INDOOR GARDEN PARTY

Russell Crowe’s Indoor Garden Party is coming to Coffs Harbour on the 12th and 13th of May, and AFTER THE SUCCESS OF HIS RECENT SHOWS IN COFFS WE KNOW THIS IS GOING TO BE BIG! WE HAD A CHAT TO RUSSELL ABOUT MUSIC, THE LOCAL ARTS INDUSTRY, AND WHAT HE LOVES about being able to perform and work in his own community.

Hi Russell. The Indoor Garden Party is coming to Coffs on the 12th and 13th of May, can you tell us how the concept for this tour came about?

It’s been too long since I played shows here in Australia. Before the recent January shows this year, the last time I did concerts in Australia was in 2014, the gap wasn’t intended, it just happened. In the interim, though I’ve done shows in London, Leeds, Dublin, Stockholm, Reykjavik, New York and other places, and I just thought it was about time to be getting back on stage at home. Music is a great love of mine and there’s nothing like a live performance.

Could you tell us about the other musicians you will be touring with?

Some of the relationships in this band, The Gentlemen Barbers, go back 30 years.

Dave Kelly (drums), Stewart Kirwan (trumpet), Stuart Hunter (keyboards), James Hazelwood (Bass), Chris Kamzelas (Guitar).

This lineup has been tinkering around for the past 4 years or so in the rehearsal room and it was just time to put it on stage. The response we got in January when we played in Coffs was fantastic. Among the support acts on tour are Myth of Her, a young band from Maroubra in Sydney. They play very thoughtful and melodic tunes and got called back for encores at the Coffs shows earlier in the year. It’s their first-ever tour.

Lorraine O’Reilly is from Cavan in Ireland, we met when we did a duet. Well, we recorded our parts in different countries, so we had actually sung together before we met.

That was a song called Hand in Hand, for a London Irish band called Bible Code Sundays on an album called Walk Like Kings, and we’ve been doing shows together ever since. Lorraine has a big raspy beautiful singing voice. out on tour again?

Janet Devlin is also performing with us. I heard of her through Ed Sheeran who loved her version of one of his songs. She’s got a magical quality on stage. A mesmerising, haunting voice and such honesty in her songs. What can we expect from this show? What’s the overall vibe, and how do each of these acts come together to perform?

I’ve been playing in bands since the late 70’s. Although my day job takes up a lot of my time, my musical roots are deep. I’ve never lost the love for live performance.

The vibe is always high at an Indoor Garden Party show. All the acts connect really well with audiences.

With The Gentlemen Barbers we sway between R&B, gospel, dirty country songs about murder, dark waltzes and powerful inspiring singalongs. It’s always a good night.

What was the motivation for getting

It’s just what I do. I’ve been playing in bands since the late 70’s. Although my day job takes up a lot of my time, my musical roots are deep. I’ve never lost the love for live performance. For a lot of film actors, they reset by doing a season of theatre. Though I did a lot of plays and stage musicals (Grease, Rocky Horror, Blood Brothers) when I was younger, my beginnings were playing in bands in pubs and clubs and touring. It’s like a touchstone for me. I’ve done a lot of things, enjoyed a lot of success, travelled many miles, but in my heart I’m the same artist as I’ve always been. For me it’s the same energy, playing with a band or playing as a Roman General. The distillation required to put a big story into a 3 minute song is as alluring to me as it’s ever been.

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You’re touring in towns and cities up and down the east coast and you’ve performed all over the world, what do you enjoy most about performing at home on the Coffs Coast?

I love the enthusiasm of home town crowds and I love seeing a crowd start to warm up and lean in to the songs and stories, and by the end of the night they are up on their feet going crazy.

Like any room I play in, there’s always going to be a huge mix of people. From those who have every record I’ve ever done, to Les Miserables tragics; people who’ve seen various gigs I’ve played over the years, and then there’s those who come because they like my films and never knew about my music at all, and get blown away by the musicianship of the band.

I love that buzz in the crowd when the show’s over and they’ve been dancing and singing and their eyes are shining with the fun of it all. That’s what it’s all about, we are there to put on a show, and blow out the cobwebs. That’s what we do.

The other big local project you’re involved in, the Pacific Bay Resort

Studios & Village, looks set to break ground next year. What are you personally most looking forward to about having facilities like this right here in Coffs Harbour?

I think the Pacific Bay Studio Project is a game changer for the Mid North Coast. We have had a lot of red tape to get through, coming up to 3 years of it now, not least of which has been trying to protect the rights of existing residents in that precinct and trying to help them get the noise abatement amenity wall that they deserve.

What are your hopes for this project and how it will affect the region?

If we can get it built I think it changes the world for young people growing up in the Mid North Coast. It expands their options and their horizons. There’s many different professions that are employed by the film industry, and typically anyone wanting to pursue those professions would have to move away from the area. Is providing local opportunities one of the big positives you see in this project?

I love the proximity to nature and the ocean, and I love how many secret “locals knowledge only” places there are.

Absolutely. It literally takes a village to make a film, it’s not just producers, directors and actors. It’s electricians, carpenters, IT, hairdressers, makeup artists, wardrobe people, camera crew, caterers, scenic painters and post production. Film crews require so many different skills and professions.

It’s going to include a number of features other than the studios, such as a post production complex and film school. How do you think this will contribute to the success of the facility?

It’s very important to the founding partners that the facility has to be flexible and be able to provide for both large and small productions, but also that it can educate and grow people of our own into the profession and the various associated businesses. At the core of the concept is a creative hive that serves the community and adjusts and expands the future for the coming generations.

What are some things you’d like to see happening in the Australian film industry in the future?

We need to continue tax relief from the government to overseas productions. The money that big productions put through the local economy is very important.

I’m also very supportive of the current government’s intentions in music and arts to set quotas of local content. That is exactly how to keep the Creative Arts thriving in this country and to keep our stories being told. I think how much richer the cultural life of my generation was compared to my parents, and that was purely due to nurturing the Arts and having Australian radio playing Australian songs.

Currently the spirit of those quotas has been entangled, and that has shrunk the opportunities for young performers. Re-establishing and adhering to the intentions of quotas in the Arts creates employment, inclusivity, helps live venues and by extension, cafes, restaurants and art galleries. It expands our cultural life and that in turn makes people more curious and adventurous. indoorgardenparty.com

What do you enjoy most about living on the Coffs Coast?

I have a very people intensive job. The time I spend here restores me and gets me ready to get out in the big wide world again. I love the proximity to nature and the ocean, and I love how many secret “locals knowledge only” places there are. Hidden waterfalls and creeks, the dawns and the sunsets, the birds and the stars at night.

Thanks Russell.

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