YISFILMS #1: "Change: The Movie"

The first in a new series of films made by me.

Somebody got himself a new camera. Oh yeah.

Constant YIS butcher The Fall

Live at The Workers Club from a while back.

Parts 2-7 over at Luke Hand's blog.

Light YIS?

Constant Light + YIS = Constant YIS? YIStant Light? Light YIS? Either way, it sounds like this. Some live goodness from Sasha and Jim featuring Bron on bass on "Factory Floor", and Andre on hi-hat, snare and kick and me on some guitar/crap scraping noises on "Factory Floor Too". Probably some guest heckling on the first track. Free download. Enjoy.

Tracks 1 & 2 recorded live at Sonic Array @ Irene's Warehouse, Oct 2010

Track 3 recorded live at Builders Arms, Nov 2010

credits

released 29 December 2010
with very special guests:
Bronwyn Liroudia, bass on 2 & 3
Peter James, Korg Monotron on 2
Simon Fazio, guitar on 3
Andre Fazio, drums on 3

More Awesome Tropodelica Photos

A bunch of awesome NYE shots from Vignettes/BBR'n'R drummer Katie Frances on the Facebook.

2010: A Sydney Odyssey

pictures by Bronwyn Liroudia, A.H. Cayley, Ivana Stab and me.

It was sometime after 11am when we pulled over somewhere up the Hume between Wangaratta and Wodonga for a piss and a stretch. Like everyone else, most of the time I glance at my phone at red lights out of boredom, but we had had a clear run since our departure around 8:30am on Wednesday the 29th of December and Dan Kelly's Dream had absorbed whatever buzz or vibration my mobile was making, wedged between a bottle of water and a packet of M&M mixups in the driver's cupholder. When I did check it, there were several missed calls from an unknown number, and one email on the band account:

Hey guys, I have tried to call your mobile this morning but am not getting through
- if you could call me asap on my mobile below that would be fantastic. Cheers.
xxxx
Booker, OAF

This could only be bad. We were scheduled to play the Gallery Room of Oxford Art Factory in Sydney that night. It was a free show in the smaller room of the two in the venue, and it paid just enough to cover our petrol up and back. I returned the call; Lightspeed Champion (who was playing in the main room of the OAF) had been snowed in in NYC, and it was not "financially viable" for them to open up the entire venue for our gig to go ahead. FFS. We had a vote on whether to turn back or not.

The count was two-to-one in favour of continuing the journey.

The next two hours was spent as follows; Bronwyn working a pair of iPhones in the back, frantically contacting everyone we knew in Sydney who could help us put together something the afternoon of the show, Andre texting our pals back in Melbourne who might have some contacts in New South Wales that could assist, and me muttering expletives behind the wheel and interjecting into Bronwyn's conversations with friends and venue operators.

Anyway, for fear of being berated by Andre when he reads this in the next room for being too wanky in my description of our trip, I'll abandon the dramatic tone and just tell you that we ended up having an awesome time in Sydney. Although we somehow managed to get in touch with a remarkable number of people and had a couple of offers for that evening (thanks to Kate Wilson, A.H. Cayley, Chris Hearn, Joe Hardy and anyone else who worked the phones/tweets/boards for us that afternoon), we ended up just crashing out at Tropodelica HQ in Newtown; home of our beyond amazing hosts Emma & Alex, and the venue for the second and final show of our trip. Most of our angst evaporated when we saw the Coronas + fresh limes waiting for us on the table when we walked in the door. We had an awesome meal at The Sultan's Table (mixed grill was very tasty, as was the Harem's Treat pide, and vegan and vego options looked delicious too), and then crashed early.

I awoke the next morning to (what I later discovered was) the thunk of a yellow hatchback plowing into the driver's side mirror of my car parked outside (which promptly sped away before registration could be noted). Alex asked me whether I wanted to the good news or the bad news. The good news was that we had awesome croissants and a selection of fine juices awaiting us in kitchen. The bad news was that I would need to employ a roll of gaffer tape to make it back to Victoria alive. Apart from this and a mid-sized electrical shock from accidental contact with the innards my busted phone charger, Thursday was pretty relaxed. We had lunch at The Courthouse (fish was average, chips were good), dropped by Repressed Records (where I picked up a copy of the newest Deaf Wish LP, mixed by our good pal Paul Maybury), and then Pete's Musicians Market further down the road, which was sadly closed.

We spent the rest of the afternoon back at the pub with half of The Holy Soul, the inseparable AHC & P. Street combo and few other pals before I retired back at H.Q. with a sore head and belly (from either the fish, the beer, the sun or a combination). Woke back up around 8 for some pizza from Bambino's; the Mexican (for "the men") was great, and the potato pizza with the blue-vein and gorgonzola ruled. Bron had some sort of vegan thing with tofu. It looked nice too. Early-ish to sleep.

Constructing a stage in a sloped backyard is, to put it bluntly, fucked. But we did it. After a couple of hours of angst on Friday morning (and one trip back to the stage hire place for some bits and pieces), we had one pretty awesome stage which somehow stayed erect for the entire evening. And it was best New Year's ever. After sorting the backline and power issues, two-thirds of The Summervilles and one-half of The Vignettes (later to be one-third of Bang Bang Rock & Roll) accompanied the carnivorous two-thirds of YIS back to dine at The Sultan's Table to provide a stable bed for the very generous rider provided to us by our gracious hosts.

The party was happening by the time we returned and the bands fired up a few hours later. The Summervilles were great; bright garage played by three great dudes (kinda reminded me of a more Ramones inspired version of Royal Headache) with some choice covers thrown in; Rave On and California Sun amongst others. Former two-piece The Vignettes were on next with a new member in tow on, and were retitled Bang Bang Rock'n'Roll, who threw in another few choice covers as well, opening with a cover of Big Spender, as well as a BRMC tune and a great version of Ginuwine's Pony.

In the middle of all of this, there were some projectiles being thrown over the fence; an older blonde woman was apparently not a fan of the occasion and responded by hurling eggs from her balcony. She also called the cops, who strolled up just before we were about to play around 8pm and had a quick word to us to keep the amps low.

The set was a lot of fun; we played well. the sound was really good and everyone seemed to get into it; the highlight of the set being the invasion by the Cookie Monster, Pikachu and a Centurion from the party across the road.

click for invasion video by A.H.C

The rest of the party was awesome; lots of Sydney friends, some Melbourne friends who had relocated and many new friends (most of whom seemed to be named Andrew). It was without a doubt my favourite New Years Eve that I've ever had.

The damage wasn't too bad the next morning; nothing got stolen, nothing got broken (except for a few brains), and after a shower and some goodbyes, we were packed and off back down the Hume, powered by a bottle of Mother (never again) and the audiobook version of Keith Richards' autobiography (as read by Johnny Depp). We arrived back in Melbourne, made some pasta and watched the Wife Swap USA marathon. Hilarious.

Sydney Tonight

Leaving in an hour and a half to drive up to our free gig at the Oxford Art Factory tonight. Follow the action on the twitters.

An Exhausting Weekend Of Pain

Originally titled "YISCRAWL 2010", but shouted down by several people, "An Exhausting Weekend Of Pain" is basically a series of gigs over the weekend that we're playing. I've gotten to the point where I'm just bored if I'm not actually playing a gig on the weekend, so this weekend will be the opposite of painful for me. However, if you are if you are, say, a very enthusiastic drummer (or audience member), then you will be needing a hot bath with epsom salts by the end of it all. Here's a guided tour through what's happening this coming weekend.

"Dreamland Recordings Presents: SONIC ARRAY. Saturday Nov 20th @ Irene’s Warehouse. 5 Pitt St. Brunswick East. $10.00. From 3pm – 10:30pm. First act performs 3:15pm SHARP. Sonic Array is the epic warehouse show we have always wanted to host, with a truly diverse mix of local music and experimental sound that has something for everyone."

Bronwyn has been invited to slap the bass with our pals Constant Light for at least one show. So, this is her debut, along with another dude named Peter who seems nice. He has a beard, I think. Fueled by cider and powered by the psychic powers of Linus the Cat (possibly the only cat on the planet that I get along with), they wrote a 30 minute "song" on Saturday which they will perform live on Saturday afternoon. Sounds impressive, but then again, it only has two bass riffs in it. So, I suggest coming, bringing vuvuzelas, and invading the stage while this happens. They should be on at 4pm. After that, there'll be a few bands worth hanging around for.

Then I suggest that you take a 2 minute walk around the corner to Mankoushe on Lygon Street for lunch/dinner. It is probably the best falafel in Melbourne, if not Australia, but that's not even their specialty (which is the Lebanese pizza-type thing that they're named after). Some very nice dudes run the joint, and play music very, very loudly inside (last time we went it was B.B. King, before that it was Pink Floyd), where they make falafel to order, and all the bread is woodfired. Really, really awesome. I think they're open until 9. After that....

"'Born from the fire pits of hell' (but Melbourne raised) Barbariön have emerged from the depths to bring forth a new age of fur clad metal and sweaty devastation. With a live show of gargantuan proportions, pyrotechnic excess and hazardous camp theatrics, Barbariön roam far and wide, ever seeking global domination. AND THEY SHALL HAVE IT!"

We've been working hard under the house for a couple of months now on something new; as previously mentioned, Andre and I have been chugging away as the rhythm section for the new solo project for Sam Agostino (who also plays in Digger & The Pussycats, Russian Roulettes, Kamikaze Trio, etc, etc). It's called Brat Farrar; this is our first show, and it'll be a pretty big one. We're on at 9pm. Been hanging out to see Barbarion for ages... alas, we will not get to see them this weekend. You might want to, but we have to go elsewhere...

Okay, there's no poster for this event, but it's a warehouse party at 38 Stafford Street, Abbotsford, which is apparently the address for Minh-Chi Pressing, which does ironing. Anyway, YIS are playing this one. It's a "Good Riddance Party" for a girl named Amy who books/manages a few bands around town. Also playing is HUF at 7pm, The Postures from NZ at 8pm, Damn Terran at 9pm, Bone at 10pm, then are YIS on around 11pm, Ouch My Face at 12pm and Mesa Cosa at 1am... It's about 30 seconds from Victoria Park Station. Free entry, BYO (obv).

Then you'll probably have to go home and get some rest for...

Brat Farrar's second show. Also playing are the wonderful Nightmaster. These Rock'n'Bowls things are awesome fun, and there's a cheap BBQ, cheap drinks (something like $3.50 for a bottle of Coopers), and good music. And bowls, of course.

Then we'll probably all go to Kim Salmon at The Old Bar, which is also free.

And that's pretty much it.

New Plans, New Bands

Hachiko the Akita Inu, greatest dog of all time.

So, as of Wednesday morning (AEST), we've had a mastered album. We've been sitting with it for a few days and we're pretty happy with it. Mum and Dad like it a lot, so we have that over-50s cyclist demographic locked down, so it seems. We're just waiting on Obits to finish up their European tour so Rick Froberg can get started on the artwork. We're pretty thrilled to have Rick doing the cover; his artwork and album covers both rule. In the meantime, we're shopping around to get the wax pressed overseas (just working on the best way to ship and also the amount we're going to press). Looks like we're going with Rainbo but if you have any better advice, let us know. Should be a launch in the New Year, but we might sneak few copies out the door before then if we get it all together in time. We're also working out putting together a full album you'll get digitally when you buy the actual album with some old stuff (Happy Bears Forever, Electronic Love, M.A.R.C.H., Progress), some stuff we didn't put on the album but recorded (Hiboux, Ungreatful Motherfucker, our cover of Fire), and some live stuff (Going To Explode), and a couple of tracks that we didn't end up playing live much or recording (It's Not Enough). Might be even better than the actual album.

We played our first gig for a month the other night for the G-g-g-ghost Records benefit (new record label run by the dudes from The Toots). The night sold out around 10:30, so that was awesome for the guys (and our friend Lauren who was doorbitching that evening) and hopefully we raised enough cash to get their first release off the ground. I tried (and failed) at DJing around 1am (selecting songs off two burned CDs being a more accurate description); awesome selection of songs marred by inept crossfading. D'oh.

Our next gig is this Saturday (Andre's 22nd birthday!) at The Birmingham in Fitzroy for our pal Kieran P. West's album launch. Also from Eltham College's graduating class of 2006 is The Thod, who launch their new album "There Is Still Time, Brother" at Cherry on Friday, November 12th, with us in support. In between we're playing a Yah Yah's show with High Fangs and Sole Stickers (from Tassie) on Saturday, November 6th.

Andre and I are also doing a couple of new musical things; Andre has had a couple of jams with the guys from Chigwell Sharp, and we're providing the rhythm section in Sam from Digger's new band Brat Farrar. We've got a couple of gigs coming up already; Saturday the 27th of November for the Dunhill Blues album launch at The Retreat, and Meredith weekend back in Melbourne on Saturday 11th of December at The Tote, where Digger are launching the re-pressing of their first album "Young, Tight and Alright" with Legends and another band that's TBC.

If you're not busy on Friday, I suggest coming down to The Empress on Brunswick St, where our pal Ross is playing a gig with his band May, with Jim and Sasha from Constant Light providing bass and keys. Also, Thursday should be awesome too; Low are playing The Forum for $20. You'd be crazy to miss that one. Plus, the week after, The (amazing) Molting Vultures from Radelaide are coming down for a pair of shows; Off The Hip party on Friday 29th and Great Britain with Wrong Turn on the 30th.

Kingdom of Fuzz: Amazing Complete Lyrics by Simon Fazio

self-portait of Simon Fazio by Simon Fazio

Message: I got a message for you/I got a message for you/I got a message for you/I got a message for you/Wow-wah-wa-wow-wah-wah/I wrote a letter to you/I wrote a letter to you/Cos I’ve got a message for you/I got a message for you

Stop/Go: I say stop/You say go/And you won’t ever let it go/I say go/You say stop/I’m i’m-a shout it to the top/Yeah

Lizardman: I/Lizardman/Slip inside/Creep in where I can/Sweet caress/Heavy load/Lay back watch me go/Wow-wow-wow-wow-wow-wow-wow-wow-ah/I/Slip inside/Shed my skin/Teeth, toe, tongue and tail/Don’t resist/Sweet and low/Ready to explode

Trevor Block Rockin’ Beats: Out on the street today/A man is on his way/With many secrets to reveal/Black coat and silver hair/Ear bling and underwear/A professional without peer/It takes so much just to get through the day/But it gets easier singing Old Bar blues to Trevor Block rockin’ beats/Out on the street tonight/Different than in broad daylight/Not the same man that we once knew/A man of mystery/With a chequered history/but now his grey skies they ain’t so blue

(I Feel) Repulsed: Looking at you/Talking to you/I feel repulsed/Staring at you/Talking to you/I feel repulsed/I’m a candle and you’re my wick/I love you so much it makes me sick/I feel repulsed/Hugging with you/Kissing with you/I feel repulsed/Sharing with you/I don’t know what to do/I feel repulsed

Baby Come On: I take you on a holiday/Not just to a cheap motel/Tell me what the Hell’s wrong with me, babe/Is it the way that I smell?/I bought you fancy jewellery/Made of silver and gold/And all of this tomfoolery/Is fuckin’ with my soul/My baby, come on/You know we can talk for hours, girl/Making love by the beach/But there’s a cold dead look in your eye that says/Says your way out of reach/My baby, come on/And now I feel so lonely baby/Feel so messed up inside/Low down and all shook up since/Since 1985/My baby, come on/Ahh

Burning Well: I fell into a burning well/Lost myself in a deep dark hole/I never saw myself again/And then I lost my self control-a-woahl/Burned my eye on a cold grey sun/Burned my hand on a flaming fire/And then I lost my self control-a-woahl/and I gave in to a strange desire-eh/Oh no/I got no place to go/Oh no/I can’t find my way home

Infin: Isolation/Oscillation/My elation

I Wanna Go Home: I wanna go home/I cannot go home/Get away/Away from here/I wanna get high/I cannot come down/Get away/Away from here/Alright/I wanna go home/I cannot go home/Get away/Away from here/I wanna calm down/I cannot go down/Get away/Away from here/Oh no

Deep.

Mighty Joe Lambert

...and so our album is off to be mastered! And thanks to the awesome Australian-US exchange rate, we were able to afford the services of Mr. Joe Lambert of Joe Lambert Mastering (we are yet to confirm if there is any relationship between the dude and the company). Joe was responsible for the mastering on the last two Deerhunter records; "Microcastle/Weird Era Cont" and "Halycon Digest", the awesome Obits album "I Blame You"(featuring Rick Froberg from Jehu/Hot Snakes/etc.), the Dirty Projectors album "Bitte Orca", Animal Collective's "Merriweather Post Pavillion", and heaps more... DIO, Cheap Trick, Judas Priest and a bunch of other cool stuff you can see on his discography. Should be finished by this time next week, so now we just have to finish the artwork and (provided that nobody cool ends up wanting to put it out for us) we'll be putting out the album ourselves ASAP.