Trad and Now

Articles that appeared in Trad and Now folk music magazine (http://tradandnow.com), published monthly by Duck’s Crossing Publications, Woy Woy, NSW, Australia.

FOLK ON THE ROAD – I’ll Take The Music To Go

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FOLK ON THE ROAD – I’LL TAKE THE MUSIC TO GO
By Bill Quinn

The first draft of this article appeared in edition 166 of Trad & Now magazine in October 2024.

In December 2024, it will have been 18 years in elapsed time that I’ve been writing for the national publication: Trad & Now magazine.

It feels like a lot longer.

Which is ironic in some ways, as those 18 years have included some extended breaks for various reasons.

Mostly because there’s a chunk of life from April 2014 to March 2019 when I barely had two brass razoos* to rub together, and I was wandering like a gypsy up and down the east coast of Australia. (Chris Bath from Channel 10 news but then from ABC Sydney and NSW radio dubbed me ‘Bill The Gypsy’ when I called in from the 366th different location and she threw her hands up and gave me the sobriquet.)

* WordPress is suggesting I change that to ‘brass kazoos’.

For four of those years, I was doing what our former LNP government said that we unemployed ne’erdowells must do: if you can’t find a job, move to a location where you can. So I took these clueless, gormless, careless, charmless, unempathetic cretins at their word, and started being a hobo, Boxcar Willie styles at times.

From April 2014, when I left the house and bed of a well-meaning but slightly broken** woman in Greater Sydney, until late March 2019 when I tumbled off a plane in Garramilla (Darwin), I hit the roads and for a time, music took either a backseat or went missing in action all together.

** spinal injury and resultant depression

(Interesting parallel with the experiences of one Myf Warhurst who, in her quirky, music-laden autobiography of sorts, talks about eschewing all music for months and months during Covid lockdowns.)

I bummed around the country living on fumes and in housesits, or backpacker hostels, or couch-surfing on a few isolated occasions when I had to.

I’ll go out on a limb, dear reader, and take an educated guess that if you’re reading this now, music is something you may also turn to in times of great challenges and calls on your emotional resources.

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Pub Choir Perth (Roe Street) – Monday 14 October 2024, 5.30pm – Free* Tix by Overheard Productions – * Ts&Cs Apply

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I didn’t seriously expect this to work, but it was a sort of good Samaritan act for a very nice bloke who had $400 worth of tickets he needed to shift with very little notice.

I did make some efforts via several platforms to offload them, and would have gladly stood outside the venue and tossed them around like confetti, a tactic I’ve used in the past. But I was settled quite nicely into the Irish pub around the corner and the Guinness was going down nicely.

I wrote it off as a donation to the pub choir people and a kindness to the very nice bloke which he did not need to know about.

Pub Choir Perth (Roe Street) – Monday 14 October 2024, 5.30pm – Free* Tix by Overheard Productions – * Ts&Cs Apply

http://www.OverheardProductions.com/Contact

  1. Fave colour
  2. Fave sporting person OR team
  3. A (NOT THE) but A fave (one (1) or three (3)**) musical recording artist who gets your motor running, picks you up when you’re done, gets you inspired when you’re flagging

Your time starts now.

NO HOLDS – TIX IN PERSON ONLY AT JOHNNY FOX’S FROM 5.30PM

NINE (9) TIX ONLY… EIGHT (8) NOW.

See you if I’m looking at you.

Overheard Productions dot com

Tarntanya, Eora, Ngambri, Meanjin, Garramilla, Walyalup, Boorloo, Naarm, Mparntwe etc.

Adelaide, Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane, Darwin, Fremantle, Perth, Melbourne, Alice Springs, etc.

Thank You And G’day Pt 2.0 – My Latest Article for Trad & Now

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For want of anything more meaningful in a meandering, blathery article, all photos in this web version will be from my various trips taken so far in 2024 from Brisbane to Perth, from Colonel Light Gardens to Mparntwe

This article also appeared in the April 2024 Edition No. 162 of Trad & Now magazine.

Greetings from Tarntanya on Kaurna Lands, home of the red kangaroo dreaming. I’m Bill Quinn, the artist formerly known as the author of A Punter’s Perspective and Folk On The Road.

I published my last Trad & Now article in February 2023, and I had intended it to be about crowds and noise.

I say ‘last’, but to quote the Billy Bragg song, “[It] should have been the [second] last, but [it] was just the latest.”

Here then is the start of that latest article. I’ve gone for a title using what we call in some brands of written English, parallel structures. It was called, Thank You And Goodnight Pt 1.5.

Although if you’re the type of person who has kept every copy of Trad & Now magazine, plus most issues of its predecessor, Tapestry, and they’re sitting in the top cupboard in the spare room, or shoved under the bed where your first wain Gwenevieve slept from ages two to 22 before she graduated from Kikatinalong University and then moved to Wealabarrabac for post grad (and also that internship with the medical research group) – take a deep breath; I’m puffin – then you can search out the February 2023 edition.

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Thank You And Goodnight Pt 1.5 – My Last Trad & Now Article

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A respectful, listening crowd for ‘Sea Swallow’ at Earl of Spencer Inn, Albany in October 2022

This article also appeared in Trad And Now magazine, issue no. 154, February 2023

Except for this bit in italics which did not appear, mostly because when I wrote this article as a lazy way of getting my column together at the last minute by effectively duplicating an old article, I did not realise it would be my last for Trad and Now. But a few weeks later, a few ripples had become waves, and those waves were starting to smash upon the shores of my frustration, patience, and perseverance. I tendered my notice to not contribute to the magazine from 13 March 2023.

Trad and Now is a great magazine, written by passionate and knowledgeable people who give so much on so many fronts for independent music. I remain a great supporter of it. If you have the time and interest, you can read a bit more about my 16yrs 3mths writing for the magazine in a later article here. But to the column that appeared in the actual magzine:

As I type, it’s the last day of January 2023, and last night I sang farewell to Walyalup. (Walyalup is the local Nyoongar word for the area known as Fremantle.) The venue was Clancy’s Fish Pub, the song was (of course, if it’s me), Rag and Bone by Ian Mackintosh of The Wheeze & Suck Band/Traditional Graffiti, and the crowd was glorious.

Also, this article is running late because after 16 years of A Punter’s Perspective/Folk On The Road, you don’t [muck] with tradition. Sliding in just in (or just after) time is kinda my thing.

This edition’s column was originally going to be about an unsavoury crowd/audience incident from late last year in Walyalup, and far too many similar occurrences. I need another month to process all that, though the audio version exists in the on-demand section of 107.9FM Radio Fremantle – Folking Around, Monday 9-11pm. (I’ve already resigned from that radio gig while waiting to raise my anchor and sail off from Fremantle. Also they’re not part of the overarching Community Broadcasting Association of Australia, and I took issue with some of their practices.)

So for now, here’s my column from April 2011, and I’ll organise my thoughts for March 2023. (Now a later entry here on this website.)

50th Top Half Folk Festival, Mary River Wilderness Retreat, NT in June 2021

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The Human Highway Celebrates 50 Years Of Neil Young’s ‘Harvest’

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This article also appeared in Trad And Now magazine, issue no. 153, December 2022

2022 has been a big year for fans of Canadian folk-rocker Neil Young.

(Arguably it’s been a big year for Neil himself, but he wasn’t available for comment prior to press time.)

It’s been 50 years since Young’s seminal album ‘Harvest’ was released in February 1972. (The column author was in first grade at Rosary Demonstration School at the time and was sadly oblivious to this moment in musical history.) ‘Harvest’ was the best-selling album of 1972 in the USA and has remained Neil Young’s best-selling album to date.

‘Harvest’ was remastered and re-released on 2 December 2022, and not surprisingly in this digital, multi-platform age, it comes with a host of extras. The reissue comes in either vinyl or CD box set form, with both including two DVDs. Young’s much-bootlegged ‘BBC In Concert’ is included on CD and vinyl in the respective packages, and three ‘Harvest’ outtakes are also made available in physical form for the first time – on a third CD or a 7-inch record in the vinyl set.

And early December 2022 saw the debut limited release of the 1971 film ‘Harvest Time‘, a documentary covering the ‘Harvest Barn’ sessions at Young’s northern California farm, his performance with the London Symphony Orchestra in London, and in Nashville there are scenes of Young working on various album tracks.

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Albany International Folk’n Shanty Festival 2022

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This article also appeared in edition 152 of Trad And Now magazine in November 2022.

Having not ventured from Perth/Fremantle since landing in Western Australia in April 2022, it was great to zip off for two weeks in a rented campervan to see the great south west, mostly to take in the 2022 Albany International Folk ‘N Shanty Festival. Heading off towards a weekend of music, song, and good people is hard to beat.

It was my first time driving in Western Australia and proved quite the revelation. WA for me conjures up images of stark rocky ranges, miles of pindan dust, and a harsh, dry climate. But Freo to Albany and return via Denmark, Nannup, and Margaret River has the look and feel of south east NSW or Victoria. Dairy cow, vineyard, and tall tree country.

Albany is quite stunning. Turning up early and staying late was wise. A boat across Oyster Harbour and up Kalgan River, a morning zip around King George Sound on a whale-spotting boat, a spin out to the wind farm, and wanderings around the tops of Mounts Melville and Clarence (Corndarup) – all recommended diversions. Bring a jumper.

Add in a trip to a local brewery and the giniversity and that was a pretty full first visit. Now add 2.5 days of a shanty festival and stir liberally.

Albany Town Hall
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Fo’c’s’le Firkins – Shanties And Songs Of The Sea

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Image courtesy of The Original Fo’c’s’le Firkins

This article also appeared in edition 151 of Trad And Now magazine in September 2022.

Here in south west Australia, and in niche but growing enclaves around the country and the world, many of us are starting to get a little excited for the upcoming Albany International Folk ‘n’ Shanty Festival which takes place from Friday 30 September to Sunday 2 October 2022.

“From fireside folk sessions and concerts, to full blown pub shanty singing, from tales of pirates, whales and shipwrecks; the Albany International Folk ‘n Shanty Festival turns historic Albany/Kinjarling into a playground of maritime culture.” – shantyfest.com

Albany may not lay claim to the most remote festival venue on the continent, but there would be few that could beat it. Albany is 3,335kms by road from Melbourne, 3,864kms from Sydney, and about a five hour drive south from Perth.

But more of the festival itself in a future edition. I mention it here for context to say I’ve been booked in to attend for a while, so when news of a CD launch of sea shanties and songs of the sea* bobbed up, my interest was already piqued.

* There’s a difference between the two. All shall be revealed hereunder.

The Original Fo’c’s’le Firkins launched their live CD in Fremantle at the Navy Club on Saturday 20 August 2022. It was a nice piece of musical recording symmetry as the album was recorded in 2021 at the same venue.

Band members were understandably taking any chance to plug the CD and gig around Fremantle in the lead-up, and group member Jon Cope spent some time during ‘Folking Around’ on Radio Fremantle to talk in detail about the recordings’ evolution and background.

Normally, I would have been one of the interviewers, however, I was struck down by a debilitating (non-plague) illness that week, so my colleagues of the airwaves manned the bridge and took the wheel: Frank Hodges (asking the lion’s share of the questions) and Alan Dawson (on the panel, knobs, buttons, and light comic relief).

Image courtesy of The Original Fo’c’s’le Firkins
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Perth Folk And Roots Club

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This article also appeared in edition no. 150 of Trad & Now magazine, August 2022.

One of the joys of landing in a new locality is the gradual discovery of new venues, local watering holes, gigs, and music sessions.

After a self-imposed hermitical existence in Brisbane for three and a half months at the start of 2022, I jumped in to south west Australia with both boots upon arrival in April, and have since been to stacks of lively places for all manner of events.

It helps to be filling in as co-host of ‘Folking Around’ on 107.9FM Radio Fremantle on Mondays from 9-11pm AWST – go to www.radiofremantle.com.au to listen live or on-demand to months of previous shows. (Spot the subtle plug? No? Good.)

Host Frank Hodges starts every show with an extensive run-down on gigs in the Greater Perth and Fremantle areas, and it’s been great to zip out and experience some of these first-hand.

On a chilly July Sunday afternoon, I set off to the Inglewood Bowling Club in Mount Lawley. For the sensible, it’s a drive to the back of Inglewood Oval and a park right outside the venue on Stancliffe Street. For me, it was a bus to Fremantle, train to Perth Station, then a very pleasant hour’s walk north in pale, wintry, late afternoon sunshine.

Words to live by. Sign over the bar at the Inglewood Bowling Club.
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Folk On The Road – Endless Sky: A Personal, Musical Love Letter To Mparntwe

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Alice Springs - First visit in March-April 2021
Anzac Hill at Alice Springs. From the author’s first visit in March-April 2021. Before I knew the word ‘Mparntwe’, definitely before I knew how to pronounce it. Thanks, Xavia for the video instruction during Endless Sky, recorded by 8CCC Community Radio et al on 21 August 2021 at Araluen Arts Centre, Mparntwe, transmitted on 13 September 2021 – see article for link.

This article also appeared in an edited format in the October 2021 edition no. 144 of Trad & Now magazine – available in good newsagents and some sketchy ones too. Or by subscription at www.tradandnow.com.

This article was principally written on the lands of the Central Arrernte people in Mparntwe (Alice Springs). I’m creating this online version on the lands of Western Arrernte people and doing the most recent of many edits in Walyalup (Fremantle) on the lands of the Whadjuk people. I pay respect to the traditional custodians of these lands: past, present, emerging, and those to come. The author of this rambling tome was born on Ngunnawal land.

Endless Sky – A Personal, Musical Love Letter to Mparntwe

by Bill Quinn

Darwin Festival 2021 went ahead from Thursday 4 to Sunday 22 August 2021, and as the song says, it was against all odds.

Well, not all odds, but many.

In these pages [of Trad & Now magazine] we’ve discussed the challenges (and strangely the opportunities) that Covid19 or corona virus or SARS2 has presented to the worlds of music, arts, entertainment, and hospitality.

For now, I have to tip all of my hats in the direction of Harbour View Plaza in McMinn Street, Darwin and say the sincerest and deepest of thanks to everyone at Darwin Festival who made DF21 happen. That it happened at all is remarkable. That it blossomed forth in such sparkling, memorable fashion is an incredible accomplishment.

If you were attending the festival from out of town, or were new to the festival, it may have appeared a seamlessly professional and comprehensive series of so many events covering all the aspects of the yarts imaginable. Apart from three days off for Darwin’s Lockdown Light III (17-19 August 2021), the show went on, and every spot on the program that I can recall was filled with sparkling talent.

Yeah, sadly many southern artists could not make it to the Top End to join in the joy and fun. That was a shame.

Festival CEO James Gough and Artistic Director Felix Preval, and the scores of production, box office, talent-wrangling, stallholder-herding, sales, corporate liaison, sponsor-schmoozers, and volunteer coordinator Mathilde Mercadier – all of them ducked, weaved, bobbed, re-organised, rescheduled, reordered, and (strike me down, I’m going to use the P word) yes, they pivoted. (There goes a dollar in the buzzword jar.)

Together they created an amazing event, a jewel in a groaning, heaving, bloated, glorious calendar of Darwin and Top End events.

Darwin Festival 2021. Image by Bill Quinn.
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