Five minutes with Grafton Primary

Vocalist Joshua Garden from indie dance trio Grafton Primary takes five minutes out of his pre-tour schedule to talk to Corker about his band’s debut album Eon, raising children and why his brother Ben is the sexiest of them all.
Interview by Michael Huynh
Edited by Lizza Gebaligan

Ckr: How did you guys get together and has it been a long and arduous road to the top for Grafton Primary?

Joshua: We got together about the time I was born. Ben (Garden – synths/keytar) was already two-and-a-half years old at this point. As a band we’ve been together about four years, so I wouldn’t say it’s been an arduous road, but there have been a few curves along the way.

Ckr: Can you tell us a little bit about your latest single, “She Knows It”? (Listen to the track below.)

Joshua: The song is about a strong, sexy woman of the roads, following her destiny in the last days of the world as we know it. She looks back at the two stories of the age – the desire to burn and consume, and the desire to reunite with nature. The choice she makes is up to you.

Ckr: How do the songs on your new album Eon compare to the sound of your last EP Relativity?

Joshua: They are from the same vein, but much deeper in the ground. Eon has more space, more weight, and yet more lightness. We have pushed ourselves as producers and songwriters, and we believe we’ve hit a new high.

Ckr: What’s one piece of advice that you have for Aussie bands who want to succeed in the industry?

Joshua: Find yourselves as people or the machine will destroy you.

Ckr: Complete the following sentences
If you guys weren’t playing in a band, you’d be…

Joshua: Ben would be an organist in a gothic cathedral in Germany. I would be growing vegetables, raising children and healing the planet. Robbie (Mudrazija – drums) would be an internet terrorist.

Ckr: According to your fans, the most lusted after member in the band is…

Joshua: Ben. He thinks it’s his good looks, but it’s really his instrument.

Corker: The coolest thing a female fan has offered you is…

Joshua: Her white high heel, to sign with a permanent marker.

Ckr: As a kid in primary school, I use to…

Joshua: Be more interested in ants than people.

Catch Grafton Primary on tour over the next few months:

5 September 2008 - East Brunswick Club, Melbourne
6 September 2008 - Oxford Art Factory, Sydney
12 September 2008 - Jive, Adelaide
13 September 2008 - In The Mix Top 50 Party at ANU Bar, Canberra
19 September 2008 The Zoo, Brisbane
20 September 2008 - Street Kid, Gold Coast
25 September 2008 - Wollongong Uni, Wollongong
27 September 2008 - Parklife, Adelaide
28 September 2008 - Parklife, Melbourne
29 September 2008 - Parklife, Perth
4 October 2008 - Parklife, Brisbane
5 October 2008 - Parklife, Sydney
22 November 2008 - Trackside Festival, Canberra with Cut Copy, Sparkadia, Living End, The Panics + more

Check out Grafton Primary's music video for the previously released 'Relativity' here:

Where the bloody hell we really are

Sydney is Australia's largest populated city. It also holds the mantle for being one of the world's most culturally diverse. Retaining this title over the decades has given new apprehension to the term 'Street Photography'. Andrew Stark is a man who takes pride in such line of work - he is a Street Photographer. Regarded as a fine form of roving art, the ever changing and multi-faceted Sydney continues to overhaul the conventional norms of capturing one's personal space and provincial environment. Michael Huynh finds out what makes Stark's photography just that.

Asking his indiscriminate subjects to “Smile, cause you’re on candid camera.” is something Andrew Stark does not do well. In fact it is something he tends not to do at all. Stark is a street photographer. His life’s work as a nomadic artist involves capturing some of urban Sydney’s most powerful and unscripted stills for more than two decades. Today Stark showcases his signature greyscale images of Sydney in galleries that emphasise the acridity of everyday suburbia. In his latest collection of images for the Hazelhurst Gallery, Stark spent twelve months of 2007 in the town of Sutherland Shire and home to the media-ravaged Cronulla Beach.

He immersed himself amongst the people of Southern Sydney to uncover a side of the town that was seldom documented by media after the infamous events of 2005. During that year, Cronulla Beach had become the premiere estate for racial vilification in 21st century Australia. What eventuated were race riots and revenge bashings that illustrated the immense tension that had been brewing between Shire locals and those from Sydney’s Western suburbs. The ferocity of the racial violence was such that the suburb attracted international headlines and forced authorities to initiate riot laws. Most significantly though, the event had tarnished Australia’s long standing reputation as a progressive multicultural society.

Carrying on from those highly publicised events three years ago, Stark speaks of the shortcomings that continue to impede the town. “The Shire is an example of magnified paranoia. Whatever minority group they want to be terrified of, it is made feasible when the media chucks petrol on it. First Asians, then gays, now Muslims. Soon it’ll be the street photographers.”

Stark speaks to Corker Magazine about his encounter with Cronulla and photography in what could be one of his last interviews as a street photographer.

Ckr: Could you tell us a bit about where you grew up and how it reflects your work today?

AS: I grew up in Strathfield in Sydney’s inner-west. Dad was a librarian and also did a bit of photography so there was some inspiration there I suppose. I have no idea why I’m into it, but I think with street photography, I was just a wanderer who didn’t like being boxed in. Strathfield was not an art community back then and you don’t come through [street photography] via art courses anyway. My first job was in a photographic lab where I learnt the basics of processing film in black and white and my street photography would’ve progressed from there.


Ckr: Is there a part of Sydney that is the most rewarding for you to photograph?

AS: One place I love is Cabramatta. Because my dad use to run the library out there so I kind of grew up there as well. During the school holidays I use to head out that way to spend time with dad. The last few years I haven’t been since Dad’s retirement but I loved shooting the Chinese New Year festivals. During one of my first festivals, I wanted to get right in there and snap the moment where the firecrackers were going off with the reaction of the people. It was great, although with one hand on the camera and another hand on one ear, I couldn’t hear a thing for weeks [laughs].

Ckr: Where do you see Sydney being in ten years time?

AS: Bigger. There’s always been the seperated notion of Sydney and then the Western suburbs. The media in this city wouldn’t even know the Western suburbs existed if they were in it. Well to be fair I don’t think they even recognise the Shire either but I don’t think the Shire give a damn. Sydney use to be a laid back town. Now it feels a lot more tense and people just jump on anything that is different. I have no idea where that came from. I’d like to see a more integrated Sydney in ten years.


Ckr: What were some of the more humourous moments on a shoot?

AS: I think things that normal people wouldn’t find funny at all are the most absurd to me. Being bailed up by the police for example. Happened on the Shire project heaps. I did my fair share of festivals and when you’re at a kid’s festival, the cops start bailing you and everyone just starts looking at you. Once that’s happened you just say “oh well, whatever happens[next] that’s the end of my day because I can’t just go on taking photos again cause now everyone thinks I’m a pedophile and they say ‘oh-no here comes the pedophile look out!’" I’m very lucky my girlfriend’s a psychologist.

Ckr: And the most dangerous part of your job?

AS: I had a camera flash at a rock concert thing once where I got king hit by someone in the mosh pit. Camera goes into your nose, flash goes on the ground smashed to smithereens and you look up and people smirk. I didn’t want to give them the satisfaction so I shook my head a few times and got straight back into shooting without the flash with blood all over my nose. I’m very lucky my girlfriend’s a psychologist.

Ckr: What is the sentimental connection that you have with your twenty year-old analogue SLR camera that you still use today?

AS: I don’t know. Maybe I’m just a cheapskate. I feel nervous getting expensive equipment smashed. And it’s consistent with the shots. My friend Mark who’s done a photography course once asked me about histograms and I was like ‘What’s that?’ and Mark’s response was hysterical. Something like: “What?! You’re a bloody photographer and you don’t know what a histogram is?!” I just take a photo and if it looks right, then it’s good.

“Photography has given me a purpose. There are times I queried myself as a street photographer. If I was just a wanderer who didn’t hold a camera, I’d be seen as just some loopy dude walking the streets. But because I’ve got a camera, people say ‘Oh wow, look at this guy. He’s an artist’ [laughs]. It has really legitimised my drifting around.” – Andrew Stark

Read the full interview in Spring Edition's Corker Magazine: September 08

* All photos published here are property of Andrew Stark
* All publications belong to Corker Magazine (Usually I wouldn't worry about posting my own features but they actually sell this publication so yeah...)

A nostalgic fan-boy moment

Obviously nothing editorial related here and more of a spur of the moment thing, I've found out they're making a G.I JOE the movie. Ah can you smell the retro...

Snake Eyes (played by Ray Park)

I played G.I Joe as a kid. And at $4.99 a pop, who wouldn't! They were awesome with their colour shifting abilities when dunked in hot water. A colour shifting toy in the early 90's is like a PS3 for kids these days. Sheer heaven and hours of alternating between the freezer and kettle and lingering between third degree burns and mild hypothermia. My two favourite characters were Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow from Ninja Storm. I had both the figures and managed to destroy them in about a month of hardcore playing. Here they are, alive and well, in movie rendition:

Storm Shadow (Played by Byung-hun Lee)












(Snake Eyes - Wesley Snipes/Blade clone?)

















Although the pictures are uber cool and thankfully suited for this century, I doubt this movie will come close to the credibility stakes of the upcoming 'Dark Knight'. Some of the stars in this film include Sienna Miller, Denis Quaid, Channing Tatum and Marlon Wayans (no joke). In anycase, this shall be one for the childhood memories...and possibly a few laughs.

Bad News Week

In a week of huge events we’re taking a back seat to revel in some of our most recent happenings on the media front. Easter holidays seems to be a good start. Now to some, this super long weekend is seen as a sacred period of remembrance and reflection. Although for others who aren’t as spiritually inclined, it’s a period of remembrance of what they had to drink on Thursday night as well as a reflection of how they ended up naked on the Town Hall steps Friday morning.

No other long weekend gives urban dwellers the opportunity to get this jiggy. Completely intoxicated Thursday night. Recover Friday. Intoxicated Friday night. Recover Saturday. Intoxicated Saturday night. Recover Sunday. Intoxicated Sunday night. Recover Monday. Not content with that deal, our PM insisted on jetting half way around the world to ensure the time lapse gave him an extra day of drinking. He then waged war on binge drinking like any partied-out PM nursing a massive hangover would. Now that’s political strategy!

Petrol has also been a huge story making headlines. As the fear of the liquid gold inches ever so close to $1.50, Australians are becoming increasingly worried that they’ll one day be paying more for BP than VB. Absolute outrage. Don’t fret though as the state government is working quickly to ensure us the viability of greener modes of transport. Government bus services are great alternatives. That is until they start rolling onto train tracks. Rest assured that when Morris Iemma is on the ball, the job is bound to be done right. Sure he’s still confused on whether the St James station tunnel will be used for recycled water or the North West Metro Link, but good ol’Morris will always do us right in the end. Leaked reports show that he’s planning to merge both ideas and present us with ‘Iemma’s Norwest Wild River Rapids Rail Link’. You know the theme park ride where you sit in a giant log and get hurled down a massive water slide whilst getting completely drenched? It’s kind of like that but for peak time commuters. They’ll love it. The system’s even got a camera that takes photos of you when you’re heading down the 10m drop so you can show your CEO why you’re late and soaked upon arrival.

Earth Hour was a huge success for the environment though. I for one managed to save a few dollars switching off some lights. When I turned them on again though, I had a stab wound and my computer and car were gone. Bloody Thief Hour more like it.

lol wtf?! It's a cd review?!

Alluding to more recent trends of reviewing inanimate offerings from the world of arts and culture, here comes one epic soundtrack from boys at The Bravery.

The New York based band lobs their second album at us in the fall of 2007 entitled The Sun and the Moon. Their style is predominantly alternative-indie-rock backed by awesome bass lines and a lead vocalist that is extremely reminiscent of Brandon Flowers from The Killers. Though to be honest the album itself sounds very much like that of The Killers in terms of lyrics and execution. If you had to listen to a few of their tracks without anyone telling you who they were, you would probably think it was them.

But today's review is on The Bravery and not The Killers. What sets the two apart is the aforementioned bass lines that prove enough to seperate this clan from the pretenders. The pace of a majority of the tracks range from mild rock right through to the edgier tunes such as "Believe" and the electro infused "Fist full of sand". The album does however lapse in some areas carrying the dire tendency to put the listener to bed before nine. Luckily for this release there were more hits than misses. The standout tracks on the album are easily "Believe", "Time won't let me go" and "Split me wide open". The credibility of the band hasn't been overlooked in anyway either as they were hand picked to feature tunes on the U.S' latest t.v show and successor to The O.C; Gossip Girl.

Realising this would probably give you a better idea as to the genre of The Bravery. The sound is very Young Americana-like. What the hell does that mean exactly? Think driving down a long coastal American highway in your convertible as the sun goes down kind of music. Though be assured that the wonders of The Bravery only take full effect if you turn it up loud enough.

This one deserves a respective 3/5 for its audacity. It only loses out through a few of the songs I fell asleep through.

Feel free to check out the music videos for "Believe" and "Time won't let me go".

lol wtf?! It's a book review?!

Here lies the first ever review to be conducted by me. And surprisingly enough it is a book review. Significant why? Because the last time I had contemplated reading let alone finishing a 200+ page narrative was years back in twelfth grade English when I was forced to look for some chick called Alibrandi. Talk about pushing my cerebral boundaries to the limit. Just the week before I was looking for Wally on page three.

But alas intellectual evolution knocks on the door again. In the form of Alice Pung’s Unpolished Gem. I hadn’t initially known about this book. It’s not even mine actually. I normally only do newspaper/journal/magazine as they seem to reflect a more real-time manifestation of our world and issues. But this bright friend insisted that I give it a go as it would “exemplify the discrepancies between 21^st century Australian and Asian culture whilst persuading the reader to recognise the depth of their own Asian roots”.

Hearing that, I eagerly grabbed the book off her and replied “Sweet. I love Asian roots.”

Friend later pledged never to reference me to a book ever again.

Alice Pung is an accomplished twenty-five year old lawyer cum writer from Melbourne. She is a girl of Chinese/Teochew/Cambodian descent who migrated to Australia with her family from war torn South-East Asia in the early 80’s. Her book is a personal recount through the eventful life that she and her family has had not so much overseas, but more so through arriving and assimilating within the great Australian culture. As the blurb suggests “This story does not begin on a boat.” It begins in 1980’s Footscray, Melbourne (equivalent to Sydney’s Cabramatta).

The story follows Pung and her family as they start their lives as migrants and slowly evolve over the years to integrate within the perks and perils of Australian society. Some of these elements range from Pung’s father successfully opening a Retravision store in one of the grittier Asian communities in Melbourne to her mother’s excessive desire to work until age pertains.

The story is engaging because Alice is essentially very much the same as us (if you’re a 2^nd generation Asian-Australian that is) bounded by the rules and expectations that most Asian generation-Y kids can relate to. The reader follows the progression from childhood into adulthood as young Alice learns about life, rules, academic expectations, arranged marriages, Chinese child-parent relationships (or the lack thereof), taboo romances and all else that the stereo-typical Asian parenting system entails.

Most importantly her story exposes the transparent pressures and consequences imposed on a 2^nd generation Asian growing up in a fair dinkum society whilst still heavily strung in the feudal traditions of Indo-China. These pressures as noted by Pung revolve around putting the UAI or HSC marks on a pedestal which is accompanied by the inter-family or inter-family-friend bitching regarding whose kid is studying what at which University potentially making however much in the near future.

Essentially this leads to an ongoing internal conflict for Pung to be apart of both cultures as she struggles to satisfy her personal needs and those of her parents. Dire consequences results for Alice when she reaches 12^th grade and later on decides to initiate some compromise between two very different cultures by dating a Caucasian or “ghost”.

The story is not all doom and gloom though. Pung likes to weave a humorous backdrop of very typical Asian practices against the symmetrical norm of Western society throughout the book. This in turn induces the nostalgic reaction of “Hey that’s happened to me before” or “Hey my parents did the exact same thing to me!” or “Wow, I now know the influential magnitude of Indo-Mei Goreng noodles on a Grand National scale!” for some readers.

The verdict? I reckon a 4/5 should do it justice. It’s compelling enough for readers who are gaining insight into a culture never before exposed in such a form but for those who understand it or have experienced it all too much, it’s like reading an Asian girl’s diary (quite a cute girl’s diary for that matter). Which is all good. But as a guy reader, it did seem a bit too emotionally perpetuated for me. Then again that’s probably what books are these days. I wouldn’t know.

Back to page three it is.

Partying for Dummies 2.0

Contrary to many perceptions it seems that the dawn of another year has provided Aussies with a breed of new age party animal. It is utterly disappointing though that those famous lyrics that Prince once proclaimed of “Party like it’s 1999” should now be archived and superceded by the lyrics “Party like you enjoy rehab” or “Party like you’re a footy player” or “Party like you’re at Corey’s” or “Party like it’s Cronulla”. These are the new benchmarks in partying hard for our times.

Besides the over-cashed American starlets of Lohan’s and Hilton’s, no one comes close when it’s comes to home grown action that you’re after. In their utmost state of social suicide we’ve witnessed the likes of Ben Cousins trying to snort the entire 50m field line during an AFL game, Nikki Webster posing semi-nude for a men’s magazine (a friend told me), The Young Divas releasing their second album, TV’s pizza delivery boy ‘Dougie’ ironically getting fired for drink driving (now you know where all those tips were going) and elite Australian figures hanging out with Scientology enthusiast Tom Cruise yelling “SHOW ME THE MONEY!!!” at a ten metre portrait of their late founder. In fact it’s only a matter of time before we start seeing a lot more local high profile figures join the coveted Scientology ring. I reckon Andrew Johns will be at next year’s exclusive social gathering standing next to Cruise yelling “I feel the need…the need for speed!!!” at the big portrait. Confectionery companies are even catching on quick as they are modifying their slogans to keep up with the target demographic. Look out for ‘Mars. Work. Rest. Play. Rehab. Relapse. Rehab.’

Yes this is rocking out at its best. And surely the popular song ‘A song about Ping-Pong’ isn’t just a song about ping-pong. Honestly when lyrics as weird as that are embraced by kids these days, it must be an acronym for something alcohol/drug/emo/sex related that parents cannot easily decipher (unless you’re one of those cool mums like Britney Spears or her pregnant sixteen year old sister). Even bricks and police cars have been playing a vital role for a good new fashion Aussie party. The two go together like Alan Jones and Mardi Gras according to experts. So the next time you drive past an RBT, be sure to scribble down the party or wedding holder’s address on a brick and throw it at a police car. You’ll be on a sure track to party success in no time.