2014
INTERVIEW × × × × × AT THE SONIC TEMPLE →
FS SMITH - BOTANICAL - PHOTO MARCEL LIP
“Few would dispute that the healthiest of contemporary men* are afflicted with a malaise — an illusive, unlocalized illness whose symptoms — floating anxieties, pains and “sick sensations” which have no medically discernable cause, unaccountable small depressions, etc. — are multiple and disparate, yet vague and ambiguous; a virus, one might venture to describe it, of the soul and of the spirit. There are countless reasons for the condition and no teams of psychologists and social scientists, devoting their full energies to the problem and laboring night and day, could define them in a hurry. It is, however, abundantly clear that a principal cause for this malaise lies in the ever-widening psychic as well as physical separation of man and nature and the increasing artificiality of his environment, the synthetic materials in the structures which surround him, the mass-produced, inorganic foods which he consumes, the chemicals he devours in order to sleep, wake up, tune in or tune out, the filth and poisons in the air, the persistent hum of electric motors. The culprit is, of course, the city.” - Unknown
Hey, allow me to address the common expression above. Fuck that. Sure, we can be freaks, weirdoes, outcasts, dropouts, stoners, losers, punks. But we’re not all stupid and we’re no hive mind either, you cannot simply place us all into one sect. Due to the actions of the few, society has built misconceptions of us as disorganized free-loaders because of the indifference of the activity that makes us who we are—skating. In actuality, we are diverse and colorful as artists, musicians, filmers, team managers, shop owners, park builders and innovators both agitated and mellow. Our identities play little into how we interact with each other because when you see the torn jeans or the scuffed up shoes; you know. There are so many perceptions and methods that differ from others’ within skateboarding as well, but what’s great is that we all do the same thing in different ways and the wealthiest of us in tact don’t hate each other for those differences. For example, I mostly skate street on my popsicle these days, but I will never get over the serious respect I have for those who take to the mountains or high suburbs to destroy massive hills and winding roads on longboards, with usually nothing but a helmet, a pair of jeans and flannel as armor (yeah, I just said the L-word). Skateboarding has been a huge part of my life since I was very young. I’ve almost lost the perception that people who don’t skate have of those who do. It’s hard to view yourself from the outside when you’re so passionate and focused on something, lest take
*Ad-lib “humans” or non-binary pronouns where applicable—we ain’t into androcentricity either - [M.ed]
some constructive criticism about it like, “hey, don’t play here, this is private property!” The same goes for punk as well. If you’ve been on the bandwagon for long enough then you’ll have seen the amazing new stuff that’s being put out by just as passionate musicians and DIY record labels. And that’s what we’re aiming to bring to you with this fanzine, a direct connection between reader and writers so that you can discover more about the local people who are part of two of the best cultures—skateboarding and independent rock ‘n’ roll. Right now you probably want to know what that quote’s doing up there, and why I thought I was being a smart fucker when I ripped a word from it to use as the title for this whole thing. I believe that what matters is we keep this shit real, and we defend it so it stays that way. This is about empowering the un-cool kid, so don’t expect the articles in this zine to always be mellow. There’ll be passion, because that’s what comes naturally. A natural opposition to that sickening feeling of monotony found in ordinary life—the malaise. This first issue has a lot of content by myself, and a bunch of contributions by my friends. This is not how I’d ideally want Malaise to stay but like all great things, it starts small. It’s a free publication, a non-profit, nobody makes any money putting this together, and anyone can submit content. You should consider contacting us on how you can get involved for the next issue. It’s going to be a slow burn at the start, but sooner or later we’ll see something truly worth the effort. For now; enjoy! —T [M.ed]
ALL PHOTOS BY MARCEL LIP
Dylan Hughes - BS smith, Coorparoo
I
f you’re into hip-hop or you just did a two minute internet search for the name, you’ll know that Mobb Deep is the group associated with a diss battle between the late American west-coaster Tupac Shakur and east coast contenders Prodigy and Havoc. Mobbn Deep however, is a lifestyle motivation and soon to be international company; according to Stuart Fogarty—the owner and creator of the infamous Mobbn Deep video of 2009, and the upcoming independent film Picture Me Rollin. Stu’s here with the passion to give you the 411 on the new video, the ideas behind Mobbn and his general insight of which 10 years filming in the Australian skate scene supports.
Ocean Fitzsimons - BS wallrifde over the local rag stand, Brisbane City
Basically—in a skateboarding and lifestyle sense—Mobbn Deep really means: a crew of people, you and your friends getting out there being active, being real positive, living your life, doing what you do and what you aspire to do and doing it with a lot of passion. Mobbn with your friends and your crew, and being deeply passionate about what you do. I started skateboarding when I was ten years old; I’ve been filming skateboarding since I was thirteen. So it’s been ten years now—I’m 23. I started out filming skateboarding just as a hobby and just stuck at it; I gained an eye for it, I guess. I looked up to some really talented filmmakers on a worldwide sense, like, guys like French Fred and Ty Evans—just some of the greats. I’ve always been Inspired by the people I look up to. Now, over the years you meet many other filmmakers, you form amazing connections and relationships with amazing skateboarders and dudes within the industry, and outside of the industry too. People from all sorts of walks of life. I’m really feelin’ like I’m in a good place with it all; this is how I like to do my thing. Livin’ the dream, really! Picture Me Rollin is the new film—we started that two years ago. It’s gonna be a bit different to Mobbn Deep [the video] because it’s my first independent film that I’ve made. Mobbn Deep was a film which had a lot of other filmmakers—had about five or six other filmmakers on the one project. And it was really cool to do that; it was a big conjunction that came together for that film. A lot of skateboarders, obviously, as well. Picture Me Rollin is definitely signified and a bit different, and special to me, really, because it’s an independently made film which I’ll be piecing all of the puzzle pieces together myself, whilst featuring some of my closest friends and very great people in my life within that one film. And it’s Brisbane. I was born and bread here—this is where it all began. I originally had an Idea—maybe five or six years ago—that I was gonna make an independent film. But I was gonna work into that until I was comfortable and ready to do it. Two years ago I approached a comfortable stage where I sat down and I was like, ‘Alright, I’m gonna do my own thing now.’ I started skating a lot with my good mate Michael Laurrie, and some other good friends Joel Wilshere and Nick Law, and we formed a small team with Justin Presard who is a well known skate photographer throughout Australia. And we just got into the streets throughout the weeks and weeknights and weekends—any time we could really get out there. Skating schools and all sorts of streets, just shreddin’ it. Doin’ it. And it just grew; the ideas bubbled in my head and these guys just started getting better and better as skateboarding; better and better sponsors, footage and tricks and it was all piecing together super nice. Once you get the momentum
Dylan Hughes - switch heel
behind you, you can really make a film happen. Picture Me Rollin is basically us out in the streets being some Brisbane skateboarders who love it and live it to the maximum; and you can picture me rollin’, picture us rollin’ out in the streets. It’s also somewhat of a reference: TuPac did a song in the early nineties called Picture Me Rollin. It was always a big song for me. Within a skateboarders mind-set and the way that they think, it’s not all hip-hop, it’s not all like that. But I do think that there's something about hip-hop, maybe even rap music, and rock n roll, all sorts of musical genres that come into skateboarding that really ignite the flame to it. Picture Me Rollin comes out in December 2014. It’s been an amazing amazing time, an amazing trip—the last two years traveling all around Australia. Most of the film is Brisbane based and features most of the top skaters and talented skaters throughout Brisbane, and I really feel like it could be some of the best work I ever make. It’s all filmed on a Sony VX1000 which is, like, the holy grail of skateboarding videocameras. Just authentic, original things which we brought to Mobbn Deep and am trying to incorporate into everything I do. When you get out there, when you get out into this crazy world there’s lots of things that’re gonna try bring you down, you need to stay strong as an individual and as a family. When you have skateboarding and music and all these different things you can unite with these people and just be humble and confident and strong. And that’s another definition of what Mobbn Deep is for me, it’s strength. Coming from the city in Brisbane, it’s always been about independence, getting on your own two feet and doing your own thing. If you do it like that and you stay true to yourself and true to those around you then it goes as far as you wanna take it.
PAINTING BY SABRINA GLIK
g20
http://tottnews.com/2013/09/27/forum-held-in-brisbane-to-address-2014-g20-summit-police-powers/
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“WHOEVER WROTE IT MUST HAVE A HELL OF A CRIMINAL IMAGINATION” YOU need to be aware of this. It’s about your ability to live unafraid of your freedom in this country. I’ve asked around to my university peers; “what’s the G20 even about?” Their answers are best generalized into two; “What?” and “I think it’s a world peace negotiations meeting. It’s gonna be a bitch for me to find parking around Southbank though.” So I think, hey, that sounds alright. World leaders coming together to discuss matters of importance such as foreign policy, attendance to UN climate change meetings, refugee and asylum seekers’ rights etc. Maybe they’ll kick Abbott in the ass and get things going again; I hope to myself. But that’s rather off the mark. The above summary is more like something that you’d want the G20 to be rather than what it actually is. What we’re very soon to be faced with is a brief impedance on our rights as individuals; with our expression and our ideology independent of the kind that is forced down our throats by news media. If you think that the government isn’t trying to manipulate not only how you think and feel, but the way foreigners perceive how you think and
feel, well, you’re likely not going to be bothered much by the state government unnecessarily setting 1000+ new uniformed officers into the streets of Brisbane, the raids on people’s homes under the guise of a “high threat to national security”, or being constantly molested and embarrassed by multiple police because you carry the identity likened to a jihadist/hells angels bikie/scary, scary anarchist. I’m here to introduce you to the circus that is a Global summit of 20 nation’s leaders coming together for a nice circle-jerk. Again, the main point being that this event will result in even heavier policing, and more cops on the street means higher risk of an abuse of power, especially due to new legislation which I’ll break down.
WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT
The G20 is a convention, exhibition and symposium of meetings, trading and at its core, world market bicep-flexing. Obama, Cameron, Key, Abbott and more (sorry Putin, even you aren't capitalist enough to party down in Newman town) will all come together to see what wondrous and exciting commercial and corporate exploits Team
Australia has set itself upon, as well as see the sights of the historically police corrupt capital of Queensland. This in particular is what I’m worried about—Pig City living up to its name once again. [Research the Fitzgerald Inquiry or the song by The Parameters of the same name for all that jazz] At the 2010 Toronto G20 where over a record-breaking 1,100 people were arrested, multiple activists and protesters of the event had their privacy violated by police. Basically there were live feed CCTV cameras set up in the temporary strip search cubicles. The law, which is the same in this country, is that the person being searched must give consent to a cop of the same gender, and that cop can be the only officer present during the search. No cameras or recordings allowed. The excuse that the police department made were the special circumstance laws that were billed and active only during the weekend of the G20. Basically the government had made something that would normally be illegal, somehow legal. And invasion of privacy laws are notoriously messy in a few ways →
××× leaning towards misogynistic double standards, especially in this state. There are regulations that have been implemented by Australia’s government that ring all too familiar with those of the Canadian’s. These regulations will place an unnecessary restriction upon the liberties of Brisbane citizens. Two laws have been implemented in preparation for Brisbane’s own G20. The most important one that you need to be aware of is the law regarding when a police officer can detain or arrest you. It goes like this: Normally, when a police officer walks up to you, they might state that they have a suspicion that you are committing/committed/about to commit an offence e.g. carrying a deadly weapon or “prohibited item” (if they don’t state so, you must ask them if they have suspicion or else you’re being fucked with). Then, if you’re packin’ that UZI or maybe just a rolled 25 of bad luck, they must first ask if they can search you to find it. Here’s where it gets tech: If you tell ’em to get stuffed; they’ve got you for interference or public nuisance. So if you do or do not consent to the search, you have to say so very clearly and calmly—bovine skulls are quite thick. For the sake of blah-blah, let’s assume you consented. They’ll then detain you (that means you’re coming with them willingly or not—you’ve said yes once; that’s all they need—to a private place/police beat to search you. They find the whatchamacallit that you’re not supposed to have; they can then arrest and charge you. Game over, man. Normally, there are a few things that, if the cop does/doesn’t do, they’re committing an offence themselves—like, not asking for your consent to be searched. Unfortunately there are also police exemption laws in place to protect them as well. Slippery bastards. In the case of the G20, this new special circumstances law detours that illegality. It means that when an officer walks up to you, whether they state that they have suspicion or not, they can detain you immediately—pick you right up off the street and dump you wherever they deem you’re worthy of being, most likely a jail cell. “How long am I gonna be in here, officer?” You might receive no answer, they’re not obliged to give you one. As you can see, this is properly fucked.
And severely impedes on the people’s right to protest and right to freedom of expression. Why have this international spotlight if we can’t freely show who and what we are as citizens of this city? Because we’re not all playing happy-citizen, and the state knows it.
THE LOWDOWN
As you can see by the map to the left, there’s an absurdly large restriction zone. And in the restricted zone you are not allowed to have certain “prohibited items.” There are many prohibited items listed in schedule 6 of the “G20 (Safety and Security) Bill 2013”. It’s been said before; whoever wrote it must have a hell of a criminal imagination (as well as a fixation with longbows???). The schedule lists a lot of specific things like knives, shanghais, guns, dusters, and even children’s toys. It also has a few paragraphs which are impeccably general. A paragraph in schedule 6 reads, “a placard or banner to which a timber, metal or plastic pole is attached or a banner more than 100cm high by 200cm wide” Well ok then, just make your protest signs smaller than these dimensions and you’re sweet, right? Ha-ha. Nope. “an offensive weapon, including anything used as a weapon or capable of being used as a weapon, including, for example, a baseball bat or fence paling being carried by a person participating in an assembly” There is so much wrong with this paragraph it hurts. As any activist knows; there’s power in numbers. This tiny piece of legislation is an attack on people’s ability to rally and ensure that their voices are heard in a collective effort. With this one sentence alone, you are being told that you’re not allowed to call bullshit on the G20 no matter what size sign you carry. And if a cop feels like it, you’re not allowed to carry your skateboard either. Let’s face it, most skateboards are sizable pieces of wood with blunt-sharp and irregularly shaped pieces of metal with four hard round urethane wheels attached. And they’re pretty easy to swing around too. It’s perfectly understandable for someone to say, “hey, that thing could split some skulls.” However, it’s not acceptable, and we shouldn’t fucking stand for it, for someone
to confiscate such a thing, no questions asked, based on the paranoia of the individual confiscating it. You’ve seen it in videos, people get pissed off at skaters and try to grab their boards and ditch. “Fuck that” you always say. It’s royally messed up if it’s a police officer doing it too. Please don’t stop skating the city just cause of this event, in fact, make it a point to stick it to those who think that messing with our expression is okay. But if you’re fine with not skating or falling in line like the next; go ahead and stay at home this November. The restriction zone and high police activity is in effect for about a week before and after the G20 weekend. I hope I don’t have to write another article about this stuff again; really not feelin’ the stoke on this one. And I don’t know everything but I hope I’ve given you enough to feel equipped or to go and have a little research session with. It would take this entire zine to explain every fallacy, every injustice, every perpetration that the G20 summit stands for. Luckily there are others who have already done that. So when you google “G20 protests” I ask that you check out these radical people: PUKE a.k.a. Public Unlimited Kompany Excluded. A collective that was initiated in response to this year’s G20 summit. Their e-newsletter is puke-subscribe@lists.riseup.net BrisCAN—briscan.net.au They’re a network of citizens who are “concerned with the ongoing ecological destruction and the social and economic disparities perpetuated by G20 and the systems it represents.” They also collaborate with the people organizing the G20 People’s Summit. An alternative meeting to the G20 that focuses on trying to make international social and political convening about the people of nations rather than the ego of their government leaders. brisbane2014.alternativeg20.org Educate yourself. Stay active and free. —Tom Magee
ILLUSTRATION BY PHILIP DEAREST
NEW + IMPROVED Inala, Coops, and even the legendary Paddo are each getting a well deserved makeover sometime next year. Brisbane City Council have heard the calls from the community, they’ve seen the thousands of petition signatures, and now they’re listening to local skaters and reps from the BSA or Brisbane Skateboarding Association (formerly Brisbane Skate Cartel) about their approval for work to be done on the three biggest parks in the greater Brisbane area. WHAT’S known so far is that Coorparoo Skatepark is planning on seeing a pretty much 100% expansion. That means the exact same size, again, right next to the original. The BSA and council workers are having weekly Wednesday night meetings at Coorparoo Secondary College to discuss the bits and pieces that need to come together to make it happen and these meetings are open to the public too. There are to be Saturday events/meetings at Coops to be sure to involve the greater community in the planning process as well. All three parks just had community feedback events where the BSA hooked up music and friendly vibes while they handed out surveys. Skaters put their two cents into what new additions they’d like to see in the revamp from a selection of images of sculptural, transition and street style obstacle designs. There’s a link to the survey for the Inala and Paddington park upgrades on the BSA facebook page, go there and chuck it a “like” to keep up to date with how these parks will progress.
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Although council do some pretty shitty things for us skaters, like skate-stopping stairs and structures that would make you think they were perfect if you only had a crowbar or buzz-saw handy, they’ve done us a solid here by making sure we have up to date and well maintained parks to practice and progress in. This isn’t any hearty gift from government joe however. This has only come about through community perseverance and spreading the interest. The BSA have done most of the appealing to the council and done the hard work to organize events and meetings and generate the hype about it all. The BSA are a really great organization and are definitely worth your time to check out. In the meantime, hit up the surveys or attend the meetings and contribute some ideas. bisbaneskateboardingassociation.com enlocus.com
On the daily.
WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY LIAV LAYOUT BY TOM
one-of-the-people.tumblr.com - Instagram soggybreadissad
DIY - BOTTLE CRUisers I just wanna cover my ass here by saying that though I have made many of these boards, I am not very good at it. Yet. This is a how-to on creating what I call a bottle shaped nokick cruiser deck. Have fun!
NEED: 7 vinier pine ply 155mm x 320mm - the stock Paper and a pencil Jigsaw or bandsaw Sandpaper - course and fine A rough flat filer Vice grip and some clamps Drill or drill press 4.5mm timber drill bit and countersink Spray varnish or the like Friend
STEP ONE Draw out a template on some paper, then draw around it onto the plywood. I spent a good amount of time measuring and aligning where the holes should go by using a ruler and a truck so that they wouldn’t turn out wonky.
STEP TWO Clamp the thing on a horse or a surface like a work bench and go to town with the Jigsaw on the lines you drew out. Wear goggles or something like them. Eye patches are cool when they’re on pirates but they make skating a little hard. I’m blessed with the gift of being 2% blind so my glasses worked ok to fend off the saw dust. Once you’ve cut one side, just flip it around to do the other.
STEP THREE You’ve now got the board in the shape you want it but your jigsaw skills are anything but perfect. Look down the edge of the board like shown, get your bug-eyed friend to check it as well. File the edge of the board at an angle like shown where there are any outstanding or undesired bumps. Then attack the edges in the same way to create the bevel.
STEP FOUR Load the 4.5mm drill bit and set up the board on your drill press. If you don’t have a drill press then use that handy friend of yours to help you align a normal drill with the mark and get a straight hole. If the hole is off by even a quarter of a centimetre then you won’t be able to attach the trucks. (Wiggling the drill as you drill will make the hole you drilled too loose. Drill.) Once all the holes are drilled, simply change out the drill bit with a countersink bit. This bit digs a trench for the hardware to sit in becoming flush with the board.
STEP FIVE Give the whole board a sanding with the tougher grain sandpaper first then the softer grain, dust the sawdust off the board with a brush or something. This is the part where you can screenprint or paint something on the bottom, go nutz. Finally, spray the varnish over the board in two coats, it should be dry over 24 hrs.
YA DONE!
PHOTO CREDIT: THOMAS OLIVER OF SOMETHING FROM THE SCENE
I. Pat—Guitar, Heath—Bass, Callum—Drums, Tim (Bones)—Vocals II. Interview and foreword by Tom Magee
Tom: So one of my questions was gonna be, what are the weirdest questions you guys got from the fans in Preba’s interview, but I guess I expected you guys would be talking to her first. Tim: Ah yeah, well, you could reevaluate, “what do you think will be the weirdest questions?” Tom: Yeah, what’re you expecting? Tim: We saw the whiskey and speed [Lone Riot interview] and there were some pretty ridiculous ones. Callum: Yeah Heath: Well just ask one of those I suppose, man. Tim: What was the weirdest one of theirs, like-Heath: I know one of the questions people wanted to ask us was why Pat never takes his shirt off. Pat: Uuh—I dunno. Tim: No-no we don’t have to answer that yet. But why do the rest of us always take our shirts off? [Laughter] Heath: I do it because I sweat balls man. I really do. I get soaked within, like, two songs, I get covered. Pat: I get icy chills when I play. I just get really cold and nervous. I have to keep my shirt on. Tim: Mine comes off if I look around and nobody has theirs off yet, like, “yes, gotta beat them to it!” Or if it already hap-
W
hile I was bummed that I’d just sent home my underage friend from a venue we thought was all ages, I had to laugh. This place—The Sonic Temple behind The Chalk in Woolloongabba—was an ex-footy club. Lion heads and shit everywhere. The reason this was funny was cause my drunk brain must’ve figured that the Brisbane Lions didn’t have a very successful season and all the sports freak yahoos had cleared off to other less shameful venues. Hey, I don’t even watch AFL at all, this is pure speculation. Thanks to front-man Bones, Dead Wolves played an incredibly energetic set, probably the most of which I’ve seen in my life. That’s not really saying much though; I’m relatively new to the scene. There was a moment where the crowd of about 20 were looking around in anticipation, or maybe fear, for when Bones—who had just tied the mic cord around bassist Heath’s neck and ran out to the back of the building, most likely to piss out the jug of beer he consumed at hyper speed—came crashing back at the end of an epic thrashing jam from the band mid-song. He timed it perfectly. But before all that I had the privilege of meeting Preba Ganash of Lone Riot who was there to interview Dead Wolves as well. She confided in me her experience in Melbourne, her desert stoner rock duo Death Valley Dames (who are looking for a drummer by the way) and that I’d come into the scene as it was on a low. Welp. Nowhere else but up, right? On the bill for that night’s grand opening insequence were Chrome Recliner, Dead Wolves and ROTH (Race Of The Harridan). I unfortunately missed ROTH because the urge to skate the hill next to the place was too strong. When I gathered the group at the start of the night, we curbed it outside and had a very stoked conversation about the band, skateboarding in high school, and wanking.
“I’M REALLY EXCITED TO START THIS MUSICAL JOURNEY WITH YOU GUYS...” pened, I’m like, “gotta join the club.” Tom: So there’s basically no questioning on whether or not you’re gonna take your shirt off. Heath: It’s random for these guys, but it’s a definite for me. Tim: People take bets as well, like, how long will it take each band member to take their shirts off. Heath: And they always lose with Pat. Pat: I started a gig once with my shirt off and nobody else had their shirt off. Tom: Unpredictable. Callum: I gotta decide whether I’m gonna be taking home a beer stained t-shirt or not, so-[Laughter] Tim: It’s a preservation technique. But it’s like, when you do, I time it, like, I take it off; this feels right. Pat: It never feels right for me [Laughs] There’s never a good time to take my shirt off. Heath: As well as, like, If you’re covered in beer you have to ask, who covered you in beer, It’s not always Tim. Sometimes it’s Georgia. It’s mostly Georgia! Pat: I spit beer on Callum the same time in the same song every gig now. [Laughter] Pat: I can’t even remember what it is. Heath: You’ll know it tonight when we
play it. Pat: Yeah. It happens and I take a sip and I’m like—BBPPSSSHHH! Tim: And this beautiful venue is about to get destroyed. Pat: I’m gonna spit beer all over you Callum. Christen this place, man. Tom: Well on to the real shit-Pat: That was real! [Laughs] Tom: Basically, introduce yourselves. Who are you and what do you play? Callum: I’m Callum and I play the drums. Tim: All of them. All those drums. Pat: He plays every drum. And cymbals as well. Tim: And I am Bones and I sing and...shake things. No wait, what do I do? […] I’m the bridge, I’m the bridging between the music and the audience. I’m the bit that’s tryna engage and brim ‘em in. Heath: Half man; half singer. Tim: Yeah, fully. Heath: Number one band, man. Tim: I’m the Hades, the Hades of the [band]. Pat: Uh I’m Pat and I play guitar. Heath: I’m Heath and I’m Pat’s brother and I play bass and also all the guitar lines that Pat doesn’t play. [Laughs] Well, it’s like—in a band like this, man,
“IT’S PRETTY MUCH LIKE WANKING” you’ve gotta play rhythm guitar and bass at the same time. I just make as much noise as I possibly can on an instrument with four strings—I only play two of those strings. Tim: Best in Brisbane though. Heath: Self-proclaimed. Tom: Nice [Laughter] Pat: Not even arrogant though-Heath: No, I’m not arrogant; I’m superior. [Laughter] Heath: There’s a difference, massive difference. Tim: Holier than thou. Tom: Yeah, so… I don’t feel like going one person at a time with this question, but basically, where are each of you guys from; how’d you meet each other? Tim: Can we just say Bayside for life!? Pat: Heath met me when I was born; he was three. Heath: I was there. Tim: That woulda been gross. Heath: Oh it was so gross man. Pat: First thing he said to me was, “do you want to start a band with me?” [Laughter] Pat: [with] these other two guys that haven’t been born yet. And it was really awkward. Tim: I might’ve been born before you. Pat: [to Callum] But you’re the youngest, you’re the youngest by like two years. Callum: Yeah, by far. Tim: It all started in the bayside in Wynnum. It was pretty much just—not knowing though—it started with just Heath, Pat, and me. Myself. And I. Out of broken bands, out of Escape From Lincoln and Don’t Tempt Thieves. It was basically me and Pat started it, and like, “Heath’s next door, let’s get him.” Heath: I lived in the next room. Tim: And then we went for ages without any drummer. We only auditioned one dude and it was like, let’s see what happens. Cause we were so desperate; I was playing drums for ages. And then I went to this house party—this is a good story—I went to this house party; took some mushrooms with a guy that I met on the train a week before. I was going into the valley and I sat down and this other guy sits down in the four-seater across from me and I’m like, “Sup man, what’s goin’ down?”, “Yeah man just goin’ into the valley. I’m playing a show next week.” I’m like, “Fuck yeah, man. I’ll come along.” And so, I went to this house party in Spring Hill, took some mushrooms, and that’s when Apple Fat played their last show. I went up to the Fraiser and I go-Callum: The Fraiser! Tim: I go up to the Fraiser and I go, “Hey man, do you reckon I could have your drummer play or have a rehearsal or something?” and then Callum walks in for rehearsal, like, a week later or two weeks later. Heath: It was so good. Tim: I had the drums set up, he sits down and just goes—[pretends to drum really fast] “So what are we doin’?” Heath: We played: one song; high-fives everywhere, one song; high-fives everywhere. Seriously man it was the biggest celebration. Pat: We picked the hardest song we had and we went through it, and he just nailed it. Tim: It was so fuckin’ sick. Heath: I’ve never seen someone more excited to play music. Pat: He sent me a text message after wards, like, “I’m really excited to start this musical journey with you guys.” It was, like, the most hardcore message and I’m like ah shit, that’s awesome. Tim: And I’ve got it on recording, I’ve got that first rehearsal all recorded. Callum: Yeah, Insane. Tim: But yeah it all started from the Bayside. Heath: Yeah we’re all from Wynnum, Wynnum North, Manly, Manly West, Wynnum West. We’re all from the 4178, 4179 area code. Tom: What’re you guys’ motivations for the band? What’re your inspirations? Pat: Other Brisbane bands. Heath: Yeah, you feed off other bands, man, straight away. I reckon the biggest
motivation was coming back from tour. When we came back from the Sydney tour a year and a half ago we just had so much energy. Tim: We got lucky on that. It was meant to be [The] Johnny Mustards going down with The Androgyny and you guys couldn’t make it happen. Heath: No one had a license! [Laughs] Tim: The Androgyny just asked us, this awesome all girl, chick band, and we felt like were so legitimized, so solid, like better musicians. That gig back we played Ricks, people just felt like we were kings. Heath: We acted like it and we played like it as well, man. After playing like four shows interstate, you come back and it’s just like ahh. Tim: Felt good being back home as well. Heath: When we came over the hill and saw the fuckin’ skyline of Brisbane, everyone was just like “Fuuck! We’re finally home!” Callum: I was asleep. Heath: You slept the whole tour pretty much, you slept and drummed. Tim: Could we say the motivation is getting out of Brisbane then coming back? Heath: Yeah! Tim: Spreading the seed, spreading the idea. Heath: Motivation is momentum, man. Tim: Continuously trying to outdo yourself and next opportunities. Like, redoing yourself; I can’t stand it. Tom: Yeah, yeah. Tim: I really want us to all go to japan next. We’ll probably go down to Melbourne and do an East Coast tour first but the next step probably will be like foreign soil. Heath: The ability to play music in other cities where no one knows us, and its still really encouraging; that feels so good. Tim: I’ve been walking down the street and I’ve seen people wearing Dead Wolves shirts. It’s like, that’s the new thing, I’ve never seen that before, that’s sick. Heath: You were walking in west end and someone said, “you’re wearing a Dead Wolves shirt, I love Dead Wolves”, “Yeah so do I.” [Laughs] Callum: I saw a Dead Wolves shirt in an op-shop. Heath: For like way more money than we sell them for. [Laughter] Tim: It goes, Dead Wolves, Nickelback-Heath: Coldplay, U2-Tim: We’re legit. [Laughs] Pat: It’s all in the sell-out rack. Tom: Next stop; iTunes. Heath: We do give out albums for free, man! Tom: Yeah up on your bandcamp [deadwolvesmusic.bandcamp.com] it's pay what you want. Tim: Yeah the new EP [Blek Shurp] was for free. Tom: I’m absolutely the worst with that though. If it’s, like, a band that I dig and it’s pay what you want, I’m like, zero. Heath: Yeah zero’s fine [Laughs] Tom: I got a question about the actual music you guys play. I’ve listened to the whole discography, speaking of which. Really sick, really diverse, I felt like. Tim: That’s what everyone thinks. Recording-wise. Live; it’s pretty hard, aggressive, and loud, and up-front. Cause that’s what comes out on-stage. Heath: I reckon we’re a lot different live. Tom: I think on your bandcamp you guys describe yourselves as punk rock balladeer? Tim: Yeah, that’s maybe more my vocals sometimes. Baritone stuff. Tom: Who’s the main writer of the songs then? Heath: All of us. Tim: Yeah it’s kinda all of us it’s sick yeah. Tom: I suppose everybody brings something then. Heath: That’s probably why it’s so diverse. There are tastes of everyone in every single song. Tim: Sometimes someone brings in a solid portion but the majority happens in rehearsal. Pat: They’re not like songs, they’re like,
four people playing different things into one thing. Callum: Yeah it’s sick. Tim: I’d like to get a lot more together and conceptualize a song. Heath: And craft it. The way we’re doing it now though is sweeet! Tim: But like, bands that I get down to, like, refuse and stuff, it’s like they’ve got a principle that they write the song around. Tom: Like a mission. Tim: Like a mission statement, yeah. Heath: At the moment we just go with adrenalin. Tim: And whatever feels good. Whatever’s juicy, man. Heath: It’s pretty much like wanking. Tim: yeah, yeah. Heath: It really is man, it’s like, whatever feels best. Tim: And you’ve learned this, if it’s not workin’; don’t try and beat through it. Pat: Come back to a it a couple weeks later. And you might come. [laughs] Heath: I just say goodnight and roll over and go to sleep. Tim: There’s no point in smashing that shit too hard. Heath: There’s no point cause suddenly there’s just blood and tears and annoyance. I think we got off topic… What’s the next question? Tim: “How’s your penis?” [Laughter] Tom: Please interpret the rest however you want. Tim: This one’s about my dick! Tom: Speaking about that Whiskey and Speed interview Lone Riot did; they were really regarding how crazy you were, Bones, on-stage. Tim: That was weird, for me. Tom: Do you not feel like that at all? Tim: No, like, I don’t know why I got mentioned in their interview, that’s surreal. But it’s sick. Heath: Fuck yeah, man. Tim: I’ve gotta thank them massively. Tom: I was talking to my friend who went to one of you guys’ shows and he said he almost got decked by you, Bones. Tim: It woulda been like me jumping on him or something, yeah. Heath: It’s not violent, it’s chaos. Tim: Yeah, Dane, the singer [of W&S] goes, “Yeah, he’s really GG Allen-like” But then Mick [the drummer] goes, “yeah but I’ve never seen him punch anyone.” And I hope not, cause that’s not what I want. It’s not aggressive as in angry; it’s aggressive as in release, getting it out. Heath: It’s cathartic man. Tim: So he almost got bowled over? Tom: Yeah Tim: That means he was in the good zone. What’s his name? Tom: Josh, and he’s big, like, you’d have to take a full tidal wave to take that guy down. Tim: Little boys can hit though, little boys can hit. Heath: But that’s fucking sick that whiskey did that. They’re a sick band and we love fuckin’ playing with them. That’s pretty much part of the community aspect of playing in Brisbane at the moment. Bands play with each other because they love to see each other play. It’s just part of it. Tim: If we were to talk about any bands we would go straight to something way not punk rock or aggressive or crazy like that; we’d go straight to Muddy Chanter or Junkyard Diamonds who get aggressive but they’re fun. We go and see other bands cause they’re awesome people or we like their style of music. Heath: Yeah, they complete a different part of the Brisbane Jigsaw. Tom: It’s very solidaritous [I’m making that a word now] I’ve noticed in the time that I’ve lived here. Heath: If we’re not playing a gig; we’re going to see a gig. Tim: It’s freaking me out how tight the community is. Like it’s not even bullshit. Like, this is something that’s really special and rare. And being able to appreciate it right now is way better cause it feels so good. Heath: Next question! Tom: Next question! The Coops session
IMAGE GRABBED FROM THE “CHOOSE YOUR WEAPON” MUSIC VIDEO PRODUCED BY STUART FOGARTY AND GARETH JONES
“THEY TOLD THE SOUND GUY, “IF YOU DON’T CUT THEM OFF NOW; YOU’RE FIRED”” “Choose Your Weapon”, that video was fucking sick. Heath: [Laughs] You were so shitfaced, Cal! Tim: I think we all were from the intro shot of us all powering beers. Heath: That was a very drunk day, man. Tim: We were powering beers before that while we were at rehearsal grabbing gear. Heath: I should not have driven back either. Tim: Great sesh; we can go deep into this one, yeah. Tom: I actually wanted to know how you guys hooked that up? Tim: That was all from my brother Stu Fog, he filmed all that from Mobbn Deep. He hooked up all the skaters—I go, “Stu, hook up the best tranny skaters. I want like us standing in the middle of coops while they’re shredding right between us,” and it turned out perfect. Callum: It was fun; crashing into the drum kit. Tim: When we started, I was goin’ “fuuuck, I’m losing it! We need playback! We need all this--” and then you get into it and just went, let’s just perform. Heath: And seriously, no down time at all. All the down time was filled up by skaters cutting sick. Fuck that was sick! Instead of waiting we were watching skaters skate. And they were having such a good time man seriously. Tim: The whole film clip cost $30, a carton of beer and a packet of chips. Heath: Everyone got to do what they fucking loved for four hours. Tim: And it was the right song for the right vibe. It was great. Anthony Bull, gotta give a shout-out to Anthony Bull. He tears it up, he does like, the tre-flip back lip. My brother from Mobbn Deep just made like a whole other video clip besides that, like all the footage of Anthony Bull just destroying that whole thing. Heath: And plus, like, we all grew up in Wynnum, man. We all did skating for school sport. We were pretty much immersed in all that anyway. Tim: That was what made me go to Wynnum High.
Tom: Wait they had a skate program at Wynnum High? Tim: I was at Cannon Hill Anglican College for three days and I realized, this is not for me, cause they got up me for doing my tie up wrong and I’m like “Fuck this shit, I’m goin’ where my friends went!” And I sold it to my parents I went, “Mum, they’ve got Wednesday sports, skating, I wanna be a pro skater, this is my plan, I’m gonna be a pro skateboarder and this is gonna happen!” And that’s what sold them and then meeting up with Pat at Wynnum High! Heath: They also embraced live music as well there, we jammed all day. I didn’t go to any classes while I was in grade 12. All I did was jam. Tim: My whole intro to Wynnum High was skateboarding. It was Wednesday sport, man. Go down to Lotus skatepark. Tom: That’s pretty sick… Heath: We grew up good, hey. It was a riot. Tim: I can’t remember the guy that was running that but big shout out to him as well. Probably that Brisbane Skateboarding Association or something. Tom: Just back to your music, back to the stuff I heard online; you guys have two releases that are live releases-Tim: Yeah cause I took one down but I listened to that again and I was like “that should be up there.” That was that Alloneword show where we only played four songs then we got kicked off because they go, “this is not what we expected!” [Laughter] Tim: It was a ROTH show as well; we were supporting ROTH there too, they put us on the bill. They didn’t like the screaming, They liked all the music but they told us, “we don’t have screaming bands here.” Pat: They told the sound guy, “If you don’t cut them off now; you’re fired.” Tim: But that was sick, that was when I first got my, like, extreme stage presence. I go, fuck it, I’ve got this. Last song; I climb up this back barrier thing—Heath you remember that? Heath: Yeah, yeah you jumped over me, back, and then into the smoking area.
Tim: That was, like, the first Dillingeresque, tryna get extreme-- That was the introduction. Callum: Health and safety regulations! [Laughter] Heath: I remember The Hi-Fi got mad at us, Ricks have got mad at us so many times. Tim: It’s all me. Heath: Yeah, it’s always you. We’re playin’; I can’t get up there. Tim: I’ll getcha up there, man. Heath: Yeah thanks. The live recordings are probably a better representation, because we’re a live band, man. People come to watch us play more than they come for the music. Cause it’s a fucking event, the crowd is involved. Tim: And that’s what we’re gonna put down on the next album. That kinda live entity that’s just wild and rambunctious and off the wall. Heath: Like, Dead Wolves doesn’t have four people in it, it’s got like 50 people in it depending on who turns up. Tim: But as you said, the diversity in the recordings is sick because that’s what I’ve tried to achieve, because I’ve produced and recorded most of it. The next thing is gonna be straight up; what we do live. Tom: Best gigs? Heath: Every single one in Melbourne. Old bar especially. Callum: Old bar was great! Pat: Every one we’ve ever played at Ricks has been sick. Heath: And The Zoo! Tim: Personal favorite for Heath, go. Heath: Uuuuhh-- Pass. Pat: The last one we played Crowbar. Heath: I like them all, I’ve decided. Except the one I had a tantrum in. [Laughter] Heath: I had two tantrums in one gig. Threw my bass down and walked off, came back on stage, threw my bass down and walked off again. Tim: We played some killers at the fucking Beetlebar, was sick. Heath: Bearded lady was fuckin sick. Tim: My favorite one, probably, yet to be played. Callum: Ricks gig with Muddy Chanter
MASHY AT THE DEAD WOLVES SHOOT
was pretty sick. Heath: That’s a huge question to ask, man. We like ‘em all. Tim: The most surprising one was probably the EP launch we did at Ricks. All the high school friends; we had like 50 people just packed out. That’s why we got at first banned cause I climbed up on top of the thing, like, I’ve gotta entertain for all these people who know me as, like, a school kid. Feels like forever. But yeah, yet to be played I reckon. Tom: Japan maybe. Tim: Japan yeah. Tom: Just thinking about Earcandy 6… Heath: Aw yeah the last Earcandy was fucking sick, we carved that up. Earcandys are always fucking sick because David Beatie [?] He puts pretty much most of our favorite bands on every bill. Tim: He puts lollies and chips in the green room. And I’m just eatin’ them all. Heath: Seriously, you walk through Earcandy and you see a billion people you know and love. It’s a good community, he’s building a really good community.
Tim: It started off with Zed Charles bringing us all together at the Boundary but then David’s, like, totally solidified it. Heath: Earcandy’s just a fucking good deal. Tom: Besides Earcandy, what’s coming up? Lay it out. Tim: Unstoppable amount of shows. We’ve been playing once-twice a week for the last two months. It’s been insane. But lots of good shows, great one’s gonna be at Brightside, we’ve never played there before. We’re opening that up. Callum: Oh sick. Fuck yeah. Tim: We’re playing with Keepaways. Pat: We’re playing Punk Fest I think. Tim: Oh yeah Punk Fest, we got asked by Chris Converse from 4zzz. But Lola’s house party’s gonna be sick. Our second ever show was a house party. We’re gonna dress up as The Wiggles for Lola’s. Tom: Well, that’s pretty much wrapping it up. Oh yeah, my mom had a question, where’d the name come from? Pat: I dunno… Heath: I do know. We had an original
name that was Lion Pegs. Then Bones had this dream, where he was on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno or something like that and he was introduced as Tim Bones from Dead Wolves. And it just fucking works, man. Pat: Me and Heath were pretty against it at the start. We didn’t really get it. Callum: We were all tossing it up. Pat: Once we got first show booked we were like, fuck it. Heath: By the time the second one came around, people were already talking about it. Bar Security: You guys, you can’t drink around here. You coming in or--? Heath: Just using them as ashtrays, man. [shakes beer can] Tom: That might wrap it up! Thanks a lot guys. Heath: Thanks man!
New album Blek Shurp is out now on deadwolvesmusic.bandcamp.com
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SPOT CHECK
Brain drain
Located behind the Princess Alexandra Hospital, this DIY spot is shaping up to become the stuff of legend. A shining rarity in a city devoid of good skateable drains. Thanks to the money won by The Small Room shop for a Z-Flex shop competition, this place has had a recent up doin’. But like all good DIY spots; it’s never not under construction. Council doesn’t seem to like the graffiti though. When do they ever? The Brisbane Skateboarding Association are currently talking with people at the PA hospital about laxing on skaters’ presence in the drain. They have given their security the go-ahead to kick skaters out of the spot. So if you get told to leave, don’t ruin it for the rest of us! That aside, you should hit it up ASAP! There’s even a barbie and a couch for maximum chills, so bring a party! Fuck yeah DIY!
LIZZARD WIZZARD—Self-titled (2013)
GALLOWS—Self-titled CD (2012)
Lizzard Wizzard's self titled album utterly destroys! From out of the weed smoke rose a behemoth of stoner doom, smashing heads, melting faces, and rolling critical hits on their d20. The album is full of sludgey crushing riffs and infused with Dungeons & Dragons. —Josh Regan (Wraith Dragon Art)
This is just an insanely well put together UK hardcore album. At the end of ‘Everybody Loves You (When You’re Dead)’, their second vocalist Wade screams out from afar, “We need you now!” calling upon the dead souls of various celebrity rock ‘n’ rollers who were idolised and their images aped and bastardized beyond their deaths. It transitions perfectly to the drumming of Lee Barratt leading us through an acoustic dungeon and into the start of ‘Last June’. By far the best track on the album is ‘Outsider Art.’ I’m an absolute sucker for fast tempo with slowly building vocals and when this song hits the apex, its backed with the power of what sounds like an army of angry English sailors—it rips. —Tom
lizzardwizzard.bandcamp.com
HOPE DRONE—gig review
hopedrone.bandcamp.com
gallows.co.uk—Bridge Nine Records
WHAT WE’RE ABOUT:
Hope Drone have combined droning doom with black metal, and done it fucking amazingly! It's brutal, it's raw, and their live show will rip your face off and fist fuck your ears raw with their furious intensity. I saw them supporting Neurosis, and holy fuck they blew my mind. —Josh Magee
Regan (Wraith Dragon Art)
BLURST OF TIMES FEST 2014—gig review
The Jensens were a band. Born Lion were macho dudes; meh. Scotdracula impressed. Roku Music had sound issues but acted snarky about it which lost them points. Dollar Bar were old dudes having fun. Babaganouj were good, tight and poppy. Per Purpose were thankfully abrasive amongst the good time vibes. Day Ravies had sound issues and handled it well which earned them points. TV Colours were my find for the day. Blank Realm brought the smiles. UV Race were the most fun of the day and Marcus got his shirt off—FTW. Velociraptor were entertaining to watch but the songs were forgettable. No worries though cos Dick Diver are all about the song. They've come a long way and they deserve it. Excellent band and seemingly lovely people. —Nathan Kearney (Gonzovillain)
GARETH LIDDIARD AT BRISFEST 2014—gig review
On the 23rd o'September, I ventured out of my hovel to get tanked at The Plough, but first had the opportunity to get extorted by the Brisbane Festival (Fuck your shit $8.50 beers) and to see Gareth Liddiard perform live. In short, Gareth is one fucked up man, but I'll be fucked by a semi if he's anything but poetic brilliance. The night started with some numbers from his recent solo album, Strange Tourist such as the song, Strange Tourist, the story of a sad man offing himself in the infamous Aokigahara forest. Other highlights of the show include Gareth taking a well aimed piss at apathy and complacency with an acoustic version of "I don't ever want to change". Also of note were his ramblings between songs covering subjects like Jackie Lambi and fuckin' dogs—discussed with all the sage wisdom of a fucked up Australian bush priest. —Jack Knife
THANKYOU to all those who contributed and made this issue happen! Liav Shalev, Sabrina Glik, Philip Dearest, Dead Wolves, Thomas Oliver, The people at Visible Ink, Jack Knife, Josh Regan, Nathan Kearney, Chris Allen, The Brisbane Skateboarding Association for their awesome work in the community, Stuart Fogarty and Mobbn Deep, Marcel Lip, Skate Biz, The Small Room, and all others who stepped forward to help out— keep rollin!
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