BSideMagazine-0003

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ISSUE 0003 / October 16th - October 22nd 2014

IT’S FREE - www.bsidemagazine.com.au

The Griswolds ALSO INSIDE: Ghyti, Tom Redwood, AMC Sessions, The Eastern, Sahara Beck and of course BOB’s BITS, TOUR GUIDE and LOCAL MUSIC NEWS


AROUND THE TRAPS Young Adelaide punks Young Offenders, fresh from playing with Dead Kennedys, have a new EP and have elected to launch it on Friday 31 October at Jive, 181 Hindley St. As it’s All Soul’s Eve, they are making it a fancy dress affair and have also invited The Pits and Seventeen Fifty Seven to also join in the fun. Burlesque Behind The Bar comes to Gaslight Tavern, 36 Chief St, Brompton, on Friday 7 November and will feature Leopard Lass, Velvet Chase, Karney Doll, Mema Sif and Madeleine DeVille with special guest MC Miss Astrid Martini. Dick Dandy & His WIngmen will also be serving as the intermission act. Tickets at $20 are now available from the pub and there will drink specials throughout the evening. Wicked Empire will be presenting their original rock material with a free entry gig from 9pm in the front bar of the Governor Hindmarsh, 59 Port Rd, Hindmarsh, on Saturday October 18, while funk rockers Scumbag City will be doing the same on the evening of Saturday 25 October. Surviving Sharks will undertake what may well be their final gig for 2014 when they present a very special night, Halloween Horror Rock, at Worldsend Hotel, 208 Hindley St, on Friday 31 October for an easy $10 entry. Also on the bill will be Slick Arnold, Dirt Playground and Across The Atlas and patrons are encouraged to dress up. Nook Nosh, a small, boutique bar located at 111 Unley Rd, Unley, is awash with acoustic sounds from 5pm every Sunday. Pop in for sips n nibbles and catch acoustic duo Short & Sweet on Sunday 19 October and AP D’Antonio on Sunday 26 October. For those south of Adelaide, Old South Bluegrass will be undertaking a gig at The Singing Gallery, 133 Main Rd, McLaren Vale, on Saturday October 18 at which they have firmly promised to hand out complimentary drinks to everyone over 60 who can provide a signed note from their parents. Tickets at the door from 7pm. The following week, Saturday 25 October, the quintet will be at it again at The Cambrai Hotel, Cambria. Prom Night will again be taking place at The Promethean, 116 Grote St, on Saturday 18 October and will feature local rock bands Squeaker, The Motive, Imogen Brave, Jungle City, The Serra and Slick Arnold. Tickets are $15 for six bands making it extra good value.

They won’t have their horns out at this one, but will be joined by guest guitarist Nick KIpridis and will also have Naomi Keyte there to open the afternoon.

Hotel, 233 Currie St. The huge event will feature some pioneering Adelaide punks in the form of Black Chrome, Perdition, U Bombs and Bohdan X.

The Kumfy Club will be making a welcome return to the newly re-opened Crown & Sceptre Hotel, 308 King William St, on Saturday 18 October. Expect deep, funky house, nu disco, good grooves and great vibes when Luke Million, TrunkFunk, Skot Holder, Elliot Ness, Stephen King and more take to the decks. The Kumfy Club then happens again at the same comfy venue on Saturday 15 November and Saturday 13 December as a regular monthly event.

According to those in the know, young Adelaide metal outfit Iron Feather are one to watch out for. The group has already released a debut album, Set In Stone, and will be playing The Bridgeway Hotel, Pooraka, on Thursday 16 October and will also be taking part in Halloween Harvest on Friday 31 October. That event, with doors opening from 6pm, takes places at Cavern Club, 136 North Tce, and will also feature Hollow Eyes, What Happens After Dark, Fort Rose Falling, Burning Bridges, Castaway and Emergence along with another band whose name we can’t quite read due to the crazy font they have chosen to use.

Ragged But Right, a trio who likely took their name from a Merle Haggard song, will be playing their good time Americana music and some old timey mountain music as well as tossing in some hokum when they undertake a free entry show at The Whitmore Hotel, 317 Morphett St, on Sunday 19 October from 4-7pm. The pub, which has live music most nights, also has a fabulous $10 pint and schnitzel deal on Wednesdays. Rootsy singer songwriter Heath Anthony is set to play a late afternoon show from 6pm on Sunday 26 October at Crown & Anchor, 196 Grenfell St. To make it all that more special, he has also enticed Ry Kemp, Kyle Landman and Duncan M Turner to also display their musical wares. The Fifth Annual Vegan Festival will be taking place on Sunday 16 November from 10am until 5pm as a family and petfriendly event and will feature food stalls and live music from Adelaide band Local Revolution. There will also be guest speaker Robert Cheeke, an author from the US, and it’s just a gold coin donation. Highly respected locally-based producer and live sound engineer Matt Hills will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of his Hillside Studios with a huge party that will feature some 22 or so local act including The Dunes, Ghyti, Archers and Bad//Dreems and even Peter Combe. Matt, who has recorded albums for those bands as well as for Horror My Friend, Wolf & Cub, Fire! Santa Rosa, Fire! and so many, many more, has become known as the go-to person for indie groups in this city. The 20th birthday celebrations will take place from noon on Saturday 29 November at Hillside Studios, Torrensville, with tickets on sale now via Moshtix. Christian Andrew and Precizion Dance Company will present an evening of music and dance to celebrate the launch a single, November Rain, at the Governor Hindmarsh, 59 Port Rd, Hindmarsh, on Saturday 1 November. It follows a sold out EP launch in December of last year and is set to be another landmark performance for Christian as he builds his profile within the local music scene. Pioneers Of Punk is a vinyl album that will be launched from 9pm on Saturday October 18 at The Edinburgh Castle

Gorilla Jones have just been doing some recording for a new album of their upbeat funky, indie soul music and will now also be having a free entry, month-long Friday evening residency at the Grace Emily Hotel, 232 Waymouth St. It kicks off on Friday 7 November and you can expect special guests to rock up each week. Fair Maiden will be launching their debut, self-titled LP on the Bedroom Suck label alongside Bruff Superior, who will also be launching a 7-inch single, at Hotel Metro, 46 Grote St, in the band room from 9pm on Friday 17 October with Young Professionals also on the three-way bill. The Yearlings will be playing The Wheatsheaf Hotel, 39 George St, Thebarton, on from 4pm on Sunday 19 October with tickets at the door $10.

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Third Stone - The Hendrix Experience will be playing the Governor Hindmarsh, 59 Port Rd, Hindmarsh, on Friday 31 October. Big Tom’s Blues Band, which will be celebrating their 25th anniversary, will serve as special guests with other acts to be announced closer to the date. Stay tuned. Here’s an interesting concept and a rare opportunity. Adelaide’s Zkye Blue, with special guest guitarist James Muller, are recording a new album at Mick Wordley’s Mixmasters studio and, to help fund it, are offering 25 people an opportunity to spend a day with them on Saturday 25 October in the state of the art Hawthorndene studio from high noon until late. Cost is $100 and those participating will have their names included on the CD artwork and their own personally signed copy of the CD once it is mastered and pressed. For more details, send Zkye Compson-Harris a personal message via Facebook. When The Mark Of Cain announced a national tour a few weeks ago, they forgot to include a gig in their hometown!. That’s now been rectified as the hardcore trio are now set to play The Governor Hindmarsh, 59 Port Rd, Hindmarsh, on Friday 5 December with explosive duo King Of The North as special guests. Book via OzTix or at the venue. Ghyti will be launching an EP, Fluorescent Lights, as well as a film of the same name when they play Ancient World, down a laneway at 116a Hindley St, on Friday 17 October. It will mark their fourth release and they have also engaged the services of DJ Chris Arblaster to finish off the night. The film will screen at 9.40pm with Ghyti taking to the stage at 10pm. Pride March Adelaide will present the premiere screening in Adelaide of award winning film Pride on Wednesday 29 October at 7pm at Palace Nova Eastend, Rundle St. Money raised will go towards making this year’s Pride March Adelaide louder and prouder than ever.

OUR PHILOSOPHY Created by veteran Adelaide music guru Rob Dunstan, BSide Magazine is a weekly magazine totally focussed on what’s going on in the Adelaide Music Community. Every week we will be bringing you the latest news, up-to-date information and entertainment through: Regular music news updates Features and interviews Touring and gig guides Local music industry news Awesome competitions Live music and CD reviews Theatre news and interviews Plus, we welcome the return of BOB’S BITS in print. Our goal with BSide Magazine is to help rebuild the Adelaide Music Community, to refocus the emphasis on local music and uniting the different tribes encouraging and further enhancing a prosperous live music industry for all. We want BSide Magazine to be like Gaffa Tape. The thing that will hold everything together.

IN THIS ISSUE Page 2 Around The Traps Our Philosophy Page 4 Heading To Town Page 5 BSide Tour Guide Page 6 Feature Article: The Griswolds Page 7 The Eastern Tom Redwood Page 8 The Clothesline: Theatre News/Interviews Page 9 AMC - Adelaide Music Collective Sahara Beck Page 10 MusicSA CD Reviews Page 11 Ghyti Bob’s Bits Page 13 The Sisters Of Invention Advertising Enquiries Ph: (08) 8346 9899 sales@bsidemagazine.com.au

ISSUE #0003 October 16th October 22nd, 2014


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HEADING TO TOWN For a comprehensive listing, also check out B-Side Magazine’s Tour Guide. Brisbane-based singer songwriter Sahara Beck, currently garnering much acclaim in the indie folk scene and beyond, is gearing up to release her second EP, Bloom, and will be hitting the road to celebrate its release. Catch the talented young songstress at Jive, 181 Hindley St, on Friday 24 October with tickets now on sale via Moshtix. Former Adelaide lad Chris Altmann, who used to play around town with The Drowners and then The Vandas, has enjoyed a solo carrer since relocating to Melbourne. He’s now returning ‘home’ to play The Wheatsheaf Hotel, 39 George St, Thebarton, on Friday 31 October with Nikko & Snooks as special guests. Tickets will be at the door for $12. Brisbane’s Clint Boge, well-known for fronting metal band The Butterfly Effect, will be undertaking a solo jaunt around the country and in SA will play Royal Oak Hotel, 123 O’Connell St, North Adelaide, on Thursday 20 November and the newly re-opened Crown & Sceptre Hotel, 308 King William St, on Saturday 22 November. Tickets via OzTix or via the venues. Following sell out comedy festival shows around the country earlier this year, multi-award winning comedian Ronny Chieng is set to tour nationally with his smash hit solo show, Chieng Reaction, as well as to promote the release of his debut live comedy album, The Ron Way. Chieng, named the winner of the 2014 Melbourne International Comedy Festival’s Directors’ Choice, will kick off his tour in Adelaide on Thursday 16 October at the Governor Hindmarsh Hotel, 59 Port Rd, Hindmarsh. Tickets at the venue or via OzTix. Canada’s Evil Elvis, who is like a crazy, psychobilly version of The King, is returning to Australian soil and will play The Gaslight Tavern, 36 Chief St, Brompton, on Thursday 30 October with guest acts to be announced soon. Legendary Melbourne-based ska band Area-7 are celebrating some kind of anniversary and heading over to skank away at Enigma Bar, 173 Hindley St, on Friday 17 October with fellow Melbourne ska act The Resignators and Dirty Chins also on the bill. Spend a night with wildly eccentric UK guitarist Devin Townsend when he presents a clinic at the Governor Hindmarsh, 59 Port Rd, Hindmarsh, on Thursday 23 October. The clinic will offer guitar enthusiasts an opportunity to learn the techniques and styles Devin has developed throughout his varied career. Alongside this, there will be plenty of opportunity for fans to ask any questions they have, as it will include a Q&A section. There will also be the chance to buy Devin Townsend’s music and merchandise. Doors open at 7pm with the clinic set to commence at 7.30pm sharp. Melbourne duo Luluc, who now reside in Brooklyn, NY, have announced an Australian tour that will bring them to Jive, 181 Hindley St, Adelaide, SA, on Friday 12 December to present their new album, Passerby, which was co-produced by Aaron Dessner of The National at his New York home studio. Book via Moshtix. Legendary blues harp player Charlie Mussellwhite, who blew harp on INXS’ Original Sin, is among the first of the acts to be announced for WOMADelaide 2015 which will take place in Botanic Pk from Friday 6 March until Monday 9 March. Charlie will join such other great acts such as Balkan Beat Box, Youssou N’Dour, The Gloaming, Che Sudaka, Neneh Cherry, Lake Street Dive, Rufus Wainwright and more with a second round of artists to be announced at the end of this month.

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FourPlay, an energetic string quartet from Sydney who mix well-known rock songs with original material, will launch their new album, This Machine, at the Governor Hindmarsh, 59 Port Rd, on Sunday 19 October. Book at OzTix or via the venue. Melbourne metal outfit Dystopian are heading over the border to help good friends Anarkokvilt launch their Sigilise The Downfall Of Capitalism CD, It will all take place at Animal House on Saturday 25 October with Wounded Pig, Thorngate and Terania also adding to the fun. Liz Stringer and Leah Flanagan have been friends for many years and will now be heading to SA together on tour. First stop is an evening concert at Barossa Music Centre in Tanunda on Saturday I November, and then The Wheatsheaf Hotel, 39 George St, Thebarton, from 4pm on Sunday 2 November. Must be festival time! Gorgeous Festival, a gorgeous boutique held down at McLaren Vale on Saturday 28 November and Sunday 29 November, has been announced with Xavier Rudd as the headliner and plenty of local acts including Echo & The Empress, The Timbers and Rin McArdle also on the bill. US act Buddy will now join Gomez’s Ben Ottewell when he plays a solo show at the Grace Emily, 232 Waymouth St, on Sunday 26 October to showcase his second solo album, Rattlebag. Tickets are now available via Moshtix. Canberra punks The Vacant Lot and Bladder Spasms are heading to town next month! On Friday 14 November they’ll be joined by Perdition and Fear & Loathing at The Gaslight Tavern, 36 Chief St, Brompton, and on Saturday 15 November, the punk bands will hit The Edinburgh Castle, 233 Currie St, with Ben Gel & The Boneyard Saints as special guests. The Ed Castle gig will also serve as an album launch for Ben’s new band. Young Melbourne-based blues outfit Blue Eyes Cry will kick off another tour by playing a free entry gig from 7pm on Thursday 16 Ocober at Gilbert Street Hotel, 88 Gilbert St, before heading to Millicent to play Somerset Hotel on Friday 17 October and then performing at Old Mount Gambier Gaol Mini Blues Festival on Saturday 18 October alongside John McNamara and the Johnny Rieger Band. Rudely Interrupted, an energetic, six-piece Melbourne rock band led by Rohan Brooks and featuring members who share a range of both physical and intellectual disabilities including blindness, deafness, Aspergers, autism and Down Syndrome, will play the Governor Hindmarsh, 59 Port Rd, Hindmarsh, on Sunday 16 November. Book at OzTix or via the venue. Deep South, a three-day festival full of blues, roots and folk goodness, is returning to the Governor Hindmarsh Hotel, 59 Port Rd, Hindmarsh, from Friday 28 November through to Sunday 30 November. Get set to see interstate artists such as the legendary Kevin Borich, Lloyd Speigel, Ray Beadle and Hat Fitz & Cara Robinson. The Hiptones are also reforming especially for the festival and will be one of the many local acts on the bill for Saturday 29 November. Tickets are now on sale via OzTix or via the venue. Scott and Phil for Christmas anyone? Scott Russo of American punk band Unwritten Law and Phil Jamieson of Grinspoon have announced a Christmas tour that will have them playing The Governor Hindmarsh, 59 Port Rd, Hindmarsh, on Wednesday 17 December in acoustic mode. Book at OzTix or via the venue. Fifty-six weeks ago, Sydney-based indie band Violent Soho unleashed their third studio album Hungry Ghost to the world

and have since toured the album around the globe to much acclaim. The popular band, who have played festivals such as Falls, Big Day Out, Groovin The Moo and Splendour In The Grass, have now announced another trek around the country which will bring them to HQ, cnr North and West Tces, on Sunday 23 November. Melbourne-based band Maricopa Wells will be heading over the border to take part in Saved By Summer, a huge musical event set to take place at Crown & Anchor, 196 Grenfell St, on Saturday 22 November featuring some of Australia’s best indie rock, folk and acoustic punk acts. Also on the bill will be interstaters Fear Like Us and Foxtrot as well as locals such as Paper Arms, The Hard Aches, Heath Anthony, Bec Stevens, Ry Kemp, Abby Howlett, Jake Ward and Anna Jeavons. Brisbane’s Screamfeeder will play songs from their early classic albums at The Jade Monkey, 160 Flinders St, on Friday 17 October with Diplomat and Freak Wave. The band’s Tim and Kellie will also be gracing the Grace Emily Hotel, 232 Waymouth St, on Thursday 16 October in acoustic duo mode with special guest Lily Mojito. Ben Ottewell, of award winning UK indie rock band Gomez, is undertaking yet another solo tour which will see him playing the Grace Emily Hotel, 232 Waymouth St, on Sunday 25 November. Book quickly via the venue as he has sold out shows on previous visits. Seems that Suzi Quatro is hanging up her leathers but not before she tours Australia one very last time. In Adelaide she will play Thebarton Theatre, Henley Beach Rd, Torrensville, on Tuesday 3 February. Book via VenueTix on 8225 8888. New Zealand punks The Datsuns have not hopped across the Tasman for a while with their death rattle boogie, so we can happily report they have announced an Australian tour in support of a new album, Deep Sleep, and will be playing Jive, 181 Hindley St, on Wednesday 10 December. Tickets via Moshtix. Passenger has announced a national tour with special guests The Once, a folk trio based out of St John’s, Newfoundland, Canada. They will play Adelaide Entertainment Centre Theatre, Port Rd, Hindmarsh, on Tuesday 20 January of next year.

Lanie Lane, who recently performed in Melbourne with Welsh singer Tom Jones, has just announced a national tour ahead of the release of her brand new Night Shade album. So mark Saturday 8 November in your musical diary for when she plays Jive, 181 Hindley St, Adelaide, with tickets via Moshtix. South Australian legend Chris Finnen will head an impressive local list that boasts Halfway To Forth, Courtney Robb, Goldstein, Junior, The Hushes, Kaurna Cronin and many others. The Eastern will also be performing at The Wheatsheaf Hotel, 39 George St, Thebarton, SA, on Thursday 23 October with Max Savage as special guest For more details about Fleurieu Folk Festival, visit their website at <fleurieufolkfestival.com.au>


Sessions Holy Holy (Brisbane) and Glass Skies at Jive Citizen Kay (Ghana/ACT) at Rocket SATURDAY 8 NOVEMBER Radio Birdman (Sydney) and The Bearded Clams at Governor Hindmarsh Telltale & Vine: The Audreys and more at Fox Creek Winery Gossling (Melbourne), Montaigne and Ayla at Adelaide Uni Bar Lanie Lane (Melbourne) at Jive

THURSDAY 16 OCTOBER Tim & Kellie (Brisbane) and Lily Mojito at Grace Emily Say Anything (US) at Fowler’s Live Vinai (Italy) at Apple Bar Grace Barbe (Seychelles) at Space Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre Blue Eyes Cry (Melbourne) at Gilbert Street Hotel FRIDAY 17 OCTOBER Screamfeeder (Brisbane), Diplomat and Freak Wave at Jade Monkey Comeback Kid (Canada) at Adelaide Uni Bar The Griswolds (Sydney) at Jive DZ Deathrays (Brisbane), Velociraptor and Horror My Friend at Fowler’s Live Area-7 (Melbourne), The Resignators (Melbourne) and The Dirty Chins at Enigma Bar SATURDAY 18 OCTOBER Allday (Adelaide/Melbourne) at Fowler’s Live (SOLD OUT) Steve Smyth (Sydney) at The Exeter SUNDAY 19 OCTOBER FourPlay String Quartet (Sydney) at Governor Hindmarsh MONDAY 20 OCTOBER Miley Cyrus (US) at Adelaide Entertainment Centre TUESDAY 21 OCTOBER Ball Park Music (Brisbane), MILLIONS and Pluto Jonze at Governor Hindmarsh WEDNESDAY 22 OCTOBER Ball Park Music (Brisbane), MILLIONS and Pluto Jonze at Governor Hindmarsh (SOLD OUT) THURSDAY 23 OCTOBER Devin Townsend (Canada) at Governor Hindmarsh (guitar clinic) The Eastern (NZ) and Max Savage at Wheatsheaf Hotel FRIDAY 24 OCTOBER Hot Chocolate (UK) at Her Majesty’s Theatre Kingswood (Melbourne) at Adelaide Uni Bar Screaming Jets (Newcastle) at Governor Hindmarsh Sahara Beck (Brisbane) at Jive Confession (Sydney), Prepared Like A Bride and Graves at Fowler’s Live Fleurieu Folk Festival: The Eastern (New Zealand), Women In Docs (Brisbane) and so many more at Willunga SATURDAY 25 OCTOBER The Rolling Stones (UK) and Jimmy Barnes at Adelaide Oval Slow Chase (Melbourne) at Crown & Anchor Screaming Jets (Newcastle) at Governor Hindmarsh Missy Higgins (Melbourne) at Adelaide Entertainment Centre Theatre Pop Crimes: These Immortal Souls, Mick Harvey, JP Shilo, Brian Henry Hooper and more at Wheatsheaf Hotel Fleurieu Folk Festival: The Eastern (New Zealand), Women In Docs (Brisbane) and so many more at Willunga Anarkokvilt, Dystopian (Melbourne), Wounded Pig, Thorngate and Terania at Animal House SUNDAY 26 OCTOBER Pop Crimes: These Immortal Souls, Mick Harvey, JP Shilo, Brian Henry Hooper and more at Wheatsheaf Hotel Ben Ottewell (UK) and Buddy (US) at Grace Emily Fleurieu Folk Festival: The Eastern (New

Zealand), Women In Docs (Brisbane) and so many more at Willunga The Audreys and Brillig at Trinity Sessions WEDNESDAY 29 OCTOBER Rodriguez (US) at Adelaide Entertainment Centre Theatre THURSDAY 30 OCTOBER More Than Life (UK) at Crown & Anchor Ralph Towner (US), Wolfgang Muthspiel (Vienna) and Slava Grigoryan (Melbourne) at Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide Festival Centre FRIDAY 31 OCTOBER Rick Price (Brisbane) and Ian ‘Bushy’ Martin at Capri Cinema (Goodwood) Hot Dub Time Machine (Melbourne) at Thebarton Theatre Deuces Wild Rockabilly Weekender: Louis King (Melbourne), The Lincolns and Slavy & The Hired Help at Gaslight Tavern Chris Altmann (Melbourne) and Nikko & Snooks at Wheatsheaf Hotel SATURDAY 1 NOVEMBER A Day On The Green: John Paul Young, Moving Pictures, Eurogliders, 1927, Mark Williams of Dragon, Wa Wa Nee, Pseudo Echo, Rose Tattoo, Mark Gable of Choirboys, GANGgajang, Machinations, Mi Sex and Swanee at Peter Lehmann Wines (Barossa Valley) The Kin (US) at Fowler’s Live Liz Stringer (Melbourne) and Leah Flanagan at Barossa Arts Centre (Tanunda) Deuces Wild Rockabilly Weekender: The Detonators (Melbourne), Itchy Fingers (Melbourne), The Saucermen, The Satellites, Lucky Seven, Fistful Of Trojans and DJ Jess at Whiteline Transport (Greenfields) The Porch Sessions II: Winterbourne (Sydney) at TBA Todd Terry (US) at Lotus Lounge Steve Tyson (Byron Bay) at The Singing Gallery (McLaren Vale)

SUNDAY 9 NOVEMBER Joe Satriani (US) at Her Majesty’s Theatre Rudely Interrupted (Melbourne) at Governor Hindmarsh TUESDAY 11 NOVEMBER Katy Perry (US) at Adelaide Entertainment Centre WEDNESDAY 12 NOVEMBER Katy Perry (US) at Adelaide Entertainment Centre Jimmy Eat World (US), The Sinking Teeth and My Echo at Thebarton Theatre FRIDAY 14 NOVEMBER NOFX (US) at Thebarton Theatre The Dead Love (Sydney), Exiles and Andy Roberts at Rhino Room Mark Wilkinson (Sydney) at Jive The Preatures (Sydney) and Holy Holy at Governor Hindmarsh The Vacant Lot (ACT), Bladder Spasms, Perdition and Fear & Loathing at Gaslight Tavern SATURDAY 15 NOVEMBER Smudge (Sydney) at Grace Emily Hand Of Mercy (Sydney), Hellions and Void Of Vision at Fowler’s Live The Vacant Lot (ACT), Bladder Spasms, Perdition and Fear & Loathing at Edinburgh Castle Cat Canteri Band (Melbourne) at The Singing Gallery (McLaren Vale)

SUNDAY 2 NOVEMBER Katchafire (New Zealand) at Governor Hindmarsh Aqua (Denmark) at HQ Complex Liz Stringer (Melbourne) and Leah Flanagan at Wheatsheaf Hotel Deuces Wild Rockabilly Weekender: The Pumpin’ Piano Cats, Raunchy Suger, The Silverados, The Sugar Shakers (Melbourne) and DJ Jess at Halfway Hotel TUESDAY 4 NOVEMBER Joe Louis Walker (US) at Governor Hindmarsh WEDNESDAY 5 NOVEMEMBER Mariah Carey (US) at Adelaide Entertainment Centre THURSDAY 6 NOVEMBER The Madden Brothers (US) at Adelaide Entertainment Centre Flight Facilities (Sydney) at HQ Shihad (Melbourne), High Tension (Melbourne) and Cairo Knife Fight (New Zealand) at Governor Hindmarsh FIRDAY 7 NOVEMBER The Stiffys (Melbourne), The Villenettes and West Thebarton Brothel Party at Crown & Anchor Hilltop Hoods at Adelaide Showground Arena Songs That Made Me: Katie Noonan, Angie Hart, Melody Pool and Sam Buckingham at Governor Hindmarsh Fred Smith (ACT) and Junior at Trinity

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FEATURED ARTICLE: THE GRISWOLDS

THE GRIWOLDS By Robert Dunstan Sydney band The Griswold are bringing their bright, shiny indie pop to Adelaide in the form of their impressive debut album, Be Impressive, which they recorded in Los Angeles under the guidance of producer Tony Hoffer who has worked with Beck and Foster The People. We chatted over the telephone to guitarist and synth player Daniel DuquePerez who was making his way to an appointment with a doctor. “It’s just a check-up,” he says fairly nonchalantly. “We’d been away for four months and then came home to find that a family friend had been diagnosed with cancer. So we all decided to go and have a check up. Y’know, just to make sure everything is okay.” The Griswolds, who obviously took their name from the surname of the family featured well-known comedy film National Lampoon’s Vacation, came together a couple of years ago in organic fashion. “Chris and I had been writing songs together for other people,” Dan says of singer and guitarist Chris Whitehall. “And we were both also playing in bands around Sydney we didn’t particularly like or really like playing with either. And then Chris and I just had a chat over a few drinks and pretty much decided to quit what we were doing and just start up our own band. “So we moved in together and wrote a whole bunch of songs and then figured we needed a band to play them,” he adds with a laugh. “So we just kinda asked around – just asked friends and stuff – and then ended up recruiting Tim [John – bass] and Lachie [West – drums]. And those two guys had been best mates since they were young kids, so it was just awesome.” The band, who describe their vibrant sound as, ‘tequila-inspired party rock’, has already kicked off a national tour that will take them around the country. “Yeah, we started off down in Melbourne,” Dan reveals, “and then we head back up to New South Wales and then over to Adelaide and Perth. And we’ve only been to Adelaide the once before and that was to play Ed Castle, so we’re looking forward to checking out Jive.”

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The band are signed to Wind-up Records, one of the biggest indie rock labels in the US and now home to acts such as The Darkness, Young Guns, Civil Twilight and Five For Fighting after previously issuing albums by Creed, Evanescence and Seether after setting up operations in 1997. “They are a label based in New York,” Dan explains, “but we had released Mississippi [also from The Griswolds’ Heart Of A Lion EP] as a single without even playing a gig. And someone on a record label blog, Neon Gold, who are considered a tastemaker as they put out stuff like Passion Pit, Gotye, St Lucia, HAIM and stuff like that, somehow got hold of Mississippi. “And so Wind-up heard about it through that and started sniffin’ around,” he continues, “and then got in touch with our management. But it was actually a year later that we signed with them. “It took that long for them to make a serious move on us but we were really happy to jump into it,” Dan adds. “We couldn’t be happier as they have been an amazing team to work with.” It was Wind-up who organised for producer Tony Hoffer to work on what would be The Griswolds’ debut, Be Impressive. “And that’s what I mean about Windup being so great to work with,” Dan laughs. “They’d asked who we wanted as a producer and, as a total joke, we all said, ‘Tony Hoffer’, because we absolutely idolise him. But the label didn’t take it as a joke and somehow arranged for us to meet him. But first we did a Skype call with him while we were over in London and it really seemed then that Tony would be up for it. So we were pretty stoked.” Dan goes on to say that the producer became like a fifth member of the group once they got into the studio. “Tony was like a new guy coming into the band because he was criticising some of the lyrics as well as some of the song structures – like he’d say to us, ‘Hey guys, do we really need this many bars in this verse?’ – and suggesting that this or that chord didn’t really fit in with this or that bass note. So he was being really objective about everything because he wasn’t close to the songs. “By that I mean Tony hadn’t spent about

40 hours over three days toiling over just one song like Chris and I had done,” he continues. “So Tony had fresh ears and it was then his job to make it all workable and sound accessible. “And in between all the touring over in the US, Europe and Australia we’d found time to write all the songs, so Tony had kinda been hearing them as we writing them,” Dan adds. “And then we got over to LA and did a week or pre-production where we just played all the songs live in the studio while Tony listened. It was pretty easy from then on.” Due to Tony Hoffer’s long and friendly association with Beck, he was able to get Beck’s father, noted string arranger and composer David Campbell, whose CV includes everyone from Michael Jackson through to Willie Nelson, Rush, Journey, Biffy Clyro, Adele, Taylor Swift, Carly Simon and so many, many more, to add strings to the album. “That was kind of funny,” Dan recalls with a laugh, “because Tony and the engineer had told us, ‘Now, when you meet David you must never ever look him directly in the eye and you must always call him The Captain’. And we were also told that David didn’t like shaking hands. “So that really weirded me out,” he says. “But David was really, really nice, so I just said, ‘Listen, do we really have to call you The Captain all the time and not look you in the eye?’ And he just looked at me and said, “What are you talking about?’ So we’d been completely had by Tony. He’s been totally messing with us because he likes playing pranks on people. But it’s pretty funny when you look back on it.” Dan had started learning piano at age eight and then later moved to guitar. “That was when I was about 12,” he says, “so I continued playing both. So I play guitar and synthesiser with the band. But I don’t use old analogue synths because they are just too bulky and fiddly. But I carry around a huge software library of digital synth sounds on a laptop. “And I remember that Tony Hoffer and I would get into big arguments about all that,” Dan says. “He has quite a collection of old analogue synths in his studio but I reckoned they didn’t sound as good as the sounds I could get using my software. “I probably wouldn’t mind getting some analogue synths down the track but I don’t think I’d ever take one on the road,”

he then adds. “As I said, they’re too bulky and can often be unreliable. And, when you are playing live, you can’t really tell the difference in the sound as the new digital software is so good. You can get pretty much any synth sound you want.” The band will be heading back to Europe for another tour in November. “We’d been over when we were just about to put out our Heart Of A Lion EP,” Dan says, “but I kind of think it might have been too soon and we should have left it for a while. But we did have a great time – Amsterdam was just amazing – and we should do better this time. “Actually, having said that, we did have a number one song on the radio in Holland,” he quickly recalls. “It was one of the bigger radio stations so, yeah, we did pretty well in Holland. “And we did The Great Escape Festival in England so that was pretty good too,” he says of the well-known indie rock event that also had Australian acts Cub Scouts, Snakadaktal, Velociraptor, Jackie Onassis and Hungry Kids Of Hungary on that 2013 line-up. Looking even further ahead, The Griswolds, who have previously toured Australia as guests of San Cisco and Last Dinosaurs, are excited about the fact they will be touring the country early next year with UK band The Kooks. “Yeah, but I can’t understand why The Kooks are not playing Adelaide,” he sighs. “I mean, we are even playing with them in Perth.” I suggest that Perth often serves as a way into or out of Australia for visiting bands, whereas Adelaide is not in that position. “Yeah, maybe, but still,” Dan concludes. “It would have been nice to have done the whole country. You would have thought they would have put on an Adelaide show on for The Kooks in between Melbourne and Perth.” The Griswolds play Jive on Friday 17 October.


THE EASTERN

THE EASTERN By Robert Dunstan The Eastern, a bunch of highly spirited, music-loving Kiwis, have often presented their folk meets punk sounds to Australian audiences but have been absent from our shores for a good while now. That’s to be rectified when they play Fleurieu Folk Festival which runs from Friday 24 October until Sunday 26 October down at Willunga where they will join the likes of Melbourne’s The Little Stevies and fiddle player Marcus Holden as well as Brisbane’s Women In Docs. South Australian guitar legend Chris Finnen will also head an impressive list or local talent that includes Halfway To Forth, Courtney Robb, Goldstein, Junior, The Hushes, Kaurna Cronin and many others as part of the three-day event. “We got asked to play the festival so couldn’t really say no,” The Eastern’s singer and guitarist Adam McGrath says of performing in South Australia exclusively on this quick trip to Australia. “It’s a long way to come, but it’s going to be totally worth it. “And we thought if we were coming all that way to play, then we just had to have a drink at The Wheatsheaf and play a gig there too,” he then says of a gig at that venue with Max Savage as special guest ahead of their Fleurieu Folk Festival engagements over the weekend. Adam goes on to explain that as The Eastern have been very busy touring overseas and recording a new album, regrettably, they have not been able to tour Australia in recent times. “We’ve just come back from two months over in Europe,” he says, “and then before that we were doing a new album, The Territory. Sadly, it doesn’t get released until a couple of weeks after the festival, but we plan to come back to Australia early next year and do a big tour. “And I reckon that’ll be a two-month tour and we’ll be dragging along boxes of the new record because we are putting it out on vinyl as well as CD,” Adam states. “I used to work in a record shop – that was my first real job – so I love vinyl because it’s so real. And I got the first test pressing only today and it sounds cool. “And also think vinyl is good for the independent record stores as we’ve lost a few over the last few years,” he adds. “But now they seem to be springing up again. And, here in Christchurch which is about the size of Adelaide, there’s a store that’s had to expand due to the popularity of vinyl. It’s gone from one shop, to two and now three.” Adam says many of the new songs from the forthcoming new album, The Territory, will feature at their shows in South Australia next weekend. “Yeah, we’ll be doing a bunch of them,” he says, “because some of them have been

TOM REDWOOD

in our live set in some form or another for about a year now. And it’s a slightly different record for us because we really wanted to make an album that came from us without any bullshit. “When you play the kind of music we do, it’s very easy to find yourself writing yet another song about trains or rivers and all that,” Adam laughs. “So with this record we really wanted to push ourselves with what’s happening now, especially over here in New Zealand, so the songwriting reflects that although we still do what we do well as far as the music goes. “So there’s no easy-listening country songs on it,” he chuckles. ‘We really wanted to push ourselves with this album.” The singer, who says the collective, which can often have up to half a dozen members, will be hitting Australia as a quartet on this occasion, suggests his hometown of Christchurch is very slowly recovering from the earthquakes. “Instead of a new tremor every 10 minutes, it’s now down to one every few months or so,” Adam says. “But there’s still a long journey to go. And so much has gone that’s never coming back. It’s going to be a long time before there’s a sense of normality. “But because we are away so much, there’s always something new to see when we get home,” he adds. “So it’s cool to see vibrant new stuff happening even though there are still some areas with damaged houses that haven’t been touched since the quakes.” On a lighter note, the singer says he never dreamt of touring the world such as he has with the band. “All that’s been fantastic,” Adam enthuses. “It’s just been one long adventure after another and it’s the music that’s the vehicle that gets us to places to see and meet people. I grew up with no idea I’d ever go anywhere. Then I came to Australia to play Rugby League as a teenager and that was as far as my brain could comprehend. “But because I now play music, I’ve seen big chunks of the world and it’s just such a gift,” he muses. “And we’ve met so many wonderful people. And even if you don’t really speak the same language, you usually end up drinking with them until 4am around a table somewhere. “It’s wonderful to get a chance to do that and because our music travels really well, people usually get what we are trying to do,” Adam concludes. The Eastern play The Wheatsheaf Hotel, 39 George St, Thebarton, on Thursday 23 October with Max Savage as special guest. Tickets via OzTix. The Eastern will also take part in Fleurieu Folk Festival and for more information please visit their website at <fleurieufolkfestival.com.au>.

TOM REDWOOD By Robert Dunstan Adelaide-based singer songwriter is all set to launch his new album Look, with a full band and Sasha March as special guest opening act. BSIde Magazine spoke to Tom and began by asking about his association with Walking Bird Records, a independent record label set up by Vic Flierl who also runs Mr V Music store down at Semaphore and which has put out albums by Adelaide acts such as Screaming Believers, The Early Bird, Honeybuzzard, Garden Path and The Only Stars. “I moved to Semaphore in 2012 from a remote community in the APY Lands and then finished off a CD I had been working on,” Tom says. “I’d been doing it in bits and pieces over a year or so but when I finally finished it, I dropped it in to Mr V. “I then went back a few weeks later to see if Vic had any spots on his busking stage for Semaphore Music Festival and he said, ‘Oh, so you’re Tom Redwood’,” the musician says. “So I was a bit taken aback by that as I didn’t expect him to have any idea who I was. But he said he’d listened to my CD a lot and really liked it. “And we formed a friendship and I would then regularly pop into the shop to talk about shared musical interests with Vic,” he continues. “And then we got talking about me doing another album and that developed into me recording Look at Vic’s studio which is downstairs at his house.” Look was recorded using members of Vic’s band, Vic Conrad & The First Third along with other musician friends. “So he got in Colin Gellard on bass, Keith Davis on guitar and then Greg Blanch came in to add some pedal steel,” Tom reveals. “And then I got in a few people I’ve worked with such as Sasha March and Naomi Keyte, a violinist I have sometimes played with. “So the album developed from just dropping into Vic’s shop one day and it all going from there,” he adds. “So Vic has been very supportive in that regard because he was so pleased with how the recording turned out, he wanted to put it out on his label. So that brings us up to where we are now.” There has also be some talk of releasing Look on vinyl. “We’ve definitely talked about it – Vic has also said he’d be keen to put out my first album on vinyl due to its lo-fi sound – but I’d like to what the response is first. Doing a vinyl album is an expensive process, so we’d need to make sure there was an interest first. “For any independent level artist, with vinyl you’re not going to make money and

might just cover costs if you’re lucky,” he decides. “Don’t get me wrong, I love the idea and think Look would sound great on vinyl, but it’s early days yet.” Tom, who will also be performing at Fleurieau Folk Festval to be held at Willunga from Friday 21 October until Sunday 23 October, has already toured interstate alongside Sasha March. “Yeah, we’ve done a couple of tours together now,” he confirms, “and we’ve developed a good, professional friendship. She’s got some great songs, “So Sasha and I did one quick trip over to Sydney and Wogga with a band who are now called Battle Of Flowers,” Tom adds. “And then in July, Sasha and I started a tour in Melbourne and worked all the way up to Byron Bay. I think we did 17 shows in 23 days so that was fairly substantial and it went pretty well too.” Tom, who is yet to lock in an interstate tour to promote Look but will do so early next year, often pops up at Grote St’s Hotel Metro. “Yeah, Damian Kelly at Hotel Metro has also been incredibly supportive,” Tom enthuses. “DK gave me my first gig as an acoustic performer having never really heard of me. But he was willing to give me a spot which you kinda need to get the ball rolling. “And I love The Metro as a venue because they have a lot of different music there,” he adds. “It may not quite have the prestige of some other venues, but they certainly have a lot of music going on there.” Look is to be launched at Church Of The Trinity which was Vic’s suggestion. “He felt that it work really well there,” Tom, who likes to play at least a couple of pub gigs per month, says. “And I know that they have a lot of shows there that do really well. I don’t step inside many churches to be honest but I know they have pretty good acoustics. I’m not sure why they aren’t used more. “And it’ll be a full band at the launch with Sasha opening for me,” he states. “I’ll be getting up and playing a few songs before being slowly joined by the rest of the band including Sasha. “And, hopefully, by the end of the night it’ll be everyone on stage – all 10 musicians – as well as some audience members,” he concludes with a laugh. “They don’t know that yet though. The idea to start off quietly and then build the night up.” Tom Redwood will launch Look at Church Of The Trinity, 318 Goodwood Rd, Clarence Pk, from 5pm on Sunday 19 October with Sasha March as special guest and a $10 fee with CDs also available for $10.

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.com.au STORIES I WANT TO TELL YOU IN PERSON

KRYPTONITE

STORIES I WANT TO TELL YOU IN PERSON By Catherine Blanch

put writing over love and how this has become a curse that I want to get out of, but it is too powerful. Then I meet someone I really like.

Lally Katz has earned a well-deserved reputation as a gifted and prolific writer. With over 20 play scripts to her name, not to mention the occasional television episode or short film script, some of her major successes include the award-winning The Black Swan Of Trespass in 2003.

“Stories is set just before the show starts and when this crazy disaster happens, and remains contained from around early 2011 until mid 2013.”

More recently, Neighbourhood Watch was presented in May of this year by State Theatre Company Of SA and which starred Miriam Margolyes (Harry Potter and Dickens’ Women).

“It did help me to deal with things better, but the weird thing is every time I do this show I get really sick,” Lally says. “The day the show was meant to open in Sydney, I had to be rushed to hospital and ended up having surgery and the show got pushed back. It was a crazy, crazy thing that I was warned about which could not have been coincidence!

Born in New Jersey, Lally has called Australia home since the age of nine and graduated from the University Of Melbourne’s Victoria College Of Arts in 2000. Now back living in the US, Lally was commissioned to write a play about the GFC and Stories I Want To Tell You In Person is the result. We speak on the phone with an enthusiastic Lally who is tells us about Stories. “Everything in this show is pretty much true,” she begins. “I was meant to write a show called Fortune, which I did write, although for some reason everyone is saying that I wrote this play instead of that one. But I did write it… the producers just didn’t like it and so rejected it! Admittedly, I handed it in about six months late but what are you gonna do? “Fortune was about this finance guy during the Global Financial Crisis who ended up working with a psychic. But while I was writing it, I kept going to New York to see psychics; I was obsessed with these people who offered to help work out my life and love and everything and charging me a lot of money for it. One of them even told me I was cursed. “My agent had a conversation with Belvoir in Sydney, who commissioned and rejected Fortune and told them that I was thinking of doing a solo show about these psychics – which I had completely forgotten about – and they wanted it. So, then I had to learn how to act! That’s how it all started.” Lally explains that Stories takes place over two years. “I give a little background information about myself before the story starts with this deal that I had made with my subconscious that I would always

8

Was it cathartic to write Stories, or did you just question all the things you did with a sense of, ‘What the…?’

Has it helped you to trust yourself more as opposed to putting all your faith in others? “Yeah… That would have been ideal,” she laughs. “I wish that I had changed but I still seem to be constantly looking for advice and answers from people. I’ve got this great psychiatrist at the moment, who I try out all my material on. She’s trying to help me make my own decisions, too… But I haven’t quite got the process yet [chuckles]. “Stories has changed my life in many ways, although maybe not in the way I expected it to… or maybe it has? I don’t’ know. But I do know that this show has been huge for my career; a real game changer. I’ve just finished making a two-part episode series of the show for the ABC, so now I’ve become an actor, which is something different for me. Up until now I’ve just been writing, so learning to act on screen has been super exciting.” “I really love Adelaide audiences,” she concludes. “I had so much fun being the audience during Neighbourhood Watch, so I’m looking forward to communicating with people directly and telling them these stories as I relive them on stage.” Lally Katz performs Stories I’d Like To Tell You In Person at Bakehouse Theatre from 8pm from Wednesday 29 October until Saturday 8 November. Book at BASS.

Kryptonite By Catherine Blanch State Theatre Company of SA and Sydney Theatre Company has again joined forces to present a new work from acclaimed Australian playwright Sue Smith [Brides Of Christ, Mabo, Bastard Boys]. Kryptonite is a thought-provoking political piece which traces the fortunes of two Sydney University students to China and Canberra as their lives intertwine and implode. The Clothesline speaks with Adelaide Director Geordie Brookman as we discuss Kryptonite, currently showing in Sydney, and the co-production between the two theatre companies. “We try to seek out as many collaborations as we can because it provides us with presence on the national stage which means that when we are employing our artist we can offer them longer contracts,” Geordie begins. “But it also deepens the artistic ecology of this state by us collaborating with artists from elsewhere. “I knew Sue from working with her on The Kreutzer Sonata for last year’s Adelaide Festival and we very much wanted to work together again. The great thing about Sue as a writer is that she’s fiercely intelligent, unabashedly and bravely political, yet she always keeps the focus on the human side of the story, so it’s a really character and story-focussed piece.” The two-person cast consists of Ursula Mills as Lian, the introverted Chinese exchange student and Tim Walter as Dylan, the charismatic but brilliant boy from Australia’s Northern beaches. “These roles are really exciting, because the story tracks these two characters over a 3-decade timeline,” Geordie enthuses, “so it’s one of those wonderful challenges for an actor to play a single character over a long period of time and to look at all those ways that they can develop that character and show subtle shifts and change in behaviour and attitude.” Even with the obvious relationships between Australia and China, on both a political and economical level, what inspired Sue to write play such as this? “I think, primarily, because it’s very current,” Geordie replies. “We, as Australians, have this very Anglo-centric Westernised view of ourselves and our place in the world, and yet the area we are actually within is Asia. There is a pervasive attitude amongst sections of white middle-class Australia, a pervasive distrust of a lot of other cultures, but

many Asian cultures in particular. It’s that trace prejudice and discomfort that exists in that section of our culture that really needs to be discussed. “I think what’s fabulous about what Sue has done is that she traces this relationship between the two countries back over what is a really interesting period, starting with the trigger-point year of 1989 – the moment when Tiananmen Square happened and Bob Hawke made the famous offer to allow all Chinese students to stay in Australia, if they chose to. It then traces through the next 25 years when, now, we are more dependent on China for our economical well-being than we are any other country in the world.” So, this isn’t a love story, is it? “It is actually, but in the sense of how many things there are that can conspire to keep two people apart when emotionally they should absolutely be together and are made for each other,” Geordie suggests. “But, and what I find interesting about the piece, the distance between two people, regardless of cultural difference, is always incredibly hard to bridge. Tracking this ‘could’vewould’ve-should’ve’ relationship over 25 years is really interesting and kind of bittersweet. It’s not like a love story where everyone traipses off into the sunset; Sue has created a world on stage that is full of consequence and damage, so it’s a lot like real life really.” No happy ending either? “There is and there isn’t,” he says. “But, we don’t necessarily go to the theatre for a happy ending but to have a cathartic experience; to sort through everything going on in our daily lives and to hopefully widen our perceptions a little. So, there’s the satisfaction of catharsis and also that of a fabulously twisting and tightly-woven plot, which you would expect from a writer like Sue. “Sometimes we can forget how deeply satisfying it is to watch a really labyrinth theme plot come together and twist around on you a number of times. This show is funny; it’s moving and very layered,” Geordie concludes. “Anybody who enjoys coming to the theatre to think and to engage with the contemporary world around them will enjoy Kryptonite.” Kryptonite runs at Space Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre, from 8pm on Wednesday 22 Oct until Sunday 9 November. Book at BASS on 131 246. To read the extended interview, head over to www.theclothesline.com.au.


SAHARA BECK

ADELAIDE MUSIC COLLECTIVE By Robert Dunstan Adelaide Music Collective was set up a little over a year ago to highlight the wealth of local talent we have in SA and to also recognise the many musicians and singers and music industry figures who had originally put us on the map. AMC was set up when Adelaide musician Enrico ‘Rick’ Morena returned home after spending many years overseas and thought that the local scene was somewhat fragmented. He then contacted many like-minded industry professionals and musicians to discuss what could be done to rectify the situation. AMC then found a home at Goodwood Institute which is fitting as, back in the ‘60s, the historic venue hosted regular pop concerts with The Twilights being regular performers. The collective has since staged a series of highly successful concerts, known as AMC Sessions, at which older, well-established acts perform alongside up and coming local artists.

There are also discussions about AMC Sessions travelling to those regions.

SAHARA BECK By Sian Williams

“That is something we really want to do once they are well-established here,” Enrico, who plays drums with The Baker Suite and Funhouse, states. “There are some great venues in country towns that are currently under-utilised but while it’s certainly on the agenda, it may not happen until the year after next.

Brisbane-based singer songwriter Sahara Beck, currently garnering much acclaim in the indie folk scene and beyond, is gearing up to release her second EP, Bloom, in October and will be hitting the road to celebrate its release.

“And, also thinking long term, we may incorporate an AMC stage down at Semaphore Music Festival or even at WOMADelaide,” he adds. “It certainly has the momentum and interest to be involved in those two local festivals.”

Even her name encapsulates the idea of a warm, freely wandering breeze and her music is much the same. We spoke about her newly released EP, Bloom, and the beginning of a career that is exciting in every way.

The Hall Of Fame recognises South Australian musicians and industry identities as it inducts several at each AMC Session with Adelaide artists such as Chris Finnen, Rockin’ Rob Riley, Jim Keays, John Swan, Mauri Berg, John Schumann, Barry McAskill, Glenn Shorrock along with many others already being given the nod.

“The EPs arrived in the mail literally only a few days ago!” Sahara enthuses when I ask when punters can expect the album to hit the stores and discover that JB is one store you can keep an eye out for it.

The next AMC Session will have people such as Idris and Evan Jones (of The Mixtures), Peter Combe, Bev Harrell and recording studio operator Mick Wordley inducted into The Hall Of Fame.

“And it’s really gathering momentum,” Enrico says, “and we now have over 100 very active members. And it seems like very week we are having a couple of meetings with other music industry organisations whether it’s Music SA or the new Musitek at St Pauls or whatever.

“And, looking further ahead, next year we’ll be inducting Archie Roach, Kasey Chambers, Paul Kelly and, posthumously, Doc Neeson and Chris Bailey of The Angels,” Enrico reveals. “And, for that one, Moonshine Jug & String Band will reform and play a set.”

“And the idea with AMC Sessions was to always make them a real mixture of acts to show the great breadth of diversity we have in Adelaide,” he adds. “And it’s working really well because the older acts are attracting an older crowd who are then exposed to young acts and vice versa.

AMC Sessions will take place at Goodwood Institute, 186 Goodwood Rd, Goodwood, from 7.30pm on Friday 21 November and will feature Evan and Idris Jones (of The Mixtures), Peter Combe, The Baker Suite and Laura Hill.

Adelaide Music Collective also incorporates The South Australian Music Hall Of Fame which was set up some years ago by well-known radio announcer David ‘Daisy’ Day who is also involved in national organisation Support Act via SA Debonairs. The Hall Of Fame has since struggled somewhat to find a permanent home and is currently housed at Goodwood Institute, where it has become quite an attraction with AMC Sessions patrons. It will soon, however, have a permanent home at St Pauls on the corner of Flinders and Pulteney Sts in the city. “The Hall Of Fame is now getting too large for Goodwood Institute so it’s going to move lock stock and barrel to the foyer and up and down the stairs at the new Music Hub at St Pauls alongside Musitek,” Enrico says. “That way it will also be more accessible to the general public as it will be in the city and open during the day. There is also some talk of putting together a travelling Hall Of Fame exhibition which will go to regional areas.”

Book tickets quickly via trybooking. com.

she enjoys the odd spot of mentoring by others at the Conservatorium and infrequent tuition simply to learn new things. “Or when I get stuck on something I am trying to develop,” she says. ‘So I go back to a few lessons and collect a few tools to work with. I like it this way because I don’t really believe I would have developed quite the way I have with someone else really moulding me, or shaping me. I tend to think I ask for help as I go along.” When you hear Sahara sing, it is hard to imagine she needs any help at all. Her sultry, caramel vocals are perfectly at home with her own lyrics and her personality shines through as you see her dancing on a log in one of her music clips. You get the idea she isn’t afraid to ask for help if she needed it, but certainly isn’t afraid to tell it how it is and to lead her own way.

Not bad for a teen who has decided to make a go of hitting the ground running in her first year out of school while her classmates study, work or play as Sahara is carving herself a musical niche for all those loving something natural, raw and wild. Her cheeky five-song EP is the home of very likeable single Brother Sister, which had me asking possibly a very unoriginal query regarding the percussion in the middle of the song.

I ask who she tours with as her Bloom EP features drums, double bass and guitar.

“It’s really funny you ask,” she says, “as I have had DJs and producers from all over the place contacting us asking how to recreate that sound. We literally collected everything we could find from a kitchen and sound-tested all of it. Then hung some stuff up. And hit a lot of it. It is now a set, written percussion line. But it is certainly funny how we came about creating that sound. It is pretty unique!”

“But having just the two of us has been really fabulous, as I play guitar anyway and we enjoy the simplicity of just being able to get out there and play. My band are fantastic and I just love that we all get the reasons why we play together and it isn’t about the money or success. We absolutely love just playing music and totally get each other. It is a special kind of friendship.”

Sahara comes from a beautifully musical family with her mother playing violin and piano and Sahara starting on piano. And later a trumpet. Then to voice, where

Her approach, lyrically, is fresh, simple and honest and Sahara’s guitar complements her voice which needs no embellishment and is therapeutic in tone. Upon viewing one of her video clips, set in Byron Bay in what appears to be a rainforest of some sort, you wish you were there having her croon over you as you lie beneath a tree.

“I am travelling with DJ Damon Joel [well known as former percussionist and drummer with Acca Dacca, an AC/DC tribute band[ who is also our drummer. Together we have padded out a really full sound and carry the set really well although naturally it would be great to tour later with the full band.

“It is always interesting hearing everyone else’s opinion of what it means to make a go of being a musician,” she muses thoughtfully. “People love to tell you their opinion, even if you didn’t really ask for it. I have been playing and performing for a long time, and seriously so, since I was about 12 or 13, but it wasn’t until this year that I decided to really make a go of this. “And this year has been so amazing and fulfilling that I find it hard to imagine that I won’t simply keep playing now,” Sahara concludes. “I have definitely built up my confidence in myself and feel more settled in the whole music industry.” Sahara Beck launches Bloom at Jive, 181 Hindley St, Adelaide, on Friday 24 October with tickets now on sale via Moshtix.

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CD/DVD REVIEWS

CD REVIEWS

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combine the talents of Zac Czuchwicki’s lead guitar, Stefen Metzgar’s Drums, Nathan Dior’s Vocals and Kyle Clarke’s Bass, you have a reincarnated sound that’s refreshing to hear, both in technicality and playability.

Devil’s Crossroad Self Titled EP Reviewer: Savvy Rating: 3/5 If you want a break from today’s electronic music and also the commercial mainstream stuff that’s set on repeat on most commercial radio stations, and you love the kind of sound that ZZ Top used to produce, then turn on some music from the Adelaide home grown group “Devil’s Crossroad”. It’s traditional style blues rock ‘n’ roll with that old school sound. While listening to their debut EP, it actually reminded me of the good old analogue days when digital recording equipment and computers did not exist, and music was still being recorded onto reel to reel tapes, as the EP has a strong analogue sound and feel to it. You can definitely hear in the production style used to produce this EP, that this was the style the group were aiming for when they stepped into Mixmaster Studios here in Adelaide to record. If your wondering about the groups name, “Devil’s Crossroad”, well this was taken from the old American blues legend, Robert Johnson, who claims that in 1930 in Rosedale, Mississippi he sold his soul to the Devil at a set of crossroads in exchange for his musical talent on the blues guitar. Now decades later in Adelaide, The “Devil’s Crossroad” play our bars, clubs and other venues around the city while keeping this urban legend alive. The EP is made up of 6 tracks, all of which bring the history of alternative/ blues rock ‘n’ roll up to the modern day. I personally love the track “Run Away”, as it’s a toe-tapping track that incorporates the awesome sound of the harmonica, and really has driving riffs and that dirty American blues feel to it. That’s true rock ‘n’ roll. All the tracks on the EP are pretty solid in structure and you can hear from the way the instruments are played that the group are definitely in their element when they play together. Devil’s Crossroad is another shining example of home grown Adelaide talent. The band started playing together about 2 years ago, and since those early days, they have progressed and grown to become Adelaide’s number one live act in the American blues rock genre. When you

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Automatonophilia is a band at their most artistically intrepid. A band characterized by their youthful exuberance, yet with a sense of mature musicality that stretches far beyond their years. With experience and time, this reviewer looks forward to seeing what the boys come up with next because the trajectory of Misfits of Sythia is sure to be an exciting one.

Misfits of Sythia Automatonophilia Reviewer: Max Tulysewski Rating: 4/5 Mayweather Take Back Everything Reviewer: Max Tulysewski Rating: 4/5 It’s been an impressive run for Adelaide-based rock outfit Mayweather since their inception in 2011. After a considerable amount of time spent on the road, their second EP, ‘Take Back Everything’, is the band at their most stable and polished. Recorded, engineered and mixed by Luke ‘Phasey’ Hattam and Crystal Cut Studios in the summer of 2013 and 2014, ‘Take Back Everything’ is an unyielding, powerful Aussie rock record. Despite the EP being organised into numerical order, one must first listen to ‘Renegade’, the release’s last track and lead single, to really understand what Mayweather is all about – tight, fuzzy guitars and the howling vocals of Tommy Woolcock reminiscent of the Hot Lies and early Grinspoon. Every track on the EP is arranged and produced with a sense of continuity in mind, and they all rest comfortably around the three and a half minute mark, making ‘Take Back Everything’ a solid package for radio. However, this may leave some more avid fans of the punk-tinged rock genre waiting for a more palpable dynamic range. This was achieved effectively on the band’s first EP, ‘Old Guns’, with a more diverse range of sounds including clean guitars as well as hardcore screams. Perhaps we will see Mayweather experimenting more liberally on future releases, but for sheer pop-rock sheen and a solid collection of songs, this reviewer gives ‘Take Back Everything’ four stars out of five.

To suffer from Automatonophilia is to have a peculiar fondness for anything that falsely resembles a sentient being, this may include ventriloquist dummies, mannequins or robots that look like humans. The opposite of this would be Automatonaphobia, a fear of exactly the same thing. While the latter has garnered a Wikipedia page of information on the subject, neither word can be found in a standard dictionary. Enter Misfits of Sythia, a four-piece art rock band from the Adelaide Hills and their debut five-track release, Automatonophilia. Being almost entirely instrumental and clocking in at about twenty-two minutes, Automatonophilia takes on the challenge of maintaining the listener’s attention with suitable aplomb. With myriad time signatures, clever use of motifs and a range of dynamics and textures, this record takes us on a journey through various musical genres and flavors including Gypsy Jazz, Jazz Fusion, Progressive Metal, Math Rock, Dark Cabaret and Ska – all the while blending these concepts with Misfits of Sythia’s unique sound. What really gives this recording a sense of depth and makes it feel special is the compositional duo of Sam Morris (guitars) and Stuart Mann (drums). While young composers in this genre run the risk of making music that sounds like a series of technical exercises strung together, Misfits of Sythia are able to construct musical statements that are both fun to listen to and challenging to play. This balance is an important aspect to the band’s sound and one that is achieved smoothly on record. From the chugging riffage of ‘The Tungsten Hook’ to the Gene Krupa/Benny Goodman Big Band-esque ‘Revenge of the Sythia’, the level of musicianship featured on Automatonophilia is profound. Special mention must go to bassist Kyle Opie, who only recently joined the band but consistently locks the rhythm section together and performs the material with a confident sense of rhythmic intensity. Also, Patrick Reed (saxophone) lifts the recording to another level with his surprise (read: surprisingly convincing) vocal appearance in album closer The Animals Broke Loose.

Truce Let It All Out Reviewer: Michael Hunter Rating: 4/5 Different sources will tell you that Truce is either an Adelaide alt-country band, or it’s local singer-songwriter Trent Worley assisted by a group of musical friends. It probably doesn’t matter which is true. Worley does provide all thirteen songs on the excellent album ‘Let It All Out’, and his friends including Matt Tropeano, Jamie Scott Woolaway, Matthew Hills and Nicholas Cioffi all know how to create a very pleasing collection of melodic roots rock, and that’s all that really matters. The album starts strongly with ‘Why Should I Care For You?’, a well constructed and memorable song with the emphasis on melody and energy. Over the course of 46 minutes, the LP moves through a range of moods and styles without sacrificing overall consistency. A bit of acoustic reggae on ‘Willy Wag Tales’, some psych elements on ‘It’ll Be Alright’ through to more straight country rock and contemplative folk – it all makes good sense in the hands of Truce. Listening to ‘Don’t Let Your Love Run Dry’ in particular shows the fun the musicians must have had while recording. As with all the songs, Hills’ production lets the music breathe, with all instruments clearly defined in the mix. The inclusion of local place names or current events such as Wikileaks in the lyrics doesn’t come across as forced, but does make one wish the words were included in the somewhat minimalist but appealing cardboard packaging. Nonetheless, the album supplies much for the listener to immerse themselves in and thus does its job well.


GHYTI

This is a story from long ago but it remains relevant to today.

GHYTI By Robert Dunstan Ghyti is Matt Hill alongside Sam Henderson and Travis Duke and they are about to launch a fourth offering, Fluorescent Lights, along with an accompanying video of the same title. It will happen at relatively new Adelaide venue Ancient World which is kinda is hidden down a laneway in Hindley St. “I first came across Ancient World during the last Adelaide Fringe,” Matt says of the boutique underground venue which is easy enough to find once you know where it is, “I thought it was a great little spot after I kind of stumbled across it one night. “And for the launch I wanted a fairly intimate venue so Ancient World fitted the bill perfectly,” he continues. “I didn’t want to do a huge launch with four or so bands playing because that brings with it a lot of extra pressure. I wanted it to be a bit more relaxed where we could screen the film and then just play the songs afterwards. “So it’ll be more like a relaxed, laid-back party with friends to celebrate the fact we’ve finished the EP and the film,” Matt suggests. “And because they sometimes have some electronic stuff happening at Ancient World, we’ve got one of those DJs, Chris Arblaster, to finish off the night. “And it’s good for us as we are not really in that kinda scene – we’re not in any kind of scene to be honest – so it will be good to get some people along who might no normally come and see us,” he muses. “And over the past year we’ve been trying to play in unusual places rather than just doing somewhere like Hotel Metro or The Grace or whatever. We want to do something different from what ends up being just another pub gig.

all the songs, but as a band we work out what to do with them – how are we going to treat them and where are we going to take them? – so it’s very much a band in that regard. It’s not like I’m standing around telling the other guys what to do.” The launch will also feature the screening of a film that accompanies the EP. “Originally we were just going to ask people along and just play the EP over the PA and not actually play it live,” Matt reveals. “And so I thought if we were going to do that, I should put a little film together to show while it was playing. “And then we thought that we should show the film and then actually play it live,” he says. “So the film, which goes for about 20 minutes, kinda augments the EP in that there’s no narrative.”

That would have been around the time of Quiet Pop, a hip pocket-sized zine that Matt Reiner was publishing on a regular basis. “Quiet Pop was a great little idea – I even wrote a couple of articles for it – but it didn’t last too long unfortunately,” Matt says. “I think it kind of finished up when Matt began devoting most of his spare time to The Dunes. “And The Dunes have since become very much a going concern,” he says of the group who recently topped Three D Radio’s Top 20 + 1 Chart with Bad Lands. Ghyti will have CDs available at their launch as well as making it readily available online.

Ghyti began life as a solo project for Matt, who plays bass, guitar and keyboards, after his former band, Ambush Marketing, folded.

“Not sure,” Matt admits. “We’ll put it online a few weeks after the launch once we get around to it, but we are thinking that down the track we’ll put out a special edition of the EP that include a DVD of the film.

And what of the film?

“Once again, we’re not sure about all that because while some people still like to watch DVDs, others are just as happy to have it available to see online,” he concludes. “But as long as people get to hear the music is all that matters.” Ghyti launch Fluorescent Lights at Ancient World, 116a Hindley St, on Friday 17 October.

I now can’t recall much about that session – I may well have left the house for the weekend in order to keep out of the way – but do know that it produced two songs, Australia’s God and We Are Tomorrow, which were issued as a single by Tomorrow Records.

Said single is now said to be ultra rare – copies now change hands for somewhat more than its original price – and is considered by some to be one of the very first punk singles recorded in Adelaide. So it now kind of annoys me that I had wisely chosen to leave the house during the course of the weekend during which it was being recorded. I could have been part of history.

“Yeah, when I was playing bass with The Aunt Sallys, which was Matt Reiner’s band before The Dunes, I made a documentary about the making of our EP,” he says.

“But I think it’s a real shame that music is not so often available these days in a physical format,” Matt sighs. “I love album artwork – our first EPs came with fold-out origami artwork – so it’s sad that a lot of that is slowly becoming lost.”

“Some people still think it’s my solo project but we’ve been a band now for three years,” he adds. ‘Sure, I do write

Anyway, said share house was owned by Hardys Wines who had an office around the corner on Henley Beach Rd. It was a big ol’ house but by today’s standards was a little bereft. For example, the toilet was outside – which, in share house circumstances, is not such a bad thing – and the gas stove in the kitchen must have been there since the house was built as it looked rather like this one except it was green. And we used to laugh about how it was called an ‘Early Kooka’ as it was if the makers knew that in years to come people would look back and it and say, ‘Oh, that must be one of the early cookers’.

Matt has previously been involved in filmmaking.

“And there seems to be a few little underground venues popping up around Adelaide,” he adds. “It seems like underground is the new way to go. Adelaide has gone from having none, to having a few of them. And while the crowds may be smaller, at least they are into what they’ve gone to see.”

“Yeah, it initially started off that way and I recorded two EPs just for fun with the intention of not ever worrying about playing live,” Matt says. “But the second EP, Know Your Place, seemed to get a lot of attention so I thought I should put a band together and do some kind of launch. So that was when Sam [Henderson – guitars] and Travis [Duke – drums] came on board and Ghyti has been that way ever since.

Back in the ‘70s I was sharing a share house with two other chaps in the inner city suburb of Mile End. It was in Rose St – and it’s still standing today – and a few doors down on the other side was The Bank Of France. Not an actual bank, of course, but the house where several members of the Adelaide band of that bane resided.

the front bedroom with its hundred of empty egg cartons on the wall in which to record and it would happen over the course of a weekend.

Anyway, one of the two guys I was sharing the house with was a live sound engineer who also fancied himself as a producer of sorts. To that effect he had converted the front bedroom into a recording studio. He had done so, with a little help from his two share buddies, by collecting empty egg cartons. He had then attached a series of panels to the walls of the bedroom and then, with a little help from his two share buddies, had glued the empty egg cartons – hundreds of them – to the panels to serve as sound-proofing.

Anyway, this all leads to the fact that almost 40 years later Black Chrome will be performing from 9pm at The Edinburgh Castle, 233 Currie St, Adelaide, on Saturday 18 October alongside Perdition and (Irving &) The U-Bombs as well as former Englishborn Adelaide punk Bohdan X who will be making the trek from interstate. It’s all to launch a vinyl LP, Pioneers Of Punk, to celebrate 40 years of Adelaide punk music. The vinyl album, which also comes with a CD, is included in the $25 ticket price and it’s an event staged by Mercenary and Bijou.

The band he was working with, Lucas Aaron, would then use said soundproofed room in which to practice their stylised progressive rock stylings at least once a week. And, from memory, some kind of recordings may well have been made. And, despite the presence of hundreds of empty egg cartons glued to panels on the wall, some of their stylised progressive rock stylings would drift down the hallway and into the lounge room. This made it pretty impossible to view none or even any of the four television channels available to us at the time or listen to the latest long-playing record by Genesis or some such other popular band of the time on the hi-fidelity stereo system whenever Lucas Aaron were practicing which was usually at least once a week. Anyway, one of the two guys I was sharing the house with who was the live sound engineer who also fancied himself as a producer of sorts, then announced that a gentleman who went under the name Black Chrome was coming over to use

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THE SISTERS OF INVENTION By Robert Dunstan

to make it gleam and sparkle in a way that you’ll go home singing the chorus,” singers Michelle and Aimee say.

Having recently emerged from an intense period of recording and in anticipation of their full album release, The Sisters of Invention, Australia’s first disabled and proud al- girl alternative pop group, are set to debut the video clip of their brand spanking new single, This Isn’t Disneyland, and preview a selection of new songs with a live band to devoted fans at a free entry gig.

Following the official release of This Isn’t Disneyland, The Sisters Of Invention will be preparing for their debut self-titled album in early 2015 via Tutti Music, South Australia’s first disability-led and run recording venture.

Known for their harmony-laden, acoustically powerful songs, Aimee Crathern, Annika Hooper, Michelle Hall, Caroline Hardy and Jackie Saunders who form The Sisters Of Invention, are excited about their first release from their new recording.

Catch The Sisters Of Invention with a live band and the launch of the music video made with Budaya Productions on Friday 17 October at The Promethean, 116 Grote St, Adelaide, SA, with free entry.

Inspired by their love of life and music, The Sisters say that, “This Isn’t Disneyland is a roller coaster ride expressing the myth-busting power of their view of the world. “It is the very first of our new songs where we tell it the way it is and have tried

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BSIDE MAGAZINE MAKING MUSIC LOCAL AGAIN www.bsidemagazine.com.au 14


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CAREER PATHWAYS 2015

courses.musicsa.com.au


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