That Fresh Pine Smell

10 April 2014 | 9:45 am | Cam Findlay

"What I think is important, this year almost moreso than a lot of the other years, is that there’s more of a level playing field."

So, here we are again, putting together a preemptive celebration of In The Pines. We've had some pretty interesting times during our yearly photoshoot for the festival – last year's coloured milk-and-confetti extravaganza was one for the books – and now we find ourselves watching Luke Dux, lead growler and guitarist for The Floors, smashing an old acoustic on the path up to the lauded Somerville Auditorium. All in the name of music, of course. “Which side should I smash it on?” Dux asks, as we, Natalie Pavlovic (one third of much-loved, surfy garage act Dianas) Adem K (ex-Turnstyle and countless acts; currently here under the Community Chest name) and a cadre of excited passersby, most under the age of ten, watch. Dux drops the guitar, and it suffers a semi-serious contusion. Another two hits and the guitar shatters. The kids cheer. This scribe joins them. The owner of the guitar, a very fragile soul, weeps silently in the corner. That's the rock and roll lifestyle.

This year, In The Pines is legally allowed to drink in the US. Last year's 20-year anniversary was spectacular: a collection of bands, young and old, current and reformed, celebrated two decades of what has become Perth's preliminary local music festival, and the strength of local music in particular. In amongst that, as usual, was family get-togethers – some members at their first music gig – picnics and the all-important discussions over a beer or two. For Adem K, it was something like his 18th In The Pines, being a musical member at about nine of them. “Yeah, I was in one of those bands,” Adem remarks about last year's festival, where Turnstyle hooked the sub-headline slot. “It was good to see so many bands that were, I guess, formative in Perth. And a lot of them were before even my time. So it was great to see some of them, like... um... trying to remember the name of the band...” Adem pauses for a moment, “Circus Murders, that's it. I never saw them when they were originally together. So it was good to see some bands that I'd wished I'd seen, but only heard of.”

The 21st edition of the festival is set to go back to its roots, after the nostalgia of last year, with the line-up well and truly entailing the current heights of Perth music. “Always,” Dux enthuses when asked if he's excited about playing this year. “It's always a really exciting time. I try to grab the WAM CD every year, and there's crossover... so even if I don't know all the bands, I know who's playing and what they sound like most of the time. And sometimes it's a surprise.”

It's obvious RTR have gone to this year's festival with a mandate of providing the current spectrum of local sounds, which is in part the reason for In The Pines' existence; to facilitate the understanding that Perth is constantly producing new music and can stand on its own two feet. “What I think is important, this year almost moreso than a lot of the other years, is that there's more of a level playing field,” Adem K offers. “So, you know, you don't have your token big bands at the end of the night. I'm not completely sure of the line-up but just looking at the bands, they're all bands that have pretty much been really productive in the last year. So it's really a good snapshot of what Perth music is about, sort of 2013 to 2014.”

Don't miss a beat with our FREE daily newsletter

“It's really what the local scene's all about right now, I guess,” Pavlovic comments, herself a part of what Perth is showing to the outside world musically. “A lot of these bands, they haven't been on a festival stage, they've only started and are only really playing small stages.”

Of course, the whole affair wouldn't be here if it wasn't for RTR. Without banging on too much – it's kind of hard not to when talking about In The Pines, as you might've seen in previous years' features – but the station constantly supplies a platform onto which local musicians and artists, from the grassroots up, can make the public aware of their efforts. The station relies on In The Pines, as well as other festivals and events throughout the year, to keep supplying the music it does – and yes, to maintain that edginess that's often somewhere between cool and weird, and often has you staring at your stereo going, “What am I listening to?”

“It's always really important,” Pavlovic says on the topic of Perth's premier alternative community station. “Every release we have, it seems to go straight on to RTR. I mean, that's the first thing you kinda do when you've got a release, you head up to Mt Lawley and drop it off at the station. It's really important to have that when you've got an album or an EP or something. You kind of need to have people hearing your music both live and on radio to keep that interest going, I guess.”

“It's also down to the fact that there's so many more people making music now,” Adem K continues. “Especially here, and especially in different ways, like at home and everything. RTR's getting bombarded with more music than ever, so to get played on the station is definitely not a given. The music they support is always good music, and music that people should really be hearing.”

The other side of the whole dynamic, of course, is that Perth is currently in a flux state when it comes to music festivals. The large-format ones, the festivals that are Australian mainstays – Soundwave and Big Day Out – have had their swan songs in our state, leaving a big hole in terms of large-scale music events. The old discussion of 'Perth: go or stay' came up during our chat, and it's clear that these three musicians believe that, on top of everything else, In The Pines and its contemporary events are proof that local music is here to stay. “I don't think you have to move anywhere,” Dux replies on the question of the obstacles of basing yourself in the most isolated city in the world, and the call for things like In The Pines to exist. “I think with radio, the internet and all of those other things, you can be based here and people can hear your music no matter where they are. I mean, I do think you have to tour, people do want to see you [play] live. They have to, because that's part of the whole equation. And, I mean, it's a lot cheaper now. Rather than getting in the car and spending a couple of days driving across, you can just fly over. And I think that's important, because it means you can still stay where you want to stay while having a presence somewhere else.”

Of course, the first step is making your name here, which is fortunate with the amount of live venues available to local bands, and the growing support that's coming from the general community – liquor licensing and noise complaints be damned. In The Pines has always been a festival of the people, for the people, and 21 years has not diminished that one bit. “I'd say it's a true representation of the scene as it stands, and it's devoid of favouritism or unfair critique or anything,” Adem K says. “I know it is a kind of democratically chosen line-up, and it's a line-up chosen by people who know what they're doing and people who care about music in this city. Also, I think it's helped a lot of bands from different backgrounds meet and connect. Friendships have been made, and it's worked out positively. I remember a time where I probably would never be on the same line-up as Luke or Natalie, and now these kinds of things means that's a given, usually.”

With that, the trio are asked to sum up their idea of In The Pines in a few words. “Uhhh... good time,” Dux chuckles. “I mean, what I said before, it's an opportunity for everyone in Perth to join up and, I guess, get an idea of what everyone's doing and working on.” “It's just a fun day out,” Pavlovic says. “You get to sit on the grass and have a picnic, and just enjoy it, I guess. It's meant to feel really welcoming.” Adem K pauses, before saying, “Like what Luke said before, for me It's about celebrating the fact we have this healthy environment where you can really feel that you're going somewhere as a musician. Not always financially, but still, you feel you have a place.”

With that, we go back to chucking instruments around. The kids present seem to get a kick out of seeing a guitar, keyboard and drum flying through the air. Hopefully they take this as a sign – and don't destroy too much expensive equipment when they make their first steps onto the musical stage.