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The Nineties by Dan Durack

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The Nineties

Drinking in the dark, stalking through Hyde Park and reminiscing…

In 1990 I was packed off to boarding school in Perth after a few years in Geraldton. A surfer from Geraldton in my boarding house named Justin Proudlove lent me a cassette by a Perth band called Cremator: ‘Evil Brew’. Having listened to nothing but heavy metal since about 1987 it slotted in nicely, although ‘nice’ isn’t the most accurate word to describe the band. They had a real Neanderthal sound and a singer whose style shifted from guttural growling to a thin, sickly and unrelenting falsetto. A sample lyric, from ‘Evil Brew’:

Drink your favourite beer
it’s an evil blend

Drink it every day

The party never EEEEEEEEEEENDS!

The word ‘ends’ was launched utilising the quavering falsetto I mentioned. It was real classic caveman metal and also featured a young Russell Hopkinson on drums. That was my raucous (as opposed to Rawkus) introduction to Perth music.

During our enforced study breaks after dinner I’d listen to the radio, mostly to 6UVS-FM and 3 Hours of Power on JJJ. 6UVS-FM (which eventually morphed into RTR-FM) was fantastic, it really busted my narrow mind wide open thanks to a clutch of very droll DJs, one or two of whom may or may not have winded up in Jed Whitey a few years later.

I don’t recall hearing too many local bands on the radio and wasn’t really aware of a Perth music scene whilst at high school. I used to read the music section in the West Australian (Revue?) and wondered about the bands featured in the ads (Ice Tiger, The Jets, Infa Red (whose ad simply read ‘Hot Hard Rock!’)). I remember flowing perm mullets. You don’t forget a good perm mullet.

Having brought my guitar down from Geraldton (a ‘Torch’ Fender copy made to look like Eddie Van Halen’s, fire engine red with white stripes) I started learning the basics, and discovered that there were a lot of musically minded people in my year at school. A few lads went on to be in local notables Flanders, Burnside and Autopilot.

Moving to Perth really kick-started my understanding of music and helped to broaden my horizons from what had been a mostly metal landscape. I finally got around to listening to all the classic Perth ‘The’ bands – Stems, Scientists, Kryptonics, Neptunes, Triffids.

My parents bought a tavern in Kirup, located in the South-West. It was a nice place to land after finishing high school and working in a shearing team for a year in and around Tambellup, about 80km north of Albany. In 1993, I began a graphic pre-press apprenticeship at a newspaper in Bunbury, just north of Kirup. At this stage I was deluded enough to think I could sing in a band, so after a coarse start with a metal band (I still mostly cringe when I hear a double kick bass drum)  I joined a handy three piece called ‘Saturn 5’ featuring Michael Zieba on bass, James McDonald on guitar and Craig (‘Besty’) Best on drums.

I’d seen them play at a Battle of the Bands at the Bunbury Entertainment Centre. I think they played mostly Stooges and Radio Birdman numbers, with maybe a couple of James’ psychedelic originals. They were loud, scrappy, brilliant. All the songs were played at hyper-speed through what they later told me was sheer nervousness. I was watching with a dim grin on my phiz with the guys from the metal band I was still singing with (‘we’re not ready for the battle of the bands’, the lead guitarist had seriously intoned). The rhythm guitarist leant over and bellowed above the din ‘you actually like this shit?’ I had to tell him that I did.

Some weeks later I drunkenly accosted the Saturn 5 lads at Pat’s Snack Bar offering my limited services as a singer, remembering that at the BOTB James didn’t appear comfortable singing whilst playing guitar and skipped a verse in ‘Search and Destroy’. Not long afterwards James called me at my parent’s pub and we waffled at length about grunge and punk. After one boozy jam where we must have played nearly every Stooges song in existence (except ‘We Will Fall’), I was in. I had one final jam with the metal band – the rhythm guitarist sneered ‘you’re joining that garage band, aren’t you?’ Again, I had to tell him ‘yes’.

Long story shorter, after a few gigs (highlights included supporting mighty local heroes The Dweebs in Margaret River and Magic Dirt at Albert’s Nightclub in Bunbury for what was their first WA tour) the lads moved to Perth to start Uni and decided they were getting a new singer seeing that I was Bunbury-bound because of my apprenticeship. In all honesty Michael and I never really got on and I wasn’t enjoying having to sing his lyrics – not that mine were any better. They left it to poor Besty to give me the news, delivered at the Prince of Wales in Bunbury after a lengthier-than-usual booze ‘n’ smoking session no doubt designed to provide an easier platform to communicate the news while also softening the blow of receiving it.

Speaking of The Prince Of Wales, it was my local pub and consequently my live introduction to Perth bands. Cinema Prague, Valvolux and Beaverloop were just a few that spring to my creaky mind. Around that time James and Besty tried to re-induct me back into the band, but Michael was having none of it. They had a meeting in the house they shared a house on Fitzgerald Street in North Perth and Michael said if I was back in then he was out. ‘Fine with me’ said James, who left the room. Besty sat there without saying anything, which led him to say in later years that he was ‘the sole remaining member of Saturn 5’.

1996 was my final year in Bunno and the year Three Orange Whips formed. On bass was Graeme Muller, who Besty met whilst on a ciggie break at a UWA quiz night, or so the story goes. At first I sent them cassettes with songs I’d come up with on the acoustic guitar, driving up to Perth on weekends and practicing in the back room of the Fitzgerald Street house. It was mostly homemade amps, I sang through a 10w practice amp so sounded like Tom Waits’ dog with throat cancer howling into a faulty loudspeaker. It was a swelteringly hot summer in ’96, I vaguely remember lots of home brew and ‘silver briefcases’ (goon) and being utterly thrilled by hearing the boys sweetly destroying the little acoustic ditties I’d clumsily constructed. The fun really began right there in that back room.

By 1997 I’d completed my apprenticeship and so moved to Perth. By that point we’d played a few gigs around Perth in venues like The Rosemount, The Knutsford Arms, The Swanbourne, The Norwood, The Civic and our favourite, the Hyde Park Hotel. When we weren’t playing we were watching bands like O, Mach Pelican, Love Camp 7, Shagpile, Josephine Killen, Prickle, PB, Flashing Tablet. Without getting all gushy and sentimental, 1997 was a fantastic year and it was mostly due to the discovery of all these bands, not to mention being given the opportunity to play gigs with some of them. There was so much diversity and I simply remember looking forward to the weekends with so much more vigour. We felt grateful for every gig and we tried to play everything that was offered to us.

I can still remember driving to the Grosvenor the first time we played there. We’d been dying to play there, but I remember being a bit bemused by the fact that people were sitting down on the floor in front of the stage. ‘If you’re going to sit down, get out’ I’d admonished, haughtily. To be fair, some of them did. The odd supine punter aside, it always felt a little bit special playing that room.

Perth was a place where you could play with Turnstyle one night and The Rats the next. For the most part there was a friendly communal feel about the original band scene which I found sadly lacking once we’d moved to Melbourne, where every band seemed to be its own gang.

Whatever. The late nineties were a fucking blast; a golden slab of my twenties and fondly, if foggily, remembered.

Good, good times.

Dan Durack

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Digital Music

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Digital music
I love buying new music. My preferred way of getting new music is buying cds. Once an obvious statement, sayiing that I buy cds, nowadays the other options are downloading illegally or payiing to purchase them online through websites such as Itunes,.

The buying of cds seems to be changing. The evolution of buying music has always changed. Up until I was 16 I bought albums on cassette. For the christmas that year, I got my first CD and soon after purchased my own CD player. That’s 16 years of buying compact discs.

Lately I felt a dilemma. I still love buying music in this format, but I worry that CDs are dying out. I guess I like to be able to go to a shop, especially when it’s a small independent shop where I know the staff who work there, where I can ask for recommendations, or listen to CDs on the listening racks.

But why buy music when you can download it for free off the net? Or why buy an album in hard copy when it’s going to go straight to your mp3 player? Soon there won’t be any small iindependent shops to buy your music.

It’s great being able to get music so instantly and from all over the world, and with the download speeds we can download massive of music in seconds. There’s sites such as myspace and last.fm where we can stream and listen to music without havign to download.

Mp3 players are great. You can thousands of songs with you, it’s like a jokebox in your pocket. Though I find it makes me impatient. I don’t listen to a whole album when I am listening to mp3s, especially on my iriver. Is the album dying?

Though it makes me wonder. Will the only way to purchase new music be one day through a computer usiing the internet?

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Leo’s Top 5 Local Releases for 2008

1 Birds Of Tokyo – Universes
Birds of Tokyo released their first album in early 2007, and then quickly released their second in 2008. It’s a big step up from the first, darker and heavier but still accessible like the debut, it’s a great example of how to write pop/rock songs.

The birds keep growing and growing – nearly selling out Fremantle Metropolis twice in four days – thats nearly 2000 people – they’ve come a long in only 4 years since playing their first show at the Newport in 2004. With Singles Broken Bones and Sillouetic, plus other tracks like ‘Ode To Death’ and ‘Head In My Hands’ this was easily my favourite local release in 2008.

2 Mo Wilson And The Drivers – Learn To Dance
Piano based rock with a blues edge, this album was a grower on me, but it gave the good. A band to see live, they have a real old fashioned sound in a way, yet sound so fresh. There’s some great songs on the disc – though the lyrics aren’t the best – the stand out track for me being ‘Come In Feeling’

3 College Fall – Eleven Letters
An album written about two lovers (who are the two main members of the band) this is a very personal release. More cheesy than Musto’s old band Showbag and Bartlett’s band Josivac, it still however a decent pop record.

4 Clare Nina Norelli – Piano Noir
Formerly Nina X, Clare is a solo vocalist/pianist. With her virtuoso piano playing it makes for one of the more interesting solo acts around town, topped with a fantastic voice as well. This is her first EP.

5 Project Mayhem –
They won the Next Big Thing in 2008, and really stole the show with an energetic live show on the night at the final. They’ve got the whole fun rock vibe with a touch of punk, which you could see going down a treat at a summer festival.

Music As An Insomnia Remedy a Joke?

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I found this article on the internet. I thought it was interesting. Another indication of the powerfulness of music.

Leo


Music As an Insomnia Remedy a Joke?
By Cazza Burke Platinum Quality Author

There is a different insomnia remedy to be used in different conditions, such as remedies medications, relaxation methods, mechanical devices, and set routines that can relax the mind so the person can get to sleep each night. One treatment method that is often used is using music as an insomnia remedy.

Why Use Music?

Using music as an insomnia remedy has been used throughout history for many different types of sleep disorders. When persons of royalty had difficulty sleeping, they often called for musicians to play music that was relaxing and soothing until they could go to sleep. Today, mothers sing their kids soothing songs to lull them to sleep and many people choose to sleep with their bedside radio on a radio station that plays soothing music to help them get to sleep. Using music continues to be a popular method for easing a person into sleep.

There are a number of different musicians that play music that can be used as a remedy. Some of these songs can be bought at local music stores or retailers that have a section for music in their stores. Because this type of music is not really popular on radio stations, many people choose to purchase a CD of the songs to play at night to make it easier for them to get to sleep. The type of music that the person chooses depends on their personal preference of what type of music would be the most soothing as an insomnia remedy.

There are many different types of music that can be used. The most popular choices are instrumental melodies that are soft and calming to the mind. These songs will typically have no words in the song to break up the flow of the melody and the music is designed to clear your mind to the point where all that you hear is the calming nature of the music.

Some instrumental melodies use gentle sounding instruments, such as pianos, saxophones, and flutes, to creating relaxing music that can be used as an insomnia remedy. There are no harsh sounds or loud instruments to reduce the relaxation of the music and the tone of the music will flow gently in and out with the melody. The music will release the tension of the muscles in the body and relax the mind enough so the person can have a deep and restful sleep for the entire night.

Cazza Burke is a full time beauty consultant in San Diego, CA. Check out these great Cures For Snoring or more specific Snoring Remedies advice.

Boom Town Rocks!

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Boom Town Rocks
(fitzgerald/grech/mckay/watson)

This ol’ town will pick you up
Let you feel safe and sound
Tell you everything you want
And then drop you to the ground

But I don’t care, I don’t care
Fuck you, I won’t EVER be a fool again
I don’t care, I don’t care.

And after all this time you just don’t get it
And that’s what I find so pathetic….

Boom town rocks
In your face
All this bullshit’s a disgrace
But that’s just fine
I will rise
Like a phoenix from the pyre

And I don’t care, I don’t care
Fuck you I won’t ever be a slave again
I don’t care, I don’t care…

And this might come as quite a shock
But I have given all I’ve got.

Boom Town Rocks.