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ISSUE 990
JULY 3 - JULY 9 |
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04 July 2008
 | A contemporary bigscreen version of the much-loved ’60s TV series Get Smart has long been on the cards and now, complete with what look like surefire credits (including original creators Mel Brooks and Buck Henry listed as ‘Consultants’ and reportedly enthusiastic about the finished product), is here in all its still-satirical glory. Australian media bods swarmed to the Gold Coast and Warner Brothers’ Movie World for the film’s Australian premiere and the accompanying publicity and humourous interviews with director Peter Segal and stars Steve Carell (as CONTROL agent and hapless hero Maxwell Smart, formerly played by the since-late Don Adams) and Anne Hathaway (as the new and improved - she even says so onscreen - Agent 99, formerly played by Barbara Feldon, also a fan of the new film).READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
  | In 2004, The Music should have been feeling on top of the world. Despite worldwide acclaim for their eponymous debut album’s blend of rock and dance grooves, the Leeds act were feeling imprisoned and manipulated in an Atlanta studio recording the follow-up, Welcome To The North. Faced with two years of promoting an album the band admit was aimless, frontman Robert Harvey’s troubles with drugs and depression deepened and rifts within The Music threatened to finish them. READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Melbourne rockers Skymbombers are flying high with their debut release, Take Me To Town, and to top it off they’ve just returned from their debut US tour as well as supporting the Foo Fighters in New Zealand. Bassist Ravi Sharma is looking forward to what the future holds for this hot prospect.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Arguably one of the most formidable indie outfits around, Death Cab For Cutie have earned themselves esteemed global kudos. Spawning many a doting admirer, they’ve returned to current musical consciousness armed with their sixth album, Narrow Stairs, and a coinciding number one slot in the US charts. Nick Harmer, bassist for the band, takes some time out to motor through all things DCFC as well as divulge his peculiar interests in Alice In Wonderland memorabilia, comic book creations and 1950s toasters. READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | It seems fitting that with the release of the final three albums, Treeless Plain, Beautiful Waste And More Songs and The Black Swan, in a series of re-mastered and extended albums by Australian band The Triffids, came the announcement that the band was to be inducted into the ARIA Hall Of Fame. Hailing from WA, The Triffids moved to Sydney in the early ’80s before venturing to London where they graced the front cover of New Musical Express (NME) twice. Mainstream success was not forthcoming however – their most well-known song, Wide Open Road, didn’t even dent the charts – and the band eventually returned home to pursue other projects. And, in 1999, many were saddened when lead singer and main songwriter David McComb, who had undergone a heart transplant three years earlier, passed away just shy of his 37th birthday.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | If arsing about was an Olympic sport, The Fratellis would be heading to Beijing in August instead of travelling to Australia to play Splendour In The Grass. During the promotion of their 2006 debut Costello Music, the Glasgow rock trio would systematically invent stories about the band to keep themselves amused. The trickery aggravated numerous journalists, but with more than 1,500,000 sales of the album to their name, The Fratellis laughed all the way to the bank.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Few musicians exude the genuine warmth and congeniality of Melbourne singer songwriter Clare Bowditch. Whether it’s interacting with her adoring crowds during a live show or radiating compassion for fellow musicians in interviews, the mother of three remains consistently luminous. Touring in solo mode to support her third album The Moon Looked On, the auburn vocalist rebuffs Rip It Up’s suggestion that her cheery nature and Christian goodwill could stand her in good stead for a sainthood. READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | With a goal of capturing the spirit of Africa, mammoth South African group the Soweto Gospel Choir have done a brilliant job on their latest, aptly titled album African Spirit. Since the choir initially formed back in 2002, the group has attracted quite a lot of very worthy attention, both from critics and fellow musicians alike. READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | The release of Paul Kelly’s latest album, Stolen Apples, was followed by a tour on which Australia’s foremost singer songwriter and his six-strong band presented the 11-song album in its entirety before highlighting some dozen or so old favourites. As Stolen Apples was a concept album of sorts, it made sense and a concert DVD, Live Apples, was recently released which features the entire Stolen Apples album from go to whoa as well as a further 15 songs from Paul’s extensive back catalogue as well as a duet with New Buffalo on The Triffids’ Raining Pleasure.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | While a macabre phenomenon by today’s standards, the introduction of photography in the 1850s brought with it a trend by Victorian families to have pictures taken of their deceased loved ones dressed in their Sunday best. Dead children were photographed with their pets, stately gents were propped up in their favourite chairs and portraits were shot with families flanking lifeless relations. Promoting their second album The Horse, The Rat And The Swan, Western Australian act Snowman appear to have inadvertently revived the spooky genre for a photo shoot.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Four years is a long time in the music scene. Coupled with Bloc Party and Hard-Fi as the UK’s brightest indie hopes to emerge in 2004, The Futureheads broke out with a killer cover of Kate Bush’s Hounds Of Love and a chirpy performance style that tempered their pop nous with a punk edge. The Sunderland act’s darker 2005 album, News And Tributes, failed to connect with fans or critics, with the band finding themselves dumped from their major label just three years after signing the deal. Suddenly, The Futureheads looked like relics as whippersnappers such as Arctic Monkeys, The Kooks and Klaxons emerged on the UK scene to fanfare and accolades.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Despite a gruesome moniker and a decidedly convoluted neo-classical style, metallers Children Of Bodom have become Finland’s most successful musical export outside of Lordi. With a new album entitled Blooddrunk on the shelves, Rip It Up sat down with bass player Henkka Seppälä to find out the alcohol content of O positive. Here are the results.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Adelaide Cabaret Festival, now widely regarded as the world’s best cabaret festival, opens at Adelaide Festival Centre on Fri Jun 6 and, due to demand, now continues until Sun Jun 15. There’s something on offer for everyone and acts will be coming from all over the globe. The festival will also be featuring the crème de la crème of cabaret artists from around Australia. The full program, which includes the line-up for the late night Kool Kat Festival Club, is available at <adelaidecabaret.com>. Take a look and then book quickly at BASS as some shows are selling rather quicklyREAD THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Every A&R exec longs to uncover an Amy Winehouse. The good news for true music buffs is that they're floundering miserably. Instead pop culture is ushering in, not a clutch of Amy clones, but a fresh wave of inspiring female artistes who, though sharing Winehouse's retro fervour, have their own vibe - and personality. Adele. Duffy. Melbourne's Gabriella Cilmi.
READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Cog has made a grand return with their brand new album Sharing Space, which will no doubt redefine the rock‘n’roll landscape in Australia. Although it has pushes their sound forward and acts as an awesome follow-up to their 2005 debut The New Normal, the band’s second album wasn’t without its fair share of dramas. Drummer Lucius Borich speaks to Rip It Up during the final preparations for Cog’s upcoming national tour about the acclaim Sharing Space has already received.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
| Adelaide Cabaret Festival, now widely regarded as the world’s best cabaret festival, opens at Adelaide Festival Centre on Fri Jun 6 and, due to demand, now continues until Sun Jun 15. There’s something on offer for everyone and acts will be coming from all over the globe and the festival will also be featuring the crème de la crème of cabaret artists from Australia. The full program, which includes the line-up for the late night Kool Kat Festival Club, is available at <adelaidecabaret.com>. Take a look and then book quickly at BASS. READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Martin Scorsese loves all kinds of music. “Opera, classical, country, blues, rock, it’s all a big part of my life,” he says. But there are some musicians that are closer to his heart – the ones who have been with him since he first discovered them back in the sixties. “Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Stones – always the Stones. They’re always there for me.”READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Failed UK acts Babakoto, Total Knock Out and Dear Eskiimo might never have exploded onto the pop charts, but were it not for the formative experiences of these forgotten pop failures, the world would be bereft of 2008’s most exciting emerging duo. After an earlier incarnation of their group was dumped by Mercury Records before releasing their debut, Jules De Martino and Katie White bunkered down in their Manchester digs to write a clutch of new songs simply as an emotional release. Freshly branded The Ting Tings, their demos unexpectedly created a groundswell of support and label attention.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | p> Since leaving Skid Row in the mid ’90s, vocalist Sebastian Bach has branched out into many fields of the entertainment industry. From performing in the stage musicals Jeykll & Hyde and Jesus Christ Superstar, to starring in numerous reality TV shows such as SuperGroup and Celebrity Rap Stars, to even hosting his own show Forever Wild, having a recurring role in The Gilmore Girls and singing in a few side projects, The Last Hard Men and Frameshift, he’s almost done it all. READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Don’t let Whitley’s mask fool you. Beneath his seemingly tender, sentimental and delicate visage lies Lawrence Greenwood, a witty Australian footy-loving larrikin who has been known to plunge into drunken, profanity-saturated experiences, musical support slots involving him sporting a Mexican wrestling mask and openly confronting raucously rowdy and boisterous audience members. READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | If there was a band that Australia would love to adopt as our own, without a shadow of doubt it would have to be New Zealand rockers Shihad. This year marks the 20th anniversary for a band who have experienced the highs, the lows and the in-betweens in what could be considered as a tough caper to crack. Shihad are definitely on a high as they celebrate the release of album number seven, Beautiful Machine - and frontman Jon Toogood can’t hide how happy he is about it. READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Don Letts, the London-born documentary filmmaker and DJ and member of Big Audio Dynamite, has come downunder to present a multi-media event which will be followed by a reggae DJ set. Don, who will also be reading excerpts form his autobiography, Culture Clash: Dread Meets Punk Rockers, will come armed with a bunch of his filmed works which include the Grammy award winning Westway To The World (a film about The Clash) and a recent BBC documentary, Soul Britannia, which highlights black music in the UK. We speak over the telephone to Don about his career and begin by asking what he has in store for us. READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | You wouldn’t guess it from Brian McFadden’s deliciously soapy ode to his fiancée Delta, but beyond the puppy love of Like Only A Woman Can lurks a speed freak and lawbreaker. Animatedly chatting to Rip It Up while in Adelaide to promote his deceptively impressive new album Set In Stone, the mischievous Irishman admits to previous troubles with the law.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | The marriage of Australian country singer Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson, a rock singer with Brisbane band Pretty Violet Stain and a solo artist with two albums to his credit, was, perhaps, an unlikely one. The fact that their musical partnership has delivered a number one album called Rattlin’ Bones is ever harder to believe given that the 14-song affair, produced by Nash Chambers and Shane at Jimmy Barnes’ Freight Train Studios, is a very acoustic and quite dark country album. We speak over the telephone to Kasey and Shane a couple of hours after they’ve appeared on Channel Nine’s The Today Show and begin by saying that their performance of the album’s title song was screened in sepia-tone to great effect. READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Australian TV has suffered from the lack of antics from The Chaser boys this year – no outraged Today Tonight stories, no West Coke Eagle, no embarrassed politicians trying to find the easiest way to get out of a stunt and no sight of Chas Licciardello’s arse. For those who have missed The Chaser’s antics onscreen this year, never fear as you now have a chance to catch the comic muckrakers perform their stuff live on stage; The Chaser is coming to town. The Chaser’s Andrew Hansen says the break from television was needed for The Chaser lads to recharge their batteries. READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
.jpg) | Following up an ARIA winning album might be a scary situation to be in, but it’s nothing compared to waking in the night to find your homestead overrun by uninvited black trespassers. A few weeks prior to the release of their second album When The Flood Comes, Tristan Goodall and Taasha Coates of The Audreys awoke to find their Woodside home’s perimeter had been violated.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | It’s been a long, long time between drinks for Melbourne-based indie pop trio Even (guitarist and vocalist Ashley Naylor, bass player Wally Meanie and drummer Matt Cotter). But the band’s latest musical offering, a dozen-song self-titled affair mixed by Wayne Connolly, has now seen release and the threesome are touring it around the country before taking off to London to perform at All Tomorrow’s Parties. We speak over the telephone to Ashley Naylor, who has recently been playing with guitar with Paul Kelly’s band, and begin by suggesting that the new album has been a long time coming.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | With a history that includes formative years in 1970s synth act Tiger Lily soundtracking a porno, a brief flirtation with the mainstream as a founding member of Ultravox and plaudits from current chart favourites such as Klaxons, English musician John Foxx’s evolving roles on the musical periphery have seen him cross paths with eclectic cultural identities including film-maker Michaelangelo Antonioni, Nick Cave and Brian Eno.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Critical acclaim doesn’t pay the rent or put food on the table. Prior to 2007’s third album Cruel Guards, Western Australian act The Panics had enjoyed five years of glowing reviews, alternative radio play and street press coverage, yet none of these facets had translated to strong commercial sales. Guitarist Drew Wootton admits with acrid precision that Cruel Guards was a last ditch attempt to convince their homeland The Panics had multiple musical riches to offer. READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | In the 1980s she irritated Nashville’s conservative majority by tempering her love of country with a love of women. In the early 1990s she navigated her unintentional role as a lesbian figurehead with considerable aplomb as she earned global attention for her soulful record Ingenue. In the past decade, Kathryn Dawn Lang’s own music has taken a backseat as she’s concentrated on recording the works of fellow Canadian songwriters, yet the Grammy Award winning artist is back in 2008 with Watershed. READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | It finally happened. After 12 years of bitter estrangement Max and Igor Cavalera are reunited and making music. Rip It Up cornered Max and found out that age has not wearied him. He’s still as pissed off as ever.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Reflecting the title of his band’s second album, Pretty. Odd., Panic At The Disco drummer Spencer Smith is sitting in New York reflecting on the strange day he’s having. Not only has the Las Vegas act’s new record rocketed into the upper echelons of charts around the world, the popularity of refreshing new single Nine In The Afternoon has brought with it some interesting opportunities.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Iconic Sydney-based singer songwriter Richard Clapton is currently on a national tour to celebrate the 35 years since the release of his debut album, Prussian Blue, in 1973. The tour, which will culminate in a huge concert at Sydney’s State Theatre in July with some special guests, will also include a visit to Adelaide. Richard, who has enjoyed radio hits with such songs as Girls On The Avenue, Deep Water, Capricorn Dancer (from the surf film Highway One), Down In The Lucky Country and Glory Road and was an early champion of INXS, is more than eager to have a chat over the telephone.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Having previously recorded in Chicago with noted noiseniks Steve Albini and Dale Cotton, Kiwi art punk triumvirate Die! Die! Die! weigh in with album number two Promises, Promises, produced by former Straitjacket Fits helmsman Shayne Carter (Bailter Space, Dimmer). Ahead of the band’s latest Australian tour, Rip It Up pins down ‘new’ bassist and Brisbanite Lachy Anderson in New York.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Six months on from the release of Pnau’s brilliant return to form on their self-titled third album, it seems that Australia is finally starting to latch onto the catchy pop dance two-piece’s new opus, with the band entering the ARIA Top 40 with the single Baby. Pnau, made up of Nick Littlemore and Peter Mayes, have been making music together for more than 10 years and hit the pay dirt with their debut album Sambanova in ’99. But after hitting second album syndrome and with Littlemore experiencing some difficulties collaborating with former Underworld member Darren Emerson, it seems now Pnau are finally clicking - receiving props from an unusual source in Elton John. READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Puerto Rican-born guitarist and singer José Feliciano, one of 11 boys, has received more than 45 gold and platinum records and had 16 Grammy nominations - winning six times - and scored Billboard magazine’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996.
He has a school named after him in New York City and received an honorary Doctorate Of Letters for his music and charitable contributions worldwide from Sacred Heart University in 2001. José is now touring Australia once again and we speak to him over the telephone.
Upon connection, it’s actually Susan, José’s wife of many years (together since 1971 and married in 1982), who answers but she tells me that her husband is looking forward to the interview and that any more information needed about José can later be found at his website.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | When free music can be found in seconds courtesy of a high-speed internet connection, bands, labels and associated ‘music industry tradespeople’ have got some thinking to do. So far most of the responses have been nothing short of risible. But as punk rock stalwarts Pennywise show there is an alternative to suing the pants off teenage kids or sticking your head in the sand. They’re going to give away their new album, Reason To Believe, for free. READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | The Presets second album Apocalypso is set to make the Sydney electro thud duo one of the biggest bands in Australia. Already known as one of this country’s most energetic and best live acts, after interstate reports they attracted bigger crowds at the V Festival than the Smashing Pumpkins, Apocalypso will take The Presets juggernaut to another level in this country and abroad. Rip It Up speaks to Kim Moyes from the Modular-backed duo.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Ash Grunwald recently ventured over to the US to take part in South By South West. Here are his words: I woke early as the sun came up, totally exhausted in Ashcroft, Canada. I had to drive four hours to Vancouver and fly out to Los Angeles. The Canadian leg of the tour had been sick! I’d done some cool shows in Vancouver and Whistler and did heaps of snowboarding and just getting generally alpine. I spent all morning driving and next thing I know I’m eating real Mexican food in the backblocks of Hollywood on a barmy night surrounded by dudes in cowboy hats and suddenly we were in LA doing a warm-up show for South By Southwest.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | The annotated biological etching of a two-headed baby on the sleeve of The Gutter Twins’ debut album sums up with macabre humour the twisted bond at the heart of Saturnalia. The much-mooted project between former Screaming Trees frontman Mark Lanegan and The Twilight Singers’ musical mastermind Greg Dulli, Saturnalia finds the gifted reprobates unleashing an incredible collection of Gothic blues and haunted rock. Greg laughs when it’s suggested the dissected baby image is an apt depiction of the pair’s shared loves and demons.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Maybe it’s because of the endless tours and amount of time spent confined together in airless and sweaty venues, but punk bands remain one of the music genres most susceptible to internal rifts and creative implosions. Orebro punk rockers Millencolin are celebrating 15 years of the same line-up by releasing their seventh album, the aptly titled Machine 15. Although suffering from the flu, lead guitarist and band graphic designer Erik Ohlsson speaks to Rip It Up about Millencolin’s united focus in the wake of numerous side projects. READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Duran Duran are back! And the band that reached the heights of stardom in the early ‘80s with pop tunes like Girls On Film, Rio, Hungry Like The Wolf, Wild Boys and Union Of The Snake hardly need a reintroduction. They were the most commercially successful of the New Romantics and they were one of the first to remix their own work and use giant video screens at their live shows. They made incredibly raunchy video clips and were one of the most stylish and good-looking bands on the planet. READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Mike Noga & The Gentlemen Of Fortune are a Melbourne-based quartet led by Mike Noga, drummer of The Drones who with this ensembles, sings and plays guitar. The other members are Dallas Crane’s bass player Pat Bourke, The Vandas’ Gus Agars on drums and Machine Translation’s Graeme Cameron on guitar.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Eat these facts about the 2008 brand of Cut/Copy: their new album is produced by a member of The DFA. The Aussie act was recently discussed in an article in the Wall Street Journal, of all titles. They have an upcoming set at the massive American festival Coachella and their new album is killer, all this on top of having the most played track (Hearts On Fire) on Triple J last year. Yep, Cut/Copy circa 2008 armed with their second album In Ghost Colours is indeed a powerful and talented force. Rip It Up spoke to Cut/Copy’s main man Dan Whitford before the cool Aussie act was due to play a sold-out show in LA.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Sitting in the Adelaide Hilton dining area and eating a banana in the superstitious hope that it will ward off his jetlag, tired but genial Muse drummer Dominic Howard’s diminutive presence belies his membership in one of the world’s finest rock acts. Dom’s eyes shift from their sleepy droop to genuine wide-eyed excitement when he thinks back to the massive 2007 Wembley Stadium shows featured on the band’s new release, HAARP, a CD/DVD showcase of how far Muse have come since their 2002 live presentation, Hullabaloo. READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | “He’s pretty good isn’t he?” Loudon Wainwright III laughs down the line from the US when we speak to him about his forthcoming Australian tour and mention that his son, Rufus, recently performed in Adelaide. In fact, the recent success of Loudon’s offspring, Rufus and Lucy, have sorta helped re-raise his profile in recent times.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Named after Jebediah Springfield, the fictional founder of Homer, Marge, Lisa and Bart’s hometown, our own Jebediah has leaped back on board Australia’s music circuit and will soon be strumming it up on South Australian soil at the University of Adelaide’s Orientation Ball. Having recently emerged from their two-year hibernation, guitarist Chris Daymond joined Rip It Up to dabble in 2008 talk, Star Wars chatter and reminisce on the high school evolution of their band’s name. READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Screwed over by the collapse of their record label the week of their second album’s release and constantly overlooked by commercial radio in favour of pretty boys without a melodic clue, Perth act Gyroscope have been held back for far too long. After kicking arse across Australia during their recent Big Day Out sets, the underdogs look set to finally have their day with the release of third album, Breed Obsession. Speaking to Rip It Up while travelling in the band Tarago to a gig in Wagga Wagga, vocalist and guitarist Daniel Sanders says the pre-album shows have been invigorating. READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Initially formed over a decade ago, Atlanta-born Sharon Jones joined Bosco Mann and his band The Dap Kings from New York’s Daptone Records, and they’ve wowed audiences everywhere they’ve gone since. Masters of deep funk, a raw version of funk that exudes all the soul of ’70s masters, Sharon and the band have captured the essence of soul on their three albums, with the music really evoking images of smoky ’60s and ’70s vinyl from the days when this music first began. It truly is amazing stuff! I was lucky enough to have a chat to the lovely, chilled out Sharon Jones as she called from her rather chilly home of New York, and found out a little more about what makes The Dap Kings tick.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Walking through Warsaw’s Old Town in 2006, I was astonished to see legendary Manchester singer Ian Brown walking by with the trademark swagger that has become a blueprint for multiple cocky Brit rock upstarts over the past two decades. Ian Brown in Poland? It’s the sort of surprising thrill that his career has been filled with. READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Adelaide Bank Festival Of Arts will kick off on Fri Feb 29 and continue until Sun Mar 16. Along the way, audiences will get to some over a dozen world premieres and some 15 Australian premieres in a program that will bring some of the world’s best theatre and dance companies to Adelaide not to mention some of the world’s finest musicians. The festival will kick off with a free festival opening, Ignition!, on a closed-off North Tce from 6-9pm on Fri Feb 29.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Do you remember where you were when you first heard Smash, the Offspring’s seminal 1994 record? This is a record which is still, 14 years after its release, the highest selling independent record of all time, a record which captured the energy of a grunge infused period in time, a record which accidentally brought punk back into the mainstream eye and a record which is still well cited as being an influence on many a young band today. READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | The finest films are often the underground, alternative, budgeted indie flicks inspired by character and driven by underpinning guts and supreme story substance. They’re often the ones that slip beneath the cracks of mainstream advertising campaigns and subtly spawn cult admiration. Conquering many a top 10 film list, they are often the ones that arouse critical acclaim. READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Six and 12-string guitarist and occasional singer Leo Kottke, who once famously described his baritone voice as, ‘like geese farts on a muggy day’, was born in Athens, Georgia, US, and began playing trombone and violin before moving to the guitar and experimenting with his own unique picking style on six and 12-string instruments. His second album, the all-instrumental 6 And 12-String Guitar from 1969, quickly brought him much acclaim and he now has over 30 releases to his credit. In concert, Leo intersperses his tunes with humourous monologues. In fact, when we first call Leo at home in Minneapolis, we are greeted by an answering machine that says, ‘If you are a lawyer, hang up now’.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | The Clipsal 500 will provide racegoers plenty of high octane action during the day and by night a whole host of bands will continue the festivities. Friday night sees Powderfinger and Expatriate rocking the stage, but joining them is Mornington Peninsula hitmakers Kisschasy. Lead singer Darren Cordeux is looking forward to a return to Adelaide for the Clipsal 500 and was also keen to talk about plans for a new album.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Adelaide fans of Broken Social Scene aren’t the only ones confused over who from the Canadian music collective would be appearing at the St Jerome’s Laneway Festival. Initial press suggested it would be a solo performance from lead Scenester Kevin Drew. A further announcement stated it was Broken Social Scene Presents Kevin Drew performing. Now posters for the inaugural festival date in Adelaide are billing the Toronto outfit simply as Broken Social Scene. Multi-instrumentalist Charles Spearin understands the confusion.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
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 | Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls! Step right up for another year of magic, sparkle and fun as The Garden Of Unearthly Delights once again transforms Rundle Park into an exciting focal point during Adelaide’s festival season. Whether you wander into the enchanted grounds to view a raunchy burlesque show in the Theater Bosco, stumble over a comedy troupe in Umbrella Revolution or experience some percussive and experimental grooves in the novel SoCo Cargo venue, the Garden’s vibrant hub of performers, food and fanfare is a refreshing reminder of the Festival State’s joie de vivre.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | “I’m not much good at doing interviews,” Died Pretty vocalist Ronald S Peno says over the telephone when we hook up to discuss the fact his band are part of the Don’t Look Back music series and will come to Adelaide to revisit their Doughboy Hollow album on Valentine’s Day. “And you’d think that after 20 years or so I’d be okay at doing interviews, but I’m not,” Ron then adds. Nonetheless we press on and find that the diminutive singer can be quite forthcoming even if he doesn’t perhaps mean to be.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Kelley Stoltz has an impressive resume and track record, working as an intern for Jeff Buckley’s management company as a sorter of fan mail before getting his first break cutting a solo record in 1999 with The Past Was Faster. Stoltz was the first artist in history to make an on-package claim about using renewable energy to offset the electricity used in making his album Below The Branches. Touring with The Raconteurs and playing some of the world’s major festivals fill out the resume. Another Australian tour is just around the corner to celebrate the release of Circular Sounds and Kelley can’t wait to get back.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | While Tom Morello strums away in his Nightwatchman guise around the corner, British newcomer Kate Nash is sitting backstage in her dressing room at the Sydney Big Day Out matter-of-factly detailing her thrilling year. In the six months since the release of her debut album Made Of Bricks, the 20-year-old North Londoner has topped the UK chart, earned three Brit Award nominations and found time to work on a new album. Right now though, the horror film obsessive is more excited about the prospect of indulging in an activity a little more treacherous than expected from your average pop star.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | If ever there was a band which seemed exceptionally ill-adapted to the sort of long-term rock’n’roll touring lifestyle, it’s the Arcade Fire. Sure, their debut album Funeral grew into one of the world’s biggest selling indie records courtesy of glowing reviews and evangelical word of mouth upon its release in late 2004, but even so, the notion of year-long worldwide arena tours seem weirdly inappropriate for such an idiosyncratic band. READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | In the booklet for Rufus Wainwright’s new album, Rufus Does Judy At Carnegie Hall, his mother, folk singer Kate McGarrigle, tells a story about trying to teach a young Wainwright a folk song. Disappointed when the youngster showed no interest in her efforts, McGarrigle sat at the piano to play the songs she grew up with; songs by Cole Porter, Irving Berlin and George Gershwin. Suddenly Wainwright was at his mum’s side asking her to teach him those songs.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Welcome to a very special issue of Rip It Up, as the RIU team have gone out on a limb to pick eight Adelaide acts that we think will make a massive impact on the local and national scene this year. Of course, a lot of deserved acts missed out and with the amount of quality music coming out of this city at the moment this was always going to happen. The eight bands RIU have chosen are either brand new bands or acts that have been around for a couple of years but will impact the scene heavily in 2008. A lot of time, effort, thought and arguing went into this list, but we feel we have picked a very diverse and talented bunch of bands that represents almost the entire local musical spectrum. So, enjoy reading about the Eight For ‘08, because we had a lot of fun organising it and presenting it for you. Without further ado, here is Rip It Up’s Eight For ‘08! READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Whitney Houston – 15 years. Britney Spears – four years. Amy Winehouse – three years. It seems that the turnaround from debut to trainwreck is becoming shorter for female pop stars, but Operator Please’s Taylor Henderson remains stoic in keeping her feet on the ground. The 16-year-old violinist from Queensland’s hottest young act has not only spurned the bad behaviour of other international stars, she says that her band’s touring partners have assisted in keeping the group level-headed.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Shamworth is an annual event held at Waymouth St’s Grace Emily Hotel on the evening prior to the Australia Day public holiday. It’s held as some form of compensation for those who can’t attend or don’t wish to even go up to that massive country music festival that happens every year in Tamworth. Many bands have been involved in Shamworth over the years including The Audreys and The Shandy Butchers, while this year’s event boasts Sydney’s Nester Lou & Slim Knackers and Ireland’s Andy White along with rambunctious and rather ramshackle local outfit Thunderbox Carbunkle & The Lonely Cosmonauts.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | From head of influential beats label Mo’ Wax to cutting edge DJ and focal point of the metamorphosing electronic influenced drone rock outfit UNKLE, James Lavelle’s music career has changed with the times. About to hit Adelaide for the Big Day Out, Lavelle talks about the upcoming live show, the changing face of the remix game and how The Independent newspaper in the UK were over the top when they said Lavelle made no money from Mo’ Wax, UNKLE or remixing.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Are you ready to rock? No, neither is Jack Johnson, despites earlier reports to the contrary. It’s been suggested that his new album Sleep Through The Static represents a new Jack Johnson – a plugged-in Jack Johnson. Thankfully, these reports aren’t an accurate assessment of his new album. While the album hears Johnson use a bit more electric guitar to fill out the music in this new batch of songs, it’s hardly a riotous affair. READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | While his previous Australian festival shows have been as a member of the emotive Sparta or the incendiary At The Drive-In, Texan musician Jim Ward’s upcoming Soundwave appearance will find him in solo mode to promote his new EP Quiet. Speaking to Rip It Up just days after finishing the recording of a new Sparta album, Jim is genial as he sits in his El Paso home and explains his Australian return. READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | As one of Australia’s favourite comedians, Frank Woodley’s rubbery grin and elongated limbs have served him well throughout his career with former comedic partner Colin Lane as well as solo appearances on popular programs such as Spicks And Specks and Thank God You’re Here. Returning to Adelaide’s Fringe Festival with his spirited new solo show Possessed, Frank admits that another vocation would be difficult considering his goofy persona.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | It’s common to discover the finest debut rock albums showcase an interesting mix of potent urgency, cocksure delivery and innovative twists on the works of their musical forebears. British India’s 2007 debut, Guillotine, conformed to these expectations, pre-empting the Melbourne band’s nomination for the esteemed J Award, the winning of an AIR Award and their appearance on festival line-ups throughout the summer months. While British India singer Declan Melia’s desperate energy on record would indicate a frontman full of confidence, after numerous hurdles surrounding the release of Guillotine he admits to doubts.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Canadian singer songwriter Hawksley Workman, who has six albums to his credit, is now a regular visitor to our shores although you could be forgiven for thinking he uses it as an excuse to escape the harsh Toronto winter. “It’s been minus 30 in some places,” he announces over the phone from somewhere within swelteringly hot Australia, “so it’s good to leave all that behind again because it’s been a very high snowfall.”READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Ahhh, 2007. I remember it like it was yesterday. A year filled with Pete Doherty arrests, Shane Warne sex scandals and lame-arsed Australian Idol singles, which basically means it was 2006 reheated with a second helping of preachy Al Gore, tipsy John Stamos and rigor mortisy Anna Nicole Smith. 2007 was a year for resurrections. Bands that hated each other got back together, fans experienced shows they never thought possible and rock managers gloated as they swam in rivers of filthy lucre. With Rage Against The Machine, The Jesus & Mary Chain, Spice Girls, The Police and Led Zeppelin all funding their retirement schemes, it seems only a matter of time before The Smiths, The Stone Roses and The Libertines settle their differences and hit the road. Bring it on, bitches! For the final issue of 2007, Rip It Up trawls through our back catalogue, hits up our celebrity pals for input and basically throws a whole lot of fluff together in one final celebratory purge. Enjoy this ish and we'll see you in 2008, kidlets.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | They’ve sold millions of albums, toured Australia countless times and have a massive fanbase, but no one is more aware of the criticism Matchbox Twenty have copped over their decade of hits than the band themselves. Matchbox Twenty rhythm guitarist Paul Doucette chuckles with good humour when alerted to allegations of a name change on his Wikipedia listing. According to the popular site, the former drummer’s surname was originally spelt Douchette. READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | “Well, just don’t put any tonic water in it – that stuff’s bad for you and far worse than the gin,” Madonna’s brother in law Joe Henry, a folk noir storyteller, says when we talk about Civilians, his 10th album. The conversation comes about when I note that Los Angeles-based musician mentions on Civilian’s extensive liner notes that he’d like to build a gin still and I say that while I enjoy the occasional gin and tonic, the quinine contained in tonic water can sometimes upset my stomach.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Buck 65 is at it again, keeping the kids guessing about what’s in store with each new album. It’s a cycle he’s followed throughout his career spanning over a decade and five albums of diverse material. Buck 65 (AKA Richard Terfry) is pushing a new direction with his latest work Situation, but ran into a few difficulties with the sample-heavy finalised version. There was no doubt it was a frustrating time, but Buck 65 is satisfied that the album is out and he can start touring the legs off it across the east coast of Australia in December and January.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Nova Scotia-born Steven Joespeh Joshua Poltz has been a regular visitor to out shores since touring Australia with Jewel with whom he co-wrote You Were Meant For Me which is still the longest ever running song on Billboard’s Top 100. Since then his songs have been included in such films as Notting Hill and Jack Frost and he’s also gone from playing 10,000 seater venues to playing 10-seater loungerooms. But Poltz is now coming back to Australia so we email him a few questions and begin by asking why it’s been two years since his last visit.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Spawning strikingly sexy, drop-dead gorgeous and breathtakingly stunning womanly connotations, The Beautiful Girls are anything but. Cut to three Sydney-reared males with instruments in hand and you’ve stumbled upon one of Australia’s most successful musical exports, not known for their feisty femme fatale-esque siren attributes. READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Picture a rampaging Godzilla-like monster, dressed in a red suit, red hat with white fur trim and a huge white beard. You better start running because the Santi-Christ is here to find out who’s been naughty and who’s been nice.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Bands hate being pigeon-holed. Most musicians will talk ad nauseum about why their band is too diverse to fit into just one particular genre. But instead of complaining about lazy journalism and swearing grievous bodily harm on anyone that mentions any sub-genre of rock, Justin Pierre, singer with Minnesota five piece Motion City Soundtrack is happy to suggest a genre of music that his band could fit into.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | She’s absurdly become the talk of the town recently thanks to a few minor admissions relating to her sexual preference, but it’s Missy Higgins’ music that is responsible for placing the talented songwriter in the spotlight in the first place. Back in Australia on her biggest tour to date, Missy tells Rip It Up that there’s no lingering ill will towards her support act Tim Rogers. The You Am I frontman famously knocked Missy over while offering her a hug at the Falls Festival three years ago.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Atlanta band The Black Crowes - Chris Robinson (vocals), Rich Robinson (guitars), Steve Gorman (drums) and Sven Pipien (bass) who have recently been joined by Paul Stacey (guitars) and Adam MacDougall (keyboards) - have just recorded a new album, Warpaint. It will be released early next year which ties in nicely with the fact that the band, said to be the, ‘most rock’n’roll rock’n’roll band on the planet’, will be touring Australis for only the second time in their 18-year career. We speak over the telephone to Christopher Mark Robinson who, along with brother Rich, formed the band in 1989 from the ashes of Mr Crowe’s Garden.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Tim Rogers hardly needs an introduction after accomplishing so much with his bands You Am I and The Temperance Union and the impressive solo career he has forged in recent times. Each new album offers something new and is like a rare gem, especially his latest masterpiece The Luxury Of Hysteria. Returning to Adelaide in early December with Missy Higgins, this year has seen Tim touring America with You Am I, releasing another solo record and back on the road until the end of the year. READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Las Angeles-based swing band Royal Crown Revue first ventured to this country back in the ‘90s as part of the Vans Warped Tour where they played alongside such bands as Grinspoon, Pennywise and Die Toten Hosen. They’ve since ventured back on numerous occasions even recording a live album, Passport To Australia, in Melbourne some years ago. With the release of a new EP, El Toro, which features the band’s swinging version of Neil Diamond’s Solitary Man, the combo and now heading down to visit our shore once again and we spoke over the telephone to RCR drummer Daniel ‘Bam Bam’ Glass (pictured centre) who began by saying the band couldn’t wait to get back to Australia.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | “I dreamt about Lloyd Cole last night,” Melbourne songwriter Ned Collette bafflingly confides while sitting in Rip It Up’s office. “I dreamt we were playing mini golf, since he’s a big golfer. I haven’t played mini golf for a long time. I used to play regular golf as a kid as my dad was into it, but I never played competitively.”READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Sitting in the office of Kylie Minogue’s management in London, the first indication that the singer has made it in for the afternoon’s interview is a joyous scream of delight that erupts from behind one of the office desks. Up she pops, with a huge grin on her face, lovingly caressing one of the four pairs of Manolo Blahnik pumps that have just arrived addressed to her. It’s a happy day for Ms Minogue, as the infectious smile on her face reveals. READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | In early 1998 while touring their debut album Word Gets Around, Welsh band Stereophonics played an afternoon acoustic gig in Big Star Records’ basement in Rundle Street to an audience of two dozen fans. Almost a decade later the band’s sixth album Pull The Pin has matched the success of previous releases by topping the UK charts, yet bassist Richard Jones remains down to earth despite the millions of album sales and sold-out stadium shows across the globe since their humble Adelaide debut.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Their decade of rock dominance has left a towering legacy of hits, a litany of apocryphal tales and a legacy of bands appropriating key components of their sound for globally successful pastiches. While predominantly remembered for pioneering a heavy rock sound, Led Zeppelin’s latest hits collection once again reminds casual listeners of the pastoral folk, reggae sway and Middle Eastern rhythms that defined the UK quartet. With the three surviving band members – vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist John Paul Jones – set to make their first live appearance together in 20 years at Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun’s tribute show in London in December, a timely new best-of Mothership and a DVD reissue of The Song Remains The Same landing in stores around the globe.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | When Rip It Up’s sister magazine Onion interviewed Sneaky Sound System’s ‘Black Angus’ McDonald three years ago, they’d only just released their debut single Hip Hip Hooray and were playing to an indifferent crowd of no more than 30 people at the Good Vibrations festival. Despite their Adelaide audience showing apathy towards the party boys’ tunes, Angus told Onion they’d soon be ‘taking it to the world’. Such bravado might have seemed misplaced if the band’s debut album hadn’t gone on to create a global wave of enthusiasm for Australia’s favourite electropop outfit. READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Abby Dobson, former singer with ARIA award winning band Leonardo’s Bride (for the 1998 song Even When I’m Sleeping), has just released her debut solo album, Rise Up, which has been some years in the making. This was partly due to the fact that the songstress spent time with Paul Mac for the recording of his 3000 Feet High CD and also wrote music for film and television including the hit TV show Secret Life Of Us. We spoke at great length over the telephone to Abby, a former Sydney gal who now lives in Melbourne, about Rise Up and some of the adventures she had in the making of her debut CD, Rise Up, which has been quite some time in the making.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Finally Melbourne’s Damn Arms are breaking free from their professional support slot status to headline a tour for their new album The Live Artex. The four-piece (who sound like Love Of Diagrams and the Midnight Juggernauts making out on a sweaty indie dancefloor)’s album was produced by Pnau’s Nick Littlemore, who wanted to work with them after the band blew him away at a festival.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | For a band renowned for their space fixations and huge sounds things have gone appropriately stratoscopic for UK rockers Muse over the last few years. It climaxed in June when the band became the first to sell out the spanking new Wembley Stadium in London where they played to in excess of 135,000 fans over two nights. According to bass player Chris Wolstenholme, it took a supersized occasion like that to even jolt the band into recognising for themselves just how big things have become. READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Two words of warning to all the right wing and uptight folk who have previously become worked up about The Veronicas’ faux-lesbian photo shoots, onstage drug allusions and a debut single possibly advocating teen sex: brace yourselves. While Lisa and Jessica Origliasso cannily downplay it, there’s little doubt that new album Hook Me Up takes the twins’ provocative lyrics up a notch. From the drug euphemism of the album title through to the none-to- obscure theme of Take Me On The Floor, the Los Angeles-based Queenslanders are sure to have family groups in a lather. Speaking from Sydney during ARIAs preparation, Jess protested that Take Me On The Floor doesn’t necessarily advocate sex with a stranger.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | If the ARIAs were a few months later there is no doubt that The Panics would be contenders for a whole swag of awards with what could be considered as a potential album of the year. Cruel Guards is a brilliant follow up to 2005’s Sleeps Like A Curse and the upcoming tour through November promises to be an absolute beauty. Frontman Jae Laffer is proud of what The Panics have achieved and is looking forward to putting some miles in on the tour front.READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Things are really looking up for Gold Coast outfit Operator Please after claiming their first ARIA for Best Breakthrough Single. Their debut album Yes, Yes Vindictive is ready to drop and to give it a good airing the band are heading out on tour with Van She before returning to the UK for more shows. Violinist Taylor Henderson is enjoying the journey after clocking up twelve months with the band. It has been a great year for Operator Please - did you think things would take off like they have? READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
 | Chapter one: Josh Pyke prefers, prior to a show, to have someone utter “break a leg” rather than “good luck” – he’s superstitious on a subconscious level. Chapter two: he has participated in a bizarre, boot scooting ’80s bonanza dance with members of The Shins. Chapter three: in his list of achievements he is able to tick off having played in the same venue space as Hollywood B-grader, Mr Steven Seagal. It seems Josh Pyke’s novel, thus far, is painting a career as intriguing as his life’s truths. READ THE FULL INTERVIEW |
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