Dork rockers to blitz fringe fest
The members of Dead Letter Circus never know what to expect when they tour Tassie, writes Amina McCauley
FEMALE Aussie punk will be to the fore tomorrow as Hobart Brewing Co’s Winter Fringe Fest kicks on.
The free nine-day festival of music, beer and street food started last week and will run from 6pm until late Sunday night.
Melbourne rock four-piece Porpoise Spit will join Hobart’s Squid Fishing and Launceston’s Mere’s tomorrow night.
Porpoise Spit singer and guitarist Mill O’Sullivan said it was the band’s first time interstate and they were excited to “get loose” and “get freaky with the Hobart crowd and see what some of the local talent’s about”.
“This is our first band holiday,” she said. Ms O’Sullivan described her band as “dork rock” and “the soundtrack that Neighbours never knew it needed”.
“We have great, great dreams of being like the queer, anti-capitalist Jet of Australia.
“We’re really daggy best mates who love to rock the hell out.”
Local rising stars and garage/punk group A. Swayze and the Ghosts will close the festival on Sunday, alongside fellow Hobartians Dissolver and Slaughterhaus Surf Cult.
A. Swayze recently returned from touring in the UK and are currently on tour with Adelaide rock group, West Thebarton.
Guitarist Hendrik Wipprecht said Hobart Brewing Co was a “wild place to play” and with a mix of local fans and visitors from abroad lured by Dark Mofo, Sunday’s show would draw the “best crowd in the world”.
“There’s so much going on for Dark Mofo, but this is so great to have on the side, all free, which is great,” he said.
The full line-up is available at hobartbrewingco.com.au or the Hobart Brewing Co’s Facebook page.
EVERY time Dead Letter Circus come to Tasmania, they end up having some kind of incredible adventure.
Lead singer Kim Benzie said whether the Brisbane-based band played in Launceston or Hobart, they tended to have “monumental moments”. In fact, one particular visit was so intensive it resulted in one band member quitting the group.
Benzie said they were delighted to announce a show in Hobart next Saturday (June 29), more than six months after they toured their latest album around the country — a tour that sadly didn’t include Tasmania.
“We always have quite ‘outside-thebox’ nights in Tasmania,’’ he said. “You guys definitely know how to party.”
The first time Dead Letter Circus visited the state on tour, their original drummer announced he was leaving the group, overwhelmed by the party lifestyle of the alternative rock band.
“I think it was just the ferocity with which we were partying,” Benzie said with a laugh, adding that the
replacement drummer, Luke Williams, was an asset who was well worth the temporary hiccup.
“Tassie broke the band a little, but then helped us remake it.”
When they perform at The Tah next Saturday, their show will contain deeper, darker elements than some of their past material. Their latest self-titled album contains themes that Benzie explores through his lyrics.
“I had some messages from some friends [after hearing the album] asking me if I was OK,” Benzie said.
“A couple of my close friends said they didn’t realise I’d ever feel like that because I always seem like I have my shit together.”
Many of the songs on the album address mental health, which Benzie admitted he struggled with from time to time. However, he said they were also messages of hope to his listeners.
“This is really bare, honest, mentalhealth kind of things that I probably would only talk to my super closest friends about, and sometimes not even to them,” Benzie said. “My only explanation is ‘That’s what the world wants, the world who listens to DLC’.” He said the lyrics on songs such as
We Own The Light, on which he sings “Don’t let the sun pass you by, Don’t accept defeat, Don’t let the world be the reason why,” were reflections of lessons he had learned over the years.
Benzie said the lyrics “fell on to the page and into the melodies”.
“I don’t make up lyrics until I’m ready,’’ he said.
“I feel like as soon as I try to make the sounds into a proper English language it cuts off my creativity.
“With lyrics, I kind of just let them fall out. Before the lyrics it’s just emotion.
“You really fall into the emotions, you start physically experiencing it, especially when you’re repetitively doing it when you’re writing.
“So I’m more of a witness to the lyrics when I’m writing now — I just sort of watch the words appear on the paper.”
It has been the most honest and open the singer has so far been with his lyrics, but Benzie said he didn’t feel “naked” when the album was released.
“Because it was our fourth album I felt like there was a trust, that I’m in a relationship with the people who listen to the band,” he said.
“I’ve had enough people say nice things about the lyrics that I’m comfortable being like this.”
Fans who see the band perform in Hobart next Saturday can expect a show that lasts about 90 minutes, but Benzie said even this often felt too short when the show was going well.
“It’s a lot of kilometres because we have a lot of punchy songs,” he said.
“But if it’s a really awesome show then it feels like it goes too short.”
Benzie said whenever Dead Letter Circus — also made up of Stewart Hill (bass), Luke Williams (drums), Clint Vincent (guitar) and Luke Palmer (guitar) — are on tour, they are sure to have a great deal of fun.
“We hang out with each other on the weekends and our kids are best friends,” he said.
Dead Letter Circus play at The Tah in Hobart from 9pm next Saturday (June 29). Tickets are $28.60, available from deadlettercircus.oztix.com.au.