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LEVEL 1, 354 BOURKE ST. SURRY HILLS BRAG :: 522 :: 22:07:13 :: 3

rock music news welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town...with Blake Gallagher and Therese Watson

speed date WITH

BEN SALTER What Do You Look For in a Band? 1. I don’t date guys in bands.

‘Sweet Virginia’ and ‘Shine A Light’. He also sent a hand written reply to the only fan mail I’ve ever sent, in response to the ‘Cathy’s Clown’ single being released. What a legend.

Keeping Busy I’ve just finished ten days in 2. Tasmania as a guest of the Dark

Best Gig Ever The one that springs to mind was 3. when The Gin Club played with Tim Rogers at The Troubadour in Brisbane. It was the first time we had played with Tim and I cheekily asked him if he’d get up and sing some Rolling Stones tunes with us. I was pretty surprised when he said yes, but even more surprised when he bounded on stage at the end of our set and belted out

Current Playlist I had sort of been putting off 4. listening to the new Drones record for a few months, even though I’m a massive fan, ‘cause I think I wanted to see them play the songs live. Anyway, I just saw them at Dark Mofo and they just smashed it completely. Amazing. Also saw Boris, couldn’t decide if it was amazing or terrible but I’m told that’s de rigueur so I’m going with amazing. Plus, saw You Am I do all of Hourly Daily and Hi Fi Way, which was absolutely incredible also. I have been spoiled of late. Ultimate Rider A bit of peace and quiet. 5. Your Where Petersham Bowls Club When: Friday July 26 And: European Vacation EP out now through ABC Music

IMAGINE DRAGONS

Bloods

EDITOR: Nick Jarvis nick@thebrag.com 02 9212 4322 ARTS EDITOR: Lisa Omagari lisa@thebrag.com 02 9212 4322 STAFF WRITERS: Benjamin Cooper, Alasdair Duncan, Jody Macgregor NEWS: Blake Gallagher, Therese Watson, Chris Honnery

Las Vegas indie rock powerhouse Imagine Dragons have announced they’ll be heading to Australia this October in support of debut album Night Visions. A masterclass in versatility, the album combines guitars, violins and cellos, drawing influence from pop, hip hop, folk and dubstep, while their polished live show has been described as “notably epic.” Their jaunt down under will see the band play an allages headline date on Friday October 18 at Sydney’s Enmore Theatre.

ART DIRECTOR: Sarah Bryant GRAPHIC DESIGN: Alan Parry SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER: Tim Levy SNAP PHOTOGRAPHERS: Mark Boado, Katrina Clarke, Averie Harvey, Oskar Henning, Silvia Lopes, Ashley Mar, Amath Magnan ADVERTISING: Kylie Finlay - 0412 008 363 / (02) 9212 4322 kylie@thebrag.com ADVERTISING: Les White - 0405 581 125 / (02) 9212 4322 les@thebrag.com PUBLISHER: Rob Furst GENERAL MANAGER, FURST MEDIA: Patrick Carr patrick@furstmedia.com.au, (03) 9428 3600, 0402 821 122 DIGITAL DIRECTOR/ADVERTISING: Kris Furst kris@furstmedia.com.au (03) 9428 3600 GIG & CLUB GUIDE CO-ORDINATOR: Mina Kitsos, Blake Gallagher, Therese Watson, Rachel Eddie - gigguide@thebrag.com (rock) clubguide@thebrag.com (dance, hip hop & parties) AWESOME INTERNS: Natalie Amat, Mina Kitsos, Blake Gallagher, Rachel Eddie, Therese Watson, Charli Hutchison REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: Nat Amat, Shannon Connellan, Katie Davern, Marissa Demetriou, Christie Eliezer, Chris Honnery, Lachlan Kanoniuk, Jody Macgregor, Alicia Malone, Chris Martin, Hugh Robertson, Jonno Seidler, Rach Seneviratne, Simon Topper, Rick Warner, Krissi Weiss, David Wild Please send mail NOT ACCOUNTS direct to this NEW address 100 Albion Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010 ph - (02) 9212 4322 fax - (02) 9319 2227 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: Luke Forrester: accounts@furstmedia.com.au ph - (03) 9428 3600 fax - (03) 9428 3611 Furst Media, 3 Newton Street Richmond Victoria 3121 DEADLINES: Editorial: Wednesday 12pm (no extensions) Artwork/ad bookings: Thursday 12pm (no extensions). Ad cancellations: Tuesday 4pm Published by Furst Media P/L ACN 1112480045. All content copyrighted to Cartrage P/L/ Furst Media P/L 2003-2013 DISTRIBUTION: Wanna get The Brag? Email distribution@furstmedia. com.au or phone 03 9428 3600. PRINTED BY SPOTPRESS: www.spotpress.com.au 24 – 26 Lilian Fowler Place, Marrickville NSW 2204

4 :: BRAG :: 521 :: 15:07:13

BLOODS

Local garage-punk trio Bloods have unveiled ‘Into My Arms’, another brand-spankin’ new single taken from upcoming debut EP Golden Fang – scheduled to hit shelves August 9. A catchy, energetic slathering of bratty punk pop, ‘Into My Arms’ follows acclaimed single ‘Back to You’. The band will celebrate Golden Fang’s release come August with their firstever east coast headline tour. The tour kicks off Friday August 16 at Sydney’s Brighton Up Bar with special guests Major Leagues and The Fabergettes.

SPLENDOUR SIDESHOWS

More news from the Splendour in the Grass camp! Sydney sideshows for Daughter and Little Green Cars, MS MR, James Blake, Jake Bugg and Haim have all hung up the ‘Sold Out’ sign, while Babyshambles’ sideshows have sadly been cancelled. Meanwhile, Melbourne surf rockers Drunk Mums have been announced as support for Jake Bugg, and Dune Rats and APES will warm up crowds for US punks FIDLAR. Tickets to Palma Violets, Surfer Blood, FIDLAR, Everything Everything and more are on sale now.

FALLS FESTIVAL IN BYRON

The Falls Music and Arts Festival have announced they’ll extend to Byron Bay this year! The iconic camping festival will take over its third location, with three days of live music from New Year’s Eve until January 3 (which means you won’t have to travel to either Marion Bay, TAS, or Lorne, VIC, if you like the look of the 2013 lineup. Full details of this year’s edition of the festival will be released over the coming weeks.

THIRTY SECONDS TO MARS RESCHEDULE

Jared Leto’s stadium rock act have postponed their August tour of Australia until March 2014,

issuing a statement saying, “A member of the band will be undergoing a medical procedure and the time will be used to address this. Please know we are absolutely devastated and hope for your understanding and patience. Our sincerest and deepest apologies.” If you’ve already got tickets they’ll carry over to new date of Saturday March 29 at the Entertainment Centre, while those unable to attend the rescheduled dates should contact the ticket issuer by Friday August 3 to obtain a refund.

REGGAE GOT SOUL

Novocastrian vintage soul enthusiasts – you’re in luck! Spread across three days and three venues, the Reggae Got Soul Newcastle Weekender will see the city become a 72-hour celebration of all things 50s/60s soul, reggae, ska, Motown, mod and Jamaican oldies. The festivities begin on Friday at The Terrace Bar with DJs downstairs and The Buzzard Mix performing upstairs. Saturday at the Croatian Wickham Sports Club there’ll be a huge record fair, followed by DJs and a live performance by The Auskas. To wrap things up, a recovery breakfast and scooter gathering will take place Sunday morning at the Wickham Motorcycle Co.

Nile Rodgers

CHIC FEAT. NILE RODGERS

Veteran disco and funk hit-makers CHIC are coming our way in December to showcase their “time-travelling discotheque” of a genre-blurring career spanning over 30 years. Lead by iconic producer Nile Rodgers, the outfit were responsible for a host of classic ‘70s dancefloor anthems, including ‘Le Freak’, ‘Good Times’, ‘Everybody Dance’ and more, which they’ll be playing when they hit the Opera House, alongside Rodgers-produced gems like David Bowie’s ‘Let’s Dance’, INXS’s ‘Original Sin’ and Madonna’s ‘Like a Virgin’. Tickets start at a reasonable $69 for their gig at Sydney Opera House on December 7, and go on sale Friday August 2.

Ben Salter photo by Stephen Booth

Mofo winter festival, performing both solo as well as alongside Mick Thomas, Andy Reid, Michael Barclay, Craig Pilkington, Tim Rogers, Jen Anderson, Jeff Lang, Darren Hanlon, Liz Stringer, Van Walker and Sal Kimber in the Vandemonian Lags show. Got a week off, then I am starting my European Vacation tour, in support of my new EP that’s out now. Then I’m off to Europe to play some shows for three months or so.

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BRAG :: 522 :: 22:07:13 :: 5

rock music news

free stuff

welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town...with Blake Gallagher and Therese Watson

email: freestuff@thebrag.com

speed date JOHNNY HOPWOOD OF PSYCHLOPS EYEPATCH band or album I’ve come across that perhaps I wouldn’t have been interested in at another stage in my life. I would say one amazing album that has a uniquely different sound, which has always been something that I have been in awe of, is At The Drive-In’s Relationship of Command. I remember hearing it for the first time and thinking ‘what the fuck is this?!’ I’ve felt that way many times about Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Pink Floyd…the list is long… Your Band We’re a group of long time 3. mates. We all kinda went to

Growing Up I was always drawn to 1. music as a creative outlet. I can remember my mum buying me a copy of The Rolling Stones’ Sticky Fingers and Billy Ocean’s single ‘Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car’ on cassette tape when I was really young. When I was eleven I had a job cleaning bins after school. I saved up all my money to buy a CD player and a copy of Nirvana’s Nevermind and Jimi Hendrix Live at Woodstock.

I was obsessed with Nirvana. My dad is a part-time musician still, and as a kid I always wanted to learn to play an instrument and be in a band or play music somehow. I can remember getting up early on weekends to watch Rage and then Recovery or Video Hits. Inspirations It’s hard to pin down one facet 2. of music or the other, because I’m constantly inspired by new stuff, whether it be a song or a new

school together at some point or have known each other for over ten years. I think it really helps being able to play with close friends as it’s easier for us to get on the same page musically.

The Music You Make I think the psych bands of the 60s are a musical touchstone for all the members of the band, with regards to Psychlops Eyepatch. Our inspirations that are specific to the band extend further than that to incorporate elements of punk, garage and surf-psych, with a contemporary

aesthetic. I don’t think we sound like a sixties spin-off or revival band nor do we want to. We aspire to be a band that uses inspiration from the past to try and make something new. Music, Right Here, Right Now 5. We were recently lucky enough to be invited on air by 2SER’s Thee Sonic Assassin for his Sideways Through Sound program to promote our debut release Paranoise. On that show he quizzed us about a scene that we’re considered a part of. We’ve played with some great local bands under the psych umbrella. I think what’s happening with Aussie psych in its current incarnation is a real positive for all the bands considered a part of this scene. We have a group of bands that we can play with readily, where maybe ten years ago there wasn’t that support. Where: Goodgod Small Club with Scattered Order and Greta Mob When: Thursday August 15 And: Paranoise EP available now via Bandcamp and on vinyl

REGURGITATOR

The mighty Gurge are back! They’ve got album number eight all new, shiny and ready to go. Except it’s not that shiny. It’s dirty. A Dirty Pop Fantasy, to be precise. The last two years have seen Regurgitator hitting the stages of Meredith Music Festival and Groovin’ the Moo, and playing albums Tu Plang and Unit back to back on their Retrotech tour in 2012. The new album will be released on Wednesday September 11 and comes with a Dirty Pop Fantasy tour of Australia. They’ll be stopping in at the Hi-Fi in Sydney on Friday October 4 with tickets on sale now.

Lucky Luke & the Shooting Stars

SPLENDOUR WARM-UPS

Madly highlighting your timetable and frantically searching for your gumboots in preparation for Splendour in the Grass? Ease into your three-days of festival goodness (or write yourself off early) with a pre-party at The Northern in Byron Bay on Thursday July 25. One Night With… will get you into party mode with live performances by Jackie Onassis, Elizabeth Rose and Fishing and DJ sets from Jinja Safari and Nook Nook DJs (tickets from The Northern website).

THE BUZZ CLUB

Barfly Promotions – the folk behind Sydney’s Rock & Roll and Alternative Markets – have delivered a killer lineup for the second edition of ‘The Buzz Club’, their new live music night. Lucky Luke & the Shooting Stars headline the night, bringing with them their unique blend of rockabilly, western swing and jump blues. They’ll be supported on the night by bluesy Southern rocker Big Blind Ray Toro, along with alt-country acts Chickenstones and Handasyd Williams & the Brothers Primitive. Sure to be a ridiculously fun evening, it all goes down this Saturday July 27 at Hermann’s Bar.

FBI SOCIAL

A slew of unmissable events take over the Kings Cross Hotel this week courtesy of FBi Social. Hip hop duo Horrorshow will perform lunchtime Wednesday as part of FBi’s Lunch Break sessions. The Laugh Stand, FBi’s monthly display of the country’s rising comedic talent, will take place later that night, with MC Cameron James joined by Nick Sun, Michele Lim, Cyrus Bezyan and more. Spirit Faces launches new single ‘Jupiter’ on Thursday, while rapper, producer and overall wordsmith Mr. Ruckman hits the stage Saturday night, with support from Five Coffees, Vanessa Raspa & the Zombie Cats and Enkae.

MORE THAN JUST FRIENDS

Indie four-piece The Griswolds and rapper Chance Waters will team up for a brief string of east coast dates this September under the banner of the ‘More Than Just Friends’ tour. Recent signees of US label Wind-Up Records, The Griswolds have spent the year showcasing their summery pop tunes around the globe, while Unearthed ‘Artist of the Year’ nominee Waters recently inked a deal with Island Records. The acts – both from Sydney – 6 :: BRAG :: 521 :: 15:07:13

KARNIVOOL

Karnivool fans rejoice! After four long years the wait is over. The highly anticipated third album Asymmetry from the Aussie progrockers is out as of last Friday. First single ‘We

LAST DAYS HERE

Underground metal lovers read on. We have five copies of the doco Last Days Here to give away. When pioneering 70s doom metal band Pentagram experienced a resurgence in cult popularity, wildman vocalist Bobby Leibling was nowhere to be found. Directors Don Argott and Demian Fenton tracked him down, living in his parents’ basement and addicted to drugs, and chronicled his struggle back onto the stage. For the chance to win a copy, just email freestuff@thebrag.com and tell us how many sides a pentagram has.

JANE’S ADDICTION

Eagerly awaiting the next tour announcement from rockers Jane’s Addiction? Bide your time with the DVD version of their recently released album Live in NYC. Watch the spectacle unfold with carnival theatrics and trapeze artists while the ringleaders smash out music both old and new. Be in the running to win one of two copies by emailing us at freestuff@ thebrag.com and telling us what kind of carny you’d most like to be and why.

Are’ dropped to high acclaim, and the band is now ready to party hard on home turf in celebration of its release. They’ll be tearing down the Big Top at Luna Park for an all-ages gig on Sunday August 4. For info and tickets hit Oztix.

ALPINE + HAIM

With Splendour song and spirit in the air, the Beach Road in Bondi has a week full of festive fun. Before venturing north to Bryon, Alpine will cheer up your mid-week blues with a live set while the Haim hotties spin tunes. This rather spectacular free lineup happens this Wednesday July 24, with Gang Of Youths and Benjula. On Sunday July 28 the Beach Road backyard will transport you straight to the North Byron Parklands with a Best of the Fest live stream party. Face painting, hula hooping, BBQ and even tarot card readings will top off the festivities.

BARN OWL SUPPORTS

San Franciscan guitar-drone maestros Barn Owl have pulled in psych-soundscape sixpiece Dead China Doll and improvisational group Broadcasting Transmitter (who specialise in “hypnotic synthesised drones and apocalyptic feedback-induced freak-outs”) as their supports when they play Goodgod on Wednesday August 7. FBi’s Ears Have Ears presenter Brooke Olsen will also be on hand to DJ – tickets are on sale now through Oztix.

have been holed up together of late, recording a collaboration for Waters’ forthcoming album. Hear it first come Friday September 21 at Oxford Art Factory.

TWELVE FOOT NINJA

Melbourne rockers Twelve Foot Ninja have revealed they’ll bring their powerful live show to an extensive list of venues across the country between August and September, before they head to Europe, USA and Canada. The dynamic quintet is touring off the back of latest single ‘Shuriken’. September 14 the band play Manning Bar – their last headline tour saw all capital city shows sell out, so hop to it if you’re keen!

Fanny Lumsden & The Thrillseekers

FEATHERFEST

A celebration of all music experimental and innovative, Featherfest returns in 2013. Now in its fifth year, the one-day event brings with it US operatic-rock ensemble The Protomen, along with the homegrown talents of Shanghai, Godswounds and Toehider. American comedy/hip hop act MC Frontalot rounds out the billing, which will take place this Sunday July 28 at Annandale Hotel.

FANNY LUMSDEN & THE THRILLSEEKERS

Folksy Sydney songwriter Fanny Lumsden and her band The Thrillseekers (née Glorious Whores) release new single ‘Sea Elephant School’ this Friday July 26, and are celebrating with an east coast and regional tour across August and September. Lumsden and the gang showcase their infectious brand of toe-tapping, joyous alt-country with a hometown show Wednesday July 31 at The Soda Factory in Surry Hills. Support comes from British Blue and The Burley Griffin.

Lucky Luke photo by Terrence Ho

WITH

Bobby Leibling

“‘DID I MAKE YOU F**KING DANCE?!’

WITH SPECIAL GUEST

WHEN IT COMES TO HIS DEBUT LP, JUST MOVEMENT , THE ANSWER IS A RESOUNDING ‘YES.’” – ELEKTRO

WED 24 JULY • THE STANDARD THIS WEEK - DON’T MISS OUT ROBERTDELONG.COM FRONTIERTOURING.COM

Just Movement out now featuring smash hit single ‘Global Concepts’ Scan to watch it here.

BRAG :: 522 :: 22:07:13 :: 7

Industrial Strength Music Industry News with Christie Eliezer

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on the cover, but the Oz version will still run the story, though not on the cover. * Damien Leith has left Sony after six albums and will release his next album, due November 1, independently through Social Family Records. * What’s the star-studded project that Elefant Traks label head MC Urthboy is working on but refusing to talk about until it’s completed? * Petersham Inn and the Belvedere Hotel in the Sydney CBD are the latest venues featuring live bands that are up for sale. * Amanda Palmer wrote a new song about England’s Daily Mail, calling the newspaper a “misogynist pile of twats” after it published a picture of her breast falling out of her bra onstage at Glastonbury. * A Newcastle mother, who ordered two lots of imitation guns online so her sons could use them as props for music videos and short films they were making, was told by Customs the guns had been seized as illegal firearms and she’d be charged if she tried it

THINGS WE HEAR * While Big Day Out won’t announce its lineup until the end of this month, its NZ promoter Campbell Smith told radio station The Rock it’d be, “the best and biggest lineup we’ve ever had. It crosses all the musical genres that you’d expect at the Big Day Out. When you look at the headliners, the second slot, third slot and fourth slot are probably all festival headliners.” Pearl Jam, The Cure and Blur are among those rumoured. * The “British rock star” whom the mainstream media reported was scared his wife would find out about his love child is apparently an ex-member of Oasis. * Jay-Z’s Magna Carta Holy Grail album had the second biggest debut week sales this year, selling 527,000 copies in the US. It’s behind Justin Timberlake’s 968,000 for The 20/20 Experience and ahead of Daft Punk’s 339,000 for Random Access Memories. * Rolling Stone US felt the wrath when it put suspected Boston marathon bomber

SHOCK RECORDS’ NEW TEAM Shock Records announced its all new staff lineup. Its General Manager is Craig May, a label veteran of 15 years who worked at Dew Process, Sony Music Australia, EMI Australia, Stomp and Festival Mushroom. Label Managers are Maya Janeska (Roadrunner, JB Hi Fi, Remote Control) and Jacqui Wilson (Michael Parisi’s artist management and Wunderkind label). Promotions Manager Helise Andreoli was Promotions Assistant. New Digital Marketing Manager Robyn Fawcett previously worked at Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures, Walt Disney Motion Pictures and Universal Music Australia. Karen Edwards, who’s worked at Shock for eleven years, has been named Digital & Licensing Manager. Marketing Coordinator Mick Tarbuk was Music Director for SYN Radio/TV and a music consultant for publisher Fable Music.

finally went live in Australia last Thursday. Subscribers can upload 20,000 tracks to a digital locker, stream songs from curated radio stations or just buy them. It costs $11.99 but the intro offer is for $9.99. Ruuben van den Heuvel, Head of Music Partnerships, said that the Australian version was programmed for Australian ears with Australian content.

promising new talent, band, male artist, female artist and hip hop artist. The album category is between Archie Roach, Benny Walker, Kutcha Edwards, Steven Pigram and Shellie Morris & The Borroloola Songwomen. Up for band of the year are the Bartlett Bros, East Journey, Dubmarine, The Medics and Street Warriors.

ART MUSIC AWARDS BACK FOR THIRD TIME

BEHIND FALLS FESTIVAL’S EXPANSION TO BYRON BAY

The Art Music Awards – which cover contemporary classical, jazz and experimental music – are back for a third year. Presented by APRA and the Australian Music Centre, they’ll be held on Monday August 26 at Parade Theatre, NIDA in Sydney. There are 12 categories, see www.apra-amcos.com.au or www.australianmusiccentre.com.au.

Falls Festival, which stages in Lorne, Victoria, and Marion Bay, Tasmania, will expand to Byron Bay. It will stage December 31 – January 3 at Splendour’s Yelgun site. Last September, Splendour’s Jessica Ducrou and Paul Piticco bought into Falls. Asking Falls to come to Byron is a way for Byron Council to combat the alcoholfuelled violence that plagued the town last New Year’s Eve. Byron Mayor Simon Richardson, who’s pushing for a lock-out for Byron on NYE excluding locals and out of towners with accommodation, told ABC Radio how Falls’ chilled-out atmosphere curbed NYE violence in Lorne. Falls Festival Byron, headed by Brandon Saul, will contribute funds and expertise to help Council run events over the period. The locals get the benefit of employment and a youth skills program that provides handson experience and mentoring in carpentry, construction, bush regeneration and event management. Vampire Weekend and Grizzly Bear are rumoured to play.

VOTING FOR DEADLYS BEGINS

GOOGLE STREAMING DEBUTS IN AUSTRALIA

Voting for the Deadlys have begun at deadlys. com.au until August 18. The indigenous awards are held at the Opera House on September 10. The music categories cover album, single,

The Google Play Music All Access music streaming service (how’s that for a mouthful?)

NEWCASTLE HOLDS MUSIC INDUSTRY FORUM

E HIFI 1300 THO M.AU THEHIFI.C

SO LD

O UT

Just Announced

Tonight Alive

Haim (USA)

This Week

Coming Soon

Thu 5 Sept: All Ages

a third time. * A survey of 3000 marketing and advertising types in Sydney by Adshel found that 43% listen to Mumford & Sons, 18% to Kendrick Lamar and 11% to Michael Bublé. 41% drink beer at work, 25% play table tennis, 12% play football and most of them have never been to the western suburbs. * Pink filmed her next DVD during a Melbourne show while Baby Animals will film their October tour for their first live DVD. Feed The Birds (Live) is due out before Christmas. Fans who pre-order the DVD with a ticket to the show will also have their name included in the closing credits and receive a signed copy one week before the official release date. * Midnight Oil’s manager Gary Morris told the Daily Telegraph that their US agent, having heard that Peter Garrett was quitting politics, had told him there were 50 American festivals the band could play at, earning US$75,000 to $200,000 a show. But Morris says the Oils are not in reunion mode at present.

Wed 24 Jul

MusicNSW and The University of Newcastle’s Conservatorium of Music hold the Newcastle Music Industry Forum on Thursday August 15 from 6.30pm at the Conservatorium. A free live music and touring discussion, it covers topics such as what a booking agent looks at, how to fill a venue, the importance of a front-of-house engineer, booking agreements, gig etiquette and problems faced by tour managers. Speakers are James Boserio AKA Jimmy Nice (Spit Syndicate), tour and production manager Andrew Kelly (Big Apachee), Meg Williams (Association Of Artist Managers, management company Spark and Opus), sound, production and tour manager Jay van Lieshout and agent Katie Rynne (Select Music). RSVP to creativearts@newcastle.edu.au.

THE MARLBOROUGH LAUNCHING SHOWCASE NIGHT Nejo Y Dalmata (PUR) Fri 26 Jul

Airbourne Sat 27 Jul

The Mavericks (USA) Alexander Abreu Fri 23 Aug

Regurgitator Fri 4 Oct

D-Block & S-te-Fan Sat 10 Aug

Anberlin (USA)

& Havana D’ Primera (CUB) Sat 7 Sep

Fri 6 Sep

Stratovarius (FIN) Fri 25 Oct

Spit Syndicate

Sat 2 Nov: All Ages

Blues & Grooves feat.

Phil Emmanuel

Fri 16 Aug

For The Fallen Dreams (USA)

Fri 20 Sep: All Ages

Hits & Pits 2.0 feat Black Flag (USA ) Sun 17 Nov

ENTERTAINMENT QUARTER, BUILDING 220, 122 LANG RD, MOORE PARK, SYDNEY

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The newly-renovated Marlborough Hotel in Newtown is launching a Thursday night showcase for local emerging independent acts. Called The Young Henry’s Live Project it is a collaboration between Marlborough licensee Richie Haines, who took over the venue late last year, Dan Rule, previously of the Annandale Hotel, and Richard Adamson who founded the Young Henrys brewery, which recently teamed up with You Am I to launch the Brew Am I line. “Grassroots venues are so important in the nurturing of young bands,” Adamson said. “Take a venue like the Hopetoun as an example and look at some of the names that played there – bands like Augie March, Dappled Cities and Bluejuice. It’s critical that young bands have supportive venues to play in when they’re starting out.” Haines added that the Marlborough’s renovation is about giving back to the Newtown community. “I’m thrilled to be involved in a project so quintessentially Newtown.” The Project launches from 9pm August 1 with Greta Mob and Los Poppies.

RDIO EXPANDING AUSSIE PRESENCE Music streaming service Rdio is beefing up its presence in the Australian market, and brought in former MTV executive Paola Cracknell as its Head of Music and Media Partnerships. It will work closely with Aussie acts to provide “exclusive content” for its global subscribers and, she says, “supporting (them) with strong marketing campaigns and real marketing dollars.” Rdio plans to also become more involved in festivals, music events and tours.

RECKONING BECOMES SHAKE APPEAL Nik Tropiano and Alissa Cronau have changed the name of their management and PR firm Reckoning Entertainment to Shake Appeal. It’s because they have expanded their services to include multimedia, creative writing and social networking, and they’ve brought in Tim Sneddon, Melissa Majdandzic and Catherine Tanswell to handle these.

Lifelines Hospitalised: country star Randy Travis suffered a stroke and had surgery. Engaged: Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich and fashion model Jessica Miller. Ulrich has been married twice with two sons, Myles (14) and Layne (12) with Skylar Satenstein, and a third boy, Bryce (6) with Danish actress Connie Nielsen. Miller was previously involved with Incubus singer Brandon Boyd and System Of A Down guitarist Daron Malakian. Engaged: live-in couple Dead Daisies and Noiseworks frontman Jon Stevens and swimwear model Jodhi Meares (Sydney Sun-Herald). Engaged: Adam Levine of Maroon 5 and model Behati Prinsloo after a year together, although they did have a break. Married: Tina Turner, 73, and German record exec Erwin Bach, 57, in a Buddhist ceremony in Switzerland with 120 guests reportedly including David Bowie, Oprah Winfrey, Italian musician Eros Ramazzotti and Sade. In Court: Benjamin Richard Hudd of Toowoomba, fined $400 for continually playing his music loud late at night despite repeated police warnings. In Court: drug counsellor Nathan Douglas Marriage, 37, of Maroochydore, busted with seven E tabs at Big Pineapple Music Festival, told Maroochydore Magistrates Court he had confiscated the drugs from a friend and planned to flush them down the toilet. He was fined $800 and a conviction recorded. Arrested: Varg Vikernes, singer with black metal group Burzum, suspected of “plotting a massacre.” Police were alerted to Vikernes and his wife, a member of a shooting club, when he revealed that Norwegian mass killer Anders Behring Breivik sent a copy of his ideology to Vikernes. Died: Sydney publicist Ronda Toner, 66. Following a period at the BBC and Chrysalis Records in London, she returned to Australia in the mid-70s and became a publicist at Festival Records for 25 years. She then specialised in country music at ABC Music before setting up her own business representing Adam Harvey, Sara Storer, Beccy Cole, the Slim Dusty family and Jon English. Died: Sydney professional audio executive Ian ‘Woody’ Woodhouse, 68, of prostrate cancer. He worked at Technical Audio Group for seven years.

TWO SHOWS ONLY!

BENNETTS LANE Friday July 26 Tuesday August 6

Melbourne's own SHELLEY SEGAL and USA's ADAM LEVY (Norah Jones, Ani DiFranco) will come together for two shows only to perform soulful, expressive, intelligent songs that navigate through jazz, folk and blues with tender affection and great artistry. “Whether you hear Shelley sing or talk, there’s one thing which feels completely undeniable. With every step she takes, every word she speaks or sings, there’s an intense love for life, for her fellow humans and a pure joy about music and its power.”

tue

23 July

(9:00PM - 12:00AM)

wed

24 July

(9:00PM - 12:00AM)

thu

25 July

(9:30PM - 12:30AM)

fri

26 July

sat

27 July

(4:30PM - 7:30PM)

(9:30PM - 1:30AM)

SATURDAY AFTERNOON

SUNDAY AFTERNOON

(4:30PM - 7:30PM)

SATURDAY NIGHT

(9:30PM - 12:30AM)

sun

28 July

(4:30PM - 7:30PM)

SUNDAY NIGHT

(8:30PM - 12:00AM)

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people in the music industry, but we tend to avoid some of the people from the majors. “When we were first approached, we weren’t really ready,” he continues, changing tack slightly. “We only had four or five songs, and then we had the industry people come knocking on our door. I didn’t really think we were ready, so we got ourselves a manager, and he kind of helped us out. We continued to not put ourselves online, which frustrated a lot of music people. They had to come down to ours and watch us play.” Last year Palma Violets signed to influential imprint Rough Trade (The Libertines, The Hold Steady). The label arranged for the band to meet a range of possible producers, before they settled on Pulp’s Steve Mackey. “He’s great, he’s such a sweet and genuine guy,” Fryer says. “It was funny because he was really excited about recording, and the potential for the album. On the other side, we were quite excited about being in a studio because we’d never been in one before. This is the first band that any of us have been in, and Steve knew that and made us feel really comfortable. He put us in a room with our instruments, and told us to play a live show for him. It probably took about three takes for us get into it. Three weeks later, we had an album.” The album is called 180 and has two big singles in ‘Best of Friends’ and ‘Step Up For the Cool Cats’. “All the songs we used to play at our house, during parties, are on the album,” Fryer says. “They’ve changed massively. Lyrically and structurally they haven’t changed at all, but they’ve changed in the way we play them. Steve helped us find that edge that they needed, without changing the stronger parts. “We’re not really a band who like to plan things out very much. None of us have good organisational skills. We just like to go into a room, and scream and shout into a corner and make loud noises until we’ve got a song. That’s the way we do it.” The way they do it live is starting to become legendary. And they do gig, a lot. “We’ve just got back from America, and it was a pretty big tour,” Fryer says. “We played in places I’d never even heard of. You can never tell when you go in what it’s going to be like. You’re flying blind, in a way. Some of the places there weren’t very many people, but then we’d get to the next show and there’s this massive turnout and people are dancing like crazy and it’s deafening. We didn’t think that kind of thing would ever happen.”

alma Violets founder Samuel Fryer still can’t quite believe the level of success the English band are experiencing. After all, they didn’t go looking for it. “Everything that got us to this point is down to word of mouth,” the vocalist and guitarist says. “We didn’t really know how to put ourselves online; we didn’t know how to put songs up on YouTube or anything like that.

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We didn’t have anything to video ourselves, all we had was a small recorder to play our songs back.” Despite an inability to launch themselves digitally, Fryer and Chilli Jesson (vocals, bass) were keeping busy. Along with drummer William Doyle and keyboardist Pete Mayhew the band was playing to up to 70 people in the South London house they share – house parties

that have become the stuff of infamy. “It was only our friends we told about us playing, and that kept it small,” Fryer says. Word got around, and before long the band was hosting label types in their living room. “We kind of played the industry a bit,” Fryer says. “We never set out to do it like that, but it looks like we were out to fool them. We do appreciate some of the

The American tour was their second tour of the country. In March last year, shortly after signing to Rough Trade, the fourpiece went to Austin for South by Southwest. “Those shows were surprisingly good,” Fryer says. “The audience there has a reputation of being aloof, because it’s mainly industry people. There were a few shows where people stood there, but mainly people were pretty

happy to get drunk and throw themselves around. We also had one really good daytime show that blew us away, but it was still strange because you’re playing so early.” The band left Texas and travelled west to California. “We drove all around California, checked out the wine country,” Fryer says. “Then we headed north to Canada, drove along the top and ended up in New York. We stopped off in about 20 different places and played shows. It was quite the experience for four young guys.” North American tours have bookended their European travels. “We’ve played most of the major cities in Europe, we’ve done them all basically,” Fryer says. “Now we’re making an effort to visit places we haven’t been before. We’re trying to visit all the ones we’ve missed, and we’re doing them one at a time. At the moment we’re in Holland, and we’re playing a bunch of dates just in Holland. Once it’s finished we get a break for a bit.” That break will be the first in quite some time, and is much deserved. However, there won’t be much relaxing. “We’ve got nine days off, which has been a long time coming,” Fryer says. “We’re going to head to a mate’s place and make the most of it by recording some new stuff. We’re still trying to get Steve to come and work with us, but he’s a busy man so he may not have time. In any case, we’ll definitely be making a lot of noise.” The degree of attention that has been foisted on the band, including lavish praise from none other than NME, does not worry Fryer. “It’s strange at first,” he says, “but you get quite used to it. I don’t read too much into what’s happening, I just enjoy being with friends. I don’t go online and I think it’s better that way, otherwise you end up getting yourself worked up over nothing. “It’s definitely exciting that it’s happening,” he continues, “but we just do our thing. We’re pretty close as a band, and we spend every day together, pretty much. I think I’ve hung out with Pete every day for the last seven or eight years. I’m not sick of him yet, and I can’t see it happening.” This winter is the first time Palma Violets have toured Australia, but it’s not Fryer’s first visit. “I came out there in 2006. My dad took me over to watch the Ashes, and we went to Melbourne. That seemed like a really lovely city. It’ll be good come back as adult. I’ve told the guys good things about Australia. They’re all pretty excited to get there. And Australia seems like the natural next thing to do after Holland,” he laughs. “I don’t think we’ll be going to the beach, but we’ll wait and see. You never know how things will turn out.” Where: Oxford Art Factory / Splendour in the Grass When: Tuesday July 30 / Saturday July 27

SUNDAY 28TH JULY

8 HOURS OF LIVE MUSIC, INTERVIEWS AND FESTIVAL MAYHEM!

2-10PM IN THE BACKYARD! TAROT CARD READERS HULA HOOPING FACE PAINTING

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att Maust is on the road, but he certainly is not slumming it. The bass player of Cold War Kids is in the middle of his band’s North American tour, and is combining his love of art with his love of beer. He’s also not afraid to wax lyrical on the twin subjects.

The beer in question is brewed by a friend of the band, Vern Moen. Their fellow Californian is a filmmaker who directed the video for ‘Miracle Mile’, the lead single from this year’s fourth album Dear Miss Lonelyhearts. “We’ve known Vern for a while now,” Maust says, “but he’s getting really good at brewing. He’ll probably end up just doing that for a living. Did I mention how good this IPA is?” Maust’s enjoyment of his day off is understandable. The band has been on tour for two and a half months with folk rockers The Lumineers. The time in transit has been utilised by Maust to good effect. “I do all the artwork for the band,” he says. “It’s nice when I’m on tour, because it gives me plenty of time to come up with little ideas for sketches. I can normally only work at it sporadically. You know, I’ll do a little bit here, and little bit there until I’ve got a piece close to being complete.”

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Cold War Kids photo by Cara Robbins

“I’m in Ann Arbor, Michigan,” Maust says. “I’ve got some time to myself, so I’m holed up in my hotel room sketching and drinking India Pale Ale.” Isn’t that a strange combination for a bassist? “Ha!” Maust laughs. “Well, it’s been a while since I’ve had a day off, and I like to draw whenever I can fi nd the time. Plus, this particular IPA is excellent – there are some very nice hops happening here.”

Dear Miss Lonelyhearts is the band’s first album in two years, following on from 2011’s Mine Is Yours. It’s their first outing with former Modest Mouse guitarist Dann Gallucci, after founding guitarist Jonnie Russell left the group in 2012. Gallucci also produced the record, along with Lars Stalfors (Matt & Kim, Funeral Party), and was critically praised by the music media as a return to form. “I don’t think our sound has changed all that much,” Maust says. “I think it’s grown. There are drum machines on this album, which is a first. But we still made it in the traditional Cold War Kids way. Three quarters of it are

recorded as a live band. I think this time it was a matter of layering and layering some songs. That was something we worked hard on getting right. We really slaved over that.”

“I think there are two sides to Cold War Kids. It’s much easier for us to do a live show than sweat it out in the studio. But I think we’re becoming more accomplished as a studio band.”

The band’s members are not sitting around soaking up the critical praise. “We’re on tour, but we’re also working on making music videos for every single song on the record,” Maust says. Most of those videos are being made on the road, purely because there is no other option. “We’ll be on tour for a long time,” Maust says. “It’s not a problem for us, we’re known as a live band so that’s how we do things. We treat live shows as something special, because they are.

Maust insists there is little chance of the band’s enviable live reputation changing. “Our live shows are as maniacal as ever,” he says. “And we definitely realise how spoiled we are to be able to do this night after night. It’s never not fun.” Where: Splendour in the Grass / Metro Theatre When: Saturday July 27 / Monday July 29

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ohn Gourley, frontman for US psych/prog rock band Portugal. The Man doesn’t know where he is when we chat – it’s an occupational hazard. He’s in a hotel room, he’s in America, but it takes a second for the rest of the details to come forward. Who can blame him when his band are touring album number eight, Evil Friends, across the globe in a career that has seemed like one perpetual touring cycle. He’s enjoying dinner and time with his daughter, Frances, while adoring fans wait for the next gig celebrating their latest album, the Danger Mouseproduced Evil Friends.

“I’ve always been an early riser,” Gourley says, talking about how life has changed for him now he’s a dad. “I swear to God because of my parents I really didn’t know people slept past 6am until after I was 18. I know a lot of my friends in bands, they freak out at the thought of having a kid and they’re like, ‘What the fuck would I do?’ I’m like, ‘Fuck man, you buy some diapers and you just do the same shit that you’re doing.’”

NEW ALBUM OUT NOW

Having grown up in Wasilla, Alaska – an immeasurably beautiful and intensely isolated part of the world – Portugal. The Man came about as a way of getting to the next part of the US and having a blast while doing it. There was no grand business strategy, but things just took off. Perhaps it was their inability to ever say no to a gig, even though Gourley contests that that could’ve been their downfall. “It’s amazing we ever did well because over here, it was hard to miss us, we were playing all the time. We opened for every fucking band that ever asked us,” he laughs. “We had no expectations at all [for the band] and sometimes it’s crazy to me that we’ve made it this far. We’re Beatles fans and all we cared about was playing five dollar shows to pay our way to the next part of the country. We put out as many albums as we could and not for the sake of just putting out records, but to learn how to make records.” Things changed along the way and for Gourley, In the Mountain In the Cloud was a career turning point. “The last album and this album are actually us trying to reach our best. I finally feel confident that we can go out and play TV and festivals and just understand it all better,” he says. Seminal producer and musician extraordinaire Danger Mouse produced the band’s latest album, but Gourley admits he wasn’t too thrilled when the plans for self-production were changed on him. “When I showed up to meet Danger Mouse I was in the middle of making the album with the band and we had decided we were gonna self-produce; that was our whole thing,” he explains. “I got a call from Craig Kallman [Atlantic Group Records CEO] just as we started recording and I was kinda pissed off when he made that call. But really, how can you be pissed off at that offer? I mean, Danger Mouse? If there’s an opportunity there you take it and I appreciate that Craig went out there and asked.”

Even Danger Mouse wasn’t sold on the idea of producing Portugal. The Man, which somehow turned the tables for Gourley – he suddenly wanted him on board. “When we met, the thing is it didn’t mean that we were gonna make an album together. When we first started talking…” he trails off. “Oh God, these arranged meetings. I assume that for Brian [Danger Mouse], I’ll call him Brian from now on, I assume Brian dreads those moments. I mean he can call up anyone he wants. So I flew out there – well this is the way I recall it happening – and he was like ‘I just did an album with my boys’, who are The Black Keys, ‘and I don’t think I wanna make another rock record.’ Blind confidence is what has driven this band from the beginning so I said, ‘You know what? We’re not a fuckin’ rock band’.

Majestic... mesmerising... a worldclass collection of music Rolling Stone

TOUR with special guests

SUN 4 AUG BIG TOP, LUNA PARK (ALL AGES/LIC) TICKETS ON SALE NOW FROM KARNIVOOL.COM

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“He asked what kinda album we were making and I said, ‘We wanna make the best.’ We both laughed at that because it’s just the stupidest shit you can possibly say – ‘the best album’. We talked about Dark Side of the Moon and Thriller together. I guess if you’re not aiming for Dark Side of the Moon, then what’s the fucking point? I feel you still have to aim for that shit even if you think you probably won’t reach it. I love to learn, I fucking hated school but I love to learn. Once you land on the Moon you shoot for Mars – Bowie’s next you know?” For Gourley, the presence of a producer like Danger Mouse brought both a calm and stoic drive to the recording process. “I appreciated Brian and his approach, it made it so easy,” he says. “The thing is Brian knows how to say no and you can’t say no to artists. Craig Kallman knows that, you know? You can walk into a studio and tell a band that the chorus isn’t their best and they’ll fucking make it worse, they’ll make it noisier. They think, ‘Who the fuck are you to say that shit?’ That’s not my style, I want an album to reach its potential and Brian did that with us. He said no when he needed to and we listened.” Where: Splendour in the Grass When: Friday July 26 And: Evil Friends is out now through Warner Music

hen Villagers came from Ireland to Australia to tour their debut album Becoming a Jackal they did so as a duo, saving on airfares. But for this year’s Splendour appearance and sideshows, playing songs from second album {Awayland}, we’ll get the full five-piece treatment, and frontman Conor O’Brien says it’ll be pretty different. “The albums are written with full band arrangements so for me I prefer getting to bring the band. It’s just more colourful versions of the songs. It’s more energetic as well, for obvious reasons. Just generally sweatier, really.” That tour was O’Brien’s first time in Australia and he worried that this far from home nobody would know who they were. He needn’t have. “The show in Sydney, I think that was a guaranteed audience because it was one of those daytime festivals,” he says, “and I think people came to see a lot of stuff. But the show in Melbourne was our own, my own headline show, and it was completely packed. Which is cool, you know? It’s nice to travel to the other side of the world and people come to see you. Good for the ego.”

12:00

1:00

2:00

3:00

4:00

2.00-3.00

3.00-4.00

4.00 -4.15

7:00

MISS MOONN

UNSEEN DIMENSIONS

4.00-5.00

5.00-6.00

6.00-7.00

SACRED CIRCUS PERFORMANCE

WELCOME TO COUNTRY GYUTO MONKS WITH UNCLE OPENING THE ATHOL COMPTON SAND MANDALA & FRIENDS

6:00

TAYA

TIPI FOREST GLOBAL VILLAGE

5:00

For someone who panics in social situations you’d think performing in front of a crowd would be hard, but according to O’Brien it’s quite the opposite. “When I’m on stage anything that’s happening, like if I’m feeling sick or something, if I have the flu or any sort of sickness or illness, the hour before you go on stage it starts to go away, and I feel really good. I feel really energised. I do the show and I’m totally on a high for an hour after, I still feel great, but then the sickness just comes back, whatever you’re

BOLLYWOOD DANCE WORKSHOP WITH

THE BOLLYWOOD SISTERS 4.15-5.15

8:00

STRANGE PLANET

ZIV

7.05-8.00

8.00-9.00

9.00-10.00

10.00-11.00

11.00-12.00

TOMMY FRANKLIN WITH DJ CHRIS BRADLEY

SONIC TEMPLE

5.30.-6.30

6.45-7.45

8.00-8.45

TROPICANTE

DJJ SPEX

12.00-4.00

4.00-8.00 00-8.00

11:00

LYDIA

LUKA KA LESSON

6.00-7.00

10:00

BLUNT INSTRUMENT

BEATT POETRY WITH

DESTROY ALL LINES

Where: The Factory Theatre / Splendour in the Grass When: Thursday August 1 / Saturday July 27 And: {Awayland} out now through Domino Records

SLINKY

OPENING ACTIVATION CEREMONY

SNITCH DJS HOT DAMN DJS

MEXICAN CANTINA

9:00

suffering from. It’s something quite deep-rooted, performance, for me. I feel like it’s in my blood, which is completely bizarre because I’m not the most gregarious person in real life. I have my moments, but when I get on stage and I have my songs that I’ve worked very hard on to sing, I think I have a reason to live.”

7.00-8.00

FIRE FX - FIRE SHOW

One of the few times that O’Brien breaks character and sounds his age is in the final song ‘Rhythm Composer’, in which he gives advice on ignoring the bottomless pits that can consume your life and sings, “When you’re making up for what you lack / That old black dog is on your back”. The ‘black dog’ is what sufferers call clinical depression, but although he uses the term O’Brien isn’t one of them.

main driving forces behind writing, because I think if I didn’t write I’d probably go crazy.”

“I’ve never been diagnosed with depression, but I’ve never gone and seen anyone about depression. I’ve had pretty dark moments, probably like most people, and I’ve had moments where I didn’t feel the need to do anything, or found it hard to get out of bed or leave my room or see anybody. I’ve also had quite panic-attacky moments in terms of social relationships with other people and just general fucked-up moods, but I think most people have gone through that. It’s just something you don’t really talk about. I think that infl uenced my words quite a lot and in fact I think it’s probably one of the

PERFORMANCE

Ego is the last thing you’d associate with O’Brien, who is softly spoken and thoughtful. On {Awayland} he writes from an innocent viewpoint, as if he’s seeing the world for the first time. “I think there was an effort to see it from a newborn perspective,” he says. “Maintain that sense of curiosity and wonder that kids have; you start to lose [that] when you get to my age because I’m so old.” By “so old” he means he’s all of 30. “It’s like an early middle-age crisis album, that’s what it is,” he jokes.

OKA 9.00-10.15

BANG DJS 8.00-9.00

12:00

RAPSKALLION 10.45-12.00

10.30 -10.45

JERRY BLAM TEEN SPIRIT DJS VS DJ NORMAN PILERATS DJS 9.00-10.00

10.00-11.00

11.00-12.00

DWIGHT CHOCOLATE ESCOBAR 8.00-12.00

HAND GAMES DJ SET

BEE AMPERSAND

JAMIE BENNETT

JULIEN LOVE

GAVIN BOYD

6.00-7.30

7.30-8.30

8.30-9.30

9.30-10.30

10.30-12.00

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ndie kids and the wider industry went janglyguitar mad for Darwin Deez’s self-titled debut album, particularly the single ‘Radar Detector’. There was dancing and terrible singing in falsetto and all-around-love for the North Carolina/New York band fronted (and personified) by Darwin Deez the man (Darwin Smith). As everybody rubbed their hands together like a greedy super villain awaiting the follow-up album, it appeared that no one considered Smith and co. might actually change their sound. They’ve evolved if you will (yep, there it is) and while Songs For Imaginative People is a thoroughly enjoyable and much less saccharine album than the first, it seems to be copping a bit of a battering in reviews. Smith is finding the experience of being reviewed and deconstructed in the media a humourous one. He’s out on the town when we chat (and sounds rather, um, festive) and he admits that the very notion of a review of his band’s music and him as a person confuses and frustrates him. “I always feel a sense of non-belief whenever I see people dissecting us and I try to never expose myself to it whenever possible,” Smith begins. “I was really excited and felt satisfied about having a teenage milestone fulfilled with Pitchfork acknowledging our existence as a band, but I didn’t read the review and will never read it because I heard it was snarky. I can’t stand being in that situation where someone is talking shit about you and you have no appropriate way to respond. There’s never really an appropriate way to respond but especially not through the internet. Then you just look petty.” The latest album was recorded in North Carolina as Smith says he needed a break from the city, and he’s brutally frank when asked about the influence the recording space

had on the album. “None really,” he says. “Music is about the unconscious, you know? I don’t think being there influenced the sound of the album at all. I guess I don’t know though, I’m no expert on my own subconscious. I’m just standing near the gate of Darwin Deez, I see some stuff but I don’t know what the fuck is going on in there.” So why the choice? “North Carolina seemed like the most relaxing and cheap option. I’d been on the road for a year and a half, I wanted to go home and breathe the air in North Carolina.” It seems that it was his approach to writing, and not recording, that was the catalyst for the band’s new sound. He agrees that you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t with album number two. Repeat your pattern and you’re accused of being formulaic, change the sound (and identity) of your band too much and you’re accused of some sort of creative betrayal. What can you do but write for yourself in a world where people seem to be more focused on what music they hate than what they like? “The writing was different because I wrote the lyrics first,” Smith says. “I’ve never done that in all of my years of writing. They ended up shaping the songs in a way that changed the whole sound. It’s one thing to compose a melody and then find the lyrics – you repeat that melody three or four times and then you go to the chorus and that’s that – but it’s another thing to write a melody dictated by the lyrics. I know these songs are harder for people to respond to but I’m stubborn on that because that’s what I wanted.” Where: The Standard / Splendour in the Grass When: Tuesday July 30 / Friday July 26

Soundlabs, the Silver Lake recording studio that has hosted such bands as The Jesus And Mary Chain and Rilo Kiley. “Zac was interning there at the same time,” he says, “and we got to talking about music. He played me some of the songs he was working on, and we would jam in one of the studios when there wasn’t a session going on.” The two hit it off, and decided that the time was right to start a band. “We started recording demos on nights when there wasn’t anything happening in the studios. We’d get drunk and jam. Zac’s roommate Brandon would come in to play bass with us, and he ended up in the band too. I’ve always played with Max, so he was a pretty obvious option for drums...”

IDLAR’s songs are all about the fecklessness of youth – cutting school and staying home, drinking cheap beer, snorting up whatever substances are available, and just hanging out. The four Los Angeles youngsters find their subject matter pretty close to home, so their success has been something of a shock to the system. Over the past year, FIDLAR have become a band in demand, and all

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the touring has uprooted them somewhat from their laid-back LA lifestyle. “It’s a big change of lifestyle, definitely,” singer Elvis Kuehn tells me. “When you’re going on the road for a whole month, you just want to relax on your day off, you don’t want to write. LA’s a great place, so when it’s your home, it’s hard to be away. We like it more every time we come back. It’s definitely hard.”

FIDLAR’s drummer, Max Kuehn, is also Elvis’s younger brother. He has quite a devoted internet following, and is something of a ginger sex symbol. I ask Elvis if his brother’s raw redhead sex appeal drives a wedge between him and the rest of the band, but he assures me they’ve all learned to live with it. “I’ve been playing music with Max since we were 12 and 13,” he says. “We’d sometimes get in crazy

screaming arguments, and we still fight, because we’re brothers, but there’s more respect now, it’s more professional.” Over the years, the two have learned to give each other space. “If he fucks something up in the show,” Elvis laughs, “I’m not going to give him shit now, whereas I would when we were younger.” Elvis met the rest of the band when he was interning at Kingsize

The video for FIDLAR’s song ‘Max Can’t Surf’ features Max playing all of the other band members, and thrashing away at their various instruments. In one scene, the name FIDLAR is clearly visible, tattooed above both his knees. Having your band’s name inked on your body is pretty serious business…however, Elvis tells me that the video isn’t all it appears. “Those tattoos aren’t actually real,” he says. “Zac has the band’s name tattooed on him, and because Max was playing him in the video, we fi gured we had to draw the same tattoos on Max for the sake of accuracy.” Since the video, though, Brandon and Max have both gotten FIDLAR tattoos – Elvis remains the one hold-out. I ask if there’s a lot of pressure for him to get one, and he laughs. “No, there’s not really,” he says. “A lot of people ask about it, but it doesn’t bother me. I mean, first of all, I wouldn’t get a band tattoo… it’s lame when people get their favourite bands’ names tattooed on them, so I wouldn’t want to do it with my own band!” What: Splendour in the Grass / Oxford Art Factory When: Sunday July 28 / Wednesday July 31

Tent of Miracles

Julia Drouhin Disco Ghost

Livid, Walsh was approached by the then-burgeoning Splendour in the Grass festival, and hasn’t looked back since. As Arts Programmer for Splendour in the Grass, Walsh has the job of overseeing the weird and wonderful works that appear on site, alongside the music. “One of the reasons I really like Splendour is its willingness to work with new and emerging artists,” he explains. “Sometimes artists will approach us with their proposals, and sometimes, I’ll pursue artists who I think have the potential to create great works for that environment.” Walsh also likes the site-specific

nature of Splendour’s arts program. “We try to integrate the artworks all throughout the festival – you don’t need to travel to a specific site to see them, because they’ll be around wherever you go. You’re surrounded by the art.” This year, the Splendour festival moves to its new, permanent site

Sam Songailo Create a Plan B

12:00

1:00

MIX UP

8.00-9.30

CIRCUS SPACE

10.00-2.00

BUSKER STAGE

9:00

10:00

11:00

12:00

HAIM

BOY & BEAR

BABYSHAMBLES

TV ON THE RADIO

MUMFORD & SONS

12.30-1.00

1.20-2.00

2.15-2.55

3.10-4.00

4.30-4.45

4.45-5.45

6.15-7.15

7.45-8.45

9.15-10.15

10.45-12.00

THE HATED

XAPHOON JONES

MITZI

XAPHOON JONES

ROBERT DELONG

D CUP

12.30 -1.15

1.15 -2.00

2.00-2.45

2.45-3.30

3.30-4.15

4.15-5.15

6.15-7.00

7.00-8.00

8.30-9.30

8.00-8.30

9.30-10.00

PORTUGAL. THE MAN

(SOUND AS EVER)

MATT CORBY

ARCHITECTURE IN HELSINKI

12.45 -1.30

2.00-2.45

3.15-4.00

4.30-5.30

6.00-7.00

7.30-8.30

9.00 - 10.00 9.00-10.00

10.30 10.30-11.30 - 11.30

MODULE EIGHT

SCHWARR

SHORT CIRCUIT

ZIV

2.00-3.00

3.00-4.00

4.00-5.30

5.30-7.00

BEAT POETRY WITH

BURLESQUE WITH

MISS FRIBY

GREG SHEEHAN

1.00-2.00

2.30-3.30

4.00-5.00

LUKA LESSON

BEE AMPERSAND vs MADDIE J

BODY PERCUSSION

I OH YOU DZ DEATHRAYS STREETPARTY VS BLEEDING KNEES VS NORTHEAST VS JEM DE LA PARTY HOUSE DJS CREME CLUB DJS

1.00-2.30

2.30-3.30

3.30-4.30

4.30-5.00

5.00-6.00

EMMY LOU

BLOKE-O ONO

DISCROW

STRANGE PLANET

7.05-8.30

8.30-9.30

9.30-11.00

11.00-12.30

12.30-2.00

6.30-7.30

5.30-6.00 6.00

JUST LIKEE HONEY

JOHNY LOVE

APPLEONIA

RA FEAT. THE FADERS GOLD ON GOLD 6.00-7.00

7.00-8.00

KUNDALINI DANCE JOURNEY WITH

FIERCE LIGHT DOCUMENTARY

7.45-9.00

9.15-11.00

LEYOLAH ANTARA

INDIAN SUMMER

XAPHOON JONES

FLIGHT FACILITIES DECADE DJ SET

EMOH INSTEAD

8.00-9.00

9.00-10.00

10.00-11.00

11.00-12.00

12.00-1.00

1.00-2.00

TROPICANTE ANTE

FIESTA VIVA MARIACHI

TROPICANTE

12.00-4.00

4.00-4.45

4.45-6.45 .45

6.45-7.30

7.30-9.30

BEN FESTER

ANDY WEBB

12.00-1.30

1.30-3.00

3.00-4.00

APRA PRESENTS: SONGWRITERS SPEAK

DEBATE: CAN WE TRUST THE MEDIA?

1.00-2.00

2.30-4.00

ES CHARLES HAYDEN JAMES MURDOCH 4.00-5.15

TOM DODD

WALRUS & CARPENTER

KIT BRAY

GARRETT KATO

12.00-1.00

1.15-2.15

2.30-3.30

3.45-5.00

5.15-6.00

12.15-2.00

12.00 -12.15

BENSON VS MIKE METRO

FIESTA VIVA MARIACHI

MODERN FAIRYTALE

ELECTRIC GARDEN DJ’S

BAD NEWS TOILET

DJ SPEX

2:00

KLAXONS

UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA

YOU AM I

1:00

10.00-11.00

DAUGHTER

12.00-1.00

11.00-12.00

FLIGHT YOLANDA YOLANDA DARWIN DEEZ BE COOL FACILITIES BE COOL

D CUP

CUB SCOUTS

11.30 - 12.30

INTERVIEW AND Q&A WITH SENATOR CHRISTINE MILNE

CLAIRY BROWNE ROWNE ANGIN’ & THE BANGIN’ RACKETTES TTES 5.15-6.15 6.15

SONGS

MEXICAN CANTINA

FORUM

8:00

WELCOME TO COUNTRY

NEW YORK HÜSLA VS CATS JAMES DE BONO RATS