that we made – besides recording in a nicer studio – was that we didn’t want to limit ourselves to arrangements played by three instruments. On the previous album, the sound that we went for was a very straight-forward, live sound. We wanted it to sound like the ultimate live set that we could ever possibly play. We wanted to try more elaborate arrangements on Mastery, and at least allow ourselves the possibility of many instruments. ‘After Hours’ ended up needing strings, tubular bells, piano, organ and just about everything but the kitchen sink. There’s a lot more dynamic on Mastery - the last album made you feel like a piece of meat being pounded by a meat tenderiser. Had you had a bigger budget for Squalor, would it have sounded as produced as Mastery? No, I think the philosophical reasoning behind that [minimalist] sound would still have motivated us. We may have recorded in a better environment – we recorded in some seedy studios in LA. [Squalor] definitely could have sounded better – we may have recorded the drums at a nicer place and spent more time doing it. The three-piece is something we were interested in as a policy. We were going for a Police-type thing. We Are Scientists play Newcastle Uni’s Bar On The Hill on Sunday October 5, 2008. Brain Thrust Mastery is out now.
edition 027 - Oct 08 - 27
TO THE CENTRE
OF THE EARTH EARTH... ...
dern ic rockstar Courtney Taylor-Taylor about mo icon to aks spe n liga Mil k Nic w, rvie inte ve lusi In this exc ls. The singer asks just one favour of Reverb rho Wa dy Dan The d, ban nt nde epe ind ly life in the new Courtney Taylor-Taylor uncut. – don’t edit his answers. We obliged. This is
You guys have finished your infamous recording contract with Capitol Records – how does it feel to be an independent band again? Oh my God! Like...wow. It’s like going from a nightmare to a dream. All the crops are growing in the fields, the sun is shining – it only rains when we sleep. It feels good – we’re sweaty and tired, but really good tired. Our disposition has changed – we’re starting to remember who we are again. We don’t have to duck and weave and put a lot of energy into communicating with people we should never have to communicate with. It never really happened in Australia – the people from Capitol there were very cool. But in America and Europe it got pretty ugly. We became something to be taken advantage of. Before we were artist weirdos who were tolerated, and allowed to run amuck, as long as we didn’t spend too much money. Once we got big enough, the label thought, “Wow, if they can get that big on their own, imagine if we take control...” They were mixing and releasing our singles without us knowing. They were retouching photos so that we looked more tanned. They were trying to market us like we were something off of American Idol. It nearly ruined us, because it sent all the wrong signals to all the wrong people. It was an act of God that there were some people in the world who actually listened to our music through the whole thing, and ignored all the press, the movie (Dig!), the manipulation. The one place that no one could affect us was in the studio, making a record by ourselves. That never changed – from two years ago to ten years ago. What we found is that most people’s record collections exist to impress other people. Most people don’t hear music. They will agree to like something if they want to be friends with other people. Financially, it’s quite a loss when you lose those people, but then you never have to deal with those people ever again, unless we accidentally have another hit.
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At this point we get to go back to what we were doing up until Thirteen Tales (Of Urban Bohemia – their 2000 album), so far as saying what we are – if you like it, great. If you don’t like it, that’s great too. We can separate the wheat from the shaft, simply by what we create. Does it emotionally give you what you need? We don’t want anybody hanging around that doesn’t really like what we do. They want to be around a band that’s successful. I don’t want to sound elitist, but we never really wanted to have people around us that we don’t want around us. When you put a band together, you have these noble ideals like, we’d rather play to 50 people that we want to hang out with, are comfortable with and enjoy their company, than to 2000 people that we want to hide from right after the gig. The turning point is playing to 2000 people who have heard our music and really like it. In America and Europe, we were like a potato – it’s like the earth got scorched and we kept growing under it. Now things are finally coming back up above the earth. It’s weird, but it’s the thrill of a life time right now. It’s fun and scary. Is there more creative freedom without a major record label? No, that never had any effect on it. That stuff is done at four in the morning, by yourself. I could be in the Capitol Records building at four in the morning and they couldn’t effect my songwriting. No f*#king way they could ever – no artist can be every cracked by another person. Art is the most selfish (pursuit) – from Picasso to Van Gogh, or whoever. The difference between entertainment and art, is that art is generally made by a very sad person – on a basic level, it’s a cry for help or stability. It’s the last opportunity to give the bird to the world that you don’t like, and then go under for the last time. It’s a defiant salvation. Rock is pretty defiant. Love songs are obviously a different thing, but mostly what we’ve done in our career is not
love songs, but ‘dealing with the world’ songs. You’ve released your album, ...Earth To The Dandy Warhols..., on your own label Beat The World records. Do you put a lot of time into helping out the other bands you’ve got signed to the label? We’ve got five bands on the label that will come out in the next year. On Beat The World, you do it yourself. We’re not putting money into it and picking singles. We just try to keep the bands from doing stupid things, like going out on tour without working press and radio. If you have another opportunity like movie soundtracks, then do some work around it. Use their press machine as your own press machine. Rerelease a single, do some remixes. We want our experiences to help our friends’ bands. We’re not a profit record company – all the money goes to the bands. We like good music and we want more good music out there in the world. That’s going to help things. Did you have any clear ideas about what you wanted ...Earth to sound like as an album? I don’t really sit down and write records. I just write songs. Some of these songs were started even before the band started. Some take a day and a half to finish, some take your entire life. The rest are in between. Some songs are studio experiments, like ‘I Am A Scientist’ on Monkey House. We cannot play ‘Scientist’ live – it would take all of us playing synthesisers and one guitar. I can’t sing and play the part I’m suppose to play at the same time. I can play drums and sing at the same time. I can play piano and sing at the same time. But I can’t play super-fast, funky synthesiser and sing at the same time. When you listen to any of your old songs, have the meanings changed for you over time? No, I’m pretty dry about my lyrics.
I’m not floral... I don’t really put a lot of decorative language in there. I have something that I have to get off my chest and grapple with – something I don’t like about myself and I need to admit it publicly. It’s a lot of emotional structuring. You play and these sounds will come into the room and that will provide scaffolding and different tiers for you to analyse your worst motivations, your vainest glories, your pomposity, jealousy... music is like a piece of the puzzle and you feel it fit against your body. It forms you, and it should comfort as well as reprimand. I’ve really done nothing else with my life. I was a very, very little boy playing the piano – I think I was four or five years old – when it became clear to me that this was what I was doing. I knew that that’s what I was here for. Now later in life, I realise that I need music to deal with the world, and to build myself in the world. So I create it. What are you dealing with on your new album? Well, there’s ‘Welcome To The Third World’, which was a very strange night in a third world town. F*#kin’ weirdness. That’s a straight-up, linear story of a monologue that was rattled off to me. ‘Last Of The Outlaw Truckers’ is four hours of sitting in a cab with a trucker, when our van broke down on tour. [The driver] was smacked up, or coked up, or cracked up – I don’t know what he was hauling. Four hours of him telling me about Vietnam and driving a big rig for Van Halen. It took me years to organise his jumble of stories into a linear narrative. You can write about the same feeling you had two records ago, but you’re different and new, so the same feeling can now have different angles and curves. You know what it’s like to run into someone you haven’t seen in three years and think, “God, do I want to talk to this person? What did I say three years ago that was embarrassing..?” That will bring out a song like ‘We Used To Be Friends’.
‘Now You Love Me’ is an actual love song about being in love. Falling in love though, feels quite similar to being dumped, actually (laughs). ‘Now You Love Me’ might not feel like the most precious love song in the world. Someone said to me, “Man, I just see tanks rolling across the desert when I hear that song.” But it’s about when I met my wife. Specifically, it’s about the first night that she decided that she really liked me. I guess I should make a video for ‘Now You Love Me’, because if there was going to be one big hit on this record, that would be it. Its got all the earmarks of a big one. Which leads to the question, “Do we want a big cross-over hit?” Do we want to make a good living, now? We’re slowly growing, but in the right way. Do we want to deal with having a big hit again? We headline festivals in the Pyrenees Mountains to 12,000 to 15,000 people, or Cornwall at Castle Lanhydrock, where (King) Arthur was born, to 7,000 people. We have the most interesting lives, filled with stem-cell Nobel prize winners and brain surgeons. Yesterday we were hanging out with a dude from NASA. Smart people really like our band. It’s good here now. Do we want to change that? I don’t know if we want to be bigger again. I think not. At least we’re on our own ship this time. We can navigate it and if it gets too weird, we can shut it down. We can always stop touring, hang out in The Odditorium and hang out in our lovely bubble until it blows over. Are you looking forward to Fat As Butter? I love doing that kind of show. God, I love playing rock outdoors! Are we on (stage) after dark? That’s going to be great. Fat As Butter happens on Nov 2, 2008, Camp Shortland, Newcastle. Tickets available right now through Ticketek. ...Earth To The Dandy Warhols... is out now.
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“The thing about Craig is, you can’t separate his madness from his genius.” have to find your new music by listening to the radio or watching Countdown. There’s a lot more avenues open to people to find their new ‘favourite’. I mean, myspace is one that’s opened the door for bands like The Arctic Monkeys. I think it’s led to a much healthier music scene. I think it’s much easier for a quality band to really be found by fans these days.
TAKE A LONG VINE Despite numerous highs and lows, The Vines remain one of Australia’s biggest exports. With a new album called Melodia on the shelves, this four-piece are intent on making up for lost time. Ashleigh Gray spoke to drummer Hamish Rosser. Is there a place that you’re particularly looking forward to playing at on your upcoming tour? Byron Bay. We haven’t played in Byron before so it should be fun. Maybe even be up for a surf if
we’re lucky! Are you happy with the new album Melodia? Is it how you guys pictured it would be? Yeah totally. We had all the songs ready for quite a while. We had a few more than we needed but they didn’t change drastically from the demo stage recording stage actually. We were on the right track and we’re happy how it turned out. It sounds great! For someone who has never heard of The Vines, or has only heard your earlier music, why should they listen to Melodia? It’s totally awesome! (laughs) There’s elements of punk and a bit of pop in there as well. Short,
fast and to the point. It’s not just one dimensional - there’s also some dreamy, summery ballads in there as well to break it up. It’s got a few different sides to it. So would you give it a 10/10? Oh, an 11/10 I’d say! (laughs) Do you think the music scene today has any room for more bands like you? Do you find it’s all just being replaced by commercial nonsense? I think the music industry is in a healthier state than it has been in a while and it’s probably because of the demise of the large record labels. So they’re not pushing so much crap music onto everybody. I think music is a bit savvier these days where in the old days you’d
So obviously anyone who knows of The Vines’ story will know of the “eccentric” behaviour of some of the members. How does that affect you guys as a band? Is it embarrassing or upsetting? It was a lot of things (laughs), at times it was embarrassing. Sometimes the shows were awful, that wasn’t so good, and frustrating because we had this great opportunity that any other band would have probably, you know, taken it in both hands and run with it. The thing about Craig is, you can’t separate his madness from his genius (laughs), you know it all sort of comes as one package. And we just had to really accept that and run with it, kind of said, ‘We gotta pull it together if we wanna make this work’, and that’s pretty much what happened. Do you think the fame and popularity had changed you? Nah, not really. Probably made me a bit lazy because I haven’t had to have a day job in a while
‘Burning Down the House’ - Talking Heads Kind of an obvious one but whatever... this song is dope! I recently watched the Talking Heads live DVD and this was the best song on it. I’d kill to have seen this band back in the day. They come across so well on stage. Simple songwriting but super powerful because of its instrumentation and the way it’s produced. Right up there for my favourite band of all time.
The Bag Raiders Mixtape With the release of their debut EP Fun Punch taking them out of the nightclub, into the homes of a far wider audience, Bag Raiders are finding themselves in demand. With remixes for the likes of Midnight Juggernauts, K.I.M., Lost Valentinos and Cut Copy, they hit the festival circuit via Homebake. In preparation, Bag Raiders play the Beachcomber at Toukley Sunday 26th October. Reverb asked Jack Sabbath what sounds get Bag Raider’s blood rushing. ‘El Pico’ - Ratatat This is probably the best song off an album that really blew my mind when I first heard it. I remember listening to it over and over again on countless buses and trains as I was
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traveling around India. The two albums that followed are good, but neither had the same effect on me as the first, which really grabbed me because it was so different to anything I’d heard before. ‘You Promised Me’ - Bobby Caldwell Again, my favourite song on Cat in the Hat - a great album. What a voice! Could also have picked ‘Open Your Eyes’ or ‘I Don’t Want to Lose Your Love’, both killer songs. Some of the lyrics are kind of retarded but it’s easy to forgive because the melodies are so nice. Great drum sound on this album. ‘Together’ - Thomas Bangalter and, DJ Falcon The first Roule record I ever bought and still the ultimate French touch anthem, I think. There’s not a lot of variation but that’s part of the charm. Great bassline - one that worked for 90210 too. I still play this out in the club all the time. Feel the love - we’re definitely all in this together...
‘Alex Gopher’ - Brain Leech I didn’t love his whole album (‘Out of the Inside’ is another good one) and his techno and remix stuff can be a bit hit and miss, but this song is pretty close to pop perfection in my eyes. The production is perfect - he totally nails it! I saw a video of him in the studio recently which was pretty interesting too and made me respect him even more. ‘Twilight’ - Electric Light Orchestra This song is nothing short of awesome for the following reasons: Awesome synth melody intro. Flanging drum rolls. Rippling piano arpeggios. Great use of falsetto and vocal harmonies. It is an awesome driving song when played loud and driving fast. It allows you to imagine that the road ramps up in front of you and your ride suddenly grows jets and wings and you take off blasting through the sound barrier. Everything becomes shakey and blurry until you exit the atmosphere and you are floating between the stars and your imagination... whoah! ‘Arrival to Earth’ (Transformers Original Soundtrack) - Steve Jablonsky Ok , so the movie was founded by the US army as a recruitment initiative... whatever... that doesn’t stop it from being the most awesome movie of 2007. I watched it three
(laughs). Yeah it hasn’t made me into a wanker, I don’t walk around going “Don’t you know who I am?!” (laughs) But yeah I’ve stayed pretty level-headed throughout it all. What is the most memorable gig so far in a good way? I remember playing Glastonbury which was early on for us, our first sort of outdoor gig and I was really nervous. Didn’t even look up for a few songs and when I did I could see the crowd and all I could see was faces. And then in the distance I could see the fence and then beyond that I could see...cows grazing (laughs). And that was very funny to see cows grazing while you’re playing a rock show. Ok, so the most memorable gig, in a bad way? I remember we did one in Chicago when we were on tour with Jet and Craig was really sick and he was also pretty much over the tour. He wanted to cancel the show and fly home. Anyway we ended up playing, like, an acoustic set which didn’t go down too well. We only played about 45 minutes, then Craig trashed everything and we went off. Yeah and the crowd was chanting “F*** The Vines!” (laugh). Yeah that was pretty cool! Melodia is out now through Ivy League.
times in the movies, bought the Optimus Prime voice transformer mask and the DVD complete with the worlds first transforming case. I picked ‘Arrival to Earth’ because it has most of the key themes of the movie in it. At about four minutes in, you get the Autobots theme, which features possibly the single-most awesome horn melody known to film-score, man. This soundtrack is dancing on the horribly fragile line of terrible, horrible, cliche and mind-boggingly awesome - tread with caution. ‘Let’s Groove’ - Earth Wind & Fire Apart from being completely ruined by Australian 90s R&B group CDB, this song is undeniably spectacular and splendid in its original form. Vocoder, disco guitar, keys, horn section... this song has it all. Also, it is ridiculously catchy and it makes you feel a million bucks. Earth Wind & Fire do it, and do it well with mostly everything they hit. Their finery has been sampled and covered by many and has brought much rejoicing unto the citizens of planet Earth for years, and will continue to do so for years and years to come. ‘Digital Love’ - Daft Punk What is awesome about Daft Punk (apart from them being so awesome) is the way they use their samples. They pick samples from all over the place, but have such a distinct ‘Daft Punk’ sound. In this song, there is so much magic that happens. After the verse vocals, you get that amazing guitar-hit, break thing, and then it picks up leading into the real ‘Supertramp-sounding’ keys breakdown, which in-turn builds into some of the best call and response vocal and synth lead work ever, and then you get the solo! What a solo! If there were ever the happiness and excitement of a thousand summers encapsulated into a singular piece of music, this is it...
edition 027 - Oct 08 - 31
Newcastle Music Week is fast approaching - October 24 till October 31 to be more precise. In its sixth year, it is a unique musical experience showcasing the talent this region possesses. It is a week’s worth of live music, workshops, seminars, and an Industry Showcase that brings together the best of the Hunter’s musicians. Let’s take a look at what Newcastle Music Week has in store for us this year.
Friday October 24 - Boogie On Beaumont Kicking off Newcastle Music Week is the Boogie On Beaumont. A five hour family-friendly festival that takes over the heart of Hamilton, it offers a smorgasbord of music to tempt whatever your taste is. If there is a theme throughout the music, it is brass. Special guest with be Jade MacRae. A wonderful soul singer, she has had chart success with her debut album plus ARIA nominations. She returns to add a touch of class to proceedings. The highlight of the night has to be one of the too infrequent gigs from The Porkers. Catching their brand of ska/punk in a setting such as this will be something special. Sharing affection for Jazz and Swing, the Civic Big Band are a group of young local instrumentalists, most of whom attended the Newcastle Conservatorium of Music. There will be the funky horn lines of The Jolyon Briggs Band, the cruisy Latin Jazz of Cubana, plus the power-house that is the Merewether High School Jazz Band. It all starts at 5.30pm and
runs well into the night. The Cambridge Hotel will be the site of BASSic FREAKuency, a new event for 2008. This psychedelic experience (with a twisted synergy of Psy, Prog and Hard Style) begins at 9pm with artists such as COSM, Acoustic Shadow, Doob’e, Rossco and Krip playing music to satisfy the most ravenous bass junkie.
Sabretung
Benjalu
The Storm, Picturesque
Jade MacRae
Monday October 27 - Metal Madness Monday Metal Madness returns to the Cambridge Hotel, and remains a core part of Newcastle Music Week. This year is set to get even louder with some of the nastiest sounds ever presented within the region. Sydney death metal greats, Dred will take the night to new extremes of brutality for metal in Newcastle. Supports for the night are Sabretung, Indisperse and Soul Tremor. Ten dollars at the door and get the full force.
Punk and Grind is set to blast Wheeler Place with a host of core genres. The lineup is set in stone and is looking to be the biggest and best year yet. Headlining this year’s event is Sydney death-core band Thy Art Is Murder. Supports will be the best in local hardcore, The Storm Picturesque, Safe Hands, Point Break and Liberation Front. This is a drug and alcohol free, all ages gig.
The Boardwalk Sessions will run from 1pm to 8pm, and is a blues and roots mini festival being held at The Queen’s Wharf Brewery. This event is a unique opportunity for Newcastle to experience the region’s finest blues, roots, acoustic, and folk artists showcasing their original songs and styles. Being free entry, this family friendly event is a perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon. The line-up for this year Benjalu, Jason Lowe, Grant Walmsley and his Agents of Peace, Of The Red Sea, Jenni B, The Rum Corps, Dactyl Spondee’s, Kaylah Anne, plus appearances by the Newcastle Jets. With such a diverse range of entertainment for the whole family, this event is not to be missed.
Wednesday October 29 - Full Strength Rock You have had your Metal Madness on Monday, now it is your Full Strength Rock at the Bar On The Hill, Newcastle Uni. Three of the best Newcastle bred bands grace the stage, headlined by recent Tooheys UncharTED winners, Here Come the Birds. Having just bitten into the big stage at Splendour In The Grass, these guys are the hottest ticket in town at the moment. In support is a special oneoff performance by Cotton Sidewalk. Having moved to Melbourne earlier this year, this is an opportunity to savour their glorious sounds once again. Rounding out the lineup is indie/pop rock ‘n’ roll of The Nickson Wing. For those in the crowd wishing to unleash the beast in themselves,
Thursday October 30 - A Major Music Expo
Music Journalism Presenter: Nick Milligan (Reverb Street Press) Learn the how, what where and why of writing for the music industry! Get a head start in music journalism with Nick Milligan, editor of Newcastle’s street press Reverb.
If you are a student of music, a fan or a seasoned veteran, visit the series of workshops and seminars at A Major Music Expo at Newcastle City Hall. National and local music industry professionals will share their knowledge and expertise about Music Publicity, Photography, Promotions, Self Management and Photography - Presenter: Journalism. National musicians will conduct workshops for guitar, drums, bass guitar, hip hop, vocals and more. Sophie Howarth Ever wondered how to get Let’s have a look at some of the seminars on offer. started as a professional photographer? Sophie Music Publicity - Presenter: Kathryn Holloway Walk the media walk and talk the media talk with one of Howarth, official tour photographer of the Big Day Australia’s best music publicists. Learn how to promote Out, gives tips and advice your band, get insider tips on music promotion and from her experiences in find out what it’s like to work behind the scenes of the the industry. Learn about national music industry. equipment, techniques and career pathways. Be inspired Getting an Independent Start - Presenter: Lui by lots of advice to get you Spedalieri out there! Lui Spedalieri is the managing director and founder of the independent record label and artist management Preparing for Live Performances & Band company Unda K-9 and a widely respected hip-hop Competitions - Presenter: Clive Hodson & Scott producer.
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Sunday October 26 The Boardwalk Sessions
Saturday October 25 Punk and Grind
there is the Full Strength Guitar Hero competition, plus the Full Strength BBQ. It all starts at 7.30pm, $8 for members, $10 general admission.
Here Come The Birds
Bradbury (Shock Records) Want to know exactly what the judges look for? Scott Bradbury and Clive Hodson will talk about the importance of preparation, the judging process and how to improve your onstage performance. Listening Seminar (3:30 - 5:30) - What Do A & R Reps, Agents, Managers Look For In A Demo? - Panellists: Eloise Nolan (Head Music Publishing ABC), Marshall Cullen (Managing Director Foghorn Records), Clive Hodson (General Manager Shock Music Publishing), Scott Bradbury (NSW State Manager Shock Entertainment) & Heath Johns (Head of A&R/ Creative Universal Music Publishing) This seminar provides an opportunity for local artists to submit demo recordings. Five will be randomly selected and the demos will be played and assessed according to each panellist’s requirements. Find out what they’re looking for. (Demo’s must be submitted by 12 noon, 1st November at the Newcastle City Hall) The object of this seminar is to give the audience an insight into what takes place when the demos reach the A&R Rep, Publisher, Manager, Agent etc.
Newcastle, Hunter and Coast’s largest music, entertainment and lifestyle magazine
Friday October 31 - Music Industry Showcase Newcastle Music Week concludes with The Finale of Resonate – The Music Industry Showcase and Let There Be School Rock at the Civic Theatre Newcastle. The gig provides an opportunity for young, original bands from the Hunter Region and Central Coast to showcase their music in a live performance, in front of some of the nation’s leading music industry professionals.
and Birds Of Tokyo. They recently released their debut self-titled EP to rave reviews, with tracks receiving Triple J airplay. Kissing the Lipless, winner of the Let There Be School Rock section, have already been signed to a management company. With 8 bands, special guests and lots on the line, the night will be a great finale to Newcastle Music Week 08.
Semi Finals are being played out as we go to print so the bands who will be playing at the Civic Theatre are still unknown. If the previous years are anything to go by, the eight bands who make it though will be deserving finalists. Last year’s Resonate winner Vaudeville has gone on to support the likes of Grinspoon
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Vaudeville
edition 027 - Oct 08 - 33
Here Comes
THE SUN Photography By Sean Roche
This page. From top left to right. Evan wears Rockford by Von Zipper - $149.95. Sophie wears Shocker by Anon - $179.95. Pat wears Hoy by Electric - $169.95. Amelia wears Alotta by Von Zipper - $219.95. Amy wears Frenchie by Le Specs - $49.95. Alison wears Hollyweird by Anon - $139.95. Dan wears Bickle by Electric - $179.95. Right page. From top left to right: Lyndsey wears Figment by Anon - $139.95. Georgia wears Giggles by Von Zipper - $179.95. Amy wears Honeyrider by Electric - $169.95. Alison wears Hot Zinc by Le Specs - $49.95. Amelia wears Press Replay by Le Specs - $59.95. Amelia wears Fulton by Von Zipper - $179.95. Amy wears Fletch by Anon - $179.95. Sophie wears Shocker by Anon - $179.95. Evan wears Holy Gloss by Electric - $169.95. Sophie wears Luce by Anon - $219.95. Lyndsey wears Amos by Anon - $189.95. Pat wears OHM Gold by Electric - $199.95. Pat wears Elmore by Von Zipper - $189.95. Sophie wears Cosmic String by Le SPecs - $49.95. All sunglasses available at
Sanbah, Shop 27/204 Union Street, The Junction. For more info call 0249 622 420.
general motoring
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In The Extreme T
alk about a ``Hiroshima screamer’’, this Mazda3 Extreme is wicked enough to make Michael Jackson turn white(er). Only problem is, you can’t have one - it’s the only Extreme in the world, unique, and we have driven it _ hard enough to chamfer rubber off the super low profile Dunlop Sport 19-inch tyres and get the brakes a smokin’. Pity it was a wet Sunday arvo’ that week otherwise we might have gone OK in the raunchy red Mazda down at The Foreshore. Dreamin’... Plenty of people heavily modify their Jap’ cars, some too much, but this one is a drive-every-day proposition. It will still blow sports motorbikes into the weeds along the Old Pacific Highway on weekends. It’s that quick. Built at a cost of around $80 grand for last year’s Sydney Motor Show, Extreme was primarily a show car designed to attract attention to Mazda’s stand. It sure did, the reaction was overwhelming, and they are still getting inquiries, but it wasn’t enough for Mazda’s old-fart, head-honchos to tick the production box. That could be a result of mild resentment from Mazda Japan due to the fact that 3Extreme is the brainchild of one Alan Horsley - the Mazda Motor Sport Australia guru responsible for RX7 SP and MX5 SP among other Aussie ``factory’’ hot rods. Horsley can’t help himself when he sees an opportunity to rev-up a production Mazda and he’s good at it.
when you plant the right foot and holds the kick right up to redline at a relatively low 6500rpm. Roll-on acceleration is sensational even if its accompanied by a sound like a vacuum cleaner. The big bore exhaust is street legal and hardly emits more noise than the standard MPS - much to our disappointment. The ``fire extinguisher’’ hanging out the back looks good though. Gearing is the same as MPS with six closely spaced ratios and a slick change action.
The engine is also tweaked from standard Mazda3 MPS spec’ with a recalibrated ECU, fuel system and air intake to get 210kW/425Nm output from the direct injection, 2.3-litre turbo four-pot.
“It outguns the justsuperceded Mitsubishi Evo9 and Sooby STi and get this all that grunt is fed through the front wheels. It makes for a rip-roaring drive.” ``H’’ warned us when we picked up the car to modify our driving technique to allow for a touch of torque steer. We did and it turned out to be a hoot, especially when you can harness the torque induced turn-in to hook around corners lickety-split. Driven well, Extreme is as quick point to point as an STi or Evo and arguably more fun. It really comes on hard
But the inside is seriously upgraded with full leather two tone red/black upholstery, multi-function sports steering wheel and red fascia panels. It’s an out-there look totally in keeping with the nature of the car. And the audio is top notch to make up for that pussy exhaust note. The exterior is highlighted by matteblack paint outs on certain parts of the body, gloss black roof and spoiler with ultra red body duco and matte black alloys with contrast red striping. It’s an eye popper that’s for sure - Just as eye popping as the 0-100kmh time in the low fives and wheel spin in first, second with a chirp going into third. Love it, would have one in a blink, even though the missus hated it. There’s a new generation Mazda3 due next year and there will be an MPS version. If it’s half as good as this car it will be a cracker.
By Peter Douglas
First port of call was the trusty contacts book for help with the suspension where ``H’’ as he’s called, came up with the name Murray Coote, arguably one of the best suspension guys around. Coote went to town on the springs and dampers and fiddled with other suspension and steering details to optimise Extreme’s ride and handling. It’s been slammed 25mm for better balance and a meaner stance.
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Pnau
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eye on the world - this is not art
Super Massive
Chris Hearn - aka Alps of NSW, curator of the This Is Not Art Sunday Fair Stage line-up I’m really excited about the music this year. All my friends are coming to town! Don’t miss My Disco, Fabulous Diamonds, Naked on the Vague, Castings, or The Garbage and The Flowers. Also, it’s my first chance to see The Microphones/Mount Eerie live, and I’m speaking on a panel with Phil (Microphones) on the Saturday morning too, which will be very nice!
This Is Not Art festival offers a mindblowing 300 free events over five days this coming long weekend. With so many sessions and so little time, we asked three creative Newcastle characters what they were looking forward to most about the festival. What events are you determined not to miss at this year’s This Is Not Art festival? Mojo Juju - Mojo Juju and the Snake Oil Merchants That’s a pretty big festival right there. It’s a hard task making it to all the top shelf sessions. I guess I oughta make sure I turn up for the National Young Writers’ Festival 10th birthday party Mashquerade - I hear there’s gonna be some Venetian Aristocrats giving away all their money to up and coming poets. I plan to set fire to the band while we perform a rendition of ‘Phantom of the Rock Opera’. I’m also very keen to see Shauntay Grant. She’s a gospel spoken word hip-hop poet, from Canada. I really like a lot of traditional Gospel music, cause I think of it as people singing about freedom from inside, songs about hope and empowerment, often in the face of oppression. I’d like to see how a young woman today reinterprets that. Its a powerful medium for a powerful sentiment. http://www. myspace.com/shauntaygrant
TINA has been visiting Newcastle annually for many years now. Do you have any This Is Not Art secrets? MJ - Now, no. I don’t kiss and tell. TINA and I get along just fine. We enjoy each other’s company very much. I would recommend the Festival Club any hour of the day and we both like a stroll in through the fair on Sunday. But that’s all I’m prepared to say. A secret’s not a secret if we both know. FL - Secrets? I wish that I could say that I did but... no, no secrets. I mean, it’s not really a secret that I think that more
CH - Get some sleep or the last couple days aren’t as fun. Figure out what you want to go to but wing it a little. And check out Newcastle when you get the chance. This is a great place to live in when the festival isn’t on too! Don’t miss Suspension Espresso, Cooks Hill Books, Hamilton Chinese, and the beach is starting to get nice again. What makes This Is Not Art amazing for you/your peeps/Newcastle? MJ - It’s DIY. It really reinforces the idea that all artists need to be self motivated. At the same time it’s a beautiful network of interesting people with some really bizarre skills and innovative ideas. It provides access for Novocastrians to artist communities outside of our own, and vice versa. That is extremely important. It is not just about performance either. It’s about process, and learning. That inspires me. If you are from Newcastle and you are an artist, writer, musician, thinker ... you need to be at TINA. FL - I think that This Is Not Art is amazing for Newcastle because it transforms it into this large eclectic community space. This Is Not Art brings so many people to Newcastle and with that comes a lot of creative energy, which is really exciting for both the local community and the people who visit here. CH - It’s great to see friends from all over Australia, and sometimes all over the world coming to my little pocket of the world. Sadly, great music and great art rarely make their way into Newcastle, so I always hope that some locals are going to be inspired after the festival and then get off their arses and do something.
And Rose Turtle Ertler. Cause Ukulele’s fuckin’ Rock. Fiona Lee - Critical Animals gopher (Festival Assistant) I’m interested in all of the Critical Animals forums and discussions, (Thurs – Fri, Hunter Room ,City Hall). As an Arts Student lots of the forums are relevant to my studies and they are a great way to get info and learn from others. I’m also planning to attend the This Is Not Art Official Gigs at the Cambridge – they’re always a really fun night of entertainment. And of course the Sunday Fair, because it’s a beautiful day in the park and a chance to see lots of different things… zines and performances from around Australia that you wouldn’t normally get the chance to see.
Novocastrians should come..
Mojo Juju
See Mojo Juju & the Snake Oil Merchants at the “NYWF 10th Birthday Mashquerade Cabaret Ball”, Sat 04 Oct, 8pm, This Is Not Art Festival Club. Free Entry. Dress-ups required. Join Fiona Lee on the volunteering team – meet people, share your skills, offer your expertise, get some experience in all facets of events. Email Lisa to sign up! TINAvolunteers@gmail. com. See Chris Hearn chatting about the philosophy of size, music, art & creativity at “Big vs Small: A Breakfast with Mt Eerie & friends”, Saturday 04 October, 10am, TPI Auditorium.
GROOVER RECORDS PRESENTS
SUNDAY 2ND NOV Y R T N 9am - 4pm $1 E UNITING CHURCH HALL BEAUMONT STREET
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live reviews
038 shift with the hit single ‘Shakedown’, taken from 2006’s release, A Revelation for Despair.
DISTURBED
P.O.D, ALTER BRIDGE, BEHIND CRIMSON EYES
Newcastle Entertainment Centre Thursday September 4, 2008 Opening the concert for Disturbed would have felt like a walk in the park for Melbourne rockers Behind Crimson Eyes. Earlier this year, the five piece completed support slots for Iron Maiden. Unfortunately, given they were the sole Australian band on the bill, the lads were granted only a 15 minute set. The young, yet extremely talented band opened proceedings with a track from their debut EP Pavor Nocturnus. Fans were treated to an as yet unreleased new song, before BCE ended their
Scepticism over what would be delivered by P.O.D. was aroused when realising that the four piece reached the pinnacle of their career seven years ago, with the album Satellite. Provided by P.O.D. was a punchy, precise and powerful set which could have seen the band headline the show if required. Disturbed vocalist David Draiman is an extremely short man. Evidently, height has little to do with the capacity of which one can gain the attention of thousands of screaming fans. After being delivered to stage on a trolley, much like a package from Australia Post, the pint-sized vocalist was joined by his fellow musicians. Draiman promptly inviting seated
JUDAS PRIEST Acer Arena, Sydney
Friday September 12, 2008 With a demanding “Come on you Metal Maniacs,” Judas Priest were finally in town. Entering the half filled Acer Arena, a sense of disappointment came over me. Here was a band that I cut my teeth on in the early eighties, and I wanted all of Sydney to witness a band that I consider legends. Maybe the removal of Cavalera Conspiracy as support had something to do with it. Priest opened with the title track off their latest release Nostradamus. It was all smoke
BIRDS OF TOKYO CALLING ALL CARS
The Cambridge Hotel Friday September 12, 2008 The simple fact that Birds Of Tokyo’s Newcastle performance was the first to sell out on their national tour, was a guarantee that this would be a mammoth show. Calling All Cars warmed up the crowd and there was a strong response, with many punters up the front with their fists in the air. The Melbourne band’s sound was a fairly standard rock-tinged, punk affair, but for a three-piece
If you were to drop a bomb on this particular Van She show, you would be wiping out every scenester in the Hunter Valley. Support band Lost Valentinos receive a welcome response. Their set opts for sweeping, spaceage arrangements with archaic beats, rather than their standard electro-pop anthems.
The Cambridge Hotel Saturday September 20, 2008 The Seabellies proved that numerous high profile gigs and tour supports can only make you a tighter outfit, and they certainly had no trouble warming up (the disappointingly small) audience at The Cambridge. Finishing up with ‘Drain The Lake’ and their radio hit ‘Prairie’, Newcastle’s The Seabellies were impressive as always. They didn’t lose their cool when a drunken f**khead found his way on to the stage and made a fool of himself.
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The guitars of K K Downing and Glenn Tipton were forceful and cutting - their twin
The set list spanned both Birds Of Tokyo’s astonishing pop-rock masterpiece Universes, and their stellar debut Day One. ‘An Ode To Death’ appeared early and was clearly recognised by the fans. As was the insidiously catchy ‘Head In My Hands’ and the monstrous ‘Broken Bones’.
The Cambridge Hotel Thursday September 18, 2008
THE SEABELLIES
The bald and bearded Halford stalked the stage rather than attacking it. He is 57 years old so he is entitled to slow down. One thing that has not diminished is his voice. No one screams like Rob Halford, the true voice of metal (OK, and Bruce Dickinson).
With an effective light display, Birds Of Tokyo took to the stage. Lead singer Ian Kenny looked exceptionally presentable - combed hair, vest etc. Perhaps the best live vocalist in Australia at the moment, Kenny was truly awesome.
LOST VALENTINOS
END OF FASHION
and drama as Rod Halford’s vocals kicked in, and he rose out of the stage dressed in a long silver cape. It was a sight to behold. Quickly, ‘Metal Gods’ and ‘Eat Me Alive’ were upon us, and Priest were showing the faithful just how powerful a 30 year old band can be.
they had a full sound. If a breakthrough single comes their way, Calling All Cars could be the next big thing.
VAN SHE
fans to stand up, informing them that they were ‘…not at home watching television…’ and in fact at a rock concert. With the release of Indestructible earlier this year, Disturbed joined the likes of U2, Metallica and Van Halen in an elite group of rock bands who have achieved three consecutive albums that debuted at #1 on the American Billboard charts. With a huge back catalogue to choose from, the hard rockers entertained fans with ‘10,000 Fists’, ‘Perfect Insanity’ and ‘Stricken’ among others heavy hits. A stand out crowd pleaser was the title track taken from Indestructible. Seeing these bands pack out a venue so large on a Thursday night in Newcastle was a delight. Hopefully, the promoters took notice and we see more tours of this nature stopping through our town. Review by Nathaniel Try Photography by Jim Graham
Behind Crimson Eyes
sound is as important to Priest as Halford’s vocals. Ian Hill’s bass work was solid and melodic, and drummer Scott Travis was the showman behind the kit (how many sticks can this guy throw in the air). For the encore, Halford rode a motorbike onstage wearing a coat of mirrors, and launched into ’Hell Bent For Leather’. To top that, ‘The Green Manalishi’ followed. With a second encore of ‘You’ve Got Another Thing Coming’, it is time for me to head home for a good lie down. I had witnessed Metal Nirvana. Review and Photography By Kevin Bull
Older tunes like ‘Wayside’, ‘Off Kilter’ and ‘Black Sheets’ proved that the audience were not new to the Birds Of Tokyo bandwagon - the crowd sung every word. Musically, guitarist Adam Spark and his fellow band mates were tight - and they have a gargantuan sound. As a unit, the four-piece could shake the walls of a stadium. Finishing with their radio single ‘Silhouettic’, the crowd screamed every word (“I’m not sure we are...!” and it capped off an impressive performance. Review by Nick Milligan Photography by Mark Snelson
As the release of their epic debut album, V, would indicate, Van She have traded their slick 80s pop, for a futuristic 90s-shoegazemeets-Pink-Floyd hybrid. The group ascend the stage and explode into ‘Memory Man’, impressively recreating the thickly produced album opener. Silence hangs momentarily before singer Nicky Routledge and his band perform ‘Cat & The Eye’, ‘Changes’ and ‘Strangers’. By this time, The Cambridge Hotel is at capacity, filled with sweaty, gyrating trend-setters.
sci-fi. The four members have a strong presence, falling somewhere between the energy of 70s prog and the nonchalance of show-gaze. The set list is mostly new material, though we are treated to the two EP classics, ‘Sex City’ and ‘Kelly’. Joined for a brief encore by Valentinos vocalist Nik Yiannikas, Van She have put on a truly stellar performance. Review by Nicholas Milligan Photography by Mitchell Tomlinson
A projected video display adds to the show’s charm, flashing montages of cheesy, 80s
Despite touring their insanely catchy new album, End Of Fashion didn’t disappoint their old fans. Opening with ‘Love Comes In’, the band went straight into ‘She’s Love’. The faithful crowd response was massive. They then gave everyone a taste of their “fucking awesome” new album (as lead singer Justin Burford put it) with ‘American’. Other tracks played from Books Of Lies included ‘Down Or Down’, ‘Kamikaze’, and ‘Biscit’. Re-worked from the polished production of the album, they sounded raw and amazing. It was comforting to hear Burford and his band mates polish off the tracks that we came to love from their debut album. ‘Too Careful’ and ‘Lock Up Your Daughters’ made an appearance, as did the EP track ‘Anything
Goes’. A soaring version of ‘In Denial’ was a highlight. They finished the set with ‘O Yeah’ (the crowd moshed, leaping high in the air) and new single ‘Fussy’, before returning for a blistering encore of ‘Rough Diamonds’ and ‘The Game’. For Newcastle’s End Of Fashion fan base, it had been a long time between drinks. The only half of The Cambridge’s capacity sold, a lot of punters missed out on an absolutely brilliant show. It would be a mistake to miss End Of Fashion when they return to Newcastle Panthers in November, supporting Cut Copy. Be there! Review by Nicholas Milligan Photography by Jim Graham
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live reviews
Alterbridge
Birds Of Tokyo
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Super Massive
Disturbed
Disturbed
Calling All Cars
edition 027 - Oct 08 - 39
In the space of two weeks, the future of two major Central Coast festivals were sealed by Mother Nature. Coastfest had everything going for it. Beautiful location and a wonderful lineup, it was blown away by torrential rain on its opening night. Coastfest 2009 is now in doubt. The inaugural Coaster festival on the other hand, enjoyed hotter than usual weather, a sellout crowd, and the cream of Aussie musical talent. Coaster 2009 is virtually assured. The power of Mother Nature cannot be denied.
Jeff Lang
COASTFEST Point Wolstoncroft
Friday September 5, Saturday September 6, Sunday September 7, 2008 On the Friday evening, the heavens opened up and blew away all hope of the event to be a financial success. The main open-air stage saw bands cancelled, tents and trees laid to waste, and the crowd that did turn up and camp became waterlogged. I had plans to head to Coastfest that evening but the weather kept me away. Such a disappointment. Saturday dawned and it was still raining but much lighter. I arrived to find the ground sodden, but the crowd surprisingly upbeat. Three stages survived the previous night with the band schedule adjusted accordingly, and the musical talent prepared to blow away any dark cloud. The first highlight of the day was Jeff Lang. He is a masterful guitarist, and each time I see him perform I come away amazed. Adding to the strength of this performance was the surprise guest, Chris Wilson. To see possibly
Rocwater
Afro Moses
Australia’s two best blues artists on the one stage was something very special. Afro Moses has the ability to lift any listener’s spirits. His African rhythms are infectious, his energy on stage unbridled. A joyous sound that this event benefited from. Chase The Sun. I will make the statement right here that they are the best hard blues band in the country at this moment. Powerful performance that left the crowd with mouths agape. They are that good. Chris Wilson finished the night for me, as he does many a festival. He has the ability to send the crowd home with the biggest smile on their face. Charismatic and contagious, it is the party to end all parties. If Coastfest had been a beautiful sunny weekend, it would have set the event up for many years to come. Perfect venue, stellar lineup, all that could go wrong was the weather.
Ben Roberts
Catch The Sun
Chris Wilson
COASTER Gosford Showgrounds
Saturday September 20,2008
The Matches
How bloody hot was it at Coaster. Summer weather had hit Gosford as the sellout crowd made an early entrance. Gates opened at midday and by 1pm it was packed. Tried to catch everything, but space in print is just not big enough. Congrats to The Seabellies, The Steel, We Are Grace, The Lazys, Eclectic Dreams, The Inheritors, Blue King Brown and Kisschasy. All sets were great, wish I had more space. Gin Wigmore was an unfortunate withdrawal. Wisdom teeth I am told. Our sympathies go out. Bluejuice put on their typical frantic performance. So much fun to watch, while having too much fun on stage. Big smiles all round. The big surprise was the frenzy that Snob Scrilla produced on the small stage. It was madness out there for 40 minutes with the big crowd loving it. Big highlight.
Kisschasy
Bluejuice
Snob Scrilla
Another highlight were The Matches with a show that was full of energy and craziness. I knew very little about these guys except for a few songs, and they held me for the whole set. That says something. The Potbelleez brought dance to the main stage, supported by guest vocalists. The sweaty kids loved it. Hometown champs Something With Numbers shared the love around. Their stage presence is so assured, and playing in front of locals on such a big stage was great to see.
Cog
It was all force and intensity for Cog. They are a three-man beast and I never stop enjoying seeing them live. Once again, loved it. The Living End are a powerful machine on stage, and are on top of their game at the moment. Aussie anthems kept coming, and it was a fine way to finish off Coaster 2008. Can’t wait for Coaster 2009. Reviews by Kevin Bull. Photography by Kevin Bull and Jason Michael Henson The Living End
Potbelleez
Something With Numbers
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A E S E H T ACROSS Having built a live following around Australia through radio support from Triple J, local band The Seabellies are now heading off to New York to perform at the prestigious CMJ Music Marathon. Nick Milligan caught up with their vocalist Trent Grenell to chat about their overseas voyage and the plans for a debut album.
“CMJ is more focused than South By Southwest,” says Seabellies singer Trent Grenell, comparing the two American music conferences. “There’s not as many commercial acts at CMJ and I think it will be harder for us to get lost (amongst all the other acts). I’m just happy to see how we fit in alongside the sound of overseas bands. We’ve always felt that we have a North American feel.”
CMJ is one of the two largest music conferences in America, and is swarmed by music industry heavies who are looking for their next musical discovery. Every venue in New York is booked solid with independent bands. The Seabellies have an overseas booker who is helping them out, and at this stage the Newcastle group are aiming to have a gig on every night of the conference.
“We’ve got a few goals. We plan to play every night. Basically, we’re just looking for booking agents and lawyers – and a [record] label? Hell yeah, but I’m expecting them to be as cagey as they are [in Australia],” admits Grenell. “Our main goal is for people to hear us and know us (over there) and hopefully have some repeat views. Then hopefully return to (the US) for South By Southwest.” 2008 has also seen The Seabellies make their national tour debut. The band has played alongside numerous international and national artists on limited runs, but their recent dates with End Of Fashion has been their longest tour to date. The Seabellies had considered starting pre-production on a debut album in 2007 – a decision spurred by the success of their debut EP, Wave Your Fingers To Make The Winters. Instead the band released two singles (‘Heart Heart Heart Out’ and ‘Prairie’) to radio, as well as on iTunes. Grenell has since observed that festival
organisers prioritise bands that are promoting full length albums. The time has come for The Seabellies to make a record. “I locked myself away through all of August. I stayed in a beach house and came home with twelve new songs. We’re going to do another round of demos in Calf’s studio and take those overseas with us. Then we’ll hopefully record the album over summer,” explains Grenell. So will we hear The Seabellies moving in a new direction? “I think so,” answers Grenell. “I think we got pigeon-holed as the plunderers of Canadian indie-pop. The new songs are definitely a reaction to that. We’ve kept a lot of the values that we’ve always had – big songs crossed with a cinematic, rock aesthetic. There’s a lot of variety in the songs so we have to find a common thread. But it will be a surprising record.” The Seabellies perform at the Fat As Butter festival on November 2, 2008. Head to www.myspace.com/ theseabellies to hear their goods.
Hear Them Stirring
Using breath-taking vocal arrangements, luscious instrumentation and spacious production, Seattle’s Fleet Foxes have released a classic debut album. Comparisons to their peers - My Morning Jacket and Band Of Horses especially - are common, but the beauty of their swirling folk music is in a league all to itselt. Noah Cross spoke to lead vocalist Robin Pecknold. Pecknold. What is Fleet Foxes’ main mission statement? We aim to be adventurous and true to ourselves and to enjoy our time together - the music we make is a reflection of our instincts. To me, the most enjoyable thing in the world is to sing harmony with people, so we do that a bunch. We try to draw from the traditions of folk music, pop, choral music and gospel, baroque psychedelic, sacred harp singing, West Coast music, traditional music from Ireland to Japan, and film scores, and are inspired by the music of our friends and contemporaries in the Seattle music family. What did you want your first album to be? All we strove for with this record was to make something that was an honest reflection of who we are, citizens of the western United States who love all kinds of music and above all else love singing… This record is like our first steps and like any newborn, we made mistakes and made discoveries and in the process better found out who we are! We cannot wait to continue making records, to explore all there is to explore in this vast musical landscape and test ourselves in new ways through song.
What did you want Fleet Foxes to sound like? With the new music, we decided to put an emphasis on harmony, simple threeand four-part block harmony. The songs would be simple as well, songs about our friends and family, history, nature, and the things around us in the Pacific Northwest. Instead of complicated vocal melodies, we
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would try and use guitars and mandolins and banjos and other little guys to fill the melodic spaces in the music. We’d try and avoid conventional song structures, sometimes putting two songs together as one, or avoiding choruses and verses in favour of long vocal rounds and alternating instrumental sections. Do you get sick of hearing that your music echoes of music from the 60s and 70s? I’ve found that if I tried to write something specifically new-sounding, it somehow diluted what I was doing. If you are not the lucky dude with the right sensibility that you’re totally brand-new and everyone hears it as new, then the best thing to do, I’ve found, is to write songs you think are ok and not really worry about sounding old or new. You mentioned listening to your parents’ record collection when you were growing up. Did you ever rebel against your parents’ music? I don’t know. Some of it. Like, Steely Dan I never particularly loved, you know? My tastes generally fall in line with the generic indie-rock guy or whatever, and the later in the ‘70s it gets, the less appealing it is. That seems to be the bell curve for most of us generic guys. But for me the thing to rebel against was the Hot Topic punk stuff. When I was in junior high and high school, it just seemed really commodified at that point. It just seemed like you could just go to the mall and buy a punk outfit, call it a day and that’s who you were. I think that, at my age, we’re far enough away from the 1960s stuff for it to be reactionary to rebel
“We aim to be adventurous and true to ourselves and to enjoy our time together - the music we make is a reflection of our instincts.”
against. It sounds like your rebellion was not listening to punk music... [The Clash’s] London Calling is one of my favourite records. But when you’re dealing with the music of the past, there’s not much consideration for - you can listen to Elvis without needing the perspective of a curmudgeonly ‘50s dad. It’s easy for me to separate the bad from the good. I mean,
yeah, there is something about Crosby, Stills & Nash that’s slick and alienating — it’s bloated. Something’s wrong with it. And I can see the reason why the music that came after that stuff was reactionary against it. But I can also see the good in it. Fleet Foxes debut, self-titled album is available now through Stomp/Sub Pop. They play the Falls Festival, Lorne & Marion Bay on December 30 & 31.
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Brawlers Beware: Super Smash Bros Brawl
042
gamer’s corner all around the world and uses them to populate the game world. This is done automatically, though you can pick and choose yourself if you prefer or subscribe to particular players whose designs strike your fancy. Such an adaptable and creative environment is an amazing achievement, one which will no doubt affect future titles. This achievement aside, however, is Spore fun to play?
The DIY world of Spore
GAME REVIEW By Hugh Milligan
SPORE If you haven’t been following the development of Spore, the latest brainchild of Will
Wright and Maxis (of The Sims fame), chances are your first exposure to the game was through the “creature creator” that was handed out with your morning newspaper and widely disseminated online. Usergenerated content was the selling point of Spore, and rightly so – Maxis have pushed astonishing boundaries in allowing players to share in each other’s creativity. The creature creator is only one of about a dozen such editors in the game that allow you to create from scratch creatures,
costumes, buildings, vehicles and even spaceships. The editors offer nigh limitless possibility in realising even the most bizarre and wondrous ideas, and you can then use your creations within the game to inject the whole experience with your own personality. Or, more importantly, the personality of other players. Everything you create is uploaded into a massive online repository called the Sporepedia, which similarly downloads the creations of other people from
“It’s a bit like pregnancy really – as soon as the album comes out, my mind gets wiped and I forget how difficult it was..”
Borrowed... Just chilling out, chatting to some Aussie journalists? Yeah, it’s a nice way to start the day. How did the making of your latest album, Everything Is Borrowed, compare to your previous albums? Did everything go smoothly? No, it was more difficult to make than the other albums, though I think it’s a bit like pregnancy really – as soon as the album comes out, my mind gets wiped and I forget how difficult it was. I just want to make another one. Why was this album more difficult? Because I wasn’t referencing modern life, I limited myself to the kinds of songs I could write. It was a good limitation, because it forced me to approach it in a different way.
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Still, Spore is packed with inherent charm and polish, and you’ll find yourself drawn into a rich and vibrant galaxy of content – in no small part due to your growing attachment to the creatures that you have created and nurtured from single-celled amoebae into space-faring empires. Creativity is the very heart of the game, and those who enjoy designing outrageous oddities will get endless satisfaction. Those who aren’t so inclined, however, might find less on offer and should try before they buy.
A hard cell: cell: Spore
With a thick, London accent and an unwaveringly unique approach to hip hop and electronica, Mike Skinner aka The Streets, has garnered international recognition with his engaging tales from British suburban estates. Skinner spoke to Nick Milligan about the latest chapter in his career, Everything Is Borrowed.
Something Where are you at the moment? I’m lying in bed - it’s about half eight in the morning...
Spore is a game that explores the genesis and evolution of life on other planets, and how it is affected by any number of choices or influences. The gameplay is divided into five “phases” that are largely self-contained (although decisions you make in earlier phases have an effect on later ones). Each is a derived from a different genre – the cell phase is an advanced Pacman-style game, the creature phase is akin to a third-person RPG, the tribal phase and the civilisation phase are simplified forms of real-time strategy, while the space phase is a far more open-ended avatar based game. This offers a highly diverse gaming experience, especially to casual gamers that may not have played games in these genres before. Unfortunately, this also makes
Spore a “jack of all trades, master of none” affair in many ways, as more experienced gamers will burn through each phase relatively quickly until they reach the space phase, which is undeniably much larger and deeper. Each phase is also a rather watered down version of other games in the genre, designed to appeal to everyone, but the result seems at times a little limited.
That’s why I think the album sounds so different. People are saying that this album is more upbeat than your previous records – do you agree? I didn’t feel happy making the album – I definitely wanted to make a positive album... it’s just the way that it came out, really. There’s a song on the album called ‘The Way of The Dodo’ which appears to be your comment on the issue of global warming – what was the idea behind that song? I didn’t intend for it to be a rant – it was just a juxtaposition between the rapid, hectic [vocal] delivery and the fact that it’s talking about something that people are quite serious about at the moment. It was written quite late on as well. When you listen to Everything Is
Borrowed compared to the three previous records, do you feel you sound older and wiser? I think I sound older and wiser, but I could have been that way on previous albums – that’s just not the album I was making [at the time]. You’ve said that Everything Is Borrowed is the second last album you’ll make as The Streets – have you given any thought to what project you will move on to next in your life? I’d like to make a film and then see where it takes me. I’m just very much focused at the moment on the next Streets album, so I’m not going to distract myself with anything else. There’s two songs on your new album that are clearly directed at a lady – ‘I Love You More (Than You Like Me)’ and ‘Never Give In’. Are they directed at the same person? They’re just songs, really. [Their meanings] change for me, as time goes along. Because the songs took a long time to write, you’re never in the same emotions twice. Sometimes they take months and months to come together and life situations change. Do a lot of your songs change in meaning for you over time? Yeah. I’m quite an emotional person, so when I sing a song, it takes me back to when I was writing it. Because you perform as ‘The Streets’, does that allow you an opportunity to distance yourself from being personal in your lyrics and sing from a character?
I don’t really feel like the (stage) name gives me any extra space, than it would if I was just called Mike Skinner. The songs are stories and they’re the best ones that I can write. It wouldn’t matter what name I went under – I’d still be trying to do that. Why did you choose ‘The Escapist’ as the final song for the album? Was it always an obvious choice? I didn’t know where that song was going to be until when we were in the studio. We were recording a Hammond organ. I noticed that it sounded really crazy when he turned it off and on. So while we were recording ‘The Escapist’, I recorded him turning the Hammond off. That was the point when I knew that ‘The Escapist’ would end the album. I think I always knew that ‘Everything Is Borrowed’ would be the start. Do you enjoy coming to Australia? I love it, it’s always good. It’s a complete break. Because you’re so far away, people don’t hassle you as much, like the (record) label and so on. You tend to get a bit of space and you can be more creative. The second last song on the new album, ‘Strongest Person I Know’, was written on Bells Beach – it’s along the coast from Melbourne. Do you have plans to come back to Australia? Yeah, we’d like to play the Big Day Out, but they don’t want us. So whatever comes up after that – we’ll just have to sort something out. Everything Is Borrowed is out now through Warner.
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vinyl world
In The Groove
Resident record afficianado Stan Sykes talks about the latest in the world of vinyl records.
7” SINGLES ALOHA HAWAII – TOWNS ON THE MOON/ I’VE BEEN BAD FOR YEARS (Chemikal Underground)
TO CULL OR NOT TO CULL Have just finished reading an interesting article where a person has just got back into buying vinyl again but has decided that their collection must be no bigger than 200 LPs (due to lack of space) and is trying to decide what albums should stay on what has to go? As I know, certain situations like the above or the below will influence the size and content of your collection. i must admit when i moved to Oz i sold a rather large collection and I seem to have spent the following years trying to get it back again! In some ways it can be quite exciting and I almost had a tear in my eye when I tracked down The Anti Social Workers - Punky Reggae Party on LP (from Switzerland of all places) a few weeks ago but at other times a heartbreaking journey, as my endless pursuit of The Redskins - Lev Bronstein/Peasant Army 7inch will testify! Next on the agenda - it’s that time again - NEWCASTLE RECORD & CD FAIR - SUNDAY NOVEMBER 2ND, UNITING CHURCH HALL, BEAUMONT STREET, HAMILTON, 9AM TO 4PM. $1 ENTRY. - come along and bring all your friends. So that’s it for another month - don’t forget to cuddle a record and be good to your mum. -Stan Sykes
12” ALBUM
A match made in heaven! Aidan Moffat (ex-Arab Strap) teams up with Stuart Braithwaite (Mogwai) for a series of vinyl releases. This little beauty is a 10” vinyl single and limited to a 1000 copies only. The band are stating that all releases will only come out on vinyl as a protest to the cheapening of an art-form in this sad world of the download culture.
OASIS – THE SHOCK OF THE LIGHTNING (Big Brother) The brothers Gallagher are back and sounding like - well the brothers Gallagher! As the old saying goes, ‘If it ain’t broke don’t fix it‘, so it’s that classic Oasis guitar sound and that classic Liam vocal.
12” CLASSIC ALBUM SAINT ETIENNE – LONDON CONVERSATIONS (Heavenly)
The perfect pop band - all melodic and shiny. Now into their 18th year with 10 albums released, Saint Etienne release a ‘Best Of ‘ double LP with 35 tracks (including two new). A play of this release is like a soundtrack of London from the early 90s to today - dancing at 3am in clubs while the city wakes up, dramas in love and memories of sun drenched European holidays as Autumn sets in. This band played a crucial part in the indie/dance genre of the early 90s, with their anthem ‘Only Love Can Break Your Heart‘. Even though they’ve embraced styles from electro-beats, folktronica, disco to baggy, it was always pop with a capital P. This is the band that reintroduced the three-minute pop song to the indie kids - full of melody, atmosphere and a nudge to 60s London. i guess later releases are now probably appealing to a niche market of longtime fans, but this album is an obvious and great start for new listeners to fall in love with and make Saint Etienne your number one pop band, kids.
THE GOBETWEENS - 16 LOVERS LANE (Mushroom) The GoBetweens were the second Aussie band i discovered (after The Church), while living back in dear old Blighty, and perfect for those long, cold, grey, winter nights of unrequited love. This record has clear but sparse production, bringing out the fragility of the songs’ content and the emotional state of the band’s two songwriters - Grant McLennan and Robert Forster. Song one, side one (‘Love Goes On’) is upbeat compared to the gorgeous and sad ballad of ‘Quiet Heart‘, that contains some beautiful violin. Here lies one of the great pluses for vinyl, as you can get to rest your heart after five songs! Side Two opens with the McLennan pop classic ‘Streets Of Your Town‘, which has some lovely backing vocals, to the wistful ‘Was There Anything I Can Do‘. ‘I’m Alright‘ follows and you can almost imagine them making that phone call to check up on you, and you try and convince them that you’re ok. You finish the call and listen to the last track - the heartbreaking ‘Dive For Your Memory‘ and you sit there all alone... Music to ease the pain.
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COASTAL MUSICFEST
SUNDAY OCTOBER 19
Y O U R L O C A L A LT E R N AT I V E
Abrie, Lounge Act, Chontia and the New Colours, Chris Taylor, Sarah Humphreys, Brett O’Malley, Nick and Liesl, Ocea’s Meld, Dale Willis, Joshua Koutoulas, Lianna Rose KANTARA HOUSE, GREEN POINT $15
The Cranberries tried to warn us...: Left 4 Dead
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reverb socializm Disturbed @ NEC
Gold Livin’ Sprintime Jamboree
Coaster 2008
Van She @ Cambridge
44
Newcastle, Hunter and Coast’s largest music, entertainment and lifestyle magazine
OCTOBER 24-31 • 2008
FULL STRENGTH
coming soon to ... THE Sat Oct 4
Fri Oct 31
Woodport Inn Birthday Party
NICK SKITZ
SOMETHING NUMBERS ANGELAS DISH M O D E R N J OY WITH
presented by
WOODY
myspace.com/nickskitzofficial
Sat Oct 11
presented by
myspace.com/blissneso
Sat Nov 8
www.myspace.com/drapht
Fri Nov28
Sat Oct 18
EPICURE myspace.com/dirtylaundryaustralia
myspace.com/epicuretheband
Sat Nov 29
Sat Oct 25
THE LAZYS
ANGELAS DISH myspace.com/angelasdish
myspace.com/thelazys
Tuesday Wednesday Thursday FRI 5 Oct FRI 10 Oct FRI 17 Oct FRI 24 Oct
$10 SCHNITZEL $ 1 0 PA S TA $ 1 2 T- B O N E
HIGHWAY TO HELL AC/DC TRIBUTE SHOW RITCHIE WILLIAMS BAND SAT11Oct GLASGOW AND THE FOURTH WALL PULSE SAT 18 Oct KICK STEVE EDMONDS BAND FRI 31 Oct END OF AUGUST for mor e info contact the venue :
207 entr ance r d
ERINA 4367 5222 for ar tist enquiries contact 0410 336 401
w w w. w o o d p o r t i n n . c o m . a u
Tickets Available Fr om Website