Perth Music

Saturday 27th October, 2007
The Capitol, Perth
Gyroscope
Horsell Common
Love You Not

They have released two successful albums and have just completed recording their third album, Breed Obsession, in London. So tonight it was time for hometown heroes Gyroscope to show their Perth fans the proper way to rock out. Along with local boys Love You Not and Melbourne band Horsell Common, Gyroscope should have been very satisfied with the crowd as The Capitol was sold out and early on the mood was electric with anticipation. Unfortunately the rainy weather did not make it easy to find any parking close by so I missed out on seeing Love You Not but by all accounts they did not disappoint.

Horsell Common may be an odd name for a band but this does not mean they do not know how to rock the roof off a support slot. Many songs were known to the crowd (thanks to Triple J) and there was plenty of singing, and shouting along to lead singer Mark Stewart. Luke Cripps looked like he was possessed while he played bass, so much so that he broke a bass string half way through the set. This didn’t slow down Cripps or Horsell Common and it did look like it was a common occurrence. It was a great show put on by the Melbourne threesome and they are sure to impress many more crowds on the rest of the Gyroscope tour.

After a short stint of the crowd chanting “Gy-ro-scope, Gy-ro-scope” the boys came on stage to a thunderous roar. Not to waste any time whatsoever, they launched straight into new single “Snakeskin”, with vocalist Dan Saunders delicately singing ‘Oooh oooh’ and slowly building the song to its rocking second half. It didn’t take long for songs to get heavier and heavier and for the crowds excitement to get bigger and bigger. About the same time as the mosh pit began to erupt, the crowd surfers began to appear and the floorboards of The Capitol began to bounce up and down.

The security did not seem to mind the crowd surfers at this gig which is quite a difference from most gigs these days and the band definitely lapped it up. There were two exceptions to this. Bass player Brad Campbell seemed quite upset when a crowd surfer knocked over his bourbon and coke when getting escorted off stage and when a ‘surfie bogan’ punched a front row crowd member, the band decided that it was not acceptable and threw him off the stage (while continuing to play). Gyroscope are one of a few bands that can make a gig appear completely out of control while they have command of the crowd and the music. A couple new songs were mixed in with songs from Gyroscope’s two previous albums “Are You Involved” and “Sound Shattering Sound” including Fast Girl, Beware Wolf, Mistakes And Ladders, A Slow Dance, Safe Forever, Hollow Like Cheyenne, Midnight Express, Take This For Granted, Driving For The Storm and an explosive finale of Doctor, Doctor.

For more info on Gyroscope visit www.gyroscope.com.au
For more info on Horsell Common visit www.horsellcommon.com
Breed Obsession will be released soon. Snakeskin is out now.

Gyroscope - Doctor Doctor (Live)

The Offspring and Incubus will return to our shores next year to head a fantastic bill for the Soundwave festival in March.

After the success of the first Soundwave earlier this year, organisers have expanded the festival’s itinerary to include dates in all five mainland state capitals, kicking off in Brisbane on Saturday February 23.

A whopping 29 international acts will line up for the festival this summer, including Social Distortion, Killswitch Engage, Saosin, Motion City Soundtrack and The Matches and plenty more. There will also be a local flavour to each event, with more acts to be confirmed in the coming months.

Soundwave Festival 2008:

Monday March 3: Bassendean Oval, Perth
Earlybird tickets on sale October 28

Confirmed lineup:

The Offspring, Incubus, Social Distortion, Killswitch Engage, Coheed and Cambria, As I Lay Dying, Shadows Fall, From Autumn to Ashes, Bleeding Through, Carpathian, Still Remains, Divine Heresy, Fall of Troy, Motion City Soundtrack, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Chiodos, Saosin, Plain White Ts, Jim Ward (Sparta), Scary Kids Scaring Kids, Boys Like Girls, Cartel, Mindless Self Indulgence, Mewithoutyou, The Dear Hunter, Sugarcult, Arthur Ace Enders (Early November), All Time Low, The Starting Line, Devin Devine, Mae, The Receiving End of Sirens, Socratic, Halifax, Haste the Day, Dan Nigro (As Tall as Lions), My American Heart, Madina Lake, The Matches, Envy On the Coast

For full ticketing details, stay tuned to www.soundwavefestival.com.

Halo 3 is one of the most popular video games of all times and made $170 million in its first day of release. It has also had one the biggest promotion campaigns for any game ever. When XBox needed a song to encapsulate the energy and theme of the game they approached Phrase. Phrase decided to collaborate with Ian Kenny form Perth bands Karnivool and Birds Of Tokyo and Face It was born. Phrase caught up with Justin Middleton for this exclusive interview.

Click here to download the podcast of the entire interview. (14:32 - 1.7Mb)

“One of the guys from XBox is a big fan and loved the first record and the last single off it, so I think they just wanted to try and do something with an artist to hit a different demographic. So they hit up Universal and approached me about writing something specifically for it, and I was making my record at the time, so I banged it out. I hooked up from (Ian) Kenny from Karnivool in Perth and got him on it and sent it through and they loved it. We shot a video and it’s kinda all snowballed from there” Phrase explained about how the song came about.

Asked whether he was apprehensive about doing a song for a game Phrase answered “To be honest I was in the beginning… but I thought I’d have a crack at it anyway and once I’d written the song, it doesn’t talk about the game and I think it does stand by itself and it fitted in on the record with the sounds that I’ve got on the album. I didn’t realize how big Halo 3 was and my manager was like ‘Dude, it’s the biggest game in the world’”.

Collaborating with Karnivool and Birds Of Tokyo frontman Ian Kenny would be something many musicians would love to do and Phrase explained how it all happened. “I hooked up with him in Perth and he’s such a chilled guy, just your run-of-the-mill Aussie bloke, thongs, having a beer sort of thing. We got along really well and I sent him the song and I just said ‘Look, you do your thing on it’. I didn’t want to sway in any way what he was going to do to it coz I love their sound and I love what he does. He sent it back and I was wrapped man, and since then we shot the video and done a gig together up in Sydney. Hopefully when I come out to Perth he’ll be able to come down and do the song with me”.

“I think it’s cool for Kenny coz he’d never done anything with a Hip-Hop guy before. He really, really dug what I was doing as well and I think it’s cool for the genres to be crossing over and working with each other. We are all from the same country and we are all making music so there’s no reason why we can’t mash those things together”.

“I knew that I needed a big hook on it, something powerful and there’s not that many other people in this country that can do that. I was tossing up getting Ella Hooper from Killing Heidi or somebody along those lines and then I thought of Karnivool. We reached out and it all just went ahead”.

Face It will be available in stores and online October 27 and Phrase’s forthcoming album Burn It Down is scheduled for release in early 2008. For more info on Phrase visit www.myspace.com/bigphrase

Face It

The Third Annual ROLLERCOASTER MUSIC CARNIVAL
Saturday 29th December 2007
3.00pm – 11.30pm
Hall Park, Western Mandurah Foreshore

All Ages with 18+ Areas.
No BYO. No Passouts
Featuring:
HILLTOP HOODS, BLACK KEYS, SHIHAD, JEBEDIAH, KISSCHASY, BIRDS OF TOKYO, ASH GRUNWALD and more.

The 2007 edition of Rollercoaster has just been announced and this year looks to be one of the best.

Rollercoaster is now in it’s third year and is becoming an iconic show in the WA calendar because of it’s simple an effective formula; an event with an awesome line up, a well priced ticket, a beautiful location, a generous grassy venue and all on offer at a time of year where people are relaxed, happy and ready to party.

Another defining feature of Rollercoaster is that it isn’t afraid to rock! Most festivals have reverted to gentler line ups these days but Rollercoaster bucks the trend by embracing music with attitude, energy and an edge to put some yay in your day, some zing in the thing and more power per hour than any other annual outdoor event.

The line up this year is a corker - a heady mix of Australian and international, new and established, great and awesome bands. Without further ado, here it is!

HILLTOP HOODS
Talk about ending the party with a bang! Australia’s undisputed kings of hip-hop play their first show in WA since the release of the restrung version of their platinum selling Hard Road album.  Here come the Hoods!! Bringing incendiary beats and rhymes with a string section in tow.

THE BLACK KEYS
Direct from Akron, Ohio USA - this incredible 2 piece blues/rock band are four albums into their career and are one of the most smokin’ live bands in the world. Primal rhythms, tough and soulful vocals and a warm buzzsaw guitar with deep blues grooves served raw! They’ve completely sold out their trips to WA in the past and this is a chance to see them in full flight after the WA summer sun dips over the horizon.

SHIHAD
Back on the buzz with a new record about to explode…SHIHAD never disappoint and are the living definition of rock and roll itself.  Driving guitars, pounding beats and the lean, mean rock and roll machine Johnny Toogood out front ignoring the risks associated with putting 1000% into a rock and roll show. Killer!!

JEBEDIAH
WA’s legends and one of most successful bands of all time are back for a special festival appearance. They’ve been deep in rehearsals and writing since front man Kevin Mitchell aka Bob Evans finished extensive touring for his gold selling solo effort of 2006 and will play all the hits and a guaranteed sing along with their trademark bouncy brand of zingy guitar pop.

KISSCHASY
Dominating the place where punk meets rock in Australia - ROLLERCOASTER’s old pals Kisschasy make a welcome return to the Mandurah Foreshore for the 2007 event off the back of their huge HYMNS FOR THE NONBELIEVER album.  The quiet achiever on the Australian live circuit at the moment – watch the pit go when they crank up!

BIRDS OF TOKYO
One of WA’s most successful independent bands of the moment they’ve been congesting request lines on all respectful radio stations around the country and jamming rooms nationally all year off the back of their DAY ONE album .  Their powerhouse live delivery and the commanding presence and delivery of frontman Ian Kenny means that if anyone is going to reach out to the Rollercoaster faithful….the Birds will do it!

ASH GRUNWALD
Host of JJJ’s popular Roots and All programme - this magnetic, down-to-earth and smokin’ blues maestro will bring us all together early as we laze around the grass and get a dose of killer blues.

Plus more great local WA acts still to be announced.

Clare Bowditch has had an incredibly intense 12 months. An ARIA for Best Female Artist, marrying her producer and musical companion Marty Brown, giving birth to twins and writing and recording her new album, The Moon looked On. She also had time to catch up exclusively with Justin Middleton for this interview.

Click here to download the podcast of the entire interview. (21:38 - 5.0Mb)

“It was a real physical marathon we’ve had but we survived it” explained Clare. “I started playing electric guitar this year, I got my first Fender and we were mucking around a lot more with loop pedals. We really wanted to combine classical instruments…with really ancient, foreign, more exotic instruments, such as the Vietnamese instruments that we used. We went over to Vietnam, me and Marty, for 10 days last year and we spent most of that time hanging out in the music shop and came home with a really embarrassing amount of luggage, which was mainly instruments.”

Asked whether the songs from the new album were difficult to write as they were all short fictional stories compared to intimate, personal stories, Clare said “A lot of the stories came quite whole, but some of them, a song like Little Black Cave, was re-written 6 times over the past 6 years and This Bastard Disease and When The Lights Went Down, they’ve all been through other incarnations and become the songs that they are. I think they all ended up centering around the themes of freedom and temptation and lust and all the things that are dangerous and make us feel alive. The some of those songs are all written from the perspective from quite desperate protagonist. It was such a different character from the actual life I’ve been living over the past year. Some of those things that we go through when we come into young adulthood - they stick with you and you’re still working them out.”

When The Lights Went Down is the first single from The Moon Looked On and Clare explained “The vocal scale that I sing to open that song was really something stuck in my head after seeing a water puppet show in Hanoi. The orchestra was playing that style of scale repeatedly and it was mimicked by the vocalist. It stuck in my head and I walked out and recorded it on my mobile phone and then it kind of came into this song format.”

“The idea of a dog was a metaphor for the animalistic, exciting, unknowable part of a relationship that once it departs it’s so hard to work out where it has gone and how to get it back. It’s the notion of the exotic other.”

First single When The Lights Went Down and the album The Moon Looked On are out now. For more info visit www.clarebowditch.com or www.myspace.com/clarebowditch

Clare Bowditch - When The Lights Went Down

Direct from the hottest party metropolises on the globe, SoCo Cargo is Australia’s premiere mobile music fun box and is now about to descend on Perth. The global container party phenomenon – also known as a ‘pop-up live performance venue’ – has captured the attention and imagination of party-goers from Berlin to Bangkok over the past 12 months.

A transportable, temporary venue erected in just 24-hours and created from modified cargo containers, SoCo Cargo will be the must-see, must-experience Perth venue of the year, located on Roe Street Northbridge, between Milligan Street and Metro City. Since SoCo Cargo’s conception, it has torn the lid off the Brooklyn shipping yards, shifted the sands on St Kilda beach, created carnival bedlam at the Adelaide Fringe, squeezed the mangoes in Darwin and tamed the wild things of Cockatoo Island in Sydney Harbour. SoCo Cargo has travelled the country whilst showcasing the hottest rising stars, including industry giants like Sneaky Sound System, New Young Pony Club, Midnight Juggernauts, Van She and Dexter.

Now Perth, it’s your turn…

SoCo Cargo, in conjunction with ARTRAGE, promise 21 days of off-the-hook juiced-up party fun times. It will roll into Perth on November 8 and run through until December 1, bringing with it a superstar line-up of the freshest live acts and visual performers for the ultimate nocturnal experience. It all kicks off on the weekend of the Northbridge Festival and then runs through the ‘Alphabet City’ ARTRAGE Festival 2007, ensuring 21 days of music, frivolity and decadence.

With an immaculate blend of free entry specials and ticketed performances, such as the Earthlink Sound System Party on November 10, the Voodoo Cowboy Carnival on November 11 and chic Frenchie Hip Hop night on November 16, SoCo Cargo brings the finest aural and visual delicacies to one very special venue for a very limited time.

A night at SoCo Cargo ensures you’ll see it, touch it and live it. SoCo Cargo punters represent the most refined creatures of the night, whose fancies include sipping fine drinks and lounging in luxury. And the parties are legendary, ranging from Silky Suarez to Indie Electro Mash-Ups, Latino Fiestas to original Roots & Blues and Dance Hall Breakouts to Nu Wave Raves.

A full list of acts and ticket prices is available at www.sococargo.com.au

SoCo Cargo is open from 8pm-2am daily (except Mondays and Tuesdays). Ticket prices vary and are available through www.heatseeker.com.au or at the door. So don’t miss out!

Ahead of their debut EP launch in their hometown this weekend, Sugar Army have been announced on the 2007 shortlist of the annual Qantas Spirit Of Youth Awards (SOYA) run by noise.net. The final 15 out of thousands and thousands of entries also consists of the likes of Red Riders, Young & Restless, The Paper Scissors and Mercy Arms. Prizes include $5,000 cash, $5,000 flights and a mentorship with Nick Launay (known for his work with Gang of Four, Talking Heads, The Slits and more recently Grinderman, Nick Cave, Silverchair). Nick Launay is currently selecting the final 3 – to be announced Monday 22nd October.

SUGAR ARMY – Where Do You Hide Your Toys debut EP launch
with special guests The Silents and Harlequin League

Saturday 27th October – Amplifier
Tickets $15 on the door (earlybird special - $10 before 9pm!)
Doors 8pm

The Woodenelves will play up a storm in Forrest Place next Tuesday October 23 as part of the corporate treadmill challenge charity event The Foxtel Lap.

The fundraiser supports the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute which aims to discover innovative ways of treating and preventing conditions affecting children’s health and the band will be on from 3 to 4pm.

Then, on Thursday night The Woodenelves will be at The Windsor in South Perth wrapping up their October residency with help from fellow local artist Toby from 8pm.

Friday night, The Woodenelves join a massive line up at the Rocket Room for the venue’s official Dirty Deeds Friday industry launch.

They’ll be kicking off the show which starts at 8pm and also features the Macarburettors, the Sure Fire Midnights & DJ Kotter.

And The Woodenelves will again round out the week by hitting the stage at The Paddington Ale House in Mt Hawthorn on Sunday night from 7pm.

For more info on The Foxtel Lap visit www.thelap.com.au

Sonic Sessions presented by Fremantle Arts Centre is an unprecedented opportunity to join host, Lucky Oceans and WA superstar musicians in a mix of conversation, intimate concert and old-fashioned jam in the magical Inner Courtyard.

Over three sessions, slide blues guitar legend, Dave Hole, The Waifs’ Josh Cunningham and Eskimo Joe’s Kav Temperley will share their stories and ideas, and perform with Lucky Oceans and friends. Lucky will also perform and share his own fascinating story in session 3 when Fremantle musician, Pete Stone, fills the interviewer’s chair.

Sonic Sessions offers rare, up-close insights into these huge stars of the WA music scene.

Dave Hole - 8pm Thurs 25 October
In 1991 Dave Hole’s international career took off when US Guitar Player magazine described his modestly self-produced album as “Magnificent, staggering …almost beyond belief.”

Josh Cunningham joined by Ben Franz, bass (The Waifs) - 8pm Thurs 8 November
Josh Cunningham is songwriter and member of The Waifs, co-founder of their own label, Jarrah Records, and is recognised as a top acoustic guitarist.

Lucky Oceans hosted by Pete Stone - 8pm Thurs 22 Novemeber
Lucky Oceans, a pivotal figure of the WA music scene, is master of the pedal steel guitar, host of ABC Radio’s “The Planet” and winner of two Grammy Awards. Since moving to WA in 1979 and removed from his deep US musical roots, Lucky’s evolution as a musician changed course.

Kav Temperley (Eskimo Joe) - 8pm Thurs 6 December
Eskimo Joe have sold hundreds of thousands of record world wide, won numerous ARIA’s and are growing in the US market. Kav Temperley cut his musical teeth in local Freo pubs to become one of Australia’s most successful songwriters with Eskimo Joe lauded the world over.

All tickets $20 - General Admission. Book on 9432 9555 or in person at Fremantle Arts Centre. All shows starts 8pm - Gates open 7pm. Bar open - No BYO - Café open for light snacks. Fremantle Arts Centre located at 1 Finnerty Street Fremantle. Visit http://www.fac.org.au

2007 began with a bang – Muse exploding off stages around the nation as the must-see band on the Big Day Out. Now the year is set to come to a close with a bang so big it’s likely to create an entirely new galaxy – Muse will return in November for their biggest ever Australian tour.

After a Big Day Out set that left even their fellow bands slack-jawed in amazement, Matt Bellamy (vocals/guitar/keys) Chris Wolstenholme (bass/vocals) and Dominic Howard (drums) will now achieve the impossible: something even bigger. Muse are bringing their full-scale stage production to Australia – an epic show of lights, colossal screens, projections, antennas, balloons, and, naturally, giant space chambers.

The UK trio recently road-tested their sublimely ridiculous ideas on 135,000 Brits during a sold-out two-night stand at the new Wembley Stadium. The results: Muse were the first band to sell out the new stadium, and their June performances are already infamous for grand scale and sheer entertainment value.

While their stage set-up provides a direct link to a sci-fi future, the band’s setlist is classic Muse – a hit-heavy, fan-friendly line-up drawing from their first album, 1999’s Showbiz, to their most recent, last year’s Australian No.1, Black Holes and Revelations. Those who saw Muse in January know full well the power of new songs including Map of the Problematique and Invincible, while the likes of Sunburn, Time is Running Out, Plug in Baby and Stockholm Syndrome make up one of the finest and most adventurous catalogues in modern rock.

Just when you thought 2007 couldn’t get any bigger, Muse are back to take it to new heights in the biggest Australian shows of their career to date – to rock infinity, and beyond!

Perth - Saturday 10 November - Supreme Court Gardens
Tickets: Tickemaster 136 100 or www.ticketmaster.com.au, 78 Records, Mills, Planet Video, Beat Music