Warp Magazine June 2011

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W arp Warp

WARP TASMANIA | JUNE 2011

Bliss n Eso TIM rogers

Clare Bowditch

Graveyard Train

visual arts

eat out

THIS ISSUE: Faker | Pets with Pets | Joelistics | Little Red | Jaytech | Vents | Steve Kilbey | Matt Nukewood | Ganga Giri | Lowrider | Trial Kennedy | Meat Axe


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Love the arts? Experience the Tasmanian art scene like never before... smart map tasmania profiles over 100 of our arts experiences - from visual to performing arts, craft to literature - giving you loads of options for this weekend and more.

smartmaptas.com.au Daddy changed the lock (detail), 2010, Amber Koroluk Stephenson. Represented by Bett Gallery.


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6 News

News 7

NEWS Great food, free pool and live music Now open till 2am every fri and sat Amplified News

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Amplified is back on for 2011 and CMST has taken on the role of delivering it this year. More info coming very soon but at the moment we can tell you the dates will be August 17-21.

On Edge

------------------------------------------------Warp Tasmania June 2011 ------------------------------------------------EDITOR Nick Mason nick@warpmagazine.com.au ------------------------------------------------LOCAL MUSIC Stuart Warren stuart@warpmagazine.com.au ------------------------------------------------CLUB / ELECTRONIC Ainsley White ainsley@warpmagazine.com.au ------------------------------------------------ART Alison McCrindle alison@warpmagazine.com.au ------------------------------------------------Performing Art Sarah Mashman sarah@warpmagazine.com.au ------------------------------------------------Eat Out Jason James jason@warpmagazine.com.au ------------------------------------------------DESIGN Miu Heath catspop@gmail.com ------------------------------------------------ADVERTISING ads@warpmagazine.com.au ------------------------------------------------GIG GUIDE Submit your events to gigs@warpmagazine.com.au ------------------------------------------------Writers Merran Reed, Sose Fuamoli, Sarah Leary, Eva Lubulwa, Josh Clements, Lyn Geisel, Daniel Townsend, Jervis Dean, Jarred Keane, Lucas Thomas, Caity Rode, Lisa Dib, Brett Neuling, Jade Bonus, Sybelle Foxcroft ------------------------------------------------NEWS Submit your press releases plus publicity images through to the appropriate editor for consideration. ------------------------------------------------www.warpmagazine.com.au www.facebook.com/warp.mag ------------------------------------------------ALL SUBMISSIONS REMAIN THE PROPERTY OF WARP MAGAZINE. ALL CONTENT IS COPYRIGHT TO WARP MAGAZINE AND CANNOT BE REPRODUCED IN WHOLE OR PART WITHOUT WRITTEN AUTHORISATION OF THE PUBLISHERS. WARP MAGAZINE makes no guarantees, warranties or representations of any kind, whether express or implied, as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of the information provided. WARP MAGAZINE will not be liable for incorrect use of the information and will assume no responsibility for consequences that may result from the use of the information. WARP MAGAZINE is not responsible of any kind arising out of use, reference to, or reliance on such information. The opinions expressed in Warp Magazine and Warp online do not necessarily reflect those of the editors or publishers.

Applications for the 2011 Edge Radio Winter Schedule were open last month and much to the delight of Program Director Brad Duence, Edge received a very high number of new applications for original, dynamic, and progressive programs. ‘The amount of fresh and creative ideas which were sent our way was really exciting to see’ he said. ‘Clearly, there is a void in Hobart’s media landscape which Edge Radio is able to give people the opportunity to fill.’ First’s for Hobart radio include the introduction of Strings of Bollywood, bringing the experience, beats and energy of Bollywood to your stereo. Ned brings you the latest youth news and current affairs with The Review while you can now tap the true talent of Tasmanians and the State we live in with Cate Harding’s Untapped Tassie.

Tax for musicians: How I learned to stop worrying and love the numbers... It’s coming up to that time of year when many of us assiduously avoid thinking about doing our tax as musicians. Well fear no more! CMST has come to the rescue (with their partners at the Australian Music Industry Network) with a Tax for Musicians pack. It outlines what is needed and what you can get back in an easy to digest .pdf document. Interested? Email programofficer@cmst.com.au and they’ll be happy to provide!

Wish list Melbourne-based sound engineer James Tulczyn spoke to Warp this month about his recent experiences recording a range of Tassie bands for a number of recent releases. Highlighting the diversity in the local scene as one of its natural strengths, Tulczyn admitted there are a number of bands from the Island State he’d relish working with again. Included on this ‘wishlist’ are Transcription of Organ Music, Anorexic Olsen Twin and Gutter Parties. With development of Tulczyn’s own recording studio in a former factory in suburban Melbourne almost complete, it may not be long before these and other Tassie artists are making a bee-line to work with the man behind Colvan Sound Track.

The Brisbane Hotel turns four! The Brisbane just keeps getting better and better with age (much like the vintage cask that they serve over the bar) and to mark their fourth birthday they are having a ‘carnival’ inspired party with entertainment from Graveyard Train, The Lawless Quartet and Once Upon A Time In The West in the band room. Brand New Second Hand will be hosting a college rock themed party in the front bar. Saturday the 25th of June, $15 entry, Doors at 8pm Grant round open: Arts Tasmania Assistance to Individuals Are you interested in getting a grant from Arts Tasmania to develop your music career? From recording and touring through to online marketing campaigns, hiring a publicist and most things that will help advance your music, this is your source of state funding to help out. The grant round closes August 1 for projects beginning Jan 1 2012. Head here hwww.arts.tas.gov. au/funding/grants/ for more info and/or call Cathryn Gurrin from Arts Tas on 62376306 (Monday to Thursday).

All’s well for Ben Wells With the band entering 2011 on a high having graced the main stage at the Falls Festival, Tasmanian crowds were treated to Ben Wells and the Middle Names all summer long with appearances at MS Fest, O-Week and One Fine Day Fest. Now it seems punters will have the chance to enjoy the band from the comfort of their own front room with recording of the as yet untitled EP progressing well and a release expected later in the year. No date as yet, but you can still get your fill of Ben Wells and the Middle Names with shows at The Waratah Hotel (June 11) and support slots for Lowrider (June 17 @ Republic) and Little Red (June 23 @ The Waratah).

Tiger Choir - Back from the wild Hobart’s Tiger Choir have returned from their whistle-stop tour of the mainland in support of American popsters, The Drums. Speaking to Warp, Tiger Choir’s Hamish Cruickshank said the tour had been a hit on and off stage. As well as playing a host of impressive venues along the way, Tiger Choir were able to showcase tracks from debut LP, Unicycles, with pleasing results. ‘We had a meeting with Pop Frenzy and they are considering the album for release,’ he said. While the guys wait to hear more about any Pop Frenzy plans for the album they’ll also be scouting for live dates in Tassie. Keep your eyes peeled for more details as they come to light.

Cygnet Folk Festival Expressions of Interest Interested in a spot at the Cygnet Folk Festival? The application process has changed this yea. Firstly, you need to send an expression of interest to them by June 30 with just your band name and some basic information. If they are interested in talking further, you will be invited to send through more detailed information and a press kit etc. Head here for more information: www.cygnetfolkfestival.org

It’s all good for Sole Stickers

The Waratah Hotel has a host of live acts booked through the month of June as it announces itself as a new venue on the Hobart live music scene. Little Red take the stage to officially ‚Äòopen’ the venue on June 23, but there’s a host of local acts lining up for their turn in the spotlight in the coming weeks.

Launceston garage rockers, Sole Stickers, have whispered via Facebook about the likelihood of live dates through the winter months. With 2010 album We Got All Things That Are Good receiving plenty of positive feedback since its release, it looks like Tassie audiences will soon have the chance to hear the trio’s punchy pop-rock tracks in the live arena. Keep your eyes peeled for dates and venues as they come to hand.

Tasmanian Rock Challenge Young Tasmanian rock bands have the opportunity again to enter the Tasmania Rock Challenge, which will be running all through August this year. The competition is open to all high school and college bands and further details can be found at www.tasmaniarockchallenge.com

Waratah Hotel launches as a new live music venue

Eleanor McEvoy plays an exclusive Tasmanian show at Brookfield Contemporary Irish singer/song writer, Eleanor McEvoy pays a visit to Brookfield as part of her current Australian tour. Playing material from her most recent album I’d Rather Go Blonde, McEvoy touches on themes such as alienation, hypocrisy, recent Irish history and romance. This is her tenth album in a career spanning some thirty years. Thursday June 9. Doors open 7.30pm. Tickets $25

Shows announced so far are: June 11Ben Wells and The Middle Names, Samuel Cole and The Mornings and Jade, June 18 - The Save, King Carousel and Nick Balcombe, June 23 - Little Red w/ World’s End Press and Ben Wells and The Middle Names, June 24 - Faker with Special Guests. Head to http://www.facebook.com/ warp.mag for your chance to win tickets for both Little Red and Faker. Queens Ball at the Republic Bar Around the World with 80 Gays The highlight of the Tasmanian queer calendar, this year the Queen’s Ball returns to the Republic Bar for ‚ÄòAround the World with 80 Gays’, which will see the venue transformed into a queer multicultural paradise through the magic of interior

Jazz starts on the Friday evening at the Royal Oak Hotel with musicians participating in a five-hour jam session from 6pm. Saturday’s programme will start at the Royal Oak at 11am and at the Mercure at 11.30am. Sunday will see sessions at the Mercure from 10.30am until 1pm and that will be followed by a public concert at the Mercure featuring the musicians who have played for the rest of the festival. Registration can be made at the Royal Oak Hotel from Friday, June 24 at 4pm. Win FREE TICKETS to a classical competition Warp and the TSO are giving you a chance to experience a unique classical concert. The TSO is backing four of the country’s top young violinist on Thursday 30th June at the Federation Concert Hall as they compete to reach the finals of the Young Performers Awards With an average age of just 20, the four finalists – Rebecca Chan, Anna Lisa da Silva Chen, Lillian So and Emily Sun. The Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra under conductor Vladimir Verbitsky will back Rebecca, Anna Lisa, Lillian and Emily as they perform Stravinsky’s Violin Concerto, the Violin Concerto No 3 by Saint-Saëns, and excerpts from the Brahms and Tchaikovsky violin concertos. The winner of this concert will be announced on the night.

www.tapasloungebar.com.au

03 6424 2727

JUNE thurs 9th - taryn & Erin

fri 10th - tMG sat 11th - thE rock PiGs (launcEston) sun 12th - abandonshiP

Blood Duster heading up Bastardfest The second group of acts to be performing at this year’s event are ready to be revealed. Joining Psycroptic as one of the headlining acts at the Brisbane Hotel on October and undoubtedly the biggest bastards in Australian history is Blood Duster. Lewd, crude and with a gung ho fuck you attitude, Blood Duster are a perfect gem for this festival. Along with a smattering of interstate and local bands glorifying the tremendous talent heavy music in Australia has to offer, Bastardfest caters for every single one of you bastards out there. Buy your tickets now. You’ll fit right in!

haPPy hour thurs and fri 6-7 Rooke Street Mall, Devonport,Tasmania.

Warp Magazine has one double pass to give away, so head to http://www.facebook.com/ warp.mag for your chance to win.

The cream of Tasmania’s best jazz musicians and vocalists will be in attendance at the Launceston Jazz Club’s ‘That’s Jazz’ Festival on June 24, 25 and 26 at Launceston’s Royal Oak and Mercure hotels. ‘

For your chance to win a free double pass to the concert, just phone the TSO Box Office on 1800 001 190 and say Warp, after 9am on Monday 13th June. The first ten people will get a double pass each.

Sunday June 12. Presales available from Centertainment and the TGLRG stall at Salamanca Market.

That’s Jazz

Contemporary Music Touring Fund continues The Contemporary Music Touring Fund has been funded again for the next four years this is a great source of money for touring Australia. Also, the Australia Council for the Arts has received a $10 Million package for young and emerging artists. This is a nice chunk and it’s likely that Tassie musicians will receive some of both funds.

design and fabulous ingenuity. Various corners of the usually-Art-Deco-influenced pub will be cunningly fashioned into stylish tableaux representing various countries: you’ll be popping to England for high-tea, scaling the Great Wall of China, giving it your best Bollywood routine in India or simply doing what Germans do best in the beer garden! Entertainment will include performances from the Tasmanian Burlesque Academy, numerous drag acts, DJs upstairs and downstairs and Hobart party band Sugartrain.

Jazz in the Void MONA in conjunction with Melbourne International Jazz Festival, present a stunning jazz double bill never seen in Tasmania before. The Sun Ra Arkestra has been playing intergalactic jazz since the mid-1950’s. Founded by composer/ keyboard innovator/visionary Sun Ra, the band has continued under the leadership of longtime member Marshall Allen following Ra’s “departure from the planet” in 1993. The Arkestra has been one of the most celebrated and controversial bands in the jazz avant-garde for 5 decades. At MONA, Allen will be joined by 9 other musicians including such longtime Arkestra stalwarts as Michael Ray and Danny Thompson. Also performing is Lee Konitz, one of the most individual of all alto saxophonists in the history of jazz. His cool sound and systematic approach have influenced many generations of He came to the attention of jazz cognoscenti through studying and playing with Lennie Tristano. Together they recorded in 1949 the first two free improvisations ever documented. Konitz also appeared on Miles Davis’ groundbreaking recording “Birth of the Cool” (‘48-50). Since the early ‘60’s Konitz has appeared primarily as a leader. His recordings have ranged from cool bop to thoughtful free improvisations. See Jazz in the Void at MONA on Friday June 10, 7.30pm start. Tickets from the TSO box office - http://www.tso.com.au/box_office/

King Cake @ Fresh Fresh Cafe steps up its foray into live music with King Cake playing on the June 24. King Cake is made up of local music identities Pete Cornelius, Henry Nichols and Randal Muir. Show starts at 8pm and is $10 on the door.

thurs 16th - livE Music fri 17th - PEtE cornElius & thE dEvillEs sat 18th - thE unit sun 19th - tMG thurs 23rd - kirby Edwards fri 24th - thE rock PiGs (launcEston) sat 25th - livE Music tba sun 26th - JEff woodward thurs 31st - livE Music tba

JULY fri 1st July - kniki & MikE bEalE sat 2nd - livE Music tba sun 3rd - tiM robErts thurs 7th - livE Music fri 8th - tMG sat 9th - fuzz sun 10th - Ella rosE wEd 13th - oPEn Mic thurs 14th - hEnry fri 15th - australian MadE (hobart) sat 16th - australian MadE (hobart) sun 17th - Ella rosE thurs 21st - trEv hEins fri 22nd - slats & thE biG naturals sat 23rd - thrEE PiEcE sun 24th - thE all in biG JaM band

DEvoNport Jazz FEstivaL wEEkEND thurs 28th - trEv hEins fri 29th - thE Julius schwinG QuartEt sat 30th - (doublE) Midday show - orGan doctors,niGht show - thE rock PiGs sun 31st - Ella rosE warpmagazine.com.au


8 Music

Music 9

Clare Bowditch – The Modern Day Woman Clare Bowditch & the New Slang will be promoting their recent album ‘Modern Day Addiction’ in a National tour throughout June/ July with Lanie Lane as support. Jarred Keane took the chance to probe Clare on the tricky issues.

What’s your ideal type of venue to play? In winter, my favoured venue is intimate, warm, somewhere to get out of the night and remember the best things about winter. In summer, it’s large and outdoors and noisy. Do you feel burdened by the importance of image and marketability in the field of music? Early in my life as a musician, I heavily resented the fact that I was expected to have my face on posters. To me, this made no sense: as an observer of humans, why would I want to give up one of my most valuable gifts, the ability to spy on strangers? Now, I just let it be what it is, and I don’t spent too much time worrying about it: a picture is not a person, and if people actually want to know me, they can come to the show and see for themselves.

TIM ROGERS Warp caught up with Tim Rogers ahead of a busy few months on the road. Tim Rogers doesn’t exactly like to be idle. When he’s not performing cabaret, engaging in his solo musical endeavours and collaborations, treading the boards of the theatre, writing and performing with You Am I, penning movie soundtracks or playing the occasional game of football he seems to be touring. “I like to be busy, it keeps me out of trouble,” Rogers muses. June and July sees Mr Rogers hitting the road on a little jaunt around Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania, with a slight detour over to Perth to perform Songs For The Dalai Lama with an amazing assembly of talented friends and musicians. Tim will be playing the Manhattan Wine Bar in Launceston on June 17th and the following night at the Republic Bar in Hobart. “I have a great affection for Tasmania, I love going down there,” Rogers shares. In his downtime, Tim has been doing a little collaborating with friend Shane warpmagazine.com.au

O’Mara. They have been working on a movie soundtrack (Wish You Were Here) and have started to write an album together. “I can’t wait to be on the road, Shane and myself in a car, write some songs. “I can’t write at home too well,” Rogers confesses. On June 26th, the Reclink Community Cup will return to Elsternwick Park in Melbourne. It’s the local radio community versus the musicians in a game of footy, sport and music combining to raise some much needed funds for charity. Rogers will take to the field as vice captain of the Rockdogs, before hitting the stage as frontman of You Am I. “It’s a wonderful charity and a wonderful day. There’s the family element, the r-rated element, it’s got everything. It’s the A-list celebrity event of the Melbourne social calendar,” Rogers cajoles. You Am I will be rocking their extensive back catalogue and playing alongside perennial

favourites Tumbleweed, with a little bit of help from The Mercy Kills and The Rebelles. Rehearsal time is expected to be minimal, however. “Luckily we’ve been playing together for a little while now, we’ve got a few moves down,” says Rogers. “There’ll be no time for rehearsal or even time to check if we are wearing clashing clothes.” With You Am I’s band members leading such busy lives in different states, the opportunity to play together doesn’t present itself often enough. “We’re like family. It’s such a cliche but so true,” Tim mused. “We know each other inside out, there’s been good and bad along the way and petty arguments, but we’ll always be there to support each other.” The band is excited and honoured to have been asked to be part of the charity event. Meanwhile, a special part of the programme this year is that each band must perform a Nick Cave song. “We’ve picked a few songs out,” says Rogers, careful not to divulge too much. “Let’s just say it should be big, I’m hoping back up singers and orchestration.” Rogers is a man in great demand wherever he goes, even trying his hand at theatre. It was in 2009 that Rogers made his stage debut in the Malthouse Theatre production of Woyzeck. “Woyzeck was awesome.

I was originally asked to do the music and then they offered a part,” Rogers reveals. November will see Rogers again treading the boards of the Malthouse Theatre in Melbourne as part of the cast of The Story of Mary Maclane by Herself. The musical is a production adapted for the stage by Bojana Novakovic from the writings of Mary Maclane, and directed by Tanya Goldberg, Rogers has written the music and will be performing. After their season in Melbourne, they will hopefully be taking the production to Sydney, Newcastle and Woolongong.

What’s the main emotional force that drives you when you write music and what is the emotional catharsis that you’re most often looking for onstage? Curiosity, and love, and restlessness, and danger, and love. Some days it’s grief, other’s it’s joy.

Tell me about the times when you’ve regretted something, within the framework of your musical career; have you had moments of crisis? I’ve had many, many moments of doubt and crisis: that’s just the par for the course. I have never regretted the choice to follow my passion, nor have I ever pretended it is a life “for the faint-hearted”. What was the last album that you personally listened to that triggered a good personal growth? I guess “personal growth” is really just a side-effect of a life well lived. I don’t know that music exactly triggers personal growth, so much as it is us who trigger our personal growth and then subconsciously hunt for music or art to match the pace or texture of our growth. Eva Popov’s ‘Hello Satellites’ album is one that served as a recent companion to one such period for me. If you could legalise one currently illicit substance, what would it be, and why? Or, if you could criminalize one currently legal substance or behavior, what would it be and why?

I don’t know. It’s more the kind of thinking that we accept as “normal” that I have an issue with. For example, I think about women and families and birth a lot. Why do we make it so incredibly difficult for families to choose how and where they want to give birth to their children? Why don’t we celebrate and trust our incredible midwives? Why don’t we talk enough about the possibility of joy and mindblowing connection that can come from this experience? Why aren’t we honest with each other about the amount of true support it takes to allow a woman to be the best mother she can be? Why do we perpetuate the myth of superwoman? And so on.

genderless concepts of an emotional and intellectual being, i.e. the best characteristics to be achieved or refined while embracing all flaws and failings without simply reacting to ideas of masculinity or sexual orientation.

Has your opinion of Julia Gillard changed in the months since your Myspace interview last year?

I don’t can’t speak for other women. In my own life, the search has been long and ongoing. Don’t be fooled into thinking the search ever ends: we are always more than we think.

No, my opinion of her hasn’t changed. Our collective role is to remind politicians of the bigger picture, and of what matters to us. We have far more power than we think. What do you make of female role models in our society? Specifically, in the context of women finding a self sustaining notion of themselves beyond the esoteric or

Big question, too big to answer here. Simply put, we all need role models, and good ones are exceptionally hard to find, so when your gut tells you “there has to be more”, commit to the search. Is it as easy for women to find their womanhood; their layered identity and their strength in our society?

Jarred Keane

Claire Bowditch is appearing at Manhattan Wine Bat, Ltn on Fri June 24 and Grand Poobah on Sat, June 25

Saturday the 11th of June Puta Madre Brothers, The Sin And Tonics and Sin & Tonics and Shin Bone Willy Friday the 17th of June ‘The Battle Royal’ 80’s Glam Ladies Jelly Wrestling Competition

Judging by Rogers’ current schedule, he’ll be keeping himself out of trouble for a while yet. With tours to do, albums to write, theatre groups to tour with, footy games to play and music to be made, we definitely haven’t seen the last of the enigmatic entertainer, dashing diletante and tenacious troubadour that is Tim Rogers.

Monday the 20th of June / Danger Academy / 8pm Friday the 24th of June / Manchester Mourning (Album Launch), Gutter Parties & Treehouse Saturday the 25th of June Clare Bowditch supported by Lanie Lane / $35 + bf / $40 door Friday the 1st of July / Saskia Sansom & Transcription of Organ Music Sunday the 2nd of July / Die Die Die (NZ) Sunday the 3rd of July / The Grand Poobah Bazaar Monthly Sunday Market / Noon Till 5pm / Art, Second Hand Goods, Treasures, Num Nums

Kylie Cox

Monday the 4th of July / Danger Academy / 8pm

Tim Rogers is appearing at Manhattans, Ltn on Fri June 17 also at The Republic Bar on Sat June 18

142 Liverpool St, Hobart | 03 6231 3363 thegrandpoobahbar@gmail.com www.facebook.com/thegrandpoobahbar

Cavalcade of Whimsy / Every Wednesday 7pm Till 9pm / $9 Jugs $5 Basic Spirits For your Entertainment we shall have Parlour Games hosted by the enigmatic Emily Newton plus Prizes, Films, Bands, Ping Pong, Pool, Tunes & Feats Of Daring…

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10 Music

Music 11

Bliss & Eso Bliss & Eso are without a doubt, the biggest thing in hiphop in Australia (& possibly music in Australia). Wherever it has taken them, their current Running On Air tour is the hottest ticket in town. Crixus chatted with Eso about their astonishing rise. For the past few years, the Australian hiphop industry has been dominated by three lads from Sydney. The trio have grown from an obscure slightly left of centre group penning epic songs about middle earth, to pop megastars with apparently foul mouthed grandmothers. Their Running on Air tour has already eclipsed all before it, selling out almost everywhere, forcing second bookings, filling venues “big enough to hold a festival in” with thousands of screaming fans and firmly establishing themselves as one of the biggest acts in the country. So from humble beginnings, an empire has grown and what do Bliss’n’Eso attribute this meteoric rise to? “I wouldn’t be able to give specifics, there’s a lot of substance for the listener, but really this album was just a couple of blokes out in the bush, it was a relaxed and fun atmosphere in the studio.” With every album, Bliss’n’Eso have shown definite growth and development both musically and commercially, “We didn’t think it would evolve into this, we were just into it for the experience and adventure of

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making a track. We have always been about the skills, crafted lines, dope beats and scratching by one of Australia’s best.” Along with a select few other acts, Bliss’n’Eso have helped lead the way for Australian hiphop to evolve from ignored sub-genre to chart topping flavour of the month, “The rush that Australian hiphop has had, has been huge. The fans that came at the beginning are still coming, and I really vouch for all our listeners. We’ve always been about the lyrics and having substance for the listener. The fans are a reflection of the music.” Recently, their massive popularity scored them a spot at the huge SXSW festival in Austin, Texas. “I knew about them but had never researched before. It was amazing. It was almost like there were too many things going on at once. The streets were littered with people, it was all very open, people were setting up everywhere, little acoustic acts and stuff. You could just barhop everywhere and see great acts. We were like

kids in a candy store. There were so many hiphop legends playing, we didn’t know where to turn.” Since returning to Australian shores, they have already dived back into the Australian festival circuit, appearing at the popular Groovin’ the Moo festivals. “Bendigo & Townsville were off their guts! With so many other acts on the bill it’s a privilege to have some people see us. But the crowds are getting bigger.” “10 years ago, we’d do a show, than have 6 months of nothing & we’d be sitting around reminiscing about howdope it was until something new came up.

We’ve gone from playing to 10 people, to playing to 10,000 people, & we hardly get a chance to think about what we’ve done. Sometimes when we’re on a plane we get a chance to think back, but that’s about it.” As soon as Groovin’ The Moo is over, MC’s Bliss, Eso & DJ Izm head off on their “Running On Air” tour with fellow Sydneysiders Horrorshow, who are quickly developing into megastars in their own right, and Las Vegas native Big B Tasmanians will

have the opportunity to see the Bliss’n’Eso spectacular with shows in both Devonport and Hobart. The show itself is physically massive, with video projection, pyrotechnics and the like, how do the lads handle touring such a large amount of gear? “We’ve got so many people that I don’t have to carry shit. But everyone involved is great to work with. We have a great group of guys.” “There’s no real difference between doing festivals & our shows, Hoarden Pavillion is big enough to hold a festival in.” There’s no rest for the wicked, as soon as the Running On Air tour is complete, the lads plan to be back in the studio working on another release, which is once again sure to bombard the airwaves. “Our minds stay dedicated to the task at hand, but Bliss and M-Phazes have already been back in the studio working on new things.” As people who have already accomplished so much, they are in a better position than most to give advice, “The world’s your oyster, you gotta go get it, the more people that get into it, the bigger & better it gets. We know that we can accomplish anything if we put our minds to it & keep a basis in skills – we won’t be stopping any time soon.” Shane Crixus

See Bliss’n’Eso in Devonport on Friday June 24 at The Warehouse or in Hobart Saturday June 25 at The City Hall.

PETS WITH PETS

Pets With Pets is a platform for a rare breed of music that is its own living, breathing entity. The band pull sounds from darkness and the shapes they form differ with every experience. Front man Viscount Zayd Thring and drumming extraordinaire Jonox Edmonds have recently unleashed their debut album Saturday Aquatic Pixie Acid, a record that personifies chaos and breeds insanity. Saturday Aquatic Pixie Acid is a triumph for the band that was a long time in the making, as Edmonds explains. “It was a mammoth effort. We started recording in our friend Shags tower in Prahran and we had to soundproof the entire thing and haul my drum kit up three flights of stairs. The neighbours didn’t appreciate our 3am sessions and we moved to the rehearsal space at Sound Park and then finished off back in Shags tower. The whole process took around eighteen months to complete.” The result of their hard work is truly amazing, the band successfully captuinhe the intense atmosphere of their live shows on record. The faithfulness to their performances was intended, according to Edmonds. “It’s the same instruments and it’s the same people playing them. There were over dubs but the actual skeletal structure of what’s recorded is what you see live.” he reveals. “The hardest part was the vocals”, explains Thring, “All the other recordings I’d ever done before this album were live, but this was tracked. When it came time to do the vocals it felt fake and shit. In order for it to work I just had to get really, really drunk. Shags made me a little cubby house. I was really liking Kate Bush and he built me this Kate Bush cubby house for my vocals. It had lots of pictures and her records in this cubby house and a flask of scotch.”

Pets With Pets’ music is at times obtuse but their influences are recognisable. “The record didn’t start off the way it is now. It was more ambient in the beginning. I was listening to Sigur Ros and Liars a lot. Another band I’ve been enjoying lately is Peak Twins from Adelaide. It’s really beautiful, nice guitar songs.” The boys are gearing up for an east coast tour in celebration of the record and are looking forward to playing their first Tasmanian show. “My mum was born in Hobart”, says Thring, “but I’ve never been there before. I like green things. It should be fun”. And what can Hobart expect from a Pets With Pets live show? “We don’t rehearse very much,” admits Edmonds. “There are pro’s and cons to that, but the benefit to the audience is that the music has a lot of air in it, which is exciting for the band to be able to create something new to translate to the audience at every show.

You’ve got this beast that kind of assembles itself as it goes along. I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Kat Mahina

Be sure to catch Pets With Pets when they play the Brisbane Hotel on June 24th.

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12 Music

“All Theirs” – The Homecoming of Little Red A head of the commencement of Little Red’s first national tour of 2011, Sose Fuamoli caught up with Dom Byrne to chat about what it’s like to be back home following a string of shows overseas. Melbourne rockers Little Red have had much to celebrate in their career to date. Since their formation in 2005, the band has won over crowds nationally and internationally with their upbeat and kicking fusion of indie-rock and has garnered immense acclaim for their 2010 record, Midnight Remember. More recently, the band have been doing their thing overseas, with shows everywhere from the U.S to the villages of Papua New Guinea. One fifth of the talented lads, Dom Byrne, spares some of his time to tell me what it’s been like to be part of the busy musical enterprise that is Little Red over the past few months. According to Byrne, the life of a touring musician can feel overwhelming at times. “It’s been pretty exhausting and disorientating,” he admits. “I sometimes miss my bedroom, but other times I feel very lucky to be able to see the world and have some really memorable experiences.” Such experiences have included performing to some pretty diverse crowds in some pretty interesting parts of the world. “We found the Japanese and German crowds to be really enthusiastic almost immediately!” Little Red are just one band amidst a slew of Australian acts catapulted from local haunts to the national stage in recent years. Any observer could suppose that such rapid success would be enough to age a band. “I suppose it’s like a blue vein cheese – we’re getting a bit mouldy,” the guitarist muses. “It’s matured me in a way; I feel like I’ve aged in months. But it’s hard to say if I’ve learned much.” Little Red’s spot on the Australian music landscape – spurred on by their hugely successful release Midnight Remember saw the band share the stage with popular contemporaries, including Sparkadia and Kimbra. They were also part of the batch of talented Aussies to make their presence known at the well-known SXSW festival in Texas. As a festival predominantly for artists to showcase their music for people in the industry, there is often pressure for exports warpmagazine.com.au

to get over there and really make the most of their opportunities. As Byrne reveals, it’s not his ideal stage. “The thing about those gigs is that a lot of people you’re playing to are music industry employees, so that changes the experience. I’m not really that into it but it seems to be the way to make contacts in America.” Meanwhile, Little Red have become local festival favourites since debuting at the V Festival in 2008. Of course, the band have forged many precious memories since. Byrne’s only to list the highlights. “Some memories that come to mind: the sun going down behind a thousand faces at Pyramid Rock, getting my new favourite Bowie t-shirt ripped by overzealous fans on the last Big Day Out show and watching The Strokes at Splendour, then at SXSW…fireworks going off overhead.” Little Red are excited to be strutting their stuff back home, their upcoming national tour pegged as a homecoming party of sorts. Kicking off in Sydney, the boys will be traversing the country with fellow Melburnians World’s End Press. The band also have a date at The Waratah Hotel on June 23. Byrne is very much looking forward to the show. “We love Tasmania. I really like Hobart; it’s a beautiful city and so unlike any other place in Australia. It’s a really nice place to walk around, although it’ll be bloody cold when we come down!” Amidst an extensive touring schedule with many more dates to come, one has to wonder when Little Red will return to the studio. “I think we’re going to have to get cracking on that soon.” Byrne muses. “I’m looking forward to having some time off to just play guitar and jam; hopefully that’s before too long.” Sose Fuamoli

Little Red are performing at the Waratah Hotel on Thur June 23

brookfield

MARGATE

UPCOMING EVENTS

REGULAR EVENTS

Eleanor McEvoy Thur June 9 | 8:00pm Borstal Boys & Blue Mosquitos Fri June 24 Ado Barker & Ben Stevenson Sat June 25 The Blue Ruins Sat Aug 6 | 7:30pm Geoff Achison Sun Aug 14 | 4:00pm Jenny Biddle Sat Sept 17 | 7:00pm The Timbers Sun Sept 18 | 5:00pm David Knight Sat Oct 1 | 7:00pm

Open Mic Night 1st Friday of the month Folk Night 3rd Friday of the month both have a guest artist each month and are free Sitar Lounge 1st Thursday of the month (7pm) Brookfield Comedy Club now running monthly Local Market Every Wednesday (10am - 3pm) Delicious Homestyle Meals Open 7 days 9am till 6pm Friday and Saturday nights and all events

1640 Channel Highway Margate Tasmania Ph: (03) 6267 2880 www.brookfieldmargate.com

Del Homosapien The Funky

Republic Bar & Cafe Wednesday 20th July 9pm $30


14 Music

Music 15

Kilbey, Maymi and David Neil

In what we may pretend to be reality, Neil emerged fullblown in an entry on Kilbey’s stream-of-consciousness (and these days, multimedia) blog “The Time Being” in late 2008, quickly becoming a major character. Kilbey’s writing has had recurring characters before, such as Erskine the magician, but few of them have gone on to have posthumous solo careers. Enter guitarist Ricky Maymi of Brian Jonestown Massacre: “i was writing some stuff about david neil on my blog and ricky was around and we started writing some songs to flesh things out...ricky was in there from the word go i guess youd say...couldnt have done it without his authentic chops..ha ha”. The result of the collaboration is a new album called “’The Wilderness Years’ by David Neil”, available on, of all things, limited edition blood red vinyl. Although SK has dabbled in this medium before, Mr Maymi is the “vinyl nut” of the partnership, the idea being that a period piece should be on a period format. It will also be available on CD and digital download. Three songs accurately described as “glam/melodramatic popular song/psychedelic” can be heard at http://www.myspace.com/davidneilsongs What else can we expect when Kilbey and Maymi bring their tribute to the elusive David Neil to Hobart? “you’ll be surprised [..] probably some other stuff of mine maybe one or 2 church songs maybe one or 2 covers... we’re a really rocking band” Perhaps a little something from Priest=Aura to cover the 20th anniversary of the critical (but little known) Tasmanian contribution to the atmosphere of that great album? Perhaps too much to hope for but who knows! Florentine Trout

Steve Kilbey and Ricky Maymi, with Shaun and Adrian Hoffman, bring the Wilderness Tour to the Republic on Saturday 9th July. Support by Jill and Alsy (Triffids) with Richard Lane (Stems). Album released July 1st on Time Being Records.

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GANGA GIRI Renowned percussionist and didgeridoo extraordinaire Ganga Giri has returned to our shores to celebrate the release of his new record, Good Voodoo. Ganga’s music is a melting pot of genres, featuring complex, multi-layered arrangements as if to echo a primal extension of nature itself. “I started playing drums when I was 8 and I did a bit of hand percussion. Then the didgeridoo came in when I was still in school. I taught myself how to play it and it just took over,” Giri reveals. “It’s been an amazing gift. It’s taken me travelling all over the world and I’ve been able to learn more about indigenous culture and the origins of the instrument, which has been an amazing experience.” Throughout Ganga’s extensive travels have included many highlights – appearances at Glastonbury, Woetsjtock Festival, Boom Festival, Fusion Festival and the Vancouver Folk Festival to name just a few - the time he spent living in Arnhem land amongst the people of Numbulwar would prove particularly memorable. Giri would meet his grandfather, a humbling experience for the musician. “The time I spent in Arnhem land was special. Meeting my Grandfather was interesting. He was living for 45 years in the area the didgeridoo comes from. Which was pretty amazing.” “My sound had already started to fuse in a way before I went there, it was a style of music I felt very inspired to make,” Giri explains.

“I have strong indigenous roots and I felt the need to make this music...”

because there wasn’t much out there that utilised the sounds. I mean dance and fusion is pretty wide open now. I’d already set out on that path, making something danceable with strong Australian roots. It’s been a journey in general I think.” Giri’s live shows revolve around a celebration of music and culture and Good Voodoo is an organic product of performance. “The record took about 5 years to fully complete. It started in the hills of Byron Bay, we were just jamming and we came up with a lot the beats. We had a lot of live jams onstage. The music grows really organically. It just unfolds, it’s an interaction between studio playing and the live shows. We don’t do it all in the studio, we try the songs out live and get a feel for it. We get inspired and perform and see how the crowd likes it and translate that into our recorded work.”

GO IN A NEW DIRECTION. APPLY NOW FOR MID-YEAR. If you’re thinking of going to university, why wait until next year? Starting mid-year is not a disadvantage. It’s no different to choosing a course at any other time. If you completed year 12 at the end of 2010 but didn’t enrol in university right away, it’s no big deal. You can apply now.

Though Giri has his own regular touring band, the musician can’t help but seek out new musical minds for collaboration wherever he goes. “I think music is about sharing. We go around the world and have good friends that also happen to be awesome musician’s and we invite them to play. The show and the journey is never the same. Finding local artists to play with us breaks down boundaries as well between us in a new town and the locals. I don’t get bored that way either, it makes every show different and it’s nice to keep changing that up.”

And the best place to start the next phase of your life is at UTAS. With more than 100 undergraduate courses, UTAS can open the door to a world of possibilities and potential. So what are you waiting for? Apply now for mid-year.

Kat Mahina

Ganga Giri plays the Republic Bar Friday July 1 USRM5370_RJ

Who was David Neil? “An enigmatic and ephemeral” seventies glam-rock star “who somehow slipped through time’s arbitrary clutches; his premature death (or triple death, as the coroners put it) seeing him drizzle down a clotted drain hole into a dank sewer, joining the collective waste and wonder of many a hasbeen and never-was. Lying there stagnant, his music could only be heard in ghostly whispers by sewer rats and underground junkies alike for decades, until, legend has it, his touring bassist Steve Kilbey (of The Church) dug it up.” Triple death? Neil was on a plane that crashed in 1974, at the same time as he was overdosing in its toilets, at the same time as a husband jealous of his philandering busted down the toilet door and shot him. The coroners could not decide which of these things had killed him first. His last words were reputedly “oh fuck”.

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16 Music

Music 17

Growing original artists Sunday through Tuesday every week Featuring

Ivories at Irish rod fritz, Wingit, Boxmoney, nick foster, oberon carter, radio Silence ...and many more.

So how does the music creation process happen? “I’ll go to Trials’ place and he’ll play me a beat, and

I’ll just sit there and write to it until it’s done, I’ll write it all in one go, even if it takes 16 hours. I can’t go away and come back to songs - I lose the vibe.” And what happens now that the music is created? “We’ll hopefully be touring capital cites sometime around July, then going to the regional spots later in the year, I’ll definitely be back down in Tassie at some point.” SHANE CRIXUS

In the 4 year hiatus since Hard to Kill, Vents seems to have experienced a lot and grown

Joelistics voyages south TZU’s enigmatic front man Joelistics recently signed with Australian hip hop powerhouse Elefant Traks and announced the release of his debut solo album. Shane Crixus caught up with Joelistics to get the lowdown. It seems appropriate that Joelistics should be calling in for interviews from Wycliffe Well, the UFO sighting capital of Australia. The underlying theme of the TZU frontman’s debut solo album (titled Voyager) is that of travel and understanding our place in the world. So, where would be a more apt place to talk, than standing alongside a corrugated iron UFO, five hours outside Alice Springs?

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For the past few years, Joelistics has been travelling through Asia and Europe, seeing the sights, living the life, enjoying his lot. Between writing for online travel sites & teaching English, the seed for the Voyager album was planted. As the travels continued, the seed grew; writing and composing music on a laptop with a pair of old headphones. “All the music was written overseas, but most of the lyrics were written when I got back,” he said. After returning to Australia, Joelistics travelled back and forth between Sydney and Melbourne, before finally settling in his long time home of Melbourne. “I love Australia 10 times more when I’m away. When I’m away, I get a golden view of Australia.”

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The feedback from his appearance on Youtube-based MC cypher Rappertag seemed to help “after I did Rappertag and that was well received, that was a real boost... I was really glad to get good feedback from that”.

Marked for Death is a definite step up in style and ability for the Golden Era Records phenom. Rollin’ Balls had the internet frenzied after it was released on the Golden Era Mixtape, and the History of the World video clip smothered social networking sites within hours of being uploaded.

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“It sucks, I get it now, and that was the problem,” he said. “[In] 2010 I probably should have had something out. It was really just friends and people boosting my confidence again... I had to remember that I can make a fucking album.”

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The new album Marked for Death has garnered similar hype and expectation. His initial success raised the sophomore slump question, how would Vents go about avoiding it?

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So as someone who has known only success, it was refreshing to find Vents to be a relatively low-key, reflective and introspective individual without even a semblance of an ego.

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But for Vents, the title track is the real stand out. “Marked for Death, I really like what that one is talking about and I think that’s one of the better songs I’ve written, I’m proud of that one,” he said.

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After the release of the debut album Hard to Kill, Vents’ popularity skyrocketed even further. National tours and appearances with label mates Hilltop Hoods and Funkoars fanned the fire and Vents had already cemented a position among the Australian hip hop elite.

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a lot: “I’m rhyming different now, it’s not just flat out aggressiveness.”

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Adelaide MC Vents is an interesting phenomenon. Even before his first solo release had hit shelves, the amount of buzz & hype surrounding him was at fever pitch in all corners of the country. Through successful appearances on other artists’ albums, growing popularity in the live performance arena, and the development of an influential online persona, a reputation as an imposing lyricist had been forged.

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Adelaide MC Vents recently released Marked for Death, the highly anticipated follow up to 2007’s Hard to Kill. Crixus caught up with Vents to find out what took him so long.

la ai av

Venting at last

His enthusiasm and love for Australia, despite its flaws, is clear throughout the album. Comments on racism and political matters are cleverly concealed inside the happy, up-tempo music.

“I really wanted to subvert these party tunes into substance. The choruses came easy, but I had a more difficult time writing the verses. I wanted to hit things that I could look back on in 20 years and think ‘that’s where I was at that point’.”

“I got something very different out of it. It’s a lot more personal, so I feel more vulnerable. I love the collaborative aspect of TZU, but this is all me. So if it’s successful, great; but if it bombs, than that’s me.” The album has already received praise and high rotation on radio, solidifying both Joelistics’ and label of choice, Elefant Traks’ position in the public spotlight. Urthboy had been working with fellow TZU member Count Bounce some of the Joelistics demo tracks were played.

celebrate end of exams/Winter Solstice Wednesday 22nd - $10 stew & pot of Boag’s

Friday & Saturday The best of Hobart’s cover bands every week Featuring Joel Everard, The Pirates of the Cover Scene,

Dave Wicks, Wolfe Brothers, The Smashers, Dr. Fink, Naked Acoustic... and many more.

“We’ve been good friends for a long time, I could have gone with Liberation, but chose Elefant Traks, it’s a very independent record for me and they’re a close group of people, you can always trust Elefant Traks.” Since signing with E.T., Joelistics has already been back on the touring grind. “I’d just finished mastering and went straight on tour with The Herd, it was pretty rushed, but it was great to play the new tracks.” On returning to Hobart? “I lived in Tasmania for a while. I picked fruit in Huonville and TZU always had crazy gigs in Hobart, so I’m looking forward to getting down there and catching up with people who’ve followed us over the years.”

e Celebrate th day h Queen ’s birt nd long Weeke s of With 8 hour live bands

r bands. original and cove see the best in cocktail. Pippa Middleton try our special $20. th a pot of beer fish & Chips wi

SHANE CRIXUS

Serving great mealS for lunch & dinner everyday! Joelistics Friday June 17 at the Republic Bar with Lowrider. Tickets available from The Republic Bar and Ruffcut Records.

21 Salamanca Place, Hobart 6223 1119 | www.irishmurphys.com.au

So to that end, was writing a solo album as rewarding as writing for TZU?

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18 Music

Graveyard Train The Brisbane Hotel is turning the grand old age of 4. Well it’s older than 4, the building anyway. The venue commonly known as ‘The Brisbane Hotel’ is turning 4. Yeah. Graveyard Train will be taking part of the celebrations and took some time out for Warp ahead of their appearance. You’re a little bit country, a bit punk and a bit billy. Where do you draw your influences from? With 6 of us in the band our influences kind of come from all over the place. Wu Tang were originally a huge influence in terms of what I’d envisioned Graveyard Train to be like on stage, which is a whole bunch of guys singing and hollering and going bananas. Storytellers like Nick Cave, Johnny Cash, Screaming Jay Hawkins, Lee Hazelwood and old school country guys like Hank Williams really inspire a lot of the lyrical side of things, although Beau is really into bands like the Pixies and Pavement so he’s always chasing super catchy popish hooks with more abstract lyrics.. We’re also quite into psychedelic/shoe-gazy stuff like the Black Angels, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Spacemen 3, Spiritualized and that sort of thing so some of the tunes we’re coming up with for the new album seems to be going down a more psychedelic-country sort of a path... With sold out shows across the map, how does this combination draw towards your recent success?

Adam’s biceps has grown noticeably bigger. We also have banjo, dobro, upright bass and a resonator guitar. So it’s all pretty traditional in a bluegrass sense (apart from the hammer and chain), but we don’t play bluegrass music. Where did The Graveyard Train start? And where’s the band heading? It started as a stupid idea in a bar in Melbourne; We were all drinking buddy’s and it just seemed like a good idea at the time, Half the guys had never even been in a band before. Since then somehow, it’s kind of gone ballistic and somehow we’ve turned into a ‘real’ band. We’ve played all over the country heaps and done some pretty huge festivals as well as playing over in Europe and the UK. In the immediate future we’re off to the US and Canada in July, after that we’re going to finish off recording the new album and hopefully release that sometime in the summer. What should the crowd at The Brisbane Hotel Birthday Bash expect from your performance?

WY

Fuck knows. We’re still not really sure why people seem to like what we do. I guess we touch on a whole bunch of musical genres but still twist it to be pretty accessible to all kinds of people. We kind of do punk with banjos and scream the fuck over beautiful country chord progressions and somehow we end up with old grannies bopping along next to punks and rockabilly neck-tatt chicks dancing with kittle kids and everyone just seems to get along and get down together. It’s weird but awesome. People say that your unique instrumentation is crucial for your performance. Can you elaborate on this?

Well we’ve got some weird instrumentation in that Adam plays a hammer and chain and Matt plays a homemade washboard. We’ve played so many gigs that one of warpmagazine.com.au

Last time we went to Tasmania we missed our flights, missed a radio interview, got a parking ticket, lost a wallet and kind of played in the wrong pub (we didn’t know about the Brisbane Hotel then, let alone that the staff there already knew who WE were). So this time we’re going to get revenge and play the hell out of the place. It’ll be one of our last Australian shows before we head off to the US so I reckon we’re going to be pretty fired up. Adam might even bring his extra thick gauge chain if they let it on the plane.

Charles Farley

Graveyard Train appear as part of The Brisbane Hotel’s 4th birthday celebration on June 25 with The Lawless Quartet and Once Upon A Time In The West and many more.

80’s ACTION FIGURES POP CULTURE COLLECTABLES RETRO GAMING RARE VHS PROP REPLICAS COMIC BOOKS AND MORE... 8/138 COLLINS ST. HOBART (IN THE IMPERIAL ARCADE) COME GET YOUR GEEK ON!


20 Music

Music 21

Faker

The Witching Tree The age-old adage, ‘time flies when you’re having fun’, could quite comfortably be applied to Hobart prog-rockers, The Witching Tree. With the three-piece line-up only coming together in the last few months, the boys are on the verge of releasing a self-titled debut EP as well as adding another solid support slot to their burgeoning CV.

The month of June promises to be an epic one for The Witching Tree. Chris Pullen, Chris Fysh and Christian McLean are set to step up on stage at the Republic Bar & Cafe to take part in the Global Battle of the Bands on June 16 and will double-up with the support slot for Trial Kennedy’s June 17 date at Berriedale’s Venue Six.

While the recording process had been initiated by front-man and chief songwriter Chris Pullen prior to the arrival of Fysh and bass player Christian McLean in the band, it seems clear the guys have now hit upon a productive line-up and want to keep raising the bar – both on stage and in the studio. “We came in on the back end of it,” McLean said. “A lot of it had already been recorded.

And with their support of Thousand Needles in Red still fresh in their collective mind, it seems like a case of onward and upward as the unassuming trio awaits delivery of the five-track EP.

“Looking back then to now, we’ve got heaps better with our stage presence and things.”

“We’ve just shipped it off to be printed so we’re waiting for it to come back now,” drummer Chris Fysh told Warp.

“Our new stuff is a lot heavier... it’s grown already,” Fysh said.

Both Fysh and McLean cited a heavier sound as being a sign of their progress to date.

McLean: “We’re not going metal or anything like that, just more driven.” Fysh: “It’s still The Witching Tree sound, but it’s more, like he said, driven.” That kind of progress is only natural when you’re working as hard as The Witching Tree are at present, McLean indicating their live output has seen them play “pretty much once a week for the last couple of months”.

With a new album on the way, Faker’s Nic Munnings chats with Warp to sus out the past, present and future. Faker has been quiet of late. Since their massive hit This Heart Attack from the reasonably successful Be The Twilight album in 2007, the band have been undertaking mechanical changes and writing sprees, as well as giving a little back to their fans.

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The Adventure Bay

Blues & Roots Festival

presents: Guthrie, Full Tilt Boogie Yonderwall, The Firmm, Wahbash Avenue

The Dudley Nightshades, The Johnny Cash Converters and more

Sunday June 12 Licenced Event 18+ Only. 1:30pm til Late

$30 from Republic Bar and Adventure Bay Store

“It’s our dirty laundry,” Munnings laughs, referring to the vintage Faker material (eg. The Back Lot) that the band are now airing for their fans. The vault has been opened and Munnings and Hudson are juggling this nostalgic release with a new album in the pipeline. “We finished recording our new record on Christmas Eve! So there’s been a little journey in mixing and mastering…it’s amazing how long that stuff takes. In order to stop ourselves from going off track, we decided to big those (old songs) up. Spent a few weeks going through old stuff, going: ‘I remember that!’ ” “Every song is kind of like a Polaroid that depicts a point in time” Munnings explains. “I can’t really even describe why, but you dig up a recording from four or six or nine years ago and you kind of…think of what was happening at the time and I feel like you can hear that in the music,” “It’s been really odd. In the earlier days, we’d show up and do our thing and it didn’t matter too much after that. We have a much closer relationship with what we do now. I now understand a whole bunch of things that we were doing then that I didn’t understand at the time.” Munnings won’t reveal too much about the forthcoming record, but promises it will be something a little different. “It’s definitely different. It’s exciting. We approached it differently; there’s more emphasis on the beats and less on the guitars. Fundamentally, the songwriting is the same. It’s a different version of the same thing,” he laughs.

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“There are more synthesizers and such, which was partially deliberate…it’s important to us not to make the same record again,” Munnings clarifies. “There might be more guitars but it’s not the first thing you notice. We just made it and worked out what to do with it afterwards”

And it doesn’t sound like they’re ready to take a break any time soon – especially with the EP to promote.

After the radio saturation of This Heart Attack, one has to wonder whether the lads are keen for that sort of success again this time around.

“(We’ll) probably try to build some cash up, I think,” McLean said. “Probably promote this (EP) for a few months and hopefully get some cash behind us. We’re also thinking about maybe going to Melbourne.”

“It surprised the shit out of us that that happened with that song (This Heart Attack)...”

Stu Warren The Witching Tree will play the Republic Bar & Cafe on June 16 and in support of Trial Kennedy at Venue Six on June 17.

Munnings reveals. “It’s difficult... myself and Nathan, where we come from, in terms of getting interested in music, was basically pop music. It’s a large part of who we are, but we’ve also spent our time growing up playing in bands. Some people aspire to be really successful…it may be part of the program but it’s not what we’re thinking of when we’re writing or recording.” “Every band probably feels the same way… we just wanna make music we wanna listen to. There’s no point in making music in order to chase a market. You see a lot in the industry, some people work for pure and simple reasons, a lot of people jump onto that idea and try to replicate it; there’s no point in doing that,” Munnings explains. “The reason things work in the first place is because they’re different and they have their own energy about them. We try not to premeditate anything.” The band itself has been wittled down to a two-piece: Hudson and Munnings take the leads on this new record with a dash of assistance. “Nathan and I play everything on the record,” Munnings says, “but we got some friends to help us out…having finished the record, we moved into working out how to play it. It’s really exciting to have all these new songs and have built the band from the ground up in order to do it.” A chat with Munnings reveals every indication that Faker’s new direction is as exciting as their last. Watch this space. Lisa Dib

Faker perform at the Waratah Hotel on Fri June 24 ‘and Hotel New York on Sat June 25

June Wed 8 Thurs 9 Fri 10 Sat 11 Sun 12

Finn Family in the Bar Linc Le Fevre in the Bar Live Music Sofa Kings In The Boatshed Open Folk Session in the Bar

Wed 15 Thurs 16 Fri 17

Bruce And Tess in the Bar Emmy Bryce & Brooke Taylor in the Bar Global Battle Of The Bands In The Boatshed Mick Ahern And Rex Watts in the Bar

Sat 18

Sun 19

Open Folk Group

Wed 22 Thurs 23 Fri 24 Sat 25 Sun 26

Scott Haig in the Bar Dave Adams in the Bar That’s Jazz That’s Jazz in the Boatshed That’s Jazz

Wed 29 Thurs 30

Open Mic Night in the Bar Lonnie Tunes in the Bar

14 Brisbane St Launceston Tasmania 7250 - (03) 6331 5346

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22 Music

Music 23

Trial Kennedy: Back in action Lowrider Lowrider released their 2nd LP Round the World in July 2010, and they will be headlining (Thu/Fri) at the APRA stage for the 2011 Byron Bay Bluesfest before supporting John legend on his National tour. If you’ve been asked this too many times, let me know, but who are your main influences and why did they strike a chord with you, emotionally? It’s hard. For Lowrider itself, all four of us have pretty diverse interests in music, and the common ground is what we are. For me, I drift between Hip Hop and heavy music and emotionally, the last album that really managed to strike a chord with me would be the Deftones’ album Diamond Eyes. Just what they went through: their bass player being in a car accident and being in a coma. They could have so easily made a really dark, negative sounding album like most people would have expected them to but they flipped it with this very positive album. And what about when you were kids, before you and your brother (John) had any thoughts about starting a band? Ah, the first piece of music I ever bought was Alice Cooper’s song called Bed of Nails. Dad’s been a record collector his whole life, so we just grew up listening to whatever

Tiger Choir warpmagazine.com.au

he was listening to. We listened to a bunch of different bands like The Beatles, Cat Stevens, Grady Tate, Marvin Gaye... That sort of vibe until we grew up and figured out what’s what, but we’re varied I guess. You can’t get stuck into one style of music, it’s not healthy. Your new Album is called Round the World. Is it intended to, or do you think it reflects a world awareness? It was directed more towards making an album that wasn’t tied to one place or one time. We didn’t want it to be distinctly, unavoidably an “Australian” band, and from “this” sort of scene. We ultimately liked the way it sounded and it was where we settled y’know, someone today asked me what was the hardest part about making the album, and I said “Picking the title by far!” How do you want your songs to be heard by the fans, in terms of integrity, seeing as a lot of Funk/ Roots/Hip Hop music is filtered through a bland “Club” scene?

For me, it’s about timelessness. If I can put a CD on that I bought when I was twelve and like it, then it’s good music. I don’t want songs to be trendy or in line with a fashion, because fashions change, and what’s trendy now will be irrelevant later. I mean, if I can play an album for my kids when I’m older, and it’s still a good album – if the music still translates, still means something, then that’s achieved my main goal... and luckily, that goes for all four of us. What do you think are the strongest emotions or convictions driving Lowrider, in the songwriting process? I see a lot of good humour and not very much of the tepid vitriol common in Hip Hop/Roots. From that aspect, Joe writes all of the lyrics and obviously he’ll talk about things that all four of us can relate to but he’s the source of that...Joe likes to talk about things which are a little more universal, that people can relate to or have been through, as a lot of Hip Hop get’s really egotistical... What about the song Hold On? I took it as being about a specific relationship, and the video shows Joe climbing a mountain with, what I assume is a pack of emotional baggage. Who’s relationship is that based on? I can’t speak for Joe, but we as a band, in performing it, look on it as a message to ourselves; about our relationship. The music industry is a hectic environment, and the band is like a four-person relationship,

Hobart’s Tiger Choir took their show on the road during May, lining up in support of The Drums at a string of shows around mainland capitals.

As well as being pleasantly surprised by the response to their set – and the generosity of the headliners with kit and logistics – the guys also managed to shift a few copies of their new album, Unicycles.

Speaking to Warp following his return to Tassie, band member Hamish Cruickshank was obviously stoked with the experience.

“The Drums were really nice, lending us their drum kit and things,” he said.

Even though there’s no plans for shows in Tassie just yet, Tiger Choir are looking to build on a great start to 2011 that has seen them support Deer Hunter and, most recently, The Drums.

“The reaction was better than we expected... When we were starting our set, the room would be maybe half full, but by the time we were finishing our set it was pretty packed.”

“It was a really, really good tour,” Hamish said. “The shows were good experience on big stages.”

One of the lasting memories, however, involves the Unkle rider and a whole red onion that

Could you run us through the symbolism of the astronomical cover art?

Presenting Trial Kennedy: not just a humble bunch of Melburnians, but a band that has survived its issues and hurdles that has, in recent times, hindered their progress. Fortunately, they’ve managed to utilise their real life experiences constructively, generating top-notch rock music. To their credit, they really have rallied against adversity.

Basically, Ben, who designed the artwork, he said that he was thinking about the albums from the Seventies, when the artwork was really grand and elaborate. Also just pushing further the idea that there was a time when most people thought the world was flat, but you had those people that began to doubt it. So the idea that, if you stick to your guns, time may well prove you right.

With new album Living Undesigned generating fresh hype around the group, Trial Kennedy are free to parade an internal optimism and promise. The new release displays the group’s rejuvenated spirit with catchy hooks and even catchier lyrics, launching them back onto the national circuit with vivacity and enthusiasm. Whichever way you look at things, the future seems bright for Trial Kennedy.

Well there definitely is a strong seventies sound to the album with the horn and brass section. How do you think you’ll top that for the next album?

During a good old chin-wag with guitarist Stacey Gray, it became inherently obvious that the group is now in a place of delirious bliss after three years of struggles with record labels, band members and life changing surgeries. Even through a crackling phone line, Gray’s voice spruiks comforting assurance that the band has not only found their feet again, but that they have hit the ground running.

so we really have to learn how to communicate and stick in there.

Ah, we’re going to try and not make the same album twice in our career. I don’t know what it’ll be but, we hope that it will be something new and different again, like this was different from Diamond Amongst the Thieves [2007]. Jarred Keane Lowrider Friday June 17 at the Republic Bar with Joelistics. Tickets available from The Republic Bar and Ruffcut Records.

happened to be in one of the Unkle salads. “In Perth we got there the day before we were playing and friends of ours were opening for Unkle,” Hamish said. “We were just hanging out backstage and there was a whole red onion in the salad.” Strange, perhaps. But an opportunity for the Tiger Choir boys, nonetheless. “We kind of stole the onion and kept it and made a Spanish omelette the next day. It was a tasty and nutritious breakfast.” Stu Warren

Well, they’ve hit the road, anyway, touring material from Living Undesigned. Now going into their third week, Gray reflects on the first fortnight of touring. “It’s all going really good! Though it does take a week or so to find your groove... in the first week there is so much going on and you’re just trying to find your feet,” he explains. “But by the end of week two, everyone’s really on top of their game and the cobwebs are dusted off. ” The band’s new album seeks to revive the group as a more up-beat and accessible Australian rock force. It’s fair to say that, until now, things have been quiet concerning the state of Trial Kennedy – especially given the fact that their debut album New Manic Art received positive reviews and widespread praise from fans once upond a time. Stacey doesn’t deny that the group fell off the radar of for a while; an occurrence which had its fair share of concerns. “People might’ve thought we had broken up, or what happened to Trial Kennedy?” muses Gray. “But we were always around; we just had a few little hurdles to get over. Now we’re feeling really good internally and it’s time to get out there and continue the journey.”

The world of internal band relations is one riddled with friction and conflict, constantly dependant on responsibility and committment. “You gotta work shit out sometimes and it can take a little longer than you expected. We don’t look back on it as a waste, it happened for a reason. The glass is always half full.” Making the new record was a rejuvenating experience for the group, the process generating a new buzz and flow amongst themselves. “It’s a different thing now for us. A record is about momentum and after the first album we had a few little hick-ups and slowed down a bit.” The group found its second wind after the transition between bass players and management. Sure enough, everything would click into place, according to Stacey. “We started writing, the writing felt great and the vibe was there.” After a lengthy process tracking and producing with local Melbourne guru, Hayden Buxton and sacrificing each other’s preferences and day jobs. The boys came up with a passionate, energetic and multidimensional album that best illustrates their group disposition. “We try to look at the good within the bad. Again, the glass is always half full. That’s the way we are as people, so that’s the way we present our band.” One of the tracks from the new release, Best of Tomorrow, gives much credence to the above notion. When asked to describe the message behind the lyrics, Gray explained, “It’s about not worrying about whether you’ve had a crappy day or not. Try and imagine the best of tomorrow because no one ever really knows what is going to happen next.” Gray’s ethos is as insistent as it is valuable. “You gotta keep trucking on, don’t let the past get you down. Look at the future because that’s the exciting part.” Eddy Morton

Trial Kennedy plays Venue 6 on Fri June 17 & Hotel New York on Sat June 18

warpmagazine.com.au


24 Music

Performing Arts 25

James Tulczyn As the 2010 Amplified Tasmanian Producer of the Year, Melbourne-based sound engineer James Tulczyn is in a pretty good place to judge just how good the sounds coming out of Tasmania are right now. Warp caught up with the man behind Colvan Sound Track and were pleased to discover it won’t be long until he’s back in the State to record some of the finest bands and performers on the local scene. It’s already been a busy year for James Tulczyn (Colvan Sound Track), his ‘fingerprints’ all over 2011 releases from the likes of James Parry, Charles du Cane and Myblackson. He’s also had a hand to play recently in terms of finishing off mixes for the forthcoming Native Cats album – due for release later in the year. “(I’m) not really sure what’s going to come about in the next six months,” he said. “I’m putting a few plans in the dryer and seeing what comes out.” With a history in Hobart dating back to student days, Tulczyn has only fondness for working with Tasmanian artists, highlighting the natural diversity that characterises the local music scene. “That’s the joy of Hobart and that’s why I love (it)... no matter what you do in Hobart you’re a jack of all trades,” he said. “Even in the specific area of recording, to have access

and exposure to so many genres in one vibrant music scene is awesome.”

Q&A

And while the assortment of Tassie bands he’s worked with has been a highlight, it has also kept Tulczyn on his toes.

What areas of engineering do you specialise in? Location based studio recording, live show recording, live sound mixing, mastering albums through tape machine.

“It takes a lot of research,” he said. “You really discuss what people want out of a recording rather than just a band going to a commercial studio and wanting to go for the sound of the studio. “I’m fortunate to work with bands who really know their sound. So my job is to take that to a new level. I’m not into producing people so much, just into getting the best sound the band is already making.” Of the acts he’s worked with of late, Tulczyn doesn’t hesitate to single out Hobart trio Myblackson’s This is Going to be a Disaster as one of his favourite works. “It’s an awesome album,” he said. “I’m really happy with the sound of that. Really guitar heavy, which is lovely. “I’d love to get back in the studio with Myblackson and do a follow-up that is a little more in line with what we were looking to do. I think the last recording was great, but I could definitely take it somewhere else.” Stu Warren

What is your favourite kind of project to work on? Anything recorded on location at Christmas St in Fairfield, Melbourne or Fern Tree, in the hills of Hobart – the big room acoustics of both spaces are amazing and allow enough separation to track a band live. What song/album can we listen to to get the best idea of your work? East Brunswick All Girls Choir, Essendon 1986 (single from forthcoming album Sandhurst Town) or Paint your golden face - Self titled album. Upcoming releases from White Woods, Native Cats and James Parry contain my finest work to date. Do you have your own studio? If so what kind of setup are you using? I record on location to a portable analog and digital recording setup - with the help of a Tascam 1/2inch tape machine, Metric Halo digital interface onto Logic 9 and unique preamps, such as my Hamptone Tube and JLM 99v. I have more

than enough gear to fill my van, which I regularly take across Bass Strait for sessions in and around Hobart. What notable acts/projects have you worked with/on? East Brunswick All Girls Choir (Dead Air EP and Sandhurst Town/unreleased), Native Cats (unreleased), White Woods (Bellplay EP and 7 inch/unreleased), Paint Your Golden Face - Self Titled album, James Parry- Almost At The Ivory, Ivy St - 7 inch vinyl release, Transcription of Organ Music - A Prey To Griff and Poor People (unreleased). I love the indy scenes of Melbourne and Hobart, and each of these projects have brought about a lot of joy. The ‘curve ball’ recording project of recent time was a session with Ethiopics jazz master - Mulatu Astatke - a true gentleman and consummate professional. Do you have any words of wisdom for those wanting to become an audio engineer? Skill comes with time. Expect to study outside of your area of interest, as a multi-skilled engineer is an asset. And remember to keep your ears to the ground.

Cirque du Soleil Saltimbanco reviewed Rod LaveR aRena May 25

It was with much anticipation and excitement that this reviewer headed along to Melbourne Park, on a cold wintery evening, to see the latest performance from Cirque du Soleil. Having previously enjoyed the likes of Quidam and Dralion I knew what the circus wizards were capable of. In previous years, Cirque du Soleil has toured with their own purpose built tent. This, I feel in the past played a big part in creating an aura around each event. It was special, a night out to an event. The big question for me, in the lead up, was would this venue choice distract from what would be, the amazingly colourful Saltimbanco spectacle? As it was, the Melbourne performance of Cirque du Soleil‘s Saltimbanco did not disappoint, with it’s colourful blend of traditional circus acrobatics, mimes and music. Right from the beginning, regular audience participation ensured a fabulous connection between the cast and audience, including a humorous mime skit involving a very obliging gent who played along right to ‘the end’. The performers certainly know how to pick their ‘victims’! The comedy aspect of Saltimbanco was fantastic and a real highlight. During the acrobatic performances, one was left pondering how ‘mere mortals’ can fly to such tremendous heights, carry such heavy loads and twist themselves into such contorted positions. The use of ‘everyday’ props, including a bike, helped to connect the audience even further. I wonder how many were thinking ‘I should give that a try’. But, for us ‘mere mortals’, the obvious talents of the Saltimbanco cast are far beyond our reach. Inspiring perhaps, but beyond our reach.

www.ismoketoomuch.com

warpmagazine.com.au

The backbreaking toil, the hard slog of the road, the slapping of greasepaint and pulling of lycra. Cirque du Soleil is, at first glance, no different for the performer, from any other traditional circus which encapsulates the endless rehearsal, illusion and rambling from place to place drawing in audiences with spectacle, trickery and acrobatics.

On a production level, the cast appeared to shoulder more responsibility for change

overs and the transition between different scenes. The production also appeared to be less ambitious as in previous shows and relied more on the obvious talents of the performers. This however allowed you to really focus on the magic that was unfolding in front of you from the performances. The overall impression for this reviewer of Saltimbanco was one of awe and inspiration. Some interesting comparisons to previous shows included the band playing a more visible role in the production, bringing them in full view for the entire performance. I fell this aided in the success of the show, as the music is such a big part. The music was at times a little bit ‘1988’ with the over the top Steve Vai style guitar breaks. Getting back to the choice of venue. Having attended two previous Cirque du Soleil shows in their purpose built ‘big tops’, Rod Laver seemed too vast and somewhat ‘souless’ - which is a complete contrast to previous years. If you have seen Cirque du Soleil in their purpose built facility, you may find the ‘colder’ corporate entertainment style venues less personal and a little ‘sterile’. That said, nothing can take away from the creative minds and talents of the performers. If you have never seen Cirque du Soleil, I’d whole heartedly suggest you attend as least one performance. It’s a show of the highest quality with some of the best drilled performing artists you’ll ever see. Having Cirque du Soleil head to Hobart in particular is a real coup and an opportunity not to be missed. Amanda Elmer Cirque du Soleil ‘Saltimbanco’ will be at the Derwent Entertainment Centre in Hobart from June 15 to June 19. Tickets from Ticketmaster.

Formed in 1984, Cirque du Soleil, is unlike any other circus in the world. With over 3000 performers on its books, the company can be found in Las Vegas, where there are resident shows headlining at gargantuan hotels on the Strip, to their training facility in Canada, where performers are given ample time and training to create a new character or step into the shoes of a former performer’s long established role. The latter option was Daniel Buckland’s experience. Daniel plays The Dreamer in Saltimbanco and has taken on a character first created 19 years ago. The Dreamer is “one of the clowns, an ambassador to the dream world that is Saltimbanco.” Daniel does not fly through the air, nor does he ride a white horse or walk a tightrope. Trained in physical theatre, his role as The Dreamer is to “seduce the audience” through the interpretive narrative of Saltimbanco. Based on the Italian phrase, ‘saltare in banco’, which literally means ‘to jump on a bench’ the show seeks to explore and extrapolate the urban experience in all its forms. Daniel’s introduction to Saltimabco was as an audience member. While studying at Rhodes University, Daniel, who comes from a theatrical family, was mesmerised by a performance of Saltimbaco. After studying clowning and physical theatre, he auditioned for the Company in 2005, eventually being added to the data base in 2008. He spent a year and “a bit” performing in Cirque Du Soleil’s The Beatles LoVE, a permanent show in Vegas which is a “visualisation of the songs.” He then received the call up for Saltimbanco which included training with “brilliant teachers” in Montreal as well as watching videos of previous performers. Daniel said that as the character was already established, he couldn’t recreate it but he was able to mold it and shape it around his own strengths. “I had to adapt it and make it my own, I couldn’t do what the original did, he was amazing but I maximise the character by drawing on my physical theatre background.” As part of a touring family, Daniel says that travelling with Saltimbanco feels more like

a traditional circus as opposed to working in one of the Companys resident shows. “You wake up early in the morning and the longest you stay in any place is three weeks in a place. It feels like you are on the run with the circus.” Of course, unlike traditional circus life, Daniel does not travel by caravan or train, nor are there any animals, something which the circus prides itself upon. Daniel believes that this is what sets the circus apart, a focus upon the human form and the magic that humans can produce without having to use animals.”Well Cirque du Soleil was one of the companies that really pushed the circus world, took it away from the idea of working with animals.” Daniel says that “Cirque didn’t subscribe to the spectacle of man controlling nature, subjugating creatures for entertainment.” Instead, “humans work with nature, instead of someone whipping a lion, you see an acrobat working with gravity, seeming to defy gravity.” Cirque du Soleil is also known for its amazing costumes, make up and sound. Daniel says, “it’s an ensemble work, amazing, high quality acrobatic acts, stage craft, seductive narrative, a focus on the whimsical and interpretive rather than a strict narrative.” Audiences at Saltimbanco can expect to hear, see and experience, full sensory acts. The soundtrack is made up of a live, five piece band as well as two feature singers who cover everything from jazz to opera. Daniel says that the music adds another layer of artistry to the acrobatic tricks and bold make up and lighting. Saltimbanco has a ring master, however unlike the traditional ring master, this master has difficulties controlling the performers. A subversion of the stereotyped ringmaster, Saltimbanco’s master is vulnerable, something of a clown. Daniel says the role of the ringmaster is to direct the traffic and provide another layer to the narrative. When so many traditional circuses have lowered their tents and sold their last tickets, Cirque du Soleil inspires, delights and shares the joy of spectacle, anticipation and tension, bringing in a new circus experience that seeks to draw knowledge from tradition and create something bigger without forgetting its roots. Sarah Mashman

warpmagazine.com.au


26 Music

Music 27

FRESH YOUNG FACES OF CLASSICAL MUSIC Sparks will fly in Federation Concert Hall on 30 June when four young violinists go headto-head in the Stage III Strings Final of the 2011 Symphony Australia Young Performer of the Year Awards. With an average age of just 20, the four finalists – Rebecca Chan, Anna Lisa da Silva Chen, Lillian So and Emily Sun – have already passed a gruelling series of preliminary rounds to get to Stage III. The winner on 30 June will advance to the Grand Final of the competition to be held in Brisbane later in the year.

Image: Anna Da Silva Chen

Backed by the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra under conductor Vladimir Verbitsky, Rebecca, Anna Lisa, Lillian and Emily will perform Stravinsky’s Violin Concerto, the Violin Concerto No 3 by SaintSaëns, and excerpts from the Brahms and Tchaikovsky violin concertos.

Image: Emily Sun

These are some of the most challenging and difficult pieces ever written for violin and orchestra. Image: Moira Smiley

stomp holler singer From July 6 to July 10 renowned vocal coach Moira Smiley will be conducting a 5 day workshop titled Stomp Holler & Sing as part of the Festival of Voices. Assisting Moira will be April Guthrie and Inga Swearingen, both are vocal coaches of international acclaim and are sure to bring an eclectic and upbeat flavor to the workshops. Participants in the workshop will also benefit from performance opportunities for their choir in the festival performance program, in such events as the Aperitivo Concert Series, the Singing in Public Places Program, and the Festival Club. Other benefits include, free entry for

Aperitivo Concert Series (5 one-hour concerts featuring visiting choirs), free nightly entry into the Festival Club, Candlelight Procession workshop for the Festival Bonfire, and inclusion in the Candlelight Procession on July 9 at Salamanca opening the Bonfire and Big Sing, and VIP participant night in the Festival Club on Wednesday July 6. Moira Smiley has developed a workshop designed for singers of all abilities. Attendees will be encouraged to stretch their vocal styles and explore the magnificence of harmony. The workshop

Festival of Voices Spitfire – Hiphop Workshop

promises to be a hard-driving mix of folk styles, with percussive movement and hair-raising harmonies, covering all areas of the emotional spectrum. Moira specializes in using techniques and styles from Ireland, Eastern Europe and America in new and innovative ways, incorporating physicality and improvisation. April Guthrie is a contemporary music focused cellist with a dedication to performance and collaboration with artists of all genres. Inga Swearingen is an agile performer and improviser with a translucent voice and songs rooted in family, nature, love and human spirit. Inga is also the winner of the coveted Montreux Jazz Festival Shure Vocal Competition, and is now touring the world with her trademark songwriting & audience participation. Together they are a group of extraordinary

On Saturday July 9th, a collection of Hobart’s finest hiphop performers will be running a workshop. Potential hiphop artists are encouraged to come along and be taught all they need to know about hiphop performance, including how to develop your rhyming technique, how to sample and make instrumentals, and how to scratch records. All the workshop leaders were participants in the successful Power Hiphop performances. DJ Dameza is Tasmania’s premier DJ, his work in hiphop crews and as one half of popular electronic act Acumen (along with his brother VJ Sloth) have established his position at the top of the pile of Tasmanian DJs and is quickly climbing the ranks Australia-wide. Dameza will be teaching workshop attendees the fundamentals of DJing, & reinforcing its importance to hiphop culture. MC and producer Paddles is the founder of new hiphop music label Edge of the World Records and is soon to release his debut 45 Record. He will be teaching attendees the basics of using samplers & various sampling techniques to create your own instrumental tracks to rap along with.

warpmagazine.com.au

But the four concertos being played on 30 June will do more than just offer opportunities for mind-boggling display, they will also deliver great tunes, lush orchestration and full-throttle orchestral thrills.

women who share a passion for spreading powerful, emotional music. shane crixus

The workshops will be taking place at the Playhouse Theatre on Bathurst Street with daily workshops commencing from 9.30am. Registration will occur between 8.45 & 9.30am on Wednesday July 6, the cost is $398 and bookings can be made online at www.festivalofvoices.com . The Finale Concert Performance will be on Sunday 10 July, between 1.30 and 3.00pm.

MC’s Bladel and Jorgito are stalwarts of the local music and performing arts scenes and will be taking students through the many and varied facets of hiphop lyricism and performance. Students will learn rhyme structure, patterns, and the adaptation and implementation of various literary techniques to develop a lyrical identity, as well as being taught performance techniques such as microphone control, stage presence and delivery. Students will also be encouraged to learn the art of freestyle rhyming, where nothing is pre-prepared and get involved in an MC cypher. All four artists will also be delivering a short group performance during the workshop. Hosted at Salamanca’s scenic Peacock Theatre, the workshop will take place between 2pm and 5pm, ensuring all students have ample time to learn all they want and need to know! Shane Crixus Tickets are $20 online at www.festivalofvoices.com or $25 at the door.

In fact, the Young Performer of the Year is like a cross between a hugely entertaining orchestral concert and an elite sporting competition – a kind of musical Olympics. Often a stepping-stone to a professional career as a classical music soloist, past

Image: lillian so Image: Rebecca Chan

winners of the competition include pianist Roger Woodward, oboist Diana Doherty and cellist Li-Wei, a former student of The Hutchins School who is now an internationally renowned soloist based in London. Of this year’s string finalists, three are from New South Wales – Anna Lisa, Lillian and Emily – and one, Rebecca, is from Victoria. Emily Sun, who is 19 years old, is both a finalist in the competition and the star of the critically acclaimed new Australian film Mrs Carey’s Concert. Extravagantly praised by David Stratton and Margaret Pomerantz, Mrs Carey’s Concert is a fly-on-the-wall documentary set in Sydney’s MLC school. Emily was a student at the school when the documentary was being made and the film traces her journey from a conflicted and insecure teenager to a confident young adult who triumphs on the stage of the Sydney Opera House as soloist in the Bruch Violin Concerto. Hear Emily in person and find out who will be the next big thing in the world of classical music at the Young Performer of the Year Awards. Robert Gibson

Federation Concert Hall, Hobart, Thursday 30 June, 7.30pm. Tickets just $21 from the TSO Box Office 1800 001 190 or www.tso.com.au

YOUNG PERFORMERS AWARDS a

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Vladimir Verbitsky conductor Rebecca Chan violin Anna Da Silva Chen violin Lillian So violin Emily Sun violin

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Great price! Tickets just $21

Brahms Violin Concerto (excerpt) saint-saËns Violin Concerto no. 3 straVinsky Violin Concerto tChaikoVsky Violin Concerto (excerpt)

BOOK ONLINE AT WWW.TSO.COM.AU OR PHONE 1800 001 190 Warp Half Page.indd 1

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28 Club / Electronic

Club / Electronic 29

DJ INTERVIEW

Minor Notes

Club and Electronic News

Hey guys, welcome to another month of Minor Notes. Winter’s now truly upon us, and easy as it would be to crawl under your blanket and switch into hibernation mode, it’s probably best that you don’t! June is jam-packed with some hot events for you to shake off those winter chills. This month I am starting up my We Were People events again, which have been running in Cairns and Hobart for the past 2 years. These gigs have previously been solid techno based shindigs, but on the 24th of June we will be funking it up a bit with some of Hobart’s finest DJ’s presenting you with a smorgasbord of quirky tech house. The night is called Behind Closed Doors and will be held at Ivory bar, 112 Collins St Hobart. Doors open and will feature Tristan, Samex and myself (Adusk). Also this month the electronic section features interviews with Jaytech, Matt Nukewood and Hefty Output along with local DJ EMC. For all the tech heads out there James Whitehead reviews Stutter edit and we also have all the usual content to feed your minds with everything electronic music wise happening in Tasmania. Ainsley White

PENCIL THIS IN

and released his latest album Just Let It Go last month to worldwide acclaim.

nights about to take off over winter time at Dr Syntax.

Freshly breaked - Regrooved feat Dfunk

Mobius Lounge Bar, Saturday July 2 from 10pm. Entry is $10.

Great Scott

Regrooved is back again for July and this time Dfunk is coming along for the ride. Dfunk has solidly established himself as not only as a great DJ but can bring the good with his production skills. If you have been in and around Hobart clubs lately I can most probably assure you you’ve heard one of his tracks. He owns his own record label ‘Upstart Music’ and co-owns Gritz N Gravy, but has also released on labels such as Westway records, Best records and Manmade Records. Dfunk will be rocking Ivory Bar July 16th stay tuned for more details.

Regrooved featuring Slynk Regrooved is on its way to Hobart with a group of events by Freshly Breaked at Ivory Bar, featuring Slynk (Brisbane) in the first instalment. Slynk has just been picked up by Abel (Finger Lick’n Records), alongside big-name artists Krafty Kuts and A Skillz. Slynk’s hip hop sound is ingrained with rare and funky, rhythmically savvy grooves, and is supported by Dameza and Dagwood. Ivory Lounge Bar on June 25. Entry is $6.

Wobble wedgie #2 feat Cottonmouth

Simon Caldwell tickles Ivory

After the success of the first Wobble Wedgie, promoters Carpe Noctem are back to present Wobble Wedgie #2 and this time they are bring Cottonmouth direct from England. Cottonmouth is known for his Dubstep tracks that have bombastic basslines and awe-inspiring basslines over the years he has learnt to fuse drum and bass, electronic and electro into his hair raising sets. Stay tuned for more information coming your way next edition of Warp.

Ivory Sessions is a new night to Ivory Bar and its first instalment features Simon Caldwell (Sydney). Known throughout Australia as one of the true pioneers and persevering DJs, he has been spinning records for the past 12 years and has eluded being trapped into any set genre. As presenter of 2SER-FM’s All Funked Up radio show, he also co-promotes Mad Racket, one of the freshest and friendliest underground parties in Sydney. Staying true to his roots, Simon plays exclusively on vinyl and is supported by Mez and Dameza.

LOCAL NEWS Cargo Queens birthday Sunday session This Queens Birthday long weekend Cargo Bar has you covered. Starting things off with the a beautiful acoustic set by Miss Fee then DJs Grotesque and Rabb will kick things into gear to bring you a full Sunday session to celebrate the Queen’s Birthday in style. I have heard a rumour of a special guest percussionist that will be coming along on the night to spice the music up alongside the DJs. Cargo Bar, Sunday June 12, from 3:30pm until late. Free entry. Nick Thayer featuring Sevenmilligram DJ/AV show Hobart hosts an Areacode Events audio visual treat from Melbourne’s Nick Thayer, well known for his mashup style of DJing, melding together a mix of hip hop, house and drum and bass, as well as creating a visual treat for you watch and dance to with support from Acumen, Grotesque and Malakai. He has worked with artists including A Skrillz, AC Slater and DJ Yoda

Ivory Lounge Bar on Saturday July 9. Entry is $5. Potbelleez hit HNY & The Warehouse In 2007 The Potbelleez were deemed the ones to watch. Fast forward to 2011 and they’ve shot to fame with a massive schedule of 250 live shows and 250,000 singles sold. Having recently released their second album Destination Now, the first single Hello shot straight up the ARIA charts and was the number one added track to radio and iTunes. See what the fuss is about at their live show. Hotel New York, Launceston Friday July 8 The Warehouse, Devonport Saturday July 9 Tickets available through Oztix. Dr prescribes Indie Nights Friday night is Indie Night at Dr Syntax, featuring regular mash-up DJs MaxPower, Macro/Micro and Sgt Sampler providing indie and retro mash-ups and mixes and indie with house, glitch, dub and electro. Also stayed tuned to Warp for a range of new

Emily Scott is more than her sexy reputation, as is proven by her wily ways to fill a club and crank the dancefloor. Sponsored by Pioneer as a ProDJ, Emily joins the cream of Australian DJs with a Pioneer DJ ambassadorship, alongside Grant Smillie, The Stafford Brothers and Eric Powell. Scott’s first production release Cortado was snapped up by Neon Underground and has upcoming remixed on Exit Row and a monthly podcast available on iTunes. Supported by PD and Scaveng3r.

EMC

Nukelear Explosion

A regular of the Launceston club scene for the past four years, EMC has settled down to a residency at Hotel New York that is just about to expand to three nights a week with a brand new Wednesday night starting in June called Future Tech.

It takes an amalgamation of talent and hard work to rise above the ranks of Australian DJs and make an impact on the international scene. Matt Nukewood plans to blow them out of the water.

This will be Launceston’s dedicated house/ techno night and I think the first to really push the tech house sound which is so big in Germany and Ibiza. We will be pushing artists such as Booka Shade, DJ T, M.A.N.D.Y., Sebastian Leger, Dubfire, plus labels such as Get Digital, Kindisch, Diynamic, Crosstown Rebels and way too many more to mention. The main point is that our sets will be so new that a lot of the tracks will be unheard of yet. We will be showcasing what the scenes next moves are as they happen.

The Warehouse, Devonport, Saturday June 11.

NATIONAL NEWS International Breakspoll Awards 2011 Each year the public votes on who is the best Breakbeat Artist and for 2011, the votes have been counted and the winners have been announced. Krafty Kuts took out the number one position with Elite Force coming in second. The top 50 is online for you to check out and make sure your top artist got in. If not then next year you have to remember to vote. Hobart’s own promoter Freshly Breaked can vouch for bringing 19 of the top 50 to Hobart in recent years, so congrats to Freshly Breaked and lucky us for getting to see so many world class acts. Check out: www.breakspoll.com Parklife 2011 Fuzzy has just announce dates for its feature music festival Parkife. The tour goes direct to five capital cities in Australia and features Cut copy, Bag Raiders, Chiddy Bang, Dan Black, Classixx, Brodinski and Missy Elliot to name just a few. This is one festival that should be on your list of things to do, so grab a ticket take the ride. Parklife 2011 National Tour dates: • Saturday 24th September - Melbourne (Sydney Myer Music Bowl and Kings Domain) • Saturday 24th September - Perth (Wellington Square) • Saturday 24th September - Brisbane (City Botanic Gardens) • Saturday 24th September - Sydney (Kippax Lake, Centennial Park) • Saturday 24th September - Adelaide (Botanic Park) www.parklife.com.au

Why EMC? For some reason I have an uneducated fascination with quantum physics. What inspired you to start DJing and is this inspiration still valid? I started getting into electronica about ten years ago when I moved in with a mate who had a Roland 505 that we used to write tracks on. We used to listen to Aphex Twin, Global Underground compilations and all sorts of different genres such as drum n bass, breaks, big beat, glitch and techno. Around 7 years ago I heard a DJ T (Get Physical Records) DJ set on Triple J mix-up which was an amazing blend of tech and electro and it inspired me to learn how to DJ, so I bought some 1200’s and a heap of Get Physical and Systematic Records. I still play tracks by these artists and labels today and they have opened me up to a whole new wonderful world of European, particularly German, artists and labels that we don’t hear much of in Australia. It is my love of this warm German tech sound that is my main passion behind Future Tech. I hope to share my passion for this music and give it the recognition that it deserves amongst our clubbing cultures. What styles are you playing? When I am playing in the front bar at Hotel New York, I play a blend of warm cruisey deep and tech, and fun bouncy house and tech. I have really pushed the boundaries in Launceston by playing these styles and showing that they definitely work. I have had some amazing nights in the front bar, most recently at the Baker Dozen at Hotel New York where I had the whole room going off to real house music and it was an amazing buzz. I download the top worldwide downloads in these genres weekly to keep bringing a fresh international sound to my sets. When playing in the back room, I play house with more vocals which to me is mainstream for club music right now. Tell me about your new club night – Future Tech? Over the last few months Toby De La Valle, Dan Fawdon and myself have been discussing with Hotel New York about creating a weekly underground house night, bringing the best and latest in underground house to Launceston. To separate it from the weekend club scene it will be on a Wednesday night and will start late June.

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I’ve heard you have had some success with producing your own tracks? I’ve been dabbling with production for a few years and now use a program called Reason 5, creating totally original productions with original created sounds and rhythms. I’ve had some low key success on Triple J’s unearthed dance chart with a track at no 2 for a few months but that’s not really that exciting. I post my mixes and tracks on a site, www.undiscovered.com.au and have a mix in the hall of fame and have had heaps of good reviews on there from the Australian underground community. I have had my tracks played on local radio on Addicted (a show on City Park Radio) and I’ve had some dj’s download and use my tracks off www.undiscovered.com.au on the mainland. I am currently working on a few tech house tracks that I will finish soon and start playing in my sets. These new tracks will be the ones that I really focus on promoting as I am a bit of a perfectionist and don’t believe my older tracks have a fresh enough vibe. Yet after 5 years of production I have finally developed the ability to get what I want out of the machine, so I look forward to getting out my new sounds very soon. I would love to be signed to any label as long as they believe in the integrity of music creation. I have always dreamed of being on Get Physical or Australian labels, Open Records and Vacation.

Production and a certain magic are the ingredients for recognition and Nukewood has it all going on in Ping Pong DJs (with Brendan Fing) and Night Dimension (with Implex). House music is where Nukewood’s carved his niche. From a Dutch, fidget and electro house heritage, he brings a selection of rowdy, energy-filled sounds to the dance floor in any given experience – even dubstep, recently. “I easily get a few requests every set for [dubstep],” he said. “It definitely has grown on me but I can only play a couple of songs a set, too much of it is a bit of overkill if you ask me. “I try and stick to a good blend of house, Dutch, electro and dubstep in my set. If I get to play a bit harder, even better, but depends on the crowd and mood.” Nukewood knows his house and his take on the current scene is decidedly new school rather than the old fogies wringing out their ragged threads. Ok, so that’s definitely not called for, sorry fogies. I meant to write: his take is that modern house is a reinvented genre rather than one based on the foundations of the original house vibes. “[House has] definitely been reinvented if you ask me,” he said. “House covers a wide range of genres, and we have seen heaps of sub genres over the years be

tagged under the house banner - whether it be Dutch, fidget, electro; it’s all affiliated to house music.” Nukewood’s swift rise on the scene has been demanding – there’s no sitting back to enjoy the ride. “To separate yourself from the standard DJ you really need to start producing.

I feel for all the DJs that are trying to make it nowadays who don’t have plans to produce. “It’s very tough to become an established DJ without producing now. Dave and I [Night Dimension] have been very busy the past few months - plenty of originals on the way, remixes and a heap of bootlegs coming out, so, exciting times.” billy green Matt Nukewood plays at Hotel New York Saturday 11 Tix $10 on the door before midnight, doors open 10pm Supported by Joycie, Cam and Basssu

If you had a choice of playing anywhere in the world where would it be? More than anything I think the Love Parade would be the ultimate, a melting pot of culture and techno. Amnesia or any club in Ibiza would be amazing. Give me a room full of people dancing anywhere in the world and I am the happiest man alive :) Nic Orme

EMC’s top 5 current tracks Jet Project - Understand This Groove - It’s on one of my fave labels (get digital) and has a great vocal. fresh fuzzy tech. DJ Le Roi feat. Roland Clarrk - I Get Deep Classic vocal, found it on DJ T, Fabric-live 51. magic. Bass Kleph – I’ll be OK - Big tech banger always goes off. Booka Shade - Regenerate (Popof Remix) Good crossover track from tech to techno. Driving rhythms. Tim Green - Old Sunshine - Tribal rhythmic tech at its best.

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30 Club / Electronic

Club / Electronic 31

Jetsetting Jaytech In this vast club land where many go unnoticed, Jaytech truly stands out. Specialising in Trance/ deep house, Jaytech is bringing his unique intelligence and education to the floor. Album number two will be bigger, louder and more in your face, but there’ll still be some more chilled out and cinematic moments. I have an amazing array of tools at my disposal and four great vocals laid down which I’ll be producing over the summer the European summer that is!

Stutter Edit Co-released by iZotope and Sonik Architects Electronic musician Brian Transeau has patented a live-performance audio plugin in which samples are reorganised, broken down, and spliced together, then given a rhythm and time signature.

What inspires your creative juice?

Hefty As F***! There couldn’t be greater polar opposites than dark, psychedelic trance and dancefloorfriendly glitchy broken beats, but Melbourne based duo Hefty Output have managed combine them like a phoenix rising from the ashes with their new and exciting project, Meat Axe.

For anyone that’s been to a psytrance festival, it’s almost certain that you’ve heard a track or two by Hefty Output in the small hours of the morning. Rocking dance floors for the past 8 years or so with their heavy bass-driven trance, they are moving seamlessly from one production genre to another with a new project, Meat Axe. Giving them the space required to explore a more glitchy and broken approach with which they are able to further express themselves musically and continue to keep our dance floors jumping. With influences by the likes of Tipper, Lysdexic and Circuit Bent, to name a few, these boys have managed to come out of the heavy, dark styles of psytrance and are now more exploring the “electro side of things”, which seems to be getting quite a response from listeners far and wide. Now, that’s not to say that Hefty Output is done completely. “I’m still writing new Hefty Output, and we have new tracks coming out soon on Zenon - I know it’s a prog label, but it’s still hefty as fuck - and Acidance,” Dan from the duo tells Warp magazine.

So the end of an era it may not be, but it seems this psychedelically talented duo have, as seems with a lot of the modern electronic scene, found their way towards the broken beat. To get a taste of what the future evolution of Meat Axe exactly is, their EP is currently available on sale at www.addictech.com but if you want to see the real thing then just take Dan’s word for it - expect “a balls-out good night.”

“I plan to find a native bird and use it as head gear while crafting a small yacht out of wheelie bins and take it to the streets!” BOB KIRKIS

Meat Axe Saturday July 2, The Brisbane Hotel With local supports Seane and Newport. Tickets $15 on the door.

House music comes in many different guises, the most popular being progressive house, funky house, soulful house, deep house, vocal house, hard house and more recently, fidget house. warpmagazine.com.au

Tech house is pretty much stripped back house music that maintains the 4/4 beat and much of the groove in the bass lines and rhythms. It can also be described as a form of minimal techno. Record labels generally release many different genres of dance music and some create sub labels to cater for various sub genres. Some of the better tech house labels include Get Physical, Buzzin’ Fly, Piccadoll, CR2 Records, Toolroom Records & Crosstown Rebels.

James takes a perfectionist’s approach to programming with a basis in chords and melodies. In 2008 his first full-length album Everything is OK on the Anjunadeep label brought him critical acclaim. He has since hit number 1 on the iTunes charts with his 2010 Anjunadeep 02 mix compilation and in February 2011 saw the release of his most promising mix work to date, Anjunadeep 03, featuring 29 unreleased tracks, ranging from deep, dark and hypnotic techno to upbeat, uplifting electronic house. Jaytech’s monthly mix podcast, Jaytech Music, can be found on his website, the best place to find his latest productions before anyone else and catch the latest news. His regularly updated blog features writing, photos and video content of musical adventures that take him anywhere from Ibiza’s Amnesia to London’s Brixton Academy, via Japan’s world-famous Womb.

Blazing his way across America, recently tearing it up in NYC at the Best Buy Theatre, he’s now in the second phase of his Group Therapy tour, with the West Coast America set to be jumping to Jaytech’s beat as he plays up to 20 shows in 30 days.

Genre Tech house is one of the many sub genres of house music and the name was originally rumoured to have come from Mr C of popular ‘90s band The Shamen.

A Classically trained pianist of 12 years, James found electronic music at 14, and not long after he started producing, releasing his first work at 16 years old.

At the relatively young age of 25 James is clocking up some serious jetsetter miles.

“The last couple of times I’ve tried to write Hefty Output stuff it just hasn’t worked, but I’m never going to say never. We’ve still got enough material to release an album”, adds Tim.

Tech House

From humble roots in his home town of Canberra, Jaytech (James Cayzer) is prolifically smashing up some of the biggest and hottest clubs in the world.

Just a few of the many artists that are known to produce or play tech house are Layo & Bushwacka, D-Unity, Koen Groenveld and Alex Kenji. Here in Australia, Bass Kleph plays and produces many club friendly tech house tracks while MDX plays and produces a more minimal tech house sound. On a Friday or Saturday night, nearly all the clubs in and around Tasmania that cater to dance music lovers will see many tech house songs being played and many more clubbers dancing to what is one of the coolest sounds around. GRAEME GILLON

Heading 42 degrees south to a club near you, Jaytech is set to break out something special in Hobart. Warp: Can you give us a little something about on your upcoming album? Jaytech: It’s been an epic journey so far. After my last album launched I spent a solid two years travelling and soaking up the scene all around the world. I’ve lost count of the number of trance parties I’ve been to and I’ve met some absolute gurus of dance music along the way. All of this has definitely had an impact on the sound of the second album so far, with the biggest difference being the way that I produce and the sound that I’m aiming for.

Good times with friends, interesting places and most importantly, downtime. The best thing you can do to get creative juices flowing is to disconnect completely every now and then and give your brain some time to process everything you’re working on. A lot of DJs and producers are natural workaholics, so they tend to do this less than you would think. As an Aussie talent going global, what’s your biggest tip to aspiring artists? Don’t let people get to you too much. The more prominent you become, the more pressure and criticism you get from all sides. Making sure tours happen smoothly, releases go as scheduled, keeping your audience happy and planning your career takes a lot of work. It involves dealing with a tonne of people, some of who will walk all over you if you let them. At the end of the day if you can keep a positive attitude and stick to your guns no matter what people say or do, then you’ll go far. Initially classically trained as a pianist, when did you first fall for electronic music? When I was 14 years old - it was an allages rave featuring Ferry Corsten at the University of Canberra refectory. I caught the trance bug that night and also witnessed some great music on the more progressive trance tip from local DJs such as Chris Fraser, Archie, Milkbar Nick and Nash T. The next few years saw an excellent house and trance music scene in Canberra and we were lucky enough to see some really big names coming through. As soon as I found out about this music I grabbed some software off the internet, hooked up my parent’s old hi-fi speakers and the rest is history. What can we expect from your Hobart show? It’s my first time playing Hobart, so I imagine my sound will be new to quite a few people there. I’m going to mix it up with a few classics as well as some great new material off our Anjunadeep imprint. I’ve got a load of new originals that I’m just starting to test out for the first time so I’m keen to see how it all goes down. The plan at this stage is to play for as long as they’ll let me - looking forward to it! CRAIG ANDERSON Jaytech’s The Anjunadeep Tour Saturday June 25 at PlanB With Vousedeux, Simon Lovell and Finch. Tickets available from Ruffcut Records and Greentix.

The stutter edit is a musical production technique in which fragments of audio are repeated in rhythmic intervals. Stutter edits can go beyond 2,048th notes and can be measured in milliseconds. Above a certain point, these repetitions transition from rhythmic to tonal frequencies, making musical notes out of the repeated audio. Stutter Edit is a program designed to automatically generate stutter edit “cuts” through the creation of “gestures.” The goal is to allow stutter edits to be performed in various live applications. Upon opening the effect, don’t be put off by what appears at first glance to be something from the bridge of a Star Trek ship. There are a large amount of presets (banks of gestures mapped to different Midi notes) to get you started off, and these give a good impression of what the plugin is capable of and a visual idea of what does what. There are essentially three modules within Stutter Edit: the stutter module itself, a noise generator, and a small effects module. The main Stutter module is a matrix. Every time you press the midi note assigned to this gesture, it’ll start running through the matrix. The audio can be quantized and gated to extremes, and you can select and move the buffer position of the audio that you’re using. The sound quality of this plugin is really quite excellent.

of the others out there. It is a noise maker, with a library of various looping noisebased beds and single hits. The intention of the module is to be able to manipulate the sound to create noise builds and hits to increase the dynamic tension of the stutter fills as you move into a new section of the track. You can decide the length, noise table, gain, pitch, and pitch movement of the noise. There’s a band pass filter, and a lo-fi effect to grunge up the sound if you want, and a gate send to the Stutter module, which blends the two modules together to sound like one very carefully crafted effect. Personally I am having a lot of fun with this plugin. I have used it playing live and in the studio and have found the plugin to be a creative and inspiring tool. One word of warning though, if you plan to use it in the live setting I would highly recommend using a Limiter on your master channel as some of the stutters volume wise can get right out of hand! More info: www.izotope.com SCRUFFY GOAT

The second module contains “color” effects that can be added to the Stutter. There’s a stereo delay, a bandpass delay, lo and hi pass filter, bit reduction and lo-fi, and Gain settings. The third module; “Generator”, is the module that sets this plugin apart from most

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32 Arts

Arts 33

International Mural Festival

Mapping it SMART with arts@work

“Day Breaks and the sun begins to warm the concrete jungle,” Christian Griffiths, winner of Sheffield’s International Mural Festival 2011. As I arrived into Sheffield on the final day of the Mural Festival, the streets were filled with cars and people were jaywalking from almost every direction. It was a bustling hub of life like I’ve never seen before; street performers strumming out melody, tourists with eager eyes and cameras, rainbow material blowing in the wind out front of cliché hippy stores, not to mention this kind of overall Nimbin feeling. The Nimbin of Tasmania...

Image: Jamin

Babbling Art There is a whirlwind of arts activities happening in Tasmania. One might think how am I to possibly know everything that is on. Really it would be asking too much of the human mind to fathom all of Tasmania’s arts. So let Warp do some of the thinking for you with coverage of gallery programs, art opportunities, news and events in the state and beyond. I must note this month there is no Art Forum happening at the Hobart Art School, they’ve packed up and gone on break till next month. If you haven’t already discovered Smart Map then read on to find out more. Thanks to Arts Tasmania you really don’t have to spend a long time fishing about to know what’s happening in the state. Get familiar with their online arts itinerary, it’s awesome. So get out and discover, and if it really is amazing or your really amazing at seeing it (art) then don’t be shy to inform me in any form be it photographs or writing, as I am open to hearing from you the reader. P.S. Have a smashing June Your arts editor Alison McCrindle alison@warpmagazine.com.au

Shields.jpg by Jamin

Jamin’s Enemy Shields Jamin explains, ‘The pop nature of the Osama assassination... was akin to the cracking of a fresh can of coke’.

Hobart based paint artist Jamin opened a new series of work for consumption, Shields Against the Enemy, at Criterion St Gallery, on May 12, on display until June 11. Possibly his strongest body of work yet, impressively manoeuvred both technically and conceptually. Jamin has been exhibiting consistently in group and solo shows for many years, both in Tasmania and The Mainland. Meanwhile completing First Class Honours at UTAS in Fine Art (2005), he went on to thump out a Masters Degree in 2008. His vast experience within the Art School (as a student and a staff member), the local arts community (on various committees over the years) and technical experience as a sign writer/graphic designer has led to a ripe development of artwork which has landed him the Rosamond McCulloch Studio Residency in Paris later this year! But back to the current show... Jamin challenges our thoughts and experiences of the world around us, as any good artist should. With svelte packaged juxtapositions of the familiar mixed with a cacophony of unsettling world stage drama he tackles issues of capitalism, war, religion, consumerism, effects of advertising, media and pop culture. The influence these agents of power have on the understanding of ourselves and our individual roles within a dollar driven society is at times hard to fathom. Jamin’s work questions society’s fascination and submission to the information age and acceptance of ‘knowledge’ it delivers.

This constant overloading, now that the world really IS at our fingertips, that we oblige to consume, at an exponential pace, can be both daunting and overwhelmingly fascinating. The lines between what is real and what is a fake are pushed. People have long debated if the speeds of our technological and developmental advances are natural or not. We are desensitising our minds to the blips on our screens, the adverts on the side of the webpage, the street corner, packaging, cars, magazines etc. The pace of progress may be in our human nature and arguably... our evolution. I feel Jamin’s riot shields are defending our abilities to think for ourselves and not to just accept what we see, read or hear. He fights back with humanistic desires to connect, caress, nurture, embrace, comfort and console (emblazoned on the shields). Meanwhile our ‘leaders’ make money from our addictions to oil, drugs, sport and gambling, then use it to kill more innocent civilians...and manhunt ‘evil’.

The nine murals in this year’s competition were on display in the neat little square Mural Park beside the information centre. I could sit in the middle of the park on the grass and view all murals with a 180 degree turn of the head or walk the concrete path leading around taking you up close and personal to each mural - a fantastic little outdoor gallery experience. There was even a Mini Murals space for kids to paint their own murals. Each year the entrants are given an inspirational poem to base their mural on. The poem is founded through a poetry prize event held during the previous Mural Fest (2010). This year’s poem: Power of Community ‘In the dawn bright with birdsong, the people rise to watch the world open’. - PB Tewson Most of the murals showed a strong connection with the poem, some however encour-

aged the viewer to think deeper about the relationship between subject matter and the poem. The winning mural, Connectivity by Christian Griffiths, does not excite me. It is bland in landscape and content and the colours remind me of a dull ageing urban setting. However I do appreciate Griffiths questioning concept; a sense of nature connecting with urban landscape, or is it a domination of urban elements over nature? New Day’s Flight by Stephen Townsend was my favourite, for its airbrushed technique. It is magnificent, flowing and powerful in content, if a cliché take on the poem. It is an explosion in awe over landscape from the bystander propped on the hill. Below is a small city with an air of freshness resonating from the powerful sunrise splashing out across the mountains, the clouds roar from the centre outwards in spectacular storm colours followed by a flock of birds stretching past the foreground of the painting and over the viewer. As I left the Mural Festival, Sheffield had descended into a quiet country town - probably what it is like most of the time. Nimbin had gone. It was now a rural farming town with a trickle of people getting about doing grocery shopping, fuelling up at the petrol station, or closing up shop. Bye bye Sheffield and thanks for the colour and excitement for an hour of my day. I will come back again next year.

Image: Arts Tasmania

Smart Map is an arts@work project, arts@ work being the industry development arm of Arts Tasmania. Not a surprise but more of an exciting discovery, smart map allows you to create an artistic journey across Tasmania simply from a website. The website contains up-to-date information on over 100 of “Tasmania’s best arts experiences”. You can also customise your arts itinerary by searching for arts by region, sector or artform, including craft and design, museums, collections, music, performing arts, visual arts and Aboriginal art and craft. The search results are displayed as a pinpointed location on a Google-style map as well as a text listing, each accompanied by a linked information page with details including contact, exhibition programs, performance dates and available facilities. You can choose each arts experience by adding it to your wish list, which then creates

Basket Weave (detail), 2009 by Rosalind Langford

a comprehensive list and map of your chosen experiences; simple and effective. Arts Tasmania/arts@work launched the Smart Map project in October 2010 after recognising our island’s growing reputation as being one of Australia’s leading cultural hubs and a drawcard for interstate and international visitors. “With so many diverse arts experiences on offer, Smart Map Tasmania ensures visitors and locals can absorb as much art as possible while on out island,” arts@work explains. Cool or just plain cool; I’m almost done packing my bag ready for an art adventure in Tassie. Visit www.smartmaptas.com.au, get mapping and packing and head off on an art journey. When you’re done, I want to hear all about it. Who knows; I might even publish it. ALISON McCRINDLE alison@warpmagazine.com.au

ALISON McCRINDLE

Eloise Murphy

More Info: criteriongallery.com.au 12 Criterion St, Hobart 6231 3151

Connectivity by Christian Griffiths

New Days Flight by Stephen Townsend

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Images: ALISON McCRINDLE warpmagazine.com.au


34 Arts

Arts 35

Insight into the work of Scot Cotterell Scot Cotterell’s work is situated within the context of current media arts practice. His work often takes the form of installation involving sound, video, made and found objects to create environments that reflect upon cultural phenomena. Cotterell graduated from the Tasmanian School of Art, University of Tasmania, Hobart in 2008 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts with First Class Honours and completed his MFA (Research) in early 2011. Cotterell has a recent performance history where he has produced works for Salon Bruit, Berlin, Overtoom 301, Amsterdam, ElectroFringe new media Arts Festival, Newcastle and Liquid Architecture 6, National festival of sound arts, Melbourne. He has also had a number of recent solo shows including Medium Frequency (DF Arte Contemporaneo, Galicia, Spain 2009), The Fall (MONA FOMA Festival, Salamanca Arts Centre, Hobart 2008) and FLEETING (Platform 2, Melbourne 2006), and has been the recipient of several awards and grants including a Sound Travellers Grant from the Australia Council for the Arts in 2009 and the Jim Bacon Foundation Scholarship in 2008. He is currently the Chair of the artist run initiative, Inflight in Hobart and is represented by Bett Gallery, Hobart.

What brought you to art initially? Really a lifelong interest, for as long as I can remember that was my chosen ‘career’ the turning point I guess was being amazed as a 7 year old at the detail of a prayer card found in my parents’ house, a tiny reproduction of Dali’s St. John on the Cross. The dusty cupboard full of 50’s popular mechanics magazines in my neighbours shed was also a massive influence visually. An appreciation of the design of objects and technology from the past and how these changes reflect back to us and our aspirations has been there as long as I can remember. How and where do you draw inspiration for your art practice? I usually work alot, on alot of projects at once, which means they can all bleed together sometimes. I am happy for this to occur, and through working as an art

installer for a long time, quite often even the conditions or location of a particular gallery will inform a work ( as is the case with the gallery store-room works). I draw inspiration from a mix of everyday, found and encountered objects, signs and symbols and media phenomena like trends, memes, fashions and fads. Inspiring things this week A pile of discarded design magazines and more specifically the design and layout of advertisements in them for exhibitions 15 years ago. Bargain counterfeit clothing stores in Footscray with slightly altered brands such as ‘Everfast’ (Everlast) and ‘Tagout’ (Tapout). The shattered base of a garden fountain. A rusty key and broken medicine bottle found in an old shed. And the burnt out shell of the scuba shop in North Hobart. What is your art doing now? During my MFA Degree, I made lots of work in lots of mediums, from gallery, to touring sound-art, on-line works, painting, sculpture and installation. I’ve always enjoyed mixing these things up and will continue to but am thinking more about ‘slow-art’ the kind that takes a long time. In exploring this I have been doing lots of small-scale drawings that are heavily layered and processed with various inks and water. They arise out of wanting to do some opposites to my previous work; small as opposed to big, made slowly as opposed to quickly.

Image-making, be it still, drawn, painted or electronic has pushed to the fore of my practice in a lot of ways, as I had pursued and pushed installation, video and sound quite a lot recently. While my work has always been based around, and draws inspiration from mass media, I’m exploring much more obscure elements of popular culture in new work. Getting closer to a micro-study of a particular event or phenomena. What is the pinnacle for you/ is there one? I feel incredibly privileged to have been able to do so much already, I’ve exhibited nationally and internationally, attended amazing events and workshops with too many talented people to mention, been able to teach art and work in galleries and present the work of my peers and colleagues. The ‘pinnacle’ for me is more of a ‘plateau’ and it’s a space where you are able to work constantly on new ideas, be surrounded by amazing talented people, and be supported by the public and society in order to do so while contributing meaningfully to the cultural make-up of a place and community. I’d of course love to see my work travel further and more into the significant collection, museums and commercial realms of contemporary art, and this ball is indeed already rolling. The hardest part really is finding time to explore all the ideas I have! What’s in store for the next 12 months? The works I am making right now are drawings and sculptural works for the upcoming Pirate Radio show, a series of signage paintings and sculptures which will be the next solo show and continuing to develop the hand-made instruments into another larger series. Things in the pipeline for the next 12 months are - a potential live-audio tour of china, a collaborative release on new U.S/Aus Label Sonoptik, a new solo show of drawings, sculpture and video work, a touring solo exhibition of regional galleries. During this time I’ll be based in beautiful Hobart lecturing sessionally at UTAS and hanging in gallery store-rooms elsewhere.. Tell me about your upcoming exhibition. I’m working toward a large exhibition for late June at Launceston’s Poimena Gallery with Matt Warren, titled ‘Pirate Radio (and other hauntologies)’ the exhibition will take over the entire gallery space and the basement cellar of Poimena. Matt and I will present a new solo work in each space, that are linked via a new collaborative work that takes audio feeds from each work, mixes them together and transmits them throughout the grounds of the gallery via short-scale fm broadcast. Viewers will be able to navigate around the exhibition using portable fm radios to provide the accompanying soundtrack. My work for this exhibition will feature a new body of handmade electronic instruments and a suite of accompanying drawings that portray a disintegration of signals and symbols. Pirate Radio (and other hauntologies) opens 5.30pm with a performance at 6pm on the June 24 and runs until July 15. At Poimena Gallery, Launceston Church Grammar School, Button Street, Mowbray Heights, Tasmania. More info about Scot’s work can be found at www.scotcotterell.com

Alison McCrindle

The Ballad of Maurice Huish, 2011

warpmagazine.com.au

Image: scot cotterell

Brianism Cuts in Arts Funding Are Like...

I am going to write about the topic of recent cuts and the threat of further reduction in arts funding in Tasmania. It’s a hot topic and people are spinning their wheels proposing “solutions” to the problem. Property developer Robert Rockefeller told me the Tasmanian population is roughly 1/3 civil servants, 1/3 people on public assistance and 1/3 private sector and business. Whether these figures are accurate or not is irrelevant, anyone who lives here can look around and see that there’s at least a grain of truth there. There are too many bureaucrats, too many people with no clue as what to do with their lives and not enough entrepreneurs and leaders. The Arts Sector reflects this imbalance. There are numerous arts administrators, many artists who won’t work unless they get the grants they think they need, and an ever dwindling group of artists creating their own opportunities. I’ll start by talking about music because that’s my field. In the modern world it is extremely easy to get your music out to the public. My son Silas and I recorded songs for an art installation he was doing in Wisconsin. We recorded on a computer with an inexpensive interface and a few cheap microphones and electronics. A few days ago he put it out on www.bandcamp.com and a week later he has sales, fan emails and good reviews under his belt. When I started my musical career this technology did not exist. But I have been contacted by several bands here in Tasmania who expressed interest in having me play on or produce their recordings, but only if they received grants to go forward with the project. If you have something to say there is very little to stop you, grant or no grant. My suspicion is that music that’s

waiting for a grant is probably not worth listening to anyway. Busking is another fantastic form of expression theoretically available to any musician. My old band Violent Femmes became world famous through this activity. When I first came to Hobart in 1992 there was a healthy and fun busking scene here. I placed saxophone quartet 22SQ and bluesman Mangus in MONA FOMA, both of whom I discovered busking on the streets of Hobart. I loved their music and admired their work ethic of getting out on the street and playing. Today in Hobart we’ve got it all wrong. Buskers need permits. Hobart City Council has financed not one, but two studies to develop a comprehensive plan for controlling buskers and the areas they busk in. These plans and processes cost a lot of money and in the end we have a sterile and predictable busking anti-scene. Specified busking areas and state sanctioned street musos defeats the beautiful anarchy of true busking culture. If the Femmes worried about permits or where we played we wouldn’t have been discovered by Chrissie Hynde and the Pretenders. All that money spent studying busking and issuing permits is a good example of waste of public funds related to arts. Just let anybody busk wherever they want! Which brings me to my main point. There are a lot of people walking around bemoaning the arts cuts and talking about dollar figures. There is an erroneous presumption that having money to shuffle around peripherally in the arts sector leads inexorably to a cornucopia of great art in the environment. It takes three things to create great art. 1 ideas, 2 talented people, then (and only sometimes!) 3 money to make it happen. The money is last on this list because it’s the least of the three.

When people put it first on the list they place the cart before the horse. It’s like saying if you have a lot of chess pieces you’ll win the game. Not if you don’t know how to play chess. A Bobby Fischer would beat you with four pieces. Make no mistake! I also engage in the activity of fighting for MOFO arts funding and I admire the tenacity of those who play that game. But there’s a bigger problem not being addressed and it’s endemic. Arts are a creative field yet there is little creativity in arts bureaucracy here. We need an Arts Czar, someone with the ability to pick up this box of toys, shake it and dump it on the ground in an entirely new configuration. Take the grants process -- Face it many or perhaps most of the greatest artistic minds are not inclined to fill out mind-numbing forms. They’re too busy being creative. You end up with an artistic class skilled at pencil pushing. Great!!! Money doesn’t drive art, desire does. People make it because they have no choice. As James Brown said, “I can’t help myself!” Desire drives other things. I moved here because of desire. Desire to live in Tasmania. My presence here has directly and indirectly generated a lot of arts activity. This is the key. Energy breeds energy. Creativity is infinite. In Tasmania we have a finite gene pool of talent gathering around the trough. We don’t need a bigger trough, we need a bigger gene pool. There are ways the State can encourage arts activity with little or no expenditure. Tasmania likes to pat itself on the back for its arts scene, “more artists per capita than any other state” blah, blah, blah. This is cute and collegial but actually there are not enough world-class artists here and Tasmania should be providing incentives to attract them. State Government should take some of the money it puts into the arts and make Tasmania a tax free zone for artists. Because income tax is Federal this would have to take the form of rebates. “Artist” could be defined as “someone who makes the majority of their living from their work as artists”. Because the average income of these people in Australia is about $11,000

this would not end up being a huge cost to the State but it would be likely to encourage people to move here. If perchance someone with a large income moves here, what would be the downside? None. That person is likely to be prominent and productive. A bloke like Richard Flanagan does not need a grant to do his work. He needs pen and paper to write a novel. But having him here gives Tasmania a lot more credibility on the world stage than throwing money at mediocre arts projects. The Flan is someone who was born here, left, and returned. Reversing the brain drain is essential. We lose many of our best. Attracting international and interstate artists is crucial. Tasmanian State government could attract talent at no cost by offering derelict infrastructure to artists and arts organizations with the proviso they renovate them during the course of their free lease. There are such buildings in Hobart and Launceston and entire ghost towns in Western Tassie. This would not only attract artists, in the end the State would end up with better infrastructure. Government doesn’t do everything well. They can’t build a mundane road without causing heartache. But Australia and Tasmania in particular don’t have the market or philanthropy to drive the arts without government assistance. Unfortunately there is a propensity here to shovel money at unsuccessful ideas. State Government should avoid operations that are not self-sustaining. Projects should be expanded with government money, but not initiated. This is the only way to ensure quality. If I were the Arts Minister or a player in any other State arts body these are the kind of ideas I’d be pursuing rather than worrying about a 3% cut in funding. 3% of an inefficient model is inconsequential. 100% improvement in strategy and creativity is significant. If the goal is to keep the arts infrastructure at status quo, so be it. But if the goal is to spur on arts activity we need to upset the proverbial apple cart. BRIAN RITCHIE

warpmagazine.com.au


36 Arts

Arts 37

WARP GALLERY GUIDE

Arts Opportunities

SOUTH 146 ARTSPACE NEW AGE: NEW MEDIA – Australia-China connections, contemporary video artists 13 Jun – 15 Jul. Susan & Emily McCulloch’s Critics Choices 2011, a selection of stock works by leading art critics & authors 8-24 Jul. ART MOB Beyond Batterbee 2011, watercolour paintings from Hermannsburg School Central Australia, 10-26 June OPENING 6pm 10 June. BETT GALLERY MAIN GALLERY: The Missing, Julie Gough 1 Jun - 5 Jul. 25 Years Bett Gallery, group exhibition, 6 Jul - 2 Aug. BACKSPACE: Michael Schlitz works on paper, 1 Jun - 2 Aug. CARNEGIE GALLERY Dialectic Movements, Elizabeth Woods & Kevin Leong, 17 June - 17 July OPENING 6pm 16 June. CAST Erotographomania, group show curated by Sarah Jones, 11 Jun - 10 Jul OPENING 6pm 10 June. COLVILLE GALLERY GALLERY 1: Paintings by Stephanie Tabram, ends 15 Jun. Peter Gouldthorpe 17 Jun – 6 Jul, OPENING 5.30pm 17 Jun. GALLERY 2: Prints by Deborah Williams, ends 15 Jun. Chris Bennett 17 Jun – 6 Jul, OPENING 5.30pm 17 Jun. CRITERION GALLERY Shields Against the Enemy by Jamin, ends June 11. (No Exhibitions during June and July) DESPARD GALLERY New works by Joanne Currie Nalingu and Michael Eather. May 26 – June 21. New paintings by Laura Matthews, 23 Jun – 19 July, OPENING 6pm. ENTREPOT GALLERY MAIN: Self Portrait by Jennie Jackson. LOUNGE: Desiderata by Scott Faulkner. Both run May 30 – June 16. MAIN: Spaces between Places, David Bluhdorn LOUNGE: In medias res, Jo Chew. Both run Jun 20 - Jul 7. FLEURTYS CAFE Benchmarking Birchs Bay Sculpture Prize, Bay Sculpture Prize. 10am - 5pm until the end of June. GONE AWOL Unmarried Brides by Kieron Hayter. Ends 30 June. GOULBURN ST GALLERY Robin Mary Calvert ceramics & paintings. June 3 - 24, OPENING 6pm June 3. Georgina Richmond paintings, 8-29 July OPENING 6pm 8 July. Jenny Burnett, 15 July - 4 Aug

13 7 COLL IN S S T H OB ART 03 62 34 37 8 8 WW W> ART E R YD IRE CT .CO M.AU

OPENING 6pm 15 July HANDMARK GALLERY - Hobart Mairi Ward paintings, ceramics & furniture, ends June 15. Michael McWilliams painting & furniture, 17 Jun – 13 Jul OPENING 6pm 17 June. INFLIGHT (re)presentation by Laura Hindmarsh.4-25 June OPENING 6pm 3 June. FELTspace ARI, Adelaide at INFLIGHT, Exchange Exhibition. 9-30 July OPENING 6pm 8 July. INKA GALLERY INC. Ladies of Colour by South Hobart Art Group, ends Jun 15. Scenes from an Italian Landscape, Alfredo Meloni. 16 June - 6 July, OPENING 5.30pm 17 June. Visions from the Gardens of Good and Evil, Ian Hawkins. 7-27 July. JIMMY’S SKATE & STREET Sculpture by Jivanta Howard, ends June 10. Illustrations by Hannah Cardamatis, 10 June - 1 July OPENING 5.30pm 10 June. Grow Up, Martin Nester & Jonny Scholes, 1-22 July - OPENING 5.30pm 1 July LOVETT GALLERY Members work on show constantly changing & includes painting, sculpture, photography & ceramics. Winter open hours Sat & Sun 10am – 4pm. MASTERPIECE IXL GALLERY Clearance of Investment Stock: colonial to contemporary art (Autumn) MOONAH ARTS CENTRE Traditional Cultural Aspects 17-31 June, OPENING 6pm 17 June. Karadi NAIDOC exhibition 6-10 July. OPENING 6pm 6 July. MUSEUM OF OLD & NEW ART Monanism. Ends July 19. PLIMSOLL GALLERY The Archival Impulse, national & international artists. Ends June 24. RED WALL GALLERY Still Life, Kieron Haytor, 5 June - 1 July OPENING 5pm 5 June. Stations of the Pig, Erin Linhart, 3-31 July OPENING 5pm 3 July. SADDLERS COURT GALLERY Exhibiting over 100 Tasmanian artists & crafts people. SALAMANCA ARTS CENTRE LONG GALLERY: Weld Echo 2011, group show 2-12 June. SCHOOLHOUSE GALLERY THE BARN: Japanese Design Today 100, household items produced in the 1990’s.

nortH CONT. 20 June - 15 July. The Barn Market, high quality Craft & Design Market. 23 July 10am-3pm.

All shows 10 June - 2 July OPENING 6pm 10 June.

SONA GALLERY Ongoing stock exhibition

THE ACADEMY GALLERY Newstead High Flyers, curated by Scott Cunningham, 17 June - 1 July.

SPACEBAR GALLERY When I Grow Up I Want To Be A Dinosaur, Rag Tag (Ali Pyrke) menswear collection launch. OPENING 6pm 17, on sale until mid September. TASMANIAN LANDSCAPES GALLERY Luke O’Brien Photography. Art printing & mounting services also available. TASMANIAN MUSEUM & ART GALLERY Volcano Lover, Lucy Bleach. Ends Jul 3. C20 -100 years of Australian art from the TMAG collection ends June. Finding the mysterious unknowable by Peter Dombrovskis ends Jul.

THE WILDERNESS GALLERY 10-room purpose-built photographic gallery showcasing leading local, national and international artists, until November: Thylacine - The Tasmanian Tiger Exhibition (permanent). The Vale of Belvoir - nature photographers Tasmania. Kodama - the spirit of trees, Masaaki Aihara. Light on the Land - Ben Messina. Spatial - David Murphey. Roam - Grant Kingston. A Century of Uncertainty - David McGonial. THREE WINDOWS GALLERY Changing Southern Midlands Artists

north WEST

THE BRISBANE HOTEL Art @ The Brisbane will be postponed for the month of June due to space upgrading back in July with: Catharsis, Sean Frosali, 7 July - 7 August OPENING 7pm 7 July.

BURNIE REGIONAL ART GALLERY Art Rage 2010, Artwork from schools around the state. Ends July 10 Expressions by Jackie Walker. Ends July 10.

VON SHROEDER FINE ARTS GALLERY New award winning works by Gaye Spencer (permanent changing exhibition).

DEAN WALKER DESIGNS Reficere Part One “to refresh”, Josh Foley, Anne Dunham, Jeremy Close & Dean Walker. 10 Jun - 30 Jul.

nortH 1842 GALLERY Tree Preamble, Vicki McDonald. Until end of June. HANDMARK GALLERY - Evandale Leonie Oakes works on paper & Shauna Mayben jewellery, 12 Jun – 8 Jul OPENING 2.30pm 12 Jun. LEONI DUFF GALLERIES An Affair with Colour , Grant Koch. Ends June 15. Modern Masters: 3 Sydney Artists, Keith Dewell, Peter Marshal & Tim Miller. 24 June - 15 July OPENING 6pm 24 June. POIMENA GALLERY Pirate Radio, Matt Warren & Scot Cotterell, 24 June - 23 July OPENING 5.30pm with performance at 6pm 24 June. QUEEN VICTORIA MUSEUM & ART GALLERY Hatching the Past: Dinosaur Eggs & Babies, 2 April – 17 July. Lieutenant Colonel ‘Harry’ Murray Medal Display, Tasmanian Connections Gallery ends 26 June. Artstart - Picturing Your Identity, ends 4 August. SAWTOOTH ARI FRONT & MIDDLE GALLERY: Beneath, Helene Weeding. PROJECT GALLERY: New paintings by Courtney Foote. NEW MEDIA GALLERY: Dazzle: performance, Parametrics & Russian Futurist Theatre, UTAS School of Architecture: Performative design research.

DEVONPORT REGIONAL GALLERY MAIN GALLERY: Discovery, group exhibition ends 19 June. Before the Move: works from the Permanent Collection In conversation with Ellie Ray, 12.30pm 28. LITTLE GALLERY: George Smiley automatons & paintings, 25 June - 17 July OPENING 6pm 24. PARADOX BAZAAR Unique Tasmanian Art & Craft creations operated by, and featuring the works of, local Artists and Craftspeople and is constantly changing throughout the year. www.paradoxbazaar.com.au WONDERS OF WYNYARD GALLERY Winter Warmers, Hand-Weavers, Spinners & Dyers Guild, Burnie. Tasmania’s Rural Cultural Landscape, National Trust. Both shows 1-28 June. Passages, Tasmanian Regional Arts group Stitching & Beyond, 1-21 July OPENING 6pm 1 July.

KING ISLAND Lollipop Gallery + Boathouse Gallery Paintings by Caroline Kininmonth and Bridget Levy on exhibit throughout the year and continually changing. * If you are an exhibiting gallery or space in Tasmania and want to be included in the Warp Gallery Guide email: alison@warpmagazine.com.au

Check out the list of upcoming workshops, grants, residencies and other arts opportunity’s. This is only scraping the top of what’s out there for artists and alike so jump on the World Wide Web and do some surfing around the websites I have listed to find out more awesome stuff to do and be part of.

Workshops

Other Opportunities

Acrylics: Lets Get Started, simple and advanced techniques. Devonport AE Centre, 25 & 26 June 10am-3pm $126.50. For more info visit www.learnxpress.linc.tas.gov.au or Devonport LINC PH. 6421 5200

Hutchins Art Prize: An acquisitive award for works on paper and is open to artists Australasia wide. Entries close June 17, 2011. For more info visit www.hutchins.tas. edu.au

Drawing the Figure: Classical anatomy understanding with Keith Dewell lecturer from Julian Ashton Art School in Sydney. 3 day workshop from 22-24 June. For more information contact Leoni Duff: lduff@art-inpastel.com or call 0409 542 557.

146 ArtSpace: An exhibition space located in the foyer of Arts Tasmania office at 146 Elizabeth st, Hobart, is accepting proposals for exhibitions to show in the 2012 program. Open to Tasmanian artists, creatives, collectives and curators working in an media, group or solo exhibition. Closes 28 June. Application toolkit available from www.artsatwork.com.au/146_artspace.

Holiday Activities at Moonah Arts Centre: Paper Sculpture with Kate Connellan June 13 & 14, suits 8-14 years, 10am-3pm. Contact Moonah Arts Centre for more info and bookings PH. 6214 7633. Painting with Caroline Amos: Explore various modes of painting designed to extend and enliven painting in acrylics and other media. 30 & 31 July 10am-4pm. Contact Moonah Arts Centre for more info and bookings PH. 6214 7633. Life Drawing with Mixed Media & Colour: Extend your life drawing practice using pastel, paint & collage. A course for students with experience in life drawing classes. 20 June - 8 August at the Hobart Adult Ed Centre with Melanie Fletcher. For more info visit http://learnxpress.linc.tas. gov.au/class/LFMC1-AH01

Grants Assistance to Individuals: This program accepts applications for a variety of projects proposed by artists to further their career. Closes 1 August, application toolkit is available from www.arts.tas.gov. au/individuals or contact Arts Tasmania PH 6233 7308. New Work, Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Arts: Supports projects that assist Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, arts organisations or community organisations to create new work with an expected public outcome. projects can span longer than 12 months. Closes 15 July. visit www.australiacouncil. gov.au Start up Grants for young artists: Grants of up to $3,000 available to young artists (16-26 years of age) who have not previously received an Arts Tasmania Grant. Closes 1 August 2011. Visit www.arts.tas. gov.au or contact Art Tasmania PH 6233 7308

The 2012 Anne & Gordon Samstag: International Visual Arts Scholarships. For study up to 12 months overseas in the visual arts, must be graduate of a studio based visual arts course at an Australian Institution of higher education. Applications close 30 June. visit http://www.unisa.edu.au/ samstag/default.asp

ANDREW ON ART Geoff Dyer may not be your favourite Hobart artist and he’s certainly not mine, but if you really want to get stuck into the local scene and engage, he’s a hard one to ignore. And that’s because he’s just plain good.

Winning The Archibald Portrait prize in 2003 with a striking portrait of Richard Flanagan elevated his status, but all it really did was wake the nation up to already existing talent that, to be fair, plenty of art world types knew of. It’s just that winning the Archibald elevates you into the public glare a fair bit, allows you to up your prices a bit and maybe flog a few more things than you have done previously.

Tasmanian Youth Portraiture Prize: Tasmanian artists under the age of 30 are invited to paint a portraiture of a living Tasmanian who is important to them along with an artist statement. Works are professionally exhibited in Devonport, Launceston and Hobart. Entries close 30 June. For more info visit http://www.typp. com.au/

It’s not a ticket to ride the gravy train, and Dyer seems to have just kept on working; the Despard Gallery, down past the silos at Salamanca there had some of his works up last month and very fine they looked too – images of the Koonya area, so one could view big landscapes rendered in those excited jabs of colour that Dyer uses. It’s big, expressive work.

ST.ART Street Art Festival: The oneday music, art and culture festival at Schoolhouse Gallery & Rosny Barn on Saturday August 27 is an exciting opportunity for artists across mediums and generations. The ST.ART competition is an outlet for creative ideas via aerosol cans onto a 2D surface, with $2400 in prizes for stencil and free aerosol artwork. Winners will be announces on the day of the festival and all entries will be exhibited at the Schoolhouse Gallery until Sunday Sep 11. Entry is free and open to three age categories: junior (up to 11 yrs), intermediate (12-17 yrs) & senior (18+) For more information check out the Facebook page or visit www.ccc.tas.gov. au for entry forms, or pick up one up from Ruffcut Records (Elizabeth St Mall) or the Schoolhouse Gallery (Rosny Barn).

I liked much of what was up on the walls down Despard way, although I have to admit, I think my favourite image by Geoff is back up the road at Knopwood’s Retreat – that angry rendering of a ruined bushland that reminds of bushfire and clearfelled land (if there’s a difference) is a beauty. I’ve looked at it plenty whilst supping pints of dark beer and it’s etched itself in my mind. That happens with repeated viewing though.

Youth ARC Gallery: Seeking young artists 12-25 or organisations working with young artists to present 2d work at the recently established gallery space at Youth ARC in Collins st, Hobart. For more info contact potterm@hobartcity.com.au

Residencies

Website’s of interest

Self Initiated Residencies: Tasmanian artists are welcome to apply to undertake a self initiated residency locally, nationally or internationally. For more information visit www.arts.tas.gov.au/residencies Wilderness and Cultural Residencies: Tasmanian artists can apply for a residency in one of the 13 sites of ecological and or cultural significance within Tasmania. For more information visit www.arts.tas.gov.au/ residencies

• Arts Tasmania www.arts.tas.gov.au • Arts @ Work www.artsatwork.com.au • Contemporary Art Spaces Tasmania www.castgallery.org • Moonah Arts Centre http://mac.gcc.tas.gov.au/Pages • Inflight ARI www.inflightart.com.au • Salamanca Arts Centre www.salarts.org.au • Sawtooth ARI www.art.org.au • Tasmanian Regional Arts www.tasregionalarts.org.au

*If you are an arts organisation or body with an upcoming opportunity that is within the arts bracket and would like it included in Warps Arts Opportunities guide please email all details to alison@warpmagazine.com.au

I like looking at an artwork again and again, something happens that doesn’t at just one viewing – art works open themselves up; you really begin to get to grips them with them in a way that a perfunctory glance over a glass of red at yet another opening just doesn’t allow. You can be quite taken by something for one reason then something else comes to light as you unpack the work, and that unpacking might take a while. So, the answer is easy – buy an art work. When was the last time you bought some art? I know it’s expensive and times are tight, but if you get a decent work it’ll keep on keeping on, gradually revealing its depths to you. I consider myself to have a nodding relationship with Geoff Dyer’s work in Knopwoods that grows into something more interesting; I recall being really struck by it one evening and getting into an entire conversation about staring at art with a crony, and wishing I could buy more of it. The answer to that dilemma would be Arts Tasmania’s Collect scheme. Collect gives out zero-interest loans to anyone wanting to buy Tasmanian work from a number of commercial galleries.

Nice idea, but it’s more than that: since the scheme was launched in November 2008, there’s been some 500-odd loans issued, totalling to over a million and half dollars – all gone to Tasmanian Artists and Galleries. Well, to living Tasmanian artists and to the fourteen galleries participating in Collect. Not all galleries do – though blowed if I know why. There are some limits to it but you can get a loan for as little as $750 then pay it back over a year or so, and that makes affording an art work pretty bloody realistic. It’s good for artists as well as collectors though; some are repeat customers of the scheme, so it appears that local creators are selling more than they otherwise would, and that some works are even heading interstate – roughly 30% of the loans taken out through Collect have taken artworks to destinations beyond Tasmania. Wins all around there. Go buy yourself a Dyer. There were more than a few well within the ranges of Collect hanging down at Despard. And if Geoff Dyer isn’t the guy for you, look around. You might be taken by the works on riot shields Jamin has at the Criterion Gallery in Hobart’s humming CBD. Jamin has adapted a number of techniques – stencil, brush, spray paint, collaged references and sly juxtaposing – and produced a body of work that reflects some pretty genuine takes on modern global politics. In some ways he’s got the observational wit of a really great editorial cartoonist, who gives you a giggle as well as asking you a question or two. I appreciate the wit but it’s also the sheer craft that makes these things what they are – potent new works for new audiences. I’d love to hang a Jamin next to a Dyer and watch them vie for my attention. Cheers to Shannon at Arts Tasmania for assistance. Check out the COLLECT scheme on the interwebs: www.collectart.com.au ANDREW HARPER

Follow Andrew on Twitter: @andrew_w_ harper for more comment about art and everything else. E: andrewharper@yahoo.com W: http://distantyowie.blogspot.com W: http://theswollenear.blogspot.com GPO box 325, Hobart, TAS 7001, Australia

warpmagazine.com.au


38 Performing Arts

Performing Arts 39

Editorial

Review

Water World

Joan of Arc

I have a friend that loves rain, especially sun showers. More specifically, she adores puddles and jumping in them.

Earl Arts Centre, Launceston April 29

Across rugged terrain and dusty roads with a roadie, a tour manager and two suitcases of equipment, Tim Watts is on an exhaustive tour of Australia’s regional and urban centres. Over the course of the tour, Tim Watts thought his geography would improve but technology has thwarted him and as he isn’t using a “big old map” to chart his course. With a GPS now fairly standard in every rental car, his knowledge of Australia’s cities has little chance of expansion. Watts is touring his multi- faceted show, The Adventures of Alvin Sputnik: Deep Sea Explorer and he has created a new world with a unique geography, unrecognisable to any GPS system. The planet is Earth, but it is an Earth that has been consumed by rising tides and dampened skies. Watt’s planet is a water world and the hero is Alvin Sputknik, one of the few survivors of a great tragedy that has claimed much of Earths human population, animals, vegetation and land. Presumably, the fish are okay. Watts describes his show as a “grand, epic love story,” as Alvin, who lost his wife to the tragedy that left people living on farms atop skyscrapers and mountain peaks, sets out to save her soul which left her body when she died and sunk to the bottom of the ocean. It is also an end-of-the-world drama, not unlike Armageddon as people desperately cling to life and try to save the human race from killing itself and what is left of the planet. With these dramatic overtones, Watts is quick to inform that although he is interested in the environment, the show does not have a moral or educational tone, instead it is a “really fun show, filled with hope, it has a lot of heart.” One aspect of the tour that has been unsettling was that at every stop, there was a tragedy just before the boys arrived. “We just did Sydney at the time of all the big floods, we did Auckland a day after the big earthquake in Christchurch occurred,” he said. Image: Alvin Sputnik - Bubbles

Rather than upset people, Watts said that after they had seen the show, audience members approached him. They said,

”It was really helpful to see something that had hope and heart rather than despair.” The show is a tragic comedy, entertainment rather than education or desolation and despair although he is quick to point out that at its heart, the show is also about grief and loss. With an affinity with the one man band, Watts holds all the strings, completely controlling the action on stage for Alvin. It is partly this resourcefulness, the reliance upon only himself and a dark space that has enabled Watts and his team to perform in so many regional venues. “Alvin’s journey is a solo mission and I like that in myself as a performer, I’m all alone and have to man the show myself,” said Watts, although he regularly collaborates with other companies, including Perth’s Weeping Spoon. The show has won a swag of awards for puppetry, production and for best in show however for Watts it is the knowledge that he is juggling all the technical and artistic challenge whilst he is on stage. “There is something a little magical when the lights come up at the end and it’s just me and I’ve been keeping all the imaginary balls in the air.” Katherine Farrell

Dates: Hobart Theatre Royal June 20 & 21 Tickets from the venue

Corruption of the church, women in the military, even the royal wedding (which was taking place at the very moment the curtain went up) - all these contemporary issues had echoes in Stephen Beckett’s tale of Joan of Arc’s short life in 1429. Based on George Bernard Shaw’s Saint Joan, Beckett’s adaptation has been pared down to the basics in terms of characters, sets and storyline. Beckett’s play has only four characters. Joan herself is played with dogged enthusiasm and optimism by Eleanore Knox, with the knight Robert played by Chris Rattray. Dennis Mann seemed to be channelling Frank Thring with his superciliously camp archbishop, lording it over the petulantly self-doubting, cowardly Dauphin, played by David Quinn. The play opens with a young Joan trying to rouse a drunken knight to convince him to accept her as a soldier and take her to meet the Dauphin, so she can raise the siege of Orleans and have the Dauphin crowned king, which she has been told to do by ‘voices’ from God. Not unlike women in today’s military, Joan is initially dismissed with tales of battle being no place for a woman. The knight relents, however, and eventually comes to respect and love her as a fellow soldier, who dresses as a soldier and not as a woman, so that her fellow soldiers can see her as such. After eventually winning the Dauphin and the archbishop over, she goes on to lead an army, expel the English from France, and crown the Dauphin as king.

Ultimately, however, she is betrayed, captured by the English, tried for heresy and burned at the stake. Both church and royalty turn their back on her, the church threatened by the idea of the voice of God coming through any but their own official channels. The dramatic crescendo leading to Joan’s execution was let down a little by the epilogue, which detracted somewhat from the emotional intensity of the execution. Though an integral part of the original play, pointing the way to Joan’s pardoning and eventual canonisation, the long musical interlude after the execution, and the length of the epilogue itself, did take away somewhat from the powerful impression that the audience would have otherwise left with. This is a small quibble though, and the play was otherwise well executed. Changes of scene were indicated through a very simple set and lighting design. Place was indicated by two door-sized paintings and one easel painting, by Harry Morgan which were changed for each scene, combined with lighting effects that moved us seamlessly from flagstone floors to a sunny day by the Loire River. Stephen Beckett productions is a new independent theatre company to Tasmania. Their recent productions have included Shirley Valentine at the Earl Arts Centre in June, 2010, and Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap is upcoming in September 2011. Megan Casey

She is not a duck, nor is she a child, and as college students we spent one afternoon jumping in a large puddle that collected outside Spotlight, it was more a pond then a puddle and our return to EC was greeted with unimpressed, eye-bugging glares from our teachers. So the onset of winter and all its rainy greyness is not to her what it is to me, cold, sad and dreary. Happily, this year, it seems that the Gods of Performing Arts - otherwise known as booking agents - have put their heads together to make my least favourite season bright, musical and impressive. With great fanfare I must announce once more that the circus is coming to town! It may not parade down the main streets (although I did see some snippets in the mall) but the internationally renowned Cirque du Soleil is finally visiting Hobart and if you’re up North and can’t handle the two

For the classical dance lovers, ballet with all the trimmings, tutus and Pointe shoes, swans and peasant girls and boys in tights are flitting through theatres across the State, from Burnie to Hobart, the Australian Ballet and the Tasmanian Ballet Company will fulfill any balletomane’s cup to a brimming, steaming crescendo. Comedy, theatre, burlesque and modern dance will fill in the empty weekends and keep your toes dry as you sit in bars, theatres and clubs across Tasmania, safely cocooned in creativity and generously covered by a rain repellent roof. Of course, all the theatres in the world won’t keep you dry if you’re my friend, her grand jetés finish with a splash! SARAH MASHMAN sarah@warpmagazine.com.au

Performing Arts

News in brief Don Quixote tickets on sale The Dancers Company, comprising guest artists of The Australian Ballet and graduating students from The Australian Ballet School, present the lively ballet classic Don Quixote. Based on the legendary tale by Spanish author Cervantes, this classic ballet tells the story of the knight Quixote on a quest to find his lost love. On his journey, he crosses paths with the swooning young lovers Kitri and Basilio in a tale of fun, mischief and mistaken identity. Set in a Spanish seaside village, this lighthearted and colourful ballet features a rich diversity of characters. Its dramatic liveliness and virtuosic dancing makes this ballet classic the perfect showcase for The Dancers Company’s many talented dancers. • Hobart Theatre Royal - Tuesday July 12, 7.30pm Wednesday July 13, 7.30pm • Theatre North - Friday July 15, 7:30pm Comedy Workshops in Hobart During the June school holidays (June 14 to 17), Class Clowns workshops will be held at the Backspace Theatre (behind Theatre Royal), made possible with the assistance of the Hobart City Council. Don’t be shy, put it out there! You’ve got five minutes to get the big laughs. Winning acts in the state finals will fly to Melbourne to play the main stage at the 2011 Class Clowns National Grand Final on August 31. First prize is $2000. Blasting into the comedy scene in ‘96, Class Clowns has been developing the art of comedy in the nation’s teenage students from Darwin to Hobart, Perth to Wollongong

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hour drive through the midlands, hold tight because as the winter months are waning and the days begin to lengthen, Circus Oz will be touring, touching down in both the North and South of the state.

and more than 20 centres in between. The program is supported by teachers’ notes and online resources, as well as year-round professional developmental workshops. To register for the 2011 Class Clowns heat in Hobart, and for all the Class Clowns info including workshop registration, the national tour schedule and highlights from last year’s Grand Final, visit www.tastheatre.com. Launceston Performing Arts shows During the student-directed festival, The 13th Floor, you can see three short plays directed by the University of Tasmania’s School and Visual and Performing Arts 3rd year students, including: The Audition, written by Kenneth Robbin and directed by Jake Baylis; Bang on the Nerve, written by Van Badham and directed by Mikaela Campbell; Bulletproof, written and directed by Chris Vernon. Every night features a mix of twisted dark comedies, splendid historical dramas and sublime psychological adventures. As this is the first opportunity that the final year students have to direct their own play, expect an exciting night with themes explored, stories shared and exceptional acting that will simply be a night that you will never forget. Tickets can be purchased through the Annexe Theatre Box Office prior to the show or between 8.30am – 3.30pm, Monday – Thursday through the Cultural Activities Office at the Academy of the Arts, Inveresk (03) 6324 4450. Some productions may contain coarse language and sensitive subjects.

Performing Arts Guide THE SOUTH Cabaret

Theatre CONT.

The Brisbane Circus Horrificus and Friend’s Cabaret June 2 & July 7

Rainbows End June 24- June 25

The Derwent Ent’ Centre Cirque Du Soleil present Saltimbanco June 15- June 19 Les Girls Les Tease presents Starlettes June 24 The Peacock Theatre The Australian Burlesque Festival June 3 Wrest Point Casino Divine Divas June 17 Comedy Brookfield Vineyard Brookfield comedy Club June 8 The Grand Poobah Danger Academy June 7 a 20 Cavalcade of Whimsey Every Wednesday night Hobart Theatre Royal Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow June 10- June 11 The Lower House Lower House Comedy Lounge June 9 The New Sydney Big Laughs in the Little Pub June 29 Onba The Clubhouse June 7 a 21 The Peacock Theatre He Says/ She Says June 17 THEATRE Hobart Theatre Royal Turns June 16- June 18 The Adventures of Alvin Sputnik: Deep Sea Explorer June 20 - June 21

Hobart Theatre Royal Statespeare June 29- July 1 Theatre Royal Backspace Tidal Pools June 2- June 11 I am My own Wife June 22- June 26 The Playhouse Theatre WhoDunnit June 3- June 18 The North Cabaret The Princess Theatre Divine Divas June 17 Comedy Devonport Entertainment and Convention Centre Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow June 9 Theatre Annexe Theatre, School of Visual and Performing Arts The 13th Floor Student Directed Festival The Last Word HeadLock Monsters June 5- June 6 The 13th Floor Student Directed Festival Woodsong- A Tree Story Star Struck Slut from Paradise Don’t Say the Words June 9- June 10 The Princess Theatre Turns June 14- June 15 Rainbows End June 21- 22 Aida June 29- July 2 Earl Arts Centre Africa, My Darling Patricia June 3-4 Beautiful: A Ghost Story July 6- July 9

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40 Eat Out

Eat Out 41

Farm Gate grower’s market

Fat Chewing

When the farm bell rings the trading begins.

Picture a young waiter in white collar and bow tie slicing skin and flesh portions off a steaming hot golden duck with a large chef’s knife millimetres from your table, and centimetres from your neck. The up close preparation of first course Peking Duck has to be one of the most scrutinised form of table service. I used to be a big fan of it when I lived in Sydney, until one day it all went wrong. An inexperienced waiter was making a mess of it. The pancakes were cold and sticking together, they struggled to cut the duck, and they looked as distressed as a surgeon that was about to miss golf. Luckily we were all rescued by the floor manager that dismissed the broken wait staff, with their torn pancakes, and inappropriately touched duck. Seconds later a fresh duck with warm pancakes was dispatched to our table and was treated to a royal treatment that restored my opinion of hospitality as a profession.

The Tasmanian Farm Gate market is a delightful way to combine Sunday shopping with breakfast; a latte and an egg and bacon roll from the busy stall there. The coffee is a touch variable depending on who’s on the machine, and while it isn’t one of the better coffees Hobart has to offer, it’s certainly serviceable. The egg and bacon roll is the bomb; a decent soft roll, excellent smoked bacon and good eggs with a well-chosen relish. It’s a treat I look forward to every week.

Images: Michelle Crawford seriously foodish

Paulette’s Provenance At Neika, 17km south west of Hobart on five acres just below Mt Wellington, Paulette grows native plants and herbs. Most of her plants are edible, intended for the cook’s garden, for both chefs and novices alike. When I first met Paulette in 1994, she was a 19-year-old hairdresser at Jakajari. I recall how great it was to enjoy a glass of wine and a chat while having a haircut. Sixteen years later, sick of washing dyes down the drain and selling people products they don’t need, she has left the hair industry. We’ve crossed paths again in a completely different environment, the Farm Gate market. The market is in the Melville Street carpark, just next door to the old Jakajari.

highly nutritious. Ironically, large-scale farmers see these as intruders and have been poisoning them for years! Paulette started Provenance Growers for a number of reasons; firstly, she wanted a garden that provided a healthy and interesting range of foods for her family. She finds cultivating as well as harvesting and eating unusual plants exciting for kids and adults alike and through her business she is encouraging people to explore and try new flavours and experiences. Secondly, Paulette sees Provenance Growers as a fantastic way to promote sustainability through gardening. “By growing food to sustain ourselves and local native plants to sustain wildlife, we can enrich our lives, and lessen our load on the planet,” she said.

There Paulette has her stall Provenance Growers, a small business which she has developed after 10 years studying and working in horticulture. You may have heard of vegetables such as wasabi, borage and rocket. What you may not know is that you can eat the buds and flowers as well as the leaves of rocket. Paulette grows rare and intriguing vegetables like purple orach, rat-tailed radishes, fruit salad sage, and broadens the larder by growing edible weeds like shepherds purse, fat hen, and chickweed. These weeds are full of minerals and are

Finally, her biggest inspiration is her husband Matt Deakin, a Hobart chef of 18 years. “I think without a chef husband, I wouldn’t have had my eyes on the industry like I do,” she said. “He explains the practicality of supplying a kitchen, having fragile flowers in ‘servicesized’ portions and appropriate delivery times for restaurants. He also gives me feedback on how things store and transport best. Without him I also wouldn’t have the

amazing cookbook collection to enjoy!” Paulette’s business supplies some of Hobart’s best chefs (Hugh Whitehouse at Saffire, Luke Burgess at Garagistes and David Moyle of Peppermint Bay) with edible flowers, herbs, weeds, vegetables and salad greens. Paulette is enjoying working alongside David at Peppermint Bay developing a herb and flower bed as they share a similar philosophy of growing food. David was a chef at Melbourne’s Circa, The Prince in St Kilda which has been a drinking and dining institution for years. He is a chef who has strong ethics about where he sources his food. These days everyone seems to want a piece of her and Paulette is not only sought after locally. Last year she received a phone call from Peter Gilmore of Quay restaurant in Sydney, (for nine years running, Quay received 3 Chef’s Hat awards from the Sydney Morning Herald’s Good Food Guide). Peter had tried for the first time some of her sea celery and drove down for a tour of her garden and spent a few hours with Paulette fascinated by her produce. Paulette’s plants suited Peter’s nature -based cuisine perfectly. For Savour Tasmania, a four-day program of gastronomic events in May, she will be spending a day round the table tasting and showing her beautiful plants and sharing her knowledge with some of Australia’s fancy pants chefs such as Cheong Liew from The Botanical in Melbourne and Warren Turnbull from Assiette in Sydney.

However this is not just a food fad for the elite chef set. Like open source software, Paulette shares her knowledge and passion for growing edible and unusual plants on her blog providing photos, descriptions, botanical names, planting tips and recipes. Anyone can access her goodies at Farm Gate Market on a Sunday. You may have seen her there surrounded by her potted artichokes, tomatillos in brown paper bags, tiny seedlings of edible chrysanthemums, angelica and clove scented pink dianthus. Paulette is very approachable and loves nothing more than talking about her plants. “By growing, or buying and creating a demand for diverse produce, you are helping to promote genetic diversity in the food industry,” she said. “And demand creates change - which makes life a lot more fun than just peas, carrots and potatoes. I’ll take Telephone peas, Purple Dragon carrots and Pink Fir Apple spuds thanks!”

I do wish there was more seating, it’s a bit indecorous scoffing one’s roll standing up. Wait times for food and caffeine can be a bit dire, but it seems there’s been an upgrade in the system as there’s been a discernible improvement recently. This won’t prevent you running into someone you know at the Farmer’s Gate. Be warned that if you want to get in and get out, you need to get there early as possible; it’s very sociable scene. If you don’t know a stall holder, you will after a few weeks, and the likelihood of you not running into someone you know is low, unless you’re a hermit.

I lament the loss of the good old fashioned cheap pub meal. Back in the day, you used to be able to get a simple hot feed - say bangers and mash, or pie and chips -for under $10 in most pubs.

Pink Fir Apple potatoes are her favourite “even if it is odd roasting something that looks so much like a little baby!” You can find Provenance Growers on Facebook and at http://provenancegrowers. blogspot.com/

Nowadays the emergence of gastropubs bring dining selections (and prices) comparable to restaurants.

Jo has been in the Hobart food scene for 17 years, starting Syrup in 1994 originally as a restaurant moving tables aside after dinner for dj,s to play to the club scene.

There are a variety of things to try, from upmarket Artisan-style products to some great bargains. Produce-wise, the backbone of vegetable buying at Farmer’s Gate are the Hmong community, who have paid attention to current trends and have “trendy” vegetables, such as varieties of Kale, as well as nicely priced herbs. Do have a look at the many other options for fruit and veg though. There is a particularly jolly potato salesman who offers a selection of varieties; Kipflers, King Edwards and the ever-present Pinkeye. The Kipflers are notable and go well with the astonishing Sliver Hills Salmon Sausages, which must be eaten. Generally you can sample a bite from the stall, so try all three varieties.

stalls (Bruny Island Cheese, Granvewe Sheep Cheeses and Tongola Goat Cheese) of excellent quality and entirely local. My recommendation has got to be Goat Cheese; its strong, pungent flavour goes very well with a chunky bottle of red. If there’s one essential luxury on offer, it’s the Tologona Goat Products. Also of note are the delightful and flavoursome Pork and Fennel sausages from Raw Foods. All of this stall’s products are fine indeed. I’m also partial to the pork rillettes from here, although it’s far too easy to devour an entire jar in one sitting. You can go mad here and spend a lot on some of the nicest things to eat you can buy in Hobart, or you can shop smart and get some great healthy food. Or do what I do and get bit of both happening. It’s the way forward. Farm Gate Market is on every Sunday at the Melville Street Outdoor Car Park. ANDREW HARPER

Samples are frequent about the market. You can try from three different cheese

The Shamrock Hotel

It was nothing fancy - usually something that resembled a home cooked dinner, with a few steamed vegies on the side and gravy, the ubiquitous comforter.

JO COOK

So stay focused when you shop here. If you’re not averse to socialising, go right ahead. There are bottles of wine around if you want to dominate a table and brave the frosty stares of breakfast eaters. It would be all too easy to get lunch here too, and given the quality of Masaaki’s Sushi available (possibly the best sushi I have had in Tasmania), it could even be a good idea.

Even pubs that feature more standard fare - like a chicken parmigiana or a beef schnitzel - charge around the $25 mark for mains. Not to complain - these new-style pubs definitely have their place, but I’m just sad to see the absence of the old-school counter meals.

That’s why I was heartened when I saw that the Shamrock was advertising $10 pub lunches. A reprisal of old fashioned tucker, at old fashioned prices. The large range on offer surprised me. The permanent menu includes battered trevalla and chips, a 250g T-bone steak, chicken or beef schnitzel, a roast, and a beef or chicken schnitzel burger with chips. Nice to see they don’t skimp either - the beef burger comes packed with salad stuff as well as cheese, egg and bacon, and the steak and schnitzels come with either chips and salad, or potatoes and vegetables, as well as a sauce of your choice. The amount offered on the specials board was also impressive - corned silverside, fish cakes, rissoles and gravy with mash, sweet and sour pork with rice, and rump steak.

The roast of the day is pork. I’m sold. My dining companion chooses the chicken schnitzel. The meals arrive promptly - two big steaming plates of goodness! What I notice straight away is how colourful our plates are - bright orange steamed carrot, peas, cheesy pumpkin - lovely vibrant and healthful veggies. Our meals are tasty, satisfying and well sized. It is amazing value for ten bucks. Considering that a lot of takeaway work lunches near or equal this price then it’s even more of a bargain. There’s nothing like a nice hot lunch in these wintry conditions. Coupled with friendly, unobtrusive service and a comfortable atmosphere, it’s a winning deal.

There is a moderately popular restaurant at the southern end of Hobart’s tourist strip that made me loose my faith again. It is that old recipe for failure that I knew before going, but for some masochistic reason felt the need to see for myself. The couple that started it were public servants that opened a restaurant because it was their dream to do so. The main offence that they committed without fail was to do only one thing every trip to the kitchen. They would go to the kitchen to get their order book. They would come out to take an order then return to the kitchen. It drives me insane. The restaurant was not busy, but the front of house staff were run off their feet. I sat there screaming on the inside, “Where is my wine?” At a nearby restaurant is a waiter that says hello as you walk in, and that they will be with you in a sec. If you take time to look you will notice that he never walks more than a few metres without doing something. Every time he comes out the kitchen he brings food, then takes orders, gets drinks for people, then returns to the kitchen carrying empty plates and the new orders. He does not look hurried. He is friendly and he is running the floor of busy place by himself. I don’t know his name, but I am one of his biggest fans. By the way they work, by the way they interact it is easy to see that this person is a professional. He makes me feel looked after, I go back all the time, and I tip every time.

Sara Wakeling

Jason James

Eat Out Editor Jason@warpmagazine.com.au

100 A Augusta Road Lenah Valley Ph. 6278 7724

• • • • • • • • • •

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Barista coffee Breakfast Lunch and daily specials Free Customer Wi-Fi Free range Eggs, Bacon and Chicken Cakes / Biscuits (Gluten free available) Take Away Special (7.30am - 3pm) Egg and Bacon Roll with coffee $10 Fresh Juice / Smoothie Vegetarian options

island cafe

171 Elizabeth St Hobart 6231 3317 GREAT COFFEE & ALL DAY BREAKFAST MONDAY-SATURDAY warpmagazine.com.au


42 Eat Out

Eat Out 43

Bar Snack Crawl Starting my crawl at Preachers, I was surprised by the contents of their Tapas menu; do Pies and Sausage rolls really count as Tapas? Their kitchen was also only open for lunch and dinner, so was it true bar food?

I had grilled occy, ceviche and sardines. Three fish dishes, they were all delicious, and cheaper than a pizza. I went against tradition for drinking at wine at Grape and had beer on tap. The Kosciusko Pale Ale made for a fine compliment to the fish.

So I established some ground rules for my quest: 1. Bar food has to be available outside of normal meal hours. 2. There has to be beer on tap. 3. You need to be able to order it and eat it at the bar.

Another time I have had shared food while drinking was at a function at Government House. Most of the food was bite sized on sticks, but some of it was in the style of a club sandwich. It was impossible to remove a sandwich from the plate without touching the sandwich next to it. I guess that must be okay, as the guests there would always wash their hands after using the toilet.

While walking to the next place I remembered the glory days of free bar food; perpetual bowls of nuts on the bar, frequent platters of hot, (then not so hot) food left on the bar. Then all of a sudden it stopped.

North West Grub James Walker grabs a pub squash and glances across the North-West Coast to reveal the range of pub grub available. He comes out with not only garlic breath but also a good grip on what’s on offer to fill the hunger hole.

The Brunswick Hotel The Brunswick has always been one of those crusty old pubs that existed only on the edge of my awareness, and certainly not a place I would flock to for a meal. But it has recently had life breathed back into it, along with a great deal of modern style. Exposed sandstone walls, an open fireplace, and warm and elegant furnishings, it has become almost too chic to be classed as a pub. This also extends to the menu, which manages to remain consistent with pub fare yet interpreted to please the most upmarket tastes – whilst retaining pub prices! Our server took an enthusiastic and knowledgeable interest in the food, which made for a very special evening out. The menu covers grazing dishes through to fullblown mains and desserts.

We opted to share the cured meat tasting platter replete with delicious mustard-cured fruits and chutney (and a complimentary extra serve of bread for us carboholics). Dinner was a Tongola goat cheese salad adorned with gorgeous baby veg for him and a hearty pork schnitzel set high on a bed of baby greens and sweet maple pumpkin for me. Dessert was a quirky James Squire Porter Panna Cotta with gingerbread and salted caramel to die for. Yet again shared, this one almost caused a pub fight! Get thee to the Brunswick – you will not be disappointed. AMANDA BERGMANN

MAKERS OF AWARD WINNING TASMANIAN SINGLE MALT WHISKY

Bluegrass, folk and blues every Friday night Guided whisky tours available

There is no shortage of pubs serving food across the North-West Coast. While you would be hard-pressed to find a “gastropub”, there are a few stand out venues that deserve recognition for raising the bar (excuse the pun). At Wynyard, the Wharf Hotel (or “bottom pub” as locals call it) is one example. While offering the usual fare – and the almost compulsory scallops – the Wharf takes the average pub grub and jazzes it up a bit, leaving you with hunger for more. At the opposite end of the Coast is Devonport’s Molly Malones, which has been somewhat of a trailblazer in that it offers simple pub food, but well done and at a good price. There are a couple of chains in the mix of North-West pubs including the Goodstone Group and of course Vantage Hotels, which is part of the Federal Group. Most Goodstone venues offer very cheap meals, some of which are of good quality – for instance at the Argosy Hotel in East Devonport.

Pubs with at least a counter meal or bistro are a must-have for the North-West, with even the most faraway places hosting at least one pub with decent fare. Both Burnie and Devonport have their fair share of pubs if you are in the cities, whilst towns even as small as Forth are able to serve up a semi decent bit of grub that will at least fill a hole. For middle-of-the-road fare in Burnie there are plenty of pubs offering the old classics like schnitzels, parmigiana and lasagne for instance – among them are The King of Burnie, The Beach Hotel and Top of the Town – all of which are pretty good but not amazing. In Devonport there is the Alexander, The Elimatta (or Eli) and The Gateway Inn. However, I have heard and read good things about the Eli of late and was unable to get in there the other night because of the long queue lined up to order (not a fan of that personally!) Like anything on the Coast, when looking for a good pub meal it’s best to ask the locals. Everyone has their own tastes and for instance in Wynyard there are three pubs, all offering their own take on a pub meal. JAMES WALKER

Even the somewhat uninviting and hotellobby like Formby Café at the Formby Hotel managed to impress recently.

OPEN 7 DAYS LUNCH DINNER BAR SNACKS & COFFEE ALL DAY 28 Seaport Boulevard Launceston Tas 7250 t: (03) 63345066 f: (03) 63345033 info@mudbar.com.au www.mudbar.com.au

Secretly, I blame women. I suspect they looked at men returning from the toilet, after not washing their hands, grabbing a hand full of bar nuts with their weesoaked fingers, and they went ‘Ew, that’s disgusting!’ Added to that a couple of cytomegalovirus, and staphylococcal organism breakouts and the powers at be decide that we have to be subjected to Food Safety Management and individual serves. I pushed on to Grape, looking for food outside of the official lunch time. I had low expectations but was pleasantly surprised. First by the price; $5 - $6.50 seems to me to be a good price for Tapas, then by the taste.

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Eat Live Love - Italian Our full-range restaurant menu including pizza, pasta, steaks, chicken, fish and salads. Dine in, take away & functions. NORTH HOBART 315 Elizabeth St PH: 6231 6777 SALAMANCA 93 Salamanca Pl, Battery Point PH: 6224 4848

I retired to the Theatre Royal Hotel for carbonated ale and was treated to free bar snacks! They brought out a plate of hot wedges with sour cream and left them on the bar. I was excited, refreshed, and enthused. I quickly ate three wedges before anyone else go to them then slunk off to the corner confident in my ability to spread Epstein-barr virus. JASON JAMES

www.laporchetta.com

Pub snacks The for wine Squire’s drinkers Bounty Now, don’t get me wrong, I appreciate a packet of salt and vinegar chips with a draft beer as one of life’s greatest pleasures, but I also like to drink wine. You know the story. You have gone straight to the bar after work and figure that dinner can wait. After an hour or so your drinking enjoyment is marred by your increasing hunger. If you are drinking beer then no problem; a packet of chips or some salty nuts from behind the bar gives you the sustenance to soldier on. But what if you are on Pinot, sparkling, or Riesling? The clash of flavours is going to put you off your ranting, or your flirting. I have been known to swap to beer for one drink just so I can have the chips. However, if the ‘wine then beer, feeling queer’ adage is to be believed then perhaps this is ill-advised. So what would I like to see offered for us wine drinkers? Traditionally one drinks wine with cheese, but I understand that selecting, stocking and maintaining a cheese cellar is going to require a fair amount of work on the part of our poor publican. What about those little packets of individual serves of cheese and biscuits that you get on aeroplanes, designed for putting in a child’s lunchbox? Now that would be ideal. In the meantime, I suppose we will have to have to suffer through a packet of cheese and onion chips. Claire d’Este

14 Davey St Hobart | (03) 62319088 |www.larkdistillery.com.au | info@larkdistillery.com.au

At the Lark Distillery I went for the Ploughman’s Lunch aided by a Seven Sheds Kentish Ale. I really want to like the Seven Sheds beer, but on that day it was completely flat and uninspiring. The food would have been a better match for their fine whisky, which is what I should have been drinking there.

Hobart's Oldest Italian restaurant Open Tuesday to Saturday 6:00 till late. Bookings Essential 62341006 5 Magnet Court Sandy Bay

I admit I am a bit of a chain store snob. I do not want to live in a world where food and decor is standardised and sanitised. So let us say my expectations were low and I was looking forward to giving the place a good roasting. My dining experience started with some comforting criticism. The main dining area was booked out and you could not sit anywhere else inside without a television screen in your face. Therefore I will not be recommending the place for a romantic meal. The ordering system was also painful. I had to stand for too many minutes watching the poor guy try and navigate through all the necessary menus to select each of the meals and drinks individually. However, it seems the efficiency was transferred to the kitchen, and our food arrived startlingly quickly. I had a flounder special that was hot (not always a given when ordering fish) and absolutely delicious. This was my second flounder experience and I am a serious convert. The sides were also made with love and attention. My dining partner had a steak sandwich that he seemed to enjoy. Having experienced the fine tapas available at Grape from the same kitchen, I have to admit that whoever is working in there is seriously affecting my ability to rant about sell-out Salamanca. Claire d’Este

Lounge Bar & Bistro Lunch Tue-Fri 12-2 Dinner Tue-Sat 6-8 Book to avoid disappointment on 6223 5800

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44 Live Reviews

Live Reviews 45

Propagandhi W/ Stand Defiant & The Scandal The Brisbane May 20

Punk and hardcore lovers turned out in their droves and The Brisbane Hotel was packed to capacity for an epic night out.

their lead guitarist as he ripped it up! This band was incredibly tight, fast paced and awesome. Say no more!

Local hardcore outfit The Scandal kicked off the night with an impressive set of super tight hardcore. This band is an asset to Hobart’s punk and hardcore scene . They were very professional, their music was fresh and their attitude enthusiastic, if not slightly militaristic in delivery.

It was a sell out gig and by the time punk legends Propagandhi graced the stage, the venue was absolutely packed.

A few songs from their new album referenced punk/jazz fusion which was exciting. This scandalous three piece has immense onstage power. All players gave it their big strong all and the double kick warmed my heart. Stand Defiant were the stand out band of the night for me, their electric performance was precision quality. Their charismatic singer was highly gestural and his lyrics were also audible. Image: Martin Nester

wagons W/ Lincoln Le Fevre + Peter Escott the Republic Bar & Cafe May 28

Infectious hardcore riffs got the crowd moving and I was particularity impressed by

If you’ve ever been to a Wagons show you know what to expect; irreverence, sweat, crowd banter and thick, lumpy slabs of rock ‘n’ roll – some with a decidedly country feel. And their national tour opening trip to Tassie delivered all of the above in handsome quantities. The night opened with an unassuming looking Peter Escott peering out at the crowd over a rather dinky looking keyboard that was precariously balanced on three milk crates and a cardboard box. His short set was a combination of spoken word, stand-up and a keyboard ‘masterclass’ and set a light mood for the rest of the evening. Staff cleared a few tables from the front of the room before Linc Le Fevre’s set, but the atmosphere was still particularly relaxed with most folks in the bar keeping their seat as Linc entertained us in a laid-back but heartfelt way. It seemed like a late start for Wagons, but once the five-piece made it to stage, people stopped caring about what their watch said and were more interested in what was being said by a typically outspoken Henry Wagons.

Pegz

I could tell I was here to catch Pegz, the CEO of Obese Records and Aussie hip hop legend, when I arrived early at the Republic Bar to find to the local hip-hop figureheads standing around having a chat and cigarette.

the Republic Bar & Cafe May 21

First up on the bill was local MC, Crixus who was supported by Dj Dameza and Paddles. A welcome opening act for the early attendees, Crixus rocked out a short set where the boys were obviously having fun, showcasing local talent while warming up the crowd for things yet to come. Next up that evening was Simplex, an Adelaide MC who signed to Obese Records last year. His appearance was a complete surprise and very welcome, entertaining the crowd with witty lyrics and observations on life. Highlights of the set were an impressive freestyle by Simplex’s backup MC and the call/response of crowd favourite Beautiful Day.

Image: Martin Nester

warpmagazine.com.au

The final support of the evening was Dialectrix. Hailing from Blue Mountains, NSW and another recent Obese signee, Dialectrix showed us why with a highly

Rockabilly Notion The Granada Tavern May 14 A last minute request had me heading out to the Granada Tavern for the first time in 25 years. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but turned up to find a fine PA and lighting setup. When I arrived there were roller derby girls who seemed to be determined to fall over deliberately. I thought the idea was to stay upright!?!?

As a shortish girl I found it very hard to see over the largely tall and male crowd. In fact, while I was trying to make my way through the crowd to the side of the stage, I got smashed in the head by a rogue crowdsurfer and spent the rest of the gig out the front with an ice pack on my face.

The first music act was Shin Bone Willy. More blues than rockabilly. A fine player (as were all the acts this day). He had a truly classic Southern American blues sound but personally I found he didn’t vary the songs enough. I like some light and dark in my music. There weren’t many people in the venue when he was playing but for a gig lasting all day that was probably predictable for the first act on stage.

But apparently they rocked and the crowd loved it. I was unimpressed with the injury and missing the headliner, however, very impressed with the support bands! In retrospect it was a good night! Zoezac Visoiu

zLaunching straight into stand-out tracks from their Rumble, Shake and Tumble album, Henry dedicated the first track, I Blew It, to Escott, whose name he’d managed to mispronounce during the intro. The set was dominated by tracks from Wagons’ two most recent albums, closing with the fan favourite, Willie Nelson. The other major highlights on the night were Goodtown, Love Is Burning and Tha Bizness, a catchy as heck hip-hop number featuring the vocal talents of the Wagons rhythm section, Si ‘The Philanthropist’ and Mark ‘Tuckerbag’ Dawson. Now two shows into a 20-date national tour, the Wagons show is only going to get tighter from here on in. Henry admitted the band were ‘fluking’ their way through a great performance at the Republic, but fluke or otherwise, you just can’t argue with it being an awesome gig. Stu Warren

energetic show that got the crowd bouncing along to excellent backing tracks and catchy lyrics, with the final track, Whut, going off. Finally it was time for Pegz to take to the stage, with a crowd-drawing intro track that descended into an excellent set where Pegz was in his element, winning the crowd over with his humour and shout outs to local Tassie MCs. Drama tracks such as Bombs Away and Mad Bastards were well received, though the crowd went wild for the older tracks such as No Attachments and Milk Bar Star. With a killer set showcasing old and new, Pegz proved why he’s one of Aussie hip hop’s most important players with plenty more still to give. Declan Hunn

Next up were the Johnny Cash Converters which seems to be the Sin and Tonics with a variant. Some amazing bass work that kept me entertained and would prove to be the case for the rest of the afternoon and evening.

HUNGRY KIDS OF HUNGARY, THE CHEMIST the Republic Bar & Cafe MAY 12

The Chemist are a great young, up and coming band. This was the 2nd time I had seen them at the Republic bar and I wasn’t disappointed. Their brand of moody grunge/ art rock was honed and cool. They achieved some really sweet rock tones among the mix. Seemlessly lulling the audience into a dreamy happy world which reminded me of the 60’s on occasion. The Chemist had a strong presence and demeanor as did their pop songs which were well crafted. I liked this band so much I bought the CD. 0ne of Australia’s newer indie pop bands Hungry kids of Hungary presented as a bunch of not starving aussie blokes whose pitch perfect power pop anthem’s infected the crowd with a happy dance vibe. Their upbeat three piece vocal harmony’s were impressive as was their reception - the crowd went wild! It was nice to see this Brisbane based quintet put on a bouncy and joyful show. Onstage and off they were likable characters- as well as all being highly talented musicians. Their set was tight I found their edginess slightly contrived but their level of polish was shiny. I like bands to have a more raw vibe.. (but thats just personal opinion) and I have to say -they did sound good, albeit in a slightly sugar coated super happy way. Zoezac Visoiu

An interlude here. Between band sets the sound guy would put the house music on louder than the band. I find that annoying. I came to listen to the live music and brought a friend along with me. In set breaks I would have liked to talk to her without having to shout into her ear. And the set breaks were more than an hour, which is something I am not used to. Being a rockabilly day, next up was a pin-up girl competition which explained why there were so many women dressed in 50s style hairdos looking like they had just walked off the set of Happy Days. A car comp and tattoo comp finished this segment. Next up was The Middletones. I’ve worked with these guys before. They are a solid twopiece and I hadn’t seen them for a couple of years. They provided a bluesy sound with the variety I was missing from the first act. They have been playing together for a while now and their familiarity with each other shows.

Next up was the Sin and Tonics - always a fun act and they delivered again. They look like they are having fun on stage and it tends to be infectious. Again, some amazing bass work. Anyone who can really handle a double bass has my respect. The last act for the night was Firebird. The opening instrumental strain sounded eerily like Led Zeppelin then turned into an Angels riff (an unusual combination). But these guys were good. An original mix of genres, but staying with the rockabilly theme. The lead guitarist pulled off some stunning riffs. My only criticism of the night was that the sound engineer was running too much reverb on the vocals. It often sounded like the singer was in a toilet. All in all, a successful gig and it will be interesting to see what the Granada do with their re-invention as a music venue. Kevin Gleeson

Little Bear

My blackson

The Little Stevies

The Brisbane Hotel April 30

Irish Murphy’s May 10

w/ Jono and Chris Coleman The Republic Bar & Cafe April 30

On a cold Hobart night, locally based fivepiece Little Bear produced some warmth as they launched their debut self-titled EP at the Brisbane Hotel.

Local punk/rock band Myblackson performed at Irish Murphy’s on May 10, playing a shortbut-entertaining set featuring both old favourites and songs from their new album, This Is Going To Be A Disaster.

I think it’s safe to say it was a family affair at the Republic Bar & Cafe with Bethany and Sibylla Stephens of The Little Stevies ably supported by Jono and Chris Coleman (of The Colemans) on Friday, April 30.

Being a Tuesday night, there was a small local crowd gathered and a relaxed atmosphere. The sound-check made for an entertaining start, being slightly dysfunctional with the artists making odd noises into the mics and making it last quite a while.

Arriving mid-way through the support set, I was pleasantly surprised by the number of onlookers and their obvious fixation with the brothers on stage. Their folk-inspired offerings were a hit with one and all – as was the extended set the boys played (which seemed as surprising to them as it was to the audience), particularly the closing number which featured a third Coleman (their father, who emerged from the audience) on back-up vocals.

| EP Launch

Punters were greeted by a room decorated with lamps, rugs and cushions as the group casually waltzed through an eclectic set. Cherry Slug opened the evening with atmospheric and emotive pieces composed of electric cello run through loop pedals and combined with didgeridoo and samples. It’s always interesting to see someone use an instrument in a way other than is intended and Cherry Slug manages to do this with considerable ease and a tastefulness that shows it’s not being done purely for novelty. Little Bear started their set with a piano accordion based piece but quickly expanded to include the whole band as they took the crowd through all the songs from the album, giving brief explanations of song origins before each one. In the background, band members switched back and forth between instruments fluently and efficiently, giving each song a unique sound and feel. At times, the décor of the room combined with some of the more sultry songs to create a truly interesting and relaxed intimacy between band and audience. At other times, cushions and rugs gave way to dance floor as members of the crowd became more involved. The musical ride was something of a roller coaster. There definitely isn’t any one specific genre the band can be pigeonholed into, which can only be a good thing.

Despite this, the sound was still the usual farfrom–perfect pub sound, not to mention very, very loud! Even though I was at the very back of the room I left with a lack of proper hearing. The gig was far more entertaining than I expected - the lead singer had a really strong voice (he was often singing out of mic range and we could still hear him perfectly from the back of the room). It was obvious that all three members of the band were tightly synchronised – they played really well together. They were all about having fun and pleasing the crowd – asking what we wanted to hear and playing what people wanted, ending with crowd favourite Pop Song. Everyone got right into it... not quite to the dancing stage, but people were singing and tapping along. All in all it was a night of good music enjoyed by all and I can’t wait to see them again! Catherine Moore

The set was an obvious winner with the assembled folks at The Republic, but almost as soon as it finished it seemed like a good few of those who’d been present bailed for a smoke (or for home) and as a result, The Little Stevies opened their set to a rather depleted looking audience. Undeterred, the sisters, along with fellow founding member Robin Geradts-Gill and drummer Joshua Barber, stepped up on stage and launched straight into tracks from their second album, Attention Shoppers. Playing their third show in Tassie for 2011, TLS wasted no time bringing their new tracks to the fore with The Day We Went Away and Accidentally early highlights alongside the album’s first single, Feel It. With the girls harmonising effortlessly and the band showing all the hallmarks of an outfit that has honed its live show during the past 18 months or so, this gig was another great chance to see one of the country’s upand-coming pop exports in Hobart. Stu Warren

Shane Millhouse warpmagazine.com.au


46 Album Reviews

Album Reviews 47

British electropop outfit Metronomy have returned with their third studio album The English Riviera. Much has changed since the band’s last outing, namely some key arrivals and departures. Pleasingly, irrespective of their line-up’s apparent shape-shifting ways, The English Riviera professes a surprising focus across its eleven songs.

METRONOMY THE ENGLISH RIVIERA

The record is introduced by way of the title track, delicate violins paving the way for We Broke Free. Metronomy appear to have their hearts set upon a hazy brand of funk, seizing every opportunity they have to breach murky territory. The album so often operates in accordance with a sparse groove, its expression consisting of thinly-constructed instrumentation. Whilst its unrelenting

simplicity might normally constitute grounds for dismissal, the exact opposite occurs, Metronomy’s approach proving more and more intriguing as the record progresses. The English Riviera’s simplicity occasionally bears a very obvious pop appeal, however emotionally subdued. The straight forward pop moments are the ones that bound to pique interest upon the first listen. Everything Goes My Way features gratitude expressed and received without ambiguity, an honesty in its sentiments that need not be grandiose. Single The Look - though not a cover of Roxette’s late 80’s classic as this writer had hoped - proves equally as accessible, staying on target from beginning to end in its subdued, spaced-out pop stratagem.

BATTLES

CAKE

CAT’S EYES

GLOSS DROP

SHOWROOM OF COMPASSION

CAT’S EYES

American math-rock dudes Battles emerge after four years with a follow up to their 2007 debut in Gloss Drop. The record, the first released following the departure of lead singer Tyondai Braxton, isn’t as whacked out and experimental as their previous material. However, there are still plenty of absorbing moments to be found in Gloss Drop. Gloss Drop proves that Battles can survive without the multi-instrumental talent of Braxton. In bringing in names such as Gary Numan, Kazu Makino (Blonde Redhead) and Yamantaka Eye (Boredoms), Battles have really done well in making up for any loss of creative energy and vision. Gloss Drop features the synth-heavy and distorted guitar sections that Battles are known for, especially on tracks like Africastle and Wall Street. Meanwhile, it also includes more of an interesting multicultural influence, drawing on rhythms from the Afro-Cuban scene, as well as some darker drum beats easily associated with the Caribbean. Those new to Battles may find the album a bit hard to digest at first, but Gloss Drop ultimately proves rewarding. The band display a great capability at balancing both their experimentalist music and lyrical content. It’s been a long wait, but it paid off.

In the 90’s Cake had the hits. They had a sound that no one else could replicate. Their approach never appreciated over time, 2004’s Pressure Chief – with little more than one stand out single – suffering as a result. After a little break, Cake have returned with their sixth record, Showroom Of Compassion, full of horn sections, sexy guitars and of course, front man John McCrea’s unique speak/sing vocal style. The album opens with Federal Funding, a laid back beat with a lazy guitar riff and McCrea attacking the corporate world. The synth-drenched Long Time follows, the rhythm section taking the lead and adopting the Cake style of old to produce a great alternative dance number. The first single, Sick Of You, is a highlight, an uptempo, happy sounding song with a driving-with-the-top-down feel and some great rock guitar riffs. This is followed by one more stand out, Easy To Crash, another groove heavy notch in Showroom’s belt, and the country/folk inspired, “Bound Away”. Cake are not invulnerable to criticism however. Essentially, their style has not changed and the songs are far from their best. Showroom of Compassion is good, if only for the reason that it’s nice to hear some Cake again.

Sosefina Fuamoli

Rumble, Shake and Tumble, the fifth studio album from Wagons, opens with what seems like a typically tongue-in-cheek line from the Melbourne genre benders.

English Riviera is the ultimate soundtrack to a laborious evening of introversion. It’s late night listening at its finest, constantly reaffirming its intentions - whether it be through the sinister gurgling of She Wants, or Corinne, a slick, hypnotic gem of a track. It’s a cautious descent towards a quietly engaging, atmospheric plateau, brooding unashamedly.

“Your momma don’t like me none/She got every reason under the sun/Your daddy thinks I’m ok/But not for his little Pamela-May”

Overall, the result is rather absorbing and ultimately satisfying. The English Riviera proving subtle and strangely addictive. Nick Mason

Rumble, Shake and Tumble

DEL THE FUNKY HOMOSAPIEN GOLDEN ERA

When singer Faris Badwan from noisy psychedelic punk-rock group The Horrors teamed up with the renowned opera singer and multi-instrumentalist Rachel Zaffira, it shocked more than a few music enthusiasts. The two bonded over their love of girl groups from the 1960s and formed a sort of template based on what Brian Wilson called “teenage symphonies”. The record showcases Badwan’s softer side when combined with the angelic and hypnotic vocals of Zeffira. Thematically, the album offers takes on heartbreak and love, presented with a bizarre romantic glory in a coming-of-age, poetic twist. Zeffira has a certain sound that can only be described as airy whispers. Face In The Crowd has an interesting rhythmic vibe to it that comes with immeasurably beautiful, multi-layered backing vocals entrenched in a folk-majestic feel. Cat’s Eyes are truly unique and clearly a bit of a rebellious group at heart. Despite their completely opposite backgrounds the duo manage to create a collision of traditional and avant-garde that actually works. Despite the opposing styles both artists seem to help each other on a level that balances out the album as a whole. Whatever you want to call it, it’s brilliant. Christine Ai

wagons

That Del The Funky Homosapien shoud be Ice Cube’s cousin must certainly posit that rap talent runs in the family. The MC’s latest offering Golden Era comes with two additional records, Automatic Static and Funk Man, previously available only as online exclusives. Still flying the old school underground hip-hop flag high – an admirable move considering the commercial opportunities that were no doubt made available postGorillaz - the underground vibe is present throughout all of Del’s music despite many varying styles and ideas. His voice is unique and he sounds more confident than ever on all three albums, possibly due to feeling comfortable with full creative control. Here, the subject matter has matured as has the rapper, Del reflecting upon his youth with diplomacy. He still manages to find time for the odd cartoon reference or party jaunt letting you know he isn’t quite over the hill yet. With thirty-four songs clocking in at over two and a half hours, this may be a little too much Del for even his biggest fan to take. Nevertheless, this is Del The Funky Homosapien - the opposite of today’s mainstream - doing his thing for your enjoyment. Luke Carlino

The relaxed and up-beat vibe of Moon Into The Sun layers slide guitars, banjos and earthy vocal harmonies, but the tale told is one of sorrow and loneliness and plays out in darker tones, as does much of the lyrical content on the disc.

The tune, Downlow, is every bit a ‘down home’ country sounding tune with a Petty-esque intro and Henry singing with a pronounced American twang. It’s window down in the car, singing along in as low a growl as possible and feeling pretty fucking cool.

As if sensing the mood may well need lightening, Wagons reach deep into their live repertoire with a studio version of Willy Nelson mid-way through the album. It’s just not the same as the live turn – not that it could be – but it will almost certainly please anyone who has managed to happen along to a Wagons show and quite enjoyed themselves during the raucous sing-along.

Second track, I Blew It, harbours undeniable references to Cash and sounds like jailhouse blues packed with all the remorse a parole board could ever hope to hear.

The album takes a turn for the psychedelic through Love is Burning and this, again, feels like a tune bound for great things in the live arena. Wagons is a band that seems to span

JAMES PARRY

LITTLE BEAR

OKKERVIL RIVER

ALMOST AT THE IVORY

LITTLE BEAR

I AM VERY FAR

If you’ve ever been privy to any of James Parry’s performances, you would agree that his signature voice and passionate harmonies have led him to become a solid gold chip in the Tasmanian wedge of Australian independent artists. James Parry’s new release album Almost at the Ivory is dynamically brilliant, awash with diversity and raw experimentation. James Parry is an inspiring artist whose voice is bold, gritty, unfaltering with dynamic harmonies. His style is immediately obvious from the fast paced opening track Hard to Fake and its the clear and driving guitar chords, the instrumentation surrounding the vocal lines like a chorus building to a hallelujah moment. We’re led into the track On My Back by a light industrial synthesiser so as not to smother the verse above the guitar metronome. It fills out into a full folk anthem, tailing off with the mandolin. Stylishly dirty rock riffs on guitar and keys set the scene on The Empty Hall, providing memoirs of a broken-down social scene. Parry’s songwriting is full of contrast and meaning, with even initial impressions proving sweet and intriguing. This is an album to commit to memory, Parry’s endeavours full of pleasant surprises. Lisa Haynes

influences and genres with little regard for anything other than getting their rock on. My Daydreams is a haunting change-up, slide guitar back to the fore and the sorrow flowing forth as Henry laments another love lost. This mood carries on through the harmonies and sing-along of Save Me before album closer Marylou ratchets the mood up a good few notches with a foreboding, spaced-out vibe that would make the perfect soundtrack for a cowboy bound for a shoot-out, or some other suitably grave event. This is an album of depth and diversity and while it’s at least a partial departure from the 2009 effort, Rise and Fall of Goodtown, it’s another Wagons classic and should serve the gang well as they take their show on the road at home and in the USA later this year. Stu Warren

THE MIDDLE EAST I WANT THAT YOU ARE ALWAYS HAPPY

Urshula Leung’s latest recording as Little Bear is brimming with sensuous sound bytes. Little Bear has burst onto the local music scene with a savoury EP demonstrating their fresh originality and artistic diversity. The band has blossomed into a five-piece ensemble melding electric and acoustic in a diverse recording that draws on jazz, blues, country, and rock influences with exotic European folk overtones. Little Bear’s self-titled EP is lyrically intricate, with dark and mysterious imagery and intimate, imaginative narratives. The opening track Lily is exotic and sultry, set in a European folk scene with a lone piano accordion. Jill and Tom bares its soul with poetry floating upon brushed snare and electric cello basslines. The Architect Sank is a classy folk love-lost sonnet with a retro edge in the tradition of Cat Power, organic keys and a swinging appeal. Little Bear displays little resemblance to Ushula’s former band, the brassy Attic Grooves. One thing still stands, however: the vocals are in a league of their own. Little Bear is not to be contained by stylistic boundaries, continually finding their own artistic niche and indulging in experimentation. Little Bear’s recording is illuminating, a colourful and rich combination of sounds worthy of investment.

Luke Carlino

On Okkervil River’s latest release, I Am Very Far, front man and songwriter Will Sheff has said his goal was to “push my brain to places it didn’t want to go. The idea was to not have any idea - to keep myself confused about what I was doing”. The result is a record which encompasses numerous music genres and instruments. I Am Very Far is an incredibly polished and layered album, coated in copious amounts of instrumentation to create a lush, rich sound. Album opener “The Valley” does its job of grabbing your attention with its stomping rhythm and shouted delivery of a violent image: “We watch the sun switching in the sky, off and on/ Where our friend stands bleeding on the late summer lawn/ A slicked back bloody black gunshot to the head/ He has fallen in the valley of the rock and roll dead”. I Am Very Far sounds best during the no-holdsbarred rock tracks, such as the rollicking Rider, or when it takes a different direction altogether, like the R’n’B tinged Piratess. Despite indulging in a variety of genres, I Am Very Far feels weighed down by its slower songs, taking away from material that would otherwise prove outstanding.

The Middle East’s hard work has finally culminated in their first LP, I Want That You Are Always Happy. It’s been well worth the wait, the band wielding a kind of magic. There are no hit singles or chart toppers as such, but an array of stunning heart stoppers to compensate. It might be difficult to nail the ambiance of a folk record, but The Middle East’s approach proves a success. The album as a whole is blended perfectly into one listening adventure with shades of pop-folk in As I Go To See Janey, Hunger Song as well as the beautiful piano ballad Sydney To Newcastle. Lead vocalist Jordan Ireland’s humble delivery is warming and incredibly smooth. Ireland’s vocals are on show throughout the whole of I Want That You Are Always Happy but The Middle East prove that successful tracks aren’t just those with good lyrics and that the instrumentals are often just as, if not more, effective in conveying emotion. I Want That You Are Always Happy is one of the most beautiful albums created this year. It isn’t bombastic or fanciful, providing instead one pure, quaint hour rewarding for fans and new listeners alike. Josh Clements

Chelsea McIntyre

Lisa Haynes

Del

the Funky Homosapien

WED 20 JULY | REPUBLIC BAR & CAFE | 9PM | $30 warpmagazine.com.au

warpmagazine.com.au


48 Event Guide

Event Guide 49

Hobart Date

Venue

Hobart CONT. Acts / Start Time

Date

JUNE Thursday

Friday

9

Thursday

Venue

Wednesday

15 Brisbane Hotel

Brothers Grim, The Lawless Quartet

Republic Bar & Café

4 Letter Fish 9:00pm

Cargo Pizza and Lounge Bar

Micheal Clennett and Guests

The HotKings live presented by Edge Radio - Chinese International Student Night

The Waratah Hotel

Little Red w/ World’s End Press and Ben Wells and The Middle Names

Dr Syntax

Jazz at theDoctor 7:00pm

Pets with Pets (vic), Gutter Parties

Federation Concert Hall

TSO Presents: Young Performers Awards 7:30pm

Irish Murphy’s

One Sick Lullaby

Queens Head Bar & Café

Bowerman & Parker 8:00pm

Republic Bar & Café

Kniki and Mike Beale 9:00pm

Brisbane Hotel

Roadkill, Truckshow, The Rogue Sharks

Cargo Pizza and Lounge Bar

DJ Dagwood

Conservatorium Recital Hall

Elanee Ensemble 1:10pm

Dr Syntax

DJ Macro / Sgt Sampler 8:00pm

Ivory Bar

DJ Alex Felix

Observatory (Lounge Room)

Dj Millhouse

Observatory (Main Room)

DJ Mr B.

Plan B

Trev, Billy, Dale Baldwin

Queens Head Bar & Café

Jazz Brothers 7:00pm Ganga Giri 10:00pm

23 Irish Murphy’s

Acts / Start Time

Date

Rogue Sharks

Thursday

Micheal Clennett and Guests

Doctor Syntax

Jazz at the Doctor w/ Billy Whitten & Aaron Entresz 7:00pm

Irish Murphy’s

Open Decks Night

Irish Murphy’s

One Sick Lullaby

Observatory (Lounge Room)

DJ Dameza

Brookfield Vineyard

Borstal Boys & Blue Mosquitos 7:30pm

Republic Bar & Café

Fritz (CD Launch) + Chris Rushworth 9:00pm

Observatory (Main Room)

DJ Mr B.

Cargo Pizza and Lounge Bar

DJ Grotesque

Hobart Town Hall

TSO Presents: Peter and the Wolf 11:00am

Republic Bar & Café

Emmy Bryce and Brooke Taylor 9:00pm

Dr Syntax

DJ MaxPower 8:00pm

Lyrics Born (usa), Acumen, Mic Dons

Fern Tree Tavern

Matthew Ives (drums)

Sun In Aquarias, Editor, Limerence, thatboyguy, rBeNt, Shammie

Cargo Pizza and Lounge Bar

Micheal Clennett and Guests

Irish Murphy’s

Alex Hutchins, Detour

Irish Murphy’s

Greenhouse

Ivory Bar

Cargo Pizza and Lounge Bar

DJ Grotesque

Republic Bar & Café

Global Battle Of The Bands 9:00pm

We Were People presents Behind Closed Doors Adusk, Tristan, Samex

Doctor Syntax

DJ Macro 7:00pm

Federation Concert Hall

TSO Presents: Baroque meets Classical 7:30pm

Halo Nightclub

Lue & Sami

Irish Murphy’s

Dave Wicks, Wolfe Brothers

Ivory Bar

Alex Felix and Guests

MONA

Jazz in the Void - Sun Ra Arkestra/Lee Konitz Quartet 7:30pm

10 Alley Cat

Doctor Syntax

Thursday

One Sick Lullaby

Observatory (Lounge Room)

Dj Millhouse

Observatory (Main Room)

DJ Johnny G and Guests

Plan B

Coven

Queens Head Bar & Café

The Lounge 8:30pm

Republic Bar & Café

Adam Cousens Band + Hayley Couper + The Colemans 9.30pm

Friday

16 Brisbane Hotel

Plan B

Billy, Fin, Corney

Cargo Pizza and Lounge Bar

DJ Dave Webber

Queens Head Bar & Café

Lively Up (reggae & fun times) 9:00pm

Dr Syntax

Emily Bryce (folk - Melbourne) w/ Dominic Francis & Martin Blackwell 7:00pm

Republic Bar & Café

Edge Radio Birthday Celebrations With The Ivys (Syd) & More 10:00pm

Irish Murphy’s

Joel Everard, Dr. Fink

The Grand Poobah

Ivory Bar

DJ Alex Felix

Manchester Mourning (Album Launch), Gutter Parties & Treehouse

Republic Bar & Café The Grand Poobah

Saskia Sansom & Transcription of Organ Music

Observatory (Lounge Room)

Dj Millhouse

The Telegraph

Micheal Clennett followed by The Smashers

The Telegraph

Micheal Clennett followed by The Smashers

Observatory (Main Room)

DJ Mr B.

The Waratah Hotel

Faker w/ Special Guests

Brisbane Hotel

Peacock Theatre

He Says/She Says with Daniel Burt & Aleisha McCormack

Hefty Output (vic) with Meataxe (vic) + Newport + Seanie

Brisbane Hotel Birthday Bash!! Carnival theme with The Graveyard Train (vic), The Lawless Quartet, Once Upon a Time in the West

Brisbane Hotel

All Ages - Thy Art Is Murder

Cargo Pizza and Lounge Bar

DJ Grotesque

Ivory Bar

DJ’s Danny Paradise vs Ron Swan, Lids, Dagwood

Brisbane Hotel

Brand New Second Hand “College” with DJ BTC & DJ No Requests & DJ Nomad

Mobius

Brookfield Vineyard

Ado Barker & Ben Stevenson 8:00pm

Nick Thayer DJ/AV Set feat. Sevenmilligram, supported by Acumen, DJ Grotesque & Malakai 10:00pm

Cargo Pizza and Lounge Bar

Dj Millhouse

Observatory (Main Room)

DJ Mr B.

City Hall

Bliss’n’Eso Running On Air Tour

Queens Head Bar & Café

Gypsy Rose 9:30pm

Dr Syntax

Karaoke 7:00pm

The Grand Poobah

Die Die Die (NZ)

Federation Concert Hall

TSO Presents: Mozart’s Jupiter 2:30pm

The Telegraph

Ado and Devo followed by The Smashers

Irish Murphy’s

Naked Acoustic, Smashers

Cargo Pizza and Lounge Bar

Joel Everhard followed by DJ Grotesque

Ivory Bar

Freshly Breaked Presents Regrooved -Slynk supported by Mez, Dameza

Dr Syntax

James Maddock Swing 4 3:00pm

Irish Murphy’s

Ivories at Irish

Observatory (Main Room)

DJ Mr B.

Stanley Burbury Theatre

Sax and the Orchestra 2:30pm

Plan B

JAYTECH - Anjunadeep Tour, Local supports from: VOUSDEUX, SIMON LOVELL & FINCH

Brisbane Hotel

Art @ The Brisbane with Sean Frosali

Irish Murphy’s

Australian Songwriters Association

Queens Head Bar & Café

Jazz Jam Jar - First Monday of each month 6:30pm

The Grand Poobah

Danger Academy 8:00pm

Brisbane Hotel

Art with Sean Frosali

Irish Murphy’s

Tasmanian Songwriters and Producers Night

Queens Head Bar & Café

Strings on Fire 7:00pm

The Waratah Hotel

YouTube Tuesdays

MONA

Festival of Voices Opening Night - Ghost Story 8:00pm

Dr Syntax

Girl Friday 7:00pm

Irish Murphy’s

Open Decks Night

Observatory (Lounge Room)

DJ Dameza

Observatory (Main Room)

DJ Mr B.

Peacock Theatre

Aperitivo Concert Series 6:00pm

Queens Head Bar & Café

James Maddock Swing 4 8:00pm

St. David’s Cathedral

There is an Island 8:00pm

Brisbane Hotel

Circus Horrificus

Republic Bar & Café

Lowrider + Joelistics (TZU) 10:00pm

Brisbane Hotel

Front Bar - Late Night Krackieoke w Dj Steakface

The Grand Poobah

Cargo Pizza and Lounge Bar

DJ Millhouse

The Battle Royal’ 80’s Glam Ladies Jelly Wrestling Competition

Doctor Syntax

Tim Partridge Funk Ensemble 7:00pm

Halo Nightclub

Breaks & Electro

Irish Murphy’s

Ian Murtagh, Smashers

Ivory Bar

DJ Danny Paradi$e, DJ Dameza and Dj Dagwood

Lark Distillery

The Telegraph 18 Brisbane Hotel

Saturday

25 Alley Cat Brisbane Hotel

Micheal Clennett followed by The Smashers Ride The Tiger, Following Sea (vic), Catchpenny DJ Grotesque

Dr Syntax

DJ Sgt Sampler 7:00pm

Another Saturday Night with Chris Rushworth, Madelyn Munday, Seth Henderson, Ally Mok/Mia Palencia, Melanie Brown/Fritz

Irish Murphy’s

Dave Wicks, Pirates of the Cover Scene

Ivory Bar

James Curd supported by Malakai and Dameza

Observatory (Main Room)

DJ Mr B.

Observatory (Main Room)

DJ Brendan and guest

Plan B

Billy Green, Corney, Bec She Bounce

Plan B

Area Code presents: DJ Friction + Spectrasoul, support from Diamond D & MC Stylee

Queens Head Bar & Café

24/7 9:30pm

Queens Head Bar & Café

Midnite Revival 9:30pm

Republic Bar & Café

Tim Rogers 10:00pm

Queens Head Bar & Café

Pumpkin Heads 9:30pm

Republic Bar & Café

Boil Up (Reggae) 10:00pm

Republic Bar & Café

HANNAH + Blue Mosquitoes 9:00pm

Republic Bar & Café

Sugartrain 10:00pm

The Grand Poobah

Puta Madre Brothers, The Sin and Tonics, Shin Bone Willy

The Telegraph

Ado and Devo followed by the smashers

The Grand Poobah

Cargo Pizza and Lounge Bar

Fee Whitla followed by DJ Grotesque

Clare Bowditch Winter Secrets Tour, supported by Lanie Lane

The Telegraph

Micheal Clennett followed by Dr Fink

Sunday

The Waratah Hotel

Ben Wells and The Middle Names, Sam Cole and The Morning and Jade Ulani Young 8:00pm

12 Adventure Bay Hall Bruny Island

The Adventure Bay Blues & Roots Festival - Guthrie, Full Tilt Boogie, Yonderwall, the FIRMM, Wahbash Avenue, the Dudley Night Shades, The Johnny Cash Converters and the Hobart Smiths.

Monday

Paddy McHugh & The Goldminers, Craicpot, Hairyman, The Snug Guns, The Blue Mosquitos

Tuesday

19 Dr Syntax

Rogue Acoustic 7:00pm Sunday

26 Cargo Pizza and Lounge Bar

Emmy Bryce, Brooke Taylor

The Waratah Hotel

Nick Balcombe, TBC and TBC 8:00pm

Dr Syntax

Ian Murtagh 6:00pm

Wrest Point Ent’ Centre

Divine Divas 7:15pm

Irish Murphy’s

Radio Silence, Dominic Frances, Barry Jones

Republic Bar & Café

Wahbash Avenue 9:00pm

Wingit, Alex Byas, Deb Manskey

Republic Bar & Café

Andrew Marshall + Mia Polencia + Ally Moc 8.30pm

The Grand Poobah

Danger Academy 8:00pm

21 Brisbane Hotel

Tim Logan (CD Launch)

Monday

27 Irish Murphy’s Republic Bar & Café

Tuesday

28 Irish Murphy’s

Conservatorium Performance Examinations

Queens Head Bar & Café

Burglar’s Dog 8:00pm

Doctor Syntax

Trumps 7:00pm

Irish Murphy’s

Tasmanian Songwriters and Producers Night

Republic Bar & Café

G. B. Balding (Finger Pickin’ Blues) 9:00pm

Irish Murphy’s

Alex Hutchins, Big Swifty, Box Money, Nick Balcombe, Gretel Templeton

Republic Bar & Café

Mick Ahearne 9:00pm

The Waratah Hotel

YouTube Tuesdays

13 Irish Murphy’s Republic Bar & Café 14 Brisbane Hotel

Queens Ball with Sugartrain + DJ Mark Howll + More DJs. 10:00pm Oberon Carter, Nick Foster, Patrick Berechree Quiz Night 8.15pm Franks Flicks

Irish Murphy’s

Madelyn Munday, Karen Wells, Dominic Frances

Republic Bar & Café

Baker Boys Band 9:00pm

Thursday

Irish Murphy’s

Open Decks Night

Observatory (Lounge Room)

DJ Dameza

Observatory (Main Room)

DJ Mr B.

Queens Head Bar & Café

Red Hot Roosters 8:00pm

Republic Bar & Café

The Robinsons 9:00pm

23 Cargo Pizza and Lounge Bar Dr Syntax

Billy Whitton & Aaron Entresz 7:00pm

JUNE

d dy Bay R 5 n a S 9 3 1 00 ay TAS 7 B y d n a S 3 6258 (03) 622 om.au .c e v i l l a e Warp info@r warpmagazine.com.au

09 10 11 12 15

Fri

17

Sat Sun Wed Thurs

18 19 22 23

29 Dr Syntax

Micheal Clennett and Guests

Upcoming nights @ Dr Syntax Thurs Fri Sat Sun Wed

Wednesday

Billy Whitten & Aaron Entresz - Free entry 7pm DJ Macro - Free entry 7pm Tim Partridge Funk Ensemble - Free entry 7pm Trumps Free entry 7pm Chinese International Student Night w/ the HotKings - Free entry 7pm Emily Bryce (folk Melbourne) w/ Dominic Francis & Martin Blackwell - Free Entry 7pm DJ Sgt Sampler - Free entry 7pm Rogue Acoustic - Free entry 7pm WingIt (band) Catweazle (acoustic duo) 3-6pm Billy Whitton & Aaron Entresz - Free entry 7pm

Fri Sat Sun Wed

24 25 26 29

Thurs 30

Tuesday

4

5

Wednesday

6

Celestial Circus, Rogue Acoustic, Nick Foster

Conservatorium Recital Hall

Wing-It (band), Catweazle (acoustic duo) 3:00pm

Monday

3

Quiz Night 8:15pm

Fee Whitla followed DJ Grotesque

22 Dr Syntax

Sunday

Josh Durno, Gretel Templeton, Tony Brennan

Cargo Pizza and Lounge Bar

Wednesday

2

Where’s Mary followed by DJ Grotesque

Irish Murphy’s

20 Irish Murphy’s

Saturday

The Sin & Tonics

Cargo Pizza and Lounge Bar

Micheal Clennett followed by Dr Fink

1

DJ Mr B.

Black Coffee 8:30pm

The Telegraph

Friday

Observatory (Main Room)

Queens Head Bar & Café

Saturday

JULY

Deligma (CD Launch), The Demotion, The Ray Guns, Chi Roh

17 Brisbane Hotel

The Gin Club, Linc & The Insiders, Gun Ballads, Hayley Couper, Tim Spurr

11 Brisbane Hotel

24 Brisbane Hotel

Acts / Start Time Comedy Forge Opening

Dj Millhouse

Trev, Gillie, Turner

Micheal Clennett followed by Big Swifty

Friday

Venue 30 Brisbane Hotel

Observatory (Lounge Room)

Plan B

Republic Bar & Café

Tuesday

YouTube Tuesdays 7:00pm

Eleanor McEvoy 8:00pm

Brisbane Hotel

Monday

Venue

Cargo Pizza and Lounge Bar

The Telegraph

Sunday

Date

14 The Waratah Hotel

Brookfield Vineyard

Brisbane Hotel

Saturday

Acts / Start Time

Tuesday

Chinese International Student Night w/ The HotKings 7:00pm

Thursday

7

Irish Murphy’s

Open Decks Night

Cargo Pizza and Lounge Bar

Micheal Clennett and Guests

Observatory (Lounge Room)

DJ Dameza

Dr Syntax

Billy Whitten & Aaron Entresz 7:00pm

Observatory (Main Room)

DJ Mr B.

Friends Auditorium

Musical Theatre Misbehaving 7:30pm

Queens Head Bar & Café

Billy Whitton & the Hepcats 8:00pm

Peacock Theatre

Big Wide Song 8:00pm

Republic Bar & Café

Swump 9:00pm

Playhouse Theatre

Aperitivo Concert Series 6:00pm

Wrest Point Show Room

Sparkadia 7:30pm

Queens Head Bar & Café

Fee’n’K 8:30pm

Dj MaxPower - Free entry 8pm Karaoke - Free entry 7pm Ian Murtagh - Free entry 6pm Chinese International Student Night w/ the HotKings - Free entry 7pm Jazz at the Doctor - Free entry 7pm

JULY Fri Sun Wed Thurs Fri Sat Sun

1 3 6 7 8 9 10

DJ Macro / Sgt Sampler - Free entry 8pm James Maddock Swing 4 - Free entry 3-6pm Girl Friday - Free entry 7pm Billy Whitten & Aaron Entresz - Free entry 7pm DJ Macro / DJ Maxpower - Free entry 7pm Tim Partridge Funk Ensemble - Free entry 7pm Country / Urban w/ the Wolfe Brothers - Free entry 7pm

Warp warpmagazine.com.au


50 Event Guide

NORTHWEST Date

Launceston

Saturday

Sunday Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday Thursday

Saturday Sunday

Acts / Start Time

Acts / Start Time

Devonport

Devonport RSL Club

Peter Sheehan

Thursday

9

The Royal Oak

Linc LeFevre

Burnie

Maginty’s Irish Bar

Heath Brett 9:00pm

Friday

10

Hotel New York

EMC, Boaz, Roger Davis, G-Rox

Burnie

Mecca

Jeff Woodward

Hotel New York (front bar)

G-Rox

Sheffield

Sheffield RSL Club

Gaye Clarke and the Troubadours

Manhattan Wine Bar

PD

Devonport

Spurs Saloon

Lyke Giants 10:00pm

The Royal Oak

Guthrie

Devonport

Tapas Lounge Bar

TMG

Hotel New York

G-Rox, PD, Nukewood (Syd), Joycie

Devonport

The Central

The Durkahs 9:00pm

Hotel New York (front bar)

EMC, Toby Dellavale, G-Rox

Burnie

Burnie Art Theatre

Loop the Loop with Gene Peterson and Adam Page

Manhattan Wine Bar

Hopper

JUNE 10

11

12 16

17

18

19

23

24

25

26 30

1

2 3

Saturday

11

The Royal Oak

Launceston Blues Club

The Royal Oak

Open Folk Group

Burnie

Maginty’s Irish Bar

Midnight 9:00pm

Devonport

Molly Malones

Cool Train 9:00pm

Wednesday

15

The Royal Oak

Bruce & Tess

Devonport

Spurs Saloon

Brett Boxhall 10:00pm

Thursday

16

The Royal Oak

Emmy Bryce & Brooke Taylor

Devonport

Tapas Lounge Bar

The Rock Pigs

Friday

17

Manhattan Wine Bar

Tim Rogers

Devonport

The Warehouse

DJ Emily Scott 11:00pm

Hotel New York

Roger Davis, Boaz, MaceMan5, PD

Devonport

Taspas Lounge Bar

Abandonship

Hotel New York (front bar)

Hopper

Devonport

The Alexander

Two Piece 4:00pm

The Royal Oak

Global Battle of the Bands

Burnie

Maginty’s Irish Bar

Viktor Zappner Swingtet with Yoly Torres

Albert Hall

TSO Presents: Baroque meets Classical

Devonport

Molly Malones

Kristy Tucker 8:30pm

Hotel New York

Trial Kennedy, PD, Joycie

Ulverstone

The River Arms

The Pure Blondes 8:00pm

Hotel New York (front bar)

MaceMan5, Hopper, Roger Davis

Devonport

Devonport RSL Club

Dave Hawkins

Manhattan Wine Bar

G-Rox

Latrobe

Mackies Hotel

June Jase & Jesse

The Royal Oak

Mick O’Hearn

Devonport

Spurs Saloon

Ride the Tiger and Following Sea 9:00pm

The Royal Oak

Open Folk Group

Devonport

Tapas Lounge Bar

Pete Cornelius and The Devilles

Wednesday

22

The Royal Oak

Scott Haig

Devonport

The Central

Cheecky Monkeys 10:00pm

Thursday

23

The Royal Oak

Dave Adams

Ulverstone

The River Arms

DJ Scavenger

Friday

24

Hotel New York

Shebounce, Boaz, Basssup, PD

Burnie

Maginty’s Irish Bar

Cam Windrum 9:00pm

Hotel New York (front bar)

Roger Davis

Devonport

Molly Malones

Midnight 9:00pm

Manhattan Wine Bar

Basssup

Devonport

Spurs Saloon

Dr Fink 10:00pm

Fresh on Charles

King Cake

Devonport

Tapas Lounge Bar

The Unit

Hotel New York

Faker, PD, Nick Galea (Qld), PD

Devonport

Tapas Lounge Bar

TMG

Hotel New York (front bar)

EMC, MaceMan5, SheBounce

Devonport

The Alexander

Jeff Woodward 4:00pm

Manhattan Wine Bar

Clare Bowditch

Forth

The Bridge Hotel

Mr Black and Blues

Bridport Hotel

The Pure Blondes

Burnie

Maginty’s Irish Bar

Viktor Zappner Swingtet 7:00pm

Erin Self

Devonport

Molly Malones

Trev Weaver 9:00pm

Toinic Bar (Launceston Casino)

Devonport

Tapas Lounge Bar

Kirby Edwards

Sunday

26

The Royal Oak

Open Folk Group

Devonport

Devonport RSL Club

Hank Koopman

Wednesday

29

The Royal Oak

Open Mic Night

Burnie

Maginty’s Irish Bar

Clinton Hutton 9:00pm

Thursday

30

Launceston Saloon Bar

Sparkadia

Burnie

Mecca

Jeff Woodward

The Royal Oak

Launnie Tunes

Devonport

Tapas Lounge Bar

The Rock Pigs

Devonport

The Central

Snatch 10:00pm

Friday

1

The Royal Oak

Boxmoney, Jesus the Jedi

Devonport

The Warehouse

Bliss N Eso, Horrorshow, Big B 10:00pm

Saturday

2

The Royal Oak

Launceston Blues Club present Tessa & Bruce

Burnie

Maginty’s Irish Bar

Sheyana Band 9:00pm

Sunday

3

The Royal Oak

Open Folk Group

Devonport

Molly Malones

Wolfe Brothers 9:00pm

Wednesday

6

The Royal Oak

Jessie Higgs

Devonport

The Central

DJ Scavenger 10:30pm

Thursday

7

The Royal Oak

Linc LeFevre

Ulverstone

The River Arms

The Unit 9:00pm

Devonport

The Alexander

Proud Phoneys 4:00pm

Devonport

Tapas Lounge Bar

Jeff Woodward

Burnie

Maginty’s

Viktor Zappner Swingtet with Mia Palencia

Devonport

Molly Malones

Jeff Woodward 8:30pm

Ulverstone

The River Arms

DJ Scavenger

JUly Friday

Venue

Venue

JUNE Friday

Date

CITY

Burnie

Maginty’s Irish Bar

Fuzz 9:00pm

Devonport

Spurs Saloon

Deligma and Counterfeit Club 9:00pm

Devonport

Tapas Bar

Kniki and Mike Beale

Burnie

Maginty’s Irish Bar

Jesus and The Jedi 9:00pm

Ulverstone

The River Arms

The Wooten Files 9:00pm

Devonport

Tapas Lounge Bar

Tim Roberts

Devonport

The Alexander

Bretty and Daz 4:00pm

warpmagazine.com.au

Sunday

Saturday

Sunday

Saturday

12

18

19

25

JULY



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