Synk Magazine aims to promote and develop the skills of people under the age of 25. If you're a young writer, photographer, artist, designer… we want your soul. If you feel you can contribute to Synk, visit: www.synkmagazine.com.au By reading the above you automatically agree to give us your soul, any and all assets, any siblings and your firstborn child. Furthermore, you agree to rescue the princess regardless of which castle said princess is in. From this date, your internal organs become our exclusive property, we reserve the right to patent any and all technologies you may develop and/ or pioneer and we reserve the right to take credit for any and all achievements you make in your life including, but not limited to, being the parents of above firstborn and any subsequent children, liberating before said princess from the castle and saving the human race from an alien menace and/or authoritarian dictatorship. If you are concerned that any of your rights are being infringed upon by the above statement, please forward your concerns to Baron McRae: [email protected]. Artwork by EMMA FERGUSON Artwork by LACHLAN CLARKE exogenbreach.deviantart.com Contributors synk 1 Welcome to our issue five, staying alive... It’s been a year! A whole frigging year! You all thought we’d go under but we Contents showed you fuckers. ‘Another street press in Melbourne? No way! The other highly Writers: Photography: reputable street presses will eat you idiots alive.’ Bah! We laughed in the face of that The Hives _______________ 2 Duane Jackson Smith Luke Kellett beast and it looks like it paid off. But, it has been quite a while since the last issue and Rhys McRae we know it’s been tough on all of you, not knowing what to do or where to go, aimlessly Ray Caesar ______________ 4 Cara Williams Editors: walking around in circles, stopping momentarily to reminisce all the fun times you Claire Stapleton Rhys McRae shared with the last issue. Well, to celebrate this special edition and to make up for our Migs __________________ 9 Isabelle Tolhurst Tommy Guo elongated absence, we present you with our Massively Epic Summer edition, featuring Jessika Keegan among others: The Hives (ooooo), The Victorian Roller Derby League (ahhhh), The Matt Kelly and The Keepers ___12 Morgan Cataldo Creative Directors: John Steel Singers (aaaaw), the artful doger that is Ray Caesar and the usual amount of Lachlan Clarke Jessika Keegan witty banter that you’ve come to know and love. Vintage Fashion __________14 Jessie Ngaio Lachlan Clarke So what have we been up to that’s caused us to snub you loyal readers? Well personally, The Drones ______________16 Designers: Online Content Manager: I’ve been enjoying the fun and games of driving around the zoo in my ultra expensive Tommy Guo Frieda Handoko luxury car throwing wedding cakes at small children and berating their parent’s about John Steel Singers _________18 Christine Soriano their sexual history whilst playing Russian roulette with a panda bear. As for the others they’ve been diligently working their fingers to the bone crafting this beautiful specimen Emma Ferguson __________21 Jessika Keegan Managing Director: Lachlan Clarke Cara Williams of a publication just to satisfy your voracious appetites. So read it because for every issue I see in a bin I kill 100 endangered animals…the cute ones as well…not like the aye-aye Roller Derby _____________24 Kon Mrnjaus Anney Tulloch (that thing looks like a badly burnt rat). Birds of Tokyo ____________26 Front cover artwork: Ray Caesar, “Bubbles” It’s kind of hard to run an independent magazine; lord knows we can’t do it on the Back cover artwork: Ray Caesar, “Ebbtide” Derek Dale ______________28 awesome power of our own modesty. So if you’re a struggling writer, talented artist, resemble the monopoly guy or have this undying urge to spend a whole lotta money on Artwork: Courtney Brims young talent then give us a bell. The 1000th caller wins a night with Kevin Rudd! The Living End ___________29 www.noise.net/courtneybrims Lord knows he needs a root. Left page “Blossom” Right page “Goldfish” Reviews ________________30 For all media and advertising enquires please contact: "Bistros Are Running Right Over New Macaroni Cheese Restaurants And Estuaries". SYNK recommends ________32 [email protected] Barron McRae Giveaways ______________34 www.synkmagazine.com.au Inventor of the horizontal acrostic poem © Synk Magazine 2008 synk 2 another record, but venture into new Album’, the band recalled Pharrell’s synk 3 “This is how it goes; We are territory with their latest release. Along previous offer, made contact, and flew the best band in the world”. came the bands fourth recording, ‘The over to his studio in Miami. “We learnt a lot Hives drummer Chris Dangerous blatantly Black and White Album’, a name which working with Pharrell”. Chris recollects. “A defines himself and his cohorts. “There’s stemmed from the Beatles ‘White Album’ guy like Pharrell records like 20-30 songs no person, no band, no God, that could be and Metallica’s ‘Black Album’. a week. We’re lucky if we can record the Hives and do a better job than we do. one. Previously when we record we’ve We’re dead serious about that. We think “If The Beatles could make a ‘White been so fucking anal about every single that we are fucking great”. Album’ and Metallica could make a ‘Black detail. It’s been the five of us looking at Album’, there was only one band who the fucking guitar amp for 8 hours, then It is this uncompromising and ego manic could make a record twice as good as discussing where we are going to put the attitude that made heads turn when The those two combined. And as far as sales microphone, then having a meeting about Hives burst onto the scene with the release go, The Beatles’ ‘White Album’ sold 11 which fucking microphone to put there and of their debut album ‘Barely Legal’ in million copies while Metallica’s ‘Black at what angle.” 1997. In an era when garage punk was Album’ has sold well over 16 million arguably at the peak of its popularity, the copies. The logic is undisputable: The “When we went to Miami to record with album highlighted the unmistakable force Hives’ ‘The Black and White Album’ will Pharrell, he’s like ‘Ok, we’ve got some that is The Hives. After a two year break, go on to sell 176 million copies, thus drums here, let’s record, let’s play, let’s the Hives released their second album, exceeding sales-wise anything The Hives have fun- let’s put that shit up and record!’. ‘Veni Vidi Vicious’, with singles “Hate to have released before, or any modern artist We were like, ‘What? Aren’t we supposed Say I Told You So”, “Main Offender”, “Die, since 1968”. Guitarist Nicholaus Arson to listen to one note for three days before All Right!”, and “Supply & Demand’. The eloquently states. we press the record button?’ We learnt band then released a ‘best of’ compilation to have fun and try to play different stuff album, titled ‘Your New Favourite Band’, Chris Dangerous recalls the lead up in instead of being so sure of exactly what which sent the world into Hives overdrive. recording the latest release. “Recording you’re gonna play and how you want it to ‘Your New Favourite Band’ was considered ‘The Black and White Album’ was a pretty sound.” to be The Hives breakthrough album, big challenge for us because we really reaching extraordinary record sales in the wanted to change everything. When we Under Pharrell’s guidance, the Hives UK and US. After extensive world tours, sat down and talked about our careers, we recorded three songs, two of which that the band retreated to their hometown of felt like we weren’t finished. So we thought made it onto the album, ‘Well All Right!’ Fagersta to record their third album. The ‘what the hell?’ Let’s do something very and ‘T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S’. Although Pharrell is result was 2004’s Tyrannosaurus Hives, different, let’s try something new that predominantly known for producing hip their first new material in four years. The will make recording as interesting as hop tracks, ‘The Black and White Album’ album includes the hit singles “Walk Idiot we possibly can for ourselves. We really still pays tribute to all that Hives fans Walk” “Two-Timing Touch And Broken wanted to focus on writing the songs and originally loved about them, high energy Bones” and “A Little More For Little You”. recording them properly, and not doing rock and roll, powerful riffs, catchy kicks, Emphasised by their eccentrically the business side of things that we had and of course a hell of a lot of bravado. energised stagecraft, sharp dress sense done for so long. So we got ourselves a “We received maybe four angry emails dd a cup of high A year since the release of and self indulgent ideals, The Hives manager and we changed so many things from 18 year old punk kids that didn’t like energy rock and roll, 5 their fourth studio release, became renowned as one of the most around the band too. It was really like we the fact that we recorded with Pharrell” tablespoons of audacity ‘The Black and White Album’, prominent iconic garage rock and roll wanted to re-invent ourselves”. Chris chuckles. “But there’s a saying. A bands of the time, and they had no You can’t talk shit about the Fins until and a sprinkle of amazing The Hives drummer Chris Dangerous gives Synk some problem sharing that accomplishment with In the past, The Hives had captured the you’ve been to Finland.