June - Illawarra Folk Club Inc.

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Coming Illawarra Folk Club Concerts FRIDAY 1 JUNE - Jan Preston presents the film KID'S STAKES, Rapunzel's Party 8-11 JUNE - Illawarra Folk Club tour to 4th Perisher Snowy Mountains of Music SATURDAY 16 JUNE - No Such Thing, Ariette, Alan Blackshaw, Rebecca Moore, Peter Thomas, The Butcher Boys, The Berkeley Songbirds SUNDAY 25 JUNE - Martin Pearson, Rusty Hinges SATURDAY 30 JUNE - The Popes (Ireland) and Dubliners 50th Anniversary Tribute FRIDAY 6 JULY - The Hannafords, Pukara SATURDAY 21 JULY - Woody Guthrie Tribute with Peter Hicks FRIDAY 3 AUGUST - Wongawilli 25th Anniversary Concert including past band members and Wongawilli Colonial Dancers Other Folk & Arts Events A noticeboard for Music and Arts events. For inclusion contact bigruss43@bigpond. com June 2nd Saturday Thirroul Community Centre 7pm Film and Soup Night in aid of APHEDA. June 3rd Sunday Jamberoo Pub BRUCE GREENFELD from Damn Fine Gentlemen www.damnfinegentlemen.com.au June 3rd house concert Engadine Earlwood Greg and Jim Jarvis.. (from the band “Three Left Feet” Contact: Margaret 9520 6180 or 0403 936 785 for invite) June 10th Sunday Jamberoo Pub JASMINE BETH, EP Launch www.jasminebeth.com June 15th Friday - River Music, Nowra Golf Club - Alan Blackshaw, The Con Artists, Lindsay Martin and Mike Martin, Fairway Drive (off Illaroo Rd) Nowra June 17th Sunday Jamberoo Pub MARIANNE PATTON & SIMON DYOS TRIO June 24th Sunday JAMBEROO PUB OPEN MIC & JAM Contact Joanne on jo1666@ iprimus.com.au or 0411 402 700 August 4th Saturday - Wongawilli 25th Anniversary Bush Ball, Albion Park Centenary Hall, $10 for adults, includes suppers August 5 Sunday - Wongawilli 25th Anniversary Picnic and Session, Wongawilli Community Hall FIRST FRIDAY - (except January and April) BUSH TRADITIONS SESSIONS at the Old Goulburn Brewery, Bradley Grange, Bungonia Rd, Goulburn. Contact David Johnson, 4884 4214 or dave@davidjohnson. id.au WEDNESDAYS - Bush Dance at Wongawilli Community Hall from 8pm - open for dancers and musicians to play. 4th FRIDAYS - Sutherland Acoustic at Gymea Tradies Bluegrass Jam at the Tradies Contact Ian on 0438 830374. 3rd SATURDAYS - Bluegrass Jam 7.30pm Thirroul Railway Institute Hall,Railway Parade Thirroul contact MARK BALLESI on 02 42675786 or markballesi@hotmail.com (Jam is on every month except November and January) Wee Willi Fest – Wongawilli turns Silver The name Wongawilli has certainly turned heads over the past 25 years, especially in Scotland! But in the main it has become synonymous with a bunch of people in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, performing, preserving and promoting Australian folk music and dance. The Wongawilli (Bush) Band and Wongawilli Colonial Dancers are part of the non-profit association Wongawilli Colonial Dance Club Inc. and this coming August will celebrate 25 years of doing so with a Concert, Bush Ball and Recovery Picnic over the weekend of 3-5 August 2012. The concert will be held on Friday 3 August at City Diggers Wollongong as part of the Illawarra Folk Club series and will feature a number of past members of the band. The relationship between the Illawarra 8 J U N E 2 0 1 2 I L L A W A R R A F O L K C L U B N E W S L E T T E R Folk Club (Folk Festival) and Wongawilli Colonial Dance Club has been a very close one over the years. A Bush Ball will be held on Saturday 4 August at Albion Park Centenary Hall. The evening will feature a number of dances that have been introduced by the band and dancers to the Australian folk dance scene. And in the spirit of inclusiveness the cost is only $10 per adult! A recovery picnic is then planned on Sunday 5 August at the spiritual home of the Club, the Wongawilli Community Hall. The Club still presents a weekly bush dance at the hall. This dance was initially established in Dapto in 1985 and has been led musically by David De Santi since that time. The band, dancers and Club can easily claim to have revived the popularity of Australian folk songs, tunes and dances over its history in a major way. The work begun by the collectors of Australian folk songs in the 1950s has been continued with over 15 publications and recordings produced by the Club. In addition the Club has presented many events to further the awareness and enjoyment of this heritage. Such events as Collected Music Weekends, Bush Music by the Seaside, Colonial Balls and 7 Australian Folk Festivals paved the way for the resurgence of traditional Australian music and dance. The Wongawilli Band has made its mark with 7 recordings, with over 20 appearances at the National Folk Festival and travelling around the world presenting its authentic take on traditional Australian folk music. And now back to the beginning. The 1st August 1987 marked the first formal outing of the Wongawilli Bush Band at a bush dance at the Kiama Showground Pavilion. There were hundreds there! The band formed part of the newly created Wongawilli Colonial Dance Club along with the Wongawilli Colonial Dancers. The basic aim of the Club was to promote, preserve and perform the rich tradition of Australian folk music, song and dance developed from the European settlers. The name Wongawilli had been selected due to its Aboriginal origins, a link to the Illawarra region and the fact that the Club was basing its activities at the Wongawilli (village) Community Hall, west of Dapto. Band members on that occasion included David De Santi, Tania Brownlee, Jane Brownlee, John Harpley, Tom McMahon, Charlie Cugaly, Harry Bronneburg, John Poulton and Dave Gill. The band had been formed from a collective of musicians who
had been playing at sessions and a regular bush dance at the old Heinenger Hall in Dapto led by a very young David De Santi. The Wongawilli Colonial Dancers had also been formed from regulars at that bush dance to present Australian folk dances in costume. A WEA course in early 1987 provided a whole bunch of new and enthusiastic dancers. The year 1988 became very busy for the band and dancers with over 60 engagements celebrating Australia's bicentenary including its first appearance at National Folk Festival (Sutherland). Other members during that early period included Neil McCann, John Spillane and Tony McGloin. In 1990 Graeme Murray joined the band and a short time later Reg Murray, his father also joined. The band of David and Tania De Santi, Graeme and Reg Murray, John Harpley and Neil McCann settled into producing recordings, the first being After the Tradition in 1991 and travelling around Australia performing. John Spillane appeared with the band on a number of occasions as well. During that early period the band was fortunate enough to have contact with folklore collectors such as John Meredith, Rob Willis, Alan Scott, Brad Tate, Shirley Andrews, Alan Scott and Peter Ellis and realised that there were many more tunes, songs and dances out there to perform and give new life to. These collectors were more than happy to share their findings and to see them performed. So the band embarked on a mission to revive these old songs, poems, tunes and to actually get involved in the transcription and dissemination of the music and dances. It seemed a bit surprising that there weren’t that many other musicians interested in finding new / old material to perform apart from organisations such as the Bush Music Club. This gave the band a great opportunity to be musically creative and to be distinctive in the material presented. Rob Willis, a folklore collector and close supporter of the band and its aims said in his review of the band's first recording, After the Tradition: "The Celtic influence was still strong in the 1980’s and formative bush bands (mine included) still used the tunes and songs of the second generation (1970’s) Bushwackers. By this stage I had been travelling and collecting with John Meredith and we were playing some traditional tunes in our band ‘Blackridge’ which was based in Forbes so we did not have much influence. Besides this we put the band to bed in 1990 to concentrate on my collecting. This left the ‘Bush Bands’ of the day still playing the Waves of Tory and singing the Ryebuck Shearer, both at the speed of light. Merro and I just waited and started making these very rough demo tapes of tunes we had collected and handing them out to our mates. The salvation came in the form of one of these people a young bloke by the name of De Santi and his friends who had formed a musical group in the Illawarra and who had a passion for the traditional material. John Harpley had knowledge of the old songs, being raised in the bush at Eugowra and the others who had formed the core of the band Wongawilli shared this interest. The Murrays, Graeme with his great singing voice and the knowledgeable and talented Reg bought an aspect of traditional country music and musical experience. Neil McCann a brilliant songwriter and instrumentalist in his own right and of course (to me) the sound of Wongawilli was the subtle piano playing of Tania De Santi (or was it Brownlee then?). To me this recording changed the course of Australia’s concept of traditional music and song just as the original Bushwhackers had in the 1950’s. It brought to a wide audience the collected tunes and songs played in a manner that was representative of the era. This was complimented by the musicianship and vocal talents of these early Wongas." The Tunes of Bert Jamieson was released in 1992 and included the band playing to an original recording of Bert Jamieson on harmonica. Bert had been recorded by John Meredith and Rob Willis. Rob and Olya Willis also were part of the recording. The formula for reviving the old bush music received national recognition with 16 awards at the 1990, 1991, 1993 and 1994 Australian Bush Music Festival and Bush Band Championships. The band was awarded the following: Best Traditional Bush Band, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993 & 1994, Best Instrumental, 1990, Best Contemporary Bush Band, 1991 & 1994. In the live section of the Australian Bush Band Championships the band was awarded the following: Best Traditional Bush Band, 1990 & 1992 and Best Bush Dance Band, 1990 & 1992. Graeme Murray received the 1991 Australian Bush Music Awards Best Male Vocalist ahead of John Williamson and Alan Scott. He repeated the award in 1993 and 1994. He shared the award in 1993 with Pat Drummond. David De Santi, along with Rob Willis of Forbes received the 1992 Australian Bush Music Heritage Award for their work in promoting and preserving Australian dance and music with the Pioneer Performers Series, a compilation of books and cassettes. I L L A W A R R A F O L K C L U B N E W S L E T T E R J U N E 2 0 1 2 9
Page 1 and 2: COMING SOON.... FILM & MUSIC YE OLD
Page 3 and 4: Jan Preston’s original score for
Page 5 and 6: Dancing Folk • Every Wed. Wongawi
Page 7: INTERNATIONAL CONCERT CELTIC NIGHT
Page 11 and 12: 6. You need to provide Account Name
Page 13 and 14: Radio News Illawarra Folk Club Prog
Page 15: ILLAWARRA FOLK CLUB INC. - MEMBERSH

June - Illawarra Folk Club Inc.

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