Big Time Boy Seeking Small Time Bands

I make it no secret that I love music in almost all shapes and forms. Skimming through my iTunes you will find genres from Classical to Death Metal to Indie to Rap and all the things in between. You will also find that a lot of the music I listen to is not hugely mainstream (although of course I enjoy some of it as much as any other teenybopper), and that I am a big fan of the so-called 'local' bands who hang around for a few years, pop out a gem and disappear when they realise that despite making excellent music, there is simply not spot in the music industry for them to carve out a living. Too many bands are forced to accept this reality - and let's face it, sooner or later a hobby involving travelling across the country, or as some small bands are lucky enough to do, across the world, on a regular basis just doesn't fit in to the job/family life that is required to actually make a living.

So this time I will be focusing on a few small-time bands that have unfortunately capitulated due to a variety of reasons, whether it be real life calling, internal problems, or just the realisation that it's "that time".


Spitalfield (Chicago, US) 1998 - 2007

Most people outside the US probably wouldn't have heard of this band unless they by chance saw them at an Australian gig (they did do a couple of tours, including Boys of Summer 2007), however I chose to start with a US band to make an important distinction between the 'local music' scene in Australia and in the US. Most small-time bands in Australia would not continue to play for 8 years without breaking into at least the Australian mainstream charts, whereas the music industry in the US is that much bigger (and indeed, their population creates an immensely diverse audience) that local bands can be around for a decade without ever striking gold, so to speak.

Spitalfield's distinct rock sound is really what set them apart from what most other bands had to offer. Despite being quite similar to the usual medium/light rock, they maintained a melodic sound throughout their time playing, and were able to comfortably switch between easier listening and hard sounds not only within albums, but songs as well. Mark Rose's ability as a lyricist is to be regarded highly, especially when combined with the fact that he can actually hit the notes needed to make the song work (he is now performing as a solo act - proof of both his vocal and guitar abilities). Despite moving through several guitarists in their 8 years, including a few who only played with the band for a single tour, they consistently produced melodic rock riffs that formed a stable background for Rose's lyrics. Spitalfield will continue to be sorely missed by its fan-base in both the US, and worldwide.


Her Latest Flame (Adelaide, AUSTRALIA) 2005 - 2008

Her Latest Flame is a band that fits the typical notion of local band more than Spitalfield - they formed for a few years, played a few gigs and then due to internal troubles fell apart (the original vocalist left). However, in their time they did enjoy playing several relatively high-profile gigs, including the 2006 Taste of Chaos, opening on the 'V' stage at Big Day Out 2007, and being a support act for the 2007 Saosin/A Static Lullaby Australian Tour. They released two EPs in their time, and enjoyed an Australia-wide fan base.

HLF enjoyed a more alternative sound, probably best described as a punk/rock band, although their original vocalist did incorporate screaming into the majority of their songs in some shape or form. Josh Dunning is in fact one of the few small-time vocalists who could easily transfer from screaming to singing on-stage, often several times in a single song. How his voice survived is anyone's guess! Needless to say, Josh was ably supported by both a gifted guitarist (Matt) and a talented off-beat drummer (Brodie) that resulted in slightly melodic songs that still retained the teeth needed to support the screaming vox. Unfortunately, Josh's exodus from the band produced a downward spiral, and they hung up their instruments last year.


In Fiction (Adelaide, AUSTRALIA) 2004 - 2009

In Fiction holds a much more personal note for me as I have been a long-time fan of the band since their formation in early 2004. They definitely made a big impact on the Australian music scene, with their first EP, The Four Letter Failure, reaching No. 72 in the ARIA charts, where it remained for 5 weeks. Their second EP, Ghost, debuted at No. 14 in the ARIA charts. The recognition garnered from their records was obvious, with the band performing in both the 2006 and 2007 Boomtown Showdown Tours, as well as the 2007 Vans Boys of Summer Tour, and the 2008 Adelaide Soundwave Festival. When I interviewed front man Brad Gilbertson shortly before the band's final show earlier this year, the one thing he said that stuck in my head was when I asked him what his best memory was:
'Probably how everything was when we first started, it was the type of thing that doesn't really pay much but is so fun to do, like Steve [ex-drummer] and I grew up listening to Bodyjar, then all of a sudden we were playing on tour with them...'

IF were not just confined to Australia, either. Ghost caught the attention of Japanese label Pyropit Records, and prompted them to release an album combining the two EPs and including two extra songs.

IF were, if anything, most recognised for their diverse style and ability to combine complex melodies with a hard rock sound, although they moved more into a melodic style as the band matured. Gilbertson's flawless vocals were only enhanced by guitarists Paul Heitmann and Josh Burgan, who were able to smoothly switch between lead and rhythm roles depending on the song. However, Tom Crosby and his predecessor Steve Luscombe were respective maestros on the drum kit, despite having fairly different styles (I will go ahead here and push Steve over Tom, merely because of Steve's amazing left-footed ability, and the fact he could switch smoothly from an upbeat song such as Here in a Way to slow, off-beat song, Calendar Notes. Unfortunately, after 5 years of music-making, the band members decided to set off in different directions, with one of them getting married, another aiming to (finally) finish his degree and the rest just planning on "growing up" a little bit and seeing where life takes them.


Well, that's all for now, and I would encourage all of you to go out and enjoy some local music. You never know what gem you may find.

Age-Old Adages

Ever noticed how many ye olde sayings are still around today? Maybe it's a bit of an overestimation of their age, but haven't you ever had a moment where some older relative pops out a little nugget of their years, you polish it up expectantly in your head... And then discover as opposed to being a gold nugget, it's more likely to be comprised of that strange ear wax only 60+ year olds get. So I thought that this week/month/year? (There's no real regularity to these posts) we'd tear asunder some of the sayings that should have been left in a retirement home many, many years ago.

1. "I don't try to explain to people why I ride a Motorcycle."
I thought I'd start off with something simple. Firstly... what the hell? I mean, if you started but they didn't understand, then it would make sense not to try and explain further... But not trying at all? If kids of today went out to do something, and when asked by their parents what/where/why/when, and replied with "I don't try to explain why I do x", we'd either have a lot of dead kids or a lot of grounded ones. Hey, in fact - go for it! Either way, let's keep them off the streets.

2. "Come home early, nothing good ever happens after midnight."
Don't they know that most clubs don't even get started until after midnight? What about midnight snacks? Midnight sex? Sex at 3am? Sex in general, pretty much. This is what you get when your ancestors lived in a sexually repressed society; although the current situation where it has completely back flipped (i.e. the full-on sexually open) could be a little bit too far. At the rate we're going, my kids (if they ever come into being) will be learning about contraception around the same time they're learning to walk.

3. "When you say "I can't", you actually mean "I don't want to"."
Try saying that to the double amputee you want to run the 100m sprint.

4. "Never own ANYTHING you aren't willing to drill a hole in."
Now, now, remember, men and women are equals now, men don't own their wives...anymore. I'm sorry, that was just too easy. But still, if anyone, including me brings a drill near the Aston-Martin DB9 I 'own' for the sake of the conversation, I'll get them where they stand.

5. "Your enemies can hurt you, but only your fear defeats you! Only those who risk going too far will ever know how far they can go."
And remember kids, those who risk going too far are 100% more likely to die screaming as their parachute fails to open/bungee cord snaps (or as it was found recently, comes undone)/F1 car spontaneously explodes... Although in their slightly shorter lifespans, they probably have more fun, earn more, get some plastic trophy wife (not sure whether that's a plus or a minus), sleep with adoring teen fans (ditto to this one - some of those girls are probably about as safe to plug as a chemical toilet)... So it could balance out.

6. "Anyone who hasn't got a little bit of a temper is not worth killing."
That's just discrimination against people with anger problems.

7. "A young man is embarrassed to question an older one."
The older man has obviously never met me. My parents decided I was the most argumentative child in existence. They still hold this view, I believe (although my brother is catching up and will most likely overtake me).

8. "Live life to the fullest."
This saying differs in that whilst I agree with what it's trying to say (try and make your life mean something) it's missing a key part (try and make your life mean something to someone). Who's to say that a CEO of a Fortune 500 company, who started off as a bottle-cap collector, has lived a fuller life than a garbage collector with 3 kids and a mortgaged house? Admittedly, the CEO probably has several houses, various vehicles and many more opportunities, but taking a different approach, the garbage collector who never wanted to move on because he was looking after his kids, or simply because he loved his job - and before you wrinkle your nose in disgust, there probably are people out there doing the shitty jobs no-one else wants to do, and they enjoy them. Not because they love handling tonnes of garbage, or scrubbing hundreds of toilets, but because the job gives them something that is important to them, whether it be more time with their family, a host of colleagues who become good mates... Etc, etc.

9. "Oh isn't so-and-so sweet on you! [Or] You're rather sweet on so-and-so, aren't you?"
Oh yeah, every time we hug I just want to lick her off me. Or scrape it off and put it in my coffee. Seriously, where did this even originate? Was it traditional for lovers to cover themselves in honey and rub over each other? Because that could be kinda hot, if a little sticky.

And finally, my personal favourite:

10. " Such-and-such is the best thing since sliced bread."
Just putting it out there: sliced bread isn't that great. I mean, yeah, you save an extra 30 seconds making a sandwich, and you don't need to have the requisite knife skills. Excellent. Personally I'm a fan of cutting the slices myself, you can go thin for thin sandwiches, thick for packed sandwiches or thick-cut toast, or my personal favourite (and specialty) the wedge, which is both thick and thin, and results in every subsequent slice also being a wedge as the next person tries to correct my mistake. Still, there's something so down-to-earth about doing it yourself, one man, his knife and a loaf of bread waiting to be cut...
...sounds like the type of movie that would be released fairly soon.

Adieu!