chelseaolle

An interview with James Richardson, the founder of digital marketing company ‘Optimization’

James Richardson at his business Optimising Pty Ltd.

Like all young boys growing up, James Richardson had a world of potential before him. And like all young boys, the building blocks for the future were in abundance.

For James, it all started with building websites. A curiosity that began with creating online sport fan sites and e-commerce stores has blossomed into something even bigger, as he is now the proud founder of Optimising, a successful online marketing company.

But it didn’t just happen overnight. James had the skills in web development, a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Marketing, and a strong love for sport and communication, but he still wasn’t sure what he wanted to do.

It wasn’t until he had almost travelled the whole world that he realized where he needed to be.

“I travelled for about a year… and then came back and had to work out what I was going to do,” He says.

“Travelling for a while you need to start thinking about what you need to do, and that helped me figure it out.”

For James he realised his skillset and saw a way he could use this to help other people.

“I saw the skills that I had… and I saw that there are a lot of businesses that didn’t have that skill set,” James says.

“That’s where I thought I could come in and implement some of the stuff I have learnt.”

His real motivation came from the fact that it was a dream for James to run his own business.

“I thought that I’d like to do my own thing”, he says.

“[And] Utilising the skills that I have, doing business in online marketing made sense.”

The online sphere appears to be the future, and it doesn’t seem to be a bad way for James or Optimising to be investing his time.

“It’s the first point of call when anyone is looking for any kind of product or service,” he says.

“They get online, search for something, and check out the first few results they find. As a business if you can’t be found there – then you will get left behind.”

That’s why at Optimising, James has ensured his business is there to provide a variety of online marketing strategies to help other businesses maximize their efficiency and operations within today’s ever growing online space.

“We work on a variety of projects. We can be putting together new websites, working on a new online marketing strategy to implement for a client. Some of the guys might be working on some Facebook Ad campaigns,” James says.

But the biggest achievement aside from helping other businesses grow, has been watching his own business develop and change.

“It started off with just myself… and now we’re up to twelve [staff],” James says.

“Coming from nothing to where we are right now, is quite significant.”

It has taken a lot of hard work and perseverance, but James has finally gotten his business at a place he wants it to be.

“Now we service one hundred clients a month,” he says.

According to James, building trust and respect amongst customers has always been the foundations of the business.

“For the first few years that was something we had to focus on.”

Now that Optimising has established its strong customer relationships, it has led way to even more exciting things, like a brand new office in Cremorne.

“It’s a nice space,” he says.

“It’s significantly bigger – we have the ability to grow, and space up to thirty people, and that puts us in a good place.”

With that, it is safe to say the future for Optimising looks promisingly bright.

“Over the next few years, we want to improve our products and the service that we provide,” James says.

– See more at: http://www.federationstory.com/how-james-optimised-his-career/#sthash.uwrbswl5.dpuf

All photos were provided to me by James during my placement.

An interview with Cliff Moss from Good Business Matters

Clifford Moss - Owner of Good Business Matters

Clifford Moss has quite frankly tried it all.

He has travelled back and forth across the globe, lived amongst other cultures, started many business projects and worked in an array of industries.

Now he has nestled his way into the Melbourne scene where he has become the enthusiastic founder of Good Business Matters.

Having successfully wrapped up its first time in the Small Business Festival with a sold out workshop, Good Business Matters has big plans for the future.

“We’ll definitely be rehashing the workshop for other clients and associations,” he says.

The business, co-founded by Simon Davies was inspired by a need they found within the industry for business sustainability and social responsibility support.

“I went to the small business festival last year as a bit of a Sherlock Holmes exercise,” he says.

“They only had one sustainability event [and] I realised there is a huge hole here, all of these business – hundreds of thousands of them in Australia, aren’t being serviced in this social responsibility space.”

Good Business Matters aims to illustrate that profitability and sustainability can go hand in hand, benefiting both society and businesses too.

“It used to be business is business and it’s all about making money and that’s the end of the story, but it’s not the end of the story, it’s the start of the story,” he says.

Any business can potentially turn a sustainability based action into one that melds both purpose and profit, such as a coffee house, he explains, that could be not only be recycling its coffee grounds but also re-selling them as a premium form of compost.

“[Businesses] don’t realise that they cannot only save money but potentially create revenue streams,” he says.

All of this is achievable with little cost to the business Cliff says.

“They think to do all of this they have to be like big businesses and employ and pay thousands of dollars for it, but the fact of the matter is they don’t.”

Cliff’s personal motivation for the business has also come from his very diverse and enlightening past.

He was born in France but spent most of his years growing up between there and London, before he graduated with a degree in Commercial Property.

Inspired by the film industry in south of France, Cliff worked his way up from being a film runner, to a production assistant and then a director.

This led him to a 12 month experience in New Zealand, where he worked on another new television show.

After moving on from the film and television industry, Cliff and his then business partner decided to launch their own marketing agency.

However after a lengthy career of doing that, Cliff decided again that it was time for something new.

“It became a bit soulless, there was no real reason for doing it other than helping people sell more,” he says.

So he packed his bags and decided to go to South Africa where he would help establish a charity based organisation called Help 2 Read, which is still running today.

The organisation is based around providing primary school children with fun books and games to help improve their literacy skills.

It was only when he was looking for a cost effective way to obtain supplies for the organisation and after crossing paths with a mother who was moving her family to Australia that a light bulb moment went off in Cliff’s mind.

“I realised, we don’t need to go and buy more books, we just need to access them, they are in peoples’ cupboards, I’ve got to go and talk to the removals companies,” he says.

“If I can engage them in the idea of being responsible, then we will get books and games, the business will look good… and the customer will be happy because they will be moving less stuff abroad.”

“That’s what got me hooked on social responsibility,” he says.

Cliff has also been involved in two other substantial projects including his late venture Manifest and a popular school music program called Rock the Schools, which has worked with well-known bands like Van She, Oh Mercy, The Cassette Kids and Operator Please.

Cliff returned to London to work in property again, before finally making his way back to Australia and launching Good Business Matters.

“[Originally] Good Business Matters was going to be a book,” he says.

“[But] we could tell that it wasn’t going to work just with a book.”

They are still intending to publish the book which will include easy and sustainable business strategies by mid next year.

However it won’t stop there for Cliff and Simon as they have found their workshops to be such a hit.

Business appears to be looking very good for Cliff, though there is now another equally important role for him within his life.

“I have a new baby, he is ten weeks old and that’s a huge, exciting experience – I really want to be the bedrock for that,” he says.

“I’ve got two focuses: the family and the business.”

Originally published at:

http://www.federationstory.com/cliff-moss-is-doing-whats-right/#sthash.V1ZtOkY9.dpuf

All photos were provided to me by Cliff Moss during my placement.

Children as young as three experience bullying (Network Ten)

This is a video for educational purposes only.

I made this video with the assistance of Melbourne’s Channel Ten Eyewitness News while undergoing work placement there.

The original news story on this topic was aired on the 6th of August 2014 and created and reported by Sharnelle Vella.

This video has been uploaded for the purpose of assessment for an Internship and University assignment.

A review of The Trotskies and Slow Dancer at Ruby Tuesdays

Despite the drudgery that was presented to us by Melbourne and its indecisive weather habits, a couple of friends and I decided we would trek down to The Workers Club in Fitzroy for its newly established Ruby Tuesdays.

Trust me, as soon as I walked out of my front door I had an immediate sense of dwelling, and a desire to turn around and walk back inside where I would then spend the rest of my night sitting on my couch under a blanket watching some movie that I’ve already seen a million times before.

I pushed past this feeling, and it was well worth it!

Playing at the event presented by The AU review, SYN media and The 59th Sound was Howard, The Trotskies and Slow Dancer.

Unfortunately we missed Howard, but we rocked up just in time to catch The Trotskies and Slow Dancer.

The first thing you should know about The Workers, if you haven’t already been there, is that it is a very intimate venue and this works really well for some musicians.

I’m not saying that this didn’t work well for The five Trotskies boys’ and that they didn’t meld into that, it’s just that as I watched them, I was imagining these guys smashing it out in some huge space, like at Soundwave or something (they’ll get there one day) with an ecstatic audience jumping around, going crazy with their arms high in the air.

These boys are a damn good band though, and are going to go places with their music.

If there were any criticisms, (not to be taken too seriously anyway because all the positives far outweigh them), it would be that perhaps the levels weren’t exactly right. I felt at times that the instruments didn’t give lead singer Jack Rudich’s warm, enticing vocals as much justice as they could have.

By the end of the gig, the boys were far more comfortable with the audience and you could immediately sense the connection that had grown between them and the audience and them and their instruments. So much so, that Jack Nicholson’s face from The Shining that had been playing on repeat in the background faded into non-existence in my mind, and that’s saying something!

They just came out with their Debut self titled EP last October, and it’s bloody awesome, well worth a listen!

Up next was Slow Dancer, and as the bands name may suggest, “slowed down” we were. Everything was just switched back a notch, to a place of absolute dreaminess and bliss.

There’s something really soothing and sexy about Slow Dancer and I can’t quite articulate it, but it’s what got me hooked to them after falling in love with their track “We all make mistakes” when I heard it over a month ago.

They pretty much have everything you could want all wrapped into one nice little package. Simon Okely’s vocals are soulfully sweet and draw you in ever so calmly and subtly. Okely not only has the voice of an angel but also has a beautiful way with the guitar, as he plucks these wonderfully soothing chords which sit flawlessly over the soft drum beat and the sexy undertone of the bass, producing perfect bluesy, soulful tones.

It’s a sound that you don’t come by too often. Sure you get the elements individually here and there in certain acts – the great voice, the awesome guitar rhythm, but it’s not too often that you come by an act where it all just melds together so effortlessly.

And it does look effortless for Okely and the boys as they play comfortably, all smiles to the audience and each other. It’s no surprise that this comes natural to Okely though, having grown up listening to a variety of rhythm and blues albums, encouraged by his parents.

Clearly I enjoyed these guys way too much, but I think you will too, so please, do yourself a justice and go and sit back with a nice margarita, stare at the clouds and enjoy some sweet sweet Slow Dancer for yourself.

And I think I’m just about ready for a holiday to Hawaii now.

Posted 13th March 2014 by Chelsea Olle

Live music review of The Smith Street Soul Train

Ever been curious as to what it would be like to travel back in time? Well, now you can stop wondering and go for a trip with the Smith Street Soul Train instead.

That’s what I did last Tuesday night, as the 12 piece soul-funk band took me and 200-odd other groovy fans to a time of care free, wild dancing and exuberated amounts of laughter.

It was as though we had lunged right back into the ’70s, (or what I would imagine the ’70s to have been like – I’m only 21).

The Grace Darling Hotel was power packed full to its brim, as an overwhelming amount of people surrounded themselves around the small stage in an attempt to immerse themselves in all of the fun.

As I squeezed my way through the flailing arms, and twirling dancers, I got a glimpse of 12 energetic band members all squished on to one tiny stage, having the time of their lives.

All smiles, and belting out unbelievably powerful sky-hitting notes, the band had the room shaking. Maybe that was also because of the non-stop syncronised dancing from everyone in the room too, but the stage was literally moving. It was both exiciting and terrifying.

It didn’t take long for me to want to immerse myself in all of the excitement either, as I began to move along to the effervescent trumpets, saxophones and funky guitar riffs.

Being the bands last gig for 2013 and special Christmas extravaganza, particular friends and guests from the audience were selected to get up and have a sing, which resulted in a very busy stage for the final song of the night as the 20 odd members crowded upon the stage to give us one final send off.

With tunes ranging from Rick James classics’, to Amy Winehouse, Marvin Gaye, Saskwatch, Tina Turner, James Brown, Aretha Franklin and many, many more, it was impossible not to love every minute of it.

I couldn’t have had a more amazing and joy filled time.

The band has taken a break for the remainder of 2013, but will be back again in the beginning of 2014 for more soul-shaking fun!

Definitely a bunch of amazing musicians worth checking out!

Posted 21st December 2013 by Chelsea Olle

Live music review of The McQueens Return To Laughter EP launch at The Toff.

Walking up all those stairs to The Toff can be a bit of an effort, but totally worth it when you find on the other side of that heavy sound proof door, the lovely Albert Salt rocking it on stage, and the members of The McQueens ripping up the d-floor in support.

Ironically, it is actually Albert Salt that is supporting The McQueens, as they launch their new Return to Laughter EP, but at this stage you wouldn’t guess it.

There’s nothing more inspiring than seeing two increasingly loved Melbourne acts supporting and cheering each other on.

Albert finishes his set with a bang, getting the crowd rowdy and dancing with his latest song ‘Maybe, I’, before praising the audience with an ecstatic introduction to The McQueens.

The McQueens enter the stage. Immediately the crowd piles in from no where and suddenly I find myself at the back of room.

Lead man Noah Harris draws you in straight away with his succinct rock star vocals. The emotion on his face unbelievably real and passionate.

Guitarist Yano Newman, moves his body back and forth with his guitar while drummer Harry Monaghan smashes out the drum kit, and bassist Tibby McNab cutely smirks to every girl in the audience, bopping his head away. All in all, you can’t turn your eyes away from these boys.

Every guy and girl in the audience jumps around back and forth, parading around with the band as they belt some winners such as new tracks ‘Hannah’ and ‘Washed Away’, and even a few covers.

Noah jokes, introducing their next ‘song’ as a great new track, chuckling to the audience “we wrote it”. The band kicks into a cool, jammy guitar melody as they bop around to Pheonix’s ‘1901’. Yano and Tibby join Noah on vocals, backing him as they chant “Falling, Falling”. The audience goes wild. Suddenly, a change in rhythm takes place, as the song interweaves Miley Cyrus’ hard-hitting ‘Wrecking Ball’. Next thing you know the song takes another turn, as the boys start belting out Cyrus’ old classic ‘See you again’. An unexpected but seemingly fun, Cyrus, Pheonix, McQueens mash-up, and one the audience certainly didn’t mind.

The boys decide they’re going to provide the audience with another cover, requesting that Albert rejoins them on stage to help out in playing one of his own songs. Hustling through the crowd and up onto the stage, Albert cracks out his beautiful violin and keyboard skills, as The McQueens jam out an indie-rock version of his song.

My favourite of their covers is their choice of Lana Del Rey’s ‘Summertime sadness’, which they play with as much zest and soul as the bluesy pop goddess herself.

They finish the night off strong, with their last track ‘Fiasco’, taken from their 2012 Fitzroy EP.
I’m currently at the back of the venue, and looking down at the crowd beneath me, who are jumping around wildly, arms projected high into the air. I can hear the distant rumble of their stomping feet.

The techno that underlies the riffy guitar beats, has everyone dancing, including the band. The boys appear to be having a ball, as they chuck their bodies around the stage, becoming one with their instruments.

Great guys to watch, and a new favourite Melbourne band to add to my list. Definitely recommend you check them out.

Posted 9th November 2013 by Chelsea Olle

Album review of Tancred by Tancred

Isn’t it cool how music can take you for a trip down memory lane. Well that’s just what Tancred’s latest self titled album did for me.

Tancred is the solo project of Jess Abbott, a member of indie-rockers Now, Now, who are touring the US at the moment.

I first heard Tancred’s new stuff a few days ago after it was released through Topshelf records on October 15.

Her soft, feminine drones, and ragged guitar riffs take me back to a Summer three years ago, where I spent my time as an angsty, half-in-love 18 year old, immersing myself in the likes of artists such as Jacks mannequin, Death Cab For Cutie and Anthony Green.

She definitely reminisces a sound somewhere between what Paramore and Andrew McMahon do.

Tancred provides something that we haven’t heard in a while but in a uniquely encapsulating way. There is something really revitalising and cool about female indie-rock. Whatever it is, Jess is onto it.

Each of the tracks aren’t particularly long, and draw you in with emotional vocals and driving rock instrumentals, before abruptly ending on least expected notes. The effect: leaving you wanting more.

Driving, windy guitar riffs and touches of subtle keys, along with steady drum beats and Jess’ emotionally evocative vocals would be enough to draw you into her music, but on top of that she throws in some really raw and powerful lyrics, that make it hard for your ears to ignore.

Two stand out tracks on the record for me were Allston and The worst kind.

Allston is a lot more upbeat than a lot of the other tracks on the record and is driven by a catchy guitar melody and fast paced underlying drum beat. The track builds as it goes along, prompting you to do nothing else but to bop and clap along to it.

The worst kind, opens with slow, melancholic piano tones, and carries beneath Jess’ soft, emotionally fuelled voice. The contrast between her feminine harmonies and fragile, conversational tones, offer a much rawer and honest outcome in her music, making it more relatable and appealing. Her songwriting abilities in this song are particularly powerful and honest. She sings about failed love, and the disappointment in being unable to fulfil a love to the capacity that we desire. Something most of us will experience sometime during our lives.

In a nutshell, Tancred is one pretty raw, emotional and beautiful record.

Listen to it just once, I dare you. You will want to listen again, and again.

Allston – Tancred

Video Sourced: Topshelf Records

Posted 23rd October 2013 by Chelsea Olle

Live music review of The John Steel Singers at The Northcote Social Club

A spontaneous trip to the Northcote Social Club last night went down a treat.I caught Brisbane 5-piece The John Steel Singers, and their support act Baptism of Uzi, and was completely swept up in the midst of Baptism’s spectacular long, grinding guitar riffs and the energetic bursts of eclectic mixes of brass-funk, jammy guitars and quick catchy melodies from The John Steel boys.

The John Steel Slingers look fantastic on stage. That’s the first thing you notice. Tim, Scott, Pete and Luke stand adjacent to each other along the front of the stage creating the same kind of quirky quartet appearance that Momford and Sons pull off. (Don’t worry, the drummer still had my full attention too!)

As the crowd piled in out of nowhere, the guys had the audience kicking on with high spirits playing tracks from their funky, fun-pop filled record Tangalooma, and of course their classic track ‘Strawberry Wine’ from The Beagle and The Dove, which had every audience member swinging their hips, chanting “woo-hoo hoo!”.

We also got a taste of a few newbies from their upcoming album Everything’s a thread due November 8.

The John Steel Singers – Northcote Social Club Thursday 26 September

Photo taken by Me.

If any band ‘has it’, then it’s definitely The John Steel Singers. These boys not only look great on stage, they have a charisma that is indescribable. Tim has that perfect smooth indie-rhythmic voice which carries each song with a light hearted joy, and he brings an unbeatable enthusiasm to every song, throwing himself into it, as though he is one with his guitar and the band. Pete, with his beautiful red, rock star locks and fantastic trumpet/ trombone skills adds the unique twist to this band, making them hard to forget. Likewise, Scott and Luke with their harmonising contribution to vocals, provide The John Steel Singers with an echoing, modern Beach Boys-esque sound.

A stand out of the night was ‘Rainbow Kraut’ with its fast paced, celebratory brass rhythms, catchy guitar melody, chime-like keys and harmonising falsettos. They brought this song to the stage like it was one big rejoicing party.

Another standout was their quite differing track ‘State of Unrest’, the first single release from their forthcoming album. They ended the night with a bang with this track, as its long, jagged psych-rock guitar riffs and spacey synth effects took us out of this world and into an extraterrestrial territory, forcing our bodies to do nothing else but jump along to the compelling guitar rhythms and beat of the song. Tim commended our dancing at the end of this one, saying with a smile that it “warmed his cold heart”.

Keep an eye out for these guys, they are a band not to miss.

Posted 27th September 2013 by Chelsea Olle

Live music review of Parkway Drive’s Ten Year Anniversary at The Palace Theatre Melbourne

It’s a Friday night and the spirits are high, because it’s a Friday, right?!

Well, it’s no special Friday, it’s a Friday where a very significant band in metalcore history comes together, combining 10 years of fun, stories and good music with one very loyal fan base. That’s right, it’s Parkway Drive’s 10-year anniversary tour. The five Byron Bay friends met and formed the band together as 20 year olds at the end of 2002, and despite travelling all around the globe, made the trip back to Aus, where they started, for a dozen shows around the country.

As I approach the outside of Melbourne’s most significant architecturally, historic entertainment venue The Palace Theatre, I hear the sound of a roaring crowd inside, and the rumbling of distant heavy drum rolls.

I walk into an energetic space, filled with four levels of pumping fans eager to see Parkway. They are egged on by Sydney deathcore band Thy art is murder, who drive the room with their rollout of heavy guitar licks and keenly anticipated break downs.
The long awaited moment finally arrives, as we see five members in the final stages of preparation just left of stage. The sound guys are testing to make sure the mic is at its full capacity, and the drums are also given a whirl, which gets the crowd even more revved. I am standing on the second level behind an array of tall men, but am able to find the perfect spot as I stick my head between the bodies to spot the band. An incredible atmosphere is felt by all, as the excitement gushes all around, and the suspense continues to build.

Before the band completely enters the stage, a visually enticing projection of slides open the show, and a voice over is heard as Parkway is introduced. In a story-like introduction, the last 10 years are reflected on, as photos of the boys as 20 year olds appear before us. A progression of images illustrates the guys over time, and the growing achievements of Parkway. These images are supported by a cheer of awed fans. 56 countries and just four albums. Wow.

PWD lead Winston McCall Photo sourced: Wikimedia user

Winston McCall, Parkway’s lead opens the show, a huge smile on his face. Telling us how the show is going to run, he says “we thought we’d go through and play all the old shit we haven’t played in a while”. He then introduces the gig “starting from the very start” with their first ever song from the 2004 EP Don’t close your eyes.

A few songs later ‘2005’ flashes on the screen, as we move through time to hear the band break into “Gimme a D” from Killing with a smile. The fast, riffy guitar solos are executed with great precision and energy, as Jeff the guitarist, with a huge smile on his face throws his body around, miming along to Winston. I can see a sea of arms pumping ecstatically below me in the moshpit.

If everyone wasn’t already buzzing enough, the announcement of Pandora created a thunder of screams. The song kicks in with a mixture of fast flicks and energetic drum rolls, and a driving guitar riff. Winston’s energy encapsulates the crowd as he barrels out deep roars of sound, throwing his body around the space. Metal lovers respond with swinging arms and ceaseless energetic jumps, as the PWD boys mosh and dance about the stage.

Photo taken by me – Friday 20th September, Melbourne Parkway Drive show.

They enter the 2007 album Horizons with Boneyards, a highlight for audience members. Winston holds the mic out to the crowd as a myriad of voices chant back the lyrics. Then there’s silence. My favourite part comes next, as the rumble of an amazing breakdown has every person in the room throwing their body back and forth, with highly held and emphatically closed fists.

At the end of the song, Winston stares out at the audience with an amazed expression. “Four stories” he says with a smile, “wow”. Parkway Drive are clearly big lovers and fans of The Palace Theatre. Winston reflects on the significance of the venue, as he points to the top of the venue explaining that Parkway played their first ever show in Melbourne, “up there,” he says. Winston shares his love for the historic venue with defiance, and says he’d “hate to see apartments here”. With passion he shouts, “keep this place alive, it’s fucking amazing”.

The band arrives at the 2012 album Atlas, and my favourite PWD track and highlight of the night swings into action. We hear the beating of a striking clock, which segues into a driving guitar riff and a growing drum roll, as we wait for the climatic moment of Dark Days, to kick in.

The passionately, political song is backed up by an amazing visual on the backing screens as we see a red backdrop filled with images of what appears to be an industrially apocalyptic scene. The lyrics “The clock is ticking, can’t you see there is no second chance” screamed passionately by Winston and followed by a powerful guitar melody evokes a wild and excited response from the crowd.

Winston McCall – Photo taken by me – Friday 20th September, Melbourne Parkway Drive show.

The encore is of course ended on no other than Carrion. The band enters back on the stage, and a cheer fills the space, the energy prevailing around the room. Winston asks “how do you guys have so much energy”, he laughs “oh it’s a Friday night, right… I’m an old man now… so you’re going to have to help me out on this one” he says grinning. Carrion kicks in, and the crowd making the most of it goes wild, there’s a circular pit forming, and guys next to me swing their legs and arms about the air, while others solute the night with dignified fist pumps (that was me).

To further celebrate the entrance into double-digit territory, the band are putting together a book for fans that will recount the last ten years of the band, all their adventures and their success. Another great item to put next to the Parkway DVD which they made in 2009.

Posted 25th September 2013 by Chelsea Olle

Live music review of The Preatures at The Northcote Social Club

Posted 13th September 2013 by Chelsea Olle

If you want to know who the best Australian act of this year is at the moment, look no further than the dynamic Sydney five-some The Preatures.

Is this how you feel?

Video sourced: The Preatures

One of my snaps from last nights gig at the Northcote Social Club

If you think they sound good in the studio, then boy you should hear them live, it’s a whole other experience. I caught them last night at their sold out show at the Northcote Social club, and my speculations on them being the greatest new Aussie act was affirmed.

The Preatures radiate a sassy, endowed coolness and a unique style that appears effortless for them. The energy that they bring to the stage and that exists between the group is full of spark and ready animation. They jump and dance around about the stage using its extremities, while all smiles to both the crowd and each other. The effect: is an inclusive aura of energy and fun, in which you feel you are fully apart of.

The gig opens as lead woman Izzy (Isabella Manfredi) strides onto the stage grabbing the microphone with both hands and charmingly greets us “Melbourne you sexy mother fuckers, how are we doing?” – her confident rock goddess attitude radiating from her.

She’s followed by their lead man Gideon Benson who has the same kind of confidence and rich mystery in his voice as the deep bluesy, rocker Nick Cave.

Friends: lead guitarist Jack Moffit, bassist Thomas Champion and drummer Luke Davison greet the audience too opening the gig with a funky clear, strong guitar riff and heavy, compelling drum beats, bringing the gig into full swing as their latest song Manic baby belts out to the audience, pulling us in without a second thought.

Every song they play is played with such clarity and substance. Every strum of the guitar, change of chord, tap of the drum, slap of the snare, comes through with an amazing clearness and perfection, that is recognisable and pleasing to the audience. The vocals soothe in perfectly over the top of the instrumentals, creating perfect melodious sounds. Damn, all I have to say is that they really have gotten it right. They play and sound as though they have years and years of experience gigging.

The Preatures played both new songs from their new EP Is this how you feel? and some of their classic tracks from their 2012 EP Shaking Hands. My favourite was Take a Card, which they play with such charisma and personality. They brought the playful, lighthearted vibe of this song to the stage as Izzy and Gideon affectionately joined each other on the one mic, serenading each other with their vocals. Like many of their other songs this song is full of pomp and fun as they bring a hybrid of funky blues, rhythm and rock to the stage.

a3493-thepreatures-izzyandgideonsharemic — Izzy and Gideon sing to Take a Card Photo taken by me last night at the Northcote Social Club

Izzy even cheekily dedicated one of The Preatures songs, which she said was about mass appeal, to “their good friend Tony Abbott”. Strong guitar riffs and a fast drum beat carried the passionate, energetic song behind her, as she chanted “whatever you want, I’ll give it to you, whatever you need, I’ll give it to you”. I smiled to myself on this one.

Her vocals in their song Threat, are seductively mysterious and charming as she harmonises with great vocal variety “if you want to be my boyfriend, then why do you act like this?… it’s not a question, it’s a threat… I got the power on you”. She has one of those remarkable, memorable voices and styles that imprints itself on your mind, leaving you with mesmerised chills, much like Stevie Nicks and Joan Jett who have left us with a striking impression of their cool, brisk audacity.

If all of this energy and cool, charming allure of both The Preatures sound and stage presence wasn’t enough to make this gig one of the most epic, then the interesting turn of event of Izzy’s jacket catching on fire might be. After finishing one of their songs, Izzy asks “is someone’s hair on fire”, only for guitarist Jack to respond “no it’s your jacket”. Her very nice and probably expensive leather jacket had been resting on one of the stage lights, and was left aflame. Izzy quickly put it out, letting out a small sob. Poor Izzy, you could see the disappointment in her eyes, but it was only brief, as she suddenly poured water over her face, shaking it off, and letting the show live on.

Izzy and The Preatures just recently took out first place in the 2013 Vanda & Young Songwriting competition, for their song Is this how you feel? A massive achievement for them. They were followed followed in their tracks by the adorable 3rd place winner Thelma Plum.

After the show, I got the chance to have a brief catch up with the approachable Izzy, as we conversed about her self-made shirt that read: “F##K ABBOTT #SEXAPPEAL”, which was censored by the media in all photo’s taken from the Vanda and Young awards. The shirt, which she joked her mum has hidden from her, to keep her from wearing it on tours, sparked some questioning from different people, but Izzy said this was the point of it. The shirt was only suppose to encourage conversation, and in my opinion there’s nothing wrong with starting conversation on any given topic in a democratic society. Sadly, no one had asked her why she was even wearing the shirt before censoring it. Izzy’s shirt was successful in raising valid questions in the minds of individuals, but as mentioned in our conversation, it was not aimed to detract from the awards or the music. The Preatures music is something special, and sharing their radiant fun sounds is something they do with enthusiasm and do well.

Yes, I had to ask her for a picture. Little bit star struck.

They’ll be taking their sounds right around the country for the remainder of September, and will be playing the Falls festival too at the end of the year. But I can assure, that The Preatures won’t be too far off taking their sounds around the world soon, as their unique, fun driven aura is taking music lovers, professionals, and radio stations by storm.