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THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015 • 3
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THIS WEEK THINGS TO DO THIS WEEK • 3 JUN - 9 JUN 2015
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This Sunday our most iconic street party the Caxton Street Festival is turning 21, so the party is bigger and better than ever! Music, drinks and so much food, there’s literally something for everyone. And it’s a long weekend!
The 69th annual Tony Awards are being broadcast live and exclusive on Monday at 10am on Foxtel Arts.
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The Luminous Lantern Parade is Queensland’s way of welcoming our newest Queenslanders during Queensland Week, and it kicks off at 5.30pm this Friday at South Bank. Say g’day and have some fun! BRISBANE
welcome
JONSON STREET BYRONBAY FRI 5 JUNE
WALLAPALOOZA WITH MASSIVE, RED HOOK, HAMMERS, THESE FOUR WALLS, GLASS OCEAN, HAIL MARY, SMOKING MARTHA SAT 6 JUNE
RICHARD IN YOUR MIND, THIS OLD SUNN, SUNROSE FRI 12 JUNE
VERNAS KEEP FRI 19 JUNE
THE DARK HAWKS SAT 20 JUNE
THE VERNONS FRI 26 JUNE
YES SIR NOCEUR FRI 3 JULY
BATTLESHIPS FRI 10 JULY
MORNING HARVEY SAT 11 JULY
HARTS
FRI 17 JULY
THE LAZYS SAT 18 JULY
FAMILY JORDAN TICKETS AVAILABLE ONLINE WWW.THENORTHERN.COM.AU
THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015 • 5
national news news@themusic.com.au RUSSELL BRAND
JOSHUA RADIN
RADINANT TREW STORY
Actor, comedian, author, social media personality and political activist Russell Brand is making his way to Australia off the back of his new documentary film, The Emperor’s New Clothes. With a focus on YouTube content from his own channel The Trews, he’ll be bringing his new show Trew World Order Down Under, ultimately hoping to become part of the crowd. Catch a more intimate performance when the man makes his way to Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, 17 Oct; Perth Arena, 20 Oct; Brisbane Entertainment Centre, 22 Oct; Sydney Opera House, 23 Oct; and Qantas Credit Union Arena, Sydney, 24 Oct.
GOD GIVEN METAL
Thirty years and 15 albums into their career, German power metal quintet Helloween is still shredding away like there’s no tomorrow. Yet they’ve only ever visited us once – and that didn’t even include Adelaide or Perth. With their imminent God Given Right tour, they’ve going to change all that. Taking their tour name from their latest album, My God-Given Right, Helloween will be showcasing it and more 14 Oct at 170 Russell in Melbourne, 16 Oct at Metro Theatre in Sydney, 7 Oct at Max Watt’s in Brisbane, and 20 Oct at Capitol in Perth.
MUSIC CHAT
With the main event fast approaching, it’s time to announce the fifth annual “little sister” event, Little BIGSOUND, the music forum that gives young people 15 – 25 a chance to hear and learn from some pretty amazing industry speakers. On hand this year are ARIA Award-winning producer Magoo, Footstomp Music director Graham Ashton, 4ZZZ music director Chris Cobcroft, THINK Creative’s Tim Ariel and Collision Course PR’s Tim Price, along with artists Dean McGrath from Rolls Bayce, Jarryd Shuker of Art Of Sleeping, Sahara Beck and Danny Kenneally from As Paradise Falls. It’s all happening 27 Jun at The Judith Wright Centre.
SAVE THE DATE
Listen Out Festival is returning this September and October to kickstart the festival summer season, delivering a heap of national and international dance music acts. With the line-up announcement coming soon, you’d be best to take down the dates: 26 Sep at new venue Catani Gardens, Melbourne; 27 Sep, Ozone Reserve, Perth; 3 Oct, Centennial Park, Sydney; and 4 Oct, Brisbane Showgrounds.
BACK IN BUSINESS
‘90s punk/hardcore hybrid Good Riddance broke up in 2007 and now, eight years later, the band have reformed and have burst back onto the scene with their latest full length, Peace In Our Time. They’ll be hitting up Australia for the first time in over a decade, promising new tracks and older hits, Corner Hotel, Melbourne, 7 Aug; Manning Bar, Sydney, 8 Aug; Crowbar, Brisbane, 9 Aug; and Amplifier Bar, Perth, 12 Aug.
IF YOU’RE DOING A “FACEBOOK FRIEND CULL” WHY DO YOU NEED TO TELL EVERYONE ABOUT IT? JUST SHUT UP AND CULL. YESSSSS, @RONNYCHIENG 6 • THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015
Even if you’re not sure who singersongwriter Joshua Radin is, you will probably have heard his songs, perhaps on Grey’s Anatomy, One Tree Hill or American Idol or a bunch of other TV shows. People who are well acquainted with Radin will be stoked to hear he’s coming to Australia in support of his sixth and latest album, Onwards And Sideways. Radin and his oh-so-soothing voice will be at Rosemount Hotel, Perth, 6 Sep; Corner Hotel, Melbourne, 9 Sep; Metro Theatre, 10 Sep; and Max Watt’s, Brisbane, 11 Sep.
GOT IT COVERED
Following sold out tours dates across the US, Europe and the UK, Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox have announced their first Australian tour, arriving on our shores in September. The social media juggernauts are famous for their ability to transform contemporary pop hits into vintage-flavoured songbook standard from the last century. The group made it big with a cover of Miley Cyrus’ We Can’t Stop, before going on to do Taylor Swift’s Blank Space, Meghan Trainor’s All About That Bass, Backstreet Boys’ I Want It That Way, and Hozier’s Take Me To Church. They’ll be making their way all around the country, stopping by Panthers, Newcastle, 2 Sep; Metro Theatre, Sydney, 3 Sep; The Tivoli, Brisbane, 5 Sep; Gold Coast Arts Centre, 6 Sep; Forum Theatre, Melbourne, 9 Sep; and Astor Theatre, Perth, 11 Sep.
OISIMA
OI, OI, OI
Off the back of his recent debut album release Nicaragua Nights, Adelaide’s Oisima has announced a national headline tour. Hear his exotic beats and contemporary dancefloor soul when he comes to Goodgod Small Club, Sydney, 26 Jun; Hugs & Kisses, Melbourne, 27 Jun; Black Bear Lodge, Brisbane, 9 Jul; and Flyrite, Perth, 10 Jul.
THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015 • 7
local news qld.news@themusic.com.au
FRONTLASH ONE-ZIP
It’s almost worth having lost last year’s SOO just so we can wrench it back off ‘em after one year! The first game was slightly drab but the right team was victorious by the closest of margins.
JERSEY? SURE! The team behind Jay and Silent Bob – Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes – are returning Down Under for more mirth and mayhem with their new The Jersey Boys Tour.
HOT FUZZ Great news with the return of ‘90s Brisbane fuzz lords Budd, who are re-releasing their Yakfat EP and celebrating with a free all ages instore at Tym Guitars on 19 Jul.
SNOOCHIE BOOCHIES!
BRISFEST SPECIAL
When this year’s Brisbane Festival kicks off 5 Sep, it’ll open with the exclusive Australian premiere of a music theatre work currently blazing a critically acclaimed trail through Europe and the UK. Created by Congolese countertenor Serge Kakudji, along with dance theatre maker Alain Platel and a dozen musicians from the Congo capital, Kinshasa, Coup Fatal was inspired by that country’s “dandies”, determined to blank out the horrors of a war that seems perpetual in that ill-fated country. Coup Fatal will play in the QPAC Playhouse.
WATCH THEM EXPLODE
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion have a new album polished up and with it comes a run of Australian tour dates. For close to a quarter-century the rock’n’rollers have been working New York city and surrounds hard with their greasy riffs and life-affirming punk rock, and now bring a bunch of new tracks from Freedom Tower – No Wave Dance Party 2015 to The Zoo, 6 Aug.
NOW WE ARE 22
He may look like a pretentious prat but Canadian journo Tyler Brûlé was correct in pointing out that Australia is ludicrously over-regulated and in danger of becoming the planet’s biggest nanny state.
It’s true – Regurgitator have been doing their thing for a staggering 22 years, and to celebrate, they’re returning to the stages of the east coast of this wide brown land for the first time in a while (before their mid-May First Coat street art event performance in Toowoomba, they last played late 2013 – in Beijing!). Their Cheap Imitations Tour-ché plays 28 Aug at The Zoo.
FIGHTING SPIRIT
IT’S TYM, BUDD
BACKLASH HEY NANNY NANNY
Adam Goodes’ post-goal ‘war dance’ in the AFL has polarised people, but if we’re going to have an Indigenous Round then it seems crazy to stifle his self-expression.
CLOSED LEGACY We’ve been waiting for Legacy Way to open for what seems like years, and now it’s unveiled on the weekend but still closed to traffic? It’s sure going to be great if we ever get to use the thing...
8 • THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015
A chance meeting in Tym Guitars that informed owner Tim Brennan that the members of one of his all-time favourite Brisbane bands of the ‘90s, Budd, local pioneers of the sludge/ garage sound, were all back in Brisbane, prompted his decision to remaster and reissue for the first time on vinyl the band’s selftitled EP, through Tym Records. To celebrate the fact, the original line-up is reuniting to launch the EP in a free, all ages in-store show 19 Jul.
CATLIPS
NO BULL
Internationally acclaimed hip hop DJ and producer Nosaj Thing has been announced atop the roster of buzzworthy acts destined to grace this year’s Red Bull Music Academy stage at Splendour In The Grass, North Byron Parklands, 24 – 26 Jul. Other acts playing the stage will be: LA-based producer Shlohmo, Aussie visionaries Charles Murdoch, Catlips, and Deutsch Duke, as well as RBMA alum Mark Maxwell, Adelaide legend Motez, New Orleans-bred upstart Jay Electronica, Melburnian rapper Baro, FBi Northern Lights winner LUCIANBLOMKAMP, Sampology, Total Giovanni, Willow Beats, Thandi Phoenix and more.
CANADIAN VET PUNKS
Pivotal hardcore punks, Canada’s SNFU, put together back in 1981 by a then homeless Chi Pig, remain one of the most vital and manic punk acts around, 30 years after releasing their debut LP, And No One Else Wanted To Play. SNFU are celebrating that 30th anniversary by touring the planet, and, accompanied by Melbourne’s Wolfpack, that sees them 12 Aug take over Crowbar.
BLACK HEARTS
The annual Cheated Hearts Prom is back, this time taking place at Oh Hello, and it will be horror themed, complete with blood and gore, which will be filmed. There’ll be free popcorn and fairly floss, a Prom King and Queen crowning, prom photos under a balloon arch, prizes for best costumes, and a soundtrack including trap, hip hop, electro and indie remixes provided by resident DJs. It all goes down 5 Jun.
EMMA PASK
NOOSA & ALL THAT JAZZ
While Wangaratta has hogged the headlines for years, Noosa has been quietly getting on with hosting its own much-loved jazz festival. In fact, 3 – 6 Sep, when the festivities take over the Festival Village Noosa, Lions Park, the Noosa Jazz Festival, presented by The Music, will be celebrating its 24th year. The organisers have just announced the first round of performers to grace the stage this year and it includes Emma Pask, Darren Percival, Todd Hardy & Anita Spring, Berardi/Foran/ Karlen, Jan Preston, Clayton Doley, The Lachy Doley Group and Feel The Manouche with George Washingmachine among others. Two stages, more than 45 performances, workshops, masterclasses, jazz river cruises and more – it’s all there.
local news qld.news@themusic.com.au THE STIFFYS
EXTENDED ARM, STELARC. PIC: DEAN WINTER
HOT CITY ART
Curated by David Pledger, director of pioneering interdisciplinary arts company Not Yet It’s Difficult, 2970° The Boiling Point is an event focusing on the future designed to fuel your imagination and ideas. Running 26 – 28 Jun at Bond University and The Arts Centre Gold Coast, 2970° The Boiling Point will feature five keynote speakers – performance artist Stelarc, neuroscientist Dr Daniel Glaser, Tomorrows Thoughts Today think tank founder Liam Young, filmmaker and activist Alex Kelly and visual artist Alex Monteith – as well as local visual artists, writers, photographers, videographers and more, participating in round-table workshops.
DAY RAVIN’
Sydney indie-poppers Day Ravies have unleashed new single Fake Beach, from their anticipated second album, Liminal Zones, out 10 Jul. Hear the new tracks live when the band heads out on a national album tour, The Bearded Lady, 31 Jul.
ONE FOR THE DECADES
The first glimpse of the line-up for the second annual Decades Festival has been announced. Held at Pine Rivers Park, Strathpine, 31 Oct, the festival sees legends Cold Chisel headlining, with stalwarts The Living End and Something For Kate also providing tunes, with many more acts to be announced. The festival also features live music from every decade, a ’50s to ‘90s car show, Kustom Kulture art show and pin stripin display, interactive car workshop sessions, trade stalls, vintage markets, a retro diner, kids’ activities, and more.
WATCH THEM EXPLODE
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion have a new album polished up and with it comes a run of Australian tour dates. The rock’n’rollers bring greasy riffs, life-affirming punk rock and a bunch of new tracks from Freedom Tower – No Wave Dance Party 2015 to The Zoo, 6 Aug.
CATCH THE TRAIN
Lifting a second single, Midnight Train, from their debut album, Know Your Destiny, folkrockers Chris Cavill & The Prospectors are getting back out there to do what they do best – perform for you. They launch that single 2 Jul at Lefty’s Old Time Music Hall and 3 Jul at the Royal Mail Hotel, Goodna.
THE HORROR!
Brisbane horror-themed music and dark arts festival The Dead Of Winter makes its return 25 Jul at the Jubilee Hotel and a massive new 1000 capacity outdoor tent in Brisbane’s Valley precinct. This year’s event will focus around multiple stages of bands, performance art, cutting edge/slashing edge films, future-fashion, R-rated comedy, markets and a horror cosplay meltdown with great prizes. Bands include Tumbleweed, LORD, The Go Set, The Resignators, The Stiffys, Totally Unicorn, As Paradise Falls, Our Last Enemy, The Wrath and a heap more. Head to deadofwinterfestival.com for ticket details.
SLOW ROAST
DJ Craze and Ape Drums are heading to Australia to celebrate Slow Roast Records fifth birthday. DJ Craze has toured with the likes of Kanye West, has scored Time Magazine’s Best American DJ and owns the label; Ape Drums has received kudos from the top DJs Major Lazer, Dillon Francis, Flosstradamus and more. They’ll be heading up The Met, 25 Jul.
I LIKE AUSTRALIA BECAUSE IT’S A PLACE WHERE SOMEONE CAN BE CALLED SOMETHING LIKE, SAY, “SQUIZZAH” HIS WHOLE LIFE, THEN BECOME PRIME MINISTER YEAH THAT’S FAIRLY ACCURATE, @BRO_PAIR.
MONO ROOMS
Celebrating 15 years of presenting cuttingedge music, experimental Australian label Room40 is presenting two shows 1 & 2 Aug at the Institute of Modern Art – Mono 18 and Mono 19. Run by composer, artist and curator Lawrence English, Room40 is all about showcasing the world’s finest experimental sound art and avant-pop artists, so these shows will feature America’s William Basinski and Hypnosis Display (Grouper and Paul Clipson), Japan’s Makino Takashi and Australia’s Ross Manning, as well as the commissioned world premiere of a diffusion composition for Open Frame by Jim O’Rourke.
IT’S ONLY NATURAL
Vocal play group Naturally 7 is returning to Australia with World Vision for seven shows starting at the end of August. See the a cappella group creating full-sounding music simply using their mouths when they come to City Hall, 31 Aug.
THE NEW FUTURE
Brisbane future beats producer cln has lifted a second track, Left Behind, from his forthcoming EP, Found, and is touring the east coast to reintroduce himself and the new material. 13 Jun at The TBC Club, co-headlining with Elizabeth Rose. THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015 • 9
tv
BACK TO THE FUTURE “There’s so much shit on TV,” says Home Delivery host Julia Zemiro. Daniel Cribb discovers why this TV show’s third season sets it apart.
“I
am in London right now and the sun is out, so it’s a miracle!” a chirpy Julia Zemiro begins. “I’ve just done another series of RocKwiz, and I’m also on my way to Eurovision, so I’m confused,” she adds. It’s not surprising with such a hectic schedule, but at least she’s over the jetlag. Flying in ten days earlier, Zemiro has been busy filming episodes for the third season of Home Delivery – a show that follows one celebrity per episode as they take a trip down memory lane, revisiting places in which they grew up. As host, it’s
sort of forgotten that there are three cameras following you around. “We interviewed Ruth Jones in season two – who was in Gavin & Stacey – in her little house in Porthcawl in Wales, and were doing the house tour with her, and then at one point she kind of got all teary in her room. She realised that was the room when she was eight years old that she went and said goodbye to when they moved out of the house, and how important it was. Again, we would never have got that if we’d been in a studio.”
her. Instead of asking the same questions he’s heard before, a different approach was taken for Home Delivery. “We managed to get his favourite primary school teacher. Mrs. Thorogood is her name – of course her name is Mrs. Thorogood, ‘cause she was thoroughly good. She actually broke a holiday to come and film the episode. As soon as she walked in the room we all could see why he had loved her as a teacher. “He didn’t know this and we didn’t know this, but she said, ‘Oh, but you know, my father died when I was six, so I really related to Alan’s situation.’ And he was like ‘What?!’ So it was quite extraordinary to kind of get that sort of revelation. She was just a beautiful human.”
While seasons one and two focused on comedians, the third round is a mixed talent pool, with episode one shining a spotlight on Olympic gold medal swimmer Ian Thorpe. “I think a year ago with Parkinson, that was the big reveal, in terms of coming out and all of that,” Zemiro points out, “but it’s a year later and we were interested in seeing how he is a year later after having made that big announcement – which of course no one should ever have to make in such a public way. No person should have to
“WE’RE NOT TRYING TO GET ANYTHING OUT OF THESE PEOPLE OR ABUSE THEM OR TRICK THEM; WE’RE ACTUALLY TRYING TO FIND OUT WHAT IT IS THAT MAKES THE PERSON WHO THEY ARE.”
Zemiro’s job to steer the talent down avenues that will open them up to honest and revealing conversations about their upbringing, giving viewers a unique insight into their lives. Filming episodes with Alan Davies, Jo Brand, Billy Bragg and Matt Lucas (Little Britain) since landing, season three is shaping up quite nicely. “The thing is you want people who know that they have to spend the whole day in a car with me, driving to different places, and are willing to talk sort of from 9am to 5pm, and be a bit playful. We’ve lucked in on all series, I have to say.” Unlike your standard interview, it’s spending the day together that really allows Zemiro to get the most out of each of her guests. “If I asked you about a childhood memory, just sitting here on the phone, you can think of one. But if I take you back to that place, you will start to remember things that you had forgotten. If you take them somewhere where they’ll feel something – either good or bad – then they’ll talk about it a bit more. There’s no doubt that by the end of the day you’ve relaxed a little bit more into it and you’ve 10 • THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015
The circumstances in which the interviews go down sometimes even bring up things that surprise the interviewee. QI’s Alan Davies features in season three, and revisiting his youth was always going to be an intimate experience for him and viewers. As Davies has discussed in the past, his mother passed away of cancer when he was only six years old, and he later found out that his father and doctors knew she was dying, but decided not to tell
say what their sexuality is. No one ever asks me if I’m straight, you know; that’s just bullshit. “But he did it on his terms and that’s what was important. He’s looking so good, he’s so relaxed – he really is the most incredible specimen of humanity. He’s in a really good place, and it was great to go back to his home turf to see where he’s from, to see the first pool he ever swam in when he was a kid; it was fantastic.” It’s not surprising that Home Delivery is a show Zemiro is proud to be a part of. “There’s so much shit on TV that either is competitive or abusive. What I love about our show is that we’re not trying to get anything out of these people or abuse them or trick them; we’re actually trying to find out what it is that makes the person who they are.” Ultimately, she sees Home Delivery as a show that will hopefully go further than merely being an entertaining insight into a celebrity’s life. By getting a detailed, first-hand account of how and where they grew up, its third season
continues the show’s trend of inspiring hope and bringing important subjects – such as mental health – into the forefront of the discussion. “What interests me is watching how someone continues in life – keeps going in life. I think that’s a great thing to watch. And also, these people, they know what’s expected of them. We’ve asked people to do the show and they’ve said no because they don’t want to talk about their childhood, and that’s absolutely fair enough. But once they’re there on the day they know that we’ll be talking about that and they’re always really generous. “I think teenagers can watch the show and go, ‘Alright, so year twelve isn’t the end of the world.’ You know, other things can happen. You can find other ways and other pathways to find what you love and do it. And that takes resilience and you’ve got to be tough. And all these episodes, all of them, you see a resilience in the people.” WHAT: Julia Zemiro’s Home Delivery 9pm Wednesdays on ABC1
WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE Perhaps what makes Julia Zemiro such a perfect host on Home Delivery is her broad and eclectic resume, which has seen her work extensively as an actress, writer and producer on Australian TV and radio. It’s her past encounters with the talent on Home Delivery that probably makes them feel a bit more open to conversation, and having crossed paths with Billy Bragg on RocKwiz last year, her adventures with the English rocker were all the more interesting. “Billy Bragg was amazing. Guess what I got to do? I got to busk with him outside Barking train station!” Zemiro reveals. “He came and did RocKwiz with us, which was fantastic, so I actually had a little bit of a connection with him which was great. He’s such a great storyteller and he knows so much about his town; it was like getting a history lesson. It was pretty nice to have already met him and spent an evening with him at the show, that’s for sure.” Bragg’s musical ability was also in fine form when he went on RocKwiz, teaming up with Courtney Barnett for a smashing cover of The Velvet Underground’s Sunday Morning. “You can see them smiling at each other and working out their harmonies as they’re going. It was one of my favourites; they were beautiful.” Before Zemiro is thrown back into juggling ever more numerous projects, she imparts some final words of wisdom: “Check out the Courtney Barnett/Dave Faulkner duet that they did on RocKwiz. They did a Died Pretty song – it’s bloody fantastic too.”
THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015 • 11
music
ANOTHER LANGUAGE Riding high on their successful third album, Texas postrock quarter This Will Destroy You are returning for a national tour. Guitarist Chris King speaks to Scott Aitken about fine-tuning the shows and what’s next.
F
or their third album, Another Language, Texas four-piece This Will Destroy You spent the better part of a year writing the songs primarily in the studio after what has been described as a “prolonged vacuous dark period that threatened to break both the band and the members themselves.” With the album finally released in September last year, the band has been back on the road playing shows again. Guitarist Chris King said despite the album being made in the studio, it didn’t take long to adapt
music
the songs for the live arena. “I feel like initially on there was a little bit of finessing and figuring out the best way to kind of get things going live but I definitely feel like at this point things are pretty honed in and we feel confident that things are flowing well. We just got finished playing a festival in Austin called Levitation and festivals are a good gauge for playing live because it’s a very do or die environment. You have, like, ten minutes to set up and play and it’s like the final two minutes of a basketball game. It can be intense in certain aspects playing festivals so it’s probably a good gauge
of where the set is at now and we feel like we’ve performed well under pressure and feel good about this set and how everyone’s playing.” The new album now sits amongst a long catalogue of songs from their decade-long career so far, including 2011’s Tunnel Blanket and their self-titled debut from 2008, alongside a handful of EPs. King says the more upbeat songs of the new album help contrast with some of the darker parts of the set. “It’s been a great transition into the older material and it’s been a nice dynamic with the previous record, Tunnel Blanket being a little darker and slower and it meshing with that and having more upbeat songs like Invitation and New Topia. It’s been a nice way of increasing the palette and diversifying the set and just kind of adding more to the experience, and the ups and downs of things. It definitely feels good having the new record as a placeholder and having these songs to play, I feel like they fit in really well with the previous material and they’re translating well live so we’ve been really happy with it.” The band return to Australia this June, playing songs from the new album as well as spanning the rest of their catalogue. After that King says the band will do a mini-tour of the US before starting work on some new releases. “We have a couple of scoring projects coming up in the next year that we can’t really disclose what they are or who’s involved but we’re really excited to be a part of that,” King explains. “But we’re definitely going to take some time in late summer/early fall to start writing, get some studio time lined up and get things going.” WHEN & WHERE: 14 Jun, Hermann’s Bar
PUNK DADDY
Hardcore punk rockers Deez Nuts don’t seem the most likely competitors of Peppa Pig. Yet when Annelise Ball called lead singer JJ Peters at home in Dusseldorf, a toddler Peppa fangirl could be heard clearly down the line.
“I
say, and some of the things we tried resulted in some of the coolest songs on the album.”
Word Is Bond was a far more comfortable album for Deez Nuts to create it seems. “Up until (third album) Bout It, I’d written and recorded everything myself,” Peters explains. “Everyone is comfortable in their positions now, so I think it resulted in a more wellrounded album in general.” With band mates Matt Rogers and Alex Salinger hailing from New York, the guys spent a month on Staten Island writing the album together. “We finished it off in Boston at the Brick HitHouse with our friends Shane Frisby and Andrew Neufeld from Comeback Kid. It was actually the first time we’ve worked with a producer.
When questions are asked about the provocative quote on Deez Nuts’ website, declaring, “We’re not a bunch of fuckin’ dudes who come from privilege, you can hear this, you can feel this,” Peters takes the chance to set the record straight. “It was taken out of context!” he laughs. “I was trying to say that it’s harder for people to resonate with your music when you’re just writing party songs. With Word Is Bond, we’ve opened up more as a band, and even though we’ve had a certain
’m entertaining my daughter right now, so don’t worry, I don’t have strange tastes,” clarifies JJ Peters. “When I’m not touring, I come to Germany to spend as much time with her as possible.” Kicking off their five-week European tour in nearby Zurich, Deez Nuts will then take soon-tobe-released fourth album Word Is Bond on an epic tour across Canada, the US, New Zealand and Asia; while squeezing in home soil Aussie dates in June.
“He’s our boy, he’s our friend, who also just happens to be one of our favourite writers and musicians. He’d put out ideas and we’d shoot them down if we didn’t like them. ‘Follow me down the rabbit hole,’ he’d 12 • THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015
level of success, it can still be an uphill battle. I think people can feel that intensity through the direction the band is taking now.” By the looks of the video clip for new single, Face This On My Own, the boys are channelling the intensity hard. Deez Nuts stalk some innerMelbourne streets gang-style, swigging drinks, setting off flares and punching people up. “Just a quiet day in Brunswick East,” quips Peters. “The fun, theatrical element to the clip just highlights the song’s underlying vibe, which is no matter what I go through, I’ve got all my boys with me.” Bromance aside, toddler squeals turn the conversation back to the challenge of being a hardcore rocker and a hands-on dad. “It’s difficult, but life has a funny way of working out. It’s hard at times when you’re away for long periods. But, I have to create the best life for my daughter the only way I know how; making music.” WHAT: Word Is Bond (UNFD) WHEN & WHERE: 4 Jun, Brightside
THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015 • 13
music
THE GIFT OF TIME Ben Lee is more about the present than the past, as he tells Samuel J Fell.
“I
don’t feel like a veteran or anything like that,” laughs Ben Lee, “I just feel like someone who’s trying to make the best work today, like every artist is. There’s something about the commitment to being an artist, you just keep walking that path. If you keep walking, then other artists look at you at some point and go, ‘Hey, good on you.’ They don’t have to love every record you’ve made… [there’s that respect].” Lee, speaking from his home in Los Angeles where he’s been based for around four years, is reminiscing about his career thus far, a run that’s coming up to a quarter century – no mean feat in this musical day and age. As well, 2015 marks the tenth anniversary of the
release of his defining double-platinum album, Awake Is The New Sleep – so there’s a lot to look back on. “There’s an interesting Buddhist teaching that says, ‘One definition of the ego is memory,’ meaning that we build all of these stories based on things that happened in the past, and the past doesn’t really exist in any meaningful way. “I’m not talking about dishonouring the past. But as far as being a defining factor in the decisions that we make, I’m vehemently disinterested in the past. I believe in moving forward.” This sense of moving on forms the base theme for Lee’s newest
music
release, Love Is The Great Rebellion. As he says in the album’s press material, “Love is always inviting us into the present moment… and one of the prerequisites of love, whether it’s love in a marriage or for your child or for your craft, is that it can exist only in the present. So the reality of stepping into that moment involves letting go of the past.” Heavy themes, but one wouldn’t really expect anything less from Lee, and therein lies a good deal of the man’s artistic appeal – he’s proven he’s able to write songs centring on these challenging ideals, married with his unique brand of pop music, for which he has an uncanny knack. Love Is The Great Rebellion is no exception, a rocksolid pop album, all long-legged melodies and floppyhatted harmonies playing together in the summer sunshine. It harks back to his earlier work, and while he did step away from this mode for a while, he’s come full circle, and not particularly consciously. “I actually thought I was going to make one of the most abstract records of my career,” he admits. “But then a few catchy songs came out, and it was at that moment that I reassessed… so the impetus was a very organic one, and after that point, I realised I wasn’t finished with what I have to say with pop music. I still feel I have something offer. I may be delusional, but I feel like I [still] have something to contribute to that conversation. I realise I’ve spent the better part of my life learning the science of how to write a pop song, so to throw all that out feels kind of wasteful.” WHEN & WHERE: 5 Jun, Black Bear Lodge
NEVER GROW OLD
Legendary Aussie rockers Cosmic Psychos are still doing things as they please, and founding frontman Ross Knight argues to Steve Bell that you can’t teach old yobs new tricks.
B
anging out dirty rock’n’roll has certainly never been akin to brain surgery, but surely there’s got to be more to it than getting your mates around to your farm, knocking back a few coldies and yelling some Aussie colloquialisms over dumb, brutal ruffs? Not if you’re a member of Oz rock veterans Cosmic Psychos, whose brand new long-player, Cum The Raw Prawn, was created in exactly this ad hoc manner, and sounds as fun and vital as anything they’ve put their name to over their long and storied career. “Look, it’s just a fucking hoot, that’s all it is,” offers frontman Ross “Knighty” Knight. “It’s just meant to be a bit of fun, and I think the fun we had recording it came out in the recording really – it’s just three fucking knobs getting pissed and coming up with bad ad-libbing on the spot crap. It was great! “[When we first set up to record] Dean [Muller]’s doing his line-check for his drums and I thought, ‘Shit, I’d better go into the shed and write some songs!’ Because we were struggling a bit – I had a couple of rough riffs worked out but I didn’t know how they’d go. We’d just make ‘em up on the spot and go, ‘Yeah, we’ll do something with that one day,’ but then we never did anything with ‘em, so we had to scramble around a bit. I didn’t even have any words for what I had going around in me head so we had to work
14 • THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015
on that pretty quick.” Of course, the Psychos being the Psychos this isn’t their first recording conducted in such an ad hoc manner. “Yeah, [we do it like that] most of the time,” Knighty laughs. “The most organised we ever were was when we went over and recorded Blokes You Can Trust with Butch Vig in the early-‘90s, but even then the night before we flew out to the States the record company bloke from Sydney rang me up and he goes, ‘Oh, how many songs have you got? You’d want to take over at least twenty or twenty-five songs,’ and I’m thinking, ‘Fuck, twenty songs? I think
I’ve got one!’ So I had a few beers and decided to come up with some songs. At least they were fresh in my mind, so we sorta had something worked out then. “I think the recording process works better when you just do everything off the cuff. You put yourself under a bit of pressure – which we love, because it just means you drink quicker. I like building on top of the basic things. I know how something’s going to sound. As soon as we’ve got the basic riff going, I go, ‘Ooh, we could put something over there, or perhaps Macca’s guitar could sound like this or that.’ I probably have a pretty big input as far as producing goes, but songwriting takes the blink of an eye.” WHAT: Cum The Raw Prawn (Desperate Records) WHEN & WHERE: 5 Jun, Coolangatta Hotel; 6 Jun, Crowbar To read the full interview head to TheMusic.com.au
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music
WHAT IT SHOULD BE
Having recently added “radio show host” to his CV, Shihad’s effervescent front-man Jon Toogood tells Brendan Crabb about commemorating their Killjoy record’s 20th anniversary.
J
ust days prior to taking The Music’s call, Jon Toogood, vocalist/guitarist for Australasian hard rock veterans Shihad began presenting a weekly music show, Planet Of Sound, on New Zealand’s Radio Hauraki. Considering his earnest on-stage presence and likeable demeanour, he seems a logical choice to helm his own program. Taking a break from organising playlists, Toogood revels in having carte blanche to play “whatever the fuck I want”. “I think if I’d been in a situation where I had to be playing a format or anything like that, I don’t think I’d be interested.”
film
Not that he ever envisioned himself in such a role. “I never saw myself as a radio show host,” he chuckles. “Seriously, I never even saw myself as someone who’d still be in a band 25 years later, after starting with the same guys at Wellington High School, wanting to do Metallica covers. But here I am. I like the fact that life’s pretty surprising. It keeps me interested. On top of that, I just got back from Khartoum in northern Sudan, ‘cause my wife’s Sudanese, where I’ve been working with traditional female vocal and drum groups, and I’ve been incorporating that into contemporary music. I would never
have thought when I was a little metal-head in Wellington that I’d be doing that either,” he laughs. Another source of fulfilment is celebrating the 20th anniversary of breakthrough Killjoy record. Shihad previously played the entire album at select shows, and recently did so again in Auckland. Killjoy was also afforded the remaster treatment, which Toogood is audibly ecstatic about. “It was like, ‘Let’s make this the monster that it should be.’ I’m always dubious about remastering, but this thing sounds like a fucking new record to me. All of a sudden you’ve got all this bottom end, which was there when we were in the studio, and then for some reason we always went, ‘Yeah, sounds sorta good,’ but it never sounds as good as what it sounded like when we were recording it. But thanks to modern technology we took it into a guy called [Tony] ‘Jack The Bear’ [Mantz] in Melbourne. He went, ‘Fuck, check out the bottom end on this,’ and we were, ‘Yeah, that’s pretty much what we wanted it to sound like.’ “We released it once on vinyl before, and that was through Noise Records in Germany… The only way to get the vinyl was this German pressing of it, and the problem was it was mastered by a guy in Berlin, and he thought that the bass feedback at the start of Get Up was a mistake, so he EQ-ed that whole frequency out of the whole record,” the main-man chuckles. “Finally, we’re getting a chance to present it like it is.” WHEN & WHERE: 5 Jun, Hamilton Hotel; 6 Jun, Parkwood Tavern, Gold Coast; 7 Jun, Racecourse Hotel, Ipswich
WITH MY CLIQUE
Entourage’s Kevin Dillon actually shouted “Victory!” at his own wedding, he tells Neil Griffiths.
“I
His role as Johnny ‘Drama’ Chase in the TV show, which ran from 2004 to 2011, has seen Dillon score Golden Globe and Screen Actor’s Guild nominations, as well as three Emmy nominations in as many years. “It’s the part of a lifetime, really. When you think about it, he’s had quite a career too – Johnny Drama can’t be a bad actor, he just works too much!” Dillon says, giving some credit to the fictional star. “We were all kind of comparing our own resumes to Johnny Drama’s and he’s right up there with us! But the great thing about Drama too is, he’s half a nut job, but he’s got such a big heart and that’s why I love him.”
that Dillon performed Drama’s famous ‘Victory’ call at his own wedding? Dillon laughs. “Yes, I did, and I did it with a broken wrist!” He yelled ‘Victory’ while posing for pictures at his reception. Dillon says he loves the call made famous on Drama’s fictional ‘90s show, Viking Quest, though he admits he often is approached by fans on the street: “I do have random guys come up to me and say, ‘Hey, give me a ‘Victory’!”
Over the years, the Entourage actors have become close friends. Jerry Ferrara (who portrays Turtle) served as the best man at Dillon’s wedding in 2006. Kevin Connolly (Eric ‘E’ Murphy) was also in attendance. “I would have had Adrian [Grenier] also, but he had to work,” Dillon laughs. “They’re like family to me, they’re like brothers and always will be. We’ve got a long friendship, we’ve known each other over 12 years and I’ll know these guys forever.”And was it really true
The frequent celebrity cameos on Entourage have always been a fan favourite part of the show; the film ups the ante with stars such as Pharrell Williams, Liam Neeson, Jon
t was very easy to pull back together,” says Dillon of returning to the Entourage world – almost with his character Drama’s naive charm. “I watched a couple of episodes to get that feeling back and then after about two takes I felt like we were running on all cylinders.”
16 • THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015
Favreau, UFC fighter Ronda Rousey and Emily Ratajkowski all making cameos, which Dillon claims to be an intentional move to make the Hollywood world more realistic. “I love the cameos – it’s tricky to put them in and not be like, ‘Oh, they just stuck them in somewhere,’ so you’ve got to make them feel real. Party scenes are one of the only times that you can do that, you can throw tonnes in there. But you know, to have Liam Neeson drive up next to you, that happens here in Hollywood...” This is thought to be the curtain call for the Entourage franchise, though Dillon isn’t so sure. “I think there could be a second movie, I always felt like the show had legs. I felt we could have done two more seasons, so it’s kind of cool that we were able to do a movie.” So, where could we expect to see Drama in the future? “Well you know, Drama will get kicked to the curb again somehow!” WHAT: Entourage In cinemas 4 Jun
STING IN THE TALE It’s all a bit cloak and dagger, but, as Muse bass player Chris Wolstenholme tells Dylan Stewart it’s all part of releasing albums these days.
H
aving signed a non-disclosure waiver, an advance copy of Muse’s seventh album, Drones, is pulled from a locked drawer and placed in a CD player. Phones off, pen and paper are allowed, and a strictly embargoed copy of the album’s lyrics is presented. It’s the type of secrecy that has shrouded Drones, and, as bass player Chris Wolstenholme explains, it’s for good reason. “I think it’s always important that the first that people hear of an album is the real thing,” he begins. “With mobile phones you get people recording gigs and pirating copies of albums [before they’re released, so] quite often when a new album comes out the
first thing that people hear of it is some shitty iPhone recording.” The expansion of piracy networks and the willingness of consumers to illegally download music is well-documented, although it hasn’t stopped Wolstenholme and his bandmates – guitarist/singer Matt Bellamy and drummer Dom Howard – from achieving superstardom. The new record’s content, however, is another reason they’ve been keen to keep it from prying ears. Drones is a conceptual album, bringing to life the not-too-distant future and the story of a human brainwashed
by the establishment and trained to be just another killer in an army of world-destroying clones.
music
Despite being stripped of nearly all his emotion and human connectedness, he rebels against authority and leads a rebellion. World War Three ensues and, well, let’s just say it’s not something to walk down a wedding aisle to. It’s a dark, epic, rock’n’roll album that asks for a significant emotional investment by fans. “For me, growing up, music was all about the album,” Wolstenholme continues. “The anticipation that people felt when an album from a big band was coming out has died down in recent years and it’s something that I personally miss.” It’s cathartic, listening to an entire album away from the distractions of everyday life. There are some excellent stand-alone tracks like lead single Dead Inside and the soldier’s lament of Aftermath, but there’s a wholesale consumption of the listener when listening to Drones in full that very rarely happens in contemporary music. “There are probably two or three ways that you can interpret the record, and I don’t think there’s necessarily a right or wrong way,” explains Wolstenholme. “You can take the lyrics very literally, but there are some pretty strong metaphors in there too that talk about the human race and how we’ve become disconnected through the growing use of technology in our life, and how that has become such a part of our lives to the point we go through life without having connections with other human beings.” WHAT: Drones (Warner)
XX MARKS THE SPOT
music
Now that Jamie xx (aka Jamie Smith) is “older”, he loses less nights to the dancefloor and treasures solo reflection time, he tells Bryget Chrisfield.
W
hen asked how he is, Jamie xx (aka Jamie Smith) replies “not bad”. He’s just returned to London from Coachella, which he describes as “very fun”, but Smith’s gentle, monotone delivery is at odds with this description. “It’s a beautiful place and I spent some time out in the desert on my own, which was wicked,” he continues, once again sounding unenthused, exhausted or potentially both. “I rented a house in Joshua Tree for the week in between the two Coachellas.” Did he have any interesting, enlightening visions? He laughs knowingly, before offering, “Um, I had a lot of time to think.” Smith says that he doesn’t meditate, but has “given it a go”. On whether he constantly has thoughts running through his head, Smith admits, “Yes, definitely”. You get the feeling that the majority of these thoughts are musicrelated and with the crazy regularity of Smith’s output – his band The xx, solo guise, remixes, production work as well as DJ sets – downtime must be rare. “I always take a field recorder out with me when I tour,” Smith enlightens, “and a lot of the sounds [on In Colour] are based on sort of chatter from nights out and that sort of thing.” Album opener Gosh is a startling statement with spleen-rupturing bass rumbles and samples from a bunch of different pirate radio shows repeating phrases such as, “Oh, my gosh”. “I liked that phrase,” Smith allows. “It’s quite an old English phrase,
‘Oh, my gosh’. It’s been sort of recoined by jungle MCs from the mid‘90s so I just like how those sorts of things are constantly reappropriated in the UK.” All Under One Roof Raving from Smith’s debut solo outing, features spoken-word samples, some of which were lifted from Mark Leckey’s 1999 short film Fiorucci Made Me Hardcore. Watching this video-art piece calls to mind long lost nights out on the town spent entirely on the dancefloor, when chats are minimal and it’s all about the tunes. Reflecting on such nights out, Smith muses, “I definitely feel like, just being older, it happens less for me.”
Another standout album track, Girl, samples Freeez’s IOU. When asked whether he recalls the first time he heard the ‘80s classic, Smith offers, “Somebody at the record label played it, ‘cause the original Freeez record was actually out on the same group of record labels [Beggars Group] that we release on, and I’d never heard it before. And somebody played it in the office, somebody who’s been working with us since day one, and I just loved it, basically, and the fact that it’s British and it’s sort of related to our history a little bit.” Smith recently spent a couple of months living in Brooklyn and shares, “I really liked living there for a little while. It can be very lonely, which I liked, but it can also be exhaustingly social, which is also fun. It just sort of depends who’s in town, really. It’s very much a place where, for me at least, depending on whoever’s there at the time it really changes what happens in the city.” WHAT: In Colour (Young Turks/Remote Control) To read the full interview head to theMusic.com.au THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015 • 17
ALBUM OF THE WEEK
★★★★½
album/ep reviews
MUSE
SETH SENTRY
Warner
High Score/Inertia
It would be a pretty tough critic who’d say Muse needed Drones to be successful for their career to right itself, given 2012’s The 2nd Law didn’t live up to expectations. But it could be fair to say that if this latest record flopped, there might be some questions asked about the band’s legacy.
To date, Seth Sentry has had two operative flaws. First, his persona on the mic is brutally straightforward, without style or nuance. Second, he refuses to change. So imagine the thrill when Seth Sentry confronts, and defeats, both flaws in the first few bars of album opener, How Are You! Sentry’s regimented flow, an eternal slave to his rhyme schemes and simple melodies, reaches immediately for heights he’s never even contemplated before. Thirty seconds into Strange New Past Sentry has decided to rewrite the future.
Drones
Lucky, then, that Drones is spectacular, epic in scope, epic in sound, epic in delivery. Released tracks, Psycho and Dead Inside, indicate that the band are back in their comfort zone; a three-piece rock’n’roll behemoth ready to conquer all. But Drones isn’t just a collection of 12 tracks sewn together to create a powerful album; it’s a conceptual album encompassing a vision of an allpowerful government state, the brainwashing and destruction of a human soul, and the inevitable rebellion and subsequent World War Three that follows.
Strange New Past
It’s a powerful narrative made even more dystopian by Matt Bellamy’s lyrics, which are as strong as ever. Even in uplifting moments like Mercy, there’s an overarching sense of despair. Not every track is a winner, with concurrent tracks The Handler and Defector representing a weaker area of the record, but it finishes with a superb duo: the haunting lament of Aftermath and the epic, four-part The Globalist. Drones can be consumed song by song, but it shouldn’t be. It should be absorbed as an overall piece of work, and a brilliant one at that. Dylan Stewart
OF MONSTERS & MEN
18 • THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015
It might sound odd for a man of Seth Sentry’s experience, but he remains a work in progress. His triumph is his commitment to making that progress while others around him stagnate. That’s artistry. That’s humility. That’s what an intelligent rapper should be striving for. James d’Apice
Cum The Raw Prawn
Republic/Universal
Beneath The Skin is comparable to Mumford & Sons latest album, Wilder Mind, in a number of ways. Firstly, the titles of both these recent records seem to imply or suggest a deeper or more serious level of introspection. The cheery sounds and bright trumpets of these bands’ earlier releases have been replaced with a postgreat-recession seriousness, or
Run is a backward step. On Dumb, when we share Seth’s self-deprecatory moment, we learn our hero is not smarter than a sixth grader, and when we hear a forgettable pop rock hook, it feels like the past. Then, New Sentry steps up to the plate with some neat new flow tricks and the future again feels a little brighter.
COSMIC PSYCHOS
Beneath The Skin
The best laid schemes often go awry. Icelandic band Of Monsters & Men here return with the follow-up to their timely debut album, My Head Is An Animal. The record remains a key touchstone for anyone wanting to know what pop music sounded like in the early half of this decade. Since then, it seems the band hasn’t changed much. However, as its title would suggest, Beneath The Skin is a more sombre affair than its predecessor.
It’s not all rosy though. On Nobody Like Me he reels off some funny, engaging, Jurassic Park-flavoured raps. We’re listening. Then Thundamentals’ Tuka drops a guest verse and the spell is instantly broken. Tuka brings with him all the style and charisma Sentry lacks, and we remember what we’ve been missing too. Uneventful
★★★
Desperate Records/Rocket
★★★ at least the sheen of sincerity. This has meant that the folk instruments and the simpler times they evoke have been left back in the dusty attics in which they were found, replaced now with the loud and grey sounds of electric guitars. The album was produced by Rich Costey, who’s previously worked with other groups searching for this sense of stadium-ready solemnity. Organs is the quietest moment on the album, and while it’s easy to see it as the token acoustic track, it’s also a reminder that the band can sound perfectly sincere once the background noise is stripped away. Roshan Clerke
Kicking off with Better, Not Bitter and its “Fucken bullshit, maaaate!” refrain – possibly the most Ocker song ever committed to tape – the Cosmic Psychos’ new album, Cum The Raw Prawn, finds the trio putting the yob back in yob rock with glorious gusto. Recorded on the fly at frontman Knighty’s infamous farm, this represents possibly the dumbest batch of lyrics in the Psychos’ storied catalogue of dumb lyrics, but the music behind them is typically driving and unrelenting, rife with the trio’s innate (albeit brutish) knack for hooks and melody. Mad Macca unleashes some blistering guitar parts on songs like Bum For Grubs, Come & Get Some and Toothbrush – and also contributes two strong tracks in Fuckwit City and Pint Girl – while Dean Muller holds
★★★★ the beat with typical precision and also chucks in the driving Cotton Mouth. Strange drunken skits, laughing and the sound of tinnies being cracked between songs also add a larrikin charm. It takes a special skill-set to write songs so mindlessly stupid that make you want to grab a beer and scream along at the top of your lungs, but that’s how this lot’s always rolled. At the very end, Didn’t Wanna Love Me moves as close to pathos as Psychos are ever gonna get, but mostly this is the sound of blokes trying to make their mates laugh and having a ripping time (and making some great rock’n’roll) in the process. Steve Bell
album/ep reviews
★★★★
METHYL ETHEL Oh Inhuman Spectacle
Dot Dash/Remote Control Perth-bred Methyl Ethel’s debut full-length is a strong progression from their first two EPs. Despite opening with the WAM Pop Song Of The Yearwinning Rogues, as a whole, the album certainly wanders down a more lo-fi dream-pop path. That doesn’t mean it’s not got its fair share of memorable hooks – second track, Shadowboxing, and the fifth, Twilight Driving, are standouts in that respect with glistening guitar tones and catchy lyrics, while later track, Artificial Limb, is a showcase for Jake Webb’s nostalgic-sounding vocals, tinged with that Aussie twang we’ve all come to love so much.
★★★★
★★★½
★★★½
YOUNG GUNS
HARTS
DAUGHN GIBSON
EMI
Pavement/Shock
Sub Pop/Inertia
Young Guns are shooting for the stars with this latest release. Rising Up is electric with a powerful main riff while Lullaby is more deep and meaningful. I Want Out and Infinity are the most mainstream songs, full of heavy but playful beats. Die On Time sounds like a song that could be an opener for a Bond movie. Ones And Zeros’ energy is infectious with its fast pace and guitars; Gustav Wood’s vocals are incredible with a hint of that English accent in there. A solid album for the London-based lads.
Melbourne singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Darren Hart brings something brighter back into rock music on his latest release. While the stomping funk of the title track sounds heavily inspired by Mark Ronson’s recent foray into downtown sounds, it’s all the more noteworthy that this is the work of one man. In the vein of classic self-produced ‘70s singer-songwriters like Shuggie Otis, Harts handles all the playing himself. When A Man’s A Fool is heavy on the riffs, while he takes a much more virtuosic approach to the guitar on the remaining three tracks, filling them with Hendrix-style guitar solos.
On his third album Gibson strips away the gothic Americana elements of his previous releases and replaces them with immersive electronic textures and dark pop-laced compositions. Co-producers Tim Hecker, Jesse Sykes and Randall Dunn (Earth, Sunn O))) enhance the respective experimental, melodic and dark qualities of the album as Gibson delves into lyrical corners that have a cinematic feel. He sings them in a deep, rich voice that brings to mind Jack Ladder and Lambchop’s Kurt Wagner backed by Wild Beasts or Tindersticks. An album that takes a few listens before its nuances begin to emerge.
Roshan Clerke
Chris Familton
Ones And Zeros
Aneta Grulichova
Kane Sutton
Breakthrough
Carnation
MORE REVIEWS
themusic.com.au/music/album-reviews
★★★
★★★
★★★★
FFS
PINS
LEFTFIELD
Domino/EMI
Bella Union/[PIAS] Australia
Infectious/Liberator
FFS With seemingly shared intellectual and musical outlooks, the mind-meld of Franz Ferdinand and Sparks – a band who could almost be their glam-era forebears – should work very much hand-in-glove. Both love their little operatic flourishes and slightly superior asides. But as they sipped their gin & tonics, perhaps they revelled in their in-jokes a little too much. So, while there’s the arched eyebrow and dry-tofruity witticisms of ditties like The Man Without A Tan, titling another of their baroque little constructions Collaborations Don’t Work – even tongue-incheek – might be just a bit too clever for their own good. Ross Clelland
Wild Nights
Alternative Light Source
Bella Union have had a definite focus on Mancunians in 2015, first with the release of pop-centric BC Camplight’s comeback album a few months back and now the release of girl group Pins’ second LP. The quartet doesn’t appear to have any qualms about flying the ‘rebel’ label but behind the middle-fingerreliant marketing strategy is a bundle of thoughtful surf and grunge-pop songs, reminiscent of great bands like Splendora, Hole (during the Malibu era) and even a bit of Magic Dirt. To the point and no-nonsense, the band never lose their sense of fun.
Breaking 16 years of anticipation for a third Leftfield album, TV On The Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe electrogroans through murky opener, Bad Radio, and the relief is palpable. Universal Everything roundhouses an Age Of Lovefuelled banger punching an oh so sweet drop at 5’27”. Fists will pump to Little Fish and Jason Williamson rhymes like the scallywag offspring of Mike Skinner and Keith Flint on Head & Shoulders. Finally, Levitate For You gets ghostly thanks to London soulboy Ofei. Alternative Light Source’s arrival is as blindingly unexpected as it is dazzlingly brilliant.
Adam Wilding
Mac McNaughton
Sharon Van Etten – I Don’t Want To Let You Down The Hazy Chains – Orb Tremonti – Cauterize Willie Nelson & Merle Haggard – Django And Jimmie Nocturnal Sunshine – Nocturnal Sunshine Herbert – The Shakes Lifehouse – Out Of The Wasteland Cairo Knife Fight – The Colossus
THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015 • 19
live reviews
KING PARROT, HIGH TENSION, COLLOSVS Crowbar 30 May Relatively speaking, it’s only early. It’s 8pm on a Saturday, but there’s already a sea of offensive shirts and tattoos spilling out from Crowbar onto the streets of the Valley while Slayer and Dead Kelly graces everybody’s ears (well, perhaps not the elderly couple stepping off the bus into the middle of it all, but you can’t please everyone now, can you?). Collosvs have escaped the trams and hipsters of
rows of the pit one person at a time and proceeds to unleash a demonic screech that puts the greatest heavy vocalists to shame; all the while the fuzzy, driving riffs provided by the band give ample opportunities to swing an elbow or two. Towards the end of the set as the triple j-featured High Risk, High Rewards sends the crowd into even more of a frenzy. One can’t help but wonder how these guys are not much, much bigger. By now the dank depths of Crowbar are packed shoulderto-shoulder, there’s a smell in the pit that one wouldn’t wish on their worst enemy and nobody is quite sure what fluid just got splashed on them but that’s just fine. After all, this is the environment in which Aussie metal is born and thrives. King Parrot burst
KING PARROT @ CROWBAR. PIC: MARKUS RAVIK
into a frenzied mass of manic riffs and blast-beats as the pit turns into a mess of limbs similar to a Looney Tunes fight scene. These guys exemplify a band not taking themselves too seriously as they roam the stage shirtless and shameless and Wayne Slattery is breaking into a smile from ear to ear. Behind the comical song titles like Shit On The Liver, however, are some seriously heavy tunes so tightly executed that it’s easy to see why these guys have risen to the top of the Aussie metal scene.
Every up-and-coming punk/ metal vocalist should be going to High Tension gigs and studying the art of stage presence, because this crew from Melbourne has it mastered. Vocalist Karina Utomo commands attention as she stares down the first
It’s a showcase of some of Australia’s best and heaviest that has everybody leaving with ringing ears, sweat-damaged phones and, it must be said, ravaged livers… and they couldn’t be happier about it.
20 • THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015
The Tivoli 29 May
Andrew Kidman & The Windy Hills, or rather just one Windy Hill tonight, open the evening with a pared back acoustic configuration that is sweet and intimate, despite an almost packed room that mills restlessly yet is surprisingly receptive. Making up for his Bluesfest cancellation with two soldout nights at The Tivoli, Ben Howard quietly gets to work
KING PARROT @ CROWBAR. PIC: MARKUS RAVIK
Melbourne and travelled north to bring their million-milesan-hour set to a crowd that’s starting to really kick into gear. Transitioning from thrashy riffs at breakneck speeds to nu-metal-esque phrases with a groove that takes control of your neck, the five-piece even have the security guard headbanging. The set finishes with the band being joined by High Tension and King Parrot vocalists for a rendition of Bathory’s Satan My Master, a fitting finisher considering who’s next to take the stage.
Tom Peasley
BEN HOWARD, ANDREW KIDMAN & THE WINDY HILLS
first instance, guitars become incrementally more urgent and full of ache until the build hits the sweet watershed moment. Howard’s not here to dwell on the upbeat acoustic happiness found on his widely successful debut album Every Kingdom, notably skipping Only Love and instead opting to rearrange a select couple including the inspirational Keep Your Head Up. As he sips on a glass of wine with a relaxed vibe and addresses the audience for the first time at the midway point with a very polite, “Very nice to be here, thank you,” it’s interesting to note the contrast from his first Brisbane visit in 2013 where he appeared genuinely shocked by the crowd singing along. A cover of Sharon Van Etten’s Every Time The Sun Comes Up is a cute, plodding,
BEN HOWARD @ THE TIVOLI. PIC: BOBBY REIN
on the I Forget Where We Were Australian tour with an unadorned rendition of the album’s vinyl bonus, Am I In Your Light?, before moving straight into the more mild mannered moments of his latest release. As the scruffy-haired Brit labours over the delicate riff of Conrad, the stage lights from behind create an ethereal atmosphere for his alternative folk musings, especially as the band close it out with unaccompanied harmonies. Throughout the entire set the simple yet perfectly choreographed lighting design brings extra depth, underlining some of the most poignant lyrical moments with class – during All Is Now Harmed, Howard and his five-piece band appear almost like holograms. I Forget Where We Were was made for live performance; tender and sentimental in the
country-tinged moment that breaks the set before the dark tones of Small Things highlight Howard’s expert mood-building skills, with help from India Bourne’s haunting cello and backing vocals. The dynamic between the six musicians is a joy to watch throughout, most notably in the set closer as Howard punctuates the most biting lines of End Of The Affair with stabs of his guitar, priming the audience for the moment the band can unleash an undeniable groove despite a cleverly fluctuating pace around a howling, distraught vocal. Following a sweet solo encore of crowd favourite Old Pine, the band join to farewell with The Wolves, and the brooding Esmerelda finalises a brilliant performance of epic emotional proportions. Tyler McLoughlan
live reviews
BORIS, DREAMTIME, GRIEG Crowbar 27 May Before this, the first show of their 2015 Australian tour, prolific noise weirdos BORIS posted to their Facebook that their tour merch would include custom, $330 fuzz pedals. Luckily enough, the type of people who lose their shit over custom $330 fuzz pedals don’t really care about the State of Origin so Crowbar is filling up while local noisemongers Grieg get things off to a very heavy start. The three-piece can go from Eyehategod to Mogwai and everywhere else on the noise spectrum in the course of a single song, so it’s exciting to try and keep up with them as they jam. After Grieg satiates the metal kids in the audience, the Doors-worshipping Dreamtime come on
to appease the pothead component of the audience. Their psychedelic soundscapes are dreamy and immersive, proving beyond a shadow of a doubt why they are one of the Brisbane bands to watch out for. With their smoke machines pumping and their amplifiers blaring, Japanese noise behemoths BORIS transport the crowd out of Crowbar’s basement. Gone is the floor sticky with spilt beer and everyone around you jostling to catch a glimpse of the band; instead punters are taken to a dream-like realm where everything is beautiful, hazy and warm. Some people might suggest that music that makes you feel like you want to go to sleep is not good but if any of those people were in Crowbar tonight they would realise that they’re absolutely wrong. BORIS could very well sell pillows with the tour dates embroidered onto them at their merch desk given how powerful, yet ethereal, their noise assault is. Even
as Takeshi hits a crushingly fuzzed out chord and Atsuo pounds his kit, an oddly calming feeling emanates from the stage. As intense as the show gets while Boris are hitting the drone metal they are best known for, there’s an unshakeable lightness to proceedings. It’s weird and it’s brilliant and it would be enough in and of itself to make for a show that’s liable to pop up on your Best Of list at the end of the year. But Boris aren’t one-trick ponies, and tonight they’re not just offer up the big droney cuts. When they’ve finished a lush jam like Pink, which feels like it might have gone for 45 minutes because you lost track of time when they hit the first note, BORIS can change it up to the crusty punk cuts off their Noise record or the restrained bubblegum pop where the soothing tones of Wata’s voice gently wash over the crowd. How they can combine all these influences into one absolutely gorgeous performance is
anybody’s guess. But dude, sweet dreams are made of BORIS’ set tonight. Tom Hersey
MORE REVIEWS
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GIZZ FEST @ THE BRIGHTSIDE. PIC CLAUDIA CIAPOCHA
Against Me! @ Max Watts Totally Mild @ Grand Central Hotel In Hearts Wake @ The Triffid
arts reviews
ALOHA
ALOHA Film
In cinemas 4 Jun
★★★
This film is worth going to see for the names in it (Bill Murray, Emma Stone, Rachel McAdams, Alec Baldwin, Bradley Cooper), but I warn you, it is most definitely a romantic comedy. Brian Gilcrest (Cooper), who used to work for NASA, has been sent to Hawaii by an evil billionaire (Murray) to strike a deal with some Hawaiians. He swaps land and cell phone
service for permission to launch a satellite. Along the way of course, he trips over his ex-girlfriend Tracy (McAdams) and questions whether he is still in love with her while he toys with the idea of sleeping with his fighter pilot (Stone). The female characters are written to be floozies, which of course makes Bradley Cooper look stupid, but heroic, emotionally tortured and ultimately loveable.
STRANGERLAND
grindingly by halfway. Farrant seems uninterested in plot and more on coping mechanisms.
In cinemas 11 Jun
Alec Baldwin as General Dixon is a highlight. His stone-faced, deadpan delivery and bursts of outrage pepper the film with excitement. The not-so-subtle hints that the US defence force is a rudderless boat controlled by billionaires provide an overall strong message. And of course, there’s also stunning Hawaiian scenery, emotional tension and romance to look at. There are plenty of brilliant throwaway lines as well about Americans feeling enlightened when they take MDMA and cover themselves in mud at Coachella – always appreciated.
Caroline (Nicole Kidman) and Matthew Parker ( Joseph Fiennes) and their two children attempt a new life in Nathgari, a remote town situated in the harsh Australian desert. One day their children go missing while a massive dust storm engulfs the town. As local detective David (Hugo Weaving) investigates, tensions and suspicions rise.
The portrayals are rich, with Kidman bringing welcome plainness in look and, later, raw emotion. Fiennes is solid, clinical yet fuelled by anger. Weaving is expectantly good as the flawed detective whose relationships compromise proceedings. Meyne Wyatt’s Burtie is also an appealingly sympathetic character.
Sarah Barratt
Film
★★★
Strangerland is hotly anticipated at the Sydney Film Festival (SFF), marking as it does the first time Nicole Kidman has participated in Australian independent cinema since 1989’s Dead Calm.
Directed by Kim Farrant, Strangerland is a dark, nihilistic drama. The film begins engagingly, slowly setting up events with effectiveness. Unfortunately the pace halts
Despite the talent and care, the film is too vague in focus to be considered great. Sean Capel
STRANGERLAND THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015 • 21
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22 • THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015
the guide
BASKERVILLAIN
Member answering/role: Lachy (drummer) How long have you been together? As a band… we’ve been together for around two years. You’re on tour in the van – which band or artist is going to keep the most people happy if we throw them on the stereo? A few favourites from our April tour would have to be Tower Of Power, David Bowie, Dr. Dog and The Band. Which Brisbane bands before you have been an inspiration (musically or otherwise)? We can’t go past bands like The Go-Betweens and Powderfinger, who we’ve all listened to at various points growing up. Most of us saw bands like Yves Klein Blue before we turned 18, and then eventually after finishing school we discovered bands like The Medics, Violent Soho, John Steel Singers and Moses Gunn Collective. What part do you think Brisbane plays in the music you make? The Brisbane scene is very interconnected; it’s hard for it not to work its way into your music somehow. In terms of creativity though, I don’t think it influences us any more than music from other places. If anything, it feels like there’s a sense of excitement surrounding things in Brisbane music at the moment, there’s a lot of talented bands working hard. It’s not easy for anyone to stand out from the crowd, but events like BIGSOUND really help to boost the profile of local artists, and also just the scene as a whole. What’s in the pipeline for the band in the short term? We’ve got a couple of shows coming up in June, but once those are done we’ll probably take some time out to start some new projects, write and record more music. Baskervillain play The Bearded Lady on Friday 5 June (supporting Richard On Your Mind) and Psych Night warehouse party, Bowen Hills on Saturday 20 June.
PIC: Terry Soo
THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015 • 23
eat/drink steph@themusic.com.au
STREET FOOD
A NEW PYRAMID
Sarah Barratt checks out the word on the street (food). Illustration Stephanie Liew.
HOT SPOT CAXTON STREET FESTIVAL
Mirchh Masala Chaat Court – 3/110 Logan Rd, Woolloongabba If you’re hungry, you like no nonsense, delicious Indian food and you’re ok with mild spice this place will warm you up. This place mainly does north Indian, creamy, pretty mild style curries that are all vegetarian. They also use plastic, paper or tin foil to serve, perfectly in line with the street food vibes. Saigon Alley Cafe – 2C/313 Adelaide St, Brisbane With food reminiscent of a Vietnamese, street side eatery, Saigon Alley’s dishes are unpretentious and full of flavour. There are plenty of thick noodle soups, barbecue pork dishes, pho, deliciously sweet and intense Vietnamese coffee with and banh mi for those on the run. 24 • THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015
Story Bridge Food Market For one night only on 5 Jul, all the street food in the world (almost) will occupy Story Bridge. It will be run by Hamilton Eat Street Market, with stalls lining the sides of the bridge and about 20,000 people allowed on the bridge at any one time. Celebrate good food and 75 years of Story Bridge. Bing Boy – various locations This Australian franchise celebrates the Chinese traditional thin wheat omelette wrap/ crepe, jian bing. Watch the staff cook the oh-sothin omelette on a large hot plate before loading it up with fillings such as pork, pickled cabbage, chicken, salad, wont skin, duck, avocado, prawn or salmon.
The healthy eating pyramid has been updated for the first time since 2007. Instead of three tiers (eat most, eat moderately, eat in small amounts) it now consists of five groups, as you can see. The differences? Grains used to be lumped in with the fruit and veg in the bottom tier, and now it’s in the second layer. Sugar has been removed from the upmost tier. They’ve also added ‘choose water’, ‘limit salt and added sugar’ and ‘enjoy herbs and spices’. Yes, we do want flavour in our food, thank you. Source: Nutrition Australia
On 7 Jun, Caxton Street will come alive with music, pop-up bars and delicious smells from street food stalls. There’s definitely a focus on seafood and wine, but plenty of variety elsewhere, with gourmet burgers, spicy butter chicken, New York-style pizza, Korean BBQ beef ribs and pork rolls all available. Nitrogenie will satisfy your ice cream cravings, or perhaps you wanna opt for The Doughnut Bar’s sweets. For drinks, there’s Sirromet Winery’s best blends, cold beers and ciders thanks to Rogers, Little Creatures and XXXX, and a selection of craft cocktails. Leading the music line-up will be The Beautiful Girls, Phil Jamieson, Thelma Plum, The Snowdroppers and Hey Geronimo, with plenty more providing tunes on the day. Head to caxtonstreetfestival. oztix.com.au for tickets.
EATING OUTSIDE
2.5 billion people eat street food every day. Why? •
Often cheaper than dining at an eatery.
•
A good way to try a variety of foods.
•
It’s a fun and social thing to do with pals who like eating. And if you’re eating at a food market or festival it’s just a happy kinda atmosphere; everyone is just nomming and smiling away! :)
•
Lots of street food (in Australia) is ethnic food you can’t find that easily in restaurants unless you know where to go; diaspora communities and immigrant in Australia are drawn to street food for nostalgic and cultural reasons too.
•
For some reason the food just tastes better when you’re eating with fingers or plastic/wooden cutlery maybe???
the guide qld.live@themusic.com.au
INDIE NEWS
CHART WRAP
SINGER SUPPORT
NO FOOLIN’
SOLBAR JUJU
If you’re lucky you might just grab one of the last available tickets for Ben Lee’s Friday performance at Black Bear Lodge, where he’ll be supported by fellow Aussie singersongwriters Gordi and Carry Nation.
Clowns will be bringing all the grunt to Crowbar this Friday night, gradually making their way around the country. They’ll be joined by Summer Blood, Turnpike, Pissed On and Malakyte.
Celebrating the release of her new album, Seeing Red/Feeling Blue, Melbourne’s Mojo Juju is heading north, playing Friday at Solbar, with guests The Flumes.
HE’S YOUR MAN
STATE OF THE ART
DEATH FIESTA
Having spent a bit of time away on a ‘creativity break’, Your Man Alex Smith is back with four new songs and will be performing live at The Milk Factory on Friday, with special guests Port Paradise and the Buzzbees’ Josh & Rick.
Teeth & Tongue are headlining a performance at the Gallery Of Modern Art for Lynch By Night on Friday, allowing visitors to enjoy after hours access to David Lynch’s ‘Between Two Worlds’ exhibition. Lucy Cliche and Sarah Spencer also play.
Sydney’s high-intensity altflamenco act Kallidad are all set to tour the east coast in promotion of their latest single and album of the same name, Death Fiesta. See them do their thing Friday, Eat Street Markets.
THAT LOVE PLACE
FAR & WIDE
FIRST SHOT
Melbourne four-piece White Summer are launching their new single, I Know A Place We Can Love, in person Saturday at Trainspotters and 7 Jun at Broadbeach Tavern on the Gold Coast.
Melbourne’s The Getaway Plan make their way to Brisbane this week as part of their spaced out national tour for their new album Landscapes. They’ll be performing this Friday at The Brightside with Gatherers and Freeds.
Keeping it local for the moment, Versus Fate showcase their selftitled debut EP Sunday as part of the Wallapalooza Festival in the Wallaby Hotel on the Gold Coast.
UP FOR THROWDOWN
HIGH FIVE!
READY TO ROCK
New York City DJ Total Eclipse leads the charge Saturday in the Solbar Lounge Bar when the crew gathers for an Old School Hip Hop Throwdown, with DJs Damage, Shift_T, Bacon, Jing Kohn and Jesswah.
As part of their Give Me A High Five national tour, Richard In Your Mind settle into Queensland for three shows, Friday at The Bearded Lady; Saturday at The Northern, Byron Bay, and Sunday at Boardriders Coolangatta.
Local rockers Innersense are releasing their new EP on Thursday, and they’re celebrating with a launch show this Saturday night at The Zoo, supported by Dream Thieves and Mazer.
FOR MORE HEAD TO THEMUSIC.COM.AU
KING PARROT
NSW Blue Mountains-bred electronic duo Hermitude have claimed the top spot in this week’s Albums stakes on the Carlton Dry Independent Music Charts with their new full-length, Dark Night, Sweet Light. The pair’s triumphant entry knocks previous gold medallist Sia and her long-dominant album 1000 Forms Of Fear down a peg to #2, with the next-closest fresh face coming in the form of King Parrot’s Dead Set, which slides into the top five at #3, ahead of San Cisco’s Gracetown, itself up a spot to #4, and Courtney Barnett’s Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit, bringing up the rear at #5. Fozzey & VanC close out the new-entry ranks for albums this week with No Feat., which makes its debut at #6. Ascendant chanteuse Joelle takes out top debut honours on this week’s Singles ladder, earning the #5 spot for Wish I Never, one of only two new tracks to make the cut — Sons Of The East’s eponymous EP completes the set, entering the charts at #19, one spot above the reappearing Flume & Chet Faker, whose joint Drop The Game release is back at #20. As far as incumbent releases are concerned, Sia sees her previously consecutive hat trick spread out a bit this week, with Big Girls Cry climbing up to #1 to knock Hermitude’s The Buzz, featuring Mataya and Young Tapz, down to #2, while Elastic Heart sits strong at #3 and Chandelier drops a couple of rungs to #6. Southern singer-songwriter Asta also climbs inside the top five, with Dynamite, featuring Allday, trading places with Chandelier to hit #4 this week. THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015 • 25
the guide qld.live@themusic.com.au
SINGLE FOCUS
ARTS FOCUS
What was inspiring you during the song’s writing and recording? Being a mother I always find this to be a tricky question. My day to day life at times can be a million miles away from dance music. I just get inspired by the fans!
MELISSA TKAUTZ Single title? Gotta Let You Go What’s the song about? The song is about the moment you realise it’s time to move on. It’s time to let them go. How long did it take to write/record? I recorded the vocals pretty quickly; this song came naturally. Digital Damage however spent hours in studio building the beat to get it perfect.
We’ll like this song if we like... Love to dance. Do you play it differently live? I have done it acoustically. I think you can tell a good song when it still packs a punch after being stripped right back. Website link for more info? melissatkautz.net
a job that would pay me to do this.’ And Absinthe was the perfect outlet. Absinthe is reality. Some people are just prudes. Is there anything you can’t joke about? “Can’t” implies someone tells me what I can or can’t do. That’s not the case. I do whatever I want. But I will tell you what I “won’t” joke about: your mom. She’s just too precious to me.
ABSINTHE Answered by: The Gazillionaire Describe your show in a tweet: Absinthe has the best damn circus acts I can find. I produce and host the hell out of it because “real” comedians want too much money. What makes Absinthe so “adult”? Small -inded people call Absinthe “adult” because there are boobies in your face and I’m usually hungover or drunk or both while hosting so God knows what I’ll say. But in truth, when I was a kid I was always in trouble for using dirty words and sexual references... so I thought ‘I need
Is this track from a forthcoming release/existing release? The track is a standalone release available on iTunes but there is definitely more music on the way!
If you could only listen to one album forevermore, what would it be and why? We were lucky enough to be on the CMC Rocks bill with Lady Antebellum. Their 747 album was the soundtrack for that tour so it reminds us of cruising and the awesome time we had.
VICTORIA AVENUE When did you start making music and why? We’ve been singing together for about six years. We met when we were 12 and spent our teenage years together so singing became our way to deal with the ups and downs of growing up. Sum up your musical sound in four words? Fresh pop country crossover. If you could support any band in the world – past or present – who would it be? We can already cross Hunter Hayes off our list! Other than that, Lady Antebellum, Kacey Musgraves or Taylor Swift! 26 • THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015
Why should people come and see your band? Performing live is our favourite thing! Our harmonies come to life, and we love to do a bit of two-stepping! When and where for your next gig? Silver Spur Bullride, Hamilton Hotel, 7 Jun; Opera Bar, 11 Jun; The Pub, Tamworth, 12 Jun. S U P P O R T I N G
When and where is your show? 2 – 14 Jun, Spiegeltent, King George Square. Website for more info? absintheaustralia.com
SINGLE FOCUS
HAVE YOU HEARD
Greatest rock’n’roll moment of your career to date? Supporting Hunter Hayes at the Metro Theatre is definitely up there! But the Tamworth Country Music Festival always starts the year off on a high. Ten days of nothing but music and rowdy crowds that love country ready to party!
What’s your favourite thing about performing in Absinthe? Tax write-offs for employing my dim-witted assistant. Oh, and the women! The women I met yesterday and the women I’ll meet tonight. You’d be surprised how much action I see as a celebrity on stage. Now I know how Mick Jagger feels, ugly as sin, but gets a lot of panties thrown his way.
What was inspiring you during the song’s writing and recording? We often inspire each other, for this song Justin came up with a riff, which was taken in to the band, churned up and came out as Sacrifice. Also, Game Of Thrones. We’ll like this song if we like... Huge riffs and sexy vocals.
STREET PIECES Answered by: Ben Tilney Single title? Sacrifice What’s the song about? Sacrifice follows the journey of a woman being taken in by a village, only to discover she will be sacrificed. How long did it take to write/ record? The song, as many do, came out of a jam and then polished over later rehearsals. We recorded the drums one day, and tracked everything else one crazy day at Jeff Lovejoy’s.
Do you play it differently live? Slightly. We leave ourselves room to play with the song and change things up a little. When and where is your launch/ next gig? We are launching this single with Shihad on the 5 – 7 Jun at Hamilton Hotel, Parkwood Tavern, and Racehorse Hotel. Website link for more info? streetpieces.com
Is this track from a forthcoming release/existing release? No, but we have recording in the works for another couple of singles. I N D E P E N D E N T
A U S S I E
M U S I C
the guide qld.live@themusic.com.au
HAVE YOU BEEN TO
EP FOCUS
rodeo clowns will jump or be thrown over the fence. Who is providing entertainment? Seleen McAlister prior to the event, and Round Mountain Girls, pictured, and Victoria Avenue after the event.
SILVER SPUR BULLRIDE Answered by: Luke Mellers Give us a brief rundown of the event: The Silver Spur Bullride Series is an up close action-packed event like no other, run over six rounds throughout six ALH hotels in southeast Queensland. Over 80 riders per round, against 80+ of the toughest bucking stock in Australia. All within metres of where you’re seated. Any advice for f irst timers attending? Come prepared to be excited, it’s loud and in your face, and don’t sit too close to the barriers as you never know when one of the
What’s different or new to last year’s event? This year we have a big screen for all the action replays, more seating, and more bulls.
SMOKING MARTHA
What’s your favourite memory/ story from the event? Seeing Fraser Babbington come back from a busted shoulder to win the final of the first series.
How many releases do you have now? Three singles: Sweet As Honey, All Lit Up and Bad Choices.
passion. Bluesy riffs, powerful vocals and a pumping backbeat.
Answered by: Tasha D EP title? Smoking Martha
Why does bull riding attract big crowds? Where else can you see a competition that a 75kg person would strap themself to close to a tonne of uncontrollable muscle and call it a fair matchup? It’s, hard, it’s tough, it’s in your face, and for the ladies, there’s plenty of cowboys.
Was anything in particular inspiring you during the making? Lyrically each song has an underlying theme of fear and rejection. Life and the emotional rollercoaster that goes with it.
When and where is your event? 7 Jun, Hamilton Hotel.
We’ll like this EP if we like... High energy punk rock with
S U P P O R T I N G
When and where is your launch/ next gig? We are touring with Wallapalooza Festival: The Northern, Byron Bay, 5 Jun; New Globe Theatre, 6 Jun; Wallaby Hotel, Mudgeeraba, 7 Jun. Also playing The Dead Of Winter Festival, Jubilee Hotel, 25 Jul. Website link for more info? facebook.com/smokingmartha
What’s your favourite song on it? Sweet As Honey.
I N D E P E N D E N T
A U S S I E
MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015 • 27 M U STHE I C
the guide qld.gigguide@themusic.com.au
THE MUSIC PRESENTS Jebediah: The Tivoli 12 Jun Tom West: The Bearded Lady 2 July The Church: The Triffid 4 Jul Youth Group: Black Bear Lodge 4 Jul
The Bellrays: The Zoo 7 Aug Noosa Jazz Festival: 3 - 6 Sep Festival Village Lions Park An Evening With Kevin Smith: 19 Sep, The Tivoli
Ben Salter: The Spotted Cow 16 Jul, Black Bear Lodge 17 Jul Rubber Soul Revolver: 30 Jul QPAC Concert Hall
WED 03
Bang Bang - A Night Of Jazz feat. Queensland Medical Jazz Group: Black Bear Lodge, Fortitude Valley Ask No Questions Of The Moth feat. Judith Lucy: Brisbane Powerhouse (Powerhouse Theatre), New Farm Weekend Nachos + Cursed Earth: Crowbar, Fortitude Valley Cory Carlyon: Kamel Bar (KB’s), Noosa Heads Brisbane International Jazz Festival feat. Tord Gustavsen Quartet + Artur Dutkiewicz Trio + The Near East Quartet + Hiroyuki Minowa Trio + Wilma Reading + Andrew Butt Trio + Berardi, Foran, Karlen + Dale Barlow + EMO (Enthusiastic Musicians Orchestra) + The Primitif Requests the Pleasure + Mal Woods Bowery Hot 5 + Lateo + Andrew Shaw Quartet + Steve Newcomb + Angela Davis + John Reeves Trio + Rohan Somasekaran Duo + Paula Girvan Duo + Out Of Abingdon + Mark Pradella Band + Duo Ras Deshen: Various Venues, Brisbane
THU 04
Open Mic Night: Balaclava Hotel, Earlville Eugene & The Egg + Bad Pharmer + The Formaldehydes: Beetle Bar, Brisbane Muddy Chanter: Black Bear Lodge, Fortitude Valley Jazz Singers Jam Night: Brisbane Jazz Club, Kangaroo Point
Ask No Questions Of The Moth feat. Judith Lucy: Brisbane Powerhouse (Powerhouse Theatre), New Farm
GIG OF THE WEEK BIRDS OF TOKYO: 6 JUN, THE TRIFFID
Jam Night: Capalaba Tavern, Capalaba Battle of the Bands: Centenary Tavern, Middle Park Blues & Roots Open Mic Night: Chardons Corner Hotel, Annerley Lilly Singh: Eatons Hill Hotel, Eatons Hill
Brisbane International Jazz Festival: Various Venues, Brisbane R.A The Rugged Man: Woolly Mammoth, Fortitude Valley
FRI 05
Sundays & Cybele + White Lodge + Special Guests: Grand Central Hotel, Brisbane
Ben Lee + Gordi + Carry Nation: Black Bear Lodge, Fortitude Valley
Artur Dutkiewicz Trio: JMI Live, Bowen Hills
Biggy P: Breakfast Creek Hotel, Albion
Des Reid: Loving Hut, Mount Gravatt
Mark Pradella Band: Brisbane Jazz Club, Kangaroo Point
The Cassingles + Avarice’s Fall: Ric’s Bar, Fortitude Valley Dig Deep feat. Barry Charles & The Deeper Beat: Solbar, Maroochydore Harry Kemp: Taps Australia, Mooloolaba The Scrapes + Scattered Purgatory: The Bearded Lady, West End Deez Nuts + Antagonist A.D + Relentless + Earth Caller: The Brightside, Fortitude Valley The Furrs: The End, West End Open Mic Night: The Four Mile Creek Hotel, Strathpine Roscoe James Irwin + Neighbour: The Milk Factory Kitchen & Bar, South Brisbane
Ask No Questions Of The Moth feat. Judith Lucy: Brisbane Powerhouse (Powerhouse Theatre), New Farm The Wet Fish: Brooklyn Standard, Brisbane Shifting Sands + Benjamin Bunting: Cardigan Bar, Sandgate Metal of Honor feat. Xyanix + Lavidius + Evil Eye + Valvetrain + Last 9 Days + Dark Relic: Chardons Corner Hotel (Back Room), Annerley Cosmic Psychos + Dune Rats + Dead Beat Band: Coolangatta Hotel, Coolangatta Mr Perkins: Coolum Beach Hotel, Coolum
Allday + Asta + Gill Bates: The Triffid, Newstead
Clowns + Summer Blood + Turnpike + Pissed On + Malakyte: Crowbar, Fortitude Valley
Demo Series with Former Angels + DarkLab + Steele: The Zoo, Fortitude Valley
Valhalla Lights: Currumbin Creek Tavern, Currumbin Waters
S U P P O R T I N G
BNS + Styli$$h: Deception Bay Tavern, Deception Bay Kallidad + Scotch & Cider: Eat Street Markets, Hamilton One Night Stand with Daryl Braithwaite + Russell Morris + Wendy Matthews + Mental As Anything: Eatons Hill Hotel (Main Room), Eatons Hill Stafford Brothers + Tooshoes + Benibee + Jakey J + Hynzey + Migs: Eatons Hill Hotel, Eatons Hill
Mojo Juju + The Flumes: Solbar (Main Stage), Maroochydore Darren Griffis: Solbar (Lounge Bar), Maroochydore AJ: Sway Cocktail Bar & Lounge, Fortitude Valley Justin Jay: TBC Club (The Bowler Club), Fortitude Valley Richard In Your Mind: The Bearded Lady, West End The Getaway Plan: The Brightside, Fortitude Valley
The Belligerents: Elsewhere, Surfers Paradise
Crookers: The Met, Fortitude Valley
Lynch by Night feat. Teeth & Tongue + Lucy Cliche + Sarah Spencer (Blank Realm): Gallery Of Modern Art (GOMA), South Brisbane
Your Man Alex Smith + Port Paradise + Josh & Rick: The Milk Factory Kitchen & Bar, South Brisbane
Pete Cullen: Habitat Restaurant & Bar, South Brisbane Shihad + Guards Of May + Street Pieces: Hamilton Hotel, Hamilton Various Artists: Highfields Tavern, Highfields Toadally Fabulous Fridays: Lawnton Tavern, Lawnton Brother Fox: Lock ‘n’ Load Bistro, West End One Sound: Logan Diggers Club, Logan Central Cheated Hearts Prom: Oh Hello!, Fortitude Valley Timmy Trumpet: Racehorse Hotel, Booval Asa Broomhall: Royal Mail Hotel, Goodna
I N D E P E N D E N T
Allday + Asta + Gill Bates: The Triffid, Newstead Mick Medew & The Mesmerisers + Generation Jones + The Stone Fox + Heavy Roller + more: The Underdog Pub Co, Fortitude Valley Bad Manners + Shandy + Pick It Up: The Zoo, Fortitude Valley Brisbane International Jazz Festival: Various Venues, Brisbane
SAT 06
DJ Indy Andy: Albany Creek Tavern, Albany Creek Waxhead + The Badlands + more: Beetle Bar, Brisbane
A U S S I E
M U S I C
THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015 • 29
the guide qld.gigguide@themusic.com.au Ben Gel the Boneyard Saints + The Strums + F1 Eleven + Release The Hounds + Sixth League: Beetle Bar, Brisbane
Purling Brook: The Milk Factory Kitchen & Bar, South Brisbane
Rockaoke: Benowa Tavern, Benowa
Newstead Roots Festival feat. OKA + Kingfisha + Chocolate Strings + Sahara Beck + Karl S Williams + Starboard Cannons + Danni Carr + Andrew Morris: The Triffid (1pm), Newstead
What So Not: The Tivoli, Fortitude Valley
Soultrain: Black Bear Lodge, Fortitude Valley The Green Sinatras: Breakfast Creek Hotel, Albion Georgina Pollard: Brisbane Jazz Club, Kangaroo Point
Royal Mosh Brigade feat. Those Who Endure + Undermine The Supremacy + Before The Harvest + Initiate Jericho + Don’t Waste The Paint: The Underdog Pub Co (Red Room), Fortitude Valley
Ask No Questions Of The Moth feat. Judith Lucy: Brisbane Powerhouse (Powerhouse Theatre/5.30pm), New Farm Ask No Questions Of The Moth feat. Judith Lucy: Brisbane Powerhouse (Powerhouse Theatre/7.30pm), New Farm Worldlines + I Met The Maker + Stay Close + Particles In Motion + Chasing Wolves: Chardons Corner Hotel, Annerley Cosmic Psychos: Crowbar, Fortitude Valley Graham Moes + Faleepo Francisco: Eat Street Markets, Hamilton White Summer: Grand Central Hotel, Brisbane Som De Calcada: Lock ‘n’ Load Bistro, West End Radio Flyer: Logan Diggers Club, Logan Central Josh Wade: Magnums Hotel, Airlie Beach
RICHARD ON YOUR MIND: 5 JUN, THE BEARDED LADY Kolsch: TBC Club (The Bowler Club), Fortitude Valley SheerKhan + more: The Bearded Lady, West End Various Artists: The Beer Garden, Surfers Paradise Thriller feat. First Sight + Afterlight + What We’re Worth + Red Heron + Beth Lucas + The Return Of Thriller: The Brightside, Fortitude Valley Dennis Jaculli + The Hunted + Matthew Hurley: The Milk Factory Kitchen & Bar, South Brisbane
Kallidad: Mary’s Commercial Hotel, Dalby
Birds of Tokyo + Ecca Vandal: The Triffid, Newstead
Wallapalooza 2015 feat. Glass Ocean + Smokin Mirrors: New Globe Theatre, Fortitude Valley
Triffid DJ Saturdays with DJ Fluent JB: The Triffid, Newstead
The Jacqui Walker Band + Daniel Challis: Royal Mail Hotel, Goodna
Mace & The Motor + Hisingen + Citizen John: The Underdog Pub Co, Fortitude Valley
Kaoss Vs Control + Rawr Vanity + Cellar Door + Double Lined Minority: Sn@p, Wynnum
Gorgeous Dance Syndicate: The Underdog Pub Co, Fortitude Valley
Nick Saxon: Solbar (Lounge Bar), Maroochydore Old School Hip Hop Throwdown with DJ Total Eclipse + DJ Shift-T + DJ Bacon + more: Solbar (Main Stage), Maroochydore Various Artists: Springwood Hotel, Springwood
Brisbane International Jazz Festival: Various Venues, Brisbane
Innersense + Dream Thieves + Mazer: The Zoo, Fortitude Valley Brisbane International Jazz Festival: Various Venues, Brisbane Mojo Juju: Woolly Mammoth, Fortitude Valley
SUN 07
Remi + Hau: Black Bear Lodge, Fortitude Valley Kallidad: Black Bunny Kitchen, Alexandra Heads Plus One: Breakfast Creek Hotel, Albion Duo Ras Deshen: Brisbane Jazz Club, Kangaroo Point Ask No Questions Of The Moth feat. Judith Lucy: Brisbane Powerhouse (Powerhouse Theatre), New Farm LiveSpark feat. Born Joy Dead: Brisbane Powerhouse (Turbine Platform), New Farm Sounds of Sunday feat. White Summer: Broadbeach Tavern, Broadbeach Sunday Unplugged: Burleigh Heads Hotel, Burleigh Heads Renae Suttie: Caloundra Power Boat Club, Golden Beach Caxton Street Festival 2015 feat. The Beautiful Girls + Phil Jamieson + DZ Deathrays + The Snowdroppers + Thelma Plum + Good Oak + Hey Geronimo + Mark Lowndes + The Good Ol’ Boys + The Walters + Robbie Porter + Will Anderson + more: Caxton Street Festival, Brisbane Dillion James: Eat Street Markets, Hamilton
Sunday Session with Spike: Hamilton Hotel, Hamilton Luke Houselander: Kamel Bar (KB’s), Noosa Heads Alex Crook: Lock ‘n’ Load Bistro (3pm), West End
Wallapalooza 2015 feat. Glass Ocean + Smokin Mirrors + Versus Fate + more: Wallaby Hotel, Mudgeeraba Blackout feat. Black Sun Empire + State Of Mind + Neonlight + Trei + MC Lowqui: Woolly Mammoth, Fortitude Valley
Devils Kiosk: Lock ‘n’ Load Bistro, West End Blues Jam: Morrison Hotel, Woolloongabba Kolsch: Nautic Giants, Main Beach Brisbane International Jazz Festival feat. EMO (Enthusiastic Musicians Orchestra) + The Near East Quartet: Queensland Multicultural Centre (QMC), Kangaroo Point
MON 08
Phil Barlow & The Wolf: Lock ‘n’ Load Bistro, West End Defeater + Bane: The Lab, Brisbane
Brisbane International Jazz Festival: Various Venues, Brisbane
TUE 09
Waxhead: Rattle Snake Motel, Coolangatta
Tyler Rivers: Ric’s Bar, Fortitude Valley
Thump + Old Fashioned: Solbar (Lounge Bar/4pm), Maroochydore
Mark Sheils: Samford Valley Hotel, Samford Village
Zodiac + Hobo Magic + Coffin Birth: The Bearded Lady, West End
Brazilian-BackpackerUni Night: The Beer Garden, Surfers Paradise
Nghtmre: The Biscuit Factory, Fortitude Valley
Zefereli: The End, West End
Defeater + Bane: The Brightside, Fortitude Valley Block Party feat. The Medics + Babaganouj + Good Oak + The Bacchanales + Walking Bird: The Elephant Hotel, Fortitude Valley Nick Saxon: The End (3pm), West End Deep Burns #1: The End, West End
Kolsch: Elsewhere, Surfers Paradise
S U P P O R T I N G
I N D E P E N D E N T
A U S S I E
M U S I C
THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015 • 31