In conjunction with March Australia, ex-Purrvert vocalist, Laura G, has organised a Rage Against The Machine tribute, with support from The Witches and The Georgians this Saturday, March 28, at the Rosemount Hotel and Friday, April 10 at the Prince Of Wales in Bunbury. BOB GORDON has a chat.
It’s been a long time since you rock and rolled. What you been up to?
After Purrvert I lived in Europe, first in Paris and then in Berlin. In Paris I worked on radio and then in Berlin I was jamming with a band called Agent, Red from members collected in London and Australia. I came back home to re-finance myself after the hard partying days of Berlin. Since Berlin, I have been pursuing my other passion for writing and have worked my way to a scholarship for a doctoral degree. I’m in my final year of the PhD which is about the way technology is changing the way we feel when we listen to music. I lecture in popular music at Curtin and ECU as well.
Have you missed playing music?
I really have missed playing live. In fact, it was hard for a while to go and see local acts and even my favourite bands because I would get such a pang for performing. In the past decade since Purrvert I have done a lot of growing up and maturing though and I’m ready to bring all that I’ve learnt to the fore. I think any performer misses the stage, I’m just so honoured I have the opportunity to re-ignite that part of myself in such a grand fashion and with such incredible musicians: Karl Hiller, Giles Lowe and Scott Howard.
What do Rage Against The Machine mean to you?
Rage Against The Machine was everything to me as a teenager. In fact, when I was 15 I wrote fan mail to RATM and received a reply with a list of activist groups to join and a collective 7 inch vinyl. I have it framed
I was completely obsessed with the group and their politics. I learnt about leftist politics and the way music could very concretely make a difference in people’s lives. It certainly made a difference in my life.
I channelled all my anger about the world into learning about Rage Against The Machine and what De La Rocha’s lyrics really meant, which inevitably led me to wider knowledge about power and music. Strangely, I always believed that my passion for RATM would fade away but, if anything, my appreciation for the band has become stronger and more refined. I understand what the band has been trying to do and as we enter into dark times in Australian politics I hope it can do for other people what it has done for me – provide hope and action for change.
What’s in store for this tribute show?
We start the night by honouring some original live music acts from Perth with The Witches and The Georgians. Both bands have impressive creative aspects and we are excited that people will have the chance to catch both the music they know and maybe be introduced to some new original music on the scene. Then we bring out the big guns with an epic set of RATM tracks from all eras of their career. March Australia will be present to hand out flyers and answer any questions about what they do for Australian political awareness and Senator Scott Ludlam has even said he might pop in to support the show and the movement.
We have Karl Hiller, one of the most talented guitarists in Perth, leading us into the fray with Morello-style madness. Giles Lowe has an unimaginable bass sound to emulate Tim Cummerford’s massive presence and Scott Howard is one of the hardest hitters I’ve ever seen. All four of us are huge RATM fans and have been working tirelessly to do justice to one of the greatest bands of all time.
What’s next?
After this round of RATM Tribute Shows I’ll be making a return to the original scene with a vengeance. In the background, I have been putting together ideas and formulating a direction in order to create a sound that suits the uniqueness of my vocal style, my political tendencies, my passion and my drive to explore the limits of my creative boundaries. And I should probably finish my PhD in there somewhere too!
