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JUST ADD MAYO
Howzat! recently went to the footy with a recording engineer
who now works for a bank. "Why did you leave the music business?"
we asked. "Because I was tired of seeing great bands getting
nowhere." Howzat! is astonished that Adelaide's Myles Mayo
is not a star. He gets some JJJ love, but he should also
be all over commercial radio. After four albums fronting
Special Patrol, Myles recently released his sparkling self-titled
solo debut (on Other Tongues). To Howzat!'s ears, the album
sounds similar to Special Patrol. But Myles says, "It feels
a little less serious. I tried to make the album exist in
a make-believe world, almost like a real life, modern, dark
fairytale."
The album also features a Special Patrol flashback - the
album concludes with a re-recorded version of Like I Loved
You Then, which was also the closing cut on the band's 2009
album, The Stranger's Dozen. "I recorded close to 20 songs
and that was one of them," Myles says simply. "I then picked
the 12 that fit together best. I liked that sketch-like
version of it, and felt like it was closer to how I had
imagined it originally. And it worked really well as a closer,
with the sound of the tape being switched off to finish
the album."
Myles gives Cyndi Lauper a shout-out ("If you fall, I will
catch you, I'll be there waiting, Cyndi Lauper said/ But
I can't just sit 'round waiting for the fall, time after
time"). Howzat! still loves She's So Unusual. What were
Myles' favourite albums when he was at school? "Dylan's
Blood On The Tracks, Paul Simon's Graceland, Jethro Tull's
Aqualung, You Am I's Hourly, Daily, and Grandaddy's Sumday
are five that I listened to a lot growing up."
Myles is playing on Friday at the East Brunswick Club with
Eskimo Joe.
CAN I HAVE ANOTHER PIECE?
"Fiasco" is a fabulous word. The new My Friend The Chocolate
Cake album (out now on Shock) is called Fiasco, and it comes
with a definition of the word: "Somewhere between the sacred
and the bleeding ordinary." The album - their first in four
years - coincides with the band's 21st anniversary. "There's
nothing louder than the sound when we pat ourselves on our
backs," David Bridie sings. But Fiasco is no exercise in
indulgence. This is a sterling set of suburban stories.
Not all of it is pretty (check out Foreigner, which starts,
"Nobody will notice when the foreigner goes down/ Nobody
misses a beat when his head hits the ground"). MFTCC are
even better when they lighten up - the wonderfully playful
Great Expectations is sure to be a live fave. Speaking of
which, MFTCC are playing at the Arts Centre on Saturday.
It's time David Bridie was inducted into the ARIA Hall of
Fame. He's had a remarkable career, with Not Drowning Waving,
MFTCC, screen composing and his work with indigenous artists.
And Fiasco shows there's a lot of life left in him. You
can have your Cake and eat it, too.
GREAT BAND NAMES #238
There's a lot to love about the band name "China Vagina".
It's kind of offensive, but not really. It's more comical
than crass. And it's memorable. More importantly, China
Vagina are an impressive band, with riffs reminiscent of
classic Oz rock, from Rose Tattoo to Radio Birdman. China
Vagina play at the Espy Basement on Friday, with Destroy
She Said.
HAY TRIPPER
When he was a young boy in Scotland, Colin Hay wanted to
be in The Beatles. His dad, who had a music shop, told his
son he thought the band would do well. Colin was 14 when
his family moved to Melbourne in 1967. He never quite got
to join The Beatles, but Howzat! was struck by Colin's close
connection to the band when he played at the Corner on Sunday.
He did two tours with Ringo Starr's All-Starr Band, and
he met Paul McCartney when Paul went to one of Colin's gigs
at Largo in LA. Paul later revealed that Colin's Going Somewhere
was one of his favourite songs, and he and Heather Mills
invited themselves to dinner at Colin's house. He served
them Peruvian rice and Cuban beans. They announced their
divorce a couple of weeks later and Colin was worried it
was the beans. Colin - who has just released a new album,
Gathering Mercury - also revealed to the Corner crowd he
"loved the weed" and was stoned when he wrote all the Men
At Work hits. "When I say, 'all the hits', there were five
or six, which is better than one and not quite as good as
10. I'd like to think I could have written them straight,
but I'll never know, will I," Colin laughed.
CHART WATCH
No Aussie singles in the Top 10.
We Run The Night DJ HAVANA BROWN (number 11)
From The Music THE POTBELLEEZ (21)
Loud STAN WALKER (36)
Hip hop act Vents has a big debut with his second album.
Touring with Andre Rieu sees The Seekers back on the charts.
And the new Trial Kennedy album lands at 48.
Roy DAMIEN LEITH (number three)
Rrakala GURRUMUL (16)
The Life of Riley DRAPHT (22)
Marked For Death VENTS (25, debut)
Greatest Hits THE SEEKERS (31)
Birds Of Tokyo BIRDS OF TOKYO (40)
HOWZAT! PLAYLIST
Crazy Like Me MYLES MAYO
Send Somebody COLIN HAY
You Can SKIPPING GIRL VINEGAR
Before Now CAITLIN HARNETT
Great Expectations MFTCC
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