ARTIE WESTWOOD RETURNS TO THE PBGB FOLD WITH 'FIELDS OF HAY'

Artie, songwriter / vocalist / guitarist has been spilling his musical seeds all over the New South Wales far South Coast for over twenty years. 

Born in England, Artie migrated to Australia when he was five. His musical life kicked up big time when, at age 10,  he scored a role in Melbourne's His Majesty's Theatre production of Lionel Bart's smash hit musical 'Oliver'.

Artie moved to Wyndham, just a half hour from Pambula Beach, at age 32.

He established the local legends 'Lounge Lizards' outfit with whom he continued to perform over the years whilst also playing with  'The Chevys' rock band,  the 'Southerly Buster Band' and 'Black Velvet'.

In 2013, Artie wandered into the PBGB Shed. On that day we were recording Brett Ralph's 'How Do Thousands?'.  Artie strapped on his guitar and peeled off the lead guitar break that you can hear by clicking on Brett's Project on the right of your screen.

That was the last we heard of Artie until October 2019 when he once again appeared in The Shed and introduced us to his song 'Fields Of Hay'. We loved it, and immediately started to play along.  Artie has had Fields Of Hay in his repertoire for some years, so was able to launch into it with full confidence, with the rest of us doing our best to keep up.

As it happened, it all came together pretty smartly, and by the end of the day we had it  down. The only add ons came in the form of Brett's backing vocals which we recorded the following week.

Have a listen..............click HERE

We are very pleased, make that VERY pleased, with the result !  It's a boomer Artie !

The song has a strong Aussie vibe about it..........the lyrics, and Artie's vocals place it squarely in the realm of great Aussie songs.

So, Artie, thank you sir for bringing us your song and having us support you on this version.

Welcome back to The Shed mate................keep those songs coming sir !!

Artie tells us he is keen to spend more time in The Shed, so, watch this space for more Artieisms !!

On 'Fields Of Hay'...................

Artie Westwood (Writer) sang the lead vocal and played acoustic Guitar

Brett Ralph  played the lead ( acoustic ) Guitar and sang the backing vocals

Mick Nadin played Harp

Neil Porter played Bass and B3, and did all the production work

Pete played Drums

Great work thanks team !!!

AL NOBLE DANCES WITH THE DEAD IN HIS "WALKING DEAD WALTZ"

Followers of the PBGB Blog will have read in earlier postings that Al has had a tough time of it over the past couple of years. First off the family was dealt a severe blow by the Tathra bushfires in March 2018. As Al and the family struggled to deal with that, Al was diagnosed with cancer. Not fair !!! Al has put up a mighty fight and is over the humps and hopefully on the home stretch now, confident that he can beat it. Thumbs up Al !!

It's been a tough couple of years during which Al has had to stare down the face of mortality a couple of times.

As a dedicated songwriter, Al found these experiences to be a source of inspiration.

Of course, a song emerged.

Al explains............

"Walking Dead Waltz is a meandering, plodding thing that exists on a few levels. It started out as a small scared thought about going into the dark and the odds on coming out the other side of cancer. Somewhere in there the beauty of our world and it's other inhabitants manifested and the damage we are doing to them. The great beasts are disappearing before our eyes, even the insects are decimated possibly beyond redemption. The song is a description of how I see humanity's current state. A bleak view perhaps but not an inaccurate one"

Well we can all relate to that Al, and we think it is a beautiful song, despite the dark content matter.

You can listen to Walking Dead Waltz by clicking HERE. And of course you can hear lots of Al's songs, and in fact download his whole cd by clicking on  the Arden Street / Owl Noble project on the right side of this page.

Supporting Al, who wrote, sang and played guitar on Walking Dead Waltz are ;

Manny Aigner on guitar 

Neil Porter, who played bass and keyboards, sang backing vocals and did the production work

Garry Bridges on Fender Rhodes electric piano 

Pete on  drums

We hope you like it, and are indeed inspired to download Al's cd for a generous price ............... we all know Al and the family could surely do with the dough !!!

GRAHAM BROWN AND MICK NADIN BUDDY UP FOR 'CAN'T TAKE IT BACK'

Graham and Mick have been PBGB Shedmates for going on three and a half years now. They've played together on over twenty songs that have wriggled their way out of The PBGB Shed. Despite that, amazingly enough,  they remain good mates !

So good in fact that when Graham laid his latest song on us he generously asked Mick whether he would like to sing it. Mick was more than happy  to take it on, and so we set to work.

We hammered it out over a few weeks, agreeing  an arrangement, honing this and that, and generally getting comfortable with it.

Once we felt we had the better of it we turned on the recorder, and after Neil waved his wand over it THIS  is what came out.

Hope you like it !

The story behind the song is pure fiction........we think. Simply a lament really...............you know........glorious love gone wrong, man in deep regret at having got it all so wrong, apologising, hoping for another chance...........all that jazz. Despite the downish story, the song has a light and breezy feel about it, and we had lots of fun playing it.

Thanks Graham and Mick.

Graham Brown wrote the song and played Percussion

Mick Nadin sang it and played Harp

Steve Faggotter played the Guitar

Louise Nadin played the Bass

Pete played the Drums

Neil Porter kindly produced it.

Owl Noble releases his 10 song album

Al ("Owl") Noble has just released his 10 song album of songs "Arden Street".  Recorded with PBGB in The Shed at Pambula Beach, it includes a new song "Walking Dead Waltz".

This is special, and the story behind it's gestation is about some pretty serious bad luck, some equally serious good luck, and an incredible fighting spirit.  

I don’t want to dwell on the background too much except to say that because of Al's luck, both good and bad, it would be really helpful if you considered buying the "Arden Street" album and if you could recommend it to your friends. Give it a good listen and enjoy Allan Noble's great songs.

Al's songs are solid, and he’s supported by Shed stalwarts: Manny Aigner, Peter Reid, Michael Nadin, Ken Vatcher, John Drews, Louise Nadin, Steve Faggotter, Graham Brown and Neil-Jan Porter.

From Al:

"Dear friends,

This is an exciting thing for me. I've just completed with the help of my mates (many, many thanks) at PBGB, an album of my songs so far.  

Over the past 10 months of struggling and swinging the broadaxe at cancer, it's one of the things that's kept me sane, assuming that I am.  Although we are resourceful and the kids and family have helped, being unable to work at the moment and ineligible for any Centrelink assistance, the bills, medical expenses and life costs have been creeping up and this month I'm going under.  I'm putting this music out there as an album and hoping people will have a listen and splash $10 for 10 songs.  Bargain. 

Please check it out and if you like it, share and buy. It's going to a good cause in keeping us afloat, and it's been made with love, passion and all the good spices of life.  

After damaging my eyes in the bushires I'm calling myself Owl. Just because I can. What could possibly go wrong? ..Hoot Thwoot. Hope you enjoy. Allan"

AL NOBLE RESONATES TO THE 'VIBRATIONS OF LOVE'

Al's back !

Al never turns up to the PBGB Shed without at least one fresh song in his swag. Bet on that.

A little while back, Al was on board on a day we also happened to have the pleasure of the company of John Drews and Ken Vatcher, both of them seasoned A-team Shed players .................take a trawl through their Musos Pages to check out all the PBGB songs they have played on.

Anyway, Al pulled out a song he called Vibrations Of Love.  John settled down behind his keyboards and Ken manned the kit.  Mick stepped up with his harp, and Neil strapped on his bass.  Graham started hitting things.

Wasn't long before the thing started to take shape, and by the end of the afternoon we had it down.  THIS is what came out.

Vibrations Of Love is a haunting love song. A languid laid back lullaby that provides John some serious space to stretch out.

Al says............"This recording of Vibrations Of Love has moments of collective consciousness by the players, particularly in the refrain, which I'm very pleased with. It's a loose groove."

Well we like loose grooves Al, and had lots of fun laying this down.

We ?

Al Noble wrote Vibrations Of Love, sang it, and played acoustic guitar
John Drews played keyboards
Mick Nadin played harmonica
Graham Brown played percussion
Neil Porter played bass and electric guitar and produced the song 

Ken Vatcher played drums

JEM SAVAGE RETURNS TO THE PBGB SHED WITH 'INSENSATEZ'

A few weeks back, we had a long overdue visit by our good friend and long time Shed stalwart Jem Savage. 

Jem has made some outstanding contributions to PBGB songs over the years, but we were all surprised to realise that it has been six long years since he last recorded with us.

You can listen to the songs Jem has contributed to by visiting Jem's Musos Page...........click HERE

Jem, being the husband of Ken and Susie Vatcher's daughter Amy, is a regular visitor to Pambula Beach. Lucky us !!

Last time Jem recorded in The Shed ( 2013 ) he was close to completing his Bachelor of Music at Melbourne Polytechnic.

Now Jem is a full time professional musician, music producer and sound engineer.  

Beyond his Bachelor of Music he completed an honours year at the Victorian College of the Arts, where he was awarded the Dr Phillip Law Music Scholarship, recognising innovation in music. Jem is currently a graduate researcher, working his way towards a PhD in Contemporary Music at University of Melbourne.

Busy as that might sound, Jem is also Associate Producer with the Australian Art Orchestra (a combined tech, touring and administrative role). Jem also records and mixes music at Rolling Stock Recording Rooms Collingwood, and is Sound Supervisor for the Bendigo International Festival of Exploratory Music.

Busy enough Jem ??

Jem's achievements just go on and on!  For a complete rundown, visit Jem's website.......... www.savagemusics.com. 

Anyway, yes, a few weeks back Jem and Ken popped into The Shed for an impromptu visit. We hadn't planned anything but were very keen to capture more of Jem's musical talents, so we asked him if he might be able to sort of "produce something on the spot".

Well yes, as it turned out, Jem might be able to do that.

Just two short hours later, Jem, with Ken on percussion, had finished playing, improvising and producing his take on "Insensatez" (How Insensitive - Carlos Jobim) in honour of recently deceased "father of the bossa nova" Joao Gilberto.

Listen to what Jem produced by clicking HERE     

Watching Jem do this was just amazing. He was a one man blur !

He started by laying down a bass track, which he did by playing the line on acoustic guitar then using a pitch-shifter to double it in a lower octave.

Next he added an acoustic guitar track, then some of his signature soprano sax.

Then it was time for Ken to add a couple of percussion tracks.

About ten minutes of Logic wizardry, and voila........... 'Insensatez' ala Jem Savage !

It was amazing to watch, a master class in Bossa Nova and sound production.

Jem Savage played Guitars and Soprano Sax, and produced the song.

Ken Vatcher played Congas and Shakers

Thanks so much Jem and Ken, great to see you in action in the Shed again.

AL NOBLE HITS ANOTHER HOME RUN WITH 'HITMAN'

We have been delighted to have had, over the past fifteen months, the opportunity to work with Al Noble as we knuckle down and craft his songs into finished PBGB ensemble recordings.

His latest offering, Hitman, is the eighth song he has brought to us. You can run through all of Al's 'PBGBised' songs by clicking on Al's Musos page.

Al spent part of the 1980s in Sydney, and for a while, he drove a cab. One night while cruising the Eastern suburbs he picked up a dodgy looking fare who uttered the words "You think you know what goes on in this town ?"

Sydney was a pretty wild town in the 80s, a period in which the city was awash with hard drugs, gangland shootings, organised crime, and a police force infected by renegade cops. Think of Roger Rogerson, Warren Lanfranchi, Neddy Smith, the murder of Sallie-Anne Hucksteppe, and the memories of those lawless days come flooding back.

It is the Sydney of those days that gave Al the inspiration to write Hitman. In it, Al tells of a small time crook and hitman named  Manny, who, like many such, ended up shot dead by who knows who. And who cared ?

Like many of Al's songs Hitman sets an intriguing scene. Al's songs are often poignant reflections on times, places and people that bring to mind scenes that conjure up both the dark and light sides of life.

Thanks for giving us the opportunity to work with you on your great songs Al............we look forward to many more !

Have a listen to Hitman by clicking HERE

Al Noble wrote Hitman, sang it, and played Guitar

Manny Aigner ( not Manny the hitman in question ) played Guitar

Neil Porter played Bass, B3, and produced the song

Mick Nadin played Harp

Pete played Drums

MICK NADIN IS A COOL DUDE IN HIS 'SHINY RED VEST'

Mick and Lou love their live music. They get out there and enjoy all sorts of acts, often as part of their frequent East Coast travels to visit family and friends......... and for Mick to surf of course !

In his latest  composition,  'Shiny Red Vest',   Mick creates  a story  about scoring a job at a music festival. In this little fantasy Mick is pretty darn pleased with himself. Not only does he cop a free pass to the festival, he also scores a 'staff only' Shiny Red Vest !  

Mick fancies himself in his vest. Not only does he look dandy, the vest provides access to all areas, and free burgers. He also gets to rub shoulders with the stars. 

Picking up rubbish, stacking chairs, ........no worries...............Mick's a real cool dude in his Shiny Red Vest. Yes sirree !!

The song has a distinct retro edge to it...........echoes of early white rock stars like Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent arise from Mick's vocal style and  the lyrics conjure up an old style showground style  music festival.

Anybody remember the old Bega Day Out festivals ?  Maybe Mick was there in his Shiny Red Vest.

Anyway, we messed around with the song a bit then turned on the recorder.

THIS is what came out. Hope you festival freaks dig it. 

Good fun thanks Mick.

Mick wrote the song, sang it and played harp.

Steve Faggotter played the guitar

Louise Nadin played the bass

Graham Brown played percussion

Pete played the drums

Neil Porter did the production work        

GARRY BRIDGES JOINS THE PBGB FRAY WITH 'THE WAY IT APPEARS'

Cuppla weeks back we got a call from a fella chasing instrument donations for after school music workshops he runs for kids down in Eden. Sounded like a nice guy, and we did have a keyboard gathering dust in a corner, so Garry came over on a Monday afternoon to check it out and to see what goes down in The Shed.

He was toting an acoustic guitar. Turns out he plays a bit of this and a bit of that, and has a good few original songs up his sleeve.

Well you know what happens when people like that turn up in The Shed.

Next thing you know, we had recorded Garry playing and singing a solo version of his "The Way It Appears', and it sounds like THIS !!  Nice work thanks Garry. Hope you like it.

We don't know much about Garry, but he seems to have enjoyed his time in The Shed. He has become  a regular, although we have steered him towards the keyboards, cos he reckons he has a rudimentary understanding of same, and right at this time we have no shortage of guitarists. Watch this space............hopefully Garry will soon feature on keyboards on one of our songs.

Garry's musical background ?  Well in his own words............."The son of a Mother who was married to a man. I loved them both as they did me. Eight brothers and sisters filled the house with physical mass. I filled it with noise. Always singing, whistling and banging on things..........I'm still doing it !! "

As for 'The Way It Appears', again in Garry's words..............."The Way It Appears is about a free spirit. One who is never to settle, always on the move. I fell for her, and I hope she gets to hear the song."

Well good luck with that Garry.

Welcome to the PBGB Shed sir. Great song, and we're looking forward to adding your keyboard chops to our songs.

QUILLAN VICKERS-NOBLE DEBUTS WITH 'WATERFALL'

Followers of the PBGB website will be well familiar with the songs of Al Noble. Al has been a regular contributor to the PBGB annals for over a year now. Thus far we have posted seven songs written and sung by Al. You can listen to them by clicking on Al's name under 'The Musos' tab at the top of your screen.

Anyway, last time Al dropped by The Shed he brought along his son Quillan. 

Just like his Dad, Quillan is a guitar playing songwriter, so we asked him if he would play one of his original songs for us. He picked up Al's guitar and launched into a song he calls 'Waterfall'. We thought it sounded great, so we turned on the recorder and in no time flat Quillan had laid down THIS .  Nice work Quillan !!

Quillan started studying guitar under the tutelage of Dave Crowden at age 11. After acquiring some basic guitar chops, Quillan focussed his studies on classical guitar and went on to pass the Australian Music Examination Board 5th Grade guitar exam. 

Dave was impressed enough to invite Quillan to become one of the founding members of Dave's highly regarded and much loved 'Guitarama' ensemble. Guitarama is a local treasure. Over the years Guitarama has provided many young musicians with fantastic opportunities to collaborate in writing, recording, and performing their often self penned pieces. Guitarama has nurtured some truly outstanding young musicians including Daniel Champagne and Matt Burrows.

Quillan contributed to Guitarama's first and second CDs before upping stumps to see a bit more of the world. 

Quillan has kept up his love of music, and is currently performing with 'QNA' , a trio he has formed with his friends Nicholas Ryan and Albert McKnight. They have performed at the Cobargo Folk Festival and are working to expand their repertoire.

We were delighted to meet Quillan, and hope to see him back in The Shed soon. 

Thanks for joining in the fun Quillan. Love your work !

STEVE FAGGOTTER PLEADS WITH POLITICIANS ON POLLING DAY EVE, WITH HIS PITCH - 'POLIDACTYL'

Steve has been a staunch Shedder since late 2015. He has added his trademark Telecaster licks to some twenty PBGB songs.

It's been a long time coming, but now, finally, we are very pleased to post the first song Steve has penned for us..... Polidactyl.

It's a tune that has morphed and transmogrified as Steve and the players knocked it into shape.

We all threw ideas into the pot........made suggestions as to the lyrics (written by Graham Brown), the tempo, the idea of including a rap passage, and so on. It was a lot of fun, but in typical Shed fashion, Steve, as  writer of the song, ultimately made the final calls.

In the end, we pretty much recorded it live.........very few post recording production add-ons.

THIS is what we ended up with. Hope you like it.

As you can hear, it's a plea to politicians to pull their fingers out and take action on important issues like the climate, immigration, straight talk and just plain honesty.

All very pertinent as we launch this song just a couple of days before the 2019 election !!

Steve wrote the music and played guitar

Mick Nadin sang and played harp

Graham Brown wrote the words, added backing vocals and percussion

Louise Nadin played bass

Pete played drums

Neil Porter produced

Nice work thanks Steve and crew.

AL NOBLE TAKES A WALK DOWN 'ARDEN STREET '

Little while ago Al sat in The Shed strumming a tune he was working on. He called it Arden Street. He was singing about his earlier days in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs.

Wasn't long before we started kicking it about.

Found a basic feel we liked. Manny came up with a neat refrain.

When we figured we had the bones together we turned on the recorder. Got the bed down pretty quickly.

Neil took the files home, waved his joojoo over it and added a keyboard track.

THIS is what we ended up with - Arden Street.

Al speaks........."The story at work in Arden Street is one of generational change, international chaos and violence seeping into our quiet homes and cultural icons, and the challenges of growing old in a changing world. Our protagonist sets forth on his day with a surreal but unshakeable feeling that in some profound way his world has changed. The pillars and safeties are no more, even the birds sound alien. He walks through the usual streets and but they feel foreign to him. He catches his usual bus and in a meeting of the comfortably mundane with horrific foreign violence his feeling that this was somehow his last day becomes reality. The riff of the song is to signify the "town bells ringing, the horn of Gabriel, the bells of Armageddon". 

Heavy stuff Al !

Anyway, it's yet another great song thanks Al. We're really chuffed to be part of bringing it to life.

Al Noble wrote Arden Street, sang it, and played acoustic guitar

Manny Aigner played electric guitar

Neil Porter played the bass and keyboards, and did the production work

Pete played the drums

Hope ya dig it !!!

PBGB TEE SPOTTED ON STAGE AT CANDELO ARTS FESTIVAL

There we were at the Candelo Arts Festival last Friday night, watching The Figmentz deliver the first performance of some of the songs they are planning to present in their 50th anniversary of Woodstock extravaganza later this year. 

Friday night's show went down very well indeed. Town Hall sold out. Dance floor packed.

Lots of PBGB family members up on the stage, including those seen in the snap.........John Drews, Brother Ken Vatcher, and Phoebe Mills, all sporting their happy hippy garb.

And there, under John's swirling scarves...............a PBGB Tee.

Keep an eye out for the big Figmentz 50th Anniversary of Woodstock show, coming up in October. It'll be held at the Longstocking Brewery in Pambula. A three hour show featuring heaps of the best local musicians presenting their tributes to Woodstock.

Just watch out for the brown acid.   Legend has it that was the word spread at Woodstock.....................by the guy selling the blue acid !!!!

MICK NADIN IS BACK ON HIS SOAPBOX WITH HIS NEWIE.......... 'AIN'T IT GRAND?'

Mick, in common with many of the song writing fraternity, has a predilection for songs with a strong social message.

If you look back over the tunes Mick has brought to The PBGB Shed you will see that he has offered up quite a few political ditties, including those that take a stab at issues including runaway bureaucracies, the nanny state, race issues, and a general wish for better ways of co-existing on our planet.

Mick's latest offering, 'Ain't It Grand' continues on that tradition. This time the subject  is multiculturalism.

Mick is proud of his homeland. He's comfortable in our multi cultural country. He wonders, however, why some people find it so difficult to accept that our society is greatly enriched by the cultural melting pot that is modern Australia.

Mick is always quick to point out that with the exception of the First Australians, we are all immigrants. We are all first, second, third ( whatever ) generation arrivals. Our vibrant culture is a product of the diversity that people bring to the country that we love. Our lives are enhanced by the food, music, art, and so on that new arrivals from so many different countries contribute  to our lives.

'Sfar as Mick is concerned, it's all pretty grand !  Let's enjoy and celebrate our diverse mix of cultures and offerings.

Amen to that Mick !  We're with ya cobber.

'Ain't It Grand' is another PBGB song that came together in the space of a single afternoon in The Shed. Mick pulled it out, gave us a few hints and we fired it up. It is a fun song to play, we enjoyed mucking about with it, and just three hours later...........there it was, all done and dusted.

Thanks Mick........... It's a beauty !!

Hope you like it too. Have a listen......................just click HERE

Mick wrote 'Ain't It Grand', sang it and played harmonica

Manny Aigner played lead guitar

Neil Porter played rhythm guitar and did all the production work

Louise Nadin played the bass

Pete played the drums

AL NOBLE RUES THE GRAPE THAT 'WITHERS ON THE VINE'.

Al brings his songs to the PBGB Shed pretty much fully formed. Ripe as it were. All the rest of us usually have to do is listen as Al runs through a song, agree a 'feel', sort out the solos, and play along.

We all took an instant liking to Al's latest, 'Withers On The Vine'. Like Al, we relate to the metaphor.

In Al's own words............."Withers on the Vine is a crafted song using those universal themes of love and loss. It's not particularly personal although I've had my share of those, like most.  I'm pleased with the metaphor of the Vine and the hard work and hope involved in making an eventually pleasing wine. There is something devastating and final in the image of fruit wasting on the Vine or tree. I think the players found something in it straight up and really brought out the pathos and heart of the song. I consider myself a songwriter more than a player so it's always interesting to see what gets brought to the song by other players. It's a privilege to play with you guys. Very happy with this version".

Well we're very happy with it too thanks Al. We always enjoy helping you bring your songs to life in a band setting.

Great song.......another beauty thanks Al !   Well done sir.

Have a listen to Al's 'Withers On The Vine' by clicking HERE.

Al Noble wrote the song, sang it, and played Guitar.

Manny Aigner played Guitar

Mick Nadin played Harp

Neil Porter played Bass, sang harmony, and did the Production work

Graham Brown played Percussion

Pete played Drums