SENSE: The local Issue

f ood

ar t s

c u lt u re

the local issue

02

09

Fast Food for Introverts

Hit the Bricks

05

11

A Newbie in Newy

Am I doing this Right?

13

19

15

21

Newcastle Art Drop

Sketch Party

Art or Vandalism?

Music from the Underground

1

fast food for introverts Hey Zeus is a brand new, futuristic, local food outlet that side steps the small talk and serves fresh food.

Front-of-house staff. Waiters. Wait staff.

Whatever you like to call them, you won’t

Two or three minutes later the food is collected from a sushi-train style conveyor

find one at Hey Zeus.

belt that comes out from the kitchen.

Owner Jacob Beye, 28, was born in the US

“The menu consists of either a bowl

and moved to Newcastle in 2008 to study a university degree. The passionate home

or wrap based on a mixture of quinoa and rice. Customers then build it

cook loved it so much he never left.

with selections of meats, vegetables

He claims Hey Zeus is the first takeaway cafe of its kind in Australia.

Subway,” Beye explains.

“As far as I can tell, after a good deal of research, nothing exists that has all of the elements of self serve like this.

There is always some public human

and sauces much like you would at

The food is designed to contain complete macro-nutrition in the form of low-GI carbs from brown or white rice, complete protein from the quinoa and meat if chosen, and a large serve of fresh vegetables for fibre and micro-nutrition.

“One thing I want to jump on ahead of time is that this isn’t an attempt to automate

interaction,” he tells Weekender.

jobs out of the economy,” Beyes says.

“There is at least one similar thing in

“We have a staff of eight that are paid

America called Eatsa. This is the first location and first instance of the Hey Zeus brand, though, and expansion is very much

above their qualified award. Automating the front of house means they can work more quickly and focus more on quality.”

on the cards.”

So, how does it work? Customers use an iPad-based kiosk to order (online orders will be possible soon).

2

3

Beye wanted to create a business that sold local, fresh food, that had an eye on customer service and

“We want to open five stores in five years.

That was part of our business plan from the very beginning, these things work

integrated technology well.

better at scale,” he explains.

He took inspiration from the customer

There’s no shortage of reports about

service focus and tech integration of Apple’s retail operations, and says Newcastle was the perfect place to launch a first-of-a-kind business idea.

“One thing [about the city] would be the university here is incredibly engaged in innovation. Another thing would just be the prices, and it’s a bit easier to

when robotics will finally eat into jobs across the globe, but Beye says the Hey Zeus model can maintain jobs behind the scenes, without falling short of customer expectations.

“Because we’re in the fast food industry, we’re not really a restaurant anyway.

When you’re going to McDonald’s you’re

get things going here.”

looking for speed, efficiency, more than

The first shopfront opened in June, offering

on [customer expectations] of the cafe

easy ordering off iPads and space for diners to wait for their food to appear.

Beye says while there have been some misunderstandings since launching, the technology is there to build a stronger

anything. So we’re not really infringing and restaurant scene.”

For those thinking about starting a tech-led business, however, it’s all about remembering that you will have

business, not to eliminate people’s jobs.

to problem solve and use technologies

“I think there have been a few

used for your purpose before.

misconceptions that it’s taking jobs, but we have seven staff: Two salaried and three casual, and we’re paying over

that likely will have never been

“You do have to have a bit of a knowledge for this stuff . Even though we used a

minimum wage,” Beye says.

company that supplies at point of sale,

While there might not be anyone visibly

customers use it for,” Beye says.

we were totally different to what their other

working at Hey Zeus, behind the scenes the team is busy preparing ingredients.

Courtesy of Lisa Rockman

Not every fresh food is well suited to the model – “The menu has had to be very specifically designed, and while everyone wants avocado, it isn’t easy to serve fresh” but the plan is to expand to a network of similar robotic cafes.

4

a newbie in newy first impressions of the city we now call home with Kate As a kid, my family moved around

was cheaper, oh, but this one offers

quite a bit, so I learnt to call a fair

this exchange program‌ So, I did

few places home. Nothing prepared

what any brave intellectual would

me, however, for the experience of

do, I placed the names of several

moving to a new city by myself for

cities in a hat, shook it up a little,

the very first time.

and drew out‌ Newcastle.

In February of this year, I moved

When the time came, my parents

from Port Macquarie to Newcastle

drove me down to the Uni, helped

all by myself to begin university, and

me unpack my things from the car,

my life as an adult, and already the

and then just like that, where off

experience has turned my

again. At last, the city was mine.

world up-side-down.

This may sound silly, but the simple Firstly, the very fact that I chose this

act of going out without having to

place myself hold great meaning to

tell a sole where I was headed was

me. Every over big move in my life

revolutionary to me. Was this what

was a decision made by my parents,

freedom felt like? Even now, after

which I was merely informed of and

months of this lifestyle, I sometimes

told to comply with (which is a fair

find myself in town or at the beach

enough expectation of a child).

and realise that no one has

However, when I finished high

a clue where I am.

school and started receiving acceptance emails (not as romantic

Another thing that I love about living

as an acceptance letter but hey, this

here is that it still all so new to me.

is 2017) from universities, I knew it

Almost every memory I have of this

was finally my turn to make a big

place has been made in the last

decision for myself, one that would

eight months. There are no ghosts

potentially alter the course of

of past mistakes looming around

my life forever.

corners to haunt me. Only fresh experiences of exploring this new

Being the indecisive human being

place with my new friends.

that I am, after having weighed up

My only fear is that with time, I will

the pros and cons of each

lose this sense of wonder for this

university, I still couldn’t make up my

place, as my new house slowly

mind on where I wanted to go. This

morphs into my old home.

one offered this course, but this one

5

“ consider

everything to be of potential interest

�

6

7 NOBBYS BEACH, NEWCASTLE

These fears are somewhat put to rest when I look at how my boyfriend views our city. Despite having lived here for almost twenty years, he still notices the little things, the age of the architecture, an odd little shop hidden on a backstreet, the beauty of a park which he has passed by a hundred times before. I hope that if I still call Newcastle home in twenty

“ the capacity to view this place with the same awe and wonder

”

At what point will I stop wondering what lies up that back lane because I either a) already know, or b) no longer care. When will this city give me my first heartbreak? At what point will I begin to hate its public transport system, or notice the pot holes on the road?

years’ time, I will have the capacity to view this place with the same awe and wonder as he does. In his book, The Art of Travel, author Alain De Botton describes the act of taking a tour around his own hometown of Hammersmith in England. On his walk, he decides to attempt to view this place as if he was a tourist rather than a local, paying particular attention to the things that tend to float into the background once one becomes accustomed to a place.

On his walk, De Botton commanded himself to; “consider everything to be of potential interest”

(p. 251), and this mindset helped

him to notice the idiosyncrasies of Hammersmith’s streets, the people that filled them and the noises they produced.

I understand that it is impractical to be filled with wonderment at my city every day of the week, some days I will simply need to go to the shops to get milk without overthinking the endeavour, however, every once in a while, I hope I’ll remember to stop and appreciate this city for what it’s worth, and remember the freedom that it has given me.

8

hit the bricks ne your local street art.

It is all happening in Newcastle,

The festival will also include a

Australia, at the moment with Look

street art panel, a bike ride tour

Hear presenting Hit The Bricks

to see all the works in production

next week from November 22nd

and a HTB shop to you can find a

until 24th. Hit The Bricks is the first

momento to take home.

street art festival of it’s kind for the city once known for steel

The local interest and support is

production with twelve walls being

strong with a number of articles

painted over the duration of the

and interviews coming out over

festival. Newcastle has been

the past week. Today there is a

emerging as a city to watch for

feature article in The Herald with

street art over the years with a

Adnate which is well worth a read,

number of pieces by local and

here. It is really good to see

national artists making

people getting behind the concept

their mark here.

of street art, showing support for this ever-growing art form. 1233

Hit The Bricks will see Newcastle

ABC Newcastle have even gone

host some of street art’s most

to far as to start a catalogue,

globally recognised artists to

which is already getting many

share their talent in painting large

contributions from

scale aerosol artworks. The line up

across the region.

is nothing short of stellar so check it out here.

Thorn Street, Newcastle

9

ewcastle Street Art Walking will be on the

This increase in tourism will

ground (overwhelmed with

bolster local businesses, which

excitement to see the Newcastle

will then in turn boost the local

cultural facelift happen!) taking

economy. Effectively, this

photos and hoping to snap some

explosion and love of graffiti is a

interviews up with artists so keep

good sign for further

an eye on our Instagram, Twitter

develeopment

and Facebook to stay in

and growth of Newcastle.

the loop online.

With the local graffiti scene on the rise, many of Newcastle’s residents are preparing for their city to become a national hub for graffiti loving tourists, just as Melbourne has become in the past decade.

Article courtesy of Streetwalking.com.au

10

am I doing

this right? lamentations on growing up and moving out “Two days after moving out I threw up in K-Mart.”

A few months ago, I moved out of my parents’ house and into a share house with a group of strangers.

I needed some bowls so I went to K-mart with a few friends to get some. I had just picked out some nice minimal grey ones when I suddenly realised that I had to puke.

Whether it was the nerves of moving out or the alcohol which I had been drinking the night before catching up with me, I couldn’t be sure. All I knew was; I was about to vom! A few friends rushed off to find a suitable receptacle such as a bin but by that point it was too late, and puked directly into the bowl which I was about to purchase… Not my finest moment. – Gaby “When Prime Possum comes on, go to bed.”

When I first moved out I kept staying up way too late because I didn’t have anyone there reminding me to go to bed. I was getting so tired all the time so I soon realised that I needed to be going to bed much earlier. Now when I see prime possum come on the telly, I go put my PJs on and brush my teeth. - Gemma “I’ve only eaten like two off things this week.”

Making dinner every single night is way too much for me to handle, so I generally make a big batch of pasta or curry and the start of the week and then freeze it. My only

11

problem is that I forget that putting something in the fridge or freezer doesn’t stop it from going off eventually, and I constantly find myself eating things that are definitely not fit for human consumption… And I wonder why I’m always getting sick. – Laila “We couldn’t figure out how to split the bill, so we just went though the drive though five times.”

A few friends and I decided to get Macca’s drive through for dinner, however we all needed to pay on card and they don’t offer split bills.

In the end, we decided the only way to resolve the situation was to drive though several times, each taking a turn of ordering and paying for our own meals. One around the third circuit the lady on the register noticed what we there doing and just sort of looked at us with the sort of disappointed face that usually only mothers can give you. Next time I think we’ll just go inside to eat. - Sophie “I bought a burger and now I can’t afford hay fever tablets.”

A mate invited me out for burgers one day and despite it not really being in the budget that week, I decided to go anyway.

Unfortunately, later that week my hay fever flaired up and thanks to wthe overpriced burger, I couldn’t afford an antihistamine… I was one uncomfortable week, but man was it a delicious burger. – Sebastien

12

ar t drop.

THE FACE BEHIND THE NEWCASTLE ART DROP with BONZO Why do they call you Bonzo?

I got this name at my school in Swansea, in year 7. I was a class clown, for like “weird, kooky animated guy”. So that was when I was 13 and now I’m 29.

How would you describe your art?

I find my personal art to be very expressive and emotional, it’s an outlet.

What is the art drop?

Best way to put it, it’s a project that’s run through the art community. It’s a scavenger hunt, a free art giveaway, artists collaborate to distribute free artwork.

How does it Work?

On a specific day every month (TBA) on Instagram you are to find a spot around newcastle and hide your piece of artwork.

Where?

Beaumont Street, Newcastle to Charlestown, Jesmond, Sandgate.

Generally Newcastle area.

What is the art in the drop?

We’ve had things like stone carvings, pottery, a variety of clothing, music, artworks of any size and scale and local businesses have donated items to support the drop.

When did you start it?

First started in February.

13

“

The essence of creativity is expression, anyone can create and this is the platform for that.

”

So, that’s about 7 drops since it started. Where did you come up with the idea?

One of the art drops was donated to John Hunter Hospital. On one end of the spectrum there are live artists and gallery especially for people that have difficulty expressing themselves or struggle to socialize to do something that is completely fearless.

How many artists have their been roughly?

It’s a way for people to explore their creativity and have confidence in their work, bringing people together one art drop at a time.

I’d seen other artists do it in the past, like Melbourne and internationally and it inspired me to do it.

130-140

Where do you want it to go?

This idea has branched out to Top of New South Wales, Murwillumbah. A collaboration that has brought the community together, she wanted to share the art drop and it’s evolved into a way to bring the community. There were floods, houses and crops were lost.

The community suffered a great loss and they wanted to bring something in for the community to get involved.

To help a broken community.

How do I get involved?

Follow @newcastleartdrop

Events? Anything Further we should keep an eye out for?

I’ll be striving to branch it out further.

There will be upcoming events where we can integrate businesses and introduce musicians to cover a large creative space.

14

ww

sketch party nc with Alpha Sierra

What exactly is a sketch party?

It’s a monthly social event, aimed at expanding Newcastle arts community through sketching.

Are you an artist yourself?

Somewhat.

Somewhat?

I dabble in photography and am currently working on a video production for a local school play, just sayin’ I never liked harry potter until now. I also play a bit of music and make my housemates ears bleed learning violin again.

Where’d you get the idea from?

Initially it was when I was travelling Cali, it came from San Diego where a similar event is run fortnightly at Whistle Stop Bar. Not long after returning I was gallery sitting at the Newcastle TOM HENDERSON SKETCH

art space, the current exhibition was a play off between the two artists, one of them was formally trained and the other self taught and for me that exhibition was a huge motivation for

the sketch party as it emulated the concept of everyone’s ability to be an artist and curated in a gallery. I thought, I’ve gotta do this!

15

“

I was gallery sitting at the

Newcastle art space and the current exhibition was a play off between two artists, one of them was formally trained and the other self taught and for me that exhibition was a huge motivation for the sketch party as it emulated the concept of everyone’s ability to be an artist and curated in a gallery.

When did it start?

”

It’s in the early stages, but what better time to find out about it. It started in September!

Very fresh! What do you hope to achieve from the Sketch Party?

I strive to make the sketch party a supportive environment. The arts community needs to be opened to the public in an interactive way that allows people to try their hand at something new.

Future goals?

I’m hoping to do a bi-annual exhibition and incorprate community pieces, eventually it’ll be at different venues and spread through the hunter.

Where?

Alchemy Hunter street 488 Hunter St. When?

3rd of every month!

Does it cost? $15 presale $20 on the door All materials are provided, no skill required night kicks off with a complimentary drink free snacks and good music.

How do I get involved?

Follow @sketchpartyNC

16

BERESFORD LANE, NEWCASTLE

art or vandalism?

Earlier this month, at the opening

Let’s for a minute put aside the

of an exhibition dedicated to his

fact that an artist such as David

work at Brisbane’s GOMA,

Lynch, known for pushing the

David Lynch got stuck into street

envelope in terms of what art is

art, calling it “ugly, stupid, and

and can be, is criticising one type

threatening”. Apparently, shooting

of art on the grounds that it is

movies can be very difficult when

inconvenient to the kind of art that

the building you want to film is

he prefers to undertake.

covered in graffiti and you don’t want it to be.

There is something more important to discuss here. The

Is there a distinction between art

opinion that street art is vandalism

and vandalism? This is the

(that is, not art) is widely held.

question that always seems to rise

Many people despise graffiti – but

up when graffiti becomes a topic

we are more than happy to line

of conversation, as it has after

our public spaces with something

Lynch’s outburst. This is, however,

much more offensive: advertising.

not just important for those of us

That’s the bigger story here, the

who want to know the answers to

use and abuse of public space.

obscure questions such as, “what is art?” It affects everyone.

Article courtesy of theconversation.com

Why? Because graffiti exists in our public spaces, our communities and our streets.

19

BERESFORD LANE, NEWCASTLE

two types of graffiti At heart, I think this is why people

Tagging, the practice of writing

don’t like graffiti. We see it as

your name or handle in prominent

someone trying to take control of

or impressive positions, is akin to

a part of our public space. The

a dog marking its territory; it’s a

problem is, our public spaces

pissing contest. It is also an act

are being sold out from under us

of ownership. Genuine street art

anyway. If we don’t collectively

does not aim at ownership, but at

protect our public spaces,

capturing and sharing a concept.

we will lose them.

Street art adds to public discourse by putting something out into the

Street art has an amazing ability to do this because it exists in our real and everyday world, not vacuum-sealed and shuffled away in a privileged private space. Its very public nature that makes street art unique powerful and amazing.

If we as a community can recognise the value in street art,

We need something to be able to

world; it is the start

differentiate between Banksy and

of a conversation.

we can begin to address it as a

the back of a bus shelter. They

If art is capable of anything in

value street art as art, we can

are different, and the difference

this world, it is cutting through the

lies in their intention.

dross of everyday existence. Art

the kids who draw neon dicks on

holds up a mirror to the world so

legitimate expression. When we engage with it as a community and help to grow it into something beautiful.

that we can see the absurdity of it. It shows us who we really are, both good and bad, as a community.

20

music from the underground...

The scene you probably didn’t know about featuring: Raave Tapes

21

THERE’S something bubbling in

The bands PALS, Vacations, Wavevom

Newcastle’s underground music

and Voodoo Youth have sprung out of

world. Known as the No-Fi or

this burgeoning scene producing six EPs

Grouse House scene - it’s colourful,

on No-Fi Records that incorporate punk,

collaborative, hedonistic and

psychedelica and garage rock. Others

proudly DIY.

like RAAVE TAPES, William John Jr and Kale have formed close associations with

Within the space of a year

the label and regularly appear

Newcastle’s No-Fi Records, backed

at their shows.

by a savvy use of social media, have developed a cult following to

“The Grouse House scene is the whole

the point that the budding label’s

reason we’re here at the moment,” says

associated bands regularly attract

RAAVE TAPES frontman Joab Eastley.

an army of young admirers across

“There’s this whole torrent of people that

the city’s music venues.

turn up to every show that has anyone involved in Grouse House.”

This was no more evident than when about 450 people turned out

The genesis of No-Fi Records began

last August for the infamous Grouse

early last year when Vacations frontman

House 2, a glorified rock’n’roll

Campbell Burns, artist Krystyan Nowak

house party held in Hudson Street,

and Voodoo Youth’s Hunter Powell

Hamilton. Bands played in a skate

decided to unite to promote, record and

half pipe while art adorned the

produce their respective projects.

walls. Inevitably the police shut down the show when it breached

“The three of us had the idea to band

noise restrictions.

together and make things and try to get in more people,” Burns says. “There’s always been a strong underground scene in Newcastle, but it makes sense to work together instead of keeping everything separate. As a group we have all these resources and connections, so it works like that.”

22

raave tapes

“we’re completely different and very DIY.” Around the same time three music business TAFE students Jed Kirbyshire, Ben Campbell and Kale Newburn were about to launch the inaugural Grouse House event in Wilton Street, Merewether, to provide a showcase for underground bands. Burns’ Vacations performed at Grouse House and struck up a friendship with Kirbyshire, whose band Wavevom swiftly joined

One of Newcastle’s best and most raucous emerging bands, PALS, soon joined No-Fi and have since released their EP Spring and a shared release with Wavevom.

Vacations’ double-sided single Melting/Sleep In has taken No-Fi’s output to six records. All four No-Fi bands have been played on Triple J Unearthed and on Sydney and Melbourne community radio. PALS and Vacations have even been

the No-Fi stable.

reviewed in overseas blogs.

“All the bands showed off their stuff

All the No-Fi releases have been

and there was a great turn out and it was all snow-balling. We were getting bigger and bigger and we weren’t really anticipating what was going to happen. Other bands were starting to come along as well.”

self-funded by the bands involved.

“Looking back now we should have called it No-Fi Collective rather than No-Fi Records because with a record label you think Universal Music, someone who can put in stacks of money into the release,” he says. “We’re completely different and very DIY. Instead if a band comes to us, we can help put out a release. When it came to PALS, I said, ‘I know how to put out a CD, you guys just give me all your songs and I’ll take care of it.’ When they got it they were absolutely stoked because they had 50 professional CDs in cases looking legit.”

23

RAAVE TAPES - NEWCASTLE HERALD

In exciting news for No-Fi, Kurri

Their only release so far has been

Kurribred garage dance band

a single Throwin’ Shade, which

RAAVE TAPES officially joined the

reached No.6 on Triple J Unearthed

label on Wednesday night. On June

after they supported Newcastle’s

25 the three-piece of Eastley, bassist

US-based garage rockers The

Joel Burgess and drummer Jake

Gooch Palms. The yet untitled EP

Wyborn will launch their debut EP

was recorded at Newcastle’s RTN

at the King Street Hotel where the

Studio and mastered at Sydney’s

entire No-Fi stable are expected to

famed Studios 301.Eastley and

feature on the bill. RAAVE TAPES

Burgess bonded over their shared

have generated plenty of interest

love of guitar pedals. It has since

around Newcastle in the past year

sonically and aesthetically become

through their colourful high-energy

the band’s trademark.

performances at Grouse House parties and No-Fi shows.

24