INTERVIEW: Keith! Party

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Mention hip hop to most and the first things that come to mind are American rappers with too many exit wounds, diamond encrusted teeth and more swear words than you can point a shotgun at. The idea of a troupe of kids from the hipster-filled northern suburbs of Melbourne being labeled hip-hop seems a little odd at first, but one listen to Keith! Party proves otherwise.

But don’t expect straight up rap – far from it. Sure there’s rapping and plenty of break-beats, but K!P are part of the new “rave-rap” music revolution. With their newest release, the Victoria Rocks-funded Roof Raisers, expect to hear dub reggae, grime bass, electro noises, triphop, old-school horror film melodies and vocals reminiscent of Destiny’s Child. Add in lyrics that would even make a sailor blush, and you have a winner. Paper-Deer’s favourite lines are “AIDS in a wheelchair on welfare” and the lyrics of Best Fiesta which imply girl-on-girl necrophilia. While Roof Raisers lacks the I’m-going-to-fucking-curb-you vibe of gansta rap, there’s still something darkly delicious about K!P’s messed-up brand of pop hip hop. File under “great music to have drugged-out sex to.”

Paige X. Cho got real with Cathead LaQuack, Talkshow Boy and 2SHEE. (We are pretty sure those are their birth names.)

The K!P entourage is always changing shape and size. Who are the core members of the group?

CATHEAD: Talkshow Boy, Cathead LaQuack, 2SHEE, Hotdog, Easy Lee, B. Jerky and our two dancers Amy Contortion and James Phantom. Also my brother DJ Wordlyfe. I was first introduced to Talkshow Boy by a wandering minstrel named Escobar Amsterdam. When I first saw him perform a live solo gig with his crazy asymmetrical haircut, I was blown away by his limitless energy and infectious enthusiasm. I met James and Amy when they were doing a dance show for the Fringe Festival and needed someone to write the music. James and Amy are two of the loveliest people I've ever met and their choreography made a brilliant new addition to our shambolic live show.

2SHEE: The rest of the band members were lured to Cathead’s bungalow with rainbow-coloured glowsticks.

TALKSHOW BOY: Every member of the crew has their own unique flow and style. Past members of K!P include Worm, Huge Euge, Treggers, MC Sleaze, Cheeks, Gezus, Conor G and many, many more party people.

Did you ever expect K!P to get this far in four years? Or ever?

CATHEAD: Despite the accidental and amateurish nature of the project, we've always suffered from delusions of grandeur and believed that it would go very far indeed. We started making absurdly bold proclamations about taking over the world, and we were so intoxicated that we started to believe them. The only unexpected thing about what's happened since then is that we've managed to get our shit together and actually organised things like getting a grant, recording and releasing an album, putting on shows and arranging interviews like this one.

TALKSHOW BOY: I’m still making bold proclamations. From the very first day the plan was to produce cutting-edge party music, create some classic and warped pop songs and party in an unorthodox, larger-than-life fashion when we perform. We’ve totally succeeded in every respect and we have no plans to let up. We are constantly producing stupid/experimental/fun dance jams and love making tracks with unconventional hooks.

Do you try to sketch out an idea of what will happen at each performance, or are they all sort of haphazard and spontaneous events depending on what and who you can grab?

TALKSHOW BOY: Every performance space is its own party playground - what is important is that we always seize the entire available space. We have different party supplies at every show and rudimentary dance-moves that coincide with some songs, but the key to a good party is a combination of spontaneity, break beats, bass and incidental grinding. In the past we’ve had bubbles, a jumping castle, party poppers, champagne, condoms, firecrackers, nudity, spliffs, potatoes, costumes, banners, toys, dildos, flags and plenty of fun. In the future we will continue to party with all of the above and more.

Maybe it’s something in the name of your band, the crazy live shows or the loose attitudes, but everything about K!P spells out “a good time”. What’s the craziest thing that has happened at a K!P show?

TALKSHOW BOY: We had a really uptight sound guy at one warehouse party who cracked the complete shits, getting in a fit of rage and swung a mic stand at us. He gave us this intense lecture on how we’re the worst non-band he’s seen in 20 years and if we were professionals we would have held the mics “correctly”. He was really shaken and red-in-the-face – it was quite unnerving but we laughed it off and proceeded to drink bottle after bottle of Sangria.

K!P are about to release a second album, Roof Raisers. What can your fans and well-wishers expect?

CATHEAD: Roof Raisers is our idea of the perfect party, with a lot of crazy guests, hilarious incidents, booty-shaking, playfulness, excessive behavior and colourful vibes. It's got some huge obnoxious beats, riffs and choruses but it may not be as dumb and obvious as you'd expect party music to be. After cranking it up loud with your friends, we hope you'll also enjoy it as a close private listen on your headphones, since there are a lot of hidden production nuances, funny backup vocals, witticisms and tongue-twisters.

TALKSHOW BOY: It’s underground pop music. I have always been fascinated by the ‘pop charts’ and love it whenever anything subversive, innovative, experimental or absurd sneaks in there and manages to come across as unequivocally “normal”. I wanted Roof Raisers to be a streamlined, cohesive party album that approximates commercial pop music just enough to get away with it whilst remaining progressive and resolutely leftfield and fucked-up in lyrical content.

While hip hop is probably the closest single genre to describe K!P, you still sound nothing like anything else in Australia. If you could create a new genre to describe K!P’s sound, what would it be called?

CATHEAD: It's true that we don't have much of an affinity with the majority of Aussie hip-hop artists but a recent review of our album in Rave Magazine accurately noted there is a hidden “second strand” of Australian rap that’s more ravey, fun and goofy than the better-known Aussie bogan variety. Leftfield Aussie rappers like Quan, Purple Duck, Shane Skillz, Dirt Child and Curse Ov Dialect are our kindred spirits.

We like to call our style "rave-rap", which basically means that apart from hip-hop, we're also heavily influenced by all kinds of electronic dance music and will rap over pretty much any kind of beat. The word "rave" refers to our musical style but also to our attitude: positive, hedonistic, juvenile, sincere, enthusiastic, loving, respectful, revolutionary.

TALKSHOW BOY: You can call us “rave-rap”, “party pop” or “sex beat”.

Anything else you’d like to add?

We will be releasing free rave-rap remixes and downloadable acapellas for further production and remixing through www.raverap.com - we are passionate about screwed-up good-time dance music and will be unleashing plenty of it over the coming months and years. There are so many underground producers releasing killer dance tracks over the internet - we love the global spectrum of innovators and love sharing our own home-made floor-fillers.

UPCOMING GIGS:

• Tuesday January 25: Workers Club with JUNK!, Fabio Umberto, Rat Vs Possum DJs, Amy Contortion [Roof Raisers official album launch]

LINKS:

• Keith! Party on Facebook
• Keith! Party official website
• Keith! Party on Myspace
• Rave Rap 

INTERVIEW: Canos

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No matter how you want to pronounce their name, there's one thing about Melbourne pop-folk act Canos that everyone agrees one: they are a troupe of bloody talented musicians. With seven different accomplished musicians making music at the same time, the end result is beautifully layered pop-rock music created with folk instruments. This music is the kind of music that should be the soundtrack to the daydreams. Gorgeous, lush and deliriously delightful, and best served with cloud-watching, picnics with lovers and a glass of wine.

Paper-Deer had a group discussion with Cameron Lee, Sarah-Rose McIvor, Johnny Moretti and Luke McIvor about the logistics of being in a large band and their upcoming special edition EP.

The name “Canos” is unusual. We’re guessing that you might get called “Canoes” by accident a lot.  What’s the worst mispronunciation or misspelling that you’ve experienced so far? 

Well, “Canoes” is pretty bad to be honest.  We have also been called “Kay-noss” and “Cano” because someone just assumed that the “s” was silent. When in actual fact the “c” may be silent… but it’s not.

There’s a lot of you in the band! Does that make band prac really difficult?

There are seven people and we all seem to live miles from each other! We have people in the group who come from Boronia, Essendon and even as far as Yarra Junction.  So organising rehearsals is usually a logistical nightmare but we always seem to manage.

There are some impressive instruments that make up your sound, like the cello and violin. Were any members of the band classically trained?

Yeah, our strings players were both classically trained which helps because the rest of us are classically untrained.  But it has been the cause of a few debates about song structures and arrangements but ultimately I think we have found a balance that we are all happy and comfortable with.

Canos’ bio states that you are part of the “new folk movement sweeping its way across Melbourne”. What exactly is the new folk movement, and how is it different from just plain old folk?

Some of our songs are little more traditional I guess, but we definitely incorporate some pop hooks and pop themes. The new folk movement does resemble traditional folk in the sense that they use acoustic style instruments but really that’s where the similarities end.  We are essentially a folk-pop/folk-rock band.

You released your debut EP at the beginning of last year, and since then have recorded more tracks with producer Steven Schram (The Cat Empire, Little Birdy). What else did the band get up to in 2010?

We have been working furiously on our live sound and are bracing ourselves for a big 2011. We did a residency at the Wesley Anne in Northcote as well as a few shows at the Northcote Social Club (including our very first EP launch that we managed to sell out).  We also recently won a competition where we won a distribution deal with Valleyarm which we’re making use of for our latest release, a special edition release of our debut EP with 2 new tracks recorded by Steven Schram.

What was it like working with Schram, who is such an amazing producer?

He was great to work with! His philosophy is to record a great performance from the band. So he listens to you and gives feedback on the performance as you go until we’ve got the performance perfect and on tape. Plus he’s great fun to work with!

Where can people pick up copies of your EP?

We will have a physical copy with one new song with a song from The Buegs available at the EP launch. The whole special edition EP is available to download from iTunes and other popular music stores.

What other plans do you have for 2011?

Touring and playing some festivals and releasing some more songs. We’re currently working on new material!

ALL I KNOW

Canos | Myspace Music Videos

UPCOMING SHOWS:

• Saturday January 29: The Toff in Town [Canos Special Edition EP Launch, tickets from Moshtix]

LINKS:

• Canos on Myspace
• Canos on Facebook

INTERVIEW: The Olivettes

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Being a solo artist certainly has its perks. Practice is whenever you roll out of bed. The set list is completely up to you. You don't have to frantically call up your band mates to check they're available when you get offered a last minute gig. And if you don't like a song, you can scrap it without having to diplomatically tell your band mate that what they've written is terrible.

But nothing beats the fun of having a travelling troupe of musicians to keep you company, and that's exactly why Melbourne muso Courtney Barnett has recently jumped on board the "band" wagon. While Courtney is no newbie when it comes to the live music scene in Melbourne, the singer songwriter recently curated a gang of musicians to give her own tunes an orchestrated sound and the gang was originally known as "Courtney Barnett and The Olivettes". The gang of six soon dropped the first part of the name as it was clear that these musicians have too much talent and ideas to add to simply be a backing band, so Melbourne should start to keep their eyes peeled for a collective simply known as The Olivettes.

Paper-Deer got together with Courtney to talk about the evolution of The Olivettes and how they came up with their moniker.

Describe your sound in one word.

Underwater.

Haha, I’m pretty sure that’s two words! Where does the name “The Olivettes” come from?

A drunken guy said to me once, “I’ve never heard your music but based on the band name I envision five housewife-type females dressed in 1950s flowery dresses singing folk songs.” The Olivettes are three guys and two girls. On the front porch, of a house in Thornbury, next to the door bell, at about shoulder level, is a nice plaque that has the house name, Olivette, on it. I saw it at the first band practice and thought it was pretty. Pete suggested it as the band name, and that was that.

 You’ve been on the music scene in Melbourne for a bit. What inspires you to start projects with others rather than just performing and writing solo?

I get stuck in a rut writing by myself. It gets boring and I catch myself using the same cheap phrases over and over again. Plus I’m neurotic and overly self-critical. When you’re writing with someone else they can say, “Hey, that’s shit. Let’s say ‘steady decline of hair’ instead of ‘bald’, and how about we go to this chord and then the leading note brings it up to the major and blah blah blah I know music theory.” It’s a clichéd thing to say, but I learn so much by writing and performing with other people. I’m pretty shy so it forces me to step outside my comfort zone and sometimes the best ideas happen when you’re just mucking around with band members.

I collaborated with a wonderful songwriter and friend Oliver Mestitz last year and we wrote a song called Things to Consider Before RSVPing to a Party. That was the first time I had sat down with someone else and said, “okay, let’s write a song.” And we literally sat around for a long, long time not doing much at all. Folding bits of paper and flicking them across the room. When we finally got on a roll I found it fascinating, it’s like peeking into someone else’s heart and brain seeing the process of how they carefully word lyrics, how they phrase melodies to suit the songs mood, what they share, what they omit.

On your website, you describe The Olivettes as “a group of musicians sourced by Courtney to mellifluously orchestrate and aesthetically beautify her songs.”  Are The Olivettes your “backing band” or does the rest of the band contribute to the songwriting and decision-making process?

It started off like that. Courtney Barnett & The Olivettes. I showed them my songs and we played them how I’d been playing them for the last three years. But it kind of felt like we were a high school band sight-reading out of a Best Of catalogue. Plus some of my slower girly songs don’t really fit with the summery upbeat pop-bop feel thing we’ve got going on.

We have fun together and they inspire me to write, so without them I don’t know where I’d be heading. We’ve only been playing together for a month or so and we’ve just started writing songs together and sharing ideas. I was walking home from the Tote a few weeks ago, and I came up with these profound lyrics quickly typing them into my phone. I took a disjointed story and one riff to rehearsal the next day, showed the band and they made it awesome. We had a new song. Easy as that. So I think it’s okay to say we are just The Olivettes now.

How do you pick fellow musicians to work with?

I would never “audition” people to play with. I didn’t really know any of the boys from the olivettes that well before we started playing together. We drank at the same places, I saw them play in their other bands, and we made lewd jokes together. Once I’d sussed them out to be really cool people that I enjoyed hanging out with I said, “Do you wanna be in a band with me?” As for Charlie Plumb, she dressed up as David Bowie at a party one night and I knew we were supposed to be together. I like the old-fashioned punk-rock notion of friends getting together to make a band. Come up with the name, make the t-shirts, organise the gigs, write the songs…and then learn the instruments. In that order.

The Olivettes have a residency at Edinburgh Castle this December. Why should Paper-Deer readers traipse along and watch you?

1. Our friends The Merri Creek Pickers and Rob from Immigrant Union are coming along to play support spots. 2. We’re playing prime-time afternoon in the sunny beer garden, so you can smoke, drink, eat, bring your kids, bring your dog, get a sun tan and watch music all at the same time.

Is there any magic mix for you when it comes to songwriting?
I find that the best songs are the ones I write in five minutes without thinking about them too much. I get really inspired by local bands a lot of the time. Yesterday I woke up and felt like something good was going to happen so I went and bought two Lucksmiths CDs for inspiration. There’s no magic mix for me. I normally struggle desperately with song writing and the only thing that works is patience and spontaneity.

UPCOMING SHOWS:

• Friday December 17: The Cornish Arms [Popboomerang Xmas Party, as solo aritst]
• Sunday December 19: Edinburgh Castle residency, from 4pm to 6pm 

 LINKS:

• Courtney Barnett official website 
• Courtney Barnett on Myspace
• The Olivettes on Myspace

By Paige X.Cho

INTERVIEW: Scott Thurling of Popboomerang

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"I'm going to start a record label!" Sure, lots of people say that phrase and it's usually met with lots of eye-rolling. One man did that and succeeded massively, and now has big acts like Frente!, Skipping Girl Vinegar and Celadore under his roster. Meet Scott Thurling, the man who started, runs and makes all the decisions for Melbourne indie label Popboomerang. That may be a lot of hats to wear, but the Melbourne-based label manager must have a huge coat rack as the only brain behind the thriving label.

Paper-Deer picked at Scott's brain for his tips on how to get your act on an indie label, and all things record label.

What do you do at Popboomerang?

I am Label Manager at Popboomerang Records. Being a one man operation this obviously means I am sole decision maker in regard to the bands that are signed and the overall direction of the label. I do a level of artist management & development &  publicity as well as booking shows and all other admin involved in running the label.

How did Popboomerang come about?

Popboomerang was established in 2000 & released the first recordings in 2002. I’ve always been a MASSIVE music consumer, and perhaps because I don’t play music, was always interested in music business as well. Popboomerang started as a “swap shop” website around 1997 trading Australian Pop & Rock titles to overseas fans in return for CD’s unavailable in Oz. I would make CD samplers of the Aussie bands for the overseas fans and enjoyed this so much the idea started to form of legitimising things to form a proper label.

What do you think boutique, indie labels have going that major labels can’t touch?

Indie labels enjoy faster decision making, are more personal and timely communication wise and ideally, can carve out a niche in the music scene and to produce intense consumer loyalty as well as a real “community feel” and support amongst the bands. They can spot trends in the industry & react to them faster. Of course there are disadvantages in to working with a small label and bands need to weigh up their options if they are in a position of having some labels courting.

There are some really rad bands on Popboomerang’s roster, including Skipping Girl Vinegar, Frente, Georgia Fields and Young Werther. Is there a common thread among all the bands on your label?

The most common trend about the bands that have done well on the label is a high level of ambition and passion about their music and overall career. That intensity and hunger is something I look for when considering adding a band to the label. Not every band is in a position to tour as extensively as bands like Skipping Girl Vinegar, Celadore or The Bon Scotts but it is a dream if they can!

Which young band on the Popboomerang label are you most excited about for 2011?

I think Celadore qualify for this one as they are truly one of the youngest & most hard working bands on the label. The guys head into the studio this week to start recording the follow up to Distance Is A Gun .The Solomons made a splash with their debut EP this year and are about to record a bunch of songs for release in 2011.

If you could get us to listen to one album/release from a Popboomerang artist, which would it be and why?

That is tough, like asking a parent to name a favourite child!!! The releases which have made the biggest impact with fans and the media include Skipping Girl Vinegar’s Sift The Noise, The Aerial Maps’s In The Blinding Sunlight and Georgia Fields’ new self-titled album. Releases by Tim Reid, Tamas Wells, Underminers, Bon Scotts and Splendid are among others have also been very well received.

Is there a difference between a good band and an excellent band that will be successful?

If there was a secret I would not be telling. But seriously an “excellent band” has to have a point of difference in some way in their recorded music & hopefully also in their live performance. I have seen bands I thought were “excellent” waste their talent and implode & bands who I felt were “good” get every ounce of success possible by working really hard.

Any tips for bands interested in getting signed by Popboomerang? Any hints or anything they should definitely avoid doing (e.g. stalking you)?

Do your research on the roster! Don’t send in recordings for consideration that are devoid of melody! Don’t waste my time with styles of music Popboomerang does not release don’t work with (rap, hard rock, dance or reggae etc.) Be polite in following up for feedback, persistence is fine up to a point (over email is best). Be imaginative and eye catching with your promo packs but don’t go over the top. Don’t sulk or burn your bridges if you don’t get a release as labels often “talk” and recommend bands to each other (or not).

Do you do anything else in the music industry?

I have done some mentoring for Freezer/The Push. But the sad news is I head off to the dreaded day job each day. Rock n’ roll has not made me rich yet! Ever hopeful.

Any tips for young industry kids who are keen on starting labels or working for record labels?

I would hope they have rich generous parents or partners!! But seriously, they need to be aware that the industry is changing and the old models of recouping your investment from CD sales alone are gone. I would encourage them to do some work experience in established labels or seek out some mentoring before starting out alone. I would say learn from your mistakes and don’t repeat them (in saying that successful decisions you make along the way are not always replicated).

 UPCOMING EVENTS:

• Friday December 17: Popboomeranng Xmas Party at The Cornish Arms, free entry, featuring The Bon Scotts, D.Rogers Band, Georgia Fields (duo), Underminers (duo), Courtney Barnett (solo), Greg Williams (solo) and Remake DJs. Free event sampler here.

LINKS:

• Popboomerang Records official website
• Popboomerang Records on Myspace
• Popboomerang Records on Facebook
• Popboomerang Records on Twitter

BY PAIGE X. CHO

REVIEW: The Madness Method @ The Toff in Town (25/11/2010)

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It’s not very common nowadays to hear of bands fusing the genre of ska into their styles. Freak-folk-experimental-pop-trip-hop? Sure, why not. But ska? Now, in 2010? Well, bands like The Madness Method prove that apparently it still happens.

The Madness Method describe their music as “spock”; that is, ska with hints of pop and rock. Two of the band’s most popular tracks, You Were Right and Better Without You, seemed to represent the “spock” genre well. Both had signature ska elements such as walking bass lines (provided by absolutely spot-on bassist Jon Meller), guitar rhythms that accented the upstrokes, drummer Paul Frangos’ driving beats, and bright, harmonising brass lines courtesy of Shelly Ryan on saxophone and Matt Story on trumpet (trombonist Tom McKenzie was absent). The fast-paced tempos and catchy melodies of both songs, the distinctly pop-tinged chorus in You Were Right and the rockier chorus in Better Without You fit in nicely with these ska elements to create a fresh sound; a “spocky” sound. Both of these songs also had videos made for them, which were launched at The Toff during this particular show.

While many of The Madness Method’s songs sounded quite similar to each other, the repetitiveness was broken up by a few songs that had quite a different feel to most of the others. For example, Concrete Heart was slower and more sensual. It still had its standard block-upstroke strumming on guitar and a catchy bass line that walks up and down the frets, but things such as guitarist Luke Forward’s commanding solo using a wah pedal, a sultry saxophone line and long, held notes on brass set it apart and made it a clear stand-out from the set. Vocalist and front-woman Mandy Meadows was allowed more freedom — compared to the somewhat restrictive melodies of other songs — to really show off her vocal control, and she sang the lyrics with a punchy attitude that made you believe she really meant what she was singing. Towards the end of the song, the band dropped out and Mandy held a note for what seemed like minutes, and then followed it up with an impressive display of almost-jazzy vocal gymnastics before the band came back in for the final two choruses.

An honourable mention also goes out to Wikipedia, which was a lot more funk-inspired than most other songs in the set and also featured a very rock-n-roll breakdown that got the audience raising their fists and whipping their hair.

The members of The Madness Method are no doubt talented and work extremely well as a single entity. The enthusiasm of the drummer, the lightning-fast fingers of the laidback bassist, the choreographed head-tilts of the brass players, the tasteful solos by the guitarist and Mandy’s sass and pipes made for an entertaining show. This band does not make easy-listening music; it’s not for everyone. As the band themselves state, their music is “not grungy, earthy, wailing or hauntingly beautiful”. It’s not deep, it won’t move you to tears, and it probably won’t cause any epiphanies or arouse profound emotions within you. But that’s not really what The Madness Method were aiming for anyway. They’re all about upbeat, fun, in-your-face songs; light-hearted lyrics that mock and tease; energetic performance and the raucousness that is the fusion-genre of “spock.”

LINKS:

• The Madness Method MySpace 
• The Madness Method official website
• The Madness Method Facebook
• Flickr set for the gig by Ta-DAH! Photo 

TEXT BY STEPHANIE-BOWIE LIEW AND PHOTO BY TA-DAH! PHOTO

INTERVIEW: Princess One Point Five

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Splashed across glossy-paged tabloid magazines (with their legs wide open, of course), trashy socialites like Paris Hilton have lent the word “princess” a bit of a dirty reputation in the past decade by adopting the label in a wild attempt to explain their arrogant behaviour.

But rewind back to your childhood, and think of the captivating tales of wizards and dragons, and knights rescuing princesses and all sorts of vivid tales of bravery. Though Melbourne duo Princess One Point Five’s name may come from the meaning of front woman SJ Wentzki’s moniker (Sarah means a woman of high rank, or “princess” in Hebrew), but their music is so magical that the shoe fits either way.

Princess One Point Five – known on paper as P1.5 – is a delightful musical pairing between SJ and her partner-in-crime Richard Andrew (Underground Lovers, Crow, Registered Nurse), and the pair are often joined by equally talented musicians over various instruments like Ben Grounds (Bluebottle Kiss), Libby Chow (Clare Bowditch and the Feeding Set) and Jed Palmer (Hope Diamond). The result of all this talent on one stage at the same time is pop music that gives out with a feisty punch and a cabaret snarl, swirled together with some heavy rock influences.

Paper-Deer had a date to chat to the lovely SJ Wentzki about collaborating, the irony of being featured on an anti-smoking campaign and choosing her musical family.

Paper-Deer has seen P1.5 been described as your sole brain-child and a solo project, whereas others have called it a marriage between you and Richard Andrew’s talents. For the record, which is it?

It started out solo, but when I started writing for a band, P1.5 just sort of expanded out. I’ve been working with Richard for some time, but he’s progressively taken over! Just kidding. For the record, he “produces” and I write. Somewhere in between, with a lot of stops along the way is the “band”.  With this album we were a lot more collaborative with song writing and production, but our roles have pretty much stayed the same. The thing is that it’s always evolving, and really hard to pin down to one definition. It’s reflective of how indecisive I am, and who knows what it’ll be next.

How do the two of you choose who will join you for a particular recording or live show?

The short version is that it’s always been fairly organic. We’ve worked with many different people between us (Rich and I) and so it was pretty natural to just get those people in to record, when, for example, we need someone to play strings…since neither of us can. On a lot of our tours we’ve randomly sort of found people on the road to play shows (not literally “on” the road, but you know what I mean), which is bit European of us, really.  Mostly that would be friends we’ve met or made along the way have some skill or other that we need (usually bass).

 It’s part and parcel of being an independent musician. Most of the people you meet are other musicians, usually willing to jump up on stage and lend you a patch of the carpet to sleep on.  It all depends on the show too – sometimes it’s a lot of fun to play as a two piece, and other times it’s much better to play as a “band”. P1.5 isn’t terribly prescriptive these days, and it’s more fun in a frightening kind of way to play it by ear and see what happens.

The P1.5 biography almost seems like it should be spread out over 20 years. Impressive prizes and nominations like the Australian Music Prize and the Noise/Qantas Spirit of Youth Award, plus impressive support slots and Triple J rotation. What’s your next big goal?

Getting our asses the hell overseas to tour, writing a top 40 cheesy hit, retiring on the royalties. Not necessarily in that order… Some of that may or may not be true.

Your most recent album, What Doesn’t Kill You, has received all sorts of praise and more thumbs up than we can count. Does the title stem from the phrase “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger?”

Yes and no. It was an odd and sometimes difficult, time during the writing of this album – for so many reasons – but also liberating and quite inspiring. The title is really more along the lines of “what doesn’t kill you can fuck right off.”  Success is relative and I think that writing this album was my way of figuring that out so that I could avoid being a complete sociopath… at least most of the time.

What’s your favourite track from What Doesn’t Kill You?

What Do You Know. It says a lot about my fascination with perception versus reality. You can never really see inside someone’s heart and so often, the face they’re showing is not their real one.

Reading reviews from the album, it seems that everyone has a different favourite song. How did you decide to give Today the honour of being a single?

Without being egotistical about this, I actually really love every song on the album for different reasons, and I think it’s the strongest suite of songs we’ve ever done as Princess One Point Five. It’s also really diverse stylistically, which is why different people take different things from each song. I initially thought that Quote Me should be the first single. Mostly because I was being a bit of an angry shit head… but when we’d finished recording Today it was a no brainer, and said more about how nonsensical everything is, ya know? Today was the best song to represent the feel of the album: catchy but bittersweet, sad but hopeful.

Define weird. The weirdest thing was that my boss at my day job told me about one of our songs being played at the Superbowl in America. The sync itself wasn’t weird. The antismoking campaign in America and Canada was ironic, but not really weird…  I think what would be really weird is if we had something on the footy show… nope, that’d just be funny.

LINKS:

• Princess One Point Five website 
• Princess One Point Five Facebook
• Princess One Point Five MySpace 

By Paige X. Cho

REVIEW: Georgia Fields @ Thornbury Theatre (12/11/10)

We have moved! Our blog is now at www.paper-deer.com. 

Upon reading that the Thornbury Theatre’s art deco ballroom would be transformed into an “indoor picnic”, I could tell that Georgia Fields’ album launch was going to be a little different to most. The fact that Georgia’s backing band was actually more of a mini-orchestra kind of hinted towards that as well.

The dance floor of the theatre was covered with numerous tartan rugs and picnic blankets, which were adorned by plastic flowers and lanterns to create a more authentic picnic environment. There were even picnic snacks such as meringues, slices and biscuits! Add candle-lit tables, mood-lighting provided by the glow of lamps, and a low stage edged with fairy-lights and the intimate setting was complete.

As soon as Georgia bounced onto the stage, it was apparent that the setting suited her show perfectly; she exuded charm and greeted her audience as if we were old friends, telling us personal anecdotes in between songs. Her friendly, down-to-earth demeanour and amusing banter made her seem very approachable and the show even more enjoyable.

And what a show it was. The ‘mini-orchestra’, used to replicate the arrangements on the album, did not disappoint; while Georgia herself switched between acoustic guitar, ukulele and synth, there were eight other instrumentalists on stage (and a few of them were multi-instrumentalists). We were treated to a wonderful combination of vibraphone, violins, viola, cello, drums, bass, xylophone, piano, trumpet, trombone, melodica, clarinet, flute, accordion, a cordless drill used as percussion and what sounded like a sample pad made up of animal sounds.

The orchestra displayed the clever craft of Georgia’s songs, as instruments dropped in and out, seamlessly easing from a quiet lull into a tidal wave of sound washing over the entire room. Georgia’s voice, in turn, complemented the music; its timbre was smooth, soft, and slightly husky at times, while also being strong and more than capable of standing alone or accompanied only by a single instrument. 

One of the standout songs of the night was This is Not a Drill, which exemplifies the descriptions in the previous paragraph perfectly: from a simple, bare beginning, the song eventually builds up and up to an almost overwhelming whirlwind of sounds, before everything ceases except for the lone piano. As the sweet tones of the vibraphone and xylophone joined in, Georgia sang softly through a megaphone, while the audience sat—some on seats, some cross-legged on the picnic blankets—silent, mainly still, some swaying gently. Maybe it was the magic of seeing it performed live, combined with the romantic atmosphere, but this rendition surpassed the album recording by a mile.

Another special moment was when Georgia invited one of her support acts, Charles Jenkins, and special guest Angie Hart (of Frenté) onstage to perform a cover of The Beach Boys’ God Only Knows.

“This is my favourite song of all time, so there’s not only that pressure, but there’s a lot of chords!” said Georgia. Angie interjects, “Hey, Georgia…” “Yeah?” “Don’t fuck it up!”

With Angie on piano and Charles on guitar, the trio took it in turns to sing, coming together towards the song’s conclusion to sing harmonised rounds.

Georgia’s gracious and warm personality, her infectious brand of indie pop (made unique through the use of such a vast collection of instruments, with some being quite unusual indeed), the talent of her mini-orchestra and the carefully-constructed picnic-at-twilight setting captivated and enchanted the audience. All the elements of the show fitted together perfectly to create a wonderful evening that Georgia and her orchestra ought to be proud of.

LINKS:

• Georgia Fields MySpace 
• Charles Jenkins MySpace
• Angie Hart MySpace 

By Stephanie-Bowie Liew

INTERVIEW: We All Want To

We have moved! Our blog is now at www.paper-deer.com. 

The Madmen. Screamfeeder. Solo work. We All Want To. Brisbanite Tim Steward is one dedicated musician, hopping from music project to music project. His latest creative outlet We All Want To sees the singer-songwriter pairing up with four other talented musicians to create energetic indie pop that has been labeled as Tim's most ambitious work so far.

Paper-Deer had a chat to Tim Steward on names he's not allowed to use, their debut album and walking about with his arse hanging out (classy).

 
From what I've heard, the band spent months agonising over what to call the band, then ended up with something you randomly misheard in a restaurant. Care to share what the other possibilities that you rejected were?
Well, I'm not telling you the other main contender because I plan to use it for my next band, but the other big one down the line was Steve and Gloria - named after two characters in Douglas Coupland's The Gum Thief. Skye and I use that one sometimes when we do duo shows. I've always wanted to call an album Elephant Escalator Elevator, but I've never been allowed.

We All Want To’s debut self-titled album took over a year and a half to record. Was it a conscious decision to record it leisurely and mull over it, or was the lengthy time due to constraints and commitments?
 A bit of both really. I guess we weren't consciously working towards an album till about halfway through. In the end we learned a lot of lessons about which guys to take which types of songs to in future, and we also learned that anyone who knows how to set up a mic correctly, get a good performance out of the band and pay attention to detail during the mixing will get pretty similar results with us! I'm such a control freak I'm always looking over peoples' shoulders anyway; firing off a constant tirade of "brilliant inspired suggestions".

The five of you have very different musical backgrounds and tastes - indie rock, folk, drone and pop. Is it ever hard working with musicians used to playing a completely different style?
Again the control freak side of me says yes, but the mature adult who has learned to relinquish a bit of musical control says that no. It's been quite fun. I'm a real one-trick pony – I have one way of playing guitar, the "Sid Vicious" style of constant downstrokes, never missing a beat. When I'm in a room with someone more versatile it throws me a bit!

I hear that you already have a second album's worth of new material. Is it frustrating promoting your first album when you've already got loads of new stuff to get excited over?
Nah, it's completely standard. It's always been like that for me, and I'm sure it's the same for other bands. You just have to learn to be patient.

What does each member of We All Want To bring to the mix?
Well Josh came through like a champ the other night and brought all the fixings for hot toddies to practice. Dan was feeling a bit off, and Josh had the scotch, lemon and ginger going within minutes. Josh also brings the lead guitar, he has a bit of a "Melbourne" feel to his playing, quite reverb-y and very wiry. Dan brings in patience, level headedness and humility. Todd brings in arrangement skills that put us all to shame, some real musicianship, jeans with ripped crotches, vodka and stubble. Skye brings in her flute, her lyric-remembering skills, songs and neck tatts. I bring in management, songs, discipline, rules, work ethic, lunch.

What city does the band call "home"?
Oh, Brisbane, for sure. We all live in Brisbane except for Todd, who is in Melbourne. Home is 4064, 4065, 4059. Josh lives on the southside of Brisbane… we're gonna have to do something about that.

Are you excited about playing in Melbourne?
Yes! Our favourite things about Melbourne are the food, kebabs, kebabs with chips in them, local pubs and non-apathetic music audiences.

Any embarrassing secrets and funny tales that you can share with Paper-Deer?
I was walking up the beach one time, Bondi Beach, the middle of summer, it was jam packed. Kellie and Dean (Screamfeeder) were pissing themselves - my shorts had given way right up the back and my whole arse was hanging out. I had no idea. It almost acts as some kind of metaphor for our musical careers – blissfully unaware, having the time of our lives.

WE ALL WANT TO "Back to the car" from Pkam&Adam on Vimeo.

UPCOMING SHOWS:

• Saturday October 30: Birmingham Hotel
• Sunday October 31: Pure Pop

LINKS:

•  We All Want To Official Website
•  We All Want To MySpace
•  We All Want To Facebook