For the month of June the Wheatsheaf Hotel is holding an exhibition of a few of the handprinted posters we’ve pumped out between 2010-2013. It’s a bit of a retrospective of our journey in letterpress, silkscreen, lino and woodcut.

Take a whole bunch of musicians from different States, backgrounds and genres (albeit all with a roots music connection), toss them a bunch of poems by a largely unknown, obscure Irish convict . . . → Read More: Review – Banished Now From My Native Shore: The Verse of Frank the Poet @ The Wheatsheaf Hotel – Sat June 2]]>

3/4 of ‘The Beastly Treated’: (L-R) Heath Cullen, Matt Walker and Chris Parkinson (Photograph by Lisa Sorgini).

Take a whole bunch of musicians from different States, backgrounds and genres (albeit all with a roots music connection), toss them a bunch of poems by a largely unknown, obscure Irish convict poet born a couple of hundred years ago, get them to individually compose their own musical interpretations of some and then chuck them all on a stage and have them perform.

Sounds like the perfect recipe for chaos and mayhem, but what I witnessed on Saturday night was far from that. Proceedings got under way with a few cool tunes from The Tea House Fire who set the bar pretty high to start the show, following which we got our first look at the deadly house band ‘The Beastly Treated’ (sic). Comprising Matt Walker, Heath Cullen, Chris Parkinson and B.J. Barker, these guys went on to back most of the following artists in one way or another.

The remaining quarter of  ’The Beastly Treated’:  B.J. Barker.

(Photograph by Lisa Sorgini)

Next up we had Todd Sibbin, a young Adelaide muso who, for me, was a standout performer not only for his great sound but also how he imposed his talent on those seasoned performers like a veteran. Big future, Todd.

Snooks La Vie’s polished performance was no surprise to any follower of local music, he’s an established legend – the same ain’t yet be said of the next act, Max Savage, but one senses we’ll hear a lot more of this confident, strutting performer, especially once he learns that with such prodigious talent you only need to project so hard.

Nick Kipridis showed us, once again, why he’s such an icon of the Adelaide music scene as did the Yearlings, for whom the whole concept could have been tailor made. Somewhere in the mix was young A.P. Antonio who enthralled us with his version of ‘Bold Jack Donohue’.

Then we moved into the ‘interstaters’, the talented Sean McMahon, the laconic Jimmy Dowling, and, frankly, I’ve run out of superlatives for Heath Cullen and Matt Walker but we were a lucky audience indeed!!

I’m sure there have been many painstakingly choreographed events that haven’t approached the seamless flow of this evening – if you weren’t there, fear not! Do yourself a favour and grab a copy of the album from Stobie Sounds – life’s far too short to let stuff like this pass you by!!!

John Mockford

A self imposed international man of mystery, John Mockford (his other real name) is Adelaide’s finest doer of the Odd Job. His lifelong love affair with music, lyrics and verse makes him particularly well placed to write this review – as does his complete disregard for all things Justin Bieber. John is locally renowned for playing late night harmonica, versifying and superior txtmanship and can be frequently hard to spot (due to cunning disguise) delivering his quick wit, dry sense of humour and stinging sarcasm at scenester hangs around Adelaide’s midwest.

Stobie Sounds would like to thank Odd Job John for his relentless support and enthusiasm for all our hair-brained schemes, album concepts and attempts to trash his places of dwelling.

Mat Rice

Stobie Sounds Chair

Martin Cash (1808-1877), by J. W. Beattie (picture: National Library of Australia)

We popped over to Cal Williams Jr’s place the other day to chat with him about Frank The Poet, Bushrangers, Australian music and all sorts of tangents, including his interpretation of THE BALLAD OF MARTIN CASH, his contribution to . . . → Read More: Cal Williams Jr: Ballad of Martin Cash]]>

Martin Cash (1808-1877), by J. W. Beattie (picture: National Library of Australia)

We popped over to Cal Williams Jr’s place the other day to chat with him about Frank The Poet, Bushrangers, Australian music and all sorts of tangents, including his interpretation of THE BALLAD OF MARTIN CASH, his contribution to ‘Banished Now From My Native Shore’. Cal had some interesting things to say about Australian music as a melting pot of global influences and how Australian musical culture is perceived in Europe.

Cal’s rendition of The Ballad of Martin Cash reworks the original poem into a sweetly rambling celebration of those brave people who spend their lives on the run, refusing to submit to authority.

It’s also worth noting that Cal’s furry sideburns and shaggy disposition bears a striking resemblance to the real Martin Cash (pictured).  Could he actually be related?

Cal is playing on JUNE 1 at the Wheatsheaf Hotel as part of the launch of ‘Banished Now From My Native Shore: The Verse of Frank The Poet’.

Some historical notes on Martin Cash taken from the Australian Dictionary of Biography

Martin Cash (1808-1877), bushranger, was born at Enniscorthy, County Wexford, Ireland, the son of George and Margaret Cash. He worked as a farm boy in Wexford until convicted in March 1827 of housebreaking. His own account of the crime was that he shot, through the house window, at a man who was embracing his (Cash’s) mistress. His claim that the ball wounded his rival in the buttocks may be thought to add some verisimilitude to the story. Six months later he was transported to Sydney for seven years in the Marquis of Huntley. He was assigned to George Bowman and continued to work for him in the Hunter River valley after receiving a ticket-of-leave. Becoming involved in cattle duffing, he left for Van Diemen’s Land, accompanied by Bessie Clifford, arriving in February 1837 in the Francis Freeling. Two years later he was convicted of larceny and again sentenced to seven years. In the next three years he escaped three times; once he evaded capture for nearly two years, but was returned to Port Arthur with an additional four years to his sentence. Soon afterwards, with two experienced New South Wales bushmen, Kavenagh and Jones, he successfully eluded two guards at Port Arthur. The three pursued a bushranging career on foot, robbing inns and the houses of well-to-do settlers with seeming impunity, and without the use of unnecessary violence, thus earning them the reputation of ‘gentlemen bushrangers’.

On hearing that Bessie Clifford had deserted him for another, Cash risked a visit to Hobart Town, but was captured and was tried for killing one of his pursuers. Some popular sympathy had been aroused for Cash, and for Kavenagh who had given himself up, by Robert Murray‘s campaign against capital punishment. Although the services of Edward Macdowell, a former attorney-general, were secured in his defence, sentence of death was passed. At the eleventh hour the decision was reconsidered, opinion sought from England, and Cash remanded for fourteen months. The final decision, left to the lieutenant-governor, was for transportation for life, and Cash was sent to Norfolk Island to be held there for ten years. By then greatly subdued, his career from December 1844 was quiet. He was given some responsibility in charge of the boys’ dormitory, and even earned some fame as a hat-maker.

In March 1854, just before the establishment broke up, he was given permission to marry Mary Bennett (1824-1879), a convict from County Clare. Six months later he received a ticket-of-leave, and soon afterwards returned to Tasmania where he had been gazetted a constable for the Cascades Agricultural Settlement. He worked for some time as overseer at the gardens in the government Domain, Hobart, and, on receipt of a conditional pardon in May 1856, went to New Zealand for four years. On his return he bought a property at Glenorchy and farmed there until his death on 27 August 1877. He was survived by his wife; their only child Martin, born in 1855, had died in 1871. Cash’s Irish charm and cheerfulness, and the chivalry and enterprise of his rebelliousness, made him a popular scoundrel, in his later years known to all and enjoying the goodwill of all.

Before his death Cash made the acquaintance of James Lester Burke, an Irish expiree and able writer, who induced him to narrate his career. Burke edited the account which gives a rather coloured version of the truth. First published in Hobart in 1870, the book has been reprinted many times. A sketch of Cash by Alfred Bock is in the Dixson Collection, Sydney.

On June 1 & 2 we’re launching our ‘Frank the Poet’ compilation album at the Wheatsheaf Hotel. Over two nights we’re inviting 16 artists to hit the stage and  play the songs that feature on the album.  For the occasion we’ve assembled a ragged bunch of musicians to provide . . . → Read More: Introducing: The Beastly Treated]]>

On June 1 & 2 we’re launching our ‘Frank the Poet’ compilation album at the Wheatsheaf Hotel. Over two nights we’re inviting 16 artists to hit the stage and  play the songs that feature on the album.  For the occasion we’ve assembled a ragged bunch of musicians to provide backing for all of the solo artists. Not just any bunch of musos but four of the finest – most in-demand artists – going ’round at the moment.

The Beastly Treated will be playing for two nights only and will provide backing to the likes of Cal Williams Jr, Nick Kipridis, Sean McMahon (Melb), Jimmy Dowling (NSW),  Max Savage, Tom West, Snooks La Vie and a whole stack more. It will be well worth the $20 just to come and see these guys play. Get Tix here

MATT WALKER needs no introduction.  He’s an ARIA award winning songwriter and musician based in Melbourne. He’s widely regarded as one of Australia’s truly original roots guitarists and vocalists.  He’s collaborated/played with everybody from Broderick Smith to Kim Salmon to Mia Dyson to Ashley Davies and is currently wielding his axe in Tex Perkins’ ‘Band of Gold’.

Four songs on the album were recorded in Matt’s 8 Track Shack, including his own haunting rendition of ‘Bold Jack Donohoe’

CHRIS PARKINSON is one of Austrlaia’s truely gifted roots guitarists. The tone and atmosphere that he can lull from his trusty danelectro guitar is instantly recognisable and is gaining a reputation across the nation.  He’s played with some of the best, including a long stint as side man to the late-great Jimmy Little. Alongside Robyn Chalken in The Yearlings, he has recorded a haunting version of Moreton Bay on the album. A true  gem on Adelaide’s scene.

HEATH CULLEN hails from Candelo, NSW (where the fuck is that?). But don’t let his small town origins fool you.  Over the past decade, Heath Cullen has established a career as one of this country’s most promising and adventurous young accompanists – His driving guitar and ethereal lapsteel parts grace the records of some of Australia’s finest indie artists.  Heath joined with his band ‘The 45s’ to release the critically accliamed ‘A storm was coming but I didn’t feel nothin’ and is currently planning to hit the studio in the US with legendary Jim Keltner, Marc Ribot and Larry ‘The Mole’ Taylor.

BJ BARKER is a fine and sensitive drummer. Don’t let the goatee and iron maiden t-shirts give you the wrong impression. Beej is an in-demand drummer in the roots music community and plays with the likes of Kasey Chambers, The Huckleberry Swedes, The Yearlings,  The Baker Suite and, I’m sure, many more.

On the 8th of February 1840, the Sydney Gazzette published a poem some consider to be thick with the code of Irish rebels.

It was printed under the name Francis MacNamara and then forgotten for a hundred years.

Over 172 years later that same poem has been brought back to life by one . . . → Read More: Nick Kipridis: ‘A Dialogue Between Two Hibernians in Botany Bay’]]>  

On the 8^th of February 1840, the Sydney Gazzette published a poem some consider to be thick with the code of Irish rebels.

It was printed under the name Francis MacNamara and then forgotten for a hundred years.

Over 172 years later that same poem has been brought back to life by one of Adelaide’s most revered singer-song writers Nick Kipridis, lead vocalist and guitarist from The Streamliners.

In the lead up to the June 1 & 2 launch of Banished From My Native Shore: The Verse of Frank the Poet we’ll be showcasing a number of songs from the album and sharing snippets about each of the artists, their songs and how they approached their compositions. We’ll kick off the series with Nick Kipridis and his song ‘A Dialogue Between Two Hibernians In Botany Bay’. If like some of us you’re a visual learner, then here’s a little video we’ve put together for Nick’s song. Of course if you’d like a real treat, then don’t forget to buy a ticket for Saturday June 2  when he’ll be performing his song live at the Wheatsheaf Hotel, Thebarton.

The poem ‘A Dialogue Between Two Hibernians In Botany Bay’ recounts a sorrowful discussion between convicted Irish cousins Paddy and Darby who following their exile to Australia, are reunited by chance upon the shores of Botany Bay. ‘Rediscovered’ in 1952 and conclusively attributed to Irish convict Francis MacNamara (AKA Frank the Poet) in 1979, ‘A Dialogue Between Two Hibernians In Botany Bay’ is one of 13 of Frank’s poems to be featured on the upcoming Stobie Sounds compilation release ‘Banished From My Native Shore: The Verse of Frank the Poet’.

Musha welcome to Botany, Paddy, my dear,

Yer the last man in Ireland, I thought of seeing here.

But how did this lagging of yours come to pass?

I’m inclined to think you neglected the mass.

And robbed your poor soul of felicity’s joys,

By joining yourself to the cursed White Boys.

Stobie Sounds had the opportunity to chat with Nick about his song during a series of interviews with contributing artists. Among other things, we were interested to discover something about his processes.

Quizzed on how he set about writing music to the piece Nick offered the following insight. “I didn’t really think about music first. I just wanted to get some singable verses happening. It rambles on. It rhymes here and there. If you look at it, it’s more or less a short story.” A short story ideed, a ‘A Dialogue Between Two Hibernians In Botany Bay’ is one of Frank MacNamara’s longest poems, in all containing 24 verses, each of four lines. Unlike most of the other artists, Nick was ‘allocated’ a poem, despite being one of the first to put his hand up as an album contributor. He took it pretty well though and joked with a laugh that it “ended up being the longest bloody poems outta the lot!” Due to the length of the poem, verses and lines necessarily needed to be cut to keep the song from continuing infinitum. It is clear that Nick has chosen his verses, lines and words carefully, ensuring both the chronology and woeful tone of the dialogue is maintained. However he said it wasn’t a quick process, “it took a few goes….20 takes or something.”

For those of you who’ve heard Nick perform before, you’ll know he’s all about tone, both musical and lyrical. When questioned about the poem’s themes of loss and loneliness he’s articulate. “That was the tone of the poem so I thought I’d keep the music the same to sort of match that. So it ended up sounding dark, which is good ‘cause I like dark. Always have been a fan of dark music.”

Nick’s decision to go solo this time round was influenced by the vibe of the poem. He’d considered getting a band together but in the end opted to keep it “pretty stark sounding”. “It has that element of loneliness to it, you know, vocals, guitar and harp.” The decision to keep it sparse and uncomplicated has a powerful effect on the lonesome feel of the song. Although you never know, one day the song may make it into The Streamliners set list. Nick wraps up the interview with a tease, “Well it can be adapted ya know.”

It’s obvious from Nick’s contribution that he’s approached this project great passion and thought. Listening, you wouldn’t guess that it’s been composed a bloke that’s never really put music to poetry before.

Cursed Daniel O’Connell the great agitator

Is in my opinion a double faced traitor

From his seditious harangues had I kept away

I ne’er should have visited Botany Bay

‘Jimmy’s got a lot of stories to tell, and he tells them his own way – with strong words and an steady hand’ Jeff Lang.

To kick off our weekend of frank frivolities (festival of the frank, we like to call it) the Gilbert Street Hotel is hosting a . . . → Read More: Frank The Poet sideshow: Jimmy Dowling @ The Gilbert St.]]>

‘Jimmy’s got a lot of stories to tell, and he tells them his own way – with strong words and an steady hand’
Jeff Lang.

To kick off our weekend of frank frivolities (festival of the frank, we like to call it) the Gilbert Street Hotel is hosting a special show on Thursday 31 May.

Singer, songwriter and all-round-rogue Jimmy Dowling is travelling from Murwillumbah in NSW to be with us for a song or two at the Wheaty and we thought it would be a lost opportunity if he didn’t have a chance to play a full set of his own material.

Come and join us at the Gilbert Street Hotel from 7pm on 31 May to hear a set from Jimmy.

Jimmy has gained a reputation as an insighful and forthright songwriter who has that rare gift of being able to sing about every-day moments with a sharp wit and beauty that is infectious. His album Dead Man’s Lullaby has been on high rotation in the Stobie Studio of late and we really encourage you to come down for a listen.

Jimmy’s song from ‘Banished Now From My Native Shore’ features in this clip we made a while back….

Stobie Sounds Business Model: Genius or fools luck?

It’s interesting to see that a number of the music industry’s medium sized fish are . . . → Read More: Stobie Sounds: Leaders of the New School?]]>

Stobie Sounds Business Model: Genius or fools luck?

It’s interesting to see that a number of the music industry’s medium sized fish are devising interesting new ways to run record labels. What’s more interesting is that the model developed at Stobie Sounds in 2009 is becoming a popular solution to the conundrum of running a label in the 21st century.

With the rise of Inertia Access and Dew Process’ Create/Control, we thought it was timely for a bit of a reflection of our first years of life as ‘Australia’s Favourite Community Based Roots Record Label’.

A few years back, when Stobie Sounds sprang to life off the back of a 4 track EP,  music industry boffins were using adjectives such as ‘crisis’, ‘terminal decline’ and ‘Holy Shitballs’ to describe the state of the recording industry. The ‘big four’ record labels (now the big three) were owned by Russian oil tycoons, investment bankers and straight up crooks who spent the best part of the 80s and 90s becoming bloated profit making behemoths that had somehow forgotten that music is an artform. Labels had become brutally efficient at defrauding artists and appealing to the lowest common denominator.  In this context, our decision to form a record label was often met by smirks. I recall one day early on I was dropping off a batch of Kirk Special’s debut at a record store when the owner provided  his views on our new venture: ‘If you don’t sell more than 5000 copies it’s a vanity project’.   I didn’t have the balls to tell him we only made 100 copies and had no plans to make any more.

By the time we sat down to hold our first AGM the doubters had left an impression on us. So we spent a lot of time trying to articulate what we wanted to achieve and how to model our business around our lofty ideals. We hit the libraries and interweb researching how everything fit together. We learned about the history of the recording industry, copyright, publishing, licensing, contracts, intellectual property and then forgot it all and tried to devise something new. And we aren’t alone.

Our central aims were to set up a community-based record label operating on a not-for-profit basis that supports great independent musicians whilst generating enough income to pay artists a decent chunk and be self-sustaining. Sounds like a walk in the park.

What we came up with is a simple model that works well on a small scale.

The centrepiece of our model is great music written by great songwriters played by great musicians. We cannot overstate how important this is. Our belief is that if the music supported by our label is strong then over time we will be successful in our goals.

Rather than trying to own every step of the process,  we come on board for a short burst. Artists come to us with their album fully recorded and ready to go. They retain full artistic control and ownership of copyright in their recordings. Our role is to take that recording, manufacture the albums,  promote the hell out of ‘em and organise gigs, facilitate tours – and sell records. Our agreements with bands are short term.

This is pretty much what the peeps over at create/control will be doing (think Splendour in the Grass, Powderfinger etc). With the exception that they’ll do it  with more cash, great networks, heaps of experience and years of knowledge… We’ll be watching closely how they go about it.  We hope they make it work on a much larger scale than we do it.

Our releases are glued together with an annual compilation album based on a theme. This year’s outing is based on the poetry of Irish convict Francis McNamara and will feature some of our favorite established artists like Mia Dyson, Jimmy Dowling, Heath Cullen and the Yearlings alongside some of our favorite emerging bands such as Max Savage, Tom West, Bearded Gypsy Band and The Timbers.

We are also different in that our manufacturing is all done in-house. All our sleeves are hand printed using traditional methods. We spend a lot of time honing our printing skills, writing liner notes and trying to create a sleeve that is given as much love and attention as the music inside it. This method is labor intensive and immensley satisfying which keeps our output to a maximum of 500 copies per release (with most being 100-200). But given people don’t tend to buy physical albums anymore this tends to work in our favour and means we don’t have cupboards full of unsold albums lying around.

We’ve tweaked our system along the way. It’s still got it’s foibles but we’re keeping the good bits and forgetting about the mistakes.

We differ from the traditional business model is that we don’t spend our precious time and money recording albums in fancy studios, nor do we try to sign up bands to long term ‘record deals’. We don’t have an A&R man, a lawyer or an accountant.

So, after a three years, ten album releases and two compilations, we think we’re getting better at what we do.  Each release is a new opportunity to get funk-ay. Time will tell if it’s a solid new way to sell records.