Neil's New Album released

“Life On The Trapeze” 

So, here’s my third album of songs, 16 in all recorded between 2010 and 2012, and covering a fairly wide spread of genres, including jazz/blues, country rock, latin rock, acoustic rock and some odd little snippets of my life in non-genre-specific musical packages. 

I had always planned that I’d be in a position to do a “CD release” gig of some sort to celebrate the release of this one, but that hasn’t been possible. Maybe next album ☺ 

Once again, although I’ve played most instruments myself, there is a collection of 11 other players/singers who have helped me out. It’s a worldwide collaboration on some songs, with players and singers from Australia, the US and Norway. 

It’s the first of my albums where I’ve had members of the Pambula Beach Garage Band collective involved – on “Big Car – No Shoes”. I’m hoping to get more songs done with them for my next album. 

Included on the album is the song “(You Got Me) Spinnin’” which won me the “Artist Of The Year 2011” on the MSI international music website http://msi.icweekly.net/ 

Putting a collection of songs together is a fascinating process. To start, you need some songs worth spending time on, then you need to make the time! This has taken me over a year in preparation. All songs have been re-mixed and re-mastered so the quality is absolutely as good as I can get it. There are a couple of songs which haven’t been heard before, and quite a few that have – they are all originals, and all vastly better mixed than any previous versions. 

I’d really appreciate it if you had a listen to the tracks at http://jiguma.bandcamp.com/album/life-on-the-trapeze 

If you feel that you'd like to do a review of the album, I'd greatly appreciate it. You can buy individual tracks for $1 each or the whole album (download in a choice of digital formats, and including a .pdf lyrics booklet, a “make your own CD kit” and a video of “Safe Hands”) for $10. I’ll also have a limited number of “real” CDs (that you can play in your CD player) for $20 each plus postage (which includes the downloadable album and the other goodies that come with it). I’m also hoping to have it available on iTunes, but that may take a little while. If you’re short of $$, you can just listen. 

Almost forgot, you can also buy some spiffy “Life On The Trapeze” t-shirts @ $15 each from the BandCamp page already listed. 

Hope you have a Happy Christmas break and that 2013 is good to you, Neil

Real support for local music!

Bill Brown just sent this email out, and I'm sure he won't object to us reproducing it in full here:

"Hi All

ABC South East Music is all about promoting live music in the region – the musicians, festivals, and venues -  and as this is all about connecting you with our audience I thought I’d pass on some really good results that have developed over the last few months.

ABC Awards

Last month ABC South East Music was runner-up in the ABC’s national local radio awards in the Best Use of Online Media category – losing out to ABC Sydney. We were the only regional finalist in the category – so we did OK for the bush!

That’s s all fine, it’s an ultra high profile event attended by the NSW Governor, Premier, Opposition Leader, and Fed and State ministers, etc;  and the food and champagne was great – but the meaningful part was the opportunity of getting the attention within the ABC from the Managing Director, all the various network chiefs, and so on, with the message that out here in the bush there is a terrific community of musicians doing great things.

From the ABC point of view it has been highlighted as a significant example of the ABC supporting the arts in a regional area.

This is a big win for all of you – the feedback is all about the breadth and quality of your performances that comprise the content of ABC South East Music; and all about how in this remote part of Australia there is such an interesting music scene.

National ABC Local Music Online

We have demonstrated what ABC Local can do in supporting the arts in the regions and that we can create music productions that attract a national and international online audience – so this creates new thinking and new opportunities.

The latest development has been the establishment of a national ABC Online site: ABC Local Music – where one of the content streams is “Live to tape”, films and recordings from around Australia.

Have a look and you’ll see how well represented is South East NSW in the site’s national context.  Currently the site’s home page features videos of Garry Carson Jones and the PBGB at Pambula; Lucie Thorne and Kate Burke at Candelo;  Captain Matchbox at Tathra; Kade Brown Trio at Candelo; Six Feet Under at Tathra; (and no, I don’t select any of these – its done by the site’s producer)

This kind of media ‘traction’  means that between you all and us we are expanding our presence nationally, and expanding the audience for the performance videos that we make.

Four Winds Festival

Earlier this month ABC South East Music and ABC Classic FM partnered to dual broadcast recordings of the festival on Classic FM, while publishing a multi-camera coverage of the Festival on a dedicated ABC Four Winds Festival web site.

It took three years and multiple funding submissions to secure the budget to do this, and the outcome has been highly successful.

It is also another model for the ABC of the way things can be done in the bush – producing high value content suitable for online, radio and TV. Its the first time anything like that has been done – ABC Local Online partnering with a national radio network to film and record a regional festival.

Again, new things create new opportunities – so lets see what happens.

The future

Its just a matter of time before more clips find a way on to ABC 1 or 2 or 24 once the ABC’s TV Arts funding cuts and changes settle down.

The Four Winds Festival production has given iView a serious nudge; and we keep pushing for a regional music stream;  so we’ll keep knocking.

Work together and put it out there

The foundations are well established now. So its now all about continuing with new productions and building the buzz.

Please stay engaged with ABC South East Music:

-  musos: please use your web sites and Facebook to link to any clips we’ve created with you
-  festivals and venues: on your web sites and Facebook please use ABC South East Music clips of any artists your are programming
-  musos, venues, and festivals: please add your gigs to the ABC South East Music gig guide and help us promote you online and on radio"

Thanks for all the brilliant work in support of local music Bill!

PBGB Tee Shirts a WorldWide Phenomenon

PBGB T Shirts seem to be popping up with increasing frequency all over the globe.

Latest sighting has been reported from Mundaka in Spain, a wave that many regard as the best in Europe.

Due to a massive tide shift, the break at Mundaka goes completely flat on a high tide, no matter how big the swell – exactly as you see in the attached photo.

But............Mundaka does fire big time.........have a look at this Youtube clip for proof

OK,when Pete surfed it earlier this month it was not quite the size you see in the clip. Nor was there such crowd lunacy, but Pete rates it amongst his all time surfing highlights.

Would you like Tapas with that ??  Si por favor !!!

Garry's "Kumeka" video clip

We've been waiting a while now for Bill Brown's video of Garry's song "Kumeka" to appear on YouTube so we could put up a direct link, but, alas, still no sign ........................ so, here's the link to the ABC South East Music page for Kumeka.  You can watch the vid there in full quality using the ABC's viewer - just click on the pic below, or you can click on the link on the right hand side of the page.

Garry Carson Jones' ABC interview

Bill Brown's interest in The Shed has paid big dividends for PBGB.

In September 2012 Bill shot two videos of Garry, Ken and Dave playing Garry's original songs 'Whatever You Say' and 'Kumeka'.

Bill loaded up the vids of 'Whatever You Say' and 'Kumeka' as concurrent Videos of the Week on the ABC South East Website. That led to Tim Holt inviting Garry into the studio for an interview.

You can hear Tim's interview, along with a couple of tunes Garry played live in the studio, by clicking here.

And you can view the vids by clicking on the titles on the right of your screen.

Our heartfelt thanks go out to Bill and Tim, in fact all the good folk at ABC South East, for their continuing support of local music.

Free CD Download!

Did you know that you can download the PBGB Jukebox?  Just click on the Jukebox picture and then click "Free Download" to get your very own copy of the digital CD.

Bill Brown Shoots Dave Crowden, Ken Vatcher, Jem Savage and GarryCarson Jones

 
Monday September 24 saw another ‘special’ day in The Shed.

Garry, all fired up after some very successful recording days in The Shed, was keen to continue to build on the great songs we feature in ‘The Garry Carson Jones Project’ which you can explore by clicking on the ‘Garry Carson Jones Project’  icon on the right of your screen.

Ken Vatcher, and Dave Crowden, both very good mates of Garry’s, fellow members of the Stumblin’ Wilburys, and without doubt the best rhythm section between Sydney and Melbourne, were, as always, very happy to lend a hand.

So we set a date for another SuperSesh.

Now it so happened that Bill Brown, who works as a Multiplatform Producer for ABC South East Radio, and who shares our passion for promoting local musicians, had been in touch with PBGB and offered to do a video shoot if we had an interesting project coming up. Well we all agreed Garry, Ken and Dave would put on a good show, so Bill locked in.

Then we found out that Jem Savage would be visiting from Melbourne on the day in question. Things were looking GOOD.

Jem was delighted to join in the fun.

So, with maestro Neil Porter at the desk, Bill doing a strange voodoo like dance around The Shed with camera in hand, and Garry, Ken, Jem and Dave working on the spot to create grooves, arrangements and all round brilliant sounds, we were off.

The full results aren’t in quite yet. We have the audio recordings (produced by Neil) of the two songs performed on the day posted. You can listen to Kumeka by clicking HERE, and to Whatever You Say by clicking HERE.  You can view the video for Whatever You Say by clicking on the title on the right of your screen. Bill hasn’t finished the video for Kumeka yet, but it won’t be long – watch this space.

Bill had posted the Whatever You Say video on the ABC South East Radio Music website pretty smartly because that website (which Bill created and maintains) was a finalist in a competition  judged on October 4.

Bill explains .....................” Music in the South East of New South Wales has attracted national attention within the ABC. The ABC South East Music web site is a finalist in the ABC's Annual National Radio Awards to be held in Sydney on October 4.  ABC South East Music is one of  3 finalists on the Best Use of Online Media category, competing against metropolitan programs. It's a great opportunity for local musicians and festivals to be exposed to senior ABC management in Radio, Online and TV. Already the buzz is that something special is happening with music in the remote South East...We knew that!”

We had an absolutely brilliant day in The Shed.

We enthusiastically inducted Bill into the PBGB Family because despite his not actually playing an instrument he eagerly jumped into this project and has made a big contribution to the recorded output of PBGB.  Further, Bill had a blast and fitted in so well that it is almost a dead cert Bill will be back again, lurking around The Shed with his camera rolling. Apparently Bill is a guitar slinger as well, so we might try to nail him down for a recording of his work on the frets.

A very hearty welcome to the PBGB Family Bill!

The photos in the post below provide a pictorial record of the day.

Another day in The Shed

Garry discussing a shot with Bill.

Ken at the kit.

How many times did we do this guys?  Bill with Pete raiding the beer fridge.

Jem blasting away.

Neil, Jem, Garry, Ken, Dave and Pete.

The four players - Jem, Garry, Ken and Dave.

Garry Carson Jones – More Shednanigans !

We have launched a third version of Garry’s beautiful ballad ‘I Am’.

The first appearance of I Am on the PBGB Blog came from the July 2011 SuperSesh. You can hear that version, and read the story by clicking HERE.

In May 2012 Garry returned to The Shed with his buddies and fellow PBGB Family members Ken Vatcher and Dave Crowden, and recorded four songs which you can read about and hear by clicking HERE.

We all thought that latter version of I Am was so good that when PBGB Family Member Jem Savage popped into The Shed with his Soprano Sax in mid 2012, we asked Jem if he would be happy to add a couple of layers. Jem, always a good sport, stepped up to the mic. and added some truly haunting sax lines. Ken got excited and added some shakers and congas.

Neil and Ken sat around the production desk in their Producers' hats and came up with  THIS.

Now folks, we reckon this third version of I Am is an absolute cracker. We are very proud of it. 

Credits go to

Garry Carson Jones - Writer, Vocals and Guitar. Superb effort Garry !

Dave Crowden - Bass

Jem Savage - Soprano Sax

Ken Vatcher - Percussion

Peter Reid - Drums.

All the recording and super knob twiddling comes courtesy of Neil Porter. Ken gets a guernsey as Co-Producer for sitting with Neil to hammer out the delicate nuances of the final mix.

We reckon this ranks among the best products ever to emerge from The Shed. We hope you agree.

Congratulations to all involved.

Super stuff !  Long live The Shed.

South Coast Dreamtime - Pete’s still dreaming about waves !

We all know Pete lives for his music, his surfing, and his family and friends. Seems he is forever writing songs about drifting up and down the far South Coast of New South Wales in search of another beautiful wave. Pete has a number of surf buddies who share his love for the coast and those euphoric moments where sun, surf and a beautiful landscape all come together. South Coast Dreamtime goes out to those guys and everybody else who calls South Coast surf spots home. And yes, you can see from the photo that Pete does it on his knees. 

Pete wrote the song ( well the reality in The Shed is often, as it is here, that ideas flow, and in this case Gus and Neil threw plenty of great ideas into the pot ) sings it, and plays the drums. He is supported by Neil on Bass and Guitar, and Gus on Guitar. Neil did all the Production work. And Pete is delighted that Jem Savage was kind enough to chip in the skanky guitar work as well as those beautifully harmonised soprano sax lines. Thanks Jem, we are forever honoured that you add your magic to our songs from time to time.

Have a listen to South Coast Dreamtime by clicking HERE or by clicking on the title on the PBGB Juke Box.

Enjoy !

Gus Is Very Pleased He Need Not Endure The City Man Blues

We are stoked to launch another new song by Gus.

Very much in keeping with Gus’ great song writing style, City Man Blues goes straight to the heart of the life of the 9 to 5 drudgery suffered by those poor bastards caught up in the big city rat race.

It features:

Gus, as Writer, and on Lead Vocals and Guitar

Raymond on Bass and Backing Vocals. Raymond also did the Mixing / Production work.

Chris on Keyboards and Backing Vocals, and

Pete on Drums and Backing Vocals.

Most of us involved in PBGB shenanigans are lucky enough to live a lifestyle that does not include the daily donning of the suit and tie and heading off to the train station or bus stop early in the morning only to spend the better part of our weeks chained to a desk. Gus can empathise though, and lets us know just what he thinks the City Man endures.

It is very much in the Gus style – dollops of humour, a smattering of sus language, and a story line that every naughty boy can relate to.

City Man Blues brings a few firsts to the PBGB portfolio

It is the first song on which we feature Raymond Toms on bass. Indeed it is just Raymond’s second appearance on a PBGB song. Raymond is slotting into PBGB like a glove, and has attributes we really value, including being prepared to try new musical avenues. For a long time our Achille’s heel was the intermittent appearances of bass players, so we suggested Raymond might like to try his hand on the bass. Well he did, and he is doing a stellar job, as can be heard on City Man Blues. Keep it up Raymond !

It is the first song we have posted that has been produced by Raymond. Neil and Jan have been in Europe for a couple of months, and those of left behind were chuffed to be able to record and finalise an entire song in Neil’s absence. This is a good thing, in that it gives us confidence that all the wheels don’t necessarily fall of when Neil is away. It means we have more flexibility, and gives us the chance to take some of the production workload off Neil. And having two in-house producers will add some variety to our sounds. We think Raymond did a great job on the production of City Man Blues and look forward to giving him more time in the producer’s chair.

City Man Blues also brings a first in that it is the first PBGB song to feature Chris Ralfs on keyboards. Yep, Chris, normally heard on bass, wandered over to Fhrodo ( our classic Fender Rhodes piano ) during the recording of CMB and plunked down what we thought was a very passable keyboard line. So we kept it ! Well done Chris.

Lastly, the “shoop – shoop do whas” at the end of the song are our first four part harmonies! Everybody who played an instrument on the song gathered around a mic. and belted out the harmonies. Go team !!

It’s always lots of fun working on Gus’ songs, and this one was no different.

Have a listen to City Man Blues by clicking ‘here’ or by clicking on the title on the PBGB Juke Box on the left of screen. Enjoy !

Thanks Gus.

PBGB T-shirt Sighting

Neil and Jan at Klein Ödsee in Oberösterreich.  Life can be tough sometimes :)

Drums!

Just another Day in The Shed. This is what happens when everyone who shows up on the day is a drummer :)

Raymond at his kit.

Launch Of The Garry Carson Jones Project

Avid followers of the PBGB Blog have probably been wondering what came as a result of the ‘HUUUGE Shed Day’ reported in our blog post dated April 18.

Well read on..........

Garry recorded four original songs on the day.

You can read about the songs, and hear them by clicking on “The Garry Carson Jones Project” on the right hand side of this page.

Brilliant work Garry – you have grabbed the concept of The Shed with both hands and come up with a great result.

Big thanks also to Ken Vatcher, Dave Crowden, and Neil Porter ( who did all the recording and production work).

Bravo boys!!

Andy O’Donnell spotted in the PBGB Shed !

 Whatever he was up to, it looks like fun !

More International Exposure for Neil

Neil featured as "Guest Expert" on MSI's regular weekly show this morning (5:00 start!).  Scrubbed up OK for  a PB boy ;)

GARRY CARSON JONES PULLS OUT THE PEAVEY, AND LETS ONE RIP!

We posted a version of Pete’s “Got A Dance Song” on April 26.

Pete thought it was great, but Garry thought he could do a better job of the guitar work if he used his ‘Black Beast’ (with Humbuckers you understand).

So he popped around to The Shed yesterday and startled the neighbours with this.

Thanks for upping the ante Garry – what with your harp and guitar work this song really pumps !!

The line-up is Pete on Vocals and Drums, Garry on Guitar and Harp,  Kevin 
Breeze on Bass, Neil on handclaps, crowd noises and production.

RAYMOND TOMS – WELCOME TO THE PBGB FAMILY !

After our performance at the  2010 New Years Eve Community Concert at Ford Park, Merimbula, we were approached by a chap who introduced himself as Raymond Toms, video clip producer. Raymond had seen our set and wanted to know whether we might like to have him make a video for us.

Well we ummed and aahed for a while and sort of lost touch.

But in early 2012 Raymond got back in touch, apologised for taking so long, and asked if he might come over to The Shed one day to see what goes down.

He came, and we learned that Raymond dabbles with a few instruments, including drums and flute.

Well Raymond liked what he saw in The Shed, and started turning up fairly regularly.

We explained that we tend to focus on original material, that taking on new musical challenges is a staple of shed life, and encouraged Raymond to write a song.

Raymond is nothing if not enthusiastic, and it wasn’t long before he presented us with the bones of his first original, which he had titled “Shy and Retiring”.

Raymond had worked out a couple of bars on the flute, and developed it into a melody of sorts. Neil and Gus  worked out some chords for the verse, and we started to knock it into shape and get comfortable playing it. Neil and Gus came up with the contra-feel chorus chords and the chorus/verse transition that helps make it a little different. Raymond then developed the lyrics.

In early May 2012 Chris Ralfs joined us for a Sesh and we decided we’d give Shy and Retiring  a run with the recorder on.

Well we were pleasantly surprised with the result, which you can hear by clicking on Shy and Retiring on the Juke Box. 

What you hear is a live take of the song, with Raymond on vocals ( his first recording as a vocalist ) and flute, Neil on acoustic guitar, Gus on slide, Chris on bass and Pete on congas and bongos. It is the first full recording of the song. It is a bit ragged, but we think it works.

Hope you do too !

By hoicking a song onto the PBGB Juke Box, Raymond becomes a fully fledged member of the PBGB Family. We are all very pleased about that because Raymond has become one of The Shed regulars and he is keen and open to new musical endeavours – just what we like !

Read more about Raymond’s background and endeavours by clicking on his name on ‘The Musicians’ page at the top of this page, and you can also read a bit of background on Shy and Retiring by clicking on the title in ‘The Songs’ page. 

So Raymond, welcome to the PBGB Family sir !!  Great to have you on board..

We’ve Got A Dance Song

Click on ‘Got A Dance Song’ in the PBGB Juke Box to have a listen to our latest posting.

We were talking some time back about the sort of material we have at our disposal, and there seemed to be a consensus that we were a bit light on straight up dance songs.

So Pete set about writing one.

Based on a Rockabilly drum feel, the song means to represent what goes on in hundreds of Aussie pubs late on a Saturday night when the band is blazing, the punters have had a drink or ten, and the end of the final set is nigh. In other words, classic booze fuelled Aussie Pub Rock !

Pretty straight forward really.

Pete sings and plays drums

Garry Carson Jones plays the manic guitar and the harp

Kevin Breeze plays the pumping bass.

Neil did all the recording and production work.

Garry Carson Jones - HUUUUUGE Shed Day

Garry booked a day of recording in The Shed and enlisted fellow PBGB Family Members Dave Crowden (on bass)  and Ken Vatcher (on drums) as support.

Here's Pete's summary of how it went:

"Brilliant!

Thank you everybody, a great day.

Garry, for grasping the concept and potential of The Shed, and recording some great songs with fellow PBGB Family Members.  

Dave, thanks for being a great sport.  You know what I like about your bass playing Dave?  EVERYTHING!!!!!

Neil, great work on the desk.  Thanks for being in it and making it so easy (for the rest of us).  I was very pleased to hear you say you had learned some stuff this arvo.  As always I deeply appreciate your contributions to PBGB Neil.

Ken – what can I say?  You have introduced us to some of the very best musos around these here parts, and they are all fantastic people. We are very pleased they have become friends of PBGB."


Addendum: Pete played drums on one song, and his enthusiasm and openness (as usual) went a long way to making the day a great success.  Great selection in the beer fridge Pete!

Watch this space for postings of the four songs - coming soon.

Garry in hard rock mode 

Ken at the "Big Gretsch Kit"!

Solid as a rock - Dave on Precision.

Possibly the smallest recording rig in town, but big sounds!  Neil at the desk

   

World Music by Fran Dagostino

Fran Dagostino is a Boston (US) based blues guitarist who has recently released a new CD "World Music" featuring songs which he's recorded with people from all over the world ..... including Pambula Beach! 

Two of Neil's songs made the cut on Fran's CD - "Wrong Way Home" and "Blown Away".

"World  Music" can be purchased HERE.

Cathy back in the Shed

History was made yesterday in The Shed - our first sesh (ever) without Pete present.  Despite the lack of someone organised and on-task, PBGBers present enjoyed a "different" Shed day.  To make up for Pete being away in Melbourne, Melbourne girl Cathy Middleton (no not THAT Cathy Middleton) dropped into the Shed for a play.  Along with Chris and Raymond and Neil, and some serious keyboard technology, some very pleasing sounds were made.

Above: Cathy trying out Chris' fretless Warwick.



Left: Raymond on Pete's kit while Chris starts to think "maybe I should read the manual for this!".

ANOTHER PBGB TEE SHIRT SIGHTING

Seems PBGB Tee Shirts are popping up everywhere these days

Here’s a shot sent in of a bedraggled character sitting on what looks like the surf lookout tower at Canggu, a well known surf spot in Bali.

Jem’s all Teed Up!

As a result of his great playing (Soprano Sax and Fender Rhodes) on Big Car No Shoes, Jem Savage earned himself a place in the PBGB Family, and with that comes a PBGB Tee Shirt.  Can’t beat that !

Anyway, Jem sent us a shot of himself resplendent in his new best Tee Shirt.

Handsome devil isn’t he ??

Kevin's first PBGB post

There's a new song on the JukeBox - "Happy Go Lucky".

Based on a long bass riff by Kevin, augmented by electric guitar by Lyndon and acoustic guitars, drums and percussion by Neil, this is the first PBGB song not recorded in The Shed.  All done on our home set-ups.

It's gentle, rhthmic and instrumental - totally different to what PBGB normally does, but variety is the spice of life after all.

Enjoy!