Fastest Band In The West

The Age

Friday November 21, 2008

Patrick Donovan

IF YOU put the name Tame Impala into an internet search a few months ago, you either got a description of the animal - a lightning quick African antelope - or the Chevrolet Impala car. But now the buzz is building about Tame Impala, the Perth psychedelic rock trio who signed to Modular Records, released a lo-fi EP that drew comparisons to labelmates Wolfmother and secured the support slot for the buzz tour of the year, MGMT.

The trio - singer-guitarist Kevin Parker, drummer Jay Watson and bassist Dominic Simper - met in music class at age 13 and forged their sound on a diet of Cream, Baby Grandmothers, CAN, Kyuss, NEU!, Blue Cheer, Steppenwolf and Jefferson Airplane records.

On their website they say that, like their namesake, they like playing "in paddocks/large areas in the sun", so it's appropriate they are booked for a slew of festivals this summer including Meredith, Nevereverland and the Falls.

"My parents are from Zimbabwe and we always heard about the game animals in Africa. I loved the word impala, and it's got these amazing horns," Parker says.

"And I liked the idea that the name isn't self-advertising. Because if you have a name that is really bold and out there, there is an obligation to live up to it."

What about the Detroit muscle car, then?

"I didn't even know about the car so I was a bit pissed off. Because it's not meant to be any reference to any muscle car. But most animals have cars named after them."

Like the car, their sound is lean, cool and muscular.

Parker hopes the hype building around the band doesn't influence the recording of the debut long-player.

"The EP was not intended to be listened to by anyone outside my circle of friends, let alone the rest of Perth or the world, and people seemed to enjoy it. So that suggests to me that there was never any need to accommodate for certain types of people. But we are conscious of it and it's hard to shut that out. It's a curse."

Catch the band tonight at the Tote and tomorrow at the Espy.

Firmly rooted in Byron

Roots music fans will have to trek to Byron Bay next Easter to enjoy a festival after organisers of Point Nepean: A Music Experience announced they will take a year off.

Next year Byron's "Bluesfest" has secured an impressive line-up including Lucinda Williams, Ben Harper, Alabama 3, Tinarawin and the Drive-By Truckers with Booker T. Jones. Williams, Tinarawin and the Truckers should all make it down to Melbourne, but Byron will be the only east coast shows for Harper and his new band, Relentless7, the John Butler Trio, Missy Higgins and Michael Franti.

"Point Nepean is off next year and we'll look at it in the future," said promoter Michael Chugg, who has sold his shares in the East Coast Blues and Roots Festival.

"It's a beautiful venue but it's not easy to manage. We need a second road in and out."

The Victorian market had been the toughest nut to crack, Chugg said.

"There hasn't been a successful festival within shooting range of Melbourne since Sunbury. We've had some great line-ups so it's very frustrating," he said.

"It's a pity. Maybe there's already enough festivals in Victoria with the Falls, Port Fairy, Queenscliff, Apollo Bay and all the others," said East Coast Blues and Roots Festival founder Peter Noble, who admits that the Point Nepean festival ate into Byron Bay's numbers.

"At one stage 12% of Byron Bay's audience - 3000 or 4000 people - were coming up from Victoria."

But he denied the festival bubble was about to burst.

"A lot of people are saying this will be blood on the tracks for festivals, but we're already a third sold out in Byron and we haven't even announced the line-up yet," he said.

In other tour news, the Killers, Snow Patrol, Elbow, Kaiser Chiefs and Duffy play the V Festival on April 4; Walter Meego and Juke Kartel join the Solar Music Festival line-up alongside the Presets and You Am I at Mornington Racecourse on January 3; Kings of Leon play the Rod Laver Arena on March 13; Arctic Monkeys rock the Palais Theatre on January 24; TV on the Radio return to the Hi Fi Bar on January 29; Ryan Adams plays the Forum Theatre on January 30; the Triffids and friends play the songs of David McComb in A Secret in the Shape of a Song at Hamer Hall on January 29; and David Byrne performs Songs of David Byrne and Brian Eno at Hamer Hall on February 9. But just as the Vines were starting to rise to their former heights, they have had to cancel shows for the rest of the year because singer Craig Nicholls' mental condition has deteriorated.

Headed for the Laneway

The Hold Steady open their latest album with Sticky's favourite line of the year: "Me and my friends are like the drums on Lust for Life." The band will tour early next year for the Laneway Festival alongside the Drones, Tame Impala, El Guincho and Jay Reatard, as well as their own show at the Corner Hotel on February 2. And in news to hand, Jerome Borazio,who helped start the festival five years ago, is running alongside deputy mayor Gary Singer in the Melbourne City Council elections.

Getting Blacklisted

The Australasian World Music Expo takes over the Arts Centre this weekend as Melbourne celebrates the best in indigenous and world music from the Australasian region.

The Arts Centre will host daytime forums on topics including festival and touring advice for Europe, with panellists from the Roskilde and Glastonbury festivals. Showcases include sets from Archie Roach, Ruby Hunter and Dan Sultan, David Bridie, the South Seas performance with Moana and the Tribe (NZ) and George Telek (PNG) and the launch of blacklist.org.au, a website representing the music of indigenous Australia.

Australasian World Music Expo director Simon Raynor said the expo gave indigenous Australian artists who didn't have the resources to travel to Europe a chance to perform their music for overseas delegates.

"I'm hoping that these international festival bookers and talent agents will be picking up a number of these artists to play at next year's European summer festival circuit," he said.

Details at www.awme.com.au.

AIR heads

The best independent music of the year will be celebrated on Monday night at the 2008 AIR Awards.

Eddy Current Suppression Ring, Lior, the Herd, Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, the Getaway Plan, the Drones and Martha Wainwright all play at the ceremony at the Corner Hotel on Monday night. Tickets from the venue. The Drones, Blue King Brown, the Fumes, Birds of Tokyo, Josh Pyke, Angus and Julia Stone, My Disco and the Temper Trap head the list of 17 Australian acts that will play the South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas, next March.

Young music industry enthusiasts can head to Northcote Town Hall, Room 2, 1st floor, 189 High Street, Northcote, at 5.45pm on Wednesday for the latest FReeZACentral workshops to hear music industry professionals explain how to get a foot in the door. Registration online at freezacentral.vic.gov.au.

In gigs

Tonight Melbourne-based songstress Teeth and Tongue launches her album Monobasic at Carlton's Curtin Bandroom, X rock the Espy and Rebecca Barnard plays the Oakleigh Bowling Club. Tomorrow Ed Kuepper plays the Toff in Town, city, and the Breadmakers launch album Night of the Cobra at Richmond's Great Britain Hotel. On Sunday Jordie Lane and Tracy McNeil launch Fireside Bellows' stunning album No Time To Die at the Northcote Social Club. On Tuesday Andy Baylor launches his album Blues is Poetry at the Spiegeltent. And next Thursday Paul Kelly, Tex Perkins, James Reyne and the Fauves perform at A Thing for Kate, a benefit for music industry veteran Kate Bentley who is fighting cancer, while Trikarma play the Espy.

-- PATRICK DONOVAN

pdonovan@theage.com.au

Tomorrow, the most long-awaited - and expensive - album of all time, Guns N' Roses' Chinese Democracy, is finally released. Sticky has 10 copies to give away. Email eguide@theage.com.au today between 11am and 11.15am and name your favourite Gunners track. Only winning entries will be notified.

© 2008 The Age

Back to News Index | Back to Home