On the crest of a wave

After years of drawing crowds on the festival circuit, Byron Bay roots-reggae group Blue King Brown have finally released an album and are touring in support of it. Singer and guitarist Natalie Pa’apa’a is relieved to have the debut, Stand Up, out.

"The album was a huge undertaking, but it was definitely something we had to do," says Natalie. "We can feel that we have a recording that we’re really happy with, that really represents the band and the vibe and the message. The most exciting bit is getting it out there and pushing it and trying to spread it as far and wide as we can, and that’s what we’re doing now."

Following their current tour, Blue King Brown are once again on the bill for the Woodford Folk Festival in December. "The festivals are awesome. We love festivals, and we’re quite a festival band. The thing about festivals is you only get a certain amount of time, whereas when you’re touring and you’re playing in bigger venues, you really can put in the extra care to put on the show because it’s your thing. We love both really. The festivals are always a buzz though because everyone’s there and you get all the wicked collaborations that happen with all the other bands."

The band was formed three years ago by Natalie and Carlo Santone, both of whom played festivals in the percussion group, Skin. "I’ve always written songs and played guitar, so it had always been my vision I guess, something I had always wanted to do," explains Natalie. "Percussion wise, it was funny because the whole percussion thing just happened out of nowhere. Guitar was totally my first love, and then drumming just took over for about five or six years. We had the opportunity to start Skin and do all the festivals and really get a foot in the door that way, with contacts and connections and meeting people. It was a turning point when I said, ‘Now I want to get serious about the band thing, after all these years of percussion’. So I went and studied guitar for the first time, which was cool, and started singing, and getting it together. So the time came and we moved to Melbourne and recruited some players and started the ball rolling, and haven’t looked back since."

Behind the music of Blue King Brown lies a message of politics and activism. "I guess one of the main things for me is that all people realise that they really do have the power to make change in the world, and to make positive change. The sooner people can start realising that, then the closer we are to having change."

To market, to market...

If you’re yet to hear of these birds, you ought to soon. On the line-up for 4ZzZfm’s Market Day next Saturday is Brisbane band Butcher Birds, who have been gigging around town. Bassist Joanna Jane Nilson (who also sings for The Mean Streaks) speaks to Scene.

“The band started when I met Stacey through her boyfriend Nate, who played in the Wulvs,” explains Jo. “The Mean Streaks did a couple of shows with them. I met her and thought that she was really strong and funny and cool. I wanted to start a gang with her, and the next best thing was starting a band. I didn’t have the time or the means to do anything, but I learnt to play bass anyway because I wanted to play with her so badly. We got our friend Steve who played in Wulvs to play drums. I met Jacinta at a Red Paintings show in the toilets when The Mean Streaks played with her band, Dictator Chic.”

Among various local bands, Jo says she is influenced by seminal bands such as Bikini Kill, PJ Harvey, Roy Orbison, AC/DC and Sonic Youth. “Sonic Youth influenced everyone who came out of the nineties and the early noughties, and some parts of the 80s, so it’s hard to escape them even if you don’t like them directly.”

Despite yet being played on 4ZzZfm, the band is well in support of Market Day, and is looking forward to playing. “There’s always all these great bands that play. It’s kind of like a big house party, getting horrendously drunk on tinnies with everyone you know, and everyone should come and support it, because they’ve done a lot of good for me in the past. Triple Z is a good showcase for us, because we just need to play to a wider audience. I just like being a girl playing and if other girls can see that, that’s really cool.”

Butcher Birds will also play Ladyfest in November with Erase Errata. “It sounds like an interesting day,” says Jo. “Obviously, there are not many women doing rock n roll stuff in Brisbane, so it’s really great that girls are doing stuff to bring other women to the forefront creatively, and that’s never a bad thing. I just wish there was a larger variety of bands on the bill perhaps.”

The band is also hoping to get a CD out soon. “We have actually recorded, but that’s not out yet. We’re kind of looking for someone to help us release that. It’s just a little five song EP. We recorded that with a friend of ours, Emerson. It’s going to be called Eat Their Young. We’re getting it mastered this week, and that has most of the tracks we play live on it. Hopefully we can get it out in the near future.”

The gypsy carnival is back in town

An orchestra of banjo, double bass, cimbalom, viola, cello, accordion, tuba, five violins, two clarinets, two saxophones, two trumpets, three trombones, four guitars, percussion and three vocalists playing Balkan gypsy music is not something you’d expect to come out of Brisbane. However, Brisbane band Doch and their Gypsy Orchestra have made it a style of their own, and are ever increasing in popularity, having played at festivals all around the country.

Banjo player, composer and arranger of Doch, Nick Lavers, explains the appeal in gypsy music for young and old. “It crosses through to everyone - it’s not the obvious people sticking with their age group. It’s just a bit of a mixture, the energy of it, and it has a lot of spirit. Seeing people play it is kind of impressive, because it’s sort challenging to play, and because it’s on acoustic instruments you can see what the musicians have to do to play it. It’s also got a lot of soul - it’s not just people showing off, and it’s obviously a little bit different.”

To play a style that has foreign roots may seem like an intimidating challenge, but the group seems to have found a way to be comfortable with it. “Basically, to actually play as if it was our music – the music that we grew up with – is just impossible, so we don’t really worry about that, because it’s not something you’d even pretend to do. Because we’re musicians and we really like it, we can bring that out.”

This month, Doch are once again returning to the Powerhouse, with an orchestra of 25 players. They will be playing Doch tunes, augmenting it with lots of brass, accordion and strings players. Fans who saw last year’s show should expect an even better performance this time around. “We’re doing a lot more songs this year, and we’re making everyone memorise everything. The people who weren’t in the main Doch band in previous years had music to read. We’ll definitely make more mistakes, but it’s a much better dynamic. If they know it well, we can look at each other and we can look at the audience. I’m hoping it’ll make a huge difference actually. When you get something right with that many people on stage, when it does work, it’s just a ridiculous buzz because you’ve got so many people beside you, and you know they all feel the same way. It’s one of my favourite things – we all work really hard together as a large group, and then when it works really well and we’re all thinking the same thing, it’s as intimate as a small band but you’re actually playing with a lot more people.”

Special guests performing with Doch include Russian vocalist Zulya Kamalova, Serbian-born vocalist Goran Maric and accordion player Dragan Milovanovic. “I think we met Zulya because she introduced herself after seeing one of our gigs, because she really liked our band. Goran and Dragan are actually from Brisbane, and played just within their community. They’re really nice and fun and it’s just really interesting.”