Byron Bay Blues Festival 2013 Sampler

Byron Bay, NSW, Australia

An Indian American Thai Australian friend spends about her time on the gorgeous NSW coast near Byron Bay.  And she has reminded me, and requested me, to commemorate this year’s annual Blues Fest with a Washerman’s Dog sampler.   

As usual its an amazing lineup. Hope many of you made it. If not, here is a double slice of some of the biggest names on the list.

Surf’s up!

Track Listing: Vol 1

01 'Cuz I'm Here [Ruthie Foster]
02 Even in the Quietest Moments [Supertramp]
03 Fujiyama Mama [Wanda Jackson]
04 Lovestruck Baby [Robert Cray]
05 Jealousy [Bettye LaVette]
06 The Car Song [The Cat Empire]
07 Strut [Taj Mahal]
08 Bongo Man [Jimmy Cliff]
09 Rattlesnake Preacher [Chris Smither]
10 Flying [Chris Isaak]
11 Hearts And Bones [Paul Simon]
12 Let The Four Winds Blow [Robert Plant]
13 There's Hope For You [William Elliot Whitmore]
14 Takin' The Midnight Train [Tony Joe White]
15 Since I Fell for You [Mavis Staples]
16 Dear Old Southland [Allen Toussaint]
17 Wichita Skyline [Shawn Colvin]
18 Devil Got My Woman [Bonnie Raitt]
19 El Viento [Manu Chao]
20 St. Judy's Comet [Paul Simon]

here

Track Listing: Vol 2
01 Jesus Gonna Be Here [Blind Boys of Alabama]
02 Flying [Chris Isaak]
03 Down to Zero [Bettye LaVette]
04 People Grinnin' In Your Face [Ruthie Foster]
05 Funky Buttercup [The Bamboos]
06 Chelsea Hotel No. 2 [Rufus Wainwright]
07 Rattlesnake Preacher [Chris Smither]
08 The Train I'm On [Tony Joe White]
09 Blues On A Holiday [Susan Tedeschi]
10 Me Llaman Calle [Manu Chao]
11 Dreamer [Supertramp]
12 One Four Five [The Cat Empire]
13 The Harder They Come [Jimmy Cliff]
14 99 and 1/2 [Mavis Staples]
15 Slippin' & Slidin' [Wanda Jackson]
16 Swinging Doors [Wanda Jackson] 
17 Senor Blues [Taj Mahal]
18 American Music [Violent Femmes]
19 Tenderness [Paul Simon]
20 On Your Way Down (feat. Allen Toussaint) [Trombone Shorty]

here

Down Under Roots: The Joelenes and The Bayou Brothers

There are many differences between the United States and Australia.  Our continental land masses are pretty much the same size but down here the 5000 kilometers of space is peppered with the population of New York State.  Venture too far off the dusty red track out in the middle and you’ll be pretty much on your own until you get to the Pearly Gates (or the other place, which, considering where you’ve just come from, might be an actual improvement).

We have kangaroos. Americans have skunks. Both are pests. We both share poisonous snakes that hide out in rocky mountains, though our mountains are pretty wimpy compared to the Rockies.  Both countries have indigenous people they have abused, neglected and then tried to ‘assimilate’ for their supposed greater good.  Australian Aborigines, however, have been living here since 38,000 BCE. 

We both play football with oblong balls of leather, but Aussie men snicker at all those padded up gladiators in the NFL. Our ‘footy’ players wear shorts and knee high socks and that’s about it.   You’ve got baseball. We’ve got cricket. But we get the idea of hitting a fastly-tossed hard ball with a wood bat.

We have similar breakfast cereals. You say Rice Krispies. We say Rice Bubbles. Our Cheerios have sugar on them. Your’s don’t.  And we don’t even know what Grapenuts are.

In the realm of music we both love roots or alt-country music.  We are slightly embarrassed by Keith Urban (though are sort of proud of him, too) and bristle when it assumes he’s all there is to Aussie country music.

Tonight the Washerman’s Dog shares a couple of small local bands who ply their trade in bars and pubs around the country, drubbing up enough to pay rent and get to the next gig. 

From the badlands of Brunswick (a suburb of Melbourne) and the seaside skulduggery of St Kilda (another burb), alt-country five-piece The Joelenes bring you their full-length album: Cool Hand Lucille. This 10-track collection of original songs is a celebration of love, loss, public transport (trams in particular), and the ability to keep on truckin’ even when life seems hell-bent on bringing you down.

The Joelenes unique and powerful sound is shaped by four-part harmonies, acoustic guitars, harmonica licks, keys, mandolin, stripped-back drums and dirty bass – it’s a little bit rootsy, a little bit bar-room stomper, a little bit bluesy and a whole lotta alt-country.

The female-fronted line-up features: Rosina ‘slingshot’ Gannon (guitar/vocals), Nina ‘howlin’ Rousseau (harmonica/vocals/guitar), Joanna ‘Rainman’ Flemming(keys/vocals/guitar/mandolin), Hadley ‘big daddy’ Agrez (bass) and Chris ‘boom chicka’ den Brave (drums/washboard).

Thus, does the band, The Joelenes (not to be confused with the English female bluegrass band,The Jolenes) describe itself.

 **

Hailing from the other side of the continent come The Bayou Brothers. Combining their traditional blues influences with rockabilly, manic hillbilly, gospel, country and folk, in a style that the Brothers fondly refer to as Deliverance meets the Delta, the group is comprised of founding members Andrew Morgan & Richard Woollett and multi-instrumentalist Dave Clarke and Victorian double bass player Ben "Bendigo" Gibbon.

Happy listening!

Track Listing (Joelenes)

01 Pass The Wine

02 Mary & Pat

03 Stuart Highway

04 Song For Patrick

05 Some Consolation

06 Stay On Board

07 The River

08 Begun

09 The Tram Song

10 Dead Man's Cigarette

11 Bonus Party Track

here

Track Listing: (Bayou Brothers)

01 Green River

02 Drop Down Mama

03 The Exercise Yard

04 Wayfaring Stranger

05 Everything Tastes Better When It’s Fried

06 Lord, I'm Coming to Heaven

07 Ramblin' Man

08 Takes A Lot to Laugh, Takes a Train to Cry

09 Like a Bird

here

From White to Black: Visible Seven

[It is] of no use to shut our eyes to the fact that there is a great feeling all over Australia against the introduction of coloured persons. It goes without saying that we do not like to talk about it, but it is so.                (John Forrest, Premier Western Australia ca. 1900)

My art teacher as a youngster was one of India’s most famous painters, Frank Wesley.  He was married to an Australian woman and we were aware that they intended to move to Australia and settle permanently.  But the date for their departure came and went. More than once. It was then that I heard my parents and others mutter about something called the ‘White Australia policy’ which had banned or made immigration to Australia for non-European persons exceedingly difficult. 

Eventually, in the early 70’s Mr. Wesley was granted a visa, around the same time that the racist policy was finally and completely done away with.  Australia, today, is one of the most cosmopolitan, ethically diverse countries on earth. In the last few years South Asians became the largest immigrant community, finally knocking off the Brits and the Chinese.   Mr Wesley, who lived his final years in Queensland and passed away about 10 years ago, would have loved that!

When I first arrived in Australia I loved the international flavor of the country but was struck by just how rare it was to spot an African.  Every once in a while you might catch a glimpse of a Somali or Sudanese refugee woman shopping in the Asian markets in the western suburbs but generally, Africans were notable for their minute numbers in modern Australia.

That too has changed. Large numbers of Sudanese and Somali refugees have arrived steadily over the last 15 years, as have immigrants from all parts of the Continent.  I have three women friends who are married to Ghanians and Rwandans. So things continue to improve.

But politicians still love to sound like their century-old predecessors. Despite Australia’s marvelously diverse immigration regime, anti-asylum seeker/refugee policy and rhetoric fill the headlines and political debates.  Like America and guns, Australia and refugees are a national scandal.

The Visible Mentorship Program has been run by the government of Victoria since 2005 and was established to link African refugee/migrant musicians with local artists and music producers.  Over the years, some of the city’s and State’s most popular acts, like the Black Jesus Experience and Diafrix, have been able to find audiences, produce CDs and earn a living thanks to the support of the Visible program.  

The program, while still focused on newly arrived Africans, has expanded to include musicians from other parts of the world, such as the Pacific, Timor Leste and even Latin America. 

The collection in the spotlight tonight belongs to the latest graduating class of the Visible Program and besides some far out Ethio-jazz, Congolese gospel rumba and Sudanese rap, includes excellent folk from Tibet and sweet harmonies from Timor Leste.  

This collection makes you proud to be Australian. Despite the shameful politicians and their scandalous fear baiting.

Track Listing:

1. Alsemi Geba Belew  [Bitsat Seyoum]
2. Aha Gedawo [J-Azmaris]
3. Hacia El Amor [Acucochi]
4. The Echo of Burundi in Victoria [The Burundian Drummers]
5. Yemegemriaye [Sinit Tsegay]
6. Africa [M.Wol]
7. Better Future [Macc-Too (feat. 1/6)]
8. Open Your Eyes [Markle Gotti]
9. Get Up and Live [Ras Jahknow]
10. Jigeen [Kairo]
11. Give Freedom a Go [Mystic Trio]
12. All the Way [Aminata Doumbia]
13. Hallelujah [Anhessa Gebrehiwot]
14. Ayubu [Jerusalem Gospel Rumba]
15. Phayul Dreniu [Tenzing Yeshi]

here.

Listening globally Dancing locally: Australasian Worldwide Music Expo 2012

This weekend I’ve been a delegate at the Australasian Worldwide Music Expo (Womex) here in Melbourne. I’ve had a blast rubbing shoulders with the movers and shakers in the Australian, American, European and Asian music festival industry. Curators, promoters, bureaucrats, musicians and posers such as me.

I’m working with De Kulture Music, an Indian folk music label/group and helping them to make contacts in the local industry as well as promote the upcoming Blue Lotus Music Festival of Indian folk music in Pushkar, Rajasthan in February 2013.  My main duties this week have been to chaperone and logistically manage the only artists from India selected to appear on the bill this year: Bachu Khan

Bachu Khan is a diminutive, traditional Langa singer from Rajasthan who is most famous for his exciting lead vocals in the group Musafir,  which made two CDs, Dhola Maru and Barsaat in the past few years.  I’ve posted some photos of Bachu and his gang of four relatives/accompanists (including his father-in-law!) over at the Harmonium Music Facebook page and feel so privileged (and pleased as punch) to have the opportunity to hang out with such fantastic musicians and people.

In terms of AWME 2012 itself, I’ve been slightly underwhelmed.  Mostly I’ve been surprised at the (seemingly) low turnout to most events. And though everyone in the music ‘trade’ is clued into the Expo, it appears to have no visibility in the public. And the AUSTRALIAN part of Australasian seems to be the focus with a large number of local acts on the bill.  Not in itself a bad thing, and certainly the quality of the acts is very high, but somehow I’m wondering if more could have been done to tap into some of the truly amazing ‘authentic’ folk and popular music in Indonesia, PNG, Timor Leste and China even than promote Aussie acts. 

Still, it has been thrilling to mingle, rub shoulders and bump into so many people who are passionate about ‘world’, ‘roots’ music.  From the presence and visibility of the various Australian funding agencies there is no doubt that AWME will get better every year.

For those of you who didn’t come down yet, you can still get there for the final day, Sunday, November 18.  Bachu Khan is playing at 615pm and I have no doubt his show will be one of the highlights for is vitality and visual and visceral appeal.

So herewith is the official CD of the festival put out by the Expo’s producers, highlighting just a very few of the many acts that appeared this year.  It is, as I say, heavily tilted toward Aussie artists, but all of them are worthy of being included.  I’ve also added a track by Bachu Khan, from the Musafir album Dhola Maru.

Enjoy!

            Track Listing:

            01 Old Mission Road [Archie Roach] AUSTRALIA

02 Thin Skin [Clare Bowditch] AUSTRALIA

03 Like Water [Ladi6] SAMOA/NEW ZEALAND

04 African Soldier [Seun Kuti] NIGERIA

05 Satta Massagana [The Abyssinians] JAMAICA

06 The Publican's Daughter [Jordie Lane] AUSTRALIA

07 50 Years [The Medics] AUSTRALIA

08 Never [The Bamboos] AUSTRALIA

09 Shake it Off [Sue Ray] AUSTRALIA

10 Mondeou [Boubacar Traore] MALI

11 Bella Ciao [I Viaggiatori (feat. Kavisha Mazzella)] ITALY

12 Blind Joe's Creek [Kutcha Edwards] AUSTRALIA

13 Looking Glass [Kingfisha] AUSTRALIA

14 Cuando Sera [Watussi] AUSTRALIA/COLOMBIA

15 Mahindra Death Ride [The Bombay Royale] AUSTRALIA/INDIA

16 Manbeliwa [Christine Salem] REUNION ISLANDS

17 Simple Way [OKA] AUSTRALIA

18 Rangi Rang [Musafir feat. Bachu Khan] INDIA

here

Australian Giant: Nick Cave

Nick Cave

Another set of melancholy music tonight.  Nick Cave is one of Australia’s undisputed icons and giants of the arts.  From his days as a goth punk in the early 80s to the present when he is one of a handful of Australian rock ‘n rollers who sit head and shoulders above the vast cultural landscape as guardians and heralds.

What got me hooked on his music is his fascination with salvation and God. Like Johnny Cash, Nick’s approach to religion seems to be a combination of fear and trembling, longing and haughtiness. Even in the deepest depths of his doubt Nick is able to touch upon the light and ephemeral non-real reality of the divine. And like the music of Cash, Nick’s melancholy is of a hopeful variety.

The other thing Nick is able to do better than anyone is get a musicality and tenor to his songs that conjure up the dark of night. I don’t want to say ‘gothic’ for the disastrous connotations that word elicits and so perhaps melancholy is the better description.  His tunes have a sort of Edgar Allan Poe weird ancientness to them. They are not sparsely populated but rather strewn with layers of strings, piano and glorious moaning choruses.  The melodies are rich and the sound as lush and heavy as velvet.

All of which is doing nothing but injustice  to his great music.  Tonight’s episode is the 2000 album No More Shall We Part, a collection of mournful love songs which for my money is one of his best efforts.

            Track Listing:

            01 As I Sat Sadly By Her Side

02 And No More Shall We Part

03 Hallelujah

04 Love Letter

05 Fifteen Feet Of Pure White Snow

06 God Is In The House

07 Oh My Lord

08 Sweetheart Come

09 The Sorrowful Wife

10 We Came Along This Road

11 Gates To The Garden

12 Darker With The Day

Listen here.