No Fixed Address - From My Eyes 2008 limited Ed

When I saw the legendary No Fixed Address play a couple of
Months ago at the Dreaming festival I picked up this.
A limited edition Cd copy, with extra tracks of the classic
Ep "From My Eyes." I've had a request for this so here
it is. This expanded version is now more like an album.
I doubt this will be commercially available and this copy
appears to be a home made job, with photocopied cover.
All the same it is a classic and is the place from which
all contemporary Australian indigenous music begins.
Check out my earlier posts on this band in the archives
if you missed them and my post on the Dreaming festival.

Track list
01 - We Have Survived
02 - From My Eyes
03 - Stupid System
04 - I Can't Stand And Look
05 - Sunrise
06 - Pigs
07 - 40,000 Years
08 - Greenhouse Holiday
09 - Stand Up

Download Here

The Dreaming Festival

For those who missed my previous post on the up coming Dreaming
Festival being held on the June 6 - 9, 2008 long weekend I'll give
you a quick run down. The Dreaming is the largest indigenous
cultural festival in Australia four nights and three days it showcases
the wide variety of cultural expression both here in Australia and
around the world.
With 7 main venues, including both film and drama theaters,
an outdoor dance venue and on top of that the outdoor
ceremony grounds, theres just so much to do on a
program that runs from 9 am to 1 am.
I attended yesterday, on Saturday, with the family, I mainly
wanted to go on Saturday cause of the 3 nights No Fixed Address
play this was the earliest, finishing by 10.30 instead of 1 am,
kids you know.


Well I haven't been to one of the dreaming festivals before and I
have to say it was fantastic, unique yet with a feel much like
the Woodford folk festival held on the same site, only colder.
Thats what all the fire places are about its winter here and quite cool
at times. The attendance was reasonable without a lot of the
overcrowding you get at the summer folk festival and the
program reflects that being more compact, but the quality
doesn't suffer at all.


The Dancestry venue is a popular one with my kids, I'm very happy
with that I think cultural dance traditions are one of the finest
bridges for connection and understanding between non - indigenous
and indigenous peoples that there is.
With no less than 18 performers in this venue on the Saturday,
including Idja, a new emerging outdoor puppet work,
based on song cycles of creation ceremony, performed at night.


I didn't see any of the theater , film or drama stuff, I just had too
much music and dance stuff, beside the kids would sit through it,
I'd think the best way to enjoy these things is to camp and have
the time to do a bit of everything.
That said the drama and film program looked impressive.


That brings me to the music, the MERRg a band that epitomize the
new renaissance in indigenous music, well thats what the program
says. I enjoyed these guys the first band I saw, they have a straight
down the line koori / Murri approach to music that I enjoy.
Chris Combette from French Guyana wonderful acoustic bossa nova
brilliance and I do love that kind of thing too.
Cino do Oriente from East Timor were enjoyable melding traditional
Timorese with the sounds and influences from around them.

Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu

Gurrumul was a true treat, Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu is
a incredibly talented singer songwriter, a former member of Yothu
Yindi, he performed with two others a double bass player and a
fellow on a classical guitar, to produce some of the most beautiful
music I've heard. Singing almost completely in his Gumatj
language, this blind from birth singer has, as the program attests,
the voice of an angel. Fantastic.


I also watched half an hour of Sweet Cheeks, Lou Bennett's band
(formally of Tiddas) who's acoustic music with nice harmonies was
what I expected, but not much more., but I was just waiting now
for No Fixed Address.

Bart Willoughby

Well No Fixed Address are one of those bands that when I hear
them I'm transported back to 1983, back to when I was 19,
such a long time ago.These guys haven't play together since
1982 and I never expected to see them play.
From the opening bars you could tell they still have it.

Bart Willoughby and John Miller

They played all the favorites, but started with "Aboriginal Woman"
the Bart Willoughby penned tune from his later band,
Also a highlight was the fantastic Joe Geia tune
"Message for young and old"


Chris Jones

Bart was in fine form, his vocals fantastic and Les Graham's lead
guitar work spot on. The band worked together like a bunch of
old mates, enjoying themselves

Les Graham

I also brought a limited 2008 edition of "from my eyes"
which includes 3 new tracks, which is pretty exciting.

John Miller

All in all a fantastic time, I reckon I'll be back next year.

The Dreaming Festival

'
The dreaming festival held over the June long weekend (6,7,8 &9th)
is fast coming up.
Australia's largest Indigenous arts Festival is being held for the
4th time, at the Woodford Folk Festival site, 1 hour north of Brisbane.
The Dreaming is a vibrant, exciting and a valuable destination where
local, national and international audiences look forward to their
annual ceremony time along with the most comprehensive showcase
of Indigenous arts from across the country and around the world.
This three day and four night festival, features performing arts
venues, bars, Ceremony grounds, traditional healing, galleries,
rituals, campfire story circles and a mass of stalls, workshop avenue
and food outlets.
Presented by the Queensland Folk Federation ,the program also
includes film & literature components, performing arts, new media
and digital technologies, food & wine fare, comedy, ceremony,
exhibitions, performance artists, physical theatre, Visual arts,
craft workshops, music program, street performers, musicals
and a youth program.
I'm very excited because "No fixed Address" are reforming for 3
performances, its a fantastic program even without that.
I hope to make it on Saturday and take my 3 young boys, I
consider it part of their education.
It should be an excellent time and I would encourage all you
readers in the South East Queensland Area to think about
going to this world class festival in your backyard.
Check out their excellent Web site here
and if your going to be there let me know in the comments.

Wrong Side Of The Road - No Fixed Address and Us Mob

Wrong Side Of The Road is a ground breaking 1981 Australian film,
road movie, rock documentary, musical drama, it followed 2 days of
life on the road for two Aboriginal rock/reggae bands which were
largely unknown to mainstream Australia.
Its a great film, I have it on video somewhere, it tackled
the taboo subject of racism in Australia head on, a topic which one
would say still is pretty taboo.
Each band gets a side each on the album, No fixed address later
released their groundbreaking Ep "From My Eyes"
(Which was my very first post), I don't believe Us Mob ever
made back into the studio again.


No Fixed Address have 6 wonderful reggae tracks on the 1st side
of this soundtrack. The classic anthem "We have Survived" which
turns up later on their Ep, plus the wonderful dub Version of "The Vision"
They were a fantastic band which were completely overlooked.


Us Mob are a completely different thing, I always felt aboriginals
playing reggae, or say country, were doing what you would
expect them to do naturally,
the rhythmic nature of reggae makes a natural fit,
much like hip hop today is. I have to admit I never understood
the country thing, but loads of murries love it and they play
it well. Us Mob however play hard rock, early 70's style,
now someone who is more familiar with this music may be
far better equipped to say who they seem to be influenced
by than me, but there is a strong rock blues influence
and its quite enjoyable but wild ride.
Not what you may expect from an indigenous band in the early
80's, but stereotypes were made to be broken.
This record is however a historical document,
these bands were pioneers and this is the first record
of its kind to come out.
The cover also has a gatefold sleeve which has the
aboriginal flag and all the lyrics printed over the top.

We Have Survived - Bart Willoughby

You can't change the rhythm of my soul,
you can't tell me just what to do.
You can't break my bones by putting me down,
or taking the things that belong to me.

Cause we have survived, the white mans world
and the horror and the torment of it all.
We have survived, the white mans world
and you know, you can't change that.

All the years has just passed me by,
I've been hassled by the cops nearly all my life.
People trying to keep me so blind,
but I can see whats going on in my mind.

Cause we have survived, the white mans world
and the horror and the torment of it all.
We have survived, the white mans world
and you know, you can't change that.


Download Here

No Fixed Address - From my eyes




For my first post I've picked the brilliant EP from one of the first murrie bands to record.
No fixed address came from Adelaide in 1978, formed by Bart Willoughby. The only recordings
of this aussie reggae group are this Ep and 1 side of the "Wrong side of the road "
movie soundtrack which they did together with Us Mob, an Aboriginal 70s style heavy rock/blues band.
These guys were pioneers for contemporary Indigenous Australian music and even played
support for Peter Tosh's 1982 Australian tour.
After the success of the Peter Tosh tour Willoughby and his band became the first Aboriginal band to travel overseas becoming cultural ambassadors for their people while touring Great Britain playing at nine cities including London, Bristol, Leeds Plymouth and Manchester.
Bart Willoughby has gone on to other musical endeavours playing with many other important
aussie bands including the Gonna band, Coloured Stone and Yothu Yindi.
His Brilliant Reggae band Mixed Relations however showcases his incredible talent.
I saw Bart play a solo gig at the woodford folk festival on the 31/12/99 as on of many gigs i saw that night, his was the highlight!
So give this a try if your never heard of it and you won't be sorry its a rip of my vinyl copy, I
did see it made it to cd but I didnt buy it and have kicked myself ever since.

Track list
01 - We Have Survived
02 - From My Eyes
03 - Stupid System
04 - I Can't Stand And look
05 - Sunrise
06 - Pigs

Please leave comments so I know what you all think,
if theres interest I can post the "Wrong side of the road "
soundtrack and Mixed relations stuff.

Download Link