The Spit Press Vol. 1 Issue 1. April2010

THE SPIT PRESS SYDNEY’S CREATIVE NEWSPAPER VOL. 1 ISSUE 1 SPITPRESS.COM

KATIE NOONAN

SKIPPING GIRL VINEGAR JACK CARTY NGAIIRE SHOOT THE PLAYER THE FREEPS FREE SH*T, MOTHERLICKERS

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03 TEAM LETTER 04 SHOOT THE PLAYER / I’VE A LITTLE TEAPOT 05 AWKWARD HUGS 06 THE JAPAN 07 BETTER READ THAN IN BED 08 SKIPPING GIRL VINEGAR 10 FASHION FORECAST 11 MOOKING FOR LOVE 12 STOP DROP AND VOL 13 PLATHIC OBSESSION 14 KATIE NOONAN 16 TWO BAKED POOSEYS 17 33 SUMMER DRESSES 18 NGAIIRE / PRESSIE IDEAS 19 STATIONERY, NOT STATIONARY 20 HELLO MODERN MAN 21 JACK CARTY 22 SINGLE GIRL’S VIEW 23 FORBIDDEN LOVE / THE FREEPS 24 IT WAS SUMMER

PUBLISHER, EDITOR TYM YEE HEAD DESIGNER CHUMPY LY HEAD EDITOR STEPH KENT ADVERTISING LIN VARTAN HEAD PHOTOGRAPHER ZAB WONG

The views expressed by authors and contributors are not necessarily those of the publisher. Copyright is reserved and may not be reproduced without consent. Reproduction in part or whole is prohibited. Emails published are for professional use only.

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TEAM LETTER

In a world where everyone you’ve ever met is able to be contacted within a few minutes, whether they live 5 or 5000 kilometres away, it seems strange that our sense of community seems to be diminishing, not increasing. With all the connection we have to each other, and social networking being increasingly common as a main form of contact, oddly enough people are feeling further isolated from each other.

And as far as social trends go, we at The Spit Press think this one sucks.

Community and people are what drives us, encourages us and challenges us to make this newspaper. This is why we believe that collaboration is so important, and only when we work together, draw on all of our resources as a group do we manage to achieve our true creative potential. That is precisely what you are holding in your hands. This is the result of collaboration between a massive group of people and businesses that proves that today more than ever, there is a strong, powerful and vibrant creative community among young people in Sydney.

When we decided to create something new, we couldn’t have possibly dreamed that we would find such varied and amazing talents within such close reach. We discovered the support, encouragement and integrity of creative businesses, indie musicians trying to change Sydney’s music scene, talented people trying to save the world and everything in between. The most exciting part about this, of course, is the fact that it’s going on everywhere. Look around you and I bet you will see that everyone has some talent or passion just waiting for an outlet for it to be expressed.

And that of course is where we come in. We want to be your creative outlet, and in turn your link to the creative community. We live in an amazing city filled with people that everyday find new ways to make the world a little bit more beautiful, and we think that they deserve to be shown off as much as possible. So we’d like to encourage you to get involved, send us an e-mail, write an article, take some photos, anything to start engaging and stop being part of a global trend of isolation.

So we’re here to tell you that we don’t believe that the word ‘community’ lives in the past. It’s alive, thriving and we can guarantee it is much, much closer than you think.

After all, you’re holding a slice of it in your hands.

The Spit Press Team We’d love to hear from you at info@spitpress.com. If you’d like to contribute send submissions to submissions@spitpress.com

spit press contact Tym Yee Publisher tym@spitpress.com Chumpy Ly Head Designer chumpy@spitpress.com www.chumpyly.com Stephanie Kent Editor steph@spitpress.com Lin Vartan Advertising lin@spitpress.com Zab Wong Head Photographer zab@spitpress.com

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shoot the player rachel bosnich

Creative people do amazing things when they put their minds together. Shoot the Player is a movement dedicated to bringing you more from the musicians you already know and adore. www.shoottheplayer.com is littered with single take videos of musicians performing their songs with interludes of conversation and refreshingly simple street noise. This quaint Sydney, web-based project aims to capture the intimate setting of live performances, where the musical delivery of the artist can be captured in pure acoustic bliss. The low-key and inconspicuous, no nonsense demeanour leaves a longing for a wholesomeness that you just wont find on youtube.

Artists perform in single shot videos, which capture the raw strengths and weaknesses of the musicians who are valiant enough to have left the studio to roam the streets, delighting the public with subtle surprises and casual composure.

Founders, Amelia Tovey and Johnathan Wald have created a series of music videos of Australian and international artists which redefines our understanding and expectations of the conventional music video.

Shoot the player opts to focus on the spontaneity of live, unedited recordings which humanises the artist in a way that ignores celebrity status and focuses on what should really be in the spotlight, the music.

While Shoot the Player explores both Aussie and international artists, their focus is on providing lovers of music with a glimpse at the talent and humility of the people behind the music video. There is something so homely about watching Ben Lee stroll the botanic gardens armed with only his guitar and Kaki King singing to the camera while the sun sets over Hyde Park.

Do your soul a favour and check it out www.shoottheplayer.com photography jefferton james

i’ve a little teapot Ai Lyn Adamson

When one comes face to face with a cup and saucer, the question ought not to be, ‘To tea or not to tea?’ but rather, ‘Which tea? Why and when?’

Here are my favourites (inspired by and available at T2)…

French Earl Grey: a classic; anytime, anywhere. There is no occasion when a pot of French Earl Grey can be brewed and received badly. Just the right complement to an afternoon tea party or just to keep you and your book company. Subtle floral fragrance and smooth on the palate. Perfect a lway s ; b l a c k w ith o n e s u g a r .

Chamomile: a bear hug in a tea cup.

Smells like crisp apples, tastes like dandelion buds in the sun. Just what the doctor ordered for those of you wearing your grumpy pants or having one of those days. Perfect before bed time or an afternoon nana nap; no milk please, add honey if you are so inclined.

Turkish Cherry: a hit when it’s too hot for boiling water. Super s w eet, s u per f u n , s u per e a s y.

This tea and picnics are the best of friends. Perfect on a hot summer’s day; iced with frozen raspberries.

That’s all really.

Make tea not war.

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Caitlyn

Adamson Caitlyn Adamson

Call it a hug, a nuzzle, a caress or even a bodily embrace.

Whatever its name two things remain; the first being how generally therapeutic and wonderful a hug can be when received in the correct fashion, the other, how incredibly awkward a situation they can make when made in the wrong.

As the notoriously awkward mannered person that I am, I know a thing or two about making a perfectly comfortable social situation an uncomfortable “wow you could hear a pin drop” nightmare. In fact not so recently I recalled a certain moment I had with a hunky boy at a party. It went a little like this: INT: Party. Night. LOUD MUSIC Hunk: Hey! You having a good night?!

Me: Yeh! It’s really good! How about you?!

(We’re not angry at each other. We’re just shouting over the music.)

Hunk: So good! I like what you’re wearing!

Me: Thanks! You too! You’re shirt’s really thin so I can totally see your nipple!

Hunk:... *pin drop* Oh yeah. He wants me. But my recent endeavours into the socially awkward have made me stumble across new and murky waters: The hug. Something so lovable and sweet turning into something so uncomfortable you don’t even want to blink. Allow me to elaborate: 1. The "car" hug.

Recently I found myself in this position after dropping my friend home after dinner. Of course it would be “rude” if I just drove off without the touching of bodies as a conventional goodbye, and a handshake was just not enough. So I tried and failed in my attempt to hug from the driver’s seat still strapped in, not giving my left arm enough time to wrap around the other side of my friend’s body, I found myself cupping her with two arms, much like a sloth to a mound of moss. Hug fail. Awkward scale: 6/10 2. The "friend’s boyfriend" hug

3. The "pelvic positioning" hug It’s interesting observing different genders giving a lil’ ol’ hug.

Females tend to not be afraid to bump pelvic bits, where as males will never EVER allow their junk to touch. Sometimes you’ll find the odd one out who isn’t scared of some pelvic action (infact rather enjoys it), but the most awkward is when you pair up a pelvis hater, with a pelvis lover. Often the hater will take extreme measures not to have their space invaded while all the lover wants to do is invade, invade, invade. While traumatising it might be for the members participating in such a hug, it is incredibly hilarious for those to watch, especially when it starts to turn into an intriguing hug dance struggle.

Awkward scale: 8 .5/10 4. The "sitting down hug from behind" hug The sitter and the stander. Recipe for disaster. One wrong move and it definitely gets weird. For example; friend gives friendly hug from behind, you freak out, jolt your head back, break their nose.

Weird. Friend gives friendly hug from behind, you lift your arms to attempt backward hug, boob brushed, stuck in lasso position.

Weird. Friend gives friendly hug from behind, you turn your head to see who it is and get way too close to their face, brush lips. It’s definitely weird. Awkward scale: 8/10 5. The "kiss and cheek" hug, aka the devil’s hug How I loathe this scenario. It happens to the best of us. From the closest of friends to the “I think we’re friend’s but really we’re just acquaintances”. You see a “friend” from across the way and go and say hi, things are going great, you’re smiling and recognise each other, the cheek kiss is aced and then the hug commences...except only you hug...and the other person just stands there. It’s only half way through this process that you realised the other isn’t hugging back and you either do one of two things: 1, the “back pat” pretending you didn’t even want a hug in the first place, or 2, “The cling”. Oh the cling. Waiting hopelessly as you latch yourself onto the person’s body waiting for social recognition. It never comes. And everybody sees your hug denied.

Awkward scale: off the radar.

--The 101 on hugs is a scary and unusual phenomenon that takes years to master. So to all you socially awkward nerds out there, I have a little advice: don’t touch anything or anyone. It always ends badly.

That’s right ladies, the no-go zone. It seems fine when you hug your guy friends, but the moment they find a compatible mate, even worse if that manatee – oops I meant mate – is one of your friends, the etiquette to hugging is just incredibly confusing. “Do I?”, “Don’t I?”, and If I do, will she be giving me the “bitch-don’teven!” death stare? Apart from the weird guilt feeling you get when the hug is a little too frisky than you’d like, this friendly snuggle usually always ends badly. Awkward scale: 7/10.

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“THE JAPAN” PHOTOGRAPHS BY ZABRINA WONG

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Lou Millard Louisa Millward

A recent survey by a large Swedish furniture company found that 45% of Aussie women polled would rather read a book, as opposed to having sex with a partner, given an extra hour of time on any one day. That got me thinking about books, and sex, and why nearly half of the ladies polled would prefer the former to the latter.

We’ll get the obvious part out of the way first, and maybe I speak from personal experience here, maybe I don’t.

But sex is awkward. Sure, it’s nice. It’s fun. It satisfies some of the needs that we, as humans, have. However, the motions leading up to the big moment, and the ensuing result, don’t leave my friends and I surprised as to the findings of this poll. I’m not having a go at past sexual partners, or at men, but the general consensus is that sometimes? It can be more trouble than it’s worth. The foreplay, the action, the cleanup afterwards. To cuddle or not to cuddle? That is the question.

A book is a magical item. It is something I can get truly passionate about.

Where people have failed me, hurt me and left me high and dry, books have been there to soothe my soul, make me laugh, and yes, make me cry. I never thought this way about books though. During those turbulent high school years, books were the bane of my existence. Being forced to read, or to do anything, when you’re a surly teenager is like dealing with a stubborn mule. But then you leave school, and it’s like your blinders disappear.

You mean, there’s a world beyond Shakespeare and Austen?

I don’t really understand people who say they don’t like to read. They’re probably the other half of the survey participants who would rather have sex or go shopping as opposed to reading. The obvious reasons for leisure reading are many. There’s escapism, seeing the world through a different set of eyes, even at a different time in history. Be it fiction or non-fiction, chick lit or western philosophy, there is something to be gained from every book read.

With the widespread market introduction of e-book readers, there have been many a rumbling in the book world about the death of the paperback. Honestly, I don’t think it will ever happen. Books are timeless, classic, archetypal. You’ll never search long and hard for that signed first edition, as an e-book file. And you’ll never proudly display your e-book files or ebook reader as you would a groaning bookcase, with shelves heaving under the weight of a million stories, fact or fiction. I’d even go so far as to miss the dust that accumulates, undisturbed on top of my ‘To Read’ shelves, where books I’ve bought on a whim, or books that were gifts, will sit for months or years, until I’m in the right mood to pluck it from its confines and feel that delicious, papery weight between my fingers.

So I think it’s obvious which team I’m on. To me, books are an investment.

Sure, only a few venture into the market of rare-book dealings. But I’m quite content with my double stacked bookcase of old and new, cool and decidedly un-cool. Each holds a mystery.

And there is no cleanup, no awkwardness, no-one else involved.

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Welcome to the Hobo revolution.

Stephanie Kent

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It’s a Thursday night and we’re all sitting on the floor of a Surry Hills pub munching on homemade fudge and being offered some quality life philosophy. “Last time we were on tour we had two kinds of cookies. And we saw the panic in people’s eyes... That’s the problem really... nowadays people have too much choice... So today we’ve made it easy just chocolate fudge”. Whilst Mark, lead singer of Melbourne band Skipping Girl Vinegar, is dispensing his insights, keyboardist Amanthi and bassist Sare are passing around plates to the crowd, as drummer Chris sits behind his seemingly long abused kit, and throughout the entire evening seems to perpetually vibrate with hyperactivity. If I hadn’t guessed earlier from the horns section and the paper eyes of a dozen odd cutouts of animals, it was then I knew that this wasn’t your average gig and SGV isn’t your average band.

The four piece band play their own brand of spirited and earthy tunes, which they refer to as “Hobo Pop”. After a flat out year of touring in 2009 and the release of their highly successful album ‘Sift the Noise’ the year before, you would think that the band would be taking the opportunity to relax, but they certainly see no reason to rest on their laurels, returning to the studio the week after Christmas to record their newest track “One Long Week”.

“Although we were really tired there was this kind of underlying excitement about what was to come”. And what has resulted in their first single alone has the signs of a solid follow-up, being neither stale, nor losing the edge that brought them success with their first record. “It’s definitely an evolution,” says Mark “I don’t really believe in completely changing, because the organic roots of our sound is definitely there. But it’s a slightly tougher sound.”

What makes SGV’s road to Sift the Noise so unique is their decision to remain independent and Australian, despite many lucrative offers by major labels both in Australia and abroad. ‘We got a lot of advice from people who had gone through the mill before... [and we worked out that] for us, not for everyone, but for us the best decision was to go independent .... the whole thing is that artists don’t actually want to understand the business that they’re in but it’s actually very liberating when you do.’ It seems that this level of control has paid off for the band. With themselves firmly in the drivers seat, they have again partnered with Nashville’s Brad Jones who worked with them on the first record and has now mixed One Long Week “I guess we’re very lucky he’s a Skipping Girl Vinegar fan”.

However, as Mark points out, it’s not only the control and creative element of remaining independent that is enticing, but also the fact that the Australian independent music scene is currently an exciting place to be working. ‘We’re very very lucky, we have some pioneers like Sebastian Chase... who kind of really developed this scene where independent artists have an opportunity to chart. Think of artists like John Butler and Sneaky Sound System, that are completely different styles but both having these hit records independently.’ And commenting on the obvious downside of having such an active independent music scene, Mark keeps faith in the listener. “I still believe that good music eventually finds its way to the surface.”

As is evident in Mark’s philosophical monologues at SGV’s live show, in which he encourages everyone to take advantage of council cleanups “I got a couch... took it home. It works fine”, the attitude of the band seems to be to get back to basics, which translates to Mark’s advice to anyone hoping to make it in the music scene. “Take the time in actually developing the thing you’re trying to do. We’ve got this real McDonalds mentality of the arts … where people don’t actually give themselves time to develop. And the best thing we learnt from making our record is to slow down. It took us four years to do it but the reason it did is because we were... developing as artists and if we hadn’t have taken that time then we wouldn’t have had the resolved piece of work we did. So set a goal for what you want to achieve, but then slow down and let it happen. So when you finally do release it or do it it’s something of value.”

Skipping Girl Vinegar’s new single One Long Week is out now.

You can win a copy of SGV’s stunning debut Album, Sift the Noise. We have 2 to giveaway. Just e-mail us at giveaways@spitpress.com with “Skipping Girl Vinegar” in the subject line to go into the draw.

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FASHION FORECAST

_ James Whalley

So once again we meet that magical time of year where seasons change and you’re left wondering ‘is it time for jeans, coats and strategically positioned pom poms?’ The pertinent question remains, are you suitably attired for the awkward Australian April/ May or will you end up sweating like Patel, your local, albeit moisture challenged kebab man on a hot Decembers night.

Despite the weather being in flux, it is a great time to start making those wintery investment purchases. Let all those fair skinned princesses rejoice for the metallic, militaristic, Egyptian-esque looks for this Winter that will definitely favour your complexions. Early looks at winter collections from Sass and Bide, Jil Sander, Camilla and Marc exhibit dominant and powerful garments, blazed in gold, highlighted by simple surrounding colours. Intimidating, yes, sexy, yes, excited…..hell yes.

3 Investment pieces for this winter

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Leggings: It goes without saying that wintertime is a time of glorious leggings. Lengthening and shaping those sometimes un-waxed legs.

Ladies everywhere, buy smart and buy well. Metallic, wet look stockings were big last year and the 80’s revival look that I find personally très sexy, looks set to continue.

Jacket: Perhaps rejecting the typical and emphasising the revival of the leather jacket the last 2 years, this year’s new jacket choices are extremely dominating and powerful. The militaristic looks of gor- geously fitted black shoulder padded coats with gold adornments are uber-chic and incredibly intimidating. *See Jennifer Hawkins who looks absolutely dangerously good looking and ready to emasculate most men.

Jeans: You’ve spent summer sculpting and toning your legs and bum, donating hard earned cash to your local fitness club, it’s time to show your product. Don’t buy labels, buy fits. No-one will ask you about your $300 Ksubi’s if they look like the skin of a Shar-pei. Buy tight and right.

Very excited to see girls flaunting battle jackets, power-gloss leggings and well fitted jeans.

Final Hint: Crown St Surry Hills for some of the best female vintage shopping around

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tym yee

Is there anything better than sharing a good thing?

is a quarterly magazine that is TWENTY-TWO: Pia Jane Rob Cork.

Hollyquarter Davis. Marcus Catherine Federici. Kate Bezar and her team present changing theISSUE world, one issue atBijkerk. a time.

Each ofWestbury. the year, publisher the extraordinary and inspiring stories of 5 remarkable individuals.

These interviews are eye opening and truthful, accompanied by quaint articles and stunning photography.

We spoke to Kate briefly about her delightful little magazine/book, what has been dubbed the ‘mook’, and about her thoughts on love.

Your amazing little 'mook' changes lives every issue you publish. What is the secret?

ISSUE TWENTY-TWO: Pia Jane Bijkerk. Rob Cork. Holly Davis. Marcus Westbury. Catherine Federic There's no secret other than authenticity. Real stories touch real people in real ways. When you're reading about people you can relate to (rather than celebrities and the like) who've done something remarkable, then it's far easier to believe you can too.

What is love to you?

Love is an authentic (there’s that word again) desire to serve others. I don’t mean ‘serve’ in the sense of the military or waiting tables, but in the sense that your purpose in life is external to yourself.

Why do you find love important (for life, and for DF)?

When your purpose is bigger than yourself and motivated by a genuine desire to improve things for others then magic happens. You find an inexhaustable source of energy and motivation, you truly start to make a difference, and it snowballs ... that’s the power of love.

You’ve personally interviewed over 100 people for DF over the years, what have you learned from talking to them all?

It all comes down to self-belief. All you need is to truly believe you can do something and you will do it.

What is the most significant thing you’ve ever heard someone say about love?

My school motto - which I have to admit I never ‘got’ at the time - was ‘By Love Serve’ ... I now realise what a profound and powerful motto that can be. I’m not saying I manage to live by it, far from it, but it’s great to come back to whenever you’re feeling a bit lost. You just need to check back in and look at your motivations for doing something. If things are going a bit pear-shaped it’s usually because the reasons behind them are selfish or money-oriented.

For more information about Dumbo Feather go to dumbofeather.com or visit spitpress.com for further details.

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It’s bad that we live in a fast paced world. It’s worse that we know we live in a fast paced world and don’t do anything about it. It is the worst when we feel we can’t slow down. Between natural disasters and global economic tomfoolery there is little room for solace for the modern wo/man. But when it all becomes too much and things get a little heated at home, why not cool the fire by giving all you have to the people and planet that needs it most. Stop your momentum, drop everything you’re doing, and volunteer. There is nothing more satisfying, so we hear…

Alex volunteered Thailand Volunteering in Thailand in January2009 was probably the best way I’ve ever spent four weeks. After hearing about International Student Volunteers (ISV) through uni, I signed up and was accepted in two volunteering groups each two weeks long. I first travelled to Bang Pae, a rural town in Phucket to work at the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project. My group and I learnt about the horrible treatment of animals in Thailand as a result of the tourist industry and how important education is so visitors know not to take photos with or ride the animals. Elephants, lizards, monkeys, gibbons and more animals are mentally and physically abused and forced to work long hours after being removed from their families and homes.

Up to two families of gibbons are killed for one baby to be removed from the wild. Each day we constructed cages, painted, surveyed the rehabilitated gibbons, dug compost holes etc. The work was physically demanding but incredibly rewarding.

After my two weeks in phuket I moved to KohTao, a tourist island where my new group and I tackled a number of issues. We snorkelled to get a firsthand look at the damage to the reefs from pollution and unregulated construction, we organised beach cleans, worked with the children at the local school, conducted a survey of stray dogs, planted trees and developed an educational program for the locals and visitors about the importance of working together to save the beautiful island before it is destroyed like so many others before it. It was amazing how little people knew about the damage being done and the long term consequences- including the locals.

Over the month I met some of the most amazing people. From the Thai people trying to make a difference and preserve their incredible country to the short and long term volunteers from Australia, New Zealand and America. I have made friends I know I will keep for years to come and I feel enriched after this priceless experience.

Stop, Drop and Vol. Julia volunteered in Peru “At the junction of the valley road leading from Pisac with the Chinchero road back to Cuzco, Urubamba is an unappealing but necessary transit hub.”

- Lonely Planet (Peru)

If you ever decide to volunteer long term overseas, you should be forewarned about the following:

· You will fall in love with whatever country you help. · Your national identity will switch from 100%

Australian to 80% Australian and 20% Chosen Country. · You will begin to take any bad reviews regarding your volunteer country straight to heart. Such was the case with me, and The Lonely Planet’s opinion of Urubamba – after 3 months of volunteering, I stumbled across this harsh sentence and was immediately offended. For when a community allows you to not only enter their lives, but to make changes as well, it becomes more than a place of entertainment.

It becomes an overseas home.

I volunteered at Virgen Carmen de Ccotohuincho, a public school in Urubamba, Peru. As well as donating money for new facilities and putting my construction skills to the test in building a school fence, I (along with other young Australians) taught English to a group of year 6 students. After 3 months, they could tell anyone who asked that the time was “Quarter past two!”, and were able to respond to the question “How are you?” with a variety of answers.

Was it hard work? Yes. Would they forget what I had taught them within 2 weeks? Most probably. But was it pointless?

By no means.

At the end of the day - even if the fence fell down, the new facilities broke, and the kids forgot every word of English they’d ever been taught – the community still learnt that there are people in the world who care about them.

Volunteering is about more than just the money or education you can provide: what’s important are the invaluable friendships that develop. As volunteers, we were valued as more than tourists, gained a great deal of respect (although many times is felt wildly undeserved), and were given opportunities that one simply cannot access any other way. The irony of it is that we left feeling as if the community had given us so much more than we could ever dream of repaying.

Kylie volunteers at ChIPS I volunteer for ChIPS which stands for Chronic Illness Peer Support. It’s basically an organisation that deals with adolescents dealing with all sorts of chronic illnesses. The program has been running in Melbourne for about 13 years now, and I was approached by a nurse back in 2003 with the idea of bringing it to Sydney with the view of putting it into the Westmead kids hospital here. She thought that I would make a good leader for the original group.

So when they brought it down in early 2004 I went through the leadership program and became one of the original leaders.

I’ve learnt alot through ChIPS. Alot of medical professionals think that when you have a certain chronic illness then you can’t understand anyone outside of your illness. They think that you should have specialised social workers on the team that specifically work with your illness. But i’ve learnt that you can bring together kids from all sorts of medical backgrounds and they’ll find a common link. We’ve never had kids compete with eachother or argue over whose situation is worse and we’ve got about 50 kids in the program now and we’ve never had that as an issue. I’ve learnt that kids adapt so well with eachother and they are alot more empathetic and understanding than people give them credit for.

I started volunteering when I was about 16 or 17. I think the earlier you get into volunteering the better.

It gives you opportunities to have really eye opening experiences and learn from the other people that come into your life. When you’re at that age your brain is adapting and I think it’s a good time of your life to learn from other people. So i would definitely recommend volunteering while you’re young.

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Plathic Obsession.

Stephanie Kent “Let me live, love, and say it well in good sentences” -Sylvia Plath Call it an occupational hazard of working in a bookshop if you will, but it seems I’m asked what my favourite book is at least a couple of times a week. And as strange as it may sound, it’s a question that if I can, I’ll nearly always dodge answering. The truth being of course that I adore, live and breathe The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath.

Please don’t get me wrong., I’m not ashamed of my one true love. I simply find the reactions I get when I share this fact mildly infuriating. There are two camps of judgement, both of them filled with people I can only assume have never actually read The Bell Jar. The first is usually one dispensed by people close to my own age and obviously they’re too cool for words. They’ll look at me with disdain before snorting and saying “yeah, of course, you and every other pseudo intellectual on the planet.”

Now apart from the obvious condescension implicit in this observation, mostly it annoys me how misguided it seems to be. Since, at the end of the day what I love about The Bell Jar is how non-pretentious is. Here is this royally screwed up character, inviting us into her mind and her life warts and all. (Yes, I believe characters have freewill, so sue me...). Whatever you can say about Plath, Esther Greenwood is one of the most mesmerising characters you’ll meet. Not because she is perfect, loveable or even someone you’d want to be your best friend, because quite frankly at many times she’s difficult to stomach. Rather, because she allows you into her mind so absolutely and completely that she becomes completely real and without pretense.

The second comment is redeemable only in that I suppose you could argue it comes from a place of concern. It usually is delivered mostly non-verbally with a concerned look, a knowing nod and sometimes a mumbled “Sylvia Plath? Oh the one who... yes, of course”. It might be considered a bit odd to be an avid reader of a woman who made her two children sandwiches before putting her head in an oven, but like Seneca said, “there is no great genius without some touch of madness”. Throughout history there is a pattern of people doing amazing things when living on the brink. In this strange, hazy area between sanity and insanity is a region of the mind that you and I can only imagine, and it is there that not only Plath lived and worked, but also the likes of Virginia Woolf, Van Gough, hell, Britney Spears (if of course you’re of the camp that considers her brilliant).

Yes, it’s true that Sylvia Plath can be found tucked under the arms of many ‘deep’ students on university campuses, and when it comes to the spectrum of human emotion she tended towards the darker. But at the end of the day, it seems a bit absurd that I should have to defend my obsession with someone who wrote so beautifully, felt so completely and left behind such beautiful testaments to that.

So to all you Plath haters out there, I say don’t knock it til you tried it. I dare you to read it and not fall half as in love with her as I am.

THE SPIT PRESS | SYDNEY’S CREATIVE NEWSPAPER | VOL 1, ISSUE 1 | 13

Seventeen years

after winning a Best New Artist ARIA in 2003 with the band George, Katie Noonan continues to blow us away with her soaring, pitchperfect vocals and compositions which cross categories. Lynne Xie spoke with Katie about her creative process and career, and her return to an ‘organic band sound’ with her current project, the Captains.

THE SPIT PRESS | SYDNEY’S CREATIVE NEWSPAPER | VOL 1, ISSUE 1 | 14

Lynne: People will know you from your work with George and Elixir and with your mum, as well as your solo work, but perhaps not so much with the Captains. Can you tell me a little of how your time with the Captains began?

Katie: Sure. Well this band is basically the band that I was using for my Skin album. So, I’ve been playing with them for over two years now, probably almost two-and-a-half. I’ve been playing with them even longer in fact but as a four-piece we’ve been playing for just over two years.

In that time, I just decided I really wanted to return to that organic band sound and reapproach my creative process again. So I kind of stripped back; took it all back to basics and decided these were the right collaborators to help dream up this project and this album, this new body of work.

And ‘Time’, which we didn’t do last night, is one of the big songs on the record. It’s got the Australian Chamber Orchestra on it and you know, it’s a pretty huge track.

That became the kind of… ah, what do you call it? I can’t think of the word. We realised we had a sound when we did that song. And we kind of went, “Cool, that’s the…”.. oh, prototype! – that’s the word I was looking for. It’s the prototype for the record. We wanted to build all our songs around this new exciting direction.

L: You’ve had experience with a few different bands. What do you look for in a band or in fellow band members?

Katie: Mm, that’s a very complicated thing. You need to connect musically first and foremost. But then you know, ethically, your work ethic, and your, you know, like, morally. If you’re going to tour with these guys, you don’t want to be touring with someone who just has a really different approach to life. It’s hard becauser you’re with each other a lot; you’re in the recording studio. We all have a fairly similar approach to life and our work ethic and the importance of music in our lives. Also ethically we’re all kind of clean-living, healthy people, and we kind of have strong views on political and socio-economic policy and things like that.

You need to connect on so many different levels.

None of us are drinkers or partyers and that kind of stuff. It’s hard if you’re all quite straight and one person is a serious alco – it doesn’t really work well on the road.

L: It sounds like there needs to be a good balance between a lot of different factors K: Yeah, it’s very difficult. You know, a band’s like a marriage, well a four-or-five-way marriage, just without the good sex.

L: The sounds like a beautiful idea for a wedding Katie: It is beautiful. And it means that you really have to put time and thought and effort into what you do rather than just going to a shop and buying a coffee-maker. It’s much more of a holistic approach.

L: Do you find that you do surround yourself with creative people who would be able to take an A4 piece of paper and create something special?

Katie: Oh yeah, I saw some of the pieces of paper and I was like, oh God, mine was lame. (Stu’s wife) Ash is an actor and she works at the Art Gallery of NSW so obviously she’s surrounded by amazing artists and actors. And Stu’s an incredible muso.

Yeah, so there were a lot of very, very creative gifts.

L: So you mentioned before that you Don Walker was part of the making of ‘Page One’, and I know that for this record you’ve collaborated with a lot of really talented musicians like Tim Finn…

Katie: and Sia Furler...

L: Yep, and Sia and Josh Pyke. In your experience, what makes a collaboration work or not work?

Katie: It’s kind of like trying to ask what makes a relationship work; it’s so complex and hard to verbalise. Basically if it feels right and if it feels like you’re creating something and you’re getting excited by it. That’s pretty much how you know it’s working. You’ve just got to trust your instincts and not be afraid of letting something happen.

I think the most important thing with the creative process is not to overedit yourself as you do it.

Cause I think a lot of people overanalyse and overedit themselves and you end up sometimes cutting yourself off from the source. If it’s forced, it’s not meant to be. Although also I mean it’s hard, it’s not just going to flow out with every song sometimes you really need to work at it. Every song’s different just like every human’s different.

L: On the topic of collaborations, who would your dream collaborator be?

K: Imogen Heap would be nice L: Oh, good one K: Um, Tori Amos would be nice L: And Imogen Heap’s coming out to Australia

L: And we benefit from the good music

K: Oh my goodness, I know. I’m going to see her in Brisbane. Yeah, she’s awesome. I’ve loved her for a very long time since her very first record iMegaphone, you know, 12 years ago? Like a long time.

Something like ‘96? ‘97? A long time ago…

Katie: And well so do we, from each other…

L: Ah, you can claim true fan status

L: You and the Captains are about to start your Page One EP national tour in Feb and March.

K: I’ve loved all her stuff and I still love that record.

So Imogen Heap, that’d be my dream collaboration.

Katie: That’s right L: I had a chance to hear some of the songs from the EP at the Art Gallery of NSW last night, including the title track ‘Page One’. Can you tell us a bit about the story behind that song?

Katie: The song was written by myself and Cameron Deyell, the guitarist, and we co-write it with Don Walker, the legendary songwriter from Cold Chisel.

Stu Hunter, our keyboardist, when he was getting married, everyone got an A4 piece of paper with their invite. And you had to do something with it.

Some people did screen-printing, some people made it into an incredible paper sculpture, some people wrote words. We decided to write words, which then turned into a poem for them, a love song. And that turned into the song ‘Page One’. So we wrote it the day before the wedding.

how I approach my work in relation to my children.

Declan and Cameron are both fathers as well, so that’s kind of how we work as a band.

Yeah I guess that’s the main thing. And also, all music is good. I’m not really interested in categories. You know, people are obsessed with putting people in a box. So they can go “Oh it sounds like blahblah” and describe it. And you know, there’s an amazing quote, “Trying to describe music is like trying to dance to architecture”. And it is, you know. Apparently that quote is credited to Elvis Costello.

L: Oh really? Wow, what can’t he do.

Katie: I don’t know if it’s true. I think it was around before him but he certainly used it as well.

I like to try to keep music as free from categorising as possible. I guess that is reflected in how I do lots of different stuff.

L: You mentioned that your mother made sure you and your brother Tyrone were always her first priority, and that that’s something you aim for in your life as well. How do you put that into practice?

K: Well I’ve got little rules like I’ll only be away for a certain amount of time sometimes.

And you have to be supersupersuper crazy organised just so that your scheduling works around your family. You know, my life’s pretty scheduled until June.

It is very hard though cause our job involves work and I chose to live on an acreage in the middle of nowhere so there are no gigs in my area, so I have to travel to work and support my family.

Mainly I have an amazing partner; that’s the main way that it works. And we’re a really good team and my kids are awesome. They’ve been around the world I think three times; they’ve been to New York and London. You know, they’ve been the only little white babies at parties with these amazing African-American musicians. They’ve really seen a lot more than we have in Brisbane, which I think is a very important thing.

L: That sounds like a great experience for them K: I think it is, yeah. I mean, some people think look at parenting experts who say that children need routine and that everything has to be like clockwork. My answer is that children just need love. They need to be surrounded by family and love. That’s why we live up where we live. Both sets of grandparents are involved in our children’s lives. And aunties, you know – they’re surrounded by love.

L: It sounds like you’ve done well. I’m looking at the clock, realising that our time is coming to an end. So thanks for taking the time to speak to me. I’ve really enjoyed it.

K: My pleasure. See you at a gig sometime.

L: That’d be amazing – I’d love to hear you two together.

K: I should try to hit her up for a co-write.

L: In terms of your life story and how that’s influenced your career, your mum is a well-known opera singer and you’ve studied at the Queensland Conservatorium, and we’ve talked about some of your collaborative work, all of which I would imagine has had some impact on your approach to music and your career. What do you think has influenced you the most?

K: Probably my mother’s work ethic was a really big influence. Just watching her immerse herself completely in the music. But also, most importantly, her priorities were always very clear. My brother and I knew we were her no. 1 priority and music was a close second. And that’s obviously

For your chance to win a copy of Katie Noonan’s latest release, send an email to giveaways@spitpress.com

THE SPIT PRESS | SYDNEY’S CREATIVE NEWSPAPER | VOL 1, ISSUE 1 | 15

TWO BAKED POOSEYS featuring “Easter Delicious Raspberry Dark Chocolate Hot Cross Buns”

photography: Zabrina Wong Words & Recipe by Sophie “CHIEFTAN” Begley.

How to make it taste good:

About a year ago I got into baking and it gave me the excuse I never had to

1. Preheat oven to 200° C and grease a 23cm rectangle cake pan.

celebrate seasonal events all year round. Easter is one of these occasions.

So far I have purchased and devoured 3 dozen store bought hot cross buns.

Whilst I do not complain about the deliciousness of these treats, it seems only appropriate that I perfect the recipe so I can use it over and over and over again at any time of the year. By combining the traditional spices of a hot cross bun, the bittersweet dark chocolate melts and the berry goodness of raspberry jam, I will never have to buy hot cross buns from the store again.

The stuff that makes it taste good: 1 1/2 cup (375ml) warm Milk 1 sachet (7g/ 2tsp) Dried Yeast 1 tbls Caster Sugar 60g Butter, melted 1 Egg, lightly whisked 4 cups (600g) Plain Flour 1/4 cup(55g) Caster Sugar 1 pinch salt 1 tbls Nutmeg 1 tbls Cinnamon 1 tbls All Spice 3/4 cup (125g) Dark Chocolate Melts 80ml Cold Water 1/2 (85g) cup Plain Flour 2 tbls Raspberry Jam

2. Heat the milk in the microwave for 1 minute to make warm. Stir in yeast and 1 table spoon of sugar. Set aside in a warm, moist place for 15ish minutes until frothy.

3. Combine milk mixture, butter and egg and whisk to combine.

4. Sift 4 cups of Flour, 1/4 cup Caster Sugar, salt, spices in a bowl. Double sift to combine and make light. Add whole Dark Chocolate Melts to the flour mix and make a well in the middle.

5. Pour in milk mixture and fold ingredients together until just combined, then use hands to bring dough together. Turn onto lightly floured surface and knead for 10-15 minutes. Mixture should be smooth and elastic. Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, roughly double the size of current dough, and cover with a damp tea towel. Place in a warm, drought-free place for 1 hour so it doubles in size.

6. Grease a 23cm rectangle cake pan.

7. Punch dough with fist to settle and turn out onto lightly floured surface.

Knead for 2-3 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic. Divide dough into 12 even pieces and roll into balls. Arrange balls side by side in prepared tin.

Set aside in a warm, drought-free place for 30 minutes, dough should rise 2cm.

8. Mix 1/2 cup Flour and water in a small bowl until thick paste forms. Place in a plastic bag and snip off the corner to make a small piping bag. Pipe a continuous line down the centre of each row of buns to form crosses.

9. Bake in oven for 10 minutes at 200°C. Reduce heat to 180° C and bake for a further 20 minutes until they are golden brown and cooked through. You will know buns are ready if you tap them with a metal spoon and they sound hollow.

10. Turn onto a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes.

11. Place Raspberry Jam in a microwave bowl and heat for 1 min until it melts. Use a pastry brush to generously glaze the tops of the hot cross buns.

12. Serve toasted with butter and a cup of Marrakech tea. Nom. THE SPIT PRESS | SYDNEY’S CREATIVE NEWSPAPER | VOL 1, ISSUE 1 | 16

[B]

[C]

[A]

THIRTY THREE

[D]

SUMMER DRESSES Claire Gawne

The Floral Nana Dress [A] This dress is

from a vintage store in Melbourne, I bought it after I got back from a year away – because you know, I hadn’t spent enough money trotting around the globe. But it was summer when I arrived home, and all the clothes crammed into my backpack were designed for inhabiting a much colder climate, so really this dress was purchased out of sheer necessity. It’s made of slinky material, and judging by the tag it is from the 80’s. But the print and the style make me feel like it’s a Nana dress. Not that I’m complaining.

The Hello Sailor Dress [B] This is where

it all began. A few years ago, I was browsing through my local Savers, and came across this beauty. It was bargain at $6, and the beginning of my second hand dress fetish. It was also when I purchased The Amazing White Belt, because it went perfectly with the dress. But this is about The Hello Sailor Dress. And what a dress it is! A little bit nautical, a little bit 80’s, and every inch of it comfortable, flattering and classy.

[E]

The Tent Dress [C] There is something

you must know about this dress. I secretly love telling people this; the varied reactions are so compelling. This dress is a muumuu. That’s right, a genuine fat lady dress, the kind that you see on American television and the old lady down the street. And I actually wear it. In public. This was another purchase from the venerable Savers in Frankston, and needless to say Mother was mortified. It is an extremely comfortable dress, but must be worn with a belt at all time. At all times. Unless you want to be mistaken for a tent.

The neckline is quite unique to my collection, and the pattern belongs some where else entirely.

The Heidi Dress [D] This dress is probably one of the coolest things in my wardrobe.

Purchased for $12 at the Mornington Antique Market, it can only be worn outside of Europe, unless you want people to offer you jobs milking cows. The Heidi Dress is appropriate for yodelling, skipping through mountain fields of Edelweiss, saying ‘is gut, ja!’, milking cows/goats and for wearing your hair in coiled plaits. I actually wear it with my Astronaut T-shirt, so it’s a little less Heidi. But only a little.

The Leaf Me Alone Dress [E] Unearthed at the Retro Star Warehouse Sale, it was

saved from the doom of being cankle length. Given that the top is somewhat baggy, when cankle length it resembled a leafy sack. Mother came to the rescue and hacked it off to a more flattering length. It is an interesting colour – in my opinion it goes with nothing except black. It’s short and pretty enough to make it a good going out dress, but the top is modest enough to make it suitable for more formal occasions, a versatility I often exploit.

The Naked Dress [F] This dress was acquired at the most exciting shopping event of my life – The Melbourne Theater Company Garage Sale. MTC were moving and selling off a lot of costumes and the like, and I was lucky enough to be free to attend. I didn’t actually pay for this dress; it came attached to an Austen style coat I purchased, and neither I nor the people charging me realised it was there. I do believe it is a slip to be worn beneath the coat, but it is too beautiful to debase to the position of undergarment. It is silk, and ever so light and flouncy.

Walking into a store and knowing that hidden somewhere amongst the high collars and padded shoulders is a piece of clothing that is perfect for you is an exciting challenge.

Personally, I find it even more exciting when it is a dress. You see, my love of second hand clothing is only surpassed by my love of dresses. Fortunately the two are not mutually exclusive. My attitude towards dresses used to be somewhat similar to my feelings towards second hand clothes; I simply failed to comprehend their superiority until a later age. Now my collection of dresses is too big for my wardrobe.

[F] The thing I love the most about dresses is the feeling they give you when you wear them. A beautiful dress can transform a run of the mill day into a exhilarating escapade. They can make you feel pretty, desirable, powerful or lighthearted.

When putting together an outfit is too laborious, a dress is an effortless way to pull off any look. Dresses suite any occasion, from picnics and tea parties to job interviews and funerals. I always look for something that flatters me when looking for a dress, no matter how pretty or cheap something is, if it doesn’t fit well, it will never look good. Versatile dresses that I can wear for a day of varied engagements, like The Leaf Me Alone Dress, are indispensable. I always get a feeling of haughtiness when my friends are deploring their lack of appropriate clothing for a night out, and I look smashing in the same dress I put on that morning. But the most important thing to remember when buying a second hand dress, or second hand anything for that matter, is that you buy something that suits you and your tastes, and that you like; after all, the only person you should dress for is yourself.

“Photos by Laura Owsianka. Laura is doing a Fine Arts degree, majoring in Photography. She’s been interested in photography since a young age and won a Polaroid camera when she was ten! You can find more of her pics at www. redbubble.com/people/lauraowsianka”

THE SPIT PRESS | SYDNEY’S CREATIVE NEWSPAPER | VOL 1, ISSUE 1 | 17

Never one to reside within the confines of a musical box Talia Mitchell Growing up in Papua New Guinea, Ngaiire Joseph came to Australia at just 16 years of age and started a new life in Lismore. After 2 years studying Jazz in Queensland, she headed to Sydney to “immerse herself in a place that would terrify her to the point of becoming better at her art.” She speaks on herself, her music and her inspirations.

Talia: I’ve read about you working with John Butler and US Singer Anthony David and Texan blues singer Ruthie Foster who you were doing support for, how did you find these experiences?

Ngaiire: I think that John Butler has been very supportive so far he’s just…he’s one of those musicians that you meet (who) is totally unaffected, like when you meet him, some people think, ‘you know me so I’m not going to say what my name is’, but he’s just…“Hi I’m John, what’s your name?” and he takes a genuine interest in who you are as a person. Which is…you know…you don’t get that too often with major artists like that. He really puts his money where his mouth is, he really puts his heart on a plate and he’s just so real. So he’s been really quite supportive.

T: I saw that you did the Seed workshop with [John Butler] and his wife Danielle in December of last year?

N: I did! That was amazing! All up it was 5 days, but we had 3 days in the mountains of intense workshopping

with a bunch of Industry people and it’s something that I would recommend to anyone, to anybody who’s out there trying to do something, even if you’re not trying to manage yourself. I just came back so inspired and so just wanting to get out there and actually take control of things. There are so many musicians out there who just don’t know what’s going on around them and get trodden on and it’s good to have someone out there who can say “hey look!” this is what you’re supposed to do, and you can get together with a bunch of other people in the same boat and really grow I suppose. It’s great. It’s such a good experience.

T: You have some absolutely stunning harmonies, and when listening to your music those harmonies seem to fill the space around you. Do you hear them straight away in your head, or is it something that builds and develops from one idea?

N: I really love the whole three-part harmony thing. I probably use it too much, but I remember the first movie I ever watched in my whole life was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. I remember my parents took me to see that and the singing in that is just incredible. The harmonies in that movie stuck with me for a really long time. I think that’s how my song Glorious came to be. I just really love those harmonies.

T: Do you think 2010 is your year?

N: I do! I want every year to be my year! (laughs) I hope so…I’m totally ready for it. I don’t think I’ve been this prepared ever for something to actually happen. My mother always told me “Ngaiire you gotta be prepared” but I’m like ‘yeah whatever’. I know the value of those words now.

I suppose my hope is to create that foundation, when I die (laughs) maybe people can say that oh you know…she’s half decent at what she did and bought some kind of… honesty or joy or release to other people.

--To get to know Ngaiire a little more, you can find her music on iTunes and at these sites: www.myspace.com/ngaiirex www.triplejunearthed.com/ngaiire

T: So will we be seeing an album from you this year?

N: Hopefully, we just recorded the single, which (came) out on the 5th of March and it’s called Two Minds, and the album hopefully (we) will start recording very soon.

Stuck on Pressie Ideas?

Recently I had a very close friend of mine venture

women, a comb in the shape of a gun, candles that

off to the West of this beautiful country, in order to

look like doobies, fist sized collectable figurines (like

follow her hopes and dreams of becoming an actress

a grenade or an apple) with weird junky faces chuffing

of some sort…hopefully a good one! She’s the kind of

down a cigarette that are just meant to sit on your cof-

person that if she needs something she will buy it for

fee table (even funnier, they’re part of a series called

herself, or if she sees something she’s a bit fond of

Smorkin’ Mongers Menthols! – with catch phrase

she’ll go for the impulse buy. Meaning she has almost

‘Smoking is Bad!!!!!!’), along with innovative shaped

everything she needs or could possibly need, leaving

watches, a keychain with a miniature camera hang-

her friends (inclusive of myself) with little or no idea

ing off it that makes shutter noises when clicked and

of what to get her as a gift whenever the occasion

really cool urban jewellery! The list of weird and won-

calls for it.

derful things goes on and on, and they have a website

Lin Vartan

if you can’t be bothered to head into the store, perfect During one tiresome day of shopping for a gift

for the lazy shopper in all of us.

I thought would be close to impossible to find, I stumbled (literally) across an unusual store, which I

So now if you’re ever stuck for ideas try this place!

personally had never heard of. As I approached with

As for the gift for my friend…I found her a leather tie

much caution there were a the few strange things

necklace that used to be an old domino piece, and on

that struck me: a white sculpture of a mousse’s head

the reverse side of the numbers was a little quote,

sticking out of the wall, an abstract shaped vase blow-

written on a blue plastic background that said, ‘Keep

ing out a small stream of smoke from the top of it and

calm and carry on.’ Very appropriate I thought and on

this lamp shade with a black 007 gun as it’s base.

the plus side she loved it!

Hmm… I looked up: ‘Hart & Heim,’ I thought to myself, ‘What on earth is going on in here eh…” So I walked into this little dark store and found the strang-

Find Hart and Heim at hartandheim.com.au and they have two stores in NSW: 500 Oxford St Bondi Junction 2022 | 345 Victoria Ave Chatswood 2067.

est little things that weren’t necessarily functional but soooo weirdly cool to just have around the house. The things in there ranged from: personified tweezers as they had been decorated to look like mini Japanese

THE SPIT PRESS | SYDNEY’S CREATIVE NEWSPAPER | VOL 1, ISSUE 1 | 18

stationery, not stationary. from Rhodia to o-check designs

The guys at Telegram have generously given us 10 Rhodia note pads to give away! For your chance to win one hit up www.telegram.net.au and send an email to giveaways@spitpress.com and tell us who your favourite Telegram designer is.

by tym yee Finding yourself a dream job is hard, but creating your own dream job is even harder. We spoke to Matt Harris and Scott Druce from Telegram Paper Goods about what it is like to make a living from what you love doing.

Integrity, passion and design all meet in the stationery designs that Telegram distributes throughout Australia.

Telegram Paper Goods seek products that help rediscover and embrace the thrill of the written word, to instill the joy of design that touches the heart; design that has meaning, that is felt as well as read, touched as well as heard.’

-------

Firstly, how did Telegram come about?

Scott: We had a retail shop in the centre of [Melbourne] and we found it difficult to find creative stationery. There is a lot of stationery out there but we just couldn’t find enough interesting things from what was available locally so we started searching internationally and it all evolved from there…

Was if difficult trying to source all those new designs?

Scott: Yeah we are quite selective so it was a long process and the whole premise of our business is that we only choose products that are original and design lead. So we talk to all the designers of the products and make sure everything is how we like it in terms of how the product is created, we would never consider a product which is a copy or an imitation or someone else’s idea. Products with integrity you could say…

When everyone collaborates…do you feel that what you originally envisaged changes greatly?

Matt: Massively; usually for the better…

How do you find it, working across so many designs, disciplines and styles? [Your designers] Rhodia contrasts quite a lot with o-check…

Matt: It’s awesome. All of the design and styles have integrity. We don’t choose anything because it might make us money, we choose it because there is something about it’s design that is absolutely essential and will be needed and wanted by people. So for instance with Rhodia, it’s been around since 1933 and it’s hardly changed but it has stunning paper, people use it for the paper. Where as o-check is fun because it changes all the time and they’re really dynamic with their design…

In the centre of a stationery universe…

Matt: Yeah, it is our little stationery universe.

2010 is described by you guys as the ‘year of the designer’ can you tell us more about that…

Scott: It kind of came about by a not so good situation… some of our designs were copied by a large retailer in Australia and that just made us sit down and really think, ‘what are we doing that is so different and why would these people choose to copy us?’ It’s because of the design of our products and the integrity of our business.

So we decided to make it the ‘year of the designer’ so we could highlight what inspires people to create the products…to give people and retailers more of an idea of where the products come from.

That’s a creative way to stick it to the man…

Scott: Yeah, it’s isn’t nice to be copied, but it’s worked in our favour because it’s made us move forward.

What is the best part about what you do?

Matt: The best part, for me certainly, is when you get everyone together and you get a synergy of minds. If you put three different people together, you’ll come out with something way better than anyone of those people could have done on their own. That’s extremely satisfying.

Do you feel you’ve created your dream job, in a sense?

Scott: Ummm….creating. Yeah, definitely Telegram is such a great example of what can happen when creative and like-minded people come together, do you have anything to say to other creative types out there trying to make a living doing what they love?

Matt: Understand that you’re not perfect at everything you do, so look for the people that are…you’re not going to be good at everything, so you need to give out responsibility to other people.

Scott: If you love what you’re doing then you’ll probably succeed. I could never say that it’s easy, it’s always a lot of hard work, but it’s rewarding. I really enjoy coming to work each day.

Working in stationery and loving stationery, surely your workspace is filled with the stuff?

Matt: Our workspace is literally our ware house. It’s a big old, turn of the century, last century not this one, warehouse with huge clear span beams and you’ve got all the stationery surrounding you but we work on a little platform in the middle of it, it’s kind of cool actually.

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Goodbye gallant hero, Hello modern man Emma Dawson The Australian man has changed. And I don’t mean the way they do their hair now, or the clothes that they wear, or the cars that they drive. No, the very role and function of the Australian man in society has changed; the way they think and act and behave specifically towards the female population.

You probably don’t remember a time where men were chivalry personified, unless you’ve been round for over six decades. Back when the word gentleman meant something it was the social obligation of men, and men alone (much to the ire of Germaine Greer and her bra-burning buddies) to initiate a relationship. You were told to sit back and let guys do what guys do best – that is win our hearts.

My Pop was a classic example of the olden day chivalrous gentleman. My Nan and Pop love telling us about how they met during the war when my Pop was serving in England, and how he wooed and chased my Nan until they eventually got married. “Let a guy do all the chasing,” my Pop said in a recent conversation about how he met my Nan. “Every man loves to chase the girl. It’s built in us.”

But society has changed, and with this social revolution, the Australian bloke has changed too. He still loves the things that he has always loved (beer, sex and sport), but chivalry is out the window. Unfortunately it’s us women who carry the blame for this change in men. Was it not us who were so intent on perpetuating the modern female as independent and successful, in no need of a man’s attention and protection? It’s no wonder guys have stopped being the core pursuers of relationships. Men can no longer feel like a hero, so therefore they don’t act like one.

So men have gotten lazy, and women more independent. And so the whole rulebook of relationships have changed. We’re not saying we want things to be just as they were in the 1940’s, on the contrary, we love this new-found freedom and independence, and we don’t mind playing a bigger role in the dating scene. What we don’t love, however, is this increasingly laid-back attitude of guys when it comes to relationships. Because, correct me if I’m wrong, but all women, no matter how independent or successful (yes, even you Germaine) love to feel special.

OK, so society has changed, and women have changed. But it doesn’t mean we want our men to change! Well, not drastically anyway. By all means, change your hair, your car, your favourite sporting team, your clothes, your underwear (in fact, we insist!).

But as for the rest, the gallant hero and chivalrous gentleman that we know exists in you somewhere, that’s something well worth holding on to. And if you feel you’re lacking in this area, then its time to sit down and have a nice long chat with your grandfather.

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JACK CARTY Tym Yee

If Jack Carty’s music doesn’t inspire you, well firstly, you are an anomaly, but if you got the chance to chat with him I guarantee you would be moved by his quaint story and charming muso demeanor. An emerging Australian musician, Jack has been living in Sydney for 6 years and is making a mark on the indie music scene, having recently opened for folkpop star Brett Dennen.

Having ‘made’ a decision to pursue music, Carty packed a van and drove from his sleepy hometown of Bellingen to take his mellow tunes and coastal voice to the big city.

Jack is one of those ridiculously approachable musicians whose grounded and down to earth personality is evident in the thoughtful, yet lighthearted lyrics he delivers.

Not only keen to have a chat with us, he is also giving away copies of his debut EP ‘Wine & Consequence’ to TWO of our readers! (and doesn’t generosity like that just say something about a man?!). For your chance to win an EP go to www.jackcarty.com and join the mailing list.

So...who’s Jack Carty?

Jack Carty is me.... a 22 year old guy from a little town on the Mid North Coast of NSW who now lives in Sydney and plays music.

How long have you been playing and writing?

I think I wrote my first “song” (and I use the term loosely) when I was about 14 which is around the time I first started mucking around on the guitar... the first instrument I learned was drums at the age of 13.

What do you have to say about the indie music scene in Australia?

If you are willing to look for it, it will blow your mind!

Talk us through your EP ‘Wine & Consequence’.

It’s a 6 track E.P recorded shortly after I quit my job to focus on music full time. The idea behind it is that it is simple and sparse, I wanted to be able

to play these songs busking on a corner or waiting for a bus and have them still be fairly faithful to the way they have been recorded and the way they are performed on stage. I recorded the E.P off my own bat but it was picked up by Gigpiglet Recordings and so has been available in stores and online since November last year.

When did you decide to pursue music for a living?

What do you do when you’re not doing music?

Once I slowed down, stopped listening to everybody else and got to thinking about exactly what I wanted it seemed to me that there wasn’t really even a choice to be made.

Eat and Sleep and play Frisbee.

Tell us about life as an emerging Australian musician?

There is a lot of traveling and I am very poor and very happy :-) Has the community been supportive?

Overwhelmingly yes! Which is a very affirming thing and goes directly against the general consensus on the matter...

I made the decision (not really knowing what it meant) when I was about 16... Then I made it again when I left high school.

Was that a hard choice to make?

Where can people hear more from you in the future and in April?

At www.jackcarty.com its got music and tour dates and a cosmic background.

Is there anything you want to say to prospective fans?

Hello! My name is Jack. What’s yours?

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‘I Know a Little Boy Who Lives Near La Paz’ There is something charming about quaint folky vocals, especially when accompanied by a humble guitar and a powerful purpose. Rookie singer/songwriter Steph Lentz is using her quiet musical talents to raise money for the ‘ongoing education and nurturing of Bolivia’s children’.

To support those in need, Steph has compiled an EP, available at www.stephlentz.bandcamp.com where you can purchase music to help save the world. So go on, you can’t get much else for only $5.

Why not make it count?

a single girl’s view on love by anonymous

In elementary school, my circle of girl friends was always flirty with boys. They’d hook the boys into a game of tag just so the boys would chase them. Their hair would dance behind them as they giggled and shrieked across the blacktop and dodged under the jungle gym. I would run and laugh, too, only to find that I wasn’t being chased.

Aside from standardized tests and term papers, the main struggle that plagued my teen years was watching my friends go on dates and have boyfriends or having boys come up to me asking if my friends were single.

The story hasn’t changed much over the years, only the chubby girl in hand-me-downs is now the perpetually single chubby twenty-something.

In spite of a scenario that would turn most into hysterical hermits, I still know no other way to love than with my whole heart. I don’t know how to flirt or play games. I don’t know the “rules” by which everyone else innately abides. So, ultimately and ironically, it seems my wholehearted love scares some people and ultimately pushes them away.

Some might say that my views on love are, to say the least, naïve. Mind you, I do pray for my own cinematic kiss in the rain. After all, why can’t love be that magical?

Like a lot of girls, there are still those days when I feel alone and helpless, drowning in pools of self-pity. Loneliness is a bruise that never seems to fade.

It is that pain that keeps me dreaming about love in its rosetinted glory. This dream leaves me hanging on every kind deed ever done unto me by members of the male populace, my head reeling with the questions, “Could he be the one?

Is this the funny story we’ll tell our kids about how we met?”

People in relationships can tell me all they want how “overrated” or “unnecessary” relationships are—that I should enjoy being single while I can. But I know what it’s like to be single already.

Love is the adventure upon which I cannot wait to embark.

In turn, my love of love itself has hurt me over the years.

But I simply cannot change the way my heart works. In fact, it is the sting of unreciprocated love that has me eagerly awaiting the day true love happens for me.

Single life isn’t all misery and disappointment. The freedom to explore is not something that committed couples can claim to enjoy. But my years as a bachelorette have left me craving the little things like chivalry, or songs written just for me, that most have written off as unrealistic.

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Despite the façade of the immaculately groomed iTunes catalogue (or if you fancy; vinyl collection), even the coolest person you know has a soft spot for that it’s-so-bad-it’s-good tune. Everyone has a weakness, that hidden bomb amongst the ‘hip’ ‘indie’ ‘alternative’ tracks. Mine just happens to be a multibillion-dollar pop sensation, an alleged hermaphrodite and star of the some of the weirdest music videos this side of the sanity line. You got it once I said hermaphrodite right?

Yes, it’s Lady Gaga, don’t judge.

Whilst she may be a little left field, might have admitted to ‘touching’ herself on couches and could have had a hand in the single worst duet with Beyonce, ever, I believe I am entitled to turning up the volume and tapping along whenever Paparazzi or LoveGame or any other of her otherwise stellar songs blares out of the nearest radio. But no. This is not the case. Regularly, I receive poignant looks, sighs of annoyance and not so subtle shakes of the head whilst people groan, ‘You actually LIKE Lady Gaga!?’.

throats song some years ago (ingeniously titled ‘Hey Muscles I Love You’). You are probably listening to it now, but hey. If I can live with some repetitive melody about wanting to be impregnated by a skinny white DJ from Sydney’s suburbia, you can live with my rendition of Gaga’s ‘Just Dance’ every now and again.

So go forth, love, compromise and learn appreciate everyone else’s guilty pleasures. I certainly will. That is, unless your musical guilty pleasure is Nickelback; in which case give me a shotgun and open your mouth.

But why all the hate? Everybody has been vilified, mocked and scorned at their partiality to songs that otherwise would constitute ‘bad listening’. Compromise is the answer. Learn to tolerate other’s guilty pleasures in the hope they will do the same for you. It might be painful, it might make you want to scream and find buckets for the blood pouring out of your ears, but compromise people, compromise. I’m sure you secretly love that auto-tuned over-synthesised excuse for a song some twat named Muscles tried to ram down our

forbidden love serena or

Everybody has a musical guilty pleasure, so step off mine.

indie/alternative/rock

myspace.com/theivyspage

indie/alternative/folk

myspace.com/boyandbearmusic

FR PS

THE

(FREE-EEPEES) pronunciation

Connecting die-hard fans with random bands.

Send us your EP’s, demos, singles to Spit Press PO BOX 11 Wahroonga 2076. jazz/funk/latin

myspace.com/bricowlishaw

indie/folk/pop

myspace.com/danielleekendall

We’ll listen to them, love them and then give them away to readers far and wide. If you’re keen to see your artwork and website listed in The Freeps shoot an email over to Tym at tym@spitpress.com and we’ll tee something up.

We like music and we love free sh*t so visit these bands websites for your chance to discover a little bit more of Sydney’s music scene. Email giveaways@spitpress.com with FREEPS as the subject for your chance to win!

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it was summer

Ok so since the end of summer has come (boo), what gets you through the rest of the year/makes you smile?

The Qs: 1. What’s your day job? (and also what you’re currently working on, aiming to do etc) 2. Summer equals...?

3. What makes you smile? (preferably something other than things in summer)

jemma evans cara stewart teresa cong

1. i work 3 days a week and study 3 days a week. my current job includes working at a vintage store in Newtown called “Haus of Passe”. i’m also studying fashion design at ultimo TAFE. I’d like to see myself one day working in the fashion industry, so i have a lot of hard work ahead of me, but i’m prepared for it 2. summer equals cute frocks, smiles and friendship . it’s the best time to be spent outdoors with friends just enjoying yourselves. picnics are one of my all time summer favorites 3. friendship definitely. my cat kiki. her face is just so adorable, sometimes i want to scream out of excitement, and knowing that i’ve done well at something. i’m a bit of a perfectionist at times

1. i work as a gallery assistant in waterloo in the dank st complex when im not there, im a barista in paddington 2. endless nights and midsommor- which always ends in peach schnapps and swedish drinking songs 3. personal jokes with best friends that go on and on and on

1. i sell jewelry at a chain store in the city, but i’m about to go back to uni where i’m a year into a communications degree. i’m not really sure what i want to do with it 2. being too hot and taking lots of cold showers, wearing shorts, daytime drinking, getting my boyfriend to drive to the petrol station to get frozen cokes 3. the 8th coffee free, getting my nails done pretty much just spending money on myself, i’m very very shallow

kareem ghaly patrick carey

1. ck jeans 2. the worst of the four seasons 3. the 5 c’s: coffee, cigarettes, chocolate, coke and cubism

1. unemployed uni student doing a couple of freelance styling jobs here and there 2. summer equals falling asleep on the beach and breakfast by the ocean 3. my friends, cheap beer and bookshops

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advertising The Spit Press is Sydney’s new creative newspaper.

We want to become the city’s most prominent media outlet for creative, young and talented individuals, organisations and businesses. We aim to support Sydney’s growing creative community by offering the city a platform to share creative works and ideas with the broader community.

The Spit Press is for everyone who identifies with Sydney’s art, literary, music design, performance, craft and other creative cultures.

If you wish to advertise in the next issue of The Spit Press please email advertising@spitpress. com for more information.

If you are a freelance designer, musician, performer or other talented individual and would like to advertise your work, exhibitions, gigs or services in The Spit Press. please email advertising@spitpress.com for more information

contributors We want to support Sydney’s creative community by publishing the work of talented, creative and innovative individuals.

If you are a writer, photographer, designer, musician or other creative type and want to get involved and collaborate with the people in and around this city then send all contributions with a description to submissions@spitpress.com.

Before submitting, please refer to the submission guidelines which can be found at www.spitpress.com/submissionguide.pdf If you’d like to get involved in any other way send an email to info@spitpress.com. We’d love to hear your feedback, suggestions and opinions.

Don’t forget to visit www.spitpress.com for more information

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Ta.

Thank you to everyone who made the first issue of The Spit Press possible.

Sophie “Chieftan” Begley, Lou Millward, Caitlyn Adamson, Claire Gawne, Laura Owsianka, Nelly Chan, Talia Mitchell, Lynne Xie, James Whalley, Alex Comino, Julia Hirst, Kylie Polglase, Rachel Bosnich, Serena Or, Lyn Adamson, Steph Lentz, Katie Noonan, Kate Bezar, Jack Carty, Daniel Lee Kendall, Annabelle Berry, Emma Dawson, Evan Alexander, Stuart Craine, Ngaiire Joseph, Scott Druce, Matt Harris, Ghita Loebenstein, Boy and Bear, Amelia Tovey, Jefferton James, Bri Cowlishaw, The Ivys, Hewett Cook, Oliver Tank.

Want to be thanked?

Get involved www.spitpress.com!

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