Xani Kolac from The Twoks joined us in the studio at North West FM - 15 February

Xani Kolac (pictured) from The Twoks joined us in the studio at North West FM - 15 February 2012.

Off air Xani lets us know that she really enjoys visiting little community radio stations like North West FM, it is a bit like that at North West FM, people volunteering time to bring music and spoken word to an audience and her appreciation is shown on air as well.

Tim opens the synopsis by describing Xani as the Jimi Hendrix of the fiddle, the laughs just started there...

Xani takes us for a ride into her experiences at the Edinburgh fringe festival as a musical performer for a full month playing a few shows each week to a great response as well as spending time in the Canadian Rocky Mountains for 3 months in Banff living in a Hut surrounded by snow where they have a Creative Inspiring Centre which gave her inspiration to write The Twoks first EP and especially track 4 on it 'Northern Lights'.

This creative centre in Banff is available to artists, musicians, dancers and even mathematicians.  They also have classes where you can learn more about the arts from others around you, being mentors or professional development lecturers.  She also tells us about life in the Hut sometimes being homesick and feeling isolated but then as she got to know the people, she saw how supportive they were - they were all artists in the same boat.

She talks further about the review culture at the Edinburgh fringe festival giving us an example of a four star review and about peoples' desire to get reviewed at Edinburgh.  Tim aludes us to one of their reviews whose only criticism was that there weren't enough people in the crowd.

She gives us an insight into classical music, Irish fiddle music and Jazz which she has studied at the VCA in Melbourne, moving away in the end from classical music for her desire to write her own and jump into the original music scene here in Melbourne.

We also had some fun on other topics like talking about sunglasses with nose-pieces missing and Joel mentioned that cheese was needed once when he was $3 short.  We find that this change of subject away from music and about life usually provides some laughter.

She then plays a stripped down version of a song live called 'Do What I Want' which will feature on the next album, adding off the cuff percussion and getting our foots tapping with her strumming Violin style.  I know Tim and I can't wait for the album!

Finally we addressed some issues about film and whether The Twoks' music would be used in film.  We addressed some of the advantages and disadvantages of musicians using their music in film, TV and advertising.  Xani explains that if her music was to be used in film alongside bandmate Mark Leahy then it would happen without intention, I'm sure it would be a good opportunity.

With this amazingly original band, you can only imagine what is ahead for them!

If you are interested in The Twoks and like Tim and I can't wait to hear their album, you can visit their website:  www.thetwoks.com

Written partly from a transcript featuring Xani and Tim Woods, other part by Joel Stibbard
Co-Presenter 'Stibbard-me-Timbers' show at North-West FM

Playlist for Stibbard me Timbers - 15 February 2012 (Show number 10) ...

Playlist for Stibbard me Timbers - 15 February 2012 (Show number 10) ...


Woo Hoo, double figures :)

1. Don't Worry Be Happy - Bobby McFerrin (USA)
2. 3am - Richard Jeffrey
3. Leaving Florence - Gabriel Lynch
4. One More Jesus - Giles David Field
5. Broken - Susan Lily
6. Take It Slowly - The Twoks (Featured Artist - CD)
7. Doing It What I Want - The Twoks (Xani Kolac - Live In The Studio)
8. Northern Lights - The Twoks (Featured Artist - CD)
9. 240 Volts - The Twoks (Featured Artist - CD)
10. Plasticine Dream - Rescue Ships (NSW)
11. Castaway - Mi-Sex (New Zealand)
12. Nothing Fierce - The Gallant Trees
13. This Wooden Ship - Elk & Whale (Emilee South)
14. Massa Massa - Ewan Cloonan
15. Gypsy Woman - Redwood
16. Coming Home - Ewan Cloonan

Thank you for listening in to the Stibbard-me-Timbers radio show. We will be back on the 29th February for show number 11!

Listen in next week (22nd February from 4.30pm) for Radio Roarhouse with Adam and Fi, who have a similar philosophy to ours about playing Unsigned and up and coming Australian Acts. Keep music Alive!

http://www.northwestfm.org/

Playlist for Stibbard me Timbers - 1 February 2012 (Show number 9) ...

Playlist for Stibbard me Timbers - 1 February 2012 (Show number 9) ...

1. Slice Of Heaven - Dave Dobbyn (NZ)
2. Brand New Curses - Richard Jeffrey
3. On Your Side - Minnesota Nice
4. Lullaby #1 (Mercy) - The Chemist (WA)
5. The Gallery - Nick Sherwell
6. Treaty - Yothu Yindi
7. I Put You In A Song - Hazelman Brothers (Stu Hazelman)
8. The Worst Thing I've Ever Done - Gabriel Lynch (Feature Artist - Live In The Studio)
9. Come Back To Me - Gabriel Lynch (Feature Artist - CD)
10. All These Words - Kate Walker (Feature Artist - Live In The Studio)
11. Where I'm Going Next - Gabriel Lynch (Feature Artist - Live In The Studio)
12. ??? (New Song Of Kate's - Kate Walker (Feature Artist - Live In The Studio)
13. Aloe-Vera Plant - The Gallant Trees
14. Blue Volkswagon - Tim Woods
15. After Party - Josh Durno (Tas)
16. Like Wolves - Frankie Andrew (Tas)
17. It's A Joke - Le Belle (QLD/Melbourne)
18. Got The Monkey Off My Back - Susan Lily
19. Iron-On - Daniel Lee (Canada)
20. Drown - Obvian (Nathan Davis)
21. Elevator Music - Eva McGowan (WA/Melbourne)

A Big thank you to our guests Kate Walker (pictured) who talked about her upcoming project this sunday at Wesley Anne 'Paper Crane' and Gabriel Lynch who gave us great music and an insight into traveling and touring.

Remember to listen in to Radio Roarhouse with Adam Dempsey and Fiona Caskie next Wednesday 8th February from 4.30pm for more local and live music. You can tune your dial to 98.9 North West FM in Melbourne or stream online at http://www.northwestfm.org/

We'll be back on the 15th Feb!

1 February 2012 - Transcript talking about Referendum for Constitutional change in 2013

This is a transcript which was delivered on the Stibbard-me-Timbers show on the 1st of February relating to the constitutional referendum happening in 2013.  We spent about 5 minutes 40 seconds talking about it.

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(Joel) - Well I've been doing a bit of research and looked into the referendum that is going to be held next year and it's on Aboriginal representation in the constitution which is missing and I'll read out a couple of sections from it which got me really alarmed and section 25 of our constitution says 

For the purpose of the last section which basically describes the voting rights of people one person per vote idea and with a minimum of 5 seats for any State.  Basically it says for the purpose of that section which is Section 24:

"If by law of any State all persons of any State are disqualified from voting at elections for the more numerous House of the Parliament of the State, then, in reckoning the number of the people of the State or the Commonwealth, persons of the race resident in that State should not be counted."

So basically it's saying that under the current part of the Constitution there's a provision in there that can actually discount votes being counted on the basis of race.  

And then there's another section, Section 51 which is Legislative Powers of the Parliament:

"The Parliament shall, subject to the Constitution, have power to make laws for the peace, order, and good government of the Commonwealth with respect to:-

(Sub-Section 26) The People of any race, for whom it is deemed necessary to make special laws."

So basically what this referendum is going to do is allow us to put a cross through those sections which are basically in my opinion deemed (when they had wrote the constitution at the beginning of federation in 1901)

(Tim) - Very Very Old

(Joel) - It is, it's quite antiquated so basically I'm saying that since that's been written we've had a referendum in 1967 to recognise Aborigines in our Census and since then we've had Malcolm Fraser welcome refugees into Australia when he was Prime Minister as well as the Mabo and Wik High Court decisions in the late 80's and early 90's so basically it's showing that we've moved on from there and you know to count any race could also mean not just Aboriginal races, it could mean any race that's not Caucasian.  So anyway I thought I'd mention that on radio and …  We've also of course had Sorry Day which was delivered by Kevin Rudd in 2008 and I think, you know, making our next step is to put the line through these sections in the Constitution.

So anyway, if you are interested you can find out more by visiting a website www.YouMeUnity.org.au (http://www.youmeunity.org.au/) and you can get involved in the conversation there if it's something that interests you.  It is something that interests me.

(Tim) - So it's good of you to open the door so people can go on to the website now and really get involved.

(Joel) - And yeah, and have a look at our whole constitution which is going to have the opportunity of being looked at and so spread the word around and educate yourself and share with your friends and get the discussion happening.

(Tim) - Well we do live in a democracy which is based on people's voices and nothing's going to get changed if nobody says anything.

(Joel) - That's it. 

(Tim) - So we need to speak up about these things and we need to be as educated as we possibly can. And I need to read up about it because I'm passionate about that kind of thing as well.

(Joel) - Yes I think it's just a good time to get the discussion happening now and with a view to get a question up and it's hard, you need a lot of support, you need support from both major political parties on the issue because they don't get passed unless you get bi-partisan support.  Only 8 of 44 (referenda) have been passed so I think it's a good time to get the discussion happening.

And on that related topic, I thought I'd play a Yothu Yindi song. This is from the early 90's, it's called Treaty.

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Stibbard-me-Timbers is a fortnightly show on North West FM (Melbourne) every second Wednesday at 4.30pm.  It features local musicians and songwriters and is facilitated by Joel Stibbard and Tim Woods.

You can stream our show on rotation with Radio Roarhouse every second Wednesday by visiting http://www.northwestfm.org

Playlist for our 8th show - 18th January 2012

Tasmanian musician Josh Durno featured on our 8th show, the 2nd for 2012. We talked about a common passion for Cricket, mainly Australian and the current success of the Hobart Hurricanes, Busking and where to find good places in Melbourne and about an issue that is faced my many in our community, that of Depression.  Josh's Candid approach to these subjects is often revealed in his songwriting. 


Playing his biggest show so far, he also talked about the gig at the Espy the night before.


Here is the playlist for our 8th show - 18th January 2012

1. We Stand A Chance - Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers (USA)
2. Elevator Music - Eva McGowan (Western Australia/Victoria)
3. These Days - Lecia (Lecia Louise Mcphail-Bell) (Queensland)
4. Polaroid - Le Belle (Queensland/Victoria)
5. Wake Up - Elephant Eyes (Stu Hazelman, Kate McMahon)
6. 20th Century Cold - Strangelove (Bristol-UK)
7. Broken Glass - Josh Durno (Featured Artist - Live In The Studio)
8. Lolly Shop - Josh Durno (Featured Artist - CD)
9. The House That Jack And Jill Built - Josh Durno (Featured Artist - Live In The Studio)
10. After Party - Josh Durno (Featured Artist - CD)
11. Brand New Curses - Richard Jeffrey
12. I Put You In A Song - The Hazelman Brothers
13. You Can Call Me Al - Paul Simon (USA)
14. Johnny Cash Is A Good Friend Of Mine - Craig-Lee Smith
15. Bartholomew's Bed - Andrew Marshall (Tasmania)
16. A Thousand Miles - Vanessa Carlton
17. Christmas Island - Beth King And The Hemingway Collective (Bethany King, Martin Hemingway)
18. Got The Monkey Off My Back - Susan Lily
19. Waterfall Awake - The Gallant Trees
20. Blue Volkswagon - Tim Woods

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Also, we would like to note that if there was anything that may have caused distress to anyone about issues raised during this broadcast show today, that they can call Lifeline on 13 11 14

Thank you for listening in, stay tuned next week, 25th Jan, for Radio Roarhouse from 4.30pm on 98.9 North West FM. Remember you can stream through the website on http://www.northwestfm.org/

Playlist for our 7th show - 4th January 2012

The 4th of January was the first show back for us after a 4 week break and we were glad to be back on the radio for 2012.
Since we started together on the show last September, we have been streamed around the world with people picking it up from as far and wide as Canada to the North and South Africa to the West. With this in mind, we look to forwarding Australian unsigned artists overseas via the Internet.  You can stream us every second Wednesday on rotation with Radio Roarhouse on http://www.northwestfm.org or from 4.30pm AEST


Our first show back featured Oliver Jach as he played 4 songs for us in the studio. As someone who is breaking through the Open Mic scene in Melbourne, he sings his haunting style songs whilst driving us through an image of his music.


Here was our playlist for Stibbard me Timbers show 7 (4 January 2012)

1. You Can Call Me Al - Paul Simon (USA)
2. Rest - Frankie Andrew (Tasmania/Melbourne)
3. All Your Say - The Timbers (Adelaide)
4. Let You Down - The Twoks
5. Burning Sun - The Sure Shot Hunters
6. My Brothers Keeper - Oliver Jach (Featured Artist)
7. Felicity - Oliver Jach (Featured Artist)
8. Fangs Alot - Oliver Jach (Featured Artist)
9. Girl From The North Country - Oliver Jach (Featured Artist) covering Bob Dylan
10. Little Mysteries - Richard Jeffrey
11. The Irish Drover - The Pogues/The Dubliners (Ireland)
12. Tip Toe - Le Belle (Queensland/Melbourne)
13. Rainbow Lorikeets - The Gallant Trees
14. Descend - The Nation Blue (Tasmania/Melbourne)
15. Tail Of A Possum - Tim Woods
16. We Sit In Silence - Carly Fern
17. She Takes - Luke Draper
18. Full Of Surprises - James Cameron Moore (Melbourne/Canada)
19. Dis-Moi - Claire Jenkins Avec Band (Canada/Melbourne)
20. The Hardest This I'll Ever Have To Do - Giles David Field
21. Brand Power - Ken Smith

We like to keep the Australian content on Stibbard-me-Timbers up at 75 percent and over. If you would like to send your CD in to us to play, feel free to contact us through facebook.

Rock On!

CD review - The Twoks '240 Volts'

240 Volts - The Twoks

The Twoks (Xani Kolac and Mark Leahy) are a 2 piece band featuring what initially seems a sparse line-up of Violin, Vocals and Drums until you hear them play live.  Xani uses loops and with a vast set on her effects board, lays the foundation for a really full sound whilst Mark has a great light and shade dynamic on the drums.

I first saw Xani live at the Espy with her other band The Hosies and then again at the Rainbow Hotel in November where they were supported by Tim Woods.  I was so impressed I bought a copy of 240 Volts.

There is not a weak track on this 6 track EP/Mini Album.  240 Volts is probably the most commercial radio friendly number of the lot but each track takes you on a journey and when you see them live, you gain a greater appreciation of the way they structure the drive of their compositions. Really this band live is refreshing, they are openly experimental and the kind of band the Melbourne scene misses.

Let You Down is another song driven by a pizzicato violin riff with numerous layers and sticks on the rims.

Take It Slowly is driven by drum mallets and has a break with squealing violins, I can imagine it more classical than pop like 240 Volts.

Northern Lights is a more haunting track and gives me a more melancholic feeling, it has a theme of winter.  As someone who has experienced the Southern Lights, I can relate to this. This is akin to a Lullaby.

Living Isn't Fun it's hard it's hard.  This is probably the rockiest number on the CD with a fuzz bass sound.  Once again, I'm astonished how you can get that sound out of a Violin.

Take Me Home features a lot of distortion on the violin and a simple drum beat on the snare and toms.  A nice reverse reverb on the violin at the end with her melodic voice is a great finish to this CD.

If you are interested in checking out more of The Twoks you can visit their website at http://www.thetwoks.com

Reviewed by: Joel Stibbard

Radio Presenter, North West FM Melbourne

December 2011