north east regional extra | September 4 - 10, 2024
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September 4- 10, 2024 ◆ OUTLAWS AND OFFBEATS: Melbourne Ska Orchestra is on tour.
Nicky and the orchestra CELEBRATING 21 years of the Melbourne Ska Orchestra, Nicky Bomba - Freeburgh resident and ringmaster of the 26-member-strong spectacle - says the collective have yet to run out of ideas for its future in keeping the Australian live music scene flourishing.
By LEAH ANDERSON-BYRNE
ple along the way that become part of your inner core team,” he said. “A strong team of people with distinct roles and then the band, and the genre of Ska, is all about connections with people and working together. “Once the team was consolidated we’ve got quite a slick operation now. “As far as members go, no one ever leaves the band; we’ve just have 40 people on the books. “The hardest thing is the logistics of transporting 20 odd people from point A to point B. “Having such a mix of musicians is pivotal in creating new music. “Ska has had a lot of different influences and permutations from the original 60s in Jamaica, 80s American, the second wave in the 90s.
“We represent international Ska, being from multi-cultural Melbourne and so many nationalities within the band, we use that as our source for creating our sound. “As far as the hybrid is concerned we’ve got a bit of funk, rock, African rhythms; there’s lots to explore and we’re getting better at that. “Finding our own voice within Ska is about being active as composers, and the most important thing to us is our live shows. “That’s out role as musicians; storytelling and connection with community is all the more vital these days and we do that well.” As far as the live performance goes, Bomba has dubbed it an ‘experience’ rather than just a show. “There’s no other band like it with that many people on stage and not static; we’re a crazy circus that happens on stage,” he said. ■ Continued page 6 .
Talking with Regional Extra, Bomba looked back on the dazzling success of the band and the non-stop passion of its talented members as they tour Australia over the next few months. “Every year this band continues and it’s quite remarkable,” he said. “It doesn’t make sense having a band this size go for this long but we’ve got such a great brains trust of musicians and songwriters that we’re constantly coming up with ideas. “It feels like the momentum is picking up with the possibilities of what we can do.
“I still feel fresh about this band and it’s not often you get 20 odd people onstage with new possibilities of instrumentation and theatrics. “For this tour we’ve added a few new things so people will see something different but we’ve kept the things that worked well, live, over the 20 years. “The live shows are what we love the most; it’s better and more succinct connection with the audience.” Managing a group of this size should come with its own challenges, but for Bomba it’s simply made for an exciting mix of imagination and skill. “The number one thing is you pick up peo-
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