THERE’S A BOY & BEAR IN THERE
THE MAN WHO MAKES THE GUITARS THAT MAKE THE MUSIC LOVERS OF THE GUITAR ARE IN FOR A TREAT WHEN HEAD OF THE CUSTOM SHOP FOR MATON, ANDY ALLEN, TALKS ABOUT WHAT GOES IN TO MAKING AN INSTRUMENT. ANDY IS THE BUILDER OF DREAMS, SPENDING HIS DAYS MAKING THE PERFECT GUITAR TO ORDER! He spoke briefly with The Echo – while making a guitar of course!
What made you start making guitars?
Andy, why do you think Maton has stayed at the top of its game?
The love of playing led to the desire to build.
By keeping an eye on trends and trying to stay one step ahead. What is essential do you think in creating a guitar that best suits a player? Each player is different, so it’s about the tone they’re after and the feel. How long does it take you to make a guitar? Approximately 50 hours. How long have you been making guitars?
Do you think making guitars has influenced the way you play? It has made different the way I hear tones. What will you be sharing in your presentation in Byron? I will be telling the story of how I came to Maton, up until today, and the process of building a guitar. Q&A on Thursday 7pm, Double Bassment Studio, 144 Jonson St, Byron.
I’ve been 21 years with Maton.
Boy & Bear may have formed in 2009, but by 2011 the group had bagged an impressive five ARIAs for Moonfire, garnering Best Group, Album of the Year, and Breakthrough Artist Single & Album. They also got Best Adult Alternative Release. When it comes to the music industry, the group hit the ground running, with massive tour schedules capitalising on their currency. ‘Last year we had about two months at home,’ says Boy & Bear’s Jon Hart.
can work when you feel like working. We tend to do a few of those stints. We will record some demos and then keep pushing. We had two-thirds of the album written before we went into the studio and then three songs that came along in the studio. We would go here is an idea and let’s record that right now.’ One of the greatest challenges admits Jon is knowing when your song is finished.
‘When you present a finished product you always feel like ‘We did 150 shows; that’s a 150 there are things you could do. All the audience hear is the end sound checks! You need to product. They don’t really care soundcheck some different things and play some different if it took you a long time to craft it or hardly any time at all. songs, so we would fool around and get a feel for new All they hear is the end result. things and to keep it fresh,’ says You get so involved in the Hart of the band’s attempts to process sometimes when you are writing and recording that keep writing under pressure. you can lose your objectivity. ‘Last year was a unique year for us That’s when you need people – we had never been that busy!’ who have good engineering Recording their latest release and listening skills. You need Harlequin Dream was very fresh ears!’ different from Moonfire. While This is Boy & Bear’s first Moonfire was recorded in performance at Bluesfest, Nashville, Harelquin Dream was and they are really looking laid down here in Australia, forward to it. at Alberts Studio – the same ‘When we first played a festival place the Easybeats and AC/ we weren’t a festival band – DC recorded their legendary but we are now! albums. ‘We are going to play across Writing an album is pretty our two albums and the EPs, straightforward and for the and we will do our best to band there was none of the really deliver the arrangements usual second-album woes. we put on the record; but live, ‘Dave will tend to bring an idea we are not a pyrotechnic show, or there will be something so what we want to give an being jammed and we put audience is not just what is it together and we will go to on the record, but a unique a rehearsal space in Sydney performance of that.’ or we will rent a house so we can have somewhere to sleep Boy & Bear play Bluesfest this Easter. and set up our instruments. And hopefully we have no For playing times, and tickets neighbours! That way you go to bluesfest.com.au. Immerse yourself in a surreal world of dazzling acrobatics and cheeky feats of strength
GLORIOUS BAROQUE Conductor, composer and musician Nicholas Routley presents Glorious Baroque at the Bangalow A& I Hall this Sunday. Routley has been the inspiration to bring together some of the most experienced choral singers in the region to form Vox Caldera. Under his expert direction, and with superb local talent in abundance, Vox Caldera has already proved outstanding in performance, electric in ensemble, full of colour and interest. The singers in this choir come from a broad range of experiences – jazz, classical, opera, oratorio, chamber choirs, teaching, choral directing – and from community and award-winning choral groups from all around Australia.
Monteverdi and Purcell are two names well known in the choral repertoire, and this concert is a heady indulgence of music from both these composers. Nicholas is well informed in the art and intricacies of early music, and with now local violinist Bridget Crouch leading an early-music ensemble, this concert takes the local choral and string-playing community to another place. The historic A&I Hall in Bangalow is perfect for such a performance with its wonderful acoustic ambience. Sunday from 2pm, A&I Hall Bangalow. Tickets Adults $30, members $25, school students $10 Barebones Bangalow 6687 1393 Mary Ryan’s 6685 8183 Mullum Bookshop 6684 1413
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GLORIOUS BAROQUE, AN AFTERNOON WITH VOX CALDERA CHAMBER CHOIR WITH CONDUCTOR NICHOLAS ROUTLEY, WITH VOX BAROQUE STRINGS AND CONTINUO LED BY BRIDGET CROUCH AT THE BANGALOW A&I HALL ON SUNDAY
YOYO TUKI AT OSKA Yoyo Tuki is a musician and visionary artist from the Polynesian island of Rapa Nui (Easter Island). Yoyo’s music is a unique fusion of his Rapa Nui roots with influences from around the world. It has been described by many as ceremonial, evocative, emotive and spiritual with contagious rhythms and melodies, and has gathered a worldwide following. While still retaining
his origins, he is not afraid to explore music styles from diverse backgrounds and from all corners of the globe. His musical taste is wide and varied, embracing everything from traditional Rapa Nui to afro, reggae, pop and folk. You can experience Yoyo Tuki’s music in an acoustic setting at Cafe Oska on Saturday from 7.30pm.
CONTINUED P28 The Byron Shire Echo March 25, 2015 27