“BACK TO SCHOOL”: It’s a phrase that strikes fear into the hearts of many, me included. It

signifies a radical alteration of one’s sleeping patterns, demands

adherence to a relatively consistent timetable and all but quashes the

likelihood that I will be in close proximity to a television when Ready

Steady Cook airs at 2pm every day (which, in actuality, I seldom watch...

it’s the principle).

But I would be lying if I pretended the beginning of the school year isn’t

also accompanied by (for me, but I’m sure for many others too) a vague

sense of promise, a feverish anticipation of what the year holds. As a

member of the Class of ‘10, this chance to start anew whilst still

encapsulated in the comforting cocoon of the high school environment

will be my last. Besides, those who are acquainted with me know I always

delight in an opportunity to indulge my Officeworks fetish.

It also means that the Fringe isn’t far off, the significance of which is self-

explanatory. It’s arguably, easily, the best time of the year, and to get you

psyched we caught up with:

1) Art vs Science, runners-up in the Triple J Hottest 100 and headlining

act for the Opening Night concert,

2) Christie Anthony (the Fringe director) about festivals, Adelaide’s art

scene and how to maximise the bang whilst minimising the buck

3) and Applekam, a theatre company with (to understate the fact)

Ignatian roots and a play in the Fringe.

And that feverish sense of anticipation I mentioned above? It’s definitely

applicable to the motley crew here at Cannonball. All things going to plan,

we’re not going anywhere anytime soon. You know what they say – if you

can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em (we’d love to have you)!

Yen Pham

on behalf of the Cannonball crew

1

1

Disclaimer: The opinions

expressed in Cannonball are

those of the authors alone and

are not necessarily

representative of those of the

publication or Saint Ignatius’

College as a whole.

THANKS TO: Mr Coffey and Father Davoren for their

ongoing support, our sundry interview

subjects for being so good-humoured, youthful

ambition for tricking us into doing things we

didn’t think we were capable of and you lot for

liking the first issue enough to motivate us to

make another!

Contributors

Lawrence Ben

Janice Cui

Alberto Di Troia

Yen Pham

Will Shaw

Matthew Traeger

Sam Wiechula

2

Cover design: Sam Wiechula

Pictured photo: the, uh, 2009

school calendar...

Letter(s) to the Editor

So Fresh: The Songs of our Musical Upbringing

Avatar: Attack of the Big Bad Mining

Corporation

Applekam Puts on a Show

A Critical Reappraisal of the

“Festival State”

The Approval Matrix

Art vs Science

The Botanic Gardens

Christie Anthony: Fringe Director 2010

CANNONBALL

Letter(s) to the Editor

A point of clarification: “Cannonball” refers affectionately to a pivotal

moment in the life of Saint Ignatius, whereby he was hit by a cannonball in a

battle at Pamplona. This instigated a period of convalescence that would

eventually result in the establishment of the Jesuits.

Got something to say? Email us at

cannonball.magazine@gmail.com! (no

postcode required)

3

20. “Buggin’ Me” – SELWYN

19. “A Thousand Miles” – VANESSA CARLTON

18. “Survivor” – DESTINY’S CHILD

17. “Hot In Herre” – NELLY

16. “Hey Baby” – DJ OTZI

15. “Jenny From the Block” – JENNIFER LOPEZ

14. “Hit ‘Em Up Style” – BLUE CANTRELL

13. “Down Boy” – HOLLY VALANCE

12. “Do It With Madonna” – THE ANDROIDS

11. “The Thong Song” – SISQO

10. “You Belong With Me” – TAYLOR SWIFT

9. “All the Things She Said” – T.A.T.U

: the songs of our musical upbringing, 2000-9 by Matt Traeger

As the decade’s ending approached, music magazines, websites and blogs exploded in a frenzy of lists that dictated to us what albums, songs and artists defined the 2000s. However, such lists couldn’t be read without seeming a little out of touch. Truth is, for us belonging to Generation Z, Radiohead’s “Kid A” probably didn’t change our lives. As for Animal Collective – forget it, where’s DJ Sammy? So – here it is, a list that actually means something. Featured below are twenty feats of style and wisdom that appeared on the So Fresh compilations our allowances could occasionally buy. Some songs we can remember, more we probably haven’t listened to since 2003, but all of which help define a period of our lives (but sorry, no “Ketchup Song”).

8. “’03 Bonnie and Clyde” – JAY-Z ft. BEYONCE

7. “Mesmerize” – JA RULE ft. ASHANTI

6. “Teenage Dirtbag” – WHEATUS

Is it really the guy singing that heart-melting falsetto? Who was singing what didn’t matter to us back in 2001; we were too encapsulated in the narrative of heartbreak while envisioning our own future Prom moment to notice.

5. “Strawberry Kisses” – NIKKI WEBSTER

The girls wanted to be her and the boys had a hard time explaining themselves after being caught humming the song in the car. Yet, the video clip did prove to be disappointing for us males, after it revealed that it was not people, but robots, who young Nikki chased after.

4

4. “Toxic” – BRITNEY SPEARS

In 2004, no longer was Britney the innocent eighteen year old who accidentally did it again. Her writers had refined their style, too, and necessarily so – the teen-pop formula of her early work was, by then, a thing of the past. And so arrived ‘Toxic’, musically adventurous and lyrically striking. Britney’s not just looking for a sweet boy; she’s searching for someone to “intoxicate me now.” She doesn’t crush on boys; she becomes “addicted” to them. This was intense stuff indeed. It’s a shame that such a staple of our musical education has turned into such a staple of New Idea magazine.

3. “Since U Been Gone” – KELLY CLARKSON

The Idol format is a funny thing. Pop music commentator Tom Ewing recently described each season of Idol to be “like the history of a band, and winning it gives you only the unsteady chance of a solo career.” Clarkson’s been one of the fortunate ones indeed. Yet, not only did she make it solo, she dominated the world. Kelly Clarkson is to Idol what Robbie Williams is to Take That. Williams’ commercial success has far exceeded what his former band could ever have dreamt of, just as Clarkson’s broader cultural acceptance has exceeded anything we imagined such a shallow, illusive show as Idol could produce. Such powerful emotional expression in a single of this commercial scale is surely something to cherish. And the three seconds for which Clarkson holds that high note must surely be the finest three seconds in pop music last decade. When you think “Kelly Clarkson”, you don’t think “Idol” – she’s in a league of her own.

2. “Murder On The Dance Floor” – SOPHIE ELLIS BEXTOR

“Welcome to the discotheque, kiddies.”

1. “1 Thing” – AMERIE

The past decade in terms of mainstream music was a time of greater crossover and transparency than any other period of musical transformation. Genres fused, borrowed from one another and broke away from their traditional roots so as to remodel pop into this thing that it is now. Today’s pop hit is a completely different entity from 1999’s. Britney’s 1999 number one, “...Baby One More Time” is pop, but so is the Black Eyed Peas’ 2009 smash, “I Gotta Feeling.” In ten years, the name hadn’t changed, but the substance had. By 2005, the writers of “1 Thing” had witnessed six years of this musical metamorphosis, then summarised it in three and a half minutes. “1 Thing” is symbolic of a whole decade of our music, with its syncopated percussion backing jazz-guitar chords and Amerie’s layers of almost balladic vocals. What is it then? Funk? Dance? Hip hop? Rock? No. It’s what we grew up to learn pop to be.

5

why avatar is the best film of

the summer… and year. by Alberto Di Troia

James Cameron’s latest blockbuster, Avatar, is an unparalleled feat of technical film

brilliance and possibly the biggest cinema “event” since his last film, Titanic, became

one of the most successful movies of all time. Already the recipient of two Golden

Globe Awards (for Best Director and Best Film), Avatar continues its meteoric box-

office and critical ascent.

Set about fifty years from the present, it follows Private Jake Sully (Australian Sam

Worthington), a paraplegic marine on the army base camp of the planet Pandora. He

is there to take his dead brother’s place in the Avatar program – a system where

selected participants’ thoughts and actions are mechanically linked to specially

grown bodies containing the DNA of Pandora’s indigenous people – the huge, blue

skinned Na’vi. Suddenly Sully can walk again, breathe Pandora air without the aid of

an oxygen supply, and roam the planet with head researcher Dr Grace Augustine

(Sigourney Weaver).

On one of these trips he encounters a beautiful Na’vi woman, Neytiri (Zoe Saldana),

who reluctantly begins to teach him the ways of her clan. This insight makes the

human Sully invaluable. Dr Augustine’s team wants him to forge understanding

between humans and the hostile Na’vi, while ignorant mining exec Parker Selfridge

(Giovanni Ribisi), backed by Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), wants to

plunder the clan’s physical and spiritual home, underneath which rests the store of a

new and precious fuel somewhat unoriginally titled unobtainium. As Jake is

inducted as a fully fledged Na’vi and falls in love with Neytiri, he decides to side with

his adopted race and fight back against the military might behind Selfridge & co.

And that’s that, folks. The plot is basically a framework for Mr Cameron to lay down

some of the most sophisticated CGI ever seen in film. The world of Pandora, for a

start, is incredibly and minutely realised – from the most intricate construction of

the planet’s natural features to its populace, the marvelously beautiful Na’vi. These

luminous, blue creatures were based on and animated around the actions and

features of the actors who played them, and the result is that they are realised most

convincingly. The culture created for them is an achievement in itself. Pandora is so

entrancing in 3D that audience members audibly gasped throughout the film. There

was even an “Oooo, isn’t that lovely?”, presumably from somebody’s granny; and it is

a film you can bring your own along to see too, if she’s game. It deliberately appeals

to everybody. It has goodies vs. baddies on a “Cowboys and Indians” scale of clarity,

and its social messages – the importance of the environment and cultural diversity –

are easy to digest. Otherwise, it’s easy to exclude yourself from the proselytism and

simply enjoy the mind-blowing spectacle. It’s action-packed, exciting, and

completely absorbing.

On this point, it’s probably important to see Avatar in the way Mr Cameron intended

– in 3D, and on the big screen. If there was ever a film that a cinema was built for, it’s

this one. Moreover, 3D technology seems to have expanded to include tasteful, Ray

Ban-esque shades that don’t give you a lingering red-and-blue headache. The three-

dimensional effects are more subtle than IMAX’s usual attack-of-the-random-flying-

objects and give the film depth. In this way it is a resounding success.

The acting is also serviceable – Ms Weaver is excellent as Dr Grace, looking

unexpectedly lusty in her new, sleek avatar body. I remain unconvinced, however,

about Mr Worthington, whose complete failure to master a basic American accent

seems to have resulted in him being given a minimum of intelligible lines. There are,

of course, several other questionable points about the film, including the director’s

seeming desire to portray the entire American military force as complete blockheads

and the occasionally clunky dialogue.

That doesn’t matter, and you won’t care - Avatar is pure entertainment. I can only

stress the importance of going to see it in the cinema, in 3D – please don’t get it from

the Internet and think you have. If you can’t find someone to go with who hasn’t

seen it, take someone who has – I guarantee you they’ll be up for a second sitting. If

all else fails, take me. Be part of a real cinema event, and support the incredible

creativity that has gone into this film. Who knows, you may even find yourself

developing a crush on a Na’vi… I know I did. Is that so wrong?

7

Fringe 2010: wherein we chat with Christie Anthony, the festival’s director

by Alberto Di Troia

How did you first get involved with working on festivals?

I grew up in Adelaide, and when I was probably about your age I volunteered for the

Fringe. Eventually I went over to Edinburgh and did the same thing there. At 23 I

finally decided, “You know what? I’m going to work in festivals!’”

Did you have any plans before that, in terms of what you wanted to do?

I was going to be an occupational therapist.

Oh really?

Yeah, I don’t know why [laughter]. Whenever I had the chance I would nick off to a

festival. My friends all started buying houses and cars, and I kept buying air tickets,

going places. I went to Glastonbury, I went to Canada, I went everywhere, and all

these experiences were valuable. It did cost me a lot of money, until eventually

people started flying me. It doesn’t happen overnight, but if you’re passionate about

it, if you can’t help it, then that’s what you’ve got to do.

Working in Edinburgh and the Edmonton fringe and going to Glastonbury, how

did that shape your attitude towards working on festivals?

They were just brilliant. You always think that people in other countries are going to

do things so much better, and they don’t. You meet people just as clueless as you at

the start. But it does make you realise that whatever industry, when you get to the

pointy end, the people who are committed to it – there actually aren’t that many. I’d

say it would be the same in optometry or brain surgery or in anything, really. In

festival organisation we are the same people, going round and round the world.

Do you find that Adelaide Fringe is now on par with these overseas Fringes?

[Immediately] Yep. Yep, yep. Totally. It just shows that the people here – the

audiences – Adelaideans hold it dear. They genuinely look after it, the Fringe. I think

that’s why it’s been growing in the way it’s been growing. I feel like I’m – me and the

team here – are just the custodians.

Can you tell me a bit more about Amococo? That looks really exciting.

8

We got it from the UK, it’s been at the Edinburgh Fringe. It’s basically these cool,

inflatable pods that are landing in Rymill Park. It’s light based, so you can’t go in at

night, because the sunlight makes it operate. People can take as long as they like;

some people just sort of sleep or chill out, some people roam around, but it’s two

bucks and you can just wander through it and see how you feel afterwards.

Do you have any favourite performance moments from the festivals you’ve

been involved in?

They really are all equal in my mind to some extent... although in 2008, we took over

Balfours, the pie factory, and there was this totally extraordinary, bizarre show in

there called “The Smile Off Your Face”. You sat blindfolded in a wheelchair, and they

pushed you through and you smelt things and they stood you up and put you down

again. You got the giggles, but it was just a sensory show. It didn’t make any sense,

there was no narrative, but it was amazing, it was brilliant. At the end they take the

blindfold off and there’s this guy looking directly in your eyes, and he says

something like “it was really lovely to meet you” and then he starts crying! Then you

get pulled out backwards up this little ramp and the door closes! And just when

you’ve come out sort of freaked out, the door closes again and someone else is going

“Whoa! What was that?!” [laughter]

With all these acts coming through, do have much of a screening process?

Nothing. And that’s the absolutely critical, critical philosophy of the Fringe. Anybody

can come and be part of the Fringe. The only basis on which someone can be

rejected is if what they’re doing is illegal. I can’t stop anything. This year something

really funny that’s registered (opens Fringe guide) is this: “Torana For Sale.” It’s

some dude selling his car! [laughter]

Do you think the Fringe is a good launching pad for up and coming artists?

Oh yeah, no question. Firstly, we sell tickets and we can get an audience in relatively

easily. Secondly, I think if you’ve got a kind of creative soul it feels great to be in a

city with so many likeminded people. Thirdly, it’s what I call ‘arts market,’ where we

do have a lot of people looking to buy work for their festivals or venues. Because

there’s no curation, an artist who’s just decided that they’re ready to show the world

what they do can do it.

Do you think that Adelaide has the potential to achieve this level of artistic

activity the whole year round?

I don’t think so, not in the short term. And do you know what? I think that it’s one of

the beauties of Adelaide, that we can go completely crackers for a month and

everyone’s really open and friendly but then we generally retreat to our homes and

have the luxury of space. You get this huge cultural injection and then you get time

9

to understand it and digest it and see

what it means to you and make

something yourself.

How do you see the Fringe 10 years

from now?

Huge, bigger. I don’t think bigger is

necessarily better, but “boutique big” –

it’s all these independent artists and

it’s not mass produced. I see it being a

really fundamental part of South

Australia’s identity. I see the rest of

Australia coming here and loving it.

The majority of tickets, over 85%, are

sold to South Australians and that’s a

big burden on them really [laughs]. It’ll

grow and grow, and the government

will use it more and more to promote

the state, which they don’t at the

moment.

For students who are somewhat

more cash-strapped then adult

patrons of the Fringe, do you have

any tips for how to get the most out

of the Fringe period?

Go to Bank SA and pick up this guide

called “Fringe on a Shoestring”. It’s got

all the $10 shows and all the free stuff.

Spend one day doing visual arts – that’s

free unless you buy something – do one

day at Amococo; there’ll be artists

giving out two for ones to help get

audiences. Navigate through talkfringe,

where punters rate and review shows.

talkfringe will also have rush tickets, it

has to be at least 30% off to be a rush

ticket. But it only happens that night,

so that’s what I’d suggest.

10

dance

Pickled (Chris Scherer)

What do you do when you find yourself in

a pickle? Cling to self-preservation. A solo

performer tries to survive (with dignity)

the accident which is waiting to happen

(which in this case is himself).

The Tool Shed. Tix $15, limited number of

BankSA Support Act tix for $10.

theatre

Rhinoceros (Urban Myth Theatre

of Youth)

Eugene Ionesco’s absurdist masterpiece,

exploring the theme of conformity, tells of

a small French town plagued by

rhinoceroses – and not the kind you’d

think.

Holden St Theatres. Tix $10 (C) - $15 (A).

visual arts

Format Zine and DIY Fair (Format Collective Inc.)

Run by a “non-profit collective of artists,

writers, musicians and associated wimps

with a mutual interest in participatory

culture and the arts”, the annual fair has

featured the best independent publishers

and zinesters in Australia since 2005.

Peel St (off Hindley). Free (!) both to attend and

participate.

applekam puts on a show by Alberto Di Troia

This March, the Applekam theatre company will be producing David

Williamson’s The Removalists for the Adelaide Fringe. The company is

comprised of Ignatius Old Scholars from the class of ’09, and this is their first

foray into public theatrical performance.

Firstly, how did Applekam start?

Daniel Appleby: Well, pretty much me and David...

Dave Kameniar: After our year 12 production, really...

DA: We sort of realised that school plays and the drama department were coming to

an end, and we thought: we have a lot of friends who are interested in different parts

of the theatre, and just thought we would try and put one on for the Fringe.

Let’s talk about the play, The Removalists, by David Williamson. What’s it

about, what are some of the key ideas?

DA: It’s pretty much about institutionalised violence and authoritarianism. It follows

two inner-city police officers from the 1970s: one is a new recruit and one is an old

dog who’s developed some very, very nasty habits. Basically, he confronts some

ladies who need help but only receive it because he thinks he might get some sexual

gratification. When the abusive husband returns home early things get a little bit

confrontational and then there’s “the Removalist”; representing the everyday man

who sits on the fence, doesn’t stop it but also doesn’t do anything to intervene.

Daniel, as director, what are some of the concepts you’ve been working with?

Are you doing anything different with the text?

DA: That’s a very hard question. Williamson is very, very instructive in the way he

writes. But we kept it period, which is something people I don’t think will expect,

along with the comedic timing; it is essentially a black, very dark comedy.

What role did the Fringe play in deciding to do the play?

DA: I think the Fringe got us kick started. [Applekam] very much could have stayed

as a pipe dream the whole time. The fact that Fringe registration was going on –

once we’d decided, we had a week to register and find the venue. From there it was a

reality and we had to do it.

11

DK: It cut our costs, I reckon. I don’t reckon we would have got enough money to

advertise our own show if we’d done something mid-year by ourselves.

How about creatively, is it easier to get the ideas running?

DA: Getting the ideas running is very easy. I mean, actors, regardless of whether

you’re in school or not, still have to interpret it; no one’s going to tell you how to say

every line. The hardest thing - because we’re all friends - it’s hard for somebody to

just take control, because you don’t want to be telling your friends what to do...

DK: Everyone respects what you do though. This for us is our first production that’s

not worth marks, if that makes sense. You’re not at school, there’s no teacher saying

“Learn your lines by Wednesday…”

Will Abbott: “Or else you’ve got penals.”

DA: It’s a lot more worrying as well; with a school play, at the end of the day, you’re

protected by the school. But the fact that the day after we’ll open the paper, we’ll

have a review, and it’ll be our names and our theatre company... It could be brutal,

we could get a real roasting, but that’s why we’re all so committed for it to work.

Can you tell us a bit more about your set design?

Nick Horvat: We’re keeping it realist. I think the idea of doors in this play are really

important, because it’s just showing that a lot of the comic moments are occurring

around these doors, and also some of the most confronting parts. The most difficult

thing is the really short bump in and out times that we’ve got, but I think I’m going to

try and just work with illusions a lot of the time.

What are you doing for publicity?

BB: In the Fringe Guide we’ve got a section on the play and a small description, and

there was a bit in the SA Weekend the other day, and it’s going to go in the

Advertiser as well, I think. Next week on Sunday… we need to get costumes done,

because we’re going to have a photo shoot to get some posters organised.

Jordan Cortazzo: With Ryan Kenny Photography.

BB: Ryan Thomas Kenny.

JC: Ryan Thomas Kenny of Prospect.

DK: He lives in Campbelltown.

JC: Campbelltown [laughter], my bad.

12

I’m sure reviews will be great, but how do you think you’ll cope with a harsh

critical response?

Francesca Smerdon: I’m not going to read it.

JC: Of course I’m going read it!

DK: You’ve got to try and bounce back, regardless of what the reviews say. So you

get a bad review –that’s something you can go out the next night and prove wrong.

DA: I guess every director ever would say it, but we’re not playing for the critics. It’s

an amateur show; we’re friends straight out of school. If we get a great review that’s

fantastic. It’ll hurt if we get a bad review, but it’s not going to shatter us, it’s not

going to stop us; at the end of the day we’re still only 18 year olds.

And finally, does anyone have any last thoughts or messages they’d like to

send to the school?

FS: Come and see the show!

DA: Don’t think you have to leave theatre just because it’s the end of year 12, more

than half the senior drama class are in this production.

JC: Anyone who buys 5 tickets will get a letter written from Jordan.

BB: No, don’t say that! [laughter]

Applekam Theatre Company’s production of David Williamson’s The Removalists is

playing at Holden Street Theatres (34 Holden Street, Hindmarsh) from March 10-14

at 6 pm. Tickets are $15 adults and $12 concession.

Literarily-minded?

Technologically-minded?

Artistically-minded?

Absent-minded?

There’s a 99.9999 recurring percent chance that

WE WANT YOU! (because Albs can’t single-handedly write this magazine forever)

Shoot us an email at cannonball.magazine@gmail.com. 13

the end of the arts? rubbish.

by Lawrence Ben

Flicking through the pages of the Advertiser, the uninitiated might conclude

from all the histrionics that our state has shut all its theatres and exiled all its

performers. Recent calls that South Australian license plates should cease to

bear the “Festival State” slogan and that it’s the “art’s end of Adelaide” are, to

use a favoured catchphrase of the esteemed Fr Stanislaus Hogan SJ, “absolute

rubbish.” Tim Lloyd, of the Advertiser, wrote that “Governments interstate

long ago surpassed and outspent South Australia's championing of the arts.”

However, despite the objective truth of Lloyd’s claims, this is beside the point.

Greg Mackie, Chief Executive of South Australia’s Cultural Development, rightfully

points out, “arts and culture is not between the states, it's between states of mind.”

The South Australian government’s funding of the arts actually increased from $79

million in 2002 to $116 million in 2009/10, with an average increase of 5.2% per

annum. Comparing funding between the various state governments is not an

accurate method of measuring a city’s vibrancy, integrity and artistic diversity. The

people who complain most about government funding are likely those who believe

that Adelaide’s status as the nation’s “Arts Capital” is only beginning to slip away. In

answer to those who best fit this category, the inaugural manager of the Festival

Centre, Anthony Steele, put it best when he stated, “There was a time when that title

was justified, simply for the lack of competition. Now it is hubris.” It is time for some

to finally acknowledge that Adelaide ceased to be the “Arts Capital” a long time ago;

it doesn’t, however, mean that its many achievements (the Fringe and Womad to

name just two) – in light of its relative disadvantages – are any less impressive.

The origin of Adelaide being identified as the nation’s “Arts Capital” came right

during the midst of Don Dunstan’s arts revolution, where the Premier grandly

proclaimed Adelaide to be the “Athens of the South.” Whilst this is clearly a highly

rhetorical overstatement that even Dunstan himself would have acknowledged, it

nevertheless served as an incomparable vision for the state that has been lost since.

The leadership of Dunstan and his administration inspired and elevated the state

that had previously been labelled as nothing more than the home of the “City of

Churches.” To think, today, that Adelaide is the arts capital of the nation is a delusion

of grandeur, but it doesn’t mean that South Australia ought to be cast aside as a

cultural wasteland merely because it cannot compete on the same scale as those

other two more populous and well-resourced cities.

14

15

16

ART VS SCIENCE

by Will Shaw

Second in the Triple J Hottest 100 and first in our

hearts, we spoke to Dan Williams of Art vs. Science

(who, coincidentally, hail from Riverview) about their

debut album, playing the Fringe and his plans, music-

wise, in the case of a 2012 apocalypse.

Was I half an hour late? I think so, maybe 41 minutes though… so yeah, 41 minutes late if you want to be exact. I’m sorry about that, I didn't realise the time gap. No, that’s okay. [laughter] First off, do any of you guys actually speak French? Ah, Dan McNamee, like the other Dan, keyboardist, guitarist, lead singer Dan, speaks a little French in his spare time. People have asked me what the chorus means and I know what it means, I think, because Dan told me. Are you excited about the Fringe or have you got a few more shows coming up between then and now? Ah, we have Good Vibes touring in February and the Fringe is happening in the midst of that, but we’re actually fairly quiet this summer because we’re writing the debut album. We’re juggling recording and writing but we’re trying to keep it as fast as possible. Through March we’re doing this Bacardi Express thing which is awesome. You’re on a train for 48 hours and it goes from Brisbane to Sydney, and there are bars and jamming rooms. We’re playing with La Roux, Cassette Kids, Miami Horror and ah, Yves Klein Blue. They’re all cool people. Did you know there’s a Facebook event with about 200 people attending saying “I'm Bringing Flippers to Art vs. Science”? That’s for us?! That’s cool. Are you used to people bringing their flippers for your shows now? Only since recently. Two guys in Melbourne come to every show dressed as mimes now; in most major cities there’s a couple of mimes and people bring their flippers and their own inflatable penguins, they’re kind of our mascots. It makes for a very weird atmosphere. It’s good to know we have fans who bother to do that. If you go to a festival dressed as a mime, it shows your commitment ‘cause you’re dressed like a moron and you've painted your face; pretty hectic for a 35 degree summer day. So what's the best festival you've played at so far? Ah, we've had lots of good ones. Falls was probably the best. That was because we had the most enthusiastic crowd. Yeah, that was just killer. Like you said, there were mimes there and people with flippers. We’d actually played there a year before, but on a smaller stage. I was trying to look out to see if anyone was there; I couldn't tell because the stage lights were on and I was like, "Man, there’s no one there. This place blows." But then the flood lights focussed on the crowd at one stage and there were thousands of people and it was pretty awesome. There was this girl on this guy’s shoulders with no top on and one of those neon light sabre things swinging about her and she was like “WOOO!” So definitely Falls Festival.

18

=8

With your new album, is there any word on the title? How is it going? It’s going well, we’ve written maybe 70% of the album. We’re just trying to work out times to go down to record. I think we’ll do most of it in March in a studio in Melbourne. It’s pretty much done, we’ve sort of got two more weeks of tweaking and changing little bits around. We don’t have an album title as yet. We have lots of stupid names floating around. What are some of the stupider ones? Hahaha, I wish I could tell you. I’ve got them all written down but most are rubbish. We need a working title like, I don’t know, “Manuscript” or something. “Manuscript”? Yeah. [laughter] Do you reckon you’ll debut any new songs at the Fringe? We’ve got a couple of new songs we’ll play; maybe 3 or 4 of them. There are two new songs we’ve been playing live for around a month and I guess we’ll do maybe another two by the time the Fringe comes around. Apparently you guys went off at the Scout Jamboree recently, how was that? It was a bit strange; I didn’t know it would be like it was. I think I remember scouts as full on…the whole country explorer feel. But it was really weird because I thought they’d be really tame you know like all sitting down or something, clapping between songs. But by the time we’d come out, the dude had been playing Daft Punk and stuff for ages so they were all screaming; it was cool. What’s the secret to your live show prowess? Ah, I don’t know, we just try and be energetic really. People have expectations for us to put on a show. We don’t like seeing bands who muck around on stage and don’t look like they’re enjoying themselves. We like seeing good live bands like The Hives and Datarock, the kind of bands that don’t take themselves too seriously and who have a party on stage. That makes it fun to be in the crowd. How do you feel about the current Australian music scene with the Juggernauts, Cut Copy and Philadelphia Grand Jury? Is it cool to be a part of that? Yeah, it’s cool to be a part of that scene now, getting to know bands that we really like and have admired for ages. I went to all the festivals when I was a teenager and so did all the guys. We’d see all the bands and we’d imagine them hanging out together and living in little village communities. It’s a real privilege to be amongst the Juggers and Cut Copy and The Presets and the Philly Jays. Actually, the singer of the Philly Jays, Simon, he’s my housemate and he’s producing our debut album… so yeah, it’s cool.

19

You know The Presets played the Fringe Opening night a couple of years ago and a few months later they started getting big in Europe, your chances are high. Yeah, that’s pretty cool. It’d be cool to be big in Europe. It’s cool to know the Fringe is a happening place. What kind of bands were you into when you were young? The first live band I ever saw was Gerling. I was a punk kid at heart. I used to listen to Frenzal Rhomb and all those kinds of bands. It really changed once I left school, I started getting into a lot of dance music; I think we all did really. We all listen to lots of music and stuff but you know dance music is kinda the best. I’ve missed the boat on a lot of new music lately just because we’ve been so busy. I haven’t kept my head to the ground like I should. I hear the music that my girlfriend plays me. She’s like, “Check out this band, they’re massive and they’re touring Australia” but I won’t have heard of them. There are a lot of weird, wacky and wonderful things happening at the moment. Lastly, here are some good ol’ hypothetical situations for you. If, in 2012, the world did come to an end as predicted by the Mayan Calendar, and, on the eve of destruction two bands are playing on that same night across the street from each other, both at the peak of their musical ability, which would you go see? Firstly, Daft Punk vs. Justice? Ahh, that’s a good one. I’d say Daft Punk but the other Dan would say Justice... oh no, he’d say Daft Punk. But Justice is the kind of band you could watch the end of the world to. If it was Armageddon maybe I’d go see Justice or, I don’t know, maybe you want…maybe you want to celebrate, so maybe you’d go see Daft Punk. Daft Punk vs. Fatboy Slim? Fatboy Slim, just ‘cause I’m a fan from way back. It would seem such a pity. Britney Spears vs. Daft Punk? Oh... Britney. What about David Bowie vs. Talking Heads? That’s a good one, Talking Heads though, definitely. There’d have to be…it’d have to be ‘Speaking in Tongues’ Era [circa 1983] can’t be earlier than that ‘cause there wouldn’t be dancers and that sort of stuff. That’d be wild. Fleet Foxes vs. Grizzly Bear? I’d go Fleet Foxes on that one. I’ve heard Grizzly Bears live show was… I’ve heard mixed reports about Grizzly Bear’s live show, where as I’ve heard much nicer things about Fleet Foxes. Finally, Pink vs. Nikki Webster? Oh man, ahhh, Nikki Webster, ‘cause maybe… maybe I’d have a chance, just maybe.

20

Now celebrating its 140th anniversary, the Botanic Gardens are a sanctuary in

the CBD for over 1.5 million visitors each year. Whether going for a peaceful

stroll, spending an afternoon picnicking or soaking up the sounds of WOMAD,

the Botanic Gardens are the perfect place to spend a lazy – well, let’s be frank,

any kind of – day.

words + photography by Janice Cui

the botanic gardens

21

22