CANVASSING BRANCH #4 - Sewers, august 2012.

Smirk before discipline. A booming snide singer in Shan Corrigan, his delay pedal gone on for a second, then switched off again (without delay). Sewers have presence, all meat and potatoes. A band aid as suffocate. Bassist Josh Watson and the down stroke frustration. Rampant frustration. Look at those hands. All four hands. Alex G. on rhythm G. (of Cannon, previously profiled here) lumbers in a slurred lurch between bloodied finger bass guitar and drummer Decsi's stripped-back precise chase after Shan's lord guitar. Lord like rolling a humon hand up and down the neck of a human guitar with split ends as strings.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TKGtRH5KvU

Shan started Sewers as a guitar drum two piece in late 2008, shy of a wave of bands touting the same set-up. Comprised of Shan on guitar plus singing in a higher pitched sardonic take on made-a-mark e. smith's morrissey swapping haircut. A guy named Jared played the drums in a rolling floor tom snare lock for the most part. They recorded some songs, though never played a show. One of the tracks they managed to record ended up on a Negative Guest List cdr comp accompanying an earlier issue of the zine, with Brendon alluding to a share-ed can't-Wynnum all background in the sentence summary accompanying it (the same track later re-appearing on the 'Wings Over Gabba 12'', a self described 'best of' collected tracks from NGL cdr comps)

http://www.discogs.com/Various-Wings-Over-Gabba-The-Best-In-Songs-Of-Negativity/release/3018471

 On ice for a while after that, Sewers re-emerged just over two years after the initial recordings, this time as a quartet. Jared still on drums, now with Damon Black (of Secret Birds) on new bass and Alex G. (pre mentioned Kennon member) on middle instrument. After two shows with this lineup (first ever Sewers shows mind), Damon and Jared dropped off (say Sydney, or play in a band titled 'We Have A T.Rex').

http://vimeo.com/35300468
(final song that lineup played together)

Rhythm section were fit with fangs following, and Sewers become the force they are today.

They had me take this photo of them at the storage shed they rehearse at. Kennards, West End. It's sheet metal corridors and concrete floors like a blank canvass for treble echo from a space usually reserved for dead dad's dead things. They're standing in a service elevator marked for óbjects only. Objectively, when you flush, it goes to the Sewers.

http://www.news.com.au/money/police-find-cash-firearms-weapons-taser-and-drugs-after-stopping-motorcyclist-in-brisbane-cbd/story-e6frfmci-1226496148502


Here is their only release thus far, a tour cassette Josh dubbed one hundred copies of for some interstate shows with everybody's riff, Martyr Privates. The best way to hear it though is a copy of the physical thing, as it contains some colourful excerpts from conversations with some West End nightlife, where I'll guess that the recording was done unbeknownst to these, say strugglers.

https://soundcloud.com/sewersband/sets/sewers-tour-cassette-1


und good measure, a new assault on song from their most recent show.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4Vq5ufgUpM

CANVASSING BRANCH #3 - Loose Grip, september 2011.

  
  Loose Grip have been around for nigh on four years, having started as a high school band for initial three members Kieren Lavering, Sam McCabe and Joe Alexander. Having been informed by the  'drop-the-bass post millenium ideal, Loose Grip in their initial pre Byrne stretch would often lead drop d riffs in a circle before disintegrating into a 'play faster than the seccy chasing you' speed mess, sending shirtless vocalist Kieren on the stumble out for water in a clear plastic bottle. This exercise was best on show when Loose Grip would perform the literally titled track, 'Mess'.

http://youtu.be/4-gME-ogITw
(three piece L.Grip covering The Offspring's 97 Columbia records endorsed ode to hate, 'Cool To Hate)

  Featuring a nascent workhorse in Joe Alexander, Loose Grip's first release, 2009's 'Spew' cdr was one of the first releases on  '10s aus conglomerate Bedroom Suck records. It's cover featured a black and white photo of Loose Grip performing in the Kitchen Floor inclusive household, number 116 latrobe terrace in Paddington. Loose Grip would play on and off around this period, until having played a show with 116 latrobe terrace fixture Matt Kennedy on virgin bass guitar (see here),http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNU15nqGWkY

bonafide bassist 'round town Harry Byrne joined the group, giving them a strong anchor und melodic back bone to stand up and walk hunched over, back and forth a stage with.

 Shortly after, they recorded most of the songs they'd had at their disposal for a long while at the same house mentioned earlier, with Harry manning the four track. Another similar minded (though admittedly more ferocious) band Canibal recorded around the same number of songs in the same session, in what would have ideally been a dual 7'' release, though for whatever reasons, those recordings have sadly been shelved. Canibal themselves fading in and out of the fore. Watch this space I 'spose.

  For the release of the Loose Grip recordings (under the title 'Cereal', named after one the five brief skate bowl stretches on the 45rpm 7'' release), they wanted a photo of the four of them sitting on top of (you guessed it, 116 latrobe terrace), showcasing the up-front front of the house. As opposed to the Kitchen Floor 'looking up at something' back of the house shot emblazoned on black t shirts, black 7'' sleeves and black attitudes now world over. While they ended up using one of the other, closer shots I got, I've uploaded here one of the others I deemed too good to leave on the floor of my room. While it's good to leave some mystery in the world, I will divulge that those bowls of cereal (titular) each of them are cradling, are full of nothing (something to look foward to?, step inside and have a look for yourself..).


Here's a video of Loose Grip playing a squat show in Bowen Hills, 2011 (with Harry Byrne bass)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMhceoJHWjM

and pre mentioned Beerwah teeth gnashed trio Canibal, playing at the same show.
http://vimeo.com/26671763

and final link, the 'Cereal' 7'' ep, available to stream.
http://bedroomsuckrecords.bandcamp.com/album/cereal

CANVASSING BRANCH #2 - Cannon, march 2012.

   Having now been active for just over two years, Brisbane's charming concession to post Black Lips blog-lash Cannon have transcended the garbage (spelling) vogue mire that is youth culture's cycle through yer father's old clothes. In that time, they've released a cdr split with Brisbane's other, more sunglasses conscious take on the same car hold steak, Cobwebbs, a self titled debut album on cd through fledging local label name 'Long Gone Records' and more recently a cassette split with Cow themed quartet Lovely Legs through the same imprint.

 Cannon very quickly became one of the more entertaining acts to see around Brisbane, in no small part thanks to stage antics all wound up within-in jokes, fearless gormless pratfalls and a stage grin wide. Though each member on the whole make up the grand shape of personality on show, Cannon's unique distinction would be brothers Callan and Tristan Murray, who are each seamless in transition between performing for an audience (in the official, musical (boring entertainment) sense) and general time, whether you deem general as a never ending performance of the 'Charming Mime's bigger heart won't stop smiling', or left hand full of your spit - right with two fingers extended on the poke-out for wandering nostrils.

 This photo was taken at a4zzz fundraiser 'Happyfest' held at 2011's steady home to most stage shows 'Woodland bar when, during Lost Animal's set, Cannon en group grabbed me und more or less made me take this photo (among some others with their own, weighted camera). Suffice to say, it was late in the night, and that spilled drink you can see has crossed the Murray family gene left-to-center of the photo was not the only drink that had been spilled by that point, by Cannon, Cannon, Cannon.

http://vimeo.com/39649741


You can stream that debut album here
http://cannonbrisbane.bandcamp.com/album/cannon

und you might find the physical sense here.
https://maps.google.com.au/maps?q=google&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&channel=fflb&ie=UTF-8&ei=mFy8UKuBKOSWiQfct4HQBg&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAA



"Don't try to be a great man, just be a man. And let history make its own judgments" - nerds.
 

CANVASSING BRANCH #1 - Bitch Prefect, june 2011.

Here are Bedroom Suck Records flagship slack pop-trick-trio Bitch Prefect in the men's changing room at Chris Hearn's Winter Chill festival at the Croatian Club in Newcastle, june 2011. The room itself was being used as the store room for all acts assorted equipment, and I took this photo on the sly as Bitch Prefect were doing a light dress rehearsal before performing on the floor before the pokies section of the Croatia themed citizen's league space. Bowls out..

http://vimeo.com/13791644

With their loser ode 'Bad Decisions', Bitch Prefect lay claim to perhaps the catchiest pop citation moored in the slack wuss swell that sweeps Australia 2010 - 201? into the pop culture bastion that is rock music, USA. They even have a song about a holiday there.

Initially of Adelaide, all three members have since relocated to Melbourne. Here they are captured pre 'Big Time' 12'' LP, pre 'Big Time' CD LP and pre Vice Magazine.

I like to think of Bitch Prefect (und Scott and Charlene's Wedding) fufilling the pop potential of feral casualties of a novelty name, mid 2000 era act 'Lindsey Low Hand', who featured B.Prefect rockstar dream realisation Scott 'O Hara, then not ready to slice down the middle and whine in the sobering, confronting way he'd later do on Bitch Prefect song 'Ok'.

here you'll find some early Lindsay Low Hand recordings
http://lindseylowhand.bandcamp.com/

und here you can stream Bitch Prefect's 2012 bass-less blockbuster 'Big Time'.
http://bedroomsuckrecords.bandcamp.com/album/big-time