Perth Music

Friday 2nd January 2009
Sir Stewart Bovell Park, Busselton

The start of the year is when people have finished visiting family for Christmas, finished partying for New Years and ready to just enjoy themselves and listen to great music. Luckily Southbound is here and for the first time this year the festival has extended to two full days starting at midday on the Friday and ending late on Saturday night. It had been a very hot start to the year in Perth so it was never going to be a comfortable weekend but it is always a bit cooler down south so the it was going to be bearable.

After arriving a little late due to traffic, heat and the usual road trip shenanigans I set up camp and ventured over to start seeing some live music. Sydney’s Bluejuice were up and having as much fun as they always do on stage, jumping around, dancing and just getting everyone in the mood for a great music festival. Vitriol still gets the crowd going a year after it was released and even the hot sun could not lessen the enthusiasm by band and crowd.

End Of Fashion were up next on the same stage and the local boys arrived happy and relaxed with frontman Justin Burford waving and greeting the growing crowd. The sea breeze had started to blow across Sir Stewart Bovell Park and allowed for more people to start dancing in front of the stage especially to past hits Oh Yeah, Rough Diamonds, She’s Love and newie Fussy. WA fans love local bands and even at festivals with international superbands, local bands still make us all proud.

The chilled out sounds of Donavon Frankenreiter was next up and his acoustic guitar tunes fit in perfectly with the surfie culture of south west WA. Frankenreiter looked and sounded like a mix between John Butler and his label mate Jack Johnson and the crowd sand along to many of his popular songs. To appeal even more to the local crowd Pro-Surfer Taj Burrow could be seen side of stage grooving to the acoustic tunes and Frankenreiter then invited Burrow’s father Vance on stage to play some songs.

Another big local band, Birds Of Tokyo drew a huge crowd to the stage next and Ian Kenny seemed ready to rock out for the first of his two sets during the weekend (the other with Karnivool). Even with two albums now under their belt Kenny explained that festivals are not what Birds Of Tokyo are used to and he thanked the crowd for all their support. Black Sheets, Wayside, Silhouettic and Broken Bones were all played to a great reception from the crowd and a great ‘dance’ routine by Kenny.

It was then time for the highlight of the festival: Sweden’s The Hives. It had been a long day of music but the explosive nature of The Hives picked up the whole energy of the crowd. It was as if frontman Pelle Almqvist was going to eat up the entire crowd and spit them out with each and every song.  In their trademark black and white suits, The Hives made every other band that played that day seem like amateurs and their confidence on stage didn’t seem cocky but more justifiable.   Hate To Say I Told You So and Tick Tick Boom were definitely highlights but songs from all four of their albums were part of the electrifying set.

For more photos of Day 1 click here (Thanks to Noodlez)

All the way from the United States of America we have two of the most decorated groove-makers on this floating round ball they call Planet Earth: the sizzling Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings and saucey Santogold.

We’re blessed Blue King Brown could make it back for the big weekend, and they’ve brought countrymen and hip hop renegades Bliss N Eso along for the journey.

We’re chuffed some of our British cousins have saddled up for the ride; meet The Cribs and Late Of The Pier.

And while we’re getting all European there’s Lykke Li from Sweden. There’s Murs and South Rakkas Crew fighting for the microphone; they’re all the way from the USA.

There’re CW Stoneking and Ash Grunwald strumming around the campfire, and it’s wonderful to see the Kiwi kin are represented with Cut Off Your Hands.

And here comes the conga-line, with Grafton Primary, Tame Impala, Dash And Will, Violent Soho, Drapht and The Autumn Isles.

And finally there’s End Of Fashion.

These latest Southbounders join Franz Ferdinand, The Hives, The Kooks, The Cat Empire, Gomez, Pete Murray, Tegan And Sara, The Grates, Architecture In Helsinki, Donavon Frankenreiter, Atmosphere featuring Brother Ali, Faker, Birds Of Tokyo, Eli ‘Paperboy’ Reed And The True Loves, Jamie Lidell, Liam Finn, Karnivool, The Drones, TZU, Mystery Jets, Soko, A-Trak and Wolf & Cub in the New Year feast that is Southbound.

Go to www.sunsetevents.com.au for full ticketing information, including bus tickets. Public tickets go on sale Monday, September 15

End Of Fashion - Fussy

End Of Fashion - Kamikaze

End of Fashion are pleased to announce they are doing what they love best and heading back out on the road on a national headline tour in September/October to support the release of their new album ‘Book Of Lies’ which is released on September 27.

‘Book Of Lies’ was recorded at home in Perth, with producer Magoo (Regurgitator, Midnight Oil, Powderfinger) and Andy Lawson (The Avenues), and finished off by Tim Palmer (U2, The Cure, Robert Plant) who mixed the album in Los Angeles.  A new spirit and energy are reflected in the songs and while the pop nous and melodic attentiveness the band displayed on their debut LP makes a signature return, End Of Fashion have crafted an album that is more brutal and angular than the last.

‘Fussy’, the first single lifted from the album, hit the radio airwaves this week causing a rippling effect across the country with the track being added immediately across the board at commercial radio. Be on the lookout for the non-traditional music video directed by Natasha Pincus (Inside Film Award winner, Best Music Video 2007 for Paul Kelly’s ‘God Told Me To’) which is bound to cause a stir as the first installment of a two part video series.

New album ‘Book of Lies’ in stores September 27
New single ‘Fussy’ available digitally August 23 and in stores August 30

Tour Dates:
Tue 2nd September – Barwon Club, Geelong
Thur 4th September – Karova Lounge, Ballarat
Fri 5th September – Corner Hotel, Melbourne
Sat 6th September – Peninsula Lounge, Moorooduc
Sun 7th September – Governor Hindmarsh, Adelaide
Wed 10th September – Great Northern Hotel, Byron Bay
Thur 11th September – Sound Lounge, Currumbin
Fri 12th September – Sol Bar, Coolum
Wed 17th September – ANU Bar, Canberra
Thur 18th September – Wollongong University
Fri 19th September – Gaelic Club, Sydney
Sat 20th September – Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle
Thur 2nd October – Players Bar, Mandurah
Fri 3rd October – Prince Of Wales, Bunbury
Sat 4th October – Capitol Bar, Perth

Well the 2007 WAMI nominations were announced today with Eskimo Joe the leader with 6 nominations. The big surprise for me was that Perthbands.com was nominated for best website even though it hasn’t been operating since April last year! Anyway, here are the nominations:
PUBLIC VOTED AWARDS

(These are the awards that will be voted on myspace)
Most Popular Act
Eskimo Joe
Karnivool
Snowman
The Panda Band

Most Popular Album
Bob Evans - Suburban Songbook
Eskimo Joe - Black Fingernails, Red Wine
Snowman - Snowman
The Panda Band - This Vital Chapter

Most Popular Single/EP
Eskimo Joe - Black Fingernails, Red Wine
Little Birdy - Come On, Come On
Schvendes - Small Mercies, Sweet Graves
Sex Panther - Killer Pink

Most Popular Live Act
Eskimo Joe
Karnivool
Schvendes
Snowman

Favourite Newcomer
Birds Of Tokyo
Mink Mussel Creek
Streetlight
Sugar Army

Most Popular Music Video
Eskimo Joe - Black Fingernails, Red Wine
Little Birdy - Come On, Come On
Snowman - You Are A Casino
Antistatic - Stand Up In Disguise

Most Popular Music Website
Perthsounds.com
Rockus.com.au
Perthbands.com
wam.asn.au

Most Popular Music Venue
Amplifier Bar
Hyde Park Hotel
Mojos
Rosemount Hotel

Most Popular Music Event
Big Day Out
In The Pines
WAMi Festival
Southbound

INDUSTRY VOTED AWARDS
(Voted by Industry people only)

Most Promising New Act
Faith In Plastics
Mink Mussel Creek
Streetlight
Sugar Army

Golden WAMi
Heath Bradby
Peter Barr
Paul Sloan
Scott Adam

Following their explosive performances on the national Big Day Out festival recently, Perth band End Of Fashion release ‘She’s Love’, the third single from their Gold self-titled album.

‘She’s Love’ was written by lead singer Justin Burford, and will be released on Saturday February 25. It features a Alan Moulder remix of ‘Anything Goes’ and a live acoustic version of ‘Lock Up Your Daughters’.

End Of Fashion will again hit the road travelling the east & west coasts - performing and signing copies of ‘She’s Love’ at in-stores in Perth, Melbourne, Sydney & Brisbane later this month.

‘She’s Love’ sees End Of Fashion score a coveted hat-trick: it’s their third consecutive single to be the #1 Most Added [Track] to Australian radio.

On the TV front they are preparing for what is set to be a stand-out performance on Rove Live, on Tuesday February 28th, it will be their second performance on the show!

‘She’s Love’ is sure to cement End Of Fashion’s status as one of the best Aussie bands of 2006.

In-Store Dates:
PERTH: Friday 24 February 4:30pm
78 Records 914 Hay St Perth

BRISBANE : Saturday 25 Feb 2pm
Upper Stage Queen Street Mall

MELBOURNE : Tuesday 28 February February 4pm
JB Hi-Fi Bourke St Melbourne

SYDNEY : Thursday 2 March 6pm
JB Hi-Fi Pitt St Sydney

After countless laps of Australia and across the ditch over the last twelve months, End of Fashion’s hard work is beginning to bear fruit. With a # 3 chart debut, 2 x ARIA award wins and sell out shows it is our great pleasure to announce that the bands self titled debut album is now officially GOLD in both AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND.

Their latest single ‘Lock Up Your Daughters’ was #1 most added at Australian radio 1st week in. With a larkish clip featuring fierce rollerskating girls getting flogged, the single was released this week and is sure to be a summer smash.

End of Fashion are in New Zealand next weekend to play at the inaugural Southern Amp Festival with The Hoodoo Gurus and The Living End, and will be back in time to begin their summer assault on the festivals beginning with Homebake.

“We’re so honoured to be invited to play at esteemed festivals we’ve been attending as punters for over a decade, I can’t wait!!” Justin Burford

Catch End of Fashion at any of the following dates / places:
2005
26/11 Southern Amp Festival, Christchurch NZ
30/11 Yamba Gold Course, Yamba, NSW
1/12 Plantation, Coffs Harbour, NSW
3/12 Homebake, Sydney, NSW
9/12 Central Park, Joondallup, WA (all ages show)
26/12 Rollercoaster, Mandurah, WA
30/12 Falls Festival, Marion Bay TAS
31/12 Falls Festival, Lorne VIC

2006
2/1 Southbound Festival, Busselton WA
20/1 Big Day Out, Auckland New Zealand
22/1 Big Day Out, Gold Coast
26/1 Big Day Out, Sydney
29/1 Big Day Out, Melbourne
3/2 Big Day Out, Adelaide
5/2 Big Day Out, Perth

I spoke to Justin from End Of Fashion about music, crowds, past bands and love all while he was in an elevator.

Q. There is a lot of interest in Perth bands and Perth music at the moment, do you think there is a particular Perth sound and is it very different from bands from the Eastern States?

Yeah there is definitely a lot of interest in Perth bands at the moment and I guess you could say there is a Perth sound. The pop scene in Perth has exploded mainly the low-fi melodic sounding bands that have a lead singer with a personality and I guess that is where the money is at the moment. The same thing could have been said a few years ago when indie rock was at its most popular and bands like Jebediah and Ammonia were coming out of Perth. It is natural that a pop is big and it will be interesting to see what happens in the next few years. The main thing for new artists to do is to create music that is going to get noticed and pop is it at the moment. It is hard for artists that get noticed as the popular genre is on its way out, you need to be able to see what will be popular in the future and get your timing right.

Q. The End Of Fashion live show is a great thing to be seen. Audiences that I have seen really seem to get into the music. Is getting a crowd involved important to having a good show or do you just concentrate on playing great music and the crowd is blocked out?

I think it’s half and half. You can’t be too aware of the crowd or they will dictate how you perform, you need to dictate how you want the crowd to reacts. It all depends on the crowd and atmosphere. If the crowd is unresponsive then it is our job to try and change that.

Q. There have been a lot of rumours going around about whether End Of Fashion have been signed to a major label or not. Can you confirm this for us? And are there plans for an EP or album to be released soon? Have you recorded yet?

No we have not signed to a major label. We are looking at labels overseas and everything kind of depends on that. We have had interest from major labels but decided to look overseas instead. We haven’t recorded anything yet except for demos and if the overseas label thing happens we should release an EP in Australia in the next 6 months.

Q. After your residency at The Amplifier Bar are there plans for a tour either around WA or over East?

No we want to tour over east as all bands do but without a product it is kind of useless. If the overseas label thing happens then we will definitely do a tour overseas and over east but we are just waiting for that to work itself out.

Q. Rod, who plays guitar, and yourself left The Sleepy Jackson in February. Was the leaving on bad terms or was it inevitable?

Well I thought it was on good terms at the time but I have been getting a bit of shit about it lately. It was just a personality conflict that caused the split but it wasn’t a bad tempered thing.

Q. Vanessa Thornton from Jebediah plays bass for the band at the moment. Is this a permanent fixture or just a temporary arrangement? If a temp thing, will she be recording with you and do you have someone planned for the future?

No it is just a temporary thing. We are actually looking at bass players at the moment. We are looking for someone who has presence and a good personality and not necessarily someone who can play every song in the world. I didn’t start playing music until I was like 13 and didn’t start writing songs until I was 19 so I don’t think someone who has played for years might not be as useful to us than someone with the right personality and fits in with the band.

Q. What bands have had the greatest influence on you and who are your favourite bands at the moment? Has anyone told you that you sound just like the guy from Muse?

Yeah I haven’t had too many influences but it used to be the usual bunch that everybody says: The Beatles, Nirvana etc. More recently I’d have to say Lou Reed, Velvet Underground, Jeff Buckley, Grand Daddy. I’m really into Grand Daddy’s new album Sumday at the moment and I guess it’s inspiring me but who knows. Yeah a few people have told me I sound like the Muse guy and I think it’s quite funny coz I can’t stand Muse or the way they sound. Their first album was pretty good but I just can’t get into them and I think it’s just ironic that people think I sound like him and I don’t like that sound at all. I’ve also heard a Jeff Buckley comparison and that I don’t mind but Muse no.

Q. What is your favourite live music venue in Perth? Do you prefer small pub shows with a small audience or bigger shows with lots of people cheering you on?

My favourite venue is The Amplifier Bar or Metro City. The Amplifier Bar has the best sound, lighting, people there and atmosphere and Metro City is just a great place to play. The Rosemount is also a great new place since it has been renovated. Small shows are more intimate and I could say the cliché of small shows keep you in touch with the audience but I really prefer big shows when the audience start to really get into it. With smaller shows the audience can sometimes be scared to come up and get into the music. Large shows let the crowd really get into it and can create a great feeling and atmosphere. We played a show at the Newport a little while a go and it was probably the biggest audience we’ve had. The atmosphere was electric and I even had some nerves before the show. It was the first really big show that we have done and the crowd was really into it and were right in our face. I love that kind of a crowd and it helps the band get more into playing as well.

Q. Well thanks for the interview Justin. Good luck with your show tomorrow at The Amplifier Bar and I’ll probably see you there.

What you aren’t going to the Placebo concert? I wish I could go but yeah I have the show, but my girlfriend is supporting them with Little Birdy (Katie Steele), so that’s ok. Thanks.

Interview by Justin