ABOUT PBGB


PBGB was ‘born’ in 2005. Pete and Penny bought a block at Pambula Beach NSW. On the otherwise empty block stood a brick double garage now known as ‘The Shed’. 

Before long, Pete invited his cousin David Noye ( bass ) and local chemist Warren Seeto ( guitar ) over to fiddle with a few blues grooves while attacking the well stacked beer fridge.   Bill Cairncross joined in on keyboards and vocals. Some decent sounds started to emerge. We started recording on an ancient Tascam 4 track tape recorder. Lo fidelity! 


We always welcome visitors to ‘The Shed’. Early visitors included Kevin Abbey (Bass, Guitar, Harp, Vocals), Colin Enright (Bass, Guitar, Vocals), and Tinsley Waterhouse (Vocals, Harp), and Max Murray and Matt Gallagher, both on guitars. 


In 2008 we switched to digital recording. We purchased a PC and a Presonus Firestudio Project audio interface, which came with Cubase software. You call that (the Tascam) a challenge??  THIS (the Presonus and Cubase) was a challenge!! 


Luckily Neil Porter wandered into The Shed.  Neil was uber valuable in helping us get a handle on the new set up. Neil also sings and plays bass and guitar,so is an absolutely invaluable contributor.  


Gus Washbourne (Guitar and Vocals) and Peter Brunt (Bass and Vocals) joined us in 2008.


In 2009 we recorded our first female PBGB Family Member, Heather McLeod on vocals, and solo contributions by Jack Biilmann on lap steel guitar, and Tristan McCall on guitar.  


We were steadily building our ouvre of original songs.  


In 2009 we recruited John  Hawkes, who played bass, guitar, and sang. 2009 also saw PBGB's first live performance.  


In 2010 Neil convinced us to record directly to a Mac loaded with Logic software. 2010 also saw us take a decision to play and record only original material. Chris Ralfs joined us on bass.  


Ken and Susie Vatcher moved to Pambula Beach in late 2010. Ken loves the concept of The Shed. He is a brilliant full time pro. drummer and has been a massive boon to PBGB. Welcome to the Family PBGB Ken!! 


In November 2010 we bought a pa for The Shed, which is now wired for hi quality recordings 


In February 2011 we had our first visit from Mark Bolsius - a great keyboard player, and super nice guy.

  

In April 2011 Lyndon Lewis popped into The Shed for the first of a good few visits.    

In early July 2011, The Shed was blessed by a visit by four of the best musos on the NSW far South Coast. Thanks to the respect Ken commands in the local musical fraternity, Andy O’Donnell, Dave Crowden and Garry Carson Jones dropped by for a jam. It was a great party which really lifted the PBGB bar. 


We posted one song from the SuperSesh – listen to Garry singing his beautiful original composition ‘I Am’ in the Garry Carson Jones Project on the right of your screen.  


In mid 2011 Kevin Breeze started coming along. Kevin plays really solid bass, and fits into The Shed very nicely indeed. 


In September 2011 we hosted another PBGB SuperSesh. This time, as well as return visits by Ken Vatcher, Mark Bolsius and Garry Carson Jones, we had the honour of the company of Pol O'Shea, Dave Hannagan and Jenny Halper. Read the post dated October 1, 2011 on the Latest News page of this Blog for a run down on the afternoon. Pol, who is a great producer, did the fine productions of 'Blues My Naughtie Sweety Gives To Me', 'Built For Comfort', and 'Stormy Monday' all of which you can listen to on this website. Can't thank you enough Pol.  Just brilliant!! 


In January 2012, Jem Savage, made the first of a number of visits to The Shed. Jem is a great multi-instrumentalist and we are delighted to welcome him to the PBGB Family. 


In May 2012 Garry Carson Jones recorded four of his original songs in The Shed, accompanied by Ken Vatcher on drums, and Dave Crowden on bass. The nature of these recordings prompted us to launch a new PBGB Blog concept – the “PBGB Special Project Files”. Click on ‘The Garry Carson Jones Project’ on the right hand side of your screen to view the first such project and hear Garry’s songs. 


In September 2012, Garry returned with Ken, Dave, and Jem. Bill Brown, who was then the Multiplatform Producer for ABC South East Radio was on hand to shoot videos of the two songs recorded on the day.  Bill, who shares the PBGB passion for promoting local musicians has, by virtue of his contributions to our collected recordings and videos, been warmly welcomed into the PBGB Family. Click on 'The Videos' tab on the top of your screen to view Bill's vids. 


Over the 2012 Christmas period we welcomed Rosario De Marco to the PBGB Family. Rosario is a very talented songwriter/guitarist who had stumbled across the PBGB Blog site and got in touch. Within days he had recorded his first PBGB offering. See Rosario's Muso's Page on this website for a full run down on Rosario and to hear some of his songs.
 

In January 2013 Mark Bolsius introduced us to Mandy Siegel, a seasoned songwriter / vocalist / guitarist. Mandy stepped into The Shed for an afternoon of jamming and we captured her on two jazz standards,  'At Last', and 'God Bless The Child', both of which you can hear on this Blog.    
 

July 2013 set another benchmark for The Shed. We were blessed by a visit from Stacey Mills and Steve Clark. Stacey, backed by Steve, Ken Vatcher and Mark Bolsius recorded some songs which are surely as good as it gets for sassy jazz neo standards. Click on The Stacey Mills Project on right of screen to listen to Stacey's Shed recordings. A very warm welcome to the PBGB Family Steve and Stacey. 


In August 2013, Chris Ralfs brought along his long time mate Brett Ralph. It was immediately apparent to us that Brett is a brilliant songwriter and performer. And an utterly likeable true blue bloke to boot. We recorded a few of Brett's songs.  Click on The Brett Ralph Project on the right of your screen to listen to some early examples, and to learn more about Brett.  Welcome aboard Brett!!
 

Then, in September 2013, we heard Matt Burrows playing at The Cheeky Mango and invited him to come to The Shed to record a couple of songs. Matt, a member of Guitarama, came along and, with stellar support by Dave Crowden and Ken Vatcher, laid down two of his original compositions, Isolation and Ritual, both of which you can listen to right here on the PBGB Blog. Thanks Matt !
 

October 2013 saw a welcome return to The Shed by long time PBGB Family Members Colin Enright and Kevin Abbey.  Also present was Bill Legge. Kevin Breeze joined in and we had a great time recording Sonny Boy Williamson's 'Don't Start Me Talking'. Welcome to the Family Bill! 


During our Summer Break 2013/14, we got a call from PBGB Family Member Max Murray. A couple of days later Max, along with his brother Miles, and mates Maceo Wood and Michael Fendel were in The Shed for an impromptu jam. Neil sat in on bass. Read more and listen to the results by clicking onto the "Zeitgenoßen Project" on the right hand side of the page!  Brilliant stuff boys! 
 

Early 2014 saw a return visit by long time PBGB Family member Colin Enright, who brought along his friend, cello player Adrian Lewis.  

In June 2014, when long time PBGB supporter Dave Crowden brought his son Sam along to record four beautiful songs as an acoustic guitar duo. Click on The Dave and Sam Project Page on the right of your screen to listen to how brilliantly they play together. Family within Family.................cool! 


In July 2014, a host of our favourite Shedders pieced together the song "Always A Way". Contributors included Andy O'Donnell on Vocals, Stacey, Patricia and Phoebe Mills on Backing Vocals, Ken Vatcher on Percussion, and Kevin Breeze on Bass.  Neil contributed the guitar and keyboard parts. Pete wrote the song and played the drums. Listen to the result on the PBGB JukeBox. 


In early October 2014, two 'new' musicians found their way to The Shed. Rob Smallwood, a guitarist, and keyboard player John Drews. John was pointed our way by long time Shed supporter and local community radio 2 SEA DJ Henry Jones. Both fit the Shed mould very well. Their first contribution to our recorded oeuvre can be heard by watching the vid of Big Bad Handsome Man posted on January 17 2015. 


In November 2014, Jenny Halper wandered back into The Shed. With Jenny out front we belted out some songs at the Nethercote Music Factory. A week later we were on the bill at our favourite venue, the Cheeky Mango. Videos of these performances can be viewed by clicking on the "Videos" tab at the top of the page. 


In 2015, Mick and Louise Nadin joined us. We knew Louise and Mick through our regular visits to the fabulous Cheeky Mango Cafe. Mick likes to sing a song and blow his harps. Louise is a keen guitarist. In they came and before long made their PBGB debut on "Makes You Wonder Why" which you can find in the PBGB Vault. Welcome to the Family guys. 


Mick and Louise introduced us to Dawson Graham who has become a very welcome regular. Check Dawson out by taking a look at his Musicians Page - click on The Musicians tab at top of screen and then click on Dawson Graham. 


October 2015 saw the very welcome return of Matt Burrows. This time around Matt recorded five new originals. You can hear Matt's beautiful compositions and read the story by clicking on 'The Matt Burrows Project' on the right hand side of your screen. A pleasure to have you back Matt!! 


October 2015 also saw the Shed debut of Steve Faggotter.  Steve plays lead guitar and has settled in very comfortably. Steve's first recording with us was on Dawson's original song 'Drag Queen' which you can listen to in the Vault, or see the vid. Check out Steve by clicking on his Musicians Page. Welcome aboard Steve!!


Over the 2015 / 16 Christmas holidays, Steve Faggoter introduced his friend Steve England to The Shed. In May 2016 we posted Steve's first recording with us, 'Gone Too Soon', a song written in memory of a great friend of Steve's, a Pambula / Eden area GP named Graeme Nelson. Welcome to the PBGB Family Steve. 


In May 2016, we hostied a visit by Vietnamese guitarist / vocalist Tam Huu Nguyen. Tam, a friend of Clare Biilmann was on a visit to Australia and Clare just knew he would dig The Shed. Dig it he did, and we had a great afternoon. We recorded two of Tam's songs. Check them out in The Vault.   


In April 2016, Tony Green got in touch, and asked if he might come check us out. He did, and he liked what he saw and heard. We liked Tony too. Indeed he is now a welcome regular Shedder. Tony plays bass and guitar and is happy to have a sing. Handy guy !  Tony's PBGB debut came about through his playing bass on Mick Nadin's 'Destiny'.   Welcome aboard Tony !!


Mid 2016, we got an email from a fellow named Graham Brown. Graham, a percussionist, had come across our website and was keen to check us out. Well he did drop in, and he fitted in just fine. Been a regular ever since in fact. Graham cottoned on to The Shed routine pretty smartly and before long arrived with his first attempt at a song. He had heard Gus call out "Forgot My Words" while Gus was leading us through one of his old tunes. Graham thought that might be the makings of a set of lyrics, so he set about it. We had been messing about with the old Bo Diddley feel for a while, and that seemed to fit Graham's lyrics pretty well. Before long we managed to fit the lyrics to the feel, and away we went ! So welcome to The Shed Graham, and thanks for the song. You can listen to Graham's debut "Forgot My Words" by clicking HERE 


Around about August 2016, Kerry Hynes popped into The Shed. We sort of knew Kerry Hynes as part of the regular crowd who used to hang out at shows by The Figmentz at the fabled Cheeky Mango. Most of that crowd knew a bit about The Shed, and Kerry was curious enough to stick her head in see what went down. Well she sort of liked what she saw and heard and figured she could have some fun in there, add a bit of this and that. Before long she was adding backing vocals as we jammed away. And then she brought in some lyrics to a song she called Sugar. We figured we could add some sweeteners and before long Kerry had scored her first post on the PBGB website. Kerry is now a Shed regular, and of course by way of her first posting, a member of the PBGB Family. Welcome aboard Kerry !


Towards the end of 2016, The PBGB Shed was absolutely delighted to host a recording session featuring the amazing talents of Colleen Spillane and Chris Komorowski. Colleen is a Pambula local and her long term friend Chris hails from Sydney. Chris was in town to perform a series of gigs with the Dorian Mode Hammond Trio, and Colleen was the 'special guest' vocalist at those shows. We Shedders knew all about Colleen because over the years she has performed with so many PBGB Family Members, including Ken Vatcher, Steve Clark, Mandy Siegel, Stacey Mills, Andy O'Donnell, Dave Crowden, John Drews, and Mark Bolsius ( the list goes on ). Given that, it was surprising that she had not previously wandered into The Shed. But now, thankfully, she has. When Colleen told us Chris was looking forward to coming down to record a couple of tracks with her, we were super excited. Just Google Chris, read all about this very talented man and watch a video or two of him in live performance mode, and you'll see why we were agog to welcome Chris to The Shed. Listen to the songs Chris and Colleen recorded by clicking on 'The Colleen Spillane and Chris Komorowski Special Project' on the right hand side of this page. Welcome to the PBGB Family Colleen and Chris! Thank you for coming, and remember............the door is always open!


We think it was late in 2016 that Jock Logus first strolled into The Shed. We had heard of Jock, because we are followers of the Candelo Blues Club, and we'd noticed Jock's name listed amongst the performers at the Club's Sunday afternoon jams. Dawson is a regular at those jams, as is John Drews, and somehow somebody must have had a chat with Jock and suggested she pop into The Shed and check it out. Well she did, and she has been an enthusiastic and very welcome  regular ever since. As soon as Jock sidled up to a microphone and let fly it was very evident that she can sing up a storm. Jock's first contribution to the PBGB oeuvre was as back-up vocalist on Tony Graham's 'You And The Blues', which you will find in the PBGB Vault.  Welcome aboard Jock....... Can't wait for your first crack at lead vocals !!!


Cuppla great things happened in September / October 2017. One was that we finally managed to get Jock's husband Yarni into The Shed to record their stone bluesy original 'Mama Told Me So' .......our first recording with Yarni, so it's a big, overdue "Welcome to the PBGB Family Yarni !!!!" Another bonus was Manny. We got an email from a guy named Manny Aigner. Turns out Manny had moved down from Jindabyne to Pambula and was looking for some people to play songs with. That's us ! Manny heard about PBGB via the Candelo Blues Club. Contacted us, passed our rigorous security check, and is, we hope, settling in and enjoying hisself. Manny's a tasty guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, and bassist ( handy dude really ! ), so we welcomed Manny with open arms. Manny's first PBGB hit out is his guitar work on Jock and Yarni's 'Mama Told Me So'. Welcome to the PBGB Family Manny.................hope you're digging it !


In late 2017 we visited the 'Grow The Music' workshop at Jigamy Farm, just down the road from The Shed. Grow the Music is an Australia wide youth oriented program which aims to improve the health and well-being of Indigenous communities  through workshops focussed on music and performing arts. Anyway, we met a young man there named Nathan Lygon. Nathan, we have come to learn, is a Pambula born and bred Yuin man. He's a didgeridoo player, and a tireless contributor to 'good things'. So there he was, down at Jigamy,  performing traditional dances with the little kids.............brilliant !! Not  long after that,  Nathan popped into The Shed with his didge. None of us really had much experience playing didge compatible music, but we worked up a song called Mother Of Eternity which you'll find in The Vault. It was fun, and Nathan is a great guy with a heart of gold. So, Nathan, welcome to the PBGB Family.Here's looking forward to playing more music with you sir!


In April 2018, following the devastating Tathra bushfires of March 18,  Frankie J. Holden, Andy O'Donnell, Ken Vatcher, Garry Carson Jones and Mick Potter gathered in The PBGB Shed to record a bastardised version of Ross Wilson's iconic hit from the 70s,  'Eagle Rock'.  This little recording party was put together by Frank to boost a fund raising event organised by the Tathra Sea Eagles Aussie Rules footy club. Hopefully the club will love 'their new song', and it will help raise a swag of cash for the Tathra Bushfires Relief Fund. Thanks for coming guys............great fun for a worthy cause !


In late May 2018, when stories about the Tathra Bushfires were resonating through the local community, Mick and Louise Nadin introduced us to a mate of theirs, Al Noble. We learned that Al was himself a victim of the fires, and that he lost the house he was building on Vimy Ridge. He saved a studio on the block, so still has a place to live. Everything else is dust for miles. Al lost many big beams of timber he had milled from trees on the block, along with building materials, machinery tools, workshop, instruments, boats, cars, trailers and caravans full of family heirlooms all gone.   The grief caused by the fires is all around our local community.   Undaunted, Al set hisself down over at the Sapphire fm community radio studio, and armed with Lou's acoustic guitar peeled off one of his original tunes....Red Dress. Well we loved it and within a couple of weeks we had Al over at the PBGB Shed with some supporting players to record it.   Al has a swag of original songs, a gritty voice and is no slouch on the guitar. So we hope to see and hear more of Al in coming months. Have a listen to Red Dress ( it's in The Vault ) and watch this space for more Al Noble tunes. Welcome Al !!  


In August 2018 Yarnnie Drakopoulos, Stevie Knight and Kingi Wineti wandered into The Shed. They'd all visited The Shed on previous occasions, but their visits never coincided with recording. This time they were on a mission to record a demo for their new band Stretch Limousine. They pulled in, plugged in, and peeled off around eight or nine songs in no time flat.


It was a fun afternnon guys..........come on back whenever you fancy.


We posted one of the songs the boys recorded, a Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble cover called 'Hug You Squeeze You' on September 29, 2018. But we have more of their recordings up our sleeve, and will most likely be posting a few more over coming months. So....watch this space !


In October 2018 we recorded a couple of original songs by local artist Chelsy Atkins. We had seen Chelsy perform at a few local cultural events, including the fabulous 2018 Giiyong Festival, and had a connect through our good mate and fellow PBGB Family member Nathan Lygon. Chelsy is a descendant of the Yamatji Widi cultural group, whose country spreads across the  mid‑West and Gascoyne regions of Western Australia.    Chelsy, born into a musical family (check out Chelsy's dad Mark Atkins on Wiki),  has been writing songs and performing music and dance since she was thirteen.   After a life travelling around the country, Chelsy is now settled with her two girls right here in Pambula.   So we were very keen to invite Chelsy to the PBGB Shed to record some of her original songs.   


Welcome aboard Chelsy........you are a delightful and talented person. We sincerely hope that your recent recording session is just the start of a long lasting relationship with PBGB.   


In June 2019 a fella named Garry Bridges dropped into The Shed. He very quickly recorded a solo version of his song "The Way It Appears", which you can listen to by visiting The Vault. We had been looking for a keyboard player for a while, and Garry said he would give it a shot. Hopefully we'll post a song featuring Garry on keys soon. Watch this space. Welcome aboard Garry !   


In March 2020 we had a visit by an outfit called The Hops. They hopped into The Shed one afternoon and laid down six of their original compositions. We liked their songs, and have posted a couple. To listen, click on 'The Musos' tab at the top of your screen, then scroll down to and click on 'The Hops'. We enjoyed their company and their songs, so we may be fortunate enough to have them back in the not too distant future. Thanks for coming guys and gals !!  


Welcome aboard Paul Daynes!  In December 2020, Louise Nadin told us about a fellow named Paul Daynes, who she has been taking U3A music lessons with for a while. In the course of their conversations Louise told Paul about her adventures in The Shed. Paul was intrigued by our strong preference to write our own material and asked if he might come along for a look and listen. Brought his guitar with him in fact. Even plugged it in and started playing along. We were working on one of Mick's songs called International Hit Squad, and we really liked Paul's approach. To listen, click on 'The Musos' tab at the top of your screen, then scroll down to and click on 'Paul Daynes'.  You can read about Paul's pre-Shed musical exploits there also.

Paul has come along a few Seshes now. He seems to dig what goes on. Fine by us. We hope Paul hangs in. 


In early 2021, the then recently arrived Paul Daynes brought his wife Lee along to add keyboards to his song "Looking For Clues". Lee and Paul have been making music together for ages and we were happy to welcome Lee. Together, the Daynes' have become the third wife / husband team to contribute to our musical mayhem. They join Mick and Louise Nadin and Jock and Yarni Logus. It's a family affair! Welcome aboard Lee !


In June 2021 we got an email from one Matt Higgins. Seems Matt, an aspiring vocalist who frequents open mic. nights at the Tathra Pub, asked PBGB Family Member Sam Crowden if Sam could point him towards some people Matt might jam with. Sam steered Matt to the PBGB Shed. We invited Matt to come on down.


We took a shine to Matt, a budding vocalist who likes to write verse. We helped mould one of Matt's locally flavoured poems into a song titled Parbery Nail. Look it up in The Vault. 


Matt is also a keen photographer and video producer so we hope he can help us produce more PBGB videos. Welcome aboard Matt!  In fact, Matt soon produced a video for us. It is a snapshot of what goes on in the PBGB Shed. Click HERE to view.


Like everything and everybody the PBGB Shed was affected by the Covid pandemic. When it hit we had been regularly having six to eight musos in The Shed on any given day. That was not a recipe for social distancing what with people singing and hollerin'. We talked about it and in the wash down we ended up with basically a quintet of regulars, that being Mick and Louise Nadin, Graham Brown, Neil Porter and Pete. And it has pretty much stayed that way up until the time of writing - Spring of 2022. The stability of this group has resulted in the emergence of a distinct style and sound that is reflected in recent postings including 'Winds Of Fate', 'Irie Woman' and 'Mrs  Jekyll', all written and performed by that regular line up.


In March 2023 we were joined in THE SHED by one Neil Burnham. Neil is a Pambula Beach resident, live music aficionado and long standing PBGB supporter. We have always been keen to have Neil join us on a song or two, but due to muscular issues in his hands he was not really able to play to his satisfaction. Enter the marvels of modern surgery. Neil had a couple of operations, and presto!, he plays again, and is rarin' to go.  Welcome aboard the good ship PBGB Neil !






2 comments:

  1. Wow, what an amazing background intro to PGBS story. I had no idea you existed until I just heard a Brett Ralph song just now on SE ABC, So Good To See You with killer guitar backing. Hoping to interest my Melbourne mate Michael Bright who plays guitar, has worked with Tinsley Waterhouse and currently playing for some years with Chris Stockley. I'm sure he'd love your PGBS set up. Just so glad you exist!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for those comments Anonymous.

    Love to know who you are. Feel free to get in touch. You can email Pete at Coraki2@Bigpond.com

    Cheers

    ReplyDelete

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Neil