The Scene - Local Entertainment News

Flying high

The magnificent flying boat Coolangatta departs Sydney harbour in 1938. Now there's a doco about this part of Australian history.

Four years ago there was a meeting of a group of RAAF Catalina veterans at Rathmines on Lake Macquarie. The amazing wartime stories told at that gathering led to digging for further information and the tracking down of people who played a part during the magnificent era of the flying boats. This was the catalyst for the film From Sea to Sky.

For over 50 years, Australians had a major love affair with the flying boats. (Even up until the 70s when honeymooners took flying boat excursions to exotic Lord Howe Island.)

This documentary is now touring nationally, and is screening at the Ballina Richmond Room (near Ballina's library) next Tuesday, January 10, at 11am.

Entry is $12 at the door.

Orpheus opera workshop

Jaime Whittingham (Diana) and Matthew C Whittingham (Jupiter) will sing in YOWL's upcoming production Orpheus In The Underworld.

YOWL is an acronym for Young Opera Workshop, Lismore. And what good work it does. YOWL provides an opportunity for young people wishing to try their hand at stage performance, offering professional tuition and direction, regardless of the young person's experience or their ability to pay.

On Saturday, January 14, approximately 35 people will begin a week of workshops which will culminate in a production of the musical Orpheus In The Underworld by Jacques Offenbach.

The show (whose music includes the famous Can-Can) is a rollicking romp through the foibles of the Olympian Gods.

The workshoppers work in a non-residential camp setting, spending 12 hours each day developing their skills in singing, acting and stage movement - and then go home for a little shut-eye.

YOWL's musical director Valerie Tamblyn-Mills will be joined by Deirdre Paillas for the musical preparation of the show. Stage direction will once again be in the hands of Melbourne-based director Cameron Wenn.

You can still join if you want to join in the operatic fun. You need to be between 12 and 22 years of age, and interested in singing and acting onstage - but not necessarily experienced. You do not need to have an "opera" type voice, but you do need to be available from 9am-9pm. For one week from Saturday, January 14, to Saturday, January 21.

There are no fees.

The workshop culminates in performances of Orpheus at Lismore Uniting Church on Friday, January 20, and two performances on Saturday, January 21. Tickets are available from Caddies Bean Shop in Lismore.

Aussie Battlers '06

Choppers for Music has become the major sponsor for this year's Aussie Battlers - a hip hop, MC and break event - which will be held on Australia Day, Thursday, January 26. This will add more financial energy to this annual celebration of hip hop culture.

This is the fifth Aussie Battlers since NORPA Dance Action started the event in response to a need for youth events and the obvious popularity of breakdance. In 2005, 450 people came to soak up the positive, physical and fun-filled energy.

Register as a group or solo in breakdance, hip hop, MC (rhyme) or beatbox by Monday, January 23. For more info or registration forms contact NORPA Dance Action on 6622 3279, email emma@norpa2006.org.au or check out the website at www.norpa.org.au.

Aussie Battlers will celebrate Australia Day at the PCYC on the corner of Dawson and Orion streets in Lismore. The heats start at 12.30pm.

Entry into this drug and alcohol free event is $8/6.

The jazz that was

Soul sister to sing up the summer

Queen of rhythm and blues, Lisa Hunt.

Classy rhythm and blues singer Lisa Hunt will perform at the Ballina RSL Club.

Lisa Hunt is currently touring Australia on her Forever Soul Australian tour. Last year she toured this wide, greenhouse-emitting land culminating in a spine-tingling performance on the Jambalaya stage at the East Coast Blues & Roots Festival in Byron last Easter.

She has worked with many well known names in the music business like Pavarotti, Eric Clapton, James Brown and Miles Davis. Despite her many collaborations, Billboard has declared that Lisa Hunt is "a voice that deserves to be heard in her own right."

This diva of melody has a diverse repertoire that includes Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding and The Supremes. You get the soulful idea?

Lisa will strut her soul-searing stuff at the Ballina RSL this Friday, January 6, and on Saturday, January 21.

These shows are, amazingly, free.

Sun, sand and Ash

Did you know that it's impossible to play slide guitar without having dreadlocks? Ask Ash Grunwald. (Or Ben Harper. Or John Butler.)

In 2005 Ash Grunwald won Album Of The Year at the Australian Blues Awards, for I Don't Believe. (Well, he's a believer now.) Ash was also asked to take over the reins as host of Triple J's Roots N All show - a job which he uses to give as much exposure as he can to other Australian blues and roots performers.

That year also saw Ash shaking his dreads at festivals all over the country, including Falls, Cockatoo Island, East Coast Blues & Roots, Apollo Bay, Fremantle, Port Fairy, Margaret River and Melbourne festivals - and completed his first trip to Europe, performing in Spain, Belgium and Luxembourg.

2006 will include the release of a new album (probably around September) plus a return to Europe in our winter to again perform at major festivals. (It's a hard life.)

And surf-lovin' Ash also plans to take time out for another surfing trip to Indonesia with well known surfer Mark Rastovich (which may be filmed for another project the good friends are working on).

You can check out Ash and his flashing dobro at the Great Northern Hotel in Byron next Thursday, January 12, with support from Jez. Gig starts at 9pm.

Tickets are $12 and available from the venue on 6685 6454.

Worzel in Ballina

` Paul Farrell plays Worzel the scarecrow in Ballina Players' next production Worzel Gummidge.

Worzel Gummidge was a walking talking scarecrow and the star of a television series - of which I was a big fan. It starred Jon Pertwee who was also one of the early Doctor Whos. Given life by his maker, the Crowman (Rod Ramsay), Worzel has adventures with two human children, Sue and Peter, and falls in love with a stuck up wooden doll, Aunt Sally (Sue Belsham) - whom I, like Worzel, found very attractive.

After the success of their productions this year, especially the musical Oliver, the troupe decided to put another musical on stage to enchant children and adults alike with the magic of live theatre. Weaving some of Worzel's adventures into a plot and adding up-tempo songs have created this happy production.

Like Oliver, there are a heap of kids involved in this production - 45 in fact.

Worzel Gummidge runs at the Ballina Players Theatre in Ballina, from January 19 -29. For more info and tickets see Mary at La Boutique in River Street, Ballina, or phone her on 6686 2662.

Ain't it lovely to see what musos wear to the beach? Jeans do help against blue bottle stings. Assembled here are some of the crew from the On The Beach Tour. They are (from left) Mitch McIvor (Cannon), Ian Kitney (Tim Rogers & The Temperance Union), Dave Larkin (Dallas Crane), Tim Rogers (TR & TU), Shane O'Meara (TR & TU), Dave Moody (Cannon), Peter Lawler (TR & TU) and Pat Bourke (Dallas Crane).

To kick off the new year, Dallas Crane are bringing their pounding drums, thumping basslines, ripping guitar riffs and catchy vocal melodies straight from the studio to the Great Northern Hotel in Byron on Sunday, January 15.

Dallas Crane have been rocking their way into the music industry's heart with fine recordings, exciting live shows and an attitude that screams rock.

Blunt magazine wrote, "Yes, long live the Melbourne four - piece that dropped the most impressive local album of the year, blew a host of other bands off stages all around the country, and did it all without ever resorting to tired cliches or sad fashion." (is 'tired cliche' a cliche?)

Rolling Stone wrote, "For all the cleverness and skill on Dallas Crane's new album, it's the heart here that impresses most. Drive, edge and absolute commitment remind us that rock is about fierce joy rather that received cool." And then gave the album four stars.

Along for the ride are none other than Tim Rogers and the Temperance Union. Tim Rogers was the leader of the now archetypal rock band, You Am I. The Temperance Union delivers songs with Rogers' unmistakable gusto, country heartbreak and a whole lot of attitude. The crisp guitar work of Shane O'Mara is a great match for Rogers' appealing bloke-next-door tales of lapsed relationships and too much drinking. (Are there any other topics for pop songs?)

Kickstarting each show will be Melbourne trio Cannon, who have had plenty of practice warming up the stage as they recently toured with Jet, You Am I, 67 Special, The Cops, and The Fauves.

So slip, slap and rock to the On The Beach Tour when these three bands hit the North Coast to celebrate the new year with some of the best rock in Australia today.

Freebie: The Echo has a double pass to give away to some lucky rocker. To go in the draw to win phone 6622 2888 between 10.15 & 10.30am next Monday, January 9, and tell us if a) Dallas is a town in Texas, b) the name of a TV program, c) home of the Cowboys American football team or d) all of the above.

Happy hip hops

Daniella Finkenauer and Jason Campbell are two of the tutors for a hip hop workshop in January that will run in Evans Head and Yamba. They are experienced hip hop dancers from the Urban Street Rural Beat Crew. Photo by Peter Derrett.

Learn about hip hop, breakdance and MCing this summer with the Summer Hip Hop Workshop Roadshow. Tutors for this workshop, which is presented by NORPA Dance Action, are members of the Urban Street Rural Beat Crew. This is a great way to gear up for Aussie Battlers - the hip hop and breakdance event on Australia Day in Lismore.

The workshops will take place in Yamba on Wednesday and Thursday, January 18-19, at the Yamba Surf Life Saving Club, and at Evans Head on Friday, January 20, at the Evans Recreation Hall.

All workshops run from 10am-12pm with advanced classes from 1-3pm.

The cost is a very affordable $5 and bookings are necessary. Phone Daniella on 0431 108 791.

Minimum age for the workshops is 12.

For info, transport details and to register for Aussie Battlers phone 6622 3279 or email emma2006@norpa.org.au.

S Sense

I'm sitting at a table in the Hari Krishna tent sipping on a rose water lassi looking at the Wood-ford Folk Festival crowd passing by. It's day four. I see someone I recognise from the first day - a middle-aged man who had arrived in shorts, collared shirt, sports socks, sneakers and a frown. But the festival affects people. By day three he was wearing an Indonesian sarong, Moroccan sandals, a hemp shirt and a straw, multicolored African hat.

Today, he's carrying a small drum and talking animatedly to a feral girl wearing a brown something and dreadlocks. He's smiling big time.

I turn to Vinnie the Shark who sits beside me and nod at the pair.

"She likes him," says Vinnie. Vinnie's been around.

A couple of cops stroll by with organic ice cream melting in their hands. There are thousands of people here and just two police. You give people dignity and they behave accordingly. No Aussie flags; no hate. Here, the cops are just part of the street theatre.

"They should be on unicycles," says Vinnie the Shark. "And if you do something wrong they should shoot you with a water spray bottle."

"Maybe force you to watch the monks make their sand mandala for three hours as punishment," I add.

"Or eat a German sausage," Vinnie smirks. He's tough.

Vinnie makes a slurping sound as he drains the last of his lassi. He slams down a pile of coins and then makes them disappear. (How does he do that?) He'd scored big money out of the comedy camp the day before with some sharp card tricks.

Vinnie the Shark can hustle. That's why he's my personal assistant.

"Hey, there's that guy," says Vinnie pointing to a young fella with a shaved head we saw the day before. (Isn't it ironic that men who start to go bald shave all their hair off so no-one knows?)

He'd been wearing jeans with his T-shirt hanging from his pants. Tattoos decorated his unprotected body with imaginative (I'm being sarcastic) Celtic-type designs. There was even what looked like barbed wire encircling his shiny skull. Like a crown of thorns.

Today, after one day under the ozone-depleted, globally-warmed sky, his head looked like the beetroot that died for your sins.

"I gotta go," says Vinnie. "Gotta a date with a bridge."

One of Vinnie the Shark's gigs is where he sets up on the bridge in the festival centre with a loaf of white bread and a sign that says "I bet you $1 that you can't eat a slice of bread in under a minute". Makes a fortune. And blocks up a lot of kids.

He's sharp, that Vinnie the Shark. Very sharp for a 10-year-old.

FEX launch

Brittle FEX rocked out the Sydney Entertainment Centre at the Schools Spectacular last year where they entertained 12,000 people.

Ballina based punkers Brittle FEX will launch their new CD Speak Ya Mind at the Beach Hotel in Byron next Tuesday, January 10.

Two songs from the CD recently won Dolphin Awards - Bleed for Me (in the rock section) and Hello Sun (in the Youth Section). Bleed for Me is also featured on the new Billabong surfing DVD Passion Pop.

The band has also won scholarships to the SAE at Byron Bay by winning the Got 2 B Youth Band Challenge in Brisbane in November. The photo shows them playing at the recent Schools Spectacular at the Entertainment Centre where they performed for audiences of about 12,000 people in four shows. This band has been shooting musical goals since these Ballina High School lads formed the band years ago. They are now in year 12.

Callee Mann and Allegriua will support the Brittle boys at the launch.

Breathless in Byron

Four outstanding musicians will come together to create a powerful repertoire of classical, jazz, folk and world music in a gig called The Reason To Breathe at the Byron Community Centre this Friday, January 6, from 7.30pm.

Parris Macleod (piano, guitar), Wu Pu-Yu (flute, piano), Christian Marsh (chromatic harmonica) and Mark Atkins (didgeridoo) will take your breath away with their skill and passion.

Tickets are $25/20 and available from the centre on 6685 5659 or at the door on the night.

Andrew Cox and his band will be strumming, drumming and humming at the Brunswick Heads Hotel this Friday, January 6, from 7pm.

The experience of living in Nigeria, England, Lebanon, Zambia, Jamaica and America has impacted Andrew's view of the world (as if it wouldn't). This impact is reflected is in his music. He recently performed at the Dolphin Awards night in Byron and has released an album Demonstrate It and that's just what he'll be doing this Friday.

The lads from The Re-Mains are preparing to ride into country heaven (Tamworth) later this month. But you can catch them earlier...

About to plunge into the blazing hinterland on their annual pilgrimage to the Tamworth Country Music Festival, The Re-Mains will be plying their brand of country rock and roll at the Lennox Point Hotel this Saturday, January 7, for those of us who won't be visiting the festival of cowboy hats over the Australia Day week. Boasting another four star review in the Weekend Australian for their recent album Field Conditions, 2005 was a big year for the NSW banjo-pluckers, with 100 shows played all over the country and a lot of kilometres clocked up on their Hiace van. 2006 looks even bigger.

"We've plugged into a bunch of rootsy festivals across the continent and look to be hauling our sorry arses all over it this year," said frontman Mick Daley. He loves it. And so do the growing number of fans that dig the dusty country rock of The Re-Mains.

Shane St James is a master of the power of suggestion, and he will be beguiling (listen to my voice - he will be beguiling) the Ballina RSL Club audience this Sunday, January 8.

Members of the audience behave in a totally uninhibited and outrageous manner. So if you like to laugh at people who think they are hens laying square eggs, this is for you.

When Shane suggests, people comply.

Show starts at 8pm. Tickets are $16/12 and available on 6686 2544.

Aussie comedian Col Elliott will be firing off the laugh bullets at the Ballina RSL Club next Thursday, January 12.

Col is a born story-teller - his expressions and acting ability are geared to his audience. Col is at home on the stage, whether it be in the role of one of his alter egos such as 'Chooka' the roadie or just being himself doing stand-up, political satire or picking up his guitar to sing one of his outrageous ditties.

Tickets are $25 and available on 6686 2544.

School's art out

Casino HSC student Damian Franks stands in front of his 40 canvas work Self reflection; a coded profile.

The Platypus Gallery at the Casino Visitor Centre is currently exhibiting HSC artworks by Casino High School students. The works consist of paintings, sculpture and mixed media by four highly talented students - Hailey Nicholsen, Damian Franks, Freya Green and Nicholas Lazerone. Each of the works explore different aspects of the artist's self-identity and their relationship to their community and the wider world.

The work by Hailey Nicholsen, Within Jabiru, was an unexpected addition to the collection having just returned from Art Express preselection. This is a reflection of the high standard of the works, with students needing to achieve a grade of at least 47/50 to be considered for Art Express.

The School's Out Exhibition will run until mid-January.

For further information contact the gallery on 6662 3566.