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671-673 POINT NEPEAN ROAD, McCRAE 3938 59 811 671-673 POINT NEPEAN ROAD, McCRAE 3938 TElTEl [03][03] 59 811 202202
INTERVIEW
Mark Seymour is regarded as being amongst Australia’s finest singer/songwriters. This is an accolade bestowed upon the fellow by adoring fans and industry heavy weights for his diverse work throughout an impressive career. Mark has fronted one of the country’s favourite rock bands ‘Hunters & Collectors’ and gone on to release an array of studio albums and Live records, as well as an acoustic compilation. In addition, he’s composed film scores, written and performed music for theatrical productions, penned a novel and acted onstage and onscreen. At 55, the creativity and versatility show no signs of slowing down. Now with a regular band – ‘The Undertow’ – by his side consisting of Cameron McKenzie, John Favaro and Peter Maslen, Mark sounds as much in love with music as he’s ever been. You’re living on the Peninsula now, and have done for a few years. Have you found it hard being away from the city life? We’ve been living in Mt Martha for about 5 years now, after having been around Melbourne for many years. We all just decided we were over it (laughs). I think, from memory, we booked a holiday down here, and decided we really liked the water. I’ve never looked back. Being down here must give you an opportunity to enjoy your surfing a bit more? My favourite spot, funnily enough, is Kilcunda. My brother’s got a place down there and he’s never home, so I’m often there.
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I’d love to say I’m down at Gunnamatta every weekend. Maybe one day. Your latest album is titled ‘Undertow’. Is it a conscious surfing reference or to do with the state of mind? It’s a bit of both, to be honest. I’ve always found it remarkable when you surf some places – especially down in Gunnamatta cause it’s so exposed – you can’t stop paddling, basically. It’s a very dynamic part of the world, the ocean makes you work to stay in position. I just love that idea. It’s a metaphor for life. The record is also released under the name ‘Mark Seymour and the Undertow’, the first post ‘Hunters & Collectors’ record credited to a band. How did that come about? Well, I’d had it as a working title for the record for ages, kicking around. As it ended up, I did a deal with these guys who I’ve been playing with for a number of years, deciding to actually put a band together. One of the first decisions was to call the band ‘Undertow’ as well. How would characterise the sound of record? It’s a very straightforward sound. Acoustically driven. It’s a dark record, thematically, but it’s got an old-school cruisy sound combined with a very traditional sound. There’s not a lot of instrumentation on it, but it sounds bigger than it is. It was mostly recorded Live as well, so it’s great that we could capture that. You’ve been down to Between The Bays before to play. Are you looking forward to this year’s festival?
Yeah, we’ve done it a few times, in different forms though. I’ve done gigs with James Reyne and supports to other people. I think we’re all really looking forward to it. It’s turned into quite a big show, really. It’s great. Do you still get a lot of requests for the Hunters stuff? Is it hard to do a gig without playing one or two? People usually want to hear ‘Throw Your Arms Around Me’, and I generally do that. I do play Hunters stuff, but I’ve kinda radically changed it. I’ve picked a bunch of the songs and reinvented them so they fit in with what I’m doing now. People seem to really appreciate that and it gives them a new life again. Mark Seymour & The Undertow play Between The Bays Festival on Saturday 25th February alongside Jordie Lane, The Ooga Boogas, The Fuzzbirds and more. Tickets are on sale from Ticketmaster or through Penbank (call 5978 8425). For all other festival information go to www.betweenthebays.com SIMON IMREI WIN WITH PEARL: Family ticket to Between the Bays Festival on Saturday February 25, valued at $108 to be won. Enter online at the Pearl Magazine Facebook. Winner will be announced on FB, Thursday February 16.
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with PATRICK ELLIGET
Publisher Lisa Walton Editor Simon Mills Music Editor Simon Imrei Arts Editor Andrea Louise Thomas Sales Sarah Jacobs, Mitch Lacy Design Natalie Smith, Stitch, Lisa Walton Feature Writers Matilda Heggie, Jessica Mills, ‘Doghouse’ Dave Philpots, Simon Imrei, Kate Selth, Ben Lopez, Simon Mills, Davo Music Writers Patrick Elliget, Lachlan Bryan, Ben Lopez, Ashlee Tomlin-Byrne, David Edtmaier, Simon Mills, John Kendall, Taylor McVean, Dylan Boyd Reviewers Ray McGrotty, Jess Scudamore, Maddison Wilson, Walter Benells, Simon Topalovic, DJ Marky Mark, DJ Iceman, Scott Gardner, Simon Mills, Gary Bradshaw Arts Writers Andrea Louise Thomas, Andrea Ebsworth Photographers Molly Mitchell, Natalie Smith, Stella Thurbon, RockOn Photography, Simon Mills, Shae Holmes. Distribution Manager Archie Mitchell
INDEX REVIEWS 11-13 PEARLS OF WISDOM 14 SURF 18-21 POLISHED 22-27 REVOLUTION 26-27 GIG GUIDE 28-29 INDUSTRY 30-31 FESTIVALS 34-39 PEARLIES 44,46,48,50,52 BILLBOARD 54 A dedicated music, arts & culture magazine for Bayside and the Peninsula.
OUT MONTHLY AVAILABLE FREE from over 900 outlets Patto’ to Portsea, Langwarrin to Red Hill. NEXT ISSUE March 8 • Deadline Feb 24 Ph: 5906 5771 or 9708 8222 publisher@pearlmag.com.au PO Box 3554, Mornington, 3931 www.pearlmag.com.au
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JIMI HOCKING That ‘Skinny White Boy’ who plays the blues. With a career spanning over 25 years the name Jimi Hocking has become synonymous with the Melbourne and Mornington Peninsula blues scenes. He’s established a reputation as a gun guitarist and dynamic performer, continuing to win accolades and recognition from both his peers in the music fraternity and his growing fan base. His performances are high intensity, full throttle affairs that showcase not only his rare talent as a highly gifted guitarist but also highlight his story telling skills and ability to work and entertain an audience. There is no doubt Jimi Hocking has made a significant contribution to the blues scene and Live music culture over his time.
Jimi’s developmental years were forged in the 80s where he performed at a furious pace throughout Melbourne’s pubs and clubs as the front man for bands such as ‘The Astro Boys and the Astros’. His musical journey has since seen many genres explored including a hard rock period during the late 80s/early 90s where as ‘Jimi the Human’ he released two albums, one of which was the Live ‘No Turning Back’ which reached the national Top 20. Jimi’s music milestones include being seconded into the legendary Australian band ‘The Angels’ for a national tour in 1988 after just one rehearsal, playing support for ’Status Quo’ on several occasions and being named the 2004 Melbourne Blues Appreciation Society’s Blues Performer of the Year. 2005 was also a particularly significant year for Jimi when he was crowned winner of the Solo/Duo section of the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, USA. This recognition led to a comprehensive US tour of clubs and festivals and saw his blues albums added to playlists in the USA, Europe and the UK. Inevitably Jimi’s lightening fingers and amazing dexterity on the guitar continued to turn heads internationally, including the likes of seminal bluesmen Edgar Winter and George Thorogood, both of whom Jimi was to subsequently tour with. A meeting with the great BB King in 1989 resulted in the legendary blues journeyman observing to Jimi, “I’ve been watchin’ you and you‘re good“. It would be hard to imagine higher praise being possible in the world of blues. Later in the 90s Jimi joined the prominent Australian rock band ‘The Screaming Jets’ as their lead guitarist for over four years of national touring and several recordings that included two gold records. During this busy period Jimi still found time to pursue and develop his solo work and started to rekindle the flame of his first love - the blues - which culminated in the release of ‘Blue Guitar’ in 1999, a highly acclaimed and successful Australian blues album. Over recent times Jimi’s schedule has been a relentless alternation of solo gigs and performances with his band ‘Jimi Hocking Blues Machine’, with Graham Maddicks on drums and Karl Willebrant on bass. The Blues Machine have been busy at Live venues throughout Melbourne, as well as many major national blues festivals such as the Queenscliff Blues Festival and the Woodford Festival in Queensland. Jimi (with and without the band) are also frequent performers at one of Australia’s more unique blues venues, the Blues Train, which operates out of Queenscliff on the Bellarine Peninsula. For info on Jimi’s gigs visit jimihocking.com Patrick will be writing monthly for PEARL on blues & jazz. If you’d like Pat to review your release or you know of something happening in the blues or jazz world, drop him a line at blues@pearlmag.com.au
Well now we have your attention (lol) here we are again with the second edition, our heads are still spinning from the first! What an amazing response from our debut, PEARL Magazine is certainly the talk of the town. Support from readers, writers and advertisers has been amazing . . . so much so that our February edition has equalled our bumper double issue debut, proving that PEARL is growing rapidly every day and is definitely here to stay! Such a busy Summer season in local music! Pyramid rocked New Years, INXS rocked Morning Star Estate, and the PEARL Kombi cruised into the successful Oz Day Concert at Mornington Park with freebies for all! Now Feb’s here and off we go again! Between the Bays and Westernport Festival go head to head this February, there’s some great touring acts gracing our local venues, the Arts are alive - pulsating vibrantly and with this glorious Summer sun . . . SURFS UP! Join us on Facebook and keep up to date with special bulletins, the latest pics and plenty of giveaways including latest release CD’s, gig tix, iSplash waterproof phone cases and plenty more. The PEARL Kombi will be pulling up at local events with plenty of copies on board so come and say g’day! Have a great February. . . don’t drink toooo much at the Mornington Cup, and if you know something we don’t about local music, Arts or Surf . . . drop us a line! SIMON MILLS & LISA WALTON
MORNINGTON PENINSULA & BAYSIDE
In 1991, the Baby Animals debut self-titled album had three huge hits that catapulted them to the mainstream with Early Warning, Rush You and One Word. The album spent six weeks at number one on the Aria Charts and went eight times platinum becoming the highest selling debut Australian album for twelve years, until superseded by local Dingley boys Jet. The band spent five years touring with high profile bands like Van Halen, Bryan Adams and The Black Crowes on the back of their breakthrough album and follow up Shaved And Dangerous, until the travel took its toll. When front-woman Suze DeMarchi left home to join her new husband - Extreme’s Nuno Bettencroft - and raise their family in LA in 1996, Baby Animals fans felt the blow losing one of Oz Rock’s most significant leading ladies and most iconic groups of the 90’s. Now DeMarchi’s home and settled in Sydney, while Bettencroft tours the globe with Rihanna. What’s better, The Baby Animals have been reborn having spent the last 18 months writing for a new album and rehearsing for next month’s national tour, which will include the Chelsea Heights Hotel early in the month. Catching up with DeMarchi, I was every bit the nervous fan re-living a rock’n roll crush shared by every hot-blooded male in the 90’s.
INTERVIEW The conversation started on the band’s 2010 ‘Rock N Roll Symphony’ show with Chrissy Amplett (of The Divinyls) and Diesel. It had been the first time DeMarchi had played with collaborator Dave Leslie in a long time. “It was just so cool to perform with such an amazing backing,” DeMarchi remembered. “Not to mention Chrissy who, in spite of her illness, is such a strong woman. She’s an inspiration to all women.” As an audience member, watching the Baby Animals in front of a 30 piece orchestra on that tour, I certainly shared her excitement. It’s now two years later and when prompted about the band’s upcoming tour and any extra surprises, DeMarchi tells me straight. “We’re keeping it real this time, no strings attached. (laughs) We’ve got plenty of new material to road-test, though, with the old favourites.” With all the new material, Baby Animals
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fans are no doubt asking about the much anticipated new album. “Definitely a new album this year!” she assures me. “The Baby Animals have so much more to do and say!” Happy to confirm a new album, I decided to take the opportunity to confirm a couple of much publicised myths surrounding the Baby Animals. Firstly, the notion that the band’s name was a reference to former Wheel Of Fortune host ‘Baby John Burgess’? “Umm, well the story wasn’t quite that exciting... While on a boat we saw a calendar featuring those words, and it was the one idea we kept coming back to. It pretty much summed us up; hard music with a real softness!” The other industry rumour surrounded another 90s indie-rock band, Bush, and the suggestion DeMarchi was the subject their song, Comedown - one of my all-time favourite rock songs. “In the early days, I dated (singer)
Gavin Rossdale and actually introduced him to another good friend of mine, guitarist Nigel Pulsford. Their union later resulted in ‘Bush’... and the song. (laughs) I should have charged him royalties!” Myths aside, 2012 is bringing one of this country’s favourite rock bands back into the limelight. For some, not around in the era when rock dominated the charts and some of the best touring acts in the country were on display weekly at the 21st Century or the Hallam Hotel, it’ll be a chance to catch them first hand. One thing’s for sure, it’ll be a show this little black duck won’t miss! The Baby Animals appear at Chelsea Heights Hotel on Saturday 10th March. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster and from the venue. Doors open 8pm. For more information, check out www.chelseaheightshotel.com.au SIMON MILLS
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INTERVIEW According to front man John Jakubenko, indie rock band ‘Red Ink’ has always tried to take people on a journey and make them feel. This stands in contrast to the in vogue practice of churning out ‘throwaway party music’ and has proved a successful formula for the group. The band’s powerful lyrics and energetic pop rock melodies have connected with many listeners and seen the band tour alongside musicians including Biffy Clyro, Miami Horror and British India. Peninsula natives Aaron Sim, Brendan Jones and James Munns, together with Jakubenko, form the current incarnation of ‘Red Ink’, a band that began their assault on the Australian music scene as an acoustic duo. With the help of local agent Simon Mills, the band’s initial endeavors saw Jones and Jakubenko establish the core of the band, a partnership that would eventually lead to tours of major cities and regional towns across the country as the expanded four-piece. Red Ink’s popularity has expanded nationally and internationally throughout 2011 thanks to their single ‘Battlescars’, with the band playing 120 shows in the past 12 months to audiences ranging from a few people to a few thousand. Now the band can boast fans from all
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around the world. “Our biggest following overseas is in Germany and Ukraine,” said Jakubenko. “People are constantly adding me on Facebook, asking when we’ll be coming over and saying ‘we wanna see Red Ink in Russia!’ - it’s great!” Despite their global appeal, the band draws their inspiration and musical influence from the relaxed mindset of the Peninsula. According to Jakubenko, “being away from the chaotic, urban life has shaped our music, definitely. There’s such a beach feel, yet it is still cosmopolitan where we grew up. We’ve found a vastness and space that we credit in a big way to living on the Peninsula.” This juxtaposition between the city and country mentality has also given Red Ink that little bit more to look forward to, when coming down south to play shows. “It always feels like a bit of a family reunion, we love coming home to play. Plus, I think in regional areas where there’s a real DJ and covers music presence, there’s such a sincere appreciation for original bands and Australian music, which makes for great shows and crowds.” Red Ink’s energetic show is attributed, in part, to Jakubenko’s crazy dance moves onstage. “I’ve actually had people come up to me after a show
and tell me I look like Mick Jagger and Peter Garret had a baby.” Music videos and stage performances have featured the uninhibited choreography over recent times, with the front man choosing to do more, rather than strip things back. “I grew up doing musical theatre which taught me to just go with it and not suppress what you’re feeling. Plus, I guess I’ve realised, over the last few years, if you dance like an idiot why not use it to your advantage?” Currently the boys are in the studio working on their next EP and will be debuting some of these new tracks for local fans next month at the Westernport Festival. According to Jakubenko these are set to be the best songs they’ve produced to date, and promise to add a few different really exciting elements to the band’s well renowned energetic Live act. There are plans for upcoming singles, more touring and possibly an album in the pipeline later in the year, so don’t miss your chance to see Red Ink this February. Red Ink play the Westernport Festival on Saturday February 25. For information visit westernportfestival. org.au or to find out about upcoming Red Ink tour dates, head to facebook. com/redinkmusic. JESSICA MILLS
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You may or may not know of Peninsula resident Scott Carne, but there’s no doubt you would have heard his music on the radio at some stage. Carne, who has been in the music game for over 30 years, was the lead singer for 80s pop band ‘Kids in the Kitchen’. The band had a whirlwind success over five years, producing eight singles and two albums - at one stage they even had the same management as Madonna. The band toured the country performing Live shows as well as taking on TV appearances on programs including the legendary ‘Countdown’ and ‘Hey Hey It’s Saturday’. After ‘Kids in the Kitchen’ went their separate ways, Carne formed a band ‘Priscilla’s Nightmare’ (a favourite of our publisher) and enjoyed a brief solo career and some success with his single ‘All I Wanna Do’, in 1990. He also ended up owning a couple of inner city recording studios. A decade later, Carne decided to trade the rock n roll lifestyle in Melbourne for the Peninsula’s relaxed lifestyle, fresh air and opportunity to start a family. According to Carne, it’s the best thing he ever did. Quiet, relaxed, no traffic lights - well not many anyway - and since the move his personal and business lives have blossomed. Carne’s studio developed and he branched out into other areas of the industry making a name for himself around the area away from the KITK tag. In 2006, Carne was invited to perform at the ‘Countdown Spectacular’, during which he caught up with some old performer friends. Not long after, the concept of the ‘Absolutely 80s Show’ was born, a tour that plays all the 80s hits with Carne at the front and a range of 80s icons doing their bit as well. Since then, ‘Absolutely 80s’ has been going from strength to strength and built a massive following. Mornington Peninsula fans are in for a big treat in April when the ‘Absolutely 80s Show’ comes to Morning Star Estate, one of the few venues around the area that can accommodate the massive crowds expected. With an array of guests, you never know who Carne will have in the show - it’ll be a unique opportunity to reconnect with your favourite 80’s artists. Keep an eye on PEARL for the latest info and dates as it’s a show not to be missed by any music fan. Words by DOGHOUSE DAVE, Pic GARY BRADSHAW
PENINSULA SONGRIDERS UPDATE
After eight years at the helm of the now legendary Balnarring Muso night, Marty Williams has made the decision to step aside. The reason for the move, according to Williams is, “to allow the many dedicated and talented musical performers that make up the family to have a go and begin to share in the magic of running this amazing community musical experience.” Williams leaves the renowned bi-weekly event in good hands, having helped create and nurture a genuine sense of community spirit, creativity and artistic expression. Though the Songriders community will take the helm in Balnarring, Williams still runs the Songriders night @ BAHA on alternate Wednesdays (check our Gig Guide centre pages for dates) and will continue to be very much involved in running larger musical events on the Peninsula. For now, there’ll be more time spent focusing on his own music and exploring opportunities to travel and share his talent with the world.
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PETER LEE’S PENINSULA PERCUSSION CLUB
African percussion classes are now available on the Mornington Peninsula. Peter Lee, an experienced percussionist who has been involved in the music industry for over 40 years, offers these unique lessons. He has played diverse forms of music that includes drumming appearances in rock/ blues band ‘Broderick Smith’s Combo’ and congas with jazz outfit ‘Wilbur Wilde’s Blowout’. Peter, who now resides on the Mornington Peninsula, focuses on African percussion and holds drumming workshops in Mornington and Balnarring. He believes that the group format encourages a lack of inhibition normally encountered with ‘one on one’ learning because mistakes are encouraged and are viewed as a source of fun rather than a feeling of inadequacy. This openness quickly develops a sense of camaraderie among students, friendships are formed and classes become an enjoyable social experience. In collaboration with the Centre for African Drumming in St. Kilda, an event is held every six weeks at the Central Club in Richmond where all classes are invited to perform. Traditional West African dancers and drummers complete the evening. African drumming is fast becoming popular for its therapeutic, relaxing effects, combines with its lively entertainment value. Peter Lee’s Peninsula Percussion Club plays regularly at festivals and has been very well received by audiences at the Mornington Food and Wine festival for the past four years. Peter also holds workshops at social occasions such as Hen’s parties and other group functions. If you’d like to hear more about Percussion workshops or the Central Club event, contact Peter on percussionclub@hotmail.com or on 0437 361 492.
‘Nowra’ is a three piece rock/pop band born out of the creative mind of singer & songwriter Paul Barry. Singing and writing from the age of 16, Barry has enjoyed success in songwriter competitions and graced the stages of Aireys Inlet and Anglesea Music Festival, as well as venues through Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. Also specialising in solo acoustic, Barry has had the opportunity to support and play alongside well-known acts like Colin Hay (Men At Work), Juke Kartel, Bobby Flynn (Australian Idol) and Chris Stockily (The Dingos). The origins of Nowra are in the meeting of Barry and prodigy drummer Jack Walters, with the pair first performing at The Pig & Whistle, in Red Hill. With an obvious connection, the two became great friends, leading to a number of shows as both a duo and with a collection of trial bass players until they met 16 year old Jason Anderson. Having heard the band needed a bassist, Anderson posted YouTube videos with himself playing the Nowra tunes and after a couple of conversations the trio was complete. Recorded in Brighton East at Ad Music Studio with the help of engineer Robyn Payne, Nowra’s first EP ‘A New Life’ is a collection of Barry’s early tunes, infused with the new life of Nowra. The tunes, according to Barry, are influenced by everything from Buddy Holly, Eva Cassidy, Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder to Jeff Buckley, Rob Thomas, Brad Arnold and Ed Kowalczyk. Nowra have begun working on new material with Anderson, as well as arranging their tunes to fit the new format. 2012 is set to be a big one for the young band. A New Life is available on iTunes and at gigs. For more information, check out Nowra on Triple J Unearthed or on Facebook.
The Hilltop Hoods Initiative is calling on emerging Australian Hip Hop artists looking to kick start their career. Funded by the Hilltop Hoods and APRA, the HTH Initiative is a $10,000 grant dedicated to help up and comers advance their careers through the manufacture, market and release of an album showcasing at least five original songs. The funds can be used to cover costs such as mastering, CD artwork/design, marketing/promotional materials, postal and administrative costs directly associated with the project. In addition to the $10,000 in funding, the worthy recipient will also receive legal advice courtesy of David Vodika and Media Arts Lawyers which can be used for general legal or specific career advice, plus a Shure Microphone prize pack. To top it off, the successful applicant will be invited to showcase at Song Summit, 26 - 28 May 2012 and will also have a support contact at APRA to help with a career guidance plan. Hand-picked by The Hilltop Hoods, the 2012
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judging panel features some of Australia’s most influential Hip Hop figures - Hau (ACT) - Artist (Koolism), JJJ Presenter (The Hip Hop Show); Nish (SA) - Grafitti Artist, Community Worker; Ran-Dee (NSW) - Manager (Def Wish Cast, Dialectrix, and Alphamama), Booking Agent, and Promoter; Raph (VIC) - Artist, Entrepreneur (The Beatbox Kitchen), Author (Behind The Beat). Applications are open to Australian artists in the early stages of their career, meaning they have not released an album professionally. Artists may be any age and must be an APRA member before applying. All applications must be received by 28 February 2012, with the recipient being announced on 30 March 2012. Copies of the application form and further entry details are available at apra-amcos.com.au
MORNINGTON PENINSULA & BAYSIDE
MEET VOLYTION
Brisbane indie rock band ‘Custard’ rocked together for about a decade. During this time they released five albums and countless singles, EPs and compilations, performed on television and enjoyed a cult following which saw them regularly appear in the Triple J Hottest 100. The band, which consisted of frontman David McCormack, Paul Medew, Matthew Strong and Glenn Thompson, travelled in the same circles as Grinspoon, Spiderbait, Powerfinger, Regurgitator and The Living End. A ‘less than successful’ US tour, and the pressures of being on the road, spelt their demise. And thus, we were left with a gaping hole in the Aussie music scene. Bass player Paul Medew spoke to PEARL about reformations and the upcoming Between The Bays gig. Your first reunion show after your long hiatus was at Queensland’s 150th Birthday where you played alongside Powderfinger. How was that experience? Well, it was a beautiful Queensland night, magnificent vibe. You know, I’m always so stunned at how huge Powderfinger are, or were. Very memorable. An auspicious way for Custard to have a reunion. Was it a difficult decision to do the gig? It wasn’t hard. I think for the last few years,
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we’d been itching for a reason to get back together. So, yeah, when Powderfinger asked, it was great. How do you guys come to play Between The Bays festival and what attracted you to getting together again? David and ‘The Polaroids’ played last year, and I filled in playing bass. It was a great little festival. When they asked us to do it as ‘Custard’, we jumped at the chance cause it’s got such a great family vibe. In regard to new material, David McCormack was quoted as saying “if the vibes right, we could do it”. Any new stuff on the horizon? There’s talk of it… I dare say it will happen, it’s just coordinating times and places and such. Sometime this year we might sit in a room and throw some stuff around. What can we expect from a Custard show in 2012? There is no plan, we just get calls to do stuff and we happily do it. We’re just really enjoying these occasional get togethers, so while it feels good we’ll do it. Custard play the 7th annual Between The Bays Festival on Saturday February 25. For more info, head to betweenthebays.com and check out our festivals section on pages 35 to 38. SIMON IMREI
Volytion are a three piece hard rock band from Melbourne who are steadily cementing their place in the local scene. The genesis of Volytion was simple. Develop a fresh sound of melodic driven heavy rock that is inspired by interesting rhythms and melodies that intertwine seamlessly. Combining this with a direct but thought provoking lyrical approach that pulls no punches, Volytion’s sound was born. Their debut EP ‘Wait and Hope’ showcases the rhythmic and melodic spectrum of the band which is comprised of vocalist and drummer Joel Williams, guitarist Daniel Holmes and former Peninsula local Kyle Pearson on bass. The sound is described as progressive rock, infused with influences from a range of 90s heavier groove bands like Soundgarden and Helmet, as well as more melodic and mellow sounds. Having already played the stages of renowned Melbourne venues like The Evelyn, The Espy (Gershwin Room), Revolver Upstairs and The Prague, Volytion are currently in preproduction for a new release and will be entering the studio in March. Catch one of their early 2012 dates to see this exciting young band for yourself. Volytion play The John Curtin Hotel (29 Lygon St, Carlton) on February 18, with Zenith ASP and THIRTYONEFIFTY. For more info, head to volytion.com
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Dromana 3 Drive-In will come alive in February when 500 of the most impressive Special Interest Vehicles and Vintage Automobiles come together for ‘Shannons Saturday Night at the Drive-In’. The volunteer run event operates in conjunction with children’s charity Variety, with all proceeds raised going to support Variety’s work with Victorian families to help empower children who are sick, disadvantaged or those requiring special needs. Sponsored by Shannons Insurance and The Bendigo Bank ‘Saturday Night at the Drive –In’ promises to be a melting pot of motoring delights, nostalgia and fun for the entire family. Attendees are encouraged to dress in their most outrageous 50s style for the all-ages event with prizes awarded to best-dressed patrons on the night. For music fans there will be Live performances from the Mornington Peninsula’s own ‘Dirty Boogie Band’, a 10 piece swing, blues and jazz cover band with their own gritty flavour. Seasoned festival performers, the guys from Boogie can be found haunting such local attractions as the Mordialloc, Frankston and Hastings Day festivals, or in their regular spot at Beaches in Mornington every second Thursday of the month. Amplifying the nostalgia factor and joining ‘The Dirty Boogie Band’ will be ‘Thunder Road the Bruce Springsteen Tribute’, a kick-ass Bruce Springsteen tribute band formed in 2009 by a group of avid fans. Playing all your favourites including Dancing in the Dark, I’m on Fire and Born to Run, their take on Springsteen’s classics will leave you feeling as though you were actually born in the USA!
Aside from the music and the metal, expect raffles, guest appearances, auto trade stands selling all your essential car needs, fireworks and a 50s inspired diner serving 50s style cuisine guaranteed to create ‘Happy Days’ in your stomach. For those who wish to kick back and truly immerse themselves in the 50s drive-in experience there will be movies shown from dusk. ‘Saturday Night At The Drive-In’ will be held on Saturday February 25, with gates opening at 3pm. Call the Dromana 3 Drive-In on ph: 5987 2492 for screening info or visit variety.org.au for event details and ticket info.
Paul Barry is fast becoming a well-known name on the Peninsula. After taking some big steps in the Live performance scene in 2009, winning three singer songwriter competitions in Victoria and taking home the Voter’s Choice Award in the nationwide Catapult song contest, Paul began playing support for acts such as Colin Hay (Men At Work), Chris Stockley (The Dingos), Juke Kartel and Bobby Flynn (Australian Idol). Paul’s songwriting began shortly after the death of his brother in a car accident, and his music has been compared to artists including Rob Thomas, Jeff Buckley and Ed Kowalczyk. Despite these common associations, Paul maintains an individual
sound and feel to his music and describes his influences as purely... life. “Everything I sing is true, and I hope it holds true for my audience also,” says Paul. Following the success of his band ‘Nowra’, formed with Jack Walters in 2010, Paul is set to get back to his roots with a solo EP planned for release late this year. Paul Barry plays The Rye Wine Lounge on February 19, and The Chandelier Room (Moorabbin) on March 10. For more information, gigs and dates head to paulbarry.net or facebook.com/ paulbarryfans or check out our Gig Guide in the centre pages.
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Live Music in the Beer Garden 2 to 5pm Walter Ego 12th Feb Ron Vincent sings Cat Stevens 19th Feb Legend 26th Feb MORNINGTON PENINSULA & BAYSIDE
HOT RODS IN THE PARK
REVIEW
January 1st, 2012 (Mornington Park) The 22nd Annual Hot Rods in the Park event was bathed in sunlight reflecting off well polished chrome with an intensity which threatened to blind many small children. On January 1, Mornington Park was awash with some of the finest classic cars and hot rods and was very well attended, given the stifling heat. The shady spots under the grand old trees were the first to be snapped up, rodders laying claim early and settling in for the day. BBQ’s filled the air with those enticing aromas that make you feel hungry even when you have only recently polished off a hangover curing breakfast. So much so that the snags were sold out early in the afternoon. The ice cream man did a roaring trade, but the day always belonged to the owners of these amazing autos. The amount of time that goes into these days must be enormous. Each owner would spend many hours preparing these beauties, not to mention the amount of time and money that goes into getting them built, restored or customised. Hundreds of cars and not a spec of dirt or dust to be seen. Each owner was chuffed to talk to anyone who would listen. Each pride and joy had a story that went with it and you could lose days hearing them all. Mustangs, Model T’s, Chevy’s, a 51 twin spinner... There really was something for everyone’s taste. A lazy day wandering around these classics would almost make you forget you even had a hangover. GARY BRADSHAW
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REVIEW
AUS DAY EVE w KISSCHASY & GUESTS 25th January (Pier Hotel, Frankston)
Like a mini ‘Big Day Out’, Australia Day eve at Frankston’s Pier Hotel ran two stages featuring nine local bands supporting Kisschasy. A short stroll across the infamous Pier Live floor and I was watching ‘Heartless Vendetta’ preparing for their assault on the growing
crowd’s eardrums. This band has a strong following in their hometown of Frankston, so the crowd had swelled before their time on stage arrived. Seasoned performers now, these blokes rocked through their set with an infectious enjoyment as the crowd pushed toward the stage, clearly enjoying the show. Next up was Anamiya, who hit the main stage with their selfdescribed rock/ punk/alternative set. Another Mornington Peninsula band, their followers had filled the first few rows behind the punter barrier, and were singing along and shouting words of love and respect. Couple of pretty cool songs, ‘Pleased To Meet You’ and ‘We Are’ had a sweet groove. ‘Brooklyn’s Finest’ were up next on Stage 2. I love rock chicks, and this band had two -
Brooklyn on lead vocals and Miss Brown on keys. A clever blend of funk and rock bordering on pop, the band cut through their set with polish that comes from experience beyond their years. Lovie (lead guitarist) looked almost out of place with his classic grunge look amongst the well-dressed folks but played some wicked licks and looked like he loves the stage. Harmonious, rocky, poppy, melodic and all wrapped into a slick package. One of the standouts of the night, ‘Summerset Avenue’ brought real rock attitude to the main stage. Leeanne’s vocals were awesome and for a band that have been around for less than two years, they certainly have it together. Carlos did a great job on lead guitar, ably assisted by the rhythm section. If this band doesn’t do something big in the following years, I will be very surprised. These guys have the right stuff. If you want to see a band enjoying their time on stage, you must check out ‘Earl’. Hard rocking, tattoos and bow ties! ‘Earl’ has a unique rocky sound with a pop edge, driven by
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great lyrics and backed by skilled muso’s that enjoy the moment. ‘You and I’ was a standout song, and ‘Love Interest’ was a crowd favourite. ‘Jonesez’ have been around for a while and never disappoint their loyal fan base. Rocking the main stage prior to Kisschasy, Jonesez oozed rock ‘n roll energy. An impressive set, well written songs and a kick ass rock sound. Their 40 minute set ended too soon, everybody wanted more. From the opening chords of ‘One Mistake’, it was clear who this crowd had come to see. Kisschasy hit the stage and the crowd erupted. The band’s drummer, Karl, was somewhere in the Amazon so his place on the skins was ably filled by Elliot Hammond from the Delta Riggs. The band has been quiet recently but watching this gig, you wouldn’t know it. I guess that doing nearly 1000 gigs, you would get to know your stuff pretty well, and they certainly know their stuff. ‘Do Do’s and Whoa Oh’s’, now an anthem, got the crowd to a fever pitch and the set finished with ‘Face Without A Name’. The mandatory encore followed and included ‘Black Dress’ and ‘Dinosaur’. They obviously enjoyed their set and perhaps the Live bug will bite them and we will see more of them gigging soon. A great night; 10 bands, all with something to offer. All Aussie, all local and all LOUD! Just the way I like it. photos & words - GARY BRADSHAW
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RED HOT SUMMER TOUR 2012 INXS, Vanessa Amorosi, James Reyne, Daniel Champagne. January 22nd (Morning Star Estate) INXS
Australians love Live music, especially home grown bands. When INXS sought a lead singer following the tragic death of Michael Hutchence, we closely followed their journey. Now in 2012, INXS sound as good as ever and new front man Ciaran Gribbin fits the band perfectly, like one of Jon Farris’ drumming gloves.
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I had the pleasure of seeing the band as part of the Redhot Summer Tour at Morning Star Estate. Musically, this band has always been great talented muso’s with awesome songs – and the audience was wondering if Ciaran could work with the band. After all, we owned INXS and MH. Don’t you go and bugger this up! It took about 30 seconds for the ‘come on, impress me’ looks on some faces to turn into ‘OMG, INXS are BACK!’ Ciaran cannot only sing, but as a front man, he entertains and looked as if he had been part of this group forever. Performing a sell-out gig, on MH’s birthday, to a diehard Aussie crowd that had been baking and drinking in the hot sun for hours could have got real ugly, if he didn’t cut the mustard. No such thing here. Ciaran rocked through the set list and had the crowd’s undivided attention. I spoke with many people before, during and after and there was not a single negative comment about his performance. INXS delivered an INXS rock n roll show, just what the crowd was looking for. Old songs, new songs and all of the favourites. A new album is on the way and I would say that this is the start of another successful time in the band’s career. Perhaps they could emulate another great Aussie band that lost a singer and came back to worldwide success, and another band we own: ACDC. Long live INXS!
Vanessa Amorosi
I love rock chicks. We all do and Vanessa is our own, home grown rock chick. Backed by a band of familiar faces, Vanessa belted out some cool tunes, resplendent in her new blonde hair. Maturing in her performances, Vanessa rocked through songs like ‘Who I Am’, ‘Hazardous’ and ‘Mr Mysterious’ whilst comfortably delivering a polished performance. Finishing her set with a bit of pole dancing was something different! The crowd was screaming for more music but such is the way of
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James Reyne
I have been a fan for many years, with early Australian Crawl records filling my room with a sound that became the bane of my parent’s lives. Over the years, James has refined the early work and added some strong tunes that have become crowd favourites. The new single, ‘English Girls’ is destined to be one of those. James’ set list was classic after classic: ‘Beautiful People’, ‘Things Don’t Seem’ and ‘Hammerhead’ - all great songs played by a very talented band. No matter how many times I see Reyne play, it is always a good show and I never tire of these songs.
Daniel Champagne
Wow! I had seen him on You Tube but wasn’t prepared for his Live performance. He simply blew the crowd away with his ‘blues meets folk’ sound as he worked the guitar like nothing I have seen from an Aussie, let alone a kid his age. I call him a kid because he looks about 17. No shoes, scraggy clothes. Imagine Steve Vai and Jose Feliciano’s love child and you would be half way to the guitar prowess of this young man who owns powerful vocals and has a great stage presence. There is a huge future for him, not just in Australia. He has what it takes to conquer the world. photos & words - GARY BRADSHAW
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January 3rd, 2012 (Chelsea Heights Hotel)
Big Day Out sideshow at The Bowl February 1st
Selling more than 20 million albums worldwide Soundgarden with Pearl Jam and Nirvana were responsible for the Seatle grunge movement that changed rock forever. Touring Oz with the Big Day Out for their first shows outside the US in fifteen years Chris Cornell’s voice was brilliant, and easily the benchmark we expected straight off the back of his huge solo tour creating an epic quinella for those lucky to catch both sides of the scale. Showing no sign of fatigue juggling both bands Matt Cameron was definitely more aggressive on drums than he is in Pearl Jam as the true godfathers of grunge motored through classics from almost every album. It was a sea of black tee’s looking back from the stage with grinning fans getting every thing they’d dreamed of from a Soundgarden concert, raw and powerful. There was no mention of the BDO incident on the Gold Coast with Kanye’s crew but most think Chris covered that for better or worse at the time and again later on Twitter. It was exciting to hear talk of the boys returning later in the year, and even more so the long awaited new album they’ll be touring! photos & words - SIMON MILLS
these gigs, time is of the essence and it’s never a bad thing to leave a crowd wanting more.
REVIEW
Since winning Triple J’s first ‘Unearthed’ competition in 1985, Grinspoon have continued to make quality Aussie rock n roll. In 2004 they picked up an Aria for Rock Album of the Year for ‘Thrills, Kills & Sunday Pills’. In 2009 they released the album ‘Six to Midnight’ which featured the opening track ‘Dogs’ and 2012 sees them touring again after almost a year off. The hiatus hasn’t hurt their Live performance, from the opening song to the final encore, Grinspoon rocked the Chelsea Heights room to its core. Opening with ’Run’, also from ‘Six to Midnight’, the band ripped through songs from 2005’s album ‘Best in Show’ and also featured songs from the bands entire career. Grinspoon were supported by ‘The Redcoats’, another home grown, hard rocking Aussie band. All in all, a captivating rock n roll show. Aussie rock n roll is alive and well. Rock On! photos & words - GARY BRADSHAW
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#02 The Night Out With The Girls • When waiting out the front of a pub or club with your girlfriends, remember to talk loudly claiming that you know the owner, and all of the security. Better yet, don’t wait in the queue like all of the other peasants, walk directly to the head of the line and demand entrance to the establishment. Catch phrases like “do you know who I am” and “I used to manage here 20 years ago” will surely part the sea of ex-prison inmate bouncers, and you will be free to come and go from the venue as you please. • Ladies, get to know the world renowned
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dancefloor move, the “Indian War Dance”. This little routine can be seen in bars all over the world, and is an easy one to bring out at your local when the time is right. Take all of your handbags and jackets, put them into a big pile in the middle of the floor, and proceed to get your jiggle on, dancing around your make-believe bonfire in an ever increasing circle. Any form of freestyle dance is allowed, from salsa, to classical ballet, soft shoe shuffle to free form hippy earth dancing. Your collection of possessions all over the floor will infuriate other patrons
trying to dance and move around the room, but will also serve as a momento of your night out, with your handbag and jacket sure to be covered with sweat and spilt alcohol from your night out. • About halfway through the night, you’re no doubt going to feel like stepping things up a notch in the dancing and partying stakes. Why not find the first thing that catches your eye with any height associated with it, step up and make this your podium on which to show off your moves. Don’t worry if the security guards come over and ask you to step down, they’re just jealous of your dancing abilities. As soon as they’re out of sight, jump back up and continue your
exhibition of what looks to be an Amsterdam red light district booth strip tease. For added effect, bring one of your girlfriends up on the podium with you. Your display of faux lesbianism is sure to go unnoticed and will be the last thing to draw the attention of the many drunken blokes in the room that will want to crack onto you! JK is one half of the comedy duo ‘JK and Si’. Both musicians, the pair produce a weekly podcast called ‘The PUBcast’ (available on iTunes) and are co-writing a book on ‘Being A Professional Muso’, packed full of stories you’ll hear each issue in PEARL. For more info, go to jkandsi.com
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MARTY WILLIAMS GOES SOLO, HERE & NOW Peninsula’s loved and respected Marty Williams has just launched his debut solo CD ‘Here & Now’, and is putting the finishing touches on a short documentary/film on the songs behind the album. Having spent the last eight years as part of the Peninsula Songriders Club, 2012 is a chance for Williams to return to performing his music more often, with ‘Here & Now’ set to open more than a few doors in the coming months. One place to catch Marty around the Peninsula is at The Rose GPO. He’ll be performing as a duo on Sunday February 12, and with a full band on Saturday February 18, so there’s no excuse not to head down to Rosebud to catch this gifted writer and musician. The Rose GPO is located at 1003 Point Nepean Rd, Rosebud. For more information call ph: 5982 3200. You can also pick up your copy of Marty’s CD ‘Here & Now’ online or in Mornington, from Zen Living, Page 8 & Bianca’s Tea House. For more details go to martynelsonwilliams.com
with Lachlan Bryan If hearing the words ‘country’ and ‘music’ in close proximity makes you squirm, recent trends within the roots scene may be cause for alarm. This year’s Byron Bay BluesFest has around 20 ‘country’ artists on the bill (including Steve Earle and Lucinda Williams) and my visit to the recent Tamworth Country Music Festival confirmed my own belief that the genre is starting to attract younger fans. For country-obsessives like myself, this is good news. Local Peninsula boys The Quarry Mountain Dead Rats are one group embracing country music’s resurgence. They recently recorded their debut record with ARIA-winning country star (and Kasey Chambers’ husband) Shane Nicholson. I asked Shane about the process of producing the band. “I’m pretty choosy about what I work on,” he said. “I really enjoyed
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this record. It’s really fast. Even for bluegrass. It’s also the first record in a while that I haven’t played anything myself. But it was a really enjoyable process and they were all really good guys – great to work with”. Shane is certainly a good person to impress in the country scene, having recently been nominated for seven Golden Guitar Awards, and it seems the QMDR’s are on the right track. Of course, they’re not the only Peninsula lads getting “all country on us”. New Settlement Road may be based in Mt Eliza, but their debut album ‘Among the Gentlest of Birds’ conjures up rural images of dusty highways, rickety fence-posts and abandoned old shacks. Produced by Robin Mai (John Butler, Augie March) the album is a mature work filled with lovingly sketched narratives. It was released independently in late 2011 and is well worth checking out, even if you don’t count yourself amongst country’s new fans.
Of course, for any style of music to thrive it needs supportive Live venues. As far as country, blues and roots music on the Peninsula goes, Baha in Rye is leading the way. On February 24, the venue plays host to Jordie Lane – one of the finest country storytellers to appear on the Melbourne scene in recent years. If you’re even slightly curious as to why country’s catching on, I strongly recommend you get down to the show. You might just be converted. Lachlan Bryan is a primarily a singer songwriter, with his debut album ‘Shadow of the Gun’ in stores now through Core/Sony. He also moonlights as a gifted observer and music journalist, and will be writing monthly for PEARL on all things folk/country/bluegrass. If you’ve got a new release, upcoming show or you’d like to get in touch with Lachlan, drop him a line at countryfolk@pearlmag.com.au
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PEARL: In comparison to arenas the band are used to playing, would you be interested in a gig on the Mornington Peninsula? JULES: F*ck yeah! We just haven’t had any push to go that way. Most of the gigs we play in Melbourne have been up north. We haven’t played any gigs to the south of the Yarra, except Geelong. I’d love to play in my hometown but the opportunity has to be there. PEARL: You guys have been playing overseas lately, how have the fans reacted? JULES: They’ve reacted really well. We’re a bit of an unusual band, so when people hear us they either love us or hate us. Last year we went to New Zealand and North America and people loved it. We play obscure music that’s not the kind of stuff you’d hear on the radio, so it’s hard to get impress people if they haven’t seen us Live. PEARL: Those who’ve heard the band’s early stuff, as well as the more recent stuff would have noticed a big shift in the general sound, Can you tell us what’s next for the band? JULES: Over the past few months, we’ve been adding more vocals to our songs and we’ve written a few slower tunes. This progression has been a combination of the vocalists feeling more confident and a response to a general feeling that people were losing interest because we’re so heavily instrumental. To me it makes sense, the human voice is a powerful thing. PEARL: You’ve been hailed as a “Gypsy Deathcore Jugganaught band”, can you tell me what that means? JULES: To be honest, I think it’s a bit of a smokescreen as we don’t really play Gypsy or Deathcore music, and I’m not sure we’re a Jugganaught. In fairness, we are definitely a band that’s hard to categorise, so we came up with “Gypsy Deathcore” as a bit of an eye opener to grab interest. I’d say we have one foot in the Balkan Brass band and another in the heavy Metal/Punk scene. PEARL: So you’re none of it, yet all of it in a way? JULES: I guess it means we have something unique that gathers interest. The Barons of Tang are currently readying themselves for the “Tooth and Nail” tour with Delaney Davidson. They return to Australia for dates in March. More at thebaronsoftang.com BEN LOPEZ
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With lashing tango, rockabilly, metal and gypsy feels combined with hard hitting guitar riffs, double kick blast beats and massive horn arrangements, ‘The Barons of Tang’ serve up their self described ‘Gypsy Death-core’. At a recent show on the Melbourne leg of their tour, our hard rock/heavy man on the ground, Ben Lopez, managed a quick interrogation with Jules Brunton, a Frankston born lad, and lead guitarist for the band. PEARL: First things first, how did the band meet? JULES: I joined the band two years ago, when I heard their lead guitarist was leaving. I called them up and with my style and their sound, it seemed a pretty natural fit. The other guys met at an underground punk fest in Adelaide. PEARL: What inspired you to start playing music? JULES: When I was 10 years old, Dire Straits played in Australia. I saw it on the telly, and said ‘I want to do that’. PEARL: You want your money for nothing and your chicks for free? JULES: Well, I don’t get any money, and my chicks cost a fortune, so yeah... (laughter) PEARL: Apart from Dire Straits, are there other major influences on your playing style? JULES: It’s pretty mixed, for instance, French music like Django Reinhart has been a massive influence, but going back to the times of thrash, there’s Megadeth and Metallica. I like to experiment with style and have studied classical guitar, but ultimately I am influenced by guitarists I hear along the way and think “Wow!”
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Greetings mortal folks. I have tidings of the future for all ye who read my words! So, let me spill the beans on what goodies we can all expect… Locally founded band ‘The Barons of Tang’ will be wrapping up the current leg of their tour through here at the start of February, and though I know of no shows locally to speak of, I do have to mention that they are kicking butts and taking names, gypsy hard rock style all across the country. That makes me so proud of our boys… Tuesday February 28, will see the UK post punk-band ‘Sisters of Mercy’ hitting the Corner Hotel in a one-off show alongside their Soundwave tour. Doors will open at 8pm. Head to cornerhotel. com, or go to the Corner Hotel box office to book tickets now. Hitting The Pier Hotel in Frankston on Friday March 9, will be the loud and proud boys of ‘The Amity Affliction’.
Doors will open at 7pm. Book tickets now from ticketmaster.com now or miss out. Oztix informs me that tickets are available to the Melbourne tour of ‘Bad Religion’ who will be performing on Monday February 27. Also coming up over on Monday February 27 are ‘Mastodon’, followed by ‘Machine Head’ on Tuesday February 28. Sorry guys, tickets sold out on these last two gigs. Oh, and don’t forget that Soundwave is looming over the horizon too. Yes, indeed, this is a good time to be living within a stone’s throw of Melbourne and the Peninsula. Ben will be writing monthly for PEARL on everything metal, hard rock, punk and hardcore. If you’d like Ben to review your release or you know of something happening in the ‘heavy’ world, drop him a line at rock@pearlmag.com.au
After touring across the UK, Europe and America and playing national shows at The Big Day Out, The Amity Affliction will be returning in March to play Pier Live in Frankston. Since the release of their sophomore album Youngbloods, it has been a whirlwind 18 months for the Brisbane based post-hardcore outfit. After being handpicked as the only Australian band on the 2011 Soundwave Festival the band went on to fill 2000+ capacity venues on their own merits and quickly became the most talked about band in the Australian alternative music scene. All this commotion in Australia caught the attention of Roadrunner Records in New York (home to names such as Korn, Slipknot and Killswitch Engage) who signed the band in late 2011. Despite the less than favourable retort from Noel Gallagher at the Big Day Out weeks ago – he labeled the band as “sounding like a dead turd” during a TripleJ interview backstage – the band has no intentions of slowing down with a US tour booked for March and a record planned for release in the second half of 2012. The Amity Affliction play Pier Live, 508 Nepean Highway Frankston, on Friday March 9, alongside Driven to the Verge, The Sleepless, City of Sirens, Asperity Within. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster.
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THE STORY OF BON SCOTT
Rock musician Nick Barker is known for his raw and intimately connected performances. This February he will tell the story of AC/DC front man and Aussie music legend Bon Scott and his rise to fame, stories that will be interspersed with hit songs in a truly unique stage show. Directed by Rockwiz’s Brian Nankervis - one of Australia’s most celebrated rock ‘n roll brains and a living musical encyclopedia – the show follows Bon’s life from Scotland to Australia, through his hell-raising teenage years and the bands that came before AC/DC – ‘The Spektors’, ‘The Valentines’ and ‘Fraternity’. From hippie epiphanies to bubblegum pop to the iconic early years of AC/DC, ‘Hell Ain’t A Bad Place To Be’ celebrates the music, the heartbreak and the life of Bon Scott – a quintessential rock ‘n roll story that ended far too soon. Australian rocker Nick Barker, one of Australia’s finest songwriters and a famed solo musician in his own right, connects with the Bon Scott story on a number of levels. “The impact that AC/DC had on me as a teenager, and growing up as a musician in general, was huge,” said Barker. “Bon Scott is an Australian icon as much as Ned Kelly.” Audiences will experience a powerful showcase of 22 Bon Scott signature songs, from rock anthems to fan favourites and classics like ‘T.N.T’, ‘High Voltage’ and ‘It’s A Long Way To The Top’. “We’re doing his show with the humility and truth that it deserves,” Barker says. “The story of the rise of AC/DC is in everyone’s memory as if we were all there; riding high through the middle of Melbourne in the 1970’s. At the centre of the band stands a man with bagpipes and a wicked grin – Bon Scott.” ‘Hell Ain’t a Bad Place to Be’ will be staged at the Frankston Arts Centre for one night only on Saturday, March 3. Tickets available through the Frankston Arts Centre Box Office on ph: 9784 1060 (Monday - Friday 9am-5pm, Saturday 9am-2pm). For more information on the show head to hellaintabadplacetobe.com.au or artscentre.frankston.vic.gov.au
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Saturday 3 March, 8pm Tickets: Members $39, Adults $49, Conc. $45
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Pics above by Luke Chalmers Pics below by Rob Young
For the first time in over five years, surfers from the Peninsula Surfriders Club (PSC) have qualified to take part in the Jim Beam Surftag Australian Championships in Ballina, February 21-24. Heats were held at Gunnamatta Beach in early January, where PSC placed second in the titles behind Philip Island Boardriders. The Jim Beam Surftag Australian Series is a tag team surfing competition contested by boardriding clubs and run under the popular Surftag format with each club represented by five surfers. In relay style each surfer catches three waves and then returns to the beach to tag their team’s next surfer. Heat duration is one hour with four teams contesting each heat, bonus points are on offer for each team’s fifth surfer returning to the tag area on the beach. The top two teams from each heat progress to the next round and to add to the excitement every surfer’s second wave is worth double points (Powerwave). The Jim Beam Surftag Australian Series provides a national competition for boardriding clubs to compete against each other and to determine Australia’s No.1 club. The Jim Beam Surftag is Australia’s largest team surfing competition and offers a prize pool of over $130,000 in cash and prizes. PSC will come up against some of the world’s best at the Australian titles, with many pro surfers, such as past world champion Mick Fanning and other ASP world tour competitors hitting the waves for their clubs. The PSC team are ready to take on the challenge and are determined to do their best as they compete with the elite of the surfing world. Follow the Club’s progress at globalsurftag.com
WHO ARE THE MALADICTION LONGBOARDERS? Maladiction Longboarders are group of passionate and dedicated surfers from the Mornington Peninsula led by current club President, Andy Carter. The club, founded in 1997 by inaugural President Jon Storm, meets roughly once a month and depending on conditions, usually surf at Rye, Gunnamatta, Flinders or Shoreham. Two of the club’s contests, the ‘Summer Classic’ and the ‘Californian Cup’ are coming up over the next few months. The ‘Summer Classic’ fundraising event is held on February 18 on the Peninsula, whilst the teams titles event ‘The Californian Cup’ - a contest against the SOUL Club on the West Coast – is on April 21. Three club comps have already been and gone, with only two remaining to see who will be the club champion and also the winner of the other three events. The club has several members with state and national credentials, but also comprises of many everyday surfers who just love a day at the beach, talking surf stories, enjoying the bbq and refreshments after contests while listening to the day’s results. Maladiction Longboarders encourage new members at the start of each season (October) and enjoy seeing new blood in the club. Check the out at maladiction.org and also on Facebook.
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THE BEGINNINGS OF BALIN Balin was established in 1974 by two surfers, Ian Brett and Jon Wilson. The two met on the beaches of the Mornington Peninsula, and formulated the idea of a business as a means of formalising a side project and pastime Brett had been involved in for the past few years. Brett had spent time experimenting and testing urethane leg ropes, which at that stage were a new thing, and had devised a product called ‘the comfort strap’. This was an alternative to the early practice of using common VB cord from the hardware store, and became so popular that backyard production began to produce a complete rope and rubber item. When Brett’s partner in the leg rope business left to travel, Jon Wilson came on board and the two designed a new end piece that was later to become the global standard for nearly all leg ropes. With a leg rope that was far better than anything on the market, they went to America to sell their revolutionary product to the world. Today Balin produce the strongest leashes ever, with the company having grown over the last 30 years to a full time operation, with a staff of over 30 and customers all over the world. Discover Balin Surfboards for yourself at their two locations - 1981 Point Nepean Rd, Tootgarook and 76 Ocean Beach Rd, Sorrento.
“There’s no better time than summer to grab your mates, jump in the car and head to the beach. But when you get behind the wheel, respect the road like you would the surf.” That’s the powerful message surfers Adam Robertson and Jack Perry are sending young groms, as they embark on the ‘VicRoads Surf with the Boys Tour’ presented by Play it Safe by the Water and Metricon. The tour consists of 10 sessions held at locations along the Victorian coastline from Portland to Lakes Entrance. The ‘VicRoads Surf with the Boys Tour’ will involve Adam and Jack taking young surfers through their paces and educating them on safety both in and out of the water. Aimed at male surfers aged 14-22 with intermediate surf skills and their own gear, ‘Surf with the Boys’ is about driving safe and surfing safe. “Part of the fun of heading for a surf is the road trip,” said Robertson. “Strapping your board to the roof, picking your mates up and searching for the best break is something all surfers enjoy. While that’s a great part of the experience, the reality is that young male drivers and passengers - like those attending our surf clinics - are most likely to be injured or killed on the roads. It’s vital that these young guys realise that and know the conditions and
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2012 VicRoads Surf With the Boys Tour presented by Play It Safe by the Water & Metricon Tuesday 14th February @ Mornington Peninsula For more info www.surfingaustralia.com/vic Phillip Island Junior Titles Final Round of the 2012 Victorian Junior Titles Saturday 18 February to Sunday 19 February @ Phillip Island For more info www.surfingaustralia.com/vic On A Mission Summer Classic Fundraiser For Maladiction Longboarders Saturday 18 February @ Mornington Peninsula - check the website for exact location! For more info, head to www.maladiction.org Victorian ‘Stand Up And Paddle’ Titles Presented by VB Saturday 25 February to Sunday 26 February @ Torquay For more info, head to www.surfingaustralia. com/vic Mornington Peninsula Bodyboarders Comp #2 Sunday 26th February @ Portsea Back Beach For more info, find ‘Mornington Peninsula Bodyboarders’ on Facebook. Let PEARL know about any local surf, skate or adrenalin sport activity, drop us a line editor@pearlmag.com.au
how to handle them - whether they’re on the road or in the surf.” VicRoads Regional Director, Scott Lawrence, said the ‘Surf with the Boys Tour’ emphasises the parallels between surf and road safety. “Research has shown that learner drivers who log 120 hours are 30% less likely to crash when they start driving solo. This partnership between VicRoads and Surfing Victoria provides a valuable opportunity to communicate the importance of safety and awareness to young drivers and their families.” ‘Surf with the Boys Tour’ is FREE and just above an introductory learn to surf class. All participants are expected to be able to swim 200 meters and have the basic surfing skills of being able to catch and ride an unbroken wave. It is a skill development program that aims to help male surfers develop strategies that will help them be safe on the open road and also become better surfers. The ‘VicRoads Surf with the Boys Tour’ presented by Play it Safe by the Water and Metricon will be on the Mornington Peninsula on February 14 and Phillip Island on February 17. For full dates, visit the Surfing Victoria website on surfingaustralia.com/vic
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Photos by: Nick Wilms far left, Rod Barber left
Interview by Davo AGE: 18 NICK NAME: Gobrat LIVES: Mt Martha, Vic LOCAL SURF BREAK: Gunnamatta, Rye SPONSORS: Insight clothing, Shed Nine Surf shop, Vanda Surfboards, Aviant Wetsuits, DVS Shoes, Tools Surf Hardware EMPLOYER: Shed Nine FAVOURITE SURF TRICKS: Air Reverses & Layback Hacks FAVOURITE DANCE MOVES: I don’t know what you would call it but look up Tommy Franklin. That guy knows some dance moves!! FAVOURITE BAND: The Black Lips LADIES: Yes please, haha PEARL: You’ve just finished school, where you spent the last two years working two days a week at the Shed Nine Surf Shop in Rye and three days at school as part of the VCAL program. How was this experience? Did it help your surfing? MICHAEL: Working at the Shed Nine shop has given me the chance to meet and surf with pros like Marti Paradisis, Martin Potter and Alex Gray. On my first day of work, Eddie sent me down to the beach with his camera to film Marti Paradisis surf. That’s gotta be good for your surfing! PEARL: This year you will be competing on the World Pro Junior Surfing Tour. How many events are there on the tour and which ones do you hope to compete at? MICHAEL: There are around 25 evens for the year but not all have been confirmed yet. I’m hoping to do most of the ones in Australia and do some overseas like Hawaii and California. PEARL: How does a kid from Mt Martha end up competing on the world junior surfing tour? How did you get to surf so much and what pushed you to reach that level? MICHAEL: It helped a lot that dad drove me down to the beach nearly every day. Having a group of mates that froth on surfing and push each other out in the surf helped, and joining
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the Peninsula Surfriders Club. The club comps definitely help improve your surfing, competing against the top surfers on the Peninsula. PEARL: The Mornington Peninsula is not known as a breeding ground for Pro Surfers. Although we have consistent swell, there have only been a handful of guys to compete on that elite level. Is this a mould you and the new generation of local surfers are keen to break? MICHAEL: For sure. The Peninsula Surfriders Club has been a great for junior surfing on our coast. For the past four years they have been getting the head coach from Surfing Australia’s High Performance Centre (Gary Cruickshank) down for a week to work on technique and tactics and it has really improved the standard of local junior surfing. I think with all the young guys pushing each other we will see more of them taking their surfing to the higher level. PEARL: Who are your favourite surfers in the world right now? MICHAEL: Definitely Dusty Payne, Craig Anderson and Julian Wilson. They are all so good at doing huge airs, I’d love to be surfing as good as them when i’m their age. PEARL: What do you say to the super young kids who are getting into surfing on the Peninsula now? MICHAEL: Get out in the water as often as you can and have fun. PEARL: Comps or free surfing? MICHAEL: I love to compete but free surfing is awesome, having no time limit. You don’t have to worry about what the other guys are doing, you just got out and have fun and do whatever you want. PEARL: Barrels or airs? MICHAEL: As much as doing airs feels rad, I’d have to say barrels. Getting barrelled and making it out clean is definitely the best feeling in surfing. PEARL: Blondes or Brunettes? MICHAEL: Both are great! PEARL: Hip hop, Punk, Metal or rock n roll? MICHAEL: Rap and Garage Rock are pretty rad. PEARL: Any last words? MICHAEL: Ahhh im off to bed i gotta surf tomorrow.
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Nearly a decade after Victoria’s East Coast Bodyboarding Club packed it in, The Mornington Peninsula Bodyboarders Club paddled out for its first competition in 2011. Fast forward a year and the club has over 90 members statewide, has hosted Australian Pro Tour Bodyboarding events as well as successful social events and industry premiere nights, and they have just kicked off 2012 with a successful 1st comp at Rye Ocean Beach. The Mornington Peninsula Bodyboarders Club aims to actively develop the sport on a local level, to encourage and harness the youth of Victoria into excelling and enjoying their time in the ocean. The club is now setting its sights on their second competition of the year at Portsea Back Beach on February 25. The back beach in Portsea is a great location for bodyboarding, with its peaky beach breaks and broken sand bars creating the perfect platform for the highest quality bodyboarding. The area is also close to the club as it was on that very beach, many years ago, that the first club on the Peninsula was formed and the first events were held.
The sport of bodyboarding is currently booming as a result of extreme sport industry leaders such as Red Bull broadcasting events like the IBA World Tour from the most exciting and high performance locations around the world. Seeing these events generates a passion and drive on a local level for people to hit the beach, get in the water and have some fun. The sport is still in its infancy, so it can go in any direction but for now The Mornington Peninsula Bodyboarders Club are stoked to be able to provide events in which Victorian bodyboarders can develop and improve. Memberships are available - $100 for Over 18’s and $40 for Under 18’s, Women and Social Members. There are eight divisions so all skill levels and age brackets are scaled and catered for. For more information on The Mornington Peninsula Bodyboarders Club and membership forms please email mpbodyboardclub@hotmail.com or find them on Facebook: Mornington Peninsula Bodyboarders. Pic by Chris Bagot
ADRENALIN RUSH
IT’S A BIRD, IT’S A PLANE, IT’S A KITEBOARDER
For those new to the terminology, Kitesurfing represents a blend of many sports such as wakeboarding, surfing, kite flying, windsurfing and even skateboarding and snowboarding. With a massive appeal as a relatively easy sport to master, more and more people are taking to the sea and sky for an adrenaline rush like no other. The sport has come a long way since its origins in the late 1970s, when two French brothers developed the first kites, and later their patented inflatable kite design, for surfing. Infamous big wave surfers Laird Hamilton and Manu Bertin began kitesurfing off the Hawaiin coast of Maui, demonstrating and increasing the sport’s popularity and by 1998 it had entered the mainstream, with several schools also teaching kitesurfing.
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Since 2005, advances in safety, kite design and marketing has brought about the biggest growth of the sport, leading to a total of 210,000 kites sold worldwide in 2006. Since then, Kiteboarding has grown at a staggering 35%-50% annually making it the biggest growing board sport in the world, with hundreds of registered schools, shops and a number of Kiteboarding Associations across the globe. The Mornington Peninsula has become a premier Kiteboarding and Kitesurfing location in Victoria, with everything from glass flat shallow water, small bay waves, open ocean surf beaches, as well as reef and point breaks in our backyard. Peninsula Kiteboarding offers specialised lessons for a range of ages to get you out into the water and enjoying this rapidly expanding sport. Understanding how actions can impact the sport, the environment and the general view of the public, Peninsula Kiteboarding’s tuition for new Kiteborders includes more than just the safety and the basics. Additional topics cover minimizing impact on the environment, protecting the safety of the public and being open, courteous and polite to onlookers. The goal is to bring new people into a great sport with a focus on the safety, environment, oceans, beaches & our public perception. All lessons are taught to IKO Standard with all students being certified with an IKO Member Card, valid World Wide. We offer lessons in blocks and a lesson will usually last 1-3 hours so larger lesson blocks will more than likely spread over 2 or 3 different days. Book your lesson now by heading to www.peninsulakiteboarding.com.au or giving Peninsula Kiteboarding founder Trent a call on 0413 835 345.
Hi, my name’s Nick Wilms (see pic below). I’m 20yrs old and I currently reside in Bittern, Victoria. I’ve been shooting surfing for most of my teenage years, but with trips around Australia and a recent seven week stint in Indonesia, I’ve started to take my photography to the next level. My everyday setup is a Canon 7D, Water Housing with 10mm, 50mm lenses for water and 300mm f4 for land. I try to focus on water photography more than land, especially in big waves. With the camera rig weighing in at over 3kg in the water, you need to be physically fit. This separates you from the average punter, therefore increasing your chances of creating some pretty unique and special moments for the reader/viewer. Feel free to contact me with any questions, and if you’re interested in my work please visit my website: nick-wilms.tumblr.com
Pic by Robert Walwyn
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POLISHED
with Andrea Louise Thomas
Pearl magazine, although still evolving, is already a huge success. This only proves that there is a love of arts and culture in our community. Some wonder what arts and culture do for us. Personally, I love arts and culture because they ignite in me something very deep and humanemotion. Arts communicate this in an ecstatic and enlightening way. Creativity causes me to appreciate at all that is good in humanity. I find it uplifting. It makes me want to excel. The arts are not a luxury. They are food for the soul. They are essential to the whole evolution of humanity. Even while fighting for survival and struggling to find food, earliest humans took the time to document their lives through cave paintings. If a troglodyte needs art, so do we. The love of arts and culture has always been a driving force in my life. I’ve had a lifelong desire to gaze at paintings, marvel at architecture, be absorbed by movies, moved by poetry and dance, inspired by concerts and delighted by decorative arts applying both an adoring and a critical eye. Partly because news media seems to focus largely on negativity, we need the uplift of arts, of viewing what is beautiful, inspiring and original. If you ask an artist, most will tell you that it is not just a pleasure to create, but a compulsion. The need to express is human at its core. As I writer I can relate to this. I am happiest when writing. I also love to paint, photograph and feel clay between my fingers. I have derived a deep satisfaction from creating since childhood. So, in this issue, I have interviewed a number of people from various fields who share their love of arts and culture with us. Hope you enjoy reading about them. I’ll seek to shed light on as many artistic souls as I can find in our wildly creative community. Until then, I hope you revel in creativity and share in the love of arts and culture. If you’ve got something to share relating to arts and culture or would like to list an arts event, please contact me: artseditor@pearlmag.com.au Cheers, ANDREA LOUISE THOMAS, Your Arts Editor
A BRUSH WITH LOCAL ARTISTS
The Peninsula Studio Trail is a collective of local artists who decided to expose their artistic process to the public. While many people visit art galleries for viewing pleasure or attend art exhibitions to purchase art, not many are able to engage directly with the artist, let alone catch them in the act of creation. This is where PST is so unique. Patrons follow a self-guided “trail” map to any of the studios they choose. Artists are open most days, but some are only open by appointment so its best to call first. The PST has two open weekends each year when all of the artists’ studios are open to the public and the next one is March 10-12. Interestingly, the artists also refer to one another. Should one artist’s work not be the particular cup of tea of a given client, the patron can then be directed to a referral book of other PST artists to peruse helping them to decide who to visit next. To get an insider’s insight, I interviewed PST artist, Michael Leeworthy in his Red Hill South Studio to find out how the PST came to be. It all started about three years ago when a small group of artists got together. They thought it would be of great benefit to network with one another, to socialize
and to share creative ideas by opening their studios to the public. Michael said most patrons find it quite exciting to “meet the maker”. Being inside the artist’s working environment is not an everyday experience for most art patrons. It can be both intriguing and illuminating. The benefit to artists in being part of the PST is in gaining greater exposure, increased sales and direct contact with their clients. Michael also pointed out that many artists work long hours alone. This can be a lonely process. The opportunity to form friendships, bond with like -minded people and have the opportunity to socialize is very beneficial to the artists. I wondered how the artists were chosen, if anyone could enter, and if so, how? A quality assessment is carried out by a group of qualified, experienced artists who then introduce the work to the PST committee. It’s imperative that the artist has a fully insured studio safe and suitable for visitors. The rest is a matter of personal taste. It’s fair to say the PST has something for everyone. For more information on the PST, contact President, Judy Reekie on 0417 553 537 or visit their Peninsula Studio Trail facebook page.
Pictured Michael Leeworthy’s recent works and the artist in studio. Words by: ANDREA LOUISE THOMAS
WELL FORMED IDEA AT MONTALTO The Montalto Sculpture Prize is only one facet in Montalto’s crown of jewels, but it’s a bright one. The prize is $20,000. It’s an acquisitive prize, which means that Montalto acquires the work and the artist gets the prize money. This monumental sculpture competition attracts a growing number of top shelf artists every year. When I say monumental, I meant it. It takes trucks and cranes to install the extraordinary variety of sculptures made from often very heavy materials and crafted on a grand scale. This year a panel of five judges painstakingly whittle the hundred entries down to a shortlist of 25 finalists. On February 19, the winner will be announced at a special ceremony held on site. Finalists will be on display until the end of April. All sculptures will be for sale, except, of course, the winner. This annual competition has been taking place since Montalto opened its doors in 2002. Each year’s winners are added to its permanent collection interspersed amongst verdant rolling hills, wild wetlands and lovingly tended gardens. Montalto Vineyard and Olive Grove is owned and run by the Mitchell family. It is clearly a labour of love with a true heart for environmental integrity. Originally, the idea for a vineyard was the retirement dream of John and Wendy Mitchell. While living in England, the family spent their annual summer
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You are my Aurora Australis mysteriously wonderful and mesmerizing. I am aglow with you. The skies under my eyelids are technicolour dreams. Your first touch as I stood in the gallery gazing past the glass at the glazed wares of yesteryear still has not left me and somehow I suspect it never will. You have altered me profoundly lifted me into that magical dark sky and played a symphony across my soul. holidays in the South of France. Their deep appreciation for the beautiful vineyards trailing down to the sea, the joyful disposition of the local people and, of course, the welcome glass of wine in the late afternoon left a lasting impression. Montalto means high mountain, but its namesake was actually the street the Mitchells lived on when they resided in Melbourne. Sitting beautifully atop a ridge in Red Hill South on Shoreham Road, this complex now boasts a first class restaurant featuring produce grown on the grounds, a wide range of
excellent wine, a delightful café and a brilliant collection of sculpture in an idyllic setting. Last year, Montalto was awarded the Best Tourism Winery award. A trip to Red Hill South to enjoy the many gems on offer at Montalto is well worthwhile, but don’t forget to appreciate the art. If you have any questions about Montalto, you can speak to John Mitchell or his very hospitable daughter Heidi whom I interviewed for this piece on 5989 8412 or visit their lovely website: www.montalto.com.au. ANDREA LOUISE THOMAS
I anxiously await sleep in order to float wilfully over to you to rest next to your warm flesh to feel the aurora play out inside me. Your kisses in the rain under the green - lit canopy of elms still play upon my lips Bicycle bells rang past us but our embrace was oblivious to the giggles of passers by. On that spot at that moment were only you and I and the blossoming of a future. © 2012 ANDREA LOUISE THOMAS
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INTERVIEW: ANDREA EBSWORTH Ceramic Artist and Cultural Planner Andrea Ebsworth is a career ceramic artist with a number of university degrees in the arts. She has created thousands of exceptional individual pieces of art and sculpture over the years, as well as, many public art projects. She has worked all over Australia in both urban and remote settings. With an exceptional eye for colour and composition, her mosaics shimmer, her pottery is utilitarian but fun and her public murals speak to the people. Andrea is a true people’s artist and activist. She has dedicated much of her professional career to promoting community arts, teaching, mentoring and connecting artists to audiences. She has a true love of arts and culture. It is this love and her exemplary credentials that inspired her to apply for the position of Cultural Planner for the Mornington Peninsula Shire. While I am deeply appreciative of her amazing art, I am equally in awe of her selfless promotion of the arts. Her drive to connect the community to the arts makes her an excellent Cultural Planner. I wasn’t sure people really knew what a cultural planner was, so I decided to interview her in both capacities. ALT: What does a cultural planner do? AE: It’s a bit of an oxymoron as culture happens regardless of planning. That said, a cultural planner creates a framework for opportunities for cultural engagement, such as, creating art spaces, disseminating information about what’s on, offering arts and performing workshops and proposing the necessary funding to culturally enrich community life. Local government must provide services broadly so opportunities for learning, participation and civic engagement are integral to community. Councils aren’t just about roads, rates and rubbish! ALT: How can the community put its ideas forward? AE: Libraries are valuable hubs and places where we currently provide a number of cultural activities, there are also a number of community hubs where you can become involved or you can contact a local Councillor or Shire CEO and make suggestions. ALT: How does one find out what’s going on in the local art community? AE: The first place to look is the Shire’s artsblog: http://www. artsonthepeninsula.wordpress.com. There is also an arts information wall at Mornington Library and local arts groups can express interest in displaying artwork in the Library Foyer Space. We also now have Pearl magazine. If groups are consistent about listing their events on the blog and with the magazine, we will finally be able to connect many more dots and look like
we know what’s going on in our neighbourhoods! ALT: What about you as an artist? Tell me about your philosophy of art… AE: I’m extremely grateful to have survived working in the arts for over 30 years and now that I have returned home to the peninsula I hope to bring about opportunities for communities to explore and to express their own creativity as well as experiencing the artistic outcomes of others. In a bygone time we used to present the art of others only or import cultural solutions from outside. This was known as a ‘cargo cult’ mentality. Thankfully we are more aware of the importance in cultural democracy and view active participation as integral to sustaining profound and transformative impacts upon people and communities through its arts and cultural aspirations. ALT: What attracted you to the medium in which you work? AE: Well, as we all do, I began drawing and painting and textiles have always had a fascination for me, ever since I had a Barbie doll to dress. After art school I discovered that along with my ceramic production work I found a niche in the market for handmade and hand-painted tiles. Influenced by Spanish architect and artist, Antonio Gaudi, I admired how he collected every type of tile (in the early 1900s) and would give his workers the freedom to install as they wished. For me mosaic represents recycling pieces of collected history and memory through broken china or tile. Due to my ‘day job’ it is a convenient medium to produce sculptural forms with recycled broken china and with the advent of globalism and the home wares industry and subsequent impacts on ‘local’ and ‘handmade’ I am relentlessly satisfied to call these works Made in China. ALT: Where can people see your work? AE: A very small selection of my ceramic tableware is currently on display at the Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery until Feb. 19. People can put my name and select images in any search engine and other examples of my work will pop up or contact me at: andrea.artisana@bigpond.com. ANDREA LOUISE THOMAS
APPETITE FOR FINE FOOD AND FINE ART AT NOEL’S GALLERY When I ventured up the hill to meet the new proprietors of Noel’s Gallery, I had no idea what a treat I was in for. Gus Dick, and his partner, Sarah Glenn have completely embraced the iconic establishment bringing new food, brilliant business sense and an irrepressible enthusiasm to the table. While they’ve only been there a couple of months, they have already made the place their own. Angus says, “It’s all about the people.” He clearly loves being in hospitality and certainly makes one feel welcome. Sarah says their mission is “to provide casual dining with optimum service”. Just because the atmosphere is relaxed doesn’t mean the food or service suffers. Their business motto is “Evolving food, wine and art”. What that means is that as they find out what their customers want, they will evolve to meet their needs and
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desires. The interesting thing about Noel’s is that it is also an art gallery and always has been, but this is where Gus and Sarah have brought a new spin to the business. They have employed young wait staff who are also the artist’s whose work is currently on display. The aim is to support young artists while teaching them a secondary skill in hospitality. It’s a winning combination. Interesting dinner table conversation, intriguing art, fine food and proprietors who really know their stuff about fine wine is what you’ll find. Stop by the new and improved Noel’s Gallery and you’re sure to get a warm welcome, a cold drink and a delightful hot meal. Open every day, except Tuesday from noon until 11pm. For bookings call 5989 3159 or visit their gorgeous website: www.noelsgallery.com. ANDREA LOUISE THOMAS
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WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH ARTS AND CULTURE FEBRUARY-MARCH Ventana Fiesta
This annual festival celebrates the vibrant arts and music of Latin America, Portugal and Spain with multiple exhibitions and shows at various venues around Frankston. See page 26 for details.
Toytopia
Annual sand sculpting festival at the Frankston Waterfront Foreshore for more go to www.sandsculpting.com.au.
Frankston Japanese Fair
Celebrating the 30th anniversary of the sister city relationship between Frankston and Susono, Japan. This festival offers Japanese dance, Taiko drumming, origami and ikebana (flower arranging) and a whole host of Japanese arts and cultural activities. Saturday, February 25 from 11am - 5pm. For more information call 9784 1043.
Peninsula Poets Society
New shows opening February 29 until April 9 are: At first sight: Peninsula and bay photographs of JW Twycross 19181925 Michael Shannon: Australian Romantic Realist Dorothy Braund: Variations on a theme Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery Civic Reserve, Dunns Rd. Mornington www.mprg.mornpen.vic.gov.au or ring 5975 4395
Montalto Sculpture Prize
An exhibition of the 25 finalists in this year’s competition. It officially opens on February 19 when the winner is announced. Exhibition runs through April 29. Montalto Vineyard and Olive Grove, 33 Shoreham Rd. Red Hill South 5989 8412 or visit website: www. montalto.com.au.
Manyung Gallery
P.P.S. offers experienced and emerging poets the opportunity to network, share and offer constructive criticism at their montly meetings. Next meeting is Saturday March 3 from 11am to 12.30pm in Mornington Library’s Meeting Room in Vancover Street. For enquiries contact Andrea on 0435 120 297.
Presents ‘Asian Infusion’ featuring work by: Wendy Arnold, Conchita Carambano, Fred Colla, Stephen Glassborow, Nerina Lascelles and Qi Shan. Until Wednesday, February 29. Manyung Gallery, 1408 Nepean Highway, Mt. Eliza. View 2000 artworks online: www.manyunggallery.com.au 9787 2953
Live ‘n’ Local
Manyung at Sorrento
From the Mornington Peninsula Library Service. In this open reading series, local writers have five minutes and a microphone to present their work. It could be a chapter of a novel, a scene from a play, a piece of non-fiction, an essay or some poetry. Songwriters are also welcome. Wine and refreshments served. Next event takes place at Mornington Peninsula Library on Thursday, March 1 from 5:30 to 7:30 Free, but bookings essential. To register as a writer or an audience member, contact Mornington Library on 5950 1820 or morncirc@mornpen.vic.gov.au.
Writer’s Block
A friendly group of writers who meet regularly to support and discuss each other’s work on Saturdays from 10am to 12:30pm. No booking necessary. On Saturday, March 10 and Saturday, March 24. For more information visit www.artscentre.frankston.vic.gov.au. Cube 37 at Frankston Art Centre, Davey Street, Frankston.
Double Vision Art Exhibition
Intriguing painting, photography, sculpture and digital imagery that will challenge your concept of what’s real, or possibly too real. Until March 18. Open 10-5 daily except Monday. McClelland Gallery and Sculpture Park, Mc Clelland Drive, Langwarrin www. mcclellandgallery.com.
Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery
Sea of Dreams: The Lure of Port Phillip Bay 1830-1914: An exhibition of beautiful historic seascapes around the bay featuring a number of famous Australian painters. A must see exhibition. Don’t forget displays in the foyer and café. This show is on until February 19.
Presents an ever-changing and diverse collection of artists. Ring to see who is currently on display or check the website. 113A Ocean Beach Rd., Sorrento. View 2000 artworks and opening hours online: www.manyunggallery.com.au 9982 0622
Punk Milk Gallery
Presents its first exhibition entitled ‘Comm Unity’. This brand new art gallery for Frankston features cutting edge contemporary urban art. The current collection is very diverse with everything from stencil art to sculpture from photography and painting to meticulously drawn portraiture. Punk Milk Gallery 10 Young Street, Frankston. For more information contact Justine at punkmilk@live.com or view their facebook page.
Oak Hill Gallery
On show from until February 29 are: ‘Connected Voices’ showcasing the textile artworks of Julianna Boros, Melinda Gibson, Denise Hughes, Diane Mattiske, Jill Miglietti and Heather Walters. ‘Some of this & some of that’ is an eclectic representation of paintings by Margo Vigorito. ‘Expressive Landscapes’ features the engaging paintings of David Littlefield. ‘Aspects of Flinders’ created by Pamela Palma brings a sense of place and Rhian Madigan asks you to ‘Picture Yourself Here’ in her exhibition. On show at Oak Hill from March 4 to 21 are: Fiona Wood exhibiting watercolours and acrylics, Perth artist Robbie Bischoff exhibiting expressionist paintings. Chisholm 2011 Oak Hill award winners are Lisa Burrell, Karen LloydJones and Prue Scott also on display.
Entries are invited for the Inaugural Illustration Prize. Various illustrative artists will be showing a collection of their works (March 4-21) in an attempt to win ($2000 prize pool). Entry forms available online. Everyone is welcome to attend the official opening of the March shows on Sunday March 4 from 2– 4pm. Join in for refreshments and entertainment by ‘Those Blokes’. Gallery is open Tuesdays to Sundays 11am to 4pm, 100 MorngintonTyabb Rd., Mornington. www.oakhillgallery.com.au or call 5973 4299
Open Studio Weekend
Peninsula Studio Trail (PST) Saturday, March 10 to Monday, March 12 at various artists’ peninsula studios. For more information, contact Judy Reekie on 0417 553 537, see the PST facebook page or pick up a PST brochure at a local tourist information centre. PST President, Judy Reekie will be represented at Dromana Estate 555 Moorooduc Rd., Tuerong until Tuesday, March 13 as one of their guest artists. To contact Dromana Estate call 5974 4400 or visit www.dromanaestate.com.au
First Solo Exhibition
Winner of the 2011 Heartlands Refugee Fine Art Prize, Ma Late, presents her first solo exhibition at the Point Nepean National Park from Thursday, February 16 to Sunday, April 15. Official opening is on Thursday, February 16 at 11am. RSVP to info@parks.vic.gov.au or ring 13 19 63 by Monday, February 13.
Australian Decorative & Fine Arts Society
ADFAS will present Hindu Art, Archaelogy and Mythology by lecturer Dr Michael O’Brien MD, FRCP. Friday March 16 at 5.30pm. Toorak College Mt Eliza, bookings Margaret Morey 9787 4983.
Theatre Auditions
Final audition days for Mornington CEF Players production of ‘Cosi’ are Thursday, February 9 and Sunday, February 12. ‘Cosi’ production will take place in May. To audition call: 5975 6671
Improvisation Workshop
At Southern Peninsula Arts Centre, starting on Wednesday February 15 from 7:30 to 9:30pm, running for 7 weeks until Wednesday, March 28. This theatre workshop teaching the skill of improvisation promises to be a lot of fun. Taught by imminently talented professional actress, Carole Patullo, who has extensive experience in improvisational theatre. SPAC, Rosebud Secondary College, 245 Eastbourne Rd Rosebud. For details call 5986 8204 or 0447 586 859 or visit the website: www. rsc.vic.edu.au/SPPACwhatson.html PEARL Magazine is out monthly and offers the opportunity to advertise very economically to an outgoing art-loving readership. Free listings are available for exhibitions and events. Contact us on 9708 8222 or email Andrea Louise Thomas artseditor@pearlmag.com.au.
A Creative Peninsula...... Promote your arts and cultural event, festival, exhibition, performance, workshop or class FREE with Mornington Peninsula Shire’s Artsblog www.artsonthepeninsula.wordpress.com send media releases, word documents or pdf’s, high resolution jpg’s to Andrea at arts@mornpen.vic.gov.au or phone mobile 0438 051 092 ( 24
PEARL magazine
FEBRUARY 2012
MORNINGTON PENINSULA & BAYSIDE
Soon to be hot off the press…the Mornington Peninsula Shire’s Draft: Arts & Culture Strategy 2012- 2015. Once released, the shire welcomes community feedback. If you value culture, share your voice, be the change you want to see. It can’t happen without YOU. While some cringe at the notion of policy and wonder at its necessity, a policy framework guides local government on where to allocate funds and evaluate the benefits of supporting arts, heritage and culture. From previous drafts I can work out strategies, research new thinking and discuss with our arts and cultural communities their aspirations and needs. In 2011 the United Nations declared, “Culture is the Fourth Pillar of Sustainability” acknowledging the value of cultural vitality as an important indicator of community wellbeing, hence, the need for viable and relevant policy frameworks for cultural development. Tangible achievements continue to raise the profile for our local arts and culture. One of the ongoing issues for community groups and not for profit organisations is attracting visitors and audiences. The arts information wall in Mornington Library and the arts blog www.artsonthepeninsula.wordpress. com have contributed to a 30% increase in attendance to arts events. Additionally, the Mornington Library foyer exhibition space provides showcasing access to arts and craft exhibitions and displays. Community Renewal and Neighbourhood programs are using theatre, music and visual arts as a collaborative and creative fusing for community building. There have been facility improvements to Hastings Hub and Mornington’s Currawong Hall. The Studio @ PCT and the PCT are arts venues with rehearsal, exhibition and meeting spaces. There have been community arts projects with schools and local area groups
through the ‘Communities that Care’ (CTC) program, such as, an environmental mural at entry to the Eco Display House at The Briars, and an artist designed celebratory façade for the Shire’s portable stage. (It’s available for hire.) A Music Forum in 2010 created a music network. A theatre network has been in existence since 2007. A number of successful arts and cultural festivals have been held. The Shire is developing a Graffiti Management Plan. 2012 will see the introduction of two major ‘street art’ projects. “The Big Back Yard “ project will blossom in the Somerville community and at Somerville the Mt Eliza Secondary College will be invited to develop a youth centred project. I am eager to know what young people might recommend for a creative ‘pilot’ project in a skate park. ‘Yarn bombing’ is taking hold in Frankston and Brunswick. A Mornington Peninsula Shire Councillor is sponsoring yarn bombing in Hastings. Knitting and crochet workshops will soon be available. From the community comes The Peninsula Studio Trail (PST) of local painters, printers and sculptors. The Balnarring Village Common Group is developing youth projects for National Youth Week. I always say, “Cultural planning is about ‘joining the dots”. My blog:www.artsonthepeninsula. wordpress.com and Pearl Magazine are spotlights illuminating the richness of the peninsula’s arts to bring visitors to its stage. If you have an arts or cultural event you’d like to share with the community or you’re looking for something culturally enriching to do, please pick up a copy of Pearl or visit the blog. If you list it . . . they will come. ANDREA EBSWORTH
Yarn Bombing has exploded in Frankston! What’s that? It’s a new global phenomenon in which public spaces are decorated by knitted or crochetted adornments. Yarn bombing can be found on bicycle racks, lamp-posts, the arms of street benches and street signs. Even the limbs of trees are being stitched up in colorful yarn explosions by very creative knitters and crochet artists. The latest appearance of this textile graffiti appeared outside the cinemas in Wells Street, Frankston and then again at the Frankston City council offices. This funky fad is sure to bring a smile to one’s face, but the artistry of the work is not to be overlooked. This is a real skill. Local group Knit-A-Holics , spearheaded by Jade Saxleby and crew, are responsible for this latest spate, but there are groups popping up all over. In fact, it made such an impression that a Mornington Peninsula Shire Councilor, Reade Smith, is planning to fund some yarn and needles to promote a blast of colour in Hastings. He’s hoping Jade and friends will hop on board to spruce up the streets and teach new knitter the skills needed to keep up the colourful work. Keep your eyes peeled for some fun and funky, warm and fuzzy new additions to the urban environment. And remember Jade’s motto, “Keep Calm and Carry Yarn”. To contact this mistress of the yarn, write to knitaholics@yahoo.com.au or check out the facebook page for Knit-A-Holics. ANDREA LOUISE THOMAS
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It’s time to Tango!
The Tango revolutionised the world of dancing, but how did it all begin? As part of Frankston’s annual Ventana Fiesta, the Frankston Arts Centre presents The Tango on Friday, 16 March. The Tango tells the story of how this contemporary seductive dance started centuries ago with the mix of indigenous, colonial, African and multicultural influences in the lively port cities of Buenos Aires and Montevideo in Argentina. With the folkloric rhythms of Legüero drums, flirting guitars and the playful Gauchos foot stamping, see how the seductive and insinuating movements of this lower-class dance became accepted by the Avant-garde societies from Paris to Berlin, Budapest to Helsinki. The show features renowned Tango bands Joalta and TangoMundo, and the exquisite talents of Argentine-born dancers Natalia and Alberto Cortez, Kristina Diaz and Eduardo Perez. Australians David Backler and Dianne Heywood-Smith – one of the first Australian tango dancers to be asked to perform professionally in Buenos Aires are also stars of the show, which features the rare treat of worldclass Tango dancers performing alongside one another. Another highlight will be Leonardo Intilangelo - the only bandoneon player in Australia, who just recently made Melbourne his home. Leo is a prize winning guitarist, bandoneon player, chamber musician and has also toured Europe and recorded CDs as part of the Escolaso Tango Guitar Trio. Tango is a language, a lifestyle, a philosophy that has developed a life of its own – to see how it happened ph 9784 1060 or go to www.thefac.com.au.
THE
Beachside party has just begun
The much anticipated Ventana Fiesta promises another vibrant display of Latin American, Portuguese and Spanish cultures with must do activities stretching over part of
February and March. In its sixth year and with an infusion of traditions and flavours from more than 20 countries across 5 continents, the Fiesta makes it possible to travel the globe without sparing a dollar! Ventana Fiesta an accessible event, suitable for the whole family. Covering 5 diverse interest areas, the Fiesta offers a complete inter-cultural experience like no other. Spanish for ‘party’, the Fiesta promises a day of festivities on the 17th of March, when the streets of Frankston are transformed into a huge celebration, bursting with colour and excitement. “Ventana is one big party!” comments Carolina Aguilera, event organiser. “Essentially, the Fiesta is all about the unique cultures of Spain, Portugal and Latin America and giving the community the opportunity to experience and join in the celebrations without leaving Melbourne.” Ventana Fiesta includes a Film Festival, Arts, Literature and Educational Program as well as a spectacle of flamboyant dance and rhythmical music on stage with ‘The Tango’ at the Frankston Arts Centre. All events are free except the Tango with tickets starting from $26. For more information, visit thefac.com.au or call 9784 1060.
Program Summary
Ventana Film Festival The latest in world movies and official opening event at Frankston Art Centre’s Cube 37 on Friday March 2, 7pm with the Australian Premiere
of ‘The Way’ directed by Emilio Estevez (bookings necessary). Film’s continue Saturday 3 March, 12– 9pm Ventana Cultura Frankston Library will host a forum on The Camino De Santiago Pilgrimage of Northern Spain on Thursday March 22. Storytelling times will feature Portuguese and Spanish singing and dance. The Library Sunday Concert series will feature a Paraguayan Harp Concert by Alfirio Cristaldo and the Latin Band Madre Monte. Ventana Arte Exhibiting Nanduti textiles from Paraguay, paper craft from El Salvador, “Dialogo de Pinceles” by Ambara Bratawutjaja, “Spaces of Memory” by Maria Pena from Columbia, “A Pilgrims Journey” Photography exhibition by Martin Thurnheer and “Trip-t(l)ics” a multilingual digital art exhibition by Spanish Poet Ruth Sancho and artist Rhys Sullivan. School guided tours available for primary, secondary, VCE and tertiary groups include art workshops and educational kits. The Tango The world’s most passionate art form – featuring the fervent and magical music of Joalta, TangoMundo and renowned tango dance aficionados – at the Frankston Arts Centre, Friday 16 March, 8pm. Ventana Street Fiesta Showcasing dance, vibrant rhythms, arts/crafts, music and flavours. Beach Ceremony – Wells St Beach Saturday March 17 at 12 noon. Parade – to Wells St Plaza at 12.45pm. Activities for all ages.
Tango
excitement, flirtation, seduction...
“The Tango is the world’s most passionate art form.”
Friday 16 March, 8pm A
Ventana Fiesta EVENT
Tickets: Members $30, Full $36, Conc $32, U26 $26 BOOKINGS
9784 1060
or thefac.com.au
Speak Percussion
Nightclubs/Concerthalls
“...sent the audience once again into a frenzy. It was power playing at its best.” THE AGE
Wednesday 14 March, 7.30pm Tickets: Member $28, Full $35, Conc $30, U26 $15 Venue: Cube 37, Frankston Arts Centre BOOKINGS
9784 1060
or thefac.com.au ( 26
PEARL magazine
FEBRUARY 2012
MORNINGTON PENINSULA & BAYSIDE
Mt. Eliza resident, Nicole Jackson, is a multi-award winning photographer. She takes remarkably natural children’s portraits, tantalizing food photographs, captivating travel photos and ethereal environmental images. Her photographs clearly establish a sense of place that draws the viewer in. She recently exhibited her fine art photos in a show entitled “Mimicry” which featured macro images of butterflies and other mini beasts against textured backgrounds. She has a strong sense of colour, image composition, design and form. Originally a speech pathologist, her passion for photography overtook her other work. She decided to pursue a degree in photography in 2004 at the Photography Studies College in Melbourne. She completed an Advanced Degree in Photography in 2007 and was dux in her class. Nicole sold her speech pathology business last year to
become a full time professional photographer, but she will continue with some part-time public hospital speech pathology work. Nicole’s interest in photography began very early, as her father was a hobby photographer. She developed such a passion for it that she admitted; “I used to pinch his camera all the time.” She began studies in photography at secondary school when she was about 13 or 14 and has stayed with it ever since. Nicole appreciates the realism that photography captures as well as its capacity for visual storytelling, which she emphasizes in her teaching. Nicole teaches digital photography to both children and adults in her “Generation Image” workshops. For more information or to make a booking, contact Nicole on 0414 737 990, by email at info@nicolejackson.com. au or visit her website: www.nicolejackson. com.au.
In addition to her many other talents, Nicole is a presenter for the Moran Arts Foundation. Nicole taught a free full day children’s photography workshop at Oak Hill Gallery in Mornington last month. Oak Hill was chosen from over one thousand applicants Australiawide to host this free workshop for 30 lucky 8-12 year old kids. The Moran Arts Foundation provides, free of charge, all the digital cameras used for the day, the professional photographer who teaches the workshop and all of the prints the children make when they choose to print their top 5 photos at the end of the day. This group of children chose their favourite two photos to exhibit at Oak Hill. The memory cards from their cameras are collected and sent to Moran’s Sydney offices where administrators choose images
from all children’s work to enter in the Moran Contemporary Photography prize. The top 30 primary school aged finalists will all win a free digital camera. Secondary school winners receive $2,000 - $5000 depending on their age grouping. All semi-finalists and finalists receive certificates. The Moran Arts Foundation’s objective is to provide children with an opportunity they might never have otherwise. The workshops are often held in rural and remote locations where access to such opportunities is limited. Entry to the Moran Contemporary Photographic prize is open to all Australians young and old. For more information visit their website: www.moranprizes.com.au. Andrea Louise Thomas
Beating a path to Frankston Beats with a difference hit the Frankston Arts Centre on Wednesday, 14 March when Speak Percussion come to town with their new show Nightclubs/Concerthalls. Speak Percussion is an innovative Australian percussive arts organisation, and the new work by Artistic Director Eugene Ughetti is sure to be one of the highlights of their visit to Frankston. Specially written as part of a Bionic Ear Institute research project for the users of cochlear implants, his work Syncretism brings three drumkits to life simultaneously, presenting familiar grooves blurred with wayward sounds to give the audience a unique listening experience. Australian Thomas Meadowcroft - a star in Europe over the past decade for his unorthodox percussion techniques - is unveiling his own brand new three-drum piece known as The Great Knot. The performance runs for 55 minutes and also
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includes Anthony Pateras’ work Hypnagogics and the premiere of City Jungle, a collaborative project between Speak Percussion and Melbourne’s leading experimental electronica producer, Skye Kleine - aka Terminal Sound System. To book or find out more information about Nightclubs/Concerthalls, phone 9784 1060 or go to www.thefac.com.au. Speak Percussion has performed and presented work in many of Australia’s leading contemporary music festivals including the MONA FOMA (Hobart), Queensland Music Festival, Liquid Architecture and the upcoming Totally Huge New Music Festival (Perth). Anthony Pateras’s Flesh and Ghost was also chosen by ABC Classic FM as the best performance of all ABC recorded performances for 2010-11 to represent Australia at the International Rostrum of Composers in Vienna. Photograph by Jeff Busby
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GIGS • DJ’S • MUSIC DAN CHAMPAGNE
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 9TH Baha Tacos Rye, Dan Champagne 9:30pm Bay Hotel Mornington, Local Muso night Beaches Mornington, Momentum 9-1am Flanagans Irish Bar Frankston, UNI NIGHT, Olly & Scuzzi with DJ’s Chris P & Marky Mark 9pm-3am Glacier Frankston, Ladies Night 9-4am The Capel Rosebud West, Rob Papp 6:30-9:30pm FRIDAY FEBRUARY 10TH Backyard Bar Mornington, James Gowans 5-1am Baha Tacos Rye, Brothers Grim 9:30pm Bay Hotel Mornington, Fribays Downstairs Corner Pocket live, Nightclub Resident DJ’s & Guests Beaches Mornington, $ingle Income 9pm-1am Berettas Hotel Langwarrin, Rob & Tarquin 9-12am Continental Hotel Sorrento, DJ Phil Isa & DJ Niki Daveys Frankston, over 28’s 9pm Flanagans Irish Bar Frankston, Lee Harding & Bedrock 9pm-3am Glacier Frankston, Pure RnB with DJ Decruze, DJ Jay-Sin & DIR-X 9-4am Gods Kitchen Mornington, DJ T Dubb 9pm Ha’penny Bridge Frankston, Back room Live Bands & Main Bar Resident DJ’s 10pm Heritage Balnarring, Tim Stout 6-9pm Lazy Joes Rosebud, Live Music Los Argentinos Frankston, Live Music 6pm Morning Star Estate Mt Eliza, Live Acoustic Music Pavillion McCrae, Dylan Boyd 5pm-late RoseGPO Rosebud, Live Music Rosebud Hotel, Fudge 10pm Royal Hotel Mornington, Live Music with Joe Laff 7pm Rye Hotel, Karaoke with Mad Matty Social Mornington, Simon Imrei 5pm, DJ Matt Horner 9pm til late
Three Palms Sorrento, Live acoustic local bands 8-11pm Trims McCrae, Mojo Pearls Westernport Hotel, DJ PK & Karaoke 9pm SATURDAY FEBRUARY 11TH Baha Tacos Rye, Valley Floor 9:30pm Bartiste Frankston, Swingin Both Ways 8:30pm Bay Hotel Mornington, Downstairs Rob & Tarquin Live, Nightclub DJ Chris P Beaches Mornington, Deepsoul Band 9-1am Chelsea Heights Hotel, 360 & special guests 8pm $27 Continental Hotel Sorrento, Smirnoff Exchange Party, DJ set from LOWKISS & DJ’s Andy Murphy, Phil Isa, Niki, Pete D Cruze Club Grand Hotel Mornington, Resident DJs 9-5am Daveys Frankston, DJ Pierro + Mark Tyssen & DJ Jason Midro, DJ Sam Dred & Superfly DJ’s 9pm Flanagans Frankston, Fudge 9pm-3am Glacier Frankston, Push Saturdays, DJ’s Benny Watt & Dean D 9pm-5am Gods Kitchen Mornington, Rhys Crimin 9pm Ha’penny Bridge Frankston, Back room Live Bands & Main Bar Resident DJ’s 10pm Hickinbotham of Dromana, Heidi Martin 1-4pm Lazy Joe’s Rosebud, Jay Mclean Los Argentinos Frankston, Live Music 6pm Portsea Hotel, DJ Vulcan in Sports Bar 9pm Rose GPO Rosebud, Live Music Rosebud Hotel, Live Music with Madison Wilson 7pm Royal Hotel Mornington, Chris Doheny Live at 8pm Rye Hotel Bistro, Steve Warner 9:30-12:30am Social Mornington, DJ Scotty G T’Gallant Main Ridge, Live Music 12:30-3:30pm The Capel Rosebud West, The Calmer Miles 6:30pm Westernport Hotel, Over 25’s Live music from Ismail & Friends 9pm, in Bistro Colin Dodds 6-9pm SUNDAY FEBRUARY 12TH Bartiste Frankston, Local Independent Musicians 5-7pm Bay Hotel Morn’ton, Acoustic music featuring Road Show Duo 3pm Box Stallion Merricks North, Live Music 11-5pm Coast Blairgowrie, Kathy, Steve & Leigh 3-6pm Cove Hotel Patterson Lakes, Simon Imrei Dava Hotel Mornington, on the Deck, Angel Robinson 2:30-5:30pm Daveys Frankston, Sunday Soultrain, Jimi Hocking & the Blues Machine 2-6pm Ha’penny Bridge Frankston, Revitalize Sundays 4pm
FEBRUARY 9 - MARCH 7 Harba Mornington, Live Music in the afternoon Heritage Balnarring, Detonators 3-6pm Hickinbotham Dromana, Mammas Mountain Jug 1-5pm Mornington Peninsula Brewery, Ginja Roe 2-5 Red Hill Baker Balnarring, Live Jazz 1pm Pier 10 Shoreham, Shani 12:30-3:30pm Rose GPO Rosebud, Live Music Rye Hotel, Walter Ego 2-5pm Three Palms Sorrento, Open Mic Night 3pm T’Gallant Main Ridge, Live Music 12:30-3:30pm Westernport Hotel Bistro, Colin Dodds 12pm-3pm MONDAY FEBRUARY 13TH Harba Mornington, Muso Night 8pm till late TUESDAY FEBRUARY 14TH VALENTINES DAY Harba Mornington, WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 15TH MORNINGTON CUP Baha Tacos Rye, Peninsula Songriders Club, originals muso night 9pm Bay Hotel Mornington, DJ Piero, Downstairs Andy Grant Trio Beaches Mornington, Single Income 9-1am Chelsea Heights Hotel, Hump Day Project 8pm Gods Kitchen Mornington, Trivia Night 8pm Royal Hotel Mornington, Live music from 5pm Social Mornington, DJ Matt Horner THURSDAY FEBRUARY 16TH Bay Hotel Mornington, Local Muso night Beaches Mornington, Dirty Boogie Band 9-1am Flanagans Irish Bar Frankston, UNI NIGHT, Olly & Scuzzi with DJ’s Chris P & Marky Mark 9pm-3am Glacier Frankston, Ladies Night 9-4am The Capel Rosebud West, Rob Papp 6:30-9:30pm FRIDAY FEBRUARY 17TH Backyard Bar Mornington, James Gowans 5-1am Baha Tacos Rye, Saskwatch 9:30pm Bartiste Frankston, Hatch it Harry 8pm Bay Hotel Mornington, Fribays Downstairs Corner Pocket live, Nightclub Resident DJ’s & Guests Beaches Mornington, Two Phase 9-1am Berettas Hotel Langwarrin, Rob & Tarquin 9-12am Continental Hotel Sorrento, Corona Promotion, DJ Lowkiss & DJ Pete D Daveys Frankston, over 28’s 9pm Flanagans Irish Bar Frankston, Lee Harding & Bedrock
with Superfly DJ’s 9pm-3am Glacier Frankston, Pure RnB with DJ Decruze, Shaggz & DIR-X 9-4am Gods Kitchen Mornington, Matt Glass Band 9pm Ha’penny Bridge Frankston, Back room Live Bands & Main Bar Resident DJ’s 10pm Heritage Balnarring, Jay McLean 6-9pm Lazy Joe’s Rosebud, The McCraes 8-11pm Los Argentinos Frankston, Live Music 6pm Morning Star Estate Mt Eliza, Acoustic Music Pavillion McCrae, Dylan Boyd 5pm-late Pelly Bar Frankston, The Morning After EP Launch with Dirty Elvis, Fine Art Dealer & Jekhyl 7pm Rose GPO Rosebud, Live Music Rosebud Hotel, Fudge 10pm Royal Hotel Mornington, Live Music with Joe Laff 8pm Rye Hotel, Karaoke with Mad Matty Social Mornington, Joe Laff 5pm, DJ Matt Horner 9pm til late Three Palms Sorrento, Live acoustic local bands 8-11pm Trims McCrae, Rob Papps Westernport Hotel, DJ PK & Karaoke 9pm SATURDAY FEBRUARY 18TH Baha Tacos Rye, Matt Katsis Band 9:30pm Bay Hotel Mornington, Downstairs Rob & Tarquin Live, Nightclub DJ Chris P Beaches Mornington, Two Can Do 9-1am Continental Hotel Sorrento, Jim Beam Party Crew, DJ Lowkiss & DJ’s Phil Isa, Niki & Pete D Cruze Club Grand Hotel Mornington, Resident DJs 9-5am Daveys Frankston, DJ Pierro + Mark Tyssen & DJ Jason Midro, DJ Sam Dred & Superfly DJ’s 9pm Flanagans Frankston, Fudge 9pm-3am Glacier Frankston, Push Saturdays, Gangster theme party, DJ’s Samuel James, Joel Fletcher, Benny Watt & Shamless 9pm-5am Gods Kitchen Mornington, DJ T Dubb 9pm Ha’penny Bridge Frankston, Back room Live Bands & Main Bar Resident DJ’s 10pm Hickinbotham of Dromana, The Beez 1pm-4pm Los Argentinos Frankston, Live Music 6pm Portsea Hotel, DJ Vulcan in Sports Bar 9pm Rosebud Hotel, Live Music with Paul Shirley 7pm Royal Hotel Mornington, Chris Doheny Live at 8pm Rye Hotel Bistro, Jay Mclean 9:30-12:30pm Social Mornington, DJ Scotty G The Capel Rosebud West, The Calmer Miles 6:30pm T’Gallant Main Ridge, Live Music 12:30-3:30pm
A mixture of different styles and inspirations,
Westernport Hotel, Over 25’s Live music from Ismail & Friends 9pm, in Bistro Colin Dodds 6-9pm SUNDAY FEBRUARY 19TH Bartiste Frankston, Local Independent Musicians 5-7pm Bay Hotel Morn’ton, Acoustic featuring Roadshow 3pm Box Stallion Merricks North, The McCraes 1pm
WILBUR WILDE Coast Blairgowrie, Wilbur Wilde & The Trouble Makers 3-6pm Dava Hotel Mornington, on the Deck, Club Tequila 2:305:30pm Daveys Frankston, Sunday Soultrain, Chris Wilson Band 2-6pm Ha’penny Bridge Frankston, Revitalize Sundays 4pm Harba Mornington, Live Music in the afternoon Heritage Balnarring, Whisky Gypsies 3-6pm Hickinbotham of Dromana, Hollycow 1-5pm Mornington Peninsula Brewery, Todd Cook & Danny Burton 2-5pm Pier 10 Shoreham, Jay Mclean 12:30-3:30pm Red Hill Baker Balnarring, Live Jazz 1pm Rye Hotel, Ron Vincent Cat Stevens Tribute 2-5pm T’Gallant Main Ridge, Live Music 12:30-3:30pm Three Palms Sorrento, Open Mic Night 3pm Westernport Hotel Bistro, Colin Dodds 12pm-3pm
Simon’s music speaks honestly and without crowded complexity and gives you catchy pop music you can remember throughout your day. His melting pot of influences includes anything from the blues of Eric Clapton and Buddy Guy, to the storytelling of Paul Simon and Neil Young, to the soul of Bill Withers the rhythms and melodies of The Police and Phil Collins.
musicians or venues email your FREE listing to gigguide@pearlmag.com.au by FEB 1st for inclusion ins next issue
Thursday February 23rd NATIONAL SLAM DAY - FIND A GIG - SAVE LIVE AUSTRALIAN MUSIC Bartiste Frankston, National Slam Day Gig with Abbey Leigh, DJ AdieuX & special guests 7-11pm Bay Hotel Mornington, Local Muso night Beaches Mornington, Momentum 9-1am Flanagans Irish Bar Frankston, UNI NIGHT, Olly & Scuzzi with DJ’s Chris P & Marky Mark 9pm-3am Glacier Frankston, Ladies Night DJ’s Bomb Squad 9-4am Mornington Peninsula Brewery, Open Vinyl Night 7-10pm The Capel Rosebud West, Rob Papp 6:30-9:30pm Friday February 24th Backyard Bar Mornington, James Gowans 5-1am Bay Hotel Mornington, Fribays presents Andy Murphy & Guests, Downstairs Corner Pocket Beaches Mornington, $ingle Income 9-1am Berettas Hotel Langwarrin, Rob & Tarquin 9-12am Continental Hotel Sorrento, DJ Niki & DJ Pete D Daveys Frankston, over 28’s 9pm Flanagans Irish Bar Frankston, Lee Harding & Bedrock with Superfly DJ’s 9pm-3am Glacier Frankston, Pure RnB with DJ Decruze, Shaggz & DIR-X 9-4am Gods Kitchen Mornington, Rhys Crimin 9pm Ha’penny Bridge Frankston, Back room Live Bands & Main Bar Resident DJ’s 10pm Lazy Joes Rosebud, Live Music Los Argentinos Frankston, Live Music 6pm Morning Star Estate Mt Eliza, Live Acoustic Music Pavillion McCrae, Dylan Boyd 5pm-late Pelly Bar Frankston, The Final Cut with Optical Screw & NBC 7:30pm Rose GPO Rosebud, Live Music Rosebud Hotel, Fudge 10pm Royal Hotel Mornington, Chris Robertson live at 8pm Rye Hotel, Karaoke with Mad Matty
Saturday February 25th Baha Tacos Rye, President Roots 9:30pm Bay Hotel Mornington, Downstairs Rob & Tarquin Live, Nightclub DJ Chris P Beaches Mornington, Shazam 9-1am Chelsea Heights Hotel, Belinda Carlisle & guests 8pm Continental Hotel Sorrento, Redbull Party with DJ Truck, DJ Lowkiss & DJ’s Phil Isa, Niki & Pete D Cruze Club Grand Hotel Mornington, Resident DJ’s 9-5am Daveys Frankston, Future Music Festival Warm Up Party with DJ Chardy 9pm Flanagans Frankston, Fudge 9pm-3am Glacier Frankston, Push Saturdays, Mystery guest DJ plus Benny Watt & Dean D Gods Kitchen Mornington, DJ T Dubb 9pm Ha’penny Bridge Frankston, Back room Live Bands & Main Bar Resident DJ’s 10pm Hickinbotham of Dromana, The Incident 1-5pm Lazy Joes Rosebud, Elvis Tribute ‘Memphis’ Los Argentinos Frankston, Live Music 6pm Portsea Hotel, DJ Vulcan in Sports Bar 9pm Rose GPO Rosebud, Live Music Rosebud Hotel, Live Music with Paul Shirley 7pm Royal Hotel Mornington, Alex Kyle live at 8pm Rye Hotel Bistro, Rob & Donna 9:30-12:30am Social Mornington, DJ Scotty G T’Gallant Main Ridge, Live Music 12:30-3:30pm The Capel Rosebud West, The Calmer Miles 6:30pm Trims McCrae, Jazz n Shiraz with The Usual Suspects Westernport Hotel, Over 25’s Live music from Ismail & Friends 9pm, in Bistro Colin Dodds 6-9pm Sunday February 26th Bartiste Frankston, Local Independent Musicians 5-7pm Bay Hotel Morn’ton, Acoustic feat Roadshow Duo 3pm Box Stallion Merricks Nth, Lindsey Field 1pm Coast Blairgowrie, The Love Stars with Harry Mullany & Nikki Nichols 3-6pm Dava Hotel, on the Deck, Take Cover 2:30-5:30pm Daveys Frankston, Sunday Soultrain, Hanks Jalopy Demons 2-6pm
Ha’penny Bridge Frankston, Revitalize Sundays 4pm Harba Mornington, Live Music in the afternoon
BAG A NAILS Heritage Balnarring, Bag a Nails 3-6pm Hickinbotham of Dromana, Bo Jenkins 1-5pm Mornington Peninsula Brewery, Robb Papp 2-5pm Pier 10 Shoreham, Live Music 12:30-3:30pm Red Hill Baker Balnarring, Live Jazz 1pm Rose GPO Rosebud, Live Music Rye Hotel, Legend 2-5pm Social Mornington, Shanakee Irish Band ex. Highland Paddy 3pm T’Gallant Main Ridge, Live Music 12:30-3:30pm Three Palms Sorrento, Open Mic Night 3pm Westernport Hotel Bistro, Colin Dodds 12pm-3pm Monday February 27th Harba Mornington, Muso Night Upstairs 8 till late Wednesday February 29th Baha Tacos Rye, Peninsula Songriders Club, originals muso night 9pm Beaches Mornington, Karaoke Kool 9-1am Chelsea Heights Hotel, Hump Day Project 8pm Gods Kitchen Mornington, Trivia Night 8pm Thursday March 1st Bay Hotel Mornington, Local Muso night Beaches Mornington, Dirty Boogie Band 9-1am Flanagans Irish Bar Frankston, UNI NIGHT, Olly & Scuzzi with DJ’s Chris P & Marky Mark 9pm-3am Glacier Frankston, Ladies Night 9-4am The Capel Rosebud West, Rob Papp 6:30-9:30pm Friday March 2nd Backyard Bar Mornington, James Gowans 5-1am Baha Tacos Rye, Rosie Burgess 9:30pm
Bay Hotel Mornington, Fribays presents Timmy Trumpet & Guests, Downstairs Corner Pocket live Beaches Mornington, Two Phase 9-1am Berettas Hotel Langwarrin, Rob & Tarquin 9-12am Continental Hotel Sorrento, DJ Phil Isa & DJ Niki Daveys Frankston, over 28’s 9pm Flanagans Irish Bar Frankston, Lee Harding & Bedrock 9pm-3am Glacier Frankston, Pure RnB with DJ Pure Uniq, Shaggz & DIR-X 9-4am Gods Kitchen Mornington, Rhys Crimin 9pm Ha’penny Bridge Frankston, Back room Live Bands & Main Bar Resident DJ’s 10pm Lazy Joes Rosebud, Rob Papp Los Argentinos Frankston, Live Music 6pm Morning Star Estate Mt Eliza, Live Acoustic Music Pavillion McCrae, Dylan Boyd 5pm-late Pelly Bar Frankston, Trial Kennedy 7:30pm Rose GPO Rosebud, Live Music Rosebud Hotel, Fudge 10pm Royal Hotel Mornington, Live Music with Joe Laff 8pm Rye Hotel, Karaoke with Mad Matty Social Mornington, Simon Imrei 5pm, DJ Matt Horner 9pm til late Three Palms Sorrento, Live acoustic local bands 8-11pm Trims McCrae, The Warrains Westernport Hotel, DJ PK & Karaoke 9pm Saturday March 3rd Baha Tacos Rye, Cash Savage 9:30pm Bartiste Frankston, Priscilla Posely, Sue Ridge & Liaison Officers 8pm Bay Hotel Mornington, Downstairs Rob & Tarquin Live, Nightclub DJ Chris P Beaches Mornington, Hard Cover 9-1am Continental Hotel Sorrento, Facebook Party, DJ Lowkiss, DJ Phil Isa, DJ Niki & DJ Pete D Cruze Club Grand Hotel Mornington, Ladies Night, percent of ticket sales go to local Breast Cancer Foundation, Resident DJ’s 9-5am Daveys Frankston, DJ Pierro + Mark Tyssen & DJ Jason Midro, DJ Sam Dred & Superfly DJ’s 9pm Flanagans Frankston, Fudge 5pm-3am Frankston Arts Centre, Hell Ain’t A Bad Place To Be - ‘The story of Bon Scott’ with Nick Barker 8pm $49 Glacier Frankston, Push Saturdays, Red Bull School Uniform Party, Special Guest DJ 9pm-5am Gods Kitchen Mornington, DJ T Dubb 9pm
Ha’penny Bridge Frankston, Back room Live Bands & Main Bar Resident DJ’s 10pm Hickinbotham of Dromana, Nick Charles 1-5pm Los Argentinos Frankston, Live Music 6pm Portsea Hotel, DJ Vulcan in Sports Bar 9pm RoseGPO Rosebud, Live Music Rosebud Hotel, Live Music with Paul Shirley 7pm Royal Hotel Mornington, Paul O’Rourke live at 8pm Rye Hotel Bistro, Live music 9:30-12:30am Social Mornington, DJ Scotty G T’Gallant Main Ridge, Live Music 12:30-3:30pm The Capel Rosebud West, The Calmer Miles 6:30pm Westernport Hotel, Over 25’s Live music from Ismail & Friends 9pm, in Bistro Colin Dodds 6-9pm Sunday March 4th Bay Hotel Morn’ton, Acoustic music featuring Roadshow Duo 3pm Berettas Hotel Langwarrin, Still Game 2-5pm Box Stallion Merricks Nth, Live Music 1pm Coast Blairgowrie, Kathy, Steve & Leigh 3-6pm Cove Hotel Patterson Lakes, Simon Imrei Dava Hotel Mornington, Eat My Shorts 2:30-5:30pm Daveys Frankston, Sunday Soultrain, Matt Dwyer & the Little Big Band Flyin Saucers 2-6pm Ha’penny Bridge Frankston, Revitalize Sundays 4pm Heritage Balnarring, Lloyd Spiegal 3-6pm Hickinbotham Dromana, Alex Legge 1-5pm Mornington Peninsula Brewery, The McCraes 2-5pm Pier 10 Shoreham, Live Music 12:30-3:30pm Red Hill Baker Balnarring, Live Jazz 1pm Rose GPO Rosebud, Live Music Rye Hotel, Live music 2-5 T’Gallant Main Ridge, Live Music 12:30-3:30pm Three Palms Sorrento, Open Mic Night 3pm Westernport Hotel Bistro, Colin Dodds 12pm-3pm Monday March 5th Harba Mornington, Muso Night Upstairs 8 till late Wednesday March 7th Balnarring Hall, Peninsula Songriders Club, originals muso night 9.30pm, BYO Beaches Mornington, Karaoke Kool 9pm-1am Chelsea Heights Hotel, Hump Day Project 8pm Gods Kitchen Mornington, Trivia Night 8pm NeXT issue of Pearl out Thursday MARCH 8th
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Wednesday February 22nd Balnarring Hall, Peninsula Songriders Club, originals muso night 9.30pm BYO Beaches Mornington, Karaoke Kool 9-1am Chelsea Heights Hotel, Hump Day Project 8pm Gods Kitchen Mornington, Trivia Night 8pm
Social Mornington, Simon Imrei 5pm, DJ Matt Horner 9pm til late Three Palms Sorrento, Live acoustic local bands 8-11pm Trims McCrae, Dick Withers Westernport Hotel, DJ PK & Karaoke 9pm
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Monday February 20th Harba Mornington, Muso Nite Upstairs 8 till late
REVOLUTION FEELING FOOLED President Roots
Peninsula based alt-folk country band ‘President Roots’ are set to release their second album ‘Feeling Fooled’ in March, with the title track released online in January. The song is a combination of upbeat tempo and smooth vocals, which translate to the perfect combination for easy listening. The lyrics are easily relatable, with many of us able to recall times when we have been ‘feeling lonely’ and ‘feeling fooled’. President Roots somehow meld the theme of sadness and frustration into an uplifting, serene melody. ‘Feeling Fooled’ has a happy and optimistic vibe in comparison to the single’s b-side, ‘Cool Change’, a much slower tempo and raw tune. It is impossible not to groove away or tap your foot when listening, which is why you should definitely add it to your playlist. 3.5 / 5 JESSICA MILLS
JANITOR MAN Paisley Sky
Primarily a jam band, ‘Paisley Sky’ is the brainchild of friends and musicians Ron and Mal. With over 40 years of experiences and performance behind them both, their debut ‘psychadelic/rock’ concept album offers a diverse array of layered and eclectic songs stretching between 60s psychedelica, jazz, folk, blues as well as some world music influence. The record is largely an exploration of interesting instrumentation and moods, tied together with low Nick Cave-like
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vocals and elements of spoken word narration adding to the random nature of things. Concept albums are all about a lyrical theme underpinning a musical journey, and in that respect ‘Janitor Man’ holds true. The record is a few songs too long, with the really sincere and memorable moments stretched too thin between drawn out improvisation and ambience. Despite this, as a chronicle of Ron and Mal’s creativity and partnership put down on tape, it serves as an encouraging release off of which to springboard. 2.5/5 WALTER BENELLS
BROKEN BRIGHTS Angus Stone
new releases
and soft grunge’. The band are labeled ‘progressive’, but lean less towards the attitude and sweeping epic, and more towards ‘what you see is what you get’, with some more melodic and mellow moments on offer. The band’s dynamic range is nicely on display throughout, but not via a distinct stand out track. It is more a progression over the course of the record as a whole. One of the key strengths is the vocal delivery, reminiscent of Incubus front man Brandon Boyd. I’d say more than likely it will sit better with minimalist fans, especially those who like Tool’s style of guitar work, with a softer approach. Plenty of potential and some sound moments. One to keep an eye on. 2.5/5 BEN LOPEZ
UNCLUBBED One Love
Angus Stone’s single ‘Broken Brights’ has given audiences a small taste of what to expect from his upcoming second solo album, set to be released later this year. The single stays true to the simple and uncomplicated sounds that have come to be a trademark of Stone, demonstrating a musical maturity in both his arrangements and vocals. ‘Broken Brights’ illustrates Stone’s poetic and innocent story telling abilities as well as showcasing his wistful indie vocals. The single creates a deep and sombre atmosphere revealing a darker brooding side to the Sydney born artist. Stone delivers the single with a profound sincerity that will undoubtedly resonate with audiences. JESS SCUDAMORE 4/5
WAIT AND HOPE Volytion
The debut four track EP ‘Wait And Hope’ gives a good account of what hard rock trio Volytion is all about. Think ‘minimalist Tool-esque guitars
FEBRUARY 2012
UnClubbed (presented By OneLove) features acoustic versions of 16 classics and is pitched at anyone who is a bit partial to those ‘chill out’ or ‘chilled dance’ albums. The disc showcases reworked true club classics that became the soundtrack for a generation of party people. Let’s face it, beneath every ‘hands in the air’ anthem lays a truly great song. The strength of the compilation is the theory that ‘acoustic’ shouldn’t necessarily mean ‘moping about being depressed’. There are some songs that fit that mould, Touch Me (Rui Da Silva) and Finally (Kings Of Tomorrow) - but they’re flanked by the sprightly acoustic soul of You Don’t Know Me (Armand Van Helden) and Hideaway (DeLacy). Also in the mix is the light fauxfunk of Sing It Back (Moloko), Pictures (Sneaky Sound System) & Groove Is in the Heart (Dee Lite), and the surprisingly rocky Missing (Everything But The Girl) and Rapture (Iio). This album gives you something that is that little bit different, namely because you don’t have to be off your face to enjoy it. A disc that can be appreciated by anyone with an ear for music. 4 / 5 SCOTT GARDNER
TO THE HORSES Lanie Lane
Retro chic artist Lanie Lane is bringing back the sounds of times gone by with her rockabilly style debut album, ‘To the Horses’. The title track from the album shines through as an evocative serenade to the country cowboy, highlighting Lane’s sweet Billie Holiday-esque vocals. Other stand out tracks include ‘Oh Well, That’s What You Get for Falling in Love with a Cowboy’ and ‘Bang Bang’, which has been used in the new season promo for Network Ten’s, ‘Glee’. The album takes listeners on a journey through sultry tales of love and heartbreak. Lane’s obvious talent for song writing is evident on each track and ranges from warm and sassy to earthy and brooding. 3.5/5 JESS SCUDAMORE
FORGET THE FEELING Valley Floor
‘Forget The Feeling’ instantly takes you back to somewhere in your inaccessible subconscious, until the vocals of Jesse Bailey unlocks a “little green bag” of George Baker-esque tricks. Doors will surely open easily for this three piece who, with members from Gold Coast outfit ‘Rogerthat’ and the widely successful ‘The Beautiful Girls’, could contently share a pigeon hole with the likes of ‘The Easybeats’, ‘Hoodoo Gurus’ and ‘The Sunnyboys’. Reinforced by the Swiss-watch timed swinging of Dan Briffa on drums, they possess the power to psychosomatically transport a seasoned crowd back to the iconic ale and tobacco infused bygone venues, where the
unofficial dress code was salt, surf wax and flip flops. With Clay McDonald providing an impelling bass line, the feet and head will no doubt respond involuntarily. Lyrically this is no Pulitzer, but there is depth in their restraint. Baha bound on February 11, these guys should add just the right amount of spice to your taco. 3.5/5 SIMON TOPALOVIC
LINE IN THE SAND Simon Imrei
Stepping back into the Australian music scene, the always enjoyable Simon Imrei returns from a performing intermission with a new album that is powerfully dynamic, showcasing his song writing and polished guitar playing. His upcoming single, ‘Line in the Sand’ veers stylistically - essentially appearing as a glossy modern pop song with a heavy blues influence. With an honest approach, the song chronicles a heartbreaking end to a relationship - a love song that tales empowerment with lyrical precision. Intriguing layers and heartfelt vocals create a melancholic atmosphere, while Imrei’s guitar licks weave smoothly throughout the track. From a versatile talent, ‘Line in the Sand’ is only the beginning of an exciting 2012. 3.5/5 MADDISON WILSON
with Ray McGrotty Cream’s second album ‘Disraeli Gears’ was released in November 1967 with great success. With its instantly appealing psychedelic cover, designed by Australian Martin Sharp, it became an immediate seller. The band had opted for a different approach than their previous blues style, which was right on schedule to appeal
to the growing psychedelic movement spearheaded by The Beatles’ Sgt Pepper album, several months earlier (see last month’s review). The second track on the album ‘Sunshine Of Your Love’ was released as a single and has become something of an anthem to the 60s era. With the extraordinary musical talent of bassist and main songwriter Jack Bruce forcing lead guitarist Eric Clapton to his extreme limits, and the inventive jazz/blues style of drummer Ginger Baker, the album was destined to become a milestone in rock history. Disraeli Gears reached the Top 10 in most album charts around the world and, although it never actually achieved the number one spot in the predominantly “pop” dominated charts, it has certainly stood the test of time with consistent sales over the years surpassing 10 million units. Incidentally, the album got its title when Eric Clapton was talking to Ginger Baker about buying a bike when their roadie Mick Turner commented that the bike has Disraeli gears (he meant derailleur gears).
After the band fell about laughing, they decided it should become the title of their next album. For those trivia buffs out there, one track on the album “SWLABR” has had people confused for decades as to what it means. To put your mind at rest, it stands for “she was like a bearded rainbow”. As to what substance was responsible for that, it is anyone’s guess! Definitely make sure you have a copy of this album in your collection. RAY MCGROTTY Ray McGrotty is the owner/ manager or ‘Record City Collectables’, 433 Nepean Highway, Frankston. Record City stocks a vast array of retro memorabilia, cassettes & vinyl, rare & unseen releases as well as current favourites. If you’d like to suggest a ‘Classic Cut’, drop him a line at classiccuts@pearlmag.com.au
MORNINGTON PENINSULA & BAYSIDE
CHARTS
deejay-vu
GEMS
PARTY TRACKS DJ Iceman Welcome to 2012 - here’s hoping everyone had a great Xmas and New Years, and everyone is pumped for a massive year ahead. 1. HEY, HEY, HEY - Laurent Wery This track started gaining momentum on the airwaves this summer. There are a few good mixes around but I have found this to be best. It has a good bass line and strong vocals while staying true to the rnb/dance crossover that is massive at the moment. 4/5 2. IT’S ON (YOUTUBE) - Big C (feat. Josiah) Big C is a local guy of Hip Hop genre, think early Hilltop Hoods. This collaboration with Josiah puts him in the right direction, while keeping the essence of ‘old skool’ hip hop alive. 4/5 3. SUN IN CUBA (RALPHI ROSARIO REMIX) – DJ Yaleidys (feat. Jimmy Barnes) Big infectious beats and horns that will have you bopping along, before you hear the unmistakable gravel sound of Jimmy Barnes belting the famous lyrics from Dragon’s anthem ‘April Sun In Cuba’. Initially I thought ‘here’s another gimmick track’ but it has grown on me and works quite well as a retro crossover. 3.5 / 5 4. WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS – Chuckie (feat. Gregor Salto) An electro track with a basic vocal loop and good backing with loads of hands in the air pumping beats and low kick back catch your breath moments. I would like to see a remix that takes it to the next level. 3.5 / 5 5. DISCO SLUTS (RUDI NUNES & JAMIE VLAHOS REMIX) – The Sleepover Loving this mix at the moment. It has a long build up but it does have a great kick to it and vocals to sing along to, a great one to drop to a packed floor and watch them jump. 4/5 DJ Iceman plays all the latest & greatest dance, RnB & party tunes at Playhouse Bar in Mordialloc.
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PAINT IT BLACK Nathan Hinojosa (“Rolling Stones” Cover) TAGS: Rolling, Stones, Nathan, Hinojosa, Paint, It, Black, acoustic, cover
ALL CHARTS ARE CURRENT FOR OF THE WEEK OF 6/2/2012
SINGLES
NO. TITLE 1 WILD ONES 2 LONELY BOY 3 INTO THE FLAME EP (BROTHER) 4 BOYS LIKE YOU 5 HEY HEY HEY 6 7 8 9
ONE WORD Baby Animals (Acoustic/Blues version) TAGS: Baby, Animals, One, Word, acoustic, blues
I LOVE IT SET IT OFF PARADISE TURN ME ON
10 SUMMER
2
3
ALBUMS
NO. TITLE 1 TORCHES 2 21 3 EL CAMINO 4 FALLING & FLYING 5 MOONFIRE 6 BANGARANG EP 7 MAKING MIRRORS 8 MYLO XYLOTO 9 SORRY FOR PARTY ROCKING 10 TRIPLE J’S LIKE A VERSION 7
EVERLONG Holly Kirsten (“Foo Fighters” Cover) TAGS: Holly, Kirsten, Everlong, Foo, Fighters, live, acoustic, cover
NO. TITLE 1 WILD ONES 2 BOYS LIKE YOU 3 I LOVE IT 4 SET IT OFF 5 YOUNG, WILD & FREE
LOVER, YOU SHOULD’VE COME OVER Matt Corby (“Jeff Buckley” Cover) TAGS: Lover, You, Should’ve, Come, Over, Jeff, Buckley, Matt, Corby, Australia, Idol, live, acoustic, cover
4
HIT PREDICTION
5
SOMEBODY THAT I USED TO KNOW Walk Off The Earth (“Gotye” Cover) TAGS: Somebody, That, I, Used, To, Know, Gotye, Walk, Off, The, Earth, five, people, one, guitar, live, acoustic, cover
Flo Rida (feat. Sia)
Flo Rida is on fire at the moment, with almost every release being commercial gold. Who could forget ‘Good Feeling’ with such massive FM radio exposure over the past three months? His latest record, ‘Wild Ones’, features the vocals of Australia’s very own Sia Furler. The production is sleek, and features quite a melancholy build up behind Sia’s vocal. It then kicks into Flo Rida’s well timed rap and chunky beat… By the time you’re reading this review, this record will be at Number 1. Commercial gold! DJ MARKY MARK
MUSIC
ARTS
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ARTIST Foster The People Adele The Black Keys 360 Boy & Bear Skrillex Gotye Coldplay LMFAO Various
URBAN SINGLES
ARTIST Flo Rida (feat. Sia) 360 (feat. Gossling) Hilltop Hoods (feat. Sia) Timomatic Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa (feat. Bruno Mars) 6 TAKE CARE Drake (feat. Rihanna) 7 DEDICATION TO MY EX (MISS THAT) Lloyd (feat. Andre 3000 & Lil Wayne) 8 HANGOVER Taio Cruz (feat. Flo Rida) 9 GOOD FEELING Flo Rida 10 INTERNATIONAL LOVE Pitbull (feat. Chris Brown)
DANCE
WILD ONES
ARTIST Flo Rida (feat. Sia) The Black Keys Matt Corby 360 (feat. Gossling) Laurent Wery (feat. SwiftKid) Hilltop Hoods (feat. Sia) Timotic Coldplay David Guetta (feat. Nicki Minaj) Simple Plan
NO. TITLE 1 HEY HEY HEY 2
TURN ME ON
3 4 6 7 8 9 10
SEXY AND I KNOW IT BANGARANG LEVELS PROMISES 100% NO MODERN TALKING EP TITANIUM SORRY FOR PARTY ROCKING
ARTIST Laurent Wery (feat. SwiftKid) David Guetta (feat. Nicki Minaj) LMFAO Skrillex Avicii Nero Knife Party David Guetta (feat. Sia) LMFAO
For those musos out there that scoff at the audio not being live, check out their live version on Ellen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvviLGNydeg
Each month our resident music guru ‘Michael Thomas’ will search the web to find some unique and amazing youTUBE performances. If you have a topic you think Michael should research, contact him on musicguru@pearlmag.com.au
OUT MONTHLY next issue March 8 JOIN PEARL MAG GROUP ON FACEBOOK
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Award Winning DJ and MC Peter DeWever DJ PeterD Entertainment Plus started on the Mornington Peninsula in 2008 after its namesake, Peter, had taken a two year break from the DJ industry. His return coincided with a realisation that many DJs were simply playing house and ministry, more worried about how they mixed their music than reading the crowd. Peter went into full swing to try to change this and make a difference to sounds on the Peninsula. Having won two 2011 Australian Bridal Industry Awards in the DJ and Master of Ceremonies categories, he is clearly doing something right. With awards like that Peter is proving it is about the service, not about how good your mix is when it comes to mobile DJ work. Peter owns DJ Alliance Australia, a group who work towards setting a standard for mobile DJs through an accreditation process, and is also one of the resident DJs at The Conti. He has shared that with his wife Nikki for the past two years and aims to do so until the passion is lost. Peter states, “we are more than just music, we are about providing an unbeatable service and we love supporting the local community with programs like the Main Street Festival, school discos, Mornington Races and also supporting fund raisers such as SIDS for Kids Victoria and Shave for a Cure.”
Q&A WITH DAVID EDTMAIER Audio engineer and music producer @ Miscreant Recordings
If you’d like a professional for your next party or wedding contact DJ PeterD Entertainment on pete@djpeterd.com.au or head to djpeterd.com.au
Q: I am a musician and have just started to write my own songs. I’m looking for a decent (but easy to use) program to record some home demos with. Is there any free recording software out there that you could recommend? A: Recording demos at home is a great way to refine your craft and work on things like song structures and arrangements. This is especially good to do if you are planning on recording the songs in a studio. In most cases I ask bands/artists if they can send me a demo before we record so I can get an idea of what I’m working with. Thanks to the rapid advancements in recording technology over the years, and home computers being so powerful nowadays, recording your own music is available to anyone who has a home computer or laptop with a soundcard. The only limitation as to how far you can go depends on the specs of your machine, but all you really need are speakers or headphones and a microphone. Most laptops have microphones built in or if you have a desktop PC there is usually a microphone input on the soundcard. Here I’ll suggest a few easy to use multi-track recording programs to help get you started, bringing those masterpieces to life. ‘Audacity’ is a popular and free open source multi-track recording package, available on both Windows (PC) and MAC. ‘Reaper’ is another which I’ve personally had a bit of experience with and recommend you check out. Trusty ‘Garageband’ is also a good one, but only available on MAC, so if you own a MAC you most likely have it and may not even know it. If you’re more into beats and loop making, check out ‘Acid Pro’. There is a free 10 track version called ‘Acid Xpress’ to try out if you’re unsure. All the software mentioned have accompanying websites with more information and are downloadable as well. Type the software name into Google, and you’ll find a site to download them from as well as many video tutorials on how to get started. Even smart phones have great songwriting apps available which I definitely recommend to any songwriter to try. David has been involved in music and audio engineering for 15 years and operates a local recording studio providing a high quality multi-track recording, mixing and mastering all genres of music. You can find out more about his services at miscreantrecordings.com. If you’d like Dave to answer any of your questions on the ins and outs of the recording studio or music production in general, drop him a line at studioqanda@pearlmag.com.au
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FEBRUARY 2012
MORNINGTON PENINSULA & BAYSIDE
HELP REVIVE THE FRANKSTON GUITAR FESTIVAL A letter from Bill Dettmer When I planned the Frankston Guitar Festival in 95/96 the vision focused on the guitar. The instrument was showcased on stage, in displays and within workshops. It was the only festival in the country that was all about the guitar. The emphasis was on Australian guitars, Australian guitarists and Australian guitar makers. We had international performers, of course, and welcomed them with open arms, but every concert showcased Oz, with overseas players effectively acting as support artists. When artists performed, we often had them play locally produced products and many of the international players purchased and took home Australian made products. I met players from across the country and around the world. Frankston was recognised for the festival, the sort of publicity that money can’t buy. I hear Elvis Costello was spotted on a show wearing a Frankston Guitar Festival T Shirt. Geoff Achison, Jimmy Hocking, Nick Charles and others still tell of how they met people while touring internationally who knew of the event. A highlight for me was running a little stage with Rory Mcleod (UK) as guest and as I introduced him a guy jumped up all excited and started playing the Congas. I marched him to his seat and he said, “It’s just so great to be here, what a great festival!” I asked him where he was from and he said, “London. I came out for the festival and I’m going travelling for a couple of weeks around the country before I go home.” Keiran Murphy, at 16, won Young Guitarist of the Year at the last event I ran and after receiving his prize was sitting in the Green Room at the Frankston Arts Centre playing with Ian Date, Jim Kelly, Lloyd Speigel and other masters. Just sittin’ and pickin’... it was awesome to see. The festival ran for nine years and only lost its focus in the last few. The event had hundreds of highlights, dozens of workshops, thousands of guitars, a multitude of performers, stacks of international pickers, loads of volunteers, heaps of bands, many mishaps and a million unforgettable moments. My reason for raising the event again is that over the years since it finished, I have been asked from many quarters, “Why can’t we have the Frankston Guitar Festival happening again?” After all, luthiers are still making, artists are still playing and the guitar is the instrument of choice for young and old across the country. I have had two meetings so far and another is planned at Blue Note in late February. If the event is to resurrect it needs a strong committee ready to rise to the occasion. It needs funding, direction, costing, support, staging, sponsors, artists, direction, venues, publicity and promotion… It needs your help. If you’d like to be a part of bringing the Frankston Guitar Festival back, or you know someone who may be interested, head to Blue Note Music School (Wells St, Frankston) on Thursday February 23. Meeting starts 7:30pm.
MUSIC
ARTS
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SURF&SKATE
National SLAM Day February 23 The count down is on for National SLAM Day on February 23, 2012.
The first event, held in 2010, saw 20,000 protesters gather in Melbourne’s CBD to march against liquor licensing laws which had been designed to curb spiraling outbreaks of alcohol fuelled violence in the city, but were in fact threatening to pull the plug on LIVE MUSIC. A misguided link had been drawn between Live music and violence. Now that those laws have successfully been lifted, SLAM (Save Live Australia’s Music) is calling on musicians and venue owners to get involved in this day to ensure Live music continues. Simple ways you can be a part of the movement are: 1. Book a gig on Thursday February 23, and dedicate it to SLAM; 2. Take your friends out with you to celebrate Live music on this day; 3. Dedicate gigs that are already booked to SLAM and promote this within the chosen venue. Music means many things to many people, but most importantly is that it is passion, creativity, happiness and life for many people. This is an opportunity to support this precious industry and give back to Live and local music. To create your own SLAM event, or for more information on the rally and SLAM visit slamrally.org. PEARL SUPPORTS SLAM
DEFEND AUSTRALIAN MUSIC ON RADIO In a controversial move, commercial radio stations are seeking to further reduce the existing airplay quota for Australian music. According to the Musicians Independent Collective (M.I.C), stations are currently required to dedicate 25% of their playlist to Australian artists. This in itself is a miserly figure considering how many incredible musicians emerge from our shores. It is also an amount that has already been substantially reduced over the years. Our current crop of musicians deserve better. Airplay quotas serve to support and provide exposure to emerging and established local artists, and have been integral in launching the careers of great Australian groups such as Sherbet, The Angels, AC/DC and Skyhooks. To protest the proposed reduction in Australian content and instead encourage the existing
quota to be increased, the M.I.C is calling on all interested parties to make their opinions heard. This can be done by going to wrokdown.com and clicking on M.I.C. to add your name to this growing list. Punters can also add their email address so they can be contacted as things move forward with this action. The following industry people have already signed up to the petition - Mick Hamilton, Phil Manning, Buddy England, John Swan, Bob Bright, Bob Valentine, Greg Noakes, Neale Johns, Glynn Mason, Ray Burgess, Mick Pealing, Geoff Cox, Daryl Braithwaite, Karl Van Est, Ken Murdoch, James Morrison, Jack McGrath, Lindsay Wells, Tony Naylor, Steve Mulry and John Sayers. Add to the petition if you care about hearing more Australian content. Stand up and be counted.
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THIS IS JUST A TRIBUTE Kicking off on Friday February 24 and running for three days, the Western Port Festival will see the Hastings Foreshore come to life. With this year’s theme ‘The Farmer Wants a Festival’, the focus will be on local produce, crafts, livestock and agriculture. Wellknown favorites such as the Saturday Street Parade, Sunday Car Show and the Art & Artisans Show will promote community participation, whilst the Live music, carnival rides, community stalls, kid’s activities, water sports and fireworks make this an event that truly caters to the whole family. The Live music is sure to be a huge hit among music lovers, with a variety of bands playing over the weekend. Headlining on Saturday night is Australia’s ultimate Bon Jovi Tribute show, New Jersey. Performing every well-known hit such as “Living On a Prayer”, “Have a Nice Day”, “You Give Love a Bad Name”, “It’s My Life”, “Bed Of Roses”, “Keep the Faith”, “Wanted Dead Or Alive”, “Always”, “Bad Medicine” and even hits such as “Blaze Of Glory” from Jon Bon Jovi’s solo career, the band are well known to simulate all aspects of a ‘real’ Bon Jovi concert. Sounding, looking, moving and even portraying the same charisma as their counterparts, New Jersey has been praised by music guru and close friend of Jon Bon Jovi, Molly Meldrum, as being “sensational – even Jon would be proud!” New Jersey has collectively gathered over 70 years and 4000 gigs of Live performance experience, preparing and perfecting each of their roles. They will surely bring in the festival’s firework display with a bang at 8.45pm on Saturday February 25. Sunday the 26th will see Australia’s number one Bruce Springsteen tribute show, Thunder Road take to the stage. Formed in 2009, the band consists of seasoned and professional musicians, comprising a full seven piece ‘E-street’ style backing band, including saxophone, piano, hammond organ, guitars, bass and drums. Playing a repertoire of over 40 songs, Thunder Road endeavors to not only capture the classic Springsteen sound in a Live setting, but to also remain true to the spirit and energy of the music. Playing a set list of old and new Springsteen songs, Thunder Road has graced some of the biggest stages in the country, with the Western Port Festival providing a rare opportunity to see the band whilst enjoying the coastal festival atmosphere. With free entry and the majority of featured events free of charge, the Western Port Festival is a fun and relaxed way to spend your weekend and discover what the Hastings community and Western Port have to offer. For more information, including the full music lineup, head to westernportfestival.org,au
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MORNINGTON PENINSULA & BAYSIDE
HOTHAM HEATS UP WITH COOL SUMMER
“Three days of music and indulgence, on two stages in the middle of nowhere with the luxury of everything” is the catch cry for organisers of this month’s fifth annual Cool Summer Festival. Dissecting that statement further, it’s hard to resist the appeal of this one-of-a-kind concept. Held at Mt. Hotham, the event is set in the midst of a cool, green landscape, with fresh air, breathtaking views, and endless rolls of misty mountains in every direction. Then there’s the easy-listening Aussie artists jamming between trees, workshops, local food, wine and market stalls that will indulge your senses all weekend long. The festival boasts BYO alcohol, cheap tickets, free entry for kids and a family feel, having grown out of two mates reminiscing over a glass of wine about how festivals used to be. The organisers have consciously stayed true to their original idea of remaining independent, and resisted the spoils of large commercial sponsorship. This time around, Cool Summer Festival is being headlined by fantasy-pop singer Owl Eyes, The Drones lead singer Gareth Liddiard, Aussie Horror Country Band, Graveyard Train and the singer/songwriter Gossling with other fantastic local favourites Bomba and Dallas Frasca, amongst many, many more. In contrast to the majority of summer festivals, Cool Summer Festival caters for families as well as Melbourne hipsters with activities including various workshops, helicopter rides, mountain biking, chair lift rides, horse riding, a massage tent, and yoga in the morning - all happening at the festival site. The Cool Summer Festival will be held on February 17 – 19, in conjunction with Alpine Resort, 1st Resort Bar & Restaurant and The General Hotel, Hotham. For more information about the festival and for tickets, visit coolsummerfestival.com. Camping also available.
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35 YEARS OF FOLK AT PORT FAIRY
From March 9 -12, the annual Port Fairy Folk Music Festival will pay homage to the best in folk, country, blues, jazz, bluegrass, acoustic rock and world roots. The Celtic seaside town will be inundated with artists from all corners of the globe and attract more than 60,000 visitors over four eventful days. Established in 1977, the Port Fairy Music Festival will this year celebrate 35 years of bringing music to the masses. 2012 boasts a blistering line-up of world-renowned performers including New York folk legend Judy Collins, blues master Eric Bibb and French-Algerian modern Celtic guitarist Adam Cohen on his first ever Australian tour. On the home front there’s plenty on offer to satisfy local music cravings with performances by John Butler, My Friend The Chocolate Cake, Gossling, Claymore, The Davidson, Watussi, Flap!, Ami Williamson, Carus Thompson, The Cartridge Family, Hat Fitz & Cara Robinson, Jugularity, Kamerunga and The Junes… to name a few. In 1995 the festival was inducted into the Australian Tourism Hall of Fame and is listed as one of the world’s Top 10 folk music festivals, meaning tickets sell faster and faster every year – so get in quick. Tickets to the Port Fairy Music Festival available at portfairyfolkfestival.com or call ph: 5568 2227
FULL STEAM AHEAD FOR ‘RIVERBOAT’
Imagine partying to your favourite Aussie acts under towering river gums while paddle steamers meander past. Now stop imagining because from February 17-19, the usually peaceful banks of the Murray River will flood with high-spirited music goers as the people of EchucaMoama kick-off the 1st annual Riverboats Music Festival. The Riverboats Festival is a welcome addition to the already jammed Echuca-Moama summer events calendar. With a line-up including Colin Hay, Tex Perkins, Mark Seymour and The Bride Stripped Black, those who embark on the mere two and a half hour drive from Melbourne will not be disappointed. All music action will take place on the banks of the mighty Murray in the heart Echuca’s Port Precinct. The historic surroundings will transport you back in time while a mix of rock, folk and pop tunes ensure your ears will stay very much in the present. With a perfect mix of music and nature Riverboats is sure to be a future must on any festival freaks yearly calendar. For ticket info visit riverboatsmusic.com.au
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SOUNDWAVE COMING!
“Friends, Rockers, Countrymen . . . Lend us your ears and we’ll subject them to loud rock music. Tighten your togas, strap on the dancing sandals and get ready for the Roman edition of Soundwave; featuring our biggest line-up yet!” That’s the mission statement from the organisers of one of the biggest heavy and hard rock festivals to hit our shores each year. The absolutely stellar lineup includes . . and brace yourselves kiddies, it’s going to be epic . . System of a Down, Slipknot, Marilyn Manson, Machine Head, Lamb of God, Mastodon, Bad Religion, Trivium, In Flames, Alter Bridge, Staind, The Used, Black Label Society, Unearth, Coal Chamber, Meshugga, Hatebreed, Dragonforce, Gojira, Hellyeah, Chimaira, Switchfoot, Tsurisas and much, much more. Now if that didn’t result in bolts of lightning exploding in your pants, you are either not the god of thunder after all, or damn hard to please indeed. PEARL’s resident guru of all things heavy, Ben, will be there, by all that is holy, unholy and even most things atheistic, to cover the event for us so make sure find a way to be there as well. Soundwave Festival will be held in Brisbane on February 25, Sydney on February 26, Melbourne on March 2, Adelaide on March 3 and Perth on March 5. Check out soundwave. com for all ticketing info and updates. Also be sure to check out the various stand alone shows on the Sidewaves section of the site.
BETWEEN THE BAYS FESTIVAL
Now in its 7th year, Between The Bays will be bringing its family fun to the Mornington Peninusla once again on February 25. With one of its finest lineups yet, BTB offers you the chance to see Mark Seymour & The Undertow, Jordie Lane, The Ooga Boogas, The Fuzzbirds, JVG Guitar Method, Indigineious Hip Hop and 90s Australian favourites Custard, all in one location. This year there are even more activities for the kids, including music by Lah Lah’s Big Live Band, making it an event not to be missed even for the youngsters. Market stalls will feature jewelry, clothing, small delights and arts/crafts, whilst rides, roaming artists and workshops will add to the festivities. Between the Bays will be held at at Penbank, Rickards Road, Moorooduc, (Mel Ref 146 G8). Tickets are on sale from Ticketmaster (ticketmaster.com.au or ph: 136 100) or through Penbank (ph: 5978 8425). Prices are Adults $49, Student (with student card) $25, Child (5-12) $10, Family Ticket (2 Adults & 2 Children) $108. For all other Between The Bays festival information go to betweenthebays.com
MORNINGTON PENINSULA & BAYSIDE
RAW RESPECT ALL WILDLIFE
FAMILY MUSIC FESTIVAL
DALLAS FRASCA
MAT. McHUGH DALLAS FRASCA
(OF THE BEAUTIFUL GIRLS)
JEFF LANG FIREBALLS
DREAM BOOGIE PAPA CHANGO THE ANIMATORS THE CAVALRY TODD COOK STEVE APPROVED JOSH CASHMAN LASH 78
PLUS THE WIGGLY BITS
& HEAPS OF FREE KIDS ACTIVITIES & ENTERTAINMENT
SUPPORTING LOCAL & GLOBAL CONSERVATION
SUNDAY MARCH 18, 2012
MORNING STAR ESTATE, MT ELIZA
www.raw.org.au CARBON NEUTRAL EVENT
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JEFF LANG
COUNTDOWN TO RAW
Early March will see the Mornington Peninsula welcome back the annual ‘RAW For Africa’ music festival. In its first year the event raised over $35,000 for anti-poaching in Africa, and three years on organisers are expecting huge numbers to the carbon friendly festival and hope to smash previous years’ donation figures. All proceeds from the volunteer run event go towards wildlife conservation at home in Australia and abroad. Preparations are well underway for this year’s festival, with organisers promising a day of fun and frivolity for all. The stellar musical line-up includes Jeff Lang, The Fireballs, Dallas Frasca and The Animators with many more acts still to be announced. As well as great tunes, the festival will feature a range of local food and wine and a host of interactive kids activities including wildlife, circus performance, face painting and craft. The RAW For Africa Festival will be held at Morning Star Estate Sunday March 18, from 11am till 10pm. For tickets and event info visit raw.org.au or pre-book yours at moshtix.com.au
MORNINGTON PENINSULA & BAYSIDE
FESTIVALS 2012
TOURING 2012
St. Kilda Festival (St Kilda). 12th Feb
Hall & Oates (Rochford Wines, Yarra Valley). 12th February. Rod Stewart (Rod Laver Arena). 17th February. Celtic Thunder (Hisense Arena).18th February. Roxette (Rod Laver Arena). 18th & 22nd February. The Game (Festival Hall). 23rd February. Soul II Soul (Trak Lounge). 24th February. Boom Crash Opera & Sean Kelly (Commercial Hotel) 25th February. Olivia Newton-John (Regent Theatre). 27th February. System of a Down (Rod Laver Arena). 29th February. Slipknot (Rod Laver Arena). 1st March. Bush (The Palace Theatre). 1st March. New Order (Festival Hall). 1st March. Cathedral (The Espy ). 1st March. Ryan Adams (Regent Theatre). 3rd March. Fatboy Slim (The Palace Theatre). 7th March. Jessie J (Festival Hall ). 7th March. Baby Animals (Trak Lounge). 9th March. Eric Clapton (Rod Laver Arena). 12th March. Taylor Swift (Rod Laver Arena). 12th, 13th & 14th March. 10CC (Trak Lounge). 14th March. The Sweet (Trak Lounge). 16th March. Lenny Kravitz, Wolfmother & The Cranberries (Sidney Myer Music Bowl). 17th & 18th March. Duran Duran (Rod Laver). 19th March. Tim McGraw & Faith Hill (Rod Laver). 20th March. Kate Miller-Heidke (The Arts Centre). 23rd March Evanesence with Blaqk Audio (Rod Laver Arena). 24th March. Adam Ant (The Palace Theatre). 30th March. Steve Earle (Bluesfest Melbourne Sideshow @ The Corner). 30th March G3 (featuring Joe Satriani, Steve Vai & Steve Lukather) (Palais Theatre, St Kilda). 1st April. Earth Wind & Fire (Palais Theatre). 4th April. The Pogues (Festival Hall). 4th April. New Found Glory & Taking Back Sunday (Festival Hall). 8th April. Seal (Palais Theatre). 10 & 12th April. Burt Bacharach (Regent Theatre). 19th April. The Hoodoo Gurus (The Palace Theatre). 25th April. With guests The Sonics & 5,6,7,8’s. Jay and Silent Bob (Regent). 26th April. David Guetta Creamfields, (Melb Showgrounds). 28th April. New Kids On The Block/Backstreet Boys (Rod Laver Arena). 18TH & 19th May. Florence & The Machine (Rod Laver Arena). 20th May. Naturally 7 (The Palais Theatre). 26th May. Def FX (The Corner Hotel). 2nd June. Melissa Etheridge (The Planery). 15th July. Bruce Springsteen (Rod Laver Arena). 31st August & 1st September.
Riverboat Music Festival (Echuca Moama). 17th-19th February (see page 36) Cool Summer Festival February 17th-19th (see page 35) Westernport Festival (Hastings Foreshore). 24th-26th February. Red Ink, Jimi Hocking, New Jersey (Tribute to BonJovi), Nat Alison Band, Simon Imrei Band, Lee Harding’s Acoustic Jam, The Australian Bruce Springsteen Show, Astral Flight, Chris Doheny’s Oz Made, Dirty Boogie, Bosley. (see page 34) Between The Bays Festival (Penbank School). 25th February. Mark Seymour & the Undertow, Custard, Jordie Lane, Lah-Lah’s, The Ooga Boogas, JVG Guitar Method, Indigenious Hip Hop and The Fuzzbirds (see pages 36-37) Soundwave Festival (Melbourne Showgrounds). 2nd March. Slipknot (USA), System of a Down (USA), Slipknot (USA), Limp Bizkit (U.S.A), Marilyn Manson (USA), A Day To Remember (USA), Machine Head (USA), Lamb of God (USA), Trivium (USA), Alterbridge (United States),Lostprophets (Wales), Angels & Airwaves (USA), Cobra Starship (USA), The Used (USA), You Me At Six (England), Devin Townsend Project (Canada), Unwritten Law (USA), Coal Chamber (USA), Dashboard Confessional (USA), Thursday (USA), Forever the Sickest Kids (USA), Raised Fist (Sweden), Dillinger Escape Plan (USA), The Mission In Motion, Zakk Wylde’s Black Label Society, Mastodon (USA) and more! (see page 36) Port Fairy Festival March 9-12th (see page 36) Future Music Festival (Flemington Racecourse). 11th March. Swedish House Mafia, New Order (UK), Friendly Fires (UK), Gym Class Heroes (USA), Zane Lowe (UK), Professor Green (UK), Knife Party, Dubfire, John O’Callaghan, Flux Pavillion, Oliver Huntemann (Germany), Orjan Nilsen, Porter Robinson, Kill the Noise, Ruby Rose, tyDi, Timmy Trumpet, Fatboy Slim (UK), Paul Van Dyk, Tinie Tempah (UK), The Wombats (UK), Chase & Status, Skrillex, Jessie J (UK), The Rapture (USA), Sven Vath (Germany), Die Antwoord (South Africa), Aphex Twin (UK), The Naked & Famous (New Zealand), Gareth Emery, Jamie Jones, Stafford Brothers and more A Day On The Green (All Saints, Rutherglen). 17th March. Noiseworks, Ian Moss & more! RAW for Africa (Morning Star Estate). 18th March. The Fireballs, The Distance, Dallas Frasca, Jeff Lang, Mat McHugh and more! More info atwww.raw.org.au (or see page opposite) A Day On The Green (Rochford Wines, Yarra Valley). 24th March. Noiseworks, Ian Moss & more! Boogie Festival (Bruzzy’s Farm Tallarook). 6th8th April. Line-up TBA. Supafest (Melbourne Showgrounds). 21st April. P Diddy, Icecube, Kelly Rowland, Rick Ross, Trey Songz and more. Apollo Bay Music Festival (Apollo Bay). 20th22nd April. Line-up TBA. Creamfields (Melbourne Showgrounds). 28th April. David Guetta, Above & Beyond, Dirty South, Alesso, Excision, W&W, Giuseppe Ottaviani (Live),Congorock, Vitalic, Sied van Riel, Downlink, MaRLo, Bombs Away, MC Stretch and more.
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RUMOURS Coldplay, One Direction, Madonna
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5,000 GIGS FOR NAT ALLISON - CATCH HER LIVE From the studio to the stage, Nat Allison delivers a pitch-perfect scream, incredible strut antics and is an evil guitar showboat – it is clear that music is deep within her soul. To date Nat has played some 5000 gigs, including festivals and opening for big names such as Jimmy Barnes, The Screaming Jets, Martha Davis and The Motels. In 2007 Nat had a stint playing guitar for one of Australia’s most amazing vocalists - Vanessa Amorosi - appearing as part of her interstate and international tours, TV performances and the video for Vanessa’s 2007 comeback single ‘Kiss Your Mama’. In 2010 Nat was invited to London to play guitar on legendary Suzi Quatro’s new album and was subsequently invited by Quatro to play two of the new songs on her latest tour Down Under. It was a huge honour for Nat to be on stage with the woman who paved the
ASTRAL FLIGHT, JUST TAKING OFF Formed two years ago, ‘Astral Flight’ is a four-piece rock band home-grown on the Mornington Peninsula. Members Sean Byrne, Trent Steley, Calum Hall-Norton and Jack Blake cite their influences as being “all the classics” ranging from Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, to Bob Dylan, Tame Impala, The Black Keys and inspirationally, “the magician on Bourke Street.” With similar roots and a diverse appreciation for music, the guys behind ‘Astral Flight’ combine distorted guitar harmonies, extended solos and rockin’ beats to create an experimental, 80s vibe, classic rock blend that is unchained to any specific genre. The band has experience in playing gigs around the Peninsula and Melbourne, performing Live shows since their high school days. After a brief year long hiatus the band re-grouped and found their current drummer, Jack Blake. Now more than ever, ‘Astral Flight’ have realised their deep appreciation for creating and performing Live music, and hope to play as many gigs as possible in 2012. Indeed, a significant upcoming gig will see the band play the Main Stage at The Western Port Festival. The free festival starts on Friday February 24, spans three days and is set to bring Hastings foreshore to life with an exciting line-up of musicians alongside a range of family-friendly entertainment. As a young and upcoming band, ‘Astral Flight’ has a strong online presence, utilising various media platforms to broadcast the latest tracks and gig information. You can find the band on Triple J’s Unearthed website, Facebook and ReverbNation. Astral Flight play the Westernport Festival on Saturday February 25 at 1.30pm. MATILDA HEGGIE
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way for female rock musicians. Nat’s career has seen her journey to New York more than 20 times to write and record with Producer/Songwriter Mike Chapman (Blondie, Suzi Quatro, The Sweet, Smokey). The partnership has produced exciting material with the duo continuing to add to their already impressive catalogue. Channel Seven chose Nat’s song ‘Anyone For Tennis’ as the theme song for the 2010 Australian Open ad campaign. At the same time the track was also released on iTunes (Australia) through Standard/ Universal records. More recently Nat can be seen gracing our TV screens and singing on the radio for the Victorian Country Racing TV ad. Catch Nat Allison at Westernport Festival, Hastings on Saturday February 25. For more info on Nat, head to natallison.com
SHANAKEE GET SOCIAL Singing, dancing and storytelling Irish outfit ‘Shanakee’ formed back in 1992, led by seasoned Irish muso Kieran O’Connell. The band mainly played big venues and clubs along the Murray River in Victoria and NSW, also making a number of appearances on Good Morning Australia with Bert Newton. Fellow band members Mark McNeilly (Bass/Banjo), Dave Walker (Vocal/Guitar/ Mandolin) and Greg Hunt (Fiddle/Mandolin) have been with O’Connell for seven years, playing a mix of Irish traditional songs and tunes, some original songs and a smattering of other music that includes country, folk and even modern. O’Connell has had previous success with the largely successful ‘Highland Paddy’, a band formed with his brother in 1986. HP toured extensively in Australia, appearing notably on an episode of ‘Mission Impossible’ which was filming in Melbourne at the time. With Kieran and Dave now both Peninsula residents, ‘Shanakee’ are set for many more local appearances to share their stories and tunes with fellow Irish music lovers. After all, the Celtic translation for Shanakee is “storyteller”. So whether you’re an old ‘Highland Paddy’ fan or just looking for something different, look out for ‘Shanakee’, coming to a venue near you. ‘Shanakee’ play The Social on Sunday, February 26 back by popular demand. You’ll find The Social at 62 Main St, Mornington. For more info, check out bayhotel.com.au or find them on Facebook.
GET LOWKISS
PRESIDENT ROOTS FEEL FOOLED President Roots are an all country, folk-rock, blues outfit of smile inducing consequence. Led by master song crafter and poetic lyricist Simon Dodd, they have clocked up enough on site hours in the music scene to warrant some attention. As always with a band such as President Roots, the best way to fully capitalise on their foot tapping, neck-rocking and thought provoking brand of music is to see them Live. When standing in front of these guys doing what they do best, audiences will be engaged by their latest incarnation of folky poetic story telling. Hailing from the Mornington Peninsula, the boys from President Roots are playing two shows on their home turf at Rye’s Baha Tacos - Sunday February 12 (full band acoustic) and Saturday February 25 (full band electric). The shows coincide with the March release of the band’s album ‘Feelin Fooled’.
LowKiss is one of Australia’s most talented DJ/ Producers in today’s house music scene. With an impressive string of successes under his belt, including numerous remixes appearing in the Top 20 World Chart, Top 10 UK Club Chart and Top10 Aria Club Charts as well as a No.10 in the Beatport Chart, there is no doubt that LowKiss has the ability to produce tunes that appeal to lovers of house, electro and tech music around the globe. LowKiss’ works include a portfolio under the name of Base Cartel which features remixes of ‘Dirty South & Paul Harris’ (Better Day), ‘TV Rock’ (Been a Long Time), ‘Funkerman’ (Speed Up) and ‘D Ramirez and Dirty South’ (Shield), to name but a few. He has also mixed the Rush CD alongside Mr Timothy under the Vinyl Pusher label. Lowkiss has remixed for standouts such as Mobin Master and Tate Strauss - under Mobin Master’s Esteemed Safari Music label – and achieved worldwide recognition and acclaim for his dance floor anthem for the Sony/OneLove/SuperStar label,
‘Everybody’s Free’ by Global Deejays. More recent works accredited to LowKiss’ production efforts include ‘Hey Cutie’, reaching No.1 on DJ Tunes, and ‘Monster’, which charted in the Top10 Aria Club Chart and achieved international airplay. Lowkiss’ remix of ‘Work of Art’ by Jean Claude Ades featuring Sam Obernik also hit No.3 on the UK Club Charts in 2011. 2012 is off to a huge start with Roger Sanchez smashing LowKiss and Ryan Riback’s remix of Steven Lee’s ‘Time Goes On’ on his radio show ‘Release Yourself’, and the LowKiss remix of ‘Muciacio’ by NuMood hitting No.7 on Italy’s iTunes chart. LowKiss has a tour of the U.S and Mexico set for mid 2012 and a stack of new tunes coming out soon on Safari Music and Ego Music (Italy), so stay tuned. LowKiss will continue his residency on Saturday nights at the Continental Hotel, 1-21 Ocean Beach Rd, Sorrento. Be sure to find yourself there, on the dance floor.
MORNINGTON PENINSULA & BAYSIDE
SUN STILL SHINING AT THE PAVILION As the Peninsula kicks down a gear, The McCrae Pavilion continues to burn red hot. After the success of their two stylish weekly parties and myriad of massive events including the epic NYE Deck Party and Australia Day, the Pavilion is still very much celebrating the warm weather and are keen for locals to claim back their beachside paradise. The “Pav” as it has become known, continues to hit the mark even after the tourist storm subsides, with more exciting events planned for the coming months. “We mix our events like our cocktails,” said Bar Manager, Ryan Scoble. With ingredients including luscious day beds, relaxed tunes and off the hook drink specials it’s easy to see why folks just can’t get enough of the Pavilion. To honour their local patrons the venue will continue their Friday event, ‘The ‘Wine Down’. Kicking off from 5pm on Friday evenings, the night offers Live acoustics, food and vino specials plus the perfect environment to “un-Wine-d” after a long week. Next on the agenda for the Pav... Valentine’s Day, and while cupid preens his wings Head Chef Patrick Bowring is putting the finishing touches on his three course Valentine’s Day menu, terrific value at only $60. Looking at all this, it’s fair to say the Pavilion’s party has only just begun for 2012. To stay up to date with all things Pavilion including their upcoming Labour Day Weekend Film Festival, simply follow them on Facebook or call ph: 5981 1202 to book your Valentines Day dinner.
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VALLEY FLOOR’S TICKET TO RYE
With their instruments in hand, as well as their combined experience and anecdotes in mind, Valley Floor is the culmination of three performers who’ve indeed ‘been there and done that’, but still have the humility to stay true to their craft and simply provide you, the listener, with everything you expect. Such is the sound that is all over the radio at the moment. With bands like The Black Keys currently flooding the market with their brand of psychedelic, garage jammed, passionately delivered brit-pop and swinger tracks, its seems like Jesse Bailey (Rogerthat), Clay MacDonald (The Beautiful Girls and Angus & Julia Stone) and Dan Briffa are ready to take on the big boys. Valley Floor was born from the Australian festival circuit. A mutual love for music saw the band collaborating after crossing paths several times on their separate journeys. The flower was eventually born of the seed, and Jesse, Clay and Dan began putting together tracks in a poster walled laundry in the depths of Tallebudgera Valley in 2011. At the forefront of a newly emerging genre coined ‘Jellyfish Roll’, their music explores pieces of all three members’ imaginations and sways between surf-punk-blues-psych-stomp and soul to make a sound that is purely, Valley Floor. Put simply, the adage is ‘play real music, at real shows, to real people’ - a principle that has gathered a loyal following amongst those who like a dance floor rummage, also attracting older generations who remember classic Australian acts such as the Easy Beats and (early) Hoodoo Guru’s. The band is preparing to launch their debut EP, with the single being a soulful, shake your butt, get down and boogie number, Forget the Feeling. To accompany the release, the band’s national tour will include an appearance at Baha Tacos in Rye in February and, with Jesse and Dan’s old band ‘Rogerthat’ having played in Rye many times before, it’ll be a chance for them to see some old faces, as well as make some new friends and fans. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear the new collaboration perform songs from their brand new EP which is set to deliver the goods to music lovers on the Mornington Peninsula. Valley Floor play Baha Tacos in Rye on Saturday February 11. For more information, head to bahatacos.com.au
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Gathering a positive reputation amongst the Peninsula’s beer lovers, Mornington Peninsula Brewery continues to deliver by bringing you exciting entertainment to accompany your Brewery experience. The last Thursday of the month is ‘Open Vinyl Night’, where people have the opportunity to bring down their rare or favourite Funk/Soul/Disco vinyl records and jump up on the decks. It’s a concept both unique and refreshing as most ‘open mic’ nights only involve instruments and Live performance. It’s also guaranteed to provide a fresh and dynamic soundtrack to Thursdays, from 7-10pm. Every Sunday from 2-5pm, the Brewery will offer up Live music by Melbourne and Peninsula based performers. Appearing in February are favourites ‘The McCraes’, as well as ‘Ginja Roe’ and ‘Rob Pappalardo’. February 19 will see Todd Cook and Danny Burton take the stage, two gifted performers and writers in their own right having had industry and TripleJ acclaim for each of their respective catalogues. Don’t miss your chance to see them both in February at the Brewery. Mornington Peninsula Brewery is located at 72 Watt Road, Mornington. Call them on ph: 5976 3663 or head to mpbrew.com.au Opening Hours: Tues – Fri 3 to 11pm, Sat 12 to 11pm, Sun 12 to 9pm
COASTAL TUNES
If you’re looking for a relaxed local atmosphere with some great food, a good wine list and cool tunes, you need look no further than Coast. Situated across from the beach in Blairgowrie, their Sunday sessions showcase local performers including Paul Miller and Lisa Bade, in addition to an array of city based acts such as Wilbur Wilde and Wendy Stapleton appearing on a semi regular basis. Comfortable and relaxing, come down and enjoy a cocktail, wine or boutique beer from 3pm each week and sample the Coast experience. Coast is situated at 2827 Point Nepean Rd, Blairgowrie. Opening from 8am, 7 Days a week. For more info or for bookings, call ph: 5988 0700.
When it comes to the Peninsula, local muso Jay McLean is part of the furniture. His solo acoustic shows have frequented the stages of many local venues from the Rye Hotel to the unique and cosy spaces of Lazy Joes, Pier10 and the Heritage Tavern. Whilst the quiet gigs and laid back vibe has suited McLean for the last 10 years, it’s just the latest in a number of musical incarnations and personas punctuating his varied career. Originally from Cheltenham, McLean spent time overseas during his 20’s where he became involved with a British theatre company production of ‘Elvis – The Musical’. Having
grown up with the music of Elvis, McLean jumped at the chance to be one of the three Presley’s and tour England and Ireland playing The King’s songs. After returning to Australia McLean enjoyed success during the early 90s with his three piece harmony and acoustic outfit ‘The Roustabouts’, appearing on ‘Good Morning Australia’ and ‘Ernie & Denise’. In the late 90s he moved to the Mornington Peninsula after having regularly spent time in the area at his grandparent’s caravan park almost 30 years prior. The last decade has involved the afore mentioned ‘quiet’ gigs, as well as a number of black-tie shows with renowned keys player Andrew
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Farrell, playing (and crooning) the hits of Sinatra. The local muso also takes time out every now and then to sing for residents of retirement villages in the area, choosing to perform in both his acoustic format and backing track ‘crooner’ persona to rave reviews and acclaim. All in all, McLean has been a versatile and well renowned musician both locally and overseas and someone you will no doubt run into, singing his favourite Elvis, Neil Diamond, Springsteen or Chris Isaak tune and sharing his unique brand of solo acoustic interpretations with audiences Peninsula-wide. Check Gig Guide in centre pages for local gigs.
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Every week at Flanagans, feat. the crazy Olly and Scuzzi.
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Melbourne singer-songwriter Matt Glass has released his debut album, ‘Famous Last Words’, an LP that has been labelled ‘a slow revelation’. At first listen, what you hear from Glass is the melody. His album is intrinsically catchy and highly accessible, with the classic, tuneful appeal of artists like Paul Kelly and The Waifs. Drawing from a range of musical genres, yet instilled with a distinctive, earthy guitar and vocal style, Glass’ real strength is his lyrics. His words are deceptively simple and like all the best songwriters, he skilfully merges the deeply personal with the universal. Subsequent listens of the album unfold Glass’ careful wit and the passionate, unflinching honesty of his vision. With the success of the album and a new touring band, ‘Matt Glass and his Gypsy Orchestra’, Glass went from strength to strength in 2011, playing regular residencies at the Espy, The Wesley Anne, The Vineyard, The Edinburgh Castle and Veludo. Now a full time muso, Glass has started solo corporate work at venues like Honey and Republica and is setting up a four piece jazz ensemble, ‘Matt Glass and the Diamond Cutters’. Catering to corporate events, weddings and parties, the Diamond Cutters are set for big things in 2012. Glass and his band come to Mornington this February to play once again at God’s Kitchen. Having already played successful shows at God’s, Mornington fans will get to see the band before they commit to more festival work and begin work on a new record due out in winter 2012. Matt Glass Band play God’s Kitchen, 53 Barkly St, Mornington (behind Beaches), on February 17, from 9pm.
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SHAZAM!
If you’re on the lookout for a night of energy and excitement from four distinct musicians with the experience and ability to do so, you might want to check out Shazam. Playing down south twice a month, Shazam have slowly made a name for themselves by belting out hits from the rock ‘n roll 60s to the disco 70s, retro 80s plus top 40 from the 90s to present day. What sets them apart is their use of state of the art technology and Live percussion, guitar and saxophone to create a dynamic and significantly greater sound than that of a traditional four piece. A full production and light show, featuring club and disco effects, also accompanies the music. Plus, with the addition of 26 year old ‘Nikita Vic’ as the new female vocalist, Shazam has that added bit of diversity from a performer well beyond her years, fronting the band. Hugely popular in Mornington, Shazam returns to Beaches on Saturday, February 25 for another night of party hits. Also coming up on the Beaches calendar is the ‘after cup festivities’ on Wednesday, February 15. $ingle Income will be playing from 6.30pm, a great way to extend your Mornington Cup Day and party on into the night. Come for the food or music, or just enjoy the courtyard, a space that is proving increasingly popular on these balmy evenings as a place to cool off and have a chat when you need a break from things. Beaches of Mornington has cover bands Thursday to Sunday and is located at 55 Barkly St, Mornington. Phone them on ph: 5975 0966
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SUPERFLY DJ’S Superfly DJ’s every Friday night at Flanagans and Davey’s on Saturdays.
HERITAGE SET TO SHAKE WITH DETONATORS Balnarring’s favourite venue and eatery, The Heritage Tavern, is set to shake to its foundations in February with the sounds of ‘The Detonators’. The band, who are no strangers to the Peninsula or the free Sunday afternoon gig at The Heritage, have overseen many a massive Sunday afternoon there in the past. These legendary high priests of roots rock ‘n roll will once again be taking control of The Heritage’s rear deck on Sunday, February 12 from 3pm. You’ll get to see and hear Rockbottom James and his wailing harmonica, Paulie the kid on his vintage Maton, Doghouse Dave on his slapping double bass and Adam 12 on his shuffling drums. Whether you’re ready to dance or you just want to sit back and listen while enjoying a few beers, the main thing is to make sure you’re there. Arrive early if you’re wanting a seat - this one will be huge! ‘The Detonators’ play The Heritage Tavern on Sunday, February 12 from 3pm. For more information head to detonators.com or call The Heritage on ph: 5983 2597
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Welcome to my mid week specials – ‘Flanagans’ 1st Annual Beach Party’ and ‘Humpday’. I’ve been busy this month heading to the hottest events on the Peninsula, and believe me when I say Beach Party = A-MAZ-ING! Blow up palm trees and locals donning flip flops, boardies and bikinis really set the vibe, while all night killer drink specials kept the party pumping. Fellas enjoyed the cheap beer while the ladies took advantage of the $5 cocktails served in shakers with lids, the perfect tool to avoid dance floor spillage. The music got everyone moving, resulting in a great night for all. Only downfall... I didn’t get a tan :( So I give the event a 4/5. Now on to Humpday. BEST. CLUB. AROUND! I
finally found out what the ‘hump hype’ was all about. The place gets packed as everyone knows the hike down to Chelsea Heights is well worth it. Wicked music, with city vibe remixes which really can do no wrong. I can’t stress enough, if you haven’t been, GO NOW! If not now, probably go on Wednesday ;) 4.5/5 full moons! You only live once so live it loud and on the dance floor. Till next weekend... GET ON IT! Ash xx Each month, our ‘night owl’ Ash checks out the biggest parties and coolest nightspots on the Peninsula. If you know of a big night happening and think Ash should head down and check it out, email us at nightclub@pearlmag.com.au
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