Local photographer Stella-Rae is launching her new zine We Are Not Obscene tomorrow night. She’s been working like crazy to get this together, I saw a bit of it a few weeks ago and it definitely looks the shit. This party is going to be huge!!!

Its at Bar 32. ASSASSINS 88, KILLING BIRDS and BEAT HOTEL will be playing. And NOTE: Stella will be selling the zine up stairs so bring $6 and buy your self a copy to take home and have some well earned “private time”. Its Free entry and I’m pretty sure cheap drinks which is killer!

Danger Beach is the side project of Assassins 88s L.A Thomas. A self confessed doo wop addict, he’s stripped back all of the the punk to write and record pop songs. He’s recently finished two new songs with Dominic Death and Jonny Telafone which should turn up somewhere soon. We asked him a few questions about the project.

What do you think separates Danger Beach to what you do with Assassins?
Assassins is aggressive and punk. There is no room to chill out and I wouldn’t want it to be like that. Danger Beach is like an experiment to make music that is in no way punk. It is music that I would want my girlfriend to listen to.

Do you think you can play this live?
I can play this live but I don’t know if I want to and I don’t think there is an audience for it. Shows are rare enough as is.

What are your main influences?
John Frusciante is the reason I like to play music. There is a youtube clip of him playing untitled 11 off Niandra LaDes in a drug den with his teeth rotting out. That is so fucked but so great. I’m pretty shallow with music so I usually gravitate towards singles.

How would you describe your sound?
Its definitely a throwback to old pop. I have a song I am doing with Jonny Telafone that has an Elvis in Hawaii quality. It’s delicate, jangly and pretty music. It sounds like I can’t play guitar properly or I was pissed when I recorded but it is intentional.

Do you think that the internet will be your main outlet for distribution or are you planning to release physically?
I have no plans for anything. If someone wants to share it that makes me happy but I don’t want to push it on anyone. Basically I am lazy.

Download other Danger Beach tracks HERE

Danger Beach – Milky Way

• Release Date: 2009
• Label: Dream Damage
• Genre: Pop, Instrumental, Tropical

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download

Thee Oh Sees, headed by John Dwyer (formerly of Coachwhips and Pink & Brown), brought their raucous live show to Canberra late last year. They sent the intimate setting of The Phoenix into a total frenzy playing brand new (and old) material. This was easily one of the best shows in Canberra and the band couldn’t have been nicer. They were supported by The Straight Arrows and Assassins 88. Found this video on youtube. (Photo by Stella-Rae) **I know this is old news… but still good news**

Last weekend ASSASSINS 88 literally brought the rain. It was so hot inside that the camera kept fogging up and by the end it was raining sweat. Pretty disgusting now that I think of it.

Its Halloween!!!! and in celebration of this culturally significant day Assassins 88 are launching their debut album! Its now available to order from the store, they have some brand new material on them and look real pretty (shipping starts next week). Also, make sure you go and check out Grass Stains 2 at I Trip I Skip on Friday night. Its going to be a killer weekend so don’t go see Nas and don’t go to Stonefest. Take a study break, cover yourself in blood and come party!!!!

Assassins 88 – Go Go Second Chance Virgin

• Release Date: 2010
• Label: Dream Damage
• Genre: Pop, Noise, Punk

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download