NOTHING LESS THAN ECLECTIC

The Gainesville, Florida quintet Less Than Jake, known for their infectious ska-inspired pop-punk anthems, have been making music, recording, and touring for 14 years while watching plenty of other bands parade up and down the charts.

“Ska, nü-metal, screamo, and now Brooklyn indie rock have all skyrocketed then sky-plummeted,” says drummer and band mouthpiece Vinnie. “But we’ve survived. Mainly because music is our life. Sure a lot of bands can say that, but I think we’ve proven it by evolving in a way that has kept our earliest fans, as well as new generations of listeners excited about what we do.”

That evolutionary zeal is clearly in evidence on the band’s new album In With the Out Crowd, and should be plain as day when Less Than Jake return to Australia to show off the classics and the new stuff live.

Joining Less Than Jake, and for the first ever time in Australia are the tumultuous yet tuneful A Wilhelm Scream, who possess the tenacity of Rage Against The Machine, the operatic capacity of Queen with more determination, and finally they have the fuck-it-all attitude of the Sex Pistols while maintaining a thrash rock edge that never gets old. A Wilhelm Scream have found the perfect mixture between chest beating metal, contagious punk, and technical rock. Their latest album Ruiner, produced by Bill Stevenson (All, Descendents) is out now.

Another band to round out the bill, again almost refusing classification, are Melbourne’s Horsell Common. They’ll bring their ferocious blend of rock and hardcore to these shows and demonstrate why they’re rising fast to the top of the Australian punk rock heap!

A weird mix for a less Than Jake show? Maybe, but then again, LTJ could never be accused of predictability, and never fail to deliver the goods live – and deliver they shall this November.

Dates:
Tuesday 31st October - Amplifier, Perth
Wednesday 1st November - Corner Hotel, Melbourne
Thursday 2nd November - Manning Bar, University of Sydney
Friday 3rd November - Shellharbour Workers Club, Wollongong
Saturday 4th November - Cambridge Newcastle
Sunday 5th November - Coolangatta Hotel, Gold Coast
Monday 6th November - Arena, Brisbane

ROGER THAT

It’s all about the dancefloor, the hip shaking and the high gyration factor when The Rogers Sisters grace your ears.

There’s some inexplicable physiological effect that makes it near impossible to separate your hearing from your movement. But there’s no complaining. Quite logically, then, this is magnified exponentially when everyone’s favourite trio step into the room and onto the stage – a fact that anyone who saw them on their last Oz tour can attest to.

And it is with great pleasure that it has the second Australian tour for New York’s finest, The Rogers Sisters, has now been confirmed.

Having been something of an underground secret since the turn of the century, The Rogers Sisters have quickly evolved into a band known for their ability to recreate the best moments of ESG, X-Ray Spex and the B-52’s.

Their most recent record, The Invisible Deck, sees’ em taking these influences and crafting their own sound through passion, obsession, energy and maturity. It’s received widespread acclaim from critics and fans alike, with Rolling Stone commenting on their ability to “kick ass live, but The Invisible Deck is the first time they’ve managed to do justice to their tough, slippery, muscular sound in the studio.” Heaven only knows how incendiary it’s going to be live. The compliments keep coming, too.

Dates:
Thursday October 5 - The Troubadour, Brisbane
Friday October 6 - Revolver Upstairs, Melbourne
Saturday October 7 - Rebel Rebel, Sydney