The Australian Government isn’t the only entity that puts people through a rigorous cross-examination to prove their loyalty to a bunch of stars and a Union Jack. Each week at ‘M+N’, we make an Australian act kiss the flag by asking them questions about their favourite local acts: who they’ve been listening to recently, their underground heroes, or whether they prefer Luke Steele or Craig Nicholls.

Taking the test this week is Josh Fontaine, previously of Perth’s The Stickfigures, now of 6s & 7s. The band’s debut album Choose the Sentinel Blooze is out now through Love Is My Velocity. They’ll be launching it in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide this week.

Preamble

a. Give us a short history of the band.
OK. I played in a band called The Stickfigures for a couple of years, which provided the template for future work. We folded in ’05 and I subsequently kicked about playing solo for a few lost years until I was sick of being talked over. As a result I found similarly displaced musicians to start a new band. A support slot with Joe Jackson was the catalyst for action, the fruits of formation have included: big shows, the July release of our album Choose The Sentinel Blooze and now our forthcoming tour.

b. Tell us about recording Choose The Sentinel Blooze.
The album was a year in the making. Four nights a week, 7pm to 3 am. Two of the other nights were for arranging at home and one night to "play". There are around 20 or so people or animals that feature on the record, the intent was to try and make our own unique imprint on record.

c. The record has a vague karaoke feel to it. Was it intended?
Um, yeah sure. If by karaoke you are imagining a narcotic, Lynchian matinee singalong revue: then yes!

d. What’s a 6s & 7s live show like?
I figure our shows are less wacky than how we're currently presented on our recorded output. Lots of intertwining, celestial melodies. High and lows, quiet and loud. Rocking and maudlin.

Part 1. Geography

a. Tell us about your hometown.
Perth, and the state in which it is cradled, is physically beautiful and unique. The city has been compared to San Diego, the suburbs and the accompanying sprawling commerce to Dallas/Houston. A real car town. With the re-birth of wealth, the place and its tenants seem to be finding themselves in a quandary over identity. Talent oft chooses to move to Melbourne, London, Berlin or Sydney in re-disbursement.

b. Name your favourite bands from your neck of the woods.
A biggie I like is Tame Impala. Undeniably great. Pond are real neat. Craig McElhinney is one dude, a guitar and a lot of tricks. Smrts do this neat Balkan, three guitar, two drummer martial kick.

c. Where’s your local and what’s it like?
I don't have a truly local anymore. I live in a pocket of the inner-city that’s devoid of any scene. Have to traipse a couple of kilometres to go to anywhere worth drinking. In meeting mates after the soccer, I'd go to The Flying Scotsman in Mount Lawley. A real gentrified pit (across the road is a jewellery store for canines), but the pub is OK. It finds itself at a "magic corner" where there’s a bit of human traffic to see and bump into, while your chances of getting glassed are pleasingly minimal.

Part 2. History

a. What Australian bands did you grow up listening to?
My first real grab at Australian bands came during the Recovery era, where a score of Australian bands appeared to thrive parallel to the show’s success. This would equate to Jebediah, Not From There, The Verys, You Am I, Mach Pelican, Automatic and Spiderbait to name but a few.

b. What’s the first Australian record you bought?
There was a Perth thrash metal band called Allegiance, whom happened to be from my home suburb. They put out some material and were pretty popular. I think they made it onto Roadrunner Records. I got one of their cassettes as a late primary scholar. Had some "battle/inspirational" album title by memory.

c. Who’s your favourite Australian band/artist of all time?
Hmmm. Would find it hard to go past the Nick Cave canon - be it Birthday Party/Bad Seeds, in regard to the depths in which it has touched me.

d. What’s the most “Australian” record ever produced?
To my mind, Hunters & Collectors’ self-titled debut album. Don't care too much for what they created after this, yet this album owns a physicality which mirrors that of the uncompromising Australian pub environment. Sonically it emulates the paranoid city, the punishing natural sprawl and the turbulence of white settlement Australia. An album that serves as a ground zero for similarly focused records before and after.

Part 3. Current Affairs

a. Who are some of your favourite new Australian bands?
The Frowning Clouds from Geelong are tops. I have also enjoyed C.W. Stoneking. Like most people, I like PVT. I know that they're hardly spanking new, but a lot of folks consciousness to it is. Traps seem pretty neat. I've been in a real cocoon, due to recording and it's schedule. You're making me feel like a dad.

b. If you could collaborate with one current Australian artist, who would it be, and what would it sound like?
Working with The Necks crew would be superb. We’d pull in a crack military brass band and explore. Kind of writes itself, really. However, I imagine feeling totally inadequate in the presence of such talent. Like a competition prize winner having a bat against Warnie.

c. Last great local gig you saw.
Perth three-piece dream rockers French Rockets. It takes them as much time to set up their equipment and extra sensory consultation rigs, as it does to play their sets. They tend to end up playing three songs, this is somewhat the standard happening and we're all richer for it.

d. Do you think an Australian artist needs to go overseas to succeed?
Definitely some sort of music is going to benefit re-locating overseas. Playing in nations featuring greater number of opportunities could see some reward. However, I figure that the world is becoming increasingly smaller, with this the broadening likelihood of others from across the world having the chance to be exposed to your work.

Part 4. Multiple Choice

a. The Hoodoo Gurus or The Stems?
Have friends in both bands. I'll go with The Stems. Dom Mariani and myself go for the same footballing teams (Fremantle in the AFL and East Fremantle in the locals) and this is enough to get him over the line.

b. Eskimo Joe or Jebediah?
Hella Jebediah. I loved that band as a teen. They knew how to use a distortion pedal, when that was everything you wanted at all-ages gigs.

c. Twisties or Burger Rings?
I sometimes work at Family Court in Perth. My workspace, which I am guessing was a former broom closet, is in between the male and female toilets. And you can hear everything. Most of the time it’s parents of contested children, on the wrong end of orders, slamming doors and cursing a blue storm. During these times I oft go to the vending machine and get Burger Rings.

d. RocKwiz or Spicks and Specks?
A bandmate in 6s & 7s, Stu, was on RockWiz lately as a contestant/nerd. They warned him that "nobody likes a know-it-all", so he held back his answers and still won. I am not much of a telly man, I've seen a portion of Spicks and Specks. It looked a bit Good News Week.

e. Hungry Jacks or Red Rooster?
At least Hungry Jacks has never pretended to being anything other than a colon cancer inducing, domain-free pilfering, booze-soaking emporium.

f. Poider or Colin Carpenter?
From memory, Full Frontal/*Fast Forward* stood up a bit better than Comedy Company. It's strange to see Eric Bana in anything else, however.

g. Pat Rafter or Pat Cash?
Pat Rafter wouldn't piss you off on the piss. He wouldn't say the wrong things, be a bit soft Left. Yet Pat Cash would bring a bit of “Saturday Night” to the equation. You know what he kept under his pillow before Wimbledon, right?

h. Luke Steele or Craig Nicholls?
Lord Gaga (Steele) is alright with me. Both know how to shed a band at an airport. Luke sure can write a song though.

i. Melbourne or Sydney?
All the Perth kids move to Perth, and I love Melbourne dearly, yet this makes me want to say Sydney. Don't know it so well, looking forward to rectifying this.

j. Tim Tams or Mint Slice?
I get minted out real quick.

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6S AND 7S LAUNCH ‘CHOOSE THE SENTINEL BLOOZE’

Thursday, August 26
Melt, Sydney, NSW
w/Traps + Des Miller

Friday, August 27
The Workers Club, Melbourne, VIC
w/Teeth & Tongue + Jack on Fire

Sunday, August 29
The Grace Emily Hotel, Adelaide, SA
w/Hawks of Alba
Free