The Spit Press Issue: 10

10

UP, UP AND AWAY!

ART.PHOTOGRAPHY MUSIC.DESIGN | FREE SPITPRESS.COM OCT/NOV

MATT GRANT A chat with the Festival Director of Peats Ridge Festival

PROTECT OUR CORAL SEA With Isabel Lucas and Angus Stone

The Techno-cality of Sexuality A look into electronic and cyber fetishes

MATT CORBY A look inside his intimate Secret Garden Tour around Oz

AND Marieke Hardy, Das Monk, Spit Fire winner Oscar Lush, Major Raiser, Foxtrot, photographer Tina Sun, Positive Posters and more!

THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 10 | 1

2 | THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 10

THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 10 | 3

OCT/NOV

6. Editorial 8. Spit Bucket 12. Heroes are Humble 13. Matt Corby 16. Das Monk 18. Folk Music is Dead 20. Protect Our Coral Sea 22. A Hardy Book of Laughs 25. Matt Grant 28. Hope For Your Hero 30. Screw the Corporate Tango 32. Polar Knights 34. Major Raiser 35. Two Baked Pooseys 36. I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone 37. A Rising Sun 42. Poster Boy 46. There Goes My Hero 47. If Fighting Evil is Your Thing

OPINION

ABOUT/WORK

LOCAL

THE SPIT PRESS TEAM Publisher - Spit Press Media Managing Editor & Advertising - Tym Yee tym@spitpress.com Head Designer - Chumpy chumpy@spitpress.com Assistant Editor & Submissions - India McDonough india@spitpress.com Online Editor - Erin Holohan erin@spitpress.com Intern - Julian Webster intern@spitpress.com Contributors: Edwina Storie, Chloe Hazelwood, Erin Holohan, Caitlyn Adamson, Sally Rawsthorne, Sarah Lakos, Fiona Murphy, Lynne Xie, Angelique Lu, Lewis Collins, Nancy Bludgeon, Jes Meacham, Alex Watts, Cameron Taylor, Zabrina Wong, Sophie Begley

4 | THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 10

Scream Hi! www.spitpress.com / info@spitpress / submissions@spitpress.com Facebook: TheSpit Press. Facebook fanpage: facebook.com/ spitpressfb Twitter @spitpress Cover: Photographer - Jes Meacham Printed by Spotpress Distribution by Active Promotions

The Spit Press is published bi-monthly by Spit Press Media.

The opinions expressed by individual contributors are not necessarily those of The Spit Press staff. All of the content in this issue of The Spit Press is artistic opinion, expression and interpretation of the theme Heroes.

For more information visit spitpress.com or email info@spitpress.com Emails are to be used for professional use only. All competitions are games of skill and do not involve any element of chance. Winners are decided by a panel of judges.

WHEREVER YOU ARE, HAVE A RAD ONE!

Please the trees.

THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 10 | 5

UP AND AT THEM We know first hand that with the changing state of music and arts at the moment, it’s scary to put yourself out there and try to make something beautiful or fun or meaningful or just plain rad, and hope that others will appreciate it. But there are people everywhere giving it a red-hot go, and that’s why we do what we do. We’d like to introduce you to the people out there who are heroic not because they’re in the limelight or have all the answers (or cool powers and a sweet costume), but because they put it all out there to try and do something they’re passionate about, with the hopes that it might put a smile on someone else’s face.

We’ve searched the creative community to find people who interest us with the hopes that they’ll interest you too. We’ve met folks who are willing to lay it all on the line to Protect Our Coral Sea, create social change through printing Positive Posters and raise money for charity through good times and music gigs. There are brave (and most likely underpaid) people in this issue who are making music, fashioning clothing labels, writing books and putting on festivals. They’re screwing the corporate tango, saluting Joey Ramone, taking photos and having a blast whilst doing so. We’d like to tip our hats to all of them and say a big Thank You for having the balls to show us all how it’s done.

We hope you find them as inspiring as we do.

Tym & India

6 | THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 10

THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 10 | 7

SPIT BUCKET

Prisoner by The Jezabels Just do yourself a favour and check out the Jezabels’ debut album Prisoner. A highly professional independent release that echoes the success of their three EP’s, Prisoner beautifully encapsulates what The Jezabels are all about. Atmospheric and emotive, the album is highly instrumental. Lead singer Hayley Mary’s vocals are stunning; powerful and spine tingling. Drummer Nik Kaloper provides the driving rhythms that are part of the band’s staple sound while the harmonies produced by Heather Shannon and Sam Lockwood should not be ignored. The sum of all these parts? A band that is definitely going somewhere.

8 | THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 10

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami Aomame is a strong, calculating woman with a strange taste in men. She descends the emergency stairs of a Tokyo expressway to escape the gridlock, and on the way down something slips, something to do with the world around her. Tengo is a strong man with peculiar memories. Part math teacher, part writer, he falls into the mystery of Fuka-Eri, a young girl who carries a shadowy story. There is nothing predictable about the work of Haruki Murakami. He baits his reader along with a masterful command of suspense and literary technique, writing with sharp detail that makes his characters crisp and alive. The book deals with sex, murder, love, religious cults and the path between realities. It is an enjoyable (and sometimes confronting) read.

The Gate It sometimes feels like live music is fighting a losing battle in Sydney’s CBD, so do we need to start thinking outside the box in terms of where you can experience a gig?

The Gate is a new project that’s trying to do that by putting on amazing shows in unusual spaces: backyards, rooftops, warehouses and cafes, in the unlikely area of Sydney’s northern suburbs. Coming up: a backyard in Pymble hosting Wintercoats and Oliver Tank on October 29, and the launch of a warehouse space in Artarmon with Aleks & The Ramps, Charge Group, Valar and N. Martin on November 11. More at www.thegatepresents.com

Rabbit Hole There is probably nothing that can make a Saturday night out more painstakingly slow than the curb-side conversation between drunken mates about which bar to go to next. That, along with having to grab two taxis for six people, getting kicked out of a venue at 1am, and realising that a friend has lost their wallet, can lead to one sad evening. Alas, those days are over as we welcome Sydney’s newest club night - Rabbit Hole at Tone. One Saturday each month Rabbit Hole hosts some of Sydney’s finest indie party music with the headlining act hitting the stage in the early hours of the morn. Open from 8pm-5am with the headliner at 2am, you really don’t need to go anywhere else.

Spoonful Mag Like most punters we love publications with some kind of point of difference - something unique and personal. We’ve found that and then some in a little gem we discovered trolling the ins and outs of cute little laneways all over the city. Spoonful Mag is stuffed with things to make, read and think about. Yes, with pink fonts and floral backgrounds it’s definitely one for the girls but fellas it’ll make a nifty little gift for your significant other. It’s a lovely lil’ zine with a big ol’ heart!

Owl Eyes With one of the most addictive singles we’ve heard all year, Owl Eye’s new EP of the same title, Raiders, oozes appeal. Airy vocals, enchanting melodies and a unique mix of electronic and pop elements creates a sublime record that matches a stunning live show. Not just filled with riffs that make you want to hit the town and strut your stuff like you’re in a movie montage, the record also evokes a diverse array of emotions each time you give the four tracks a listen. Make sure you catch this interstate, interstellar act when you can.

THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 10 | 9

Heroes.

“I think of a hero as someone who understands the degree of responsibility that comes with his freedom.”

Bob Dylan “Hero: person in a book who does things he can’t, and a girl marries him for it.”

Mark Twain

10 | THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 10

The Spit Press iPhone app now available

powered by ocunecu.com.au THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 10 | 11

HEROES ARE HUMBLE Caitlyn Adamson loves Batman. Here’s why...

Ever has it been that when wickedness prevailed, the good would smite it, that while there’s injustice in the world, the pure hearted will wipe it from the earth and bring forth good ol’ honest righteousness.

That when an evil masked villain threatens the foundations of society, a spandex wearing superhero in a costume that doesn’t leave much to the imagination (not complaining...) would swoop in and save the day!

But what happens when we move on from our naive childhood damsel in distress fantasies and realise that heroes in the real world aren’t necessarily the lycra wearing studs we always loved?

I am confessing something to the world... When I was a child, between the ages of 4-10, I was, more than once, mistaken by strangers for being a dude. In retrospect it was for obvious reasons. I wore high waisted pants, sneakers, had a super short bowl cut, wore baseball caps and – the icing on the already delicious cake – I had a rat’s tail. While I know that is an absolutely delicious picture that I’ve painted for you, I also never took part in conventionally ‘girly’ activities like skipping, Barbies and My Little Pony and instead supplemented those interests with sports, mud and comic books. I know right, how could you resist me?

Now I’ve learnt a thing or two from these majestic graphic novels.

They were my friends and teachers in times of need (I had a rat’s tail no one would come near me). They taught me about good and evil.

They had characters I could look up to. But one spandex wearing hottie stood up above the rest. Batman. Although this is up for debate, the reasons for such favouritism are explained later on. I remember dressing up as Batman as a kid and running around thinking I was invincible.

Pulling at my sister’s hair, kicking my neighbour’s dog, lighting shit on fire and feeling absolutely bulletproof! Until, inevitably, I tripped and fell and hurt myself something severe. Vincibility. The bane of my existence.

When you realise you’re not invincible you tend to attach yourself to 12 | THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 10

things or people that you think are. They’re super-human and perfect in your eyes but unavoidably the same thing always happens and the illusion of heroism dissipates leaving you with only one conclusion: that super heroes don’t exist and everyone is painfully and utterly human.

We get to a certain age where the magic of the world and our imagination begins to fade. We find out Santa isn’t real and we cry for hours. That the Easter Bunny is just a facade and spiral into a decadent state of depression. We come to the realisation that the concept of ‘superheroes’ is in no way actually plausible and curl up naked in the dark and listen to Adele to try and mend the pain. But despite the unrealistic narratives of comic books and TV shows and the disappointing reproduction of classic heroes into Hollywood movies (yes, I’m talking to you Superman) that falsely tell us that bad things happen to villains and eventually good things happen to people that do good deeds, there’s no need to be left without hope and think that there aren’t really heroes out there that could save us.

And here’s the kicker!

The reason why Batman, in my personal opinion – which is always the right opinion – is the best damn Superhero out is because despite everything else he’s just a guy, as human as you or me, trying to get by and survive in this cold, harsh world of ours. Heroes aren’t people that come from another planet or are dipped in a vat of toxic waste.

They can’t shoot spider webs out of their hands or shoot laser beams out of their eyes. Heroes aren’t gaudy or ostentatious. Sure heroes can do extraordinary things and be their brother’s keeper. But for me, the heroes in my life are the people that make me admire them without them even realising. By the little parts of themselves that they sacrifice without other people knowing. By the secret victories they achieve for others unaware. By those unwitnessed, unremembered acts of love that go unrecognised.

MATT CORBY

Even when he’s making coffee worthy of the coffee elite, Matt Corby can’t help but want to play music. Good thing he’s great at it. Lynne Xie interrupted this would-be garbage man’s studio work to talk about his musical past, present and future.

THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 10 | 13

L: Do you have any musical heroes you look up to particularly?

M: Ah, gee… anyone who does whatever the fuck they want to without apology I think is amazing. Not being smug or anything; just people that have at one point or another gone ‘I can’t do this like everyone else, I’m just going to throw myself out there and just have a go’. And like, throwing pretension and prejudice aside as well and just doing it. I think that’s just really cool.

L: Can you think of times when you’ve done that yourself?

M: I think that’s something I’m constantly trying to do. But like, always kind of falling short. I feel like I do let other people’s opinions cloud my judgment way too much. Which sometimes isn’t a bad thing because in a sense it can keep me accountable to what I’m actually doing.

L: Whose opinions do you care about the most?

M: I guess the people who are around me at the time. I really care about what my friends think. I’ve never really had my mates actually like what I’m doing musically, and that’s been really tough. So recently when I played them some new stuff and they’re like ‘Whoa cool’, I’m like ‘Really? You don’t know how much that means to me!’

L: Tell us about some of the bad times you and your manager have been through together?

M: I think just when I was younger and I sort of didn’t know what I was doing. I was like alone and I had a skewed vision of reality at that time. I was like, ‘The whole world’s fucking against me and nothing’s going my way and this is bullshit’. And he’s sort of been there going ‘No, no, no it’s alright’ and I’m just like ‘It’s not, fuck off’.

He’s put up with some shit that I’ve given him, but I think that’s more of a reflection of who I am than who he is. But I don’t know, we always seem to push past all the animosity to get to where we are the way you navigate through that and what you do afterwards that’s which is good. the most important thing. Everything’s a test sometimes. You know, everything is foreshadowing something else.

L: What about some of the good times?

You know, if I hadn’t been a part of what I was a part of then heaps of things might not have happened. Maybe better things M: I think we’ve spent the past couple of years trying to prove people might’ve – but I don’t know. I might have still been playing shows to wrong about what I do and what I make. I feel I guess I come from like, 10 people – which I still do, which is great. But you know, that a very weird sector when it comes to music. I think the times when could have been the extent of it. At this stage of my life I’ve had the people have said ‘You’ll never do this’ or ‘You’ll never get that’ and chance to travel and play music all around the world – well, not all then the opposite of what they’ve said has happened, and me and around the world but certain parts of it and it’s given me something to Matty are just sort of giving each other a phone call to say ‘Oh there fight for. you go, they were wrong!’ We’ve had a few little victories along the In the most respectful way, I’m not trying to diss anything – it way which we feel like we’ve accomplished together. taught me what not to do and what not to be a part of. It’s a shame that I had to do that in front of a couple of million people…

L: You touched on your weird background in the music industry before, which I guess refers to when you were a talent show L: That sounds like a really important lesson to learn. contestant when you were 16. If you could go back to your 16-year-old self, what advice would you give?

M: Yeah I feel it’s a pretty interesting social experiment as well, seeing what types of people will turn around and actually give it a go and M: I would tell my 16-year-old self to stay in bed… and not wake up. what kinds of people won’t. And obviously it’s not everyone’s cup of Nah but really, you know I can’t really think like that. I’ve thought like tea, which is fine. Music can be such a weird warped thing where that for the last little while. You know, what happens, happens. It’s people don’t actually think for themselves and just get fed this…

14 | THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 10

stop. At least for a while and get my head together.’ And I went back home to Sydney and got a job in a little coffee shop and it was the first time I’d actually worked for a couple of years. It was a pretty heavy experience for me; just you know, working in customer service.

Especially, you know… it’s a really good coffee shop…

L: Oh, people are so intense about their coffee.

taste that they then acquire and take up for themselves as if it was something they believed in the whole time.Sorry I think I’m speaking very ambiguously, but I think you get the picture…

L: No that’s okay – the more cryptic you are the deeper you sound (laughs).

M: Tell me about it! And it’s hard being the new barista in a shop.

Everything you do is under scrutiny.

So I sort of did that and me and Matt sort of got together and he said to me, ‘I think we can’t just leave it. We can’t just let the people [fans] who have been there these last three years just go. We came up with this idea of playing in their gardens. And so we put on one in Sydney and it went really well. It was just a really beautiful day.

Everyone that played was just so amazing and so real. It was music literally in its rawest form. There’s nothing between you and a crowd in that situation. There’s no notion of fame or ‘I’m on stage and you’re listening to me’. It’s such a togetherness. And it’s the way music was intended to be – music was intended to bring people together not drive people apart and segregate people from one another, which sometimes it can do which really gets to me.

So after that show we put on another one and that went pretty well and we started getting emails from people in Melbourne and in Brisbane asking ‘Are you guys doing garden shows down here?’ and we’re just like ‘Oh, I guess’. So we organised a few more and we ended up doing four in Melbourne and three in Brisbane and three in Perth. And then they ended up selling out really quick and these places can only hold like 60 or 70 people, so it wasn’t too hard to sell these places out.

It got to a point where we thought, ‘This is working. We’re onto something cool and everyone wants to be a part of this’. So we decided to put on a tour mid-October through to November. We’re doing close to 40 shows; me and a crew that I’m going to travel with.

I’m not going to do them alone anymore. Like I’m going to play by myself but I’d been doing them travelling everywhere by myself and it was getting really hard. Just having no one with me to keep me sane.

L: You’ve talked about what you think music should be like. As a career, if you weren’t doing music what you you be doing?

M: Garbage man.

M: (laughs) … well ah the unicorns in the fields are frolicking.

L: I hear they get paid really well.

L: Our readers will think you’re so profound!

M: Yeah… or they’re saying, ‘He’s such a dick.’ Awesome. (laughs) L: Well can you tell me a bit about your Secret Garden Shows?

M: Well it’s another thing that me and Matty saw would be an interesting thing to do. I came back from London earlier this year and I had a pretty bad trip. It was one of those times when nothing went right and I was just at the end of my rope. I had some complications getting back into the country – nothing illegal, don’t worry! – and then I sort of came back home and I just went ‘Fuck this! Fuck music.

You know, if this is what it’s going to be like then I might as well just

M: Oh tell me about it. I’ve looked into it I’m actually not joking (laughs).

I’ve been asked this question a few times and the only answer I can come up with is I have no fucking clue because there’s nothing else that I can do. I’ve been making coffee which is fine and I do enjoy that and I enjoy the science of coffee. But it’s just like, every time I’m working I just want to be playing music. And it’s funny, taking it away has made me fall in love with it more.

The thing is I’ll get to a gig now and I’ll be like, ‘I get to play now, that’s awesome!’ And it’s been the same vibe when I’m recording; it’s like – I’m there and I’m making a record. That’s so cool. And it’s funny, I guess you’re supposed to be really cool if you’re a musician. I’m so not cool. I get so excited when I’m playing.

THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 10 | 15

DAS MONK

From architecture to running your own fashion business, Angelique Lu chewed the fat with husband and wife duo Marc Hendrick and Anna Lunoe about their men’s label.

Das Monk, a Sydney-based clothing label, has been seen on the likes of MGMT, TV on the Radio, Lupe Fiasco and A-Trak. “We get lots of bands wearing our clothes,” says co-founder Marc Hendrick, “but the most memorable was when I saw an old homeless guy wearing one.

It really suited him!”

Founded in 2007 by husband and wife team Marc Hendrick and Anna Lunoe, the label has grown to become a major player in the ‘basics’ scene, both domestically and around the world. “We’re an artist collaborative, meaning that we collaborate with dozens of artists from all over the world to create completely individual prints for beautifully made graphic tees.”

The growth of the Sydney based label may seem surprising considering Hendrick’s past career as an architect. “I lost a bit of my creative mojo after hours of mind-numbing CAD drawings and reports,” he mused. “For a bit of fun I started designing T-shirts and selling them at weekend markets, and then it all grew from there.”

The name Das Monk grew out of a family discovery. “My great grandfather was a German illustrator, and I found an old etching of a monk he had done, which became one of our very first T-shirt designs,” he said.

“The Monk directly translated is ‘der monch’ but I liked the sound of Das Monk better. Plus it’s easier to google, which is the most important thing in a name these days!”

Hendrick and his team maintain a blog, which covers everything from clocks that align to spell the word ‘eternity’, to up and coming graphic artists, as well as songs that are pumping in their studio – and it’s clear that the creative forces that influence Das Monk are wide-reaching.

“Most of the artists we work with share the same taste in music, art and culture as us,” Marc says, “which I guess is a kind of lo-fi DIY aesthetic. Most of them are quite young, as we like to promote emerging artists. I believe the children are our future.”

“Music is a huge influence for us,” he notes.

“It definitely keeps our creative juices flowing. If

16 | THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 10

there’s ever a moment of silence in the studio our brains stop working and we forget to breathe.”

What’s also abundantly clear is that Das Monk is continuing to evolve as a label. “We do sweatshirts and singlets as well as a range of basics, but we would actually like to branch out more on the art side of things as opposed to fashion,” says Hendrick. “We’ll be putting on a couple of exhibitions next year so keep a look out for them if you want a free glass of cheap wine.”

In terms of being a male clothing brand, Marc is looking to expand. “Yes, we get plenty of requests from the girls about a female collection! Women’s tees will be available mid next year.”

As for what the new Das Monk collection will entail, Hendrick has his eyes on more local talent. “We’ve been working on quite a few designs with a young graphic designer from Melbourne called Sam Chirnside. His portfolio/ website is really impressive - he reminds me a little of Jonathan Zawada but with his own unique style.”

Through their collaborations with artists around the world, Hendrick has a flexible approach to his design briefs. “It depends on how the artist likes to work,” he said.

“Sometimes I’m quite specific and I know exactly what I want and I’ll be really anal with my description because I can see the finished idea in my head. And other times I’ll just give them a few key words and a set of inspiration images and say “do something good please!”

As well as graphic artists and exhibitions, Marc has another vision for Das Monk’s direction. “Because we’re so in love with music we’ve been talking about having a collection designed by our favourite musicians.” But he’s also realistic. “It could take a little bit of planning though...”

Since their humble beginning in 2007, Hendrick thinks that they have learnt quite a bit along the way. “Many, many things, mostly through mistakes! As I said, my education was in architecture, so I had no training in fashion or in running a business,” he said.

“We’re 25% sure we know what we’re doing now though.”

THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 10 | 17

FOLK MUSIC IS DEAD Folk music is dead and the collective consciousness of the human race rests idly in a series of rapidly decaying old-folks homes. Instead, the illegitimate heirs to folk’s kingdom (like Mumford and Sons and scores of other half-formed pop-folk nothings) ride mediocrity like a tsunami into our ears.

Alex Watts writes In this clime, it’d be easy to conform; throw in a banjo “It’s [social media] so powerful – such an easy way to or floor tom and just go for gold singing about planes access so many people, or keep up with artists – it’s so and caves. But Oscar Lush is doing something different important” says Lush, “The bigger your target audience, and he’s only seventeen. Inspired by Bright Eyes, Dylan, the more chance you have of being successful.”

Broken Social Scene and Pavement, he’s producing music And even in the face of a potentially daunting future comparable to Liddiard and The National – backed by in the music industry, he remains positive – if realistic. “If youthful hope and one damn fine voice.

I’m not making enough money to live off music I’m not Raised in Sydney’s Northern Beaches, Oscar admits going to sell out – I’ll get another job, work my ass off, there are a few barriers between him and international before I consider giving up on this.” stardom – a music scene geared towards easily absorbed Oscar Lush isn’t perfect, but he’s committed to his indie-pop does him no favours and, to quote, “I’ve never cause and believes in his music – and what fantastic performed my stuff live – except at school”. music it is. He believes in the poetry of lyrics and the “No matter what age you are, if you can do what power of well-written music. If he was any less of an you’re doing well, you understand your music and you tick idealist, his music might not be half as good, and all the right boxes, you can be successful.” would probably be tainted by the blandness of modern And he’s right – there are a lot of very young bands commercial folk. and performers floating around at the moment. Aside from As to what we’ll be hearing from him soon? He’s not the Beib, there’s Stonefield and The Jungle Giants, all sure. The Spit Fire Emerging Music Award gives him the kicking goals despite their comparative youth. Oscar Lush is chance to lay down some tracks, something he intends to not alone venturing into the musical wilderness. take full advantage of. Alongside that, he’ll be throwing Lush is also a tumblr baby, engaging socially and down at one of our gigs in the near future. Stay tuned, be globally – something more than necessary in today’s music prepared – Oscar Lush is one to watch. industry, and often overlooked by newly established bands.

Maybe the future of folk isn’t so bleak.

18 | THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 10

THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 10 | 19

20 | THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 10

PROTECT OUR CORAL SEA It’s a simple organisation, with a simple yet invaluable message. Sally Rawsthorne writes Fact: Ninety per cent of the world’s large ocean fish have been wiped out by fishing in the last fifty years.

huge diversity of life they contain. Australian marine life is particularly important, given that Australia has more marine species than any other country. That’s huge, and exciting, and special.

Fact: Sixty-two endangered species currently exist in Australia’s coral sea.

But it’s not all good news – less than half of the world’s reefs are considered to be healthy. All of these reefs are under siege from global Fact: Eight vulnerable species, including the Green Sea Turtle, the Blue warming. One in every five reefs that once existed are now gone, extinct Whale and the Herald Petral, exist in Australia’s coral sea. forever. Another 15 per cent of the planet’s coral reefs are under threat from a loss of mangroves, overfishing, pollution and diseases. And then, Fact: You can do something to help protect these species and our there’s global warming... amazing coral sea.

With all of this doom and gloom and seeming inevitability, it’s easy to give up. But rather than get sad, get amongst it! Contribute to Isabel Lucas, former Home and Away star and known environmental something positive with Protect Our Coral Sea. The initiative aims to crusader, is one of many who have lent their support to the campaign. create the world’s largest marine park; a place in which there is no Along with indie-fave boyfriend Angus Stone, Isabel is an avid fishing, oil or gas exploration, or seabed mining. The park would cover campaigner for the cause, which is close to her heart. “For my tenth almost one million square kilometres, just adjacent to the Great Barrier birthday my sister and I were taken out on a big boat to Moore Reef Reef Marine Park. The organisation aims to create the park as a place of in the Great Barrier Reef. I was deeply impressed by the beauty of the inspiration, enjoyment, restored abundance and science, for those who magical underwater land,” she explains. “When I learned that only 1% follow us on earth. of Australia’s Coral Sea was protected I was amazed. Even to a 10 Isabel and Angus share in this dream - “We would hope that the year old kid, it seems obvious this must be preserved.”

Coral Sea remains an intact eco-system; it would become the largest Angus shares his girlfriend’s kinship with the sea, suggesting that it of its kind on Earth,” they say wishfully. “Researchers are continuously has always played a major part in his life. “My earliest memories are making new discoveries. There are so many more creatures and corals of the ocean was when I was little. My grandparents would steal me hidden... We hope that the reefs will become healthy and abundant away and take me sailing out on their yacht. We would set sail and again. The reefs in the Coral Sea are isolated and therefore very as a young boy I would step down into the cabin and start to drift off vulnerable. We hope that the number of fish will increase, and that all admiring all their adventures snapped up in old photographs on the cork the other species – whales, dolphins, turtles, rays – will have a safe board above the kerosene stove. They would catch me dreaming off in haven forever.” the photos and start to tell me stories of times in the middle of the ocean --where the water was so still and blue they couldn’t tell the sky from the sea,” he says. “As I have grown up the sea has taught me more about To play your part in this dream for the future, exercise your life than any voice. And that voice has my love and respect forever.” democratic voice – Email your MP! Every signature to the Protect Even without a childhood affiliation, the sea is special; coral Our Coral Sea’s petition makes a difference to the way our future reefs are often referred to as rainforests of the sea because of the happens. Do so by visiting www.protectourcoralseas.org.au/ THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 10 | 21

A HARDY BOOK OF LAUGHS Chloe Hazelwood shoots the breeze with Marieke Hardy about her new book You’ll Be Sorry When I’m Dead; a delightful lady with more than one juicy story up her sleeve.

Throughout this article I’ll try my best not to invoke the twee Mariah Carey song that goes a little something like “… and when a hero comes along”, but I won’t deny the fact that we’ve all looked up to a figure in our lives. We idolise this person, daydream about them saving us from sticky situations, and feel a sense of absolute security in their presence. At times, particularly in the case of those superheroes in pop culture we grew up with, they don’t exist physically, but a little bit of imaginative role-play can bring them to life in our very own bedrooms.

Thirty-something bombshell and writer Marieke Hardy has released You’ll Be Sorry When I’m Dead, an autobiographical account of the colourful ups-and-downs of her life so far, intertwining family, friends and lovers in a series of chapters that reveal the experiences that have shaped Marieke. In the final chapter, ‘Man Bites Dog’, she speaks of meeting political writer Bob Ellis, her personal hero, who invites her to his home for the weekend. Facing the agonising decision of rejecting or accepting, she seeks the advice of her then boyfriend Tim: ‘Should you really spend the weekend with your hero? Shouldn’t you just stalk them at the AFI awards and leave creepy anonymous messages on their website instead?’

When I bring up the subject of heroes, she drives this point home: “Bob Ellis has been a hero for a long time, but I guess the premise of that story is, should we ever meet our heroes, or should we just always keep them at arm’s length, so they don’t disappoint us by being human?” Look at Captain Planet, for instance. What does he do when he’s not taking pollution down to zero? Bumping into him in your local supermarket aisle may knock him off the towering pedestal you’ve propped him up on for so many years.

As well as spilling the beans on her life so far, Marieke finds the time to co-host the ABC program First Tuesday Book Club, remarking that her and the cast “have all grown very old together”. She is also just about to wrap up production on the second series of Laid, a comedy she has co-written with Kirsty Fisher. I ask her if she could impart some wise words on young, aspiring writers aiming to be the next Marieke Hardy, and she giggles modestly. “Blogging… I found that was a really good place to hone writing.” She has also met a bunch of other talented wordsmiths through events such as the National Young Writer’s Festival and This Is Not Art. “The more writers you hang out with, the 22 | THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 10

more inspired you are, and the more they can critique your work and you theirs, which is really lovely.”

For a little while we yarn back and forth about the fact that all of the amazing tales from her book are 100% true, with only a slight amount of truth-stretching. “I just think that as a comedic writer sometimes you exaggerate your reaction. You make yourself more of an idiot to make it funnier and I do that more with me than with anyone else. I think I’m very kind to my ex-partners. I don’t think that the book is a place to be vicious about them.”

From her first career aspirations of wanting to become a prostitute, or at least wanting to be in the same room as one, springs forth a mortifying scenario in the first chapter, where she plucks up the courage to call a lady of the night over to her home to engage in a little dancing between the sheets with herself and her partner at the time.

Indulging in a little hedonism seems thrilling at first, but Marieke ends up beating a hasty retreat to the bedroom on hearing the night-caller’s knock at the door. “I remember this huge sense of panic,” she muses.

“It is about having an adventurous sense of spirit but I think at the last minute you go ‘I don’t want it, I want a cup of tea, this is horrible!” A cup of tea and a lie-down, I suggest? “Yeah, pretty much,” Marieke chuckles. “That’s exactly what I thought at that moment. Exactly.”

I reveal that I came across a particularly saucy filmclip of Marieke and her best friend Gabi writhing around to Peaches’ latest song ‘Mud’. I couldn’t let her live this one down without a back-story. “That was pretty strange, wasn’t it? A friend of ours put out a call-out on Facebook going ‘Does anyone want to mud wrestle for a Peaches video?’ and of course, instead of having a cup of tea and a lie-down, I said ‘Yeah! Gabi and I will do it!’ Gabi was like, ‘Don’t volunteer me for that!’ but I think it was too late by then. We drank all these hot toddies and then did it, I mean it was so ridiculous… the whole difficulty was trying not to laugh the whole time.”

In closing, I tell Marieke that by the time I’m thirty-something I hope to have built on the kind of experiences she has been through in her time on earth so far. “Yeah, and then you can write a book embarrassing yourself like me, it’ll be great,” she quips, perhaps only half-jokingly. “Go and do some mud wrestling, for god’s sake. Just make sure you have a good wash after it.”

THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 10 | 23

24 | THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 10

Photography: Cameron Taylor

MATT GRANT

Despite having recently gone into administration, the Peats Ridge Festival and all of the remarkable people involved are still going ahead with this year’s three-day camping New Year’s event. It’s this kind of spirit that we are inspired by, can relate to and are in awe of. Tym Yee visited Festival Director Matt Grant in his office in Newtown a few weeks before the announcement. The team assures us though, that they plan to run Peats Ridge for many years yet. After spilling a full mug of tea and flicking through Matt’s baby photos our conversation landed here...

THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 10 | 25

Matt: I think my love of music comes from DJing. I spent quite a few years DJing professionally as well. I’ve just gotten back in to it as well which is nice. I’ve always had a love of music.

Tym: Do you DJ under a moniker?

M: No, just Matt Grant. I just started at Bedlum Bar down in Glebe.

T: I bet people don’t know that this is the guy who founded the Peats Ridge Festival.

M: No, I’ve got this golden rule with my friends. If they introduce me, it’s Matt. I find it really difficult when you first meet someone and they find out what you do is for some sort of… I guess, people can perceive it as a glamourous thing to do, though I don’t see it that way, but people have a perception if you’re running an event or festival and I really don’t like that. I like to be anonymously incognito when I meet people. Because then you get to relate to them on that completely open level without any preconceptions. So that’s the same as my DJing.

T: So what do you do when they ask you what you do?

M: I say I work in music. Then I throw it straight back at them – ‘what do you do?’ (Laughs). People always prefer to talk about themselves than about you (more laughter).

T: So have you always been environmentally cautious?

M: No, not at all. The festival came out of music. I organised festivals in the early 90’s over here which were much more warehouse based but were still very much about getting collectives together. So I knew I had that ability to bring people together but it wasn’t until I went to Glastonbury that I actually went wow, this is creating a whole environment. So that’s where the idea for the festival came out of in 1994, and it wasn’t until 2000 that the environmental things came out and that was through just a growing awareness.

I’m not your atypical greeny. I’m more logical thinking. So if I look at resources and the planet, it just doesn’t add up. It simply doesn’t add up. And I’m into self preservation as much as the next person so I thought I’d do something about it. I ended up taking a course in something called permacuture which is about sustainable design. It really crystallised in my mind what the issues were and how serious it was.

T: What is it that you guys are doing in particular and why aren’t other festivals doing it to the same extent? Is it the cost?

M: Look, there is a cost involved, that’s for sure. If I look at one thing that is close to my heart which is toilets (both laugh)… When you’re running a festival it’s absolutely fundamental. Just looking at how much water use toilets have, what issues there are around them, what happens to the waste and I’ve always been a great advocate for composting toilets. We’ve put a lot of energy to find a way of running a composting toilet. We’ve worked with suppliers in the past which we haven’t received the service we require so we looked at other ways of doing it so last year we came up with a way of actually composting flushing toilets. We found a supplier where we could dewater the 26 | THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 10

waste from the flushing toilets and turn that into compost. But it costs.

It probably cost over double what would cost… if you want to look at your straight, you know, what’s the cost financially but when you start to factor in the triple bottom line and the cost in everything else and the impact on the planet of the trucking of waste and everything into it, it actually, you know, I think it saves. So that’s just one thing we’ve always done.

But it’s as much about education, great if people can go to a festival for three days and sort their waste, but if they go home and just carry on their behaviour, then you’ve not really made a big change. But if you have, then you’ve made a massive change.

T: I know that you guys were invited to be one of the founding members of the UN Music and Environment Initiative…

M: Yeah, that was last year. It just came out of the blue. They contacted us and said we’ve woken up to the fact that music and festivals can have a big impact and it’d be a great place to educated people about sustainability, we’ve come up with this initiative and we’re bringing together a group of people who work in the area to brainstorm with us to see what the form of it is. They invited us over to Norway, which

rainfall ever recorded in the three weeks while we were setting up and the ground conditions were just so terrible. You’ve got big marquees and big tents with pegs in the ground which are just not safe to hold them and then you’re planning to bring 10, 000 people with their vehicles into that. It just reached a point where I said, this just isn’t safe. I can’t invite these people into this valley and be assured of their safety, so I don’t have a choice in this. Big decision. Took quite a few years to fully appreciate the big miss of that decision and I’ve had a lot of growth from the learning and fall out of it. It’s been immensely challenging, but we survived it and in some ways there’s been a positive from it. We grew very, very, very quickly in the first three years. So we went from 2, 000 to 5, 000 to 10, 000 people on the ground. Within 3 years we were trying to learn how to manage and deliver this event and what the cancellation did was pull us back to a level at which all of a sudden we had the skills to manage it properly.

From 2008 it became a very well managed event.

T: So where did you spend that New Years Eve in 2007?

M: Um, I spent it at home looking at the sunshine going gees the weather is beautiful. It didn’t matter because it was ground water you need a full month of warm weather to bring the water table down. It kind of would have been nicer if it was raining. (Laughs).

T: I image the spirit of your core team has since picked up…

M: Yes, it’s a very well intentioned event and all the people that work on it are attracted and resonate with that intention. So we have an amazing group of people who are looking for the deeper levels of achievement out of what they do. That really does shine through all the way through the team and the audience that it attracts and the people who perform at it and the long-term outcome is a charitable outcome; when we make money, we haven’t made any money yet, but when we do, we want to fund education, arts and sustainable food production in the third world, that’s our long-term goal. was great, I think there was about 34 people there. We were the only people from the southern hemisphere. Some big festivals were there: Glastonbury was there, Lollapalooza was there, Boom Festival from Europe was there, they’re actually our sister festival. We’ve made a really good connection with those guys. Plus a few people from the music industry, recording studios, a few Swedish festivals and we all sat down and asked basically what can the form of this be and we came up with some pretty clear outlines as to what we thought would work. That sat with the UN, and they’re very slow moving, and we knew they would be. And they’ve only just got back to us saying that we’re going to take the next steps, so it’s taken them that long to work through the beaurocracy, but that was made clear to us when we first sat down with them.

T: In 2007, when you have to cancel the festival due to flood waters, what were you thinking?

M: That’s an interesting question because it wasn’t really a decision that I had a choice in. It was 9 days out, 420 bands, 15 stages, fully set up with pretty much not one single structure in place as planned. It wasn’t actually flood water, it was ground water, so what happened was that we had the storm in June in 2007 and then the highest

T: What can punters expect this year?

M: I think what we’ve always managed to do and have done is to present discovery. Discovery is very much a word I’d use with PeatsRidge. Discovery of arts, discovery of music, presentation of acts that people wouldn’t initially think about being at a festival. Very much left of centre, very much a community; so a meeting of like-minded individuals. A very relaxing time, very chilled out and really constant striving to provide a better experience for our patrons so the idea is to give them a beautiful, immersive, supportive environment where they can come in and enjoy what we do. So… more of that!

Statement released by Matt Grant on September 27: Peats Ridge is most certainly going ahead and under the same guidance as it always has been. As many would know, due to extreme weather conditions in 2007 Peats Ridge was forced to cancel. The ongoing financial fallout from this cancellation has caused a heavy financial burden for the Festival, one that we are now coming out of with good ticket sales for this year. Unfortunately the outcome of this financial burden meant we were forced to place the entity that operated the event in previous years into liquidation. We have maintained good communication with all suppliers affected by the administration and are continuing to work with them to produce this years event. Whilst being an extremely difficult period for all concerned, we are happy to say that this course of action has provided a way for us to to pay off our remaining creditors and still put on a great Festival experiences for our patrons over the New Years period for 2011.

THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 10 | 27

HOPE FOR YOUR HERO Sometimes you don’t agree with everything your hero does.

Edwina Storie talks to Emily* about her close friend’s controversial cancer treatment.

When it comes to our perceptions of life and death, different people can accept different things – some base their opinions on science and numbers, while others believe in something less tangible. But sadly, sometimes neither pull through. Sometimes the tangible overrides the unexplainable - sometimes faith or positive thinking aren’t enough to fight against the inevitable.

Having been diagnosed with cancer at a very young age, Emily’s* very close friend Helena* could no longer put all her trust in mainstream medicine. “She was misdiagnosed many times causing her to be sceptical and resistant towards those who offered scientific methods of treatment,” Emily explained.

Helena started searching online for something more than what she was being offered by doctors and hospitals, becoming drawn to alternative treatments.

28 | THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 10

She began to trust in stories of cancer-eradicating diets or healers who tapped into a patient’s energy to rid their body of the disease. “She was looking for someone to heal the cancer. Someone who could make it evaporate...”

For Emily, the stories that her best friend found online provided false hope, but similarly, community support. “There are many perspectives, opinions and ideas on the Internet, and I think sometimes it is easier to believe in miracles than face the reality of the situation.

The Internet provides an ideal platform for escapism and is a perfect place to justify thoughts and actions. It is a cyber-support station.”

Despite Emily’s discouragement of the ‘healer’, Helena began receiving both alternative and medical treatment for the cancer. “Personally, I found it very

traumatic,” Emily explained. “The further she embraced these alternate methods of healing and insisted upon the miracle that would save her, the further I felt from her. It was a juncture in values... I didn’t hold the same beliefs and I felt angry that we couldn’t see eye to eye on the topic.” As Helena continued the treatment with a healer, they would assure her that the tumour had shrunk, “and she would prefer to believe them rather than the doctors.”

“At the time I’d wished she would listen to the people around her. It was traumatic because I think everyone is very adamant that their way of doing things is the right way.”

Eventually, neither the alternative nor medical treatments were successful.

Despite Emily disagreeing with Helena’s trust in her healers, it was Helena’s unfaltering faith in a miraculous

cure that made her somewhat of a hero to Emily. She had lived her life exactly to her own wishes, guided by magical principles. “I think it is the belief in a guiding power and influence that helps us face the daunting prospect of death and pain...Hindsight is a wonderful thing and I wish I’d accepted her views and approach earlier. It’s taken me a long time to understand.”

Sometimes the people that are close to us are heroic in ways we don’t necessarily agree with. Helena was not concerned by the social expectations that are imposed upon so many of us. “She had the ability to believe in a higher power and I think that takes a lot of strength. She also had experiences that many of us dream of however never find the time to act upon ...I think that it’s heroic to be unafraid to live. It’s truly inspiring.”

THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 10 | 29

SCREW THE CORPORATE TANGO Holly Smith is doing the Foxtrot.

Another day, another independent venue forced to close its doors.

Sydney, hang your head in shame! Don’t get me wrong, I love Sydney, I have suckled at this city’s teat since I was freshly birthed in ‘85. But I can’t help but feel like the soul of this town is being syphoned down a big, fat, corporate arse hole. What happened to the music venues that actually value musicians and their work as something beyond background filler? What happened to the tiny bars and family run pubs, the idea of ‘the local’?

30 | THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 10

Enter: The Foxtrot.

This gem of a bar is hidden away behind a big white arch door. Upon entering, it feels like you’re walking into a picture book - stepping through dimly lit pages of colour - the captains lodge, nanna’s lounge room and Mad Hatter’s tea party. Every inch of the place exudes charm and I feel like I’ve walked into someone’s imagination. The walls are covered in a hand painted montage that exudes Berlin cool. My angst over Sydney’s dying culture is momentarily appeased.

Co-owner of this foxy establishment, Dylan Eisenhut, is no stranger to the corporate hold on our city’s night culture. Being told he would ‘achieve nothing’, he ditched school at 17, jumped straight into the hospitality industry, slaving to the big guns for 7 years. But what he came out with was a bank of industry inside knowledge and a fuckload of ideas for when he could finally open a bar of his own. That moment came in 2010 when the perfect venue came up in Manly. The Pony Room is a makeshift bar with Eisenhut and business partner Colin Benge calling in favours from all ends to help re-fit the venue. Art on the walls, carpentry, plumbing and electrics were all done by friends, which might explain the success of the bar. In an area as affluent as Manly, it was a welcome edition for locals who were sick of pretentious drinking holes and craving something new, relaxed and down to earth. The Pony Room delivered.

Now Eisenhut and Benge are tackling the lower North Shore.

The Foxtrot is on Falcon St Crows Nest. Again, there were no interior designers beyond their own selective eye and they designed the whole fit-out, sourcing all materials themselves. Their fingerprints are everywhere and it’s refreshing to hear Eisenhut talk about his venue with such passion and personal investment. ”After The Pony Room took off, we had a few business propositions but nothing felt right. As soon as we saw this place,

we fell in love with it. It’s such a unique building.”

WHY AREN’T THERE MORE OF THESE KINDS OF BARS IN SYDNEY DAMMIT!? Clover Moore (godblessher) has had a go at remedying the matter with laneway grants, helping to kickstart small business ventures. But as Eisenhut articulates, opening a small bar in Sydney is still a shit fight of red tape and licensing rape and it’s only the big fish that are able to keep afloat. “There are a lot of small indie bars popping up at the moment, but what people don’t realise is that a lot of them are run by the same companies as the bigger, corporate bars. They hire teams to do million dollar fit outs, then pay others to run the place.

That’s the real difference between the Sydney and Melbourne night scene. Sydney has lost the personal touch.”

That’s it. We’ve lost the personal touch. I would rather drink next to a hobo on a park bench than rub shoulders with the fake tan, skank army at The Ivy. I’d rather listen to my iPod and have my own silent disco than have my ears raped by the top 40 music that most venues blast.

Sydney, it’s time to change. Join me comrades! Let’s peel back the wallpaper of this city, seek out the smaller bars, demand the re-opening of our beloved music venues. Say a big ‘fuck you’ to the corporate tango, and instead, do the foxtrot.

THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 10 | 31

POLAR KNIGHTS Our designer Chumpy is a busy fellow. When he isn’t doing overtime at his day job, he’s slaying deadlines for the very magazine you’re reading. When he’s not slaying deadlines he fronts Polar Knights, an emerging indie/experimental Sydney outfit who are giving Sydney’s music scene a red hot go. Sally Rawsthorne asks Chumpy and their guitarist, glockenspielist and engineer Jess how they roll.

Sally: How did you guys get together?

Jess: Chumpy and Daniel know each other from uni. The rest of us were harvested by Chumpy from the internet. Except for Sheryl who came with the drum kit.

S: The internet is powerful like that. What were you looking for in bandmates Chumpy and was it a gruelling process?

Chumpy: Yes, the interwebs be powerful, so powerful. It was a bit of a gruelling process, I had to sift through a lot of weirdos. I still got a bunch of weirdos though. Being socially inept and accustomed to using the internet as a way to communicate without physical contact, I thought finding bandmates through the internet would be super easy, but I forgot that I ACTUALLY had to meet these real people in real places. Well, I could’ve Skyped...actually that would’ve been a good idea.

I didn’t have a questionnaire or hold any auditions...all I wanted in a bandmate was someone who was open minded and was comfortable about playing and contributing to the music I wrote. No point in having a bandmate that is a lie. Also they can’t be racist.

S: So did you guys find your sound right away or did it need to develop over time?

C: When I started jamming with Polar Knights I had just come out of a pretty intense folk/acoustic singer-songwriter phase - you know, howling 32 | THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 10

in my bedroom by myself with an acoustic. Then at one prac Daniel (our lead guitarist) busted out his then quite bare pedalboard and I squealed in excitement at the sounds and textures he was smithing.

From then on I contracted what some musos refer to as G.A.S (gear acquisition syndrome). Everyone started getting G.A.S and I had to write to accomodate for all the new and sweet sounds that were being produced. We pack more of a punch now and are very texture focused.

J: It’s true. Chumpy went from having an old beaten up briefcase as a pedalboard, to two full pedalboards. I have the best setup with just two pedals.

S: What is the most rewarding part of playing a show?

C: It’s neat getting recognition from both punters and venue staff. Just the other day a punter at a tiny gig we played offered to lend us his drum machine to wring out some inspiration. You discover so many things as well, like anomalies or mistakes that you make in a live situation that could be beneficial to a song - like accidently engaging a delay pedal and making a neat sounding wall of sound.

S: What are the biggest challenges that you face at the moment?

Chumpy: Constantly trying to keep signed out of your Facebook because some jerks in this band commit frape. (Facebook rape) Also some of us own Nerf guns, so an ambush is always nigh.

S: You guys are pretty self sufficient, you have a designer and an audio engineer onboard. How important is self sufficiency in an emerging band?

C: There are heaps of costs that you sort of forget when you’re in a band like fuel, parking, rehearsals, strings, haircuts. Coupled with major costs such as gear, mastering, artwork, pressing, merch...things can get depressingly expensive. So we like to do as much as we humanly can to save on costs.

J: We have our own recording gear, we screen print our own T’s, we’re even producing our own music video. Daniel makes pretty good scones and we bake our own cakes. Working together on stuff that isn’t musical has made us a lot closer and susceptible to frape.

S: How do you balance your band commitments with all the other stuff in your lives?

C: Insomnia.

J: I don’t.

S: What’s next for Polar Knights?

J: We’re releasing our first EP, Overtime at our launch on the 17th of November at FBi Social. We’ll be releasing a bunch of content leading up to and after it so stay tuned!

C: I think I’ll save up for more pedals and then practice for the EP launch and then save up again. And then think of issue 11 of The Spit Press.

--www.polarknights.com www.facebook.com/polarknights polarknights.bandcamp.com

THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 10 | 33

MAJOR RAISER By the age of 23 had you/will you have raised tens of thousands of dollars for charity through the Sydney music scene? Lewis Collins had an inspirational chat to Dominic Greenwood, the founder of non-profit organization Major Raiser.

Major Raiser is the product of Dominic Greenwood’s desire to find his calling and his ambition to raise social awareness and funds through live music. Since March of this year, his hard work, passion and perseverance has seen Major Raiser blossom into an organization with a growing following. He also has the knack of getting prominent Australian bands to jump on board.

“It started when I decided to put on an event for the benefit of the wider community and then realized after that, that there was growing hype around what I was doing - initially only within my friends. Then I tried it again and saw it grow, from one person talking to another, and I was like okay, we’re starting to get a name for ourselves,” said Dominic of the early development of his brainchild.

With the word well and truly out about Major Raiser after a successful debut event at Good God Small Club, Dominic raised the bar by putting on a second event; The Major Raiser Australian Youth Against Cancer Party, which featured acts such as Parades and RÜFÜS at the Gaelic Club. In doing so, Major Raiser lived up to its name – raising a massive $10,000.

More recent events included Major Raiser’s ‘all-star’ collaboration with an awesome magazine; The Spit Press (not sure if you’ve heard of it?) when they took over the World Bar. Even more recently Dom and his team hosted the opening night of the Verge Festival where the creative juices were in overdrive – turning The Festival Tent into a starry night sky with a breathtaking arrangement of lights.

If you’re kicking yourself thinking you’ve missed out so far, the best is yet to come. There are events set for November, and the big end of year shindig, December 10 at The Gaelic Club to cap off what has already

34 | THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 10

been an incredible year for Dominic and Major Raiser, at the same time setting the tone for what is already set to be an eventful 2012.

“My team and I are independently heading to South Africa with the funds we raise from the December 10 event to do some really awesome cultural exchange workshops as well as funding a nutritional suppliment for 200 kids for one year.”

The beauty with Major Raiser lies in its simplicity. Unlike some charities there’s no automated phone service, no annual fees and no wondering if your money has gone to some balding, pot-bellied businessman looking to add a new Ferrari to his collection. It’s as simple as buying affordable tickets, seeing amazing live bands at equally amazing venues and enjoying good company… Oh, and while you’re having the time of your life, enjoy a side of self-fulfillment in the knowledge that for the cost of your ticket, you’ve just provided an average of 26 meals for a less fortunate South African community. Plus, I can assure you that Dominic has a full head of hair, doesn’t have a potbelly and has no intention to buy a Ferrari anytime soon.

Whilst in South Africa, Dominic and his team will be working alongside his friend and greatest influence Dr. Phillipa Leonard from the Philanthropy in Practice Institute (PIPI) to aid the Botshabelo region, aiming to provide the chance of a better life to rural orphans, displaced youths and adults.

Throughout the various ups and downs of the last six-months, Dominic has had to learn not only what it takes to be a founder of a charity organisation, but life lessons that may have gone by the wayside had it not been for Major Raiser – the gift that keeps on giving to all those involved.

featuring

Home-made Pasta With Pork and Apple Meatballs The dish that will make you a dinner party legend.

Method: 1. In a large bowl combine pork, apple, rosemary, cheese, breadcrumbs and an egg and mix well. In a separate flat bowl or plate spread out flour; Hero dishes are those quick and easy recipes that give the this will be used to cover the balls. Roll tablespoons of the meat mixture appearance of hours of labour in the kitchen. Homemade pasta is one into balls, using your hands, then roll entire ball in flour and place on a of these. The first time making pasta can be a little fiddly, but once you separate plate. Once all the balls have been rolled out, move meatballs have the method down it’s so easy to knock up even after 8pm on a into the fridge for 30 minutes while you finish the other components. school night.

2. On low heat brown the oil, garlic and onions. Add tinned tomatoes This recipe will leave you a champion in any situation because and carrots and let simmer for a few minutes to soften. Add water and it’s so quick and simple you can bust it out at any time of the day. It’s chicken stock and simmer for a 10 minutes. Finally, mix in cherry tomatoes, a spring version of the classic spaghetti and meatballs and would do zucchini, parsley and basil and simmer while you make the pasta. excellently well served warm at an afternoon BBQ with friends.

3. In a deep bowl, make flour into a well. Crack eggs into the middle Enjoy spring, we sure will! of the well and with a fork whisk the eggs slowly adding in the flour until all combined. Once combined turn onto a lightly floured surface Love, and knead dough for roughly 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and Sophie and Zabrina elastic. Using a pasta roller begin on the thickest setting and roll dough through the machine. Roll dough through once then flour the top side, fold HOMEMADE PASTA WITH PORK AND APPLE MEATBALLS AND A over and send through the roller again. Repeat a few times then change SPRING TOMATO SAUCE. to the next setting down on the machine. Continue until you have rolled Serves 4 the pasta to about 2mm thick which is generally the second last setting on the machine. Once the dough is ready send it though the fettuccine Ingredients: cutter and your pasta is ready. You can use the cutter attachment to cut 500g pork mince 1 zucchini, grated consistent sized pasta, but you can easily cut the pasta to the thickness 2 medium red apples, shredded Handful of fresh parsley you desire with a knife. Leave pasta on a hanger or on a flat surface.

200g tasty cheese, shredded Handful of fresh basil 4. In a large pan over a medium to high heat brown the outside of the Rosemary 1 tbls cinnamon meatballs. It’s key to keep the shape of the balls by browning the outside 1/2 cup breadcrumbs 3 tbls brown sugar of the balls to make a crusty shell. Once you have this outside shell turn 1 cup flour 1 punnet cherry tomatoes, halved the heat down to medium low and allow to cook while the pasta boils.

2 tbls olive oil Shake the pan every few minutes to evenly cook the balls.

6 cloves garlic 5. Boil a large pot of water and once ready drop pasta in. The pasta 1 onion will take roughly 5 minutes to cook. You can tell that it is ready as the 1 can cherry tomatoes, regular diced is fine colour of the pasta becomes pale.

1 bunch of Dutch carrots, washed and halved 2 tsp vegetable stock 6. In a very large serving bowl add freshly cooked pasta, tomato sauce 500ml water and meatballs and toss together. Serve hot or warm with some grated 2 cups of flour, plus extra for rolling out pasta 4 eggs zucchini on top.

THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 10 | 35

I WANNA BE YOUR JOEY RAMONE Put your self-help books aside and revel in The Ramones or find salvation in The Sex Pistols. It sounds crazy but Nancy Bludgeon thinks it could just be the spit in the face you really need.

Tall, lanky and a little bit awkward; this was punk rock’s godfather.

Ripped jeans, drainpipe legs and beaten up leather jackets: accidentally & eternally stylish. Long jet-black hair violently shook to the sped up music - loud, fast and succinctly to the point. Blitzkrieg Bop was the sound of a revolution. Punk Rock: a revelation.

Joey Ramone was uber cool. The iconic frontman of the punk band from Queens NYC, The Ramones, he championed the fusion of 60s pop with hasty punk sounds. Clearly the coolest and most loveable Ramone, Joey was a hero to many and died too soon. A decade on from his untimely death his contributions to modern music are innumerable.

Across the Atlantic with his trademark fiery spiky red hair and equally fiery and intense gaze, Johnny Rotten was the iconic lead singer of The Sex Pistols and chief of England’s punk uprising. “I don’t have any heroes, they’re all useless,” declared Johnny Rotten. “They’re all inaccessible.”

The music of 1977 punk was an explosion of mohawks and madness, filth and fury. London punks were politically incensed, rebelling against the establishment and the monarchy. Johnny Rotten’s snarl inspired a generation to not only “get pissed and destroy” but to take action.

The punk movement did not discriminate. It was not elitist, it wasn’t about money, it wasn’t about who you know or who fucked who, it didn’t have to be complicated or intellectual; it was all about action, making a ruckus, and the magic of being young and pissed

36 | THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 10

off. This feeling manifested as energy and the feeling that you could, should and would change the world.

With hindsight, clarity and numerous punk documentaries later, it is clear that the lasting legacy of punk is more than the three chord progression or bondage trousers. It’s the Do-It-Yourself culture that it spawned and the individuals who realised that DIY gave you the freedom to be your own hero.

It didn’t matter that most punk musicians didn’t know how to play their instruments - that was just a minor detail in the big scheme of things. The simple act of picking up the guitar and the desire to play was empowering. Making unmistakable declarations of your convictions and saying what you wanted to say without censorship (a la Rotten) was pure enchantment, and a big unapologetic fuck you to the naysayers.

Punk was a movement that thrived on originality, absurdity and total outrageousness, not regret. It’s never too late to start something, be something or simply live. It just requires boldness, determination and sheer audacity. And a little bit of punk spirit goes along way.

Make. Create. Procreate. Fascinate.

Joey Ramone, with his loathing of 70s music, made music that he enjoyed and believed in. This lofty punk rocker took charge with his life and the direction it was taking. Plagued with OCD Joey Ramone created a life for himself through DIY. It may not have always been charmed and at times he wanted to be sedated but it was exhilarating nonetheless. So what are you waiting for? Hey! Ho! Let’s go!

A RISING SUN ‘Stray’ Photographer and stylist: Tina Sun Makeup and hair: Gabrielle Houghton Set assistant: Tiffany Chen Models: Ellyse Gore & Georgina Foot Words: Julian Webster

Tina Sun is a Sydney based photographer, violinist and piano player. She was born in Taiwan, but raised in New Zealand, the daughter of a music lecturer and a ‘tone-deaf’ doctor. She originally wanted to be a designer, but after being given a camera two years ago things took off for the young Sydney-sider.

Tina started with a string of shoots for a modeling agency. At the age of seventeen she placed third in an international Young Photographer of the Year competition, run by Digital Camera Magazine and the Royal Photographic Society. What’s more, the photos Tina entered were taken on a spontaneous shoot, with girls who weren’t models and no stylist. Now nineteen, her work has been featured in Stray Magazine, Photo Vogue Italia and the Mall Galleries in London.

Given the striking use of colour and the sophisticated composition, you’d be forgiven for thinking Tina Sun was a much older photographer. Inspired by the beauty of strangers, she often uses classmates and people off the street in her work. “I love shooting models as well,” she says, “it’s a whole different experience because they know how to model. But when you shoot with normal people I think it comes across. Sometimes it just looks more organic.”

Tina has a love for conceptual photography. There is often a theory or philosophy behind her shots, giving her work a feeling of depth and a certain sense of mystery. It’s never just a model wearing something pretty for the nineteen-year-old photographer.

This year Tina started an arts/law degree at the University of Sydney, on an Outstanding Achievement Scholarship. She says she didn’t want to be a starving artist, but lately that doesn’t seem like such a bad option.

www.tinasun.net THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 10 | 37

38 | THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 10

THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 10 | 39

40 | THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 10

THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 10 | 41

POSTER BOY Sarah Lakos spoke to Nick Hallam, a mastermind of positive change.

Do you ever get the urge to make a change? I asked a friend if she ever felt like this. ‘Yeah, I know what you mean… change is refreshing. I’ve been thinking about painting a feature wall in my room…’ Not the response I was looking for. I was hoping for a self-help slash motivational style chat about changing the things around you, because you have the power to do so.

In my mind, this is sort of how the conversation went between Nick Hallam and Matthew Donazzan. I use the phrase ‘sort of’ because they were in Japan when they met, and were inspired by each other’s passion for social change - not in a Surry Hills café discussing the colour of plasterboard.

“Basically…it sounds like a cliché. But it was right place, right time. I was in Japan and I was staying in a bed and breakfast. They guy who was running it was from Melbourne,” explained Nick when we spoke over the phone. “We didn’t know how we were going to give back, or what form it would take but that was the drive.”

Nick and Matthew took their entrepreneurial flair and formed Positive Posters. “I went back home and called Matt one day on Skype, and said; I’ve just had this idea about covering cities all over the world in posters that expose, promote, and highlight certain issues in the world that people aren’t aware of.”

That Skype epiphany happened in 2009, and after a couple of fund raising house parties, Positive Posters had its first design competition that same year. Since then, there has been a competition each year. As a graphic designer, Nick saw a potential to not only expose important social issues through design, but also to shift the industry toward using their powers for good.

“We had a close look at the graphic design industry and saw that designers don’t really take time out of their busy schedules to do work that promotes social causes. That’s when we knew we had to create some prestige around our idea, and start a competition.”

As entry numbers increase, so does the range of issues discussed through their design. World events have inspired designers to get involved and document the unfolding events through a new channel of visual dialogue. “All the posters are extremely topical. In August, we had entries about the mass murder in Norway.

We had some about Japan, and the recently the London Riots. We’re expecting entries about Libya,” Nick predicted, “Then there are the more consistent issues like AIDS, the environment, domestic violence that are always coming up because they’re issues that aren’t going away.”

The brand of ‘change’ Nick pedals isn’t stratospheric. It’s planted firmly here on the ground, where the main aim is to encourage thinking and discussion. Nick’s team at Positive Posters aren’t attempting to solve the world’s trickier problems, but take a proactive part in creating a space where design excellence and social change meet.

“One of the best ways to learn and understand things is visually because it speaks all languages. Positive Posters is really about exposing issues that are important in a way that is very democratic - design is very even and transparent in that way. Going forward, we want to be a platform for people to learn about issues.”

From here, Positive Posters has genuine potential to become a global movement. Nick wants to see as many as 10,000 designers take part. “In three to five years, we’ll have a visual representation of the world’s issues documented and plotted over that time period. The motivation is- lets build something that’s bigger than us, that’ll help other people.”

Yes, painting a wall is a change. But it isn’t quite like Nick’s ‘bigger picture’ venture. It’s clever guys like him and Matt who have the creativity to design a better way to change the world, one poster at a time.

42 | THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 10

THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 10 | 43

44 | THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 10

THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 10 | 45

w’ d be net;

y

ailers iler.

o out

to ar,

on ning

n

ilm

eing ion thing e

d

IT’S A BIRD, IT’S A PLANE! THERE GOES MY HERO Denis the Menace, the inventor of the bra or Craig David – it doesn’t matter who your hero is, just that you have one.

Fiona Murphy explains why.

Some of them make me sweat and squeal. Some of them make me feel inferior and achingly mundane. I have a few that make my knees wobble and toes curl, while others make me feel foolish and feeble-minded. Despite the calamity of conflicting emotions they inspire, having heroes is a positive.

Heroes can come in many guises from fictional to family. They may have overcome hardships from physical limitations or prejudice. A common denominator is the feelings of admiration they inspire in you, be they healers or Humanitarians, singers or saints, activists or alien ant farmers - whatever tickles your fancy.

I have tendencies towards intense infatuation and idol worship. I’ve put television paramedics, cartoon characters, inanimate objects, neighbours, pets, Olympians and scientists on my list of heroes. I often insert the person’s name into conversation, despite the lack of context, and at my worst I rail-road conversations with long winded monologues about my latest hero’s admiral attributes. My stalker-like familiarity with my heroes tends to manifest in socially unacceptable behaviours, ranging from shyly stuttering autograph requests to fully-fledged fits.

Kele Okereke, the lead singer of Bloc Party, bore the brunt of one of these fits when I jumped the barrier at Splendour a few years back and clawed at him like a cat on heat.

Some self-help gurus argue that you have to be your own hero and ‘trust the voice within’. Yet using that logic, no one can be their own hero, as you are privy to your own tirade of dirty desires and dubious motivations. Only you know what you’re really thinking beneath that facade of politeness and necessary niceties. Whereas you can be blissfully naive to your hero’s inner monologue, unless they decide to be honest in their memoirs. Which is why it’s best to hedge your bets and have a range of heroes in case

46 | THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 10

one hero does fall by the wayside with their very own moral debauchery.

Some heroes wax and wane with the passage of time, this occurs at a particularly rapid pace during the festering cesspool of puberty. Shrines of stickers and torn magazine pages are erected and meticulously maintained. Then suddenly you move on, leaving behind sickly feelings of embarrassment and a garbage bag of crappy merchandise as mementoes of your hero worship. (Note: free box of Craig David posters and CDs to go to a good home.) You promise yourself you won’t be as easy next time, you’ll behave. Yet the euphoria of falling for a new hero is intoxicating.

Some people take their idol worship a step further and attempt to emulate their heroes, which works well if their hero has generally commendable attributes - like patience, good sportsmanship, kindness and charity. This can be seen as less than positive if your hero happens to be a fringe dwelling, anti-society type. My poor mother suffered in my Denis the Menace phase and spent sleepless nights during my punk phase, when I chose to emulate Christina Amphlett of The Divinyls. Though you needn’t make public proclamations of hero-worship, you can keep your admiration close to your chest, as I literally do for my hero Mary Phelps Jacob, inventor of the bra.

While heroes can inspire you to strive for greatness, they can also be handy scape goats to let you know that you’re not messing up your lot in life, as in the case of Einstein - who failed his entrance exam into uni and yet went on to achieve brilliance. Or Colonel Saunders, who had his finger licking secret recipe rejected 1009 times. Or you may wish to avoid media darlings and celebrities and admire ordinary people, like Dave Grohl does in his song ‘My Hero’. Either way having a hero is a positive.

IF FIGHTING EVIL IS YOUR THING Sometimes being your own hero is not such a bad thing. Erin Holohan If television has taught Gen Y anything it’s that we all need a hero. If, like me, you were a child of the nineties, your breakfast and afternoon television time was filled with them. While Captain Planet was taking pollution down to zero, the Powerpuff Girls were fighting crime and trying to save the world. Simultaneously, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were cutting the evil Shredder no slack and Sailor Moon was instilling in young girls the false belief that wearing ridiculously short skirts with knee-high boots is a wise fashion choice...and fighting evil by moonlight.

When I was about 12 years old, my hero was Lleyton Hewitt. Women’s tennis in Australia was on struggle street at that point and Hewitt was in his prime. I religiously watched every match he played. During said matches, I would passionately throw down whatever was in my hand at the time, as Hewitt did his racquet, when he played a bad point or the umpire made a poor decision. In Hewitt’s mind it was usually the latter and my hero worship of him saw me in agreeance.

I was never an amazing tennis player. As my obsession with Hewitt intensified, my training did not.

Sure, I would have loved to tour the world winning tournaments and filming television commercials but I just didn’t have the motivation to get there and in all honesty, I didn’t desperately want to either.

I hate to break it to you but hero worship is a little pointless in my opinion. My obsession with Lleyton Hewitt didn’t get me an international tennis career, or even a sports journalism career for that matter. Admiration is one thing, and don’t get me wrong, I think it’s important to admire people. If I were to list the number of people I admire we’d be here for days. I like to think however, that I have grown to recognise the difference between

admiring and worshiping and have come to more regularly do the former.

You should probably question your education if your primary school teachers didn’t once ask you to write in your journal and finish the sentence, “My hero is...”

Imagine what would have happened if you handed in your finished product having written, “My hero is myself.”

Your teacher probably would have said you were being egotistical – using perhaps another term – and asked you to rewrite your piece of work.

Considering yourself a hero can be a good thing provided you don’t also expect others to worship the ground that you walk on. Too often we take the time to recognise the strengths and skills of others and ignore our own successes and admirable qualities. Admiring others is a good thing. It gives us direction and helps us make a sound judgement of ourselves. Yet spending time aimlessly adoring others and taking little from their success is pointless. (Except in the case of Johnny Depp. That man deserves to be worshipped!)

If you are a hero worshipper, perhaps consider using your time more wisely and being your own hero. Take a moment each day to consider what you have done that deserves praise and subsequently reward yourself. Today, for example, I realised I have spent five years working in retail without once swearing at a customer – within earshot that is. I know, I’m awesome!

With what’s left of your hero worshipping time, consider what you could do to be a better person and become someone those around you might look up to.

Admire others but worship yourself by constantly assessing how you live your life and devoting time to becoming a better you. That said, if fighting evil is your thing, you may, by all means, continue watching The Powerpuff Girls.

THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 10 | 47

48 | THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 10