Part 1. Geography
a. Tell us about your hometown?
[Geelong] Big Ford factory, industrial town. Basically a huge country town. In my early 20s, I used to hang around the Torquay vert ramp with the skaters and we used to listen to lots of Cramps, Dead Kennedys, Mudhoney and Pixies and go to parties.
b. Name your favourite bands from your neck of the woods?
Bored!, Warped and Supergrass (the Geelong Supergrass).
c. Where’s your local and what’s it like?
My local was the Barwon Club, an old bikers pub. Very rough but it was the epicentre of music in Geelong in the late ’80s-early ’90s. Lots of different kinds of people used to hang around there – indie kids, Nazi punks, surfers, skaters, hippies from the hills, real dysfunctional types, lots of barflies. It was such an awesome punk rock place. And there was music on nearly every night and everyone was in a band.
Part 2. History
a. Which Australian bands did you grow up listening to?
The Meanies, Tumbleweed, Screamfeeder, Ratcat, The Hard-Ons, Midget, Bored!, God, Splatterheads, Kim Salmon, The Powdermonkeys.
b. What’s the first Australian record you bought?
Ratcat’s Tingles.
c. Who’s your favourite Australian band/artist of all time?
I reckon it would have to be Powdermonkeys or The Hard-Ons.
d. What’s the most “Australian” record ever produced?
Smashed On A Knee by The Powdermonkeys without a doubt. They sing about Brunswick, Melbourne, for fuck’s sake.
Part 3. Current Affairs
a. Who are some of your favourite new Australian bands?
Spider Vomit, theredsunband, Valentine, Violent Soho.
b. If you could collaborate with one current Australian artist, who would it be, and what would it sound like?
I would love to get together with Gill [Tucker] from Spider Vomit. And we would lay all our effects pedals out, get someone to play the same slow drum beat over and over for ages and just lay down some heavy Brunswick psych.
c. Last great local gig you saw.
Oh, Spider Vomit at Exile.
Part 4. Multiple choice
a. ‘Khe Sahn’ or ‘Throw Your Arms Around Me’?
Cold Chisel, definitely.
b. Paul Kelly or Richard Clapton?
Oh, Paul Kelly yeah!
c. Nick Cave or David McComb?
Nick.
d. Iva Davies or Michael Hutchence?
Michael.
e. Muscles or Ben Lee?
Muscles.
f. Eric Bana or Hugh Jackman?
Eric.
g. Kylie or Danni?
Kylie, of course.
h. Picnic at Hanging Rock or Puberty Blues?
Oh, don’t do this to me. I love both so much, but if I had to then it would be Picnic. It’s one of my favourite movies of all time.
i. AFL or NRL?
Neither.
j. Holden or Ford
Holden.
First published in April 2009 on long dead Mess + Noise website, interviewed by Darren Levin. Magic Dirt are playing some reunion comeback shows end of this year and early next year, Adalita is working on her third solo album ATM but no word on any kind-of release date for it yet!
This is the very last set of M+N re-posts I’m doing on my blog this month. Citizenship Tests was yet another Mess + Noise style of interview to prove how Aussie you are. The little back ground of this idea was one of the idiot Australian government intro-ed something fucked-up for brand new citizen or want-to-be citizen of Australia to prove that they want to become an Aussie. In truth I did that thing at the time and failed it with flying colors but I’m born in this silly place so they can’t kick me out, I’m only a first gen born Aussie so always feel like an outside anyway! BTW in the last couple years the current idiot Australian government prove themselves NOT to be Aussie at all because of they own silly red-tape but they just wormed out of it with a whole pile of steaming bullshit and lies! Anyway I hope you do enjoy the all the Aussie music that I’ve included with Adalita answers?
Cheers 🙂
a1000mistakes 