Steve Smyth at The Slaughtered Lamb, London

Sometimes you just know that you have witnessed something seminal. The Slaughtered Lamb pub, tucked away in the labyrinthal back streets of Central London, offered up one such occasion on a cold, dark Wednesday night, as Sydney's Steve Smyth played an exceptional show for the UK launch of his debut album, Release.

Beginning with one of the most exciting songs put out by anyone this year, Barbiturate Cowboy & His Dark Horses, Smyth (pictured, above) demonstrated his vocal range and captivating stage presence as an ethereal opening was barged aside by a lung-busting, gravel-throated Tom Waits bark. He howled, approached the mic from every angle, stomped his feet and dropped to his knees on the beer soaked carpet as droplets of sweat rained from his brow. On A Hopeless Feminist, the troubadour treated his guitar with the gentle caress of a lover while during the raw blues of No Man's Land, he bashed the living hell out of it. Counterbalancing this, he further illustrated the nuances of his vocal with a beautiful A Cappella version of Leadbelly's Sylvie.

As well as being backed by Howling Bells drummer Glenn Moule on drums for much of the set, Smyth was also joined by Moule's London-based Australian band-mate Juanita Stein (pictured, above) for the sweet and gentle duet Stay Young. The Howling Bells singer's pretty delivery floated elegantly through the silenced room and juxtaposed the show's more visceral moments. The night closed with Smyth being joined by Kitty, Daisy & Lewis (pictured, below) for a fun Howlin' Wolf-esque romp, Chocolate For Breakfast, which had been created in the London siblings' home just the day before.

Calls for an encore were reluctantly denied by Smyth. “How can you top that?” he asked of his triumphant closing jam with the North London trio. And so, with a drink in each hand and a smile the size of the Thames visible through his epic beard, he disappeared through the packed room to a multitude of back-slaps and a cacophony of cheers.

On this showing, and judging by the quality of his debut LP, the charismatic Steve Smyth has an incredibly exciting future ahead of him and this love-in between himself, his musical mates and a wooed audience is sure to be one of those occasions where those in attendance will, in the future, boast “I was there.” The singer/songwriter certainly seemed overwhelmed and humbled by the turnout and reception and, as the crowd stepped out into the freezing London streets, their breath dancing in front of their faces, they did so in the knowledge that they had witnessed something truly special.

Review and photos by Bobby Townsend.

Steve Smyth interview

Celeste Macdonald talks to Steve Smyth about his new album, his influences and his collaboration with Howling Bells' Juanita Stein:

Originally from the south coast of Sydney and based in London, Steve Smyth has returned home to the country he describes as the "endless summer." Smyth's passion for the country he was born and raised in is evident when he speaks of the way in which the Australian landscape has influenced his music. "This country doesn't do anything lighthearted in a lot of ways. Its weather, its landscapes that I've seen across here, from the dessert to the oceans and floods to the fires. It's very fierce."

Smyth was born with a case of wanderlust. As a child, his parents would tether him to a tree on family picnics to keep him from disappearing. He explains, "I get itchy feet, I love to travel, change is the only constant. I would just keep running against that rope. For some reason I just came out kicking and wandering. I'm still trying to find out what's round the next corner; I feel that kind of fire in me."

It's the fire inherent in Smyth that impacts on his songwriting and had an insurmountable effect on his first solo album, Release. It's a cohesive album, drawing on a wide range of musical styles and genres. He is reluctant to classify the album, stating that the outcome of a song comes down to when it's created. "You have to give a song what it wants, not what you want. It's shortsighted to aim for a particular genre. It has its own little formations and it begs for different instruments and arrangements."

Smyth once played with a band featuring men much older than him, men who he credits for teaching him much of what he knows about music. Realising that he couldn't expect them to travel long distances to play gigs for next to nothing, he began playing as a solo artist. "I went out solo and it made me work harder for the songs and for what I was trying to put across. I don't feel as though I'm letting people down at the moment, so I'm keeping it solo and seeing what the future brings up."

Along with Australia and his upbringing, Smyth is equally influenced by the musicians he was introduced to as a teenager. He mentions Howlin' Wolf and Leadbelly among others. It's impossible to avoid comparisons with artists like Tom Waits, especially evident in songs like Barbituate Cowboy and His Dark Horses. Smyth refers to his voice as a muscle that you exercise, with versatility as a key, saying he uses his voice as if it were an instrument, just like a guitar or a mandolin. "I found that you can really get across a lot more emotion and feeling and story of the song by going into different aspects of your vocal range."

The gorgeously delicate Stay Young features the gentle vocals of Howling Bells' Juanita Stein, a collaboration Smyth recalls happened in the studio late into the night when, "everyone was over-tired and cracking up." The result is definitely one of the standout tracks of the album. He also recently supported Howling Bells on their tour. "It was wonderful having her Juanita up every night, singing the song as it is on the record," he says of Stein, who he refers to as a wonderful friend. Howling Bells, he says, are an amazing band.

Steve Smyth has a number of dates lined up over summer and is excited about the release of his album in late January. He feels privileged for the experiences and opportunities which he believes have "flowed into the album." He adds, "It feels nice to let it go now. I'm hoping it'll get out to a few people and they'll appreciate the songs."

Check out Steve Smyth's Australian and European tour dates here.

Interview by Celeste Macdonald. 

Howling Bells interview

Heidi Pett talks to Howling Bells lead guitarist Joel Stein about their latest album, touring and listening to trash.

“I think I was just feeling lucky,” Joel Stein laughs as he explains why he’s contributed more songs than ever before to Howling Bells’ new record, The Loudest Engine. “You don’t really plan, whoever writes or whatever is the most appropriate or whatever we think is the best will end up on the album.” It’s a mature sibling relationship of the kind parents can only hope for, instead of the masking-tape-down-the-middle-of-the-back-seat approach favoured by most on long car trips. Instead, Joel and sister Juanita form a close-knit band with bassist Brendan Picchio and drummer Glenn Moule, and have created an album out of their experiences on their travels.

Parked in a campervan by the side of the road in Paris, the band are in the middle of a European tour with Elbow when I speak to Joel about the process of writing and recording their latest album, which they’ve consistently described as their “grown up record.” Produced by Mark Stoermer from The Killers and recorded in Las Vegas, it marks a departure from the more electronic sounds of second album Radio Wars in favour of psychedelic-tinged folk rock, and is considered a follow-up to their debut self-titled release. Having toured and played quite extensively with The Killers, Joel says the decision to work with Mark was one born of familiarity and good timing. “It was very, very underground, actually. There were no record labels and no red tape involved. It was all very easy.”

Choosing to step away from the drum machines and electronic feel of Radio Wars, Joel knew, “we just wanted to go in and get the engineer to press record on the tape machine, we just wanted to play as a band.” For an album written on and about the road, it makes a great deal of sense to record it the same way it would be played live. “Lyrically it’s very relevant to us being on tour, which is why we called it The Loudest Engine. It’s more mature in sound and we had the most clarity in recording this album, more than the other two. It’s two years between albums and you do a lot of growing, especially on the road.”

Despite producing a record very clearly inspired by a touring lifestyle, Joel says, “If I had the chance I wouldn’t leave the house without a piano and a guitar because sometimes I feel like writing 15 times a day but I don’t have anything to hand.” Having relocated to Europe several years ago, Joel currently lives in Berlin and finds the vibrant community to be, “an extremely creative place, it’s buzzing at the moment. It’s very interesting and there’s a lot going on. I think Berlin’s still in the 70’s which I really like.” Asked whether it’s in any way affected his sound, Joel pauses for thought, and eventually chances at “It’s subliminal I guess. Your brain does what it wants and you figure it out a few years down the track.” The latest album definitely has a slight 1970’s vibe, the familiar sounds of their first release coloured with flashes of psychedelia.

I bring up a favourite Howling Bells lyric which never fails to fill my dining room with shouty jumpy people at occasionally raucous house parties - “you listen to trash but it’s not rock ‘n’ roll” - and press Joel for his preferred type of trash. He stalls, “I don’t know if it’s bad, see, you’re going to judge me now...” then seems to take a breath, letting the word “house” tumble out in an embarrassed mumble before rallying. “There’s a particular kind of house music that I like: this guy from Sweden called The Field, and everyone I play it to looks at me like I’m nuts.” Perhaps we’ve found the sticking point for tour bus disagreements, though it’s clear that the four piece are not only democratic in the writing process, but treat one another as family. The strong sibling bond between Joel and Juanita hasn’t proved a problem for the other members, as the guitarist explains. “All four of us know each other inside out so there’s no difference, really. It’s the same with Elbow, they’ve been together so long that you get to a point where it really doesn’t matter. You have a fight and you laugh about it five minutes later.” While some bands find the tour bus a breeding ground for bickering, Howling Bells seem to quite enjoy the experience, making friends and albums along the way. Joel points out, “If you love doing something you want to do it all the time,” despite not being able to take a piano with them in the campervan.

“I have no fucking idea,” Joel laughs when I ask what’s next for the band. “Absolutely none. It’s the most elusive business on the planet. We could be in China, we could be in the studio recording another album.” He asks me what I think they should do, and when I tell them to keep releasing albums I’m congratulated for picking the right answer. It seems a fairly obvious choice for a band who so clearly love the experience of making and sharing their music. Joel jokes, “Obviously if [our management] say we’ve gotta tour in Afghanistan we’ll think twice about that,” when I ask if they get much of a say in where they tour, before deciding, “Actually, that could be fun.”

Fortunately, you don’t have to hike to Kandahar to see them just yet - Howling Bells are playing at the Standard in Sydney on Saturday 10th December and Patch in Wollongong on Sunday 11th. 

Interview by Heidi Pett. You can check out her own blog here.

Georgia Fair interview

Georgia Fair’s Ben Riley talks to Heidi Pett about the band’s debut album, touring, and how he dreams of collaborating with Snoop Dogg:

“One day, Jordo just mentioned at lunchtime that he was into System Of A Down and I was like, ‘Yeah, me too,’ you know, as you are in year eight,” Ben Riley laughs as he explains the unlikely musical bond which brought he and band-mate Jordan Wilson together. “We decided to start this sort of System of a Down/Nirvana cover band and we just started jamming on weekends and having a bunch of fun and mucking around.”

Although Ben (above, right) insists that they’ve matured since those school days, having “picked up acoustic guitars, grown up a bit and learned from our mistakes”, this relaxed attitude and genuine enjoyment is something which has stayed with Melbourne’s Georgia Fair as their star continues to ascend. From signing with Sony after being picked up at a gig, having their song Picture Frames featured on a Big M advertisement to working with Bill Reynolds of Band of Horses, the pair from Sydney’s Northern Beaches are “stoked” to have had such a good run, and still seem quite content to muck about and simply let things unfold. They are, however, pleased to have managers now. “They’re really good at organising us. We’re not too good at doing that ourselves”.

‘Stoked’ is a word which comes up a lot, and it’s the best way I can think of to sum up their attitude. What really comes through is that the pair are having fun as they explore what they’re capable of. The fact that other people also get a kick out of what they do seems almost incidental, which is not to say they’re ungrateful for the support they’ve received from listeners and industry alike. Rather, Ben is quick to thank and extol the virtues of Band of Horses’ Bill Reynolds for his work during production, and in helping them develop their sound through cutting most of it live. “With the [self-titled] EP, it was our first time in the studio we kind of went a bit over the top with layering and didn’t have the production that we really wanted. And think we’ve just kind of matured a bit in the studio this time round. Bill had a big hand in that. He taught us a lot about how to make real records.”

They were similarly pleased about scoring the support slot for The Panics on the recent Rain on the Humming Wire tour, relishing the opportunity to spend time with and learn from “really good blokes who’ve been around for a bit and know the ropes. They managed to impart some wisdom they’ve gathered over the years”. With Georgia Fair’s own national tour in the works for early next year, the boys admired how, for an established band, The Panics ensure things remain in-house and family-based. “They’re very much a grassroots band and keep everything really close to their hearts. The way they tour is a really refreshing way of doing things and they’re very hands-on.” Despite earlier jokes that the pair rely on their managers to get them places on time, it’s obvious that this involvement and attitude is something which will stay with Georgia Fair.

It’s a mind-set they extend to their collaborations as well. When talking about single Marianne from their Times Fly EP, Ben emphasises how the process of recording with Dave Hosking and Tim Hart from Boy & Bear and Lisa Mitchell happened really organically. “Jordan and I invited Dave and Tim to come in and lay down the drums and stuff. They took a verse and that was kind of the way it stayed for a while. We were really happy with that but then, by chance, Lisa was in town a few months later and it turned out that we hadn’t quite finished, because, when she came in and put her vocal down, it kind of put the icing on the cake. We really enjoyed that collaboration and I think the reason why it worked because it wasn’t a forced thing. It just kind of happened. It was like, ‘Hey, do you wanna sing on this one?’ ‘Yeah, yeaah cool,’ ‘Oh, okay yeah. We’ll do that. It’ll be fun.’ We’re not gonna sit down and force ourselves to do something. If it fits it fits.”

Making friends on tour and creating music together is all very well, but when I ask about plans for future collaborations, Ben laughs and is quick to throw Snoop Dogg’s name into the ring, before admitting, when pressed, that it probably wouldn’t fit with their current style. However, with early influences like System of a Down, these boys could conceivably take their sound anywhere. For now though, they’ve found a happy niche somewhere in the crosshairs of indie, folk and pop. With songs that dredge memories of salty eyelashes and the light sting of sunburn on sticky limbs pasted to hot car seats, their latest album is destined to become something of a summer soundtrack for long days at the beach and time spent on the road with open windows.

Asked whether their experiences of touring affect the writing process or make it difficult to find time to pen songs, I can almost hear Ben shrug as he says in an offhand manner, “So long as your head’s screwed on, you’ve got thoughts going through there and you’re constantly coming up with stuff.” The “stuff” that Georgia Fair come up with involves sweet vocal harmonies and an unaffected brand of folk which they are busy sharing with others in venues around Australia. This week, the pair are supporting Howling Bells, before embarking on their own East Coast tour in early 2012. Ben is clearly excited about returning to the road. “For us, touring is an amazing part of life, it’s something we really love and can’t get enough of at this stage. I miss my bed sometimes but when we’re away we’re so busy and having so much fun that we don’t really think about it too much and you just get used to living out of a suitcase.”

Their live show is beguiling to the extent that it caught the eye and more importantly, the ears, of Sony. Ben laughs when I suggest the boys started something of a bidding war between them and Universal, who Georgia Fair “had a thing going with at the time.” They opted for Sony and, rather than nerves when signing with such a major label, Ben saw it as a big positive for the band. “It was more exciting than anything, just getting a company that really likes our music and likes what we do. It just meant that we could start releasing records and being able to afford them, so that was a really big plus for us. It was really affirming.” When I mention how lucky he is to be making a living out of something he so clearly loves, he laughs and then says, quite seriously, “Yeah, absolutely. It would suck if I hated it.”

Before signing off to repack a suitcase he admits he’s been living out of, and taking Georgia Fair’s beautiful tunes on the road, Ben asks me if I’m going to the beach that afternoon. Not quite, but listening to the summery folk of their album is almost close enough.

Georgia Fair’s debut album, All Through Winter, is out now. You can catch their residency at Phoenix Public House in Brunswick on Friday December 9th, 16th and 30th.

Interview by Heidi Pett. You can read her own blog here.

The Jack Awards 2007

The Jack Awards, Australia’s celebration of indie achievement, took place last night at Sydney’s Luna Park.Because the event is still in its infancy, the most noticeable thing about it is its inability to pull the really big names just yet, but it would be unfair to criticise it too harshly for this, as everything needs time to grow. Similarly, the lack of paying punters and the glitches with regard to accommodating those who did turn up can be put down to the fact that this is the first year the event has been open to Joe Public. However, penning people in and not allowing them to go to the toilet is the very opposite of the fan-friendly environment that would encourage anyone to come back next year. It perhaps wasn’t quite like “going to a gig in Nazi Germany,” as one fellow quipped, but it is certainly something that needs looking into next time.

The awards themselves followed the same format as any award ceremony. While the calibre of presenters and performers wasn’t as strong as the MTV Awards, there was a much nicer atmosphere at this event. Because the Sydney scene is so incestuous, everyone in the room was linked by one or two degrees of separation, giving the occasion a pleasing level of familiarity and friendliness. There was none of the falseness and the pouting of the MTV awards; this was just a bunch of skinny-jeaned indie kids enjoying the free booze and watching their mates perform or win awards.

Rockers Airbourne (above) opened the night with a typically histrionic show. I really don’t see the appeal of this band. Are they supposed to be tongue in cheek or serious? If they are being ironic then they’ve missed the boat more than once (Spinal Tap did it in the 80s and The Darkness have already done it this decade). And, if they are serious, well, then they’re just not very good.Mercy Arms and Howling Bells (above) performed, while You Am I invited a big old rock dinosaur to sing for them. I have no idea who he was, but he minced his way around the stage like Dave Gahan’s dad; posing like he was the hottest cat in the room. He wasn’t. He was an old man dressed inappropriately.

With regard to the awards, Angus and Julia Stone and Children Collide were unlucky to miss out to Red Riders in the Best Live Newcomer category, but congratulations must go to The Gaelic Club for winning the Best Live Venue. It is a great place, run by wonderful people, and I was over the moon that they won.

As the ceremony drew to a close, I came to the realisation that I would rather eat my own faeces than watch the “all-star” jam, so I hit the after-party. Booze flowed over two venues until the next morning, and it was delightful to be in the company of so many decent people. Following my recent jaded cynicism, this social gathering reaffirmed my faith in the music industry. There are some great people in the Sydney scene.

And so, at 5am, I shuffled my tired frame to bed in the knowledge that the Jack Awards is an event that is moving in the right direction. And, at just over an hour in length, is joyfully succinct. Other ceremonies could learn from that if nothing else.