On the evening of March 19, we were asked by Sophie and Guy to play for their wedding reception at the National Gallery of Victoria. We played our first set outside in the beautiful sculpture garden, and then moved into the equally lovely Persimmon Restaurant and played two more sets over dinner, before a DJ took over for the later part of the evening. The bridal couple particularly wanted a guitar-based ensemble, so I bought in the amazing Judd Niemann to join Myles and I for a total of seventeen hard-swinging strings.
If you'd like my thoughts about the importance of live music for outdoor-indoor events like this, and the logistics involved, please read on!
On the Saturday after St Patricks Day, the Geelong Racing Club held a special meeting and I was asked by Peter Hooper from SpiderJazz to bring along my newly-assembled battery-powered rolling PA rig and provide music inside the gates as punters arrived, then wheel up to the trackside corporate area and play between races. There were lots of people dressed for the occasion, including a bucks party of matched Luigis in Irish green, who I had to include in the video. Thanks to the GRC and SpiderJazz for a great day. Read on if you'd like to check out my extended discussion of battery-powered music.
Myles and I played one of our more intimate gigs tonight – entertaining six people on this beautiful private balcony at the Lake House in Daylesford. The kookaburras seemed to enjoy Cole Porter. …
Live background music gets a bad rap. I once played at an after-concert foyer jazz session for a major performing arts organisation, and the manager of that organisation stood up beforehand and told everyone how offended he was by the …
I’ll share a secret: musicians from Melbourne really love travelling out of town. We all love living here – it’s a fantastic music town – but spending as much time as we do out and about in the inner city, …
Last Sunday the trio played for a birthday party at a new venue for us, The Plough Bar and Bistro in Myrniong. It’s a gorgeous out-of-the-way restaurant with a country inn vibe, delicious food and excellent service. The main dining …
Last Thursday, the trio played for a conference dinner at the Grand Hyatt.
It was a professional crowd, friendly and sociable but also purposeful and businesslike. The music needed to supplement that energy and perhaps lighten the atmosphere a little, …
Last Sunday, we played for a birthday party in a Parkdale backyard. Our client requested a banjo, so we used a special version of our swinging background music trio, bringing in the wonderful Peter Hooper. We played with no amplification …
