Issue 1399

R IP G U Y LL

R IP JE R EM Y JU N

FEATURE INSIDE

K

33,560 OCTOBER 2012 MARCH 2013 - AUSTRALIA’S HIGHEST CIRCULATING STREET PRESS

JESS MCAVOY

D J

G

FL

EO

EX

FF

FATHER BOB MAGUIRE

(H

SH

A

R

B

A

IT T)

EL

A

PN (I N H IB IT )

METRIC M IC A H

CIRCLES

2

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

3

4

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

5

6

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

NEWSDESK

LOCAL NEWS

|

GLOBAL NEWS

|

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Rolling Stones in London’s Hyde Park earlier this year. Pic: Brian Rasic.

(JUST A) STONES’ THROW AWAY After all the speculation as to whether The Rolling Stones will be appearing in other cities other than Adelaide - it’s finally been announced that they’ll also be rolling into Perth, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane and Victoria’s iconic Hanging Rock as part of the 14 On Fire tour.

Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Ronnie Wood and special guest Mick Taylor - who was a member of The Stones from 1969-74 - will play Perth Arena on Wednesday, March 19.

Tickets go on sale Monday, December 16, with a pre-sale via frontiertouring.com/rollingstones from Monday, December 9.

KRISTOFFERSON

CALL OF THE WILD

Venerable country and western star (he’s 77 and still looks like he could kill us all without noticing) Kris Kristofferson will be in town for one show only on Sunday, March 30, 2014, at Red Hill Auditorium.

The gig marks the start of an extensive tour to promote Kristofferson’s latest album, the sombrely titled Feeling Mortal. Still, it’s a safe bet that many classics will also get an airing, such as Me And Bobby McGee, For The Good Times, Help Me Make It Through The Night… the list goes on. Tickets go on sale 9am this Thursday, December 5, though redhillgigs.com.au.

Melbourne surf-rockabilly-’60s extravaganza, La Bastard are heading to WA for the very first time on the back of their latest album, Tales From The Beyond. They’ll be serving up their legendary live show, complete with dancing on tables, soulful vocals, searing surf-guitar licks and in-your-face attitude. They’ll be stopping by Deville’s Pad on Friday, December 6, with special guests, Twin Beats (formerly the Toot Toot Toots); on Saturday, December 7, at Mojos Bar with Jack On Fire and The Leap Year; and on Sunday, December, 8 at YaYa’s with Cal Peck & The Tramps and Hayley Beth.

Kris Kristofferson

La Bastard

SHADDY TIMES Wheatbelt blues four-piece, Blue Shaddy are bringing their blend of Aussie country/roots to Mojos Bar on Saturday, January 4. Born and bred in Kellerberrin, the band has been no stranger to the festival circuit having played everything from Woodford Folk Festival, West Coast (and East Coast) Blues And Roots, Port Fairy Folk Festival and Blues At Bridgetown, to name just a few. Expect some foot stomping, infectious energy once you’ve purchased your tickets via Oztix.

Blue Shaddy

TECHNICAL TOUR DE FORCE

MONKEYS FLY SOUTH Favoured sons of Sheffield, Arctic Monkeys, will be heading our way in the second quarter of 2014.

Showcasing their fifth studio album, AM, it marks their biggest sojourn in Australia and New Zealand to date, encompassing a total of seven shows. It’s also the first time they’ve hit our shores since 2011, so tickets are sure to go fast. Head to ticketek.com. au post haste.

POWER TO THE PEOPLE Cat Power is coming back! Chan Marshall will grace Australia with her presence this January-February for a series of intimate solo shows. West Australian fans can catch Cat at Fremantle’s iconic Fly By Night Musician’s Club on Tuesday, February 4, 2014. Tickets are $50 plus booking fee via flybynight.org.

‘I can’t believe I’m sitting here with Air Supply’ went the old TimeLife infomercial of a few years ago. We’ve stated this before, but you too can shout that very phrase when Air Supply take to the Perth Concert Hall stage this Sunday, December 8. Tickets via ticketek.com.au (1300 795 012). These Australian soft-rock legends were inducted to the ARIA Hall Of Fame earlier this week.

US multi-instrumentalist, Colin Stetson - who’s been a touring member of Arcade Fire and Bon Iver and has worked with everyone from Tom Waits to Laurie Anderson - is heading to our fair city for two performances early next year, following on from appearances at Mona Foma and Sydney Festival. The first show will be on Monday, January 20, at Mojos Bar with special guests, The Tigers and Lower Spectrum.

He’ll then dish up the goods again on Tuesday, January 21, at the Hellenic Club of WA with Callum G’Froerer. You’d better not miss this one. Get your tickets for both shows through Oztix.

Air Supply

Colin Stetson

SUPPLY AND DEMAND

Cat Power

Arctic Monkeys

RTRFM’S DANCE PARTY ILLY COMMUNICATION With his fourth studio album, Cinematic, debuting at #4 on the ARIA album chart Melbourne hip hopper Illy scored his first top 10 debut and the second highest first week sales by an Australian hip hop artist in 2013. Good thing then that he’s also just announced The Cinematic National Tour for March, 2014.

Catch Illy, supported by Jackie Onassis and Remi, on Friday, March 21, at Capitol. Tickets via illy. oztix.com.au and 1300 762 545.

There’s a 10-hour marathon of electronic grooves and upbeat pop music happening for RTRFM’s annual Seriously Sound System. Kicking off at 2pm in the Perth Cultural Centre’s Urban Orchard on Saturday, December 14, the all-local line-up includes live sets from Omega Is The Alpha, Kučka, Bastian’s Happy Flight, Boom! Bap! Pow!, Boys Boys Boys!, Community Sound System (represented by Diger Rokwell, Ylem, Mathas, Empty and ASAP) and DJs from dance crews, Untitled Sound Alliance, DeadWeight!, I.C.S.S.C, Habitat, The Likes Of You and The District. Get your tickets now from rtrfm.com.au.

Bastian’s Happy Flight

Illy

BAYSIDE ROCKERS Fresh from picking up the ‘Best Video’ gong at the recent ARIA Awards, Samantha Jade will be performing and signing copies of her new single, Soldier, this Saturday, December 7, from noon at the Nandos Undercover Carpark at Westfield Carousel.

You must have a copy of Soldier to enter the signing area. Okay then? Soldier on!

All-Aussie legends The Angels and Diesel plus Kiwi mates Mi-Sex are set to invade Bunbury at Bayside Beats on Friday, March 14. Mi-Sex is these days front by former Noiseworks bassist and solo artist in his own right, Steve Balbi. It’s a rockworthy line-up to be sure, with general admission tickets just $59.90.

They go on sale from 9am on Monday, December 9, via ticketmaster.com.au and mellenevents.com. au. Details of other ticket packages are also available from those sites.

Samantha Jade

Mi-Sex, Bayside Beats. Pic: John Snelson.

SAMANTHA SINGS

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

7

WIN

N E W S L E T T E R - S I G N U P AT W W W. X P R E S S M AG . C O M . A U F O R E XC L U S I V E C O M P S

PRINT AND DIGITAL EDITIONS PUBLISHER/MANAGER Joe Cipriani

EDITORIAL - 9213 2888 MANAGING EDITOR Bob Gordon: editor@xpressmag.com.au DANCE MUSIC & FEATURES EDITOR Rachel Davison: danceeditor@xpressmag.com.au LOCAL MUSIC & ARTS EDITOR Travis Johnson: localmusicarts@xpressmag.com.au GIG & EVENT GUIDES CO-ORDINATOR guide@xpressmag.com.au COMPETITIONS win@xpressmag.com.au For band gigs and launches - plugyourgig@xpressmag.com.au PHOTOGRAPHY Rachael Barrett, Stefan Caramia, Guang-Hui Chuan, Daniel Craig, Brandon D’Silva, Max Fairclough, Daniel Grant, Sammy Granville, Matt Jelonek, Emma Mackenzie, Callum Ponton, Denis Radacic, Bohdan Warchomij, Michael Wylie CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Leah Blankendaal, Nina Bertok, Lucas Bowers, Aaron Bryans, Joe Cassidy, Hayley Davis, Chris Gibbs, Alfred Gorman, Shaun Cowe, Predrag Delibasich, Jayde Ferguson, George Green, Alex Griffin, James Hanlon, Chris Havercroft, Joshua Hayes, Brendan Holben, Coral Huckstep, Ellie Hutchinson, Rezo Kezerashvili, Tom Kitson, Clayton Lin, Charlie Lewis, Daisy Lythe, Andrew Nelson, David O’Connell, Shane Pinnegar, Nick Sweepah, Jessica Willoughby

ULTIMATE SOUTHBOUND EXPERIENCE Southbound, Southern Skydivers and X-Press have joined forces to give you the ultimate Southbound experience! Up for grabs is a double pass to the festival featuring everyone from Solange to MGMT and the Violent Femmes. An upgrade to VIP status, which gives you access to an exclusive shaded area, some complimentary meals and drinks and private restrooms. A ‘Happy Camper’ ticket - giving you access to the camping facilities; and last, but not least - a tandem jump from 14,000 feet! To be in the running to win this prize pack for two people - email: win@xpressmag.com.au - letting us know why you deserve it!

Southern Skydivers

ADVERTISING - 9213 2888

FASHION: HURLEY SANDALS MINISTRY OF SOUND: THE ANNUAL 2014 Ministry Of Sound have delivered their biggest compilation of the year - The Annual 2014 mixed by Chardy and Uberjak’d, which features a whole bunch of big club tunes by the likes of AVICII, Rudimental, Disclosure, Knife Party, Ellie Goulding and more. To celebrate, Chardy and Uberjak’d will be dropping in for the Ministry Of Sound party at Villa on Friday, December 13 with support from Ace Basik, Chiari and Axen. To win a double pass to the show and a copy of the CD compilation - email: win@xpressmag.com.au.

Star Surf & Skate in the Murray Street Mall, Perth are stocking the new Hurley Sandal. It’s the most comfortable and high tech sandal on the market, combining Hurley Phantom innovation and Nike Free intelligence, which results in the ultimate in comfort and functionality. Pop into the store and get your hands on a pair for just $79.99, but if you’re damn lucky - email: win@xpressmag.com.au and you might just win a pair to call your own.

Hurley Sandals

SALES MANAGER AGENCY / MOVIES / ARTS / EDUCATION / SPONSORSHIP / ONLINE MARKETING Craig Mauger - advertising@xpressmag.com.au MUSIC SERVICES / MUSICAL EQUIPMENT / BANDS / RECORD LABELS Dez Richardson - musicservices@xpressmag.com.au ENTERTAINMENT VENUES / LIVE AND DANCE MUSIC PROMOTERS Tim Milroy - entertainment@xpressmag.com.au CLASSIFIEDS LINAGE classifieds@xpressmag.com.au

PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT - 9213 2854 CONTENT COORDINATOR Anthony Jackson - production@xpressmag.com.au ART DIRECTOR Dwight O’Neil DESIGN + PRODUCTION Andy Quilty, Anthony Jackson, Kasia Mazurkiewicz

PRINTING Rural Press Printing Mandurah DISTRIBUTION - 9213 2853 - distribution@xpressmag.com.au ADMIN / ACCOUNTS - 9213 2888 Lillian Buckley accounts@xpressmag.com.au EDITORIAL DEADLINES General: Friday 5pm, Eye4 Arts: Thursday 10am, WIN: Friday 5pm, Salt Clubs: Monday 5pm , Local Scene: Monday Noon, Gig Guide: Monday 5pm

FILM: NIGHT TRAIN TO LISBON Hitting cinemas this week (Thursday, December 5) comes Night Train To Lisbon about Raimumd Gregorius, a Swiss professor of old languages who saves a Portuguese beauty from committing suicide when she is about to take a lethal leap. Right after this incident he comes across a book written

by Portuguese author Amadeu do Prado and gets obsessed with it. He starts to dedicate his life to the study of Portuguese history and Amadeu’s oeuvre in particular. Thanks to Pinnacle Films we’ve got five inseason double passes to giveaway, just email: win@ xpressmag.com.au.

GEAR: YAMAHA PDX B11 Looking for the perfect companion for your music this summer? Whether at the beach or at a BBQ, the PDX-B11 wireless speaker can wirelessly stream your favourite tunes from smart phones, laptops and other Bluetooth compatible devices, so that you can enjoy the freedom of music without wires. It retails at $149, but if you would like this speaker in your hands in time for the summer holidays - enter now by emailing win@xpressmag.com.au. The winner will be notified on December 24.

Night Train To Lisbon

Yamaha PDX B11

ADVERTISING DEADLINES Cancellations: Monday 5pm, Ads to be set: Monday Noon Supplied Bookings / Copy: Tuesday 12 Noon, Classifieds: Monday 4pm Published by: Columbia Press Pty.Ltd. A.C.N. 066 570 803 Registered by Australia Post. Publication No PP600110.00006 Suite 55/102 Railway Street, City West Business Centre, West Perth, WA 6005 Locked Bag 31, West Perth, WA 6872 Phone: (08) 9213 2888 Fax: (08) 9213 2882 Website: http://www.xpressmag.com.au 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.

33,560 OCTOBER 2012 MARCH 2013 - AUSTRALIA’S HIGHEST CIRCULATING STREET PRESS

8

FILM: HOW I LIVE NOW Kicking off in cinemas last week was How I Live Now, a film based on the best selling novel by Meg Rosoff.

It’s all about Daisy (Saoirse Ronan) a teenager from New York, who is sent to the English countryside for the summer to stay with cousins. After falling madly in love with Eddie (George MacKay) their perfect summer is blown apart by the outbreak of a 21st century world war and she embarks on a terrifying journey to be reunited with the boy she loves. To win one of ten double passes valid for the season: email: win@xpressmag.com.au.

FASHION: OUT WITH AUDREY

DAVID DALLAS @ CAUSEWAY

Out With Audrey and its clothing encapsulates all things fashion, style and inspiration. The name comes from a childhood fascination of Audrey Hepburn and the way in which she made her style a worldwide phenomenon. Check out the clothing, accessories and shoes at outwithaudrey.com.au and if you’d like to be in the running to win a $200 voucher, tell us in 25 words or less, what best describes your street style. Email your answer with your name and phone number to: win@xpressmag.com.au.

New Zealand rapper David Dallas is touring to promote his recently released third album, Falling Into Place, which was released just a few months ago through Universal. Themes on the record range from epic Django Unchained tales of escape on first single Runnin’, to his tribute to the streets of South Auckland on Southside. To win yourself one of two copies of the album, plus a double pass to the show at Causeway Bar on Wednesday, December 18 - email: win@xpressmag.com.au.

Ronan and MacKay in How I Live Now

Out With Audrey

David Dallas

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

9

10

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

FLESH

NEWS - INTERVIEWS - REVIEWS - CONTENTS

PERTH DANCE MUSIC AWARDS

PDMAS Outstanding Contributions Touring and local DJs, promoters, club nights, label and venues... the dance music scene in Perth only happens because of the effort and passion of a bunch of dedicated individuals. Over the past 15 years, the PDMAs has recognised those people that make dance music what it is today. RACHEL DAVISON reports.

The Last Dance Sponsored by X-Press Magazine and RTR FM 92.1, the Perth Dance Music Awards (PDMAs) will be staged for the last time this Sunday, December 8, at The Court Hotel (free entry). BOB GORDON chats with PDMA directors, Petar Ceklic, Liz Sheehan and Chris Dart-Kelly.

Describe the origins of the PDMAs and its early years...

Petar Ceklic: The original PDMAs were very much a backyard operation. Fifteen years ago, Perth was a melting pot of talent; it set its trajectory to the clouds and I thought it was a shame there was no local recognition of the people making waves. I looked around Australia to see if anywhere else was doing something at the time and found that only Adelaide had something... a black tie event. I took notes, but I didn’t like the fact it was so formal.

By 1998 Teknoscape had started to get a decent following, so I thought I would give it a crack that year knowing full well it was only an experiment.

I set up the web form which emailed the votes to a hotmail account which needed to be tallied by hand my girlfriend hated me for it as I made her do this, it was lucky as initially there were only a couple hundred votes. Once tallied I would just release the results on Teknoscape - with no fanfare or awards show. This continued for the first several years, after which the popularity grew and I saw it was time to get serious and go all out.

The first actual awards show happened in 2002 at the Marble Bar in East Perth, then went to various other venues such as The Leedy and The Rosemount. Since then things have really grown and my initial experiment has transpired to 15 years of awards which are now held at The Court Hotel.

Other than being an awards ceremony, what were the aims of the PDMAs? A unifying event for the industry, perhaps?

Liz Sheehan: The primary aim is to provide recognition and reward to those who are best in their chosen field within the Perth electronic dance music scene. It’s a special day where promoters, DJs, artists and other people who work in the industry can come together and enjoy an afternoon with each other and the punters without having to worry about ‘work’.

PC: It seems like all business competition is put aside and everyone is celebrating together as part of one scene.

CONTENTS 7 8 11 12

17

24 25

31

34 36 38

News Win Flesh Perth Dance Music Awards Music Fred Smith / Kylesa / Twin Forks / Kelpe Cave / Lior & Westlake / Kataklysm / Metric New Noise Eye4 Cover: Eric Bana Ender’s Game / What Richard Did / Father Bob Revive / Kill Your Darlings / Spectacular Now Arts Listings Urban Central Salt Cover: Nile Rodgers News / Producer’s Cut / PDMA’s Stanton Warriors / Le1f Club Manual Rewind: The Common Room launch @ Paper Mountain Scene Stereosonic / The Scientists / Muse Local Scene Tour Tour Trails Gig Guide Volume

FRONT COVER: The final Perth Dance Music Awards are this Sunday, December 8 @ The Court.

SALT COVER: Nile Rodgers plays on Sunday, December 8 @ the Astor Theatre.

PDMA directors Chris Dart-Kelly, Liz Sheehan and Petar Ceklic. Pic: Ari Yeung

Who have been some of the people behind it over the years?

LS: Petar Ceklic created the awards 15 years ago and has remained at the helm since inception. In 2003 he asked Chris Dart-Kelly to present the awards and a year later he joined Petar as a director and has continued his involvement since then. I joined as a director five years ago after working as an editor for Petar’s other venture, Teknoscape.

Together we steer the PDMA ship with the help of current committee members Rachael Smith and Errin Gregory. Lisa Tibbits was a committee member for a few years and was an integral part of starting up the Hall of Fame.

Chris Dart-Kelly: Everyone who is or has been involved in the PDMAs is a volunteer and we have relied on the generous sponsorship from people in the industry to keep us going.

Amongst the many nominations for best DJs in their respective genres, there’s also an award for ‘Outstanding Contribution’ - highlighting those that have really made a difference to dance music in 2013.

Perth clubbers and industry folk have voted three top choices for the esteemed title this year, with DJ/producer and Boomtick programmer, Micah; events and artist touring company, Habitat who have been unrelenting in throwing parties and bringing international techno and house DJs to Perth; plus Inhibit - drum’n’bass champions and key players in the areas of artist booking, events and touring.

“It has certainly been a big year for us,” says Geoff Shrapnel, director of Inhibit and winner of the award last year, not to mention longstanding winner of ‘Best Club Night’ between 2008 - 2011 for Beat Mash Wednedays. “We’ve toured and promoted a broad range of cutting edge international bass music artists whilst continuing to support and build our seemingly unstoppable local scene.”

Since the PDMAs began in 1998, there’s been major changes in dance/electronic music - namely the transformation of an underground movement that started in warehouses and small clubs, to it becoming big business - taking over major clubs and festivals, being marketed by the major labels, and EDM being embraced as ‘the norm’ by the mainstream.

Looking back, what do you feel have been the highlights of the awards over the years; where people were acknowledged for their great work?

PC: To us the PDMAs have helped raise the bar of the dance music scene in Perth to a higher level as people strive to get nominated or win an award. Nationally and internationally it gives people a quick snapshot of who is making moves in the scene each year. Personally, I like seeing the promoters, festival guys, small club promoters, punters etc come together with their armour down for a once yearly catch up and a drink in the sun.

This is the last PDMAs, why is it coming to an end?

CDK: It was a very hard decision to make but we felt that it was time to put the PDMAs to bed.

We felt that the platform of recognition we created has provided a great way for the industry to come together and grow into the mature scene it is today.

It has helped recognise and promote DJs, artists, promoters and new talent and it also has highlighted the ever-increasing role and contribution producers make to the local club scene, however we feel that Geoff Shrapnel, Inhibit we have brought the awards as far as they can go.

We wanted to wind the awards up on our terms, “Back then it was all so new so there was especially now that the Perth dance music scene is no precedent to compare it to and everyone was no longer the young fledgling it used to be. just along for the ride,” Shrapnel says. “Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s actually more exciting today, Given it’s the final one, what special plans are there but certainly a lot more developed, accessible and for the night? professional. The biggest change has been in the PC: As it’s the last one ever, it’s going to music itself though - 15 years in dance music terms be our best and biggest awards party! I think people is the equivalent to centuries. In that time so many will make the special effort to be a part of history new genres and sub-genres have come, gone, come and come down as we wouldn’t count on anyone else back, developed, split and evolved at a rate that only starting up a new awards show in Perth anytime soon. seems to be intensifying.”

It’s going to be hard to say goodbye, but we plan to Micah - one half of production/DJ duo, go out in true PDMA style.

Black & Blunt; host of RTRFM’s Full Frequency, LS: Let’s just say people better book the longstanding PDMA nominee, and part of the Monday off work! We are going to be partying at The Boomtick family - agrees with Shrapnel’s observations.

Court until midnight.

“So much has changed (in the last 15 years). We’ve seen technology change the way How do you feel about the future of dance music music is made, played and manipulated. We’ve seen in Perth? the internet and social media revolutionise the way CDK: The scene in Perth has grown so fast, the music and events are promoted and participated especially in the last five years. There are more genres in. I’ve seen generations of clubbers and DJs find the than ever and more people listening to it than ever – music, become passionate about it and make it a huge it’s been incredible to see and be a part of it. Festivals part of their lives, changing them in the process. It’s have gone from small events to huge productions in been an amazing thing to be part of and to grow large venues. It doesn’t feel like the little family it with, and I feel very fortunate to still be a part of it,” used to be and we wonder – is the bubble going to he states.

Micah has also had a massive year. burst? Or will it keep growing? We hope for the sake of all the people involved, like promoters and DJs, that Boomtick opened two new venues - Parker and it keeps getting more and more popular but people Flyrite, Black & Blunt has released a stack of new tunes - their single, Wandering Strangers, getting don’t forget where and how it all started.

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

DJ Flex, Habitat

some triple j love, and he travelled all the way to the Ukraine to drop some tunes at Kazantip.

“Kazantip is such an epic festival and it was an amazing experience,” he says. “What really made it special was the crowd funding project I set up to raise the money to get there... I couldn’t have done it without the support from the community and I’m forever grateful.”

Which leads us to our third nominee Habitat - who have also had a crazy year, putting on a stack of shows headlined by internationals such as Jeff Mills, Apollonia, Finnebassen and Hernan Cattaneo. Habitat have been nominated for ‘Best Club Night’ numerous times and they won ‘Outstanding Contribution’ in 2011. James Zabiela also won ‘Best International Performance’ for his show at their Garden Party in 2011.

“Aside from DJing a number of times a week myself, we have put on over 30 events for Habitat this year,” says Flex - director of the company and a DJ for over 20 years now. “We have also held our annual DJ competition, and spent a lot of time developing Geisha back into one of Perth’s best clubs.

“There has been so many good shows this year, but my favourite has to be the afterparty we did with Butch and Edu Imbernon playing a four-hour set back-to-back at Geisha on a Sunday night. It reminded me exactly why I do what I do.”

All the nominees believe the PDMAs have been vital for Perth’s dance music community over its 15 year history and are sad to see it go.

“The PDMAs legitimise what we do by acknowledging the people involved for the hard work they put in,” Micah says. “I also think they’re really important because we’re so far away from the rest of the country, they bring our small community together and help give it its own identity as Western Australian dance music.”

Shrapnel says the strength of the dance/ electronic community in WA is quite remarkable particularly on the bass music side of things.

“Not only is Perth the strongest scene in Australia, it’s one of the strongest in the world,” notes Shrapnel. “If you were born and raised here you might not be fully aware of the fact that our scene is an internationally recognised phenomenon.

The foundations of this beast we laid way back in the ‘90s by pioneers such as Jeremy Junk (who sadly passed away this year and has been inducted into the PDMA Hall Of Fame), Greg Packer and Rob and Lisa MacGregor, and is sustained today in my opinion by two important factors – one being the depth of our local talent and the huge number of Perth producers stepping up and making waves on the world stage.

“The other being that all our best dance music venues - Villa, Shape, Ambar and Geisha are owned and operated by people who are actually in the dance music industry, so the clubs are run with an emphasis on staging quality events rather than just maximizing profits.”

Micah. Pic: Adam Mazur 11

MUSIC

VIEWS

|

INTERVIEWS

|

STORIES

FRED SMITH Rooms For The Memory Fred Smith is not your run-of-the-mill artist. He may have started his craft as an act at comedy clubs, but things took a far more serious turn when his job as an Australian diplomat broke down the door to his songwriting. CHRIS HAVERCROFT spoke to Smith about his impending shows with Liz Frencham at the Albany Town Hall on Thursday, December 5, and MosArts Camelot Theatre on FridaySaturday, December 6-7.

With Fred Smith being featured on Australian Story recently, he has increased his profile exponentially, so there is no better time for him to take his songs to a wider audience and see how things fly.

Wi t h h i s a l b u m , Into My Room , a collaborative effort with vocalist, Liz Frencham, celebrating its 10th anniversary, the start appeared to be aligned for a celebration. Smith will be joined on the road with Frenchman and they will be playing the aforementioned album in full.

“We have recently started to enjoy playing our albums in their entirety,” says Smith of the Into My Room shows. “It gives us opportunity to tell a cohesive story over the course of a set. In Albany and Perth we will be focussing on two albums released in the early naughties that were much loved by people who heard them: Into My Room and Bagarap Empires, but otherwise not too well-known.

“With my newfound profile, I’m in a position to shine some light on these albums and happy about that because the songs are strong. It’s the tenth anniversary of the Into My Room album and the 10th anniversary of the conclusion of Australia’s involvement in the Bougainville Peace Process, which is the focus of the Bagarap Empires CD, so it’s a good excuse to do something I have wanted to do for a while.”

Into My Room is an album written from a female perspective. While Smith admits this is an audacious thing for a male writer to do, he was “flexing muscles of empathy” and figures that can’t be a bad thing. The writing of these tunes led Smith to

KYLESA Ultraviolet Light My Way

become acquainted with Frenchman and an enduring musical collaboration has followed.

With his diverse experiences all over the world due to working as a diplomat, Smith has plenty of grist for the mill. His albums are generally quite thematic and reflect the experiences that Smith has been living through during the songs’ gestation. His recent-lived experience include some years spent in Afghanistan.

“I have a job at the Foreign Affairs Department (DFAT). I’ve been working there on and off since 1996. In 2009, they decided to send diplomats to Southern Afghanistan and I put my hand up. I’ve spent two of the last four years there. It was a fascinating experience living on a military base in a tribally competitive, fundamentally Islamic, wartraumatised society. For all that, I met some great people and have a handful of friendships with both Australian soldiers and Afghan guys that I hope will endure. The Afghans are great people, except the ones who are trying to kill you.

“Music is a powerful tool for shaping the way people think and feel about things. It touches people on so many levels. People say they have learned more in my two-hour show on Afghanistan then from 12 years of TV coverage. You can cover a lot quickly and engage a wide spectrum of the senses.

I suppose that’s why people use it in advertising!”

PIC: GAVIN FREEBORN

Georgia sludge metal rockers Kylesa are kicking off their first ever headline Australian tour in Perth this weekend.

JESSICA WILLOUGHBY catches up with guitarist, Phillip Cope, ahead of their show at the Rosemount Hotel this Saturday, December 7.

The last few years have been rough for Kylesa. Not on the musical front, but more on the personal side of things.

Life is like that; constantly throwing a curveball. But the three musicians that make up this heavy-hitting Georgian outfit decided to purge their demons the only way they know how – through song.

The result is Ultraviolet. Released earlier this year, the band’s sixth album sees them treading down a darker path. One filled with array of subtle electronic elements and haunting tones. “ T h e t i m e p e r i o d b e t we e n Spiral Shadow (2010) and Ultraviolet was rough for us,” says guitarist, Phillip Cope. “I suggested the theme of loss for this album because I felt it was something we would be able to communicate well with everything that had gone on over the past couple of years.

“Laura (Pleasants, guitar/vocals) and I wrote a lot of the album separately, lyric-wise. But recording it was pretty intense. To be honest about it, you kind of have to bring out some of those feelings. There’s certain things the two of us have never discussed before. But we had to, as we were in the studio making a record. We definitely brought out the demons, I guess

you could say.

“I’m glad the album is done. At the time it was really heavy and I’m glad it’s all over.”

Despite recording at The Jam Room in Columbia with Cope on production duties once again, the process for Ultraviolet was vastly different from anything the band had tried to tackle before. With Pleasants’ vocal presence making a statement on the album, fellow frontman Cope decided to take a back seat to delve further into the instrumental development of this release – with injections of Theremin and synth a notable addition.

“It was fun,” Cope says. “I haven’t really taken credit for it, but I’ve been jumping between instruments for years. I’ve just been really quiet about how many different things I’ll put on a record. This album includes the most I’ve ever done, though. It was challenging and fun to come up with the sounds. But I had a bit of time to practice, so I wasn’t just grabbing instruments and going with it. I kind of had an idea of what I wanted to do before I jumped in.

“Laura also had a lot more time to practice her thing. She came in and was sounding good. I was feeling the need to do more of the instrumental work.

So it was a bit of pressure off my back; just letting her go for it a bit more.”

“I must admit I was up in the studio alone a lot, though. Everyone has kind of learned to trust me a lot more in the production process. So everyone just came up when they were needed. It wasn’t like we just had one big hunk of time where everyone needed to hang out. I moved to Columbia and I lived there. I went to the studio every day and I just told people when they were needed to track.

“It was chill at first. But then I realised how massive the album was becoming. Then I became a little stressed. Ultraviolet is a very different album, in comparison to what we’ve done before. I had to make sure it sounded the way it was supposed to. I’m happy with most things, but there were a few that were out of my control at the end of recording. I’m a little bummed about that, but it’s always a battle.”

KELPE Go Fourth UK producer Kelpe performs at Slanted & Enchanted this Saturday, December 7, at The Bakery. ALEX GRIFFIN reports.

TWIN FORKS Intimate vs. Impossible Dashboard Confessional’s Chris Carrabba is no stranger to the acoustic guitar, yet his new outfit Twin Forks is by far his most roots-based project yet. CHRIS HAVERCROFT speaks to Carrabba about starting afresh with a new band and venturing into a world where he is an opening act. Twin Forks support City And Colour on Saturday, December 7, at Belvoir Amphitheatre.

With Dashboard Confessional on sustained hiatus and having got a solo album out of his system, Chris Carrabba is again travelling on a crowded bus with Suzie Zeldin (The Narrative), bassist Jonathan Clark and drummer Ben Homola (Bad Books) for his raw and rootsy project, Twin Forks.

With little fanfare and an album already in the can, Twin Forks’ first offering to punters is their self-titled EP. “I knew each of the band members individually, but they did not know each other,” offers Carrabba as to the recruitment of Twin Forks. “In that way it was an experiment of, ‘will they all get along together as well as I get along with them individually, and also would they connect musically in the same well that I felt that I connected with each of them?’. So far it has been a successful experiment. Playing music with 12

someone is intimate and sometimes impossible.”

Carrabba suggests that he has always been a fan of folk music and grew up listening to certain songwriters. In Dashboard Confessional he felt that when he wrote songs that were reflective of this influence it was really obvious.

“Maybe it was only obvious to me, but it was really, really obvious and so ultimately that is what helped Dashboard Confessional to have a ‘to itself’ guitar sound with these heavily lowered open tunings and a right hand that was more of a drummer’s hand than a picker’s hand. That is how I avoided tipping the listener to the fact that I was influenced by some particular singer/songwriters.

“But this was a long time ago and now I am confident enough to know that I can utilise the influences without falling into any trappings of replicating the influence.”

With the full-length almost completed, Twin Forks made a decision that on their first American tour they would record the audience singing along to one particular song so as to try and put every audience member who came to see Twin Forks on one of the choruses on this first album. The band have been relying on people holding up their phones as Carrabba teaches them the song, with the aim of getting enough recordings from people so as to have enough usable material to go on the record. It is another example of the strong connection Carrabba has to his audience.

“I am always looking for a deep connection with the audience. The more potent it is, the better for me. It is addictive and now that I have had a taste of it, it’s all I want. We are finding that they are ravenous and we can’t tell if some of it is that I have been away for a while and they are just happy to see me, but we feel like it is the music. The album isn’t even out yet and the audience already sing along to all of the words, so that says to me that they are more than just casually listening.”

For someone who has played alongside the likes of Aphex Twin and Ghostpoet, Kelpe (a.k.a. Kel McKeown) has done a good job flying under the radar so far.

Long touted as one of Britain’s most beguiling producers, his new album, Fourth: Golden Eagle, boasts some of the most ebullient cover art of the year and contents to match, cycling through sunbursts of skittering beats that feel like ball bearings tumbling against a surfboard. Being the product of a lengthy gestation period (his last full-length, Cambio Wechsel, arrived in 2009), McKeown is hesitant to attach any labels to Fourth, but there’s a definite thread of escapism that runs through the LP. “With the music, it’s hard to pin it down to any one feeling because I was writing and recording it over a long time, but it definitely has a summery feeling in comparison to the other stuff I’ve done. A lot of music you hear coming out of London has a dark feel – things get like that in England, not much light here – but I was trying to do something a bit more optimistic. I’m glad it turned out that way!”

The painstaking craft involved in producing something as detailed as Beaks Of Eagles comes from McKeown’s restlessness and unwillingness to compromise or take shortcuts. “It’s an ambition to have a lot of emotion and energy,” he says. “I really like music that’s characteristic and got something a little bit different about it. A lot of electronic music can sound generic and thrown together, like someone has just bashed it out on software in a few hours.

That stuff just sounds kinda cold. With this way of recording, where I’m playing live instruments, I guess I’m trying to keep as much feeling in there as possible.”

Kelpe is another soul in the procession of young, talented international beatmakers that have been beating (sorry) down the previously unfamiliar path to Australia in recent years - a flow of overseas talent that would have been unimaginable a decade ago. McKeown’s dates this month are set to be his first shows in Australia, including a set at The Bakery leg of the pretty-incredible Slanted & Enchanted fest, and by the sounds of things he’s as excited to come down here as people are to see him.

“I never had any idea that I could do it! I haven’t toured America aside from a couple of small gigs and a bus tour, so I haven’t been down the normal path that people take. Over here in Britain,

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

we really have no idea how much of a market there is over there for what it is we do, so it was quite strange to get asked to come over. I have visited on holiday but I didn’t get to see any music, so I don’t have any idea of what the scene is like.”

Besides keeping busy on the music front, McKeown can now add ‘entrepreneur’ to his CV, as Fourth marks the debut release on his new record label, DRUT Recordings. Though many find striking out on their own a nest of vipers, Kelpe’s found the weather pretty easy going so far.

“I’m enjoying it!” he laughs. “It’s really rewarding and satisfying to be back in charge of things. Things have been time consuming, but at the end of the day it’s nice to have control.”

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

13

MUSIC

VIEWS

|

INTERVIEWS

|

STORIES

CAVE Sweet Home Cave will hit the Astor Theatre leg of Slanted And Enchanted on Saturday, December 7. ALEX GRIFFIN chats with guitarist/organist, Cooper Crain.

There’s a joke about how you’d have to be living in a speleological formation if you haven’t heard of Chicago’s finest psych-drone band Cave yet, but we’re not going to scare you off with it.

That isn’t to say that Cave don’t have a sense of humour, though; to promote 2011’s relentless, driving Neverendless, the band took to the back of a semitrailer and played their interstellar kraut jams while coasting under the legal limit through the town centre before the law intervened. Undeterred, the band decided to up the stakes for this year’s more meditative Threace, as guitarist/organist Cooper Crain explains it.

“We decided to take that idea to another level, so we rented a boat and performed the album on the Chicago River,” he says. “It was great; on the water, there are no sound ordinance laws, so we weren’t running a risk, and anyway, sound travels further over water.”

Even if the legendary Japanese krautrockers Boredoms never return from their ever-lengthening studio silence, it’s hard to displace Cave as maybe the finest instrumental band going around on the evidence of Threace. They weave dexterous webs of interlocking rhythms and phrases on the Moonshakesque Silver Headband while Slow Bern manages to take the abstract late-night drive beauty of late Neu! and stick it into 5/4, which is the musical equivalent of bussing a dozen plates on rollerskates blindfolded.

Despite playing what are traditionally melodic instruments, Crain often plays them like he’s got a Certificate IV in beating down your door. The rhythmic bent comes, unsurprisingly, from starting off with a pair of drumsticks in his hands. “I played drums, first which is why I play guitar and keyboard in a percussive way. I’m a drummer at heart. I had a bunch of friends I admired who were older, and the way they played old tube amplifiers with the sound that breaks up I loved a lot, so I picked that up and chords and notes and whatever else I could find.”

That isn’t the only unconventional trick he’s learnt, though; as the member who has the mixing duties for the band’s records, Crain takes

KATAKLYSM Into Temptation Canadian masters of chronic, extreme death metal Kataklysm will be unleashing their brutality across Australia this month.

Guitarist Jean-Francois Dagenais talks to JESSICA WILLOUGHBY ahead of their show at the Rosemount Hotel this Sunday, December 8, supported by Japan’s Gotsu Totsu Kotsu.

Veteran Canadian death metallers Kataklysm celebrated their 20th anniversary last year. Now, as they enter their third decade, the band has barely skipped a beat.

2012 was a huge year for this veteran outfit. Their last album, Heaven’s Venom managed to crack the Billboard 200 for the first time – with Kataklysm marking the big 20-years with the aptly titled documentary, Iron Will: 20 Years Determined.

“Let’s say that if my career would end tomorrow, I would be super happy because I did everything that I wanted,” guitarist Jean-Francois Dagenais says. “I played music, I had an amazing career and I’ve seen the world and met so many cool people.

For me, playing music in a band means freedom. I don’t have a nine-to-five job. I’m happy to wake up every day and work on some music at home or on tour. I’m very proud of what we’ve done over the last 20 years and, as long as we can keep doing it, I’ll be happy.

“So yeah, the only thing right now is to see how long we can keep doing it and be happy about it.

So far so good and we still got a more years left.”

Despite a recent hiccup, with longstanding drummer Max Duhamel taking leave to battle alcoholism, Kataklysm kept the ball moving by welcoming Oli Beaudoin to their ranks. Beaudoin, 14

LIOR & WESTLAKE Text Messages PHOTO: FRANK VAN DUERM

inspiration from the legendary Miles Davis producer Teo Marceo, who radically transformed records such as Bitches Brew and In A Silent Way by Miles Davis.

While Crain isn’t saddled with having to manually splice kilometres of analogue tape like Marceo had to, he’s working in the same spirit.

“It’s the same idea; the band go through jams, and then I make a song out of it. The ideas we were going for were like later electric-period Miles, like On The Corner and Get Up With It, from the way it was edited to the way it was mixed. Like, we don’t put a guitar either 80 per cent left or right – it’s either left, right or centre! That’s the old jazz way of doing a mix. It’s really fun to experiment with these loosely structured jams. After I hear it a bunch of times I’m like, ‘I’m gonna put this here and this here and this here’, and then we have a song!”

Chicago has long been the nerve centre of all things post-rock, with the city enjoying a grand tradition of bands stretching back to jazz-rock innovators, Tortoise. For Cave, though, it’s just a good place to live.

“We draw from the same steps they took by being in the same town, like the jazz and ambient influences they experienced in their own way in the early ‘90s. But we’re just here where we are now.”

Hopefully they stay put long enough to top playing an album on the river. Parachuting Caves?

who had performed a few shows in Duhamel’s stead in the past, was behind the kit for their latest opus, Waiting For The End To Come. Released earlier this year, Dagenais points to their new drummer being a valuable addition.

“Oli’s definitely fitting in just right,” he tells X-Press. “He feels with Kataklysm that he’s really pushing himself to the edge drumming-wise, as far as his capabilities. He’s done session drumming for many bands, like Belphegor and Keep of Kalessin – so he’s used to jumping from one band to another and learning a bunch of songs and playing them live.

“He was telling me because we are all originally French Canadian, he’s bonded better with us because of our culture and we speak the same dirty slang French between us. He feels part of the family and we like him very much as a person.”

But is the plan to get Max back with the band at some point? “We hope he does come back,” Dagenais says. “To be honest, I was expecting to hear from him and he doesn’t call anyone. He had started some of the recovery process for his problem and we all encouraged him. We were hoping he would be back for these upcoming tours, but we haven’t heard from him. So, hopefully, we’ll hear from him and see what happens, but for now, no news.

“Part of his recovery may be to avoid temptation. It’s got to be hard for him because he likes to do this very much and he sees us coming out with a new record and tours. So out of sight, out of mind, maybe. It is a lot of temptation. We get so much free alcohol every night and we are a party band. We don’t drink it all ourselves, we have it for our friends and the guests we have every night. But there’s always some backstage party, so it would be really hard for him to be in that setting. If we kept him on the road for as many shows as we have coming up, that would not be good for him.”

So while Australian audiences won’t be seeing Duhamel behind the skins on their upcoming tour, Dagenais says Beaudoin will keep the live shows as authentic as possible. “He really tries to keep it Kataklysm style because he’s a fan of the band and he’s played with us before,” he says. “So he will keep it as authentic as he can, but bring some of his side as well.”

The West Australian Symphony Orchestra presents Lior & Westlake – Songs With Orchestra on Wednesday, December 11, at the Perth Concert Hall. LEAH BLANKENDAAL reports.

Joining the list this week of contemporary Australian musicians who’ve gone orchestral (Tex Perkins, Tim Rogers, Tim Minchin, The Whitlams to name a few) is singer/songwriter, Lior.

Teaming up with composer Nigel Westlake, the duo will present an intimate setting of spiritual pieces from the Jewish and Islamic faiths, as well as a number of Lior’s most loved songs.

“It started with the Jewish hymn, Avinu Malkeinu, a hymn of compassion, which literature equates to a type of plea on the road to freedom”, explains Lior.

This hymn brought Lior and Westlake together in tragic circumstances. Originally an a cappella hymn performed by Lior at solo gigs, Westlake first heard Lior perform it at a memorial service for his son Eli after his well-publicised death in 2008.

After this meeting Westlake and Lior floated the idea of creating a work for symphony orchestra based around Avinu Malkeinu. The result of these harrowing circumstances was an exceptionally beautiful and spiritual work called Compassion.

METRIC Emotionally Correct Metric kick off their Australian tour this Saturday, December 7, at Metro City.

ALEX GRIFFIN speaks with guitarist, Jimmy Shaw.

Guffawing down the phone from Montreal, Jimmy Shaw sounds like he’s in a good mood, and why the hell not? He’s about to head to Australia with three friends and collaborators who have only seen their fortunes blossom for over a decade now of music together.

Since forming in 1998 in Toronto, Metric have released four albums, met the Queen and won more Juno Awards than you can shake a maple leaf at.

Unfortunately, Shaw has no secret to the way Metric have gone about their business. “I think a lot of it is just chance! We just get along really well and so rarely have any issues with each other. The way the band operates is solidified in so many ways. We don’t fuck with it, and by doing that we’ve somehow managed to grow up in a really parallel way as people. We’re all open to the idea that we’re not gonna be the same people as we were and if we grow apart it’ll happen, but it hasn’t yet. It’s the thing you hope for, basically.”

Singer/lyricist Emily Haines occupies the spotlight, but Shaw keeps the engine ticking in the background, changing up the band’s production style in response to Haines’ lyrical preoccupations. For the anxious and internet-obsessed Synthetica, Shaw let

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

“We entertained the idea of borrowing from several places, but that to me felt somewhat superficial,” Lior says. “The idea of borrowing from texts from the world of Islam in Arabic of a similar nature felt good because the ancient cultures share so much yet they’ve had such a tumultuous history.”

A f te r s o m e s e a rc h i n g , i t b e c a m e increasingly apparent to both Lior and Westlake that these were cultures with more similarities than differences.

“The first poem I found in Arabic was almost identical to Avinu Malkeinu in terms of the text and what it was saying, so that just gave me a really strong sense of validation that I would uncover some of these really beautiful texts if I went looking.”

In addition to Compassion, Lior will perform a selection of his own songs arranged for orchestra by some of Australia’s top composers, including Ben Northey, conductor of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and West Australian, Ian Graindage.

The icing on the cake of this project? The different audiences both Lior and Westlake have attracted to each other’s worlds. Premiered with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra earlier this year, the combination of these two artists has created new experiences for their respective audiences.

“There’s a really good mix I think, between SSO subscribers who perhaps wouldn’t usually come to see me, and I know there were quite a number of people who were my audience who wouldn’t usually come out to see the Sydney Symphony’s shows,” laughs Lior.

The combination of two different audiences could hardly be more fitting given the deep-seeded spirituality that runs through Compassion.

“The texts that we researched all have a humanitarian focus. Both of us really gain our spirituality through music, so having a piece that has the weight of these ancient writings has really lent itself well to this being a spiritual piece.”

loose with glistening disco rhythms, taut guitar and sinewy keyboards. It’s all kind of like having a panic attack in a glass elevator, and for Shaw, that’s the product of a long process.

“They have to be connected in some way; if they’re not then the listener won’t really end up understanding what’s being told to them, you won’t feel the motives for the song. A phrase I use a lot is ‘emotionally correct’- if a song is something really intense emotional/heartfelt, and yet the music and the playing is flippant then it takes on a meaning out of what’s being said. The music has to support the content, the lyric and the vocalist; those things have to be working in tandem with one another for a song to feel right.

“My role as producer is to make sure that what Emily is saying is clear, to help the listener understand what she’s saying, find an entry point to relate to it, understand and become connected. It’s like how a lot of writers who don’t have editors only say things in the way they see the world working, and it doesn’t translate. I have to make sure what she is saying gets heard right.”

Metric’s jaunt down under will bring 18 months of touring in support of Synthetica to a close, but despite the amount of time he’s had to spend with the music since finishing it Shaw has no regrets when he looks back at the record.

“I haven’t listened to it for a year, but I’m really proud for it. I’m not big on regret because it’s not a positive force, it’s a real waste of energy, you can learn from mistakes but regretting is way too much for you. It was really personal, because Synthetica was something I allowed myself to have the vision and the time to complete it exactly the way that felt the best and the most true to the concept.

I stand by it the same way I stand by everything else we’ve done.”

NEW NOISE

For more album reviews head to xpressmag.com.au

3.5

4

OUT OF 5

OUT OF 5

EMINEM

BIRDY

The Marshall Mathers LP 2 Aftermath

Fire Within Atlantic/Warner

When Eminem used his government name to title his second album in 2000, it was fitting; he was one of the most controversial and talked-about celebrities on the planet. As he releases its sequel, The Marshall Mathers LP 2, 13 years later, he doesn’t generate the same level of debate that he used to, although he’s still capable of debuting at the top of the ARIA and Billboard charts.

MMLP2 sticks largely to the original’s formula, focussing on Eminem’s struggles with fame and notoriety – although even the standout moments like Asshole and The Monster aren’t nearly as compelling as the The Way I Am was in 2000. The album starts on a weak note with Bad Guy, a sequel of sorts to Stan, which is as convoluted as Stan was affecting. However, Eminem quickly recovers with the anthemic Survival and rhyming masterclass Rap God. Eminem’s lyrics don’t shock as much these days, in the wake of acts that he inspired like Odd Future, although he still comes across as unpleasantly misogynistic on So Much Better and the entertainingdespite-itself Kendrick Lamar collaboration, Love Game. However, there is a moment of hope on the second-to-last song, Headlights – a heartfelt apology to his still-estranged mother.

Coming off her highly successful debut album, the 17-year old sensation Birdy has once again showed that she is the hottest young prospect in the industry, leaving behind her days as a cover artist and emerging with 11 original tracks that expose her true Fire Within.

The album oozes emotion with Birdy’s soothing and vulnerable tone combining with strong lyrics to produce simple and beautiful music. Wings is an outstanding opening track, co-written by Ryan Tedder, the anthemic song flows seamlessly and is a prime example of how entrancing Birdy’s voice can be. Light Me Up moves away from Birdy’s softer tendencies, delivering a strong and engrossing track with a uplifting chorus. Strange Birds, is another powerful song with a darker atmosphere and haunting, layered vocals. Birdy’s sole-written tracks Heart Of Gold and Shine aren’t as strong, but are still proof that the young artist is on the verge of breaking out on her own.

It’s mind-blowing how much potential this girl has, and how strong her first original album is.

Expect a monumental future for this English-born teen.

AARON BRYANS

JOSHUA HAYES

3.5

JESS MCAVOY Moving Right Along Soon to relocate to New York, Jess McAvoy is back in Perth for a little while, and will perform at the Astor Lounge next Friday, December 13. BOB GORDON checks in with McAvoy at what is a time of change.

Jess McAvoy has a song called The Heat That Holds Me, with an opening line that says so much of about life and career thus far.

‘I wasn’t even 20 when I jumped that white sedan, we took the straightest road that we could find from here to there’.

McAvoy left Perth back in 1999 at that tender age. She was starting to make a name of herself here but decided to try out the bigger pond. She moved to Melbourne, often touring and frequently releasing new material.

The need to move on returned, however, seeing her head in 2011 to Toronto, with stays in San Francisco and Los Angeles. She’s spent the last six weeks in Melbourne, but is now back for a month in Perth.

“I’m staying at Novac and Drew’s place,” she says of long-time friends Novac Bull and Drew Goddard (of Boom Bap Pow! and Karnivool, respectively). “It’s hard to find ground when you’re always moving. It’s such a beautiful house and they’ve had it for such a long time. There’s that consistency - having my own room and being able to put clothes on shelves and stuff, it’s the first time in four months that I’ve been able to do that. That little thing is such a big deal.”

McAvoy had lived in Melbourne for 12 years by the time the need to move right along returned. In a very real way she’s even more of a troubadour now than when she was younger.

“I’m 33 now,” she notes. “All my friends have kids and houses, careers and debts and things like that. I kind of went, ‘well, I still haven’t gotten what I want out of this career, so I’d better hurry up.

I’ve got the luxury of being able to travel still, and in a much more sane package’. I spent a lot of time being very messy and I feel like I’m now focussed more.

“Leaving Australia was mostly so I wouldn’t lose sight of why I was doing what I was doing. I’d sort of pushed that into the ground and made a lot of mistakes that made me resent the Australian music industry a lot. So I had to leave to make sure that my muse didn’t desert me, because it was getting a bit touch and go there for a while.”

Hence the move to Canada in 2011. So how’d that work out?

“It worked for getting my heart back into it,” she reveals, “because I was in a market that I actually wasn’t interested in pursuing music in, so I could actually take some time off without feeling pressured that I wasn’t doing anything in that place.

I spent a lot of time going to and from New York and playing there. Other than that, I was just taking time off to regroup.”

During that time McAvoy tested the waters of stylistic change, departing from her wellwarmed folk-singer/songwriter climes and heading

into a rock’n’roll band situation with an outfit called JessMaq & The Thump. It’s was a rough sketch for what’s to come when McAvoy relocates to New York in a few months’ time.

“That’s going to be my primary focus when I move to New York next year,” she explains.

“I just got to the point where I felt that singer/ songwriters are a dime a dozen these days. They have been for a long time. I feel like there’s this massive gap in the market for strong, female-fronted rock bands, like Chrissy Amphlett was the last we really had of that here. And there really hasn’t been anything like it across the world since. Nothing that’s really broken into the pop arena.

“It’s all well and good us bitching about the Miley Cyrus’s of this world, but if you’re not providing an alternative what’s the argument worth?

That need for new feminism has come to the fore for me. Someone has to provide a really strong voice.

It might as well be me because you know, why not? (laughs). Do something different. I mean, let’s face it, I’ve kind of been a bit rock’n’roll for the majority of my life, so the singer/songwriter thing is kind of tired... for me, anyway.”

McAvoy is going to write some songs with Goddard while in Perth to get closer to an album’s worth of tracks by the time she leaves Melbourne for The Big Apple. She’s working on band name too. It would seem the introspective is now totally retrospective.

“I wanna have big shows,” she laughs. “I want to spread the message quickly. And that really only happens when you make people move.”

This requires one to be attention-grabbing and universally appealing, which itself will need strategy and reinvention.

And it also requires simple songwriting, which is surprisingly difficult.

“I can write a song in a second,” McAvoy says with a snap of her fingers. “But to make it universally accessible, that’s the real challenge. And that’s what I find really interesting.”

Essentially, moving to New York is to be closer to, as they put it, The Big Show. There’s also some cultural realities.

“Exactly,” she says, “and the massive difference between North America and Australia is the lack of tall poppy syndrome over there. It’s really palpable. America’s centred on the Land Of The Free.

Everybody wants you to win. Not only that, they all want to be part of the story.

“That attitude in itself promotes more grandiose kinds of ideas, and I feel like I have the capacity to negotiate getting something done in that space which just can’t work in this climate.”

Next Friday’s Astor Lounge show will be the last we see of Jess McAvoy the solo singer/ songwriter. The new future won’t quite be Joan Jett and it won’t quite be Pink but... “... somewhere in between,” McAvoy says.

“It’s basically the heaviness of PJ Harvey or Rage Against The Machine, that kind of instrumentation, accessing that tribal nature of music; to really get that deep, heavy bass stuff going that shakes your sex organs, but then the structures are pop and the vocals have hooks. So it’s accessible from all different angles.

“My big thing is that in recent years there’s not a lot of public permission given to women to just rip it, unless it’s subversive or indie rock. In terms of mainstream, powerful, white women, there’s really not a lot. So I want to make it as heavy as possible, turn up and bash the wall down, but in a way that’s still accessible.”

PIC: SEAN RYAN

OUT OF 5

4

OUT OF 5

ARCADE FIRE GRAHAM WOOD TRIO +2 Remembrance Independent This year has been a particularly rocky one for Graham Wood, a man whose ubiquity stands as a foundation for the Perth jazz scene. Almost losing a battle with life-threatening cancer has left a permanent scar and it will be interesting to see where his future releases go from here.

Remembrance was recorded last year, shortly before Wood’s cancer battle and stands as a tribute to his departed father, with a pensive undercurrent throughout the album.

Highlights include 34th Street Traffic Jam, with its smoothly melodic solo by Wood, while Gotham Blues exemplifies more energetic and challenging ideas, with Simon Jeans and Jamie Oehlers leading the way on guitar and tenor sax, respectively.

Title track, Remembrance, is a sombre piano ballad, thick with the feeling of loss, before the album picks up once more with several arrangements of standards

by Wood and the group.

The band benefits with the years of experience the musicians have together and the album does well to maintain continuous and subtle mood shifts while leaving enough room for each musician’s voice without sounding cluttered.

Reflektor EMI The French-Canadian outfit Arcade Fire were once a little curio with their angular approach and quirky vocals, but time has seen them grow into one of the most eagerly chased headline acts for festival bills the world over. Their fourth album, Reflektor, is again different to what came before it while offering enough touchstones to satiate fans.

Not since The Neon Bible have the band offered an album that needs so many listens to really show any of its worth. Reflektor is a harder sell in every sense, although worth the investment if punters wish to take the time.

I t i s n o t t h e p ro d u c t i o n by LC D Soundsystem honcho James Murphy that is the issue – in fact his addition gives these somewhat obtuse songs with their Haitian voodoo vibe a much needed danceable undertone. It is the ambition of this 75 minute double album that sometimes gets in its own way, until the second disc slows things down a little and lets the melody shine through.

Arcade Fire again have topped the charts the world over with Reflektor and maintained their position as a band who make unpopular music popular.

Reflektor may not be the band’s highest point but only because they have already set the bar too high.

CHRIS HAVERCROFT

SHAUN COWE

4

3.5

OUT OF 5

OUT OF 5

MEZZANINE Strange Paradise Green Media Distribution

BRITISH SEA POWER Machineries Of Joy Rough Trade

Over the last few years it’s been a pleasure to watch Perth-born bands Birds Of Tokyo and Karnivool rise into stardom, overcoming the odds and producing some incredible indie rock. With Mezzainine’s first LP, Strange Paradise, it is clear that these hometown heroes have a big future ahead of them, providing atmospheric indie rock that is incredibly easy to listen to.

Mannequin Man is the perfect example of how to effectively use song structures to build up choruses. Driven by strong rhythm guitar and eerie lead guitar, the track is highlighted by strong vocal melodies that remain powerful without coming across as in your face. The laid-back vibe continues in King Of The Ring and Mary, which showcase the band’s signature harmonies and ability to fill a song with subtle but crucial lead guitar. Young Love is another solid track that feels like a homage to classic Foo Fighters, which is impossible to complain about.

For a first LP, Mezzanine has produced one hell of an easy listening, indie rock record that is guaranteed to get them the attention they deserve.

From the moment eerie synth lines impose themselves on the bare landscape of the title track, Machineries Of Joy, Sussex sextet, British Sea Power, set listeners up for a darkly melodic journey.

The band draws heavily from its ‘80s alt rock roots. Filled with Pixies-inspired dynamic shifts and juxtaposition, the manic transition between sombre anti-ballads, such as the melancholic What You Need The Most, and energetic rock songs, such as the boxy, midrange-heavy K Hole gives the album a constant sense of forward momentum.

The songwriting is mature and deliberate, without sounding contrived. Singer Jan Scott Wilkinson’s breathy vocals provide the connective tissue between tracks, while the production atmospheric and subtly texturous approach conveys inspiration from the band’s recording time in the Welsh mountains.

Perhaps the album’s only real weakness lies in its lack of any clear charting songs. An album of strong songs, lacking exceptional ones – though the title track makes attempts. This tends to make the album blur somewhat in the middle.

AARON BRYANS

SHAUN COWE

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

15

16

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

A R T S & C U LT U R E

|

FILM

|

NEWS

|

EVENTS

ERIC BANA CIRCUIT BREAKER

We recently caught up with actor Eric Bana when he was in Perth to promote his latest thriller, Closed Circuit. In a week with an Australian spy scandal dominating the news, it seemed a pretty appropriate to chat to him about his movie involving espionage and state secrets.

“Everyone is doing us a lot of favours,” Bana says. “Each week something else happens in the world to make the film and it’s themes more relevant. When we were making the film it was the phone hacking scandal, when we were editing the film it was the Ed Snowden stuff and now we’ve got the situation with Indonesia. There’s no doubt that the film brings up lots of questions about surveillance, about privacy, and about transparency of process.”

Bana’s character, Martin Rose, is a barrister caught up in a terrorism case that is complicated by moves made by the intelligence community to protect its interests. Yet he is also a character undergoing personal difficulties “I love this notion that you’ve got someone that wears a superman cape and presents as being really together and really proficient at what they do, but behind closed doors is a bit of a mess. Essentially it is someone going through a midlife crisis, but at the peak of his career. I thought that was an interesting challenge.”

Ironically for a man that has played warriors, thugs and soldiers, this may also have been his most physical demanding role due to the rowing scenes. “Compared to bareback riding a horse and complicated fight choreography it’s easily up there, because it’s one thing to row, but another thing to single scull a race boat.”

As no stranger to accents (and seemingly rarely given the opportunity to sport his own) Eric Bana is affecting a quiet, educated English accent for Martin. “One thing you realise when you start really getting into accents is there’s accents and then there’s accents. There’s probably 25 different choices you can make in playing a British character. So it was about nailing down where he was from, his background. His job affects the way he speaks as well. You kind of end up making decisions based on all the information you’ve got.”

Getting his big break in the 1993 sketch comedy show, Full Frontal, Bana has transitioned into an acting career that normally involves roles of a more dramatic nature. “ For me there wasn’t really such a big leap from doing sketch comedy and drama, but for other people it may be different.

I feel like basically you are becoming a character and feeling the essence of who that person is or not.

Sometimes you’ll do that and get a laugh and other times you’ll do that and elicit other emotions. So I don’t see them as completely chalk and cheese. I think they are closer together than people think.”

As for what lies in the future, Bana has a role in Lone Survivor, but his next major film role will be Beware The Night in late 2014. This will be his first horror movie, and filming has just been completed in New York’s The Bronx.

To read the full review of Closed Circuit, visit www.xpressmag.com.au.

DAVID O’CONNELL

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

17

A R T S & C U LT U R E

|

FILM

|

NEWS

|

EVENTS

SEE SOME OF SCHERRI

FILM

The centrepiece of the new exhibition, David Bromley: Paintings, Sculptures And Jewellery, is a newly completed piece of 2011 Miss Universe Australia winner and Perth beauty Scherri-Lee Biggs. The piece is complimented by a number of other works which explore the female form and are inspired by the styles of the great artists who have informed Bromley’s work over the years. The exhibition takes place at Gullotti Galleries From Friday, December 6 - Tuesday, December 24. Go to gullottigalleries.com.au for more.

CHURCHILL IN CHICHESTER Australian folk, rock and blues exponent, Kim Churchill, headlines the City Of Joondalup’s second free Music In The Park concert in Woodvale’s Chichester Park on Saturday, December 7. Support comes courtesy of The Polly Medlen Band and Tash Shanks. For more info, joondalup.wa.gov.au is your destination.

ENDER’S GAME

Kim Churchill

ALL BEACH, NO BITE Dodge any unforseen aquatic wildlife encounters by hitting the beach in Northbridge. From this Friday, December 6, the Cultural Centre will be filled with a few tonnes of sound and fitted out with deckchairs, paddling pools, umbrellas and huts, with themed nightly entertainment to boot. The beach is open until Sunday, January 19.

NYE IN THE SKY Spend your New Year’s Eve at Rooftop Movies where you’ll be serenaded by American soul artist Lee Fields And The Expressions, who’ll be headlining an eclectic lineup of soul, funk, electronica and experimental beats. Sky High NYE also features the talents of Diger Rokwell, The Weapon Is Sound and Naik, with The Smoothie Boys DJing in between. Tickets are $55 plus booking fee from rooftopmovies.com.au

AN AFFAIR OF THE HEART The last of the Cappuccino Concerts Collection Chamber series sees Simon Frosi and Irina Vasileva, two of Perth’s favourite concert pianists, come together in A Grand Affair. The two will play together at Linton And Kay Gallery Perth from 4.30 pm on Sunday, December 8, while guests enjoy complimentary wine tastings and enjoy the fantastic artworks on display. Tickets are available now from cappuccino-concerts.com.au.

The Play’s The Thing AN OUD NIGHT OUT Is that a guitar? A lute? Some kind of elaborate shovel? No, it’s an oud, and the man holding it is Joseph Tawadros. The Egyptian-born oud virtuoso will be playing at Fremantle St John’s on Tuesday, December 10, wowing crowds with his unique mix of jazz, classical and Egyptian music. Having recently released his tenth studio album, Chameleons Of The White Shadow, featuring jazz heavyweight Roy Ayers, Joseph Tawadros is an unmissable event for jazz nuts and destitute music students alike.

Joseph Tawadros

NO MO MOMA Sadly, the Art Gallery Of Western Australia’s collaboration with New York’s Museum Of Modern Art has come to an end, with insurance costs and low attendances making the project financially unfeasible. Three different exhibitions have been hosted so far, but the latest, Van Gogh, Dali And Beyond, is apparently the last. The three remaining exhibitions, which would have seen art of the calibre of Van Gogh’s Starry Night on display in Perth, have been cancelled.

Directed by Gavin Hood Starring Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, Ben Kingsley Based on a Hugo and Nebula award-winning novel from a controversial author that has appeared on reading lists for both high school students and US Marine Corp officers, new science fiction blockbuster Ender’s Game has a lot to live up to.

Before we go further, let’s mention the elephant in the room. Author Orson Scott Card is an outspoken opponent of same sex marriage. To its credit, film studio Lionsgate has distanced itself from Card’s statements and actively spoken against his views, but it is a controversy surrounding the film and has even led to calls for a boycott from members of the lesbian and gay community. Do your own research on the matter and come to your own informed decision.

We now resume our regular broadcast.

After an alien invasion is pushed back by the apparent sacrifice of one brilliant commander (in a sequence reminiscent of Independence Day), Earth becomes obsessed with protecting itself from future attacks. To that end, future commanders and tacticians are trained at an early age, undergoing gruelling psychological tests, to identify the next hoped-for saviour. Ender Wiggins (Asa Butterfield) is the third of

his family to undergo such training. Caught between his empathetic sister and his psychotic brother, his personality proves the most promising, allowing him to quickly advance in training. Pushed and manipulated by his supervisor, Colonel Graff (Harrison Ford), Ender must survive the dangers of Battle School before even facing his first alien.

Gavin Hood (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) brings us a fairly straight down the line adaptation of the novel’s plot line, with few liberties taken. It is played completely po-faced as serious science fiction, and the visual effects do a wondrous job of bringing the cadet’s war games and the later simulated fleet battles to life.

Asa Butterfield’s portrayal of the complex character of Ender is nigh-perfect. The audience can always see the character’s analytical mind at work, looking for a tactical solution to a problem, and are shocked when these solutions involve a brutal application of force. Harrison Ford is appropriately irascible as the calculating commandant of the battle school, nurturing that killer instinct. Ben Kingsley, masked by Maori facial tattoos, adds a little colour to the proceedings-, as the more philosophical inclined trainer Mazer Rackham.

Where this movie stumbles, is in its lack of examination of the ethical themes it touches upon.

The isolation of command, the psychology of a soldier, the use of child soldiers and the ethics of force, are all but glossed over in an attempt to bring this weighty tome to the big screen.

Well made, serious, cerebral science-fiction that comes close, but is borne down by the weight of expectations.

DAVID O’CONNELL

FILM

WHAT RICHARD DID Don’t Be A Dick Directed by Lenny Abrahamson Starring Jack Reynor, Roisin Murphy, Lars Mikkelson Loosely inspired by Kevin Power’s 2008 novel, Bad Day In Blackrock (itself loosely based on a notorious death of a teenager outside a Dublin nightclub), What Richard Did tells a story of tragedy, consequences, conspiracies of silence and human frailties.

Richard Karlsen is the golden boy of a set of South Dublin teenagers, celebrating summer as they prepare to move on to tertiary studies. He is seen as a caring leader to his group of friends, considerate and competent. Yet in one terrible incident all of this is turned on its head. Soon the boys are facing the awful consequences of their actions, and Richard is revealed to have feet of clay.

Director Lenny Abrahamson creates a slow and contemplative piece that is affecting in its powerful study of personal fragility. The Irish beachfront is shot in a washed-out and often faded way, adding a sense of unreality to the proceedings. Dialogue often bleeds into a previous shot again lending a dream-like air to the piece. At the start this seems the daze of a summer idyll, as the boys celebrate the ending of school. After the incident the audience’s perception changes and it seems like a fugue of shock. Contrasted against this is the naturalism of the setting, dialogue and acting grounding the events in the real world. Walking a line 18

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

between naturalism and a dream-like quality is a fine balancing act, but one that Abrahamson achieves.

Maintaining that balance is where the film really shines, never revealing enough about the central character for us to be sure if it is the strength we see at the beginning or the weakness we see towards the end that is his true nature. The plot often teases the audience with expectations of redemption and justice but then defies those expectations. Ultimately as the wall of silence descends, Richard is far from alone in his actions as friends, family and lovers all share culpability.

At the head of a mostly young and fairly unknown cast, Jack Reynor (soon to be seen in the new Transformers movie) gives a sterling performance as Richard. There is an air of separation and slight melancholy to him that makes him seem like an observer rather than a participant. However, when he does choose to literally howl his anguish at the world, it is a raw and harrowing scene. Lars Mikkelson (The Killing), cast to demonstrate a more culturally diverse Irish family, runs the gamut of emotions as Richard’s father. The scene on the family swing-set between Mikkelston and Reynor, is one of the most dramatic moments of the film, full of grief and disappointment.

This might not be to everyone’s taste. It’s a slow-boil naturalistic drama whose plot and dialogue are often as minimalist as its soundtrack. Yet What Richard Did is a contemplative and powerful piece of film that stays in your thoughts long after you have left the cinema.

DAVID O’CONNELL

What Richard Did screens as part of the Lotterywest Festival Films season at Joondalup Pines from December 10 - 15. For more details, head to perthfestival.com.au

FILM

THE SPECTACULAR NOW Teenage Dirtbag Directed by James Ponsoldt Starring Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley, Kyle Chandler, Brie Larson, Jennifer Jason Lee, Mary Elizabeth Winstead This is a love story, so if the very thought of that gives you a knee jerk negative reaction, stroll on; there’s nothing for you here. The Spectacular Now is funny as hell, heartfelt, carefully observed and incredibly affecting, but it is first and foremost a romance, and there’s a big section of the ticket-buying public who will switch off at the very notion. It’s their loss, because it’s also one of the best films of the year.

Based on the book of the same name by Tim Tharp, the film charts the tribulations of high school senior, Sutter Keely (Miles Teller, who was the best thing in the recent Footloose remake), a loose cannon party animal who is cut loose by his girlfriend, Cassidy (Brie Larson). After a pain-numbing bender, Sutter is found on a random lawn by the awkward, academically gifted Aimee Finecky (Shailene Woodley).

What could have been a rote “opposites attract” scenario ensues, but the familiarity of the plot is outweighed by sensitive performances, subdued direction, and a tight, clever script that takes would-

be clichés and extends them in surprising yet organic ways. Sutter isn’t just a party animal; he’s a budding alcoholic from a fatherless home, rarely seen without a flask of vodka and worried that the selfishness and lack of responsibility he sees in his father (Kyle Chandler in a brief but crucial role) is a part of himself. Cassidy and her new beau, star athlete, Marcus (Dayo Okeniyi), might have been positioned as the villains of the piece back in the ‘80s. Here, they’re just normal teenagers, occupied with their own issues but concerned about Sutter’s seemingly inevitable downward trajectory.

Authority figures such as Andre Royo’s teacher and Bob Odenkirk’s menswear store manager (Sutter has an after school job he endures with a soda cup topped up with booze) are neither arrogant jerks nor wisdomdispensing mentors, but feel complete not only in their worry about our troubled hero, but in the limited way their positions allow them to intervene.

The key to the whole film, however, is the relationship between Sutter and Aimee and, by extension, the chemistry between Teller and Woodley.

While Teller will draw the most attention - his turn is a textbook breakout role - Woodley does equally good work in the less showy but just as important part of Aimee, a sci-fi reading, Manga drawing good girl who is at first overwhelmed when Sutter turns the spotlight of his charisma on her. Woodley’s nuanced performance is streets ahead of the usual Manic Pixie Dream Girl posturing this kind of role normally attracts, and she manages to make Aimee feel like a real person and not a lonely writer’s fantasy.

That, in essence is what sets The Spectacular Now apart. There’s a ring of truth to the proceedings that is all too rare in most teen fare. Anyone whose high school scars still twinge in bad weather is going to love this one.

TRAVIS JOHNSON

FILM

REVIVE Funny Business As the only WA finalist in this year’s Tropfest, Revive has the hopes of a state’s film community resting on its shoulders. We caught up with Director Ruben Pracas, Writer/ Producer Chae Ryan, Production Manager Jess Black, and 1st AD Brendan Ameduri to talk about their short film.

“The film is about a businessman who walks to work everyday.” explains Ryan. “One day he discovers a sick boy in the window, and decides that everyday he wants to entertain the boy and make him laugh” Incorporating this year’s theme of change into the film, Revive has a popular quote often attributed to Ghandi as one of its central motifs.

“Change is throughout the whole film.” says Pracas, “The guy changes through out the whole film as well.

He starts out as this monotonous businessman on his way to work, and decides he wants to ‘be the change he wants to see in the world’. To make people laugh, to make people happy.”

Although they had each worked with one or two members of the group before, this was the first time that this team has actually all worked together.

Initially formed for a commercial project that fell through, they decided to make the best of things and make a short film. “We’re all sort of ECU alumni, different years, different classes” Black recalls. “We all heard of each other, just never met.” Since their university days each of them has put in significant time, both on a voluntary and paid basis, to acquire

experience on film and TV sets.

After a tricky pre-production, which included working out locations to film around Fremantle and only acquiring a cinematographer (Sam Windsor) five days before the shoot, the actual shooting days went really smoothly. “The group worked really well together, good dynamics on set just flowed really well.”

Partially self funded, partially crowd funded, Revive is a work representative of the passion for film held by many generous people. “When we started making this film we didn’t have any possible funding, we didn’t have any money and everyone volunteered their time and equipment. There are a lot of people that gave their equipment that weren’t even on set, yet allowed us to use it for the weekend without expecting anything in return. I think our main character epitomises the idea of doing what you love because you love it, not because it’s a job.” exclaims Pracas “I think everyone was really passionate and everyone really wanted to work on it, simply because we love cinema.”

“Everyone has been really supportive of what we’re doing,” says Ryan. “It makes what we are doing feel like more than us just making a film. Going forward it makes it all worthwhile. It’s kind of got the, I guess, primitive emotions in it, if you will. It’s got happiness, and it’s got sadness. For me that’s what I love to do in a film, is to evoke that sort of emotion.”

Revive will be one of the short films competing on December 8 as part of Tropfest.

For information on screenings at Rooftop Movies, the Northbridge Piazza and the James Street Amphitheatre, go to tropfest.com.

DAVID O’CONNELL WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

19

20

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

21

A R T S & C U LT U R E

|

FILM

FILM

|

NEWS

|

EVENTS

FATHER BOB MAGUIRE

FILM

Exodus On Main Street

KILL YOUR DARLINGS Ginsberg Begins Directed by John Krokidas Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Dane DeHaan, Michael C. Hall, Jack Huston, Ben Foster First time feature director, John Krokidas, takes us on a by-the-numbers but still fairly engaging tour of the early development of the Beat Generation, using the murder of the older David Kammerer (Michael C. Hall) by key member Lucien Carr (Dane DeHaan) as his central incident.

When young Allen Ginsberg (Daniel Radcliffe, pleasing a lot of Potter fans by playing a young, sensitive, gay poet) is accepted into Columbia University in the mid-1940s, he quickly becomes infatuated with the dynamic, decadent Carr, an instinctive iconoclast determined to shake up the university’s stuffy literary establishment. He also meets Carr’s friends, the older, sardonic William S. Burroughs (Ben Foster tackling a role that brings out the best in anyone) and the working class Jack Kerouac (Jack Houston). The new friends explore the underbelly of wartime New York and the extremes of self-expression as they strive to start a new literary movement, but all the time Kammerer, himself infatuated with Carr, lurks on the fringes. Tragedy, as any student of cultural history or basic narrative form, is inevitable.

While there’s a certain appeal in seeing the formative years of what is arguably the 20th century’s most important literary development, Krokidas and his co-writer, Austin Brunn, don’t really do anything startling or original with the material. Perhaps that’s because the material, despite the fascinating characters it features, is nothing we haven’t seen before. This is a coming of age story, an origin tale, one of the most common forms of narrative - an ill-fitting suit for the Beats to wear. It’s also been carefully tailored, to boot; less savoury figures like Herbert Huncke have been culled, and though the plot largely depends on forbidden homosexual longing, actual gay sex is restricted to one scene, where the act of penetration is juxtaposed with Burroughs shooting up and Kammerer being stabbed - a mixed message if ever there was one.

Still, the performances are strong, and Krokidas does manage to capture, at least to some degree, not only the exhilarating, white-hot thrill of youthful artistic creation but also the sometimes inevitable self-involved wankery that accompanies it. It’s a film that assumes you’re at least somewhat au fait with the Beats, their work and milieu, while also taking for granted that their genius and importance are accepted dogma, which may not be too far off the mark.

This is the third major film about Ginsberg and company in the recent past, following on the heels of Howl and On The Road, and it’s a bit of a shame that it doesn’t really bring anything new to the table.

It’s like getting a biopic in piecemeal. Ultimately, Kill Your Darlings exists not to shatter boundaries but to reaffirm the already entrenched myths about the Beat Generation - an irony that Burroughs, if no one else, would have appreciated.

TRAVIS JOHNSON

Father Bob Maguire has become well-known in recent years via his co-hosting appearances on Sunday Night Saffran on triple j. However it’s In Bob We Trust, a documentary detailing his struggle to keep his parish church in South Melbourne, that has seen him hit the big screen.

“Has that goddamned film made it over there to Perth?” he says chirpily down the line from his office. “Aren’t people too busy to be going to the pictures?”

If you are too busy, you should try and make time. In Bob We Trust documents a local power struggle within a global one. The entity struggling over that power is the Catholic church.

“I suppose it’s a training film,” Father Bob says. “This far out I’ve got to find a reason where I can bare-facedly stand up in public when people ask what it is. I say, ‘geez, it’s a bit of Monty Python, I suppose’.

Now even they’re coming back.”

The Ghost Pictures film crew covered a dramatic time in Father Bob’s life, whereupon turning 75, he was invited by the Archbishop to relinquish his post as parish priest at Saint Peter’s & Paul’s Church, a position he had held for 40 years. He refused and in the uproar that followed he agreed to be filmed in what must have been trying circumstances.

“Well they made me an offer,” he says, “I didn’t go looking for it. I don’t go looking for any publicity, but they knocked on the door. They’d made Speaking In Tongues And Saffran Versus God, so I had experience of them. They said, ‘we heard on the news that you’re being kicked out, we’d like to film the exodus’. I told them I didn’t know how long it would take because it was all provisional - ‘please sign this document and go immediately’. I told them I suspected I wasn’t going to sign the document until I was forced to. They said, ‘no that’s fine, as long as you’re alright with us hanging around’.

“So I got used to it because they were so discreet. Once I trusted them I thought it would be better because whatever events were about to unfold would be recorded by an objective observer. Like a war correspondent.”

Something of a war unfolds as Archbishop Denis Hart and Cardinal George Pell weigh in. Father Bob and his “suits” do their best to counter, as he continues, all the while, to tend to the needs of his

parishioners and anyone else, for that matter, in need.

Surely the cameras must have added to the stress?

“No I can’t pay them back enough because in fact I would say they were like psychotherapists,” Father Bob counters. “After a while you could get an assessment from them about if you were going stark raving mad or if you were staying on your preferred course.

“So my preferred course was like the poor bugger standing at the wicket during Bodyline. So you’re either going to duck and weave or you’re gonna stay there like Joe Root from the English cricket team, who says, ‘I don’t give a rat’s arse what Mitchell Johnson bowls at me, I’m gonna stay where I am because it’s my duty’.”

He has since left the parish, but still says mass there once a week and tends to the Father Bob Foundation.

“I don’t want the past to be a burden,” he notes. “I want it to be an asset. I s’pose that’s what the film says. It says, ‘listen girls and boys, even if the bloody place burnt down, it was still there. X marks the spot. This is where it all happened. See if you can do what nature does: when they burn the bloody trees down nature sends a quick regrowth’.

“So I’m hoping it might flourish into a parish without borders, but it will always look to South Melbourne’s Peter & Paul’s Church as its origin.”

BOB GORDON

The Problems Of Explaining A Thunk: Fremantle Arts Centre Set in an installation reminiscent of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Steven Dickie’s newest work explores the limits of conventional knowledge through a series of video and installation works that look at our inability to express and explain thoughts. It runs until January 19. Go to fac.org.au for more.

2013 Bankwest Art Prize: Bankwest Place The exhibition of all the finalist pieces for this prestigious annual award, including works by Rachel Coad, Penny Bovell, Susanna Castleden, Thea Constantino, Penny Coss, Jo Darbyshire and more, runs until March 3. Go to bankwest.com.au for more.

Being Eurasian

VISUAL ARTS Being Eurasian: Fremantle Arts Centre Abdul Abdullah and Dr Leslie Morgan examine identity, history and ancestry in contemporary Australia. Abdullah’s paintings explore the ways in which people of mixed Asian and European heritage define themselves, while Morgan’s work looks at the entry of Anglo-Indians into the country in the time of the White Australia Policy. The exhibition runs until January 19. Go to fac.org.au for more details.

Little Paintings, Big Stories: Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery Runs until December 14.

Against The Grain: Alcoa Mandurah Art Gallery An exhibition encompassing the four decade career of Australian multimedia artist and provocateur Tim Burns. It includes over 350 images and a number of video installations. It runs until January 11. Go to manpac.com.au for more information.

The Langue Verte - Art Of Transformation: Buratti Fine Art This exhibition draws together a range of Australian and international contemporary artists who reinterpret the concept of transformation across the media of film, sound, painting, drawing, printmaking and installation. Features works from Barry William Hale, Harvey Bialy, Masonik, Harry Smith and more.

Head to buratti.com.au for further details.

Momentum: The Perth Centre Of Photography A free exhibition curated by Paulo Anselmi that celebrates the 21st birthday of PCP. Featured artists include Max Pam, Toni Wilkinson, Juha Tolonen, Flavia Schuster, Perdita Phillips, Graham Miller and Chris Young. It runs until December 8. Go to pcp. prg.au for more details.

A Private View - Modern Masters From The Kerry Stokes Collection: The Art Galley Of Western Australia 26 paintings drawn from one of the most significant private art collections in Australia, representing the major art movements of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It runs until March 3. Go to artgallery. wa.gov.au for further information.

140 ART: 140 Nationally recognised artists and local emerging talent both contribute to this temporary gallery project that runs until January 31. Andy Quilty, Phibs, Amok, Anya Brock, Pip McManus and more will use shopfronts and walls along Wellington, William and Murray Street as a canvas for an ambitious urban art project. Head to 140.com.au for further information.

Within These Walls: Wanneroo Library And Cultural Centre Gallery A free combined exhibition collated by the Wanneroo Museum and Art Collections, this innovative and quirky exhibition will showcase rarely seen artefacts from the Museum’s collection, juxtaposed and harmonised with art works from the city’s art collection. It runs from December 14 - February 2.

Visit wanneroo.wa.gov.au for more.

Printmakers Landscape: Heathcote Museum & Gallery An investigation into landscape and environment through the medium of print from Robyn Collins, Emily Douglas, Kay Gibson, Jane Hardy and MaryLynne Stratton. The exhibition runs until December 22. Head over to melville.wa.gov.au for further info.

2016: Linton and Kay Galleries, Perth The upcoming 400th anniversary of Dutch explorer Dirk Hartog’s WA landfall has inspired this exhibition by the collaborative photography group Ninety Degrees Five. The culmination of a three year endeavour to capture the sea- and landscape, it runs from December 19 - 31. Head to lintonandkay.com. au for more info.

22

2016

MUSIC Perth Chamber Orchestra - Beethoven, Beer & Bratwurst: The B Shed Performance on Tuesday, December 10. Go to perthsymphony.com for information and tickets.

Lior & Westlake - Songs With Orchestra: Perth Concert Hall Performance on Wednesday, December 11. Head to waso.com.au for tickets.

THEATRE/DANCE/ PERFORMANCE Peter Pan: His Majesty’s Theatre West Australian Ballet presents a delightful adaptation of J.M. Barrie’s beloved children’s story. The season runs until December 15. Go to waballet.com.au for more information.

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

Bruce: The Blue Room Theatre A new two man, one puppet show by Tim Watts and Wyatt Nixon-Lloyd that runs until December 7. Go to blueroom.org.au for more.

Cavalia: The White Big Top This magnificent equestrian event combines spectacle and acrobatic skill reminiscent of Cirque Du Soleil with jaw-dropping displays of horsemanship and derring-do.

From December 4 - 29. Head for cavalia.net for more.

FESTIVALS Perth International Arts Festival Perth’s biggest celebration of art, film, music, theatre, dance and culture runs from February 7 - March 1.

Head to 2014.perthfestival.com.au for the full program.

To have your performance, exhibition or cultural event listed, get in touch via

localmusicarts@xpressmag.com.au

YOUR GUIDE TO EVERYTHING URBAN

140 The Art Of Shopping Currently festooned with eye-searing street art from the likes of Andy Quilty, Phibs, Amok, Anya Brock Pip McManus and more, the 140 retail building, located on William Street and flanked by Wellington and Street and the Murray Street Mall, remains one of the hottest and hippest shopping destinations in the city. Here are a few reasons why.

THE BELASYSE

140 ART

FOREVER NEW

The Art Of Eating The newest eatery from the men behind Victoria Park’s Causeway Bar brings some arthouse flair to Shafto Lane we caught up with James Crabtree, co-owner of The Belasyse with Simon Crossland, to get the scoop.

James Crabtree and Simon Crossland are both a couple of country boys who were on very different paths before they took to running venues. Crabtree was set to become a secondary school teacher, while Crossland was a site supervisor. The two old friends decided to try their hand at running a venue, and the success of The Causeway Bar has enabled them to expand their empire with their new restaurant, The Belasyse.

“We have always wanted to have a venue in the city,” he explains. “Its growth in the last few years attracted us to coming up with something new.

We wanted to create a tapas bar and restaurant that hipsters and corporates both felt comfortable in, finding the right balance between both.”

Key to that was designing an eclectic menu that incorporates take away items, tapas-style snacks and full sit-down meals. “It’s not confined to any cuisine or style. The chefs feel free to pursue any inspiration they like, with the highest quality. Whether it’s from our tapas menu, pizza’, baby beet salad, steak or even our homemade gnocchi.”

The food is complemented by a drinks menu that is extensive without being overwhelming. “We have beers on tap, ciders, boutique beers, any spirit and mix of your choice with an array of high class cocktails around the $16 mark. Our whisky selection is quite broad and covers most regions; it’s a very smart list designed around the food menu and caters for all palates.”

The whole is housed in a large, airy space with a modern design sensibility created from many repurposed decorations and fittings. “It’s an Urban Art interior design. The mural was done by Daek William, who was inspired by childhood memories and used European techniques, which gives patrons many nostalgic moments to reminisce on when looking through the artwork. The feature lighting is made with old bike parts, hanging bike chains, frames and pieces.

That was done by a friend of ours called reSPOKE which really tied the art and rustic theme together.”

Pressed for a favorite item, Crabtree doesn’t hesitate. “Our grilled chorizo with lemon on our tapas menu, link that with our specialty espresso martini made by our head barista, Noel, and your sure to have a good night.”

TRAVIS JOHNSON

LLAMA BAR

The intention of Juice is to put a contemporary spin on pure jazz and preserve the integrity of Perth hip hop – and the quality of the talent at the launch party was phenomenal.

The sultry, husky tones of vocalist Sarah Pellicano kicked off the night covering the likes of Rudimental and Beyonce. She was followed and then accompanied by MC Coin Banks, whose tunes are produced by local hip hop legend Ta-Ku. The pair combined as a raw and soulful duo backed by the high-energy full jazz band, Premiss - a group of smooth, suave recent WAAPA graduates. Next to take the stage was the extraordinary Marksman Lloyd and Katherine Curnow. Between her incredible vocals and his flawless cutting of lyrics and deep, crisp tone, these two would be up there amongst the classiest duos in WA. Lloyd has been making music since he was 13 and is a resident on the Australian spoken word circuit. Finally, to cap off the night, Pellicano returned to the mic while Creed Birch stepped up to showcase some of his original work.

The brainchild of celebrity chef Jamie Oliver and Gennaro Contaldo, this already-iconic Perth eatery boasts a warm aesthetic, a simple but bold menu sourced from fresh, local ingredients and a relaxed, inviting atmosphere. Their limited reservation policy means it’s a roll of the dice every visit, but the wait, if there is one, is worth it.

THE AVIARY Round out your shopping expedition with a trip to the already justifiably famous rooftop bar ad restaurant, The Aviary. Boasting stunning city views , two levels, an impressive bar selection and a food menu that caters to those with the leisure time to linger and those who need to dine and dash, it’s a must-visit destination.

GET CULTURED

Juicy Soul Subiaco’s Llama Bar has often been home to those sophisticated folk with a penchant for fine food and classy jazz.

But alongside a funky new facelift, Llama is entering bold new territory with the launch of the weekly jazz, hip hop and soul night, Juice. HAYLEY DAVIS checked out the launch.

JAMIE’S ITALIAN

Arty Food & Drinks

The collaboration between Llama Bar and this bold, determined group of young artists is an unusual one. There was a diverse mix of crowds at the Juice launch party, with some in little black dresses and lads in full suits, while others donned Hawaiian shirts and snapbacks. Over time, though, there’s sure to be a meeting of minds and hearts, with no need to isolate demographics.

And for those out there trying to reconcile their cultured appreciation of fine food with their love of soulful hip hop, you have potentially found heaven.

Llama Bar served up a delicious mix of new dishes and some of their old classics including Wagyu sliders and honey-glazed chorizo. For the most part the mains were killer, with only a few (perhaps snobbish) criticisms of the texture of the gnocchi (more like mashed potato) and the desserts, which a food critique might describe as having too many flavours and a chocolate ‘soil’ that we couldn’t actually see given the lighting (you just had to have faith it existed while plunging your spoon into the depths). Llama’s classic Almost Famous (fresh muddled apple, mint, gin, pomme verte and vanilla liqueurs) cocktail and Apple Caramel Martini (a clever twist on the candy apple from childhood and made with Llama’s own caramel infused vodka) made the drinks the stars of the culinary side to the evening.

To be honest, though, there’s so much going on at Juice that it wouldn’t be the worst idea to pare the menu on the Thursday nights. A small share menu would be amply appropriate for the kinds of people a night like this should attract. There’s so much sensory stimulation going on that much could be reduced to focus people’s attention on a few of the quality elements (read: potentially ditch the Dirty Dancing scenes being projected on the wall and disco lighting on stage). Other than that, Juice has the potential to become a game changer to further the status of quality jazz and intelligent Australian hip hop on the west coast and beyond.

Photos by Matt Jelonek

Founded in Melbourne in 2006, the renowned clothing and accessories brand has opened a shopfront here, where their reputation for responding quickly and innovatively responding to bleeding edge trends in fashion, art and culture remains unchallenged. Find them off the Mall or online at forevernew.com

If you’re looking for a more high brow approach to drinking and eating... well, you could always combine food or wine and cocktails with an exhibition or educational experience. Here’s just a snippet of some of the best activities happening in bars and restaurants ‘round town right now.

SWAROVSKI The century-old reputation of Swarovski crystal for elegance and class is a well-deserved one. With Christmas just around the corner, a Swarovski piece could be just the thing to demonstrate true depth of feeling for a loved one - or perhaps put a smile on the face of a spinster aunt, either or. Take the time to peruse their website at swarovksi.com

FIVE BAR Five Bar’s ethos is all about the gathering of friends, sharing tasty food and trying new drinks in a comfortable space. Their decor mixes the old with the new, combining antique furniture and abstract act and for something a little different check out their Tuesday Nights: Belly & Booze - crispy Pork Belly from local producer Spensor Brook, slow cooked and matched by a cider aficionado’s choice of cider. Plus there’s Taphouse Wednesdays - southern fried chicken matched with US craft beer. Keep your eye out for more foodie and booze events coming soon.

Where: 560 Beaufort Street, Mt Lawley

BIVOUAC BAR & CANTEEN Combine the wonderful Mediterranean-inspired food and drinks menu at Bivouac Bar & Canteen with Hayley Welsh’s Not You Again exhibition, on display until Saturday, January 25, 2014. Welsh has established herself as one of the newest creative’s in the WA art scene, having made the move to Australia from the UK in 2009. She’s previously exhibited in London and New York and is quickly becoming recognised for her surreal, wide-eyed illustrations.

With a history in scientific and natural history illustration, her painting displays a technical approach, mixed with nostalgia and humour, yet her playful aura is juxtaposed with darker undertones of the unknown and abyss. This exhibition is exclusive to Bivouac and all artwork is for sale.

Where: 198 William Street, Northbridge

VENN Venn is a multi-purpose, three level historical building that houses an art gallery, design shop, artists’ studios and a bar and cafe, and it’s a platform for emerging artists and designers to showcase their work. Andrew Varano’s Final Shavasana exhibition has just finished but in the meantime, there’ll be a New Years Eve party happening with cocktails and champagne and Venn DJs, and you can combine some flavorsome food and a custom blend of coffee with some cutting edge design products for sale - all as part of your Christmas shopping.

Where: 16 Queen Street, Perth

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

Owner, Peter Palmer at 399 with the Ross Halfin exhibition.

399 BAR / EZRA POUND / HELVETICA Courtesy of ‘Red Bull Curates’ some of our finest small bars are playing host to a nationwide exhibition by rock photographer, Ross Halfin whose iconic imagery of rock’n’roll’s legendary artists will be displayed in 399, Ezra Pound and Helvetica until the end of the year. Halfin’s subjects encompass four decades of music history featuring The Rolling Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, The Clash, The Sex Pistols, Oasis, Jack White, James Brown, The Specials, Metallica, Chuck Berry, Amy Winehouse, Motley Crue and more.

Where: 399 Bar - 399 William Street, Perth / Ezra Pound - 15/189 William Street, Northbridge / Helvetica - 101 St Georges Terrace, Perth 23

24

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

B E AT S

|

NEWS

|

INTERVIEWS

|

REVIEWS

|

EVENTS

NILE RODGERS Le Freak In the late ‘70s Nile Rodgers was one of the most celebrated musicians in the world. In 1976 he teamed up with bassist Bernard Edwards to co-found the band Chic, who went on to record a string of disco hits.

TYSON WRAY chats to Rodgers ahead of Chic’s show on Sunday, December 8 at the Astor Theatre.

Chic’s commercially successful disco tracks including Le Freak, Good Times, I Want Your Love and Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah) might have been key tunes in the disco movement, but Rodgers’ time in the spotlight was short-lived, that’s up until his recent revival through his collaborative work with Daft Punk. For the most part of the past three decades, Rodgers has been behind the black curtain, crafting some of the biggest and most influential records of our time.

“It’s been a strange adventure with Chic,” confesses Rodgers. “People don’t realise that all of those hit records that we had - and there were a lot - happened in just the space of two years. We had say, ten gold, platinum and multiple-platinum singles all in that short time.”

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

Following the anti-disco reaction which climaxed on July 12, 1979 with the widely publicised and ill-fated Disco Demolition Night now referred to as ‘the day disco died’, Chic struggled to maintain airplay and sales, which eventually forced them to take extended hiatuses and follow individual pursuits. “After 1979 we never had another hit record again,” he notes. “We went from 1979 all the way to 1983 doing nothing but flops.”

It was then that Rodgers stepped out of the limelight and into the producers chair, going on to work on some of the ‘80s most prolific records, including David Bowie’s biggest-selling album Let’s Dance and Madonna’s blockbuster, Like A Virgin.

“INXS, Duran Duran, Mick Jagger and Peter Gabriel,” lists Rodgers with a laugh. “At this point it’s pretty endless.”

Flash-forward to 2013 and Rodgers with Chic is back riding high on the charts, headlining festivals around the globe and continuing to work with some of the world’s most influential artists. “In a life of big, big, big, big years, this has been one of the biggest,” laughs Rodgers when reflecting back on 2013. “We played at Glastonbury for the first time and killed it. According to most that was our show, that was our festival.

We played at Hyde Park just after that with Lionel Richie and J-Lo which was in front of 65,000 people and it was just great.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 26.

25

B E AT S

|

NEWS

|

INTERVIEWS

|

REVIEWS

|

EVENTS

SWITCHED ON NEW YEAR CAREY ON

Chic in the ‘70s. Continued from cover.

His appearance on the year’s most ubiquitous single Get Lucky, alongside the earlier release of his autobiography Le Freak: An Upside Down Story Of Family, Disco, And Destiny and various televised live performances (includingß) in 2013 saw a radical commercial reprise for Rodgers.

“Daft Punk, quite like Chic, are a very anonymous band,” he says. “With Get Lucky and Lose Yourself To Dance, Pharrell (Williams) and I became the recognisable faces. I also became the main guy promoting the tracks because they wanted me to take all of the interviews. I basically became the de facto spokesperson for the band. It was a position that I wasn’t particularly comfortable in. But, you know, it’s my record too. Other than Daft Punk I’m the only other person with three tracks on that album. I’ll be working with them on at least one new song on the upcoming Chic album which will be great; I’m really looking forward to it.”

These high levels of commercial interest led to the release of the compilation record, Up All Night attributed to Nile Rodgers and The Chic Organization, which contains recordings written, played and produced by Rodgers and Edwards for various artists alongside Chic themselves. “It’s been extraordinary this year because it’s really come full circle because now we’ve released the best Chic greatest hits package that I believe has ever come out. Even people like Madonna, who has always been my friend but is very protective of her product, gave me a great version of Like A Virgin... it’s been really awesome to have that one my new record.”

A busy year, no doubt? “That’s not even beginning to mention the amount of records that I’ve

got coming out!” he laughs. “This feels to me like my career back in the ‘70s and the ‘80s, when one of my records was up for an award a journalist said that I should receive some sort of special award for sheer volume. I don’t even want to start mentioning them because I know I’ll forget some, but I have records coming out with Disclosure, Chase & Status, Tensnake, Avicii, Daft Punk and Jessie Ware - it’s just an insane amount.”

After a whirlwind sold out Australian tour in March 2012, which included a headline performance at Golden Plains, Chic will be returning later this month for festival appearances and a series of theatre shows in what will be their largest Australian tour to date.

“With Australia there’s always been this long-running joke,” muses Rodgers. “Any time a promoter even considers bringing Chic over they never, ever follow through. The reason why? They don’t know what we do. They don’t know of my composing background or my production background.

They don’t know how many hit records I’ve worked on. We have a really dynamic live show so I’m always like, ‘What! They’re picking that over us?!’ But last year a couple of promoters took a chance with us... Someone told me, ‘You know Niles, you’ve had something like seven number one records over here’ and I’m like, ‘Really? And we can’t even get booked!’

“We almost always sell out, but we never do it until the night of the show. There’s this phenomenon about us. People see going to see Chic like they’re going to a disco - they have this mentality.

As everyone saw in Australia - we sold out. People showed up in droves.”

Big name house DJ out of Miami, Ian Carey is bringing the party to Parker on Friday, January 3. He’s been around for nearly 20 years now - a multi-platinum artist with tons of worldwide top 10 hits and over 50 million views on YouTube. He runs his own label, GFAB Records and his discography reads like a VIP guest list for a Miami Winter Music Conference party.

Support on the night comes from Acebasik, Axen and Jackness. Tickets on sale at the door.

UK drum’n’bass duo, SpectraSoul, who released their debut album on DJ Friction’s Shogun Audio label, will be hitting up Switch this Friday, December 6 at Shape Bar. Bridging the gap between light and dark, hard and smooth, both in the studio and in their DJ performances, expect a set that delves into electronica, deep house and drum’n’bass that’ll be all sewn together with mastery. Support on the night comes from Gran Calavera, Eyesdown and Deflo.

Presale tickets available from shapebar.com.au.

SpectraSoul

Ian Carey

BIG HOUSE

German duo, Arndt Roerig and Marko Vidovic aka Tube & Berger are bringing their tech house sounds to Geisha (thanks to Habitat) on Friday, December 13. They’re the biggest selling house act on Beatport right now, their dancefloor anthem, Imprint Of Pleasure on their own label Kittball Records has been dropped left, right and centre this year on dancefloors globally. Get your tickets from eventbrite.com.au.

Metropolis Fremantle and music booker, Maker Agency have put together a DJ competition, which across five heats will be headlined by a different artist from the Maker roster. To enter head to the Bedroom To Big House Facebook page and post a link to your best mix - 16 contestants will be chosen to play a 30-minute set judged by Anton & Andrew Maz from Death Disco, Maker Agency staff and other ‘clubbing’ reps. Heat one kicks off on Friday, December 27 with Sydney duo, Yolanda Be Cool. The winner will walk away with a prize pack that includes sets at Frat House Friday’s and Death Disco plus some DJ essentials worth $3k.

Tube & Berger

Yolanda Be Cool

GERMAN KITTBALLERS

PERTH DANCE MUSIC AWARDS In this week’s edition, we remember the two inductees into the PDMA ‘Hall of Fame’ written by DJ and ABC newsreader and reporter, Lara Hyams and Peter Palmer - ex owner of Geisha Bar and The Loft and currently of 399 Bar. Plus we take a look at the three nominees for ‘Best Producer’.

HALL OF FAME - 2013 INDUCTEES

JOHN ‘GULLY’ RODGERS

BY PETER PALMER One of God’s better people left the dance floor this year but his tunes, smile and decency will remain forever.

The ‘breaks’ maestro was synonymous with Perth clubbing for a generation and his impact as a promoter and DJ is beyond compare, but he will be most fondly remembered as the ‘genuine article’ - a real person who walked tall in a late night world inhabited by fakes and flakes.

Gully was at the forefront of Perth’s burgeoning underground scene in the ‘90s, a resident at the premier inner city venues and a passionate pioneer of new styles long before they became the norm in our fair city. His achievements in club land are revered and well documented. He was a founding member of the ‘West Coast Beats Cartel’ and the architect behind legendary club night Backbeat that was at the forefront of championing breaks in Australia. Gully also brought numerous international DJ’s to Perth and played alongside many seminal artists while touring Asia, Europe and Australia to great acclaim.

But Gully’s ambitions stretched beyond the hedonism of club land, literally building his own DJ academy to impart his enormous knowledge to a new generation of aspiring DJ’s and establishing an accredited DJ course that was offered at selected schools in Western Australia. Putting aside his glittering resume what made Gully unique, was his absolute lack of attitude and the absence of ego that normally accompanies someone of his standing and influence. Gully was in love with music not his own persona and he took great joy in celebrating the pleasures of a great tune with everyone. His passion was infectious and his warmth contagious. He lived life large and devoured every minute he was gifted.

Gully’s legacy is a simple and beautiful one.

People loved him. What greater legacy can anyone leave?

Gully 26

JEREMY JUNK

BY LARA HYAMS There’s a catalogue of memories derived from thousands whose revelry comprised sheer aural pleasure.

A fusion of creative sounds, lavish scenery and thoughtful production that predates this decade and the generation before us. They tell the tale of days gone by, when Perth’s dance scene shed its anonymity and was offered a podium place on the world stage. When this city became a destination for DJs worldwide, renowned for its hospitality, skill and insight. Those indelible chapters were made possible by Jeremy Junk.

A specialist in brevity, a compliment from Jeremy needn’t be verbose, and could merely be uttered as “Nice work, awesome” to a DJ who played a warm-up set for Roger Sanchez at The Globe.

Jeremy, a highly skilful DJ in his own right, chose to share his vision with others by becoming one of Perth’s most successful promoters ever, through establishing his company, Delirium.

It was nothing short of a brave venture, hosting big names on multi-stages at venues that seemed beyond our comprehension. It had never been done before, and became something of a mad haze for statutory bodies to comprehend and ultimately, approve.

It involved taking music lovers from small club sessions and transforming their interests to listening to acts for hours on end in the company of thousands.

The events were extensive and a small few from an elongated list included Delirious in 2002 where Belvoir Amphitheatre was transformed to accommodate Adam Beyer, Joel Mull and Peace Division. Mulberry On Swan was turned into four stages for Sunshine People and featured Kaskade and Tiga in 2004 and later Cassius, Crazy P and James Zabiela in 2005. Belmont Racecourse also rid itself of equine and made way for Mark Farina and Jeff Mills at Science Fiction in 2004. And throughout those years came other acts including Derrick Carter, Green Velvet, De La Soul, Josh Wink, Doc Martin and many more.

But arguably one of his most prominent acts to land on our shores, hailed from France.During his set, rhythmic baselines aligned with the heartbeats of a discerning crowd captivated by a music spectacular.

Heads nodded in tandem whilst music purveyors became memorised by the craft of a maestro.

Crowds become immersed with the distinctive riffs of saxophone, with gentle snares programmed like clockwork and speakers emanated with the sounds of Man With The Red Face by Laurent Garnier.

While his energies weren’t restricted to promoting and DJing, Jeremy became a household name on the radio station RTRFM. Hosting one of the longest-running programs Looney Tunes, Jeremy, or MRW as he was more recently known, would take to the microphone and play everything with tech flavours. A memory of another, recalls “It’s 6am Friday morning…. and this is Vernon’s Wonderland.”

But tragically, earlier this year, the world lost Jeremy Junk and the man that bestowed so much to so many, left behind a long-lasting legacy. And whilst we may not be able to cast our eyes upon him anymore, we can still cast our memories his way, whenever we want to.

KILLAFOE What kind of music do you make? Dubstep, trap, drum’n’bass, electro.

Last release? Last release was titled Alone and my last free download was the Creation Bomb EP. What are the tools of your trade? For playing live I just use the industry standard Pioneer CDJ’s and in the studio I use Cubase on PC to produce.

What have the PDMA’s meant to you over the last 15 years? A good day when everyone from all parts of the local scene come together, pay respects and share a drink and a laugh.

Who isn’t nominated, but should be? Phetsta, Rregula, Zanetic, Spectrum, Greg Packer, VLTRN, Fendi. There’s a lot of talented cats holding it down in Perth. It’s why I feel extremely honoured to be nominated.

Jeremy Junk

PRODUCER’S CUT

ILLUMINOR

PHILLY BLUNT What kind of music do you make? All sorts hopefully the good kind.

Last release? Smile On Impact - Higher Orbit (Philly Blunt remix).

What have the PDMA’s meant to you over the years? Large hangovers on a Monday.

Are you attending the awards night? Yup - playing a ‘classic gabba’ set from 5-6pm.

Who isn’t nominated, but should be? Ta-ku.

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

What kind of music do you make? Trance and progressive.

Latest record? We’ve just finished a track called Breaking Everything which had its first play at Stereosonic this weekend, we’re pretty happy with it!

Who will win the ‘Best Producer’? Philly Blunt - his productions are world class.

Next gig/s? Closing out the PDMA’s this weekend and a big one at Metro City for New Years Eve with Ummet Ozcan, Marlo and Organ Donors.

The winners of the Perth Dance Music Awards will be announced this Sunday, December 8 at The Court Hotel. Entry is free.

LE1F Let’s Talk About Sex One of the most prominent artists in a new vanguard of alternative New York rap, Le1f’s experienced a rapid ascension into the global eye since the 2012 release of his debut mixtape, Dark York. LACHLAN KANONIUK gets the low down ahead of his appearance at Slanted & Enchanted on Saturday, December 7 at The Bakery.

“I think it’s been exponential,” Le1f says, charting his musical growth since the release of Dark York.

“In some ways I do still feel amateur, which is nice.

I’ve had a lot of room to explore, being an unsigned artist. I feel like I’ve been able to find more voices and get more confident in terms of songwriting. It’s exciting; I’ve been able to play within a lot of worlds and styles in rap, R&B and electronic music.”

Though Le1f has more than established himself as an idiosyncratic solo artist in his own right, there has been some sense of community surrounding his rise, working alongside Das Racist and their Greedhead label. As Le1f’s style has grown and developed, so has his range of collaborators. “I definitely have my friends here, and they’re doing cool things around me. But it’s beyond just working with friends now, sometimes I don’t even know the people I’m collaborating with – finding a beat on Soundcloud, or people seeing my show and handing a CD of beats. Sometimes the collaborations and sense of community comes from that place as well, it’s digitised.”

After gaining prominence with the mostly self-produced Dark York mixtape, as well as producing for others, Le1f sourced beats from a range of different, but likeminded rising producers.

“I guess Dark York was me trying a formation of everything I like – other people produced things, I produced, just all the beats that I thought would be good... after that I just wanted to push myself as a vocalist by working with other people’s beats,” he says.

“I started to make Tree House just after Fly Zone because I wanted to make love songs. Or at least attempt to, because that was a daunting and scary thing for me to do. Trying to find these warm,

STANTON WARRIORS Fad Free Stanton Warriors are Dominic Butler and Mark Yardley – the seminal breaks wunderkinds who can seemingly do no wrong. RK chats to Butler about working the dancefloor upon their return to Breakfest 2013 on Thursday, December 26 at Belvoir Amphitheatre.

“We’ve been doing non-stop travelling across the world in recent times,” explains an exhausted but pumped Butler. “We did Coachella in the US, Glastonbury in the UK, massive festivals in the Ukraine and Canada – and all I can say is that we’ve had some amazing times. They’ve been usual Stanton Sessions parties – a bunch of great and unique experiences.”

In between all the travel and the parties, the lads have managed to come close to completing a new album, which they claim will bring together interesting producers from different genres across the electronic music spectrum.

luxurious voices was really frustrating. I had five good songs and like 12 annoying ones, so I had to make Fly Zone out of those songs that didn’t fit the concept of a romantic album, that were too aggressive, or too airy and not sexualised. That’s what Fly Zone came out of, my frustration at trying to make Tree House last year. It’s a whole trilogy of experimentation.”

While sex has been intrinsic to pop music throughout its history, it’s often treated with a large degree of humour to allay a semblance of confrontation with the listener. Tree House is overflowing with sex, compounding lush R&B production with no-nonsense bedroom-ready slow jams. “For Tree House, that was the entire goal. I was very inspired by Jeremih’s Late Nights mixtape last year. The fact that he captured this ‘90s sex R&B vibe, all that music that I loved but isn’t necessarily rap – like Aaliyah, SWV, TLC. Talking about sexuality blatantly, in the same way as an R. Kelly record that you might have sex to, but at the same time, the production and the mixing and the vocals were so futuristic, so progressive. Like the song (Jeremih’s) Fuck You All The Time, I’ve never heard a song like that, even if the words weren’t about sex,” he states.

“That’s where I was coming from with Tree House. I wanted it to be heady and conceptual in production, but all songs to make love to, or songs that are love songs in some regard.”

“It’s still consistent with our sound,” explains Butler, “but it’s an evolution and us as a duo moving forward.”

Indeed they remain completely belligerent about sticking to their sound.

“Sounds have come and gone; electro-trash and whatever else you want to call it, you’ve got EDM going on and we’ve never really bothered with that or fashion trends generally. Luckily our fans resonate with that. We’re not trying to jump onto the latest fad and while our sound has matured and tweaked a bit, Stanton Warriors are fundamentally about working the dancefloor and all I can say is, we’ve stayed staunchly underground.”

In fact, growing up and looking to the underground sounds coming from Bristol at the time, the boys are doing much the same now.

“Hopefully people like what we’re up to,” says Butler. “We’re putting a lot of mixes up on Soundcloud now. We really want to keep up with our releases but the power of putting a set up – one that really had an impact – is a really cool idea. It’s not something that we’ve been able to do before and it really works for us.”

Butler adds that they’re particularly chuffed about getting back to Australia in 2013 because this time, they are coming back together.

“We’ve been working on a lot of edits and a lot of material people haven’t heard before. Mark will be working the laptop and chucking in some cool stuff over the top, so we can do stuff on the fly and if a tune is really rocking, we can almost remix it live. I really think that playing a track one after another is boring. We really want to get involved and give the fans something special. We want to pound the music out – it’s more challenging but it makes for a more interesting party.

Hopefully people enjoy it.”

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

27

B E AT S

|

NEWS

WEDNESDAY 04/12

THURSDAY 05/12

THE BIRD Eerie Serpent CD Launch THE CAUSEWAY Xport Thursdays CAPITOL The Bamboos CLUB RED SEA Candyshop CONNECTIONS Bingay Hannah Conda THE CRAFTSMAN FiveO EVE NIGHTCLUB Retro Thursdays ft.

DJ Crazy Craig KALAMUNDA Grizzly LEISURE INN DJ Peta MALT Collective NEWPORT HOTEL Tiki Bar Open Mic Night SHAPE BAR DJ EZ

28

FRIDAY 06/12

AIR NIGHTCLUB VIP Platinum Fridays AMBAR NAPT Tee EL/ Micah/ Dead Easy AMPLIFIER Fridays Are Back THE AVENUE DJ Lokie Shaw THE AVIARY Philly Blunt/ Baron Gutter THE BEAT (DOWNSTAIRS) PLAY THE BIRD Shy Panther/ Leon Osborn/ Jack Doepel THE BRASS MONKEY James Ess & Viktor C5 METRO FREO Fresco Flow Fridays CAPITOL Capitol Fridays ft.

DJ Roger Smart CAPITOL (UPSTAIRS) I Love 80’s & 90’s CLUB RED SEA Awol DAILY PLANET Sundowner Sessions THE CARINE Az-T THE CAUSEWAY Acoustic Sundowner THE COMO Funky Bottoms THE CRAFTSMAN

INTERVIEWS

|

REVIEWS

|

Presented by

EVENTS

THE CAUSEWAY

THE MUSTANG BAR

METRO FREO

AMPLIFIER/ CAPITOL Harlem Wednesdays ft.

Genga / Peter Payne THE BRASS MONKEY Victor CAPTAIN STIRLING Lokie Shaw CLUB RED SEA Cheek GOLD BAR Famous Wednesdays THE GRAND Anthony Grier GROOVE BAR (CROWN) DJ Crazy Craig THE LLAMA BAR Akuna Club MUSTANG BAR DJ James MacArthur PLAYERS BAR Why Wait Wednesday? ft. DJ Ambadextrus SOVEREIGN ARMS Jordan Scott THE VILLAGE BAR Village People Wednesdays

|

SATURDAY 07/12

Solange - Saturday, January 4 @ Southbound, Sir Stewart Bovell Park, Busselton

Britty THE DEEN Student Night FLAWLESS Monarch Fridays THE GENEROUS SQUIRE Anaru THE GEORGE NDORSE GINGER NIGHTCLUB Mondos “Feel Good” Dance Party GOLD BAR Friday Vanity THE GRAND Jay Mackay GROOVE BAR (CROWN) DJ Crazy Craig LAKERS TAVERN Grizzly LIBRARY Dorcia MUSTANG BAR Swing DJ/ Cheeky Monkeys/ DJ James MacArthur METRO FREO Frat house Fridays

Todd Terry - Saturday, December 7 @ Geisha

ft. Death Disco MY PLACE Karaoke NEWPORT Gravity PARAMOUNT Flyte/ DJ John/ Jordan PARKER SCNDL PLAYERS BAR Hooch THE QUEENS Reuben ROCKET ROOM Howlers ft DJ Frank N Bean SHAPE BAR The Switch presents Spectrasoul SOVEREIGN ARMS ANG3L THE SAINT Garrison THE WHALE & ALE DJ Spinback YAYA’S ACE ft DJ Pup

AMBAR Japan 4 ft. Tonic/ Blend/ Micah/ Philly Blunt/ Bezwun AMPLIFIER Pure Pop ft. Eddie Electric THE AVIARY Zel/ Paradise Paul/ NDORSE THE BALMORAL Back To The 80’s BAR 120 Little Nicky THE BAKERY Slanted & Enchanted BEAT NIGHTCLUB (UPSTAIRS) CANVAS BEAT NIGHTCLUB (DOWNSTAIRS) Big Kidz BRASS MONKEY DJ Peta & Jordan Scott THE BIRD Beat Down 6 THE BRIGHTON DJ Mel C5 METRO FREO I Love 80s + 90s ft. Darren Tucker / Dr Wazz CAPITOL Death Disco ft.

Death Disco DJs CAPITOL (UPSTAIRS) Cream of the 80s ft. DJ Roger Smart THE CAUSEWAY House Party CLUB RED SEA Fresh Saturdays EAST END BAR Home FLAWLESS LQ Saturdays FLYRITE KILTER FLAWLESS Cube GENEROUS SQUIRE Defauntly GEISHA BAR Todd Terry GOLD BAR Saturday Pure Gold THE GOOD SHEPHERD Chocolate Jesus THE GRAND Jay Mackay GROOVE BAR

Optimus Gryme - Saturday, December 7 @ Natural NZ Music Festival, Red Hill Auditorium

(CROWN) DJ Dan LEEDERVILLE HOTEL (DOWNSTAIRS) Under The Arena Party THE LIBRARY DJ Victor / DJ Riki LOST SOCIETY Chalk (indie/ hip hop) METRO FREO Metropolis Saturdays ft.

Darren Tucker / Dr Wazz / Ben Carter / Shane Hewson PARKER Parker Saturdays PARAMOUNT Felix/ DJ John/ Jordan PLAYERS BAR LUXE THE QUEENS Kenny L RED HILL AUDITORIUM Natural NZ Music Festival THE SAINT Az-T THE SHED Huge / DJ Andyy SOVEREIGN ARMS River Milnes TIGER LIL’S DJ Bojan/ Benjamin Sebastian/ Alex Koresis THE WHALE &

WWW.XPRESSMAG.COM.AU

ALE DJ Spinback THE WEMBLEY HOTEL Ang3l WOLF LANE Nick Sheppard/ FDel YAYA’S Arcadia All Nighter

Jon Hopkins

Slanted & Enchanted SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7 @ ASTOR THEATRE & THE BAKERY

SUNDAY 08/12

ASTOR THEATRE Chic & Nile Rodgers THE AVIARY Rooftop Sessions ft. Ben Sebastian / Troy Division/ Paradise Paul THE BIRD Sunday Sound Selections THE COURT 15th Annual Perth Dance Music Awards EMPIRE BAR DJ Victor/ DJ Riki EVE NIGHCLUB DJ Slick GROOVE BAR (CROWN) DJ Crazy Craig LAKERS TAVERN James Ess METRO FREO Insane Clown Posse MUSTANG BAR DJ Rockin’ Rhys NEWPORT DJ Tom

Drummond THE PEEL ALE HOUSE Hages ROSEMOUNT HOTEL The Get Down THE SAINT DJ Jon Ee/ Az-T SCARBOROUGH BEACH AMPHITHEATRE Sets On The Beach THE QUEENS Fiveo & Sam Spencer MONDAY 09/12

MUSTANG BAR Triple Shots THE ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Bada Bingo!

TUESDAY 10/12

MUSTANG BAR Danza Loca Salsa Night

Deadline Monday 5pm. The Club Manual is a service to advertisers listing all DJs & Dance Music. All inclusions are at the discretion of X-Press. Email guide@xpressmag.com.au

THE COURT

THE COLLECTIVE @ MALT

THIS WEEK THE BAMBOOS 5 Capitol

DECEMBER JOEY BADA$$ 11 Capitol

DJ EZ 5 Shape Bar

MINISTRY OF SOUND: THE ANNUAL 2014 ft. Uberjak’d & Chardy 13 Villa

SCNDL 6 Parker JOE STAWARZ & DREWAN 6 Matches Lounge ONEMAN & ZED BIAS 6 Myre Rooftop KUCKA 6 Flyrite SPECTRASOUL 6 Shape Bar NAPT 6 Ambar KILTER 7 Flyrite TODD TERRY 7 Geisha Bar SLANTED & ENCHANTED ft. Jon Hopkins/ Le1f/ Kelpe/ Lower Spectrum & more 7 The Bakery NATURAL NZ MUSIC FESTIVAL ft. Kora/ Nesian/ Mystik/ Optimus Gryme & more 7 Red Hill Auditorium 15TH ANNUAL PERTH DANCE MUSIC AWARDS 8 The Court CHIC & NILE RODGERS 8 The Astor Theatre DAVE’S CANS LAUNCH 8 Myre Rooftop THE GET DOWN ft.

Exile & MC Choosey 8 The Rosemount SETS ON THE BEACH ft. Miami Horror/ DJ Snake/Alison Wonderland/ Fort Knox Five & more 8 Scarborough Beach Amphitheatre

ALEX METRIC Philly Blunt, Axen & Paradise Paul 13 Parker TUBE & BERGER 13 Geisha GET WEIRD ft. Late Night Tuff Guy 13 Connections FRIDAY THE 13TH ft.

Black Laces/ BMB/ Escue/ Standards Down/ Pussymittens 13 Ambar GET WEIRD & THE MONARCHY PRESENTS LATE NITE TUFF GUY 13 Connections TUBE & BERGER 13 Geisha AMBAR’S UNDERGROUND CHRISTMAS PARTY 14 Ambar DIESELBOY, XKORE & TEDDY KILLERZ 14 Villa RTRFM’S SERIOUSLY SOUND SYSTEM ft.

Omega Is The Alpha, Kuèka, Bastian’s Happy Flight & more 14 Perth Cultural Centre’s Urban Orchard THE PRESETS & NINA LAS VEGAS (sold-out) 15 Hotel Rottnest HOPSIN 15 The Bakery LOOPTROOP ROCKETS, SAGE FRANCIS 18 Villa WAKA FLOCKA FLAME 19 Metropolis Fremantle

GUTI 19 Malt BOTNEK 20 Ambar INHIBIT’S DRUM’N’BASS ft.

Rregula, Spectrem, VLTRN, Greg Packer & more 20 Shape Bar (both levels) METRIC XMAS PARTY ft. Clubfeet 23 Villa CLUBFEET DJS 23 Villa BREAKFEST ft. Stanton Warriors/ LTJ Bukem/ Plump DJs & more 26 Belvoir Amphitheatre BREAKFEST AFTER PARTY 26 Ambar

JANUARY CUBAN CLUB ft. De La Soul/ DJ Yoda 1 The Flying Squadron Yacht Club CLUB PARADISO ft. Bag Raiders & Yacht Club DJs 1 Salt On The Beach IAN CAREY 3 Parker SOUTHBOUND ft.

Bonobo, Horrorshow, Solange, MGMT, Anna Lunoe & more 4-5 Sir Stewart Bovell Park, Busselton CYRIL HAHN 4 The Bakery BENI 10 Metropolis Fremantle 11 Amplifier

BOXING DAY FOAM PARTY ft. Shapeshifters (UK) 26 The Court

SUNDOWN SESSIONS ft. Fat Freddy’s Drop 18 Scarborough Beach

CAKE ft. Wordlife / Genga / Drifter / Get More / Beyond Tha Noize 27 Parker

PHETSA FAREWELL TOUR 18 Villa

BEDROOM TO BIG HOUSE (DJ COMP) ft.

Yolanda Be Cool 27 Metropolis Fremantle MARTEN HØRGER 31 Ambar SALT ON THE BEACH ft. De La Soul 31 North Fremantle Beach STICKY FINGERS NYE ft. Stillwater Giants, Lyall Moloney, Death Disco DJs & Micah 31 Capitol ORIGIN ft. Wiz Khalifa/ A$AP Rocky 31 Ozone Reserve SOUL CLAP & WOLF + LAMB 31 The Bakery PARKERS NEW YEARS EVE 31 Parker

DANNY DAZE 23 The Collective @ Malt HEAVYWEIGHT SOUNDZ ft. London Elektricity, Memtrix, MC Wrec 24 Metro City MARK KNIGHT 25 The Deen AVICII 27 Perth Arena HANNAH WANTS 31 Parker FEBRUARY ALICE RUSSELL February 6 & 7 Chevron Festival Gardens ST JEROME’S LANEWAY FESTIVAL ft. Cashmere Cat/ Earl Sweatshirt/ Four Tet/ Jamie XX 8 Esplanade Park & West End, Fremantle

AMPLIFIER

#TOGETHER ft. Taku/Zeke/Kit Pop/ Cosmo Gets/Sable 8 Chevron Festival Gardens 100 MILLION NIGHTS 11 Chevron Festival Gardens LADI6 & HOME BREW 13 Chevron Festival Gardens MIAMI HORROR 15 Amplifier DJ SHADOW 15 Chevron Festival Gardens EBONY BONES 16 Chevron Festival Gardens AUSTRA 17 Chevron Festival Gardens DJ FOOD/ DJ CHEEBA/DJ MONEYSHOT 18 Chevron Festival Gardens THE ASTON SHUFFLE 23 Secret Show ROBERT GLASPER EXPERIMENT ft. Roy Ayers 27 Chevron Festival Gardens PUBLIC ENEMY 28 Chevron Festival Gardens MARCH KERSER w/ DJ Dazastah, Bitter Belief, Complete & Omac 1 Metro City FUTURE MUSIC 8 ft. Deadmau5/ Macklemore & Ryan Lewis/ Phoenix/ Hardwell 2 Arena Joondalup GOOD LIFE ft. Deadmau5/ Macklemore & Ryan Lewis/ Hardwell & more 3 Arena Joondalup ILLY 21 Capitol BATHS 23 The Bakery

Jamie Mykaela. Photo by Stefan Caramia

THE COMMON ROOM LAUNCH Sonic Art Craig McElhinney/Leafy Suburbs/Jamie Mykaela @ Paper Mountain Friday, November 29, 2013 After a successful crowd funding campaign, the artist run initiative Paper Mountain launched The Common Room on Friday night. Along with their gallery and artist studios, the new space is where emerging artists can work in a shared area for low costs. With access to the exhibition of Claire Pendrigh’s The Sky And The Earth, and a close look at the resident artists’ studios, the launch of The Common Room also included performances

by Craig McElhinney, Leafy Suburbs and Jamie Mykaela. Connecting Perth’s local music and art scenes made perfect sense for the launch, and reiterated Paper Mountain’s community presence in all aspects of creativity.

After climbing the pastel green stairs to Paper Mountain, pineapples and popsicles were a sweet and welcoming duo. The Common Room is a smallish space, with steps made out of crates leading to a loft above. Sitting on top of these steps was pint-sized, Jamie Mykaela. Matching The Common Room’s tropical theme with her cutie pie ukulele and acoustic tunes, she sang covers such as Radiohead’s No Surprises, and a preview into her cabaret performance for Fringe World Festival.

WWW.XPRESSMAG.COM.AU

Leafy Suburbs set up a sonic accomplice to the visuals provided by Paper Mountain artists. One of many musical projects for Lyndon Blue (Seams, Spirit Level, Solar Barge) in this instance he plays free forms of experimental sounds, something he’s wanted to do for a while. Blue’s textures are fluid, and there’s a comfort in his musical lushness. It complemented the pastels, pineapples, and plants in The Common Room, and its overall organic vibe. Blue’s sounds hovered over the conversation and art appreciation, and in the flurry of activity he was omnipresent, literally high above.

Launching his new album Complainer Orientation at Paper Mountain in October, Craig McElhinney was an obvious choice to perform on the night.

Much like Leafy Suburbs, McElhinney continued sounds that connoted natural environments, and his 20 minutes of ambient drone was enough to isolate you in a comforting way. Unfortunately there were few people for his set, but this was ok seeing as the event was a chance to take a look around, mingle, and see what Paper Mountain actually do.

Art events can be intimidating, conducive to uncomfortable feelings. As a non-artist, it can sometimes feel as though you’re looking into an unknown world, getting hints of a secret community where you have no function. Highlighting the importance of connecting communities and making creative endeavors accessible, triangles are an occurring theme in Claire Pendrigh’s The Sky And Earth exhibition.

These shapes are “more about the connections themselves than the image they create,” says Shaye Preston. Effortlessly experimenting with sonic art in the background, Craig McElhinney, Leafy Suburbs and Jamie Mykaela reinforced this sentiment.

With a loft stage overlooking William Street and a library underneath the window, The Common Room is a magical venue to see an electronic gig.

Luckily, Paper Mountain co-directors welcome musical performances in the new space, meaning art and music pieces can fit messily together in a welcoming and intimate setting.

NAOMI FAYE

29

30

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

LOCAL NEWS

|

INTERVIEWS

|

REVIEWS

|

Q & A

MUSE Birds Of Tokyo Perth Arena Saturday, November 30. 2013 The past few days have seen Perth exposed to some ridiculously tempestuous weather.

The ever-present threat of rain has loomed over our music scene like a biblical plague, driving away our punters and despoiling our equipment.

It might therefore seem a surprise then that the huddled masses would seek to brave the mild spring squall to see their favourite rock bands in a grossly misshapen arena complex. However, with the promise of international rock stars playing at the Perth Arena hanging on the tastebuds like original sin, that’s just what many local Perthians did.

Birds Of Tokyo were first up, fresh from a Fremantle gig the night before, charging in with Adam Spark’s sludgy, bass-heavy guitar riffs and the terminally excitable Ian Kenny prancing around, from the first few bars of Silhouettic the band produced an inhuman vigour. Kenny’s vociferous vocals and natural showmanship immediately engaged the still fledgling crowd and held their attention throughout the high-paced first segment of the set. With most of the band holding a commanding presence, synth player, Glenn Sarangapany was woefully undermixed, leading to some underwhelming synth sections. Finishing up with the outrageously popular Lanterns, to a sea of swaying mobile phones, the band found themselves at the end of a strong, though reserved gig. With a strong focus on playing songs true to the albums, the band found itself on the good side of the plebs but divorced from any originality or uniqueness for the gig.

In juxtaposition to Birds Of Tokyo’s unassuming production level, Muse blasted on stage with one of the biggest audio-visual experiences Perth has yet seen. Beneath a pyramid of LCD screens the band struck away at the first chunky, distorted riffs of Supremacy, much to the fevered appreciation of the waves of fans now crowding around the front of stage. The set was a good mixture of old and new, with each album in Muse’s back catalogue well-represented. The funky bass licks and guitar arpeggios of Panic Station added colour and contrast against the Muse paradigm of grandiose, apocalyptic orchestration and wailing falsetto vocals, while improvised sections, such as the dissonant, if somewhat anticlimactic piano solo of Sunburn, kept audience members on their toes.

New numbers went down well, and were surprisingly engaging, considering the weakness of Muse’s more recent releases, while the latter half of the set, predominated by the band’s earlier work, saw the crowd reach fever pitch. The spectacle of a room full of moshing fans during Time Is Running Out and the crowd sing-along for Plug In Baby

The Scientists - Photo by Daniel Grant

THE SCIENTISTS Black Swan/The Disintegrates/Like Junk The Bakery Saturday, November 30, 2013

Muse - Photo by Rachael Barrett

were end-of-show highlights, though interspersed with some transitional problems in sections, and fans were given a treat when the boy-like figure of Matt Bellamy walked back onstage for a three-song encore of Hyper Music, Starlight and Survival, with the catchy and self-assured rendition Starlight being an absolute show stopper.

SHAUN COWE

Last Saturday saw The Bakery almost packed to its full with punters happy to see a legendary local band: The Scientists. The fact that the audience consisted of three generations of people who love and respect the band proves the theory that some things last forever, regardless how small or underlooked they were when they first happened.

Reunions are a funny phenomenon – sometimes bands do it for the money, sometimes for the love of music they overcome any obstacles. Not sure if they were any obstacles in The Scientists’ case, but on Saturday night it sounded like they reformed for the sake of having a jam together in front of lots of people, and that is probably the best reason for any band to play together again.

This was not their first time they reformed, though. In 1995 the original line up that recorded early records played a one-off show on the roof of the Grosvenor Hotel, together with another set of local heroes from back in the day, The Manikins. A few years ago, The Scientists Mk.II played the PIAF, covering mostly the later period of the band.

But tonight it was time for the original line up, with Kim Salmon, James Baker, Roddy Radalj and Boris Sujdovic there to entertain our ears with the songs from their early power-pop period. They opened with Girl and it was obvious straight away that the band was in fine form. Not over rehearsed, slightly loose, but holding it together really well particularly James Baker, whose familiar yet superbly steady beat never failed to deliver the kicks, both literally and metaphorically speaking.

It was a somewhat odd choice to play a cover of Sympathy For The Devil as their second song into the set. Even though they did a decent job of it, it somehow broke the momentum, but it got picked up right when they went back into playing their own material, like I’m Looking For You. Frantic Romantic got played earlier than expected as well and, as expected, Last Night and Drop Out went well with the audience.

As mentioned earlier, the band was obviously having great time, with James Baker being really funny in his banter between the songs. The mix, at least in the back of the packed Bakery, was very bass and kick drum heavy, but it was not realistic to expect them to sound as they did back in the late 1970s - It sounded exactly as those songs were played through better equipment and on louder PA. It is not known if The Scientists will have any other shows in this line up around the country – they should, for sure. With a band like this it is obvious there cannot be any big money involved and they are doing it for the fun of it and for our own fun. Such reunions are always more than welcome.

PEDRAG DELIBASIC

STEREOSONIC 2013 Claremont Showgrounds Saturday, November 30 – Sunday, December 1, 2013 This years’ edition of Stereosonic took over Claremont Showgrounds for an entire weekend, displaying just how commercially successful electronic dance music has become. From the first acts starting at 1pm on Saturday right through to the end of David Guetta’s set at 9.30pm on Sunday night, the Perth crowds were subjected to relentless bass and pumping drops again and again. The generic EDM sound has taken over commercial radio and in effect this festival was all about main stage artists giving the hand-waving masses simply what they expected, adding little new (or different) material.

Expanding to two full days of sun-soaked raving, the festival organisers were set back initially with the withdrawals of superstars Labrinth, Alesso and Skrillex (who would have played alongside Boys Noize in the duo Dog Blood) but there was more than enough depth in the line up to compensate and push on with the show.

The caliber of artists taking to the stages was unquestionable with the likes of Axwell, Armin Van Buuren and Nero seeing out the first day with massive light shows and crisp sound quality. They followed on from Aussie party DJs, The Stafford Brothers, who opened proceedings at the main stage.

The dance floor for that one stage consisted of the entire football field and was consistently attended in the thousands throughout the weekend.

Day one at the second biggest stage, located indoors, hosted TJR and Mat Zo, along with The Bloody Beetroots who brought with them a live set up including drums, keyboards, guitars and a grand piano. Their enthusiasm slightly drew the focus away from the music and centered it on their masked antics across the stage, with the crowd following suit and losing it to such tunes as Warp 1.9 and Rocksteady from their latest release, Hide.

Out on the smaller stages, deep house vibes flowed smoothly all weekend from Hot Since 82, Solomun, Breach and the Hot Natured crew. The Ibiza-like atmosphere, complete with fake trees and artificial tropical rains, seemed under-appreciated

Stereosonic - Photo by Adam Nalapraya

by the majority of punters, perhaps a reflection on people who go to festivals – there are those who love the music itself who can be seen bouncing around for hours seemingly taken to another place by the (mostly) music-induced highs or flailing their arms and legs in constant rave motion, and there are the vast numbers of ladies and gentlemen who are there to have fun with their mates and don’t have a real inclination towards many of the artists present or music playing. Their enthusiasm for jumping up and down as commanded by the DJ and giving or getting shoulder rides is a sight to behold; just masses of people reaching euphoric states, moving in sync with the beat and providing a pulsating atmosphere.

At the UKF’ stage on day one, it was all about that low end with sets from Drumsound + Bassline Smith, the masked, anonymous trap producer known as UZ and drum ‘n’ bass veteran Andy C encouraging some dangerously aggressive dance moves. For one of the smallest stages catering

for a niche market in the dance music world, the dance floor energy was consistently high at this stage.

Day two saw American house DJ/party thrower Destructo get the day off to a large start as the UKF stage became the Hard LA stage. By mid-afternoon, many a seedy punter had made their way back to Claremont to go through the festival routine all over again. Coinciding with their return US producer RL Grime took the stage with an outstanding set of trap music, bringing the American southern rap sound together with the global EDM movement and creating a whole new beast. His transition from Major Lazer’s Watch Out For This into Gesaffelstein’s dark banger Pursuit sent the crowd into a frenzy, provoking the formation of a mosh pit where male fans jumped in and threw themselves into each other with abandon. These moments show what music can inspire in people, especially when a set is even better than expected and the artist throws in some welcome surprises.

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

Across the rest of the Showgrounds, stages were closed by Boys Noize, Ferry Corsten and Acid Jacks, each playing their biggest 4/4 beats as was the order of the day.

Back on the main stage to close the festival and surely leaving many with sore heads, ringing ears, tired bodies and a few good memories, Calvin Harris and David Guetta played sets of back to back radiofriendly dance tunes with repeated drops, as if to completely exhaust the crowd before their mammoth trip home on packed public transport. As the heir to Guetta’s throne, Harris played a set that could have easily been mistaken for one of the 46-year-old’s own.

Some would complain that he has ditched a fair chunk of musical credibility by no longer singing live, but as seen all weekend the crowd certainly didn’t seem to mind.

TOM KITSON 31

LOCAL NEWS

|

INTERVIEWS

CIRCLES Infinitas And Beyond Melburnian progressive rock/metal outfit Circles hit Amplifier this Friday, December 6, (with Chaos Divine, Serial Killer Smile and This Other Eden) and the Prince of Wales, Bunbury on Saturday, December 7, (with Serial Killer Smile and Gombo).

BOB GORDON reports.

Circles got to releasing their debut album, Infinitas, earlier this year and it seems to have certainly opened some doors around the place. In terms of expectations of the release, it seems the band are well pleased.

“The reaction has been great,” says vocalist, Perry Kakridas. “The first - and most important thing that I can say, is that we’ve received great feedback from the fans. If they’re happy, I’m happy.

We’d sent out a few tracks before official release to few industry big-wigs, and fortunately we were given some great opportunities as a result. So we knew that we were on the right track, that’s for sure.”

Circles had a definite sense of what they wanted to convey of themselves on their first LP. Seems there were some preconceptions they wanted to encounter.

“From the outset, we sensed that some people weren’t entirely convinced that we were the real deal,” Kakridas says. “All we’ve ever wanted was to prove ourselves as songwriters and musicians. With Infinitas, we think that we’ve succeeded. This album is about us standing up and being counted.

“I think that we’ve definitely achieved what we set out to do, and more. Not everybody gets to do the stuff that we’re doing - and we’re thankful for it.

So many bands in Australia only dream about playing in WA, for example. We finally get to do that, which is awesome, by the way.”

Circles aren’t long back from their first trip to the UK and Europe, much of which was spent touring in support of The Dillinger Escape Plan.

“The Dillinger crew are always the consummate professionals,” Kakridas says. “We were in awe of the fact that they’ve been putting guys like us to

|

LIVE REVIEWS

|

Q & A

shame since 1997. Night after night they were onstage with a raw ferocity that is unmatched by anyone. Period.

“What could be better than that? Well, to top it off, they were the nicest and most chilled out dudes that you’ll ever meet. Together with their crew, they made us feel welcome and always treated us well. Playing to their crowd seemed daunting at first - we knew that Dillinger were gonna mop the floor with us, but we soon realised that their fans are very open-minded.. So let’s just say that the stage floor might’ve needed another ‘doing over’ (laughs).”

Circles also played some festival dates, which were, says Kakridas, “surreal. Euroblast festival was insane!

People from all over the world came to see us and all the other bands we’ve come to be associated with. It was weird because all these people we’d never met knew exactly who we were and knew the songs. There we were on the big screens, on an amazing stage and everybody was singing along. We’ve never experienced anything quite like it!

The band plan to take a small break from touring in 2014 to concentrate on writing for their second album. In the meantime, however, it’s all about being back in Australia and launching their album closer to home.

“It’s been a blast,” Kakridas exclaims “We love heading out on the road and seeing all of our old friends.

The fans, the bands... the beer! In all seriousness, we have a lot more fun back here in Oz. This time will be all the better now that we’re coming to you. This has been a long time in the making, and we’re not holding anything back. Are you guys ready?!”

OCEAN ONE BAR Catch a full six nights of live music this week along with some awesome prizes to win. You can win an Alaya surfboard from Corona and a trip to the 2014 Pipe Masters with a Rusty surfboard and 3Dfins. The jackpot is currently up to $700 bar tab in their Pick Slater’s Face comp which can be won on Wednesdays and Friday nights. Plus check out all the new talent at the Undergrowth open mic every Tuesday from 6pm.

Pick Slater’s Face at Ocean One Bar

INDI BAR This Saturday, December 7, Melbourne band Twin Beasts (formerly the Toot Toot Toots) play the Indi Bar, for some good time blues and rock ‘n’ roll catch them with support Old Blood and Matt Cal.

THE BEAT NIGHTCLUB This Friday, December 6, Punktured is back for only the second instalment this year and it’s gonna be sick!

This edition has three bands poppin’ their Punktured cherries! FAIM, Blindspot, Them Sharks, Lowlight and One Last Thing will tear up the stage, so come down and check out some bands and grab some merch and smash a few beers! Saturday downstairs Scab Eater come all the way from Melbourne to throw one hell of a hardcore party floorshow. Support comes from Nervous Trend, Flesh Police, Circle One and Helta Skelta. Doors open at 9pm.

MOJOS Thursday, December 5, Matt Gresham graces the bar with his presence. 24-year -old acoustic artist Matt Gresham has won the respect and admiration of audiences, musicians and critics around the world.

This performance is sure to be an electrifying and empowering experience! Pulling from influences which stretch back over the past half century, Gresham has a truly individual sound with a positive message. He has a joyful and exuberant style which floats his audiences from soul to the packed dance floor. Spine-tingling vocals soar above his catchy melodies and driving rhythms. Special guests support.

Entry is $20 from 8pm.

YAYA’S Local rockers Amberdown release their latest single Miss Mediocrity with Sun Tied Down and Hostile Little Faces on Thursday, followed by a special Ballroom Massacre birthday show with The Shakeys, Scalphunter and Medicine on Friday. Saturday sees more brand new local rock as Tourist launch their new single Holding On To What Hurts with Dilip ‘N The Davs and The Gypsie Howls. Finally check Melbourne’s own surf, soul, 60s party sensation La Bastard with Cal Peck and The Tramps and Hayley Beth on Sunday!

Amberdown

MULLALOO BEACH HOTEL This Sunday Ricky Green will be playing live from 1pm 4pm as part of our Kopparberg Cider Sessions. Then get ready to party with Kenny L and Guests from 4pm at the best Sunday sesh on the coast. It’s also the start of our Future Music warm up party series and we’ve got two tickets to give away!

SWALLOW BAR Thursday, December 5, DJ Boogie will be laying down the rhythms, while Saturday we play host to DJ T King and on Sunday, December 8, we sway to the hypnotic reverie of Voudou Zazou.

ROSEMOUNT HOTEL This Wednesday Swedish rockers Cedron hit the stage with support from El Capitan, Dyatlov, Pending The Silence and Sail On! Sail On! Thursday night it’s Ol’ Bouginvillea, Lantana, Santa Muerte and Kortisol. Friday night, Black Birds launch their new EP with help from FOAM, Hideous Sun Demon and John Martyr’s Ghost, and Saturday night Kylesa hit town with support from Bayou and Chainsaw Hookers. Sunday catch Kataklysm with special guests Gotsu-Totsu-Kotsu and Animistic.

Doors open 8pm each night except Sunday, which is 6pm. Head to rosemounthotel.com.au for ticket info.

32

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

LOCAL NEWS

|

INTERVIEWS

|

LIVE REVIEWS

|

Q & A

TOURIST Soul-rock four piece, Tourist, launch their new single, Holding On To What Hurts, at YaYa’s this Saturday, January 7, with support from Dilp N’ The Davs and The Gypsie Howls. Tickets are $15 on the door from 8pm. We had a quick word with singer/guitarist Dave Paddon.

How did Tourist form?

We’ve been together for a long time, about 11 years. I met Luke Brown (guitar) through mutual friends at the TAFE music program and at the same time I was playing at a venue managed by Steve Richardson’s (drums) future wife, who suggested we get together for a jam. We started working on some stuff together in 2001 and went through a few bass options before Steve’s brother Mike (bass/vocals) returned from a stint in Melbourne. Once Mike was on board we never looked back.

Tell us about Holding On To What Hurts. What made it stand out as a potential single?

I originally wrote Holding On a long time ago on the acoustic guitar. It stayed that way for a long time and seemed destined to be just an acoustic song. But eventually we started working it up in the band, Luke came up with some really beautiful guitar lines and Steve and Mike locked into to that walking groove and it became something more as a band. Lyrically, it’s a song about moving on and making changes How would you describe your sound? that starts off introspectively in the first verse and then takes on more We’re a rock band, with hints and flavours of funk and soul. universal considerations in the second. The chorus really focuses on There’s a mixture of acoustic and electric guitars, big vocals, tight remembering who you are and then letting go or separating yourself grooves, ambient keys and little bit of trumpet. Originally, we bonded from the things that can weigh you down if you let them. I think the over big bands like Dave Matthews Band, The Police and Red Hot Chilli production really made it stand out as a possible single. It was on Peppers. We appreciate the way they can really play their instruments everyone’s shortlist after we got the album back from mastering, and it and create a great pop song that’s interesting to listen to on a lot of also shows a true reflection of where we’re coming from as a band. Plus, levels and played with excellent instrumentation. Other influences when the final chorus crunches down hard the song becomes something include Pearl Jam, Muse and The Tea Party. quite powerful.

SUMMER HUNTING The Regular Hunters are just about ready to put a pin in 2013 and so this Sunday, December 8, marks one of the last chances you’ll have to catch them this year. Get down to The Railway Hotel from 4pm to catch them along with Mr And Sunbird, Simon Kelly And The Big Bamboo, The Matt Cal Trio, Tashi Hall, Lucy Peach. We’ve been promised a food stall serving up tasty treats as well, so why not make a day of it? Entry is $10.

SWEET SOUNDS Get down to Fremantle Recording Studios on Friday, December 6, for their second ever monthly live concert, this time featuring performances by Nodes, Pimps Of Sound, Methyl Ethel, K-Town, Zorbs and various special guests. Entry is $5 from 6pm.

The Regular Hunters

Pimps Of Sound

STRYCHNINE FOR THE SOUL

AVENGERS ENSEMBLE!

Scuzzy scoundrels The Strychnine Cowboys unleash their latest single, (I’m Gonna) Make you Mine, this Saturday, December 7, at The Flying Scotsman. Additional noise comes courtesy of The Kuillotines, Aborted Tortoise, Thee Gold Blooms and Belfast. A limited edition orange vinyl seven inch single will be available on the night, so get down early. DJs from 7pm, bands from 9pm, entry is free.

The Strychnine Cowboys.

QUIT YOUR MOANA-ING The fourth evening of stripped-back acoustic sets at Moana Coffee takes place on Saturday, December 7, and features Anton Franc, Odette Mercy and Jon Fernandes and Rachel Dease.

Doors open at 6pm, tickets are $12 plus booking fee through Moshtix, with limited numbers available on the door.

The bad news is that Ensemble Formidable are down about two grand following a recent robbery. The good news - for us, at least - is that the incident has motivated the eight-piece gypsy-swing outfit to throw a fundraising gig this Saturday, December 7, at Kulcha in order to finance their post-Christmas tour plans. It’s also their last Perth show of the year, so pop it in your diary. Doors open at 7.45, tickets are $10 for Kulcha Members, $15 presale through kulcha.com,au, $20 on the door.

Ensemble Formidable

LO C A L & L AU NC H I NG 05/12 06/12 07/12 07/12 07/12/ 08/12 13/12 14/12 15/12 20/12 20/12

SIDEWALK DIAMONDS Not ‘Til I’m Safe Again Single Launch @ Flyrite PENNY KING QUARTET Journey Album Launch @ The Ellington Jazz Club AXE GIRL Give Me Your Tee Shirt Single Launch @ The Norfolk Basement SOL-R BAND Tribal Call EP Launch @ Clancy’s Fremantle TOURIST Holding On To What Hurts Single Launch @ YaYa’s MIDNIGHT BOULEVARD EP Launch @ The Newport CASINO SUNRISE Castles Single Launch Party @ Amplifier CHAINSAW HOOKERS 7” Launch @ YaYa’s THE KILL DEVIL HILLS Past And Future Ghosts Album Launch @ Mojos I, SAID THE SPARROW Deathpop Album Launch @ The Rosemount KRISTIE SMITH The Bunny Boiler Album Launch @ The Fly Trap WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

33

TOUR TRAILS

THE MELVINS, DECEMBER 6 THIS WEEK ALICIA KEYS & JOHN LEGEND 5 Perth Arena THE BAMBOOS 5 Capitol DYSON, STRINGER & CLOHER 5 Fremantle Arts Centre 7 Ye Olde Quindanning Inne LA BASTARD 6 Devilles Pad 7 Mojos Bar 8 Yaya’s THE MELVINS 6 Metro Freo SHIHAD 6 Prince Of Wales, Bunbury KYLESA 7 Rosemount Hotel METRIC 7 Metro City NATURAL NZ MUSIC FESTIVAL 7 Red Hill Auditorium CAVE 7 Astor Theatre JACK JOHNSON 7 Kings Park INSANE CLOWN POSSE 8 Metro Freo CITY AND COLOUR 7 Belvoir Amphitheatre SLANTED AND ENCHANTED 7 Astor Theatre/The Bakery WHITELY 7 Amplifier 8 Mojos Bar AIR SUPPLY 8 Perth Concert Hall JUSTIN BIEBER 8 Perth Arena CHIC & NILE RODGERS 8 Astor Theatre KATAKLYSM 8 Rosemount Hotel SETS ON THE BEACH 8 Scarborough Beach Amphitheatre THE BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE 10 Astor Theatre DECEMBER JOEY BADA$$ 11 Capitol TAYLOR SWIFT 11 Perth NIB Stadium STEEL PANTHER 12 Metro City ARCHIE ROACH 12 Fremantle Arts Centre Courtyard 13 Quarry Amphitheatre POND 12 Metro Freo BON JOVI 12 Perth Arena ABBE MAY 13 The Bakery 19 Prince Of Wales, Bunbury CLAIRY BROWNE & THE BANGIN’ RACKETTES 14 Rosemount Hotel THE PRESETS & NINA LAS VEGAS 15 Hotel Rottnest THE NERVE 19 Mojos Bar WAKA FLOCKA FLAME 19 Metro Freo

34

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

TOURS LIVE

BON JOVI, DECEMBER 12

SAN CISO 19 Studio 146, Albany 20 Settlers Tavern, Margaret River 21 Prince Of Wales, Bunbury HUMAN NATURE 20 Perth Zoo CATHERINE TRAICOS 21 Rosemount Hotel THE GIN CLUB 21 Mojos Bar SMOKE MY TOUR FlipTrix, Dirty Dike, Jam Baxter, Ed Scissortongue and DJ Sammy B-Side 24 Metro Freo BREAKFEST 2013 26 Belvoir Amphitheatre EARTHLESS & THE SHRINE 28 Rosemount Hotel 29 Mojos Bar DE LA SOUL 31 Salt On The Beach NEW YEARS EVE FIESTA Abbe May, The Kill Devil Hills, Split Seconds, Simone and Girlfunkle, Huge Magnet, The Floors, Patient Little Sister & DJ Shannon Fox 31 Rosemount Hotel JEBEDIAH 31 Dunsborough Tavern STICKY FINGERS 31 Capitol JANUARY DE LA SOUL/DJ YODA 1 Cuban Club (Flying Squadron Yacht Club, The Esplanade, Dalkeith) SOUTHBOUND !!!, Bonobo, Crystal Fighters, Grizzly Bear, Horrorshow, Johnny Marr, London Grammar, MGMT, Neil Finn, The Roots, Vampire Weekend and more!

3-4 Sir Stewart Bovell Park, Busselton, WA WATAIN 9 Amplifier BONJAH 9 Prince Of Wales 10 Redcliffe On The Murray 11 Mojos Bar 12 Indi Bar DEAFHEAVEN 11 Rosemount Hotel DAUGHTERS 14 Amplifier EYEHATEGOD 16 Rosemount PARAMORE 16 Perth Arena HALF MOON RUN 16 Fly By Night Club MISFITS 19 Amplifier SETS ON THE BEACH 19 Scarborough Beach KARNIVOOL & DEAD LETTER CIRCUS 23 Red Hill Auditorium CELTIC WOMAN 24 Riverside Theatre PETE MURRAY 25 Leeuwin Estate

BORN OF OSIRIS & AFTER THE BURIAL 25 Rosemount Hotel 26 YMCA HQ WE ARE SCIENTISTS 26 Amplifier AVICII 27 Perth Arena COLIN STETSON 20 Mojos Bar 21 Hellenic Club FEBRUARY SELENA GOMEZ 1 Perth Arena BIG DAY OUT Pearl Jam, Arcade Fire, Blur, Snoop Lion, Major Lazer, Tame Impala, Flume & more!

2 Claremont Showgrounds CAT POWER 4 Fly By Night Club BRUCE STRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND 5,7,8 Perth Arena ASH GRUNWALD 5 Indi Bar 6 Prince Of Wales, Bunbury 7 Settlers Taver, Margaret River 8 Fly By Night Club 9 Ravenswood Hotel, Ravenswood ED KOWALCZYK 5 Metro City ALICE RUSSELL & BOOKER T JONES 6 & 7 Chevron Festival Gardens #TOGETHER ft. Ta-Ku, Zeke, Kit Pop, Cosmo Gets, Sable 8 Chevron Festival Gardens LANEWAY FESTIVAL 8 Fremantle THE BASICS 9 Chevron Festival Gardens THE LOCUST 10 Amplifier JULIA HOLTER 10 Chevron Festival Gardens 100 MILLION NIGHTS 11 Chevron Festival Gardens IALARU 12 Chevron Festival Gardens LADI6 & HOME BREW 13 Chevron Festival Gardens HUSKY 14 Chevron Festival Gardens DJ SHADOW 15 Chevron Festival Gardens THE NATIONAL 14 Belvoir Amphitheatre MIAMI HORROR 15 Amplifier PETE MURRAY 16 Astor Theatre EBONY BONES 16 Chevron Festival Gardens AUSTRA 17 Chevron Festival Gardens DJ FOOD, DJ CHEEBA, DJ MONEYSHOT 18 Chevron Festival Gardens

EYEHATEGOD, JANUARY 16 OKKERVIL RIVER 19 Chevron Festival Gardens OLAFUR ARNALDS & KEATON HENSON 20 Chevron Festival Gardens DON WALKER 21 Clancy’s Fremantle 22 Civic Hotel 23 Fremantle Arts Centre DAUGHN GIBSON & OWL EYES 21 Chevron Festival Gardens POND, AAA AARDVARK GETDOWN SERVICES, FELICITY GROOM, THE SILENTS, DJ LADY CARLA 22 Chevron Festival Gardens ALTAN 23 Chevron Festival Gardens WIRE 24 Chevron Festival Gardens SETS ON THE BEACH 23 Scarborough Beach CHARLES BRADLEY 25 Chevron Festival Gardens MADELEINE PEYROUX 26 Chevron Festival Gardens ROBERT GLASPER EXPERIMENT 27 Chevron Festival Gardens DOLLY PARTON 27 Perth Arena NEKO CASE 27 Fly By Night Club PUBLIC ENEMY 28 Chevron Festival Gardens BRUNO MARS 28 Perth Arena MARCH MIKHAEL PASKALEV 1 Chevron Festival Gardens KERSER 1 Metro City FUTURE MUSIC Deadmau5, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Phoenix, Hardwell, Knife Party, Eric Prydz, Rudimental, Tinie Tempah, Chase & Status 2 Arena Joondalup LIONEL RICHIE & JOHN FARNHAM 2 Sandalford Winery Swan Valley THE WONDER STUFF 2 Rosemount Hotel SOUNDWAVE Green Day, Stone Temple Pilots, Alice In Chains, Rob Zombie, Megadeth, Placebo and more!

3 Claremont Showgrounds GOODLIFE FESTIVAL Deadmau5, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Hardwell, Rudimental, Knife Party, Kaskade, Porter Robinson 3 Arena Joondalup BRIAN MCKNIGHT 7 Riverside Theatre

BILLY BRAGG 8 Perth Concert Hall GOLD PANDA 9 The Bakery QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE & NINE INCH NAILS 11 Perth Arena JOSH PYKE 12 Quarry Amphitheatre THE ANGELS, DIESEL & MI-SEX 14 Graham Bricknell Music Shell, Bunbury SONGS IN THE KEY OF MOTOWN 14 Astor Theatre NEIL FINN 16 Perth Concert Hall THE ROLLING STONES 19 Perth Arena ABSU & PORTAL 20 Amplifier Bar ILLY 21 Capitol KATE MILLER-HEIDKE 21 - 22 Quarry Amphitheatre SEBADOH 25 Rosemount Hotel DARK TRANQUILLITY & ORPHEUS OMEGA 25 Capitol 30 SECONDS TO MARS 25 Challenge Stadium HUNTER & COLLECTORS 29 (sold-out) & 30 Kings Park & Botanical Garden KRIS KRISTOFFERSON 30 Red Hill Auditorium APRIL PACOPENA 2 Perth Concert Hall WEST COAST BLUES N ROOTS Matt Corby, Michael Franti, John Mayer, Dave Matthews Band, Doobie Brothers, Boy & Bear 13 Fremantle Park BOZ SCAGGS 14 Crown Theatre TOXIC HOLOCAUST & SKELETONWITCH 18 Rosemount Hotel MICHAEL BUBLE 26 & 27 Perth Arena MAY LEE KERNAGHAN 9 Crown Theatre JASON DERULO 10 Perth Arena ARCTIC MONKEYS 13 Perth Arena PETULA CLARK 17 Perth Concert Hall SEPTICFLESH & FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE 18 Amplifier THE ENGLISH BEAT 23 Rosemount Hotel ELLIE GOULDING 28 Challenge Stadium JUNE JAMES BLUNT 13 Riverside Theatre BASTILLE 18 Challenge Stadium KEITH URBAN 29 Perth Arena

TO U R TA L E S

THE BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE YouTube DJ Ridiculously prolific cult rockers The Brian Jonestown Massacre play The Astor Theatre next Tuesday, December 10, with support from The KVB. That was as good an excuse as any for TRAVIS JOHNSON to have chat with lead singer Anton Newcombe.

Anton Newcombe, erstwhile focal point of Frisco psychedelic outfit, the Brian Jonestown Massacre, has a reputation for two things: he’s a crazily productive songwriter and musician (BJM have north of 20 albums and EPs under their belt since 1993) and he doesn’t suffer fools lightly. Since he’s sounding a bit frazzled it seems germane to ask if now is a good time. As it turns out, perhaps unsurprisingly, he’s in the final stretches of writing yet another album.

“I’m working on this record and I’m about two songs short of saying, ‘Okay, that could be an album.’ you know?” he says, not pausing for a reply. “But I don’t know what those songs sound like, so it’s hard! If I was the type of person who said, ‘Okay, I should just make up a Jesus And Mary Chain sounding song and add some distortion right here, and rip off Paul McCartney And Wings over here or something, ABBA...’ then I’d have an idea and I’d be done in minutes, but I don’t really have an idea. The songs are all coming out one at a time and they’re kind of different - they’re in groups.

Like, three of them will go together and then the next three will go together and then I can see how another three will go together, but none of them really fit together in a great way. It’s weird. This is real tough time for me, because I’m usually prolific.

This has been a two month ordeal.”

Part of the problem, he feels, is a sudden shift in gears brought on by outside forces.

Recently, he’s been dabbling in genres far afield from the Brian Jonestown sound, and retraining his brain to work in the band’s paradigm has thrown him a little. “The past year before this, I was writing stuff using my old keyboards, using these old Korgs and stuff, which is like what The Human League

used in the early ‘80s. I was running free, writing all this weird hybrid music, but the thing is, is that none of it sounded like Brian Jonestown Massacre - and I wasn’t really concerned with that. I was just making music for the joy of it. I wasn’t trying to break into the DJ/house thing or whatever it is - I was just making music. So then they said I had to make a record if I wanted to tour Australia, if I wanted to tour Europe again coming into our springtime. So that kinda really screwed with my head a little because I’d rather just make up songs.”

It seems that market forces hold sway even over the staunchly independent Newcombe and company, an observation with which the man ruefully agrees. “I’m my own record company and everyone tells me that I could do anything I want to do, that I could do everything I want to do in life.”

He barks laughter. “Oh my God! A little bit. It’s the imaginary consumer in my head - I want people to be happy. But I understand how the world is and how disparaging things can be for certain people.

You can make a great record and watch somebody like Katy Perry just go, ‘Okay, here’s my next music video coming at 12 o’clock!’ and get 35 million people just to spin that thing, you know?

He sighs. “I’ll be lucky in a hundred years if that many people have ever heard my music.”

Newcombe clearly has an affinity for musical underdogs. When asked if he has any obscure artists he thinks people ought to check out, he instead encourages fans to spread a wide net. “I would rather just encourage people to look.

I don’t use Spotify but I guess that’s made it easier for people to find likeminded artists and stuff, but I would encourage people to tread that path that’s less travelled, you know what I mean? I’ll scour through YouTube and it just requires that you have a head for it and an ear for it and pay attention. I’m really into international music too, but this other stuff; not international music like ‘here’s Kwaambi playing with Paul Simon’ or here’s the guy from Gorillaz bringing in whatever it is from Central Africa. I mean international stuff like Turkish rock from the ‘70s - some really good sounding records.

I’d die to be able to play those songs. They’re not so far out from a Western perspective, that stuff.”

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

35

GIG GUIDE

AXE GIRL/THE ODD FELLOW SATURDAY 7 WEDNESDAY 04/12

AMPLIFIER Academy Punk Party The Decline Blindspot 88 To Yesterday Being Beta BAR 120 Felix BAR ORIENT Karaoke THE BIRD Soultrain BRASS MONKEY Sugar Blue Burlesque CARINE Open Mic Night Chris Gibbs CLAREMONT HOTEL Acoustica GREENWOOD Bernardine ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Bronwynn Sprogowski Russell Holmes Freddie Grigson Pete Jeavons GROOVE BAR (CROWN) 5 Shots INDI BAR Songwriter Sessions Natasha Shanks LOBBY LOUNGE (CROWN) Decoy Duo LUCKY SHAG Howie Morgan MOJOS BAR The N.b.C. Badger & The Fox Leah Emily Grant Emily Toms MOON CAFÉ Going Solo Joni & Tara Jamie Mykaela Mai Barnes MUSTANG BAR Easy Tigers DJ James MacArthur OCEAN ONE BAR Lee Schneider Kal Englishby Turin Robinson Andy Newman PADDO Trojan John Rob Hinton Joanna Carron-Brown ROSEMOUNT Cedron El Capitan Dyatlov Pending The Silence Sail On! Sail On!

THURSDAY 05/12 AMANI WINE BAR Live Jazz Night BALMORAL Howie Morgan BAR ORIENT Open Mic Night THE BIRD Eerie Serpent Rabbit Island Rich Widow We Move Walls BRASS MONKEY Rhythm Bound Karaoke BRIGHTON Open Mic Night Rob Walker THE BROOK Open Mic Night Chris Gibbs BROOKLANDS TAVERN Celebrations Karaoke CAPITOL The Bamboos OXBVLD THE CAUSEWAY BAR Xport Thursdays DEVILLES PAD Rock n’ Roll Karaoke DUNSBOROUGH TAVERN Open Mic Night Pat Nicholson ELEPHANT AND WHEELBARROW Wax Lyrical Open Mic Night Serge Sharrinovsky Distant Sun ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Jazz for Cancer Fundraiser FREMANTLE ARTS CENTRE Mia Dyson Liz Stringer Jen Cloher

SHT PANTHER

SHY PANTHER Leon Osborn, Jack Doepel Friday, December 6, The Bird

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

BLACK STONE FROM THE SUN SWAN BASEMENT/SATURDAY 7

SWINGING PIG Open Mic Night Greg Carter UNIVERSAL Retriofit THE VIC Leighton Keepa VILLAGE BAR Village People - Open Mic YAYA’S The Itch Dallas Royal We Move Walls Children

LOCAL GIG

36

DOWNLOAD OUR FREE EVENTS GUIDE APP

THE GATE Greg Carter GROOVE BAR (CROWN) Decoy INDI BAR Bex’s Open Mic Night LANEWAY LOUNGE Adam Hall & The Velvet Playboys MOJOS BAR Matt Gresham MUSTANG BAR Badger & The Fox Apache Lioniser DJ James MacArthur NEWPORT HOTEL Easy Tigers NORTH FREMANTLE BOWLS CLUB The String Beans PERTH ARENA Alicia Keys John Legend ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Ol’ Bouginvillea Lantana Santa Muerte Kortisol SETTLERS TAVERN Acoustic Open Mic Night Claire Warnock UNIVERSAL Off The Record THE VIC Harry Moore YAYA’S Amberdown Sun Tied Down Hostile Little Face FRIDAY 06/12

AMPLIFIER Circles Chaos Divine Serial Killer Smile This Other Eden THE BAKERY Mia Dyson Liz Stringer Jen Cloher BALMORAL Mike Nayar BEAT NIGHTCLUB (UPSTAIRS) Punktured Faim Blindspot Them Sharks Lowlight One Last Thing The Black Fridays BEAT NIGHTCLUB (DOWNSTAIRS) PLAY BELGIAN BEER CAFÉ Roger Roger BELMONT TAVERN Electrophobia BEST DROP TAVERN Tandem THE BIRD Shy Panther Leon Osborn Jack Doepel BRASS MONKEY Jamie Powers THE BROOKLANDS TAVERN Cheek2Cheek THE CARINE Velvet CHASE BAR & BISTRO James Wilson CITRO BAR Dove

BADGER & THE FOX/MUSTANG BAR THURSDAY 5

CIVIC BACKROOM Blow n Up 2: The Next Episode Zeke Papa Flava Lil Statik Jamahl Ryder Flewnt Big Sexy Black Poet Bryte KP Razzy Mak Blasé Illuzionz Kurswe of Perth Yazza Dylo COMO HOTEL Fiona Lawe Davis CRUISING YACHT CLUB Barry Gee DEVILLES PAD Twin Beasts La Bastard EAST 150 BAR Jonny Dempsey ELEPHANT AND WHEELBARROW Gunshy Romeos ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Penny King Quintet Sam and Jo EMPIRE BAR Trevor Jalla FAIRLANES AMPHITHEATRE Stella Donnelly THE FLY BY NIGHT Motown & Soul Night FLYRITE Kučka Crack Ronson FREMANTLE RECORDING STUDIO Nodes Pimps OF Sounds Methyl Ethel K-Town Zorbs THE GATE Dirty Scoundrels GOSNELLS HOTEL Chris Gibbs Trio THE GREENWOOD Acoustic Flavour GROOVE BAR (CROWN) Tod Johnston & Peace Love HYDE PARK HOTEL Acoustic Aly INDI BAR Vdelli INDIAN OCEAN BREWING COMPANY Harry Moore KALAMUNDA HOTEL Subject 2 Change Stone Bleeder Black Ink Conan Chapman LANEWAY LOUNGE Stella Donnelly Just For The Night MAHOGANY INN Justin METRO FREO Melvins The Love Junkies The Devil Rides Out MOJOS BAR Fisherman Style Earthlink Sound Simmo T Corby Sorted Fireside Imperial

MUSTANG Adam Hall & the Velvet Playboys Swing DJ Cheeky Monkeys DJ James MacArthur NEWPORT HOTEL Karaoke Classic THE ODD FELLOW (NORFOLK BASEMENT) The Soul Purpose DJ’s vs InI Sound PADDO Easy Tigers PADDY MAGUIRES Madam Montage PORT KENNEDY TAVERN One Trick Phonies PRINCE OF WALES Shihad THE PRINCIPAL Light Street ROCKET ROOM Kickstart ROLEYSTONE COUNTRY CLUB Monique Serpel ROSIE O’GRADYS FREMANTLE Pump ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Black Birds Foam Hideous Sun Demon John Martyr’s Ghost SAIL AND ANCHOR Ansell SOUTH ST ALEHOUSE Robbie King Karaoke SPRINGS TAVERN Die Hard Karaoke SWAN HOTEL (LOUNGE) Nucleust LightShift Social Madness Gone By Morning SWAN HOTEL (BASEMENT) Grave Forsaken Falloway Right Now Lizzie Lambie UNIVERSAL Nightmoves WINSTERSUN HOTEL Warwick Trant YAYA’S Ballroom Massacre V The Shakeys Scalphunter Medicine SATURDAY 07/12 AMPLIFIER Whitley Seagull ASTOR THEATRE Slanted & Enchanted Deerhunter Metz The John Steel Singers Cave Fabulous Diamonds Perth Sugarpuss Runner Cow Parade Cow Mt Mountain BALMORAL Retriofit THE BAKERY Slanted & Enchanted Jon Hopkins LE1F Kelpe Lower Spectrum Mathas Diger Rokwell Craig Hollywood

Deadline Monday 5pm. The Gig-Guide is a service to advertisers listing all LIVE MUSIC. All inclusions are at the discretion of X-Press. Email guide@xpressmag.com.au

CHAOS DIVINE/AMPLIFIER FRIDAY 6

BEAT NIGHTCLUB (UPSTAIRS) CANVAS BEAT NIGHTCLUB (DOWNSTAIRS) Runaways Scab Eater Helta Skelta Circle One Flesh Police Nervous Trend BELGIAN BEER CAFE Mike Nayar BELVOIR AMPHITHEATRE City & Colour/Twin Forks BIRD BeatDown BOAB TAVERN Chill Divine THE BROOK Light Street THE BROOKLANDS TAVERN The Hitman THE CIVIC BACKROOM Zemlja CLANCYS FREMANTLE SOL-R Band THE CLAREMONT HOTEL ANTICS The Flower Drums Rum Punch Catbrush DJ Lukas Wimmler CRAFTSMAN GrooVe EAST 150 BAR Jean Proude ELEPHANT AND WHEELBARROW Blue Hornet ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB James Flynn with The Graham Wood Quartet Pimps Of Sound FLY BY NIGHT An Odesssey Of Opulence Sugar Blue Burlesque THE GATE Greg Carter GOSNELLS HOTEL Pretty Fly GREENWOOD Cargo Beat HYDE PARK HOTEL Howie Morgan Project INDI BAR Twin Beats INDIAN OCEAN BREWING CO Shawne & Luc KINGS PARK Jack Johnson KULCHA Ensemble Formidable LAKERS TAVERN Celebrations Karaoke METRO CITY Metric Glass Towers MOJOS BAR Jack On Fire La Bastard The Leap Year MERRIWA TAVERN Celebrations Karaoke M ON THE POINT Rhythm 22 MUSTANG Rusty & The Dragstrip Trio DJ Holly Doll Milhouse

LA BASTARD/YAYA’S SUNDAY 8

DJ James MacArthur NEWPORT HOTEL Gravity Tahli Jade THE ODD FELLOW (NORFOLK BASEMENT) Axe Girl Yokohomos KT Rumble PADDO Cheeky Monkeys PARAMOUNT NIGHTCLUB Felix PEEL ALE HOUSE Michael Battersby PORT KENNEDY TAVERN Anthony Buttaccioc QUARIE BAR & BISTRO One Trick Phonies RAILWAY HOTEL Asylum Of Grindmas Genocidal Got Sharks Facegrinder Fetus Fertilizer Epileptic Shit RED HILL AUDITORIUM Natural NZ Music Festival Kora Shihad Tiki Taane Home Brew Stan Walker 1814 Nesian Mystik Optimus Gryme Mc Tiki DJ Sir-Vere Tali Mike King Box Party ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Kylesa Bayou ROSIE O’GRADY’S FREMANTLE Flava SAIL & ANCHOR Better Days THE SHED Huge SOUTH ST ALE HOUSE Robbie King Karaoke SWAN HOTEL (LOUNGE) The NBC Shannon Lethbridge Leah Emily Grant Emrys Merlin SWAN HOTEL (BASEMENT) Black Stone From The Sun The Itch Mad Rabbit Tell The Shaman SWINGING PIG CoverUp Greg Carter UNIVERSAL Soul Corporation YAYA’S Tourist Dilip ‘n’ The Davs The Gypsie Howls SUNDAY 08/12

ASTOR THEATRE Chic & Nile Rodgers BALMORAL Kim Chrurchill

Andrew Winton BELGIAN BEER CAFÉ The Monte Christos BELMONT TAVERN Dove BIRD Sunday Sound Selections THE BRIGHTON Ali Hill BROOKLANDS TAVERN Gerry Azor THE CAUSEWAY Accoustic Sunday THE CARINE Acoustic ALy CIVIC HOTEL Jonny Dempsey COMO HOTEL Velvet CLANCY’S FREMANTLE The Zydecats DUNSBOROUGH TAVERN Kris Buckle ELEPHANT AND WHEELBARROW Desert Bells ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Masina Miller Tribute to Carole King THE FLY TRAP (FLY

BY NIGHT) Stage Fright Open Mic Night THE GATE Ryan Webb HYDE PARK HOTEL Mike Nayar INDI BAR Rick Steele INDIAN OCEAN BREW CO Retriofit KALAMUNDA HOTEL Alitia Martin LAKERS TAVERN Wesley Goodlet Jamboree Scouts LANGFORD ALE HOUSE Frank G LOBBY LOUNGE (CROWN) Hale & Pacemaker METRO FREO Insane Clown Posse M ON THE POINT Electrophobia MOJOS BAR Whitley Seagull MULLALOO BEACH HOTEL Sunday Cider Sessions Kenny L & Guests Ricky Green MUSTANG Tailgate Sundays Chainsaw Hookers Legs Electric Blind Spot Silver Foxes DJ Holly Doll NEWPORT HOTEL Nevsky Prospekt The Lunettes Lantana OLD MYER ROOFTOP, FREMANTLE Dave’s Can Opening Party Hugo Gerani and Jack Doepel Leon Osborn and Nora Zion

WE MOVE WALLS/THE BIRD THURSDAY 5

The Savoir Organization Ben M and Ben Taaffe Rex Monsoon Nik Ridik b2b Maria Mendes PEEL ALE HOUSE Sophie Jane PERTH ARENA Justin Bieber RAILWAY HOTEL Mr. And Sunbird The Regular Hunters Simon Kelly and the Bamboos Matt Cal Trio Tashi Hall Lucy Peach ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Kataklysm Gotsu-Totsu-Kotsu Animistic QUARIE BAR & BISTRO Damien Gibbs THE SAINT Howie Morgan Project SEAVIEW TAVERN Jean Proude SOUTH ST ALEHOUSE Blackhart & Strangelove SWAN BASEMENT Gravity Punch Severity One Social Madness Psyhcokinetic SWINGING PIG The Hitman Dean Anderson UNIVERSAL Retrofit WANNEROO TAVERN Adam James WHISTLING KITE James Wilson YAYA’S La Bastard Cal Peck and the Tramps Hayley Beth MONDAY 09/12

BRASS MONKEY Wire Birds XBOX Mondays ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Piece of Walter Bob Buildings MOJOS BAR Wide Open Mic MUSTANG BAR

Triple Shots THE SAINT Celebration Karaoke YAYA’S Big Tommo’s Open Mic Night TUESDAY 10/12

ASTOR THEATRE The Brian Jonestown Massacre BRASS MONKEY Open Mic Night Josh Terlick THE BIRD Barefaced Stories THE COURT Open Mic Night THE CRAIGIE TAVERN Open Mic Night ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Roger Garrood Quartet GROOVE BAR (CROWN) Jack & Jill KALAMUNDA HOTEL Open Mic Anthony Kay LOBBY LOUNGE (CROWN) Hans Fiance LUKCY SHAG Howie Morgan MERRIWA TAVERN Celebrations Karaoke MOJOS BAR Thunderdogs Mind Canary Louis Inglis Mai Barnes MUSTANG BAR Danza Loca Salsa Night YAYA’S Fresh Jams Aborted Tortoise Stealth Bush Alien Imajad Matthew Waring

LOCAL GIG

BLACKBIRDS

BLACK BIRDS Foam, Hideous Sun Demon, John Martyr’s Ghost Saturday, December 7, The Rosemount Hotel

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

37

MUSIC GEAR & TECHNOLOGY

FOR SALE HEADPHONES all brands & styles. 23 Harrogate Street, West Leederville. Contact Headphonic 08 93886333 headphones.com.au MUSOS WANTED GUITARIST WANTED for cover/original band Bluprint. Pro gear a must. Infl: Tool, QOTSA, Karnivool etc. Call Jarrod on 0424 448 289 MALE VOCALIST REQUIRED to join female vocalist in top working corporate band. Exp with commercial pop hits from 70’s -80’s to 00’s essential - send details to russ@iinet.net. au or SMS details to 0408 915 571 OPEN MIC NIGHT every Thursday night at Indi Bar. Just call Bex on 0404 917 632.

PHOTOGRAPHY PROJECT PHOTOGRAPHY Promo photography, studio, live, location. Mike Wylie 0417 975 964 www.projectphotography.com When its time to ice the cake...

PRODUCTION SERVICES BAND PA’S WITH PERSONAL ENGINEER Hire Premium Brands & Service Yo u r m u s i c i s o u r p a s s i o n !

Will travel 0412 247 247 CD & DVD MANUFACTURE Check out our latest CD & DVD specials online at www.procopy.com.au 9375 3902 DISK BANK Perth’s premier CD & DVD manufacturer, with options for all budgets.

(08) 9388 0800. www.diskbank.com.au/ specials.

FREE DELIVERY, SETUP & PACKDOWN Sound, Lighting & Projec tor hire.

Personal Service, Premium Gear, Eftpos.

Complete Package 0412 247 247 MATRIX PRODUCTIONS AUSTRALIA Lighting, staging, sound systems, smoke machines, night club FX, intelligent lighting, strobes & mirror balls, crowd barriers, video projectors.

9371 1551 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 FREMANTLE RECORDING STUDIOS now offering FREE consultations. Mention this ad to get 1/2 priced recording session.

Call 0415 738 155 GOLDDUST Production Mixing, recording and composition. Leederville $80 p/h.

0408 097 407 POONS HEAD MASTERING Analog Master.

TAPE, TUBES & TRANSFORMERS. Clients include: Melody’s Echo Chamber, Pond, Gossling, Knife Party, Felicity Groom, The Floors, Jeff Martin & The Panics. World class facility. World class results. www.poonshead. com 9339 4791 RECORDING MIXING MASTERING PRODUCING Fremantle location. Call Pete Kitchen Cooked Records. Ph 0407 363 764 / 9336 3764

38

REVOLVER SOUND STUDIO Ph 9272 7505. www.revolverstudio.com.au SONGWRITERS AND BANDS! - 30TH ANNIVERSARY DISCOUNTS! UNLOCK YOUR SONG’S POTENTIAL! FREE APPRAISALS. UK Producer, 40,000+ hours studio experience, 20 yrs in London. Kicking arrangements. Great studio and the ability to really listen will give your material the edge you need. Call Jerry on 0405 653 338 or visit www.jerichomusic. com.au REHEARSAL STUDIOS AAA VHS REHEARSAL ROOMS Great facilities, great vibe & great price!!! Unit 5 /16 Peel Road, O’Connor. Phone 9418 5815 or 0413 732 885 BIGBEAT SOUND STUDIO Clean rooms, all new PA systems, air-con and good parking .

Willetton Ph: 0425 698 117.

PLATINUM SOUND ROOMS Professional rehearsal rooms, airconditioned, quality PAs mob 0418 944 722 STREAM STUDIO’S 89 Stirling St, Perth.

Mobile: 0403 152 009 info@streamrehearsal. com.au STUDIO ZED Rehearsal studio & Recording studio, specials available. Nollamara. studiozed.net au Ph Tory 9207 2072 VISION REHEARSAL Perth’s premier rehearsal facilities. Visit www.visionstudios.com.au for all info. East Vic Park. Email rehearsal@ visionstudios.com.au or call 0432 034 122 TUITION ***GUITAR LESSONS - XMAS VOUCHERS AVAIL Give the gift of music. Beg to adv, all styles. Catering to WAAPA and AMEB standards. All tutors have WWC clearance. Cliff Lynton Guitar Institute. Mt Lawley 9342 3484 / www.clifflynton.com BASS GUITAR LESSONS AVAILABLE by WAAPA tutor. A practicle approach to learning. .All styles.Years of experience. Tony Gibbs 9470 6131 GUITARWORKS TUITION OPEN DAY New studios open for viewing. Info on lessons/ music syllabus/guitars and gear. Open Sat 7th Dec from 8.30am to 5pm. For more info call 041 444 8907 guitarworks@iinet.net.au

|

CLASSIFIEDS

DIG INTO DASH7 Leave it to a former NASA Engineer to produce one of the coolest portable speakers on the market.

Soundmatters was formed by a Dr Godehard Guenther and they've just announced that they'll be shipping what they claim is the world's slimmest, lightest, hi-fi Bluetooth speaker, the Foxl Dash7.

Three quarters of an inch high, the Dash7 is beautifully designed and fits easily into any pocket or purse. Available in red, black, white and platinum, it's a stylish number that also doesn't compromise on sound quality and power. It boasts omnidirectional sound, an extended Bluetooth range, comes with a combination case and stand and is compatible with the foxLO powered travel subwoofer. Head to foxl.com.au for more details.

Foxl Dash7

YUMMY SUMMER FROM YAMAHA Our friends at Yamaha are currently running a pretty impressive competition which offers you the chance to win one of five massive summer music packs valued at around the $1300RRP mark. Whether you fancy yourself a guitarist, a drummer, a keyboard wizard or just plan on chilling at the beach over the holidays, the Sounds Of Summer competition has a pack to suit you.

Just Like the Yamaha Music Australia Facebook page and follow the instructions to throw your hat in the ring.

MAD SAVINGS ON MIPRO Until the end of December, Perth Audiovisual are offering 30 per cent off a matching new MiPro model whenever you trade in a preowned radio operating system operating on the not-long-for-public-consumption 694-820MHz spectrum. They’ll accept any working wireless audio equipment operating in the range soon to taken over by digital services as Australia transitions out of analogue television broadcast.

Any gear still operating in that spectrum is going to dead weight after the changeover, so this represents a perfect way to squeeze some extra value out of what will be, for most, a mandatory equipment changeover. Go to perthav.com.au for details, as well as a complete fact sheet on the frequency shift.

CLASSIFIEDS

SENNHEISER SHAKES UP GAMING Just in time for the launch of the new generation of gaming consoles (the PS4 and the X-Box One for those living under a rock), the good folks at Sennheiser have unveiled two new gaming headsets. Teaming up with Io-Interactive, they’ve created the G4ME ZERO and G4ME ONE, both specifically engineered to suit the needs of the hardcore gamer. Special attention has been paid to ergonomics, with long-term wear in mind for those who marathon their online ass-kicking. With an RRP starting at $369.95, you’re definitely going to want to head over to sennheiser.com.au for a closer look.

Sennheiser G4ME ONE

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

39

40

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU