NO SLEEP TIL... MELBOURNE

Friday saw Christmas come early for the entire naughty list of Melbourne when Australia’s third No Sleep Til Festival, after that of Perth and Adelaide, hit the Melbourne showgrounds. Many were sleepless in anticipation of the new festival and the day proved that they really would have no sleep til the grit, grime, sweat, blood and tears were washed off, until the bruises faded and the ringing in their ears from the big guy, Fat Mike from NoFX that is, were nothing more than a memory. Dancing sugar plumbs were replaced with hardcore moshing, glasses of warm milk with a chilled beer and as for being safely tucked up in bed, patrons were more concerned with living out their happiest nightmares.

The weather showed true Melbournian hospitality, as international bands were offered the most our city can give, with the day beginning fresh and sunny, followed by patches of rain and later on in the day the wind, which picked up slightly. Many festivalgoers were also caught off guard and received added lashings of sunburn to their beautifully coloured Christmas gifts of bruises and injuries of the pit.

The event saw two stages set up, the red and the black, with many choosing an alliance to one of them for the majority of the day. Two drinking areas and numerous food vendors were also stationed in-between the stages, waiting time in lines was minimal (with the exception of entry) and toilets and drinking fountains were easily accessible and generally clean. However, there was collective anger concerning the management of drink cards, with patrons needing to purchase a $30 card in order to even buy one drink, many leaving with unused drinks left on the cards.

The timetable showed small to moderate differences between the line-ups from city to city. Melbourne’s showed the less well known bands play first at around 12 noon, like that of Australian Confession and Break Even, then transition through the countries and popularity levels including Katonia, Frenzal Romb, Me First and the Gimmie Gimmies, Dropkick Murphies, A Day to Remember, until the secession of the festival on the high notes of Megadeath and the Descendents, with the festivities finishing up around 10pm.

Confession was first up off the bill on the black stage, whose members come from nearly every state in Australia. The band was started in 2008 by Michael Crafter, the band’s vocalist, who lives a straight edge lifestyle and despite the undeniable amount of drugs present on the day, the band proves that drugs are not a necessity to put on a good show. Also, notable was Dan Brown, who also plays in Byron Bay’s 50 Lions on bass guitar.

Preparation for Gwar, saw the stage covered in black plastic and bottles of red powerade were put out next to towels for each member. But Australia could never truly be prepared for Gwar’s first visit down under. Surely some of the time and money invested into Oprah’s visit, should have been put into warning mothers and fathers to lock up their children for safe keeping at home? “Oprah’s a whore,” shouted Oderus Urungus, which was met with adequate applause and cheers. The members of Gwar walked through smoke onto the stage, semi naked with their cheeks showing through their man g-strings and were met with a great reception as they assumed their positions one by one. “Take all the elements of gross liquid that people have inside of them, you know whether its pus or blood or urine, diarrhoea or congealed seamen … and what were trying to do with Gwar is loosen up a lot of that baggage,” said Urungus in a recent interview with Faster Louder and loosen up they did. For those brave enough to venture close to the intergalactic space aliens during their performance, they had the sickly pleasure of being sprayed with blood, alien jizz, urine and faeces, branding them as Gwar’s worshipers with the stained colours that would mark them for the remainder of the day. Set songs included Let Us Slay, Damnation Under God, Sawborg Destructos song, Maggots Gor Gor and Sick of You, while Oderus poured red Gatorade onto his massive cuttlefish penis and rubbed it, while he shouted provocative comments to the woman in the audience. The bands costumes were detailed, very well made and were suited to the melodramas that they acted out initiating tremendous crowd involvement. After all sorts of sexual innuendos, they left the crowd with one important question, “doesn’t everyone want a tight koala asswhole?”

Dropkick Murphies were another highlight band that really drew a crowd. The Irish American, Celtic punk seven piece, put on an admirably energetic show, and sent out a great vibe which lay on top of the crowd like a warm and fuzzy blanket. I’m shipping out to Boston, was a hit that would dance around the heads of many long after their set had finished.

Australia’s own metalcore band, Parkway Drive played in the late afternoon sun. As they performed, blown up balls made their way through the pit and air acrobatics took place with a couple of the best stage dives that have seen at festivals to date. One particularly dedicated man continued to mosh, despite having seemingly dislocated his knee, plea’s for him to seek first aid, were met with the response, “I don’t want to miss Parkway,” and so the man stayed. Highlight songs included Samsara, Boneyards and Carrion.

If there is one band everyone must see once in their life, it has to be NoFX. At times their performance was hard to classify, was it a comedy? Was it a professional musical performance? Or was it a performance by the kids down the road in someone’s garage? It was all of the above and it was amazing. With three naked guys proudly running through the audience, and spiderman trying to climb the cords and wires up to the stage, it became apparent that they are just big kids who are a little bit pissed off with the world, playing for a group of drunken mates. Fat Mike, with his blue hair and yellow heart sunglasses, chattered away with unintelligible banter, sledging Megadeath who was simultaneously playing on the black stage. “Hey, kid in the emo pants, get down,” and, “your on so much drugs that you have to dance all the time?” he said to people in the sea of faces looking at him. He also made reference to what a beautiful sunset it was, and as the pale-faced sea turned to look, the pungent smell of reefa, wafted through the air. It was hard to tell whether we were having an honest “moment” or if the entire collective group was high, either way, it felt good and no one was fighting it. It was enjoyable foreplay for the Descendents.

Thirty two years after they began, The Descendents first Australian appearance ever was in Melbourne, though they will also be playing at Sydney and Brisbane’s No Sleep Till line up. The Descendents were the buzz word on many lips throughout the day, with the majority of the audience never having seen them live before. Set songs included When I get old, Everything sucks, Suburban Home, Silly Girl, I’m not a Loser and I’m the one, with calculated segues.

After a lengthy and loud call for an encore, the audience was told that due to sound restrictions, the Descendents could no play anymore songs that evening, which was met with boos, hisses an general unhappiness. Fat Mike ran to the microphone (the NOFX crew were sitting stage side passing around a spliff) and informed the audience that there was a $25 000 fine if they played over their time allowance. But, he would put in $12 000 for the fine. Members from various other bands each put in a few grand here, and a few grand there and eventually they had enough to cover the fine and the Descendents came back to the stage for just two more minutes, in which they played Bikage.

Overall the day was fantastic. It would be great to see this festival run next year, with just a few small improvements. There was definitely room for more people, although it was nice not to have to fight the masses. It is safe to say, however that those that “ummmed" and "ahhhhed” about getting a ticket and didn’t should be kicking themselves right now, whether you are a punk fan or a metal fan, a hip hop fan or a classical music fan, the entertainment of the day was well worth the money, time off work or study and the endurance of battle scars. Merry Christmas Melbourne!

King Cannons ride King Tides

How does life change after you've toured with a world-renowned and well-established band like Bedouin Soundclash? The answer is simple in the words of King Cannon (KC) bassist and resident tattooist, Rob Ting. “You take more time off work, have less money and get friend requests on facebook from people you don’t remember meeting on the road.” But what he humbly didn’t mention is that the band’s airplay on government funded Australian Radio Station, Triple J has dramatically increased, that they have recently filmed the video to Take the Rock, and that their fan base and exposure has grown to the point where small SKA bands are covering their songs, as done by Son of Dad (SOD) from Adelaide. It definitely seems that KC are finally starting to get the recognition that that they deserve, along side serving as a role model for other bands of their type.

“I think we turned a few heads on that tour. After those shows, we took a step back, listened and then focused a lot of attention to honing our live performance skills even more,” said Luke Yeoward, the bands vocalist and front man who is more excited than ever about the bands future. “We have really been finding our “groove” this year and I am really happy with the new tunes that keep surfacing! I think next year there will be some refreshing energy shining through our music, even more then this year!”

SOD first heard about KC when they played at Chopdog’s SKA Weekender in June this year. “All of SOD absolutely love King Cannons. Rarely do we have a practise when they aren't mentioned or played and they are a staple in all our road trips,” excites SOD saxophonist and singer, Craig Collins. “We played with them in Newcastle and then the next night in Sydney. We were blown away… They're just a cool bunch of laid back, friendly people. Its just a pity we live interstate,” he continued, also stating that Teenage Dreams is a regular in their set when they go busking.

Above: King Cannons

KC are constantly writing and jamming new tunes to, “keep things fresh and exciting,” as Yeoward puts it. Ting also stated that they are trying to make each performance better than the last and to make each person count within that performance, although visually with the bands uniform of black pressed trousers, shirts, dress shoes and seemingly compulsory tattoos, members Luke Yeoward, Jonno Smith, Josh Matthews, Rob Ting, Mike Ting and Lanae Eruera are standout pieces of artwork themselves, let alone in their performance presence.

Resident tattooist, Ting, has penned work on each member of KC except Mikey Ting, with Eruera and Matthews bearing most of his craft. “I wanted to tattoo, so I saved up and bought the gear. I then learnt through trail and error on my legs and a few close friends. I met my buddy Nick Agnew (www.kingslandink.co.nz) and worked under him in west Auckland until he gave me the thumbs up to start earning a living.” Ting has been working as an artist for five years now and currently works at “Riff Raff Tattoo” in Abbotsford.

Ting’s work has been published in “Tattoos Down Under Magazine,” and he is mostly influenced by the older generation of tattooers, enjoying the American traditional style. He also says that Frank Carter from British hardcore punk band the Gallows is particularly inspirational as he “paints flash tattoos, tours with his band and makes it work.”

There is currently a grey area in the tattoo industry about whether artists should tattoo hands, faces or craft symbols that are sacrilegious. Ting says that, “as a working tattooer in a busy street shop, we get crazy requests all day long. That said, if your of legal age, have ID, can pay me and your idea doesn’t offend me, then its not really my place to tell you that you cant get the tattoo you want.” Ting has also completed tattoos for members of SOD when they excitedly spent the day with him in Melbourne last October. "Rob was great. Very relaxed. He's a very nice guy... He likes doing quirky/funny tattoos so I got him to do a bowling pin (below) on my calf. He's done others along similar lines."

Above: "Spare Me" by Rob Ting

The band has recently filmed the clip to Take the Rock which was shot on a Sunday afternoon, at the abandoned Hoffman Brickworks in Brunswick West, Melbourne. “Quite the fitting location for the tune lyrically, I thought, with Industry playing a big part in the way the world is today,” said Yeoward. It was directed by Matt Weston, who has many mutual friends with KC. “He is such a great guy to work with and we all have common interests. We try to work with people that feel like friends and family. It helps inject a little more passion and soul into the work. In this instance, we produced a great video!”

Even more exciting for KC is that the limited edition 10” Vinyl EP will be available on the bands website and at shows as of Mid December and the CD EP will be released in January of 2011. The band will be touring again, in early 2011 and then they hope to be in the studio straight after that to record their album!

Despite the year quickly coming to an end, with KC’s last show for the year in Auckland, New Zealand at the Kings Arms on the 18^th of December, it is only the beginning for the band, who are looking forward to head back to New Zealand. “This is our old stomping ground, and we haven’t played back there in almost 3 years!! Its quite exiting,” enthused Yeoward.

Above: Take the Rock video.

KC will be playing at the Playground Weekender Festival in 2011,you can view the website for the 2011 Playground Weekender Festival here, http://www.playgroundweekender.com.au/

You can view the King Cannon website here, http://www.kingcannons.com

(If you are interested in the bands that I follow, please consider becoming a follower of my blog. It only takes a couple of clicks and is greatly appreciated. Also if you are in a band, or want me to check out a band, send me an email at leesh_drew@hotmail.com)

REVIEW - SYDONIA, SHIHAD and KORN, Festival Hall

Above - Jonathan Davis

After touring Australia so many times that they can’t remember and with enough dreadlocks to wrap the world three times and tie a bow in them marking home, nu metal rockers Korn took to the stage of Festival Hall last Sunday night, but not before a few pre show rituals. “I have to put my left contact in before my right. I know its weird, but if I pick up the contact lenses and its not the left one… I'll swap them,” said front man, Jonathan Davis in a recent interview with Jaded Reverb. “I go hang out with everybody. It’s funny, we’re a band, but we all have little clicks... We don’t do anything weird like all get in a huddle or any shit like that.”

Although feeling like a freak on a leash, Davis did well for a sober mortal who doesn’t really like people. He has given up the effort of conforming to rock god status expectations which is very much in line with their latest record Korn 3 – Remember where you came from. Dressed in his uniform of Adidas tracksuit bottoms and a singlet top, Davis, in his own words, “just performed his music live” to an adoring Melbourne crowd. With jerky hands, admirable moshing and the sexual abuse of the erotic microphone stand, who’s reputation precedes her and is arguably even more famous than the band themselves, if that were possible (The stand is the sculpture of a semi-muscular, erotic, arching woman designed by H.R. Giger) Johnathan Davis, James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu, and Ray Luzier put on a show that didn’t disappoint the masses, playing songs equally off all records.

The intermission between Shihad, the second support act, and Korn saw an epic punch on, up in the stands behind the cage, while a sea of white faces were turned in vague to moderate excitement at the scene from general admission.

Above - Shihad.

Between songs fans caught sight of Davis stage side on a pump breathing what was assumedly oxygen in between songs. It is well known to fans that the front man has had respiratory problems since a child and can often play up during a show. The set was admirably long and often consisted of satisfying solos that could have run for five minutes at a time.

At what appeared to be the secession of the night, fans thumped their feet on the tortured wooden floorboards of the hall and screamed their lungs out in demand of their idols to return, all the while the masses compacted and surged forward. The people wanted an encore and an encore they would get. After what was probably only a few minutes of heart pounding adrenalin, (though it felt much longer) out walked a lone bagpipe player, unexpected but very welcome. Davis, walked to the central and side stage through the fog and lights, shortly followed by the rest of the band and a fantastic version of Sheets and Ladders.

After the show, Munky, Fieldy and Ray traipsed the stage, throwing out guitar picks and drum sticks to folks that fought for them snarling with teeth bared. They also waved and smiled to obsessed fans who in turn tried to show off their KORN tattoos boldly seared across their backs.

The Festival Hall gig was the third in three headline shows by Korn in Sydney, Brisbane then Melbourne. They have also supported Guns and Roses recently on their Austalian tour, however none would take the band or Davis to the Red Centre. “I want to go check out the middle of Australia, that big rock, where the aborigines hang out, I want to head out to the bush.” Davis declared recently to Jaded Reverb, also admitting that he would like to do some backpacking around this sunburnt land of ours. Maybe next time Davis.

The supports for the evening were Melbourne’s very own Sydonia and Kiwi band, Shihad.

Above - Sydonia

"Prepare to have your socks rocked off,” shouted Sydonia’s guitarist Sam Haycroft. Despite many socks not completely coming off during Sydonia’s set, foreplay is a necessary component of any satisfying experience, which began with Sydonia drawing a decent crowd, a loyal crowed for that matter from early on in the piece

Shihad who earlier this year supported AC/DC on their Black Ice world tour definitely did not show their age and followed on from Sydonia’s lead. After performing for 22 years, roving Jon Toogood was as nimble and energetic as a 6 year old with ADHD as he ran across the stage, grasped the reaching hands of fans in the crowd and then climbed the amps and speakers like a spider in his black skinnies and back Tee, singing from the zenith.

Shihad exhibited an incredibly interactive performance. “I just want to say from all the boys of Shihad, what a fucken pleasure it is to be opening for Korn,” said Toogood. “You’ve been fucken awesome! Trust me, your going to have a great night, ” he continued, as if the crowd needed any reassurance, they’d made up their minds from the moment they heard Sydonia. But Toogood was right, the triad contributed to what would be, the gig of the year for many who attended.

Temper Trap

Full, uncut interview with Joseph Greer from the Temper Trap.

I know a lot of very excited people who are heading down to the Pyramid Rock Festival this New Years Eve purely to see the Temper Trap. Have you been to the festival before?
No I haven’t actually. I think it is going to be quite good. I am intrigued. It’s cool to go down to Phillip Island as well- its good to go places you haven’t been, so I am looking forward to that.

Back in the day, when you were in Melbourne, how did you spend New Years Eve?
The last new years before we left for London we actually played at The Espy. It was the 4am in the morning slot, so we sort of had New Years standing back stage at the Espy listening to Spider Bait. (laughs)

Of the Pyramid lineup, is there anyone that you haven’t seen before that your looking forward to checking out?
I’m looking forward to checking out N.E.R.D I think. I’m excited. I’ve never seen them and I think it will be a fun show.

Is there anything special that we can look forward to for Pyramid Rock?
Well we have been trying out a couple of new songs that we have been writing and touring all over the place, so you know, we will definitely put them into the set I think. Hopefully they go down well.

After the awards, hype, national and international tours, country relocation, festivals and shows, what can we expect next from the Temper Trap?
It’s been a crazy couple of years. We have been touring all over and like you said we’ve relocated. We’ve got the Pyramid Rock show, and then we have one more show in Singapore for Laneway before we all meet back in London in early February and um, have a go at trying to write another album. That’s the only plan on the horizon. We want to try and make a really good album to follow up Conditions. Hopefully we will have something out by the end of next year, but we need to be really happy with what we have made. Hopefully that happens sooner rather than later, but you can’t really tell what is going to happen during the process.

How much have you written for the new album?
We have written a couple of new songs like I said before, whether or not they’ll be on the new album, I’m unsure. We don’t really have a body of music to reference against. You need to have something that works coherently together and yeah, its hard to say. I’d like to think so. The songs that we’ve made are quite different; they would be good to have on the album. But again I think it’s a matter of seeing what else we come up with and seeing how they work against some other songs.

These new songs though, you will be playing at the Pyramid Rock Festival is that right?
Yes the new songs, we will play at pyramid for sure.

So will you sort of gauge the audiences reaction and think about putting the new songs on the record?
Well, we sort of have been. We have this one song that’s 7 minutes long. It’s quite a departure from what we have been doing and we have been playing it. I think most people are a little bit shocked. Everyone sort of claps, but its one of those things that’s hard because everyone’s heard Conditions that are coming to the shows and everyone is sort of going crazy for those songs, its hard to say. You know, are they just clapping because that’s what you do? Or is it genuine?

Yes, like, ‘That’s not the Temper Trap we came to see!’
(Laughs.) Exactly, but we are really happy with what we have been doing. It doesn’t really matter if it doesn’t end up on the album. We’ve just had such little amount of time to write stuff, so we have just done what we can.

What’s been the inspiration for some of the new songs?
This time it’s been a little bit darker. I don’t think there has been any reason why there is that kind of sound. When we were in the studio sitting down, we just kind of had this darker sound come up and it’s just what we went with. It developed in that way with that intense feel. Whether or not that’s what we go for it’s just hard to tell.

Its very early days I suppose.
Yes that’s right. It’s always different. We need to come up with something that works as a whole. I don’t know what has inspired that sound on the songs that we’ve done, but I think once touring has come to an end, real development will happen.

You worked with Producer Jim Abiss on Conditions, will you be working with him again on the next album?
I wouldn’t rule it out, but I don’t think so. There has been talk of different producers and it really comes down to the songs as well. You know, once we have a group of songs we can then imagine what kind of producer would really suit the music. Not to say that Jim wasn’t good, it’s just we would like to see what we can come up with and who would be the best to suit to that sound and also who is available and that kind of thing.

Coming off the back of critically acclaimed Conditions, do you feel the pressure to meet and exceed expectations for the next album?
I think it’s one of those things, you can think about it too much and obviously we have been very successful and been very lucky to have the success that we have with Conditions and we would really like for that to keep going. I guess if you really think about it and worry about it, it becomes an issue. I mean, we all know we need to be aware that there is an expectation. But I think it’s a little bit unhealthy to focus on it too much because we really need to focus on an album that we really like. I think the mood in the band is that of optimism and not really thinking about the pressure. It’s there but we choose not to let it weight us down.

Personally Joeseph, if you were to write this record the way you would like it written and have it sound how you would want it to sound, where would you see this record go?
(Thoughtful.) Hmmm, interesting question. Well… (silence) I would really like to make an album that sounds amazing and has a lot of focus on everything recorded really well, something that could really take us to the next level. I’d really like to be in a band that, you know, is at that next level. Hopefully we can do that. I don’t think we are going to go for the extremely commercial approach but we just want to make really good music that is still accessible to people, without being too overly poppy or anything like that. So that’s where I’d like to see it go, an album that really appeals to people that can cross over a lot of different age groups and that sort of thing.

Joseph your sounding a bit tired and weary at the moment. If you could write a song now about anything you would like, what would it be? Maybe about how tired you are, or recent life events?
(Laughs) I’m feeling pretty good at the moment. I’m just chilling out in Melbourne; I’ve got a couple of days off here, so I am in pretty good spirits. I think if I were to go and write a song now id probably try and write something bright. Unlike when I am on the tour bus and we have been on tour for seven weeks, maybe that’s where we have come up with some of the darker stuff. (Laughs)

Now Joesph, how are you going to be spending Christmas this year?
I’m going to be in Melbourne, I think most of the boys are going to be in Melbourne actually. I think they might go to Bali, but I am pretty sure we are all going to be back here for Christmas, we have got Pyramid a few days after and everyone’s family is here and I am looking forward to it.

Do you do the whole, Pork or Turkey lunch with horrible hats and jokes?
Well, its hard for me because I moved over to Melbourne from New Zealand when I was 19 so my family were still in New Zealand then. I kind of just tagged along to a really untraditional lunch with friends. This year again, it’s probably going to be the same. I’m not too sure, nothing too traditional. But it might be nice, maybe one of the boys will invite me over to lunch with their family, put the hats on…

Yes sing some carols…
Yea sure.

Now the ARIAS, what are your feelings towards the ARIAS?
We were all over the moon to win two. It’s amazing; we were nominated last time and didn’t win anything, so we were a little disappointed. It was great to win two this year.

As for the award ceremony itself, do you think it was a complete mess?
See, we weren’t there. I have heard reports that things weren’t great, but I don’t want to speculate because I wasn’t there myself. You know, people have said that it was good and people have said that it wasn’t good. I’ve heard that people didn’t like the venue, whether or not they are going to change it next year we are going to have to wait and see, but again, I wasn’t there, I can only go by what other people are saying.

Do you still think that it’s relevant to win an ARIA? Like obviously you said your over the moon, how much weight does it hold to win an ARIA?
I think it’s still pretty special. You always see bands winning, it’s like a milestone I guess for Australian bands to reach. Whether or not it’s lost any of its prestige I couldn’t really say, I don’t feel like it has. I think it’s an honor to win anything especially relating to your music. I think it’s still just as good as it’s ever been.

Well, as you have said, you have heard reports good and bad, how would you see the ARIA awards run next year? Would there be any tips, from what you have heard that you could throw in there?
From what I have heard I think people were a little upset just from the layout and it being at the Opera House and not being able to see anything. The year before it was more like a stadium setting and that seemed to work quite fine, with the tables around the outside and I thought that was fine like that. So I guess, (laughs) not that my opinion probably matters to the people organizing it, but I think that probably might make it a little bit better. I think people felt uninvolved and didn’t really know what was going on.


Okay just to finish off with, I am just going to say a couple of words, and I just want you to tell me the first thought that comes into your mind.
Okay…


Wesley Collage - Toby and Lorenzo – that’s two. But I had to say both names because they both went there.
London- Never there.
Camden – NME KOKO club night, that was our first show in London when we moved over.
Melbourne - Inspiration.
Fame – Not being on a tour bus.
Rock Star Life – Overratted.
Women – Not many around.
Success – Fantastic.


Fantastic, thanks so much for your time today Joseph.

(Laughs.) Thank you. I hope I gave you the right answers.

(Laughs) There were no wrong answers. They were great. Have a great Christmas and I look forward to catching you at Pyramid Rock.

Thank you.

Sally Seltmann - A little bit whimsical, a little bit bohemian and a bit little sporty.

“Oh it’s embarrassing,” giggled Sally Seltmann, before admitting that as a young girl that she actually wanted to be a Physical Education teacher and then move into advertising. Which is a far cry from the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) Award winning singer/songwriter that she is today. “I didn’t think that I’d be this. Music was always such a part of my life that I took it for granted. I didn’t really see that I would follow it as something to try and make a job out of.”

But make a job out of it she did, having released records The Last Beautiful Day and Somewhere Anywhere, as New Buffalo. Her latest release titled A Heart that’s Pounding, is the first that first with her name Sally Seltmann. “It was my label - Arts and Crafts, in North America that asked me if I’d ever considered being Sally Seltmann and I had thought about it as I found it really annoying having to explain to people that New Buffalo was a solo project and not a band,” she laughed.

Since her third record release, Heart that’s Pounding, Seltmann has moved from Melbourne back to her hometown of Sydney. Initially she had moved to Melbourne because she had fallen in love with her husband, Darren Seltmann (of the Avalanches.) “I do believe in true love and I believe you can make the best life possible for yourself, not focussing on how crap everything is. I used to find it very hard to make decisions in life. But when I met my husband, everything seemed very clear to me. I gave up Sydney because I believed so much in the love,” says Seltmann. “I very much go with my feelings. It’s nice to be able to put a poetic milk on life.” Though Seltmann did say that she viewed life more romantically when she was a little younger, where she would think along the lines of, “the door was locked and I’ve lost my key, its got to mean something” and she would come up with “all these reasons” of what it could mean.

Melbourne may be the culture capital of Australia, but Seltmann says that Sydney, is the prettiest city in the world, even more so that Paris. “I love the harbour, the beaches and the landscape. I love all the sandstone and my family live there too, that makes me a little bit biased,” she said. In contrast Seltmann says Sydney is very different to Melbourne. “People in Melbourne seem to dress a bit better and it’s a bit more stylish. There are a lot more bars and places with beautiful interiors, like cafes. Sydney is a lot more outdoorsy and way sunnier, you feel more like meeting people in a park in the sunshine rather than hanging out in dark clubs.”

“Id love it if people described me as bohemian, though I think I’m a bit too uptight,” Seltmann said, though if she had met herself out at a party and had to describe herself to someone else she would describe herself as “giggly and funny.” I suggested ‘whimsical.’ “Yes and no,” she said and I can vision the Heart that’s Pounding cover with the photo of her with her head tilted slightly to the side. “I wouldn’t describe myself as that, but my music comes across as that I guess.”

Above: Cover of Heart that's Pounding.

Despite its whimsical sound, Seltmann’s music only partly reflects her life. “My music is very feminine, and very emotional, and my life is also very emotional… but I’m a bit more sporty. I have a slight tomboyish side that I don’t think comes across in my music,” she says, having played Basketball, Soccer, Netball, Water Polo, Softball and Swimming. “I liked Basketball a lot better because it was more physical. I remember at school I would play basketball in the summer and in the winter I would play soccer.” Seltmann also can surf, play drums, likes running and told me proudly that she was the school champion at swimming.

But don’t the athletic talk fool you. Seltmann is a treasure hunter, as a keen vintage and opportunity shopper. She told me excitedly that her best buy has been a cream, silk, skirt from an Opp Shop on Smith Street in Melbourne and on another occasion she bought a pair of men’s Prada shoes. Savers is one of her favoured haunts, “there is one in Footscray, it’s massive and it’s amazing. They categorise all the clothes in size. So you go in there and everything is very organised. I love how long it takes to go opp shopping too, but it’s great as you can quickly find what you want in your size.” Though she also favours places in Toorak, “I love the Opp Shops in posh suburbs where there are amazing women who work there and you get all designer clothes.”

Heart that’s Pounding was written to be much more uplifting and collaborative than the last two records by Seltman. “I made each album as a reaction to the previous album that I had made. So the previous New Buffalo album was made, by myself, in a shed, with a piano and it was a very, solitary experience.”

For Heart That’s Pounding, Seltmann had about 16 songs to choose from. “I wrote some a few years ago, but I had a bit of a burst in song writing where I wrote about five of them over a few months.” She said. Seltman also worked closely with Melbourne based producer Francious Tetaz, “we kind of just sifted through the songs. Sometimes you can have too much of one style of song on the album, so we just picked a few.”

Ultimately what got Seltmann to where she is today is the ability to focus and follow her heart. Although she credits Francious Tetaz, for his input, “He is funny. We kind of share a similarity in terms of how we love to analyse people’s relationships. He’s got a lot of energy and for me, working with him, he’s just kept me n the right mood and right frame of mind. He is quite a jolly person.”

“What is right for one person, could be completely wrong for someone else,” said Seltmann when I asked about what advise she would give about love, life and the universe. But what she did say was, “I know of a few people who are talented and incredibly gifted when it comes to the arts, but then you’ve also got to have that side to your personality where you crave and your driven and work on the same sort of things.” Seltmann studied Fine Art at The College of Fine Arts in Sydney and greatly enjoyed photography, but in the end, she had to make a tough decision. “A lot of creative people have a million ideas and don’t hone in on one thing… in the end I decided to focus on just the music.”

Comment below and let others know where your secret Opportunity or Vintage store is, and what your best buy has been?

A Review - The Audreys, supported by Tracey Mc Neal and Nicolas Roy

There was room to swing a buffalo, as Tracey Mc Neal opened the evening for The Audreys this past Friday night at The Corner. She sat along side Matt Green on electric guitar and dobro, as the pair performed sparsely dispersed 35 – 50 people.

It was clear from early on that a fine vintage audience would be attending as silver flecks were lit up on the heads of many who stood in intimate pairs or small groups and chatted loudly to the slow backing tracks of Mc Neal.

Nicholas Roy and Adam ‘the smiley faced drummer’ Coad were the next support up. Their energy was a pleasant escalation, as the pair visibly enjoyed themselves as they performed songs with energy and enthusiasm, including Taxi, Walls and a song currently being played at Triple J called It’s all my fault. Noteworthy was a song written about Nicholas’ late grandmother. A quarter of the way through, there were some technical difficulties and Roy’s keyboard stopped working. In a gutsy display, a slightly startled Roy sung the remainder of the song a cappella to a silent room, showcasing his stunning voice. Although not planned, the incident inspired a witty segue into the next song titled, Before the world collapses. “Locusts, Floods and now my keyboard is the third thing,” joked Roy as people steadily steamed in throughout the set and stook their place with eyes on Roy. By the end of the set, The Corner - although not sold out, was suitably full and ready for the headliner, The Audreys.

An ultra sexy Taasha Coats walked out in stage following the rest of the band and opened the set with the goose bump raising Oh honey, and the audience were reminded why they had left the comfort of their homes that evening.

“The rest of the band are very ‘folk’ but Taasha, she is just something else, she is just something else,” said a sobriety challenged mother of three standing next to me and she trailed off getting lost in the sight of Taasha. With her subtly rotating hips, her magical gypsy hands and hauntingly beautiful voice, she had enough sex appeal to almost turn the poor mother. Though Tristen Goodall's roving guitar and applaud worthy solos, and indeed the input of the rest of the band also did not fail to smiles on the faces of all in the room.

“We have been looking forward to this. This is the first time we have played in Melbourne, when we have all lived in Melbourne, I’m getting a taxi home tonight!” an excited Coats remarked in between songs.

The night saw a great many instruments played, including the drums, bass and electric guitar, the doboro and the banjo, but also the spoons, the ukulele, harmonica, keyboard, accordion, tambourins and the melodica. The latter is that strange instrument that is blown, yet has keys like a keyboard and produces a polyphonic sound. An instrument that Coats is clearly quite fond of as took the time to explain those unawae in he crowd.

The band pushed their way through songs like Small things, Chelsea Blues,and You and Steve Mc Queen. Yet the highlight of the evening occurred towards the close of the gig, when Nicolas Roy was invited back to the stage for a remarkable cover of INXS’ Don’t Change.

Jordan Pundik – A love of food, a new baby and A New Found Glory.

A New Found Glory (NFG) will be back to Australia for the umpteenth time to play at Soundwave early next year. Their presence here is as regular as Merv Hughes, as the band has toured down under for every album since their virginal appearance in 2002 as part of Warped Tour. NFG will be sharing the stage with greats of the rock music industry like Iron Maiden, Slayer and Bullet for my Valentine, but front man and lead singer Jordan Pundik has an unfazed view about the clichéd, hyped theatrics. He says, “I guess we fit into the music industry as we are a band, but personally I never try and get into that kind of thing. I’m more the guy who’s like, ‘tell me where and when I’ve got to play and let me rock the fuck out.’”

Above: Jordan Pundik from A New Found Glory.

Before the first waves of sound crash in Brisbane on the 25^th of February, the world must endure two large happenings. The first is the invasion of Oprah and her 450 minions for Oprah’s Goodbye Show and the second is the annual advent of Christmas. Pundik has friends in nearly every city of Australia and says that he often hangs out with his Melbourne friends after Australian tours for a few days just to chill out. Being a man who has seen more of this sunburnt country than many who bear the inked southern cross on their skin, it was interesting to find out what Pundik would recommend that Oprah see or do when she was here. “I haven’t met her,” Pundik laughs. “ But, I want Oprah to come to Soundwave. Her and I can hang out, we can dance to Gang of Four and talk about Obama.” The flashed image of Oprah donning a black Slayer Tee and a pair of skinnies in the middle of a tattooed Soundwave crowd is terribly frightening, as Pundik finishes his indulgent laughing.

Be it the Southern Cross, pin up girl or otherwise, tattoos aren’t like they used to be, according to Pundik. “Everywhere you look there are tattoos. You go into a mall and they’re selling these nylon sleeves for kids with tattoo patterns all over them. I feel like it’s a part of our society now,” says Pundik who got his primary tattoo young after his first tour. His band along with Vacant Andies, the first band of Christ Carrabba, now in Dashboard Confessional, had rented a truck and illegally took it out of the state and played at pool parties “in front of like, two people.” At the end of the tour, when they bought the truck back to Florida, they saw the tattoo shop. “At the time I was 17 years old, and I wasn’t even allowed to get tattoos yet,” he admitted. “But the guy did it anyway. It’s a bit corny. It’s this star and it has Chinese lettering in it, saying ‘friendship.’” Laughed the now 30-year-old, whose tattoos have featured in magazines such as ‘Inked’ and ‘Tattoo Magazine.’ “We don’t even know if the lettering really says ‘friendship,’ it could say fucking ‘fried shrimp,’ for all we know.” None the less the tattoo symbolises a long running friendship between Dashboard Confessional and A New Found Glory.

Above: Jordan Pundiks, right arm sleeve.

The second event the world must endure is the annual advent of Christmas. Pundik will be spending Christmas close to home this year. “Ill be at home but we will be driving all up and down the coast of California because my wife’s family is really huge. One side lives three hours north and one side lives two hours south. So we have to drive all over the place and constantly eat and eat and eat. Her dad’s side usually have a ham, or a turkey or a huge spread for Christmas. But her mums side of the family does the whole Mexican thing so we will have enchiladas and tacos and you just get hammered on margaritas its actually kind of fun,” he enthuses. The occasion will be even more special this year as it is Van Phillip Pundik’s first Christmas, Pundik’s son who was born just over a month ago on October 6^th. “He’s actually a really chilled baby which is awesome as my mom always told me I was a really chilled baby. He likes to eat a lot, just like his dad and he likes to sleep a lot, just like his dad. I’m stoked,” enthuses Pundik who looks forward to taking him surfing and teaching him about, ‘all the things that are cool.’ “As cliché as it sounds, it really is one of the most insane things to ever happen,” says Pundik.

Pundik has been around great food his whole life and has become a self-professed good cook. “My brother is the sous chef at a really well known restaurant. He’s younger than me, but I have kind of learned from him,” he says. “We’ve been really into making things for holidays now, as we have so many people that we know. We like making food things, so last year we made a pesto food sauce. We put them in these really cool jars and put really cool labels on them that I drew up,” he enthuses, also stating that they looked quite professional just like the ones from an up market food store. “Some people may think that sucks, ‘I don’t want pesto, I want a fucking gameboy.’ But you know what? Fuck them. I like making stuff!” He declares proudly. However there does come a time, when the food loving Pundik can’t eat as much as he would like. “I have a really good friend who is from Melbourne actually. His family visited last year and they did this huge Australian style barbeque for Christmas. They grilled everything. There was so much food I can’t even tell you. He had a huge steak or a huge piece of lamb for each individual person. It wasn’t ‘take what you want to eat,’ it was ‘you get everything,’” he states matter-of-factly in refection.

Above: A New Found Glory

Pundik is a food lover, new father, and rockstar. “I feel that people hold us highly just because we are in a band. If someone got to know one of us, they would realise that we’re just normal dudes, that are kind of boring,” he says. Also admitting that at times, he must remind himself to remain grounded. There is one boy in particular that helps bring him back to earth. The boy had come up to the band at the peak of an extremely long tour. Pundik says, “His brother had died and he had gone through a series of really bad events over the last year. He told me that without the music, he would have done some bad things to himself. I always think of that, whether we are playing a huge tour, or whether a record sells, I try to always remember why we do it… I feel like what I do really makes a difference.” He states proudly. With that knowledge, after extravagant talk of food and jokes of Oprah, it is hard to think of Jordan Pundik, lead singer of A New Found Glory once again as, ‘just a normal dude.’