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Uk Stint Grist For Songwriting Mill

Uk Stint Grist For Songwriting Mill



Who: The Panics
Where: University - Bar on the Hill
When: Thursday August 11, 2005

JAE Laffer's theory on life is that if you get sick of a place, simply pack up and go live somewhere else for a while.

The 23-year-old lives his life by the rule, and as a vocalist/songwriter with Perth band The Panics, there's no doubt he needs new places to find inspiration.

``We keep moving all the time,'' he said.

``If you walk the same streets all your life then you will write about the same things.'' So it was no surprise that a trip to Manchester, England, last year, was a breath of fresh air for the group.

``England is a special place,'' Laffer said.

``For us, it was just being able to breathe in the air. The people are very warm. It's such a great place.'' The overseas tour also involved supporting The Happy Mondays at a sell-out crowd of 15,000 on Clapham Common in London.

They were also asked to perform for the second time at In the City , an annual UK music industry convention in Manchester.

While in the UK, The Panics performed three tracks live to air on the BBC, which was broadcast throughout the UK and digitally worldwide.

Now back in Oz and based in Melbourne, for now, the group has just released a new album, Sleeps Like A Curse , due to hit stores on Monday. ntsI aug 8 As part of the release, The Panics are hitting the road for a national Australian tour throughout this month and September.

Sleeps Like A Curse follows their highly acclaimed debut album A House On A Street In A Town I'm From .

With most of the songs off the new album written and demoed in Manchester, the band was also keen to give it a live feel.

To achieve this, they recorded the songs live with producer Tim Whitten in Sydney's Megaphone Studios.

The end result is an album loaded with trademark Panics intensity and atmosphere, great lyrics and shimmering guitars.

``It's all just happened. We just like making records,'' Laffer said.

``It's just a matter of keeping busy and being in people's faces.'' Growing up in Perth with fellow band members guitarist Drew Wootton and his younger brother Myles , Laffer said the new album was a step higher than their first.

``Three of us went to school together and we decided one day to lay down some music. We must have been 15 or 16 and Myles about 13,'' Laffer said.

``It's so much fun to hang out with these guys, I can't really complain.

``I think [the album] is the most interesting and the most ambitious.'' Also with Paul Otway on bass and Jules Douglas on guitars, keyboard and backing vocals, The Panics will perform on Thursday, August 11, at the Bar On The Hill .



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