130 – Douglas Harvey (Comedian, Musician, Hyper Manic Noize…

Douglas Harvey (aka Hayden for those who know him well) is a Perth comedian and musician who also runs his own podcast Hyper Manic Noize Podcast. For the past several years Douglas has been building his stand up show in Perth after relocating from Central Queensland where he spent the majority of his life.

Ask Douglas how he got started in comedy and you will be in for one of those most unexpected and surreal stories you’ll ever hear. In fact, I did just that so it will save you having to track him down and ask him yourself. Let’s just say that involved tragedy, court and even a mental hospital. I’ll leave it to Douglas to tell it all!

I’ve known Douglas for years playing shows in Queensland together and Douglas has always been a workhorse when it comes to anything he touches – music, comedy and also his brand new podcast. In fact, you can hear the unofficial part 1 of this chat with Hayden on episode here.

We share some common background both growing up in Central Queensland where we trade a heap of stories, we talk comedy, his incredible journey to where he is now, the Hyper Manic Noize Podcast with a lot of tangents and dribble along the way.

Show notes

Follow Douglas Harvey via Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | BandsinTown |
Listen to the Hyper Manic Noize Podcast via Main Website | Apple | Stitcher | YouTube | Facebook |
Listen to Part 1 of our chat on his podcast here.

 

 

 

 

129 – Freddy Lim 林昶佐 (Chthonic 閃靈 , Taiwanese…

Let me introduce you to Freddy Lim. If you don’t know Freddy, he’s the frontman of Chthonic. Formed in the mid-90s, they are one of Asia’s most successful and well known metal bands who has crossed over into the western market and had a lot of success playing some of the biggest stages in the world including Loud Park, Wacken Open Air, Download, OzzFest and more.

Chthonic’s blends extreme metal (death and black) with a number of different traditional Taiwanese instruments giving them a unique sound. Their songs are inspired my Taiwanese mythology, stories and history which the band holds great importance.

For most people, the success and achievements of Chthonic would be more than enough, however for Freddy the band is merely one chapter of a larger book. For 4 years, Freddy lead Amnesty International Taiwan and in 2015 he founded the New Power Party and became a party member of the Legislative Yuan 2016. Freddy’s focuses are directed toward human rights issues as well as the independence of Taiwan from China.

Freddy recently stopped through Sydney on his way to speak at the ANU (Australian National University) in Canberra for the Culture and Political Change in Contemporary Taiwan conference. Freddy hopes to discuss the topic of Taiwan’s independence to an Australian audience and raise further awareness of the importance of his message.

While we only had time for a brief chat, Freddy and I covered some of the challenges he had to face personally when becoming a politician, his advantage in politics due to his music background, and the influence these experiences including some other personal events have shaped Chthonic’s music, especially their new album which is due out in October 2018.

If you’re yet to discover Chthonic or would like to learn more about Freddy’s work in political endeavours and activism, check out the links below.

Show notes

Learn more about Freddy on via Main Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | Wikipedia |
Freddy’s policital resources – New Power Party | Legislative Yuan |
Follow Chthonic via Main Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube |
Article – Why we painted over students’ Taiwan flag: Council explain (The Morning Bulletin)
Article – Taiwan flag design painted over by council ahead of beef industry event (ABC News)
Article – Mayor responds to criticism over bull Taiwanese flag issue (The Morning Bulletin)

 

飛踢前幾天出席澳洲大學的政治與學術論壇，也順道接受了知名搖滾樂團LORD貝斯手Andy Dowling主持的訪問，真是全方位促進台澳交流！Freddy attended a political forum hold by ANU in Australia. At the same time, he also Podcast interviewed by Andy Dowling, the bassist of LORD. ➡ https://goo.gl/2Vvxkq

A post shared by CHTHONIC 閃靈 (@chthonictw) on May 30, 2018 at 1:33am PDT

Photo by Joel H. Garcia – Photography

Photo by Oink Chen

 

128 – Terra Roam (First Woman to Walk Around…

Terra Roam is the first woman to walk around the whole of Australia alone and completely unassisted. No support cars, no friends/companions, just her. Alone. 4 years and 22,000 kilometres.

Terra is no stranger to epic expeditions, hiking and exploring throughout the world in her younger years and also enduring long walks across various parts of Australia. Adventure and the outdoors have been with her since early childhood and the latest achievement of completing a solo trek around our great continent was merely a natural progression from her childhood love of being outside and exploring.

Through walking, Terra nurtured her own health and well being and used her on foot journeys to raise awareness and money for a range of different causes from marine conservation to her most recent campaign for suicide awareness through Lifeline.

I quizzed Terra in our chat about her motivations to be out on the road by herself, some of the challenges she has faced on these trips (injuries, violence, stalking) but also the amazing people that she has connected with who have shared their stories with her. Many of us living in larger cities forget some of the issues that plague people in more rural areas and Terra’s story certainly brings light and awareness to many in Australia who consistently do it tough and have little resources to reach out and gain support from.

I hope that everyone feels inspired from this story not only from Terra’s achievements but also the awareness that we all need to have when supporting one another. If you know anyone who needs some help or maybe you’re looking for some support, please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or search for the equivalent in your neck of the woods. If you need help locating who is in your area, let me know as I would be more than happy to help.

We’ll catch up with Terra in 2019 when the next big adventure takes place and hopefully her book will be ready to share. In the meantime, you can follow Terra using the links below;

Show notes

Follow Terra on Facebook | Instagram |
Learn more about Terra via her Terra Roams Earth website
Need some assistance or want to help someone? Lifeline Website or call 13 11 14 | Beyond Blue or call 1300 224 636  |
Article: Meet the first woman to walk around the whole of Australia solo and unassisted (Australian Geographic)
Article: Roaming Free – One Woman’s Incredible Journey To Wellness (Travel Play Live)
Article: First woman to walk unsupported around Australia nears journey’s end (Lonely Planet)

 

 

 

 

 

127 – Dave Balfour (Steel Assassins Festival, Metal Evilution)

Dave Balfour might be the most ‘metal’ person I know. In fact if there was a measure of ones metalness (sure, that’s a word) Dave would be at the highest measure of 666 out of 666.

In all seriousness and cheesiness aside, Dave has been carrying the flag for a significant part of the Sydney metal scene for almost 15 years under the banner Metal Evilution, hosting countless local shows for Sydney, interstate and even international bands.

Dave’s reputation amongst many in the metal scene is held in high regard and most Australian metal musicians have either met, know or have played one of Dave’s shows.

In 2012 Dave created the Steel Assassins True Metal Festival held annually in Sydney over 2 days on the first weekend of November. Since inception, Dave has gradually built and improved year on year to what has now become a local favourite and draws crowds from not only across the country but also internationally.

I caught up with Dave just before he was about to head off to Germany to attend the Keep it True Festival which has inspired a lot of what Dave has done with Steel Assassins. We spoke about the evilution (sorry, had to do it) of the Steel Assassins Festival, his love of metal, this years fest which features LORD as one of the headliners and how he is hoping to not only highlight some Australia’s best bands in the genre but also give opportunities to younger up-and-coming bands so that the next generation continues to embrace heavy metal music.

Tickets for the 2018 Steel Assassins Festival will be on sale soon and the page will be updated once they have been released. In the meantime, reach out to Dave and check out the Festival via the links below.

Show notes

Follow Dave Balfour on Facebook
Learn more about Steel Assassins on Facebook
Metal Evilution Bookings on Facebook 

 

Dave at one of the many Sydney metal meet ups that are held each year at Utopia Records and The Belvedere Hotel in Sydney’s CBD.

Yours truly with Mr Balfour. L-R Andrew Morris (Espionage), Dave Balfour, Mark Furtner (LORD), Denis Sudzuka (Espionage) and Jerry Zahija (Carmeria/Requiem of the Damned)

Somewhere in the depths of Sydney’s nightlife approximately 10 odd years ago

126 – Sam Rilatt (ex-Daemon Pyre, Hard Noise Podcast)

Sam Rilatt has been heavily involved in the Sydney and Australian metal scene for the past 15 years fronting bands such as Daemon Pyre and As Silence Breaks, running his own label and co-hosting the Hard Noise Podcast with CJ McMahon of Thy Art is Murder (presented by Hysteria Mag). This is only scraping the surface of what Sam has been involved with over the years but it’s safe to say that he has had his fingers in many different areas of the Australia metal scene and is well respected amongst his peers in the industry.

In February 2018, Sam made an announcement that he was stepping away from pretty much everything music related. This included standing down from Daemon Pyre who have been achieving a lot of recent success and also his successful podcast with CJ from Thy Art. Sam’s decision was not an easy one but when his health and his family becoming an increasing priority, he needed to make some serious decisions before life got out of control.

I can really relate to the predicament that Sam was in. Also being heavily invested in music for almost the same period of time, to take a large step back from what has been a huge part of his life would have been an extremely challenging moment and one that I would have definitely struggled with. When I sat down with Sam to run through the lead up and these decisions that he needed to make, I was able to draw a lot of parallels in my own life but also see that this is something that many of us go through.

Speaking of musicians specifically, we often put our passions at the forefront and attach a level of unhealthy pressure which ends up negatively impacting many other parts of life (family, relationships, jobs, friends, physical and mental health etc). At times it feels near impossible to break the cycle because we fear that if we momentarily step away that all of our hard work and momentum will disappear. The reality is that this is often not the case.

We spoke about all sorts of topics in this chat and Sam is someone who has a real drive for open discussion and also critical thinking so we spend a lot of time discussing a lot of those areas. Most importantly I encourage everyone to listen to this episode and reflect about what you are doing in your life and what you are prioritising. You may not need to let go of everything but maybe you can slow down or take a moment to reflect. It could make a big difference to the most important areas of your life.

Reach out Sam via the show notes, check out the Dameon Pyre tracks and also take a peek at a new venture Sam has created called Discovering Humans. A new chapter opens!

Show notes

Follow Sam Rilatt on Facebook | Instagram |
Check out Sam’s new ‘bipartisan social media initiative’ venture, Discovering Humans via Main Website | Facebook | Instagram |
Check out Daemon Pyre via Main Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube |
Featured photo of Sam Rilatt on stage with Daemon Pyre by MickG Photography

Sponsor of this week’s podcast ‘Design by Jaiden‘ – Want a free custom album/merch artwork design? Review the podcast somewhere on the internet and send me a link by Sunday May 6th and you will go into the running to win a free design!

 

 

 

125 – Steven Ryan (Successful Property Investor, Vagabonder)

A return guest from episode 11 of the podcast, Steven Ryan is (in my opinion) a property investing tycoon. He now owns 4 properties in Sydney and Brisbane totalling close to 3 million dollars. All achieved that originated from a single income.

Since we last spoke in 2015, Steven has built his mortgage broker business, Interstellar Finance and helped many people pursue their property goals. Winning the Investor of the Year award in 2015 through Your Investment Property Magazine and enjoying many accolades along the way, Steven recently made the decision to make a dramatic pivot, pack his belongings up and grab a one way ticket to Lima, Peru. He has no idea when he will back.

After reading Rolf Potts book Vagabonding, Steven felt inspired to take on the next chapter of his life by travelling to South America and expanding his experiences outside of what he has achieved back home in Australia.

I caught up with Steven a couple of weeks before he was due to jet off (he hadn’t booked a ticket yet but said as soon as he had tied up the past items at home he would book the next available flight out). We spoke about what he’s achieved since we last spoke, the property market now, his outlook on life and what he hopes to get from his upcoming vagabonding adventure.

I’ve known Steven for about 12 years from both being in the local Sydney metal scene and he’s since gone on to help Jess and I buy our first house and guide us through a lot of the confusion that the property market can bring. To see the dramatic changes over the last decade and to see this next huge chapter unfolding is incredibly inspiring and hopefully others will take something from his story so far.

Show notes

Follow Steven Ryan on Linkedin | Twitter | Instagram |
Interstellar Finance
Check out Steven’s book recommendation Vagabonding by Rolf Potts
Book recommendation from me – The Art of Travel by Alain de Botton
Article – Investor of the Year Awards 2015: Steven Ryan (Your Investment Property Mag)
Article – How a blank cheque secured me a bargain in Sydney (Which Investment Property)
Aussie Firebug Podcast featuring Steven, episode 6

Sponsor of this week’s podcast ‘Design by Jaiden‘ – Want a free custom album/merch artwork design? Review the podcast somewhere on the internet and send me a link by Sunday May 6th and you will go into the running to win a free design!

 

Taken from Your Investment Property Magazine 2015

Taken from Your Investment Property Magazine 2015

Taken from Your Investment Property Magazine 2015

124 – Syd Green (MonoNest Studio, ex-Mantissa, 19Twenty)

Syd Green’s career in music is like unravelling a Matryoshka doll. You open up the first doll to find another one inside. When you think you’ve opened them all, you find yet another doll sitting there to surprise you.

Many of my old school metal/rock mates will remember Syd best from his years with Killing Time/Mantissa. A band that in the early 90s dominated the Australian alternative scene releasing critically acclaimed albums on major labels, multiple video clips (a sign of true legitimacy/big budget back then) and playing with some of the world’s best including the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jane’s Addicition, Mudhoney and even Pantera (note: Syd tells an awesome drinking story with Vinnie and Dime in Dallas).

After Mantissa called it a day in the mid-90s, Syd went on to be mentored by two of the world’s best in Sound Production, Michael Letho (Rockwiz, Darryl Braithwaite, Rick Price, Rush) and Terry Date (Pantera, Soundgarden, Dream Theater, Pantera, Dark Angel) who helped shape Syd’s next major chapter in his music journey by becoming a renowned producer and launching his own recording studio down the South Coast of New South Wales called MonoNest Studios.

Syd’s portfolio of work is vast and in addition to running his own studio continues to be a recording and performing musician playing with the band 19Twenty.

This chat started off as a bit of a curious dig into his current business but as we got yapping we dug deeper and deeper into the art of recording, the challenges he has along the way working as a producer as well as his amazing journey through music.

Parts of this chat with Syd Green will soon be published as a Self Starter episode focusing on MonoNest. When that episode goes live, I’ll update this page for you all to check out.

Show notes

Check out Syd’s Main Website
MonoNest via Main Website | Facebook | YouTube |
19Twenty via Main Website | Facebook | YouTube |
Mantissa via Facebook |

Sponsor of this week’s podcast ‘Design by Jaiden‘ – Want a free custom album/merch artwork design? Review the podcast somewhere on the internet and send me a link by Sunday May 6th and you will go into the running to win a free design!

 

 

 

 

123 – Caitlin Langley (Media Spokesperson – Exclusion Zones…

Caitlin Langley is the media spokesperson for a group pushing for exclusions zones for a fertility clinic in Albury as well as the right for privacy and freedom for those who utilise its services.

Fertility clinics are few and far between in the state of New South Wales. Outside of metropolitan Sydney, there is only one clinic in the state located in Albury. For women needing specific medical assistance of this nature, the options are unfortunately limited.

Each Thursday when the Albury clinic provides pregnancy termination services, local religious group ‘The Helper’s of God’s Precious Infants’ congregate outside the font of the clinic holding signs of protest, handing out fetus dolls, taking photos of women entering the premises as well as stalking staff members. The tactics being taken by this group are seen by many to be forms of harassment and breaches of privacy.

Local Member Penny Sharpe recently spoke to the local community about the actions of this religious group and highlighted a number of incidents that show the ongoing confrontation and experienced by clinic staff members and patients. Here’s some of them below;

Story from Albury 1: the woman who travelled from Wagga in a taxi because her family didn’t know. The cab was surrounded, banging on the windows, the cab driver shaken, the woman a wreck.

Story from Albury 2: the clinic is forced to employ a security guard to ensure women have clear passage into the clinic. Even with security, women arrive inside shaking, crying & angry.

Story from Albury 3: women are travelling to Melbourne (at great cost) to have an abortion because they cannot face the abuse they will endure if they go to their local clinic.

Story from Albury 4: staff being followed home, accosted in the street, forced to come to work half an hour early to avoid the abuse. This happens every day.

Story from Albury 5: a woman taking her 13 year old to ballet walks past the clinic. She is surrounded and her daughter given photos of dismembered fetuses & told her mother is about to murder a child.

Story from Albury 6: a woman is sitting at a cafe in town, she is approached & told that there are photos of her going to the clinic.

Story from Albury 7: constant threats of legal action, intimidation of staff, death threats towards staff & constant calling of the police to accuse the staff of murdering children.

While people do have the right to peacefully process and express their views, change is desperately needed to protect individuals from inappropriate engagements made by others. An exclusion zone is being campaigned which will require protesters to be no less than 150 metres from the clinic ensuring rights of those protesters are still acknowledged but more importantly protection is being given to those who work at and use the clinic.

Living in Wagga Wagga, an hour and a half from Albury, Caitlin learnt of the ongoing ordeal and was shocked at the severity of what people were being subjected to. This shock turned into action where Caitlin decided to lend her efforts to the cause.

For me personally, the changes that are being campaigned seem like common sense and something that would be accepted in parliament with ease. Unfortunately this hasn’t been the case to date with a number of local MPs/Council members voting against these changes. In fact, there are allegations of council members having direct links to the ‘The Helper’s of God’s Precious Infants’. Decisions are appearing to be made based on personal religious beliefs rather than secular, rational perspectives with the thoughts of the individual rights.

This is a bit of a new one for me and I was a tad hesitant to weigh in. Being a male, I felt that my rights to talk about the topic are minimal to non-existent. In fact, I found it absolutely disgusting to learn of the number of men who are blocking change in parliament and also those protesting at the clinic. While I do feel strongly that men should not be having a say when it comes to a women’s decision that relates to her own body, Caitlin quickly pointed out that this is more than a gender discussion with it also being about individual choice. Caitlin urged that more men should be vocal in supporting women’s rights and addressing oppressive nature of those denying the rights of anyone.

It’s pretty clear what I think of the topic and it’s mind blowing that it is even a topic that needs to be addressed/discussed. Individuals rights need to be addressed, privacy needs to be given and the safety of others is critical. While this podcast hasn’t been created with the focus of highlighting social issues, I do think it’s important to bring certain topics into conversation. As a guy, this isn’t something that is stereo-typically spoken about so I’m hoping the podcast will bring these particular stories, issues and peoples hard work to a larger audience who may not normally be exposed to it.

I hope you all get something out of this episode and whether you’re in the state of New South Wales (please contact your local MP) or another part of the world, we should ensure that these conversations are had more regularly to improve rights for everyone.

Show notes

Support on Facebook – We Need Exclusion Zones Right Here Right Now | Rights to Privacy | Albury Choice |
Find out who your Member of Parliment is here.
Sign the online petitions Safe Access Zones & It’s Time to Bind
Learn more about the Fertility Control Clinic located in Albury here.
Follow Penny Sharpe MLC on Facebook here.
Listen to Caitlin on The Iron Fist and the Velvet Glove Podcast here.
Article – Life as an anti-abortion activist: What ‘The Helpers of God’s Precious Infants’ believe – ABC
Article – Albury councillor John Stuchbery blasts behaviour of members of Helpers of God’s Precious Infants who gather outside the Englehardt Street abortion clinic – Border Mail

Sponsor of this week’s podcast ‘Design by Jaiden‘ – Want a free custom album/merch artwork design? Review the podcast somewhere on the internet and send me a link by Sunday May 6th and you will go into the running to win a free design!

 

 

122 – Pia Winberg (Marine Ecologist, Seaweed Science, Phyco…

Phyco Health’s founder Pia Winberg is a marine ecologist based in the Shoalhaven and created her business in the hope of the western world, and in particular Australia, finally catching up with the east when it comes to seaweed farming, which is already a 6 billion dollar industry.

The health benefits of seaweed in our diet and in varying applications are quite tremendous at its still relatively unknown when it comes to the general public. Pia is pushing a food range which includes muesli, pasta, corn chips, herbs and spices into the market in the hope that more Australian’s warm to the concept of including more seaweed in their diet.

This is a really great story of the science and business worlds coming together and Pia certainly has had her challenges as she has learned on her feet through her business journey.

Phyco Health/Phyco Food Co is currently based in the old paper mill in Bomaderry and is utilising local resources, in particular, local marine farming to help build the business, support the local industry and create more awareness of seaweed science.

Show notes

Follow Phyco Food Co via Main Website | Facebook |
Buy Phyco products right here!
Learn more about Kathleen Mary Drew-Baker and how she helped the Japanese with Nori Seaweed
Blue BioTech Shoalhaven

Pia presenting Australian Seaweed at the Biomarine Business Convention in Oslo

Pia presents seaweed to her dutch majesties at Foodbytes in Sydney

 

 

 

 

121 – Paul Holmes (London to Wollongong on Triumph…

Paul Holmes rode his Triumph Scrambler Motorcycle from London to Wollongong. If you’re not up on your Geography, there’s a considerable distance between the two locations and this not a trip that most people would have the guts to embark on.

Well, Paul has guts. Lots of it. After seeing a couple people close to him have their lives cut short due to cancer, Paul knew that it was better to act now on the things he wants to do rather than put them off and run risk of them never happening.

What followed was months of planning and one incredibly epic adventure. Here are some cool facts and stats to give you some perspective of what Paul has achieved;

6 and a half months of travel time
31,000 kilometres travelled
Cheapest fuel was 34 cents a litre
Hottest temperature was 43 degrees C in the Nullabor
Highest altitude was 3,900 metres
Most kilometres in one day 890km

All of this over 22 countries – England, Isle of man, Wales, France, Spain, Andorra, Switzerland, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Albania, Greece, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and of course Australia.

Memorable moments include – Lap of the Isle of Man TT Course, Spanish Pyreness, Gallipoli Anzac Cove sunrise, Nepal Himalayas, Nullabor sunset, wild Camels in the South Iranian Desert, turned 34 on a smoking volcano in Iran’s Mount Damavand, Slept in a prison and that’s just scraping the surface.

Paul and I caught up to talk about some of these incredible experiences, the new perspectives gained from travelling through countries which carry stigma in the western world, some of the tougher moments as well as the most rewarding. We also talk about his next trip and what he plans to do. You will be impressed.

Make sure you follow Paul on instagram to see some of the photos from his adventure and also to keep an eye on where he goes next.

Show notes

Follow Paul on Instagram
Article from Illawarra Mercury: ‘Figtree man rides his Triumph Scrambler across 22 counties‘