blues | Musicosity

Kid Congo and The Pink Monkey Birds

From the early '80s onward, guitarist Kid Congo Powers (born Brian Tristan) was a distinctive presence at the nexus where roots music meets punk. Powers had memorable tenures with the Gun Club (which he co-founded with Jeffrey Lee Pierce), the Cramps, and Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds. However, while he was the instrumental half of the Congo Norvell duo in the '90s, Powers didn't consider stepping out as a frontman until 2005. That year, Powers released two solo albums, Philosophy and Underwear and Solo Cholo. As Powers began refining his skills as a songwriter and vocalist, he ramped up his recording and touring schedule, and formed a band to accompany him on his projects. Fusing primitive, swampy rock & roll, garage rock, and fractured blues with East L.A. Chicano rock and a dash of punk and psychedelia, Powers dubbed his new band the Pink Monkey Birds. The group initially featured Powers on guitar and vocals, Jack Martin on guitar, Kiki Solis on bass, and Ron Miller on drums. By the time the band recorded its first album, Dracula Boots, in 2009, Martin was out and Jesse Roberts had stepped in on guitar and keyboards. Kid Congo & the Pink Monkey Birds continued to tour regularly, racking up more miles than Powers had since the '90s, and they released Gorilla Rose in 2011 and Haunted Head in 2013. In 2016, Powers and the group delivered their fourth album, La Arana Es la Vida. The LP introduced a new Pink Monkey Birds lineup; Jesse Roberts parted ways with the band, and Powers recruited guitarist Mark Cisneros to fill the vacancy in the group.

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The Hoodoomen

Powerhouse & soulful blues at its best from singer/ songwriter drummer/ guitarist Tim Stout & band

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Jazz

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James Grim Woodcutters

James Grim fronted Brothers Grim and the Blue Murders – and lived to tell the tale. Just.

Over 11 years, Melbourne’s premier exponents of malevolent, punked-up blues/rockabilly, Brothers Grim and the Blue Murders, earned a reputation for their relentless touring and explosive live shows – and for playing as hard offstage as they did on it.

After literally working themselves into the ground, in 2016 the band’s firebrand frontman, James Grim, decided enough was enough. He pulled the pin on the band – and the lifestyle – that was killing him.

Now band-less and sober, Grim resolved he’d never play in a band again, but return to music for music’s sake. He took his hard-earned life lessons and experiences to his friend, award-winning country music songwriter Dan Waters, and began crafting new songs, cut from his signature raw lyrical honesty.

“Grim is once again pursuing songs of depth and sincerity (with) a bevy of dark-country tunes that feature some of the most evocative lyrics you’ll be hearing for some time”
— Adam Norris (BEAT Mag)
What emerged from those sessions became the template for a suite of dark country ballads that explored the awkward moments that lie within, and between, flawed humans. Grim explored these themes further with other songwriters he loves and respects, including Jamie Messenger and Frank Sultana.

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Dan Brodie

Dan Brodie is an Australian singer and songwriter from Melbourne, Australia, best known for his prolific solo career, during which he has released seven studio.

In addition to releasing his own albums, Brodie's songs have been recorded by other artists including two songs on Love Is Mighty Close, a Vika and Linda Bull Album. Also in 2010 Brodie appeared on the Paul Kelly produced Maurice Frawley tribute album, Long Gone Whistle – The Songs of Maurice Frawley, performing the Frawley track, "Roll me" to a sold out audience at the Esplanade Hotel in St Kilda.

Born in Melbourne, Australia, Brodie was raised in a musical family, his father, a professional guitarist and singer taught Brodie the basic chords of guitar. With his brother Chris Brodie (Dallas Crane), they began playing in bands together, honing their skills of playing live to audiences around the outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne before landing their first pub show whilst still in their early teens at the Richmond Club Hotel in 1990.

Over the next five years, Brodie performed around Melbourne, recording his first proper Album in a student run studio at Monash University in Clayton in 1993, released on tape and sold at live shows. After a move to the inner-city in 1996, Brodie joined dirty swamp rockers, Luxedo, on bass, the line-up also including Tom Carlyon on lead guitar and vocals, Emilie Martin on violin and guitar and Jamie Coghill on drums, contributing to the debut LP, Beauty Queen and the follow up, City Lights and Roadkill departing in 2001 to concentrate on his solo career.[citation needed]

1998-2000: I'm Floatin' Mamma and Big Black Guitar
A five track EP, I'm Floatin' Mamma was independently released in 1998; followed by debut album, Big Black Guitar in 1999. Backed by The Broken Arrows which featured his brother Chris Brodie on slide guitar, Craig Williamson (These Immortal Souls) on drums and Dan Kelly on bass, Brodie signed to EMI who re-released his debut album. Both the EP and debut album were produced by Maurice Frawley and engineered by Dave McCluney at Atlantis Studios in Melbourne.[citation needed]

2001-2004: Make Me Wanna Kill and Empty Arms, Broken Hearts
In 2001, Brodie released a four track EP featuring songs recorded for his forthcoming unreleased album, as well as some from earlier demos.[citation needed]

Brodie's second album, Empty Arms, Broken Hearts was released in 2002. Containing the singles "Jesus, Try and Save Me", "Take a Bullet" and "Hope That We Get Home Tonight", the album was nominated for two ARIA Music Awards.

2005-2009: Beautiful Crimes
Brodie's solo album entitled Beautiful Crimes was released in 2005 that veered away from country into a more indie rock sound and was produced by Barry Palmer of Hunters and Collectors, releasing the two radio friendly power-pop rock anthems, "Wanna Shine" and "Sweetheart".[citation needed]

Brodie took an extended break from touring with a band and spent several months playing solo shows across the Americans.[citation needed]

2010-2011: My Friend The Murderer
Brodie returned to Australia to record My Friend The Murderer which was released in 2011. The album was recorded at Headgap Studios in Melbourne, Australia by Brent "Sloth" Punshon and for the first time showed off Brodie's newly formed backing band, the Grieving Widows, featuring Chris Brodie on bass and Dave Nicholls on drums.[citation needed]

2012-2014: Deep Deep Love and Run Yourself Ragged EP
Brodie completed work on his fifth album Deep Deep Love in 2012 before a diagnosis of Hodgkins Lymphoma and subsequent treatment of chemotherapy and radiotherapy sidelined him for most of 2013, delaying the record release. Deep Deep Love features minimalist backing of double bass by Dean Schulz Layla and Rhianna Fibbins on backing vocals and Grieving Widow's alumni Chris Brodie and David Nicholls on guitar and drums respectively.[citation needed]

In June 2014, Brodie entered St Charles Recording Studio in Northcote with the Grieving Widows to record a song from their live set; a cover of Ian Rilen’s (Rose Tattoo/Love Addicts) "Booze to Blame". Three more songs of original material quickly followed, and Run Yourself Ragged EP was released.

2015-2016: Big Hearted Lovin Man: A Retrospective 1999-2014
In March 2015, Brodie released the live album, Big Hearted Lovin' Man: A Retrospective 1999-2014. The album was recorded in one night in January, 2015 at Salt Studios in Melbourne. In April 2015, Brodie embarked on a three-month solo acoustic tour of Europe playing back to back shows at France.[citation needed]

2017: Lost Not Found and Funerária do Vale
In early 2017, Brodie returned to Melbourne to record Lost Not Found a collection of reinterpreted cover songs.[citation needed]

Brodie's seventh studio album, Funerária do Vale was released on 30 August 2019. The album cover and title are taken from a photo that Brodie took of a funeral home in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil during a six month stay in 2007. He said "I found the imagery so evocative (with its English translation of 'Valley of the Funeral Home'), and always hoped to use it as an album cover. In a way I wrote the songs to fit the existing photograph, exploring themes of loss."

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Joe Creighton

Joe Creighton (born 22 August 1949, Belfast, Northern Ireland) is a Northern Irish-born Australian bassist, singer and songwriter. His family immigrated to Australia in 1967. Sites: joecreighton.com.

Joe has fronted his own bands and played with many successful Australian bands, such as Joe Camilleri’s Black Sorrows and Tim Finn’s band, Escapade.He was finally enticed onto the big concert stage by ‘The Voice’, John Farnham, touring nationally with John for 13 years.

In recent years, he has toured internationally with both Kylie Minogue and Olivia Newton John.

Joe has also shared the stage with such luminaries as Sir George Martin, on his ‘All You Need Is Love’ tour, playing his Hofner bass and taking lead vocal on some of those great Beatles songs, and with Boz Scaggs on his Australian tour, as well as singing vocal backing as a ‘Raylette’ on tour with the legendary Ray Charles.

A singer songwriter in his own right, Joe released his debut album ‘Holywell’ in 1994, and toured with his own band as support to The Neville Brothers. ‘Holywell’ was received with critical acclaim by the Australian press. Recently the album was re-reviewed as “a buried treasure” in Brisbane’s Courier Mail.

Joe’s most recent album ‘Falling Again’ is currently receiving favourable reviews and consistent airplay on ABC radio. Four of Joe’s songs from ‘Falling Again’ are featured in Phil Avalon’s latest movie ‘Liquid Bridge’.

As a session bass player and backing vocalist, Joe has recorded with many successful artists, including; John Farnham, Olivia Newton John, Kylie Minogue, Crowded House, Tina Arena, Lee Kernaghan, Andy White, Judith Durham, and many more.

We invite you to have a look over the site and listen to some of the samples of Joe's music.

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