We're into a new year.

The first day of 2011 it sounds like I've turned into a super keen fitness fiend. One of my resolutions was to exercise every day. However, we kicked things off well today.

Francisca and I walked up Mt Majura, then swam some laps at Dickson Pool. Just to complete the day, we kicked a soccerball around once it got a bit cooler in the evening.

I honestly couldn't tell you a top 10 of albums that came out in 2010, the quality just wasn't there, or I wasn't looking for it.

I did like

The Amity Affliction- Youngbloods

The Gaslight Anthem- American Slang

I Exist- I: A Turn For The Worse

Alexisonfire- Dogs Blood (EP)

How about a top 10 shows that I attended for the year...that will be easier to complete.

1. Polar Bear Club, Break Even, The Gifthorse @ Rosies, Brisbane

2. Polar Bear Club, Break Even, The Gifthorse @ The Fort, Brisbane

3. The Ghost Inside, Break Even @ Underworld, London (UK)

4. Machine Head, Hatebreed @ Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide

5. 4 Dead, Hoodlum Shouts, Boonhorse @ Bar 32, Canberra

6. Ruiner, Hopeless, I Exist @ Bar 32, Canberra

6. Alexisonfire, Comeback Kid, Anti Flag @ The Forum, Sydney

7. Alexisonfire, Break Even @ UNSW Roundhouse, Sydney or The Palace, Melbourne

8. Dangers, Graf Orlock, 4 Dead, Vera @ Bar 32 Canberra

9. Slowburn last show @ The Jam Factory, Canberra

10. Elysian, Ignite The Ibex @ The Basement, Canberra

2010 was a great year personally, easily the best ever. 2011 will definitely be an adventure, a big year ahead. I should have a new issue of Capital Eyes in the next few days, with interview from Elysian and Yoko Oh No.

Ruiner, Hopeless, I Exist @ Bar 32- April 20, 2009

So last night I went to see some bands. Ruiner were originally going to play Canberra on their tour, then it fell through, then they were going to add a show at somebody's house, that fell through too. Then Bar 32 came up with the goods.

Yet another venue is out of action, The Warehouse in Fyshwick didn't last long at all. I wish someone with some big money would buy up all the empty shops in Civic and turn them into venues. There's a lot of room for it to happen now.

If I was rich the old Impact Records (later JB), the recently closed Dick Smith, Cafe Macchiato/Bourbon Bar and The Akuna Club would all be "happening" places. Places where bands can play, all people welcome, etc. For now they lie empty. An ugly opening to a visitor's Canberra experience. These are all on main corners, they shouldn't be empty shops.

Unfortunately. I am not at all rich, far from it as a matter of fact. One day I'm going to do a zine about all the venues that have popped up in Canberra and then disappeared soon after. Even since I've lived in Canberra I've seen the rise and fall of Ground Floor, Green Room, Sound Underground, Jamison Inn and a few more. There'll be plenty of material for that one.

Ok, back to the show. It was only ten bucks to see an international band, Hopeless from Melbourne, and I Exist, who are becoming bigger than God these days.

We got there just a few minutes before I Exist started, got a good position at the edge of the bar, something to lean on. Unfortunately the sound levels for I Exist were way off, they were turned up to loud, the sound was not clear at all. They were pretty good still. New guitar player Josh (Pod People, Bloodduster) brought his metal element to the fore, throwing a few horns for good measure.

They played some new tracks, things are sounding a lot more metal these days. They are no longer this metal influenced hardcore band, they are really just a metal band. They are a band that is going to go far, they've gone a long way already in such a short time.

Hopeless were up next. They played a bit of a mix of old and new stuff. I only know the songs off "Dear World", which is a great album. They played a fair few songs off that to a fairly unreceptive audience. The audience was mainly people with arms folded, maybe a brief head nod every now and then. It probably reminded Hopeless of their hometown, Melbourne.

This was really a show I expected people to be going pretty crazy at, but it was fairly quiet all night. I don't know if it was because it was a Tuesday night, can't go to hard on a school night, or an unfamiliarity with the bands, but each band had a much better reception the last time I saw them in Canberra.

Ruiner took a while to kick off, but it was still before 10pm when they started. Once again, I only knew one album (What Could Possibly Go Right?), but they played a lot of songs off that. There were only 3 or 4 people who were really getting into, that was the biggest surprise to me. Ruiner are a band that is conducive to mic grabs and pile-ons, that kind of thing, but it really just wasn't happening. However the few people really getting into probably would have made it worthwhile for the band.

At one stage I jumped from the flashing light dancefloor, onto Jake (I Exist)'s back and got to have the mic grab. That was pretty sweet. Probably the highlight of the night.

So many people have told me the new Ruiner is subpar, but the new stuff they played seemed just as good as the rest of their songs. It wasn't as good for me, as I didn't know it. I wish I hadn't bothered listening to the knockers, and actually had a listen for myself. However it's too late for that now.

I did a good deal, I swapped a bunch of zines to the guys from Hopeless for a t-shirt. You can grab a copy at their Sydney shows in the next couple of days. I also did an interview with Rob and later went to Transit and did an interview with Jon Dangerous of the mighty 4 Dead.

I had a good chat there with Jon, another bloke Gav, his brother used to be in Lawnsmell, it was a great night all round for me. I also picked up "And The Boat Sails On" a little magazine about the last Ruiner tour with Break Even. I'll go more into that in another post.

Hopeless

Here is an interview I did, it was a while back now, with Brett, the singer from Melbourne's Hopeless after they played a show with Amity at the Tuggeranong Youth Centre.

Hopeless are ready to release an album now, to support this they're hitting the road with Ruiner.


Here's what we discussed. This interview went into issue six of Capital Eyes, I will begin work on number 7 in the near future.

Talking to Brett from Hopeless they’re from Melbourne…

So this is your first visit to Canberra…what are your thoughts?

This is our first visit. We have only seen this small area- Tuggeranong. It seems pretty fun so far, the show was a lot of fun. We haven’t seen much of the rest of Canberra, and we probably won’t get to see much more. It’s nice, everyone’s nice.

Have you got any plans for a return visit yet?

We haven’t really planned our next tour. We’ve done a lot of touring in 2009, so we haven’t made plans for a new tour yet. I think we’ll be here in the next 5 months…which is a long time, but hopefully sooner.

The band is reasonably new…you were all in other bands previously, what were they?

We’ve been going for about 2 years now, been playing shows for about a year. Tim (guitar) and I were in a band called Bear Trap. It was just like a Terror/No Warning style band. Jason was in a band called The Stallion. Chewy was in Cut Your Losses. All these bands were pretty standard. Never did a tour, never made a solid release or anything like that. Our drummer Dave is also in Carpathian.

This band’s a pretty serious project…what are the aims of the band?

Our aims are changing all the time. When we started out, it was basically just a fun little project. We started getting serious about the band fairly quickly. All that really matters to us at the moment is being able to write good songs and tour as much as possible. That’s basically our aim at the moment. To tour as much as possible, until we are not welcome anymore.

You’re touring with Amity and We Are The Ocean, how’s that going?

It’s been the funnest tour I’ve ever been on. We’re only a week in and have played a handful of shows, still got a handful to go. I’ve never gotten along with another band, or two other bands this much on tour before. Within the first day we were remembering names, getting along, all mates. It’s fun. It’s great to be on tour with bands that are not standard “hardcore” bands. It’s great opportunity for us to play with some different styles of band, but also just to listen to something a bit different for a change. That being said, that’s the main reason why this has been my favourite tour.

Do you feel like a Grandpa at Amity shows? (cos I do)

Sometimes I do. I look around and I see what I used to look like a few years ago. I’m not even that old, I’m only 21. Most of the rest of the guys are 21, there’s a couple who are 24 or 25. We all used to look like these kids five years ago. It’s great. It reminds me not to be so serious all the time. As you get older and grumpier, having fun is a big pay off.

What’s been on high rotation in the van?

It’s kinda embarrassing, we always play The Amity Affliction when we’re on tour. *Somebody interrupts* “Hey are you one of the singers?” “Yes, I am one of the singers. I sing for Hopeless.” “Oh, never mind”. What was I talking about? (Playing Amity in the van whilst touring with Amity). Oh yeah, we do play a lot of Amity. Been listening to Gaslight Anthem a lot too. They’re probably the main two bands.

What’s the plans for the next 6 months or so?

We’re going to finish writing a record. We’re three songs in so far. It’s going to be another album. We hope it will be out by the beginning or the middle of next year. We will be doing some more touring as well.

With a name like Hopeless, I guess there is a fairly negative vibe. What are the songs about?

The funny thing is- the lyrics I write are not really negative at all. Sometimes people interpret them as negative. We get called an emo band sometimes…“Depresso-core”. Really I sing about search for hope, rather than being comfortable with the fact that you are hopeless. A lot of the time I’m writing about things that have happened to me growing up, and I’m more reflecting on that. I write a lot about certain situations. A song we have is about a holiday park I used to visit as a kid. The lyrics for the new record are a bit different. I’m over the things I was going through previously, now I have a whole new batch.

Where do you guys stay when you go on tour?

We stay in the van a little bit. We stay in the van a lot actually. Other than that we stay at friends houses. In Sydney we love to stay at Billabong Gardens in Newtown. It is THE place to stay for bands. Sometimes it’s a bit hard to get into though. When you’re on tour, having a good time, there can be just one night when you absolutely NEED a bed and a shower. In Brisbane we stay with Joel from Amity. That’s probably the most relaxed we can be on tour. Just hanging out at his house.

What other Melbourne bands do you recommend at the moment?

I recommend a band called Vultures. Their singer is a good friend of ours. He’s a bit of a cutie. I’ve known him for quite a while now, sometimes I can’t believe the lyrics he writes come from his little head. Another band to check out is The Broderick. Their drummer is filling in for us at the moment. They’re a bunch of good dudes and writing a record at the moment.

Do you have any thanks or anything else to add?

Thanks for doing the interview. I’d like to thank all the guys from The Amity Affliction and We Are The Ocean. Big thankyou to Nigel from Trial & Error and Destroy All Lines. Yeah, that’s about it.

Last night I went down to Tuggeranong and saw Amity, We Are The Ocean and Hopeless.

I was really super impressed by Hopeless. I hadn't heard them before, they were great. I did an interview with Brett, the singer. This will feature in Issue no 6, which should be out in the very near future.

Amity were a lot of fun, even though I was probably double the age of every other person in there. The singer guy from We Are The Ocean had a great voice. Not quite Dallas Green, but well on the way.