MADE IN SYDNEY MARCH 29, 2017
FREE Now picked up at over 1,600 places across Sydney and surrounds. thebrag.com
MUSIC, FILM, COMEDY + MORE
THE
Wil Wagner
Talks Mental Health + Their BIGGEST Shows Yet
PLUS: WIN A SMITH STREET BAND VINYL + MERCH PACK! Inside
A LT ER BR IDGE L OY L E C A R NER FA NN Y L UMSDEN GOLDFR APP
It's lucky number seven for the duo's discography.
DAVID O'DOHERT Y
And why comedy is the best antidote for our troubled times.
CARL COX
"Techno has lasted longer than rock'n'roll," says the DJ legend.
ANDRE W BIRD
There's no hiding behind artifice in his live shows.
COUGH A ND MUCH MOR E
TH WIL
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in this issue
free stuff
what you’ll find inside…
15
head to: thebrag.com/freeshit
4
The Frontline
5
Win a Smith Street Band vinyl and merch pack
6
Back To Business
8-12
The Smith Street Band’s Wil Wagner tells all about his mental health battles and why his fans give him all the motivation he needs to keep performing.
14
Carl Cox
15
Goldfrapp are one of the enduring duos in modern music, and Will Gregory explains why.
16-17 Alter Bridge, Cough, Kyle Lionhart, D Henry Fenton
“Look at me – I’m a weird, manically depressed fucking loser. I could never complain about how lucky I’ve been.”
24-25
(8-12)
“Why do we have to be so damn interesting? Why do we make it so hard for ourselves? All I want to do is sing a nice melody.” (18) 18
Andrew Bird is sick of watching indie rockers be deliberately evasive, so he’s here to tell the truth.
19
Creo, Grün, 11 11 Nation
20-21 Loyle Carner, Fanny Lumsden 22
David O’Doherty
23
Arts reviews, Fallen
24-25 The Carter and Flying Tong reviewed, bar of the week 26
Album reviews, First Drafts
27
Off The Record, Out & About
28-29 Live reviews 30
Gig guide
NATIONAL FOLK FESTIVAL One of Australia’s largest and longestrunning festivals, the National Folk Festival, is back again this Easter for its 51st edition. The lineup boasts more than 200 acts from Australia and around the world, including artists like Harpeth Rising, Fred Smith and Fanny Lumsden, plus a First Peoples’ program featuring Genise and Nicolas Williams, Jessie Lloyd, David Spry and others. There really is an abundance of performances and activations on the program, so the best way to enjoy it is to dive right in.
The 2017 National Folk Festival takes over Exhibition Park in Canberra from Thursday April 13 – Monday April 17, and we’ve got a double season pass (valued at over $800) to give away. Enter the draw at thebrag. com/freeshit.
the frontline with Abbey Lenton, Nathan Jolly and Chris Martin ISSUE 706: Wednesday March 29, 2017 PRINT & DIGITAL EDITOR: Chris Martin chris.martin@seventhstreet.media SUB-EDITOR: David Molloy STAFF WRITERS: Joseph Earp, Nathan Jolly, Adam Norris NEWS: Nathan Jolly, Tyler Jenke, Ben Rochlin
Yusuf Islam
Cat Stevens AKA Yusuf has announced an Australian tour to mark 50 years since his first album, 1967’s Matthew And Son, was released. This will mark only his third tour of Australia, despite his huge success in the country; his 1972 album Catch Bull At Four spent a remarkable 15 weeks on top of the ARIA charts. In 1977 he converted to Islam and took the name Yusuf Islam. He released one final album in 1978 under the name Cat Stevens and then retired from popular music for close to three decades, disowning most of his secular music – a stance he has since softened on. In 2006 he reemerged, and released An Other Cup, his first of three albums under the name Yusuf. The anniversary tour rolls into Qudos Bank Arena on Monday December 4.
ART DIRECTOR: Sarah Bryant PHOTOGRAPHERS: Ashley Mar ADVERTISING: Tony Pecotic - 0425 237 974 tony.pecotic@seventhstreet.media PUBLISHER: Seventh Street Media CEO, SEVENTH STREET MEDIA: Luke Girgis - luke.girgis@seventhstreet.media MANAGING EDITOR: Poppy Reid poppy.reid@seventhstreet.media THE GODFATHER: BnJ GIG GUIDE: gigguide@thebrag.com AWESOME INTERNS: Anna Rose, Ben Rochlin, Abbey Lenton REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: Nat Amat, Arca Bayburt, Lars Brandle, Chelsea Deeley, Matthew Galea, Emily Gibb, Jennifer Hoddinett, Emily Meller, David Molloy, Annie Murney, Adam Norris, George Nott, Daniel Prior, Natalie Rogers, Erin Rooney, Anna Rose, Spencer Scott, Natalie Salvo, Leonardo Silvestrini, Jade Smith, Aaron Streatfeild, Jessica Westcott, Stephanie Yip, David James Young Please send mail NOT ACCOUNTS direct to this NEW address Level 2, 9-13 Bibby St, Chiswick NSW 2046 EDITORIAL POLICY: The views and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher, editors or staff of the BRAG. ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE: Carrie Huang - accounts@seventhstreet.vc (02) 9713 9269 Level 2, 9-13 Bibby St, Chiswick NSW 2046 DEADLINES: Editorial: Friday 12pm (no extensions) Ad bookings: Friday 5pm (no extensions) Fishished art: No later than 2pm Monday Ad cancellations: Friday 4pm Deadlines are strictly adhered to. Published by Seventh Street Media Pty Ltd All content copyrighted to Seventh Street Media 2017 DISTRIBUTION: Wanna get the BRAG? Email george.sleiman@ seventhstreet.media PRINTED BY SPOTPRESS: spotpress.com.au 24 – 26 Lilian Fowler Place, Marrickville NSW 2204 follow us:
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THREE CHEERS FOR HIP HOP
Hip hop? Hooray! A lineup of four of the biggest names in hip hop from the early 2000s is joining forces for an Australian tour this year, all under the banner of Hip Hop Hooray. And you can be sure they’ll be delivering a no-holds-barred show. Atlanta sound pioneers Ying Yang Twins, Chicago’s rapid-fire rapper Twista, Miami’s Trina and Nashville’s Bubba Sparxxx will get the party moving in April. Take a trip back in time with Hip Hop Hooray on Saturday April 29 at the Big Top Sydney, Luna Park.
HOUSEFOX LINEUP LANDS
With a successful debut under its belt, Housefox Studios has announced that its festival, Housefox Fest, will be back in 2017. While Housefox prides itself on showcasing music and artists of all genres, this year’s headliners are defi nitely on the heavier side of things with Psycroptic and Toe To Toe representing the hardcore and punk scene. Joining them on the bill are Black Rheno,
Only God Forgives
4 Barrel Hemi, Na Maza, Yanomamo, Marvell, Last Dig Academy, Conquerors, Speakeasy, Down For Tomorrow and The Shadez. Housefox Fest will rock Narrabeen RSL on Saturday April 22.
HARDLY LAUGHING
Laugh Hard is a night of comedy and Theatresports that aims to raise awareness and support for mental health and suicide prevention. It will be presented this week by The Official Top Ten Night, a Sydneybased group that focuses on creating fun and interactive ‘top ten lists’ that support charity causes. Happening at the University of Sydney’s Manning Bar, Laugh Hard is the group’s inaugural comedy night. Performing for the evening will be the Axis Of Awesome’s Benny Davis and Wentworth stars Danielle Cormack and Socratis Otto, among others. Otto is an ambassador for Official Top Ten Night. Also taking part will be Dan Conn, the founder of F45 Training. Laugh Hard takes place at Manning Bar this Friday March 31.
GORILLAZ FIND AN AUSSIE VOICE
Last week, Damon Albarn revealed that Gorillaz’ new album Humanz will be released on Friday April 28, featuring the likes of Noel Gallagher, Grace Jones, Jehnny Beth from Savages and numerous others. But interestingly, a press release issued shortly after by the label revealed Aussie actor Ben Mendelsohn with providing the narration for interludes featured on the record. Mendelsohn’s Aussie drawl will be familiar to many, especially after his 2012 turn in The Dark Night Rises, but he is in the middle of a purple patch at the moment, with a recent unhinged, Emmywinning performance in Netflix series Bloodline followed by an appearance in last year’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. This will no doubt be another successful venture. “Simply put, we’re in transition, we’re turning into something else,” Albarn told the BBC. “The album kind of came from this dark fantasy. Just imagine, the weirdest, most unpredictable thing that changes everything in the world. How would you feel on that night? Would you go and get drunk? Would you stay at home? Just watch TV? Would you talk to people?”
THE BEST OF SYDNEY FILM FEST
To celebrate the tenth year of Sydney Film Festival’s Official Competition and Sydney Film Prize, the festival will be screening all of its previous competition winners every Tuesday night for ten weeks. The Official Competition is the contest element of the Sydney Film Festival. The major prize (currently $63,000) is awarded to the winning film every year. Now, every Tuesday night over ten weeks, the Golden Age Cinema and Bar will screen all previous winners from the past nine years. Winners of the Official Competition include Nicolas Winding Refn’s Bronson starring Tom Hardy, Only God Forgives starring Ryan Gosling, and Miguel Gomes’ Arabian Nights (split over two screenings). You can catch the Sydney Film Prize winners at Golden Age from Tuesday April 4 – Tuesday May 30. Xxx xxx
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CAT STEVENS IS COMING
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THURSDAY FROM 6PM
thu
29
30
Mar
(9:00PM - 12:00AM)
Mar
(9:00PM - 12:00AM)
fri
31 Mar
(5:00PM - 8:00PM)
(10:00PM - 1:45AM)
TRIVIA in the Atrium
in the Atrium
wed
SATURDAY AFTERNOON
SUNDAY AFTERNOON
sat
sun
5:45PM 8:45PM
01 Apr
3:30PM 6:30PM
02 Apr
(7:30PM - 10:30PM)
(10:00PM - 1:15AM)
EVERY SATURDAY NIGHT
Party DJs
mon
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(8:30PM - 11:30PM)
in the Atrium
sat
01 Apr
DJ Podgee 9:30PM 1:00AM
tue
04 Apr
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Back To Business Music Industry News with Lars Brandle
STUNNING STREAMS
Ed Sheeran isn’t the only guy making and breaking records. Drake’s latest album, More Life, is predictably flying after its release on March 18. More Life collected nearly 90 million streams globally in its first 24 hours on Apple Music, a new single-day record on that platform. Drizzy’s latest shot past 61 million global streams on Spotify, eclipsing the previous record holder, Ed Sheeran’s Divide, which clocked up 56.7 million on day one. According to The Verge, More Life nudged past 600 million streams across all platforms in its first week, roughly half of those generated on Apple Music. Expect to see the Canadian hip hop star end Sheeran’s reign at the top of the Billboard 200.
DRAKE REPS LOCALS
Success, it is said, has many parents. If that’s true, Drake’s new album has a blood relative from Australia in Hiatus Kaiyote. The Grammy-nominated future-soul act’s ‘Building A Ladder’ is sampled on More Life opening track ‘Free Smoke’.
movers and shakers Monti Olson becomes senior vice president of A&R at Warner Bros. Records. Olson most recently served as executive VP of global entertainment and managing director of global music publishing, after working as executive vice president/ head of A&R at Universal Music Publishing Group. The publishing veteran has worked with the likes of Maroon 5, Christina Aguilera and Ellie Goulding, and will be based in LA reporting to WBR president Dan McCarroll.
Geffen Records is getting a makeover with veteran A&R exec Neil Jacobson installed as president. The move was announced by John Janick, chairman of InterscopeGeffen-A&M. Jacobsen has been with Interscope in various roles for about 15 years. The label, which had a golden run in the ’80s (with the likes of Elton John and Guns N’ Roses) and ’90s (Nirvana), currently boasts Avicii, DJ Snake, AlunaGeorge and others on its roster.
Manny Smith rises to A&R executive to senior VP of A&R at Interscope Records. Smith joined Interscope in 2003 as an intern and made a name for himself in A&R, notably signing seven-time Grammywinning rapper Kendrick Lamar via a joint venture with Top Dawg Entertainment and Aftermath Entertainment.
Adele
SPOTIFY MANAGER MOVING OUT
Spotted in Virgin’s in-flight magazine: a spotlight on Spotify Australia’s inaugural managing director Kate Vale and her relocation to LA. Vale told the title she returns to Australia at least once a month to reconnect with staff and industry. The move to La La Land, she explains, places her at the epicentre of the music biz.
RADIO SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
Want a gig in radio? The commercial radio industry is offering a new scholarship that will expose students to the newsrooms of four leading Australian networks. The Brian White Scholarship offers aspiring journalists an eightweek paid work placement consisting of two weeks each at Macquarie Media, Southern Cross Austereo, Australian Radio Network and
Of You Than You Are Of Me, due out Friday April 7.
CROSSING BORDERS
China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba Group is bolstering its activities in the entertainment space with the acquisition of Beijing-based ticketing platform Damai.cn, which facilitates online ticketing sales for concerts, sporting events, live theatre, movies and other events. “We believe the full acquisition this time will lead to even greater synergies,” Alibaba boasted in a statement. Damai.cn claims to have sold tickets for more than 1.8 million events from 46 regional offices, and is active in 330 cities around the world.
SIX YEARS FOR SCALPER
It doesn’t pay to be a ticket tout, especially if you’re Daniel Mercede. The Ohio man has been sentenced to more than six years in prison for fraudulently buying stacks of concert tickets and reselling them on the secondary market – for a US$3 million-plus profit. The 29-year-old was hit with a 79-month prison sentence and a fine of almost $425,000 (A$557,000) after pleading guilty last year to bank fraud, access device fraud and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. Mercede reportedly used stolen credit card details, bought tickets from secondary ticketing site ScoreBig and resold them on StubHub, and splurged his ill-gotten rewards on luxury goods. Pro tip: don’t mess with the IRS.
Jane Huxley, who launched Pandora in Australia and New Zealand fi ve years ago, is exiting the Internet radio firm. With Huxley at the helm as managing director of Pandora’s ANZ activities, the Pandora listener base grew to more than fi ve million registered users, the company says. She’s off to her “next adventure” while Taly Yaniv, director of revenue operations for ANZ, becomes interim head of ANZ.
NUMBERS TELL THE TALE
600,000. That’s roughly the number of tickets Adele shifted across just eight stadium shows in Australia. Add another 130,000-plus for her three shows in Auckland, and that’s an astonishingly successful tour for a first-timer in these parts. How does it stack up with other tours? AC/DC played to 750,000 across 14 stadium shows in Australia and New Zealand in 2010. Pink’s 2009 Funhouse journey also sold 650,000 tickets across 58 Australian arena shows. But it’ll take something extraordinary to topple Dire Straits’ legendary 1986 Brothers In Arms trek, which played to an estimated 900,000 people. Nova Entertainment. Applicants can submit their entries online at bhwscholarship.com and have until Thursday April 13 to do so.
MelodyVR’s music platform is currently in beta and will launch properly at an unspecified time later this year.
IMMERSE YOURSELF IN THE MUSIC
THE SMITH STREET BAND GO GLOBAL
The future is here. MelodyVR and Universal Music Group (UMG) have agreed to create virtual reality music experiences featuring artists on Universal Music’s roster. Think immersive music videos and performances.
Independent music publisher Native Tongue has signing The Smith Street Band to an exclusive worldwide deal. The publishing pact was announced ahead of the Melbourne rockers’ fourth album release More Scared
Pnau
Warner Music Korea is beefing up its presence in that market through a strategic partnership with local independent hip hop label Brand New Music (BNM). Clayton Jin, managing director of Warner Music Korea, describes the deal as a “landmark” and a “significant partnership for WMG” which allows the music major to tap into BNM’s artist roster and A&R expertise. BNM was founded by Korean hip hop artist and producer Rhymer in 2011 and is considered one of the more influential labels in its space.
THE BIG STAGE
Live Nation, the world’s biggest concert promoter, has built its portfolio in the festivals world with the acquisition of a majority stake in Britain’s iconic Isle Of Wight Festival. Through the new arrangement, Live Nation partners with the fest’s chief John Giddings and his London-based Solo Music Agency to develop and lead the event. The first incarnation of IOW Festival started in 1968 but came unstuck in 1970 when an estimated 600,000 revellers arrived on the island to catch headliners Jimi Hendrix and the Doors. Giddings revived the event in 2002, and this year’s IOW will be held in June at Seaclose Park with David Guetta, Run-D.M.C., Arcade Fire and Rod Stewart. LN recently reported a sixth consecutive year of growth with revenue up 15% in 2016 to US$8.4 billion (AU$11 billion) and operating income up by 48% to US$195 million (AU$255 million).
TROUBLE IN PARADISE
LN’s bottom line will take a small hit after the city of Seville fined the promoter for failing to provide refunds for AC/DC’s show in the city’s Olympic Stadium last May. The Rock Or Bust tour date received a complaint from Spanish consumer watchdog Facua, which argued LN breached local laws by ignoring some ticketholders’ requests for refunds and closing the refund window after just three days. The complaint stemmed from GNR switching out long serving frontman Brian Johnson mid-tour (due to a medical complaint) and inserting Axl Rose. LN’s fine: €15,000 (AU$21,000).
CHART GEEK
MORE LIKE PNOW
The time is now for Pnau. The Aussie electronic act have completed writing the songs for a new album, founding member Nick Littlemore told the BRAG. There’s no word of a title or date on the album, the follow-up to their Elton John collab Good Morning To The Night, which reached number one in the UK. Pnau’s comeback is hitting all the right notes: their latest single ‘Chameleon’ is their biggest hit to date, completing number one stints on ARIA’s Australian Artist Singles Chart and Dance Singles charts, and earning platinum status. After completing a string of shows Down Under, the trio return to their second home, Los Angeles, to prep for a busy touring schedule.
Ed Sheeran’s days are numbered at the summit of the US Billboard 200, though Drake will have to wait another week for his crown. For a second straight week, Sheeran manages the chart triple in the US with Divide at number one for a second stint, ‘Shape Of You’ snatching an eighth week atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and Sheeran scoring a second week atop the Billboard Artist 100. It’s a feat only four other artists have achieved: Taylor Swift, The Weeknd, Adele and Drake. Meanwhile, Starley’s ‘Call On Me’ is up three places to number 75 in its 11th week on the US singles chart. It’s all about Sheeran in the UK and Australia, with the singer-songwriter again locking up the chart double in both markets. Divide is certified three times platinum in Australia, for three weeks on the chart – all at number one. Xxx
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FEATURE
The Smith Street Band Wil Wagner’s Journey Through Depression Towards Triumph
I
t’s around 5pm on a Saturday afternoon. The University of Wollongong, usually a bustling metropolis unto itself, is mostly a ghost town today – partly because it’s a weekend, but more to do with the ungodly amount of rain that is hurtling down from the sky at a rapid rate. The only people in the UniBar – which on any other day of the week is the social centre of the university – are a couple of staff members, a sound engineer and Wil Wagner, the lead singer and chief songwriter of Melbourne’s pub rock heroes turned theatre-fillers The Smith Street Band.
Wagner is off in his own world, soundchecking for his headline solo show later this evening, strumming the same two chords over and over. He steps up to the mic, and his endgame becomes clear: he’s covering ‘Shivers’, the famously heartbroken anthem penned by the late, great Rowland S. Howard and performed by The Boys Next Door, the band that elevated both Howard and a young Nick Cave on their way to cult stardom. Wagner sighs out the song’s morose opening lyrics, his body in a gentle sway. I’ve been contemplating suicide But it really doesn’t suit my style So I guess I’ll just act bored instead And contain the blood I woulda shed.
Bosma’s words hangs in the air as Wagner exudes the song’s “down my spi-yi-ine” refrain. It cuts abruptly short once the sound engineer has the levels sorted in the mix. “Too easy,” Wagner says. He stifles a nervous giggle before immediately returning to his normal self.
BY DAVID JA MES YOUNG 8 :: BRAG :: 706 :: 29:03:17
W
atching Wagner in action in an otherwise empty venue sets off two separate trains of thought. The first is how long Wagner has been in this game, and how young he was when he started. His debut album, Us Boys Run, was released independently in 2008 when Wagner was all of 18, and included a fair amount of songs written when the Melbourne native was even younger. The second is how so many of Wagner’s songs – much like Howard’s – come from a place of darkness, despair and hopelessness. Nearly a decade on from his first release, these themes are still very much part of what Wagner – who formed The Smith Street Band to back him in 2010 – does as
a songwriter. Howard had “I’ve been contemplating suicide,” Wagner has “When I said that I wanted to die, I meant it.” For a time there, Wagner could go pound for pound and line for line with any miserabilist you could find. With the impending release of The Smith Street Band’s fourth studio album, More Scared Of You Than You Are Of Me, Wagner has gone from being firmly lodged in a place of despair to enjoying perhaps his strongest mindset and outlook in years. “For about two years, I was really a mess,” he says. “We’re talking from 2015 to about late last year.” He’s now speaking over dinner at Saray, the Turkish restaurant at the top of Enmore Road in Newtown, before another solo set opening for American indie-pop singer Frankie Cosmos. “I was never sober, never happy… I was close, y’know? I was as bad as I’ve ever been. We were so busy touring that I had no time to do anything
The Smith Street Band photo by Ian Laidlaw
Out the front, Chris Bosma – the perennial Smith Street Band tour manager, merch booth stocker, van driver, gopher and keeper-awayer, known almost exclusively by his last name – is marvelling at the song’s craftwork. “He was, like, 18 when he wrote that,” he says in between drags of his cigarette. A pause for thought. “Actually, maybe even younger.”
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“For about two years, I was really a mess … I was never sober, never happy.”
about it – I was just putting Band-Aids on these huge issues. “Since we made the record, I got it all out of my system. We started our own thing with Pool House [Records]. I’ve got a really good psychologist now, who I can call whenever I need to and Skype with if I’m on tour. Chris [Cowburn, the band’s drummer and co-runner of Pool House] was the first person that I shared my bipolar diagnosis with, and the first thing he said was, ‘It looks good on you.’ I was like, ‘What do you mean?’ He explained that I looked so much healthier and so much happier than I did a month ago. It was true. Being honest, being vulnerable, being uncomfortable – it all helps.” thebrag.com
There’s a lot to unpack there, so let’s go part by part. Firstly, Wagner’s mental health decline can be – at least to a point – traced to a major relationship breakdown that came in the first quarter of 2016. In fact, More Scared Of You Than You Are Of Me more or less follows that relationship from its beginnings to its demise. Wagner understandably declines to directly mention the other party by name. Think of it like the ambiguity behind Carly Simon’s ‘You’re So Vain’, albeit running a little deeper than apricot scarves and clouded coffee. “It’s basically a concept album about a relationship that I can’t talk about,” Wagner says. “It’s tough. Then again, pretty much all of my albums are concept albums about
my most recent relationship. This one just happens to be a little more public. It’s not even legal reasons that I can’t talk about this relationship outside of the music – it’s personal. It’s very personal.” It’s suggested, half in jest, that More Scared Of You Than You Are Of Me is essentially Wagner’s own Blood On The Tracks, perhaps Bob Dylan’s most famous break-up album. “It kind of fucking is!” Wagner replies with a slightly exasperated laugh. “I think it was always going to be. I don’t think that anyone that’s ever been in a relationship with me has ever been that surprised that I end up writing super personal love songs while I’m in that relationship – and then super scathing
ones when it ends. I think the difference is that it’s always been [an] internal sort of scathing on previous records. “With this record, it’s kind of the first time that there’s been anger directed at someone else. It’s the first time I’ve had the confidence to be able to say, ‘It’s kind of your fault,’ y’know? ‘My therapist says so, so does my support group – and they’ve got no reason to be pissing in my pocket.’ So I don’t know if that’s because I have more self-belief and I’m less insecure, or it’s because…” There’s a pause. Not a prolonged one, but just long enough to assert the reticence that comes with Wagner’s completed BRAG :: 706 :: 29:03:17 :: 9
“If we had started making this record and everyone was only feeling kind of OK about it, maybe we wouldn’t have taken such a big risk.”
FEATURE
sentence. He continues, albeit slightly quieter, as if telling a secret: “…or it’s because I’m right.” Another pause. “It’s a weird thing to say. It doesn’t feel natural.”
O
f course, listeners will have the chance to judge for themselves when More Scared Of You Than You Are Of Me hits shelves – a moment Wagner awaits with both excitement and the usual anxiety. Recording for the album – which took place in California through 2016 with producer Jeff Rosenstock, an acclaimed punk singer-songwriter in his own right – wrapped up approximately six months ago, but a few major changes in regards to the band’s musical home resulted in its release being pushed back to 2017. This brings us to the second point: The Smith Street Band are now at the helm of (and signed to) Pool House Records, a new independent label. After being part of Melbourne’s Poison City Records for nearly their entire lifespan, it was announced in conjunction with the release of the album’s lead single, ‘Death To The Lads’, that Wagner and co. were venturing out on their own – both a massive risk and an exciting new opportunity for a band that has never lost sight of the DIY ethos.
Talk turns to how The Smith Street Band were instrumental in bringing Poison City to a wider audience, taking bands associated with the label from dive bars and pubs to major theatres and clubs across the country. Wagner explains that, while he and the rest of the band will be forever indebted to the work done by their former label, there came a time when an executive decision had to be made in the best interests of both parties. “I look back on those days when the first album came out [2011’s No One Gets Lost Anymore] and those first few Weekenders [Poison City’s annual music festival] as some of the best times of my life,” he says. “Bands like us, A Death In The Family, The Bennies, Luca Brasi – they all helped to shape that initial community surrounding Poison City. In a lot of ways, that community has kind of disbanded – some bands aren’t playing any more, some people have moved on, some are doing other things. With Pool House, I feel like we’re trying to get that magic back. What inspired us to start Pool House is what inspired me to be on Poison City in the first place. The camaraderie, the
inclusivity, people working hard and making music. It couldn’t be more influenced by Poison City.” Lastly – and perhaps most pertinently – we arrive at an issue Wagner has only felt comfortable talking about in the last few months. In fact, the songwriter had never acknowledged his bipolar diagnosis publicly until the very night that begins this story – standing onstage hundreds of kilometres from home, talking openly about the disorder in a room filled mostly with strangers. It’s while he’s introducing ‘It Kills Me To Have To Be Alive’ from the new album – one of the most bare, honest and emotionally draining songs Wagner has ever penned. Make plans for birthdays That I don’t care if I celebrate I’m sorry that I can’t be What everybody wants from me I do not feel that I am loved And I do not reach out enough I’ll let this all fall down around me. It’s so forthright that no one in the front row is looking directly at him. One fan is even suppressing tears, lips quivering from the restraint. “That song’s brutal,” Wagner says exhaustively afterwards. “It’s almost
embarrassing how brutal that song is – I mean, I’m literally crying in the vocal take. I kept thinking that the lyrics were just too much, but it’s what I was feeling. “It was pretty silent in the band room when I played it to the rest of the guys. Afterwards, Chris came up and was quietly like, ‘…You all good?’ The thing is, we’ve spent the last five years living in one another’s pockets. We know everything about one another, and there’s a real trust there. When I was finished recording it, I felt so empowered. I was so inspired by what we’re doing.” Wagner goes on to say that his newfound openness surrounding bipolar stems in part from the openness that comes with writing such autobiographical songs to begin with. “I’ve got to be honest with people. I’ve been going to therapy on and off for about 13 years. I can remember it all the way back to my first year of high school, which came with a diagnosis. I’ve had a few different ones over the years, but the general consensus seems to be that it’s bipolar. “I’m very passionate about breaking the stigma that comes with mental health. Every time I’ve said something about it onstage, I’ve had people come up to me after shows
and tell me how much it meant to them for me to say it. They’re going through the same thing a lot of the time, and it makes them feel better. I know how much it means that I’m saying it, even if it can be embarrassing to talk about. So often, people belittle these things and demonise them. What I want to show people is basically, ‘I’m up here, doing all these great things – and I also have this thing that you might have too. Look at all these people that support me – they’re going to support you as well.’ “That’s Poison City. That’s Pool House. That’s everything.”
W
agner’s Wollongong show comes as part of a solo tour alongside three fellow singersongwriters – Laura Stevenson of American indie rock band Laura Stevenson and The Cans, Lucy Wilson of Melbourne soul outfit The Sugarcanes, and Iona Cairns of English punk band Shit
Wil Wagner live at Oxford Art Factory photo by Ashley Mar
“We made it official about halfway through tracking the album,” Wagner says. “We’d been talking about it forever, though. It feels like it’s a quite natural progression for us. It felt like it was the right time. If we had started making this record and everyone was only feeling kind of OK about it, maybe we wouldn’t have taken such a big risk. When we were making this record, though, we all knew that we wanted to back it 100 per cent. It’s us, y’know? We want to start a community. We want to be what we’ve always wanted to be.”
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“I could never complain about my position in life. Look at me – I’m a weird, manically depressed fucking loser. I could never complain about how lucky I’ve been.”
JAC K R A BBIT T HE AT R E PR E SE N TS
SEX OBJECT
19 - 29 APRIL 2017 Written by Charlie Falkner Directed by Michael Abercromby The Depot Theatre | thedepottheatre.com
Present. The tour has been going well, with attentive and supportive crowds across the board. Tonight, however, doesn’t go off entirely without a hitch. While the backstage toilet is in use, Wagner ventures out into the venue to use the public one. On his way there, he is yelled at by a drunken fan who attempts to grab him and corner him in order to get his attention. It shakes Wagner, who is already having an off mental health day, and nearly derails him entirely. “There are 100 ways to meet me,” he later tweets through the official Smith Street Band account. “If you barge into [me] backstage or grab me when I’m trying to walk to the bathroom it makes me v[ery] uncomfortable.” Later, he adds: “…I’m a fragile and anxious person who sometimes needs their own space.” A few weeks removed from the incident, Wagner is not fazed by it – rather, he takes the opportunity to discuss his love for the majority of the band’s fans. “For every one person that yells out ‘shoey’ in between every song or sneaks backstage without permission wanting to
shotgun a beer, there’s 100 people that come up quietly and tell me that they like my band. That counters it all out. I could never complain about my position in life. Look at me – I’m a weird, manically depressed fucking loser. I could never complain about how lucky I’ve been. I’d rather be sad and anxious and then go out and play music about it than be sad and anxious and then go work in an office.” One fan who has had a massive impact on Wagner is Jakson Mills, a 21-year-old uni student who lives in Canberra. Mills studies politics and international relations, and is in Wollongong for the fourth of five shows on Wagner’s solo tour, having attended in Brisbane, Byron Bay and Newcastle the previous three nights. In Newcastle, Mills met up with Wagner to share something very important: his brand new Smith Street tattoo. Taking up the top half of his right arm, it’s an artwork that incorporates elements from the covers of the three Smith Street Band albums up to this point – No One Gets Lost Anymore, 2012’s Sunshine & Technology and 2014’s Throw Me In The River. Wrapped around it are lyrics from ‘It’s Alright, I Understand’.
Every time I’ve said something about it much it meant to them for me to say it.” thebrag.com
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FEATURE
“When we step onstage at the Enmore, that’s every Black Wire Records show. Every Jura Books show. Every show at the Townie, the Sando, the Annandale, the Metro.”
Stop living day to day Night to night Dream to dream. “He was pretty gobsmacked,” Mills laughs. “He was just staring at it for something like two or three minutes – all he said was, ‘Wow.’ You could see how stoked he was that something he’d done was now on me permanently.” Mills – who discovered The Smith Street Band with the release of their 2013 EP Don’t Fuck With Our Dreams – wanted to get the tattoo in order to show thanks to the band for being there in a time of need, and is incredibly proud to share its story with anyone who asks. “Music’s always been a really big thing for me,” he explains. “I’ve been playing instruments since I was about ten years old, and all the tattoos I have are music-related in one way or another. The Smith Street Band came along at a time that was really shaping me as a person, so I wanted to get something to commemorate that. The thing with Wil’s lyrics is that there’s just so many, and it’s really hard to pick just one to go with out of context. “I knew I had to go visual with it. I saw an artist called Chris Costa do an etching based on the song ‘It’s Alright, I Understand’, and I thought it was really cool – I definitely knew that I wanted to do something similar to that. I just wanted to get something to kind of thank the band for getting me through a really tough time.” It’s not the first tattoo story from this tour, either. Whether it’s a reference to The Smith Street Band’s artwork or one of their
“We’re not fancy people that are above our station. We’re underdogs. We’re shitkickers. This wasn’t supposed to be us.” 12 :: BRAG :: 706 :: 29:03:17
lyrics, more and more fans are committing themselves to the band on a permanent basis. “I played in Fremantle recently, and these three guys came up to me after I’d played,” says Wagner. “They all had ‘TSSB’ tattooed on their ankles, and the first guy just burst into tears the second that he saw me. He gave me this big hug, and I’m there just trying to console him – ‘It’s alright, it’s alright.’ He starts saying, ‘You have no idea – your music saved my life.’ “That conversation has added on a decade on to the time I will spend playing music. I could not understand more where those words come from. That’s me with The Weakerthans. That’s me with Bruce Springsteen – if I ever met Bruce in person, I would straight up cry my eyes out. I’m not in any way comparing myself to Springsteen, of course – I’m just saying that I get it. Having people come up and say that stuff is meaningful on so many levels. It’s rewarding and beautiful. I appreciate it a lot.”
I
t’s just after 8pm in the surrounds of Newtown Social Club. Despite having been delayed getting into Sydney, Wagner is much calmer and more relaxed than at his Wollongong show. He happily chats away with a small group of people in front of the stage – including Mills, who once again has made the trip up from Canberra. Soon after, Wagner’s new partner arrives, softening his mood even further. During his set, Wagner invites up a couple, Peter and Carissa, who know all the words to his songs in ASL sign language and have earned the nickname of The Smith Street Hands. Despite him throwing a very new Smith Street song at them – More Scared Of You Than You Are Of Me’s second single ‘Birthdays’ – they absolutely ace it. Later on, he even joins Frankie Cosmos onstage to make Tim Tam slammers – the Australian invention that takes a glass of milk and replaces a drinking straw with the humble biscuit. Tonight, Wagner is less Rowland S. Howard and more like his friends in The Bennies – not to their extreme, naturally, but just enough that it’s noticeable.
The importance of the Inner West of Sydney as a musical location isn’t lost on Wagner. Up the road from Newtown Social Club is the Town Hall Hotel, where Wagner sweated through more than his fair share of either boozy or hungover solo sets. Across the way is the Factory Theatre, a venue The Smith Street Band have comfortably filled on a few consecutive national tours. Somewhere in the middle of it all stands the Enmore Theatre, one of the country’s oldest and most prestigious live venues. Wagner first played there solo – a shaking, nervous wreck – opening for Courtney Barnett. In May, a month and a half after the release of the new album, The Smith Street Band will headline there for the very first time alongside Joyce Manor, Ceres and Allison Weiss. With the same incredulity and selfaware surprise that came with Wagner saying “I’m right”, he says of the Enmore show: “We’re ready.” “Of course, I’m terrified,” he clarifies. “But it’s the same with every show – I mean, fuck, I’m terrified to play Newtown Social Club. The big one for me on this tour is going to be the Forum [Theatre in Melbourne]. That’s where I saw Sufjan Stevens. That’s where I saw Arcade Fire. That’s where I saw Neutral Milk Hotel. The fact that the venue even entertained the idea of us playing there in the email that we sent is just so incredible. It means so much. “We’ve played a significant amount of shows as a band – I want to say in the thousands. When we step onstage at the Enmore, that’s every Black Wire Records show. Every Jura Books show. Every show at the Townie, the Sando, the Annandale, the Metro… it’s going to be so special. The fact it’s a tour we booked ourselves for an album we’re releasing ourselves, playing with these acts that are our friends, means the world to me. It’s the most amazing feeling – and I want that feeling for every single person that comes to any of these shows. I owe that feeling to them. “I remember when we first played the Corner [Hotel in Melbourne] back in 2013. I was crying at the end of it, honestly asking myself how things could possibly get any better. Every single year, it does. I want these shows to be full of justification, catharsis, therapy, happiness, pride – I want that to be felt by everyone. Because
we are everyone. We’re not fancy people that are above our station. We’re underdogs. We’re shitkickers. This wasn’t supposed to be us. It was supposed to be far more handsome bands with better singers who write three-and-a-half-minute songs about partying, not five-minute songs about manic depression. Everyone who has listened to and seen this band is just as responsible for getting us to where we are as any of us in the band.”
T
he Newtown Social show is over. Most of the sold-out crowd has shuffled downstairs and into the night. The Smith Street Hands are by the stairwell, explaining that they travel all the way from Bowral in the Southern Highlands to come to Wagner’s shows. “We learn [the songs] on the train,” says Peter. They’re now trying to learn one of the new songs – ‘Laughing (Or Pretending To Laugh)’, the closer on More Scared Of You Than You Are Of Me. The song, while not resolute or definitive in its findings, ends the album on a positive note following a brief fling Wagner had somewhere in New York City. It’s a song about starting over, accepting yourself and coming to terms with the fact that you are not always your own worst enemy. With his best friends backing him, Wil Wagner is learning how to be himself all over again. He’s still scared – he probably always will be – but he knows there’s enough people out there to be scared together with. His bandmates. His partner. His mates. Every single person who has told him The Smith Street Band saved their life. As he grabs his guitar and schleps off into the night to eat pizza and hang out with some friends, there’s only one thing left for Peter and Carissa to work out: how do you do ASL for a lyric like “piece of shit”? ■
What: More Scared Of You Than You Are Of Me out Friday April 7 through Pool House/Remote Control With: Joyce Manor, Ceres, Alison Weiss Where: Enmore Theatre When: Friday May 26 thebrag.com
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Carl Cox Pure Techno By Meg Crawford
FEATURE
I
t’s one of those urban myths that turns out to be true: the UK’s pioneering acid, techno and house legend Carl Cox actually does live in Frankston. ‘Frangers’, as it’s colloquially known, is at the end of a train line 55 kilometres south-east of Melbourne’s CBD and the butt of many a bogan joke (e.g. What’s the first question asked during a Frankston quiz night? ‘What you looking at?’). But Cox loves it. “I bought my house here in Frankston 12 years ago and I’m still here now,” he says. “Every time I come back it feels like new. I see my neighbours again and go to my local store up the road and they’re like, ‘Hey Carl, you’re back again, we saw you on Spicks And Specks. It’s hilarious. I love it.”
Moreover, Cox is unabashedly fond of Aussies, electing to take up residence here after playing his Millennium gig in Sydney (after which he flew to Hawaii over the international date line to ring in 2000 all over again). “People have been so accepting of me in this country – I’m able to be myself,” he explains. “Living and growing up in the UK were fine, but I find I’m only able to become threequarters of myself there and the rest of the time I feel I’m stifled. So coming to Australia, I feel free.” Cox, who started out as a mobile disco DJ, was on the cutting edge of the nascent bangers scene in the ’80s and has been a stalwart ever since. Even the big man himself is somewhat bewildered when it comes to his longevity. “I can remember when I played my first acid
“This thing has lasted longer than punk, longer than rock’n’roll.”
“I’m not going to retire – it’s not possible. I think I’m going to die, eventually, over the turntables.” house record to a crowd that had been listening to hip hop and funk and cut-up breakbeats – the dancefloor cleared,” he recalls, unleashing his trademark contagious laugh. “But then somehow, this music became the very soundtrack of our existence to date. No one could have foreseen it. I can remember saying in an interview that, ‘By the time I’m 45, I’m gonna be done; too old for this thing,’ and 55 I am now. I’ve been involved in this music now for nearly 30 years. I never knew that my career would span
for that much. You know, I never even had a job that lasted longer than six months.” Indeed, Cox is in awe of how techno has unfolded over time. “This thing has lasted longer than punk, longer than rock’n’roll,” he says. “Yeah, longer than rock music to some point, because a lot of them rock legends are dying off or not performing any more. In our lifetime, the sound of the kick drum is outlasting nearly every single musical genre that’s been out to date. I know we’re not The Beatles and I’m not John Lennon, but that’s unbelievable.” Perhaps understandably, given his long service to the scene, Cox has made a few noises about edging towards retirement. For instance, he’s pulled the pin on his legendary residency in Ibiza at Space after 15 years and folded Global, his weekly podcast radio show (Kiss FM broadcasts it in Australia every Monday). Plus, he’s easing back from DJing a crazy 80 to 100 shows each year to a more than modest 38. “If you’re going to any of those events, they’re going to be so special because people may or may not know that it could be or couldn’t be the last party I do,” he says. “I’m not saying it will be the last party that I do, but what I am saying is that even for me, I need to move on at some point and do something else.” It’s a fair call. For instance, in practical terms, his gig at Space took up every Monday to Wednesday during party season, notwithstanding the fact that he actually performed on Tuesdays. So, how’s he going to fill the free time? Cox doesn’t hesitate. “Fishing, sleeping, try to to have a relationship, see my family and friends even more. I’m loving the idea that I can now tell people, ‘I do have time to see you.’ I do have time to kick back and relax. I do have time to even have a relationship, if that arises. “Before, I never had the opportunity – it was very difficult. Unfortunately, my mum died last year, so the time I would have loved to spend with her, well, it was very difficult. I’d go back and forth to Barbados to see her and eventually she died. So I’m kind of happy that I was able to see her as much as I could, but if I didn’t have a residency I would have seen her more. I don’t want to have that with my sisters or my niece in my future.” Realistically, though, Cox isn’t showing any signs of going quietly into the night. On top of gigging around the world (for instance, he’s headlining Tomorrowland in Belgium in July), he runs the record label Intec Digital, is a dedicated rev head (he heads up his own racing team and is mad for dirt biking), and is taking his own dance party Pure – a showcase of new techno talent – into its second year Down Under. “You know, it was even difficult to cull the amount of parties that I do this year. In the end, the gigs will go down from 38 to 30, to 25 to 20. I’m not going to retire – it’s not possible. I think I’m going to die, eventually, over the turntables.” What: Pure 2017 With: Adam Beyer, Noir, Eric Powell and more Where: Hordern Pavilion When: Saturday April 22
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FEATURE
“We’re like oil and water, but somehow it works – it becomes margarine!”
Goldfrapp Opposites Attract By Natalie Rogers
S
imon and Garfunkel, Lennon and McCartney, Daft Punk, The White Stripes. Every now and then, the planets align and the world is gifted with a truly exceptional musical partnership. For almost two decades, Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory, known together as Goldfrapp, have blazed the trail to bring their coalition of glam rock and synthpop out of the underground London club scene and into the mainstream. Since their formation in 1999, the pair have produced six widely celebrated albums, with their seventh, Silver Eye, due for release this week. “Right from the beginning I knew Alison was special,” says Gregory. “We were both not what you’d call ‘straight out of the box’. But at first we both had other lives within music, and we were both quite wary about trying to do something before we’d checked each other out a bit. “I think that the way we did that was to send each other tapes – yes, I think they might have been actual cassette tapes, but I can’t remember for sure!” he laughs. “And looking back, I think that was a good thing to do, because we both really liked each other’s musical taste before we ever made any music together. But that was definitely the beginning. However, it was years before we actually got in a room together to try to write something.” As the son of an actress and operatic chorus line singer, producer and composer, Gregory says music has always been a part of his life. He studied music at university, and throughout his
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20s he performed and recorded with Tears For Fears. Meanwhile, vocalist Goldfrapp’s recording debut was a feature on UK electronic duo Orbital’s 1994 release, Snivilisation. “I think that we were, and are, two people who are so different that there’s no danger of our duplicating each other’s skills – and I think that’s a very good way to be,” Gregory says. “If you’re a writing duo you need to be kind of chalk and cheese. That way you get more than either one of you could have done on your own. We’re like oil and water, but somehow it works – it becomes margarine!” Silver Eye (the name is a reference to the moon) is a return to the Goldfrapp of more than a decade ago, with darker, heavier sound waves pulsating throughout. In a clear departure from 2013’s Tales Of Us, which critics praised for its use of guitars, piano and strings, this time around Gregory says they pushed themselves to create something worth the wait. “We’ve been allowing ourselves to be slightly pleased, because it did take a bit longer than some of the others. As it stands, we’ve written a lot of songs now and we’d hate the idea of repeating ourselves or just going through the motions.
“There’s no desire to turn a handle and watch a song churn out, but the more songs you write, the more danger you can fi nd yourself in. Sometimes we’d just go for it, and, to our dismay, we’d fi nd ourselves on the same road we were two albums ago. So we just had to be patient and hope that something would occur to make us sit up and go, ‘Oh, that’s new! That’s something we haven’t done before.’ That did take a little bit longer this time, and honestly, we probably wrote quite a lot of songs that ended up in the garbage, never to be seen again – but that’s how it is.” In the past, Gregory and Goldfrapp have described their songwriting relationship as a “democracy”, with each one playing to their strengths. “Alison often comes up with the melodies and I like to focus on the arrangements,” says Gregory. It’s a well-worn formula that suits their unique talents, and it appears that lately the singer has discovered another creative outlet. “Alison has a formidable visual side to her, so for this album she’s landed the job of mustering forces to get the visual side of it sorted,” says Gregory. “Often while we’re in the recording studio, and I’m having to do sort of housekeeping jobs with the music, Alison will be sketching things or painting – and now she’s into
photography. In fact, she’s recently become a professional photographer. She taught herself a lot and she’s done courses, so I said to her, ‘Why don’t you take the photographs this time? Why don’t you do the video?’ And so she did. She did all the artwork for the album and chose the location for the video clip for our first single, ‘Anymore’. Alison cast the extras and chose the people to work with and the costumes, and then got out there with a camera and made it happen. She’s very clever.” As Goldfrapp continue to explore new creative territory, both sonically and visually, Gregory says they’re planning something special for a one-off Australian show as part of Sydney’s Vivid Festival in May. “It’s going to be incredible for us to come back as part of our world tour, and we’re working on a new show. We always love to do something different, and I think this time it’s going to be more uptempo, with sizzling synths. It’s going to be quite full on – it’s not going to be a shy and retiring incarnation. We’re planning to go out all guns blazing.” What: Silver Eye out Friday March 31 through Mute Where: Carriageworks When: Friday June 2
“We probably wrote quite a lot of songs that ended up in the garbage, never to be seen again.” BRAG :: 706 :: 29:03:17 :: 15
FEATURE
“The state of politics in general right now served as a catalyst for where things went lyrically.”
T
o say Alter Bridge ‘burst’ onto the scene back in 2004 might even be an understatement. In many ways, what the Florida quartet did was reshape the very nature of North American rock. Three former members of Creed – Mark Tremonti, Brian Marshall and Scott Phillips – came together with a frontman in Myles Kennedy who boasted a killer set of pipes, and the results spoke for themselves. 12 years since their debut album One Day Remains, Alter Bridge released their fifth record, The Last Hero, in 2016. It’s another collection of songs packed with pounding melodies and incessant rhythms, and though
Alter Bridge’s work has always harboured political undertones, the new LP is more driven than ever. “I think the state of politics in general right now served as a catalyst for where things went lyrically,” Kennedy explains. “Normally
we try to be careful with things that can be polarising ground.” Written in the run-up to the US Presidential election, The Last Hero runs rife with powerful songs of pleading and persuasion, even if these messages were not enough to
“You just stand in front of thousands of people with a guitar and hope you land on your feet.”
wish away the impending doom. However, Kennedy says it’s not always the place of the band to air its opinions so openly. “What we tried to do was make sure we conveyed the emotions more than any sort of agenda, because I think once you start doing that, you can just start pissing off your fans, so that was a delicate balance with us on this record.” Indeed, political motives or not, the music of Alter Bridge is incredibly emotive. But will the band’s future work be more directly informed by the political landscape of the day?
Cough Don’t Call It Doom By Anna Rose
I
t seems as if Virginia has been sitting on musical gold. From the swamps of the East Coast US state, several great groups have emerged into the light of day, establishing themselves as powerhouses of metal and shaking up the scene with a rattling rage.
“There’s always a bit of a juggle – Windhand has been pretty active in spurts,” he says. “This last year they were quiet, so we were able to get a lot done with Cough. We were able to finish up Still They Pray and get that released.
Cough are one of these bands, with a heavy sound bound to make eyeballs melt. In support of their close friends and collaborators Windhand, Cough are en route to Australia for a run of tour dates. Frontman David Cisco anticipates some eventful times ahead.
“There’s always a juggle with Parker being in Windhand. A lot of the time we sort of find the way to keep the songwriting process clean and when we’re all together we try and arrange stuff, you know, once we have time to get all in the same room together.”
“We’ve never been on tour with a band so close to us,” he says. “They’re from our hometown so I would imagine it’s gonna be a little more comfortable – hopefully not too close for comfort! I’ve never really done this sort of thing before so I guess we’ll have to find out. Although I guess we play and are labelled within the same genre or whatever … for any listener we definitely have a very unique sound compared to Windhand.”
You wouldn’t have thought that naming your band Cough would generate the most brutal imagery for a metal band, so where exactly did the name come from? Cisco laughs. “I don’t really remember. Parker and I started this band when we were in college together – we were pretty young. I think it came out of some magazine, I can’t really remember. It was something that just kind of stuck – it kind of embodies what we’re about.”
So close are Cough with their fellow swamp people that they even share a bassist. Parker Chandler, a founding member of Cough along with Cisco, splits his time between the two bands. Given the rate of success and recording activity of both acts over recent years, that would surely create confusion for the two groups – but Cisco says otherwise.
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Try coughing – go on, have a really good hard cough yourself – and the sounds you emit are what Cisco says typify the band’s sound. “I guess there’s not much in the name but it speaks to the music that we write, sort of the dirge of what we create I guess. There’s no big deeper meaning there,” he laughs again.
Indeed, the dirge of their music causes a little consternation among the members of Cough. While they are described in their press material as harbingers of “tortured misanthropic doom”, associates Windhand have been pigeonholed as more ‘traditional’ doom metal, a tag their drummer Ryan Wolfe recently told the BRAG he is strongly against. Labels, as Cisco explains, are not really for Cough either. “I think inserting a band into a category is extremely limiting, and I think the individuals in this band, we come from a lot of different backgrounds. We’ve just grown up listening to different types of music, not just heavy metal or metal or hard rock, but even like, you know, old bluegrass and country music, you know what I mean? “It’s very important to take elements from the culture you were raised in and the music that’s affected all parts of your life, and I think to limit to yourself to that category – call it ‘doom metal’ or whatever – I think it’s extremely limiting.” What: Still They Pray out now through Relapse With: Windhand Where: Newtown Social Club When: Wednesday April 5
“Inserting a band into a category is extremely limiting, and I think the individuals in this band, we come from a lot of different backgrounds.” thebrag.com
Alter Bridge
songwriters’ secrets WITH KYLE
Hard Rock Heroes By Anna Rose
“I think about that a lot,” Kennedy says. “It’s such an interesting time because there’s so much passion regarding what’s happening. People are so focused on politics, and that can be a good thing in the sense that the well is full of plenty of things to draw from. But you have to be careful, because once that eventually passes and time changes, it can make a song or a body of work not as relevant. Often you can end up with songs that aren’t resonating. That’s a good question – we’ll see what happens on the next batch of tunes, where we’ll pull from.” It’s hard to imagine Alter Bridge ever running short of ideas for new material. Indeed, the band members often expel the build-up of creative ideas on other projects: guitarist Tremonti has released three solo albums, while Kennedy himself is a regular fixture with guitar god Slash. He won’t rule out the possibility of a solo record of his own, either. “I recorded one [album] right before Slash and I started working together, and I started writing another late last year, so I’ve just been chipping away, trying to get more songs complete. I’ve been very lucky over the last seven years in that I’m basically jumping back and forth between two bands with very little time off. So we’ll see how things play out over the next year; we’ll see if a solo record can see the light of day.” It takes a certain kind of stamina to keep the creativity going so consistently, especially for someone whose vocals demand so much from his body. Kennedy is asked whether he practises some kind of bizarre Brett Manning exercise in order to keep his voice up to scratch. He laughs. “I’ve had night after night after night of learning how to utilise my voice, making it stronger and do what suits. I guess from a stylistic approach I’ve learned that grinding on the vocal chords tends to burn my voice out quicker than anything, so I’ve adopted an approach that is a little more pure than I used to do, and it helps its
longevity. And the best thing I can do is stay hydrated!” Collectively, Alter Bridge have maintained one of the most steadfast sounds in the genre, and it’s a relief to know they have no intention of veering away from that anytime soon. “We always try to evolve in some way and push ourselves a little further with arrangements and whatnot,” Kennedy explains. “As far as any sort of genre offshoots where we try to go on a jazz odyssey or something, I don’t really see that happening. We’ve kind of figured out what our fans want from us and we try not to leave them feeling alienated.” Alter Bridge were last in Sydney three years ago, and Kennedy and Tremonti took the opportunity during their set to indulge in a guitar duel. It was an injection of relaxed improvisation that Kennedy says Australian fans can expect to see again on their April visit. “We started doing it again on this [tour], and it’s funny because initially when we started doing the little guitar duels prior to ‘Rise Today’, I was worried it was gonna be a little too self-indulgent, and I’m sure there are people in the audience like, ‘What the…?’ But it’s just so much fun. “It’s just so spontaneous and improvised and it’s the one time in the set where each of us can kind of just step out on a limb and not know what’s gonna happen – I don’t have a clue what I’m gonna play, and you just stand in front of thousands of people with a guitar and hope you land on your feet. There’s a certain rush akin to when somebody jumps out of an airplane with a parachute – you don’t know what’s gonna happen. We’ll do it again Down Under and hopefully won’t put anyone to sleep!” What: The Last Hero out now through Napalm With: Like A Storm Where: Enmore Theatre When: Tuesday April 4
The First Song I Wrote 1. The first song I wrote
(and finished) was when I was 19; it’s the only song that has survived and stayed relevant (in a way) through the years too. It’s called ‘Father Song’ – it’s about the capacity or lack of that my father had to communicate pretty much anything to me. Its relevance has been kept by me becoming a father myself, and with that the flaws my children exposed within me. I figured I’m still my father’s child no matter how old we grow, and so it’s still my job to expose his flaws. I took it upon myself to give this man the opportunity to open up, which started with an “I love you”. As confronting and foreign as those words felt to lay on each other, this was the simple expression that exposed the man to bare bones, and so this is where we met again. The Last Song I Released 2. ‘Call Back Home’ is the
name of my latest single. This song is inspired by my sister and her addiction to meth. I was racking my brain as to what might have happened – what was she trying to escape? – but had the realisation that although it’s not the cleanest escape nor the most socially accepted, we’re all trying to escape and sedate some sort of discontent. I recorded ‘Call Back Home’ in Melbourne with a wonderfully hairy man called John Castle.
Songwriting Secrets 3. I get asked this question
a lot, and the answer is “Illuminati”… nah, in all seriousness, if there is a secret, can someone tell me? My muse for a song is discontent and silence. I’ve tried writing really stoned once with my old band Vernas Keep and we all thought it was the best song we’d ever written, and then the next day we had a listen back to it – it was absolute rubbish, so I’ve sort of given up on drug-induced songs for now. The Song That Makes Me Proud 4. Is my biggest hit my best
song? Nope. My ‘biggest hit’ almost didn’t get released ’cause I didn’t feel it was a strong enough song (it’s called ‘Sleep By Rivers’). Not specifically ‘Sleep By Rivers’, but I’ve pleasantly had many people message/email
me about the lovemaking they’d made to my music. The Song That Changed My Life 5. Jeff Buckley – ‘Dream
Brother’ or his version of ‘Hallelujah’. I was introduced to Jeff Buckley at the age of 17 by my girlfriend. I never heard someone sing with such subtlety and vulnerability; I’ve never wanted to listen to what someone had to say more than this man. So basically that’s where it sort of began for me – if I was going to write and sing, I wanted to do it with the subtlety and vulnerability that this man did. I know, right – a high bar to set, but hey, I’ll work on it until I take my last breath and just hope people like what I come up with while I’m trying get there. Where: Newtown Social Club When: Wednesday March 29
songwriters’ secrets WITH
FEATURE
LIONHART
The First Song I Wrote 1. The first song I wrote was called ‘The Loneliest Boy In The World’. I wrote it with my best friend from high school Bentley Rumble; when we were lads we had a band called Holly Golightly. I still play that song at shows and may play it at the Marrickville Bowlo on Saturday. The Last Song I Released 2. My new album Twice I
Fell Down Once gets released on Friday April 7. It was recorded with my band The Elizabethans in
D HENRY FENTON
Los Angeles in 2016 and it was mixed in Tel Aviv, Israel late 2016. My last two albums were more of the singer-songwriter with extra musicians to help out, and this one is more of a band feel and is my favourite. It has been getting a few spins on community radio in Melbourne and Sydney over the last week or so and I am very thankful to 2SER and 3RRR for supporting the record. Songwriting Secrets Carry a notebook and 3. a recorder, and don’t worry if everyone doesn’t like or get what you do.
The Song That Makes Me Proud 4. ‘I Still Call Australia Home’
by Peter Allen – it’s a beautiful song and is known all around the world. I have been living in the USA for over a decade and it’s funny what makes you get the tingles about home when you are living away. Whenever this song gets played it makes me think of all things I love about Australia – the outback and Uluru, the Harbour Bridge, and inner city Newtown and Fitzroy. The Song That Changed My Life 5. I was at a dinner party last
week in Katherine and someone asked what my favourite song was, and I said ‘Black Is The Colour’ (it’s an old Scottish/Irish folk song). My friend Jane played me a version of this by Luka Bloom; I had never heard it and became obsessed about the dark haired girl who so inspired the writer of this song hundreds of years ago. What: Twice I Fell Down Once out Friday April 7 through Dark Eyed Junco/ MGM With: Jason Walker, Ruby King Where: Marrickville Bowling Club When: Saturday April 1
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FEATURE
“Why do we have to be so damn interesting? Why do we make it so hard for ourselves? All I want to do is sing a nice melody.”
pizza or sex, and then you come on and suddenly everyone recalibrates themselves thinking, ‘Here comes the songwriter with his precious thoughts and feelings.’ You might be ready to do a song that’s totally tongue-in-cheek and weird, but it doesn’t matter – they still expect you to be sharing the depths of your innermost feelings. It’s a strange dynamic, but I enjoy it.” One such tongue-in-cheek moment comes in the form of ‘Left Handed Kisses’, a feisty musical duet (or standoff, rather) between Bird and Fiona Apple. “I love how that song unfolded in a strange way,” Bird says. “It started off as a challenge to myself to write a love song knowing that, left to my own devices, it would go horribly wrong,” he laughs. “I started writing from my point of view and this other voice crept into my head saying, ‘You’re totally full of shit.’ That voice became Fiona – she helped me get into character. When she opened her mouth, I felt just like that guy that can’t quite express himself. It was perfect.” The other tracks on Are You Serious are completely Bird: no characters, no aloof third-person pronouns. He tackles issues on the home front like fatherhood, relocation and even his wife’s cancer diagnosis in ‘Puma’. “I haven’t written songs that exposed and matter-of-fact before,” he says. “Usually it’s embedded deep in there and no one would presume that it’s about this or that personally. [‘Puma’] gave me some pause before I wrote it, but I couldn’t help it. I write about the things I care about, always have. It’s just life has never gotten that real until now, so there’s a song.” This philosophy of reacting to the world around him is what Bird brings to his performances also. “I don’t like to play the same way every night. Depending on the environment, the songs mean different things and feel different and sound different. Take ‘Capsized’, for instance. I’ve been doing that song for 15 years in different forms, because it changes according to how I feel. That’s why it was so hard to nail down on a record for so many years. “We feel differently every 15 minutes; why shouldn’t our music change as well? They’re the songs that have the longest life, the ones that are just blueprints that allow present feelings to come true.”
Andrew Bird Not So Serious By Jennifer Hoddinett
“I
feel like a comedian on the stage.” They’re words you don’t expect from violin virtuoso and lyrical maestro Andrew Bird, whose most recent record, Are You Serious, saw the 43-year-old exploring his most autobiographical terrain yet. After a year of touring the album, Bird finds his appreciation for candour and “cutting to the quick” extending into his shows as well. “I really do feel like a comedian,” he explains. “I just adopt a similar sort of shrug of the shoulders. You know, ‘I’m up here, you’re down there; this is a funny situation we find ourselves in.’ “I just like to acknowledge that we’re all here. I don’t like to have the feeling
that I’m just presenting my 12 songs from the new record for you, but that something real is happening.” For Bird, the essence of what’s ‘real’ boils down to humour and honesty. Even during our garbled LA to Sydney phone call, he is courteous and open – surprising for an artist whose discography revolves around lyrical obscurity. He doesn’t shy away from discussing the strange sensation of returning home after life on the road. “Every night you’re used to going onstage. You’re used to getting the shakes. Used to thinking, ‘Something important is supposed to be happening right now.’ But then here I am, reading a story to my
“I started writing from my point of view and this other voice crept into my head saying, ‘You’re totally full of shit.’” 18 :: BRAG :: 706 :: 29:03:17
son. It’s just a different situation, [like] the bends.” In conversation, as on record, Bird threads his words together with care. Not to evade, but as if to make each reply something of worth. It’s a similar desire for genuineness that leads him to watch the tropes of some other indie performances – the emotional exposés, exuberant gestures, obligatory crowd banter – with an impressed bemusement. “Why do we have to be so damn interesting? Why do we make it so hard for ourselves? All I want to do is sing a nice melody.” He’s only being half-serious, of course, but it’s precisely this strange middle ground between earnestness and theatrics that gave Bird the name of his album. “I came up with [Are You Serious] based on doing a lot of shows with comedians,” he says. “One second people are laughing at a joke about
For Bird, this means every time he performs – whether in his living room alongside other musicians for a Great Room session, or before thousands at the Sydney Opera House or Bluesfest – there’s always an added risk. But for him, this is where the reward is too. “People can tell when you’re going out on a limb and you’re playing something that’s never been played before. I still have faith in that. I play with people who believe that. They appreciate a good, concise pop song, but nonetheless [they say], ‘Let’s make this show different.’” What: Bluesfest 2017 With: Patti Smith, Zac Brown Band, Jimmy Buffett, Santana, Nas and many more Where: Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm When: Thursday April 13 – Monday April 17 And: Also appearing at the Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House on Saturday April 15 More: Are You Serious out now through Loma Vista/Universal
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five things WITH JORJEE FROM
CREO
Growing Up I bought my first 1. record at four years old
2.
Your Band We’re just four dudes from the southwest suburbs of Sydney who have grown up with
3.
WITH TANIA
DORIA FROM 11 11 NATION
Growing Up I have a very vivid 1. memory of being about
with some money I was given for my birthday, and after that all I wanted to do was learn the guitar. My folks weren’t musicians, but they were avid fans of music. I just remember music was always a staple part of my upbringing. It was always playing, and I have these memories of sifting through my parents’ record collection and being overwhelmed by the size of it. Inspirations I think subconsciously I get drawn to artists who have a knack for using their imperfections and making something to envy. My two go-tos are Springsteen and Pumpkins. I was brought up on a heavy Springsteen diet by my parents (they passed their obsession on to me) and Siamese Dream changed my outlook on everything I was doing musically at the time. I will go through phases of listening to other stuff, but those artists are the two I hit up when I’m lacking creative inspiration.
five things five or six and being mesmerised by my Uncle Leo’s record collection, particularly the artwork. It would have been around 1986 – artists like Simple Minds, The Cars and Pat Benatar. I was obsessed with the song ‘Everywhere’ by Fleetwood Mac. My parents were hard-working Italians and not that musical so I was the black sheep.
each other. We all share a common love for rock’n’roll and making noise, and have realised we’re not good at much else. The Music You Make We’re a rock’n’roll band that likes to layer sounds and play around with dynamics. Loud rhythm section, big guitars, and then we throw in those little intricacies for colour. We have recently finished recording our next EP Subtitles For X, Y, Z with long-time friend/legend/ producer Nathan Sheehy at A Sharp Studio and Parliament Studios in Sydney. It’ll be out later this year.
4.
5.
Music, Right Here, Right Now
The music scene is and has always been daunting. I think the difference now is that it’s so fast-paced these days and every man and his dog makes music of some sort. I envision it to be like this revolution-era battle scene, where millions of people/bands are fighting for a place in the status quo – and it’s all in fastforward. I guess you just have to be a lot more business savvy, and have this constant element of transparency with your audience. It makes things that much more rewarding when you get those little wins. Where: The Bald Faced Stag When: Saturday March 25
Inspirations I’m still very 2. influenced by growing up
through the ’90s [with] artists like PJ Harvey, Tori Amos, The Cult and Concrete Blonde to name a few. I’m a huge fan of Patti Smith – I love watching her interviews; she is full of wisdom. Her music has a higher purpose beyond entertainment. I also love the ’80s – the crazy costumes, the theatrics and larger-than-life appeal. There are absolutely no regrets for my Mötley Crüe tattoo!
be not only an amazing guitarist but also a great producer. He inspired me to write my own music. We recorded demos and it evolved into about three albums’ full of material. Andy Picker, who is an exceptional all-round guy and drummer, just moved from Melbourne and we instantly had a connection. Matt Crawford is the youngest and a worldclass bass player; we still pinch ourselves! Nick Di Giorgio is my cousin and has been invited to play the lead on our new album. Bottom line is we all have a blast together!
The Music You Your Band Make 4. Our band is called 3. The music we make in its 11 11 Nation. In 2011 I had just finished recording a synthpop EP with then Sydney-based musician and producer Craig Simmons of Space March. I decided to move to the country and randomly met this Peruvian guy called Fito. He so happened to
essence is rock. Perhaps Fito’s Peruvian heritage creeps in there. Also an electronic element which isn’t so prevailing on this album but it’s definitely there. We recorded our recent album Electric Circus with Syd Green at
MonoNest, with my tenmonth-old daughter sitting on the sofa. Our shows are full of energy and there is a strong theatrical element. Music, Right Here, Right Now 5. It’s tricky for us as we live
in the Southern Highlands (not exactly the hub of live music). But actually I don’t mind as I might get swept up in the image and what’s in fashion otherwise. We are just focused on being authentic and keeping the spirit of rock’n’roll alive! I feel it’s more like selfdoubt and other internal obstacles that can get in the way of being an artist. Music is a great healer and incredibly powerful. It’s a gift to even be able to play music and to have a positive effect on others. What: Electric Circus out now independently Where: Lazybones Lounge When: Thursday April 6
five things WITH
PIERS TWOMEY FROM GRÜN
Growing Up Growing up, my 1. older sister had piano
lessons and got mildly into it, whereas it took me years to formalise my love of music via theory lessons. Instead, I would sit for hours and hours improvising on the piano. I also learned how to play guitar by copying metal riffs. My parents were into ’50s rock’n’roll, ’60s folk and classical music. Inspirations So many musical 2. inspirations – in the
context of Grün, my favourite bands would be Alcest, Pink Floyd, My Bloody Valentine, Altar Of Plagues and Nils Frahm. More broadly for the whole band I’d add Battles, Sonic Youth, Massive Attack, Portishead, Explosions In The Sky, Oranssi Pazuzu, Max Richter and Mono.
11 11 Nation photo by Tony Mott
Your Band Grün is made of 3. Leon Kelly (guitars),
Andre Matkovic (bass), Ben Matson (drums) and myself, Piers Twomey (keys, guitars). Leon, Andre and I have played in bands since the ’90s, and Grün have had multiple drummers since forming about ten years ago. We share a lot of similar music interests with enough differences to keep things interesting too!
called Manyana! We rented a beachside home and recorded the album there during two ten-day visits with all members contributing to the songwriting. Drums were tracked back in Sydney, but many keys, bass and guitar parts were kept, which is great as we feel we captured the spirit of those sessions successfully.
Before now, we released an album (Greenland) and an EP (Prisons Of Language) – and after a couple of years, we’re now back with our second album called Manyana. We’re stoked to finally have it released! And we’re doing that through the excellent and like-minded Bird’s Robe Records label.
We’re an instrumental band so our live show is now expanded with brilliant visuals, created by another good friend of the band Jasper Russell (from Sonori), who also directed our video for ‘The Vicious’ from the new album. Without a singer as a focal point onstage, the visuals really help convey the mood and emotion of the songs.
The Music You Make 4. Manyana was written
and mostly recorded in a quiet spot on the New South Wales South Coast – funnily enough
• THE DETONATORS
Music, Right Here, Right Now 5. There’s always the issue
of venues opening and closing, but there’s plenty of great places to see original music in Sydney, from small bars like Gasoline Pony and Django Bar to Golden Age, Manning Bar and Factory Floor. It was very sad to see Black Wire Records and Newtown Social Club shutting their doors. What: Manyana out now through Bird’s Robe With: Hashshashin, Adrift For Days Where: The Factory Floor When: Saturday April 8
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Stage 1 THE ALLNITERS
JJimmy m y and Wolfman W Dan. Plus very special al myste mystery m ryy lack Heart Brea Breakers kkerss • Flipped FFlip ippedd Out Out Kicks Kiccks • Stage 2 BBlack The OzSkas • The Soul Movers plus DJs The Crimplenes and Solid Gold Hell DJs • Sunday Dub Club DJs
d SUNFactory2 nTheatre APRIL BRAG :: 706 :: 29:03:17 :: 19
Fanny Lumsden
“We’re just doing what we love. Where we connect with people it feels normal, natural.”
Going Her Own Way By Anna Rose
T
rying to pin down the charming Fanny Lumsden is no easy feat. The rising country star is a constant flurry of activity – so much so that when the BRAG calls in for a chat, Dan Stanley Freeman (Lumsden’s partner in music and life), has to race about to find her. Running around like a headless chook isn’t unusual for Freeman or Lumsden; it’s their mantra. With a rare weekend off to celebrate her sister’s wedding, Lumsden has some time to reflect on her year thus far. “It’s been pretty jam-packed,” she says breathlessly. “We started at Woodford Folk Festival – it was amazing, bloody hot but great. We had five days there, drove from Brisbane to Melbourne via the coast, I flew to Tamworth to teach at the Academy of Country Music – I was the resident songwriter. Then I flew back to Melbourne, moved house, flew back to Tamworth – we did our first ever ticketed show there and it was sold out.” It’s certainly been a whirlwind start to the year for Lumsden – and that’s not all of it. Back in January she picked up a Golden Guitar for Best New Talent, an achievement that had the singer floored. “It totally feels like a milestone,” she says. “We’ve been touring
for six years and playing a lot longer. We’re self-managed, selfproduced, so to have that kind of recognition from our peers, it was pretty significant for us – it was fantastic.” Lumsden will soon make an appearance at the National Folk Festival in Canberra. With fewer and fewer festivals gracing the Australian musical landscape, Lumsden agrees that festivals provide a necessary platform for more than just the musician. “I think [festivals] need embracing,” she says. “There’ve been a lot that started over the years – like any industry, saturation has to go somewhere. They are these significant cultural events that happen every year and to be able to play at them is a privilege. If they disappeared, there’d be less opportunity for punters too – Canberra is a city many people have to drive to, but it’s not like driving to the coast. It’s good having an inland festival and it’s a good opportunity for punters and musicians alike.” Her outlook is one to admire. Since the release of her debut album Small Town Big Shot in 2015, Lumsden has been all go, and thanks to her down-to-earth character, she’s extending the
reach of country music to a wider audience. But does she feel she’s taking Aussie country music to new heights? “I’m not sure,” she replies. “I’d say we’re just doing what we love. Where we connect with people it feels normal, natural. We started in 2012 with the Country Halls Tour – last year we sold out 13 halls and we had to apply for ticketing, marketing, we swept floors after… we do literally all of it. We do workshops with young artists – maybe that’s not new, but it hasn’t been done for a while. We did it naturally for us; we didn’t look at the market and think, ‘Here’s a hole, let’s fill it.’ “I love that [country music] brings all the communities together. We had to come through those shows from a community perspective, and it’s evolved to doing this tour. We’re totally DIY – it has been, for lack of a better word, organic. I hate that word, but it really has. Don’t write that word [laughs]!” What: National Folk Festival 2017 With: Martha Tilston, Jack Harris, The Aoife Scott Band, Heath Cullen and many more Where: Exhibition Park, Canberra When: Thursday April 13 – Monday April 17
Loyle Carner Hungry For Tomorrow By Natalie Rogers
“Before I discovered rap, I had discovered poetry.”
I
t’s mid-January, and UK rapper Benjamin Coyle-Larner (also known by his stage name Loyle Carner), is ostensibly sitting down to talk about the impending release of his debut album Yesterday’s Gone. But there’s more than new music on his mind. “Yes, my album comes out on Friday and I can’t wait, but what I’m really looking forward to is working my own food stall, the Chilli Con Carner,” he says. “I’m going to be serving out food to anyone who bought the album, for free. So they can come down and get food. I’m hoping it’ll be a nice relaxing vibe, and then we’re going to put on a little show. In the evening I’m going to be with my nearest and dearest, and probably have a little bit too much to drink, but I’ll be taking a rare evening off.”
“I teamed up with the Goma Collective [a group of creative
20 :: BRAG :: 706 :: 29:03:17
The South Londoner says he cherishes the time he spent in the kitchen with his grandfather and his mother, learning to cook. “My mum instilled in me when I was young to always have self-belief and understanding,” he says. “Not like a cockiness but more of an understanding of yourself and a self-acceptance, and that’s allowed me to deal with whatever happens. If I wanna cry, I’ll cry, and if I wanna laugh, I’ll laugh. I try to remember that from day to day.” Now that a couple of months have passed since its release, Yesterday’s Gone has proven itself an unwaveringly honest insight into the young artist’s mind and his perception of the world around him. He takes cues from friends and collaborators such as Tom Misch, Kate Tempest and Rebel Kleff to inform a unique point of view, backed by a soundtrack of soulful hip hop, pop, grime and boom bap breaks.
thebrag.com
Loyle Carner photo by Laura Coulson
It’s no secret that the 22-year-old has a lot on his plate. His 2014 EP A Little Late caught the attention of the BBC’s influential radio host Annie Mac and our very own Richard Kingsmill, and cemented his position on BBC Music’s Sound Of 2016 poll. Carner says that while he was blessed to receive the recognition, he is equally as determined to use his fortunate position to break the stigma around a commonly misunderstood condition.
Londoners] to set up a cooking school for young people with ADHD,” he explains. “I have ADHD and dyslexia, and I really struggled when I was younger. Adolescence is tough at the best of times, and it was kind of like an added layer of pressure I had to deal with – but when I was cooking I could block everything out and concentrate, and my confidence grew.”
head to: thebrag.com/freeshit
arts free stuff
COLOSSAL Nacho Vigalondo’s new film Colossal is set to revolutionise the monster movie genre. The film follows two key players in Gloria – an unemployed party girl played by Anne Hathaway – and a giant creature destroying Seoul in South Korea. Soon, Gloria realises their fates are intertwined. Perhaps our individual existence isn’t so insignificant after all. Colossal takes the tropes of romantic comedy and turns them on their head, resulting in one of the most original films of 2017.
FEATURE
Colossal opens in select Palace and Dendy cinemas on Thursday April 13, and we’ve got ten in-season double passes to give away. Enter the draw at thebrag.com/freeshit.
FEATURE
“I think collaboration is key,” Carner says. “I do enjoy writing on my own, but it’s liberating to be in the room with someone doing something completely different than you, and together you can come up with something incredible. I’d definitely work with Tom Misch again and again because he is a very good friend of mine, and there’s a few UK artists that I’m a big fan of that I’d like to shed a bit more light upon.” Perhaps the most meaningful appearance on the album is the final track ‘Sun Of Jean (feat. Mum & Dad)’, on which we hear Carner’s mother Jean read a poem describing a younger Benjamin, and an acoustic song with both Jean and his beloved (and sadly deceased) stepfather Nik. “My mum and my dad were both big music fans, and big storytellers as well,” Carner says. “Even if it wasn’t rap, if the music had a story I latched onto it from a young age.” Not surprisingly, Carner remembers being drawn to poetry before falling in love with music. “Before I discovered rap, I had discovered poetry,” he says. “I’ve always been a big fan of words in general, putting them together and making them rhyme. I guess it was a natural progression that I began to write songs. I was writing a play quite recently, but I’ve put it on the backburner because of time.” The multi-talented Carner even had a small role in the 2008 film 10,000 BC, and received a drama scholarship to the Brit School in London where The Kooks, Amy Winehouse and Adele are alumni. Then he began a degree at the Drama Centre until he made the decision to drop out when his stepfather died. “Acting is still something I’m very interested in, but it’s a time thing,” Carner says.
“If I wanna cry, I’ll cry, and if I wanna laugh, I’ll laugh. I try to remember that from day to day.”
SA HUSGHOWEXT T E D DURA 29 EM E T AP AND O RI L
Colossal
“Releasing an album is brilliant and timeconsuming. There’s no time for me to disappear and go be in Romeo And Juliet at the moment,” he laughs. It seems that no matter what Carner puts his mind to, he is determined to be a success – but he knows he can’t do it alone. “For the Yesterday’s Gone album cover I gathered all the people who helped make the album happen, in my back garden – everybody there was a part of it. I wanted to have a family portrait, but my family is so small these days because a lot of them have passed away. So I kind of figured I wanted to have an extended family photo, because for me, these days, family isn’t just the people who’ve been there all my life, it’s the people who have shared my life. “My little brother is in the front row,” Carner says happily, “and quite honestly I think I look up to him more than he looks up to me!” What: Groovin The Moo 2017 With: Dillon Francis, Thundamentals, L-Fresh The Lion and more Where: Maitland Showground When: Saturday April 29 And: Yesterday’s Gone out now through AMF/Caroline
27 APRIL, 7.15PM 29 APRIL, 9.30PM ENMORE THEATRE SYDNEYCOMEDYFEST.COM.AU | 9020 6966
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arts in focus
David O’Doherty
[COMEDY] Hitting The Big Time By David James Young
FEATURE
D
avid O’Doherty is working through some things right now. Alright, it’s probably closer to a lot of things. His current festival show, Big Time, has undergone some massive changes, and the Irish comedian is unsure where it may end up, thanks in no small part to the unpredictable nature of the world around him. “This show started out as an hour – now it’s two,” he says. “I started writing this show when I was out with [Flight Of The] Concords, where we were playing to something like 15,000 a night. It had inspired me to write this really big, really silly sort of show. That, of course, was interrupted by the rise of fascism. It keeps interfering in my life. You try and do this dumb, fun show with all of these jokes, and the audiences in the UK and in France are like, ‘That’s all well and good, but soon we could all be in a forced labour camp being worked to death.’” Among a myriad of influences, one of the key players behind Big Time has been the impact of children on O’Doherty’s life. Not his own, mind you, but the readership that have taken to his stories like Ronan Long Gets It Wrong and Danger Is Everywhere: A Handbook For Avoiding Danger. “I’ve obviously done a lot of touring as a stand-up comic, but more recently I’ve released a series of children’s books. I’ve been playing music and doing shows for kids in libraries and bookstores and stuff, and their heckles are some of the most existential that I’ve ever come across. They don’t just come out and say, ‘You’re bad,’ they question your entire existence. ‘Why are you doing this? What is the point of you? Why are you shouting?’
“There’s definitely a place for stupid jokes and for laughing in times like this.” “I think this show is the combination of trying to write a show for grown-ups and having all of these existential, philosophical questions being thrown at you by eight-year-old children. It continues to evolve, but I think that’s where the show is at the moment. I’m just trying to dig up a little bit of hope, really.” O’Doherty, who has been performing his unique brand of Yamaha-wielding comedy for around 18 years, has seen a lot of changes in the world since his last show. Big Time is his chance to let audiences escape from that for a little while – or at least, that’s what it was to begin with. “It’s a weird time in the UK,” says O’Doherty, in what might already be a contender for the year’s biggest understatement. “It’s always a weird time in Ireland, what with our bleak history and our inability to escape from it. The UK has left the EU, so all of the stability that came post-war has been completely thrown into jeopardy. No one knows what’s going to happen next. It wouldn’t be all that surprising if the currency collapsed or something like that. Everyone will be walking around with wheelbarrows filled with money in order to pay for milk. “When I started writing this show, there were jokes about Pokémon Go and fucking selfie sticks. Now, no one gives a shit about any of it. The vibe is just constantly like, ‘We might die!’ There’s no Pikachu to be found in this show now.” Comics like O’Doherty know better than anyone about the catch 22 that arises when attempting to perform comedy in hard times. Do you disconnect entirely from it in order to keep the performance as an escape, or do you hold up a mirror through your medium and remind audiences of the world outside? O’Doherty’s solution is to do both – but within reason. “The interesting part is in the tension, and how you figure it out,” he says.
“When I started writing this show, there were jokes about Pokémon Go and fucking selfie sticks. Now, no one gives a shit about any of it.”
“I love making stupid jokes more than anything, but you have to put it in the right context for people. Humans have always responded to bleakness by laughing. You know that bit in Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, where they come up from the bunker and everyone’s dead? They just start laughing, because they don’t know how else to process it. It’s an integral part of human nature. It’s what we do. There’s definitely a place for stupid jokes and for laughing in times like this.” It’s anyone’s guess exactly how Big Time will end up by the time O’Doherty arrives in Australia for his umpteenth festival run, including the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and the Sydney Comedy Festival. All we know is that O’Doherty will still be standing, laughing at the wreckage in Dresden. “I’ve been getting a big roll of carpet tape and writing the word ‘HOPEFULLY’ in big letters behind me onstage,” he says. “The first night of the tour was at this beautiful old music hall, and it was really hot that night. The lights obviously didn’t help, so over the course of the show the lights were melting away the glue in the carpet tape. Hope was literally collapsing behind me. At the end of the show, only the E and the F were left in the middle – and they had melted into a shape that one could only describe as a swastika. Naturally, the tone of a show changes pretty drastically when you go from a symbol of hope to a symbol of hatred.” What: Big Time as part of Sydney Comedy Festival 2017 Where: Enmore Theatre When: Thursday April 27
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thebrag.com
arts in focus ■ Film
LAND OF MINE In cinemas Thursday March 30
T
hose revelling in the slow-motion war-porn of Oscar winner Hacksaw Ridge should be forced to watch Land Of Mine, Martin Zandvliet’s magnificent, affecting exploration of the scars left by conflict and the complexity beyond the battlefield. It’s May 1945, and World War II is all but over. In Denmark, a group of young German POWs are taken to the coast to enact penance for their part in the war. Under the hateful eye of Danish sergeant Rasmussen (Roland Møller), the teenagers are brought to a stretch of beach and forced to clear the 45,000 landmines peppered across it by hand. Never has there been a more painfully tense experience of the post-war space. In a sparse 90 minutes, Zandvliet’s intimate focus on the delicate defusing of Germany’s finicky landmines has audiences digging their nails into their knees, biting their lips. At first, our sympathies lie with Rasmussen and the battered Danish victors – after all, the POWs are Nazis, right? “If you’re old enough to go to war, you’re old enough to clean up your mess,” says Danish Lt. Ebbe Jensen (Mikkel Boe Følsgaard).
■ Film
POWER RANGERS In cinemas now
D
o you remember the marketing conceit that the video game Team Fortress 2 introduced, where you could buy skins for your characters? That’s Power Rangers in a nutshell: seeing it at a cinema is like paying $20 for a new skin over Michael Bay’s Transformers. When a group of five misfit teenagers stumble on the wreckage of an alien spacecraft in a gold mine outside of their hometown, Angel Grove, they activate five coins of power that transform them into the Power Rangers – a team of heroes that must do battle against Rita Repulsa (Elizabeth Banks), a seemingly unstoppable foe. A few questions, right off the bat: what exactly are Power Rangers? Why are these kids in a gold mine at night? And why the hell is an ALIEN LIFEFORM named Rita?! None of these questions have convincing answers, nor goofy excuses. They’re ignored completely, because to this studio, narrative is an annoying obstacle in the way of selling more toys. The characters are not archetypal in any compelling manner, either. Red Ranger Jason Scott (Dacre Montgomery) is the leader because he’s the red one, and rebellious to the point of criminality because hormones. Billy Cranston (RJ Cyler) is on the spectrum, and is therefore a hacker skilled enough to know the ins and outs of a house arrest anklet. There’s a pleasant reveal about yellow ranger Trini’s (Becky G) “dark secret”, but the director projects token lesbianism on her so hard it’s surprising not to see her wearing a suit. Every side teen
arts review But the auteur never loses sight of one awful reality: these soldiers are children, conscripted and made to fight in a conflict beyond their understanding. As the brusque and sullen Rasmussen slowly warms to his charges, developing an almost fatherlike relationship with them, the lines between these two foes become less apparent. There are scenes of joy, scenes of laughter, scenes of play, scenes of grace; naturally, these scenes have tragic and explosive ends. Zandvliet and cinematographer Camilla Hjelm Knudsen keep this drama confined to the beach: we, like the boys, are trapped within this landscape, and wide shots only serve to confirm the magnitude of their task. The calm swell of ocean can’t hide the dreadinducing thuds of the sticks the boys thrust into the sand; the terror of each discovery; the click of metal on metal in shaking hands; the inevitable blast. Here, morality may be ambiguous, but death is not. As in Hacksaw Ridge, limbs are severed, bodies flung through the air, but these moments will not be celebrated for their flair. Each loss is acutely painful, leaving silence in its wake for contemplation of the
character’s mortality. And, of course, our own. The young cast of Land Of Mine deserves celebration. They are by turns exuberant, vulnerable and grimly devoted; 19-year-old Louis Hofmann is a particular standout. Brothers Ernst and Werner Lessner are portrayed by real brothers Emil Belton and Oskar Belton, lending even greater weight to their already heart-rending fate.
It may not have picked up Best Foreign Film, or have been as celebrated in the west as Hacksaw Ridge, but Zandvliet’s Land Of Mine is as close to a perfect anti-war film as we’ve yet seen. It is technically accomplished, harrowingly empathetic, and a testament to our shared humanity. David Molloy
arts review is a pointless dick or a backstabbing bitch, and none of them impact anything. Like every bad script, John Gatins’ screenplay draws attention to its own flaws, as if the mere act of knowing how poorly you’re doing excuses it. But this is not Whedon-esque winking, it’s a blatant acknowledgement that Gatins is in on toy company Saban’s con, and daring you to critique this obviously silly corporate exercise. Power Rangers’ single worst trait – and there are many – is its failure to accept the inherent cheesiness and camp of the concept until over 100 minutes into a bloated screenplay. When that classic Rangers theme kicks in, it’s far too late – most reasonable audience members would have left. After all, they don’t have to stick it out for the kids, as Power Rangers is rated M15+, replete with fake-out swearing and upskirting fan service. Those who do wait are treated to a perfunctory 15-minute CGI action sequence that delivers fewer thrills than Age Of Extinction. Then there’s the diversity issue: as in the old days, the Power Rangers are a mixed bag, but here it’s lip service only. Extensive lip service. The egregiously bad “talking robot” Alpha (Bill Hader) says this of the jewels attributed to each ranger: “Different colours, different kids… different coloured kids!” Yep. Box ticked, Saban, well played. What an impressive display of progressive storytelling. Shame, then, about your Cantonese-speaking character (Ludi Lin’s Zack) who exists only to court the booming Chinese film market. And
your autistic character who only acts that way when it’s narratively convenient. And how Rita (the only actor having any fun) chooses to set an example to the Rangers and her nemesis Zordon (Bryan Cranston, why?) by killing the black kid… The whole film is alien because its creators don’t care about its humanity – they care about the six sequels already lined up for production. Some quotes: “Yellow has led you to your death, because I’m going to kill you.”
“Krispy Kreme… this must be a place of great importance, the source of all life is there.” “Why would you show us that nightmare?” That last one I level straight at you, Lionsgate. Saban and co. have left the toys buried in the sandpit, and are trying to convince us that rubbing the urine-soaked sand in our eyes was the game all along. David Molloy
five minutes WITH
PENNY HARPHAM, DIRECTOR OF FALLEN allen is set to open in Sydney this April. What’s the play about? It’s set in 1848 in a home established by Charles Dickens to reform ‘fallen’ women from the streets and give them a second chance at life in the colonies of Australia. This play is not about Charles Dickens, not naturalistic and is not a factual retelling of this history. It can’t be, as history has never allowed these women to pen their own stories or experiences. It is instead an imagining of what the lives, stories, desires and relationships were like for those forgotten women who spent time in this experimental institution.
F
Fallen photo by Sarah Walker
What is the key challenge in making an historical play relevant to audiences today? Ensuring that our audience is as diverse as the bus that takes me to rehearsal every day. If I want Australians to understand how this historical play has relevance to the society we are living in today then I need to make sure that all Australians, and all people living here, feel represented and reflected on the stage. That doesn’t just stop with casting diversely, it means listening to all the voices in the room, taking on their feedback and striving to create a safe space for everyone in the room to interrogate thebrag.com
the rules and structure we are operating in, so that the production we create is a sum of us – across classes, cultures, ages, experiences, sexualities, politics and abilities. Does Fallen aim to convey a sense of how difficult it was for women starting a new life in Australia in colonial times? Yes, and if we’ve done our job right, Fallen should convey a sense of how difficult it is for women living everywhere, in 1848 London and 2017 Sydney and every place and time in between. It should show the strength and power that is created when women believe in women and form a community, a safe sisterhood. But it should also demonstrate how difficult and destabilising it is to break out of the rules, structure, history and grasp of the patriarchy. What was your first impression upon reading Seanna van Helten’s text? Thank you, Seanna. What: Fallen Where: Seymour Centre When: Thursday April 6 – Saturday April 22 BRAG :: 706 :: 29:03:17 :: 23
FOOD + DRINK
REVIEW
DELLA HYDE OF
bar TH
EK
ADDRESS: 34 OXFORD ST, DARLINGHURST PHONE NUMBER: (02) 9331 5434 WEBSITE: DELLAHYDE.COM.AU OPENING HOURS: TUE – THU 5PM-1AM; FRI – SAT 5PM-3AM
E E W
The Carter
SYD N EY
BY DANIEL HERBORN
KEY:
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S
ome two years in the making, The Carter is a real passion project for owner Chady Khouzame – a multi-storey CBD bar and restaurant that combines his team’s passion for hip hop and stadium pop music with a love of hearty American food.
The central motif is pop culture power couple Beyoncé and Jay Z. “We thought of them as the king and queen,” Khouzame tells the BRAG. “They’re really the pinnacle”. The venue pays homage to these icons, but often does so with a sly wink. “We’ve got Kanye over there on one wall, thinking he’s Jesus,” Khouzame jokes. In the upstairs area of this art deco building, The Carter boasts a handsome bar. Downstairs is darker and louder with banquette seating, a backlit bar and a DJ set-up in one corner. The look sits halfway between industrial-chic and throbbing nightclub: the walls are covered in striking black-and-white portraits of Beyoncé’s tear-streaked (but regal) face, Kanye wearing a crown of thorns and Taylor Swift as a religious icon flipped on her side. Lyrics written graffiti-style are splashed over the images, which are intended as a playful provocation: “We wanted to push some buttons, get people talking,” Khouzame explains. They’ve even turned one of Kanye’s more (in)famous lyrics on its head in a bid to make it more empowering for Swift.
Tell us about your bar: Della Hyde is Applejack’s playful interpretation of vintage hotel bars of the past, with charming interiors, good tunes, and a strong focus on seasonally fresh cocktails, which feature classics as well as more innovative cocktails such as the gin-infused cold drip negroni. The seasonal drinks list is updated monthly using seasonal Australian produce. Food-wise, the menu has items substantial enough for dinner but also perfect for a couple of snacks alongside cocktails.
These lyrics are the work of a Melbourne street artist who prefers to remain anonymous. They pay vibrant tribute to the big city energy, entrepreneurship and penchant for controversy of New York’s entertainment scene. In fact, the approach was in part inspired by both Khouzame’s background in the music industry and a factfinding mission that led him to New York and Los Angeles, where he took in small bars, steakhouses and clubs.
What’s on the menu? Try our infamous Applejack beef sliders with cheddar and southwest sauce! The menu has smaller snacks such as chips and guac, wings, dumplings – or larger items such as quesadillas, fried chicken and S&P squid… plus some classic cheese toasties for late-night snacks!
The food is authentically American in terms of both inspiration and portion sizes, which are massive. You’ll be wanting a small team to take on an indulgent bowl of Notorious B.I.G. Animal Fries ($12), which comes heaped with gooey mac and cheese and is scattered with crispy bacon.
Care for a drink? Defi nitely the Hyde Salted Caramel Espresso Martini – garnished with caramel popcorn, how can you say no?
Soft shell tacos ($3 each) are a lighter option, and you can choose from tender, slow-cooked beef, chorizo and rice, or a cauliflower option that’s given a nice punch
Sounds: Hip hop classics to contemporary chart-toppers perfect for any occasion. Highlights: $1 dumplings every Tuesday from 5pm; $1 wings every Wednesday from 5pm; live bands and DJs on Fridays and Saturdays.
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The bill comes to: Depends how much you’d like to try! Around $40 per person with a mix of drinks and food.
thebrag.com
REVIEW
“
FOOD + DRINK
The look sits halfway between industrial-chic and throbbing nightclub.
Flying Tong
KEY:
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N E WTOWN
BY JESSICA WESTCOTT
T
ruly the honourable, more classy successor to the letters KFC, Korean fried chicken is starting to have its moment in the sun. Varieties of popcorn chicken, chicken tenders and schnitzels are getting the super sticky, super salty treatment of Korean cooking. So to help spread the gospel of huraideu chikin, Flying Tong in Enmore offers a huge serving, dripping in sauce, in its pride of place. The brotherand-sister team of Julie and Jeff Oh have concentrated on blending Western and Korean influences to create truly inspired comfort food. Seated outside, with a good view of Enmore Theatre revellers lining up outside the box office, I can easily and wholeheartedly recommend everything on Flying Tong’s menu. However, I obviously have my favourites. Try the goji fries – covered in rich, sweet bulgogi beef, they are simply to die for. The night pancake is thin and crispy on the sides, filled with all manner of spring onions, mussels and calamari and Asian greens. It’s hot and battery towards the centre, and comes with a soy vinegar dipping sauce, which perhaps is a little too soy for my tastes. Nevertheless, it’s filling and not oily like some Korean pancakes, so it makes for a relatively light meal.
with chilli slaw and lime juice. Perhaps the real star of the menu, however, is the Obama Fried Chicken ($28) – a plate positively piled with a small mountain of chicken, thick and sweet waffles, and fresh slices of watermelon.
But we’re here for one thing: that double deep fried, steaming hot plate of chicken. And it’s good. It’s really good. The coating is closer to a cornflake
consistency, rather than the beer batter finish of traditional fried chicken, and the double fry means it has a real crunch to it. Break a piece open, and inside you’ll find moist, steamy and perfectly cooked chicken. In our basket we receive four pieces – a breast, two thighs and a wing – but for $20, I would have liked a bit more meat or an included side dish. The chicken is practically drowning in soy-garlic sauce, which makes for sticky eating. But we tear into it (albeit slowly, as they are piping hot) with a glazed grin. Inside, the restaurant is dark and ambient, with one long table for larger groups. While it can become quite noisy when full, there is a quiet ambience to the place, like you’re eating chicken with the rest of a community you didn’t know you were a part of. Smooth jazz plays over the speakers, and you can see the chefs preparing your food at the back of the room. The service comes quickly and with a smile, and all our dishes are brought out together, which is great – except for the lack of table real estate. We wash it all down with ginger beer – Flying Tong is BYO at the time of our visit, but it has just been licensed, so next time we’ll hold the ginger. In fact, chicken and beer bars are currently in great demand – Barangaroo recently opened the similar Jean’s Chilli Chicken, which has been raking it in. Here’s hoping Newtown’s newest nod to KFC (remember, Korean, not Kentucky) does just as well. Geonbae! Where: 99 Enmore Rd, Newtown
Introducing Southern comfort food to a mostly Northernleaning selection, these rate as some of the most satisfying fried chicken pieces around – caramel coloured, moist and flavoursome, and just greasy enough to have you licking your fingers. Other on-brand menu items include a foot-long Snoop Hot Dog, Nas sticky lamb ribs and the already popular Kanye BBQ corn cob, while the Biggie T-bone steak would probably be too much even for the famous food-loving rapper it’s named after, coming in at a gargantuan one kilogram. The cocktail list continues the Bey and Jay theme, with detours to Kanye and Obama. A standout cocktail is the Pablo ($20), which delivers clean, fresh flavours of cucumber and gin, complemented by the honeyed notes of green liqueur and dehydrated orange. Throw in an all-killer, no-filler soundtrack with the likes of Alicia Keys, Ciara and Missy Elliott pumping through the PA and you’ll be drunk in love with The Carter. Where: 16 O’Connell St, Sydney
thebrag.com
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Album Reviews What's been crossing our ears this week...
ALBUM OF THE WEEK POLISH CLUB
to consider the humble two-piece in the same light.
Alright Already Double Double/Island
In his book The 10 Rules Of Rock And Roll, Robert Forster affirms as his last rule: “The three-piece band is the purest form of rock and roll expression.” It’s a point with some weight behind it, but take a moment
Polish Club have been pushing their blend of vintage soul, garage rock and the dirty side of the blues for a few years now. In turn, their debut LP is equal parts concerted effort and impulsive release – one that’s been a long time coming, so it charges out of the gates the second you press ‘play’. Novak’s guttural delivery is Alright Already’s centrepiece – perhaps not since Royal Headache’s Shogun has a singer gotten this grungy with such a refined vocal palette, contrasting the two for full effect and the best possible results. From loose and punky (‘Where U Been’, ‘Shark Attack!’) to vulnerable and lovelorn (‘How To Be Alone’), Alright Already runs the gamut without ever breaking a sweat. xxx
Whether you’re a Club regular or just visiting for the first time, Alright Already ensures you’ll be sticking around until the lights come on and security kicks you out. David James Young
“Alright Already runs the gamut without ever breaking a sweat.”
INDIE ALBUM OF THE WEEK VICES
Now That I Have Seen I Am Responsible Resist It’s been a while since we’ve heard a politically driven hardcore Australian band as convincing as Vices. Their third album, Now That I Have Seen I Am Responsible, is a raw and arresting release that brings their intelligent, metallic musical talent to the forefront. Every track belted out by vocalist John McAleer takes you on a dark, personal journey. The record delves into issues surrounding human rights, mental illness and religious divisions with no trace of shyness.
reinstates the fact these guys are determined to be a band, rather than a brand.
Vices may be hardcore, but there is still an element of melody in their tracks, which makes this album surprisingly palatable to the ear for non-hardcore fans, and
Developed over more than a year, the album is brimming with short, sharp tracks – ‘…Suffocate’ is only 40 seconds long. Yet they make a point.
‘Apathy // Aggression’ is a real headbanger, and given the punchy lyrics and tight, polished sound evident throughout the album (see ‘Broken’ and the powerful ‘Purpose’) the energy Vices generate is contagious. Prue Clark
“These guys are determined to be a band, rather than a brand.”
FIRST DRAFTS Unearthed demos and unfinished hits, as heard by Nathan Jolly HANSON – ‘MMMBOP’
T
he biggest misconception about Hanson’s 1997 album Middle Of Nowhere is that it isn’t straight up one of the greatest pop records ever committed to tape. The next biggest misconception is that the three Hanson brothers weren’t the main creative force behind the album.
brothers were recording a selffinanced album in a shitty demo studio in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The album, their second in two years, was named MMMBop after a rather cruisy ballad the trio wrote and recorded, and they pressed up a few hundred copies to sell at their sporadic live shows.
It’s easy to see why this could be. How could this be the work of two pretty, prepubescent boys and one velvet-voiced teen troubadour? (Nah, I’m only joking, but Isaac’s “could it be a daisy or a rose” section in ‘MMMBop’ still sounds deep by comparison.) Surely there was a team of songwriters, producers and session musicians crafting pop-by-numbers in a studio before indiscriminately finding three blonde children to yell “sing in harmony” at?
Structurally speaking, this early demo version of ‘MMMBop’ is basically the same, aside from a few extra bars of improvised MMMBopping in places. The loose, lazy vibe really suits the song, with Isaac’s verse harmonies more prominent, Taylor’s youngMJ flourishes more pronounced, and the baggy-style drum shuffle more a meander than a strut. It’s impressive work from kids who really should have been spending that time finding secret levels in Donkey Kong Country.
This wasn’t at all the case. Let’s travel back to late 1995. While you were listening to ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’, and ranting about how awesome Braveheart was the second time, the three Hanson
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Interestingly, 20 years on from ‘MMMBop’ becoming a worldwide pop hit, the only elements that age the final single version are the flourishes added by producers The Dust Brothers, such as the
very Odelay-esque scratching breakdown, and the of-its-time drum production. While there’s no doubting the song benefitted from being sped up and polished into a shiny pop nugget, it’s nice to have recorded proof that these kids were on point way before the suits got involved. Listen to the original ‘MMMBop’ demo at thebrag.com.
“It’s impressive work from kids who really should have been spending that time finding secret levels in Donkey Kong Country.” thebrag.com
brag beats
Off The Record Dance and Electronica with Alex Chetverikov
Four Of The
Best Aussie Releases You Need To Hear This Week
A
ussie producers are still killing it, and I absolutely cannot get enough of what’s more than a steady trickle of absolutely natch electronic music. I thought I’d flip the script a little with this week’s column (after a few tidbit social commentaries of late) and bring it back to the music with some wonderful new local releases. A few old favourites feature, with the theme of the week very much revolving on the ethereal, the dreamlike and the melodic.
Rings Around Saturn – Erosion Part 2
This Melbourne duo has maintained a gentler bent to its music, which I would hesitate to call house or techno. It’s as much informed by the lush atmospherics of ambient techno and selected field recordings. Albrecht La’Brooy’s latest is pressed by Night Tide, a collaborative record label between Berlin and Adelaide. The German influence is very apparent, too. Tracks titled after Berlin’s airport and rail transport systems are the perfect accompaniment to travel and distance, with ‘U-Bahn/S-Bahn’ in particular resembling a soft and gradual passing of time. Synths are given space to pleasantly drift and yet are held together by a steady, organic rhythm.
I grew up with the cautionary tale of Matthew Shepard’s gruesome torture and murder at the University of Wyoming in 1998 as a signposting to hide my sexuality or only express it to others if I knew for certain they were gay too.
I imagined being asked accusatory questions like, “Why did you choose to go to an all girls’ school?” as if I’d be expecting a smorgasbord of women to corrupt with my gay contagion. I was also hyper-aware of how I would navigate situations where I’d be in change rooms with everyone else. I always made sure to get changed in the bathroom stall. I kept my eyes on the floor most of the time.
Francis Inferno Orchestra – Oasis & A Time Though his nu-disco/edit work was of an excellent standard, FIO sounds like he’s really come into his own with Oasis & A Time. Coated in the Balearic stylings that Aussie producers have warmed to of late, it echoes the melting pot of early ’90s UK vibes. (I promise I’ll stop the Melbourne bias soon.)
Luis CL – It’s Getting Better Little late on the uptake for this one, but all the same: this is nostalgia done right. ‘It’s Getting Better’ pulls a ghetto groove to catchy vocal sample, while ‘Saturday Again’ evokes the melodic Italian house sound of the early ’90s.
THIS WEEK’S PLAYLIST
K15 and Henry Wu’s ridiculously groovy, upbeat Boiler Room set as part of London’s classic (and, sadly, closed) Co-Op/Velvet Room club retrospective. This BR crowd doesn’t look like the stereotypical millennial one we’re used to seeing – the vibes are good and the crowd is dancing its arse off. It’s jazzy and funky, in line with the future jazz/broken beat quality of Dego and the 2000 Black family. Following on the Henry Wu connection, his Yussef Kamaal duo with the talented drummer Yussef Dayes laid down a very tight set of jazz-funk at Gilles Peterson’s WorldWide Awards (check the rest of the performances too), which you can also find on YouTube.
RECOMMENDED
thebrag.com
Q
ueensland has thrown out the ‘gay panic’ defence for murder. At last.
I’ve known I was gay since I had any concept of sexuality, so entering high school held an extra fear factor for me, in that I’d be attending a single sex school with full awareness that I’d be surrounded by a heterosexual majority I couldn’t escape.
There’s a rather popular YouTube video soundtracked by Tangerine Dream’s dreamy ’80s classic ‘Love On A Real Train’ that uses real footage of a Tokyo train journey to great effect. The essence of this EP is not unlike it.
SATURDAY APRIL 1
Dealing With Gay Panic As A Young LGBT Person
I went to an all girls’ school, and although the early-to-mid-’00s weren’t as forgiving of homos as 2017 is, I was still lucky enough to be surrounded by peers who didn’t think of it as a big deal. At least, not enough to harass me over.
Albrecht La’Brooy – Emissary EP
Kato & Ritual Residents DJ HMC, Simon Club 77 Caldwell, Robbie Lowe The Jam Gallery House N Snags Feat. Harvey Sutherland & Andy Bird, Nick Bermuda Reverse Backyard Opera, Tempe Secret location TBA
Queer(ish) matters with Arca Bayburt
I’ve been fortunate for the most part, but I did have one small incident in high school that I still think about today. There was a girl – let’s call her Jane – who would make sure to always give me a wide berth in the hallways while yelling out some variations of, “Eww, dyke!” and “Don’t wanna catch the gay!”
Rings Around Saturn is Dan White’s most realised moniker, and he’s already one of Australia’s most talented producers. This EP, the follow-up to his beautiful Erosion release from 2015, reflects his precise ear for not only crafting sound but structure, extracting delicate emotion from his beloved hardware. Where ‘Biological’ straddles a buzzing, trance-like pulse, and ‘Aeolian’ is on the tip of melodic, progressive house, the 13-minute ‘Glacial’ is a loose pebble delicately carried along a soft glacial stream, echoing the unwavering melt of seasonal change. This EP is a lasting testament to White’s exquisite ability.
FRIDAY MARCH 31
out & about
DJ Boring, Human Movement, Pelvis The Midnight Shift
SATURDAY APRIL 8 Subb-An & Cezar Secret car park location
I was afraid of being a creep. I was also afraid somebody might catch me looking at them (despite the intent of that look) and that they’d try to hurt me or humiliate me somehow. I was diligent with these fail-safes I’d cooked up. But at 16, I’d had enough of skittering around in the shadows, pretending to be a sexless late bloomer with a passionless love for the hot guy of the month. I came out and it went
this week… On Wednesday March 29, Studio Kink Sydney is hosting Beat & Greet, a workshop on queer kink and impact play. From floggers, whips and canes to bare hands, get on down to learn a thing or two. Tickets are available now.
Matthew Shepard
“I’VE KNOWN I WAS GAY SINCE I HAD ANY CONCEPT OF SEXUALITY, SO ENTERING HIGH SCHOOL HELD AN EXTRA FEAR FACTOR FOR ME.” as expected. My family didn’t take it so well, and that was no surprise. My friends continued being my friends like nothing had changed, except now they excitedly asked me questions about girls rather than guys. Some people were immediately hostile. Jane was one of the hostile ones. She seemed personally slighted by me being openly gay and made it her mission to loudly express her disapproval to everyone. Our mutual friends, who had no problems being near me prior to my coming out, would be sure to keep a safe distance at all times – though I suspect that was more out of fear of Jane’s judgement than any worry that I’d suddenly grope them. This was made worse by that fact I was inexplicably and intensely attracted to Jane. One day, we were sitting in English class. Jane was seated at the same table as me and my friends. She was in a friendlier mood than normal and went a whole ten minutes without
On Friday March 31, head to The Shift Club on Oxford for some psytrance with Lucid Dreams, featuring Liquid Soul and Animato. After the success of last year’s party, they’re looking to make this a regular event. Tickets are available now and all are welcome.
making some snide remark about me being gay. Then she abruptly turned to me and, gesturing to my friend, said, “Who would you rather fuck, me or Georgia?” Without hesitating I said Georgia. Not because it was true; it was an act of self-preservation. Jane went pale. I knew she was furious. After class I went looking for her and found her sitting alone on the edge of the oval. She’d been crying. I asked her what was wrong and sat next to her and she told me that I had no idea how much I’d hurt her over the last year. I couldn’t believe what she was saying – I’d never said a bad word to or about her, despite her psychotic reaction to me coming out; I just didn’t think it was worth getting into. So I told her that. Then silence. Then she said, “I like you and I hate that I like you.” I said, “I like you too.” And at that, she grimaced, and we both stood up, I thought we would hug, but she started crying again and punched me in the stomach instead. I was winded. I remember stupidly thinking to myself, “Yeah, what did you expect?” We never became friends, and we never spoke of what happened. I never got an apology, but I didn’t think I deserved one for the longest time. Had she been angrier she might have kept hitting me. Had she been crazier she might have done worse. Wherever Jane is now, I hope she’s come out and is happy.
On Saturday April 1, head over to the Portugal Madeira Club in Marrickville for Heaps Gay – April Tools Gay. The lineup includes Stuff, Stelly G, Sheba Williams, Gina Colada, FlexMami, Matka, Kritty and Dunny Minogue. All tickets are on the door at $15. BYO tools.
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live reviews + snaps What we’ve been out to see... PHOTOGRAPHER :: ASHLEY MAR
KATE MILLER-HEIDKE AND THE SYDNEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Sydney Opera House Thursday March 23
I can’t imagine anyone could catch a Kate Miller-Heidke gig and not enjoy themselves. Even if the music ain’t your cup of tea, she’s a well-seasoned performer these days and able to sprinkle wonderful (and risqué) anecdotes and observations through her show with ease, like a petite, operatic Dean Martin. To up the ante even further, for these three Opera House performances, KMH appeared alongside the Sydney Symphony Orchestra – who, as we all know, are the best house guests to liven up even the most tragic party. They are also, as Miller-Heidke was happy to reveal, the horniest bunch of musicians out there.
SLEEPMAKESWAVES, CALIGULA’S HORSE Metro Theatre Friday March 24
When it comes to explaining post-rock to people, it’s usually easiest to say something like, “Think adventurous alternative rock without the lyrics.” The support at the anticipated Sleepmakeswaves Sydney show were a good example. Caligula’s Horse are a solid – if not always thrilling – outfit that represent the metal side of the prog rock spectrum well. ‘Marigold’ is the best example of their skill as songwriters – and the crowd was definitely into it. But it is hard not to be overshadowed
by a band like Sleepmakeswaves, who had the crowd jumping even without any words to sing along to. They took to the stage in plain black T-shirts and, apart from some lights, left any theatrics at the door. It was clear from the start – and from their career so far – that this band is all about the music. Following their first two outstanding albums, it was a pleasure to find that material from Sleepmakeswaves’ latest effort Made Of Breath Only is even darker and more complex. ‘Tundra’ was a highlight of the evening, showcasing their move towards a slightly harder sound. ‘It’s Dark, It’s Cold, It’s Winter’, a slower and more contemplative song, built
beautifully live. Meanwhile, material from the more electronica-influenced Love Of Cartography kept the set energetic. A mosh even opened up during ‘Great Northern’ – probably the closest thing to a ‘hit’ from that record. It’s the ability to explore the different sides and possible incarnations of their sound that has allowed Sleepmakeswaves to continue to excite over time. Alex Wilson humbly said they were surprised and grateful that they’d managed to get to their third release at all. Watching them perform with such skill and professionalism, it is clear why they’ve managed to find such a devoted and diverse fan base. Emily Meller
I’ve caught Miller-Heidke many times over the years, and her sets are always solid: fan favourites, popular hits, one or two more obscure numbers. It’s an old formula, but one that works. Interlace it all with some winning banter and you’re home free, though here is my sole caveat of the night: the preambles before certain songs are starting to become a touch repetitive (I’m looking at you, ‘Caught In The Crowd’). In her defence, the crowd on opening night was not quite her usual fare. You couldn’t swing a high school student by the ankles without taking out a dozen more, and though MillerHeidke still included the odd swear word or innuendo, she freely admitted that this was a slightly more sanitised version of the show in response. Not that this really detracted from the evening. MillerHeidke’s oeuvre already tends towards storytelling and character-driven pieces, and in having the symphony present, each song is able to take on new and epic properties. It’s quite cinematic in a way, which particularly works on a song such as ‘Sarah’. Already a deeply harrowing story, with the orchestra driving it home the impact is intense. The highlight of the night was another song of loss and remembrance, the bittersweet ‘In The Dark’. For such a large ensemble, it’s a difficult and delicate balance to ensure that not only does the orchestra have the opportunity to showcase itself before an audience which might not ordinarily be exposed to such sights and sounds, but that above all else, the company stays true to each song. This does not imply that there can be no deviation from the original composition; that we must follow, note for note, each familiar rise and fall, each well-worn trill. But, for want of a better term, the soul must stay intact. In that regard, this pairing worked to unique and splendid effect. Adam Norris
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SPOON, MIKE NOGA Metro Theatre Thursday March 23
Mike Noga has the devil in him. The one-time drummer for The Drones has emerged from the shadows and become a verifiable onstage horror, bolstered in no small part by the release of his excellent new record King. Indeed, taking to the Metro Theatre stage on Thursday, he drank up the spotlight as though it were so much cheap gin, backed by an insidiously tight set of reprobates hurling ugly rock’n’roll into the wide-eyed audience. It was vicious, and it was mean, and though ‘Nobody Leads Me To Flames’ was the highlight, the set
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impressed from its cruel beginnings to its car crash end. And throughout it all there was Noga, sweating like a preacher with gout and rasping hard into the microphone squeezed between his hands. In many ways, what followed was a distinct change of pace: Noga is not so much Elvis reborn as he is Elvis reanimated, while Spoon’s Britt Daniels is more of a Bowie sort, all tendril-like and taut. And, crucially, though Noga’s music is designed to appal and attract in equal measure, Spoon bypass the first and aim squarely for the second, their songs exuding a clean, neat sort of generosity and wit. Not to make them sound feckless or
safe, mind you. If their new record Hot Thoughts proves anything, it’s that Spoon are unwilling – or perhaps unable – to work to any kind of type. And, thrillingly, their show reflected that, as the band blasted through a bevy of brilliant recent songs – ‘Do I Have To Talk You Into It’, ‘Hot Thoughts’ and ‘WhisperI’lllistentohearit’ included – before they began reinterpreting and repurposing their back catalogue. Sometimes that tendency to rework material seemed born of practical concerns: you can’t play ‘The Underdog’ as it appears on record unless you’ve brought a small army of musicians along with you, after all. But at other points it seemed as though the band was
simply going off-road because it wanted to; because it appealed. The springy, spectacular ‘I Turn My Camera On’ became an extended freak-out, while ‘My Mathematical Mind’ turned into one long crescendo, exhilarating and clumsy in equal measure. By the time the show wrapped up, it became obvious that the only person having more fun than the adoring fans in the front row was Daniels. Smiling and winking at the audience, dipping to take a selfie with the youngest crowd member in the room, he was as open and accessible as one of his songs. One can only hope he returns to us soon. Joseph Earp
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g g guide g send your listings to : gigguide@seventhstreet.media
pick of the week Kingswood
FRIDAY MARCH 31
For our full gig and club listings, head to thebrag.com/gig-guide. Client Liaison
Client Liaison + Luke Million
Enmore Theatre, Newtown. Friday March 31. 8pm. $50.10. Australia’s new champions of retro cool, Client Liaison, bring their vintage vibes and contemporary chops to a sold-out Enmore show for what will be their biggest Sydney show yet.
The Waifs
Tash Sultana
Metro Theatre
Kingswood
+ Waax + Maddy Jane 8pm. $40.10. WEDNESDAY MARCH 29 Kyle Lionhart + Alexander Biggs Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7:30pm. $28.24. Salt Tree + Dande And The Lion The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 7pm. $7.
THURSDAY MARCH 30
Mars Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Sydney. 8pm. $10.
Spurs For Jesus + Chickenstone Factory Floor, Marrickville. 7pm. $16.
Bonnie Kay And The Bonafides + Tom Redwood The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 7pm. $7.
Crystal Cities + Nelipot Vic On The Park, Enmore. 9pm. Free.
Honeyblood + Brightness Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $33.80.
FRIDAY MARCH 31
Age Of Emergence + Vodvile + Artemis Blade + Reign On
Chris Masuak & The Harbour City Wave Riders +
Tash Sultana + Ocean Alley + Reuben Stone
The Waifs
Metro Theatre, Sydney. Saturday April 1. 7:30pm. $45.10.
Enmore Theatre, Newtown. Saturday April 1. 7:30pm. $68.45.
She started out a busker, now she here: Tash Sultana has become a triple j fave after being named Unearthed artist of the year and landing in the top five of the Hottest 100.
2017 marks 25 years of this enduring Australian band, and now The Waifs are travelling from their west coast heartland across the country with a fan-focused set to celebrate the occasion.
B.E.D., Glebe. 3pm. Free. Thirsty Merc Hornsby RSL, Hornsby. 7pm. $39.
SATURDAY APRIL 1
Fatback Hudson Ballroom, Sydney. 9pm. Free.
Archer + Sweet Jelly Rolls + Simone East Camelot Lounge, Marrickville. 9pm. $15.
Jack Carty Paddington Uniting Church, Paddington. 8pm. $27.50.
Choirboys Perform AC/DC Ettamogah Hotel, Rouse Hill. 7pm. $35.
Skanking Saturdays feat: Project Collective Ska
D Henry Fenton and The Elizabethans + Jason Walker + Ruby King
Marrickville Bowling Club, Marrickville. 8:30pm. $15. Dave Graney and The Coral Snakes The Basement, Circular Quay. 6:30pm. Free. Hollow World + Daemon Pyre + Zeolite + Flaming Wreckage Factory Floor, Marrickville. 8pm. $20. Skydreams - feat: Yon Yonson + Bilby + Froyo + Marcus Whale The Gaelic Club, Surry Hills. 8pm. Free.
SUNDAY APRIL 2 Kool Vibrations B.E.D., Glebe. 4pm. Free.
Valentino The Bearded Tit, Redfern. 7pm. Free.
Acoustic Sessions The Botanist, Kirribilli. 2pm. Free.
TUESDAY APRIL 4 Alter Bridge + Like A Storm Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 8:15pm. $98.50. Dave Graney & Clare Moore + Georgio
D Henry Fenton xxx
the BRAG presents
TURIN BRAKES
Newtown Social Club Monday April 10
TREVOR HALL Newtown Social Club Wednesday April 12
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MILES ELECTRIC BAND
Enmore Theatre Thursday April 13
NATIONAL FOLK FESTIVAL 2017 Exhibition Park, Canberra Thursday April 13 – Monday April 17
CORINNE BAILEY RAE Metro Theatre Sunday April 16
NIKKI HILL
Newtown Social Club Monday April 17
THE STRUMBELLAS Oxford Art Factory Monday April 17
ST PAUL AND THE BROKEN BONES Metro Theatre Wednesday April 19
DAPPLED CITIES
City Recital Hall Sunday June 4
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The Smith Street Band play the Enmore Theatre on Friday May 26. More Scared Of You Than You Are Of Me is out Friday April 7.
HE SMITH STREET BAND WAGNER
PHOTOGRAPHED BY IAN LAIDLAW
ONE NIGHT ONLY
WITH
FRIDAY 21 APRIL THE STAR EVENT CENTRE, SYDNEY
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