VILLAGERS
KINGSWOOD
•
W E D N E S D AY 17 J U LY 2 0 13
EVERYTHING EVERYTHING
•
I S S U E 16 3 6
•
FREE
RON PERLMAN
STEREOPHONICS ATLAS GENIUS SAINT VITUS LO!
NOW AVAIL ABLE ON IPAD
www.themusic.com.au au
3
The new album
GRAFFITI ON THE TRAIN
Friday 19 The July Hi Fi OUT NOW
OUT NOW “The Next Wave of up-and-coming Alternative Bands” - BILLBOARD www.warnermusic.com.au
4
australian tour 2013
saturday 30 november riverstage ticketmaster.com.au or 136 100 | all ages
on sale wednesday 24 july new album ‘the hurry and the harm’ available now cityandcolour.com chuggentertainment.com
5
T I M E O F F I S S U E # 1 6 3 6 W E D N E S D AY 1 7 J U LY 2 0 1 3
“We love bands like Mutemath and Queens of the Stone Age – you know, people who are really talented. We’d like to follow in their footsteps a bit.”
P12
FEATURE
I think you can hear a bit of a struggle on the record and that’s what you want to hear, you want to hear exactly what was happening – it makes it a bit more real.” - Ian Kenny of KARNIVOOL
- Fergus Linacre of KINGSWOOD (P14)
“I really feel as though I’m a vision in magenta... with a pair of 24-carat gold shoes.” - Pacific Rim star RON PEARLMAN (P16)
“I’ve always been depressed by shit music that doesn’t draw attention to the darkness in life – that depresses me.” - Conor O’Brien of VILLAGERS (P18)
“Almost half of the 20 songs are pulled from 2009’s Homesick record, with the whole thing basically a big fucking party, with plenty of pitting and crowd surfing taking place.” - A DAY TO REMEMBER, Live Review (P25)
“So long as there are humans who bleed, laugh, and die, there will be Shakespeare.”
- BLISS N ESO, Live Review (P24)
PM
0 FROM 6:0 ME #3 Y L U J A 7 1 G WED E OF ORIGIN , MICK DANBY
STAT THE SHAPES WITHRY FREE ENT
TH LEX JONES, H DANCE TO A UND, PLAYGROOUT BLACRKY FREE ENT
M
0P FROM 7:0 CKIT Y L U J I 9 L FRI 1WN 311, TRIP
DRO EE ENTRY F
M
0P FROM 7:0 Y 13 Y L U J K 0 SAT 2 BIG DUO, LUC
TRHEEEENTRY F
PM
Y FROMES4T:0I0VAL WITYHE, L U J 1 2 N SU AD WORLD F , THE IRON E M ING GREY , WHAT CHASING CLOSUREVEN BY CHAS WORTH, DRI WE’RENCT INSTTIRY M
P22 REVIEW
Razor-sharp h rhymes, innate scintillating production and some of the darkest and funniest shit this side of Kanye’s wet dreams.” - Ed Matthews reviews RUN THE JEWELS’ RUN THE JEWELS
CKA RRO EE ENTRY F
PM
0 FROM 6:3 L #9 Y L U J A 3 N TUES 2ALATE SEMI FOI F EAST,
ESC DISTRICT CK THE WITH ERSHOW, KI ICE THE EVRFLY, PYRE & BUTTREY FREE ENT
M
0P FROM 7:3 ESSIONS Y L U J S 4 2 C WEEDMPO ACOUSTIELVILLE, OWEN
T GG ARTY M WITHAMRKIN, CASEY FO VANNTLRY FREE E
AIRS DOWNOSWTLER BAR @B OM 9PM
JULY5 FR 8 1 S R U TH K CLUB $ BOO
Y FROOMR10NPAMDO L U J 9 1 I FR BTRAKT, TELB) 0 SU ACE (M WALL
CREDITS
EDITORIAL Group Managing Editor: Andrew Mast Editor: Steve Bell Assistant Editor: Benny Doyle Food & Arts Coordinator: Cassandra Fumi ADVERTISING Advertising Account Executive: Alex Iveson, Zac Gould DESIGN & LAYOUT Cover Design/Designer: Matt Davis ACCOUNTS & ADMINISTRATION Administration: Leanne Simpson CONTRIBUTORS: Time Off: Ben Preece, Dan Condon, Daniel Johnson, Chris Yates, Matt O’Neill, Adam Curley, Lochlan Watt, Tyler McLoughlan, Mitch Knox, Sam Hobson, Tony McMahon, Benny Doyle, Jake Sun, Brendan Telford, Cyclone, Siobhain McDonnell, Sky Kirkham, Bradley Armstrong, Carley Hall, Madeleine Laing, Tom Hersey, Jazmine O’Sullivan, Tom Noyes, Samantha Armatys, Amorina Fitzgerald-Hood
6 • To check out the mags online go to themusic.com.au/mags
M
0P FROM 7:0 RAOH’S Y L U J A URS 18 AM, PH
0P FROM 7:3 IVE BAND) Y L U J L 2 2 H MON OKE (WIT
“It’s been said that Bridie is the songwriter we need to articulate the Australia we all live in. Indeed.” “Although their performance is clearly now at that ARIA-winning, highly-produced level, their tracks still maintain their original elements.”
O P M TAE5=B GH5;9
FREE EN
- Mandy McAlister with CULTURAL CRINGE (P26)
- Tyler McLoughlan reviews DAVID BRIDIE’S WAKE (P22)
T A E V LI
Front Row: Baz McAlister, Mandy McAlister, Helen Stringer, Matt O’Neill, Guy Davis, Samuel Hobson, Danielle O’Donohue, Dave Drayton, Anthony Carew Photography: Stephen Booth, Kane Hibberd, Terry Soo, John Taylor, John Stubbs, Rick Clifford, Sky Kirkham, Freya Lamont EDITORIAL POLICY The opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publishers. No part may be reproduced without the consent of the copyright holder. © PUBLISHER: Street Press Australia Pty Ltd Suite 11/354 Brunswick Street Fortitude Valley QLD 4006 POSTAL: Locked Bag 4300 Fortitude Valley QLD 4006 Phone: 07 3252 9666 Email: info@timeoff.com.au PRINTED BY: Rural Press
$1
PM FROM 10 Y L U J 1 0 $ SAT 2A LAS VEGAS 5
NIN
OON COMING S
OLITION
EM UG FRI 9 A SIRA, DIVE D TOUR BELLUADVENTURES MISS AUG SAT 10 ROM PARIS R FA F G AU TUES 13 EVE PART Y A K EK 0 AUG TUES 3 ERMOUTH GUTT
THE TEMPO HOTEL 388 Brunswick St, Fortitude Valley. 18+ ID Required. Management reserve the right to refuse entry.
7
[NEWS NEWS] n a t i o n a l
Want all your music news daily? Subscribe to Your Daily SPA at
GLORY GLORY HALLELUJAH
EATS ON TOUR MARK HOSKING FROM KARNIVOOL
The Offspring
RITE OF PASSAGE
WHAT IS YOUR STAPLE MEAL WHEN ON TOUR? I get the best fruit and nut cereal I can find with yoghurt and milk and any fruit I can find! Karnivool touring nationally. Check The Guide for dates.
Long before Soundwave ruled mightily over the festival landscape, a skate/punk-centric festival was the business for music fans of the short.fast.loud variety. Vans Warped Tour helped break bands like Blink182 and Unwritten Law in this country and now it’s returning to our shores for the first time in over a decade! The line-up assembled touches on the old, the new and everything in between, so prepare to mosh to these acts: The Offspring (pictured), Parkway Drive, Simple Plan, New Found Glory, The Used, Hatebreed, Tonight Alive, The Summer Set, Kids In Glass Houses, We Came As Romans, Man Overboard, Crown The Empire, The Dangerous Summer, For All Those Sleeping, Veara, Anarbor, Mallory Knox and RDGLDGRN, with more bands to be announced over the coming months. Warped will happen on the following dates: Friday 29 November, RNA Showgrounds, Brisbane; Saturday 30, Coffs Harbour Showground; Sunday 1 December, Barangaroo, Sydney (subject to council approval); Friday 6, Exhibition Park, Canberra, and Saturday 7, Melbourne (venue to be confirmed). Each leg of the east coast tour is licensed and all ages, so get on the button when tickets go on sale this Thursday.
THE FALLEN STAND TALL
INTERIOR DECORATION PLUTO JONZE Twelve Foot Ninja
CHOP SUEY
DO YOU HANG ANYTHING ON THE WALLS TO INSPIRE YOU WHEN RECORDING? I used to get lost in this huge Sgt Pepper’s [Lonely Hearts Club Band] poster in my bedroom. Redfern’s studio walls are predominantly sound-absorbing foam, which can only provide so much inspiration, but there’s a balcony overlooking Redfern park. Pluto Jonze’s debut album Eject out now.
TRENDING ON 1 NEWS 2 REVIEWS 3 INTERVIEWS 4 LISTEN 5 BLOG
Exclusive: Warped promoters hint at 2013 line-up Brendan Crabb reviews Fear Factory
After showcasing their genre-hopping metal racket during Fear Factory’s recent Aussie dates, Melbourne five-piece Twelve Foot Ninja return to stages around the country with their massive headline Shuriken tour. Moving from djent riffing and jazz breakdowns through to reggae, dub and more experimental strains, the band have risen fast through the ranks to become one of domestic metal’s frontrunners. Get a taste of the chaos before they bunk off overseas for an extended stretch. Twelve Foot Ninja perform Friday 30 August, Ferntree Gully Hotel, Ferntree Gully; Friday 6 September, The Tempo Hotel, Brisbane; Saturday 7, Parkwood Tavern, Gold Coast; Thursday 12, Zierholz UC, Canberra; Friday 13, Waves, Wollongong; Saturday 14, Manning Bar, Sydney; Thursday 19, Small Ballroom, Newcastle; Friday 20, Entrance Leagues Club, The Entrance; Saturday 21, Mona Vale Hotel, Mona Vale; Thursday 26, Prince Of Wales, Bunbury; Friday 27, Rosemount Hotel, Perth, and Friday 4 October, Corner Hotel, Melbourne. Tickets are on sale now through the usual outlets, with the national tour proudly presented by Street Press Australia.
Keeping the fires burning as part of the formidable Bad Seeds, Ed Kuepper has just announced an intimate run of headline dates back home titled Solo And By Request. These gigs will position Kuepper, a few acoustic guitars and a stomp box, directly under the spotlight, where the 57-year-old will play fan favourites from his deep back catalogue and maybe even some new tracks too. Catch this fine songwriter in a stripped-back and revealing setting when he plays Friday 16 August at Fly By Night, Perth; Friday 23, Flying Saucer Club, Melbourne; Saturday 24, Theatre Royal, Castlemaine; Friday 11 October, The SoundLounge, Gold Coast; Thursday 17, Street Theatre, Canberra; Thursday 31, Brass Monkey, Cronulla; Friday 1 November, Lizotte’s, Kincumber, and Saturday 2, Heritage Hotel, Bulli.
On tour with Sticky Fingers
CHILD NO MORE Celebrated for his music with the sadly defunct duo Kid Sam, one half of the project, Kieran Ryan, is out on his own, having presented a debut longplayer earlier this year. With the help of musicians from acts such as Oh Mercy, The Panics and Skipping Girl Vinegar, the Melbourne songwriter has let the songs stand tall, the simplicity of the music allowing for immediate resonance with the listener. Ryan has announced a limited run of east coast headline shows, allowing his charming melancholia to shine on these dates: Saturday 7 September, GoodGod Small Club, Sydney; Tuesday 10, Alhambra Lounge, Brisbane, and Saturday 14, Workers Club, Melbourne.
8 • For more news/announcements go to themusic.com.au/news
NATIONAL JEWEL After dazzling on the big screen as Julie McCrae in The Sapphires, Jessica Mauboy is getting back to her bread and butter gig, ready to release her brand new single, To The End Of The Earth. An up-tempo pop track that was co-written and produced in LA, the 23-year-old former Australian Idol runner-up will follow that up later this year with a massive national tour. Mauboy will perform on the following dates: Saturday 2 November, Perth Arena; Saturday 9, The Plenary, Melbourne; Wednesday 13, Wollongong Entertainment Centre; Thursday 14, Newcastle Entertainment Centre; Friday 15, Star Event Centre, Sydney; Tuesday 19, Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre; Wednesday 20, Jupiters Casino, Gold Coast; Friday 22, Events Centre, Caloundra; Wednesday 8 January 2014, Empire Theatre, Toowoomba; Friday 10, Lismore Workers Club; Friday 17, Panthers, Penrith; Saturday 18, AIS, Canberra; Tuesday 21, Eastbank Centre, Shepparton; Wednesday 22, Bendigo Stadium; Thursday 23, Wendouree Centre For Performing Arts, Ballarat, and Friday 24, Geelong Arena. Tickets go on sale Monday 5 August.
RAISE THE (SILENT) ALARM It’s been relatively on the D-low, but we’re going to let the cat out of the bag right now and fill you in – Bloc Party main man Kele Okereke is returning to his second home Australia for a run of headline DJ shows this coming Spring. Spinning BP tracks alongside his solo stuff, remixes and shit that simply tickles his fancy, Kele’s charisma shines through even when he’s mixing tracks, so make sure you’re partying with the Londoner when he fills the booth on Wednesday 11 September at Sosueme, Beach Road Hotel, Bondi; Thursday 12, Oh Hello!, Brisbane; Friday 13, Prince Bandroom, Melbourne, and Saturday 14, as part of Snow Party, Thredbo.
SAINTLY SESSIONS
The exclusive Warped tour interview
Spender’s Modern Pest
Michigan metalcore group For The Fallen Dreams are coming back our way with the Substance Australian Tour happening around the country. Also featuring The Plot In You, Storm The Sky and Fit For A King, the tour is to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the headliners, so no doubt there’ll be some fierce partying going down. Catch the band at these shows: Wednesday 11 September, YMCA HQ, Perth (all ages); Thursday 12, Amplifier Bar, Perth; Saturday 14, Invasion Fest, Melbourne (all ages); Sunday 15, Corner Hotel, Melbourne; Wednesday 18, The Basement, Canberra; Thursday 19, Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle; Friday 20, The Hi-Fi, Sydney (licensed/all ages); Saturday 21, Thriller, Coniston Lane, Brisbane, and Sunday 22, Invasion Fest, Gold Coast. Tickets for all dates go on sale this Friday and keep checking The Guide on theMusic.com.au for the full line-up and venue details for Invasion Fest.
Bruce Springsteen sang about them and now Sydney starlet Iluka is doing the same, with the spirited 21-year-old set to seduce fans up and down the coast as she launches her new EP, Glory Days. With a reflective sound that recalls the greats like Edith Piaf and Dusty Springfield, this oddly old soul has quickly found her musical path. The songstress kicks off her tour Thursday 1 August at Black Bear Lodge, Brisbane, before playing Friday 2, The Loft, Gold Coast; Saturday 3, The Spotted Cow, Toowoomba; Sunday 4, Cafe Le Monde, Noosa Heads (all ages); Thursday 8, Grand Junction Hotel, Maitland; Friday 9, SG Presents, Seaforth (all ages); Saturday 10, Brighton Up Bar, Sydney; Sunday 11, Front Gallery, Canberra; Thursday 15, Beav’s Bar, Geelong, and Saturday 17, Workers Club, Melbourne. Vocal pop wonders Avaberee are the main supports on most dates, with a range of other guests including Bec Sandridge, Mountains, She, Elle May and Mark Wilkinson. Check theMusic. com.au to find out the billing in your locale.
Hungry Kids Of Hungary
Imagine Dragons
WELCOME TO THE NEW AGE Even if you aren’t familiar with the name Imagine Dragons, you’ve no doubt heard the band’s big singles It’s Time and Radioactive. Radio, television, advertising – these songs have been everywhere over the past year, and have catapulted the Las Vegas alternative indie group to global fame. Be part of the band’s first Australian shows when they bring all the tracks off their Billboard number two-charting debut, Night Visions, to life when they land on our shores, the guys playing three special shows happening Wednesday 16 October, Palace Theatre, Melbourne; Friday 18, Enmore Theatre, Sydney (all ages) and Saturday 19, The Hi-Fi, Brisbane. Pre-sale buff ups are available for Frontier Touring members on their website from noon on Monday 22 July for 24 hours, before general public sales happen from 9am Wednesday 24.
TAKE A BIG OL’ BITE OUTTA THIS
DIRTY BIRD
The past six months have been a whirlwind for indie four-piece Hungry Kids Of Hungary, and with their second longplayer You’re A Shadow still offering plenty of joy, the guys are returning to Australia’s roads, embarking on a large run of shows up and down the east coast to coincide with the release of their latest single, Do Or Die. The Brissie boys play the following dates: Friday 23 August, Oxford Art Factory, Sydney; Saturday 24, Small Ballroom, Newcastle; Friday 30, Coolangatta Hotel, Gold Coast; Saturday 31, The Spotted Cow, Toowoomba; Thursday 5 September, The Barwon Club, Geelong; Friday 6, Corner Hotel, Melbourne; Saturday 7, Karova Lounge, Ballarat, and Tuesday 24 at the already announced Brisbane Festival, under The Spiegeltent. And if you were looking for the icing on your proverbial cake, drifting indie popsters Little Scout will be bringing their harmonious choruses to all dates as support (except Brisbane Festival). The Do Or Die Tour is proudly presented by Street Press Australia.
You can’t categorise them – and don’t even try and contain them – because Pigeon are a flapping force of sound that ruins dancefloors like no one’s business. The Brisbane lads are finally starting to get some well-deserved recognition, with NME and CMJ college radio getting behind their tracks and now they’re keen to strengthen ties further on home turf, launching new single, Curtain Call. The band play a heap of shows up and down the east coast of the country, hitting Oh Hello!, Brisbane, Friday 30 August with SAFIA, then following that at Beach Road Hotel, Bondi as part of Sosueme, Wednesday 4 September; Transit Bar, Canberra, Thursday 5 with SAFIA again; World Bar, Sydney, Friday 6; Can’t Say, Vault 8, Banana Alley, Melbourne, Friday 13; Alpha Beta, Coolangatta Hotel, Thursday 19 September; Beach Hotel, Byron Bay, Friday 20, and Solbar, Maroochydore, Saturday 21, with The Belligerents supporting at those final three dates.
www.thenorthern.com.au WEDNESDAY 17 JULY
STATE OF ORIGIN III LIVE ON THE BIG SCREEN
JONSON STREET BYRON BAY Friday 19 July
THURSDAY 18 JULY
OPEN MIC NIGHT 7.30PM–10.30PM
LYALL MOLONEY & THE SWAMP STOMPERS Saturday 20 July
O’MALLEY’S EVERY FRIDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT
AFTER THE FEATURE BANDS TIL 3AM:
DJ MICHAEL SIDEWAYZ
COME DOWN AND MEET OUR NEW RESIDENT DJ. TOP 40’S, R&B, DANCE AND MUCH MORE TILL LATE
LIME CORDIALE, THE SINGLE FINS & THE FIRE TREE Thursday 25 July
FRIDAY 19 JULY
MITCH, JOE & JENNA 5PM–9.30PM
LATIN CONNECTION PRESENTS:
LATIN CAVE BRISBANES HEART OF LATIN DANCE, MUSIC AND FOOD 10PM
SATURDAY 20 JULY
GER FENNELLY 2.30PM–9PM
MURPHY’S PIGS 4PM–7PM
ALTER EGOS 9.30PM
ONE NIGHT WITH JACKIE ONASSIS, ELIZABETH ROSE, FISHING, JINJA SAFARI (DJ SET) + SPECIAL GUESTS Friday 2 August
JERICCO Saturday 3 August
ELEGANT SHIVA, RUMOURS, THE SINGLE FINS Saturday 10 August
THE RUMINATERS SUNDAY 21 JULY
GER FENNELLY 2.30PM–6.30PM
STRINGS FOR AMMO 7PM–11.30PM
MONDAY 22 JULY
MICKS TRIVIA 7PM–9PM
TUESDAY 23 JULY
DEEP STACK POKER 7PM
Thursday 15 August
SETH SENTRY Friday 16 August
ELECTRIC HORSE Saturday 17 August
TSUN, THE FISTED PRINCESSES Friday 23 August
GLASS TOWERS Thursday 29 August
GUTTER MOUTH Sunday 1 September
MIDNIGHT JUGGERNAUTS Basement Level - Wintergarden Centre Queen Street Mall - Brisbane City PH 07 3211 9881 FAX 07 3211 9890 Email admin@mickomalleys.com.au
TICKETS AVAILABLE ONLINE 9
[NEWS NEWS]
Want all your music news daily? Subscribe to Your Daily SPA at
‘SHIFTER GET KILTER
ARTS
Kiwis and Aussies will be cutting sick when legendary live drum’n’bass ensemble Shapeshifter bring their new studio record Delta to the stage, and the night is going to get off to a flyer when Kilter, the moniker of Sydney sound shredder Ned East, rolls out the beats early. Cited as a producer on the up-and-up, his hip hop/experimental mash-up reminds of J Dilla and Madlib – pretty fine company – so be the first through the doors when the two acts arrive at The Hi-Fi, Saturday 10 August. Tickets through the venue for $55+BF – proudly presented by Street Press Australia. The Simpsons
GO WEST
DR ZAIUS. DR ZAIUS Hollywood studio 20th Century Fox have announced a joint venture with a theatrical producer to develop up to a dozen Broadway musicals based on films in its back catalogue. New York Times has reported that Fox has set up a Broadway division to be headed up by Kevin McCollum, producer of stage hits Rent and Avenue Q. Fox is following in the soft-shoe footsteps of other film studios now engaging in the art of the film-to-stage adaptation. Disney, Warner Bros, MGM, Sony and Universal have delivered a variety of movieto-stage hits from The Lion King (Disney) to Billy Elliot (Universal). Upcoming adaptions include Tim Burton’s Big Fish, Diner (music by Sheryl Crow) and Rocky. Fox have over 4,000 films in their catalogue. Already theatrical types are excitedly chattering about the likelihood of Fox properties Mrs Doubtfire and Moulin Rouge becoming musicals. But let’s not forget Fox own the rights to the Planet Of The Apes films, Star Wars and Die Hard. If any one these became a hit, there are ready-made sequels waiting in the wings – far less risky than relying on Ben Elton to whip up another untested Phantom Of The Opera sequel. But with Planet Of The Apes already scored for its run in Springfield, we are hoping Fox will fasttrack it along with a few more of these suggestions. For more on this head to theMusic.com.au.
WEDNESDAY 17 Konnichiwa Nails – a workshop on how to create Toyko-inspired nail art. Led by Brisbanebased beautician Paola Moro, this class will teach you nail technics so you can create art on your fingers. The Joynery at The Box, 7pm.
THURSDAY 18 Before Midnight – following on from Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, this is Richard Linklater’s final in the trilogy about lovers Jesse and Celine (Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy) set nine years later in Greece. Opening today at Dendy Cinemas.
FRIDAY 19 Sydney Comedy Festival Showcase – a night of comedy from the best acts from the SCF. This year brings you Damien Power (just coming off tour with Tenacious D), El Jaguar, Nick Cody, Rhys Nicholson, Steen Raskopoulos, Bruce Griffiths and Oliver Phommavanh. Brisbane Powerhouse, 7pm.
SATURDAY 20
Cheap Fakes
INDIVIDUALISING ICONIC RECORDS Last year’s Long Player Sessions were pretty special nights on the Brisbane music calendar, the success of those evenings pushing organisers to hold another three events this year, with talented locals bringing to life some of the albums that helped define who they are as artists. Happening at Brisbane Powerhouse over three weeks, you can catch Cheap Fakes, pictured, using their funk, pop and ska sensibilities to rip through the Pulp Fiction soundtrack, while Tylea operates the same methods in a whole new way, interpreting the music of Twin Peaks. That happens on Friday 9 August. The following Friday 16, Danny Widdicombe goes for the Hendrix classic Axis: Bold As Love alongside The Last Hotel who turn out to play The Black Crowes’ The Southern Harmony And Musical Companion. Finally, Tara Simmons releases herself into Portishead’s haunting Dummy, with Charlie Horse performing PJ Harvey’s To Bring You My Love on Friday 23. Tickets for all these brilliant double headers can be purchased from the Powerhouse website for $32+BF or $75 for the three shows.
SOUTHERN SON Continuing to warm our heart and soul with his effortless brand of storytelling, Kevin Mitchell has seamlessly translated from scruff rocker to ever-smiling troubadour, his guise Bob Evans endearing him to a whole spread of new fans. Looking and sounding as evergreen as ever, Evans will launch his long-awaited fourth record Familiar Stranger with the Welcome Stranger Tour, playing Byron Theatre, Byron Bay, Friday 6 September; The Spotted Cow, Toowoomba, Saturday 7; and The SoundLounge, Gold Coast, Thursday 12. Tickets for all dates can be purchased now through Bob Evans’ website.
NEW DIMENSION Local all ages funfest 4 Walls are excited to welcome Cub Scouts onto an already packed bill that also features the likes of Jeremy Neale, Pigeon, Go Violets and Tourism. Happening Saturday 3 August at the Queensland Academy for Creative Industries, limited tickets to the event are still available for $26+BF so act fast by heading to the event page now.
PUT YOUR HAND ON YOUR HEART Before he fronts up as the opening act for formidable British hip hop artist Ghostpoet, Oscar Key Sung – one half of leftfield poptronica duo Oscar + Martin – will embark on a small run of shows to bring his lush arrangements to the masses. Widely regarded as one of Australia’s most prodigiously talented songwriters, his wonky blend of minimal funk, dark R&B and neu soul causes hairs to stand on end, and his new tracks have been pricking the ears of foreign legends such as Gilles Peterson. Oscar Key Sung’s capital city headline tour rolls into Black Bear Lodge, Friday 30 August, with tickets on sale through Oztix and Moshtix.
Little Orphan TrAshley – Trevor Ashley is Fannie, a ten-year-old inmate of the Sutherland shire orphanage for talented children run by washed-up boozy matron Miss Trannigan (Rhonda Burchmore), and sets her sights on multi-millionaire amateur photographer Daddy Warhorse (Gary Sweet). Brisbane Powerhouse, 6pm and 9pm.
War Horse – the British smash hit production that tells the story of a horse who is sold to the cavalry after the outbreak of World War I and shipped to France. The horse struggled through war and goes through an incredible journey to be reunited with his first owner Joey. QPAC, 3pm, to Sunday 4 August.
MONDAY 22 Ruth Stoneley: A Stich in Time – a tedious and meticulous craft, this exhibition puts on show the best works by quilter Ruth Stoneley (19402007). Stoneley was an active member of the Brisbane quilting community who taught many local quilters. QAG, to Monday 7 October.
WEDNESDAY 24 White Canvas Select – an exhibition of selected works by artists such as Christabel Blackman, Des Rolph, Sarah Daly, Simon Massey di Vallazza, George Kirk, Naomi Zipf and Robyn Kirk. White Canvas Gallery, Opening Night, 6pm, to Saturday 3 August.
Regurgitator
FULL FREAK FEST
GET INTO THE SPIRIT Splendour In The Grass is fast approaching, and we say the best way to start preparing for the party is to party before the party – you know what we mean? A perfect opportunity to get ahead of yourself is at One Night With... at The Northern, Thursday 25 July, where the great pre-party traditions of the venue will be upheld with a raucous bill featuring the likes of Jackie Onassis, Elizabeth Rose, Fishing, pictured, Jinja Safari (DJ set) and other special guests (could be anyone!). Get your tickets now through Oztix for $19+BF.
UNCHAINED MELODY Fans of The Voice will no doubt be fans of Harrison Craig, and if you fall into that category then you’re going to be jumping around with news that the victorious vocalist from the hit TV talent show will be setting out on a concert tour with full band in support of his debut record, More Than A Dream. Enjoy the croon of the young showman at these dates: Friday 27 September, QPAC; Saturday 28, Jupiters Theatre, Gold Coast; and Tuesday 19 November, Star Court Theatre, Lismore. Tickets are on sale now through the artist’s website.
Aussie pop mainstays The Basics are proving to be one of the hottest tickets going at the forthcoming Brisbane Festival, having already sold out their 7.15pm performance on Thursday 12 September. The trio are feeling the love, though, announcing they will play a late-night set on the same day, kicking off at 11.30pm under the grand Spiegeltent. After a three-year break thanks to film projects, international aid work and the ongoing success of drummer Wally ‘Gotye’ De Backer, The Basics can’t wait to give it their all for Queensland audiences, so pick up a ticket for this new date now before they’re all snapped up. Head to Qtix: adults $35+BF, concession $30+BF, groups $28+BF.
Listen up punk fans. Guttermouth are coming to Australia next month – you knew that, we knew that (we told you, remember?). What you didn’t know, however, was who would be supporting the depraved dear rockers on this, their final tour around our country. So here’s the undercard at dates in our region: Thursday 29 August, The Northern, Byron Bay: Spike City (Blowhard), White Metal, Feeling Dave; Friday 30, The Tempo Hotel: Spitfireliar, Spike City (Blowhard), The Dirty F Holes, Whisky and Speed; and Saturday 31, Parkwood Tavern, Gold Coast: Spitfireliar, Spike City (Blowhard), The Lost Cause. Tickets for all dates available through Oztix for $40+BF.
BRIGHTEN UP THE RED Like you pop-obsessed tweens needed more reason to get excited about the forthcoming Taylor Swift tour with Guy Sebastian. In any case, you’ve got another reason to scream with US chart toppers Neon Trees also added to these monumentally large shows. If you haven’t already got tickets to the show, happening Saturday 7 December, Suncorp Stadium, then you best be on to it quick smart. Head to Ticketek now, with prices starting from $85+BF.
GET YOUR MEDICINE
FALL UNDER THE SPELL
They started the album in the urban sprawl of Hong Kong, dragged it through the streets of Melbourne, and now Regurgitator are ready to throw their eighth studio album out to the wolves. Get ready to experience the ever experimental Brisbane rockers’ dirty pop fantasy when they roll through our region, playing Thursday 10 October, Kings Beach Tavern, Sunshine Coast; Friday 11, The Hi-Fi; Saturday 12, Coolangatta Hotel, Gold Coast; and Sunday 13, The Northern, Byron Bay. Tickets for all dates on sale via Oztix from tomorrow for $34+BF.
Dark country jewel Cash Savage and her comrades The Last Drinks will be throwing them back with punters during a run of Queensland dates. The band have just put together their second LP Hypnotiser, a release which sees the group offering tales of despair and triumph, all surrounded by rollicking, intoxicating music that scenes the stories suitably. Check out the band Friday 16 August, The Joynt ($10, on the door); Saturday 17, Royal Mail Hotel, Goodna (5pm); and Sunday 18, Cafe Le Monde, Noosa (4.30pm), with those last two shows free of charge.
GIVE THE BABY WHAT IT WANTS
BIG SCARY
After returning with their first studio album of the past two decades, Baby Animals are now going to bring that passion to the stage. Get ready for new cuts and classics to come alive when Suzie DeMarchi and the troops bring their Feed The Birds tour to The Zoo for two nights, Friday 18 and Saturday 19 October, with special guest Steve Balbi from Noiseworks.
US grindcore proponents Mammoth Grinder will tour our country next month, slapping around all and sundry with Innumerable Form, a related death metal group, the two bands going as deep as to share some members – how sweet. They play Sun Distortion on Saturday 3 August with support from Shackles, Melbourne’s Internal Rot, Sick People and Headless Death.
10 • For more news/announcements go to themusic.com.au/news
BASICS BY TWO
PROPPING UP THE GUTTER Fishing
The Blackwater Fever are running hot. Their third record The Depths shows the band at the height of their powers, they’ve been getting plenty of radio spins across commercial and community stations, and the trio have just inked a management deal with Pricewar Music – exciting times for all concerned! To tie in with the release of their second single Won’t Cry Over You, the group with play The Zoo, Friday 16 August, with Rattlehand and The Good Sports.
SUNDAY 21
Make sure you’re at The Hideaway on Saturday 24 August when southern troubadour Tom West arrives to showcase his A Spark In The Dark full-length. Two years in the making, the record was put together in a shed-cum-studio in the Adelaide Hills and showcases the songwriter’s honesty and integrity. Performing as a three-piece, Tom West will make the night his own no doubt – one to certainly pencil in to the diary.
Dubmarine
COMING UP FOR AIR With their forthcoming second record Laser Sound Beam about to shoot into our lives, the legendary Dubmarine live shows are going to rock our world once again. Get your groove on at the following dates: Friday 9 August, The Hi-Fi (with Bullhorn, Noah Slee, Andy Dub) where the entry includes Laser Sound Beam; Saturday 10, Solbar, Sunshine Coast (with Bullhorn); Friday 23, The SoundLounge, Gold Coast (with CC the Cat); Friday 20 September, The Northern, Byron Bay; and Friday 27, Metro Arts Centre, Toowoomba. In addition, Dubmarine will also take part in BIGSOUND, Wednesday 11 and Thursday 12 September, Fortitude Valley entertainment precinct and Island Vibe Festival, Friday 25 to Sunday 27 October, Stradbroke Island.
BACK TO BACK BOOTYLICIOUS, BABY With tickets for her first show getting snapped up in quick time, Beyonce has answered the call of her rabid fanbase by putting a second Brisbane date on her forthcoming Mrs. Carter Show world tour. Celebrating the iconic music of this once-in-a-generation performer, this new show happens the night after her first concert, taking place Tuesday 29 October at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre. Get your tickets through Live Nation from 10am this Friday, July 19.
@ Irish Murphys July 18–19
Bring your family to
Presents for the kids!
Christmas in july
THIS WEEK at The Hi-Fi Saint Vitus (USA) & Monarch! (FRA) Thu 18 Jul Stereophonics (USA) Fri 19 Jul SOLD OUT
Guitarmen Sat 20 Jul
JUST ANNOUNCED Tall Poppy Indie Rock Party Sat 17 Aug
SUNDAY JULY 28
Weapon Records Launch feat. Tetrameth
Fri 23 Aug Regurgitator Fri 11 Oct
Traditional Irish Christmas Lunch Plus... Live Irish entertainment from 11am Best dressed Santa or Elf competition
Imagine Dragons (USA) Sat 19 Oct
COMING UP Nejo Y Dalmata (PUR) Sat 27 Jul RevFest Sat 3 Aug Dubmarine Fri 9 Aug
LIVE
Shapeshifter (NZ) Sat 10 Aug Flyleaf (USA) Thu 15 Aug Clare Bowditch Fri 16 Aug Ash (IRL) performing 1977 Wed 21 Aug
MUSIC
Cosmic Psychos Sat 24 Aug Midnight Juggernauts Fri 30 Aug Anberlin (USA) Wed 4 Sep The Paper Kites Fri 6 Sep
7 NIGHTS A WEEK
Jinja Safari Fri 13 Sep
SOLOISTS PARTY BANDS IRISH FOLK
BRISBANE’S BEST DRINKING BALCONY OPEN EVERYDAY!
Dead Letter Circus Sat 14 Sep Snakadaktal Fri 20 Sep The Drones Fri 27 Sep Soilwork (SWE) Wed 2 Oct
Enslaved (NOR) Rescheduled to Sun 3 Nov
Amorphis (FIN) Sat 12 Oct
Cnr George and Elizabeth Streets, Brisbane Ph 3221 4377 irishmurphys.com.au
Live music 7 nights a week
Nile (USA) Thu 14 Nov
Every Time I Die (USA) Fri 18 Oct Mickey Avalon Thu 24 Oct
Hits & Pits 2.0 Feat. (USA)
Black Flag (USA), The Ataris (USA) + More Sat 16 Nov
TIX + INFO THEHIFI.COM.AU
1300 THE HIFI
125 BOUNDARY ST, WEST END
11
[FEATURES]
CONTINUING THE CONVERSATION
Although it’s been another four years between Karnivool’s second and third records, frontman Ian Kenny stresses to Benny Doyle that the progressive rock outfit still have a great deal to say. Cover and feature pics by Kane Hibberd. arnivool are no longer just Perth’s leading prog rock light. Nor are they Australia’s. Since the release of their widely acclaimed second record, 2009’s Sound Awake, the five-piece have truly become a global entity on the touring circuit. Time Off catches frontman Ian Kenny arriving at Hurricane Festival in the northern Germany municipality of Scheeßel, where the band are due to perform later that evening on a bill that offers everything from Of Monsters and Men to Parkway Drive. The frontman is excited about the show, admitting that the band have long enjoyed a positive reception from hard rock-hungry Europeans, but seems unaffected by the pressures of trumping their current worldwide standing with their soon-to-be-released third album, Asymmetry.
K
“Well, we’ll see,” he slowly begins. “We’ll see how this record sits with Karnivool fans and we’ll see where it goes outside that. Karnivool has a good thing happening in Europe, we’ve got a great thing happening in Australia, so we’re going to keep focusing
on those two territories and get back to the States... I dunno, we’ll have to see. It’s kinda too early to tell – we’ve just put [the album] to bed a few weeks ago so I don’t really have any scope on the record yet until it gets out there and does what it does.” First listens to Asymmetry showcase a band that are venturing to the edges of what’s considered their ‘sound’. Things are abrasive in parts, especially early in the record, Karnivool offering arguably more sonic aggression than they ever have before. But, those musical explosions are evened out by songs that are raw and revealed, the band left as exposed as they’ve ever been. “This third record was just about exploration through Karnivool and a bit more experimenting with the band and seeing what we have in us and what’s in the track,” Kenny explains. “I think this record, there’s more band on it; we’ve left a lot of the performances in there, so it’s not so heavily relying on production which maybe makes it a little more raw than the last two. But we’re just pushing it and seeing what else we’ve got to say musically, and that’s what we’ll continue to do I think. That’s what’s exciting about Karnivool.
in the ocean and the cafe culture cruise with locked down sessions with acclaimed producer Nick DiDia (Rage Against The Machine, Powderfinger). And again, like Sound Awake, nothing about the process was instantaneous or immediately gratifying, a second four-year wait time for fans which begs the question: could this band function in the same way if there were only a couple of years between releases?
“It was a pretty open and free space when we were recording – anything goes really,” Kenny expands further. “It wasn’t an easy record to make, it was a pretty demanding record, just due to the nature of what’s happening [in the music]. But the space we recorded in in Byron Bay, it was one of the best recording environments/ experiences Karnivool [have] had. By no means was it chilled out, but it was cool and focused and just a fucking really nice place to make a record.”
“You know what, I think we’d like to do it another way,” Kenny admits straight-up, “but we haven’t discovered a way to do it any quicker because when we’re writing the parts which become pieces of music, they just need a bit of gestation time. We need to sit with them and work on them, which is part of the reason why it takes so long to get these records up to scratch. I think we’re just starting to get a handle on our songwriting as a band, so maybe we’ll be able to deliver the next record quicker, but at this point I can’t say, I have no idea.”
After putting the initial coat on the raw ideas in their home studio in Perth over a two-year period, the band decamped to the Northern Rivers region of the east coast, settling into a routine that balanced time
Pulling the frontman back to his earlier comment: “It wasn’t an easy
“[We] don’t really want linear records,” the vocalist continues. “We try and create records that read a bit more like a novel, because you want to be taken somewhere when you’re part of the listening journey, so you want it to lure you in then sit you down, then it picks you up, smacks you across the head, and it pulls you into another room and gives you a different treatment. You want, you need movement in a record; it needs to take you somewhere and make you feel.
12 • For more news/announcements go to themusic.com.au/interviews
WHAT’CHU TALKIN’ ‘BOUT IAN? As frontman and lyricist for both Karnivool and Birds Of Tokyo, Ian Kenny has firmly established himself as one of the most engaging and recognisable voices in this country. And you’ve only got to see the lanky vocalist perform to know that on-point pitch and delivery aren’t just in his job description – it’s his life. Kenny admits that on Asymmetry he put more time into his verses than ever before; but how does it all come together? Let’s find out, shall we? “Basically I try and write what I think complements the song and the actual emotional feel of the song, and I just generally try and right lines and lyrics that evoke people to think or to pick up and feel what’s going on in the track,” he explains. “Unless it’s something direct and I’ve got something that I want to talk about, [then] I just try and tell people what’s happening there and then. “Generally I’ll just work on the piece [by myself], come up with what I think it needs to where things are sitting, and I’ll throw them in to see what sticks and if it works then roll with outside ideas, but generally I start things off, just sit there with a track and try to interpret, and whatever comes out comes out and you can work on it from there. “It can be quite demanding at times when it comes to working on vocal parts so it can be complicated,” he concludes, “and not always but generally when you get a piece finished there’s a lot of emotional and musical real estate to play with, so lyrics can go anywhere in this band.”
record to make”, Kenny discusses what Karnivool were battling with during the making of Asymmetry, but also reveals that those tough times do hold their own artistic rewards. “Basically, in preproduction we had most of the arrangements down, and I guess there was like that twenty per cent on a handful of songs that just wasn’t finished. So just ironing out those things in the studio can add a bit of pressure, y’know,
studio dollars and studio hours and you’re sitting there working away then you’ve got to make calls on things. It’s a double-edged sword because sometimes you can just sit there and fucking deliberate for ages on a certain part because you know you have the time, but if you realise you don’t then it forces you to make a call. That just got a bit tense, so there was a bit of a struggle there to finish a few of the pieces, but I think it was a good thing because I think you can hear a bit of a struggle on the record and that’s what you want to hear, you want to hear exactly what was happening – it makes it a bit more real.” Karnivool put a lot of thought into track placement too, allowing the sonic light and shade that encompasses the record to really shine through. “We just arranged them in a flow that we thought made sense,” Kenny reasons, agreeing that with a great deal of progressive rock, the listening experience lives and dies by the journey created. “Yeah, absolutely. We did put a bit of thought into it, and as long as it makes sense... I guess the most important thing about album flow is to do your best with the narrative of the record from song to song, and if you get to a point where it keeps flowing then it works, man.” But even with the aforementioned studio stress, the obvious fan anticipation and other outside pressures aren’t held in high regard by the band. Karnivool run against their own clock and will continue to do so, even if it ticks over at a slower rate than most. “I think the only pressure that comes is internally from the band when we are writing,” Kenny finishes, “what we expect from each other and what we expect from the band. All we’re trying to do is just write music that we hold as the highest above anything, so there’s a lot of pressure there just to get it as good as we can and get it right – that’s the only pressure that really comes into play.” WHO: Karnivool WHAT: Asymmetry (Cymatic/Sony) WHEN & WHERE: Wednesday 7 August, Eatons Hill Hotel
13
MUSIC
[FEATURES FEATURES]
Holy shit it’s happening. I’m hearing my song on the radio. Every music biopic ever has taught me this will lead to drugs and madness #sweet The cycle begins, Anna Kendrick (@AnnaKendrick47)
DRIVING IN THE FAST LANE Is good old fashioned Aussie rock hard to find in 2013? Melbourne’s Kingswood don’t think so – their combination of great tunes and a good time is what brought them here and what will take them to their next destination. Frontman Fergus Linacre bares his ambitious soul to Ben Preece.
mbition is something written all over the faces of the four individuals who make up Kingswood. Forming in 2009, the Melbourne rockers have had nothing short of a sharp incline since taking out a triple j Unearthed competition that saw them snare a coveted slot at Splendour in the Grass only last year. Since then they’ve traversed this country many times over with the likes of Aerosmith, Owl Eyes, Boy In A Box, The Living End, British India, Stonefield and The Saints, and also managed to revisit the festival stage at Queescliff and Pyramid Rock, quickly securing their place as one of the hottest young tickets in town.
A
ART OR NOT?
Their first three singles – Yeah Go Die, Medusa and She’s My Baby – all quickly made their way to the ears of the listeners of triple j and eventually contributed to their Change Of Heart EP deluxe, an eight-track package that also includes the latest single Ohio and brings new fans right up to date. At almost 30 minutes long, the band could’ve easily called it an album.
Spotted in the Serpentine River, Hyde Park, London Oh… Mr Darcy.
“We could’ve called it that yeah,” frontman Fergus Linacre explains. “But we do have our debut album which we’re about to record and we didn’t want anyone to get confused. We’re wrapped and feel very privileged that things have gone our way quite often so far and things are working well for us. We’ve had a lot of little wins on our journey and they’re great but the idea of going to Nashville and recording with Vance Powell is the most exciting [thing] that has happened to any of us. It happens in August, we can’t wait to get over there – we’ll see what happens.”
THIS WEEK’S RELEASES HUNX & HIS PUNX Street Punk Hardly Art/Inertia
GRANT HART The Argument Domino/EMI
The impressively-bearded Vance Powell is the man behind the desk for albums such as The Raconteurs’ Consoler Of The Lonely, Jars Of Clay’s Good Monsters, Buddy Guy’s Skin Deep and songs from the likes of Keb’ Mo and Jack White and Alicia Keys. Again, ambition has served Kingswood well, but how exactly do four guys from Melbourne prepare for such an opportunity? “As best we can, we’ll go over there prepared,” Linacre explains, undaunted. “We spend pretty much every moment we have when we’re not asleep in our little house working on the songs. We have a big white board with twenty or so tunes up there and we’re still writing more – the album will be completely new, we won’t have any of the older songs on there. Even the ones we used to play, we’re leaving off and treating like a completely new thing. Everything we’re writing is in this moment. We’re going to demo them and do some pre-production here; we’ve been sending them to Vance and we’ve been Skyping and talking
MUSIC
To continue the discussion tweet us @frontrowSPA
so when we get over there we don’t waste any time and can just focus on making it as good as we can. “I was talking to Alex [Laska, guitar] – who writes most of the stuff – about how the sound’s changed and we looked at all the songs – it seems that the EP feels a bit juvenile to us,” he continues, revealing the direction their forthcoming debut album might take. “The songs are great but what we’re writing now is more serious, not sure how that translates into a sound but everything has come from within, it’s a bit darker and it’s far more meaningful and honest. We’re not out there trying to write hits, we never have been, I mean our first single didn’t have a chorus. We’re just excited about writing just really good songs, I don’t really know how to say it. I don’t think it’s too hard to write a trashy pop song that people get excited about before it quickly dies. If we do that, which we do, we try and make it a bit more interesting for ourselves, musicians and music lovers – we want musicians to like it as well. I’m talking more for the other three in the band who are really great at what they do and I, well, just yell over the top, but we love bands like Mutemath and Queens of the Stone Age – you know, people who are really talented. We’d like to follow in their footsteps a bit.” But Linacre’s reality is well intact when realising that all good things come to those who wait, especially when it comes to developing his band’s stage prowess. “I think with any kind of growth in music, you can’t make any decision, like you want to be a more charismatic frontman or you want the show to be more organic or things like that. Those things just happen over time and, if you try to make big jumps, I think you won’t pull it off. I think you just need to keep playing and simply better yourself over time – it’s a slow growth. You can’t sit there and go, ‘We saw Steven Tyler last night, I’m going to go out there and do that’. We didn’t learn, like, moves from Steven Tyler but his confidence on and off stage was especially amazing.”
Kingswood are a mixed bag. You might feel you know who they are when you hear the songs on the radio, but Linacre reveals some surprisingly varied influences the four tend to gravitate towards. “You’d definitely be surprised,” he laughs. “Alt-J – that might be surprising. The percussion is the key there and how it all builds, it’s different from any style of writing and the way that album was produced is something else.” Ambition has taken Kingswood a long way already, this is a band that recently released a short film for their latest single Ohio and held a premiere for it in Melbourne. So what ambitions do the band so firmly put esteem into? “We do feel there’s a resurgence in rock music in Australia definitely,” Linacre says, “and we are glad that we’re a small part of that and hope that more bands keep coming through and people keep liking rock music more. Our goal sounds silly but we want to be the biggest band in the world – we got to do it and we just have to aim that high. Regardless, we want to play lots of shows and play to as many people around the world as we can. We’ll be playing while overseas recording which is tough – we’re one-hundred per cent independent so it’s challenging but it’s all good. We were talking to Vance Powell and he’s worked a lot with Jack White and even he is the first to advise not doing a label deal unless it’s under the terms you want. It’s harder to do it on your own, but we’re prepared to go it alone.” WHO: Kingswood WHAT: Change Of Heart EP Deluxe (Independent) WHEN & WHERE: Saturday 20 July, Winter Festival, Eatons Hill Hotel; Saturday 7 September, Red Deer Festival, Mt Sampson
LIVING IN THE MOMENT Renowned for frenetic live shows, on their latest disc schizophrenic US rockers letlive. made a concerted effort to craft “one big amalgamation of a record”. Brendan Crabb quickly moves out of the path of livewire frontman Jason Aalon Butler.
MICK THOMAS Vandemonian Lags Popboomerang
FIRST AID KIT The Big Black & The Blue (Reissue) [PIAS] Australia
e’re always just hoping to… just to be as authentic as possible,” letlive. vocalist Jason Aalon Butler responds when asked whether his band’s music is an outlet, an escape even, for its audience. “Don’t get caught up in whatever hype or whatever is being told or said to you. Just appreciate your art, as well as others and I think everything can work in congruence. We can only hope that we can aid in that.”
“W
The Americans road-tested material from new LP The Blackest Beautiful during recent appearances supporting Deftones in Australia, the response to which the singer is audibly ecstatic about. Their unpredictable sound bridges numerous styles – post-hardcore, punk, metal, prog, rock, jazz and R&B among them – and Butler says they sought to capture their best possible meshing of those musical inclinations yet. “We know that we want to play with as many artists and as much music as we can,” he enthuses. “We’re just music fans; total fans of music. That’s all we want to be, is a band – not any type of band, just a band that plays music that people enjoy. If you allow yourself to be omnivorous and accept
14 • For more interviews go to themusic.com.au/interviews
everything, and want to be more than just one thing, I think it’ll kind of assimilate. It’ll be seen by others. “As a band, you want to try to work harmoniously, and so we try to tastefully incorporate all of these things into… All of our tastes and all of our joy of the music into the one single record, and we were able to do that. With this record, we put everything we wanted into it, and everything we wanted to as individuals. Now it’s one big amalgamation of a record. You have to make sure it goes through the different filters, which are each member of the band, before it actually becomes a song. It’s got to be pretty unanimous. Not so much a democracy, but everyone has to agree that this song is going to be placed on the record or it’s going to be played the way that it’s played. “This is not just because I know you probably hear this from every artist, but I think in every way it’s a step up. Simply because we wouldn’t have released the record – and I mean that with every ounce of my honest self – that we would not have released this record unless we knew it was a progression from the last one. So everything from the music to the content and subject matter; even the aesthetic, even the art that we have on it.”
With Butler confirming a potential return to Australia is in the works, we may soon again witness the tireless vocalist as he leads his charges through their paces, acting as his own personal punching bag, while scaling anything within reach and venturing into the audience. “I don’t think I actually know what is going on. It sounds silly, but it’s more like a visceral thing. Just allowing myself to be manipulated by the music, and whatever else is happening; all the energy that’s being exchanged between us and the crowd. I’m not sure what’s going on in my head; I just am involved in something that is bigger than myself,” he laughs. “If I think about something too much beforehand it becomes contrived and then I’ll probably mess it up anyway. It’s just living in those moments.” WHO: letlive. WHAT: The Blackest Beautiful (Epitaph/Warner)
15
TO HELL AND BACK
FILM
[FEATURES FEATURES]
Actor Ron Perlman teams up with his Hellboy director Guillermo del Toro once again for Pacific Rim. He tells Guy Davis why the monstrous action flick is “probably one of the biggest films that has ever been made, period.”
ver the course of their creative relationship, actor Ron Perlman and filmmaker Guillermo del Toro have collaborated on small-scale projects like the haunting horror movie Cronos and big-budget blockbusters like the Hellboy action-adventures. But their latest team-up eclipses anything they’ve worked on in the past. Pacific Rim is a literally monstrous enterprise that sees our world under siege by ‘kaiju’ – gigantic, hostile beasts from another dimension – with only the heroic pilots of massive mechanical warriors dubbed ‘jaegers’ standing in their way. And according to Perlman, bringing such a battle to the screen was a sheer joy for a pop-culture nut like del Toro.
O
“Guillermo makes very small, intimate films and he makes really big films, and then he makes really big films that have an intimate kind of core,” says the actor, who was recently in Melbourne for the Oz Comic Con event. “Pacific Rim is the biggest film he’s ever made in terms of scope – it’s probably one of the biggest films that has ever been made, period. But if you’re gonna make a movie that depicts this struggle between these irrationally huge, indomitable monsters and a force that was created to give us even a fighting chance against them, you’re gonna need resources. So that’s what this particular exercise was for Guillermo. He said ‘Listen, let’s not make this unless we’re gonna make it right’. For someone as brilliant and cutting-edge as Guillermo, the main thing is having this film look like nothing else has ever looked. And he had no regrets at the end of this movie. I’ve never seen him happier, I’ve never seen him more satisfied.” Perlman himself was pretty stoked with his Pacific Rim experience, especially as he got the chance to portray the wonderfully amoral, utterly ruthless black marketeer Hannibal Chau, a decidedly shady gent who traffics in kaiju organs (among other rumoured uses, they’re apparently a very effective form of natural Viagra). Generally an imposing figure onscreen anyway, the actor is extra eye-catching this time around, thanks to excessive bling and a technicolour wardrobe. “I really feel as though I’m a vision in magenta,” chuckles Perlman, “with a pair of 24-carat gold shoes. I had nothing but glee when I saw how brazen this character was in Guillermo’s mind. Hannibal is a businessman. He has zero political allegiance, zero ideological affiliation, no moral compass whatsoever, no loyalty to anyone or anything – he’s devoted to accumulating as much wealth as possible as quickly as possible. He’s very different from anyone I’ve ever played, really. There’s nothing spiritual about this guy. He’s very clever, incredibly theatrical; he’s invented everything about himself, right down to his name – he was probably born Howard Schwartz. He’s like a one-man show.” Perlman and del Toro form a very appealing mutual appreciation society, it must be said – “Only Guillermo would create an Asian character and give it to a Caucasian Jew,” the actor recently told an US interviewer – and it’s one that was hatched at the very first meeting more than two decades ago. “The moment I met Guillermo, within 15 minutes it was as if it was 15 years,” says Perlman. ”We had an immediate shorthand, an immediate kind of recognition. We both worshipped at the same shrines; we both had the same heroes. And we both had the same kind of self-indulgent proclivities towards loving food, so we spent most of our hang time being foodies and eating our way through life. So there was this ease, and there was something about the way Guillermo kind of fashioned characters that fit into what he saw as my skill set. So he’s provided me with the best acting opportunities I’ve ever been given… or among the best. I have been in his genius presence for 22 years and he just keeps entertaining himself and entertaining me.” Any discussion of Perlman and del Toro has to include the raising the possibility of a third Hellboy movie, and there have been a fair few rumours that the duo will reunite to bring back the red-skinned hero with the solid-stone fist. “Yeah, I’m starting most of them,” deadpans Perlman. “The best I can do is to keep the conversation alive, and I have to say I’ve evolved on this issue. After Hellboy 2 I wasn’t that interested in ever going through it again; it took a lot out of me and Guillermo. But as time passed I forgot about the hours and the hardship and the physical toll and it became a very pleasant memory. I realised that on the first two films we had asked people to come on this journey with us, and I felt like there was an obligation to complete the story for the people who have invested so much in it. And the story will never be complete until it’s resolved, which is in the third film. I have these discussions with Guillermo, I’ve had these discussions with studio heads, so who knows? What happens happens. If the planets align and someone says ‘Go make Hellboy 3’, I’ll be right there, baby.” Of course, it’s not like Perlman is solely reliant on portraying Hellboy or collaborating with del Toro to keep himself gainfully employed. A quick glimpse at the actor’s slate of recent and upcoming work indicates that he’s a man in demand, whether the role requires his physical presence – who else are you gonna get to play the father of Conan the Barbarian? – or that unmistakable bourbon-for-breakfast growl of his (among his voice-work credits are characters on cartoons as diverse and awesome as Archer and Adventure Time, not to mention more comic-book heroes and villains than one could shake a stick at). And then there’s “Hamlet on Harleys”, aka Sons Of Anarchy, the pay-TV drama in which Perlman plays Clay Morrow, the veteran leader of the titular motorcycle gang. He says that filming is currently halfway complete on the show’s sixth season, which is currently scheduled to premiere in September. Fans of SAMCRO’s shenanigans should brace themselves, though: “All signals seem to point to the fact that there will be a seventh season and out.” WHAT: Pacific Rim In cinemas
16 • For more interviews go to themusic.com.au/interviews
MUSIC
[FEATURES FEATURES]
JUST SHUT UP Intelli-pop rockers Everything Everything are packing the sunscreen and the mozzie repellent ahead of their first tour down under. Natasha Lee spoke with frontman Jonathan Higgs who revealed that learning to shut up was the greatest lesson he’s ever been taught.
verything Everything frontman Jonathan Higgs is nervous. The puppy-faced Englishman is pensive ahead of the group’s upcoming Splendour In The Grass appearance and attendent sideshows because he admits he “doesn’t wanna let anybody down”. Doubt it.
E
Together since 2007, Everything Everything have forever been the critical darlings of the British intelli-pop scene, garnering glowing reviews and even landing on the longlist for BBC’s Sound Of 2010, all without a label. But it wasn’t long after the Sound Of 2010 nomination that those labels came knocking, with the band deciding to sign with the UK arm of US label Geffen Records (Beck, Imogen Heap, Elton John), releasing their debut LP, Man Alive, in 2010. Between formation and debut, the foursome, which is comprised of Higgs, Jeremy Pritchard, Michael Spearman and Alex Robertshaw, managed to encourage a healthy following, which no doubt helped Man Alive come in at number 17 on the UK Albums Chart. Their latest effort, Arc, has avoided the dreaded second album stinker, rocketing to an impressive number five on the UK charts (something even Higgs was impressed by, quipping “it’s the real top ten, isn’t it?” to NME after they revealed the position) and, like its predecessor, was welcomed, stroked and praised with open arms by the critics. “Well,” begins Higgs on the line from his British base, “with Arc, we wanted to make it more direct really, especially lyrically and vocally. I found that on the first album people couldn’t tell what I was saying. This time I wanted to make it about real emotion and get into people instead of just impressing them with tricks.”
none of us have been to Australia before,” he chirps, “so we’re all really wondering what the atmosphere is like down under! But, you know, we’re definitely looking forward to the festival [Splendour In The Grass]. We’ve just heard so much about it… Good things!” he laughs, “all good things.” WHO: Everything Everything WHAT: Arc (Sony) WHEN & WHERE: Sunday 28 July, Splendour In The Grass, North Byron Parklands
NEW ALBUM OUT THIS FRIDAY 19 JULY
Tricks or no tricks, Arc is blissfully bigger, roomier and airier without compensating for Higgs’ penchant for artful and intricate electropop. “It was similar [working on Arc] to Man Alive in as much as we worked with the same guy, David Kosten [Bat For Lashes, Lenka], but we did a lot more pre-production,” explains Higgs. “We re-wrote 99 per cent of everything we had in our heads before we even got into pre. We didn’t really leave any of the writing stuff for chance – the studio was more about making it sound exciting.” A perfect example being Arc’s quirky first single, Cough Cough, a heady drum number that features a coughing Higgs in the fade-out. “I had an old song that no one has ever heard of that I wrote over ten years ago. I took that and chopped it up and then I started singing over the top of it. That and I was listening to Run The World (Girls) by Beyonce and I started messing with similar rhythms. I just wanted to mix a song that was just drums. The whole coughing thing started when we were recording and I coughed. I liked the sound of it, so we kept it in.” Higgs goes on to reveal the one thing the group were particularly careful not to do – overwork the sound. “Yeah, I mean, if we sort of go over material again and again we could overplay everything. When people get good at their instruments they just try to play them all the time. It doesn’t work. Learning to shut up musically is one of the greatest lessons you can ever learn.” Despite their aversion to ‘overworking’ their music, the band have been criticised for trying too hard and not quite knowing who they’re supposed to be. Heck, you only have to hit up one of their YouTube videos to see the Elbow and Coldplay comparisons thrown around. It hardly seems to bother Higgs though, who says the group used their second album to explore and refine their own, unique sound. “There was a lot of rewriting going on. I’d bring in these demos to the studio that were complex and all over the place and we’d strip them down. This time we wanted to look at what’s telling the story, what’s important in the story – just trying to make the lyrics more meaningful.” The approach saw Higgs wield the axe on a number of tracks, slicing through the layered electronic weirdness. “We made a point of taking out anything that was fun or clever and instead we just focused on the story that each song was trying to tell. There was also a formula this time, like we were trying to keep our songs to a certain length of time.”
Pre-order your copy of ASYMMETRY now from karnivool.com Deluxe Edition featuring expanded artwork and 92 mins live concert footage for a strictly limited time
Higgs also scoffs at the idea of pigeonholing their sound, saying that “everyone listens to a little bit of everything”. “When I was fifteen, I would never have said that,” he laughs, adding, “that it’s the way we consume music. It’s all changed; I mean this whole idea of having one CD with fifteen songs by one band. You can’t identify yourself as a ‘rock person’ anymore or a ‘pop person’, you know? You’re a bit of everything.” Well, at least Higgs certainly admits being a bit of everything (everything, ha!). “Ten years ago, people wouldn’t believe that someone could listen to Rihanna next to Nine Inch Nails,” he laughs, “but, this whole gang genre thing comes from not having enough music or at least access to it. We don’t have that problem anymore.” And he should know. Technology is a subject close to Higgs’ genre-bending heart, with the tracks on Arc entertaining a journey through a technophile’s paradise gone wrong.
TO UR with special guests
WED 7 AUG EATONS HILL HOTEL TICKETS ON SALE NOW FROM KARNIVOOL.COM
It’s a journey Higgs is keen and “excited” to be showcasing to Everything Everything’s burgeoning Australian fanbase. “Well,
For more interviews go to themusic.com.au/interviews • 17
MUSIC
[FEATURES FEATURES] WIN
Skins is about to launch into its seventh and final series. We have one of the doonas that featured heavily throughout the first series and Skins S1 to S6 on DVD to give away, as well as runner-up packs of S5 and S6. To enter this and check out heaps more giveaways head to the Time Off Facebook page.
FROM THE ARCHIVES 25 MARCH, 2009
DARKNESS, MY OLD FRIEND Conor O’Brien is a contradiction – a young man with an old soul; an introspective showman; a lover of gloomy words and hopeful melodies. But there is a unifying aspect to the frontman of Dublin-based indie folk quintet Villagers, and that’s his excitement about playing this year’s Splendour In The Grass festival. Mitch Knox finds out why.
f you’ve ever seen Villagers play live in Australia, well, it turns out that you haven’t actually really seen Villagers play live. You see, the Irish five-piece has only ever made it to our shores in duo form, meaning that fans living Down Under have only ever seen less than half of the Villagers experience. But all that will change at the North Byron Parklands this July.
I
“I’m really excited,” Villagers brains trust and dreamboat Conor O’Brien enthuses about bringing his full band with him to our shores for the first time. “I mean, we got to play Melbourne and Sydney before – myself and Cormac [Curran], my keyboard player – and that was cool, but I’ve always had this nagging feeling when we’re doing those shows that we’re not doing the albums full justice, so it’s going to be exciting to finally get the band out to Australia. I’m looking forward to it.” Of course, the fleshed-out Villagers line-up is not just a boon for live shows. As the group became a collaborative beast between debut LP Becoming A Jackal (2010) – for which the backing band really were just touring partners – and their sophomore effort {Awayland}, released in January of this year, O’Brien found himself less tied down to being all things for all instruments and thus freer to explore his lyrical talents. In fact, the album has even been described as O’Brien’s “great leap forward”. But, in true paradoxical style, that hasn’t necessarily made him any happier with that side of his music.
INTERVIEWS Trentmoller, Rise Against, The Human League, Gina Riley, Spit Syndicate
ALBUM OF THE WEEK Spilt Milk, Tara Simmons
GIG OF THE WEEK International Youth Week Launch Concert, Raddacliff Place
ON THE TIME OFF STEREO
This is an interesting observation, given the response to relatively recent single Nothing Arrived and, moreover, its depressing-as-hell video clip, depicting a day in the life (or does it?) of a grey-faced, average soul called Terrence Bliss, who each day buys a lottery ticket, goes to work, goes home, goes to bed, and does it all again the next day. But O’Brien swears up and down that making people sad was never the intent: “No, I think, with that song, the idea to sort of personify the character with a video – that was the video director’s idea. He’s a French director called Alden Volney, and I
MUSIC
We sent the intern into the archives to select at random an old Time Off.
“I think my ideas about that kind of change daily,” he muses. “When we were on tour [in the UK and Ireland] recently, I was enjoying some of the older songs that we hadn’t played for a while, so I feel like it’s always kind of a changeable thing. But the new songs seem to have a bit more of an energy behind them, like, a bit more a humour to them, I think. They’re not quite as morose, I guess.”
Meantime
All The Falsest Hearts Can Try
JASON ISBELL Southeastern
18 • For more interviews go to themusic.com.au/interviews
“I kind of revel in that,” he explains. “I think that’s something that we do quite well as a group. I’ve always been depressed by shit music that doesn’t draw attention to the darkness in life – that depresses me. I think music… like, the blues is something joyful. It’s something to share with people, it’s kind of a collective feeling, and that’s what we aim for in our live shows.”
Indeed, the whole of {Awayland} is permeated by these kinds of emotional juxtapositions, which perhaps shouldn’t come as a surprise – after all, O’Brien was eyeballs-deep in Kurt Vonnegut at the time of writing the record.
It’s a noble aim, and one they’ll hopefully achieve with ease when they arrive here later this month. With a couple of days of downtime in Byron Bay before the festival, the band will have time to work through the haze of jet lag and other associated discomforts of longhaul travel (which O’Brien is prepared to tackle with “sweatpants, a good book, maybe a bit of alcohol … and the sleeping pill thing”), but nonetheless the bar for the full five-piece’s debut at Splendour has certainly been set high of late, with O’Brien positively buzzing about the standard at which Villagers presently do their thing.
“That was Cormac again – he gave me A Man Without A Country for my birthday, which is [Vonnegut’s] memoir, and I just kind of fell in love with his sardonic humour and his love of life and his sarcastic wit, so I read Slaughterhouse-Five and some of his essays and stuff, and it was just what I was reading at the time,” he says. “I think whatever I’m reading always makes its way into the songs, and it helps me to find that humour as well, which I think I did. Mainly I think Earthly Pleasure is probably the one song that’s almost directly influenced by Slaughterhouse-Five; I was almost imagining Billy Pilgrim, the character, when I was writing that song. It kind of freed me up a little bit. “Also I was reading poetry – I remember being into a lot of Patrick Kavanagh stuff at the time; he’s a famous Irish poet. He kind of hits the nail on the head a lot; he has a beautiful way with words. I was reading lots of stuff – American poetry from the ‘50s, like Frank O’Hara and John Ashbery and all that weird kind of post-beatnik kind of stuff, when everyone was playing with words and… I don’t know. I was getting a lot of influence from that kind of stuff.” Far from being taken aback when his audiences joyfully shuck and jive to his songs’ upbeat aesthetics instead of recoiling at the crushing weight of many lyrics, O’Brien – perhaps unsurprisingly – embraces the incongruity.
“I think at the moment we’re the best band we’ve ever been,” he asserts. “The last headline show we did a few days ago was probably my favourite maybe ever. “I think we played the best we’ve played ever, in terms of, like, every song was a new reading of the song, and it felt like we were breathing new life into the music. The venue was one of the most beautiful venues we’ve played, and the audience was spectacular, so all in all it was a good a night.” It’s an experience that O’Brien is hoping to replicate when they finally grace the Splendour stage. “I want to just bring that and enjoy the festival,” he says. “We’ve never been to that part, Byron – we’ve only been to Sydney and Melbourne before, so it’s going to be a trip.” WHO: Villagers WHAT: {Awayland} (Domino/EMI) WHEN & WHERE: Saturday 27 July, Splendour In The Grass, North Byron Parklands
HAND OF DOOM Los Angeles’ doom-mongers Saint Vitus lived and died in relative obscurity. Since their 2008 return, guitarist Dave Chandler has been growing accustomed to a world wherein they’re known as legends, Matt O’Neill writes.
HELMET
CENTRO-MATIC
thought it was a really, really good idea, because it sort of used the idea of the lottery as a sort of metaphor for life… I’m wary of belittling the song, but it was a very heavy, heavy thing to write those lyrics, and I felt I kind of needed to put them into a pop song to lighten the load. When we play it live, there’s a kind of cathartic feeling, so I’m kind of proud of it.”
aint Vitus predate Metallica and Slayer. Their 1978 formation falls only three years shy of Iron Maiden’s original line-up. Believe it or not, Vitus would prove equally influential as their lauded contemporaries. Except, where their peers would go on to fame and fortune, Saint Vitus would remain a cult act for almost their entire initial career – fizzling out in relative ignominy in 1995.
S
Perhaps as a result, they were never as commercially or critically acclaimed as their contemporaries. Yet, the sound they helped pioneer has gone on to become a true touchstone for bands across the entire spectrum of heavy metal. The murky rumblings of doom can be heard in the work of modern iconoclasts like Mastodon and Neurosis. As such, their 2008 reformation was greeted quite differently to their 1995 disbandment.
“When that happened, we were absolutely certain that we would never get back together. We were quite positive about not doing it ever again,” guitarist and founding member Dave Chandler says. “Because that 1995 album, Die Healing, was supposed to be the very last thing by Saint Vitus. The band was very much planned to end after that record came out. So, we had no ambitions beyond that.”
“Yeah, we never thought about that whole doom metal thing. When we stopped in 1995, no one cared, so when we finally did get back together we were very pleasantly surprised. You know, after all this time,” Chandler laughs. “And then, all of a sudden, everyone starts talking about us as if we started something and citing us as an influence and we’re just like – ‘No, we never paid any attention to that, we just got out and played’.
Saint Vitus helped pioneer doom metal. A variant of heavy metal indebted to Black Sabbath’s initial turgid blueprint, doom metal stands in direct opposition to heavy metal’s more celebrated obsessions with speed and technicality – opting for gruelingly slow tempos and crushingly low tunings. In the late-‘70s, Saint Vitus, in particular, found their sound in stark contrast to rising trends like thrash metal and the NWOBHM.
“You know, ‘What’s going on?’” he laughs again. “So, it was a super-pleasant surprise for all of us. It’s weird. It’s definitely weird. We’re taking it day by day. It gets easier the more you do it. But, yeah, it’s definitely strange. It could all go away tomorrow. You could say that of any band. If we do another album and it sucks, we’ll probably just disappear again. We don’t intend to do that, though.”
Impressively, the band have managed to build on that momentum since their initial reunion tours. They’re probably one of only a handful of bands to have delivered a post-reunion album that stands up with their best work. Released last year to considerable critical acclaim, Lillie: F-65 was said to capture the same classic vibes as their 1986 classic Born Too Late. Surprising, given Chandler had effectively hung up his guitar in the interim. “We did our last live show in March of 1995 and I didn’t take my guitar out of the case until I started with my next band Debris Inc. around 2000,” he says. “It was really strange because I was originally just asked to be a punk rock singer but the other guys claimed they didn’t know how to play punk rock, so I said I’d show them, and that got me back into guitar. It was weird at first but, eventually, it was like riding a bike. It all came back.” WHO: Saint Vitus WHEN & WHERE: Thursday 18 July, The Hi-Fi
MUSIC
[FEATURES FEATURES]
A STEREOPHONIC PEAK Frontman Kelly Jones tells Paul Smith how breaking the cycle of album-tour-album gave Stereophonics the chance to make the record they had been building up to.
he 21-year history of Welsh rockers Stereophonics has seen them graduate from a pub-based covers act to one of the UK’s premier bands, regularly selling out huge stadiums. Their 1997 release Word Gets Around was as joyous a debut as you will ever hear, as three young lads, who’d known each other since childhood, belted out raw rock with the sort of epic choruses that matched any of their more established peers. Throughout their time the band have seen their sound evolve and frontman Kelly Jones believes their latest album, this year’s Graffiti On The Train, is their most complete (it’s certainly their most grandiose in arrangements) yet. Despite his satisfaction with it though, Jones admits his most memorable moments with the band remain the early days: “I think the best time is when you get your record deal and it’s all just so exciting. You don’t really know what’s going on and you’re meeting all these other bands that you’ve been playing covers of in a pub just six months before!” he recalls. “I remember the three of us travelling around the world and we took all our mates as members of the crew and just had a ball. There was a lot of writing being done on buses and hotels but there was also a lot of drinking and a lot of messing around going on as well. So they were good times!”
ANY ARTIST YOU’RE DIGGING RIGHT NOW?
T
Their first album became even more successful after the follow up Performance And Cocktails (1999) “went crazy on MTV and the radio,” as Jones puts it. Even at that time though, despite the hits and the obvious temptation, he was determined to see the band’s music develop and to always do something a bit different. “For me as a writer and us as a band, we never really want to repeat one album,” he explains. “What we have now is eight albums and each album is quite different from any other. It’s what keeps us excited really. I think if we ever feel that we’re repeating something in the studio we don’t really feel like we’re challenging ourselves.” Following their first, they have always kept album releases pretty regular, very much riding the albumtour-album roundabout. “I think we’ve always been the type of band that never wanted the band name to get out of sight so we were always very routine,” Jones admits. “Every eighteen months or so there was a new record and then we were back on the road because we never wanted our band to disappear, because so many other bands did.”
MUSIC
According to Jones, it was actually a revelation while touring their greatest hits album (Decade in the Sun: Best of Stereophonics) in 2008 that finally persuaded them that they would be able to pause awhile and take longer than usual to record an album. “I think when the greatest hits did so well we realised how much people were into our band and that gave us
GOSSLING
confidence in ourselves to go, ‘Do you know what, maybe we can take a little bit more time over this than we thought we could’. We didn’t really give ourselves longer than six weeks to make a record in the past.” The decision to allow some extra time for the new album therefore meant that they could work on some ideas that had actually been around and grown for a number of years. He explains: “It was the first time we ever went to work not worrying about the clock ticking or a deadline and it just felt good. It gave songs time to breathe, songs could be worked on for a few hours one day and not looked at for a few months before coming back to it. That’s how they develop from a forty-nine second clip on your dictaphone to an epic with a thirty-six piece orchestra! I think that’s what you get from giving yourself a little bit more breathing space really and we’d never done that before. I had about forty or fifty ideas on cassettes, phones, computers and purposely didn’t finish them because I wanted to see which left turns they would take and what production ideas would happen, or if somebody would just play a weird part and we’d see where that would lead. I learned a lot from this record and I would definitely consider doing things that way again.” Their previous albums have always carried a storytelling approach, but Graffiti On The Train takes that even further. Jones believes that’s down to the band’s constant desire to try and create some sort of filmic atmosphere in their music, and they were just better placed musically to do that than ever before. Overall it is also a darker album than previous offerings. The inevitable thought is that the sudden and tragic death of drummer and co-founding member Stuart Cable in 2010, who Jones fired from the band seven years previously though later patched up a renewed friendship, had a big influence. Jones denies that affected his
writing though: “I don’t think it’s a result of anything that’s happened. Myself and Stuart were mates again for years and speaking right up until the day before he died. The British tabloids put a headline out about regret but it’s never come from my mouth, there wasn’t any regret, like I say, we were mates apart from the first year when we split up really. But no, it was that the album was written at the same time as a screenplay I was writing about these kids who wanted to escape a small town. I actually think it’s quite a hopeful and spiritual record because even though there are some turbulent times in parts of the songs I think most of them come out the other end in an uplifting way.” Now that the band have jumped back into the system and are touring the album, Jones is relishing being able to pick and choose from eight quite different albums in their live set. The way that the new album has blended in so well and has been so well received seems to surprise him though: “What’s been amazing for us on the first leg of this tour is seeing how eight or nine songs from Graffiti On The Train mix so well with all the other records, they just work together,” he says. The fact that a couple of the new songs, the title track and the stirring Indian Summer, have been on the radio so much in the UK that they’ve become almost as anthemic as their classic Local Boy In The Photograph is the biggest surprise, and relief, though. As he concludes: “That is so encouraging for us. We didn’t think we had a single on this album and it’s turned out to be one of the biggest air play records we’ve ever had. Which just goes to show I know fuck all!”
K
“Growing up you would always hear about Aussie bands struggling in America,” laments vocalist/ guitarist Keith Jeffery. “There were bands that we loved that couldn’t crack it over there. But, with people being able to now find music online, there has been a kind of levelling on the music front.” Thanks to some nifty online radio airplay, Trojans ended up selling over 45,000 copies on US iTunes, along with scoring the top spot on Alt-Nation’s most
Come 2012, the brothers released their first EP though Warner, Through The Glass, before locking the doors to that home-built studio to work religiously on their debut. “It’s been a quick 18 months,” explains Jeffery, “but the thing that’s helped us is that we had done a lot of work getting the songs ready beforehand.” The pair focus on composing, constructing and refining a song before sitting down to write lyrics. “I feel like it’s better to write the lyrics once the song has been played. If you just write a set of lyrics, you could limit the song. I mean, you can have an idea where a song is going, but that usually changes in the studio.” Jeffery adds that his weapons of choice for composition include synths and snare drums – giving their music a haunting, atmospheric edge. “I like using certain tones. I’m interested in certain tones and synthesisers
RIDER MUST HAVE JO SYME FROM BIG SCARY
WHAT: Graffiti On The Train (Warner) WHEN & WHERE: Friday 19 July, The Hi-Fi
WHAT’S THE FIRST ITEM ON YOUR RIDER FOR THIS TOUR? Rotisserie chicken (Rotisserie eggplant for the vegetarians). Big Scary touring nationally. Check The Guide for dates.
They are the Aussie boys done good Stateside. Now, Atlas Genius are honing in on home ahead of their nationwide tour, alongside grabbing the Stereophonics support. Natasha Lee gets the lowdown from vocalist Keith Jeffery on all that came before. requested chart. “I never imagined that Trojans would ever generate that much publicity,” Jeffery says. “There is so much good music out there right now and thanks to online tools, a lot of it is being heard.”
Gossling features on the French album La Minute de Silence out July
WHO: Stereophonics
ALL MAPPED OUT
eith and Michael Jeffery are two brothers from South Australia who did the hard slog – playing covers in dingy pubs and bars while writing and producing their own music, eventually managing to crack the overseas market sans label or manager. The pair built a studio with the little money they had, finally beginning to craft and produce their own songs. In 2011, as Atlas Genius, the lads decided to post one track, Trojans, online. The song became a triple j Unearthed hit before US satellite radio network SiriusXM stumbled across it. Then all hell broke loose.
Well, I have absolutely fallen in love with a Melbourne artist, Ainslie Wills, who has I think my favourite voice of all time. Big call, huh?
VIDEO OF THE WEEK and snare drums. But it’s hard, because you end up becoming so close to the songs that when you finish an album, it’s hard to hear it for what it really is.”
FRANZ FERDINAND RIGHT ACTION
The resulting LP, When It Was Now, is one, big glorious heartbeat that’s been produced so seamlessly by the brothers that it could roll on like one long mixtape. “I think there is some strength in the way we record and produce ourselves,” Jeffery remarks. “I think there’s a purity that comes out of that. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes it can be great to work with other musos and producers, but when your vision doesn’t match someone else’s, then I think there can be politics which can end up diluting your original creative vision.”
Trippy.
WHO: Atlas Genius WHAT: When It Was Now (Warner) WHEN & WHERE: Friday 19 July, The Hi-Fi
For more interviews go to themusic.com.au/interviews • 19
WIN
MUSIC
[FEATURES FEATURES]
EYE OF THE BEHOLDER 2013 has been massive for Sydney sludge metal/hardcore group Lo!, with the release of their second album and a massive European tour already done. Guitarist Carl Whitbread catches up with Lochlan Watt.
t’s been a long road for Lo! – one that began rolling out slowly, hindered by the process of finding that perfect line-up, yet nonetheless inevitably paved by persistence, dedication and a genuine knack for writing some killer heavy tunes. Having dropped their debut Look And Behold in late-2011, the band’s second album Monstrorum Historia was released this April on Pelagic Records, a German-based label run by The Ocean mastermind Robin Staps. Further to that, the four-piece immediately toured across Europe with both The Ocean and Sweden’s Cult Of Luna for a massive run that encompassed 23 shows in 25 days.
I
Eighties pop music icons Pet Shop Boys are showing no signs of slowing down, and are returning to the limelight with their 12th studio album Electric. Already universally acclaimed, with multiple fivestar reviews showered upon the record, the British duo recorded in London, Berlin and Los Angeles, creating a “dance record” that celebrates life in all its euphoric technicolour. Get grooving with a copy of the new CD; we’ve got five to give away. To enter this and check out heaps more giveaways head to the Time Off Facebook page.
Music, even in situations of the greatest horror, should never be painful to the ear but should flatter and charm it, and thereby always remain music.” - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
the shows, and it’d all be full of thirty-five-year-old, angry, tattooed men, but I think now the diversity is a lot different, and the progressiveness of the bands is a lot more accepted by everyone. People seem to be less close-minded these days as well.”
With the album in the can just in time, Lo! headed off to Europe for the tour of a lifetime. In addition to the regular club shows with Cult Of Luna and The Ocean, the band shared festival line-ups across Europe with names like Behemoth and High On Fire.
“I used to play in a band called Omerata, and that sort of finished in mid-2006. After that I actually didn’t really do any musical stuff for a while,” Whitbread reflects. “I didn’t really play my guitar or anything, and just wanted a break from it. I think it was right at the end of 2006 I started writing stuff at home – just really casual – and probably over the next year just fucked around at home, wrote some demos. I wasn’t really so gung-ho about getting another band together straight away, but then after a while I was really liking what was coming out, and I thought it’d be good to try and get some people together who were interested.
Yet the past is in the past, and Monstrorum Historia is where the band is currently at. Influences and comparisons can be seen in their sound from groups such as Coalesce, Mastodon, Old Man Gloom, Cursed, and their aforementioned European tour mates, but on …Historia the band has come more into their own. Also responsible for engineering and mixing the effort, as well as creating its artwork, Whitbread reveals that the bulk of the album was written and recorded within a four-month period, with the band’s looming European tour deadline providing the impetus for a fierce turnaround.
“I think one of the biggest shows we played would have been Romania,” Whitbread remembers. “I think just because they don’t get lots of bands coming through there all the time, the people seem a lot more excited about any sort of show. We played in this venue called The Church, and it looked like a church but it was all made out of metal; they had a crucifix on the wall, and it was really sort of modern and futuristic, and they had all this fetish and dominatrix gear behind perspex windows and stuff. It was really surreal, and looked like it was from the future. The crowd there was probably about 800 strong.”
“I ended up jamming with a few people over the next six months to a year, and some of it didn’t work out too well, and we ended up finally getting the line-up that we have. So then we had to find a singer, and we auditioned a whole bunch of people. After all that sort of messing around, that was probably a good three years or something, but finally we had the solid line-up, all the songs written, so it was a matter of practicing them and recording them and all that. We finally played our first show in 2010 and went from there.”
“We just knew we had to pull our fingers out and get it moving,” he smiles. “We only had maybe one or two songs before that written, which we’d just thrown together, but to be honest we were a bit lazy about writing new stuff straight away. Once we knew that was happening, we put our thinking caps on and started trying to churn out some stuff. It was very stressful. We all have full-time jobs as well, so it was definitely a very hectic period – coming home from work, working on a song, sending it around, getting feedback, all that sort of stuff. I’d write the majority of the stuff at home like I did on the first album, but this time there was a lot more input from everyone. Adrian [Shapiro – bass] wrote a few, Jamie [Smith – vocals] wrote a fair bit.”
Whitbread reveals that the band’s current Australian tour will be their final shows with vocalist Jamie Smith, explaining that “basically he’s decided to leave to pursue study. He’s starting a film music course soon, and that’s pretty much going to take up all his time. I think he wants to focus on that at the moment, and I think the band’s just going to be a bit too distracting for him.”
To reminisce and compare for just a moment, how has acceptance and interest in the darker, more experimental underbelly of the metal/hardcore crossover changed since the Omerata days? “It seems to definitely have grown a fair bit,” Whitbread responds. “I think there’s a lot more appreciation and following for that style of music. The progressive style has gotten more popular over the years. I think the audiences have gotten a lot more diverse. I was pretty much used to growing up and going to hardcore shows, and you’d see bands like Toe To Toe and Mindsnare, where you’d be lucky to see a woman at
MUSIC
THE TIME OFF CREW ARE...
Quite clearly, it’s been the biggest year yet for the group, Whitbread adding that “it’s the biggest year of my whole life since I started playing music”. With the band having begun as a project in late-2006, what took so long for the pendulum swing to reach its current critical mass?
The members of Lo! treat their craft with utmost importance, to the point where drummer Adrian Griffin moving to Hong Kong for work wasn’t even going to stop the wheels from turning. Whitbread explains that “he flew over, and we basically jammed for three or four days straight, got really tight learning all the new songs together, and jumped straight into the studio”, where the whole effort was recorded and mixed in under three weeks.
Rest assured though, it’s not going to slow them down, with plans already underway, and a confirmation of their new vocalist expected in the immediate months. “It’s definitely full steam ahead at the moment. We’re pretty confident that everything will work out with the new vocalist. If for some reason it doesn’t we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. I don’t think it’ll hold us back too much. We definitely plan to write some new stuff and do a new EP towards the end of the year.” WHO: Lo! WHAT: Monstrorum Historia (Pelagic) WHEN & WHERE: Friday 19 July, Crowbar
GET TO RIDIN’ Local death metal crew Headwound The Pony are finishing off their album launch tour with a series of Queensland dates. Vocalist Ewen Macmillan talks to Tom Hersey about tour shenanigans and why he’s already started work on album number two.
LISTENING TO Dear You, Jawbreaker
GOING TO Bernard Fanning, The Tivoli
CHECKING OUT Museum Of Brisbane
WATCHING That Mitchell And Webb Look
READING The Onion
EATING Azabu, Taringa
DRINKING Lefty’s Old Time Music Hall
20 • For more interviews go to themusic.com.au/interviews
eadwound The Pony vocalist Ewen Macmillan has had about a day to get some rest in after the death metal outfit pulled a mammoth 24-hour drive from Adelaide back up to Brisbane. “We had an absolute blast – we played great shows and it was really good to get down south. Prior to the tour, I think the furthest we’d gotten was northern New South Wales so it was great to get down to places like Sydney and Melbourne, and also Canberra and Adelaide.”
H
The band’s maiden east coast run was the longoverdue introduction for the southern states to Merchant Of Misery the band’s auspicious debut album of hack’n’slash gore set to a soundtrack of equally punishing death metal. “People were coming up to us after the shows and saying ‘I’d never heard of you guys before, but I thought you were fantastic’. That was really great to hear, especially in places we’d never been.” With every tour there’s always some hilarious malfeasance or comedy of errors, and with his memories of their run still fresh, Ewen is asked what the trek’s schadenfreude highlight?
“There was a misunderstanding in Sydney,” he smiles. “Our guitarist decided to go for a sleepwalk in the middle of the night, and he ended up outside the hotel’s front door in the rain, in his underwear and a T-shirt. And then he tried to get back into the hotel, but they didn’t think he was staying there, so they kicked him out. And we had to go out and get to him to bring him back to bed.” But that minor incident hasn’t dampened Ewen’s enthusiasm about the tour, with the band relishing the opportunity to get down into the incredibly healthy Sydney and Melbourne metal scenes. “We’ve been around for about three years at this point, and we’d played Queensland so many times that we really wanted to take our music to some other people, and also we released the CD last September. So waiting nine months meant we were all rearing to tour it.” In fact, the band waited so long to tour the record that before they’ve even finished the shows – there are, after all, three upcoming dates in Brisbane and Toowoomba, which Ewen seems stoked for, especially the ‘black mass’ themed show at Snitch – the vocalist is already talking about what’s coming next for the band. There’s
a video clip he hopes to have ready by Halloween, and new material that’s already filtering through the pipeline. “I’ve gotten to the point where I’m already writing the material for the next LP,” he discloses. “I’ve got lyrics written for eleven songs and the guys have come up with a fair few songs. It’s going to be a concept album – by the time I wrote the fourth or fifth song I realised there was this pattern in what I was writing, and I love when bands put out concept records. The next one’s going to be called Exhibitions Of Atrocity and it’s basically going to be about real atrocities that have happened in the past, or atrocities that could happen in the future.” WHO: Headwound The Pony WHAT: Merchant Of Misery (Independent) WHEN & WHERE: Thursday 18 July, Snitch, X&Y Bar; Friday 19, Hotel Norville, Toowoomba; Saturday 20, Studio 454 (all ages)
MUSIC
[FEATURES FEATURES]
LETTIN’ LOOSE With enough swagger to make a stripper blush, Mojo Juju’s amalgam of vintage influences from jazz to blues and beyond packs a powerful punch regardless of one’s musical taste. Tyler McLoughlan catches up with the self-declared nostalgiaphile ahead of her last national tour of the year.
fter five years as founding member, songwriter and vocalist for seven-piece noir punk/garage swing band The Snake Oil Merchants, Melbourne’s Mojo Juju struck out solo with her debut self-titled album last November. She’s been on the road pretty much ever since.
A
MUSIC
“It’s been kinda relentless. We toured this album when it came out, and since then I’ve had a really big year already – it’s been kind of exciting!” Mojo exclaims. “We did a tour with Tony Joe White at the start of the year and he’s a real blues legend. He’s written songs for everyone – Elvis, Tina Turner; everyone’s recorded his songs so it was a real honour to join him. And then we did a show with Kitty, Daisy & Lewis, and then The Reverend Horton Heat who are kind of rockabilly legends,” she gushes, excited to be getting out on her own national headline tour before hitting the European circuit. “These bands are all pretty rock‘n’roll bands,” Mojo continues of the range of high calibre supports she’s played this year. “So you’ll be seeing us relaxing more into our own mode for these shows – they’ll be longer sets because when you’re doing supports you’ve got to smash it out in half an hour; we’ll get to play a lot
more diverse selection of songs from the record which we haven’t done all year. Obviously a huge component of it is rock‘n’roll but I think there’ll be a lot more focus coming back on the storytelling, ‘cause I do like to tell tales, short stories, tall fiction and what not.” With a style that favours zoot suits, fedoras, braces, cravats and tatts, Mojo’s physical presence is a story unto itself. Though she insists the Mojo “character” is more than simply an attempt to create a fictional stage personality. “I don’t know if it’s so much getting in character as it is – you know, you’re onstage and you become this heightened or extended version of yourself,” she muses. “You lose your inhibitions; I feel like I can pretty much confess anything and people are hopefully gonna applaud or if not, at least they probably won’t believe it and I’ll get away with something. I think it’s really important when you’re onstage if you’re a performer to be entertaining, but having said that I don’t know – it’s that happy middle ground where the truth and the fiction kind of blur into one.” Hitting West End’s The Joynt for two nights, Mojo feels a special affinity for the venue that makes an effort to
EATS ON TOUR THELMA PLUM
support interstate acts on their first tentative forays to the sunshine state. “I do sort of feel like every now and then I gotta drop in on The Joynt ‘cause it’s like home,” Mojo smiles. “Jodi [Craig] who’s the publican there, is just one of those people that is just very committed and very loyal to her artists, and the acts that have come through there they really help develop a band in Queensland. It can be hard when you’re coming from the other end of the country to get up to Brisbane and we don’t really know anyone and we don’t know what we’re doin’ but we wanna go and play, and she’s opened her doors to many a troubadour, many a travelling muso… There’s a kind of reckless abandon that is promoted in that venue. It’s like an old juke joint; it gets hot, sweaty, crowded and really loose – just how I like it!”
WHAT IS YOUR STAPLE MEAL WHEN ON TOUR? Pho soup, it’s amazing! Thelma Plum touring nationally. Check The Guide for dates.
WHO: Mojo Juju WHEN & WHERE: Friday 19 & Saturday 20 July, The Joynt
ART STARTER
UNKNOWN CONDUITS
FIVE MINUTES WITH NATHAN SIBTHORPE (SHORT+SWEET FESTIVAL MANAGER)
Melbourne-based pop rockers Built On Secrets are about to hit the road in support of their debut album The Disconnect. Vocalist Luke Steel talks to Lochlan Watt about recording overseas and MacBooks. he album finally got released after what seemed like an eternity of writing, waiting, and then recording, and then waiting again, but yeah life is good,” Steel tells. “We couldn’t be happier that people finally get to hear the accumulation of numerous years of work, effort, sacrifice and everything in-between.”
“T
The band flew over to Atlanta, USA over a year ago to record with producers Zak Odom and Kenneth Mount, a production team renowned for their work with such artists as All Time Low, Mayday Parade and Cartel.
CIRCUS
“Yeah, seemingly so – it’s been really positive,” says Steel regarding whether or not having an LP has made a noticeable difference to how the band’s perceived. “Of course there will always be a few kids who are like ‘The older stuff is better’, but the majority are taking more of an intent interest in the band now that we have a full-length out, as opposed to just an EP. The response has been overwhelmingly positive to be honest. You’re always going to be a little nervous about how things are received, although in saying that we had faith in the material, otherwise we wouldn’t have released it in the first place. We couldn’t be happier with the response.”
For a band that’s loosely rooted within the hardcore scene, Built On Secrets’ sound takes from many other areas for a slick, poppy, and super melodic end result. There’s an essence of grit brought to the table, however, with atmospheric overtones that prevent the band from falling completely into the cheesy, throwaway territory occupied by pop punk’s finest. With the band’s sound introduced to the world on their 2010 debut EP Reflections, what differences define The Disconnect? “We’ve got a bit more structure in our songs,” Steel ponders. “Before we were a little bit unsure on what direction we wanted to take the band. It was a bit more experimental if you will, but we just want to write good songs – that’s what we aim for. We want to write songs that we want to listen to, because ultimately you’re in a band because you want to write the songs, and if you don’t like the songs you’re writing, why would you expect anyone else to? We just went about working on structure, things that we wanted more consistently prevalent in our songs, and it blended into more of an ambient poppy rock approach, but there’s still plenty of elements from our earlier stuff nonetheless. I just think it’s a lot more refined and a lot more mature, if you will.”
On the verge of embarking on a national tour in support of the highly controversial figure that is Jonny Craig, one wonders if the prospect of the tour has raised many eyebrows towards the band? “No, not at all,” Steel smiles. “There’s been a plethora of MacBook jokes already been thrown in the direction of the tour, which I guess can be expected, but he seems like a personality and a half, and I know a few of the guys in my band are big fanboys, so I’m sure they can’t wait to hang out with him. I don’t know the guy, and I can’t judge a book by its cover until I’ve met the person. Who knows, he might be the nicest dude in the world. It’ll be an interesting experience nonetheless I’m sure.” WHO: Built On Secrets WHAT: The Disconnect (Artery Recordings) WHEN & WHERE: Saturday 20 July, Thriller, Coniston Lane; Sunday 21, Studio 454 (all ages)
BIG TOP REVOLUTION
G
“I don’t think I ever had too many set goals in any one direction. As a very young performer, it was really all about wanting to be a professional musician and taking whatever opportunities came my way. Paid work was paid work, y’know?” he says. “I ended up getting the job as a drummer for a dance company. That’s how I ended up getting initiated into the world of touring productions and theatre. “That went well, so they asked me to start writing the music for their show. So, I ended up being their music director. Instead of just playing drums, I was actually involved in the creative process of putting on a show,” he continues. “After I’d done that a few times, I thought I’d give it a crack with my own show – and here we are three shows later. I never really planned it that way. It’s just a case of stepping it up with each project.”
360 Allstars will be hard to top. Peterson’s latest work sees him branching out even further from his previous palette of dance and percussion to tackle circus. Except, he’s tackling it with a bit of a different spin. Instead of a juggler, he’s got a freestyle basketballer. Instead of acrobats, he’s got world-conquering B-boy breakdancing and BMX. Taking in performers from across the globe, it’s, by a considerable margin, Peterson’s biggest project to date. “We wanted to bring in specific art forms,” Peterson says. “We were actually very fortunate to be able to chat to whoever we thought was the best in the world. You know, we’ve got a twotime world champion BMX rider from Hungary, we’ve got two champion breakdancers – one from South Korea, one from New Zealand. We’ve got a world-renowned freestyle basketballer from the states. We’ve got people from everywhere.” It’s a different kind of circus. Still driven by spectacle and virtuosic performance, it recasts traditional circus with modern art forms. As well as breakdance and basketball, Peterson’s roped in looping musical improvisers and will be playing drums in the production. If it sounds familiar, Peterson concedes it bears some
Do you prefer sweet or savoury? Savoury. Probably maybe savoury. But sometimes savoury pretending to be sweet can be pretty great. Like salted caramel, or bacon frosting... What would you do if you weren’t involved with theatre? I’d probably start burning cars or something. I don’t know how I’d cope without the havoc and mayhem… “Reality is for people who can’t handle theatre.” WHAT: Short+Sweet WHEN & WHERE: Monday 29 July to Sunday 4 August, Arts Centre Gold Coast; Sunday 18 to Sunday 25 August, The Loft, Brisbane
360 Allstars sees circus updated and transformed. As their nationwide tour draws to a close, Matt O’Neill speaks to director Gene Peterson about bringing BMX, freestyle basketball and B-boy acrobatics to the circus.
ene Peterson has had an interesting career. An accomplished drummer and percussionist from an early age, Peterson grew up intending to be a professional musician. He even opted for homeschooling over traditional schooling to allow more time for music study as a child. Yet, as his career’s progressed, he’s transitioned from successful drummer to composer to performance-maker to producer.
What’s the best thing about short theatre? Short theatre just makes for a great night out. It’s like a cultural buffet! In a short space of time, you get to visit a lot of different places and taste a wide range of different flavours. As an artist, you can also get away with a lot when it has to happen in ten minutes. Things tend to escalate quickly, and you don’t always have to be responsible for the consequences...
PRESENTS BOY & BEAR resemblance to Brisbane hip hop/acrobat outfit Tom Tom Crew – but protests he’s never actually seen their show. “It’s a really interesting question – because I’m really good friends with [Tom Tom Crew’s] Tom Thum and he was meant to be in this show,” he laughs. “But, when we found out we’d be touring for months on end, he couldn’t sign on. Yeah, it’s weird. I know a lot of the guys in Tom Tom Crew and there’s certainly some cross-over there – but I’ve never seen the show. I’ve always been on tour!”
Saturday 9 November, The Tivoli
WHAT: 360 Allstars WHEN & WHERE: Wednesday 31 July to Saturday 3 August, Judith Wright Centre
For more interviews go to themusic.com.au/interviews • 21
SINGLED OUT SINGLE OF THE WEEK
WITH CHRIS YATES
VIOLENT SOHO In The Aisle I Oh You It’s been a painfully long time waiting for this new Violent Soho shit, and while we still have to sit a couple of months for the new record, at least their first single back is finally here. The problem is, it’s such a blistering fucking corker of a track that now the anticipation for the album has instantly become excruciating! Staying true to the raw yet refined rock’n’roll of their debut, the band has clearly only been heading in the right direction. The unpretentious celebration of the verse is complemented wholeheartedly by a subtle chorus that sneaks its way into your subconscious in between the unequivocal party of the rest of the track. It was always going to be good, but holy shit it’s real good.
1927
The Story Never Ends Alberts This is one of those songs where the title elicits a response, on this occasion it’s; “Well, I wish the fucking story would end” or something similar. There’s two things I always remember people saying about 1927; the first that the singer was discovered on Hey Hey It’s Saturday, the second is that the dude who wrote all the songs also wrote What About Me, voted unanimously by every Australian at a 1989 referendum as “the worst thing that ever happened to the country since invasion”. This is a real lyric from this song: “The warm touch of a woman’s hand, is the dream of every man”. Have these guys ever been to Sydney? There’s men there who don’t dream about women AT ALL.
ALBUM OF THE WEEK
[REVIEWS REVIEWS] a l b u m
KARNIVOOL Asymmetry Cymatic/Sony The Karnivool boys are fond of a lengthy brew in between drinks. It was four years between the Perth quintet’s 2005 debut Themata and 2009’s Sound Awake; now after another four years comes Asymmetry. The more than capable guidance of producer Nick DiDia, and perhaps also the softer-than-soft output from Ian Kenny’s most recent album with Birds Of Tokyo, has seemingly given the ‘Vool that sonically-evident inspiration, and it’s mostly rewarding. What is apparent is a shift in tone and sentiment. Previously that sense of abandonment, in revelling with reckless danger but a subdued optimism, was pervasive. Here, there’s more of an outcry for the hopeless tomorrow. Even lyrics in the somewhat uplifting melodic lines are drear, like the conclusion of We Are: “These words of wisdom/Come with lack of vision”. Along with fellow single The Refusal and a hark back to their atonal EP days, Nachash, these songs contain the band’s old chugging riffs, soaring guitars and anthemic lyrics. Kenny then undergoes quite the evolution, with intimate focus on his vocal in Sky Machine and Float. What remains is that embellished prog approach; some tracks are interlude snippets, others are broken into lengthy movements. Drummer Steve Judd and guitarists Drew Goddard and Mark Hosking are ever reliable for those jolting rhythms and dizzying time changes and, thankfully, they steer the ship. Asymmetry is a slow-burning, raw, complex beast with sparse instrumentation that requires an open mind and repeated listening. ★★★★
Carley Hall
AIRBOURNE
CSS
Roadrunner/Warner
Stop Start/Inertia
With colourful press release tag lines such as “Crank it up, crack a beer and stick some rock‘n’roll in your ear!”, Melbourne-via-Warrnambool hair metal four-piece Airbourne are under no illusions as to what their kind of rock is all about, and neither should their listeners be. This is straight-up ballsy, boozing, womanising pub rock and their third album, Black Dog Barking, delivers these goods and, sadly, that’s about it.
Ditching the dick to move forward as an all-lady fourpiece, Sao Paulo indie disco faves CSS give us Planta, yet another middling release that shows flashes of greatness but doesn’t get over the line. It’s the same story that could be said for each of the group’s previous three albums, where every cracking cut seems to be crossed off by a tune that’s bland and uninspired.
Black Dog Barking
It’s hard not to but it shouldn’t be written off immediately, nor entirely. While their ‘80s rock packaging makes it difficult to buy into any sort of authenticity, there’s recompense in some aspects. It’s unashamed and their passion is real, and so is the way they thrash those instruments about. From the opening “whoa ohs” and building guitar grunt of Ready To Rock there’s really only one path this album can continue down. And that’s fine. At least listening to this kind of shirts-free, white-chested rock through the comfortable safety of speakers shields one from the sweat and spit flying through the air. The riff in Hungry is belting, the Acca Dacca vocal screech in Fire Power will fire things up, and just when you think this formula will just circle around like a bogan in a paddock with a ute, Live It Up brings a fresh burst of vigour with a tantalising shimmering guitar intro – only to revert back to its predecessors’ by-the-book rock structure with blazing guitar solos and unimaginative lyrics. Seriously though, brothers Joel and Ryan O’Keefe, the keystone frontman and drummer respectively, have an audience offering unfaltering support for Airbourne; it’s just a shame that they can’t give them anything new. ★★½
Planta
When the sound moves through the speakers before the breakdown on opener Honey, you can pretty much pre-empt the electro rapture that spews forwards. It’s a ripping start to the record, but soon you’re floating through lines like “Never had a hangover till you” (Hangover) and the momentum is stunted in its tracks. Unhinged bass work bounces against the rasp of brighter-than-life frontwoman Lovefoxxx during Dynamite and somehow the ladies put a Brazilian spin on New York New Wave motive. Then, you’re pushing through the hardened techno clunk of Sweet and you’ve instantly forgotten how much fun you were having not two minutes before. CSS have thrown a glut of ideas into Planta, but it simply doesn’t work as a cohesive body of songs, the constant rising and falling of the music leaving you feeling underwhelmed far too often. The 11-track LP kicks a little at the end. The quartet get it right on Teenage Tiger: the growls, the stuttering drums, the washy chimes – awesome. And Faith In Love is a stark closer that goes against everything before it to somehow work. But Frankie Goes To North Hollywood makes the journey to this gold as tedious as ever, which, by this stage, you pretty much expect. ★★★
Benny Doyle
Carley Hall
VAMPIRE WEEKEND Diane Young Remote Control Have you ever seen that thing Devo did for Disney where they got a bunch of children to sing all their songs and called it Devo 2.0 and it became a hilarious comment on subverting the mainstream and shit? They had to change some lyrics but that only made it even better. I’ve always thought Vampire Weekend were like a kids version of a grown-ups band could never quite put my finger on who. If you know the correct answer, please forward it to me here at the Time Off office and the best response gets a copy of Vampire Weekend’s Diane Young as a prize. Second prize is two copies.
ROB ZOMBIE
We’re An American Band Universal One of the interesting conundrums of modern life is that the more the popularity of zombies increases in mainstream culture, the less people care about the music of Rob Zombie. Weird huh, someone write a thesis about it or something, the world needs more academic discussion about fucking rock music. This is a cover of the Grand Funk Railroad song famous for being pretty easy on Garage Band. It sounds exactly the same except with more distortion on the guitars and way worse singing.
ALISON WONDERLAND Get Ready (Feat Fishing) EMI Celebrity DJ Alison Wonderland gets out from behind the decks (as they say) with her first track in the producer’s chair (as they also say). Wisely, she has employed the brilliant electronic Sydney group Fishing to help her out and even though it’s hard to see where one artist finishes and the other starts, Fishing’s influence is thorough with tongue in cheek rapping and the whole thing taking on the feeling of a really big trappy hip hop club track.
22 • For more reviews go to themusic.com.au/reviews
DAVID BRIDIE
RUN THE JEWELS
MGM
Fool’s Gold
Not much can be said about David Bridie in his guise as a solo artist – nor in his life as a producer, screenwriter, Melanesia music specialist, seven-time ARIA winner or founding member of Not Drowning, Waving and My Friend The Chocolate Cake – that hasn’t already been said. His name is synonymous with quality and integrity in his approach to both music and social issues; it’s been said that Bridie is the songwriter we need to articulate the Australia we all live in. Indeed.
Run The Jewels is the new project from ex-Company Flow producer/rapper extraordinaire El-P and rapper Killer Mike, the men responsible for highly lauded 2012 albums Cancer For Cure and R.A.P Music respectively. Anyone who caught them at Laneway Festival knows how these boys do – razor-sharp rhymes, innate scintillating production and some of the darkest and funniest shit this side of Kanye’s wet dreams.
Wake
Since the ‘80s Bridie has had a special ability to intertwine social commentary with everyday introspection in a uniquely coherent manner, and his fourth solo record Wake continues this songwriting triumph in the streets, relationships and policy debates of Adelaide and Afghanistan, and many places in between. Atop the stern piano and affecting strings of Treason he sings of border protection with a deep vocal befitting The National’s Matt Berninger: “The brave ones fled on a pea-green boat/Set fire to them, ignore them – see if they’ll float”. Flatlands is a reflection on travel discoveries, nailing the slightly sad nostalgia that made his 2003 single Hotel Radio such a standout moment with the stamp of melody that only belongs to pianists. A similar treatment is given to single The Shortest Day Of The Year, highlighting Bridie’s knack for layering instrumental mood behind poignant lyricism, though opener Dr Seuss Is Painting In The Sky couldn’t be more different, capturing childlike wonder with a playfully warped soundscape punctuated by a languid beat.
Run The Jewels
Guest spots by Big Boi and Prince Paul as his Handsome Boy Modelling School alter-ego Chest Rockwell are largely superfluous and in Paul’s case slightly irritating – this is El and Mike’s show and they’re in blistering form. DDFH seethes with sludgy synth dirges that lead into Mike’s refrain of “Do dope fuck hope” after tales of police brutality and a surveillance-obsessed city gone mad. Super Mario bonus sounds litter 36 Chain, while No Come Down has to be the best song ever written about a lapdance on mushrooms, “psilocybin, got me slidin’”, a masterful track that contains funk guitar flourishes along with a beat-drop accompanied by Mike’s mantra “And I won’t come down…”. It all ends up with immaculately-titled closer A Christmas Fucking Miracle, starting off like Lauryn Hill’s Doo Wop (That Thing) before 808’ing DJ Shadow-style into a sonic stew of spacey guitar solos and choirs amongst the boasting verses.
SHELLIE MORRIS & THE BORROLOOLA SONGWOMEN
Ngambala Wiji Li-Wunungu: The Song Peoples Sessions ABC Music/Universal Speaking with The Guardian earlier this week, Shellie Morris said, “I believe language preservation is a really important issue… I see how using language in song creation and music results in pride and continuation of culture.” With this new record, Morris is taking a proactive stance in ensuring a couple of traditional indigenous languages are not forgotten and, in doing so, that they sound as good as they possibly can. The first disc looks to bring the Yanuwa and Gudanji languages into a contemporary musical setting and, while this scribe is unable to speak on the significance of the language being used here from a traditional standpoint, the results are stunning on surface level. The ambient pads and strings provide a beautiful bed for both Morris’ incredible voice and the spirited vocal of the traditional songwomen, and the arrangements sit with the vocal brilliantly.
Wake is a beautiful record made striking with Bridie’s ability to direct a journey from the everyday humdrum to the very core of humanity.
This is thrilling stuff, as good as anything the genre has thrown up this year; two men at the height of their games taking full advantage of their collaborative power. It’s also available as a free download just to top it off, complete with herb grinder merch from the website if that’s what you’re into.
Disc two takes things to their base level; unaccompanied traditional song narratives from the Yanyuwa, Marra and Gudanji people, each serving its own purpose. Most who hear this will find the songs unfamiliar, but the accompanying booklet gives great insight into why these songs hold such importance, while also giving insight into each singer and their relationship with the songs they’re singing. This is an incredibly important release and highly recommended for anyone with an interest in ensuring the traditional languages and songs of the traditional owners of our land aren’t forgotten.
★★★★
★★★★
★★★★
Tyler McLoughlan
Ed Matthews
Dan Condon
a l b u m [REVIEWS REVIEWS]
MORE ONLINE... THEMUSIC.COM.AU
THE LOVE JUNKIES
TUSK TUSK
MGM
Illegitimate Children
Emerging straight-up rock outfits are hard to come by in this country, in a captivating capacity at least. Well now you can chalk one up for Western Australia’s The Love Junkies, who come to us firing on all cylinders on this, their debut album. With influences clearly shouted from the rooftops, the power-trio somehow manage to remain quite sincere in all methods of their delivery and with a lethal weapon in frontman and founder Mitch McDonald. This is a band that would’ve flourished in 1991, with a genuine darkness below the guitar-fuzz and a polite nod to grunge. In 2013, you can hear the channelling of generations of Aussie rockers while still pulling from the ever-relevant impact of grunge.
Tusk Tusk is the project of Melbourne-based musician and producer Dominic Fagan. Recorded in makeshift studios and bedrooms around the country, Ease Up A Little is an idiosyncratic debut.
Maybelene
They are utterly flawless in their light and shade and what they possess here on these 11 tracks is nothing short of astonishing. Heads Down immediately builds the tension to breaking point with a furious percussion intro and spooky McDonald falsetto (“Heads down and the lights are low...”) before tearing into the rest of the song. Oxymoron is their Song 2, beginning with a casual guitar strum and a stoned vocal, before diving into a fuzzed-out chorus with blatantly simple lyrics, while the subsequent Broken Strings and Baby Come Home rumble amongst the best. Hurt You is their slow jam, dropping effortlessly into a vocally sweet, instrumentally rich track that shows they can swoon as hard they rock.
Ease Up A Little
Drawing similarities to Devendra Banhart and early Architecture In Helsinki, the album is a collage of ideas that collectively shape an identity. There’s an honesty to the record, with some moments of painful selfdeprecation. The lyrics walk a fine line between direct, naïve and undeveloped. This is shown clearly on Out Of Tune & Out Of Time: “Oh dear it’s painfully clear/ Despite the walls closing near/It’s all in one ear/And out through the rear”. There are wonderful moments of melody and interesting phrases, but they’re repeated instead of developed. This becomes wearing on a few tracks, especially She Hold and Chance Of A Lifetime. As actual songs, many seem unfinished, but this is offset by the production and arrangements that are inventive, at times experimental and always in motion.
The Love Junkies could be the country’s best kept secret. All it’s going to take is that one radio tune to truly boost the band to the pedestal the extraordinary Maybelene should be putting them on. Fuck yes!
Intro is one of the most focused moments here, leading into the complete song of Crazy Little Birthmarks. Here the songwriting is cleaner and sure of itself, the most conventional song, but still with a sharp edge. There are fascinating tensions between the earnest delivery and the self-deprecating humour; and the layers of intricate production that still result in a loose and scrambling sound. Existing in an indie DIY context, it’s clear that Fagan enjoys exploring sonic ideas and narrative in unusual ways. Ease Up A Little is an endearing and intimate work for those who like their art a little wonky.
★★★★
★★★
Ben Preece
Amorina Fitzgerald-Hood
BAREFOOT DIVAS: WALK A MILE IN MY SHOES STORIES AND SONGS OF SURVIVAL FROM ABORIGINAL, MAORI AND PAPUA NEW GUINEAN SISTAS.
BRISBANE POWERHOUSE FRI 26 & SAT 27 JULY 7:30PM BOOK NOW 07 3358 8600
VARIOUS
Mick Thomas Presents Vandemonian Lags
MONSTER TRUCK
Popboomerang
Dine Alone
As part of last month’s Dark Mofo festival in Tasmania, legendary songwriter Mick Thomas assembled a cast of great Aussie talent to perform a series of songs about that southern state’s fascinating convict heritage. This two-disc soundtrack documents the project; some are dark, some are inherently humorous, but they’re all distinctly Australian and never less than fascinating.
“Monster Truck is an unapologetic powerhouse of the old school and Furiosity is an unapologetic powerhouse of an album that will remind you how fun music can be when a band worries less about being important and more about the rock.” Pete Laurie
The first disc opens with Glenn Richards offering the poignant The Vandemonian Lag, before Dobe Newton (backed by Thomas’ much-missed Weddings Parties Anything) throws in The Pongo and The Spazzys lift things up a notch with the rocking Sex Hospital. Darren Hanlon and Shelley Short offer the beautiful The Wildest Dreams Of Samuel, before British folkie Rory McLeod (again with WPA) serves the jaunty A Long Long Way, and the Weds themselves throw in their first new song in years, the typically strong Two Grandfathers. Disc two opens with The Aerial Maps’ Adam Gibson giving his expressive spoken-word vibe to Can You See Across The Sea, Van Walker proffers the stark, piano-driven Anne Meyers, and Phil ‘Swill’ Odgers gives the strong The Godforsaken Voyage. Brisbane’s Ben Salter makes the moving For The Life Of Him – one of Thomas’ best songs in years – his own, as does Tim Rogers with the ominous Ikey Mo, before Thomas returns the favour by recording a great rendition of Salter’s It’s Dogherty.
bounty
Furiosity
IAMAMIWHOAMI To Whom It May Concern/[PIAS] “This is fascinating and deep experimental electronica that never loses sight of its danceable pop goals.” Andrew McDonald
VÅR
No One Dances Quite Like My Brothers Sacred Bones/Inertia “The album is not without its earnest charm, but its scattered approach is frustratingly inconsistent. For every moment of mad excellence there is another of childish experimentation for the sake of it.” Andrew McDonald
A stylistically diverse collection tied together by the twin threads of strong songwriting and our fascinating colonial heritage. Excellent. ★★★★
Tom Hickey
FEATURING
MERENIA / WHIRIMAKO BLACK / EMMA DONOVAN / URSULA YOVICH / MAISEY RIKA / NGAIIRE
VICKI GORDON CO-DIRECTOR AND PRODUCER ALANA VALENTINE WRITER AND CO-DIRECTOR ADAM VENTOURA MUSIC DIRECTOR
Barefoot Divas: Walk a Mile in My Shoes is part of Esperanto, 26- 28 July at Brisbane Powerhouse. Visit qmf.org.au for more information on Esperanto. Originally co-commissioned and produced by Sydney Festival and New Zealand International Arts Festival in association with Vicki Gordon Music Productions 2012. Presented by Queensland Music Festival, Brisbane City Council, Brisbane Powerhouse and 612 ABC Brisbane.
For more reviews go to themusic.com.au/reviews • 23
[REVIEWS REVIEWS] l i v e thrash into furniture and it is a true testament to The Loft’s reputation as one of the great music venues for letting the scene play out to completion. The band power through single Helluva Time like it’s just another day in the office. With the sound of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and the spunk of Black Lips, these guys might just be Australia’s next big export. As the night comes to a close, those present have a strong sense that they’ve just experienced rock’n’roll in its purest form. A sea of beaming heads spill out into the night, riding the high through ‘til Monday. Samantha Armatys
WHITLEY, APOLLO, SEAGULL BLACK BEAR LODGE: 12/07/13
BLISS N ESO, YELAWOLF, PEZ EATONS HILL HOTEL: 12/07/13 The venue is packed to the brim for tonight’s sold-out party. Pez comes out to all hands raised, rocking the mic for a feelgood start to the show. He asks, “Who here has the Circus In The Sky album?” and the roar overpowers his voice. As his DJ plays Arrested Development’s Everyday People, everyone starts moving along and echoing back, going crazy with cheers as Pez drops his freestyle. He then has everyone jamming word for word for The Festival Song after which he gives big ups to “Hails” (Hailey Cramer) for “killing it!”, before they end the strong set with The Game. Right on cue, DJ Artime starts with some blues. True to form, international support act Yelawolf steps out in his new beard, cigarette in mouth and beer in hand. He jumps around as he entertains with his killer speedy flow, which tonight’s sound doesn’t really do justice to, especially with the younger crowd who are obviously unfamiliar with his work. He briefly climbs up on the main speakers for Trunk Music, then finally gets the party started as everyone jumps around to the fast beat of Push It. He stops for some hometown pride throwing out an Alabama cap, then takes his Famous Stars and Straps shirt off to show off his tattoos and to pump everyone up with Sweet Home Alabama. Another familiar sample of Smells Like Teen Spirit plays as he screams out “Marijuana!” All the humorous aggression (he even gets everyone to scream “Fuck You Yelawolf!”) is a bit of a contrast for tonight’s friendly party, but he continues to keep the vibe up as he raps through a Beastie Boys, Eminem and AC/DC medley. Finally, with a “Brisbane we’re back!”, MC Bliss, MC Eso and DJ Izm take the stage as the venue erupts. Bliss N Eso continuously run across the entire stage, booming out their hard and long verses, introducing each track and its message between taking sips from their Coronas. And the kids are loving it with every hand raised and every word shouted back. Although their performance is clearly now at that ARIA-winning, highly-produced level, their tracks still maintain their original elements, beat filled with long verses and ending with lengthy DJ jams (often misunderstood by many just keen to hear their next fave track). After their Circus In The Sky showcase, MC Bliss and DJ Izm have a beat box scratch-out jam, then they go old-school with Party At My Place and Sea Is Rising. They return swiftly for an expected encore and continue their relatable positivity with an all acoustic singalong to Down This Road and Addicted, leaving each fan truly satisfied. Jann Angara
BLANK REALM, DAYLIGHT ROBBERY, YOGHURT BLOOD, STRYCHNINE CROWBAR: 14/07/13 Three-piece Strychnine commence proceedings tonight underneath the Brunswick St strip club strip, delivering some speedy thrash punk with feeling to the small early evening Crowbar crowd. It’s a tight abrasive set, the lead singer channelling serious disconnect as he loiters around the stage’s right side, ably backed up by his tight bassless rhythm section. Brissy five-piece Yoghurt Blood soon take up the reins and inject an anarchic vibe with their unique brand of Fall-esque dirges. Their layered sound builds a solid foundation throughout as the eccentricities take hold, and the fact they all seem to be having a helluva loose time onstage grows infectiously throughout the slightly larger crowd. A slacker cover of Great Southern Land is received well before the band leaves the stage midway through what turns out to be their final track on the insistence of Seany the lead singer. The reason why is never quite determined but the abrupt end to their largely enjoyable set makes for good theatre nonetheless.
24 • For more reviews go to themusic.com.au/reviews
Bliss N Eso @ Eatons Hill Hotel Pics by Jann Angara Three-piece Daylight Robbery are touring Australia for the first time since their emergence from the mid-noughties DIY Chicago scene and from the get-go their razor-sharp chops are evident for all to see. Bassist Christine Wolf’s Carrie Brownsteinesque wail interweaves tightly with David Wolf’s pulsing guitar lines that push the gig along at a frenetic yet melodious pace. It’s all enough to get the burgeoning Crowbar crowd a little hot and sweaty and even hot-doggy thanks to the meaty waft from the Hellhound Hotdogs stand over near the bar. Drummer Jeff Rice is bang on throughout as they deliver a kinetic set of proper garage punk, joined at one stage by two back-up singers plucked from the nearby crowd who bring healthy lashings of joie de vivre to the small ground-level stage. Blank Realm are fast capturing plaudits overseas with recent album Go Easy and their status as one of Brisbane’s best kept secrets has to be in danger of evaporating soon. Their beguiling mix of psych rock laced with twisted pop sensibilities is as transfixing as ever, covering terrain from super-charged garage assault to ‘80s Petty-esque anthems all in their joyful stride. Keyboardist/drummer/vocalist Sarah Spencer’s constant headbanging adds to the ecstatic vibe throughout their set as the band loosen up and channel their freewheeling jam band past. A busted synth causes a bit of confusion and a slightly underwhelming conclusion to the night as music brimming with this much invention demands more onstage time, but minor quibbles aside, this has been a super-impressive short set from a band that are fast becoming local legends and deservedly so. Ed Matthews
THE KITE STRING TANGLE, RAT & CO, TINCTURE ALHAMBRA LOUNGE: 11/07/13 Local talent and one-man electro outfit Tincture (aka Luke Dalton) takes the stage at Alhambra Lounge tonight, and considering he’s greeted by a sparse crowd, the tone of his set in the opening phases is still top-notch. Despite the less than impressive turn out, Dalton manages to warm the room with his dreamy beats and vocals, debuting tracks from his forthcoming EP such as Heavy Water along the way. By the end of his tantalisingly short performance, it’s evident Tincture has turned the heads of those in attendance, while creating an eager anticipation for the release of his EP. Next to greet this by now slightly-improved audience is Melbourne-based quartet Rat & Co, who do so in a completely modest and unassuming manner. Right from the outset there’s sonic experimentation coming from every angle on stage – even the drums take on an intriguing characteristic at some points, sounding more like a distant industrial crash than the sharp, familiar beats we’ve come to expect a drum kit to exude. Lyrical content finds itself redundant in Rat & Co’s set, presumably because the angelic wails of Joshua Delaney are so completely mesmerising that it’s impossible for the human brain to decipher the meaning of words on top of them – the sounds are the stories. Vision acts as a spellbinding highlight, where special mention must be given to the contributions of John Wallar’s guitar – while the vocals, beats and samples drift off to an ethereal plane, his repetitive and enchanting guitar riffs reminds us we are still on solid ground: it’s a truly beautiful thing to bear
witness to. Not even the slight technical malfunction of a broken guitar string could dampen this set. Brisbane’s Danny Harley now takes the stage as part of his first headlining tour under the moniker The Kite String Tangle. Those familiar with Harley from his endeavours with the band Pigeon will know this new project marks a distinct change in direction for the musician, and it’s a change that seems to fit him like a glove as he charms this audience seamlessly with his downtempo electronica. The single he’s here to launch, Given The Chance, electrifies the room with its moody swag, which builds up into a lush wall of sound by the time it comes to a close. The influence of Active Child seems to be amplified in this setting – Harley’s vocals are smooth, delicate and serene, paired brilliantly with the almost oriental sounds of synthesiser. Tonight’s performances have provided an engaging tribute to sound experimentation, with each performer bringing a unique style to the proceedings. To everyone who didn’t make it out tonight, you really missed out. Jazmine O’Sullivan
APES, VON VILLIANS, MIDNIGHT ANTICS THE LOFT: 13/07/13 A smattering of eager punters mill around The Loft’s interior, almost like friends settling into a living room for an intimate gathering. The décor, reminiscent of a French chalet, provides a contrasting backdrop for tonight’s bill of youthful rock. Instruments are stacked at the front of the room with no stage in sight, exemplifying the casual atmosphere. The Midnight Antics take advantage of this and launch into a set bordering on an impromptu jam session. The Voice contestant Chris Sheehy is called in as a last-minute replacement for frontman Jarryd O’Brien. Sheehy shares one of his own tracks with lyrics about smoking bongs and eating pies. It’s a little bit brash but softened by some quality guitar playing and catchy hooks. A reggae rap version of original, Penny Lane – not to be confused with The Beatles’ track of the same name – teeters on musical comedy, but the crowd seems appropriately amused. Albeit messy, it’s a fun start to the night.
Tonight marks Whitley’s first show in Brisbane in more than two years, with a new record and a stripped-back two-man band to bring it to life. First up, filling in for an absent Esther Holt, is Seagull (also known as Chris Bolton, the other half of the Whitley band). This is a rare treat; Bolton rarely plays live, and his 2010 record Council Tree is a beautiful but criminally under-exposed album. He draws mostly from this record; subtle wisps of songs that are riddled with mundane heartbreak, supported by coldly delicate guitar. It’s a captivating set. Or, it is if you’re standing no more than two metres from the stage – any further back and you can hear the rest of the crowd chatting loudly and without pause. But Bolton doesn’t seem to let it bother him, and it’s the crowd’s loss more than anything. It’s Apollo’s last show ever, and this may account for the intense, downbeat mood that they project throughout most of the set. It’s pleasant but unremarkable soulful indie rock, and the boys can’t seem to decide whether they want to croon ballads or rock out, and this creates a confused and unsettled style. Mostly though, the problem is that they don’t seem to be having much fun, which makes it hard for anyone else to. Lawrence Greenwood, the singer and main songwriter behind Whitley, addresses the crowd’s talking problem early in the set by subtly suggesting that everyone shut the fuck up (and then less subtly throughout the night, as the more liquored up patrons can’t seem to grasp the concept). Mostly though, the crowd is rapt and attentive for this intimate performance; gone is the full band that brought the huge sounding Go Forth Find Mammoth to our stages in 2010, leaving just Greenwood and Bolton to recreate this year’s darkly lovely Even The Stars Are A Mess. Greenwood’s beautifully clear and emotive vocals and lyrics have always been at the forefront of Whitley’s sound, and the sparseness of the arrangements here highlight this perfectly. Bolton and Greenwood are both excellent guitarists who weave delicate fingerpicking and clever melodies with a feather light touch. The Ballad Of Terrence McKenna and Roadside are early highlights, both showcasing the hesitant optimism that was ever present on Even The Stars… and wistful versions of I Want This More Than Life and the romantic I Remember from the band’s debut record delight the crowd later on. Far too quickly, it’s time for the last song, the powerful All Is Whole, which hits you right inside your chest and forces your heart into your throat. Let’s not leave it so long between drinks next time please Lawrence. Madeleine Laing
By the time Byron Bay’s Von Villains open, the room is packed with good spirited and inebriated onlookers. With a sound reminiscent of early Kings Of Leon or The Strokes, the crowd eagerly shows their appreciation with all four limbs. Mounds of bodies flail dangerously like palms in a hurricane. Tracks Whisper and Dead Of Night encapsulate the four-piece’s melodic rock vigour and vocalist Jack Field is a standout with his hoarse coo. Rocketing through their Helluva EP tour, Apes promise an ear-splitting, in-your-face performance. Right from the opening chords of Napalm it’s clear these guys are not just another twenty-something rock revival outfit. Tracks Murder, Seven and Cheatin’ are loud, fast and exuberant. When lead singer/guitarist Benjamin Dowd shouts, “Let’s get naked” down the mic, he can’t anticipate the results. A bearded wideeyed hipster saunters between the guitarists and is completely nude before the second verse starts. The guileless stranger salvages some dignity by tucking his package tightly between his legs like a shaggy Ken doll and writhes in time to the music. Bodies
Whitley @ Black Bear Lodge Pic by rcstills
live A DAY TO REMEMBER, THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, DREAM ON DREAMER
ARE YOU LOCAL?
BRISBANE RIVERSTAGE: 12/07/13 With the standard 10pm sound restrictions in place, Melbourne’s Dream On Dreamer appear not long after 6pm and make the most of their shotgun slot, pumping up a solid early pit with an intense set of heart starters. Operating as a five-piece now with former keys player Daniel Jungwirth moving onto bass, the band are clinical in their delivery – former textural frills unneeded – and the introduction of guitarist/clean vocalist Zach Britt injects new tracks like Loveless and The World In Front Of Me with an improved sense of emotion and clarity. Frontman Marcel Gadacz is ever gracious with his appreciation for those who came to rage early, but as it stands, we should be the one’s thanking Dream On Dreamer, the locals showing they can more than mix it with the big boys. Although they have one of the shittiest band names in heavy music, The Devil Wears Prada know how to get it done when they unload in a live setting. Another group that has shed keys and synths for a more streamlined and muscular approach, they blast through their 45-minute set while running relentlessly across the Riverstage, presenting select new songs such as Gloom as well as a best of selection from their most recent fare, with highlights including Mammoth and Assistant To The Regional Manager. The drumming of Daniel Williams is relentless and hits you right in the middle of the chest, while wild vocalist Mike Hranica gives just enough space for the melody in between his howls and roars so that nothing winds up sounding monotonous. The rain has held off, everyone is in high spirits – it’s time for the headliners. And when you sign up for a performance from A Day To Remember, you know you’re going to get some fun. The Florida five-piece have long stood against the metalcore status quo, whether it’s with their unashamed pop punk stretches in song or their colourful stage shows, and we cop both those sides tonight in amongst the obligatory breakdowns and fist-pumping shout-alongs. The quintet don’t hold back, offering up a big list of fan favourites as well as energy levels that stay on the red line for their whole set. Almost half of the 20 songs are pulled from 2009’s Homesick record, with the whole thing basically a big fucking party, with plenty of pitting and crowd surfing taking place. A four-song encore led by an acoustic It’s Complicated and concluding with The Downfall Of Us All caps it all off, the masses sweaty, the faces smiling, confetti cannons showering us with ribbon rainbows.
[REVIEWS REVIEWS]
BRISBANE SINGLES AND EPS BY CHRIS YATES CHRIS@TIMEOFF.COM.AU
THE BLACKWATER FEVER Won’t Cry Over You Independent Footstomping mainstays of the Brisbane garage rock scene The Blackwater Fever have been refining this shit for years now, and their experience informs Won’t Cry Over You more than anything they have done before. Keeping the song simple is the key – the breakdown in the middle where you think it is going to stop early is a total tease, but even then when it kicks back in you’re still left wanting more after the last chorus. The production is superb and authentic, the performance is tight and the sound is world class.
PIGEON
Curtain Call Independent Not much time has passed since Pigeon started playing local shows to friendly crowds to becoming an international group with a massive amount of attention for all the right reasons. Their hybrid take on danceable rock music and proper electronic sounds is nothing new, but they hit the balance better than so many others who try and marry these once vastly separate worlds. Add to the mix the fact that they know how to write a catchy chorus and there’s not gonna be much left to stop them taking on even more of the world and winning.
AMY SHARK
Weight Of The World
and response between the male/female vocals which brings to mind The Moldy Peaches, which is also helped by the jokey nature of the lyrics. The band sounds like it probably has its roots in um, roots music, but the instrumentational flourishes with trumpets and other stuff on the verses works really well and stops them sounding directly derivative of anything in particular. Positively delightful really.
ESSENTIAL TOUR ITEM TOM SPENDER FROM SPENDER
THE REVERSALS Michelle Independent There’s so many songs named after girls, Michelle in particular gets a particularly good run. The Reversals five-piece acoustic folk is reminiscent of much of the great music from the sadly defunct Candle Records roster, a trend that is becoming more and more prominent and one that would be excellent to see continuing. Brisbane heroes The Gin Club have probably had more than a small part in influencing these guys as well, it really meets somewhere in the middle of those two nice goal posts.
WHAT ITEM MUST TRAVEL WITH YOU ON TOUR?
RELEASE THE HOUNDS
Carrots and hummus. Everyone always bitches about eating on tour. Carrots can live in a hire car for up to three weeks without refrigeration (don’t attempt this with hummus).
Independent
Spender touring from August. Check The Guide for dates.
This Town
With much swearing, Release The Hounds make a style of pub-punk that will probably be the last genre of music left on earth after the holocaust so the cockroaches will have something to listen to. There’s a moment on this EP in between the songs where someone sings the chorus of a particularly awesome Meatloaf track which I feel bad for singling out, but it’s so ridiculously good that it can’t be ignored.
Independent
HIGH ROTATION
Amy Billings from the Gold Coast calls her band Amy Shark, which is tough. There’s a great call
TIM ADDERLEY FROM SLEEPMAKESWAVES
Benny Doyle
ARTS imagination. Director James Wan instinctively knows the atoms of what makes a terrifying image; he knows that in the shadows, in what we can’t see lies the fiercest and deafeningly silent of terrors. But he knows also that in objects; in items from the greater pantheon of horror films good and bad – creepy dolls, chairs, relics – there lies still plenty of horror to be mined, if done right. These touchstones and go-to’s for the broader audiences pepper the film, but never in a way that feels hack-y to the seasoned viewer. More than anything else, The Conjuring sticks the landing where Wan’s last film Insidious didn’t. The latter went all limbo, and camp and ineffective, whereas this film stays within its lore and boundaries, delivering upon its long-con layup terrifically. Sam Hobson In cinemas Thursday 18 July
Show Me Yours, I’ll Show You Mine
SHOW ME YOURS, I’LL SHOW YOU MINE THEATRE Show Me Yours, I’ll Show You Mine is a very wellcrafted piece of work. A two-and-a-half-hander, it consists of edited conversations between writer Tim Spencer and male sex worker NotNick, performed by Spencer and actor Charles Purcell. It’s ostensibly a verbatim theatre work – a production wherein content and purpose are largely linked to exposing the unfiltered words and beliefs of a real person, peoples or industry. Show Me Yours, I’ll Show You Mine obviously began in that mould with the hopes of interrogating attitudes towards sex workers in Australia. Fortunately, Spencer, Not-Nick, Purcell and director Scarlet McGlynn stumbled on something far more rewarding. As the interviews and work progress, Not-Nick begins to question the potentially exploitative ethics of the process into which he’s been drafted. Bravely, Spencer and collaborators not only tackle these issues head on but fully (and humbly) own their well-intentioned mistakes.
As a result, Show Me Yours..., while successfully challenging assumptions about sex work, also confronts attitudes about art, sensitivity and social justice – and boasts a satisfying dramatic thrust uncommon among verbatim theatre works. Brilliant work. Matt O’Neill La Boite, Roundhouse Theatre to Saturday 27 July
THE CONJURING FILM The Conjuring is a horror film that takes time to grow and familiarise you with its characters. Not exceptionally, mind you; it’s still a slick, effectively paced tension-piece designed for one very specific purpose – but it’s filled with enough development to convince you to care for the people involved in its happenings, and enough to make you understand how their dynamics work to manufacture situations that you genuinely want to see play out. The scares in The Conjuring are long, and terribly smart; filled with all the worst things you could imagine principally because they’re left almost entirely to your
WHAT ALBUM IS ON HIGH ROTATION WHEN YOU ARE ON TOUR? Usually a mix of whatever is around or a good radio station. Being stuck in a car for eight hours is a good chance to check out what the other guys are digging that I’ve missed. sleepmakeswaves touring nationally. Check The Guide for dates.
JOY FEAR & POETRY THEATRE Natasha Budd’s Joy Fear & Poetry is still a developmental work. A collection of ideas, experiences and stories gathered from over 100 children and presented by a cast of almost exclusively seven to 12-year-olds, it’s a well-curated compilation of concepts rather than a fully-crafted performance work. However, such is the strength of Budd and collaborators’ ideas, it’s actually more enjoyable than most fully-fledged productions. Budd takes the fantastical and distorted worlds of children and places them within the clinical, technology-laden environs of contemporary performance. Through the collision, audiences get a refreshed insight into what it is to be a child. Not in a romantic sense, either. Joy Fear & Poetry isn’t a work for children or a work about childhood. It’s a work by children. It’s reflective of their hopes, terrors and genius as individuals. The experience of the work is varied. At times, it’s silly and loving, at others, genuinely harrowing. There’s a perpetual sense of curiosity and discovery. It shows you a world and a people you had probably dismissed (even if only inadvertently). Mostly, it’s honest, entertaining and vital. Highly recommended.
APP IT UP ABC RADIO Size: 10.6 MB What it does: Aunty has gone all out with this one, giving us access to more than 19 radio stations across the country, including: triple j, ABC News Radio and ABC Grandstand Spot. Why it’s essential: It lets you keep up to date with the uber important stuff, you know, like The Ashes, while you’re out and about. Platform: iOS 4.3, Android
Matt O’Neill La Boite, The Loft, runs to Saturday 20 July
For more reviews go to themusic.com.au/reviews • 25
[COLUMNS COLUMNS] a r t s THE LOOKING GLASS
CULTURAL CRINGE
A JOURNEY THROUGH ARTS WITH HELEN STRINGER
ARTS NEWS WITH MANDY MCALISTER
Jay Z Apparently James Franco can add another hyphen to his grammatically excessive resume: trend setter. Since around the time he had what many suspect was his first episode of true mania, Franco has been eagerly shoving his fingers into every arts-related pie available, copping no end of shit along the way. All that up-skilling may have got him seven undergraduate degrees, two books, an invisible museum and a couple of truly awful art exhibitions (two words: penis nose), but it has also led many a commentator to conclude that he is pulling a Joaquin Phoenix and is thus teetering on the verge of career-ending, faux-documentary-induced oblivion. But Franco has been vindicated. He is no longer languishing in poly-hyphen isolation; diversifying one’s skillset has become more popular than Botox and kale. The most recent art-to-art cross pollination occurred last week when Mr Beyoncé aka Jay Z aka H-tothe-Izzo took over a New York gallery to promote his album, performance art style. Mr Z spent six hours rapping Picasso Baby whilst onlookers were given the unique opportunity to interact with a gazillionaire, provided they complied with the stripper rule of audience participation: look, don’t touch. Some might be thinking that Hova rapping nonstop for six hours inarguably constitutes ‘art’ because he is, I’m assured, the absolute shit. But there are others who are less convinced. Partly this is because – move over Damien Hirst – this fine art dalliance was an exercise in shameless self-promotion. But this scepticism also
26 • For more opinion go to themusic.com.au/blog
derives from contextual confusion over whether the lyrical content of Jay Z’s particular brand of hip hop is a true representation of the artist’s view of himself, whether it’s an attempt at irony or whether it’s representative of some neurotic insecurity. Does Jay Z feel an irrepressible need to repeatedly remind me how inconceivably rich he is simply because it’s true or because he’s terrified that without cash he’d have no friends? I don’t know, and lyrics like “I wanna Rothko, no a brothel/No I want a wife that fuck me like a prostitute” are not particularly helpful. Although they do demonstrate an appreciation of both fine art and fine hookers, both worthy of exaltation in my opinion. Six full hours of “I never stuck my cock in the fox’s box but damned if I ain’t open Pandora’s box“ could therefore, and understandably, become quite tedious. On the other hand, isn’t all great art divisive? That said, I’d rather listen to Jay Z for six hours than listen to six hours of The National, arguably the reigning monarchs of depression-rock, playing Sorrow – the most upbeat song they could find in their catalogue – over and over again. A hundred and five times over again, to be precise, as they did back in May at MoMA. That bears repeating: 105 versions of a song which starts with the uplifting words: ”Sorrow found me when I was young/Sorrow waited, sorrow won”. I hope the canapés were served with plastic utensils. The show was on the ground floor and support staff included psychologists trained in emergency mental health intervention. The obvious question is, is this art? To which I’d say, who cares? If actual artist Martin Creed can win the Turner Prize for plugging in an automatic light switch and setting it to turn on and off then Mr Beyoncé can rap for six hours and call it art. The better question is: who’s next? Will Justin Bieber lock himself in a glass box and mime Baby whilst re-enacting pivotal moments of his career (assaulting paparazzi, smoking a blunt and pissing into a bucket)? Will LiLo spend a week wandering through MoMA like Blanche Dubois, begging for narcotics and wearing only a fur coat and a trout pout? Could we get R-Patz to douse himself in glitter glue and read aloud the entire Twilight Saga without breaking down in hysterical laughter or tears of shame? Who is next? Only time will tell.
Much Ado About Nothing The infinite monkey theorem postulates that an infinite number of monkeys pounding on an infinite number of typewriters for an infinite amount of time would be able to produce Shakespeare’s works by accident. It’s a thought experiment that is not meant to be taken literally yet still, the image of those monkeys, hermetically sealed in self-sufficient space capsules, populating an infinite number of parallel universes, working away Kerouac-style on neverending reams of paper, and in my vision, at least one inexplicably wearing a fez and smoking a cigarette, makes me smile. But of all the practical considerations to take into account, before we even get to who manages the monkey breeding program for all of time, I’m afraid that we hit a snag immediately as there is a finite supply of typewriters and few ribbons to load them with. In the name of fairness though, we could let the monkeys use Macs and have some clever geek develop an Early Modern English spell check. Chuck in four weeks annual leave and you might even get the RSPCA on board. I digress, but it’s only fair, the monkeys surely would agree. The point I was coming to is that of all the questionable aspects of this thought experiment, one has an obvious answer. Why Shakespeare? Because his work is worth recreating across the breadth of time; Shakespeare is timeless.
As long as there are humans who bleed, laugh and die, there will be Shakespeare. There are so many adaptations of the bard’s work that adapting Shakespeare to screen is practically a competitive sport. While Kenneth Branagh remains the king of Shakespearean adaptation, having directed five feature film adaptations, Shakespeare still attracts seasoned directors looking to reinvent his works for new audiences. The latest of these is not someone you’d normally associate with classic English literature – in fact, when you think of Joss Whedon the words ‘space’ and ‘cowboy’ come more quickly to mind than any of those expounded by those in his latest film, Much Ado About Nothing. From his big screenwriting debut with 1992’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the subsequent TV series and through what he calls ‘the dark times’ when a string of his television projects, Firefly, Dollhouse and Wonder Woman, were respectively canned, Whedon has amassed a following of loyal fans. Perhaps more so in the dark times that preceded The Avengers, Whedon fans kept abreast of his movements, watching and waiting for him to catch a break, eager for more of the snappy dialogue and unlikely heroes that made the likes of Buffy and Angel so popular. Though he suffered setbacks, to his fans Whedon has always had the Midas touch and though, unlike The Avengers, Whedon’s Much Ado About Nothing is a tiny film, it fits right into his canon. Shot in black and white in Whedon’s house over 12 days in 2011, Much Ado... is a Whedon all-stars show with the cast mostly amassed from Firefly (Nathan Fillion as Dogberry), Dollhouse (Fran Kranz as Claudio) and front and centre as Benedick and Beatrice, Angel’s Alexis Denisof and Amy Acker. It’s difficult at first to disengage the tendency to compare like with like and resist pitting Whedon’s production against Brannagh’s 1993 film, which, even 20 years on, is a hard act to follow. However, a lighter hand, a dash of slapstick and a contemporary setting go a long way to making this interpretation fresh. Whedon’s not going to draw every fan to Much Ado..., but having grossed $3 million in the US so far, it’s fair to say that it’s made its budget back many times over. While Whedon scores high marks for a bright and fun adaptation, his sport is making a movie during two weeks off. No biggie.
m u s i c [COLUMNS COLUMNS]
ROOTS DOWN
OG FLAVAS
THE BREAKDOWN
BLUES ‘N’ ROOTS WITH DAN CONDON ROOTS@DRUMMEDIA.COM.AU
URBAN AND R&B NEWS BY CYCLONE
POP CULTURE THERAPY WITH ADAM CURLEY
just weeks before its release – and as part of a Samsung campaign. There are no official singles.
Magna Carta and Magna Carta…
The Avett Brothers Fans of freakishly good Americana act The Avett Brothers probably won’t have to wait quite as long for their next record as they did for last year’s The Carpenter, as the band revealed in an interview last month. “We should be releasing an album in September, maybe October,” Scott Avett told Radio.com. “The Carpenter was the first instalment and this is the other part. We initially thought of this as part two… but we realise it’s its own thing. It’s a very interesting occurrence we didn’t intend. It’s a nice surprise.” A nice surprise for fans too, no doubt. It took three years to get The Carpenter but it could end up being just 12 months between records this time around. This might go some way to explaining why the band didn’t return to Australia to tour on the back of the most recent record – here’s hoping they rectify that next year. The great Duke Robillard was an unfortunate cancellation at this year’s Bluesfest. It all seemed far sweeter though when it was revealed that Robillard would be joining Bob Dylan’s touring band as a guitarist and the prospect of maybe seeing him down here in that capacity was pretty exciting for many. Sadly, that’s not going to happen. Robillard is already no longer a part of Dylan’s band and, while there was no official statement as to why this was the case, a message on Robillard’s Facebook page made it sound like things were perhaps a little grim… “For sale: Bob Dylan CD and record collection, slightly used,” he wrote. He then decided to make one final statement to clarify as much of the story as he was willing to.
Medievalism is all the rage, what with television’s fantasy Game Of Thrones and the upcoming The White Queen, based on the War of the Roses. Now Jay-Z (aka Shawn Carter) has titled his 12th album Magna Carta… Holy Grail, eccentrically referencing both 1215’s largely symbolic legal document and Arthurian romance. The MC’s interest in England’s Magna Carta is ironic since it was initiated by feudal barons seeking to curb King John’s absolute power over his subjects – well, those males who were free, monied and/or land-owning like them. Historically, King John is perceived as profoundly flawed, even by later Protestant sympathisers who lauded his defying the Pope. He’s the villain in Robin Hood tales. So is Carter professing himself to be a despot rapper? Naw. Apparently, this epitome of the American Dream was drawn to the lines, “To no one will We Sell, to no one will We Deny or delay, right or justice.” Magna Carta... actually has neo-gothic artwork, currently on display alongside a surviving Magna Carta at Salisbury Cathedral. For much of the album, Carter is preoccupied with his own (yes!) power, fame and affluence – and, to a lesser extent, family and spirituality, albeit all through the nexus of race and class. The Roc Nation mogul picks up on the theme of his and Kanye West’s No Church In The Wild off Watch The Throne, particularly in Heaven. Moreover, the Carter here is also that responsible for the existentialist Hamptons hip hop of Kingdom Come’s Beach Chair. Carter may yet be the ultimate capitalist as he commodified poverty – through rhyme. But what comes after? The former drug dealer’s ‘Dark Ages’ in the ghetto are ancient history... It’s been a busy year for Carter. He teamed with Justin Timberlake for the hit Suit & Tie and executive-produced The Great Gatsby soundtrack. Like Timberlake with his comeback, The 20/20 Experience, Carter announced Magna Carta...
The Boogie! compilation CD released through Warner Music last year was a serious gem for anyone interested in an easy history lesson in Australian blues and rock of the ‘60s and (mainly) ‘70s, so I was very pleased to hear that a companion piece is on its way in under a month’s time. Boogie! Presents Silver Roads: Australian Country-Rock and Singer-Songwriters of the ‘70s is a double CD set featuring… well the title pretty much tells it all. Like Boogie!, there are both hits and obscurities; Max Merritt & The Meteors’ Slipping Away sits alongside Autodrifters’ Birth Of The Ute, for example, and there will be plenty of new discoveries for many. In conjunction with this great piece of Aussie music history are two further double CD sets (you better try and find some time to listen to all this): Cosmic Country and Heavy Soul. The former looks at the great late-‘60s country rock boom that gave us amazing records from the likes of Gram Parsons, The Byrds, Emmylou Harris, The Band, Bob Dylan, The Grateful Dead, David Crosby, Gene Clark, Townes Van Zandt, John Prine and Kris Kristofferson to name just a few. They’re all featured here, alongside some of the genre’s best acts you may have never heard before – or at least not for a long time. The latter release is a showcase of when rock’n’roll and soul music found their inevitable meeting point towards the end of the ‘60s; Tony Joe White, Bobby Womack, Dr. John, James Luther Dickinson, Link Wray, Willie Nelson, Aretha Franklin and Wilson Pickett among the acts showcased on this release. All three of these compilations will be out through Warner on Friday 9 August.
The first voice heard on Magna Carta... is not that of Carter but an anguished (and quasi-auto-tuned!) Timberlake. Holy Grail introduces the aforementioned album topics – especially Carter’s ambivalence about celebrity – and dubiously quotes from Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit. Yet rappers being pursued by paparazzi is a signifier of their cultural status – and Magna Carta..., centred as it is on Carter himself, trades on the public’s fascination with him (and our collective fealty to his genius). Carter barely questions his obsessive acquisitiveness on the dirty funk Picasso Baby, but contemplates the motivation behind philanthropic deeds on the deeper (and spacy) Nickels And Dimes – only here does the MC admit that wealth has left him a lil’ morally corrupt. Jay Z Blue deals with his raising daughter Blue Ivy, the MC’s own father absent – the song comically samples from the Joan Crawford (anti-) bio-pic Mommie Dearest. Another old Carter ally, Frank Ocean literally makes Pharrell’s dramatic Oceans, about the African-American diaspora, his own. Part II (On The Run) finds Carter dueting with Beyoncé, Mrs Carter herself, a la ‘03 Bonnie And Clyde. BBC (Billionaire Boys Club) is a motley posse-cut with Nas (its only other legit MC), Pharrell, Timbaland, Swizz Beatz, Timberlake and Lady Bey. Some bling ring. Carter remains a charismatic MC, but he’s disconnected from his audience. Somewhere he sacrificed his relatability for branding. Carter’s old foe Nas virtually stands alone today in expressing hip hop’s social conscience. Even J Cole, a claimant to Carter’s throne, recognises the struggles of ordinary people. Could Carter have become complacent, like the remote King John, after all?
ADAMANTIUM WOLF METAL, HARDCORE AND PUNK WITH LOCHLAN WATT
“I left the Bob Dylan tour of my own accord. All I can say is it wasn’t for musical reasons and please don’t ask any more. I enjoyed my brief stay there and had a lot of fun with the band playing Bob’s music. I have great respect for him as an artist. I will miss everyone in the organization as they are all wonderful people. I wish them continued success and I will miss them all. Case closed!” His last show was at the end of last month, completing a relatively short 27-date stint with the legendary songwriter. Oh, what could have been… For the record, former Dylan guitarist Charlie Sexton has been brought back into the fold to replace Robillard.
Following West’s ‘event’ album Yeezus, which critics have already deemed among 2013’s best, Magna Carta... is rather conservative, musically and lyrically – though that should placate any heads weirded-out by Ye’s punk rebellion. The dominant producer on Magna Carta... is Timbaland, the architect of The 20/20 Experience, with friends. But there’s also input from young blood like Texas’ Travis Scott, who handles the drag Crown, Hova’s I Am A God moment. (Incidentally, Scott co-produced West’s New Slaves.) Rick Rubin is nowhere.
The Amity Affliction Warped Tour hits Australia again this November thanks to Soundwave Touring. In case you missed it so far, the line-up includes Parkway Drive, The Used, New Found Glory, The Offspring, We Came As Romans, Crown The Empire, Tonight Alive, Hatebreed, The Dangerous Summer, The Summer Set, Kids In Glass Houses, Anarbor, Veara, Mallory Knox, RDGLDGRN, Simple Plan, For All Those Sleeping and Man Overboard. While the initial announcement included H2O, the legendary punks have already been pulled, having apparently never even been confirmed in the first place. You can check out this mix at RNA Showgrounds, Friday 29 November. For The Fallen Dreams from the USA have announced their return to Australia, with fellow Americans The Plot In You, Fit For A King and Melbourne’s Storm The Sky tagging along. You can catch ten million breakdowns live at the new Thriller at Coniston Lane on 21 September, as well as at Invasion Fest, Expressive Grounds, Gold Coast, 22 September. Amorphis supports have been confirmed, with The Eternal from Melbourne and Sydney’s Datura Curse warming up the stage for the eclectic Finnish metal legends The Hi-Fi on 12 October. Melbourne’s The Eternal have just launched a complete album sampler online for their forthcoming As The Circle Of Light Begins To Fade album. Meanwhile, Datura Curse have just recently got their debut album back from mastering in the USA with Alan Douches (Baroness, Converge). Tickets for the show are still available via metalmassacre.com.au. Twelve Foot Ninja are embarking on a large national tour that runs from late August to early October. The Melbourne-based progressive metal group can be caught on 6 September at The Tempo Hotel, and 7 September at The Parkwood Tavern on the Gold Coast.
The Amity Affliction are currently tearing it up on the US Warped Tour, with vocalist Joel Birch having recently created a stir by calling out Memphis May Fire vocalist Matty Mullins. Birch was captured on film raising his middle finger to the crowd and saying “the other guys in Memphis May Fire are cool as fuck, but Matty Mullins can get the fuck off Warped!” A video of the incident also goes on to show Birch ranting against racism, of which their current fill-in drummer Chad Hasty was recently a victim. The band’s regular drummer Ryan Burt had to fly home shortly into the tour due to a shattered drumstick penetrating his eye mid-set, requiring surgery. Machina Genova from Canberra will soon release their debut 10”. Entitled Weathered Heart, the sixtrack release of chaotic metalcore was recorded by Chris Brownbill at Sun Distortion Studios in Brisbane, and is being released by Sydney label Broken Hive Records. Snag a pre-order and listen to a new song over at brokenhiverecords.bigcartel.com.
GIGS OF THE WEEK: Wednesday: Monarch (FR), Zodiac, Still Mates – Crowbar. Antagonist AD (NZ), Reigner, Deadlights, Sun Heights, Sabercat – Studio 454. Thursday: Saint Vitus (USA), Monarch, Agonhymn – The Hi-Fi. Bleeding Through (USA), Make Them Suffer, Boris The Blade, Hand Of The Architect, Bayharbour – The Rev. Antagonist AD, Headwound The Pony, Wanderer, The Archivist – X&Y Bar. Icarus Complex, Amicable Treason, Acorea, Maltheist – Crowbar. Grenadiers, Army Of Champions, Firearms, Loud Goes Bang – Surfers Paradise Beergarden. Friday: Lo!, High Tension, The Fevered – Crowbar. The Schoenberg Automaton, The Archivist, Nightmares, Disciples of Torture – The Miami Shark Bar. Obat Batuk, Last Chaos, Coffin Birth, Noxious Rhetoric – 199 Boundary Street. Saturday: Grenadiers, Army Of Champions, Firearms, The Strums – Crowbar. Echotide, Balloons Kill Babies, Spherian – The Beetle Bar. Emerald Vale, Hand Of The Architect, Leviathan, Kings At Heart, Wretched, In Ashes We Lie, Sabercat, Wilful Damage, Twin Seals – Expressive Grounds.
Bad//Dreems I wrote a little while ago in this column about new Australian bands using iconography and a muted production style to represent a local experience outside the middleclass ‘indie’ culture that has dominated national media for so long. Bands like Lower Plenty and Boomgates who have reclaimed and reframed antiquated symbols of national identity – Boomgates’ name, for instance, and their song Hanging Rock – to give power to a life of something other than McMansions and New Year’s Day dance festivals. Now come Adelaide’s Bad//Dreems, with their awesomely vivid debut EP Badlands (out Friday through Mirador Records), to add another take on the trend. Six songs long, Badlands features only one track not yet released, the mid-EP song Home Life. It’s a collection of garage-punk variations which the band has turned out over the past year or so: the bouldering Caroline; the loose and jangly Hoping For (which Boomgates’ Brendan Huntley might have been happy to pen); Tomorrow Mountain with its buzzing, bowing post-punk guitars and earworm chorus. Each song, including Home Life, is worthy of its own release, each drawing from and building on its own sonic references, each with melodies and lyrics coming fully realised. The band, which features guitarist Alex Cameron of the short-lived but memorable group Dardanelles (circa 2006-7), have songwriting chops and adorn their arrangements with sound ideas rather than arrange their sounds. They’re aware of the lineage of their decisions, too: Chills, with its bronzy guitar tone, was named almost certainly as much after the New Zealand band now famed for that tone as it was for the lyric, “Winter chills come and take me away”. That construction of a double meaning gives an insight into the attention to detail presented on Badlands and the way in which Bad//Dreems play around with loaded and earnest messages. The EP’s title itself frames the songs within a concept. Here, with these snippets of rainy days, domestic violence, droll bus rides for hours, hopes outlived but remembered, is a portrait of a fairly desperate and lonely city. The press release for the EP explains as much: “you scratch the surface here and you find another world, far removed from the leafy inner suburbs.” It continues, “It is a world, constructed or not, that” the band “attempt to capture….” There’s a level of fiction to the band’s portrayal of their city and of Australia. Certainly the EP’s cover depicts a scene that is familiar to Australians as one both from the past (or someone’s past) and one from film. It’s a photo of a weatherworn man sitting on a sleeper seat against a tin shed, all red and orange in a dry sunset. Bad//Dreems aren’t only reclaiming these images to empower those within them, they’re ‘exoticisising’ the images to tell a story. In a 2005 essay for The Griffith Review titled The Exotic At Home, David Malouf wrote about his earlier depictions of north Queensland in the 1950s. In those depictions, extracted in the essay, the north was a strange place more wild than the Brisbane of Malouf’s childhood. In travelling to north Queensland, he was searching for the exotic at home, and in writing about it he was looking to “exoticise” his homeland. Why? He wonders in the essay whether it was with the hope that there was a place “that belonged to us, that was in that sense ours, that had escaped the laws we like to impose….” The climax of Badlands is vocalist Ben Marwe’s repeated refrain in the standout Tomorrow Mountain, “I am bored/I am lonely/I’m scared”. It’s a lyric so naïve and open that it’s easily imagined coming from the mouth of a young suburban teen in a film like Snowtown or Animal Kingdom. Those films exoticised suburban crime the way elements of Badlands does. Yet the line is also a fairly harrowing cry and a reminder that these images, even when exoticised, turned into representations, still belong to us. There are still outsiders in Australia, still parts of the country that escape our attempts to tame it; sounds that recall, resurface and come alive.
For more opinion go to themusic.com.au/blog • 27
[THE GUID IDE]
ELECTRIC HORSE Member answering/role: LLuke k Attrill Att ill – guitar it
How long have you been together? A little over three glorious years.
How did you all meet? Christianmingle.com... No, that’s not it. We all played in bands around the coast, shared beers and laughs, decided that was a decent foundation for a strong musical collective and we’re still boozing and laughing, just with instruments in the mix now.
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? Pantera, The Bronx or Deftones. Depends on the weather.
Would you rather be a busted brokebut-revered Hank Williams figure or some kind of Metallica monster? We’ll take the Hank route, he epitomised the “about the
means, not the ends” attitude, more than likely only answered to himself and told a damn fine story.
What reality TV show wo would you enter as a band and wh why?
Which Gold Coast bands before you have been an inspiration (musically or otherwise)?
Cops. It wouldn’t be intentional.
Dr Dirt (track ‘em down) and King Mungi, Lump, Sunk Loto and Motormoth. We wouldn’t be together without travelling those roads individually.
What part do you think Gold Coast plays in the music you make? The coast gets a bad rap from the media but it’s truly a kickass place to live. The beach and mountains are a stone’s throw from each other, the weather’s awesome and the creative rivalry found in major city centres is nonexistent which allows you to focus solely on crafting the best tunes you’re capable of.
Is your band responsible for more make-outs or break-ups? Why? Make-outs. Have you heard Jason sing? Although I guess that experience could put unrealistic expectations on other men from their partners, resulting in break-ups.
If your band had to play a team sport instead of being musicians which sport would it be and why would you be triumphant? Three out of the five members would say league; the Brown brothers and Cory played quite a bit as youngbloods, I come from an AFL background so that’s the kicking game covered and Dog is a concise tactician. We could be onto something here.
What’s in the pipeline for the band in the short term? Back on the road from July onwards, continue writing in between shows for a second full-length release and living the rad life all the while. Electric Horse play The Zoo on Thursday 1 August, The Northern, Byron Bay on Friday 16 August and Shark Bar, Gold Coast on Saturday 17 August. Photo by TERRY SOO.
six pack
DANCING HEALS
The Night was a learning curve – the result was a lot glossier and poppier than we’d originally intended. With the new album we had more of a direct vision as a band and made it happen by having more songs written than we were able to record and giving ourselves more choice. We let our instincts guide us in production, and because we recorded straight to tape it meant we weren’t able to go back and edit the songs and take away from the ‘in the moment’ atmosphere.”
FIREARMS
Melbourne indie rockers Dancing Heals, can lay claim to one of the longest and most intriguing album titles of the year, You Will Never Be Younger Than You Are Now. Vocalist/guitarist Jon-Lee Farrell and drummer Jarrad Long sit down with Tony McMahon. “The new album is definitely a departure from Into The Night,” says Long, for the benefit of those who know the band’s well-received 2012 debut album. “Sonically it’s a warmer, more rounded record and thematically I think it’s quite a bit darker. Being our first album, Into
GRENADIERS
WHAT: You Will Never Be Younger Than You Are Now (Del Grango/MGM) WHEN & WHERE: Thursday 18 July, Beach Hotel, Byron Bay; Friday 19, The Hideaway
reviewed, which was something of a relief. It’s easy to say you don’t care what critics and fans say, but I think anyone who says that is full of shit. That’s some distance behind us now though, and I feel we’ve got a lot of more exciting material to come.”
The dust has barely settled on We Are... Firearms, the sharp and direct king hit of an LP the three-piece released just before Christmas, but the Sydneysiders are already deep into work on a follow-up and are focused on tying up the recording before the year’s out.
Jono Barwick, one of the three parts that make up the explosive Firearms, speaks with Benny Doyle about putting together the pieces of the puzzle. It’s a tale told by many musicians. They are slugging it out in former projects, pushing weight up a hill so to speak, so they break away to write some material a bit left of their current centre, albeit more in line and true to what they’re feeling inside. Suddenly they gel, a new band is formed, and all of sudden past endeavours are insignificant. In the case of Jono
JOHNNY AND THE FEMBOTS
Talking of which, what plans do the band have recording wise for the rest of 2013? To the relief of many a fan, it seems that a new record is not too far away. “We’ve finished tracking for our second album. We’ll be mixing it soon and it will be out before the end of the year. It’s definitely still Grenadiers, but it has a pretty different feel – it’s a lot more varied than the first one, but is generally heavier and I think has more of that intangible ‘punch in the face’ factor. I think folks will dig it and I’m twitching to get it out there.”
Jesse Coulter, lead singer and guitarist with loud rockers Grenadiers, discusses the relative merits of different bourbons and different records with Tony McMahon. “Equal parts satisfaction, pride, frustration and exhaustion,” says Coulter, when asked to describe the experience of releasing the band’s debut record a couple of years back. “It’s definitely something I’m happy with and it accurately represents the band at that time. Songs The Devil Taught Us was well received and well
REMI
Given Grenadiers are coming to Queensland to play live, the question of the difference between their recorded work and stage show asks itself. Like a lot of things in life, it all comes down to the bourbon. “Well, I drink Wild Turkey in the studio, whereas I tend to go for Maker’s Mark live. Also, when you’re listening at home you can pretend we’re handsome. I forget a lot of the words live and try to pass it off as improvisation. I guess those are the main things.” WHEN & WHERE: Thursday 18 July, Surfers Paradise Beergarden, Gold Coast; Friday 19, Hotel Norville, Toowoomba; Saturday 20, Crowbar
song has meant something to them, or got them through a certain difficult time in their lives. But other than a couple of interstate gigs that we weren’t doing prior to Sangria, everything has been nice and normal. I just chill with my pals Sensible J x Dutch and make more music!”
It’s summertime all the time for young nostalgia rockers Johnny and The Fembots. The girls’ guy chats with Benny Doyle about parties and swinging pop music. “There’s always one reason or another to party,” says 19-year-old Johnny, who along with his clan of Fembots are taking listeners back to a time of roller-skating carhops, T-Birds and late night twisting sessions. Laundromat repping Hey! Don’t! is still ringing in our ears – those sweet harmonies are damn infectious – but the Brisbane septet are currently writing more new music and want to give us the whole experience on stage.
SLUMBERHAZE
“It’s been super cool knowing that people dig our music,” says REMi, talking about the big success of Sangria. “Even though our stuff is a bit different to any Australian hip hop out at the moment. The craziest thing has probably been people hitting me up and saying the
“Live, it’s on. I get erratic on stage, and try and get people as wild as possible. If my homie/ producer/hype man Sensible J is DJing for me, which he almost always is, we wanna make sure people remember it. If you’re down to get down, then get down to a show. Energy baby.” WHAT: Fuck Your Genre :: Act 1 (Independent) WHEN & WHERE: Thursday 18 July, Bowler Bar
WHEN & WHERE: Thursday 18 July, Surfers Paradise Beergarden, Gold Coast; Friday 19, Hotel Norville, Toowoomba; Saturday 20, Crowbar
They’ll be helping celebrate the upcoming first anniversary of Yon Plume, a local creative community developed to support young artists of every ilk, and it’s set to be a pretty sweet opportunity to tune in to the fun that this band are currently having. “I think it’s just sort of an outlet for all our various fascinations with the hyper-commercialised ‘60s pop gimmickry,” Johnny explains. “There’s a lot of things we can get away with that you just couldn’t approach with other bands. Plus, we sort of became like an extended family, so it’s pretty hard to have a bad time together.”
“I think the feel-good ‘60s pop thing just arose out of writers and the record industry guys realising what was marketable to a teen audience,” Johnny suggests when queried about the warm longevity such music holds, “it’s explicitly geared to tick as many instant gratification boxes as possible. A lot of the teen issue branch of that can get pretty absurd, but it’s never entirely un-relatable – that’s our focus.” WHAT: Hey! Don’t! (Independent) WHEN & WHERE: Friday 19 July, Yon Plume First Birthday, Southside Tea Room; Sunday 11 August, Helidon Heritage Fair, Railway Street
– everyone sees them and understands them and we just write tunes that express some things we have seen and things that irk us. Nothing too special, just messed up fun about nowadays; the ‘slumberhaze’ we are in.” The second part of the trilogy is currently being put together, and seems set to offer more dark indie pop that works under the ideals of those three words: rhyme, rhythm, romance. The main challenge that stands between the Sydney three and a finished product is themselves. “It won’t be too far off,” informs Sasha, “pending we do not start over thinking, because at this point, we are over thinking.”
“Well, we’re working on an album at the moment, and the tracks on it are sounding less and less like hip hop and more like music with rap on it. So I guess with this mixtape I was trying to make something to prepare people for our future stuff. That’s why it’s called Fuck Your Genre. It’s a small sample of the different kinds of music the team and I listen to, to prepare future listeners for something a bit different to the norm.”
After the success of his first single, Sangria, Melbourne hip hop artist REMi is hitting the road armed with a free mixtape, Fuck Your Genre :: Act 1. Investigation by Tony McMahon.
“We’ve already written around twenty-five songs for the next record actually, demoed up twelve odd a few months back and may even try and find the time to do more in Brisvegas while we’re there. Though we need to offload the first ten-inch too so please snap one up everyone!” he calls out. “We’ll hopefully record before the end of the year when we head off to Perth and other than that we’ll just play the shows we get offered pretty much.”
Featuring members of Jeremy Neale’s crack live band, as well as Go Violets, Johnny and The Fembots write good time rock’n’roll from an era bygone, and the group pay respect to the history of the style while giving it a current edge.
As anyone who’s ever been smitten knows well, mixtapes always have an ulterior motive, and it seems REMi’s was no different.
Talking of normal, REMi says that one of his live shows is anything but; at least as far as memorability levels are concerned.
Barwick and his boys Dan Strong [drums] and Reg Barber [vocals/guitar], Firearms had shot to life. “I think a big part of it was that we’ve all played for years but never quite played exactly what we wanted,” says Barwick, speaking of what made them realise the trio had legs. “Now we do. We all grew up listening to a lot of ‘80s hardcore and lots of rock‘n’roll which probably shows through in our sound, and we all know we’re playing in the band we wanted to start when we were fifteen – just took us twenty years to get there.”
And taking the album on the road is something the band are decidedly looking forward to. Rest assured, there’s no stereo hogs in Dancing Heals, maybe. “Excitement levels are through the roof,” says Farrell. “Dancing Heals have never played in Byron Bay or Brisbane before so it’s like we’re going on a vacation at the same time as playing shows. We all love a lot of bands from Brisbane (Regurgitator, Dune Rats, Violent Soho), so we’re expecting a pretty good time. We’ve all known each other for a long time now and been overseas together before, shared beds and sat in small vans for hundreds of hours, so we’re used to it. I don’t think there’s a stereo hog (unless it’s me) – that’s why we listen to a lot of Tom Petty or Nirvana because it pleases everyone.”
[THE GUID IDE]
The debut EP from Slumberhaze is “a product of patience, refining and letting go”, as Sasha Mishevski explains to Benny Doyle. Rhyme, Rhythm & Romance Part 1 is everything Slumberhaze wanted to lay out on wax. The EP, the first (as you probably guessed) in a three-part series that is scheduled to be released before 2014, shows a trio with impeccable pop smarts, but unwilling to offer music bound within any constraints. Sasha Mishevski talks about how this debut release reflects us as people. “It is probably more about human disconnection, and observing that,” he tells. “Social observations
Although Slumberhaze are still learning to corral the individual instrumentation of each song onstage, the trio love performing and are eager to throw some new elements into the mix when they venture to Brisbane this week. “One of us borrowed a projector from the office and we have taken it on our current tour,” Mishevski informs. “We have not tested it before, but we are playing our tour utilising our new ideas, so it might just turn out good. We enjoy playing the music live, and it is far bigger in sound that on the record; at least it sounds bigger, maybe it is just the volume.” WHAT: Rhyme, Rhythm & Romance Part 1 (Independent) WHEN & WHERE: Saturday 20 July, The Zoo
For more interviews go to themusic.com.au/interviews • 29
[THE GUID IDE] f o o d
[Vegan is] about taking it back to basics and eating whole, real, minimally processed food to create beautiful and delicious dishes.” - Emma Gilbert The Raw Kitchen owner
TOP 3
VEGAN FOOD BLOGS
socialise,” he says. While it is easy to assume that veganism is somehow exclusively in the domain of animal rights activism, this is entirely incorrect. Owner of Perth’s The Raw Kitchen in Fremantle Emma Gilbert shares her observations of her business’ core clientele. “We’re very lucky to be in a privileged position witnessing the new culture and the highly diverse mix of demographics that come to the café. It’s fascinating – from the very cool, young generation of hipsters through to families, healthies, athletes, business professionals and environmentalists. It’s an incredible snapshot of the change in social thinking about food and health. The biggest thing we’re noticing is this new culture coming through now is about flexitarianism, that is, people who choose vegan days/ focus on a vegan diet but not 100 per cent of the time.” Gilbert and her partner Heath Daly’s inspiration for founding The Raw Kitchen started small and grew organically. “We began The Raw Kitchen to share a new way of eating with people – to show that healthy food, raw food and vegan food can be delicious and innovative. But in fact, we didn’t even set out with the intent to open a restaurant – it began as a simple cottage set-up running workshops teaching people about raw food and how to prepare it. But this very
Ben Meyers discovers that vegans are treated like lepers at local pubs hell-bent on shoving parmas down your gullet. Pics by Holly Engelhardt. Engelhardt
1 THEVEGANSTONER.BLOGSPOT.COM.AU
2 VEGANYUMYUM.COM
3 NEWYORKINGREEN.BLOGSPOT.COM
GREEN MACHINE FOOD TRIPPIN’ A
s more pubs, bars and restaurants adopt vegan friendly menus, it’s clear that interest in vegan cuisine is growing at strengths and bounds. Veganism has long been associated with animal rights, arguably first bursting into the public eye with Peter Singer’s Animal Liberation. His seminal work is credited with bringing the rights of animals and the morality of their exploitation into the public sphere. Indeed, perhaps one of the best known animal rights charities in Australia, Animal Liberation, was founded in 1976 by Christine Townend based on the philosophies outlined by Singer in his best-selling work.
The activism and ethos of organisations like Animal Liberation inspired Publican Kody Abrams of Melbourne’s
Gasometer to develop the pub’s extensive vegan menu. “Since I was young I was involved in organisations dealing with animal rights, and I was vegan for many years. As a vegan I could eat at very few restaurants, and never out at a pub. I’ve always thought it was a pubs responsibility to also accommodate for vegans, it is a place where people come together to
quickly turned into market stalls and the popularity of this encouraged us to move to a café when the opportunity arose.” Like all new endeavours Gilbert was confronted with some challenges. She shares, “[The greatest challenge was] producing raw food on a commercial scale. It’s a new system and a new approach, particularly here in Australia, and there weren’t the tried and tested formulas that apply to the rest of the hospitality industry. So we had to work out our own, which was challenging but also very rewarding.” Abrams also was confronted with his own set of unique challenges. He admits, “It can sometimes be hard to get chefs to care about vegan food, or understand its importance, but we’ve been really lucky from the start, and all of our chefs have taken it very seriously.” He continues, “Separation of areas is key [in preparing vegan food], especially if you are also preparing meat in the kitchen, and of course garlic.” Both Gilbert and Abrams admit that there is a certain amount of misunderstanding surrounding vegan food in some parts of the community. For Abrams the greatest misconception is, “That [vegan food] is unhealthy for you!” Gilbert couldn’t agree more in this assessment. She believes that the greatest misconception is “That [vegan food] is all lettuce and carrots. And that it is nutrient deprived.” However, she continues, “but thankfully both of these are far from the truth! In fact, the vegan diet (particularly one high in raw) can be done extremely well with a focus on nutrient dense, high quality, incredible and satisfying meals.” Gilbert best sums up the passion shared by all aficionados of the cuisine: “[Vegan is] about taking it back to basics and eating whole, real, minimally processed food to create beautiful and delicious dishes. But more importantly it’s about how it makes you feel. Eating raw vegan makes you feel light and energized with a vibrancy – it’s a feeling, not an academic conclusion.” This feeling and the boundless enthusiasm for vegan cuisine is why we’ll continue to see more varied and exciting vegan dishes on the menu into the future. Hopefully.
30 • To check out the mags online go to themusic.com.au/mags
EATING AROUND THE USA WITH SOFIE MUCENIEKAS AND LLOYD HONEYBROOK
Portt landd So this finally happened. I couldn’t believe they actually had some left. Maple bacon ale based on the Voodoo donut. So smoky, so rich, so absurd. @lloydhoneybrook #maplebaconbliss #craftycraftbeer #brutal - with Lloyd Honeybrook
indie news
BACKLASH BAD WINNERS Oh well, the Poms won the first Test as predicted, but they didn’t make too many new friends with their complete lack of ethics. Stuart Broad in particular looks like Draco Malfoy and has the same moral compass, and will get his comeuppance in due course. Revenge will be sweet.
FIGHT BACK Cool to see artists such as Thom Yorke and David Lowery fighting against the pittance that artists receive from the new models offered by streaming services. Artists would do better without streaming than vice versa, and the songwriters should be fairly recompensed, end of story.
SHOCK AND AWWW So the radio shock jock behind last year’s disastrous prank is suing the radio station for “providing an unsafe working environment”? Why don’t you just sue your parents for raising a complete loser? When are people going to take responsibility for their actions?
HEAD TO HEAD NIGHT AT HEARTS
ARE YOU A QUIZZY RASCAL?
Brisbane’s favourite queer-centric club night is back this week, with Cheated Hearts taking over Electric Playground on Friday 19 July. But this isn’t your typical instalment, oh no, with blood set to be spilt on this battle night with head to head sets pitting some of our city’s finest DJs up against each other. In the ring will be DJ Mikey who’ll be duelling with The Gatling Gun, while local legend Jane Doe takes on newbie Cub. In addition to Pony Club DJs, Jane Doe and Dotwav, the night’s shaping up to be a massive one. $10 on the door from 9pm.
After the roaring success of their Seinfeld and Simpsons themed trivia sessions, Man Vs Bear Trivia is back for a musical serving with The History Of Sound edition. And with live vinyl audio clues by DJ Black Amex, this sure as hell kicks the arse of your typical pub question time! Free entry, no team limits, Black Bear Lodge, Tuesday 23 July – registration between 7pm and 7.30pm.
FRONTLASH HAPPY MEN PT 2
Support homeless youth in and around Brisbane by hosting a Raise Your Roof party on Ekka eve, Tuesday 13 August. $30,000 was raised last year and Brisbane Youth Service are hoping to smash that figure in 2013, so head along to the launch party this Thursday, 18 July and find out how your party can help the homeless. Taking place at the BYS head office on McLachlan Street, Fortitude Valley, the launch will feature a bunch of local bands including headliner Rohan and celebrity ambassadors such as Sam Thaiday. More info at raiseyourroof.org.au.
Four-piece Brissie band Young Night will be macking down the M1 for their debut GC show, launching a new single at The Loft, Saturday 20 July. Experience the energy these indie rock scamps bring to the frontline when they headline above Sons Of The Morning and Baltimore Gun Club. Sexy stuff.
Just when you thought that the impending Splendour couldn’t get any more fun, they’ve announced that they’re screening the new Sunnyboys documentary, The Sunnyboy. If you’re heading to the festival don’t miss this special tribute to a great Aussie band…
ASHTON’S ASHES Even though the good guys lost, the first Test will always be remembered as Agar’s Test, after the teenager introduced himself to the world like a breath of fresh air and nearly stole the game in the process. We might have unearthed a good one here…
NUDE AND NARKY Good on Amanda Palmer for nuding up in protest against the UK tabloid who reviewed her Glastonbury performance by focusing on her boob slipping out rather than the music. The paper in question probably thought it was Xmas, but a naked protest is a good protest…
SINGLE FOCUS
They’ve been smashing it out on stage for a few years now, and now London Bureau have finally driven that energy deep within a record, the blues and roots outfit ready to release their debut six-track, Fools. Touching on desire and lust, the deep and pondering EP will be launched at Beetle Bar on Friday 9 August with Soviet X-Ray Record Club, Blonde Bear and Jeff Lovejoy who’ll be playing a special DJ set. Tickets available through Oztix for $10+BF.
EP title? Self-titled
REMOVE YOUR MASK AND LET GO
What’s your favourite song on it? The song Everything featuring Jay from Paua. It’s probably one of my favourites to date.
If you’re down Northern Rivers way on Wednesday 31 July, you could do plenty of worse things to break up your week than head along to the Byron Bay Community Centre and get among the gallivanting fun that is a Rapskallion show. The Melbourne gypsies were recently awarded Best Musical Act at the Adelaide Fringe Festival, and are known to bring the party with off-kilter waltzing and buccaneering blues rock a plenty. Tickets can be purchased now for $18+BF through the venue website.
GET TO KNOW THIS LOT Ampersan is the debut offering from Byron rockers The Familiars, and it’s pretty great stuff, with bashful melodies married against gritty bridging sections, offering plenty to move to. The guys will be showcasing these tracks and other cuts they’ve been working on with some headline shows, performing at Beach Hotel, Byron Bay, Friday 16 August (with King Colour, Colourwaves and Big Nothing) and Beetle Bar, Saturday 17 (with Young Professionals, Colourwaves and more).
They’ve emerged from a shed on the GC with a brand new track, Hold On, and now City Over Sand will launch the song on their home turf, playing The Loft, Gold Coast, Friday 19 July. Tickets can be purchased for $10 on the door, with Bree De Rome and The Keeps and Garrett Kato also on the bill.
Stockholm and Berlin was the scene, 2011 was the year, and Brisbane’s Timothy Carroll and Melbourne’s Oscar Dawson were chipping away at music under a blanket of snow. From studios, stairwells and apartments emerged a collection of songs, which have since been built up into a record following the duo’s return to Australia. Under the guise Holy Holy, the pair will take to the stage as a five-piece band, launching first single Impossible Like You as well as presenting a bunch more new cuts. They play Sunday 11 August, Queen Street Mall (daytime) and Tuesday 13, Black Bear Lodge, with Ainslie Wills supporting. And if you miss Holy Holy there, you can check them out at The Trouble With Templeton’s upcoming Queensland shows, where they’ll be acting as support on Thursday 29, The Spotted Cow, Toowoomba and Friday 30, the Zoo.
THE GREAT GRILL IN THE SKY 633 Ann is the place to be as always on a Sunday afternoon with Rock N Roll BBQ bring it to you in hot, thick servings. Playing this week are Monster Zoku Onsomb, Gentlemen, Thirteen Seventy and Le Murd, with free entry to those willing and able from 2pm.
Answered by: Rohan McElroy Single title: Highway What’s the song about? The song is about sitting in the car, driving back from an awesome day at the beach with friends.
Was anything in particular inspiring you during the making? This is a very personal record so a lot of my own experiences were the inspiration.
We’ll like this EP if we like... Hip hop music with soul. Verbill launches the Verbill EP (Zurik Records) on Saturday 20 July at The Transcontinental Hotel.
BRISBANE BOUND
BAD//DREEMS Member name: Sandy Cameron Home ground: Adelaide Describe your live music/performance style as succinctly as possible. Nostalgic no-wave schlage. Adelaide, South Australia. Dark twist. ”Mediocre garage rock with god-awful pub-rock vocals”. Despondent. Derelict. Damaged. Mates.
Please relate your impressions of performing in our fair city. Great! We love a lot of the bands from Brisbane, like Per Purpose, Kitchen’s Floor and any Bedroom Suck stuff. Last time I watched Royal Headache at that Mu Thai boxing gym = amazing.
Is this track from a forthcoming release/existing release? Yes it is, it’s a track from our forthcoming EP titled Bleeding Gold, which is due to be released in a few months. What was inspiring you during the songs writing and recording? I had recently bought a new Fender Telecaster and before playing anything else I wanted to write something meaningful with the guitar. I ended up writing the intro riff and chords that became Highway.
What can we expect different this time around? Banging new tunes and old tunes better in tune. Has anything exciting been happening in your world of late? It is exciting to release our first EP and to do a tour for this and play with great bands
We’ll like this song if we like... The Cardigans and Birds Of Tokyo. It’s rockier than you would think.
Wayward Smith launch Highway (Independent) at The Hideaway on Friday 19 July.
How many releases do you have now? This is my debut solo release. I have been involved in two mixtapes prior to this with other crew members.
Is this your first foray to Brisbane? If not how many times have you performed in our midst? We have played in Brisbane twice so far, once with Children Collide and The Bond Rats and once with Step-Panther.
How long did it take to write/record? To write, it took about ten, maybe 20 minutes. To record, we think it took a day, but we recorded the entire EP in various parts across five days so who knows.
Do you play it differently live? There were layers added in the recording process we can’t replicate live, but we’ve been told by fans that we sound the same live, which is really great to hear.
VERBILL
LONDON CALLING
MUSIC THAT IS BLESSED
KEEPING THINGS HONEST
WAYWARD SMIITH
EP FOCUS
GIMME SHELTER
STARS ARE ALWAYS SHINING AGAR THE AWESOME
[THE GUID IDE]
FUEL THE FIRE Punk rock four-piece Army Of Champions are fast becoming a fine force, the Brissie lads building a reputation behind punchy beats, swerving guitar work and lyrics that spit at your feet while offering you a beer. To coincide with a new 10” Burning Alive, the guys will play a number of local shows, happening Thursday 18 July, Surfers Paradise Beergarden, Gold Coast; Friday 19, Norville Hotel, Toowoomba; and Saturday 20, Crowbar, before they throw down the official launch party at Crowbar again, Saturday 10 August.
What will you be taking home as a souvenir? A Hand Games zine. Scabies. A can of XXXX. A sweaty pair of jeans. A live cane toad. A headache. Bad//Dreems launch Badlands EP (Mirador Records) at the Hand Games Zine Launch, The End, West End on Thursday 18 July.
For more news/announcements go to themusic.com.au/news • 31
[THE GUID IDE] i n d i e
news
SINGLE FOCUS
ON TIME OFF STEREO Real People Fucking THE SCOTCH OF SAINT JAMES Runner THE SEA AND CAKE Nothing Can Hurt Me BIG STAR My Favourite Picture Of You GUY CLARK Before We Finally Meet AGNES KAIN Ngambala Wiji Li-Wunungu: The Song Peoples Sessions SHELLIE MORRIS & THE BORROLOOLA SONGWOMEN Falling HAIM …art REGURGITATOR Planta CSS Devil’s Advocate DAVE CLARKE
THE TOUCH OF TUNES Hand Games is a new zine that is launching in Brisbane, and to help the booze flow a few bands will be plugging in at The End, Thursday 18 July. Catch Bad//Dreems, Black Vacation and Peter Bibby from 7pm – free entry.
SUCK IT IN Purveyors of all things heavy, Bitter Lungs will be slamming it down with a number of dates over the coming few weeks. Catch the four-piece at Prince of Wales, Nundah, Friday 19 July (with Noxious, Symbolic Weapon); Thursday 25, Surfers Paradise Beergarden (with Wretched, Party Vibez); Friday 9 August, Parkwood Tavern, Gold Coast and Saturday 10, Albany Creek Tavern (both supporting 28 Days).
FACTOR HIM BACK Out of the cave and back on stage, former X Factor winner Altiyan Childs has been hard at work on a new record, Born Before The Sun, and will showcase the chops that took him to the top when he previews tracks from the album at The J, Noosa Junction, Saturday 20 July.
MOLONEY CHANGE AND ADDITION Last week we told you that Lyall Moloney was playing Solbar this Saturday, July 20. Well, now he’s changed his schedule up slightly – he’ll be playing The Loft, Gold Coast that night instead, with the Sunshine Coast date now happening Friday 16 August. His Friday night show at The Northern and Sunday show at The Joynt this week are still going ahead as planned.
SINGLE FOCUS
RISE UP TWIN LAKES Name: Eddie Garven Single title: Glacier What’s the song about? The depression and anxiety one can feel in life and the hopelessness and abandonment that can go with it. How long did it take to write/record? The song has been through a number of different edits and over a year of fine-tuning before landing at the final version. It has been a hard nut to crack that’s for sure.
Catch Brisbane’s leading symphonic metal proponents Awaken Solace when they sign off the touring cycle for their debut record In Nightfall’s Embrace at The Tempo Hotel, Saturday 7 September. For fans of bands like Kamelot and Nightwish, this gear is for you.
BRISBANE BOUND
Is this track from a forthcoming release/existing release? Ghosts is part of an upcoming EP, which will be released in September. What was inspiring you during the song’s writing and recording? Writing: life, relationships etc. Recording: Dave Paterson’s string arrangement. We’ll like this song if we like... If you like eating an ice cream while flying a magic carpet, this song is for you. Bloc Party, Silverchair etc. Epic rock/pop with a twist.
We’ll like this song if we like... Anything that makes you feel something.
LIME CORDIALE Artist/Band: Lime Cordiale Name: Oliver Leimbach Home ground: Sydney Describe your live music/performance style as succinctly as possible; Big, energetic, soulful sound. It’s always pretty spontaneous. Even I’m not really sure what’s going to happen. Is this your first foray to Brisbane? If not how many times have you performed in our midst? It’s our third time as a band. The first was part of BIGSOUND. The second, a small tour in January. Please relate your impressions of performing in our fair city… Stinkin’ hot. That’s the way I like it. There’s a very strong friendly vibe going on. Our accommodation last time was on the floor of a Facebook fan that we’d never met. What can we expect different this time around? We’ll be bringing an extra member on keys and guitar. Has anything exciting been happening in your world of late? Yeah, Louis and I just moved into a great house. We’re going to convert the garage into a dodgy studio.
OUT OF THE LAIR
What will you be taking home as a souvenir? A $3 drink from Ric’s or a fine ‘girl’ from the Valley.
Former folkie Paul Appelkamp will be hitting the Ric’s stage on Friday 9 August as Lionheir, the Byron Bay musician’s adventurous pop rock beast. Having already piqued interest following a semi-final berth at the recent International Songwriting Competition behind his track Shooting Stars, Lionheir is on the rise, and backed by a rhythm section at this show he’ll undoubtedly leave a mark on your mind and soul.
Lime Cordiale play Black Bear Lodge on Thursday 18 July and Solbar, Maroochydore on Friday 19 July.
32 • For more news/announcements go to themusic.com.au/news
What’s the song about? It’s about being dependent on the elation that comes with a new relationship and dealing with the fear of losing it. How long did it take to write/record? Originally the song was acoustic and it was written in about an hour. We shelved it as it was too soft. Four years, many versions and a string arrangement later...
What was inspiring you during the song’s writing and recording? My childhood has played a big part in the inspiration. My parents were divorced when I was ten. The lyrics and music were written around that time in my life.
Twin Lakes launch Glacier (The A&R Department) at Black Bear Lodge on Sunday 21 July.
Name: Tim Baker Single title? Ghosts
Is this track from a forthcoming release/existing release? It’s from our forthcoming EP that’ll be released towards the end of the year. It’ll be completely self-produced and recorded at our home studio Heavy Feet Studios in Newcastle.
Do you play it differently live? We play it pretty well note for note. Only difference is we stretch out the ending a bit more live.
NEW MANIC SPREE
Do you play it differently live? It is similar live but unfortunately we can’t bring a string octet to our shows so we have to compensate with synths, but you never know... New Manic Spree launch Ghosts (Independent) at The Zoo on Saturday 20 July.
CAN’T RESIST THE ROAD Young bluesman Shaun Kirk is making his way back our way once more before he dives into the studio to record some fresh tracks that he has been working on. Hear his crafty licks when the independent Melbourne artist plays The Loft, Gold Coast, Friday 9 August.
SETTLE IN There’s three big nights of music taking place at Beetle Bar this week, with Common Deers playing their final show for six months, supported by Huska and Stephen Smith on Thursday 18 July. Friday 19 you can catch Geomantra, Flannelette, Dead Wolves and Dead Zephyr for $10, while Saturday 20 offers a bill featuring Echotide, Spherian and Balloons Kill Babies who are launching their new EP.
SHOW A LITTLE ART There’s a little bit of everything to engage with at the 2013 Brisbane Emerging Art Festival, with visual pieces, experimental theatre, dance and sound performances, interactive installations, spoken word and more, including musical performances on the evening from the likes of all-girl synth septet Shooga, Kupka’s Piano, Lita and The Bird, Li Li Kite, Luna Junction and Matt Witney with Simon Andrews. The free event takes place at the Judith Wright Centre, Saturday 27 July from 6pm.
321 BRUNSWICK STREET MALL, FORTITUDE VALLEY WEDNESDAY 17TH JULY
LE PARTY SOUL WITH DJ REDBEARD FEATURING CARRIAGE (10PM) + SPECIAL GUESTS (9PM) THURSDAY 18TH JULY
OF THREE MINDS (10:30PM) + DEAD WOLVES (9:30PM) + DJ VALDIS FRIDAY 19TH JULY
DOWNSTAIRS - STAYCLOSE (9:30PM) + HUSHKA (8:45PM) + LITTLE JODY (8PM) + DJ VALDIS UPSTAIRS - DJ RYAN - 9PM–5AM SATURDAY 20TH JULY
DOWNSTAIRS - MINUS NINE (9PM) + JUNKYARD DIAMONDS (8PM) + DJ VALDIS UPSTAIRS - DJ CUTTS - 9PM–5AM SUNDAY 21ST JULY
EXPOSED #5 HEAT #10 (WILDCARD ROUND) 7:00PM - MOONSHINE SALLY, 7:30PM - THE KEEPAWAYS 8:00PM - RACE OF THE HARRIDAN, 8:30PM - ANTICS 9:00PM - THE FUN TEAM FOLLOWED BY JOHNATHAN DEVOY PLAYING 2 X 45MIN SETS FROM 10PM MONDAY 22ND JULY
COLUMBUS (9:30PM) + WHAT WE’RE WORTH (8:30PM) TUESDAY 23RD JULY
WINDREST (9:30PM) + FALEEPO FRANCISCO (8:30PM)
FREE LIVE MUSIC AND INDIE DJS
WANT TO PLAY? EMAIL BOOKINGS@RICSBAR.COM.AU
WWW.RICSBAR.COM.AU
1000s OF GIGS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS
THE GUIDE AT
BREWING THIS WEEK Thursday 18 July
from 7pm
Joe Hanner William Briskey Nervous Play Thing Saturday 20 July
from 8.30pm
Mojo Webb Sunday 21 July
from 1pm
Velvet Livy Shears
Lower Burnett Ln . Brisbane CBD 07 3211 4242
PRE-ORDER YOUR COPY NOW!
be where the POWER is! place your order at www.store.themusic.com.au 33
[THE GUID IDE] g i g s
1,000’s of gigs at your fingertips. The Guide at
TOUR GUIDE
The Hi-Fi Sep 6, The Northern Sep 7 TWELVE FOOT NINJA: Tempo Hotel Sep 6, Parkwood Tavern Sep 7
SWERVEDRIVER: Thursday 26 September, The Zoo
THE REAL MCKENZIES/THE GO SET: Miami Tavern Shark Bar Sep 6, Prince Of Wales Sep 7
PRESENTS KARNIVOOL: Eatons Hill Hotel Aug 7 SHAPESHIFTER: The Hi-Fi Aug 10 CLARE BOWDITCH: The Hi-Fi Aug 16, Byron Community Centre Aug 17 CLOUD CONTROL: Spotted Cow Aug 21, Coolangatta Hotel Aug 22, The Tivoli Aug 23, Kings Beach Tavern Aug 24 PLUTO JONZE: Alhambra Lounge Aug 22 THE STIFFYS: Surfers Paradise Beergarden Aug 22, Spotted Cow Aug 23, Ric’s Bar Aug 24 DIALECTRIX: Coniston Lane Aug 23 COSMIC PSYCHOS: The Hi-Fi Aug 24 JOSH PYKE: Kings Beach Tavern Aug 29, SoundLounge Aug 30, The Tivoli Aug 31 HUNGRY KIDS OF HUNGARY: Coolangatta Hotel Aug 30, Spotted Cow Aug 31, The Spiegeltent Sep 24 JAPANDROIDS: The Zoo Sep 1 THE PAPER KITES: SoundLounge Sep 5,
INTERNATIONAL BLEEDING THROUGH: The Rev Jul 18 SAINT VITUS: The Hi-Fi Jul 18 DIZZY WRIGHT: Coniston Lane Jul 19 STEREOPHONICS: The Hi-Fi Jul 19 LO!: Crowbar Jul 19 P!NK: BEC Jul 19, 20, 22, 23, Aug 29, 30, Sep 7, 8 JONNY CRAIG: X&Y Bar Jul 20, Studio 454 Jul 21 (AA) ONRA: Coniston Lane Jul 25 THE MOHAWK LODGE: Black Bear Lodge Jul 25, The Loft Jul 27 A LOSS FOR WORDS: Snitch Jul 25, Studio 454 Jul 26 BARDO POND: The Zoo Aug 2 MAMMOTH GRINDER: Sun Distortion Aug 3 SENSES FAIL: The Zoo Aug 7 SHAPESHIFTER: The Hi-Fi Aug 10 ATTILA: Thriller Aug 10 THIRTY SECONDS TO MARS: BEC Aug 13 MDC: The Zoo Aug 13 ALESANA: X&Y Bar Aug 14, Studio 454 Aug 15 (AA) FLYLEAF: The Hi-Fi Aug 15 CARTEL: The Zoo Aug 21 ASH: The Hi-Fi Aug 21 BEING AS AN OCEAN: Crowbar Aug 22, Studio 454 Aug 23 (AA) LINDSEY STIRLING: Brisbane Powerhouse Aug 24 OBEY THE BRAVE: Thriller Aug 24, Tall Poppies Studios Aug 25 (AA) DON MCLEAN: QPAC Aug 23, Twin Towns Aug 25 ALL TIME LOW: The Tivoli Aug 28 (AA) GUTTERMOUTH: The Northern Aug 29, The Tempo Hotel Aug 30, Parkwood Tavern Aug 31 FAT FREDDY’S DROP: The Tivoli Aug 30 JAPANDROIDS: The Zoo Sep 1 ANBERLIN: The Hi-Fi Sep 4, Coolangatta Hotel Sep 5 THE REAL MCKENZIES: Shark Bar Sep 6, Prince of Wales Sep 7 THE COMMITMENTS: Eatons Hill Hotel Sep 7 CYNDI LAUPER: Jupiters Casino Sep 10, QPAC Sep 11, 12 KELE (DJ SET): Oh Hello! Sep 12 VOLUMES: Crowbar Sep 12, Eagleby Community Hall Sep 13 AMANDA PALMER AND THE GRAND THEFT ORCHESTRA: The Tivoli Sep 12 HIT THE LIGHTS: Crowbar Sep 13, Trinity Hall Sep 14 (all ages) GHOSTPOET: The Spiegeltent Sep 15 CALEXICO: The Spiegeltent Sep 17, 18, Byron Theatre Sep 20 MURPHY’S LAW: The Zoo Sep 18 BEACH FOSSILS: The Spiegeltent Sep 19 PANTHA DU PRINCE: The Spiegeltent Sep 20 RUDIMENTAL: Eatons Hill Hotel Sep 20 LAMB OF GOD, MESHUGGAH: The Tivoli Sep 20 FOR THE FALLEN DREAMS: Thriller Sep 21 OLAFUR ARNALDS: The Spiegeltent Sep 22 PEACE: The Zoo Sep 23 SWERVEDRIVER: The Zoo Sep 26 ALAN JACKSON: BEC Sep 26, 27 RIHANNA: BEC Sep 28 THE CULT: Eatons Hill Hotel Oct 1 FOALS: The Tivoli Oct 2 SOILWORK: The Hi-Fi Oct 2 DAVID LIEBE HART BAND: Crowbar Oct 4 BRING ME THE HORIZON, OF MICE & MEN: The Marquee Oct 5 ROLO TOMASSI: Crowbar Oct 10, Sun Distortion Oct 11 (AA) DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT: The Auditorium Oct 10 (AA) AMORPHIS: The Hi-Fi Oct 12 KIM WILDE, NIK KERSHAW: The Tivoli Oct 16
WED 17 JULY 2013
Monarch: Crowbar, Fortitude Valley Woody Lives Here: Irish Murphy’s, Brisbane Open Mic Night feat. various: Solbar, Maroochydore Open Mic Night feat. various: The Loft, Chevron Island Tempo Acoustic Sessions feat. various: The Tempo Hotel, Fortitude Valley
THU 18 JULY 2013
Secret Acts: Alhambra Lounge, Fortitude Valley The Common Deers + Huska + Stephen Smith: Beetle Bar, Brisbane Open Mic Night feat. various: Birdee Num Num, Fortitude Valley Lime Cordiale + Guests: Black Bear Lodge, Fortitude Valley The Keapers : Brisbane Jazz Club, Kangaroo Point Ben Salter + Dan Rennie-Hynes + Zac Gunthorpe: Cafe Le Monde, Noosa Columbia Buffet: Coolangatta Hotel, Coolangatta Icarus Complex + Amicable Treason + Acorea + Maltheist: Crowbar, Fortitude Valley Far East Movement: Gilligans, Cairns Jabba: Irish Murphy’s, Brisbane Open Mic feat. various: Mick O’Malley’s, Brisbane Clubfeet + Panama: Oh Hello!, Fortitude Valley Barry Charles & The Deeper Beat: Solbar, Maroochydore
34 • To check more gigs online go to themusic.com.au/theguide
Hand Games Zine Launch feat. Bad//Dreems + Black Vacation + Peter Bibby: The End, West End Saint Vitus + Monarch + Agonhymn: The Hi-Fi, West End Nick Van Breda + Jen Buxton + Zzzounds + Lindsay Roser: The Hideaway, Fortitude Valley Bleeding Through + Make Them Suffer + Boris The Blade + Hand of The Architect + Bayharbour: The Rev, Fortitude Valley BSOS Uni Night feat. various: The Tempo Hotel, Fortitude Valley Remi: The Tempo Hotel (Bowler Bar), Fortitude Valley Bernard Fanning + Big Scary + Vance Joy: The Tivoli, Fortitude Valley GUNK + Slagroom + Statler & Waldorf: The Waiting Room, West End The Grills + The Hippie Rockers + Asylum: The Zoo, Fortitude Valley Uni Thursdays feat. 21 Hundred Ft. Nick Conomos + Tuffy + AD + Josh Jett + Jimmy Kixx: Victory Hotel, Brisbane
FRI 19 JULY 2013
Mezzanine + Gapapagos + Gazer Strips: Alhambra Lounge, Fortitude Valley Quintessential Doll: Arena, Fortitude Valley Geomantra + Dead Wolves + Dead Zephyr + Flanelette: Beetle Bar, Brisbane Ben Salter + Seja + Machine Age: Black Bear Lodge, Fortitude Valley How Deep Is Your Love: The Music Of Bee Gees: Brisbane City Hall , Brisbane
RED DEER FESTIVAL 2013: Mt Samson Sep 7 JINJA SAFARI: Woombye Pub Sep 11, Spotted Cow Sep 12, The Hi-Fi Sep 13, Coolangatta Hotel Sep 14 DEAD LETTER CIRCUS: Kings Beach Tavern Sep 12, Spotted Cow Sep 13, The Hi-Fi Sep 14 RUDIMENTAL: Eatons Hill Hotel Sep 20 GANGSTERS’ BALL: The Tivoli Sep 21 BIG SCARY: The Spiegeltent Sep 21 THE DRONES: The Hi-Fi Sep 27 PEACE: The Zoo Sep 23 FOALS: The Tivoli Oct 2 BOOMERANG FESTIVAL: Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm Oct 4-6 XAVIER RUDD: The Tivoli Oct 8 THE BREEDERS: The Tivoli Oct 29 HORRORSHOW: Spotted Cow Oct 31, The Zoo Nov 1, Solbar Nov 2, Beach Hotel Nov 3 BOY & BEAR: Beach Hotel Nov 7, Coolangatta Hotel Nov 8, The Tivoli Nov 9
P!nk: Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Boondall Karen Anderson & The Fortunate Sinners: Brisbane Jazz Club, Kangaroo Point Dizzy Wright + Jarren Benton + DJ Hoppa: Coniston Lane, Fortitude Valley Pigeon + The Belligerents: Coolangatta Hotel, Coolangatta Open Mic feat. Donnelle Brooks + Various: Coorparoo Bowls Club, Coorparoo Lo! + High Tension + The Fevered: Crowbar, Fortitude Valley Yuksek: Elsewhere, Surfers Paradise Peter Cupples: Gazebo Restaurant, Hotel Urban, Brisbane Release The Hounds + Grenadiers + Army Of Champions + Firearms: Hotel Norville, Toowoomba B-Rad + Jabba + TackyLand DJ: Irish Murphy’s, Brisbane Le Breeze: Lambert’s Restaurant, Kangaroo Point Devil’s Kiosk: Lock ‘n’ Load Bistro, West End Symbolic Weapon + Noxious + Sevidica + Bitter Lungs: Prince of Wales Hotel, Nundah The Pink Floyd Experience: QPAC Concert Hall, South Bank How Deep Is Your Love feat. Tina Arena + Katie Noonan + Anthony Callea + Christine Anu + Doug Parkinson + Rai Thistlethwayte + Rick Price + Melinda Schneider + The Idea of North + Darren Percival + Emma Pask: Riverstage, Brisbane Paul Atkins: Saltbar, South Kingscliff Brett Nichols : Sit Down Comedy Club, Brisbane Lime Cordiale + guests: Solbar, Maroochydore
Babaganouj + Johnny & The Fembots + The Good Sports: Southside Tea Room, Morningside Bernard Fanning + Big Scary + Vance Joy: The Arts Centre Gold Coast, Surfers Paradise Stereophonics + Atlas Genius: The Hi-Fi, West End Dancing Heals: The Hideaway, Fortitude Valley Wayward Smith: The Hideaway, Fortitude Valley Mojo Juju: The Joynt, South Brisbane Ingrid James: The Lido Cafe & Restaurant, Ascot City Over Sand + Bree De Rome + Garrett Kato: The Loft, Chevron Island Bombs Away: The Met, Fortitude Valley Triplickit: The Tempo Hotel, Fortitude Valley Subtrakt + Tornado Wallace: The Tempo Hotel (Bowler Bar), Fortitude Valley Sneaky Picnic & Soul Simple with Millie Tizzard + Dan Stone: The Zoo, Fortitude Valley Dawn: Upfront Club Maleny, Maleny
SAT 20 JULY 2013
World’s End Press + Outerwaves + Rinse: Alhambra Lounge, Fortitude Valley Echotide + Balloons Kill Babies + Spherian: Beetle Bar, Brisbane Watch Your Step! feat. various DJs: Black Bear Lodge, Fortitude Valley P!nk: Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Boondall Funky Miracle : Brisbane Jazz Club, Kangaroo Point
Thriller feat. Jonny Craig + Built On Secrets + Ryan Dingle + Beth Lucas: Coniston Lane, Fortitude Valley Grenadiers + Army Of Champions + Firearms + The Strums: Crowbar, Fortitude Valley Winter Festival feat. Spiderbait + British India + Kingswood + Templeton + Woe & Flutter + Jakarta Criers + Blonde on Blonde + more: Eatons Hill Hotel, Eatons Hill Trainspotters #36 feat. Roku Music + Occults + The Wrong Man + The Steady As She Goes: Grand Central Hotel, Brisbane Quenel Mott + Wasabi + WKD DJ: Irish Murphy’s, Brisbane Outdoor Opera +Leanne Kenneally + James Egglestone + Guy Booth + David Hibbard + Opera Queensland Chorus: Jimbour Stadium Amphitheatre, Jimbour Dawn: Joe’s Waterhole, Eumundi Colombian National Day Festival 2013 feat. various: Kingston Butter Factory, Kingston Little Kitty Big Meow: Lock ‘n’ Load Bistro, West End
Mojo Juju: The Joynt, South Brisbane Lyall Maloney: The Joynt, South Brisbane Young Night + Sons Of The Morning + Baltimore Gun Club + Lyall Moloney: The Loft, Chevron Island The Big Duo + Lucky 13: The Tempo Hotel, Fortitude Valley Nina Las Vegas: The Tempo Hotel (Bowler Bar), Fortitude Valley Bernard Fanning + Big Scary + Vance Joy: The Tivoli, Fortitude Valley New Manic Spree + Slumberhaze + Drawn From Bees + Denmark: The Zoo, Fortitude Valley Raven & Myk Reid + Verbill: Transcontinental Hotel, Brisbane Josh Jett: Victory Hotel, Brisbane
SUN 21 JULY 2013
Le Murd + Thirteen Seventy + Gentlemen + Monster Zoku Onsomb: 633 Ann, Fortitude Valley
JONNY CRAIG: Saturday 20 July, X&Y Bar
tyDi: Platinum Nightclub, Broadbeach Renee Geyer: QPAC Concert Hall, South Bank How Deep Is Your Love feat. +Tina Arena + Christine Anu + Anthony Callea + Katie Noonan + Doug Parkinson + Rai Thistlethwayte + Rick Price + Melinda Schneider + The Idea of North + Darren Percival + Emma Pask: Riverstage , Brisbane The Febs: Saltbar, South Kingscliff Shputnik: Solbar, Maroochydore Emerson Snowe: Southside Tea Room, Morningside Headwound The Pony + Guests: Studio 454, Enoggera Lucinda Shaw + Kristy Apps + Melissa J Evans + Nikolaine Martin: SYc Studios , East Brisbane Dark Relic: Tall Poppy Studios, Brisbane Guitarmen: The Hi-Fi, West End Altiyan Childs: The J, Noosa Junction
Monster Guitars + Adam Hole + Mark Easton: Bearded Dragon Tavern, Tamborine Twin Lakes + Grand Pavillon + Settling: Black Bear Lodge, Fortitude Valley Amy Backhouse: Brisbane Jazz Club, Kangaroo Point Astrid & The Asteroids: Cafe Le Monde (Afternoon) , Noosa The Clem Four: Coorparoo Bowls Club, Coorparoo The Willow Seed: Dowse Bar (Iceworks), Paddington Darren J Ray: Geebung-Zillmere RSL, Geebung Mick McHugh + Rag Doll Duo + Wasabi: Irish Murphy’s, Brisbane Step It Up: Lock ‘n’ Load Bistro, West End Dawn: Ric’s, Fortitude Valley Jonathan Devoy : Ric’s, Fortitude Valley
gigs
1,000’s of gigs at your fingertips. The Guide at
TOUR GUIDE
BEN SALTER
GIG OF THE WEEK
FRIDAY 19 JULY, BLACK BEAR LODGE
Sol Sundays +Hayden Hack Infusion: Solbar, Maroochydore Jonny Craig + Awaken I Am + Millie Tizzard: Studio 454, Enoggera Lyall Moloney: The Joynt, South Brisbane Chasing Grey + The Iron Eye + Chasing Closure + What We’re Worth + Driven By Instinct: The Tempo Hotel, Fortitude Valley Small Change Sundays feat. various DJs: Victory Hotel, Brisbane
He’s always been a bit of a wanderer, has Ben Salter. If he’s not traversing the country plying his wares he’s probably showing off somewhere overseas, spreading his inimitable message one beverage at a time. Well for once this wanderlust has proved beneficial, because he returned from a lengthy 2012 stint in Europe armed with a string of songwriting collaborations which he turned into the brand new European Vacation EP. After years slogging it out in fine bands such as Giants Of Science, The Gin Club and The Wilson Pickers, Salter is relishing the solo spotlight – find out for yourself this Friday night at Black Bear Lodge when he introduces the new material to his hometown in the live setting, with support from the irrepressible Seja and the burgeoning Machine Age. If you can’t make this show you can catch Salter the night before when he plays a free show at Cafe Le Monde at Noosa (with Dan Rennie-Hynes and Zac Gunthorpe). Support live local music!
MON
CLUBFEET: Thursday 18 July, Oh Hello!
22 JULY 2013
P!nk: Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Boondall Woody Lives Here: Irish Murphy’s, Brisbane Dizzy Wright + Jarren Benton + DJ Hoppa: Surfers Paradise Beer Garden, Surfers Paradise Rockaoke: The T empo Hotel, Fortitude Valley
[THE GUID IDE]
TUE 23 JULY 2013
P!nk: Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Boondall Scott Darlow: Emmaus College, Jimboomba B-Rad: Irish Murphy’s, Brisbane
Lauren Grace Duo: Lock ‘n’ Load Bistro, West End The Bug feat. Cole and VanDyck + The Pockets: New Farm Bowls Club, New Farm Mark Sheils: Samford Valley Hotel, Samford Valley Cole & Van Dijk + The Pockets: The Bug, New Farm
RICKY MARTIN: BCEC Oct 16 EVERY TIME I DIE: The Hi-Fi Oct 18 CHELSEA GRIN: Brisbane Riverstage Oct 18 IMAGINE DRAGONS: The Hi-Fi Oct 19 ONE DIRECTION: BEC Oct 19, 20, 21 MICKEY AVALON: The Hi-Fi Oct 24, Coolangatta Hotel Oct 25 YELLOWCARD: The Tivoli Oct 25 BEYONCE: BEC Oct 28, 29 THE BREEDERS: The Tivoli Oct 29 ENSLAVED: The Hi-Fi Nov 3 THE RED JUMPSUIT APPARATUS: TBC Nov 7, TBC Nov 8 SCOTT KELLY AND THE ROAD HOME, JARBOE: The Zoo Nov 9 SALT-N-PEPA: Jupiters Hotel Nov 12 SMOKIE: Brolga Theatre Nov 12, Empire Theatre Nov 14, QPAC Nov 15 NILE: The Hi-Fi Nov 14 FLEETWOOD MAC: BEC Nov 14, Dec 2 KATAKLYSM: Crowbar Dec 4 OLLY MURS: BCEC Nov 16 JILL SCOTT: The Tivoli Nov 21 JUSTIN BIEBER: BEC Nov 27 (AA) PASSENGER: The Tivoli Dec 6, Dec 7 (AA) TAYLOR SWIFT: Suncorp Stadium Dec 7 BON JOVI, KID ROCK: Suncorp Stadium Dec 17 BRUNO MARS: BEC Mar 7
NATIONAL BERNARD FANNING: The Tivoli Jul 18, 20, Gold Coast Arts Centre Jul 19, Sirromet Wines Nov 3 CLUBFEET: Oh Hello! Jul 18 REMI: Bowler Bar Jul 18 BOMBS AWAY: The Met Jul 19 MEZZANINE: Alhambra Lounge Jul 19 MOJO JUJU: The Joynt Jul 19, 20 KINGSWOOD: Eatons Hill Hotel Jul 20 ALISON WONDERLAND: Beach Hotel Jul 25, Playground Aug 10, Oh Hello! Aug 14, Elsewhere Sep 21 DEEZ NUTS: Crowbar Jul 26, 27 (AA) KATE MILLER-HEIDKE: Brisbane Powerhouse Jul 28 BEARS WITH GUNS: Black Bear Lodge Jul 28, The Loft Aug 3 PAUL KELLY: Brolga Theatre Jul 28, Gold Coast Arts Centre Jul 30, Lake Kawana Community Centre Jul 31, QPAC Aug 1, Sep 7 ISAAC GRAHAM: Crowbar Aug 1 ELECTRIC HORSE: The Zoo Aug 1, The Northern Aug 16, Shark Bar Aug 17 CITIZEN KAY: Coolangatta Hotel Aug 1, Alhambra Lounge Aug 2 ILUKA: Black Bear Lodge Aug 1, The Loft Aug 2, The Spotted Cow Aug 3, Cafe Le Monde Aug 4 (AA) WAX WITCHES: X&Y Bar Aug 2 THELMA PLUM: The SoundLounge Aug 2 PSYCROPTIC, KING PARROT: Crowbar Aug 3, Norville Hotel Aug 4 SIMON MELI AND THE WIDOWBIRDS: X&Y Bar Aug 4 KARNIVOOL: Eatons Hill Hotel Aug 7 JIMMY BARNES: Ipswich Civic Centre Aug 7, Empire Theatre Aug 8, Twin Towns Aug 11, Eatons Hill Hotel Sep 28, Lake Kawana Community Centre, Sep 29 ADALITA: Black Bear Lodge Aug 8 MARK SEYMOUR: Noosa Heads Surf Club Aug 8, Hamilton Hotel Aug 9, Racecourse Hotel Aug 10 EGO: Oh Hello! Aug 8, Never Land Bar Aug 30, Beach Hotel Aug 31 THE WOOHOO REVUE: Solbar Aug 9, The Joynt Aug 10 DUBMARINE: The Hi-Fi Aug 9, Solbar Aug 10, The SoundLounge Aug 23, The Northern Sep 20, Metro Arts Centre Sep 27 SETH SENTRY: Kings Beach Tavern Aug 10, The Spotted Cow Aug 11, The Northern Aug 15, Coolangatta Hotel Aug 16 FOR OUR HERO: Old Museum Aug 11 VIOLENT SOHO: Crowbar Aug 16 TIM FINN, BOB EVANS: Eatons Hill Hotel Aug 16 CLARE BOWDITCH: The Hi-Fi Aug 16, Byron Community Centre Aug 17 GLASS TOWERS: Black Bear Lodge Aug 21, The Loft Aug 22, The Northern Aug 23 CLOUD CONTROL: The Spotted Cow Aug 21, Coolangatta Hotel, Aug 22, The Tivoli Aug 23, Kings Beach Tavern Aug 24 PLUTO JONZE: Alhambra Lounge Aug 22 THE STIFFYS: Surfers Paradise Beergarden Aug 22, The Spotted Cow Aug 23, Ric’s Aug 24
COSMIC PSYCHOS: The Hi-Fi Aug 24 TOM WEST: The Hideaway Aug 24 THE DRONES: The Hi-Fi Aug 27 THE SMITH STREET BAND: The Zoo Aug 29 JOSH PYKE: Kings Beach Tavern Aug 29, The SoundLounge Aug 30, The Tivoli Aug 31 THE TROUBLE WITH TEMPLETON: The Spotted Cow Aug 29, The Zoo Aug 30, the Brewery Aug 31 PIGEON: Oh Hello! Aug 30, Coolangatta Hotel Sep 19, Beach Hotel Sep 20, Solbar Sep 21 MIDNIGHT JUGGERNAUTS: The Hi-Fi Aug 30, The Northern Aug 31 OSCAR KEY SUNG: Black Bear Lodge Aug 30 HUNGRY KIDS OF HUNGRY: Coolangatta Hotel Aug 30, The Spotted Cow Aug 31, The Spiegeltent Sep 24 VANCE JOY: The Zoo Aug 31 THE PAPER KITES: The SoundLounge Sep 5, The Hi-Fi Sep 6, The Northern Sep 7 SEEKAE: Oh Hello! Sep 5 TWELVE FOOT NINJA: The Tempo Hotel Sep 6, Parkwood Tavern Sep 7 BOB EVANS: Byron Theatre Sep 6, The Spotted Cow Sep 7, The SoundLounge Sep 12 ROGER KNOX: The Spiegeltent Sep 8 KIERAN RYAN: Alhambra Lounge Sep 10 RUSSELL MORRIS: The Spiegeltent Sep 11 JINJA SAFARI: Woombye Pub Sep 11, The Spotted Cow Sep 12, The Hi-Fi Sep 13, Coolangatta Hotel Sep 14 THE BASICS: The Spiegeltent Sep 12 DEAD LETTER CIRCUS: Kings Beach Tavern Sep 12, The Spotted Cow Sep 13, The Hi-Fi Sep 14 ILLY: Oh Hello! Sep 13 DOKU RAI BAND: The Spiegeltent Sep 13 DICK DIVER: The Spiegeltent Sep 14 SNAKADAKTAL: The Hi-Fi Sep 20, The Northern Sep 21 BIG SCARY: The Spiegeltent Sep 21 EMMA LOUISE: The Spiegeltent Sep 25, 26 HARRISON CRAIG: QPAC Sep 27, Jupiters Casino Sep 28, Star Court Theatre Nov 19 SPIT SYNDICATE: Solbar Sep 28, The Loft Oct 10, Woody’s Surf Shack Oct 11, Alhambra Lounge Oct 12 PARKWAY DRIVE: The Tivoli Sep 29, 30 (AA), Oct 1 XAVIER RUDD: Byron YAC Oct 7 (AA), The Tivoli Oct 8 REGURGITATOR: Kings Beach Tavern Oct 10, The Hi-Fi Oct 11, Coolangatta Hotel Oct 12, The Northern Oct 13 ED KUEPPER: The SoundLounge Oct 11 THE AMITY AFFLICTION: Brisbane Riverstage Oct 18 BABY ANIMALS: The Zoo Oct 18, 19 LENKA: Black Bear Lodge Oct 24 HORRORSHOW: The Spotted Cow Oct 31, The Zoo Nov 1, Solbar Nov 2, Beach Hotel Nov 3 BOY & BEAR: Beach Hotel Nov 7, Coolangatta Hotel Nov 8, The Tivoli Nov 9 DEF FX: Beetle Bar Nov 9 JESSICA MAUBOY: BCEC Nov 19, Jupiters Casino Nov 20, Caloundra Events Centre Nov 22, Empire Theatre Jan 8; Lismore Workers Club Jan 10
FESTIVALS SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS: North Byron Parklands Jul 26-28 BRISBANE EMERGING ART FESTIVAL: Judith Wright Centre Jul 27 GREAZEFEST: Rocklea Showgrounds Aug 2-4 LOUD FEST: Trinity Hall Aug 10 (AA) RED DEER MUSIC FESTIVAL: Samford Valley Sep 7 BIGSOUND: Fortitude Valley Entertainment Precinct Sep 11-12 MITCHELL CREEK ROCK N BLUES FESTIVAL: Upper Kandanga, Mary Valley Sep 20-22 SPRUNG FESTIVAL: Victoria Park Cricket Ovals Sep 21 ONE EPIC EVENT: Pine Rivers Park Sep 22 BOOMERANG FESTIVAL: Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm Oct 4-6 CALOUNDRA MUSIC FESTIVAL: Kings Beach Park Oct 4-7 LISTEN OUT: Cultural Forecourt Oct 6 HITS & PITS 2.0: Coolangatta Hotel Nov 15, The Hi-Fi Nov 16 HARVEST: City Botanic Gardens Nov 17 WARPED TOUR: RNA Showgrounds Nov 29, Coffs Harbour Showground Nov 30 STEREOSONIC: RNA Showgrounds Dec 7-8
To check more gigs online go to themusic.com.au/theguide • 35
The new album, AM, from Arctic Monkeys was produced by James Ford and co-produced by Ross Orton at Sage & Sound Recording, LA and Rancho De La Luna, Joshua Tree, and was engineered by Ian Shea and mixed by Tchad Blake. Glen Campbell reinterprets a number of his careerdefining hits on a new album, See You There, produced by Dave Darling (Brian Setzer) and Surfdog founder Dave Kaplan, which also includes the previously unreleased Waiting On The Comin’ Of My Lord, a previously uncompleted track recorded during the sessions for 2011 album, Ghost On The Canvas. Avenged Sevenfold release their sixth studio album, Hail To The King, which was produced by Mike Elizondo (Mastodon, Eminem, Fiona Apple), in August. Most of the sessions for the new Elvis Costello & The Roots collaborative album, Wise Up Ghost, took place in secret at Feliz Habitat Studios in the dead of night, while others “were in plain sight” at Costello’s Hookery Crookery Studios. Wrongdoers, the new album from US metalcore band Norma Jean, was recorded at Covenant Recording Studios in Kansas City with producer Josh Barber and was mixed by Jeremy Griffith (Cartel, Saosin). Mid-May, the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London won the Music category at the British Inspiration Awards, facing off stiff competition from BBC Radio 6 Music, Gary Barlow, Gareth Malone of the Military Wives Choir and Jools Holland. The awards recognise achievement in the creative industries. The new album, The Diving Board, from Elton John and his career-long lyrical collaborator, Bernie Taupin, was recorded at The Village in Los Angeles with producer T-Bone Burnett (Elvis Costello, Counting Crows), who produced The Union, John’s 2010 collaboration with Leon Russell. According to John, “On the first three days of recording, in 2012, [Bernie and I] wrote eleven songs. All the tracks on the first session were done in five days. We went back this year and Bernie wrote some additional lyrics. I chose four and they were written and recorded in two days.” Produced by Grammy Award-winning producer/ songwriter and long-time collaborator Tom Hambridge (Skin Deep, Living Proof), Rhythm & Blues is the latest album from the now 76-year-young Buddy Guy. John Legend coproduced his fourth studio album, Love In The Future, with Kanye West and Dave Tozer. The eponymous album from Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison’s new project, Scar The Martyr, was recorded at Sound Farm Studios in Des Moines, Iowa, and produced by Rhys Fulber, whose production and mixing credits include Fear Factory, Rob Zombie, Mindless Self Indulgence, Front Line Assembly and more. Quite apart from putting in a European tour through April and May, globetrotting Brisbane guitarist Michael Fix has been busy on a number of projects, including recording, mixing and mastering tracks for fellow Brisbanite, singer-songwriter Mark Cryle, completing tracks with Greg Champion and preproduction work on a new album by Nadia Sunde. As with all jazz albums, the debut album, Brotherhood, by Perth trio Abbey/Foster/ Falle, was recorded live, in this case over three days last year that included mixing the tracks, by Kieran Kenderessy at Loop Studios, the tracks then mastered at Nilento Studios in Gothenburg, Sweden, by Lars Nilsson. After finding a remote house near Coffs Harbour, NSW, on a property surrounded by acres of forest, Tonight Alive reinvented it as their recording studio, where they were joined by longtime collaborator, Dave Petrovic to record their new album, The Other Side, which was then mixed by Dan Korneff (Pierce The Veil, Paramore, Sleeping With Sirens). The Paper Kites’ first long-player, St Clarity, due late August, was produced by the band themselves with ARIA Award-winning producer Wayne Connolly (You Am I, Josh Pyke) at Melbourne’s Sing Sing Studios and Sydney’s Albert’s Studios. Six years between albums but Kim Salmon and Ron Peno reunited for their third album, In The Days When The World Was Wide, as The Darling Downs, recorded at Sound Park Studios by Andrew Hehir, who coproduced it with the duo, Baz Williams the executive producer.
36 • For more interviews go to themusic.com.au/interviews
IN TH E STUDIO
SOUND BYTES
SPACE IS SOUND Barely 18 months after releasing his last album, Behind The Stars, singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer Paul Greene is back in the studio recording his next. He talks to Michael Smith about it.
hen Greene says he’s back in the studio recording (you can expect the album early next year), it’s most definitely not the traditional professional state-of-the-art facility he’s talking about. Right in the heart of NSW southern coastal town Nowra’s CBD is an old, sandstone, decommissioned convent that, some years ago, was turned into a series of rooms where young bands could rehearse and record. Run by local longstanding musical identity Ross Longfield, Greene, who grew up in the Nowra area, got to know about the place through the drummer in his band The Other Colours, Matt Sykes, who tragically lost his life in January this year in a freak boating accident near Jervis Bay.
W
flat on an MBox Mini and had very limited tools to use, but that sort of forced me to be more creative.” Since then, as well as his own records, Greene has produced James Blundell’s 2011 album, Woolshed Creek, and Melanie Horsnell’s album from last year, The Cloud Appreciation Society, among others. Rejoining The Other Colours and taking up the drum position so sadly vacated by Sykes, who had originally replaced her after the recording of Behind The Stars, so she could fulfil other commitments, is Eleanor Plummer, while bass player Neil Beaver’s role within the unit has now expanded a little.
“Matt had a rehearsal room there,” Greene recalls, “and he was doing lessons there, and I wanted a writing space, so I started renting one of the rooms, and gradually my studio came together a bit more and a bit more and I started demoing songs in there, and I was getting a really great drum sound out of it. It’s got really high ceilings and, though I was considering other spaces to do the album, I just really like what was happening in this room.
“On the last album, Neil was assistant engineering. This time he’s taking a bit more of an engineering role, allowing me to sit back and be more the producer and performer, which are still two very big hats to be wearing. It’s just been evolving, and I just keep experimenting with it. I tend to keep the focus more on the performance. Just from a muso/songwriter background, I tend to lean very heavily on capturing a good performance rather than using the tech end of town.
“Basically I’ve got an older version of ProTools and a couple of external interfaces. I was using an old DAT machine,” he chuckles, “as one of my interfaces, which had really good analogue AD/DA converters on it actually. I think at the moment we’re running a MO2 and a 003. If you consider the software as kind of the ‘brain’ of the studio, I’ve always wanted to keep it fairly simple. I use it more like a tape machine anyway; I try to steer clear of editing – I like to record and capture things live. I’ve been collecting microphones and preamps and weird things I find in op shops for twenty years, and, I think it was three albums ago, with [2010’s] Everywhere Is Home, which was the first album where I attempted to do it entirely on my own – a proper solo record – I recorded it all in this
“Having recorded several albums in expensive studios, I really love recording in comfortable places. James Blundell’s album we recorded in an old woolshed on his family property, which only had three walls, so one side of this shed was looking out over an open paddock, and it was amazing, in the middle of nowhere, so the sound wasn’t an issue. And Melanie’s album, we recorded that in an old milking shed in Candelo. So for me, it’s about where you feel comfortable. I think sometimes the space does provide a large element of the sound, especially with drums, and that becomes part of the character of the album. I think any room, any space, can be ‘managed’ – you might have to tweak it a bit to stop some reflections or
IN TH E STUDIO
BEHIND THE LINES
enhance others – but I really [am] working with the room almost like part of the instruments. “I’m very aware, from the start, of the ‘space’ of the record. I close my eyes and I can see the room, and I want the listener to be able to ‘see’ the room too with their ears, see where the drums are positioned, and where the guitar would be, where the singer is gonna be standing – like you can visualise it. John Lennon and Neil Young both do it very well – the drums are the thing that kind of actually dictates the shape of the room. I always want to keep that as a centrepiece – it’s people playing music in a room, and what you’re listening to is a recording of that. It might sound very simple but I think it’s important to stick to.” For his vocals, Greene tends to rely pretty much entirely on his old Shure Beta 58 – “not a Beta A,” he emphasises. “I’ve been singing into the same mic every gig I’ve ever done since 1993, and I just know the mic and it knows me – I’ve had my best results with it. I don’t know if it’s because that’s what I’m used to my voice sounding like rather than what suits my voice best. I’ve experimented with different things – I’ve got some old ribbon mics and little things I’ve found in op shops. Like I found an old Dictaphone that had an old ribbon mic in it. If I’m singing more quietly I’ll use a more sensitive mic; like, I’ve got a Rode Classic II that’s really great on really gentle stuff.”
STEPPING IT UP Hooking up with the guy whose ears were behind some of the best Australian rock albums, from Baby Animals to Silverchair, has given Tracer quite the boost, as Michael Smith discovers.
riginally forming in Adelaide a decade ago, Tracer were looking for the best way to up the ante on their self-produced debut album, 2011’s Spaces In Between, an album that has served them very well and which they’ve toured through Europe three times, helping them score the Best New Band gong at the 2012 Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards.
O
Tracer found that ‘best way’ in the form of veteran producer Kevin Shirley. Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, Shirley moved to Australia in 1987 where he worked with, among others, The Hoodoo Gurus, The Angels, Cold Chisel, Tina Arena, The Screaming Jets and Baby Animals. After producing Silverchair’s debut album, Frogstomp, he was invited to the US by A&R man John Kalodner to produce albums for Journey and Aerosmith. Now based in California, he’s gone on to produce records for, among many, San Diego punkers Rocket From The Crypt, The Black Crowes, Dream Theater, Iron Maiden and Joe Bonamassa, and was instrumental in putting together Black Country Communion, who are labelmates with Tracer. “The word was that he was looking for some other stuff to work on,” Tracer’s drummer Dre Wise explains the band’s connecting with Shirley, who produced their new album, El Pistolero, “and one of the guys from the label sent him our stuff. So we had an email from the owner of our label [Mascot Label Group] – they’re Dutch – saying ‘Hey guys, Kevin Shirley is interested in doing an album with you.’ And then a week later, we get another email – ‘Kevin Shirley says you need to be in Los Angeles on this day in November’! We were just super lucky he wanted to work with us.” Along with his engineer Jared Kvitka, Shirley took the band – effectively Wise and singer, songwriter and guitarist Michael Brown, the band’s bass player having recently departed (now replaced by fellow Adelaidean Jett Heysen-Hicks) – and LA session bass player Michael Rhodes into Revolver Recordings
in Thousand Oaks in California, a 2,000 square foot studio space with an enviable collection of high-quality vintage analogue gear, including the classic Neve 8128 and Studer equipment used to record quite a few Grammy Award-winning records, not least Michael Jackson’s Thriller, as well as current digital equipment including a top of the line ProTools HD Accel 3 with 32 discrete inputs and outputs to the console. “Kevin really captured more of the live energy that we have; that’s always been something that we’ve been trying to get on our records and never quite managing it. And he instills this confidence in you – he’s a super-quick worker – the man is just a machine. But he never overworks people, and he knows full well what he has and what he doesn’t have. He doesn’t write anything down; it’s all in his head, and when you hear the results… His thing is, the band got here ‘cause they know how they sound, so he’s more about capturing that, then adding his little sparkle on top. We punched out all the bass, drums, guitar and the majority of the vocals in six days.” Shirley then took the results and the band over to his own facility, The Cave Studio in Malibu, to mix the album on his 48-channel SSL Duality console, which features the unique capability of Variable Harmonic Drive (VHD) circuitry on every channel while maintaining that signature SSL sound, before sending it to Studios 301 Sydney for Leon Zervos to master. “The sounds that are on the album are pretty much the raw sounds of the band. There’s a bit of compression here and there but nothing crazy, and there’s no reverb on any of the mixes – the sounds are all just the live room.” There was no pre-production time factored into Tracer’s visit to California, so it was just a case of the band sending Shirley some 25 to 30 tracks from which the 13 tracks that ended up on El Pistolero were selected, the band having been pretty rigorous in the pre-production process in working up the demos themselves.
“He then said, ‘Look guys, it’s really close. Whatever we need, we can do up on the day on the fly.’ He prefers to operate that way, capturing that magic when something first happens. “Something we’re really conscious of, especially being a three-piece,” Wise, who plays a Pearl kit with, for the album, primarily a Dennis Chambers Signature Snare drum, points out, “it’s easy to leave holes in the sound, so it’s always been something we’ve worked hard on, just making sure there’s a full spectrum.” Among the guitars Brown took to California for the sessions were a baritone guitar his father had made for him, a thinline, semi-hollow body Telecaster, a Gibson Flying V and a Fender Coronado. He now also totes a guitar he commissioned Salvi’s Fine Guitars in Adelaide to build for him to his own design, the Tracer “Pistolero”, a small-bodied semihollow electric, the back and sides carved by a computer-controlled router from a piece of Honduran mahogany, the neck strengthen with carbon fibre. WHO: Tracer WHAT: El Pistolero (Mascot/Warner) WHEN & WHERE: Thursday 22 August, Ric’s Bar; Friday 23, Victoria Point Sharks Club; Saturday 24, Racehorse Hotel, Booval
37
CLASSIES
brought to you by
SOUND & MUSIC
EMPLOYMENT ADMINISTRATION Brisbane musician seeks bassist, lead guitarist and keyboard player for band influenced by 70’s glam rock/pop music doing both originals and covers. Must be under-40. Email dariowestern@hotmail. com.au or call 0437428859. iFlogID: 22601
Experienced original rock band looking to play with other established gigging bands. Will return favour with dates in Sydney venues such as The Wall, Valve Bar, Town & Country. RemmosK@gmail. com
Video sound pro recording, editing, mixing & mastering for film. Video editing full HD. Music arranging / composition & production for film. Voice overs dubbed into video etc. $40 hr. Enquiries ph: 02 98905578 iFlogID: 21481
Video sound quality recording, editing, mixing & mastering for film. Video editing full HD. Music arranging / composition & production for film. Voice overs dubbed into video etc. $40 hr. Enquiries ph: 02 98905578
iFlogID: 19089
iFlogID: 19832
Seo Marketing ~ Facebook likes, YouTube, Twitter views Promote your business online with Seo services Facebook likes 1k - 10k Youtube views 1k 100k Twitter followers 1k - 100k Prices start from $20
iFlogID: 19403
iFlogID: 19091
FILM & STAGE
MUSIC SERVICES
CAMERA
EP RELEASE
CAMERA MAN with music video experience available for hire. Has own Canon HDSLR and lighting kits. email: immimagery@gmail.com iFlogID: 22187
EP VIDEO CLIPS Have a video clip made for your EP release. Take advantage of social networking and broadcast outlets to promote your band & music. http:// musicvideoclips.com.au iFlogID: 22181
PRODUCTION For original & memorable music videos have a look at finncut channel on youtube. or contact Matti, finncut@gmail.com iFlogID: 21804
MUSIC VIDEO PRODUCTION We offer high quality, creative music videos to suit your style & budget. Portfolio of over 30 artists. Seen on MTV, Channel [V], CMC, rage www.immersionimagery.com iFlogID: 22185
Detax will maximise your tax refund or minimise your tax liability, by applying years of Entertainment & Arts industry tax knowledge. Individual Tax Returns from only $99. www.detax.com.au iFlogID: 22543
GUITARS Gibson Les Paul Standard 1992, Cherry Sunburst, made USA, all orig, very clean w/orig hardcase, nice maple top grain/ hints birdseye, binding aged creme, sounds/looks KILLER, Pictures available $3750ono (Brisbane) wrecker70@hotmail.com
MASTERING Mastering from $120 per track. 1st track free before committing for new customers. Quality gear, analysed & treated room. Not “el cheapo”, hear the difference. Enquiries ph: 02 98905578 iFlogID: 21487
Mastering from $120 per track. 1st track free before committing for new customers. Quality gear, analysed & treated room. Not “el cheapo”, hear the difference. Enquiries ph: 02 98905578 iFlogID: 21475
iFlogID: 21947
YOUTUBE & FACEBOOK VIDEOS Self promote through Facebook and Youtube is one of the keys to using social networking to build your following. We can provide: *Live Recording *Interviews with band *Music Video Productions http://immersionimagery.com/
PA / AUDIO / ENGINEERING
DRUMS High Definition YouTube video demonstrations of cymbals. ZILDJIAN, SABIAN, PAISTE, UFIP, MEINL, WUHAN, STAGG, PEARL... www.youtube.com/user/sydneypollak
Quality Professional Websites designed and hosted for bands and businesses. Multimedia and Social Integration included from $300. See www.sophiebelle.com.au or contact info@sophiebelle.com.au
iFlogID: 22183
iFlogID: 21489
I’m looking for work in administration. I hold a certificate 4 in business, and have plenty of experience, inc. a typing speed of 76wpm. Please call me. 0434760833 iFlogID: 22426
WOOHOO IT’S TAX TIME!
FOR SALE
iFlogID: 20664
Get your Band/ Business online with affordable website design. From $299 Services include Seo, Social network marketing Includes free 1000 Facebook likes, 22k twitter followers. Contact info@earthgoat.com
LEGAL / ACCOUNTING
OTHER Award-winning Experienced, Qualified Music Producer: 1.Doing Instrumental version of any song for $40 2. Mix your multi-tracks for $50 and produce personalized original instrumentals for $50. 3. Check lovenabstudio on soundclick.com email: vangelis2133@yahoo.com iFlogID: 18269
Get your Band or Business Online Cost effectively and PROFESSIONALLY - from $299 including Hosting and email addresses! Contact info@bizwebsites. com.au or see www.bizwebsites.com.au. iFlogID: 21941
Get your Band or Business Online Cost effectively and PROFESSIONALLY - from $299 including Hosting and email addresses! Contact info@bizwebsites. com.au or see www.bizwebsites.com.au. iFlogID: 21945
High Definition YouTube video demonstrations of cymbals. ZILDJIAN, SABIAN, PAISTE, UFIP, MEINL, WUHAN, STAGG, PEARL... www.youtube.com/user/sydneypollak iFlogID: 19834
Piano accompanist available for examinations and performances within Sydney with several years experience. Rates at $80p/h (min half-hour). Phone Gavin: 0479122216 or email muro_gav@yahoo. com.au.
Recording, mixing, mastering, jingles, ALL production starting from $20/hr. Contact: Peter on 0415938543 or lif3entertainment@gmail.com Lif3 Entertainment - ABN 42 596 535 578 iFlogID: 21362
PHOTOGRAPHY Concert and event photography since 1984. High quality photos of all your favourite bands and artists, worldwide. Photos available framed or unframed, high colour resolution, great gift ideas. www.rockvizion.net
RECORDING STUDIOS ALCHEMIX RECORDING STUDIOS Brand New Recording Facility in West End. Obligation free studio tours available. Prices, Pictures & Packages up on our site. Alchemix was established in 1998. PH: 0407 630 770 E-Mail: sound@alchemix. com.au WEB: www.alchemix. com.au iFlogID: 21851
EP PACKAGE FOR BANDS
iFlogID: 21614
POSTERS GOLD COAST BYRON BAY NORTHERN NSW Poster distribution for touring artists & bands. Fast, efficient & reliable service at a competitive price www.thatposterguy.com.au iFlogID: 17120
PRINTING FLYER PRINTING (Brisbane) 500 x A5 Single sided full colour flyers on 100gsm bond $190 (based on print ready artwork file supplied). Enquiries: scottb24@hotmail.com. iFlogID: 22631
iFlogID: 22592
iFlogID: 19468
REHEARSAL ROOMS
BOOK ONLINE REHEARSAL $15/HOUR
Rehearsal Rooms at Tall Poppy are now only $15/hour when you book and pay online! Air Conditioned, Acoustic Treatment, Ventilation, Great PA’s, Flat Load In, Plenty of Car Parks. Book a room today and try something better for your creativity and music. www.tallpoppyproductions.com/rehearse iFlogID: 22386
iFlogID: 21616
Highly qualified Photographer with 30 years experience specialising in live music and event photography worldwide. High quality imagery at affordable rates, throughout the Brisbane area. Call Graeme on 0416 316 738
THE WHITE ROOM Mt Nebo. 35 minutes from CBD. Clients include The Go-Betweens, The Grates, The John Steel Singers, Yves Klein Blue, The Good Ship, DZ DEATHRAYS, Barefoot Alley. www.whiteroomstudio.com - 3289 8185
‘LOVE NOISE STUDIOS’ REHEARSAL ROOMS, YATALA NTH EXIT JUST OFF THE M1. P.A PROVIDED, AIR CON, PARKING,CLEAN ROOMS & GREAT RATES. CALL NOW 0405 226 282 OR VISIT WWW. LOVENOISESTUDIOS.COM We specialise in EP Packages for independent bands. This package includes: - 60 hours of studio time to track, mix and master your record - CD Artwork - 100 x Jewel Case CDs - Band Photoshoot - iTunes Distribution - Live show at the Zoo or HiFi to release your new record. Only $4995+gst Packages can be customised to fit your needs so organise a meeting with us today to talk about how we can best help you. www.tallpoppyproductions.com/record iFlogID: 22388
Gusto Guitars offer high quality demo recordings at $25/hr. Air conditioned studio, quality equipment. Mixing, mastering, compsing, session musicians, tuition and photography also available. Logan. Contact Gus:0434551033, gusto4207@ gmail.com
Music tuition, classical / flamenco guitar, celtic harp, theory & harmony, arranging. 9am - 9pm, 7 days. Parramatta area. $40 hr, $30 half hr. Mature & patient. Ph: 02 98905578 iFlogID: 21473
Music tuition, classical / flamenco guitar, celtic harp, theory & harmony, arranging. 9am - 9pm, 7 days. Parramatta area. $40 hr, $30 half hr. Mature & patient. Ph: 02 98905578 iFlogID: 21477
Music tuition, classical / flamenco guitar, celtic harp, theory & harmony, arranging. 9am - 9pm, 7 days. Parramatta area. $40 hr, $30 half hr. Mature & patient. Ph: 02 98905578 iFlogID: 21485
The Drum Dojo. Drum Tuition. Lessons for all ages and styles, beginner to advanced with professional teachers. Rooms in Stafford and Coorparoo. Mob. 0433080961 iFlogID: 22653
VIDEO / PRODUCTION MUSIC VIDEO PRODUCTION We offer high quality, creative music videos to suit your style & budget. Portfolio of over 30 artists. Seen on MTV, Channel [V], CMC, rage www.immersionimagery.com immimagery@gmail.com facebook.com/ immersion.imagery iFlogID: 18477
MUSICIANS AVAILABLE DRUMMER
iFlogID: 22262
STUDIO HIRE Gold Coast ParallelHarmonyStudioRobina. 30 square metre live room, large vocal booth. Handsome range of range of topoftheline Neumann, Rode and Shure microphones. Call 0755808883 for details. www.parallelharmony.com.au
A1 TOP PRO DRUMMER AVAILABLE FOR SESSION FREELANCE WORK, TOURS ETC. EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE, TOP GEAR, GREAT GROOVE AND TIME.SYDNEY BASED, WILL TRAVEL. PH 0419760940. WEBSITE www.mikehague.com iFlogID: 18334
OTHER
iFlogID: 18640
Want to save BIG? Use a SMALL but completely PROFESSIONAL music studio. Try Hawkesbury Music Studio in beautiful East Kurrajong! (15 minutes north of Windsor) Call James: 0490077658 or facebook.com/HawkesburyMusicStudio
Experienced Covers Duo available for functions, including Weddings. Over 150 songs on setlist. Acoustic music for dancing or relaxing. Songs from the 60’s to present day. iFlogID: 21747
iFlogID: 22557
TUITION ABLETON LIVE TUITION
SINGER female vocalist looking to form pop rock/ alternative band in brisbane with influences from circa survive, versa emerge, tonight alive etc. ton_lili@hotmail.com iFlogID: 21707
iFlogID: 21842
Singer/Guitarist looking for other male musicians who play covers gigs and require someone to play occasional or regular shows with them for any of the gigs they book.
HOMETOWN STUDIOS GOLD COAST Hometown Studios in Burleigh Heads - Gold Coast $25 hr. Call 0405222096. Huge analogue console, outboard pre’s, effects, Protools, quality mics. From solo artists to bands. Relaxed atmosphere.
iFlogID: 22008
MUSICIANS WANTED
iFlogID: 22598
MATRIX PRODUCTIONS
NEW Sunshine Coast boutique recording studio. Internationally experienced Mix, Recording & Live Engineer providing dynamic & refined professional finishes to your Studio or Live project. P 0753133566 E matt@matrixproductions.com.au W www. matrix-productions.com.au iFlogID: 22473
Music-Production/Mixing/Mastering package only $150 per track. 5 Tracks for $550 (1-month period). 10 Tracks for $1000( 2.-months period). Check link and listen: http://www.youtube.com/user/Studio9Mru/videos?view=0&flow=grid iFlogID: 20825
Recording Studio, Parramatta, $40hr casual rate. Audiophile quality. All genres. Also on location. 25+yrs exp, multi instrumentalist, arranger, composer, producer. Ph: 02 98905578, 7 days. No acoustic kits.
Why settle for 2nd best, get world class results in Brisbane’s only true world-class recording studio.
iFlogID: 21483
Recording Studio, Parramatta, $40hr casual rate. Audiophile quality. All genres. Also on location. 25+yrs exp, multi instrumentalist, arranger, composer, producer. Ph: 02 98905578, 7 days. No acoustic kits.
Top Engineers. World-Class Gear. 48ch SSL 4048E console, Neve 1081 & 1073 mic pre/EQ’s, Neumann U47, U67 & AKG C12 vintage tube mics, 2” 24 track tape and more!
iFlogID: 21471
Recording Studio, Parramatta, $40hr casual rate. Audiophile quality. All genres. Also on location. 25+yrs exp, multi instrumentalist, arranger, composer, producer. Ph: 02 98905578, 7 days. No acoustic kits.
Mini EP Deal: 2–3 songs $3300 inc GST* EP Deal: 4–5 songs $5,500 inc GST* all recorded, mixed and mastered + CD’s!
Grant Davies is an Ableton Live GURU! Using the program for 10 years Grant Can help with ALL your Ableton Questions! PH: 0414524912 FB: www.facebook.com/ BBeatsandBBass iFlogID: 22647
DRUMMER AND DRUM LESSONS Drum Lessons avaliable in Gladesville Teach all Levels, ages .17 years experience. I studied at The Billy Hydes Drumcraft Academy and Obtained a Diploma in Drumming. Mob:0402663469 Michael iFlogID: 20676
Eastern Suburbs guitar/ukulele/bass/ slide lessons with APRA award winning composer. Highly experienced, great references, unique individually designed lessons from Vaucluse studio. Learn to play exactly what YOU want to play! www. matttoms.com iFlogID: 16690
GUITAR TUITION. Bris. 30 yrs experience. Beginners a specialty. My home($40hr) or yours($60hr) Ph Peter. 0406017022 iFlogID: 20116
Gusto Guitars offers guitar/bass/double bass lessons to students of all ages. 12 years teaching experience, fun/motivating/patient, all styles . Air conditioned studio. $25/half hour, $40/hr Logan. Contact Gus: 0434551033 gusto4207@ gmail.com iFlogID: 21844
BANDS Female musicians and vocalists wanted for Brisbane band to capitalize on the naturist and vegetarian approaches to life. Must be reliable, ambitious and not body shy. Contact laissez-fayre@hotmail. com or 0437859. iFlogID: 22603
INDIE BANDS Indie Artists Get Your Own Feature Channel Just For Your Band Here! http://www. radiosydney.com.au/computer/page37. html iFlogID: 21172
MUSICIANS WANTED Ballina heavy metal guitarist is looking for other musicians to start serious band with. Influences Megadeth, Anthrax, Trivium, Iron Maiden etc. Ph 0478782923 iFlogID: 22000
Originals and Cover acts wanted @ Fitzys Loganholme every Sunday night from 6pm !!! Pa and basic Drum kit provided. Call JEZZA on mob: 0410 406 629 for more info :) iFlogID: 22574
Seeking experienced lead & backing singers, bass, keyboard, sax & trumpet players for REGGAE band in Northern Beaches. Call Michael 0402 549 423 or email siczex@yahoo.com.au
LEARN GUITAR $99 Special Promo 5 week course Beginners Welcome Children & Adults *Friendly mentoring approach *Great Results Guaranteed Enquire Now Paddington Ph: 0416960673 E: nikolaidis@live.ie iFlogID: 19765
iFlogID: 21479
*Conditions apply
t
0421 286 796
.
e
info@lushstudios.com.au
.
w
iFlogID: 18612
BASS PLAYER BASS PLAYER Bass Player wanted for established central coast band. Publicist for Bam Magera, The Veronica’s and booking agent now on board. Currently touring. Ep mastered by Brian Lucey ( the Black Keys- El Camino, Brothers) available on iTunes world wide. Must be committed and reliable. Contact Kurt - newregulars@gmail.com iFlogID: 22538
BASS PLAYER WITH HIGH VOCALS WANTED for vocal band with sixties influences. Paul McCartney type role. Prefer guy in their 20s but would consider someone older if suitable. Call now 0407 644 350. iFlogID: 20963
GUITARIST LEAD GUITARIST Reg working 70’s cover band looking for prof lead guit with b/vocals ability (ability to sing lead is a bonus). Must be willing to travel on occasions. 0417370292. iFlogID: 22594
Small but professional music studio looking for Singer/Songwriters eager to record on a budget. Hawkesbury Music Studio in beautiful East Kurrajong! (15 minutes north of Windsor) James: 0490077658 or facebook.com/HawkesburyMusicStudio iFlogID: 22559
OTHER RADIO SYDNEY IS BIG! VERY BIG! www.radiosydney.com.au The worlds largest free digital radio sevice? We say YES! iFlogID: 21174
SERVICES BEAUTY SERVICES Fully Qualified & 8yrs Experience, Thai Massage $49/hr or Sensual Balinese Aroma $69/hr. In/Out calls, Male/Female Welcome. www.takecaremassage.com. au - By Anson 0433646338 iFlogID: 17428
Learn French! - Beginner to Advanced Levels. Bilingual English/ French-speaking Teacher. Either for fun/school/exam preparations. Online via Skype. 1 h r classes X 4 dates per month. Only $50 per 4 classes ($15/each additional class). Contact me on: vangelis2133@yahoo.com iFlogID: 22090
GRAPHIC DESIGN Get your Band or Business Online Cost effectively and PROFESSIONALLY from $299 including Hosting and email addresses! Contact info@bizwebsites. com.au or see www.bizwebsites.com.au. iFlogID: 21943
Quality Professional Websites designed and hosted for bands and businesses. Multimedia and Social Integration included from $300. See www.sophiebelle.com.au or contact info@sophiebelle.com.au iFlogID: 21949
OTHER
FREE ONLINE LISTING
Free online listing for musicians and music businesses. Promote yourself or your music business in a national online music directory http://www.musiclinks. com.au It’s FREE. iFlogID: 22357
Tarot Card Readings by Karen. Over 30yrs Exp. “When you need to know” Always welcome new customers. www. tarotreadingsbykaren.com Parties and Private readings P: 0432 689 546. Evenings & weekends available. iFlogID: 19301
What happens when you start paying attention? When you become an active member and start participating in this elusive thing we call life. WWW. WHATISTHEHAPS.COM iFlogID: 17980
WANTED OTHER HI GUYS i am fundraising to volunteer for a months work with orphaned children in Nepal. please check out www.gofundme. com/ivhqnepal2013 to read my story and donate THANKYOU :) iFlogID: 21282
www.lushstudios.com.au
Byron Shire’s Premier Rehearsal Studio...
20 mins from Byron Bay
Ifle[ DflekX`e I\_\XijXcj
www.roundmountainrehearsals.com.au 38 • For more interviews go to themusic.com.au/interviews
call Paul on 0412 478 247