ISSUE# 31.40
ENTERTAINMENT
March 15–22, 2017
Editor : Mandy Nolan Editorial/gigs : gigs@echo.net.au Copy deadline: 5pm each Friday Advertising : adcopy@echo.net.au P : 02 6684 1777 W : echo.net.au/entertainment
gig guide PAGE 36
ALL YOUR NORTH COAST ENTERTAINMENT
A MOLE IN THE GROUND
OLD-TIME TUNES ARE WHAT MAKE UPSTATE NEW YORKER WILLIE WATSON’S HE ART SING. And boy, does that lad sing some pretty bizarre songs. Hits such as I Wish I was a Mole in the Ground. ‘I learnt that from Bascom Lamar Lunsford. He is a kooky old guy who made records in the 20s. He was an educated mountain man. A lawyer, a teacher, a folk archivist, a preservationist of the mountain, southern Appalachian culture. I love his sound. I love how he sings, the sound of his banjo. I just love it. It’s not the cleanest sound you will hear but I like that. I look for things that have an edge to them. I like it a bit rough around the edges,’ laughs Watson, who captured fans on his 2016 trip downunder as part of the fabulous Dave Rawlings Machine, and more recently when he toured with Joshua Hedley. He’s been enjoying the love here on the Australian festival circuit. But it’s the hall gigs he loves. ‘Usually festivals aren’t that great. It depends on the stage; if you put me on a big stage with 10,000 people it’s hard to reach them. It’s just little old me up there with the guitar. Those special old halls with good sound are the best; it gives a certain kind of atmosphere for everyone involved; it’s the kind of thing that you look for.’ And it certainly complements Watson’s sound.
MR & MRS MUSIC
When I first started getting into it, it was a visual thing. You hear banjos and fiddles, and you get a scene painted in your head. You picture mountains and trees, and people in overalls, and blues guitar; it’s deep south and it’s hot and it’s humid, like the streets of New Orleans or the streets of Memphis. I really romanticise that; the place plays a big part; you get wrapped up in the culture and the history of it, and think of what it was like back then, and how people lived their lives.’ And that seems to sum up some of the magic of a Willie Watson show. His songs are a window in time back to a place most of us have only seen represented in movies such as Down by Law or in literature such as To Kill a Mockingbird. This is early 1900s, poor working-class music. So it’s funny. Poor people are always funny. And sometimes it’s dark. Like the murder ballads of Nick Cave but 100 years before he wrote his. Like Kitty Puss with the refrain ‘I never met a pretty girl I didn’t want to kill’. Alongside Watson, the banjo is one of the stars of the show. Although Watson considers himself ‘a guitarist first and then a banjo player’. But he understands the draw of the humble banjo. ‘I think it’s a big draw for people and to see the banjo played in a way that is artistic and not some redneck smoking a corn pipe going yee-hah!’
‘I think that is part of the intrigue for people these days,’ says Watson.
This is not redneck country-bumpkin stuff. As Watson says, ‘It’s never been about a hoedown. It gets on my nerves because, at the heart of it, it’s all rooted in black music. The banjo comes from Africa. You mix the European fiddle with the banjo and basically you have country music!’
‘Somebody who makes electronic dance music isn’t going to be drawn to old folk music in the same way I am.
WILLIE WATSON (US) + Special Guests MY BUBBA Friday March 17, Mullum Civic Hall Tix & Info: www.redsquaremusic.com.au
So what is this love of old-time music? It seems a particular curiosity in the face of contemporary storytelling forms such as hip-hop.
...P30 | CULTURE...P33 | CINEMA...P35 c i s u M e Liv Quirky husband-and-wife combo Victoriana Gaye – Vicki Gaye Philipp and Jeff Raglus (Bachelors from Prague / Mambo artist) – have packed a lot into the seven years since they formed. Recording four albums – the latest The Freest of the Free – is being launched at Club Mullum on Thursday 23 March from 7pm. Come and celebrate with this dynamic Melbourne duo as they launch the new album, which was recorded in Goonengerry with Christian Pyle and features Mullum’s own Dave Sanders on drums with Thierry Fossemale on bass who will be performing in the band on the night.
DUBARRAY FOR SPIRIT One of Australia’s hardest travelling outfits, electro-world music fusion band Dubarray have expanded their current tour of Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia to include something a little different in the form of live yoga session performances. Normally known for their highenergy festival appearances, Dubarray’s album Sound of Prana is an ambient downtime journey uniquely crafted towards the sounds and elements aligning with the seven chakras. Amber Sun, for which the band have released the de-stress video of the year, relates in particular to the solar plexus chakra. To bring Sound of Prana into a relevant performance space, Dubarray
VICTORIANA GAYE ALBUM LAUNCH THURSDAY 23 MARCH AT CLUB MULLUM AT MULLUMBIMBY EX-SERVICES have collaborated with yoga instructors to deliver a live-music yoga experience at venues, retreats and some of Australia’s most renowned music festivals, and now have gone to new heights in composing a sonic journey intended to awaken the dormant consciousness and create a soul-nourishing path of connected vibration. Inspired by the humility, balance and elements of nature, the soundscapes invoke a deep sense of connection and unity, infused with affirmations and insightful lyricism. Incorporating the live-music yoga sessions has proven to be a real feature of Dubarray’s versatility and will continue to complement their boundary-bending world music style. Catch them in Mullumbimby at Byron Spirit Festival on 1 April.
DIAMOND BOWLO Neil Diamond – The Man, The Music tells the story of the man himself, from humble beginnings as the son of a shopkeeper through to being a genuine global superstar. The show features numerous
interviews and behind-thescenes stories of how some of Neil’s most-loved songs actually came to be – all presented in Craig Stewart’s distinctly intimate style. Featuring approximately 30 of Neil’s most-loved hits – from Cracklin’ Rosie, I Am I Said and Sweet Caroline through to a special Hot August Night tribute – audience members are left in no doubt as to why Craig Stewart is regarded as a master craftsman. With more than 2,000 shows to his credit, he was described in a national music magazine as ‘one of the most listenable singers to emerge this century’. He has performed as a feature artist at numerous festivals throughout the country, been a two-time Toyota Starmaker grand finalist, released four original albums, is endorsed by Australia’s premier acousticguitar manufacturer Maton Guitars, and has been either a finalist or winner of multiple awards. The culmination of this experience is Neil Diamond – The Man, The Music. Neil Diamond tribute show at the Bangalow Bowlo Sat 25 March 7.30pm.
DUBARRAY PREMIERE AMBER SUN AT SPIRIT FESTIVAL IN MULLUMBIMBY ON 1 APRIL.
coming soon 24 MAR LOS LAWS THU 16 TAMAM SHUD, 25 MAR THE WINDY HILLS, BLISTER RUMINATERS FRI 17 DUSTY BOOTS, 30 MAR THE VANNS VANDERAA, ADAM HARPAZ SUNDAY 19 MARCH 31 MAR URTHBOY SAT 18 TROPICAL ZOMBIE, 1 APR GUY SEBASTIAN THE LIVING END, SEA LEGS, SEASIDE 7 APR SAN MEI THE BENNIES, MON 20 MATT ROGERS GOOD BOY 13 APR GOONS OF DOOM TUE 21 MARSHALL OKELL HOTEL GREAT NORTHERN • thenorthern.com.au • 6685 6454 WED 22 NICK & EWAN 30 March 15, 2017 The Byron Shire Echo
Byron Shire Echo archives: www.echo.net.au/byron-echo