Uhh yeah, we tried to do a James Bond theme. And kinda failed... I still like it though!
So, everyone here in Melbourne (the home of Arcady) is having a cup fever at the moment. The Melbourne Cup that is. For those that doesn't know - you're better off not knowing.
I don't know about the rest of the country, but it's pretty much a week where people take work off, dress up, get drunk and watch horses go around in circles. By two hours in, all the girls have champagne all down their $500 dress, have a champagne glass in one hand, their stilletos in the other (WHY would you wear stilletos on a grassy area is beyond me), and their $300 hat/headress falling off their bleached hair.
Yeah, I'm bitter. But I'll be spending the next month (at least) designing around said event. Try and deep etch a $1600 hat full of feathers... And if after that you're still not sick of spring racing, then you're not human.
Enough about that... I should end this in a more positive note and something to do with music...
Summer is looking good, doesn't it boys and girls? Many festivals abound. And one which I'm most excited about? Big Day Out! For bringing Arcade Fire (with the huge possibility of Final Fantasy coming out with them) and Bjork. It will be epic. And I shall see you there.
Olivia Desianti Editor/Creative Director
MAILING LIST
by Kate Walton
Top Five Most Inescapable Remixes at Indie Clubs Around the Nation Currently
5. The Rakes - We Danced Together (SebastiAn Remix)
4. Metric - Monster Hospital (MSTRKRFT Remix)
3. Death From Above 1979 - Romantic Rights (The Phones Lovers Remix)
2. Feist - 1234 (VanShe Tech Remix)
1. The Gossip - Standing In The Way Of Control (Soulwax Nite Version)
Top Five Remixes that Deserve to be Inescapable
Not that the others aren't awesome - in fact, most of them are nothing but awesome - but hey, variety never hurt anyone, right?
At first there were two of them, now there is one of them. Ex-Mclusky bassist, Jonathan Chapple tells all about Shooting At Unarmed Men
Hey, how are you?
Fine, thank you. How’s you goin’? (that’s my best ozzie slang in text format)
Why are you now living in Melbourne? Is it because of the Rock City thing?
Came for a chick, got my band going, chick got cold feet, band kept going, found new chick, still got band, still got chick.
How do you like living in Australia as compared to Wales?
Absolutely love it. Better weather. Good food. Great exchange rate. Absolutely hate it. Cause I don’t have my family here.
Why the name Shooting At Unarmed Men?
Sounds cool. And people always mishear it, so end up asking for it to be repeated, which means that a higher percentage must remember it, probably. Repetition is the key to education. That might just be nonsense.
Does the Welsh version of Shooting At Unarmed Men still exist? It does not, there can only be one version of the band at a time. I had the idea once to keep two versions going but decided that it was utterly arrogant and egotistical.
For those that haven’t heard of you, how would you describe your sound?
Angry nerd punk rock.
How does Triptych differ from the other albums you’ve done?
More spite, more hate, more muscle, more resentment, more depth, more breadth, more guts, more gumption.
How did Triptych get its name?
It’s our third album, it was the third inception of S.A.U.M, we are a three piece. So calling the album Triptych and releasing the album over three discs made a great deal of sense.
How did you get the idea of structuring it like you have?
See above.
Why did you really leave Mclusky?
Flummoxed by the use of “really” in that question, what lies do you think you have heard and would you share them with me, for a chuckle. I left Mclusky because it was making me ill. I felt physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted.
Do you miss it?
Too broad of a question. I miss some parts of it, but the parts that I miss I now do with S.A.U.M.
Why don’t you and Falco talk anymore?
Nothing to say to one another I guess.
If Jack Egglestone wanted to join Shooting At Unarmed Men, would you let him? That’s the best gossip question I’ve ever been asked. Our drummer probably wouldn’t be happy if I let Jack join, though he is a fantastic drummer, but hey, so’s ours.
Mclusky fans can be likened to the At The Drive-In fans in the way that they worshipped you adoringly and then were shocked with a sudden split. Have you found that they’re still as loving or are there still some in denial?
I would have to research the answer to that question with surveys, clip boards, afternoon coffee meetings, secret trysts and pie charts. Quick answer would be, I have no clue.
Back to the Shooting At Unarmed Men questions now. How did you come to write two albums within seven months of each other?
Out of necessity and a self imposed time frame. Plus, we had the opportunity to, who would say no???
How did you come to work with Tom Cooper and Julian Tovey?
Jules and Coops were the only people to respond to my request for band mates. They have since moved on, so now I’m playing with Chris Drane (drums) and Richie Brain (bass), whom I met in the course of my daily living and both of whom became my closest allies in all aspects of life.
What’s next for Shooting At Unarmed Men?
Going to be touring Oz, then next Feb we start a three month tour of the U.S, U.K, and E.U. plus we want to write another album in the interim. I’d love to start a cult religion after that, based on the consumption of fruit. I love fruit.
Thanks for your time Jonathan!
HOPE THAT'S OKAY.
CHEERS
JON
Amy Dorozenko
Shooting At Unarmed Men will be joining The Mint Chicks and Group Seizure at the US vs LIMP on the 26th of October, held in Roxanne Parlour in Melbourne.
We have a double pass to give away as well as two drink cards! All you need to do is make sure you're in our mailing list and fill this in!
The best answer wins. So be creative and tell all your friends to enter as well!
Winner will be notified by email on the 24th of October.
So he's back from touring Edinburgh and whatnot after winning the Age Critic's Award for Best Australian Act. Fellow comedian, Josh Earl, welcomes Lawrence Leung by challenging him to a breakdance battle.
Hello Lawrence, You're in Edinburgh at the minute but by the time this comes out you will have finished that and done a season in London, can you pretend that it's already happened and tell us how you went?
I feel like I have done a world tour. It started in July with the Melbourne Comedy Festival Roadshow tour in Singapore, then 25 shows nightly in Edinburgh, then 8 shows in London (some dates were two shows a night), then a stand up gig at the Australian Embassy in Tokyo.
Edinburgh was fantastic. The Fringe is like the Olympics of the arts and performance world - the best new shows from all around the world perform in every little nook and cranny of the city. I managed to see some really inspiring comedy and theatre (and also some absolute crap). I performed in a room with a chandelier and shared a dressing room with a Motown-crooning boy band. My foppish friend and fellow Melbourne comic Andrew McClelland was in a room that had such bad ventilation that he almost fainted from heat exhaustion every night.
Considering the average audience per show across the festival is rumoured to be six, most of us Aussie comedians did great. My show sold out on weekends, received some sweet reviews and one night had cheerleaders from the Edinburgh Vixens joining me on-stage for a dance routine that would rival Napolean Dynamite. I also somehow survived the late night partying and bad Scottish food.
London was, well London. Big, flashy, busy and great fun. I performed at the Soho Theatre which is a cool joint surrounded by bars in the West End of London. It’s a home to cutting-edge new theatre and big UK comedians… and me! My entire run sold out and I had to add extra shows (two shows a night in the end). I am exhausted.
I love this job. It’s very tiring and exciting at the same time. This is closest I'll get to feeling like I'm in a touring rock band, although I'm probably more Sufjan Steven than Arctic Monkeys. In the comedy world, I’m often the only one ordering green tea when everyone else is drinking pints of lager.
For those who don't know, you're a comedian/writer/all around good guy. Can you please tell ARCADY readers a little history of Lawrence Leung and what it is you do? I tell stories and jokes. Mostly I’m obscure, whimsical or nerdy.
On 3RRR’s breakfast radio show in Melbourne I have a regular segment where I talk about any obscure tit-bit I find fascinating. Often I feel guilty bombarding listeners with true facts that I find interesting when they just want to chow down on cereal. (Did you know there’s a beautiful Victorian-era shopping arcade with mosaic tiles and ornate archways hidden beneath seedy Smith Street in Collingwood?)
I also write stunts for a telly show called “The Chaser’s War On Everything”. Did anyone actually watch Season One last year? Remember Chas in a suit of armour trying to get through a metal detector and diving into a swimming pool. That was based on one of mine. Earlier this year, I did a rare acting cameo as the Purple Teletubby that tried to get into The Peel gay nightclub.
I’m best known for telling hour-long solo comedy shows that, I suppose, resemble documentaries more than stand up comedy. I mean they have lots of jokes and are about me (comics tend to be self-indulgent).
If you could write a letter to yourself five years ago what would you tell yourself not to do?
“Dear Lawrence,
don’t over-analyse everything.”
And what would it say to do?
“And remember to register the domain name Facebook.com”
In your show Lawrence Leung Learns to Breakdance, you talked about your older brother being an influence on your music tastes, and seeing as Arcady is "all about the music man!", what music do you listen to? I tend to listen to a lot of melancholic indie pop. I really like the Postal Service and Sufjan Stevens. Lately I have been playing Final Fantasy on constant rotation on my MP3 player. It’s the side project of Owen Pallett who does the string arrangements for the Arcade Fire. “This is the Dream of Win and Regine” is the best song to listen to when walking home after someone has stood you up on your date at the roller disco.
Do you eat breakfast?
No. I eat brunch.
That sounded really cool, like an action movie hero “NO, I eat brunch!”
With each season of LL learns to Breakdance are you getting better at it?
Better at breakdancing, you mean?
Yes.
Well, no.
In issue four of ARCADY I said that I would beat you in a breakdance battle, are you prepared to have a dance off against me, with the winner getting the girl, ridiculing the star quarter back and then teaching everyone a lesson in tolerance? Bring it on, floppy fringe librarian-boy.
Josh Earl
If you're in Melbourne, and you missed out on his show last time, you can catch Lawrence Leung at the Melbourne Fringe Festival.
WHEN: 12th Oct & 13th Oct
WHERE: Lithuanian Club, North Melbourne
747s could be described as a world band, or at least a European band in the literal sense, hailing from Ireland, England, Italy and Germany and having met each other over several countries whilst busking, their line up and repertoire slowly growing into a ‘band'.
I’m sure the booze and drug fuelled “characters” of Collingwood keep stealing CDs from my post box, as yet again I enter an interview with an artist whose album I never received. Never mind, it’s making for interesting conversations as both parties struggle to make sense of each other, and at least all the local junkies are gaining a healthy and varied taste in music.
Through the wonders of modern technology and a nine hour time difference I spoke to Irish lead vocalist Oisin about the band, their globe trotting feet and fingers and the release of their debut album, Zampano.
Do you recommend busking as way for aspiring musicians to get ahead? Yes and no, it’s way of getting out there, gaining confidence in front of an audience, but you might also lose your focus. Should great songwriters be out there playing covers, or originals to a crowd that don’t get or understand it?
Where are your favourite places to busk?
Naples, Via Romo; Dublin, Grafton St; Liverpool, Church St.
And what about favourite venues?
Cambridge, Liverpool, Scotland. They’ve always been very ‘Fuck You’ in Scotland.
Do you make a living from music?
Yes. When I buy my friends drinks, it comes from money made by music.
Do you ever feel restricted by playing sets in venues? i.e. That you have to stick to a certain number of songs, or a certain set or length of set.
No, not really. We might have a certain few songs that we keep in the set for a tour or something, but we’ll change it around, add in a different B-side or a few covers. We’re always learning new songs, I just learnt a Steely Dan song this morning that I’m proud of.
So what’s your favourite song at the moment?
I liked a tune I heard by Chuck Berry, called ‘Come On’, all about how he wants someone to ram his car, The Rolling Stones covered it as their first single. I recommend it more than Busking!
Does your trans European line up contribute anything to the bands sound?
Maybe, I dunno, I think we all contribute things individually, just people, it doesn’t matter where they’re from.
Why did you decide to get into music in the first place? I’ve never really thought about it. It just seemed that every time I thought about what direction my life should be heading in I’d see a guitar and want to be playing it.
I Heart Hiroshima are one of many Australian bands operating on independent labels who distribute through major companies (In their case MGM), funding releases from touring, merchandise and hopefully previous releases. It’s a model that their label ‘boss’ Paul Curtis believes is a template for the future, he’s a man who’s brain I intend to pick more of in the near future…
In the meantime, back to the band.
How and why did you decide to form a band? It wasn’t really a matter of “deciding”, it just sort of happened. Two friends starting playing guitar together for fun, a drummer (myself) happened to be hanging around and it seemed a natural progression to make songs together. Purely out of the fun of making music together.
What's the name about? Is it some sort of anti nuclear / war irony, or do you really just like Hiroshima...? I can tell you straight out that it has no underlying war theme at all. I’m afraid we just ain’t that political. I will, however, answer three times. But only one will be the true answer. Can you guess which is fact and which are fiction?
ANSWER AT END OF INTERVIEW!
1. Once upon a time Susie was lying in a park trying to think of a name. She thought writing hearts like ‘<3’ was cool. She liked alliteration and words that rolled of the tongue. “I heart Hiroshima” happened to be one of those phrases that rolled of the tongue. Nothin’ fancy.
2. Someone once sent a postcard to me that featured a Polar Bear wearing a “double-pluggers”. Said slogan was emblazoned across his t-shirt. This was too epic to deny it the right as our band name! Pure - pardon the pun – “Engrish” at it’s best.
3. It was the title of a beautiful National Geographic article about the city. Straight Up.
Is there a Brisbane sound when it comes to "Indie Rock", that bright, clean, jagged sheen seems to occur in a lot of Brisbane bands? Really? Damn, I haven’t noticed!! I don’t think there is a particular sound that can embody the “indie scene” in Brisbane…. or maybe there is but because I feel somewhat involved and connected to it, it is just too hard to point out.
As far as I can tell, you only have a distro deal, how do you sustain touring and a musical career? We recently played our 100th show. That was pretty much over a period of 18 months, so that averages out to over one show per week. So I think by playing a lot, and earning cash from the shows we have been able to continue things pretty steadily. Everything that the band makes from merch/shows etc is re-invested straight back into the band. Paying for things like merch printing/sound engineers/flights/hire cars etc etc etc. There’s no money in the band members pockets yet though, sniffle. I’m hoping by this time next year I’ll be rollin’ in a badass stretch limo Hummer. Dayum!!!! Also, as much as I wish it were, we can’t call this our career as yet. We still all have day jobs and work as much as we can in between tours so we can pay our rent.
And how did you raise your profile in the first place? I suppose, by working really hard and playing and touring solidly since March ’06. We’ve also had a few releases to keep people interested and stimulated with us as a band. It’s been a gradual build and fingers crossed its still building. Another thing I think is the fact that we have tried to steer away from being boxed into any sort of ‘scene’ we have played with lots of diverse artist who play totally different music so it has allowed us to play to a whole bunch of different peeps.
REAL ANSWER TO BAND NAME QUESTION: Number 1. Unadventurous hey? (HIGHLIGHT TO SEE)
Chris Chinchilla
I Heart Hiroshima are currently touring with Regurgitator. For dates, go to their myspace
On the release of their new album Runaways, the Art of Fighting’s Ollie Browne spoke about their new approach to recording, their international audiences and what it’s like performing “every song they had ever written” on a boat in Paris.
After steadily gaining more and more popularity over the years with releases like Wires and Second Storey, this year has seen the Art of Fighting release a more “relaxed and “open” piece of work. Ollie explained that they have “always been a band that makes our albums quite traditionally (for a rock band), booking a block of time in a studio, normally 5-10 days, and making the record. During pre-production for Runaways, we decided that these new songs needed to be approached differently. They had a nebulous quality to them, a kind of extra mystery”. After rescheduling the amount of time to record the album and letting the “songs speak more for themselves”, they found a new “dialogue between us as musicians and was far more open as a result. This probably highlights how we have changed most as a band over the years as well, a growing confidence in trusting our musical instincts and impulses”.
Art of Fighting began in 1996 just after Ollie Browne and Peggy Frew left high school. They decided after “having a great time” whilst going to “heaps of local shows” that they would start a band. Ollie explains, “We had a few rehearsals, wrote some songs, had our first shows. We had a small scene going, playing with some friends' bands at Toejams, the Thumpin Tum and such with groups like Cassidy Rae, Vinyl Discharge and Dead Catt By Maxx. Our first bigger shows were supporting heroes like Sandpit, Gaslight Radio, Crow and Something for Kate”.
With influences such as Gillian Welch, Nick Cave, Blonde Redhead and Kanye West, Ollie clarifies that it “really varies for each member of AOF in terms of specific inspirations, but there is some common ground. We tend to like music that deals with complex human emotions, takes itself seriously and has a strong emotional context. It also has to have an element of irony and self-deprecation though, that's important too”.
With their music also gaining popularity internationally, with releases in Japan, Germany and the USA, they toured widely in response. Ollie says the band is not fussed about playing particular countries, “wherever they'll have us, we'd love to come and play”, but their most memorable performances have been in Europe. “There was one we did on a boat in Paris, three 45 minute sets (we played every song we've ever written) after driving all day from England, having slept next to an airport in a van.”
In April this year the band played at All Tomorrow’s Parties, curated by The Dirty Three, in the UK, presenting a captivating performance. The Art of Fighting’s music can be determined differently when thought of in its live and recorded state, Ollie says the “foremost difference is that when we're on record, it seems to be a more soothing type of sound, and when the music is transformed into the live setting it becomes a lot more tense. We try to give the live shows a little more edge, and create sets that peak, dynamically, more frequently than the sculpted passages that are the records. People are often also surprised that we like to enjoy our shows and that we smile a lot on stage. But it's understandable that the austerity of our records doesn't really communicate that we're essentially fun-loving types”.
Caroline McCurdy
Art of Fighting are currently on their last leg of their Australian tour. For dates, visit their Myspace
The favoured films of any music nerd always portray one thing – an air of romance. These films paint a picture where a shared vinyl collection and a shared love of music leads to the formation of the ultimate band - a band surrounded by a whole lotta love. For Soft Tigers, so was the case.
As I chat on the phone to Neil, the man responsible for the stylophone component of the trio, he admits that the coming together of pals was indeed a natural progression; a smooth “listening to records to making music” transition.
Soft Tigers formed collectively some time during 2005, somewhere in Canberra. Since then, the band have shifted cities to Sydney, eased their way onto the live scene, and released a few well received singles.
Their biggest baby so far is soon to be birthed: a full-length album to be named Gospel Ambitions. Categorising Soft Tigers into a genre, sound or even naming their influences is an impossible feat. Unlike many other bands, Soft Tigers fear nothing and their music represents a bold pastiche of ideas collected from a broad spectrum of general musical knowledge. “Each song has its own distinct treatment with its own set of ideas. There are a lot of genres and reference points on the album. There are things that are quite poppy and there are things that are atonal as well.”
Atonality is just one of the things currently considerably ‘uncool’ in the eyes of the unfortunately trendy scene where clothes, haircuts and self-obsession supersede originality and audacity. At a time where bands choose to sound similar and safe, Soft Tigers are wearing their hearts on their sleeves and hoping that people love them back. Neil makes it eminently clear that fitting in is certainly not one of the bands priorities, and instead staying true to self most definitely is. “It doesn’t really worry us that we’re not a ‘cool’ band…we don’t try to be something we’re not.”
For Soft Tigers, it seems that serendipity has helped them become relatively known. Neil explains that while they didn’t really think much about playing live, they now feel that this is an aspect of their act that needs a little more work than the rest. “We didn’t actually seek to play live. We just wanted to record an album and we sent it out to a record label and it got well received… (that’s when) we decided we have to be a proper live band. We’ve been adjusting to that as well.”
One thing that is especially noticeable when purchasing a release from Soft Tigers is the amount of love put into it. Taking their DIY aesthetic to the ultimate extreme, they not only record their music themselves and supply the artwork, but they are also the head honchos in charge of their own film clips. “We’re making film clips for almost every song on out album that we want to put on a DVD at some stage because we’ve got a background in film… part of the record contract states that we want to be involved in video and art components.”
While Neil lists playing with Architecture in Helsinki as one of his favourite gigs so far, he realises that with only 20 shows to choose from, “we haven’t really had a memorable gig yet. Hopefully there will be some crazy ones coming up.” As summer nears so do summer romances, virginity losses and festival season. For Soft Tigers, playing at Homebake and the Falls Festivals will result in a different type of virginity loss as these are their first “proper, big festivals.”
When the heat waves come and the trendies flea to the beach, you can sleep at night with the knowledge that there is at least one band around that aren’t obsessed with loving themselves.
Rock and roll on the international stage. Seaside intrigue. Oh, and fluorescent vests. We finds out what’s been happening to The Vasco Era.
When Michael Fitzgerald, The Vasco Era’s drummer, calls me to talk about his band’s debut album, Oh We Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside, he’s hard at work on the streets of Port Phillip.
“It’s the only job I’ve had in the last two years or something,” he laughs. “We just sit on intersections and count people walking past – and we get paid twenty-five bucks an hour for it! It’s boring, but it pays well and I’m poor, so it helps. It’s easy as piss, but you sit there and you feel like going to sleep.”
Counting people walking past is surely a pedestrian activity (if you’ll pardon the pun) for Fitzgerald. He and his bandmates – brothers Sid (lead vocals and guitar) and Trent (bass) O’Neil – have just returned from a promotional trip to the US and the UK, and are about to embark on a national tour with The Fumes. So first things first: how did the former go? “Yeah, it was alright,” Fitzgerald says. Just alright? “It was great, actually, to go over and have the trip and stuff. But the idea of going there was to get important people to look at us, which didn’t really happen. In England, there were heaps of crowds, but no important people came. It was really nice for our egos, because we’d get big cheers, but it didn’t really give us much. And then in America, a few important people came, but there were no crowds. So you’re playing to ten people in a big room, then you finish a song and no one claps.”
And of course, the band are looking forward to the upcoming tour. “They’re good blokes and they make pretty good music,” Fitzgerald says of their co-headliners. “We’re excited about it, and I think this tour’s a bit more organised than the last one. We’re doing it on weekends, so we’ll only be partying two or three days a week, instead of four or five: we won’t get as tired and ugly-looking!”
I imagine the album translates well to the stage, being full of ragged, bluesy rock that’s more than a little reminiscent of bands like The White Stripes. And speaking of the album, I ask Fitzgerald if it tells a story: each tracks segues into the next seamlessly, and the titles all begin with “When…”
“Yeah: there are ten songs, so there are ten parts to the story,” he explains. “It’s definitely there, we just can’t say what it is, because it’s quite a serious matter.” Up to this point, he has been relaxed and chatty, but I can tell he’s begun to watch his words. “It’s a story from Apollo Bay, just about shit that happened there. It actually comes from this little suburb of Apollo Bay, which has three hundred people living in it. We all come from there, and the story comes from there, so if we go and rant about it…well, there’ll be tension.
“Sid was the one who was writing the lyrics, and he found that all the songs would be about the same thing. He’d try to put different names to it, to make them sound like different songs, but we had this idea: why don’t we just put them in order of the way this story happened? 'When It First Showed Up' is the first song, obviously, and…what else is there? 'When We Tried To Get You To Settle Down', 'When We Were Getting To Forgiving You'…it’s pretty self-explanatory. It needed to be done – it was a cathartic kind of album.” It all sounds rather mysterious, but I decide not to push the issue any further: the album’s last track is called 'When The Good Times Were Coming', so I figure it all ended well. Or at least, I hope it did.
Liam Casey
Catch The Vasco Era with The Fumes on their national tour.
For full dates, go to their myspace
The Cops and Expatriate are getting together later this month for what's sure to be one hell of tour. We had a chat to both of these new found local talents about their journeys so far, the upcoming national tour and their tips for the federal election.
Expatriate - Ben King
What have you been doing this week?
Getting nominated for an ARIA for Best Breakthrough Artist for an Album and starting out on a tour supporting Powderfinger/Silverchair.
Why Expatriate?
Because we mean it from the bottom of our hearts and know you do too.
2005 was a massive year for you guys, but it was also the year the band formed - did you guys expect things to take off so quickly in terms of success?
No not at all. I've only just had 4 days off lying in the sun and haven't done that since 2005 or at beginning of it. It's been so busy 'cause there is always one thing to do and think about after another.
At what point did you realise the band was bound for big things?
Not big things but from our first show I knew we were going to work as a group of musicians wanting to make music together.
How did your recording studio (Ginsberg) get its name?
It's named after Damian's cat... Ginsberg of Ginsy. He rules the kingdom.
Did you make use of the basketball court in your Seattle studio?
Not to play basketball but we did use it to record a song called "You Were There"... first take and off the cuff so to speak. Plus to get some of the roomier and larger sounding drums takes. It had all of John Goodmanson's (Producer) gear in there and he had a lot!
Describe the main differences between Lovers Le Strange and In The Midst Of This.
Lovers was much more of a computer based recording and built from within the box so to speak. ITMOT is live recordings and a 'band' record if you will. By the time we recorded it we'd been playing live for a year and a half so we'd morphed into what started as a solo project into a band and therefore wanted that to be represented on our recording.
Was there ever a Killer Kat on your windowsill?
In my head yes.
What is your ideal rider?
Pure Blonde + Tequila + Vegetables
Who has the weirdest pre-performance ritual?
Maybe me... I like to bang my fists on the bathroom wall as a good luck thing.
Rudd or Howard?
Kevin07!
The Cops - Simon Carter
What have you been doing this week?
CIDER.
Why The Cops?
BECAUSE IT’S A LUDICROUS NAME WHICH MEANS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.
One word to describe your sound?
BALLSY.
You've played some of Australia's biggest festivals in your four years as a band but which one was your favourite and why?
GREAT ESCAPE BECAUSE THE KIDS WERE MENTAL.
Your new album is out now - how does it compare to Stomp On Tripwires?
YOU CAN’T COMPARE A SWALLOW WITH A HAWK. BOTH LOVELY BIRDS BUT ONE’S A LITTLE MORE FRISKY.
Of all the bands you have supported which has had the greatest influence on the way you make music?
BLONDIE BECAUSE THEY WEREN’T AFRAID TO MIX STYLES AND BE
LO-FI / COMMERCIAL / POP / ROCK / WHATEVER.
What are your expectations for the Strange Creatures tour with Expatriate
later this month?
COULD BE A SWALLOW, COULD BE A HAWK. I HOPE IT’S A TERROR BIRD.
Does Rebecca ever brag about her 'Best Bass Player' award? WELL SEEMS AS SHE DIDN’T WIN IT……………NO. SHE SHOULD HAVE WON IT THOUGH.
What is your ideal rider?
PETER FONDA.
Who has the weirdest pre-performance ritual?
ALL OF US A WEIRD SO ALL OF US JUST BEING WEIRD BEFORE WE GO ONSTAGE.
Rudd or Howard?
THEY CAN BOTH (INSERT EXPLETIVE HERE).
Nicholas Argy
Expatriate and The Cops are in the midst of their Strange Creatures tour. For full dates, visit their myspace
Named after the episode of Futurama where Fry and the gang experience a Willy Wonka type adventure to the Slurm factory, Damn Arms have been making the world dance to their own style of synth-punk for the last twenty two months.
Born out of the remnants of Snap! Crakk!, the Melbourne quartet has gone through many a musical direction and line up change. Shifty eyes and awkward body language tells me that they don’t really want to talk about the latter, but one is assisted by the other and that is all they will say about that. “It was one of the hardest things we’ve had to do,” Simon Parker, drummer, said.
While we sit in a tiny little café down one of the many paved arcade type things in the heart of Perth sipping on lattes and macchiatos, I discover that I have more in common with my favourite Australian band than I thought possible. We all grew up watching Ivan Reitman and John Hughes movies and we each get a nostalgic glisten in our eye as the conversation quickly turns to Recovery, the music television show that used to be on after Rage on Saturday mornings.
For a band that has toured the world numerous times, playing with bands like Klaxons, Test Icicles, We Are Scientists, Liars, The Rogers Sisters and Whirlwind Heat, just to name a few, Damn Arms are remarkably down to earth. Being in a band seems to be more like a hobby, as they each maintain day jobs when they’re at home. For example, Simon restores vintage newspapers for a living and Yama Indra (synth) is the booking agent for Melbourne nightclub Click Click. “We’re a band’s band. Most of the people that come to see us play are in bands.” Tim Sullivan, vocals/bass, says. “We’re also good at partying,” laughs guitarist, Ben Browning.
While new song “Thirty Six” flirts with the idea of turning into Midnight Juggernauts, they are anything but. Their live show proves that they’re the same band as they were back in April when they released their Homewrecker EP. Guitars and synth are turned up, but not so much that the synth is the driving force behind their music, rendering them no more than an electro band.
Damn Arms are almost ready to unleash their debut album The Live Artex on the world. It’s almost unheard of these days, that a band with such a massive following wouldn’t have their first album out already, but that just adds to their whole demeanour. While the album still holds a tentative release date, the band will tour twice nationally before the year is out – with the 2007 Mercury Music Prize winners, Klaxons and then on their own headline tour.
And with that, we pay for our coffees, and say goodbye. I watch as the boys who made getting Smiths lyrics tattooed across their chests an artform and wonder if this is how far they’ve come in just under two years, where will they be in the next two.
Amy Dorozenko
Damn Arms are supporting Klaxons and Cut Copy on their respective national tours. Their debut album, The Live Artex, will be released on November 3rd.
For two guys who originally got together to become part of a professional dodge ball team: Stephen Mattos (Arab on Radar) and Patrick Crump (Pellum 1-2-3, Saturday Night Palsy), thank god they decided that they “both suck at dodge ball” and formed Athletic Automaton instead.
Their new album A Journey Through Roman’s Empire is like a frantic mixture of Lighting Bolt creating chaos with a chainsaw and Liars getting mauled by some psychedelic lions.
‘Roman's Empire A.D.’, ‘Achilles Last Tendon’ and ‘The Gladiators Sandal Fight’, apart from having nicely theme related titles, are the best tracks on the record. Across the album there are places where it gets more noisy, and feels like Stephen is strangling you with his guitar strings whilst you’re still dancing manically. There are also parts of the album that demonstrate less heavy drums and guitar, where it quiets down on ‘Caesar’s Haircut’. Here its almost like a breather in the middle of the record allowing your mind and ears to come back down to earth, after having been part of the explosion that makes up the first three tracks of the record.
It's experimental and psychedelic without getting too abstract to make you want to turn it off.
Ladies and gentlemen, please make way for the latest offering from the world’s most isolated city, Institut Polaire.
The Perth band that ranges from 7 to 9 members depending what day it is, are knee-deep in influential sounds and dizzying melodies. Their latest EP The Fauna and The Flora is the first release on their new label, Popfrenzy. It was recorded and mixed at Poons Head in Fremantle by Rob Grant, and the coastal hippy atmosphere that the town delivers can very much be found on this recording.
Five tracks deep, the EP is beautifully written and composed. Everything from Warlitzer pianos to violins, banjos, trumpets, Powerbooks and glockenspiels can be found here. “Lullaby For A Warmonger” and “City Walls & Empires” are reminiscent of the Garden State soundtrack or perhaps Damien Rice, while “Kentucky Society Drought”, “The Fauna And The Flora Are Too Closely Allied” and “East, West & I” boast Camera Obscura and Grandaddy influences.
It’s refreshing to see a band from Perth doing their own thing and succeeding. If you’re up for something a little different to most Perth bands or if you like the twee effect, then do yourselves a favour and check out Institut Polaire.
What do you get when you mix Underground Lovers and Pretty Boy Crossover together? One of the most promising bands Melbourne has to offer. Mist & Sea write experimental interludes and romantic compositions which take you on a moody, dreamy, cinematic trip, soaking you from head to toe with angular shoegazer guitar pop in a New Order-esque style.
Unless is the first full-length LP for Vincent Giarusso, Jason Sweeney and Cailan Burns, recorded at Sing Sing and Soft Centre studios with Chris Scallan and Jed Palmer. Technically, the album is two years old, but having been reworked by Jason Sweeney in his Adelaide studio it has now been deemed for release. The work of Emma Bortignon and Phil Collings can also be found on this record.
While on paper they seem to have all the makings of a brilliantly captivating band, unfortunately they fail to get me off. It's not that they fail entirely, I just find them a little flat. But then, New Order failed to impress me as well, so maybe there’s something a little coincidental there. That said, it is clear from listening to their record that their live shows would be amazing. So, all is not completely lost in their land of mist and sea
Emerald City is John Vanderslice’s sixth album where he continues to demonstrate his strong song-writing abilities. Proclaimed as the “songwriter’s songwriter”, Vanderslice performs a mixture of dark lyrics countered by more uplifting instrumentation. This mix of up and down, creates a melancholic, yet joyful atmosphere.
Vanderslice’s subject matter for this album is that of “deep insecurity” and “paranoia” of the past, all of which come across as lighter when composed as these kind of “sweet-pop” melodies.
Upon listening through the record it sounds like there are definite similarities between his singing style and that of Brendan Benson’s, perhaps lacking a little of the kindness apparent in Benson’s voice.
Here and there the use of acoustic guitar and electronic sounds used together are distinctly like parts of Beck’s Seachange album. Which is meant in a complementary way, perhaps seen in tracks like ‘The Parade’ and ‘Kookaburra’.
Basically, this album is pretty gorgeous, for how Vanderslice describes these hideous things or situations, the way its interpreted musically is quite beautiful.
Started in 1998 by Armistead Burwell Smith IV (better known as Zach Smith) and Rob Crow, indie rock band Pinback’s new album Autumn of the Seraphs is a steady and consistently paced piece of work.
With its relaxed guitar and quiet, almost soothing Death Cab For Cutie-esque vocals, this albums provides perhaps some nice calming background music.
Throughout their fourth album the pace and mood of the songs don’t seem to differ too much from one another, but tracks like ‘Walters’, ‘Bouquet’ and ‘Good to Sea’ stand out more from the others.
The little guitar pieces on this record are quite cute, and are like little cousins of Smiths or Cure guitar parts, but with less impact. With the piano and electronic parts mixed in, each song does have some interesting aspect to it.
Overall, after a couple of listens this album has real potential to become more and more enjoyable. Despite the cover illustrations of the statues freaking me out a little bit (after seeing that particular Dr Who episode that scared my socks off), Pinback do provide some nice if rather ‘by-the-book’ pop.
Around a year ago, I remember standing amidst a crowd dancing on the dirty dirty floors of a little place called Brown Alley, watching this one dorky looking boy covered in fairy lights playing his many synths and successfully putting smiles on the crowd's face by his lonesome.
It's quite amazing how far Muscles (or Chris, as his mum calls him) have achieved within the past few months. What really sets him apart from all the other electro bands out there is his cheeky attitude and energetic songs.
Guns, Babes, Lemonade is an epic mix only Muscles can create. A bit of trance, a bit of rave, a bit of pop, and loads of fun. His lyrics are simple and joyous, ones which can make anyone smile.
From the rave and trance-filled opening of "Sweaty" right down to the narcisstic (yet quite possibly the cheekiest and best song of the album) pop anthem of "Hey Muscles I Love You", this is one album that will keep you dancing and smiling, even without pingers. Definitely the anthem for summer.
You would never know that Battles is still a relatively young band seeing them live. The second they pluck a string, hit a key or [drum] skin, they are composed like veterans.
Opening the set was Dave Konopka constructing the bass landscape for “Race: Out”. With the other members gradually joining in, it set a high standard for the remainder of the gig. Battles attacked a sold-out Gaelic crowd with tracks mostly off their debut album, Mirrored. The intensity in the delivery of each track was to a high degree of technique, innovation and dynamism. “Atlas” was received with popularity but it was in “Tonto” where Battles peaked, building the perfect platform for the track, and for them, to soar. Every member contributes vast layers into the well-structured musical landscape, so unpredictable and rich in nature that you bear witness to a process of evolution. Drummer, John Stanier provided an assortment of strong, thunderous beats that has redefined the role of percussion, which is no longer seen as secondary to the rhythm. This was evident early on as a cheer was heard when the 7ft high, crash cymbal entered the stage. Closing the set out with “Bad Trails”, the lyric, “the night is still young” - was as much as one can decipher from reading Tyondai Braxton's lips together with his near incomprehensible vocals and - was rather appropriate given the early finishing time.
Let's rewind this straight from the top. Being so drunk, or should I say "merry" as
thesaurus.com likes to dub it, seeing 2 stacks 3x3 high/wide of Marshall speaker boxes
rolled out on the stage just a few feet away had me twittering like a leaf on a wintering tree wondering again if my drink had been spiked. But as soon as everyone’s favourite French duo, Justice, dropped their LP intro "Genesis" I realised that I wasn't dreaming and yes the 18 amps weren’t just being all ACDC; they're fo’ show. Vibrating our nostrils and skipping heartbeats with their infamous bass lines and a couple of the a capella’s that set their path in stone to the premier set-times of festivals and shows across the galaxy. Putting down a set to rival any act you will see / have ever seen our leather wearing French friends did planet earth proud.
Weaving through my alcohol inhibited memory I also remember Busy P doing his croissant thing getting all freaky dropping U2 as the opener which sent most of our eyes down to our drinks searching for anything colourful or freaky, but no wait why did I even mention that part; he dropped “KILLING IN THE NAME OF” sending the big biker dude to my left all the way to his 11th pill in style. I would be lying if I was going to go on and say that Busy P is not the premium party man around in 2007, also justifying my theory that if the whole world was made up of Teenage Myspace hipster bloggers we'd all be hailing King Pedro.
Digitalism and MSTRKRFT did what they were paid to do. Kept kids dancing whilst shooting their club bangers directly into the streams of everyone witnessing affirming that the token squeeze in that Jens Digitalism dropped in "Homezone" was no lie 'we have the biggest party ever…'.
Goose live are the exact antithesis to their name; dynamic and inspirational. Enough said.
Cajuan’s set was invitingly interrupted by an artist drink pass which unexpectedly ended up in our hands but from what I could make out from beyond all the red bull vodkas and groupie guys his track list and mixing sounded on par to what I'd expect out of any premier euro dance act.
All Ages gigs are tough; everyone claims there are not enough taking place and not enough opportunities for under 18's to attend live music. Unyet when an organisation goes to lengths to organise an all ages show with a strong line up at a prestigious and large venue, attendance is a little disappointing. Why is this? Perhaps running an all ages show in the evening is too late for some parents to allow their children to attend. Perhaps the lack of alcohol dissuades over eighteens attending, which if true, is a sad fact, that a vast majority of people are only attending gigs to get drunk, not for the music. Whatever the reasons, the audience is small tonight, slowly building but never filling the large, spacious and regal Collingwood Town Hall.
A Death in the Family could be described as an Emo band, that constant chugging guitar and strained vocals present throughout most of their set and songs, the guys put on a good show despite the early hour and lack of audience, quipping “We're not used to playing venues this small” but their songs need more dynamics, more variation.
With a name like Cockfight Shootout the band could only be a good old-fashioned Ozzie rock band, all dressed in black, all Gibson Les Paul's, all Marshall stacks. Good solid stuff, fun and dependable, but nothing original or surprising. Young and Restless are perhaps the one band on the bill tonight that might attract the largest all ages crowd, and the audience is now reaching it's peak and even starting to move it's feet.
At their core Young and Restless are yet another jagged angular guitar band, but there's something about them, something rawer than their peers, something more challenging and interesting. An exciting discordance between guitars, a front woman who paces the stage like a dancing tiger, an enormous bass player who's eyes are barely seen and some great songs that get the heart pumping and the pulse racing.
Magic Dirt are an institution, and like all long running institutions, they're mellowing and their priorities are changing, frequently referencing their children and even allowing them onstage to cutely dance along to the music. If you didn't know already the songs are big rocking slabs of guitar led by the powerful vocals of Adalita Srsen. Despite some of the dark lyrics lurking beneath the surface it's rousing music, and the perfect way to end the night, there will be no encores, it's time for parents to collect their children… On and off stage.
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