Out of all the bands I’ve had the pleasure of photographing over the last few years, one stands out on the top of the pile. Gyroscope. They’ve been around for what seems like forever on the local scene, but thanks to their latest CD ‘Breed Obsession’ they’re finally starting to crack into the consciousness of mainstream Australia.

It wasn’t until the second or third time I’d photographed them that I got really hooked. And it wasn’t for the music. They’re a savagely energetic band, and it’s pretty much impossible to walk away from one of their shows without good photos. I did grow to love the music in time, mainly for the fact I was attending just about every show I could get access to, and it was bound to stick with me eventually! They’re the nicest of guys, and an absolute pleasure to work with, be it live shoots or press shoots.

This particular song is one of my favourites, not just of Gyroscope’s but out of all songs ever. It’s from ‘Are You Involved?’ the album that came out just before I started getting into them. For some reason it’s the album I’ve always related to most, and sort of claimed ownership of. This song is an out-and-out anthem, and while I obviously enjoy the song itself, I also love the reaction it gets from the crowds, and the inevitable epic singalong. It’s passion, it’s aggression, it’s power.

Enjoy.

 

They’re one of the bands that gets featured regularly on my blogs, and for good reason. Without question, I’d count Sugar Army as one of the most exciting bands in Perth at the moment. Their jagged, angular indie rock is precise, catchy, and gets better and better very time you hear it.

It wasn’t always the case. I saw them for the first time in late 2006, and found them slightly awkward and unengaging. Over the years frontman Pat has evolved from a shuffling shoegazer to a commanding presence, clutching the microphone stand like a weapon, as opposed the safety blanket of the early days.

This particular song (with its very long title) has been getting a bit of airplay on Triple J, and is from their EP ‘Where Do You Hide Your Toys?’ I’ve always loved this one in particular as it sucks you in right from the get-go.

Oh, and it has cowbell. There can never be too much cowbell.

Enjoy

And I’m back! I didn’t think that in this day and age it would take over a month to restore an internet connection, but no mind. I’m back in the land of high-speed internet and I’m oh so very happy about it.

A bit has been going on while I was away. Knew I needed to make a decision in regards to photos, doing sporatic gigs was very unsatisfying, so it was time to either stop altogether, or get back into the swing of things properly. As luck would have it, I got offered some regular ongoing work by a national ticketing agency, taking photos at their Perth shows. And as they put on heaps of shows, there’s no shortage of work. I stick to mainly the indie/rock gigs, and over the last few weeks I’ve shot the West Coast Blues and Roots Festival, Children Collide, Okkervil River, and The Grates. So it’s definitely work AND play, and I’m quite happy with how things are travelling at the moment. On top of that, I’ve done one live shoot for Triple J’s national magazine ‘JMag’, with another one lined up in about two weeks.

I’ve also currently got photos in two exhibitions around town, three photos in the WAMi ‘Kiss My Camera’ showcase at the WA Museum, and one at the Photographers In Perth curated ‘Fables and Nocturnes’ show, at Behind the Monkey on Beaufort St. I’ll put some photos up once I get a chance to pop along to them with a camera. Fables and Nocturnes runs til May 30th, and Kiss My Camera until June 28, so plenty of time to get along.

Tonight will see the return of Sunday Night Music Club, it’s pretty hard to upload songs when you’re more or less on dialup speed! Because I didn’t get around to doing my ‘WAMi Week Music Club’ due to lack of internets, tonight’s will most definitely have a local flavour.

And in completely non-photographic news, I recently bought MarioKart on Wii, so if anyone wants to play online and absolutely belt me (I’m not really very good) email me with your friend code.

I’m still yet to gain proper internet access (thanks Telstra), and I’m falling behind in posts, so these two are getting a bit of a ‘token’ coverage (plus they were so long ago now I don’t know if I can remember the details to do a proper writeup!).

Click on Nine Inch Nails to check out the Soundwave 09 gallery at Fasterlouder, and click on The Music to do the same for Rock-It.

The WAMi Festival is coming up in two weeks, so to make up for the lack of Sunday Night Music Club action, there will be an EVERY NIGHT Music Club during WAMi week. More Perth music than you’ll be able to poke a stick at, along with photos from the festival as it happens.

Official adios for a little while, am moving house on Monday and will be without the internet for at least a week. So no Sunday Night Music Club or photos for this weekend or next, but we will resume normal programming as soon as possible.

In the meantime, Eskimo Joe released the first single off their upcoming album ‘Inshalla’ officially on Friday, and even though I’d heard the song enough previously to know almost all the words, it’s always nice to hear it all mixed and mastered and on the radio. So as a nod to Foreign Land finally being out, here’s a video of the song I recorded just under a year ago. Rumour is that the song was written about Heath Ledger’s death, but don’t quote me on that. You can hear the proper version on their Myspace, and the album will be out in May. I’ve heard a fair few of the songs over the last year, and it’s shaping up to be their best yet.

 

I’ve never had any problem admitting my love for late 90s pop music. Even after I reached the point where I was too old to actually enjoy the music, I was still fascinated by the process of using the same formula to churn out band after band after band, knowing that as long as you had cute boys or sassy girls (or both), you were on to a winner. I also liked the fact that grunge and post-grunge bands were existing in a market alongside New Kids On The Block, Take That, and Nsync. Apples and oranges indeed.

I’m moving house next weekend, and as part of the packing I came across a stack of old VHS tapes containing performances, video clips, interviews etc of a whole bunch of bands spanning from approximately 1997 to 2001/02.  There were a million and one music shows on free to air telly during those years, these days it’s only video clip shows if you don’t have Pay TV. The tape that I popped in the VCR had a few songs from these guys, Blue. After all these years, I still knew the words.

This particular song encompasses pretty much everything I like about pop music. Plaintive love theme? Check. Multiple-part harmonies? Check. Easy to learn lyrics? Check. Simple melody? Check. Larynx-bursting emotion at some point in the song? Check. I dare say growing up with this sort of music still has an influence on my tastes today. I’m still drawn to the ‘clean’ sounding tracks, clear vocals, and I always prefer the classic (formulaic?) melodies before anything else.

And of course, being a teenage girl at the time, I did have a favourite. The one on the left with the major league fake tan and frosted tips.

Enjoy

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There are very few songs out there where I can specifically remember the very first time I heard it. On Sunday nights in late 2004, Nova had a ‘local’ music show, hosted by Chris and Kev from Jebediah. To be fair, they played the more accessible radio friendly stuff that was out there, but it was all the bands and acts I loved, like Eskimo Joe, Autopilot, Carus, Nathan Gaunt and Fourth Floor Collapse. One night they played a song by a band I hadn’t heard of before, and I stopped whatever it was I was doing, and I listened. It was like the clear chime of a bell through the fog. I was hooked.

Rough Diamonds as a song has been tinkered with a fair bit since I heard this demo on the radio, but I still find I much prefer this version over the EP and album versions, as I guess it’s more about the memory of discovery than it is about anything else.

The first time I saw them live was when this photo was taken, back in 2005. I caught them again on Friday night, and it was funny how much had changed. I took the photo with a little point and shoot camera from my seat, which is a far cry from the brute gear I have now. They had only just released their debut album a matter of days before this show, and since then have won ARIAs, had a top 5 album, toured nationally by themselves and as part of the country’s biggest festivals, and last year released their follow-up album ‘Book of Lies’. What once was a band with a couple of EP’s and a bit of hype, has now become one of Perth’s best-known.

Music is a true tranportation device, and every time I hear this song, it’s 2005 all over again.

Enjoy.

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Elephant – Damien Rice

Damien Rice will change your life. There. I’ve said it.

You think you’ve heard emotion in songs before, you’ve think you’ve heard ’love’ songs sung from every perspective, but you ain’t heard nothing til you’ve heard Damien Rice. His still remains the only concert where I’ve welled up. The pain in his face as he sings every song, like he’s re-living every shitty relationship he’s ever had, would be hard to watch if it wasn’t so enthralling.

This particular song is an early version of a song that appeared on the ‘9′ album, called ‘Elephant’. The MP3 was titled ‘The Blower’s Daughter Pt2′, and other than that, I don’t know much else about it. It’s live, but I don’t know where or when (apart from the fact I obtained it long before ‘9′ came out). It’s like being stroked with a feather, punched in the face, and then stroked with a feather again. But you’re much more wary of the feather the second time round. Just makes you realise the power of song, when you let out the breath you’ve been holding for the last five minutes.

Enjoy

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These preview posts are more or less just a reminder to myself not to slack off and to actually get these writeups done. So you’ve got full license to tut-tut me if I take too long.

Music Club is taking a break this week, I was at Rock-It all day Sunday and couldn’t be bothered once I got home. I know you’re all waiting with baited breath. Really. After the decidedly emo flavour of the last two, I promise the next one will be something completely different.