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SYDNEY’S CREATIVE MELTING POT ART.PHOTOGRAPHY MUSIC.DESIGN | FREE SPITPRESS.COM DEC/JAN
Operator Please Taking control and being ‘that’ high school band
Wil Anderson Oliver Jeffers “They were hard and The art of reading, embarrassing times lost and found? because you have no self worth”
AND Boy & Bear, Shaun Freeman, The Holidays, AS Colour, Two Baked Pooseys and more!
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DEC/JAN
05 Editorial 06 Spit Bucket 09 Boy & Bear 11 The Definition of Music 12 Where There’s a Wil, There’s a Way 14 The Real Deal 16 Less is more 18 Fishing in the Deep End 20 Will History Remember Them? 22 Operator Please 28 Oliver Jeffers 30 Two Baked Pooseys 31 A Learning Curve 32 Photospread: Approach 37 Shaun Freeman 41 Get Ready for The Holidays 42 Records in Review 44 Classics 45 Cheap AS Colour 46 Photos from Animal Farm & On the Road 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
Blog - Caitlyn Adamson caitlyn@spitpress.com Spit Press TV - Kevin Lee kevin@spitpress.com ----
Scream Hi! www.spitpress.com / info@spitpress / submissions@spitpress.com Facebook: TheSpit Press. Facebook fanpage: facebook.com/ spitpressfb Twitter @spitpress 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. 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.
Head Photographer & Web - Zabrina Wong zab@spitpress.com
Senior Contributors: Adam Byrne, Edwina Storie, Sally Rawsthorne, Holly Friedlander, Michael Wong-See
Assistant Editor & Submissions - India McDonough india@spitpress.com
Contributors: Sasha Gover, Chris Dore, Nick How, Sarah Wright, Sarah Grant, Matt Byron, Tim Cooper, Evan Wilcox
Cover:
Special Thanks to: Oliver Tank, Hewett Cook, Jonathan Villanueva
Model: Georgie Jeffreys Photography: Zabrina Wong Assistant: Sophie Begley
Distribution - Sophie Begley sophie@spitpress.com
WHEREVER YOU ARE, HAVE A RAD ONE!
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HISTORY If the weatherman’s predictions about summer are accurate, then you’re sure to be getting nostalgic as you sit inside with a pot of iced tea while the rain falls against your window panes. It’s this time of the year, filled with family gatherings, work Christmas parties and present buying, when you think about past summers; of all the balmy flings, blurry nights and days at the beach. Looking back, we’ve explored the musical history of Operator Please, Boy & Bear and The Holidays, and found it takes more than just creativity to make it in the music game. We’ve also become very excited about the future of the creative community in Sydney. We spoke with innovative people who we’re sure will go down in history as having made an impact across art, photography, music or design. Our creative profile with Stacey Piggot, catch up with Wil Anderson and afternoon tea with Virginia Bruce from the r.e.a.l store will explain why better than we can ourselves. We hope you enjoy the 48 pages you’ve picked up off the floor and remember that we’re here to celebrate Sydney’s Creative Community. It’s been a big year for everyone involved in The Spit Press and we’re really excited about 2011 and all the creativity we’re yet to discover and explore in Sydney and beyond. We’ve definitely learnt a lot from our own little history. Have a great summer and don’t forget to look back sometimes. Tym & India.
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lo cal Andy is a Sydney based photographer who has been an admirer of photography for several years, but has only recently begun to shoot for his supper. He focuses mainly on portrait and music photography and has a keen eye for new and interesting faces. In addition to photography, Andrew also loves travelling, the music of Bruce Springsteen, and a good book. He is traveling in December and will have his first exhibition sometime in early 2011.
SPIT BU text/ tunes
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The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories is a collection of twenty-three illustrated Gothic tales from the dark corridors of the imagination of creative genius, Tim Burton. The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories has reached cult status with over half a million copies sold to date. Burton’s weird and wonderful tales in a special Christmas edition will be the perfect stocking filler, appealing to the young and old alike.
TRON: LEGACY in 3D is a hi tech tale set in a digital world that’s unlike anything ever captured on the big screen. Embark on a lifeand-death journey across a visuallystunning cyber universe. To secure 1 of 10 double passes to TRON: LEGACY tell us in 25 words or less what your universe looks like and we’ll pick the best answers!
BUCKET
The team behind underground world music venue Qirkz are proud to announce the launch of a new intimate performance space. The Camelot Lounge has an antique shop/circus appeal with lush red walls, vibrant, offbeat music related artifacts and camels…lots and lots of camels.The space boasts two stages: The Music Stage; complete with a gorgeous 1930s German Grand Piano and The Sideshow Stage; for musicians, magicians, burlesque and other carnivalesque offerings.
Do you have a friend going out with a schmuck? What you need is a professional heartbreaker – an irresistible man that can break up an unhappy relationship and save loved ones from an unsavoury life ahead. There is only one rule: he only agrees to get involved with women who are unhappy girlfriends. Heartbreaker; a modern romantic comedy shot amongst picturesque locations in the south of France, is a winning story of love, reminding us of the beauty of a free spirit versus predictability. To secure 1 of 10 double passes to Heartbreaker tell us in 25 words or less how you’d break up with a schmuck and we’ll pick the most creative answers as winners!
103 Railway Parade Marrickville, 2204 www.camelotlounge.com
Hôtel Costes Based in Central Paris, the opulent bar and courtyard café of The Hôtel Costes has for a long time been a hang-out for the world’s rich and famous. Giving music lovers across the globe a glimpse of how the other half lounge in luxury, ‘Hotel Costes’ the compilation series was born. Featuring blissful down-tempo rhythms from around the world, beautifully mixed with Parisian inspired beats by resident of Hotel Costes; Stéphane Pompougnac, Hotel Costes volume 14 is perfect for home chill-out. Out now through One World Music, prepare yourself for an indulgent audio journey to the city of love. To secure 1 of 2 copies of Hôtel Costes 14 tell us in 25 words or less who you’d take to Hôtel Costes and we’ll pick the most creative answers as winners!
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Love letters The Spit Press is wonderful, so full of imagination and beautiful art. Being somewhat of an artist myself I really connect with it. The beautiful people working behind the scenes should be proud of what they’ve created. I would like to confess my love and devotion to your mag, may we have a long lasting relationship! Kristen xo
Dear Spit Pressers
Dear Spit Press,
Hi there Spit Press,
It was inspiring to read Agatha Gothe-Snape’s interview in the article about Prima Vera this month.
Before I met you, I had never felt the tender touch of love. The concept was a foreigner to me: a strange hitchhiker I had driven past and thought, ‘sure, picking him up could be exciting, but I’ll do without.’ I heard people talk about it, but I didn’t believe the hype.
Just a bit of good old fan mail. I wanted to say that I admire the guts it would have taken to start a publication like The Spit Press. You pretty much embody Sydney’s creative scene with every new issue and I’d honestly like to thank you for giving me something with substance and humour to read on the train home from uni that isn’t the same mindless trash available in other free street press. Kudos for all the work you have put into your interviews and into your articles, they always seem to get a laugh out of me.
With fresh hope I believe that, if Gothe-Snape can milk Powerpoint for its creative potential and get her work shown, then I can milk Paint (yes, that Paint). I forget who it was that told me, “the greatest enemy of creativity is the absence of a limit”.. Keep it up. This is enjoyable reading! XX Cleo p.s. if Baz Luhrman does give Megan Washington a call, can you please tell us xx
But you made all the clichés come true. When I’m around you, I feel time stop (it’s really handy for when I’m running late). I thank someone (it’s hard to know who to thank when you’re an atheist) everyday for giving me the chance to be read you! Grins xo
I can’t wait for the next issue. Angela
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BOY & BEAR Tym Yee had a chat to Boy & Bear front man Dave Hosking about their journey as a band and Dave’s own musical history. Photos by Kristian Taylor Wood
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BOY & BEAR
T: Can you give us a brief history of Boy & Bear?
come from and those acts are a massive part of that.
D: It all started when I was doing a solo project and Jake our bass player had been helping me out for a while, and then Killian our guitar player came on board to help with shows and stuff and as soon as Tim our drummer came on board early last year the whole mood changed. It wasn’t a solo project anymore and there was a band vibe so we decided to change the name.
T: Who has been your favourite? Who have you learnt the most from?
T: What do you think would have happened if you’d continued to play as a solo artist?
T: Yeah, it was flawless...
D: I think it would have just been… still, plugging away, playing the same little rooms trying to get some momentum. I don’t have the talent to do this solo and these guys are really talented musicians.
D: I was a big John Mayer fan when I was younger. Hearing someone like John Mayer D: When we did Angus and Julia we were and then realising I wanted to play and do split. Our bass player and our drummer were whatever it was he was doing, well, that over with Laura and they played there a month opened up the door in terms of thinking that before we got there. It meant we did the this could actually be a possibility. I wanted Angus and Julia tour as a three piece. to write music and try and pursue this… and The Spit Press came to one of those shows… attempt an occupation (laughs).
D: Well, it was a stretch. When you’re used to playing with five people – drum and bass, it isn’t easy. That’s really tough to do with just three people. In terms of a tour, that was really good for us, playing in the biggest rooms we’ve ever played. In terms of artists though, I’m a huge Laura Marling fan.
T: Did your solo stuff influence Boy & Bear? D: I think it has to have influenced us. A lot of that stuff I don’t look back too fondly upon, but it was still a really important steppingstone for our process. In terms of the sound it’s completely different but music is still music and you still get better at it the more you do it.
T: What is it like being away from your family and friends for so long when you’re playing these awesome gigs?
D: It’s hard. Like any job it has its pros and cons. I guess being away from your loved ones is the down side. But as soon as it gets tough you realise there’s a million other bands T: You were touring this year with a lot of big who would give their left arm to be here. You acts, what has it been like on the road with learn to swallow it and get on with it. We’re Angus & Julia Stone and Laura Marling? getting better with touring. I think it gets easier the more you do it. D: It’s been pretty amazing; like a crash course in experience. From last November until the T: Your brother James is part of Sydney DJ middle of June we were on the road. That band The Gameboys and your father is quite was tour after tour after tour. It has definitely musical… is there a strong musical history in thickened our skin, as well as letting us learn the family? so much from the acts you mentioned. They’ve been around for years and they’re veterans. D: Yes and no I guess. My dad has always You sort of just do it. You hope to jump out with played guitar and sung… he’s the musician more experience at the end. You don’t really in the immediate family. I assume somewhere realise it until the end; that you’ve been all in the genetic line there’s someone, hopefully, around Australia and to the UK. We played who played something (laughs)… probably my just under 70 shows in the first 6 months of this year. In hindsight you realise where you’ve 10 | THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 5
T: And what about you personally, do you remember the first time you really wanted to pursue music?
dad’s side. I’ve thought of this… but I have no idea why this is (more laughter).
T: Well that’s a humble beginning and now you guys are doing pretty well. What’s in store for the future? D: (Laughs) We’re going to try and record our album early next year. That’s the biggest thing at the moment. Amongst touring, as soon as we’re home that’s what we’re doing. The record will be about 12 months of experience in terms of tracks that have been written over the past year. As far as I know, there is some sort of game plan for after the record. I think after January we might go overseas and see if we can build some momentum there and then come back to Australia and hopefully do a tour of our full length album. T: That’s exciting for you guys… D: Yeah, you sort of forget. You do an EP and it’s a big project, then you’ve got to do a full record and they’re just huge projects – the amount of songs and time. T: Good luck with the record, we’ll all be waiting. D: Thanks; we really appreciate this kind of stuff. T: Well, after Frankie and then Yen… The Spit Press seems like the logical progression... D: (Laughs) It is. It’s the only way to do things these days.
THE DEFINITION OF MUSIC
Music defines us even when we are unaware. Caitlyn Adamson writes about the mystical power of certain little tunes that seem to resurrect old dusty parts of our history; the ones we welcome warmly and the ones we desperately push away.
There I was, driving and enjoying my sweet ass self while listening to <insert band here> with the buddy I was driving home with, unaware of what was looming overhead. Then all of a sudden, BAM! Shit hit the fan. Monumentally. Things were said. Poison was thrown. What began as a drive between two friends ended in silence, pent up anger and an aborted friendship. The next day, still bruised and infuriated with the aforementioned events I barged down the door of another friend’s house who – although busy with work and not exactly listening – allowed me to pour my bittersweet temper in and around her room.
I decided I needed mending after a band I totally dug was forever tainted. Relax, maybe make myself a strong drink, and put on my boss headphones and listen to records. Halfway through Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde I remember thinking to myself “wow, this brings back memories”, and then it hit me. Almost every CD or album I own reminds me of specific events, people and places from my past. I decided to explore the first few albums I picked up.
“This sucks, man! Now I can’t ever listen to <insert band here> again without feeling all bitter and twisted inside...You know what I mean, right? When music just reminds you of somebody or something?” (Typing ferociously) “I guess so...Oh! Do you mean like, whenever I hear Enrique Iglesias I always think of that topless photoshoot he did for GQ magazine a few years back?” “...Not exactly –“
The Beatles, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band: Every road trip my family ever went on.
“Yeah...that’s awesome.” (Continues typing)
and centre. Whenever I hear Passion Pit I recall Who knows, something good might come along being wedged against a gigantic man, blinded just when you’re starting to sing along again.
Phoenix, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix: Summer 2009, the warmth, driving to the beach at sunrise, sleeping in the backseat of a 4WD, and watching the sun come up.
Foo Fighters, Skin and Bones: That weird pop/ punk/rock phase I went through as a tween. Barbie Party Slumber Mix: When my sister and I used to play Barbies and I always had to be Ken. My mind was blown, but it was tough. My musical memories were either cruel or fantastical and effected my whole life left, right
because his sweat droplets kept falling like Niagara Falls into my eyes...*shudders*. Snow Patrol (don’t judge me) reminds me of when my friend chundered everywhere at their concert. And The Doors are forever tainted due to an incident involving gypsies, a ukulele and 100 pesos (I’m joking, I just needed an excuse to not like The Doors). But the good outweighs the bad. Sentimental melodies always seem to triumph. Whenever I hear Frank Sinatra I remember me and my sister as tiny and fashionably inadequate children standing on our Dad’s feet as he foxtrotted us around the kitchen. Earth, Wind & Fire remind me of an Easter long weekend years ago when my mother and her distant relatives sat around the kitchen one night reminiscing about the past and the recent death of their uncle. Jeff Buckley reminds me of curling up on lounges or friend’s beds and just listening to him sing when we get too tired of laughing or talking. Funnily enough even though some of my musical history is tainted by my past, it doesn’t mean it can’t be resurrected for the future. Why waste good music on shit times? Why dwell on the past? My advice? Play some old tunes that might be a little bit painful to hear, and play them loud.
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Where there’s a Wil there’s a way.
Edwina Storie caught up with everyone’s favourite funny guy Wil Anderson and asked, how do you make a career of your creativity? Comedian Wil Anderson didn’t have a lucky connection in the industry, in fact, he didn’t even grow up in a city where comedians toured. Living in the tiny country town of Denison with his father, on the same road as his grandfather, Anderson was the first person in his family to complete a university degree. But once he finished his degree he still had a niggling feeling that he hadn’t quite hit the target yet. “Having grown up in an area that was so isolated, I wanted to connect with the outside world. Because of the Internet, life isn’t as isolating these days. No matter how isolated you are you can still connect with people. Even if you feel like you’re the only one in the world who likes the key- change in Bon Jovi’s Living On a Prayer, you can find a Facebook group of people who think the same way. Growing up, nobody really thought the same way I did, and when you’re 14 you don’t go around telling people you want to do comedy. I didn’t have the courage to admit it to myself until I was 22 – to try this thing called comedy.” Starting out he threw himself into open-mic nights to test if he could make something of the art he had always been drawn to, but was only just discovering. He worked three part-time jobs including delivering the census
you have no self worth. I’d dread going out to dinner with my friends because I couldn’t pay the bill. When people asked me what I was doing I couldn’t say I was a comedian because I wasn’t… I do wonder if the first gig I did had gone really badly would I have done it again? My second gig was actually really bad but by then you’re 50/50 and the third time you go back to make your mind up.” Discovering the romance of expressing yourself and the battle of refining a skill that you pin your hopes on is a different experience for every artist. When it comes to a career of the arts, there seems to be a constant mentality of win or lose with no grey area in between. “People always have this idea that you have to be good at something for it to be worth trying but that’s bullshit. The desire to be perfect stifles creativity. You learn more from being shit than being good. Some of the best experiences I have had in my life have been things I have not been good at and have not worked out… I don’t see the joy in being 100 percent right because then how do you get better? You just learn something [from those situations] and make it better next time… as quick as you possibly can.”
and being a graveyard-shift glassy. “They were hard and embarrassing times because
When you’re at that point in your life would be my story; that one day I would be when things are starting to get serious; when telling how I had a crack at comedy.”
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responsibilities and future prospects of art and inspiration are faced with friends who are saving up mortgage deposits and buying investment properties how do you keep at your creativity? How do you keep motivated to spend time studying a field you know can be unreliable, or in years of free interning knowing that if they offer you a job the pay will be pitiful? Everyone has a different reason. “I fell in love with comedy as a stage for communicating ideas. I wanted to be an artist and be able to travel the world and communicate with people who shared similar ideas” said Anderson. “That’s what I’m excited by and that’s what I admire. I don’t want to be 60 and think ‘why didn’t I have a crack at that?’ My mate Lehmo [the radio personality] was chatting with a highschool friend who had studied hard, gone to uni, made lots of money and dedicated his life to work.” Lehmo admired the financial security that his friend had established for himself and was telling him how lucky he was. The friend replied to Lehmo, ‘when we’re 60, we’ll be sitting on my porch, but we’ll be listening to your stories.’ “I think you identify with one or the other” Anderson said. “Do you want to own the porch, or the stories? …Even if I failed at comedy I think that
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THE REAL DEAL
Being invited around for tea by strangers isn’t your normal afternoon affair, but after chatting with Virginia Bruce about her new store in Woolloomooloo we quickly realised that this wasn’t an ordinary retail shop and that reaching out to strangers is what the r.e.a.l store is all about. We couldn’t help but do our bit and spread the word. For real. SP: What is the r.e.a.l store? The r.e.a.l store is a showcase for social, ethical and sustainable design and living. Ordinary products with extraordinary messages, positive social change, brands that are inspired, people who are passionate. All products sold in the r.e.a.l store contribute to supporting various charities, causes and communities from around the world. SP: What are you trying to achieve? Our vision is to create a brand that demonstrates the ability to merge profit for good and philanthropy into a sustainable business model that focuses on ‘paying it forward’ - creating a win win without compromise to any aspect of the supply chain, the consumer’s experience, or the quality and aesthetic of the final product. SP: What can people buy in your store? The concept isn’t product based, so a really broad range of products can fit within it. We’re currently selling furniture, homewares, ceramics, clothing, jewellery, candles, soaps and books. SP: Why should consumers feel good when they leave your store with a purchase? Well, most of the time they feel good because they’ve bought a special piece that they will 14 | THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 5
hang on too. It’s also something that has been hand made and we always know who by, so there is a special connection there that shrinks the world into a tiny little bite sized piece. That connectivity always makes the world more manageable for people. They also leave with the knowledge that 10% of profit from their purchase has gone to charity. We’re currently working with the Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation to raise funds for Indigenous literacy and we’re working with Save the Children to raise funds for education facilities in the DRC. I think people should feel good with the knowledge that by doing something nice for themselves, they’re also doing good by someone else. We call this the continuum. SP: Why is the r.e.a.l store important to the creative community? I think conceptually it’s really inspiring. Also we’re touching on some sensitive issues that everybody else is too scared to say out loud. For instance our Protect the Child Campaign, conceived by COFA graduate Jason Giam, tackles the issue of conflict minerals in the DRC. Minerals such as gold, tanelum, tin and tungsten are mined by the Congolese militia, then used in our phones, laptops and all other personal electronic devices. For this reason anyone with a brand image doesn’t want to touch it because they either sell electronics, use them, or both. Creatives on the other hand can really stick their necks out. All the employees at the r.e.a.l store are from creative backgrounds and we still
work with the College of Fine Arts, implementing our mentor program Hand Up which is an initiative of Hands That Shape Humanity, which I guess you could call the parent of the r.e.a.l store.On the less controversial side of creativity, we promote sustainable design products. Sustainability is a key issue in the world today and everybody’s creative cogs are whirring, trying to come up with ideas on how to do what’s been done for years and years in a different way. We want creatives to come to us with their sustainable products, art that is a call to action, and we also want to support the creative community by sharing our press. Our main concern is to raise awareness about our causes, so we’ll support some people and rely on the support of others. It’ll all work out in the end. We work in the philosophy of paying it forward. SP: What can people do to help the r.e.a.l store and it’s causes? Really all you need to do is buy a product and you’re helping. If you really want to help, log onto our website and make a donation to the cause you choose. You could also help us get the word out there about conflict minerals in the DRC or tell everyone you know that only one in five indigenous kids can read! Information like this really speaks to people, and if we want to make change, people have to know what is we’re changing and why. There are all kinds of ways to donate. You can make a one off donation or become a sponsor, and sponsor a pop-up library in an indigenous community, for example.
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LESS IS MORE ‘Language elitist’ India McDonough comes to terms with the rise of text speak.
Language is changing, and has been for as long as we’ve been speaking. But for the first time it’s happening quickly enough for us to notice it, and rebel against it if we want to. Which in some ways is a good thing, I don’t really want to live in a world where people say LOL instead of laughing. But at what point is it fruitless or unnecessaryor even counter-productive to an emerging culture- to rebel against this new way of communicating? Although I cringed at hearing a pre-teen farewell her friends on a train recently by saying TTYL, I was secretly impressed by how naturally it was said and accepted. When did Internet abbreviations become accepted in speech? How has this so quickly become normal? As someone who doesn’t blog and only rarely uses Facebook chat (and still uses proper punctuation in texts, I cant help it!) this phenomenon might seem stranger to me than to others. I understand the convenience of acronyms when typing, it’s when they make their way into spoken language that it becomes interesting, and yes, a little perplexing. Especially when it seems harder to say TTYL than ‘talk to you later’. Obviously it isn’t just the Hannah Montana generation who abuse language in this way. I have friends who do this in texts and emails (thus my understanding of the overheard conversation). But it’s when people can have entire conversations of abbreviations and understand each other that it’s no longer a passing trend but a permanent change in the way we use and view the English language. If kids are talking this way now they’re going to continue to do so, and so is every generation to follow. There’s a reason we say ‘tomorrow’ instead of ‘on the morrow’. It’s
- thanks to the Internet the world is a lot smaller and changes can come about a lot faster. Not to mention the changes weren’t quite so annoying before. That many people don’t realise just how many words have changed and evolved is proof of the malleability of language. This is one of the reasons words are so great. So why do I automatically put on my judging face when I hear people using language in a new way? And I’m hearing it more and more. As a lover of language who has often been called a Grammar Nazi, my natural inclination is to resist this trend at all costs, turn my nose up at it and continue to speak ‘properly’. But when you think about it, if you’re understood by those you’re speaking to, then language is serving its function. By closing myself off from this emerging culture of speech, the risk of misunderstanding comes from my own stubbornness in sticking to a pre-conceived idea of what ‘proper’ means. Language is adaptable, fluid and changeable. I try to be open-minded about everything else, so why not what I’m passionate about? If things like language were set in stone creative freedom would be impossible and nothing new would ever be able to emerge. Although using abbreviations instead of words may initially seem like the dumbing down of language - and maybe it is - surely there is something to be said for originality? We should be creative with language, and the fact that this is even possible is one of the most amazing things about it. And as they say (although it may be somewhat dramatic in this context), evolve or die. So while you’ll probably never hear me utter TTYL myself, I fully intend to stifle my gag reflex the next time I hear someone else say it.
only alarming now because for the first time we can see it happening
I may even LOL.
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Winner: On the Road poster design competition. By Matt Lauricella
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Fishing in the deep end What do Tegan & Sara, The Waifs, The Jezabels, swimmer Meagan Nay and major music festivals like the Falls Festival and Sunset Sounds all have in common? They’re all represented by Two Fish Out Of Water Publicity, the brainchild of Stacey Piggott. Adam Byrne sat down with Stacey to discuss working for yourself and creating your own company out of the things you love.
A: What exactly is it that Two Fish Out Of Water does?
and started a contact list of music writers. And started calling people.
S: We create, develop and implement publicity campaigns for musicians, events and public figures nationally, across print, online, on TV and radio.
A: Having accomplished so much in the 12 years as a company, are there still goals you would like to reach?
A: So how did ‘Two Fish Out of Water’ begin? S: Life is short and you spend so much of it working, you should do something that makes you want to get out of bed each day. The only way I could do this would be to work for myself, so I started my own thing.
S: I would like to get more people working here, we work with such brilliant clients and I would love to give more people who genuinely love music the opportunity to have this type of job. A:What would be your advice to people aspiring to follow your path?
S: Be prepared to work hard, be honest and A: Where did the name come from? Is there a foster loyalty between you and your clients. Keep story behind it? in mind that you could be the link that results in an artist being able to live off their art, the harder S: The name comes from me being a Piscean you work the more chance they will have to give (Two Fish), and having no idea what I was up their day job. Only take on clients you love. doing at the time (out of my depth). I was only It’s hard to push something if you don’t believe in 21 and I quit my full time job to be a freelance it yourself. journalist. I ended up getting some freelance PR work at ABC TV, and was also waitressing at A: What has been your biggest challenge with a Mexican restaurant in Bondi, as was Donna starting your own company in the industry? Simpson (The Waifs). She asked me if I would do some publicity on their album Sink Or Swim, S: I didn’t really have any challenges. I was so I thought it would be fun so I went and sat young and so inexperienced at the time that my on the floor of the newsagency in Bondi and ignorance didn’t allow anything to stand in my went through all the papers and magazines way. I had no idea what I was doing, so I had
no idea of what I couldn’t do. We’re lucky to have clients who are incredibly loyal and we have been able grow with them. A: What are the differences between working with musicians and sporting personalities? S: It’s kind of similar actually, it just involves a different timeline and outlets. It’s still a brand with a human voice behind it telling some kind of story. We love them both. One day we’re screaming at the TV when Meagan is swimming to win gold at the Commonwealth Games, the next we are whistling at a show for a band we love. A: Where do you see Two Fish Out Of Water going in the future? S: We’re continually evolving to keep up with the industry and our clients’ needs. We work primarily with independent artists, so if we can offer them a more rounded service we can undertake a more solid campaign. We are now covering all facets of promo, from traditional print, to radio plugging, film clip servicing, and online and social media campaigns. I think all publicity companies will need to move into this style of business structure down the line to survive, it makes it easier for the artists to have one company running the show, especially if they’re touring internationally. THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 5 | 19
Will History Remember Them? The past is a big place, in which much of what was important becomes irrelevant. Sally Rawsthorne writes
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Although history only sees what manages to survive the filter that is time, we’d like to think that we’ll remember the atrocities committed in the name of love, war and peace. But what about what doesn’t become history? What about the terrible accidents of birth that mean persecution and starvation for the unlucky ones who go unrecorded, and the tragedies that are too common in our world, but not noted by history? Tsomo Arora* came to Sydney in 2005 with some members of her family, as a refugee. Her story is incomprehensibly sad. It will never make the history books, and will never go down in history as a tragedy; it will barely go down in history at all. There are no photos to accompany this article because when you leave your life behind, photos are not a priority. Tsomo tells me that she had a happy childhood in the Tibetan countryside. “We smile, do cooking, go swim in the river lots. Much fun,” she emphasizes. Ideas of sovereignty have floated around the Tibetan plateau since the area became part of China, but had never made much difference to the life of a small girl enjoying childhood. To Tsomo’s older brother, these ideas were more than just that; they represented the right of statehood and self-determination, a welcome respite from the second-class citizens that he felt Tibetans were. Sovereignty consumed him. Discussing her older brother, even in the chaos of the family’s tiny two-person unit that sleeps eight family members, makes Tsomo nervous. Her eyes dart from side to side and her hands shake.
These nerves are understandable – even saying his name is terrifying, given the devastating consequences his beliefs in Tibetan independence had on her family. Tsomo warned me that she doesn’t like talking about it. The friendly and eager to please girl I discussed cooking lessons with ten minutes ago is gone, replaced by a mute, wooden girl whose only words are a quiet, defeated “He was taken. Same my sister, who at home then. They say that they find us else, and get us also.” A rich family by Tibetan standards, they were fortunate to have the funds to leave. But money can’t save you from persecution or hatred. Tsomo and her family were forced to leave Tibet, then China itself; being the family of a dissident doesn’t do much good in the People’s Republic. They came to Australia, and for the most part, live happy and unremarkable lives. Or, at least, as happy and unremarkable a life as can be lived by someone whose brother and sister were taken by the police because of what they believed in, someone who had to flee their home and everything they knew, someone whose history is intertwined with panic and tragedy. Yet, outside “FREE TIBET” bumper stickers, this history is barely known by the world. Tsomo smiles when she tells me “Nobody knows things about Tibet; I must tell them myself.” How will history remember the tragedies of Tibet, when we’ve already forgotten them?
* Name has been changed, at the request of her and her family. THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 5 | 21
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OPERATOR PLEASE The gloves were off as Amandah Wilkinson from Operator Please told Tym Yee about making mistakes, taking control and being THAT high school band.
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operator please
T: Congratulations with the success of Gloves! T: How much of a say do you guys get Being your second album, have you learnt a when it comes to big decisions like lot since Yes, Yes Vindictive? international touring? A: Totally. I think when you do it the first time around you’re at the stage of establishing yourself so you kind of need to do everything. This time around knowing what to expect and knowing how to go about things you can learn from all the previous things you’ve done, mistakes or otherwise. This time around it’s more refined.
T: We went to your gig at the Metro earlier this year and it was really tight. We loved the covers you guys were doing; Push It by Salt ‘n Pepa, Destiny’s Child, No Doubt… where did this come from?
A: I wouldn’t be in this if I didn’t have control over everything we do. When you come into something like this it’s your creative mind, it’s A: I guess as a band we’ve all just always everything you do and I would never hand that loved pop music. There’s nothing better than to over to anybody to make any decisions for us. pay homage to the artists you like to listen to. If people aren’t familiar with your new stuff it’s T: Good on you… good to inject a little bit of fun into the night. Something familiar but not expected from a A: Yeah, because the industry is embracing band like us…but I think really it’s just because T: What are some of the mistakes you’ve technology and the Internet I think that it’s a time we love pop music. made in the past? when bands that do everything by themselves can actually take control of the tools they use to T: Speaking of the unexpected, you produced A: Things like going overseas to do extensive do things like self-promotion. A lot of the bands Gloves yourself, what was that like? touring when we kind of didn’t need to. It’s always that rely heavily on their label to do a lot of things good to get overseas and stuff, but there’s not a for them are the ones that are disappearing. A: It was probably the most stressful time of my lot of point if it’s not a decent set up and you’re life. But I’m really glad that I put all the effort not going to get heaps out of it. Having said that, T: I think it also comes down to the live into the production because it’s exactly how I we did get heaps out of touring, but when you’re show too. Lately there’s been a shift – a lot wanted it. The problem you get when you get constantly having to go back and forth rather than is riding on the band’s live performance a big shot producer on board is that you’re actually just staying there… what we should have and it’s about the skill of the musician, not always going to have a creative power battle done is stay there instead of spending money necessarily the resources of the label… between artist and producer. I pretty much went on heaps and heaps of flights. But that’s all just into the production without knowing too much part of promoting a record in about four different A: It has been flipped around. If people are about it but I was determined to push through countries at the same time. In hindsight, timing is going to a show and you play a really good set, and know everything about it. I had times what you need to take notice of. they’re going to want to listen to something later. when I was going crazy. I didn’t get any time 24 | THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 5
to breathe or step away from it and that was probably the hardest thing – working on it from stupid hour in the morning until stupid hour at night, getting three hours sleep and then doing it all again the next day.
T: Is it frustrating that people always allude back to your high school days? Do you get boxed in as just being that high school band?
A: A little bit, but that’s not something we have control over. It’s up to the people to decide T: Having spent so long with the 10 songs on what they want to see us as. Everybody grows your last album, does it do your head in that up and you get older and that influences and you have to then tour them for the next year changes your music. I like the fact that we’re or more? younger and we’ve got a lot of steam to go, but I don’t think it’s fair to put us back into the A: I think it’s more rewarding than anything else. high school days if you haven’t properly listened At the end of the day you want to get to your live to any of our records or songs. performance. That’s where you enjoy the benefits of making a studio record and slaving away T: What are some of the negative things that over it. You are able to play them and feel like come about as a result of being so young? you have ownership over them. When you’re in the studio writing you don’t feel like you own the A: I guess when people who are older than you songs until you go out and play them, then you feel like they can’t listen to your music because can fully appreciate what you’ve written. The live they can’t listen to someone who’s younger. Not aspect turns everything on its head. so much now, but back then, yeah. ‘Oh yeah, will they stand the test of time?’ – it’s bullshit… T: Yeah, it must feel awesome to have people just because we were young? It was so bullshit. sing along to lyrics you wrote in your lounge... We fucking worked really hard to get where we are and I’m not ashamed to say that and I’m A: And the fact that they could take something not ashamed to say that we deserve everything away from it and it could mean something that we get because we worked so hard, we totally different to what it means to you, yeah. sacrificed so much. We didn’t buy into all the bullshit about rock star lifestyles and all that T: Are you the main songwriter? shit, because it’s so not true. You put your head down and you focus, you don’t take notice A: I’ve always been the main songwriter. On of anything that’s going on with the press and our last record, Gloves, Tim (drummer) stepped things like that. You don’t notice it while you do up to the plate, so that was really good. Before it, it’s more about remaining focused and setting I was quite a selfish writer, but then on this a goal and making sure you get there. record when Tim stepped up, I found co-writing was a whole new world. Tim is the really nice T: That being said, I totally saw a 40one, who writes all the nice songs, all the bright something-year-old dude at your gig and he melodies. I’m the opposite, I write all the dirty was so into it… like, really, really into it… dark stuff. It’s a good partnership. A: (Laughs) I think with our live shows it can be T: Tim has been around since the beginning… different. There’s quite a broad spectrum there. This time at our shows there weren’t a lot of A: From the very beginning of Operator Please really, really young people, it was more 17 and there’s only three original members…Taylor (the older which is new for us. violinist) was there from the beginning when we were starting to get lots of press and then T: You’ve done a lot in only a short period we switched keyboard players in 2008 – Tim’s of time, what’s the biggest thing you can cousin Chris. appreciate from the history of Operator Please up until now? T: I was under the impression that Taylor wasn’t an original member and that she was A: Just everything we’ve achieved so far and brought in later on… knowing that it’s only going to be moving forward. I’m all about putting out releases that A: Well she’s not an original member from high you actually like and believe are quality rather school, but she is an original member from Yes, than putting out so many records that you Yes wive and the EPs prior to that. compromise your art. THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 5 | 25
operator please
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Turning the Page with Oliver Jeffers. Sasha Govor and beloved children’s author, illustrator and painter Oliver Jeffers discuss the future of the printed page As a child, the things Oliver Jeffers looked forward to most were being tall and driving a car. Now, at 33, he is a painter, illustrator and writer who has won and been shortlisted for a multitude of awards including The Irish Book Awards ‘Children’s Book of the Year’, The Blue Peter Book Award and, most recently, The British Book Design and Production Award. Some of his most popular titles include Lost and Found, How to Catch a Star, and The Heart and the Bottle. So beautiful and warm are these stories that I wish I had had them on my shelf when I was a child, right beside Wombat Stew and The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Jeffers speaks of how the stories in his picture books are consciously devoid of any specific time and place. “The characters, too, are usually pretty vague, and this is so the books can be set anywhere and at any time; anyone reading the books can become the characters”. In a world always moving faster, where each minute is catalogued, where we are riddled with guilt over squandered responsibilities because we never have enough time, how can time and place be irrelevant in fiction? Jeffers explains that on a book tour in Mexico, “The kids thought the books were set in Mexico and that the boy was one of them”. The same happened on a book tour in Malaysia. Children are defined not by the past or their fear of the future, but by the raw human emotions they feel in the presentloneliness, love, yearning for adventure and discovery. This is the magic of the printed page. Even adults find themselves picking up Jeffers’ books and touching the spine, smelling the pages. I’ve caught people doing this in bookstores. There is an aesthetic
pleasure in picture books. They remind us of the arms of a beloved parent, a soothing voice washing over us as we fall asleep. The issues dealt with in these books never leave us; whether it’s Max yearning for escape in Where the Wild Things Are, the children searching for adventure in The Magic Faraway Tree, or now, in Jeffers’ The Heart and the Bottle, the girl dealing with heartbreak and loss. But as time hurtles us into the digital age, what will happen to the art of reading? Already, music has changed drastically, with CDs giving way to Mp3. Is the tangibility of a printed page doomed to become obsolete? Jeffers says not to be afraid of this. “Books have been around for thousands of years… physically turning a printed page is more deeply hardwired into us than any music equivalent.” Instead of fighting change, Jeffers is embracing it. In fact he is now in the process of turning The Heart and the Bottle into an iPad application. “One thing that will not change is the need for content. People still want to read stories; it’s really just the platforms that are evolving.” History is not being erased by our fast paced tumble. The world still wants a narrative—a story that they can relate to—and this is why Jeffers’ books are so adored. They take us back to a simpler time when catching a star seemed possible, where love and friendship seemed easy. These themes are timeless, and whether we read about them on hardback or on an iPad, ebook or iPhone, the story will still touch us. The little boy and girl who Jeffers writes about so beautifully, are, and always will be, us. THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 5 | 29
featuring
Chocolate Coated Festive Marshmallow Stars This is the time of the year, whether you celebrate Christmas or not, that traditions kick into gear. Moving out of home is when you become your own person. Whilst you would
What you will need:
argue your new lifestyle is far better than what it was back at home, our parents 5 different sized star shaped cookie cutters - the different sized packs you can are the ones who equipped us with the basics so we can (as much as they
pick up from most homeware stores are perfect for this occasion.
would like to never admit it) fully function on our own. It is with these basic skills, such as washing dishes, boiling rice and
Method:
dusting, that we are able to create our own routines and rituals. Week in, week 1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees. out, we practice the finer arts of laundry and roasting meats so that we can
2. Microwave butter until soft. With an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar
impress our friends and families when it comes our time to host dinner parties
together until light and fluffy.
and yearly rituals.
3. Sift flours together in a separate bowl. Fold flours and vanilla essence into
This Christmas holiday is the time when the histories of both mine and
butter mixture in two parts.
Zabâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s upbringing will come together with the evolution of our independence.
4. When just combined, turn mixture onto lightly floured surface and knead until
We will share the skills we have developed, and create our own version of
dough comes together and is smooth. This should take 2-5 minutes.
Christmas dinner. We will throw on our aprons, pre-heat the oven and share a
5. Re-flour your surface and roll out the dough to 1cm thickness.
well deserved turkey leg with our closest friends.
6. With different sized star cutters, cut 4 of each size star and lay onto a grease papered oven tray.
Throw your diet to the wind,
7. Bake for 20 minutes and allow to fully cool. Shortbread Complete.
Sophie and Zabrina
[Once all of the shortbread has been cooked, the oven is no longer needed] 8. With the electric mixer, combine corn syrup, egg white and salt until thick.
Chocolate Coated Festive Marshmallow Stars
9. Sift in icing sugar and mix on low speed until combined.
8-15 Marshmallow Sandwiches
10. Add vanilla essence and mix until combined. Marshmallow Fluff complete. 11. Match shortbread stars by size and in groups of two.
Ingredients:
12. Scoop about a teaspoon of jam onto one side of a star and spread across
Sweet Shortbread:
Marshmallow Fluff:
the surface.
250g Butter
165mL Light Corn Syrup
13. With another same sized star, scoop about a teaspoon of the fluff onto one
250g Plain Flour
1 Egg White
side and spread across the surface.
150g Rice Flour
A pinch of Salt
14. Push both the jam sided star and the fluff sided star together and place on
75g Caster Sugar
85g Icing Sugar
a flat surface in the fridge.
1tsp Vanilla Essence
1 tsp Vanilla Essence
15. Repeat this same process until all stars have been merged and are setting in
Approx 1/2 cup Raspberry Jam
the fridge. Leave to completely set for about 15 minutes.
300g Dark, Milk or White Cooking
16. Melt down the chocolate in either a microwave bowl or double boiled over
Chocolate
a low heat on the stove.
Icing Sugar (for decoration)
17. Line a flat tray with baking paper and take the set stars one by one, and completely submerge them in the melted chocolate, place on a tray lined with baking paper and set back in the fridge for a further 15 minutes. 18. Serve stars with a dust of icing sugar and a cold glass of milk.
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A LEARNING CURVE It’s hard to watch bad things happen, but what is learnt along the way is immeasurable. Holly Friedlander writes
One of the most difficult things in life is watching those closest to you make mistakes. I find that it’s like watching a little kid tugging on a tablecloth. Part of you wants to yell out and stop them, however they need to learn that gravity will win. Maybe everything will be okay, or maybe they’ll end up covered in orange juice and chocolate cake, but I guarantee you they won’t do it again. After the tears subside, true ‘enlightenment’ can be revelled in. As a habitual mistake maker (I’m not proud of this), I’ve dealt with a wide spectrum of feelings – pain, guilt, and inner turmoil among others. Pain reflective of that I’ve caused, guilt responsive to this infliction of pain and a prolonged inner turmoil of questions with no answers. As a result, I feel I am an expert on the subject of self-induced agony. A very good friend of mine is currently keeping himself on a past love’s hook, unable to escape the malicious cycle of perpetual torment. It seems as if he will be forever running back to the one who hurt him the most. Instead of getting up and walking away from the towering table that threatens his sanity, he continues to constantly pull at its cloth, hoping for anything but just desserts. As someone who has faced my own fair share of heartbreak, I tend to take any measure to prevent others from experiencing unnecessary hardship. That being said, it is extremely difficult getting through to people who are so deeply involved in the emotional game of decisions and their repercussions. A person entangled in a web of mistakes is deaf to helpful words. They must find their own way out of their self-created situation.
Conscious or not, past wrongdoings shape us, and our treatment of self and of others. Only once we break through the surface of awareness can clarity reawaken, and the purity of self-realisation rejuvenate. As James Joyce one said, “a man’s errors are his portals of discovery.” Mistakes are just that; they provide first hand knowledge of how to live one’s life, something that no amount of third person teaching can prepare you for. There is something infinitely raw about being closely attuned to your own decisions (bad or not), with every drop of emotion being felt – absorbed through every fibre of your being. The greatest portals of discovery open during the extremities of human emotion. We learn that, as hard as it can be, everyone must be given a chance to make his or her own mistakes. Friends and enemies alike need to learn the best way to treat others, and how to find inner strength to escape the vicious cycle of unhealthy relationships. As a friend, our responsibility is not to stop this curve of learning, but rather to be there at the end to pick up the pieces and help make sense of it all. Let your friends tug hard at the tablecloths underlying their lives - it may turn a little messy but after a long period of cleaning up, relationships will be strengthened and inner truths learnt. In retrospect, it’ll make for an interesting story, whether it falls on deaf ears or not.
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Approach Photographer: Toby Marosszeky Designs/Styling: Gabriel Lee Model: Jade Randell Make up: Bonita Chan Hair: Linh Nguyen
Photographer Toby Marosszeky has been working hard and fast at creating a name for himself within the ever competitive world of fashion photography. After recently shooting an album cover for the latest installment in a series that has sold over 430,000 records, it looks like the hard work might just be starting to pay off. www.tobymphoto.com Twenty three year old designer Gabriel Lee was born and raised in South Korea before moving to Australia to study fashion just after graduating high school. Gabriel took internships at Australian fashion labels such as Willow and Akira Isogawa. Before and since graduating as â&#x20AC;&#x153;most outstanding major projectâ&#x20AC;? from Raffles College of Design and Commerce at North Sydney in 2009, Gabriel has entered and won numerous awards/competitions in and out of Australia. Gabriel gains his inspirations from all the little things that happen around him. He focuses on keeping silhouettes and having simple lines with bold details. Gabriel Lee is doing his best to launch his own label within Australia and internationally.
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8 Parts of a Long Weekend Shaun Freeman is a photographer originally from the beautiful Central Coast, and it comes through in 8 Parts of a Long Weekend. He just exhibited his work at China Heights Gallery, and is about to take off on a trip across Australia, taking photos all the way. For info on where you can see his next show, keep an eye on http://leftinvacancy.blogspot.com/.
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I am drawn to you in different ways is like saying ‘a girl can be like the sea’.
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Look south. After a few beers and spliffs with a friend we came to the conclusion that it’s good luck to head clock wise around Oz when traveling. Might be true, might not be, sounded nice though. So south we go. Back to the city from up the coast is when your body and mind are in two different places. Taken to a greener pasture. To play in the ocean is a greener pasture. Whetherwith a board or just your belly. I’ve been thinking of you all night. When you’re drunk with no money and gotta walk home. You’re in shit and your head is just saying - wish I was with my girl. Film on girl. I ruined a roll of film so I tied it around a girl and turned up the Duran Duran song ‘Girls on Film’ and made her dance. The birds are a little cheeky. THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 5 | 39
When the city won’t leave is when a negative thought keeps recurring in you, it’s like its own city inside. You can be somewhere beautiful and it’s still there.
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Get Ready for The Holidays Caitlyn Adamson gets excited about The Holidays, a change in season and all things summer
The Holidays have monumentally crashed into the Australian music scene with the release of their outstanding debut album “Post Paradise”. With plenty of air time on Triple J and other rad radio stations, their hit tracks “Moonlight Hours”, “Golden Sky” and “Broken Bones” are really setting the scene for Summer Music and the warm season. What’s not to love about a band that combines the glorious fusion of psychadelic pop, rock and - most of all - a sweet set of bongos? Things are really starting to pick up for this Sydney based foursome and, even though their album was a long time coming, they couldn’t be happier with the result. “It feels pretty good to finally have it finished and out on the shelf for people to see”, says Will Magnus - keys and vocals. After touring with the likes of Jamie T, The Temper Trap and Little Red, the band kicked off their nationwide tour with Papa vs. Pretty. When reflecting on the long 18 months of recording and writing the band were grateful and relieved; “We kind of just recorded where ever we could; we’d use friend’s houses and bandmate’s houses, living rooms, bedrooms. We recorded as much as we could at one place until they got sick of us (laughs). It was great though, it resulted in a really unique sound. On one of the tracks you can hear birds in the background, that wasn’t actually planned, we were at a beach house that wasn’t very sound proof, but when we listened back on it we really liked it so we kept the birds in.” With two EP releases before the birth of their album, the band is embracing the change from recording to live shows, both at venues
and festivals. “I think it’s just a really good change from the long year of recording and song writing we’ve had. It’s hard work, but it’s nice to play in different cities with different crowds and see how they receive our music. When they sing along you think ‘wow, how’d they even hear about this song in the first place?’ It’s weird but great.” Lovin’ life on the road, they still feel the pressures of performing and travel; “Sometimes it would take 10 hours driving or catching a bus from venue to venue, but I guess that’s what it’s all about. Going that distance to play that music.” Apart from wrapping up their nationwide tour and kicking on with some Triple J gigs and festivals over the coming months, the boys from The Holidays love nothing more – other than playing their vivacious tunes to crowds of hungry listeners – than kicking back, going on a cheap holiday and having a surf. Good ol’ Aussie boys. We asked Will what a day in the life of a Holiday may involve and why music is important to him. “I get up, have a coffee, then a tea – in that order – and then who knows, go over to Andrew’s place and play some music. Music is such a great remedy for mood. You can express yourself. There’s nothing quite like it.” True that, Will. True that. Feel like a pick me up? Feel like getting away? Something that sounds like better times are on the way? Don’t look past the Holidays. Let them seduce you with their bongo-rock glory, their live performance energy and, of course, their promises of Summer.
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RECORDS What moment in history would this album be, and why?
The Suzan
KISSES
‘Golden Week For The Poco Poco Beat.’
Words: Matt Byron
Words: Sarah Grant
The Suzan is colorful and wonderful, and this album should be celebrated by anyone who experiences it- like the aurora borealis. A reminder that there are rare and magnificent things to be discovered in the world.
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‘KISSES’ Kisses by Kisses is not a moment in time but an era; it is the height of the Athenian empire circa 430 BCE. It’s full of power like the Athenian army ready to conquer all; it’s old-worldly but with the element of reinvention that issynonymous with the rise of Greek culture.
Black Brian Eno Mountain ‘Small Craft ‘Wilderness Heart.’
On A Milk Sea’ Words: Nick How
Words: Adam Byrne
Wilderness Heart is America in the late 60s/ early 70s. Think ‘Easy Rider’ -endless desert roads, hair, flairs, Sabbath and a touch of paranoia.
This album is the first moon landing. I’m pretty sure Eno smokes weed, drops acid, and creates. I bet in his head he is experiencing it with Armstrong.
IN REVIEW
Zola Jesus Passenger ‘Stridulum II.’ Words: Chris Dore
‘Flight of the Crow’
Tricky
Isbells
‘Mixed Race.’
‘Isbells.’
Words: Sarah Wright
Words: Evan Wilcox
Words: Tym Yee
Stridulum II is like when Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon. Zola Jesus isn’t treading untouched territory with this album, though her voice throughout still leaves an original mark.
This album takes you back to year 7 and the first time you got your little heart broken. And reminds you that heartbreak makes indie musicians.
The release of Apple’s first iPhone was a complete breath of fresh air, a controversial product, but oh so worthy of all the hype - just like this album.
The Isbells remind me of the time I tried blancmange, very simple and well made but a little too sweet for my taste buds.
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THE CLASSICS We asked our own staff to share their favourite classic film, photographer, album and book.
Classic Film: Casablanca Caitlyn Adamson - Blog girl, publishing assistant and vom-cano Ironically enough when this movie was first made in 1942 studio execs and directors thought it would definitely result in a box office flop. However tables turned when the little film took away 3 Academy Awards including best director, best screenplay and best picture as well as fortifying itself as one of the greatest classics of all time. Set in WWII, which held obvious political relevance at the time, the story follows Rick Blaine, a club owner in transit city Casablanca, who is suddenly confronted by his long lost love, Ilsa, when “out of all the gin joints in all the world” she wonders into his. Heartbreak, misty eyes, martinis, jazz piano and memorable one liners make this film what it still is today. But what made audiences fall in love with this black and white gold mine was the unbelievable chemistry between a brooding hunk and a big hate wearing babe. The magic between Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman would make anyone swoon and certainly makes ‘Casablanca’ a classic that should be on everyone’s shelf.
lowly lit and strangely cropped - much like the condition of American subculture - dark and deviated from the status quo. Over two years he travelled with his family across America and took 28,000 shots - culminating in a published work of anthological scale, uncovering the latent apprehension between superficial wealth and rampant inequality. It’s not hard to see how they became friends, but if anything Frank’s process epitomized the wayward road tripping and mind tripping of Kerouac and the Beat Generation - serving as a photographic record of it too. See the selected shots in: The Americans - Robert Frank
part ‘Psalm’ is the realisation and glory in enlightenment. While Coltrane at times plays with aggression, the beauty in his journey for spiritual enlightenment makes even the brashest of moments explode into glorious particles of love. ‘A Love Supreme’ was the album Coltrane had been searching for, the album he had dug so deep to express. Now regarded one of the all-time greats, it continues to set the bar for jazz and music in general, while continuing to influence and enlighten people with its depth, richness and sheer originality.
Classic Literature: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Classic Album: John Coltrane - A Love Supreme India McDonough - Assistant Editor, grammar Nick How - Music journo, handsome dude Nazi and red wine enthusiast and all round mystery Haunting, beautiful and tragic, ‘One Flew Over In 1964, John Coltrane entered a room in his the Cuckoo’s Nest’ gives the literary middle house. Armed with nothing but pen, paper finger to all forms of establishment. An intense and a saxophone, Coltrane was determined to battle of wills between the crazy-like-a-fox Red dig deep within his soul and find the album he McMurphy and the ultimate ice-queen Nurse had been longing to make. He and his band Ratched in a 1950s mental institution, the story entered the studio on December 9th of that is told by the silent but ever watchful ‘Chief’ year, and recorded the four-part suite in one Bromden, exploring the fine line between session. Could you imagine an album of this being crazy and non-conformative. The borders quality being recorded in one session today? It between the real and fantasy become blurred Classic Photographer: Robert Frank is a beautiful testimony to Coltrane’s vision and through Chief’s narration, as we’re thrust into Jonathan Villanueva - Arts Editor, enigma and art sheer direction as a band leader. The album his ‘insane’ psyche- however his observations of aficionado consists of four parts, each progressing to the McMurphy and the power struggle taking place What would you do if you met Kerouac outside ultimate understanding of spirituality through are crystal clear, revealing complex characters a party? If you were American photographer meditation. The opener, ‘Acknowledgement’, and challenging everything you think you know Robert Frank you would show him your shots is an awakening of sorts that trails its way about insanity. Tense, darkly witty and moving and ask him to write something for them - which into now classic chanting, leading into the rapidly towards an ending that will shock, is what he did. second act. ‘Resolution’ is about the anger and horrify and disturb you, ‘One Flew Over the Frank’s work captured a time in which the dedication in allowing yourself to take the new Cuckoo’s Nest’ delivers a bleak outlook, but is optimism of the 50s unceremoniously left the path of understanding, and is quite possibly the oddly satisfying and uplifting at the same time. realities of class and racial differences in its most beautiful piece on the album. ‘Pursuance’ Anyone who loves an underdog story- you’ll find wake, making for photographs that were grainy, is the search for understanding, and the final one here, but not necessarily as you expect. 44 | THE SPIT PRESS | www.spitpress.com | ISSUE 5
Cheap AS Colour Michael Wong-See spoke to Zeb Aitken from AS Color, a Sydneybased clothing brand specialising in plain tees and tops that go hand in hand with good vibes and cold beer, but won’t murder your bank balance at the same time.
M: How did you guys come about? Z: Initially we started out as distributors of the AAA t-shirt range from LA, but we soon realised the market was after something fresh. We were constantly talking to customers about what they wanted, and we decided to create some of our own products and see how they went down. Everything was really positively received and the AS Colour brand has been evolving and growing ever since. M: The party started in NZ, and now you’re based in Sydney. Why the move? Z: We had a lot of demand from Australian customers and sales were growing, but the freight charges and time delays were proving an issue. So in 2008 we took the leap and set up a warehouse in Alexandria so we can now service the whole Australian market super efficiently. We customised the warehouse to include a sweet showroom/retail space and even found a bit of room to squeeze in our own miniramp!
M: Can you tell us a bit more about the tee design comp you guys ran recently? Z: The Little Help project is a t-shirt design competition, which is open to all aspiring designers. The winner takes out $10K in tees, printing and relabeling, which is such a good springboard for someone starting out with their own brand. This year was the first time the comp had been open to Australian entrants and the response was overwhelming. I think we’ve had at least 600 entrants this year in total. Entries have just closed and judging is due to start soon. This year the submissions will be judged by the crew from Frankie magazine, Stephen Richardson from Parinto designs and Eddie Zammit, the founder of T World magazine (finalists and winner will be announced at www.littlehelpproject.com). M: Most popular item at the moment? Z: Our new men’s scoop tee is selling really well right now, it’s the perfect cut for summer – just the right amount of scoop.
We’ve had some really good feedback around the new women’s summer range. We have new scoop tees, pocket tees and oversized singlets, all in super soft fabric. The girls are buying up a storm so they’ll sell out pretty quick! The men’s paper tee is always popular, it’s a nice lightweight cotton and a great cut. M: You’ve got a lot of tees and singlets in the store. Would you guys ever consider doing some plain button ups? Or jackets? Z: We’re always listening to our customers and we design new products based on what they are looking for. If customers are asking for button up tees we can produce samples and see how they look. For now our focus is cotton basics but who knows what the future will hold. We’ve got some new products on the way including raglan baseball tees, tall tees and two toned pocket tees. Also we’re working on a collaboration tee at the moment…keep your eyes peeled! www.ascolour.com
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ANIMAL FARM / ON THE ROAD
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