Closure in America

Hello, my name is lenny and I’m going to be writing about upcoming bands because, well, I can. And this week I’m going to be going on (and on, and on, because I love these boys) about a little band called Closure in Moscow. Have you heard of them? They’re the ones who are currently on tour with another band you may have heard of, The Getaway Plan. The ones whose debut albumette, The Penance and the Patience, debuted at 13 on the AIR (Australian Independent Release) chart. The band who reportedly sold their cars to record that very release at prestigious Melbourne studios Sing Sing with American producer Kris Crummett (Drop Dead, Gorgeous, The Devil Wears Prada, Dance Gavin Dance).Yeah, you’ve heard of them.

Well, the reason that I’ve chosen to write about them at the moment is that they recently announced their signing to American label Science Records (home of Bless the Fall, Beat Union and more). According to their myspace, the band will be heading over to Orange County, California later in the year; with plans to record an album in late 2008-early 2009. The band has promised Australian fans that they will return home after the record in complete, and also have given American fans something to look forward to in announcing their intent to do some touring while in America. A statement from Science reads:

“We’re extremely happy and excited to have Closure In Moscow join the Science Records family. Taking on an international artist is a big task, but after seeing and getting to know them we are very confident about their music and their dedication as artists. They present a refreshing musical sound and we’re excited to bring them to the U.S.”

Judging by the response on the bands’ myspace, most fans are happy that Closure have achieved this much recognition for all of their hard work in their two short years as a band – and I have to agree. With the ever-growing popularity of online music promotion and distribution, as well as the rise of social networking sites, it is getting harder and harder for upcoming bands to get noticed.

But America has a funny way of changing Australian bands, so make sure you catch Closure in action before they head off – if not, you’ll be missing something special.

Heard About Your Band

Hello! My name’s Chiara and alternative & indie music is my thing. Apparently. Expect ramblings every other week on new and old indie/alternative bands (though some bands will defy the genres).

New band

The Pictures

Oh yes, The Pictures. Yeah, they’re the band who covered Milkshake a few years ago, and there’s nothing like a chart-topping pop song covered somewhat ironically by a smaller band, and covered well. Really, there isn’t.
The band has received a fair amount of airplay on Triple J with singles such as Pissin’ With The Catman, and for good reason; their songs are pretty damn catchy. Hailing from Melbourne and fronted by the excellent Davey Lane (guitarist for You Am I, also in The Wrights), they create wonderful music, and guess what? New album out this year! Yeah!
If you haven’t heard them before, have a trawl through their myspace (which will explain the band better than I can). Or a music store, whatever.
http://www.myspace.com/thepicturesmusic

Old Band

Due to the fact that my music taste tends to revolve around older bands, every column will feature a somewhat older band for you to hunt down.
This week’s is Matrimony, purely because I’ve been listening to them too much lately.

Anyone like Bikini Kill? Well, this band practically invented Riot Grrl (they influenced Bikini Kill’s leader Kathleen Hanna so much, that she made her first band with members of Matrimony)…and all in Sydney! They were a mostly female punk band that surfaced from the Sydney punk scene back in the 80’s. Try and hunt down Kitty Finger is you can (easiest copy to find is probably via itunes)
Songs to listen to:
Elvis Superstar (available on their myspace)
Bleached
Frantic Romantic (cover of The Scientists song, more on them later)
http://www.myspace.com/matrimony

If you have any suggestions, complaints or have any bands you want to brag about, comment away.

Blacklist – They kick you in the teeth, and we know you like it.

Some of you may remember the once seminal Canberra act, Eldest Son, who were quite the popular lads back in their day. But when we all thought it was going so well, they, like far too many great bands, were lost to the unfathomable void of the band break-up, and many of you might have thought that all hope was lost.

 

BUT! No longer shall you have to lay awake at night, wondering how Canberra’s music scene will ever recover from this devastating loss, no longer shall you have to stand, teetering at the edge of that building, wondering if it’s worth it to carry on; because, rising from the ashes of Eldest Son, BLACKLIST have come to save the day!!

 

With a stellar 5-piece line-up, including Pat and Zach from Eldest Son, these guys have been tearing up local stages since their public unveiling early in 2008. The dedication that the band have put in to their music, has seen every one of their local shows so far, completely SOLD OUT .

 

And you’ll mighty chuffed to hear, that we at Mission #1 have scored an exclusive interview with drummer of the group, Pat!

 

Thanks so much for letting us pester you with our list of questions, hopefully shouldn’t take you too long to get through.

To kick things off, what first led to you guys playing together?

It happened back in July 07, when I made a phone call to Jake who was an old school friend of a friend. It took a while for us to tee up a jam, but we haven’t looked back since the first time we got together.

What was it like to play with Zach again, after Eldest Son?

When Eldest Son first got cranking with Witty, we were all really young and semi-new to our instruments.. so this time round, we’ve been a lot more focused as to what we want out of a band, and the right way to go about it.. Cutting out all the time wasting and stuff like that. So I guess, it’s been a lot more rewarding in a shorter space of time.

How much practice and writing did you guys do before you unleashed yourselves on the public?

Umm, the first time the 5 of us got together was in August 07.. then our first show was in February 08. So we spent a fair while getting a solid set together and recording a 3-track demo before we actually played a show.

You’ve sold out every local gig you’ve played so far, did you employ any sneaking marketing tactics to draw such massive crowds, or did you let the music do the dirty work?

Haha, not as such. The majority of the band members have played in bands before in Canberra so people seem to be happy with us playing back on stage. To be honest, we can’t get over the support – it’s a heap of fun!

What was it like to receive such a strong reaction right from the get-go?

Unexpected. We’ve been lucky enough to play with some of Canberra’s finest also (Tonk, Zero Degrees, Gasma). I guess it shows that putting in the hard yards before you play shows as a band, really does help you build hype and give good first impressions to crowds and those people who you’re trying to get noticed by.

If you could choose one band, together or not, to share the stage with, who would it be?

One band? I don’t think that’s possible haha. There’s so many different bands who have influenced all of us in different ways.

Has there been any label interest in the band?

A little bit. No names at this stage.

The word’s out that you guys are working on your debut album, how’s it coming along, and what can we expect to hear?

At this stage, we’re just gonna keep writing new material and take as much stuff into the studio as possible and put together the best debut we possibly can. No dates are set. We’re just writing at this stage.

Blacklist’s sound is a throwback to what many believe were the glory days for hard rock, was that an intentional move, or was it something that happened naturally?

It just happened naturally I think. Our main song writer is heavily influenced by “the glory days for hard rock”, and the fact that all of us like that period of music.. it’s just what happened haha!

If we were take a peek inside Blacklist’s rehearsal room, what would we see?

A piece of crap drum kit, empty cases of beer, and 5 sweaty men. Irresistible!

If you could give one tip to aspiring musicians, what would it be?

Be the best you can be at your instrument, and work hard. Get in a band, and play heaps of different types of music with people at a similar age. Find a different sound by playing with muso’s with different influences to you so your band doesn’t sound cliche.

As a band, what would you say your main influences are musically?

“..the glory days for hard rock..”  So I guess, bands like.. Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Ozzy, Iron Maiden, Whitesnake and UFO.. too hard to name them all!

What is Blacklist’s vehicle of choice for touring?

An non-air conditioned van, with sticky vinyl seats. Mmm, sweaty!

What’s on the menu for you guys in the future?

Write, record and play live.. Oh, and a name change.. Stay tuned for that!!

 

 

 

So there you have it folks, everything you ever wanted to know about Blacklist, straight from the horse’s mouth! Secretive label interest, a kick-arse debut album, more live action, and a spankin’ new name; all on the horizon for one of the most promising bands to come out of Canberra in a long, long while.

 

Stay tuned for news, reviews, interviews and awesomesauce with Mission #1

The Search is over!

THROWING DOWN!

Hey guys and gals! My name is Melissa. Every fortnight I will be posting a new column that covers the punk/hardcore genre. You’re going to love it

GET READY FOR..

THE SEARCH FOR CARLIERAE.

They’re a six-piece metal/hardcore band hailing from the country town of Numurkah, Victoria. It consists of:
-Shaun Bullock, 20, vocals.
-Sean Cox, 19, guitar/vocals.
-Dale McNair, 20, guitar.
-Fergus Dupleix, 18, bass.
-Jack Thomas, 18, drums.
-Leanne Carnegie, 18, synth/keyboard.

The band was born in early to mid 2007 and have already played with some big bands such as Operator Please and Carpathian. With a large, growing fan base, amazing performance and stage presence, they’re bound to go far.

I was able to get a few minutes with Fergus Dupleix who was happy to answer my questions.

Who’s idea was it to start the band?
“Jack and Shaun B started the band after Jack’s previous band fell apart.”

Has the band had any problems so far?
“We have so much drama sometimes, I’m surprised we’re still together. We’ve come close to losing members but we make it through as a team, and as friends.”

What’s the best gig you’ve played at?
“Hardcore ‘08 in Albury. We supported Carpathian and there was an amazing crowd. They were jumping around and smacking each other as if we were a huge band. It felt good.”

Interesting band name… Who came up with is and how?
“Shaun Bullock came up with the band name.
The story is he was trying to find some girl called Carlierae on MySpace.com. Something must have just clicked in his head.”

Be sure to check out these guys and support them at www.myspace.com/thesearchforcarlierae

Creating a Red Abum

The Red Paintings. Love them or hate them they are one of the most unique Australian bands around at the moment. Singer/Guitarist Trash McSweeney took a few moments away from mixing the bands debut album to have a chat to Mission #1 about life as the vision behind The Red Paintings, and I started by asking him about the American tour the band recently completed.

“Considering we had no marketing, no PR for our tour I thought we had great turn outs. Sure it wasn’t like touring with the [Dresden] Dolls playing to thousands each night. Overall I’m happy, I really couldn’t have asked for more. Plus I believe this trip to the USA was about a lot more then touring an idea.” I asked Trash what shows on the tour had stood out for him. “I’d say Portland because I was the most pissed of over the entire tour and we lifted the roof of the venue because of it. I also recall that night we sold a lot of merch and people were buying everything they could get their hands on.”

The band was touring the USA after playing at Museexpo, a showcase attracting some of the “most influential executive talent from around the globe.” I asked Trash what some of the feedback he has received from the industry representatives has been like. “[They said] that we are our own sound and idea, and they think we fit inside our own scene. I’ve received positive and negative [comments] and all comments made were valid.”

In 2007 The Red Paintings launched an appeal from their fans for donations, a pre-order, so they could record their debut album, titled The Revolution Is Never Coming. As mentioned earlier, Trash is in Canada mixing it. I asked him how it was coming along, and if there were any hints of a possible release date. “It’s a hard album to make, because it tests your patience like you wouldn’t believe. It’s coming along, I’ve changed ideas in the mix a few times now. This was the album I wanted to get right so it’s only fair that it would send me crazy and it’s doing a great job of that. I’m not ready at this stage to offer a release date, as soon as it’s complete in all ways I will see that date, and everyone that cares about us will notice.”

The album is set to be one of the defining moments of The Red Painting’s history so far. I asked if there was anything Trash wanted new listeners and old fans to take away after listening to it. “That they are received more then their $40 worth in these 13 songs. That I’m giving you an album that is been recorded and felt like no other. Doesn’t mean its any good just means I’ve [been] sacrificing myself for it. And lastly that i am very thankful for this incredible experience, this album has taken me to some life-changing places.”

The band is returning to Australian shores in July and August for two special showcase shows. Trash refused to give away any information about them, except that we can expect to see and hear animals screaming. I finished off asking Trash what art inspires him most. “Performance Art. Organizations that get out on the streets and protest against animal cruelty. That inspires me most.”

The Red Paintings return to Australia in August for two free showcase shows. To register for the ballot to receive a free double pass, visit http://www.individulaunch.com.au/

Check out The Red Paintings on Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/theredpaintings . Debut album “The Revolution Is Never Coming” release date to be announced. Image sourced from the bands Myspace

Exclusive Interview with ‘Enolas Secret’

Earlier this week, We caught up with an Adelaide Emotronic rock band, Enolas Secret to discuss the elements of their music, and what makes their band a valid part of the Australian music scene. Tayla Rose questions Fabian Folghera, Guitar player and scream vocalist of the band, on all matters of their bands background and what’s coming next from the awesome Adelaide rockers.

So tell us a bit about your band. The members name, age and respective instrument of each band member.

Matt Holand. Lead vocals (24) Fabian Folghera. Guitar, screams (25) Brendan Bishop. Guitar (24) Wade Thomas. Bass, Back ups (24) Moose. Drums, samples (23) Mark veleski. Keys, piano, programming (24)

What genre of music do you consider your work to be? Who are your major influences?

Defining our style had always been hard. We don’t scream enough to be screamo, were not hard enough to be Hardcore, were too heavy to be Emo, but were not heavy enough to be metal…we have more electronics than coldplay, but less than Enter shikari, we have riffs like underoath but not unlike scary kids scarring kids. We can be as intense as Thrice and as heavy as bullet for my valentine…

How long have you all known each other? How did you meet?

Brendan, Fabian, Matt and Wade all met approx 4-5 years ago and played music together or in bands who played together and moose joined them as a drummer 2 years ago. Mark being the last addition completed the lineup in April 07, not long before the bands first show.

When did you form your band? What inspired you to make music together?

Each member was searching for a different way to express themselves through music, some already in bands. After several jam sessions, Enolas Secret was born.

Do you have a record label? Are you a member of any music organizations?

We are looking to get signed to a label for the release of our debut EP in jan-feb but being signed isn’t everything. Plenty of bands have made their own way without being signed and if it comes down to it, were fully prepared to go the same way.

What can you tell me about your instruments? (I.e., Are you subject to brand loyalty or will you play with whatever’s available? What made you choose the instruments you have now? Was it cost or was it a style/model/brand/color preference?

Hahhaa…I love to talk gear… um..First up wade is endorsed my Gallien Kruger amps and ESP bass’s. He chose the gear as it was an upgrade from his previous gear and suited the bands sound.

Our drummer, Moose uses pearl drums and hardware and variety of different cymbals to suit our sound. He also uses a Roland sample pad.

Our keyboardist uses a very old Roland synth/keyboard live but has several vintage synths and an Alesis Micron for recording etc.

Both our guitarists use Marshall jcm 2000 dsl with 1960s quad box’s. We also both use MXR GT-OD, which is an overdrive pedal.

Brendan uses a les Paul studio guitar ’94 and an array of Boss effects pedals, including tuner, digital delay, phase shifter, tremolo and noise suppressor.

Fabian uses a Fender telecaster ’52 hot rod reissue with a EHM hot plate and an array of boss, MXR Dunlop and line6 pedals including, Line 6 Delay modeler and filter modeler, Boss tuner and noise suppressor, Mxr micro amp and phaser 90 and Paul Morrison tremolo.

We wanted to use gear that we all love, that gets the sound we want without compromising on cost or integrity. We’ve chosen instruments that are more vintage and classic rather modern and typical because we prefer the raw tone that we get.

Where have you performed? What are your favorite and least favorite venues? Do you have any upcoming shows?

We have performed in many venues across Australia, mainly in Adelaide in Vic. I love the castle in Vic and enigma bar, Adelaide..But by far Entertainment center Adelaide (TOC) was the best. We have a list of our upcoming shows on our myspace. (myspace.com/enolassecret)

Who writes your songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs? Do you think these topics will change over time?

Overall there is no underlying meaning or theme to our music…at the moment…

Basically each song is written for its own purpose, capturing a mood or a moment or a feeling that calls to written about. Really, it’s all about sharing with the rest of the world our experiences and thoughts.

We write all our own songs as a band

Could you briefly describe the music-making process?

It can happen many ways, and we never try the same thing twice. Just because something works doesn’t mean you cant get a better result a different way.

What are your rehearsals generally like? Do you have a set time each week in which you practice or are rehearsals more spontaneous?

We jam twice a week (Tues. and sun nights). Sun is for writing and Tues. we usually refine the current set.

How has your music evolved since you first began playing music together?

We’ve all become really much more comfortable with each other and each playing styles and what we like an don’t and what does and doesn’t work. I think just recently we’ve discovered a side of ourselves that we want to portray through our music.

What has been your biggest challenge as a band? Have you been able to overcome that challenge? If so, how?

I think the biggest challenge we’ve had so far is finding the right songs for the debut EP! Just after we write several great songs and demo them out, we usually write another gem that we think should certainly be on their etc…I think we have found the songs we want but then again… there’s a lot of time between now and the tie we head in to the studio.

What’s your ultimate direction for your band? Are you seeking fame and fortune?

Haha.. Maybe not fame and fortune but definitely we want some form of recognition for the music we make. We want to achieve as much as we can from this life, and give as much of us musically that we can, without ever compromising the bands integrity.

What advice do you have for people who want to form their own bands?

Keep practicing, stay true to what you believe in and don’t be afraid to do it all yourself without the help of anyone. Also don’t be afraid to accept the help of others but most of all just play as many shows as you can and write as much music as you can.

“Make sure you keep an eye on us. We have the Eshays (East Coast) tour with Sienna Skies (NSW) and Adison (NZ) in September and then we hit the studio in Nov and we will have a new song up on our myspace in-between…xo”

You can catch up with the band, and gain access to their music using their myspace address: www.myspace.com/enolassecret or their pure volume: www.purevolume.com/enolassecret. Alternatively, check out the band at youtube.com/enolassecret.

Keep an eye out for the bands EP being recorded later this year, and more importantly, keep an eye out for any other news regarding the band, because its only a matter of time before these guys get noticed!

-

Tayla Rose

Welcome to Mission #1

Mission 1 is a not a revolution. Nor is it a gig or tour. It’s not a new band.

It is a new online zine. A source of music news. Interviews. Reviews. A place to hear about the biggest upcoming shows and tours first. A place for exclusives. For competitions. For fun.

Mission 1.

Its launching Now.

Want to be part of Mission 1?

We’ve got two types of contributers we’re still looking for:

Columnists:

People who are passionate about a certain genre of music, and are committed enough to write a new column fortnightly.

Interviewers/Reviewers

People who aren’t committed enough to write fortnightly, but still want to contribute. Basically we’ll have bands lined up to be interviewed (Email, phone or in person, depending on the band) or shows/new releases to be reviewed. These will contained in an email, sent out weekly.

Hit us up on our myspace, http://www.myspace.com/postopproductions if your interested

Pete

PostOp