Issue 1498 by X-Press Magazine

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

NEWSDESK

LOCAL NEWS

GLOBAL NEWS

GETTING IT DONE Acclaimed UK-bred house mastermind Ben Pearce is breaking forth with force from the underground, having first started to turn heads with his lauded 2012 track, What I Might Do, which rocketed to platinum status in Europe. Having already played shows in the US, plus a cheeky string of dates in Ibiza this year, the producer will be ending the year as he began it – with a string of Australian shows. He takes to the Llama Bar on Saturday, November 14. Ben Pearce

ANNOUNCEMENTS

THERE’S A BUZZ IN THE AIR English punk rock act the Buzzcocks have announced their Australian and New Zealand tour for March 2016 which will coincide with their 40th anniversary. The group will launch their tour in Brisbane, before heading to Sydney and Melbourne, then crossing to New Zealand before finishing off in Adelaide and Perth, meaning a show at the Rosemount Hotel on Wednesday, March 23. The Buzzcocks have remained an influential and important outfit in the punk scene; the line-up for this tour will include – Pete Shelley (vocals/guitar), Steve Diggle (lead guitar), Chris Remmington (bass) and Danny Farrant (drums). Tickets go on sale Friday, October 30, via rosemounthotel.com.au.

SO PRETTY In conjunction with a couple of East Coast sideshows, acclaimed Australian alt-rock band Died Pretty will be playing at A Day On The Green alongside Hoodoo Gurus, Violent Femmes and Sunnyboys on Saturday, March 19, 2016, at Kings Park & Botanic Garden. Died Pretty will include the classic line-up – Ron Peno (vocals), Brett Myers (guitar), John Hoey (keyboards), Chris Welsh (drums), and Steve Clark (bass). Ticket information can be found at adayonthegreen.com.au. Died Pretty

The Buzzcocks

BASSO’S BOOMING A season’s worth of original live shows are coming to the Bassendean Hotel to round off the year, with the event running every Friday from October 30 until Christmas. Having recently undergone a significant makeover, the 200-cap room is busting to host some original live music on a regular basis, and this Friday’s event will see beat-poppers The High Learys, indie rock legends Stillwater Giants, Basso locals The Community Chest, plus Flooded Palace and The Little Lord Street Band. Friday, November 6, sees Trigger Jackets, Shimmergloom, The Witches, Oakland and Gold Suns gracing the stage, with the full program to be announced over the coming weeks. Doors open from 7.30pm, with tix at the door for $10.

Brisbane-born singer/songwriter, Shane Nicholson, will be bringing his Hell Breaks Loose tour to WA next month. The tour will kick off at Clancy’s Fish Pub, Dunsborough, on Thursday, November 19, then on to the Ravenswood Hotel on Friday, November 20; Ellington Jazz Club on Saturday, November 21 and conclude at the Quindanning Hotel on Sunday, November 22. For ticket information, check out shanenicholson.com.

The High Learys | Pic: Linda Dunjey

Shane Nicholson

HELL’S BROKEN LOOSE

HERE AT LAST Lauded garage-rock outfit Thee Oh Sees are touring the country in January for the first time since 2013. What’s more, they’re also treating fans to a special local release — on limited-edition deluxe vinyl — of their most recent studio album, Mutilator Defeated At Last. The release comes out November 20 via Flightless/Remote Control Records, and the band’s tour brings them our way on January 23, 2016, at Mojo’s Bar. Tickets are on sale now. Thee Oh Sees

PYKE UP Australian singer/songwriter Josh Pyke has announced a huge national tour from January 29 to February 20 next year. The tour will begin in Sydney before moving onto Canberra, Gold Coast, Brisbane, Byron Bay, Melbourne, Geelong, Adelaide, and will end at the Astor Theatre in Perth on Saturday, February 20. Pyke’s fifth and latest album, But For All These Shrinking Hearts, debuted at #2 on the ARIA Charts. Tickets on sale from Thursday, October 29, via astortheatreperth.com. Josh Pyke

SCHOOL’S IN

Do up your top button and tuck in that shirt, RTRFM is heading back to school with a ‘90s schoolyard-themed Block Party this year as part of the 2015 Beaufort Street Festival on Saturday, November 14. Everything’s happening in the RTRFM car park from midday until 10pm, allowing the opportunity for punters to party on into the night with a single hopscotch into Beaufort Street’s main drag. The Block Party aims to celebrate the best parts of Mt Lawley, with a range of RTRFM DJs (from El Ritmo, Ambient Zone, Black & Blue, Methods of Movement and a sister showdown between Drastic On Plastic’s Sarah Tout and former Drivetime presenter Shannon Fox) spinning tunes all day, plus there’ll be a licensed bar stocked with a variety of thirst-quenching brews, and pizza from Mt Lawley’s very own Crust Gourmet Pizza Bar. Best of all, entry is free! See you in the yard.

Don your spookiest costume and make your way down to Bar Pop’s Halloween Bash on Saturday, October 31, at the Perth Urban Orchard. Score yourself a cauldron-made cocktail on entry and a bunch of sugary treats – there’ll also be huge dancefloor (complete with an official Thriller dance off), plus special guest DJs to keep you on your feet all night. Add to that a range of prizes to be won – including a $200 bar card for best dressed – and a Wipeout style skill game, and you’d be crazy to go anywhere else. It all kicks off from 7pm.

Sarah Tout, RTRFM Block Party

Bar Pop’s Halloween Bash @ Perth Urban Orchard

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

SPOOK YOURSELF OUT

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

WIN

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

MAN UP A single woman who’s mistaken for a stranger’s blind date, leads to her finding the perfect boyfriend. Starring Simon Pegg and Lake Bell, we have 10 double passes to give away.

TO ENTER ANY OF OUR COMPETITIONS, JUST DOWNLOAD THE X-PRESS MAGAZINE APP FROM ITUNES OR GOOGLE PLAY.

NEXT TO NORMAL Meet Diana Goodman, loving wife and mother who wants nothing more than for her husband Dan and their two children to get along like one big happy family. But in a seemingly perfect suburban neighbourhood, their struggles, like most families, are anything but normal. They test and mock each other at every turn – but how are they meant to cope when one of them suffers from hallucinations? Filled with music, fun and pathos, this play revolutionised the genre and is the most critically acclaimed musical since Rent. We have five double passes to give away for Saturday, November 7.

SCOUTS GUIDE TO THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE Three scouts and lifelong friends join forces with one badass cocktail waitress to become the world’s most unlikely team of heroes. When their peaceful town is ravaged by a zombie invasion, they’ll fight for the badge of a lifetime and put their scouting skills to the test to save mankind from the undead. Win one of 10 double passes to Scouts Guide To The Zombie Apocalypse in cinemas November 5. Enter via the X-Press App and always bring protection!

Print and Digital Editions Publisher/Manager Joe Cipriani

SLEEPING WITH OTHER PEOPLE A good-natured womaniser and a serial cheater form a platonic relationship that helps reform them in ways, while a mutual attraction sets in. Starring Jason Sudeikis, Alison Brie and Jordan Carlos. We have 10 double passes to give away.

EDITORIAL - 9213 2888 MANAGING EDITOR Bob Gordon: editor@xpressmag.com.au LOCAL MUSIC & ARTS EDITOR Travis Johnson: localmusicarts@xpressmag.com.au GIG & EVENT GUIDES CO-ORDINATOR guide@xpressmag.com.au COMPETITIONS win@xpressmag.com.au For band gigs and launches: plugyourgig@xpressmag.com.au

ADVERTISING - 9213 2888 LIFESTYLE STRATEGY MANAGER – AGENCY / DIRECT Jennifer Groves: advertising@xpressmag.com.au ENTERTAINMENT STRATEGY MANAGER ENTERTAINMENT / VENUES / LIVE AND DANCE MUSIC PROMOTERS / RECORD LABELS Zac Nichols: entertainment@xpressmag.com.au CLASSIFIEDS LINAGE classifieds@xpressmag.com.au

AMY The moving documentary depicting the life of one of the most fascinating musical talents of the 21st century – Amy Winehouse. From the makers of critically acclaimed documentary, Senna, AMY tells an affecting and unforgettable story about a gifted musician through her own words and unseen archival footage. Enter to win a DVD copy via the X-Press App.

2015 MAKE SMOKING HISTORY CANNING SHOW The Canning Agricultural Horticultural and Recreational Society will celebrate the International Year of Light, at the 2015 Make Smoking History Canning Show. The International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies (IYL),is a global initiative adopted by the United Nations to raise awareness of how optical technologies promote sustainable development and provide solutions to worldwide challenges in energy, education, agriculture, communications and health. This year they’ve thrown up a challenge to Show exhibitors to use IYL as their inspiration for exhibition, and as such we hope to see a wide array of light and light technology inspired exhibits. As well as the Show’s competition, the Society have planned a variety of light focused forms of displays, stage entertainment, roaming performers and interactive demonstrations. However no Show would be complete without that of every show-goers favourite, Sideshow Alley, set to light up the Canning Showgrounds! This is the 120th Show celebration we have 20 passes to give away via the App. 6

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT - 9213 2854 CONTENT COORDINATOR Anthony Jackson: art@xpressmag.com.au DESIGN + PRODUCTION Anthony Jackson, Andy Quilty, Erin Blamey, Lauren Regolini PRINTING Rural Press Printing Mandurah DISTRIBUTION - 9213 2853: distribution@xpressmag.com.au ADMIN / ACCOUNTS - 9213 2888 Lillian Buckley: accounts@xpressmag.com.au

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

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

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

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

FLESH

NEWS - INTERVIEWS - REVIEWS - CONTENTS

Drowning Horse

DROWNING HORSE

Darren Hanlon hits Hush as part of the Fremantle Festival on Friday, October 30

DARREN HANLON A Kind Of Hush One of the most engaging Australian songwriters of the past 15 years, Darren Hanlon has had a busy 12 months touring in support of his fifth album, Where Did You Come From? He hits Fremantle Town Hall on Friday, October 30, as part of Hush: An Evening Of Quiet Music. CHRIS HAVERCROFT reports. Over the past few months, Darren Hanlon has been on tour with one of Australia’s fastest rising starts in Courtney Barnett. With Barnett being championed by Ellen Degeneris and selling out venues at the drop of a hat, this was a significant opportunity for a fellow who is no stranger to America himself. “It was certainly a lot of fun. Courtney and her band are all very gracious and genuine people and I felt looked after. The added bonus were the other support band Chastity Belt, four crazy girls from Seattle. They were a roving 24-hour party, and their music is really great too.” “It lifted my profile for the 40 minutes I was on stage! People were very attentive, which was nice. A few heckles. Not sure after that. I met lots of new Americans though... and one girl from Brazil.” Since he started playing solo shows, Hanlon has been a man who doesn’t lay his hat somewhere for too long. Part of this has been due to the fact his record label in America have been able to organise for him to tour regularly, but there is also the restlessness of

a country boy at heart. The clever conversationalist is never short of a couch to sleep on or a bedroom to borrow, but does he miss his own space? “There’s a few places that have a homey feel to me. Definitely Portland. Oxford UK, where I lived for a while too. Lismore, Melbourne and of course Gympie. It can make things bittersweet. You’re always leaving but then you’re always saying hello too. “Although I travel a lot I’m a creature of habit within each place. I have a favourite cafe where I’ll go most days. Lismore has my favourite cafe in Australia, the Goanna. In Portland at the moment I go to a place called Just Bob’s and it actually reminds me of Lismore. There’s no hipsters, a few hippies, a lot of grunge kids. The ‘90s never ended there. I can sit all day and no one will bug me. Plus they photocopy the crossword for each table.” A staple on the calendar ever year for Hanlon is his run of Christmas shows. This year marks the 10th year anniversary of the concept, so when Hanlon sets down roots at Mojos on Thursday, December 10, he promises to have a few secrets up his sleeve as well as the usual awkward song intros and forgotten lyrics. Not to mention a guest singer or two. Before then, Hanlon is in WA to perform as part of the Award-winning WA concert series Hush: An Evening of Quiet Music, which takes part at the Fremantle Town Hall. The concept behind Hush is deceptively simple: a curated selection of leading songwriters performing completely acoustic sets in grand old WA heritage buildings. As well as sharing the billing with Jae Laffer and Ruby Boots, Hanlon is aware that he will be in direct competition with Fleetwood Mac who will be playing over the other side of the city. “Well I do a pretty good cover of Don’t Stop on the banjo anyway, so if you missed out on a ticket, I’m the next best thing. I’m the one-man Fleetwood Mac tribute band... Fleetwood to the Max.”

Skywriting Perth’s very own Drowning Horse may have just produced the ‘…heaviest record of 2015’. Before kicking off a national tour for their second album, Sheltering Sky, this Friday, October 30, at the Rosemount Hotel, drummer James Wills chats to JESSICA WILLOUGHBY about the album that has everyone talking. ‘Sheltering Sky will propel Drowning Horse firmly to the heights of respect amongst doom lovers around the world and ignite a yearning for a taste of the spectacular experience of the band’s performances. If not, then it could only be that said lovers lack something genuine in their own musical convictions’. These words, penned by the late and much-loved radio host and music journalist The Black Captain (aka Pete Dunstan), speak the truth when it comes to experiencing Drowning Horse - both in the flesh and through recordings. They are, and have been since their inception, one of the most important acts to come from Perth in recent times. With shows few-and-far between, paired with the limited nature of their releases, it’s a mix that doesn’t usually lend itself to achieving a ‘cult’ status. It only takes attending one Drowning Horse performance to understand the unrelenting impact this local five-piece has made on Australian soil. An intoxicating mix of soul-destroying doom, noise and something much darker—the beauty of their music lies not in its ability to devastate, but in its yearning for exploration. Sheltering Sky brings this journey full circle. Their second LP sees the band blooming from the seeds sown by their 2012 self-titled

release. And its most celebrated aspect is its ability to surprise—through its diverse composition and elemental extremes. “When we began writing this record, we had a clear vision of what we wanted to achieve,” drummer James Wills tells X-Press. “That meant pushing ourselves creatively and not settling for any detail we weren’t happy with. It’s why it’s taken over two years to complete, but I don’t think we’d change a thing. “ Recorded with Ron Pollard at Studio Sleepwalker’s Dread in North Dandalup, just east of Mandurah—the album was mastered once again by James Plotkin, known for his work with outfits like Sunn O))), Isis, Pelican and Earth. Despite the encouraging response from their first full length, Wills says the only pressure felt by the band was internal. “The only pressure we felt with this record was the pressure we put on ourselves,” he says. “Our first record was straight-up doom, and we made a firm decision to challenge ourselves with the second. We wanted to write a cohesive record that was as heavy as anything we’ve ever done, but didn’t rely on brute force. If anything, channeling a lighter side was refreshing. Playing and listening to intense doom-metal can take it out of you.” Leading on from their debut effort, Sheltering Sky delves heavily into the recurrent theme of nature. The environment, according to Wills, will always be an influence on Drowning Horse. “There’s a vastness about it that we find appealing, which I think mirrors how we sound,” he says. “This record was inspired by the Australian landscape, and it made for a more focused approach to writing material. “The name of the album was one of the finishing touches to the record. It comes from The Sheltering Sky, a novel by Paul Bowles. It’s set in the deserts of North Africa, and the environment is so oppressive that it was the perfect backdrop to a bigger story of isolation and despair.” With members of the band now living on opposite sides of the country, many have asked whether the upcoming Sheltering Sky national tour will be the last chance to catch them live. “It’s hard to say what the future holds for this band,” Wills says. “With one of us living interstate, playing shows is a big commitment. We’ve put a hell of a lot of time and energy into this record, so we’re looking forward to playing it to people.”

The Meanies, Amplifier Sweet 16 Anniversary Christmas Party

AMPLIFIER 15TH BIRTHDAY SAVE THE DATE Tired Lion | Pic by Rachael Barrett

RTRFM COURTYARD CLUB RTRFM 92.1’s tasty Courtyard Club is back for the sunny season with eight weeks from some of Perth’s best bands, live in the heart of Northbridge. The series kicks off this Friday, October 30, with live sets from Tired Lion, The Spunloves and RTRFM’s DJ Andrew Sinclair on the decks ‘til late. Doors open at 4.30pm, and they’ll be broadcasting all the action live from the Courtyard of the State Theatre Centre on Drivetime from 5-7pm. 8

Next Friday, November 6, sees WAM program a special edition of Courtyard Club as part of the 2015 WAM Festival. The Courtyard Club WAM Showcase will feature Ben Witt Quartet, Gunns, The High Learys, Rachael Dease and Ruby Boots, all broadcast live to air on RTRFM’s Drivetime. In coming weeks there’ll be performances from Rabbit Island, Methyl Ethel, Joni in the Moon, Tourist Kid and Odette Mercy & Her Soul Atomics. Courtyard Club is an all-ages event, with a licensed bar and food options. For full details head to rtrfm. com.au.

Our fave long time running Perth live music venue Amplifier is closing in on 16 sweet years young so please save the date as it’s time to party like it’s 1999 on Friday, December 4. Melbourne legends The Meanies are the first announcement in a long list of party proceedings to follow And they will headline this all Amplifier celebratory shindig, whilst at the same time exclusively launching their brand new LP, It’s Not Me, It’s You, with this exclusive Perth appearance. They’re a perfect match for an Amps Sweet 16 Anniversary Christmas Party and the first of many tasty bands on the bill. Limited tickets on sale now from oztix. com. More announcements soon.

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

Drapht

BRING IN THE DRAPHT Perth-born hip hop artist Drapht will be headlining for Funk Club’s NYE Countdown party. The seven time ARIA-nominated artist and multiple WAMi nominee will be performing tunes from his new album 7 Mirrors, and we’re sure to hear some classics. More acts are to be announced soon, but in the meantime, save the date - Thursday, December 31, from 6pm–2 am at Salt On The Beach, North Fremantle. Keep up to date with all the latest info from funkclubtix.com.au.

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

MUSIC

VIEWS

INTERVIEWS

STORIES

vocalist, Marcus Bridge, allowing the band to regroup their writing structure and the sound they wanted to go forward with. Releasing opening single, Rot, from their now-released third album, Node, Northlane seemed to have found similar results to their previous work with an extra melodic influence. “Instead of just a vocalist writing everything I worked with him taking care of most of the lyric duties,” Smith reveals. “There was also more collaboration and input on opinion from other members than ever before so Node is more of a representation of us as a whole.

PIERCE BROTHERS They Must Be Doing Something Right Straight off the plane from playing a month of dates in Europe, the Pierce Brothers play Blues At Bridgetown on Friday, November 13, Amplifier on Saturday, November 14, and Mojos on Sunday, November 15, in support of their Into The Dirt EP. SHANE PINNEGAR chats with Pat Pierce about their worldwide popularity. Alongside twin brother Jack Pierce, Pat has come a long way from busking on the streets of Melbourne to playing international festivals to huge acclaim. “We started out on Bourke Street,” he reflects, “We were playing little cover shows and stuff. We started selling all these CDs. Facebook and social media started going crazy. All of a sudden everyone started showing up at shows. It just sort of got bigger and bigger. It was just good for us. Every day we were just honing our skills and getting better. It was just fantastic. “The great thing about busking is, you can’t screw up. It’s just easy. You go out, play music. There’s no stress. It doesn’t matter if no one listens to you because there’s no expectations. You can try out new songs and do whatever.” Have a look at any YouTube clip of Pierce Brothers on stage and you’ll be struck by their energetic act - they’re like two one-man-bands doing almost slapstick, without the comedy. It’s mad, and they certainly wouldn’t sound the same if they just sat there on stools strumming away. “No, well, when you’re busking, you’ve got 10,000 people walking past you each hour. You’ve got to make them stop somehow. We just sort of started doing it. Lately, I’ve been watching a bunch of music documentaries about the early days of Pearl Jam and Foo Fighters and Nirvana

and the Doors. And, I’m watching all this stuff and I was going, leaning over to Jack and going, ‘watch this! What we should start doing is keep the music the same but play it as though we’re in a punk band. Just start doing a Jim Morrison, lying on the floor and just start going mental’. We’ve got to learn to do that without compromising any of the sound of the music we’re singing. So, the people watching it just go, ‘what the fuck is going on? This is awesome’. Which is the whole idea. I don’t know if that’s going to work. I was just like, ‘let’s just see how far we can push it. Okay, let’s see how crazy we can make it’.”

“The minute that we just stop sort of reaching, I think is the minute we should stop playing music.” All signs point to Pierce Brothers being on the cusp of something pretty big, a prospect which excites Pat no end. “Thank you - we’re really excited about it,” he says enthusiastically. “We’ve got a lot of people behind us who are really supportive. I guess it’s just coming down to us a bit. With all that pressure we’re going to have to make this next record really good. Or we think, ‘I hope these new batch of songs are good. Shit, what if these songs aren’t any good?’ You always have those questions, then you go and play a festival like Pink Pop or Lowlands or you do some headline shows that end up selling out. You just look at it and go, ‘I must be doing something right’. There’s a lot of self doubt that comes along with it. I think that’s natural given the position we’re in. “The minute that we just stop sort of reaching, I think is the minute we should stop playing music. We’re trying to get bigger and more bombastic at each show. Any new idea, we go, ‘yep, let’s do it.’”

NORTHLANE Node Mode Fresh off the departure of founding vocalist Adrian Fitipaldes and the arrival of replacement, Marcus Bridge, Northlane have hit the ground running with the release of their third studio album, Node. Guitarist Josh Smith speaks with AARON BRYANS ahead of their show at Metropolis Fremantle on Wednesday, November 4, with support from August Burns Red, Buried In Verona, Like Moths To Flames and Ocean Grove. From the moment Adrian Fitipaldes announced he would be leaving Australian metalcore group Northlane, fans nationally and internationally were concerned about the future of the momentous Sydney rockers. It didn’t take long for the then four-piece to shut down break up rumours and immediately look for a replacement to continue their journey. “From the moment he told us he was leaving we began planning our next move,” Smith recalls. “It’s always best to see every setback as an opportunity, and this was our opportunity to match the perfect voice to where we wanted to take our band.” Soon enough Northlane found their new

“We are always trying to push the boundaries of what we can do as a band with every release, and Node goes even further than we have in the past in this aspect.” “We knew it would be polarising, even just for the sake that we’d had a line-up change. It was a huge opportunity for us to test the waters. We are always trying to push the boundaries of what we can do as a band with every release, and Node goes even further than we have in the past in this aspect.” Enlisting long-time producer Will Putney during the development of the record was an easy decision for the group with the sound engineer taking time to work with Bridge and discover an environment best for him. “Will has actually worked on all three of our records; he mixed and mastered, Discoveries (2011) and produced, mixed and mastered Singularity (2013). He was a huge help, as a producer he really helped us not stray too far from our original sound while incorporating all the new ideas we wanted to include, and get the best performance out of Marcus possible.” Northlane are now looking to continue their momentum as an internationally respected metalcore group, representing Australia all around the globe. “We don’t often think of it like that when we’re touring the world but we’re always flying the flag for Australia,” Smith says. “People from around the world think very idealistically about Australia because we’ve demonstrated that people from any corner from the globe can live in peace without grievance. It’s sort of seen as a paradise, in almost another world, because of what we have to offer, and that makes me very proud.”

FAT FREDDY’S DROP NICHOLAS ALLBROOK I Was The Walrus POND honcho, Nicholas Allbrook, recently released a new EP, Walrus. HANNAH STORY reports. Nicholas Allbrook’s new EP, Walrus, has been described by its creator as a cross between “liberosis and lunacy.” Liberosis means the desire to care less about things, but what exactly is the space between that and madness? “I suppose it’s like trying as hard as you can to not care about your own life and your own success, or the way people look at you, and think about you; this desire to crawl into a little hole and go back into what you think is more pure creativity —but maybe it’s not pure, it probably isn’t. The further you go along in life, or the further I go along in life, the more of a rosy sheen the past takes on. You think you were some kind of pure, angelic cherub back in the day that just shat out innocent records, and maybe that’s got a little touch of lunacy in it.” Allbrook says that after so long on the music scene (“You know people are looking at you, and that changes everything.”) but that he wasn’t consciously trying to avoid thinking about other people’s expectations. “It’s just something that keeps springing up in my brain in a kind of neurotic way. I have always been very paranoid about becoming morally corrupt 10

or to want to keep kind of true to yourself, I suppose, at risk of using a cliché.” Of late it seems as though Allbrook has become more subdued on stage, restrained, after years of being a wildman at his band POND’s shows — it almost seemed that Allbrook had deliberately shied away from being a traditional ‘frontman’. “No, not deliberately, it started dying and made me feel terrible. I just lost a shitload of confidence, I don’t know where it went, maybe I just dropped it on the bus or something, but like, it just left. And so I thought I should make myself useful by playing guitar and actually singing properly as well. Probably no one really noticed, but when I was jumping on people’s heads and being a dickhead I didn’t actually sing very well at all. I know it’s a small price to pay, because most people want to see a monkey puppet getting thrown back and forth in a crowd, but yeah, if it’s any consolation, it sounds better, whether you notice it or not.”

“Probably no one really noticed, but when I was jumping on people’s heads and being a dickhead I didn’t actually sing very well at all.” That loss of confidence meant that Allbrook had some trouble in the past getting up on stage at all, but he says now he feels improved. “It’s a very tumultuous journey, the old life of a homosapien, and at the moment I think I’m feeling a lot better, but nowhere near the kind of braggadocio that I had when I was a complete fiend. I think I’ve just got different desires now. I don’t actually want to be that kind of guy that much, even though it probably makes a lot of people think like, ‘Oooh, maybe NME won’t put in a picture of us’, or something, but I don’t really give a fuck, to be honest.”

Old Dogs, New Tricks Fat Freddy’s Drop have just released their new album, Bays. Saxophonist, Scott ‘Chopper Reeds’ Towers, takes time to chat with JAI CHOUHAN. Fat Freddy’s Drop will be playing Red Hill Auditorium as well as Clancy’s Fish Pub in Dunsborough on Saturday, February 13, and Sunday, February 14, 2016, respectively. For more than 15 years, Fat Freddy’s Drop successfully pioneered the concept of a jam band. Developing tracks on the stage then shaping them for the studio, their instrumental prowess has made them known throughout the world. Now up to their fourth studio album, Bays, Fat Freddy’s Drop are adhering to a new approach with a completely studio-developed project. “We’d done quite a lot of that other style of recording and songwriting,” says saxophonist, Scott Towers. “Songs had various iterations live and then we’d go into the studio trying to figure out how to piece together the successful live parts into a studio song. “This was completely ‘round the other way. We just let the songs evolve in a very natural way and not be influenced by a good or bad crowd reaction. We were doing some rehearsing this week and were just sort of playing through the songs and it was all happening very naturally. We’ve ended up with songs that, to us, mean a lot of musical sense. Everything seems very logical.” Some may be nervous about a departure from what’s made the band so successful, but Towers

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

believes Bays (named after Fat Freddy’s Wellington studio) further embodies the elements that have made them great thus far. “I think it’s going to be a little bit different but I think that people will be pleased with it,” he says. “You can’t just keep repeating yourself endlessly. We clearly have distinct styles of music that mean a lot to us; dub, reggae... techno. Those things have always been a part of the band, but each of them probably gets a little bit more time in the sunshine on this record. It’ll make a lot of sense for people that have been listening to us for a long time but we’re also jumping a lot deeper into some of those electronic areas.” It’s no lie that Fat Freddy’s reputation stems from their intense live shows and jamming ability. Having travelled all corners of the globe, Towers admits they’ve been pretty lucky, but there’s still nothing sweeter than being close to home.

“We just let the songs evolve in a very natural way and not be influenced by a good or bad crowd reaction.” “Not many bands from New Zealand have had decade long careers touring around the world. We worked bloody hard to get to that position but we need to maintain those relationships with the fans, the venues, and the promoters. We travel to some pretty exotic places, but the fact that we can go to Australia and do 10 or 12 sold-out shows feels like more of an achievement in some ways. Yes it’s a bigger market than New Zealand, but it’s not bottomless. Europe is so huge that you can exist in all sorts of levels of the scene over there. “But in Australia and New Zealand to be able to do two or three shows in a city is a real achievement. We really appreciate how the audience has grown with us over the years. It’s been brilliant.”

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

2015 BEST DRUMMER Presented by Audiofly Ashley Doodkorte (Voyager, The Floors, Will Stoker & The Embers) Elle Walsh (The Love Junkies) Liam Young (Puck, Skullcave) Louis Rando (Malignant Monster, The Furor) Elliott Smith

MOST POPULAR VENUE Presented by X-Press Magazine Amplifier / Capitol Jack Rabbit Slim’s Jimmy’s Den Mojo’s Bar The Bird The Rosemount MOST POPULAR MUSIC EVENT Presented by Moshtix RTRFM’s In The Pines St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival Southbound Camp Doogs State Of The Art Wave Rock Weekender

BEST KEYS / SYNTH ARTIST Presented by Music Feedback Gordan Cant (The Amani Consort) Jake Steele (Tobacco Rat, Yarkhob, KUČKA) Ron Pollard (Tangled Thoughts Of Leaving) Tara John (Joni In The Moon)

Rock your vote @ themusic.com.au/news/ all/2015/10/23/vote-here-wam-awards-2015/

And The Nominees Are... The WA Music Awards will be presented at Jack Rabbit Slim’s on Thursday, November 5. Congrats to all the nominees, Here’s who’s up for what.

PUBLIC VOTED AWARDS MOST POPULAR ACT Presented by Perth Theatre Trust Drapht KUČKA Pond San Cisco Tame Impala Tired Lion MOST POPULAR NEW ACT Presented by Sunset Events Catlips Elk Road GRRL PAL Jacob Diamond Koi Child Mosquito Coast Troye Sivan

TIRED LION, FOUR NOMINATIONS

KOI CHILD, THREE NOMINATIONS

CRAFT AWARDS (INTERVIEWS PAGE 30)

BEST BLUES / ROOTS ACT Presented by Clancy’s Fremantle Andrew Winton Morgan Bain Old Blood The Floors

BEST SOUND ENGINEER (studio) Presented by TheMusic.com.au Andy Lawson Dan Carroll Joel Quartermain Kevin Parker Matt Giovannangelo

BEST COUNTRY ACT Presented by 720 ABC Perth Codee-Lee Davey Craddock & The Spectacles Ralway Bell Ruby Boots The Wilds

BEST ELECTRONIC PRODUCER Presented by Cool Perth Nights Ashley Hosken (Diger Rokwell) Laura Jane Lowther (KUČKA) John Dewhurst (Sable) Regan Mathews (Ta-ku)

BEST ELECTRONIC ACT Presented by Pilerats Catlips KUČKA Sable Slumberjack Ta-ku BEST EXPERIMENTAL ACT Presented by Sonic Lolly Decibel KUČKA Mei Saraswati Original Past Life Usurper Of Modern Medicine

MOST POPULAR LIVE ACT Presented by Perth Arena Gyroscope Jebediah Karnivool Pond San Cisco Tame Impala

BEST FOLK ACT Presented By Nannup Music Festival Jacob Diamond David Craft Patient Little Sister Galloping Foxleys BEST INDIGENOUS ACT Presented by Noongar Radio Gina Williams & Guy Ghouse Fred Ryan John Bennett Stephen Pigram Zeke

TAME IMPALA, SIX NOMINATIONS PIC: RACHAEL BARRETT

BEST FEMALE VOCALIST Presented by The AU Review Ama Quinsee (Legs Electric) Joni Hogan (Joni In The Moon) Ofa Fotu (Odette Mercy & Her Soul Atomics) Sophie Hopes (Tired Lion)

DRAPHT, THREE NOMINATIONS

MOST POPULAR MUSIC VIDEO Presented by 303Lowe Drapht – Dancin’ John Doe Koi Child - Black Panda Pond – Zond Tame Impala – Let It Happen John Butler Trio – Spring To Come KUČKA - Divinity 12

WA MUSIC AWARDS – GENRES & INDUSTRY

BEST SOUND ENGINEER (live) Presented by RTRFM Adam Round Chris Wright Ian Stuart Jay Brandner Kasey Veryzer

BEST MALE VOCALIST Presented by The West Australian Jacob Diamond Jake Webb (Methyl Ethel) Kevin Parker (Tame Impala) Morgan Bain

BEST GUITARIST Presented by X-Press Magazine Ben Witt Cameron Nicholas (Cold Fate, Silent Knight) Lee Jones (Ruby Boots) Luke Dux (The Floors, The Wilds, Timothy Nelson & The Infidels, The Wishers, Davey Craddock & The Spectacles, Flooded Palace, Dom Mariani & The Majestic Kelp, Atomic Lunchbox) Mitch McDonald (The Love Junkies) BEST BASSIST Presented by Alex Hotel Alex Canion (Voyager) John Brown (Mei Saraswati, Boom! Bap! Pow!) Roy Martinez Ryan Dux (The Floors, The Kill Devil Hills) Sara McPherson (Rag N’ Bone)

BEST PUNK ACT Presented by RTRFM Scalphunter Shit Narnia Statues The Decline BEST POP ACT Presented by Alberts Joni In The Moon KUČKA Methyl Ethel San Cisco

KUČKA, SIX NOMINATIONS

WA MUSIC AWARDS

SAN CISCO, FOUR NOMINATIONS PIC: RACHAEL BARRETT

BEST JAZZ ARTIST Presented by Perth Jazz Society & The Ellington Ben Vanderwal Daniel Susnjar Jamie Oehlers Tom O’Halloran BEST METAL / HEAVY ACT Presented by Worldwide Printing Solutions Drowning Horse Earth Rot Förstöra Voyager

METHYL ETHEL, THREE NOMINATIONS

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

BEST ROCK ACT Presented by Tone Deaf The Love Junkies Tired Lion Pond Tame Impala BEST URBAN ACT Presented by The Poster Girls Coin Banks Drapht Koi Child Mathas Odette Mercy & Her Soul Atomics BEST WORLD MUSIC ACT Presented by Lotterywest Daniel Susnjar Afro Peruvian Jazz Eduardo Cossio Quartet Grace Barbé Juliana Areias Gina Williams & Guy Ghouse BEST ALBUM Presented by triple j Methyl Ethel – Oh Inhuman Spectacle Pond – Man It Feels Like Space Again San Cisco – Gracetown Tame Impala – Currents BEST EP Presented by Shiny Rabbit Coin Banks – Tails KUČKA – Unconditional Our Man In Berlin – Spirit Down Tired Lion - Figurine BEST SINGLE Presented by Jimmy’s Den Joni In The Moon – War And Porn Methyl Ethel – Twilight Driving Tame Impala – Let It Happen Tired Lion – I Don’t Think You Like Me BEST RECORD LABEL Presented by The Music Network Jarrah Pilerats Spinning Top Walking Horse MANAGEMENT AWARD Presented by Association Of Artist Managers (AAM) Aarom Wilson Jacob Snell Matt Johnson Philip Stevens Xanthea O’Connor MEDIA AWARD Presented by Alcohol. Think Again Bob Gordon (X-Press Magazine) Caitlin Nienaber (RTRFM) Daniel Cribb (TheMusic.com.au) John McGlue (ABC 720 Perth) Troy Mutton (Pilerats) GOLDEN WAMi Presented by City Of Perth Andrew Ryan Bob Gordon Jason Cleary Matt Johnson Scott Adam

POND, FIVE NOMINATIONS PIC: RACHAEL BARRETT

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

NEW NOISE

For more album reviews head to xpressmag.com.au

OUT OF 5

PAT CHOW

OUT OF 5

VARIOUS ARTISTS

Are You Ok? Gun Fever Records

Sounds of the Pilbara II: Songs In Language West Australian Music

Local rockers, Pat Chow, have been making waves all over Perth with their in-your-face live act and aggressive behaviour and now the momentous three-piece have finally capitalised on their growing rise with the release of their debut LP, Are You Okay?. Providing a nice twist to their normally full-on performances, the group’s recorded release enables fans to hear frontman Ben Protasiewicz’s well-crafted lyrics clearer, adding to the unique hooks of each track. Whilst this clarity can come at the expense of some emotion only conveyable visually at a live show, the group’s instrumental layering is perfectly placed to beef up heavy choruses and mellow out their groovy verses. First single, Bad Thoughts, is a joyful blend of harmonious riffage and floating vocals while closer, Fml, is a joyful journey into Pat Chow’s now well-known, unpredictable and distorted take on life.

In an impressive effort, WAM (West Australian Music) have partnered with the Pilbara region’s indigenous language centre Wangka Maya to effectively capture 54 indigenous voices within 26 unique tracks spanning a multitude of dialects. From recorded storytelling experiences such as Susie Yuline & Hilda Flann’s Nyiyaparli Song and Bruce Thomas’ Marrjimarrji Mana Puyuliliny to fullband tracks featuring a range of genres, the diverse collection is a well-planned and effective result that looks to increase awareness of Pilbara languages. Songs such as Tyson Mowarin’s Ngarndu Ngurra and Michael Wonadon’s Japartu Japartu are enjoyable pieces of music built on smooth lead guitar, soothing vocal ranges and thought-out layering. AARON BRYANS

AARON BRYANS

OUT OF 5

THE CITY VIEWS The City Views Egomaniac Music Out of the remnants of The Sensitive Drunks comes Perth trio, The City Views, who come across as a more mature version of their predecessor across the tracks of their self-titled debut. There is still a pop sensibility through each of these tunes, without the trace of bubblegum as the guitars get dirtier and the songs are more dense. Dave Wallace clearly has his head in the fertile era of slacker rock where guitar bands ruled the day. Mute has the classic ‘90s indie rock sound with the mid-tempo track having a feel that is closer to Sidewinder than Smudge. Can’t Afford A Wedding is a prototype Wallace tune with the happy chords of the underdog and a chorus that will earworm you for days. The trio put their strongest foot forward on That’s Why You Always Take The Long Way Home with ‘Sid’ Eaton fleshing things out with tasteful harmonies while holding together the rhythm section. The City Views are a rawer beast than is expected, yet they never let the crunch of these new tunes get in the way of their knack for a hook. Slackers of the world unite!

RUSSELL MORRIS Red Dirt Red Heart Chugg Music Since 2012, guitarist/singer Russell Morris has been undertaking a music journey in the form of a blues and roots trilogy. Following Sharkmouth and Van Diemen’s Land comes this closing chapter of Australiana blues-rock, sunburnt land clichés and all. Despite the straightforward nature of some of the turns of phrase Morris spins on the record, the album is an engrossing listen for a blues fan. Active since the 1960s, Morris revels in the history-making guitar work he’s known for here - groovy slide guitar and a country twang dance throughout the record around his 12-bar jamming. The band backing him here knows its place, leaving all flourishes and showmanship to Morris and his six strings. The album’s themes make for a worthy close to his trilogy, and deal with Australian history in a unique way, examining indigenous culture in the face of perverse whiteness. The Australiana is in full force on tunes like the harmonica-driven Bennelong, and the honestly danceable Lonesome Road. Morris’ position in Australian music history is already established, so it makes sense that in his later years he becomes a sort of musical historian. ANDREW MCDONALD

CHRIS HAVERCROFT

OUT OF 5

MATHAS

OUT OF 5

Armwrestling Atlas Big Village Records/The Community Records

With three years of hard work behind them, Melbourne four-piece, City Calm Down, have looked to capture their atmospheric live sound into their debut LP. Whilst some tracks within the album such as Son and single, Rabbit Run, are able to build elegantly on vocalist Jack Bourke’s low register and simplified instrumentals into welllayered, larger ends; opener Border On Control sets the album off on the wrong foot, failing to reach the pinnacle of a more than four-minute culmination involving a separate intro track. After reaching halfway the LP picks up some of its missing groove thanks to boppy track, Your Fix, and its soaring chorus synth before smoothly transition into the soothing dual-lyrics within Nowhere To Start. Closing with the massive climaxes of Until I Get By and title-track, In A Restless House, it’s hard not to picture how well the album could have come off if its track order was flipped completely around.

Anyone who was on the ball back when Mathas released his single, Doctorshopping, in 2013 – which was already a regular setlist feature at that point – knew that should it be an indication that the Perth rapper was working on an album, it would be something to really look forward to. The resulting record, Armwrestling Atlas, which is Mathas’ second full-length, does not disappoint. A huge supporter of the local scene, Mathas brings to Armwrestling Atlas a strong roster of fellow local artists including the likes of Ylem, Mei Saraswati, Abbe May, Empty and more. Focusing on a slew of themes including indigenous issues, substance abuse, emotional development and others, Mathas is thoughtful, direct, and can ofttimes be fierce in his lyrical approach (see Free Shit), but other times, and perhaps critically so, he is also empathetic in his delivery and messages, happy to voice his opinion but emphasising the importance of recognising the voices of others and pondering their insights. Sonically, Mathas proves his ability to create a fantastic range of catchy beats and hooks that will keep you engaged throughout the album, and does so with a range of instruments and sounds. It’s been a long time coming, but Mathas covers all bases with this album, and it has been well worth the wait.

AARON BRYANS

KANE SUTTON

CITY CALM DOWN In A Restless House I OH YOU

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

L I F E S T Y L E & C U LT U R E

Perth artist and gallery owner Robert Buratti has an unparalleled reputation in esoteric art circles. Now he is bringing some fine art style to mystic rock outfit The Tea Party’s 20th anniversary tour of their defining album, The Edges Of Twilight, which hits the Astor Theatre on Monday, November 9. TRAVIS JOHNSON checks in. Robert Buratti and Tea Party frontman, Jeff Martin, go back a few years, owing to their shared interest in mystical thought and western esoteric traditions. “We first met at the Aleister Crowley show that I did in North Fremantle,” Buratti recalls, referring to the former location of his gallery, Buratti Fine Art (it’s now located in Subiaco). “Obviously he’s a big Crowley buff and he came in to see it. And we’ve had the Windows To The Sacred exhibition touring Australia for three years, and Jeff’s work is in that. We did some collaborations on sound and images together as well, so it was a natural evolution to work together on this.” “This” refers to Buratti being drafted in to provide artwork to complement the 20th anniversary tour of The Edges Of Twilight, which hits Australia in early November. It’s an opportunity that Buratti leaped at. “It’s their most successful album that really shot them into popularity,” he says. “The guys commissioned me to create an original drawing for each song, and then develop 12 or 13 short films to play behind the live performance on stage. Basically, they’re bringing in these huge projectors and these backdrops across Canada and Australia to show these films inspired by the drawings.” As a big fan of the band for many years, Buratti found the commission to be uniquely inspiring. “Obviously it’s an album I’ve always loved and was inspired by as a teenager, so trying to find some kind of visual for each song was really cool. Challenging, yes, but I blasted through it a lot quicker than I thought I would. It’s also knowing Jeff and the guys and understanding what they’re on about. And the nature of that album – Jeff’s always pulling from a lot of esoterica traditions in his lyrics so it’s easy to tap into all that stuff. So that’s really the guts of the project.” Unusually for a project of this magnitude, Buratti was allowed to work completely unshackled from editorial oversight – there was no micromanaging here. “Yeah, complete freedom. I literally just zone out, put the song on as loud in the studio as the stereo can take it, sit there in meditation and draw images as they come to me and rework it into different stuff. Each one came together pretty quickly. It hit the marks, sent it back to the band and they said, ‘Great, love it, don’t change anything’. They were really trusting and there was absolutely no restriction. It synergised really quickly, too. Looking at the artwork, if I separate myself from it, it feels like the album as well.” Fans who want to a closer look at the work are in luck, too. “We’re releasing a series of prints from the original drawings and a publication as well, which will be released in November with all the prints and the story behind them. So yeah, it’s been a really cool music/art collaboration that’s been fun. It’s probably added a really interesting marketing dimension to the tour as well. I think if you’re celebrating a really great album, manifesting it into different media and being able to look at the songs and the film and the light show, it just allows for a really different presentation of something people obviously adore and have adored for 20 years.” For more information on Robert Buratti’s work, go to buratti.com.au.

ROBERT BURATTI, FIRE IN THE HEAD (EDGES OF TWILIGHT) OFFSET LITHOGRAPH ON FINE ART 180GSM PAPER

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

A R T S & C U LT U R E

Golden WAMi Nominations The Golden WAMI will be presented on Thursday, November 5, at Jimmy’s Den, as part of the WAM Awards. KANE SUTTON runs through the nominees.

Scott Adam Scott Adam was until recently the manager of the Music Business program at the Central Institute of Technology, and has been a part of the music business for over 20 years as an artist manager, record label owner and lecturer. In 2008 he started WA’s first certificate course specifically for music business, coordinating a small team to deliver the Certificate IV, Diploma and Advanced Diploma of Music Business.

FILM

NEWS

EVENTS

FAS H I O N

JARRAD SENG Dining In The Dark Popular Perth photographer, Jarrad Seng, is this year’s Campaign Ambassador for Dining In The Dark, an annual fundraising initiative for Guide Dogs WA. The idea behind Dining In The Dark is to have friends and family over for an evening meal during the months of October and November (the official chosen date is Saturday, October 31, but November is okay too). Easy enough, but this time you’re hosting a dinner party with a difference: you and your guests will be eating in the dark, or blindfolded, and the money each person would have spent dining out is donated to Guide Dogs WA. Funds raised over the two-month period will go toward breeding costs, food, veterinary care, training, and ongoing assessment of guide dog puppies, as well as other services for blind and vision impaired West Australians. For those wondering, it costs over $35,000 to train a guide dog over a two-year period. If a puppy fails the program, or isn’t suitable, they become therapy dogs or companion dogs instead. What’s the difference? While people are

Jarrad Seng and friend, Dining In The Dark Pic: Mary Parker

familiar with guide dogs, therapy dogs provide comfort to various ages - children through to seniors - in therapeutic settings, and companion dogs offer a soothing presence for people of any age living with a disability. As this year’s campaign ambassador, Jarrad Seng is bringing attention to the Dining In The Dark experience. Most photography and music fans in WA are familiar with Seng’s creative

WAI-CON Fun For Anime Fans Jason Cleary Only this month was it announced that Jason Cleary would be stepping down from his role as General Manager of community radio station RTRFM, but that said, the three-and-a-half years he spent in that position saw RTR’s presence among the local music community continue to grow. The last year has seen the station diversifying its content across online, broadcast and digital channels, renovating its kitchen and green room to create a more dynamic workplace, and putting huge efforts into converting radio listeners to subscribers through initiatives such as Radiothon. Bob Gordon A man who needs no introduction (to us, anyway), Bob Gordon is the managing editor of Perth’s longest-running street press publication X-Press Magazine, and has been with the company across three stints since the early ‘90s and into a new future since aligning with theMusic.com.au. X-Press’ strong vision to present and discuss the latest in Perth music news remains unwavering.

Matt Johnson Co-founder of Walking Horse Records, Matt Johnson started the label in 2009 with close friend Gareth Anderson after cutting his teeth at former WA label Qstik Records. With a strong focus on alt-country, folk and indie music, the label supports a number of strong local talents, including Ruby Boots, who has taken massive strides forward this year, plus The Ghost Hotel, Emily Barker & The Red Clay Halo, Red Jezebel and more.

Andrew Ryan No stranger to this particular talent pool, Andrew Ryan took out the Golden WAMi in 2013 and was nominated last year. Ryan continues to champion WA music across a breadth of avenues as part owner of Mojo’s Bar in Fremantle and Director of Cool Perth Nights, which also puts on shows at the Rosemount Hotel. He also plays a big part in running the annual Big Splash Band competition, which has unearthed a plethora of fresh talent. 18

Don’t PAniC, we’ve got you covered. Are you a fan of anime, or cosplay? Consider checking out Wai-Con in February 2016, a specific anime convention. You don’t have to wait to have fun, though; the crew at PAniC Inc offers a slew of events during the year, not just the convention. This Halloween they’ve hired out Game City for an all-you-can-play four-hour session. “It’s a gaming arcade with a really fun mix of retro and state of the art systems,” says PAniC Vice President, Kim Fenwick. “They constantly change up their games as well, so it’s never the same mix. Everything from old Sega consoles on giant projectors to street fighter and futuristic mech warrior type games run through the latest Virtual Reality headsets. Straight out of anime VR headsets!” Wa i - C o n w a s WA ’ s f i r s t a n i m e convention, and made its debut in 2004 at UWA, says PAniC President Christina Lee. “It was started by a group of anime fans from the local anime clubs and Justin Bairstow, who then formed PAniC Inc. We wanted to share our love of anime, manga and Japanese culture as well as promote it in WA.” Fenwick says anime in Japan isn’t like our cartoons marketed to kids, describing it as animated TV marketed to everybody. “They see anime in the same light we’d see Disney. It’s meant

STORMIE MILLS Things That Go Bump In The Night Contemporary visual artist Stormie Mills’ latest exhibition questions the stereotype of the monster. GILLIAN O’MEAGHER reports. Stormie Mills’ current exhibition touches on costuming, appearance, ego, and considers the cultural appropriation of rituals and festivities into the commercialised Halloween practice; in a way reflecting the artist’s uncomfortableness toward society’s burgeoning obsession with fleeting, surface experiences and impressions. One way Mills expresses commonality is through trademark elements like skulls, and skeletons; at the (literal) core, we are the same. The “monsters” in Mills’ art hint at a compassionate, humanised approach to the idea of the freak. One has to wonder why Mills chooses to present them this way? His perspective is partly due to films he saw as a kid, and he cites The Hunchback of Notre Dame as a particularly good example. “On the surface, everybody sees him to be a monster

Wai-Con, a whole lotta anime fun

for a younger audience sure, but everyone can enjoy it when it’s done right.” Fenwick believes anime teaches us about society and culture. “It’s a subtle level of teachings that is ingrained in the art of creating anime and manga. It becomes a tool for society to allow anime and manga to permeate through most of the social barriers we’d normally construct. I think Japanese because aesthetically he doesn’t look like everybody else. Everybody else kind of looks ‘normal’ and the truth of that whole story is he’s actually the real human, and the rest of the village isn’t. “I think he kind of got to that point where to understand his own humanity and what compassion was and what love was, because he wasn’t just judging himself on his surface, he had to look a lot deeper, look more into himself, and so I think that that is probably why I’m more drawn to these monsters, because of my experience as a kid of moving to lots of different schools and going back to live in Wales with my parents when we were quite young. “I was very different from a lot of people, we were always the new kids, we had a white father and an Indian mother, that made us quite different in that period of time. So I’m really interested in what makes us different, and what’s special about that, I guess. Monsters is - I think it’s not such an obvious way to pitch it, but it’s easier for people to perhaps understand monsters on the surface before they look inside.” He had to get creative: using brushes with too much dried up paint in them to scratch paint through other paints is one example. The idea there is a damaged sense of beauty in lots of things is a focal point of the exhibition, and starting with the damaged (on a technical level) to create beautiful works adheres to this dynamic. People are inclined to connect emotionally with Mills’ art, as if the images emit or inspire empathy. Do they come from a primarily emotional place? “I think they do,” says Mills, who prefers

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

output: he’s worked with Passenger, Ed Sheeran, and Matchbox Twenty, among others. “As a photographer, I totally rely on my sight to be able to capture and share the world around me,” points out Seng. “Photography and film is something that overwhelmingly relies on using your sight to capture fleeting moments or create visually striking concepts. “I can’t imagine the difficulties faced by people with a vision impairment in pursuing their passions, let alone navigating through everyday life. I’m very proud to support the inspirational work Guide Dogs WA is doing to improve accessibility and mobility to the vision-impaired community.” T h e re ’s eve n a v i d e o o n S e n g ’s Faceboook page that you can check out, which shows Seng bringing together friends for some blindfolded guide dog portrait painting. (Spoiler alert: final results lean toward the abstract.) Interesting fact: The country’s first Guide Dog training school was established here in Perth by Dr. Arnold Cook in 1951. He became blind at the age of 18, learned Braille, then studied at UWA, earning a degree in Arts, and later earning a doctorate from Harvard. Another point worth noting is if you do see a guide dog out and about, remember they’re working, and shouldn’t be patted or distracted by members of the public. (And definitely don’t feed them.) To register your own event, go to dineinthedark.com.au. Hosts go in the running to win a night of at-home boutique dining courtesy of Chef De Home. Head chef, Ben Munro, will create a three-course dinner for six people valued at more than $800. GILLIAN O’MEAGHER

treat their anime in a manner more like western culture considers books and movies.” Lee points out anime has so many genres that appeal to all types. “There is horror, humour, mecha (giant robot), sci-fi, fantasy and so many more. You name it and there will be an anime that fits anyone’s genre. There is anime for children, early teens, late teens, and adults. There is something for everyone’s taste.” So why do they think Australians are into cosplay? “Cosplay is chance for anyone really to dress up as their favourite character and celebrate the anime and manga they love,” says Lee. “It’s a good way to have fun and socialise in groups, as cosplaying with other friends who share your fandom is great fun.” Fenwick believes Australians have always been fans of dressing up (citing the popularity of school plays and Halloween), and points out traditional children’s games are all about pretend and make believe, but as adults we don’t have a lot of outlets to dress up. “Yet cosplay is a socially acceptable outlet that comes with a lot of fun and attention,” she says. “Adults can put in more time, money, and skill than children, so their outfits aren’t just imitations but a method to transform themselves. They even get to act out their characters - be it hero or villain, guilt-free. How often do we get to spend an entire day all dressed up, playing like children and laughing at all the best and worst jokes?” For ticketing details regarding PAniC Inc’s gaming event this Halloween (Saturday, October 31) go to the Wai-Con: Perth’s Premier Anime Convention Facebook page. GILLIAN O’MEAGHER

Stormie Mills, Distant Lands | Acrylic, dirt, spray paint, graffiti remover and oil on canvas

not to offer too much explanation of a painting - he believes when people communicate what they think a work is about they’re really telling him how they think, and sharing information about themselves. “When you talk about crossing cultural divides, the gap between people is so huge nowadays, I think when people do that unconsciously and without guard, it’s just a really precious moment.” Things That Go Bump In The Night, an exhibition by Stormie Mills, shows at There Is... from Friday, October 30, until Sunday, November 8.

A R T S & C U LT U R E

FILM

NEWS

EVENTS

FAS H I O N

VISUAL ARTS Fremantle Arts Centre Print Award: Fremantle Arts Centre Australia’s most prestigious print award, which awards a total prize pool of $22,000, is in its 40th anniversary year. The exhibition runs until Sunday, November 15. Go to fac.org.au for more info. Treasure Ships - Art In The Age Of Spices: The Art Gallery Of Western Australia A collaboration between AGWA and the Art Gallery Of South Australia, this exhibition features the spectacular and exotic art produced for global markets from the 1500s to the early 1800s. Included are a selection of artifacts retrieved from the wrecks of the Batavia and the Gilt Dragon. The exhibition runs until Sunday, January 31. Go to artgallery.wa.gov.au for full details. Futile Labor: John Curtin Gallery Ionat Zurr, Chris Salter and Oron Catts have created a multi-sensory art installation that explores the growing phenomenon of the manipulation and engineering of life. It’s on display until Sunday, November 8. Go to johncurtingallery.curtin.edu. au for more. The Consolations Of Photography/On The Beach: Perth Centre For Photography Two exhibitions opened last week at PCP: Juha Tolonen’s The Consolations Of Photography, and Tim Pearn’s On The Beach. Both run until Sunday, November 15. For more info, go to pcp.org.au

THEATRE/DANCE/ PERFORMANCE The Cockatoos: The Blue Room Theatre A mob of wild cockatoos descends on a suburban neighbourhood, triggering an eruption of deeply held secrets. Adapting Tim White’s short story, this new work from Happy Dagger Theatre runs until Saturday, November 7. Go to blueroom.org. au for more.

Next To Normal Brendan Hanson stars in Black Swan Theatre’s production of the acclaimed rock musical, Next To Normal, playing at the State Theatre Centre from Saturday, November 7, to Sunday, November 22. SHANE PINNEGAR speaks to the actor about the show’s theme of suburban mental illness. A WAAPA graduate who has sung and acted throughout Australia and Asia performing opera, musical theatre and cabaret, Brendan Hanson is eager to get to grips with the acclaimed Broadway, Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning Next To Normal. He says it’s important to ensure the subject is handled tactfully and respectfully. “Well, it’s about doing the research,” Hanson says. “Also, let’s be honest. I don’t think there’s anyone who isn’t touched or affected by mental illness. There’s a family member or there’s colleagues at work... it surrounds us. I guess part of it is your own personal experience of that and what you bring then to the role yourself. A lot of it is just coming from having to assist or bear witness to friends who deal with mental disease all the time. What an affliction it is. “How amazing is that now, that we see it as exactly that. We see it as a disease, something that needs to be monitored and addressed, rather than the whole idea, you know, ‘get on with it. Get over it and get on with it’.” Director, Adam Mitchell, has said, of the work, ‘It’s much more than a feel good musical. It’s more of a feel everything musical’. That must be a dream for the actors on stage. “Hell, yeah!” exclaims Hanson. “The material is amazing. Some of it is really funny it really is. The way they handle Diana’s manic

Tommy Tiernen - Out Of The Whirlwind: Riverside Theatre Irish comedian Tommy Tiernen has announced his Out Of The Whirlwind tour, coming to the Riverside Theatre on Monday, April 25, 2016. The satirist remains as edgy, seductively malevolent, and breathlessly funny as his debut in 1992. He’s been praised by The Guardian with bringing “his vision to life with empathic comic power.” For more details head to tommytiernan. com/gigs/.

FESTIVALS Jewish International Film Festival: Greater Union Cinemas, Morley. The Jewish International Film Festival returns to Perth this year across two weekends in October/ November at Greater Union cinemas, Morley. With stimulating and diverse cinema that engages audiences from beyond the Jewish community, the festival showcases nine films from the USA, Canada, South Africa, Hungary, Germany and Israel. The richly diverse program includes performances from such stars as Natalie Portman in A Tale Of Love And Darkness (also her directorial debut), Winona Ryder and Peter Sarsgaard in Experimenter alongside Hungary’s hotly tipped 2016 Oscar contender, Son Of Saul. Showing Saturday, October 31; Sunday, November 1, and Sunday, November 8, at For more information visit jiff.com.au.

Back To The Future Live In Concert: Riverside Theatre The Western Australian Symphony Orchestra plays Alan Silvestri’s awesome score for the classic scifi comedy as the film plays on the big screen! It happens on Friday, November 14, and Saturday, November 15. Book via Ticketek.

Rachael Beck and Brendan Hanson star in Next To Normal

BRENDAN HANSON

Tommy Tiernen

phases is so deft, so engaging, and also, really funny. There’s incredible opportunities for humour. “The show’s success is because of the complexity and the beauty of the writing. And, yet, it’s an absolute gift as an actor, to have the opportunity, because, musical theatre often gets put into that basket of jazz hands.” What would the actor say to people who might baulk at the idea of going to the theatre and confronting mental illness head on? “ Ye s , i t i s t h e ce n t r a l t h e m e ,” Hanson starts with a pause, before continuing eloquently, “but it’s handled with such humour and cleverness and accessibility through the music. The music is wonderful - it’s really, really, really clever. It’s not like opera singers bellowing at you. In some regards, you won’t even feel like people are singing, necessarily.

Stephen Fry - Telling Tales: Riverside Theatre Actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, director and raconteur Stephen Fry does his thing on Tuesday, November 17, and Wednesday, November 18. Book via Ticketek. 600 Miles

Viva Mexico Film Festival: Various Venues In its first year, the Viva Mexico Film Festival (vivamexicofilmfestival.com) will be screening the best of contemporary Mexican cinema in Perth, from Wednesday, October 28, until Sunday, November 8. As part of the film festival celebrations, we will be hosting a Mexican party, themed around the Day Of The Dead, at the new venue The Blue Flamingo in Leederville.

“Also, let’s be honest. I don’t think there’s anyone who isn’t touched or affected by mental illness. There’s a family member or there’s colleagues at work... it surrounds us.

Effie

Effie – The Virgin Bride: Astor Theatre

“It’s something - a subject matter – which, like I said, that most people have been affected by. If it’s not themselves, it’s by a family member or a colleague at work or a friend. It’s handled with such delicacy. It’s a really amazing piece of theatre, really, written in a way that’s completely accessible. It won the Pulitzer and the Tony Awards for a reason - come and find out why. “It’s a cracker,” he continues giddily, “we’ve got a great six-piece band. We’ve got David Young as our musical director he’s phenomenal, he’s just come off touring with Wicked for a very long time. Great cast. Honestly, I’ve had a whiff, a whisper, of about what the sets entail and that’s pretty exciting as well. It’s going to be a great night in the theatre.”

Comedic character and second generation Greek Australian Effie, is getting married in a brand new stage play. Created by Logie Award-winner Mary Coustas, Effie’s character originated from the play and TV servies, Acropolis Now, in 1989 and has since become a staple in Aussie pop culture. She visits the Astor Theatre on Friday-Saturday, February 26-27, 2016. Tickets for the general public go on sale Friday, October 30, from ticketmaster.com.au. Dawn French - 30 Million Minutes: Riverside Theatre Award-winning actor, best-selling novelist and all ‘round hilarious woman Dawn French has written a brand new show based around her life and career called 30 Million Minutes. She’s added a new show on Saturday, March 5, which makes five in Perth all up. Tickets through livenation.com.au.

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

Youth, BBC First British Film Festival

BBC First British Film Festival: Cinema Paradiso, Luna on SX, The Windsor The BBC First British Film Festival has announced its full line-up of films screening from Wednesday, October 28, until Wednesday, November 18. Showcasing the best and brightest cinema from the British Isles, the program captures the magic, unique humour, romance, traditions and new age vitality of British culture. Highlights include opening film Youth with Harvey Keitel; 45 Years, winner of best British feature film at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, and starring Charlotte Rampling; BFI London Film Festival 2015 Opening Night film Suffragette, starring Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham-Carter and Meryl Streep; and British writer Nick Hornby’s (An Education) Brooklyn, the tale of Eilis Lacey (Saoirse Ronan, The Lovely Bones), a young Irish immigrant trying to make her way in 1950s Brooklyn, New York. 19

A R T S & C U LT U R E

FILM

NEWS

EVENTS

FAS H I O N

FILM

SLEEPING WITH OTHER PEOPLE Modern Love Directed by Leslye Headland Starring Jason Sudeikis, Alison Brie, Adam Scott Two friends reunite 12 years after a brief college fling. Jake (Jason Sudeikis) is a womaniser, who can’t help but sabotage every relationship he is in, while Lainey (Alison Brie) is a cheater, addicted to sleeping with one of her old exes. Together they form aplatonic friendship and a support group, to help with the complications of dating and sex. Well, apparently the love child of When Harry Met Sally is now old enough to date, and have a Tinder profile. Sleeping With Other People is an attempt at a fresh take on the romantic comedy, and is mostly successful at that. Buoyed by the charisma of its leads, and some sharp, witty dialogue, there is something enchanting about this film. Which is strange to say, as it also has some of the most filthily funny lines in it, doled out, rapid fire. It is in that strange zone of charming romance and brutal honest sex comedy, that Sleeping With Other People stakes out its territory. The fact that it is in any way successful at this says a lot of positive things about its writer/director, as well as its cast. Leslye Headland creates a modern take on the romantic comedy masquerading as an anti-rom com. Her cynical take on relationships is refreshing and emotionally genuine (mostly), in so much as it plays with personal insecurities and fears to commitment. There are no great

THE LAST WITCH HUNTER

obstacles placed in the way of the relationship besides; career, self-understanding, and a fickle heart. All completely believable. Instead it is up to the characters to come to that understanding, albeit expressed with a disdain for the social conventions and expectations around them. It is more than cynicism for its own sake, there is a genuine voice here, raising valid questions. The failing with Sleeping With Other People is that it doesn’t really do more with this, and the third act falls towards a very standard resolution. Sudeikis and Brie are a great match for each other. There is a genuine chemistry to their onscreen antics, making these characters much more likeable than they have any reason to be. Sudeikis’ quick wit and sophistry, come across as charming rather than smarmy. Sure he is selfish and manipulative, but they are traits Jake is aware of and trying to fix. Similarly, Lainey is aware of her issues, but equally imprisoned by them, even as she attempts to move on. Brie fills Lainey with a vibrancy, and the perfect mix of fragility and pure steel. We’ve seen Brie handle comedy before (Community), but here she gives it a degree of nuance and emotional depth that makes Lainey feel real. An interesting take on the rom-com, Sleeping With Other People has a lot more heart beneath its cool exterior than it perhaps wants to admit. DAVID O’CONNELL

FILM

Pottering About Directed by Breck Eisner Starring Vin Diesel, Rose Leslie, Elijah Woods Would someone please give Vin Diesel a franchise he can be happy with? Other than finding new ways to say ‘I am Groot’ and driving classic muscle cars really fast, Vin looks like he wants something in the sci-fi or fantasy genre that he can call his own. With 2013’s Riddick putting the last nail in the coffin for that franchise, Vin has cast his eye over his past Dungeons & Dragons character sheets (seriously, that’s this film’s inspiration) to bring us The Last Witch Hunter. After being cursed with eternal life for killing the last witch queen, Kalder (Vin Diessel) is recruited by a religious cabal to act as their weapon. Some 800 years later, he maintains the peace by enforcing a strict set of rules on magic users... yet an ancient threat may be about to shatter everything. The Last Witch Hunter is an underbaked, ill executed beast. This script appears to have been passed over multiple times, but instead of developing and polishing it, the writers have instead crammed something new in with each pass. As a result the concepts are under-explored, and the plot lurches from one unlikely event to the next. Any attempt at world building is smothered under the weight of this poorly stitched together reality. In a world where ‘a wizard did it’ is actually a viable explanation, causality means nothing.

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

Soon events just appear to happen at random, rather than the result of a carefully scripted and constructed plot. The other pressing issue is the threat level. Vin is always an immortal unstoppable killing machine, even when his curse is lifted. At no time do we ever feel he is in danger, or facing a threat that is equal to his skills. Vin might be a kick-arse swordsman with centuries of experience, but when his opponents are - a fat guy with a beard, a blind man with a cadre of butterflies, and an old woman….it just seems a little bit one-sided. All of which is a pity, because underneath this schlock is an actor that desperately wants to engage with it, and has enough charisma to drag the audience along for the ride. Vin ain’t Brando, but given the right vehicle he is a competent action star that commits to his role with a smile and a wink. Just the right sort of shoulders to hang a light weight urban fantasy action franchise around. Even here, he is having a lot of fun, and that is infectious. We as the viewer can feel that, and become invested despite ourselves. Unfortunately, The Last Witch Hunter is just too much of a mess to support it. Urban fantasy is still a genre that has a lot of untapped potential, and despite its desperate attempts to mine it, The Last Witch Hunter leaves things that way. A failure in world and franchise building that still has a little fun to offer, if only for the enthusiasm of its star. DAVID O’CONNELL

A R T S & C U LT U R E

FILM

NEWS

EVENTS

FA S H I O N

FILM

VIVA MEXICO FILM FESTIVAL

600 Miles, Viva Mexico Film Festival

Viva La Viva This month sees the premiere of the Viva Mexico Film Festival. It aims to become an annual event, bringing an array of excellent Mexican films to Australia. With the opening night being Wednesday, October 28, X-Press has a chat with Festival Director, Sarah Conner. We asked her about what the festival had to offer, and what are some of her viewing recommendations. “For the last couple of years we haven’t had Mexican films in Perth,” says Conner. “In the Latin America Spanish-speaking cinema Mexico is really prolific. With the recent Oscars having a director from Mexico winning Best Picture, Best Director etcetera... it has certainly proven its quality. “Mexican cinema is definitely one of the foremost Spanish speaking groups of interest to the public. With the Viva Mexico Film Festival we are trying to bring the best films from different genres to Australia. People will be able to see the strength and the variety of films coming out of Mexico. So it’s a choice of which genre people will want to watch.” From Wednesday, October 28, until Sunday, November 8, screenings will happen at numerous venues around Perth, including Cygnet Cinema and The Backlot. We asked for some recommendations from Conner. “Firstly, the Opening Night film, 600 Miles, starring Tim Roth. It has been submitted by Mexico to the Academy Awards for next year, which

is an excellent recommendation. This is about the accidental kidnapping of an AFT agent by Mexican arm dealers. “Then there is Mexico’s Most Wanted. It’s based on a true story of a notorious bank robber who is a masked Mariachi by day. This should be of historical significance to the Mexican community; it is also an action movie and quiet fast paced.” For a change of pace there is the rather aptly timed Guten Tag Ramon. “A very different movie, about a young man from Mexico that travels to Germany to meet up with people for employment - to send money home to his family - and things go wrong. It’s a story on how he survives, and becomes friends with some of the citizens of Germany. They can’t speak Spanish, he can’t speak German, but they form a connection. It’s a most poignant movie.” The festival also has a number of free events. “We are also screening a couple of films for Carnival Macabre (at Northbridge Piazza). One is going to be The Weeping Woman, which is a legend in Mexico. This is a family movie, it’s animated and we think the kids will love it. It’s based on the Day Of The Dead theme which fits in nicely with the carnival, particularly as the Mexican community is working closely with the City Of Perth for this festival.” It certainly seems like a strong start. Encompassing Perth and Melbourne this year, the Viva Mexico Film Festival plans to expand to more cities in subsequent years. For further details, check the website at vivamexicofilmfestival.com. DAVID O’CONNELL

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

PERTH NOVEMBER 7 - 15 FOR MORE INFO HEAD TO wabeerweek.com

WA BEER WEEK Because Beer WA Beer Week is back again for 2015, from Saturday-Sunday, November 7-15, as the biggest nine days on the WA Beer Calendar.

MONK BREWERY CELEBRATES WA BEER WEEK Monk Iron Chef: Knife Fight November 7 @ 1pm Chef vs Chef in a live cook-off on the terrace! Top chefs go head to head in a killer wood-fired BBQ battle, until there is only one left! Mystery ingredients, beers and beer ingredients used in the battles. Chefs to be announced closer to the date. Complimentary beer & beer bites provided.

FREMANTLE BEER FESTIVAL Fremantle Beer Festival will be pouring over 300 West Australian craft beers, dishing up delicious gourmet food, along with live Music, live comedy and beer masterclasses! The Fremantle Beer Festival hosts the largest and most comprehensive range of West Australian craft brewers and cider-makers Australiawide, with over 350 Brews and Ciders to sample.

BAR POP BEER FEST Bar Pop Beer Fest takes place on the opening weekend of WA Good Beer Week in the Perth Urban Orchard and will see over 5,000 beer, cider and slider lovers enjoy some of the best WA, interstate and overseas beers and ciders along with mouth watering sliders prepared by some of Perth’s best restaurateurs and food trucks. Bar Pop Beer Fest is Located in the Urban Orchard in the heart of the CBD and within throwing distance of the Perth Train Station. Three days of award-winning local, interstate and international beers and ciders, along with tasty sliders from Old Faithful Bar & BBQ, Lot Twenty and Tiger Bao along with live entertainment throughout the sessions. Taking part in WA Beer Week on Friday-Sunday, November 6-8, will be Pirate Life Brewing, 4 Pines Brewing Company, Young Henrys, Stone & Wood Brewing, Feral Brewing Company, Mountain Goat Beer, Brooklyn Brewery, Coopers Brewery, The Hills Cider Company, Mash Brewing Co., Cheeky Monkey Brewery & Cidery, Colonial Brewing Co. Margaret River, Black Kite Beverage Co., Custard & Co, Australian Brewery, Yenda, Matilda Bay Brewing Company, Harcourt Cider, Gage Roads Brewing Co, James Squire, Little Creatures Brewing, Matso’s Beer, Thatchers Cider, Barrow Boys Brewing, Nomad Brewing Co., MOO BREW, Somersby, Nail Brewing Australia, Pressmans, Bress Wine and Cider & Produce Check out barpop.com.au/beer-fest/ for more details.

Gage Roads Backyard to Bottle Shop – well-loved brewers, Gage Roads Brewing Co. will once again be hosting Australia’s biggest and best home brew competition where a lucky and talented home brewer can win a ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunity to have his/her special recipe brewed professionally and distributed in a variety of West Australia outlets. Sail & Anchor People’s Choice Awards – thanks to Fremantle’s Iconic Sail & Anchor Premium Brew there’ll be the inaugural People’s Choice Awards, where you will be given the opportunity to cast your vote for the Best Of The Best Brewer at the 2015 festival. It all happens from 12.30pm – 8.30pm on Saturday, November 14, and 12.30pm – 8pm on Sunday, November 15, at Esplanade Park, Fremantle. Tickets - single day ($27 + B.F.) and weekend tickets ($37 + B.F.) - are on sale now via events.ticketbooth.com.au/event/ FremantleBeerFest.

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

Underground Collab Series #1 November 11 @ 7pm Be the first to taste a beer shrouded in secrecy! $20 on the door gets you a goblet of the beer, and some beer bites by Mitch Mitchell. Meet both the men behind the kits: Craig and Ash. Craft Beer, tunes, and basement filth. See you in the Monk Craft Brewery Kitchen Underground! Beer Skool: Fight Club 2 November 12 @ 7pm ‘Monk VS the World!’ Witness Brewers at the top of their game go head to head to crown a winner. Six Monk beers in a taste-off against similar styles from other breweries. See Colonial, Eagle Bay, Blackmanns, Feral, Mash, and a special guest brewer yet to be named, go up against the Monk Craft Brewery Kitchen. Beer And Whisk(e)y Night November 13 @ 7pm Enjoy five Monk beers brewed for the event, perfectly matched with 5 whisk(e)ys from around the globe. Small food serves will accompany each course. Beer by Craig Eulenstein; whiskey by Bill Bewsher; food by Mitch Mitchell. Includes five x 150ml beers and five x 20ml spirits. For more, head to wabeerweek.com.

PERTH NOVEMBER 7 - 15 FOR MORE INFO HEAD TO wabeerweek.com

WA BEER WEEK The Taste Test

AAROM WILSON

CLAIRE HODGSON

GREG SANDERS

Germanic, clean cut & unforgettable. This lager made me want to sing the “sound of Music” theme tune.

Tastes like my childhood, Armadale, represent!

If this was a banana sandwich, it would be more banana than sandwich. I prefer more wheat but if you like banana then this one’s for you!

I’ve never been a fan of wheat beer. This hasn’t changed my mind but it’s still beer, so it’s OK.

A whisky and cigar kiss of a drink! Drinking these ye olde flavours will make you feel like a pirate.

I want to sit down in front of a fire in a ski resort and drink more than 150ml of this! Great stuff!

NIGEL BIRD

REECE WHEADON

ZAC NICHOLS

In honour of WA Beer Week, which runs from Saturday, November 7, until Sunday, November 15, we gathered some of our favourite local music industry people at The Dutch Trading Co in Vic Park to sample some fine craft beers under the guidance of beer connoisseur, Reece Wheadon. R e m e m b e r, a l w ay s d r i n k responsibly... LAST DROP OCKTOBERFEST

Whilst the German Oktoberfest might spell Winter, this is the perfect Summer drop.

8 COLONIAL WITBIER

Strong notes = less of my votes.

6.5 INDIAN OCEAN MUMME

Don’t like strong, smokey tasting beers from ye old times? This will have you calling for “Mumme”.

9 NAIL GOLDEN ALE

If this delightful cumquat noted golden beer isn’t a regular at the new Basso, you’ll be missing out!

8 FERAL THE JACKAL

The beer version of Warheads. SOUR! Pow! Pow!

8.5

10 Flavoured like Bon Scott’s armpit! This rock n roll ale is golden is it is “nail”.

8 Straight Outta Basso! I’d like to buy this beer an apartment.

6 Zingy, sour that will slap you in the face with a glove of flavour

Creamy mouthfeel – enough said!

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

Looks – Amber, small head. Smells – light aroma of medium roasted lager malts. Tastes – Clean, light, medium wafer, banana, biscuit.

Malt sweetness. Clean. Fergalicious!

Looks – Light golden yellow, small head. Smells – Light malt, fresh and grassy. Tastes – Wheat, old orange peel, hint of coriander, a little Belgian yeastesque notes with a touch of candy.

Subtle tones of sexy wookie. Spritzy and refreshing like a walk in the park with a giant.

Looks – Copper, amber, small to nil head. Smells – Wood, slightly smokey, medium roasted malts. Tastes – immediately smokey, bacon, sweet malt profile and dried fruits.

Smokey & smooth – full bodied & delicious. Definitively no scrubs

Looks – Yellow, golden, small head. Smells – Grass, hop pellets, ligh, fruity and piney hops. Tastes – Grassy, danky light, pale malts.

Fruity, rich, golden. It’s hips don’t lie!

Looks – Light, yellow, no head. Smells – Light sherbet, malts, slightly floral. Tastes – Sherbet, grassy, but not a real sour.

Sour and smooth like Will’s facial hair. Opps I did it again, come in like a wrecking ball.

Wow- Sour! Not my thing but I’m sure there are plenty who would dig.

6.5

5.5

Crisp, light, malty & almost sweet. Perfect for Netflix n’ Chill.

7 Smooth, bitter after taste with citrus overtones. A perfect Sunday morning – “I woke up this morning and I got myself a beer!”.

Tastes like pork rinds, beautiful colour, very smokey! “it past the first test – I didn’t go blind”.

Get involved; Basso – represent! Killer gigging brew – try something new!

6.5

YO U R G U I D E TO W H AT ’ S O N T H I S N OV E M B E R

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6 WA Music Conference Day 1 @ State Theatre Centre Of WA Full details: http://wam.org.au/event/wamusic-conference-2/ Quay Note @ Swan River - Departing From Perth Presented by Moshtix Featuring: Pilerats DJs & Coin Banks. 5 p m – 8 p m | Fre e E n t r y fo r WA M u s i c Conference ticket holders (limited capacity first in first afloat) It’s theorised there’s Something In The Water in WA, so where better to celebrate WA music than on it! The VIP Quay Note Boat Party sees the debut of an exclusive boat party, free for #WAMusicConference speakers and ticket holders, plus very select partners and media.

The Loves Junkies and Pat Chow are part of the WAM Fest’s Sunday Best

WAM FEST AT A GLANCE

• RTRFM & State Theatre Trust present The Courtyard Club @ State Theatre Centre Courtyard Featuring: Ruby Boots, Gunns, The High Learys, Rachael Dease & Ben Witt 5pm – 10pm | FREE ENTRY • Pilerats Showcase @ Jack Rabbit Slim’s Featuring: Sable, Catlips, Floria (QLD) & Time Pilot 9pm - 5am | FREE ENTRY • The Community Showcase @ The Boston Featuring: Diger Rokwell, Empty, The Boost Hero Man, Cash KRZMA & DJ Silence 8pm – 2am | FREE ENTRY

• Indi Sounds @ The Indi Bar Featuring: Riley Pearce, Stillwater Giants, WAM Festival Friday Showcases @ Various Wanderlust, The Durongs & Nicky Sandover Venues 7pm - 12am | $15 Door Sales* A series of free and ticketed (or all free for #WAMusicConference ticket holders), genre • Stormrider Touring Presents Triple Album or theme-specific showcases spanning Perth’s Launch @ Amplifier inner city suburbs, presented in conjunction Featuring: Silent Knight, Orpheus Omega w i t h s o m e o f WA’s b e s t p ro m o te r s a n d (VIC), Ragdoll & Wrath Of Fenrir organisations. Running from 5pm to late, there 8pm – 12am | $15 Door Sales* is something on the menu for every taste, from metalheads to beats boffins. • Status Factory Showcase @ Babushka Upstairs Leederville Hotel Featuring: Aslan, Jamyang, Phocal + special guests 8pm – 12am | $10 Door Sales* • Colosoul Fashion Show @ Defectors Featuring: Colosoul DJs & special guests 8pm – 12am | $10 Door Sales* • Villanova Studios Showcase @ The Ellington Featuring: Allira Wilson, Trisk & The Luke Minness Quartet 8pm – 12am | $20 Door Sales* • Soggybones Showcase @ Soggybones (West Perth Store) Featuring: Foxes, Puck, Leeches & Blackwitch 8pm – 12am | $10 Door Sales* • Blues At Bridgetown & Perth Blues Club Showcase @ Paddington Ale House Featuring: Morgan Bain, Datura4, Andrew Winton & Matty T. Wall 8pm – 12am | $15 Door Sales* • Sweet Oblivion Showcase @ Hq Leederville (all-ages) Featuring: Sydnee Carter, Spire, Figurehead & Fairbridge Quest Winners Shannon, Isla & Ella E. 5pm – 10pm | $10 Door Sales* *All WAM Festival Friday Showcases events free for WA Music Conference pass holders SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7 WA Music Conference Day 2 @ State Theatre Centre Of WA Full details: wam.org.au/event/wa-musicconference-2/ BLOCK PARTY @ WILSON ROE St. CAR PARK Featuring: Tired Lion, Methyl Ethel, Command Q, Hamjam, Lower Spectrum, GRRL PAL, The Merindas, Fait, Lilt, Syllabollix, Our Man In Berlin, Rag N Bone, Randa & The Soul Kingdom & Bryte MC 4pm – 12am | FREE ENTRY More artists, a second stage and increased capacity, the return of the Block Party (as part of the Saturday Spectacular) will this year provide thousands with a free block partystyled celebration of WA music and culture, right in the heart of Northbridge. SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 6 Sunday Best @ Fremantle Arts Centre And The Newport Hotel Presented by City of Fremantle Fremantle Arts Centre - Featuring: The Love Junkies, KUČKA (solo), Felicity Groom, Odette Mercy & Her Soul A t o m i c s , T h e We a p o n I s S o u n d , C r a i g Hollywood (DJ sets) & Holly Doll (DJ sets) 2pm – 8pm The Newport - Featuring: The Ocean Party (VIC), Pat Chow, Dream Rimmy, Erasers, Moana, Salary (ex-Celery), Filthy Apes & The Limbs 2pm – 10pm | FREE ENTRY Extending the good times for a long-overdue mini fest in Fremantle, festival-goers will be able to finish off their weekend in the beautiful surrounds of the Fremantle Arts Centre and the revamped The Newport Hotel. The three-stage event will feature 15 artists and will be free entry 2–10pm. Enjoy some of the best in the West at the ultimate WAM Festival finisher!

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

YO U R G U I D E TO W H AT ’ S O N T H I S N OV E M B E R

OPEN HOUSE PERTH ONE-PLANET FEST-A-CON Be prepared to be transformed with a visit to the One-Planet Fest-a-con in Fremantle which continues until Sunday, November 8. Fest-a-con brings new forms of sustainable living and business into the community. Part celebration, part film festival and part (anti)conference, Fest-a-con is an opportunity to connect, share, learn and transform your life and the lives of those around you through attainable, sustainable living practices. Move between talks, events, competitions, exhibitions, children’s activities, stalls and workshops. Be inspired by the successful stories of ethical and sustainable businesses and industries. Try on new ideas and experiment with new skills. Learn how to use a less water, energy and waste in your home, your office and on your street. Bring your family, bring your friends, bring your neighbours – Fest-a-con is about changing your community, now and for the future.

Get set for the Polka Dot Vintage Markets C h r i s t m a s 3 I n 1 M a r ke t at C l a re m o n t Showgrounds Saturday-Sunday, November 1415. Enjoy a shopping experience where the person selling the product is the person who made it. Each fair is unique and different with many of the products unavailable elsewhere. Over 150 exhibitors participate in each fair selling a wide variety of quality hand-made crafts including jewellery, clothing for adults and children, bags and accessories, body products, country craft, fabric craft, woodwork, toys, pottery, homewares, patchwork, scrapbooking and many more. We also have a huge range of food products including sauces, condiments, preserves, cakes, biscuits, chocolates and confectionary.

One-Planet Fest-a-con

Polka Dot Vintage

POLKA DOT VINTAGE MARKETS

SETS IN THE CITY Sets In The City - Offworld’s newest kid on the block is all about intimacy and quality rather than quantity. This unique pop-up setting in the heart of the Perth CBD is a boutique event experience in an inner city twilight oasis. Positioned on Riverside Drive, boasting with both city and river views the intimate pop up club includes fabulous food stalls, top-notch drink offerings and an enviable entertainment line-up, appreciated by music lovers. It happens on Satuyrday, November 14, on the Riverside Balcony of the Perth Concert Hall and features Tensnake, Yahtzel, KLP, Luke Million and lot of good things indeed. Head to setsinthecity. dance for full details.

Want to get inside some of Perth’s most iconic destinations? Explore great WA design heading to Open House Perth 2015 on Saturday-Sunday, November 7-8. If you love your city, you’ll love Open House Perth and with over 80 locations to explore Open House Perth 2015 is the biggest and best yet. Open House Perth has something for everyone, so whether you’re into history, art, architecture or entertainment, find yourself at Open House Perth. Here’s a couple of suggestions: Self-Guided Coffee Tour - while out and about exploring great design, why not pop in to one of these fantastic destinations for a quick pickme-up. Combine your love of coffee with design while you’re out exploring one of the 65 Open House Perth destinations. Self-Guided Small Bar Tour - qfter a big day out visiting Open House Perth destinations, you might find that your boots are made for walking. They recommend checking out the growing collection of small bars around Perth and Northbridge and have picked a few favourites with great design qualities to match their menu, so pop your comfy shoes on cause your in for a treat. For more, had to openhouseperth.net.

Presented by Make Smoking History, the Norfolk Lanes Youth Festival features the hottest new high energy bands, the country’s finest Skate facility, the state’s best break dancers battling it out for bragging rights, mixed in heaps of oddball activities, great food and good times. Its stages have seen a young Tame Impala, San Cisco and Grace Woodruff strut their stuff for the discerning folk of Fremantle. This year sees Norfolk Lanes incorporates Zou Rock Anniversary Jam that will see break dance crews from all over the country as well as overseas battle it out for the best up and coming b-boys and b-girls. WA hard rockers Red Engine Caves will headline the main stage. There’ll also be workshops and competitions on the skate park and parkour workshops from noon to 3pm. A live art workshop and a drama workshop round out the day’s activities. It all happens at Esplanade Youth Plaza (Esplanade Reserve) on Saturday, October 31, from noon until 7pm

Open House Perth

Norfolk Lanes Youth Festival

Yahtzel

NORFOLK LANES

SUNDOWN SESSIONS Sundown Sessions are excited to present to the people of Western Australia the brother and sister duo sensation that is Angus & Julia Stone at Port Beach, North Fremantle, on Saturday, December 5. Enjoy the iconic Indian Ocean views, kick back on sun-lounges and bean bags while enjoying a variety of gourmet meals and the chilled sounds of one of the country’s most loved acts. For full details, head to sundownsessions.com.au. Angus & Julia Stone

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

NEWS

INTERVIEWS

REVIEWS

| B E AT S

LIVE

VENUES

WAM SATURDAY SPECTACULAR

Presented by X-Press Magazine, Northbridge’s finest live music venues come to life for the Saturday Spectacular, throwing open their doors to the public to host free entry showcases from midday to 2am on Saturday, November 7, including the Block Party takeover of Wilson Roe St Car Park featuring the likes of Tired Lion, Methyl Ethel, Lilt, Command Q, Hamjam, Lower Spectrum and many more. Over 50 fresh acts are on this nine-venue event, including Will Stoker & The Embers (yes, featuring Will from The Bachelorette, making a long-awaited rose-winning date with the stage); the unveiling of Blackwall Reach (the new project from Beaverloop’s Leon Ewing); the WA Music Awards-dominating Ruby Boots (unveiling her Bex’s Hootenanny curated show for the first time); High Horse (the galloping new project of one of the WA Music Awards’ biggest winner of the last few years, Timothy Nelson); more WA Music Awards winners including PUCK (Metal/Heavy), Mt. Mountain (Breakthrough), The Floors (Blues & Roots), Chainsaw Hookers (Punk); and lots more covering everything from heavy rock to punk, pop, electronic, soul, blues, country, folk, doom and beyond. You’d really wanna get amongst it.

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

2015 Delivering events such as the WAM Festival, WA Music Conference and WA Music Awards is important as it provides a platform for WA acts and ensures national exposure and recognition. Whilst the world has moved on from a band needing to load themselves into a Kombi, drive across the Nullabor and relocate in Sydney or Melbourne (and subsequently London) in order to break into the national market, it remains important to have a national presence and the WAM Festival and WA Music Awards provide those opportunities.

At a higher level, WAM is about to undertake significant research measuring the social and economic impact of the local music sector. We know through national reporting that contemporary music is by far and away the greatest economic contributor to Australia’s live performance economy, but this alone is not a complete snapshot, as national surveys tend not to include WA or do not look beyond major stadium performances.

MIKE HARRIS WAM CEO I’ve been sitting in the WAM CEO’s seat for 20 months now and my second WAM Festival, Conference and, of course, Music Awards are approaching fast. I think both the organisation and myself are in a different place now to where we were twelve months ago. Like most arts organizations, we are a little unsure of our funding for the next three or so years, but we are setting a clear agenda for WAM that will not only provide direct opportunities for Western Australian musicians to create and perform their music, but also ensure the environment exists for future generations to do the same. across a range of genres where we would essentially offer label services on a release by release basis.

ADAM WESTON Firestarter/Birds Of Tokyo Did you choose to make a career in the music industry from the outset, or did it somehow choose you? Like virtually everyone else who starts out in a band you have to create your own opportunities, so I just fell in to booking shows and dealing with venues, promoters and other artists. I was already going out to as many shows as possible before I wound up playing in bands, so I felt I was the most capable at wearing that hat which led to dealing with all the other many facets of the industry. When you began work on Firestarter, what was your initial vision? My future wife Heidi already had Firestarter running - I totally would have chosen a different name - where she was managing a friend’s band and booking/promoting launches, etc. So I approached her to look after my band at the time which quickly became a handful of my friend’s bands, so together we worked on developing a management/label roster that offered all the necessary leg work. Has the vision changed over time? Yes, greatly. We quickly evaluated where the time and money was spent while acknowledging our strengths and weaknesses. Basically we found it frustrating relying on so many others for important services like manufacture, distribution and publicity where through a lot of hard work we were able to do it ourselves. Dissolving the management arm and most of the label allowed us to work with more artists 28

What have been the biggest challenges facing you in this climate? The advent of digital retail meant we were faced with the prospect of saying goodbye to the physical side of things but luckily that hasn’t been the case. In fact with the right pre-order campaign incentives numbers are still great plus we’ve been able to become a broker for vinyl. In our stubbornness we also became a distributor that was able to deliver to digital retailers direct, again avoiding other parties. The DSPs are constantly changing and no one expects the ‘model’ to stay the same for long, so there’s plenty to keep us on our toes.

It remains equally important that those involved in running the local music industry are skilled up, knowledgeable of global trends and practices, and have an opportunity to be part of a dialogue about the direction of their industry. The WA Music Conference provides two days of keynote talks, panel discussions and one-on-one sessions with industry tastemakers and influencers. It is important for the WA music sector to have a global perspective, and then it is up to those individuals whether they apply that locally or globally. At a higher level, WAM is about to undertake significant research measuring the

WA MUSIC CONFERENCE SPEAKERS Over 50 speakers have been announced for the WA Music Conference with a healthy slice of East Coast and international music making for a power-packed experience. It all takes place at the State Theatre Centre of WA. Friday-Saturday, November 6-7. BOB GORDON catches up with two local heavy-hitters. management of that has also been a big learning curve for me. Everyday is pretty fun in the Spinning Top world.

Does playing in Birds Of Tokyo create demands on Firestarter or have you established a good line between the two? As Firestarter existed before Birds formed it was only natural to help be hands on with all those early bookings and business duties for the band, but as their profile grew over the years it certainly provided me with the experience and exposure on many levels that I can now share with others and apply to relevant projects. I don’t think my role necessarily creates demand but I’d be lying if I said there weren’t inquisitive artists in regards to the success of Birds. I think genuine word of mouth amongst bands and recommendations from the media/industry Firestarter deal with has benefited us greatly. Do you feel that the sharing of experience and knowledge at events such as the WAM Conference helps to improve the industry in general? Definitely. Networking is invaluable and I’m sure most of us wish we had more time for those sort of catch-ups where it’s not all about spruiking your latest signing - but oh we all will! - but instead sharing some more helpful insight in to what’s working and what’s not. I guess it goes without saying that it’s all a continual learning curve and I aim to steal as many good ideas off others as possible! What sort of things do you plan to touch upon in your appearance? The panel’s topic is Starting A Successful Music Business, so I have a long list of mistakes we’ve made which I could warn others about for starters! I might get a chance to elaborate on the areas of Firestarter we were able to build on why. I tend to remind people we remain dedicated to what we do because we thoroughly enjoy it. We’re continually researching and striving to understand our fields as best as possible. I’m sure I’d have holidays accrued if I stuck to accounting, so it’s cliché but you’ve really got to put the hours in. I’m really looking forward to hearing what the other panellists have to say!

social and economic impact of the local music sector. We know through national reporting that contemporary music is by far and away the greatest economic contributor to Australia’s live performance economy, but this alone is not a complete snapshot, as national surveys tend not to include WA or do not look beyond major stadium performances. With gains being made at a regulatory reform level already, WAM is contributing to and facilitating changes that will benefit the live music scene. There is no doubt that urban infill and changes to land-use and population densities represent a major threat to, and current problem for, live music venues. Great work is being done across the sector and beyond to ensure the future viability and sustainability of live music in WA. As I alluded to before, one of the big challenges is funding in an ever challenging environment. As ever, we have to make a compelling argument for funds and that is fine: when you receive public funds you must be transparent and deserving of those funds. Organisations that do not treat public funds with respect open the door to the simplistic argument that those funds would be better spent on hospital beds. We know that our programs and the contemporary music sector contribute significantly to WA’s economic and social well-being and to that thing I call Brand WA. Investment in WAM is a sensible investment that returns significant benefits. This applies to government investment as well as corporate and institutional sponsorship, as well as the commitment of WAM’s membership. It is great that WAM has recently received Deductible Gift Recipient status from the ATO, which means donations to WAM are tax-deductible, and we hope to make good use of that status soon. The WA music scene is not only a leader nationally, it is renowned internationally: maybe it is in the water, maybe we do punch above our weight, and possibly it is the isolation… Whatever it is, we must ensure that the WA music industry continues to be a strong contributor to all our lives; provides opportunities for local artists to create music; and, whether that music is listened to by five people in a garage, 500,000 at Glastonbury or 5 million through Spotify, it is crucial to our lives.

The international rise of Tame Impala has really no precedent when it comes to born-and-bred WA bands. From indie Perth band to a bona fide international act - has it been challenging to keep pace with the band’s constant upward trajectory? Of course, Spinning Top has had to keep up and grow at the same pace as Tame Impala and the rest of our roster. Challenges come along all the time, but with those challenges come new experiences and the knowledge to tackle it the next time something similar pops up.

GARTH CARWARDINE | PIC: JODIE REGAN

GARTH CAWARDINE Spinning Top It’s been a huge year for Spinning Top and Tame Impala. Describe the roads it has taken you on? It has literally taken me around the world. Constantly learning and dealing with things I haven’t known previously. Nothing can really prepare you for the workload as much as you try, you just get to work when it starts flying your way. Spinning Top becoming a label and taking on the

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

What are the best lessons you’ve learnt about the music industry and in what circumstances did you usually learn them? That there’s no straight forward way with anything in this industry. There’s no guide book, every artist is different and each have their own way of getting to where they want to be. I’ve learnt this from working hands on with a group of amazing and diverse artists, all at different levels in their career. Do you feel that the sharing of experience and knowledge at events such as the WAM Conference helps to improve the industry in general? I think it helps others get a sense that anything can happen. You may not necessarily know when, you just need to be prepared to deal with whatever comes your way as best you can. Every artist has a starting point and where they end up is determined by so many factors - hopefully the insight from these conferences can prepare others a little for what could come their way. What sort of things do you plan to touch upon in your appearance? I guess we’ll see where the conversation goes, as much as you can try to plan, no one knows what could happen!

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

2015

CRAFTY CUTS On the eve of the 2015 WAM Awards, we once again take a moment to touch base with some of the hugely talented Craft Award Nominees, whose skill in their chosen field has been noted and lauded by their fellow musicians.

BEST GUITARIST BEN WITT How did you feel when you heard you’d been nominated? I was sitting in a massage chair on ecstasy, so pretty good. When did you first realise you wanted to be a guitarist? In the womb. My mum swallowed a tiny little guitar and I came out shredding.

How did you feel when you heard you’d been nominated? There are a lot of great guitar players in WA, it’s nice to be considered competent. But I’m scared if I win again this year someone will break my fingers. When did you first realise you wanted to be a guitarist? I tried sport but always ended up with a blood nose.

Which artist is the single biggest influence on your style? As a guitar player? Probably Marc Ribot...

Which artist is the single biggest influence on your style? Don Van Vliet.

What single song do you think best demonstrates what you do? Saturday Night Punch Up.

What single song do you think best demonstrates what you do? Thunderstruck.

Fill in the blank, ‘If I weren’t a guitar player I’d be ___’ ...an octopus using a Gulper Eel as a whip.

LEE JONES (Ruby Boots) How did you feel when you heard you’d been nominated? Bex (Ruby Boots) rang me first thing, early in the morning to tell me and I was stoked. It’s always nice to know that someone likes what you’re doing. When did you first realise you wanted to be a guitarist? For as long as I can remember I’ve always wanted to be a musician. I initially wanted to be a pianist but I used to love watching my dad play guitar, and it was probably listening to Sabbath, Zeppelin and Hendrix with my dad when I was 10 years old which made me want to play guitar. Which artist is the single biggest influence on your style? It’s impossible for me to choose one single influence. A lot of the current work I do isn’t even necessarily influenced by specific guitarists, but rather singer-songwriters such as Lucinda Williams and Ryan Adams. My guitar playing is dictated more by the current song I’m working on, not by a particular person or style. The main thing I try and do is find a melody which works for the song.

Fill in the blank, ‘If I weren’t a guitar player I’d be ___’ ...useless.

BEST MALE VOCALIST MORGAN BAIN How did you feel when you heard you’d been nominated? It’s amazing being nominated for one award let alone two, especially the Best Male Vocalist category as singing is such a huge part of me as an artist and its always awesome to be nominated by your peers! When did you first realise you wanted to be a vocalist? I think when I was about 5 years old or something to be honest; I just knew I’d always be a performer. Which artist is the single biggest influence on your style? Vocally I would have to say Donny Hathaway and as an artist it would be D’Angelo or Prince. What single song do you think best demonstrates what you do? I’m not sure anyone’s really heard that yet but I’d say my single Why Don’t You Stay or the latest one Lift You Up. Fill in the blank, ‘If I weren’t a singer I’d be ___’ ...acting I think. Something in the arts but I never think about that really!

JACOB DIAMOND

What single song do you think best demonstrates what you do? Bex and I have written a new song called Too Late Now which is one of my favourites to play. It’s got a bit of melody, it’s got a bit of burn.

How did you feel when you heard you’d been nominated? Like there had been some sort of error somewhere along the lines, but after then - pretty good.

Fill in the blank, ‘If I weren’t a guitar player I’d be ___’ ...a pianist or a composer.

When did you first realise you wanted to be a vocalist? At church, alas, watching my dad belt out ballads to the big guy upstairs.

MITCH MCDONALD (The Love Junkies) How did you feel when you heard you’d been nominated? Good. When did you first realise you wanted to be a guitarist? My earliest memory was my old man playing guitar to me so I guess around then. Which artist is the single biggest influence on your style? Tay Tay.

LUKE DUX (The Floors, The Wilds, Timothy Nelson & The Infidels, The Wishers, Davey Craddock & The Spectacles, Flooded Palace, Dom Mariani & The Majestic Kelp, Atomic Lunchbox)

Which artist is the single biggest influence on your style? Billie Holiday is probably the only artist that I actively try and sound like - her phrasing and approach to melody is just next level. I think that was part intuition but mostly heroin. I can’t afford either really. What single song do you think best demonstrates what you do? They all have verses and choruses, which I think I do okay. Fill in the blank, ‘If I weren’t a singer I’d be a ___’ ...band-slut bass player, like Will Langdale.

BEST FEMALE VOCALIST AMA QUINSEE,

What single song do you think best demonstrates what you do? Of mine or someone else’s?

(Legs Electric)

Fill in the blank, ‘If I weren’t a guitar player I’d be ___’ ...a grave digger.

How did you feel when you heard you’d been nominated? Totally overwhelmed and very honoured! This is my first time being nominated.

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

2015 When did you first realise you wanted to be a vocalist? I sort of fell into singing at the end of my high school years and loved it so much I knew that’s what I wanted to do and haven’t stopped since. Which artist is the single biggest influence on your style? There are quite a few, but definitely the queen of rock Chrissy Amphlett. What single song do you think best demonstrates what you do? Trigger has some good dynamics that show the light and shade of my voice. Fill in the blank, ‘If I weren’t a singer I’d be ___’ ...an astronaut.

JONI HOGAN

long stints. I guess that’s one of the earliest moments. Which artist is the single biggest influence on your style? Jónsi (Sigur Ros) - inspiring me to be original.. What single song do you think best demonstrates what you do? Uhh… we probably haven’t written it yet. Fill in the blank, ‘If I weren’t a singer I’d be ___’ ...a spy or a lettuce packer?

BEST KEYBOARD/SYNTH PLAYER GORDON CANT

(Joni In The Moon)

(The Amani Consort)

How did you feel when you heard you’d been nominated? I felt strange but wonderful - I was with Ofa (Odette Mercy), Dave Craddock, Morgan Bain and Abbe May at RTR when Caitlin told us we’d all been nominated and we were all surprised! I was most thrilled to see Tara John and Xanthea O’Connor nominated though, as they really deserve that kind of recognition because as a singer I kind of get media feedback a lot more. I really want Ofa to take out Best Female Vocalist, she’s an absolute winner.

How did you feel when you heard you’d been nominated? I got a text and I didn’t really know what was happening.

When did you first realise you wanted to be a vocalist? When I was a kid, probably about 9 or 10 - my mum got me singing lessons and I won a few eisteddfods so it became the one thing I was good at and proud of. Which artist is the single biggest influence on your style? Kate Bush - hands down.

When did you first realise you wanted to be a keys player? From the age of 6 and when I started it just never stopped. Which artist is the single biggest influence on your style? Picasso? Haha. What single song do you think best demonstrates what you do? Nils Landgrens version of Thank You For The Music. Fill in the blank, ‘If I weren’t on the keys I’d be ___’ ...a man locked out on the wrong side of a closed door.

JAKE STEELE

What single song do you think best demonstrates what you do? War And Porn is a good representation of where I’m at at the moment in terms of what I’m writing about, though live song Helicopters is one that I love singing because of its vocal range, wildness and intensity.

How did you feel when you heard you’d been nominated? Like an emoji with sunglasses on and a cigar in his mouth.

Fill in the blank, ‘If I weren’t a singer I’d be a ___’ ...an academic trying to save the world through agitating institutional inequity. It’s certainly what I plan to do after my music has run its course.

When did you first realise you wanted to be a keys player? It must have been when I first started experimenting with producing beats on the computer when I was about 17. The two kind of go hand in hand.

ODETTE MERCY

Which artist is the single biggest influence on your style? Madlib.

(Odette Mercy & Her Soul Atomics) How did you feel when you heard you’d been nominated? Pretty flattered. We have been doing this for a while and it only just feels like I’m getting used to the idea as being seen as a singer. So yeah... pretty flattered. When did you first realise you wanted to be a vocalist? To be honest, not until last year. For the longest time, I’ve had this growing feeling like, at any moment, someone’s going to out me as a ‘phoney’ or a ‘fraud’ and then it will be all over. I haven’t had the real motivation or thinking that being a muso is a possible option for me. Which artist is the single biggest influence on your style? That’s hard! I think it’s between Etta James and Kurt Elling. She has the grit, raw power technique and passion. He has the same but it’s not as fiery. It’s contained. What single song do you think best demonstrates what you do? We have a song called Baby, it’ll be one of our next releases, where it’s got sass and attitude, sweetness in the bridge and ‘blow yo ‘ole’ belter notes (Term borrowed from muso, Rae). ‘If I weren’t a singer I’d be ___’ ...a kick ass high school teacher.

SOPHIE HOPES (Tired Lion) How did you feel when you heard you’d been nominated? Pretty thrilled to be considered a ‘vocalist’ to be honest!

(Tobacco Rat, Yarhkob, KUČKA)

What single song do you think best demonstrates what you do? Injured Ninja - Puppies In Fishtanks Fill in the blank, ‘If I weren’t on the keys I’d be ___’ ...a life-sized rat

TARA JOHN (Joni In The Moon) How did you feel when you heard you’d been nominated? My friend Ofa said, ‘Yesssss! You’ve been nominated for best synth/keys’ and I thought she meant to fill in for a rehearsal. Then when my brain worked, I was excited because I didn’t feel invisible but a little guilty because there are so many better keys players than me in WA! My next question was, ‘Did Gordo get nominated?’ He did... so I did a little dance because he’s my keyboard hero and Perth’s best kept secret. When did you first realise you wanted to be a keys player? I think when I was about 7. I knew that to be as good as I wanted to be, I needed to practice... so I really should listen to my 7 year-old self and practice more. Which artist is the single biggest influence on your style? Esbjörn Svensson - such a lyrical player who never compromised melody within his myriad of textures. Playing lots of notes without it sounding like I’m playing lots of notes is something I aim for... so a few notes pop on top of a bed of sound. What single song do you think best demonstrates what you do? That’s tricky. An old song we play called Our Bed. It begins with a distinct riff and gets a bit twinkly in the middle - but supporting Joni without getting in the way means it’s more about what I don’t play... to create space. And War & Porn. There’s an uneasiness to the lingering opening chords and the subtle and not so subtle shifts contribute to the slow burn of this piece that also ends eerily.

When did you first realise you wanted to be a vocalist? I’d say it was when I was a kid… I used to belt out Creedence Clearwater Revival in my dad’s truck on Fill in the blank, ‘If I weren’t on the keys I’d be ___’ ...a taxidermist.

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

FILTHY APES Name of Release / Album? Reservoir Dogs Released: August 29th, 2015 Recorded: Recorded at Perth’s iconic Astor Theatre and produced by Mitch McDonald (the love junkies) Describe your sound? We’re a band that has zero problems with loud, in your face guitars and huge drums! Who are your biggest influences? At the moment my biggest influences would be bands like Queens Of The Stone Age, Tame Impala, Mutemath and of course the Beatles. Stand out track? Reservoir Dogs was a song we wrote while going through some big changes in the band, I guess more than some other songs it holds sentimental value to us apes. We also got to make a music video for it, which we used to pay homage to Quentin Tarantino. Favourite Perth artist? There are so many rad Perth bands some of our favs are The Love Junkies, Pat Chow, Black Stone From the Sun, Fuzz Toads and Hideous Sun Demon. What’s coming up next for you? We have a huge November coming up, playing WAM Fest, Beaufort St Fest plus, we picked up a national support for Kingswood when they come to Perth. Where can we find your music online? Soundcloud.com/filthyapes filthy-apes.bandcamp.com 31

2015

AMY SUGARS BEST BASS PLAYER

Name of Single Release: Halloween Released: 31st October 2015 onto iTunes

(Rag N Bone)

Recorded: At Crank Recording Describe your sound? Pop Who are your biggest influences? Taylor Swift, Missy Higgins and Ed Sheeran What’s the general theme or feel of the release? Standing up to not being treated fairly in a relationship Favourite Perth artist? Little Bird What’s coming up next for you? I toured through Australia for 3 months this year after releasing my debut album “Everything I Never Said” which was an awesome experience, so now I am ready to focus on finishing my second album. I will be playing at the WAM Festival at The Moon in Northbridge on Saturday 7th November at 3:20pm. Where can we find your music online? www.amysugars.com or on iTunes

MATT CAL Name of Release/Album? Live @ The Ellington 2015 Released: June 2015 Recorded: Feb 2015 Describe your sound? Grungy, Aussie Blues and Roots Who are your biggest influences? People, places and amazing musicians in all walks of genre. What’s the general theme or feel of the release? It’s live. It’s a collection of the better songs I’ve written over the last few releases plus a previously unreleased Dylan style number about the changing seasons of life. All tracks came from the same session when we just lucked in and got it right. Stand out track? For me the stand out thing about this release is the overall tone. Captured simply and perfected masterfully by Lee @ Crank Studio. Favourite Perth artist? Tough question, man! I’ve been loving the undiscovered talents lately. The future is bright in this most isolated city of the world. What’s coming up next for you? Bridgetown Blues Festival in November Where can we find your music online? mattcal.bandcamp.com

JOHN BROWN (Mei Saraswati, Boom! Bap! Pow!) How did you feel when you heard you’d been nominated? Very pleased and excited. Still am, hours later. When did you first realise you wanted to be a bassist? I played drums in high school in Rockingham with a guy called Rob Jowle - he made me think I should do it. Then later I saw Dishan Abrahams and I knew I should. Which artist is the single biggest influence on your style? Pino Palladino, probably. But I wouldn’t go putting my name anywhere near his. What single song do you think best demonstrates what you do? Whichever one the crowd or my band mates like the most. Fill in the blank, ‘If I weren’t a bass guitar player I’d be a ___’ .. much better drummer.

ROY MARTINEZ How did you feel when you heard you’d been nominated? I had only just got back from a trip to Malaysia, and was at a rehearsal with my band, Meraki, and the guys informed me. Of course I was stoked and felt privileged to be in great company with the other nominees. I thought of the few bass players that were not in Perth at this time, who were doing great things overseas - especially Dane Aldersen, who has recently joined the renowned jazz group The Yellowjackets. When did you first realise you wanted to be a bassist? The first time I started playing bass was when no one wanted to be the boring guy at the back of the band at high school, so I had to do it! But then I heard Paul McCartney! Then John Entwhistle! Then the funk guys playing on the Michael Jackson albums. Then I thought, ‘that’s what I’m gonna, do!’

THE VOLCANICS Name of Release/Album? Transmission Released: October 10th, 2015 Recorded: Electric City Studios, Fremantle. Produced by Rob Younger & The Volcanics and mixed by Wayne Connolly at Alberts Studios Describe your sound? The Volcanics are all about delivering straight up, raw Rock n’ Roll! Who are your biggest influences? Chuck Berry, Little Richard. What’s the general theme or feel of the release? ‘Transmission’ is a fiery ten track album of rocknroll that leaves no room for the faint hearted. With Transmission we hope to continue growing as a band and also to reach as many people as possible with our music Stand out track? Transmission Favourite Perth artist? Paul McCarthy What’s coming up next for you? We are currently on a massive tour through Europe! With shows in Berlin, Paris, Madrid and also the televised Rockpalast Crossroads Festival in Bonn, Germany. Where can we find your music online? soundcloud.com/citadel-records-1/transmission

PETE OATS- KITCHEN COOKED RECORDS You have an extensive musical background, tell us a bit about yourself? Started singing playing bass professionally in 1982, was founding member of “Lester Leaps In” Perth’s premier soul band in the 90’s, joined John Meyer ( ex-Guitarist Rose Tattoo ) in 1992 as lead vocalist/bassist in John Meyer’s Blues Express and continue to do gigs with him. Has a long career as a professional touring musician given you a few more strings in your bow than other producer/engineers? Having a good understanding of band dynamics definitely gives me an edge when it comes to recording, I’ve been on the other side of the control room glass many times and know to play well you have to feel comfortable. Who are some of your favourite musicians that you’ve recorded/ produced? Indigenous artist Fred Ryan from the Murchison region was great to record and produce, he writes great songs and always puts total trust in me to produce his albums. One of his songs will be one the 2015 WAMI compilation album. Lucky Oceans is another fabulous musician I’ve recorded. A great muso and a lot of fun.

SARA MCPHERSON

Which artist is the single biggest influence on your style? Of course there are many influences - like the few I just mentioned. But overwhelmingly Jaco Pastorius and Marcus Miller are huge inspirations. What single song do you think best demonstrates what you do? If you look up YouTube, there is a moment at an Ellington Jazz Club gig I did with young up and coming artist Morgan Bain - on a song Somebody Else that I suppose would be a good snapshot of the style that I do. Fill in the blank, ‘If I weren’t a bass guitar player I’d be a ___ ...cosmologist! I’m fascinated with all things celestial.

How did you feel when you heard you’d been nominated? It felt great, I nearly spat vegemite into my keyboard. When did you first realise you wanted to be a bassist? When I was about 11 and realised I didn’t want to shit-fight my way through 12 others to get a go on the drum kit at my primary school band rehearsals. Which artist is the single biggest influence on your style? Like most, I’ve spent years listening to a lot of different music; from the Spice Girls and Prince to The Birthday Party and The Buzzcocks and therefore feel like I take bits and pieces and put them together. Transcribing shitloads of John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) inspired me to think melodically rather than always harmonically, Jean-Jacques Burnel (The Stranglers) taught me that digging into your strings and making your speakers fart a little was cool, Tracy Pew (The Birthday Party) taught me that repetition can cause acceptable tension and unacceptable comfort and finally, Brian Ritchie (Violent Femmes) taught me that most of it doesn’t matter for the sake of art. What single song do you think best demonstrates what you do? Our new one, Paul covers a good range of my playing style. I enjoy bass playing that explores the capabilities of the instrument in the most bare bones way as possible. So in this song, I feel that the harmonic structure and length lets me do that; bass chords, octaves, wider range of pitch - and the neck - silly time signatures and dynamic control. Fill in the blank, ‘If I weren’t a bass guitar player I’d be a ___’ ...missile pre-flight electronic checkout mechanic.

RYAN DUX (The Floors, The Kill Devil Hills) How did you feel when you heard you’d been nominated? When a bass player gets recognition it’s always a good thing. We take when we can. When did you first realise you wanted to be a bassist? I didn’t have a choice. My brother on sixstring and the old man on drums, I got given the bass. Turned out four strings was enough for me. Which artist is the single biggest influence on your style? Willie Dixon. That’s the reason I always say about music, the blues are the roots and the other musics are the fruits. What single song do you think best demonstrates what you do? The Floors tune Built From Bones. Power chords put through a wall of sound fuzz and an octave pedal. Fill in the blank, ‘If I weren’t a bass guitar player I’d be ___’ ...anything that requires no lifting of heavy amps.

ALEX CANION (Voyager) How did you feel when you heard you’d been nominated? Fantastic! It’s always nice to receive recognition. Music, of course, is its own reward but when you’ve made it your career, a little extra attention is always nice. When did you first realise you wanted to be a bassist? In the year 2001 when I realised I couldn’t be a fully sick, record-scratching DJ with an $80 TEAC dual tape deck/five-CD stacker/record player combo. Luckily, Dad had his basses under the bed and an old Peavey bass amp in the corner. The rest as they say... Which artist is the single biggest influence on your style? I’ve been playing a while now and accumulated a lot of influences. Biggest overall

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

musical influence: Mikael Åkerfeldt of Opeth. Latest major bass influence: Alain Caron, Mark King (Level 42), Damian Erskine. What single song do you think best demonstrates what you do? Anything from my band Voyager’s latest album, V. Check out my play-through vid of The Domination Game on YouTube for an audio/visual representation. Fill in the blank, ‘If I weren’t a bass guitar player I’d be a ___’ ...gunslinger embroiled in a war with a local drug lord, entangled in a web of love, corruption and death.

2015

FIGUREHEAD LIAM YOUNG (PUCK, Skullcave) How did you feel when you heard you’d been nominated? It’s a good feeling to be recognised for your craft, but it also sparks a sense of pride for your mates to be there too. True blue…

BEST DRUMMER ASHLEY DOODKORTE (Voyager, The Floors, Will Stoker & The Embers) How did you feel when you heard you’d been nominated? Excited! There’s a slim chance this could finally promote me to a fully-fledged member of The Floors. When did you first realise you wanted to be a drummer? I was fourteen and had tried and failed at most of those things with strings or keys numerous times. Which artist is the single biggest influence on your style? Probably David Silveria from KoRn. I was a teenager in the ‘90s, and he’s a beast. What single song do you think best demonstrates what you do? Will Stoker & the Embers - How Can I?

When did you first realise you wanted to be a drummer? I tried to learn a bunch of different instruments when I was young, found drums, didn’t want anything else. I can’t remember why I liked them so much, probably the same reason as any other kid I guess. Which artist is the single biggest influence on your style? The way I’ve been approaching my playing over the past two or so years has a lot to do with The Melvins and Dale Crover. I’m so mesmerised by his patterns and placement. Dale and Buzz have a very unique chemistry, and Dale can sing while he plays too, so there’s another chunk of influence right there. I’m sure I rip off plenty more, though. What single song do you think best demonstrates what you do? I think Take The Day (PUCK) is a pretty good summary of how I write. I like simple tom grooves, simple rock grooves & a cheeky fill for good measure. But I really enjoy a good a half time breakdown. Fill in the blank, ‘If I weren’t a drummer I’d be a ___’ -t the pub right now.

Fill in the blank, ‘If I weren’t a drummer I’d be a ___’ ...much more boring, unbalanced, stationary, unhealthy person, but I’d have a few more dollars in the bank account.

Name of Release/Album? Figurehead - EP (self-titled) Released: 19th November, 2015 Recorded: Throughout 2015 at Rockscholars and Revolver Studio, produced and mixed by Michael Jelinek. Describe your sound? To put it simply indie pop, but we like to sprinkle a little bit of everything in our songs. Our sound is still developing and we hear this in the songs we are currently writing compared to those written 12mths ago. This is about us gelling as a band and learning the art of song writing. Who are your biggest influences? Arctic Monkeys, Blur, The Beatles, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and pretty much everyone in the local scene. Stand out track? From the people who have heard us, “Blue Tongues” always gets a mention. I guess because it is some solid heart felt pop and is one of the more verbal songs on the EP. Favourite Perth artist? Methyl Ethel gets us going. And especially those bands that are joining us for the EP launch!!! What’s coming up next for you? We are really looking forward to our WAM Showcase Friday 6th Nov, The Beaufort Street Festival on 14th Nov, the EP launch at Mojos on 19th November and YMCA HQ Leederville on 20th November. Where can we find your music online? The EP will be released iTunes and Spotify on the 19th of November.

INTENSO Name of Release/Album? the milk, the butter and the blood Released: Friday November 13th 2015, The Buffalo Club, High St, Fremantle Recorded: Recorded by Brett Potter at Sounds Suite studios, ‘The Milk, The Butter and The Blood’ was mixed and produced by Pippen Kenworthy and INTENSO at Doggox Studios. Stuart James at Soundfield Studio applied the finishing touches and mastering magic. Describe your sound? The sound is a heavy build Hawaiian who moves through periods of smooth lucid intelligentsia to twitchy bouts of screaming nonsense. Who are your biggest influences? Lynch, Mingus, Thompson, Bukowksi, Allah What’s the general theme or feel of the release? The theme is dense in areas – rolling with the assurance and momentum of a sleepwalker; at other times its searing asphyxia or a maniacal high end clang score of a long lost film somewhere in the murky periphery What’s coming up next for you? INTENSO have recorded their second album with Ron Pollard (TTOL) and will continue to finish mixing and mastering.

LOUIS RANDO (Malignant Monster, The Furor) How did you feel when you heard you’d been nominated? Surprised, relevant, humbled and excited.

ELLE WALSH (The Love Junkies) How did you feel when you heard you’d been nominated? It feels great to be nominated. Good to know some people like my drumming. When did you first realise you wanted to be a drummer? When I was 15 I got to play a drum kit for the first time and just had a lot of fun on them even though I couldn’t play. It then become something that I couldn’t put down. Which artist is the single biggest influence on your style? Dave Grohl... surprise, haha. What single song do you think best demonstrates what you do? Probably Mausoleum. Fill in the blank, ‘If I weren’t a drummer I’d be a ___’ ...French themed non-binary vegan activist who makes spiritual necklaces that capture positive energy from recyclable bicycle parts. Or a butcher.

FOREIGN ARCHITECTS Name of Release/Album? Fall (single)

When did you first realise you wanted to be a drummer? When I realised I couldn’t stop! That weird impulse that got me here won’t go away, I’m waiting for it to stop, but it just won’t.... Drumming was just a perfect match for me, it came easy, and I have endless time for it. It always feels ‘new’. A life full of music is the best life you can have; it’s very obvious to me after my life experience thus far. Which artist is the single biggest influence on your style? Probably Dave Lombardo and ‘80s era Slayer in general. I’m still just trying to do my version of that it seems. Charlie Benante of Anthrax as a cheeky second! What single song do you think best demonstrates what you do? My ‘thing’ is super fast and aggressive speed metal. Almost every song from my band The Furor is a gross demonstration of that. Check out Supreme Righteous Mauling from our War Upon Worship album. Fill in the blank, ‘If I weren’t a drummer I’d be a ___’ ...lost soul. But really, I’d be singer or guitar player. I love doing those too. And they don’t have to carry so much gear.

Released: 16th October 2015 Recorded: Pavement Studios and released through the A&R Department/Shock Records Describe your sound? Indie/rock Who are your biggest influences? We have a range of influences such as the Subways, The Beatles, Eskimo Joe, Birds of Tokyo, Red Hot Chili Peppers. Favourite Perth artist? Jake and the Cowboys – These guys have a killer vibe, ultra tight live show and songs that will be stuck in your head for days. We travelled to Singapore with these lads to play at a festival as part of the WA Singapore Music Exchange and were blown away by their sound. What’s coming up next for you? We are supporting Jake and the Cowboys at Jimmy’s Den for their ‘She Said’ single launch on Friday the 30th October, and we will are off to Sydney to play at the Oxford Arts Factory Music Makers Club on December 4th Where can we find your music online? iTunes

MORGAN BAIN Name of latest Single: Lift You Up Released: Sept 2015

ELLIOT SMITH

Recorded: Wastelands Studio with Joel Quartermain Describe your sound? Alternative Soul

How did you feel when you heard you’d been nominated? Happy! I’m passionate about playing in the WA music scene and it’s an honour to be nominated as part of the WAM Awards this year.

Who are your biggest influences? D’Angelo, Donny Hathaway, Bill Withers, Gary Clarke Jr

When did you first realise you wanted to be a drummer? I think I knew before I knew… anything percussive or rhythmic seemed interesting to me from a young age, but I got a drum set for Christmas when I was 12, it was a very exciting day!

What’s the general theme or feel of the release? Dark, groovy, electronic, hip hop and alternative soul. Favourite Perth artist? Timothy Nelson

Which artist is the single biggest influence on your style? Levon Helm (The Band).

album Ballet In The Badlands which challenged me in my own home if that makes sense? I like the way that Heaven’s Got A Dress Code turned out groovewise.

What single song do you think best demonstrates what you do? There are a few songs on The Chemist

Fill in the blank, ‘If I weren’t a drummer I’d be a ___’ ...full-time recreational fisherman. WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

What’s coming up next for you? After the WAM Festival Friday showcase at The Paddo on Nov 6, I’m touring the single through the Southwest (inc Blues @ Bridgetown Festival) and then over to Victoria for the Queenscliff Music Festival! Then it’s back in the studio for a new EP! Where can we find your music online? Through my website www.morganbain.com.au

NEWS

INTERVIEWS

REVIEWS

| B E AT S

LIVE

VENUES

THE FIELD Barker/Basic Mind Jimmy’s Den Saturday, October 24, 2015

THE MURLOCS Spacemanantics, The Spunloves, The Wheelers of Oz Mojos Friday, October 23, 2015 It was a hazy psych-fever dream in Fremantle on Friday night with Geelong-born rockers The Murlocs returning to Fremantle’s iconic Mojos for the western leg of their national tour in support of their new single, Rolling On. Grooving through favourites from their great debut album, Loopholes, The Murlocs were rocking confidently on stage as they swaggered through their set to an electric near capacity Mojos, and again proving themselves as a serious force in the Australian scene. Local newcomers The Wheelers Of Oz opened the night with their vintage psychedelic garage-rock sound, showcasing the reverb soaked cuts from their admirable debut album, Revivalised, with a messy urgency getting the already quite formidable crowd to shuffle and bounce. The impressive sevenpiece boasted a huge sound and their catchy songs promise to become familiar amongst the local scene in the future. Next up were The Spunloves, sharing members with the former, playing complementary tunes with less reverb and strung out jams replaced to the point ‘60s surf rock with choruses to be sung-

a-long to which got the ever growing crowd even more amped. Exhibiting what perhaps might be the new generation of local bands, the Brian Jonestown Massacre-esque sound-collage and attitude did not bore, these were two capable groups with buckets of potential. Fremantle boys Spacemanantics followed with a tight and impressive set of their unique krautrock explorations with cuts from their debut effort, Pureade’s Parade, and promising new material, the hairy five-piece got the nearly packed crowd dancing as restless bodies swayed and crashed into each under the groove. A very commanding set with some great new songs, adequately prepped the crowd for the headliners of the night. The Murlocs took the stage and immediately demanded attention with their trademark blues-tinged garage rock sound. Dancing, sweat and airborne beer ensued as the King Gizzard affiliates powered through their set, with charismatic frontman, Ambrose Kenny-Smith, crooning and screeching in his signature androgynous voice and, of course, armed with the harmonica, the four-piece smashed through old favourites such as Space Cadet and Paranoid Joy, nailing their fresh singles, Adolescence, and Rolling On, and unveiled some new tracks from their highly anticipated forthcoming LP, which, after the energy or this set, could not come soon enough. Hiccup-less, well mixed with an electric crowd-and-performer chemistry kept the atmosphere high and the vibes good. It was a successful night for the four bands and an exemplary showcase of Australia’s thriving garage scene. JAMES ENDERBY

Swedish techno luminary Axel Willner aka The Field has produced four unique and defining albums since his acclaimed 2007 debut, From Here We Go Sublime, and has continued to evolve, but this was his first appearance in Perth. Securely the enigmatic Swede for an intimate show was the fine work of Mistletone Records and Camp Doogs, who billed the night as the ‘official’ after-party for their recent weekend of music and shenanigans in the woods down south. As a bonus, main support for the night was Berlin’s Barker, an Englishman now residing at Berghain and responsible for their seminal Leisure System nights. A great choice to warm things up, after local legend Basic Mind, with a smooth DJ set of deep, percussive techno sounds that occasionally strayed into more melodic house territory. He worked things up with a heavier beat at times, but held back respectfully. Willner took the stage around 11.15pm, looking very Scandinavian in his beanie, barely lit in the minimal coloured lighting. Getting settled behind his equipment setup to the side, he spent the first five minutes very slowly building an insistent, atmospheric rhythm, with a high-hat flourish tickling the mix. The Field’s music is all about subtlety and layers, and it was 15 minutes before he dropped the first proper bass drumbeat, but subsequently never looked back. Jimmy’s Den had a darker, more clubby, vibe than its usual rockin’ scene tonight - early in his set The Field’s deep vibes, at times, struggled to translate in the open room, with his complex sound lacking the necessary definition, but the sound picked up as he went on, and soon you could feel the beat and throb of the rhythm pulsing through you. Another aspect that made Willner’s show unique and all the more impressive was that he was playing live, using only hardware, with no laptop to be seen. Instead the electronic musician utilised a selection of synthesisers, samplers and drum machines to create his layered, atmospheric tunes on the fly. Taking us on a journey through The Field tracks old and new, Willner skilfully blended his

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

Axel Willner, aka The Field

songs together. While the transitions were maybe too slow for some, his music has a proper, raw, oldschool vibe - dramatic major chords, synth stabs, repetitive patterns that ebb and flow. Just after midnight he really picked up the pace and volume, dropping his huge track, Everyday, which really raised the level in the room a notch with its heavier, trancey sounds. Then he brought things home in a big way with an epic live rendition of Over The Ice, taking it back to where it all started with the classic opening track from his debut. The cyclic dance of the vintage synth riff and twisted vocal sample had the crowd enraptured, as he milked every last drop from the tune, before waving and leaving the stage to resounding cheers as the last notes reverberated around the room. ALFRED GORMAN

Baauer lights up the crowd | Pic: Lach Parkin

BAAUER Stranger/Peter Payne Villa Nightclub Friday, October 23, 2015 The line was down the street in true Villa fashion and the door sales line was growing restless as by 11.30pm they were accepting the unfortunate fate that they weren’t going to witness a true spectacular. Warm up act Stranger saw us getting familiar with that dank hip-hop vibe with a whole lot of that Major Lazer world music feel going on too. You could hear that big drum sound but you couldn’t feel it and it was frustrating for a moment or two until I was reminded again that he was just the warm up act. He pulled out a little bit of old school electro moombahton with Diplo’s Barely Standing and had the mosh doing more than just that. The stage set up was something both interesting and problematic. They’d brought the decks down a level and into the crowd. It looked great, Baauer completely immersed in the crowd and the set, and his adoring fans were given the chance to grapple on to any part of his supremacy. However, not even two minutes into the rumble saw that colossal sound completely blacked out. Whether it was a slip of a button or to do with the tangle of cords coming out the back, the crowd was plunged into momentary dismay. He made a quick and successful recovery and continued on his way with a merry little Rustie tune - Big Catzz, cut up

with those long resonant horns in Boombox Cartel’s B2U, creating a euphoria and overall sense of ‘what is this?!’ Every bit of his Brooklyn-esque, yet welltravelled style continued to unravel as he careered us through earth shattering drops and spills. You only had to look into his face and would you know that every inch of his being was committed to creating a performance not like the previous one at the last city but one totally manicured for his audience then and there. Mixes of Satisfaction, All I do is Win, Y.A.L.A and Gas pedal were also stirred in there for good measure. Respectfully, the tempo and style of Baauer is one that is not forever encapsulating. You could see at times, a gentle lull where the zombified kids tried to continue the rinse even when they couldn’t any longer and when they eventually thought they could take a breath, in came that reverberating bass, shaking the walls and them to their senses. He threw in that Just Blaze number and got us getting high and Higher and by then we knew he would not lose. Sweaty and ruined after a gratefully extended set, he bid goodbye and left it to Peter Payne to pick up the pieces. The decision between wanting to retreat home but also give this guy a shot was made easy by his killer opener. It was this future-y tinkley thing that just morphed into a monster of grimy dubstep and song after song he continued to throw down hard into the heavy heavy wubs. Surprisingly he brought us back up and out of the depths and as a DJ showed some real talent in his ability to restore the balance. MIA CAMPBELL-FOULKES

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

X- P R E S S G U I D E

FLEETWOOD MAC, OCTOBER 30

TAME IMPALA, NOVEMBER 14 & 15

TOURS THIS FORTNIGHT ARJ BARKER 28 – 31 Regal Theatre AT THE GATES 28 Amplifier 10CC 28 Astor Theatre HOZIER 28 Belvoir Amphitheatre THOUSAND FOOT KRUTCH 28 Rosemount Hotel SAN CISCO 29 ArtBar FLEETWOOD MAC with ANGUS & JULIA STONE 30 Domain Stadium SPACE BONG 30 Rosemount Hotel 31 Mojos Bar BAD//DREEMS 30 The Odd Fellow 31 Amplifier ROCKWIZ LIVE! 31 Riverside Theatre TOMMY LITTLE 31 Dolphin Theatre DROWNING HORSE 31 Mojos Bar THE RIPTIDE MOVEMENT 31 Astor Theatre ANATHEMA 1 Rosemount Hotel SPACE BONG 1 Railway Hotel NORTHLANE 4 Metropolis Fremantle NAUGHTY BY NATURE 5 Astor Theatre MARLON WILLIAMS & THE YARRA BENDERS 5 Four5Nine Bar 6 Prince of Wales 7 Fly By Night 8 Clancy’s Dunsborough BEN OTTEWELL 5 Mojos Bar 6 Four5Nine Bar PETE MURRAY 5 Dunsborough Tavern 6 Charles Hotel 7 Fremantle Arts Centre 8 Wintersun Hotel LOW STEPPA 6 Ambar HANK MARVIN GYPSY JAZZ TRIO 6 Victoria Hall THE PREATURES 6 Caves House 7 The Leftbank & Northshore Tavern 8 Lucky Shag & Ocean Beach Hotel FLORENCE & THE MACHINE 7 Perth Arena RUBBERBANDITS 7 Capitol THE DARKNESS 7 Metropolis Fremantle YOU AM I 7 Rosemount Hotel MARLON WILLIAMS & THE YARRA BENDERS 7 Fly By Night PHILADELPHIA GRAND JURY 7 Amplifier WOODLOCK 8 Four5Nine Bar RYAN VAN POEDEROOYEN 8 John Inverarity Theatre NICO & VINZ 9 Villa NOVEMBER MARSHALL OKELL 10 Perth Blues Club 11 Indi Bar 12 Prince of Wales 13 – 15 Bridgetown RUTS DC 12 Rosemount Hotel CW STONEKING 12 Settlers Tavern 13 Prince of Wales 14 Fremantle Arts Centre THIRSTY MERC 12 Friends Restaurant 13 Boab Tavern 14 Charles Hotel 15 Ravenswood Hotel 36

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

KISSCHASY 13 Capitol RUSSELL MORRIS 13 Charles Hotel THE BENNIES 13 Rosemount Hotel TUKA 13 Amplifier 14 Mojos Bar COLD CHISEL with THE LIVING END 14 Perth Arena BEN PEARCE 14 Llama Bar TAME IMPALA 14 & 15 Belvoir Amphitheatre PIERCE BROTHERS 14 Amplifier 15 Mojos Bar NEIL DIAMOND 14 Sandalford Estate 16 Perth Arena MARIBOU STATE 15 The Court TROYE SIVAN 15 Astor Theatre STEPHEN FRY 17 & 18 Perth Convention & Exhibition Centre SHANE NICHOLSON 19 Clancy’s Dunsborough 20 Ravenswood Hotel 21 Ellington Jazz Club 22 Quindanning Hotel MATHAS 20 Babushka ODDISEE 20 Mojos Bar THE GETAWAY PLAN 20 Rosemount Hotel 21 Mojos Bar DEF LEPPARD with BABY ANIMALS & LIVE 21 Red Hill Auditorium THE BEACH BOYS 21 Kings Park JEREMY NEALE 21 Jack Rabbit Slim’s 22 Mojos Bar NILE with UNEARTH, FEED HER TO THE SHARKS & WHORETOPSY 22 Capitol JAMES REYNE 22 Kings Park SHEENA EASTON 24 Astor Theatre RON SEXSMITH with BOB EVANS & TIMOTHY NELSON 25 Rosemount Hotel KINGSWOOD 26 Settlers Tavern 27 Jack Rabbit Slims NERDLINGER 27 Amplifier 28 Camel Bar 29 Four5Nine Bar JON TOOGOOD 27 Four5Nine Bar 28 Indi Bar 29 Mojos Bar AC/DC with THE HIVES & KINGSWOOD 27 & 29 Domain Stadium UB40 28 Metropolis Fremantle SIX60 28 Astor Theatre THE MARK OF CAIN 28 Amplifier SAM SMITH 28 Perth Arena KORA 28 Rosemount Hotel STEREOSONIC ft. DIPLO, CLEAN BANDIT, ARMIN VAN BUUREN, MAJOR LAZER, PEKING DUK & more 29 Claremont Shwogrounds DECEMBER 2015 RUDIMENTAL 1 Metro City ED SHEERAN 2 NIB Stadium THE SCREAMING JETS 3 Prince of Wales 4 Settlers Tavern 5 Charles Hotel 6 Ravenswood Hotel

MSIFITS, DECEMBER 13

MONO 4 Rosemount Hotel BRITISH INDIA 4 Gloucester Park CITIZEN KAY 5 Jack Rabbit Slim’s CHRIS CORNELL 8 & 9 Perth Concert Hall TIM & ERIC 8 & 9 Astor Theatre NEVER SHOUT NEVER 10 Rosemount Hotel MY DISCO 11 Rosemount Hotel 12 Mojos Bar YELAWOLF with B WISE 11 Villa UNWRITTEN LAW with GRENADIERS 12 Capitol MATHAS 12 Disconnect Festival MY DISCO 12 Mojos Bar LITTLE SEA 12 Astor Theatre THE VANNS 12 Jack Rabbit Slim’s 12 White Star Hotel LUCINDA WILLIAMS with DAN SULTAN 13 Kings Park & Botanic Garden MISFITS 13 Rosemount Hotel SNEAKY SOUND SYSTEM 13 Gloucester Park THE AMITY AFFLICTION & A DAY TO REMEMBER 14 Perth Arena THE EXPLOITED 14 Capitol MODELS 16 Astor Theatre DREAM ON DREAMER 18 Rosemount Hotel BEN ELY 19 Four5Nine Bar NEVER SAY DIE RECORDS 18 Metro City JEBEDIAH 24 Four5Nine Bar BREAKFEST 2015 ft. STANTON WARRIORS, DANNY BYRD, STICKYBUDS, SPENDA C, HYDRAULIX & more 26 Belvoir Amphitheatre JANUARY 2016 NECK DEEP & STATE CHAMPS 6 YMCA HQ & Rosemount Hotel COURTNEY BARNETT 7 Astor Theatre 8 Southbound Festival ICEHOUSE 8 Castelli Estate, Denmark 10 Hotel Rottnest SOUTHBOUND ft. ALPINE, BIRDS OF TOKYO, BLOC PARTY. GARY CLARK JR., HILLTOP HOODS, JARRYD JAMES, SETH SENTRY, MEG MAC & more 8 – 10 Sir Stewart Bovell Park LOU DOILLON 12 Rosemount Hotel NIGHTWISH 15 Metropolis Fremantle SHORT STACK 16 Astor Theatre WALK THE MOON 21 Astor Theatre FAT BOY SLIM 22 Red Hill Auditorium THE 1975 23 HBF Stadium THE OH SEES 23 Mojo’s Bar JAMES BAY 30 Fremantle Arts Centre BOY & BEAR 30 Red Hill Auditorium FEBRUARY 2016 NICK OFFERMAN & MEGAN MULLALLY 2 & 3 Astor Theatre SOILWORK 2 Rosemount Hotel KEVIN HART 3 Perth Arena JIMMY CARR 3 Riverside Theatre

JOHN MELLENCAMP with JEWEL 6 Sandalford Estate TEX PERKINS 6 Fremantle Prison SIMPLY RED with NATALIE IMBRUGLIA 9 & 10 Kings Park & Botanic Garden SOILWORK 10 Rosemount Hotel WELCOME TO NIGHT VALE 11 Octagon Theatre, UWA DIANA KRALL 13 Kings Park & Botanic Garden FAT FREDDY’S DROP 13 Red Hill Auditorium 14 Clancy’s Dunsborough LANEWAY FESTIVAL ft. THE SMITH STREET BAND, GRIMES, HERMITUDE, FLUME, CHVRCHES, DIIV & more 14 Esplanade Reserve, Fremantle DIESEL 20 Rosemount Hotel JOSH PYKE 20 Astor Theatre THE CHAOS RAIDS 23 Amplifier BETWEEN THE BURIED & ME 25 Rosemount Hotel EFFIE 26 & 27 Astor Theatre OCEAN COLOUR SCENE 27 Capitol A$AP ROCKY 28 Metro City MARCH 2016 BELINDA CARLISLE with PSEUDO ECHO 1 Astor Theatre DAWN FRENCH 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 Riverside Theatre SUFJAN STEVENS 2 Red Hill Auditorium WE THE KINGS 3 Rosemount Hotel ADAM BRAND & THE OUTLAWS 6 Ravenswood Hotel SONGHOY BLUES 9 Astor Theatre STEVE EARLE & THE DUKES 11 Astor Theatre THE CHARLATANS 16 Capitol IAN MOSS 19 Astor Theatre A DAY ON THE GREEN ft. HOODOO GURUS, SUNNYBOYS & VIOLENT FEMMES 19 Kings Park & Botanic Garden THE WAILERS 21 Astor Theare BRYAN ADAMS 21 Kings Park & Botanic Gardens BUZZCOCKS 23 Rosemount Hotel APRIL 2016 GRAHAM BONNET 6 Amplifier BLACK SABBATH 15 Perth Arena DAMIEN LEITH 15 Astor Theatre THE STRANGLERS 23 Metropolis Fremantle TOMMY TIERNAN 25 Riverside Theatre MAY 2016 IRON MAIDEN 14 Perth Arena JUNE 2016 WES CARR 30 Albany Entertainment Centre JULY 2016 WES CARR 2 Heath Ledger Theatre

incorporating

FOR ALL WEEKLY EVENTS DOWNLOAD OUR FREE MAGAZINE APP AVAILABLE FROM

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

JACOB DIAMOND, WEDNESDAY 28

SAN CISCO, THURSDAY 29

W E E K LY WEDNESDAY 28/10 AMBAR CACTUS WEDNESDAYS AMPLIFIER At The Gates ASTOR THEATRE 10cc BABUSHKA Segue Safari moistoyster Hip Priest Yokohomos BELVOIR AMPHITHEATRE Hozier Rhodes THE BIRD Soul Stirring 3 ft. Ben Taaffe Henry Maxwell Marc Marcus Myles Boy CHOO CHOO’S SMALL BAR Unamped Sessions CIVIC HOTEL Open Mic Night CLANCY’S CANNING BRIDGE Songwriter’s Night ft. Shane Corry CLANCY’S CITY BEACH Commander Cody’s Seaside Quiz CLANCY’S FREMANTLE Chet Leonard’s Bingoteque CLUB KAHUNA CHEEK DEFECTORS BAR Lazarus ft. Zerodent ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB WAAPA Graduation Recitals THE FLYING SCOTSMAN Sound Tracks ft. DJ Silence FREMANTLE TOWN HALL Katie Noonan MKO HULA BULA BAR Island Nite INDI BAR Club Acoustica JACK RABBIT SLIM’S LoudPvck JIMMY’S DEN High Rollerz LANEWAY LOUNGE Jodie Tes METROPOLIS FREMANTLE NextGen ft. Party Thieves MOJO’S BAR Back To The Alley ft. Crash Creole The Pale Moon Riders The Bonekickers THE MOON CAFE Pippie Lemon Jacob Diamond MUSTANG BAR Wild Wednesday ft. Frenzy DJ Giles NEWPORT HOTEL Newport Wednesdays Zombie Ball ft. None The Less THE REPUBLIC Street ft. Bezwun 459 ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Mom’s Spaghetti Grand Final ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Thousand Foot Krutch Lights of Berlin Available At The Corner ROSEMOUNT HOTEL (BEER GARDEN) Student Night ft. Anton Maz SETTLERS TAVERN Margaret River PS “Rock Fest” Fundraiser UNIVERSAL BAR Elephants in Paris X-WRAY CAFE Amber Fresh THURSDAY 29/10 AMPLIFIER Last Night — Halloween Party ft. Emberville Sanctions Sanzu ARCADE NIGHTCLUB Lowpitch ART BAR San Cisco ASTOR LOUNGE The Big Hoo Haa Holiday Series Episode 1 Halloween Edition THE BIRD Shit Narnia Nerve Quakes Laurel Fixations Mung Dahl

DEFECTORS BAR Songwriters Club ft. AJ Wigwams Tim Gordon Jacob Diamond Todd Pickett DUNSBOROUGH TAVERN Open Mic Night ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Anna-Kat Collective Giane Hladin Quintet Night Cap Sessions HULA BULA BAR Rhum Club INDI BAR Open Mic LANEWAY LOUNGE A Boy Named Cash LLAMA BAR BUMP MALT SUPPER CLUB Playroom ft. Penny King Quintet MOJO’S BAR Destroy Destruction #3 ft. Zyklus Aborted Tortoise The Reptilians Cigars of the Pharaoh MUSTANG BAR Thumpin’ Thursday ft. Decoy DJ James Mac NEWPORT HOTEL Newport Record Club - Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours” ft. Timothy Nelson Lucy Peach Elliot Smith (The Chemist) NICHE BAR HIDEOUT PIER HOTEL Stan Walker PRINCE OF WALES Jetpack 459 ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Lost For Reason The Drools Tell The Shaman Small Town Heroes ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Halloween Edition Rock n Roll Karaoke SETTLERS TAVERN Open Mic Night with Claire Warnock SUBIACO ARTS CENTRE Graeme Connors SWALLOW BAR Jazz Harp Duo UNIVERSAL BAR Off The Record X-WRAY CAFE Rupert Guenther FRIDAY 30/10 AMBAR Habstrakt (FRA) AMPLIFIER Bad Noose Fridays #3 Big House Edition ft. The Others Cursed Earth Flowermouth Bounty Hunter ASTOR THEATRE Lior THE AVIARY Sam Spencer Philly Blunt BABUSHKA Maundz BASSENDEAN HOTEL The High Learys Stillwater Giants The Community Chest Flooded Palace Little Lord Street Band THE BIRD Dianas Leure The Body Boys THE BOSTON Bri Clark Joni In he Moon Hannah Rosa Connor Ross CLANCY’S CANNING BRIDGE DJ Boogie CLANCY’S FREMANTLE The Zydecats DOMAIN STADIUM Fleetwood Mac Angus & Julia Stone ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Allira Wilson R ‘n B Motown Party with Chelsea Cullen GEISHA Fur Coat Shadow Bros. Nathan Francis Richard Lee GILKISONS DANCE STUDIO Halloween Fest 2015 GINGER NIGHTCLUB Mondo Fridays GOLD BAR Fox Fridays

THE GOOD SHEPHERD Throwback HULA BULA Friday Frendzee INDI BAR Brufield DAVs JACK RABBIT SLIM’S Halloweird JIMMY’S DEN Jake & The Cowboys THE LIBRARY DORCIA Haunted Mansion Halloween MARGARET RIVER FOOTBALL CLUB Wolfpack TRS Coffin Wolf Naked Wizard Hope Street Scyatic Stumped METRO CITY Metric Halloween ft. Shadow Sable WoolyMammoth (USA) MOJO’S BAR Morgan Bain Joe Mungovan Teischa Old Blood MUSTANG BAR Oz Big Band Flash Nat & The Action Men NEWPORT HOTEL Tiki Beats THE ODD FELLOW Bad//Dreems Green Buzzard PICA The Music of Eliane Radigue 459 ROSEMOUNT HOTEL The City Views Joel Algeri (solo) The Secret Buttons The Beautiful Losers ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Drowning Horse Space Bong Craig McElhinney Alzabo SETTLERS TAVERN Valdaway STATE THEATRE CENTRE Courtyard Club ft. Tired Lion The Spunloves DJ Andrew Sinclair SUBIACO ARTS CENTRE Lawrence Mooney UNIVERSAL BAR Nightmoves THE VELVET LOUNGE Living Dying Desert Sonnes The Dead Capital Dry Dry River VILLA A Sweaty Halloween ft. Jai Wolf (US) Yolanda Be Cool Crooked Colours Mickey Kojak Porsches SATURDAY 31/10 AIR Hollywood Halloween AMANI BAR EMBASSY AMBAR The Underground Haunt AMPLIFIER Bad//Dreems Green Buzzard ASTOR LOUNGE The Riptide Movement THE AVIARY Zel Bfix BABUSHKA King of the Travellers Blackjack Dr. Bumface The Moylers THE BIRD Hallo Kween ft. Sex Panther Hootenanny Abacaxuva HAMJAM Pond DJs CLANCY’S CITY BEACH The Rogue Gypsies CLANCY’S FREMANTLE The Littlest Fox (Album Launch) Justin Walshe COCONUT CLUB Coconut Club ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Black Cat Masquerade FLYRITE Father FRAYED Frayed GEISHA Halloween Grave Rave GOLD BAR Pure Gold THE GOOD SHEPHERD Chocolate Jesus Halloween HOTEL ROTTNEST Adrian Wilson

MORGAN BAIN, FRIDAY 30 HULA BULA Zombie Safan` HUSH Halloween Street Party JIMMY’S DEN Declan Florez LLAMA BAR TILT LOST SOCIETY Chalk Saturday Halloween METROPOLIS FREMANTLE The Haunted Big House MINT The Addams Family Halloween MOJO’S BAR Drowning Horse Space Bong Foxes Self Harm THE MONASTERY HALLOWEEN MUSTANG BAR Halloween Party ft. Wal*Tones Milhouse DJ James Mac NORTH FREMANTLE BOWLING CLUB Nicola Milan & The Stray Cat Club Bang Bang Betty & The H-Bombs PARAMOUNT Halloween ft. Some Blonde Adam Kelly Jordan PRINCE OF WALES Valdaway RAILWAY HOTEL Ascending Fall Just Numbers Last Week’s Heroes Once Almost Never Rukkus ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Blood Rock Festival 2015 ft. Chainsaw Hookers King Parrot Blazin’ Entrails Puck Scalphunter Legs Electric Tempest Rising Wolfpack Caballeros Losing Grip Ganbaru Suburban & Coke & more SETTLERS TAVERN Halloween Party ft. Ensemble Formidable SUBIACO ARTS CENTRE Lawrence Mooney SWALLOW BAR DJ T King UNIVERSAL BAR Soul Corporation URBAN ORCHARD Bar Pop’s Halloween Bash WOLF LANE Halloween Howls SUNDAY 1/11 THE AVIARY Philly Blunt NDorse CLANCY’S CITY BEACH Limelights Jazz DEFECTORS BAR Open Sesame – Open Mic Night ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB The Juliet Letters FLYRITE MVMNT FREMANTLE ARTS CENTRE Sunday Music ft. Timothy Nelson HULA BULA BAR Tropical Sundaze KALAMUNDA PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE Lawrence Mooney METRO CITY Ferry Corsten Exis Illuminor Darren D. MOJO’S BAR Make A Dent ft. Red Engine Caves Old Blood Leure Elli Schoen Brian Rice Dalton Lee NEWPORT HOTEL Wolfpack The Bob Gordons Blindspot The Sperts Fastlve NORFOLK HOTEL Steamboat Sundays NORTH FREMANTLE BOWLING CLUB Open Mic RAILWAY HOTEL Howl-O-Ween Dog Rescue Fundraiser ft. Kenny Austin Tani Walker

Metaphusika Zeitgeist Haylz Laurina Westcoast Blastfest II ft. Captain Cleanoff The Kill Space Bong Facegrinder Fetus Fertiliser Crawhammer SexPiss ROEBUCK BAY HOTEL Stan Walker ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Anathema Skygazer ROSEMOUNT HOTEL (BEER GARDEN) Sunshine Brothers SETTLERS TAVERN Sunday Session ft. Chief Monkey UNIVERSAL BAR Retrofit MONDAY 2/11 ASTOR THEATRE They Might Be Giants The Community Chest CLANCY’S CANNING BRIDGE Scotty’s Quiz Night ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB WAAPA Graduation Recitals THE FLYING SCOTSMAN Infinite Jest MOJOS BAR Wide Open Mic ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Quiz Night TUESDAY 3/11 THE BIRD Barefaced Stories: StoryBATTLE 2015 Final CLANCY’S FREMANTLE Quiz Night ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB WAAPA Jazz Graduation Recitals HERDSMAN LAKE TAVERN The One Thing Music Quiz HOTEL ROTTNEST Howie Morgan Duo MOJO’S BAR Rough Daddy Dougals Casino Laurel Fixation Regular Boys NATIONAL HOTEL Open Mic Night NEWPORT HOTEL Quiz Show PERTH BLUES CLUB Lez Karski Dave Brewer Matty T Wall ROSEMOUNT HOTEL (BEER GARDEN) Little Lord Street Band TORCH BAR Quiz Meisters WEDNESDAY 4/11 AMBAR CACTUS WEDNESDAYS ASTOR THEATRE Oliver Dragojevic THE BIRD Awesome Tapes from Africa & Jamie Tiller CHOO CHOO’S SMALL BAR Unamped Sessions CIVIC HOTEL Open Mic Night CLANCY’S CANNING BRIDGE Songwriter’s Night CLANCY’S CITY BEACH Commander Cody’s Seaside Quiz CLANCY’S FREMANTLE Chet Leonard’s Bingoteque CLUB KAHUNA CHEEK ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Teischa THE FLYING SCOTSMAN Sound Tracks ft. DJ Clunk HULA BULA BAR Island Nite INDI BAR Club Acoustica JIMMY’S DEN The Depth Zone ft. Temple Lost Tempo Maxacre Gambol Jazza Ellicit Mikura Anger Point METRO CITY Natiruts METROPOLIS FREMANTLE Northlane August Burns Red Like Moths to Flames Buried in Verona Ocean Grove

DROWNING HORSE, SATURDAY 31 MOJO’S BAR Klatsch ft. The Jolly Boys Blood Groove Heavylove Buzz Aldrin THE MOON CAFE Katt Nelson Jane Azzopardi MUSTANG BAR Wild Wednesday ft. Blue Gene DJ Giles NEWPORT HOTEL Newport Wednesdays — Full Moon Party PRINCE OF WALES Stan Walker THE REPUBLIC Street ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Rock N Roll Karaoke with Magnus Danger Magnus ROSEMOUNT HOTEL (BEER GARDEN) Student Night ft. Anton Maz SETTLERS TAVERN Open Mic Night with Claire Warnock UNIVERSAL BAR Mint Jazz Band THURSDAY 5/11 AMPLIFIER Last Night - Jumanji Jungle Party ft. Xenobiotic Dawn of Leviathan Push Me Under ARCADE NIGHTCLUB Lowpitch ASTOR THEATRE Naughty by Nature THE BIRD Shake DEFECTORS BAR Songwriters Club DUNSBOROUGH TAVERN Pete Murray Garrett Kato ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Cliff Lynton Night Cap Sessions HULA BULA BAR Rhum Club INDI BAR Open Mic LLAMA BAR BUMP MOJO’S BAR Ben Ottewell Buddy MUSTANG BAR Thumpin’ Thursday ft. Kickstart DJ James Mac NEWPORT HOTEL Newport Record Club - Radiohead’s ‘OK Computer’ THE ODD FELLOW Chicks with Decks 459 ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Marlon Williams & The Yarra Benders Ben Salter ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Generation Why? ft. Crash Rat Renegade Girl Two For Flinching Murderbirds SWALLOW BAR Ophelia UNIVERSAL BAR Off The Record FRIDAY 6/11 AIR Brody Jenner Devin Lucien AMBAR The XL ft. Low Steppa (UK) AMPLIFIER Orpheus Omega Silent Knight ASTOR THEATRE Johnny Cash: The Concert ft. Daniel Thompson Stuie French The Tennessee Studs BABUSHKA 2015 WAM Festival ft. Pool Boy Aslan JamYang Phocal BASSENDEAN HOTEL WAM Festival ft. Trigger Jackets Shimmergloom The Witches Oakland Gold Suns THE BIRD The Ocean Party (Album Launch) Methyl Ethel Verge Collection CAPITOL Clique CAVES HOUSE The Preatures

WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

THE OCEAN PARTY, FRIDAY 6

CHARLES HOTEL Pete Murray Garrett Kato CLANCY’S CANNING BRIDGE DJ Boogie CLANCY’S FREMANTLE The Fling ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB WAMI Jazz Celebration Night Late Night Neo Soul ft. Zoe Golovoda FLY BY NIGHT Hank Marvin Gypsy Jazz THE GAME SPORTS BAR RVLTN 003 GEISHA Daryl B (UK) GILKISONS DANCE STUDIO Oh Gosh Launch ft. Flava D. (UK) GINGER NIGHTCLUB Mondo Fridays GOLD BAR Fox Fridays HULA BULA Friday Frendzee INDI BAR Indi Sounds Showcase ft. Stillwater Giants Riley Pearce Wanderlust The Durongs Nicky Sandover JACK RABBIT SLIM’S The Pilerats Records Showcase JIMMY’S DEN Drunk Mums THE LIBRARY SNEAKY METROPOLIS FREMANTE Matt Corby MOJO’S BAR Fisherman Style #113 ft. Earthlink Sound DJ Corby KBI Sound Crew Killa Elite MUSTANG BAR Oz Big Band Flash Nat & The Action Men NEWPORT HOTEL Tiki Beats THE ODD FELLOW Woodlock David Lazarus Helen Shanahan PRINCE OF WALES Marlon Williams & The Yarra Benders RAILWAY HOTEL Wrong Side of the Tracks 2015 ft. Acid Baby Jesus (GRC) Gunns Spacemanantics Kitchen People The Spunloves The Darling Rangers The Pissedcolas Aborted Tortoise The Chlorines Thee Loose Hounds 459 ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Ben Ottewell & guests ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Rosemount Rumble ft. Foreign Architects Midnight Mules Stop the Georgians Lights of Berlin The Shops Late Night Hysterics SETTLERS TAVERN On The Level SOGGYBONES PERTH WAM Festival Showcase ft. Foxes Puck Leeches Blackwitch STATE THEATRE CENTRE Courtyard Club ft. Ben Witt Quartet Gunns The High Learys Rachael Dease Ruby Boots UNIVERSAL BAR Nightmoves YMCA HQ Sweet Oblivion #7 WAM Festival Showcase Special ft. Spire Figurehead Sydnee Carter Shannon Isla Ella E. SATURDAY 7/11 AMANI BAR EMBASSY AMPLIFIER Philadelphia Grand Jury Hightails ASTOR THEATRE Buddy in Concert ft. Scott “Buddy” Cameron

BABUSHKA Choking Stanley (EP Launch) Flyball Gov’nor Discordians Reef & The Riff Raff The Quivers BASSENDEAN HOTEL Trigger Jackets Shimmergloom The Witches Oakland Gold Suns THE BIRD WAM Festival Saturday Spectacular ft. Will Stoker & The Embers Lanark Silver Hills Pyschedelic Porn Crumpets Hyla High Horse Verge Collection Hip Priest Segue Safari The Pissedcolas THE BOSTON WAM Saturday Spectacular ft. Scalphunter The Floors Chainsaw Hookers The Decline The Shakeys The Bob Gordons Yokohomos The Coalminers Sect Thee Loose Hounds Nerve Quakes Catzilla CLANCY’S FREMANTLE Minnie Marks Jordan McRobbie COCONUT CLUB Coconut Club CONSERVATORY ROOFTOP BAR Dale Howard (UK) ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB The Grain Melted Sundae EZRA POUND WAM Festival Saturday Spectacular ft. John Safari Good Company DJs Rok Riley M.O.V.E. Crew Methods Of Movement DJs FLY BY NIGHT Marlon Williams & The Yarra Benders FLYRITE WAM Festival Saturday Spectacular ft. Little Skye Ah Trees Husband The Tommyhawks Dan Cribb & The Isolated Little Death Simone & Girlfunkle Childsaint Patient Little Sister The Brow FRAYED Frayed FREMANTLE ARTS CENTRE Pete Murray Garrett Kato THE GAME SPORTS BAR Into the Limelite DJ Comp. GEISHA Fine Art GILKISONS DANCE STUDIO Conrank (UK) Zeke Beats GOLD BAR Pure Gold THE GOOD SHEPHERD Chocolate Jesus HULA BULA Sailor Saturdays JIMMY'S DEN WAM Saturday Spectacular ft. Blackwalll Reach Foam Flowermouth Skullcave Black Stone From The Sun Spilt Cities Flying Embers Graphic Characters The Worst The Drools Sail On Sail On THE LEFT BANK The Preatures LLAMA BAR TILT LOST SOCIETY Chalk Saturday METROPOLIS FREMANTLE The Darkness MOJO’S BAR Felicity Groom Hootenanny Benjamin Witt Rabbit Island Blood Groove THE MONASTERY Remixed

FELICITY GROOM, SATURDAY 7 THE MOON CAFE WAM Spectacular ft. Joel Barker China Doll Benny Mayhem Jordan McRobbie Amy Sugars Bri Clark Cubs Alex Brittan Tashi Minky G MUSTANG BAR WAM Saturday Spectacular ft. Helen Shanahan Little Lord Street Band Davey Craddock & The Spectacles Railway Bell John Bennett Belle Harvey Leaf & Crown NORTHSHORE TAVERN The Preatures PERTH ARENA Florence & The Machine Jack Ladder & The Dreamlanders PRINCE OF WALES Drunk Mums ROSEMOUNT HOTEL You Am I Red Jezebel SCARBOROUGH SPORTSMEN’S CLUB Michael Jackson Tribute SETTLERS TAVERN Woodlock SWALLOW BAR Razor Jack UNIVERSAL BAR WAM Festival Saturday Spectacular ft. The China Blue Experiment The Regular Hunters Leoh Girl York Teij Sidewalk Diamonds Flooded Palace Jeffs Dead WILSON ROE ST. CAR PARK WAM Saturday Spectacular Block Party ft. Command Q Tired Lion Hamjam Methyl Ethel GRRL PAL Our Man In Berlin Lower Spectrum Fait Rag N Bone Lilt The Merindas Syllabollix Randa & The Soul Kingdom Bryte MC SUNDAY 8/11 ASTOR THEATRE Matt Corby THE BIRD Dirty Chai (live) CLANCY’S CITY BEACH Limelights Jazz CLANCY’S DUNSBOROUGH Marlon Williams & The Yarra Benders Ben Salter DEFECTORS BAR Open Sesame – Open Mic Night ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Karl Morgan FLYRITE MVMNT FREMANTLE ARTS CENTRE Sunday Music ft. Weapon Is Sound Odette Mercy & Her Soul Atomics HULA BULA BAR Tropical Sundaze THE LUCKY SHAG The Preatures

MOJO’S BAR Sunday Session ft. Dilip n the Davs King of the Travellers NEWPORT HOTEL The Ocean Party Dream Rimmy Erasers Big Jesus NORFOLK HOTEL Steamboat Sundays NORTH FREMANTLE BOWLING CLUB Open Mic OCEAN BEACH HOTEL The Preatures 459 ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Woodlock David Lazarus Helen Shanahan ROSEMOUNT HOTEL (BEER GARDEN) Sunshine Brothers SETTLERS TAVERN Sunday Session ft. Empire-Acoustic SWALLOW BAR Robbie Jalapeno UNIVERSAL BAR Retrofit WINTERSUN HOTEL Pete Murray Garrett Kato YMCA HQ Selekt Few Graphic LSD & The Missus Rob Shaker Callum Presbury Charley Caruso MONDAY 9/11 ASTOR THEATRE The Tea Party BABUSHKA Open Mic Night CLANCY’S CANNING BRIDGE Scotty’s Quiz Night CLANCY’S FREMANTLE Shanty Club ft. The Lost Quays ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB WAAPA Jazz Graduation Recitals THE FLYING SCOTSMAN Infinite Jest — 50 First Jokes with Andrew Portelli MOJOS BAR Wide Open Mic ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Quiz Night TUESDAY 10/11 CLANCY’S CITY BEACH From the Sea CLANCY’S FREMANTLE Quiz Night ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB WAAPA Jazz Graduation Recitals HERDSMAN LAKE TAVERN The One Thing Music Quiz MOJO’S BAR Floppy Aeroplane ft. Pool Boy The Limbs Marlinspike Star Cleaner NATIONAL HOTEL Open Mic Night NEWPORT HOTEL Quiz Show PERTH BLUES CLUB Marshall Okell & The Pride Old Blood Eddie Boyd & The Phatapillars ROSEMOUNT HOTEL (BEER GARDEN) Little Lord Street Band SCARBOROUGH COMMUNITY CENTRE Monk Party TORCH BAR Quiz Meisters

FEATURED GIG

WILL STOKER & THE EMBERS

WAM SATURDAY SPECTACULAR

VARIOUS VENUES AROUND NORTHBRIDGE SATURDAY NOVEMBER 7 37

SOCIAL PICS | VENUES | CLUBS | PUBS

AMPLIFIER CAPITOL

JACK RABBIT SLIM’S

ARCADE NIGHTCLUB

THE COURT

MUSIC GEAR & TECHNOLOGY

CLASSIFIEDS

DUNLOP LOK STRAP

Gear and tech reviews by Chris Gibbs

Dunlop Lok Strap

PRODUCTION SERVICES

CD & DVD MANUFACTURE Check out our latest CD & DVD specials online at www. procopy.com.au 9375 3902 MATRIX PRODUCTIONS AUSTRALIA Lighting, staging, sound systems, smoke machines, night club FX, intelligent lighting, strobes & mirror balls, crowd barriers, video projectors. 9371 1551 RECORDING STUDIOS

ALAN DAWSON’S WITZEND RECORDING STUDIO Prof quality albums or demos, large live room, experienced engineer, analog to digital transfers, mastering. Alan 0407 989 128 www. witzendstudios.com ANALOG MASTERING VINTAGE TAPE, TUBES & TRANSFORMERS with the latest state of the art digital converters. Clients include: Melody’s Echo Chamber, Pond, Gossling, Knife Party, 38

Although there are many types of guitar strap locking systems on the market, most models involve replacing the original strap pins on a guitar and replacing them with the locking versions. While this isn’t a particularly big deal, the permanency of that particular upgrade presents two possible issues: the inability to remove the strap and locking device quickly (for example if the strap was to be used with another guitar, or was required for ongoing work while a guitar is in for repairs or servicing) and the modification of the instrument itself, which many guitarists may not be keen on, particularly in the case of vintage guitars or potentially collectible guitars where keeping all original parts intact is a must. The Dunlop Lok Strap solves this potential problem by providing a non-permanent, easy-to-fit solution. Each Lok Strap is built from sturdy plastic and is essentially built from two contacted rotating discs. To fit them, all that is required from the user is to rotate the top disc counter-clockwise to fit the device over a guitar’s strap pin (with strap already attached), then rotate the top disc clockwise, which closes the gap between the Lok Strap and the strap pin for a tight, reliable fit. Each set comes with three Lok Straps,

Felicity Groom, The Floors, Jeff Martin & The Panics. World class facility, World class results. Www.poonshead.com. 9339 4791 ANDY’S STUDIO International multi award winning songwriter / producer. No band required. Broadcast quality. A songwriter’s paradise. Ph 9364 3178 GOLDDUST Production Mixing, recording and composition. Leederville $80 p/h. 0408 097 407 RECORDING MIXING MASTERING PRODUCING Fremantle location. Call Pete Kitchen Cooked Records. Ph 0407 363 764 / 9336 3764 REVOLVER SOUND STUDIO Ph 9272 7505. www.revolverstudio.com.au

DONNER TUTTI LOVE CHORUS PEDAL

Donner Tutti Love Chorus Pedal

only two are required for a standard guitar so thrifty players will note that the purchase of two sets at the RRP of $7.95 will lock down straps on three instruments. Dunlop Lok Strap sets are available at most good music stores. TUITION

***GUITAR LESSONS*** All styles, all levels. Children & adults. Beg to adv. AMEB and WAAPA accreditation.Online bookings. Cliff Lynton Guitar Institute. Mt Lawley 9342 3484/ www.clifflynton.com **THE VOICE COACH SINGING TEACHER** Let my 30 years experience give you the quality coaching and technical advice you need to live your dream. All styles and ages welcome. Home studio and mobile services available.Call for more information 0407 260 762

REHEARSAL STUDIOS

GUITAR TUITION Gibson Ave GuitarTuition. BIBRA LAKE REHEARSAL STUDIO Air Over 35 yrs exper. All ages, all levels. Phone Conditioned Room. Great Facilities. Superior sound to hear yourself and your band. 10 mins Ian Wilson on 9403 3212 or 0450019080. ian. wilson.repairs@gmail.com from Freo. Phone Nick: 0410 485 588. WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

Unquestionably leading the charge in superaffordable micro pedals, Donner has a model of effect available for almost all standard guitar applications. One of the more impressivesounding models on offer is the Tutti Love. As with most micro pedals the Tutti Love relies on a combination of full-sized (the rate control) and mini-sized (level and depth controls) dials to make effective use of the limited footprint this device leaves. Aside from that, there’s the standard on/off switch, input and output jacks, and a power adaptor jack (micro pedals do not have a battery option due to their size). With true bypass switching and a lush, authentic chorus effect, there’s a lot to love about this simple but highly effective pedal, especially when the price matches the size at around $49. Vi s i t d o n n e rd e a l .co m fo r o n l i n e purchasing options.