X-Press Magazine #1321

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X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

RocKwiz

STROKE OF GENIUS The Beach Boys

ENDLESS SUMMER

It was a mere 50 years ago when The Beach Boys first got together in their native Hawthorne, California, and set about changing the history of popular music forever. Through their early work with surf rock hits like Surfin’ Safari, Surfin’ USA and Catch A Wave, it wasn’t long before audiences saw the true songwriting genius of Brian Wilson through such hits as In My Room, Don’t Worry Baby, and California Girls. And all this before Pet Sounds came along in 1966 and redefined the possibilities of a pop album. After Pet Sounds, it’s all a bit hazy for the band, which saw its follow-up Smile shelved until last year, and various problems for the members of the band. Despite lawsuits and Kokomo over the past few decades, time has healed all wounds and Brian Wilson has reunited with Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston, and even David Marks (who left the band when he was a teenager) to reform The Beach Boys. With a new album out in That’s Why God Made The Radio, The Beach Boys bring their 50th Anniversary Tour to Burswood Dome on Thursday, September 6. Tickets go on sale from Ticketek at 9am on Wednesday, June 13.

After the massive success of their 2010 live tour, the RocKwiz crew will hit the road again from August to October. RocKwiz Live brings all the best bits from the TV show to their live tours with game show theatrics, amazing guests and exclusive live performances! Now hostess Julia Zemiro, scorer Brian Nankervis, the RocKwiz Orkestra and Dugald The Human Scoreboard, will bring another host of guest stars around the nation once more for a three-hour show of musical madness and comedic shenanigans. Roll up and rock out when the spectacular hits the Riverside Theatre on Friday, October 26. Tickets go on sale on Thursday, June 14, from Ticketek.

Jonathan Boulet

HEART BEATS

Indie darling Jonathan Boulet has announced a national tour in support of his new album We Keep The Beat, Found The Sound, See The Need, Start The Heart. The tour will kick off in late June, while the album will be released Friday, June 8, and includes the current single This Song Is Called Ragged. He’ll hit Amplifier with his band on Saturday, July 7. Tickets are on sale now from Moshtix.

ONE FOOT FORWARD

Clubfeet

Melbourne (via Cape Town) five-piece Clubfeet have been the subject of much worldwide chatter over the past 12 months, being labeled as one of the hottest young prospects from this corner of the alobe. Having been championed by the likes of Pitchfork and Spin, word has gradually spread about the then-unknown band with more and more supporters (including NME, The Guardian, Dazed) jumping on board in recent months. Check out what all the fuss is about when they hit Speakeasy at Villa on Friday, July 27.

Tickets on the door.

Jinja Safari

LOVE IS BLIND

Up for a threesome? New Zealand’s Opossom, Los Angeles’ White Arrows and Sydney forest rockers Jinja Safari are combing their hair, shining their shoes and putting on their Sunday best for a triple-headline tour! Woot! They’ll be touching down at the Astor for the first night of their Blind Date tour - on Wednesday, August 8. Tickets go on sale on Thursday, June 7, from jinjasafari.com or the usual outlets.

10 Reactions/ Comp 13 Flesh 14 Music: Hot Chip 16 Music: The Walkmen/ The Hives 18 Music: Resist The Thought/ Millencolin 19 Music: The Black Seeds 20 New Noise 23 Eye4 Cover: Swerve 24 Eye4 News/ Eye2Eye 25 Eye4 Movies: Swerve/ Emma Booth Interview

Martika

26 Eye4 Movies: What To Expect When You’re Expecting/ Prometheus/ Lifestyle 28 Eye4 Arts List/ Arts Stories 29 Eye4 Arts Stories 31 Salt Cover: Sampology 32 Salt: Cover Story/ News 33 Salt: Tom Showtime/ Sebastien Drums 34 Salt: Skool Of Thought 35 Salt: Fashawn/ Testpad

SOLDIERING ON

During her decade-long reign at the top of the charts,‘80s pop princess Martika was responsible for the Prince-penned/produced Australian #1 Love ...Thy Will Be Done, worldwide smash hits Toy Soldiers and I Feel The Earth Move. In 2012 she comes to Australia for the very first time as a part of her return to the touring circuit, championed

by Perez Hilton, and she will treat local audiences to a show at Metropolis Fremantle on Thursday, October 4. Tickets will go on sale on Thursday, June 14, from Moshtix and Oztix.

36 Salt: Club Manual/ Scenery/ Mark Rae 39 Scene: Live 40 Scene: Pub Blurbs/ Pub Scene 41 Scene: Local Scene 42 Tour Trails 44 Gig Guide 46 Volume Cover: Hot Chip’s fifth studio album In Our Heads is out this Friday, June 8, through Domino.

Salt Cover: Sampology plays The Bakery this Saturday, June 9.

www.xpressmag.com.au

BACK TO SCHOOL

The grounds of UWA are no longer just fodder for horny freshers now that boutique event This Is Nowhere will take over the surroundings of the Somerville Auditorium, Dolphin Theatre and adjoining Lawrence Jackson Court on Sunday, October 14. Previously only used for the Perth International Arts Festival film season and RTRFM’s In The Pines festival, The Somerville Auditorium is the idyllic venue for music lovers to hear weird and wonderful live sounds from near and afar. Meanwhile party makers the I Can’t Stand Still Collective (ICSSC) have programmed something special for The Dolphin - and will give it more of a club feel, just for one day. The Lawrence Jackson Court will be a great place to grab a drink and some food and will be the home of the amusingly named Inglorious Buskers.

Full line-up details will be revealed later this month so keep clicking over to thisisnowhere.com.au for all the latest news.

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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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Music Editor Matthew Hogan: musiceditor@xpressmag.com.au Arts & Fashion Editor Emma Bergmeier: artsfashion@xpressmag.com.au Dance Music & Features Editor Annabel Maclean: danceeditor@xpressmag.com.au Staff Writer Jennifer Peterson-Ward: localmusic@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, David Chong, Daniel Grant, Sammy Granville, Matt Jelonek, Denis Radacic, Mike Wylie Contributing Writers Henry Andersen, Ashleigh Whyte, Nina Bertok, Shaun Cowe, Derek Cromb, Chris Gibbs, Alfred Gorman, George Green, Chris Havercroft, Joshua Hayes, Brendan Holben, Travis Johnson, Rezo Kezerashvili, Joanna Lettenmaier,Tara Lloyd,Adam Morris,Andrew Nelson,Chloe Papas, Daniel Parkinson, Ben Swan, Conan Troutman, Tom Varian, Ben Watson, Chela Williams, Jessica Willoughby For band gigs and launches - plugyourgig@xpressmag.com.au

Advertising

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Sales and Marketing Manager Paul Morgan - advertising@xpressmag.com.au Online Marketing Paul Morgan - advertising@xpressmag.com.au Music Services / Musical Equipment / Bands / Record Labels Des Richardson - musicservices@xpressmag.com.au Entertainment Venues / Live and Dance Music Promoters Luke Andrioff - entertainment@xpressmag.com.au Agency / Movies / Education / Sponsorship Paul Morgan - advertising@xpressmag.com.au Arts / Fashion / Lifestyle Alia Bannani - eye4@xpressmag.com.au Classifieds Linage Melissa Erpen - classifieds@xpressmag.com.au

Production

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Production Co-ordinator Bryony Crowe

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Art Director Dwight O’Neil

Design + Production

art@xpressmag.com.au Brooke Gerrick, Andy Quilty, Anthony Jackson

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Administration

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Receptionist Melissa Erpen

THE DUEL

The New York Times Critics’ Pick, Anton Chekhov’s The Duel breathes new life into a classic Chekhovian tale. Set in a seaside resort in the Caucasus, the story centres on n’er do well, Laevsky and his illicit relationship with his mistress Nadya. Working with the master cinematographer Paul Sarossy (The Sweet Hereafter), director Dover Kosashvili (Late Marriage) has made a gorgeously cinematic and accessible movie that is sensuous, passionate, dramatic and peppered with delightful moments of levity inherent to the great novella. Enter now to be in the running to win one of ten doubles passes we have up for grabs to see this captivating film.

PROMETHEUS

Ridley Scott, director of Alien and Blade Runner, returns to the genre he helped define. With Prometheus, he creates a groundbreaking mythology, in which a team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a thrilling journey to the darkest corners of the universe. There, they must fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race. Want to win a double pass? Get in quick as we have 10 doubles to giveaway.

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SAMPOLOGY

Sampology’s Super Visual Apocalypse is an audio visual live show performed on two turntables and a big ass screen, montaged together from TV, movies, the internet and custom animations and music videos. It pays homage to the legacy and pizzazz of Bruce Willis, as he battles the many doomsday challenges that threaten the world’s existence in 2012. Dance, laugh, cheer and get ready to party like it’s the end of the world! We have five double passes to be won for the show on Saturday, June 9, so enter now to score a spot on the guest list.

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

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 73/102 Railway Parade, 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

WARRANTY AND INDEMNITY

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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SAM SPARROW

We have five spanking new copies of Sam Sparrows highly anticipated album Return To Paradise up for grabs. Fuelled with pumpin’ tunes derived from Sparrow’s influences of R&B, soul, gospel, funk and dance music, the album features his smash hit single I Wish I Never Met You and much more. To celebrate the release, we have five albums up for the taking. Enter now for your chance to win one.

EAST 17

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Buckle up for two explosive cross-country adventures with Jeremy, Richard and James. In The India special the boys set out to boost the British economy with a trade mission to India. Equipped with three old British cars and a range of uniquely British products, they embark on an epic road trip across one of the world’s most fascinating and challenging countries, devotedly promoting Britain with distinctly mixed results. This is sure to provide a night of great entertainment and we have five copies of the DVD up for grabs.

SOUND SNOBS

Accounts Lillian Buckley

TOP GEAR: THE GREAT ADVENTURES

KASABIAN LIVE AT THE O2

Filmed in high definition at London’s renowned O2 Arena on December 15, 2011, this is Kasabian’s first Blu Ray release. The show came on the back of the band’s #1 album Velociraptor and the set list combines tracks from that album with hits and classic tracks from across their career so far.

We have an incredible DVD and CD package up for grabs so fans can experience the phenomenon that is Kasabian’s incredible live show. Get in now as you do not want to miss this one.

QUEENY ROCKS CD

An essential collection of the hottest British alternative hits from the past 25 years, Queeny Rocks CD is the must have soundtrack to your Jubilee parties and London Olympic celebrations this winter. Enter now to snag yourself a copy.

With 20 million albums, eighteen top 20 singles and four top ten albums, east 17’s return to Australia will no doubt be met by nostalgic zealots ready to sing along to hits like House Of Love, It’s Alright and Stay Another Day. The lads check into Perth’s Metros Freo on Thursday, June 7, and we have a double pass up for grabs! To be in the running email win@xpressmag with ‘Take me East!’ in the subject line!

Last week ’90s pop stars New Kids On The Block and Backstreet Boys returned to Perth to relive their glory years; here’s what our Facebook fans had to say about their return to the live stage.

Aaron Lol. I used to dance to this at the local Blue Light Disco… yes kids, a disco.

Naomi I vomited then and I vomit now.

I am so sick of music snobs! When I heard that the NKOTBSB tour was coming to Perth I was so excited, as were a bunch of my girlfriends, so we all bought tickets and started counting down the days til the show last week. As the excitement built I couldn’t help but update my Facebook status to communicate my enthusiasm… which led to a massive shitstorm! People I thought were my friends started having a massive go at me and my music tastes, which is totally unfair and uncalled for. It’s the Backstreet Boys people – not the second coming of Hitler!

Do you hear me bagging out your taste in music every time you post a link to some stupid DJ playing other people’s music?!

No! Because it doesn’t matter what I think – each to their own. Why can’t we all just get along and appreciate the fact that everyone has their own taste in music? There’s no need to bag people out just because they know all the words to As Long As Your Love Me. End rant.

Donnie 4Eva Via Email

Suzi I really don’t care if you don’t like them but I’m going!!! Can’t wait to see Donnie with his shirt off!!!

Carla Had no idea they were ‘back’… oh well.

Ben I’d rather eat my own testicles and wash them down with metho.

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X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

The Tea Party

TEA FOR ALL

It’s been more than seven years since Canadian rockers The Tea Party released an album, and they think it’s about time for a new. With extensive touring duties planned for 2012, a new studio recording is pretty much out of the question – however, in the interim the trio is hoping to record a live album during their upcoming national tour. However, to make it all happen, the band will need the support from their fans!

If you’re a fan, click on over to pledgemusic.com/projects/theteapartylive to pledge your support and get the wheels in motion. With a deadline of 60 days to meet the target, if the target isn’t met, you will be reimbursed and no record is made. Don’t forget to see them in the flesh at Metro City on Thursday, July 26.

Felicity Groom at Guildford Grammar Chapel

EVEN STEVENS

HUSH PUPPIES

Do you hate it when a local music gig is drowned out by a drunken numbskull squawking on a mobile phone in the corner? Well, Hush is a concert for you. Set within the cavernous, echoey and beautiful Guildford Grammar School Chapel, Hush brings together a hand-picked selection of seven of Perth’s most respected and accomplished local indie, folk, rock and experimental artists, playing unplugged sets in complete and utter pin-drop silence on Saturday, July 7. With Felicity Groom, Timothy Nelson, Runner, Benedict Moleta, Rabbit Island, Davey Craddock & The Spectacles and Moustache all set to beguile with muted tones, this will be Perth’s quietest little concert. It’s all-ages and alcohol free, and there’ll be snacks-a-plenty available to buy on the night.

Tickets are $15 plus BF from Heatseeker.

DAN’S THE MAN

Formerly of seminal ska band MU330, Dan Potthast now flies solo but brings the same ethic and energy to his live sets. Catch him on his upcoming Australian tour at the Rosemount on Wednesday, June 6, with support from Chilling Winston, The Discordians, Ants At A Picnic and Dan Cribb (The Decline). He’ll also be delivering a sure-to-be-captivating performance at the Mustang Bar on Thursday, June 7, alongside The Decline and Them Sharks. Tickets are on sale now from Oztix.

HYPERIFFIC

Want your chance to step out on stage and showcase your music to more than 4,000 screaming fans at HyperFest? Band demo applications are now open, although they close on Friday, July 6, so get your demo together and send it in now. For an application package please visit hyperfest.com.au or contact Tiff.Leake@swan. wa.gov.au. HyperFest is the largest all-ages youth festival in WA, run exclusively by young people, for young people. HyperFest hits its new home at Midland Oval on Sunday, October 7.

Original Crystal Head Vodka bottles

HAVE A HART

Even and The Fauves are widely regarded as two of the most underrated acts in the annals of Australian rock history, and now they’re joining forces for a national tour. Although they’ll certainly be playing the hits that they’re best known for, the bands are insisting that “a historical tour this ain’t,” as they’ll both have new records to spruik. Even’s new record is entitled In Another Time, their first since 2008’s self-titled release; while The Fauves have just dropped German Engines – a follow-up to last year’s Japanese Engines. With three massive WA shows – Friday, August 10, at the Rosemount; Saturday, August 11, at Mojos Bar, and Sunday, August 12, at the Indi Bar – this is a tour no punter worth their salt can afford to miss.

Are you an artist who wants to showcase your work and help raise funds for charity at the same time? If so, read on because the peeps behind the IHART exhibition series want to hear from you! An annual art event that will once again take over the Claremont Hotel later this month, IHART will raise funds for the Make A Wish Foundation, selling off customised crystal skulls, skateboard decks, tees and original prints. Organisers are on the hunt for A2 prints and deadline for artwork is 5pm on Monday, June 11. To find out more hit up info@ ihartproject.com or visit facebook.com/ihartproject.

THIS SIDE OF THE POND

FRAT PARTY

Enigmatic genre defying duo Hype Williams have cancelled their national tour – which was set to include a show at the Bakery on Saturday, June 16 – due to personal reasons. Ticketholders can obtain refunds from the place of purchase.

Love your ‘80s rock? Then Frat House Fridays at Metropolis Fremantle and X-Press Magazine have just the ticket! An epic ‘80s rock party is going down this Friday, June 8. Get dressed up as an ‘80s rock icon, and power slide your away across the dancefloor to win tickets to Rock Of Ages, the new hair metal movie starring Tom Cruise and Russell Brand. Death Disco DJs will be winding back the clock and playing a super set of all the cheesiest tunes. Doors open at 9pm, $10 entry and $5 for students, plus we’re giving away a limited amount of door spots. To win, simply email your details to win@xpressmag.com.au with “Frat Me Up” in the subject line!

Fresh from a whirlwind international tour, NME cover stars and local psych-rock heroes Pond are set to back Krautrock icon Damo Suzuki when he performs at The Bakery on Thursday, June 28.

With rising stars Sonpsilo Circus performing an opening set, this is sure to be a gig which will melt your ears, face and mind. Tickets are available now from nowbaking.com.au.

DON’T BELIEVE THE HYPE

PUMP UP THE AMPS

Focusing on young bands with an emphasis on bringing live music to all ages, or namely under agers, AmpFest brings a very community minded approach to rock’n’roll. The competition has made a name for itself over the years showcasing fresh sprouts in the early days of their musical careers for which some have grown to acclaim and fame. If you’re an original, unsigned WA artist, duo or band and aged between 12 and 25, fill out an application form online from ampfest. com.au or wam.asn.au/ampfest to go into the running to win more than $15,000 worth of prizes, including over $3,500 worth of musical equipment including a Gibson Les Paul guitar for the overall 2012 winner.

Diesel House Of Shem

HOUSE PARTY

This July, House Of Shem – one of New Zealand’s premier reggae bands – land on Australian shores to take on their debut nationwide headlining tour. They take to the road with a selection of favourites from their debut album Keep Rising and 2011’s Island Vibration. Both records have been certified Gold in New Zealand and anticipation is building for the release of the bands third album, due to be recorded upon returning from tour. They’ll also be showcasing new tune Hard Road, a collaboration with American reggae-pop heavyweights Big Mountain. They’ll be bring their rasta vibes to the Wanneroo Tavern on Thursday, July 12; the Eliot St Bar in Bunbury on Friday, July 13; the Rosemount Hotel on Saturday, July 14; and the Leisure Inn in Rockingham on Sunday, July 15. Tickets through Moshtix, Oztix, Heatseeker or through the individual venues. www.xpressmag.com.au

THE LIGHT FANTASTIC

Blues rock troubadour Diesel is set to circle the country once again on his Into The Light tour. Punters can expect a solo, two-set concert experience, comprised of a first act of live renditions of rarities and B-sides (ticketholders are encouraged to submit their song requests via Facebook) and a second act of Diesel’s better known hits. He’ll be performing three of these special shows – on Thursday, July 5, at Friends Restaurant; Friday, July 6, at the Drakesbrook Hotel in Waroona; and Saturday, July 7, at the Boulevard Tavern in Joondalup. For ticketing details click over to dieselmusic.com.au.

Sonic Velvet at the Velvet Lounge celebrates its second birthday this Friday, June 8. Having boasted such local greats as Kim Salmon and Rob Snarksi in the past, this week Stereoflower, Mezzanine, The Dissapointed, Patient Little Sister, and Rachael Dease hit the stage.

Indie terrorists The Spitfires launch their new single Suffer Kate this Friday, June 8, at the Rocket Room. Support comes courtesy of The Caballeros, High Horse, and The Cabarets.

Boasting Clinton Oliver (The Growl), Michael Jelinek (The Silents), and Jennifer Alsett (Hootenanny), fuzz pop project Gunns have so far supported The Grates and Big Scary in their short career and now they’re playing their first headline show. See them with Hootenanny, The Flower Drums, and Rabbit Island at the the Norfolk Basement this Saturday, June 9.

Blood-soaked sonic warriors Sprawl are set to unleash their debut EP, Lolligag, onto the world on Sunday, June 17, at the Velvet Lounge.

Support comes from Ermine Coat, The Gizzards, Ourobonic Plague, and Race To Your Face.

Local electronic pop duo Crooked Colours have joined the line-up for Sampology’s Super Visual Apocalypse this Saturday, June 9, at The Bakery. Sam Perry, Charlie Bucket and DJ NDORSE (Brow Horn Orchestra) will also be performing sets to get all you party people pumping!

Fresh from an appearance at State Of The Art over the weekend, the mighty Sugar Army have revealed details about their much awaited sophomore album, Summertime Heavy. Set your clocks forward as September 7 is the date when the album is released through Permanent Records.

San Cisco eat well this week

WAMI WRAP

The 2012 WAMi Awards took place at The Bakery on Saturday night. San Cisco went home the major winners of the night with eight awards up their sleeve, while last week’s X-Press cover star Abbe May also went home with six awards. X-Press congratulates all of the winners.

PUBLIC VOTED AWARDS Most Popular Group: San Cisco Most Popular Live Act: Abbe May Most Popular Solo Artist: Abbe May Most Popular Music Website: FasterLouder 2012 Breakthrough Act: San Cisco Most Popular Music Venue: The Bakery Most Popular Single / EP: San Cisco, Awkward Most Popular Music Video: San Cisco, Awkward Most Popular Album / EP: San Cisco, Awkward Most Popular Music Event: RTRfm’s In The Pines CRAFT AWARDS - INDUSTRY VOTED Live Sound Engineer of the Year: Stu McLaughlin Recording Engineer of the Year: Dave Parkin Guitarist of the Year: Doug May (Abbe May, Loose Lips) Bassist of the Year Nick Gardener (San Cisco) Drummer/Percussionist of the Year: Scarlett Stevens (San Cisco) Keys/Synth Artist of the Year: Jack Doepel (Voltaire Twins, Bastian’s Happy Flight, MmHmmm) Multi-Instrumentalist of the Year: Todd Pickett (Davey Craddock & The Spectacles, Kill Devil Hills) Male Vocalist of the Year: Sean Pollard (Split Seconds) Female Vocalist of the Year: Abbe May Electronic Producer of the Year: Diger Rokwell DJ of the Year: Rok Riley INDUSTRY VOTED AWARDS Most Promising New Act: Sonpsilo Circus Rock Act of the Year: Abbe May Pop Act of the Year: San Cisco Experimental Act of the Year: Tangled Thoughts of Leaving / Usurper of Modern Medicine Hardcore Punk Act of the Year: Project Mayhem Metal Act of the Year: Drowning Horse Blues Act of the Year: Abbe May Folk Act of the Year: Ruby Boots Acoustic Roots Act of the Year: Ruby Boots Funk Act of the Year: The Brow Horn Orchestra Jazz Act of the Year: Jack Doepel Quartet Hip Hop Act of the Year: Mathas Dance/Electronic Act of the Year: Voltaire Twins Country Music Act of the Year: Ruby Boots World Music Act of the Year: Grace Barbé Indigenous Artist of the Year: Yabu Band WA Record Label of the Year: Spinning Top Records 2012 Media Award - Individual: Aarom Wilson (Drum Media) 2012 Media Award - Organisation: RTRfm 2012 Management Award: Phil Stevens Golden WAMi: Dave Cutbush 13

HOT CHIP Heads Up After a stint on LCD Soundsystem’s farewell tour, Al Doyle is back in Hot Chip, who are armed with a brand new album. He chats to MATTHEW HOGAN ahead of the release of In Our Heads, which is out through Domino Records this Friday, June 8.

Hot Chip

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You can count Grammy and Mercury award nominations, collaborations with Peter Gabriel and Will Oldham, and countless brilliant music “To have it in a really videos as being among Hot Chip’s greatest achievements, but these were all surpassed a carefully constructed, almost couple of weeks ago when one of their songs appeared on a certain TV show. quite a really sad moment in The first question X-Press asks the band’s guitarist/bassist/percussionist/fugelhornist/steel the episode was quite nice pan-fryer/synthesiserer Al Doyle is just how many times have they been asked about being on The because it’s always been a Simpsons today? “Only one person actually, so it doesn’t seem old to me,” he says. “That’s the first really bittersweet song, and question generally that we’ve had because it only happened a couple of days ago. So feel free I thought they just used it to ask about that and don’t think I’ll give you a stale answer because it’s only the second time I’ve really well.” answered the question today!”

One of the band’s breakthrough hits Boy From School appeared on The Simpsons episode A Totally Fun Thing Bart Will Never Do Again, which surprise. To have it in a really carefully constructed, turned out to be one of the best episodes of the almost quite a really sad moment in the episode season. “It was amazing,” Doyle gushes. “It was a was quite nice because it’s always been a really bittersweet song, and I thought they just used it really well. So to be part of something like that, that’s so important just for young people growing up especially from my generation I guess, it was a real humbling experience. I was really happy.”

Their inclusion on the show coincides with a return to the day jobs for the members of Hot Chip. Since they completed their One Night Stand touring cycle in late 2010, Doyle has teamed with Hot Chip bandmate Felix Martin in New Build; vocalist Alexis Taylor got busy with About Group; and Taylor’s fellow vocalist Joe Goddard went all rave-garage with The 2 Bears. Each of those acts put out albums that have been met with success.

By August last year they reconvened in London to commence work on In Our Heads. “There hasn’t really been a lot of time,” Doyle says. “We obviously haven’t been doing any shows, which is really great as it’s given us a bit of space to concentrate on all these other things. So there’s been a break in that sense, but we’ve been keeping really busy, and just sort of started getting the live thing started in the last three or four weeks. We’ve got another couple of weeks to go on that and then we’ll start playing shows in June all the way through to somewhere next year... to our summer anyway. So it’s going to be a long time on the road, so we’re just getting prepared for that.”

Doyle has perhaps spent more time on the road than his bandmates in recent years, as he joined the LCD Soundsystem touring band as soon as the One Life Stand tour was over. He replaced Tyler Pope in the much-loved dance-punk band. “I was doing this very strange thing where I would sit behind Tyler’s bass rig and shadow what he was doing on the bass guitar,” Doyle recalls his lessons when Hot Chip and LCD toured together in mid2010. “His partner was about to have a baby so he was going to be on maternity leave and I was going to step in to play his bass parts for a six week tour of the States.”

Little did Doyle or anyone else beside LCD head honcho James Murphy realise at the time, but that band was playing its final-ever shows.

“We didn’t know that we were going to make those shows in New York our final show, it was just something happened while we were on the road,” he says. “I think James’ manager just sat down with him and was talking about all of the dates that would have went into the summer of that year. The guy had already been on the road for over a year, and I just think it all became a little pointless after a while of hammering this thing out and James was ready to do some other things. So we thought ‘well why don’t we call that our last show and see what happens’.”

In a feat usually reserved for the U2s and Metallicas of this world, LCD Soundsystem managed to sell-out NYC’s hallowed Madison Square Garden, but not before playing four warm up shows at New York’s fabulous Terminal 5. “We had already been doing these 90 minutes shows that were knocking on the door of two hours sometimes, and then we needed to add another two hours of material in to make these final shows,” Doyle recalls. “Musically and technically, it was very, very difficult to do, and it was probably the hardest six weeks of music making that I’ve ever done in my career. It was a tremendous sense of achievement to get it done in such spectacular fashion. I only just saw the video of the shows, Shut Up And Play The Hits, that is going around at the moment. It was a real pleasure for me to see that because when you’re actually in it, you don’t get to see it and the full effect it’s having on everyone. It was just nice for me to see an LCD Soundsystem show, or parts of it anyway. That was a really good time, and I am honoured to have been involved in it.”

The last time Hot Chip were in town, Joe Goddard was out of action and replaced with a flat screen TV. Goddard promises they’re returning for a run of festival shows in the next six months, hinting at September or October, but interviews with other members of the band have suggested New Years, so only time will tell when Hot Chip will bring In Our Heads to Australia.

X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

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that worked so well on 2004’s Tyrannosaurus Hives and their breakthough record of 2000, Veni Vidi Vicious.

“The last album we really needed to do something else because we had done two albums in kinda the same way - with the same feel, the same producer and the same other things,” explains guitarist Vigilante Carlstroem. “Last album we wanted to do something else, so it was with different producers, and different studios. I guess after that we wanted to go back to a little bit what we did before, in a way. It’s pretty much just a band standing in a room playing the songs. Everything is recorded live. It was hard work A decade since becoming one of the too, because it was just us five, it means we had to play biggest bands in the world, Swedish to ourselves, and it’s hard sometimes to know when you’re finished.” rockers The Hives return with their The taste of the album was via single Go fifth album. Guitarist Vigilante Right Ahead, a track that was debuted in Australia at On The Bright Side in Perth last July. When The Hives finished Carlstroem chats to MATTHEW recording the track, they couldn’t help but notice its HOGAN ahead of Lex Hives’ release similarity to a certain song from Electric Light Orchestra.

“We’ve had that song now for a couple of years,” says this Friday, June 8, through Dew Carlstroem. “I guess after the song was finished we realised that it was kinda similar to Don’t Bring Me Down.

Process/Universal.

To avoid lawsuits and whatnot, we contacted them just One of the best touring bands in the world, The to make sure. I don’t care about upsetting people but Hives finally unleash the follow up to 2007’s The we’ve been in so many lawsuits in the past that it’s just not worth the time and effort.”

Black And White Album this week.

The Swedes also enlisted an outside producer Lex Hives marks a return to basics for the band. Whereas last time they recruited super- for a couple of bonus tracks on the album, but luckily producers like The Neptunes and Jacknife Lee to they got a man known for making bands sound rough polish their garage sound, with mixed results, this around the edges, head Queen Of The Stone Age Josh time they’ve returned to the method of recording Homme. “We’ve been friends for a long time,” says

THE WALKMEN

THE HIVES

Heaven Is A Place On Earth

Vigilant Citizens

The Hives Carlstroem. “And we’ve been talking about trying to record something for a while, but we’ve never had time really. When we were mixing the record in LA, his studio was really close to the place where we were mixing, so we had decided it was a good time so we went and recorded two cover songs.”

The songs are versions of High School Shuffle by Alex Carole & The Crush (a song originally produced by Hives drummer Chris Dangerous), and Insane by The Dragtones, a band that also features Carlstroem.

The Hives’ recent American jaunt was also something of a celebration of their home country as they toured with a reform Refused.“It was great,” says Carlstroem. “We’ve been friends with Refused for a long, long, long time. The first tour we ever did in 1998 was with Refused. I think that was just before they quit the band. They were always a really, really, really good band, so it was great to see them again.”

Produced by Phil Ek (Fleet Foxes, The Shins, Band Of Horses), The Walkmen’s recently released seventh studio album Heaven reveals a more mature band, comfortable in its skin and, as described by bassist Walter Martin, “standing on solid ground”. JENNIFER PETERSONWARD reports.

The Walkmen have managed to stay together, with the same lineup, for over a decade, a remarkable feat in and of itself.

Over that time, the Washington DC via Philadelphia/NYC collective may have taken the long way around, but in doing so have crafted a unique atmosphere and sound with their music. Following a brief anniversary celebration, the band has readied its next full-length, Heaven.

“When we were younger we had a fear of letting our guard down, but we honestly worked so hard on this album that we wanted to make it clear that it’s a personal statement,” bassist Walter Martin begins.

This intimacy is telegraphed by the band photo on the back cover of Heaven, where the members pose with their young children on their laps. “We wanted to show that we’re serious, we’re standing on solid ground and having our kids in the pictures just helped us show that,” Martin says.

Now together for a full 10 years, the band – having almost broken up before 2010’s Lisbon – are now solidly career musicians, and that solidity informs the production and professionalism of Heaven. “There was a period where we were really embarrassed to be promoting the fact that we’d been playing together for such a long period of time… but now we’re realising how great it is to celebrate it,” Martin says.“It’s what we do and we want to keep doing it. It feels good.”

That professionalism was helped out by being around musicians Martin describes as “the best”, including a stint touring with fellow harmony-laden critical darlings Fleet Foxes. This experience would prove to be formative for The Walkmen, as Foxes producer Phil Ek produced and mixed the newest disc, and frontman Robin Pecknold also lent his vocals to two of the tracks.

“We love their albums, his voice and him as a person, so when we were looking to add some harmonising we thought he would be perfect,” Martin explains.

With Ek and Pecknold’s contribution clearly evident on the slower, heavily acoustic record, critics have been quick to re-label The Walkmen’s sound, with many reviews describing Heaven as an “alt-country” or “folkrock” record.“I keep hearing that, and it seems so weird to me,” Martin says.“If you were going to make a graph charting our most aggressively upbeat rock songs then this album would have the most. I honestly think we’re more rocking than ever.”

Regardless of the feedback, Martin says he and his bandmates are interested in reviewers’ musings about their new tunes.“ Our manager sends through pieces now and again, just to make us feel good about ourselves,” Martin laughs. “We don’t obsessively read every single review out there, but we’re definitely curious.”

The Walkmen

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is just random footage and I promised Epitaph a movie!’”

Still, it all came together in time and the band is able to focus on their upcoming two-day anniversary festival, which will mix skating with live bands, and features the likes of The Hives and Danko Jones. It’s quite an achievement.

As for the future? Ohlsson says the band could do with a vacation prior to their next album, but is confident about their future and the story so far. “We’ve been pretty lucky with this band,” he says.

“We’ve had our share of success the whole time, so everything has felt fun with Millencolin over these years. We love playing in this band. We really, really, really love this life, so it feels good.”

MILLENCOLIN A Connection Is Made

To celebrate 20 years in the business, Swedish punk veterans Millencolin have compiled a B-sides album called The Melancholy Connection and coupled it with a DVD of the making of their landmark Pennybridge Pioneers album. BEN WATSON spoke to their guitarist, artist and documentary maker, Erik Ohlsson.

It’s been 13 years since Millencolin released their first B-sides compilation (The Melancholy Collection), 12 years since the release of Pennybridge Pioneers, and 20 since they formed their band. Drowning in this trinity of anniversaries, at home nursing his sick four-year-old daughter, is Erik Ohlsson.

Sounding level-headed, content and totally clear, Ohlsson says that despite the four year gap since their last album, the band has been very busy indeed, touring old material for the 10 year anniversary of Pennybridge Pioneers, organising their 20 year anniversary festival, and putting together this new DVD and CD package.

The new release, confusingly titled The Melancholy Connection, brings together nearly all the

B-sides from the second decade of the band’s existence - plus two brand new tracks. “It’s continuing from the B-sides of The Melancholy Collection,” Ohlsson explains, “and that’s why we choose the name ‘Connection’ of course. We’ve confused a lot of people with just changing two ‘l’s into ‘n’s. Still, I like the obvious connection to the first collection.”

Okay, there are a few covers, live and acoustic tracks that weren’t included, but this is still a pretty comprehensive overview of Millencolin’s harderto-get tracks, and Ohlsson thinks they fit together remarkably well. “I don’t think we left out any like, real own-written Millencolin songs,” he says,“these are the ones: the 12. They were kind of obvious to use these 12.

Millencolin “We could have fitted in some acoustic stuff as well, but these songs actually sound pretty good. I was surprised. A lot of people say now that it feels like a new album almost, or maybe an unreleased album from five years back, or something, in the middle of when we were recording and releasing all these B-sides.

So it’s surprisingly good that they fit together.”

In addition to the compilation, this new package contains a documentary of the making of Pennybridge Pioneers. The 90-minute film continues the ‘10 year’ theme from their recently concluded tour.

“I thought it would be a good idea to dig through my drawers and find the old footage we shot ourselves in the studio which no one had ever seen before, not even me,” Ohlsson says.“It was definitely fun because we didn’t remember all that stuff. So it was fun, and a little bit scary too, because I realised that,‘hey this

Resist The Thought

RESIST THE THOUGHT

Wanking On Planes Aussie metalheads Resist The Thought released their ear-smashing new record earlier this month, so frontman Tim Aaron had a chat to CHLOE PAPAS ahead of their shows at the Rosemount Hotel on Friday, June 8; and YMCA HQ on Saturday, June 9.

Resist The Thought’s new full-length Sovereignty is their heaviest and sharpest offering yet, and is already dominating the hardcore masses.

“We have been absolutely stoked with the response we have received,” enthuses Aaron. “Within 30 minutes of the release hitting iTunes it was #1 album in the metal iTunes charts and it has held its spot for nearly a week now. We couldn’t be more happy that fans have responded so well to it.”

But, as Aaron explains, the writing process for this brutal record wasn’t exactly a walk in the park.

“It was very time consuming,” he says. “We bought extra gear and downloaded programs so we could demo the entire CD ourselves, make changes and redemo as we felt was needed. We were spending four nights a week together writing and the other three were spent getting ideas individually.”

However, despite the brain-slamming process that goes along with writing a metal album, the band had a clear direction they wanted to take right from the start – something many bands deign to do.“Before we wrote this album we made it very clear that it was to be way heavier and more aggressive than anything we have done before. We used the words ‘heavy, angry and fast’ to determine whether a song would have a place on the CD, and if it ticked all three boxes it would be. It’s a much more mature and refined album than our last stuff,” Aaron muses.

The roaring four piece spent March of this year cooped up in California with renowned metal producer Dan Castleman, and Aaron reckons that the country change was worth it. “It was an incredible experience. [Castleman] has done bands such as Winds Of Plague, As I Lay Dying, Impending Doom and is really cool to work with. Working with Dan was such an easy process, he was a good dude, but also knew how to get the best takes out of us,” Aaron explains.

The band also decided to do something a little different and record a documentary to be released along with the record.“We decided to film the whole writing and recording process and got it turned into a DVD,” Aaron says. “Dan from Skull & Bones [record label] was the brains behind that; we figured not many Aussie bands have done anything like that before, and we are always pushing for originality.

It basically shows how we wrote and recorded the CD - but it also shows the band’s personality- we talk about wanking on planes, clogging toilets, Walmart,” says Aaron.

Though their brand of metal never really enters the mainstream, it sits in burgeoning genre of its own that will always have a massive fan base, and as Aaron explains, is sometimes undervalued both at home and overseas.“America and Australian scenes are very similar in that they are both very spoilt scenes,” he says. “They have a lot of quality music but because there is so much of it, it can be easily taken for granted.

It’s all very much trend based as well, which makes it hard for bands to have solid careers. We have never been a band that buys into any scenes, we just do our thing and appreciate the fuck out of anyone who supports what we do.”

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X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

the offer until this last time. It was a beautiful day that we played, by this beautiful little pond. It was a good day, and we got to check out a few bands, and we had a lot of people come to see us. I thought it went down really well.”

It’s just one more achievement in the course of a landmark year that has also seen the release of The Black Seeds’ fifth studio album, the critically acclaimed and commercially successful Dust And Dirt. Their first original release since 2008’s Solid Ground, the album is also the first one that the band produced and recorded themselves.

“I’d say that we had a different process with this album,” Weir explains. “We recorded it ourselves, so we had a bit more time to experiment, we got a grittier tone out of most of the Kiwi dub fusion outfit The Black and instruments, and I think it comes through in the Seeds play their new album, Dust And work. We probably did around 25 songs and then a whole lot down to the album of 13 songs, Dirt, at The Bakery on Thursday, June culled so we definitely chose the songs that we thought 14, with support from Cheap Fakes. were the best, and that worked together the best. terms of how it’s changed, I think we just got TRAVIS JOHNSON talks to lead singer In better at recording - all sides of it - and had a slightly Barnaby Weir about the recording different process that gave us a bit more time to make it better. And we got the chance to play some process. of the songs live before we recorded them. So for all those reasons, it’s different to our previous albums.”

When we talk to Barnaby Weir of The Black Seeds, This new process also allowed Weir he’s still basking in the afterglow of the band and company the chance to stretch themselves having performed at the prestigious WOMAD creatively. “There was a bit of experimentation.

Festival for the first time, an event which, in his Mike - who produced the album and is also our estimation, went off pretty well. guitarist - he definitely needed time to just play “We always thought it would be great,” he around with each sound. But once we were there reflects. “And always wanted to play, but never got playing together, the work that we’d put in together

THE BLACK SEEDS Dirt Music

The Black Seeds practicing the songs and building the songs really paid off. And even if we didn’t have lyrics for a song, we’d record an instrumental version, then go away and think about some lyrics. The band itself was feeling tight - there were no issues, really.”

This DIY attitude is one that seems to be integral to the Kiwi music scene. As Weir explains, “I think it’s just out of necessity for bands out of

New Zealand. We work hard, and we do everything ourselves. We choose our own management and we do our own guitar teching and that sort of thing - we don’t need a lot of the frills. And it’s also good to be more in touch with your fans and more approachable. We just have to work a little bit harder and multitask a little bit more than an international pop act might need to.”

DEF FX

Industrial Revolution Before she became the world’s most famous witch, Fiona Horne fronted Sydney’s industrial dance rock group Def FX. At the height of their popularity Def FX imploded after the sudden departure of founding member Sean Lowry. Now they’re back together and playing The Bakery on Monday, June 11.

CHRIS HAVERCROFT reports.

Def FX An informal meeting with a friend of a friend in Los Angeles was the catalyst for this brief reformation of Def FX. After a few bottles of champagne and some Googling of the Def FX name, Horne and her newly found publicist friend discovered Facebook pages, YouTube videos and Wikipedia entries dedicated to the band. It wasn’t long before the offer of a reunion tour came in.

“Martyn [Basha] the original bass player had posted a message a year before on one of the YouTube videos so I put a note on there saying ‘do you want to get the band back together?’ It was actually a mate of his that saw my comment and told Marty about it. That is how we got in touch again,” recalls Horne.

As with most bands during their younger years, Def FX were always looking forward to what they wished to achieve and didn’t take the time to smell the roses and enjoy the journey.With all the members having carved out alternate careers and interests, the reunion is definitely aimed at having a fun time as opposed to trying to make a quick buck. “You have to have the passion for it [touring] to be involved because we don’t have a big budget and we don’t have a record label,” Horne says. “We are doing it on the smell of an oily rag.

Every ticket that is bought is putting us on the road.There are no guarantees and we really appreciate that the fans are coming out and buying the tickets. We aren’t doing it in a fat cat kind of way. It is very lean, very mean and very fucking keen!

“I skydive, so I say feel the fear, do it anyway and don’t suck,” explains Horne about the attitude that was taken into rehearsals.“This is a nostalgia tour. We are not writing any new music, we are doing a greatest hits set.We paid attention to what our 3,000 fans on Facebook had been saying they want to hear.”

Even though it may be a trip down memory lane for the generation X fans, Horne is confident that there will be a new legion of fans that know her from her roles on television and those who have read any of the nine books she has had published. Horne hasn’t been out of the public eye, but her time in the band has had a lasting effect. “My hair is fucked from doing that tour with the dreadlocks and I don’t even have any eyebrows because I used to shave them off and draw them on red and green.

Some fans on Facebook voted on the outfit that they wanted me to wear for the tour, so I contacted the original designer Mindy McTaggart. She has actually made me some stuff. I used to go off stage and get changed in the break before the encore and come out in some fucking outrageous costume, so if there is any room backstage without everyone perving on me I might even work in a costume change. I have some stuff to wear, it is going to be fun.” www.xpressmag.com.au

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AARON FREEMAN Marvelous Clouds

THE TEMPER TRAP The Temper Trap

Shock

Liberation Music

To anyone who bared witness to YouTube footage of Ween’s performances from early last year, it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that frontman Gene Ween, aka Aaron Freeman, would later call for an end to the band. Now with 28 incredibly creative years of Ween behind him, Freeman has emerged with his first album under his own name, an album consisting of nothing but songs penned

by Rod McKuen.

Prolific poet McKuen is best known for writing the lyrics to Seasons In The Sun, among the 1500 other songs he wrote for the likes of Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Johnny Cash and more.

The result? It’s the most laidback album Freeman has ever put any of his names to, that’s for sure. It’s all acoustic guitars, electric pianos, flutes and brushed percussion, with the occasion touches of bird whistle. Think of Your Party from Ween swansong La Cucaracha 12 times over and you’d be on the right track.

Pushing The Clouds is a spoken word interlude that sums it up, “I’ve never been able to push the clouds away / help me, please”. This album is part of Freeman’s healing process from the life of excess that Ween was synonymous with.

A welcome return for Gener, Marvelous Clouds would make a great gift for your grandparents, but just make sure you don’t listen to it while operating heavy machinery.

Festival darlings The Temper Trap are back with an album that looks like it will go down a treat on the big stages for its memorable anthems and atmospheric sound.

The album is a versatile mix ranging from Coldplay-esque to indie quirky. The first song Need Your Love has lead singer Dougy Mandagi sounding heroic and big while the album ends with him dropping his defensiveness on the quiet Leaving Heartbreak Hotel.

Trembling Hands could easily be the followup to their inescapable 2009 hit Sweet Disposition.

It’s hard not to feel something when listening to Mandagi’s voice soar with the music, although it’s easy to imagine it as advertisement music like their previous material. It’s followed by The Sea Is Calling, a much more sensitive track reminiscent with a harmonious chorus.

It’s strange to hear an Australian group singing about the recent London riots but they lived there at the time. London’s Burning summarises the moment through being progressively loud and chaotic and the chant “Wheey, London’s burning” is intimidatingly laddish.

The album lacks in flow and some songs are disjointed, such as This Isn’t Happiness, where Mandagi’s drawn-out vocals don’t match the tempo of the song. Others make up for this, such as the multifarious Where Do We Go From Here, and the Radiohead-inspired Rabbit Hole.

_MATTHEW HOGAN

_CORAL HUCKSTEP

MARINA AND THE DIAMONDS Electra Heart

ZULU WINTER Language Dew Process

Atlantic / 679 Recordings

The British hype cycle is a snake constantly in the act of consuming itself: witness Zulu Winter, who are Mumford & Sons playing at being Foals.

Take a pinch of the former’s earnest poesy, and a dab of the latter’s tribal inflected post-punk, and voila: Language. It’s impossible to imagine this record coming from any time or place but London 2012, which provides me a neat excuse to call it a time capsule, bury it in my backyard and forget about it forever.

What Language has going for it is an admirable cohesiveness of purpose; it is an album in thrall to the possibilities and optimism of youth.

Unfortunately, the Zulu Winter worldview has all the insight of a party montage from an episode of Skins.

The lyric sheet is a parade of howlers (“Just like a cawing crow/It leaps”). Fittingly, Words I Wield is most nonsensical, as Will Daunt compares himself to a dragon. A dragon.

There are a few sharp hooks, but they are buried beneath drab arrangements and synthesizers all set to ‘shimmer’. When they do manage to transcend themselves (as on the slinky, grooving, Move Back to Front) it renders the rest of the material here doubly ham-fisted. Everything rings of cheekbones and complacency. Language gives one the impression Zulu Winter stay up all night drinking, dancing and swimming like they could live forever; you’re the one who ends up with the headache, though.

_ALEX GRIFFIN

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Fame has been demystified enough for us to know that the adage “Fake it till you make it” does not go far enough. As a culture, we watch celebrities with such scrutiny, we understand that making it isn’t even half the battle – keeping it is what separates the stars from the starlets.

Marina Diamandis’ fame is still teething, and her solution to this conundrum is paradoxically simplistic: make it, and then make more.

After months of hype, teases, and a handful of singles, Marina’s new album has arrived - and it’s a letdown. Electra Heart’s main problem is that,with 12 songs clocking in at more than an hour, it’s an album that doesn’t know its own hulking weight (the deluxe edition swells to 16 tracks, plus bonus video content).

That’s not to say there aren’t some damn catchy tracks in the mix – Primadonna is full of gleefully self-absorbed lyrics (“I know I’ve got a big ego/ I really don’t see why it’s such a big deal though”) while Radioactive finds Marina’s operatic vocals paired with thumping house beats to great effect. These tunes come courtesy of Top 40 guns Dr Luke and Stargate, who’ve penned charttoppers for Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj in recent years. But a few clever lines and a choice drum fill or vocal run isn’t nearly enough. If Marina had only spent as much time on pushing musical boundaries as she had churning out mediocre pop tune after mediocre pop tune, Electra Heart would have been a lot more successful. _JENNIFER PETERSON-WARD

SAM SPARRO Return To Paradise

GARBAGE Not Your Kind Of People

EMI

Stun Volume / Liberator Music

We haven’t heard much of Sam Sparro in the past four years, aside from his Chauffeur project with Mark Ronson and the 2010 single Pink Cloud.

Perhaps Sparro was hesitant to compile new material to rival his incredibly popular 2008 self-titled debut, which is remembered for the hits 21st Century Life and Black And Gold.

This album is a stellar return for Sparro.

Return To Paradise blends ‘70s disco-funk and ‘80s dance with a hint of jazz wrapped in a layer futuristic pop. The singer’s dapper 1930s image and accompanying film noir music videos ensure his new venture is timeless.

Tracks Happiness and The Shallow End are danceable fun while others such as Return To Paradise have a surrealist quality. In the album’s title track, Sparro dreams of a return to a natural world from a technology-fulled “robogeddon”; the melodramatic synthesizer and futuristic blurts match the lyrics.

The more emotional Sparro’s songs, the higher his voice stretches. On Shades Of Grey and Closer he reaches almost Bee Gees proportions as he sings of heartbreak. I Wish I Never Met You showcases a soulful side to Sparro previously unseen.

The biggest surprise is We Could Fly, which begins with an instrumental ballad only for it to turn into a classic finger-clicking disco-inspired pop song that could rival Mark Ronson in its polished perfection.

The on again, off again group Garbage have been in anything but a hurry to make their fifth album Not Your Kind Of People. Free from their contractual obligations of the past, Garbage have chosen to be the masters of their own destiny and take full control of their first album in seven years.

They may not have the freshness that was oozing out of their pores during their debut, but instead of being stifled by the lack of safety net, there is an energy on Not Your Kind Of People that has been lacking from the band for some time.

The band’s penchant for using every piece of technology available to them in the studio is evident from the get-go with Automatic Systematic Habit harbouring all of the dark electronica that has made them so popular across broad sub-cultures.

Shirley Manson is still able to scare you off while spitting out a venomous line, and drag you right back in with one of her irresistible hooks.

A firm eye on repositioning themselves as radio favourites appears to be the game with the hook heavy Automatic Systematic Habit and the throwaway Blood For Poppies. The transcontinental four-piece still surprise though with the seriously tidy shoegaze meets Pretty In Pink moments on Felt.

Even if Garbage are not your kind of people, they are more than just a pretty face.

_CORAL HUCKSTEP

_CHRIS HAVERCROFT X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

SILVERSUN PICKUPS Neck Of The Woods Dangerbird

LA alternative rockers Silversun Pickups are back with their third record Neck Of The Woods, a step down a more experimental path with roomier sounds whilst still maintaining their trademark reverb and distortion.

First single off the record Skin Graph is the most catchy track on Neck Of The Woods with frontman and guitarist Brian Aubert’s signature vocals penetrating the rock-heavy tune. It’s one of the few tracks on the record whereby Aubert’s strong and powerful voice is used to its full potential.

A lot more down-tempo compared to 2009’s record Swoon, the euphoric Make Believe with its epic drum patterns and the unpredictable Mean Spirits with its distorted guitar riffs and anarchic chorus, are two striking standouts on the album.

There are both outrageously grand and intimate moments throughout the record but although Gun-Shy Sunshine brings out the grungy guitar riffs, it’s dull, slow and unexciting. The final track of the record Out Of Breath won’t have you feeling like it but Busy Bees is a tight number which is bound to smash the airwaves.

Filled with angst, aggression, dramatic pauses and splendid build ups and break downs, Neck Of The Woods somehow manages to be enticing and catchy yet mundane and ‘meh’ at the same time.

If you’re a fan, this record may grow on you but it’s just not as rocky or energetic as some of their previous work.

_ANNABEL MACLEAN

KING CANNONS The Brightest Light Stop Start / EMI

If you thought that Brian Fallon and Gaslight Anthem were the biggest Bruce Springsteen fans out there, then you clearly haven’t heard the debut album from King Cannons. You would be excused for thinking that King Canyons had spent their formative years in New Jersey, but The Brightest Light was put together by six lads from a working class background in Melbourne.

As a 10 year old, Luke Yeoward was busking on street corners to pay for his first electric guitar which lead him to his discovery of punk rock. Doing the hard yards in the punk scene saw him depressed and jaded until a chance meeting with guitarist Ron Ting and bassist Jonno Smith found him changing direction and forming King Cannons.

The energy of those punk years aren’t lost on tunes like Too Young where Yeomans’ brute of a voice sings his own blue collar anthem. Title track The Brightest Light starts modestly enough before turning into King Cannons own Darklands. Things still hold up pretty well when acoustic guitars are brought out on Everyman’s Tale, but it is the flurry of noise on The Cool Change and On Our Own that are King Cannons best side.

It’s easy to tag King Cannons as mere imitators, but that would distract from the fact that The Brightest Light is a very good record indeed.

CATTLE DECAPITATION Monolith Of Humanity Metal Blade

OWL EYES – Crystalised (Wunderkind) If you’re not already familiar with Owl Eyes, you will no doubt have heard her on the radio for two reasons: her cover of Foster The People’s Pumped Up Kicks featured on last year’s Triple J Hottest 100; and she sung the chorus of Illey’s memorable summer hit It Can Wait. Owl Eyes’ latest single Crystalised also feels like an instant success. The song has a magical quality stemming from the glittering synth and the singer’s girlish voice. It has a solid dance vibe that will definitely translate well on the dancefloor but it’s just as easy to listen to Crystalised and zone out into your own world.

BLOOD ORANGE – Champagne Coast (EMI) If you had heard Blood Orange at Florence + The Machine’s recent Perth show, you would have been listening to songs drenched in loud electric guitar and drowning in the overwhelming size of the Burswood Dome. Plugged into your ears, however, Blood Orange’s music can actually be appreciated and it turns out, he’s much better than his stadium performance showed. In his new release Champagne Coast he blends ‘80s funk in futuristic indie fashion with a particularly dance-y vibe.

SOPHIE KOH – I Understand (MGM) Melbourne-based chanteuse Sophie Koh has showed a lot of promise since her 2003 Triple J Unearthed win. Unfortunately this single falls a bit flat. It’s a pragmatic break-up song showing little emotion, despite the lyrics, “I would love to love you harder but baby I don’t think I can”. It tends to drag – a result of its subject matter and its polished, distant-sounding drum/piano. Perhaps it just lacks the energy displayed in Koh’s much-loved live performances on RockWiz. Nevertheless, it does grow on you, if you care to repeat.

DEEP RIVER COLLECTIVE – Excuses (Independent) Deep River Collective wouldn’t have sounded out of place in the ’70s. This band has a haunting tune in Excuses, right through the piano intro and the exaggerated guitar solos. It’s easy to imagine the band put on a psychedelic performance when playing their live sets around Perth and, based on this single, it would be worth checking them out. Excuses is less amplified than their other material, but this also ensures it is an easy listen. The single was mastered at London’s iconic Abbey Road Studios, which perhaps contributed to the track’s classic feel. _CORAL HUCKSTEP

An unlikely legend of Australian music, Rowland S. Howard was a pioneering noise guitarist and a heart-on-sleeve songwriter, and Ghost Pictures’ Autoluminescent brings his often sad story to life. Best known for penning Shivers at the age of 16, he starred alongside Nick Cave in The Boys Next Door and later The Birthday Party, which takes up a large part of the doco. Seeing _CHRIS HAVERCROFT the band’s quick but tumultuous path to fame and notoriety is an exhilarating ride, when told by the band and its famous fans (Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie, Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore, and Henry Rollins among them). Interspersed with poetic cinematic interludes, top shelf live footage and revealing interviews with Howard, Autoluminescent is exactly what a rock bio should be.

Hate animal cruelty? Love the sound of rocks going through a wood-chipper? Of course you do. In the typical fashion of death and grind metal Monolith Of Humanity is a vicious slog packed full of surprises.

There’s something incredibly engaging about the American quartet’s seventh album, especially when it breaks from the usual grind tropes.

Album opener The Carbon Stampede is nothing special but by A Living, Breathing Piece Of Defecating Meat their sound opens up with more groove and multi-layered vocals. As the grotesquely named songs sweep by every voice from black metal screeching to teeth rattling growling - yes there is a difference for you laymen and women - helps create deep melodies over the pounding drums and erratic guitars.

By Gristle Licker, you’re hooked. The slower tempo and more conventional metal riffs mixed with off-kilter breakouts are what help turn the album from a tedious grind to an engaging romp through mutilation and bloodshed.

While it’s doubtful the next live-export rally at the Fremantle docks will feature a Cattle Decapitation soundtrack it’s a refreshing, if not pungent, take on protest music.

_MATTHEW HOGAN

SISTER ROSETTA THARPE Live in 1960 Widely acclaimed among the greatest sanctified gospel singers of her generation, Sister Rosetta Tharpe was also one of the most controversial talents of her day, shocking purists by subverting sacred music with the secular by playing nightclubs and theaters.

A flamboyant performer whose music often flirted with the blues and swing, she not only pushed spiritual music into the mainstream, but in the process also helped pioneer the rise of pop-gospel, with her upbeat music and charismatic performance style attracting adherents like Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash.

On this 1991 CD, taken from a previously unreleased European concert, Tharpe is heard solo, entertaining and uplifting the audience with rollicking tunes Gospel Train and Can’t Sit Down providing evidence of her show-stealing talent. Can I get an Amen?

_BRENDAN HOLBEN _JENNIFER PETERSON-WARD www.xpressmag.com.au

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EAT, DRINK AND BE MERRY

It’s time to crack out your comfy pants because The Good Food & Wine Show is set to return to Perth in July, and unless you’re a seasoned gorger, you’ll need an elasticised waist line to facilitate the consumption of copious amounts of delicious food and drink. Set to take over the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre from July 13-15, The Good Food & Wine Show will boast demonstrations from celebrity chefs such as Ainsley Hariott, Adriano Zumbo, Manu Feildel and George Calombaris, plus tastings, cooking classes and displays from WA’s best purveyors of fresh produce. Tickets are on sale now from Ticketek.

Tricia Helfer in her starring role as Six on Battlestar Galactica Ian Coppinger stars in An Englishman, An Irishman And A Scotsman

SIX APPEAL

Cylons and humans alike will be pleased to hear that the sexy Six from Battlestar Galactica, aka Tricia Helfer, will be joining the 2012 Supanova Pop Culture Expo lineup. Famous for wearing the tightest dress known to both man and androids in her starring role as Six, Tricia Helfer started life as a fashion model, and since wrapping up her role as a sexy cylon, she has appeared in a number of TV shows, films, and has leant her voice acting skills to a variety of cartoons and console games. Fans can catch Helfer live and in the flesh when she visits Perth for Supanova on June 23-24 at the Claremont Showgrounds. Find out more at supanova.com.au.

BILL’S BACK

Bill Bailey

Much loved comic, musician and Black Books star, the wispy haired Bill Bailey will pack his bags and head south this August for a series of performances across the great land down under.

Touring his new show Qualmpeddler, which was inspired by a recent trip to China, Bailey will arrive in Perth for one show only on Sunday, August 26, at the Riverside Theatre. Fans of Bailey’s previous live shows can expect the same style of weird and wonderful tomfoolery that the British comic has become renowned for, with music, ranting, animation and more. Tickets are on sale now from venuetix.com.au.

UK COMEDY KINGS

Adam Spencer prepares for Dry July

GO DRY THIS JULY

It’s time to take a break from the booze Australia, and with Dry July creeping ever closer, now’s the perfect opportunity for you to support local charities while giving your liver a chance for some R&R. Last year 11,463 participants abstained from grog for the month of July, raising a whopping $2,830,000 for adult cancer patients, and in 2012, Dry July is hoping to raise over $10 million.

Fundraising for hospitals caring for cancer patients around the nation, Dry July is now in its fifth year, and registrations have just opened for those who are ready to commit to a month without grog. Sign up online at dryjuly.com.

Starring Gavin Webster, Ian Coppinger and Vladimir McTavish, the comedy spectacular that is An Englishman, An Irishman And A Scotsman will return to Perth this July for a night of laughs at the Riverside Theatre. Immensely popular on their home turf, the three comics will make their way to WA next month to show us exactly what they’re made of, promising more jokes than you could poke a Welshman at. Tickets for the show on Saturday, July 14, are on sale now from Ticketek.

Find out more at englishirishscottish.com.au.

CASHED UP

Fans of music legend Johnny Cash won’t want to be anywhere except the Astor Theatre come Friday, November 30, when the iconic venue will be transformed into a shrine for the worship of the big man’s music with Johnny Cash: The Concert. Split into two sets that cover Cash’s early years and the most popular hits from his back catalogue, the concert will star Daniel Thompson, Stuie French, Alanna Cherote and The Tennessee Studs. Tickets for this Cash-tacular are on sale now from BOCS.

WALL WORK One of the most influential and outstanding contemporary photographers at work today, Canadian Jeff Wall is noted for his charismatic and remarkably staged images. Having recently made art history by selling one of his images for a record $3.6 million US dollars, a new exhibition on show at the Art Gallery of Western Australia features 26 photographs from throughout the artist’s varied career, allowing local audiences to see Wall’s work in depth for the first time.

Monique & Fernando

Photographs by Matt Jelonek

Omar & Ebbeny Amy, Sharmila & Kate

Shane & Claire Heather & Kirsty

Jeff Wall & Gary Dufour 24

Zina & Aga X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

Swerve

SWERVE Hit the Brakes Directed by Craig Lahiff Starring David Lyons, Emma Booth, Jason Clarke, Travis McMahon, Vince Colosimo Australian director Craig Lahiff has had a long if not very prolific career making middleweight outback neo-noir films such as Fever and Heaven Is Burning.

Now he returns to the well with the new thriller, Swerve.

Colin (David Lyons) comes across the aftermath of a car crash by the side of a desert highway. In one car is a dead man and that most overused of plot engines, a briefcase full of cash.

In the other is the sultry Jina (Emma Booth). Being a decent sort of fellow, Colin takes the girl and the money to the nearby town of Neverest, where it turns out that Jina’s husband, Frank (Jason Clarke), whom she was in the middle of leaving before the accident, is the local cop. It isn’t too long before Jina is trying to seduce Colin, and anyone familiar with the noir genre knows her motives are, more likely than not, larcenous rather than lascivious: that case full of cash would go a long way towards a new start, far from her abusive hubby.

As far as plot is concerned, it’s pretty standard stuff, more than a little reminiscent of Oliver Stone’s U-Turn. But while the initial elements and characters are at least nominally engaging there’s a reason these tropes are so prevalent: they work - Lahiff fails to do anything too interesting with them. His characters are thin stereotypes: the corrupt

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cop, the femme fatale, the psycho enforcer (Travis McMahon), the sleazy businessman (Vince Colosimo), and his narrative is by turns loose, overly convoluted, implausible, or all three.

The cast do as well as they can with the material at hand. Lyons can’t do much with a character who is almost entirely bereft of defining characteristics, but Booth manages to inject some life into the proceedings by playing her cards close to her chest, so that we’re constantly guessing as to where her character’s manipulations end and her real persona begins. Clarke is solid as the sinister arm of the law who gets progressively more menacing as the film progresses, and McMahon has fun playing his threatening interloper as a flat-eyed rattlesnake of a man who would just as soon kill a person as look at them.

In the end, though, it’s nothing we haven’t seen done better elsewhere. The film’s odd, shifting tone means that we’re never sure as an audience how the scenes presented are meant to be read; is it a comedy? A psychosexual drama? A Tarantinoesque genre mash-up? Who knows. There’s nothing wrong with an energetic rehashing of old archetypes, but Lahiff’s solid but flair-free direction and uninspired script fail to combine the old ingredients in new and interesting ways. Which isn’t to say it’s a terrible film, but it is a stolid and lacklustre one, sitting right at the top of the quality bell curve. It’s by no means the worst film you’ll see this year, but conversely, two minutes’ thought will bring to mind a list of half a dozen better deserving of your attention. _TRAVIS JOHNSON

Emma Booth stars in Swerve

EMMA BOOTH Desert Blossom

Perth-born actor Emma Booth has racked up plenty of on-set experience on various film and television projects over the past few years, including attention-getting turns in the television series Cloud Street and Underbelly, as well as roles in such films as the Australian comedy Clubland and the Joel Schumacher-directed horror film Blood Creek. But there were a few things she hadn’t anticipated having to deal with while on location in the middle of the desert for director Craig Lahiff’s neo-noir thriller, Swerve. Things like...

“The heat!” she exclaims, laughing. “The heat, the heat, the heat. And the cold at night was quite insane. The pool scene was freezing. The temperature kept the makeup and wardrobe artists busy, having to dry us off all the time. That was probably the biggest challenge, I’d say. And the flies getting in shots - that was a bit annoying, having to do reshoots because of the flies.”

Still, she maintains the end result was worth all the tribulation. “I had an absolute ball. It’s definitely a fun film. It keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time. I only saw it two months ago for the first time. It’s funny; when you make films, until you see the final product often it’s like ‘Wow, I didn’t think it was gonna be like it was!’. I was really impressed with it.”

She tells us that she was immediately attracted to the role of Jina, the manipulative wife of a corrupt country cop (Jason Clarke), who uses her

feminine wiles on the hapless everyman protagonist, Colin (David Lyons) as part of a plan to get away with a briefcase full of illicit drug money. Booth says she recognised elements of her own personality in the character when she read the script.

“I just think there’s a part of myself in every character that I play,” she explains. “So for me it’s real just to kind of organically jump into her skin. I have played the femme fatale before, and I just find it really fun. So there wasn’t really any research on my part for that, it’s just finding that place in me which is really similar to Jina. She meets Colin and thinks he’s her ticket out of the dead-end relationship and the job and the small town mentality. It’s kind of interesting how she tries to use her sexuality in the beginning, but he doesn’t bite, so then it becomes manipulation in terms of trying to figure out how to get to him and get out. It was an interesting little challenge there.”

For writer/director Lahiff, a veteran of the thriller genre, Booth was the only choice for the role.

“Craig approached me,” Booth says of the casting process. “I think he had me in mind all along.

He didn’t actually audition me for the role; he just offered it to me straight out. And I hadn’t actually played someone like Jina yet, and I’m constantly looking for that challenge of playing someone new.

Shooting in the Flinders Ranges really appealed to me, and the film noir style, and the pace of it, so for me it was just a no brainer; just an instant ‘yes’ when Craig asked me.” _TRAVIS JOHNSON

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What To Expect When You’re Expecting

WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU’RE EXPECTING More Than Just A Big Belly

Prometheus

Directed by Kirk Jones circumcised hits the papers and Jules almost gives Starring Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Chace birth live on air during her reality fitness TV show.

Crawford, Matthew Morrison, Dennis Quaid, Jennifer Lopez is surprisingly good as Holly, Chris Rock a photographer who is desperate to adopt a child but Rosie (Anna Kendrick) and Marco’s (Chace Crawford) Pregnancy. Birth. Water-breaking. Dilation. Vagina. post-high school one night stand which results in her That’s pretty much what What To Expect When You’re falling pregnant and then having a miscarriage was Expecting is about but, some folk who have had the misplaced in this comedy. We’d known the characters ‘pleasure’ of viewing this film may have been a little for about 10 minutes before that happened and so surprised by some of the glorious one-liners littered there was no feeling of empathy or sadness evoked throughout its duration. from the random miscarriage scene. It was just weird What To Expect When You’re Expecting is – especially in slow-mo with music dubbed over based on the New York Times bestselling self-help Rosie crying and Marco looking a little sad. book of the same name and revolves around five What was perhaps the best part of this couples whose lives are intertwined and become birth comedy was ‘The Dudes’. A bunch of dads with utter chaos as parenthood nears. Wendy (Elizabeth babies who go for walks around the park regularly, Banks) who’s desperate for a child decides to give up chatting about life, their wives and babies. Chris Rock trying to get pregnant with her loving and slightly plays Vic, a charismatic dad with a kid who manages awkward husband Gary (Ben Falcone) and it’s at that to put himself in danger in the park regularly by moment when she decides to down a couple of getting caught in goal nets and even finding a dead glasses of wine after two years of trying that she falls cat in the bushes. pregnant (promptly disrupting Gary doing laps in the The conversation between Holly ’s pool to tell him the news – jumping in the pool with husband Alex (Rodrigo Santoro) who is new to ‘The eight or so pregnancy sticks).

Dudes’ and Vic are pretty hilarious – Alex talks about She wants to have the perfect pregnancy his wife wanting to buy a house before the baby is but soon realises it’s not realistic – having tantrums, born, Vic says “When your wife says you’re looking randomly farting and trying to maintain her cool at houses, you’re buying a house…check your when around her ‘mother’ in law Skyler (Brooklyn receipts.” Rebel Wilson is great as Janice, Wendy’s Decker) who is a tall, leggy blonde trophy wife baby-store helper – bringing her awkward humour pregnant with twins. (“I wanted the glow, I wanted and outlandish body movements to many of the what they promise you on the front cover of those funny moments in the movie. magazines – well I’m calling it bullshit!”)

All up, What To Expect When You’re Expecting Fitness guru Jules (Cameron Diaz) falls is a light-hearted chick flick, a predictable story-line pregnant unexpectedly after a fling with reality with semi-developed characters and a few gooddance show star Evan (Matthew Morrison) and both liners thrown in. It’s something your mum, not your struggle to maintain their demanding show-biz, boyfriend, would enjoy. celebrity orientated lives while Jules is pregnant. Their argument about whether their baby boy should be _ANNABEL MACLEAN

PROMETHEUS

The Fire Of The Gods Directed by Ridley Scott Starring Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Guy Pearce, Charlize Theron, Logan Marshall-Green Fans of film and science fiction will need no backstory or introduction on the fevered hype surrounding Prometheus, but to them I say this; Prometheus answers a lot of questions, but it leaves you asking just as many. And though it doesn’t quite reach up to its lofty expectations, it’s a brilliant return to the genre for director Ridley Scott and lays the foundation for a great, new filmic universe, that shares strong DNA with the Alien franchise. Strong ties, but maybe not quite the same lineage.

For those unsure of all the hype, here’s a quick backstory. Ridley Scott’s first commercial success, and second feature film Alien is regarded as one of the most influential science fiction films of all time. He followed it up with the commercial unsuccessfully but just as culturally significant science fiction masterpiece Blade Runner. Then he veered right off course and did the fantasy themed Legend with Tom Cruise and a string of dramatic hits such as Thelma & Louise. It’s not until now, over 30 years later, that Ridley Scott returns to the genre he so deftly wielded at the start of his career.

Prometheus opens with a series of stunning aerial shots of Earth’s most striking natural landscape, and for the first moment or two you may even feel as though you walked into the wrong cinema, but as the camera pans up it shows a massive, looming alien ship hanging in the sky.

MAX PAYNE 3 If You Want Blood

May Payne 3

Do you like blood? The good people at Rockstar games certainly do and they’ve managed to top each volume of the Grand Theft Auto series as well as previous violent games like Manhunt and The Warriors with the headexploding third instalment in the Max Payne franchise.

We were originally introduced to Mr Payne back in 2001 on the PS2 and Xbox, in a game that relied on noir and graphic novel ideas to tell the tale of a drug-fuelled detective hell bent on avenging the deaths of his wife and newborn daughter, who were killed by drug fiends. Unfortunately, time hasn’t healed all wounds for Payne. Now he’s moved from New York to Hoboken, New Jersey, and he’s living on a concoction of painkillers, booze and severe depression. But after killing the son of a mob boss in a bar room shootout, he figures it might be best to head to Brazil to work private security with a former police academy acquaintance, Raul Passos.

Here’s where the fun begins. The missions start out as Payne and Passos are working for the wealthy Branco family in Sao Paulo, partying above the favelas in rooftop bars and heading to exclusive nightclubs via helicopter. Unfortunately for Payne, a heavily armed street gang called the Comando Sombra is determined rob, extort and kidnap the Brancos.

Luckily for us, Payne is well trained in fending off gangs and dodging bullets.

The game is difficult from the get-go. Those expecting to run and gun their way through levels will

A hooded, alabaster white humanoid kneels by a river surveying the land and ship while he opens a small, engraved pot. Carefully he lifts out a container of black liquid that undulates and moves with an almost magical pulse, and pours it into his mouth.

Within moments the figure is clutching his body in pain, as the black liquid makes its way through his body, tearing him apart from a cellular level, complete with stunning CGI visuals. In agony he falls into the river as his body explodes into a cloud of black liquid.

Cut to 2089 and a group of scientists are working on caves set in the craggy cliffs on the Isle of Skye in Scotland, trying to find mounting evidence of consistent human-alien interaction across isolated cultures and thousands of years, sending us an invitation to their star system. We cut to four years later - onboard the starship Prometheus. Scientists Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) and Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) have narrowed down the star system depicted in the cave paintings and convinced wealthy business tycoon Peter Weyland to fund the trillion dollar mission to get there, and after years of cryogenically sleeping aboard Prometheus, have finally arrived.

But instead of getting answers to mankind’s origin, they get a glimpse of its destruction.

Fans will have lots to digest and run fevered rants about online and while we might not have received the film our expectations set us up for, no one can deny the intense visual mastery of Prometheus and it is sure to please fans of the Weyland-Yutani universe and general cinema-goers alike. _TOM VARIAN be shot in the face before too long. Instead you have to duck and cover, and use ‘Bullettime’ (as trademarked by the creators of The Matrix movies) to be successful in this third-person shooter.To add to the stunning visuals the creators even incorporate a function where you can slow down a bullet you’ve fired and see it penetrate and kill your target. This game is not for kids.

Using an array of high powered firearms, you’ll take great pleasure in pulling off headshots on these darned blood-thirsty enemies, who often have a never say die approach to their profession. The levels are incredible looking. You’ll shoot your way through expertly crafted soccer stadiums, prisons, yachts, airports, Brazilian slums and more, and you’ll want to stop and take a look around even after all your enemies’ bodies have gone cold. The soundtrack also adds to the tense atmosphere the game. LA art rockers Health were a perfect choice as they provide intense repetitive beats to your shootouts that slowly build as you progress through a level.

Once you’ve completed the highly impressive story mode of Max Payne 3, there’s a healthy amount of replay value included with the New York Minute mode allowing you to revisit an abridged version of the game,and an extensive online multiplayer mode offering countless types of deathmatches and more. The good people of Rockstar have also promised seven downloadable content packs by the end of the year to satisfy any urges until they release that there fifth instalment of that other franchise of theirs... Until then though, Max Payne 3 will certainly do the trick. _MATTHEW HOGAN

MR MITTENS After what seemed like an endless summer, winter has finally arrived in Perth, and as the mornings grow ever chillier, most of us will find ourselves reaching for something warm and woolen to fend off Mother Nature’s icy grasp. An Australian knitwear label created by Stephanie Caulier, Mr Mittens brings comfort and warmth to chilly days when it’s oh-so-hard to get out of bed in the morning.

“My grandmother and mother have been knitting and sewing their own clothes all of their lives, so they taught me to knit probably when I was about eight years old,” Caulier explains of how she first got into knitting.

After taking a break from knitting during her teenage years, Caulier rediscovered her love of the art back in 2007 on a fateful trip to New York City.

“In 2007 I was visiting a friend in New York and she took me to a knitting cafe. You can buy yarn, have a coffee and some cake and everybody sits together and shares the same interest. I loved it! It was there that I bought some yarn and needles again and made the first Mr Mittens piece.”

Serving up beautiful woolen beanies and scarves in a range of pretty pastels and deeper shades such as royal blue, mustard, fuschia and black, Mr Mittens’ online store is a haven for anyone who wants to wrap themselves in warm, woolen goodness while Perth descends deeper into winter.

Check out the full range at ilovemrmittens.com or visit Facebook.com/ ilovemrmittens. _EMMA BERGMEIER 26

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THEATRE/DANCE Hello My Name Is: The Blue Room Theatre, Northbridge Hello My Name Is is a project that combines a live performance with a companion online documentation and exchange project.

The performance uses subtle humour, vulnerability and sophistication to subvert the simple idea of a conversation in a community centre by creating a different kind of experience for the audience: more active, more complex. This new work asks essential questions about what we value and what that says about who we are and how we are. Runs June 14-30. Bookings can be made via blueroom.org.au.

Summer O f The Seventeenth D oll: Roundhouse Theatre, WAPPA, Mt Lawley Since its premiere in Melbourne in 1955, Ray Lawler’s Summer Of The Seventeenth Doll has become one of the pillars of our national theatre, hailed by theatre historians as one of the most significant of all Australian dramas. It was one of the first ‘naturalistic’ theatre productions in this country to attempt to convey Australian life, and the story has an enduring rapport with audiences. Presented by the WA Academy of Performing Arts, Summer Of The Seventeenth Doll explores the nature of happiness, the pursuit of idealism and the struggle to accept change. Runs Jun 15-23. Bookings via (08) 9370 6636 or waapa.ecu.edu.au.

Paradise Falls 2011/2012 by Kate McMillan Paradise Falls: Venn Gallery, Perth Kate McMillan is a local artist upholding a position at the forefront of Australia’s contemporary art sphere. In her latest series, Paradise Falls, McMillan presents a significant body of work produced as a culmination of her 2011 six-month residency as a guest of the renowned Christoph Merian Stiftung Foundation in Basel, Switzerland. Paradise Falls showcases the artist’s dexterity with a diverse range of media, including painting, drawing, photography, film and sculpture. With a focus on island sites and places that exist in isolation, McMillan has situated her solitary subjects amid the natural beauty that is Germany’s Black Forest, Wadjemup (Rottnest Island) and the winter landscapes of Switzerland. Runs Jun 15-Jul 20.

who began painting seriously at the age of 24.

Every piece in the exhibition represents many months of intensive labour for Freshwater who Kaleidoscope: Claremont Quarter, Claremont applies hundreds of layers of pearlescent inks A self-taught artist, David Bromley has emerged using very fine brushes. Runs Jun 21-Jul 5. as one of the most recognisable and innovative painters in Australia. He has fostered widespread Shaun Tan: Suburban Odyssey: Fremantle Arts acclaim and notoriety both nationally and Centre, Fremantle internationally and has been a finalist in the Shaun Tan has won the world’s most prestigious prestigious Archibald Prize six times. With a view prizes – an Academy Award for his short film to seeing the world through different eyes, the The Lost Thing, and the Astrid Lindgren Award exclusive Western Australian exhibition titled for his work as a children’s illustrator, but he Kaleidoscope encapsulates a fun, joyous and describes himself as ‘a painter who fell into playful vibe. Runs Jun 12-Jul 12. illustration and book publishing’. Fremantle Arts Centre is delighted to present for the first time Be On Time: Spectrum Project Space, ECU, a collection of Tan’s never before seen paintings Mt Lawley along with original drawings and preparatory Dani Andree’s exhibition Be On Time consists of sketches for the film The Lost Thing. Exhibited a dark, cavernous space, displaying projections together, these works create a vision of Shaun and textile-based works produced using Tan as an artist whose work across genres is built extremely labour intensive methods utilising on close observation of the real world through materials such as silver ribbon and wool. painting and drawing. Runs ’til Jul 15.

In Be On Time Andree explores the ways in we consume public urban space, amid the Projektet, Fremantle Arts Centre, Fremantle competing demands of time, work and place Imagine the complexity of the human immune making. Runs Jun 8-15. system. There are millions of tiny soldiers inside each of us, who process intruders and decide I Can’t Tell You Now What I Could Have Told You friends from foe. They are our warriors and our Then: Free Range Gallery, Perth guard dogs, our filters which protect us from A response to artist Andrea Wood’s time spent outside influences. Now apply this model to in residence drawing and photographing society, and culture. Researchers and artists zoological specimens at the University Of WA, Ola Johansson and Amanda Newall, based in and a meditation on a photograph the artist Sweden, examine the uncanny way our immune took more than 20 years ago at Grasmere, I system has influenced the way we interact with Can’t Tell You Now What I Could Have Told You others. In a joint residency between Fremantle Then revisits places or importance to reflect Arts Centre and SymbioticA, the biological arts on the artist’s changing relationship to nature. facility at the University of Western Australia, Runs ’til Jun17.

Johansson and Newall have undertaken a series of academic and artistic pursuits to Through Tulip’s Eye: Kulcha, Fremantle investigate the similarities between our internal The intricate beauty of the ancient art of and external immune processes. The pair have paper cutting is brought to life by the energy orchestrated performances, where cells from and creative joy of Pakistani self- taught artist, the body are acted out by members of the local jeweller, and 3D CAD/CAM designer Tusif performing arts community. Runs ’til Jul 15.

Ahmad. Each delicately hand cut from a single sheet of paper, his artworks are influenced by Magnesium Light: John Curtin Gallery, Curtin traditional Islamic patterns and symbols, yet University, Bentley Tusif takes a unique and personal path in his Magnesium Light is a two-part video project storytelling imagery, exploring the dynamic by experimental media artist Dennis Del opposing forces that shape our personal trials Favero which investigates the interrelationship and triumphs in life, love and beauty. Runs Jun between war and identity. In the provocative 10-30.

You And I, Del Favero explores events around the infamous Abu Ghraib photographs from Ghosts And Atmospheres: Linton and Kay Baghdad of 2006. Australian-born Del Favero Contemporary, Subiaco is an internationally-recognised artist and Ghosts And Atmospheres highlights the skill of academic who has exhibited throughout Zach Freshwater, a versatile and dedicated artist Australia and Europe. Runs ’til Aug 5

The School For Wives: State Theatre Centre, Northbridge A beguiling comedy filled to the brim with witty repartee, hilariously misguided decisions and a delightful feeling that we should all just relax and have a wine, The School For Wives is the story of a man with a problem. He wants desperately to get married but is afraid that a smart woman will cheat on him. His ingenious solution?

Enlist the help of a local convent to raise a girl so stupidly innocent that she won’t know the first thing about cheating – let alone the last. In his mind she will be everfaithful. The perfect wife. Or is she? Runs Jul 11-14. Bookings via BOCS.

VISUAL ARTS

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Yvonne Craig in her starring role as Batgirl

YVONNE CRAIG

Holy Anniversary, Batgirl!

Now in its tenth year, the Supanova Pop Culture Expo is celebrating by bringing back some of the geek culture guests that populated its first outing.

Among them is ’60s Batgirl and former Orion Slave Girl, Yvonne Craig. Tickets for Supanova on Saturday, June 23, and Sunday, June 24, are on sale now from Foxtix.

“Well, she was spunky.”

That’s Yvonne Craig’s answer when asked to sum up the appeal of her most famous character, Barbara Gordon – better known as Batgirl – on the camp ‘60s television iteration of Batman. Introduced to appeal to two key demographics – young girls and adult males – Craig’s interpretation of the character remains iconic. So too does her role as the alien girl, Marta, in the original Star Trek series, a performance that led directly to fandom coining the term “green-skinned space babe.”

“It is amazing to me that people are still watching the show 40 years later,” Craig, now 75, says. “I still get people coming up to me in supermarkets who recognise me and say, ‘Oh I watch Batman with my little boy’. The little boy might only be three, and I don’t know how he recognises me, but it happens.”

Much more than a slice of spandex-clad cheesecake, Craig’s Batgirl was something of a feminist icon, with the duality of her librarian by day/crime fighter by night character striking a chord to such

an extent that Craig appeared, in character, in an advertisement advocating women’s rights.

“They called me and said, ‘How would you like to do a public service announcement for equal pay for women?’ and I said I’d be delighted,” Craig recalls.“At that time they called Adam West and asked if he would do it, and he was going through that stage where he thought that Batman had typecast him and he was never going to work again, and he did not want to do it – although I chided him and said ‘The truth is, you don’t want women to have equal pay, Adam!’. Anyway, they got an actor to portray Adam, and the gist of it was that Batman and Robin were tied up and they were hoping that someone would save them, and I fly in on a rope. They say ‘Oh, thank goodness you’re here! Save us!’ and I say, essentially, ‘When I get paid what you get paid, you get saved’.”

Now mostly retired, Craig only occasionally ventures out onto the convention circuit, although she has made an exception for this year’s Supanova tour.

“I did the conventions for about 10 years,” she says. “And I would do four a year, and part of the proceeds went to women who can’t afford mammograms, and so I was doing them for charity purposes. But I think everybody should know when to get off, so I decided that I had done enough of them, and everyone who wanted to see me had seen me. So I quit doing them, but I’ve done a couple this year, and I’m doing the Sydney and Perth shows because it’s the tenth anniversary of Supanova. So it’ll be fun to see how it’s grown and progressed, and it’s always fun to meet people that follow the show and are watching it with their children.” _TRAVIS JOHNSON X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

NOAH HATHAWAY Never Say Never

LENNY HENRY

Look Out Bear Grylls British comedian, actor, writer and occasional musician Lenny Henry is bringing his brand new show Cradle To Rave to Perth. “Music has been the soundtrack of my whole life,” he says.

Henry hits Burswood Theatre next Friday, June 15. Bookings through Ticketek.

Lenny Henry is one of England’s best known and most-loved personalities. He’s entertained audiences around the world with his hugely successful Lenny Henry Show, docos such as New Soul Station, films like True Identity, The Man and countless television shows. However, it is the 1997 BBC1 survival documentary Lenny’s Big Amazon Adventure which he holds ‘fond’ memories of. “I did have the experience of three days on my own in the Amazon jungle,” he says down the line from his home in London, friendly and upbeat. “I had to drink this guava juice which was made by women chewing it over and over again and they’d spit it into a big jug… it got round to me and the SAS man said ‘just put it to your lips, you don’t have to drink it’.”

But that wasn’t the worst of it; Henry admits he went “a bit nuts out there” when he got lost in the Amazon one night after the camera crew had finished for the day. “There was one night where the SAS man wanted to invite me round when I was on my own,” he says. “[He said] ‘come over for dinner tonight, you go there, you turn left at that tree and right at that other tree and I’ll make a camp just there’ and I said ‘ok, fine’. At a given time I went out to the camp, turned left, turned right and there was the guy. When I left, I turned left at the camp, right at the tree and I was nowhere near my camp.

“I was in the Amazon jungle man! I could hear noises and there were eyes in the dark and there was scratching, it was just the most awful thing. What I’d done to say ‘this is my camp’ is that I’d put my ex-wife’s bra on a big stick to have as a flag and I was walking around in circles for about 45 minutes almost in tears and then at one point some moonlight struck my ex-wife’s bra and I went ‘there it is!’.”

Henry is excited to be returning down under for his latest show Cradle To Rave and says the tour is about the gap between loving music and being able to play an instrument, a lament of sorts. “I did the show last year and I did 70 shows and it was a real expression of joy for me to be able to communicate to the audience how much I love music and what music means to me,” he says.

“We’ve actually re-written the show quite a lot for Australia because I wanted to see if I could make that expression clearer and better and funnier and we’ve done that I think.

“I’m really looking forward to coming out to Australia and getting excited and passionate about music because music has been the soundtrack of my whole life… I’ve always had a boombox with me wherever I’ve gone. There was a point where I was driving around with 300 records in my car.”

Currently studying a PhD on gender, identity and class in sports films, Henry has been commissioned to write for film and television as a result. “Basically - how come in a world where ethnic minorities dominate sport, how come in that world when we watch a movie that is never the case and the coach is always a white bloke, I’m writing about that,” he explains. Aside from that, he’s written two screenplays and is looking at doing more acting.

“Yeah where’s Baz Luhrmann?,” he says, jokingly. “All I wanna do is make movies. I want to be that guy who walks away and then this explosion happens behind him. I want to be that guy!”

Noah Hathaway will appear at the Supanova Pop Culture Expo at the Claremont Showgrounds on Saturday, June 23, and Sunday, June 24. Tickets are on sale now from Foxtix.

You may not know Noah Hathaway by name, but chances are you will know him for his starring performance in the cult favourite film The Neverending Story as Atreyu, the young hero who must save the fanciful Fantasia world from the spread of “the nothing”.

Born to an actor father, Hathaway began his acting career at three years old starring in commercials. At six years old, his big break came when he was cast in the acclaimed sci-fi television series Battlestar Galactica, as Boxey the stepson of leading man Apollo played by Richard Hatch.

In this role he shared screen time with notables Lorne Greene, Jane Seymour and Dirk Benedict.

Hathaway went on to star in more than 20 film and television projects in his career, often working with the best talent of the time. Yet after nearly seven years in show business, the young star dropped off the face of the earth.

“I had been working since 1974. I’d been screwed over time and time again, so by the time I was in my early 20s I was burnt out and over it. I just wanted to be a normal person

working a normal job pouring drinks in a bar,” Hathaway begins. “The biz is full of rejection and people will take advantage of you every step of the way, so you’ve got to love what you’re doing to be able to put up with all of that. When I realised I had stopped having fun I knew it was time to do something else with my life.”

Hathaway did not return to acting until 1994, in the film To Die, To Sleep, in his first adult role.

After a second 18-year hiatus, Hathaway stepped in front of the camera again in 2011 when offered a role in Sushi Girl, a genre-bending action thriller which also stars Mark Hamill (Star Wars), James Duval (Donnie Darko), Michael Biehn (The Terminator), Danny Trejo (Machete), and Sonny Chiba (Kill Bill Vol. 1).

“It’s this kinda film noir, grind house-style movie with a ‘70s feel. It’s very gritty and very sexy.

I’m so proud of it,” Hathaway explains of the movie which is set for release in the US later this year.

“Mark Hamill is amazing in it – you’ll never think of him in Star Wars again after seeing this movie.”

Hathaway attests it is his desire to publicise Sushi Girl which has been the impetus for his appearances at pop culture conventions over the last 18 months. “For 20 years I didn’t want to do them. I was already out of the business when cons were getting started and they weren’t anything like they are now,” he says, adding that he has been overwhelmed by the positive reception he has received from fans around the world.

“You never think when you are shooting

Noah Hathaway in his starring role in The Neverending Story a movie, or you are doing what you’re doing that you’re touching people. I never knew certain movies meant so much to people. I’ve had people come up to me crying, hugging me, telling me ‘You’re Atreyu, you made a huge impact on my life’.

I’m blown away that what might be me being nice to someone for one minute might change their life. It’s really touching.” _JENNIFER PETERSON WARD

_ANNABEL MACLEAN

Lenny Henry www.xpressmag.com.au

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X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

Superb AV DJ Sampology is bringing his Super Visual Apocalypse extravaganza to town this weekend in celebration of the release of his debut concept record Doomsday Deluxe. ANNABEL MACLEAN talks to the Brisbane-based lad about cat apps, Bruce Willis and The Wiggles ahead of his upcoming show here in Perth.

“Some people that follow me on the internet through Instagram and Facebook, Twitter and that kind of stuff are probably worrying a little bit – just the amount of cat photos I’ve been posting and the amount of iPhone cat apps there are but I’m not actually that crazy,” Sam Poggioli, aka Sampology, says down the line from his home studio. Poggioli’s ‘obsession’ with cats (he has a cat himself called Ronnie) has lead him to downloading a couple of cat apps which essentially lead to the creation of the track Attack Of The Cats from his debut record and its accompanying music video. “There’s one main one which I use called CatPaint although I got one a week ago called Laser Cat,” he says. “[With Laser Cat] you have the option of combining pieces of cats or whole cats over current images taken from your phone or you can shoot lasers out of its eyes or lasers by themselves. It’s a pretty useful app.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 32

SAMPOLOGY M O R E T H A N A C AT AT TA C K

www.xpressmag.com.au

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Sampology These apps aren’t all fun and games; in fact, they’ve inspired Poggioli to create a simple app which will put Bruce Willis’ face over any photos stored on one’s phone. It’ll be handy as Bruce Willis is the main man featuring in Poggioli’s upcoming gig here as part of his Super Visual Apocalypse Tour in celebration of the release of Doomsday Deluxe, his debut record. With Bruce Willis’ face featuring in the promo video for the tour and various clips from a number of his films making the cut too, Poggioli says he’s pretty proud of his new live show and thinks Willis would be pretty excited to check it out.

“I think Bruce Willis would be down for it, sucks if he sues me but it’d be pretty cool to be sued

by Bruce Willis,” he says, half-joking. “Just seeing him in Letterman interviews and talk show interviews, he always takes the piss out of himself and plays himself up. He’s just down with it. I guess that’s what the show’s about - taking the end of the world thing and Bruce Willis’ character and just making it ridiculous.”

Like one would assume, Poggioli is a big fan of Willis’ work “except for some of the late ‘90s and early ‘00s action movies which were a bit not so good”. He does have a favourite though – “If I had to watch one over and over again, it’ll be Fifth Element,” he says. Punters can expect to see a lot of Bruce Willis’ face featured at Sampology’s upcoming gig this weekend. “It’s just orientated on trying to make you dance and see something cool and laugh but I’ve also incorporated a lot of recent stuff that’s been the news over the last year - just little bits through the show instead of it all being fictional and funny and just using humour through it, I’ve tried to use some real life stuff thrown in with movies as well,” he says.

“For example, there’s a kind of power to the people section of the show which blends the Power To The People Public Enemy video clip with V For Vendetta with the Occupy movement with the London riots and that kind of stuff. I never intend the show to be super arty or anything like that, it’s meant to be fun and

entertaining. I’ve definitely incorporated other bits, not just humour, intermittently through it.”

Poggioli reveals The Wiggles’ tune Fruit Salad may even make an appearance in the show – a celebration of their long and successful career, a reflection of sorts.“I’ve had a few requests in the past to put The Wiggles theme in the show so I think I’m going to have to just because people have been requesting it so I think it’ll make it in here for this tour,” he confirms.

Expect to hear a smattering of dubstep too – but “uplifting” dubstep as Poggioli accurately puts it.

The track Ron King off his debut record is where it’s at.

“I’m a fan of that tempo and the 70bpm kind of tempo and I wanted to make music on that kind of speed and the way you would dance to it but with more uplifting chords rather than abrasive sounds - I wouldn’t at all diss that - but for me, I wanted to make music that was really big with lots of impact on that tempo and nice chords,” he says of the genre.

Featuring collaborations with UK reggae vocalist Serocee, London born-Sydney based Spikey Tee, Danielsan of Koolism fame and more, Doomsday Deluxe was predominately produced by Poggioli himself. “In terms of the instrumental and the keyboard-y stuff and anything that’s not like a singer or for the most part – it’s me,” he says of the record. “Danielsan at the end of it played a couple of keyboard solos over the top but… for the most part, it’s completely mine.”

And as if he hasn’t been busy enough lately, he’s currently working on a Hermitude remix and will smashing out Attack Of The Cats at Splendour In The Grass and various gigs locked in for the remainder of this year.“There’s plans to go to Canada in August and I think some of the dates are locked down and there are some festival dates over summer 2012/13 which I think are already locked in!”

» SAMPOLOGY » SATURDAY, JUNE 9 @ THE BAKERY

PARK THIS DATE IN YOUR DIARY

Parklife 2012 is coming! Lock in Monday, October 1, at Wellington Square as the date to get down and have a boogie. UK dubstep-rockers Modestep and American synth-poppers Chairlift have already been confirmed as part of the yet-to-be-revealed lineup.

Get pumped y’all!

GETTING DIRTY

French electronic dudes Dirtyphonics are coming back down under and if any of you witnessed their show at The Rosemount last year, you’ll know that this shit is about to go off. DJs Charly and Pitchin of the group are bringing Dirtyphonics’ superb, high energy show to town on Thursday, July 5, at The Rosemount Hotel. Stay tuned for more deets!

GET YOUR CLUBFEET ON

Melbourne (via Cape Town) five piece Clubfeet have been much of a mystery over the last couple of years despite releasing their debut record Gold On Gold back in 2010. They only debuted their live show late last year and have been championed by the likes of NME, The Guardian, Dazed and more. Now, the group are taking to the road for their very first Australian tour in celebration of the release of their fresh double A-side City Of Light/ This Time. Catch Clubfeet when they hit Speakeasy at Villa on Friday, July 27. Tickets on the door.

LIVING ON THE EDGE

French electro maverick Yuksek is returning down under to showcase his catchy hooks, acid loops, glam and indie energised house beats. Yuksek’s latest record Living On The Edge Of Time released last year was inspired by the numbness of life on the road and the feeling of being alone in a crowd. It’s chirpy, exciting, electronica-pop. He’ll be playing live here in Perth on Friday, July 27, at Villa before hitting up Splendour. Hit up fuzzy.com.au for all the info.

Joker

A HIGH CLASS AFFAIR

After a year of rocking rad parties, Big Ape is celebrating its first birthday with its first ever national tour. Woopee! Featuring Skream and his partner in crime Sgt Pokes, Joker and Plastician, the peeps from Big Ape say the acts chosen for the tour represent some of the best names in straight up dubstep, acts that have always bought something new to the table. With roots in grime, garage and hip hop, make sure you get on down to Villa on Wednesday, July 18, for the kick off of The Big Ape National Tour. Tickets on sale today from bigapetour.com.au.

EVERYBODY DANCE NOW

C&C Music Factory are coming to town! That’s right guys. Yet another group from the ‘90s who were one of the biggest dance acts back in the ol’ days. The brainchild of two Grammy Award winning pop-savvy producers, Robert Clivilles and David Cole, C&C Music Factory were dedicated to releasing catchy tunes such as Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now), Here We Go, Do You Wanna Get Funky and more.

C&C Music Factory play Metro City on Friday, July 13.

Snatch up tickets from Moshtix. Let’s hope there’s no bad luck here.

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Skream X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

SÉBASTIEN DRUMS TO THE BEAT OF HIS DRUM

Sebastien Drums is a talented French producer who had his big break when his collaboration with Avicii, My Feelings For You, exploded during Miama WMC last year, and he’s showing no sign of slowing down.

MORGAN RICHARDS chats with the Frenchman about the French music scene and returning down under.

My Feelings For You featuring a catchy sample drawn from the Cassius’ 1999 classic of (almost) the same name, came about after Avicii, aka Tim Bergling, and Drums had been driving around one afternoon with one of Drums’ mixtapes pumping on the car stereo.

“We were listening to Cassius, and I said ‘why shouldn’t we do something new with this track?’,” Drums begins.

“And [Bergling] said ‘let’s go, let’s do it!’. It was just for fun.

We didn’t know that it would have a big success - pop charts, #1 on Beatport, three million views on YouTube... it’s crazy. But I think sometimes the best tracks are tracks that are produced fast. You just have one idea, you work

on it fast and you’ve got it. That’s what happened.

“I was very surprised. You never know when you’ve got a big hit. I’m really proud to have that track.

The Cassius track was one of the best of the French Touch, along with Daft Punk’s One More Time maybe.

We just took the original sample and tried to put some trance-y synths in, good bass, good rhythm. We tried to put the sound of today in. I’m happy, really happy with it.”

Speaking down the line from his home in the south of France near Cannes “on the French Riviera”, Drums says he can’t complain about his home country or the weather.“[It’s] such a beautiful place, the sun is always shining and it’s close to the sea,” he says in his thick French accent which, at times, makes him difficult to understand. Having grown up with a love for electronic music and the French electronic wave, it wasn’t long before Drums knew he’d found his career path.“I was very young. I started to be a DJ when I was 11 years old,” he says. “I was very influenced by ‘French Touch’ artists; Daft Punk, Cassius, Phunky Data, Bob Sinclair, all that. I said ‘that’s what I want to do’ and that’s the direction I tried to go in.”

But, he says the current state of the dance music scene in France has gotten a little warped. “At the moment, man, it’s so strange,” he says. “Five years

Sebastien Drums ago it was crazy with house music, electro music. All the guests wanted to play in France! And now nobody wants to play here because it’s so cheesy. It’s my country, and I love my country, but the music is so commercial at the moment. It’s changed a lot. People just want to hear R&B, pop, house, electro, everything mixed together in the clubs. I’m not a big fan. I hope things are going to move soon.”

Drums may have his reservations about the current scene in France, but he’s excited to be coming back to Australia. “Last time I was there, the crowd was very cool,” he says. “People there are dancey people.

They like the music; they are not just dancing because they know the track. People want to have fun and they like partying a lot. That’s why I really like to go to Australia!”

» SEBASTIEN DRUMS » FRIDAY, JUNE 8 @ THE COURT

Tom Showtime

TOM SHOWTIME THE JAM THIEF

Life for Melbourne producer, DJ and saxophonist Tom Showtime, aka Tom Gaden, is good. His debut album, The Jam Thief, is fusion of down tempo beats, nu-funk and jazzy hip hop smatterings. RK chats to Gaden about what’s in store for 2012 and everything The Jam Thief.

“I’m really getting back into playing the sax again,” Gaden begins. “I found that spark on tour with N’Fa Jones recently being the one-man band as DJ and horn section. It’s been great practicing again and getting my ‘chops’ back. Moving forward I hope to be playing with bands more regularly as well as spinning records around town. Being a DJ, producer and saxophonist is tricky, but sometimes it’s hard to know what to practice or focus on. Hopefully when you see my shows or hear my album this all comes across - that I’m making the beats, adding the scratches and playing the sax parts.”

Gaden has also hooked up with local crew The Psyde Projects on a track called Funk Pants. “It’s available as a limited 7” from Northside Records, Wax Museum or Obese,” he explains. “I’ve also just released Spaces & Places – Melbourne’s Finest Remixes on which I brought together eight local producers to rework the lead single off The Jam Thief.”

Gaden’s also planning on going back to his roots to making trip hop and down tempo beats with “loads of instruments, plenty of head nodding and sofa rocking sounds” as he puts it.

“I’m more or less working towards a new album and considering how long this one took to get out I’d better get cracking!,” he says, laughing. “I’ve got a track coming out as a 45 on the UK label Passin Me Jazz next month which is a cheeky remix of The Pharcyde’s Passin’ Me By. There’s also a few new bootlegs to add to my Your Word Against Mine collection which will be available for download very soon.”

In celebration of the release of The Jam Thief, Gaden will be taking his show around the country to showcase the debut record. “I always play across the board; I love playing my down tempo beats, interesting background beats with hints of jazz and funk,” he says. “It’s great playing long sets of this style, listening to my favourite tracks and sharing it with people. Sometimes you want to take it up a notch by pleasing dance-floors with some ‘hands in the air’ party hip hop. It can be more gratifying because of the energy it creates and with that, I’ve been really enjoying the some new sounds; mid tempo breaks with familiar hip hop samples, just with big bass lines and bigger beats.

“As well, I’ve been playing more and more of my own gigs lately, playing tunes strictly from the catalogue and getting a great response from the crowd. I played these sets in Sydney and Newcastle recently to complete strangers and they went mad for it, I sold heaps of albums at the gigs, which is a new and exciting experience for me!”

» TOM SHOWTIME » THE JAM THIEF [OBESE RECORDS] » OUT NOW www.xpressmag.com.au

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Skool Of Thought

SKOOL OF THOUGHT

BRINGING BREAKS BACK Skool Of Thought, aka Lloyd Seymour, is a DJ and producer who helped establish the breaks scene, a true pioneer and ambassador for the genre. ANNABEL MACLEAN chats with the Brisbane based UK expat about working with partner in crime Krafty Kuts, the SuperCharged days and the good old breaks scene.

If you know Krafty Kuts then you will have heard of Skool Of Thought and vice versa. These two DJs and producers are credited with playing a fundamental role in establishing the breaks scene. Lloyd Seymour was the driving force behind the award winning Against The Grain and SuperCharged record labels alongside Krafty Kuts.

Krafty Kuts’ career behind the decks took off and, as much as Seymour loved DJing, he took the reigns behind the scenes and helped see artists like Freestylers, Ed Solo and Krafty Kuts flourish.

But, after 10 hectic years of running the label and night SuperCharged and Against The Grain, Seymour needed a break from it all to rejuvenate and get back to his roots – DJing.

“When the SuperCharged club nights were in full swing and they were the hottest nights in the UK and everyone was talking about them even internationally, there was an opportunity for me to go on and be a professional DJ,” Seymour says down the line from his home in Brisbane. “But as we started the label we realised how much admin is involved and how much office time you need to run the label and then Krafty’s career went mental.

So I had to make the decision not to push myself as a DJ and instead stay back in the office and manage everything. Everything has worked out how it should be and running a label has been an amazing experience.”

Having lived in Australia for the last four years – three in Byron Bay and one in Brisbane – Seymour had to hand over the SuperCharged reigns as running a regular Wednesday midweek party from across the other side of the world became pretty impossible. But, he still has fond memories of the night. “It’s kinda nice to be having a break and looking back at this because breaks is at a stage now where it’s still present but we are looking at it in a nostalgic kind of way – the good old days,” he says of SuperCharged.

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“It’s nice to look back because it’s been going for 15 years, maybe more. Me and Krafty had a chance meeting at a record shop and he was talking and we hit it off and at the time I was more into promoting parties so I said ‘hey, let’s do something together’. It was really not planned – it was just a bit of fun. There was an element of it being the right place and the right time. We had an idea of the kind of sound we wanted to push – not just breaks.

“A lot of what people were doing was aimed at the dancefloor which is what we were about – big crowd reactions and big basslines and breaks with a hip hop influence rather than a techno influence which is what a lot of people were doing back then. The night was really successful – Krafty was reasonably well known then but not massive – and that night gave him and lot of other people platforms to showcase themselves and the music they were doing.

“There was a really nice family kind of atmosphere back then between the breaks people because everyone was in this state of mind where we were trying to pioneer something. The joke of the time was every time you’d DJ someone would come up and ask ‘what kind of music is this?’.

Nobody knew what breaks was and that went on for years (laughs).”

Seymour and Krafty Kuts’ label Against The Grain has been put on hold for the time being with Krafty Kuts focusing on his fresh label Instant Vibes and Seymour taking time out from producing and management roles. “I’ve had 10 pretty mental years which were fantastic but also quite exhausting and I really felt like I needed a new chapter so I’ve channeled my creativity into graphic design and that sort of stuff now,” he says.

“That’s not to say that Against The Grain is over, it’s just on hold until a new wave of inspiration comes through.”

Despite this temporary hiatus for the label, Krafty Kuts and Seymour remain great friends.

“He played in Brisbane about a month ago so it was great to see him,” he says. “He’s so enthusiastic, it just blows me away. He has more enthusiasm than a 17 year old, so you gotta keep up with him! Last time I saw him was maybe three years ago and I haven’t seen him DJ for like four years!”

Seymour is looking forward to playing Ambar this weekend where he says “you still get a really warm welcome”. Expect a classic breaks set from Seymour with no surprises. “It’ll be less about surprise and more about nostalgic and classic kind of tunes I reckon. It’ll be all those party anthems… The breaks scene is just old enough now where we can start looking back at the good old days and being a bit nostalgic about the music that came out 10/15 years ago and remember those good times.”

» SKOOL OF THOUGHT » FRIDAY, JUNE 8 @ AMBAR X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

FASHAWN NO DOUBT

Santiago Leyva, aka Fashawn, started rapping when his brother would leave hip hop lyrics around the house. His attempt to rhyme over a cassette of the Goodie Mob at the age of eight was, by his own admission, not terrific but luckily for us he became devoted to developing his craft. JOE CASSIDY checked in with Fashawn ahead of his upcoming Perth gig.

Growing up in a musical household, his mother was a back up singer for Toni Braxton and his Uncle was a DJ, Santiago Leyva’s passion has always been creating unique lyrics that reflect the goings on in real people’s lives.“I can feel people’s spirit when I talk to them or if I give them a hug or shake their hand, I’m really sensitive to all that stuff,” he says.

Comparable to the analogue days of mix tapes, DJs, hip hop artists and producers identify their audience and suitability for the big time by the success of electronic mix tapes they compile for top radio shows, internet sites and test in clubs. Major players Mike Boogie and Planet Asia took notice after hearing his series of mix tapes titled Grizzly City and produced by his musically talented friends, the likes of The Alchemist and DJ Khalil.

His debut album, Boy Meets World released in 2009 and produced by Exile (who he’ll be touring with later this month) featured collaborations with Aloe Blacc, Mistah Fab and Blu. It also featured one of his most influential collaborators, Dilated People’s Evidence, whom he was introduced to when he first moved to LA. The two shared music and ended up as roommates; Evidence would be off touring Europe while Leyva worked on lyrics in LA. “It was priceless man, just the wealth of that experience,” he says. “To learn from him, to be a Dilated Pupil if you will.”

It is clear that Leyva has massive respect for all players in the hip hop game, even sending shout outs during our conversation to all those who have helped him on his musical journey. He has a passion for

www.xpressmag.com.au

SQUAREPUSHER

ORBITAL

Squarepusher has been plying his trade at the extremes of the dance music world for quite some time now, however, it was quite surprise to discover that this is Tom Jenkinson’s 13th long-player since his rapid rise to prominence with Feed Me Weird Things back in 1996. He is, however, showing no signs of relinquishing his avant-garde principles to the twin threats of dubstep and trance.

Tracks such as the acid tinged, anthemic mayhem of 303 Scopem Hard leave the listener physically exhausted by the constant firing of synapses, brain cells fighting for attention of the seemingly never-ending direction changes and musical manoeuvres. This man has certainly never heard of a 4/4 time signature, each track is fashioned in a way that only the likes of Aphex Twin have arranged before. Take Unreal Square for example; commencing with a basic, ‘80s video game lead line and plodding beats it builds to a cacophony of drum’n’bass rhythms juxtaposed against a hands in the air breakdown, amazing stuff.

The aggressive ADD beats and electronic experimentations may not be for everyone but to the initiated this release will worm its way into your brain and provide fresh auditory experiences for many a while.

Legendary British electronic musicians Orbital are back in a big way with a new record. After disappearing from the scene following the release of The Blue Album in 2004, it seemed the brothers Phil and Paul Hartnoll had called it a day. But a few years ago, the boys re-emerged to tour again, wowing crowds with their mind-blowing live show.

Re-energised from being on the road again, the boys were inspired to get back in the studio and produce Wonky - an album easily up there with the best in their 10 album career, with a sound that harks back to their earlier albums.

The duo are veterans at putting together cohesive albums – a seamless blend of varying styles that takes you on a journey. There’s a certain beauty and lightness to their music with its clean, crisp production.

Melodic synths shimmer over driving break-beats and rumbling bass. Layers of tracks build gradually to an ecstatic crescendo.

One Big Moment kicks things off, a typical slow burner Orbital tune that builds around a gentle piano riff. Straight Sun is all phased synths weaving over shuffling beats, as the track slowly unfurls.

Stringy Acid is an absolute belter old school track and the title track is an energetic electro jam featuring a hyping vocal from Lady Leshurr. It’s good to have the brothers back.

UFABULUM WARP RECORDS

Fashawn the music and other artists who speak from the heart.

It is a positive reflection on the fresh players on the hip hop scene that artists like Exile, Samiyam and Fashawn who don’t wax lyrical about disrespecting women and discussing their wealth but rather talk freely about the positive influence of their mothers and how hard they work for the life they live.

Fashawn accepts that there are some shallow aspects to the hip hop and rap game but he stays away and just gets on with his own thing.“All those elements are part of the culture but to me the school of hip hop is like if you’re not original you don’t even belong in the same class as us,” he says.

Leyva’s unique approach comes through on bouncy groove-laden tracks like Hey Young World and Love and that should have the whole interior of The Bakery bouncing. It is refreshing to hear a hip hop player speak so openly about his approach to the craft.

“When I do my thing and I’m bein’ sincere and honest and talking about what I’m talking about I feel like I’m being original and when I’m being original I feel like I’m contributing to the art,” he concludes.

» FASHAWN » FRIDAY, JUNE 22 @ THE BAKERY

WONKY ACP RECORDINGS/LIBERATOR

» ANDREW NELSON 4/5

» ALFRED GORMAN 4/5

THIS WEEK AB-SOUL

ILLuminate If you like your instrumental hip hop then you might be all over this. Featuring American rapper Kendrick Lamar, Ab-Soul spits rhymes about being better than Nas and Jay-Z. It’s bold, confident and gloats in glorious swagger.

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WEDNESDAY 06/06 Captain Stirling – Fiveo Clancy’s (Applecross) – Upbeat – DJ Andy Connections – DJs Joby /JJ /Rueben Double Lucky – Last Wednesday Eurobar – Wild Wednesdays - DJ iPod/ Ben Pettit Eve – DJ Don Migi/ Skooby Flying Scotsman – UniQue DJs/ Rex Monsoon/ Adam Trainer Gold Bar–DJ Adroc Hipe Club – DJ Roger Smart Leederville Hotel – We Love Wednesdays ft DJ Slick Metro Freo - Rapture Mustang – DJ Giles Newport – Newport Wednesdays Sovereign Arms – Lokie Shaw The Deen - DJ Zelimer/ DJ Viper/ DJ Benny/ T– Zone 1 The Queens – Wriggle on YaYa’s - DJ Agent 85/ Dr Zaius

THURSDAY 07/06 Blvd Tavern – DJ Andy C l a n c y ’s ( Ca n n i n g B r i d g e ) - D J Wrighteous Club Marakesh – DJ Simon Cottesloe Hotel – DJ Shots/ DJ Andy M Empire Bar – Halo/ DJ Bojan/ DJ Ben Sebastian

CAPITOL

FLAWLESS

METRO CITY

Eve – DJ Tony Allen Flawless - DJ Zelimir/ DJ Minna Flying Scotsman – Cowboys & Indie Kids DJs Leopold Hotel – DJ Riki/ Roger Smart Library - Dorcia Llama Bar – DJ Maxwell/ EMAS/ Lukas Wimler Mint Nightclub – DJ Simon Barwood Mt Henry Tavern - DJ Matty J Mullaloo Beach Hotel - DJ John Paul/ DJ Slick Mustang – DJ James Newpor t – Culture Clash f t To m Drummond/ Git Go 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 – EMAS DJs The Craftsman – Roger Smart The Deen – DJ Flex/ DJ Nano/ DJ Surge/ DJ Don Migi The East End Bar - The Prestige ft Fiveo/ Az-T The Queens – Kapitol The Whale & Ale – Josh Tilley The Whistling Kite - DJ Gareth Tiger Lils – Paul Malone/ Adam Kelly Woodvale Tavern – DJ Melvin

FRIDAY 08/06 Ambar – Break-A-Holics Anonymous ft Skool Of Thought Amplifier – Cowboys & Indie Kids Bar 459 - DJ Smurf Bar Orient – The Reggae Club ft Tedro/ General Justice/ Vj Kevo Beat Nightclub - Play Boheme Bar - DJ Majiika Boulevard Tavern – DJ Andyy Broken Hill Hotel – DJ Nick Alexander Brooklands Tavern - DJ Jayden Capitol – Retro Mash Capitol (Upstairs) – I Love ‘90s Carine Tavern – Greg Packer/ MC Assassin Clancy’s (Canning Bridge) - DJ Boogie Claremont Hotel – DJ Nick Sheppard/ DJ Max Club Bayview – Amnesia ft Fendi/ Axon/ Fellis Como Hotel – DJ Gazz Eastern Hotel – DJ Munch Empire Bar – DJs Halo/ Bojan/ Ben Sebastian Eve – DJ Don Migi/ DJ Danny Boi Flawless – DJ Ryan Flying Scotsman – DJs Jo19/ Rok Riley Flying Scotsman (Defectors) - Back To Mono DJs Ginger Nightclub – Rondevoo Fridayz Gosnells Club – DJ Now Hipe Club - DJ E-Funk Lakers Tavern – Fresh Fridays - DJ Dooey

High Road Hotel – DJ Simon High Wycombe – DJ Matt Hipe Club – DJ E-Funk Library – MKT ft DJ Riki/ DJ Richie G/ DJ Vicktor Little Creatures Loft – Marine Beats Liquid Nightclub - DJ Klar55/ DJ Stevie M Llama Bar – DJ Reuben/ DJ Melvin Malt Super Club – Fiveo Metro City (R&B Lounge) - DJ Slick/ DJ Ruthless/ DJ Soso Metro Freo – DTuck/ Darren Briais 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 Darren Oxford Hotel – DJ Sequeria Paramount- DJ Cornflake / DJ Jordan/ DJ Johnny Boi Players Bar – Embrace Queens Tav - Gareth Richardson Rocket Room – Delicious (Ladies Only) ft DJ Brett Rowe South St Ale House – DJ Jay Sovereign Arms – Rockwell The Avenue – Jon Ee The Bakery - Sampology’s Super Visual Apocolypse ft Sampology/ Sam Perry/ Charlie Bucket/ DJ NDorse/ Crooked Colours The Brighton (Upstairs) – Micah/ Kill Dyl/ eSQue The Boheme – DJ Sneakee The Causeway – Sun City DJs The Clink – Az-T The Cornerstone – Dylan Hammond The Craftsman – Tammy Stevens The Deen - DJ Birdie/ DJ JJ/ DJ Tony Allen The Fly Trap - Loungerama ft DJ Cookie/ VJ Zoo The Generous Squire – On Tap ft James Ambar – Japan 4 ft Bezwun/ Micah/ Nutley Marty McFly/ Philly Blunt/ Wish The Saint – DJ Anaru Amplifier – Pure Pop ft Eddie Electric The Shed –DJ Glenn 20 Basement On Broadway – DJ Ricky The Wembley – Az-T Boheme Bar – Carte Blanche DJs The Whistling Kite - DJ Craig Broken Hill Tavern – DJ Nick Alexander/ The Vic – DJ Kristian James Wilson Capitol – Death Disco DJs Capitol (Upstairs) – Cream Of The ‘80s ft DJ Ryan Clancy’s (Canning Bridge) - DJ Dood Claremont Hotel – DJ Tone Def Club Bay View – Little Nicky Empire Bar – DJ James Ess Eurobar – Roger Smart/ DJ Raci East End Bar - Fiveo Eve Nightclub – DJ Don Migi/ DJ Stevie M Flawless – Offset/ Jackness/ Travis LeBrun Flying Scotsman - Under The Influence DJs Flying Scotsman (Defectors) - Fore DJs Flying Scotsman (Velvet Lounge) – Bad Autopsy Geisha – Guy J Sam Perry Gilkisons - Nick Skitz/ MC James Spy Left Bank – DJ Frankie Button Library – Dorcia Little Creatures Loft – Marine Beats Llama Bar – DJ Reuben/ DJ Morris Malt Super Club - Fiveo Merriwa Tavern – DJ Real McCoy Metro City (Solace Bar) – DJ Slick Metro Freo – Frat House Fridays present The X-Press Readers Party ft Death Disco DJs Mint Nightclub – Club Retro ft Chris McPhee Mullaloo Beach Hotel - DJ John Paul Mustang – Sw i n g D J / D J J a m e s MacArthur Paddy Hannans – Crazy Craig Paramount - DJ Johnny Boi/ DJ Jordan Players Bar – Sugar Queens Tav – DJ Rueben Rocket Room – DJ Brett Rowe/ DJ Cain Sail & Anchor - Balcony Beatz/ DJ J-MAC Sovereign Arms – Dylan Hammond The Avenue – JMC The Carine – Mind Electric/ Little Nicky/ Az-T The Causeway – 4by4 DJs The Court - Sebastien Drums The East End Bar – Funk Fridays The Generous Squire - DJ Anaru The Manor – Mark Rae The Queens – DJ Rueben The Saint - DJ Jordan The Shed – DJ Glenn 20 The Whale & Ale – Josh Tilley Tiger Lils – Paul Malone/ Adam Kelly The Vic - DJ Giles The Wembley Hotel – Funky Bottoms/ Jon Ee Windsor – DJ Riki and Ray Victoria Park Hotel – DJ Giles YaYa’s – Junk ft DJ Whoa!

SATURDAY 09/06

Skool Of Thought

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NDorse Tiger Lil’s – DJ Bojan/ DJ Ben Sebastian Victoria Park Hotel – DJ Melvin Villa – Switch Windsor – DJ Ray Woodvale Tavern – DJ Real McCoy YaYa’s – Saturday Social ft The Kings Of Cheese DJs

SUNDAY 10/06 Captain Stirling – DJ Jay Claremont Hotel – DJ Double Dee Clink – DJ Tony Allen Club Bay View – Fiveo Empire Bar – CB3/ DJ Riki/ DJ Vicktor Euro Bar – DJ Flex 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 – Electro House Battle Rocket Room – Coyote Ugly Sovereign Arms – Josh Tilley The Avenue – Az-T The Causeway – Lukas Wimmler The Cott – Cott Sessions The Kiosk – DJ Cinder The Saint - DJ Anaru The Shed – DJ Andyy

MONDAY 11/06 Bar Orient - DJ White Label Broken Hill Tavern - DJ Mario Tavelli The Deen – Plastic Max/ The Token Gesture The Paddo – DJ John Paul The Shed – DJ Andyy

TUESDAY 12/06 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

AMPLIFIER

SOUL PROJECT

GEISHA

FRAT HOUSE FRIDAYS

METROS FREO

IN THE THIS WEEK

Switch Saturday, June 9 @ Villa

Ian Carey Dirtyphonics Saturday, June 16 @ Villa Thursday, July 5 @ The Sebastien Drums Rosemount Hotel Friday, June 8 @ The Court Blank Wednesdays COMING UP Wednesday, June 20 @ Addic ted To Bass f t B r e a k - A - H o l i c s F o r c e M a j e u r e f t Shape B ombs Away/ Kid Anonymous ft Skool Of Dirtyloud Kenobi Thought Friday, June 15 @ Ambar 360/ Hermitude Friday, July 6 @ Villa Friday, June 8 @ Ambar Friday, June 22 @ Villa Frat House Fridays ft The Mark Rae Friday, June 8 @ The Manor Potbelleez Friday, June 15 @ Metro S a m p o l o g y ’s S u p e r Freo Visual Apocalypse f t Sampology/ Sam Perry/ Dirtyloud C h a r l i e B u c k e t / D J Friday, June 15 @ Ambar NDorse Saturday, June 9 @ The The Lick Bakery Friday, June 15 @ Shape

MC Fashawn/ Exile/ Marksman ft Lenny/ Charlie Bucket/ Coin/ MT5k Friday, June 22 @ The Bakery

Logistics Friday, July 6 @ Shape C&C Music Factory Friday, July 13 @ Metro City

360 The Big Ape Tour f t Saturday, June 23 @ The Joker/ Skream/ Sgt Astor Pokes/ Plastician Wednesday, July 18 @ Loungerama ft DJ Cookie/ Blazin’ 2012 CD Club 360 VJ Zoo Sunday, June 24 @ The Villa Tour ft Nino Brown Saturday, June 9 @ The Friday, June 15 @ Eve Astor Fly Trap Major Bass ft Ta n t r u m D e s i r e & R e n n i e P i l g r e m / Bee Mask Guy J State Of Mind Cutline/ Nick Thayer Saturday, June 9 @ Geisha Friday, June 16 @ Pica Bar Saturday, June 30 @ Villa Saturday, July 21 @ Villa Speakeasy f t Clubfeet Friday, July 27 @ Villa Doorly Sunday, July 29 @ The Bakery Zombie Crawl Friday, August 3 @ Villa Parklife Monday, October 1 @ Wellington Square

Sampology

SAMPOLOGY

SATURDAY, JUNE 9 @ THE BAKERY

www.xpressmag.com.au

This Is Nowhere f t lineup TBC S u n d ay, O c to b e r 1 4 @ Dolphin Theatre & Lawrence Jackson Court, UWA Stereosonic ft lineup TBC Sunday, November 25, at venue TBC

Mark Rae

MARK RAE DIVINE SOUNDS

UK DJ, producer and song-writing extraordinaire Mark Rae first caught the world’s attention with fellow DJ and producer Steve Christian as part of the duo Rae & Christian.Having first started out in the‘80s during hip hop’s golden era, Rae has opened shows for Big Daddy Kane, Public Enemy and more. ANNABEL MACLEAN chats with Rae about recording with Christian for the first time in 10 years and his forthcoming solo record.

Mark Rae started DJing back in 1986 during the beginnings of hip hop’s golden era. He went on to open shows for Big Daddy Kane, Ice T, Public Enemy and more. Having DJ’d for over 20 years, starting the UK online record shop Fat City, Grand Central Records and Yesking Records, it was Rae’s collaboration with DJ and producer Steve Christian which caught the attention of the world. The duo’s 1998 debut record Northern Sulphuric Soul is branded a seminal album in recording history in the UK. Now, after 10 years apart,

Rae and Christian are back together recording their third record.

“It’s been a lot of fun and also a lot of hard work and soul searching,” Rae says, talking of getting back together in the studio with Christian after a 10 year period. “We really want to show what we are capable of with the song-writing and production.

I go up to Yorkshire where Steve lives and record there. He comes down to London too. We have a few vocalists who live locally to me in Queen’s Park.”

The album was due to be released early 2012 but Rae says the end of 2012 is looking like a likely release date. “It really is nearly done,” he says, laughing.“It will see the light of day at the end of this year – maybe not the whole album but an EP to set us up for the live side of things. Comebacks of this long take some thinking.”

Rae has spent the last three years touring and recording in America and has only just settled back down in London.“I spent a lot of time in Venice Beach recording songs and writing scripts/books between the gigging in America so getting back to London has seen me settling back into the Euro groove,” he says. He’s been hard at work on his third solo record which has been in the works for eight years. “In that time I have been teaching myself rudimentary instrument skills, guitar and keys, more to write with,” he says. “I sing now too which takes a long time to get right. My next solo album is to be presented with a book covering my experiences in music going back to hearing disco played by my father on the home stereo in the ‘70s.

“I wanted to capture all of my mad journeys before I start forgetting them – DJ stories, Fat City the shop I started and Grand Central the label, living in LA, etc. I try and focus on the jokes. I have been writing it [the book] for two years off and on now. I decided also to do it as my screenwriting had given me a taste for the writing process.”

There are a few special and funny moments in the book which bring back fond memories to Rae. “I suppose a classic case of ignorance on my behalf was using Talcum powder on the record deck as I hadn’t yet discovered slip matts,” he says. “The work with Tony D, who sadly died three years ago, will always be dear to me. He was a very funny man and was surprised we had cars in England, he was expecting horses!”

There certainly won’t be any horses at Rae’s upcoming show this Friday night but he says punters can expect “a crackin’ party!”

» MARK RAE » FRIDAY, JUNE 8 @ THE MANOR

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X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

STATE OF THE ART Perth Concert Hall Sunday, June 3, 2012 Twenty-one of our state’s best and brightest homegrown stars celebrated their origins by performing at the 11-hour State Of The Art music festival at the Perth Concert Hall last Sunday for the inaugural WA Day. The first of three showcases within the hallowed Perth Concert Hall featured two bands from the same era – Jebediah and Eskimo Joe. The Jebs stormed the stage first, frontman Kevin Mitchell jokingly ensuring that the audience knew Eskimo Joe had opened up for them in the late ‘90s.

The foursome played a solid set, throwing a bunch of fan-endorsed oldies in with the newer tunes from Kosciusko and managing to get a small-scale mosh happening up the front. The fact that the gig was in the Hall was a bit awkward, and it was strange to sit down in the middle of the day to watch two bands who are usually enjoyed into the wee hours

Bitter Belief

2012 WAMI FESTIVAL Saturday, June 2, 2012 Wrapping up eight days of non-stop musical mayhem, festivities across the CBD last Saturday kicked off with the WAM Saturday Spectacular, which jams 56 bands across eight bars in six hours, showcasing local music in the eerie calm of a sunlit Northbridge.

Early in the afternoon, the criminally underappreciated Adem K & The Community Chest tackled Ya-Yas with a set dominated by promising-to-excellent new material, adding duets and call-and-response shenanigans to their Pavement-cum-Monkees fuzz. The closing number they debuted (Get Into The Rocket) bodes well for the forthcoming record; it’s Aristotle-level genius.

Beatmaker Kit Pop was a victim of

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with a few beers. Eskimo Joe jumped on stage after a brief interval, taking time out from recording to play at the WA Day festival. The Eskis always put on a tight performance and this was no different, with professionalism and enthusiasm emanating from the stage. Kav “smooth operator” Temperley worked the crowd like the only dude at a singles bar, all suave and silky tones, and his co-conspirators never missed a beat or strum.

One of the best things about the State Of The Art festival was the extended set times, and muchloved locals Split Seconds completely owned their hour-long performance as they celebrated WA Day with their final show before relocating to the eastern states. Despite guitarist Vaughan Davies hobbling around in a cast, the group delivered their pop-rock goodness like experts, frontman Sean Pollard proving his WAMi-award winning tones on tunes Top Floor and All You Gotta Do, but it was She Makes Her Own Clothes that provided the cherry on top. Equally endearing was The Ghost Hotel who entertained the crowd with their stellar brand of Aussie rock, drawing from classic and contemporary influences like Paul Kelly and Powderfinger. It’s evident from their performance that these guys work hard in presenting such a tight, musically sound show.

Melodic punkers The Kryptonics graced a Perth stage for the first time in close to 20 years to provide one of the day’s biggest draw cards. Ian Underwood has added even more gravel to a voice that was always full of character as a blistering Trapped Inside signalled that this wouldn’t be a half arsed return. The Kryptonics could never have been

Hoodoo Gurus scheduling, as he played a fleet-footed, spiraling set to little avail, as The Bird started off empty and stayed so. It was a shame; the Paperchain kingpin spun a cerebral, propulsive mix, but without feet to move (and at 2pm in the afternoon, they weren’t coming) the ears were hard to keep.

Collie-bred glam minors Sister’s Doll made the 20 or so metres the Wetlands stage puts between audience and performer seem an inch as they tore through a set heavily indebted to Guns N’ Roses and novelty pants. It’s easy to get cynical and start quoting Spinal Tap, but it’s more fun to throw your brain out and relish the cocksure overblown insanity of teenagers playing like Buckethead is more than just a dude with a bucket on his head. They have a way to go in the songwriting department, though; the verse of one song just about verbatim nabs the moneymaking parts of Bad Day by That Dude Who Wore A Beanie.

Russian Winters played to a packed Bird with a thrust and conviction usually reserved for indignant war criminals. They know how to write a capital-h Hook, but the switch was flipped to meander once or twice too often, pushing

Eskimo Joe (Photos: Callum Ponton)

Abbe May accused of finesse and the years haven’t knocked off the rough edges. Russell Hopkinson still hit the drums like he hates them and Greg Hitchcock fingered solos as if stumbling across an old friend. She’s Got Germs was frenetic, Oedipus Complex wry and Land That Time Forgot cemented a triumphant and too brief return.

Hoodoo Gurus were clearly equally chuffed to be playing to a packed Perth Concert Hall with Dave Faulkner revisiting his Rivervale roots by singing Tojo and wearing a pair of stonewash jeans. Having been here recently to lay Stoneage Romeos in full the band were enjoying a setlist with no limitations. As expected there were plenty of hits in the form of Miss Freelove 69, Bittersweet and Come Anytime. The upside of Faulkner recovering from the flu is that Brad Sheppard was given the chance to sing a weighty take of Form A Circle, while the crowd who quickly filled the aisles were most enthusiastic about I Was A Kamakaze Pilot.

While the elder statesmen had been duelling it out in the Concert Hall, young whippersnappers San Cisco held sway at the St Georges Tce Stage.

After cleaning up at the WAMi’s over the weekend, the painfully talented youngsters were cuter than a basket full of puppies with tunes to match. There

are times when they sound like The Strokes on helium, but songs about having no friends (titled appropriately No Friends) and radio hit Awkward had the sizeable crowd lapping up every moment.

Brow Horn Orchestra always bring the fun, and after a day of intense rock and dwindling audiences, these guys were most welcome. They truly are one of the most hardworking bands – their live sets are a truly awesome marathon of beats, dancing and mish-mashed genres.

As the sun set and the air began to cool, rockin’ sets from Abbe May and The Novocaines proved that filthy good music and fun can feed on each other as they jammed out basslines with splatters of thick fuzz, rippin’ riffs and guttural howls.

Wrapping things up was a hip hop showcasing featuring MC Drapht alongside Bitter Belief which saw the batty, hyped, all-ages crowd hungry for blood, sweat and beats. Here’s hoping for another stellar State Of The Art celebration next year!

the set from breakneck to drawn out. After all; when you can write a half-song-half-dragon like Execution By Electrocution, why push the song past necessity? Don’t people listen to Buddy Holly anymore? I swear that first Crickets LP goes for six or seven minutes- hook, hook, hook, done. If they trim a little fat, maybe Don MacLean will sing about them too. Who knows.

Hook-heavy laidback hiphawwpers The Stoops had an ease about their presence during their sundown set at the Piazza that suggested they’d be rapping about hating work and loving good times even if they were decomposing.

Buffetted by a smart, breezy collection of beats, their whole two-parts rap one-part hook triple threat goes down the hatch smooth enough, but messing with their appeal is excessive scratching and a surplus of hokey lines, especially that one about cubicles. Dang it’s rough.

All in all though, the Saturday Spectacular is an institution now, well attended and of higher quality every year; it is equal parts finger-on-the-pulse smorgasbord and preamble to the ceremonial industry back-pat of the WAM awards.

Later in the evening, the cream of Perth’s music crop gathered to celebrate the best in WA music. With Triple J’s Dom Alessio and Good News Week’s Claire Hooper hosting proceedings, the honours were an easy guess, with Abbe May, San Cisco and Ruby Boots coming to the event with a stack of nominations and leaving hands full.

Come 10pm, the evening also offered a dance-friendly atmosphere in the form of the WAMi Closing Party, which featured a deliciously dirty set from The Chemist, all the psych-rock goodness we’ve come to expect from Sonpsilo Circus and some electro-pop gems courtesy of Voltaire Twins, although (unsurprisingly) it was indie-pop wunderkids San Cisco, riding high on their successes in the award ceremony, who drew the biggest crowd. While, naturally, there were a lot of great local artists who didn’t get the opportunity to showcase their wares this year, for the most part it has to be said that the 2012 edition was a success (and hey, there’s always next year!). Big props to the good folk at WAM for the fine work.

_CHRIS HAVERCROFT & CHLOE PAPAS

_ALEX GRIFFIN & JENNIFER PETERSON-WARD

X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

THE VELVET LOUNGE

Sonic Velvet at the Velvet Lounge celebrates its 2nd birthday party on Friday, June 8, with a line-up featuring Sonic Velvet faves Stereoflower, indierockers Mezzanine and The Disappointed along with Patient Little Sister and sultry soulstress Rachael Dease.

THE NEWPORT HOTEL

The instalment of a new monthly musical evening curated by The Weapon Is Sound, Rubadub injects a sorely needed dose of heavy dub style into your midweek schedule. This Thursday, June 7, will feature a couple of huge live sets of The Weapon’s unique sound combined with eclectic DJ sounds.

INDI BAR

It’s ladies night this Wednesday, June 6, with Amanda Merdzan, Elk Belk, Fiona McMartin, Natasha Shanks on stage. Sunday, June 10, The Sunshine Brothers begin a month-long residency.

PADDO

Wednesday June 6, Paddo POW sees Sophie Jane, Pat Nicholson and Morgan Bain taking the stage from 8pm.

MUSTANG BAR

Catch The Damien Cripps Band on stage from 9.30pm with DJ James MacArthur on the decks ‘til late.

BEAT NIGHTCLUB

Punksters SSA launch their second LP this Friday, June 8, with Beerfridge, The Lungs, Silver Lizard, The Craw, Agitated, The Reptilians and Foreign Aids.

ROCKET ROOM

On Thursday, June 7, punters at the Annual Tracksuit Party will honour the late MC Hunter in true hip hop style.

RAILWAY HOTEL

Friday, June 8, catch Foos Gold with Third Wind and Hanna Osman. Saturday, June 9, catch Louis And The Honeytonk, Thee Gold Blooms, The Disappointed and The Espeys. Sunday, June 10, metalheads Morghl, The Uncreation, Meridian, Bloodklot, Legacy of Supremacy and Tusk play.

HALE ROAD TAVERN

On Saturday, June 9, the Hale Road Tavern celebrates their 15th birthday with a PJ party featuring tunes from The Damien Cripps Band.

HYDE PARK HOTEL

This Thursday, June 7, Hyde Park Hotel has their student/indie night ‘Thursty’, featuring Axe Girl and Hostile Little Face. On Friday, June 8, catch Red Triangle and Stone Bleeder.

ROSEMOUNT HOTEL

To win a double pass to Sidewalk Diamond’s debut EP launch email win@rosemounthotel.com.au with ‘Win’ in the subject line.

BAR ORIENT

The Reggae Club at Bar Orient will be blazing this week with performances from DJ Tedro, General Justice, Vj Kevo, Mumma Trees, Sista Che and The Empressions. We also have tickets to giveaway for Marley The Movie courtesy of Luna cinemas so see you there early!

MOJOS BAR

Saturday, June 9, Beautiful Girls singer Mat McHugh plays a solo set at Mojos Bar with support from The Chemist’s Ben Witt. Mojos is giving away double passes to this show – just email mojos@coolperthnights.com with “Beautiful Mat” in the subject line.

METROPOLIS FREMANTLE

We’re having an ‘80s rock party this Friday, June 8, at Frat House Fridays. Heaps of movie tickets to the new movie Rock Of Ages will be given away and we have door spots up for grabs, simply email win@xpressmag.com.au with “Frat Me Up” in the subject line.

METRO CITY

We have five double passes to give away to Metro City’s Seven Deadly Sins - simply email your name to win@xpressmag.com.au with “SINS” in the subject line.

EAST END BAR

This Thursday, June 7, is The Prestige – a night of house, funk and electro from 9pm.

THE BEST OF THE WEST 2012 WAMi Awards The Bakery Saturday, June 2, 2012 Last Saturday evening the cream of WA’s music crop gathered at The Bakery to celebrate the best in WA music at the 2012 WA Music Industry Awards. It was the local music industries night of nights, and honoured all the fantastic achievements of the WA music scene from last year, with some of the local scene’s biggest, best and brightest vying for the iconic WAMington cake prizes. Hosted by Perth’s own comedy golden girl Claire Hooper (Good News Week) and effervescent, Aussie music spinning Dom Alessio (Triple J’s Home & Hosed), the ceremony also featured a first class lineup of WA favourites including Eskimo Joe, John Butler, Mama Kin and legendary Stems and WAM Hall of Fame inductee Dom Mariani teaming up with Perth’s newest ‘60s-inspired beat combo Hurricane Fighter Plane.

Photographs by Matt Jelonek

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Claire & Dom Alex & Eliza

Mandy, Evie & Virginia

Sean, Olivia & Brett

Michelle, Melissa & Martine

Rex, Tomas & David

X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

MISSY HIGGINS Butterfly Boucher Astor Theatre Saturday, June 2, 2012 After dropping off the musical radar for three years or so, superb songstress Missy Higgins is back on the scene and more fabulous than ever. New record The Ol’ Razzle Dazzle was released last week and Higgins’ tour kicked off in Adelaide over the weekend, reaching the Western shores on Saturday night. The Astor was the perfect venue for it, and an audience reflective of all ages flocked in early on.

Singer-songwriter Butterfly Boucher opened the show with her solo indie-pop tunes, offering up an impressive vocal performance. Boucher has previously worked with the revered Sarah McLachlan, and this is reflected in her refined yet quirky musicianship.

She also engages in some great stage banter and immediately puts the audience at ease, setting them up for the main act.

Missy Higgins took to the stage to thundering applause, surprisingly opening with acoustic track Secret from 2007’s On A Clear Night before her band joined her. The band, hailing primarily from Nashville where Higgins recorded her recent album, included Butterfly Boucher on bass and complemented the songstress effectively throughout the show, rather than plugging away in the background. Higgins drifted between her piano, electric and acoustic guitars, and even pulled out a keytar at one point, jokingly pointing out that she is going to “make it cool again.”

Higgins performed the perfect combination of old and new songs. Older ballads Don’t Ever and The River complemented newer, pop-hooked tunes Set Me On Fire and Unashamed Desire.

Though her musicianship is exemplary, one of the most striking aspects of Higgins’ performance is the way she presents herself – she is completely natural and unassuming on stage, even self-deprecating at times, and there is no pretentious diva rubbish. She is cheeky and witty, throwing in little anecdotes and comments throughout the show that keep the audience entertained and connected on a personal level.

To say that that Higgins’ music is emotional would be a gross understatement; lyrical narratives like Scar and Any Day Now are applicable to everyone, and the soul with which she presents her songs puts the audience into a glass case of emotion (10 points for anyone who gets the reference). It seems that Higgins has reached that balance that so many artists dream of – she is capable of making her audience both laugh and cry in a 90-minute performance.

Towards the end of the set Higgins announced to the audience that she wouldn’t be performing an encore, because she finds them “awkward and uncomfortable,” so the band stood on stage while the audience clapped and stomped the band back on. The two final songs wrapped up the performance perfectly; a stunning delivery of long-time fan favourite The Special Two and then strapping back on the guitars for finale Steer. Not a bad word could be uttered about this show: Missy is flawless. _CHLOE PAPAS

DIAMONDS AND PEARLS

Sidewalk Diamonds are one of those rare ensembles that tell a genuine story with their music, through their passionate performance and naturally warm voices - it’s a beguiling combination that’s hard to resist. The talented outfit launches their long-awaited EP Every Season Inside this Friday, June 8, at the Rosemount. They’ll be sharing the stage with some very, very fine local talent in Our Man In Berlin, Sean O’Neill of Hang On St. Christopher with his new solo band and James Teague.

A RIGHT ROYAL KNEES UP

To commemorate 60 glorious years of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign, our very own indie terrorists The Spitfires will be releasing a delicate ode to everybody’s favourite fucked up nuclear family. Written in 2011 in honour of the Royal Wedding of William and Kate, Suffer Kate will be debuted at a bunting-decorated Rocket Room this Friday, June 8.

Support comes from The Caballeros, High Horse and The Caberets.

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MATT GRESHAM Bearing the terribly clichéd nature of this question, how would you describe your sound? At the moment bluesy/jazzy hip hop. The vocal style is 100 per cent blues style and growing op around hip hop just made me want to start writing rhymes as well in an acoustic style.

You’ve been performing on the local scene since you were very young, did you ever find it difficult to be taken seriously by older musicians and/or audiences? Yeah when I was younger I was like a little rat bag who drank way too much, but now I’m a lot more tame.

What do you love about making music? Manifesting creation in the frame of mind of achieving goals staying focused and true to my self.

What do you hate about the music biz? Ego and jealousy. A lot of people do not understand dedication to your dreams so I feel some people become jealous and try to mix confidence with thinking you have ego.

Of all the musical folks you’ve played alongside over the years, who’ve been your favourites? John Butler; Drapht.

What advice would you offer to an aspiring young musician?

Focus is success. I have to put everything I have into it mind and soul.

Matt Gresham has beaten literally thousands of people to be part of the top 12 in this year’s X-Factor talent TV program.

Catch the 22-year-old kid from Rockingham before he becomes a household name this Thursday, June 7, at Mojos Bar; Friday, June 8, at the Drakesford Hotel; and Saturday, June 9, at the Indi Bar.

THE STANLEYS Where did your band name come from? We’re all big fans of the patron saint of rock‘n’roll good times, lead singer of KISS, Paul Stanley.

Tell us a little about your EP – Always. Did you have a particular vision for how you wanted the record to sound? My last recordings before this project were with my band Gigantic, who are on an extended holiday right now. Those recordings were fairly heavily produced with the use of amp simulators, effects, strings, brass and female vocals. So from my perspective, there was an element of getting back to basics and producing a sound that was closer to a live sound with the energy of a live performance. But to be honest, the approach I’ve always taken which is the way I think we approached these recordings is simply to give the song what the song itself asks for. That one rule is the only one we followed.

Were there any influences – musical or otherwise – which shaped the record? I guess lyrically there were some classic power pop influences with a modern edge – girls, cars, rock‘n’roll dreams (classic) and social media (modern).

What can a punter expect from your upcoming EP launch? It’s gonna be a party! After all, the EP launch is a celebration of the release of our debut EP and first ever music video into the big wild world. We’re playing with some great rocking bands Lacey and Loads and The Stanleys have plenty of reason to be merry right now. We just came back from crazy fun times in China and the day after the launch we fly out to play the Viper Room, some festivals and a stack of club shows in the US and Canada. We’ll also be screening our video for the title track Always on the big screen at the Hydey.

What should a music lover always do? Follow their dreams, particularly rock‘n’roll dreams and make every moment count.

The Stanleys launch their new EP Always at the Hyde Park Hotel this Saturday, June 9. Support comes from Lacey and Loads.

KITTY COMMITTEE

DEAR DIARY

Every now and then a new voice with fresh attitude arrives on the acoustic-pop scene. That voice is here within the soul of Jade Diary. Prepare to be beguiled by the charming chanteuse when she launches her new EP Love Thy Will Be Done on Sunday, June 10, at The Ellington, with support from acoustic troubadour Jonathan Brain, pop-rockers Astro and dynamic duo Reilly & Chris.

They’re a little bit country, a little bit rock‘n’soul, with echoes of the Real Thing, yet The Crooked Cats still manages to sound fresh. Catch their smooth stylings when they launch new single West Coast this Saturday, June 9, at Ya Yas. Support comes from Misty Mountain, The Beers and Zorbas Milk.

REMEMBERING HUNTER

Hip hop crew Funkola will be playing a tribute gig in honour of the late MC Hunter this Thursday, June 7, at the Rocket Room.

TASTY MIDNIGHT SNACK LET IT BE

Folk-tronic duo Anton Franc will debut the new clip for their brilliant first single Letting Go this Saturday, June 9, at The Bird. Recounting the recollections of a small boy as he is leaving the Kimberley with his father for good, the Joshua Bowyer-directed video captures the tune’s celebration of childhood innocence perfectly. They’ll be joined by Leure (the new side project from Wolves At The Door’s Ash Hendricks) and fresh faced up-and-comers Pallas Athena.

Revisiting the rougher, rawer end of Britpop, The Midnight Mules were onto a winner with when they released crazily catchy single PoP CoC late last year. Add to that an awesome new video clip and everyone’s a winner. Catch the video’s debut at Ya Yas this Friday, June 8. As if the launch of the clip wasn’t exciting enough, the launch will be filmed (engraining all in attendance into the bands history) AND support sets come courtesy of unusual characters Limpin’ Dave And The Straight Legged Freaks, Gloria Ironbox and Jacob Loughrdidge.

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Listing deadline is Monday 5pm.

The Gig-Guide is a service to advertisers listing bands.

All inclusions are at the discretion of X-Press Magazine. Email reception@xpressmag.com.au or fax 9213 2882.

Thy Art is Murder, June 6, Amplifier

JUNE 06 – JUNE 12 THY ART IS MURDER 6 Amplifier

SEAN KELLY (MODELS) / TOTTIE GOLDSMITH (CHANTOOZIES) / BRIAN CANHAM (PSEUDO ECHO) / TIM ROSEWARNE (CHOCOLATE STARFISH) 6 Friends Restaurant

DAN POTTHAST 6 Rosemount Hotel 7 Mustang Bar

SILVERSTEIN / SKYWAY 7 Villa

EAST 17 7 Metropolis Fremantle

TINA ARENA 8 Riverside Theatre

TIJUANA CARTEL 8 Divers Tavern Broome 9 Hotel Kununurra

MAT MCHUGH 9 Mojos Bar

MATT CORBY / ALPINE 9 & 10 Astor Theatre

LAURA 9 Rosemount Hotel 10 Mojos Bar

THE MISSION IN MOTION 9 Amplifier 10 Newport

DEF FX 11 The Bakery

AUSTRALIAN STRING QUARTET 11 Perth Concert Hall

JUNE THICK AS BLOOD 13 YMCA HQ 14 Villa THE BLACK SEEDS 14 The Bakery FRENZAL RHOMB 14 Settlers Tavern 15 Prince Of Wales 16 Rosemount Hotel TIM FREEDMAN 14-16 The Ellington GASOLINE INC 15 Rocket Room TIJUANA CARTEL 15 The Bakery LISA MITCHELL / GEORGIA FAIR 15 St Joseph’s Church, Subiaco THE POTBELLEEZ

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15 Metropolis Fremantle DEEP SEA ARCADE / THE CAIROS / WOE & FLUTTER 15 Indi Bar 16 Amplifier 17 Mojos DALLAS FRASCA 15 Settlers Tavern 16 White Star Hotel 17 Clancy’s Fish Pub Dunsborough 22 Indi Bar 23 Prince Of Wales 24 Mojos BEE MASK 16 PICA Bar TREVOR WATTS / VERYAN WESTON 19 The Ellington GUY SEBASTIAN 19 His Majesty’s Theatre 20 Mandurah Performing Arts Centre CAMILLE O’SULLIVAN 21 Astor Theatre CHARGE GROUP / JOE MCKEE 22 Mojos 23 Dadas 360 / GOSSLING / HERMITUDE / BAM BAM 22 & 23 Villa 23 & 24 Astor Theatre KARNIVOOL 22 & 23 Mermaid Hotel Dampier 27 Prince Of Wales BURIED IN VERONA 24 YMCA HQ (Day) / Amplifier (Night) DEXTER JONES 22 Settlers Tavern 23 White Star Albany 24 Newport 28 Breakers Bar Geraldton 29 Beat Nightclub NADIA ACKERMAN / BENNY LACKNER TRIO 28 The Ellington DAMO SUZUKI & POND 28 The Bakery IMPIETY 29 Amplifier BREAK EVEN / MILES AWAY 29 Prince Of Wales 30 Amplifier JUDITH DURHAM 30 Riverside Theatre

JULY BREAK EVEN / MILES AWAY 1 YMCA HQ CEREMONY 3 The Den 4 YMCA HQ MENTAL AS ANYTHING 4 Friends Restaurant TIM FINN 5 Artbar DIESEL 5 Friends Restaurant 6 Drakesbrook Hotel Waroona 7 Boulevard Tavern Joondalup 8 Icon Restaurant Karratha THE BAMBOOS

Mat McHugh, June 9, Mojos Bar

East 17, June 7, Metropolis Fremantle 6 The Bakery BUSBY MAROU / LEADER CHEETAH / THE HELLO MORNING 6 Prince Of Wales 7 Rosemount Hotel 8 Newport JONATHAN BOULET 7 Amplifier LADY GAGA 7 & 8 Burswood Dome SAY ANYTHING / THE GETAWAY PLAN 11 Amplifier TERROR 12 Amplifier HOUSE OF SHEM 12 Wanneroo Tavern 13 Elliot Bar Bunbury 14 Rosemount Hotel 15 Leisure Inn Rockingham SET SAIL 13 Rosemount Hotel 14 Melville Youth Centre 14 Mojos 15 Clancy’s Dunsborough FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS 18-20 Challenge Stadium TROY ROBERTS 19 The Ellington DOC NEESON 19 Friends Restaurant MELISSA ETHERIDGE 20 Riverside Theatre HEROES FOR HIRE 20 The Den 21 YMCA HQ KID MAC 20 Mojos 21 Settlers Tavern BAND OF SKULLS 23 The Bakery LADYHAWKE 24 The Bakery METRIC 25 Capitol DARYL BRAITHWAITE 25 Friends Restaurant THE TEA PARTY 26 Metro City THE SMASHING PUMPKINS 26 Challenge Stadium CLUBFEET 27 Villa KARNIVOOL / REDCOATS / SLEEPMAKESWAVES 27-29 Rosemount Hotel NARISSA CAMPBELL 27 & 28 The Ellington EIFFEL 65 / N-TRANCE 28 Metropolis Fremantle KIM SALMON 28 The Bakery

AUGUST MARK GARDENER 1 Fly By Nightclub DENI HINES / MONIQUE MONTEZ 2 Bunbury Entertainment Centre CHILDREN COLLIDE 2 Prince Of Wales 3 Amplifier Bar EMPRA 3 Rocket Room 4 Prince Of Wales THE BRIDE 4 C5 Mteropolis

Fremantle 5 YMCA HQ ED SHEERAN 6 Riverside Theatre TIM BARRY 8 The Den JINJA SAFARI / OPOSSOM / WHITE ARROWS 8 Astor Theatre BELL BIV DEVOE / GINUWINE 9 Astor Theatre BOB BARRETT 9 The Ellington EVEN / THE FAUVES 9 Prince of Wales 10 Rosemount Hotel 11 Mojos 12 Indi Bar KATE MILLER-HEIDKE / THE BEARDS 11 Astor Theatre TOMMY EMMANUEL 12 Perth Concert Hall NASUM / DYSCARNATE 15 Amplifier OWL EYES 16 Artbar HILLTOP HOODS 17 Challenge Stadium NORTH WEST FESTIVAL (Hilltop Hoods, The Living End, The Cat Empire and more TBA) 18 Port Hedland Turf Club KENNY ROGERS / GLEN CAMPBELL 21 Riverside Theatre BURNING LOVE 22 The Den HERMAN’S HERMITS 22 Friends Restaurant PITBULL / TAIO CRUZ / HAVANA BROWN / TIMOMATIC 23 Burswood Dome PENNYWISE / THE MENZINGERS / SHARKS 29 Metropolis Fremantle SLASH FEAT. MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS 30 Metro City

SEPTEMBER THE ENGLISH BEAT 1 Astor Theatre HOWARD JONES 5 Astor Theatre JOSE FELICIANO 5 Regal Theatre THE BEACH BOYS 6 Burswood Dome DAMIEN LEITH 7 Mandurah Performing Arts Centre 8 Astor Theatre SUBHUMANS 12 Amplifier AMERICA 12 Perth Concert Hall PATRICK WOLF 14 Fly By Night EARTH / MARGINS 15 Rosemount Hotel RUFUS WAINWRIGHT 19 Riverside Theatre WHEATUS 20 Metropolis Fremantle

HANSON 22 Metropolis Fremantle GYROSCOPE 22 Rosemount Hotel JULIA STONE 28 Astor Theatre KATIE NOONAN & KARIN SCHAUPP 28 Winthrop Hall UWA 29 Mandurah Performing Arts Centre XAVIER RUDD 25 Goldfields Arts Centre Kalgoorlie 26 Esperance Civic Centre 28 Albany Entertainment Centre 29 Fremantle Arts Centre 30 Caves House Yallingup RUSSIAN CIRCLES / EAGLE TWIN 30 The Bakery

OCTOBER JOE BANAMASSA 1 Perth Concert Hall PARKLIFE (line-up TBA) 1 Wellington Square MARTIKA 4 Metropolis Fremantle HYPERFEST (line-up TBA) 7 Midland Oval CANNIBAL CORPSE / DISENTOMB / ENTRAILS ERADICATED 9 Capitol STEEL PANTHER 10 Metro City PAUL CAPSIS 11 Artbar THIS IS NOWHERE (line-up TBA) 14 Somerville Auditorium COUNT BASIE ORCHESTRA 14 Perth Concert Hall EVERCLEAR 14 Capitol TODD MCKENNEY 18 & 19 Astor Theatre PAUL HEATON 21 Fly By Night BASTARDFEST (Astriaal, Fuck I’m Dead, and more) 27 Civic Hotel ROCK IT (The Black Keys, Royal Headache, and more TBA) 28 Joondalup Arena

NOVEMBER EMMYLOU HARRIS 6 Perth Concert Hall JOSH PYKE 8 Artbar GEORGE MICHAEL 10 Perth Arena STEREOSONIC (line-up TBA) 25 venue TBA

SEPTEMBER 2013 ONE DIRECTION 28 & 29 Perth Arena

X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

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43

Funkola, Thursday at Rocket Room

WEDNESDAY 06.06 BALMORAL Nathan Gaunt BAR 120 Felix BLACK BETTY’S Blue Gene CLAREMONT HOTEL Open Mic Night ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB The Collaboratory With Mumblefunk & Kynan Tan FLY BY NIGHTCLUB Global Prayer For Peace HALE ROAD TAVERN Fenton Wilde INDI BAR Ladies Night Amanda Merdzan Elk Belk Fiona McMartin Natasha Shanks LOBBY LOUNGE (BURSWOOD) Courtney Murphy LUCKY SHAG Howie Morgan MOJOS BAR The Groovesmiths Blues & The Davs MUSTANG The Damien Cripps Band PADDINGTON ALEHOUSE Sophie Jane PADDO Pat Nicholson Sophie Jane Morgan Bain PADDY HANNANS 5 Shots ROSEMOUNT Dan Potthast Chilling Winston The Decline Tex Elwer Liz Wreck ROSIE O’GRADY’S

The Midnight Mules, Friday at Ya Yas

(NORTHBRIDGE) David Fyffe THE MOON Tim Gordon The Baron Of Sentiment Sarah Pellicano UNIVERSAL Strutt YA YA’S Avie Brown Sam Perry Mulder

THURSDAY 07.06 BELGIAN BEER CAFÉ Adrian Wilson BROOKLANDS TAVERN Celebrations Karaoke COMO HOTEL Courtney Murphy DEVILLES PAD Rock ‘N’ Roll Karaoke ELEPHANT & WHEELBARROW Daren Reid & The Soul City Groove ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Ali Bodycoat Quintet FLY TRAP Daisy Clover HIGH WYCOMBE HOTEL Chris Murphy HYDE PARK HOTEL Axe Girl Hostile Little Face INDI BAR Bex’s Open Mic Night LUCKY SHAG James Wilson MARKET CITY TAVERN Sarina Cooper Greys & Blues Mathew Scott Sulu Omnia

MERRIWA TAVERN Overload METRO FREO East 17 MOJOS BAR Matt Gresham Jay Grafton MUSTANG BAR Dan Potthast NORFOLK BASEMENT Runner Blackmilk Sean O’Neil NORTHWOOD TAVERN Avenue Karaoke OCEAN BEACH HOTEL Open Mic Night OXFORD HOTEL Johnny Taylor PADDY HANNANS Dr Bogus PRINCE OF WALES Emperors The Disappointed Dead Owls RIGBY’S Open Mic ROCKET ROOM Funkola ROSEMOUNT Midnight Boulevard Gombo Nevesky Prospekt The Spectacles ROSIE O’GRADY’S (FREMANTLE) Clayton Bolger ROSIE O’GRADY’S (NORTHBRIDGE) Fenton Wilde SOVEREIGN ARMS David Fyffe THE BOAT Jen De Ness THE BROOK Open Mic Night THE GATE The Mojos THE SHED Dirty Scoundrels UNIVERSAL Off The Record WOODVALE Two Plus One YA YA’S Atticus Finch Shontay Snow Tired Lion

FRIDAY 08.06 Sidewalk Diamonds

SIDEWALK DIAMONDS OUR MAN IN BERLIN JAMES TEAGUE SEAN O’NEILL FRIDAY,JUNE 8

THE ROSEMOUNT

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7th AVENUE Pop Candy AMPLIFIER Refrain BAILEY BAR Mod Squad BALLYS BAR Christian Thompson BALMORAL Dirty Scoundrels BAR ORIENT Mumma Trees Sista Che The Empressions BEAT NIGHTCLUB SSA The Lungs The Reptilians The Craw Beerfridge Silver Lizard

The Amani Consort, Friday at Indi Bar

Foreign Aids The Agitated BELMONT TAVERN Everlong Acoustic BENNYS Faces BLACK BETTYS Everlong BRASS MONKEY Bernadine CAPTAIN STIRLING Bluebottles CARLISLE HOTEL Reload CHASE BAR Chasing Calee CIVIC HOTEL (THE DEN) Burning Fiction Alex The Kidd 10 past 6 Castle Bravo CLAREMONT HOTEL Nick Sheppard COMO HOTEL Trevor Jalla CRAFTSMAN 5th Avenue DEVILLES PAD Rocket To Memphis Les Sataniques EAST 150 Luke Dewing ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Ben Falle Trio James Flynn & The Fly Little Big Band Deuces EMPIRE Halo FLY BY NIGHT Tank 7even Polly Medlen Ryan Webb FUSE BAR Groove Karaoke GREENWOOD Greg Carter HALE ROAD TAVERN David Fyffe HIGH ROAD HOTEL Damien Cripps Band HYDE PARK HOTEL Nathan Gaunt Red Triangle Stone Bleeder Subject to Change INDI BAR The Amani Consort Lukey Zarm INDIAN OCEAN BREW Adrian Wilson KALAMUNDA HOTEL Andrew Winton KARDINYA TAVERN Dizzy Miss Lizzy LAST DROP TAVERN Neil Adams MERRIWA TAVERN Overload MOJOS BAR Grace Barbé Hyclass Natalie Mae Doctor & Monk KritiCal Sabata Sound MOON & SIXPENCE Soul Corporation MUSTANG BAR

Oz Big Band Cheeky Monkeys MURPHY’S IRISH PUB Double Trouble NEWPORT Party Rockers NORFOLK BASEMENT Bastians Happy Flight Places Of Indigo Leon Osborn NORTHWOOD ALE HOUSE Indigo Alley OXFORD HOTEL Recliners PADDO Simon Kelly PADDY HANNANS Gun Shy Romeos PARAMOUNT Flyte PRINCIPAL Jack & Jill RAILWAY HOTEL Foos Gold Third Wind Hanna Osman ROCKET ROOM The Spitfires The Cabelleros High Horse The Cabarets ROSE & CROWN Adam James ROSEMOUNT Sidewalk Diamonds Our Man In Berlin Sean O’Neil James Teague ROSEY O’GRADY’S (FREMANTLE) Spyce ROSEY O’GRADY’S (NORTHBRIDGE) Neil Colliss SAIL & ANCHOR Howie Morgan Duo SOUTH ST ALE HOUSE Robbie King Karaoke SPRINGS TAVERN Greg Carter Karaoke STIRLING ARMS Helen Shanahan SWINGING PIG The Mojos Greg Carter THE BOAT 11:11 THE GATE Smoking Section THE SHED Kickstart TWO ROCKS TAVERN Lush UNIVERSAL Nightmoves VELVET LOUNGE Stereoflower Mezzanine The Disappointed Patient Little Sister Rachael Dease VICTORIA PARK HOTEL Ivan Ribic WANNEROO TAVERN Clayton Bolger WOODVALE TAVERN Dr Bogus

X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

Listing deadline is Monday 5pm. The Gig-Guide is a service to advertisers listing bands.

All inclusions are at the discretion of X-Press Magazine. Email reception@xpressmag.com.au or fax 9213 2882.

The Spitfires, Friday at Rocket Room LOBBY LOUNGE (BURSWOOD) John & Shaun Sandosham MERRIWA TAVERN Celebrations Karaoke MERRIWA TAVERN Celebrations Karaoke & SIXPENCE SATURDAY 09.06 MOON Blaze 7th AVENUE M ON THE POINT Karaoke Rhythm 22 AMPLIFIER MOJOS BAR Mission In Motion Matt McHugh BALMORAL Ben Witt The Recliners MUSTANG BAILEY BAR The Continentals Insideout Milhouse BAR 120 NEWPORT Flyte Kizzy BEAT NIGHTCLUB Gravity Runaways NORTH FREMANTLE BELGIAN BEER CAFÉ BOWLING CLUB Howie Morgan Tusk BLACK BETTY’S Sexy Robot J Babies Them Wretched Horses BURSWOOD (PRIZE Fliptop DRAW STAGE) NORFOLK BASEMENT Switch Gunns CIVIC HOTEL Hootenanny Rockit NORTHWOOD Filtered Replay TAVERN CIVIC HOTEL (THE Keith Karaoke DEN) PADDY HANNAN’S Choking Stanley Decoy FAIM PARAMOUNT Burst & Bloom Felix Hello Colour Red QUARIE BAR CLAREMONT HOTEL Electrophobia The Zydecats RAILWAY HOTEL COMO HOTEL Louis & The Honeytonk Luke Dewing Thee Gold Blooms CRAIGIE LEISURE The Disappointed CENTRE The Espeys Snap! 13+ Youth ROCKET ROOM Concert Kickstart Johnny Ruffo ROSEMOUNT Chiari Laura DJ Samuel Spencer Usurper Of Modern WasteLand Medicine DEVILLES PAD The Silent World The Continentals Craig McElhinney Les Sataniques ROSIE O’GRADY’S ELLINGTON JAZZ (FREMANTLE) CLUB Flavor Fiona Lawe Davies Trio ROSIE O’GRADY’S James Flynn & The Fly (NORTHBRIDGE) Little Big Band Blue Gene Deuces SAIL & ANCHOR FLY TRAP Kickstart Loungerama SEAVIEW GREENWOOD Open Mic Night Crago Beat!

SOUTH ST ALEHOUSE HALE ROAD TAVERN Shawne & Luc Damien Cripps Band SWINGING PIG HIGH ROAD HOTEL Greg Carter Losing Julia THE BIRD HYDE PARK HOTEL Anton Franc The Stanleys Leure Lacey Pallas Athena Loads THE BOAT INDIAN OCEAN Deuce BREW CO THE GATE The Mojos Dirty Scoundrels INDI BAR THE SHED Matt Gresham Huge KARDINYA TAVERN THE VIC Hot Suga Chris Gibbs Duo LAKERS TAVERN THE WHALE & ALE Lush Renegade LEOPOLD HOTEL TWO ROCKS TAVERN Steve Hepple Keith McDonald YA YA’S The Midnight Mules Jacob Loughridge & Friends Limpin’ Dave & The Straight Legged Freaks Gloria Ironbox

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Friday Friday Anton Franc, Saturday at Travis Caudle Travis Caudle The Bird FlyBy ByNight Night Fly UNIVERSAL Soul Corporation WANNEROO TAVERN Greg Carter WOODVALE TAVERN Courtney Murphy & Murphy’s Lore YA YA’S The Crooked Cats Misty Mountain Zorbas Milk The Beers

SUNDAY 10.06 7TH AVENUE Reckless Kelly BALLY’S BAR Greg Carter BALMORAL Cranky BAR ORIENT Matt Milford BOAB TAVERN Parker Avenue BROKEN HILL HOTEL Switchback CAPTAIN STIRLING Christian Thompson CARINE Pop Candy CHASE BAR James Wilson CLANCYS DUNSBOROUGH Nathan Gaunt CLAREMONT HOTEL Sunday Driver COMO HOTEL David Fyffe EAST 150 BAR Ali Towers ELEPHANT & WHEELBARROW Daren Reid & The Soul City Groove ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Jade Diary EMPIRE CB3 FLY TRAP Stage Fright Open Mic HIGH WYCOMBE HOTEL The Organ Grinders HIGH RD Adrian Wilson INDIAN OCEAN BREW CO Retriofit INDI BAR The Sunshine Brothers KALAMUNDA HOTEL Alitia Martin LAKERS TAVERN Jamie Powers M ON THE POINT Electrophobia MOJOS BAR Laura The Long Lost Brothers Race To Your Face MOON & SIXPENCE Gerard Maunick & Tina Simone MUSTANG BAR Peter Busher & The Lone Rangers NEWPORT Tim Nelson Mission In Motion

The Crooked Cats, Saturday at Ya Yas

OCEAN VIEW TAVERN Rod Coxell PINK DUCK Neil Colliss PRINCIPAL Dove RAILWAY HOTEL Morghl TheUncreation Meridian Bloodklot Legacy Of Supremacy Tusk ROSEY O’GRADY’S (NORTHBRIDGE) Jonathan Dempsey SAIL & ANCHOR Shawne & Luc SOUTH ST ALE HOUSE Anthony Nieves SOVEREIGN ARMS Ivan Ribic SPRINGS TAVERN Sophie Jane SWAN BASEMENT The Painted Bird Wicked Wench Lillium Stargazer Mat Cammarano SWINGING PIG Adam James Luke Dewing THE GATE Better Days Chris Gibbs Trio THE SAINT Howie Morgan Project THE SHED The Healy’s Blue Hornet TWO ROCKS TAVERN Everlong Acoustic UNIVERSAL Retriofit VICTORIA PARK HOTEL Damien Cripps WOODVALE TAVERN Good Karma

MONDAY 11.06 BRASS MONKEY The Organ Grinders ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Jodi’s Marathon Fundraising Night Running4BumiSehat LOBBY LOUNGE (BURSWOOD) Courtney Murphy MOJOS BAR Wide Open Mic Night MUSTANG BAR Marco & The Alley Cats THE DEEN Plastic Max & The Token Gesture

TUESDAY 12.06 ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB The Graham Wood Quartet LOBBY LOUNGE (BURSWOOD) John Sandosham LUCKY SHAG Christian Thompson MOJOS BAR Diger Rokwell FG Leure Catlips Ravs PADDO Simon Kelly PRINCE OF WALES Open Mic Night SETTLERS TAVERN Open Mic Night TWO ROCKS TAVERN Jump For Joy Karaoke X-WRAY CAFE Open Piano Night YAYA’S Black Birds Tyto Kings Mr Chance Ellen Ooosterbaan

The Stanleys

THE STANLEYS LACEY,LOADS SATURDAY,JUNE 9 THE HYDE PARK HOTEL

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Classifieds and Music Services Hotline: 9213 2888 Display ads: musicservices@xpressmag.com.au Deadline: 4pm Monday Credit cards welcome

FOR SALE EPIPHONE OLYMPIC DOUBLE (Batwing) 1965 (made in Detroit) Good Condition $1900 contact 0411 377 820 HAIR, HEALTH & HAPPINESS PHAT DREADS HAIR DESIGN Your One Stop Dread Shop. Top Quality, Inexpensive & Personalised service. Hayley - 0488450023 MUSICIANS AVAILABLE PROFESSIONAL KEYBOARD PLAYER AVAILABLE If you have a band and in need of a keyboard player, I’m your man. Can play any genre or style of music. Good gear & attitude. Ph: 0404 154 882.

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DRUMMER NEEDED Drummer required for Metal Band. Thirty 3 Victims. Songs up on Facebook & Myspace. Call Nick: 0417 187 447.

EXPERIENCED GUITARIST WANTED 30+ for working original hard rock band. Recording & touring in plan. Ph: 0427 072 814 or 0435 825 090.

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Phone Joanne: 0412 970 173

OPEN MIC NIGHT every Thursday night at Indi Bar. Just call Tash on 0458 095 364.

OPEN MIC NIGHT Every Tuesday night at the Craigie Tavern 8-11pm. Call Corey for bookings 0431 448 235 VOCALIST WANTED For Retro electronic project. Email info/demo to redkerbkiss@ hotmail.com PHOTOGRAPHY PROJECT PHOTOGRAPHY P r o m o p h o t o g r a p h y, s t u d i o , l i v e , location. Mike Wylie 0417 975 964 www.projec tphotography.com When its time to ice the cake...

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 PA HIRE Vox P.A’s and Funktion-One concert systems. Beat any quote. 9307 8594/ mob 0404 410 020. perthconcertsound.com.au.

PA HIRE, PRO SYSTEM, FULL FOLD BACK Experienced operator. Optional light show.

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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 BASE CAMP KUTZ Recording Rehearsing Graphics All Media Any Genre. Located in Yangebup 24/7 Ph: 9434 5889.

GOLDDUSTCONSTRUCTION.COM Pr o d u c t i o n , m i x i n g, r e c o r d i n g a n d 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. $60 p/h.

Andrew 0408 097 407 MOB-HANDED RECORDING & MUSIC PRODUCTION Professional multi-track recording for singer/songwriter, electro, hip hop, metal, pop, groove, all styles catered for. Services also offered: Audio editing, mastering, voice over recording etc.

PLUS: Unique & original orchestral string arrangements written and recorded for your songs. Ph: 0468 363 380 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 R E CO R D I N G M I X I N G M A S T E R I N G PRODUCING Fremantle location. Call Pete Kitchen Cooked Records. Ph 0407 363 764 / 9336 3764 REVOLVER SOUND STUDIO Ph 9272 7505. www.revolverstudio.com.au SONGWRITERS! - UNLOCK YOUR SONGS’ POTENTIAL +FREE BAND APPRAISALS. U K Pro d u ce r, 4 0 , 0 0 0 + h o u r s s t u d i o 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.

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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 LION MACHINE REHEARSAL STUDIO Professional rehearsal space. Wanneroo area.

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PLATINUM SOUND ROOMS Professional rehearsal rooms, airconditioned, quality PAs mob 0418 944 722 STREAM STUDIOS The place to rehearse in Perth.. Phone: 0403 152 009 www. streamrehearsal.com.au TUITION ***GUITAR LESSONS*** The Guitar Specialist. Beg-adv, 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 TUITION Specialises in scratching & cutting. Over 15 yrs experience. Beg-Adv welcome. Potential gigs waiting. Ph DJ Munch: 0412 334 510.

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SOUNDS LIKE NEW

The Importance Of Instrument Care Ahead of Kosmic Sound’s free restringing and reskinning day on Thursday, June 14, Volume investigates the importance of instrument upkeep.

Properly maintaining your guitars and snare drums is vital if you want your instrument to keep its fresh sound, and a huge part of this is regularly restringing and reskinning your gear.

Making sure your guitar is restrung regularly is of great importance as string-to-fret contact over time causes strings to wear therefore affecting performance.

Excessive string wear will affect the intonation and tuning of your guitar, and if a guitar is not strung properly the following problems may occur – strings may rattle at the nut or saddle; strings incorrectly tied may slip out of tune; it may be difficult for the tremolo to return to pitch; excessive dents left from fretting the strings may make the tone of your instrument mellower; and the set up of the guitar may be affected.

Likewise, snare drum upkeep should be no different. Whether you play the drums once a week, or once a day, everyone will need to change their skins eventually. Being one of the main striking points on the drum set, they need to remain in tact and tight in order to keep the best sound. Some things to look for in skins are indents, cracks and pitted marks across the surface of the skin. If you’ve noticed your snare drum sounds too shaky, too dry or muffled it may be beginning to lose its sound. Also, if you have a lot of bumps in your skin, chances are it will sound out of tune and need changing.

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Kosmic’s Samuel Pettit and Chris Head

Proper after care is required once you’ve had your instrument restrung or reskinned in order to get the most out of the service.

From the time your guitar is restrung, you may notice that the strings stretch out of tune and the tone of the strings will be very bright. However, as the strings settle the tone will even out and the tuning will stabilise. It is also important to wipe down the new strings after use with a lint free cloth.

As a general rule of thumb, most snare drum skins should be changed every six months, however if you play your instrument more frequently you may find it needs a reskin more often. Drum skin maintenance is often overlooked by most drummers. and some drummers may have a very nice drum set, but with poor skins it may sound terrible. So keep that edge on other drummers, and always have healthy skins.

If you think your instruments are in need of either of these services, Kosmic Sound in Osborne Sound have organised a day with free reskinning of snare drums and free restringing services for guitars.

Both acoustic and electric guitars are welcome, however unfortunately they cannot accommodate basses. They’ll even be throwing on some quality strings (D’addario) and skins (Evans) for no price at all.

The restring/reskin day is held to support Strike-A-Chord, a children’s charity that uses the healing power of music to benefit seriously ill and disadvantaged children. A gold coin donation to Strike-A-Chord will be welcome on the day. So bring your instrument down to Kosmic Osborne Park, support a cause, and get your instrument sounding brand new again!

X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

www.xpressmag.com.au

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X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays