I don’t get out often these days, what with Netflix and my microwave meals.
I can smash out a whole weekend of Nic Cage and Mac n Cheese inside a perpetual dutch oven and then it’s back to the salt mine (junk mail insertions) on Monday.
But something sparked my interest recently. I read an article on the “Spicy Cairns Memes” Facebook page about some rockery rollery type people doing a performance show this weekend. I believe they call it a gig. Apparently they’re serving beer so I thought it best that I attend.
I placed some calls, and was put in touch with a man who trains wolves, Adam. He runs a kennel called Happy Wolves and apparently he’s a musician or knows someone that owns a flute or something. So I interrogated him about this event and asked what parking is like round that way.
RD: So tell me about yourself Adam, you’re a rock n roller, some type of hop-head or a mod?
Adam: Considering I don’t know what a mod is, it’s a toss up between hop-head (which I imagine you mean as a fan of beer) or rock n roller. For the purposes of your readership, I’ll say rock n roller.
RD: What’s this gig about anyway, you’ve made some type of record or beta tape or something?
Adam: Well the Happy Wolves pack originally made the proposal to make a compilation of local (and ex-local) Cairns bands on 3.5 inch Floppy Disk. However when we found out how large each sound file was we started transposing our music to 8 bit Nintendo style audio, then the bleeps and bloops became too hard to differentiate from each other. It was a mess. We then decided to propose the same 4 local bands put their songs on the next least accessible medium: 33rpm vinyl record.
This Saturday at the German Club is our release party! Hungry Lungs, Swamp Donkey, Tegan Koster Project (in place of Bad Pharmer) and Post-Truths will be performing live, and if you rock up you can be one of the first to get your hands on the vinyl record before they sell out, become rare, and start selling for tens of dollars on Discogs.
RD: I don’t own a bloody record player mate, and the only person I know that has one lives in a retirement home. And let me tell you I haven’t spoken to that old nag since the great Scrabble disagreement of ’97. So how do I hear this music without a turntable?
Adam: Each vinyl record comes with a download code so you can get on your interwebs and grab it digitally. Otherwise, if you don’t want to appreciate our handmade, screen printed, and locally sourced free range vinyl record, you can just grab the digital copy only at happywolves.bandcamp.com
RD: My friend’s son told me that some communist band called Pose Troops is playing, what’s that all about?
Adam: Post-Truths were the least popular members of 3 other Cairns bands, and inspired by our loneliness we decided to make angry noise together in the knowledge that only one of us has to be the least popular member of our newest band. I’m sad to say that’s still me.
RD: What other bands are playing at this German dance hall?
Adam: Are you even listening?
RD: Are Waleed Aly and Lisa Wilkinson members of the Tegan Koster Project?
Adam: Definitely not, Tegan Koster Project boasts way more entertaining yet hauntingly sweet synth sounds and will much less commonly try to simplify a complex political issue into a cute but ultimately flawed comedy routine. TKP always makes me wonder what happened to Laura Palmer…
RD: Now I’m presuming it’s free to get in right? This is a very important question because I need every spare coin I have just to make ends meet and for the pokies.
Adam: Entry is a bargain $10 or $25 with a copy of the vinyl to take home, but hey, think of it as an investment in avoiding your gambling addiction, Raoul.
RD: Last question big fella, if you were stranded on a desert island and a baboon tortured you all day every day, but he let you have an hour break each week…
what 5 records would you bring with you to play during that weekly hour non-torture time?
Adam:Interesting, I’d have to say:
The Baboon Show – Self Titled
Charlie Hunter – Baboon Strength
The Madisons – Bad Baboon
Big Baboon Band – Baboo Baboon
…and if the baboon still didn’t love me after this dedication:
Various Artists – That Melted Sunlight Sound.
That Melted Sunlight Sound Album Launch is this Saturday, 14th July at the German Club (57 Winkworth St, Cairns).
Image: Hungry Lungs, pic courtesy of Pappi-Razzi photography
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