HIT THE JACKPOT
by Karl Melvin
Local primitive pop trio, Hit The Jackpot, are about to release their fantastic new album Soul Money, Gang Vibe through legendary Melbourne label, Chapter Music. Rip It Up caught up with Kynan Lawlor and Jess Thomas for a quick chat.
The album was recorded by Kynan at their home studio, taking five months to record. The pair believe that the benefits of self recording outweighed the drawbacks.
“I guess you could get a little complacent [with recording at home],” offers Jess. “It would have been worse if it was just Kynan and me, but because Seb [Calabretto] would come over to record, he would kick us in the arse a bit!”
“It seems to be a common situation these days that people realise that putting the money they'd spend on a week in a studio towards buying their own stuff might be more beneficial,” adds Kynan. “Obviously the results aren't the same, but it depends what you're after anyway and how your money can be best spent. It also means you can just give up and come back a week later if things aren't working right, which we did a few times. It got a bit frustrating during mixing because you can keep adjusting stuff, whereas it might have been better to have someone removed from the process make the call.”
The title of the album came together as a smooth amalgamation of two possible album titles the band had come up with.
“We were originally going to just call the album Gang Vibe, which fits with the idea that the members of HTJ are close friends,” says Jess. “We often socialise together and are very tight-knit.” 
“Soul Money came from a cab driver, when we were going to the airport one day, offering wisdom around the fact that we tend to lose money on tour. We liked both titles so we joined them together,” explains Kynan.
HTJ’s third wheel Seb recently jetted off overseas for an extended period. The vacant position has been ably filled by long time HTJ associate, Scott O’Hara. Whereas Seb’s role was interchangeable as guitarist, drummer and bass player, O’Hara is predominately behind the drumkit bringing a different style of drumming to Seb’s unusual beats that were heavily influenced by his love of D&B and dubstep.
“Seb has been a part of HTJ for three or four years, and co-written all the songs, so obviously it feels quite different having someone else play his parts,” comments Kynan. “I think we all kind of have the same ideas about music so luckily for us Scott's been able to fit in easily.”
“It felt pretty natural for us to ask him to come on board because we've been friends with him for so long,” adds Jess. “Kynan has been in bands with him previously [Hardy Coxon], and also presently, in Megafauna. He understands where we're coming from and likes pretty much the same stuff as we do. It's definitely an adjustment though.”
Hit The Jackpot lauch Soul Money, Gang Vibe  at Jade Monkey on Fri July 11 with support from Skeletons, Les Goolies and Shame Spiral.

UNIVERSUM
by Scott McLennan
Scoring a coup for local metal, Adelaide’s Universum have enlisted Sweden’s Jens Bogren to mix and master their powerful and polished debut, Leto Destinatus. Known for his work with lauded Swedish metal acts Soilwork, Opeth and Amon Amarth, his background fits neatly with Universum’s own Scandinavian style of death metal. Guitarist and vocalist Michael Soininen says the choice of Jens to work on the album was based on in his success with Gothenburg masters Soilwork.
“The main album was Soilwork’s Stabbing The Drama, so we tracked down where that was recorded and who worked on it and he was the man,” Michael begins. “After discovering a few other bands he’d worked with such as Opeth, Amon Amarth, Symphony X and Katatonia we realised he was right up our alley. We really struck a chord with the sound he was getting with his albums. Jens is a master of his craft.”
Technology ensured the band weren’t required to attend Jens’ Fascination Street Studios during his mixing.
“The digital age is a beautiful thing, so we ended up FTPing 40 gig worth of album material to him. Once he’d made the changes he’d send them back to us and we’d make a few notes. We’d share ideas like a bit of a ping pong back and forth. He’d make amendments and send back MP3s until we were happy with the sound. There were engineers that were very fixed in the way they operated and had a formula, but Jens was very open to our ideas and what we were after, which was excellent.”
Taking their band name from a Latin term signifying different elements coming together, Michael explains the album title has a similar Latin basis.
“We’d named one of the tracks Leto Destinatus and felt that it had a nice ring to it, so we named the album that. Leto Destinatus is Latin for ‘Destined to death’. It doesn’t really have negative connotations – although it can – it’s just an honest viewpoint when looking at the mortality of humans and the environment, through to the planets and the stars. Everything has a lifespan, whether it comes to an end naturally or unnaturally.”
An impressive package both aurally and visually, the artwork for Leto Destinatus was created by Brazilian artist Gustavo.
“We had a concept we proposed to Gus and he was excited about it and took it even further. We had the general concept for the cover, which is a light and dark, beautiful city/destroyed city with a humanoid figure in the middle possibly being the cause of the destruction, but we were happy for Gus to go off and do his own thing.” 
Despite their love and affiliation with the Gothenburg sound, Universum will be remaining a local fixture rather than moving to Europe.
“We’re big fans of that style of music, but we’re definitely an Australian band and we won’t be moving anywhere. One of our big band goals is to get international shows lined up, so if we can tee it up with management or a label then we’ll definitely look at the overseas market.
“Going forward, we’re hoping to pick up shows and definitely get the product out there.”
Universum play Battle Royale Five at Enigma Bar on Fri Jul 25, with Leto Destinatus being available on the night. Download the title track for free at <myspace.com/universumband>.

LOCAL HYPE

SCALA FUNDRAISING
On Sat Jul 5, make sure that you make your way down to the Joiner’s Arms, Manton St, Hindmarsh, for some fantastic live, original music. And, it’s not just for pure enjoyment reasons. It’s also for a bit of fundraising on behalf of one of Rip It Up’s writers, Catherine Blanch. On Wed Jun 4, she gave birth to Samuel William Shepherdson. However, he was born with two holes in his heart, which will require surgery in Melbourne to correct (probably a number of operations will be needed). This special SCALA night will raise funds to help Catherine and her partner pay for the operation, travel and accommodation. Joining her performance will be No Friends For Rolland Romanny, Casey & Ricky, Sarah Clifton, Martin Dodd, Fred Chiapolino, David Robinson, Jo Stuttley, Gary Burrows and others. Also, if you are unable to make it, but still want to help, then you can make a PayPal donation via the SCALA website at <scala.org.au>. Dig deep for a good cause and walk away having experience some great South Australian talent.

ADELAIDE ROCKS 2008
If you like your music hard and heavy but still with plenty of melody and fantastic musicianship, then Adelaide Rocks 2008 extravaganza is exactly what you are after! On Sat Jul 5 at Live On Light Square (upstairs at 9 Light Sq), three absolute powerhouse bands will be joining forces to create the biggest local rock event to hit Adelaide in 2008! First up are the epic Octanic who come fresh off their successful Industry EP release shows, followed by the mighty Hollywood Gun Club and rounded off perfectly with the newest and hardest rockers on the block, Generation Swine! Tickets are $15 presale via VenuetTx or $20 at the door on the night! Doors open at 8pm with first band hitting the stage at 8.30pm. To win a double pass to Adelaide Rocks 2008, email <robertdunstan@ripitupcom.au> with Adelaide Rocks 2008 as the subjext header and let him know ya wanna go.

SUNGLASSES AT NIGHT 3
One of the biggest parties to drop during the 2007 calendar year is back! Brought to you by the Ya Mutha people in June and December of last year at their home base the Sunglasses At Night event was spectacular! Basically it’s the easiest dress-up you’ll ever attend. Step 1. Grab sunglasses. Step 2. Put them on your face. Step 3. Look fucking cool and dance. Part 3 is on its way on Fri Jul 11 at Rocket Bar with a few changes to make it even better! The Baltimore club and indie classics are coming clean through the supreme sound system of Rocket Bar and locals Alistair Cookie, Curtis, Kane and Kitto will be backed up by Melbourne’s golden Boy DJ Ooh Ee. The party starts at 9pm and entry is $15 with cheap drinks before 11pm. See you there!

THE BRUNSWICK
Willie McRae is playing his first show for the new financial year at The Brunswick Hotel on Sat Jul 5. He will be playing a selection of songs including his recently released single Gumeracha Frog.  Also on the bill is local band Onedogonebone. Although they’ve been around a few years and have recorded a number of demos, this is in fact their debut on the Adelaide live music scene. Blending elements of country, punk and rock, Onedogonebone can't wait to get their music out there live. Stay tuned for their first album out later this year

CONGRATS
Local Adelaide boys DJP Crew have secured the position as live performance band for Stu Hamm! Congratulations! Stu is bass player for the likes of Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Frank Gambale as well as many G3 tours. They’ll be performing with Stu Hamm on his Australian Hartke bass clinics tour on Thu Jul 3 from 8pm at Live on Light Square. Don’t miss this fantastic chance to see a real bass legend perform! Oh and we’ve heard that Stu will be doing a signing for fans at 10am on Fri Jul 4 at Rock Music on Pulteney St before embarking on the 2008 national Joe Satriani tour.

SA FOLK CENTRE
There is nothing like a new musical hotspot to warm the heart and soul throughout the Adelaide winter season! Kicking off last Thursday at the SA Folk Centre, some of Adelaide’s most distinguished musicians gathered together to present what has been dubbed as Top Shelf entertainment. So if you’re keen to experience some quality local talent once a week, you know where to go. Head along this Thu Jul 3 to catch up with Raw Dub And The Fallen Saints with support act Soursob Bob  Doors open at 8pm and it’s a mere $10 entry fee (or $5 concession).

EQUINOX
After the success of last year’s Equinox show at Fad and more recently shaking the rafters of the Exeter, the Equinox crew are bringing their home grown brand of far out beats to the Grace Emily on Sat Jul 5. Performing will be Flying Colours, Spacemonk and Hyperspatial. Also performing on the night will be the Deejay, so head along where the entry is free!

THE TRANSATLANTICS
Following the hugely successful launch of their debut seven-inch single, Save Me From Your Love, Adelaide’s own The Transatlantics will be holding down a monthly residence at Rocket Bar as part of the venue’s new Saturday club night, Shimmy Shimmy. Appearing on the last Saturday of every month, The Transatlantics will be bringing you Adelaide’s finest live funk and soul show ably supported each week by a range of special guests and Adelaide’s best DJs. So come on down to Rocket for some 100 percent guaranteed pure soul excitement. And just to get you in the mood, the first person to hit them up via myspace (<myspace.com/transatlantics>) will get themselves and a friend on the door free for this Saturday’s show! Let me hear you say unh one time. Unh!

SHE SAID YOU
Exciting times for Adelaide’s She Said You, who have begun recording their debut studio album and are soon to release its first single, Dark Sunglasses, are here!  The band will head to Sydney shortly to have their song mixed by renowned producer, Phil McKellar (Grinspoon and Kisschasey) before making the song available for download.  Before all that, you can catch the boys at the Edinburgh Castle on Fri Jul 4 playing alongside Zenith ASP (Alice Springs) and fellow locals Paya.  For more details, check out <myspace.com/shesaidyou>.

FORMER CHILD STARS
Following a successful run of shows and a great response at this year's Come Together Festival it seems the five young lads from Adelaide just can’t stay away from Sydney and will be back again in July. However, this time there will be no shows, but instead the boys are super excited to be back in town to team up with Producer Scott Horscroft (Silverchair, The Presets and The Panics) on a new recording. The EP will be tracked and mixed at Big Jesus Burger Studios, Surry Hills, throughout July and is expected to be released in late 2008. Check out Former Child Stars out when they return to Adelaide on Fri Jul 25 at Jive, supported by Mad Shapes at The Shiny Brights.  For further goss, head to <myspace.com/formerchildstarstheband>.

BEGGARS
Congratulations to The Beggars! The Adelaide-based acoustic trio have just signed a deal for Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Taiwan, Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand with Hong Kong based label Silkroad Music. The deal got started with a meeting at the MIDEM music market in Cannes during the bands European tour earlier this year. The Beggars’ first release on Silkroad music is a repackaged audiophile version of their self-titled CD currently available in Australia and Europe. The Silkroad release will be on Super Audio-CD and remastered by renowned audiophile studio Stockfisch in Germany where the disc will be manufactured. More congratulations are in order - singer Renee Donaghey and husband Craig have a brand new daughter, Eve Joy Luaritsen!

DOUBLE DRAGON & CLOSED CASKET CD LAUNCHES
Truth Inc Records presents a massive double all-ages CD launch at Fowlers Live on Sat Jul 5. Join Closed Casket as they launch their debut EP Thy Word Thy Blood, along with the launch of the long awaited full-length album Devastator from Adelaide’s self-proclaimed biggest metal band, Double Dragon. Truth Corroded, Skintilla and Fragmenta, as well as Victorian band Union Buries Its Own will be supporting the double launches. If you’re a metal fan, you do not want to miss out on this year’s most intense metal CD launch! Raise your horns for the sounds of your metal home grown!

THE IRRESPONSIBLES
Can’t get enough rock in your life? Then head to Rhino Room on Sat Jul 5 when Raw Ether and The Irresponsibles team up with Tin Alley from Melbourne for an adrenaline filled night of fat grooves and rockin’ tunes. Doors open at 8:30pm and for $8 you can't ask for a more solid line up! Best of all is that acoustic group Room 4.09 will be closing the show so you can wind down in style!

MISSION IGNITION
World Youth Day 2008 is approaching and Adelaide’s celebration, Days In The Diocese, will conclude with Mission Ignition, an exciting concert on the evening of Thu Jul 10.  This event will bring together young people from Adelaide, SA and the world to celebrate and acknowledge the journey to Sydney for World Youth Day. Anyone interested in attending is welcome! Mission Ignition will be a showcase of talented bands, choirs, ensembles and dance groups drawn from across Adelaide. Featured performers include the well known Tutti Choir as well as groups of local artists, performers and students. The concert will take place at Adelaide Entertainment Centre. For more information on tickets, please contact TickeTek.

WINTERY RELEASE
Local band 12 Straight Months Of Winter will be releasing their self-titled EP/promo and new range of merchandise on Sat Jul 5 at Crown & Anchor with Remassacre, Settle For Nothing, Sailors Grave. The show kicks off at 9pm, is for those over 18 and is free entry! For more details of upcoming shows and to preview some of the songs from the CD, just visit <myspace.com/12straight>.