Woodford Folk Festival 08-09

In Easter 1987 the National Folk Festival was held at the
Maleny Showgrounds, this became the genesis of what was
to become the Woodford Folk Festival.
From then until 1993 when the festival attendance had grown
from some 3000 that Easter into some 65000, the festival
was held each year at Maleny. After the first one it was to be
held between Christmas and New Years, as not to clash with
the national festival.



The Maleny site, having been outgrown in 9 years, was
abandoned and the Queensland Folk Federation boldly
purchased the Woodford site in July 1994.
With additional land purchased in 2003 the site now covers
320 acres, a wonderful testament to the foresight of the
QFF and its dedication to future generations.




Woodford has become a monster event, with over
100000 persons attending, 2000 performers, 400
events over 6 days, as far as I know the largest event
of its kind in the southern hemisphere.
I was a regular, for 10 years I camped every year and
played at both Maleny and Woodford. The last full
year attendance however was 99-2000 after which
children slowed me down. So its day trips for me.
We went yesterday the 29th, a bit of a quieter day
usually leading into New Years and concluding day
with the fire event.





I didn't get to see all that much music, but as you will
see from the photos, music is but a part of what is on offer.
So this is a monster post with a selection of photos culled
down from some 400, that should give you an idea of
what its like, trying to describe it to my 4 year old,
I resorted to, "its like another planet"



It was some stage around 8pm my 8 year old described
it as awesome and did not wish to go home.
The best way to see the festival is to camp, you have
more time to see things as there's loads of clashes.
As well as more time to chill out, the big problem
is chilling cause its bloodly hot this time of year.
At least the rain held off this time.
Highlights included and remember I have 3 young
boys to please, Hawksley Workman, Kistina Olsen,
The Grimstones a 50min gothic puppet show,
Aboriginal dancers, fire twirling and the very
funny Tiny Top with its wonderfully sadistic circus
acts.


Kistina Olsen
TaikOz
Hawksley Workman


I also got my first chance to try out my new
camera on concert shots without flash, with which
I was well pleased. And the night time carnival
atmosphere was a big hit with the kids.


The Grimstones


I've included many street shots, the festival
village is very big these days, twice the size of
the Dreaming festival that's held mid year on the
same site.




Its great to just walk around the 100's
of stalls selling everything hippy and loads of
hand made instruments for the folk musicians.
As Maude in Harold and Maude said
"everyone should be able to play a musical
instrument" Of course this ethos is well followed
at Woodford and when all else fails there's always
drums and let me tell you there is drums.

The Tiny Top




There's nothing like fire twirling to get attention at
night especially the attention of my boys,
so we watched that for a while.
We left about 10 PM as the kids started
to meltdown as the bands started that I was really
interested in The Herd and Augie March came on
different stages. For those interested I've uploaded
a few more photos on my myspace page here.
Be sure an leave some comments.



Its a fitting post to end off the year, Woodford looks both
backwards and forwards, the QFF have a 500 year plan
I believe and much of the festival harks back to an era
of times long gone.
Happy New Year to all who read this blog and find it useful
and many thanks all everyone who has contributed over
the year with much of the fine music you find here,
all your stories and all your encouragement.

Shane Howard - Front Line Heroes Live Woodford Folk Festival 1998

A Christmas eve post for all you wonderful folk.
An exclusive world first post.

10 years ago at the Woodford Folk Festival Shane Howard
and the reformed Goanna Band did a series of performances.
I was there and being the Shane Howard fan I am never
missed a gig, but Chuck also was there and recorded 2
of Shane's solo performances.
Its two separate gigs both wonderfully recorded and
Shane solo boots are a rare thing indeed.
So a wonderful Christmas present from Chuck complete
with his very impressive artwork, many thanks Chuck.
And just in time for the kick off of the Woodfolk Folk
Festival which starts on the 28th.
Your in for a treat if you haven't seen Shane solo,
one of the country's greatest artists who always
puts on a spellbinding show, in touch with this
country and its spirit and able to articulate so
many of the challenges that face us now and in
the years ahead.

Shane Howard - Front Line Heroes
Live Woodford Folk Festival 1998

Concert 1
6PM Concert Stage
28-12-98

01 - what else is a life
02 - this old world
03 - light of day
04 - soul sister
05 - murri time
06 - money

Concert 2
10PM Sitting Duck
29-12-98

07 - poor fella my country
08 - let the franklin flow
09 - mystified
10 - light of day
11 - we are the people
(William Barton)
12 - solid rock


Download Here

Robert Forster Copenhagen 28-09-08

Another fantastic quality recording from Roberts recent
tour has surfaced over at Misha's blog.
The recording is a 10 out of 10 a matrix mix of
an audience recording and a soundboard.
So is the performance and the band are brilliant.
The song list draws extensively from Roberts career,
with songs from throughout the Gobetweens catalog
as well as some brilliant solo stuff.
A rare outing of "heart out to tender" and a beautiful
rendition of Grant's "quiet heart" plus many wonderful
tracks from the new album make this very special.
So get over to Misha's blog and say hello while your there.

Robert Forster
Copenhagen Lille Vega, DK
2008-09-28

source 1: church cardiods->iriver
source 2: sbd->xlr->nomad jb3

matrix made in cool edit pro->cdwav->flac

[taper: willer@vip.cybercity.dk]

01. intro
02. Something for Myself
03. Spirit
04. Love Is a Sign
05. Rock ’n’ Roll Friend
06. If It Rains
07. The Evangelist
08. When She Sang About Angels
09. Demon Days
10. I’m Allright

--- break ---

11. Too Much of One Thing
12. Clouds
13. Born to a Family
14. Head Full of Steam
15. Pandanus
16. Surfing Magazines
17. Did She Overtake You?
18. Quiet Heart
19. Make Her Day
20. German Farmhouse
21. Darlinghurst Nights
22. Spring Rain
23. Here Comes the City
24. He Lives My Life
25. Heart Out to Tender
26. I Can Do
27. Dive for Your Memory
28. People Say

Find it here

Music From the State of Corruption - Various Artists

Christmas has come early thanks to Glen Aka GAM
who shares this rare 1989 cassette only release.
Plenty fantastic bands who I've only seen these
recordings from. The fabulous She Walks Down by
Other Voices sounding rather Died Pretty.
Sometimes by This Five Minutes and
the Eugene & the Egg tracks all make for an
excellent compilation and Glen has done a superb
job of digitalizing the cassette.



Here's what Glen has to say about this cassette.

Think it came out in 1989, but I may have picked
it up a year or 2 after that. I liked its 'brown paper
bag' colour scheme - tying into the whole
pre-Fitzgerald-era Qld political corruption thing.
There's not a lot of info on the tracks or the bands.
I'd only heard of a couple of them when I bought it.
I get the impression these are bands that were active
probably from the early to mid-late 80s.
It's an unusual comp in that there are 2 tracks from
3 bands, so it's more of a 'showcase' for those bands.
Similar to other comps of the time it has a couple of
non-musical 'clips' which go with the era
and the first song is an intro to the whole thing;
kinda camp, but right on with it.
These songs aren't about the politics of the time,
they're just *from* the time and reflect to a degree
Brisbane's musical pre-occupations at that time;
60's influenced psychedelia, early
synth/dance, post-punk & goth pop.
I give one of these songs 4 stars (not saying which one)
- it's brilliant pop.
This is a great comp with very few dull moments.
I hope I've done it justice in my treatment of it.
I've currently got it on high rotation in iTunes,
so at least I'm enjoying it. :)


Track List
01 - The State of Corruption - Tony Pumpkin-not Pumpkin
02 - No Recognition - Eugene & the Egg
03 - She Walks Down - Other Voices
04 - Too Much Acid - Pineapples From the Dawn of Time
05 - Sometimes - This Five Minutes
06 - VV Virginia W - Trash & Treasure
07 - Sexploitation - K Agents
08 - Here is the News
09 - Wanderlust - Peso Kim
10 - Chemicals - No No Sin
11 - View from the Edge - Eugene & the Egg
12 - Not On Your Life - One Big Union
13 - Joh Goes Home
14 - Dumb & Drunk - K Agents
15 - Bat Baby - Tony Pumpkin-not Pumpkin

Download Here

David Bridie - Live at the wireless

A wonderful recording I obtained from Chuck, haven't
Much info on this so hears what Chuck has to say.

This was broadcast just after act of free choice came out
in some form of surround sound format apparently.
A big part of pre-broadcast hype...
surround or not its excellent quality,
this concert gets a good workout in this house...
I've listened to it a hundred times more often than
the act free choice cd.

Tracklist
01 - Sad
02 - Dive
03 - Breath
04 - The Koran, The Ghan and a Yarn
05 - I Dare Not Say a Word
06 - Kerosene
08 - Salt
09 - Act of Free Choice

Download Here

Post No Bills - Self Titled Cassette

A request from Chuck for this wonderful cassette release from
Brisbane post punk band Post No Bills sometime round 1985.
Quite a lot of these songs were given regular airplay on
ZzZ back then.

Tracklist
01 Aren't Any Words
02 Fleas
03 The One in A
04 Thanks For All the Fun
05 Shattered Frame
06 Winter

Download Here

4zzz Radio Times Dec88, It was 20 years ago today!

A wonderful piece of history here from Chuck who gave us
the Banana Curtain Cds. Its a complete PDF scan of all 32
pages of the December/ January Edition of 4ZzZ ,s radio
times.Sent out to 4ZzZ subscribers several times a year
radio times is a most informative piece of underground
publishing.


This particular edition comes just after the
infamous eviction of 4ZzZ from the St Lucia campus,
where they had been broadcasting since 1975.
The newly elected Student Union with its ultra -
conservative lean, decided to clean up campus and
the radical leftest radio station had to go.



So on 4.17 am, on the 14th of December, 1988, 20 years ago
to the day, 4 union officials and 4 hired security burst
into the studio forcing them off air mid song (Orange Crush
by REM). The 2 graveyard announcers were quick witted
enough to grab some equipment and quickly phoned some
station workers, a makeshift studio was set up on the Mount
Cootha transmission tower, broadcasting a message calling
on all listeners to head to St Lucia for a protest.


You can read all about what happened after in the PFD
file, it makes for fascinating reading.
4ZzZ finally set up studio in the Toowong shopping center.
this was where they were when I worked on the
Latin American show, in 1992 they moved to their
premises in the Valley.

Download PFD Here

4zzz Eternally Ours - Part 9 Brisbane bands 1975 - 1995

Part 9 - 1992 - 1995

Finally we come to the of the ride, quite a few bands
didn't get a mention or very briefly. To name a small
number of omissions, The Apartments certainly
should of got a song played, the Five Hanks who's
drummer I went to school with were a wicked band
live, the Toothfaeries my fav news years eve band,
Kev Carmody maybe not a band, but one of the
greatest artists to come from round these parts
and Regurgitator our greatest export in the 90's.
Anyway a historic document never the less.
Another surprise omission is the lack of mention
of the Livid festival's and the impact on Brisbane
that they had. Long before the Big Day Out the
Livid festival blazed a trail that many would follow.
The first one in January 1989 had an all Brisbane
line up including the Go-Betweens, Chris Bailey,
Ups and Downs and Died Pretty, held at St Lucia
Uni where 4ZzZ grew up and almost the same
spot the fabulous Pig City gig was held last year,
it was a memorable beginning to a festival
which continued until 2003, bringing some
of the greatest line ups Australia has ever seen.
Blow Hard's, V8 Rock 'n' Roll is a riot,
Isis's Masturbation Song is another stand out
track of the time. The Pod Party's excellent
Tiny White Heart returning me to the early
days of Human League and the fabulous
Wishing Chair with the wonderful pop of
Dreaming.

Artists in order of appearance
Noose - Slum Church
Blow Hard - V8 Rock 'n' Roll
Gravel Rash - Boys Germs
Dreamkillers - Homophobia
Isis - Masturbation Song
Hate Man - Incubus
The Pod Party - Tiny White Heart
The Wishing Chair - Dreaming
Turnpike - Last Star Fell

Download Here