Monday, 23 September,2013 1

NEWS
Queensland drug
farm a family afair
Who am I to judge? Pope
Francis on gay marriage,
contraception and abortion
PENNY FARMER
pennyalicefarmer@gmail.com
THE LAST member of the Gardner
family was sentenced in the Supreme
Court today for her involvement in one
of Queenslands worst drug farms.
Rosemary Gardner walked free after
pleading guilty to drug charges relat-
ing to a large, family run cannabis op-
erations at the Kinvarra plantation in
Inglewood.
Ms Gardner, 35-years-old, is one of
nine children to Michael Gardner Se-
nior, who was sentenced to 13 years
for masterminding the sophisticated
marijuana operation.
Supreme Court Judge Roslyn At-
kinson, who also sentenced Michael
Gardner Snr, suspended Ms Gard-
ners four year jail term.
Three irrigated crop sites with 22,
000 cannabis plants were seized in
July 2008 as well as three-and-a-half
tons of dry cannabis.
Michael Gardner Snr was an evil
manipulating man with a dominating
personality,
Judge Atkinson said.
I had the misfortune of being exposed
to Ms Gardners father previously.
Michael Gardner Snrs children
were pulled out of high school to har-
vest cannabis plants and had a hor-
rendously traumatic upbringing, bar-
rister Alastair McDougall said.
The prosecution agreed that Michael
Gardner Snr was known as a manipu-
lative person.
Ms Gardners involvement was to
manicure the crop, cutting off heads
and prepping for sale, prosecutor Mi-
chael Lehane said.
Ms Gardner also held $50, 000 in
cash for her father and found another
$70, 000 in cash on the property af-
ter Michael Gardner Snr and Michael
Gardner Junior were arrested.
Ms Gardner used the money for
the legal defence of her family.
The accused accepts that this was the
proceeds of crime, Mr Lehane said.
Ms Gardners four children aged 14,
six, fve and three were not involved
in the drug operation, unlike Michael
Gardner Snrs other grandchildren
who were pulled out of primary school
to harvest the cannabis crops.
Ms Gardner was the last member of
her family to plead guilty.
Judge Atkinson considered Ms
Gardners full time employment, the
welfare of her children and her clean
record when suspending her jail term.
PENNY FARMER
pennyalicefarmer@gmail.com
Rosemary Gardner Photo: NEWS LTD
POPE Francis shocked the Roman
Catholic Church on Thursday follow-
ing his candid interview where he ac-
cused the church of being obsessed
with abortion, gay marriage and birth
control.
The Pope admitted to being repri-
manded for not focusing on moral is-
sues and instead suggesting that we
should unite in our differences.
I believe that we always need time
to lay the foundations for real, effec-
tive change, Pope Francis told Father
Spadaro, La Civilt Cattolica editor-
in-chief in an exclusive interview.
His contemporary approach dif-
fers from Pope Benedict XVI who
many liberal Catholics believed priori-
tised dogmatic doctrine over the needs
of the people.
Pope Francis is seeking a new bal-
ance and described the role of women
in the church as essential to a new
religious order.
The challenge today is this: to think
about the specifc place of women also
in those places where the authority of
the church is exercised for various ar-
eas of the church. The feminine genius
is needed wherever we make important
decisions.
The Popes words are a pretext
to a signifcant shift in the Catholic
Churchs mandate.
The view of the churchs teaching
as a monolith to defend without nuance
or different understandings is wrong.
The pope described himself as hav-
ing never been a right-winger and
wants an open and welcoming institu-
tion.
His big vision is to see the church
in the middle of the persons who need
to be healed in the middle of the
world, Father Spar said.
The church is not a torture cham-
ber but the place in which the Lords
mercy motivates us to do better, Pope
Francis said.
Increasing secular attitudes are re-
sulting in empty pew seats with less
than 10% of Australians attending
church on weekends, according to
2011 census data.
Pew Research have released statis-
tics rating Pope Francis as highly fa-
vourable with 79% of Catholics sup-
porting his papacy and an increasing
number of public support.
Pope Francis progressive attitude is
inspiring new hope to fll pew seats.
The popular Pope Francis gets a rockstar reception Photo: NEW YORK TIMES
Afghan women
eliminated from
peace process
BRISBANE: Chair of the Refugee
Council of Australia, Sonia Ca-
ton, says Australias four week
term as president of the United
Nations Security Council in
September is an opportunity to
put Afghan womens rights on
the agenda.
Its a very short period of
time but its an opportunity
to do some agenda setting,
Ms Caton said at the Amnesty
International Afghan Womens
Rights conference yesterday.
There is a Taliban resur-
gence; there are extremist Paki-
stan elements deeply embedded
in Afghanistan and brigadiers
at the top of the International
Security Assistance Force can
confrm this, Ms Caton said.
The United States is doing
everything it can to engage
the Taliban in peace talks but
nowhere are women in any of
these dynamics, she said.
There have been very real
gains in womens rights since
2001 when international forces
went into Afghanistan but
theyre being eroded both in
law and in practice.
Australia has spent $3.6 bil-
lion on Afghanistan since 2001
and has pledged a further $1
billion in aid over a fve year
period.
If Afghan women are not
given a voice in the peace
process, the structures and
legislation Australia has helped
implement to protect womens
rights may collapse.
Foreign Affairs Minister Julie
Bishop called for Afghanistan
to be the central focus of Aus-
tralias National Action Plan on
Women, Peace and Security at
the Afghan Delegations held in
Canberra earlier in the year.
Bottle shop robber
given something to
wine about
BRISBANE: A 19-year-old bottle
shop attendant fought off an
armed robber last week at Park
Road Cellars in Paddington.
Michael Johnson was held at
knife point but refused to hand
over the till.
I had a step ladder behind the
counter so I hit him with it, Mr
Johnson said.
Grant Buetell, a locksmith
working in the shop at the time,
followed the teens example and
threw a hammer at the offender.
The robber started walk-
ing towards the locksmith so I
started throwing bottles of wine
at him, Mr Johnson said.
The accused, Drew Phillip
Tryhorn, left the store after Mr
Johnson started throwing bot-
tles.
I probably broke 20 bottles,
but its okay, they were clear
skins.
Mr Johnson said the knife was
approximately 20cm long.
Mr Tryhorn held up Spiros
Bottle Shop in Paddington
shortly after the incident at Park
Road.
He was arrested later that day.
Mr Johnsons manager, Loui
Antongelli, said although he is
proud of his employees heroic
actions, safer procedures to
deal with dangerous situations
such as this will be implement-
ed.
Mr Tryhorn has pled guilty
to two counts of armed robbery
and parole violation.
Monday, 23 September, 2013 2
NEWS
Moron-bah?
Miners V
locals over
town
A FEDERAL parliamentary
inquiry held at Moranbah last
month, heard evidence on the ef-
fect of a fy-in-fy-out [FIFO]
workforce on established com-
munities.
Shire of Isaac local, Vanessa
Poole, gave evidence supporting
community concerns.
As Moranbah becomes unsus-
tainable for families, the town is
being overrun by single men and,
consequently, we no longer feel a
sense of community or feel safe
leaving the house after dark, Ms
Poole said.
Everything is driven by the
mining dollar; housing prices are
sky rocketing, local businesses
cant staff their shop fronts, we
cant get adequate medical at-
tention because the hospitals are
overcrowded our community is
suffering while the mining indus-
try profts.
The Moranbah hospital is
equipped to service 23, 000 peo-
ple while the mining camp popu-
lation exceeds 55, 000.
The population increase has
directly impacted housing, with
rentals costing up to $3000 per
week and houses valued at about
$1 million.
Anglo American Project Co-
ordinator, Christopher Massey,
supports the companys mining
operations in Moranbah.
This isnt a little town being
raped by the coal industry, Moran-
bah was purposely built to house
miners and support coal mining
back in the 70s, Mr Massey said.
The community reaps the
economic benefts of the miners
through car services, food and en-
tertainment, he said.
We put money back into the
community, not to mention the
signifcant investments that BHP
regularly contributes to local proj-
ects such as the Moranbah Youth
Centre, he said.
BHP has invested over $100
million in local community proj-
ects including recreational fa-
cilities, childcare and affordable
housing.
BHP has formed a partnership
with Isaac Shire which will see a
$3.5 million investment into hous-
ing plans.
Chair of the Regional Australia
Committee for the FIFO inquiry,
Tony Windsor, said that the Mo-
ranbah hearing was insightful.
It is has been invaluable to the
inquiry for the committee to see
frst-hand the impact that FIFO/
DIDO has on regional Queensland
communities.
Mackay will hold the next pub-
lic hearing for the FIFO inquiry.
PENNY FARMER
pennyalicefarmer@gmail.com
Traditional hunting: animal cruelty or
sustainable living?
TRADITIONAL owners of The
Northern Peninsula Area Regional
Council, in Queensland, have imple-
mented new hunting regulations fol-
lowing the recent backlash on dugong
and turtle hunting.
Graphic footage aired on ABCs 7:30
Report last week, of dugong and turtle
hunting, caused animal rights activists
and the Queensland Premier, Campbell
Newman, to call for revised legislation
of the Native Title Act 1993.
The Native Title Act allows indige-
nous Australians to hunt protected spe-
cies for traditional, non-commercial
purposes.
Church of Torres Strait Pastor,
George Nona, says that hunting is not
only an ancient custom but necessary
to feed his family.
I go out and hunt because I want
to feed my family, thats how we live
up here. People down south, they can
go to a shop which is very cheap. Milk
is almost $7 here because we order a
lot down south and with the cost of the
freight, trade is very expensive, Pas-
tor Nona said.
Traditional hunting has been an an-
cient custom for islanders, dating back
thousands of years.
Our forefathers lived off the land
and sea, it is our tradition because we
are surrounded by the sea; we live off
the sea and our gardens, he said.
Pastor Nona said that the media cov-
erage surrounding the hunting of du-
gong and turtles has been unbalanced
and disrespectful.
They dont sit with the locals or the
elders and what theyve done is very
disrespectful to the Torres Strait.
Customs Border Protection offcer,
Scott Adams, believes that the elders
of the community take proactive steps
in the sustainability of endangered spe-
cies and that it should be dealt with in-
ternally.
Customs and border protection en-
gages in joint remote area patrol with
local sea rangers to assist them in mon-
itoring traditional hunting activities,
Mr Adams said.
We can assist in a monitoring role
but we cannot directly intervene and
we wouldnt want to, he said.
The elders respect the land and the
animals and they live of the areas nat-
ural recourses.
New regulations implemented by
the elders will require hunters to obtain
permits before hunting endangered
species.
The permits will be distributed by
the elders and there are limitations on
how many dugongs and turtles tradi-
tional land owners are allowed to hunt.
PENNY FARMER
pennyalicefarmer@gmail.com
Photo: MATADOR NETWORK
A Current Afair treading thin line between news and ads
Online shoe store, Style Tread, fea-
tured on a Channel 9 news program
last week, following a $4 million in-
vestment from Nine Entertainment.
A Current Affair dedicated a news
segment to Style Tread in August and
again on December 13.
Leah Johans, a concerned viewer,
wrote to Style Tread and Media Watch
after seeing the program.
This is very dodgy. Nine has bro-
ken its duty of care. Nine owns some
of Style Tread and then advertises it as
though it is actual news. If you wish
to advertise then do so. You should not
pretend advertisements are news, Ms
Johans said.
The December segment opened with
a news presenter announcing Style
Treads pre Christmas sale where
prices are up to 50% off followed by
images of shoes while the presenter
listed each products price.
Alex Beauchamp, a Customer Hap-
piness Team Member from Style
Tread, does not believe any duty of
care has been breached.
The feature on A Current Affair
was properly disclosed, I dont think
anything underhanded happened there.
It was their feature but were certainly
glad for it, Mr Beauchamp said.
Mark Rowland, managing director
of Style Tread, wouldnt discuss the
program but released a statement on
the companys relationship with Chan-
nel 9.
Before the decision was made by
the Nine Entertainment board to invest
in Style Tread, we were already work-
ing with ACP magazines, Channel 9
and NineMSN, Mr Rowland said.
Geremy Davey, SolidCat Media &
Communications Expert, believes that
A Current Affair have misused their
news program for advertising.
While there has been no effort to
cover Nine Entertainments invest-
ment in the company, the use of news
programs to advertise its affliates does
infringe on the programs duty to dis-
tribute news worthy information Mr
Davey said.
Viewers expect a news program to
ethically provide us with information
on current events, not misuse their
programs for advertising revenue.
PENNY FARMER
pennyalicefarmer@gmail.com
Vox pop Westfeld Carindale, 3pm, Saturday 21-09-13
Do you think it is ethical for A Current Afair to feature Style Tread on the program?
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Monday 23 September,2013 3
MUSIC
Punk rock dad, Jim Lindberg, on the Pennywise break-up, his
his new band, spirituality and family
Hes a triple threat singer, writer,
role model. After two decades of
unbridled aggression, ex-Pennywise
front-man, Jim Lindberg, has left his
band behind and is doing it his own
way. The name is Black Pacifc and
its a force to be reckoned with. Penny
Farmer catches up with Jim to cover
all the bases; the new record, the phi-
losophy of punk rock, spirituality and
family.
Firstly, congratulations on The
Black Pacifcs new album, its bril-
liant. Hows the family, how are
your girls going?
Everyones doing great, theyre
back at school and doing their home-
work every day and theyre growing
up, growing up too fast!
Youve just played your frst show
as The Black Pacifc at Epicentre.
How was it?
It went really good. It was our frst
big show in front of a big crowd and it
really went off. It was good to see all
the support I got out there from a lot
of people.
Going up after Suicidal Tenden-
cies must have been intense. Im
guessing it was a pretty good crowd?
Yeah the crowd was really great, re-
ally supportive, very cool. Obviously
there was a lot leading up to this day,
being our frst big show, and it went
off so I was really happy. Other than
that there were some line-up changes
at the last minute because Davey, one
of my oldest friends, hes our bass gui-
tar player, hes in another band called
Everest and they ended up scheduling
some shows so we added Gavin Ka-
zzel on the bass and weve added Marc
Orrell, ex Dropkick Murpheys, on gui-
tar. So we basically had a really short
practice, got up and winged it and it
went off really well. So I was really
happy with the way it turned out.
Its great to see you in a position
where you have complete creative
control. Is the recording process
very different from Pennywise?
As far as recording, yeah it was dif-
ferent. Ive been waiting a long time
to be able to record the way I want to
record. I think, as with anything, when
youve been in a band for as long as
we [Pennywise] have its tough hav-
ing to compromise on everything from
sound to the songs you want to record
and I was really ready to do a record all
on my own. I felt like I had something
to prove ... and so I defnitely went
in there with an idea that I wanted to
create a really heavy sounding re-
cord where I could pick up the guitar
somewhat and do things exactly how
I wanted to do them. And in that sense
its really liberating to fnally have that
opportunity. And I had a great pro-
ducer, Shaun Lopez from the band Far,
he was really great to work with so I
couldnt have been happier. Im really
happy with the way its turned out.
What are some of the topics The
Black Pacifc will deal with? What
do you want to get people thinking
about?
I really feel like just because I left
Pennywise I cant really change who
I am and if you add my voice and dis-
torted guitars its going to sound really
similar in some aspects. Just because
I left the band doesnt mean Im go-
ing to go reggae and start playing hip
hop or something. Its just the kind of
music that comes out of me whenever
I pick up the guitar so .. Im defnitely
dealing with similar themes. A lot of
it has to do with the issues that I see
going on in the world today, obviously
theres some stuff about escaping toxic
situations and trying to pull yourself
out of situations that arent working
for you. Ive been through a lot of that.
And obviously I try to make it relate
to everyone. People feeling similar
frustrations can let it out with me so
to speak.
Put Down Your Weapons deals
with people using verbal artillery to
tear each other down and defending
ones egos instead of communicat-
ing. Is that a refection on some of
the diffculties you had with Fletcher
or Pennywise in general?
Yes and no. None of these songs are
literal. I really feel like, I think every-
one has their issues in life, whether its
with band members or family mem-
bers. Its basically talking about the
overall struggles with communication
that we all have and Im guilty of it
as well. Its a situation where you feel
like your egos getting attacked and in-
stead of actually communicating with
people you just lash out. Whenever
people feel strongly [about something]
I think that happens a lot and it really
affects how people communicate. And
I think thats why people are going
into therapists and theyre saying tell
us how you really feel because I think
a lot of the time people are either just
trying to control a situation or to get
their way in a certain confict so they
resort to a lot of verbal harpooning
to get their way and that usually ends
up being the breakup of a lot of really
good relationships. I think it defnitely
played a part in the whole Pennywise
thing but its played a part in a lot of
peoples relationships as well.
What do you think about the punk
movement these days? Is it still fght-
ing strong or do you feel its a dying
philosophy?
I think its going stronger than ever.
You know what, in some areas youre
always going to have this situation
where a lot of people are into music
just because its trendy or theyre play-
ing a type of music that they think is
exactly what people want to buy. But at
the same time youre seeing people out
there doing it just for free form expres-
sion which is really what I believe the
spirit of punk rock should be all about.
People just saying it exactly how that
want and doing it exactly how they
want to do it and I think theres bands
like No Age and Japanther and theres
a band called Fucked up, excuse my
French, that are making really creative
music and theyre ex-
pressing sounds exactly
how they want it to.
And that is the defni-
tion of punk rock. So in
that way, its alive and
well.
Your book Punk
Rock Dad is being
made into a documen-
tary, what stage is that
at?
Its been a long time
coming. Weve basical-
ly got some great dads
from the punk scene to
talk about what its like
to be in a band and also
[what its like] coming
from an anti-authori-
tarian background and
to be singing songs
about anti-authority
then have to be that for
your own kids. Weve
got everyone from Lars
from Rancid to Tony
from The Adolescents
to Flea from the Chilli
Peppers probably
about 20 different dads
in all. I think its go-
ing to surprise a lot of
people because theres a lot of videos
that show how tough punk rockers are
and this flm shows that side but it also
shows the heart beating underneath it
all. I think a lot of people are going to
be affected by the documentary. I think
it came out really good.
Ive heard whispers of a feature
flm, is that likely to happen?
People are talking about all kinds of
things right now. Its a diffcult situa-
tion because I care so much about this
and I really want to protect both sides
of the equation whether its the family
side, I wanna be true to that and repre-
sent them, but also the punk rock side
as well. Im very protective of that. But
I also want to make it real entertaining,
whether its a TV show or a feature
flm, I think its going to be something
thatll be great, for our generation to
basically validate what we knew all
along, that you know, punk rockers
can make great lead singers and great
guitar players but they can also make
great parents as well.
When youre not conquering the
world, do you still get time to surf?
(Laughs) Im far from conquering
the world, you just have to ask my
wife and kids that. I basically just went
out an hour ago and checked the surf
and Im waiting for the tide to go out
a little more and Ill probably get out
there before dark. And hopefully go
and surf down south for a little bit at
the end of the week because Im going
to Europe with Sum 41 and Riverboat
Gamblers in November and theres not
a lot of surf in Europe. So I gotta get
my shakes before I leave.
You might have to come visit us in
Australia, the surfs awesome here!
Oh my God I love coming down to
Australia. It doesnt feel like a tour
down there, it just feels like a vacation
where we play some shows at. I cant
wait to get back down there and get
some surf.
You mentioned the quandary of
being the authority fgure to your
children while at the same time, em-
bodying an antiestablishment ethos.
How do you deal with that? Do you
ever get your lyrics thrown back at
you?
Yeah, you know its getting pretty
crazy. Theyre defnitely becoming
their own little people and Im seeing
the same thing I did with my parents
getting thrown at me now. You know,
the whole thats not fair (laughs). Its
a situation where you gotta give them
their space but you obviously have to
protect them as well so its going to be
... interesting. I think Im probably go-
ing to have to build myself a cabin in
the backyard and weather it the best I
can.
Do they listen to your music?
You know what? My wife listens to
the new album at lot and, they hadnt
done it in front of me, but they were
all singing really loudly along to the
whole record with one of their friends
- one of their little friends came over
and knew every single word and shes
only like 9 years old. I guess her dad
listens to the new record all the time.
So it was defnitely freaking me out to
see three little girls singing along to
my music at the top of their lungs. It
was a very proud moment.
What about you, whats on your
playlist at the moment?
Im a big fan of Dilllinger 4. Ive al-
ways been a big Jawbreaker fan ... The
Forgetters which is really, really good.
Theres a band called No Age that I
like a lot. I dunno, all kinds of stuff.
Whats new in Australia? Every time
I go down there I hear of a new band
but its hard pressed to fnd out [about
it] over here but every time I go down
there I fnd something cool.
Ive also heard youre a book-
worm, what are you reading at the
moment?
Right now Im trying to educate
myself on the disgusting world of
Hollywood. Ive been reading a lot
of books about how Hollywood deals
work. Its about as frustrating as read-
ing a newspaper every day. Its pretty
strange. Aside from that Im reading a
lot of Buddhist literature because this
last years defnitely been a trying ex-
perience dealing with all the different
ramifcations of leaving a band like
Pennywise so I basically have to focus
myself everyday on whats important
and also to learn to accept things the
way they are. I think thats part of the
bigger stress that comes out of people
everyday - accepting things, differ-
ent developments in your life ...thats
what causes stress and I think while
I wouldnt call myself a Buddhist, I
think that some of the best Buddhist
writers have this ability to get yourself
focusing on meditation and accepting
things and I think thats super impor-
tant. So thats the bulk of my reading
lately.
Great to hear youre getting your
Zen on.
(Laughs) Yeah, yeah well ya have to.
I saw Henry Rollins Spoken Word
Tour recently and his passion for
both music and politics was inspir-
ing. Youre also an integral part of
the punk rock movement, politically
motivated and incredibly articu-
late. Would you ever consider doing
something along those lines?
Yeah I would really love to. After
writing the book I had some offers
to do some book readings and things
like that and its something where,
much like music thing, where I want
to defnitely learn how to do it and
learn how to do it right before I just
go out there and wing it. Probably with
my next book. Im trying to work on a
book that has a lot to do with the mu-
sic scene and I think thatd be a good
opportunity for me to go out there and
talk about music but to also talk about
what its like being a father and add
those two elements together. I think
they defnitely go hand in hand. So
hopefully one day youll see me on
stage spewing my venom and stories
to everybody.
PENNY FARMER
pennyalicefarmer@gmail.com
The other F word: rockstar fathers
Jim Lindberg and his daughters Photo: PUNK ROCK DAD
How does font-man Scott Russo
deal with his up-and-coming rockstar
slash model daughter? Scott chats with
Penny Farmer about his bands new
line-up, a mutual love of South Afri-
can rap, the craft of song writing, his
ferocious loyalty to his fans and music
and his proudest achievement, Cailin.
He may be a dad but Scott Russo is
still superbad.
Were all amped up for Sound-
wave here in Australia. Youre also
doing side shows in Brisbane and
Melbourne. What can the fans ex-
pect from your own shows that
wont be at Soundwave?
We play an extended set, anywhere
between an hour and a half to an hour
and 45 minutes, where as Soundwave
is going to be shut down to 45 minute
sets. Soundwave will probably be a
mixture of just the singles and the fan
favourites where as the headline shows
will be full sets with fan favourites and
songs that we normally dont play.
What song gets the most intense
reaction from your fans when youre
on stage?
I think Up All Night has really
been one thats always had an im-
mediate reaction. It has since we frst
played the song - even before it had
come out it had an immediate reaction.
I think Nevermind off our new record
Swan kind of has the same pull. Even
if people havent heard it, as soon as it
kicks in it immediately explodes.
Zebrahead and Royal Republic
were brilliant choices as your sup-
port acts and really keep in tone
with Unwritten Law. Did you per-
sonally hand pick these guys?
No, I think Soundwave actually
put the bill together although we are
friends and fans of Zebrahead so we
were pretty excited when we found out
that was going to be the bill.
Will they be supporting you dur-
ing the Japan tour?
No, actually in Japan well be head-
lining ourselves and playing with
Strung Out.
So youve got Zebrahead, who are
like this punk-rap fusion, support-
ing you and you feature rap in the
track Chicken from your latest al-
bum. Can we expect some more em-
phasis on rap from Unwritten Law?
Is that a feld you want to explore?
No, I cant really say that it would
be something that were trying to do.
Were not trying to become a rock-rap
act by any means. That song kinda
came along because I couldnt come
up with the verses no matter what I
tried. I spent like two weeks trying to
write something so I sent the track
to Australia to have Phil from Grin-
spoon write the verses and it would be
a duet. But he came back with some-
thing that he wasnt proud of and so
we didnt use it. And at that time I had
a band with a friend Danny Wade, who
is a skateboarder, called The Click.
Hed mix the beats, Id put on cho-
ruses and we had guest rappers who
would come in [like] Del the Funky
Homosapien. And what happened
was Del had come over to my house
to do some stuff for The Click and I
had my hard drive at Dannys house
so we couldnt open up any of The
Click stuff here so hes like okay lets
just make a beat, Im like cool lets
do that. And I went down to my car
and was like fuck I have that song I
wonder how it would sound with Del
on it. So I walked back upstairs and I
kind did the math in my head and his
low voice and I was kinda using The
Gorillaz as a bench mark to see what it
would sound like and I was like fuck
that sounds pretty dope. And I came
in and was like I need verses on this
song, you want to check it out? and he
said yeah I want to hear it. I put it on
in my studio and within ten seconds he
was like I wanna rap on that shit. I
put it on loop for about 30 minutes and
he wrote two versus. He came back
up and tracked them and I had him do
some freestyles over the bridge and out
of the freestyles I kind of built conver-
sation between him and I. And that
never even happened in the studio, he
wasnt even aware that was happening.
I just took a couple of key calls and I
just did answers to them. And thats
kind of how that song came about.
But defnitely Unwritten Law is
a rock band and thats where we are
comfortable.
Yolandi Vi$$er should be in Aus-
tralia around the same time as you
for Future Music Festival. That
would be an epic collaboration.
Oh yeah fuck Id love to! Theyre
one of my favourites for sure. I was
defnitely listening to Die Antwoord
the whole time I was recording Swan.
You place a lot of emphasis on
not recycling ideas and sounds with
your albums and youve certainly
done so with Swan. Have you given
any thought to the sound of your
next album?
I kind of dont pre-meditate things
too much. What I do is, for instance
with Die Antwoord, I kind of take
from things that Im really engulfng
myself with. So for instance, I remem-
ber in Enter the Ninja [Ninja from Die
Antwoord] is like this is the coolest
song Ive ever heard in my life. Thats
the greatest thing you could ever say
because youre putting that out in the
universe that this is the coolest song
youre going to hear. And for Super-
bad, I kind of took that attitude, like,
you know, fuck were the greatest
ever... And so the point Im trying to
make is that when I go into the writ-
ing process I really dont have a set
template of what Im going to write. I
write what feels best to me. And not
really from an egotistical view of I
know whats right and whats wrong.
Its more of the feeling. I can go with it
if I believe in it and if I can picture the
tour. If I dont believe in it I just fuck-
ing throw it away and I wont come
back to it. I really dont foreshadow
how Im going to do things. I know its
complete when my chest heats up and
feels warm and I can play it without
anyone going oh it needs this or it
needs that. If I can play without any
disclaimers I know its right. At least
in my eyes.
I love the cover of Swan. I heard
you had a competition where the
fans had to come up with a design
for the album. What was it about the
winning design that resonated with
you?
Wed each chosen three totally
separate covers. And none of us could
agree on one exact cover. And so we
kind of morphed our own cover out of
the three. But when we saw it (pause)
I really wanted Swan to be some-
thing that had wings but wasnt a swan.
And when someone showed me a dead
fy on its back I was like, THATS IT.
Thats exactly what Swan is. And as
soon as we all saw it we were all like,
thats the cover of the record for sure.
There were no two ways about it. Wed
been shown so many different record
covers and nothing was really just
right. Until we saw the dead fy.
Are you producing at the mo-
ment?
Im producing some stuff with my
friend Danny Wade for a band called
The Click that were both in. Im pro-
ducing this band called Super Groupie
which Im really, really proud of.
Theyre three kids from San Diego
and to me theyre just genius. And Ive
been producing my daughter Cailin.
So those are the three projects that Im
really engulfed in at the moment.
Throughout your two decades
of success youve had three drum-
mers, slimmed down to a four piece
and now Steve and Pat are out. Do
you ever have moments of self doubt
where you question the legitimacy
of the name Unwritten Law and feel
like its a completely different band?
Um , I mean obviously. It would be
insane to think that wouldnt be a real-
ity. But the bottom line is that I miss
everyone when they leave, whether
theyve been kicked out or are quit-
ting, but I would miss playing my mu-
sic and miss the fans more. So the ob-
vious direction for me to take is to play
my music. And I feel like I was letting
more people down by not showing up
and throwing in the towel because I
still do want to tour and everyone else
didnt want to anymore. And to me its
like, do I let myself and my fans down
or not? And so of course theres that
feeling but I wouldnt do it unless I
knew that I had people as good as, or
if not, better, to fll the shoes that came
before them.
With Bullets and Octane guitar-
ist, Kevin Besigano, and bassist De-
rik Envy from Red Light Sky, do
you think theyll have an infuence
on the direction youll take follow-
ing Swan? Being from bands with a
more hardcore background?
I write a majority of the material so
for me itll be like what I would do
with Steve and PK. They would have a
dope riff that was really clever, Id take
that and morph it into a song. I think
that will be along the same waves as
what happens now. Ill go into the
writing process and well just come
up with stuff. The bottom line is that
theyre both so talented that Im def-
nitely not questioning coming out with
anything thats less stellar or less then
better than anything weve released
before. And thats not just because of
the players involved, it comes with the
amount of years that Ive been crafting
songs and writing. I think that anything
that you do in life you get better at so
I think writing another record wont be
diffcult at all.
And fnally, Cailin is one of my
favourites and probably your most
heartfelt track. How is your daugh-
ter? You said you were producing
for her?
Yeah yeah! Shes amazing. She just
turned 18. She fies to Miami tomor-
row to live and model there. Shes a
professional model now so shes going
to Miami to work for a month and then
shell be back but shes pretty much all
over the place now. Shes pretty world-
ly in her own right. She really is one
of the most amazing people Ive ever
met. She talented in so many ways its
hard to express . she has this voice
thats really, really fresh and original
she really has this really cool, and I
wanna say smoky, trashy voice almost
like Amy Winehouse. Just tons of soul
without being R&B. And so the frst
track that weve done for her has been
devastating. People are fipping out on
it. And thats my daughter! Im pretty
excited about how shes going to turn
out and how well rounded a star shes
going to be.
PENNY FARMER
pennyalicefarmer@gmail.com
Unwritten Law have released their latest record Swan but
Scott Russo is far from his swan song
Monday 23 September,2013
Unwritten Laws lead singer, Scott Russo, gives 110% as both a father and a rockstar Photo: JOHN TIFFIN
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