X-Press Magazine Issue 1348

ISSUEE 1348 Wedn We dnes esda daay 12 12th th Decc 201 0 2 - Free 38,000 October 2011- March 2012 Australia’s Highest Circulating Street Press

Your Music Gear & Technology Guide

SERIOUSLY SOUND SYSTEM

SLEEPLESS NIGHT

A.SKILLZ GUIDE

SCAN THE QR TO DOWNLOAD

THEE OH SEES

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FRINGE BENEFITS

Comedians, dancers, burlesque beauties and fine folks who make a living out of being weird and wonderful will flock to Perth in early 2013 for another fabulous year of the Fringe World Festival.

The beautiful and iconic De Parel Spiegeltent will return in all its vaudevillian glory to play host to performers from near and far, and in 2013 Spiegeltent shows will be complemented by a range of pop-up venues around the city centre. Performers from every corner of the globe will be making the journey to P-town for the festivities, coming from far flung locations such as Poland, Korea, Nepal and Bermuda, with over 1,500 individual performances on offer during the festival, which runs from January 25 ’til February 24.

Stay tuned for more info on who’s coming and when and where you can catch them.

In the meantime check out fringeworld.com.au and sign up for the mailing list to keep abreast of general awesomeness.

Drapht, Insert To Play

PLAY TIME

Self proclaimed hip hop heads won’t want to be anywhere except the Insert To Play party on New Year’s Eve, headlined by the who’s who of Aussie hip hop. Featuring the likes of 360, Drapht, Hermitude, Urthboy, Bluejuice, Deacon Rose, Chance Waters, Smiley and a Ladyhawke DJ set, Insert To Play is guaranteed to be a killer night.

Taking place at Supreme Court Gardens on the foreshore, Insert To Play is an all-ages event with a licensed area, making it perfect for young and old. Gates open at 3.30pm and the party will run right through til 2am on New Year’s Day. Tickets are on sale now from inserttoplay.com, Live Clothing, 78 Records, Mills Records, Planet Video, Geraldton CD, Blue 62, The Prince and Oztix. For more info hit up inserttoplay.com.

The Chemical Brothers, headed for Summadayze, produced by Mellen Events

FANCY A CAREER IN MUSIC?

Looking to give your career in the music industry a kick start? Future Entertainment and Mellen Events are currently looking for young passionate people to join the Future Army. Whether your interests lie in promotion, design, music production, journalism, social media, photography, or something a little more off-the-wall, the Future Family are looking for creatives of all shapes and sizes to become part of their team. With award winning events like Summadayze, Future Music Festival and Live At The Quarry under their command, this may just be your ticket into the exciting music industry landscape.

For more information rock up to The Causeway (ex-Manhattans) on Monday, December 17, at 6.30pm, and make sure to bring your CV, folio or anything else that will show off your mad skills!

PALMER POSTPONES

MARCH MADNESS

Birds Of Tokyo Much loved Perth quintet Birds Of Tokyo are gearing up for a huge 2013, beginning with the release of their new LP, March Fires in, you guessed it, March. Written during a much-deserved 18 month break from the live circuit, March Fires features Glenn Sarangapany on keys and Ian Berney on bass, signalling a new creative direction for the group. Catch the boys playing a bevy of old and new tracks when they take centre stage at the Prince Of Wales in Bunbury on Thursday, March 7; following by a show at the Fremantle Arts Centre on Friday, March 8. Tickets for both gigs are on sale now from Moshtix.

Ashley Baroque and Strykermeyer in the Spiegeltent (Photo: Tobey Black)

Unapologetically outlandish songstress Amanda Palmer and her Grand Theft Orchestra have sadly had to postpone their forthcoming tour of Australia and New Zealand, due to the illness of Palmer’s best friend who is undergoing cancer treatment with an uncertain outcome. The Australian and New Zealand dates will be rescheduled, with hopes that Palmer and the Grand Theft Orchestra will make the journey in September or October next year instead.

All tickets purchased to the January and February show dates will be valid for the rescheduled shows. Current ticketholders will not need to purchase new tickets to gain entry to these show dates.

Those seeking a refund before the rescheduled dates are announced, please contact boxoffice@showticketing.com.au.

DETROIT DANCEFLOOR DEMOLISHING

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Reactions/ Comp Thing Flesh Music: Mark Ronson/ Parkway Drive Music: Michael Gudinski Music: Evil Eddie/ Thee Oh Sees Music: Seriously Sound System Music: Deep Purple New Noise Eye4 Cover: Perth Writers Festival Eye4 News/ Eye4 Music/ Eye2Eye Eye4 Movies: Liberal Arts/ Sleepless Night Eye4 Movies: God Bless America/ The Man With The Iron Fists Eye4 Arts Stories Eye4 Lifestyle Eye4 Arts Listings Salt Cover: A. Skillz Salt: Cover Story/ News/ MC Wrec Salt: Roska Salt: N’Fa/ Spectrasoul/ Goldie Club Manual/ Scenery Salt: Rewind: Habitat 8th Birthday Garden Party Scene: Live Scene: Pub Scene Scene: Local Scene Tour Trails Gig Guide Volume Cover: Blow Your Own Trumpet Volume Cover Story/ Muso Tips Volume: News/ Studio Profile/ Product Reviews Volume: Make Your Musician Merry This Christmas

Cover: Mark Ronson will perform a DJ set at Summadayze on Sunday, January 6, at Paterson’s Stadium.

Eye4 Cover: The Perth Writers Festival runs from Thursday, February 21, ‘til Sunday, February 24, at the University of Western Australia.

Salt Cover: A. Skillz plays Breakfest on Wednesday, December 26, at Belvoir Amphitheatre. www.xpressmag.com.au

The M.O.V.E. Foundation For Musical Health & Wellbeing are putting on one hell of a show to celebrate their 5th birthday. To help celebrate, Detroit dance music legend Theo Parrish will be demolishing the d-floor and sound-system of Ambar on Friday, December 28, alongside the Foundation DJs, aka Ben M and Ben Taaffe. Tickets are on sale now from Moshtix and M.O.V.E. Foundation members. Get on it!

Brow Horn Orchestra

SYSTEMATIC!

RTR FM’s Seriously Sound System has a new home at the Perth Cultural Centre’s Urban Orchard and will undulate this Saturday, December 15, from 2pm ‘til midnight. Here’s the playing times...

2-2.30pm El Ritmo DJs 2.30-3pm MmHmmm 3-3.30pm Drastic Soul Sistas 3.30-4pm The Bosons 4-4.30pm Calvinist Paul 4.30-5pm The Isolites 5-5.30pm General Justice vs. Simba 5.30-6pm Savoir 6-6.30pm Aarom Wilson 6.30-7pm Lilt 7-7.30pm Craig Hollywood 7.30-8pm The Amani Consort 8-8.30pm Declan vs. Gonzo 8.30-9pm Shy Panther 9-9.30pm Rok Riley 9.30-10pm Pimps of Sound 10-10.30pm Micah 10.30-11pm Brow Horn Orchestra 11-11.30pm Zeke 11.30-12am Randa & the Soul Kingdom Pre-sale tickets are available from rtrfm.com.au –$15 for subscribers and $20 for the general public. Presales are also available at Mills, 78s and Planet Music.

See page 18 of this week’s issue for our Seriously Sound System feature.

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with Melissa Erpen... Send your name, address and daytime phone number to win@xpressmag.com.au with the name of the competition in the subject line or enter online at www.xpressmag.com.au. Snail mail entries can be sent to Locked Bag 31, West Perth 6872. Entries close 4pm Monday.

By entering you agree to X-Press Magazine’s Terms & Conditions which can be found online. All competition entries will automatically enable you to become an X-Press subscriber! No details will be given to a third party.

Print and Digital Editions Publisher/Manager Joe Cipriani Editorial

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Managing Editor Bob Gordon: editor@xpressmag.com.au Fashion Editor Emma Bergmeier: fashion@xpressmag.com.au Dance Music & Features Editor Annabel Maclean: danceeditor@xpressmag.com.au Local Music & Arts Editor Jennifer Peterson-Ward: localmusicarts@xpressmag.com.au Gig & Event Guides Co-ordinator Melissa Erpen - guide@xpressmag.com.au Entertainment Services Co-ordinator / Competitions Melissa Erpen - win@xpressmag.com.au Photography Callum Ponton, Stefan Caramia, Daniel Grant, Sammy Granville, Matt Jelonek, Denis Radacic, Emma Mackenzie, Guang-Hui Chuan, Max Fairclough Contributing Writers Henry Andersen, Ashleigh Whyte, Nina Bertok, Shaun Cowe, Derek Cromb,Chris Gibbs,Alfred Gorman,George Green,Alex Griffin,Chris Havercroft, Joshua Hayes, Brendan Holben, Coral Huckstep, Travis Johnson,Rezo Kezerashvili,Tara Lloyd,Adam Morris,Andrew Nelson, Chloe Papas,Tom Varian,Ben Watson,Jessica Willoughby,Miki Mclay, Morgan Richards, James Manning, Joe Cassidy, Shane Pinnegar For band gigs and launches - plugyourgig@xpressmag.com.au

Advertising

LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED

A hairdresser who has lost her hair to cancer finds out her husband is having an affair, travels to Italy for her daughter’s wedding and meets a widower who still blames the world for the loss of his wife. Want to win tickets to this film? Get in now as we have five doubles up for grabs.

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X-PRESS PRESENTS

Despite the fact that Perth has a bright and shiny new arena, Bruce Springsteen won’t come play. This week, Managing Editor Bob Gordon grilled legendary Australian promoter, Michael Gudinski, on why Bruce Springsteen’s And The E Street Band’s 2013 tour of Australia won’t be making a stopover in WA. Here’s what some of our Facebook fans had to say about the news...

Matthew: Perth gets the arse end of the deal yet again!

Alfred: Might have to head over for Easter...

Love Is All You Need

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Sales and Marketing Manager Sue Blackwell - advertising@xpressmag.com.au Online Marketing Sue Blackwell - advertising@xpressmag.com.au Music Services / Musical Equipment / Bands / Record Labels Des Richardson - musicservices@xpressmag.com.au Entertainment Venues / Live and Dance Music Promoters Marc English - entertainment@xpressmag.com.au Agency / Movies / Education / Sponsorship Sue Blackwell - advertising@xpressmag.com.au Classifieds Linage Melissa Erpen - classifieds@xpressmag.com.au

Production

BOSS BITCHIN’

Pamela: It is always hard when there is time restrictions on tours. But many countries in this world don’t even get to see bands at all, even large countries will have some bands miss big cities as well at times. I can say now he won’t tour Perth, so if you want to go I suggest getting a ticket to the other states. I flew to Sydney to see Coldplay, people in Perth kept saying they might come, but I said they won’t.

I’m glad I didn’t miss it, despite it costing a bit to fly there. But it is a one off opportunity and one day in the rest of your life, that is how I see it. if you really want to go and don’t want to miss out, then you may have to go to another state to see the show.

To read the full interview with Michael Gudinski click over to xpressmag.com.au.

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Moone Boy

Design + Production

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MOONE BOY

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M.I.A plays Summadayze

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CAB AUDITED CIRCULATION: 38,000 OCTOBER 2011 – MARCH 2012

Deadlines EDITORIAL General: Friday 5pm,, Eye4 Arts: Thursday 10am, Comp’ Thing: Monday Noon,, Salt Clubs: Monday 5pm , Local Scene: Monday Noon,, Gig Guide: Monday 5pm ADVERTISING Cancellations: Monday 5pm, Ads to be set: Monday Noon Supplied Bookings / Copy: Tuesday 12 Noon, Classifieds: Monday 4pm Published by: Columbia Press Pty.Ltd. A.C.N. 066 570 803 Registered by Australia Post. Publication No PP600110.00006 Suite 55/102 Railway Street, City West Business Centre, West Perth, WA 6005 Locked Bag 31, West Perth, WA 6872 Phone: (08) 9213 2888 Fax: (08) 9213 2882 Website: http://www.xpressmag.com.au

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Advertisers and/or their agents by lodging an advertisment shall indemnify the publisher, and its agents, against all liability claims or proceedings whatsoever arising from the publication. Advertisers and/or their representatives indemnify the publisher in relation to defamation, slander, breach of copyright, infringement of trademarks of name of publication titles, unfair competition or trade practices, royalties or violation of rights or privacy and warrant that the material complies with revelant laws and regulations and that its publication will not give rise to any rights against or liabilities in the publisher, its servants or agents. Any material supplied to X-Press is at the contributor’s risk.

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SUMMADAYZE ULITMATE COMP

What better way to start your New Year than with Australia’s most iconic summer festival, Summadayze! With an inspired line-up jam packed with enough rockin’ beats to leave you in a spin, we are giving you the chance to win the ultimate Summadayze prize and be the guest X-Press reviewer of the festival!

Simply submit a piece of writing telling us in 100 words or less why you should review Summadayze. The winner will win a double pass to the festival, an awesome Summadayze merchandise pack and have their review published in X-Press. This is a killer prize so get cracking and send your entries to win@xpressmag.com.au. Entries close December 19.

FUTURE SOUND OF SUMMER Remixed by chart toppers and Australia’s #1 DJs Stafford Brothers and our very own trendsetting DJ sisters, NERVO, you won’t find a more banging soundtrack to your summer than Future Music Official 2013 Anthem. We have five copies up for grabs so enter now for your chance to be in the running to win.

Released to DVD on Wednesday, December 12, Moone Boy is a semi-autobiographical sitcom co-written by and starring Chris O’Dowd [Bridesmaids; The Sapphires] about a boy growing up in Ireland in 1989. O’Dowd plays Sean, the shambolic imaginary friend of 11-year-old Martin Moone, the youngest child of a family living in a small town. We have five copies of this hilarious series up for grabs. Get in now for your chance to win.

OFFICIAL- THE BEST OF AUSTRALIAN HIP HOP

Official- The Best of Australian Hip-Hop Vol 1 is a brand new compilation featuring the biggest songs from the best in the Australian hip-hop scene. The compilation features a host of our country’s favourite hip-hop artists under one banner including Hilltop Hoods, 360, Bliss n Eso, Drapht, Illy, Pez, Seth Sentry and many more. Get your entries in now for your chance to win a copy!

Jeff Martin

JEFF MARTIN

Following a hugely successful Australian and Canadian tour with The Tea Party, Jeff Martin will top the year off by touring Australia, checking into Perth’s Mojos on Saturday, December 22.

We have three double passes to the show up for grabs as well as a copy of The Tea Party Live In Australia 2012 on DVD. Enter now for your chance to win

A TRUE BLUE X-MAS Coyote Ugly’s A True Blue X-MAS will be the place to party on Sunday, December 16, at the Rocket Room. Come dressed as an Aussie and enjoy Aussie themed performances from the girls and drink specials on your favourite Aussie beers!

Buy your tickets online at rocketroom.com.au or enter now for your chance to win a double pass to the event!

CHECK OUT WWW.XPRESSMAG.COM.AU AND SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER ONLINE FOR LOADS MORE EXCLUSIVE COMPS!

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EARLY BIRD = WORM AND MORE Stillwater Giants

GIANTS FUTURE

Deerhoof

DEER IN THE HEAD LIGHTS

Hailing from music epicentre San Francisco, Deerhoof have been described as “the best band in the world” by Pitchfork, so punters can expect big things when they touch down in Perth come February. A troop of dedicated indie poppers who have been crafting their sound since the mid ’90s, Deerhoof have been cited as influencing the likes of The Flaming Lips and Dirty Projectors.

Catch them live at the Rosemount Hotel on Thursday, February 28. Tickets are on sale now from the usual outlets.

Local surf-pop kings, Stillwater Giants cut their teeth jamming in a Margaret River beach cottage, where they developed a love of the waves, duelling guitars and slick hook-laden indie rock. Having been delivering their unique blend of dreamy coastal pop and thundering rock to national audiences over the last 18 months, the four-piece have recently been thrown some recognition from the big-wigs at Triple J who included them in their list of ‘Next Crop’ artists for 2013 alongside the likes of Asta, Chet Faker, Flume and Millions. Congrats dudes!

BEST FOOT FORWARD

Acclaimed Melbourne disco-lovers Clubfeet are champing at the bit to release their new album, Heirs & Graces, which is set to hit record store shelves on Friday, January 18. Following the release the band will hit the road to share their killer live show with audiences Australia wide, checking in to Speakeasy at Villa on Saturday, February 23. Tickets for this oneoff show are on sale now from Moshtix. Check out helloclubfeet.com to pre-order the album.

Time’s running out, for less than one more week, you still have the chance to lock in tickets for Summadayze and the Future Music Festival at early bird rates.

From 9am this coming Monday, December 17, ticket prices, including Future Twins double packs, will go up. Before then you can still get a Summadayze ticket for $123.50 (they’ll go up to $136.50 on Monday). First release Future Music Festival tickets are presently $145.85 (they go up to $150.85 for the second release on Monday). Future Twins tickets Deftones will go up from $230 to $240. For tickets and details head to: ticketmaster.com.au, summadayze.com, futuremusicfestival.com.au and mellenevents.com.

Get to it!

Having conquered 2012 with the release of their all-killer-no-filler new album Koi No Yokan, the simply unstoppable alt-metal heroes Deftones have announced Australian tour dates for next year, bringing with them fellow Soundwave favourites Letlive. Expect an evening fill of punk rock aggression, crushing metal and rock’n’roll swagger when both bands hit Metropolis Fremantle on Tuesday, May 21. Tickets go on sale this Thursday, December 13, from Oztix.

DEFTLY DOES IT

Darren Hanlon

HO, HO, HANLON

We let you know last month that the legendary Darren Hanlon will be heading out on one of his legendary Christmas tours during the silly season.

Well, the supports have just been announced, and WA is lucky to get the likes of local indie-popcountry artist James Teague. Teague will join Hanlon for his stripped back shows at Mojos on Wednesday, December 19. Grab tickets now from flippinyeah.com.

REYNE MAN

Luka Bloom Manhattan Jinx

THINKS ABOUT THE ‘JINX

Back in winter 2012 Manhattan Jinx [ex-Realist Few/Hi End Audio] came to WA as a part of their Death. Savor.

Life. tour. This was but the beginning of relations between the band and the great West Coast. Now the outfit will return this week for a run of shows, playing Fungalore at The Prince of Wales, Bunbury, on Wednesday, December 12; Punktured at the Rocket Room on Friday, December 14, before wrapping up at the Railway Hotel on Saturday, December 15. More details at facebook.com/manhattanjinx.

SIBLING SENSATIONS

Despite their personal foibles, The Jackson Family remain at the forefront of the music industry, beloved by millions of fans who grew up listening to their soulful sounds. Australian fans of the somewhat controversial family will get a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see Jackie, Jermaine, Marlon and Tito Jackson perform live and pay tribute to their brother Michael on the Unity Tour in 2013.

Since rising to prominence in the 1970s, the Jacksons have had more hits than you can poke a bejewelled glove at, so you can expect an action packed show full of classics when they take to the stage at Perth Arena on Thursday, March 14.

Tickets go on sale tomorrow, Thursday, December 13, from thejacksons.com.

AUTUMN IN BLOOM

Over the years much loved Irish troubadour Luka Bloom has brought his inspiring lyrics and sumptuous melodies to clubs, theatres, festivals, bars and arenas all over the world, but he has a special place in his heart for Australian audiences and has earned a devoted following in this country.

Bloom’s concert arsenal includes both tender and dynamic original material and a surprisingly eclectic selection of covers. Don’t miss what is sure to be an impassioned live performance at the Fly By Night Club on Tuesday, April 2. Tickets are available from flybynight.org or by calling the box office on (08) 9430 5976.

THE DEVIL’S IN THE DETAIL

Fresh from a 26 date tour of Canada, Kim Churchill will return home to the great land down under this January for what’s shaping up to be a sensational summer tour. A guitar virtuoso with a reputation for fine finger picking, Churchill recently released his folky/bluesy second album, Detail Of Distance. Joined on the road by special guest Steve Smyth, Churchill will roll into town on Friday, January 18, for a show at Clancy’s Fish Pub in Fremantle before heading south to Margaret River for a set at Settler’s Tavern on Saturday, January 19; winding up his WA visit at the Indi Bar in Scarborough on Sunday, January 20.

SPARKS WILL FLY

Tim Rogers & The Bamboos

When You Am I frontman Tim Rogers collaborated with legendary soul-funk songsters The Bamboos earlier this year on I Got Burned, sparks flew and the country loved it. Following up on the obvious chemistry between the band and artist, Rogers and The Bamboos have come together again to create The Rock ‘n’ Soul Medicine Show – a series of national performances combining the two. This will be an absolutely killer show, and not one you’re likely to experience again – check out the awesome collab at the Festival Gardens on Saturday, February 23. Tickets through perthfestival.com.au.

YOUNG DRUNK LOVIN’

The Smith Street Band shoved themselves into the limelight this year with their excellent sophomore album, Sunshine And Technology, an awesome offering of earnest, raw Aussie punk tunes. The group are now heading out on a national tour to spread the love, promising killer live sets. Joined by Melbourne dude-bros The Bennies, this is one for all you punklovers out there. Head to the Young Drunk tour on Thursday, January 31, at Prince of Wales in Bunbury, and Saturday, February 2, at The Rosemount.

Mount Eerie

MOUNTAIN DESIGNS

The Smith Street Band www.xpressmag.com.au

After shifting between monikers, mysterious sound maker Phil Elverum - otherwise known as Mount Eerie - is touring Australia. Mount Eerie is known for his distinctive lo-fi composition that draws on inspiration from his home of Anacortes, Washington. Elverum will bring his live show of intricately layered instruments and chilling harmonies to The Bakery on Wednesday, January 23. Tickets are on sale now from Moshtix.

It’s been more than 30 years since James Reyne first led Australian Crawl into the front line of the Aus rock boom. His eye and pen have grown sharper through a platinum-lined solo career and sold-out tours across the country. Catch the icon live at Rhythms By The River on Australia Day, Saturday, January 26. Against the backdrop of the Nannup Amphitheatre, is a glorious outdoor venue set on the banks of the Blackwood River, Reyne will indulge fans with a selection of his rock gems.

Support comes from southwest stunners Joe Savage, Tank 7 and The Tonics. Pre-sale tickets are $40 from trybooking.com/CDTH.

Samantha Jade

SAMANTHA JADE

Fresh from winning the fourth season of X-Factor, Perth singer Samantha Jade has just released her self-titled debut album. To celebrate she’s making a special in-store appearance today, Wednesday, December 12, from 4pm at the Outdoor Piazza of Westfield Whitford City. Hurry on down! Plus, don’t miss her at Eve nightclub’s New Year’s Eve Party

KIM SALMON

I’ll Be Home For Christmas...

Kim Salmon headlines A Not So Silent Night at the Rosemount Hotel this Saturday, December 15, also featuring The Novocaines, The Preatures, Jack On Fire, Apes, Loose Lips, Sully and more (see playing times below). BOB GORDON reports.

While he often visits for gigs in his old hometown, it’s been a long time between drinks in terms of yuletide visits to Perth for Kim Salmon.

“I haven’t been in Perth for Christmas since 1990,” he exclaims. “I’ll be catching up with a couple of wings - or should that be fins - of my family, so I’m looking forward to that.”

2012 has been a mixed bag for Salmon, with various projects on the go. Not that he’s that keen to describe it...

“Do I have to? In my personal life it’s been a year of extremes. It seems to be levelling out, though.

Hopefully it’s given me loads of material (laughs).”

With Scientists, Surrealists and now Beasts Of Bourbon appearances having taken place or still in the works, it seems that Salmon is now quite comfortable revisiting aspects of his past.

“I wasn’t always comfortable with it as I feared it was to the detriment of growth,” he ponders.

“The key to your question, however, is the word ‘aspects’.

Each aspect had its genesis as something new and I can fortunately say that there are a few aspects to my career.

I’ve been trying to use the interest in my past as a segue into some new territory.

“The other thing I’ve learned that it actually is a compliment if people are interested in your past and it’s ungracious not to indulge them at least a little. It’s all about balance.”

Salmon has been giving guitar lessons in Melbourne in the last year or so. Interestingly, it’s had an effect on his own attitude to playing. “ W e l l it’s sharpened my chops somewhat and some of the theoretical stuff I’ve had to pick up has given me some new tools for writing,” he explains.

“Not that you’d pick it by listening but definitely yes, I feel just that bit more at ease with music... not that I ever felt ill at ease with music!”

When asked if a new album is in the works

MAIN ROOM: SULLY LOOSE LIPS APES JACK ON FIRE THE PREATURES THE NOVOCAINES KIM SALMON

5:45PM 6.40PM 7:35PM 8:35PM 9:35PM 10:35PM 11:30PM

Kim Salmon and what shape it will take, Salmon is effusive.The future is bright and he’s got shades.

“Albums mate!” he affirms. “I’ve just finished recording three albums at the same time! There’s an album I recorded with Scientists drummer, Leanne Cowie, which has the working title, ScienceTest. Leanne loathes that name, though, so it’s not a keeper. This stuff came from Leanne and I getting together and playing Scientists repertoire. We just came up with material for this which I’d like to think in some way takes up from where the Scientists left off.

“There’s a new Darling Downs album. Ron [Peno] and I are both adamant that this new album is better than the first two by a whole lot. “ T h e r e ’s also an album with Spencer P. Jones. What Spencer and I came up with has surprised us both. It’s a very revealing self-portrait of a couple of musos in their mid50s. You’ll hear a few things you won’t hear elsewhere, like a hilarious version of Peggy Lee’s Is That All There Is? “However, these are all collaborations and I think it’s time for me to start working on something that’s ‘all about me!’.”

OUTSIDE SOLO STAGE: BEN MACRI JANE AZZOPARDI SCOTT TOMLINSON CLANCY JONES DAN DURACK ALEX ARPINO

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MARK RONSON

You’ve obviously had a massive year providing the theme song to the Olympics, working on albums with the likes of Paul McCartney and Rufus Wainwright, among many other things. What has been your highlight of 2012?

It’s hard for me to think of those things.

Maybe the fact that I got to meet Bill Clinton last Friday.

What did you say to him?

I said, ‘good evening Mr President’ and then I had my picture taken and then I was ushered off. It’s not like we had a real bonding moment at all, but I could tell that we clicked, you know, in his eyes (laughs). No not, really.

Mark Ronson may well be the best connected But I did grow up in New York under man in modern music. the time that Clinton was president. I think he As a music producer, Ronson has teased and [John F] Kennedy will go down as the most the best out of artists including Amy Winehouse, popular presidents of the century. So I was Lily Allen, and, more recently, Paul McCartney excited to meet him. and Bruno Mars. As a solo artist - performing under the moniker Mark Ronson & The Business Intl - the talented multi-instrumentalist has “I kinda came up playing managed to tease the best out of himself.

Yet it is as a DJ that Ronson claims he is in hip hop clubs in New most comfortable. Having began cutting his teeth York in the mid-to-late DJ’ing at various clubs around New York ‘for anyone that would pay me $5’ in the ‘90s, the London-born ‘90s so it’s [Summadayze] self-proclaimed hip-hop head will be returning to his roots (albeit with an ever-so-slightly larger very much a hip hop set crowd) during a DJ set at Summadayze on Sunday, at heart, almost - if this January 6 at Paterson’s Stadium.

Business As Usual

By JENNIFER PETERSON-WARD So where in the world is Mark Ronson?

I’m only just waking up but the good news is that I just spent the last two interviews waking up so I’m a bit more normal now. I’m in London and I’m working on a new album and some other stuff. It’s kinda nice to be in one place for a little while.

How is the new album coming along?

It’s, like, day three so it’s kind of hard to say. I could say, ‘it’s the toughest thing I’ve ever done in my life’ but I won’t because I have no idea. It’s kind of just getting started. I guess I’ve spent the last two years working on other people’s albums so I’m just getting back in the headspace of being alone in a basement, trying to remember how you used to do this by yourself.

That’s what I’m going through right now.

You’re heading our way to play on the Summadayze line-up. So what can people expect from a Mark Ronson DJ set?

I kinda came up playing in hip hop clubs in New York in the mid to late ‘90s so it’s very much a hip hop set at heart, almost - if this makes sense - regardless of what music I’m playing. It’s very much about actively mixing, blending, cutting things. You kind of almost have to specify these days because so many DJs are just hitting play and pushing buttons. But then again, as Deadmau5 says, ‘we all hit play’.

I guess my thing fits more in a realm with Soulwax or A-Trak in that I’m kind of creating music on stage. I play a bunch of my own music, some of my favourite music, some surprises. I don’t know what people can expect, I’m still kind of working it out, but the theme is ‘me’ (laughs).

PARKWAY DRIVE

Around The World And Back Fresh back from a tour of Europe, Parkway Drive perform at Challenge Stadium on Wednesday, December 19. BENJAMIN COOPER reports.

The title of ‘world conquerors’ doesn’t sit too easily with Winston McCall.

The frontman of Byron Bay’s fearsome Parkway Drive will admit to having a few aspirations for the group, but he never envisaged anything remotely close to the achievements the quintet have notched up in the last decade.

“It’s always been a goal of ours to play wherever we could, but I wouldn’t say we ever set out to conquer anything,” he says. “When people first started getting into our music we decided to just play wherever people asked us.

We never set out to play in every corner of the globe, but we definitely said yes to some of the weirder options that came along.”

It has been an undeniably hardearned rise for the metalcore heroes. Since forming in 2002, they’ve released four studio albums, two live DVDs and a host of split albums with acts like I Killed The Prom Queen. They’ve also somehow managed to find the time to tour far and wide, playing their famously epic and intense live show to sweaty rooms filled with old and new fans.

14

makes sense - regardless of what music I’m playing.

It’s very much about actively mixing, blending, cutting things. You kind of almost have to specify these days because so many DJs are just hitting play and pushing buttons. But then again, as Deadmau5 says, ‘we all hit play’.”

Mark Ronson How do you hook up these collaborations? Do they contact you directly or does your label and management sort it out?

As a producer usually you need to wait for them to approach you. It rarely ever happens through the record company or anything like that, it’s usually much more, like, it happens some organic way; but to be honest every single one is different.

Has there ever been an artist you’ve had to turn down which you’ve really regretted?

There’s definitely some. It’s hard - you Considering the fact that you grew up in can’t do everything and do a good job, so it can the US, what did you think of the recent be hard at times to know you have to turn down presidential election? different things. But, to be honest, shit happens I’m a US citizen, so I voted. It was for a reason - the people you end up working definitely the result I was hoping for. It did seem with are the people you’re meant to be working like it was a little close and scary at one point with. but for the most part I think it’s certainly a good thing for the entire world that Mitt Romney isn’t Is there any musician in particular you’d love the President of America. to work with in the future?

No, not really. I think all the people I Apart from your own music with The Business get to work with are the people I’m supposed to Intl, you’re obviously known from working be working with. your magic on other people’s records...

Yeah, I’m always working with people. What have you got planned for the rest of Whether it’s unknowns or, you know, I spent a 2012? good part of this year working on the new Bruno I’ll just be sitting in a basement, Mars album, working with Paul McCartney, making beats, until I come to Australia. I think working with this UK rapper named Giggs. I’m this [tour] will be the only stuff I do until the record is finished. always doing a bunch of different stuff.

“We figured out the other day that we’ve played in 50 countries, and none of the experiences have been the same,” says McCall.

“The weirdest thing is we still haven’t been somewhere where no one has known our music, which is hugely humbling as a visitor. There have been moments where we’ll catch each other’s eyes on stage and know the same thought is running through all of our heads, ‘this is our life now, and it’s amazing’.”

Performing a sold out show to thousands of people in America is certainly a world away from the group’s beginnings in a basement, on the hometown street that gave them their name. When they’re in Australia the boys spend most of their time at home in Byron, with their family and friends offering the grounding and comfort that is necessary for a group who spend so much time in transit and switching time zones.

McCall has been champing at the bit for the release of his band’s new album: Parkway Drive recorded their fourth LP Atlas in Los Angeles with veteran producer Matt Hyde (Slayer, Hatebreed) earlier this year. It’s their most ambitious venture, featuring a whole swathe of new tricks alongside established Parkway tropes. Ben Gordon’s drums have somehow gotten tighter without losing any of their thrust and power, while McCall’s lyrics bleed poetry with a previously unknown prudence.

“We decided that we want to refine what we were doing, but also try to bring something new,” McCall explains. “Most of what people see from us is, of course, the live show, which has always been pure adrenaline. But we love recording too, because it’s such a wonderfully creative process that we can just throw ourselves into. When we’re in the studio we’re completely immersed in what we’re doing – every single time we’ve gone to record an album we’ve been in the studio until the final minute of the final day. We’re completely dedicated to what we do, because we’ve never known any other way.”

Are you concerned taking that break from recording will interrupt your flow? Or are you looking forward to taking a few weeks off before flying back to finish off the record?

I think it’s good to [have a break], because otherwise you’re going to go out and play your old music. I think that’s why people usually wait to finish an album before going on tour.

You mentioned you were only a few days into the recording process for your own album, but how are you finding it being back in the studio?

I never actually leave the recording studio and the only difference is that in this case I’m working on my own record by myself, as opposed to being with whoever - Bruno, Paul, whoever. I guess it’s just getting back to how you started and that’s a good place to be.

As a musician and producer, you obviously must listen to a lot of new music - what are the records you’ve been digging this year?

The Tame Impala album [Lonerism] certainly comes to mind. I like everything I’ve heard from the A$AP Rocky album [LongLiveA$AP] so far, although that’s not coming out until next year now. I can’t really think of anything else.

When we come to Australia we’re playing on a festival bill and usually one of the best parts of playing a festival is that you go see other bands. You do your little hour and then you go see more bands.

Parkway Drive The depth of the songwriting on the album presents a number of challenges when it comes to touring their live show, particularly with the presence of female vocals and strings. McCall reckons it’s nothing the boys can’t handle.

“For sure, the new record has a whole lot more music to it and more happening generally,” he agrees. “But we’ve been a band for 10 years and we’re up for it. I wouldn’t say we thrive on

adversity, but we definitely like a challenge; we’ve never hit a wall we couldn’t overcome, and I’m proud of that.

“To be perfectly honest, I’m excited to see where this album takes us as a live band,” he continues, in the lively tone of a frontman who has spent two months waiting to tour. “These songs are so much more work and so much more fun than anything we’ve ever done before.”

X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

www.xpressmag.com.au

15

MICHAEL GUDINSKI

Neil Young, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, P!nk and One Direction, hopes were up that The Boss would finally visit Perth. Springsteen’s first Australian tour was in 1985 and he has never ventured to the West Coast.

“I was well aware that he hadn’t been to Perth and he hadn’t been to Adelaide,” Gudinski says.

“We were originally going to do a lot more dates. He was going to go to South Africa after Australia. He’s been touring pretty solid for a while and I think a lot of the stuff he’s done with Obama and the whole So, Perth has a bright and shiny new Hurricane Sandy business... we’re lucky to have the East dates. He’s cancelled Japan, South East Asia and arena, but still Bruce Springsteen Coast South Africa and it just became purely impossible.

“We’ve had so much reaction from Perth. won’t come play. Legendary Australian I said, he’s not doing Perth, Adelaide, Tasmania promoter, Michael Gudinski, fills BOB Like or New Zealand. We’re very, very lucky that we’ve got the East Coast and we’re doing a very special show at GORDON in on why...

Hanging Rock over Easter.”

Holding concerts by iconic acts at Hanging Frontier Touring Company MD, Michael Gudinski, Rock is a “personal project” for Gudinski, who has is a jet-lagged but happy man. He’s not long off a previously staged Leonard Cohen and Rod Stewart at plane from New York and his exhaustion has been the venue in Woodend, Victoria. The Cohen concert balanced by the reaction to the announcement of won a Helpmann Award in 2010.

He directs unhappy Perth Springsteen fans Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band’s 2013 to this particular event (Saturday, March 30) as their tour of Australia.

“I’m so excited,” he says a little croakily.“I’ve go-to option. been chasing Bruce Springsteen for many, many years.

“I’ve done a few radio interviews today I’ve been to a couple of shows and it’s everything and I’m trying to let everybody know that if they we’ve all lived for, mate. can get over here for Easter, it’ll be the end of the “Unfortunately, we’re not coming to Perth. Australian tour and one of the most special shows It’s a real bummer but believe me, I did my best.” he probably does.”

With the new Perth Arena now opened Since this conversation was held last Friday, to positive reviews and a dancecard featuring such The Rubens and Jimmy Barnes have been announced varied major acts as Elton John, J-Lo, Kiss, Motley Crue, as support acts for the Hanging Rock event.

Where’s The Boss?

Bruce Springsteen

Michael Gudinski “I think Easter will be a good time to see him for people who haven’t seen him from Perth to have the opportunity.”

It was a good nickname when Springsteen earned it 40-odd years ago and these days it resonates more than ever. America needs its heroes, but it would seem the whole world needs The Boss too.

“He can’t be everywhere,” Gudinski states.“If they’d continued on and done South Africa then Perth was a possibility. Logistically, he’d need three days off. If it was part of a massive run... to be honest with you, I thought we were going to lose the East Coast dates. It’s nothing against Perth; logistically it could be difficult, it’s just that the tour isn’t long enough.

“People don’t understand sometimes that when acts go to Spain, Italy or France they sometimes only do one city. As much as we try and get all five cities on a tour there’s limited time. I’ve had people on radio stations want to start petitions and all that but it’s really irrelevant. I really wanted it to happen and I’m just so glad that there are some shows in Australia. It’s most likely the best concert I’ve ever seen.”

Even so, since the tour announcement last week a petition page has arisen on Facebook. Check out Petition To Bring Bruce Springsteen To Perth. The unbridled enthusiasm is catching.

So, will the new Perth Arena attract a more steady flow of the world’s major acts? Despite this particular scenario, Gudinski thinks yes.

“I don’t think Coldplay went there did they?” he asks. No? It’s frustrating; we love Perth as a market.

I’ve got Neil Young opening there on March 3, I just saw his show in Brooklyn. He’s an absolute fucking legend. We just had J-Lo there. The new arena will only help more shows come.

“Easter’s a time when a lot of people from the West get away and if they can I want to make them all aware that there’s an amazing opportunity. I think Hanging Rock will be one of the most special shows Bruce does on the whole world tour.”

Bruce Springsteen will receive a ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ at the Grammys just prior to his Australian tour. The man seems to become more iconic by the day.

“I’ve tried everything to make it happen and it’s nothing against the people of Perth,” Gudinski reiterates. “I hope just as many people who can afford to do so, come over for that Easter weekend.

“I’ve been chasing this one; I’ve done a lot of acts in my life and this is the ultimate to me. I’m just so glad that the Australian dates didn’t go with all the other countries that got blown off.”

Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band play on Thursday, March 14, at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre; Sunday, March 18, at Allphones Arena, Sydney; Sunday, March 24, at Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, and Saturday, March 30, at Hanging Rock, Woodend. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday, December 14. Frontier Touring website members can access a pre-sale from noon (AEST) Wednesday, December 13, until noon (AEST) Thursday, December 13. Check frontiertouring.com/brucespringsteen for details.

16

X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

THEE OH SEES Work Ethics EVIL EDDIE Bad Butterfinger

Thee Oh Sees Former Butterfingers frontman, Evil Eddie, is touring in support of his new LP, Welcome To Flavour Country, San Francisco-based experimental rock outfit Thee Oh Sees return to Perth for hitting Amplifier this Thursday, a special All Tomorrow’s Parties sideshow at The Bakery on Saturday, February December 13; C5 Bar (Metropolis 2. TRAVIS JOHNSON chats to guitarist. Petey Dammit.

Indeed, since the band’s inception back Fremantle) on Friday, December 14, There’s an old adage that James Brown was the hardest working man in show business, but in ‘97 as a vector for frontman, John Dwyer, to air and the Prince Of Wales, Bunbury, he’s dead now. Luckily, there are a number of his home recordings and musical experimentations, on Saturday, December 15. He contenders for the mantle, including any given Thee Oh Sees have, sharklike, never stopped moving. member of the ridiculously prolific Thee Oh Sees. It’s always difficult to ask them about their latest speaks to SABIAN WILDE about the With 14 albums, eight EPs and a platoon album, seeing as you never know when a new one of seven-inch releases to their name, it’s no wonder has hit the shelves. taste of things to come. that, when asked what he does with his spare time, Even now, Dammit confirms that a new guitarist Petey Dammit snorts in amusement.

“I watch a lot of TV and a lot of movies and stuff, basically.” he says. “But, generally, when we have time off we only have about two weeks or three weeks between tours or between shows, so I generally don’t do much at all!”

offering is not far away.

“About a week from now, we’re gonna go back into the studio and record a new album,” he says. “There’s a new one coming out next year sometime in the middle of the year.”

Having such a vast body of work

from which to draw means that a live gig by Thee Oh Sees is an unknown quantity until it’s experienced, firsthand, in the moment. A few constant favourites aside, you never know what you’re going to get. Still, that does present a few problems for the band members themselves, who are only flesh and blood.

“One of the problems with recording so much is that your brain can only remember and focus on so much,” Dammit admits. “So every time we record a new song we have to forget an older song! During our live sets, we’ll generally have quite a few songs that we’ve learned over the years that the crowd will really like, so half the set will be the classic songs that we know people get really excited about, and the other half will be newer songs.”

As if their current workload wasn’t enough, the band is currently in the middle of taking more control over their own promotional and publicity work, a process that Dammit admits takes them into uncharted territory.

“Traditionally, we haven’t really thought much about things like that,” he says. “We focus more on writing and recording and promoting shows. Lately, though, John’s been teaching himself silk-screening, so he’s been making posters and we’ll probably be doing shirts for tours and stuff like that.

And also, in the very beginning of January we’re probably going to be four or five days shooting a video, which he is orchestrating.

“I think we’re all getting to the point where it’s easier for us to take control, because we all understand everything a bit better.”

Evil Eddie One of the greatest things about hip hop is its ability to draw from all musical genres, using pastiche, homage and lyrics to make everything new again; it’s rarely timeless, but always of its time.

And for Evil Eddie, that’s a goal that takes time to get right.

“In some ways it feels like I haven’t done a real lot, but it’s taken a long time to do it,” he says, a little ruefully. “It just takes me so long when I’m writing shit to get to a point where I feel happy with it that that’s just how long it takes. On the other hand, I can look back and not really regret anything, songwise.”

Although Welcome To Flavour Country is Eddie’s first full-length album, it’s been served well by hors d’oeuvre singles Queensland [released in 2010] and more recently, Golden Age - a catchy trip down memory lane to the b-boys that inspired his generation.

“Yeah, some people seem to think that the Golden Age is about Aussie hip hop, but it’s not really.

I was thinking more about the hip hop scene as a whole. I’m not taking shots at what’s been happening here.”

Lyrically, the album is peppered with references to false expectations, reflections on success and the poverty that sometimes goes with it, most of which is delivered with that bright, sing-along bounce that defined Butterfinger’s two biggest hits, FIGJAM and Nothing Much Happens.

“I guess a couple of songs touch on that, like Doin’ What I Gotta Do, but it’s like a whole bunch of people have come out asking why I’m not doing stuff with Butterfingers anymore, or expecting... expecting lots of things, I guess.

“I get it just as a person as well. I guess because I can be quite cheeky with my songs, people expect me to be rowdy, or think that I’m a certain way... I find that I can be a pretty big disappointment to people, you know,” he bursts out laughing.

“I’m pretty chilled really. The stage show and the writing is another thing.”

Evil Eddie says that although this is his first LP release in six years, he spent a fair bit of that time tinkering over tracks and developing a more productive way of working than ‘waiting for inspiration’.

Welcome To Flavour Country mines similar musical territory to Butterfingers, although Eddie says a lot of that is just ‘getting it out of his system’.

“It’s not like this is all I’ve done... there’s hours and hours of stuff that I just wasn’t happy with.

Like, you write a lyric and you think it’s great, but I’ll come back to it days later and just think it’s shit.

“Beats are easier for me, in some ways, but overall it’s just taken me a long time to work out a process for writing that I’m happy with, where I can just sit down and go to work. I’d like to release albums more often from now on, now that I know how I work best. Maybe one a year, who knows?” www.xpressmag.com.au

17

What are you most looking forward to on this line-up?

Seeing all the bands, playing at the Urban Orchard for the first time and closing the night off with a bang - before you get any funny thoughts I’m referring to our final set at 11.30pm.

ROK RILEY

AAROM WILSON

Block Rockin’ Beats

Seriously Sound System has moved to the big city.

What are your thoughts?

Hyde Park’s always had an amazingly chilled out vibe, but I think the Urban Orchard will see the good times really blossom. The venue’s party personality is Looking back how has the year been for you? And already maximally proven with the Fringe World shows.

Plus it means we can boogie down ‘til the extended for Perth music?

We’ve had some good radio play here and midnight curfew and I’ll drink to that! internationally, sold some records and had over 71,000 hits on youtube for our song, Not Gonna Let You thanks In the landscape of Perth events, where do you to it being televised on Skins USA. So I’m pretty grateful. think Seriously Sound System sits as a gathering of I think Perth music is going well; technology has helped savvy people?

Being stacked with 20 sets primed to suit all us not be so isolated and we’re recognised for what we tastes, it’s really the peak showcase of local electronic do more and more. and danceable music in WA. As such, it’s an honour to support the rest of the talents on the bill.

RTRFM’s festive season celebration Seriously Sound System will move down the block to the Perth Cultural Centre’s Urban Orchard this Saturday, December 15, from 2pm. BOB GORDON scouts opinion from some of the go-getters on the bill.

What are you most looking forward to on this line-up?

Haven’t seen Randa & The Soul Kingdom for ages, and Randa K’s an absolute pocket soul dynamo rocket. Lilt’s recent release was one of the best local EPs of 2012. The Bosons’ sound is fantastic and I am yet to see them live; it’s always exciting to see what turntable tricks Zeke will pull out of his impressively cut sleeves; MmmHmmm, Brow… argh geez, there’s just too many great acts to pick faves!

SERIOUSLY SOUND SYSTEM

Micah

Looking back how has the year been for you? And for Perth music?

MICAH Leaving my post as editor at Drum Perth a Seriously Sound System has moved to the big city.

Seriously Sound System has moved to the big city. few months ago and making the move to WAM has What are your thoughts?

What are your thoughts? given me more free time and getting back on RTRFM to It’s going to be bigger than Ben Hur! It’s the Love it! The new location is heaps closer to present Train Wreck Saturday nights and on the Golden first time it’s been allowed to run ‘til midnight so it’s really Billy Lee’s. 12.30 am Lobster FTW baby!

Apples Of The Sun roster has given me the perfect excuse going to be a massive party by the end of the night. to happily waste that extra time listening to and playing In the landscape of Perth events, where do you In the landscape of Perth events, where do you think Seriously Sound System sits as a gathering of even more music. And the best thing is, so much of that music has come from WA. Likey. think Seriously Sound System sits as a gathering of savvy people? savvy people?

Savvy people you say? Right at the top!

It’s right up there. For starters, its audience is mainly that of RTR FM’s - so of course the audience are What is your favourite experience at this event, there because they have a genuine interest in music, either as a punter or a performer? which from a band’s POV is always what we like the Definitely closing the event out a couple of most. Generally, it attracts like-minded people who years ago back-to-back with Ben Mac. Everyone was on value alternative music. their feet and grooving! Can’t ask for more than that.

RANDA K

Randa K

18

Seriously Sound System has moved to the big city.

What are your thoughts?

I think it’s pretty exciting! I do love Hyde Park and dancing on the grass and seeing all the cool birds, but I also look forward to dancing amongst the herbs and veggies too and hopefully getting some new people jumping in too.

In the landscape of Perth events, where do you think Seriously Sound System sits as a gathering of savvy people?

I think Seriously Sound has one of the highest concentrations of truly beautiful spirits. There is such a huge love vibe like no other event of its kind in my experience.

What is your favourite experience at this event, either as a punter or a performer?

Meeting listeners of RTR is always my favourite part of these events and getting the RTR family together in an outside dance party is the best.

What are you most looking forward to on this line-up?

Such a huge fan for Savoir at the moment can’t get enough of them. Mei Saraswati, James Ireland and Andrew Sinclair are all killing it right now. But the whole line up is amazing!

GENERAL JUSTICE Seriously Sound System has moved to the big city.

What are your thoughts?

P-Town deserves it.

In the landscape of Perth events, where do you think Seriously Sound System sits as a gathering of savvy people?

It’s RTRFM’s annual tribute to dance music and showcases the top Perth musical shottas to a hip crowd in a great outdoor landscape.

What is your favourite experience at this event, either as a punter or a performer?

Well I have fond memories of the first one at Kings Park. I played with Jah Wisdom sound and we had a good gig and I remember later, after consuming my rider, jumping on the mic with DJ Dan Tha Man which was interesting (laughs).

What are you most looking forward to on this line-up?

Watching Zeke blow people’s minds!

What are you most looking forward to on this line-up?

With out a doubt The Isolites, a great young, local rocksteady band; which is like Jamaican soul.

Looking back how has the year been for you? And for Perth music?

For me it’s been an amazing year, celebrated some massive milestones and been more creative in the studio than ever before. As for Perth, 96FM said it, we’re the next Seattle. Which is great ‘cos I’ve got a wardrobe full of ripped jeans I can finally wear again.

Looking back how has the year been for you? And for Perth music?

The local reggae scene has grown with new sound system K.I.B from UK moving to Perth and new bands and DJs. Big up BassCamp Kutz. General Justice has had a great year and wishes all a groovy Yule and a sick NYE. Bless up.

Aarom Wilson

X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

DEEP PURPLE

Trouble With Classicists Deep Purple found fame with singer, Ian Gillan, from 1969 through the early ‘70s. Rejoining the band in 1984 - and after a break from ’90 to ’92 - he’s been Purple’s figurehead ever since. With a Perth Arena date with Journey happening on Thursday, March 7, SHANE PINNEGAR reports.

Deep Purple’s current line-up has been together for a decade now and as Gillan tells us, they’re still playing to crowds of 10,000 or more every night.

“And they’re all kids. I mean, obviously there are some people as old as me and they have seats for those around the edge of the wings,” the 67 year-old laughs loudly.

“You’ll see the more mature audience and then all the energised kids are down the front giving it hell. And that is a wonderful atmosphere, absolutely superb.”

With a new album due for an April release, the hard rock veterans are looking forward to their Australian tour in March – just don’t expect them to play any of the new album tracks.

“No! Christ, you can’t, can you? You play one song, it’s out on YouTube in five minutes, so you can’t do it. The new stuff we play every night is contained in the improvisation: there is still a lot of jamming going on.”

When pressed about the sound of the new album, Gillan remains elusive. “Well I can’t tell you a lot. It’s being mixed as we speak. We’ve finished recording. It’s a new tone, it’s a new direction, it’s fresh stuff. I think it was all written and recorded in Nashville, and the reason we went there, not to make a country record, but because Bob Ezrin, our producer, lives there and he had all the studio facilities and everything else. So it made it really easy. It was a great environment to record in and yeah, there’s a bit of diversity on the record.”

“Defining music is just so hard,” Gillan continues. “If you think of a solo artist, you normally know them by their name; you don’t normally describe their kind of music, you just say, ‘it’s so-and-so’. But with bands everyone feels an obligation to categorise them. I think when you’ve been around the block as many years as Purple has, you just listen to see what comes out. So it’s kind of hard for me to describe it. I can’t compare it with any other album either, as far as I know.”

“I’m looking forward to hearing it,” he laughs heartily, “I’ve forgotten most of the songs already!”

Accompanying Purple down under will be American pop rock legends, Journey, making a double bill that Gillan declares “one of the really top class packages that we’ve been involved with. It’s great, and I’ve got a huge amount of respect for them.

In fact when I heard I thought, ‘Well I’d buy a ticket for that for sure!’. I want to be in the crowd. It’s a good balance too - the contrast in music styles is going to be really good.”

One label you won’t hear Gillan branding his band with is ‘classic rock’, a term he has been very dismissive of in the past. When asked if his disdain of the term had softened, he bristles down the phone line.

“Well, no. It’s a bloody tombstone round your neck, isn’t it?” he laughs, that disdain firmly in

www.xpressmag.com.au

place. “It’s as simple as that. I think from a musician’s point of view, once you’re branded as ‘classic rock’, you might as well stop. And of course we didn’t because we’ve been working underground. We didn’t like any of the labels that were given to us. I mean… it started with ‘heavy metal’, then you get all the insulting ones like ‘wrinkly rockers’ and ‘dinosaurs’ and stuff like that.

And eventually they settle on ‘classic rock’.

“I realise now it has become a broader term but at the time I didn’t like it much at all. I mean we’re near the end of an eight-week Western European tour at the moment and we’re playing here to 10,000 people every night and ‘classic rock’ doesn’t mean anything to them either! So it’s one of those things. If you’re a ‘classic rock’ band in the States for example, they’ll only play anything up to the ‘70s; there’s no point in making records, they won’t play them. So yeah, it did irritate me quite a bit; I’m not fond of the title, although I’ve got over it now.“ He laughs wryly, then adds “Well, pretty much!”

Gillan, who joined Black Sabbath for the Born Again album in 1983, started the Rock Aid Armenia charity with Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi – with whom he remains a close friend – in 1989. Since then they have released a single, Out Of My Mind, in 2011, and the Who Cares album earlier this year, featuring outtakes, rare tracks and more.

The charity is funding a musical school in Armenia, building for which started earlier this year.

“Yeah, I just got the new set of pictures,” Gillan positively lights up at the change in subject.

“Their construction is underway, they’re stopping this week, I think, because it’s going to be a bad winter;

Deep Purple they don’t work on construction over the dark winter months but they’ll commence again in March.Tony and I have been booked for some time in September for the opening ceremony so we’re very excited about that.”

Rock fans may be aware that Iommi has been undergoing treatment for lymphoma. Gillan says, “I think he’s going well - touch wood - he’s on the mend or in remission or whatever they say. I heard he’s going

back to work again so that’s wonderful… he’s been through a really rough time so I’m glad to hear he’s on the mend.”

Black Sabbath, of course, play Perth on May 4, so of course we’re all hoping Iommi will be well for that tour and many years to come.

“Yeah, absolutely,” agrees Gillan. “He’s a great bloke, Tony; I love him.”

19

RUSSELL MORRIS Sharkmouth

RZA/VARIOUS The Man With The Iron Fists Soundtrack

Fanfare

ARIA Hall Of Famer, Russell Morris, has been tied to this music caper since he was an 18 year-old, so now that he is of a ripe old age and with nothing left to prove he can make music purely for enjoyment and with a distinct lack of ego. Sharkmouth is Morris showing off his love for the blues in a way that is authentic without being too earnest.

Morris may often be associated with the larger than life Molly Meldrum who was responsible for kick starting his career close to half a century ago, yet Sharkmouth is a new window in the artist.

Morris’ voice is grittier then his psychedelic rock pedigree would suggest, oozing the kind of well-lived personality that adds weight to the tunes here.

The quintessential Australian, Morris spends the bulk of Sharkmouth sharing tales of historic local characters from the 1920s right through to the ‘60s. Along the way he chronicles hard man Squizzy Taylor, boxer Les Darcy and Sydney’s Mr Eternity as well as gamblers and other portions of the big city’s underbelly.

Russell Morris has some fine blues chops to compliment his labour of love document of the Aussie battler. Sharkmouth is indeed the real thing.

Soul Temple/Sony

When it was announced that RZA would be making his directorial debut with the gonzo kung fu flick, The Man With The Iron Fists, we all knew that, all other considerations aside, the soundtrack would be of interest. RZA has already proved his mettle by overseeing the soundtracks of such films as Kill Bill and Ghost Dog: Way Of The Samurai and, given his well known obsession with martial arts and Eastern philosophy, the genre is a perfect fit for his already impressively cinematic music stylings.

A wide range of guests crop up to donate some noise to the proceedings. Kanye West’s White Dress oozes silky sex appeal, while The Black Keys crop up to trade body blows with RZA on the stirring The Baddest Man Alive - a welcome continuation of their 2009 collaboration. A whole host of Wu-Tang Clanners come to the party, with tracks by Ghostface Killah, Method Man, and Raekwon all present and correct, while the whole crew comes together on two tracks, Six Directions Of Boxing and the savage street braggadocio chant that is Rivers Of Blood - probably the album’s standout song.

If there’s a complaint to be made, it’s that it would have been good to hear some of the film’s atmospheric and eclectic score; doubtless there’ll be another album along at some point. That minor quibble aside, this stands as a perfect encapsulation of RZA’s _ CHRIS HAVERCROFT ‘street meets East’ aesthetic.

THE DARK HORSES Everyone’s Alone

_ TRAVIS JOHNSON

Dark Horse Records/Inertia

As man/myth/legend, Tex Perkins is one of the more prolific and entertaining rockers this side of the equator. He’s part moody t r o u b a d o u r, p a r t r o c k messiah, but here with The Dark Horses, he takes a bit of a step back to focus on ‘more of a band feel’, and the second album from the current line-up, Everyone’s Alone, is meandering and musically sparse.

The title track is a mellow, piano-driven musing that in the hands of a lesser artist could be scoffable, but when you hear, ‘we use a word like forever, but it’s just pretend’ in Perkins’ world-weary intonation, you can’t help but agree. His voice is at its broken best on the desperate ballads Stay (Where You Are) and Who Do You Think You Are (You Can’t), softened by gentle harmonies and bare instrumentation.

The Black Keys-esque electric distortion of You Already Know and the similarly fuzzed-out rock of A Real Job are more akin to the gravelly growling of The Beasts Of Bourbon, but they’re tempered by instrumental interludes that hark back to Perkins’ atmospheric score for Beautiful Kate. Sleep (Deep And Long) brings things to a close and it’s an unexpectedly tender end, with piano and layered vocal loops that fade into silence.

Everyone’s Alone is an album that traverses the broad terrain of rock, showing that The Dark Horses are more than just a back-up band: they’ve got plenty to say in their own right.

MIDNIGHT OIL Essential Oils Sony

You can say what you like about Peter Garrett’s less than stellar political career, but trying to claim that his old rock band isn’t one of the most important Australian acts of the last half-century is a mug’s game. Fusing driving pub-rock instrumentation with angry and astute lyrics and a defiantly Australian viewpoint, Midnight Oil occupied a unique place exactly halfway between the populist and the polemical. It’s a space we can now revisit, thanks to this career-spanning compilation.

You get 36 tracks arranged in chronological order, and it’s interesting to contrast the earlier, less overtly political material with the later, more strident stuff. Even from the outset, though, there’s always a touch of the anthemic to their work, a tendency that would flourish fully with later tracks like Power And The Passion and Beds Are Burning. Blue Sky Mining gets a look-in, as does Forgotten Years and if the last few tracks don’t quite live up to the standard set by the band’s middle years, perhaps that’s only because the standard is so high.

The most surprising inclusion is U.S. Forces and it’s easy to imagine the other band members having to strong-arm Garrett into giving his assent, given how eager he was to apologise to President Obama for it recently. Still, it’s omission would have been a glaring one, so top marks for staying true to history in this case.

Anyone who owns previous compilation _ NATALIE AMAT 20,000 Watt RSL can probably skip this one, but for anyone else, it is, as the title proclaims, essential.

SPENCER P. JONES AND THE NOTHING BUTTS Spencer P. Jones And The Nothing Butts

_ TRAVIS JOHNSON

BJÖRK Bastards

Shock

Some people get their friends around, and all they manage to create is a small pile of empty bottles. When Australian rock veteran Spencer P. Jones does the same, he winds up cranking out an album that is easily amongst the best of his career.

Of course, it helps that the friends who dropped by include Gareth Liddiard and Fiona Kitschin of The Drones, along with Perth legend James Baker [The Beast of Bourbon, The Painkillers, every other band ever]. Jones needed some help recording some songs he’d written that didn’t quite suit The Escape Committee, the others were all too happy to help, and the result is a brisk nine tracks of heavy, country-infused, Australian rock.

There’s a fair musical range on display here, but all the songs are anchored by Jones’ raspy, barbed-wire-in-the-throat vocals and accomplished, robust musicianship. It’s interesting that perennial live favourite (She Walks) Between the Raindrops has never been laid down for posterity before, and fans will be glad to have the opportunity to finally add it to their collection. We get some Beasts-style swagger and fuzz on the Baker-penned Freak Out and a fine line of self-deprecating darkness running through the entire album.

It’d be great to hear more from these guys, but current wisdom indicates that this is all we’re going to get. With that in mind, it’s best that The Nothing Butts find their way into your collection sooner rather than later.

_ TRAVIS JOHNSON 20

Breakaway Recordings

Contrary to how it might sound, Björk’s Bastards is not a war movie in which the Icelandic singer assembles a crack team of Nazi hunters and then shrieks the bad guys into submission (although I would totally watch the shit out of that). The truth, sadly, is a little more prosaic: Bastards is a remix collection that takes in songs from her most recent album, Biophilia.

The highlight comes early on, with Hudson Mohawke’s take on Virus. The Scottish producer takes the delicate, twinkling original and adds layers of blasting horns and sinister bass vibrations, creating what sounds like an epic lullaby for the end of the world.

Experimental hip hop group Death Grips contribute two tracks, adding a stuttering, not-quite-dubstep beat to Sacrifice, and pumping Thunderbolt full of pneumatic hisses and clattering percussive sounds. Syria’s Omar Souleyman also shows up twice, fusing hypnotic Middle Eastern vibes onto Thunderbolt and Crystalline, at times turning Björk into a backing vocalist on her own songs.

Alva Noto adds a distorted beat to Dark Matter, turning it into something of a Homogenic throwback, while The Slips’ version of Moon sounds like it came right off the Bubble Bobble soundtrack.

No amount of studio tricker y can compensate for the fact that Björk’s songs just don’t carry the excitement or melodic heft they used to, but Bastards offers a couple of new tracks for your ‘Best Of Björk’ playlist.

_ ALASDAIR DUNCAN X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

THE JAC I See Things Differently Independent

Fo r a s l o n g a s c a n b e remembered, a dusty paddock in Byford and the cricket on TV has signalled to Joe Algeri that it is time to put together another one of his homemade tunes for the festive season. Algeri has long taken a less travelled approach to the Christmas carol which is beautifully summed up when compiled together on the full-length I See Things Differently.

The JAC go on a world tour much like Mr Claus and find themselves in Stockholm in 1965, have a Psychotic Summer where Christmas is hardly mentioned and celebrate celebrity during a Chris Hillman Christmas. Merry Christmas (Around The World) is not the tune that Hi-5 trot out every year at the Myer Music Bowl, but it is a fine slice of catchy pop in its own right.

There is no doubt that The JAC see things differently as they take Santa for a surf, see him with a firearm and even find time to ponder Cindy Brady for Christmas. There is no doubt it’s not your average festive fare. And when Algeri draws on some Jesus & Mary Chain sounds for Going Down, you now that he extends himself over Christmas more than the rest of us.

At the end of the day it is a Christmas compilation and we all know how fucking horrible they can be, but Algeri avoids the tedium with a batch of likeable pop songs to brighten even the most arduous yuletide gathering.

_ CHRIS HAVERCROFT

ARTISAN GUNS Coral Raccoon Jacket/Warner Music

Wow. This album is something of a conundrum; flickering between dated and timeless like an aural strobe; alternating between late ‘80s/early ‘90s alt-guitar art-rock and simple dreaminess... all tied together with a strong pop structure and the inside-out heart of vocalist, Matthew Hope.

Coral is the debut album from New Zealand outfit Artisan Guns and it seems an awful shame that the heyday of Flying Nun Records was winding up around the same time this four-piece hit kindergarten.

Hope’s vocals are quite beautiful, soulful and frequently dipping into minor subversions of straightforward melodies to great effect, particularly on album closer, Divide. However, perhaps the band’s search for a defining sound for this album has been a little too successful... by the time you get to Divide, you might be hard pressed to pick it out as a gem because everything starts to sound the same.

The search for soundalike references throws up some corkers; early Pavement and Straightjacket Fits, yet it never quite hits the quirky perfection of the first or the epic heights of the second.

Coral demonstrates a band that has yet to come to its full power.

Big Jay McNeely

BIG JAY MCNEELY Cool For Cats

Big Jay McNeely performs with Adam Hall & The Velvet Playboys at the Fremantle Arts Centre this Friday, December 14. BOB GORDON reports.

Cecil ‘Big Jay’ McNeely is known as the King Of The Honkers. His saxophone playing pioneered the use of the instrument in rock’n’roll and he has collaborated with many of the greats, not to mention being listed among them.

It started early for McNeely, some 80-odd years ago in Watts, California.

“Well, my brother played saxophone first before me,” he recalls, “but I seemed to have a talent for it and I always enjoyed it. My family always paid for lessons and I progressed and you always keep doing things you are good at.”

McNeely has excelled across jazz, blues, funk and rock genres, always presented with a raucous performance style. It’s a unique kind of energy that he feels onstage.

“Every stage is a new audience and every year I get new generations coming to my music,” he says. “I feed off that energy that the audience gives to me and I just give it right back.

“I was playing in Los Angeles and I _ SABIAN WILDE used to go walking through the crowd playing. In those days there was no amps so I would walk out onto the street and the band would keep playing.

Unfortunately, one night some policeman saw me GARBAGE and arrested me for creating a disturbance. The band The Absolute Collection kept playing until five minutes later people went up Stun Volume/Liberator to the bandstand and said, ‘Big Jay? That cat’s in jail!’.”

When asked what artists have been the Didn’t we just have a best most influential on him and the most fun to play of compilation from this with, at 84 years-of-age, McNeely still responds with crew a few years ago? Yes, boundless enthusiasm. we did, and there’s very little “I played with all the cats,” he recalls.“Albert difference between 2007’s King, BB King, Etta James, Ray Charles, Little Richard. I Absolute Garbage and this offering. It’s patently played with Dizzy Gillespie at Birdland, too. We would obvious that this is only seeing the light of day in blow the house down! order to tie in with the band’s upcoming Australian “I always focused on my music though and tour, which is a pretty calculating move. my band.”

But then, that’s Garbage; a good band Between 1963-83 McNeely retired from but an even better product, precisely calibrated for music. Life had taken a different turn and he went maximum success in the mid ‘90s before gradually along with it. Over a longer period of time, however, losing relevance and - more importantly - market he was inevitably drawn back. share. Butch Vig and Duke Erikson knew exactly what “Music had changed and I had a family they were doing when they recruited Shirley Manson and I joined the post office and that really worked to form what was, essentially, a sexier, more palatable for me,” he recalls. “I got asked all the time to go back version of Hole. to music and it took about 10 years before I said yes For all that, the songs they produced were and I could see a way back.” pretty decent, and anyone in a need of a decent That initial comeback is now almost 30 cross-section of their output could do worse than years ago. McNeely, meanwhile, is going as strong as pick this one up. Cherry Lips remains an infectious ever. floor-filler, Why Do You Love Me? comes close to “Well, I’m hanging in there for an old man,” sounding like a genuine cry of self-loathing and guilt, he says. “All the cats [audiences] are so great, so I will and #1 Crush is a nice examination of the seductive keep coming for as long as they want me.” side of obsession.

McNeely will perform this weekend with The thing is, the canny listener can never Perth’s Adam Hall, who he has also toured Europe escape the knowledge that what we’re hearing with. They have a strong connection. is pure product, devoid of rough edges, depth, “He brought me out in 2008 and we have and honesty. Nothing here is genuine, only well- toured two times since,” McNeely says of Hall. “He is engineered pop music with a superficial sheen of part of the new generation of young cats who are darkness and introspection. That doesn’t mean it’s tearing it up, the boy can play. He’s got a real great not enjoyable, but by no stretch of the imagination band [The Velvet Playboys]. should it be taken seriously.

“He takes real good care of me along with Aligator Media. We did big festivals in Europe and Australia. He knows his stuff and is someone you cats _ TRAVIS JOHNSON should be proud of.” www.xpressmag.com.au

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X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

Perth Writers Festival 2013 A Way With Words While traditional publishing is no longer the only game in town, the Perth Writers Festival serves to prove our need to tell, and be told, simple human stories is intact.

With sales stagnating, profit margins being squeezed by higher discounts and online forces such as Amazon and Book Depository looming as the new boogeymen, it’s hardly surprising there is an increasingly prevalent bleak perception that books, as we know them, will shortly come to an end.

Yet by tapping into the enormous passion for words and literature among the local community, the Perth Writers Festival serves to prove that the death of books has been greatly exaggerated.

“The end of books is always being proclaimed by someone, but in reality we have a very vibrant publishing scene in Australia and a very high percentage of our population reads books, it may be that the way they are reading them is changing (i.e. from a paper book to an electronic copy, or on our smart phones) but readers are still engaging,” explains Perth Writers Festival Program Manager Katherine Dorrington.

As Dorrington attests, the 21st-century publishing environment has tipped the balance still further towards the importance of the reader and it is the power of personal connection which draws readers to literary events such as the Perth Writers Festival.

“Nothing beats listening to an author talk about or reading their writing live and in front of you,” she explains.“The Festival is the perfect place for it to happen.”

There is also the prospect of discovering a new favourite author which come hand-in-hand with visiting literary events.

“The amazing thing about a writers festival is that you go in thinking you know which authors are the ones that you want to hear and then get completely blown away by someone who hadn’t even crossed your radar before,” Dorrington says.

Of course, there are always a few big-name drawcards in the mix, with previous incarnations of the festival hosting the likes of Annie Proulx [Brokeback Mountain, The Shipping News], Jeff Lindsay [the Dexter series] and Germaine Greer. 2013 will see Canadian Man Booker Prize winning author Margaret Atwood [The Handmaiden’s Tale] and British ‘New Weird’ aficionado China Miéville heading the literary line-up.

“Both Margaret Atwood and China Mieville have been on my ultimate festival wish list for a number of years and it feels that this year the stars have aligned to make it happen in the same year,” Dorrington says.“With Margaret Atwood I have invited her numerous times in the past but 2013 was the first time that her schedule and our dates worked out.

“China Mieville is such an interesting writer and when I contacted him to see if he would be interested in coming to the Festival he told me that he had heard really great things, so it was a case of our reputation preceding us. I think China Mieville is an absolute must, his writing is clever and genre bending and unlike anything else I’ve ever read.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 27

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LUNA UNDER THE STARS

There’s just something about outdoor movies in summer that makes all the senses rumble with delight. The much-loved Luna Outdoor is getting ready for business with the season kicking off from next Thursday, December 13, with screenings of highly-anticipated dark comedy God Bless America running nightly until Saturday, December 15. Click on over to lunapalace.com.au for the full calendar of screening and to purchase tickets.

Belleville

CHRISTMAS BRIGHTS

As the sun starts to set on Friday, December 14, the Perth Cultural Centre will light up with Christmas music, gift markets, food, and fun for the Illuminites Festival of Christmas. During the evening the Art Gallery façade will be brought to life by a dynamic projection of the short film Collision Course, a large-scale study in movement that involves the use of an extremely high-speed camera to shoot a series of bodies colliding in mid-air in extreme slow motion. Plus a huge variety of live local musicians will perform on the Wetland stage - from the from the funky Latin of Belleville, to soul courtesy of chanteuse Shameem, the toe-tapping Just Sax, and even Christmas Carols (with a Cultural Centre twist) from the Libby Hammer Quartet ft. Mistletones.

RETRO VISION Every year over Easter Weekend vintage lovers from across the state flock to the York Antique & Collectors Fair to fill their convertibles with antiques, furniture, vintage clothing, arts and crafts, and heaps more. In 2013 the event will be relocating and expanding in nearby Northam and will become the Avon Valley Vintage Festival. From Saturday, March 30, until Monday, April 1, punters can shop to their hearts desire, while taking the occasional break for wine tastings, vintage cycle displays, rides, swing dancing and more. Day and weekend passes are on sale now from avoneventsandmarketing.com.

Sarah De Bono

HEALING THROUGH SONG

Four of Australia’s favourite pop artists are joining together to support a worthy cause for the biggest event of the year! Jessica Mauboy, Elen Levon, Sarah De Bono and Josh Brookes will be performing all of their biggest hits on Wednesday, December 19, at the Regal Theatre, for Kids Aid. Opening the evening will be Platinum Dance Tours performers, Eden Altham, Jasmine Murray, and Top Impact Crew. Never has an event so huge come only to Perth, supporting a great cause with the best in entertainment. All proceeds of the Kids Aid concert will go to Ronald McDonald House Perth, helping the families of WA’s children with illness or special needs. Tickets are on sale now through Ticketek.

THE SECRET’S OUT

Frank Warren, the creator of PostSecret – the world’s most viewed advertisement-free blog with an audience of more than 6 million each month – is heading down under in 2013 to speak about his blog and its impact in a series of one-off special events. On Saturday, April 20, at the Astor Theatre, Warren will divulge the complexities of being the fourth most influential person on the internet, as well as his work raising awareness for suicide prevention. Tickets are on sale now through handsometours.com.

SHANE NICHOLSON Fremantle Arts Centre Monday December 10 The Fremantle Arts Centre are responsible for one of the better formats for intimate and unique shows going around. Sonic Sessions invites a well respected songwriter to not only perform their songs, but also to tell anecdotes or the backstory behind them, and has proven to be a winner. Having Grammy Award winner and pedal steel player Lucky Oceans to ask the questions and play along gives the songs a whole new flavour and adds a not to be repeated air to the evenings.

Tonight’s guest was Shane Nicholson who was fresh off the back of a national tour with his spouse Kasey Chambers to promote their Wreck & Ruin album. Seeing a chance to be free from his kids for a few days and catch a swim in Fremantle, Nicholson jumped at the chance to join Oceans.

Interestingly enough, the two on stage this evening had never met face to face even though Oceans did appear on Nicholson’s most recent solo album.

With the success Nicholson has achieved it is absurd to think that he may hide his light under a bushel, but such is the shadow cast by his effervescent wife. The Sonic Session came at a perfect time for Nicholson who has always been a stellar songwriter, but is becoming less shy generally and a more natural performer. Jimmy Rodgers Was A Vampire may be a great song title but it also has a story associated with it. It is hard to know what will remain in the mind longer – Oceans’ tasteful playing on the tune or Nicholson’s yarn about tuberculosis and the living dead.

Having a passion for country music, Nicholson is adept at the duet and has recorded numerous. The Sonic Session found him singing both vocals parts on many tunes including Wreck & Ruin and Whistling Cannonballs – the song he recorded with Paul Kelly, who he admits still makes him ‘shit his pants’ when he sees his number appear on the screen of his mobile phone.

Oceans is not the most skilled interviewer, but even when he pushed Nicolson on why monkeys appear in many of his songs, the affable singer had a tale to tell. After an innocuous question regarding the tune Summer Dress, Nicholson was able to shed some light on his attempt at a new less sinister version of the murder ballad, opting for a ‘missing persons ballad’ in its place.

Speaking of life as a member of Australia’s answer to the Partridge Family, there were an

Shane Nicholson (Photo: Emma Mackenzie) abundance of mentions about his children and how to manage family life on the road with the in-laws being in constant supply. Rusted Shoes and House That Never Was drove this point home, and signalled that he wouldn’t have it any other way.

The nights high point came in the form of the delicately melodic Broken Things, a song that has been very kind to Nicholson overseas in spite of the fact that Sheryl Crow never returned his message to record the song with him, thus casting some doubts about if he imagined the depth of their friendship.

Nicholson may be known as the other half of Kasey Chambers, but those in attendance will know that there is much more to the man than that. He is a criminally underrated songwriter in his own country who is every bit as interesting in conversation as he is in song. _CHRIS HAVERCROFT

CINEMA UNDER THE STARS Bankwest Movies By Burswood has become a summer institution in Perth so it was no surprise to see cinephiles flocking to Burswood Park last Friday, December 7. For the full program click over to moviesbyburswood.com.

Emily, Caroline

Photos by Matt Jelonek

Gemma, Carl Ashleigh, Callum

Harry, Sally Claire, Russell

Adam, Katie

Ruby, Bronwyn, Emily 24

Brooke, Emma

Irena, Adrian X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

Elizabeth Olsen and Josh Radnor star in Liberal Arts

LIBERAL ARTS

Martha Marcy May-December Directed by Josh Radnor Starring Josh Radnor, Elizabeth Olsen, Richard Jenkins, Allison Janney When 30-something English graduate, Jesse [Josh Radnor] is invited back to his old alma mater to speak at the retirement dinner of his former mentor, Professor Hoberg [Richard Jenkins, who really is having a great year], one of the unexpected benefits is crossing paths with young drama student, Zibby [Elizabeth Olsen], the daughter of two of Hoberg’s friends. The jaded and emotionally stunted Jesse and the lively and insightful Zibby quickly bond, but Jesse is reluctant to pursue a more intimate relationship, largely because Zibby is only 19 years old.

It’s a droll comedy-drama with an indie soundtrack, written and directed by the star of a hit sitcom, and we even get to see an aging introvert rediscover his joie de vivre with help from a sparky younger love interest. This isn’t Zach Braff’s Garden State, though. If nothing else, writer/director/star, Radnor, who’s best known for appearing in How I Met Your Mother, has proved himself to be a more consistent creator than Braff, this being his second film following 2010’s happthankyoumoreplease. Still, there’s a lot here that’s a bit too familiar.

Excellent performances bolster the film, though. Radnor himself is solid enough in the central role, but is hamstrung by the fact that his character

doesn’t really make any concrete choices beyond the obvious ones served up by the narrative. Olsen continues to impress following her turn in the quietly unnerving Martha Marcy May Marlene, her precocious and fully-realised performance here transforming what could have been a standard-issue manic pixie dream girl part into a well-rounded, utterly believable character. Jenkins is typically great as the old liberal firebrand who is having difficulty coping with postretirement life, while The West Wing’s Allison Janney crops up in a small but crucial role as the steely Professor Fairfield, whose key function is to call our hapless manchild hero on his bullshit.

Still, there’s an essential conservatism at the core of the film’s message, and an inability to grapple with the issues and problems it raises.

Simply, despite its left-friendly title, Liberal Arts thinks that everyone would be much better off if they just did what society, in the broad strokes, tells them they ought to; date within your own age range, retire when you’re supposed to, straighten up and fly right. Zibby’s obvious counter-option to sleeping with Jesse is to go out and jump the bones of the nearest age-appropriate undergrad, a choice the film explicitly endorses. It’s a superficial reading of the film’s concerns and a troubling one.

If you don’t look too deeply, though - and this is a movie that doesn’t invite deep contemplation - Liberal Arts is a perfectly serviceable example of its type. If you can ignore the rather pat answers that it serves up, you’ll have an okay time. Just don’t expect any real insight. _ TRAVIS JOHNSON

Sleepless Night Suddenly, his son’s life is in very grave danger as Vincent searches for the cocaine, whilst looking for where Alex has been hidden, while being pursued by not only the dealer and the buyer’s henchman, but the internal affairs officers to boot.

Directed by Frederic Jardin Oh yeah, and he suffered a knife wound Starring Tomer Sisley, Dominique Bettenfeld, in his stomach during the robbery.

Adel Bencherif, Julien Boisselier The action itself is a character in Sleepless It just ain’t good cop/bad cop anymore in the movies. Night, as Vincent snakes though the packed out, There’s shades of gray and splashes of blood and cops multi-level nightclub fighting (and hiding) all who are otherwise good fathers and excellent rent- the way through hordes of dancers, drinkers and payers that have a streak of greed or complication drug-takers, as the BPMs soundtrack this tense that could end their life as they know it at any rollercoaster (and no doubt his very heartbeat). It’s moment, or gunshot, in time. a similar feel to that gathered from Johnny Depp’s This is how it’s looking for Vincent [Tomer 1995 ‘real time’ flick, Nick Of Time.

Sisley] a French cop whom, with his partner Manuel, The tension builds. Continuously. And has just robbed a pair of drug couriers of a significant then some. Sometimes implausibly so, but Sisley’s stash of cocaine. Drug lords being as they are, this portrayal of Vincent is believably tenacious and just isn’t going to do, so it’s no wonder that Vincent while he is possibly as crooked as anyone in the Le soon receives a call from Jose Marciano, the dealer Tarmac club, his undying efforts to save his son to in question. Jose has kidnapped Vincent’s teenage engender a likeability that grows with every bullet son, Alex, and demands the return of the cocaine he dodges and every blow (we’re talking punches if father is ever going to see son again. Jose runs a here) that he delivers or receives. seedy, labyrinth of a nightclub called Le Tarmac, where Apparently Hollywood has bought the Vincent is to deliver the highly desired goods. rights for a remake of Sleepless Night for a US Much to Manuel’s frustration, Vincent takes their ill-gotten gains and heads to the club. In a move remake. It wouldn’t go astray on Playstation, Wii or he’ll regret, he hides the cocaine bundles in the roof X-Box either. It’s not recommended for nail-biters of the men’s toilet, before meeting with Jose to check or migraine sufferers, but it’ll go nicely with your that Alex is still alive. Unbeknownst to Vincent, he has choice of energy drink. been trailed by an police internal affairs team, one of _ BOB GORDON whom moves the stash to a similar location above the ladies toilet. Meanwhile Jose’s client has arrived Sleepless Night screens as part of the Lotterywest to close the deal on the cocaine.

When Vincent is sent out on his ear to get Festival Films season at Joondalup Pines from what he should have taken straight upstairs in the December 11-16. For full details head to www. first place, he discovers that the cocaine is missing. perthfestival.com.au.

SLEEPLESS NIGHT Hiding All The Way

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RZA directs and stars in The Man With The Iron Fists

Tara Lynne Bar and Joel Murray star in God Bless America

GOD BLESS AMERICA The Home Of The Spree Directed by Bobcat Goldthwait Starring Joel Murray, Tara Lynne Barr No one’s making darker comedy than former Police Academy regular Bobcat Goldthwait right now.

From his first film, 1992’s Shakes The Clown, through to the Robin Williams-starring World’s Greatest Dad, he’s been both honing his skills and sharpening his intent, culminating in this pitch black scream of horror from the heart of America. God Bless America is Goldthwait’s savage apotheosis.

Frank Murdoch’s [Joel Murray, brother of Bill] life sucks. He’s divorced, lonely, stuck in a deadend job, and hemmed in on all sides by the rude and the ignorant. When he’s hit with the one-two punch of getting fired and the diagnosis of a terminal brain tumour, suicide seems like a reasonable choice, but instead he opts for hunting down and killing every annoying, obnoxious, morally corrupt and socially flawed asshole he lays eyes on. After killing the star of a terrible Sweet 16-style reality show, he accidentally acquires a sidekick, psychotically angry teenager Roxy [Tara Lynne Barr], who becomes the Bonnie to his Clyde.

In terms of plot, that’s basically your lot, and at times it does get a little repetitive, but it’s pretty much impossible to overstate how cathartic the whole thing is. No matter what your personal bugbear is, odds are that it’s in Frank sights: bad parkers, Westboro-style bigots, right-wing political commentators, people who talk in movie theatres

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(a personal pet hate)... the list goes on. American Idol comes in for a particularly hard kicking; apparently Goldthwait believes it to be the absolute nadir of modern Western culture.

There’s a lot of precedent for this kind of satire, a legacy that stretches from Network to Natural Born Killers. The recent film it’s closest to, both narratively and tonally, is James Gunn’s Super, but nobody saw that. Still, none of them can touch God Bless America in terms of sheer nihilistic savagery.

The violence is absolutely brutal, and saying whether it crosses the line from comedy to gratuitousness is best left to the tastes of the individual viewer. It’s challenging, to say the least.

It’s balanced by the chemistry between the two leads, though. Murray succeeds in drawing Frank as a genuinely nice guy who’s at the end of his tether, while Barr’s Roxy is a warm and intelligent girl who has been driven to extremes simply by having her intelligence go unrecognised. There are scenes between the two that are downright touching in their charm and emotional honesty... and then, a minute-and-a-half later, they’re blowing bloody holes in another unsympathetic jerk and smiling as they do so.

The whole film is a polemic, of course, and at times you get the distinct feeling that Goldthwait is screaming into your face at a range of two inches, but it’s an insistent and urgent one that comes from a place of honesty and outrage. It’ not for everyone - it was never meant to be - but if you feel like a couple of hours of wholly justified misanthropy, this one is unmissable. _ TRAVIS JOHNSON

in the box on his first time out - an understandable ambition, admittedly - but has trouble employing all his chosen elements to their best effect. As a result, ostensibly important characters are given short shrift, dramatic revelations fall flat, and the film’s pacing suffers. Ironically, the worst victim of this is The Blacksmith, RZA’s own character; our nominal Directed by RZA Starring RZA, Russell Crowe, Rick Yune, Lucy Lui, hero remains a cypher, and an uninteresting rather than an engaging one, overshadowed by the more Jamie Chung, David Bautista flamboyant creatures he shares the screen with.

Creatures like Crowe’s Jack Knife, who is Wu Tang Clan mainstay, RZA, having already established a commendable sideline in acting, now easily the best thing in the mix here. Crowe normally makes his directorial debut with this flawed but fun takes himself so seriously that it’s easy to forget what an enjoyable performer he can be when he allows paean to his beloved martial arts epics. himself to have some fun, and he careens through In a corrupt and violent Chinese village, The Man With The Iron Fists without even once numerous factions come into conflict when the tapping the brakes. His performance is an obvious film’s MacGuffin, a government gold shipment, ode to his old mate Oliver Reed and he delights in hoves into view. The ambitious Silver Lion [Byron swigging booze, bedding whores and quipping Mann] plots to seize the gold for himself, but must while he eviscerates his enemies, chewing the contend with X-Blade [Rick Yune], the son of the man scenery and winking at the audience all the way. he betrayed and killed. The village blacksmith [RZA] The fight scenes are ambitious and well only wants to leave with his lover, the courtesan choreographed, although RZA tends to hedge his Lady Silk [Jamie Chung], but his skill at making bets by over-editing and overusing close-ups, which weapons makes him too valuable. Meanwhile, the ups the energy of the fights while making them mysterious and debauched English adventurer, Jack harder to follow, a problem common to modern Knife [Russell Crowe], holes up in the brothel run by action cinema. Hopefully, he’ll have the confidence Madam Blossom [Lucy Lui], keeping his plans and his to overcome this on his next project. allegiances to himself. Inevitably, blood will flow and And, God willing, there will be a next fists and feet will fly. project. For all the film’s faults, there is a clear RZA, along with his co-writer, gore authorial voice here, and it’s a fun and honest one. merchant Eli Roth, has mashed up the tropes of RZA has shown he has the passion and ambition to wuxia cinema with the rambling structure and terse be an interesting filmmaker; with luck, next time out, characterisation common to spaghetti westerns, and he’ll have mastered the craft as well. the result is an enjoyable but woefully undisciplined _ TRAVIS JOHNSON mess. It feels like he wanted to play with every toy

THE MAN WITH THE IRON FISTS Kung Fu Hustle

X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

PERTH WRITERS FESTIVAL 2013 (Continued From Cover) While the diversity of the jam-packed programme for the upcoming Perth Writers Festival may be overwhelming for literary festival-virgins, Dorrington is more than happy to divluge her personal recommendations.

“I think the standout authors to listen to will be Edward St Aubyn (unbelievable fiction writer, his prose is dark and witty and he often gets compared to Evelyn Waugh), Lawrence Norfolk (his new book is a ripping read and best described as Downton Abbey meets Heston Blumenthal’s Feasts), Peter Heller (terrific dystopian fiction and one for lovers of The Road by Cormac McCarthy), Kevin Powers (he is a first time novelist who just won The Guardian First Book Award for his moving and poetic account of a solider serving in the Iraq War),” she says.

“I would also highlight Ahdaf Soueif as a really outstanding writer and political commentator; she is giving our Opening Address about the Egyptian revolution and the intersection between art and politics. It will be a great event for anyone who is interested in grassroots movements, the power of the people and current affairs. I’ve heard her speak before and she is wonderful.

“For anyone interested in comedy I’d mention Benjamin Law who writes for Frankie Magazine in addition to writing two books, blogger Zoe Foster and first time novelist Graeme Simision who has written a very funny book that is just begging to be made into a movie.”

The festival is branching out, too, with the staging of the one-off event Out Of The Box which will see a stellar line-up of TV writers and directors including the President of HBO Home Entertainment Henry McGee - celebrating television drama as a serious form of storytelling.

“The idea came about when the Film Programmer, Madeline Bates, and I were chatting about how many great TV shows there are being produced at the moment, particularly by HBO but also in Australia and we thought it would be a great area to explore at the Festival as it sits within our two program areas,” Dorrington explains. “We are really interested in discussing what makes great TV and the idea that was first floated by The Wire creator David Simon of television being the contemporary version of the novel and exploring some big social issues over the life of a series.There is so much to talk about from screenwriting, to producing, to adaptations as well as some really fun stuff like how to blow things up on television!”

James De Leo as Dr Percival Sauváge

JAMES DE LEO Journeying Through Time And Space

Perth Writers Festival Program Manager Katherine Dorrington As Dorrington attests, with the introduction of these kinds of events the oft-used adage ‘there is something for everyone’ rings true.

“It is a really relaxed vibe down at the Festival, the authors all hang around after their sessions so there is always an opportunity to meet your favourite author, but more than that I think it is a very inspiring way to spend a weekend, talking about issues that affect us all and being taken to fantastic places by the minds of these extraordinary individuals,” she concludes.

“If you have never been to the Perth Writers Festival before make sure you give it a go, the breadth of events on offer will surprise you.”

The 2013 Perth Writers Festival will run from Thursday, February 21, ‘til Sunday, February 24.

The full program of sessions will be released in January, with tickets for selected events available now from perthfestival.com.au. _JENNIFER PETERSON-WARD

On Monday, December 17, the pilot episode we can only get a million or so people with the of James De Leo’s hilarious new comedy show, same taste as my mum, we’ll be a hit.”

The Arecibo Message, will screen for one night While De Leo says The Arecibo Message only at 9.30pm on SBS TV. is his first big attempt at creating a show “from the ground up” it is far from his first foray into What do Neanderthals and Julia Gillard have in the world of television. common? What do ancient cave paintings tell “I’ve worked on some TV shows,” he us about recent pub closures? How has Craig explains. “The director and co-producer Bryan McLachlan helped make Australian society Moses and I originally worked together on an stronger?

ABC music show called FLY TV. Since then I’ve These are the questions local comedian worked on a few different shows including James De Leo will aim to answer in the first Sunday Arts, The New Inventors and as a tennis episode of The Arecibo Message. Taking on the reporter for ABC sports.” guise of author, historian and scientist Dr Percival De Leo has also been very active on the Sauváge, De Leo will probe deep inside humanity international comedy scene - having performed with a comical look at modern life and culture. stand-up internationally in London, Atlanta, “The original Arecibo Message was Glasgow and Edinburgh as well as solo shows to a transmission sent into space in 1974 that sold-out audiences at the Melbourne International contained basic information about humanity Comedy Festival - and says these experiences and our solar system,” De Leo explains. “Dr Percival Sauváge (my character) considers this have been fundamental in the formulation of his message to be dangerous and embarrassing comedy style.

“Comedy is all about experience,” he says, to humank ind; not simply because of it ’s Commodore 64-esque graphics, but because adding that the local comedy scene has also been while it showed humanity’s height and width, an essential stomping ground for developing his it failed to show its depth. The show represents routines. “There is such a strong scene in Perth, the the Arecibo Message that should’ve been sent.” standards are very high.”

While De Leo has to wait until after The Inspired by sketches and comedic essays De Leo had initially intended to use in Arecibo Message plot airs to hear whether the show his stand-up routines, the show showcases his will be picked up for a full season, he’s encouraging unique brand of intelligent, sharp comedy borne local comedy lovers to help show their support of his love of Blackadder, The Late Show, Peep nonetheless.

“I’d just love as many West Australians as Show and David Letterman.

“We held some informal screenings possible to support the show, jump on Facebook and the response from them has been very ‘Like’ The Arecibo Message page and if you enjoy it motivating,” De Leo reveals. “Sometimes you get please spread the word! It you don’t like it.... then so close to things you don’t know if things are please keep your mouth shut.” funny or if you’re going mental. One lady told _JENNIFER PETERSON-WARD me it was the best thing she had ever seen, so if

Twenty Eleven’s work on display at Feast Your Eyes

KINGS CROOK CASTLES A Feast For The Eyes Fremantle-based artist Twenty Eleven’s first solo exhibition this year, Kings Crook Castles, is the inaugural exhibition at new multi-dimensional art space Feast Your Eyes. Twenty Eleven’s works will be on display until Saturday, December 22.

Fremantle welcomed the opening of a new art space from Feast Your Eyes over the weekend, a place dedicated to all facets and areas of the art and design professions. The space, run by duo Sarah Blangardio and Ariane Palassis, will be home to a new gallery, artist workspaces, product retail, educational workshops, and be a go-to centre for all artists and designers.

The space is opening with a brand new exhibition called Kings Crook Castles from Fremantle-based artist Twenty Eleven, and X-Press had a chat to the artist about his work. He explains the premise behind the exhibition. “This show is driven by ideas about local surrounds and how familiar they are, taking the everyday landscape and presenting to the viewer in a different context.

Building from that, I have approached the idea of who inhabits this new landscape and what relation they have to the system of authority in place in this landscape.”

Twenty Eleven has been interested in art, particularly the heavier, grungier side, from a young age, growing up during the late ‘80s wave of graffiti art – from that point on, he was hooked.

Earning quite a name for himself on the Australian art scene, the artist has regular showcases around Perth, and was the Fremantle Festival Artist in 2011.

Many artists have a preference when working with certain materials, but Twenty Eleven www.xpressmag.com.au

tends to dabble in a bit of everything, though always focusing on landscapes, shapes and formations. He explains that the Kings Crook Castles exhibition is very diverse in terms of the materials used. “This show features painting, screen print and sculpture. When I paint I like to paint on wood.

Whether I make the panels myself or find the materials, I always try to be aware of what I use, I don’t like wasting any materials. The sculptures are made from steel that I have collected, and the screen prints are just that – paper!”

The new Feast Your Eyes space is in Fremantle, an area known for its artistic community.

Twenty Eleven works from a studio in Fremantle, and often uses landscapes and materials from around the town. “Fremantle is an incredible place to live and create. I’m not sure that this reflects in my work, but I find it hard to think what I would do if I did not have this town as a base,” he says.

When questioned about the inspiration and drive behind his artwork, Twenty Eleven deigns from naming particular artists or role models. “My inspiration comes from people who work hard - not so much their artistic practice or style, but people who dedicate themselves to what ever facet of their life that makes them happy. I am driven by people who are working towards their goals or have achieved them. That, I think, is amazing.”

So, what’s up next for Twenty Eleven in 2013? “I have a couple ideas for painting shows that I will work on but I’m going to focus on some 3D works in the immediate future. I have some fun ideas in store!” _CHLOE PAPAS 27

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Creed and Call Of Duty. There’s also a headphone jack in the GamePad allowing you to play with headphones.

Sure, the wireless range of the GamePad is not massive, but it’s amazingly fluid and responsive and works better than you might expect. Those with small apartments might get away with playing in their bed, though you could easily move the console down the hall to make it reach making this a kind of portable console hybrid.

As the name might suggest the Wii U is fully compatible with Wii discs and peripherals, and in fact requires Wii Motion Plus remotes for multiplayer games, as only one GamePad is supplied and no games yet support two GamePads.

Besides a lack of HD support, another criticism the Wii received was its lack of network infrastructure. Well Nintendo have addressed this point hard, launching a console with perhaps one of the most full featured and thought out network features.

Along with a solid network setup, the Wii U allows the user to multitask certain apps during games. While playing a game, you can load up the web browser on the GamePad and check out some guides, or open up the Miiverse and write a stupid comment or even video chat with a friend, all with the game running on the TV. The Wii U also comes in two varieties, the cheaper standard box or the Premium box that includes a black console and controller, as opposed to the standard white. Also included is the game Nintendoland as well as a powered dock to rest your GamePad on to while it charges. Personally I think the extra money is worth it for the dock and Nintendoland New Super Mario Bros. alone, a great game that has some great multiplayer concepts.

However I can’t help but feel that in another Along with a touchscreen, the GamePad and Nintendo have flipped the table by being the first company out with a next generation console, one that features a built-in accelerometer, gyroscope, camera, year or two, the Wii U will be right where the Wii was can handle HD resolutions and play with the big boys. microphone, NFC point and simple stereo speakers. this generation; underpowered compared to its rivals.

Flanked on either side are all the standard controller With 4k (or Ultra HD) TVs becoming a reality, I can Well, for the time being.

The question for lots of gamers right now is buttons, such as dual sticks, two shoulder buttons see Sony releasing a PlayStation 4 with 4k resolution It’s hard to believe it was six years ago this month that whether or not to climb aboard the Wii U train. Will it be and two trigger buttons, letting it play any game support. That resolution is a massive four times our Nintendo released their motion based gaming console fun for a room full of people for 30 minutes and then the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 can, finally allowing current 1080 HD sets and will push technology to the and sales juggernaut, the Wii. The last home gaming collect dust for six years? It’s tricky to answer, but with Nintendo to share in third party games such as Assassins very limit. But until that time Nintendo fans can enjoy platform to be released for the current generation of any new platform the biggest deciding factor comes new Pikmin, Mario and the eventual Zelda offering in the consoles, with Microsoft’s Xbox 360 out first with down to games or the potential for great games. In perfectly fine HD. an early lead, the Wii quickly dominated the console my opinion the Wii U is not only a solid platform with market with record smashing demand. Timed with the a promising concept, but one that will influence the holiday season Nintendo are betting big again with the next offerings from Nintendo’s rivals. _TOM VARIAN Wii U, introducing gamers to another new twist on the Undoubtedly the drawcard of the Wii U controller by banging a large touchscreen in its center. is the GamePad; the controller with a 6.2” colour, But is it too little too late, or have Nintendo changed the resistive touchscreen. This allows games to throw industry again with the introduction of the GamePad? supplementary information or controls to the controller, The original Wii turned heads at its and more importantly, allow the console to throw the introduction in 2006, largely due to the Wii’s motion whole game down to the controller. Yes, you can play based control scheme with the Wii Remote. By the Wii U with the TV off. Think about this, it really is reducing controller buttons and releasing simplified potentially a huge change in the dynamic of a living games, Nintendo allowed a broader range of people room. Your spouse can watch Jersey Shore while you to try out gaming and opened up huge casual gaming ruin some bad guy’s day. Or your kids can sit with markets. But due to costs, Nintendo left the Wii woefully you and play the latest Mario while you enjoy some underpowered when compared to its rivals, with the uninterrupted TV time. I mean sure, you can also keep Wii not even supporting 720p resolution, let alone the playing your game while you go to the toilet, but let’s 1080p our HD TVs pump out. So here we are, 2012 not go down that rabbit hole.

Wii U

WII U

Will You Bite?

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VISUAL ARTS Ken Knight: Linton & Key, Perth Landscape images, derived from a direct response to the subject, are the central theme in renowned artist Ken Knight’s latest exhibition. Runs ’til Dec 13.

SoDA12: John Curtin Gallery, Bentley Reflecting the high calibre of emerging contemporary art in WA, SoDA12 is an exhibition of the work by postgraduates from Curtin University’s School of Design and Art. Runs ’til Dec 14.

Salon D’ E’lan: Smart Space, Northbridge An exhibition of paintings, photography and jewellery involving 10 artists hung in the traditional ‘Salon’ style, with each artwork hung one above each other to fit and complement each piece hung next to it. Runs ’til Dec 14.

Bibble Waargning: Mossenson Galleries, Subiaco A curated selection of the late Shane Pickett’s work previously not exhibited in Perth. Runs ‘til Dec 15.

Look. Look Again: Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery, Crawley Drawn from the Cruthers Collection of Women’s Art at the University of Western Australia, this exhibition presents a significant record of female creativity in Australia over the past 125 years. Runs ‘til Dec 15.

Disparate Bed Fellows: Galerie Dusseldorf, Mosman Park For more than 30 years, Janis Nedela’s studio practice has concerned itself with codes and the possibilities of art as an infinite flow of seamless text.

In this exhibition he has embedded meanings and stories into what, at first glance, are disparate objects which include books, the printed page, pencils and crayons. The seduction of colour, surface and grids has become a pre-occupation and the works are obsessively linked to the nature of text. They operate optically and contemplatively. Runs ’til Dec 16.

Dreaming In Colour: Sima Art Gallery, Claremont For her latest exhibition Francesca Gnagnarella has teamed up with some of the city’s most talented fashion designers to create a lyrical and abstract style, capturing a dream-like sequence of feelings in a highly palpable and emotive way. Runs ‘til Dec 16.

The Most Westerly Point: 86 Kings Street, Perth After a successful four-year period spent overseas immersed in the fast paced world of fashion photography working under world-renowned photographer Mario Testino, Ivan Shaw has returned to his hometown of Perth to exhibit, The Most Westerly Point. The 21 limited edition aerial images capture the patterns and beauty of the pristine World Heritage listed area of Shark Bay. Runs ’til Dec 14.

Theo And Lady by Yvonne Zago I Hold A Wolf By The Ears: Linton & Kay, Perth Yvonne Zago masterfully interprets the stories of traditional folklore creating paintings of unrivalled skill and exquisite patterned detail. One cannot help but be drawn into the dazzling world of innocent wonder, her wistful protagonists surrounded by fanciful creatures in landscapes awash with rainbows of glorious colour and comprising a mysterious, fragile beauty. With flora and fauna central to her theme, Zago creates touching narratives of friendship and trust, her imaginative and sensitive portrayals the result of many hours of patient application of paint using the finest of brushes. Runs ‘til Jan 1. artistic influences, informed by universal themes and infused with colour and vibrancy. This group exhibition features works by Darryn Ansted, Nathan Beard, Zoe Chong-Seng, Cynthia Ellis, Martin Heine, Matthew Jackson, David Ledger, Woody Mellor, Alan Muller, Rizzy, Abdul Rahman-Abdullah and Sue Starcken. Runs ’til Dec 21.

The Nightmare Paintings: Buratti Fine Art, North Fremantle A national touring exhibition featuring the works of Aleister Crowley, one of the most vilified and notorious occult figures of the last century. Runs ‘til Dec 28.

Traversing Antarctica: Western Australian Maritime Museum, Fremantle A rare collection of artefacts from the 1911-1914 Australasian Antarctic Expedition, famously led by Sir Douglas Mawson. Runs ’til Feb 23.

Made To Remember: Art Gallery Of WA, Northbridge Made To Remember is a beautifully considered display of significant Indigenous objects from the State Art Collection. With a diverse selection of works including glass and ceramic objects, textiles and clothing, as well as examples of traditional sculpture, Made to Remember encourages dialogue about the place of an object not only in Indigenous art and culture, but in the broader Australian context. Runs ‘til Jun 30.

THEATRE/DANCE/ PERFORMANCE The Eight: Reindeer Monologues: Lazy Susan’s Comedy Den A darkly comic tale of corruption, abuse and deviancy implicating the smallest elf right up to the jolly fat man himself. Season runs Nov 28-Dec 16.

Plaza Suite: Old Mill Theatre Plaza Suite is a confection of three witty comedic episodes surrounding three couples who successively occupy the same room at a New York City hotel. Season runs Nov 30-Dec 15.

EPW: Applied Paintings - Project for a Kindergarten I & II: PICA, Perth Best known for his ongoing EPW (Experimental Painting Workshop) series, prolific Australian artists’ John Nixon’s latest solo exhibition presents a connected pair of epic projects made five years apart. Runs ‘til Dec 30.

First Among Equals (Part II): PICA, Perth 182 Days: Heathcote Museum & Gallery, Melville Presents a stellar line-up of Australian and Eva Fernández reflects on the experience of the international artists who share an interest in film, individual within the walls of the former Heathcote kinetics, colour, sound and time. Runs ‘til Dec 30.

Hospital in new exhibition 182 Days. Runs ’til Dec 19.

Monochrome: Gotham Studios Inc, Northbridge Between 2 Worlds: Kulcha, Fremantle This festive season, Gotham’s 13 resident artists have Works by Amal Al Babeli, Alberdina Plug and Ruth each created two postcard size Halbert, using print, painting and photography, to artworks across a range of media including works on reflect on the distances, coincidences and paradoxes paper, paintings, prints and photographs. Every day of migration. Runs ’til Dec 20. through December a new art work will be revealed in Gotham’s window art space: the Peeka-Boo The Light Blue Dream: Linton & Kay, Perth Gallery. Runs ‘til Dec 31.

Strong colours, heavy textures and concrete shapes create a sensuous visual impact in Bruce Earles’ latest Want Not Need: Gallery 360, Perth exhibition which examines the interconnectivity of A slight departure from her well known sensitive leisure and industry and the fun of life on the line work and detailed geometric pattern, Anita beach which frequently has a backdrop of urban Brock’s bold and chaotic world is immersed in a development . Runs ’til Dec 20. mess of colour, complex line work and kaleidoscopic detailed pattern in this new exhibition. Runs ‘til With Flowers In Their Hair: 140 William, Perth Dec 31.

Following Pippa McManus Illustration’s sell-out exhibition A Is For Arizona, the fashion illustrator returns with her next collection of widely anticipated We Don’t Need A Map: Fremantle Arts Centre, paintings entitled With Flowers in Their Hair. Inspired Fremantle

by London Fashion Week, these girls are created This remarkable exhibition includes the work of around one theme, beautiful headpieces, including more than 30 artists and is an exploration of the Martu people - the traditional owners of a vast area flowers, crowns, hats and veils. Runs ’til Dec 20. of WA’s Western Desert - their way of life, the way The End Of Arithmetic: Murano And Gullotti, they care for country and belong to it. The exhibition features stunning paintings, cutting-edge new Subiaco Prominent Australian visual and performance artist media collaborations, finely wrought objects, aerial Anthony Breslin’s latest exhibition is based around desert photography and much more. Runs ‘til Jan 20. his love of the philosophy of maths and the reason Deserts And Rivers: FORM Gallery, Perth to justify all that it equals. Runs ’til Dec 21.

Explores country through the eyes of Aboriginal artists from the Great Sandy, Little Sandy and Gibson Unravel: Venn Gallery, Perth Unravel features new portraits and video works from deserts and the country around Turkey Creek, Sturt prominent WA artist Matt Doust, based on subjects Creek and the Fitzroy River in the east and central from his new home in Los Angeles. Contemplating Kimberley. Runs ’til Jan 26. ideas of disconnection, both physically and personally, Unravel finds Doust investigating how Luminous World: Art Gallery Of WA, Northbridge both spiritual and physical experiences can affect An exhibition from Wesfarmer’s significant corporate art collection, featuring more than 60 paintings, the individual. Runs ’til Dec 21. photographs and sculptures by 50 contemporary Ornaments Of Language: Melody Smith Gallery, artists, including Susan Norrie, Rosemary Laing, Howard Taylor, Dale Frank, Bill Henson, Brian Carlisle From an eclectic cross section of contemporary Blanchflower, Brook Andrew, Timothy Cook and artists comes an exhibition of diverse cultural and Barrupu Yunupingu. Runs ’til Feb 11. www.xpressmag.com.au

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A.Skillz, aka Adam m ot Mills, recently got es his two sons’ names is tattooed onto his forearms. The UK DJ ell and producer is well kss known in the breaks d world, having started ut out smashing out e, sets at FabricLive, Spectrum, Chew The Fat, Supercharged and more. ANNABEL MACLEAN chats with the ever-so-friendly gent about James Bond, his friendship with Krafty Kuts and returning down under for Breakfest.

Adam Mills is legendary in the breaks scene. The UK DJ and producer is known for his unique mixing and scratching, fierce productions skills and ability to fuse funk, hip hop and breaks into his party-rocking, reputable sets. And, anyone who attended Breakfest last year would’ve witnessed A.Skillz absolutely owning it down at Belvoir Amphitheatre.

Now, punters will get another opportunity to see Mills smash out another epic set alongside UK DJ and producer and long time collaborator Krafty Kuts at Breakfest this year.

“I’m so happy I get to come back again because I was not expecting to, it’s only the fact

th that we’re [Krafty Kuts and A A.Skillz] doing it together that it so sort of gave me the opportunity to come back, it’s a real privilege to be invited back,” Mills says d down the line from the UK, h having just got up for the day.

Mills is in the midst o of putting together a DJ mix w with Krafty Kuts in the studio aand preparing edits for their fo forthcoming tour down under.

B But, punters shouldn’t expect to hear a strictly TrickaTechnology set when the lads play Breakfest even though venues and promoters have recently been advertising their recent gigs together as ‘TrickaTechnology gigs’.“We got booked for this gig last year and someone decided to put on the flyer that it was a TrickaTechnology show - we didn’t decide to start touring it [TrickaTechnology], we just did a gig together and went about playing it at the same time and then other people saw the way they presented that name and they just started using it and then people started calling it the ‘TrickaTechnology sound-system’ of whatever.

“So it’s not like we’ve been working on an album together or anything like that.

We’ve put together a few tracks together for an EP which hopefully we’re going to drop before we come out to Australia.

We actually just remixed TrickaTechnology - just a track we thought it’d be a thing worth doing so we’re just finishing that up at the moment.”

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Loves James Bond

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“And the crazy thing is, I live right opposite the cinema and it’s on every single night.

It just seems to me that I don’t quite get around to doing it. When something’s on your doorstep, you always go ‘I’ll go next week’... maybe if I’m lucky I’ll get to see it on the flight over to Australia. I’m actually desperate to see it. I know Krafty has seen it and he loved it. To be honest, I do like the more recent ones, I like them all but I think Daniel Craig is the absolute man - I think Casino Royale is a brilliant film. We’ve been starting our shows with a couple of little Bond things actually. We’re working on our intro today and what exactly we’re going to do but there will be a few little Bond moments in there.”

But, even if Mills doesn’t get to see Skyfall on the flight over to Australia, it won’t be able to dent his tour experience down under; after all, Australia is one of his favourite places to tour. “Honestly, I think some of my most fondest memories - and I’m not just saying this - are actually in Australia when we [Krafty Kuts and A.Skillz] first came over together the first time,” he says.

“That, for me, was a massive jump from not doing loads of gigs to my first [big] show - it probably would’ve been Breakfest actually back sort of 10 years ago and that was probably one of first times coming out doing a really big show with Krafty together. That was actually one of the most bizarre shows because it’s so hot and there were bugs everywhere and they were going crazy all over the decks. I’ve never seen anything like it and it was like 40 degrees. I know it’s totally normal for you guys but for us, it was bizarre and you know the first time there at the amphitheatre and it was absolutely insane.”

Aside from Breakfest, Mills is currently working on an EP to be released early next year and is hoping to really get his label Jam City off the ground too. “I’ve been working with a few people to put out an EP - not really big names - much more people that I’ve found through my travels and I have got another track coming out with Nick Thayer which is going to be on the label that he’s signed to - OWSLA - as part of his EP on that. Because I’ve got Jam City, I’m probably going to put my own EP out A.Skillz on that,” he says before chatter about a forthcoming Canadian tour and several remixes which are on the Krafty Kuts and Mills recently made a 50 agenda. “It’s just prioritising what’s important.”

Years Of Bond mini mix and Mills says there may even be some Bond edits running through their set at Breakfest. But first, Mills needs to actually see » A.SKILLZ Skyfall to maintain credibility. “It’s unbelievable that » BREAKFEST I haven’t actually seen it [Skyfall] which is so bad » WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 26 because I feel like I put all of that work into that » @ BELVOIR AMPHITHEATRE Bond mix!,” he says, chuckling. glamorous day in the music business! I’m a co-director and partner at Mum’s The Word Music Group, so life isn’t like it might be for other MCs where you can rest all week and then work on the weekends. It’s full on for me, all the time but it’s better to be busy than not and I’m just building for the future. I like to play the long game and get a real buzz from doing business.We’re currently David Rodigan MBE, Breakage, Dismantle, Jon Bailey is undoubtedly a man of managing Wilkinson, The Nextmen, Jess Mills, Youngman and many talents. He is not only heavily more.” the initial move for Bailey into involved in the music business as an drum’n’bass,Indeed, coupled with riding the wave of its many artist manager; he is also freakishly evolutions and so forth, has and undoubtedly will good when on the microphone. In become his legacy.“I’m 33 years old now and while this going to make me sound even older, I started MCing between his busy life of touring, isback in 1995,”he says.“I always wanted to get into music running an office and keeping but after realising I didn’t have the patience to pursue lessons past grade one - nor could I barely string his lines razor sharp, the man piano two notes together singing - it quickly dawned on me talks with RK about battling the that MCing was my only real option! But seriously, it was incessant stream of emails as well after hearing MC GQ perform at AWOL in London that I what I really wanted to do.” as his association with the London realised thatNoit was less, it has been suggested that getting on the microphone and adlibbing for an entire DJ Elektricity posse. set isn’t easy – in fact it’s a particularly measured skill “There has been lots and lots going on,” chimes that takes much practice and commitment yet Bailey the lyrical master. “Life just gets busier and goes brushes it all aside. “For me, talking nonsense quickly quicker the older you get. Right now I’m sitting in my over fast music just seems to come very naturally to office battling incoming emails so it’s just another me,” he chuckles.

MC WREC ELEKTRIC BEATS

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DJ Hell

HELL ON WHEELS OF STEEL

Germany’s iconic DJ Hell has just announced a highly anticipated worldwide tour, and Aussie fans are in luck with three shows down under later this month. A man who needs little introduction, DJ Hell has been DJing for almost 30 years and is the epitome of German house music. Renowned for his legendary live sets mixing techno and house with a pop sensibility, DJ Hell has made records with Grace Jones, P Diddy and Bryan Ferry, just to name a few, and launched his own imprint International Deejay Gigolos Empire more than 16 years ago. Join the party on Friday, December 21, at Geisha Bar.

LITTLE BIRDY

Pulling in some of Perth and surrounds most talented House DJs, the latest instalment of The Backyard Project presented Bird On The Wire is set to go down on Friday, December 14, at Geisha Bar. With QwerK, Ketracel, Allstate and Josip Peran showcasing their talents, don’t miss what is sure to be an evening which will make you feel good all over!

Ego

A BIG EGO

Melbourne DJ-cum-videographer Ego, previously of Nice & Ego, has gained quite the reputation for his whacky fusions of pop culture visuals and upto-the-minute dance floor tracks. With a live show that promises to be “an all-out party for the eyes and ears” Ego will be launching Watch Your Ego a 30 minute audio visual journey through a range of musical and visual styles - during an upcoming national tour which touches down at Metric @ Villa on Saturday, December 22.

MINISTRY MADNESS

Equip your ears and prepare your dancing shoes for one of the biggest dance parties of the year this Friday, December 14, at Villa. Australia’s resident fresh maker Tom Piper and formidable duo The Only will be spinning the EDM and club tracks that tore apart dance floors throughout 2012 as part of Ministry of Sound’s biggest seller and #1 tour, The Annual 2013.

Support comes from Chiari, Ace Basik, Jackness, and Slappin’ Plastic, and tickets are available from Moshtix and Live Clothing.

JUNGLE JUICE

Dedicated to bringing you the biggest heavyhitting pioneers of jungle/drum’n’bass Jungle Fever have an absolute cracker of a first instalment for 2013, with both label bosses of the legendary Urban Takeover imprint, Aphrodite and Micky Finn, heading our way.

Accompanied by their long time partner in crime MC Shabba D, the original rudeboy jungle duo are sure to put on a killer show. If you are only going to attend one drum’n’bass event this year then make sure it’s this one!

Warning: this will sell out! Get your tickets through Moshtix.

Micky Finn

Having the industry hook-ups doesn’t hurt either – especially in the small world of drum’n’bass.

Dipping your own toes into the water can also be a rewarding experience, especially if you’re backed by some of the very biggest names in the business. Tony Colman is one bloke who comes to mind – a man with whom Bailey has had a very close association.“For the last eight years, I’ve run a music artist management company with my business partner Marc Sheinman which has been a lot of fun,” Bailey continues.

“I honestly haven’t had a lot of time to record music myself. It’s a shame but I’ve also realised I’m a much better live MC than I am in the booth. But I’m also still very tight with Tony Colman from London Elektricity – we’re still touring together all the time. It has been about 10 years now together for us on the road!”

Finally, Bailey is ready to bring the Boxing Day ruckus at Breakfest here in Perth at Belvoir Amphitheatre but he won’t be drawn on what he’ll play.“If I told you, I would have to kill you,”he concludes, half-jokingly.

» MC WREC » BREAKFEST » WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 26 @ BELVOIR AMPHITHEATRE

MC Wrec

X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

Roska

ROSKA

FUNKY SOUND Wayne Goodlitt came up as an MC in the garage scene around 1998.

Things have changed a little since then – including a name change from Mentor, to Mentor Roskaa, and then to just Roska. During that time, he also moved away from the microphone to become a producer and a DJ and is also credited for creating a new genre called ‘funky sound’. RK talks to him about a potential third album, his label and keeping his options open.

“I’ve been doing a lot of gigs around the UK and Europe over the last few months off the back of Rinse Presents: Roska 2,” Goodlitt says. The EP featured the tracks Spanner In The Works and The Oracle – and was well received. “I’m also laying down some ideas for what will possibly be my third album with Rinse.”

While he has been keeping busy, Goodlitt doesn’t regret the shift away from the

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microphone to the mixing desk. “I have always produced - in fact since 1999 - so for me making the switch up was simple,” he says of the transition.

“Being an MC was sort of like a past-time or a hobby so I basically gave up on being an MC around 2005 or 2006 and continued down the path of making music.”

Indeed, outside of his two full length LPs – Wonderful Day and the self-titled Roska - the chap has maintained a rather prolific discography, ensuring there are a number of EPs bearing his name in any given year. Yet his style remains challenging to define - and on the same theme his sonic spectrum can incorporate influences from his early days in garage, to a more recent love of grime and more. “In 2012, I’m still on a Roska style broken beat garage kind of vibe that incorporates the sounds that I like to include in my productions.”

In turn, that diversity and flexibility translates into his DJ sets where he is currently mixing up different genres to create a fluid and connected sound around music that has traditionally been considered disjointed and somewhat ad-hoc. “I’m playing a much wider range of music than I did when I came out as Roska, definitely,” he says. “There’s so much good music across the board that is out there at the moment and I like to play between 125bpm - 140bpm which keeps my options open.”

Goodlitt’s label Roska Kicks & Snares was established in 2007 as a mechanism to release his own tracks. Yet by 2010, the doors had opened to signing new artists and the label has been moving forward ever since, with the man behind the imprint concurring that “the label is going well”.

“We have just released another EP from Tickles as well as a Hungarian duo called Slap In The Bass – that track is called Utopia so I would say that it has definitely been a good year for Roska Kicks & Snares!”

Finally - outside of music - the bass head adds that he is somewhat partial to a little time in the gym – as well as a little time having a rest.

But all of that is moot because the man who has left an indelible mark on the bass scene in the UK is heading down under to share the love and give crowds a good old-fashioned rinsing at Origin NYE. “I’ll definitely have some good music to play and share with everyone,” he says before adding, “Plus I’ll also play some exclusive tracks!”

» » » »

ROSKA ORIGIN NYE SUNDAY, DECEMBER 30 & MONDAY, DECEMBER 31 @ FAIRBRIDGE VILLAGE, PINJARRA

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N’FA

JONESING KARMA N’fa Forster-Jones sees in the New Year with sand between his toes at Salt On The Beach in North Fremantle on Monday, December 31, for Funk Club’s Countdown To NYE 2013. RYAN BUTLER chats with the friendly gent ahead of the big gig.

“I don’t want to be in my 40s telling people to say ‘ho’ throughout a whole set,” states N’fa ForsterJones, only half jokingly. “Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with that, I love it if a bloke can come out and rock it, but that’s him and I gotta find me.”

Finding himself may be easier said than done for Jones.This is a man who was at Australia’s hip hop push into the mainstream with 1200 Techniques, and after closing that chapter in the mid noughties, has grafted between Australia, London and the rest of Europe, playing gigs, recording music and mentoring young musicians. We are talking about one busy dude, but he says he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“People get so caught up in their art and they want it to be perfect and if it isn’t they won’t do it basically but they’ll live their life doing something they hate forever,” he says.

“Once you get past that, you go ‘Okay, how do I make this work for me, what do I want?’ It’s been a long journey and development but 1200 [Techniques] was the start. It’s always gonna be on my mind and in myself.”

Jones puts the success of 1200 Techniques down to hard work and maybe just a little dash of luck.

“There were a lot crews working hard but it seemed like no one wanted to let anyone get through to that higher tier, high rotation on the Js [Triple J], getting through to your Novas and maybe even over to a Fox or something like that,” he says.“It was a big no no. We were just fortunate I guess to be around at the right time. If you look back there are certain things you’re meant to do to get your status up and get heard and get out there but we were just doing those things organically and didn’t realise it. It was amazing to me to be apart of that first initial wave that was able to crash the shores that a lot of artists have now built on and taken much further.”

GOLDIE

PRECIOUS METAL(HEADZ) Much of Goldie’s story has been told before - born as Clifford Price near Birmingham UK, put into care at an early age, ascended via hip hop and graffiti art to become one of the key figures in the drum’n’bass scene, a Bond villain and for a time Bjork’s other half. But, with a world tour and a new album on the way, it’s music that is still the philosopher’s stone for the self-styled ‘Alchemist’.

ANDREW NELSON finds out more.

Picture the scene: it’s 1987 and a documentary – Bombin’ by filmmaker Dick Fontaine is airing for the first time in the UK. It’s a story on the growing movement of hip hop and in particular, graffiti art,

36

“We wrote a bunch of tracks, two of which got signed to Friction’s SGN:LTD label,” Kennett says.

“From there, we drunk some whiskey, conjured up a name and we were away! Coming from Brighton helped too because it’s a very creative place. There is a great music scene here; there is a vibrant selection of inhabitants making it an exciting place to live. Perhaps it’s not quite as thriving as it used to be say five or 10 years ago when the old record stores used to buzz with activity every week but it’s still great.”

Likewise, as far as the drum’n’bass scene in the UK goes, the lads agree that it is as strong as ever. “There are tons of great clubs and shows up and down the country,” Kennett continues. “There’s a real sense of cross-pollination between genres, meaning club lineups and crowds are becoming much more open-minded to bass music of all styles and tempos.

And that helps us because our current sets span a variety of styles of bass music, sometimes varying the SpectraSoul tempo depending on the crowd - it’s great to have that possibility.

“We’re really into the half-time 85bpm stuff at the moment, a-la OM Unit, Fracture, Mutated Forms and so on - so a large part of our sets comprise of those guys’ music along with the more musical side of drum’n’bass as well as the odd classic thrown in for good measure!”

Indeed, admitting it’s a great buzz seeing David Kennett and Jack Stevens people respond to the music they produce – and even when other artists like it enough to play it – the are the Brighton-based, British better duo are grateful for the support they’ve received from drum’n’bass duo SpectraSoul. other artists over the years. “Releases wise, we’ve had on labels that I never thought we would,” he Hailing from a life of promoting and output says. “Metalheadz was a dream of mine since I was a producing before finally taking the kid so to get a 12” out on there was a dream come inevitable step to twiddling knobs true.” as far as studio output goes, on stage, Kennett speaks with RK SpectraSoulAnd, is all about quality over quantity. “If one about their output, life on the streets of us isn’t 100 per cent happy with something, then it of Brighton and their eagerness to won’t come out, simple,” Kennett proudly professes. “I somewhere once that ‘you’re only as good as your get back to Australia which they read back-catalogue’ and that’s the truth - it’s frozen in time.”

As for the lads’ forthcoming gig at Villa, describe as having “some of the best punters can expect to hear tracks from their record vibes on earth”.

Delay No More and perhaps some new material they’ve I’m currently freezing my balls off on the London been working on. “At the gig, we’ll play some of that overground,” Kennett begins. “I’m heading home to [Delay No More/new material] – expect an electronic have a quick bite to eat [and] then I’m off to meet journey of intelligent and experimental bass music Jack at the studio for today’s session.” Explaining ranging from 85-170bpm. See you there!” how they met through mutual friends in Brighton, the boys started swapping beats and the like. After realising they both shared similar musical aspirations, » SPECTRASOUL they decided to jump into the studio - and voila » SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15 @ VILLA things just seemed to work.

SPECTRASOUL BRIGHTON BASS N’FA Finding it hard to break into the mainstream in Australia pales in comparison to what faced him in London as a solo artist.“There’s so many people who were getting their hustle on in London,” he says. “So many people were so full of hot air and ‘Oh I know this guy’ and ‘I’m doing that’ and a lot of people flex over there. People here don’t say they can deliver things if they can’t, but over there a lot of people are almost frauds, but the people we hear about who are doing well are never in those sort of circles and never caught up in any of that. If it’s good things will work, all the hype is just bullshit.”

Recording an album he hopes to release in February next year, things aren’t slowing down anytime soon for Jones, who says he’s “just enjoying making music, you aim for the heavens but don’t expect too much.”

» N’FA » COUNTDOWN TO NYE 2013 » MONDAY, DECEMBER 31 @ SALT ON THE BEACH focusing on some teenagers from the midlands - Wolverhampton’s ‘The B-Boys’ breakin’ crew’.

The film achieved cult status as it highlighted the passing of the hip hop torch from the US to the UK. Fast forward 25 years and one of those then youngsters, Goldie, is contemplating the trajectory his life has been on ever since. “It’s been an amazing journey,” he glows. “And I’m still loving going out there playing music, doing my art and any other project which arises.”

From art, he swiftly moved to music and with the groundbreaking debut album Timeless, released on his own Metalheadz label, he spearheaded the UK drum’n’bass scene, projecting it into the world-wide phenomenon it is today chiefly by working at the limits of the scene, striving for more.“I’ve always wanted to push the boundaries regardless of whatever I’m doing;” he explains. “It’s just the way I am - be it in break-dancing, graffiti or music. I would say the most important thing to do is to always want to break away from the norm and push forward thinking music, not just try and replicate the current top 10 tracks. This scene was built on people taking risks and not being confirmed to formula or rules.”

His career then soared,taking in everything from Hollywood acting and art exhibitions through to reality TV and even conducting. So after all these years does he still have a place for drum’n’bass in his

life? “Of course,” he replies, the passion evident in his voice.“I still get the buzz of playing music to massive festival crowds and small intimate gatherings. I’m as motivated as ever and really looking forward to the next 12 months with my new album coming out and touring around the world. I’ve compiled a greatest hits collection which is coming out in March and I’ve also been working on an artist album as well. Plus, I’ve been working with all the artists on Metalheadz who have albums coming out.”

If last year’s excellent FabricLive compilation that Price curated is anything to go by then drum’n’bass is certainly in a healthy state and with his appearance at Origin NYE alongside some other big hitters, ‘The Alchemist’ is confident he can produce something precious. “The scene is as strong as ever, we’ve got a lot of strong labels and new artists coming through,” he says. “My sets are really diverse at the minute; you can hear Om Unit, Lenzman, Amit, Jubei, Hazard or the latest Noisia track. When I can have that kind of choice in my box it just tells me how strong [it] is.”

» » » »

GOLDIE ORIGIN NYE SUNDAY, DECEMBER 30 & MONDAY, DECEMBER 31 @ FAIRBRIDGE VILLAGE, PINJARRA

Goldie

X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

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37

AMPLIFIER/CAPITOL

WEDNESDAY 12/12 Blvd Tavern – Wub Wub Brass Monkey – DJ Jewel (upstairs) Captain Stirling – Fiveo Clancy’s (Applecross) – Upbeat – DJ Andy Connections – DJs Joby /JJ /Rueben Eurobar – Wild Wednesdays - DJ iPod/ Ben Pettit Flying Scotsman – UniQue DJs/ DJ Bones/ DJ Moflow Gold Bar – DJ Adroc Hipe Club – DJ Roger Smart L e e d e r v i l l e H o t e l – We L o v e Wednesdays ft DJ Slick Llama Bar – Jo 19 Matches Bar – Pussymittens Mustang – <DJ Giles Sovereign Arms – Lockie Shaw The Deen – DJ Zelimer/ DJ Viper/ DJ Benny/ T– Zone 1 The Queens – Wriggle on YaYa’s – DJ Paul Burgess

THURSDAY 13/12 Clancy’s (Canning Bridge) – DJ Wrighteous Claremont Hotel – Institution Thursdays ft DJs Bryn Jones/ James Thorne Claremont Hotel – DJ Fiveo/ Jimmy Thorne Club Marakesh – DJ Simon Cottesloe Hotel – DJ Shots/ DJ Andy M Empire Bar – Halo/ DJ Bojan/ DJ Ben Sebastian

FRAT HOUSE FRIDAYS

Eve Nightclub – DJ Tony Allen Flying Scotsman – Cowboys & Indie Kids DJs Leopold Hotel – DJ Riki/ Roger Smart Library – Dorcia Llama Bar – Danni Boi/ Charlie Bucket Mint Nightclub – DJ Simon Barwood Mt Henry Tavern – DJ Matty J Mullaloo Beach Hotel – DJ John Paul/ DJ Slick Mustang – DJ James Paramount – DJ Johnny Boi/ DJ Jordan Players Bar – MASH South St – DJ Castasia/ Dpad Swinging Pig – DJ Simon The Avenue – Jon Ee The Carine Tavern – Punchy & Juicy/ Little Nicky The Causeway – Jaymie Franchina The Craftsman – Roger Smart The Deen – DJ Flex/ DJ Nano/ DJ Surge/ DJ Don Migi The East End Bar – The Prestige ft Az-T The Queens – Kapitol The Shed – The Mystery Men The Whale & Ale – Josh Tilley The Whistling Kite – DJ Gareth Tiger Lils – Paul Malone/ Adam Kelly Woodvale Tavern – DJ Melvin

FRIDAY 14/12 Ambar – Ambar Christmas Party ft VENGEANCE/ Blend & Tee EL/ Oli & Marty McFly/ Black & Blunt/ Ben Mac & DNGRFLD

The Only

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Amplifier –DJ Jamie Mac Bar 459 – DJ Smurf Bar Orient – The Reggae Club Blvd Tavern – DJ Andy Boheme Bar – DJ Majiika Boulevard Tavern – DJ Andyy Brass Monkey – DJ Victor (downstairs)/ DJ James Ess (upstairs) Broken Hill Hotel – DJ Nick Alexander Brooklands Tavern – DJ Misschief Mel Capitol – Retro Mash Capitol (Upstairs) – I Love ‘90s Carine Tavern – Greg Packer/ MC Assassin Clancy’s (Canning Bridge) – DJ Boogie Claremont Hotel – DJ Tea King Club Bayview – Amnesia ft Fendi/ Axon/ Fellis Como Hotel – DJ Gazz Eastern Hotel – DJ Munch Empire Bar – Fiveo Eve Nightclub – DJ Don Migi Flawless – DJ Ryan Flying Scotsman – DJs Jo19/ Rok Riley/ Armee Flying Scotsman (Defectors) – Back To Mono DJs Ginger Nightclub – Rondevoo Fridayz Gosnells Club – DJ Now Hipe Club – DJ E-Funk Honey Lounge – DJ Curlee/ Drew Green Lakers Tavern – Fresh Fridays – DJ Dooey Left Bank – DJ Frankie Button Library – DJ Sneaky Little Creatures Loft – Marine Beats Llama Bar – Jim Pearson/ Jehan/ Ben Edit/ DJ Cee Matches Bar – Fredrick Anderson Merriwa Tavern – DJ Real McCoy Metro City (Solace Bar) – DJ Slick Mint Nightclub – Club Retro ft Chris McPhee Mojos – Rapaport Mullaloo Beach Hotel – DJ John Paul Mustang – Swing DJ/ DJ James MacArthur Norma Jean’s – DJ Waz Paddy Hannans – Crazy Craig Paramount – DJ Johnny Boi/ DJ Jordan Players Bar – Miss Football Queens Tav – DJ Rueben Rocket Room – Extreme Aggression ft DJ Cain Sail & Anchor – Balcony Beatz/ DJ J-MAC Sovereign Arms – Lokie Shaw The Avenue – Little Nicky The Carine – Az-T The Causeway – Jus Haus?

The East End Bar – Az-T The Generous Squire – DJ Anaru The Shed – Krank/ DJ Glenn 20

METRO FREO

THE SAINT

The Queens – DJ Rueben The Shed – DJ Glenn 20 The Whale & Ale – Shane Hewson Tiger Lils – Paul Malone/ Adam Kelly The Vic – DJ Giles The Wembley Hotel – Abstar Windsor – DJ Riki and Ray Victoria Park Hotel – DJ Giles Villa – Ministry Of Sound The Annual 2013 ft Tom Piper/ The Only and more Ya-Ya’s – Hero DJs ft Pup

SATURDAY 15/12 Ambar – Japan4 ft Buda/ Blend/ Micah/ Bezwun/ Marty McFly Amplifier – Pure Pop ft Eddie Electric Basement On Broadway – DJ Ricky Boheme Bar – Carte Blanche DJs Brass Monkey – DJ Peta (downstairs)/ DJ Jewel (upstairs) Broken Hill Tavern – DJ Roger Smart/ Matt Richards/ Ben Dallin Capitol (Upstairs) – Cream Of The ‘80s ft DJ Ryan Capitol – Death Disco Clancy’s (Canning Bridge) – DJ Dood Claremont Hotel – Fiveo/ J.V.R Club Bay View – Fiveo Eastern Hotel – DJ Munch Empire Bar – DJ James Ess Eurobar – Roger Smart/ DJ Raci Eve Nightclub – DJ Crazy Craig Flying Scotsman – Under The Influence DJs Flying Scotsman (Defectors) – Fore DJs High Road Hotel – DJ Simon High Wycombe – DJ Matt Hipe Club – DJ E-Funk Honey Lounge – DJ Saxon/ Sardi Library – MKT ft DJ Riki/ DJ Vicktor and more Little Creatures Loft – Marine Beats Liquid Nightclub – DJ Klar55/ DJ Stevie M Llama Bar – DJ Reuben/ DJ Melvin Malt Super Club – Fiveo Matches Bar – Jstokes/ Valerio Metro City (Climax) – DJ Francesco/ DJ Don Migi/ DJ Slick Metro City (R&B Lounge) – DJ Soso/ DJ Ruthless/ DJ Brett Costello Metro Freo – Roger Smart/ DJ Wazz/ Ben Carter Mint Nightclub – Pop Life ft DJ Aaron/ AJ Mullaloo Beach Hotel – DJ Danny Mustang – Rockabilly DJ/ DJ James MacArthur Niche – Frankie Button/ Cee/ Jonny Zimber Norma Jeans – DJ Phat Daz Oxford Hotel – DJ Sequeria

Tom Piper Paramount – DJ Cornflake / DJ Jordan/ DJ Johnny Boi Queens Tav – Gareth Richardson Rocket Room – DJ Perry Shape – Flosstradamus South St Ale House – DJ Jay Sovereign Arms – Rockwell The Avenue – Jon Ee The Boheme – DJ Sneakee The Brighton (Upstairs) – Micah/ Kill Dyl/ eSQue The Causeway – Rhys Johnson The Clink – Az-T The Cornerstone – Millie Bro The Craftsman – Ang31 The Deen – DJ Birdie/ DJ JJ/ DJ Tony Allen The East End Bar – Fiveo The Generous Squire – On Tap ft DJ James Nutley The Saint – DJ Anaru The Shed – DJ Andyy/ Huge The Wembley – Lokie Shaw The Whistling Kite – Gavyn Mytchel The Vic – DJ Kristian Tiger Lils – DJ Bojan/ DJ Ben Sebastian Toucan – DJ Hages Victoria Park Hotel – DJ Melvin Windsor – DJ Ray Woodvale Tavern – DJ Real McCoy Villa – Inhibit ft Spectrasoul & Audio

SUNDAY 16/12 Captain Stirling – DJ Jay Claremont Hotel – DJ Double Dee Clink – DJ Tony Allen Empire Bar – CB3/ DJ Riki/ DJ Vicktor Euro Bar – DJ Flex

Eve Nightclub – DJ Slick Flying Scotsman – Nathan J/ Nizbet/ Pasha/ Chris Flying Scotsman (Defectors) – Eclectic Picnic Mint – Chris McPhee Mustang – DJ Rockin Rhys Paramount – Glo/ DJ Slick/ DJ Benny C/ DJ Matty S Players Bar – Lucky Charm Rocket Room – Coyote Ugly Sovereign Arms – Dylan Hammond The Avenue – Az-T The Causeway – Lukas Wimmler The Cott – Cott Sessions The Kiosk – DJ Cinder The Saint – DJ Anaru The Shed – James Wilson and more

MONDAY 17/12 Bar Orient – DJ White Label Broken Hill Tavern – DJ Mario Tavelli The Deen – Kid Kenobi The Paddo – DJ John Paul The Shed – DJ Andyy

TUESDAY 18/12 Bar Orient – DJ Lyndon Eastern Hotel – Jon Edwards High Road Hotel – DJ Matty J High Wycombe – DJ Ricky Hipe Club – DJ Roger Smart Players Bar (Norma Jeans Bar) – Stevie M Victoria Park Hotel – DJ Melvin

X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

THE SHED

THE NEWPORT

THE COURT

IN THE THIS WEEK:

Syrup Midnight Mass ft Kit Pop/ Armin Van Goff/ Dr Space/ Raaghe/ Rekab/ Zeke/ Clunk/ Rapaport Saxon/ Boy P/ Ben T/ Bolsty and Friday, December 14 @ Mojos more Saturday, December 22 @ 23 Irwin Ministry Of Sound The Annual St, Perth 2013 ft Tom Piper/ The Only and more Dorcia Christmas Party Friday, December 14 @ Villa Monday, December 24 @ Villa

Ambar Christmas Par ty f t VENGEANCE/ Blend & Tee EL/ Oli & Marty McFly/ Black & Blunt/ Ben Mac & DNGRFLD Friday, December 14 @ Ambar Spectrasoul & Audio Saturday, December 15 @ Villa

COMING UP Dusky Thursday, December 20 @ Ambar Mr Grevis Wednesday, December 21 @ Mojos Stafford Brothers & Hook N Sling Friday, December 21 @ Villa

Breakfest ft Krafty Kuts/ A.Skillz/ DJ Yoda/ Lady Waks/ The Nextmen/ Jaguar Skills/ Specimen A/ Pyramid/ Marten Hørger/ High Contrast/ Spy/ Camo & Krooked/ MC Wrec/ N’Fa Jones/ Charlie Bucket/ Black & Blunt/ Breakaholics Anonymous/ D-Funk/ N’FA Jones/ Charlie Bucket/ Black & Blunt/ Breakaholics Anonymous ft Ben Mac/ Tone/ Wish/ D-Funk and more Wednesday, December 26 @ Belvoir Amphitheatre Breakfest After Party ft Special Guests Wednesday, December 26 @ Ambar

Move 5th Birthday ft Theo Parrish Friday, December 28 @ Ambar The Mayan ft Benny P vs Genga/ Lionel Hrtz & A10bra/ Get More/ Luke Slater Flex/ Marko Paulo/ The Mayan/ Saturday, December 29 @ The Bakery Black & Blunt Friday, December 21 @ The Court Origin NYE ft Chase & Status (DJ Set)/ Knife Party/ Gaslamp Killer/ Terravita ShockOne/ Pearson Sound/ DMZ Friday, December 21 @ Shape (Coki & Mala)/ Goldie/ Brookes Brothers/ Ed Rush/ Wilkinson/ Paul Malone Dillinja/ Marky & Stamina/ Friday, December 21 @ Ambar Sigma/ Delta Heavy/ Metrik/ DC Breaks/ Skism/ Gemini/ Inspector DJ Hell Dubplate/ Jakes/ Mensah/ Dodge Friday, December 21 @ Geisha & Fuski/ Bar9/ Distance/ Dark Sky/ Ben Ufo/ New York Transit DJ Ruby Rose Authority/ Pariah/ XXXY/ Om Saturday, December 22 @ Eve Unit/ Friction/ Bare Noize/ Flying Nightclub Lotus/ Benga/ Youngman/ Doctor Werewolf/ Hermitude/ Example & Kendrick Lamar DJ Wire/ The Substance/ Deacon Saturday, December 22 @ The Astor Rose/ Phetsta and more Sunday, December 30 & Monday, The Metric Christmas Party ft December 31 @ Fairbridge Village, EGO and more Pinjara Saturday, December 22 @ Villa Chi Poption NYE 2012/13 ft Shy Panther/ Rachael Dease vs Ylem/ Diger Rokwell vs Mathas/ Kucka/ Leure/ Mei Saraswati/ Dani Marsland/ Jo Lettenmaier/ Aarom Wilson vs Craig Hollywood/ Ben Taaffe vs Rok Riley/ Clunk/ PCJ vs Ridik/ Miranda Menzies Monday, December 31 @ The Bakery

Spectrasoul

SPECTRASOUL & AUDIO SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15 @ VILLA

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Sets On The Beach f t C h a l i 2na/ Felix & Al (Hot Chip)/ Bag Raiders/ All Good Funk Alliance & Thinktank Sunday, January 13 @ Scarborough Boogie Down NYE ft Boogie Beach Amphitheatre Down/ Charlie Bucket/ Rok Riley Action Bronson vs MZJO/ Jade Nobbs Monday, December 31 @ Little Thursday, January 17 @ The Bakery Creatures Loft ESG NYE ft Rufus/ Voltaire Twins/ Sunday, January 20 @ The Bakery Death Disco DJS/ Tapeheads Heavyweight Soundz ft Andy C and more Monday, December 31 @ Capitol & MC GQ Friday, January 25 @ Metro City School Disco NYE Old Skool Boat Parties ft Miggy Monday, December 31 @ Villa and more Countdown To NYE ft The Cuban Friday, January 25 @ Barrack St Jetty Brothers/ N’FA/ Charlie Bucket/ Mr Thing/ The Funk Club House Riva Starr Saturday, January 26 @ Salt On Band and more TBC Monday, December 31 @ Salt On The Beach The Beach Dirtybird Records Tour ft Claude Cuban Club ft Cuban Brothers/ VonStroke/ Justin Martin/ J Phlip Yacht Club DJs/ Russ Dewbury/ Sunday, January 27 @ Ambar Death Disco DJs and more Tuesday, January 1 @ The Flying Big Day Out f t Th e B l o o d y Beetroots/ Cr ystal Castles/ Squadron Yacht Club, Dalkeith Kaskade/ Pretty Lights/ Club Paradiso ft Friendly Fires Nicky Romero/ Morgan Page/ (DJ set)/ Kaz James/ Helena/ Sampology and more Mr Wilson/ Zelimir/ The Halo Monday, January 28 @ Claremont Effect/ Habitat DJs/ Maiko DJs/ Showground Acebasik/ Kno Agents Tuesday, January 1 @ Salt On The Presets Thursday, January 31 @ Metro Freo The Beach Insert To Play ft 360/ Urthboy/ Drapht/ Hermitude and more Monday, December 31 @ Supreme Court Gardens

Wonderland ft PNAU (live)/ Bag Raiders (DJ set)/ Flume (live)/ Grafton Primary (live)/ Tim & Jean (live)/ Alison Wonderland/ Elizabeth Rose/ What So Not/ Indian Summers DJs and more Tuesday, January 1 @ Belvoir Amphitheatre

Above & Beyond Friday, February 1 @ Metro City Flosstradamus Saturday, February 16 @ Shape Future Music Festival ft The Prodigy/ The Stone Roses/ PSY/ Dizzee Rascal/ Bloc Party/ Azealia Banks/ Rita Ora/ Boys Noize (live)/ Hardwell/ The Temper Trap/ Fun./ Madeon/ Rudimental/ Ellie Goulding/ Steve Aoki/ Alesso/ Gypsy & The Cat/ A-Trak (live)/ Feed Me (live)/ Zeds Dead/ Kill The Noise/ DJ Fresh (live)/ Nervo/ Zane Lowe/ Borgore/ Sven Vath/ Richie Hawtin/ Ricardo Villalobos/ Seth Troxler/ Magda/ Cosmic Gate ft Emma Hewitt/ W&W/ tyDi/ Andy Moor/ Super8 & Tab/ Ben Gold/ The Stafford B ro t h e r s / Ti m my Tru m p e t / Tenzin/ Bombs Away Sunday, March 3 @ Arena Joondalup

Summadayze f t C h e m i c a l Brothers (DJ Set)/ M.I.A/ Fedde Le Grand/ Mark Ronson (DJ Set)/ Andrew Wyatt/ Kimbra/ Booka Shade (live)/ Eddie Halliwell/ AN21 & Max Vangeli/ Carl Craig 69 (live)/ Maya Jane Coles/ Disclosure Live/ Adrian Lux/ Erol Alkan/ Breakbot (live)/ Fake Blood/ Hudson Mohawke/ Araabmusik/ Icona Pop/ Scuba/ Aeroplane/ Jesse Rose/ Danny Daze/ AC Slater/ Stafford Brothers & Timmy Trumpet/ Bombs Away/ Sam & The Womp/ TJR/ Junior Jack & Kid Crème/ Omnia/ John 00 Fleming/ Arnej and more Smokey’s Tour ft Urthboy Sunday, January 6 @ Patersons Friday, March 8 @ Mojos Samantha Jade Monday, December 31 @ Eve Stadium Smokey’s Tour ft Urthboy Nightclub Kerser Saturday, March 9 @ Amplifier Friday, January 11 @ Villa Ambar NYE ft Marty McFly/ Tee El/ Sets On The Beach ft line-up TBC bezwun/ Dead Easy/ Philly Blunt/ Shimon Sunday, March 17 @ Scarborough Mr eD Marko Paulo Friday, January 11 @ Geisha Beach Amphitheatre Monday, December 31 @ Ambar

HABITAT GARDEN PARTY Feat. Nick Warren, Sebastian Leger and Chuck Love The Court Hotel Sunday, December 9, 2012 The heat finally kicked in over the weekend, and what better way to celebrate the coming summer than with a garden party. After an exciting debut last year, Habitat’s Garden Parties have provided a welcome alternative Sunday Session for the discerning dancer.

Some of the world’s best house DJs, in the lush confines of The Court’s outdoor courtyard.

The first of the season, this party was extra special, marking the eight year anniversary of Habitat.

After the man behind the label, Flex, appropriately kicked off festivities, we were treated to a unique set from a name not that well known on our shores, but one that is sure to be on more people’s lips, Chuck Love.

As the sun shined in, a fresh breeze blew through the courtyard, bringing with it the first taste of summer. The multi-talented Mr Love delivered a delightful mix of afternoon beats that was perfect to get the party started. Deep, soulful US house, heavy on the groove with a dash of funk and the odd tasteful vocal.

Not content just to sit there DJing, Love’s set also featured live instrumentation and vocals with a jazzy edge. Pulling out a French horn, melodica or flute like it aint no thing and playing a little riff over the top of the beats is all par for the course for Chuck.

On occasion he would even get on the mic and sing over a tune, displaying a very smooth and soulful voice.

The crowd had swelled by this point to fill the outdoor space. Love had set the foundations, but now it was time for the main event – Nick Warren came on around 5pm and immediately lifted the bar, starting on a funky tip to ease his way in from Chuck’s set, before setting about creating a deep, brooding house vibe, with an irresistible dancing pull that induced a few bold punters to step up onto the platform at the front – soon after, it was packed.

As dark clouds gathered overhead, the temperature rose under the tent, the night air was alive with colour, and thick with sweat and smoke, enhanced by the dense, heady sounds wafting through the air, like Nick’s own reworking of Naive by Tom Glass.

Sebastian Leger (Photo: Matt Jelonek) There’s an intangible element that such veterans have from learning their craft the old fashioned way. One of the true masters of the art of DJing, it’s truly a pleasure to witness Warren in the mix. Taking his time, building it slow, mixing seamlessly, layering sounds. Low slung rhythms throbbed beneath peaky synths that wove their way through the mix.

There’s really a great vibe at The Court with many a smile and much camaraderie, and the three hour set flew by as the crowd immersed themselves in the music. Another late highlight was the Ame remix of Frank Wiedemann & Ry Cuming’s gorgeous track Howling.

Way too soon it was time for Warren to depart, handing over to French young gun Sebastian Leger, who had a hard act to follow, but responded by picking up the tempo and dropping a dance friendly mix of tech house. It was a much more upfront set, featuring a drawn out remix of MJ’s Thriller, but a fun way to finish off a great night.

Happy Birthday Habitat. Bring on the summer of love.

» ALFRED GORMAN

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NICKI MINAJ Perth Arena Saturday, December 8, 2012 Nicki Minaj is easily the most idiosyncratic of the current cohort of high-gloss American pop/hip hop singers – she’s the only one bold enough to write songs that give free reign to her ugly, brattish side, but she also has the nous to pen chart-topping sugary sentimental gems. Yet, as her first ever WA show served to prove, the tightly choreographed hits sound terrific, but it’s when this curious star sabotages the slickness that she seems most herself.

Minaj’s most recent album, Pink Friday Roman Reloaded might have performed a little disappointingly compared to its predecessor, Pink Friday, but tonight’s near-sold out show more than proved the hip hop sensation hasn’t any problem drawing a crowd. There were female couples, groups of blinged-up hip hop dudes, tweens with parents - and many were wearing long blonde wigs like the one she sports on the cover of her most recent album, Pink Friday Roman Reloaded, which is the kind of love that money can’t buy.

Two hours in Minaj’s company burned past in no time. It was a riot of raunch, with ludicrous outfits, vaguely political statements, a confetti cannon and bursts of fire so hot that those in the standing area were forced to shield their faces.

There were almost as many costume changes as there were songs, each requiring her to make a new entrance - whether it be in a pink blow-up Bentley, pink rocket ship or pink sparkly bathtub.

Yet while the visual effects were plenty, the show’s subtle triumph was in the pacing, which began with a fantastic opening section featuring her fiercely tearing through her hip-hop material, from Come On A Cone to Beez In The Trap and Did It On ‘Em. The second segment of the show was given over to Minaj’s poppier fair, with Moment 4 Life, The Boys, Va Va Voom and Super Bass drawing the expected sing-a-longs from the adoring crowd.While Minaj’s vocal performance was less impressive during

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Nicki Minaj (Photo: Guang-Hui Chuan) these tunes, she made up for it by commanding every inch of the double-storey stage, punching the air, snapping her peroxide blonde wig back and forth, and grinding on anything and everything (her jewelincrusted microphone, a stripper pole, a troupe of dancers) in her line of sight.

The crowd wilted slightly when Minaj left the stage to be manoeuvred into yet another new costume and a DJ was left alone to hype up the crowd for an awkwardly long time. After such a wait, it initially felt anti-climactic when Minaj launched into a trio of tunes which sat at the ballad end of her broad genre spectrum. However, Minaj sounded terrific and, with the aid of two extraordinarily talented backing vocalists, she turned the emotionally saturated Save Me, Marilyn Monroe and Fire Burns into highlights of the evening.

While renditions of recent singles Starships and Pound The Alarm - along with a brilliant performance of her ferocious verse from Kanye West’s Monster - ensured the set finished on a high, the show was far from over for an unsuspecting Minaj when her entourage came on stage to present her with a giant birthday cake (crafted to look like her Harajuku Barbie alter ego) and a video of well wishes from celebrities, including Kanye West, Britney Spears and Lil Wayne.

It was a fantastically over-the-top ending to a fantastically over-the-top show. _JENNIFER PETERSON-WARD

X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

MISSY HIGGINS Kate Miller-Heidke / Alexander Gow Fremantle Arts Centre Saturday, December Missy Higgins was at Cottesloe beach on Saturday for the protest against the proposed gas hub in Broome so it was no surprise to be greeted by a ‘Save The Kimberley’ banner and petitions at her concert on Saturday evening. Highlights of the night included the gorgeous setting and polished performances; lowlights were the people at the back who talked the entire way through.

Alexander Gow started his one-man show while people were still queuing outside or buying kebabs and wine. The Oh Mercy frontman delivered a subdued set; Missy Higgins was spotted watching from behind an Arts Centre window while Gow performed a sound cover of Burt Bacharach’s Walk On By, which he introduced as “the first song I ever remember hearing… or perhaps just the first one I liked”.

Past reviewers of Kate Miller-Heidke have commented on her eccentric performances and I was fully expecting this to be the case. Actually, I didn’t see any of that, only a bubbly and really funny musician. Miller-Heidke played against the sunset, dipping into her older songs like Last Day On Earth, as well as her newer material from Nightflight. In between she told us some amusing anecdotes; one was about a schoolboy who criticised her rhyming skills in Caught In The Crowd. She also played Sarah, opting for a softer register and never reaching the chilling operatic vocals featured on the recorded version. Such is Miller-Heidke’s vocal control that she can stretch her voice to the most angelic highs, and then effortlessly squeeze it back into delicate pop songs. Coincidentally, Sarah references a Ben Folds Five concert, ironic because Miller-Heidke has just finished touring with them in the US. “It’s a little bit creepy and a little bit awesome to be playing in an old mental asylum,” Missy Higgins announced during her hour and a half set. She kicked it off with Hidden Ones, followed

by Hello Hello. Both songs benefited from the big sounds of the six-piece band, half of which are

Missy Higgins (Photo: Emma Mackenzie) from Nashville. Higgins then began Set Me On Fire, admitting the song encapsulates the twoyear period where she tried to compile her latest release, The Ol’ Razzle Dazzle, while suffering writer’s block. Each song thereon was delivered with gusto and then explained in context. Going North was dedicated to Broome: “It was the only place that I felt like myself in a really long time”; Peachy was about her “arsehole exes” and World Gone Mad was for the people in the Queensland floods. Around this time the conversation turned apocalyptic.

Higgins sung with a passion that reflected her emotional investment in her lyrics. To feel passion means, essentially, to suffer, and when you see Higgins perform you get the feeling she suffers for her music. But don’t get the impression this was a woeful set. There were touching moments –a soft rendition of Gotye’s Hearts A Mess and Special Two – but she also got the crowd involved, like making desert animal noises during Watering Hole. Bassist Butterfly Boucher also performed her own quiet solo of Warning Bell midway. Naturally, Higgins played her biggest songs of the year, Everyone’s Waiting and Unashamed Desire, but she saved her most well known until last: Scar and Steer finished the night. _CORAL HUCKSTEP

The Blackeyed Susans (Photo: Matt Jelonek)

THE BLACKEYED SUSANS Jill Birt & Alsy MacDonald / The Morning Night / She And Them Mojos Saturday, December 8, 2012 Maybe it’s a funny thing to say, but at times The Blackeyed Susans’ gig felt less like a rock show and more like a family reunion. Perhaps that’s a common feeling when witnessing one of their famous Christmas Shows, but this is the first time they’ve brought their yuletide tour to Western Australia, so we’ll have to go by first impressions.

It makes sense, though; The Blackeyed Susans is not so much a band as a boarding house for itinerant Australian rock royalty, and when they throw open the doors to friends and family, the resultant sense of camaraderie and playfulness is palpable. This was a fun, warm, and welcoming show - particularly for Triffids fans.

Teen three piece She And Them opened the proceedings with a short set of covers, immediately scoring points with a sweet, lilting version of The Stems’ At First Sight, before sealing their appeal with a one-two punch of Blackeyed Susans and Triffids songs. They were disarmingly awkward and shy, but impressive musicianship and the singer’s impressive voice carried them home. www.xpressmag.com.au

The Morning Night were an obvious support choice, seeing as their sound owes so much to older outfits like The Church and - there’s that name again - The Triffids. They’re a tight and polished outfit, their music redolent of the early ‘80s paisley-rock scene that pretty much every musician present was a veteran of. A lot of material from their recent debut album, Otis, got an airing, with founding member Adrian Hoffman and keyboardist Chloe McGrath trading vocal duties back and forth. It was an impressive set, with the relatively young band proving that they were fit to be in the esteemed company of their stage mates of the night.

Next up were husband and wife team - and yes, Triffids alumni - Jill Birt and Alsy MacDonald.

Their set was maybe three chords and a quick chorus of Wide Open Road short of being a full-blown Triffids reunion, and at one point, four former members were onstage, including Bad Seed Martyn P. Casey. That’s impressive in anyone’s books, and when they finished with a brilliant rendition of Looking For Grace, the crowd would have been happy to hear more.

Of course, that would have eaten into The Blackeyed Susans’ set, which clocked in at about the ninety minute mark. Frontman Rob Snarski and company have been doing this for almost a quarter of a century now, and they could be forgiven for feeling the weight of years, but they certainly showed no evidence of it that night, tearing into classics like Glory Glory with gusto.

Of course, this was a Christmas show, so the odd carol or two got an airing. Silent Night went down a treat, but the evening’s highlight was definitely their version of The Pogues’ Fairytale Of New York, which came with the added appeal of Felicity Groom on vocals. It’s such a cliché to say that Christmas came early, but then again, there’s also no more apt way to describe the atmosphere and warmth of the night. _TRAVIS JOHNSON 41

YAYA’S

Tonight, Wednesday, December 12, is Ha Ha’s @ Ya Ya’s. The monthly comedy night will be headlined by Shayne Hunter and MC Mike G (USA). Thursday is the launch of Upside/Down, a dual venue (Geisha, Ya Ya’s) event running every Thursday featuring DCUP. Friday night join Adam Livingston (Emperors) and Coveleski as they wrap up their EP Launch Tour.

MOJOS BAR

The ever-charming Darren Hanlon is heading back out on the road to bring you a little bit of holiday cheer with his legendary Christmas show.

After a year that included running a venue in Melbourne, living in a bread truck in Portland, and of course, touring, Hanlon is heading around the country to perform stripped back versions of fan favourites, as well as showcase songs from his upcoming record. There’ll also be some special guests and a few surprises along the way, so be sure to get on down to Mojos on Wednesday, December 19. Support comes from James Teague. Presale tickets are $25 available thru flippinyeahindustries.bigcartel.com walk up tix are $30 from 8pm. For your chance to win a double pass to this show, email mojos@coolperthnights. com with ‘Ho Ho Hanlon’ in the subject line.

INDI BAR

This Friday, December 14, the Indi Bar mixes it up with Ibiza DJ Pete Gooding with support from Sam Perr y. Sunday, December 16, Morgan Bain returns to home turf, supported

by Claybird. Stay tunes because summer Sunday sessions are on their way!

MUSTANG BAR

The Vans have gone from strength to strength performing hundreds of shows in their home state of Western Australia while touring nationally and internationally. With original music that has been compared to Coldplay, The Beatles, Crowded House and Oasis, they capture their audiences with heartfelt ballads and rock songs that guarantee to have everyone talking about them. Check them out this Thursday, December 13, with support from lovely local lass Danni Stefanetti and DJ James MacArthur.

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THE PRINCIPLE

The Principal Bar & Restaurant has you covered for live entertainment this weekend, with Switchback on Friday, December 14, and Karin Page performing Sunday, December 16, in the beer garden from 4.30pm. Now with three ciders on tap, it’s the perfect summer Sunday at The Principal Midland.

THE MOON

Tonight, Wednesday, December 12, Going Solo at the Moon late night cafe present Chris Ravat, Amber Fresh and Grace Woodroofe. This week the artists will go on at 8.30pm. Entry to the restaurant is always free!

THE ROSEMOUNT

The Rosemount’s annual A Not So Silent Night is always one of the most fun events on the local music calendar, and with this year’s incarnation focusing on all things garage and swamp, plus with a cheaper ticket price than previous years (to make it easier on the festival wallets) the atmosphere is sure to be electric. Headlining will be none other than local punk-rock icon Kim Salmon, with support from local heroes The Novocaines, Sydney gothicsoul outfit The Preatures, ex-pat dark country exponents Jack On Fire, and Melbourne rockers Apes (in WA for the first time), along with Loose Lips and awesome newcomers Sully. The beer garden will again be hosting music, but this time it’ll free entry, so anyone can come down and enjoy the sounds of Alex Arpino (The Autumn Isles), Dan Durack (ex-Three Orange Whips), Clancy Jones (Those Wretched Horses), Scott Tomlinson (Kill Teen Angst), Jane Azzopardi and Ben Macri (The Words). Doors open 5pm and tickets are available from rosemounthotel.com.au. To win a double pass to this show email win@rosemounthotel.com.au with ‘Win’ in the subject line.

RAILWAY HOTEL

This Friday, December 14, at the Railway Hotel things get heavy with Prisoners Of Faith, Spear Brittany ( VIC), This Other Eden and Tempest Rising. Doors 8pm, $10 entry. Saturday, December 15, Adelaide rockers Manhattan Jinx roll into town and play a show with special guests Coveleski, Scalphunter and Chilling Winston.

Doors 8pm, $10 entry. Sunday, December 15, in the beer garden catch The Aunts, Old Blood, BurnHabit and Darren Guthrie. Entry is $6 from 4pm.

X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

ELEVENTH HE REACHES LONDON The Good Fighters

studio, or heard the first cut of the songs after they were recorded. It’s fair to say that even the rest of us in the band were surprised by some of Ian’s lyrics…The music has gotten slower and darker, for some reason.

Perhaps, its because we’ve all gotten really, really old and are disgusted Eleventh He Reaches London have been off the with our boring grown-up activities filling our lives. Who knows?”

When asked where the group garner inspiration for their radar for a fair while now, but the local post- music, Pollard explains it isn’t all just about rebelling against ‘grown-up hardcore aficionados are catapulting themselves activities.’ “Everywhere – music, film, gambling, life’s failures. I think the inspiration is usually drawn individually – we won’t usually back onto the scene with some live shows and a musical verbally connect our music to another band until we think it sounds like brand spankin’ new record. CHLOE PAPAS chats someone, at which point we scrap the idea and start again. There is a sense of discomfort and mystery in the new songs though – not to bassist Luke Pollard ahead of their show at The definite dissimilar to a David Lynch or Lars Von Trier film. That’s not necessarily a conscious decision, though.”

Bakery on Saturday, December 15.

According to Pollard, 2013 is going to be a big year for the Eleventh He Reaches London haven’t played a live show in over a year, five-piece, with the release of their new record at the top of the list, putting touring on hold while they took care of other life commitments, closely followed by more Perth shows and perhaps a tour over to the east coast. Or, alternatively: “If it all fails, we’ll ditch the band and just as well as writing and recording their third full-length.

Bassist Luke Pollard tells X-Press what to expect at their live have movie club twice a week, sitting on crates at the rehearsal studios.” show this weekend: “You can expect a combination of excitement, Pollard finishes up with a few parting words. “Eleventh are back, alright. nervous energy and fresh haircuts! What you can’t expect is a mysterious Eleventh are back, oh yeah.” set list. We’re playing the [The Good Fight For Harmony] album in its entirety, start to finish. Some of these songs haven’t been played in over five years, so it’s going to be pretty fun.”

Eleventh’s last record, Hollow Be Thy Name, was released in early 2009, and the band have released very little new material since then. Pollard explains that though this record has been a while coming, it’s going to be worth it.“It’s going great – we’re in the mixing stage now, so it’s nearly done. It’s been a long process but we’re really excited with the results. We recorded it down at Studio Sleepwalker’s Dread with my brother, Ron, at the controls – so it’s been a lot of fun too. We’ve also just received the first drafts of the artwork – we commissioned some artists in the US to do some photography for us. It’s sent us broke but it looks amazing, and reflects the feeling of the music superbly.”

Eleventh He Reaches London are renowned on the scene for their dark, broody lyrical themes and progressions – and this new record looks to be no different. “I don’t want to give anything away, but you can expect things to be even darker and more destructive. We didn’t Eleventh He Reaches London know what the final lyrics were going to be until we saw them in the

THE LOVE JUNKIES The Love Junkies Next Friday, December 14, grunge/blues trio The Love Junkies will for how you wanted the single to sound? launch their new single Oxymoron at the Norfolk Basement, with Yeah, I had a vision for it. I wanted the verses to pop and help from musical friends Apes, Foam and Puck. feel super sarcastic and pissy. Then, I wanted the choruses to explode.

I think we achieved that on the recording.

Bearing the terribly clichéd nature of this question, how would you describe your band’s sound?

Where did the title for the single come from?

Up and down. Left to right. Happy sad. Angry! Sad again. I I suppose the themes in the song and the polar opposites don’t know haha… in it’s composition inspired the name. The chorus talks about loving something so much that you hate it. The song feels like an oxymoron.

What do you love about making music?

I love the whole process. That first little idea, whether it be Were there any influences – musical or otherwise – which shaped a riff, some chords or a lyric excites the shit out of me. My imagination the single? runs wild and I love that feeling of having a thousand ideas. Then sharing Fuzz and stupid decisions. these ideas with your band and figuring out the best possible way to serve the song. Then of course performing it, it feels like being apart of Why should punters come down to your single launch? some sort of public exorcism. All that stuff you bottle up over the week It’s gonna be a big one! is released onto the stage. I find after a performance I feel a lot lighter.

When can we expect a full length release from you guys?

Tell us a little about Oxymoron. Did you have a particular vision Early 2013.

A VERY METAL XMAS

Are you tired of lame Christmas songs? Forget Michael Buble, get on down to The Swan Basement this Friday, December 14, for A Very Filthy Xmas with some of Perth’s most festive metal bands. Catch local groove/thrash metallers All This Filth in their last show for the year as they are joined by Chainsaw Abortion, Kimura and Left To Die for a night of metal madness! In the spirit of the season there will be free giveaways all night! Get ready to bang your heads and metal all the way!

THE DEVIL’S WORK

To launch their new single Nosferatu, The Bureaucrats have teamed with some of the local scene’s most exciting young video producers to present a mash-up night of music and video at the North Fremantle Bowls Club on Friday, 14 December. The night will feature a cultural swill of musical performances from lyrical hip hop artist MC Atticus, the crisp and clear folk of Elk Bell, the indie grunt of Junior Jaws and (of course) the swampy soup-rock of The Bureaucrats, interspersed with a selection of varied films, including a short horror feature.

Entry is $5 from 7.30pm. www.xpressmag.com.au

TALKIN’ BOUT TIM

Before they bunker down to record the follow-up to their award-winning debut album, I Know This Now, Perth’s Timothy Nelson And The Infidels will hit the road for a national tour in December, eager to break in a new line-up, some new material, and a new single, simply titled Talk. Visiting five cities in two weeks, the Talk tour is the first large-scale tour for the new line-up, and their first opportunity to showcase the depth of their new material. Don’t miss their Amplifier show on Saturday, December 15.

IN THE BROWN

Well? If the world’s is REALLY going to end then you’d probably want to squeeze this one into your (Mayan) calendar – along with every other event that’s using the whole “end of the world” marketing tactic, for lack of a more obvious way to connect with a potential punter. No – really, you’d simply hate to be roasting in the demonic fires of hell on earth, wondering why you never got out to see The Brown Study Band one last time – oh dear - that WOULD be painful, and sad. Taking a break from recording their debut album, that silly but ludicrously epic rock band will take to the stage for the last time this year, so they can blast you where it tickles, and rock your brains out with their tongues firmly wedged in their cheeks. With support from Red Sky, Bad Shannon and Heytesburg. The nonsense kicks off at 8pm on Thursday, December 13, at The Rosemount. Dress sexy.

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Husky, December 12, Mojos Bar & December 13, The Bakery

The Preatures, December 14, The Bakery & December 15, The Rosemount

Tame Impala, December 15, Fremantle Arts Centre

HOW TO DRESS WELL & CAT EMPIRE JANUARY 2013 YANNI AXOLOTL 27 Perth Arena 10 Fremantle Arts Centre CUBAN CLUB (Cuban 20 Chevron Festival Gardens DINOSAUR JR/ THE BIG DAY OUT (Red Brothers, Yacht Club DJs, Hot Chili Peppers, The RINGO STARR JON SPENCER BLUES 12 Mojos Bar Russ Dewbury, Still Water Killers, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, 21 Challenge Stadium EXPLOSION/ MOON DUO 13 The Bakery Giants, Death Disco DJs & Vampire Weekend, Band JOSE JAMES/ HOATUS 12 The Astor El Ginger Mojito) KAIYOTE Of Horses, Kaskade, RONAN KEATING/ BRIAN The Flying Squadron Yacht Animal Collective, MANHATTAN JINX 1Club, 21 Chevron Festival Gardens MCFADDEN Dalkeith 12 Prince Of Wales JULIA STONE Against Me!, 360, Foals, 12 Crown Theatre CLUB PARADISO 2013 14 Rocket Room 22 St Joseph’s Church THE JACKSONS (Friendly Fires, Kaz James, B.O.B, Sleigh Bells, Jeff 15 The Railway THE RAAH PROJECT The Brotherhood, Off!, 14 Perth Arena Helena, Mr Wilson, Zelimir, 22 Chevron Festival Gardens Grinspoon, Jagwar Ma, PAUL KELLY/ NEIL FINN/ The Halo Effect, Habitat ED SHEERAN/ PASSENGER Delta Spirit, Everytime I LISA MITCHELL SAN CISCO / THE DJ’s, Maiko DJ’s, Acebasik Die, House Vs Hurricane, 23 Challenge Stadium 14 & 15 Kings Park Botanical and Kno Agents) PREATURES CLIFF RICHARDS Alabama Shakes, and Gardens 1 Salt On the Beach 14 The Bakery 23 Sandalford Estate more) GLENN SHORROCK/ SHARON JONES & THE TIM ROGERS/ THE 28 Claremont Showgrounds WENDY MATTHEWS/ DAP KINGS BAMBOOS RICHARD HAWLEY DOUG PARKINSON BIG JAY MCNEELY 1 Fremantle Arts Centre 23 Chevron Festival Gardens 14 & 15 Quarry 31 Astor Theatre 14 Fremantle Arts Centre 2 Clancy’s Fish Pub CLUBFEET THE JAM Amphitheatre Dunsborough 23 Villa 31 Capitol BOB MOULD LOS CORONAS PHRONESIS THE PRESETS APES 16 The Rosemount 1 Fremantle Arts Centre 24 Chevron Festival Gardens PRESIDENTS OF 31 Metropolis Fremantle 14 Norfolk Basement 2 Clancy’s Dunsborough GLENN FREY THE SMITH STREET BAND THE UNITED STATES 3 Settlers Tavern 24 Kings Park & Botanical 31 Prince Of Wales OF AMERICA / HEY SOUTHBOUND (The TAME IMPALA Garden GERONIMO Flaming Lips, SBTRKT, Best 15 Fremantle Arts Centre NORAH JONES 16 Metro Freo Coast, Beach House, Boy & FEBRUARY 24 Riverside Theatre THE MARK OF CAIN Bear, Coolio, The Vaccines, THE SMITH STREET BAND SOUL REBELS 17 Capitol KIM SALMON / Bombay Bicycle Club, First 2 The Rosemount 25 Chevron Festival Gardens MUTEMATH Kit, Hilltop Hoods, THE WATERBOYS THE PREATURES Aid CAT POWER 19 The Astor Hot Chip, Maximo Park, 2 Perth Concert Hall 26 & 27 Chevron Festival / JACK ON FIRE/ WILLIAM ELLIOT Millions, Totally Enormous ELVIS COSTELLO & THE WHITMORE APES Extinct Dinosaurs, Angus IMPOSTERS/ SUNNYBOYS/ Gardens LAURIE ANDERSON & 23 Mojos Bar 15 The Rosemount Stone, Ball Park Music, JO JO ZEP &THE FALCONS/ KRONOS QUARTET WEST COAST BLUES Cosmo Jarvis, Django STEPHEN CUMMINGS 27 Perth Concert Hall & ROOTS FESTIVAL Django, The Hives, Jinjo 6 Kings Park Botanic KISS/ MOTLEY CRUE/THIN (Sensational Space Safari, Lisa Mitchell, Matt Gardens DECEMBER Shifters, Iggy & The Corby, Sharon Van Etten, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER LIZZY PARKWAY DRIVE 28 Perth Arena Two Door Cinema Club, Stooges, Chris Isaak, Staus 19 Challenge Stadium JAMES CARTER ORGAN Bertie Blackman, DJ Nu- ORCHESTRA Quo, Tedeschi Trucks Band, DARREN HANLON 6 Perth Concert Hall TRIO Mark Toy Set, The Jungle Fred Wesley & The New 19 Mojos Bar MACEO PARKER 28 Chevron Festival Gardens JB’s, Newton Faukner, Giants, Loon Lake, Oh SUICIDAL TENDENCIES/ Mercy, Rodrigo Gabriela, 7 Chevron Festival Gardens DEERHOOF Kitty, Daisy & Lewis, Grace UNWRITTEN LAW/ THE NORMAN BLAKE & JOE 28 The Rosemount San Cisco, Felicity Ward, Potter, Mama Kin & Blue DUDESONS Luke Heggie, Matt O’Kine, PERNICE/ DIRTY BEACHES Shady) 19 Metro Freo 8 Chevron Festival Gardens Nazeem Hussain, Ronny 23 Fremantle Park REGINA SPEKTOR ST. JEROME’S LANEWAY MARCH Chieng and Sammy J & WEST COAST BLUES & 19 Belvoir Amphitheatre FESTIVAL 2013 (Alpine, THE TALLEST MAN ON Randy) ROOTS FESTIVAL (Ben JEFF MARTIN 4 & 5 Sir Stewart Bovell Park Alt-J, Bat For Lashes, Chet EARTH Harper, Santana, Paul 20 Fremantle Arts Centre Faker, Cloud Nothings, 1 Chevron Festival Gardens Simon, Steve Miller Band, Busselton 21 Clancy’s Dunsborough 65 DAYS OF STATIC Divine Fits, El-P, Flume, NEIL YOUNG Wilco, Bonnie Raitt, Jimmy 22 Mojos Bar Henry Wagons & The 2 Perth Arena 5 The Bakery Cliff, Michael Kiwanuka, 23 Indi Bar Unwelcome Company, ANTIBALAS SUMMADAYZE (M.I.A, Ash Grunwald & Benjamin EVAN DANDO / JULIANA Fedde Le Grand, Mark High Highs, Holy Other, 2 Chevron Festival Gardens Francis Leftwich) HATFIELD Japandroids, Jessie Ware, FUTURE MUSIC FESTIVAL 24 Fremantle Park Ronson DJ Set, Kimbra, 22 The Rosemount 2013 (The Prodigy, Booka Shade Live, Eddie Julia Holter, Kings Of GUY SEBASTIAN KENDRICK LAMAR Convenience, The Men, Ms The Stone Roses, PSY, Halliwell, AN21 & Max 30 Crown Theatre 22 Astor Theatre Mr, The Neighbourhood, Dizzee Rascal, Bloc Party, Vangeli, Carl Craig, 69 EGO Nicolas Jaar, Nite Jewel, Of Azealia Banks, Rita Ora, Live, Maya Jane Coles, 22 Villa Disclosure Live, Erol Alkan, Monsters & Men, Perfume Boys Noize, Hardwell, APRIL THEO PARRISH Genius, Polica, Pond, Fake Blood, Adrian Lux, The Temper Trap, FUN, HITS & PITS 2013 (Mad 28 Ambar Breakbot Live, Hudson Real Estate, The Rubens, Madeon, Rudimental, Caddies, Good Riddance, A WOLFPACK Mohawke, Araabmuzik, Shlohmo, Snakadaktal, Ellie Goulding, Steve Aoki, Wilhelm Scream, Voodoo 28 Amplifier Icona Pop, Scuba, Twerps, Yeasayer ) Alesso, Gypsy & The Cat, Glow Skulls, The Flatliners, 29 Prince Of Wales Aeroplane, Jesse Rose, 9 Venue TBC A-Trak, Feed Me, Zeds Diesel Boy, One Dollar ORIGIN NYE (Chase & Danny Daze, AC Slater, GIN BLOSSOMS Dead, Kill The Noise, DJ Short, Jamie Hay, Jen Status (DJ Set), Knife Party, Stafford Brothers & Timmy 10 Capitol Fresh, Nervo, Zane Lowe, Buxton, Totally Unicorn & Gaslamp Killer, ShockOne, Trumpet, Bombs Away, ARCHIE ROACH Borgore, Cocoon Heroes ft Paper Arms) Junior Jack & Crème Kid, 10 Chevron Festival Gardens Sven Väth, Richie Hawtin, 1 Metropolis Fremantle Pearson Sound, DMZ Sam & The Womp, Andrew GODSPEED YOU! BLACK Ricardo Villalobos, Seth (Coki & Mala), Goldie, THE SCRIPT Wyatt, TJR, John 00 Brookes Brothers, Ed EMPEROR Troxler, Magda, Wake Your 3 Perth Arena Rush, Wilkinson, Dillinja, Fleming, Arnej, First State, 11 Chevron Festival Gardens Mind ft Cosmic Gate & BIRDY Marky & Stamina, Sigma, Omnia) COVERGE Emma Hewitt, W&W, tyDi, 6 Riverside Theatre 6 Patersons Stadium Delta Heavy, Metrik, DC 12 Amplifier Andy Moor, Super8 & Tab, ROGER HODGSON Subiaco Breaks, Skism, Gemini, DEER TICK & TWO Ben Gold, The Stafford 7 Riverside Theatre Inspector Dubplate, Jakes, BOYS OF SUMMER GALLANTS Brothers, Timmy Trumpet, EXTREME/RICHIE KOTZEN Mensah, Dodge & Fuski, 9 Amplifier 12 Chevron Festival Gardens Tenzin, Bombs Away & 16 Metro City 10 YMCA HQ Bar9, Distance, Dark Sky, STARS More TBA) ZUCCHERO Ben Ufo, New York Transit SANDI THOM 13 Chevron Festival Gardens 3 Arena Joondalup 17 Regal Theatre 10 Fly By Night Authority, Pariah, XXXY, SOUNDWAVE 2013 AMANDA PALMER MIDGE URE SETS ON THE BEACH Om Unit and more TBC) (Metallica, Linkin Park, (POSTPONED) 27 Charles Hotel VOLUME 9 (Chali 2na, Felix 30 & 31 Fairbridge Village, Blink-182, A Perfect 14 Astor Theatre & Al, Bag Raiders, All Good CHRYSTA BELL Pinjarra Circle, The Offspring, Funk Alliance, Thinktank) MAY CHI POPTION (Shy 14 Chevron Festival Gardens Paramore, Garbage, Slayer, 13 Scarborough Beach Panther, Rachael Dease Cypress Hill, Bullet For My BLACK SABBATH FATHER JOHN MISTY Amphitheatre vs Ylem, Diger Rokwell Valentine, and more) 4 Perth Arena 15 Chevron Festival Gardens KIM CHURCHILL vs Mathas, Kucka, Leure, 18 Clancy’s Fremantle 4 Claremont Showgrounds GROOVIN THE MOO (lineLORD / SILENT NIGHT Mei Saraswati, Dani RUSSELL PETERS up TBA) 15 Amplifier 19 Settlers Tavern Marsland, Jo Lettenmaier, 20 Indi Bar 5 Perth Arena 11 Hay Park, Bunbury 16 Eliot St. Blues Club Aarom Wilson vs Craig, NICK CAVE & THE BAD DEFTONES Bunbury NIGHTWISH Hollywood, Ben Taaffe vs 20 Metropolis Fremantle SEEDS 21 Metropolis Fremantle CELTIC THUNDER 6 Red Hill Auditorium Rok Riley, Clunk, PCJ vs Nik ESG THE SEEKERS 16 Perth Arena DEEP PURPLE/JOURNEY 30 Riverside Theatre Ridik, Miranda Menzies) 20 The Bakery FUTURE CLASSIC 31 The Bakery 16 Chevron Festival Gardens 7 Perth Arena MOUNT EERIE GEORGE CLINTON & INSERT TO PLAY (360, DAVID HASSLEHOFF 23 The Bakery JUNE PARLIAMENT FUNKADELIC Drapht, Hermitude, 17 Capitol WEEZER PINK 7 Metropolis Fremantle Urthboy, Ladyhawke DJ MACKLEMORE & RYAN 23 Perth Arena 25, 26 & 28 Perth Arena BIRDS OF TOKYO Set, Bluejuice, Chance LEWIS WOODS Waters, Smiley, Deacon 17 Chevron Festival Gardens 7 Prince Of Wales 23 The Bakery 8 Fremantle Arts Centre Rose) JENS LEKMAN JAMES REYNE SEPTEMBER 31 Supreme Court Gardens 26 Nannup Amphitheatre 18 Chevron Festival Gardens GARY PUCKETT & THE UNION GAP ONE DIRECTION RUFUS JEFF THE BROTHERHOOD SLEEPY SUN 9 The Astor 28 & 29 Perth Arena 19 Chevron Festival Gardens 27 Mojos 31 Capitol

THIS WEEK

HUSKY

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X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

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Grace Woodroofe, Wednesday at The Moon

WEDNESDAY 12.12

THURSDAY 13.12

BAR 120 Felix BRASS MONKEY Sugar Blue Burlesque CLANCY’S CANNING BRIDGE Joel Barker Jay Howie CLANCY’S FREMANTLE Chet Leonard’s Bingotheque CLAREMONT HOTEL Acoustica Unplugged ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Mark Lockett Trio GREENWOOD Bernardine GROOVE BAR (CROWN CASINO) 5 Shots HALE ROAD TAVERN Fenton Wilde INDI BAR Louis & The Honkeytonk Little City Dream Tim Gordon LUCKY SHAG Howie Morgan MOJOS BAR Husky Morgan Bain Whiskey MUSTANG Kickstart PADDO Axe and Ness Mitch Trav & Jay ROSEMOUNT Available At The Counter The Main Attraction What Matters The Take Over DJ Anton Maz ROSIE O’GRADY’S (NORTHBRIDGE) David Fyffe THE BROWN FOX Courtney Murphy THE MOON Amber Fresh Grace Woodroofe Chris Ravat UNIVERSAL Strutt YAYA’S Ha Ha’s @ Ya Ya’s Mike G

ADMIRAL Greg Carter Karaoke AMPLIFIER Evil Eddie BAKERY Husky BELGIAN BEER CAFÉ Howie Morgan BRIGHTON Open Mic Night BROOKLANDS TAVERN Celebrations Karaoke CLANCY’S CANNING BRIDGE Squid & Friends COMO HOTEL Courtney Murphy DEVILLES PAD Rock ‘N’ Roll Karaoke DUNSBOROUGH TAVERN Open Mic Night ELEPHANT & WHEELBARROW Daren Reid & The Soul City Groove ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Roger Garrood James Sandon GROOVE BAR (CROWN) Decoy HIGH WYCOMBE HOTEL Damien Cripps INDI BAR Bex’s Open Mic Night LEEDERVILLE HOTEL Leederville Loungeroom LUCKY SHAG James Wilson MALT SUPPER CLUB Stratosfunk MARKET CITY TAVERN Emily J Sharyce Kap T. Elephant Sky Lauren O’Hara Nathan Mayers MOJOS BAR Seams SpaceManAntics Moana Catlips MUSTANG BAR The Vans Danni Stefanetti DJ James MacArthur OXFORD HOTEL Johnny Taylor PADDY HANNAN’S Dr Bogus

San Cisco

SAN CISCO

THE PREATURES JACK DOEPEL JAZZ QUARTET FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14 THE BAKERY

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Danni Stefanetti, Thursday at Mustang Bar ROSEMOUNT The Brown Study Band Red Sky Bad Shannon Heytesburg Sons Of Rico DJs ROSIE O’GRADY’S (FREMANTLE) Clayton Bolger ROSIE O’GRADY’S (NORTHBRIDGE) Bill Chidgzey SOVEREIGN ARMS Fenton Wilde THE BOAT Jen De Ness THE BROOK Open Mic Night THE GATE One Trick Phonies UNIVERSAL Off The Record WOODVALE Two Plus One YA YA’S DCUP

All This Filth, Friday at The Swan Basement

CRAFTMAN 5th Avenue DEVILLES PAD Bang Bang Betty Les Sataniques DUNSBOROUGH TAVERN Qynn Ben Campain EAST 150 Ali Towers EDZ SPORTZ BAR Sugarfield ELEPHANT & WHEELBARROW Gun Shy Romeos ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Lucky Oceans Featuring Dave Brewer ForkFunk EMPIRE Aidan Hargreaves FLY BY NIGHT Motown & Soul Night FREMANTLE ARTS CENTRE Big Jay McNeely GREENWOOD FRIDAY 14.12 Greg Carter 7th AVENUE HALE ROAD TAVERN Midnight Rambler Dirty Scoundrels AMPLIFIER HERDSMAN Thy Art Is Murder Velvet & Stone BAILEY BAR Brad Wintle Gary Fowlie HIGH ROAD HOTEL Mod Squad Clayton Bolger BAKERY The Damien Cripps Band San Cisco HIGH WYCOMBE The Preatures HOTEL BALLYS BAR Dr Bogus Bernardine HIGHWAY HOTEL BALMORAL The Reals Mike Nayar HYDE PARK HOTEL BAR ORIENT Heavylove The Reggae Club Order Of The Black Rasta Mick Werewolf General Justice Legacy Of Supremacy DJ Calvin Johnny Madd The Empressions INDI BAR Mumma Trees DJ Pete Gooding Sista Che Sam Perry BELMONT TAVERN INDIAN OCEAN BREW One Trick Phonies Ben Merito BENTLEY HOTEL KALAMUNDA HOTEL Dean Anderson New Vintage BLACK BETTYS LAKERS Everlong DJ Grizzly BRASS MONKEY Slickenside Simon Kelly Melee BREAKERS LEGENDS BAR Madam Montage The Organ Grinders BROKEN HILL HOTEL M ON THE POINT Matt Milford Chasing Calee BROOKLANDS TAVERN MARKET CITY TAVERN Better Days Love The Little Dove CARINE Ricky Morris Pop Candy MOJOS BAR (ARVO) CARLISLE HOTEL Captn K Reload Simmo T CHASE BAR MOJOS BAR (EVE) Chasing Calee Hussle Hussle CIVIC HOTEL Rapaport Knowledge Bones Speekeasy KP Realms Big Sexy FG Tera MOON & SIXPENCE Lil Statik Soul Corporation Jamahl Ryder MUSTANG BAR Flewnt Harry Deluxe Bjah Swing DJ Kurse Of Perth Cheeky Monkeys Runinmukz DJ James MacArthur DJ Zeke NEWPORT Bryte MC Party Rockers CLANCY’S CITY BEACH NORFOLK BASEMENT Angus DiggsTrio The Love Junkies CLANCY’S Apes DUNSBOROUGH Foam The Luxatones Puck CLANCY’S FREMANTLE NORTH FREMANTLE Crux BOWLING CLUB COMO HOTEL The Bureaucrats Trevor Jalla Elk Bell CORNERSTONE Me Atticus Flamboyant Junior Jaws

PADDO Stu Harcourt PADDY MALONE’S Gary Malone’s PARAMOUNT Flyte PEEL ALEHOUSE Acoustic License PINK DUCK LOUNGE Jonathan Dempsey PRINCESS ROAD TAVERN Acoustic License RAILWAY HOTEL Prisoners Of Faith Spear Brittany This Other Eden Tempest Rising ROCKET ROOM Xmas Punktured Chainsaw Hookers The Decline Manhattan Jinx Silver Lizard Blindspot Castle Bravo ROSE & CROWN Adam Morris ROSEMOUNT Archer & Light Runner Our Man In Berlin Patient Little Sister ROSIE O’GRADY’S (FREMANTLE) Spyce ROSEY O’GRADY’S (NORTHBRIDGE) Neil Colliss SAIL & ANCHOR Howie Morgan Kinshin SOUTH ST ALE HOUSE Robbie King Karaoke SPRINGS TAVERN Greg Carter Karaoke SWAN BASEMENT All This Filth Chainsaw Abortion Kimure Left To Die SWAN LOUNGE Lipstick Pickup Rubbertime Scarlet Therapy Big Chillum SWINGING PIG Robo Mosquito Greg Carter THE BOAT J Man & Rosie THE BROOK Acoustic Aly THE GATE Light Street THE EASTERN Craig Ballantyne THE SAINT Almost Famous THE VIC Jen De Ness TIGER LILS Paul Malone Adam Kelly Alex Koresis UNIVERSAL Nightmoves VELVET LOUNGE Freqshow Child’s Play MC Design DJ Deflo DJ Screech VICTORIA PARK HOTEL Ivan Ribic WOODVALE TAVERN Switch YA YA’S Coveleski Adam Livingston Celebrator Kill Teen Angst

X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

Listing deadline is Monday 5pm. GO TO www.xpressmag.com.au /PLUG YOUR GIG and plug away!

The X-Press Guide is a Perth metropolitan service for advertisers listing tours, live, dance and arts events.

All inclusions are at the discretion of X-Press Magazine. The one entry system will update our print edition, website and App

Elk Bell, Friday at North Fremantle Bowling Club & Saturday at Swan Lounge

SATURDAY 15.12 AMPLIFIER Timothy Nelson & The Infidels BAILEY BAR Chris Murphy BAKERY Eleventh He Reaches London Rachael Dease Foxes Only Hope BALLYS BAR Dove BALMORAL Howie Morgan BAR 120 Flyte BELGIAN BEER CAFÉ Mike Nayar BLACK BETTY’S J Babies BREAKERS Madam Montage BROOKLANDS Sugarfield BUFFALO CLUB Full Throttle CIVIC HOTEL (THE DEN) S.S.A. Agitated The Postcard Bandits The Insinnerators Beerfridge No Regrets Dreg Squad Mindless The Reptillians Kettle Fingers Chainsaw Abortion Tikdoff CLANCY’S CANNING BRIDGE Zarm Duo CLANCY’S CITY BEACH Zarm Duo CLANCY’S FREMANTLE The Funkeleros COMO HOTEL Ricky Green DEVILLES PAD Johnny Nandez Hammond Explosion Les Sataniques ELEPHANT & WHEELBARROW Blue Hornet ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Bowed Jazz Gian Slater Howie Morgan FLY BY NIGHT Ringmasters FREMANTLE ARTS CENTRE Tame Impala GREENWOOD Cargo Beat GROOVE BAR (CROWN CASINO) Switch HERDSMAN Passionworks HIGH ROAD HOTEL Insideout INDIAN OCEAN BREW CO Little Ebony INDI BAR Toby KALAMUNDA HOTEL Andrew Winton LAKERS Celebrations Karaoke LANGFORD ALEHOUSE Die Hard Karaoke LAST DROP Domenic Zurzolo LEOPOLD HOTEL Steve Hepple LOBBY LOUNGE

(CROWN CASINO) John & Shaun Sandosham M ON THE POINT Rhythm 22 MERIDIAN ROOM Midnight Rambler MERRIWA TAVERN Nasty Dogz MOJOS BAR The Sunshine Brothers Earthlink Sound MOON & SIXPENCE The Damien Cripps Band MUSTANG The Wal-Tones The Burger Kings Rockabilly DJ Milhouse DJ James MacArthur NEWPORT Everlong Kizzy PADDY HANNANS Decoy PADDY MAGUIRES 43 Cambridge PARAMOUNT Felix PEEL ALEHOUSE Overload QUARIE BAR The Mojos RAILWAY HOTEL Manhattan Jinx Coveleski Scalphunter Chilling Winston ROCKET ROOM Kickstart ROSEMOUNT A Not So Silent Night Kim Salmon The Novocaines The Preatures Jack On Fire Apes Loose Lips Sully Alex Arpino Dan Durack Clancy Jones Scott Tomlinson Jane Azzopardi Ben Macri ROSIE O’GRADY’S (FREMANTLE) Flavor ROSIE O’GRADY’S (NORTHBRIDGE) Blue Gene SAIL & ANCHOR Better Days Childs Play SEAVIEW HOTEL Open Mic Night SWAN BASEMENT Remember The South Gone By Morning This Will Stop The Machines Ruin Of A Runway SWAN LOUNGE Elk Bell Siren Of Sound Daisy Clover Julz Evans SWINGING PIG Greg Carter Spritzer THE BOAT The Organ Grinders THE BROOK Shawne & Luc THE GATE Dirty Scoundrels THE SHED Huge THE VIC Greg Carter Karaoke UNIVERSAL Urban X

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Friday Friday Travis Caudle Travis Caudle Full Throttle, Fly ByNight Night By Saturday atFly Buffalo Club

Rachael Dease, Saturday at The Bakery

WOODVALE TAVERN Slim Jim & PHATTS YAYA’S Them Sharks FAIM Graphic Fiction Wolves

Corby & Simmo T WOODVALE TAVERN MUSTANG BAR Free Radicals Peter Busher & The Lone XWRAY CAFÉ The Charisma Brothers Rangers YAYA’S (ARVO) NEWPORT Lady Velvet Tim Nelson YAYA’S (EVE) PADDY MALONE’S Fear Of Comedy Gary Fowlie SUNDAY 16.12 These Shipwrecks PEEL ALEHOUSE 7TH AVENUE Goat Hailee Blackburn Good Karma Heytesburg PINK DUCK LOUNGE BALMORAL BAR MONDAY 17.12 Kevin Curran Kevin Conway Chasing Calee BRASS MONKEY PRINCIPAL BELMONT TAVERN James Wilson Karin Page Jamie Powers ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB QUEENS TAVERN BREAKERS BAR Grace Woodroofe Belleville Quartet Nathan Gaunt GROOVE BAR (CROWN RAILWAY HOTEL BRIGHTON CASINO) The Aunts Ricky Green Courtney Murphy Duo Old Blood BROKEN HILL HOTEL MOJOS BAR BurnHabit Chris Murphy Wide Open Mic Night Darren Guthrie BROOKLANDS TAVERN ROSEMOUNT MUSTANG BAR Brad Wintle Marco & The Alley Cats Scorcher Fest CAPTAIN STIRLING THE DEEN ROSEY O’GRADY’S Jamie Powers Plastic Max & The Token (NORTHBRIDGE) CARINE Gesture Neil Colliss Wesley Goodlet WOODVALE TAVERN Bill Chidgzey Jamboree Scouts Damien Cripps SAIL & ANCHOR CHASE BAR YA YA’S Mike Nayar Chasing Calee SOUTH ST ALE HOUSE Open Mic Night CIVIC HOTEL Christian Thompson Madam Montage TUESDAY 18.12 SOVEREIGN ARMS Crank ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Craig Ballantyne Ever Bloom Grace Woodroofe SPRINGS TAVERN Feedback GROOVE BAR Leighton Keepa Lock Down (CROWN) STIRLING ARMS Manic Monday Ruby’s Groove Stu McKay Tuesday Jam Band LUCKY SHAG SWAN BASEMENT CLAREMONT HOTEL Ben Merito Foul Mouth Sunday Driver MERIDIAN ROOM El Capitan CLANCY’S (CROWN) Atacama Giants DUNSBOROUGH Courtney Murphy Deranged Ensemble Formidable MERRIWA TAVERN Idle Eyes CLANCY’S FREMANTLE Celebrations Karaoke SWAN LOUNGE The Zydecats MOJOS BAR Lillium Stargazer COMO HOTEL Shayne Hunter Distant Lights Adrian Wilson Mike G Waynewright ELEPHANT & Matt Jan Montage WHEELBARROW Nick Maro SWINGING PIG Daren Reid & The Soul Jermaine White Darren Gibbs MUSTANG BAR City Groove Danza Loca ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Matt Angel THE GATE PADDO Jackie Loeb Greg Carter Stu Harcourt Jazlyn THE SAINT PRINCE OF WALES EMPIRE Howie Morgan Trio Open Mic Night CB3 THE SHED SETTLERS TAVERN FLY BY NIGHT James Wilson Open Mic Night Music Rocks UNIVERSAL TWO ROCKS TAVERN GEISHA Retriofit Jump For Joy Karaoke Daisuki VICTORIA PARK HOTEL YA YA’S MmHmm Damien Cripps The Georgians Eleventeen Easton WANNEROO TAVERN Rachel Sarge Gulls Adam James Mai Barnes Andrew Sinclair Nik Ridikulas GROOVE BAR (CROWN) Hi NRG HIGH WYCOMBE HOTEL The Organ Grinders HIGH ROAD HOTEL Glen Davies INDI BAR Morgan Bain INDIAN OCEAN BREW CO Retriofit Dove KALAMUNDA HOTEL Timothy Nelson & The Infidels Acoustic Aly M ON THE POINT Sophie Jane Chilly Bin Boys MAHOGANNY INN Aiden Hargreaves MOJOS BAR (ARVO) Stu Orchard Galloping Foxleys Merle Fishwick MOJOS BAR (EVE) Tom Takeover Earthlinks Future Sounds

TIMOTHY NELSON & THE INFIDELS RUBY BOOTS TIRED LION BISHI BASHI SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15 AMPLIFIER

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MUSIC GEAR & TECHNOLOGY GUIDE: ISSUE 28, DECEMBER 2012

Blow Your Own Trumpet A Musician’s Guide To Publicity & Airplay With 14 years’ industry experience behind her, Stacey Piggott’s wealth of knowledge makes her one of our country’s most experienced music publicists.

Over the years she’s worked with, nurtured and help build the careers of some very successful bands, including the likes of Henry Rollins, The Jezabels, The Waifs and Bon Iver, and has represented some of the country’s most-loved music events like the Falls Music and Arts Festival.

Having recently revealed some of her industry secrets in the form of a book, Blow Your Own Trumpet: A Musician’s Guide To Publicity & Airplay, Piggott shared a few of her tricks of the trade with JENNIFER PETERSON-WARD. What prompted you to share your insiders knowledge with the world in the form of a book?

I come into contact with a lot of grassroots independent acts who are looking for a publicist, and there seems to be a running theme of them all not really knowing what a publicist does, how to find the best one for their needs and budget, or what they should expect to get at the end, should they engage one.

They all also feel they need to spend exuberant amounts of money to get media coverage for their music, and have a sense that they are not able to contact media direct and therefore need a third party from the beginning to start to build a buzz around them. I found myself writing the same email over and over again to explain the various ways an artist can do their own PR, and identifying the points when they actually need to get a publicist.

I started to pull together a word document, so I could just email out the attachment each time and it started to become quite a big file. At the same time I had mentioned these conversations to a few of my clients and all of them started telling me stories of what they did themselves before they employed their first PR, what they learned the hard way, and what worked for them.

Their stories were all so different and their opinions on various elements of their experiences were contradictory in some cases. I just thought those stories, from those people who have been where these acts are now, and who the readers may know of or be fans of, would be the perfect way to illustrate an individuals ability to create their own pathways to take, to reach their career goals, rather than just me dumping my ideas onto a page.

It is for grassroots acts who don’t really have a grasp on what a publicist / radio plugger does, independent and self managed artists who want some ideas on how they can save money and do their own publicity, music business students who want a more rounded view on the publicity side of things and anyone who is interested in the stories behind the artists who are included I guess. Education in any sense is empowering, it allows choice, and choice provides options to problem solve.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 51 The Jezabels (Photo: Chris Turner)

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MUSO TIPS

THE FAMOUS FIVE In a new column for Volume, some of the local, national and international music scene’s best and brightest hand down their sagest words of musical advice...

CHRIS CHENEY [THE LIVING END] ON TOURING RETROSPECTIVELY

“The Retrospective tour has been a whole different can of worms, it really is. It’s kind of setting up the rig to play different records. I’ve got a whole lot of different stuff. The first two records are pretty easy, it’s just slap delay and an overdrive pedal, that’s about all I had at that point (laughs). Then after that I started using different delays, some stereo delays and ping pong effects on a few songs, so it’s been fun kind of dialling those in.

“Guitar-wise, I’m kind of tempted to grab a couple off my older Gretschs. I’ve got a couple of ‘60s ones that I used to play that have become semi retired, I suppose. It’s just because the newer ones stay in tune a little better, they’re a bit more roadworthy and a bit easier to throw around. My sound hasn’t changed that much over the hears, it’s really just down to the way I play certain songs.

There’s a whole lot more rockabilly sounding songs off our first record, it’s just a matter of cleaning up the sound a little bit. It’s not like I was using radically different kinds of tones to what I am now.

“There are a lot of bands that have made one album I love and for whatever reason their second one doesn’t grab me in that same way. I think that rush to get out a second album has such a huge potential to backfire. Most of the time the bands that take more time produce better albums.”

Chris Cheney (Photo: Dan Grant) “Amp-wise, at the moment I’m using a Wizard 50 watt, which has kind of been my staple amp for over 10 years or something now. I’ve got an old Fender Bassman which I’m playing alongside it. The I’ve been plugging into this Divided By Thirteen amp, which is really, really nice. I’ve got an old Vox AC30 as well. I’m kind of putting all of those alongside my Wizard amps and seeing what sounds best, but they all seem to sound good. So, it’s a problem, but a good problem (laughs).”

ABBE MAY ON FACING THE CRITICS

“Whenever you release anything there’s a real possibility that nobody will get it, so you have to gear yourself up to a point where you like it, and whatever else happens from there you can handle because you believe that. You have to get to that point before you release anything where you validate it yourself, where you like the music enough that you can release it and take any kind of good or shit that comes with that.

While I don’t feel like I need to be validated, I wouldn’t say that I don’t appreciate the great response and the airplay. I validate myself, I don’t need anyone to do that for me.”

DAVID PROWSE [JAPANDROIDS] ON THE SECOND ALBUM SLUMP

Abbe May

Japandroids

FRANCIS ROSSI [STATUS QUO] ON GEAR FRUSTRATIONS

“I still use my so-called green Tele. I mean, why did I paint the friggin’ thing green? I’m having trouble with it at the moment. I’ve had G&L bridges - which was a company started by Leo Fender - they gave me a G&L. The original Telecaster bridge is useless, you have three screws to adjust six strings, it’s stupid. But I still have that green Tele; two other Telecasters, one for Whatever You Want, one for Down, Down. I have a G&L for a spare, in case I break a strong. We go through Marshall amplifiers which, you know, they take your teeth out. I have a guitar simulator and in some cases out the back there are AC30s, so the noise that’s heard at the front of house is a combination of a bit of the Marshall, mainly AC30 and a tad of simulator. So three or four amps go into making the sound that Francis Rossi you hear at the front.”

BEN FOLDS ON CROWD FUNDING

“I really think Pledge is great and I would recommend it to anyone that needs that process to fund their music. The beauty of the chaos of the music industry is that if you’re willing to roll with the punches you can do something in a different way.

“At the end of the day no one knows what’s going to happen to the industry – you might be able to do something in a different format, record labels may not even exist, maybe the movie industry might come together with the unions and sue the crap out these companies and form a business together, or something else might crop up.

“We have no idea what’s coming next, all we know is that it’s very difficult to fund a record – pretty much it’s the hardest thing about making a record to do. Even if you’re a well known band breaking even is very difficult. We’re just very lucky to be able to make our music.”

Ben Folds

What is the worst thing a young band can do when it comes to promoting themselves?

There are a few things: • Being nasty to a media person or industry person who declines to support your music.

Blow Your Own Trumpet also contains advice from some of the musicians and industry heavyweights • Sending gigantic files over email – sure fire way to make someone detest you before they even listen you’ve worked with over the years, how did or look. approach them to contribute to the book?

• Review your own music under a different name – I just emailed them with the idea and a set people always find out and you look like a douche bag. of questions and they all responded. All of the people • Slag off a media outlet for not supporting your music.

I approached were from different genres, and different • Write songs specifically for one radio station. sectors of the industry, and all have achieved various • Have bad publicity photos. levels of success, but the one thing they all have in • Send out press releases that don’t have all of the relevant common is work ethic and business acumen, and they information in them about what, why, who where. are all really well respected in their musical peer groups. • Send out press releases that don’t have the band contact details on them.

I think they also all share that energy to foster a healthy music scene here, if the scene is healthy • Have a website or facebook page that doesn’t have relevant contact details and up-to-date bio and it is great for everyone involved. And to have a healthy release information. scene we need artists to be able to sustain long enough • Spend the whole publicity budget on a publicist for to reach decent levels in their careers. one month.

You’ve obviously worked in the music scene for quite a while, what is one of the major lessons If you could offer one piece of advice to aspiring musicians what would it be? you’ve learned about the industry?

Forget about everything until you have a There has been so many, I am continually solid set list of killer songs ready to perform. Then pick learning on a daily basis. I think it is important for up the phone and start calling people, don’t wait for people to dream big and take their dreams into their them to call you. own hands, no one else will care about your dream View your career like growing an onion, as much as you do. One of the major lessons I have build each layer from the inside out. Start with learned not just in music, but in life, was from my dad, community radio and street press, or localised music “when looking to start a career, pick something you websites, and move outward. By doing that you will love. If you love it, you will do it all the time. If you do it have a really strong, solid foundation that will support all the time, you will become great at it. If you become you through the ebbs and flows of genre popularity and media interest. If you start big, you will have no great at it, you will make money from it.”

And always say thank you – simple but internal support and it will all collapse very quickly after incredibly effective. Those words will take you a long the buzz has died down. way. Always thank the people who have helped you, supported you, taken interest in you or taken the time for you. It will hold you in good steed and pay off at some point down the track when the guy or girl you are nice to at a certain gig who is there selling your merch, is now booking the festival you want to get on a year later!

CONTINUED FROM COVER

As a publicist, what is the most frustrating thing to happen during a publicity campaign?

Sometimes things just don’t translate. We have had a number of album releases over the years where the album is breathtakingly great, the press is strong, live shows are unreal, reviews are incredible, but it just doesn’t translate to album or ticket sales.

I find those the most frustrating because all of the boxes are ticked and for whatever reason, it just doesn’t happen for the artist. I don’t know why, I find it really hard because it feels like the media are shouting really loud, but the public are not hearing it. It’s perplexing and always feels like a massive failure even if we have done our job properly, if that is the final outcome. www.xpressmag.com.au

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X-Press â&#x20AC;&#x201C; First on the street, Wednesdays

www.xpressmag.com.au

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NEWS AND PRODUCT REVIEWS PERTH DJ ACADEMY KORG POLYSIX

FREE DEEZER

LIVE WIRE FRESH

Matching beats and then mixing them together is a key skill of DJ’ing and it’s not easy. To master this skill it takes time, practice, determination and more importantly knowledge. This is where the team at Perth DJ Academy come in. Their highly skilled and dedicated instructors will provide you with all the necessary tools, tips and tricks to help you get your mixing down to a fine art. If you have already mastered this art of DJ’ing and are now creating your own music or thinking about it you will be happy to know that Perth DJ Academy isn’t just about DJ’ing, they have beginner music production courses for the complete novice and one day workshops for those already in the know and looking to sharpen their skills. Enrolment is now taking place for Semester 1, 2013. DJ courses are limited to eight students and music production courses are limited to six students.For further course and enrolment information please phone (08) 9228 1911.

French music subscription service Deezer has announced it will be launching a free service in Australia. The announcement is the next step in Deezer’s quest to “liberate music and rebuild its value, restoring the magical connection between artist and fans”. The new ad-funded free service, which will be going head-to-head against a similar offering launched by rival Spotify earlier this year, will be launched in Australia on Tuesday, December 11. To radically launch the service to a mass market audience, Deezer Australia will offer users up to twelve months of unlimited free music if they register before June 2013. After the initial unlimited 12 month offering, users will receive two hours per month of free listening on PCs and laptops.

For more information hit up deezer.com.

Got an awesome release waiting in the wings but no moolah to unleash it into the world with the epic party it deserves? The RTRFM Live Wire Fresh Program gives local performers the chance to receive up to $2000 worth of promotion for their upcoming release, including a radio promotion package, a half-page advertisement in X-Press Magazine, up to $250 for any costs associated with the gig (e.g. venue hire, P.A. Hire, payment to support bands, printing of posters and flyers, decorations, sound and lighting crew, etc) and heaps more. Applications for launches in February close on Monday, January 4, and application forms can be obtained from rtrfm.com.au/livewire.

JBL STUDIO 5 SPEAKERS Want a concert hall-eqsue sound in the comfort of your own home or studio? Look no further than the JBL Studio 5 Series – a line-up of loudspeakers and a subwoofer developed with the same technologies that deliver the sounds found in many movie theatre and concert venue installations. The distinctive range consists of three floor-standing speakers, a pair of bookshelf speakers, a centre-channel loudspeaker and a subwoofer. These speakers can be used to form a stereo setup varied between two or seven channels.

Each Studio 5 Series loudspeaker uses a high-frequency compression driver with a Bi-radial horn to deliver realistic sound at high-impact volumes. The speakers are also distinguished by JBL’s angular styling, perfect for anyone who appreciates the Picasso take. For further product information or to find a dealer visit ehifi.com.au.

JBL Studio 5 Series

Synthesizers are notoriously expensive, especially some vintage models, but how’d you like a Korg Polysix for a fraction of the price? Well, as long as you’ve got an iPad (or a mini), that’s now possible with the iPolysix app released late last month. Bringing together a sequencer, drum machine, and even a mixer, it transforms your iPad or iPad mini into the ultimate analog synth studio. Pack an amazing set of early-’80s analog equipment into your iPad, and time-travel back to the dawn of polyphonic synthesizers! Korg Polysix for iPad is available for download purchase from the Apple App Store (within the iTunes Store).

STUDIO PROFILE THE SOUND FACTORY Korg Polysix

CLIFF LYNTON GUITAR INSTITUTE While learning the guitar may seem tricky, Cliff Lynton Guitar Institute’s structured lessons will have you up and running in no time and you will be amazed at your steady progress. You’ll learn how to enjoy and express yourself with music and quickly realise that playing guitar is not only fun but also creative and relaxing. Their talented teachers have been teaching for over 30 years so they know what they are talking about whilst following their principals, to make you a unique and accomplished player. They create a perfect balance between technique, theory and building practical skills including learning songs that interest you. Whether you’re a beginner or wishing to take your playing to new levels, you will be playing and jamming with renewed self esteem. Experience The Guitar Institute’s great teaching method delivered in a supportive and encouraging environment. Christmas gift vouchers are available and make the perfect gift for anyone interested in learning the guitar. Go ahead and ‘jump start’ the New Year with the best in the West.

When and where did The Sound Factory first open?

The Sound Factory first opened in 1991.

Beginning in Bentley, later moving to North Perth, then to the current location in Bayswater.

What services/gear do you offer musicians?

Over the years since we first opened we have been fortunate to acquire a wide range of vintage equipment, mostly from studios that have, sadly, closed.

Some of our screens came from Clarion which I believe was the first studio in Perth! Using this along with the experience of our engineers we are trying to provide a flexible environment that serves the bands and music, without ignoring modern technology.

There are two studios, each running protools alongside 16 and 24 track analog tape. The extensive range of outboard and microphones span the past six decades, giving us a huge range of sounds and flexibility to record any genre. The big wood panelled live room has a 5.5 metre high ceiling and houses a large collection of vintage amps and instruments, +Turbosound floor monitors and AKG headphones.

In your opinion, what is the most important thing a band/musician should do before they head into the recording studio?

Preparation. Decent strings and skins. No buzzes and rattles. If not, we have well maintained drum kits, amps and instruments available to use.

Why should musicians come and record in your studios?

The Sound Factory is one of Perth’s longer established studios - experienced engineers, quality vintage gear, great sounding, spacious rooms. Huge guitar and drum sounds.

I believe that the closure of many old school studios around the world, along with the proliferation of computer based studios using the same boxes and software, staffed by engineers who have been mostly been trained at the same colleges has contributed to a “sameness” in a lot of recorded music. We hope that by maintaining the equipment and techniques of times past, we can help bring out the “something a little bit different” in bands that we record whilst creating a fun and productive environment.

There is a wealth of history, experience and quality in the recording industry and I hope we can do our bit to prevent it all from being totally forgotten.

The Sound Factory

MAKING A LIST AND CHECKING 1 - 2 Musical stocking fillers for the Christmas Season

BOSS DS-1 Distortion pedal

BOSS DS-1 DISTORTION PEDAL Changes in global markets and an increase in competition between many music companies have lead to drastic decreases in the retail prices of BOSS products in recent years. That’s good news for thrifty gift-hunters at this time of year as many BOSS effects pedals now come in at under $100, most notable the famous DS-1 Distortion pedal which now retails for an amazing $69!

Featuring robust design with simple Level, Tone and Distortion controls, this little monster has been a mainstay on many famous recordings and in countless live guitar rigs for decades, and is suitable for both eager beginners and seasoned professionals. A 9-volt battery is included and an optional power adaptor is available. At $69 the Boss DS-1 Distortion Pedal is a yuletide winner, even more so at stores like Mega Music Wangara which sell this classic item for just $60.

Yamaha PSR-E333 Yamaha Gigmaker Acoustic Guitar Pack

YAMAHA PSR-E333 KEYBOARD One of the great things about starting a musical journey on a keyboard is that the musical response is instant. Whereas most beginners on guitar would be hard-pressed to make a note sound out under the tree on Christmas Day, a beginner on keyboard can start creating music as soon as the instrument is unwrapped. With 497 high quality voices, 106 accompaniment styles and 102 built-in songs as well as a recording feature which lets players record up to five original songs, the Yamaha PSR-E333 is a popular and affordable keyboard, suitable for beginners of all ages. Mega Music Wangara has this keyboard currently listed at an SSP (Santa’s Special Price) of just $256.

Grover Checker Picks In A Tin

YAMAHA GIGMAKER GROVER ALLMAN PICKS IN A TIN ACOUSTIC GUITAR Even the guitarist who has everything will appreciate these snazzy pick tins with matching pick designs PACK from Grover Allman. Each pack contains 12 premium Many a music career has started on Christmas Day with that first six-string and a great start for beginners both young and old is with a Yamaha acoustic guitar.

The Gigmaker pack features a Yamaha F325 steel string acoustic guitar and heaps of extras, including a tutorial DVD, gig bag, chromatic tuner, strap, extra strings and picks. Being such a popular brand, there aren’t many music stores that don’t stock Yamaha products; the Gigmaker Acoustic Guitar Pack is even available at JB Hi-Fi stores for just $197.

polycarbonate picks printed on both sides. All picks are medium gauge (0.8mm). The tins measure 12 x 6.5 x 1.3mm and feature stunning full colour artwork. There are several cool designs available including Checker, Camouflage, Skull, Hippie and Surfer designs. These great gift ideas are available for just $13 from all good music stores. Purchasers looking for a more unique gift should also check out groverallman.com.au for information on custom picks made to order from original designs.

DIGITECH I-STOMP DOWNLOADABLE STOMPBOX Featured in these pages earlier in 2012, Digitech’s highly innovative iStomp is a game-changer in digital effects. Basically, the iStomp is a ‘blank’ effects pedal which can become any pedal you wish when you download it from the Stomp Shop app. There are currently 44 different pedals to download and Digitech are constantly expanding the models available. Once a pedal is purchased, it can be stored on a computer and uploaded to the iStomp whenever it’s needed. The iStomp is literally the gift that keeps on giving and is a perfect gift for the tech-savvy guitar geek.The iStomp retails for $229, Mega Music Wangara are saving Christmas this year with a sale price of just $189. _CHRIS GIBBS

Digitech iStomp 54

X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

FOR HIRE METALLICA TRIBUTE BAND 4horsemen for parties or venues. All enquiries ph Dave 0406 867 661.

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OPEN MIC NIGHT Every Thursday 8.3012 at Moondyne Joes. Grand piano, good sound & friendly atmosphere. Call Mark 0409 137 850.

OPEN MIC NIGHT every Thursday night at Indi Bar. Just call Bex on 0404 917 632.

OPEN MIC NIGHT Every Tuesday night at the Craigie Tavern 8-11pm. Call Corey for bookings 0431 448 235 VOCALIST REQUIRED Female vocalist required by working rock covers band.

Must be reliable, have good stage presence, be able to learn lyrics, and be available for gigs as and when they are booked. Please contact 0427 471 423 or e-mail jsgorilla@hotmail.com PHOTOGRAPHY PROJECT PHOTOGRAPHY Promo photography, studio, live, location.

Mike Wylie 0417 975 964 w w w . p r o j e c t p h o t o g r a p h y. c o m When its time to ice the cake...

PRODUCTION SERVICES * LIGHTING * AUDIO* STAGING * www.nightstarlightingaudio.com.au www.nightstarlightingaudio.com.au w w w. i n s t a n d t . c o m . a u www.instandt.com.au 9381 2363/ 9444 6651 CD & DVD MANUFACTURE Check out our latest CD & DVD specials online at www.procopy.com.au 9375 3902 MATRIX PRODUCTIONS AUSTRALIA Lighting, staging, sound systems, smoke machines, night club FX, intelligent lighting, strobes & mirror balls, crowd barriers, video projectors. 9371 1551 PROMOTION & MARKETING MONO BAND POSTERS On White Bond or Fluoro Stock. A0 posters from $3 same day turnaround. 94899800. www.expogroup.net.au.

RECORDING STUDIOS ALAN DAWSON’s WITZEND RECORDING STUDIO Prof quality albums or demos, large live room, experienced engineer, analog to digital transfers, mastering..

Alan 0407 989 128 or Jeremy 0430638178 www.witzendstudios.com ANDY’S STUDIO International multi award winning songwriter / producer.

No band required. Broadcast quality.

A songwriter’s paradise. Ph 9364 3178 AVALON STUDIOS BIBRA LAKE One of Perths best equipped studio. Record to analog tape or digital, Avalon pre amps, Neumann mics, the latest and best universal audio, plug in’s for digital recordings. All styles of music, $55 per hour call Tony 0411 118304 email - avalonstudios@bigpond.com

GOLDDUSTCONSTRUCTION.COM Production, mixing, recording and composition for your music. Unique award winning skills to take songs from ideas to finished mixes or to fulfill the potential in existing ones. Located in Subiaco. $70 p/h. Andrew 0408 097 407 MIDAS TOUCH STUDIOS Recording, Mixing, and Mastering. We get your band heard. Call Anthony 0435 113 654 www.MidasTouchStudios.com.au POONS HEAD MASTERING Analog mastering at its best. Clients include Mink Mussel Creek, Jeff Martin, The Panics, Pond + The Floors. World class facility.

World class results. www.poonshead.com 9339 47 91 RECORDING MIXING MASTERING PRODUCING Fremantle location.

Call Pete Kitchen Cooked Records.

Ph 0407 363 764 / 9336 3764 R E V O LV E R S O U N D S T U D I O Ph 9272 7505. www.revolverstudio.com.au SONGWRITERS! - UNLOCKYOUR SONGS’ POTENTIAL +FREE BAND APPRAISALS. UK Producer, 40,000+ hours studio experience. 20 yrs in London with bands and songwriters. Kicking arrangements, great studio and the ability to really listen will give your material the edge you need. Call Jerry on 0405 653 338 or visit www.jerichomusic.com.au T H E S O U N D FAC TO R Y 1 6 & 24 track tape + protools Best of old school & modern technology thesoundfactory@rockstar.org.au

REHEARSAL STUDIOS AAA VHS REHEARSAL ROOMS Great facilities, great vibe & great price!!!

Unit 5 /16 Peel Road, O’Connor.

Phone 9418 5815 or 0413 732 885 BIGBEAT SOUND STUDIO Clean rooms, all new PA systems, air-con and good parking . Willetton Ph: 0425 698 117.

PLATINUM SOUND ROOMS Professional rehearsal rooms, airconditioned, quality PAs mob 0418 944 722 TUITION ***GUITAR LESSONS*** The Guitar Specialist. XMAS VOUCHERS AVAIL. Begadv, all styles and levels including bass.

Cliff Lynton Guitar Institute. Mt Lawley 9342 3484 / www.clifflynton.com BASS LESSONS Rock, funk & jazz. Tony Gibbs 9470 6131 DJ LESSONS AT FREMANTLE PRISION Death row cell 33. Scratching, cutting & mixing. Come casually or for a term.

0412 334 510.

DRUM LESSONS All styles, all ages.

WAAPA prep. Modern techniques & rudiments, Beginner to advanced.

Ph: 0413 172 817.

G U I TA R & K E Y B OA R D T U I T I O N (Beginners- Professional) One on One lessons. Burswood Ph 6460 6921/ 0415889645. www.gvkschoolofmusic.com.au

MAKE YOUR MUSICIAN MERRY THIS CHRISTMAS

With Christmas approaching scarily fast, TOM VARIAN checks out some bargains that might sing a tune for the musician, budding or not, in your life.

ERNIE BALL POWERPEG

IK MULTIMEDIA IRIG MIDI

The PowerPeg is a cheap stocking stuffer that could help ease the pain of stringing for the guitarist you know. Sure, turning the knobs isn’t hard, and you can get extremely cheap plastic tools that let you crank them, but at under $40 this could be a cool little surprise.

Ernie Ball PowerPeg

If you’re special someone loves his iPad and also loves his keyboard, they might like to marry the two with a MIDI to iOS adapter. The Ik iRig MIDI rocks 3 MIDI ports, IN/OUT/THRU, that connect to any standard MIDI jacks, not just keyboard but also electronic drum kits or even MIDI guitars. You can then use your real world instruments to record in your favourite iOS app, with the portability and freedom that allows. Also handily included is a micro USB port that will let the iOS device stay fully powered during long sessions.

Griffin GuitarConnect Pro

GRIFFIN GUITARCONNECT PRO

If they don’t use a MIDI powered device but instead like to record and experiment with guitars, then the Griffin GuitarConnect Pro might be just the ticket. Basically a 1/4” input with the 30-pin Apple connector at the other end, the GuitarConnect lets you plug your guitar straight into your iPad or iPhone and record straight into your favourite app.

YAMAHA PSR E333

At under $300, the Yamaha PSR E333 is a terrific midlevel keyboard for someone curious to take up the keys.

Perfect for the beginner, the E333 will also carry them through for years, with an impressive list of features and a great balance between price and performance.

Featuring PC compatibility and built-in recording function, albeit quite limited, and 61 (non-weighted) full-size keys that are touch sensitive. Using Yamaha’s tried and proven AWM stereo sampling to produce high quality sounds, you’ll get a great portable grand option that gives a concert grand piano with 32-note polyphony, among 100 plus other tones.The E333 has a basic built-in recording function, allowing you to record up to two tracks, great for recording your practise but as the player progresses they can expand their recording by plugging into their computer. And with the Yamaha Education Suite (Y.E.S.), beginners will be able to play along to tracks, learn new chords, improve fluency and rhythm skills. www.xpressmag.com.au

Ik Multimedia iRig MIDI

KORG PITCHBLACK TUNER

Many seasoned guitarists have long bought a good guitar tuner. But if your favourite axe head is just starting out, or you know that he has a super cheap tuner, or even just uses a tuning app on their smartphone, then giving them a really solid tuner is a great option.

Sure, the Boss TU-3 is a fine choice, and a staple among guitarists, but I find it’s display a little dull Korg Pitchblack and hard to read under Tuner the heat and pressure of stage lights. The Korg Pitchblack has a large, no fuss display that brightly lets you know where perfect pitch is and DC in/out to play nice with your pedal board.

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