Review of River Heads Rocks Festival 2022.
Review and photos by Donna Hourigan An easy three and a half hour drive north of Brisbane brings you to the gates of Fraser Coast RV Park, the site of a new and exciting music calendar event, the ‘River Heads Rocks Festival’. Think early Mitchell Creek Rock ’n' Blues Fest, intimate, community driven, committed to supporting local artists and the discovery of new talent. The festival first launched in 2021 with a lineup featuring EightBall Aitken, The Rolling Stones Experience and The Miz Bully Band. June [...]
Back In The Day: Fords Music Store and Home Grown Amplification
By Tony De Caria and Les FORDS BLUES CONNECTION Now that I think of it all these years later, Fords was destined to have a heavy blues influence many years before I got there. The Purple Hearts had completely blown away three kids at a venue across the road in Stanley St. called “The Bowl”. We had been having guitar lessons for some months and had at the time become rather bored with Shadows instrumentals and the top 40 hits played by the resident bands, finding [...]
Azure Blue CD Review
Azure Blue CD by Craig Claxton CD Review by Tracey Hammell Craig Claxton made excellent use of his time in lockdown during the shift into the “new normal” by writing and recording his first solo album, Azure Blue. Craig Claxton and his fabulous rhythm section ... sometimes known as The Barbarians at the Azure Blue Album preview. L-R Craig Claxton (guitar & vox), John Postlethwaite (dums), Kevin Howard (bass), Brendan St Ledger (keyboards). "It was so much fun to do ... I [...]
Back In The Day … Keith “Stretch” Kerwin Remembers.
Hi Folks, this is basically the remnants of memories about the early days of the Brisbane music scene from individual personal perspectives .. and for all intents and purposes concentrating more towards the 'Blues' scenario. My name's Keith Kerwin but possibly more Sanctuary - L-R Mal Logan, Barry Sullivan, Keith "Stretch" Kerwin and Adrian Payne [drums] well known via my nickname 'Stretch'. I was born and raised in Coorparoo, Brisbane, in May, 1949 ... so that makes me approaching my 72nd birthday. I'm the youngest [...]
Back in the Day… Introduction by Mick Power
Welcome to a new series titled “Back In The Day” as we go down memory lane in Brisbane, North / South Coast regions and give us some unusual info that happened in the day, covering from 1950 – to say 1980’s. For those of you who do not know me, my name is Mick Power and I am one third of “The GrooveMasters”. I grew up in Brisbane and from the mid 60’s I was involved in the music business here in South East Qld and in [...]
AGM Minutes – Yearly Report, election of new committee, etc
BASEQ_AGM_Minutes_251020 (MS Word format)
Annual General Meeting – Agenda and Candidates.
To all members The BASEQ Annual General Meeting will be held on Sunday 25th October 2020 at the Royal Mail Hotel, Brisbane Terrace, Goodna at 10:30am. All members are invited to participate to listen to the reports of the past year, and be part of the process in dissolving the current committee and vote in the election of a new committee. Please find attached the Agenda for the AGM, in PDF versions and MSWord Versions. BASEQ_AGM_Agenda251020 (PDF) BASEQ_AGM_Agenda251020 (DOCX) As standard AGM practice and adhering to [...]
BASEQ Blues at The Triffid!
Cooperation and determination by BASEQ's Dillion James and the team at The Triffid brought live blues back to the centre of town! With a very short lead time of two weeks, Dillion pulled together a "Who's Who" of local talent featuring: Angela Fabian; Blind Dog Donnie; Donna Hourigan & The Lucky Lips Band; and his own Dillion James Band. Harvey Blues; Norman Baquiran; and Matt "Dishpan Hands" Beagley, joined Angela & Dillion's respective bands to form an "All Starr" jam band, leaving nothing in the [...]
Mitchell Creek Rock ‘N’ Blues Fest 2020 – The Show Must Go On!
Mitchell Creek Rock ‘N’ Blues Fest 2020 - The Show Must Go On! Story by Tracey Hammell Jimmy Budgen, Festival Director, Mitchell Creek Rock 'N' Blues Fest. Mitchell Creek Rock ‘N’ Blues Fest is the first music festival to be successfully awarded the COVID Clean Practicing Business Program certification and given the green light to go ahead this September, paving the way for other festivals to follow! With all the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19, you may well be wondering how this magically came about. Well, [...]
BASEQ Memberships – How-To Create Your Profile
The BASEQ webiste has the ability for members to update their personal information, and to create a profile (that could be useful to for musicians in promotion). To do so needs to ensure the members can log in. If you signed up as a BASEQ member via the website, you will already have created your login email address and password. You can skip the first part of these instructions. Some BASEQ supporters, however, have taken out BASEQ membership by not using the website sign-up. These instructions will [...]
Golden Girl Hayley Marsten at Tamworth 2020
Story by Tracey Hammell Hayley Marsten at Tamworth Country Music Festival 2020 (pic courtesy Brett Clarke Photography). This year’s Golden Guitar Awards at Tamworth in NSW was abuzz with glamour, colour and excitement. Yes, there were cowboy hats and Cuban heeled boots. There were also neon jumpsuits and the highest of stilettos, and a modern take on Linda Ronstadt’s denim cut-offs. The music was fun and vibrant, and everywhere people were just enjoying themselves. What I noticed most about this town though was its [...]
Tamworth Country Music Festival 2020
Story by Tracey Hammell 2020 Golden Guitar Award Winners - Luke O'Shea, Lyn Bowtell, Fanny Lumsden, Blake O'Connor Music, Lee Kernaghan, Felicity Urquhart, Kristy Cox, Kevin Bennett & The Flood, Allan Caswell Songwriting School, Melissa Pearce and Brad Butcher. Back in 1997 Etta James recorded a country album, “Love's Been Rough on Me,” saying, “The Blues and Country are first cousins!" Both genres could be found in the Southern United States in the 19th century, sharing the historical period and some similarities in musical and lyrical [...]
Bushfire Appeal Gig
17 Band Lineup at Bushfire Appeal Gig! By Tracey Hammell Australia is in shock at the devastation reeked by the fires leading up to Christmas and continuing into 2020. For those of us glued stiffly to the edge of our seats on the sideline, it is unimaginable to us what our fellow mates and animal folk are facing. Our emotions seem to lay somewhere between sheer relief and almost guilt at being safe ourselves, while others are fighting for their lives. Helpless is how many of [...]
Valley Blues Stomp ! Saturday 19th October
Saturday 19th October Valley Blues Stomp ! Always a cracker of a night if you havnt been you havn't seen!! Numinbah Valley Hall, Numinbah Valley, QLD 11am-late Mojo Webb Solo earlier in the night - also taking part in a big jam at the end of the night! Plus many other great acts! marshallandthefro , devilskiosk , blindwilliewagtail , blueskilletrovers , brokenleveebrassband , bluestompholdingco , craigmadden , kissmybootsduo , thelostchords @deeeeclan , nunimbahvalley , bluesstomp , caravanstage , therovervan Numinbah Valley Oct 19 2019
International Blues Music Day Festival
On August 17, 2011 an online petition was launched advocating for the establishment of an International Blues Music Day. Within a few months the petition-group was joined by thousands of members from around the world.The first Saturday in August of each year was established as a time for musicians and lovers of the Blues to come together to celebrate the genre. This will be the 5th year Brisbane city has hosted this event. International Blues Music Day brings together communities, schools, artists, historians, academics, and Blues [...]
IBMD Schedule Day 1
Mainstage - The Mojo Webb band - 12pm, 1pm, 2pm • Wintergarden - The Lucky Lips Band - 12.30pm, 1.30pm, 2.30pm • Milano’s - Mick Diggles - 12.30pm, 1.30pm, 2.30pm • Mainstage - Blues Arcadia - 4pm, 5pm, 6pm • Wintergarden - The Josh Cheyenne Band - 4.30, 5.30 & 6.30pm
IBMD Schedule – Day 2
Mainstage - The Tracey Hammell Band - 12pm, 1pm, 2pm • Wintergarden - Simon & The Colonel - 12.30pm, 1.30pm, 2.30pm • Milano’s - Byron Short - 12.30pm, 1.30pm, 2.30pm • Reddacliffe Place - Jeff Usher - 1pm, 2pm, 3pm, 4pm
Mitchell Creek 2019 is Coming
It seems there was only one way to go on 19-22 September 2019! The Mary Valley in the Noosa Hinterland turned on fine hot days and cool starry nights for the Mitchell Creek Rock ‘n Blues Fest, treating almost 3,000 patrons once again to great music, delicious local food, and free camping in a gorgeous bush setting to share fun times with family and friends. Over and over again patrons were saying that this festival is like a little holiday people make the pilgrimage to each year [...]
‘Black and Blue’ with Chain
(I was lucky enough to have Matt Taylor talk with me about the early days of Blues in the 60s and 70s. Here, Phil Manning provides us with some additional insight, and Kylie Cowling tells us about performing the re-released ‘Black and Blue’ with Chain at Mitchell Creek 2017) Matt Taylor (harmonica, vocals) and Phil Manning (guitar) with Chain. What can you tell us about the 50 years story? Well I don’t know that anyone can truly fully remember the early days because it was so complicated, [...]
Shane Pacey – Bondi Cigars and the Shayne Pacey Trio.
(Shane Pacey chatted with me about the Bondi Cigars and the Shayne Pacey Trio) Bondi Cigars: Eben Hale (guitar/vocals), Frank Corby (drums, vocals), Shane Pacey (guitar vocals), Alan Britton (bass, vocals). Hi Shane, that was an awesome gig. Thank you, yeah it was good fun. It was quite intense. But you know, that’s how we operate, we’re not a particularly laid back band. And you had a bit of trouble getting up here and missed out on playing your Friday night set so that would get a [...]
Foreday Riders (University of the Blues)
Known as Sydney’s ‘university of the Blues’, the Foreday Riders celebrated 50 years as a working band in 2017. The Groove caught up with Ron King for a chat about how it all started. Foreday Riders (L-R): Two original members from 1967 remain: the King Brothers, Ron (harmonica, vocals) and Jeff (guitar, Dobro). Rosscoe ‘Stinger’ Clark (drums) has been a Rider since 1982, Stan ‘Sleepy’ Mobbs has been on bass with the Riders since 1990. Fronting the band is singer/ guitarist Shane Pacey whose presence they [...]
Wiley Reed, You’ve Got Mail!
Wiley Reed preserved on cavas by Cath Butler. On Monday October 7, Labour Day in Queensland, the dust kicked up in the warm wind blowing gently outside the Royal Mail Hotel in Goodna, the old pub we fondly refer to as the Mail. The street was lined with the purple haze of jacaranda flowers as the intense heat of the day shimmered thickly from the road with all the promise of summer just around the corner. We had arrived to meet with others at the Wiley Reed [...]
Blues Brothers: Still on a Misson from God!
The Original Blues Brothers The Blues Brothers movies (1998 and 2000) need no introduction and at Byron Bluesfest in 2018 we’ll witness the amazing band that created the soundscape behind comedy actors Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi. I spoke with Rob "The Honeydripper" Paparozzi (vocals, harmonica) from his home in New Jersey, USA about the new album and the upcoming show in Australia. The band has 16 albums including a brand new one, The Last Shade of Blue Before Black, recorded live in the studio and [...]
Mick “The Blues Doctor” Diggles Reminisces
by Mick "The Blues Doctor" Diggles (origionally published in BASEQ Groove Mag 189) "I guess everybody comes to the blues from a different direction and in a different way. For me it hit me like a sledge hammer, a life changing experience that happened one night back in 1964. It wasn’t through listening to records or watching you tube, it was through listening to a live band and a particular singer. The place was the Saint James club near Spring Hill. The band was the early [...]
SAVE OUR GIG …really? A Note On Gig Promotion
By Andrew Baxter (origionally published in BASEQ Groove mag #189) “Support live music”, “Come out and support my band”, “Support venues that support musicians” “Keeping Mu- sic Live”. These phrases can be seen regularly on pro- motional material for gigs and shows, especially on so- cial media sites. How effective are they? Are they in fact counter-productive? Should promotion of live music be cast in a more positive light? Is live music dead or dying? Does it need to be supported? These are all vexing questions [...]