Hi guys can you tell us the names of the members of Briscoe and what are their roles are?

Bart – guitar and vocals,

Dave – Bass,

Kate – keys and vocals,

Jacob – guitar and vocals,

Dee Dee – synth and percussion and vocals,

Ross – drums

 

How long have Briscoe been playing together? Can you tell us how you originally formed? Where did your name come from?

We’ve been together since late 2010. I was playing drums in a band called Kid Confucius until we split in April of that year, and Briscoe coalesced from of a bunch of newly homeless songs and some great friends I was playing with in another band called Dusker. I think the original intention was just to record songs myself, throw them up online and never gig, meaning I wouldn’t have to actually learn to play guitar or sing. But my ambition for the band grew as the months went by and I ended up thinking that it was a chicken-shit attitude never to stand on stage in judgment alongside your art.

 

How would you describe your sound?

Pop/rock/country/soul, heavy on the harmonies, bit of synth, bit of grit, getting better all the time.

 

Who are your influences?

Beck, Bowie, the Beatles, Springsteen, Neil Young, Marvin Gaye, LCD Soundsystem, Wilco… pretty much old bastards

 

Have you had many gigs recently?

We’ve just finished a run of shows in support of our first single, Animal. They were our first ever shows and they were well received which is a massive relief. I was totally confident in the other guys but I’d never played guitar or fronted a band on stage before, and after a year and a half of working our arses off on the record and in the rehearsal room, a lot of anxious pressure built up behind the gigs. Up until that first show it felt a bit like having built a house without inspecting the foundation structure. The slab seems ok though, you should come check it out.

If you could share a stage with any band in the world who would you choose?

I just asked Dee and she said “Sufjan, obviously”. That’s about right.

 

What are your career highlights so far?

Well in Briscoe, the highlight would probably have been the Sydney Animal launch at GoodGod Small Club where we played with The Ray Mann Three. The venue is a winner, the crowd was so excellent and tRM3 were great as always. To tell you the truth I have real trouble remembering anything specific about our actual shows, they’re complete blurs of sweat and lights and sound. I just come away with a feeling and that one felt really good.

 

If a crowd comes to see Briscoe perform live what will they go away remembering?

Hopefully they’ll remember the songs, or bits of them at least. Though we have been doing a pretty sweet cover and we get a lot of “hey that song was effing awesome, yeah that was my favourite”. Ha! Half funny, half demoralizing.

 

You’ve just released ‘Animal’. For those who haven’t already heard it what can they expect to hear when they give it a listen?

A lament, a slow build then an alt-country explosion.

 

Caz & The Doctor at Triple J have been showing love for ‘Animal’ how did you first feel when you heard the praise? Does it feel like a dream that you are getting radio play?

It’s definitely nice of them to take the time to write about the song and we appreciate it, but I’m no more excited than when my brother says he loves the song. It’s so easy to let your expectations get out of control in this game when you get a little recognition, so this time around I’m just trying to make sure that WE are happy with the music. If that can be enough, you’re cheering.

In terms of radio, I don’t think the Js have actually played us yet so in that sense it does feel like a dream but I heard it on FBi the other day while I was stuck behind a really slow driver and it definitely zenned me out.

 

 What was the process like recording your new stuff?

My most recent experiences recording with Kid Confucius were big productions in big studios with a lot of people having their say on the final product. I was keen to keep this record on the self-produced home studio vibe. We recorded pretty much everything at my place onto a laptop with a couple of excursions to friends’ pianos. Then when I realised my computer wasn’t powerful enough to deal with so many tracks, we took it all to Luke Bertoz at Zapata Studios in Coogee to mix it. He did some magic stuff with the songs.

 

Are you nervous about the album’s release later this year?

I’m not nervous at all.

 

 Where do you hope Briscoe ends up in 2012? What are you short term goals? What are your long term goals?

Personally I just want to play live as much as possible and as far and as wide as possible, and that means being able to break even which is hard. I hope that by the end of the year, we are widely enough known and well enough regarded that we can play tons of shows all around Australia that’ll pay for themselves. Long-term is as above, replacing “Australia” with “the world”.

 

Where do you play live so people can come to see you?

We’re on a little hiatus but will be back in May playing plenty of east coast dates so keep an eye on the Facething and the blog

 

 Is there anything else you would like people to know about Briscoe?

If you like Animal you can get it on iTunes.

 

Do you have a website people can check out?

briscoeinyourears.blogspot.com

Dave Griffiths

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It’s hard to believe, but Aussie rock act The Superjesus parted ways almost 10 years ago. The various members have scattered to the four winds, and gone on to many different projects. Some high profile, some not so much. Lead singer Sarah McLeod has been exceptionally busy in the intervening time, as she explained to us recently from a rehearsal studio in Sydney.

“I did one solo album and then took off and lived overseas for about five years,” she recalls, “and then I cam back and just kind of started again. I was doing a lot of dance music over in New York and the UK. Then I came back here, I actually had a solo album that I was going to put out, that was totally electro. But I just changed my mind, I’ve still got it, I just can’t be bothered putting it out, I’ve moved on!” She laughs, “maybe one day!”

She’s also got a brand new band together, a fiery, all girl three piece pop-rock outfit called Screaming Bikini, who have released one single and have an album on the way.

“This is my new passion project,” she states, “this is really fun. The girls are great, we’re just a three piece, and I’ve always wanted to play in a three piece my whole life. It’s way more fun playing in a three piece, because each instrument counts so much. Every time you do anything, it’s like everyone can hear it. So, as a muso it’s a really fun band to be in. The songs are really cool, we’re writing new songs, and the new material’s really crankin’. We get along well, it’s really fun and so far it’s been the funnest project I’ve ever been in. There’s been no dramas at all. There’s always dramas in rock n roll, but for some reason, none in this one!”

“It is early days though,” she adds as an afterthought.

The band’s single, Easy is an ultra catchy little ditty, very different to the powerful rock sound put across by The Superjesus. It begged the question of what she has been inspired by since her former band’s demise, and if this is the direction she was heading in with the new project.

“Such a wide, diverse range of stuff it’s almost too hard to describe,” she explains, “I get ideas from anything I listen to. The style of music is not in any kind of pocket, it’s a bit of this, bit of that. I’ll hear four bars, of anything on the radio and I’ll go ‘yeah, I can rip that off!’

“But that song Easy is not a real indication of where the band is now,” she continues, “we don’t play it live, I might do it at an acoustic show, but we don’t do it live. Our new stuff has gone really four on the floor rockin’. We put that song out in the beginning, we didn’t really have a direction of what we were doing. We didn’t actually have a band together when we put that song out, we just put it out for kicks. Then we put the band together and we said ‘hang on, we know who we are now!’ And we kinda started again.”

Yet another thing she has on the go is an upcoming tour with Starsailor frontman James Walsh. The tour takes in most of the Eastern seaboard and Adelaide during mid to late March, and plays the Esplanade Hotel in Melbourne on Friday the 23^rd. It’s a very intimate, stripped back acoustic show, and Sarah can’t wait for it to start.

“I used to tour around acoustically, almost constantly,” she remembers, “and then I stopped to do Screaming Bikini. This tour came through with Steve Walsh and I though a) it’d be fun to play with him and b) it’d be fun to get out and play acoustically again. It’s only been a few months, but it’s always good to do a bit of this and a bit of that, and I like my hand in lots of pies.

“Yeah, I really am (looking forward to it).” She enthuses, “because I like to break it up. Because I’ve been standing up playing electric guitar, it’s nice to sit down and have an acoustic guitar. Have a few wines and chit chat, and play a few songs but in a more relaxed fashion. I’ve got so many songs that it’s hard to choose every night. So every night I play something different and run through my back catalogue. I’ve got a lot in there to choose from!”

So what can punters expect from this show? “It’s a very relaxed show,” she describes, “It’s like I’m sitting in my lounge room full of my friends!”

Rod Whitfield

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Kira can you let us know a little about yourself as a musician? When did you discover your love for music? How long have you been in the industry

I’ve always loved music. I was writing songs on my first little, two-octave Casio when I was 3 or 4….I was also making mud pies around that time too. I suppose I could’ve been a baker, there’s probably more money in it.

 

Who are members of The Bruise and what are their roles?

There’s Chas on the kit, Jamieson on the bass and Geordie on guitar, however, their roles in the band extend far beyond the instruments they play. For instance, they’re really good at telling me when to stop drinking.

 

How long have The Bruise been playing together? Can you tell us how you originally formed? Where did your name come from?

Well I’ve been saying ‘two years’ for about a year now…so I suppose it’s probably three. I held some “Bachelorette” style auditions for the band soon after I realised I couldn’t play more than one instrument at a time.

It took us a really long time to find a name that we could all agree on. The Bruise started as a joke after a mispronunciation of the word ‘blues’, and by comparison it was the best. People often ask if it’s “The Bros” with a bad imitation NZ accent. I sometimes wonder how stupid people think I actually am.

 

How would you describe your sound?

People like to use the (Diva) meets (Band) approach.  ”Amy Winehouse meets Sonic Youth”

We’re heading away from the sound people probably know of us to experiment with different tones, rhythms, textures, techniques and writing styles. In the end, I suppose we’re a mash-up, a meeting place for our respective tastes and influences.

Someone once said we were like a ‘musical argument’. That seems apt.

 

Who are your influences?

Well obviously I’m influenced by the great divas: Etta, Aretha, Ella, Nina, Billie, Ruth and the list goes on. Our collective influences though are a little more contemporary…. Radiohead, Grizzly Bear, Portishead, The National, Dangermouse, Leonard Cohen, The Bad Seeds, Angelo Badalamenti, Jeff Buckley, Mark Ronson, The Arctic Monkeys, Battles, Bjork, The Drones, PJ Harvey, The White Stripes, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs… and Peter Combe.

 

Have you had many gigs recently?

It feels like we’re always gigging. Last year we did a ‘residency tour’ which went over about six months and clocked up some serious kms on our car. This year, we’re scaling it back a bit to give us more time in the studio.

 

If you could share a stage with any band in the world who would you choose?

Weird Al.

 

What are your career highlights so far?

We just released our first film clip. That’s a milestone for me.

 

If a crowd comes to see Kira Puru & The Bruise perform live what will they go away remembering?

If you’re a good alcoholic, you won’t remember any of it.

 

You’ve just released a new single. What can people expect to hear on it?

We spent a little more time and money on this one. We’ve moved forth from the ‘gritty’ and ‘live’ thing that we did on the last EP and went for a slicker sound. The boys sing on it too….they have lovely singing voices.

 

What was the process like recording the single?

We recorded it with Mark Opitz at 301 in Sydney. The studio is big and shiny and intimidating…but it’s a great room, Mark was great and the guys from 301 are excellent to work with. The Jezabels were upstairs recording their current album and Matt Corby was out the back doing his latest EP. There was also a lot of ping-pong played in the courtyard.

 

Where do you hope Kira Puru & The Bruise ends up in 2012? What are you short term goals? What are your long term goals?

You sound like my manager. We’re hoping to get overseas at some point. We’re always keen to play festivals. My most important goal right now is working on the next release. We’re spending a lot of time writing and arranging the new songs and I’m excited to see how they’ll end up. The anticipation leading up to recording is sickening. Right now we’re motivated by making good music that we can stand by, that’s my long and short term goal.

 

Where do you play live so people can come to see you?

We’re playing at the Tote on March 30 for the ‘When All Your Love is Not Enough’ tour. You can ‘like’ our facebook to get regular updates on where we’ll be.

 

Is there anything else you would like people to know about Kira Puru & The Bruise?

I’d like to dispel that rumour that we’re Freemasons.

 

Do you have a website people can check out?

facebook.com/kirapuruandthebruise

myspace.com/kirapurumusic

triplejunearthed.com/kpandthebruise

Dave Griffiths

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Who are members of Black Label Australia and what are their roles?

Steve Mulry – Vocals

Geordie Muscat – Drums

Laurie Marlow – Bass/Vocals

Jon Ford – Guitar/Vocals

Ross Flynn – Guitar/Vocals

 

How long have you been playing together? Can you tell us how you originally formed? Where did your name come from?

The band originated in 1988 on the NSW Central Coast. Geordie joined the band in 1994 & after several months the band decided to split.

Geordie in agreement with the other members took ownership of the name & gradually reformed the band with new members.

Over the next few years other members have been replaced until the current lineup evolved around about 5 years ago.

 

How would you describe your sound?

Raw Aussie Pub Rock in the vein of Rose Tattoo, The Angels & AC/DC

 

Who are your influences?

 We have quite a diverse list of influences including: Dio, Black Sabbath, Thin Lizzy,      Alice In Chains, Slash, AC/DC

 

You just won a Heat at The Hard Rock what was it like fronting up on stage that night?

Not having all our own equipment or sound engineer was the biggest thing for us. It’s like being naked in a room full of strangers. You become so familiar within your comfort zone that any change from the norm can cause additional anxiety because you always want to perform at your best. So you sort it out as quickly as you can & get on with it.

Other than that it was a great buzz being in Surfers Paradise, a thousand kilometers from home, giving your all for what seemed like only five minutes J

 

Was it a surprise for you guys that you won? How did you guys fell you had gone after your set?

We’ve been in situations like this before where we’ve felt confident of winning a comp & ending up not on the top step. Therefore we don’t take anything for granted in these situations anymore. I must admit, it did feel pretty good when they called out who came third, and then second. There being only three bands in the heat it wasn’t necessary to hear we’d won the heat.

 

What was it like playing at Hard Rock?

I’ve always wanted to gig at The Hard Rock Café. It’s an iconic brand & therefore   high on my list of venues to perform in. I loved the place.

 

Have you had many other gigs recently?

We gig constantly averaging 80 shows a year either supporting the likes of Rose Tattoo or The Angels, The Radiators & also The Poor. Plus we do plenty of our gigs in Sydney & the surrounding area.

 

If you could share a stage with any band in the world who would you choose?

For me it would be Black Sabbath or Whitsnake. I think sharing the stage with your idols would be one of the most exciting things a musician could do.

 

What is Black Label Australia’s career highlights so far?

I think our biggest highlight to date would be touring through Europe & realizing how big a market there is over there for our style of music. The crowds were very receptive & friendly. I’d go back over there at the drop of a hat if it was financially viable to do so.

 

If a crowd comes to see Black Label Australia perform live what will they go away remembering?

I guess they’ll be remembering how good looking the lead singer is J Just kidding.

Hopefully they’ll remember what a great time they had & that the next time they should bring all their friends so we can all have a good time together……..and how good looking the lead singer is.

 

Are there any plans for a full length album or EP soon?

We’re currently writing for our next release which will be our sixth studio album. As with every band, were trying to outdo our previous albums so we’re taking our time with this one.

 

Where do you hope Black Label Australia ends up in 2012? What are you short term goals? What are your long term goals?

This year we hope to spread our wings a little further with some interstate touring. We have a lot of fans around this big country of our & most of them never get to see us live.

Our short term goals include completing our next album, cementing our brand nationally & securing more corporate sponsorship.

Our long term goals obviously include world domination & free pizza’s for the rest of our lives J

 

Where do you play live so people can come to see you? When will you be at Hard Rock next?

Most of our shows are in & around Sydney. Our gigs are always up at www.blacklabelaustralia.com.au & we can be contacted there or at our Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, ReverbNation & last but not least MySpace pages.

We’ll be back at The Hard Rock Café in Surfers Paradise on Thursday March 22 for the final of the Hard Rock Rising comp which we’re very much looking forward to.

 

Is there anything else you would like people to know about Black Label Australia?

Yes. We will be coming your way sooner or later so take the time to come out & have a night with us & get into some real Aussie Rock & bring pizza…

Dave Griffiths

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Firstly thank you so much Graeme for agreeing to do this. You were in Wet Wet Wet for nearly 28 years and then seemed to jump straight into working on your first solo album… did you take time out to relax at all or did you leap straight into Mr. Understanding? How long did the planning take for it?

In the last 2 years i have been concentrating on MR UNDERSTANDING, so you could say the planning took that long, but it wasn’t like I locked myself away for 2 years, I made most of it at home so I was dipping in and out for that period.

Also living life does take a big chunk of you time up!! I like to live life too.

Are you nervous about releasing Mr. Understanding? How do the nerves compare to when you first released ‘Popped In Souled Out’ with Wet Wet Wet?

Nervous, no not really. I would love it to do well, but the real reason for me doing an album of new songs is to be able to go out and play live. Truth is I’m a show off and I miss playing in front of people. Its different being in a band and being a solo artist. Also it’s a changed playing field than it was in 1987. The only similarity is I’m still making the music I want to make.

Did the fact that you are now a solo artist change the process of both writing the songs for Mr. Understanding and recording the album?

Yes a lot changed with the writing process. When you write for a band, contributions come from a lot of different angles and they are all valid to an extent.

The recording goes through a different process too, as you are doing the playing yourself as opposed to playing with other musicians, technology nowadays allows you to do all this fairly easily but I still think you need other musicians there as that’s where a lot of the magic happens.

You recorded some of the album in your studio at home, does that help you become more focused on your work, or is harder because there are more distractions?

Both really. Its all about balancing everything. I tried to work in the daytime in a semi structured way. But there are times when Im sitting relaxing and an idea will present itself. and usually thats at 11.30 in the evening! The beauty of having a home studio is that you can go and work when you want. I think I do my best work before 5 or 6 pm anything after that is usually not as focused.

What was a usual day like for you while putting together the album?

Have breakfast 9am. so that Im in working at 10. Ill work till 1pm then have lunch and then back in till 5,6 pm occasionally I’ll work thru’ but as I said my focus has gone by 6pm esp. if I’m working alone.

What has been your inspiration during the writing process for this album?

I take inspiration from anywhere I can. classical music, movies, plays, absolutely anywhere, even in everyday conversations. You have to just be in tune with what your listening to ,watching, conversing with, and know when it might be a good idea. Songs come from the most unlikely places sometimes.

What method do you use to write a song? Do you work out the music first or the lyrics first?

Always the music comes first, but there are no rules. I do have a book of my musings , ideas, phrases and the likes. the iPhone is handy as it’s your dictaphone and I’ve started using it in the way I would use the book of lyrics, keeping notes etc. When I get the music I refer to my book/iPhone and see if there is anything that jumps out or I think might fit with the music.

You have been playing a few shows recently, did it take some time to get used to being on stage without your Wet Wet Wet bandmates (not including Graeme Duffin of course)?

I have moved from stage left to centre stage and although there is only a few steps the perception is wildly different.  I deliberately chose Graeme Duffin as i felt comfortable with him, he made the record with me, and we have been playing for 20 odd years together, so musically we know each other very well.

Have you always dreamt of doing a solo album? Why did you wait so long into your career to live out that dream?

I do wish I had got to it sooner but that’s the way my life has went. Having said that maybe this is the right time to do it. I might not have made the album I wanted to had I made it years ago. I beleive you are where you are meant to be and just now I’m playing my album to audiences up and down the country so that’s where I’m meant to be.

Do you think Mr. Understanding will expose your music to a whole new generation and audience?

You never really know who is going to like you or dislike you. I was lucky that I was in a band that were hugely successful and it felt like an audience found us. Not the other way round. I see a lot of talk today about market research – who your target market is blah blah blah….. Im happy to play in front of a crowd of people be it 45 or 4500, and I dont care if they are 14 or 64. I do hope to take it to a new generation and audience, but that’s not my reason for doing this.

What kind of music can people expect to hear on Mr. Understanding?

  My music is song based, I hope I have strong melodies and good lyrics , good instrumentation and good production. I hope my music has no pretentions of being something its not. The best I can hope for – as a muso speaking – is musical honesty. That sounds pretty pretentious though!!!!

Is there chance you’ll be touring in Australia anytime soon? Do you have fond memories of Australia ?

I have extremely fond memories of Aus. I loved it ! and we met some fantastic people. We took some time out and travelled from Brisbane up to Cairns and that was an adventure and a half…. I would love to do it again, so if there is any promoters out there fancy hearing some of my songs live please give me a call.

You’ve been in the Music Industry for a long while now, what changes have you seen happen that you think have been good for the Industry and which ones do you think are bad for it.

Obviously the internet has changed a lot of things and not just in the music biz. Music has always followed and been in tandem with technology so it’s right that it should move with the times. I dont see the internet as a thing that’s killing music at all. Good music will always survive – whether thats thru a CD, Vinyl, website , internet – people still need it. I think the advent of TV style talent shows is eroding musics integrity. We always had Talent Shows it’s just they seem to have more importance in the business today, and I’m not sure how healthy that is for music.

You are highly regarded as a muso, but which musicians does Graeme Clark admire? Is there anyone that you would love to work with that you haven’t?

I thank you for saying I am a “highly regarded muso” There are a lot of good musos out there, for me I can get a lot from people who express themselves in a way that moves me. Be it a singer, a bass player, or a guitarist, Music with a good emotional content that hits me between the eyes, Im listening to Gil Scott Heron “I’m New Here” and that’s doing it for me in terms of listening to something that moves me, it’s a pity he has left us now as I would’ve loved to work with someone like that who has never compromised either in his life or his music.

So where to now for Graeme Clark?

 My friend Neil Sidwell is playing with Hamish Stewart from The Average White Band so I’m off to check them out!

  Thank-you for your time too. And I would love to visit Australia again soon!

Dave Griffiths

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Who are members of The Cruel Kind and what are their roles?

Paul – Vocals / Guitar and Song Writer / Lyrics

Darren – Bass / Vocals

Laison – Drums

 

How long have you been playing together? Can you tell us how you originally formed? Where did your name come from?

The band formed at the end of 2010 but the boys and I had been good mates for years previously.  It was just one of those things were we kept running into each other at various party’s in Newtown, talked about getting together and having a jam “one day.” Eventually, we finally got into a studio for a few weekends and The Cruel Kind appeared.

 

How would you describe your sound?

Our music is on the harder side of hard rock, but we are not quite hitting heavy metal. Our sound has a pulse that seems to attract people, even if that type of music is not their preferred genre. Its definitely a heavy guitar driven sound, backed by huge sold bass sound that fits tight with my “no frills,” style of drumming.

 

Who are your influences?

That would depend on who you ask but we have loads??  Paul who writes our songs comes from a Metallica / Pantera place and you can hear his influences coming through loud and clear at our gigs. Daz is a G’n’R / Motley / AC-DC guy. My influences are bands like The Cult, Green Day and Tool.

 

You just won the 1^st Heat at The Hard Rock what was it like fronting up on stage that night

That gig was one for the books man. You always have adrenalin pumping through your veins at a show and muso’s learn to thrive on that but at The Hard Rock, we encountered something we were not used to? At the end of your 25 min set, you are judged, American Idol style. Three industry professionals on a panel and they are there to tell it like it is and in front of the crowd you just played for. We haven’t felt fear like that on stage since we started playing. It was an awesome experience.

 

Was it a surprise for you guys? How did you guys felt you had gone after your set?

It was definitely a surprise to make the Grand Finals. We have only been playing gigs for 11 months so we are relatively new to the Sydney scene and Halfway Home who played just before us smashed out an amazing set. After our set we knew we had just played our best gig to-date but until they announced us, we had no idea what the judges thought of The Cruel Kind

 

What was it like playing at Hard Rock?

What a great place to play at! As soon as we arrived at the venue Steve and the HRC crew made us feel like rock stars. The front of house sound that their guy pumped out matched our music perfectly and the stage was a great fit for a 3-piece hard rock outfit. What surprised us the most was the walk in traffic. We only had around 20-30 odd people with us and so did the other bands but once we started, the place was packed!!

 

Have you had many other gigs recently?

We are normally based at the Lewisham Live House but we only play there every 8 weeks to give all our fans (friends / family / other bands) a break from having to come down and see us all the time.

 

If you could share a stage with any band in the world who would you choose?

I say Motley Crue..but the lads would probably say Metallica

 

What is The Cruel Kind’s career highlight so far?

Sydney Grand Finalists – Hard Rock Rising 2012

 

If a crowd comes to see The Cruel Kind perform live what will they go away remembering?

They will remember us as one of the cleanest and tightest sounding Hard Rock outfits they have heard coming from a 3-piece band.

 

Are there any plans for a full length album or EP soon?

Yep – we are heading into the studio over winter and planning to have an EP out before summer in time for the festival season.

 

Where do you hope The Cruel Kind ends up in 2012? What are you short term goals? What are your long term goals?

Our short-term goal is to get into the studio and put down a few tracks. Long term is definitely getting our music out there by the end of this year and hopefully scoring a festival gig or two.

 

Where do you play live so people can come to see you? When will you be at Hard Rock next?

Keep your eyes out for The Cruel Kind at the Lewisham Live House. We are back at the Hard Rock Café March 24.

 

Is there anything else you would like people to know about The Cruel Kind?’

Nah, Ive talked too much already.

 

Do you have a website people can check out?

Reverbnation/thecruelkind or myspace/thecruelkind

Dave Griffiths

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So who are members of Panama and what are their roles?

Cam: Bass, Moog, Vocals
Lachlan: Drums, Vocals
Trevor: Percussion, Guitars, Vocals
Myself (Jarrah): Synth, Guitars, Vocals

How long have you been playing together?
About 3 months.  Not very long!

Can you tell us how you originally formed?
The band actually formed after the album was already written.  Jarrah met Lachlan through a house party in Chippendale (Sydney).

Trevor and Cam are both house mates so that’s pretty much how the band was formed.

Where did your name come from?
We wanted a name that could best describe the music being created.  Panama could be many different sounds, that’s what attracted us to it.

How would you describe your sound?
A combination of Disco, New Wave and House.  We make pop music from those elements.

Who are your influences?
There are so many, Chic, David Bowie’s ‘Let’s Dance’ record, D Train (Keep on), The Clash (Magnificent dance), Talking heads,
The Police (Voices in my head), Blondie, Peter Gabrial (Spank the monkey), Tom Tom Club, Richie Havens (Going back to my roots).

Have you had many gigs recently?
We’ve played 3 so far.

If you could share a stage with any band in the world who would you choose?
Hmm probably Earth, Wind and Fire, actually probably not, they are ridiculous musicians… we would sound horrible!

What are Panama’s career highlight so far?
Triple J has picked up our first single ‘Magic’.  That’s been really encouraging.

If a crowd comes to see Panama perform live what will they go away remembering?
Hopefully that we played reasonably well!

You’ve just released a new single (Magic). What can people expect to hear on it?
A classic pop song with an ‘80s twist.

Do you have a website people can check out?
www.facebook.com/wearepanamatheband

Dave Griffiths

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The Gracemakers Kent Morris and Tiffany Kommedal   first single Blanket has been released to radio last week. The track has been lifted off their previous four track self titled release- an Ep that has been a year in the making.
‘We set about writing songs without having any idea of how they would sound stylistically. Tiffany (Kommedal) drives the content of the songs lyrically as well as emotional and I work on guitar duties.’
‘It really is a good song-writing relationship. We click really well on what a  song should be about and how it should be structured. It’s always been that way with us from when we first started working together,’ he explains.
Kent has been involved in writing music for TV, film and other performers, what has he enjoyed the most? He thought for a moment and was unable to go to either corner. Music is the appeal, whatever genre he is writing for.
He has crossed referenced so many styles, rock, folk, electronica, I wondered about Folk?
Was he just getting that bit older and it suited his personality?
‘That was the style that really suited Tiff’s songs I found it really quite different and challenging.’
Have you had to buy some beads to fit in with the folk image?
“Yes and no.’ (He laughs).
When you write music do you write it in silence?
‘How else do you write it?”
I ventured people tick, people hum, people click, people slap guitars.
‘I love silence. Silence is the go. The best time for me to write music is when there is silence.’
So what is the best environment for you to write music? A comfy chair, sitting under a tree, sitting on the edge of your bed?
‘The comfy chair would have to be the way to go for me.’
Being a “folk” guy would your chair be blue?
‘It’s actually an old Chinese, wooden bench with rough branch legs. It’s really beautiful.’
As an Indigenous arts officer, Kent is currently curator of the Confined 4 exhibition  on display at The Gallery, St Kilda Town Hall from February 8 to March 7. that features artworks from Indigenous prisoners in Victoria’s prisons.
Travelling to eleven of Victoria’s prisons Kent was able to source the stunning artwork for the exhibition.
What were the greatest juxstapositions in selecting work? Was he expecting angry paintings of red and black,  or did you get a painting of delicate skill from some-one in gaol for murdering someone?
‘One of the things that really hit me was the richness and power of Aboriginal culture. One of the things that really surprised me was the ingenuity of many of the artists, in often such confining environments.
Who surprised you the most?
‘There was one guy there with a history of social isolation, he’d lost his family connections, he’d been adopted, he was really alone, when I saw him he was coping other people’s artwork. I wanted him to work on his own. Develop he own styles.  happened to be back months later and I saw this most stunning piece of work. It was a work featuring the faces of elders, all in black on this vivid yellow background. It was sensational!’
What is the age range of the artists?
“From eighteen up to 60 years fo age.
‘Will there be anyone coming out of prison who will now be able to make a career as an artist?
Definitely. There is a huge potential for some of the fellows who are out to make a success of it!’
What’s the secret to all this energy of yours?
‘Dry organic figs.’

Blanket and The Gracemakers EP are now available on iTunes.

www.facebook.com/thegracemakers | www.myspace.com/thegracemakers

Peter Sutton

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At the risk of stating the blatantly obvious, American rock band Switchfoot are far from the heaviest band on the Soundwave bill. They’re also probably the least debaucherous and party-ready band in the lineup, with all members being staunch Christians. With all that said, they may seem an interesting choice for a massive bill chock-full of ungodly, murderously heavy bands such as Meshuggah, Slipknot, Lamb of God and Gojira. But bassist and backing vocalist Tim Foreman, speaking from his home in San Diego, welcomes the challenge of playing alonside such brutality, and is very confident they will give an excellent account of themselves.

“No, we like mixing it up like that,” he states with conviction, “we’ve been playing on those types of bills our entire career. Especially over here in the States. We grew up going to punk and metal shows, those are the shows that really got us into music as kids, you know? We’re honoured to be on the bill, and I think it’s gonna be a lot of fun!

“We do a lot of these type of festivals,” he continues, “here in the States and over in Europe as well. You get to see a lot of bands in one day, which we enjoy just as much as the people who buy tickets to go do. We’re fans of the music just like everyone else, and a lot of the times it becomes a big reunion back stage. You see a lot of bands you played with in the past, so it’s always good times!”

Not only have they played on many bills of this nature in the past, the band tend to switch things up for these type of festivals, and bring their hardest rocking A-game to the fold, as Tim explains.

“Well for Soundwave, we’re gonna be bringin’ our rock!” he foretells, “and so it’ll be a pretty high energy show. We tend to just go for it onstage. Jon (Foreman, Tim’s brother and the band’s frontman) is one of those frontmen where you never know whether he’s going to jump into the drum set, or dive into the crowd! Anything can happen, and that’s what I love about it, the recklessness of just getting onstage and going for it.

“We’re doing some headline shows while we’re over there as well,” he says, “we’ll be able to catch our breathe with those, and mix it up a little, be a little bit more diverse. Songs from the entire career that we’ve been a band.”

Speaking of which, it’s been a solid decade and a half that Switchfoot have been around. And it’s been a pretty damn successful career to boot, with eight highly successful albums, a Grammy and many other accolades and mutiple chart singles under their collective belts. Tim often finds it hard to believe that so much water has passed under the bridge for the band.

“It sure doesn’t feel like it (15 years since the band formed),” he states, “but I think that’s the truth, I think we just closed 15 years as a band. And that just feels unbelievable to say that.There’s not many bands that I can just rattle off the top of my head that have been around that long. We certainly never expected to be still doing this 15 years later, that’s for sure. So there’s a lot to be thankful for. It’s ironic though, because we still feel like a baby band. We’re still figuring it out, and learning, and we still feel fresh, like we’re still just getting going here!”

Something that keeps them going for so long has been the pure joy of writing new music and releasing albums, and they have been quite prolific in that length of time. Eight albums since their debut was released in 1997 is better than a new record every two years, and they never seem to run out of inspiration to create new sounds and songs.

“Yeah, we love makin’ songs, it’s what keeps us going,” he enthuses, “the music, the songs, all have a story, and I think we write better through hard times than through good. We’ve been through a lot of adversity as a band, and I think music is a great way to deal with that. I guess we write more about things we don’t understand than things we do. And the music that’s always spoken to me as a fan has always been the same way, music that really takes you somewhere.”

Another thing that spurs the band to keep going through tough times has been their faith. Plus while they don’t actually consider themselves a ‘christian band’ as such, it puts them is a very good position, where they are able to appeal to both Christan and non-Christian fans.

“You know, that’s a funny one,” he understates the situation, “we’ve always been completely honest about our beliefs, and where we’re coming from. At the same time people are always trying to put you in boxes. Our music is just honest, it comes from an honest place, of beliefs and doubts and struggles, and I think it’s something that speaks to a lot of people, but not to everyone…we write songs that a lot of people do appreciate, and the ones that don’t, we couldn’t care less about at this point. You kinda have to have that attitude these days, if you’re gonna make music that you believe in.”

Rod Whitfield

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Jamey Jasta’s voice sounds like he’s been screaming his lungs out in a brutal hardcore act for almost 20 years. Funny that. He also tells us that there’s no special secret or formula for his band Hatebreed’s extended longevity.

“We just enjoy touring with each other and we enjoy recording records,” he states, “it’s as simple as that. We would probably record more, if it wasn’t so commonplace for us to do a record and go on the road for two years. But I think, with the way that things are changing we’ll do another record this year and then maybe put it out early next year. And then we’ll probably go into the crazy touring again, even though we’re doing so much touring this year. We’re going to Australia, then we’re going to South America with Lamb of God, we’re going to Europe to do the festivals.

“I think the longevity of the band comes from the fact that we stagger it out,” he continues, “we don’t just go to the same places every year. We go every two or three years.”

And it’s not just a case of the band enjoying what they do and keeping things fresh in this way, it’s also an absolute must that the members get along, so that they can spend such long periods of time in each other’s company in the studio and on the road.

“On this last tour with Five Finger Death Punch and All that Remains, they were like ‘you guys all hang out with each other every day!’” he laughs “they thought that was weird! And we were like ‘yeah! We get along!’ But I guess it’s like people who’ve been together for a long time, it’s like a marriage, you stay together for the kids.” he chuckles again, “But for us, I think we’re all very easy to get along with.”

Hatebreed are well known for being one of the most aggressive, pissed off bands around, both musically and lyrically. Jamey agrees that their anger at the world has fuelled the fire in their lyrics and actually given them the strength to carry on as a band through the good times and the bad.

“Yeah, there’s no shortage of injustice in the world,” he concurs, “so long as that’s out there, there’s always something to sing about. Now with the landscape in America, there’s been a lot of doom and gloom, a lot of corporate greed and corruption and poverty and political drama. All that’s going to influence the next Hatebreed record. But there’s good out there as well, you can’t always look at the glass half empty, you still have to have some sort of positive outlook. Because you can’t change the world if you’re not happy with yourself. You have to have a positive mindset before you can change other people’s minds.”

It’s this latter thought that comes out in their lyrics as well, and the band’s fans have defintely appreciated the juxtaposition of anger and the more uplifting messages in their words.

“Yeah, absolutely,” he agrees, “I’ve gotten letters, emails, Facebook messages, Myspace comments for years and years and years, saying that the music has positively affected people. Not to mention we’re building an archive of, we have thousands of tatoos that people have of our lyrics and name. It’s nice to see, you know? The little impact we’ve made, I’m glad to say it’s been more than just headbanging and entertainment. People really take the lyrics to heart, which is nice.”

The band touch down in Australia very shortly to jump onto the massive Soundwave bill, for what will be their eighth or ninth trip Down Under. Jamey is absolutely pumped to return, as they never seem to tire of our country: “Oh yeah I can’t wait,” he enthuses, “it’s gonna be great. We’re getting a lot of good feedback on the Facebook, and all the other social networking sites. People really seems to be really excited to have Hatebreed come back, so it’s awesome.”

Even though they’re coming up on two decades together as a band, Jamey is still extremely optimistic that the band can carry on for a number of years yet. “I’d like to think so!” he foretells, “A while back, I made a comment about doing it when I was sixty, like Lemmy! From non Hatebreed fans that received a lot of negative comments. Like me or not, respect me or not, I’ve done just as many shows as a lot of older bands, if not more. There was years when we did 300 shows in a year. We’re still out there kickin’ ass every night, and I would like to be doing it when I’m that age. I’m not apologetic about thinking that we have the possibility to do that.”

Speaking to the force of nature that is Jamey Jasta, frontman for one of the all time great hardcore bands in history, only a fool would doubt their potential to still be cranking out the tunes in another 15 to 20 years.

Rod Whitfield

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