MICK AND LOUISE NADIN FEATURE ON “MAKES ME WONDER WHY”

We have had the pleasure of the company of Merimbula locals Louise and Mick Nadin in The Shed over the past few weeks. 

Mick likes to saunter up to the microphone and sing a song every now and then, and also likes to blow his harp. 

Louise very much enjoys playing her guitar and getting into the swing of things. 

Well, Louise and Mick started to drop in on the odd Sesh, and within a couple of weeks they were well and truly grooving along. 

Wasn’t long at all before they began featuring on the songs we were fooling about with. Next thing, Mick comes along with a set of lyrics he had put together to the tune of the old Stones’ song ‘Spider and the Fly’. 

Well we played around with it a bit, got into the groove, and turned on the recorder. We were pretty pleased with the result, so we beefed it up a bit, then stirred in a bit of grunge at the desk - it's for all intents and purposes a slightly tarted up single take live recording. Neil did a bit of his voodoo on the mixer, and THIS is what popped out. 

This version features Mick on Vocals and Harp, and Louise on Guitar. Rob Smallwood plays the Lead Guitar lines, Neil Porter plays Bass, and Pete bangs the Drums. Neil twiddled the knobs. 

So, with a reverential tip of the hat to Mick and Keef, PBGB has a new number to add to our canon. And we have two new PBGB Family members. 

A very warm welcome to Louise and Mick !!! We thoroughly enjoy your company and look forward to many more happy afternoons in The Shed with you.

ROB SMALLWOOD SERVES UP A TASTY DISH OF ‘HALF LING BLUES’

Had a Sesh recently at which Neil, Pete and Rob found themselves messing about as a trio. 

Rob, Neil and Pete with Jenny Halper at the Cheeky Mango.

We had been fooling around with an instrumental thing Rob had been cooking up, checking out how well we might be able to present it as a three piece. 

We had jammed on it a few times and were considering whether we should add lyrics, add other instruments, add a little gumbo one way or another. 

But then we decided, well, hell, we could have a shot at making it sound as good as we could with just the three of us. We could add lyrics, vocals, keyboards, flugelhorns, bagpipes on another yet to be constructed version, but hey...............click HERE to check out how it sounds right now. 

We did the whole thing in one afternoon................played it through a couple of times, then sat around the desk and with Neil manning the controls we all threw our two bob’s worth into the mix. 

So yea, half baked, devoid of any added condiments, laid down on ya plate.............come and get it ! Rob played guitar. Neil played bass Pete played the drums. 

Half Ling !

DAVE HANNAGAN AND ANDY O’DONNELL – ST. JAMES INFIRMARY BLUES

A tough day at the office

A while back Andy and Dave dropped by The Shed, sat down with their acoustics, and played a couple of tunes. 

It is a rare pleasure to hear Dave sing. 

When he and Andy launched into St. James Infirmary, we thought “this is going to be good”. And it was. 

Have a listen – click HERE

Dave and Andy have each been contributing to Shed goings-on for a while now. We are humbled.. St. James Infirmary is the third song we have posted featuring Dave, who is considered by many local musicians as friend, mentor, and source of musical knowledge. 

Click HERE to find your way to Dave’s other two PBGB Shed recordings thus far. 

Dave has been a guiding light for Andy ever since Andy was a little tacker, so it is a rare treat to sit and watch these two make music together. 

Thanks Andy.......thumbs up sir!

Andy is one of the Bega Valley’s most popular musos. He plays here, he plays there, he plays most everywhere. Stare at a stage around here for long enough and Andy is sure to appear! You can read more about Andy’s musical exploits by clicking HERE. St. James Infirmary is Andy’s second PBGB posting. Click on the tune Always A Way in the PBGB Juke Box on the left of your screen to hear what happened when we were fortunate enough to have Andy sing and musically direct the PBGB original tune ‘Always A Way’. 

And by the way, you can catch a glimpse of Andy shaking his arm off on the video of Big Car No Shoes which appears immediately below this post. The vid was shot at Andy and Lyn’s fabulous Cheeky Mango Cafe. 

So it is always a great pleasure to have these guys turn up at The Shed, and we look forward to more visits..............any time boys !! 

St. James Infirmary is a true blues classic. No-one knows for sure who wrote it, so it is often credited as ‘traditional’. What we do know is that it was a very popular song with jazz bands back in the 1920’s. Versions were released by such luminaries as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway. More recently it has been covered my artists including Lou Rawls, Van Morrison, Rickie Lee Jones, and The White Stripes. 

Great versions they may be, but around these here parts we know many a local will be blown away by Dave and Andy’s interpretation. Enjoy !!

"BIG CAR NO - SHOES" VIDEO FROM THE CHEEKY MANGO

Thanks to Grant Webster for this video:
Post by Grant Webster.

HAPPY OZ DAY AT THE CHEEKY MANGO

We are very happy to have been invited to play a small part in the musical festivities at the Cheeky Mango Café's Australia Day party.  Music starts at 3:00.  See you there.

Update: due to likely weather issues, the event has been moved indoors - should be a big crowd .............. in a very small venue ................. and with a B3 Hammond  :)  Bookings recommended!

And a good time was had by all :)

Pete and Chris settling the groove.

John and Rob

Neil and Jen

John and the mighty B3!

BIG BAD HANDSOME MAN - VIDEO FROM NETHERCOTE MUSIC FACTORY

Jen Halper makes this Imelda May song her own - with a nice solo from Rob Smallwood.

Post by Grant Webster.

CAT FACED GIRL VIDEO FROM NETHERCOTE MUSIC FACTORY.

Here's the first video from Saturday evening at Nethercote Music Factory.
A good night was had by all, and great to do at least a short live gig with such a capable bunch of players - Jen did a great job of vocals.
Thanks to Grant Webster for the video.
Post by Grant Webster.

NETHERCOTE MUSIC FACTORY - BLACKBOARD NIGHT

Here's a heads up for a little incognito PBGB crew appearance at the Nethercote Music Factory blackboard night tomorrow night (Saturday 17th January).  John, Chris, Rob, Jen, Pete and Neil will be trying out a few songs - look for "Big Car - No Shoes" on the board ;)

We'll be the ones in dark glasses - should be on around 8:30.

NEIL'S NEW ALBUM "INTO THE BLUE" NOW RELEASED

Finally!

Neil's fourth album of original songs is ready to be released into the wild.

You can listen to the tracks and/or buy the digital version of Into The Blue here.  The CD version will be available shortly - printer problems have put that on hold for the next week or so.  Watch this space!

"My 4th collection of original songs. A fuller, rounder sound than my previous 3 albums, with new songs, and a couple of re-mastered earlier songs (lifted significantly compared to their original versions).  

I'm pleased to have a number of international collaborators on this one - Fran Dagostino from Boston, Massechusetts on guitar, John Libby from Boston on keyboards, Anne Cozean from North Fork, California on backing vocals and Mike Watkins from Virginia on drums - some familiar names there if you have the "Neil Porter Collection" :) I'm also very happy that I have a "live from The PBGB Shed" song here, featuring Chris Ralfs on fretless bass and Peter Reid on drums. Finally, Jan Porter joined me on backing vocals on "Money To Burn" - very glad that Jan was ready to join in again. You'll find reggae, some interesting time signatures, RnB and acoustic rock here - plus something a little harder :) 

The last song, "Eggshell Walk", is dedicated to the late, great Fran Dagostino from Boston, USA who plays all the astonishing guitars. Although I never physically met Fran, we Skyped a couple of times and he was good enough to play lead guitar on a few of my tunes for me. From all reports, Fran was a seriously good guy. He is very much missed, even here on the other side of the planet.  

Have a great 2015!"

Neil

JUST TAKE ‘ONE STEP’ AT A TIME

‘One Step’ started out when Pete put forward a set of lyrics, some ideas about drum patterns, and a desire to see what might happen if we pushed the ‘heavy’ button. 

Pete invited John to contribute some melody and riffage. 

Neil then conjured up a killer bass line and added the guitar parts 

With that all done and dusted Pete stepped up to the microphone, and.............there you have our latest offering ‘One Step’. 

This may well be the heaviest PBGB song to date. It all came together as a sort of sideline project while things were otherwise a bit quiet. Can’t have that! 

You can listen by clicking right HERE or by clicking on the title in the PBGB Juke Box. 

Pete played the Drums and sang the thing. 

John Drews conjured up and played the Keyboard parts 

Neil played the Guitar and Bass as well as doing all the production stuff. 

Enjoy !