Guides
How a rock band used a school gymnasium to record their breakthroughAt two in the morning, basketball hoops cast long shadows over microphone stands. The amp stack leaned against one wall, the drum kit occupied the centre…Review: a live streamed performance from a historic lighthouseAt Sydney’s wind-scoured South Head, a heritage lighthouse became an unlikely rock venue. Yuyu Myint Than set up near the historic tower, faced a live camera…What a 1969 backstage pass tells us about rock historyA 1969 backstage pass looks like a small piece of folded card, yet it opens a sizeable door into rock history. Its typography, stamps or signatures, worn edges…Rock songs that reference American diners and drive-insAustralian drivers know the strange pull of the American roadside. On the Hume Highway between Melbourne and Sydney, a journey can be broken by a coffee stop;…How a National Park Ranger’s Story Inspired The National’s BoxerIn 1989, sixteen-year-old Carin Bontje vanished after leaving a concert in Rochester, New York, and was murdered. Her father, Emory Bontje, was a United States…Why the rock community should care about venue preservationSmall rooms are where rock scenes learn their voices. A first gig in a Brunswick pub, a Fortitude Valley bar or a Redfern hall can test a young band before…Shoestring rock videos: big ideas, tiny budgetsA great rock video can feel like a hole in reality: one room, one idea and a band refusing to look polished. The memorable clips made on a shoestring budget…Review: A solo project from a rock drummer that breaks all the rulesRowan Venn spent nine years as the drummer of the Copper Saints, a Melbourne band built on loud guitars and short songs. His debut solo record, Faultline…How the double neck guitar became a symbol of rock excessThe double neck guitar is more than a practical instrument. Its two stacked necks turn gear into a stage argument: louder, rarer and more theatrical than a…Playlist: tracks for a rainy day spent in a vintage record shopA drizzly afternoon inside a vintage record shop calls for more than background music. It calls for the soft static of a stylus, the crack of an opening…