[I am so glad they cut their hair, well except one, they look terrible here!]
Yes please. One of the most incredible bands on the circuit at the moment, Kings of Leon released Only by the Night in September this year to critical acclaim. This was less than a year after releasing Because of the Times which debuted at #1 in the UK and Ireland.
So without further procrastination, and without beating around a so-called bush, they present to us, for our listening and viewing pleasure, the second single off arguably their best album yet, with a video that shows a snapshot into the everyday life of these jet setting rockstars, who even feel the necessity to pray for whatever it is that rockers pray for, here is Use Somebody. Did you notice how I made the sentence as long as possible so as to create more suspense? I am really good at that king of trickery. Enjoy the video.
Crap. I just realised after my lengthy build up to the video, that they won't let me embed it. Which means for the next little while at least, I cannot put it on my site from Youtube. But don't stress! I will not let you down. I guess you will have to click on this link to see it. Again, enjoy.
What!!?? You missed Sex on Fire?? Click here for the video. Don't get excited, it's not a porno.
Remember Metric? Fantastic Canadian band with a new wave/indie rock sound widely known for their song Monster Hospital which was wickedly remixed by MSTRKRFT. They have finished recording their new album (name still to be announced) which they will release early next year. I am sure it will not disappoint. I found the new single off their forthcoming album, called Help I'm Alive. Its very cool. You can dowload it. Don't feel bad, it was on their site for a while as a free download.
Said to be one of the acts to watch, Playdoe consisting of Spoek and Sibot will be launching their EP at the Assembly next weekend.
The Guardian UK had this to say about them, “Its sick. No, no, its stupid fresh Doing for 1981 electro, what the Cool Kids are doing for 1989 hip hop.”
Sibot (you may remember) did the music for the new Adidas flash site. And Spoek is from the highly acclaimed, Sweat.X.
Anyway, thats the Assembly next weekend (15 November). Buy your tickets online, cos they are limited to 350 tickets (for some strange reason), which goes very fast for an act like Playdoe. Here is there video, Pop Like This.
For more details, check out the Facebook event page and have a listen to their music on Myspace. See you there Cape Town.
So remember the post I did recently on Kitsune Maison 6? They released a promotional video for it. Check it! They speak to all the artists involved in the compilation. There are a lot of guy/girl combos. Seems to be fashionable these days.
Next up in our Members Series is Darren (the drummer) from Zebra & Giraffe. You will remember them from when they totally outplayed the Dirty Skirts at the Assembly last month.
What other bands have you played in before and how have they influenced the way you play today?
Literally the first band that I played in worth mentioning was Harris Tweed.I joined them when I was 19, my first year out of school! It was an amazing learning experience, and one that gave me so many great memories too!I learnt about playing as a controlled drummer as all those drum parts were relatively simple, but were very specific. I learnt a lot from Darryl (Torr).But I then went off the band scene for a while. Later I joined Zebra & Giraffe and a band called Voodoo Child simultaneously. The Voodoo Child thing was purely a temporary slot as their drummer had to have an operation. I’m now just part of Z & G.
How long have you been playing drums? How did you get started?
I’ve been playing drums since I was about 8, so 12/13 yrs.I literally can’t even remember “starting” to be honest.I’ve just kind of always played for as long as I can remember, but I started lessons at about 8 yrs old!I grew up playing in church, so that was my first kind of “education” as far as I can remember!
In South Africa it is next to impossible to be a band member for a living. What do you do to supplement your band income?
Ya you’re right! I give drum lessons privately a lot! That’s pretty much my main source of income, which my band income supplements…I also have a few business ventures going with my dad which helps a lot, and do some drumming session work when I can! I’ve always believed that as a muso, in any country actually, but especially here, you need to have multiple sources of income, so if one dries up suddenly, you can still eat!
What are you studying? Where? What do you want to be when you get big?
I hope I never get big!But I’m studying a Bcom, retail management degree. I kind of see it as a side project to the music thing, and if all goes according to plan music-wise, I wont need to use it!We will wait and see I guess…
How does it feel being part of a band like Zebra & Giraffe that seems to have hit almost instant fame in South Africa?
Ya its pretty crazy man.I would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy the “fame” thing although I would like to clarify and say outright that we are nowhere near ‘famous’ at all!Haha…Fame is an extremely fickle thing!It’s amusing to me that before you get onto stage and people don’t know that you play in a band, they wont look twice at you (especially girls actually!), but as soon as you walk off stage after playing they suddenly wanna talk or get you to sign something even though I’m the same person as I was when I walked on stage 45 minutes ago you know?It’s pretty funny actually.But ya, it’s cool to be part of something getting a bit off attention!
What is your best Z&G gigging memory? And most embarrassing?
Ah wow, it’s really early to say man…I think this like only our 2nd or 3rd month of gigging, so we haven’t had much time to rack up embarrassing experiences yet, but I guess it would be on studio 1, live on tv, and in the second chorus of ‘the knife’, like the biggest part of our biggest song, and I dropped my stick!Haha…All the power just vaporised!Oh well it wasn’t too bad!My best gigging memory so far would probably be our show at The Assembly in Cape Town with the Dirty Skirts recently!Or our big show at the AlexanderTheatre in Joburg to start off our tour. Both great crowds and such good energy… We can’t ask for more!
Who are your heroes?
Um…Probably my parents just cause they are super supportive of my musical career, and just such great people. Definitely my grandfather too..Just an amazing and wise guy.
Biggest influences? Why them?
Influences musically would definitely be Neill Ettridge and Andre Luke my drum teachers.I also have a lot of drummer friends like Matt Marinus (who actually played drums on the Z & G album), and Dave Nilsson.Then guys from church like Raymond Green, and other guys I’ve played with for a long time!
What are you listening to mostly these days?
Wow that’s a hard one!I listen to a lot of strange music actually!!I love jazz, so I listen to a lot of that like Pat Metheny, Christian Mcbride band, Mike Stern etc. and a lot of fusion stuff! At the moment, band wise, which I guess you’re more interested in, I’m loving the new Kings Of Leon (as is everybody), I love Mutemath, Bloc Party, Death Cab, Damien Rice, anything with Dallas Green (Alexisonfire, or City in Colour), Circa Survive and some old school stuff like Tower of Power and Earth, Wind and Fire. A whole lot more, but that’s enough for now!
Who would you say is the most exciting South African band to keep an eye on in the next year or so?
Gee…The S.A. music industry has just improved so much in the last while that there are actually quite a few, but I think Fokofpolisiekar, with their new album is gonna be popular. I’m also so excited for everyone to hear the new Harris Tweed (Dear Reader) album! The new material is really different, but every aspect is great! I have so much respect for that band!
What is your favourite thing to do when not playing drums?
I’m a homebody man…I like being at home and comfortable. I also have a close group of friends that I hang out a lot with when I’m not away. Mostly chilled out stuff like movies or just a good old braai is on my list of cool things to do!I’m also addicted to the t.v. show Scrubs! I have pretty much all the dvd’s and so I watch a lot of that in spare time. I also practice a lot drum-wise when I have off time. It’s therapy!
Where do you see yourself in five years time?
I Have no idea which is one of the reasons why I love being in the music industry. I hope to be a lot more involved in the session scene. That’s my passion and my ultimate goal (to make a career out of playing music). I also hope to be finished my degree and I hope to continue growing some business ventures as that interests me, and just continuing to do what I wanna do!Never settling into something that bores me or taking the ‘safe’ option u know?
Anything you would like to add?
Um…I must say I’m impressed with the way that the scene is growing and how people have started to really support the local music scene, but I just hope that people are supporting it because they really like the music and not just because its local you know? I think some artists try guilt people into supporting their music just because it’s local. Supporting mediocre music breeds mediocrity, so I just hope that people continue to support the music but for the right reasons! Oh and I need to find a girlfriend, so please mail suggestions to Richard!! Any help is greatly appreciated! Haha… Only joking!Cheers man.
He really does want a girl friend. Send me pics. :)
Catch Zebra & Giraffe in Cape Town twice this month!!! First at Ratanga for the Hands up Summer Festival (8 November) where they will be playing with the Skirts (again) and then (my highlight) at Kirstenbosch on 23 November for the Kirstenbosch Summer Concerts! Check it!
Kitsune Music is a French music label in Paris. Every now and again they put together a magical compilation consisting of remixes of the most wicked tracks around. I have heard Kitsune Maison's first five compilations and am very excited for their newly released Kitsune Maison Compilation 6!
Track list:
1.
LO-FI-FNK Want U
2.
LA ROUX Quicksand
3.
PNAU With You Forever
4.
YOU LOVE HER COZ SHES DEAD Superheroes
5.
TED & FRANCIS I Wish I Was A Polar Bear (Arctic Urgency edit)
6.
DIGITALISM Taken Away (instrumental)
7.
autoKratz Stay The Same (edit)
8.
BENI My Love Sees You
9.
FISCHERSPOONER Danse en France (d.i.m. remix)
10.
ETIENNE DE CRECY ET MONSIEUR JO Hanukkah
11.
STREETLIFE DJs We Love The Disco Sound (radio edit)
Dario, if you read this, get this cd in your store! On that note, Astore (one of CT's very few good stores) are opening a new store in Claremont to get jocks to wear skinny jeans and buy Le Coq Sportif shoes. Nice.
I was pretty happy to read this on the Maxnormal.tv FB group just now. Not because I am heartless, it's just now my vibe. I guess they were really good at what they did though.
"To My Dearest Friends
Max Normal speaking.
I have something very important to tell you all.
MaxNormal.TV is no more. This fantastic pop-art experiment has been very dear to me. The love and support you have all shown this project has made it a very precious experience for us all. During this beautiful pop-art experiment we discovered a very powerful entity called DIE ANTWOORD.
We will not be performing the MaxNormal.TV show any longer. Soon we will return in another form to resume our adventure together.
I wish you all a life of magic and mystery. I wish you all the power to open and close all doors. I wish you all success and surprises. May life send you all the answers to all your problems in love, health, and distress. I wish you all unlimited access to all the powers of the universe so that you may achieve your goals. May life satisfy all your indulgences and help you to a delicious existence while showing you the key to immortality. Each one of us possesses the possibility for the ultimate life adventure!
Farewell my dearest friends, Until we meet again!
Love Max Normal Yo-landi Visser Justin De Nobrega and Neon Don
Liewe Maxi Oor en uit." I am very interested to see what they come up with for after their little break because, as I said earlier, they are talented.
If you never got to see them perform, check out their Myspace to hear what you missed.
I love music, and most things that relate to music. I also enjoy writing. So I have decided to create an amalgamation of my interests. Therefore, Smack Talk serves to entertain, create awareness and be an outlet for my interests.
If you have a band and would like to be seen, known and loved, you can email me. richardcoleking[at]gmail[dot]com
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[I am so glad they cut their hair, well except one, they look terrible here!]
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