CLUE TO KALO
by Jimmy Bollard
It’s been three years between drinks for local outfit Clue To Kalo, but the wait has been worth it. The wonderfully creative Lily Perdida explores the intricate details of a person we will never know, and never know anything about.
As the brains behind this densely layered concept album, Mark Mitchell reveals the reasons behind the three-year break and gives insight into his third full-length release.
First of all, Mitchell insists he has not been lazy during the layoff. In fact, he claims he is “the hardest working man in show business”. But due to Clue To Kalo’s writing and recording process coupled with having to find a new distributor in the US, Lily Perdida’s release date was somewhat delayed.
“Normally the kind of way we work,” Mark explains, “is I’ll make the record and then I’ll take it to the band and work out an approach on how to do it live. So what normally happens after the completion of a record is we spend a bit of time doing that, then it takes a little while to come out as well.
“And then once it had actually been done, there was a distributor switch with my US label because Tower Records went under and they had to look for a new distributor because of the effects of that. So even though I finished it in March last year, it’s taken this long to come out here and I’m still not exactly sure when it’s coming out in the US.”
Speaking of all things American, Clue To Kalo successfully toured their new material there across a two-month string of dates earlier this year, which was followed by a one-off show in Japan. Although Mitchell enjoys the interest being shown in him by “the great unconquerable”, his feet remain firmly grounded in Adelaide.
“America’s amazing, but at the same time I don’t know whether or not I could live there. I think I’m just so used to the way my life works here. I think I need to become familiar with a place before I can feel like I can do anything which has meaning for me.”
Then there’s Mitchell’s strong sense of artistic integrity, which keeps temptations to uproot and move overseas safely at bay.
“I’ve never really thought too much about that idea of making it or being a success. I mean I’m always kind of thinking about the next record and kind of what I want to do with that record. The success that comes from it is great and I do enjoy it when things kind of happen to us, but in the back of my mind I still just want to go home and write some more music.
“I’m excited to be here and I think it’s confirmed that I actually really like being in this city and I don’t really wanna be anywhere else.”
Clue To Kalo play Rocket Bar on Fri Nov 7. Lily Perdida is out now through Popfrenzy.

CAL WILLIAMS JR
by Kerry Loyson
The accent is deceiving. While his tongue has been twisted by his six-year adventure in the UK, he is South Australian born and bred. Proud to have spawned from the city of churches, festivals and fine wine, Cal Williams Jr, while sporting a Yorkshire-influenced drawl, still has the SA logo enthusiastically stamped across his identity.
“I think Adelaide’s great,” exclaims Cal, with his British-inspired accent shining through. “Coming from outside, there’s so much talent in Adelaide and very comparable to Britain. I travelled Britain extensively and I would say the level I found wasn’t as high as what I had actually experienced in Adelaide! There’s so much really good talent in this town.”
Having initially journeyed to the UK as a result of being invited by various festivals, after being awarded three South Australian Songwriter Of The Year awards, Cal found the British music scene particularly at odds with Australia’s.
“It’s a weird one, really. It’s a harder scene to break into because you’re coming from outside. It’s tricky because you don’t have that sort of history built up for a long time. It’s also quite a hard scene because they’re a different breed of people to Australians. They’re a lot more reserved and they’re harder to excite. It’s weird because whenever I say that to people, people are always a bit surprised because they think, like I did, that England was the promised land, really. It’s a tricky one because it doesn’t encourage live music as much as you think and they don’t have a great deal of independent radio or independent press like you guys. So there wasn’t an equivalent of Rip It Up in most of the major cities, which was quite weird. It’s tougher not because there’s more talent or anything like that. It’s tougher to break in on a ground level so you had to push harder, I think, whereas Australians tend to embrace music a lot more.”
But he seems to have cracked them. Earning brilliant reviews, Cal clarifies the success of his musical endeavours while over there.
“It did get a good reaction! The whole album really took off as well, which is nice. It’s always good to get positive feedback, especially from bigger magazines or sources. There were a couple from America which were quite nice as well. It seems to go down well, which is good!”
Appreciating the experience for providing a sense of focused motivation as well as allowing him to appreciate Australia’s audiences, Cal has returned from Britain enlightened and ready to entertain Adelaide’s listeners. Promising to provide a unique take on the blues along with quality musicianship and improvised spontaneity, Cal, along with his band members, who have formed the Cal Williams Jr Trio, are eager to impress his hometown.
“I think, without blowing our own trumpet, we’re really good!”
The Cal Williams Jr Trio launch their new CD at the Grace Emily on Sun Sep 21.

LOCAL HYPE

SPRING EQUINOX CELEBRATION
The Equinox crew are in bloom once more with the annual Spring Cycle Equinox arts-hybrid festival, which will be coming together on Sat Sep 20 at host venue the Jolly Miller Hotel from 7pm till 5am. Focusing on progressive visual and performance art forms such as live projection, electronic music, illusionism and of course some rocking bands for your entertainment, join in with live acts such as Trixie Plain, Space Monks, The Flying Colours and HyperSpatial with DJs Mr Young (Goanymph and DJ LX. Also marvel at VJ Lumen’s and Nebula’s visuals and effortless magician DeeJay Lloyd and much more. A mini arts market will colour the chill out beer garden area also home to tasty BBQ treats (including vege options). Tickets are on sale now through VenueTix and direct from all performers. For regular updates head to the official online site at <equinox2008.tk>.

PHONATICS
We’ve got some Phonatics news, so listen up! They have a single due for release in the next few months through Vinyl Pusher called Take Control, which features the vocals of Adelaide’s Costa Zacharia. Phonatics will be playing alongside Vinyl Pusher label boss Marcus Knight at Channel Nightclub (Gouger St) on Sat Oct 18 so head along to get a taste! Tickets are available from <venuetix.com> or drop Phonatics a message at <myspace.com/phonaticsmusic> to get your hands on one.

C&A MADNESS
Roll up, roll up, there’s a rowdy night ahead and the Crown & Anchor just won’t know what hit them. Be there on Fri Sep 26 when Satan’s Cheerleaders, a snarky bunch of musical dentists (hold on to your teeth, people) who claim as one of their musical influences the great Toni Pearen take to the stage! After the insanity, the Double Handed show will take to the stage. Double Handed have been on the scene for a while and bring along with them a killer live reputation and fans to match. And finally, New Translation will hit the stage bringing the usual (un) healthy dose of musical madness where they claim to fiendishly concoct a mish-mash of music. You’ll have a ball! Oh yeah, and entry is free!

MARKSENFEST 08
The 18th Annual German themed drinking festival will be kicking off at 10am on Sun Oct 12, so don your stereotypical German attire and join in on the festivities! This year, 1000 people are expected to grace the beautiful lawns of St. Mark’s College to enjoy the action, food and an array of premium beers, ales and cider on tap. Entertainment includes sumo suit wrestling, jelly wrestling, jumping castles and live music from the likes of Two Stroke Johnny, Behind These Walls, E’nuf Said, Four Knuckle Shuffle and the German Oompah Band! Tickets are $50 pre-paid or $60 at the doors, so be sure to purchase yours early from <marksenfest.com.au>, The Oxford Hotel or from the big blue truck on the uni lawns!

TRANSMISSION LIVE
The next Transmission Live! is on Fri Sep 19 at The Edinburgh Castle. This month sees Adelaide’s next big export The Touch headline the night with one of this state’s most accomplished bands The Trafalgers and a debut performance by Noonjoker. Following the live bands, Transmission DJs will play indie tunes to get the dance floor moving so make sure you’re there with your dancing shoes on when the action starts at 10pm!

BATTLE OF THE BANDS
Sharpen your picks and heat up your hooks because The Reynella Enterprise & Youth Centre (REYC) is holding a Battle Of The Bands! The three-day event will run from Fri Oct 3 until Sun Oct 5 with two heats and a final in three consecutive days. Six bands will go head to head in each heat fighting for a spot in the final, where four bands will duke it out for cash, prizes and most importantly highly lucrative MySpace bragging rights. Mission Australia, in partnership with the City of Onkaparinga has proudly presented original live music at REYC with their monthly gig Stage Against the Machine (SATM) for the last five years. The gigs have gone from strength to strength growing out of an open mic night and into a quality performance opportunity for locals to show their wares, and city bands to grow their fan base in the south. So, if your band has its axes sharpened and choruses that’ll skin a man send an email to <oconnorn@missionaustralia.com.au> with “send me an application to battle” in the subject field, (or something to that effect) fill out the application and await your summons to battle! Good luck!

KERNEL MY COLONEL
One of Adelaide’s own rock bands, Colonel Kernel, are embarking on a month long residency at the Grace Emily as a warm-up for their EP launch at Jive on Fri Oct 10, so head along and support them! Having completed the EP On Wings Of Wrens at Broadcast and MixMasters studios earlier this year, the six-piece has been anticipating its release for what feels like forever. So head along and check out these boys as they jump through genres and time portals on Fri Sep 19 and Fri Sep 26 at the Grace Emily.

WEST END MUSIC FESTIVAL
It’s back! The West End Music Festival is set for its second coming from Thu Sep 18 until Sun Sep 21 and this year’s program offers something for all tastes at some of Adelaide’s most iconic venues. From Adelaide hip hop legends Terra Firma, internationally renown Norwegian clown composer Melvin Tix and Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, and three time South Australian songwriter of the year Cal William Jrthrough to up an coming local funk act The Transatlantics and soulful two-piece Little Universe, the West End is calling all live music fans to hit the streets to take in as much as possible over the four nights and three days of the Festival. And in addition to the live entertainment, City SK8 on North Terrace is set to go off as Day 13 and Da Klinic DJ’s accompany Skate and BMX demos with competitions open to the public offering a cash prize for the most outrageous tricks on the day. Also expect buskers to bring their music to our streets during the festival.

CELEBRATIONS AT THE HOLDIE
Having finally finished their latest seven track EP on the eve of vocalist and guitarist Mike’s birthday, Tracer are celebrating with a free show at the newly re-vamped Holdfast Hotel with friends Big Sky Theory. Tracer will be previewing some of the new tracks of their new disc, L.A.?, before launching their new single exclusively to their mailing list in November. So be there on Fri Sep 19!

WILLIE & CANDY
This is your last chance for the next couple of months to check out the mighty duo, Willie & Candy. They’re about to head overseas for a while, so make sure you get to the Brunswick Hotel on Sat Sep 20. Entry is free and the doors open at 8pm.