Great Southern Bands

Prescribed Burns is an awareness-raising gig that will see Albany/Denmark bands Packhoarse and Arthur Stewart team up with locals The Floors and Grub at the Buffalo Club this Friday, May 9. BOB GORDON chats with Kus (Packhoarse) and Michael Paver (Arthur Stewart) about their quest to align the Great Southern and city music scenes.

Describe the contemporary Albany music scene—what are its strengths and weaknesses?

Michael Paver: There are pockets of folks who are doing really cool stuff—such as the handsome Kus here—and proving a point to the constabulary that they are not required. If necessity is the mother of all invention, then resourcefulness is the father. Life’s a bit different in the regions. It’s very involved, i.e., if you want to be warm in winter, you chop wood. You don’t, then you’re cold. This leads to individuals or groups of people taking it upon themselves to create a good time for all.

With a small population permanently living in the Great Southern, it’s easy to flood the market with the same shows time and time again. I’d like to see more bands getting down this way to allow for some network building for younger artists who inevitably head to Perth to continue their careers. In relation to Albany, some of the best music comes from the shittest places.

Kus: There’s a heap you could say about the current live original music scene down here in Albany. Mostly it’s quiet. The local pubs don’t get around young crew starting out like they used to, and young people with real talent that grow up here can’t wait to leave. The young population here is super transient.

Bands that get a decent local following usually sprout, blossom, and then move to Perth or Melbourne. This means we seem to have times with a flourish of good things happening that give way to long, quiet times. I believe this suits the people that live here, though, because you don’t live in a place like Albany for a bustling scene.

Currently there seems to be a bunch happening and there’s always heaps of talent across various styles. I kinda feel Albany creates its own fun. People get behind styles they usually wouldn’t because they want to support the local scene. This creates tolerance, acceptance, and often inspiration. It’s all here, but you could easily drift through thinking there wasn’t much happening.

Tell me about each of your current bands. A little history, what you’re doing, and what you’re planning on getting up to?

MP: Arthur Stewart is the unplanned brainchild of Ben Boston and myself. A two-piece (drums /guitars) skuzz, punk, soul celebration of the sauce that holds all genres of rock’n’roll together. Not Rock. Rock’n’roll. Loud and heavy enough to mix it with the Growlers, yet smooth and saucy enough for the Toffs. Arthur Stewart—Anywhere, Anytime, Anyhow.

Arthur Stewart was birthed when Ben (Arthur) came and built a wall on our shed house in the forest. Having been blessed enough to play in some great bands with great people/musicians, I didn’t expect to find a musical compadre at all, let alone quickly. A few jams later and vibes were zipping around. We recently supported the Kill Devil Hills and have returned from an Esperance jaunt playing with the always rad and super fun Grand Casual. We’ve started work on our debut album, The Only Way Out Is In, which will hopefully be completed for July 20. As for plans? Well, we go where we are needed.

Kus: We’re five or six years in. Packhoarse started out like many bands—four good mates pissing around in the shed with some instruments and amps. But I don’t think there was doubt that we’d be playing live gigs after the very first session. The songs at the start kinda just flowed out, with enough thrashy little punk numbers for a half-hour set written in just a few weeks.

We aren’t interested in marketing ourselves though. We’re not huge on the socials. We just love playing live shows and are learning as we go with the recording side of things. Some of the songs have matured a bit, but we’re still into smashing out short, energetic, classic punk sounds.  We’ll keep writing new tunes, and releases will trickle out at our own down-south pace (laughs).  We’re just about to release our first single in two years. We’re also keen to put together some more film clips with a few ideas already on the table.

Michael, how’s your new studio going? What kind of setup have you got, and who has come down to record?

MP: So the last few years I’ve basically just moved audio junk around the greater area. We did have some rehearsal rooms in Albany—which housed my studio also—but have since had to shut the doors after trusting someone I very much shouldn’t have.

Long story short, my studio has taken over half of our house plus a bit on its way to domination when we move. I’ve been working on stuff with Michael Geelhoed and Tera Black (Modern Warfare) and done a bunch of things for artists down here as well as a bunch of my own personal projects—a solo album, Salty Sea Dogs EP, and Frederickstown movie score.

I’m far from a studio whiz, but I can pen an okay tune, so a big emphasis is on understanding the song first and foremost and what it needs to take shape and come alive. Mainly the studio is a bunch of mics, guitar amps, bass amps, three kits, an interface, etc., all the standard things to make something sound horrible, so you know it’s come from Control Control.

Kus, how enmeshed are the skate and music scenes in Albany? Are many of those gigs going on, and who has been a part of it?

Kus: Skateboarding and creativity go hand in hand. I’ve skated most of my life and have built up a lot of my life around skating and all the creativity that comes with it. From screen printing on shirts and boards to building ramps and, of course, creating our own soundtracks. I definitely wouldn’t be playing music with the awesome bunch of lads in Packhoarse if I hadn’t met them through skateboarding.

Albany/Denmark has always had a pretty good little scene since Dominion skateboard crew back in the late 90s right up to what we do today with The Shed. The Shed started out as a place to skate out of the rain through our long winters down here, and we set up a little screenprinting workshop. It didn’t take long before we decided to host some bands and have a shred. The parties went well, and we just kinda kept them rolling.

The Shed ended up with a bit of a reputation as a place to perform and where young crew could have a crack and open up for the more experienced bands. I honestly believe it has inspired a generation down here and has helped bridge a bit of a gap between the Great Southern and the metro area.

Big shout-outs to the other main man down the shed, Tim Waters. Tim originally had the shed for his graphic design business, and when he decided to move to an office space, the opportunity came up to make it into a creative space. He’s an absolute legend of a man and loves to skate and get behind all the crazy things that we do.

There are way too many others to mention them all by name, but I’m truly grateful and blown away by all the amazing crew that come down and make it what it is. Hopefully we can keep things going and continue to make something out of nothing.

Gigs such as Prescribed Burns will bring a spotlight on emerging southern bands. Is the idea to bring the Perth and Albany scenes and industry infrastructure a little closer together?

MP: Touring and playing shows takes you into some wild places within this state, and the Great Southern is no exception. Rad people and rad places await, but you exist where you can and do what you can, when you can. Our part of the world seems a long way away, but it helps you work out who your friends are.

Kus: Being so far away, Albany and Denmark are kinda considered the end of the road. We kinda like that, though. We have our own quiet little paradise down here. Sure, it would be rad to see more bands make the effort to cruise down, and it would be good if the local pubs supported more original music, but you can’t force these things. I think if something is going to happen, it will happen organically over time. I’ve definitely noticed a spike in events with an emphasis on heavier tunes lately and hope we can keep ’em coming.

The Shed will play its part, and Packhoarse are happy to hit the road if an invite is extended. Perhaps the Prescribed Burns gig at the Buff Club will help things along. We are definitely keen!