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A musical journey part 1 - Australiana

DerekD

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XD351 KINGFISH

XD351

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The family was my local , unfortunately for me by the time I was old enough to go there all the bands had come and gone . My brother remembers watching cold chisel, AC/DC and rose tatto there . The family is just a poker machine joint now as is the valley club .

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Little_Flatty BLUE MARLIN

Little_Flatty

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All you lot were lucky to live in that heyday where big bands played in the suburban pubs. By the time I got to the live music scene, I had to go into town, or at least the inner city.

I had a guitar teacher once who was very busy during that period. I asked him if he got to catch many of the legendary bands and he told me he was simply too busy playing gigs himself to get into other gigs as an audience member. What a time!

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DerekD MAKO

DerekD

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Dang. Realised some others I forgot

Skunkhour (seems I knew some of the band members). Up to our necks in it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2CsoNCDvjE

Matt Corby (JJJ hottest 100 winner a few years back) Brother https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpFG7DdjTbo

Silverchair Tomorrow https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZD982yrmx4

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DerekD MAKO

DerekD

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This was the final list I submitted as I wanted to get it done before the weekend. Couple of ones above that I missed and a few ones added to the list at the start of this post

Hi L, 

 

I enjoyed putting this together as it gave me the chance to go down a musical memory lane. In Youtube you can create folders and if you create one along the lines of Australiana then you can save the ones you like as you go along. 

 

Being born in 1994 and growing up on the other side of the world there is a lot of music which came and fell out of the charts before you ever had the chance to come across it. As we have some overlapping tastes I’d like to see if I can add to your music library and take you on a bit of a journey at the same time. I’ve got several parts in mind but I’d like to start with Australiana which is essentially Australian and New Zealand music. Yes they are two distinct countries but there has been a lot of cross pollination over the years. Crowded House (worth going through their discography when you get the chance) is one of the big ones you have heard of but is it really a New Zealand band when it was started in Melbourne, Victoria by two Kiwis and two Ozzies. Still up for debate. 

 

During the 70s, 80s and 90s the pub scene was a great starting point for many musical talents. Bands such as INXS, Midnight Oils, Cold Chisel, Men at Work, The Divinyls, Australian Crawl, etc. put in a hard slog to make it to the top of the charts. Many a kid built up their music collection listening to the radio and hitting play on the tape recorder when their favourite song came on. Records were still popular in the shops and you could get singles and LPs (Long Plays) to listen to at home. Video music also became more popular. 

 

The first song I’m going to introduce you to is not actually a song but it had a lot of air time. We had a comedy circuit which was pretty popular. Some comedians like Rodney Rude liked dropping the F-bomb for a reaction and others were a little more clever. There was a gentleman known as Austen Tayshus who managed to squeeze a huge amount of Australian references into a skit titled Australiana. I’ve included the original to air version (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StcXGhuliRk) and then the lyrics which you might have to say out loud to get it (https://genius.com/Austen-tayshus-australiana-lyrics) just in case you missed all the references. 

 

While we are discussing comedy, there was an international hit called Bitch (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ivt_N2Zcts )by Meredith Brooks which was redone as Bloke (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-IPcVaif3Q ) by an Australian called Chris Franklin. 

 

Now into the music. There are several songs that I feel have distilled the essence of Australia into music. In no particular order: 

 

Not so much a genre but some songs tell a story of everyday life. 

 

Vietnam War (anti) songs: 

 

Edgy Rock – punchy vocals with a great lead singer 

 

There are several bands where the singer or backing singer went on to have a successful solo career afterwards 

 

Odds and Ends: 

 

More into the dance side of music 

 

In my household dad was more into jazz and classical, I liked mainstream and my brother was into independent artists (he was into RHCP and Nirvana before they cracked the top 40 charts). As a result I ended up listening to a broad selection of music. I picked up some of the following from him. 

 

We’ve had several TV Soapies which you would have seen such as Home and Away or Neighbours but many more which finished long ago such as E-Street, A Country Practice, The Flying Doctors, Sons and Daughters, etc. There have been some actors which made the cross over into the music industry and some have done very well and some of the others less so. Some of the following music has not aged well and some of the lyrics are sad but if you get the chance watch each once and decide for yourself. At the least I hope it puts a smile on your face. 

 

 
 
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Blackfish KINGFISH

Blackfish

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Great Aussie Pub band in the 80’s “ God -My Pal.” Picture seeing them back then, in Dingy, badly lit room full of energy and sweat with every one going off.

I know, I know, not everyone’s cup of tea.

On a sad note, 2 of the 4 members went on to die of Heroin overdoses later in life.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAVz4PW1WMA

 

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zmk1962 YELLOWFIN TUNA

zmk1962

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It seems there is still a strong desire to see live music at the local .... so I'll put a little endorsement out there for Raiders to keep an eye out for my brother in law's band The Cry Babies.  Enzo is the singer and guitarist, Ray lead guitarist, Frank on bass and Jason on drums. The play the pubs, clubs and outdoor events delivering live and loud rock, blues, soul from the 60s to present ... they have scheduled gigs all around sydney and suburbs, up past Newcastle, West past Lithgow and south past Yass...  lots of Aussie classics in their play sets - and it doesn't take long for their gigs to go off with everyone up singing and dancing - especially to the classics.

https://instagram.com/the.crybabies_?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Keep it live 🎸🎸🎸🤘

Cheers Zoran

(PS - mods please remove post if it breaks any site rules )

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big Neil DOGTOOTH TUNA

big Neil

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4 hours ago, zmk1962 said:

It seems there is still a strong desire to see live music at the local .... so I'll put a little endorsement out there for Raiders to keep an eye out for my brother in law's band The Cry Babies.  Enzo is the singer and guitarist, Ray lead guitarist, Frank on bass and Jason on drums. The play the pubs, clubs and outdoor events delivering live and loud rock, blues, soul from the 60s to present ... they have scheduled gigs all around sydney and suburbs, up past Newcastle, West past Lithgow and south past Yass...  lots of Aussie classics in their play sets - and it doesn't take long for their gigs to go off with everyone up singing and dancing - especially to the classics.

https://instagram.com/the.crybabies_?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Keep it live 🎸🎸🎸🤘

Cheers Zoran

(PS - mods please remove post if it breaks any site rules )

Thanks for sharing that Zoran. Just checked out their Instagram page, and they certainly keep busy. I have always admired folks who can entertain musically. I think that music traverses many cultural barriers that language alone can't. Thanks for the post.   bn

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DerekD MAKO

DerekD

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On 7/21/2023 at 6:58 AM, Blackfish said:

One think I have learned over the years is that music is personal, what one thinks is the best thing since sliced bread others think it’s garbage or just OK.

True but I also think it is a shame that you (generalising rather than "you" specifically 😀 ) don't give certain music a chance because it is not in your preferred genre(s). While taste is personal, what makes good music is probably less personal (a bit of music philosophy which I can hopefully get into suitable words to convey where I am coming from). A good beat is probably the first thing which gets us. We have percussive bands which make a career of this. The Australian band Taikoz playing the Japanese Taiko drums are fantastic to watch especially when they combine it with the visual aspect https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGCsp2Glyms . While living in the Netherlands I walked down the street with a Brazillian drum band coming the other way. The walls and windows of that street reverberated to the sound and the whole atmosphere blew me away. Then next thing is throw in a good melody (which dances between the beat) and an amazing voice and things start to come together. There is a fun scene in the Zac Effron movie We are your friends where he explains as a DJ how he can get people dancing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bP_llT3Fl4o .

A good voice will resonate with most people and if you can get two of those together then magic happens. I still love and think I will to my dying day Freddy Mercury and David Bowie with Under Pressure. The backstory behind how they made it together made me smile and it is a shame they never played together in concert but someone combined some clips to bring them together in this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HglA72ogPCE . Old Blue eyes (Frank Sinatra) and Bono of U2 came together really nicely with Under my skin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pL3ZVzWdaS4 The cross generation blending of Nat "King" Cole and his daughter Natalie Cole for the song Unforgettable https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhpmxjRXneY . Then there is this version of the RadioHead song Creep sung by two sisters (their parents are music teachers) in the German version of The Voice by Kids https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wC64ZPJXMGU 

My music taste is pretty mainstream and I find what I like is what a lot of other people like so I use them as a filter to find new stuff. Top 40 charts are an obvious sample but less obvious are social venues such as restaurants. The mix tapes are either put together professionally or by the staff playing stuff that appeals to them. The music shouldn't scare the customers away but there is some leeway in what can be played. I came across the album Erykah Baduh Live because it played in one of my favourite eateries in Haarlem. The song Tyrone just caught my attention https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YY2-mrsXgMM so I asked them what the CD was (this was in the late 90s). Recently I came across Jaz Lund (slow down with me) and the related Spotify playlist while at a work farewell https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdPSkHtm7s8 The phone application Shazam has been a game changer. Like a song then hold the phone near the speaker and find out what that song is.

Now there is also stuff I think is genuinely garbage and I can't find a single way to give it any musical benefit. The worst song in my extensive CD collection is Rice Path by saxophonist  Hans Dulfer which can be found on Spotify. I want you to think of the most discordant experimental jazz you can think of and then amp it up. To be fair Hans Dulfur is a very good musician. I've been a fan of his daughter Candy Dulfer since the early 90s. She was good enough to play with many major artists such as Prince and David A. Stewart (of Eurythmics) on the song Lily was here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypbjIwbTR8c Hans was one of a group of musicians in the Haarlem area of the Netherlands that jammed together at the various nightclubs and at the annual Haarlem jazz festival. I liked his music enough to grab as much of his discography as I could. There is a lot of his stuff I enjoy but Rice Path is the one musical equivalent for me of dragging your fingernails down the wall.

On a side note, I intend to go through every music link fellow Raiders have suggested in this post in case I can find some more music which resonates with me so thanks to everyone that contributed.

Thanks for sticking with me if you got this far.

Regards,

Derek

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Mike Sydney JEWFISH

Mike Sydney

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I love me a mix tape so here’s some kiwi ones that jump to mind

the swingers - counting the beat 

the dudes - bliss

Chris Knox - not given lightly

shihad - my minds sedate 

supergroove - can’t get enough

Shihad were probably the top pub band for me growing up I must’ve seen them live twenty plus times, I think they lived/live in Byron for years 

 

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Blackfish KINGFISH

Blackfish

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A couple I liked from NZ.

The Herbs. Reggae with topical political songs. They got very well know by playing with Dave Dobin (DD Smash)

The Bats. Still got a couple of their records ….. somewhere.

Screaming  Meemees. Just a great pub band.

Plus the well know ones, Dragon, Split Enz.

Thanks Mike Sydney and DerekD.

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Mike Sydney JEWFISH

Mike Sydney

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On 7/19/2023 at 3:18 PM, XD351 said:

Comedy - I can’t go past Kevin b Wilson

The 12th Man. Im sure it was enormous here as every kid at school in NZ knew each album line-for-line. Even ‘the final dig’ years later was still utter gold. 

 

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Berleyguts MAKO

Berleyguts

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Just getting back on Fishraider after a long hiatus and a tragic loss in my family (although I’ve tried to play the trivia challenge each day).

Some great songs, bands and artists discussed here, for sure but not one mention of Aussie rock legend, Richard Clapton???!!! My favourite artist by far… I have literally seen him thousands of times. INXS supported him on his 1980 Dark Spaces tour. He produced their 2nd album and they went on to be huge in their own right. Richard, or “Ralph” as he is often called, always has extremely talented musicians in his band and his highly respected by his peers. Listen to (uncredited) Ian Moss on I Am An Island, for instance. Kirk L’Orange on the Goodbye Tiger album. Other guitarists of note that worked with him include the late Andy Durant (Stars), the late Harvey James (Sherbert), Diesel, the extremely talented Dave Leslie (Baby Animals) and most commonly of late, the brilliant Danny Spencer (Rogue Traders, Jimmy Barnes). Bass players include the legendary Michael Hegerty (Stars, Jimmy Barnes) Graham “Buzz” Bidstrup (Angels, Party Boys, Gangajang) Graham Thompson (Stars, Finch, Avalanche, Broderick Smith).

Check Ralph out… he has a great back catalogue and I like his new stuff too… but I am biased!

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mrsswordfisherman SWORDFISH

mrsswordfisherman

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11 hours ago, Berleyguts said:

Just getting back on Fishraider after a long hiatus and a tragic loss in my family (although I’ve tried to play the trivia challenge each day).

Some great songs, bands and artists discussed here, for sure but not one mention of Aussie rock legend, Richard Clapton???!!! My favourite artist by far… I have literally seen him thousands of times. INXS supported him on his 1980 Dark Spaces tour. He produced their 2nd album and they went on to be huge in their own right. Richard, or “Ralph” as he is often called, always has extremely talented musicians in his band and his highly respected by his peers. Listen to (uncredited) Ian Moss on I Am An Island, for instance. Kirk L’Orange on the Goodbye Tiger album. Other guitarists of note that worked with him include the late Andy Durant (Stars), the late Harvey James (Sherbert), Diesel, the extremely talented Dave Leslie (Baby Animals) and most commonly of late, the brilliant Danny Spencer (Rogue Traders, Jimmy Barnes). Bass players include the legendary Michael Hegerty (Stars, Jimmy Barnes) Graham “Buzz” Bidstrup (Angels, Party Boys, Gangajang) Graham Thompson (Stars, Finch, Avalanche, Broderick Smith).

Check Ralph out… he has a great back catalogue and I like his new stuff too… but I am biased!

Good to see you back @Berleyguts. Sorry for your loss. Your fishraider trivia daily scores are getting harder to beat btw. 

Stars - best and outstanding band!!

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big Neil DOGTOOTH TUNA

big Neil

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On 7/23/2023 at 9:50 AM, DerekD said:

True but I also think it is a shame that you (generalising rather than "you" specifically 😀 ) don't give certain music a chance because it is not in your preferred genre(s). While taste is personal, what makes good music is probably less personal (a bit of music philosophy which I can hopefully get into suitable words to convey where I am coming from). A good beat is probably the first thing which gets us. We have percussive bands which make a career of this. The Australian band Taikoz playing the Japanese Taiko drums are fantastic to watch especially when they combine it with the visual aspect https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGCsp2Glyms . While living in the Netherlands I walked down the street with a Brazillian drum band coming the other way. The walls and windows of that street reverberated to the sound and the whole atmosphere blew me away. Then next thing is throw in a good melody (which dances between the beat) and an amazing voice and things start to come together. There is a fun scene in the Zac Effron movie We are your friends where he explains as a DJ how he can get people dancing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bP_llT3Fl4o .

A good voice will resonate with most people and if you can get two of those together then magic happens. I still love and think I will to my dying day Freddy Mercury and David Bowie with Under Pressure. The backstory behind how they made it together made me smile and it is a shame they never played together in concert but someone combined some clips to bring them together in this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HglA72ogPCE . Old Blue eyes (Frank Sinatra) and Bono of U2 came together really nicely with Under my skin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pL3ZVzWdaS4 The cross generation blending of Nat "King" Cole and his daughter Natalie Cole for the song Unforgettable https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhpmxjRXneY . Then there is this version of the RadioHead song Creep sung by two sisters (their parents are music teachers) in the German version of The Voice by Kids https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wC64ZPJXMGU 

My music taste is pretty mainstream and I find what I like is what a lot of other people like so I use them as a filter to find new stuff. Top 40 charts are an obvious sample but less obvious are social venues such as restaurants. The mix tapes are either put together professionally or by the staff playing stuff that appeals to them. The music shouldn't scare the customers away but there is some leeway in what can be played. I came across the album Erykah Baduh Live because it played in one of my favourite eateries in Haarlem. The song Tyrone just caught my attention https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YY2-mrsXgMM so I asked them what the CD was (this was in the late 90s). Recently I came across Jaz Lund (slow down with me) and the related Spotify playlist while at a work farewell https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdPSkHtm7s8 The phone application Shazam has been a game changer. Like a song then hold the phone near the speaker and find out what that song is.

Now there is also stuff I think is genuinely garbage and I can't find a single way to give it any musical benefit. The worst song in my extensive CD collection is Rice Path by saxophonist  Hans Dulfer which can be found on Spotify. I want you to think of the most discordant experimental jazz you can think of and then amp it up. To be fair Hans Dulfur is a very good musician. I've been a fan of his daughter Candy Dulfer since the early 90s. She was good enough to play with many major artists such as Prince and David A. Stewart (of Eurythmics) on the song Lily was here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypbjIwbTR8c Hans was one of a group of musicians in the Haarlem area of the Netherlands that jammed together at the various nightclubs and at the annual Haarlem jazz festival. I liked his music enough to grab as much of his discography as I could. There is a lot of his stuff I enjoy but Rice Path is the one musical equivalent for me of dragging your fingernails down the wall.

On a side note, I intend to go through every music link fellow Raiders have suggested in this post in case I can find some more music which resonates with me so thanks to everyone that contributed.

Thanks for sticking with me if you got this far.

Regards,

Derek

You're wearing me out Derek, with all your long posts. Have a bit of sympathy for us oldies who are also slow readers. Actually, come to think of it, slow at everything.

Cheers, bn

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big Neil DOGTOOTH TUNA

big Neil

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11 minutes ago, mrsswordfisherman said:

Good to see you back @Berleyguts. Sorry for your loss. Your fishraider trivia daily scores are getting harder to beat btw. 

Stars - best and outstanding band!!

Good to see you back on here, sorry for your loss mate. Good luck with the trivia, you're far too good for me...then again most people are.

bn

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Berleyguts MAKO

Berleyguts

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3 hours ago, mrsswordfisherman said:

Good to see you back @Berleyguts. Sorry for your loss. Your fishraider trivia daily scores are getting harder to beat btw. 

Stars - best and outstanding band!!

Thanks Donna,

Moving on slowly but every day is a struggle. 😢 Music is a great help and I look forward to jamming/practicing with my band each week. Think it’s time to do another solo gig, too. It’s very cathartic.

Re the Trivia… I have been lucky with some guesses and  my lovely wife is a great help with music questions (as long as they’re not country or obscure rap) and movie stuff, if I’m unsure’ 😂

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