levity mixtape

On my first day at Levity i made fast friends with the office stereo.
Shortly after i realised my co-workers were pretty rad too so just like a granny with a fresh batch of cookies i made everyone mixtapes.
For my first blog i decided it was only fair to create another for old times sake.

Not long ago METRONOMY was a slightly chubby pastel cardigan wearing loner who created remixes on his dads computer. Not exactly what you call a sex symbol but you havent heard his version of toxic - cut out the Britney, add some synths and accordions and you have 6 minutes of electronic arousal. He has since been joined by his cousins band "the food groups" as it's abit hard to operate a light show,3 keyboards, a drum machine and a bass by yourself and created songs that turned out better than the uber underground bands they're known for remixing. I would gladly chew off my right arm to see this band live. Plus their synchronised dance moves are so special i just want to wrap them up in bubblewrap and take them oppshopping for moogs.



Levity isn't the only one who gets the all important bond between music and fashion. Chainstores are famous for regurgitating fluro hotpants as shown on mtv so little kiddies can practise krumping in their bedrooms. GOOSE stay true to this trend by forecasting the latest in streetwear....Rubbish!



So when you find yourself with nothing to wear simply bathe in glue then roll around in a party goods dumpster for a truly original look. (Just remember to check the mirror before you go caz something tells me used condoms and bandaids wont be the latest hair accessories in vogue anytime soon) They were the standout out act for me at Parklife last year but in 28days i will be battling pillpoppers and tech heads for the front row centre position on the barricade for DOES IT OFFEND YOU YEAH?!!


Next time your on the town and see that special someone across the dancefloor, dont go home to a jar of Vaseline wondering "what if?"... be brave and request track 6 from the DJ. The constant refrain of "Lets Make Out! Lets Make Out!" is the best song to swap saliva with shy strangers since the Dandy Warhol's "Bohemian Like You"


THE BLACK GHOSTS debut album hasn't been getting the best reviews in the streetpress recently which i find extremely hard to believe for 3 reasons.

1. this track is stella

2. It is Simon Lord from Simian Mobile Disco's side project (aka god)

and 3. i wouldn't want to piss off a band that look like the most wanted members of the 'bald & deadly' biker gang.

I think the root of the hatred comes from the videoclip that makes musicians worried that robots will one day steal their jobs.

LATE OF THE PIER are the type of band i would follow to the ends of the earth. Not only is it aesthetically pleasing to see hot indie boys dance around wearing texta and not much else. They keep churning out tracks that are continuously surprising and awesome. Look up "the bears are coming" and tell me honestly that tribal intergalatic indie rock with gameboy bip and beep samples isnt the best thing you have heard in a long time. Sure they are overacting in their new video but a pop art recording demon emerges from the pits of hell and bashes them up for it.



To help combat the afternoon energy slump i have inclued the UK's most kinetic math rock quintet and (fellow tour mates of Cut Off Your Hands) - FOALS. Who finally got around to releasing an album this year. Which is great as listening to their camera phone recorded demos on the internet for another 6 months would of made me go wrong in my mind tank.



When i was 12, my mum bought me a "facts of life pop up book" that featured a cardboard baby crowning out of a ladys legs and when you pulled the tabs you could make sperm swim up the fallopian tubes. This present was deeply traumatising not to mention embarassing and is something i supressed till i saw the amazing new video by SHIT DISCO (who take the cake for most awesome band name of the year next to fuck buttons)


if you now have a fetish for origami and cute indie music looking up "Pink Squares" by I Was A Cub Scout will fill the void.

I have a confession to make, the first time i heard a snippet of "L.E.S Artistes" i thought it was the best Tegan & Sara song they have put out to date.
Turns out the song in question wasnt by the sisterly canadian vagitarians but an incredibly hot and talented black woman called SANTOGOLD Oh the shame!


(if you pester jbhifi they can order you in a 'top ranking mixtape' which is packed full of 35 Santogold bsides and Diplo mashups)

When it comes to making intern mixes, i like to include some quieter tracks caz the coolcats at Levity dont just sit around talking shit about indie bands 24/7 theyre often known to work from time to time. For optimum productivity The White Rabbits, Bill Callahan and Deerhoof does the trick.

LYYKE LI -my favourite sweedish pop angel with a lisp, is the perfect soundtrack for those important conference calls.



The video however is abit creepy and distracting to say the least. Spray painted muscle women pounding drums, spooky Frida Kahlo twins and old people swimming backstroke on the floor. Click HERE to watch the live version featuring some of Sweeden's finest exports - Robyn, The Shout Out Louds and The Concretes.

If you like athmospheric, zany yet magical music like the track above you may like to lose yourself in THE HELIO SEQUENCE. The drummer (ex modest mouse) pulls the most disturbing faces you may start to think he has escaped a mental ward and been shackled to the kit. But he has what i like to call "keithmonella" -a virus that makes the face shrink up in pain when ones concentrating on keeping the beat.
I would of loved to of been a hobo under an underpass in Portland one winter and awoke to see this band shooting their new video in fairy light suits. Kinda makes eating garbage worth while.



Although the next song has been my most played track of half eight. Im not a big fan of the constant sweaty abandoned slow motion shots in this video.
(looks like they are beating off in a sauna!!)


For those of you who are abit slow on the uptake, THE DODOS are a Californian pop trio that makes the kinda of music the Animal Collective or Zac Condon would make if he was stranded in an african jungle and decided to teach the natives Shins songs.

'White Winter Hymnal' has been my profile song for the past 6 months to much dismay from some of my friends who cant understand why i constantly listen to "beardy old man hippy folk music" Although they do dress in flannos, have jesus beards and sing five part harmonies about rivers, trees and sunshine, FLEET FOXES are not hippys nor are they oldtimers (The AM country radio-meets-Paul Banks lead singer is only 21! and became best friends with the guitarist due to a shared love of dragon ball z in high school!!)
Their self-titled album is full of hauntingly- beautiful-luscious melodies and imaginative storytelling of a simpler time. Perhaps recorded around a campfire a few centuries ago. Ive never been so caught up in a piece of music before. 'its like watching the sun rise over distant mountaintops, over and over familiar and captivating all at once'
I found myself in a simular situation a few years back when all i wanted to do was lie in bed and listen to 'trials of van occupanther' on repeat rather than get shitfaced at the uni bar. My mates thought i had become depressed so they staged an intervention and stole my precious disk!
Like a true junkie i spent my food money that week on Midlake's latest offering only to have it hidden by my housemate again.
I havent touched a drop of folk music since ...until now mwa ha ha!




(Anyone recognise the blonde haired lass being serenaded by the flight of the conchords look alike bellow?) Yep before she was famous singing about ghosts, cheating, nightmares and hung out with the mystery jets, Laura Marling was doing backup vocals as one fifth of the cutest british folk pop band -NOAH AND THE WHALE.


This band really is a little gem in my record collection. Its not just their wes anderson inspired videos, the ukelele solos , or the matching juno running team / mariachi band outfits with choreographed nerdy dancemoves that makes them go down a treat with the old folks down at the RSL. Its simply because they make me feel warm and fuzzy everytime they get shuffled on my ipod. If their work doesnt make you smile from ear to ear or shed a tear (you need to eat more jellybeans:)

And coming in last to end this madness is MGMT.
If i was hit by a steamroller and lost my memory, i have a feeling i could remember 'Oracular Spectacular' note for note due to the amount of times ive listened to that album this year.

If you camped out recently to see them but like me missed out on tickets due to scalpers and teenyboppers with daddy's credit card snagging them first - i can understand your heartbreak.
For the rest of you I HATE YOU. And i hope you piss your stovepipes from excitement as soon as you get there so your forced to spend a few hours smushed up against strangers who tease and threaten you during the support acts so you end up going home crying to your mother who will happily retell the story to your future dates for the rest of your life.
I also hope you dont get too much pleasure seeing Ben dressed up as a giant beer bottle and Andrew as a ciggarette lighter in this video for Destrokk.
The donut from the chewing gum ad does vocals & MGMT's snot provides backup -too cute!





!!! Kings of Leon's new album comes out in 23 days!!!

Buses & Lines..

By Zohara

I'm on the excruciating one-hour bus ride home after a day at uni, lucky I have my iPod on me otherwise my selection of music would be the either 'Sweet Home Alabama' repeatedly on 101.7fm from the bus's radio or the electro-house beats radiating from some dudes head phones behind me. Today is Wednesday- Wednesdays at my uni are the days when bands come at lunchtime and play in our small bar. Over the last 4 semesters bands have been entertaining us in-between lectures for free (woo woo thanks to the Union!) We have had Mercy Arms, Ghostwood, Operator Please (they had the biggest crowd turn up on record), Dash and Will, Nathan Hudson, Luke Steel, Cuthbert and The Nightwalkers, Lover, Children Collide, Expatriate and last week Magic Dirt played, summoning an enthusiastic crowd who moshed to their new and old tunes. 1 in the afternoon is way too early for me to get dancing or into the mood to mosh so I just skimmed the sidelines of the bar and tapped my foot and nodded my head from a safe distance. Today Andy Bull played before Little Red at my uni bar and his style has obvious funk influences and he had the soul vibe going on too. His voice is presented in a high register which makes him sound different to what I expected but he was backed with a drummer, bassist and 3-piece brass band comprised of a saxophonist, trumpeter and trombone-player which was quite impressive. He's not my usual taste and right now I'm listening to his recorded tracks but I don't think it entirely gives him enough credit because the band live were very entertaining and I enjoyed his set quite a bit. Following him were Little Red who were pretty relaxed but seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely whilst they were draped with leis that were randomly being handed out around campus. My foot didn't stop tapping the whole time and I actually enjoyed them more in the relaxed setting of my university bar more than when they supported Vampire Weekend a few weeks back.

Andy Bull



Yesterday I turned up to Oxford Art Factory at 5pm and joined the long queue of people to see Death Cab For Cutie for a Myspace live show that was broadcasted across the internet all over the world. Like lemmings me all streamed into the gallery to access the main room via the back entrance adjacent to the bathrooms and as my friend and I shuffled closer and closer towards the door with the current three people in front of us were halted and told that the main room was now at full capacity and we had to sit in the gallery and watch through the window or view Death Cab on the projector. A wave a disappointment came over me and I didn't know whether to be angry or deflated. But my friend Peter was persistent to get in so he and I both said to the guard that we needed to leave the gallery to head into the bathrooms..which we did, but a few minutes later we waltzed right into the main room and another security guard just let us through! So I felt like I hadn't wasted my time and felt a bit naughty for 'sneaking' in..but knowing me if my friend hadn't lead the way I would have been a big push-over and would have sat in the gallery fuming. Take that..I still got through to the main room!!

YAY:
•Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin- this Missouri band have been around for a few years but I melt to their pop tunes such as 'Oregon Girl'.
•I've had some of Sparkadia's new tunes stuck in my head this week.
•'Young Bride' by Midlake. Mmmm!
•My friend sent me this comic..it's about music nerds and I think he was trying to hint that I have some connection to this comic: http://www.dustinland.com/archives/archives347.html
•I spotted some street art in Sydney the other day! In Omnibus Lane right near Ultimo Tafe some amazing people have decorated the walls.

Street Art in Omnibus Ln


NAY:
•MGMT tickets sold out in well-under a minute! Booohoo.
•My camera batteries decided to die on me during Death Cab For Cutie and kept flashing "BATTERY DEPLETED".
...I don't have much negative to say this week :)

LIL JOHN, SNOW JAM & CARS....

MIKEY - CUT OFF YOUR HANDS

The past week in the life of cut off you hands has been pretty good.
We left Japan and landed in Auckland where we had some down time to
enjoy home cooked meals and old friends. Come Thursday we were out for
a life of luxury at MTV snow jam festival.

On the drive down to the mountain Nick was mid way through putting on
his safty belt when we had a crash. The belt never actually made it;
but thankfully it wasn't needed. An elderly couple thought there
little car was a bit faster than it was and turned across us. Our
driver swerved and braked smashing into the rear corner of the car.
The car spun around into another car. We were all on a bit of a buzz
after that. our cars wheels were pointing opposite directions so with
in 10 mins we had a new car and we are off to the mountain again.

We arrived, had dinner and a few drinks where lil jon from the other
side of the room kept yelling YEAH and WHAT. The next day MTV decided
to throw some cash around and we went jet boating which was pretty bad
ass. Our driver, jet boat Jim (who looked like hulk hogan), took us
out for a ride. Doing 360's and boosting way too close to the cliff
face, getting sprayed in the face and having the sorest brain freeze;
it was good fun. After that the boys and Brent's girl went on a
helechoper ride, they said it was worth every penny and it felt like a
magic carpet.

At sound check our finger froze. Coming from japan where it was 40
degrees to -3 at night was pretty crazy. Definitely the coldest show
we have ever played. luckily when it was show time it warmed up a bit
and the crowd were in good spirits. nick freaked out the camera crew
by climbing the lighting tower. all in all it was a fun show.

That night drinks were free and we all got down to lil jon. We all
flew back up to Auckland the next day; me with a slight hang over and
a regret her or there. 2 days later and one long plane ride with
stupid flirting Spanish teens in front of me, and now I'm in the UK,
back in the tour van heading to a We Are Scientist show in oxford
rearing to play through the jet lag.

RED CARPETS

BY ZOHARA

Red carpets have so much appeal. Celebrities, musicians, actors, models and the VIP of the entertainment industry pose on the crimson walkway and I'm sure many people dream of stepping foot onto it to share some of the limelight with their idols. I've been on a red carpet once..back in July last year, my friend and I made sure we turned up fashionably late because it would have been embarrassing for us to walk on the red carpet while there were photographers and important people around us. The main reason: because we were neither musicians, journalists, actors, models or any form of celebrity. We were there to see Starky play their penultimate show. We shyly approached Crystal Bar in Martin Place with wobbling heels and goose-bumped skin, shuffling on the red carpet to an audience of none, apart from the door girls and guys who checked us off the list and pointed us towards Ray Ban's 70th Birthday Party. We entered the party and dropped off our coats and instantly recognised some faces, a Red Rider, Joel Edgerton, James Matheson, Gareth Moody, Saskia Burmeister, Rai Thistlewaite amongst the room of fellow celebrities. We nibbled on the amazing canapés, ate quality battered chips and calamari out of cute Chinese noodle boxes and sipped on a few glasses of bubbly to shy away our red faces. By the time the bubbly had us under the influence Starky came on stage, delivering an energetic performance along with their single "Hey Bang Bang" which was nominated for and ARIA award in the category of "Breakthrough Artist 2006". My friend and I left soon after Starky finished performing, deciding that we had a fulfilling night and our timidness wouldn't have helped us mingle with the Ray Ban party crowd. But I was young and naïve! I'd certainly stick around, sipping more bubbly and mingling if the opportunity were to arise again.

That opportunity nearly arose again when this year after a few beers with a friend he asked me to be his date to a music awards event. As you can imagine I was very excited to be asked to attend such an event with familiar faces of artists who I avidly listen to and regularly hear about. I also saw it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and didn't want to appear overly enthusiastic with the invite so I didn't nag him too much for details. I called my so-called 'date' on the afternoon of the event to check the time of arrival thinking the award was to be presented that night..he then informed me it had already been held that morning and that he had "forgotten" to tell me the details of the event. Ouch. For your information his band didn't win the award anyway..

The next big red carpet event for the music industry is the ARIA awards with industry insiders paying $395-$495 for tickets which includes a three-course meal, unlimited alcohol and non-alcoholic drinks (or until too drunk to be served), red-carpet entry and passes to the after-party. I can imagine many people would be itching to attend for the experience and to rub shoulders with some of the ARIA contenders such as The Presets, Gyroscope and Cut Copy..some people itching enough that they are going to pay $445 for industry gold tickets- some of my friends who work in the music industry are going to empty their pockets and their piggy banks to go. But i wonder how much of a strain it is for some independent musicians to cough up a few hundred to fund their attendance. Most independent musicians have day-jobs to pay and maintain the equipment they need for their band, touring and recording and it doesn't come cheap either. 2007 AMP music award winners The Mess Hall know all about that when they confessed that during the recording of their latest album, Devil's Elbow, they were living on tinned food as well as the dole- not exactly living the luxury life. Still it's all about the experience isn't it? But I would certainly drink up $445 worth of alcohol if I were to attend and see Connie Mitchell in a plastic dress again doing her robotic dance moves/poses..mind you, I wouldn't be drinking in celebration. Nevertheless I can imagine it would be a fun and unforgettable night. Is it an easy prediction to say that Faker will be nominated for their single 'This Heart Attack'? After the exhaustive radio play they have had it is inevitable that they will at least get a nomination.

YAY:
•MGMT and Wolf Parade have announced their hitting our shores later this year!
•'The Gardner' by The Tallest Man On Earth and trying to sing with his Swedish accent after a few too many vodka-lemon-limes.
•The Boat People- charming Brisbane pop band with sweet tunes and sweet cardigans.

NAY:
•4am RAGE with death metal/hardcore artists with weird growling vocals, weird eyeliner, weird hair and weird piercings. Weird.
•'Shake It' by Metro Station- Hurt me before I have to hear those whinging vocals again that sound like those boys have just hit puberty..they aim to lure in teenage girls with these lyrics: "I'll take you home if you don't leave me at the front door/ Your body's cold, but girl we're getting so warm/And I was thinking of ways that I could get inside ". Ewwww.

Hotel Stories

PHIL - CUT OFF YOUR HANDS

As I write this blog the hotel I'm staying in (in Auckland) has just been hit by lightning! Which apart from being very amazing is kind of annoying, as now the TVs reception isn't working! I was watching the new single from Band Of Horses on the music channel and at the same time remembering fondly how I got to see them play in the weekend at the Summer Sonic festival in Japan, they were great!

Another flash of lightning but still no thunder.... Oh wait, a quiet one.

So anyway, following on from Nick's blog last week, which took us to the end of our Australian tour, we made our way to Tokyo to play at the SS festival! This was the first time any of us had been to Japan let alone been there to play so we were all totally excited and were looking forward to going. We arrived at the airport however to find that our plane had been delayed which meant we ended up spending something like 8 hours at the Melbourne airport and missed being able to go out that night in Tokyo! Another reason for that was our hotel was in Chiba, which although it was only a 2 min walk from the festival it was an hour train ride to the parts of Tokyo we wanted to see.

The next morning we had our rehearsal and following that we made our way to Asakusa to visit some markets and a temple. We then spent the rest of the afternoon looking around Harajuku and Shibuya until we couldn't take the heat anymore and looked for a bar to get a beer. We ended up finding this amazing restaurant in Shibuya where we each ended up spending about 5 or 6 thousand yen on dinner and drinks. After dinner, and after quickly going to meet some people from Warners Japan who are putting out our record, we met some friends and went to this rad bar (called Beat Bar) and spent the rest of the night drinking!





(The TV is now working again you'll be glad to know).

So the next day was show day and we were surprised with how many people turned up to see us play considering we haven't released anything there. People were singing along (or trying to) to some songs and in all we found the experience of playing in Japan to be new to us. For example: in between bands' sets they don't play any music – there is silence where there would usually be a cd or something, and also (later in the day) people use that time to have naps! Also because they are so into music, we had people coming up to us saying that they had tried to meet us at the airport…

The Dandy Warhols new song Mission Control just came on the TV, I like it!

After playing we spent the rest of the day at the festival watching bands (Band Of Horses, Hot Chip, Sex Pistols, etc…), drinking and hanging out in the backstage area. All artists could get a free massage so we did that, except Nick chose to get acupuncture instead. We flew out the next night after spending the half the day at the festival watching Vampire Weekend and others play and the other half at the shops buying gifts/presents for our friends back home.

So we've now been back in New Zealand for two days, both of which have been full of press interviews for NZ TV, radio and print. We leave Auckland tomorrow tho to fly to Christchurch/Mt Hutt to play the MTV Snow Jam festival, which apart from playing includes us getting filmed going jet boating and hopefully getting to go snow boarding (but that depends on if we can get free gear).

This is my favourite song at the moment after seeing it in a Twin Peaks episode - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmJzy0WrSXY.

Bye for now!

Phil xo

SPLENDOURIS!

SPLENDOROUS!

This past week we have had creative people with instruments in hand arrive on our shores. These people have given live music in Australia that boost of excitement, with bands such as Sigur Ros, Band of Horses, Vampire Weekend, The Fratellis, Devo, Cold War Kids, Tokyo Police Club, Laura Marling and New Young Pony Club as a handful of the most anticipated bands to catch while they are down under. Most of these bands have also held side shows too and if you are like me and didn't get to road trip up to Byron Bay, the side shows were easier to fit around a busy schedule. Being a poor uni student I managed to see one of these side-shows on Monday at the Metro where Vampire Weekend charmed the pants off everyone, not literally though and I'm glad about it because I think it is rather distasteful when people throw their underwear on stage- reminiscent of Jason Mraz at The Forum 2006 when a woman and a man took off their hopefully unsoiled undergarments and catapulted it onto the stage. Jason was slightly amused but grossed out by it. I can just imagine the chaffing the man would have felt on the bus ride home..ewww.

Back to Vampire Weekend though..they were supported by Little Red who have received a great deal of praise for their short 60's pop and rock 'n' roll infused tunes off their debut album 'Listen To Little Red'. I have heard and read nothing but good news about these cats. The crowd at the Metro were very inviting when they came on stage and as soon as they began people were jittering and some were jiving as they played a musical-chairs-like game with their lead vocalists, rotating regularly and harmonising together. I didn't feel like I was in the 21st century, and I realised more suitable attire would have been a big polka dot dress, ponytail and scarf around my neck. I have seen Little Red before and it is hard to stand there without tapping a foot or two. Then Vampire Weekend graced the stage and the crowd erupted in excitement, cheering and wolf-whistling and they started with "Mansard Roof" which was a fun sing-a-long. Vampire Weekend have this boyish charisma that ooze out of them especially from the lead singer, Ezra Koenig, who shared multiple smiles all around and seemed delighted to be in Australia. It's hard for a few people to accept they are from New York since they seem like they hail from the UK but once Ezra greeted the audience with his American accent it was evident that they were not a British band at all. They cheerfully played through their entire debut album tracklist of afro-pop with three new tracks as well and their bassist was cheerful too, dancing as he played. It would have been next to impossible to not ingest the happy atmosphere and leave there feeling like they were as good live as they are on CD. As for the other Splendour side-shows I missed out on Sigur Ros which I heard was amazing and a friend of mine went to Band of Horses, informing me mid-set that he was close to tears because they were so impressive.





So now that it is post-Splendour the other festivals to look forward to in Australia are The Great Escape and Big Day Out. But I have heard some news from a little birdy..supposedly The Great Escape has been canned due to poor ticket sales. Ouch. The lineup was pretty impressive with Conor Oberst and The Mystic Valley Band, Ladytron, Joan as Police Woman, The New Pornographers and We Are Scientists as the top international acts for this festival. It is disappointing that, if this is true, that another chance to see some great bands from overseas as well as some of the best locals bands will be sent back home. The Great Escape Festival also offered free camping with every ticket that was sold. This reminds me of Playground Weekender which did go ahead but had poor ticket sales, free tickets were being handed out desperately so people would show up. What has happened that has caused people to become disinterested in festivals like this but festivals such as Big Day Out still sell-out? It's a mystery to me.

YAY:

•Bourke St Bakery- I visited there yesterday and bought a delightful strawberry and creme brulee tart, it contained real vanilla bean seeds and they were playing MGMT while I was ordering my dessert. Amazing food and great music playing while they are at work..I wish I worked there.
•Feist's 'The Reminder'- It's been out for a while but I love this album. I played it while I hosted a tea party and when I clean the house.
•Jack Ladder on "Good Day New York"- Jack had a chat to the female host before he performed "Love Is Gone", where the woman was short in comparison and with a strong American accent where Jack is tall and is a pretty quiet guy. The awkwardness of the conversation was enough to make me giggle but it's good to see the Hopetoun regular in the spotlight although I can imagine Kerry Anne wouldn't be calling him up for an appearance when he gets back.

NAY:

•Ian Curtis' Gravestone-I know it's old news but I think it is ridiculous that someone stole his gravestone. I can just imagine the jerk showing his/her friends the prized-stolen-possession and getting punched for it.
•The 'shock' of one of The Veronicas nude photos that leaked on the net- It was evident from their first single that they aren't sugar coated and have no talent. Lame lame lame.
•I can't escape The Living End's new single "White Noise". It's on in the bus, on the tv, on in my brother's room. I used to love TLE, I even covered my school folder in a poster i made that represented the album cover of 'Modern Artillery', but I'm not connecting with their new music although everyone else seems to be. Perhaps I'm being uptight. Perhaps I have to remind myself that Chris Cheney is one of Australia's best guitarists and that TLE are really good live..
•As good as Vampire Weekend were I had to stand on my tippy-toes the whole time, stuck in a crevice behind the two tallest guys at the gig. I rocked side-to-side to get a view of the stage. Where is the gallantry?

AUSTRALIA, JAPAN, LONDON!

Nick - CUT OFF YOUR HANDS




It’s not yet 7am and I’ve just been woken up by Mikey and Phil for our flight to Melbourne this morning. We are off to Tokyo tomorrow for Summersonic 08, which is about the best festival in Japan..It's a pretty exciting way to finish off our little trip down under, especially as none of us four have ever been to Japan before. Today we're playing the last two shows of this tour which has been exhausting, relentless and heaps of fun. We followed our last tour of the UK with a 26 hour flight into Auckland, where we played that night before catching the first flight the next morning into Adelaide, where Violent Soho joined us. They were brilliant every night, I thoroughly recommend seeing that band.

This past Monday was my first day off since finishing our record and heading out on tour over a month ago, as in our 'off' days we've been busy recording B-sides and extra songs that have been floating about but not quite made the album.

Some of my personal highlights from the past week:

Being able to actually spend time with my girlfriend as we live in different countries for most of the year

-Getting a day off on monday!

-Using that day off to visit the Sydney Biennalle at Cockatoo Island, William Kentridge's beautiful animations especially

-Learning and recording 'Still Fond' in French, for the french release of our record.

-Packing out the Corner hotel the other night in Melbourne, it is easily our biggest indoor show we have headlined yet.

-and, this breakfast I’m about to eat...


The best thing I’ve heard musically in ages is this guy called the caretaker who creates these beautifully haunting ambient soundscapes by basically just slowing down old dance hall records from the 20's and 30's. The result is almost like an eerie memory at the back of your mind that you cant quite place your finger on, evoking spooky scenes similar to the ghost ball/soiree in the Shining...He's giving away all his records on the record labels website, whose name escapes me at present, but if you search the caretaker you're bound to find it. The name of my favourite record by him is 'stairway to the stars'

thanks for reading
nick


x

SYDNEY INDIE MUSIC NEAR IT'S END?

“SYDNEY’S INDIE MUSIC SCENE IS NEAR IT’S END!!!”

So this is what I’ve heard a few people shouting out lately, ok..they weren’t exactly ‘shouting’ but they were prophesising what seems to be an apocalyptic ending to the beloved and rather creative music scene in one of Australia’s best cities (let’s not start on the ‘Australia’s BEST city: Sydney vs Melbourne’ argument). I think the idea that it’s near its end is pretty ridiculous but I think there are reasons for such suggestions and predictions:

Reason 1) Some people believe that independent music has lost some of it’s appeal.
This could be due to the current trends in music that are becoming tedious, predictable and past their time. Who knows. Or it could also be a reaction to neglect as a consequence of some of Sydney’s favourite bands who have been on hiatus over the past year recording albums (eg Mercy Arms) or venturing overseas (eg teenagersintokyo, Ghostwood), popping up for some quick gigs and then disappearing just as fast as they sell-out of their tickets. A prime example is Dappled Cities who left us last year to embark on an adventure in the USA after their truly wonderful double-headliner with Red Riders at The Metro-I had never seen so many girls at an indie gig scream in hysteria whilst clinging to their balloons that flaunted the words ‘I LOVE YOU’. I guess it was, after all, all ages. But those arduous six months that they were away flew by and the Dappled boys returned to us in late 2007, coming back to play across two nights and Oxford Art Factory where the sold-out second night sat on Valentine’s Day. They made all in attendance forget their singledom and presented some new tasty material as well as an emotional adieu to their drummer Hugh Boyce. Now the boys with a new drummer in tow are away again (hibernating!) to record for their new album. However they secured their appeal to Sydney last month when they impressed everyone at the Annandale when they decided to dress-up for the occasion in elaborate coats, hats, feathers and knickerbockers handing them the image of older century nautical captains. Except Ned, he was dressed as a tiger.

Dappled Cities

Perhaps the ‘loss of appeal’ that some are feeling is also due to the fact that over the past year there hasn’t been a vast array of fresh faces or names gracing our stages that we haven’t heard of before; of course we love the old faces but the familiar lineups have been becoming somewhat tiresome. This is where we can congratulate some recent support bands that have surprised us- such as Newcastle’s ‘Bear At The Door’ who seemed to make a pretty handsome impression on the audience at the previous said Dappled Cities Annandale gig. I think we should begin our excitement because I have a feeling there are new fun and talented bands coming up that will sweep us off our feet and reinforce that there is still appeal in Sydney’s independent music scene and that Cassette Kids aren’t the only ‘recently new’ band around.

 

Reason 2) Some people think indie is becoming too “mainstream”.
Perhaps this reason is a result of some Sydney bands who have recently had some exposure in the “mainstream” market, such as Bridezilla who have been hailed in Sunday Life and the like for their novel music with classical qualities at their delicate age, and being named amongst the “bands to watch in 2008” in the 2007 ARIA newspaper liftout. Perhaps it was because some of Sydney’s darlings, namely The Holidays and teenagersintokyo, have scored play on television advertisements with ‘Telephone’ featuring as the music for a Clearasil ad and teenagersintokyo’s ‘End It Tonight’ for Carefree panty liners. But really it is nothing to worry about and it is a bit of paranoia, although people are supposedly catching onto indie music, converting from the mainstream through word of mouth or by seeing an independent Sydney band support an international artist. Some people I know have approached me and have said “some friends and I are thinking of getting into indie music, lots of people are doing it right now”, this was coming from people who used to say “Indian music? You’re into Indian music!?” or those people who would tease me (and still do) by saying “You only like music that no one has ever heard of and if that music gets slightly popular you automatically hate it. You’re such a music snob”. But I think people are allowed to like the music they like but just as long as they don’t think they look ‘cool’ because ‘everyone else’ is getting into it.

Bridezilla

 

Reason 3) “Indie bands care more about the way they look than what their music sounds like.”
Hmm..well at least with this reason they identified that it is pretty common to find indie bands that have impeccable fashion sense. Of course not all bands are fashionistas but I think people who care about presentation get a tick in my books. At least if the music doesn’t sound good the way they present themselves is a bit of compensation.

But in honesty I think those reasons for the minor amount of people turning their back on Sydney’s independent music or thinking that it is on the verge of extinction is lame. They should get their ass to a gig and stop being such old prudes.

 

YAY:

•Visual art mixing with music- I’m a big fan of the murals by fine contemporary  Australian artists at the Oxford Art Factory gallery. Kill Pixie is featured there right now, go have a look!

•“Wet Winter Holiday” by Philadelphia Grand Jury (band formerly known as The Sweats)

•Straight Arrows live gigs- Those kids perform fun and energetic live performances and they don’t take themselves too seriously either.

•2008 Sydney Biennale-It’s great to see the celebration of art in Sydney.

•Foals- Art school drop outs who have created magnetizing music and intriguing videoclips.

•A friend of a friend told The Teenagers when they were here the other month that they are (quote) “a fad”.

 

NAY:

•The Teenagers gig at OAF-For a sold-out 18+ event there were too many under 18’s to count. The Teenagers encouraged girls to jump on stage during the set, resulting in squealing girls to pose for photos with the musicians to post onto their myspace accounts.

•People smoking marijuana on ‘Super Thursday’ at The Domain for WYD- I was finding my way around the maze of barricades during my gallery hopping for the Biennale to pass the mass of pilgrims to smell that some were smoking joints. I think the Pope would have been mortified to know that his pilgrims were smoking pot in celebration of WYD.

 

I hope you kids like my photos I included..

Until next time lovelies! x