Park Acoustics in July

Here's the lineup for the next Park Acoustics. 

Nice, very nice.

Shortstraw: Good morning, success

This interview was originally published in Perdeby on 20 May 2013.

                                                                                                                                               PHOTO: Christelle Duvenage

Just over a year ago, quirky indie-kwela quipsters Shortstraw were the little-known band that was playing the opening slot on a bill, only really known for their spoof song that pays a hilarious homage to actor Keanu Reeves and for dropping the deplorable f-bomb in the chorus of “LYSAGFY”.

Fast-forward a bit and the picture looks quite different. First they nabbed the coveted award for best indie band at this year’s MK Awards after going head to head with local genre heavyweights like The Plastics and Ashtray Electric. Then they opened for Brighton rockers The Kooks, a night that turned out to be an icy battle of the elements under a bridge in downtown Jo’burg, easily the perfect setting to mark this pinnacle in their careers.

Most recently, and perhaps most importantly, Shortstraw have released their follow-up album, Good Morning, Sunshine. Not unlike their debut album, You’re Underfed, I’m Wonderful, it presents a collection of boogie-inducing beats that make any crowd jive joyously as they sing along to the bodacious hooks and choruses.

What they have done differently is up the afro-influence ante by making the distinctive skiffle-like beat that characterises kwela music prominent throughout the album. 

   

“We’ve made a concerted effort to take an influence for this new one, which was the kind of afro vibe, and that strung together some of the songs that weren’t necessarily influenced by that,” says frontman Alastair Thomas.

Good Morning, Sunshine was written collaboratively by the whole band, a process lead guitarist Tom Revington also credits in giving the album its dance sensibility. “Songs would start and finish in the band room,” he explains.

“If all five of us are contributing to a song, there’s a good chance it’s going to be loud,” bassist Russel Grant adds.

 By December last year, Shortstraw had about half the tracks for their second offering. To write the remainder, they went to Verkykerskop in the Free State, which allowed them the time to focus solely on making music. 

“It was about getting out of Johannesburg, which I think was very important because otherwise we would have been quite distracted,” says Russel of the reasons behind their platteland getaway.

                                                                                                                                                 PHOTO: Christelle Duvenage

                                                                                                                                                 PHOTO: Christelle Duvenage

“We would have been together [on tour] regardless, but it was nice to be in a creative space with creative people,” says Alastair.

But did the Shortstraw boys feel pressure to get the writing of the album done in a mere week? 

“We knew we wanted to organise this whole tour and have the album ready, so we kind of worked backwards from that deadline,” says synth and keyboard player Gad de Combes. Without that pressure, he says, it all came easily.

There was a great moment during that week in Verkykerskop, says Tom, when the band was narrowing down the tracks for the album. 

“I remember looking at the list and thinking, we’ve got a good selection. It’s not like we’re struggling to fill up an album. We’re struggling to choose which ones to put in, which is cool. It’s a good space to be in,” he explains.

For Russel, the great moment was during the week that Good Morning, Sunshine had to be ready and everyone in the band was ecstatic with the final product.

 “I think if we had problems, we would’ve delayed things and really made a point to change it, but it just worked out that we were all happy at the right time,” he says.

While Good Morning, Sunshine still offers the witty lyrics that characterise Shortstraw’s sound, some of the tracks on the album suggest that the band has grown into a more mature sense of humour. 

“We’ve been writing songs for quite a while now. I think it’s just a natural progression,” says Alastair. 

“The more you do anything ...”

“... the more refined it gets,” says Russel, completing his sentence.

Gad wants to clear something up. “Look, there are still things that make us laugh on the new album...”

“But it’s not as much toilet humour,” says Alastair, his bandmates laughing.

Another thing they all agree on is that the process of creating their second album has brought Shortstraw closer together something evident as they complete each other’s sentences.

 “I spend more time with these guys than I do with anyone else,” explains Alastair.

Says Russel: “I spend three, four times a week with them when I’m not working, so these dudes become your ...”

“... bros,” says Alastair.

“Your besties,” agrees Russel, provoking yet another explosion of laughter.

Read my review of Shortstraw's album, Good Morning Sunshine, here. 

The Hollow Body to tour up north

Gauteng, say hello to Jonathan Velthuysen. He is the man behind The Hollow Body, a wonderfully unembellished folk act from Cape Town. The good news is that he will be paying us a visit this week when he sets off on tour to promote his debut album, Johannine. "It all began as an experiment with old gear and testing mics on guitars and went on to become a full album of songs overdue for release," says the musician's Bandcamp page of the album.

Man, I'm excited.

Here are the tour dates: 

02.04 - Waiting Room | CPT
https://www.facebook.com/events/234494050030183/

03.04 - Arcade Empire | PTA
https://www.facebook.com/events/226375130838990/

04.04 - Wolves | JHB

05.04 - Railways Bar | JHB

06.04 - The Library, Brazen Head | JHB
https://www.facebook.com/events/439674339453769/

You can also listen to Johannine below. If you like what you hear, you can buy the album off Bandcamp. The best part is, you get to name the price. 

You can't say I don't look after you.  

"Troublemaker" almost here

South Africa's electronic dance sensation, Haezer, is launching his debut music video for 'Troublemaker', a track off his EP, The Wrong Kid Died. The video is an afro-thriller set in Khayelitsha where four young children with destructive super powers wreak havoc on their town.
If the little teaser released a few days is anything to go by, it's sure to be a goodie.

'Troublemaker' will be released tomorrow night at Arcade Empire in Pretoria, and on Saturday night at Fiction Bar in Cape Town.

Watch the 'Troublemaker' teaser below:

Happy happy New Year

Civil Twilight at Arcade Empire's New Year's Eve party

Happy New Year, everybody! I trust you all rang in the new year appropriately. I had an amazing time at Arcade Empire's New Year's Eve Party. I'll do a proper post on it at a later stage, but I thought I would share my favourite photo from last night in the meantime. It was taken as Steven McKeller from Civil Twilight was walking off the stage after the band's performance. They were quite beautiful to watch, almost otherworldy. 

Also, in the spirit of the new year, I thought I would share a collection of Neil Gaiman's annual New Year's wishes. Enjoy!

***

It's a New Year and with it comes a fresh opportunity to shape our world. 

So this is my wish, a wish for me as much as it is a wish for you: in the world to come, let us be brave – let us walk into the dark without fear, and step into the unknown with smiles on our faces, even if we're faking them. 

And whatever happens to us, whatever we make, whatever we learn, let us take joy in it. We can find joy in the world if it's joy we're looking for, we can take joy in the act of creation. 

So that is my wish for you, and for me. Bravery and joy.

A decade ago, I wrote:

May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't forget to make some art -- write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.

And almost half a decade ago I said,

...I hope you will have a wonderful year, that you'll dream dangerously and outrageously, that you'll make something that didn't exist before you made it, that you will be loved and that you will be liked, and that you will have people to love and to like in return. And, most importantly (because I think there should be more kindness and more wisdom in the world right now), that you will, when you need to be, be wise, and that you will always be kind.

And for this year, my wish for each of us is small and very simple.

And it's this.

I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes.

Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're Doing Something.

So that's my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody's ever made before. Don't freeze, don't stop, don't worry that it isn't good enough, or it isn't perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life.

Whatever it is you're scared of doing, Do it.

Make your mistakes, next year and forever.

(Found here.) 

"Kerkorrel se snorcity, Pretoria in my hart."

When I walked into Arcade Empire last night and saw the blue and red lit up arrows on the stage, I just knew it was going to be a good one. First up was MiNNAAR, the sibling collaboration that is Magdalene and Louis Minnaar. They were launching their EP, Volcano, which is a spine-tingling combination of electro and opera. Magdalene, who has lended her incredible soprano voice to roles like Christine in Phantom of the Opera, slipped into the role of the enigmatic, unearthly siren effortlessly.  The duo's set was short, what with their repertoire currently only consisting of five songs, but I look forward to seeing the expanded set that they are working on. Then we waited for Bittereinder for what felt like forever. It was so long, in fact, that new dance moves (like The Wave and The Bumper Car) were invented, shameless grooving to "Play That Funky Music" happened, and trips to the bar became more frequent. Somewhere between all of this, Louis Minnaar and Peach van Pletzen walked onto the stage in clinical white lab coats and lit up goggles. The batty beat-making scientists had arrived, with rhyme master Jaco van der Merwe not far behind. "Pretoria, is julle reg om te boogie?" he asked the crowd with his extended arm waving up and down, commanding the audience to join him. They couldn't have been more ready with their arms following the motion of his. The trio played a couple of old favourites but for the most part, their set consisted of brilliant new material. There are a lot of stellar collaborations on Bittereinder's second offering, with the likes of Shane Durrant, Hunter Kennedy, Chris Chameleon, Magdalene Minnaar and Andries Bezuidenhout all making an appearance on Die Dinkdansmasjien. I understand logistics can be tricky but it would have been mother flippin' cool to have seen some of these people on stage. It didn't take away from an amazing performance, though. Peach and Louis swapped their mad scientist look, for a gigantic eyeball that they wore on their heads and later they hopped onto the stage as bunnies. The best part is that all three of them looked like they were having the time of the lives, and it made all the difference.  "My naam is Riaan Cruywagen en ek lewe vir ewig," Jaco told the audience after their last song. He may not have found the Elixir of Life that Riaan Cruywagen has, but Bittereinder's performance was something that will be remembered for a long, long time.

Take a look at "Volcano", the first music video off MiNNAAR's debut release. You can also download their EP here.

On Friday I went to a swing party. No, not a swinger party.

I say 'swing' and you think 'swinger', right? Wrong. The men didn't put their watches into a bowl. The ladies didn't have to choose the one that would decide their fate for the night. Random couples didn't disappear into rooms together. Thank goodness. Still not sure what a swing party is? Take some jazz and accelerate the pace, add a dollop of groove and some dangerous dance moves and you have swing music à la 1950s.

I was transported to this era on Friday night when Arcade Empire hosted their first swing party. It was all feather boas, flapper dresses, high-waisted skirts, suspenders and brogues. My favourite, though, had to be the three guys who looked like they had walked off the set of Pearl Harbour in their old army uniforms. It was quite brilliant. Michael Lesar (a man who has the longest, coolest dreads I have ever seen) played an incredible three-hour set with Greg Georgiades on the ukelele. And then, just after midnight, when we thought that our poor, worn feet couldn't possibly take any more boogieing, a dancer came onto the stage and started doing a tasteful striptease type of thing. It was more like a burlesque number than anything else and was as kinky as this party got, I promise. I haven't been this excited about a party since I roamed the halls of Capitol Theatre when Cyberpunkers came to South Africa. Please, please, please Arcade Empire, let's do it again soon. 

The Wisest Ones: Zebra & Giraffe's dark metamorphosis

This is an interview I did with Zebra & Giraffe a while back when they were touring in Pretoria on the back of their recently released third album, The Wisest Ones. Because we had a break in between then and now, it was only published in this week's issue of Perdeby.

***

With the release of their third album, The Wisest Ones, SAMA-winning electro indie rockers Zebra & Giraffe have undergone a complete metamorphosis. It started at the end of last year when drummer Darren Leader and bassist Andrew Maskell decided to leave the band. Mike Wright, who previously played the keyboards, happily picked up his abandoned drum sticks (he’s actually a drummer), and Stef Henrico later joined the line up on the bass.

But what about the keys that give Zebra & Giraffe their distinctive dance-pop sensibility? “It’s been quite hard with the keyboards. That’s been our biggest challenge,” admits front man Greg Carlin. “Obviously we can’t play everything because we’re down to a four-piece now, so it’s about trying to figure out the key parts that we need to play and what looks cool visually,” he says. He and Henrico now juggle playing their own instruments as well as the keyboard for live performances. 

This isn’t the first time Zebra & Giraffe have been left without a keyboardist, though. When Carlin recorded and released the band’s debut album, Collected Memories, they had to find someone to join them on tour. The band then went into studio to record their second album, The Inside, and the keyboardist left during the process. Wright hopped on board, which meant that they had to teach someone to play keys yet again. “I think we are all up to the limit,” says guitarist Alan Shenton, clearly frustrated. “I’ll do the album again, that’s no problem, but to do that again, to restructure live shows and think about the sounds again? It’s a serious process. Very time consuming as well,” he says. 

With the absence of someone permanently behind the keyboards, Zebra & Giraffe reveal a more guitar-driven sound on The Wisest Ones, even though this shift was unintentional. “We had it [the keyboards] in the studio the whole time. We said when we got to the end we would do some keys but then we filled it up so much with the guitars, that we thought it just didn’t need it. And we aren’t going to be able to play it live, so what’s the point of overlaying all this stuff if we aren’t going to be able to pull it off?” explains Shenton. 

But that’s not the only noticeable change on Zebra & Giraffe’s third offering. Their new bouquet  of songs seem more mature and have a darker, more menacing sound, courtesy of Carlin’s lyrics. He attributes this change to getting older and questioning whether or not he should still be in the music industry. He had a big party and got over his doubt, but says that the song-writing process is quite cathartic for him. “I think that’s why I do it. It’s how I deal with things, like a little therapy session. I get stuff out that you wouldn’t normally say in general conversation, and put it in a song,” he says. 

One thing that certainly has remained constant is Zebra & Giraffe’s ongoing relationship with producer Darryl Torr, choosing to work with him for the third time now. The band recorded their first two albums at the SABC, which made it a very rushed process as they had a limited time to get everything done. With The Wisest Ones, they opted for recording at Torr’s studio, Openroom Productions, in Greenside.  “I think he just works really well with us and we work really well with him. We understand him. You don’t have to worry about stepping on each other’s toes. He’s deadly honest with us and we’re completely honest with him and it just makes the process very smooth,” says Wright. “We also had a lot of fun in studio. We do a lot of work but a lot of it is picking on each other and banter and stuff like that, which we’ve always enjoyed with Darryl,” adds Shenton. Shenton explains that there is also a downside to continually working with the same producer. “We’re probably very comfortable with him, so maybe now or one day, it’s time to move on from that, not for any other reason than that the point of a producer is to make you feel uncomfortable sometimes and push you in directions you don’t want to go,” he says. 

With band members continually changing since their inception, and with their music being steered in a different direction, is Zebra & Giraffe older and wiser this time round?

“I think we definitely have learned to relax a bit more. We used to stress a lot about unnecessary stuff. Not it’s a lot more relaxed and the writing process, recording [and] playing live is a lot better,” says Carlin. Shenton says that they have also learned how things work in the music industry.  “It took a while to get that right, to figure out how the South African music industry works professionally, when you are doing it full time. We’ve made mistakes and we’ve learned from those mistakes. We’ve just learned to deal with those sorts of things and that has definitely matured us,” he says. 

With “I’ll Blame You”, the first single off The Wisest Ones, already enjoying extensive airplay by radio stations across the country and with an impressive music video for the song to boot, where to next for Zebra & Giraffe? “Our next plan is to go to Europe in February/ March. We have someone working on that at the moment. Ultimately, that’s the most important thing, to find someone to be the pull factor there. That’s very difficult. It’s a slow process but it’s also an inevitable process for us. We have to do it,” says Shenton. 

All photos were taken by Christelle Duvenage.  

• Read my review of Zebra & Giraffe's The Wisest Ones here.

"Unholy"

Why is it that all the wretched deadlines fall on the week before the holidays? Last week was possibly the craziest one of my entire third year. Assignments and tests being thrown at me left, right and center.  The chaos peaked on Thursday night when I had to go to Barry Gilder’s book launch (there's an extract from the book, Songs & Secrets, in this month's issue of Rolling Stone) and I had a fairly big English assignment due the next day. I didn't sleep that night and managed to make it through the next day thanks to a very, very large dose of Play. I didn't plan on going out on Friday night. Beauty sleep first, party later. But then, Beyers messaged me about going to see Taxi Violence at Arcade Empire. Call it FOMO if you like, but at the last minute, I got out of my comfy pj's and made my way to the other side of Pretoria to see them.

Arcade Empire treated us P-Towners to a rather full lineup, with three bands opening for Taxi Violence. First up was Jet Black Camero, who play an intriguing mixture of old school rock and roll and country. They're an odd band, and I mean that in the nicest possible way. They laid out a piece of cow hide on the stage before they performed and on the one speaker they had incense burning next to a statue of a snake and a Native American. It kind of felt like I was at Spur, and was half expecting someone to bring out a sparkling ice-cream and start singing happy birthday.

Next up was Action Thrillers, a band that I had also never seen live before. They sounded a lot like Muse, maybe even a bit too much like the English rockers. There is no doubt, however, that their lead guitarist is good though.

Then it was time for Man As Machine. Twitter was raving about this band after the gig but I don't really see the appeal. I feel that they are just trying to do too much at once, with a performance that is just incredibly overwhelming. They did do a great cover of ‘The Pretender’ by Foo Fighters, which I imagine is quite a difficult tune to pull off. I also took to some of their more blues based songs but the crowd inciting an encore left me more frustrated than anything else.

And then, the reason why much-needed sleep was forsaken: Taxi Violence. We all know the band has a dynamic live performance but, whether you're seeing them for the first time or the fourteenth, their electric energy is still enough to bowl you over. Front man George van der Spuy hurt his ankle jumping around and running in circles (something he really likes to do). He sat down for a minute to catch his breath and rub his injury but got right up and started doing it all over again. You could see the man was obviously in pain but that didn't stop him from going crazy. That's rock 'n' roll for you. 

Here's the thing about going through Christelle's photos and deciding which ones I want to include in my post- they are all just so damn good. So, do yourself a favour and go and see the rest of the album on Facebook here.