Day: June 25, 2013

Interview: Van Larkins (Queensland)

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Image courtesy of Owen Van Larkins
Image courtesy of Owen Van Larkins

Interview with (Owen) Van Larkins

Progressive Acoustic Fusion — Finger-style Guitar

On one of those nights earlier this year where I could have pulled up stumps in Blackheath, Balmain or Bollongong, I opted for the middle option on a warm evening at a programmed open mic night (for want of a cleaner turn of phrase), one of many put on each week under the label ‘Songs On Stage‘.

It was an eclectic mix of local performers at The Cat and Fiddle that night but the gig was also host to a visiting performer: Owen Van Larkins (who puts his music out as Van Larkins).

Owen and I took a few minutes to catch up talk about music, touring and venues, and I apologise now for the charming backdrop of traffic on Darling Street, Balmain:

Title track from Wandering Hands by Van Larkins:

Interview: Trish and Sam the Jazz/Swing Dancers (Sydney)

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Swing Dancing
Swing Dancing

Interview with Trish and Sam

Swing/jazz dancers, Rock Lily, Sydney

Earlier this year I lobbed into The Star Casino and having no interest in the gambling diversions, I stumbled into the Rock Lily venue and a great little gig featuring Jordan C Thomas and Pia Andersen and Her Lonesome Playboys.

After recording interviews with both the headline and support acts, I then managed to grab a few minutes with two of the fabulous dancers who were providing such wonderful visual accompaniment to the music:

Vintage Allsorts dancers from Sydney Swing Katz and Swingtime dance troupes backed by the High Tops Brass Band at the re-launch of The Bourbon in Sydney:

Interview: Pia Andersen (Sydney)

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Pia Andersen
Pia Andersen

Interview with Pia Andersen (Sydney)

Jazz, swing and barrelhouse blues

This is the second of three interviews I did one steamy summer evening in Sydney earlier this year when I found myself strangely at a loose end at The Star Casino in Sydney. This is not a regular haunt for me and so to discover the Rock Lily venue down one end of the gaming floor was trés welcome.

While the crowd was modest to start with, a healthy dance-floor-full of swing dancers materialised as Pia Andersen and Her Lonesome Playboys took the stage and the music started.

It was a visually and musically arresting performance and I took the opportunity to interview Pia and sax player Frank Bennett afterwards:

Pia Andersen has a gig on Thursday 26 June at Palmer and Co in Sydney and you can find more information on other upcoming gigs and news at her Reverbnation page.