Drum Media Perth Issue #233

Page 1

WA’S HIGHEST QUALITY STREET PRESS • THURSDAY 14 APRIL 2011 • 233 • FREE

INSIDE

:

SPLEN DOUR T H IN E G LINE-U R A P ANN S S O WAMIUNCEMENT PLUS NOMIN 2011 ATION S

ITY L A E R E TH G N I V I L

OMPSON CARUS TH

I N S I D E :

T H E

G O

S E T

•

C H A S E

CT

RFLY EFFE

PS HORRORPO

THE BUTTE

&

S TAT U S

•

NWELL HUGH COR

D ATA R O C K

•

B L I S S

N

E S O

ALBANY • BUNBURY • BUSSELTON • DUNSBOROUGH • GERALDTON • MANDURAH • MARGARET RIVER • PERTH

4• THE DRUM MEDIA 14 APRIL 2011

CHUGG ENTERTAINMENT & TRIPLE J PRESENT

" ĂŠ THE DRUMS - 2011 AUSTRALIAN TOUR "" ĂŠ* ĂŠ /"ĂŠWINĂŠ/ /-ĂŠ AND MEET THE BAND

WITH

TIGER CHOIR

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M EN T PR ES EN TS CH UG G EN TE RTAI N

AY D O T E L A S ON

bynight.org | 9430 5976 y T H IG N Y B FLY Y A M H T 4 1 Y A D R U T SA AILS. K WEBSITE FOR DET D AUSTRALIA. CHEC

ALS

GTON AROUN IN SH A W H IT W G N O TOURI

www.lissie.com www.chuggentertainment.com THE DRUM MEDIA 14 APRIL 2011 • 5

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THE DRUM MEDIA 14 APRIL 2011 • 7

WATERMARK

ROSE TATTOO

GRINSPOON SPIDERBAIT GYROSCOPE THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT

THE WHITLAMS

GANGgajang

ROSS WILSON DARYL BRAITHWAITE

RAISE THE FLAG GRAEME CONNORS DAMIEN LEITH STAN WALKER MELINDA SCHNEIDER MUSCLES

JONATHAN BOULET

ANNA LUNOE

WATERMARK IS AN EVENT TO HELP STRENGTHEN THE SPIRIT OF QLD COMMUNITIES. IT WILL BE HELD IN 16 VENUES NATIONALLY ON APRIL 16 FROM MIDDAY ONWARDS. VISIT THE WATERMARK TAB ON FACEBOOK.COM/BUNDYRUM FOR MORE. ATTEND THE WATERMARK EVENT NEAREST YOU AND SUPPORT THE QLD FLOOD RECOVERY. Drink Responsibly - The BUNDABERG word, BDC device and associated logos are trade marks. © Bundaberg Distilling Company Pty Ltd 2011.

8• THE DRUM MEDIA 14 APRIL 2011

THE DRUM MEDIA 14 APRIL 2011 • 9

music@drumperth.com.au

FOREWORD LINE IN BRIEF THE HIVES

SPLENDOUR BENDER

237 QUEEN VICTORIA AVE, NORTH FREMANTLE

THUR BEN

OTTEWELL (GOMEZ) tickets $27.50 + BF from www. heatseeker.com.au doors 8pm

FRI

INJURED NINJA french rockets, usurper of modern medicine & frozen ocean. $10. 8pm

While it may not pertain to our side of the world in particular, every year Splendour In The Grass is arguably the biggest event on the Australian music calendar, with plenty of lucky souls heading over east for the world-renowned festival. Where does it get that ‘world renowned’ tag you may ask? well let’s just look at the announcement for the 2011 show and you’ll quickly see why. Playing their only Australian shows will be the massive double-header of hip hop monster Kanye West and UK favourite sons Coldplay; along with Jane’s Addicition; The Hives; Pulp; The Mars Volta; The Living End; Regina Spektor in her only 2011 show anywhere; Bliss N Eso; Pnau; Mogwai (only Aus show); DJ Shadow; Glasvegas; The Grates; Devendra Banhart & The Grogs; Modest Mouse; The Middles East; Kaiser Chiefs; James Blake; Kele; The Vines; Elbow; Eskimo Joe; Noah & The Whale; Children Collide; Thievery Corporation; Cut Copy; Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan; Bluejuice; The Kills; Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears; Architecture In Helskini; Foster The People; The Panics; Friendly Fires; Jebediah; The Vaccines; Gomez; Boy & Bear; Gotye; Does It Offend You, Yeah?; Cloud Control; Mona; Sparkadia; Warpaint; Muscles; Fitz & The Tantrums; The Jezabels; Drapht; British Sea Power; Tim & Jean; Leader Cheetah; Grouplove; Seeker Lover Keeper; Yelle; Kimbra; Phrase; Oh Mercy; Dananananakroyd; The Black Seeds; Marques Toliver; The Holidays; Ghoul; Liam Finn; The Herd; Young The Giant; Guineafowl; Hungry Kids Of Hungary; Jinja Safari; Wild Beasts; Illy; Cut Off Your Hands; Gareth Liddiard; Alpine; World’s End Press, Mosman Alder; and Lanie Lane with a host of local DJs dancing up a storm. Tickets go on sale 7am our time Thursday 5 May through Moshtix – good luck!

SAT SERIAL

KILLER SMILE

with copious, gopmbo and over unity. entry $10 from 8pm

SUN SOMETHING

SOUTH maya dadi, electric toad, clean living, runner, lord of the friends, pioneers of zoo tribe. 4pm.

MON WIDE

WAMI NOMINEE BIRDS OF TOKYO

WAM BAM

The Western Australia Music Industry festival kicks off late May (Saturday 21 – Saturday 28) and this week WAMi have two big announcements with regards to the upcoming, Drum Media presented event. First off the Kiss My WAMi CD/DVD is ready to roll, with three CDs and a DVD featuring over 70 exciting WA artists from the established – Birds Of Tokyo, Jebediah, Abbe May – to the emerging crop like Sons Of Rico, San Cisco, Pond and Split Seconds. In addition to this, the 2011 WAMi Award nominees have been announced, and it’s a massive list, with public voting for the award kicking off today and closing midday May 6. Head to page 25 of this mag to get a full run-down of who you can vote for, then head to wam.asn.au/publicvoting and cast your vote! The closing party is going down at WAMi Festival 2011’s new home The Bakery, with plenty more details to emerge.

call bruno booth on 0424 606 437 early: freo buskers in the beer garden. JOAN AS POLICE WOMAN

DAVE FOLEY & the straight- DEEP POLICE

legged freaks with special guests early: big ear chad playing dub & soul

WED NATHAN

KAYE

Wonderful musician, singer and songwriter Joan Wasser, a.k.a Joan As Police Woman is coming to the Fly By Night in Fremantle Saturday 11 June with her full band. Flying only just under the radar of mainstream audiences, this tour could easily be one of the richest and most satisfying musical highlights of the year, and comes on the heels of her fourth solo album release – The Deep Field – her most personal, significant and universal album to date.

with special guest matt cal early: josh fergus live from 6pm

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As part of Hidden Treasures, Fremantle’s new weekly Winter Music Series – happening Thursday nights this July – the City of Fremantle is looking for five artists/ bands 25 years or under to take part in a new mentoring program to develop their skills with experienced musicians. Send your bio, demo and contact deets to karen@ luckyprojects.com.au by April 22 for your chance to take part in meeting, jamming and recording sessions, plus a final show on July 28. You may notice Timbaland missing from our Supafest review this week – he announced that he has, once again, cancelled his Aus tour without reason. U2’s 360 tour has officially become the highest grossing of all time, topping The Rolling Stones’ $558 million for their A Bigger Bang tour.

Yoko Ono and Beatles biographer Hunter Davies have reportedly compiled letters, postcards and drawings John Lennon sent to various people in the final years of his life for The Lennon Letters, to be released next year.

FUNERAL PARTY

PARTY DOWN

Notoriously naming themselves after a Cure song, LA five-piece Funeral Party formed late one night during a parking lot drinking session only to rise out of the East LA party scene, making their presence known worldwide and earn a spot on NME’s 50 Best New Bands Of 2010. Their debut album The Golden Age Of Knowhere is a firebomb collection of dance-punk, burning along on sloppy swings of the hi-hat, and most notably, the sweaty bravado of singer Chad Elliot. Drum Media is proud to present them playing Tuesday 2 August at Capitol, tickets through Ticketmaster or Moshtix.

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HELMET

HEAD PROTECTION

Seminal hard rock band Helmet released Seeing Eye Dog late last year – their first LP since 2006’s Monochrome, and after sold-out tours in their homeland the post-hardcore rockers are gearing up for a return to our shores, playing Amplifier Tuesday 28 June. Seeing Eye Dog is one of the band’s most uncompromising and ambitious releases, and expect to hear plenty of tracks from it plus old favourites. Tickets through Moshtix, 78s, Mills and Planet.

CATCHING LISSIE

After she supports Washington at the Astor Theatre Friday 13 May, Lissie, the effortlessly cool US singer/ songwriter will embark on her first solo Australian tour, which kicks off Saturday 14 May at Fly By Night in Fremantle. Since the release last year of her debut album Catching A Tiger, the Illinois-born Lissie has been wowing audiences in both the US and the UK, and now it’s Australia’s turn. Tickets through flybynight.org.

PIMP DIDDY

Baron and eKa of Mustard Pimp, inspired by metal, rock, and other notable music they tune in to, are an unclassifiable French electro duo who have experimented with eclectic styles in all of their tracks. Signed to Steve Aoki’s Dim Mak Records, Mustard Pimp have gained a huge following thanks to their productions, mixing and shows becoming notorious the world over. They bring it to Diddy at Flawless Thursday 5 June, with support from Yon Jovi, New Noize and JS.

A-OKAYE

After a year that’s included supporting Jason Mraz in LA, Paul Dempsey in Hollywood and performing at big Oz Festivals such as Splendour In the Grass, Nathan Kaye’s back in WA with his new show at his fav WA stompin’ grounds. These include Gascoyne Hotel in Carnavon Friday 15 April; Kalbarri Motor Inn Saturday 16; L’Attitude 28 Bar in Geraldton Sunday 17; Mojo’s Wednesday 20; Didgeridoo Breath in Fremantle Thursday 21 for a workshop and show; Cape Wine Bar in Dunsborough Saturday 23; and Caves House, Yallingup Sunday 24 April, with Simon Kelly in support.

HOT HAVANA NIGHTS

Since firmly establishing herself as a force to be reckoned with in the Australian and international DJ world, Havana Brown’s hustle hasn’t slowed for a minute. She’s the only female DJ to sign a major label recording deal in Australia, and Brown has since delivered with multiple releases of her Crave compilation series all charting and spurning successful national and international club tours. Catch her at Metropolis Fremantle Friday 6 May, $20 door sales.

Bloc Party have seemingly ended their two year hiatus and will begin work on album number four soon. Nu-metal might also be making a mean comeback with the new Limp Bizkit, album due for release midyear, plus Incubus have finished recording their first album in five years.

PLAYS THE FREO BLUES & ROOTS CLUB

MOJOS INFO

The former house of X-Factor winner Altiyan Childs has been raided by police, who seized two rifles, a taser gun, a pellet gun, 500g of cannabis and “a large amount of chemical equipment”. Childs moved out the day before the raid. His manager Steve Gold has been arrested.

A 13-foot statue of Kurt Cobain’s famous JagStang guitar was erected in his hometown of Aberdeen, Washington on the 17th anniversary of the artist’s death last week.

OPEN MIC wanna play? TUE LIMPIN’ DAVE

Local hip hop star Drapht has debuted in the top spot on the ARIA charts with his fourth long-player The The Life Of Riley – it’s also our CD Of The Week this edition.

The second annual Music Competition For Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Australians is on, with a $5,000 first prize plus the chance to record with Skinnyfish Music, Australia’s leading record label for Indigenous artists. Head to ncpic.org. au for more info.

SKIPPING GIRL VINEGAR

JUMP ROPE

Up-and-coming indie darlings, Skipping Girl Vinegar are proud to announce the national launch tour for their anticipated second album, Keep Calm, Carry The Monkey – out May 7, it’s a darker, full swing of moods that breaks wide open the hobo-pop revelation the band hinted to on their debut. With special guests TBA, they play a free show at Settlers Tavern, Margaret River Friday 22 July, and then Saturday 23 July at the Norfolk Basement in Fremantle. Tickets through skippinggirlvinegar.oztix.com.au and tickets. newworldartists.net.

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LIVE! Simon Cox Band with guests Dilip and The Davs plus The Simon Kelly Band. Doors 8pm. Be early.

QV \PM KW]Z\aIZL" Fri 15th April > Cam Avery (from 5.30pm)

6*745&#; #24+. COLLEGE FALL

+ LARS WALLIN TRIO + ADRIAN WILSON (DUO)

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16th APRIL

LIVE! THE FAGS!! B & R Special with Taco Leg and The Yokohomos plus DJs Beryl and Georgia WD... doors 8pm.

WESTERN AUSTRALIAN ACADEMY OF PERFORMING ARTS

explore short courses school holiday program intensive week-long workshops for Yr 10, 11 & 12 students

ACTING UP Tues 26 - Sat 30 April, 9am - 5pm

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This exciting and informative school holiday program offers acting, improvisation, movement and voice studies taught by members of WAAPA’s acclaimed Acting staff. The participants will also work with experienced industry professionals to create a self-devised performance piece. At the conclusion of the course, the students will present their performances on stage in front of family and friends in WAAPA’s Roundhouse Theatre. An information session run by WAAPA staff and students will answer questions about the WAAPA courses on offer and the realities of pursuing a career as an actor. Cost: $550

Telephone: (08) 9370 6007 Email: explore.waapa@ecu.edu.au

waapa.ecu.edu.au/explore FREE ENTRY 46 LAKE ST, NORTHBRIGE 9328 2350 LIVE MUSIC EVERY NIGHT OF THE WEEK ENQUIRIES info@mustangbar.com.au www.mustangbar.com.au THE DRUM MEDIA 14 APRIL 2011 • 11

music@drumperth.com.a

FOREWORD LINE LOCAL LOVIN’

There’s some mighty fine happenings going down right now in WA, and we certainly don’t mean wishing we were on a honeymoon in some foreign lands like a certain magazine editor… Fremantle Records are celebrating the launch of their new studio with a release of a recording of local acts. The celebration hits up Mojo’s Thursday 28 April with The Spitfires, Wash and Sidewalk Diamonds. It’s also your last chance to catch The Spitfires before they head off on their UK tour. North Fremantle continues to represent the dubstep with Substandard hitting up Mojo’s on Thursday 21 April. Kitpop, Saxon & Boy Prince, Sibalance, A-Step and Modo bring the bass-heavy beats from 7pm.

THE SPITFIRES

Summer might be climatically over but Stina is doing her part to stop climate change when she launches her new album Summers In Mariana at The Bird on Tuesday 26 April. Check the album review in this very mag. While on tour with Children Collide (Capitol, April 24), Young Revelry have decided to do some of their own shows to launch their debut EP You & I. They launch it at Prince Of Wales, Bunbury on Thursday 28 April and Sunday 1 May at Newport in Fremantle. Before they take time off to finish their debut EP, Sonpsilo Circus first have to launch their debut single. Your Mother Built The Sky will be launched at Dada Records in a free ALL-AGES show on Saturday 30 April with support from Frozen Ocean and Tusk. Local post-rockers Zeks launch their debut EP of soundscapes, violins and guitars on Friday 6 May at The Bakery with help from smRts, The Leap Year, Hayley Beth, The Silent World, MiteyKo and BoydGillamSchnaars. Spoken word artist and sometimes dancer Dosh Luckwell will be launching his spoken word mixed with music album Sex Poems. Musicians from The Brow Horn Orchestra, The Growl and Bastian’s Happy Flight will help Luckwell bring his album to life at The Bakery on Thursday 19 May. Local Rockers Thursday’s Page will launch their new In The City Tonight EP at Amplifier on Friday 20 May. Support comes from The Fags, Cat Black and Palatial Digs. With a new EP in tow, The Witness hit up Mojo’s on Saturday 7 May. Support comes from sensational Seams, the sultry Hootenanny and psych-rockers Deep River Collective. Perth’s pockets are generous and now it’s time to dip into them again for Will Stoker’s NYC Fundraiser. Help send Will packing at The Bird on Sunday 1 May. He’ll be supported by Alex Arpino and Ben Waters for $5 from 7pm.

STAY COOL

With one record, Yolanda Be Cool are at the top of the music industry A-list, and that record is of course, breakout hit with DCup, We Speak No Americano. It’s sold over five million copies and was the highest selling single on the ARIA Charts in 2010, not to mention the impact it has made throughout the world. In fact, it’s been pretty hard to escape it wherever you go. If you still can’t get enough, they’re playing Ambar Monday 25 April (Easter long weekend), with JMC, Oli, Micah and Mono Lisa for $25 on the door.

WE CAN’T STOP HERE

After they support Good Charlotte tomorrow night Short Stack will be taking their This Is Bat Country album back on their own headline tour with special guests Heroes For Hire and Because They Can. The band will be itching to get back on the road, meet their fans and do what they do best; putting together a concert experience that will have fans immersed in their own Bat Country creation. Get immersed Friday 8 and Saturday 9 July at the Astor Theatre, tickets through bocsticketing.com.au, liveattheastor.com.au and heatseeker.com.au

BROTHERS GRIMM

Since they first burst onto the scene with their own unique brand of highly charged, uplifting drum’n’bass, there are few who can deny the impact the UK’s Brookes Brothers have had in the current wave of music perpetuating d’n’b right now. The blissful musicality that runs through the Brookes’ veins has been transferred to their debut self-titled album, which they’ll be celebrating when they play in Shape Friday 13 May, with support from Stitlz, Jazza, Dair and Hi-Vis b2b Matty, plus MCs Bear and Seeka. Tickets $30 plus BF from shapebar.com.au, Planet, Mills and The DJ Factory.

TAKIN’ IT RURAL

It’s been a long time since Jebediah rocked with their regional fans, so they’re extending their upcoming

EDITORIAL

Managing Editor Andrew Mast Editor Aarom Wilson Editor’s Assistant Troy Mutton Front Row Editor Daniel Crichton-Rouse Fashion Contributor Meghan Hosie

ADVERTISING

Sales & Marketing Director Leigh Treweek Sales Executive Matt McMullen, Aaron Rutter

DESIGN & LAYOUT Dave Harvey

12 • THE DRUM MEDIA 14 APRIL 2011

ADMINISTRATION Accounts Loretta Carlone

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Elle Borgward, Shane Butler, Graham Clark, Beau Davis, Penny Lane, Jacqueline Jane, Cybele Malinowski, Anthony Tran

CONTRIBUTORS

Chris Archibald, Marisa Aveling, Paul Barbieri, Aleksia Barron, Zoe Barron, Steve Bell, Nina Bertok, Jackson Best, Tristan Broomhall, Rob Browne, Rick Bryant, Danica Caccamo, Anthony Carew, Travis Collins, Cyclone, Marcia

Kosciusko Album Tour to include some of their favourite towns. After Astor Theatre Friday 10 June (with Violent Soho and The Joe Kings supporting), they’ll be back Wednesday 13 July at Divers Tavern, Broome; Friday 15 at Bar 120, Hillarys; Saturday 16 at Settlers Tavern, Margaret River; and Sunday 17 at Pow, Bunbury. Tickets through Heatseeker or Oztix from tomorrow along with the album.

FRENZIED SUPPORT

Aussie punk-rocking jokesters Frenzal Rhomb have announced the local supports for their upcoming shows, with Castle Bravo and Chilling Winston joining them Friday 27 May at The Rosemount, and The Silver Lizard and Ten Points For Glenroy opening the Prince Of Wales show Saturday 28 may. Tickets through Moshtix, Oztix, Heatseeker, Mills and 78’s.

AFROJACK

JACK IT UP

Grammy Award-winning Dutch DJ Afrojack has gone from strength to strength since starting his own Wall Recording Label in 2007, reaching fever pitch when he was voted #19 in DJ Mag’s Annual Top 100 DJs poll in 2010. After destroying Stereosonic last year he’s back Sunday 5 June at Limelite at Metropolis for long weekend Sunday smash-up. Zelimir, Jus Haus? and special guests Apster support, tickets through Heatseeker and limelite.com.au.

FINLAND PIANO

The jazz piano and classical violin duo of our decade, Iiro Rantala and Pekka Kuusisto from Finland are bringing their internationally renowned virtuosi and charming wit and cheek that will start a jazz/tango fire in your soul. They rank amongst the highest rated musicians worldwide and you can see why when they play for the Perth Jazz Society, and The Charles Hotel Monday 2 May. Tickets $35/25 for members, $15 for student members.

HYPER IKON

The Kode 9-curated, untouchable Hyperdub label has thrown up some choice names in the last 18 months, but none more so than the UK’s Ikonika. With her debut release Please dropping back in 2008, the Londoner’s bleep-fuelled, percussive bass adventures have since pushed her to the top of the pile. She’s bringing her warm and weird, heartbreak-filled garage shapes with thick veins ‘90s r’n’b to The Bakery Saturday 30 April, with support from Clunk, Ben Taaffe, DYP, Allstate and Rekab. Tickets $15 through nowbaking.com.au, $20 on the door.

SIREN EFFECTS

After two huge back-to-back launches for their new single Floods, West Aussie acoustic/electric rock act, The Siren Tower have been invited out on the road with Brisbane’s The Butterfly Effect for their Four Wheels & A Heartbeat Tour. They play Settlers Tavern in Margaret River Wednesday 20 April; Studio 146 in Albany Thursday 21; Prince Of Wales in Bunbury Saturday 23; and finally Metropolis Fremantle Sunday 24 April, tickets through Oztix.

EMMURE RETURN

COMING HOME

It’s already been a huge year for young gun musician Kim Churchill. He has just undertaken a massive tour through the US and Canada and while his star rises all over the planet, Churchill hasn’t forgotten where he came from and will be playing the Fairbridge Festival (April 29-May 1). Following that, he plays Clancy’s Fremantle Saturday 7 May; Indi Bar Sunday 8; Charles Hotel Tuesday 10; Prince Of Wales Friday 13; Settlers Tavern Saturday 14; and Dunsborough Hotel Sunday 15 May.

Czerniak, Sebastian D’Alonzo, Kitt Di Camillo, Sam Fell, Kim Fisher, Tomas Ford, Shannon Fox, Rueben Hale, Stu Harvey, Simon Holland, Craig Hollywood, Jason Kenny, Angela King, Jo Lettenmaier, Ted Schlechte, Michael Smith, Andy Snelling, Aimee Somerville, Kate Stephens, Scarlett Stevens, Kristy Symonds, Nic Toupee, Chris Wheeldon, Anthony Williams

EDITORIAL POLICY

The opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publishers. No part may be reproduced without

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EMMURE

the consent of the copyright holder. ©

DEADLINES

Editorial Friday 5pm Advertising Bookings Monday 12pm Advertising Artwork Tuesday 12pm Gig Guide Monday 5pm

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Having postponed their highly anticipated January Australian Tour, New York’s notorious live metal band Emmure have announced that they will finally be making their anticipated return down under this June for their first ever headline tour, playing Leederville HQ Sunday 19 June in an ALL-AGES show in the afternoon, then later that night at Amplifier. Sydney heavyweights Shinto Katana support after releasing their crushing sophomore album We Can’t Be Saved in 2010. Tickets through Moshtix from Monday 18 April.

Phone (08) 9228 9655 General Inquiries info@drumperth.com.au (no attachments) Advertising Sales sales@drumperth.com.au Accounts/Administration accounts@drumperth.com.au Artroom artwork@drumperth.com.au General Editorial music@drumperth.com.au Arts/Film Editorial frontrow@drumperth.com.au Club/Dance Editorial mo@drumperth.com.au

Gig Guide gigguide@drumperth.com.au Distribution distro@drumperth.com.au Office hours 9am to 6pm Mon to Fri.

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Proudly supporting Original Music in Perth uncovered at The Shed – 69-71 Aberdeen Street, Northbridge Phone; 9228 2200 email; info@the-shed.com.au www.the-shed.com.au facebook:uncoveredonthursdays

THE DRUM MEDIA 14 APRIL 2011 • 13

FOREWORD LINE HOT TUB TIME MACHINE

music@drumperth.com.au

GIVEAWAYS

too, SxSW is a strange occurrence; old friends are met on every corner in a profoundly relaxed environment, despite the multitude of events going on a stone’s throw from one another. Day 3

BASSIST JAKE TARASENKO FROM SYDNEY GROUP BOY & BEAR GIVES DRUM MEDIA AN INSIGHT INTO LIFE ON THE ROAD AND THE MADNESS THAT WAS THE RECENT SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST MUSIC CONFERENCE IN AUSTIN, TEXAS. Day 1 I don’t quite know how it happens. I’ve always maintained that I’m not the travelling type. Somehow though, when a new trip creeps its way across the calendar, I feel something. Certainly not excitement, but anticipation, I suppose. Not the type of anticipation one would expect to experience in front of a firing squad; it’s a positive sort of anticipation. Unfortunately, after a certain obscene amount of time spent in transit, I am more disappointed in myself and my anticipation than anything else. Our wonderful hosts for the next six days, the Gaults and their extended familial tree, have so far provided for us no less than five star accommodation in their “compound”. Mexican food, Mexican beer and cookies the likes of which I fear I will never experience again. Day 2 Strange, how a city the size of Adelaide can transform from sleepy to, well, sleepless. Granted, our show today had finished by four in the afternoon, but walking in the vicinity of Austin’s sixth street well beyond the midnight hour is a unique experience. People from literally every walk of life crowd the streets, which were, that morning, clean and lonely. What’s more, for every ten metres, walked, one is exposed to at least three different sources and indeed, genres of music. From an “industry” point of view

14 • THE DRUM MEDIA 14 APRIL 2011

Today’s schedule was full of back-to-back press with us left to negotiate Austin’s SxSW gridlock in between. After all that, today’s show was to be performed on the stroke of midnight. We arrived at all of our press engagements on time, and the show was one of the best I’ve ever played. We’re surrounded by such a great team over here, so I think the majority of the credit goes to them, the drivers and the managers, the tour manager and the host. Also, I didn’t pay for a single beer today, which may have added to the overall candour. Day 4 I’m actually writing today’s entry from “tomorrow”. I suppose I could itemise today’s events, but they were quite similar to yesterday. So rather than that, I’ll hint at the reason I didn’t record today, yesterday. Upon arriving back at the compound I proceeded to

giveaways@drumperth.com.au

wash away the mine’s worth of salt that the Texan sun had sucked from my skin. Whilst towelling myself off, I heard raised and jovial voices emanating through the floor from below. As I entered the kitchen, I was supplied with what was described as the “family drink”; a rum and coke. One thing led to another and before I knew it, some of us had consumed two martini glasses of homemade mango rum, while others were lured into certain states by tequila shots dressed with salt and lime. The night was long and by the time I had extricated myself from the hot tub, it was three in the morning. Day 5 In hindsight, last night wasn’t the best choice of nights for what happened last night; today consisted of two shows performed more or less back-to-back. Aussie barbecue, the first, was preceded by what was probably the fastest sound check performed by anyone in the history of sound checks. The next, an acoustic set for Chess Club had us scrambling in an entirely different manner. We went on stage more or less unrehearsed, lacking equipment, in full sunlight, competing with the hardcore band next door. I believe we did okay. Though it was hard to make that judgement above so much double kick devastation. Day 6 I forgot to mention more hot tub action last night: don’t stay up all night drinking in a hot tub if you’ve somewhere to be the following morning. Admittedly, the place we had to be was a casual breakfast next door, but it was still difficult. The plan for today was fairly relaxed, but still involved some effort on our part. Officially, SxSW ended yesterday for us, but we had one final show to play for Mark, our host and his extended family at the party he organises each year. The best part about all this was that Mark’s gathering was the best-organised event I had been involved in all week. Surrounded by people who loved us once or twice removed and who didn’t care all that much, to whom I didn’t have anything to prove seemed a fitting finale to such a hectic week. I hope to see the Gaults and SxSW in the future, but I don’t think I’ll regain the energy for it by next year. WHO: Boy & Bear WHEN & WHERE: Wednesday 18 May, Fly By Night, Fremantle; Thursday 19 May, Capitol, Perth

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GRACE WOODROOFE Local lass done good Grace Woodroofe has been waltzing around the country with label mates, Sydney lads WIM. Chanteuse Emma Davis has been joining them and they’ve come west for two shows. They take in The Bird on Saturday 16 April and The Newport on Sunday 17. To pick up one of THREE double passes to see the Modular signed artist at The Newport, email giveaways@drumperth.com.au with “GRACE ME” in the subjectline. Since this prize will be drawn on Friday, remember to include your phone number in the email so we can let you know you’ve won. American metallers Disturbed hit town next week, playing Burswood Dome on Wednesday 20 April. There might just be some new songs thrown into the set along with all the favourites. To pick up one of THREE double passes to see Disturbed, email giveaways@drumperth. com.au with “I’M DISTURBED” in the subjectline. Since this prize will be drawn early, remember to include your phone number in the email so we can let you know you’ve won. Packing up their eagle and taking their Jellylegs around the nation this month are all conquering trio Children Collide. The triple j darlings are still riding high on the back of their Theory Of Everything album of last year. They hit Capitol with Young Revelry on Sunday 24 April. To pick up one of THREE double passes to Children Collide, email giveaways@drumperth.com.au with “CHILDREN COLLIDE” in the subjectline. *All giveaway prizes must be claimed within two months and a max of one prize can be won by each entrant every two months.

THE DRUM MEDIA 14 APRIL 2011 • 15

SCARY SPRITE Our buddy Skrillex of course isn’t the first to make the transition from successful band member to big DJ. It seems if DJing were a hard drug, being in a band looks as though it’s the gateway. As well as being a top-notch drum’n’bass producer, Klute is also the founder of a skate punk thrash band. He plays drums, writes and sings the songs in English band The Stupids. Before she took on the Ikonika moniker, she was the drummer in hardcore and metal bands. Their style of choice? Playing Hole and Nirvana covers. In a natural progression Ikonika is now doing amazing things with blips and beeps. Turns out it was a wise move (catch her soon at The Bakery). Benji Madden from Good Charlotte tried his hand on the ones and twos at a club in New Jersey, and by all accounts failed miserably. Apparently he had no idea what to actually do, and when he got it together the track selection was far from pleasing. Benji had to be rescued by another DJ, and once he took control people felt safe to dance again. Hopefully he’s been practicing for his show at Limelite next week. He toured as part of Parklife 2006 not with Joy Division/New Order, the band whom he is mostly well known for playing bass in, but as a DJ Peter Hook took ‘knob-twiddling’ to the next level, Youtube clips revealing some of his sets to be pure pre-recorded shams. Poor Peter Hook so misunderstood.

DUBSTEP SENSATION SKRILLEX A.K.A SONNY MOORE TELLS ANGELA KING TALES OF THE ALL-CONSUMING, NONSTOP TOURING SCHEDULE HE NOW HAS TO DEAL WITH AND LIVING THE ‘REALITY’.

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onny Moore’s musical journey started with playing in bands when he was thirteen, first dabbling in punk then moving on to an ambient-rock tip. He most notably became the front man for post-hardcore outfit From First To Last at 16, but after two successful albums and countless gigs, Moore suffered vocal problems and retired from the band shortly after surgery. Now, in his latest incarnation as Skrillex, Moore is back front and centre stage. It wasn’t all with an unstoppable bang however. “My record label Atlantic wouldn’t release it,” he says of his debut EP My Name Is Skrillex, released in June last year. “There was some samples in there that Atlantic didn’t want to try and clear, so basically I said ‘fuck it, I’m going to give it away for free.’ I’ve already given away so much music for free anyway.” Moore followed up the free EP with another, Scary Monsters & Nice Sprites, this time co-released by Mau5trap and Big Beat. From all angles, the relationship between Moore and Deadmau5 looks to be a tight one. Moore says he is drawn to Deadmau5 due to the strength of his production, mix-downs and songs. “Perhaps,” he remarks slyly on whether there will be any Skrillex/Deadmau5 collaborative music made in the future, “You never know.” Perhaps the relationship is close due to the fact each artist has had a fair share of internet flaming, multi-page threads on forums dedicated to them – mostly of a negative nature. Moore gets clearly livid at the mention of these Internet haters. “Why does every interviewer ask me about this?” he exclaims. “I don’t care about haters, I don’t think about haters. I don’t give a fuck,” he aggressively states. “The reason so many people talk about ‘haters’ is because people interviewing

me keep talking about it, and therefore it becomes sensationalised. I’m here to make music and create,” and that, he says is the “bottom line.” When asked if he ever thought his music would cause so much controversy, he eagerly avoids the question. Similarly, his response to how he countered the quite offensive claims he had ghost-producers. “I don’t go out of my way to answer to any of that shit,” he states. “I made one post on my Facebook and then left it alone.”

I DON’T CARE ABOUT HATERS, I DON’T THINK ABOUT HATERS. I DON’T GIVE A FUCK.”

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Haters aside, Moore most certainly has fans out there, which is proven by his extensive touring schedule. He explains how he readies himself for the touring life. “You don’t really prepare, you just dive in – you know what I mean? I’ve been out since October touring,” he reveals. “Today was just a long day, it’s hard work but I hope it’s hard work – if I get lazy and tired and fat I know I’m not working hard enough. I like to work a lot so today was just so long. “This has been an especially exhausting day,” he wearily states. “I’ve had about three hours sleep and we had about 12 hours of travel today with trains and aeroplanes and layovers and walking and unloading bags, putting the bags back on, waiting in lines and sitting down, standing up…a lot of that shit!” Traipsing

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Since we’re on the topic of fake DJing, there’s few bigger that the headbanging Mötley Crüe band’s drummer Tommy Lee. His shows generally involve more chance of seeing nudge midgets or women wearing nothing but cream than him actually mixing. Instead he generally twiddles with the EQ knobs while standing there shirtless as his actual tour DJs slyly to the side of him.

from city to city to DJ for only a few hours at a time gives you the feeling Moore is dubstep’s answer to the Energiser bunny, but he doesn’t see it that way. “I don’t see how people can go to fucking college at Boston University and walk miles around all day in the snow, and go from class to class and work a job – that’s machine to me,” he frankly states. “I love making music, I love to travel. Some people work in fucking Wallmarts and they love to do that, well they might not love to do that but that’s their job and that’s what they do. Some people are maths teachers and I could never be a maths teacher, I hate maths! That’s more mental duress and strain than I could take!”

people are always going to do drugs. I don’t think my music is an exception really.”

But is Moore living the dream? “That concept is kind of weird to me,” he states wearily. “I’m definitely living the reality that I want, you know? I love music and I want to be involved with people that do music and I want to create awesome music and do different things so I’m definitely living the reality. The nightmare is if I was doing something I didn’t want to do.”

He also notes travelling through Europe has fostered many new ideas for his music. “It’s just one major feeling, Europe. It’s just travelling so much and hearing music and seeing different sights, there’s not really one specific idea just inspiration in general, that feeling.”

In his second trip to Australia, Moore is playing at the nationwide Creamfields festival, alongside buddy Deadmau5. When it comes to his venue preferences, he says, “I like to do it all for sure, it’s all different feelings and different vibe and synergy to it you know. I do like outdoor festivals where it’s sunny and there’s a bunch of artists, I like doing those for sure.” Moore once tweeted about the myriad of kids looking especially fucked up at his shows, but when questioned about it he seams to take the comment back. “You know what, it’s the funniest thing, compared to raves or other parties I’ve been to I feel like my crowd isn’t that fucked up,” he confesses. “No matter where the hell you are, at any social gathering

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He details some of the many highlights he has experienced over the months of touring. “I was in Venice, Italy, which was really cool because I’ve never been there before,” he adds, slightly in awe. “A really cool highlight was selling out the Austin City Music Hall, which holds about 4000 people, and that’s my biggest sell-out show I’ve ever done in my life where I was headlining – that was a big moment for me actually.”

As for the future, Moore has big plans. “I don’t want to put out one EP and sit back and ride it out for as long as possible, I going to be making a lot more music and doing cool things” he says, “I’m booked until February next year, so there’s no finishing anytime soon but I have little chunks of studio time booked as well and so I’ll be busy for a long time. Even when I’m not touring I’ll be busy so the next few years for sure, working hard, trying to kind of, you know, make my mark.” WHO: Skrillex WHEN & WHERE: Creamfields – Saturday 23 April, Claremont Showgrounds

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For Our Hero, The Never Ever, Wake The Giants & The Main Attraction $15 entry. Doors 8pm.

SUNDAYS Open Mic in four5nine bar Sundays from 3pm www.rosemounthotel.com.au corner angove & fitzgerald, north perth 16 • THE DRUM MEDIA 14 APRIL 2011

THE DRUM MEDIA 14 APRIL 2011 • 17

TRAVELLING MAN RECORDED IN STUDIOS IN THE UK, GERMANY AND MELBOURNE, THE NEW ALBUM, CARAVAN, FROM INDEPENDENT SINGER SONGWRITER CARUS THOMPSON CERTAINLY EARNED ITS TITLE. MICHAEL SMITH HITCHES A RIDE.

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ack in September 2004, the then three European tours in two years and counting veteran – he was about to return to London later that month – Carus Thompson explained it to me this way: “I tell artists in Australia that are just starting,” explains indie folk-rock singer songwriter Carus Thompson, “just press your records, get out there and play to the people, sell them from the stage and once you’ve sold a couple of thousand, when you do get distribution, there’s already a really grassroots audience for your records.” Originally from Perth, back in 2002 Carus Thompson started out with a rhythm section called The True Believers that featured drummer Paul Keenan, who later moved on to Eskimo Joe. Relocating to Melbourne after releasing an EP, Fly, his first studio album, 2003’s Songs From Martin St, saw him set off on his first tour of Europe, and he’s basically not looked back since, selling over the past eight years some 30,000 albums across both Europe and Australia entirely independently. The last few years has seen Thompson collaborating with former Things Of Stone & Wood singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer Greg Arnold, who produced Caravan. “He’s a brilliant producer,” Thompson agrees, on the line from Nuremburg, Germany when Drum checked in with him, late at night his time, having been on tour through Europe for two months. “It’s the third record we’ve done together now and a lot of this stuff was recorded over in Europe as well, between Germany and England, so he wasn’t there for those sessions but then he was always involved with the songs. I’ve been bouncing songs off him for ages so we really know how each other works and his contribution to my music has just been amazing.

“The good thing about Greg is that he’s always pushed me – he’s not shy in saying to me that’s not melodic or that lyric isn’t good enough, and as a songwriter that’s really good ‘cause basically you’re like automatically hearing his voice is in your head.” Thompson has already launched Caravan in England, Germany, France, Switzerland, Denmark, Austria and the Netherlands, which, if he’d been signed to a major label, would have been trumpeted all over the mainstream press and seen him return to Australia a conquering hero. Of course in the real world that sort of thing doesn’t happen. The figures are just too small for the major players. “I would have played to around two thousand five hundred people by the end of the tour, which is pretty amazing,” a very pleased if tired Thompson explains. Thompson used three different studios in the UK, including Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios in Bath, as well as Tube Temple Studios in Germany, but essentially finished things off back in Melbourne with Arnold. Another fellow singer songwriter who features on two tracks of the new album, British contemporary folk star Seth Lakeman, has proven a great help to Thompson in other ways. “Because he’s on the record, it’s got a bit more attention, and because I did a couple of tours with him I sort of got in front of the English folk audience if you like, the contemporary folk audience. They were definitely resistant to an Australian but we’re getting there!” he laughs. “It certainly helps that we’ve been losing at cricket – they’ve definitely been a lot more welcoming! We also recorded [Bright Star] in Dartmoor with my friend Sean Lakeman, Seth’s brother. What’s been helping me in England though is I’ve been going there eight years but I haven’t always just played London, so, you know, Plymouth, Manchester, a lot of stuff in the West Country, gone up to Scotland. We’ve done the [Edinburgh] Fringe Festival up there the last three years running, so then with the two tours with Seth, that’s sort of opened it up for me. It sort of makes a difference, so most of my crowd in England is actually English, which is good. Not knocking the Australians; I mean, the London show was great because you get half and half and what you do get with the Australian crew is this raucous energy that’s quite infectious, then the English crew get in on it.” Always more the storyteller than the confessional singer songwriter, Caravan literally evolved on the road. “One of the first rules I learnt when I started working with producers was that you had to separate the live from the record – the worst thing to do is to record on the road and write on the road, which is exactly what I did on this record [laughs]. This is the third record I’ve really made from scratch so I know the traps of that live thing. Live things are a few beats per minute too fast and you lose some subtlety trying to grab people’s attention. On a record you’ve got their attention, you don’t have to belt them over the head.

THAT’S WHAT EVERYONE WALKS AROUND DOING WITH THEIR LIFE – YOU’RE TRYING TO MAKE SOME SORT OF SENSE OF THE CHAOS THAT IT IS TO BE A HUMAN BEING.”

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“The whole last year over here in Europe, there’s something about that isolation of touring that really takes you to an introspective place and an emotional space, which is a really good place to be as a songwriter ‘cause when someone tells you a story you really empathise with them and you’re really open to new stories, these new feelings. And you spend so much time thinking about your own life and your loved ones back home, you know, where am I going? What am I doing? That sort of stuff is just fuel for the fire for a songwriter. That’s what everyone walks around doing with their life – you’re trying to make some sort of sense of the chaos that is to be a human being!” Not all the stories on Caravan are simple insights into simple human foibles. Perhaps the most confronting song is Fifteen, which tells of a 15-year-old schoolboy in the wrong place at the wrong time, shot dead in December 2008 in inner-city Melbourne by apparently unrepentant police. “Walk around London and you see police with guns and then in Melbourne we wanna put armed guards on every train station and, I don’t know, we seem to be going a bit crazy in our love of authority in Australia these days. Giving out so many doesn’t seem to be the solution to me, and as a songwriter, you definitely see your role as trying to record these stories, and I think [the shooting of Tyler Cassidy] was such a tragic thing to happen to this fifteen year old boy. “The great thing about being able to write a song is that you can document these stories you come across. That’s your role as a folk artist I guess, is to record these things and make sure that people remember them. I’d never want to get on my high horse and say I’ve got the answers, but the beautiful thing, as a songwriter, is if you just document the story, it says it all.”

WHO: Carus Thompson WHAT: Caravan (Mind’s Eye/MGM) WHEN & WHERE: Friday 6 May, Settler’s Tavern, Margaret River, Saturday 7, Fly By Night Club, Fremantle

SALUTING A FORGOTTEN OLYMPIAN While they might have been written on the road crisscrossing Europe, many of the songs on Caravan have very distinctively Australian themes, the most obvious and perhaps most telling, with regards to how Australia tends to treat its achievers, being the aforementioned Bright Star, on which Seth Lakeman contributes some fine violin. It tells the story, in just a dozen lines, of Australian track athlete Peter Norman who, at the 1968 Mexico Olympics, won a Silver medal and chose to make a statement about how he felt about the massacre of university by the Mexican government shortly before the Olympics by joining his black American fellow athletes on the dais receiving their Gold and Bronze medals in their infamous Black Power salute. At the time he said the gesture was prompted as much as anything by the continued maltreatment of Australia’s Indigenous population, a gesture that was enough to see him ostracised by Australian officials at the Sydney Olympics, to which, ironically, he was invited by the United States team. “The funny thing about Facebook is that suddenly you know everyone in the world,” Thompson admits wryly, “but one of the greatest things I’ve got from Facebook was the other day when I got a message from Matt Norman, Peter Norman’s nephew, who’s just made that film, Salute, about him. Somehow, on the ‘net he’d heard about the song Bright Star and wrote to me thanking me for a really great tribute to his uncle. And to me as a songwriter, when you start writing songs about real people, then it starts to become very important that you get it right; that you capture the person and do justice to the story. So to get an email from his nephew saying that he likes the song obviously made me feel I did my job right as a songwriter. “It’s an idea that came from my wife actually. Before the film came out she’d read about him and said this is a beautiful story of someone doing something heroic, and it is a beautiful story of someone following their conscience on the day, being a part of a demonstration that basically had massive worldwide ramifications for human rights. Peter Norman’s story is a really good vehicle to comment on the fact that the world seems to be becoming less full of feeling for less fortunate people. Telling a story like this is a more sophisticated way of telling that truth.”

e g F d e i s r t b i v r i a a l F and Fol d l r o W f o

k Music

29th April - 1st May 2011

Over 80 acts from around the world Children’s and Youth festivals 12 stages, music, comedy, markets, street theatre, workshops and camping

fairbridgefestival.com.au smoke - free event THE DRUM MEDIA 14 APRIL 2011 • 19

HORROR POP CAFE I

t’s Friday afternoon in Los Angeles and Kim Nekroman’s been in the studio. That probably doesn’t sound too unusual, considering Nekroman is the guitarist for genre-blending Danish psychobilly act Horrorpops, but in this case it’s a small victory. According to his wife, Horrorpops’ vocalist and bassist Patricia Day, the guitarist has really struggled over the past two years re-discovering his passion for music following the death of Andy DeMize – the drummer from Nekroman’s other band Nekromantix – in a car accident during January 2009. As a result, Horrorpops have barely started the writing process for the follow up to 2008’s Kiss Kiss Kill Kill, remarkably just their fourth studio album in 13 years as a band. But having Nekroman back in the studio is a good sign, the band will also soon be out on the road.

WHAT DO LADY GAGA, BARBIE DOLLS, THEME PUBS AND DANISH PUNK HAVE TO DO WITH EACH OTHER? HORRORPOPS EXPLAIN ALL TO PAUL BARBIERI.

Along with DeMize’s tragic passing, the three-piece are also dealing with other issues, not least a David vs. Goliath legal action against several defendants, including giant toy manufacturer Mattel Inc, for allegedly hitting the copy button on some Google images of Day and pasting her image onto the Hard Rock Cafe Barbie doll. Displayed in the Spring edition of the Barbie Collectors magazine last year, Mattel Inc. released four rocking Barbie dolls, three of which were based on the images of Debbie Harry, Joan Jett and Cyndi Lauper. But while those three big-name artists were paid for their image, Day wasn’t even informed and only discovered the alleged use when fans started criticising her for selling out her feminist beliefs. “She was pissed off,” declared Nekroman. “We had a few [messages], first on MySpace and then Facebook saying, ‘Hey you guys did a Barbie doll’. And, we’re like ‘no, it wasn’t us’. We’re like kind of ‘whoa, that’s very awkward.” Although the doll’s black pin-up hairstyle and sleeve full of tatts could possibly have been a coincidence, the litigation, launched in the Indianapolis Federal Court last December, contends that the magazine photo of the doll also displayed an upright bass similar to Day’s. Like Day’s instrument, the litigation, quoted on the Courthouse News website, argues the doll’s bass was: “adorned with unique artwork or ‘tattoos’ on the face of the instrument, including: (1) a blue bird in flight on the upper right; (2) a blue bird in flight on the upper left; (3) a red five-point star on the bottom left; and (4) a red heart on the bottom right.” Nekroman knows fighting a big corporation will be no easy task, having seen the company send the legal hounds after fellow Scandinavians Aqua for copyright infringement following their 1997 hit Barbie Girl, a case that was eventually thrown out. But the guitarist still believes it was the right thing to do. “I can’t really talk about it because the thing is still an ongoing case,” Nekroman said. “But, I mean there’s been fans that have been bummed out that some people do things, that it’s approved or you know being called a sell out. It’s not cool if you haven’t done anything. I mean, we didn’t even know that they were doing this. We know each other, the three of us, and so it’s kind of like, it’s not only Patricia but it’s the whole band’s image. That’s kind of weird, you know, and they obviously say that they had no knowledge of Patricia and a lot of girls look like that, I still say find me just one that has an upright bass like that.” Despite all the problems they’ve faced, Horrorpops have returned to the studio as they look to get back on track with recording new material. But, while the band’s image is obviously important to Nekroman, the relaxed guitarist is also keen to impress on fans that image isn’t everything, particularly when it comes to music. Over the course of their career, Horrorpops have become well known for blending elements of rock and 1950s rockabilly with traditional punk and a lot of theatrical touches, calling the combination of genres psychobilly. But while some punk listeners rigidly stick with listening to punk bands, Nekroman has encouraged them to branch out into other genres, saying Horrorpops generally tend to delve into obscure places for inspiration when writing songs. “Sometimes, we have songs that are Kylie Minouge-like,” Nekroman admits. “It’s not a rip-off… [but] nobody would ever guess that it was maybe inspired by Kylie Minogue. I’m pretty sure fans would be surprised when they hear whatever the inspiration for the songs came from ‘cause sometimes it could have something to do with nothing at all, but that’s what I love about music, that you don’t know, it’s not like normal work, you start creating. You don’t know where you’re going and when you’re done it’s just there. “I don’t believe anybody should listen just to one type of music ‘cause that’d be boring and very uninspiring,” Nekroman adds. “No matter how much you will hate say, some mainstream act, there’s always something in there and there’s a reason why it’s popular. You may not like the production or the way it’s expressed but you know, if there’s a good tune in there, it’s a good tune no matter what. And I think that’s what it comes down to. Someone could say, like I’d never listen to Lady Gaga or Beyonce, well you know they have something else that appeals to another person. Some people just get turned on, on aggressive music but I can’t believe that they’re not a sucker for a good melody, I mean I hear New York hard core and I can hear a good melody in there.”

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couldihaveit.com.au 20 • THE DRUM MEDIA 14 APRIL 2011

And, having gone through a tough time, Nekroman appears to have re-discovered his passion for music in a big way. “We try to keep that childish naive approach to music where you get that impulsive joy,” he says. “[That feeling of] just, wow this is awesome. And, it could be something simple you know but that’s what we’re trying to catch, that inner child kind of thing. We never sit down [and think], the fans won’t like this song or the fans would totally love this song, because we first of all we make music for ourselves and music we like, because if we don’t like it then we can’t expect anybody else to like it.”

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WHO: Horrorpops WHAT: Kiss Kiss Kill Kill (Hellcat/Epitaph) WHEN & WHERE: Thursday 21 April, Capitol, Perth

NOT THE FINAL CONVERSATION ALBUM NUMBER FOUR FOR AUSSIE ROCKERS THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT WAS PROVING A LITTLE DIFFICULT BUT, AS BASSIST GLENN ESMOND EXPLAINS TO TROY MUTTON, IT’S NOT REALLY ANY DIFFERENT TO PAST RELEASES.

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he 2000s saw the ushering in of a new school of Australian rock groups as bands like Grinspoon and Magic Dirt began to lose the steam they had built up in the ‘90s. One band leading that charge were Brisbane four-piece The Butterfly Effect, who would release two ARIA top 10 albums in Imago (2006) and their most recent, Final Conversation Of Kings, released in 2008. Since then they’ve been pretty quiet, with the odd tour here and there, while bands such as Birds Of Tokyo and Dead Letter Circus slide in to assume top spot. According to bassist Glenn Esmond, they’re not particularly worried. “The constant conversation among us is that this record has to be the one we’re most proud of and has to be the best record we’ve ever done. That’s why we’re taking our time to make sure its right,” Esmond defends. “You know, we could rush it, get it recorded, get it out this year, but would it be right? Who knows – I want the answer to be, ‘is it right? Yes.’”

WE JUST HAD A GOOD OLD FASHIONED BITCH SESSION AND GOT OUR SHIT SORTED OUT.”

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The aftermath of Final Conversation... wasn’t all peaches and cream for the group however, Esmond explaining that the lead up to getting this new record started was quite a trying time for the group. “We had a bit of a stressful time the first year or so [after Final Conversation...] – we’d written about 12 songs but we couldn’t agree for ages about what it was that we wanted to do. It was kind of like, ‘What sort of record are we gonna make?’ We were happy with some songs and happy with parts, but not other parts and there was a bit of conflict going on.” Fortunately it was an outside perspective provided by their original manager that gave them the necessary kick up the arse to basically get over themselves. “He came back and he sat us all down and we had a big band meeting and we got a chance to air all the grievances. You know... ‘You do this and you do that,’ and ‘fuck you and fuck you’. And we just had a good old fashioned bitch session and got our shit sorted out,” reflects Esmond, before adding that his old flatmate made him realise that this wasn’t exactly a new experience for the band, time had just washed over the details. “I was talking to my old flat mate about it, and I was living with her about the time we were writing Final Conversation Of Kings and it was through that period of time and she said ‘you guys go through this everytime,’ and I was like, ‘Really?’ And speaking to a girl about it as well she’s like, ‘Man every time you guys write a record there’s always this panic; you hate the first lot of stuff you write then you go through and work it out and have it out, and you write your record and you keep moving on.” The decision to take their time with the record, while having its merits in terms of quality and releasing the right record, it also provides the band with new challenges. In the current digital age actual record sales are increasingly becoming the smallest revenue point for bands, and so remaining relevant in between long gaps between albums becomes an obvious issue – one not lost on Esmond. “Yeah it’s a difficult thing ‘cause we have our situation where we were like…” he trails off, taking a moment to consider their situation. “Album sales don’t really work that much anymore so you kinda rely on touring to get your money, but if you don’t have a release then it’s a double-edged sword. If you don’t have a release, you can only tour so much behind your records. “We find that we’re not going out hardly at all in the last 12 months anywhere because people don’t…like we did a Queensland tour and some regional shows but you do notice they were slackening off.” In this case it becomes important to reach out to your other markets, and in the case of The Butterfly Effect, the regional shows Esmond mentions continue with their upcoming WA tour playing the obligatory city show (even then it’s in Fremantle), but also making three stops in our State’s south. “[Regional touring has] been a hall mark of the band since the start. I really feel like...We’ve always had the philosophy that we’ll play anywhere that will have us.” During the band’s down time Esmond has been going back to his routes, forming a side project called Family Of Strangers, something that has done two things for him. One, it’s given him an outlet for the music that sometimes doesn’t fly with his usual band, and two, it’s given him a very strong appreciation for where The Butterfly Effect has com. “I’m actually about to go into the studio and work on another EP with [Family…], and I think at least three of the songs that are on this EP are songs that initially I presented to The Butterfly Effect and they said it’s not really our thing,” he muses. “It’s only been brought into perspective a lot for me having the side project going on. When you go back to doing the small venues and people not knowing your music and having to lug your own gear and drive your own shit and pay for everything yourself, you start going, ‘hang on a sec, no we have a fucking very special thing.’” Understandably, they’re not about to give that up. “You know, we weren’t sure there for a while, but as long as we can keep getting better and we don’t repeat ourselves too much, and we keep aspiring to write that record… We still dream of the sunset spot on the mainstage at the Big Day Out, we still dream of being able to go and play to even 500 people at a venue in Europe, you know. “There’s still so many things that we want to achieve and its important to remember that you’ve gotta stay as hungry and as focused as someone who hasn’t ever had the success we’ve had.” WHO: The Butterfly Effect

WEST AUSTRALIA’S PREMIER CONTEMPORARY MUSIC CELEBRATION

21 - 28 MAY Public voted award nominees Most Popular Music Video Presented by Video Hits Abbe May Mammalian Locomotion Boys! Boys! Boys! Ticky Ticky Boom Felicity Groom Finders & Keepers The Brow Horn Orchestra Don’t You Wanna Sing Forever

Most Popular Live Act Presented by City of Perth Gyroscope Split Seconds Tame Impala The Joe Kings

Most Popular Single/EP Presented by Barbagallo Korando Drapht Rapunzel Felicity Groom Finders & Keepers Jebediah She’s Like a Comet Split Seconds Split Seconds

Most Popular Music Website Presented by iiNet FasterLouder Life is Noise Perth Bands Spaceship News

Favourite Newcomer Presented by RTRFM 92.1 The Growl Sam Perry San Cisco Split Seconds

Most Popular Album Presented by Alberts 6’s & 7’s Choose The Sentinel Booze Birds of Tokyo Birds of Tokyo Pond Frond Tame Impala Inner Speaker

Most Popular Music Venue Presented by Sonicbids Mojo’s The Rosemount Hotel The Bakery The Bird

Most Popular Music Event Presented by Whotune Future Music In the Pines St Jerome’s Laneway Soundwave

Most Popular Act Presented by triple j Birds of Tokyo Split Seconds ShockOne Tame Impala

WAMi AWARD PUBLIC VOTING IS NOW OPEN GO TO WWW.WAM.ASN.AU/PUBLICVOTING WAMi Awards Ceremony, Saturday 28 May - Artrage Bakery - Limited tickets available at www.nowbaking.com.au WAMi workshop schedule announced - Download the workshop program at www.wam.asn.au/workshops Tickets and season passes are now on sale at www.nowbaking.com.au Kiss My Camera photographic exhibition opens Friday 20 May – WA Museum GO TO WWW.WAM.ASN.AU/WAMIFESTIVAL FOR THE FULL PROGRAM

WHEN & WHERE: Wednesday 20 April, Settlers Tavern, Margaret River; Thursday 21, Studio 146, Albany; Saturday 23, Prince Of Wales, Bunbury; Sunday 24 April, Metropolis Fremantle

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THE DRUM MEDIA 14 APRIL 2011 • 21

DECENT PROPOSAL HIP HOP CREW BLISS N ESO HAVE A PLATINUM RECORD, A GROWING INTERNATIONAL FANBASE AND THE CHOICEST FESTIVAL SLOTS – NOW THEY’RE PREPARING FOR THEIR BIGGEST NATIONAL TOUR YET. JONATHAN NOTLEY A.K.A MC BLISS FOUND A SPARE SECOND TO BRING ALEKSIA BARRON UP TO SPEED WITH WHAT’S GOING DOWN.

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ew artists could claim to have enjoyed as spectacular a year as Bliss N Eso in 2010. The favourite sons of the Sydney hip hop scene have well and truly cemented their reputation on the national scale, thanks in no small part to their widely acclaimed fourth album Running On Air, which debuted at #1 on the Australian ARIA Charts in August 2010 and was certified platinum shortly after. “The album going platinum was obviously a big thing for us – it’s our first platinum record,” says Jonathan Notley, better known as MC Bliss. He’s speaking from production guru M-Phazes’ studio, where work on the group’s fifth album is already underway. Yep, that’s correct – the boys are already sitting down with Phazes to work on some prep for what will surely be one of the most anticipated hip hop releases in Australian history. Don’t start counting the hours until its release just yet, though. “We’ve been working for the last couple of days, just on a bit of pre-production for the new album,” Notley says, before emphasising, “these are very, very early, preliminary stages.” Still, he’s happy to be looking forward. “It’s exciting. I’m really pumped for the next record.” He won’t be drawn into feeling any pressure to pump out a hasty release, though. “Sometimes the album process can be quite lengthy, especially if you have a lot going on.” Right now, it seems like nobody has quite as much going on as Notley, Max McKinnon (MC Eso) and Tarik Ejjamai (DJ Izm). Ever since the launch of Running On Air, the trio have been working so hard that they’re surely running on fumes. It’s been a non-stop touring whirlwind, both locally and internationally. After the album’s release, Bliss N Eso did a quick domestic tour before setting out on their second trip to the USA, where they toured as the support for the Kottonmouth Kings. The good response to their previous tour back in 2009 alongside Canadian group Swollen Members had them eager to see if they could repeat their success. Fortunately, the people of Notley’s home country didn’t disappoint. “The trip to the States? It was unreal,” he says. “The reaction was fantastic – we were really happy with the response from the locals. They find our subject matter really refreshing. “From the outset, we were really excited about the way people were reacting to our tunes,” Notley explains. “It’s such an oversaturated, commercialised world over there, especially in hip hop. Of course there’s underground acts, but they’re few and far between in the States.” Still, there’s an upside to a style of music becoming more widespread. At a time when the Australian hip hop scene is coming under fire from venues and promoters for tagging up toilets and causing damage, Notley was touring a country where hip hop culture isn’t so ‘othered’. “Hip hop is part of the landscape in America. It’s so ingrained into the culture, it’s ridiculous,” he explains. “And it’s kind of hard to grasp that if you’ve only lived over here, and only seen Australian stuff, seen it as kind of external.” Hip hop in America, and particularly graffiti culture, Notley says, is a different kettle of fish entirely. “It’s accepted. All the venues we were playing were covered with graffiti.”

IT’S SUCH AN OVERSATURATED, COMMERCIALISED WORLD OVER THERE, ESPECIALLY IN HIP HOP.”

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As a result of the Kottonmouth Kings tour, Bliss N Eso are determined to continue their bid to crack the market in the States (now nicknamed ‘Project Expansion’). “It reinstated in our minds that we definitely have a sound that goes over well in the States,” says Notley. Having now played all over the USA, and received great responses across the board, Notley’s looking to take the group’s international endeavours to the next level. “If we can find the right kind of support, the next step would be to possibly go out there and do our own tour. Another area we’re looking at hitting up, potentially at the end of this year, is Europe. We haven’t actually opened that door yet.” Still, Australia, fear not – Bliss N Eso have no plans to neglect their home turf. They spent summer playing festivals all over the country, including their inaugural appearance at the Big Day Out. “We’d been trying to get on that stage for years, and it’d been a hell of a road,” Notley says happily, who particularly enjoyed his hometown set at the Sydney BDO on Australia Day. With good reason, too – not only did Bliss N Eso get three songs into the Triple J 2010 Hottest 100, but McKinnon (Eso) proposed to his girlfriend from the main stage. Notley sounds positively giddy recounting it. “When we came back from the States, he said to us, like a little secret, ‘Look, I’m planning to do this, and I want to do it on Australia Day’.” Despite some last-minute hiccups involving a problem picking up the custom ring, the plan came together. “It was fantastic, and it was a really good day.” Next comes Groovin’ the Moo, and then the Running On Air tour – an twelve-date extravaganza that will see Bliss N Eso graduate out of the clubs and into the bigger concert halls. With Horrorshow and the USA’s Big B along for the ride, Notley couldn’t be happier to be touring this great southern land once more. “The last tour was only a little taste-tester, really. We scaled back the venues and only did the five major cities, and just a few songs off the new album. This time, we’re bringing in some new things and new songs. It’s by far the biggest tour we’ve done. I’m really excited about it.” WHO: Bliss N Eso WHEN & WHERE: Friday 13 May, Mangrove Hotel, Broome; Groovin’ The Moo – Saturday 14 May, Hay Park, Bunbury; Saturday 21 May, Challenge Stadium, Mt. Claremont 22 • THE DRUM MEDIA 14 APRIL 2011

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HOMO HYPERACTIVUS HE’S RELEASED EIGHT ALBUMS IN HIS OWN RIGHT SINCE HE LEFT THE BAND THAT MADE HIS NAME, THE STRANGLERS, IN 1990, BUT HUGH CORNWELL STILL HAS A SOFT SPOT FOR HIS POST-PUNK CATALOGUE, AS HE EXPLAINS TO MICHAEL SMITH.

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his month sees Hugh Cornwell on tour in the UK before heading back over to Australia performing his 1997 album Guilty in its entirety – something that, for him, was prompted by the experience in 2009 of performing not only his latest studio album Hooverdam, but also the 1977 Stranglers album, Rattus Norvegicus IV. “The only thing that was odd,� Cornwell admits of the experience of performing the 34 year old album, “was when I sang the couple of songs that [bass player] John Burnell used to sing, ‘cause I’d never tried to sing those songs before, because to do them justice you almost have to pretend that you’re someone else. But it was fun and it seemed to work. I must say, performing these albums in their entirety, it’s quite a challenge but it’s fun.� As well as his eight studio albums, Cornwell has also released half a dozen live albums in the past decade, the most recent, last year’s New Songs For King Kong, a double CD recorded during that 2009 tour featuring the complete Hooverdam and Rattus Norvegicus IV albums performed in their entirety. “We were doing Hooverdam all the way through and then my crazy record label, who are two young, crazy Australian kids in London [Invisible Hands Music], they said to me, ‘Look, you can play nearly all of Rattus anyway, what songs are left you’re not playing?’ I said a couple and they said, ‘Why don’t you learn them so you could do Rattus Norvegicus as well – that’s your first album and your latest album.’ I thought that was a pretty good idea.

IT’S BECAUSE FUCKING MEN WROTE THE BIBLE, YOU KNOW.�

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“The live albums are popular; people do like a record of what they’ve been to see. I mean, a lot of bands now are burning off CDs of their performance and selling them after the show. I haven’t gone to that extent yet but it’s amazing how people love that.� For all this retrospective activity however, one thing you can’t accuse Cornwell of it’s sitting on his laurels. He’s just begun work on the next album, Totem & Taboo. “I just finished the demos today, so I’m just listening to them and I’ve jus got to make some little changes before they’re ready to be given to my band for them to get familiar with. We’re not going to record them until September in Spain, so we’ve got plenty of time to listen to the songs. I found a great studio there in Spain – it’s a place I go to a lot, lovely weather and a beautiful place – and we’ll probably finish it off in America. “I just had this great title for it – Totem & Taboo – and in terms of writing songs you’ve just got to think about the things that that signifies. I mean there are a lot of things that are taboo, and I love that, that’s like a red rag to a bull for me you know, taboos. So there are a few things on there, subjects being investigated – there’s one song called Love Me Slender, there’s another one called God Is A Woman – I mean, why should God be a man? It’s because fucking men wrote the Bible, you know.� Speaking of totems, if you check into YouTube, you’ll find a promo video Cornwell shoot announcing the forthcoming Australian tour where he wanders around a cemetery, looking very dapper, the whole sequence a homage to the iconic Easy Rider. “I’m a big movie fanatic so I love doing stuff like that. Vision and music go so well together don’t they? And I’ve got my first novel coming out in May, which would make a great movie – there’s a great part for Harvey Keitel in there, god is there a good part for him! So, you know, watch this space – we’ll see what happens. It’s called Window On The World, which was actually the name of the restaurant on the top of the Twin Towers in New York, but it’s a coincidence though the title sort of relates to what happens in the novel, so it sort of makes sense.�

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Cornwell has previously published The Stranglers: Song By Song, an in-depth look at the songs he contributed to the ten Stranglers album released between 1977 and his departure in 1990, as well as the odd B-sides and bonus tracks released along the way. “It’s a lot of work though, doing a novel,� Cornwell admits, “and you’ve got to be constantly referring back because you can’t forget what happened earlier. The continuity is essential – it’s all got to believable and credible, and what they’ve said to each other, the conversations they’ve had, the feelings, it all has to be consistent. It’s a lot easier to write songs!� You have to wonder how he found the time. As well as pretty much touring constantly for instance, when he released the Hooverdam album, he also produced a short film Blueprint, to accompany it, only to find when he went to see how it was coming along up at the film studio in Manchester that it was all over the place, a director not having been hired to oversee the shoot. He ended up spending four weeks editing the film down himself. Along with his regular band, Three Piece Sweet, Cornwell has been performing with a variety of other artists, from the almost ubiquitous Jools Holland & His Rhythm & Blues Orchestra to a one-off collective dubbed Sons Of Shiva to, late last year, touring the US with bass player Fish and Blondie drummer Clem Burke. “And Fish is coming to Australia with me, because after the American tour we’re doing a UK tour playing the whole of the Guilty album and Fish was on that all those years ago, and [drummer] Chris Bell, who I’ve been working with in Europe for the last few years, he’s available too so I’ve actually got the opportunity to play the Guilty album with the original rhythm section, which is fantastic, I’m really happy about that.�

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WHO: Hugh Cornwell WHEN & WHERE: Sunday 8 May, The Charles Hotel, North Perth

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THE DRUM MEDIA 14 APRIL 2011 • 23

DATA RETRIEVAL CLEARLY ENAMOURED BY ALL THINGS ‘80S, DATAROCK FRONTMAN FREDRIK SAROEA ADMITS TO BRYGET CHRISFIELD THAT HE’S PAUSED THE BREAKFAST CLUB IN ORDER TO CATCH A GLIMPSE OF MOLLY RINGWALD’S CHARACTER’S KNICKERS.

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hank you so much Australia for creating our international career,” Datarock frontman Fredrik Saroea praises. “What we did was, we reinvested everything we made in Australia and we tried the rest of the world and now we’ve done tours with 35 countries.” Their song Computer Camp Love is the Datarock track that broke the band in this country, initiating a domino effect elsewhere. “It came in at number 12 of [triple j’s] Hottest 100 in 2005,” Saroea proudly tells. “Then, what happened was, it worked so well in Australia we re-released it in the UK in 2006, then it worked really well there, so we re-released it in America in 2007.” The song then made it to number 88 on Rolling Stone’s “list of the best tracks of 2007”. “They were two years behind,” Saroea laughs of the US-based music mag’s poll. One of Datarock’s greatest inspirations, Devo, remixed Computer Camp Love and Saroea extols, “I think that was the highlight of our career.” The frontman then sets some homework to further illustrate this point: “If you search online for a video clip called, ‘A Day In The Life Of Datarock’ on LP33.tv there is a little segment when Jerry [Casale, vocalist/ bassist/keyboardist] called me and I put him on speakerphone and he says, ‘I just want everybody to know that Datarock is absolute genius,’ on the camera.” Saroea obviously feels blessed by his band’s good fortune. “We’re from a little town in Norway [Bergen], there’s 250,000 people here, and, taking inspiration from Devo, that’s completely bizarre, right? It’s not exactly as if they’re part of our intimate sphere [laughs]. And a couple of years later we befriend them, because they’re really into what we’re doing, and they do two remixes for us.” If you haven’t heard the Devo Mutato mix of Computer Camp Love, the song’s ‘love interest’ Judy is given a voice. Saroea says this stroke of genius was Casale’s idea, with the Devo member arranging for “The Fabulous Miss Wendy to agitate Judy’s voice”. “And I think she’s been silenced too long, it was time,” he adds. “It’s been awful and it was great to finally give her a say too, you know? ‘I opened up my software and…’” breaks into laughter. “What exactly is it she was saying? She’s talking in metaphors so she is a rude girl. She is quite honestly a tutor at this computer camp just because she wants a little bit of action.” Datarock love their ‘80s references and have even immortalised Molly Ringwald in song (Molly). Admitting Ringwald is his “favourite” actress of that era, Sareoa enlightens, “By the way, I just wanna remind you all that there is a scene in [The] Breakfast Club where you see her panties. You can freeze and print the image and blow it up to two metres times two metres and hang it above your bed. That’s the scene when the tough kid makes a little bit of noise and the dean comes to check that everything is fine and [the tough kid] hides underneath her desk. He looks straight up in her knickers [laughs].” Saroea has obviously studied this frame, so are Ringwald’s character’s undies pink? “Of course they are. They’re not neon pink, of course, ‘cause she’s a rich kid. So they’re, like, old school pink.” Although Datarock is officially Saroea plus multi-instrumentalist Ketil Mosnes (an expert on “the sax machine”), the duo is beefed up to a quartet for live shows and you should expect some synchronised dance moves. “It’s embarrassing, but at least it’s not synchronised swimming,” Saroea jokes. Has the band ever considered employing a dance instructor to improve their technique? “I guess we should, it would make life so much better for our audience,” he chuckles and then gets a brilliant idea: “We should try to reach out to the guy who taught the guys from New Kids On The Block how to dance! I think those moves are really cool and I don’t really think the people appreciate the dancing of the old school boy bands. Just look at a video like Hangin Tough – that’s synchronised dancing, man!” Datarock certainly allow themselves freedom for creative movement through their chosen stage attire: matching burgundy hooded tracksuits. Saroea explains that Datarock approached “a little snowboard clothing company in Norway” to help them out with some matching clobber for “the first video for Fa-Fa-Fa”. “I knew about these suits and I said, ‘Hey, we’re doing a video for this song and we have like 50 extras who are gonna be part of the video. We want everybody to look the same and we can’t really afford assembling 50 identical, okay-looking clothes. So could you please send over 50 suits?’ And I didn’t know how much they cost or anything, but they were kind enough to send it over and then we used it. You can find it on YouTube if you search ‘Datarock Fa-Fa-Fa older version’, and it’s just all our friends hanging out in a club where I used to be in charge of the music and I hosted my club evenings. Anyway, because we used the tracksuits in the video, we also used them for the press shots for the Datarock Datarock album – and they just stuck.” The Norwegian band’s most recent release is available inside a red vinyl designer toy on a USB stick that also contains bonus tracks, photos and video content. “What I like about the whole designer toys phenomenon is that those companies who made these kinds of toys, they’re usually very similar to independent record labels. Usually they’re run by just a little group of friends. They don’t do it to earn money; they do it because they love doing it ‘cause they all have day jobs in design. And every time they print a toy, they print a limited edition. Like an indie label used to print 500 7”s, or a thousand 7”s, it’s kind of like that in the designer toys world. All the work they put into the way they shape the toy is like how an indie label – they care a lot about the design of the physical releases, right?” WHO: Datarock WHAT: California EP (Young Aspring Professionals/VME) WHEN & WHERE: Groovin The Moo Festival – Saturday 14 May, Hay Park, Bunbury

24 • THE DRUM MEDIA 14 APRIL 2011

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WAMI PUBLIC AND INDUSTRY AWARD NOMINEES 2011 THIS YEAR’S WEST AUSTRALIAN MUSIC INDUSTRY FESTIVAL WILL ONCE AGAIN CELEBRATE WA’S THRIVING CONTEMPORARY MUSIC COMMUNITY, HOSTING A DIVERSE RANGE OF SHOWS, WORKSHOPS AND NETWORKING FUNCTIONS. OF COURSE, THERE ARE ALSO THE ANNUAL WAMI AWARDS, AND HERE DRUM MEDIA PROVIDES YOU, HUMBLE VOTING PUBLIC, WITH THE OFFICIAL 2011 LIST OF NOMINEES.

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his year The Bakery provides the spiritual home of the 2011 WAMi Festival, which runs from 21 to 28 May, and some of the highlights include The Saturday Spectacular, Kiss My WAMi Compilation CD and The Kiss My Camera photographic exhibition. Voting for the awards ceremony officially begins today, and runs until midday May 6 – cast your vote at wam.asn.au/publicvoting, with the Awards ceremony going down at The Bakery Saturday 28 May – Craft Awards will be presented throughout the afternoon at the various Saturday Spectacular venues. Tickets for all WAMi shows including industry workshops and masterclasses, partnered showcases and opening and closing parties available to purchase through nowbaking.com.au from today. So get voting!

PUBLIC VOTED AWARDS MOST POPULAR ACT Presented by triple j Birds Of Tokyo ShockOne Split Seconds Tame Impala

MOST POPULAR MUSIC VENUE Presented by Sonicbids Mojo’s The Rosemount Hotel The Bakery The Bird

MOST POPULAR LIVE ACT Presented by City of Perth

Gyroscope Split Seconds Tame Impala The Joe Kings

MOST POPULAR SINGLE / EP

Presented by Whotune Future Music In The Pines St Jerome’s Laneway Soundwave

Presented by Barbagello Korando Rapunzel – Drapht Finders & Keepers – Felicity Groom She’s Like A Comet – Jebediah Split Seconds – Split Seconds

MOST POPULAR MUSIC WEBSITE

MOST POPULAR ALBUM

Presented by iiNet FasterLouder Life Is Noise Perth Bands Spaceship News

Presented by Alberts Music Choose The Sentinel Booze – 6s & 7s Birds Of Tokyo – Birds Of

MOST POPULAR MUSIC EVENT

Tokyo Frond – Pond Inner Speaker – Tame Impala

MOST POPULAR MUSIC VIDEO Presented by Video Hits Mammalian Locomotion – Abbe May Ticky Ticky Boom – Boys! Boys! Boys! Finders & Keepers – Felicity Groom Don’t You Wanna Sing Forever – The Brow Horn Orchestra

FAVOURITE NEWCOMER Presented by RTRFM 92.1 The Growl Sam Perry San Cisco Split Seconds

FELICITY GROOM

THE JOE KINGS

CRAFT AWARDS

TAME IMPALA

BEST LIVE SOUND ENGINEER

BEST RECORD PRODUCER/ENGINEER

Presented by Hertz Adam Round Clancy Travers Ian Stewart Luke Williot

Presented by Amrap Alan Smith Dave Parkin Matt Giovannangelo Rob Agostini

BEST BASSIST

BEST DRUMMER

Presented by Printline Cameron Hines (3 Mile End, Mongrel Country) Dominic Pearce (Injured Ninja) Ian Berney (Sugar Army, Birds of Tokyo) Rob Stephens (Sons Of Rico, Russian Winters, Simone & Girlfunkle)

Presented by Poster Girls Rowan Parrekh (Dilip ‘n The Davs) Michael Jelinek (The Silents, The Growl) Scarlett Stevens (San Cisco) Todd Pickett (Split Seconds, Blackmilk)

BEST MALE VOCALIST

Ian Kenny (Birds of Tokyo, Karnivool) Pat McLaughlin (Sugar Army) Sean Pollard (Split Seconds)

BEST INSTRUMENTALIST Presented by The Music Network Glenn Srangapany (Birds Of Tokyo) Jesse Woodward (Big Old Bears, Lazy Railway, James Teague, Ruby Boots) Lyndon Blue (Seams, The Brow Horn Ochestra) Tristan Parr (Schvendes, Fall Electric)

BEST GUITARIST

BEST FEMALE VOCALIST Presented by The Cake Factory Abbe May Bridget Turner (Boys! Boys! Boys!, Simone & Girlfunkle) Felicity Groom Novac Bull (Boom! Bap! Pow!)

BEST ELECTRONIC PRODUCER Presented by Cut & Paste Diger Rokwell Naik ShockOne Tomás Ford

Presented by WA Museum Andrew Ryan (Adam Said Galore, Fall Electric, Felicity Groom) Drew Goddard (Karnivool) Kevin Parker (Tame Impala) Luke Dux (The Floors, Timothy Nelson & The Infidels, Will Stoker & The Embers)

BEST DJ Presented by Fremantle Records Cut & Paste Soundsystem Rok Riley ShockOne Tomás Ford

Presented by Diskbank Dave Mann

SPLIT SECONDS

INDUSTRY VOTED AWARDS MOST PROMISING NEW ACT Presented by Sunset Events Split Seconds Seams The Growl Usurper Of Modern Medicine

BEST JAZZ ACT Presented by WAM Callum G’Froerer Quartet Jack Doepel Quartet Johannes Luebbers Dectet Mace Francis Orchestra

BEST COMMERCIAL POP ACT Presented by The Bakery Boys! Boys! Boys! Felicity Groom Simone & Girlfunkle Tim & Jean

BEST ROCK ACT Presented by Mustang Bar Emperors Sons Of Rico Sugar Army Tame Impala

BEST WORLD ACT Presented by Fairbridge Festival David Hyams Grave Barbé Shangara Jive Zarm

BEST WA BASED RECORD LABEL Presented by PPCA Fremantle Records Jarrah Records Heartless Robot Walking Horse Records

BEST HARDCORE/ PUNK ACT Presented by APRA Chainsaw Hookers

Injured Ninja Project Mayhem The Bible Bashers

London Malignant Monster The Devil Rides Out

BEST COUNTRY MUSIC ACT

BEST INDIGENOUS ACT

Presented by Boyup Brook Country Music Club Ruby Boots The Big Old Bears The Ghost Hotel The Fancy Brothers

Presented by Noongar Radio Bartlett Brothers John Bennett Walkabout Boys Yabu Band

MEDIA AWARD – INDIVIDUAL Presented by Kosmic Aarom Wilson Adam Trainer Mike Wafer Peter Barr

BEST HARDCORE/ METAL ACT Presented by CCA Productions Chaos Divine Eleventh He Reaches

MEDIA AWARD – ORGANISATION Presented by WAM Cut & Paste Drum Media RTRFM 92.1 X-Press Magazine

BEST FUNK ACT Presented by EPRA Boom! Bap! Pow! Dilip ‘n’ The Davs The Brow Horn Orchestra Pond

BEST ELECTRONIC MUSIC ACT

BEST BLUES & ROOTS ACT

Presented by Drum Media Perth Diger Rokwell Naik Tim & Jean Tomás Ford

Presented by Clancy’s Fish Pub, Fremantle Abbe May Dilip ‘n’ The Davs Ruby Boots The Joe Kings

MANAGEMENT AWARD

BEST INDIE POP ACT

Presented by Central Institute of Technology – Music Industry Training Jacob Snell Jodie Regan Luke Rinaldi Philip Stevens

Presented by Studios 301 6s & 7s Felicity Groom Goodnight Tiger Split Seconds

BEST URBAN/ HIP HOP ACT Presented by X-Press Downsyde Drapht Mathas The Brow Horn Orchestra

GOLDEN WAMI Presented by City of Perth Aarom Wilson Andrew Ryan Dave Cutbush Luke Rinaldi

SHOCKONE THE DRUM MEDIA 14 APRIL 2011 • 25

AROUND THE WORLD

REFUSING TO LAY LOW

CINEMATIC MELBOURNERS CUBA IS JAPAN ARE UNDERTAKING ALL SORTS OF VOYAGES. JAYMES BROWN UNCOVERS A LITTLE HISTORY.

EX-REFUSED AND THE (INTERNATIONAL) NOISE CONSPIRACY VOCALIST DENNIS LYXZEN SPOKE TO KATE STEPHENS ABOUT HIS NEW HARDCORE BAND, AC4, AND EXPLAINED HOW THEY REALLY ARE NOTHING LIKE REFUSED.

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n their relatively short amount of time together, Melbourne’s Cuba Is Japan have undertaken a number of epic journeys, from an accidental tour of South East Asia to a musical re-enactment of Ferdinand Magellan’s circumnavigation of the Earth. The former began as a festival date in Taiwan and spiralled into a Chinese tour with former Frente! singer Angie Hart. “That whole thing came about by accident really,” says Cuba Is Japan founding member, drummer/violinist Cameron Potts. “I’d been to Taiwan before with my band Baseball, and the promoter who did a lot of shows with us who had a lot of contacts in Taipei saw us and really liked us and said if you want to do this festival in Taiwan, it’d be all paid for,” Potts continues. “While we were there he said to us, ‘Look there’s a run of shows with Angie Hart in China, which is only an hour and a half’s flight away, and it’s all paid for as well, do you want to do that?’ And we had that week and a half free anyway, and we didn’t have any real commitments back in Australia, so we just hopped on that plane.”

Sleater Kinney drummer Laura Macfarlane. Now he’s graduated to running a label, Alpine Areas, with Jade Mcinally of The Tantrums. The label will be the base for Cuba Is Japan’s first release, a vinyl EP with two tracks from their upcoming Canvas album. “It’s a vinyl-only and download label and we’re going to have knitted covers. We’re getting three hundred hand-knitted covers, hand screen-printed so it’s a big effort. “You know, in this age of download and shuffle-play, people are going to appreciate something that’s a bit more craft. So that’s what we intend to do with all the releases. There’s talk of doing a Pets With Pets release with a lego cover. We’ll make a hundred lego covers! You know, making a big more effort, I think people will appreciate that, especially when music’s so invisible now.”

It’s hard to imagine many new bands would even consider South East Asia as their first venture away from home. The potential for disaster for a new band in a non-English speaking land could be huge. “Yeah, it was made easier because we were travelling with Angie, and I think those shows were really well looked after,” says Potts. “I think if we’d gone on our own it would have been a very different experience. I know bands who’ve gone with a bit less support and it’s been a bit wilder.

The album itself has attracted a lot of attention because of its unusual subject matter: the 1519 to 1522 circumnavigation of the Earth by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. “It’s such a huge journey – it was the first circumnavigation of the globe – and it kinda had all the things you wanna write about. The three-year journey, Pacific doldrums, mutinies – it was an intense undertaking, and there’s a big canvas there to write a lot of things about.

“It’s hard enough just going there and not knowing the language, ‘cause they really don’t speak any English whatsoever, and you need to know where to play and where not to play. You can easily end up playing in some kind of bar that does karaoke and do the worst gig of your life.”

“There’s a lot of emotion in there, and a lot of hardship – a lot of joy, too, in some ways. We all did research together, we all read up about it and wrote our own songs selectively and it all came together as this concept album about this first sailing of the Earth.”

Perth-born Potts moved to Melbourne in the early ‘90s, before busying himself in what seems like every band in the city, including Baseball and Ninety-Nine, with former

WHO: Cuba Is Japan WHEN & WHERE: Saturday 16 April, The Bakery, Northbridge

MEASSAGE AND A BOTTLE ALTHOUGH THE TERM ‘PUNK’ IS PRETTY LOOSE THESE DAYS, MELBOURNE LADS THE GO SET ARE STILL FLYING THE TRADITIONALIST FLAG HIGH WITH A JUST A CHEEKY BIT OF FOLK THROWN IN FOR GOOD MEASURE. BENNY DOYLE HOLDS COURT WITH FRONTMAN JUSTIN KEENAN.

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he Go Set are a hidden gem on the Australian musical landscape. Thought provoking, unrelenting and class songwriters to boot, the band walk their punk tightrope balanced with folk, celtic and Scottish influences. Having just returned from another successful run of shows all across Europe, their underappreciated value in this country is even more apparent. “Europe is really exciting at the moment for us and a little bit disheartening,” Keenan honestly explains. “It’s exciting because it’s gone nuts. The record label, the management we’ve got there, the booking agent, they’re all so fucking good for us that we’re punching well above our weight division, selling out shows on a Monday night. But when I say punching above our weight, it’s only relative to Australia. I think The Go Set is a fantastic live band, we’ve done five albums, over a thousand shows, we’ve paid our dues. So it’s exciting for Europe to be happening but it’s disappointing because it’s so tough for us to get a break in Australia to get to that next level.” With a raw DIY atheistic that runs through everything that they do, it’s no surprise that the rough and tumble punk hotbed of Germany is where the band are presently finding great success. “They have a really good scene and I guess what makes it a level playing field for bands like us is that with so many different forms of media now, German’s actively seek out new music,” Keenan explains. “I think we’re a little bit behind with that because we tend to get dictated to by the Austereo network or triple j so kids aren’t as tenacious with regards to seeking out and supporting new music. The Germans are really excited and passionate about new music. It’s really good to play to a crowd that’s been looking forward to seeing you for a month.” With a melting pot of sounds, Keenan agrees that it’s 26 • THE DRUM MEDIA 14 APRIL 2011

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hanks to a little thing called the internet, it’s pretty easy to find out information on anything and anyone – unless of course you actively prevent that from happening. Up until recently old school hardcore foursome AC4 fell in the latter category. Despite their credentials: solid debut album; half of the band members being ex-Refused (Dennis Lyxzen and David Sandstrom); and an Australian east coast tour underway, AC4 have only just jumped aboard the social media bandwagon and have begun answering the media’s phone calls. “We really didn’t do any interviews for like two years,” admits Lyxzen. “If we want to tour and if we want to play and have people come down, we thought it might be great if people actually know we’re coming. That was the whole basic thing, let’s just make sure people know that we’re coming down, so we said okay let’s start doing interviews now.” So why all the secrecy? Lyxzen, also an ex-The (International) Noise Conspiracy member, acknowledges in some part it was to avoid a conversation centred around his previous bands. He’s now comfortable to admit that AC4 isn’t ground-breaking, isn’t experimental, and isn’t anything like Refused. “If you were into Black Flag and the kind of music that AC4 plays you’re kind of not necessarily into Refused,” explains Lyxzen. “And on the flip side if you’re into Refused you’re not necessarily into the kind of music that we’re playing now. So we wanted the music to stand on its own and we wanted the music to tell people that this is very, very different. Because sometimes people turn up at shows and expect to hear Refused and they get really disappointed and bummed out.” If you’ve heard any of AC4’s material, you would understand why. It’s short, fast, loud hardcore lasting for an average of two minutes with repeated phrases screamed into the mic. The whole process was smashed out in two days – plenty of time, says Lyxzen.

“The way we play and the way we interact it’s always going to sound like that and I think it’d sound that way even if we took a bit more time. There is something special about using that first take and using the live energy. Everything was recorded live, I did some vocals after but it’s all live. It’s all us just standing there playing and that has a specialty to it.” The old school sound isn’t the only thing that stands out in AC4, it’s also the overwhelming anger and fury that’s attached to every lyric. For Lyxzen, getting older hasn’t curbed the anger. “When you’re starting an old school hardcore band and everybody’s older, you find that same energy by the same sort of aggression, but it’s from a point of view in life of where we are now. Some of the lyrics might seem a bit cliché but they’re stuff that bothers us right now, as a 38-year-old. So there are a lot of songs about the disappointment in our generation and growing up and trying to be angry about stuff and trying to be radical and getting stuck in a scene that you hate to love or love to hate.” Despite getting older, Lyxzen isn’t slowing down. He’s got his own record label; a Swedish band called Invasionen on the go; and has just finished a tour with The Bloody Beetroots. AC4 won’t ever be his only project says Lyxzen, as he can’t see them being successful enough, but that really doesn’t bother him. “With Refused and with Noise Conspiracy and everything I have done it’s always been doing music that I want to do, and especially with Noise Conspiracy. I mean we got lucky that we were quite popular and we could make a living out of playing music. I have always done exactly what I have wanted to do and I think I will keep on doing that for as long as I live.” WHO: AC4 WHAT: AC4 (Shock)

WINNING COMBO BORN FROM THE NEED TO BRANCH OUT, WIN WIN IS DOING THEIR BEST TO PROVIDE A SPOT FOR LONELY TUNES. TED SCHLECHTE CHATS TO ALEX “XXXCHANGE” EPTON FROM THE MUSICALLY MULTIFARIOUS TRIO.

hard for a fan to pin The Go Set down. “The Go Set is a hybrid of influence, even more so now that we’re branching into gypsy music and some little metal riffs, stuff that I never thought we’d do. It’s a hybrid of punk rock and folk music but it’s predominantly a punk audience,” Kennan admits. “We’ll have two or three hundred kids in a sweaty mosh pit up front and then behind them there’ll be all their parents. It’s all to do with pigeonholing really. The kids like to think of it as punk rock but the older people tend to think of it as folk rock but to be honest, I don’t really fucking care whatever they want to call it, it’s only a name. The main thing is really that the majority of the people who come to our gigs are into the lyrics. Whether you look like a punk or whether you’re an old bloke, the important thing is that you take away the social message.” And these social messages are as much about the now as they are the future. “In a two party system, you only have to be one per cent better than the other party to be in power. So that’s not really conducive to competition or innovative change,” Keenan explains of the political situation in this country. “So I think it’s really pleasing to see that slowly, people are coming around. The silent majority are really fucking apathetic and lazy and they don’t want to change their ways. So my flagship of hope for the future is that we can educate our kids to take environmentally friendly measures to change how they live and to use their voices to bring about real democracy, not two party democracy, where people can bring about social and legislative change.” WHO: The Go Set WHEN & WHERE: Sunday 29 April, Clancy’s Fish Pub, Fremantle; Fairbridge Festival – Monday 30 April,

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lex “XXXChange” Epton began gaining notoriety through his production work for Spank Rock. This has spawned a massive solo career that has Epton incessantly receiving requests for the XXXChange remix treatment, seeing him work with everyone from Beck and Kylie Minogue to Bjork and Thom Yorke. Bloc Party’s Kele Okereke even called on him to executive produce his solo debut, The Boxer.

Teaming up with Chris Devlin – one of the DJs behind Spank Rock and a member of Baltimore duo Devlin & Darko – and video collage stalwart Ghostdad, Epton has helped to create Win Win. With their self-titled debut out now, expect the ears to be graced with a wildly varied affair. Blues rock takes the front seat in the Blaqstarrfeatured Victim while the cinematic Cada Buen Dia is as spooky as it is schizophrenic, at times sounding like a record playing in reverse. MC Spank Rock sings (yes, you read that correctly) on Pop A Gumball and Gang Gang Dance’s Lizzie Bougatsos turns up on the synthdriven lead single, Release RPM. Hot Chip’s Alexis Taylor comes to the party on Interleave and the gripping voice of Angela Sarakan contributes to the anthemic Future Again (Oakland). But why the name Win Win? “I don’t know exactly why we chose it,” Epton laughs down the line from Brooklyn, the New York borough he has called home for the last 12 years. “We wanted to create a situation for ourselves in which we wouldn’t feel pressured to make music that had to go in one particular direction, and the same goes for the guest artists. I guess it’s also an outlet for music that otherwise might not have a home, so we thought there were no losers in this game.” Although they work extremely well together, Epton admits that it was originally going to be a one-man show. “I started off thinking it was going to be an XXXChange record, but then making music by yourself isn’t that fun. As a result, I began doing a bunch of shit with the other guys and it seemed natural that rather

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than having them appear on my solo record it would be wise to join forces.” Epton divulges that finding the time to create Win Win was tough and that he initially thought embarking on a new musical journey would be a stretch. “I can’t believe we ended up getting it done. We all have lots happening, which made it really difficult from time to time. Thankfully it’s out now and I’m happy to say that the result is what we were aiming for.” The psychedelic rock-influenced track The Nature Of Transcendent Forces is the epitome of the release’s diversity, heavily due to the fact it was created outside of the Big Apple. “I was on vacation up in the woods in Maine. I had the vocal sitting around because I was going to use it for another song, but it works much better where it’s now sitting,” he affirms. “It’s amazing how being relaxed in the middle of nowhere can alter your sound. New York is a pretty intense place, so it’s easy to fuel your material with adrenalin – without even knowing it.” Out on Brooklyn’s own Vice Music, Epton states that it was a “no-brainer” when it came to choosing the label. His excitement for the upcoming run of shows with The Death Set is palpable and swears they are doing their best to bring it to Australia. And when it comes to Win Win being a one-off collaboration, the uber-producer admits that the future is still somewhat up in the air. “I’m not sure if we’re ready to work on another album as of yet but we probably already have enough stuff for an EP. We may just do that in another six months or whenever we see fit. I can see it being a good venue for all of the random music that we make that doesn’t fit anywhere else.” WHO: Win Win WHAT: Win Win (Vice/Inertia)

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THE DRUM MEDIA 14 APRIL 2011 • 27

A NEW FATE

BORN IN THE UK

MELDING THE SOUNDS OF MODERN METAL AND POST-HARDCORE WITH THE IMAGE AND ATTITUDE OF THE GREATEST ROCKERS OF THE ‘80S, IT SEEMS THERE IS NEVER TIME TO REST FOR LOS ANGELES GROUP ESCAPE THE FATE. LOCHLAN WATT QUIZZES DRUMMER ROBERT ORITZ.

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f it’s not us being completely, wondrously successful and dominating everything, or at least trying to, then it’s us falling apart at the seams, or shooting ourselves in the foot and not getting along,” says Escape The Fate drummer Robert Oritz of the band’s year thus far. “There’s never a dull moment, but overall it’s looking to be the biggest year for us right now. We haven’t gone backwards – I can say that at least. We haven’t shrunken in popularity, which is a good thing, and shows that our album is doing pretty well.” Since forming in 2004 the band has released three fulllengths and gone through just as many ex-members, amid all sorts of sex, drugs and rock‘n’roll style controversy. Previously signed to punk label Epitaph Records for 2006’s Dying Is Your Latest Fashion and 2008’s This War Is Ours, the group now calls major label Interscope their home. Last year’s self-titled album is the first fruit of said relationship, and has brought the band to dizzying heights of success. “I’ll never forget playing in New York City when Max [Green, bass] fucking collapsed on stage on our biggest headlining show to date,” he says of their most recent headlining tour. “There was so many people there it was incredible, and Max just collapsed in the last song, for reasons we’ll never for sure know, but it happened. “That moment right there just symbolised everything about Escape The Fate. We can continue to grow, when we do our best, and when we come together everything is right with the music and our lives. Everything is incredible and it props us up with everything that goes on.” Just how has life changed for the band since the major label move? How do the label’s approaches differ? “Epitaph just kind of do whatever they feel at that moment, and they go with it and it’s cool. They don’t

WITH THE RELEASE OF BOUNDARYBUSTING SECOND ALBUM NO MORE IDOLS, LONDON’S CHASE & STATUS HAVE ENTERED THE STRATOSPHERES OF SUPERSTARDOM. MATT O’NEILL CATCHES UP WITH SAUL “CHASE” MILTON TO DISCUSS WHAT’S CHANGED.

really have too much at stake,” he says like it’s a matter of fact. “They’re basically giving bands chances, you know? “But with a label like Interscope, there’s a lot to lose with them, and they definitely know that this shit can hit, and it can be great, but they can lose a lot of money if it doesn’t. They want to make sure that their hands are on everything we do, but we don’t want them to. We told them from the get go that our music, that’s the one thing that they don’t touch, ever. Whatever songs we create, they don’t touch that. That’s what we’re going to do, whatever we’re feeling.” However it appears things aren’t always peachy, and Oritz has his qualms with how things work. “They just want us to do all this shit. It’s how we present the music that becomes a difficult part. They don’t want us to do certain things, like maybe do remixes or do all this weird kind of shit, and like release this, or do this weird tour, and we’re like ‘No, that doesn’t fit right, it’s not what we’re about, or it’s not enough.’ We’re trying to make a music video right now for our next single, but they don’t want to just yet, but it’s like ‘dude, come on, let’s roll with it’, and they want to sit back and wait for it to kind of simmer. “So you get these little things that ultimately slow down the process. I don’t know, it’s hard to explain man, there’s like weird shit, there’s ins and outs in the business that are just not fun to talk about. They’re just weird and sometimes you disagree. But they do care a lot – they really care.” WHO: Escape The Fate WHEN & WHERE: Tuesday 24 April, Astor Theatre, Mt. Lawley

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t’s tempting, upon first listen, to decry Chase & Status’ second album No More Idols as a sell-out manoeuvre. Polished to an impossible degree, more stylistically diverse than perhaps any drum’n’bass album of the past decade and packed to the gunwales with guests like Cee Lo Green and Dizzee Rascal, No More Idols appears custom-fitted for maximum financial gain. It has certainly arrived at the appropriate time in the duo’s career. Released just over two years on from the duo’s initial commercial breakthrough – 2008’s debut long-player More Than Alot – and following hot on the heels of production work on Rihanna’s Rated R and remixes for the likes of The Prodigy, Chase & Status could not have chosen a more appropriate time to concede to the mainstream. “It entered at number two on the albums chart in the UK and went gold in a week,” Saul “Chase” Milton reflects incredulously – almost inadvertently confirming one’s initial suspicions. “We couldn’t be happier with how it’s been going. Well, we could be happier if it went to number one, but for our strange music that we make to get to number two on the charts is simply amazing.” To accuse the pair of selling out now, however, would be to ignore the majority of their career up until this point. No More Idols may be polished, diverse and guest star heavy, but such has been the nature of Chase & Status’ entire oeuvre. Since practically their early 2003 inception, the pair have specialised in bridging divides with accomplished productions and wisely selected hired hands. Consider, for example, 2005’s double A-side Duppy Man/Top Shotta: the drum’n’bass Duppy Man played host to a stirring vocal from Jamaican reggae legend Capleton while the dubstep-heavy Top Shotta was a full-fledged collaboration with pioneering grime collective

Roll Deep. To emphasise, this release arrived some five years before No More Idols was even written. “Anyone who calls us sell-outs, I’ll just shake their hands, smile and say ‘see you later’ – because I don’t really care,” Milton says candidly. “To me, if you’re a fan of someone and know we’re they’re coming from, you’ll accept their need to progress and change as they develop their talents. You know, if you’re a fan of someone, you’ll follow them on their journey. “We’ve been doing this since 2003 – making early dubstep, garage and drum’n’bass – so, what, as artists, we’re not allowed to progress and make different music? Of course we are,” Milton elaborates. “Just because the entire album isn’t made up of drum’n’bass tunes like No Problem or Hocus Pocus doesn’t mean we’re necessarily selling out.” The closer one examines No More Idols, meanwhile, the less commercially-viable it appears. While heavy on guest-vocalists and eclecticism, the record actually seems to view convention and predictability as some manner of disease. Far from accessible and mainstream, No More Idols is actually wilfully bizarre – slamming together everything from heavy metal to dancehall reggae. “The success we’ve had as a result has been quite surreal. You know, when the album came out, we also had a top five single – Blind Faith – and then we had a top two album,” Milton reflects. “I don’t know how other people see it but, when I think of acts with top two albums and top five singles, I don’t think of people like us. It’s very strange. “It’s actually a really nice feeling of acceptance.”

WHO: Chase & Status WHAT: No More Idols (Universal)

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28 • THE DRUM MEDIA 14 APRIL 2011

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LIVING UNDESIGNED TOUR Fri

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CITY DIGGERS, Wollongong

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THE CAMBRIDGE HOTEL, Newcastle

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3 June 2011

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27 May 2011

NSW & QLD Support: Numbers Radio. WA Support: Wolves Tix on sale now from venues and online: www.oztix.com.au www.moshtix.com.au NEW ALBUM OUT MAY 13

THE DRUM MEDIA 14 APRIL 2011 • 29

ACOUSTICALLY METAL

GOSPEL KINGS

RODRIGO SANCHEZ ARGUES WITH ZOE BARRON THAT RODRIGO Y GABRIELA COMBINING HEAVY METAL WITH LATIN ACOUSTIC ISN’T ACTUALLY AS GENREBENDING AS ONE MIGHT THINK.

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hat do you get if you take a couple heavy metal musicians from Mexico and then turn the power off? You get head-spinningly fast, complicated riffs in a format their mums can listen to. You get a crossbreeding of genres that shouldn’t work but somehow does. You get wild experimentation with style and beat until you can’t even tell which country the rhythms being played are from anymore. Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabriela Quintero of the guitar duo Rodrigo Y Gabriela started their music careers playing in Mexican thrash metal bands. Now they play the same sort of thing, only overlaid with Latin rhythms and played on nylon string, acoustic guitars. And while all this appears very contradictory, Sanchez doesn’t agree. “We don’t think they’re that different,” he says. “We basically mix what we like from the metal side and what we like from the Latin rhythms stuff we’ve heard since we were kids here in Mexico and that’s probably why it sounds different. But in reality... they have a lot in common.” The unique Rodrigo Y Gabriela style of playing was developed on the streets of Dublin. It was here that Sanchez and Quintero eventually settled, having taken to travel out of frustration at a lack of progress back home. They jettisoned their electric guitars in the process, picked up a couple of more travel-friendly acoustics, and instead of switching styles to accommodate the new instruments, they simply adapted the music they were playing before. It worked. Soon they were drawing crowds and winning fans and discovering that playing acoustically allowed them to function easily as a duo, without all the hassles that can accompany playing with a full band. “We were tired of trying to make it in a metal band with all the different members and all that and it seemed to be working with acoustic, and that’s why we kept it that way.” Despite the speed and technical complexity of their music, neither musician has received any formal training. “We never went to school,” Sanchez says. “We actually both, when we were teenagers, applied to get

ONE OF THE WORLD’S MOST REVERED GROUPS IN GOSPEL, THE BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA ARE RETURNING TO AUSTRALIA. JASON KENNY LISTENS TO THE CHOIR. into the National School Of Music in Mexico City and we were both rejected. So that was our only attempt.” Instead, the streets of Dublin became their classroom and busking formed the structure of their lessons. It was a highly charged time for the duo and there’s more than a hint of nostalgia in Sanchez’s voice when he talks about this period. “It was an amazing experience,” he says. “It was the best school. For us to understand that we were able to write some different music without a band, and make people stop and listen to the music. I think it’s the best thing we could have done.” A major development to come out of their relocation to Dublin was the development of Quintero’s particular style of rhythm guitar: while Sanchez’s riffs come from heavy metal, Quintero’s playing is influenced by the Latin-style guitar the pair grew up with. “When we were playing with the heavy metal band, we didn’t have any Mexican influence,” Sanchez explains. “Obviously we wanted to sound like the metal bands that we used to love. But when we went to Europe, suddenly all these Latin rhythms came out and those rhythms… we never wanted to play those back in Mexico… You get tired of those rhythms.” Now, however, they’re an intrinsic part of their sound. “We don’t even know what kind of rhythms we play, but we do know we play some Latin stuff in there.” While most of their playing is acoustic now-a-days, they do like to revisit their electric roots. “We keep the acoustic thing going on obviously because that’s the basis, but in the live shows we have some wah-wah pedals and sometimes some distortion here and there,” concedes Sanchez. “Just touches, you know, but they’re good reminders of what we are and where we really come from.” WHO: Rodrigo Y Gabriela WHEN & WHERE: West Coast Blues ‘N’ Roots Festival – Sunday 17 April, Fremantle Park

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he Blind Boys Of Alabama began performing in 1939. That’s a 72-year performing career, which can be a little mind-boggling. Things have changed a lot since then – even the 12” record has only been around since 1948. The gospel group have undergone some changes since they started at their School for the Blind, but three of the original members still remain, including lead vocalist Jimmy Carter. “We are a traditional gospel singing group,” Carter confirms. “The Blind Boys sing traditional gospel music. Having said that we also can sing it all. There is different stages of gospel. You’ve got traditional gospel music and you’ve got contemporary gospel music. Personally, I don’t particularly enjoy contemporary but we can sing that and we do that because a lot of people do like it so it’s the changing of the times.” The times have been kind to The Blind Boys of Alabama and with such an extensive career, Carter still points out the group’s first Grammy win in 2001 as a highlight along with their recent performance and the White House. “We’ve been there three times,” Carter says. “We were there for the Clinton administration, for the Bush administration and the Obama administration. The Obama was kind of special because it was a black president and I never thought I’d get the chance to see a black president in my lifetime. What happened was they were all a good experience but Obama was a little special. “It took a long time for us to be elevated to where we are now. When we started out we had no idea that we would get to this plateau. All of these accolades we have gotten, we appreciate them, we thank God for them, we just keep on going.” They’ve collaborated or covered songs by Bob Dylan, Tom Waits and a string of other impressive names. The collaboration was not surprising, the way that Carter describes it. “People might say but those guys are secular guys,” he says. “Well, they are secular guys but

they have gospel roots. When they bring these songs to us, if there’s not a gospel message to it, if it’s not a gospel song, then we won’t sing it. The Blind Boys have to be able to put our touch to it. If we can’t then we won’t touch it.” In recent years the Ben Harper collaboration brought them to a whole new audience. “We enjoyed working with Ben Harper and we enjoyed working with Aaron Neville, we’ll be working with him in Australia. We had a chance to work with the late Solomon Burke and we enjoyed that. We love to collaborate with other artists. It brings the best out in both of us.” Carter says he listens to a wide range of music, but his preference is country music. That being the case there’s a few artists in that field that he’d like to work with but he shies away from naming names. “When people ask me what gospel is I tell them that gospel is the good news of God,” he explains, “telling the stories that Jesus died one day so that we might live. That’s what we sing about. When these collaborations come to us, if they don’t have that message to it then we don’t use their material.” With that in mind, the list of their collaborators comes into new light. It’s that sense of purpose about their music that has maintained The Blind Boys of Alabama at the pinnacle of gospel music. “Most of these people we collaborate with, they know about gospel. A lot of them came out of church, they just chose to sing another type of music. Most of them their roots are gospel, they know about it. Bob Dylan wrote a great gospel song, Ben Harper [too] they know how to write. They can feel it. There’s nothing strange when we can get together and do a good collaboration together.” WHO: The Blind Boys Of Alabama WHEN & WHERE: West Coast Blues ‘N’ Roots Festival – Sunday 17 April, Fremantle Park

LICENSE TO MUCK AROUND “When we’re filming the show we run it a bit like a play, we very rarely stop. The only time anything can really go wrong is if something happens with the music, like if someone breaks a string or something like that. But other than that we’re on and I just get to play with the wonderful contestants we get,” Zemiro continues. “I think a lot of it is, I waitressed a lot in my 20s and 30s and my dad had restaurants and I think waiting tables is a very noble profession. Your job there is to be welcoming and make people feel good and comfortable and set the tone for them to have a good time, so I like to think that was excellent training for this as well.”

DISMANTLING THE DRUMKIT AND UNPLUGGING THE FENDERS, THE ROCKWIZ CREW ARE PACKING UP THE TARAGO TO BRING SOME LIVE LOVE TO THE WEST COAST BLUES ’N’ ROOTS FESTIVAL. LIZ GIUFFRE CHATS TO HOSTS JULIA ZEMIRO AND BRIAN NANKERVIS. PIC BY PENNY LANE. JULIA ZEMIRO’S HAIR & MAKE-UP BY MARIE PRINCI.

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ocKwiz is a TV quiz show about music, but really, it’s a lot more than that. It is about celebrating rock music, albeit by showing your knowledge and skill, but also performing it and celebrating it as a live thing. Hence the beauty of bringing it out of the studio and to the people in the flesh, and the RocKwizzers are now in town to show West Coast Blues ’N’ Roots-goers a good time, allowing those of us that normally just play at home, screaming at the TV, to get out and play, as well as laugh with (and sometimes at) the power and passion of the contestants. 30 • THE DRUM MEDIA 14 APRIL 2011

“A lot of the comedy on the show comes from those fabulous contestants we have that come from the audience [who are selected by winning a pre-show quiz]. We always get gold from them, which makes my job of improvising with them very, very easy,” explains Julia Zemiro, RocKwiz host. Much of RocKwiz’s charm lies in Zemiro’s delivery, something that is based on her skill at getting audience members, performers and some of the hairiest of rock questions, to play nicely together. She’s like a gifted host at a dinner party, warm enough to make everyone else feel comfortable, but also ready to jump in whatever direction the conversation takes.

Zemiro spent a long time on the Sydney Theatresports circuit and has continued to develop her improv skills through live international touring shows like the very funny (and what looks to be incredibly difficult) Spontaneous Broadway. Despite this pedigree she’s hesitant when this writer suggests she’s a ‘comedian’. “I always get nervous [with that label] because people think I’ve done standup and I haven’t. I just think standup is one of the hardest jobs in the world so I would never take that kudos, I’ve got lots of female friends who are comics and I think it’s really hard, but then they think improvising’s hard and I don’t. With Theatresports, the Enmore was my second home for so long because we’d do big shows and the final there. Then doing other improv like Spontaneous Broadway and Thank God You’re Here, so I’d say I started in improv and then went to acting school and VCA and got into like that.” Despite her modesty, she does qualify in terms of what she delivers, and comedy remains something she’s keenly interested in. When talk moves from the standard RocKwiz question ‘what was your first album’? (it was ABBA, by the way) to ‘what was your first comedy album?’, she has no hesitation. “My first comedy record was Joan Rivers, What Becomes A Semi-Legend Most?, and she’s on the cover in fur and pearls and diamonds I just thought she was a legend, hilarious. And obviously I also had Whoopi Goldberg’s VHS of the five characters she did onstage in the ‘80s … that’s a bloody masterclass in terms of comedy. And Lily Tomlin too, I had a few recordings of hers, and I saw her last time she toured and I just took notes the whole time in the dark. I was just observing her mastery, ‘ooh yeah, I

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see what she’s doing there, how she’d segue from one thing to another’. It was great.” In contrast, Zemiro’s RocKwiz co-host, Brian Nankervis, started out in comedy and has a fine reputation is the laugh arts. Starting in Melbourne in the ‘80s and ‘90s at the legendary Last Laugh, the rest of us got to know him through his stints as stinking poet Raymond J Bartholomeuz on Hey Hey It’s Saturday (when it was great – and trust me – it was), as well as Let The Blood Run Free with Peter Rowsthorn (a.k.a ‘Brettie’ from Kath & Kim) and the late, great Lynda Gibson. Does he ever find it a little strange that some people are only now just discovering him, and particularly thinking of him as a comedian rather than just the guy who knows lots about music? “Well, I was just listening to the ABC and listening to Wil Anderson talk about the Melbourne Comedy Festival and I thought, ‘Yes, it’s been a while’,” he says, trailing slightly, but with good grace. As we continue to talk a bit about more about his past, this writer having mentions recognising Nankervis’ photo as part of current Melbourne Comedy Festival anniversary festivities. He was “Mr 1991” at the launch (where a comedian from each year was invited to represent that year’s fest), but also part of an exhibition at the Melbourne Arts Centre. Immediately, Nankervis says “Oh, what am I doing [in the photo]? Is it something weird?” While he doesn’t elaborate too much, it sounds like comedy provided Nankervis with many a rock’n’roll story of its own. These days Nankervis is more rock than funny man, but his skill with the funny business is what makes RocKwiz work. Not only behind the scenes (in addition to producing the show, he’s also a fundamental part of getting the audience RocKwiz-ed early, and his good humour ensures a smooth show), but in a more subtle way it’s his ease and ability to know what to take seriously (the music) and what not to (the people in it) that makes the show the success it is. “I think the show does have a good vein of humour running through it… It’s not being filmed so we’ve got license to muck around a bit more…” WHAT RocKwiz Live WHEN & WHERE: West Coast Blues ’N’ Roots – Sunday 17 April, Fremantle Park

WEST COAST BLUES & ROOTS

ESSENTIAL INFO TIMES Sunday 17th April 2011 10.30am Gates open 11.00am Music starts 12.00pm Bars open 9.30pm Bars close 10.00pm Last act finishes

ENTRY AGE

FESTIVAL PLAYING TIMES PARK STAGE 8.45pm – 9.45pm: 6.45pm – 8.15pm: 5.15pm – 6.15pm: 3.45pm – 4.45pm: 2.00pm – 3.15pm: 12.50pm – 1.35pm: 11.50am – 12.30pm: 11.00am - 11.30am:

GRACE JONES BOB DYLAN THE CAT EMPIRE MICHAEL FRANTI & SPEARHEAD ELVIS COSTELLO & THE IMPOSTERS WASHINGTON RUTHIE FOSTER JAMES TEAGUE (BREAKTHROUGH WINNER)

BIG TOP STAGE 8.20pm – 9.30pm: 7.00pm – 8.00pm: 5.50pm – 6.40pm: 4.40pm – 5.30pm: 3.20pm – 4.10pm: 2.10pm – 3.00pm: 12.00pm – 1.40pm:

BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA WITH AARON NEVILLE TOOTS & THE MAYTALS RODRIGO Y GABRIELA ROBERT RANDOLPH & THE FAMILY BAND GURRUMUL YUNUPINGU MAVIS STAPLES ROCKWIZ (LIVE)

Blues ‘n’ Roots is an adult oriented music festival, and it may not be appropriate for young children. Prams are not permitted as it may be difficult to move prams around the festival. We welcome older children; however patrons under 18 are only permitted if they hold a valid children’s ticket and are ACCOMPANIED AT ALL TIMES BY THEIR PARENT. You must bring valid PHOTO ID (Australian drivers license, passport or WA proof of age card) to purchase alcohol from the bars.

GETTING THERE The best way to get to the festival is by train.

ENTRY

LEAVE AT HOME

Please note that the entry point in 2011 has changed from last year’s festival. Festival entry is off James Street – please refer to the map.

• Alcohol or any illicit substances (all bags will be searched on entry by our friendly security staff) • Unsealed plastic bottles, glass vessels or containers • Sharp knives or objects (butter knives are ok) • Umbrellas or shade structures • Professional cameras (small cameras are permitted) • Video or tape recorders • Animals (guide dogs allowed) • Anything that could be used as a weapon • Any uncool behaviour (like crowd surfing, stage diving, climbing and moshing)

If you are coming with children under 18 please make sure you visit the Family Registration Point which is located near the Ticket Box before the festival entrance. Then have your bags ready for inspection by our friendly security staff. Then get your tickets and your valid PHOTO ID ready. VIP’s should enter through the VIP lane.

EXIT Please respect the neighbours when leaving the festival.

FOOD AND OTHER STALLS

The police and our security team will be on hand to guide you back to town and to the train station. Please follow their lead and do the right thing.

There will be heaps of different and delicious food vans at the festival. You can bring your own small esky if you like (but no sharp knives or glassware).

FRINGE PERFORMANCES

There will also be a merchandise tent, a music store with artist signings, market stalls and lots of other attractions.

Before the Festival, why don’t you check out some of the best emerging West Australian blues and roots talent performing around Freo. More details can be found at www.sunsetevents.com.au.

BARS The bars will serve a range of icy cold beers, wine, spirits & soft drinks. Also if you feel like a frosty pint of Little Creatures beer or a glass of Howling Wolves wine, head to the Green Room.

The train service from Perth to Fremantle will be running approximately every 15 minutes up to 6.45pm, then every 30 minutes thereafter until 12.00am. A bar ticket system will be operating so please purchase your tickets before you head to the bar. Drink in moderation and drink lots of water (free tap After the event, special event train services will operate on the water will be available inside the festival). Please don’t drink and drive! Fremantle line into Perth. To plan your journey, visit the Transperth Journey Planner at www.transperth.wa.gov.au or call the Transperth Info PASSOUTS Line on 13 62 13. Remember that public transport fares are included with There are strictly NO PASSOUTS permitted at the festival. Please make your ticket. sure you bring in everything you need for the day. There is a helpful list If you are driving to the festival, then we recommend you use one of the of what to bring below. There is a cloak room inside the venue where you can leave your bag. Wristbands are not transferable and must be following car parks: worn at all times. Wristbands will not be replaced if lost. • Beach Street Car Park • Parry Street Car Park BRING WITH YOU • Queensgate Car Park • Your tickets • Point Street Car Park • Photo ID (Australian drivers license, passport or Western Australian • Fremantle Prison Car Park proof of age card) Note that the following streets around the venue will be closed except • Enough cash to get you through the day (there wilL be EFTPOS for local traffic - Ellen (between Parry & Ord Streets), Stirling (between facilities available onsite) High & Ellen Streets) & Barnett. • Protection from the sun (hat, sunscreen) We recommend you use the free Fremantle CAT buses which run every • Picnic rugs, low chairs 10 minutes and complete a circuit around the city of Fremantle. • Small eskies, hampers For more information about travel and parking in Fremantle, please visit • Something warm for after dark, appropriate clothing if it’s raining (we play rain or shine) www.fremantle.wa.gov.au. • Comfy enclosed shoes • A good festival vibe

SMOKING West Coast Blues ‘n’ Roots Festival is a strictly smoke free event. If you do need to smoke, then three smoking areas have been set up outside the festival – one near the picnic zone, one near the playground (near the big top stage) and one in the VIP area for VIP ticketholders.

GREEN ROOTS Look out for the environmental initiatives happening around the festival. There will be a team of eco warriors (called the Green Team) on site to guide you in the right direction. Please put your rubbish in the correct bins at the Recycling Stations which are located throughout the festival. Help us to lessen the impact on the environment and keep Fremantle Park beautiful!

GREEN MONEY Get involved with the festival’s recycling program and you will be rewarded with Green Money! Simply head to the Recycling Depot at the festival and grab a biodegradable recycling bag, fill the bag with recyclables and return it. And for that you will get a clear conscience plus a $5 Green Money Voucher to spend at the festival.

INFO & SAFETY If you have any questions or have lost something or someone, head to the Info Point and Cloak Room (refer to map for location). If you need medical attention then get hold of one of the security staff or head to one of the three first aid posts (refer to map for location). In the event of an emergency, please make your way to one of the emergency exits and follow the directions of the security staff.

SILENT AUCTION In support of the local artist community, Sunset Events will be holding a silent auction at the festival. Head to the Music Store and Signing Tent and place a bid for paraphernalia signed by your favorite artists

THE DRUM MEDIA 14 APRIL 2011 • 31

SINGLES/EPS

WITH SEBASTIAN D’ALONZO

ON THE RECORD

cd reviews

CD OF THE WEEK

SINGLE OF THE WEEK WOLVES Children Independent If you had listened to Wolves’ MySpace six months ago you would have heard some scrappy demo’s with drums that sounded like cardboard boxes. But that was before they were noticed on the radar of American producer Sylvia Massy, who gave them the opportunity to really bring their songs to life on record. The resulting Children encapsulates the intensity the band’s live shows are known for as they chant “We are the children”. If this is the precursor to the album, then Wolves may have something special up their sleeves.

REDCOATS Dream Shaker Independent Melbourne rockers Redcoats shake the room with their brand of heavy, hard-hitting psych in the form of Dream Shaker. From the repeating opening bass line and distant chords you are instantly drawn in before the riff kicks in and front man Emilio Mercuri’s vocals grab your attention. In an aggressive soaring tone the chorus lyrics are delivered powerfully, showing that this band’s energy makes all four minutes of this track unbelievably awesome.

TIJUANA CARTEL Letting It Go Independent Alternative electronic band Tijuana Cartel chill out with a grooving track making use of a strange mix of influences. Coming across a bit samey, the lyrics and riff are prominent through the many layers but are lacking any interest. In fact the only interesting part of the song is the build up and drop. Being co-produced by Chris Moore, who has previously worked with Midnight Juggernauts and TV On The Radio, you would expect a lot more. That said, there is a lot of potential for better tracks to come out of the band’s changing direction in sound.

MEAT KATIE

NEON TREES

Lot49/Triple Vision

Mercury/Universal

The Ayems/Sony

Everyone likes a birthday party, right? None more than the fun loving souls at the Lot49 label, who are celebrating their seventh birthday with a mix CD of brand new tracks from veterans such as Lee Combs, Dylan Rhymes and Lot49 chief Meat Katie, who bakes all the ingredients into one exciting and enticing cake.

They’ve been around for a year in their native US but the rest of the world has taken its time to warm to Utah saints, Neon Trees. One can only assume the slow burning sales of debut album Habits have been accidental purchases by punters thinking they were picking up the latest by either The Killers or Good Charlotte. The catalogues and visual styles of both of those bands have been gratuitously plundered by Neon Trees. The lack of new ideas throughout this disc is depressing. Tyler Glenn’s vocals are un-emotive at best, strained and lazy at worst. Too often he retreats to elongated “whooah”s to simply fill in space where he doesn’t have the skill to insert scintillating lyrics.

It’s been a long and not entirely scandal-free time coming, but The Life Of Riley is officially the benchmark by which all Australian hip hop releases will be measured. On his third album, Drapht proves that it’s possible to have your cake and eat it too. His vocal playfulness and melodic flow, that characterised so many of his light-toned hits, is employed to devastatingly brilliant effect on songs about more serious subjects, such as the intensely personal Down and the magnificently poetic Murder Murder.

Habits

7 Year Itch

Meat Katie’s claim to fame is the invention of techfunk – a techno/electro/ house/breakbeat hybrid – that when executed by the right hands is pure, unadulterated dancefloor depravity. The CD is an appropriately frisky coming of age party, where the titles themselves don’t exactly temper the porn vibe (cases in point: Meat Rub, Pervert and Big One). Not so much a birthday party; more a birthday suit party. The most popular tools in the 7 Year Itch armoury are undoubtedly the basslines, some of which are so blunt they could probably be classed as offensive weapons. The bottom end vibrations run the gamut, from Lee Comb’s super smooth sub-bass, to the distorted growler Dylan Rhymes and Chevy One employ on the aforementioned Big One and the disorientating drone that swells throughout Dopamine’s Swerve. MK has a deft knack for juxtaposing polar opposites, as typified by the example of Lightknife’s Dramatique tension-ramping line of ascending bells ceding to Atomic Drop’s Player Hater, possibly the heaviest roller here, which drops through the floor like an anvil. Whilst Meat Katie and his Lot49 ilk have more or less defined techfunk, it’s this type of continual variation that ensures the natal-anniversary naughtiness never becomes formulaic.

As far as stealing moves from Brandon Flowers’ mob goes, the worst offender is 1983 in which he rallies “Me and you, You and me, Let’s go back to 1983”. Why not! I’ll give Mr & Mrs. Glenn a packet of Durex while I’m there! Habits vapid unoriginality constantly smacks of an X-Factor band told they can’t sing other people’s songs so they hurriedly chucked their own together. Glenn sounds like he quit ‘alternative rock school’ far too early whilst the band carrying him have no new dynamic to offer whatsoever. The production (shared between some guy who brought us the Plain White Ts and another post-punker with tinnitus) is far too polished and radio friendly to be fairly labelled ‘alternative’. Lyrically, it’s all crap about relationships and lust that you’ve heard countless times before in far more interesting ways, and the power choruses have been sculpted for commercial radio play removing any semblance of ‘edge’. As far as habits go, I’d rather take up smoking.

DRAPHT

The Life Of Riley

Even his alter ego Jimmy Recard is laid to rest, first by a hilarious eulogy spoken by Briggs, and then by the excellent track RIP JR, in which Drapht slams the countless critics who said he could never repeat the success of his breakthrough single. There’s still a joyousness on this album, found often in the upbeat production (mostly by Trials), but also largely due to Drapht’s understanding that music can be fun and captivating, even when traversing serious territory. Lyrically nobody can touch him, whether he’s talking about high-maintenance women (Rapunzel) or the genesis of his love of music (Sing It). He taps M-Phazes for a beat, and the result, Good Morning, boasts the sort of catchy flawlessness that can only be created by two people truly on top of their game. This is the album of an artist who takes his craft seriously, one who has continued raising the bar even in the face of numerous personal and professional obstacles. In short, The Life of Riley it is a triumph. Drapht, the victor. ALEKSIA BARRON

CHRISTOPHER H JAMES

MAC MCNAUGHTON

STINA

THOSE DANCING DAYS

TIM & JEAN

Someone Good/Room40

Wichita/Universal

Mercury/Universal

Stina’s sophomore release is a lesson on how to make something a little bit daggy sound beautiful. She has taken an instrument that would be at home in an RSL and given it new life – a 1920s harmonium. Said harmonium, which is similar to a reed organ, spent its previous life on tour with the Salvation Army Band and when it crossed Stina’s path, slightly detuned and full of stories, it began to shape her songs. You could say Summers In Mariana is a collaboration between Stina and her harmonium, as both inspire each other.

With a name derived from a Led Zeppelin song, mistakenly you would associate the group with a raw, hard-rocking sound. Instead, Swedish indie-pop five piece Those Dancing Days offer a clean, upbeat second record to further establish their name in Europe and further abroad.

Young WA-based duo Tim Ayres and Jean-Christophe Capotorto burst onto the soundscape in 2009 with their little slice of electro-pop, Come Around, a track that took triple j all of three minutes to grab on to and, in-turn, listeners to gobble up.

THOSE WRETCHED HORSES Sparrow Independent Lead single Sparrow is a great track of dark folk rock as lead singer Clancy Jones’ vocals shine. Atmospheric and to an extent a heavy listen, the impact is clear, haunting and stays with you, eventually calling you back for more listens. The rest of the EP is similarly good, as Blue Rain provides a faster tune before slowing down for Summer Liar, featuring a special harmonica appearance by Timothy Nelson. On a good run, Those Wretched Horses debut EP is a solid release.

BRITISH INDIA March Into The Ocean Shock The vocals in the song start out well but it’s unfortunate after the first two sentences Declan Melia’s voice goes back to the identifiable yet unpleasant tone. Admittedly British India can write some catchy and melodic tunes, and have had their fair share, but March Into The Ocean isn’t their strongest. There are glimpses of hope and fans would appreciate the familiar distorted guitars and backing beat but overall it falls under a category of mediocre and forgettable.

BIRDS OF TOKYO Circles EMI From their self titled third album, Birds Of Tokyo present the fourth single, Circles. Criticised for songs that sound the same, even singer Ian Kenny admitted on the song Head In My Hands off previous album Universes: “I hate my melodies, they’re all the same.” For now though, their success proves otherwise as you can’t help but fall for Kenny’s voice. In this epic building track ending with pristine overlaying vocals there’s little not to like as it is an on-the-ball BoT track, just anticipation that any new material won’t be in the same vein. 32 • THE DRUM MEDIA 14 APRIL 2011

Summers In Mariana

Daydreams & Nightmares

Apparently, each song on the LP was created in a different room in Stina’s house. So, as we journey through the album, we are taking a journey through her home. This allows the story-teller in the listener to have some fun imagining just what sort of place would inspire this sound. Dimmer is the lounge room, with a burgundy velvet couch, lace curtains and shelves of knick-knacks. Summer is the kitchen, with cork flooring, a whistling kettle and a window overlooking the backyard. But I hate to think what Stina’s bathroom is like as Bathroom is the most ferocious song on the album. Sonically, the album is rather dreamy but there are elements mimicking everyday sounds, like glitchy electronics that sound like rain. Plus the ambient noise that makes its way into recordings provides the creepy creaks and taps you hear when you’re home alone. Then the lo-fi hiss on some tracks, like Lune, transports you back in time and suddenly Stina’s house is in black and white, with Gran on the piano and vaudeville performers doing acrobatics about the place. We like this house! SHANNON FOX

Like What

From the very beginning, it is evident the group have consciously made an effort to do more than just pump out jovial pop. Moving away from the sound of their early hits Run Run and Hitten, Daydreams & Nightmares progresses to a more guitar heavy sound driven by a strong rhythm section. Relying less on the role of synth, tracks such as Reaching Forward, Fuckarias and I Know Where You Live Pt.2 offer a holistic band sound.

Now, not even two years later, the bedroom producers have released a debut LP that keeps very much in line with that first single. Overall it’s an assured effort, however it unfortunately lacks any real grunt. To be fair though, tracks like the aforementioned Come Around, plus their other singles Veronika and I Can Show You aren’t written to make you think; they’re designed for good times – and, to that extent, Like What is an unqualified success.

The new release showcases not only maturity in their song writing but also in the way the album has been produced. Unfortunately, with this maturity comes the rejection of what, for this reviewer at least, Those Dancing Days were all about. Keep Me In Your Pocket is the only track where the free spirited quirkiness that defined debut record In Our Space Hero Suits still exists. That slightly raw quality has been replaced with something that has spent too much time in the mastering studio.

The first thing you notice while listening to the album is that, despite their relatively young age, Tim & Jean are very accomplished songwriters; They’ve got catchy synth-pop hooks down pat, to the point where the album feels almost too clean. They barely put a foot wrong through ten tracks of shimmery dance-pop, yet there-in lies the album’s weakness; it’s all rainbows and lollipops for the first half before the shiney synth stabs start to feel very samey, and by number eight, Afrika, it all gets too much.

Daydreams & Nightmares is a well-written, wellstructured album that demonstrates a deliberate step forward for the young Swedish group. Catchy guitar licks and a cohesive band sound ensure this album will succeed. This being said, it is plagued by bland, unmemorable production that will keep this record out of your daydreams.

Perhaps this has all been too harsh – there’s definitely a tonne of fun to be had on Like What, in particular the ‘80s teen movie soundtrack-homage Don’t Stop. It all just makes it even more obvious that this young duo are immensely talented and, once they find their footing, there’s no doubting great things will come from their bedroom to the big stage.

MITCHELL WITHERS

TROY MUTTON

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THE DRUM MEDIA 14 APRIL 2011 • 33

RECORD STORE DAY RECORD STORE DAY IS ON THIS WEEKEND AND DRUM MEDIA WOULD LIKE TO GIVE YOU, THE VINYL FANATIC (OR NEWCOMER), SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT AS YOU FLIP THROUGH THE CLASSICS ONE AT A TIME.

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ecord Store Day: meaningful cultural event? Attempted underground rebellion quickly co-opted by the powers-that-be? Inescapable exemplar of white middle-class guilt? Grand shrine to lazy nostalgia? Futile attempt to stave off the inevitable? Calculated exploitation of indie elitists and collector scum? Or righteous party at that place where everybody knows your name? The answer, you could say, is all of the above. Founded in 2008, Record Store Day almost instantly became a magic elixir for an ailing industry; indie record stores being gifted a radically disproportionate one-day salesspike —a them-specific Black Friday/Boxing Day/etc— as a way of arresting that seemingly-inexorable slide into financial oblivion. Those denizens of the digital age who felt a gnawing, insuppressible guilt at the fact that they’d abandoned the record store for the ease of instantaneous online commerce now had a single, symbolic day to embrace. The idea, of course, is just to get people back in the

store, but in some ways it feels too symbolic, too easy, to just show up that one time; like attending the big protest rally as opposed to living in daily political defiance. Uncorking the language of protest is no coincidence, either: at this point in human hyper-capitalist history, attending an independent retailer is a political act, and buying actual physical musical objects is an ideological one. For many, those ideologies aren’t crystal clear; Record Store Day is an event that threatens to be forever clouded with nostalgia. A time in which people return to their roots, and sentimentalise all those hours they spent (past tense) inside these veritable audio institutions; in which the Good Old Days are just a cliché away, and tired record-store-clerk stereotypes are direly rebroadcast. 2011’s Record Store Day is bigger than ever, its official campaign loaded with big names – Gorillaz, Radiohead, The Flaming Lips; token marketing figurehead

(“ambassador”) Ozzy Osbourne – and its scores of releases shrouded in exclusivity; limited-edition fetishobjects for flippers to re-sell on eBay.

aesthetic package, and it would be forgiving to say that the music should stand apart from the images it’s cloaked in.

But, beneath its tacky celebrity, its desperate gimmickry, and the cold sting of commerce, Record Store Day has one glorious thing on its side: the love of the physical object. The actual thing. The tangible representation of that most glorious, elusive, spiritual, transcendent spell: recorded sound – albums made tangible are albums more meaningful.

But the choice of image is – like the choice of name, title, and lyrics – indicative of the artistic sensibility of its makers. An album cover is a direct insight into the care, devotion, and taste of those who made the album.

It’s not much of a wild statement to posit that listening to Hawkwind’s Space Ritual on an actual stereo whilst unfolding its double-vinyl gatefold – its cosmically cosmic map of the cosmos, no less – is a far different experience than clicking on a Mediafire link and listening through those crappy, crappy iPod earphones. If albums are art objects unto themselves, then that makes record stores veritable art galleries. That pleasant pastime of flipping through the racks is no rank act of desperate consumerism, but a constant influx of artistic input; a breathtaking array of artistic styles and acts of radical/terrible graphic design bombarding your eyeballs. Doing so is, in many ways, going against that long-held truism, and judging a book by its cover. In the case of the LP, judging it by its cover can be an act of insight. Not all bands and/or albums function as the entire

As well as being art galleries – housing works of both amazing and atrocious artistry, alongside each other in the alphabetised ranks – record stores have added cultural heft by being genuine community spaces. A place for tacked-up flyers in search of Drummer Wanted, for glorious stacks of Drum Media piled high, for hearing new/unexpected sounds broadcast loud over speakers, and for engaging in good old-fashioned conversation about records. Want a hearty discussion on the merits of the new Panda Bear record? Don’t go trawling through the Stereogum minions; get out of the house, walk through those into-another-world doors, and engage in the record store as communal place. Witness music in its glorious physical form. See albums as artefacts, not containers of files. And rebel against Record Store Day itself: make this trip more than one token appearance per year. Record Store Day is going down Saturday 16 April, make sure you support the day, and plenty more afterwards!

FOR THE RECORD

DON’T JUST TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT – HERE’S WHY A FEW OF OUR FAVOURITE MUSIC MAKERS WILL BE HEADING TO A RECORD STORE OR THREE THIS SATURDAY.

EN WITT FROM THE CHEMIST

B R

EMY BOCCALATTE FROM HUNGRY KIDS OF HUNGARY

“In cold, dreary weather you can enter a record store. It’s like a lolly shop for all ages, full of colour and adventure. The sound of some swingin’ jazz spun by the white-haired man behind the desk while you scan the panorama of rows of racks of different coloured records – whatever your poison, you’ll find something of it there (if the store’s any good). You pick up whatever you can (or can’t) afford, put your head down and walk back into the cold, dreary weather.”

“Walking into a record store brings feelings of nostalgia and excitement. Albums are a format we all grew up with and not only can certain treasures from our past be rediscovered, but artists are coming to the consensus that just because technology permits many things, it doesn’t replace the beauty of the process of playing, listening to and appreciating vinyl. Music shopping will always be hands-on in a records store, and they are important because of this. Without the fingers flipping through endless rows, eager eyes over shoulders of people next to you who just lost their shit over rare limited releases, making eyes at the attendant because they smile at your choice in purchase, the search for a communal musical experience would be much different. Buy a record, you’ll enjoy it. And if you don’t, what the fuck are you doing feigning interest in music if you don’t want to feel it?”

TEVE PARKIN FROM BASEMENT BIRDS

S

“Well, record stores mean a lot to me. Largely because I work in one (Mills Record Bar in Fremantle) and it pays my rent. Even before it supplied me with my meager income and tolerated my touring habits, I was a regular visitor from the age of about 14. To me, the difference between downloading songs (whether legally or illegally) and visiting a record store is one of convenience vs quality. It separates the music lovers who listen to music from those who just want something playing in the background while they play Angry Birds. The sound of a brand new vinyl through a good set of speakers cannot be replicated. The joy of unwrapping the record, the artwork, reading through the lyrics as you listen… it’s a passion, not just a means to fill empty space. Get into it.”

FAT SHAN’S RECORD STORE 78 RECORDS CHRIS HEALING FROM FAT SHAN’S RECORDS FILLS US IN ON WHAT RECORD STORE DAY MEANS FOR THEM. How long has your store been in business? Around 40 Days. What does your store specialise in? Vinyl, local music and vintage clothes and jewellery with an extra special recording studio…but mainly an atmosphere of music discourse. How is your store celebrating Record Store Day? We are having a bit of a party with local DJs, drinks and food. What are the three most interesting things for sale in your shop at the moment? We’ve just got in an Arctic Monkeys Live At The Apollo Box Set, a limited edition Pink Floyd Money 45rpm single (French Original Pressing 1974) and a Blue Best Of The Beatles Vinyl. And the three best sellers this year? Radiohead – King 34 • THE DRUM MEDIA 14 APRIL 2011

of Limbs, Alex Turner – Submarine and The Strokes – Angles. There have been huge changes to the way people consume music – what is your store doing to stay relevant in the digital age? We’re offering an environment that people can re-connect with the music, not just hit download. There’s a big difference to having 15,000 songs on your itunes and having that one special record that you will listen to over and over again, analyse, pick apart and fall in love repeatedly. It’s a completely different medium and the two shouldn’t be confused, obviously you cant take your turntable and record collection on the train with you, so I’m not saying iPod’s shouldn’t exist, just take the time to listen to a full record and appreciate its concept.Forget waiting for the next big thing and dig into the past as there are heaps of gems out there waiting to be listened to. So wipe the dust off, put the needle on and relax. What are you contact details and hours? fatshanrecords.com and we’re open around 60 hours a week!

DAYVID CLARK FROM 78 RECORDS GIVES US THE LOWDOWN ON WHAT RECORD STORE DAY MEANS FOR THEM.

How long has your store been in business? 40 years (this June) - we’ll be celebrating this with a massive party. What does your store specialise in? Vinyl/imports, a large genre-specific range (jazz, blues, punk, metal etc.) and a large and exclusive $10 range. How is your store celebrating Record Store Day? 15% off all vinyl all day and plenty of in-store specials! We will have some pretty cool items for sale such as re-issued LPs by Nirvana and Sonic Youth, a heap of 7”s, I also have a massive box of free giveaways ranging from Sigur Ros CDs, promos and 7”s. We also have a very special guest in Gurrumul playing live with his band and doing a special ink stamping for his new album, plus Brendan Humphries from Kill Devil Hills will be in, with more to be announced. What are the three most interesting things for

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sale in your shop at the moment? Primal Scream Screamadelica box set with four CDs, two LPs, DVD, shirt, slipmat and more. There’s also Record Day exclusives with Nirvana’s Hormoaning and Sonic Youth’s Whores Moaning LPs. Not to forget staff favourite, Cliff Richards’ Bold As Brass album with a Cliff jigsaw puzzle. And the three best sellers this year? The National High Violet, Radiohead – King Of Limbs and Bird’s Of Tokyo’s self-titled LP. There have been huge changes to the way people consume music – what is your store doing to stay relevant in the digital age? Definitely a lot of lengthy discussions about the quality of compressed downloaded music compared to CDs and vinyl. Vinyl sales are at their highest since 1990 and we’re encouraging this more than ever with people of all ages discovering and rediscovering the original and best format. As far as lazy click of a button consumers buying over the Internet, well you can’t stop that in any industry. There will always be something special about browsing through a record store and discovering something new. Contact Details and hours: We’re at 914 Hay St. in the city. Phone: 9322 6384, record78@iinet.net.au. Open Monday to Saturday 9am-5pm, Sundays 11am-5pm.

CELEBRATE RECORD STORE DAY @

FAT SHAN RECORDS LIVE MUSIC ALL DAY! BRING THIS ADVERT TO

RECEIVE 20% OFF ALL VINYL, VINTAGE CLOTHES AND JEWELLERY

STARTS 10AM the bbasementt : 37 bbarrack street th www.fatshanrecords.com

THE DRUM MEDIA 14 APRIL 2011 • 35

36• THE DRUM MEDIA 14 APRIL 2011

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FEATURE REVIEW

GIG OF THE WEEK :

DEAD LETTER CIRCUS METROPOLIS FREMANTLE 08/04/11

THE CAT EMPIRE

WEST COAST BLUES ’N’ ROOTS @ FREMANTLE PARK

If the guides and stories in the issue so far haven’t got you excited for Blues ‘N’ Roots this coming Sunday 17 April at Fremantle Park, then let’s just go through the full line-up one more time! Rolling around the lush surrounds of Fremantle will be superstar Grace Jones; living legend Bob Dylan; gospel champions The Blind Boys Of Alabama with Aaron Neville; Jamaican act Toots & Maytals; acoustic bandits Rodrigo Y Gabriela; funky good time group The Cat Empire; feel good kings Michael Franti & Spearhead; Rock’n’Roll Hall Of Famer Elvis Costello & The Imposters; pedal steel sensation Robert Randolph & The Family Band; triple j darling Washington; Texan lady of blues Ruthie Foster, recent cover star Gurrumul Yunupingu, the voice Mavis Staples, TV variety show RockWiz live and Breakthrough Blues ‘N’ Roots winner James Teague. So read up on what you need, grab your tickets from westcoastbluesnroots.com.au or Moshtix and get your freaky folk/blues/rock’n’roll/roots on this Sunday.

FRONTLASH

BACKLASH

BOYS ARE BACK

DEFENCE NEEDED

The Beastie Boys return, and in a double celebration for Record Store Day have released Fight For Your Right Revisited – comedy gold with Rogen, McBride, Ferrel, Black, Sarandon and countless other cameos.

SPLENDIFOROUS

It’s not every gig that an impressively sized line has already formed as early as the doors open. However, it seemed this Friday night’s Dead Letter Circus show at Metropolis Fremantle was reason enough to have Perth kids exercising their punctuality. The first band of the evening Wolves did Perth proud in amongst an all over-east lineup. Their alternative indie sound was simply spine tingling live. Letting fans know that they were up for a treat after having seen DLC sound check earlier, they were clearly quite modest of their own talent as you could argue that their ten out of ten locally grown act was a treat in itself. Next up, to build upon the already present excitement, [ME] graced the stage with their fancy shirts and waistcoats ready to impress with some perfected harmonies and killer instrumentals. Reminiscent of Queen with their harmonised vocals, [ME] gave the evening a bit of a twist from the previous sounds of Wolves, yet they were received equally as well by the growing number of heads in the crowd. Without even looking towards the stage, the loud cheer that welcomed Dead Letter Circus really set the atmosphere for what was to be an energetic show. Getting down to business straight away DLC opened their set with what was an obvious fan

favourite The Mile. As almost the entire crowd sang and danced along to the opener, it was safe to say that their set began as they wished it to go on… awesomely. All songs continued to be real favorites, in particular, commercially aired One Step being a notable winner. With their crowd interaction leaving the show slightly lacking in charisma, it was a good job their musical performance was certainly above par. Next In Line ended the night on a high with DLC playing an encore to give fans one last taste before heading back into the studio to record. AIMEE SOMERVILLE

Things are going from bad to worse for the Australian Defence Force. First the sex scandals, now they’ve failed to act on soldiers allegedly involved in a gayhate page on Facebook. Who defends the defence force?

Love him or hate him, Kanye West makes Splendour In The Grass 2011 another not to be missed. Now who do we know playing that could throw us a spare ticket…

FUEL ME UP

THURSDAYS

BUNCH OF TWITTERS

Easter hasn’t even arrived yet and fuel has just topped $1.50/L. At least we won’t have any reason not to walk off all those Easter egg-induced extra kilos. Nevermind the logistics of taking thousands of celebrity’s phones at the door, why would the Logies try and take away the only interesting element of another droll night of backslapping and ‘heartfelt’ thankyous?

What’s not to like?

DRUM MEDIA PRESENTS : CHAOS DIVINE, TANGLED THOUGHTS OF LEAVING, BRUTUS & DESOLATE: APR 15 Rosemount Hotel

Auditorium, UWA THE HOLIDAYS, GOLD FIELDS: APR 28 Amplifier

DISTURBED: APR 20 Burswood Dome

PASSENGER, JACKSON MCLAREN: APR 29 Indi Bar, APR 30 Norfolk Basement

IN THE PINES: ABBE MAY, FALL ELECTRIC, THE SCOTCH OF ST. JAMES, THE SILENT WORLD, SIMONE & GIRLFUNKLE, UMPIRE, WOLVES AT THE DOOR, THE BROW HORN ORCHESTRA, THE DEVIL RIDES OUT, HOOTENANNY, MENTAL POWERS, RED JEZEBEL, SEAMS, TIMOTHY NELSON & THE INFIDELS, ATOLAH, THE GROWL, 6S & 7S, SONS OF RICO, TANGLED THOUGHTS OF LEAVING, USURPER OF MODERN MEDICINE and more: APR 24 Somerville

FAIRBRIDGE FESTIVAL: ANDY IRVINE & RENS VAN DER ZALM, DARK HORSES, CIRCLE OF RHYTHM, FOURPLAY STRING QUARTET, THE GOOD LOVELIES, IAN LOWE, JOSEPH TAWADROS TRIO, KAMERUNGA, THE GO SET, MARTIN PEARSON, MIKE COMPTON, THE NEEDLE & THE DAMAGE DONE, RICCARDO TESI & BANDITALIANA, LOREN, VOLATINSKY TRIO, WARREN FAHEY/ DOWN THE LAWSON TRACK and more: APR 29-MAY 1 Fairbridge Village

GYPSY & THE CAT: MAY 7 Capitol HUGH CORNWELL (STRANGLERS): MAY 8 Charles Hotel KYUSS, FORT: MAY 11 Capitol UNKLE: MAY 11 The Bakery DARWIN DEEZ: MAY 12 The Bakery SAMPOLOGY’S SUPER VISUAL MONSTER MASH: MAY 13 Metropolis Fremantle CHOMPIN’ AT THE BEAT (RTRFM): MAY 14 The Bird BOY & BEAR, JINJA SAFARI, EMMA LOUISE: MAY 19 Capitol WAMI FESTIVAL: MAY 21-28 Various BLUE KING BROWN, DIAFRIX: JUN 2

Metropolis Fremantle TRIAL KENNEDY: JUN 2 Prince Of Wales; JUN 3 Amplifier Bar THE MIDDLE EAST: JUN 8 Fly By Night PEGZ: JUN 10 Prince Of Wales; JUN 11 Civic Hotel ART VS. SCIENCE, STRANGE TALK: JUN 30 Metro City MIAMI HORROR, GOLD FIELDS: JUL 7 Villa + FUNERAL PARTY: AUG 2 Capitol BASTARDFEST: Line-up TBA: SEP 24 Civic Hotel ONGOING: GIGNITION: Upcoming band showcases 5-9pm each Sunday at Swan Basement

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DEAD LETTER CIRCUS PHOTO BY BEAU DAVIS THE DRUM MEDIA 14 APRIL 2011 • 37

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CITY AND COLOUR The Astor Theatre 11/04/11 Such is the “Global” age we live in, fragmented audiences openly accept many styles and combinations of music from established and emerging artists alike, however few artists have been embraced with the absolute fanfare and adulation of Alexisonfire’s Dallas Green under his City And Colour moniker. The anticipation of the night’s headliner immediately transferred to single support act Hey Rosetta! A folky rock band somewhere in between the grandness of Arcade Fire, and the chamber pop of Fanfarlo, the alsoCanadian six-piece sprinkled their set with lashings of mandolin, acoustic guitar, piano, distorted vocals, plenty of backing vocals and harmonies that held the full-house enthralled for the entirety of a brilliant opening set. As City And Colour took to the stage, the mood in the majestic Astor Theatre rose to vehemence, and at that level it maintained for the lengthy but enchanting set those in attendance had been waiting many moons for. Playing the majority of 2008’s Bring Me Your Love, despite the noticeable omission of expected closer Confessions, and several new tracks including newest single Fragile Bird played live for the first time, the humble band lifted the angelic voice of Green into “spiritual” territory. From the first word of opener Forgive Me it was clear that hearing Green’s stunning voice on CD does not do the man justice. As rich, powerful and controlled as one could ever hear, the perfect delivery of The Death Of Me, Body In A Box, Waiting and Comin’ Home were simply an aural treat. The lighthearted banter and entertaining anecdotes of Green encouraged plenty of crowd response on tracks such as Constant Knot, The Girl and Sleeping Sickness, as the lush harmonies executed to perfection capped off an entrancing night, exceeding all lofty expectations. LUKE BUTCHER

LIONEL RICHIE NIB Stadium, Perth 06/04/11 For the second week in a row NIB Stadium welcomed an aging international superstar to Perth. After the cheesy goodness of 70-year-old Neil Diamond last Tuesday it was 61-year-old soul sensation Lionel Richie’s turn to wow the WA masses on the final show of his Australian tour. A clearly humbled Guy Sebastian opened the night, dancing his way through a crowd pleasing set of Australian radio favourites. Recent chart toppers Who’s That Girl and Like It Like That had portions of the audience on their feet from the outset, and his mixture of over the top sentimentality and unashamed pop were a perfect match for the age-defying headliner. With lights flashing across the venue Lionel Richie slid his way onstage to frenzied applause. Dripping with sweat from the opening note yet somehow moving like a man decades younger, Richie tore through a string of hits with a likeable charm, showmanship and well honed between song banter. In a set brimming with ‘80s mainstays in Say You, Say Me, Stuck On You and the much parodied Hello, the cheese factor was on high throughout, balanced out with the pure funk of some choice cuts from the singer’s Commodores days. Brick House was a clear highlight to end the main set, before three encores of his finest solo mainstays finished the night in mass sing-a-longs. An extended Dancing On The Ceiling received the biggest crowd reaction, before the inevitable appearance of All Night Long to close the night brought Sebastian back onstage for an energetic finale. While the former Australian Idol winner more than held his own and continued to impress with his emerging stage presence, it was the irrepressible Lionel Richie who owned the night. KITT DI CAMILLO

FEEDBACK THE GROWL

The Bakery, Northbridge 08/04/11 These guys are pretty much Perth’s version of The Black Keys except they have four members and two of them are percussionists who, in perfect timing, play the same thing on separate drum kits – if you can’t imagine this, it looks and sounds awesome. The Growl put on an excellent performance, where inside The Bakery it felt like it could have been a balmy dance hall in the south during the ‘50s. The place was packed and everyone was moving to the band’s gritty blues-rock. The gig launched The Growl’s new EP Clever Lever, and if their performance was anything to go by you should grab a copy, which was released last Monday through Shock Records. They performed an epic cover of Down In Mexico by The Coasters and ended the gig with an encore that the crowd shouted out for, in which lead singer/guitarist Cameron Avery played some surprise harmonica – a really sweet way to end the show. The Growl is what you would expect to see with a bluesrock band, their sound had the right combination of dirty and clean while all of the members exerted loads of energy, you get the feeling this is just the beginning. OLIVIA GARDNER

THE JOE KINGS

comes a new angle for these talented young musicians; their fast paced indie-folk sound being upgraded to a more layered, refined pop style. The crowd were enjoying themselves, bopping along to their punchy guitar riffs and experimental tempo changes. A drawn out gap between San Cisco and Tim & Jean noticeably dampened the mood of the awaiting audience, but after a few feel-good songs the duo managed to recapture the festive atmosphere and get everyone moving again. A cover mid-set of Fleetwood Mac’s Everywhere was better than Vampire Weekend’s hideously misguided attempt, however the song was significantly weakened by Tim Ayre’s inability to reproduce Christine McVie’s iconic falsetto in the chorus. The crowd weren’t fazed though, and didn’t even blink an eye when they did another cover moments later of Tom Petty’s Free Falling. While the vocals were much stronger this time, it’s a shame to see a promising band with an album under their belts resorting to two covers within a relatively short set. They could only go up from this point and they certainly did, with new track I Can Show You and Veronika putting the audience into a dancing frenzy. The set certainly peaked at the right time and rounding it off with their popular summer anthem Come Around was a strong move. Tim & Jean’s ability to put a smile on everyone’s face and make even the sober people dance is a true testament to their musicianship and their funloving, spirited performance.

THE WORDS

MARNIE ALLEN

ZOE BARRON

Mojo’s, North Fremantle 09/04/11 It was a nostalgic but festive night at Mojo’s on Saturday as Bunbury four-piece The Words played their final show to a warm and receptive crowd. Lead singer Benny Macri kicked off proceedings, taking the stage alone behind his acoustic to play some of the solo work he’ll be focusing more on now that he and his bandmates are going their separate musical ways. Hunting Huxley were up next to notch up the noise levels with their full, complex, instrumentally-focused rock. Playful onstage, the fun they were having transferred easily onto their audience, helping to set up the mood for the rest of the evening. A very vocal, even arrogant Tracksuit provided contrast, engaging the audience directly with their regular between-song banter and bright, catchy numbers. And then, wordlessly, The Words took their stage. They played solidly and unsentimentally, each track held tightly together by a band well-practiced but ready to move forward. Towards the end of the set, Macri started thanking his fans. He assured them that their repeated presence at gigs had not gone unnoticed, and told them how grateful the band was for the support. They played an encore, the last song of their last ever set, replaced their instruments and The Words were no more - a fitting end for the south-west stalwarts.

The Rosemount 08/04/11

The Joe Kings took to the stage last Friday for their single launch and to bid adieu to their local fans before they head east, but first up were multi-dimensional local outfit Seams. Despite an early set time the group delivered an energetic performance with their eclectic brand of indie-pop. From the supercharged violin in Heavy Tikka to the dreamy keys and wah-wah pedal used in The Moon Is Bigger Than It Looks, their versatility shone through the entire performance. The dance floor filled up for the next act, electro-pop duo Voltaire Twins. Complaints of technical difficulties seemed to take its toll on the Twins’ performance, but the atmosphere was too celebratory for minor sound issues to be of consequence. After a selection of sensual and nostalgic disco-pop grooves from the Bastian’s Happy Flight DJs, The Joe Kings stepped up. Despite their imminent departure from the city that helped cultivate their bold, upbeat take on bluesrock, there was an air of celebration and their desire to salute their friends, family and admirers was felt in their performance. Launching the single Leave My Mind Behind, which hit all the right notes with the jam-packed audience, The Joe Kings demonstrated that they were ready to expand their horizons. Strong bass laid the foundations for the raw, soulful vocals and piercing guitar riffs, the instrumentation was taken to a new dimension when saxophone extraordinaire Jack Doepel joined them for a song. The night was definitely a success and fans of The Joe Kings are sure to be in eager anticipation of their return home, perhaps with a few new tricks up their sleeves. MARNIE ALLEN

TIM & JEAN

Amplifier, Perth 09/04/11 Despite the change in weather, the atmosphere at Amplifier on Saturday night was reminiscent of a summer festival. The venue was packed full of fans to see Tim & Jean’s sold-out show as part of a tour to promote their debut album Like What. Voltaire Twins were first up, warming up the crowd with their indieelectro tunes. Championing the popular combination of electro-pop with a tinge of dissonance, The Voltaire Twins are very now but could easily fall under the radar if they fail to add a more distinctive ingredient to their sound. Next up were Freo indie quartet San Cisco, formerly known as King George. With a change in name

INJURED NINJA

MAJOR SKYLAZER Following the release of their incredibly well received debut LP Injured Ninja Vs. Skylazer, and after a series of shows in the US including an appearance at South By Southwest in Austin, Texas, Injured Ninja embarked on a national tour that winds up this Friday 15 April at Mojo’s. They’ll be getting noisy support from French Rockets, Usurper Of Modern Medicine, Frozen Ocean and Weapon Is Sound DJs.

TRAMPOLINE MAN

INDI STEFANETTI

The ever charming garage-rock, rhythm’n’blues mélange Cal Peck & The Tramps fire their Break Out single at the world at Devilles Pad Friday 15 April. Music throughout the night will be supplied by DJs Tyranny, Franco Berry, Razor Jack and Maurice Flavel for a night of heavy, happening sounds and the Pecks’ trademark showmanship and charisma. Doors 5pm, free before 8 and $10 after, with $5 extra for a single.

Playing at The Indi Bar in Scarborough Wednesday 20 April before she embarks on a UK tour, Danni Stefanetti’s musical authenticity is echoed by her live shows. A combination of melodic pop-rock songs with soaring vocals, she is brimming with raw talent. She’s joined by special guest, The Atlas Mountains drummer Rob Jones.

BOOGIE-LOO Bringing all the swing and boogie woogie to his repertoire, Adam Hall teams up with Jessie Gordon and the Sugar Blue Burlesque for a special show capturing the magic of 1950s Las Vegas. Hall promises plenty rockin’ rhythms and swinging jazz. It goes down at Don Russell Performing Arts Centre in Thornlie, Friday 15 April.

GROOVY MOVERS Local purveyors of rock The Accelerators are playing their farewell show after many gigs around town as they head to the USA before an album tour back here later in the year. There will be a prize for Grooviest Moover on the night. Say farewell for now to The Accelerators and grab yourself a t-shirt at Ya Ya’s on Saturday 16 April, $7.

CoopersTV is a dedicated YouTube channel featuring all the great stuff Coopers are into. Things like music, food, grassroots sport and of course, beer. Check out Rock ‘n’ Roll BBQ with comedian Matthew Hardy, The Australian Music Prize (AMP), RocKwiz Road Stories with Brian Nankervis, plus much more. All exclusive to CoopersTV.

38 • THE DRUM MEDIA 14 APRIL 2011

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WAM UPDATE

TR ASH TALK

Tonight

ACRES PRESENTS STREAM EVERY THURSDAY NIGHT Doors 8pm $8/$6

(Ivory tower of) TUSK & FELICITY GROOM CONTEMPORARY MUSIC INDUSTRY NEWS WITH JUSTINE THORNLEY

FR DAY 15 H apr l

WAM AGM All current WAM members are invited to the WAM Annual General Meeting, to be held Monday 2 May from 6:00pm – upstairs at the Brass Monkey Hotel. Refreshments will be served and new memberships can be registered on the night. People interested in Board Nominations should contact CEO Paul Bodlovich (paul@wam.asn.au) by 5.00pm Monday 18 April. Members unable to attend then can download a proxy voting form at wam.asn.au/agm and return it by 5.00pm Friday 29 April.

LIVE -

WAMI FESTIVAL SCREENING WAMi Festival 2011 and Amicko FIlms are celebrating West Australian music videos, with a search for local clips from the last ten years. Selected clips will feature on the Northbridge Piazza screen during WAMi Festival week, 21-28 May. Visit wam.asn.au/wamifestival for details… submissions close tomorrow.

KANYE WEST

MARISA AVELING TRAWLS THROUGH THE TRASHY WORLD OF MUSIC GOSSIP SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO. Amidst rumours that Kanye West is now dating an 18-year-old former Victoria’s Secret model/ Guess spokesperson (what will Ye’s former intern bosses at Fendi have to say about that?! Sniff), it has also been confirmed that the rapper/producer is setting more lofty fashion goals. West is currently designing scarves based on the images he commissioned for last year’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (formerly known as Good Ass Job, a title that Trash Talk prefers). Five designs will be created in collaboration with two designers from the Parisian firm M/M (Mathias Augustyniak and Michael Amzalag), with only 50 being produced of each. Since Ye knows the power of exclusivity, they will only be available to buy at the Colette boutique in Paris and MMParis. com. In even more ridiculous news announced around April 1 (yet sadly was not an April Fools’ joke), Vanilla Ice has been named as the new Captain Hook in a UK pantomime version of Peter Pan. Robert Van Winkle will make his theatre debut as part of the Chatham Central Theatre production, which opens December 9 of this year and runs through until January 2, 2012. The Ice Man has been in the collective consciousness of the UK people for a little while now, having also recently appeared on British reality TV show Dancing On Ice, whose time on the show also included a Flamenco skating duet to Justin Timberlake’s song Like I Love You. Again (and sadly enough for Vanilla Ice), that is not an April Fools’ joke. Something similarly stage-related is word that the Flaming Lips are currently in production to turn their 2002 album Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots into a musical. Wayne Coyne and co. are collaborating with director Des McAnuff, who has experience in turning the rock slightly more camp and high brow as a co-creator of the stage version of The Who’s Tommy. According to the UK’s Guardian, the musical will somehow make use of about 30 Lips songs, “a big chunk” of the band’s discography taken from Yoshimi, as well as 1999’s The Soft Bulletin and 2006’s At War With The Mystics. Seeing as though folks are still talking about the Flaming Lips’ 2004 Big Day Out appearance like they saw the holy ghost, no doubt there are big things in the works for this production, limited only by the size of Coyne’s imagination (and maybe the depth of investor pockets). Now if anyone cares, particularly rubbish/not exciting gossip is that the Klaxons’ James Righton is now dating actress Keira Knightley. Apparently the two met after UK fashionista Alexa Chung played matchmaker just over a month ago. NME grabbed a hold of a so-called “mole”, who is quoted as saying, “He’s [Righton] a real rocker and a lovely guy with it and she [Knightley] likes that whole scene – lately she’s become far more rock and roll and has been hanging out with a really trendy crowd,” which is hilarious for a number of reasons: A) “real rocker” b) “far more rock and roll” c) “really trendy crowd” and d) that all of this comes from a “mole”). Apparently the two are looking forward to “taking it slow”, but who knows what that means in celeb time anyway. And finally, Trash Talk wouldn’t be complete without some Lil Wayne news. He may have his freedom, but his money’s down the shitter. The New Orleans rapper is facing a tax bill of $5.6 million USD, which dates back to 2008. To secure their money, the IRS has imposed a federal tax lien on his Miami mansion, which is worth $13 million. Cue “a milli, a milli” jokes now…

WHAT CAN WAM DO FOR YOU? “Democracy is based upon the conviction that there are extraordinary possibilities in ordinary people.” – Harry Emerson Fosdick. If you’re involved in the music industry in any way shape or form, your membership helps us help you and the local industry grow through events, competitions, workshops and industry advocacy. Visit www.wam. asn.au or call 9227 7962 and join today. EMILY BARKER

SAM OF A GUN

MARSH BENEFIT International and local performers are rallying to support organic farmer Steve Marsh, who has lost his organic certification due to contamination with genetically modified canola. The performers will play a fundraiser at Fly By Night Saturday 16 April. Supporters include Emily Barker (UK), Dilip & The Davs, Jacob (Dream State Circus), The Majik Trolls, Selk Hastings, Lydian’s Tilt, Dom Coyote (UK) and Tribalive. Tickets $30 and go towards Marsh’s legal fees as he accepts he will probably lose his family farm in this battle.

Ahead of the release of his new album Eyes Under A Gun, Sam Carmody will release the single A Boy In The Sea Lanes. The single will be launched at Indi Bar, Scarborough Saturday 16 April with support from Minute 36 and The Deep River Collective. Carmody and band then head south and take in The White Star Hotel in Albany on Saturday 30 April before a string of other regional dates.

SA URDAY 16 H apr l

STOMPIN’

Rockabilly /Rnb Record Hop DJ’s Stompin Stew & Steve 5.00pm - 8.00pm, - FREE ENTRY

THE ACCELERATORS FAREWELL SHOW + DJ ALPHA T

The last chance to see this explosive duo peddling their unique spin of Skunkabilly before they go overseas - 8.00pm - 11.00pm $7

HANDBAG ANTHEMS

w/ The Kings of Cheese playing classic James Brown though the funky seventies, electro eighties & smoove nineties. Let the groovin’ begin… 11pm - 2am (lock out 12pm) - FREE ENTRY

sunday 17 H APR L

NEW YORK JAZZ After a two-month stint in New York, sultry singer and natural jazz pianist Tiaryn Griggs will be performing two sets of original music with her band at The Ellington Jazz Club. She’s bringing back a swag of inspired new tunes and having the whole performance filmed live. If quirky pop/jazz/soul/folk originals sound like your thing, get down Thursday 14 April for $10.

NEVER EVER LAND

wednesday 20 H apr l

Following the response to their debut music video for Hey KT, Sydney-based power poppers The Never Ever have announced their national Hey KT Tour. They’ve had a rapid rise to success, with Internet sales far exceeding expectations, this is the next logical step. They’ll be joined by Melbourne’s Daylight Hours and Sydney’s Wake The Giants when they play Wednesday 20 April at The Rosemount Hotel, and Saturday 23 April at the Cockburn Youth Centre festival (ALL-AGES).

ALTONE ALIVE The 2011 series of free, all-ages Kulcha On Swan concerts comes to a close on Saturday 16 April at the Altone Park Leisure Centre in Beechboro. Gina Williams and her band The Lubbly Sings perform at Altone Comes Alive from 12.45-2.45pm. Gina will make you laugh at her stories, think about her messages, and, just as you let your guard down, blow you away with a divine voice.

HURSDAY 21S apr l

SMRTSY PANTS It’s been six months since their last show, and smRts are back on live circuit and their starting off with a bang. This time they join Melbournians My Disco and Cuba Is Japan, together with locals Zeks and Eternal President at the Bakery on Saturday 16 April. Expect some new smRts’ material, as well as tunes from their current album Sun Sets On A New Tomorrow.

ALI TOWERS

ACE HOOKERS

HIGH TOWER Local troubadour Ali Towers unveils his new DVD release Thursday 14 April at Manhattans with his band The Used Future. Since the launch of the EP, Towers has been busy with supports for Thirsty Merc and solo tours. The DVD features the EP launch and extra clips from the US and UK tour.

Saturday 16 April at The Rocket room get your dose of full throttle, dirty rock’n’roll. Headlining the night are The Chainsaw Hookers with their brand of bloodrock. In tow are Smokin’ Aces with their ferocious bluesy rockers and 12 Inch Shifter start the night in high gear. Stick around afterwards for Kickstart with DJ Brett Rowe.

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SEAMS & SPECIAL GUESTS

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HOT LOCAL GIG SPOTLIGHT

DILI PARTY

FEELING EVELATED

Good-time party band Dilip & The Davs are hitting the stage this weekend. First up they play Norfolk Basement Friday 15 April with Simon Kelly and other special guests in the cosy surrounds of the Basement. The following night they play their most important gig of the month at the Benefit For Organic Farmer Steve Marsh with Emily Barker, Selk Hastings and many others.

Original power rock/poppers The Joy Evelation have been recording with some sumptuous acoustic textures and experimental industrial sounds for five years, and are set to release their debut CD in May. The Joy Evelation play the Orient Hotel in Fremantle on Thursday 14 April and alongside ZZ Top at Perth Motorplex, Easter Saturday 23 April. ZZ Top Live in Concert tickets from Ticketmaster.

WASTED

DALE DREAMING

Everyone’s favourite drunk rockers, The Bob Gordons are bringing their independently recorded EP 12 Months Wasted from their home studio to the stage at Manhattans Saturday 16 April. Be sure to catch them rocking out alongside fellow Perth bands Project Mayhem, Surprise Sex Attack and New Husseins.

Having spent the last four years attending the WAAPA honing his skills both as a composer and guitarist, Dale Boaden is one of Australia’s most promising up-andcoming jazz guitarists. The Dale Boaden Trio will play the Perth Jazz Society at The Charles Hotel Monday 18 April. Tickets are $10 for members, $15 for non-members and $8 for students.

MAKING AN IMPRESSION Making it to number eight on the ARIA Albums Chart with The Great Impression, it seems Sparkadia’s new album is getting the attention it deserves. As triple j’s Feature Album last week, the band’s current release is hot property and tickets to their gig at Capitol 16 April are selling out fast – so don’t miss out.

DISCO JOY Melbourne trio My Disco’s third album Little Joy, was released in October of last year and praised by the Rolling Stone as their ‘finest yet’. During their first and only Australian tour for 2011, the group launches a deluxe double LP version of the abum, complete with fold out poster, etched vinyl and a free MP3 download. Special guests Cuba Is Japan and Zeks, smRts and Eternal President will be supporting them at the Bakery, Saturday 16 April.

GUITAR HERO Every Thursday sees one of Perth’s biggest open mic nights at the Indi Bar. Each week since the start of 2011 everyone that has performed has gone into the draw to win one of three donated Cole Clark Fat Lady 2 guitars, with the first draw being held next Thursday 21 April. So if you are itching to get on stage, get down to the Indi Bar on Thursday nights.

KILLER ELEPHANTS Gearing up for their debut EP Elephant In The Room, Serial Killer Smile will play Saturday 16 April at Mojo’s Bar in Fremantle. The band blend punchy, progressive and alternative rock with lyrical exploration into what parts of a man’s mind lead him to commit heinous acts. Intense stuff! Support will come from Copious, Gombo and Over Unity. Entry is $10 from 8pm.

HAVE YOU HE ARD

CHRIS DUKE & THE ROYALS

CHRIS DUKE & THE ROYALS From: Ceeds. Next gigs: Thursday 14 April, Rosemount Hotel, North Perth; Friday 15, Rocket Room, Northbridge; Saturday 16, Stirling Club, Albany; Sunday 17 April, Swan Basement, North Fremantle (2pm). Your sound: We are a punk band that doesn’t play punk, mixed with a ska band that doesn’t play ska. We like to call it party punk. Band’s name comes from? Chris Duke is a fictional character that we created by putting a whole bunch of scrabble letters into a salad bowl and fishing them out like keys at a massive orgy. Around since: Recording/touring since 2005. Band’s greatest strength? We are all best mates and brothers (literally) so we enjoy hanging out together and partying together which translates into our music and stage shows, which are typically just fun-filled times. Band’s worst gig ever and why? We once played at our second Cruelty Free Festival in Sydney the morning after doing the Ska Weekender with Area 7. We hadn’t slept and arrived just in time and didn’t sound very good at all – still had a good time though. Band’s best gig ever and why? Pretty hard to go past our CD launch the other night. We had 360 people singing along to every word from The Lion King soundtrack, it was really special. Best achievement? I think the fact that there are now people who come to our shows that we haven’t pestered to attend or even met is a real achievement and something we are all truly grateful for.

TIARYN GRIGGS

TIARYN GRIGGS – LIVE FILMING @ THE ELLINGTON

Fave Perth bands? The Decline, The F.A.I.M Project, Chilling Winston, From Deep Within – and Jebediah, of course.

Who’s playing your event and who should punters be most excited about seeing? Tiaryn with her band – Simon Jeans (guitar), Karl Florrison (bass) and Jacob Evans (drums).

Fave bands from your state? Ebolagoldfish, Running Bear With Eagle Eye, Batfoot Biggest bands you’ve supported? Streetlight Manifesto (USA), Bedouin Soundclash (CAN), Guttermouth (USA).

What does your gig offer that others don’t? Delicious tapas and fine wine plus the audience get to be apart of this special live video recording.

Our ultimate groupie would be… someone that will pack, and then drive the van home and have already organised a case of beer to drink.

What made you pick this venue? It’s such a beautiful intimate venue and the sound system is amazing. What’s next for your band/promo company? We are workshopping some new tunes and hoping to record sometime in the next few months.

Fame for your band would mean… getting paid. CHAOS DIVINE

DIVINE INTERVENTION WHEN & WHERE: Thursday 14 April, Ellington Jazz Club, Perth

40 • THE DRUM MEDIA 14 APRIL 2011

Head down to the Rosemount Hotel Friday 15 April to help Chaos Divine launch their new album The Human Connection, out now through Firestarter. Joining them will be the mighty Tangled Thoughts Of Leaving, Brutus and Desolate. Doors open 8pm with tickets and CDs available at the door. The Divine few also have a brand new line of merchandise that will be on sale as well, including copies of the album.

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Any releases out? Our brand new release is called Music & Maniacs, plus Mega Awesome Kapow from a couple of years ago. You can grab both from itunes. More info: MySpace, Facebook and chopdogpromo.com.

LIVE

14 - 20 APRIL 2011 live@drumperth.com.au

THE YOUNG ONES

FUNK OUTLAWS

GRACEFUL PIRATES

Known for their stylistic blend and variety of rhythms and influences, The Funkalleros bring their intense jazz-funk-pop to Kulcha Saturday 16 April. Ranging from Pixies-esque rock to avant-garde jazz, Croatian folklore to The Clash and from Miles Davis to Funkadelic, The Funkalleros have established a strong following with their eclectic Latin sounds. 8pm, tickets $15, $12 presale and $10 for members.

Two of our nations up-and-coming acts, Perth chanteuse Grace Woodroofe and Sydney lads WIM are set to go arm in arm around the country in April. The somewhat contradictory mix of Woodroofe’s hauntingly beautiful voice and the ragtag pirate-rock of WIM will be supported by London-born/Sydney-residing Emma Davis. They play on Saturday 16 April at The Bird in Northbridge and Sunday 17 April at the Newport Hotel in Fremantle. Tickets available from Moshtix.

MANDALAY VICTORY

HAVE YOU HE ARD

BURN DOWN HOLLYWOOD

BURN DOWN HOLLYWOOD ALL AGES AND YOUTH NEWS WITH SCARLETT STEVENS

FROM: Brisbane Next gigs: Wednesday 20 April, Prince Of Wales, Bunbury; Thursday 21 April, Black Betty’s, Northbridge; Clandestine Festival – Saturday 23 April, Cockburn Youth Centre (early), Ya Ya’s, Northbridge (late)

In the wake of National Youth Week and in preparation for the school holidays, there are a tonne of exciting all ages gigs and tours to be announced. The City of Cockburn like to party and are hosting an all ages, double-stage festival to officially celebrate the successes of their newly established Youth Centre. Clandestine 2011 will bring together a massive line-up of local talents and national acts for what’s sure to be huge day of music. The first stage will feature Melbourne boppers Four Our Hero along with Atlantis Awaits, Colour The Sky, Fall From Glory, Still Water Claims, The Main Attraction, The Never Ever and Wake The Giant. The second stage will headlined by metal rockers Mandalay Victory and will also see performances from Burn Down Hollywood, The Dead Electric, Stand For The Fallen, The Dream The Chase, The Milkshake Strategy, The Scene & Herd as well as We Can Breathe In Space. Don’t miss out on this enormous line-up happening Saturday 23 April and be sure to follow the array of all ages activities and being held at the Cockburn Youth Centre throughout the holidays.

Your sound: A combination of hard rock riffs, hardcore breakdowns and clean vocals and screams to get everyone jumping.

HQ in Leederville will be hosting Acoustic Nights throughout 2011, with its first instalment happening this Friday 15 April from 6pm. Japanese Tongue Sisters are a Perth duo whose dreamy pop music and beautifully crafted lyrics will no doubt win over plenty of musical taste buds. The Main Attraction, Mr. Chance, Hold Fast Hope and Sparky Sparky Boom Man are supporting from 6pm.

Best achievement? Having the chance to support so many high profile bands in such a short time.

Hard tech and hardstyle fans won’t want to miss out on Prevalance, a new dance party happening at HQ Leederville on Saturday 7 May. Sets from Splinta, Jason V and Kazmet are sure to get young ones moving on a Saturday afternoon. Doors open 1.30 pm.

Fave Perth bands? The MDC, Fallfromglory, The Milkshake Stratergy.

Band’s name comes from? The name comes from a combination of catchy lyrics from some of our favourite bands Around since: January 2010 Band’s greatest strength? The ability to entertain a wide variety of demographics. Band’s best gig ever and why? The two shows we played at the Hi Fi Brisbane supporting Enter Shikari were by far the best gigs we have played to date. The crowd response was amazing and we were able to draw a lot of inspiration from the guys from Enter Shikari and to finish it off our management team had organised an after party for all three bands at Brisbane’s premier strip club Love And Rockets.

Any gig in history which would it be and why? I would have to say any of the early Hardrock Festivals in Europe, to just be in a crowd of 250,000 people would be a great experience. Fave hangover cure? Another drink.

Fave bands from your state? The Amity Affliction, The Driving Conditions, Torn Asunder. Biggest bands you’ve supported? Enter Shikari, Fozzy.

Boogie on down at HQ next Saturday 23 April and Friday 27 April to be part of the Break Dance Workshops happening from 11am to 12:30 pm. The Fremantle Street Arts Festival each year attracts an array of eccentric and unique performers from around the world. This year’s festival will see the streets brought to life with cabaret, street tricks, puppetry and comedy. The free entertainment runs for four days over the Easter break, Saturday 23 to Tuesday 27 April. If you have any all ages news, gigs or events you would like mentioned in The Young Ones then please email me at scarlett.theyoungones@gmail. com so I can give them some sweet coverage.

Our ultimate groupie would be… any hot chick who pays her own way and is a team player, If you know what I mean?

JUNIOR BOWLS

Fame for your band would mean… we could all stop working at McDonalds. Actually none of us work at McDonalds but if we did?

JUNIOR SENIOR Local blues-folk artist Junior Bowles will be releasing his debut vinyl LP at Fly By Night Friday 15 April. He draws inspiration from a time before even his parents were born, and features vintage instruments and captured on antique reel to reel. Support from Seven Weapons, Blake Seymour and local Freo artists who helped create the album.

Any members play in other bands? Stevie Rebel is also in A Scarlet Obsession.

RADIO AMERICA

Any releases on their way? Our debut full-length album in October/November this year.

Winding up the Perth International Arts Festival film season, ECU radio station Twin Cities 89.7 FM will put on a special screening of the seminal George Lucas film American Graffiti, complete with reconstructed ‘60s atmosphere. Everyone is invited to come down and have a dance to the film’s iconic soundtrack, check out the collection of vintage cars, or maybe just have a beer at the uni tav. Tickets are $10, with all proceeds going to assist the radio station. It all goes down on Monday 18 April from 7.30 to 9.30pm at ECU Joondalup.

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Any releases out? Our self-titled EP.

More info: facebook.com/ burndownhollywoodband, myspace.com/ burndownhollywoodband.

THE DRUM MEDIA 14 APRIL 2011 • 41

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BELLS & JEWELS

The WA Museum will try its hardest to bring down its own ceiling this month with an exhibition dedicated to Australia’s most well-known rockers. The AC/DC: Australia’s Family Jewels exhibition will detail the internationally renowned band’s long and controversial history. The exhibition runs from Saturday 16 April to Sunday 7 August with free entry, so dust off your old school uniform and head down.

JUK EBOX GEMS

HAVE YOU HE ARD

EMMA DAVIS

EMMA DAVIS Next gigs: Saturday 16 April, The Bird, Northbridge & Sunday 17 April, Newport Hotel, Fremantle – very first WA gigs! Your sound: Hopeful and melancholy with a hint of cheek. Would that fit in a nutshell? What instruments do you play? I’ve been playing the guitar since I was little. I then have these wild love affairs with new instruments where I spend enough time with them to write a song, and then dump them as soon as I get so attached that I start understanding the way they work.

BON JOVI

You Give Love A Bad Name Bon Jovi were a bit of an anomaly during the ‘80s hard rock explosion. Of New Jersey background, they were one of the few bands of the era not born and bred on the Sunset Strip. Not only that, but while those of East Coast lineage extolled the hedonistic virtues of girls and good times almost exclusively, Jon Bongiovi seemed more content to concern himself with the love and life struggles of small-town American battlers. Hence, the stirring social criticism of songs such as Livin’ On A Prayer meant that Bon Jovi had far greater commercial and cross-generational appeal than the hypersexual, aggressive approach of bands such as MĂśtley CrĂźe. You Give Love A Bad Name was the band’s first number one hit, and it quickly established them as godfathers of arena rock. You can do your own rendition of this song and more at Devilles Pad each Thursday at Jon Madd’s Rock’N’Roll Karaoke.

follow your noise

I EXIST

EXISTENTIALISM

Acts that have inspired your sound the most? I think there are lots of acts that have inspired me to write music but not necessarily the sound itself. Things like Tracy Chapman, Simon & Garfunkel, Buddy Holly, The Beatles‌ At the moment, I’m rather enjoying Fanfarlo’s record Reservoir.

With the Bad Romance tour featuring I Exist and Phantoms hitting the east coast throughout February, WA crowds may have thought they would miss out. But fear not, I Exist return to the west preceding the release of a recently recorded album. The tour kicks off at The Civic Den on Friday 15 April and heads down to Bunbury’s Prince Of Wales on Saturday 16 before concluding at YMCA HQ on Sunday 17 for an all ages show.

Your worst gig ever and why? It was a protest in Hyde Park. I won’t mention which one as it was a great cause and I don’t want to appear negative about it but the organisers thought music would be a nice way to break up the talks. Playing in-between such relevant and passionate talks made my little songs about missing people and awkward moments, feel very inconsequential.

Resident blues maestro Skip Coble is off to the east coast and we may never seem him again. As a last hurrah in Perth, Skip and his band The Champagne Collective, along with special guests The Dynamates, Hoot & Howl and Michael Savage (of The Espeys), will be taking to the Swan Lounge Sunday 17 April from 6 til 10pm. Entry is $5 on the door. Come down and show some good ole fashioned Perth love for Skip.

Your best gig ever and why? Probably the first time that I played Peat’s Ridge Festival, a few years back. My set was at 10 in the morning and I wasn’t expecting a great deal. When we got to the stage (with an almighty hangover) the tent was completely packed because the morning heat had forced everyone out of their tents and no other stage was open. Best achievement? Finishing my first record. To be honest I was starting to think it would never happen.

WHAT’S THAT SKIP?

BRAZIL JAZZ After the success of her latest performances at the sunset@subi Concert Series and The Fremantle Festival, Juliana Areias brings her authentic Brazilian voice, groove and charisma to the Ellington Jazz Club Stage for the first time. It will be a stunning night of classic and contemporary bossa, samba, fusions, originals and improvisations featuring some of Perth’s most versatile musicians Wednesday 20 April.

DOWN WITH THE TIGER Fremantle’s One Tiger Down are a four piece with some serious roots. Their live sets always leave the audience wanting more, seamlessly blending folk, pop and jazz. With self-funded releases, various festival appearances and numerous successful regional and interstate tours under their belt, this home-grown band is one tiger you won’t want to miss. See them at the Blues & Roots opening party at Clancy’s Fish Pub in Freo on Friday 15 April and at the Moon CafÊ in Northbridge on Sunday 17.

BUNBURY, I’M HOME After developing a tight following in Perth, The Fags hit the Prince of Wales in Bunbury Thursday 14 April with special guests Silver Lizard and Loose Lips. It’s a homecoming for band members Doug May and Louis Miles, who started their first band in Bunbury at the tender age of 12. They’ll follow with a gig at Norfolk Basement on Saturday 16 April with Taco Leg and The Yokohomos, as well as sets from DJ Beryl and GeorgiaWD.

Any show in history which would it be and why? The first show that I ever went to. I would then use the power of my time traveling mind to replace Hanson with a far more respectful band so that I’m not so frowned upon when answering the ‘What was your first ever gig?’ question. Not really, I think Hanson were great. Fave hangover cure? Sadly I haven’t found one yet. Fave acts playing at the moment in your home state? Holly Throsby, The Jezabels, Guineafowl, Leroy Lee and The Rescue Ships. Your day job? At the moment, drinking coffee and playing the banjo. At night time I make cocktails in a bar at the end of my street. Your ultimate groupie would be‌ any kind of groupie would be pretty snazzy.

WZLWWHU FRP OLIHLVQRLVH IDFHERRN FRP OLIHLVQRLVH

Fame for you would be‌ selling out a show in another country,

ZZZ OLIHLVQRLVH FRP

Do you perform in other formats or acts? No but I’d like to I think. Like some kind of dubstep or electronic outfit perhaps. Any releases out? Yes my debut self-titled record is out on iTunes or through my MySpace. Any releases on their way? A new EP soon. More info: myspace.com/emmadavismusic.

THE SENSITIVE DRUNKS

TOUCHY FEELY Fresh from an interview and live performance on RTR’s Breakfast With Barr program on Tuesday, The Sensitive Drunks will be dragging themselves away from the bar once again to take the stage at The Velvet Lounge on Friday 15 April for the launch of their first single There She Goes. They’ll be joined on the night by Tracey Read, Mayor Dardi, Ghostdrums and MC Byron Bard. Entry $10 at the door and an extra $5 gets you a copy of the single.

Are you a song writer thinking about recording a CD? Spend a Weekend in beautiful Denmark working with Nick Huggins ‒ one of Melbourne s young cutting edge producers Phone Susan Clarke on 9892 3222 for more information

Enrolments close 5 May, 2011

FREECALL1800 675 781

www.gsinstitute.wa.edu.au

42 • THE DRUM MEDIA 14 APRIL 2011

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RMA 0615

THE DRUM MEDIA 14 APRIL 2011 • 43

Program Highlights SATURDAY 21 MAY WAMi FESTIVAL OPENING PARTY

SUNDAY 22 MAY PRODUCER’S PANEL, PPCA INFORMATION SESSION, HOME RECORDING & PRE-PRODUCTION WORKSHOP, MIXDOWN TECHNIQUES WORKSHOP, AND ISRC SESSION

The Bakery, 8PM Presented by Barbagallo Korando

Presented by Fremantle Records

To celebrate the opening of the 2011 WAMi Festival, WAM is presenting a menagerie of West Australian talent including Canyons who shot to stardom with their track My Rescue, WAMi Awards favorite Abbe May, psychedelic wonders Usurper of Modern Medicine, the wonderfully ethereal Rabbit Island, Song of The Year Winner Georgi Kay and party boys Bastian’s Happy Flight. To celebrate the Barbagallo Korando’s “killer looks”, make sure you dress to kill! Tickets $15

10AM - 5PM Fremantle Recording Studios, O’Connor Speakers Dave Parkin, Rob Grant, Sam Ford, Lynne Small, Noah Shilkin, Jesse Stack, Andy Lawson, Brian Mitra $20 Non Members / Free WAM Members and Season Pass Holders

SUNDAY 22 MAY SUNDAY LIVE 12PM - 6PM Celebrating the diversity of West Australia’s musical talent with performances in Forrest Chase, Perth Cultural Centre and the Northbridge Piazza. COUNTRY MUSIC SHOWCASE 3PM Presented by Boyup Brook Country Music Club

Come and join us at the Mustang Bar for a showcase of country tunes, including performances from Peter Busher & the Lone Rangers and some of the 2011 WA Country Music Award winners. FREE FILM SCREENING 7PM Presented by Amicko Films

A presentation of WA music captured on film. Local filmmakers will introduce three music documentaries including The Hydey, a look at the much loved Hyde Park hotel; see a snippet from upcoming feature film by Kenta McGrath which follows The Decibels on their recent WA tour; and see how live music meets visual art in Karaoke Satan. We will also bring prominence to the often forgotten art of the music video clip, by featuring outstanding video clips from the last 12 months including film for Abbe May, Tomas Ford and Rabbit Island.

Live Showcases at the Bakery

MONDAY 23 MAY, 8PM FAIRBRIDGE FESTIVAL WAMi FESTIVAL SHOWCASE A night of top-flight world and folk-roots music from Fairbridge Festival artists. Now in it’s 20th year Fairbridge Festival is WA’s premier world and folk music event, with around 100 acts from around the globe performing each year. This evening brings together four favourite local acts, each with a very different and individual style. $15 non members / $10 WAM Members

PPCA INFORMATION SESSION 4PM - 5.30PM The Bakery Speaker Lynne Small Free Session WA MUSIC MANAGERS SUMMIT 2PM - 3.30PM The Bakery Speakers Jodie Regan, Catherine Haridy, Phil Stevens $5 Non Members / Free WAM Members/Season Pass Holders SELL YOUR MUSIC IN CHINA: 88TC88 LAUNCH 6PM – 7PM The Bakery Speaker Robert Singerman (USA) $5 Non Members / Free WAM Members/Season Pass Holders MONDAY 23 MAY SONGWRITER SPEAKS Presented by APRA

6PM - 7.30PM The Bakery Speaker Michael Szumowski $5 Non Members / Free WAM, APRA Members & Season Pass Holders TUESDAY 24 MAY INTERNATIONAL TOURING PANEL Presented by Soundworks Touring

6PM - 7.30PM The Bakery Speakers Brad Wesson, Glenn Dyson $5 Non Members / Free WAM Members & Season Pass Holders WEDNESDAY 25 MAY MUSIC BUSINESS 101 Presented by APRA, MEAA and North Street Music

6PM - 7.30PM The Bakery Speaker Bourby Webster $5 Non Members / Free WAM, APRA, MEAA Members & Season Pass Holders THURSDAY 26 MAY MUSICIANS IN THE BLACK Presented by the Arts Law Centre of Australia

TUESDAY 24 MAY, 8PM SOUNDWORKS WAMi FESTIVAL SHOWCASE Love it or hate it, the heavy music scene in WA has been a thriving melting pot of great talent since the 80’s. With the loyalty of the local metal community being second to none, the support and comradery today is as strong as ever. The WAMi showcase will show the current diversity and calibre of local original metal. $15 non members / $10 WAM Members includes admission to the Touring Workshop

9PM - 12PM Abmusic, 295 Manning Road, Waterford Speaker Delwyn J Everard Free Session

WEDNESDAY 25 MAY, 8PM JAZZWA WAMi FESTIVAL SHOWCASE JAZZWA, presents The JAZZAZIZ Volume 6 CD Launch on Wednesday May 25 at The Bakery. This combined JAZZWA/WAMi showcase event promises an evening of top quality original contemporary jazz music traversing bebop, fusion, ambient, middle-eastern, big band, electronic and modern jazz. $30 non members / $20 WAM Members

Presented by Perfect Pitch Publishing

THURSDAY 26 MAY, 8PM PERTH BLUES CLUB WAMi FESTIVAL SHOWCASE The Perth Blues Club is set to take its WAMi showcase audience on a diverse journey through the blues, with some of WA’s best known and respected blues musicians. The Music Industry Reunion Club Night will also be a feature of the evening, as well as the announcement of the inductee to the WAM Hall of Fame. $15 non members / $10 WAM Members FRIDAY 27 MAY, 8PM THE FUNK CLUB WAMi FESTIVAL SHOWCASE For the first time ever in Western Australia, Think Twice presents the great KURTIS BLOW, one of the founders of hip hop and the first rap artist ever to have a gold record with his smash hit “The Breaks” which not only inspired hip hop artists but also Bboys (Breakdancers) around the world. Western Australia has Australia’s current Bboy champion and champion crew making it the centre of breakdance in Australia! $25 non members / $20 WAM Members

WAMi Festival Workshops Presented by the Phonographic Performance Company of Australia (PPCA)

WAM once again brings learning and networking events to the WAMi’s. WAMi Festival Workshops begin 22 May covering topics such as production, licensing, management, songwriting, touring and more, culminating with the popular Industry Speed Dating sessions, Licensing and Festival Pitch Panels. For further info and to register go to www.wam.asn.au/workshops.

44• THE DRUM MEDIA 14 APRIL 2011

BUILDING THE DREAM TEAM Presented by the Central Institute of Technology

2PM - 4PM Central Institute of Technology, Leederville Panelists Clive Hodson, Michael Szumowski, Jodie Regan Free Session LICENSING & SYNCHRONISATION MASTERCLASS 6PM - 7.30PM The Bakery Speaker Clive Hodson (Perfect Pitch Publishing) $5 Non Members / Free WAM Members & Season Pass Holders FRIDAY 27 MAY REGIONAL ROUNDTABLE Presented by Country Arts WA

10:30AM - 4:30PM The Bakery By invitation only REGIONAL PANEL – THE KIMBERLEY Presented by Goolarri Media

6PM - 7PM The Bakery $5 Non Members / Free WAM Members & Season Pass Holders HIP HOP WORKSHOP WITH KURTIS BLOW (RUN DMC) 7PM - 8PM The Bakery $15 Non Members / $10 WAM Members SATURDAY 28 MAY LIVE LICENSING PITCH PANEL 10AM - 12PM The Bakery Speakers Clive Hodson (Perfect Pitch Publishing), Michael Szumowski (Alberts), Craig Buchanan (The Brand Agency) $10 Non Members / Free WAM Members & Season Pass Holders (includes all Saturday sessions) LIVE FESTIVAL PITCH PANEL 1PM - 4.30PM The Bakery Speakers Anita Nedeljkovic (Falls Festival, Southbound, GTM), Danny Loong (Timbre Rock & Roots, Singapore), Phoebe Corke (Fairbridge Festival) SPEED DATING WITH INDUSTRY VISITORS 11AM - 4.30PM The Bakery

MONDAY 23 MAY – FRIDAY 27 MAY ‘THE COMMUNITY’ BEAT CANTEEN 12PM - 1.30PM Northbridge Piazza ‘The Community’ presents a series of lunchtime performances in the Northbridge Piazza, delivering the best in up and coming future beat, DIY bedroom production of global proportions and conscious metaphorical lyricism from this local mind expanding collective. The series will include live electronic performances, emcee sets and collaborative jams from Diger Rokwell, Mathas, Boost Hero Man and Maxy Bills, The Empty Cup and other Community comrades. THE BIRD SUNDOWNER SERIES Presented by Whotune

5PM - 6PM The Bird Fancy a bevvie and some tunes after work, head to The Bird every weekday of the festival to catch some fantastic local acts strum their stuff. Free Event THE ACOUSTIC SESSIONS Presented by Central Institute of Technology Music Industry Training

12PM - 2PM Murray and Hay St Malls Take a stroll around Murray and Hay Street Malls to see some of Perth’s top musos in acoustic solo, duo mode and trio, perfect entertainment for your lunch break. Free Event SATURDAY 28 MAY NORTHBRIDGE SATURDAY SPECTACULAR 12AM - 2PM The Saturday Spectacular is the pinnacle of the WAMi Festival week, with 6 indoor and 2 outdoor venues and over 40 acts from all genres of music this is the not to be missed event of the week. Special Awards will be presented throughout Saturday Spectacular. Free Event THE 2011 WAMi AWARDS 8PM The Bakery West Australian music industry’s night of nights is here again, this annual event honours all the fantastic achievements from the last year by artist and industry alike. Tickets $50 CLOSING PARTY Supported by triple j

10.30PM The Bakery To celebrate the end of the 2011 WAMi Festival, we are throwing a party. Come watch the hottest acts from last year, including indie pop powerhouse Split Seconds, youngsters San Cisco, and rockers Sons of Rico, plus get your dancing shoes on for the Cut & Paste DJ’s. Tickets $15 REGIONAL TOUR IN 2011 The WAMi Festival regional tours travel through the Wheatbelt region, with 12 shows spanning through eight centres thanks to the LOUDER touring program at Country Arts WA. It’s going to be cosy in the tour vans with The Panda Band, Split Seconds, Ruby Boots and Minute 36 jumping on board to play a range of school, licensed and community events with a raft of Wheatbelt locals. The 2011 WAMi Festival tour will clock up some 2000 km’s visiting Northam, Merredin, Narrogin, Quindanning, Lancelin, Jurien Bay, Dalwallinu and Wongan Hills. KISS MY WAMi CD/DVD COMPILATION Kiss My WAMi 2011 features 59 tracks and 20 music clips from emerging and established artists from a range of genres prevalent in Western Australia including indie, rock, hip hop, pop, punk, electro, jazz and country. The compilation reflects the diversity of local original contemporary music in WA. KISS MY CAMERA 21 MAY – 7 AUGUST The Old Goal Gallery, WA Museum Don’t miss your chance to see the funnier, intimate and wilder moments of the past few years in WA music at Kiss My Camera 2011 exhibition. Brought to you by the WAMi Festival and the WA Museum, Kiss My Camera gives emerging and professional WA photographers a chance exhibit their favourite music snaps to thousands of museum goers and win prizes for their work. Check out some of the amazing photograph’s on show at Kiss My Camera 2011. Entry is free WAMi WEEK Coming soon to the WAM website will be a program of events featured in venues around Perth, Fremantle and beyond for the week of the WAMi Festival.

THE DRUM MEDIA 14 APRIL 2011 • 45

14 APRIL

2011 YOUR STYLE? Tech House, techno and progressive. WHAT DID YOU HAVE FOR BREAKY TODAY? Just Right – tropical. WHAT EQUIPMENT DO YOU USE? Pioneer CDJs, DJM 800 mixer, Sennheiser HD-25 Headphones, M-Audio UC-33E. YOUR FIRST OFFICIAL DJ SET? Supporting Lutzenkirchen at Bar Open (the prize for winning the Habitat DJ comp). Looking back on it, it was the worst warm up set one could do. I was inexperienced and got a little carried away. BEST DJ IN PERTH? There are so many talented DJs in Perth but it would either be Marty McFly or James A for me. Every time I have watched them play it is impossible not to dance. They are classy and brilliant at reading the dance floor. WHAT DO YOU DO IN REAL LIFE? I’m an accountant for Woollett Partners. WHAT SCHOOL DID YOU GO TO AND WHO’S THE MOST FAMOUS PERSON TO COME OUT IT? I went to Prendiville, and I think the most famous person would be Michael

Hussey from the Australian cricket team. IF YOU COULD PICK ANYONE IN THE WORLD TO BE YOUR BESTIE, WHO’D IT BE? Samara. THE BEST TRACK THAT NEVER FAILS ON THE DANCEFLOOR? Alan Fitzpatrick & Tom Budden Someone Wrecked My Car (Stallos Remix) – It’s probably my most played song over the last two and a half years. Goes well in any part of a set. MUSICAL INSPIRATIONS? Henry Saiz: he is a brilliant musician who has developed his own sound in the electronic world. His music is beautiful yet dark, he takes it to another level. DJ wise, it’s James Zabiela. He is a freak, I will never get tired of watching him. He is a true innovator. WHAT DO YOUR FOLKS THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU DO? My parents are quite proud, they don’t totally understand but I show them photos and let them hear mixes and from that they get kind of excited and have loved the journey. They’ve encouraged me a lot along the way as well which is always nice.

PHOTO BY BRAD SERLS FAVE SET YOU’VE EVER PLAYED? Stereosonic ‘09, right after Laurent Garnier. One of the highlights of my life, playing to a packed tent with everyone going crazy was amazing. Laurent stayed to watch my whole set and came out to give me a hug while I played. I will never forget that moment. WHAT CREWS/NIGHTS DO YOU BELONG TO/PUT ON? I’m all over the shop really, but you will regularly find me playing for Lucid Dreaming, Habitat and Boomtick. ANY RELEASES OUT, OR IN THE PIPELINE? This is high on my priorities list, I would love to produce my own tracks and to play them out. Finding the time is my biggest issue at the moment. It will happen, just a matter of when. BEST PLACE IN PERTH TO: A) ROCK OUT: Lucid Dreaming B) CHILL OUT: Lucid Dreaming C) PASS OUT: Home D) PICK UP AND GET OUT: Wherever Richard Lee is. GIGS YOU HAVE COMING UP? Creamfields – Saturday 23 April, Claremont Showgrounds; Tango – Friday 29 April, Ambar, Perth; Friday 13 May, Geisha, Perth

FLOORED DMZ BY ANGELA KING

SUPAFEST @ ARENA JOONDALUP 10/04/11 Sporting an epic line up, everyone from kids in prams to the more experienced of urban music fans came out to Supafest despite the confused weather. R’n’B DJs entertained the early comers until Keri Hilson came onstage for her short two song set making simultaneous singing and dancing look easy during Knock You Down. Initially there seemed to be a lot of love for foul-mouthed rapper Fat Joe. But unfortunately Lean Back was his only crowd pleaser, bringing little more to the concert than a new meaning to low-rise jeans. Taio Cruz was easier on the ears, with his charming English accent gaining the drink-seeking audience’s attention. Opening with Break Your Heart impressed but slowing down with a love song was really not suited for the buzzing crowd. Luckily Higher and Dynamite finished his set on a more memorable note. With a ripped, tatt covered torso it’s safe to say that Bow Wow is no longer little but he’s probably still not as big as his lengthy, egotistical intro video suggested. His tribute to B.I.G and Tupac was short and sweet but a nice break from his cocky performances. Stage humping and matrix moves are what we’ve come to expect from Ciara. Surprisingly, this time she actually impressed with vocals in Lose Control whilst 1, 2 Step encouraged break dancing amongst the hyped crowd. Game opened his set by downing a dubious bottle of Vodka, loosening himself up rather than the audience. Luckily DJ Benny D and DJ Nino Brown kept the vibe going between acts with Rihanna’s S&M the tune of the day. The crowd’s anticipation for T-Pain was fitting as he pulled out hit after hit with Buy You A Drink, Blame It On The Alcohol and Low receiving insane crowd reactions. And he still

ECSTASY CAN AGE YOUR BRAIN BY 40 YEARS. SEE THE DAMAGE EVEN ONE PILL CAN DO TO YOUR BRAIN AT DRUGAWARE.COM.AU 46 • THE DRUM MEDIA 14 APRIL 2011

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managed to have enough breath to tease his weight. Claiming to be pregnant, he joked saying that “If you didn’t enjoy the show, too bad, I’m fat, it’s all I can do.” The theme of sculling alcohol on stage didn’t stop with Busta Rhymes as he necked a bottle of champagne before I Know What You Want. Nelly’s set was a loyal fan’s dream and a definite highlight. Long gone are the days of the bandaid face but not of the old school tunes, E.I. and Dilemma amongst the faves. Between seducing girls on stage he went from rap to rock, donning an AC/DC top and singing a tribute to the Aussie rockers mid-set. A confused crowd embraced the rock but were happier when he finished his awesome set with newbie Just A Dream. Extending set times to fill the gap that no show Timbaland created made the day extra long. But by the time Snoop Dogg got on stage in his signature oversized get up, people’s enthusiasm picked up. The down-pour saw some scramble to find shelter but didn’t deter his loyal fans that were rowdier after the long wait. I Wanna Fuck You got the audience grinding against the closest object, perfect prep for Drop It Like It’s Hot. A quick weed smoking break and he was back for the fist pumping climax of the night, with Sweat. With binoculars needed on entry for those in general admin, the stage set-up was a letdown and if you had work Monday morning, too bad. But if the Supafest turn out is anything to go by, the future of urban festivals in Perth looks promising. DANICA CACCAMO

DIGITAL MYSTIKZ @ THE BAKERY 09/04/2011 No words can accurately express the sheer awesomeness that permeated through The Bakery last Friday for the first Bass Notion

event. In Digital Mystikz’s first set together on the west side of Oz, Mala and Coki exceeded expectations tenfold with their lengthy performance. The night wasn’t without its local stars though. Both Clunk and Rekab did warm up the evening, which was thankfully a chilly one so there would be no chance of a repeat of the Mount Kimbie sweat-fest. Rekab tested out a few of his own tracks too, sounding rather sensational on the beefed-up sound system. When the time came for the main event, Mala stepped up first with a lazy ragga groove before dipping into a slow throbbing number. Playing vinyl throughout their set allowed for plenty of authentic rewinds and the occasional jumpy record – a sight and sound very unusual in this CDJ-dominated sphere. Coki countered the slow stepping beats with tracks picked from the ‘highly erratic wobble assault’ crate, his tracks not quite as pleasing as Mala’s, but the dynamic between the two was always entertaining. It wasn’t just our aural senses that were stimulated either wth huge cut out letters D, M and Z spread along the stage and seriously psychedelic visuals on a projector behind the decks. DMZ dropped all their bangers: Eyez from their debut album Return II Space dropped last year, Changes, the delicious remix of Fat Freddy’s Drop Cays Crays, Alicia in all its sensual glory, Red Eye – the list goes on and on. Pleasingly, the crowd wasn’t ramjammed which left bulk room for stomping. Knowledge Music and DeadWeight! Sure do know how to kick off a new night. Mala and Coki played a set that ensured that we all meditated on bass weight from start to finish, and likely for a long time to come. ANGELA KING

HADP1012B

DARREN J

DISCO CHOPS ELECTRO, DISCO AND EVERYTHING IN-BETWEEN WITH TROY MUTTON. Chops favourite LCD Soundsystem played their final ever show at New York City’s Madison Sqaure Gardens last Saturday. Pitchfork streamed the whole three-hour show, which stayed on Youtube long enough for Chops to shed a small tear, first at not being there, then just at the whole amazing show itself. As if he wasn’t already God, Murphy also recently hit out at the Black Eyed Peas’ Dirty Dancing homage, The Time, likening it to cat rape. Please don’t leave us, James. In more old favourites news, 2007 is back and badder than ever, with Justice and SebastiAn hitting the global soundscape with new tunes. It seems instead of playing Rage Against The Machine’s Killing In The Name Of, Justice have just sampled it for Civilization, while Embody keeps SebastiAn’s signature groove, updated with sunny synths for the current nu-disco crowd. We’ve been waiting for SebastiAn’s debut LP for years and now the 22-track (!) Total is scheduled for release May 30 on Ed Banger. Bring it on. Not quite Ed Banger, but close enough to that time and place, MSTRKRFT are back with a new album, and the first single Beards Again has surfaced. It’s a pretty boring blend of electro and rock, sounding more like a Metallica remix than anything else. Slightly more interesting is the news the Canadian duo will be scoring a new Mortal Kombat movie. The soundtrack features a bunch of electronic producers recording the theme songs for the various ‘kombatants’, with Harvard Bass recording Sub

PAUL MASTER

TRANCE-FIXED

SLS

TRANCE AND HANDS-IN-THE-AIR DANCE WITH RUEBEN HALE

SEBASTIAN

Zero’s, Congorock laying Liu Kang’s and LA Riots doing Jonny Cage. Fight! The robotic duo that arguably started all this madness, Daft Punk scored last year’s Tron Legacy (the only good thing to come out of that film), and the album has now received the ‘Reconfigured’ treatment courtesy of weird mash of producers including Boys Noize, Kaskade and Moby. Former DP manager Busy P wasn’t too happy about it, stating he was “100 per cent sure Daft Punk were not involved in this side project.” There’s a rejected Goose remix worth seeking out, plus Tame Impala offer their own version of End Of Line on the Australian release out now on Walt Disney Records. Slowing the bpm down with a fresh new duo, LA-based Poolside have released their debut EP Do You Believe? on Future Classic, and it definitely lends itself to cocktails by the water. It’s getting plenty of bloglovin’, plus former Aeroplane man The Magician is on board, just like his old partner who threw it in his January 2011 mix for BBC 1. Speaking of Aeroplane, he wants your voice. He’s looking for people to record themselves simply saying the word “disco”, then send it to him

at promo@aeroplanemusic.be, and you might pop up on his next track. DFA cool kids Holy Ghost! have released their debut self-titled LP and by all accounts it’s everything we hoped it would be and more. On the local front four-piece tropdisco wizards Scenic, who if you recall were one of Chops’ ‘to watch’ in 2011, have been signed to already mentioned Sydney-based label, Future Classic – nice work lads. Sydney producer/DJ Cassian plays Ambar Friday 6 May and he revealed in an interview with Chops’ recently that he has an upcoming collaboration with local boy wonder Shazam in the works – no doubt some bangin’ disco-house ahead. Easter Weekend is looking pretty massive with Thursday 21 April seeing an Easter edition of Limelite with Miami Horror DJs (another who recently collaborated with Cassian), The Immigrant and Dirty Laundry, before the Creamfields show rolls in to the Claremont Showgrounds Saturday 23 April. Electro nuts will be frothing at Deadmau5 (live), with Bingo Players and Nadastrom keeping it banging. Not because you asked, but Chops’ pick? Frenchy Surkin (also live), and Swiss duo Round Table Knights.

It seems that tyDi is a dark horse. For those of us that thought all his talents lay with his genius behind the decks you would be wrong. Recent photos have surfaced featuring the Queensland DJ dabbling knee-deep in Lego alongside some other fanatical children. On a recent tweet he mentioned that playing with plastic blocks is not necessarily kids stuff and after looking at the photos of the early and later construction phases of his futuristic skyscraper, it’s obvious that he takes this stuff as seriously as his music. What a dork! Many would not have expected another visit from the planet’s #1 DJ, Armin Van Buuren, after appearing for the Armin Only shows in Melbourne last New Year’s Eve, but the trance-great will be returning for another one night only appearance. The show will celebrate his 500th worldwide radio show A State Of Trance. The world tour kicked-off recently in Johannesburg to a sell-out crowd and last weekend it was Miami’s turn with a massive turnout of talent with the likes of ATB, Gareth Emery, Ferry Corsten and Sander van Doorn coming along to celebrate Armin’s milestone achievement. Sydney’s show is already a sold-out and will be held at the iconic Acer Arena. The guest list will feature some awesome talent featuring Aly & Fila, Alex M.O.R.P.H. and our very own tyDi. The summer is over but punters still have Creamfields to look forward to with the exciting news that legends Josh Gabriel and Dave

imminent new album after a long five-year wait by fans. Well, last Sunday we saw the release of the first single Sun & Moon, from the yet to be released new album, to critical acclaim. The word from the devoted is that it is a return to original form for the trance-trio. It will be interesting to see the chart position at the end of the week, but one has the distinct impression the track will be right up there. With no plans (or even rumours), of an Australian tour the group’s legion of fans may have to settle for their headphones for the time being. Tiësto is set to start a new compilation series after having departed from the In Search of Sunrise fold last year and leaving the controls to South African DJ, Richard Durand. The new look series will be named after his long-running and successful radio show, Club Life. Interestingly, Sydney band Amy Meredith feature on a remix by Angger Dimas, showing the Belgian is looking to continue to move away from his pure-trance beginnings. Tiesto is planning a world tour to promote the Club Life label and one would hope that Australia is in with his plans.

ABOV & BEYOND

THE MAGNIFICENTS @ VILLA

FORCE MAJEURE @ AMBAR

HOT SHOT

Dresden, a.k.a Gabriel & Dresden, will be making an appearance after recently coming back together after a three year break. The pair had taken a hiatus to explore differing musical paths, however after some recent successful shows in the United States the guys reckon they have found new life. The pair has indicated that we can probably expect some new material in the very near future. Speaking of Creamfields, those who came along last year will remember the festival-stealing set by the dynamic Joris Voorn. Yeah sure, this guy’s not really trance, but I love his music so much that I am willing to make an exception and include him in my column… sue me! This year Mr Voorn has decided to go-it-alone with his intense brand of music and will be embarking on a national tour, taking in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and, yes, Perth. Voorn has been pretty much touring non-stop since his last visit to our shores and with some awesome recent releases on his own label it would be a pretty hard show to miss. Back to trance, and I recently mentioned Above & Beyond’s

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TIM & JEAN @ KING TITO

TIM & JEAN @ KING TITO’S DIRTY DISCO 1ST BIRTHDAY BY DREW METTAM

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THE DRUM MEDIA 14 APRIL 2011 • 47

14 - 20 APRIL

2011 DANCEFLOOR OF THE WEEK

TOMAS FORD

ROSE @ GILKISON’S ROSE brings a night of dark Cold War-worthy haus, chill wave and trip hop from Ourobonic Plague and DJs T. Doom and D. Ferrier, with photography by Jaqueline Jane. Doors open 10pm.

AUDIOJACK

PLEASUREDOME @ ROSEMOUNT The local crown prince of electro showmanship Tomas Ford spins tunes and general craziness in the garden. Free from 8pm.

R’N’R KARAOKE @ DEVILLES Jon Madd’s Rock’n’roll Karaoke with DJs and you, singing for free – one hell of a night for your vocal cords.

CULTURE CLASH @ NEWPORT This week Culture Clash sees the Mix Tape DJs bring a special night of hip hop at the Newport.

HIP HOP KARA’YO’KE @ THE BIRD Perth’s seminal monthly hip hop karaoke night returns for a night of non-stop rhymes. Prepare to gain Perth OG status with DJ Nathan J. Free entry before 8pm, $5 after.

DIDDY @ FLAWLESS Bangin’ beats at Perth’s newest club, Flawless brought to you by those whom know the difference between bangers and mash and all things trash.

THE PRESTIGE @ EAST END BAR Enjoy house, funk and electro with The Prestige at every Thursday from 9pm with Frankie Button.

FRIDAY 15/4 DROP THE LIME

GOOD CHARLOTTE DJS, DROP THE LIME @ METRO FREO Join Limelite with stars in your eyes when Good Charlotte brothers Joel and Benji Madden drop in for a massive DJ set with a name perhaps more synonymous with the ‘art’ of DJing, NYC bass-heavy bad man Drop The Lime who will have a whole new bag of tunes in tow including latest Trouble & Bass release, Hot As Hell. Support from Jus Haus? and Zelimir.

AUDIOJACK & ANTHONY PAPPA @ GEISHA

Friday 15 April sees a massive show with two of the world’s premier techno artists in techno wizards and uber-cool producers Audiojack, performing their new live show, plus the progressive master of the legendary Anthony Pappa in what is sure to be one of the tech and prog nights of the year so far at Geisha. They’ll be supported by Flex, Richard Lee and Marko La Kulcha, with tickets from all Moshtix outlets for $30 plus BF. You may wanna be quick as there will be only limited tickets available to this exclusive Habitat gig going from 10pm til 5am. Pappa truly is a master of his craft and one of the most respected and revered DJs on the international circuit. The combination of his genuine love for his art, his down to earth, lovable personality and his constant desire to push the musical boundaries at performances all around the world has made Anthony one of the most sought after DJs on the planet. His partners in crime for the night meanwhile, Audiojack have shown a notable ability to consistently produce credible underground music, which works on the dancefloor and appeals to a wide range of international DJs and music fans alike. Get your groove on tomorrow night.

TV ROCK @ VILLA

FRIDAYS @ TIGER LILS

TV Rock are in town, supported by one of Perth’s finest, Mind Electric. TV Rock’s remix catalogue reads like a who’s who of dance music, with names like Groove Armada and Calvin Harris getting Rock-ed, so expect a night of big fist-pumping tunes. Kenny L, Kastel, Paul E and Paul Scott also support. $25 presale or $30 through Moshtix soon.

Paul Malone spins electro beats, plus Adam Kelly, with Alex K on the bongos. Free entry.

MEAT KATIE @ AMBAR South West Londoner Meat Katie is one of the OB (Original Breakbeat) crew. He’s jam-packed Ambar so many times over the last 10 years they might as well give him a key. His tough, techy style makes him a world-class performer loved for his technical ability and understanding of the dancefloor. Pember has perfected a cross-over of techno and electro with a subtle breakbeat feel. $25 plus BF from Planet, Mills, 78s, Moshtix and Boomtick.

WILDSTYLE @ KULCHA Disco house meets Afro-beat with the Wildstyle DJs mixing world rhythms at Fremantle’s home of good-time beats. Entry $8.

BABY BEATS @ SHAPE See some of W.A’s most talented female DJs drop a mix of tech, dance and dub, featuring Nina Van Dyke and DJs Carla, Lizness, Tash Hunt and Sistym. $5 before 11pm, $10 after.

SNEAKY @ THE LIBRARY PIET EL

ASCENSION @ BAR OPEN Ball-Z, Piet El, Jason Creek, Travis Eddy and Swilky bringing the big beats to Ascenion’s new home of Bar Open, $10 before 11pm, $15 thereafter.

ZIMBABWE INDEPENDENCE PARTY @ CRUSH

ANTHONY PAPPA

The Sneakypop room see DJs Angry Buda, Headayke, Moe Steez and Master Dash play pop and party hits; Sneakhouse will see electro and from Maxwell, Kastel and Paul Scott; and Sneakyfunk discos to Adroc and Dazz K in this big night out in Northbridge.

FRIDAYS @ AMPLIFIER Jamie Mac has all your indie needs covered from midnight til late.

FRIDAY RETRO MASH@CAPITOL Roger Smart mashing up all your old favourites from 10pm ‘til late.

PANIC @ YA YA’S Indie/grunge/new wave/punk/postpunk/space rock/glam/dream pop and much more with resident DJs Javier Frisco and A. Sinclair, plus a live set from Sugarpuss. 8pm til 2am, midnight lockout, $5 after 10pm.

SATURDAY 16/4

Celebrate Zimbabwe’s independence with an night of Zim Flava music; dance hall, hip hop, house, Kwaito and assorted urban grooves with DJs Scatter 07, PDEE JAY, Mello, Rasta Fyha et. al. $5 before 10.30pm, $10 after.

MAIKO @ GEISHA This Saturday, up-and-coming dance impresario Desyn Masiello will bring his genre-defying sound to Geisha for a night of crowd-pleasing beats. Support comes from El Dario, Luke P, Rob Sharp and Jay Vicente. $10 before 12.30am, $15 after.

HEDKANDI @ EVE HedKandi is going monthly in Perth. Eve will now be hosting the night every month, with Chiari, Jack Lio and Mitchell Smith on hand this week. Free entry until 10pm.

PURE POP @ AMPLIFIER Eddie Electric spins indie classics and alternative sounds. $10 from midnight.

DEATH DISCO @ CAPITOL Indie-dance and disco bangers from the best in such a biz – Death Disco DJs, plus DJ Ryan spinning ‘80s indie classics upstairs. $10.

SATURDAYS @ PARAMOUNT DJs Kate Jean, Selekt Munch and Victor dropping the beats ‘til late. Free entry from 8pm.

HEAVYFEET

SATURDAYS @ TIGER LILS DJs Adam Kelly and Ben Sebastian drop house, funk, soul, breaks and beyond, with Alex K on the bongos. Free entry.

PARTY PULSE @ EVE HEAVYFEET @ AMBAR A name synonymous with beats, breaks and bass, the UK’s HeavyFeet are rolling in for a night of dancefloor devastation. Their steady stream of singles via their 12x12 project (12 different tipped singles released over 12 months) have reached a massive band of supporters including DJ Craze, Diplo, Steve Aoki and Drop The Lime. They’re supported by DNGRFLD, Blend and Black & Blunt, door sales and pre sales $15 from Boomtick.

UPTOWN @ BAR 138 Head down for a pre-Bakery night of funky dancefloor anthems with Anthony B and Ce’Cile, with The Empressions, Tutomath and DJ Ashboi backing up the rythms. Show your Bakery ticket to get free entry and VIP access to the Anthony B and Ce’Cile show next week. Doors open 8pm.

SINNERS IN UNIFORM @ BAR OPEN Sin gets naughty with a uniform theme night to get everyone in the mood to party. A night of electro,

DJ Don Migi and friends spin your fave dance and urban anthems. $15/10/5 from 9pm.

SUNDAY 17/4 PRE-LOVED @ ROSEMOUNT Perth’s best funk, hip hop, disco and pop DJs play their favourite old school tunes, plus there’s a pop up record store brought to you by Fat Shan’s Records – open all afternoon, beer specials and cheap pizza. Free from 4 til 10pm. The Perthquake DJs keep the tunes spinning.

THE LOFT EASTER @ GEISHA Saccharine-sweet indie tunes from Bear and Exploding Boy before Mac and Astroboy up late. Celebrate Easter early with some chocalatey goodness.

WEDNESDAY 13/4 STUDENT NIGHT @ NEWPORT Join DJ Tom and The Chad for the Newport’s weekly student night, free entry 8pm ‘til late.

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LMW @ CONNECTIONS Lesbian Mud Wrestling with tunes from Connections DJs all night. Free entry from 10pm.

STUDENT NIGHT @ ROSEMOUNT DJ Shannon Fox brings you postpunk, indie-pop, rock and electro goodies in the beer garden for free.

UPCOMING TOURS & EVENTS HATERS @ THE NEWPORT The Newport Hotel’s fortnightly bass night gets heavier Thursday 21 April with a special Easter celebration with Haters from NSW, here to celebrate the inaugural compilation CD release from the No Frills label. They’re joined by MC Scarlett and of course the host, Anton Maz. $10 door sales from 8pm til midnight.

CLARK @ THE BAKERY Returning to Perth for one mindmelting night of bass-laden technology is UK producer Clark, Easter Thursday 21 April at The Bakery. Clark stretches boundaries to achieve aural ecstasy. He’s joined by Zeke, Viv G, Declan and the Underground Sound Solution System. $20 plus BF at lifeisnoise.com, nowbaking.com.au, Heatseeker, Mills and Planet.

MIAMI HORROR DJS, DIRTY LAUNDRY, THE IMMIGRANT @ METROPOLIS FREMANTLE Limelite have planned a massive Easter Thursday 21 April with Miami Horror DJs, Dirty Laundry and The Immigant bringing the eggy goodness from 9pm. The event is spread over two big rooms, with support from Jus Haus?, Zelimir and Mel B.

KID KENOBI @ AMBAR After understandably postponing to father an earlier-than-expected child, Kid Kenobi is coming back and smashing in to Ambar Easter Sunday 24 April for the Dubstep Invasion Tour. Celebrating the release of the Ministry Of Sound: Dubstep Invasion double-CD, Kenobi will rock Ambar deeper underground with support from local bass bad guys ShockOne, D.Y.P and Rekab. $15 presales available from Boomtick, $20 on the door.

GRENDEL, NACHTMAHR @ THE BAKERY This Easter weekend The Bakery gets a dose of its biggest line-up of agrotech from Australia and abroad to date. International agrotech powerhouses Grendel (NL) and Nachtmahr (AT) will be joined by some other special guests along with The Sin DJs. Monday 25 April, tickets $45 plus BF through nowbaking.com.

AC SLATER, MUMDANCE @ VILLA AC Slater is the real deal; a nextgeneration DJ who knows how to start the party and keep it going. The New York-based DJ is bringing his driving dancefloor beats to Villa Friday 13 May, joined by Brighton rhythm-bringer Mumdance. Support from Jus Haus?, Micah and JS. $27 plus BF from Mills, Planet, 78s, Moshtix and Boomtick.

UPCOMINGS APRIL HABITAT: AUDIOJACK, ANTHONY PAPPA: APR 15 Geisha GOOD CHARLOTTE DJS, DROP THE LIME: APR 15 Metropolis Fremantle TV ROCK: APR 15 Villa MEAT KATIE: APR 15 Ambar HEAVYFEET: APR 16 Ambar HATERS: APR 21 Newport Hotel RDB, DJ AK: APR 21 Shape CLARK: APR 21 The Bakery MIAMI HORROR DJS, DIRTY LAUNDRY, THE IMMIGRANT: APR 21 Metropolis Fremantle D*FUNK: APR 23 Ambar IAN CAREY: APR 23 Villa ANTHONY B, CE’CILE: APR 23 The Bakery CREAMFIELDS: DEADMAU5 (LIVE), MARTIN SOLVEIG WITH SUNDAY GIRL, CHUCKIE, SIMON PATTERSON, SKRILLEX, GABRIEL & DRESDEN, WYNTER GORDON (LIVE), HI TEK SOUL FEAT. DERRICK MAY & KEVIN SAUNDERSON, BINGO PLAYERS, SKAZI, SURKIN (LIVE), DADA LIFE, UMEK, NADASTROM and more: APR 23 Claremont Showgrounds KID KENOBI: APR 24 Ambar + YOLANDA BE COOL: APR 25 Ambar GRENDEL, NACHTMAHR: APR 25 The Bakery GRIZZLED: NERO, FOREIGN BEGGARS, TROLLEY SNATCHA, SKISM: APR 25 Villa ALTON MILLER: APR 29 Double Lucky + IKONIKA: APR 30 The Bakery

MAY CHRIS BROWN, JESSICA MAUBOY, JUSTICE CREW, DJ HAVANA BROWN: MAY 3 Burswood Dome + MUSTARD PIMP: MAY 5 Flawless + DJ HAVANA BROWN: MAY 6 Metropolis Fremantle CASSIAN: MAY 6 Ambar HOUSESHOES: MAY 6 Manor GYPSY & THE CAT: MAY 7 Capitol BROOKES BROTHERS: MAY 13 Shape JORIS VOORN, EDWIN OOSTERWALL: MAY 13 Geisha AC SLATER, MUMDANCE: MAY 13 Villa THE GO! TEAM, PURPLE SNEAKERS DJS: MAY 13 The Bakery CUT COPY, WORLD’S END PRESS: MAY 13 Metro City SAMPOLOGY, TOM THUM: MAY 13 Metropolis Fremantle BLISS N ESO: MAY 13 Mangrove Hotel, Broome; MAY 21 Challenge Stadium GROOVIN THE MOO: AC SLATER, ART VS SCIENCE, THE ASTON SHUFFLE, BLISS N ESO, DATAROCK, HORRORSHOW, HOUSE OF PAIN and more: MAY 14 Hay Park, Bunbury

HADP1012B

THURSDAY 14/4

‘80s, industrial and all the things that fell in between the cracks. The Sin DJs provide the tunes from 10pm til late for $10, and if you have a stamp from Spank wander around the corner to Sin for free entry.

THE DRUM MEDIA 14 APRIL 2011 • 49

gigguide@drumperth.com.au

GIG GUIDE THU 14 Ben Pettit Belgian Beer Cafe Howie Bennys Celebrations Karaoke Brooklands David Campbell Bunbury Regional Ent Centre Proof Burswood Casino Wrighteous Clancys Canning Bridge The Other Guys Como Htl Jon Madd’s Rock’n Roll Karaoke Devilles Pad Gun Shy Romeos Elephant & Wheelbarrow Tiaryn Griggs Ellington Jazz Club Nathan Gaunt FUSE Bar Steve Hepple Legends Bar James Wilson Lucky Shag Ali Towers, Stu Orchard, Danni & The Lapels, Spoonful Of Sugar Manhattan’s Shawne & Luc Merriwa Tavern Ben Ottewell, Cameron Avery Mojos Nth Fremantle Adrian Wilson, College Fall, Lars Wallin Trio, DJ James MacArthur Mustang Bar Dr Bogus Paddy Hannan’s, Burswood Chris Duke & The Royals, The Decline, Chilling Winston, Mattress Security Rosemount Htl Clayton Bolger Rosie O’Gradys Fremantle Fenton Wilde Rosie O’Gradys Northbridge Nick & Liesl Settlers Tavern Margaret River Chris Martin Sheraton Htl David Fyffe Sovereign Arms Claudette McKelvie, Sirens Of Sound, Brainwave Swan Lounge Sambalicious The Deen Better Days The Gate Bar and Bistro, Success Chris Foster, Ricky Mallet, Daniele DiPaola The Moon Off The Record Universal Bar Tusk Ya Ya’s

FRI 15 Undercover Acoustic 7th Avenue Bar The Chariot, Nazarite Vow, Vanity, Afraid of Heights, Statues Amplifier Bar Faces Bennys J Babies Black Bettys Tod Johnstone & Peace

Love Burswood Casino Insideout Castle Good Charlotte, Short Stack, New Empire Challenge Stadium Cal Peck & The Tramps, Tyranny, Razor Jack, Maurice Flavel, Little Franco Berry Devilles Pad Redstar Dusk Lounge Bar Gun Shy Romeos, Timeout Elephant & Wheelbarrow Natalie Gillespie, Sam Nafie Ellington Jazz Club Junior Bowles Fly By Night Fremantle Nathan Kaye Gascoyne Hotel Lush Hale Rd Tavern Midnight Rambler High Wycombe Hotel Hot Suga Kingsley Tavern Neil Adams Last Drop Tavern Neil Collis Leisure Inn Chris Murphy Leopold Htl Bicton Jonny Taylor M On The Point Lady Lace, Vita Flame, Chet Broadway, Miss Josofine, Monet Petite Manhattan’s Everlong Market City Tavern, Canning Vale Injured Ninja, The French Rockets, Usurper Of Modern Medicine, Frozen Ocean Mojos Nth Fremantle Sonic Moon & Sixpence Pretty Fly Moondyne Joes, Fremantle Full Circle Mt Henry Harry Deluxe, Swing DJ, Cheeky Monkeys with DJ James MacArthur Mustang Bar Milhouse Newport Htl Simon Cox Band, Dilip N The Davs, Simon Kelly & Band Norfolk Basement The Recliners Oxford Leederville Blue Gene Paddy Hannan’s, Burswood 43 Cambridge Paddy Maguires Raging Lincons, Astro Pig, Die Human, Jincs Railway Htl Everlong Rocket Room Chaos Divine, Tangled Thoughts of Leaving, Brutus, Desolate Rosemount Htl Lars Wallin & The TribeLars, College Fall Settlers Tavern Margaret River Chris Martin Sheraton Htl Greg Carter Springs Tavern Mhorgl, Silent Night, Arkarion, Cold Fate

50 • THE DRUM MEDIA 14 APRIL 2011

14 - 20 APRIL 2011

Swan Basement Necrodong, Hokusai, Ermine Coat, Mach Oven Swan Lounge The Mod Squad The Boat I Exist, Drowning Horse, Lie Cycle, Warthreat, Clenched Teeth The Den Sensitive Drunks, Ghost Drums, Tracey Read, Mayor Dardy Velvet Lounge Ivan Ribic, Tip Top Sound, DJ Roxy Victoria Park Htl Pearse Ward Wanneroo Dr Bogus Woodvale Tavern A. Sinclair, Javier Frisco Ya Ya’s

SAT 16 My Disco, Cuba Is Japan, smRts, Eternal President, Zeks Bakery Northbridge Chris Murphy Belgian Beer Cafe Redstar Black Bettys Courtney Murphy & Murphy’s Lore Burswood Casino Sparkadia, Operator Please, Alpine Capitol Pale As Ashes, Sparring For Shotgun, From Isolation, Law of Attraction Contacios Scarbrough Electromen, Barbara Blaze, Agent 85, Vintage Reds Devilles Pad The Canarino Trio Duckstein Brewery Slim Jim & The Phatts Eden Hill Primary School Bronwynn Sprogowski, The Accumulated Gestures Ellington Jazz Club Emily Barker, Selk Hastings, Dilip N The Davs Fly By Night Fremantle That Velvet Echo Fremantle Art Markets Connie Kis Anderson Italian Club, Perth Nathan Kaye Kalbarri Motor Inn Pretty Fly Kingsley Tavern Mantra Left Bank Swinging The Pig Leisure Inn Greg Carter Leopold Htl Bicton The Bob Gordons, Project Mayhem, Scalphunter, Surprise Sex Attack, New Husseins Manhattan’s Serial Killer Smile, Copious, Gombo, Over Unity Mojos Nth Fremantle Blaze Moon & Sixpence Aaron Woolley Mt Henry Passionworks Murphys Mandurah Road Masters,

Rockabilly DJ, Damien Cripps, DJ James MacArthur Mustang Bar Gravity Newport Htl The Fags, Taco Leg, Yokohomos Norfolk Basement Felix, DJ Morgan, DJ Jordan Paramount Nightclub I Exist, The Gap, Vanity, Into The Sea Prince of Wales Bunbury Orinoco Railway Htl Boom! Bap! Pow!, Split Seconds, Kill Teen Angst, Simone & Girlfunkel, Steve Parkin Rosemount Htl Blue Gene Rosie O’Gradys Northbridge Barry Manilow, West Australian Symphony Orchestra Sandalford Wines Gerard Maunick Settlers Tavern Margaret River Bill Chidgzey Springs Tavern Cloud Control, The Gypsie Howls, Something Humble, World Of Fuzzy’s Swan Basement Lizzie Lambie, Ben Gray, Hey Hurricane Swan Lounge The Optimist The Den J Babies The Whale & Ale Soul Corporation Universal Bar Darryn Vernon Arms Tavern Slim Jim & The Phatts Woodvale Tavern Stompin Stu, The Accelerators, Alpha-T Ya Ya’s

SUN 17 Reckless Kelly 7th Avenue Bar Frank Turner Amplifier Bar Greg Carter Bally’s Bar Damien Cripps Belmont Tavern Chelsea Gibson, Tod Johnstone & Peace Love Burswood Casino Acoustic Inc Como Htl Shameem Taheri-Lee Ellington Jazz Club Nathan Kaye L’atitude 28 Bar Fenton Wilde Leisure Inn Hootenanny, Calectasia, Limping Dave Foley & The Straight Legged Freaks, Tiaryn Griggs Manhattan’s Maya Dadi, Electric Toad, Clean Living, Runner, Lord Of The Friends, The Pioneers Of Zoo Tribe Mojos Nth Fremantle Everlong Moon & Sixpence One Tiger Down, Gerard McCarthy Moon Cafe Pete Busher & The Lone Rangers, DJ Rockin Rhys Mustang Bar Grace Woodroofe, Emma Davis, WIM Newport Htl Darryn Pink Duck Lounge Ernie Dingo, Azzcat, The Collingas Railway Htl Jonny Taylor Redcliffe On Murray Gerard Maunick Settlers Tavern Margaret River Ivan Ribic Sovereign Arms Steve Hepple Springs Tavern

Bill Chidgzey Stamford Arms Chris Duke & The Royals, The Decline, The Scene & Herd, Varial, Ants At A Picnic Swan Basement Skip Coble, Champange Collective, The Dynamates, Michael Savage Swan Lounge Chris Murphy The Boat Paul Foster The Corner Stone Alehouse David Fyffe The Craftsman Retrofit Universal Bar Nat Ripepi Victoria Park Htl Damien Cripps Wanneroo Good Karma Woodvale Tavern I Exist, The Others, Break, Refrain, Wild Sense YMCA HQ

MON 18 Song Lounge Ellington Jazz Club Rock Scholars Manhattan’s Wide Open Mic Mojos Nth Fremantle The Savage Guns Mustang Bar Karaoke Settlers Tavern Margaret River Plastic Max & The Token Gestures The Deen Writhe, Sounds Like Bears, Limping Dave Foley & The Straight Legged Freaks Ya Ya’s

TUE 19 Rolling Pin Ellington Jazz Club Jonny Taylor Llama Bar Limping Dave Foley & The Straight Legged Freaks, Jones Country Saviours, Rich Widow, Calactesia Mojos Nth Fremantle Danza Loca Salsa Mustang Bar

WED 20 Everlong Black Bettys Juliana Areias Ellington Jazz Club Fenton Wilde Hale Rd Tavern Nevsky Prospekt, We Build Pyramids, Ten Points For Glenroy, Gombo Manhattan’s Nathan Kaye Mojos Nth Fremantle Josh Fergus, Jeff Smith, Quick Brown Fox Moon Cafe Barcode, DJ Giles Mustang Bar Hostile Little Face, Enfilade, Our Man In Berlin Paddingtion Ale House For Our Hero, The Never Ever, Wake The Giants, The Main Attraction Rosemount Htl David Fyffe Rosie O’Gradys Northbridge The Butterfly Effect Settlers Tavern Margaret River When Summer Ends, Elk Bell Swan Lounge Ivan Ribic The Craftsman Strutt with Ses Sayer Universal Bar TW!ST, Agent 85 Ya Ya’s

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UPCOMING TOURS

IAN MOSS CARAVÃNA SUN: APR 14 Quindanning Tavern; APR 15 The Cidery, Bridgetown; APR 16 Nannup Hotel; APR 17 Ravenswood Hotel (12.30pm), Indi Bar (7pm) NICK & LIESL: APR 14 Settlers Tavern COLLEGE FALL, LARS WALLIN & THE TRIBELARS: APR 14 Mustang Bar; APR 15 Settlers Tavern; APR 16 Casella’s Bar, Bunbury (TBC); APR 17 Broken Hill Hotel, Vic Park BEN OTTEWELL (GOMEZ): APR 14 Mojo’s CHRIS DUKE & THE ROYALS: APR 14 Rosemount Hotel; APR 15 Rocket Room; APR 16 Stirling Club; APR 17 Swan Basement

EMMURE BURN DOWN HOLLYWOOD: APR 20 Prince Of Wales; APR 21 Black Betty’s; APR 23 Cockburn Youth Centre & Ya Ya’s

LOREN: MAY 4 Indi Bar; MAY 5 Quindanning Hotel; MAY 6 Clancy’s Fremantle; MAY 7 Settlers Tavern; MAY 8 Redcliffe On The Murray

THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT: APR 20 Settlers Tavern; APR 21 Studio 146; APR 23 Prince Of Wales; APR 24 Metropolis Fremantle

MARIANNE DISSARD: MAY 5 Rosemount Hotel

+ NATHAN KAYE: APR 15 Gascoyne Hotel; APR 16 Kalbarri Motor Inn; APR 17 L’Attitude Bar; APR 20 Mojo’s; APR 21 Didgeredoo Breath; APR 23 Cape Wine Bar; APR 24 Caves House

HERBIE HANCOCK: MAY 6 Perth Concert Hall LONNIE LEE: MAY 6 Burswood Theatre METAL HEALTH: QUIET RIOT, LA GUNS, WARRANT: MAY 6 Metro City CARUS THOMPSON: MAY 6 Settlers Tavern; MAY 7 Fly By Night

STRANGE TALK: APR 21 Curtin University

GYPSY & THE CAT: MAY 7 Capitol

DEREK WARFIELD: APR 21 Rosie O’Grady’s, Northbridge

BEYOND THE DARKSIDE: MAY 7 Perth Concert Hall

GOOD CHARLOTTE, SHORT STACK, NEW EMPIRE: APR 15 Challenge Stadium

HORRORPOPS: APR 21 Capitol

JUSTIN BIEBER: MAY 7 Burswood Dome

INDIGO GIRLS: APR 21 Perth Concert Hall

KARNIVOOL: APR 15 Metro City; APR 16 Studio 146

ZZ TOP, ROSE TATTOO: APR 23 Perth Motorplex

YELLOWFEVER, LOVE CONNECTION: MAY 7 The Bird; MAY 8 Mojo’s

THE CHARIOT, NAZARITE VOW: APR 15 Amplifier; APR 16 YMCA HQ I EXIST: APR 15 The Civic Den; APR 16 Prince Of Wales; APR 17 YMCA HQ THOMAS BUCKNER, ANNEA LOCKWOOD, THEODORE MOOK: APR 16 Octagon Theatre INTERPEOPLE CHARITY BALL FEAT. IAN MOSS: APR 16 Burswood Ballroom SPARKADIA, OPERATOR PLEASE, ALPINE: APR 16 Capitol MY DISCO, CUBA IS JAPAN: APR 16 The Bakery GRACE WOODROOFE, WIM, EMMA DAVIS: APR 16 The Bird; APR 17 Newport Hotel ERNIE DINGO FAMILY & FRIENDS: APR 16 Charles Hotel; APR 17 Railway Hotel FRANK TURNER, ISAAC GRAHAM: APR 17 Amplifier WEST COAST BLUES’N’ROOTS FESTIVAL: BOB DYLAN, GRACE JONES, ELVIS COSTELLO & THE IMPOSTERS, RODRIGO Y GABRIELA, GURRUMUL, MICHAEL FRANTI & SPEARHEAD, BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA and more: APR 17 Fremantle Park DISTURBED: APR 20 Burswood Dome THE NEVER EVER, DAYLIGHT HOURS, WAKE THE GIANTS: APR 20 Rosemount Hotel; APR 23 Cockburn Youth Centre Festival

IN THE PINES: APR 24 Somerville Auditorium, UWA OH, SLEEPER: APR 24 Handasyde Strawberry Farm, Albany EMERY: APR 24 Amplifier ESCAPE THE FATE, PIERCE THE EVIL: APR 24 Astor Theatre NEIL FINN, PAUL KELLY, LIOR, BEN MERITO: APR 25 Red Hill Auditorium CHILDREN COLLIDE: APR 24 Capitol THE HOLIDAYS, GOLD FIELDS: APR 28 Amplifier PASSENGER, JACKSON MCLAREN: APR 29 Indi Bar, APR 30 Norfolk Basement 78 SAAB: APR 29 Mojo’s; APR 30 The Bird FAIRBRIDGE FESTIVAL: ANDY IRVINE & RENS VAN DER ZALM, DARK HORSES, CIRCLE OF RHYTHM, THE GO SET, FOURPLAY STRING QUARTET, THE GOOD LOVELIES, IAN LOWE, JOSEPH TAWADROS TRIO, KAMERUNGA, MARTIN PEARSON, THE NEEDLE & THE DAMAGE DONE and more: APR 29-MAY 1 Fairbridge Village OH MERCY, GOSSLING: APR 30 Amplifier; MAY 1 Mojo’s MAROON 5: MAY 1 Burswood Dome + IIRO RANTALA, PEKKA KUUSISTO: MAY 2 Charles Hotel HUNGRY KIDS OF HUNGARY, THE CHEMIST, ANDY BULL: MAY 5 Prince Of Wales; MAY 6 Indi Bar; MAY 7 Rosemount Hotel; MAY 8 Newport Hotel

+ KIM CHURCHILL: MAY 7 Clancy’s Fremantle; MAY 8 Indi Bar; MAY 10 Charles Hotel; MAY 13 Prince Of Wales; MAY 14 Settlers Tavern; MAY 15 Dunsborough Hotel A DAY TO REMEMBER, UNDEROATH: MAY 8 Astor Theatre HUGH CORNWELL (STRANGLERS): MAY 8 Charles Hotel ALESTORM, VOYAGER: MAY 10 Amplifier AGAINST ME!, OFF WITH THEIR HEADS: MAY 11 Rosemount KYUSS, FORT: MAY 11 Capitol UNKLE: MAY 11 The Bakery THE LITTLE STEVIES: MAY 12 Settler’s Tavern; MAY 14 Clancy’s Fremantle; MAY 15 Indi Bar THE DRUMS: MAY 12 Astor Theatre DARWIN DEEZ: MAY 12 The Bakery WASHINGTON, LISSIE: MAY 13 Astor Theatre CUT COPY, WORLD’S END PRESS: MAY 13 Metro City THE GO! TEAM, PURPLE SNEAKERS DJS: MAY 13 The Bakery + LISSIE: MAY 14 Fly By Night PIKELET: MAY 14 The Bakery GROOVIN’ THE MOO: ARCHITECTURE IN HELSKINI, ART VS SCIENCE, BIRDS OF TOKYO, DARWIN DEEZ, THE DRUMS, GOTYE, GYROSCOPE, UNKLE, WASHINGTON, THE PANICS and more: MAY 14 Hay Park Bunbury

7 days: mon+sat 4-12 tues-fri 2-12 sun 2-10

THE DRUM MEDIA 14 APRIL 2011 • 51

frontrow@drumperth.com.au

CRINGE

ALONE WITH A THOUGHT

C U LT U R A L

RUSSIAN FILMMAKER ALEXEI POPOGREBSKY TALKS TO IANN BARR ABOUT HIS LOOK AT ISOLATION AND SECRETS IN THE ACCLAIMED FILM, HOW I ENDED THIS SUMMER.

WITH JASON KENNY On Saturday 9 April director Sidney Lumet succumbed to the ravages of lymphoma at the age of 86. It marks the death of one of the cinema world’s most enduring and prolific directors. Since his first film in 1957, the remarkable 12 Angry Men, Lumet directed 17 actors to Oscar nominations in a career of over 40 films, 14 of which were nominated for Oscars. It’s a remarkable career, featuring titles like Dog Day Afternoon, The Network, Serpico, A View From A Bridge and Running On Empty. But then he also directed The Wiz with Diana Ross and Michael Jackson.

ALEXEI POPOGREBSKY

“T

he inspiration [for the film] is deeply rooted in my childhood, but not in a Freudian way. Growing up a city kid in Moscow, I came across a few books about polar exploration, and I was fascinated by the experience of people coping with the extremities of nature beyond the polar circle. I was always wondering, ever since I was a kid, if I was in those sort of circumstances – would I be able to stand up to it, or would I just break?” That’s the question that stayed with writer/director Alexei Popogrebsky from his youth, and now lies at the heart of his How I Ended This Summer, a psychological drama/ thriller that won acting (shared between its two leads) and cinematography honours at last year’s Berlin film festival. The film tells of a psychological duel between two men working and living in isolation, at a meteorology station in the Russian arctic. Rather than the traditional method of writing a script and then casting it, Popogrebsky contrived a scenario for his location once the actors came on board.

THIS WEEK IN SATURDAY 16 Hatched – national graduate exhibition of works by students from across that county that graduated in 2010. This year, 35 artists from 20 of the country’s most prestigious art institutions have embraced diverse art forms, such as painting, collage, photography, ceramics, printmaking, textiles, performance, video, sound art and mechanical engineered installations to express their social concerns. The show sees an ambitious group of artists keen to critique the conditions of our time, unpacking issues such as ethics, consumerism, depression and body image. Opening day. PICA until 6 June. The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber – new theatrical event featuring Andrew Lloyd Webber’s most timeless songs, with all the most memorable moments from Evita, The Phantom Of The Opera, Cats, Jesus Christ Superstar, Joseph & The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and more as performed by the stars of Australian musical theatre. Opening night. Burswood Entertainment Complex until 24 April. Tosca – a non-traditional production that “clears away the cobwebs of tradition and sentiment that have formed around this familiar piece, and exposed the brutal heart of its dystopian vision”. Christopher Alden takes on Puccini. Final night. His Majesty’s Theatre. Wish – when JJ, the hearingenabled son of deaf parents, agrees to teach Sign to the mysterious Eliza, he embarks on a voyage of discovery that takes him to the outer limits of language, science, nature, ethics — and love. Adapted from Peter 52 • THE DRUM MEDIA 14 APRIL 2011

“Once I have the actors, I tend to provide a script imagining them as human beings in that situation,” he explains. The dynamic between both men is central to the film, with Sergei Puskepalis as the elder, experienced Sergei, and Grigory Dobrygin as his young – and less responsible – protégé, Pavel. The film’s conflict is predicated on the compounding effects of Pavel withholding a key piece of information for Sergei from back home. Pavel’s motivations behind his inaction are left deliberately ambiguous; a storytelling facet that Popogrebsky attributes to his background in psychology. “Although for nine years I was an academic psychologist, I don’t like to play smart or create what I call a ‘movie psychology’, which is usually a dramatisation of the wealth and richness of human nature.”

ARTS Goldsworthy’s novel and performed by Helpmann and Green Room Award-winning actor-theatre maker Humphrey Bower, with dancerchoreographer Danielle Micich and musician-actor Leon Ewing. Final night. Blue Room Theatre.

MONDAY 18 The Bureau Of Ideas – short talks with projections by guest speakers followed by a debate with the audience. Programme: 1) Ric Spencer, Curator at the Fremantle Art Centre: ‘The Many Faces of Protest’, a look at the collision of art and protest – and performance in the nexus of the commune; 2) Christopher Crouch, Professor of Visual Arts at Edith Cowan University: ‘Transitional demands and the long fuse’ – the mass media is the perfect vehicle for such demands, but what of painting? Can a transformative idea on a long fuse also work as a transitional demand?; 3) Hoda Afshar, PhD student at the Department of Art, Curtin University: ‘The image of Rapid Change’ – a quick response from a group of artists to the current internetdriven movements across North Africa and Middle Eastern regions. The role of technology and the huge part that it is playing in these transformations. The Bakery, 6pm.

WEDNESDAY 20 The Vagina Monologues – hugely popular show made up of a varying number of monologues read by a varying number of women, on the subject of the vagina, be it through sex, love, rape, mutilation, birth, orgasm, and masturbation. Directed by Tempest Productions’ Susie Conte. Subiaco Arts Centre today and tomorrow.

Similarly, though the central conflict presents the opportunity for the film to be read as an Old/New Russia allegory, Popogrebsky ensures that character and story always comes first. “As a writer and director, if I had the intention to create a metaphor or an allegory, I think I would have failed. If the characters, if the story is vital, if it gives some charge of emotion to the audience, the other layers inevitably spring up, if the story is universal enough.” This universality was important to him. “This story could work in any circumstance where there is a limited means of communication…maybe in the submarine, stuck way down in the ocean, or somebody stuck in the mountains, or an orbital stations. With the modern technology, there are not that many situations where you have

limited means of communication, you have your cell phones, your internet, or whatever.” He continues, “But then, in the polar regions, even if you have modern radios, the problem is the magnetic disturbances, the Aurora Borealis, and there are disruptions to radio transmissions, always. One year ago a computer executive was lost in Arizona, and he was not found for a couple of months – think about that; there is a chance, a tragic chance, on this planet, even on a very developed country, to get completely and utterly lost [and separated] from any kind of communication.” WHAT: How I Ended This Summer WHERE & WHEN: Screening in cinemas now

Part of what made Lumet such an amazing director was his willingness to take risks and do the unconventional. 12 Angry Men is essentially 12 men in a room, but Lumet makes it captivating. He started his career as an actor in the theatre, and it’s that grounding which might have influenced his style. His collaborative nature of making a film was often commented on by his cast and crew. Lumet would rehearse with his actors before shooting, reading through the script like a play, believing that the rehearsal process doesn’t dull the chance for improvisation but instead connects the actor with the character in a more complete way. That way, he figured, would set up the actor for the happy accident that marked so many of the great performances in his films. It also kept down the time he needed to shoot his film, making it possible for Lumet to produce a film a year for much of his career.

While he understood that cinema is primarily entertainment, he was interested in making films that pushed the story further, his selfproclaimed “problem picture”, that he explained as: “While the goal of all movies is to entertain, the kind of film in which I believe goes one step further. It compels the spectator to examine one facet or another of his own conscience. It stimulates thought and sets the mental juices flowing.” There’s a line of thinking that filmmakers, generally, essentially tell just one story through their career, and examine it in different ways. Throughout his career, Lumet seemed to return to the idea of guilt in his films. In 12 Angry Men a jury had to decide on the guilt of the accused. The Verdict and Find Me Guilty continued his recurring courtroom setting. Dog Day Afternoon, Prince Of The City, Network, and Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead – his last film, in 2007 – all examined guilt in various ways through exploring the motivation for robbery, informing on corruption, media assassination, and filicide, respectively. Without reducing a 50-year career to one thought, it was through investigating that theme, and ideas around it, that Lumet was able to accomplish his vision of the “problem picture.” To be able to do it so consistently over half a century of work is remarkable. Surely there’s no one who’s seen 12 Angry Men, Dog Day Afternoon, or Network who hasn’t been infected by a germ of an idea that’s lead to some examination, willingly or not, of their own conscience. And that’s the mark of a great artist.

A TOUCH OF (PEGG AND) FROST GUY DAVIS GEEKS OUT WITH BRITISH ACTORS SIMON PEGG AND NICK FROST, WHO ARE TOGETHER AGAIN IN THE SCI-FI ROAD TRIP COMEDY PAUL.

P

aul originated with screenwriters, stars and long-time chums Simon Pegg and Nick Frost taking the piss, really. Sitting in a soggy English backyard while rain delayed the filming of their much-loved zombie rom-com Shaun Of The Dead, the duo’s producer Nira Park suggested that next time they might want to come up with a story set in a location where the weather wouldn’t play havoc with the shooting schedule. Quick as you like, Pegg reeled off a location (the desert), a storyline (two British guys find an alien and help him get home) and a central character (“Oh, and the alien’s name is Paul, because he’s so very normal,” smiles Pegg). Then he whipped up a quick sketch of said alien...flipping the bird, no less. Seven years later, with Pegg and Frost’s other frequent collaborator, director Edgar Wright, off making Scott Pilgrim vs The World, the two lads decided to bring together a cast of geek-friendly icons (everyone from Arrested Development’s Jason Bateman to Alien’s Sigourney Weaver), a respected director (Greg Mottola of Superbad and Adventureland fame) and a CGI extraterrestrial with the unmistakable voice of Seth Rogen to create Paul, a road-movie comedy that also serves as a tribute to the movies loved by Pegg and Frost. While Paul may at first glance seem

like the kind of project just right for Wright, Pegg believes the movie is better suited to Mottola, whose career has combined low-key indie pictures and mainstream comedies. “While Shaun Of The Dead was something Edgar and I developed together and Hot Fuzz was Edgar’s thing, where I came along for the ride, Paul was always mine and Nick’s thing,” says Pegg. “It was something Nick and I had together, away from Edgar. I don’t think his style really suited this film – we needed it to have a less fantastic, more laid-back style. If the film had been stylistically intricate, Paul himself would have looked less amazing. One of our pitches was [Mottola’s debut feature] ‘Daytrippers with an alien’. And then when we saw Superbad, it became a one-choice situation. He turned what could have been just a profane screwball comedy into something quite lovely by the restrained approach he took.” Pegg and Frost are known as quite the team, having collaborated on Spaced, Shaun, Fuzz, and the upcoming Peter Jackson-Steven Spielberg adaptation of Tintin as well as Paul, but they have also worked separately. One has to wonder if they ever surprise each other when they reunite after a long absence (it was three years between Hot Fuzz and Paul), and how their creative relationship develops as a result.

“Part of the reason our friendship is so long-lived is that I am constantly surprised by Simon, even though I know every atom in his form,” says Frost. “There will always be something he does, even when it’s just us hanging out, that makes me go ‘Oh, that’s fucking great.’” Says Pegg, “I actually notice Nick more watching him in something like The Boat That Rocked than when we’re working together...” “That’s because you stifle me!” mock-wails Frost. “When we’re acting together, we play off each other and our performances are dependant – we use the chemistry we have,” continues Pegg. “But I love watching Nick’s work as an audience member. I’m like his

biggest fan. His work makes me laugh like I don’t know him but at the same time I’m really proud because I do know him.” “I think we’re quite aware as performers and writers that the ‘bromance’ shit is only going to last so long,” adds Frost. “And I think Paul is the starting point of us evolving towards what we’ll do for the next 10 years, 15 years, or however long our working relationship goes on. We can’t be those characters forever. You have to evolve to survive or people will get bored. And I’d hate that to happen.” WHAT: Paul WHERE & WHEN: Screening in cinemas now

frontrow@drumperth.com.au

THE CHOP SHOP

FRESHLY

OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS, HEATH FRANKLIN’S CHOPPER HAS EVOLVED INTO ONE OF AUSTRALIA’S MOST ENDURING COMEDIC ICONS EVER. MATT O’NEILL SPOKE TO THE MAN BEHIND THE MURDERER ABOUT HIS LATEST SHOW, CHOPPER’S F**KEN BINGO.

M

ark ‘Chopper’ Read is one of the most consistently misunderstood figures in Australian culture. A violent criminal with over 19 murders to his credit, Read has also earned renown as a writer, recording artist, and spoken word performer. As a result, his personality has been described as everything from heartless to heroic. It’s commonly believed he seeks out such ambiguity. “It’s amazing how he’s managed to entrench himself in the culture,” an incredulous Heath Franklin reflects. “Anywhere you do a show someone will have a story about Chopper – and each story will paint a completely different impression of the man’s personality. You know, everything from ‘I used to drink with him, great bloke’ to ‘I once saw him stab a bunch of cats’. It’s really quite strange.” That taken in mind, it’s somewhat surprising to note that the comedian who has built a career largely out of impersonating the legendary criminal is almost categorically opposed to such mystique. Since his 2005 debut on Channel Ten sketch comedy programme The Ronnie Johns Half Hour, Heath Franklin’s Chopper Read has been a triumphant success – but Franklin himself is as straightforward and unassuming in conversation as his character is violent in confrontation. “I am surprised at how successful Chopper’s been,” the comedian says candidly. “I think I’m very lucky that our show was on at the same time the whole idea of the YouTube phenomenon was starting to take shape. If Chopper had been on TV a year earlier, it wouldn’t have made it onto YouTube and it wouldn’t have been successful. A year later, it just would have been a part of that whole inundation of YouTube that saw a

thousand versions of that cat playing a keyboard.” While one would assume a performer blessed with Franklin’s ubiquity and success – the comedian having sold over a 100,000 tickets to Chopper Read shows across Australia, New Zealand, and the UK – would be inclined to diversify as quickly as possible, Franklin displays only a peripheral interest in such work. While not disinterested in other roles, the comedian is bluntly realistic about his prospects. “Comedy’s a funny job to me in that, while it is a job that you have to do professionally, it’s not something you can force very easily. You can’t just walk into a room full of people and be funny for an hour doing whatever you want – you need to use what works,” Franklin explains directly. “Eating your favourite meal for dinner every night does get boring but that’s why you need to break it up every now and then with other work.” Chopper’s F**ken Bingo is a prime example of Franklin’s approach. Simple and effective but creative and clever enough to evolve his repertoire, the comedian’s latest show involves his Chopper character overseeing his own twisted game of bingo – including audience participation, comedic improvisation, and surprise prizes. “It’s something we used to do back at university,” Franklin explains of the concept. “When the whole Chopper thing blew up, we decided to go back to it and give it a spin. Feedback’s been really great, so far.” WHAT: Chopper’s F**ken Bingo WHERE & WHEN: Astor Theatre Saturday 21 May and Sunday 22 as part of Wild West Comedy Fest

AGWA ANNOUNCE NEXT ART BAR LINE-UPS Art Gallery of WA have announced their next three Art Bar line-ups, beginning on Thursday 26 May with comedian Dave Thornton – a man who’s currently performing his show I Wanna Be Bruce Lee at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival – and continuing through to the only Perth performance from American musicians Kinky Friedman and Van Dyke Parks (Thursday 30 June) ane national treasure and Go-Betweens founder, Robert Forster (Thursday 14 July). Art Bar allows you to check out the gallery’s exhibitions in an informal environment and see some great live bands and comedians at the same time. Win/win, really. Head to artgallery.wa.gov.au for more info.

HATCHED

CHRIS THEIL – TALKING TO STRANGERS (2010)

THE 2011 HATCHED PROGRAMME BRINGS GRADUATE ARTISTS INTO THE LIGHT. JASON KENNY TAKES A PEAK BENEATH THE SHELL.

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n one of his perfectly surrealist films, Salvador Dalí was depicted hatching from an egg on an unnamed shoreline. The artist, moustache in place, emerged triumphantly. Whether the Hatched national graduate show boasts any moustaches quite as notable as Dalí’s is still to be seen but the graduates are no less triumphant as they’ve taken over the PICA gallery space. “We’re doing all the installation now,” describes PICA’s George Tsadilas. “The majority of artists from interstate have arrived and they’re overseeing the installation of their work. The place is looking like a bit of a mess now but it’s getting there.” The 35 artists from around the country are from 20 different Arts schools around the nation. Nine artists come from WA’s four large Arts schools – Edith Cowan University, Curtin University, UWA, and the Central Institute of Technology. “The artists coming from interstate have had to have their travel approved so you usually have only one from each school,” Tsadilas says. “From here, they don’t have to travel so there’s a good local representation. And the work’s pretty good too so they should be pretty proud of themselves.” The selection process for Hatched begins late in the year after the students have graduated. Each school around the country is invited to submit their best graduates and a panel involving PICA and the curator go through submissions, advising the artists of their selection in December. PICA is the only gallery around Australia that holds a national graduate show and this year marks the 20th year of Hatched. Over the last two decades the Hatched graduate show has become something of a pinnacle of the PICA programme. The five gallery areas in PICA often have different shows. The Hatched programme takes up

all of them. The exhibition presents the work of the brightest artistic graduates from the previous year across an array of disciplines, often in the one work. “That’s the whole thing about representing students’ work now,” Tsadilas says, “they’re not working in one discipline or it’s rare that you get someone who’s working just in paint or just in sculpture. And they’re crossing a lot of mediums too and integrating them to their work. The lines are sort of blurring. Especially with a new generation of artists coming through, they’re looking for new ways to express themselves and put their opinions forward and so it’s no longer bound to just the traditional forms of art, that’s for sure.” The themes of the work differ as much as the disciplines and artistic mediums. This diversity reflects the depth of talent coming from the nation’s young artists. If that old cliché that everything’s been said before has any weight to it, then no one’s told these artists. And in any case, they haven’t found their way to say it before and that’s what being an artist is essentially about. “The themes range from depression to body image to ethics and consumerism so it’s fairly diverse and you’d expect that from students around the country; it’s not geographically-centric. There’s a lot of multi-disciplinary art. There are installations and paintings and photography. It’s not bound by one discipline,” Tsadilas says. “It’s kind of interesting to see how the artists are expressing themselves and what they’re trying to say.” The benefits of the Hatched show stretch beyond the physical exhibition. The chance for artists around the country to meet and discuss their work is a rather unique one. While there is some crosspollination of ideas in the same

AMY THORNETT - DETAIL FROM ‘JASMINE AND MIA’ (2010)

institution or even the same city, the chance for artists to discuss their ideas with artists across the country, with the chance for collaboration or future group exhibitions only helps artists in their way. Art is, after all, a lot to do with ideas and being able to see how artists around the country approach similar ideas, or similar artistic disciplines, can only be beneficial. “There’s a lot of collaboration going on,” Tsadilas says. “I guess being in the same place at the same time they discuss what’s going on with their work and they can start to set up networks and get into developing a different tact in how they do things as well. It’s definitely a huge bonus of being part of the Hatched exhibition. “Also I think for many of them it’s the first time they’ll have their work displayed in a group exhibition in a public gallery so it’s fairly prestigious for them. They don’t have to go through the process of application and installing their work as it would be in a professional gallery. It’s bridging their career from being a student to being a

professional artist.” The exhibition opening will also mark the presentation of the Dr Harold Schenberg Art Prize, helping a young artist with recognition and a cool $35,000 towards the start of their career. Last year’s winner was Andrew Varano from Curtin University. While the coveted Schenberg Prize would help any artist, being part of a national group exhibition the size of Hatched is not without its benefits. “I guess every artist has their own process and way of doing things so for each process you’d have to speak to each artist but I guess the isolation comes into play. You really have to kind of search the depths of your soul to generate your best work. Everyone’s got their own process but that’s how some of the artists work and you’ll see that in the exhibition that everyone expresses themselves in different ways.” WHAT: Hatched WHERE & WHEN: PICA, Perth Cultural Centre Friday 15 April – Monday 6 June THE DRUM MEDIA 14 APRIL 2011 • 53

frontrow@drumperth.com.au

FILM

PACKING WITH PUNCH

REVIEW

WATCHMEN DIRECTOR ZACK SNYDER’S LATEST FILM IS AN ALL-FEMALE STEAM-PUNK ACTION FANTASY CALLED SUCKER PUNCH. IAN BARR TALKS TO TWO OF ITS STARS (BOTH AUSTRALIAN), EMILY BROWNING AND ABBIE CORNISH.

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PAUL

PAUL Simon Pegg and Nick Frost’s first co-writing, co-starring foray into feature films was never going to be anything other than a triumph. The pair have been best buddies for years and it shows through in every line of Paul’s sharp, witty script. Pegg is struggling sci-fi artist Graeme and Frost is struggling sci-fi writer Clive, a pair of eminently amiable geeks on a dream trip to ComicCon with the kicker of a road trip to America’s UFO hotspots. Near Area 51 these two fish out of water in their Winnebago pick up Paul (voiced by Seth Rogen), a little grey alien escapee with a love of Earth’s pop culture and hedonistic delights. He’s five times as cool as either of them and it turns out he’s been used as a well for sci-fi luminaries since he crashed 60 years ago (Paul was brought in to give Spielberg a

few tips, for instance). However his usefulness was at an end, he was scheduled for dissection, and it’s not long until the Men In Black are on his trail. Paul is just amazing fun from start to moving finish. You’re drawn in to the point where you feel like you’re on this epic road trip with a couple of really good friends. With a brilliant supporting cast (Kirsten Wiig is particularly good), clever lines, a huge amount of homages to other genre films, black humour and musings on the nature of friendship, it covers pretty much all bases. It’s maybe a bit more mainstream than Shaun Of The Dead and Hot Fuzz but retains a quirky, lovable appeal. Oh, and the computer-generated Paul is quite an achievement. Well worth a close encounter. WHERE & WHEN: Screening in cinemas from 14 April BAZ MCALISTER

ussie actresses Abbie Cornish and Emily Browning were part of the giant Aussie voice-cast of director Zack Snyder’s Legend Of The Guardians: The Owls Of Ga’Hoole. That was Snyder’s fourth film (after remake Dawn Of The Dead and graphic novel adaptations 300 and Watchmen), and the fourth to be based on pre-existing source material. Sucker Punch – also starring Cornish and Browning – is a first for Snyder, and a rarity for a big-budget action blockbuster: an original screenplay, based on original characters, and starring an all-girl ensemble cast in ass-kicking roles. The draw it has for young actresses in Hollywood is, thus, understandable. “I feel like so many things are remakes of TV shows from the ’80s, or remakes of something…which is fine, and it’s fun, but to see something original, that is this interesting, and on such a large scale is really amazing,” explains Browning, the film’s leading lady. Cornish agrees: “The idea of working with a group of girls was really exciting, because that doesn’t happen often, and such a huge group

Protect Victoria’s native forests. Don’t buy Reflex paper. Victoria’s native forests need to be protected for climate, water and wildlife. They should not be used to make Reflex paper. Visit www.ethicalpaper.com.au and sign the ethical paper pledge.

54 • THE DRUM MEDIA 14 APRIL 2011

of female leads is kind of amazing.” Above all, though, their director was the drawcard, as Cornish effuses. “I was kinda in awe of his skill as a filmmaker and how much he knew about the camera…and his relationships with his entire crew and cast. Everyone’s equal. There’s such a good vibe on set.” In the film, Browning plays Baby Doll, a young woman recently sent to a mental institution for young women, where she meets Cornish’s Sweet Pea and several others like herself, before plotting an escape together. Browning mentions how exciting it was to play a Sailor Moon type of character – a favourite of her youth – and also tells of Snyder screening the Japanese Anime Appleseed for the cast. It’s a pastiche-y kind of film, with much of the overt homages taking place in the fantasy sequences dreamed up by Baby Doll in the film as a means of escapism. Nonetheless, Browning realises how crucial a degree of realism was, for balance. “It was important for me at least to base my character very much in reality. I think a lot of the

EMILY BROWNING AS BABY DOLL

times with these kinds of film you don’t have that emotional element.” Cornish continues from Browning, “…otherwise you’d get lost in it. That’s what so great about it, is that how real moments are, even in the grandeur of the film.” Browning also balks at criticisms of the film’s alleged exploitation and overt sexualisation of young women. She explains, “I see Zack as loving strong women; that’s so clear – I mean, his producing partner is his wife. We’ve had discussions about this: people’s idea that he’s being exploitative towards women. If you knew Zack, this is so the opposite of what this is trying to be. It didn’t need to be a conscious decision for him, it wasn’t like, ‘Oh, I better do a film with

girls’. It was like ‘Well, I’ve done 300, and now I’m gonna do a similar sort of thing, but with girls’. It seemed like it was pretty natural for him to do it.” Browning has high hopes for it to hit big with female audiences. “I think it’s really cool to see this world where these girls are fighting together and they’re kind of action stars… We went to Comic-Con last year and I think it’s gonna be awesome this year because now girls can have five different characters that they can dress up as… it won’t just be all Princess Leias.” WHAT: Sucker Punch WHERE & WHEN: Screening in cinemas now

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