Ahoy there landlubbers! We realise it’s hard to navigate the eleven-hundred-and-eighty-billion Fringe acts that maraude our city each February and March. It’s hard to sail from east to west without being swallowed up by flyers and ‘comedians’ desperately trying to scrape together an audience. Surprisingly enough there are still some entertaining acts to be discovered; and we asked some likely cap’ns (arty folk) to share their loot (tips) with we buccaneers. Turns out they just are as overwhelmed as we are, but we did still manage to squeeze a few tips out of them… in a nutshell: get out of the house, keep your ear to the ground and throw caution to the wind.

Alison Currie (Dancer)
I mostly go off recommendations. After and before shows and in the festival clubs people are always talking about the shows you ‘have to see’.
Tips: Modern Zebra Safari, This Is It

Jane Howard (Arts writer)
I write an insanely long wishlist, which gets thrown out the door almost as soon as the Fringe begins and I start hearing what friends are loving. Really all you need is $30 in your pocket and a spare night, because some of the best Fringe decisions are made at the door.
Tips: An Anarchist At The Demo, Richard di Gregorio: On Time, Tracksuit Girl, Tuxedo Cat (venue), AC Arts (venue)
Involved in: Sepia

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What are teenagers for if not to make the rest of us feel like inadequate, washed up farts twiddling away the remaining years of our twenties/thirties/whatever watching Game of Thrones and drinking alone. Noceans’ second release titled Sunject is, like their first, a mesmerising scrapbook of sounds that in a pre-internet world might never have left their bedrooms. Where their former release peaked with minimalist guitar and haunting vocals, Sunject is a washed out frenzy of cut-and-paste drums, whistling synth and dense songwriting.

In 45 seconds instrumental opener ‘Betsy Please Chill’ rips off any expectation of freak folk tranquillity like a distorted band-aid. Almost entirely abandoning the guitar for a kaleidoscope of digital noises, tracks like ‘Waves And Other Spills’ and ‘Venus On 4th Street’ bristle with fuzzy, pulsating synthesisers that at times threaten to devour vocal melodies whole, arriving at something resembling a cross between Beach House and Wavves.

These fully-realised songs are peppered with succinct instrumentals each laying out a map of sounds and colours that conflate the notion (zing!) that much of their current music is something of a learning exercise we just happen to be privy to via the internet. Though when the results of such embryonic experiments are this good, Brian Wilson only knows what to expect when the pair are old enough to legally play in most live venues.

Alan Palomo is Neon Indian in the way Trent Reznor is Nine Inch Nails. The son of a minor Mexican popstar, Palomo released his debut LP Psychic Chasms on Lefse Records back in 2009. Made from glistening, kool-aid synthesizers and crunchy guitar, Palomo’s first album sounded like it’d been inspired by the soundtrack to a late ’80s cyborg time travel flick (on VHS). Some blogger called this kind of music ‘chillwave’, and the internet started arguing over whether it was cool, possibly forgetting that all music ever is inspired in some way by older music.

Reason prevailed, Psychic Chasms got awesome reviews, and Palomo/Neon Indian followed up by collaborating with the Flaming Lips on a rather tautologically named EP, The Flaming Lips With Neon Indian. As it stands, this record is probably the only concept album in history built on the theme that David Bowie is dying; a niche it could dominate for some time. Most recently, Palomo has released Era Extrana, a swirling vortex of electronica that confirms he’s one of the most talented young dudes in music right now. He even wants to take acid with you, but probably not at Rocket Bar where he’s performing this weekend.

Callum Twigger: (Presses ‘Call’ on Skype. After about ten seconds the phone rings out and a bizarre message tone clicks in. Each subsequent call goes through to the message tone, which sounds like a drowning robot moaning ‘leave a message’ over a busted synthesiser. On the seventh attempt, someone picks up). Hello? Is this Alan Palomo?

Alan Palomo: Why yes, yes, this is him. Sorry, my apartment has really bad reception, so I had to step outside.

CT: You’ve a very Neon Indian message tone. The production values were off the chain.

AP: (laughs) It’s been a crazy runaround trying to tie up all the loose ends before I leave town. I’ve been preparing with the band for some of the new songs we’re gonna be playing.

CT: Who are you bringing on tour?

AP: Leanne Macomber and Jason Faries, who’ve been playing since the start. And Josh McWhiter, who plays guitar on the record, is going to be traveling with us. Ed Priesner is the newest member; he’s going to be the wall of electronics that we have to bring with us to keep the operation going.

CT: Sweet. The title of your latest record is ‘Era Extraaaahna’, pardon my atrocious accent…

AP: Hey dude, that was pretty good.

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I spoke to Alma about her vintage shop called V(in)tage Shop. Her deal is: all the stock is online and silly cheap, but she also likes the human side of things, so you can do stuff like make her an offer or go to her house and see the stock, rummage all arvo, make her make you tea and fetch you biscuits. She’s super friendly, and subsequently, one of the coolest vintage sellers going ’round. We had a friendly chat.

Angela Schilling: What is V[in]tage Shop?

Alma Rowhani-Farid: It was supposed to be a mix of vintage and “in” items. But just ended up being heaps of friend’s old closet items. It’s totally fun to rummage through everyone’s shit.

AS: Does V(in)tage have a speciality?

AR-F: Dresses and jackets. Weird, trashy t-shirts.

AS: What does the well-dressed man wear?

AR-F: He is actually George Clooney so can wear whatever the damn hell he wants.

AS: Do you have a cat?

AR-F: Yes. Well, no. She will always be in my heart. Beatrix Amelia Potter was the Sixth Ave house cat and then a week ago she was snatched up and taken to Unley. We are all really sad, but it came at a good time. We thought she had ringworms.

AS: Where do you spend your clothes-shopping money in Adelaide?

AR-F: I rob people’s houses and only take clothing. But really it’s anywhere with a sale sign. Or the op-shop on Reid Ave off Glynburn Road. The ladies in there gave my fiancee and I heaps of cheap crockery for our wedding so now I owe them forever.

Dance music represents more than just a frivolous past time. The ‘stabs and beats’ of disco was the sound of sexual liberation in the 70s, while the ‘pop, dip and spin’ of 90s voguing presented an outlet for the black and Latino drag queens of the New York house ball scene.

JD Samson, as much known for her moustache as her role in Kathleen Hanna’s Le Tigre, is taking the Riot Grrl politics of Second Wave Feminism out of the 90s and into the ‘naughties’ with her potty-mouth and electro-punk band of merry (gay, even) MEN. Songs like ‘Credit Card Babies’ bitterly express the practical obstacles of queer parenthood, while the funky ramble of ‘Rip Off’ mourns capitalism and its effects on ‘our truth’. Samson and her cohorts are coming to spread the word at Adelaide Festival. We spoke with JD, who quickly had us moving to the mantra of civil liberties.

Steph Kretowicz: You’ve spoken about how you’ve coopted dance music to spread the word of equality. Where do you think you fit in its tradition for representing minorities?

JD Samson: I’m here to represent a human. I am and will continue to be myself and be vulnerable with that for as long as I am able to take it. People dance to come together in movement and I think it’s beautiful to watch.

SK: There has been a resurgence of 90s icons lamenting the lost days of Second Wave Feminism and a return to conservative attitudes recently. Would you agree with that perception?

JD: It’s hard for me to be objective. My community, facebook and twitter feeds are full of an incredible feminist dialogue, almost every day. So to me feminism is alive and in charge. But, of course, we have a way to go… still. From my perspective, there is always a cycle of backlash. As the Le Tigre lyrics exclaim, “one step forward, five steps back”. I honestly believe we will be in this cycle for the rest of my life. (more…)

What happens when a cashed-up Belfast hard man has nothing to do but kick around Thailand and have sex with tourists for the foreseeable future? Well, pretty much what you’d expect. But not quite. The clever thing about Australian writer Chris Flynn‘s debut novel is the way he reverses the old trope of events conspiring to throw the protagonist’s mundane life into chaos.

The hero of A Tiger in Eden, Billy Montgomery, has just escaped the violence of Ireland in the mid ’90s. He has spent most his life blowing shit up and bursting skulls. Now he’s on the run from the law and is forced to exist in near total tranquillity. How he deals with that tranquillity is the focus of the book.

Billy spends equal time working on his tan, getting his rocks off, beating people up and then getting philosophical about it. None of it would work if Flynn hadn’t got Billy’s voice totally right. It helps that Flynn grew up in Ireland and knows exactly how to make Irish verbal tics work on the page. He paints Billy as a man whose small horizons are expanding and, in the end, Billy’s fascination with the way things work makes him an endearing character to kick around Thailand with.

Some local band’s car recently broke down on the way home from tour in the middle of nowhere (of course). Broke, bored and sober, they set about demystifying an old wives tale that smoking banana skins could get them high. It didn’t work but they were onto something. If you must get high, firstly don’t die (why hasn’t some adman thought of that slogan?) and secondly steer away from shit made from toilet cleaner.  Here are some alternatives.

Ants – Get this – ant smoking is epidemic in some parts of the world such as Dubai. Formic acid is the stuff you’re after and it’s stored in a red ants poison gland. Leave some fairy bread out at your summer picnic and off you go.

Cheese – Had to Google this one, but yes, The British Cheese Board did a study and 67% of people that ate cheese before bed had dreams so psychedelic they could of been a Sun Araw film clip. Beats a cup of chai.

Lettuce – If cocaine was the secret recipe in Coca-Cola, trippy lettuce is the secret ingredient of Big Macs. A popular medicinal ingredient in the 1900s, many lettuce varieties contain lactucarium, a mild, euphoric feeling similar to opium.

Granite – Go lie on a kitchen top for a few hours. It’s pretty scary to know that granite averages 10-20 parts per million in uranium, meaning with enough exposure it’s radioactive enough to get you buzzed/give you cancer/set off alarms at airports.

Toads – Might be fun for a minute but will then kill you.

Marie Tussaud may have thought she was the ultimate wax when she decided to make life-like sculptures of Rousseau, Voltaire and Benjamin Franklin in the 1700s. But here we are in 2012, in need of some wax stimulation yet again. And you will find it in these here candles that become massage oil that become body balm.

Yes, the Kindle Kandle is a massage candle designed and made in Melbourne from a natural blend of cosmetic-grade soy wax, scented oils, shea butter and vitamin E. It can be used in three ways: As a regular candle, available in six scents including Orange & Mango, Shannonpea, Tahiti Rosette, Cane Sugar, Gardenia and Butter Bean; As a massage oil for yourself or your significant other once the wax has melted; Or as body balm once the wax cools down.

Something Else just dropped their new collection ‘Metamorphosis‘ and it’s wild. Not only are Natalie Wood’s established lines and cut-out-shapes ever present, but the prints of variegated florals and foliage are some of the label’s best work. The digital botanist behind all of that is their art director George Barnes.

We had a chat to George about his skills, which also include the sonic variety, so we got him to make us a mixtape – from wax! Treat it as the soundtrack to the collection.

Hayley Morgan: The floral prints are really unique in the way that they’ve been manipulated. What’s the process behind this?

George Barnes: The majority of the floral prints are screen printed. We played around with the designs, got them somewhere we liked them then decided on colour combinations… The colour selection is a really important part of the process.

HM: Were any other artists involved in creating the artwork for the collection?

GB: We always collaborate with a variety of artists each season and are always on the search for new artists from all over the world to work with. This season I worked alongside Christina K, Vissukamma Ratssphong and Georgina Cullum. We have some really exciting collaborations coming up in the new season

HM: Digital prints have exploded in fashion in the last 12 months (correct me if I’m wrong). Who’s impressing you?

GB: Yes every thing is digital these days! There are some really beautiful prints out there. I’d have to say my favourite textile designs come from Givenchy and McQueen.

HM: As half of SlowBlow, sound and music are obviously just as important to you as visuals, do you often draw on sounds when you’re deciding your intentions for a new collection?

GB: Yeah definitely, music is always around me whether I’m working on art or just at home. There is never really any escaping it! I don’t think I could ever remove music from my inspiration process.

HM: You’ve mad us a mixtape which we’re going to say is the soundtrack to the collection. What’s on it?

GB: I made this mix live using all vinyl. I’ve put together a pretty eclectic combination of everything from Paul McCartney, In Flagranti, Nick Cave, Soul Clap, Dr Dunks to Todd Terje and sooo much more. The end result is an interpretation of Metamorphosis, which I’m hoping you all vibe on too.

HM: If you had a soundtrack for your life, what song would play when you enter a room?

GB: Not sure if this is the soundtrack to my life but i do love Camarillo Brillo – Frank Zappa.

In the ’60s and ’70s, San Francisco was a city caught up in (if not at the actual epicenter of) the free love movement. We Were Here chronicles the dramatic effect AIDS had on that metropolis, transforming it from a free-spirited Gay Wild West into something more sinister. The images recounted herein sound like something out of a sci-fi horror film: strange sores and lesions covering the bodies of previously virile young men, untreatable and unexplainable; a room full of doctors sobbing; going to your local coffee shop to learn the barista who was there last week has mysteriously vanished.

Using interviews with just five long-time residents and some archival footage, David Weissman crafts a dynamic narrative. This is a city where at one time 50 per cent of the gay men were HIV positive, and more than 15,000 died over the course of 15 years – so you know it’s going to be full-on. But that shouldn’t scare you off, because it is also packed with humanity and hope.

“None of my friends are around from the beginning,” says Daniel. “I miss a lot of them a lot”. All the interviewees are fantastic, but east coast transplant Daniel Goldstein really shines – not just for the number and variety of personal tragedies he suffered, but also for his refusal to surrender to disinterest or depression, (more…)