Photography In Preview

Ron Levine captures the faces of some of Canada’s and America’s most elderly prison inmates and shares their stories in what has been described as a touching yet intense photographic exhibition.

“In 1996, I heard a radio piece on the Canadian Broadcasting Association about this geriatric prison in Alabama: the first geriatric prison in the world. I was so enthralled by it I thought it could make some great photographs for my series.”

This was just the start of what was a lengthy, life-consuming, ten-year project for Levine. Between working with his commercial clients, he worked on a book, documentary and exhibition, all compiling the images from the prisons he had visited and the inmates he had met in them.  â€œThe photos in the book were shot over four years, the photos in the exhibition were shot over about ten years. It was a huge project, it started in 1996 and ended with a documentary in 2005. In total I have photographed in ten different prisons over the years.”

Conflicting thoughts stirred within Levine when working on this project after seeing frail old men serving a life sentence in a prison and hearing their stories, which were the whole reason they are in there to start off with. â€œIt was just a fascination with these old guys and with their stories, how they found themselves in prison and how it has now forced the United States to open up these geriatric facilities in almost every state of America. I think a lot of the fascination was in the way they spoke of the past; that they are repentant of what they had done. A lot of them have resolved their situation. It became more about their stories and what got them in these horrible situations. Most of them are never going to get out; they are going to die in there. Just their faces told such a story,  like a roadmap of their experiences. The stories they told us were like what you would tell a kid so that they wouldn’t follow your criminal ways.”

Willingness of the inmates played a crucial part in the success of the exhibition and project; something that Levine was pleasantly and surprisingly overwhelmed with. â€œAfter speaking with a few of them on the first day, we had over 100 release forms signed by the inmates. They wanted to tell their story, they wanted to have their photograph taken and it was touching. Some of the crimes were really, really heinous, some so much so that we didn’t put those in the book.”

Confronted with their stories on a daily basis, Levine turned this into almost an educational exhibition. â€œWe got schools and groups of troubled youths to come down to the exhibitions. I was told later that a lot of the 17-year-old ruffians were crying when they read what some of them had done. They said that they didn’t want to continue their life of crime as they didn’t want to end up like the old guys in prison. “We saw an educational need for the exhibition, we tried to make it as accessible as possible for the youngsters.”

Levine is obviously still extremely interested by this topic. â€œThere are at least a dozen more elderly prisons that have popped up in the United States since I finished this project in 2005, in fact I was just reading about one in Pennsylvania and another one in Virginia actually.”

The exhibition explores the socio-economic causes of crime and delinquency and sheds light on growing old in prison, an issue that is not often talked about in society today. Levine aims to make the viewers see the faces not just the felonies. â€œThe first day you go in to one of the prisons, a lot of them just look like your grandfather, you know nothing about them of course when you first meet them. I walked away after a week of being there with thousands of images, I remember thinking there is something here, there is more than just pictures.”

Ron Levine’s Photography Exhibition, ‘Prisoners of Age’ will be on display at the Brisbane Powerhouse until November 21.

Alfred Hitchcock Retrospective

Seasoned performers, The Quadratic Contingency are known for being innovative. Their show at GoMA cements that as they experiment with music and film. “My band, Quadratic Contingency, is performing live at GoMA to silent films and we were asked because even though we do write dots on pages as such, we are also an improvisational band as well which will really suit this quite well,” composer and percussionist Paul Young explains.

The Quadratic Contingency endeavours to evade being pigeonholed as they draw influences from different genres. “We have been lumped into a post jazz category, I think often people do that because they don’t really know how to classify us, which is a bit of a cliché in itself. I guess our influences are improvisational music, minimalism and classical kinds of music.” It is these influences that will be prominent in their shows partnering the Hitchcock films. They plan to make every show different to suit each film. “Throughout the films, I am actually getting a lot of collaborative musicians in who are people I have worked with in the past, who I can trust to do some really great things that are out of our scope.”

The Quadratic Contingency are embracing the opportunity to experiment. “There is a lot more opportunities to be creatively motivated to be doing innovative stuff so I’ve been really surprised and really humbled by a lot of the great stuff coming out of Brisbane.”

Humbling and exhilarating, yet hard work according to Young, who has worked tirelessly for the Alfred Hitchcock Retrospective. “I am probably going to get to the last Hitchcock film and then sleep for three months. It is quite a task writing up to fourteen hours of music in a few months.”

The Quadratic Contingency play at GoMA for the Alfred Hitchcock Retrospective every Sunday until November 27.

Strength to strength

“This year I’m definitely keen to try and hook up with some different people around the country who have been doing their thing,” says Solo describing his musical perspective going forward into the new decade.

Sydney duo Horrorshow have just kicked off their national tour with a sold out show in their hometown of Sydney. The response has been so great, a second show has been announced. It’s been a whirlwind journey for Adit and Solo, only having completed high school a little over four years ago. Solo, Nick Bryant-Smith to the government, describes what the past few weeks have entailed.

“I’ve just been getting stuff happening for the tour like organising local support acts.”

Accompanying Horrorshow on the ‘Inside Story’ tour will be their 1dayer crewmates Spit Syndicate. Bryant-Smith tells how it is truly the cherry on the cake to travel Australia and play shows with close mates. “I’m stoked. The thought of the hard work me, Adit and the boys have put in over the past couple of years ... I think of this as the reward for that. Other kinds of rewards like the financial side aren’t that huge but the thought that because of that, me and four of my best mates get to travel around the country for a month straight doing what we love puts a smile on my face.”

When quizzed about any places in particular that he looks forward to playing, Bryant-Smith muses about the times to come. “There are certain cities where we have been lucky enough to link up with cool local people so it’s always good to go back and visit your friends. I’m really looking forward to getting back to Adelaide because it’s always an interesting challenge playing there. They’re a crowd that’s very passionate about their hip hop and the way it should be done.”

The spirit of networking whilst on the road is something Bryant-Smith really enjoys about touring a live show. The young MC describes the virtues of the process. “You got to have your fam in the places you go. They show you the good spots to eat and assist with various other services that all make a difference between passing your time in a place and really being able to enjoy it. It makes you less of a tourist. I think that’s important in thinking about how you’re going to relate to the crowd.”

Linking with interstate people also has practical benefits in terms of musical collaboration. Bryant-Smith elucidates on the situation as it stands in 2010. “I love making music with Adit and he loves making music with me but it’s also really good for the both of us to work with other people because we haven’t done heaps of that. He’s having a much more hands-on role with the new Spit Syndicate album and there’s a few producers around I’m definitely keen to work on some tracks with.”

The profile Horrorshow now possess is a characteristic producing untold profits. Bryant-Smith recently contributed a track to the new M-Phazes album just released last Friday. “Phazes called me up and sent me a couple of beats and I only had about a couple of weeks to write the song, he really cracked the whip. But I really wanted to get on the album because he’s a very talented guy and has made a lot of awesome shit. Other than that, I’m slowing trying to get something happening with the Hermitude boys as well.”

Bryant-Smith is already looking ahead to the subsequent Horrorshow album and it’s clear that the principle of collaboration is seeping through his attitudes. Other than crew members, Horrorshow haven’t previously been prolific in terms of getting MCs to feature on their tracks. “I would love to get on that collaboration tip more with the next album, in the traditional hip hop sense of getting some guest rappers on there because we haven’t done much of that other than the boys. Over the past couple of years with touring, we’ve met lots of people along the way and now I have a bit of a secret wish list of people it would be good to work with.”

Horrorshow play Step Inn March 12, Sands Tavern March 13  and The Great Northern March 14

Performer Interview

Proudly boasting over twenty years of performing experience, Naomi Price is wrapping up yet another year by making a guest appearance in ‘Chartbusters 2’.
“I think if you love popular music, you will love this show and that’s not just popular music from recent times but also the past.”

Naomi is bubbling with excitement about her upcoming performance. “‘Chartbusters 2’ is basically the Queensland Pops Orchestra doing a fantastic pop repertoire. They are a massive contemporary orchestra and they have done ‘Chartbusters 1’ before and that was really successful and well received. Now they are doing a follow up concert which I am lucky enough to be selected to take part in.
“I’m thrilled to be tackling a Stevie Wonder song but it is actually really scary. If you love the old kind of classic stuff or the newer stuff, I also get to sing an Adele song which I am also excited about. I’m having an absolute love affair with music by Adele.”

Not one to do things half-heartedly, Naomi speaks about this year’s accomplishments. “I released an album at the start of this year so I have been exploring gigging and arranging songs. I have been working more with bands than musical theatre and I’ve also been involved in cabaret.”

Naomi is openly enthusiastic about playing with the Queensland Pops Orchestra again and at one of her favourite venues in Brisbane, QPAC. “I have previously worked with the Queensland Pops Orchestra for ‘Carols in the City’ which was broadcast on Channel Ten. I love to perform at the Playhouse at QPAC. I think it is such a versatile space and I love performing in it. It is kind of big but kind of intimate, you don’t really get a lot of spaces like that. You still feel like you are really close to the audience.”

‘Chartbusters 2’ to is set to please pop music lovers of all ages and Naomi wholeheartedly agrees. “There is just such a broad selection. There’s music theatre in there and pop, funk, mainstream jazz. It covers a massive range of songs and styles so it’s an accessible show for anyone really.”

Naomi Price performs with the Queensland Pops Orchestra at QPAC in ‘Chartbusters 2’ on October 22.

Talented Trio

Travellers as much as they are musicians, Australia is next on Electric Wire Hustle’s list of places to mesmerise next with their live show.

Electric Wire Hustle are in a league all of their own with their unique blend of electronic, hip hop, rock and breaks music. Taay Ninh speaks modestly of the group’s achievements that have been accomplished over only a short period of time.

“We have been really lucky, we have a tight crew, we have been able to tick off a lot of things we have only ever dreamed of being able to do.”

Conquering Europe after joining together as a trio in 2007 is an accomplishment in itself and not something that EWH have taken for granted. They’ve travelled, and played, all through Spain, Croatia and have made an appearance at the iconic Glastonbury festival. But it’s all in a days work for the guys, as this is just a snippet of their lengthy list of accomplishments.

“Recently we spent a couple of months in Europe which was our most incredible, comprehensive tour. We were exposed to the most advanced electronic music of today, it is quite mind-blowing and it was in the beautiful Barcelona. What more can you really ask for. We were also privileged to play at the Gardens Festival in Croatia.”

The group’s Glastonbury performance created memories that EWH will not forget in a hurry, even when doing whirlwind tours all across the globe.

“Glasto was pretty incredible, it was a real challenge to get into the festival itself. It was like passport control at an airport to get in. We arrived, jumped straight into our gumboots and jumped straight on stage, we didn't even do a line check. Luckily everything went well.”

Jetlag and living out of a suitcase aside, travel certainly is fuel for their creativity and passion. “We played along Del La Soul in Paris and to crowds in New York.”

Playing alongside influential artists, and to some diverse crowds, has helped perfect their stage presence and made them seasoned performers. Although with a relaxed and jovial personality, Taay, along with the rest of EWH, takes performing and their fans seriously, and they have a deep understanding of what makes a good show.

“We are pretty conscious that we really want to create a performance and an experience for our audience. There are certain things that we try to encapsulate in our recordings and playing live really gives you the chance to build on that. Playing live is a chance for us to indulge. Some things you might not have heard on the record you might hear in one of our performances.

“You can create something that has a combination of freshness, something that you can only witness on that night, in that particular place in that particular moment in time. It gives us the chance to deliver our material in a different kind of way. I hope people come away kind of excited and not expecting what they had just heard.”

Quite obviously ecstatic to be playing Island Vibe later this month, and soaking up the beautiful Queensland weather, plans for the future still include recording and touring.  

“Hopefully be doing exactly what we are doing now just on a bigger scale, maybe some more random places, maybe we could get to Uzbekistan.”

That statement does not come as a surprise. With their ever growing list of places that they have toured, there may not be a country that hasn't heard of EWH in the near future.

Electric Wire Hustle play Island Vibe Festival, Home Beach, Minjerribah, North Stradbroke Island October 28-30. Islandvibe.com

World Music and Dance in Preview

Inspired by travel, music and friendly acquaintances, Gerard brings a little bit of Spain to the heart of Brisbane.

“In music, you take on influences from all sorts of places.” It is this philosophy that Gerard embraces that makes his style unique and thrilling. Flamenco, the sound of Spain, is passionate, strong and hard to properly experience on this side of the world - unless you are fortunate enough to attend a Gerard Mapstone and Dalecana Flamenco Company show.

“I can improvise and compose in this style of music, it has allowed me to express myself as a composer more than anything” and this obviously shines through in his productions. Comparable to a glass of Sangria, his music is full of different cultural flavours. Gerard expertly blends traditional Flamenco guitar with Romanian, Indian and Cuban musical elements to create a sound that has left him with a glowing reputation wherever he plays. “The main musical influence I had was actually from my family, even though they didn’t play music. My grandparents loved classical music and they were always taking me to the orchestra. I could get immersed in that and I’d play a lot of that of the guitar. The guitar itself is like a mini orchestra, it has a huge range.”

Being an artist that was inspired by classical music and heavier rock bands at an early age, it is surprising to learn that Flamenco guitar was always something he was drawn to and eager to pursue. “The show is going to feature all of our own pieces and choreography, the dancer is spectacular so that is a huge attraction. We also have a special guest with us this year, a violinist named John Rogers who has been around the Australian scene for many years - he is going to be a great addition.”

Want a taste of Spain without the long haul flight? Delecana Flamenco Company can achieve that for you. Well known and respected for their original choreography and compositions that are a mix of both traditional and contemporary Spain so when partnered with Gerard Mapstone, you can close your eyes and pretend you are enjoying a sultry European summer.

Gerard Mapstone and Delecana Flamenco play the Judith Wright Centre September 30 - October 1.