More Gaz: A Painting, 3 Albums, 5 Songs & New Video

Well, it's another post about Gareth Liddiard (surprise, surprise) so I'm just going to title them all More Gaz from now on and hopefully write about something else too but this post is just nicking stuff from other websites really which I hope is OK. I've read these the other day but just lost them and just going to re-post here to go with all the other Gaz posts as some kind of collection.

First up is Gareth Liddiard top three Aussie albums which I have to ask why only three? five or ten would be better even twenty maybe thirty, fuck-it if Liddiard wrote a book called 100 greatest Aussie albums I would buy it and read it over and over. I love it when he name-drops stuff because he always comes up with wicked music and I've never been disappointed with it because most of it I have and if not I can go out and find it. It's a bit of a history lesson in Aussie music, stuff that is less known but should be listened to more than it is. This is from the great people at FasterLouder and like someone said in the comments "He sure has a way with words" so I've cut and pasted it into my blog sorry if I'm breaking some copyright law but it's too good to edit or anything.

1. Kim Salmon & STM – Hey Believer

"When I was a young snapper I did all sorts of work at and for Kim Salmon shows. I was too young to drive a hire car but I had to drive the Surrealists around ‘cause they were too drunk and their promoter hated that about them. No one told me about Tarago handbrakes so the van always stunk of fishy hot brake pads and I was henceforth mocked. The Surrealists were amazing but STM was another story all together. The band was made up of Kim, Warren [Ellis] and Jim [White] from the Dirty Three and a double bass player called Andrew [Entsch] who died a long time ago. They only did one tour and made one album. One of the best bands I’ve ever seen live. And in true Australian fashion, no one gave a fuck because they weren’t from some other country run by white people."

2. AC/DC – Let There Be Rock

"As far as guitar sounds go, you can’t really beat this recording. It’s intense. And interesting considering that everywhere except Australia they’re known as the biggest rock band ever. Bigger even than the Beatles and Pink Floyd. They didn’t do a lot of compromising considering. But they didn’t come from somewhere else that’s run by whites or something so forget that. And Rupert Murdoch and Julian Assange don’t run the planet right now either. And Peter Singer isn’t usually right about everything and Les Murray isn’t one of the greatest three or four living poets right now. Elsewhere in the west is always best, remember that. Pretend you’re them."

3. Rowland S. Howard – Teenage Snuff Film

"This is Rowland’s masterpiece. He was the greatest, most original guitarist Australia has ever had. On the break up of the band that brought him fame he went on to record 10 or so records solo and with various bands that were mostly overlooked. Probably because his original singer appealed more to record companies that needed to make a buck, though Rowland was always, at least, equally as good. You never see him on those “greatest Australian album” lists which is nuts. He’s not alone though, Rowland and Spencer P. Jones are the most underrated songwriters on the planet. Everything on this record is perfecto, the tunes, guitar playing, production, Mick [Harvey], Brian [Hooper] and Rowland’s voice which was as jocular as it was jaundiced."

Next up is something called Take Five from Triple J radio. The five songs for each capital city in Australia because well he's on tour again, I guess. You can re-play it as much as you like too on the player links at the bottom of the page. Most of the songs are at the tail ends of the albums they're from and none are the singles or the more poplar tracks from them. I wish Liddiard would be a DJ after this because he would play the best songs and I could listen to his talk forever, even if it's his jokes and him laughing. Anyway I've cut and paste one paragraph and the playlist from their website too, oops I did it again.

He dropped by the triple j studios just before the start of his national tour with Dan Kelly to play five songs that remind him of different places - and not surprising he picked five fantastic Aussie tunes. He talked about how he visited Sydney just to buy a copy of X's Aspirations, why Kim Salmon & The Surrealists blew his mind and his love for the Dirty Three.

Here's what he played:

1. Kim Salmon & The Surrealists - Redemption For Sale (Perth)
2. Laughing Clowns - Song Of Joy (Brisbane)
3. X - Good On Ya Baby (Sydney)
4. Dirty Three - Red (Melbourne)
5. The Mark Of Cain - Summertime (Adelaide)

Gareth Liddiard - Strange Tourist from Two Fish Out Of Water on Vimeo.

So above is his new video for Strange Tourist which was re-recorded for this in his home in the Victorian mountains. The video directed by Jasmin Tarasin who is the same person who did the one for the Blondin Makes An Omelette video last year. I'm still slowly writing that big post but not finish yet. I've been sick this week but I did get to see him last weekend and it was a great live show too. The top image is a new painting for the Archibald Prize 2011. It’s not all Henry bloody Lawson is the title and it's painted by Jason Benjamin.

Stay tuned for more soon...

My Art: Young Guns @ The Oats Factory gallery

Well I dribble on about music in my blog here but I do make some art too. This is a bit late really because the opening night was the other week but the exhibition is still on till March 20th so you can go and check it out, if you want too. The Oats Factory is a new art gallery in Perth and it's address is 69 Oat Street in Carlisle. I drew these drawings with a ink fineline pen or to be exact or product placement a Artline 200 fine 0.4 pen. They are on old paper which I found in my garage which I liked the fact that it goes older and older looking as I worked on the drawings and after I finished them they are still growing older. It's got the City of Stirling logo on the back. Each drawing is on two pieces of paper joining together just like bones do, I was going to use more than two but at the time I thought that was going too far but now I would just do it and not care. This found paper is a bit problematic because the art gallery hasn't been able to sell them yet because they are not archival which means it will not last forever - it will most likely last your and my life time and maybe your kids but at some stage the paper with fall apart just like say bones. Anyway I get them back if they don't sell which is good because they are the best drawings I've ever done, so far. I can look at them a bit longer to figure out how to top them. Plus these are mammal skulls NOT dinosaur skulls like a local newspaper wrote.

I wanted to thank Melody Smith at the Oats Factory for wanting my art in her art gallery, she's done some great photos of my drawings below and I wanted to say it's just really great to have an art gallery want my art, it's hard to get anyone to look at it sometimes so thank you again.

Tasmanian Devil

Koala

Kangaroo

Dolphin

Elephant

Stay tuned for more soon...

Live Act: Dachshund U.N. @ Perth Cultural Centre Amphitheater

Well, I'm going to put my Nick Cave top songs on ice again, Sorry I'll go back to it but today I'm going to write about something much more important than him. I hear you saying what could be more important than Nick Cave? Well, sausage dogs of-course. At the Perth Cultural Centre Amphitheater which is just outside PICA in Perth yesterday (and will be on next Saturday again at 2pm) Dachshund U.N. was performing or playing (what is the right word?). It would have to be the best performing arts event I've ever been to and the most enjoyable visual arts I've gone to in a long time. You could really call it a concert because all the people were behind a fence and the performers were on a stage of sorts and the biggest crowd, all with cameras too. I should explain it a bit more. We have a hell of a lot of Dachshund apparently 47 which is a replica of the former U.N. in Geneva which was like what we have now with the United Nations General Assembly except that all nations have a Dachshund representing them. WOOF!!!


I could not help but smile the whole time. I really had to stop myself laughing because it was so amusing and delightful. I think they would do a better job than the current government we have so if I was Bennett Miller (the artist who came up with the idea) in time for the next election should start a Dachshund party because I think people would actually vote them and I wouldn't put it past them to get more things done than the current politicians. Yesterday they barked, woofed, panted, howled, fell asleep, tails wagged, a couple tried to jump off, sniffed each others bums and even the dog for Pakistan tried humping Hungary which to me seemed like quite a great deal in just 45 minutes. Just imagine what they could do if they where running this country?

Here is two videos I found, one from ABC's Art Nation TV show and the other is just hand held camera filmed at the Melbourne's one as part of the Next Wave Festival. Plus you can find another video here at the Museum Victoria. I did borrow a video recorder but some how I filmed it all side ways.




Here's the write up from The West Australian and don't forget to check the photo gallery too. Also Dachshund U.N. is on the cover of the latest Artlink magazine but unfortunately only one line is written about them but at least they're on the front cover, I guess. Anyway anyone can leave a comment if you like this and I'll get back to my music post next week but I think I would call it music it's just dogs performing and maybe even singing at times, ha. It was brilliant and if your in Perth next weekend go and check it out or if it come to your town at some later date you can't miss this, it's a total classic.