Speaker Leaker

Now please forgive the obvious signs of my ‘Old Person Syndrome’ rearing its ugly head, but the Big Day Out hype made me do it!  With the release of the line up last week my suspicions have been confirmed that BDO is nothing more than a (very lucrative) music sham these days. 

Let’s take a look at the lamest excuse for a recycled line up I’ve ever seen.  A line up that has all the fluoro clad, southern cross sporting young ‘uns in a tizz and has even managed to invoke a single ticket sale on eBay in excess of $15,000,000 (yes, I’m sure that dude will really pay up at the end of that auction).  First of all we have the mighty Muse and Lily Allen who are currently taking a break from yachting and sunning themselves in tropical destinations to spearhead a campaign against illegal downloading.  The poor blighters claim to be left minesweeping the gutters due to ‘poor’ record sales, the only action… target your fans who pay hundreds in concert tickets and merchandise and get them locked up!  I digress.

So we have Muse (also from BDO 2004 & 2007) and Lily Allen (BDO 2007) joining forces with the likes of Kasabian (BDO 2007), Dizzee Rascal (BDO 2008), Rise Against (BDO 2005), Powderfinger (BDO 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2005), Eskimo Joe (BDO 2002, 2005, 2007), Grinspoon (BDO 2000, 2002, 2005, 2008) to bring you a day that is quite likely to scare you off attending a festival ever again.  To balance it out there are some acts who will bring something new to the table such as Ladyhawke, The Temper Trap and Bluejuice… but to be honest, the side shows are the way forward for the select few acts that we haven’t all seen a thousand times.  Leave the bogans to the BDO, they’d faithfully attend even if Aqua and Rik Astley were the only acts performing.  The line up has become irrelevant to BDO’s success, and the latest line up is the proof!

If you’re looking for some exceptional music, I think it’s time to look to the past.  Sydney has some fantastic gigs coming up from musicians who have played a vital part in shaping the most original and influential subcultures going, and are responsible in part for the majority of tunes that get you dancing at the World Bar’s ‘Teenage Kicks’!  My current top picks for upcoming old school gigs are the UK Subs (where else can you hear Santa being called a geriatric cunt?), The Buzzcocks (total legends and like Santa, geriatric cunts) and The Pixies (without whom, Nirvana would never have been).  Take my word for it, once you’ve been to one of these gigs and seen these masters at work and experienced the kind of atmosphere that they attract, you will never waste your time and money on Big Day Out again!  And if you do feel the need for some festival love, check out Playground Weekender, what a weekend indeed.

Perhaps I listened to too much angry music today?

K

UK SUBS
Excelsior Hotel
Thursday 8th and Friday 9th October

BUZZCOCKS
The Forum
Friday 20th November

PLAYGROUND WEEKENDER
Del Rio Riverside Resort, Wiseman’s Ferry
From Thursday 18th February

THE PIXIES
Hordern Pavillion
Sunday 14th and Monday 15th March

In 1984 Anvil performed with the likes of Bon Jovi, Scorpions, Whitesnake and Micael Schenker Group at the Super Rock festival in Japan.  All of these bands went on to sell millions of records… except one.

At fourteen, they made a pact to rock together forever.  They meant it.  The solemn oath taken between a teenage Steve ‘Lips’ Kudlow and Robb Reiner is what spawned the relentless metal machine, ‘Anvil’.  Thirty-six years and twelve albums later, they are performing in dingy bars to crowds of at least double figures.

Along came Sacha Gervasi who has turned it all around for the boys.  Gervasi’s rockumentary “Anvil! The story of Anvil”, portrays the struggle of Lips and Robb as they strive to make a living out of rocking for all eternity.  This film is the opportunity that Anvil have been patiently waiting for all their lives… its official… they have quit their day jobs.  I caught up with the guys to find out how full time rocking at 51 years old is treating them.

How did the making of the film come about?

Robb:  Sacha was a fan.  He was a 15 year old kid when we met him and we just became friends.  We took him on tour with us and showed him a lot of things that a kid of that age doesn’t usually get to see.  Eventually, we kind of lost touch.  Then he came back into our lives in 2005 as a filmmaker.  We had no idea that he’d become a Hollywood mogul.

He found out that we’d never stopped rocking and our story and existence inspired him.  He put it to us that he wanted to make the film and tell our story.  And it’s great, because this whole thing comes from a fan.

Lips:  It’s just so surreal how that lunatic kid turned into that movie guy!  It’s amazing!

How do you feel about the comparisons to ‘Spinal Tap’?

Robb: Well the innuendo’s are intentionally there but there’s no way to get around it.

Spinal Tap is what it was.  We’re real, so it’s pretty different.

Were you nervous that the comedy aspect of the film could jeopardise your credibility?

Robb:  No, We trusted Sacha with everything.  And he only wanted to help the band make the best, honest portrayal of the story.  Because our life is hilarious, we live a real hilarious life.  And the sporadic, spastic shit that happens is what we love about it.  And the first 20 minutes of the movie, that’s really what you see, but as it goes on it gets more serious and becomes a real emotional journey, a rollercoaster.

With a happy ending too!  How was that gig in Tokyo?

Lips: How did it look?

Through the tears of joy, it looked amazing!

Robb:  Well we didn’t know it would be big. We were just told we’re on at 11.30am and they kept all the people outside, so we just thought we’d be playing to nobody.  But Sacha knew it was gonna rock because he went outside and saw 20,000 people being held back.  When he came back in, he was crying from happiness, but we thought he was crying because no one was there.  He didn’t say anything to us.  We didn’t think anyone was there because Japanese crowds don’t make any noise until it’s announced that the band is on stage.  It was a very pleasant experience.

In the beginning of the film, Lemmy [of Motorhead] put your lack of success down to ‘not being in the right place at the right time’…

Robb:  Because you really do have to be at the right place, at the right time.  And for the first time in our careers, we are at the right place at the right time.

Do you think the film has a lot to do with that?

Robb:  Absolutely, it changed everything.

Lips:  Well the film is the right place at the right time.  And the other aspect is the fact that we’ve got 13 albums.  Not 3.  You’re much better placed, that if it’s going to happen, that it happens when you’ve got 13 albums as opposed to having 2 albums.

Did you make the money back from ‘This is 13′ and pay back your sister?  [Robb's sister funded the album]

Robb: Yep, pretty much.  We’ve taken care of her.  She’s such a sweetheart.  Family’s real important shit!

Did you ever think of giving up on Anvil?

Robb: No.  Never.  What for?  Just to put it back together a few years later?  What cos we needed to be more depressed?  Why do that?  We just never ever considered stopping rocking.

What kept you going?

Robb: The passion, the love, and because we just really love to play and make music.  And because of the fans.  We’ve had thousands and thousands of fans through our lives who love the band, and wait for new records.  So there are lots of reasons why we keep going.

Lips: But always living for the dream, in the hope that you’re going to be discovered and live the dream… which is happening now.

You’re coming out for Soundwave Festival next year?

Robb: Yeah, we’re looking forward to it, we’ve heard from everyone that it’s a great rocking festival, and it’s going to be our first time playing here in Australia.  So yeah, I can’t wait!

What advice would you give to aspiring bands who are struggling like you guys did?

Robb: You’ve gotta do it for the right reasons.

Lips: You’ve gotta have the passion, really authentic passion.  You’ve got to do it because you want to be a performer.

Robb: You’ve really got to be happy with doing that.  Not because you want to make $20 million and wanna have every hot chick in the world.  Those are the wrong reasons, and they’re shortlived.  Those things will come and go.  A lot of people are just hit and run ‘I came here to make my money and now I’m out of it’, that’s just not the right reason.

Lips:  You gotta be a lifer!

Robb:  It’s for the fun, if the fun were ever to leave, I wouldn’t be doing it.  It’s very important.  But you have to derive fun out of it.

You have such a positive attitude you could derive fun out of anything!

Lips: Well it’s better than working at the catering place [Childrens Choice Catering where Lips served Pizza and Shepherds Pie to kids].  The day jobs are gone now.  We’re full time now.  Things have really changed.

I loved the scenes in the film where you became star struck.  How do you relate to your fans?

Robb: Fans are friends, there’s no difference.

Lips: When you get to meet some of your rock idols, it’s like being a kid.  We went and met Buddy Rich and we were like a couple of kids, we were so excited that he was in the building.  When we met him we were so shocked that he was saying ‘Yeah, it’s really cool man’ we thought, wow, he talks like us!  There’s this perception thing that he’d be a bit square, but he was just like us.  This 67 year old man and he’s talking like he’s 25.

What’s next for Anvil?

Robb: We’ll be touring the UK, going to Japan, then back to America.  We’re just going to continue rocking, we don’t know where this is taking us, but it’s just making us more popular.  So we’re just enjoying the ride.

K

I’m sure this fact could never be disputed, but Teenage Kicks at The World Bar are the absolute masters of throwing an indie party, but what happens when they push the boat out is a truly unforgettable night.  Last time it was Mani of Primal Scream and The Stone Roses, this time, the freaky dancing legend Bez, The Happy Mondays’ favourite party boy.

Fresh off a flight and seven hour boozing session with Mondays in a Tokyo airport, Bez had time for a quick power nap whilst resident Teenage Kicks DJ’s riled up the crowd.  Finally, as the clock struck midnight the time had come to bring Manchester to Sydney’s Kings Cros.  As Mick Jones dropped all the indie classics you could hope for, Bez took up his role as MC - namely shouting random Mancism’s over the mic, showcasing his famous moves and treating us all to a little more cow bell!  But more than anything, Bez was there to party - and that he did!  The manc arms were up in the crowd as far as the eye could see and the party was relentless.

It’s got to be said, until you have freaky danced to ‘Step On’ in Bez’s presence, your life is probably not complete.  I know I can die happy now.

Thanks to Bez and the awesome crew at Teenage Kicks for another legendary indie experience.

‘Call the Cops!’

K

Teenage Kicks rocks The World Bar in Kings Cross every Thursday.  Entry is free.

It was a mild winter night in Sydney’s Inner West, and swarms of Rude boys, Punks and Skinheads flocked to the Enmore Theatre to celebrate 30 Years of ska legends, The Specials.

The Specials are one of those bands that change your life from the second you hear them.  Godfathers of 2-Tone Ska since way back in 1979, these guys have not only made some of the most significant and masterful music of their time, but utilised their movement to confront the National Front racism head on.  They are proof that music does have the potential to change the world.

From the second we arrived, it was apparant that this was going to be the gig of a lifetime. I have never seen the Enmore so packed.  The guys kicked us off with ‘Do the Dog’ and from start to finish, the floor was bouncing from the thousands of revellers getting their skank on.  By the time we were treated to ‘Gangsters’, three songs in, the party was well and truly kicking, and never have I seen so many people having such an immense amount of fun.

Taking fun to the extreme and appearing to have the time of their lives was the band themselves.  Neville Staple is an unstoppable ball of joy and energy, pretty incredible for a 54 year old man.  His hair may be greying, but his body is incredible, and clearly, he doesn’t mind showing it off.  Terry Hall was not in such great physical shape (my friend suggested that he looked like a fat frat boy) - but none the less, he was truly on form.  The missing presence of Jerry Dammers, one of the founding members, could have had the ‘elephant in the room’ effect, however, the remaining Specials effortlessly concealed the missing piece of their puzzle, to the extent where his image did not even feature on any of the merchandise.

There were so many highlights in this set that it’s impossible to pinpoint one, but personally, the anthem for those who love to party, ‘Friday Night Saturday Morning’ made me smile from ear to ear. Landing crowd pleaser after crowd pleaser to an audience who were absolutely lapping it up, this performance can only be summed up in one word: Epic.  Easily one of the best gigs I’ve ever been to; a true experience.

The Specials - no explanation necessary.

K

Set List:

Do The Dog
(Dawning Of A) New Era
Gangsters
It’s Up To You
Rat Race
Monkey Man
Blank Expression
Too Hot
Doesn’t Make It Alright
Concrete Jungle
Friday Night Saturday Morning
Stereotype
Man At C&A
A Message To You Rudy
Do Nothing
Hey Little Rich Girl
Nite Klub
You’re Wondering Now
Ghost Town
Too Much Too Young
Skinhead Moonstomp
Enjoy Yourself

Having heard The Fumes before but never actually laid eyes on them, I was both surprised and delighted to find the biggest beard in Australian music gracing our presence.  As they stepped out onto the stage I saw the love child of Jesus and Forest Gump after he’d ‘just kept on runnin’.  There were actually three microphones on stage and only two band members, I wondered if the beard had eaten the third member.

So back to the band.  For a two piece band, the sound these guys make is amazing.  They perform like rocking blues legends, as if they have all the experience in the world behind them, pretty impressive for a band whom have only been on the scene for a few good years.  Their talent has clearly not gone unnoticed – there was a massive turn out of extremely dedicated fans who informed me that The Fumes are one of those bands who manage to outdo themselves more and more with every live performance.

This showcase of the new album, Sundancer, is the proof (if it was ever needed) that The Fumes have so much more to give.  They’re not one of these one-album wonders that are so frequent these days.  And when they let rip with ‘Automobile’ and the spanking new ‘Python for a Pillow’, the Oxford Art Factory got down and dirty!  With a raw power and down to earth blues rock, The Fumes is an act you have to experience for yourself… ideally in some dingy, smoky blues club for full effect.  I look forward to hearing a lot more from this band.

Click here to check them out for yourself!

K

The latest rock royalty mash-up, The Dead Weather, could be one of the most exciting things to happen in music this year.  Whilst The Kills’ Jamie Hince has been busy sharing a Snuggie with Kate Moss, Alison Mosshart has branched out and got herself some new partners in crime… and we are all the luckier for it.  The supergroup consists of Alison (The Kills), Jack White (The White Stripes), Dean Fertita (Queens of the Stone Age) and Jack Lawrence (The Raconteurs and The Greenhornes).

Their debut album, Horehound, was released this weekend and has been my most anticipated album of the year… I will be back with a gushing review, I’m sure (as soon as I magic some time out of somewhere) - but just to get you started, check out the fucking awesome new video for ‘Treat Me Like Your Mother’.  It’s directed by Jonathan Glazer(director of videos for the likes of Massive Attack, Radiohead and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - not to mention the amazing work he did with Jamiroquai’s Virtual Insanity).

Check the video out here - you WILL love it.  If I had any time for the word ‘fierce’, I may be tempted to use it here.

K

Wales’ answer to combating a mediocre music industry, Future of the Left, are back in action with a rocking new album, Travels With Myself and Another. Unfortunately for the band, the album was leaked 3 months prior to its release, the second time this has happened to them. Sadly, this situation has a very real knock on effect for bands.

FOTL’s, Andy Falkous says in his Myspace blog, “Oh, and by the way, the next person, male or female, who accosts me at a show, incredulous at our lack of success then tells me that they illegally downloaded all of our music gets punched squarely in the tits. No exceptions. Be a feckless, short-sighted fucking thief all you like but self-righteous hypocrites with no sense of the absurd are valid, vapid targets.” So if you want to see them out in Australia… BUY the album. Crank it to 11 and enjoy.

I caught up with Andy ‘Falco’ Falkous direct from his Cardiff flat to discuss the album, ill-attended gigs and Reverend and the Makers.

K: You were due to come out to Australia last year but it got cancelled, are you planning to come back soon and show us some love?

Falco: Yeah, it looks like that’s going to happen around the turn of the year. I think we’re going to do the Falls Festival at the end of the year, but that isn’t officially confirmed yet, so if it all falls through, please blame somebody else.

Yeah we were really disappointed that we had to cancel Australia, but it ended up working out in the sense that we got the record that we needed to keep the band and the momentum going. But without sounding like I’m kissing arse, I’ve been out there three times, twice with my old band and once with Future of the Left, and touring Australia really is a fantastic experience.

K: The new album, ‘Travels With Myself and Another’ was released last week. How do you think this has moved on from the debut album Curses?

F: It’s just more unconsciously developed, without sitting down and everybody getting out the check list and marking down things we thought we should do. Curses is a really good angular rock record which has a lot of space in it at times, it has it’s tunes and everything but it’s kind of deliberately a little bit piecemeal whereas the new record is, if I may use the word, it’s just more of a romp.

It’s just 33 minutes, and it doesn’t really let up. We just wanted to make it so that all of the fat was trimmed away. I mean Curses is kind of over imbued with really long intros and weird guitar solos. But I just thought we could make [Travels With Myself and Another] have even more economy of sound, you know? No excess.

K: Which track off the new album was the most fun to make?

F: It was all great fun although the song ‘Throwing Bricks At Trains’ is particularly fruity, pretty much because it was all written in the studio. But I think more so because of how much Jack [Egglestone] was grinning when he played it. Of course people in bands like and in some cases even love the music they play, it’s essential, especially if you’re going to go round the fucking world and play it 250 times a year, but the look on that man’s face while he was playing that song was delicious. You could take him home and introduce him to your pet lizard. It invoked so much; I’ll literally never forget it. He looks like an extra from ‘The 300′ at the best of times anyway, so you can imagine a gay, happy extra from ‘The 300′ and that was pretty much the look he was rocking.

K: You’re quite vocal on myspace and do quite a lot of blogging, have you been lured into Twitter yet?

F: No, that’s about 8 steps too far for me. Just thinking of what the most interesting and dynamic people are doing on an hourly basis for me, it’s like what do you say? “About to have a shit”? “Reading a book”? “Michael Jackson is dead”, which apparently he is? “Former ‘Soldier Soldier’ star Robson Green is presenting an extreme fishing show - I don’t like it”? The minutely run down of my life is barely interesting to me so I struggle to see how it’d be interesting to Carl from Tennessee, you know?

K: Are there any bands coming up in the British music scene that you think we should check out?

F: Well we play with two bands, one from Manchester called Kong who are very noisy, you’re hardly going to be leaving a show whistling their pop tunes, ‘cos they don’t really have any, but it’s desperately kind of dark, evil music and they dress like, well I don’t even know, people with melted faces.

And there’s another band, Pulled Apart From Horses who we just toured with who are a really good band, really quite Sabbathy, lots of running around in tight trousers if that’s your thing. Other than that, I’m not really the right person to ask to be honest with you. I’m far too much of a cynic.

K: I did see a clip that you did for Radio 1 last year of who to see at the Reading Festival, but you just flipped it around into the ‘How about we just tell you who not to see’… which was a pretty long list. (Click here for the clip)

F: Yeah, well, there was some pretty fruity hair that was going on back then. I saw that clip but I was just too distracted by the hair cut disaster that was going on, which probably says more about me than anyone else.

K: I saw that you had described your first official Cardiff gig as Future of the Left as ‘the worst show ever’. So if that was the worst, what’s been the best?

F: Well the last Australian tour, all of the shows were pretty good, but we particularly enjoyed the one in Sydney last time, at the Annandale. The crowd were just incredible. I think for some reason, as a band, we just go down really well in Australia. And we also go down well in particular cities in the US; we go down well in Chicago and New York, but particularly in Seattle. We supported Against Me! last year in October in the states, and the reaction in Seattle was great, even though there were lots of people at the back giving us the finger (which is something we actively get off on), there were several hundred people just standing in the middle of the floor just kicking the shit out of each other in the nicest most polite way possible.

But I think the best show we’ve ever actually played as a band was in Liverpool about 2 and a half years ago to about seven people, but that’s always the way it goes, my friend. The mad performances are witnessed by next to nobody, but the slabs of mediocrity are delivered to huge, huge teeming crowds.

K: On your live album you have quite a pop at Reverend and the Makers when a technical hitch interrupts the performance. Have you since made friends and invited them round for tea and scones?

F: No, they won’t be coming round for tea and scones. We happened to have done a festival with them a few days before, and I’d never actually heard their music before, but I was struck by how shit they were. And they ended up having a bit of a head to head with our friends, Fighting With Wire, accusing them of nicking stuff from their dressing room. I mean our friends were Northern Irish so they immediately look like the most suspicious nutters of the backstage crew. And you know, then stuff broke [on the live album], we didn’t plan on stuff breaking and I needed something to talk about and lo and behold an easy target presented itself to my brain and I just talked and talked and talked.

One day the singer guy [Jon McClure] is bound to kick my head in, I mean he’s about 6′9” and his face is about as big as most peoples torso, he could probably nose butt me into a coma.

K: What’s next for Future of the Left?

F: Just touring for the rest of this year, and then hopefully getting back into the writing cycle quicker than we did last time. I mean we tried this time, but it just took about 6 or 7 months to effectively shed the skin of the previous album and get this one moving. But the thing with the writing is that it happens when it happens and the next record could be in two years time or it could be three years time, so it’s whenever it’s self evidently good. It’s certainly not just gonna fit into some schedule that a record company or agency think they need for the purposes of marketing the band in terms of it’s momentum, it’ll be just when it feels right. We are such a bunch of bastards to work with, it must be awful.

K: Ah, well at least it keeps it interesting for the label…

F: Yes, let’s just say that!

K: Thanks for your time Andy.

F: Thank you; maybe see you at the Annandale at the turn of the year!

The Legend / The Whack Job

I feel as if I’m the only person in the world who has not been affected by Michael Jackson’s death.  I really could not care less.  Facebook, Twitter, Newspapers, MTV, V, VH1… all Jacko.  I began to think perhaps I am totally heartless, but that’s not it.

Michael Jackson, the legend, departed a long long time ago.  If there was any grieving to be done, I guess I did it then.  And now he’s physically dead and the world is obsessed with praising a man who, granted, was once a legend, but has since proved himself to be the definitive whack job.  He bought some kids from somewhere (there’s no way they were his, but they’ll probably inherit his debt nonetheless), dangled them over balconies and instilled his insane fears into them… way to raise the children of our future.  And of course he may have been acquitted of paedophilia, but it was always clear that his behaviour towards children was totally inappropriate.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of the Michael Jackson of old, but the person who passed away yesterday is not the legend.  The legend died years ago.  So I think it’s time we all got on with our lives!

K

And just for fun, check out this link: A famous person has died

Ooooh, I’m so excited!  Jamie T and The Pacemakers are back to show Australia some more love - it’s been a while, but I knew this day would come again, the boy can’t resist us.

Following on from his release of the ‘Sticks ‘n’ Stones’ EP which will be released this week (26th June) and leading up to the sophomore album ‘Kings and Queens’ which is due for release around October (TBC), the man himself will be here to give us taste of Jamie T - past, present and future.

The tour will include the following dates:

• Thursday 17th September - The Metro, Sydney
• Sunday 20th September - Hi Fi, Melbourne
• Wednesday 23rd September - Hi Fi, Brisbane
• Thursday 24th September - The Gov, Adelaide
• Friday 25th September - Fly By Night, Perth
• Saturday 26th September - Wave Rock, WA

To anyone who has not heard of Jamie T, or been lucky enough to experience the Jamie T and The Pacemakers experience - I highly recommend it.

Tickets can be purchased through Love Police Tours (click here)

You can check out all your Jamie T news and info here

K

Since this album landed in my life last week, I have hardly stopped listening to it.  And when I’m not listening to it, I find it happily swimming around my head.  It has taken me over!

‘Conditions’ is The Temper Trap’s highly anticipated debut album and is an absolute treat.  From the sublime vocals of lead singer, ‘Dougy’ Mandagi to the ass-kicking drums in, yep you guessed it, ‘Drum Song’,  this album has it all. However, all the elements remain tied into a constant theme, making this an album to enjoy in it’s entirety rather than on ipod shuffle mode.  One of the high points of the album in my opinion is ‘Sweet Disposition’ - but as I said, it’s more about the album experience. Turn it up loud and submerse yourself, it’s bliss!  There is a clear ‘TV on the Radio’ influence on this album, but it’s far from being a cheap knock-off, the influence is there, but ‘Conditions’ more than holds it’s own.  I’m sure a hell of a lot of thought went into this album, yet it doesn’t appear to be over-thought or over-worked at all, it flows and has a very natural and organic feel to it.

Over the last few months, a wave of hype has been looming higher and higher over the heads of TTT (even before the release of the debut album), and it must be a little difficult for the guys.  In this situation, a band can easily become complacent, cocky and believe too much in their own hype, then before they know it, the wave has crashed and taken them with it.  Having interviewed Dougy and Toby a couple of months ago (click here for the interview), I honestly believe that these lads are genuine and smart enough to be able to ride out this wave and retain focus.  I truly hope so, because if ‘Conditions’ is anything to go by, we can expect great things from The Temper Trap.

A final tip - as much as I love this album, it’s only a sneak preview of what they’ve got to give… the live show is where it’s at for these guys.  Energy and passion is the name of their game and seeing these tracks live will send shivers down your spine.  If you get the chance, I insist you pay one of their live shows a visit!

K