Perth Music

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All you have to do is submit a video (no longer than 2mins) reviewing the latest album of any band appearing on the Big Day Out 2009 tour. Visit http://www.hp.com.au/golive to secure your entry for this once in a lifetime opportunity. Entries close 29th December 2008. Go Live!

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Christmas is just around the corner, and so is the Big Day Out! We are excited to announce the final artists who will be touring with the Big Day Out plus the local additions in each city.

Be on guard for the avant-garde when Fantomas lurch back into life at Big Day Out 2009. Created in the murky depths of Mike Patton’s busy music laboratory in California, Fantomas’s four studio albums have been noisy, cartoonish, sci-fi, filmic, heavy, hilarious, and always experimental. With Patton joined by Buzz Osborne on guitar (Melvins), Trevor Dunn on bass (Mr Bungle) and Dale Crover on drums (Melvins), this super-tight band creates sounds and energy previously thought not humanly possible. Fantomas are coming to put a little delirium in your Big Day Out.

Who is that man in the three-piece suit and the natty brogues? He is Son Of Dave, and to witness him at Big Day Out is to witness the blues dragged kicking and howling into the 21st Century. It all began one Christmas in Manitoba, Canada, when father gave young Benjamin Darvill a harmonica and a shaker. Now he stirs thoughts of Beck, the White Stripes and Tom Waits all rolled into one. See Son Of Dave summon the future of the blues at Lilyworld during Big Day Out 2009.

Rockabilly’s best kept secret, Barrence Whitfield is outta the bag and set to shake Lilyworld to its very foundations at Big Day Out 2009. He grew up on gospel but in Boston he found the truth in rock ‘n’ roll. He’s got the funk, he’s got the soul… basically, he’s got Little Richard covered. But wait, there’s more – Barrence will be backed by the Rockwiz Orkestra, as seen on TV! Mark Ferrie, Peter Luscombe and James Black have backed an amazing array of artists on SBS TV’s music quiz show, but none have the lungs nor the boundless energy of soul sensation Barrence Whitfield.

Brisbane four-piece The Butterfly Effect are well known for pushing the sonic envelope with their rampaging brand of rock’n’roll. Their latest album released in September 2008, Final Conversation Of Kings was recorded on the Central Coast of NSW and is a prime example of their hard driving sound, embodied with lead singer Clint Boge’s scintillating vocals. The Butterfly Effect will take to the Big Day Out stage in 2009 to stand and deliver a theatrical live set full of ebbs and flows that will leave your desire for rocking out thoroughly sated.

If you like your discos Freakish, then T-Rek is the DJ for you. Part time drummer for Infusion, part time musician/producer and head of Freakshow Disco Productions in Melbourne, T-Rek (Tarek Smallman) is due for one date with the disco dance-floor you don’t want to miss! T-Rek’s first official DJ mix CD Vinyl Pusher presents Freakshow Disco is due for download in January 2009 but to catch one genre-surfing, diverse mix of anything-goes dirty beats to softer jams, make sure you check out T-Rek spinning wild originals and remixes at the Big Day Out.

Regurgitator front man Quan is back aboard flight BDO with his very own project that joyously embraces the best of indie, hip hop and electro pop. Quan’s new release The Amateur is a “on again off again requiem to those heady amateur days” and with killer pop riffs and beats like “Year of the Jerk”, “Gimme Gimme” and “The One”… this IS the beat you’ve been looking for, so pull on your dancing sneakers and come find it at the Big Day Out.

I Heart Hiroshima will bring their effervescent musical hurricane to the Big Day Out in 2009. This Brisbane three piece of two guitarists and a drummer emerged from a series of audacious house parties in Bris-vegas and in 2007 released their debut album Tuff Teef. Wear your heart on your sleeve with I Heart Hiroshima as they serve up a sonic layer cake of pop punk deliciousness at BDO! (Gold Coast & Sydney Shows)

Formed in Dubbo in 1977, The Reels were one of Australia’s most respected pop bands of the ’80s with their hit singles, “Love Will Find A Way” and “Prefab Heart” and 1981’s classic album Quasimodo’s Dream featuring the song of the same title. The mid 80’s also saw The Reels topping the Australian charts with their very special renditions of classic tracks Bacharach/Alpert “This Guy’s in Love with You” and Creedence Clearwater Revivals “Bad Moon Rising”. In 2007, Dave Mason released his first album in more than 15 years, Reelsville along with Reel To Reel 1978 – 1992. We are delighted The Reels will be wandering into the enchanted garden of the Lilyworld at BDO in 09. (Sydney & Melbourne shows)

Plus local additions in each city:
Auckland – Fri 16th January:
Weta, The Tutts, Bionic Pixie, Clap Clap Riot, Autozamm, An Emerald City, Antiform, World War Four, State of Mind, Honey Claws, Just One Fix, The Mots, Quay Street Social, Club DJs, Kolab.

Gold Coast – Sun 18th January:
The Cool Calm Collective, Enacio, Misdirection, Adelle, A Name Will Come, DNO, The Ginclub, Andrew Morris, Mr Laneous, DJ Hutch DJ Matt Kitshon plus triple j unearthed winner.

Sydney – Fri 23rd January:
Sasha Vatoff, theredsunband, The Scare, WOW, The Jezabels, Bang Gang DJs, DJ Jem Vs TC, Purple Sneakers DJs, Horrorshow plus triple j unearthed winner.

Melbourne – Mon 26th January:
Rocket Science, Trial Kennedy, Perplex, Acid Jacks, Ms Butt, Decland Kelly, Illzilla, My Disco, Beaches, The Vandas plus triple j unearthed winner.

Adelaide – Fri 30th January:
Wolf & Cub DJs, Lowrider, The Shiny Brights, Robotosaurus, The Watersliders, The Transatlantics, Fire! Santa Rosa, Fire!, Dialect, Denorthwode, Terra Firma, Loot & Plunder plus triple j unearthed winner

Perth – Sun 1st February:
Dead Flowers, Bentman and Sipn, Shazam, Kuling Brothers, Drapht, Red Jezebel, Pathogen, Simon Kelly Band, Project Mayhem

These acts join the already announced:

Neil Young, Arctic Monkeys, The Living End, The Prodigy, Sneaky Sound System, My Morning Jacket, Serj Tankian, Dropkick Murphy’s, Black Kids, Hot Chip, Lupe Fiasco, Holy Ghost!, Z*Trip, Died Pretty, The Vines, Infusion, Children Collide, Pee Wee Ferris, Sparkadia, The Getaway Plan, Little Red, Mammal, Mercy Arms, Ajax, Andee Frost, The Drones, Pendulum, Bullet For My Valentine, TV On The Radio, Simian Mobile Disco, The Ting Tings, Tiki Taane, Cut Copy, Cog, Youth Group, The Grates, Birds Of Tokyo, TZU and Eddy Current Suppression Ring.

In 2008 TZU have smashed the pre-conceptions of what hip-hop can sound like with their third album Computer Love. Within the 14 songs on Computer Love TZU tackle serious subject matter such as domestic violence, work place psychosis, first time love and the relationship between linguistics and reality as well as serving up a solid dose of their trademark good time party raps referencing such things as man boobs, Ned Kelly and space travel. They enlisted the help of Tony Espie (The Avalanches, Cut Copy) to mix the album to get the tunes right in the bass bottom end for dance floors and collaborated with a number of female singers, most notably the great Renee Geyer, who adds a touch of class and soul to the new record. They have also been announced as part of the 2009 Big Day Out tour. Pip Norman (Countbounce) spoke to Justin Middleton for this exclusive interview.

TZU are well respected for their high energy shows that fuse live instruments with the classic turntables and sampler set up. The have played most of Australia’s biggest music festivals including Splendor in the Grass, Falls Festival, Big Day Out, Pyramid Rock, Woodford, Apollo Bay and they have shared stages with De La Soul, Mos Def, The Pharcyde, Michael Franti’s Spearhead, Blackalicious and a who’s who of local Australian music greats from many genres. “We love playing festivals as it just gives us more exposure to people that might not necessarily be fans of ours and it gives us a chance to win them over” Pip explained.

The group have been around since 1999 and released three albums and received great support from radio stations including Triple J. “For the new album we tried to focus a little more on the rock side of things as we are all just enjoying that side of the music a bit more these days. Not to say that we aren’t doing hip hop anymore but this album is definitely more rock than our previous two” says Pip.

I asked Pip how excited the band were for the upcoming Big Day Out tour and also if there were any bands that they are looking forward in seeing on the tour. “We can’t wait for the Big Day Out tour. I expect it to be one big party and I hope we can just have a great time and play some great music. The Prodigy are going to be fantastic and I can’t wait to see Pendulum and TV On The Radio five different times. I know we pride ourselves in our live shows and every band that is part of the Big Day Out tour will be at their best so it is going to be a great tour.”

Computer Love is out now. For more info visit www.tzu.com.au

Big Day Out Tour Dates:
Fri 16th January - MT Smart Stadium, Auckland
Sun 18th January - Parklands, Gold Coast
Fri 23rd January - Sydney Showgrounds, Sydney
Mon 26th January - Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne
Fri 30th January - Adelaide Showgrounds, Adelaide
Sun 1st February - Claremont Showgrounds, Perth

2008 has been a wild ride for The Getaway Plan. Since the release of their debut album Other Voices, Other Rooms and it’s breakthrough hit single Where The City Meets The Sea, these four young Melbourne boys have sold out two national tours, become one of the most played Australian acts on radio and TV, and made themselves a household name with their unique brand of alternative rock. They have also been announced as part of the 2009 Big Day Out national tour. Guitarist, Clint Splattering spoke to Justin Middleton for this exclusive interview.

I asked Clint to explain the creation of their debut album and how the experience was recording in Florida. “We wrote the album here in Australia in a little rehearsal room where we locked ourselves away for about three months and then once we had written enough material we started looking around for producers. We couldn’t really find anyone in Australia that we felt was on the same page as us, there are a lot of great producers in Australia but none that we felt were on the same level that we wanted them to be on. So we decided to have a look over in the U.S and we sent out a bunch of emails and we got a really quick reply from James Paul Wisner (Dashboard Confessional, The Academy Is…, Underoath) and he ended up producing the album.”

“So then we booked the flights and flew over to Florida and spent around two and a half months recording. It was good being over there and that being the only thing in our lives for that period of time. We were there strictly to record the album and there was no way we were going to get side tracked or go out with friends or get distracted with family problems or whatever. It was kind of a double edged sword because we got very home sick and missed our girlfriends and parents and it did get really, really hard. After we did the album we had planned on staying there for two weeks just to hang out and maybe go to Disneyworld but we ended up just coming home as soon as we could.”

I also asked Clint how excited the band was playing the Big Day Out tour and his thoughts on all the music festivals there are in summer. “We are all really excited about that. There’s so many bands on during the day that we will be treating the shows a little different to demand more attention. We will be trying to play more of our energetic songs to get the crowd pumped and hopefully remember us. It is amazing exposure and playing with all these other awesome bands to just great for our profile and I know that here in Melbourne the crowds are around 35,000 so it is a really big opportunity. We’ve done other smaller music festivals like Pushover and Come Together Festival and we are doing Homebake but nothing the size of the Big Day Out.”

“There are so many festivals these days it’s amazing. I mean Soundwave has pretty much every single band you’ve ever heard of, all coming out at once. I wonder when are these bands going to do their own tours, everyone is jumping on the festival bandwagon. For the Big Day Out I am really, really excited to see The Prodigy and I just heard that Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters) is going to be drumming for them. I also heard a rumour that Fantômas are playing, with Mike Patton and Dave Lombardo and that is going to be crazy. I think they will be pretty trippy days and nights. Our guitar tech has done Big Day Out tours before and he’s told us that there is an after party and then an after-after party so from what I gather it’s just a massive party tour.”

Other Voices, Other Rooms is out now. For more info visit www.thegetawayplan.com

Big Day Out Tour Dates:
Fri 16th January - MT Smart Stadium, Auckland
Sun 18th January - Parklands, Gold Coast
Fri 23rd January - Sydney Showgrounds, Sydney
Mon 26th January - Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne
Fri 30th January - Adelaide Showgrounds, Adelaide
Sun 1st February - Claremont Showgrounds, Perth

For their new record The Night Is Ours, Youth Group undertook a unique recording process. Over a couple of months late last year, the band holed up in a near derelict 1920s mess hall on Sydney’s harbour to create their fourth album. They decided against traditional studio procedures and turned a vacated building into a studio, bringing in all of their own gear to create an inimitable recording environment which allowed them to work at their own pace. The old dining room morphed into their ‘band room’ and the old bathroom became the ‘control room’. This unusual approach helped to shape the 10 songs that make up the personality of The Night Is Ours. The band have also been announced as part of the 2009 Big Day Out tour.  Drummer/Keyboadist, Danny Allen spoke to Justin Middleton for this exclusive interview.

Click here to download the podcast of the entire interview. (15:27 - 1.7Mb)

I asked Danny to explain the process the band went through in the creation of their latest album. “We were able to setup a temporary studio as we were looking for a place to do the album over a period of time rather than cram it into a normal recording schedule where money dictates things moving along. So for that reason we decided not to work with (producer) Wayne Connolly again, just to save some money and to try and do it with some friends, our live mixer Anthony The and his friend Tim Kevin. In that way we were able to work on the album over a period of three months, day and night, rather than cram it into a couple of weeks. We were looking at churches and disused community halls and we found a mess hall from a coal mining site in Waverton, North Sydney near the harbour. It had a very relaxing atmosphere and I think that definitely shows on the album.”

“We didn’t have a lot of the songs studio ready at the time like we would have in the past because we wanted them to evolve in there and be able to work on them while we were going. You don’t get to do that sort of thing very often and I don’t even know if we will be able to do it again. It was pretty incredible to be that close to the city and still feel isolated.”

Youth Group had just finished doing a tour with theredsunband and I asked Danny how much fun that was. “It was great. They are all friends which helped a lot. Toby (Martin) and Sarah (Kelly) from theredsunband were on Rockwiz together and did a duet of Sometimes Always, the Jesus & Mary Chain song. So we had the idea of closing all the shows with it and it ended up being both bands up there playing a few of each others songs. It was brilliant and went better than we could have imagined. Our manager was saying ‘just amalgamate’. I’ve always wanted to play with two drums on stage and I think it really worked.”

With the band being announced on the Big Day Out tour I asked Danny how the band treats these types of festivals. “We have a tendency to play a lot of our quieter songs in the smaller setting but you can’t really get away with that at festivals. We actually thought that for these Big Day Out shows we’d just write a setlist where we play every single that we’ve released.”

I also asked which bands Danny was exciting in seeing on the tour. “Neil Young, of course and My Morning Jacket, I have never seen them live and I can’t wait. And TV On The Radio, I’ve only seen them once and that was the best things I’ve ever seen. The last Big Day Out tour we did was amazing, the lineup was amazing and backstage was great. Of course there are some bands that are friendlier than others but we made friends with Kings Of Leon and we ended up doing a tour with them. I’m sure that happens for a lot of bands.”

The Night Is Ours is out now. For more info visit www.youthgroup.com.au

Big Day Out Tour Dates:
Fri 16th January - MT Smart Stadium, Auckland
Sun 18th January - Parklands, Gold Coast
Fri 23rd January - Sydney Showgrounds, Sydney
Mon 26th January - Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne
Fri 30th January - Adelaide Showgrounds, Adelaide
Sun 1st February - Claremont Showgrounds, Perth

Serj Tankian, Dropkick Murphy’s, Black Kids, Hot Chip, Lupe Fiasco, Holy Ghost!, Z*Trip, Died Pretty, The Vines, Infusion, Children Collide, Pee Wee Ferris, Sparkadia, The Getaway Plan, Little Red, Mammal, Mercy Arms, Ajax, Andee Frost, The Drones.

These acts join the already announced:

Neil Young, Arctic Monkeys, The Living End, The Prodigy, Sneaky Sound System, My Morning Jacket, Pendulum, Bullet For My Valentine, TV On The Radio, Simian Mobile Disco, The Ting Tings, Tiki Taane, Cut Copy, Cog, Youth Group, The Grates, Birds Of Tokyo, TZU and Eddy Current Suppression Ring.

Fri 16th January - MT Smart Stadium, Auckland
Sun 18th January - Parklands, Gold Coast
Fri 23rd January - Sydney Showgrounds, Sydney
Mon 26th January - Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne
Fri 30th January - Adelaide Showgrounds, Adelaide
Sun 1st February - Claremont Showgrounds, Perth

For full show information and internet ticket bookings check out the website www.bigdayout.com
*booking fees may vary pending on outlet & mode of purchase

Neil Young, Arctic Monkeys, The Living End, The Prodigy, Sneaky Sound System, My Morning Jacket, Pendulum, Bullet For My Valentine, TV On The Radio, Simian Mobile Disco, The Ting Tings, Tiki Taane, Cut Copy, Cog, Youth Group, The Grates, Birds Of Tokyo, TZU and Eddy Current Suppression Ring.

Fri 16th January - MT Smart Stadium, Auckland
Sun 18th January - Parklands, Gold Coast
Fri 23rd January - Sydney Showgrounds, Sydney
Mon 26th January - Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne
Fri 30th January - Adelaide Showgrounds, Adelaide
Sun 1st February - Claremont Showgrounds, Perth

Tickets on sale:
Sydney: Wednesday 8th October
Gold Coast: Thursday 9th October
Auckland, Melbourne, Adelaide & Perth: Friday 10th October
You will be asked to read and agree to our Conditions of Sale and Admission before you can purchase tickets. Conditions of Sale and Admission can be viewed at www.bigdayout.com
For full show information and internet ticket bookings check out the website www.bigdayout.com
*booking fees may vary pending on outlet & mode of purchase

It was that time of the year again when the music lovers of Perth gathered in their thousands to attend the penultimate music festival of the summer. This year saw a slightly older crowd rocking out at the Claremont Showgrounds as one of the headlining acts had not played a Big Day Out festival since 1996 and had been broken up for 7 years (Rage Against The Machine) and the other headlining act had not played a Big Day Out festival since 1994 (Bjork). With the temperature set to be in the high 30’s, the day was set to be a scorcher but even early in the day the crowd walking through the entrance were filled with anticipation.

Perth’s own The Dirty Secrets were first on the Green Stage and, although the crowd was still building up, they had a great position to introduce themselves to new fans. Situated right in front of the main entrance, The Dirty Secrets brand of indie rock was a nice surprise for people as they walked in collecting their maps and programs. Even if they had never heard of The Dirty Secrets before plenty of music lovers wandered up to the stage to check them out and plenty of them would have been won over by the local boys.

Next up on the Green Stage were Melbourne based band, British India who created a stir in 2007 with their debut release Guillotine. The boys had a frenetic energy on stage, running around non-stop apart from making a comment that became all too common throughout the day: “Fuck it’s hot in Perth!!”. The crowd agreed with the comment but it didn’t stop them rocking for the forty five minutes British India were on stage, especially when Triple J favourite ‘Tie Up My Hands‘ was played.

Playing at the same time but on one of the main stages were radio darlings of the moment Operator Please. A very different crowd were situated in front of the Blue Stage with a much younger demographic obviously targeted to the much younger Operator Please. A lot of jumping around and hand claps were heard throughout the main stage area and all the touring that the band have done recently has definitely raised their confidence in their abilities to play to a large crowd. A smart and successful cover that was part of the Operator Please set was Devo’s ‘Whip It‘ but the biggest crowd pleaser was the ARIA Award winning ‘Just A Song About Ping Pong‘.

The first political band of the day were on next on the Orange Stage - Anti-Flag. A somewhat older punk band, Anti-Flag have built up a fan base since forming in 1993 and had a polar opposite crowd than Operator Please. Fans enjoyed the set that covered songs from all their albums but with the temperature rising the punk rockers did look quite uncomfortable while playing on stage.

With album number three only a month away from being released, Perth boys Gyroscope were up next on the Green Stage. With a home court advantage, the Gyro boys seemed as comfortable as if they were playing to a bunch of close mates. Older songs from their early EP’s were played as confidently as the brand new songs from the upcoming album Breed Obsession. After asking the crowd who was born in the same year as them, new single ‘1981‘ was played to a sweating mass of moshers. The song is a great pop/rock track but the use of the drum machine at the start of it was a bit questionable.

One of the real highlights and surprise packets of the day were up next on the Converse Essential Stage. The band was British hardcore/trance rockers Enter Shikari and the crowd that turned up to see them were in for a treat. As they ran out on stage all four members of the band looked as if they had the energy of 20 men, doing cartwheels, climbing speakers and doing something that could have been described as dancing. Playing a plethora of songs from their debut album Take To The Skies, the Enter Shikari set included sing-a-longs, hand claps, sweat dripping from every pore of every person, a huge circle pit around the sound and lighting desk and even a human pyramid that almost made it to five stories. The songs that had the most excitement from the crowd were Return To Energiser, No Sssweat, Johnny Sniper and Sorry You’re Not A Winner.

After a bit of a rest and a bite to eat I got to see the end of Regurgitator’s set on the Blue Stage. With the whole band dressed in white from head to toe it looked like they were ready for a wedding and it seemed even more likely when a few girls in wedding dresses joined them on stage to dance to the final few songs. All their hit singles were played to the happy crowd as they have for four previous Big Day Out festivals. A slightly updated but equally as impressive ‘Song Formally Known As‘ was the final song from their set and the dancing in the mosh pit was a sight to be seen.

Adelaide’s hip hop heroes Hilltop Hoods were up next on the Orange Stage and the crowd swelled to see the ARIA darlings of 2006. As their latest album was The Hard Road Restrung and featured the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, they were also joined on stage by a small string section as well as fellow Adelaide band Lowrider. Clown Prince, Stopping All Stations, The Nosebleed Section and The Hard Road were all highlights.

Returning for their fourth Big Day Out, Grinspoon were up next on the Blue Stage. Playing all their hit singles and songs from their newest album Alibis and Other Lies, the Grinners rocked out like they always do but there seemed to be something missing from them on the day or maybe there just wasn’t anything special. Grinspoon have played so many festivals in the past 10 years that I think we all take them for granted and even with crowd favourite Champion being the final song of the set, it still didn’t have the same punch it has in the past.

For many, Arcade Fire were a huge highlight of the day but for me they seemed to be forcing their music upon the crowd. With ten members on stage at once it was difficult to know what to look at and with multiple instruments being played by each member it was even harder to know what to listen to. They did show glimpses of excitement as members climbed 20-25 meters up the staging while still drumming but a big disappointment was the comment that “Perth has the best crowd but the worst place” in their Big Day Out tour.

Silverchair were up next on the Blue Stage and they were certainly a different band from the one many of the fans remembered. Not only did Paul Mac join them on keyboards, but there was a separate piano keyboard player, a three person brass section (with one member getting hit in the face mid set with a water bottle), backing singers and Daniel Johns newly bleached hair. This helped with the newer songs from Young Modern but the songs that got the biggest reception were still the older, rockier songs including Israel’s Son, The Greatest View and Freak.

It was time for Iceland’s own Bjork to show Perth what she had in store for them but even with a huge crowd in front of her, an even bigger, rowdier crowd started to gather in front of the stage that Rage Against The Machine were to play on in an hours time. Stage theatrics, a kind of marching band, a laser show, canons shooting shredded paper into the crowd were all part of the show that would have delighted any Bjork fan but with so many RATM fans getting impatient it would have been difficult to say she was well received. Hyperballad was a crowd favourite and in her sweet, soft voice Bjork thanked Perth for allowing her to play the Big Day Out.

As Zach De La Rocha, Tom Merello, Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk walked on stage the collective cheer from the crowd was deafening. It was if every member of the audience had been waiting the entire 7 years that Rage Against The Machine were broken up for this very moment. As they broke into Testify a chorus of ‘Now Testify, now testify, it’s right outside your door’ rang out but about half way through the song the sound went out and it was only the crowd singing that could be heard. After a short time De La Rocha announce ‘Let’s try that again shall we’ and the band jumped into Bulls On Parade as the mosh pit exploded into a mass of excitement. Guerrilla Radio, Sleep Now In The Fire, Calm Like A Bomb, Bullet In The Head and Killing In The Name were crowd favourites as Morello played his guitar in the way that only he can. It was a set that would have fulfilled every RATM fan’s dream and as the temperature finally started to drop there wasn’t a disappointed face to be seen.

Photos from The Big Day Out can be found here at PerthNorg (Thanks to Noodlez).

Josh Pyke has had one hell of a year. He released his debut album ‘Memories and Dust‘, which entered the ARIA chart at number 4, and has now gone Gold and was nominated for Triple J’s 2007 J Award for album of the year and was the third most played artist on Triple J for all of 2007. He completed two national tours, one with the John Butler Trio, toured the UK three times and played several national music festivals. And what better way to start of 2008 than to be added to the national Big Day Out tour. Josh Pyke talked to Justin Middleton for this exclusive interview.

Click here to download the podcast of the entire interview. (9:00 - 4.2Mb)

I asked Josh how happy he was that his debut album was received so eagerly by the Australian public. “Yeah, for a first record I was kind of expecting that maybe it would sell, you know, 15,000 max and that would be a really great start to a career. I could try and sell more on the next one but it has well and truly exceeded my expectations. Which also then adds a bit more pressure for the next record which is kinda bad….but I’m not going to complain about the success.”

With the sophomore album pressure in Josh’s mind I asked if he had already started writing the follow up to ‘Memories and Dust‘. “Yeah I have and I’d really, really like to get a new record out by next August, which is actually quite soon if you think about how long it takes to set up a record and actually record the record so we’ll see how it goes. But I have started writing and I’ve done a fair few songs already so it’s looking good so far….With Memories and Dust I really had nothing to lose, I didn’t really have any fans, I just put it out and hoped for the best. Where as this time there’s a bunch of people in Australia that have bought the record so it’s sort of nerve racking in a way because if you have a fan base then you have a fan base to lose or hopefully you have a fan base to build upon. It’s a bit nerve racking but I guess that’s just the way it is.”

Even with the success that Josh has had in the last year, he is still not classified as a mainstream musical artist. I asked Josh if, in this day and age, it is getting easier for non-mainstream artists to make a living through their music. “I think in some ways it is because there is a lot more access to music and it is easier to get music these days, in terms of you can jump on Myspace or whatever or Youtube and track down music. But at the same time that accessibility to music, you don’t actually get paid any of that as an artist. It’s great that people can download your album for free if you don’t have a release there but at the same time that means the artist isn’t getting paid. So I think it’s easier for artists to get their music to people, easier than ever, but I think it’s just as hard, if not harder to actually make a living as a musician if you’re not writing really commercial songs that are gonna get played on commercial radio. The only real way you can do it is by hitting the road.”

And yes Josh does actually have direct involvement in his Myspace page. “Yeah, absolutely I spend probably half an hour to an hour every couple of days on it. I generally answer a fair few of them (comments and questions), I don’t answer all the stuff but I think it’s important to try and have that direct contact with people that are supporting you so I think it’s a nice thing to be able to do.”

Josh also explained which other artists on the Big Day Out tour he is really looking forward to seeing. “Augie March. I’ve seen them so many times, they probably my favourite Australian band, I just think they are amazing. It’s going to be awesome to be able to check them out every night. And Arcade Fire. I’m really looking forward to seeing them. They would be in my top three favourite bands at the moment. And I saw them at Glastonbury when I was playing over there and it was just incredible. I’m well and truly up for seeing them again and again and again.”

You can catch Josh Pyke playing live at the Big Day Out:
Fri Jan 18 - Auckland
Sun Jan 20 - Gold Coast
Fri Jan 25 - Sydney
Mon Jan 28 - Melbourne
Fri Feb 1 - Adelaide
Sun Feb 3 - Perth

Perth rockers Gyroscope are gearing up to release record number three, Breed Obsession. The first single from the new album, Snakeskin was released a few months ago to appreciative fans and was number 1 on JTV Saturday’s for many weeks. To give fans a preview of the new album and rock out the favourites Gyroscope have been added to the Big Day Out tour and have just announced a national Pre-Obsession Tour in February and March. Lead singer Dan Sanders talked to Justin Middleton for this exclusive interview.

Click here to download the podcast of the entire interview. (14:12 - 1.6Mb)

Breed Obsession was recorded in the UK, which is a very different scene to Perth. I asked Dan to describe the recording experience of the new record. “It was an amazing experience. Doing any sort of album or anything that is physically close to you and you create, from your hometown be it your rehearsal room to your bedroom. To be able to put it together and create a piece or an album or whatever in another country is by far one of the best satisfactions you can have. We did one of our previous albums (Are You involved) in LA and that was an experience in itself and then this was in the UK which was another experience - no two experiences are in any way alike. Such a different place, such a different technique, such a different producer. Once you step foot in the studio it is all about where you are at, what head space you are at, who you are working with and all that sort of stuff comes into one. ”

“I think we’ve been the closest in getting almost the perfect formula in the last (album), in the UK, with who we were using and where we were doing it in Liverpool and I think the result speaks for itself. You just have to take it on with such an open mind when you’re in a another place, you’ve got to suck in all the atmosphere and lucky enough we were in Liverpool. We had the home of The Beatles and we went and saw The Cavern Club and we went down and did what they would have done back in their day and spoke to the people, the locals and they were all so friendly and they all hold onto their music so much. The whole place just set the tone for the whole album, it was the middle of summer and we didn’t see one sunny day while we were there, it was so England. It was brilliant.”

I asked Dan what was the main factor in deciding to record the album in the UK. “The main reason was the producer that we spoke to, Dave Eringa, who has previously worked with Idlewild and Manic Street Preachers and some of the bands that we thought had a really, really good live edge to their albums with still a bit of polish on it. We spoke to half a dozen producers from all around the place - England, America, Australia. But he kinda came through with the songs he thought needed to go and the formulas we were working on and we were on the same page so that was 50% why we wanted to go to the UK. The other 50% was because we hadn’t been there and it was a new adventure for us, we thought this was going to be good regardless. We were quite confident in these songs that we created and that we could take them anywhere and at least make them sound half-assed. We took the opportunity with both hands and said this is gonna be an adventure with a really good guy who seems really vibed on the music, how can you go wrong. And in hind sight it was a good call.”

The first single Snakeskin was a big hit for the boys and the second single off the album is set to be released soon with Dan explaining that they had just finished recording the video for it in Sydney. “I’m not too sure if I can say much, I don’t want to put my foot in it. But it was recorded in Sydney and was using some harnesses, you know the old ninja movies where they do it backwards and shit. There was a bit of jumping around in it and stuff but I’m not even sure when it’s due to come out.”

I also asked Dan if there was any acts in particular that he was looking forward to seeing on the Big Day Out tour. “Yeah I really wanna see Rage coz who doesn’t want to see Rage Against The Machine. I’m stoked to be able to see them a few times in succession. That’s really the icing on the cake for me to see a band that can just incite something on stage. Just the force of who they as an entity. Even the kids of now who missed out on the Rage things when it came out in the 90’s still know the anthems and I’m sure they still get played at the parties that they go to. It should be a dangerous gig to watch.”

You can catch Gyroscope playing live at the Big Day Out Shows:
Fri Jan 18 - Auckland
Sun Jan 20 - Gold Coast
Fri Jan 25 - Sydney
Mon Jan 28 - Melbourne
Fri Feb 1 - Adelaide
Sun Feb 3 - Perth

Also on the Pre-Obsession Tour:
Wed Feb 20 – The Sodens Hotel, Albury
Thurs Feb 21 – ANU Bar, Canberra
Fri Feb 22 – Newcastle Uni, Newcastle
Sat Feb 23 – Manly Fishos, Manly
Sun Feb 24 – Beachcomber, Toukley
Wed Feb 27 – Monash Uni (Mugsu O Week), Gippsland
Thu Feb 28 – The Karova Lounge, Ballarat
Sat Mar 1 – The Pub, Bendigo
Sun Mar 2 – Ruby’s Lounge, Belgrave
Wed Mar 5 – Charles Stuart University, Wagga Wagga
Thu Mar 6 – Wollongong Uni (Garden Party), Wollongong
Fri Mar 7 – Roxy Music – Parramatta
Sat Mar 8 – Newtons Play Ground, Bathurst