AL NOBLE SLINKS BACK INTO THE PBGB SHED WITH A SASSY LITTLE SONG CALLED 'SNEAKY SLIDER'

Well it's been a long time between posts, but at last we have got our heads around the current Covid restrictions and have been gathering in The Shed once more. Properly spaced out of course.

 

First song out of the box is a ditty Al put together called "Sneaky Slider".

 

It's a laid back little number with a cut time beat and a reggaeish rhythm that just sort of sneakily slides around the room. It definitely makes you move. 

 

You can have a listen by clicking HERE 

 

Hope ya dig it !

Al Noble wrote it, sang it and played the lead break

Manny Aigner played the rhythm guitar

Mick Nadin played the harp and sang backing vocal

Neil Porter played the bass, sang backing vocal, and did the production work

Graham Brown played percussion

Peter Reid played the drums

Nice work thanks Al. We're all very pleased to get another of your great tunes together after such a long break.

 

Keep 'em comin'.

THE HOPS HOP INTO THE PBGB SHED

Ah.........The PBGB web. Some time back, Manny caught a gig by a band called The Hops.  He struck up a conversation with Damian, the bass player. Damian mentioned to Manny that the Hops were looking to do a spot of recording, so Manny suggested Damian get in touch with Neil. Neil quite liked the idea and discussed the idea with Pete. Next thing you know The Hops hopped in.

We had a fun afternoon and ended up recording six songs. What with one thing and another, not least the Coronavirus pandemic, finalising all six songs is taking a bit longer than we anticipated, but we have finished two, and we thought we might get them out there sooner rather than later.

Kirribis Blues and Simple Life are ready to go.   

The Hops are :

Noel Whittem - Guitar/Vocals (Noel wrote both these songs)

Brooke Marshall - Vocals

Kass Fenton - Flute/vocals

Damian Picone - Bass

On the afternoon in question, John Travena (aka Trapper John) was drafted in to play Drums. Trapper did a great job. He'd never heard any of the Hops' material before arriving in The Shed, but had no trouble inventing great grooves to slip under the songs. Trapper is a very respected local drummer who currently plays with local acts  The Hoops ( yes, yes, Hoops not Hops ), Jackson State and numerous other bands in the Bega Valley and beyond.

Damian supplies the backdrop.............

"Performing as ‘The Hops’ we supported a touring Japanese band ‘John John Festival’ on two nights at Tathra Hotel in 2018 and have performed there on many open mic nights. We’ve also played at the Candelo Blues Club, cafes, fund raisers and parties. Noel Whittem’s and Brooke Marshall’s thought provoking songs form the basis of the band’s repertoire. Kass Fenton,flautist, is a music teacher who is currently also performing with Surg. Damian and Noel have been performing together as part of the Bemboka Blues Brokers and The Blue Band Bees for the past two years with regular spots at the Candelo Blues Club and the Scotch Oven Cafe in Bemboka. We have been guests of ABC Local Radio and Phil Moriarty on Edge FM

Noel, Brooke and Kass are long time residents of the Bega Valley. Damian moved into the area in 2014. Noel and Brooke had performed together previously. Brooke and Kass have played together at many music camps. We got together for a jam in early 2018 at Noel’s place and immediately formed a strong bond based on a love of playing music and generally having a good time doing it."

So there you have it.

Hope you like these songs as much as we do !

We had a great afternoon with The Hops,  and hope to see them back in The Shed in the not too distant future.

Thanks for coming gang !

THE FIGMENTZ - "LOVE SETS YOU FREE" BY AL NOBLE

Al's song getting the full treatment at Candelo Store.  March 2020.

ALLAN NOBLE - BEGA TIMES INTERVIEW

Al interviewed by Alasdair McDonald of The Bega Times.

Read HERE

MICK AND LOUISE NADIN CELEBRATE HOW WONDERFUL IT IS TO HAVE 'SOMEONE TO HAVE'

Mick and Louise Nadin - smiles that say it all

Mick and Louise first strolled into The Shed way back in 2015. They dug what was going on, plugged in, and have been regular and enthusiastic Shedders ever since. We've shared a lot of music and fun over the years and it is astonishing to realise that they've featured on over forty PBGB songs !

Thing is, Louise and Mick are really the only couple who have been a steady feature of life in the PBGB Shed.

So it was lovely to hear that Mick had written a song that celebrates their partnership.

'Someone To Have'.  The title says it all. Mick simply and succinctly tells us how much he appreciates having someone. A soul mate to share life with, for better or for worse. Just someone to have !

We started on the song before the Summer from hell descended on the Bega Valley. Between the fires and the usual Christmas break, this song has been brewing for a while. But now it is done, and you can have a listen by clicking HERE.

Hope ya like it !

Mick - writer, vocal and harp

Louise - bass

Neil Porter - guitar, keyboards/horns, backing vocals and production

Graham Brown - percussion

Peter Reid - drums

SALUTE KEVIN ABBEY - FOUR YEARS ON AND SADLY MISSED

Kevin, with John 'Hawkeye' Hawkes on bass,
belts one out at Kev's birthday bash
 at The Grange, South Pambula

Back in the early days of The PBGB Shed, as early as 2007, Kevin was one of our very favourite visitors. He was arguably PBGB's first 'A' list guest player. 

Kevin used to motor down from Canberra for a day or three and we would bunker in and play music day and night. And give the beer fridge a solid nudge, just for good measure.

You see Kevin was an excellent vocalist, an absolutely in the pocket bass player, a first class rhythm and lead guitarist, and a hot harp player to boot. A very useful cat indeed !

Kev made annual pilgrimages to The Shed, often accompanied by Colin Enright, a long time mate, right up until 2015. You can listen to some of the songs Kevin recorded with us by clicking on THIS.

But in February 2016 came the terrible news that Kev had been killed in a motorcycle accident. That accident also caused serious injuries to Kev's partner Sophie. We were devastated. We've missed Kev ever since. RIP Kev !

To mark February 26, 2016, four years on, we have pulled out a previously un-posted recording which features Kevin pulling off a triple stint..........vocals, lead guitar and harp. 'She's Tuff' provides a perfect platform for Kev to strut his stuff. Listen to him rip by clicking HERE

We hope this brings back fond memories for Kev's family and friends.

'She's Tuff', written by Jerry McCain, was featured on the Fabulous Thunderbirds 1979 album  "Girls Go Wild'.

On this version, which we recorded in 2013,

Kevin Abbey sang, played lead guitar and harp

Colin Enright played rhythm guitar

Kevin Breeze played bass, and

Pete played drums.

We hope y'all like it. We think of it as a good representation of Kev's musical prowess.

BRETT RALPH, THE TRUE TROUBADOUR OF EDEN, CRIES FOR THE COMMUNITY AS THE TERRIBLE 2019 / 2020 BUSHFIRE TRAGEDY RAGES ON.

People the world over have been stunned and shocked by the ferocity, sheer size and power of the fires that recently swept through East Gippsland as they marched North across the Victorian border into Southern New South Wales, and right up to the doorstep of the town of Eden.

Amazingly, Eden township survived. Unfortunately many neighbouring communities, most notably Mallacoota, were not so lucky.

Our hearts go out to everybody who has been affected by the fires.

Our own community of Pambula Beach, along with Pambula Village, dodged the fiery bullet - this time.

It's not over. A spark in the wrong place, a lightning strike, a change of winds and temperature is all it will take to very quickly turn the terror and trauma back in our direction.

Brett Ralph is an amazing character. He is a gifted artist, a fantastic songwriter, and a spirited performer. He suffers for his art. He loves his home town of Eden and genuinely feels pain when the town takes a hit. Brett has written and sung songs about Eden for decades.

It came as no surprise to us that Brett, in the immediate aftermath of the narrow survival of his beloved home town, penned a song about the fiery holocaust that came so close to razing Eden to ash.

Brett brought his new song to the PBGB Shed yesterday, hoping to record it and get it out to the local community radio stations, in the hope they will play it in support of all those who are suffering.

You can hear Brett's tribute - 'So Good To See You' , by clicking HERE

Brett rambled into The Shed, plugged in his guitar, and sang this in one take. In an effort to get the song out there as quickly as possible, we decided that it is the message that counts and that we wouldn't fuss over fiddly details. What you hear is what came out, as is.

As it happened Manny Aigner was in The Shed at the time, and he sat to the side with his guitar, adding licks totally off the cuff. This was the first time Manny had heard the song - he made up and played his accompaniment on the spot.

Raw, compelling, from the heart, straight out of the box.

Thanks Brett. We hope your heartfelt song resonates with our neighbouring communities.

And welcome back to The PBGB Shed Brett. Followers of PBGB will remember a period back in 2013 / 14 when Brett was a regular in The Shed. Listen to some of the songs we recorded with Brett back then by clicking on Brett's Special Project Page on the right of your screen.

We didn't see Brett for a while. He popped up again recently, full of enthusiasm, and we were very pleased to have him back. He marked his return by accompanying Artie Westwood on Backing Vocals on Artie's 'Fields Of Hay' which is featured in the article directly below.

We look forward to hearing more of Brett's songs very soon. Might even do a 'band' version of So Good To See You.

Stay tuned !

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.