TSL To Support INXS

Local pop-punk heroes, The Short List have been hand picked by legendary Australian rock group, INXS to open their show at the annual Sucrogen 400 Series in Townsville on Saturday night.

The band scored the spot after submitting a demo to competition run by local commercial radio station HotFM alongside bands from Cairns through Mackay for a chance to support rockers, INXS. The boys were ecstatic upon news of their win.

"To support INXS is such a massive opportunity. They're a legendary band, we are all definitely excited to meet them and have the chance to perform before them," says frontman, Daniel Chigwidden.

INXS will play their first Australian gig since 2007 this weekend in Townsville, fronted by none other than controversial frontman JD Fortune.

The Short List will hit the stage at 6pm, with INXS penned to play at 6:45pm at Stage Area to the western side of the Civic Theatre.

The concert is free for Saturday Event ticket holders, however, tickets to the event are still available through Ticketek.

Changes to Splendour Lineup

Only weeks out from the event, unforeseen circumstances have led to the withdrawal of two bands on the 2010 Splendour In The Grass lineup. Due to recording schedules, British act The Ting Tings have had to pull out of the festival. Management released a statement confirming; “Due to the rescheduling of the next Tings Tings album to later in 2010 the band sadly have decided to delay their Australian tour and this of course means they will not be able to play Splendour in 2010.” Replacing The Ting Tings will be formally Unearthed winners, Art vs. Science. Locally grown indie darlings, The Middle East, have also been forced to cancel their appearance at the festival. The band have withdrawn their appearance due to an extended recording schedule. Replacing them will be indie songstress Sally Seltmann, previously known as New Buffalo.

Two Door Cinema Club

It doesn't seem like your typical Irish, Celtic ensemble when you initially stumble upon this electropop trio. But then again, whats the use of living in the past, drenched in tradition, when you can soar like an eagle, and make music thats both catchy, and charismatic? So, their name derives from the obvious; a local cinema in which seemed to stick like glue, and become the tag that divinely intervened the three band members. Two Door Cinema Club evolved from your typical medium of uploading material onto networking phenomena Myspace, and with a constant growing interest, the band members came to a halt with their university studies to immerse their selves into the live art of music. By 2009, the band was well on their way to a more recognisable image, and recording commenced, with their debut album following suite. Tourist History was released in the earlier months of 2010 here in Australia with a tour shortly to follow when Alex Trimble, Kev Baird, Sam Halliday head down under for whats sure to be an extravagant string of shows for the Irish musicians, and a spot on the bill for Splendour In The Grass toward the end of July. With a thirst for "anything quirky", heres hoping the band feasts their fangs into some Australiana when they're down under, and become regular visitors! You can catch Two Door Cinema Club at Splendour In The Grass at Woodford on July 31 and their sideshows at Sydney and Melbourne.

words by Nic Horton

Roller Derby - A Short History

Words by Le-Anne Johnson

Pics Supplied

Roller skating has always been a popular pastime in the United States of America, and endurance races were particularly popular in the early 20th century. Held on both flat and banked tracks, these races were coined 'derby' events by the press, meaning multi-race events with multiple participants. Promoter Leo Seltzer and sports writer Damon Runyon are credited with modifying these endurance competitions during the 1930s by emphasizing and maximizing the physical contact and teamwork between skaters and making it part of the game, effectively creating the spectacle known as roller derby.

During the 1940s and 1950s, roller derby's popularity exploded across the United States, attracting tens of thousands of spectators to live bouts, as well as television and radio coverage. This popularity continued throughout the 1960s under several different guises and within several separate leagues across the country. As time went on, roller derby became increasingly scripted and staged, its popularity declining in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The sport effectively died out with the collapse of most operating leagues due to poor revenue and lack of public interest.

Fast forward to Austin, Texas, 2001: a new revival of roller derby emerged, establishing a focus on athleticism, community, sisterhood and sassiness. As word spread, all-women roller derby leagues, founded from a grass-roots, skater-owned-skater-run philosophy began to emerge across America and, soon after, all over the world.

By 2006, roller derby had gone global and diversified. Currently there are just over 500 amateur all-female, co-ed or male leagues skating flat-track and/or banked track roller derby in 15 countries around the world, with over 20 leagues in Australia alone. With over 20,000 participants worldwide, roller derby is the fastest-growing female-focused amateur sport in the world.

The roller derby resurgence spread to Australia a few years ago, and today there are over 25 flat-track roller derby leagues in Australia, with more starting up all the time, due largely to the DIY community attitude roller derby fosters. While each league runs completely independently, most flat-track roller derby leagues adhere to WFTDA regulations and we define ourselves as being part of a global derby family.

Here's some info about a newly-formed league on the Sunshine Coast, the Coastal Assassins Roller Derby, right from the league's founding member, Cecilia Morton:

Okay, so a few of us gal pals on the Sunshine Coast wanted to play derby. When we found out there was no league I looked into how to start one, we made a commitment and it has snowballed from there. With some help from various leagues we formed in April with about 12 skaters in our first training session. Now two-and-a-half months on we regularly get around 20 at a session and have about 30 registered league members.

Fishnets and having an alter-ego are great draw cards to roller derby, but also having a tough, positive extreme sport that women can excel at is a really positive thing. And the camaraderie is unbeatable.

We are busy building up the skills needed to be bout-ready and don't actually have teams in our league yet. We aim to be bouting at some point next year, can't wait!

Roller derby really seems to be taking off in Australia and I would love to see it spread to an international playing field. Cheering on an Aussie team would be amazing!

If there are any people in the Sunshine Coast area that want to don some skates and join in the mayhem then send an email to coastal.assassins@y7mail.com and Bloody Fiasco, our Fresh Meat Officer, will get back to you with some info.

With scary names such as these: Buzza, Slam Von Carnage, Bloody Fiasco, Heavy Petal, Veronica Dodge, Pink Vengence, Gansta O'Derby, Gnrl Grievance, Dr Roadkill, Quiet Riot, Billy Machete, Bella Donna Deadly, Rusty Vixen, Karmina X Bones, Lady Savage, Hippy Hellraiser, Dirty Torque, Bandsaw Betty, Senorita Smash and Dee Dee Dainja, why wouldn't you join up?

So ladies over the age of 18 years, if you need an outlet for your pent-up anger (and let's face it, we all have some) why not try roller derby?! What you need as a beginner is skates, a helmet and protective gear - start-up is expensive but protection is important!

Check out Skate Australia for your local league listings.

Cooking with Kristy: Banoffee Pie

Words by Kristy Jones

Ingredients

• 250g packet of biscuits (eg, milk arrowroot)
• 115g butter
• 400g can of condensed milk or Nestle caramel, pre-made
• 2 bananas
• 300ml bottle cream or canned cream
• 1/4 cup shredded coconut
• Chocolate
• Ice cream

Method

Boil the condensed milk can in a deep saucepan of boiling water for 2-3 hours, to caramelize. Warning: the can must be covered with water the entire time, to caramelize evenly and to prevent the can from busting out everywhere.

Thoroughly cool the caramel for a while.

Crush the biscuits with a rolling pin or in a food processor and transfer to a large bowl.

Shake the bowl and crush any large pieces that rise to the top.

Add the coconut.

Melt the butter and mix with the biscuits until all crumbs are coated.

Empty into a cake tin and press against the sides and bottom of the tin with the outer surface of a clean glass.

Refrigerate while you whip the cream thickly.

When the biscuit base has set, pour the caramel over the base, spreading it evenly.

Slice the banana over the top of the caramel.

With a star nozzle, pipe the whipped cream over the bananas.

Finally, garnish the dessert by sprinkling chocolate over the cream.

Refrigerate until you're ready to serve.

Five Minutes With: The Amity Affliction

On the eve of their North Queensland tour, Anna-Marie Harding caught up with The Amity Affliction's guitarist (and former member of The Getaway Plan), Clint Splattering.

First off, congratulations on your new album, Youngbloods. The album was released on the 18th of June, how has it been going so far?

It's been really good. We just found out it had debuted at number 6 on the ARIA charts, which is the highest we've ever reached, so it's amazing news. Other than that we've been rehearsing for our album tour.

How did you come up with the name for the album Youngbloods?

We were just brainstorming a bunch of names and none of them seemed to sound right to fit the album, so we branched out to a few friends and managed to get one that everyone agreed on.

While on the topic of names, is it true that the band's name is inspired by The Amityville Horror?

I'm not too sure about it as I wasn't in the band when the name came up, but I think the word "Amity" is more related to it's meaning of "friendship" than the movie.

Your national Youngbloods tour kicks off in Adelaide on 2 July, is there any town in particular that you're looking forward to playing at?

I'm really excited to play my hometown of Melbourne, but I'm super excited for Sydney as we're playing the Roundhouse. It's one of my favourite venues to play and always has a good vibe.

Are you looking forward to playing in Townsville on 18 July?

Yeah, it should be good. I've only played there once, but it was good to get out there, as most kids hadn't had the opportunity to see us play before.

American band Misery Singles will be one of the bands supporting you on this tour. Previously you supported them in their sold-out headline run in 2009 - how does it feel to have the tables turned?

It definitely feels weird. Misery Singles are one of my all-time favourite bands, so it's crazy to think that they're supporting us. We're all great friends, though, so when we tour with them anywhere else, I'm sure the tables will turn again.

The band was formed in 2002, what were some of your musical influences?

My main influences were bands like U2 and Tool. Their use of effects and nice delays inspired me to take my guitar playing in a different direction.

What were the first albums you bought?

First ones I can remember are Smash by The Offspring and Dude Ranch by Blink 182.

How did you meet and consequently form the band?

I wasn't in the band when they began, but I met the guys when my old band The Getaway Plan did one of our first tours with them. Ever since then we've been great friends and one thing led to another and now I'm playing for them!

Do you think your music has evolved or changed much since you began?

Lots! To a lot of people it probably all sounds the same, but I think the songwriting has improved heaps and the new album hopefully displays that.

With your second album just being released are you starting to enjoy more notoriety?

Haha, I have no idea what this means. Is this saying we're known for being bad? If so, no.

What do you guys do for fun or to relax?

Mainly just hang out and drink, every chance we have off tour is kind of a race in an attempt to catch up with our friends that aren't on the road with us.

Do you have any favourite or interesting stories from touring?

I've only done a couple of shows with Amity, but I'm sure something is bound to happen on the Youngbloods tour.

Favourite song of all time?

With or Without You by U2.

Any favourite movies?

I love Requiem for a Dream, Detroit Rock City and Jurassic Park. All have amazing soundtracks as well.

What are some of your pet peeves?

Hmmm, I don't really have any. I really hate unexpected loud noises, though....

How do you cope with being in such close quarters and spending so much time together while touring?

I think I cope pretty well. I definitely hang more with a select few people but generally we all get along well, and have our own ways of escaping it all from time to time.

What's the lady scene like with the band right now?

Haha, it's good. We all have girlfriends besides two, but I'm not sure how interested they are at the moment. Everybody's minds seem to be just on getting ready for the tour, then we'll see what happens.

What are the band's future plans?

We just want to tour as much as possible. Hopefully we can get back overseas and try to crack some other markets. Other than that we'll just try and enjoy the ride.

The Amity Affliction will perform at the Townsville PCYC on Sunday, 18 July from 7.00pm.

Fitness: Results, and Why You're Not Getting Any!

Words by Leon Price

This article is to help you take a step back and look at what you're doing, time to get real and get serious. Ask yourself: are you achieving what you set out to achieve with your exercising and diet? Do you fit into those jeans yet? Is your six pack still hiding underneath a layer of padding?

If you've stayed committed, trained to your exercise routine and kept to your diet and your results have hit a bit of a plateau, then this is the article for you. Take the time to seriously review your diet and training and make a plan! Sit down and take the 20 to 30 minutes to review and renew your plan; the time taken to do and put into action may give you better results in two weeks than the last two to three months you've spent working in the gym or out on the pavers with the old plan. The following is a few pointers to help you review your current program. Doing the same thing and expecting different results is the definition of stupidity, and if you're losing motivation, there is nothing more motivating than getting results.

1. Nutrition - Are you feeding your body what it is made of?

Remember the body is made of water, protein, fats, vitamins, minerals, and a small store of carbohydrates in our muscles. Your body is not made out of McDonald's, salt, oily curries with rice, alcohol and highly processed packaged foods. Feed your body what it is made of and it will flourish. Skipping meals, counting calories and following the good ol' food pyramid from the 1950s is not the way to do it. Take calorie counting, for example. Say a 55kg female who leads an active lifestyle requires 1500 calories per day. If she makes up that 1500 calories in cans of Coke, donuts and takeaway foods, do you think she's going to be feeling great and be in shape? Your body doesn't know how many calories you're feeding it! All it knows is the volume of food you're putting in and what it's going to use or store those nutrients for. Feed your body the right things and you'll never have to count calories again. Time for a new plan! Get your required protein intake (click here for a reminder), eat green veggies like they're going out of fashion, get your intake of essential fatty acids, eat your carbs in the morning and after training. As crazy as it sounds, most people need to eat more to lose more fat!

2. Carbohydrates - Your body's preferred energy source?

How many people who try to "eat healthy" do you see snacking on fruit and low-fat yoghurt throughout the day? Firstly, the low fat content in yoghurt is compensated with extra sugar (same as in low fat milks) and full of lactose. Lactose is a dairy sugar, which we become less able to digest properly as adults, causing digestive complications in a high majority of people. Just ask yourself, how many other animals do you see suckling on their mother's breast after infancy?

Now for a quick fact on our little friend, fruit. Fruit's sweet taste is due to high levels of fructose (the sugar found in fruit) which is the highest fat-forming sugar available. Fructose is sugar for the liver, of which the liver only stores and requires a very small amount of. So unless you've completely depleted your body's carbohydrate stores (though high-intensity resistance training or long-duration cardio) your "healthy" apple's fructose is incapable of being stored as energy for your body and is converted to fat for storage. So if you love your fruit and want to keep the nutritional benefits and anti-oxidants they give you, make it a handful of mixed berries. Fruit, like all other carbohydrates, should be consumed first thing in the morning and after exercise. Yes, carbohydrates are your body's preferred fuel for moderate to high-intensity exercise, but don't expect your body to utilise your fat stores for energy when you're not exercising if you're continuously feeding it carbohydrates.

3. Fuel - Going hard on an empty tank.

It's a crime you see countless times (women generally being the most guilty), going hard on an empty tank. 30-60 minutes in the cardio room before hitting the weights or a jog/bootcamp session before breakfast is a surefire way to lose weight... notice how I use the word weight, and not body fat?

If you train hard when your carbohydrates stores are low, your body will break down your muscles and other body tissues and organs to fuel that workout. The only time you should work out when you're depleted of carbohydrates is EASY cardio first thing in the morning (on empty stomach) or after a high-intensity workout. Easy cardio training during these times will burn fat and aid recovery. So unless you want to be skinny-fat, look after your muscles by having fuel in the tank beforehand and refuelling afterwards, then in turn your muscles will look after you by using fat for energy for the other 23 hours of the day.

4. Routine - No direction or set purpose?

Do you wander around the weights room aimlessly looking for machines that you like to use? Do you decide, instead of your high-intensity afternoon aerobics session, to take a stroll down on the Strand? Get a routine! Plan your week's worth of training, especially if you use weights/resistance training. Using the same muscle groups for resistance training day in day out does not give sufficient time for them to recover. Split your muscle groups (legs, chest, back, shoulders, arms) up throughout your weekly training sessions. This will allow for adequate recovery and the ability to put focus and attention to the muscle group you are trying to train. For those of you who like to hit the pavers, do your walking when your body is in a state to burn fat for fuel! That time is first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. Take this at a moderate pace; go too hard and your body will break down itself instead of your fat stores. You can aid this fat-burning morning walk with a black coffee (no sugar), or some L-Carnitine (available at your local supplement store, like ASN).

5. Getting too advanced?

So you've done your basic exercises like squats, bench presses, push ups, lateral pull downs and some barbell curls and gotten some great results. Now you think it's time to move onto some more 'advanced' techniques like doing one-armed dumbbell presses whilst balancing on a swiss ball with one leg in the air. This is not how to get more advanced, and the only thing performing weights on a swiss ball gets you is imbalanced, lifting lighter/less effective weights and put you closer to embarrassing and/or hurting yourself. If something gets you results, stick to it! The next step is ramping it up with intensity techniques. The techniques as listed in the link will help you to bust through any plateaus and keep training challenging and interesting.

6. Train - Don't maintain.

You work out so you can get fitter, healthier, stronger, leaner. There are a lot of people out there who are simply going through the motions with a 2kg dumbbell in hand, pumping out 30-odd reps, getting bored and thinking that it is going to make a change. The body is an adaptive, protective organism, and unless you push it to exhaustion or failure, your body has no need to adapt and change to these stresses which you are placing it under. Failure means you lift the weight til you can no longer physically lift it any more. The ideal rep range for muscular growth is 8-12 reps, and failing within that range; you might need to lighten or increase your weight load to achieve this. For the girls who don't want to increase the size of their muscles, your rep range is 15-20. But take a realistic look at your body or particular parts (legs especially) and determine how much of it is muscle and how much is actually fat that is contributing to the size. Plus, don't worry about getting massive, as females have much lower levels of testosterone (the hormone required to build larger muscles).

So have a good look in the mirror and ask yourself: do I have what I want? Am I full of energy? Do I feel fit? Do I feel confident? Review your current training and diet, and remember - do what you always do, and you'll get what you always had.

Leon Price is a Personal Trainer certified in Bodybuilding & Contest Preparation from the International Academy of Physique Conditioning.

The Cat Empire Album Launch - Get Into It!

If you've ever wanted to be front-row at an official album launch, keep reading.

Australia's own The Cat Empire will be launching their latest album, Cinema, this Sunday, with a concert broadcast to fans via the world wide web with only a one-second delay.

Broadcasting from a secret location in Melbourne with only 100 fans in physical attendance, the band will perform a free concert to a virtual audience of thousands, with people from over 56 countries already registered.

The event can be streamed onto your PC wherever you happen to be at 10.30pm Melbourne time this Sunday, 20 June.

To register for the launch, visit The Cat Empire's official website here, click on 'Attend Album Launch' and fill in your details.

Hot Music News for North Queensland

John Butler Trio have announced North Queensland shows sure to thrill Townsville fans who thought they may miss out when the band joined The Cat Empire in Cairns for the Reggaetown Festival on 10 and 11 September...

Fear not, Townsvillians! JBT will be travelling the One Way Road to Townsville on 12 September ALONG WITH The Cat Empire, Blue King Brown and Mama Kin. The bands will perform the Union of Soul concert at Tony Ireland Stadium.

Stay tuned to SMAC Magazine for more details!

Trend Alert: Superman Glasses

Words by Nic Horton

It seems as though gone are the days of fine optometry, and gone are the days of genuine lenses, because the latest trend... well, a trend that surprisingly enough is still floating around the streets are the 'Superman Glasses'.

Basically the optometrist's comical relief is better known amongst pop culture as 'superman glasses'.

They consist of 'glasses', without the lenses, or glass for that matter; they're basically an empty frame, usually of geeky or nerdy appearance, available in a variety of different colours (but popularly black).

The concept of these glasses, beyond the Clark Kent namesake, derives from the prep-look of various musicians, designers and artists who, from what I can gather, toy and elaborate on the image of intellectual and scholarly stereotype. [think: Ok Go! Karl Largerfeld, Jenny Kee]

Or, it's kind of ala Lewis Carroll, Alice Through the Looking Glass - you put on the glasses and see the world through an elaborate and convoluted facet.

Either way, the superman glasses are a rather nerdish and distinctive wave of eccentric vogue.

Five Minutes With: Flicks

On the eve of their "Turn off the TV!" QLD tour, Jade Kennedy caught up with Flicks drummer Hugh Wheeler to talk all things... ahhh... Flicks!

The basics...

Name: Hughie!!

Age: 21.

Instrument: Drums.

Who's single? We're all single this year - last year we were in love, but this year we're out of it... seems the band thing was getting in the way too much for our formers...

The quickies...

Fave movie? Actually I'm really diggin' Wolf Creek atm... FREAKY... Avatar is also amazing. Didn't see it in the movies but the DVD was was sickkkk!

Fave lyric? I'm not much of a lyrics man but I do like 'My Favourite Mistake' lyrics by Sheryl Crow.

Fave drink? Powerade after gym... so thirst quenching! :)

iPhone or Blackberry? Three of us have iPhones... Adam... yeh... Blackberry.

Fave childhood TV show? Hilary Duff was hotttt, but Simpsons...

Fave holiday destination? I wish I knew what holidays were... but locally the sunny coast is nice.

Morning or night? Night.

Three things you can't live without? Music, socks with thongs, foooooooood.

Celebrity Crush? Halle Berry (BOMBSHELL - ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!!)

The other stuff...

Give us the low-down on Flicks so far...

Been together more than three years, new member this year, toured with Short Stack earlier this year, our single Hayley is coming out late June... no plans for big things hahaha. We love music/organise lots of things but don't really know what's going on!!!

Why the name change from 52 Flicks?

When we added Andy to the band this year, we thought it was appropriate to drop the 52... they were not our added up ages anymore anyway (that was the original reason behind the 52). Everyone seems to like Flicks anyway. Only annoying thing is changing all of our websites... ughhhh...

You just supported Short Stack on their regional tour - any hot goss?

Really nice guys, we partied hard with them - free drinks went down well... maybe not for (our) Andy, who drank too much haha. They pick up girls so easy. We still have to try. :(

You've penned an ode to Hayley Williams (Paramore) - any feedback from her camp yet?

Hahaha yeah we met Chad from New Found Glory after their Brisbane concert... he is dating Hayley. When we told him we'd written a song about her, he punched Adam smack in the face and said never write about her again... I wish... We did meet him and we gave him the single. He was cool, and said it's okay, "everyone your age has a crush on my gf."

Where do your influences come from?

It ranges massively over four different people... but in the beginning it was Blink 182 + Green Day, more lately it's American pop punk... we have influences coming from synth bands and metal bands as well. We draw synth influences from dance type music.

Describe the typical Flicks songwriting process...

We all write separately and bring songs to the band room... then we work out the songs... most of them come as full finished products... only a few come as starters. Andy is into writing music on his gameboy, and he comes up with cool "Chiptune" lines... we're keen to get this happenin'!

Your fan base seems to be predominantly young females - is that by accident or design?

Accident really... we don't write for them, we write for whoever likes what we write... I guess that's just the way it is. Our singles are more kind of poppy music which appeal to them more, I guess, but our album tracks are a little darker and heavier, which guys would prefer.

Any exciting Flicks news (besides the tour, obviously)?

Lots actually!!! Undisclosed atm! I can tell you, we are releasing our first single ever, Hayley, to radio in June and we're gonna need our fans to vote to help get us on the radio! This will be the start of some good to come hopefully! Please vote! :)

Catch Flicks on Facebook, Official, MySpace and YouTube for details.

Check out Flicks on their "Turn Off the TV" QLD Tour:

2 June Charters Towers PCYC

3 June CWA Hall Cairns

4 June Townsville PCYC

5 June Andergrove Community Hall Mackay

6 June Emerald PCYC

11 June Walter Reid Centre Rockhampton

27 June The Fort Brisbane

For further dates check the web, tickets from OzTix.

Cooking with Kristy: Garlic Prawns

Words by Kristy Jones

Ingredients

• 10-12 raw thawed prawns, heads removed and sliced down their back
• Knob of butter
• 1 1/2 cups cooked rice
• 400ml thickened cream
• 2 cloves crushed garlic
• Parsley

Method

In a saucepan, add butter, garlic and cream. Stir occasionally so it doesn't burn. When cream mixture turns from a white colour to yellow, add prawns. Stir until prawns are cooked. Place in bowl or on a plate with hot rice. Sprinkle with finely chopped parsley to serve.

Cooking with Kristy: Chunky Lamb & Vegetable Minestrone Soup

Words by Kristy Jones

This recipe is for two people, so you can beef it up or slim it down depending on how many people you are serving.

Ingredients

• 2 lamb shanks
• 4 cups of mixed root vegetables, thickly diced (eg, carrots, sweet potatoes, swedes, turnips, etc.)
• 400g tin of tomatoes
• 2 cups uncooked pasta (preferably shells or spirals)
• Water
• 250ml vegetable stock
• 1 bay leaf

Method

In a large pot, place lamb shanks, bay leaf and stock and top up with water to cover lamb by two inches. Bring to the boil and then turn down to a simmer with a gentle bubble. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours, making sure that the water is always covering the lamb. Add in vegetables and pasta and bubble away for 20 minutes or until pasta is cooked. Add tomatoes and cook for a further 30 minutes. Take shanks out, pull meat off the bone, add meat back to soup and stir. Remove the bay leaf and serve soup hot with toast.

Five Minutes With: The Short List

Words by Nic Horton

Photos by Jade Kennedy

You may have caught local lads The Short List in amongst the festivities at Groovin the Moo last weekend, and you may have even ventured out early to catch their early scheduled slot on the bill. If not, it's my pleasure to share a snippet, taking five with TSL frontman Daniel Chigwidden.

Groovin the Moo is a pretty big deal for any local band to score a spot alongside the likes of Silverchair, Grinspoon, Vampire Weekend and British India; initially there was a Facebook group dedicated to/supporting your slot on the bill - do you think that played a part in securing the gig?

"I think at one stage it had about 700 fans - we really appreciate the support! I don't think we actually mentioned it to Cattleyard Promotions [the event's official promoters] but I think we kind of mentioned it to Triple J. Though, I don't know how much bearing that had, to be honest. I think Cattleyard just liked us... well, I'd like to think that they did!"

What was your response when you got the call? How did you feel about getting invited to play?

"It's an opportunity of a lifetime. I guess, I was personally keen to meet some people, and gain as much from the experience as possible."

Image! Many bands form a signature image. Does The Short List have a certain 'look' that you go for as a band?

"Well yeah, kind of. We've definitely tried to do that a lot more lately. Like, we've decided on a bit of a 'dress code', a we're recording soon, so we're talking about ideas for the EP cover art and how we can make it all one cohesive 'image' I guess."

So what are your plans on recording? When and where?

"We'll be going down to Sydney in mid-May to record some tracks at Freefall Studios for the new EP."

With the release of their next EP due within a few months, we could expect to see a little less of the band as they channel their creative focus into recording. However, The Short List have announced they will be performing at The Exchange Re-opening Concert alongside Buttah, The Popli Kids and The North Ward on Saturday (right before they jet off to Sydney) and have been announced as the local support act for Flicks at the PCYC on 4 June and The Beautiful Girls/Washington show at The Exchange on 27 June.

Stay tuned to SMAC Magazine for all The Short List news as well as interviews with Flicks, The Beautiful Girls and Washington!

Groovin the Moo Townsville - Total Udder Mayhem!

Words by Nic Horton & Jade Kennedy

Photos by Jade Kennedy & Nicole Zicchino

A change of pace, a change of space, an organic crop of talent, and stand-out crowd numbers were all just elements of the third annual Groovin the Moo event in Townsville as it surfed waves of welcome in the city over the May Day long weekend.

The expectations of a cliched 'bigger and better' event were bubbling in the works as the gates opened, and suspense was imminent as punters gathered along the black-shard fence around the circumferences.

The stages opened with the fresh, dance-pop tones of an exclusive set from Kim Cooper, who also gave fans a taste of her brand new single that, dare I say, had an impressive radio-friendly bass line and soaring vocals to accompany.

Whilst over on the main stages, soon-to-be Brisbane-based The Medics basked in the midday sun to deliver an ambient slot, followed up by up and coming rockers The Short List.

The sun was well overhead when I decided to take a wander around the festivities.

I just happened to stumble upon Sydney flavour ladies, Killa Queenz, in full swing over at the dance tent. Their music and stage presence was just an intense wave of flair, smooth moves and vivacity.

Of course, it wasn't a day in the park without a slice of porcelain folk, so over I headed to the Triple J stage to watch a very petite Lisa Mitchell take to the stage with her band as they sailed their way through a set of splendour and beautiful pop material, including her well-donned Coin Laundry and Neapolitan Dreams.

Much to the contrary, I was very impressed with the way Lisa obtained a sense of finery with her vocals throughout the set, and it sounded simply gorgeous.

By the time Miami Horror took to the stage the crowd was well in full swing, awaiting a surefire hit of disco magic from the group.

Standing beside the crowd was rather interesting as you could definitely feel the welcoming energy of the immediate crowd, although I could feel a dwindling energy from surrounding punters.

By sun-down, the festivities were well alight, yet rather exhausting; exhaustion that was well abandoned once Canadian sisters Tegan & Sara hit the stage with acoustic guitars in tow.

The twins wowed and awed crowds with their vivacious and charismatic voices and almost pure sounds of love and pop music. I loved the way they pieced together new, old and covered material - it was absolutely divine.

Not forgetting the masters of Australian rock, Grinspoon, with frontman Phil Jamieson in prime condition to deliver a killer performance of rendering and reminescent tunes such as More Than You Are, Thrills, Kills and Sunday Pills and to top it off, none other than crowd-pleasing Champion.

Then, of course, came Luke Steele and his entourage of kooky and ingenious ensembles - Empire of the Sun.

Those who played witness to the band at last year's Full Noise festival would have some inclination as to what was to come, but again, the spontaneity of an Empire of the Sun show is just spellbinding.

Singer Luke Steele's crowd interaction surprised me, but comforted and reassured me at the same time that, even without one half of the artistic duo, the show can still go on; dancers, props, flamboyance and all.

The band's set was a conceptual masterpiece that was not just music, but something akin to a contemporary, oriental-inspired cabaret.

It was just crazy to think that the night had just begun, really, with New York clubmasters Vampire Weekend and Aussie veterans Silverchair still to come.

Vampire Weekend set the bar for international talent on northern shores as they frisked their way through some striking and charming pieces, only to have the crowd in a controlled frenzy of bopping and foot-tapping rumba.

It was definitely older songs such as A-Punk, One and Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa that had people in small bundles of boogie, then chanting along to Bryn and finding youthful sing-a-longs to newer schooled Cousins, Holiday and Horchata. But the cream of the set definitely goes to the beguiling California English - undeniably alluring.

"As someone who grew up on a steady diet of Silverchair's sounds, winning a local 'guest reporter' comp allowed me to fulfill the goal of many teenage daydreams - getting up close and personal with Ben, Dan and Chris.

Of course, I had already met and/or interviewed all of the guys in previous years, so the opportunity to stand on the side of the stage, nestled comfortably between manager John Watson's adorable mother and folk-pop sensation Lisa Mitchell, was even more surreal.

From backstage, the guys looked relaxed and happy after a three-year hiatus from the touring circus.

The roar of the crowd was deafening as the people gathered on the side of the stage - everyone from Luke Steele and random members of Vampire Weekend, Miami Horror and Kisschasy to the guys' girlfriends to myself - joined in the clapping to welcome the band to the stage as they strode past us.

Young Modern Station was a comfortable place to start the epic hour and twenty minute journey through the entire Silverchair back catalogue. Yes, the guys played everything from Israel's Son (Frogstomp) and The Door (Freak Show) to Emotion Sickness (Neon Ballroom) and The Greatest View (Diorama) as well as the infectious If You Keep Losing Sleep (Young Modern); then debuted two new tracks from their yet-to-be-released sixth studio album - Machina Collecta and 16.

At times, it felt like we had somehow stumbled into a band rehearsal, as the trio joked and jammed together, seeming to forget the 15,000 punters screaming at the top of their lungs.

Closing the set with crowd favourite Freak, Silverchair just reminded me exactly what it is I like so much about festival shows; without all the publicity BS surrounding album junkets, bands are free to play whatever the hell they want from their entire repertoire which is a real coup for fans."

Personally, I don't think I have enough room to give credit and praise to the sheer artistic and musical talents throughout the day, it was just a fantastical day out for many punters, and a Sunday well spent in my books.