Jane's Addiction postpone Australian tour

Dave Navarro from Jane's Addiction announced on Twitter this morning that the band has been forced to postpone their Australian tour, to start tomorrow night, due to illness.

"Time to address the rumors. Our Australia tour has been cancelled. Stephen Perkins has injured his arm and is in the hospital being treated," said Navarro.

"He is going to make a full recovery and we are planning on making the dates up as soon as possible. We are extremely sorry to our fans in OZ."

"We were looking forward to bringing the band to you and PROMISE to return ASAP. Right now we are focused on supporting Stephen."

The band anticipates that this is only a postponement and that they will fulfill their tour plans as soon as they can.

Ticket holders for forthcoming gigs should hear from Ticketek today.

Joh would've loved The Grates

The photo to the left is of Joh Bjelke-Petersen, the longest serving premier in Queensland's history. He held office from 1968 to 1987, mostly due to an electoral malapportionment giving unprecedented power to rural Queensland voters. Joh was loved by many older Queenslanders because he represented them: uneducated, from the land, with conservative views. For my generation, he was all that we despised.

Under his reign in the mid '80s, it was nothing to find yourself staring at an empty block of land where a historical building used to stand. In fact, his association with demolishing company The Deen Brothers saw Brisbane lose many of its landmarks and began the destruction of the old Brisbane -- glorious in its sandstone beauty -- and the introduction of the new Brisbane -- concrete bunkers posing as office towers. All in the name of progress.

The destruction was so underhanded and rarely publicised prior to the act. I actually remember walking to a club one night and marvelling at an impressive architectural example only to find it turned to rubble on my way home from the club five hours later. To me, this was the beginning of the 'uglification' of my capital city; thank goodness some regional cities, like Ipswich and Toowoomba, still retain this character that makes them special.

Not only did Joh's relationship with the Deen Brothers dampen the architectural spirit of Brisbane, but his corrupt police cronies tried to destroy the spirit of young Brisbane-ites at the time. Especially those with long hair, stovepipe black jeans and winkle-pickers. Otherwise known as 'swampies'.

Swampies were a breed of subculture created by their influences in music: part Ramones, part Kinks, they idolised both the punk attitude and the '60s melodies. They adopted the tight black jeans and dyed black hair of the Ramones, and the paisley shirts and winkle-picker boots of the '60s psychedelic generation. Bands from The Cult to The Stems typify the look and the attitude: one of romanticism and subdued rebellion.

Brisbane had some truly magnificent dens of iniquity for swampies, but the best was Morticia's, named of course after the delicous Morticia Addams. This club had a clientele ranging from mods to punks to swampies to goths to metal-heads (yes, always resplendant in lycra leggings and big hair). It was a place for the alternative subcultures to feel safe, dance to great music (ranging from The Doors to Guns'n'Roses to Wall of Voodoo), and to get to know other 'weirdos'. Morticia's was held in various venues, but for me the most memorable was at The Hacienda, a former gay bar in Brunswick Street, Fortitude Valley.

The Valley in the '80s was not the popular hangout for Gen Ys sporting stilettos and mini skirts which it now is...although the stilettos and minis were worn by the many prostitutes who roamed the streets. The Valley was a haven for the outcasts, the misfits, the people who couldn't get into clubs at the Riverside or in the CBD because their black jeans were unacceptable under conservative club dress codes. Yes, we still congregated outside Hungry Jacks in the Queen Street Mall -- like the EMOs do now -- but the city was a hostile zone for us. The Valley was our home. There, swampies, prostitutes, drag queens and the LGBTIQ+ communities blended into one, an accepting environment without judgement. And one of the major binding points was our fear and loathing of the corrupt Queensland Police.

It astounded me the first time I walked through the Valley with my friends in 1986. We'd had a couple of drinks before setting out for Morticia's but were by no means drunk. The police stopped us for questioning anyhow. They thought we looked like we were "up to no good". They threw one of our friends in a jail cell for the night because he had less than $2 on him. Another friend was thrown against a wall, searched, and punched in the face. We girls were screaming at the police the entire time to stop, begging them to cease their violence. They then threatened us with rape if we didn't shut up and "piss off". That's the way the cookie crumbled under Joh; fittingly, the police corruption under his reign was finally his undoing. Thanks to a Chris Masters' special on Four Corners called The Moonlight State, and the tenacious journalism of local reporter Phil Dickie, the Fitzgerald Inquiry was established and eventually, we were rid of the monster and his violent thugs.

One of the valuable aspects of his cruelty and lack of judgement as a premier was that my generation grew up with a sense of having to fight for our rights. We protested against the midnight Deen Brothers' specials, against police violence and corruption. We didn't trust our government, and they didn't trust us. There were no youth-friendly government policies to butter young people up; we had to stand on our own feet and make or break it through our own tenacity. There were no music grants or politicians rewarding or encouraging young artists or bands; we were artists, musicians or writers because that was how we expressed our anger/frustration at the environment we were growing up in. In the mid '80s, there was no room for the apathy I see in Brisbane's creative industries today, where it's all about the money and who has more 'friends' on Facebook. (We didn't even have the internet back then, so had no idea what was going on in the world of music until we received our latest copy of a two month old Smash Hits magazine from the UK via our local newsagent.)

The musicians I knew back then had a fabulous sense of irony and their lyrics were often tainted by their experiences of being persecuted for looking or thinking differently; out of this pool of potential talent, you're most likely familiar with the Brisbane musicians who now form Powderfinger and Regurgitator. Less well-known Brisbane bands such as Voodoo Lust and The Screaming Tribesmen had true pub-band grit and their live performances in local pubs -- back before they decided pokies were more lucrative than music -- were always passionate and a little bit psycho! The only local band I thought retained this vibe was SixFtHick, however I have been pleasantly surprised lately, mostly due to the growing metal and experimental scenes, and bands like Headkase.

I see young musicians in the Valley now: many are consumer-friendly costly versions of us in our $2 op shop shirts from Paddy's Market (now an uber yuppie apartment area named Teneriffe). The corporate world has adopted 'alternative' and it's now an industry that rakes in millions each year: Converse are more than four times the price they were when we wore them, EMO style and designer 'skinny' jeans ensure 'alternative' is now socially acceptable. The police in Queensland are better behaved and are slightly afraid of the precious youth market.

And this all comes through in young Brisbane's plastic, consumer-friendly music. From Operator Please to The Grates, it's all meaningless pap, despite their claims to be "baroque pop" or some other silly, made-up genre. They're marketable, they're inoffensive, they'll make someone money. Not like the unattractive screamers from my past or even the offensive screamers of the present, who continue to be ignored by both record labels and the music media. Even Triple J, the government-owned radio station which played an important part in promoting alternative music, now devotes most of its airplay to innocuous indie bands with nothing to say...but a pretty face to say it with.

Where is the aggression? Where is the angst? There is still plenty to be pissed off about in Queensland: despite our current premier's pleasant public demeanour, the government continues to waste money, act selfishly, and ignore public opinion. Where is the media in all of this? Waist deep in it, preferring to re-print press releases rather than investigate potential corruption. So that leaves the rabble-rousing to the creative community, to members of the public. But where is the 2009 Brisbane equivalent of The Saints? Nowhere to be found.

This blog post has but one purpose: to put life as a young person living in Brisbane into historical perspective. It wasn't always this easy being young, creative or different. It's a plea to young creative types to always question what governments and corporations are doing, and how important it is to place the microscope over your hometown sometimes. To remind them that no matter how easy it might be to get famous on a pretty face and a vapid tune, to become famous speaking out for someone or something is always going to be far more rewarding. You might even get what I doubt many musicians around at the moment will receive in the long run: Respect.

SSSC : Street Sweeper Social Club [Album Review]

This album is, simply, made for rocking with your c*ck out. Well, I don’t have one, but you get what I mean.

Street Sweeper Social Club (SSSC) might not require a lengthy introduction for many people as it is a new collaboration from Rage Against the Machine / Audioslave / Nightwatchman guitarist extraordinaire Tom Morello. This time, he joins up with The Coup’s ‘Boots’ Riley, a man with a gift for the rap, a powerful lyricist.

From the first track, ‘Fight! Smash! Win!’, SSSC annihilates with powerful riffs and switchblade lyrics. Tom’s musical stamp is written all over these tracks, and there is in parts a strong resemblance to Rage Against the Machine (RATM). Let’s just get THAT closet monster right out there to start with, because the comparisons are inevitable. Tom was a profound part of RATM so of course his prints are going to be all over SSSC.

However, Boots’ vocals and lyrics add a new dimension to SSSC’s music: grass roots activism. Boots’ lyrics go “rat-a-tat-tat!” into your brain and stay there, creating ideas and empowering the listener with his “this is where it’s at” attitude. He’s like a switched on, funky John Lennon. Listening to these tracks is like the animation in those old Batman episodes: “BAM!”, “POW!”. Yes, it’s that freaking good.

By now, you’ve probably seen the music video for ‘100 Little Curses’, a track with some ‘sock it in the kisser’ lines for corporate America; those wealthy hounds who suck on the blood of the people. ‘The Oath’ grooves it up with some distinctly Hendrix overtones; many of Tom’s fans say he’s Hendrix re-born. ‘The Squeeze’ has got a driving rhythm that just prances along and teases throughout the track. ‘Clap for the Killers’ is a predatory, snake-like groove that stalks those corporate gangsters:

“Well I wrote this for criminals
But they the ones who wrote the laws
They ain’t on TV gettin arrested all up in their draws
They stick their hands up politicians
Make em move their jaws
And they be starving folks for bread
Until their breath pause.”

One of my favourite tracks on the album is the next one, ‘Somewhere in the world it’s midnight’. The intonation of Boots’ lyrics creates a fantastic syncopation that rides on top of Tom’s purring guitar. “Somewhere in the world it’s 3 o’clock, time to get out of school and think”: so ridiculously catchy. I can see in my head thousands of people at live gigs dancing and singing along to this song. Tom plays guitar and bass on the album and the similar styles create this pounding rhythm that your butt really can’t resist. So as well as intelligent lyrics, powerful vocals, we’ve got the arse wiggle ingredient. Ah, it’s absolutely irresistible!

Stanton Moore played drums and percussion on the album, and contributed to the writing process on ‘Shock you Again’ and ‘Megablast’. ‘Shock you Again’ reminds me of the best of early-style Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Next track, ‘Good Morning Mrs Smith’, honestly gets right down in there...to the sweet spot. Boots’ raps and grunts glide like honey over the raunchy bass line; this song is sex on a track. The lyrics, of course, have nothing to do with getting down and dirty:

“You said your life was something like the inquisition
All you could do was lay there in prone position
I said there’s love inside the people connectin
and interactin
strugglin
finding direction
That’s why you see insurrection.”

‘Megablast’ displays the reasoning for the explicit lingo tag (whatever you do, don’t get a ‘cleaned up’ version of the album; it’s best a dish served with extras, the expletives are the hand grenades):

“Stockbrokers pace the floor and do some
State fellatio and ooh um
Ay man fuck them Federallies.”

I totally dig ‘Promenade’, the next track, with its jaunty square dance rap. Part Saturday Night Fever, part Oklahoma. It’s kind of bizarre, the combination of funk, rap and western, but it works. ‘Nobody moves til we say go’ is my personal favourite; the bass line in this digs in deeeep.

Rarely do I review an album which is 100% fabulous from start to finish but SSSC has done it. This is the perfect album. Unfortunately for the band, this always sets up a nasty precedent, but it feels like they have a lot more to say so I’m not too concerned about the follow-up meeting expectations. In the current musical environment, where older musicians with strong opinions are throwing in the towel and other musicians in the top 40 don’t have a hell of a lot to say that’s worth listening to, SSSC is a breath of fresh, luscious, ripe air. Take a deep breath and let something inside you bloom.

If you’d like to learn more about what drives SSSC, read my interview with Boots Riley here.

Visit the SSSC official website.

Boots Riley: taking the power to the people [Interview]

Interview with

BOOTS RILEY from STREET SWEEPER SOCIAL CLUB

10:20am, 3 July 2009 

Street Sweeper Social Club (SSSC) is the creation of Tom Morello and ‘Boots’ Riley. Of course, most people have heard of Morello due to his involvement in Rage Against the Machine, one of the foremost activist bands of the last 20 years. Audioslave is another band you might remember him from, and his solo project, The Nightwatchman. Boots Riley, however, is a different story.

Not many people in Australia may have heard of his band The Coup, however it has been pumping out incredibly empowering anthems for around 16 years. Boots (can’t refer to him as Riley, just doesn’t fit) has an amazing ability to inspire people with his lyrics...and shock them. The reactions he has garnered from conservatives in the US means he’s certainly agitating the right people. In SSSC, he raps about the economic, political, and business environments creating hard times for citizens of his country, and the hypocrisy that seems to go hand in hand with extreme corporate wealth. His lyrics and gutsy vocal delivery, combined with Morello’s ever brilliant Hendrix reincarnations on guitar, create an invigorating soundtrack to the current state of the world, providing a welcome change from the limp pop-pap flooding the top 10 list in many countries.

While I’d normally write up an interview as a story with partial quotes, Boots was so eloquent and such an interesting interviewee that I’ve decided to give you the interview verbatim. I believe that allowing people to speak about their passions without editing them for ‘catchy’ quotes provides a context that lends an interview a special feel. So, I’d like to introduce you to one Mr Boots Riley.

**
MAF: Congratulations on releasing such an amazing album. I’m sure everyone says that to you, but for me, it surpassed expectations.

Boots: See, I could take that as a compliment, or I could take that as an insult. That’s like saying, “You’re so much better than I thought you’d be”.

MAF: I mean that when I first heard that SSSC had formed and was going to release an album, I wasn’t sure what style to expect: The Nightwatchman, The Coup. I was pleasantly surprised to hear your styles meld together so well. While researching for this interview, I was astounded to read of the bad luck and unfortunate timing which befell The Coup: tour bus crashes, inappropriate language charges, ‘Party Music’s cover art depicting the destruction of the World Trade Centre buildings immediately prior to 9/11 etc. How has your experience with Tom been different to the past 17 years or so in the business?

Boots: Let’s see, we go on a tour bus instead of me driving a van. We have a tour manager instead of me being the tour manager. We have hotels instead of sleeping in the van. Those things are very different. We’re also, instead of playing small clubs, playing amphitheatres. The other thing that’s different is that Tom is someone who was a friend before we were working on music together, so it’s a lot of fun.

MAF: How did you and Tom first meet?

Boots: He kind of hit me out of the blue to be on the ‘Tell us the Truth’ tour that was basically against media monopoly and against the Free Trade of the Americas Agreement. Through that tour, which was about five weeks long, we became friends. Over the years, as he did The Nightwatchman, I’d come on to his set and we’d do acoustic versions of Coup songs. The friendship kept going on and one day, after Audioslave broke up, he basically said “We’re in a band called Street Sweeper Social Club; here’s a cassette tape, start writing it”, and here we are.

MAF: Do you have any goals you’d like to achieve with your music? Are you trying to stop people from being apathetic, trying to inform people and get them motivated?

Boots: Vaguely that would be the case. I don’t think people are apathetic. I think people feel powerless; they want things to change, but they feel like they can’t do anything about it. So I want to let people know that, when they say “It’s only me by myself, what can I do?”, I want to give them the answer. And the answer is to get a whole bunch of other people who are by themselves, and then you’re not by yourself: you’re an organisation. Then choose a campaign through which you can get other folks to join you, and force your hand. I’m talking about radical unions which, at least in the United States, we don’t have. And this whole economic crisis, the actual thing that is being covered up is the crisis of capitalism, where they pay the workers less and less and take more and more for themselves. Then the workers have less and less to spend, so they want to cut wages even more. So how do we stop that? We don’t let them give us less, that’s the first step. Second step: once we force our hand at that, we’re going to shut down your factories, we’re going to shut down your institutions until you pay us more. Once you do that, then you’re going for a bigger piece of the pie than what you’ve got now. So yeah, it’s not just to stop people from being apathetic, because I don’t think most people are apathetic. It’s just to let people know that they have to join organisations with people who are in the same situation they are so that they can change their own situation.

MAF: In an interview with Bill Maher, you apparently called yourself a communist, and his retort was “Communists don’t sell records”. Do you still relate to communist beliefs and, if so, how do you navigate the commercial aspects of the music industry?

Boots: I think he’s confusing ‘communists’ with ‘communalists’. I don’t think we’re going to change the world by opting out of capitalism, because you can’t opt out of capitalism. I don’t want to stop capitalism just for myself, I want to stop exploitation. The only way to stop exploitation is by using the means that are out there. If my song plays on the radio right before or after a Coke ad, then it’s going to be like that because that’s the radio station that everyone’s listening to. I’m not going to do a Coke endorsement, but our music will still play on those stations. If I have to use the music industry to get my art out there, then that’s what I have to do. 

MAF: There seems to be a bit more of an undercurrent of McCarthyism in the US; that’s the way some of us perceive it over here. I was reading that a conservative columnist once cited The Coup’s song ‘5 million ways to kill a CEO’ as “a stomach turning example of anti-Americanism disguised as high-brow intellectual expression”. How do you respond to those types of comments about your lyrics?

Boots: Well, coming from someone like her, that was a compliment. The people who would say that are not the people I am aiming at in the first place; I’m aiming for the people that are effected the worst by it, that are actually going to do something about it. Really, they don’t care what you call it. What they want is food on the table and a roof over their heads, and things like health care and education; that’s what I want for everybody. So you could call it ‘communist’, you could call it ‘socialist’, you could call it whatever, I don’t care. But I want the people to democratically control the wealth that they create, and everybody’s down with that. So I’m not going to argue with someone who wants to call it anti-Americanism; whatever you want to label it, just get it right what I’m asking for.

MAF: People in Australia who speak their minds are often labelled un-Australian, so it seems to be a global phenomenon that people who speak out are called unpatriotic.

Boots: It’s just a way to not talk about what the issue is.

MAF: It’s been great to see footage of you guys performing as part of the NIN|JA tour line-up. What was that experience like, and what was the audience’ response to SSSC’s music, because you hadn’t released your album yet?

Boots: I expected to see a lot of blank stares and, because it was mainly a NIN crowd, I expected there to be lots of people just staring at the stage, annoyed that Trent Reznor wasn’t on stage yet. That wasn’t the case at all; everyone reacted well to the music and if there were a few people who were like that in the crowd at first, we won them over.

MAF: Your live performance is so vibrant and energetic, you’d have to be made of plastic not to react in some way.

Boots: Thank you. We want our live shows to embody the emotion that we’re playing. We’re not just up there standing still, where you can hear what we’re saying; you can see and FEEL what we’re saying too. 

MAF: How did you choose the tour line-up? You and Tom had already written the music, so how did you decide on the musicians who would tour with you on the NIN|JA tour?

Boots: Well, on the album, the drummer is Stanton Moore, and he plays with so many other bands there was no way we were going to be able to have him as our regular drummer. With the tour line-up, we wanted people who were friends and were great at their instrument.

MAF: Do you have any plans to tour Australia eventually?

Boots: Yes, I believe so, but they kind of keep me in the dark about everything...but I know we do, I know for sure we do. I came and did a few shows in Australia last year with Galactic, and that was a lot of fun, so I can’t wait to get back. I think they’re trying to get us out to see you guys in summertime.

MAF: Before you go, I’d like to let you know that my favourite songs from the album are ‘Somewhere in the world it’s midnight’, ‘Shock you again’, and ‘Nobody moves (til we say go)’...

Boots: I want to do a video for ‘Shock you Again’ that takes it to a different place so it’s more macabre; a Rocky Horror Picture Show kind of thing. Hopefully we’ll get to do that.
**
Street Sweeper Social Club's album is now available in record stores throughout Australia. You can find out more about the band on Street Sweeper Social Club's: 
Official website 
MySpace 
Facebook 
Twitter 

This interview was conducted for The Dwarf.