# 3 2 • 0 2 . 04 . 1 4 • B R I S BA N E • F R E E • I N C O R P O R AT I N G
tour
THE FRATELLIS
eat
SHARE FOODS
tour
MONSTER MAGNET
film
THE LEGO MOVIE
the music | the lifestyle | the fashion | the art | the culture | you
2 • THE MUSIC • 2ND APRIL 2014
THE MUSIC • 2ND APRIL 2014 • 3
4 • THE MUSIC • 2ND APRIL 2014
THE MUSIC • 2ND APRIL 2014 • 5
themusic 2ND APRIL 2014
#032
“I THINK THE ’96 FESTIVAL WAS THE BIG WATERSHED, IT WAS THE FIRST YEAR THAT BEN HARPER PLAYED.”
INSIDE FEATURES Bluesfest
- PETER NOBLE TALKS THE HISTORY OF BLUESFEST (P16)
Larry Graham Beth Hart KC & The Sunshine Band
web
Loon Lake Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros Ela Stiles Glass Animals The Fratellis Monster Magnet Chris McKay Bam Bam
REVIEWS
Album: Todd Terje Live: Sunnyboys
THE GUIDE
ARE YOU SUPPORTING NORTHLANE? WE ANNOUNCE THE WINNERS OF OUR FREE YOUR MIND COMPETITION. ON THEMUSIC.COM.AU THIS THURSDAY
“WHEN YOU’RE IN A ROCK BAND, YOU DON’T HAVE TO CONSTANTLY PLEASE PEOPLE – THAT IS BULLSHIT.” - MONSTER MAGNET’S DAVE WYNDORF (P26)
HEAR THE NEW RECORD FROM N’FA JONES RIGHT NOW. EXCLUSIVELY ON THEMUSIC.COM.AU
Cover: Morning Harvey Food/Drink Indy Features
Frontlash/Backlash Indie News This Week’s Releases Opinion Gig Guide Classies
FILM BUFF? TAKE A CLOSE LOOK AT THE NEW RELEASES AND PREMIERES THAT WILL BE AT THE SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL THIS YEAR. HEAD TO THEMUSIC.COM.AU
live
“30 SECONDS TO MARS IS THE ULTIMATE HOLLYWOOD BLOCKBUSTER, THE BAND ACTING AS A PERPETUAL PLATFORM FOR JARED LETO TO SHINE IN THE LEAD ROLE.” - BENNY DOYLE CHECKS OUT JARED LETO’S OTHER ARTISTIC PURSUIT (P32)
review 6 • THE MUSIC • 2ND APRIL 2014
PIC: RCSTILLS
“A BOOSTER FOR ANYONE WHO FEELS THAT DAFT PUNK ARE NO LONGER ‘FABULOUS’ ENOUGH FOR THEIR NEEDS.” - DISCOVER OUR ALBUM OF THE WEEK FROM TODD TERJE (P28)
www.thenorthern.com.au
JONSON STREET BYRON BAY
BRISBANE’S PREMIER ENTERTAINMENT AND FUNCTION VENUE
FRI 4 APR APRIL THURSDAY 3RD
THE FRATELLIS SAT 5TH AND SUN 6TH
KATE MILLER-HEIDKE SOLD MON 7TH AND TUES 8TH
SOLD OU T OU T
JOHN BUTLER TRIO FRIDAY 11TH
BALL PARK MUSIC TUESDAY 15TH
STEVE EARLE & KASEY CHAMBERS WEDNESDAY 16TH
THE WAILERS SATURDAY 19TH
THE BADLANDS, VERNAS KEEP, MASCALITO BLUES SAT 5 APR
STICKY FINGERS, BOOTLEG RASCAL, TROPICAL ZOMBIE FRI 11 APR
GREENTHIEF, THE BLACK LULLABY, HAMMERS SAT 12 APR
BALL PARK MUSIC, PAPA VS PRETTY, HOLY HOLY THURS 17 APR
KC & THE SUNSHINE BAND
GOONS OF DOOM, SKEGSS FRI 18 APR
SUNDAY 20TH
THE SWAMPS
INDIA.ARIE & JOSS STONE
SAT 26 APR
MICHAEL FRANTI
SALMONELLA DUB SOUNDSYSTEM
THURSDAY 24TH
SUN 27 APR
JULIAN CLARY
GLORYHAMMER & LAGERSTEIN
WEDNESDAY 23RD
SATURDAY 26TH
SAT 10 MAY
METAL HEART FESTIVAL TUES 29TH AND WED 30TH
JIM JEFFERIES
SOLD OU OUT T
52 COSTIN STREET FORTITUDE VALLEY OFFICE HOURS: 10AM-4PM MON TO FRI PH: (07) 3852 1711 FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT www.thetivoli.net.au LIKE US ON FACEBOOK
HITS & PITS FRI 16 MAY
KING OF THE NORTH SAT 24 MAY
BRANT BJORK TICKETS AVAILABLE ONLINE THE MUSIC • 2ND APRIL 2014 • 7
CREDITS PUBLISHER
Street Press Australia Pty Ltd
GROUP MANAGING EDITOR Andrew Mast
EDITOR Steve Bell
ASSISTANT EDITOR Benny Doyle
ARTS AND CULTURE EDITOR Cassandra Fumi
MUSO EDITOR Michael Smith
GIG GUIDE EDITOR Justine Lynch gigs@themusic.com.au
CONTRIBUTORS Alice Bopf, Amorina Fitzgerald-Hood, Anthony Carew, Baz McAlister, Ben Preece, Benny Doyle, Bradley Armstrong, Brendan Telford, Brie Jorgensen, Carley Hall, Chris Yates, Cyclone, Dan Condon, Daniel Johnson, Dave Drayton, Grace Wilson, Guy Davis, Helen Stringer, Jake Sun, Jazmine O’Sullivan, Lochlan Watt, Madeleine Laing, Mandy McAlister, Mitch Knox, Sam Hobson, Sky Kirkham, Tessa Fox, Tom Hersey, Tony McMahon, Tyler McLoughlan
THIS WEEK THINGS TO DO THIS WEEK • 2 APRIL - 8 APRIL 2014
PHOTOGRAPHERS Freya Lamont, John Stubbs, John Taylor, Kane Hibberd, Markus Ravik, Rick Clifford, Sky Kirkham, Stephen Booth, Terry Soo, Tessa Fox
immerse
enjoy
NATIONAL SALES MANAGER Brett Dayman
QLD SALES Zac Gould, Madeleine Budd sales@themusic.com.au
ART DIRECTOR Nicholas Hopkins
ART DEPT Brendon Wellwood, Eamon Stewart, Julian DeBono
ADMIN AND ACCOUNTS Jarrod Kendall, Leanne Simpson, Loretta Zoppos, Shelley Neergaard
Ever wanted to explore the wonders of the uncharted ocean but scared of sharks and other creepy critters that inhabit the depths? New Queensland Museum display Deep Oceans sheds light on many of the mysteries that have vexed us for centuries, and explains our history of exploration in the least studied part of our planet. There are interactive components and displays – something for all ages – and it runs from now until October.
Tomorrow night at Brisbane Powerhouse the new local production Boy & Girl from Oscar Theatre Company begins its two-week run, the show exploring the many issues surrounding gender and sexuality in a cabaret performance unlike any other. Prepare to have your stereotypes eroded as gender roles are mixed in a flurry of song and dance, with a promise of coarse language, nudity, adult themes and glitter!
accounts@themusic.com.au
DISTRO Anita D’Angelo distro@themusic.com.au
SUBSCRIPTIONS store.themusic.com.au
CONTACT US Phone: (07) 3252 9666 info@themusic.com.au www.themusic.com.au Street: Suite 11/354 Brunswick Street Fortitude Valley QLD 4006 Postal: Locked Bag 4300 Fortitude Valley QLD 4006
BRISBANE
Everyone has a favourite song from Grease, even if you’re too cool to admit it, and who doesn’t love belting them out in a room full of likeminded retro musical fanatics, right? Get the ‘60s gear out and get along to The Arts Centre Gold Coast this Sunday night (from 7.30pm) as the Gold Coast Film Festival presents the Grease Sing-A-Long! And someone’s gotta be poor Rizzo, you can’t all be Sandy or Danny Z! Get singin’!
sing
THE MUSIC • 2ND APRIL 2014 • 9
national news news@themusic.com.au
ALLDAY
STILL GROOVIN
SOMETHING FOR KATE
THE WHITE ALBUM
LOOKING BACK, LOOKING FORWARDS
It’s 1994 and a curiously titled trio have hit The Punters Club in Melbourne for their firstever show. Fast-forward a couple of decades and that band have shifted half-a-million units, had multiple chart-toppers, sold out some of the most iconic venues around the country and firmly entrenched themselves in the upper echelon of Australian rock bands. Celebrate 20 years with Something For Kate this winter when they play 4 Jul, Astor, Perth; 11 Jul, The Tivoli, Brisbane; 12 Jul, Enmore Theatre, Sydney; and 18 Jul, Forum Theatre, Melbourne. Presented by The Music, you can pick up tickets 11 Apr.
GET YOUR BAND ON VINYL!
If you’re an unsigned band, then you best get involved in this Record Store Day competition courtesy of Australia’s largest independent music retailer Title and The Music. Get Pressed is giving unknown bands the chance to have their tunes pressed on vinyl, with the major prize including 100 copies of a twotrack 7” (with full colour artwork) featuring the winner’s music, as well as additional copies to be sold in Title stores around the country, a Rega RP1 turntable and a Q&A feature in our very pages – legit! Head to titlestore.com.au to enter; closing date is 13 Apr with the winner announced on Record Store Day, 19 Apr.
ONCE MORE WITH FEELING
Back by popular demand, The White Album Concert is returning to Australian stages, with the original all-star cast from the 2009 live phenomenon: Chris Cheney (The Living End), Phil Jamieson (Grinspoon), Josh Pyke and Tim Rogers (You Am I) coming together once more, accompanied by a 17-piece rock orchestra. Hear some of our musical heroes tackle 30 of the greatest from The Fab Four, 13 Jul, QPAC, Brisbane; 15 & 16 Jul, Hamer Hall; 18 & 19 Jul, Sydney Opera House; and 26 Jul, Perth Convention & Exhibition Centre. Make sure you get a second bite from this white cherry when the tour hits your city. Proudly presented by The Music.
PROBLEM SOLVED
Get set for a night with Jamie and Adam when Mythbusters – Behind The Myths arrives in Australia for the very first time. The live tour will bring the hit TV show centre stage in arenas from east to west, and will feature the pair conducting a range of onstage experiments, while calling on the help of audience members to debunk fiction and discover the truth. Make sure you’re in class for the most awesome day of education imaginable when the tour visits The Plenary, Melbourne, 16 Aug*; Qantas Credit Union Arena, Sydney, 23 Aug*; Perth Arena, 27 Aug; and Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, 30 Aug* ( two shows: 2pm matinee and 7.30pm).
“ONE THING’S FOR SURE, CHRIS MARTIN IS SOMEWHERE HAVING A MASSIVE STEAK WITH BACON ON THE SIDE” THE UNCOUPLING IS COMPLETE @ITSDAVEONEIL, IT’S TIME TO PARTY! 10 • THE MUSIC • 2ND APRIL 2014
Just in case you were still up in the air about getting to Groovin The Moo, this news should make your decision a whole bunch easier. Epic South Oz hip hop bloke Allday has just been added to the full national run, while the following local supports will check in to a regional location in your state: The Patriots, Gooch Palms, Thief, Gang Of Youths (Maitland, 26 Apr); Sweet Shoppe, Nicole Millar, The Steptones, Drawing North (Canberra, 27 Apr); Outlines, My Echo, Lurch & Chief, D.D Dumbo (Bendigo, 3 May); Atticus Beats, Paces, Lost Boys (Townsville, 4 May); and The Acitones, Mathas and Crooked Colours (Bunbury, 10 May). Bendigo is long sold out, but tickets for all other dates can be purchased through the event website. Proudly presented by The Music.
ALL IN THE FAMILY
The sell-out success of recent tours has shown that there’s still plenty of love for Hanson, even if they’re all grown up, and the MMMBop brothers are given fans even more reason to scream with brand new record Anthem. Catch the band at The Tivoli, Brisbane, 5 Aug; Coolangatta Hotel, Gold Coast, 6 Aug; Enmore Theatre, Sydney, 8 Aug; Palais Theatre, Melbourne, 9 Aug; and Metropolis, Fremantle, 15 Aug.
THE DECLINE
HEARTS ON THE LINE
Get your ears prepared for a thrashing when WA punk champions The Decline bring the loose times, trucking around the nation with their brand new EP, Can I Borrow A Feeling?, in tow. Shout it loud with the WA four at the following dates: 2 May, Crowbar, Brisbane; 3 May, Valve Bar & Venue, Sydney; 4 May, Belconnen Magpies, Canberra; 5 May, Rad Bar, Wollongong; 7 May, The Bendigo, Melbourne; 8 May, Reverence Hotel, Melbourne; 16 May, Rosemount Hotel, Perth, with the full tour proudly presented by The Music.
BAY STREET BYRON BAY (02) 6685 6402 www.beachhotel.com.au
THIS WEEK: WED 2ND FROM 8:30PM
AKOVA
THUR 3RD FROM 9PM
BETTY BLISSETT FRI 4TH FROM 5PM
JON J BRADLEY 9:30PM
MADISON KAT SAT 5TH FROM 9:30PM
DJ DISCROW
SUN 6TH FROM 4:30PM
AFRO MOSES 8PM
DJ MANIE SHIKA MON 7TH FROM 7:30PM
‘HIT THAT HIT’ MUSICAL BINGO
FREE ENTRY, GREAT PRIZES TUES 8TH FROM 7:30PM
OPEN MIC NIGHT WED 9TH FROM 8:30PM
LEIGH JAMES COMING SOON: THUR 10TH APRIL
BROADFOOT FRI 11TH APRIL
LUKE & SEBASTIAN WANDERING EYES SAT 12TH APRIL
PANDAMONIUM DJS SUN 13TH APRIL
FERAMONES YACHT CLUB DJS SAT 19TH APRIL
THE DELTA RIGGS SUN 20TH APRIL
LISA HUNT
FRI 25TH APRIL
STONEFIELD THE MUSIC • 2ND APRIL 2014 • 11
local news qld.news@themusic.com.au JAMES VINCENT MCMORROW
1984
A FRIGHTENING REALITY
With many elements of the story coming into fruition throughout modern living in the 21st century, there seems like no better time for Shake & Stir Theatre Co. to revisit George Orwell’s powerful 1948 literary classic, 1984. Set against a formidable wall of plasma screens, watch as the story is brought to life at QPAC, 15 Jul – 2 Aug. Hit the venue website for tickets.
FIRST-CLASS CITIZEN
LET’S GET TROPICAL
Only just in the country as part of Falls/Southbound festivities, James Vincent McMorrow is bringing back those Post Tropical vibes and that heavenly voice in a few months time, following a sold out run in the US and a spot at Coachella. Experience the Irishman’s first ever Queensland show at QPAC, 23 May, with tickets available now through Secret Sounds.
THE REAL DEAL
FLOCKING HELL
American rocker Slim Jim Phantom has just added a Queensland headline date alongside his slots at Cooly Rocks On (7 Jun) and Caxton Street Seafood & Wine Festival (8 Jun), heading west to Ipswich to play Racecourse Hotel, 6 Jun, with Fireballs.
There are going to be no compromises and plenty of surprises when instrumental rock behemoths Pelican land on our shores for a full national tour. Hear tracks from last year’s return to form Forever Becoming when the Chicago act hit The Zoo stage, 24 Jul.
TEAR IT UP
BACK TO THE STREETS
You can guarantee a smooth landing when Canberra dancefloor leaders The Aston Shuffle bring their Photographs national tour to Brisbane for a headline date at The Zoo, 29 Aug. Expect a night of uplifting bangers and curious electro flourishes when the pair show just why they’re considered some of the finest producers in the country.
CLASS IN SESSION
Bridging the gap from coast to coast, Schoolboy Q has fast become one of the dominant forces in hip hop. Stateside, his debut Oxymoron topping the Billboard charts while his turns as part of Black Hippy – alongside Kendrick Lamar – have further solidified the opinion that Quincy Hanley is a voice to be heard. Catch him 7 Jun, The Hi-Fi.
Celebrate ten years of Page Avenue when that album’s creators, post-hardcore legends Story Of The Year, share the memories and thank the masses by playing the record in its entirety. The band are known for a ridiculous live show too, where stage flips aren’t out of the ordinary, so make seeing believing by getting along to The Hi-Fi, 26 Jun. Tickets go on sale through the venue website this Friday.
When someone has been called on to support the likes of Wiz Khalifa, Earl Sweatshirt, Danny Brown and Public Enemy, you know they’re doing things right. Citizen Kay is one of the most celebrated names clutching a microphone in Australia right now, and he’s taking his talents out on the road next month for a headline tour with Adelaide ruler Tkay Maidza. Catch the pair 10 May, Alhambra Lounge.
LIGHTS AND MUSIC
Pushing the boundaries of art and sound, Michelle Xen & The Neon Wild are returning to the road with their fourth single Electro Comb, the track showing just why the locals are regarded as one of the most forward-thinking pop acts in the country. They play New Globe Theatre, 26 Apr along with Melbourne synth-pop pair Back Back Forward Punch, and fellow Brisbanites Youthfire and Machine Age.
ALWAYS ALIVE
With more than ten members you can be sure it’s never ‘quiet’ in the world of Velociraptor, but things are especially happening right now, with the band signing with Remote Control Records to drop a debut full-length and giving us a new single in the way of Ramona. They launch the song at Black Bear Lodge, 24 Apr. HIGH ON FIRE
“ALL OLD WOMEN WEAR THE SAME PERFUME” AND WE WOULDN’T WANT IT ANY OTHER WAY @PAULSCHEER. 12 • THE MUSIC • 2ND APRIL 2014
BLOWING UP
Bay Area warlords High On Fire are crossing the Pacific to smother us with their thunderous riffs and ruthless rhythms. A more powerful trio you’re unlikely to hear, so give into temptation and get brutal with the boys 16 & 17 Jul, Crowbar – tickets on sale now.
THE MUSIC • 2ND APRIL 2014 • 13
local news qld.news@themusic.com.au PARKWAY DRIVE
WHITE LUNG
PUNK DEVOTION
Breathe in the brilliance that is White Lung when the Vancouver trio get down to our parts for the very first time this winter. Experience the hellish and sweet of the genre when they play Alhambra Lounge, 6 Jun, with support from newly concocted supergroup Upset, featuring former members of Best Coast, La Sera and Hole. Tickets on sale 10 Apr.
TASTE TEST
Following an expansive tour around North America and Europe, local mash-up wunderkind Sampology is coming home for a DJ tour, coinciding with his Crooked Colours remix of In Your Bones, out soon on Sweat It Out. Catch him 2 May, The Factory, Sunshine Coast and 24 May, Bowler Bar.
YOUTH UNITED
Brisbane’s biggest and best under-18s music festival Live It Up is returning once more after a spectacular launch last year, and the line-up that’s locked in to play is more than enough to make you forget about that homework. The likes of Parkway Drive, Violent Soho, The Jungle Giants, Allday, In Hearts Wake, Lunatics On Pogosticks and The Creases will all be performing at RNA Showgrounds, 21 Jun, with tickets available through the event website starting from a ridiculous $45+BF.
“DAME RANGER STACEY”
EDUCATE YOURSELF
Get a lesson in Australian punk rock history from The Celibate Rifles when the uncontained and incomparable outfit headline at Kings Beach Tavern, Caloundra, 19 Apr. The Sydney legends are arriving for the 40th Pa & Ma Bendall Memorial Surfing Contest at Moffat Beach, and will tie in the visit with one show only. Tickets can be purchased through Oztix for $15+BF, with support from New Jack Rubys and Baskervillain.
JOAN AS POLICE WOMAN
GET ARRESTED
Joan As Police Woman has returned with not just a classic, but The Classic, a sensual record that she’ll bring out to Australia just at a time when we’ll need to be warmed right up. Get lost with Joan Wasser when the powerful American performer showcases her stunning fourth record at The Hi-Fi, 24 Jun. 14 • THE MUSIC • 2ND APRIL 2014
DAMN GOOD SUGGESTION BEC SHAW [@BROCKLESNITCH]. TONY?
NO REST FOR THE WICKED
Off on the road for Groovin The Moo and their own Funk In The Trunk tour, the boys from Kingswood are relishing their time in the spotlight, and if their recent film clip for single Suckerpunch is anything to go by, fans can expect high energy head-thrashing at their upcoming show. To add to the appeal, Queenslanders The Medics and The Belligerents have just been announced as supports at The Hi-Fi, 31 May, and as you can imagine, The Music is proud to present this one.
EARNING HIS KEEP
Starting his production career as a teenager, Michael Dodman, aka Huxley, has followed the underground success he enjoyed as a garage head, using his increased stature to grow more adventurous with the beats he’s making. Now leading the deep house revival, he’s dropped a flurry of releases for some of the hottest labels in the world, and you can hear the finest cuts from his catalogue when the Brit plays an Anzac Day show, 25 Apr, Bowler Bar.
SECRET DANCE BUSINESS We don’t know where the raving is going to take place, but Alison Wonderland, Wave Racer and Young Franco will be making a hell of a racket on the Wonderland Warehouse Project, an event designed to give the partying back to the punter with evenings full of sensorial excess. It happens in Brisbane, 24 May, and obviously we’ll let you know as soon as we get any news regarding locations. Until then, you can guarantee your spot on the dancefloor by grabbing a ticket for $25+BF at wonderlandwarehouseproject.com.
WALK IN THEIR SHOES
Inspired by the women behind the men that go to war, six local singers and songwriters will turn their attention to the wives of our military servicemen next month to bring to life their untold stories. The Soldier’s Wife sees a mix of talents – Jackie Marshall, Roz Pappalardo, Tylea Gould, Sahara Beck, Deb Suckling and Bertie Page – putting the experiences and emotions of these women into song, culminating in an intimate performance at the Brisbane Powerhouse. All profits go towards the veterans’ affairs charity Legacy, so show your support, 23 Apr.
PRE ORDER NOW STORE.THEMUSIC.COM.AU
THE MUSIC • 2ND APRIL 2014 • 15
festival
A NATURAL FACT
Bluesfest celebrates 25 years of bringing some of the finest music on the planet to one of the world’s most idyllic beach towns. Festival owner Peter Noble reminisces on what has been with Dan Condon.
I
f you haven’t been to Bluesfest, you don’t understand what you’re missing out on. It’s not like any other music festival in the world; sure, the music is incredible, but the location, the people, the food and the general vibe sets it apart. Peter Noble didn’t start Bluesfest, but he’s been involved right from the beginning. As the country’s foremost blues promoter it made sense that he’d supply acts to the festival, which was initially helmed by Keven Oxford. “When I first moved up to Byron in ’91, I’d already supplied them Canned Heat for the first East Coast Blues Fest, and in ’91 I supplied them John Mayall,
“I really believe it rained for 30 days and 30 nights going into that festival. I called up Billy Hauritz and I said, ‘Mate, please help. What do we do?’ and he suggested duckboards – pallets that have the extra rows removed so people can walk on them – ‘I’ve got thousands of them up here, you get them down
first year that Ben Harper played,” Noble recalls. “A whole lot of fans turned up, and they were not your normal blues fans – they didn’t have a stretched black T-shirt with Jack Daniels on the front, wearing a beard and a beer gut – this was another audience that was coming all of a sudden. It was really important to get out there and figure out who this audience was, that didn’t see themselves as a blues audience, but would go to a blues festival to see an act that saw himself as fine working an event alongside blues artists. “It was like an epiphany – here’s a guy you can hear has heard a lot of blues but isn’t playing 12-bar – you could hear soul music and you could hear Bob Marley… I could never understate the importance of Ben Harper to Bluesfest.” Noble says that it wasn’t just Bluesfest that Ben Harper had the impact on, he says the Australian music industry as a whole owes a lot to what the Californian artist brought back in that era. “There was a five- or six-year period where every record Harper put out went to number one, and all these artists who were coming up at the time were influenced by
“MUSICIANS DON’T LISTEN IN GENRES, SO HOW ABOUT HAVING A FESTIVAL THAT DOESN’T? A FESTIVAL THAT JUST BOOKS GOOD MUSIC AND EVERY NOW AND THEN TAKES A PUNT, GOES A BIT WIDE AND BOOKS SOMETHING THAT DOESN’T QUITE WORK.” I was hoping they’d invite me into the partnership, because I was the promoter, for the previous decade or more, of that kind of music in Australia,” Noble tells. “Believe me, there wasn’t a whole lot of people wanting to do it – no one got rich doing it.” It was in 1993 that Noble was offered the chance to buy into the event, though he is unsure to this day whether or not the offer came out of respect or desperation. “When the guys asked me to buy into the festival in ’93 – they’d gone outdoors and putting on outdoor festivals is a lot more difficult than people would think, it’s such an expensive exercise – I basically bought in and paid out their debt,” he says. “I don’t know if I was ever a welcome partner, I was more of a rescuing partner. I became involved in booking the event much more deeply from the ’94 event on, when we had Taj Mahal and a few other people.” That 1994 event was, in some ways, nightmarish. Weeks of solid rain meant Belongil Fields was a quagmire. Noble put a call through to Woodford Folk Festival boss Bill Hauritz – the two festival veterans have a well established mutual respect – who saved the day. 16 • THE MUSIC • 2ND APRIL 2014
and I’ll give them to you for the weekend.’ [So] we built walkways and pulled off an event, and I learned instantly how to be a festival presenter and not get cancelled through inclement weather.” There are shades of ‘94 in this year’s bill – Terrence Simien, The Paladins, Backsliders and Phil Manning all return – but if there were to be one year and one artist that Noble sees as a turning point for what Bluesfest was to become, the answer is simple: 1996, Ben Harper. “I think the ’96 festival was the big watershed, it was the
him – John Butler, Xavier Rudd, The Beautiful Girls and a thousand others – you could hear Ben Harper in all their music, he influenced them profoundly,” Noble says. “I don’t know if John Butler says that today, or if Xavier does, but I put it to you strongly Ben Harper had a great influence on them picking up an instrument. It really turned Australia around and it was really important for us to be in on the ground floor with that artist.” Not everything went to plan in 1996, however, with one headliner causing the organisers all manner of headaches. “I remember Gil Scott-Heron played that year too and he got busted with seven grams of crack cocaine at Brisbane Airport,” Noble recounts. “Somehow I managed to get him bailed out for the weekend and he came down and played Bluesfest, then on the Tuesday he was deported. I don’t think he ever came back to Australia after that.” In the early ‘90s, the music festival landscape was awfully different to what we experience today. Money was never er a consideration in the event’s early days, s, and Bluesfest wasn’t even Noble’s full-time l-time job.
SILVER JUBILEE
Peter Noble talks us through booking the 2014 Bluesfest bill. “I tend to sort of just ride the wave; when all those young acts came in early – John Mayer, Dave Matthews, Edward Sharpe, Morcheeba – I just said, ‘Well, let’s get some more!’ But then I thought we needed to make a strong statement of where we came from. I’ve booked more blues than I’ve ever booked. “I could have tried to replicate last year’s Bluesfest and I know there are people out there asking, ‘Why didn’t you just do a whole bunch of legends again? Why are your three headliners far more contemporary? For your 25th year, would you want those older acts?’, but I don’t see that. Pardon me, but I don’t tend to promote like the other guys, I don’t think. I just want to do creative music festivals.” As some report doom and gloom for the Australian festival market, Peter Noble wants it known that Bluesfest is not, in any way, struggling to sell tickets. “We’re not suffering at all. Our ticket sales are right on track to sell out. The business model that seems to be having buyer resistance is the one-day travelling event, not the destination festival. Woodford had their second biggest year ever last year, or as good as their biggest ever. So many four- and five-day events are doing fine, but this one-day model is suffering.”
“Maybe that’s the great thing about Bluesfest, is that my original partner Keven Oxford and I were definitely in it for the love of music, and the festival was a good ten to 12 years old before it ever turned a profit. Maybe it turned enough of a profit each year to pay your wages, but to actually make a profit so you could invest in your event. It was always a labour of love, we were working other jobs and getting paid $500 a week out of the festival while everyone thought we were making millions out of it.” Thus the decision to base – and keep – the event in the Northern Rivers had little to do with the town’s reputation as a tourist hotspot, it was simply because that’s where the organisers lived. “We started off as blues fans wanting to put on a blues festival where we lived. If we live in Warrnambool then we would have done it there,” Noble says. “The Arts Factory [the festival’s home in 1990 and 1991] was arguably the best live music venue in Australia at the time in terms of programming. So there was a venue that was dedicated to what I would call real music – they’d take Buddy Guy over The Angels or Australian Crawl – you had people who cared about music, a lot of people who had moved to an area because they didn’t want to live in the city anymore, they wanted to live a little more quietly.” Noble is a blues fan, but didn’t want to limit the festival to just the one genre. Expanding the festival’s fo has allowed it the opportunity to grow musical focus and to pre present some of the world’s best artists, but it has also m meant the Bluesfest team must, year-in, yearendur the cries of treachery from blues purists. out, endure
“I started to widen the event – I don’t know what my ex-partner would say about this – but he said, ‘You bought into a blues and gospel event and now you’re trying to put all this alt-country and other stuff on.’ But I thought it was just about any good music that fits, let’s not be so precious about it,” Noble says. “Musicians don’t listen in genres, so how about having a festival that doesn’t? A festival that just books good music and every now and then takes a punt, goes a bit wide and books something that doesn’t quite work; it’s better to book something that doesn’t work than to just continue using the same method, you just become boring.” Naysayers and so-called purists might complain, but Noble questions what it is they believe Bluesfest ought to be. It seems, to Peter Noble, that the event will forever push the boundaries in terms of the artists it presents. “Some people think booking Jack Johnson is a risk to some degree, the purists don’t see him as being an artist who is in line with the Bluesfest ethos. Well I don’t even know what the Bluesfest ethos is; all I know is that he really suits the Byron lifestyle – even to the point that he bought a house around here. “I’d rather go belly-up than have not jumped into the deep pool, I think you’ve got to go on a tangent, of course there are things that are not going to work, but that’s part of life. If you don’t take a risk you’re never going to know. I book acts on Bluesfest every year that in retrospect I think, ‘Gee, I could have thought a bit better on that one’, but you’ve got to take a few risks.” WHEN & WHERE: 17 – 21 Apr, Bluesfest, Byron Bay THE MUSIC • 2ND APRIL 2014 • 17
festival
THE SLAP
(Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)… and be like, ‘Umm, what is he doing?’ You couldn’t see it unless you went to a live concert. Then later when we started doing more TV shows they could see what I was doing.
Funk legend Larry Graham invented slap bass. He tells Dan Condon about influencing musicians and the two artists who influenced him.
W
with Sly & The Family Stone – between 1968 and 1972 – Graham can track his influence. “I’ve been aware of it for quite a while,” he admits. “I wasn’t in the beginning aware of the influence that my style of playing the bass was having on other people; that took a while. I guess mainly because, during the earlier years of Sly & The Family Stone, there wasn’t nearly as much television exposure and I wasn’t really aware of how many bass players were changing their style and learning to play the bass using my style of playing as a pattern.
hen Larry Graham lands in Australia for shows with his Graham Central Station band this month, it’ll be his third time on our soil; the first was for a holiday, the second as a member of Prince’s band. “When I played there with Prince I got a chance to find out that people like what I do there, so that’s exciting!” the warm and friendly Graham says. There are few modern musicians who can lay claim to having a specific role in shaping modern music, but as the inventor of slap bass during his tenure
“A lot of bass players didn’t know what I was doing; they’d hear Thank You
“If cover bands were gonna play our songs the bass player would pretty much have to do my style of playing the bass. Then some of those bands started writing their own material and they wanted it to sound funky so they’d have the bass player still play like me even though it’s their original song. “More and more bass players started doing that, then over a period of time it became the standard. Even bass players who didn’t necessarily listen to me, might have listened to someone else who played like me, maybe they were listening to Victor Wooten or Marcus Miller or Stanley Clarke or Flea.” But Graham is quick to concede that he himself was heavily influenced by two very important figures in his early musical career. His first gig was backing his own mother in The Dell Graham Trio and his first taste of immense musical success came in those heady days of the late 1960s when Sly & The Family Stone were an unstoppable force of nature. His mother and Sly Stone become great sources of inspiration and education for Graham as a bandleader once Graham Central Station became his major concern. “My mUm was the leader of our band, then in Sly & the Family Stone, Sly was a great leader. I learned leadership from my mom and Sly, so later on when I formed my own band I had some great direction to fall back on, some great schooling that I had received.” WHEN & WHERE: 18 & 19 Apr, Bluesfest, Byron Bay
BLUESFEST HITS UP BRISBANE
FRANTI OZOMATLI KC EARLE AND THE
THAT’S THE WAY (I LIKE IT) BOOGIE SHOES (SHAKE, SHAKE, SHAKE) SHAKE YOUR BOOTY
SUNSHINE BAND
THE TIVOLI SAT 19 APR
STEVE
MICHAEL
3 TIME GRAMMY WINNER
AND THE DUKES
& GUEST KASEY CHAMBERS SPECIAL
CONTAGIOUS ENERGY, RELENTLESS BASSLINES AND EFFORTLESS SWAGGER – OZOMATLI NEVER FAIL TO BRING THAT FUSION, HIGH-ENERGY FUNK
AUSTRALIA’S QUEEN OF COUNTRY
SEATING AVAILABLE
18 • THE MUSIC • 2ND APRIL 2014
THE TIVOLI TUE 15 APR
THE ZOO WED 23 APR
SPEARHEAD
AND
THE LEGENDARY
WITH SPECIAL GUEST
NAHKO FOR THE PEOPLE &MEDICINE
THE TIVOLI WED 23 APR
TRAGEDY TO TRIUMPH
Prison, depression and addiction – Beth Hart has seen it all. Mark Hebblewhite sat down with the first lady of the blues to find out about her tumultuous journey to redemption.
“I
t’s funny,” laughs Hart, when asked about her her impending visit. “I have actually been to Australia but I don’t remember much of it because I was pretty out of it. I came over for some press stuff in Sydney and Melbourne many years ago – all I remember is lying on the grass somewhere taking some sun and a group of people came by and said, ‘Boy she has a lot of courage.’” Now she’s finally getting the chance to perform in Australia, Hart is determined to cover as much ground as possible.
“I like doing headlining shows but I also like the festival experience. With the festival there are so many people there – people who may not have heard your music – or even your name. Doing festivals is such a great way to connect with a wider audience – although you have to make sure you keep the energy level high because people are out drinking and having fun. That said I’m not scared to play a few ballads and mix things up at festivals. “With my own shows they’re of course in a much more intimate setting so I’m free to pretty much do what I want. When I’m in Australia I’m going
to give you guys a little bit of everything because I haven’t had the chance to play there before.” That Hart is alive today is a minor miracle. A musical prodigy, she left home as a teenager to make her way as a musician, cracking the big time with her 1999 hit, L.A. Song, but soon after a serious drug addiction brought her down. Dropped by her label and finding herself in prison, Hart was forced to not only confront her addictions but also her undiagnosed bi-polar disorder. Unlike so many performers before her Hart beat the odds. Since 2003 she’s released a string of acclaimed LPs and worked with musicians of the calibre of Joe Bonamassa and Slash. Were Hart’s travails the price to pay for her talent? “I really struggle with that question. Naturally what I want to say is that I really don’t know. But to be honest, in a way my struggles with addiction have been my greatest gift – and I don’t want this to come out the wrong way so I’ll be careful. It means that when I’m having one of my episodes or I fall back into drinking I’m forced to lean more on my faith and the people I love. And I think there’s something beautiful about that – when you’re put into a position of frailty – when your ego gets smashed. I don’t want to sound preachy or anything; all I can do is speak from my own experience. At the end of the day I guess – yeah my experiences have informed my art, but more important is that I’m finding that real peace comes from accepting who I am instead of over-analyzing my life and attaching too much shame or glory to it.” WHAT: Bang Bang Boom Boom (Mascot Label Group/ADA) WHEN & WHERE: 17 & 18 Apr, Bluesfest, Byron Bay
ALL ARTISTS ALSO APPEARING AT BLUESFEST 2014
JOSS VEGA STONE KT SUZANNE ALLEN US SOUL SENSATION
ARIE STONE VINTAGE SOUL AT IT’S BEST
& GUEST SETH LAKEMAN SPECIAL
“ONE OF THE MOST BRILLIANT SONGWRITERS OF HER GENERATION”
“THE BEST EFFING VOICE I’VE EVER HEARD.” MTV
BIOGRAPHY MAGAZINE
THE TIVOLI SUN 20 APR
SEATING AVAILABLE
POWERHOUSE THE ZOO TUE 15 APR WED 16 APR
PRESENTS
WAILERS TUNSTALL
“IT’S A STUNNER. ALL THIS BEAUTY.”
THE
KEEPING BOB MARLEY’S MUSIC ALIVE RHYTHM COLLISION
DJ BASMATI
WITH
INDIA.
festival
THE GUARDIAN
THE ZOO WED 30 APR
THE TIVOLI WED 16 APR THE MUSIC • 2ND APRIL 2014 • 19
festival
STILL GETTING DOWN KC & The Sunshine Band’s Harry Casey tells Dan Condon he’s thrilled his band’s music lives on, in spite of others trying to bring the music down.
H
arry Wayne Casey – the KC of KC & The Sunshine Band – has been in the game for a long time, his first dalliances with music coming in his mid-teens before he started the group that shot him to stardom in 1973. Two years later that band were on top of the charts with Get Down Tonight and That’s The Way (I Like It). But what’s most astonishing about the band’s success is the omnipresence of these songs in modern culture, nearly 40 years after their release. Casey’s music from the 1970s is heard at sporting events and parties, and in TV shows and movies all around the world; but Casey says that disco retaining popularity was not something he ever counted on. “I never could have imagined that in 2013 disco music would be as big as it’s ever been,” he says from his home in Miami. “You create one [record] and that comes out, then you’re onto the other one. You’re really not thinking about the longevity of it or which way it’s gonna go. Things change so much musically in the world that it’s hard to comprehend where it could go.” Disco was a genre as maligned as it was adored in the mid-1970s and there’s definitely a sense of satisfaction in Casey’s voice when he talks about his songs. “To think that my records and my music have stood the test of time when everybody tried to put them down, tear them down and give no credit to what we’d done, really says something. “I wrote songs because I didn’t want people to not know the name of them when they went into the record store, but I never thought I would write the kind that they would just never forget for as long as 40 years.” There is a big gap in the KC & The Sunshine Band timeline; Casey was fed up with the music industry by 1985 and, for the first time in his adult life, he stepped away from it. “Well, I partied my arse off,” Casey laughs, when asked what he did between 1985 and 1993. “I did a lot of crazy things. I partied. I did some good things and some not so good things. I got really heavy into drugs and stuff… I kinda did things in the ‘80s – which was my 30s – that most people do in their teens. I guess I relived my adolescence? Or, not relived my
20 • THE MUSIC • 2ND APRIL 2014
adolescence, I lived my adolescence in my 30s. I guess I do things a little backwards to most people. “I just didn’t want to have anything to do with the music industry anymore, I was tired of being told what to do and how to do it and when to do it and when to smile and when to be happy… I was
That part of my life is kinda missing, because my life just took off into a whole different world and direction.” But Casey has no regrets about his wild days. “It was definitely a good thing for me, I believe, even though the things I was doing were bad things, I think it ended up being a good thing for me. I was able to sit back and look at everything, my life and just everything.” New KC & The Sunshine Band material – the first since 2007 – is imminent, with a wealth of material coming out of Casey’s studio at present. “It started out just doing one song and next thing I know I’ve
“I DID A LOT OF CRAZY THINGS. I PARTIED. I DID SOME GOOD THINGS AND SOME NOT SO GOOD THINGS. I GOT REALLY HEAVY INTO DRUGS AND STUFF.” just so fed up with that part of it, the stress part of it, the political part of it. I just wanted to stop and smell the roses and maybe find out who I am. “For me it was a very lonely period of my life, I felt very lonely and alienated in a crazy kind of way and I just wanted to, I don’t know, touch reality? Even though it was my reality, it’s not a normal life. I have no idea what growing up and being in your 20s is like.
recorded 34 songs,” Casey tells us of his current creative output. “I’m always jotting down ideas and recording stuff on my phone, little melodies and stuff that come into my head, but I haven’t actively been writing that much. I’m loving it, I really am.” These days Casey says he’s enjoying leading this monstrous group of musicians and dancers moreso than ever before (there’ll be 15 coming down for Bluesfest alone). “I feel more relaxed, more seasoned and I have a great group of musicians and talented dancers and things around me. They add so much energy to everything and they keep me young, let’s put it that way.” WHEN & WHERE: 19 Apr, The Tivoli; 21 Apr, Bluesfest, Byron Bay
THE MUSIC • 26TH MARCH 2014 • 21
music
NO FRILLS
It’s all beer, skittles and fun festive times for Melbourne’s Loon Lake as Simon Nolan tells Tyler McLoughlan ahead of the Good Times tour.
B
uilding on the success of their triple j Hottest 100-endorsed single, Cherry Lips, with their well received debut album, Gloamer last October, Loon Lake kicked off 2014 with a bang, wooing Big Day Out audiences with their singalong indie-rock sounds. “That’s what it’s all about, isn’t it – to have people sing your songs is pretty self-gratifying, I guess, or just overwhelming nearly,” starts guitarist Simon Nolan. “It’s awesome, and that tour was a good tour – it was good fun. The fans were good, the shows were good and the
music
other bands were great… Yeah we were stalkin’ all the crew… I tried to stalk Chris Lilley – he was probably my favourite that I saw backstage but I think I shook his hand but I didn’t get to talk to him...” he laughs, recalling the behindthe-scenes shenanigans and explaining why his frontman brother gets all the celebrity photo action on their Facebook. “Sam’s the only recognisable one from the band so we just put him in all the photos… I saw Chino [Moreno of Deftones] at the afterparty at Perth for a couple of minutes in the toilet. He was a good dude – a nice dude… There’s nothin’ to take out of context, I was just in the toilet!”
With more festival fun scheduled for Groovin The Moo, in the meantime Loon Lake are hitting the road for a headline tour in their biggest venues to date with Brisbane’s ultimate party bro Jeremy Neale in tow. “I had nothin’ to do with the naming of the tour so you can’t blame me – if you don’t like it you have to take it up with someone else in the band!” laughs Nolan at the suggestion the band didn’t think too long and hard about that one. “We’re really excited – we’re obviously practising hard now. I’m just unloading the car and doing heaps – I’ve got a million things goin’ on!” Nolan says with one eye on the clock as he runs late for rehearsal and considers whether festivals or headline shows are his favourite. “We can play a little bit more deeper into changin’ the arrangements a bit and playin’ a few songs off the album that you wouldn’t see in a festival set [on this headline tour]… but they’ve both got their pros and cons. I enjoy playin’ the festivals but I think I enjoy our own shows more because they’re your crowd and you can play for a bit longer and play some of the songs that wouldn’t go down at a festival so great.” With touring commitments until mid-May and a prevailing devil-may-care spirit, Nolan says the boys are under no pressure to produce new material just yet. “We’ve been workin’ on new songs – I wouldn’t say there’s any album getting planned or any official plans yet but we’ve been definitely makin’ new tracks and trying to write some songs. I think we’ll just try and keep pushin’ forward…” WHEN & WHERE: 5 Apr, The Zoo; 4 May, Groovin The Moo, Townsville
LEAVING HOME BEHIND
Now a Golden Globe-winning composer as well as a renowned singer-songwriter, Alex Ebert of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros talks working with Heath Ledger and embarrassing himself in front of Bono with Andy Hazel.
C
urrent resident of New Orleans, Alex Ebert has spent the last two months neck deep in the glamorous side of his previous home, Los Angeles. Moving to Louisiana satisfies his love for community, a love also expressed in the persona of Edward Sharpe, the bearded, wild-haired singer for ragtag collective The Magnetic Zeros. As Ebert explains, “LA has no community so, growing up, I imagined it. A while back, my mom showed me a story I wrote when I was six and it began: ‘Once there was a boy who had a crew.’ That touched me, because I hadn’t seen that in 25 years and it was fun to know I always had my eye on that.” Winning a Golden Globe for Best Original Score for the Robert Redford-starring film All Is Lost, he believes he’s no longer considered a singer in, as he puts it, a “drugged out, naïve hippy band”. “Leading right up to the announcement I was jittery, jittery, jittery,” he says, happily reliving the moment. “But I was able to watch myself be jittery, so I started thinking, ‘Maybe I’m jittery for a reason. Maybe I’m going to have to deliver some kind of speech.’ It was a very surreal thing. Awards shows are very glitzy and nothing more than a popularity contest on some level, but to be recognised for something you worked really hard at – and I really loved working on 22 • THE MUSIC • 2ND APRIL 2014
that score, and I love the film – to be recognised for something you put all your heart and soul into, was amazing. “There was a fun moment at the Golden Globes where Redford was talking to Bono about me. I was standing behind them and Redford said: ’Now he really understands silence.’ I thought that was so amazing that I just had to say something, so I excitedly blurted out this long-winded monologue and basically proved I didn’t understand silence at all,” he says, laughing. In Australia to promote last year’s eponymous album, Ebert has no qualms about the fact
his mind is now elsewhere. “The album is dead for me. It always has been, but I love writing songs so I’m writing a lot of songs. I’m scoring a Pixar short film, which I’m really excited about,” he says. “It’s a beautiful, beautiful story, so I’m having fun doing film stuff.” Film stuff, it turns out, includes a screenplay he developed with sadly departed good friend and Australian legend, Heath Ledger. “That screenplay is a musical I’ve been developing with a director who uh… I shouldn’t give away his name, but he’s a very respected director. I pitched him the idea and he loves it. It’s an out-there bizarre musical I can’t talk too much about, but it’s certainly great to be carrying on anything I talked about with Heath.” WHEN & WHERE: 17 Apr, Bluesfest, Byron Bay
A VOICE IN THE DARK Sydney songstress Ela Stiles discusses a cappella and eschewing expectations with Brendan Telford.
E
la Stiles is a renowned voice in the Australian music scene, what with her work alongside Max Doyle in Sydney band Songs and her long-distance travails with Melbourne’s Bushwalking. A creative force of nature, it comes as no surprise that Stiles has ventured out on her own with the release of her self-titled solo record. What is something of a surprise is its structure – forgoing instrumentation in favour of her greatest strength, her voice. “I didn’t exactly start out with an a cappella record in mind, but I think I am a better singer than I am at playing any instruments so I wanted that to always be the focus,” Stiles explains. “I have wanted to do a solo
record for a long time but never had the right theme. When I thought of the a cappella focus though I wrote all the songs in a month. I got them down on record quickly while they were current and I liked the idea as it continued because I feel comfortable when I’m singing. It felt completely natural.” The touchstones for the material are varied, which helps explain the yin and yang nature of the album itself. “I really like old folk songs, more in the old English traditional sense. Some songs I wrote could sound like traditional Irish or English folk songs, because I took the sensibilities of the way those are structured vocally,
especially the likes of Shirley Collins. But I really like the Indian drone-based music too, which is essentially what the second side of the album is all about. I liked the idea of the traditional standing next to the experimental songs next to a long piece.”
music
There’s an obvious nakedness to these tracks thanks to the stripping away of any musical intrusion other than looped vocals, something Stiles found freeing. “A lot of it requires layers of my voice in harmonies so that there isn’t that much silence; everything feels covered. The lyrics come from a pretty big breakup I had – how cliché! The songwriting between this, Songs and Bushwalking are all completely and deliberately different. Songs feels a lot more lighthearted, whilst Bushwalking is an intense collective. The a cappella stuff is just me representing myself. I promise I won’t write about boys ever again though; there’s only so many songs you can write on that topic!” The a cappella concept live, however, is a different prospect. “Live it’s just me, so it can be a daunting process. I have brought the guitar into it a bit, but there are still moments where it’s just me singing. Just singing on stage in front of people is a pretty intense experience. I’ll admit that I thought it’d be harder than it was, but it was still a nerve-wracking thing first time around. I’ve always had a guitar or bass in front of me, even on my own; without an instrument there you feel truly alone. You want it to sound good and entertaining, but it’s hard to get the perfect sound every time. The intensity comes from that pressure and the emotions within each song combined.” WHAT: Ela Stiles (Bedroom Suck) WHEN & WHERE: 4 Apr, Electric Playground
NEW SENSATIONS
music
UK quartet Glass Animals is kind of hard to categorise – it’s a little bit psychedelic and fairly synthy, with some trippy, dub-like flavours dispersed amongst their delicate equilibrium. Vocalist Dave Bayley speaks with Lochlan Watt.
O
nly officially forming in 2012, this dreamy group has already gained international recognition off the back of a small string of singles and two EPs – Leaflings and Black Mambo/Exxus. There’s a maturity and understanding in their sound beyond a two-year relationship so it’s not surprising to learn the story of Glass Animals actually goes back nearly ten years, when the band members, all around the age of 13, were attending school in Oxfordshire. “When I first moved from Texas, I was the American at school… actually, I wasn’t the only American at school,” says the gently-pouted Bayley, returning to Texas for SXSW. “Drew [MacFarlane], our guitarist was the American at school, and so the first person I was introduced to, being the American, was the other American. So Drew was my first friend in the UK, and he was friends with Ed [Irwin-Singer] and Joe [Seaward], the other two guys in the band. We all happened to have similar tastes in music – we all liked slightly left-field stuff – and we were into lots of new and young bands, so we’d sneak out of school to go and see them play shows at all the local club.”
legendary producer Paul Epworth signing the band to his Wolf Tone label. “We just saw his name on the guest list – ‘Paul Epworth’ – and we were like, ‘That can’t be the real Paul Epworth’. I mean, that guy produced all these amazing records that we as teens grew up listening to – the first Bloc Party record, the Maximo Park record, The Futureheads, The Rakes, lots of fun albums that we really loved. We met him afterwards in a pool hall, got a bit tipsy and he told us about this new label he was starting up and he wanted us to be the first band he signed to it.”
Fast-forward a decade and the band gained the right industry attention from their very first show, with
Glass Animals plan to collaborate with
some fellow artists at SXSW, and although their album is already finished, in the can and waiting on an official release date, “if something really awesome happens, or if someone wants to put a verse down on one of the album tracks and we’re really digging it, maybe we’ll go for it, we’ll stick it on the album. “I think it’s still definitely us, but it’s taken a couple of big steps,” he says of their evolution. “We just played a show in Berlin and there was this big guy in the crowd called John. He runs a label called Compact. He came up to us afterwards and was like, ‘I was standing in the crowd hearing this big, West Coast hip hop, but I looked up and there was four skinny white boys making it’, so I guess that’s what the record sounds like. It’s bigger. Definitely a lot bigger than what was there before… wilder, and hopefully better.” WHEN & WHERE: 4 Apr, The Hi-Fi THE MUSIC • 2ND APRIL 2014 • 23
music
WELCOME BACK While Jon Fratelli of The Fratellis never liked the term ‘indefinite hiatus’ as a way of describing his band’s break-up in 2009, that’s exactly what it turned out to be. He tells Jazmine O’Sullivan all about the band’s split, and of how they came back together in 2012.
T
he Fratellis skyrocketed to the forefront of Glasgow’s music scene off the back of the success of their infectious 2006 single, Chelsea Dagger (you know the one!). The single became an instant hit worldwide and saw the band tour the globe extensively in the years that followed. As with many bands who spend every waking minute of every day together, tensions began to arise amongst the group, and Jon Fratelli explains, “We were probably not looking at things in the right way, I guess. You only know that after the fact, of course, but at the time [the break-up] felt like the only thing that could happen for us. It was kind of inevitable. Even though I would say that we all felt the same way, it just took one of us, me, to kind of say something about it. It felt like the only thing was to just walk away – I tend to just do things rather than think about things, regardless of whether I’m right or not. I would much rather do something than just sort of be unhappy in a certain scenario.” During the three years that The Fratellis ceased to be, Fratelli explored several other musical projects, primarily his band with Lou Hickey, Codeine Velvet Club, and eventually his own solo work. When asked whether he used the time to pursue any other nonmusical goals, Fratelli reveals, “That’s the thing, I have nothing else! I turned 35 last week and I think I’ve finally stopped trying to find something else. I used to keep thinking, ‘Shouldn’t I have something else?’ But there just isn’t, I’m not really interested in anything else and I’m not compelled to do anything else, which I’ve got to say is quite frustrating; to have all your eggs in one basket is dangerous because what if all of a sudden that wasn’t there? But that’s why I just continued on the way I had been going, which is just to keep writing and recording. There’s really nothing else that can keep me engaged long enough.”
With this revelation of his interests and ambitions at the front of his mind, Fratelli decided to approach his former bandmates to gauge their interest in coming back together. “One day I woke up and felt that it was a good idea to start again,”
then we should just go on and play!’ I know heaps of people who have been writing and trying to play to people and they just kind of can’t find an audience, and we have one, so it was just this realisation keeping it really simple. It doesn’t have to be complicated.” Reflecting on the improvements which have been made to the band since their reunion, Fratelli believes, “We definitely learned something about putting effort in. I think towards the end of our last incarnation we sort of lost a little bit momentum – we thought it was enough to sort of just show up, plug in and play, but you know what? Actually that’s not enough. If you’re not dead by the end of every show, then you haven’t done enough. There’s definitely a bit more feeling behind what we’re playing now, and I don’t see any signs of that disappearing, so I’m glad that we’ve learned that lesson.” To mark their return to the scene, the band released their third studio album We Need Medicine late last year. “We’d played a couple of shows since we got back together and noticed that we were really leaning heavily on the first record, we didn’t use a whole lot from the
“I TURNED 35 LAST WEEK AND I THINK I’VE FINALLY STOPPED TRYING TO FIND SOMETHING ELSE.” Fratelli relays. “It’s not very poetic but it really is that simple. It just came down to a realisation that we probably had (or I hoped that we had) an audience that still wanted to hear us play. And it’s been 18 months now, and we’ve kind of proved that that’s the case. We just felt like, ‘Isn’t this ridiculous? If there’s all these people that want to see us play,
second record in the live show. We wanted to attempt to make something we could play live, and have it kind of tell its own story. I just had to write a bunch of songs that would feel like we could sink our teeth into every night. Playing every night, you have to have a certain bunch of ingredients that can keep you connected to the songs and actually just enjoy them. I feel like we got what we were aiming for, which was a record to play live. It might not be the main goal for the next record we make, but this one was just what we needed.” WHAT: We Need Medicine (Cooking Vinyl) WHEN & WHERE: 3 Apr, The Tivoli
THE MUSIC • 2ND APRIL 2014 • 25
music
MONSTER MISSION
Perennial cosmic rockers Monster Magnet have reached a quarter-century on this mortal coil, yet as Dave Wyndorf tells Brendan Telford, he isn’t letting go any time soon.
“W
e have been playing, on tour, planning to be on tour, planning to play, for as long back as I can remember,” admits frontman Dave Wyndorf. “And it’s always good to chill for a while, but that can be hard too. When you’re in a rock band, you don’t have to constantly please people – that is bullshit. You have to arrive and blow 100 or 1000 people’s minds for an hour-and-a-half, then split. “I’m telling you, normal domestic life sounds way harder to maintain than a band’s popularity. You only need to care about who’s in front of you, and
film
you really have to care, but then you leave them happy and you move on to the next group of people. It seems like I’m avoiding being an adult, but who would honestly want to be an adult?” It’s this vitality that has allowed Monster Magnet to persevere. Having arrived fully formed at the dawn of the ‘90s as a sludgerock band with a surreal space odyssey bent, they found themselves cast into the fringes of mainstream limelight after songs like Negasonic Teenage Warhead and Space Lord found traction on MTV. So when the world moved on, so did Monster Magnet. Now with nine albums under their belt, including
the latest tour de force, Last Patrol, Wyndorf maintains there’s no reason to think there will be an end point. “It felt like I was making Spine Of God last week,” Wyndorf laughs. “You never feel time the way it really is anyway; memories either took place yesterday or a millennia ago. The thing about being in the same band and continually writing and playing, no matter whether you’re popular or selling albums or are on the radio or not, is that you have a continuous body of work. You don’t notice the ups and downs. All I ever wanted was to play music for a living, and that’s what I did – can’t get any better than this.” Wyndorf ’s enthusiasm is infectious, and it goes a long way to explaining the Herculean feel of not just the band’s legacy but Wyndorf ’s presence. Despite the stoner connotations that surround Monster Magnet or Wyndorf ’s publicised overdose on prescription drugs – or maybe because of them – it becomes clear that there’s an energy and active creativity at work with an endless burning fire at its core. The only way that this continues to be a driving passion is to work at it. “I absolutely see [music] as work,” Wyndorf asserts. “When you find something you absolutely love and can’t live without, you don’t fuck around with that; you make sure that remains a constant forever. It’s not working at a gas station; it’s a responsibility. I think of Monster Magnet as ‘the mission’, and there are parts of the mission I don’t like and there are parts that I love, but they all have to get done otherwise the mission fails. It makes me sound like a fanatic or like I’m in a cult – and music is that for most people I think.” WHAT: Last Patrol (Napalm/Rocket) WHEN & WHERE: 5 Apr, The Hi-Fi
BUILDING DREAMS
They’re only 4cm tall, but those little LEGO people may carry more weight than we think. Animation co-director Chris McKay speaks with Guy Davis about capturing creativity on The LEGO Movie.
W
atching The LEGO Movie may be the most fun you’ll have in a cinema this year. It bubbles with energy, invention and wit, but one of its most pleasant surprises is how quietly profound it is when it comes to the nature of imagination and creativity. For Chris McKay, the film’s animation co-director, that was a vital component of the big picture. “It stems from a universal thing we all feel,” says McKay, a multi-talented gent perhaps best known for his Emmy-winning work on TV comedy Robot Chicken. “Everyone has something in the back of their mind – when you’ve got something you want to say or you have an idea you want to share with people or you want to build something with LEGO, you’re about to expose yourself. Submitting any form of your creativity to a group and putting it out there puts you in a very vulnerable place because it can be laughed at or torn apart. It was important to us to make the movie about that sort of thing. That’s why we were able to play with the tone of the film – we could go off on tangents and make it absurd or add some commentary on ‘the hero’s journey’ – because at its heart we had a clear, emotional story people could latch onto.” McKay worked closely with directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller in ensuring The LEGO Movie’s technical
26 • THE MUSIC • 2ND APRIL 2014
team (including Australian animation studio Animal Logic) approached the project with a cohesive vision while allowing everyone involved some degree of creative free rein. “I’m a good multitasker, so I was able to come into this project and take the things Chris and Phil were inspired by, take the inspiration I drew from the story and inspire the crew to bring their own ideas and detail to the table,” he explains. “The actors brought it on an emotional level, the craftspeople and the animators brought it from their perspective. “And we checked ourselves every day.
THE LEGO MOVIE
Everybody participated in the process as far as story development was concerned. We wanted to cram in as much story and as many gags as we could, so there were constant discussions about how much was too much and when we should keep going. We sat down and said ‘Hey, man, we can make a 90-minute toy commercial or we can make something about creativity,’ and that’s the choice we made.” It was a task that everyone involved tackled with enthusiasm and gusto, says McKay, “Many times during the making of this movie, the making of this movie replicated the story of this movie,” he chuckles. “Someone would feel like they’d reached the limit of their creativity and then someone else would say, ‘Hey, have you thought about this?’ ‘Yeah, that’s great!’ And then we’d move onto the next challenge! We were like a merry band of master builders trying to solve their problems, and by our overwhelming desire to make something good and fresh and fun we succeeded.” WHAT: The LEGO Movie In cinemas 3 Apr
LIVING THE GOOD LIFE
Sydney’s Bam Bam, Joel Charma, describes to Kane Sutton how he went from being a breakdancing superstar to an aspiring hip hop artist.
“I
’ve had this piece of toast sitting here for the last two hours and I haven’t had time to eat it because the interviews keep overlapping,” Joel Charma laughs, sounding calm and composed. “I’ve always felt comfortable talking to and entertaining people. I’m not going out on stage and thinking, ‘Oh shit, I’m in front of all these people, I’m shitting myself ’. It’s more like, ‘Fucking get me out there, I wanna be on stage already, ahh!’ you know? It’s great.”
It’s astounding to note that he’s only this year embarking on his first headlining Australian tour. While taking the country by storm under the Bam Bam moniker is still a relatively new thing, Charma has in fact already been around the world performing in an entirely different manner and as such, possesses a veteran level of stage familiarity. “Breakdancing was my first passion,” Charma explains. “It was my introduction into the hip hop world and from a young age I put everything I had into it. Music was always in the background as a hobby – I was always doing it, but breaking was my main focus and that became my career – I mean, we went on
ANDS THE INDUSTRY THE LOCALS THE BLO RES THE DJS THE GIGS THE PRODUCERS THE EMIXES THE ARTISTS THE FESTIVALS THE GR BUMS THE TOURS THEMUSIC.COM.AU THE F HE INDUSTRY THE LOCALS THE BLOGS THE THE GIGS THE PRODUCERS THE CLUBS THE STS THE FESTIVALS THE GROUPIES THE ALB HE FANS THE BANDS THE INDUSTRY THE LO NDS THE INDUSTRY THE LOCALS THE BLOG ES THE DJS THE GIGS THE PRODUCERS THE MIXES THE ARTISTS THE FESTIVALS THE GRO HE INDUSTRY THE LOCALS THE BLOGS THE THE GIGS THE PRODUCERS THE CLUBS THE STS THE FESTIVALS THE GROUPIES THE ALB HE FANS THE BANDS THE INDUSTRY THE LO THE ENCORES THE DJS THE GIGS THE PROD
to win the Australian Championships a bunch of times and represent Australia against the world a few times. It took me across the world and I was getting paid to do what I loved, which was great.” It wasn’t until Australian hip hop began its build into the mainstream market that Charma realised it was something he desperately wanted to pursue: “I was always doing music on the side but back then, there never used to be a market for Australian hip hop anyway. Fast forward a few years and now it’s massive. 360’s one of my best mates and I saw him explode onto the scene and that got me thinking, ‘Wow, it’s a feasible career path, so I’m gonna have a crack at it’ – so I did, and the ball’s been rolling ever since. Without knowing, the music thing has become more busy than the breaking without even trying to or planning it. I guess I switched careers by accident,” he chuckles.
music
To coincide with his tour, Charma is releasing his debut EP, following up a couple of years’ worth of mixtapes. As its name suggests, The Good Life EP is a celebration – elevating and irrepressibly alive, capturing the excitement and boundless promise of this first major step in his musical career with a collection of party tunes. Interestingly, despite being a hip hop artist, he draws his musical insights from other areas. “Hip hop’s probably the genre I listen to the least. I love it, but I do have a wide variety of taste in music. I listen to everything and just try to draw my favourite things I hear in other genres into what I do. It may or may not translate, but there are hints of things that I’ve converted into a hip hop-esque sense. I’m enjoying what I’m doing and I just hope other people do too.” WHAT: The Good Life EP (Ten To Two) WHEN & WHERE: 4 Apr, Bowler Bar; 5 Apr, SolBar, Maroochydore
THE MUSIC • 2ND APRIL 2014 • 27
ALBUM OF THE WEEK
★★★★ ½
album reviews
TODD TERJE
BALL PARK MUSIC
It’s Album Time Olsen/Kobalt
It’s been ten years since Terje entered the public consciousness as a maverick DJ, producer and cultivator of some of the bestgroomed facial hair in Norway. Waiting ten years to unleash your debut album might be deemed commercial suicide for anyone outside the dance community, but Terje has been incrementally upping the ante, amassing a bountiful harvest of remixes and much slobbered-over EPs while gaining considerable pull as a devil-may-care DJ. It’s clearly Terje’s intention here to craft a proper beginningto-end document rather than a grab bag of floor fillers. To that end, it’s not until track five when Strandbar kicks in that listeners will feel the overwhelming compulsion to engage booty-shaking, a trend maintained as the regal arpeggios of Delorean Dynamite glide in. The way is paved, however, with lavishly decadent digital swing on the likes of Svensk Saas,
Puddinghead
Stop Start/Inertia
which pushes the playful disco envelope to perilously camp, cocktail-jazz extremes. With ultra-suave Roxy Music man Bryan Ferry turning up to add an extra sashay of refinement, Terje’s playful impulses sail pretty close to the wind at times, but he pulls it off through a combination of balance and sheer commitment. Sure there’s an element of cheese, but not the unpleasant, heavily processed kind – we’re talking about a cultured, deliriously tasty piece of Jarlsberg here. A booster for anyone who feels that Daft Punk are no longer ‘fabulous’ enough for their needs, It’s Album Time has been well worth the wait. Christopher H James
It’s been a quick rise for Brisbane’s energetic five-piece Ball Park Music. In 2011 they released their popular debut album Happiness And Surrounding Suburbs, closely followed by their second, Museum, just over a year later, while touring intermittently. At long last – well, just under two years – Ball Park drop LP number three Puddinghead, and for what seems like the first time in their career, they have time to relax and refine. Distancing themselves even further from jovial larrikinisms, Puddinghead’s 11 tracks gently nudge the breaks, combining the sonic capabilities of Museum with the storytelling clarity of their debut. The band have experimented with interesting genre-shifts, A Good Life Is The Best Revenge sporting funk guitar and a rolling chorus, while Cocaine Lion could best
DAN SULTAN
LIAM FINN
Liberation
Create/Control
Dan Sultan has grown up. From a soulful but tentative singersongwriter on Get Out While You Can, the Melbourne musician has matured into a genuine rock’n’roller, able to evoke shades of classic Australian rockers, or turn things right down to drop a stunning ballad, Gullible Few.
With the combination of album opener, Ocean Emmanuelle and the title track, The Nihilist sets an early agenda of primitive beats and trilled-out vocals, always just a little removed from reality in their trippy wonder. Then, Snug As F**k goes fullblown on the same ingredients to sound like Magical Mystery Tour-era Beatles, if they took a few more drugs. Things start to deviate with Helena Bonham Carter, as the piano-pop bleeds into taunting backing vocals, spacey synths and a brilliant balance of snark, cynicism and sarcastic sunshine. All this is just to lull you into a hypnotic numbness before Finn slaps you back into reality with Burn Up The Road, a glorious assault of every instrument he could find in the studio that day.
Though Blackbird may have been recorded in Nashville with a famous American producer at the helm, this record is 100 per cent Australian. Like Paul Kelly and Tim Rogers before him, Sultan has always had a talent for writing about the Australian experience, giving his songs a real 28 • THE MUSIC • 2ND APRIL 2014
be described as a throwback to ‘90s indie-rock. The solid through-line, however, is the ease of Sam Cromack’s voice. Without really belting at all, the frontman tells 11 stories, all unique in form but linked through a mature sense of clarity. Not to be misunderstood, there are still much-loved spurts of liveliness, She Only Loves Me When I’m There perhaps the closest resemblance to BPM circa 2008, and Trippin’ The Light Fantastic gets the toes tapping. However, both still possess a genuine honesty that could have only really come with that little bit of extra time in the studio. Mat Lee
The Nihilist
Blackbird
In the four years since his last album, Sultan has surrounded himself with a brand new musical team and the rebirth is evident. This album took Sultan to Nashville to record with Jacquire King, whose musical expertise has clearly given Sultan the confidence to throw everything at it.
★★★★
★★★★ and lived-in sense of place. On songs such as Kimberley Calling and the gorgeous It Belongs To Us his Indigenous heritage is at the fore. The opening lines of It Belongs To Us, “Underneath my fingernails, these ancient trails can never be washed,” lead into the kind of timeless, easy rock song that should be the staple of Australian radio, if only. In fact, in another lifetime, any number of these songs would have suited commercial radio; Can’t Blame Me, with its horns and pounding drums, or the sexy roots rock of No More Explanations are just two examples. This is a big step forward for Dan Sultan. Danielle O’Donohue
From the safe guitar-rock of his turn of the century band Betchadupa, to his one-man looped musical collages, to his three previous solo albums,
★★★★ Liam Finn seems determined to never be pinned down by genre, categorisation or his own past efforts. That eclectic refusal to stick with one sound for too long comes a little unravelled on the messy 4 Track Stomper and Arrow, but the odd choices and experimentation pay off a lot more often than they fail. I don’t know if the title is hinting at anything Finn sees within himself or if it’s meant sarcastically. But these songs are too well crafted – and the album as a whole is too much of an expertly executed big picture – for nihilism to have ever played a part in its creation. Pete Laurie
THE MUSIC • 2ND APRIL 2014 • 29
albums/singles/eps
★★★★
★★★ ½
★★★
RATKING
BACKSLIDERS
HOLIDAYS ON ICE
So It Goes
Dark Side
Ramona
Hot Charity/Remote Control
Rocket
The Luxury Of Wasted Space
Dot Dash/Remote Control
NYC rap collective Ratking follow in the bloody wake of Death Grips and clipping with their album, So It Goes. Not as abrasive as their forebears, So It Goes looks to reunite the nihilist modernism of the last few years with the golden hip hop era, with stunning results. Essentially a reactionary love letter to NYC, from the intense hum of Canal, the chaotic croon of Snow Beach (complete with saxophone) or the stark So Sick Stories (complete with Brit wunderkind King Krule), Ratking is another breath of fresh air in a continually revitalised genre.
It’s testament to the quality of their songs and performances that Dom Turner has kept Backsliders an ongoing concern for almost three decades, and Dark Side keeps that quality intact. The disjointed House On The Corner is a definite highlight, owing a little to the late JJ Cale, while the brutality of 99 Years And One Dark Day works better than the nostalgia of Sixties Girl and renditions of classics I’ll Fly Away and the rugged Hard Times Killing Floor are worthy. Australian blues that goes well beyond the 12-bar, Backsliders remain as important and endearing as ever.
VELOCIRAPTOR Brisbane’s favourite hundredpiece ‘60s-inspired rock group are back with a new label and a new single full of all the oohs and big choruses you could possibly handle.
HITS Loose Cannons Conquest Of Noise HITS are proving that the traditional Oz blueprint of gutter rock’n’roll is alive and well, and their new album is going to be one for the history books.
DAVE RENNICK
Brendan Telford
Dan Condon
Boys
Cloudy But Fine The Luxury Of Wasted Space is awash with swirling layers of electronics, guitars, keys and synths. Dean Manning’s (Leonardo’s Bride) songwriting traverses the melancholy, sweetly simple and, at times, the odd. The whole record evokes a sensation of being suspended between this world and another. Angie Hart’s (Frente) guileless vocal is quite grounding, though occasionally at odds with the instrumental flow. It is soothing and beautiful, and while eccentricities in the production and the lyrics reward multiple listens, the consistent colour and mood drags by the end of the record. A slow grower for introspective evenings. Amorina Fitzgerald-Hood
Hub/Inertia Dappled Cities’ Dave Rennick continues to prove his sense of writing a pop song doesn’t stop with guitar rock, exploring more synth-pop for sexy results.
HEADS OF CHARM
★★★★
Spain Is On A Roll Independent Melbourne post-hardcore dudes Heads Of Charm capture a very live, heavy sound with the help of a recording by Dave Gagliardi while still being really damn slick.
AXE GIRL Silence Independent Featuring the rhythm section of Jebediah, Axe Girl unsurprisingly produce some very hummable pop-rock that’s very warm and fuzzy.
DOC NEESON Walking In The Rain Sony Former Angels hero takes on this Vanda & Young Flash & The Pan track with the requisite amount of sleazy vocal. Chris Yates 30 • THE MUSIC • 2ND APRIL 2014
NOTHING Guilty Of Everything Relapse/Rocket Philadelphia shoegazers Nothing gave the genre a cathartic, thunderous second wind with 2012’s Downward Years To Come EP, and up the ante considerably with their debut full-length. The fact it has its home on renowned metal label Relapse speaks volumes. The inherent factor here is the sense of calm and quiet amidst the bluster – a sonorous quality permeates tracks like Hymn To The Pillory, Endlessly and Dig allowing the noise to seep smoothly into the pores of your being. There’s a familiarity in the wavelength-like undulations of Guilty Of Everything, but that makes it even more alluring. Brendan Telford
★★★★
★★★ ½
HURRAY FOR THE RIFF RAFF
VANCOUVER SLEEP CLINIC
Small Town Heroes
Winter
ATO/[PIAS]
Create/Control
New Orleans-based Hurray For The Riff Raff coalesced around the writing of Bronx-bred ex-punk Alynda Lee Segarra, the resultant timeless Americana so authentic they scored a Treme guest spot. Acoustic guitar dominates (augmented by trad instrumentation like fiddle, banjo and piano) but it’s Segarra’s sultry, expressive voice which carries these personal tracks, veering from world-weary (St. Roch Blues, murder ballad The Body Electric) to celebratory (End Of The Line, No One Else) with consummate ease. In these hands the music of the past has a bright future indeed.
It’s hard to describe Vancouver Sleep Clinic without using the word ‘dreamy’. The debut EP from Brisbane singer-songwriter Tim Bettinson, Winter, is a glacially paced body of songs, slowly melting in an ocean of heartbreak. Gentle acoustic guitar and piano melodies twinkle like stars high up in the mix, while a sea of sparse bass notes roll like waves below. Bettinson’s beautiful voice soars above them, leaving a misty landscape in-between. It’s easy to get lost inside songs like Vapour, Flaws, and Collapse. Winter is sure to thaw the hearts of listeners.
Steve Bell
Roshan Clerkea
album reviews
★★★★
★★★★
★★★★
★★★★
CERES
INFINITY BROKE
EMMA RUSSACK
EMA
I Don’t Want To Be Anywhere But Here
River Mirrors
You Changed Me
The Future’s Void
Come To The Dark Side Luke/MGM
Spunk
Matador/Remote Control
Emma Russack’s lyrics take on a wryly nostalgic bent for her second album. Sometimes pining for a simpler time (Get Back) or proffering wistful melancholia that mirrors the tyranny of distance to love (Cairns); even the brooding rhythms that burst forth on Scented Candles offer a riposte to the inexplicable allure to the wax objects in the local supermarket. Russack’s husky vocals scratch that interminable itch of real life, able to encapsulate widely accessible personal dilemmas in the realm of acutely specific narratives, all murmured with an inquisitive, attractively laconic air.
As EMA, Erika M Anderson continues to push against the pricks (and all future boundaries that are placed around her) with her sophomore LP. The Future’s Void differs from her previous work because of a nebulous desire to fuck with form and convention, yet the line is (deliberately) indiscernible. So Blonde is an amble through acoustic grunge, something that underscores the banality and anger that Anderson holds for social constructs; the drone and auxiliary tribal beats of Neuromancer underline the equal emancipation and slavery that technology brings about. The Future’s Void is a stark, evocative journey.
Hobbledehoy One note into Ceres’ debut album and the washed-out and warm lo-fi distortion is already wrapping you up in an intimate embrace – and it just gets better. Rather than being restricted by their pop-punk style, Ceres flourish under it, building up strong hooks and solid beats punching well above their weight. An exemplary release, I Don’t Want To Be Anywhere But Here offers up earnest and emotional tracks; melancholy at its finest. Ceres cracks and burns with the sound of summer, setting fire to your heart and singing anthems to the blaze. Bailey Lions
Over a few solo albums Jamie Hutchings has been ploughing fertile ground with more introspective and quieter material than that of Bluebottle Kiss, his band from 1993 to 2007. Now he’s convened a new band and headed back into dense, noisy, exploratory and discordant rock music. River Mirrors takes many twists and turns, such as the meditative Necks-ish mood on Termites (a reimagined version of a BBK song), the swaggering vigour of Swing A Kitten, the krautrock repetition/release that is Monsoon and the SonicYouth-does-Motown shuffling groove of Gallows Queue. Chris Familton
Brendan Telford
Brendan Telford
★★★ ½
★★★
N’FA JONES
LUNE
Black + White Noise
Music & Sports
The Ayems
Refune
It’s been a long time between releases for 1200 Techniques’ N’fa Jones – a wait that Black + White Noise proves to be well worth it. Joy Of The Sun kicks the album off, featuring absolutely stunning beats and angelic, harp-like swirling synthesisers, courtesy of producers Sensible J and Dutch, who shine just as much as Jones across this LP. As the record proceeds, there’s an exploration of a diverse array of sounds, styles, tempos, beats and sing-along moments. So much to love. This is Aussie hip hop at its absolute finest.
If you’ve a penchant for any European electro-pop, you might find something to love on Music & Sports. These are remarkable compositions and, at times, Lune’s performances have her in a league similar to Bjork and Robyn, but these gorgeous songs are too often let down by simplistic lyrics. It’s not that English is Lune’s foreign language, simply that the concepts are weak. A talent this strong singing about hugging her partner (Tonight) or pretending on unconvincingly strong Made Of Steel is either contrived-kooky or half-baked; not sure which is worse.
Jazmine O’Sullivan
Dan Condon
★★★★
★★★★
MANCHESTER ORCHESTRA
AVEY TARE’S SLASHER FLICKS
Cope Loma Vista/Caroline
Enter The Slasher House
Where intricately designed melodies and emotive dynamic shifts have previously pushed frontman Andy Hull’s charming lyricism to the fore of Manchester Orchestra’s thinking man’s rock, their fourth record Cope is all about the brutal force of dirty, meaty guitars, and lots of them. Opening lead single Top Notch doesn’t mislead – it’s soaring and fierce, yet still manages to capture Hull’s ability to wrench significant meaning from seemingly ordinary words. Trees does too, showing for a moment the outfit’s gentle side, though this record is driven by extraordinary ferocity.
Animal Collective’s Avey Tare steps out with his new project’s debut LP, Enter The Slasher House. Slasher Flicks feels a lot like Animal Collective 2.0, as his trademark experimental and eclectic sound resounds throughout this album, and it’s really not a bad thing. If anything, Tare has allowed this album to get a little weirder, darker and stranger than previous efforts, particularly with the deep, demonic harmonies found on Little Fang and lyrics like, “Hey Mrs Creepy Head, hey Mr Fuzzy Face, go mash your teeth again, you’re in the right place.”
Tyler McLoughlan
Domino/EMI
Jazmine O’Sullivan THE MUSIC • 2ND APRIL 2014 • 31
live reviews
BABAGANOUJ, THE GOOD SPORTS, LOVE SIGNS Black Bear Lodge 28 Mar Love Signs are a brand new local band risen from the ashes of squeakyclean ‘60s-worshiping pop group Johnny & The Fembots. This band sticks to that decade, but with a stripped-back sound that’s refined and surprisingly mature. Izzy Mellor’s voice is classically angelic, imbuing every song with a sweetness while managing to avoid being saccharine or vapid.
guitarist Charles Sale may try to hide it in his angsty ‘90s rock dog performance). Some of these tracks have a naïve kind of sweetness: My Favourite Colour Is You stands out as one of the most traditional of pop songs, but mostly these are love songs firmly planted in the reality that sometimes love is dumb and fucked. Singles Love Loath Love You and Too Late For Love are both so strong that almost any section could be a chorus, but even beyond that, every song seems vital and written with such a love for pop music and melody that you get totally sucked in. Bassist Harriette Pilbeam’s laconic vocal fleshes out and adds extra emotional depth to these tracks, and she and second guitarist Ruby McGregor anchor the sound in a super
BABAGANOUJ @ BLACK BEAR LODGE. PIC: FREYA LAMONT
The Good Sports hit the stage practically swaggering, but for good reason, as this is the most together and self-assured set we’ve seen from them in ages. The band are gearing up for their first interstate tour and seem to have chucked the occasionally over-long jams that were previously a staple of their show. They’ve cut the fucking around without losing the fun, letting Nash Johnston’s killer songwriting punch through. The Good Sports are making psych-ish garage music that’s actually concise and hard-hitting and it’s about time the rest of Australia got to hear it. This is the last stop of Babaganouj’s Too Late For Love tour, and there’s no shortage of warm and fuzzy feelings in the crowd and on stage (as much as singer/lead 32 • THE MUSIC • 2ND APRIL 2014
introduction of killer guitaristfor-hire Ash Naylor to their ranks – and they deliver a stream of melodic garage nuggets which have the already primed crowd firing from the get-go, songs like Move Me, Get To Know Me, For Always and She Sees Everything going down a treat. Frontman Dom Mariani is in fine fettle, his voice as strong as ever and his obvious excitement contagious as they whip through Hellbound, Make You Mine and Sad Girl, and by the time they conclude with the evergreen At First Sight the crowd can be considered well and truly warmed up. Which is just as well, because they need to be in the zone to survive the ensuing rock tsunami. A video montage of historical band footage with
BABAGANOUJ @ BLACK BEAR LODGE. PIC: FREYA LAMONT
cool and effortless way, keeping Sale’s shredding and Jack Gleeson’s wild and technical drumming from becoming too overwrought and burning out the audience’s patience. Madeleine Laing
SUNNYBOYS, THE STEMS The Tivoli 28 Mar There’s an inherent element of nostalgia to tonight’s sold out show, but from the outset that’s superseded by the unabashed vitality emanating from both the musicians and the timeless rock’n’roll they conjure. Perth ‘80s icons The Stems are back from hiatus with a vengeance – perhaps reinvigorated by the
piano backdrop hushes the venue and an air of excited expectation envelopes the entire environs; suddenly a grab of Here Comes The Sun bursts from the PA as the legendary Sunnyboys enter the fray to a heroes’ reception and pound into As I Walk like they’ve never been away. There’s so much love and respect in the room it’s quite remarkable, and the four-piece return the favour with Love To Rule and the irrepressible Tunnel Of Love preceding the first true banger Happy Man, which prompts the euphoric crowd into a singalong frenzy from the very first note. The band seem genuinely touched by the positivity being willed at them by their ecstatic acolytes, frontman Jeremy Oxley in particular seeming overjoyed, and the energy flowing both ways between
band and followers is almost tangible. They throw in B-side To The Bone and it goes down well, but it’s numbers like My Only Friend (which veers off track a tad but not enough to derail) and the anthemic Let You Go which really fire. There’s an intensity and vigour that belies their vintage as the Sunnyboys rock unrelentingly through No Love Around, Love In A Box, What You Need and It’s Not Me, bassist Peter Oxley taking the reins for The Stooge to break up proceedings a tad, before their brilliant set concludes with glorious takes on You Need A Friend, Liar and the rollicking I’m Shakin’. There’s still gold in them there hills, however, and a huge chant drags the band out for a hitladen encore of Trouble In My
SUNNYBOYS @ THE TIVOLI. PIC: STEPHEN BOOTH
Brain, The Seeker and the everamazing Alone With You, this captivating comeback complete following a second encore of Show Me Some Discipline. Resilience, recovery, redemption, reverie, remembrance and righteous rock’n’roll. Steve Bell
30 SECONDS TO MARS, WHITE LIES Brisbane Riverstage 30 Mar There’s more polite curiosity in the air than genuine excitement when the members of White Lies take their positions in the smoky shadows, but the early throngs are quick to be won over, especially when encouraged by Jared Leto, who runs out to
live reviews hype the audience two songs in. However, A-list appearances notwithstanding, the dark Ealing quintet do a great deal with a minimal 30-minute set, touching on their finest cuts of old like Farewell To The Fairground, To Lose My Life and Death, while playing anthemic recent tracks such as There Goes Our Love Again and closer Bigger Than Us. A bit more movement on stage would have been welcomed, but with just the right compliments and delivery – led by the powerful tones of frontman Harry McVeigh – they twist plenty of new ears tonight. The collective scream that erupts when 30 Seconds To Mars appear is enough to remove the entire bird population out of the Botanic Gardens, rhythm section
the bells and whistles are coming from every angle. The mass chanting choruses are relentless, visual cues are acted on with unwavering passion by the entire hill, and while this all takes place the band strut, stretch and pout beneath the omnipresent 30 Seconds To Mars logo that shines from the back of the stage like a symbol to worship. Plenty of the band’s songs are weak – a fact that’s amplified during an acoustic stretch which includes The Kill (Bury Me) and Closer To The Edge – but Leto makes them so much more, allowing the believers to be part of the experience, whether that means letting them play guitar with the band, or collectively gathering them on stage for celebratory closer Up In The Air. And suddenly it all clicks – 30
SUNNYBOYS @ THE TIVOLI. PIC: STEPHEN BOOTH
Shannon Leto and Tomo Miličević getting Birth started before frontman and recent Oscar recipient Jared Leto appears – keeping with his award-winning character in a skirt and stockings no less – to complete the song, helped along by the thousands in the audience that are screaming the lyrics back word for word. It’s an introduction that sets the tone for the evening, with the American stadium rockers not simply performing, but looking to share a communal experience with the masses. Leto sings “I’m No Jesus” during Search And Destroy, but you get a feeling a lot of people here would disagree. Giant balloons of all size and colour bounce out during This Is War; confetti canons are getting fired during Conquistador; we’re only five songs in and
In the Dining Room stage area a rather stylish pool table (which tonight doubles as a seat/a space for drinks to rest) shares the room with people and the more wonderful oddities assembled onstage. Nana Vigilante starts things off and the brash hip hop stylings are a tad overcompensating and delightful. While the set is generally well received, it was a little hard to be immersed as an opening act. Extrafoxx follows and the set is nothing but headline material as the Foxx himself, Conwae Burrell, charms and styles his way through his back catalogue. Over in the Band Room, Naked Maja, being somewhat the less traditional band featured on the main stage tonight, play to an intrigued audience. Things are generally quite lush and the sound complements things both
30 SECONDS TO MARS @ BRISBANE RIVERSTAGE. PIC: RCSTILLS
Seconds To Mars is the ultimate Hollywood blockbuster, the band acting as a perpetual platform for Jared Leto to shine in the lead role. And does he what. Benny Doyle
FOUR LAYERS OF ZED The Underdog 29 Mar Tonight The Underdog fully opens its bustling new doors for an eclectic affair of sorts called Four Layers Of Zed, hosted by Brisbane radio institution 4ZZZ as a part of Brisbane Live Music Week. The crowd is as varied as the bands, and across the venue curiosity for the new mixes with established fandom as people bustle from room to room, seeing something different every half hour.
loud and quiet. Nite Field’s Chris Campion is welcomed by the band for a couple of numbers, adding a layer of brash into the mix, but the set is unfortunately over all too early. Tape/Off follow and the volume is pushed up as they kick off with Backseat and from then on it’s a rambunctious affair of ‘90s-style indie-rock. It’s not a regular thing to see Girls Girls Girls out of their regular digs in Moorooka but damn it is welcome as they bring a complete opposite spectrum to all the entertainment on offer tonight, with crude and noise-driven experimentalism captivating from start to finish – a delight to have featured on the bill. Gerald Keaney & The Gerald Keaneys round out the Dining Room section of the entertainment tonight and the set itself is the usual fair of oddball
pop misconstrued into classic punk. The sound does feel a little low for the set, which had been a minor issue throughout the night til now, but the enthusiasm that comes with tracks like Videoclip more than make up for it and an encore chant confuses everyone. Over in the Public Bar there’s a man sitting on a rather nice chair in the corner and it turns out it was Steve Towson rounding out the room’s night, which feels as if this stage doesn’t work as well, as it’s located right next to the toilet with so much sound bleeding over from other stages that it feels more like a human Nightlife video jukebox in the corner. We All Want To can sometimes be sufferers of over-production in the live environment that often overshadows their entire
CLAIRE QUINN @ FOUR LAYERS OF ZED. PIC: DAVE KAN
performance, but tonight they’re fortunately alright as a little bit more of an edge comes through. Fans of the band enjoy every minute but in the final moments it fizzles out with Shine. After the rock’n’roll wraps up, a mysterious voyage downstairs through a land of broken pokie machines resembling a dystopian Terminator-like world in some NY club sets the scene for the DJ level, which is rounded out by a huge handful of a set by Domestic Sphere, complemented by some beefy lasers and a delightful smoke alarm-alerting fog. The set is lapped up by all involved as funk is mixed with more traditional alt-based electronica, and at the end it feels as if ‘808 4 Lyf ’ is a tattoo that should be mandatory upon entering the basement. Brad Armstrong THE MUSIC • 2ND APRIL 2014 • 33
arts reviews
ANY DAY NOW
ANY DAY NOW Film
In cinemas 10 Apr In 1979 West Hollywood, flamboyant performer Rudy Donatello (Alan Cumming) meets closeted district attorney Paul Fleiger (Garret Dillahunt) and they hit it off. But before their relationship gets off the ground, Marco becomes involved. Marco (Isaac Leyva) is Rudy’s neighbour’s son, a teen with Down Syndrome, who is left all alone when his mother, Marianna, is thrown in jail for drug possession. Compassionate Rudy takes responsibility for
34 • THE MUSIC • 2ND APRIL 2014
little he’s given to work with, but ultimately the film is about Paul and Rudy’s fight; the fact Marco’s character is disabled almost feels exploitative. Aiming to highlight injustices gay people once faced, the film plays out as expected without any new observations, before the ending distastefully obliterates any sliver of hope. Stephanie Liew
him, with help from Paul. They visit Marianna and she signs temporary guardianship over to them. While Paul, Marco and Rudy grow and bond as a loving family, a few of their acquaintances cotton on that Paul and Rudy aren’t cousins as they’ve been saying, but in a relationship. They then have to battle a bigoted society for the right to keep Marco in their custody.
RONNY CHIENG: THE CHIENG REACTION
Through grainy scenes in muted colours, there are moments close to being tender; but despite the actors’ often too restrained performances, the film seems over-the-top, while lacking character depth and motive. Leyva brings a lot of light to the
One of the comedians closing out this year’s Brisbane Comedy Festival, Ronny Chieng delivers a powerful hour of pacey, clever comedy, having honed his onstage persona to combine just the right blend of charm and bombastic mock-arrogance.
The highlight of the show sees Chieng effortlessly deconstruct an argument with a girlfriend over a Kanye West lyric – it’s a brilliantly written and impeccably delivered rant that just keeps delivering punch after punch. In fact, his background in law provides quite a few of the best moments of the show, with knowing callbacks to his “elite” education and his use of his legal skills in everyday situations. The Chieng Reaction is the work of an assured young comic reaching the top of his game at a sprint. Baz McAlister
Comedy
Brisbane Powerhouse Visy Theatre (finsihed)
RONNY CHIENG
the guide
MORNING HARVEY
Member answering/role: Spencer – vocals/guitar How long have you been together? We started playing together at the end of 2011. 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? Probably something from The Horrors, MGMT or Bowie. Would you rather be a busted broke-but-revered Hank Williams figure or some kind of Metallica monster? The credibility of Hank, with a dash of the fame from Metallica, minus the group therapy sessions. Which Brisbane bands before you have been an inspiration (musically or otherwise)? I guess I’d say Ed Kuepper, Regurgitator and Custard. I can also remember being really into Comic Sans in high school, which kind of gave me a drive to want to start a band. What part do you think Brisbane plays in the music you make? I was thinking about this the other day actually. I love Brisbane, maybe because it’s just more of a chilled place to live... in relation to Sydney or Melbourne that is. There’s not as much going on live-music-wise as most places but I guess it’s mostly to do with whom you’re situated with. Our group of friends are all creative in some way so there’s heaps to bounce off. What reality TV show would you enter as a band and why? I reckon we could all do a cooking show of some description. There’s some pretty finely-tuned palates within Morning Harvey. What’s in the pipeline for the band in the short term? We have some really cool things coming up this year that we’re all excited for. Most of all finishing off our record – which we’ll have more news about very soon – and being glamorous. Morning Harvey play Black Bear Lodge on Saturday 5 April (free entry). Photo by TERRY SOO. THE MUSIC • 2ND APRIL 2014 • 35
eat/drink
SHARE FARE
ETHIOPIAN The hearty stews of Ethiopia are perfect for sharing, especially with good friends who are happy to eat in the traditional way using your hands and bread. The bread, injera, is more like a pancake that you use to scoop up each mouthful. Edible utensils! The stews are usually spicy, so be sure to wash it all down with some delicious imported beers.
Words Emma Breheny. Illustration Sophie Blackhall-Cain.
SPAIN – TAPAS While these morsels started off as a small bar snack served with each drink you bought, they’re now considered a meal in their own right. Bite-sized flavour sensations, heavy on fish, jamon (salty cured ham) and cheese, tapas cannot be eaten any other way than around a table with friends and wine.
MIDDLE EASTERN The grilled meat, salads, dips and flatbread of Lebanese food are well-known, but there’s way more to Middle Eastern sharing food. Rice and lentils in various combinations (mjaddarah), tagines of meat or vegetables, a stew of broad beans and spices (ful medames) can be found on the table at most restaurants. The idea? Pile your plate high, eat everything with flatbread, and don’t ignore the dips or the herbs. It’s all part of the flavour.
JAPAN – IZAKAYA An izakaya is basically a bar that serves food in Japan, which means the food is perfect for snacking on and sharing over a few drinks. This is different to most styles of Japanese eating. A standard menu generally includes salty, crunchy and flamegrilled fare – yakitori skewers, deep-fried chicken karaage, agedashi tofu and edamame.
SHARE’N’SAVE Share food with pals without going out. Best of all, no one’s gonna slap down a bill and hint at you to leave the establishment when you’re done eating. Picnic Meet in the park. Everyone brings a plate of snack foods, drinks, plastic plates and cutlery. Pick at things until you’re full, all while soaking up some sunshine and maybe patting some dogs that wander over. Potluck Everyone brings a plate/pot of food to one designated host’s house; this dish can be pre-organised or a surprise on the day. Takes the strain off the dinner party’s host having to take care of everything! Progressive Dinner If potluck’s a bit boring for you, have several hosts. Have an entree at someone’s house, then a main at someone else’s, then dessert at a third person’s. Travel time = digestion time. 36 • THE MUSIC • 2ND APRIL 2014
Hotpot At Home This requires an electric saucepan or hotpot set-up. The host can take care of the soup and condiments, and everyone brings meat, vegies, tofu and noodles. Gather ‘round the table and cook it all in the soup. Assemble-Your-Own Meals easy to make in bulk and require people to serve themselves: eg. sandwiches, burgers, tacos and burritos, sang choi bao, pancakes, mini pizzas, baked jacket potatoes, BBQ and salads.
eat/drink DRINK UP
STATLER & WALDORF statlerandwaldorf.co
What’s your bar’s specialty drink? There’s a big focus on craft beer, but our speciality would have to be our fresh coconut with rum and lime (served in the coconut).
Answered by: Steve McDermott
What makes your bar different? We have a
25 Caxton St, Petrie Terrace
great balance of classic pub feel and modern techniques. The food is definitely a standout, but what most people notice is how much we are constantly evolving; we are always adding and improving in all aspects of our business. It keeps things exciting! Who will I meet at your bar? Locals, sports fans, beer nerds, foodies and bar flies. What’s the design/ atmosphere of your bar? We are really lucky that the building has so much character. The wooden floors, brick walls and fire places take care of most of it, we simply
added some soft lighting, comfortable furniture and some toe tapping tunes. Who is pouring at your bar and what makes them special? Jay Lambert for his moustache and mixing skills. Nick Pitts: beer and bad joke knowledge. Marcus Dunne: rum and conspiracy theory aficionado. Maddi Currithers: works well wankers and a professional smiler. Steve McDermott: can’t reach the top shelf. Best hangover cure? Fresh coconut water at the Statler & Waldorf and roast of the day.
DRINK UP
greenbeacon.com.au Answered by: Andrew Sydes What’s your bar’s specialty drink? Fresh craft beer! Every beer we serve is brewed in our warehouse brewery bar. What makes your bar different? We lovingly handcraft our own product on site. Forget batched cocktails, we’re batching up 40 barrels
of beer at a time. Legit! I think the space lends itself to the laidback session. Even when we’re pumping the Beacon is still a place where you can have a good conversation. Who will I meet at your bar? Lots of locals: beer geeks, families, suits, hipsters, empty nesters. We’re an eclectic bunch! What’s the design/ atmosphere of your bar? Our bar is housed in an old 1930s sawtooth
Japan – Tea Ceremony This cultural activity was primarily influenced by Zen Buddhism, and involves a ceremonial preparation and presentation of matcha – powdered green tea. It also includes confections and sometimes a meal. Fiji – Lovo
GREEN BEACON BREWING CO 26 Helen St, Teneriffe
CEREMONIAL FOOD/DRINK
warehouse in Teneriffe. The fit out is functional and minimalist, industrial but clean and classy. The 12m recycled spotted gum bar definitely dominates and takes centre stage, and the warmth of more timber panelling on one wall balances the sterility of stainless tanks on the other.
Best hangover cure? Aside from preventative moderation, a good tequila Bloody Mary – heavy on the tequila – Lea & Perrins Worcestershire and Habanero Tabasco followed by a swim at the beach always does it for me. That or a breakfast Martini.
A special occasions feast in which all the food is cooked underground. Chicken, fish and meat marinated in sauce and garlic; peeled taro; and parcels of palusami (taro leaves, coconut cream, onions, salt, canned meat) are wrapped in foil, placed in a hole in the ground with hot rocks, covered with banana leaves and cooked for twoto-three hours. Serbia – Česnica A česnica is a round loaf of bread that is an essential part of a Serbian Christmas dinner. The tradition goes that a coin (or other small object) is put into the dough. The bread is broken at the beginning of dinner and whoever finds the coin in their bread will supposedly have a lucky coming year.
THE MUSIC • 2ND APRIL 2014 • 37
the guide qld.live@themusic.com.au
ALBUM FOCUS
SINGLE FOCUS single at current time. But it may be a part of a full-length record in the near future *hint hint*. What was inspiring you during the song’s writing and recording? Everything, but more than likely coffee and heavy riffs and telecasters.
FUN MACHINE Member’s name: Geordany Pict Album title: Bodies On Where did the title of your new album come from? Every song is about bodies or physicality in some way. There is hunger, sex, inebriation, absence, rage, excitement, embarrassment and others. How many releases do you have now? Three! More Is More, Desert Creatures and Bodies On. How long did it take to write/ record? The writing length varies even within itself, some songs were written a long time ago, but are completely
different now to when they were first made. Recording was sort of two months? Three? Was anything in particular inspiring you during the making? Bodies. Scotch. What’s your favourite song on it? That’s like asking what your favourite limb is. Will you do anything differently next time? Probably most things! Every time recording is such a titanic learning experience that it can be hard to relate to yourself from the start to the end of a project. Fun Machine play Trainspotters @ Grand Central Hotel on Saturday 6 April.
We’ll like this song if we like... Heavy riffs, dynamics, good melodies, good songwriting.
GUARDS OF MAY Member’s name: Damien Salomon Single title: Arcadia What’s the song about? The struggle the world faces having humans living on this beautiful planet and us destroying it all the time. How long did it take to write/record? Took quite a few months to write, the song went through so many incarnations but it ended up in a really awesome place. It was a tough one to finish.
Do you play it differently live? Apart from it being a whole heap louder no not really at this present time, but it will evolve over time. When and where is your launch/next gig? A headline show on April 4 at the New Globe Theatre. Bring dancing shoes and come party with us! Guards Of May play New Globe Theatre on Friday 4 Apr and Miami Shark Bar, Gold Coast on Saturday 5 Apr.
Is this track from a forthcoming release/existing release? Only a
ALBUM FOCUS
EP FOCUS
when we began tracking until it had been mastered – that’s more of a reflection of procrastination and doubt rather than tireless perfectionism. Twenty-five years marinating too, I suppose.
CHRISTOPHER COLEMAN COLLECTIVE Member’s name: Christopher Coleman Album title: Christopher Coleman Collective Where did the title of your new album come from? While I wasn’t sailing across the Atlantic in the notorious winter of 2013 and spotted an iceberg, I knew this album must be self-titled. How many releases do you have now? This makes two for this project – we put out a three-track last year, Burnt Black Wood. How long did it take to write/ record? Well, 25 months from 38 • THE MUSIC • 2ND APRIL 2014
Was anything in particular inspiring you during the making? No because it was recorded over such a long period of time. It was an equally cathartic and lethargic process. What’s your favourite song on it? Today I have a strong aversion to all of them. Will you do anything differently next time? Set a deadline and be familiar with the songs. This one was a flick through my notebooks and picking a song at random, sometimes re-learning that song on the day. Christopher Coleman Collective play Mandala Organic Arts Café, Gold Coast on Sunday 6 April and Dowse Bar on Thursday 10 April.
AGAINST THEM Member’s name: Andrew Thomas EP title: Vita Nova How many releases do you have now? This is our sixth release over the last eight years and our fourth EP. Was anything in particular inspiring you during the making? It was our new drummer Jim Explosion’s first recording with us. His style and enthusiasm gave this particular recording an added lift. What’s your favourite song on it? Blind Lead The Blind. It almost sounds like
two songs but lyrically the theme carries throughout. We’ll like this EP if we like... music with creative guitar riffs and various styles of songs. They vary from quieter through to heavy and has some of the best passages we’ve ever written. When and where is your launch/next gig? Vita Nova EP launch with special guests Upsize and Desperate Days on Thursday 3 April at Beetle Bar. Against Them play Beetle Bar on Thursday 3 Apr.
CAFÉ - BAR
321 BRUNSWICK STREET MALL, FORTITUDE VALLEY
WED APRIL 2ND
LE PARTI SOUL W/ DJ REDBEARD (8:00PM TILL LATE) + DANE ADAMO (10:00PM) + JAYDEN (9:00PM)
THU APRIL 3RD
STUDENT NIGHT: CAPRE 10:30PM + BEAR & FOX (9:30PM)
FRI APRIL 4TH
JULY DAYS (9:00PM) + MEGA OGRE (8:00PM)
SAT APRIL 5TH
JAPAN MUSIC FESTIVAL
SPARKY QUANO 6:25PM + KAIMOKUJISHO 7:25PM + 101A 8:25PM + JILL 9:25PM
SUN APRIL 6TH
EXPOSED #6: HEAT 10:
YOUTHFIRE (7:00PM) + JADE HAVEN (7:45PM) + RADIO OUTKAST (8:30PM) + INDIGO SUMMIT (9:15PM) + SANG - FROID (9:45PM)
MON APRIL 7TH
HOSPO NIGHT: JOSH MCCARTNEY (8:30PM) + (9:30PM)
TUE APRIL 8TH
GO GO FISH (9:30PM) + HARLEY YOUNG (8:30PM) FREE LIVE MUSIC AND INDIE DJS WANT TO PLAY? EMAIL BOOKINGS@RICSBAR.COM.AU
WWW.RICSBAR.COM.AU
LICENSED SENIOR TATTOO ARTISTS WANTED BUILD YOUR OWN BUSINESS WITHIN OUR BUSINESS REACH YOUR FINANCIAL GOALS BEACHFRONT STUDIO, EXCELLENT INTERNATIONAL EXPOSURE EMAIL: info@bondiinktattoo.com.au
THE MUSIC • 2ND APRIL 2014 • 39
the guide qld.live@themusic.com.au
FRONTLASH
INDIE NEWS
MIRROR MIRROR
Funny that “modern philosopher” Alain de Botton derided Brisbane for being “chaotically ugly” when he’s got a head like a robber’s dog. Nice way to drum up publicity for his lectures though, kudos…
HALLELUJAH! Queensland’s financial woes must be over, with the premier getting a 20 per cent pay rise (a lazy 70K)! Look after yourself, but keep cutting that arts spending! The fish rots from the head down…
NEGATIVE CREEPS We love Nirvana as much as anyone, but did the Seattle Police really need to release more photos from Kurt’s suicide, including his private possessions and drug paraphernalia? Time to let the guy rest in peace…
ANOTHER HAIRPIN
BLACK AND WHITE
ZINE NO EVIL
Head to Electric Playground this Friday to hear new stuff from Ela Stiles, pictured, the southerner promoting her forthcoming selftitled record on Bedroom Suck. Get sets from Primitive Motion, Dollar Bar and J Francis to boot.
No matter what your poison, you can find it at The Scratch this week. Bree De Rome, “the coolest cowgirl on the Gold Coast”, brings her band in on Saturday, while the scotchsoaked sounds of Shifting Sands, pictured, can be heard on Tuesday.
Slubberdegullion Magazine has been covering the local scene for four years now, and 21 issues they’re set to celebrate in style at The Hideaway this Friday. Fiver on the door for White Lodge, pictured, Gladys Slagroom and Karl Stefanovic’s Dog.
LET THERE BE LIGHT
NEW NAME, SAME GAME
PARE IT BACK
Folk singer Melanie Safka is returning Down Under with a full band in tow, and she’ll stop by the Brisbane Powerhouse, 12 Jun. Part of the profits from this People In The Front Row tour will go to Animals Australia.
Formerly known as the Blake Saban 3, The Urban Chiefs are bringing their high octane rhythm and blues to our parts. The band play three shows: Royal Mail Hotel, Goodna, Friday; The Loft, Gold Coast, Saturday; and The Rails, Byron Bay, Sunday.
Long Lost Love Lies is the heart-felt debut from Buderim product Zac Gunthorpe, and he’s ambling out on stage for shows at Cafe Le Monde, Noosa, 17 Apr; The End, 22 Apr; Padre, 3 May; and The Scratch, 20 May.
FULL CIRCLE
BRACE YOURSELF
CARE ABOUT IT
The Spindrift Saga, pictured, kick off their Marvin single tour of the east coast with a free show at Ric’s Bar, 12 Apr alongside The Flavour Machine. If you like your indie with an alternative kick, then this gig is for you.
There’s definitely going to be blood, sweat, and maybe even tears when reckless degenerate rock heroes SixFtHick check in at Beetle Bar, 12 Apr. They perform with superfreaks F.U.C. and razor riff rockers Woolpit. $10 presale via Ticketbooth.
The hook of Cruel To Be Kind is still in our brains, which makes news of The Worriers shows all the more welcome. Catch ‘em Thursday, The Exchange Hotel; 17 Apr, The Bearded Lady; and 24 May, Trainspotters, Grand Central Hotel.
PURGING ON PARADISE
ALWAYS SWINGING
BF FOREVER
Since founding influential art-punk act Throwing Muses at age 14, Kristin Hersh has spend the better part of three decades disregarding the rules. Hear her words and music come to life when she plays Black Bear Lodge, 8 Jun.
The Underdog has a couple of big events this weekend, with the inaugural Steve Kunde Memorial on Friday featuring Public Execution, Deputy Dipshit and more, while Mick Medew & The Rumours, Some Jerks headline a big bill on Saturday.
Bandito Folk continue to share their quality tunes with a couple of new shows, happening 13 Apr, Black Bear Lodge with We All Want To and Old Pines, and 9 May, Metro Cafe, Toowoomba with Bec Laughton and Will Clift.
NIGHTTIME SNOOTCHIE BOOTCHIES
BACKLASH TITLE DICTATES BEHAVIOUR
Silent Bob is getting vocal! Kevin Smith will (hopefully) reinvigorate the US late-night talk scene, having been greenlighted for his own show, Hollywood Babble-On. Finally some nocturnal laughs!
RAPTORS RETURN Brissie’s fave humungous garage outfit Velociraptor is back after a long layoff with an awesome new single, Ramona, and new shows to boot! Bring that shit on!
CONTINENTAL DIVIDE Australia is finally being represented at Eurovision, with Jessica Mauboy offering an original song at the May event in Copenhagen. She’s not allowed to win though – scared much Eurotrash types? 40 • THE MUSIC • 2ND APRIL 2014
FOR MORE HEAD TO THEMUSIC.COM.AU
the guide qld.live@themusic.com.au
INDIE NEWS
ZERO TOLERANCE
SMASHING NEWS
GET BEHIND IT
A song about the hopeless romantic in all of us, Zero is yet another Kitsuné approved winner from Chela. Don’t miss her show – a recent hit at SXSW – when she brings the beat to Alhambra Lounge, 1 May.
Indie-pop maestros Jenny Broke The Window are practically forcing you to get in early to this Thursday’s show from Scottish visitors The Fratellis. The five-piece open proceedings at The Tivoli. Limited tickets still available via Ticketmaster.
4ZZZ radio program Indigi-Briz is holding an event at New Globe Theatre this Sunday to help raise funds for Indigenous Reading Project and community radio, with DieVsCity, Robbie Miller, pictured, and local hip hop pair Swilo & Au Bala all performing.
SHINE ON
ISLAND SHOWS ITS PEAKS
ON THE ROCKS
Jangly pop fiends Apollo & The Sun have got a clutch of shows coming up. Catch them at Lake Kawana Community Centre for an all ages gig on Friday; The Tempo Hotel for a freebie on Saturday; and Solbar, Maroochydore, 11 Apr.
Make sure you get to the St. Lucia show early because golden local three-piece MTNS have just been added to the bill. Hear their hybrid of tones before the headliners and The Griswolds at The Zoo, Friday.
Get along to The Hideaway this Saturday and enjoy some smoky alt-folk sounds with Brisbane’s leading proponents of the style, Elbury. $10 on the door with support from new arrivals on the local scene, Fettler and Chamber.
GET MOVING
SETTING SIGHTS HIGH
FULL VOICE
With performances from Little Scout, Eves, pictured, Chris Tamwoy, Vaguely Human, Guy Drory, Beat The Bongo, Speakajoy and more, you won’t want to miss mini-fest Walk In Our Shoes at 113 Boundary St, West End, 13 Apr from 1pm.
Young Aussie songwriter Kim Churchill is returning home in support of his new single Window To The Sky, and will launch the track at The Northern, Byron Bay, 15 May; Electric Playground, 16 May; and Soundlounge, Gold Coast, 18 May.
Responsible for the massive Christina Aguilera-helped hit Say Something, New York duo A Great Big World are going to show off the rest of their canon with their first Brisbane show, 2 Aug, The Tivoli. Tickets on sale now.
MORE THAN IN2ITION
CONTINUING THE JOURNEY
LAZY J JOINS TYGA
Bringing rock flair to a classical instrument, 2Cellos can shred with the best of them. Hear the young Croatian pair play everything from AC/ DC and Bach to Michael Jackson when they perform at Eatons Hill Hotel, 18 May.
Turn the meter back on – former Taxiride vocalist and songwriter Jason Singh is back with a new track Speakers, and along with pal Adam Surace will do the duo thing at Brother Leagues Club, Ipswich, 17 Apr and Twin Towns, Tweed Heads, 19 Apr.
Only two years ago Lazy J was announced clinically dead; clearly now, in 2014, he’s alive and kicking. The young Sydney urban artist will be on the bill with Tyga at Mystique, Arena, 12 Apr.
FOR MORE HEAD TO THEMUSIC.COM.AU
THIS WEEK’S RELEASES… MANCHESTER ORCHESTRA Cope Loma Vista/Caroline LIAM FINN The Nihilist Create/Control EMA The Future’s Void Matador/Remote Control BALL PARK MUSIC Puddinghead Stop Start/Inertia THE MUSIC • 2ND APRIL 2014 • 41
opinion OG FLAVAS
ADAMANTIUM WOLF
URBAN AND R&B NEWS WITH CYCLONE
METAL, HARDCORE AND PUNK WITH LOCHLAN WATT
Some surprisingly adventurous urban music is being made domestically – Sietta, Movement and Oscar Key Sung are all doing avant-soul. The ‘comeback’ album from former 1200 Techniques frontman N’fa Jones, Black + White Noise, is again impressive. Released through Drapht’s boutique label The Ayems, it’s Jones’ first full solo record since 2006’s debut Cause An Effect. If Cause An Effect was straight-up hip hop, then the equally personal Black + White Noise is fluid, experimental and melodic – Jones raps and sings. Black + White Noise traverses ‘90s boom-bap (2013’s single Life’s A Game), jazz-hop, cloud-rap, alt-soul, electro and dub. Money Better Come, helmed by ARIA-winning producer Styalz Fuego (360’s cohort), is wryly catchy, but the album also encompasses Billy Hoyle’s opulent ‘80s electro-boogie version. Listen for Jones’ latest single Confidence – broaching deep house. The synthy Fighters – André 3000-meets-Drake – is beyond ill and, dark narrative aside, should be a single ASAP! The African-Australian Jones was born in London but raised in Perth by his mum, befriending Heath Ledger at school (the actor directed his Cause An Effect-era videos). Moving to Melbourne, he joined 1200 Techniques. Jones played an extra in 2002’s vampire flick Queen Of The Damned. Following Cause An Effect, Jones spent time in Europe, eventually returning home with a family. In addition to side projects and EPs, he’s cameoed on tunes by everyone from Drapht to 360 to Nick Thayer. This musical maturity is apparent on Black + White Noise – exciting stuff. @therealcyclone
N’FA JONES
42 • THE MUSIC • 2ND APRIL 2014
QMUSIC NEWS QMUSIC PRESENTS THE METRO SERIES QMusic and partners are holding two panel sessions at the State Library of Queensland in June. The series brings together professionals from different corners of the music industry to discuss how artists and music industry aspirants can break into the business.
GWAR
The news of someone’s unexpected passing is always a strange time. Everyone reacts to death in different ways, and like it or not, the death of a celebrity will always mean more in the Western cultural sphere than the thousands of deaths occurring from disease and famine every day. You have people who refuse to believe initial reports and write it all off as silly rumours, then there’s the people who were never really fans who all of a sudden wear their mourning like a badge of honour, suddenly familiarising themselves with a person’s works. It is a strange fact of humanity that death sometimes seems to sell almost as much as sex. When I recently interviewed Dave Brockie at Soundwave, one of the questions I had planned to ask was if Gwar, given their costumed and characterised nature, could technically or straight up had plans to just exist as an active band forever, regardless of individual mortality. He steered the conversation in a completely unexpected direction, talked about how much glam/hair metal sucked and ruined metal, and how awesome it was being a hardcore punk kid in the ‘70s and ‘80s... so I just let him talk and didn’t really ask any of the questions I had planned. He was completely smashed after barely stopping from the night before, and it wasn’t even lunchtime. He wasn’t afraid to tell me about the bag of psychedelic mushrooms he ingested at 3am, shortly before sleeping for only a few hours. He also wasn’t afraid to talk about how he dragged himself to the bar to throw down a handful of Smirnoff Ice’s before getting on the bus to come to the festival ground. Much like their performances
and general schtick, there was no half measures for Brockie. Although he made a career out of being a brutal alien that covered his audiences in fake blood, and decapitated effigies of every single US president that had been in power since the band formed in 1984 (and a few other worldly political figures along the way) my 20 or so minutes with Brockie gave me the impression that he was a gentle, remarkably intelligent soul. I distinctly remember looking into his bloodshot eyes and seeing a world of knowledge, but also thinking this guy’s probably not gonna last much longer, and while I wasn’t surprised when the news of his death broke last week, I guess you never expect it. While the cause of death is yet to be determined, authorities have confirmed that drug use is so far the main suspect. The status of the band is uncertain, yet Gwar management has confirmed that their fifth annual upcoming ‘GWAR-B-Q’ will still go ahead. From my limited impressions of the man, I don’t think Brockie would want us to get too sad about his passing. It’s funny and weird that the person most likely to probably encourage laughter at the expense of his own passing has seen an almost universal level of respect and complete lack of death jokes being made. While I have never been much of a fan of their recorded works, I am leaning more towards hoping that Gwar somehow continues. The legacy of Oderus Urungus should and could quite easily be eternal. The metal community has lost one of its greats, but it would seem he lived 50 pretty damn good years full of fun and mayhem. Peace and respect.
The Business Of Making A Record (10 Jun): There’s almost no such thing as a big budget album anymore… But how are both established and rising artists effectively putting records out? Do they record at home, in a studio, or both? How is a studio better than a home, or vice versa? Who pays for it all? The Word On Hip Hop (17 Jun): What is the hip hop scene like in Australia right now? What labels are out there for hip hop artists? Which artists are flying the flag internationally and how did they get there? Where are the hot spots for hip hop overseas and what are the best places to target and tour overseas? There’s also an open Q&A for the audience. More info at qmusic.com.au. MARKET DEVELOPMENT FUNDING CLOSING SOON Two funding opportunities are available for Music Makers and Managers via Australia Council to provide travel support to showcase and represent artists at key international music trade fairs or industry facing events – applications close 7 Apr. For more info visit australiacouncil.gov.au. WANT TO KNOW MORE OR BECOME A QMUSIC MEMBER? For these stories and more, go to qmusic.com.au.
THE MUSIC • 2ND APRIL 2014 • 43
the guide qld.gigguide@themusic.com.au
THE MUSIC PRESENTS Monster Magnet: The Hi-Fi 5 Apr
The Decline: Crowbar 2 May
Loon Lake: The Zoo 5 Apr
Urban Country Music Festival: Caboolture 2-4 May
Sally Seltmann: Black Bear Lodge 10 Apr
Residual: The Loft 3 May, Tempo Hotel 4 May
Claude Hay: The Loft 12 Apr
Groovin’ The Moo: Townsville 4 May
Steve Earle & The Dukes: The Tivoli 15 Apr Suzanne Vega: Brisbane Powerhouse 15 Apr Allen Stone: The Zoo 16 Apr The Wailers: The Tivoli 16 Apr Cloud Control: Brunswick Hotel 16 Apr, Beach Hotel 16 Apr, Story Bridge Hotel 12 Apr, Paddington Tavern 13 Apr, Komune 13 Apr, Noosa Heads SLSC 17 Apr, Solbar 17 Apr, Jubilee Hotel 19 Apr, Boardwalk Tavern 19 Apr, Coolangatta Hotel 20 Apr Byron Bay Bluesfest 2014: Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm 17-21 Apr KC & The Sunshine Band: The Tivoli 19 Apr India.Arie & Joss Stone: The Tivoli 20 Apr Jake Bugg: The Hi-Fi 23 Apr Ozomatli: The Zoo 23 Apr Stonefield: Oh Hello! 24 Apr, Beach Hotel 25 Apr, One Way Street Party 26 Apr
WED 02
Asa Broomhall + Mardi Lumsden + Holly Terrens: Dowse Bar (Iceworks), Paddington Open Mic Night feat. various artists: Solbar, Maroochydore Debauchery Behind The Beard feat. Tiger Lil + various artists: The Bearded Lady, West End Elephant Unplugged feat. various artists: The Elephant Hotel, Fortitude Valley Kylesa + Roku Music + special guests: The Hi-Fi, West End Open Mic Night feat. various artists: The Loft, Chevron Island Rockaoke (Chick’s Rock Edition) feat. various artists: The Tempo Hotel, Fortitude Valley My Friend The Betrayer + Dr. Parallax + El Monstro: The Underdog, Fortitude Valley
THU 03
Mega Ogre + Blonde Tongues + The Jensens: Alhambra Lounge, Fortitude Valley
The Jezabels: The Tivoli 6 May Arctic Monkeys: BEC 7 May DZ Deathrays: Elsewhere 8 May, The Zoo 9 May Ella Hooper: Black Bear Lodge 15 May, Soundlounge 16 May, Star Court Theatre 17 May Free Your Mind Ft Northlane, Thy Art Is Murder: The Hi-Fi 22 May
GIG OF THE WEEK THE PERCH CREEK FAMILY JUGBAND: 5 APR, OLD MUSEUM
Kingswood: The Hi-Fi 31 May The Audreys: The Zoo 21 Jun Frente!: Star Court Theatre 27 Jun, Brisbane Powerhouse 28 Jun The Beards: The Spotted Cow 2 Jul, Soundlounge 3 Jul, The Tivoli 4 Jul, Solbar 5 Jul, The Northern 6 Jul Something For Kate: The Tivoli 11 Jul The White Album Concert: QPAC 13 Jul
Young Pups Open Mic feat. various: The Underdog, Fortitude Valley La Trav + Youth Allowance + Radio Outkast: The Zoo, Fortitude Valley
FRI 04
Vaniah Toloa + Zipso + One Sound + more: Acacia Ridge Hotel, Acacia Ridge Seals + Fox & Fowl: Alhambra Lounge, Fortitude Valley Faleepo Francisco + The Buzzbees + Hawkmoon + Dane Adamo: Beetle Bar, Brisbane
Selahphonic with +Slip On Stereo: Dowse Bar (Iceworks), Paddington Snitch feat. Deceiver + Daywalker + Outrage + Gouge: Electric Playground, Fortitude Valley Non Cents with Bryce Davis + Six Shooter + Chris Miller: Elsewhere, Surfers Paradise Tuffy: Hamilton Hotel, Hamilton High Noon: Logan Diggers Club, Logan Central Ballad Boy: Loving Hut, Mount Gravatt DJ Valdis: Ric’s (Downstairs), Fortitude Valley Tahir Bilgic + Casey Talbot + Andy Thompson: Sit Down Comedy Club, Brisbane John Malcolm: Taps Australia, Mooloolaba The Worriers: The Exchange Hotel, Brisbane A$AP Ferg + guests: The Hi-Fi, West End Breabach: The Irish Club, Brisbane One Dragon Two Dragon: The Joynt, South Brisbane
Against Them + Upsize + Desperate Days: Beetle Bar, Brisbane
Pack Animals + Baltimore Gun Club + Talicia Pyke + Milan Martin: The Loft, Chevron Island
Harmony + Gentle Ben + Purpose: Black Bear Lodge, Fortitude Valley
Uni Night feat. Who Is John? + more: The Tempo Hotel, Fortitude Valley
Darkc3ll + Witchgrinder + Bound For Ruin + The Black Swamp: Crowbar, Fortitude Valley
The Fratellis + Jenny Broke the Window: The Tivoli, Fortitude Valley
The Big Duo: Brisbane Brewhouse, Woolloongabba Felucca: Brisbane Jazz Club, Kangaroo Point Dead End Kings + Universe + Dirty Brew + Deraign + Charlie Fingers: Chardons Corner Hotel (7pm), Annerley A Secret Death + Safe Hands + Hope Drone + Travels: Crowbar, Fortitude Valley The Aston Shuffle + Tooshoes + Benibee + more: Eatons Hill Hotel, Eatons Hill Primitive Motion + Ela Stiles + Dollar Bar: Electric Playground, Fortitude Valley LILT Launch Party feat. Charles Murdoch + Motion Picture Actress + Tincture: Elsewhere, Surfers Paradise The Acacia Strain + Graves + Aversions Crown + Deceiver + Hand of The Architect: Expressive Grounds, Palm Beach Livin On A Prayer + Chrome Dragon: Hamilton Hotel, Hamilton Motion DJs: Irish Murphy’s (Upstairs), Brisbane
Atmosphere: Logan Diggers Club, Logan Central Ginger & The Ghost: Miami Marketta, Miami Guards Of May + Dollarosa + The Magnets + The Hungry Mile: New Globe Theatre, Fortitude Valley Jimi Beavis: Padre, Woolloongabba Green Jam Sessions with Coisa Linda: QPAC (Melbourne Street Green), Southbank Baby Animals + The Strums: Racehorse Hotel, Booval DJ Valdis: Ric’s (Downstairs), Fortitude Valley The Urban Chiefs: Royal Mail Hotel (7pm), Goodna Greg Kew: Saltbar, South Kingscliff Tahir Bilgic + Casey Talbot + Andy Thompson: Sit Down Comedy Club, Brisbane Darren Middleton + special guests: Soundlounge, Currumbin
Diamond Dave: The Underdog (Public Bar), Fortitude Valley Pete Murray: The Venue, Townsville St Lucia + The Griswolds + MTNS: The Zoo, Fortitude Valley
SAT 05
Cookie Jar feat. various DJs: 633 Ann, Fortitude Valley DJ Indy Andy: Albany Creek Tavern (Creek Bar), Albany Creek Baby Animals + The Strums: Alexandra Hills Hotel, Alexandra Hills A Purple Heart + Cutloose: Alhambra Lounge, Fortitude Valley
Surfers Paradise Festival feat. Bombs Away + Chardy + Mobin Master + Tate Strauss + Orkestrated: Surfers Paradise Beach, Surfers Paradise
Psych-High-Way 2 feat. Bad Valley + Dreamtime + The Baskervillans + The Cupcake Conspiracy + Vyles: Beetle Bar, Brisbane
Asa Broomhall: Taps Australia, Mooloolaba Rattlehand + Phil Smith: The Crosstown Eating House, Woolloongabba Glass Animals + special guests: The Hi-Fi, West End Late Night Comedy feat. various artists: The Hideaway (10pm), Fortitude Valley
Neon: Irish Murphy’s, Brisbane Justice Crew + Jai Waetford: Jupiters ( Jupiters Theatre), Broadbeach
CC The Cat + One Dragon Two Dragon: The Joynt, South Brisbane Eddie Boyd & The Phatapillars + Morgan Bain + Liam Ward: The Loft, Chevron Island Bam Bam + Savo: The Tempo Hotel (Bowler Bar), Fortitude Valley
1000S OF GIGS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS. FOR MORE HEAD TO THEMUSIC.COM.AU 44 • THE MUSIC • 2ND APRIL 2014
Steve Kunde Memorial feat. Public Execution + Deputy Dipshit + Los Trios Cardios + Kingston Stompers + The Miscounts + Baron Samedi: The Underdog, Fortitude Valley
Quenel Mott: Story Bridge Hotel (The Corner Bar), Kangaroo Point
White Lodge + Slagroom + Karl Stefanovic’s Dog: The Hideaway, Fortitude Valley
Raw Sounds feat. His Merry Men + Of The Nations + The Electro Kid + Hobo Magic + Apollo & The Sun + Tongue Tied Thieves + The Perries + more: Lake Kawana Community Centre, Bokarina
Ages Of Earth + Kick The Butterfly + Periapsis + Lucky 13: The Tempo Hotel, Fortitude Valley
Morning Harvey + The Salvadarlings: Black Bear Lodge, Fortitude Valley Locky: Brisbane Brewhouse, Woolloongabba Justice Crew + Jai Waetford: City Hall, Brisbane Hobble Day 2014 feat. Arrows + Jamie Hay + Ceres + We Set Sail: Crowbar, Fortitude Valley A Secret Death + Safe Hands + In Ashes We Lie + The Promises: Dolphins Hotel, Tweed Heads Thriller feat. Iwrestledabearonce + Caulfield + Far From Paris: Electric Playground, Fortitude Valley Trainspotters presents Messrs + Fun Machine + The Bright Young Things: Grand Central Hotel, Brisbane Motion DJs: Irish Murphy’s (Upstairs), Brisbane
the guide qld.gigguide@themusic.com.au Bernadette Peters: Jupiters, Broadbeach
The Badlands: Taps Australia, Mooloolaba
The Urban Chiefs: Loft, West End
Empire Strips Back: A Star Wars Burlesque Parody: The Arts Centre Gold Coast, Surfers Paradise
Darren J Ray: Logan Diggers Club (Bravo Lounge), Logan Central The Eagles Band: Logan Diggers Club (Crystal Palace), Logan Central Guards Of May + The Hungry Mile + White Lodge + Redstarborn: Miami Tavern (Shark Bar), Miami Dezzie D & The Stingrayz: Morrison Hotel, Woolloongabba Justice Crew + Jai Waetford: Nambour Civic Centre, Nambour The Perch Creek Family Jugband: Old Museum, Bowen Hills Bitter Lungs + Albion Gold + Forty Five + Goon On The Rocks + Trigger Warning: Prince of Wales Hotel, Nundah DJ Valdis: Ric’s (Downstairs), Fortitude Valley Eddie Boyd & The Phatapillars: Royal Mail Hotel (1pm), Goodna Marshall Okell & The Pride: Royal Mail Hotel (4pm), Goodna DJ Trent: Saltbar, South Kingscliff Tahir Bilgic + Casey Talbot + Andy Thompson: Sit Down Comedy Club, Brisbane Bam Bam + Savo: Solbar, Maroochydore The Big Duo: Story Bridge Hotel (The Corner Bar), Kangaroo Point Surfers Paradise Festival feat. The Angels with Dave Gleeson + Jon Stevens + Daryl Braithwaite: Surfers Paradise Beach, Surfers Paradise
Monster Magnet performing Dopes To Inf inity + King Of The North + Fort: The Hi-Fi, West End Elbury + Fettler + Chambers: The Hideaway, Fortitude Valley The Urban Chiefs + Hell & Whiskey + Gavin Doniger + Nije: The Loft, Chevron Island Nick Warren & Jody Wisternoff: The Met, Fortitude Valley Bree De Rome + Band: The Scratch, Milton Soula + Apollo & The Sun + Triplickit: The Tempo Hotel, Fortitude Valley Joyride: The Tempo Hotel, Fortitude Valley
HARMONY: 3 APR, BLACK BEAR LODGE
Kate Miller-Heidke: The Tivoli, Fortitude Valley Mick Medew & The Rumours + Some Jerks + The 52 Pickups + Generation Jones: The Underdog, Fortitude Valley Boss Sounds “Simmer Down Saturday Session” feat. various DJs: The Underdog (2pm), Fortitude Valley Loon Lake + Jeremy Neale + Rolls Bayce: The Zoo, Fortitude Valley
SUN 06
Phil Barlow Band: Coorparoo Bowls Club (2pm), Coorparoo Soldiers Of The Sun + Midnight Sun: Dowse Bar (Iceworks), Paddington 4ZZZ Indigi-Briz Fundraiser feat. DieVsCity + Robbie Miller + Swilo & Au Bala: New Globe Theatre, Fortitude Valley Exposed Competition feat. various: Ric’s, Fortitude Valley Big Kitty: Story Bridge Hotel (The Corner Bar), Kangaroo Point
Rabbit + Faux Bandit + LSD Ratkings: Beetle Bar, Brisbane
Surfers Paradise Festival feat. various artists: Surfers Paradise Beach, Surfers Paradise
Justice Crew + Jai Waetford: Brisbane City Hall, Brisbane
Kenny Slide: Taps Australia (4pm), Mooloolaba
Iwrestledabearonce + Caulfield + Deadlights + Bayharbour + Revelations: The Lab (all ages), Brisbane Sunday Session feat. various: The Tempo Hotel, Fortitude Valley Kate Miller-Heidke: The Tivoli, Fortitude Valley Sunday Rock N Roll BBQ feat. Hits + Lords Of Wong + Dead Wolves + Side Irons: The Underdog, Fortitude Valley
MON 07
Monday Madness feat. various: The Tempo Hotel, Fortitude Valley
John Butler Trio + Emma Louise: The Tivoli, Fortitude Valley
TUE 08
Justice Crew + Jai Waetford: Brolga Theatre, Maryborough The Bug feat. The Willow Seed + 3 Miles From Texas: New Farm Bowls Club, New Farm Mark Sheils: Samford Valley Hotel, Samford Valley Shifting Sands: The Scratch, Milton Jam It Together feat. various: The Tempo Hotel, Fortitude Valley
classies classies.themusic.com.au MUSIC SERVICES RECORDING STUDIOS ALCHEMIX RECORDING STUDIO
Established 1998. Hugenew-Studio-now-in-West End. Lots-of-in-house-instruments. Tape-options-and-the-latest-indigital-recording. Ring-to-book in for a free studio tour----0407630770----www.alchemix.com.au----sound@ alchemix.com.au----we-typicallyrecord-singles-eps-albums-&-livejams. Dry-hire-options-available-too... Ad ID: 4-13183
INCREMENTAL RECORDS
Professional recordings in a relaxed atmosphere at affordable prices. Clients include Velociraptor, Dune Rats, No Anchor, Nikko, Dick Nasty, Millions and more. www.incrementalrecords. com 0409830607 incrementalrecords@gmail.com Ad ID: 4-13340
REHEARSAL ROOMS
SERVICES OTHER
ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT REPAIRS
OUT LOUD MUSIC STUDIOS
Brisbane’s favourite rehearsal rooms. Biggest rooms in town. 10am - 10pm everyday! Located in West End. Call to book on 0738460111 Ad ID: 4-13818
Pro-audio music equipment repairs, servicing, modifications and custom builds - Guitar amps - Mixers - Keyboards - Effect units - Pedals - DJ gear - DAW and controllers - Sound reinforcement Ad ID: 4-13762
1000S OF GIGS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS. FOR MORE HEAD TO THEMUSIC.COM.AU THE MUSIC • 2ND APRIL 2014 • 45
tour guide qld.gigguide@themusic.com.au
INTERNATIONAL
Claude Hay & The Gentle Enemies: The Loft 12 Apr
Kylesa: The Hi-Fi 2 Apr
Cloud Control: Story Bridge Hotel 12 Apr, Paddington Tavern 13 Apr, Komune 13 Apr, Brunswick Hotel 16 Apr, Beach Hotel 16 Apr, Noosa Heads SLSC 17 Apr, Solbar 17 Apr, Jubilee Hotel 19 Apr, Boardwalk Tavern 19 Apr, Coolangatta Hotel 20 Apr
A$AP Ferg: The Hi-Fi 3 Apr The Fratellis: The Tivoli 3 Apr St Lucia: The Zoo 4 Apr Glass Animals: The Hi-Fi 4 Apr Monster Magnet: The Hi-Fi 5 Apr 3 Inches Of Blood: Crowbar 10 Apr Killswitch Engage: Eatons Hill Hotel 11 Apr (AA) Tyga: Arena 12 Apr Suzanne Vega, Seth Lakeman: Brisbane Powerhouse 15 Apr Steve Earle & The Dukes: The Tivoli 15 Apr Allen Stone: The Zoo 16 Apr The Wailers: The Tivoli 16 Apr
LORDE: 6 MAY, BRISBANE RIVERSTAGE Arctic Monkeys: BEC 7 May Temples: The Zoo 8 May Disclosure: Eatons Hill Hotel 8 May Jonny Craig: Crowbar 8 May, Tall Poppy Studios 9 May (AA) Kanye West: BEC 9 May Pete Rock & DJ Premier: Arena 9 May
Kris Kristofferson: Lismore Workers Club 16 Apr, Empire Theatre 17 Apr, QPAC 18 Apr, Jupiters Theatre 19 Apr
Michael Buble: BEC 12 May
Adrian Edmondson & The Bad Shepherds: Black Bear Lodge 16 Apr
Robyn Hitchcock: New Globe Theatre 16 May
Kreator, Death Angel: The Hi-Fi 19 Apr KC & The Sunshine Band: The Tivoli 19 Apr D.O.D: Platinum 19 Apr, The Met 25 Apr India Arie, Joss Stone: The Tivoli 20 Apr Morbid Angel: The Hi-Fi 22 Apr Hunx & His Punx: The Zoo 22 Apr
Fleshgod Apocalypse: The Hi-Fi 14 May
Misery Signals: The Hi-Fi 17 May, The Lab 18 May (AA) The English Beat: The Zoo 18 May 2Cellos: Eatons Hill Hotel 18 May James Vincent McMorrow: QPAC 23 May Brant Bjork: The Zoo 23 May, The Northern 24 May Gary Numan: The Tivoli 28 May
Ozomatli: The Zoo 23 Apr
We Are Scientists: The Zoo 29 May
Jake Bugg: The Hi-Fi 23 Apr
Meat Puppets: The Zoo 30 May
Michael Franti & Spearhead: The Tivoli 23 Apr
Mango Groove: Eatons Hill Hotel 30 May
Dizzee Rascal: Eatons Hill Hotel 24 Apr
James Blunt: BCEC 2 Jun
Holy Fuck: The Zoo 24 Apr
Ellie Goulding, Broods: BCEC 5 Jun (AA)
MKTO: Jupiters 23 Apr, BCEC 24 Apr Toxic Holocaust, Skeletonwitch: The Hi-Fi 24 Apr Front Line Assembly: Transcontinental Hotel 24 Apr Huxley: Bowler Bar 25 Apr Skid Row, Ugly Kid Joe: Eatons Hill Hotel 26 Apr D.O.A: Prince Of Wales 27 Apr Russian Circles: Crowbar 29 Apr KT Tunstall: The Zoo 30 Apr D.R.I: The Hi-Fi 1 May Hugh Laurie: QPAC 2 May John Newman: Eatons Hill Hotel 3 May The Acacia Strain: The Lab 3 May (AA), Thriller 3 May, Expressive Grounds 4 May (AA) The Naked & Famous: The Hi-Fi 5 May Jason Derulo: BEC 5 May Cults: The Zoo 6 May Lorde: Riverstage 6 May (AA)
Armin van Buuren: BEC 4 Jun
The Vibrators: Prince Of Wales 28 Jun The Crimson Projekct: The Hi-Fi 28 Jun Adolescents: The Tempo Hotel 3 Jul Lloyd Cole: Brisbane Powerhouse 10 Jul, Soundlounge 11 Jul, Star Theatre 12 Jul Andrew Strong: The Commitments: The Tivoli 25 Jul, Twin Towns 26 Jul A Great Big World: The Tivoli 2 Aug Hanson: The Tivoli 5 Aug, Coolangatta Hotel 6 Aug Anathema: The Hi-Fi 21 Aug Lady Gaga: BEC 26 Aug The Dandy Warhols: The Tivoli 30 Aug Biffy Clyro: The Tivoli 4 Sep Robbie Williams: BEC 22 Sep Justin Timberlake: BEC 26, 27 Sep Katy Perry: BEC 27, 28, 30 Nov, 1, 15 Dec
NATIONAL Harmony: Black Bear Lodge 3 Apr Megan Washington: The Rev 3 Apr Darren Middleton: Soundlounge 4 Apr, Hotel Brunswick 5, 6 Apr
Maids: The Zoo 17 Apr The Murlocs: Black Bear Lodge 17 Apr The Celibate Rifles: Kings Beach Tavern 19 Apr Buried In Verona: Crowbar 19 Apr, The Lab 20 Apr (AA) Velociraptor: Black Bear Lodge 24 Apr Bliss N Eso, Horrorshow, Seth Sentry: Riverstage 24 Apr Stonefield: Oh Hello! 24 Apr, Beach Hotel 25 Apr, One Way Street Party 26 Apr Dallas Frasca: Alhambra Lounge 25 Apr, Solbar 26 Apr Oscar Key Sung: Alhambra Lounge 26 Apr Michelle Xen + The Neon Wild: New Globe Theatre 26 Apr
Sydonia: Crowbar 23 May, Coolangatta Hotel 24 May, The Northern 25 May King Parrot: Miami Shark Bar 23 May, Thriller 24 May, The Lab 25 May Alison Wonderland, Wave Racer: Brisbane 24 May, Gold Coast 31 May The Presets, Australian Chamber Orchestra: QPAC 26 May Joelistics, Dialectrix: The Tempo Hotel 30 May, Solbar 31 May Kingswood: The Hi-Fi 31 May Eurogliders: Lismore Workers Club 6 Jun, City Golf Club 7 Jun, Buderim Tavern 8 Jun Drunk Mums: Grand Central Hotel 7 Jun The Paper Kites: The Northern 13 Jun, The Hi-Fi 14 Jun Keith Urban: BEC 17 Jun Wagons: The Zoo 20 Jun Mondo Rock: Eatons Hill Hotel 20 Jun The Audreys: The Zoo 21 Jun
The Delta Riggs: The Zoo 26 Apr, East 88 27 Apr
Frente!: Star Court Theatre 27 Jun, Brisbane Powerhouse 28 Jun
Boy & Bear: Sunshine Coast Function Centre 26 Apr, Empire Theatre 27 Apr, Lismore Workers Club 14 May
The Beards: The Spotted Cow 2 Jul, Soundlounge 3 Jul, The Tivoli 4 Jul, Solbar 5 Jul, The Northern 6 Jul
Iluka: Dowse Bar 1 May, The Loft 2 May
Something For Kate: The Tivoli 11 Jul
Hellions: Crowbar 1 May, South Toowoomba Bowls Club 2 May (all ages)
The White Album Concert ft Tim Rogers, Chris Cheney, Phil Jamieson and Josh Pyke: QPAC 13 July
Chela: Alhambra Lounge 1 May The Decline: Crowbar 2 May Sampology: The Factory 2 May, Bowler Bar 24 May Residual: The Loft 3 May, The Tempo Hotel 4 May The Jezabels: The Tivoli 6 May
The Angels: Queensland Lions Club 8 Aug, North Leagues & Services Club 9 Aug Tina Arena: Jupiters 23 Aug, BCEC 24 Aug The Aston Shuffle: The Zoo 29 Aug
Bam Bam: Bowler Bar 4 Apr, Solbar 5 Apr
Vance Joy, Gossling: The Hi-Fi 6 May
Baby Animals: Racehorse Hotel 4 Apr, Alexandra Hills Hotel 5 Apr
5 Seconds Of Summer: The Tivoli 7 May
ScHoolboy Q: The Hi-Fi 7 Jun
The Perch Creek Family Jugband: Star Court Theatre 4 Apr, Old Museum 5 Apr
DZ Deathrays: Elsewhere 8 May, The Zoo 9 May
Bluesfest: Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm 17-21 Apr
Kevin Mark Trail: The Loft 7 Jun, Dowse Bar 8 Jun
Loon Lake, Jeremy Neale: The Zoo 5 Apr
Things Of Stone & Wood: Brisbane Powerhouse 9 May
Easterfest: Queens Park 18-20 Apr
Kristin Hersh: Black Bear Lodge 8 Jun
Kate Miller-Heidke: The Tivoli 5, 6 Apr
Rüfüs: Coolangatta Hotel 9 May, The Tivoli 10, 11 May, Beach Hotel 8 Jun
Metal Heart Festival: The Tivoli 26 Apr
Propagandhi: The Hi-Fi 8 Jun, Miami Shark Bar 9 Jun
Sally Seltmann: Black Bear Lodge 10 Apr
Citizen Kay, Tkay Maidza: Alhambra Lounge 10 May
Bastille: BCEC 13 Jun (AA)
Ball Park Music, Papa Vs Pretty: Coolangatta Hotel 10 Apr, The Tivoli 11 Apr, The Northern 12 Apr, Alhambra Lounge 13 Apr (U18)
Ella Hooper: Black Bear Lodge 15 May, Soundlounge 16 May, Star Court Theatre 17 May
White Lung: Alhambra Lounge 6 Jun Slim Jim Phantom: Racecourse Hotel 6 Jun
Carcass: The Hi-Fi 13 Jun Finntroll: The Zoo 18 Jun La Dispute, Balance & Composure: Trinity Hall 19 Jun (AA), The Hi-Fi 20 Jun Dragon: Kedron Wavell Services Club 20 Jun, Twin Towns 21 Jun Band Of Skulls: The Hi-Fi 21 Jun
Jimmy Tait: Brisbane Powerhouse 11 Apr Yacht Club DJs: Elsewhere 11 Apr, Oh Hello! 12 Apr, Beach Hotel 13 Apr
Joan As Police Woman: The Hi-Fi 24 Jun
Greenthief: The Northern 11 Apr, Norville Hotel 12 Apr, Crowbar 18 Apr, Kings Beach Tavern 19 Apr
Story Of The Year: The Hi-Fi 26 Jun
Architecture In Helsinki: The Hi-Fi 12 Apr
Kim Churchill: The Northern 15 May, Electric Playground 16 May, Soundlounge 18 May Dead Letter Circus: Surfers Paradise Beer Garden 15 May, Racehorse Hotel 16 May, 18 May Tatts Hotel Thundamentals: The Zoo 16 May Chance Waters: Alhambra Lounge 16 May
1000S OF GIGS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS. FOR MORE HEAD TO THEMUSIC.COM.AU 46 • THE MUSIC • 2ND APRIL 2014
Free Your Mind ft Northlane, Thy Art Is Murder: The Hi-Fi 22 May
FESTIVALS Launch It: Surfers Paradise Beach 4-6 Apr
Urban Country Music Festival: Caboolture 2-4 May Groovin The Moo: Townsville Cricket Grounds 4 May Hits & Pits Round 3: The Hi-Fi 9 May, The Northern 10 May Brisbane International Jazz Festival: BEMAC 4-8 Jun Caxton Street Seafood & Wine Festival: Caxton Street 8 Jun Live It Up: RNA Showgrounds 21 Jun Gympie Music Muster: Gympie 28-31 Aug BIGSOUND: Fortitude Valley Entertainment Precinct 10-12 Sep
48 • THE MUSIC • 2ND APRIL 2014