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’1963′ BY HEAVY BEACH

How effing cool is this track! The bobbing guitars cruise along beautifully against a super fuzzed out chorus. Reminds me of everything I like about rock music. Heavy Beach will be launching ’1963′ at Melbourne’s Cornish Arms (Sydney Rd, Brunswick) on Saturday 26 May w/ Pony Face, Sincerely Grizzly (Adel.) & The Velocettes. Entry is free!

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‘BLOODY RIPPER’ BY KING GIZZARD AND THE LIZARD WIZARD

Yup, one of ours BUT how good is this footage. Shot by The Brianwave Project.

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DUST PROUD BY BON CHAT, BON RAT

I picked this track up from Who the Hell. It reminds me of a mix between Gotye and Buckley Ward… Probably doesn’t to you. Apparently ‘Dust Proud’ is the debut single and if this is anything to go by they’re going to be H.U.G.E. Good stuff.

What a voice! This is my favourite song at the moment. ‘Fighting Kind’ is the opening single taken from the band’s debut album due for release later this year. I really really hope we hear more of Ainslie Wills.

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‘STEP AND STAGGER’ BY THE MURLOCS

A few of these dudes come from the King Gizzard camp. There’s a certain swagger and snarl about this track that makes it so infectious. If you like this little number then go and see The Murlocs live and you’ll LOVE them.

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‘THE KING’ BY POP SINGLES

I first saw these guys when they played at PBS Drive Live last Feb. Classic three piece loose garage pop that doesn’t follow most of the (crappy) slacker pop kicking around the country at the moment.

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‘STALACTITES’ BY GOLD BLOOM
I couldn’t find a soundcloud link to this track but you can listen via their bandcamp. Post-Rock-Pop or frantic Dream-Pop? Who cares, it’s such a nifty song. ‘Stalactites’ features beautiful harmonies mixed with a guitar based jam and a driving beat. Perfect. These kids are from Adelaide and I’m a fan.

Money For Rope reject this history. They’ve never seen it at their shows. Their crazed rock’n’soul surf garage parties always transform a stoic and cynical crowd into an exuberant force on par with the band’s own rabid energy. The jaw-dropping energy of two drumkits, two guitars, a bass, four voices and keys command the response of an electrified room and, Jesus Christ, do they get it.

They got it when they supported The Vasco Era, The Mess Hall, Those Darlins, Even, The Meanies, Celibate Rifles, Bob Log III, The Cruel Sea, Wolf & Cub and Fearless Vampire Killers. They got it when they played to thousands at Splendour In The Grass, Cherry Rock, and the legendary Reclink Community Cup. They’ve been dreaming of getting it since they first heard Sunnyboys, Radio Birdman and The Saints.

Money For Rope’s debut single “Slow Dance/No.18” was snatched up by MajorLabel for digital release in 2010; second single — “My House or Yours/Six Gun Johnny” — was pressed onto 7” vinyl for a sell-out launch at The Old Bar; somewhere in between, the six men picked up Best New Artist nomination in The Age’s EG Awards and completed a whirlwind east coast tour.

A third single, “I’ve Had Days/December” was next cab off the rank and got a helluva lot more folks excited and once fourth single “Disable Ksana/Soup Bowl” hit town it blew the roof off the place.

And now for the debut album, self titled, release date yet to be determined, chock full of goodness with more hits than the Thriller In Manila. With Steve Schram at the helm the band cut loose and created a monster.

First cab off that rank is the summer fun of “Ten Times”, available to all and sundry from your nearest computer screen and can be heard across the land on the national youth network. It literally bounces out of the speakers at you and one can’t help but have the broadest smile on their dial every single time.

Money For Rope, coming for you next. They’re good and they mean it.

For more details head to www.moneyforrope.com

Scribing a new chapter in their collective story owing to line-up changes and moving from a three-piece outfit to a four-piece concern, Shed Your Woes sees Sans Gras infusing a more instinctive approach to both songwriting and recording. Starting with a frantic threeday session at Tender Trap Studios in 2011 before being completed throughout the year. The EP was mixed and mastered by Rob Long and Lindsay Gravina at Birdland Studios.

Says the band’s Cayn Borthwick “Our approach was in direct opposition to how our first EP Retrograde Motion was tackled, which was assembled from parts recorded at different times and in different locations. The difference between the two is that Retrograde Motion was about the songs whereas Shed Your Woes is about the band. As a four-piece Sans Gras have found the muscle and the space to serve the existing songs and pursue new ones with a new enthusiasm and more distinct purpose.”

“We felt it was time to show everyone what we could achieve, and prove to ourselves this was a possibility; as artists and as a band. This whole process was the polar opposite to what we did in the past. Most of the time we would jam our songs out like a live band, then record what we did from there, whereas this album was very studio based from the ground up. This was new to us, and the songs took longer to make but we had the freedom to experiment and use a huge range of different instruments.” Says Young.

Whilst the album maintains The Scientists of Modern Music’s signature electronic bombast and dark-edged neon pop that has made them a favourite on festival stages across the nation, A Personal Universe sees the band stepping away from the strictly electronic world to incorporate more corporal elements. Taking a more collaborative approach, A Personal Universe also features guest vocals from Kesta Krohn on ‘Follow Me’ and ‘Girl On Top’. Further stretching any preconceived notions of electronic music, album closer, ‘The Future’ features strings played by members of The Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra.

Young and McIntosh have come a long way since first coming together while wagging audio design class in 2004. Releasing their debut album Electronic Sunset in 2008 and winning hearts and minds at Meredith, Falls, Pyramid Rock and Golden Plains festivals, The Scientists Of Modern Music have also opened proceedings for such names as Girl Talk, Midnight Juggernauts and Crazy Penis. The release of A Personal Universe on May 18 will be followed by select dates to be announced soon.

PRESIDENT ROOTS
The spanking new single by Morning Peninsula’s roots music masters, President Roots. Looks like someone’s been smoking the ol’ reefer!

ALI E
Featuring Ali taking a cruise along a distant desert highway. Check out the shot when she’s sitting in the back seat….. WHO’S DRIVING THE CAR???

To celebrate the release of their new 7” single ‘Rebels’, Damn Terran will be doing what they do best, taking the madness to their fans on various stages around the country.

Since the release of their debut EP in 2010, the viscerally brutal Pet Hate, the band’s ranks of loyal followers have only swelled in number and rabidity.

It’s not just local fans being turned on by Damn Terran’s menace. Having shared stages with the likes Ouch My Face and Die! Die! Die, the band were also handpicked to open proceedings for Children Collide and DZ Deathrays recent national tours, the latter of which Damn Terran will be supporting in Brisbane as part of this upcoming tour.

Damn Terran will be releasing their debut album later in 2012.

Here’s the deal… three acts, three studios in one Drive Time show, for a full week! Featuring blistering live in-studio performances from a bunch of local talent, there’s sure to have a lot of something for everyone. Acts joining the Drive Live 2012 juggernaut include Graveyard Train, Howl At The Moon and Stella Angelico. There’s a bunch more to be announced. Stay tuned. Literally.

PBS members have the exclusive opportunity to come down to PBS and witness the mayhem, in person and uncut. There’s some Coopers freebies to sink, and a fair whack of radio to watch. You can RSVP from Jan 30 so keep an eye on www.pbsfm.org.au to get your name on the door, or join the convo on #drivelive.

An offshoot of PBS’ Live Music Week, Drive Live is a permanent fixture on the PBS calendar and part of PBS’ continued commitment to the growth and prosperity of the local music scene. Since 1988 PBS past roll call of participating artists reads like a who’s who of Australian music. With luminaries the likes of Paul Kelly, Archie Roach, Gareth Liddiard and Thee Oh Sees having taken part, PBS’ Drive Live continues this city’s strong musical tradition.

For the full PBS Drive Live program, go to www.pbsfm.org.au

Catherine’s new album, Gloriosa, produced by 5 time ARIA award winner, Paul McKercher and recorded for the first time with her full band, the Starry Night, has been described as reaching “true masterpiece status” and as “an album which should cement Catherine Traicos and The Starry Night as a serious force in Australian music.”

The Amazing, the follow up full-length release to 2008’s Gone, again revealed Catherine Traicos’ versatile songwriting abilities and instinctive and imaginative arrangements.  Critically lauded, The Amazing was selected as Album of the Month in the Melbourne (Age) Magazine and Album of the Week on the Lost Highway Show, WMBR Boston.

Born in Zimbabwe, the daughter of a Test cricketer and a painter, Catherine has lived in Perth, Sydney, Harare and London. She has worked in film and as a visual artist, but music has always been her anchor. She is a classically-trained pianist and a self-taught guitarist with influences ranging from Neil Young to Duke Ellington.  Her songs explore ‘breakups and other sad things’ with a heartbreaking and whimsical honesty.

Catherine has supported international acts including Mountain Goats, The Unthanks and Spiral Stairs, appeared on stage with M. Ward as well as played with some of Australia’s leading musicians: The Tigers, Charles Jenkins, Beachfield (Glenn Thompson from Go-Betweens/Custard), The Holy Sea and Leroy Lee to name a few.

More details here.

A longtime favourite of us here at Show Off Services, not only for his devotion to our favourite format but also for his near otherworldly understanding of light and its aesthetic possibilities (in non art studentese: he makes photos that are hella pretty, very hella pretty). Luminaries (see what I did there) to have fallen in the sights of his viewfinder include Adalita, Ouch My Face and Amaya Laucirica to name just a small few. As part of our continuing series we had the good fortune to chat with Ben via email about the ins and outs of his continuing craft.

Visit Ben’s blog here.

Tell us a little about yourself. 
I grew up in Central Victoria, on a bush block with a cat, a brother, some chooks and many square kilometres of ex-gold mining country to play in. My closest neighbour lived a mile away, so as kids we had to make our own fun. These days I’m a jack of all trades, master of none. I’m a primary school teacher, play in bands (High Tea, Paul Kidney Experience, Baseball, Jihad Against America, etc), photographer and recently crowned “Australia’s Worst Artist” for painting!

How did you get your start in music photography?
I started playing around with cameras in the late 90′s. I would shoot whatever seemed interesting to me. I’ve always enjoyed taking photos in low light, using a long exposure technique. Being a big fan of live music I just started taking my camera gigs and shooting the bands I really liked. I became really interested in trying to capture them at their most interesting or exciting moment. If a band is being boring, or if I’m not getting into it I often don’t even get my camera out of my bag. 

What advice would you give anyone wanting to become a music photographer?
I heard a painter’s advice recently, “love what you paint, and paint what you love”. For me photography is a hobby I do for fun. I’ve never wanted to become a career photographer to make it my job, because I fear that I might get sick of it. So, perhaps I’m not the best person to ask. I think the best advice is to just get out there and shoot the things you think are great.

What are the golden rules bands should abide by when working with a photographer?
I’m with Lauren Bamford with this one. If a band can’t offer me any ideas, or even suggest a mood they’re after, then it’s quite possible that the photos I take of them might not turn out to their liking. I am really interested in not only getting some nice photos, but photos the band will really love.

Who has been your favourite/band artist to shoot and why?
This is a tough one. Wolfy And The Batcubs were fantastic to shoot, because they had some great costumes and we were able to come up with some good ideas together, and allowed me to experiment a little. Shooting the Grey Daturas was also always great because they allowed me to run around madly in the dark of night, experimenting with light in order to get some interesting results. 

Bands in front of walls – your thoughts?
WWTRD? What would the Ramones do? Their front cover for their classic debut album has them doing it, they’re legends, and they look great. I think any subject in any location can either look horrible or look great. It depends of how it’s done. I think there are worse crimes in cliché band photography doing the rounds out there.