The Fuss
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The Fuss

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The best kept secret in music

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"“(The Airbourne / Hell City Glamours / The Fuss"

“(Airbourne / Hell City Glamours / The Fuss
The Slip Inn - Thursday May 24

Local lads The Fuss kick off this evening's hard rocking bill, their range of vintage rock hooks and riffs well suited to barrel-chested lead singer's Matt Downton's vocals. The floor space fills as The Fuss move through their set, which includes the Nirvana-reminiscent Take The Fall and Bone Lazy from this year's self-titled EP release. Alex Strachan on bass is impressive, his leaps and gyrations coming across as sincere and unforced.

Sydney boys Hell City Glamours, fresh from supporting Kiss's Paul Stanley, offload their brand of loud, proud and hairy rock & roll. Shirtless and probably wishing he was pantless, frontman Oscar McBlack's performance is energetic and engaging, especially on tracks Josephine and White Trash Hot Love. Ready To Fall is also a highlight, reminding me of Swedish rockers The Hellacopters – definitely a good thing.

Appropriately, main act Airbourne steal the show, lead vocalist Joel O'Keefe and backers David Roads and Justin Street doing their best to demonstrate the allure of synchronised head thrashing. Sweaty, tight-jeaned, clad in New Balance sneakers and armed with a piss-taking '70s metal scream, Airbourne get the crowd pumping from the get-go with songs like Stand And Deliver, Red Dress Woman and Runnin' Wild. During Girls In Black, O'Keefe bounds from the stage and careens through the crowd, paying only slight attention to who may or may not be side-swiped by his guitar. He then leaps atop the bar, grabs a dangling light fitting and uses it as a makeshift 'bottleneck' slide, completely ignoring the startled and slightly put-out bartender behind him. A few riffs later, O'Keefe returns to earth, is back on stage, and spits an arcing glob of saliva before flashing a wonderful rock sneer that is both Oz-sexual, appropriately arrogant and perfectly sums up their performance.

SEBASTIAN HAYES - Rave


"Hot Fuss"

Rave interview 1/05/07


There has been something of a demise in hard working, four-to-the-floor rock bands recently – and what with Airbourne being whisked away as soon as they broke Warnambool, we're left to ponder: will the same fate befall Brissie band THE FUSS? RAVE quizzes the quartet to find out why a name change and a new EP can do a lot to alter the face of creativity…

You've changed your name from Gross Misuse Of Noise to The Fuss – what sparked the change?

Matt Downton (vox/guitar): The name change came at the behest of a number of people, most notably the producer of the new EP who was surprised to find that we did not have the death metal sound that our name might have suggested. We also became a four-piece, adding longtime friend Kristian McIvor to the line-up. It just seemed like time for a change.

Alex Strachan (bass): We've had a 50/50 reaction to the name change. Some people are relieved that we finally changed it; the other 50 percent are sending us letter bombs.

Who did you work with on the new EP? It sounds so bombastic, yet so crystalline…

MD: We owe a debt of gratitude to Stuart Niven at Modern Music who produced and engineered each track. In addition to his tireless work ethic, he succeeded in the most part to sustain our focus for almost four days.

Your music is akin to high intensity stadium rock & roll – how will the energy levels go in the confines of The Zoo, Saturday?

MD: Given a lack of offers to play at any stadiums, we are more than appreciative for the opportunity to play The Zoo again, we've trialed the newer tracks a couple of times at The Alley Bar recently, so as long as the crowd are into the show, I think the tracks will go over well, irrespective of the venue.

Matt, your vocals hark a very Chris Cornell-esque intensity – is this a reflection of training, good luck or just good pipes?

MD: Good luck more than good management! The voice is a product of too many gigs, having to scream over 'Race 4 at Dapto or Randwick', at whatever sports club, bowls club, pub or RSL I've had to play at.

You initially formed as a covers band to play for a friend's 21st birthday party. What songs would you like played at your next birthday party, and who would you like to play them?

MD: Showbusiness – AC/DC (Bon era)

AS: Moby Dick – Led Zeppelin. Just so we could party with the rest of Zep while Bonham plays his ridiculous drum solo!

KMcI: Mumma – Billy Thorpe and The (Sunbury) Aztecs - Rave 1/05/07


"“(The Airbourne / Hell City Glamours / The Fuss"

“(Airbourne / Hell City Glamours / The Fuss
The Slip Inn - Thursday May 24

Local lads The Fuss kick off this evening's hard rocking bill, their range of vintage rock hooks and riffs well suited to barrel-chested lead singer's Matt Downton's vocals. The floor space fills as The Fuss move through their set, which includes the Nirvana-reminiscent Take The Fall and Bone Lazy from this year's self-titled EP release. Alex Strachan on bass is impressive, his leaps and gyrations coming across as sincere and unforced.

Sydney boys Hell City Glamours, fresh from supporting Kiss's Paul Stanley, offload their brand of loud, proud and hairy rock & roll. Shirtless and probably wishing he was pantless, frontman Oscar McBlack's performance is energetic and engaging, especially on tracks Josephine and White Trash Hot Love. Ready To Fall is also a highlight, reminding me of Swedish rockers The Hellacopters – definitely a good thing.

Appropriately, main act Airbourne steal the show, lead vocalist Joel O'Keefe and backers David Roads and Justin Street doing their best to demonstrate the allure of synchronised head thrashing. Sweaty, tight-jeaned, clad in New Balance sneakers and armed with a piss-taking '70s metal scream, Airbourne get the crowd pumping from the get-go with songs like Stand And Deliver, Red Dress Woman and Runnin' Wild. During Girls In Black, O'Keefe bounds from the stage and careens through the crowd, paying only slight attention to who may or may not be side-swiped by his guitar. He then leaps atop the bar, grabs a dangling light fitting and uses it as a makeshift 'bottleneck' slide, completely ignoring the startled and slightly put-out bartender behind him. A few riffs later, O'Keefe returns to earth, is back on stage, and spits an arcing glob of saliva before flashing a wonderful rock sneer that is both Oz-sexual, appropriately arrogant and perfectly sums up their performance.

SEBASTIAN HAYES - Rave


"Hot Fuss II"

The Fuss - Rave Geared Article (27/11/07)
Category: Music



MATT DOWNTON, guitarist
for local hard rockers THE
FUSS.

Outline what gear you use:
Not a lot actually as far as guitars I mainly use a Gretsch
"Catseye" Historic Series and a generic 'Telecaster'
that I've assembled from spare parts. '77 100 W
Laney Head; Laney Quad Box Cabinet; Marshall Delay
pedal; Marshall Vibratrem; Dunlop Cry Baby.

What piece of kit is your favourite and why?
My '77 100 Laney head, I paid $250 for it at a pawn
shop in Stones Corner a couple of years ago when
my Fender Twin caught fi re. It's essentially a big, old
and incredibly loud head, only 2 channels, built like a
tank. Idiot-proof as far as operating it is concerned.

What will be your next equipment purchase?
I recently got the opportunity to play a G6122 Chet
Atkins Country Gentlemen (Gretsch), if I were to purchase
anything major it'd be it.

Who is your instrumental hero?
Really don't have any, but really admire the playing
styles of Chris Cheney (Living End) and the understated
taste of guys like Shane O'Mara (Temperance
Union) and Davey Lane (You Am I, The Pictures).

How important is technical profi ciency to your
style?
The tendency to develop the technical side of my
playing is of much less importance to me now than
it used to be. It's an 'If it fi ts, and it sounds good –
keep it' approach now – irrespective of how it 'looks'
or matches up to other players.

What's the most expensive piece of equipment
you've ever broken?
I've been reasonably lucky, I did set my Twin on fi re.

Is there any classic gear in a big studio or museum
somewhere you wish you could get your
hands on?
100 w Strauss head (Now defunct Aust./NZ company).

Loading in and setting up: a boring waste of time
or part of the craft?
A necessary evil, defi nitely part of the craft. Not particularly
my favourite part of the night, especially
packing down.

What do you bring to your band's sound?
The other boys in the bands have no qualms in telling
me if what I'm playing is suitable or not, likewise
I'll do the same for them. Alex, the other primary
songwriter is a bass player and will usually initiate
the song ideas with a series of riff s. I guess what I
and the other guys do is pull it all together, add the
little infl ections, and help develop the melodic components.

THE FUSS play BAR 388 November 30 with
IDLE|CRANES, TURTLE CREEK and TURBIUM. - Rave


"Hot Fuss II"

The Fuss - Rave Geared Article (27/11/07)
Category: Music



MATT DOWNTON, guitarist
for local hard rockers THE
FUSS.

Outline what gear you use:
Not a lot actually as far as guitars I mainly use a Gretsch
"Catseye" Historic Series and a generic 'Telecaster'
that I've assembled from spare parts. '77 100 W
Laney Head; Laney Quad Box Cabinet; Marshall Delay
pedal; Marshall Vibratrem; Dunlop Cry Baby.

What piece of kit is your favourite and why?
My '77 100 Laney head, I paid $250 for it at a pawn
shop in Stones Corner a couple of years ago when
my Fender Twin caught fi re. It's essentially a big, old
and incredibly loud head, only 2 channels, built like a
tank. Idiot-proof as far as operating it is concerned.

What will be your next equipment purchase?
I recently got the opportunity to play a G6122 Chet
Atkins Country Gentlemen (Gretsch), if I were to purchase
anything major it'd be it.

Who is your instrumental hero?
Really don't have any, but really admire the playing
styles of Chris Cheney (Living End) and the understated
taste of guys like Shane O'Mara (Temperance
Union) and Davey Lane (You Am I, The Pictures).

How important is technical profi ciency to your
style?
The tendency to develop the technical side of my
playing is of much less importance to me now than
it used to be. It's an 'If it fi ts, and it sounds good –
keep it' approach now – irrespective of how it 'looks'
or matches up to other players.

What's the most expensive piece of equipment
you've ever broken?
I've been reasonably lucky, I did set my Twin on fi re.

Is there any classic gear in a big studio or museum
somewhere you wish you could get your
hands on?
100 w Strauss head (Now defunct Aust./NZ company).

Loading in and setting up: a boring waste of time
or part of the craft?
A necessary evil, defi nitely part of the craft. Not particularly
my favourite part of the night, especially
packing down.

What do you bring to your band's sound?
The other boys in the bands have no qualms in telling
me if what I'm playing is suitable or not, likewise
I'll do the same for them. Alex, the other primary
songwriter is a bass player and will usually initiate
the song ideas with a series of riff s. I guess what I
and the other guys do is pull it all together, add the
little infl ections, and help develop the melodic components.

THE FUSS play BAR 388 November 30 with
IDLE|CRANES, TURTLE CREEK and TURBIUM. - Rave


Discography

The Fuss - Self titled EP (2007) Modern Music
Country Bones EP (2008) The Last Record Label

Photos

Bio

In the handful of years since the boys first toyed with the notion of piecing together a collection of covers for a mutual friend’s 21st bash, Brisbane four-piece , The Fuss, have managed to carve out a formidable reputation, as one of the city’s best live, original, rock acts. Through a couple of lineup changes, the current roster solidified in 2007 with Alex Strachan (Bass/Vocals), Matt Downton (Vox/Guitars), Kristian McIvor (Guitars/Vox) and Paul Barnes (Drums/Vox). Their infectious, melodic, riff-rock stylings have managed to secure them support and headline slots alongside touring acts Jebidiah, Magic Dirt, The Exploders, 67 Special, The Fumes, Airbourne, The Camels, Yves Klein Blue, Hell City Glamours, to namedrop just a few. The boys supported Sydneysiders The Saturns during their national tour in late ’07 througout QLD and NSW to to great reviews and audience response. The Fuss entered the studios at Modern Music in early 2007 to record their debut self-titled EP. The Fuss (2007) was well recieved and a critical success, securing regular airplay on local radio. In spite of this, the boys did not believe the release reflected their ‘true’ sound – vowing that their next studio effort would better represent the atmosphere and overall ‘rawness’ of their live shows . 2008 saw The Fuss enter the studio with five new tracks. The boys enlisted the services of Engineer/Producer Darek Mudge (Screamfeeder, Intercooler), to guide them their most recent ‘Country Bones EP’(2008), tracked live, over one-day in a converted northern suburbs factory studio - It is the best representation of their of their sound to date. 2008 has already been an eventful year, the boys touring nationally.