Remembering Shiyan...part 2

Once the Shiyan line-up was settled we began rehearsing.

For a new band with cheap equipment, we were pretty damn ambitious. Songs included:

I Remember You - Skid Row

It's So Easy - Guns N Roses

Whole Lotta Love - Led Zeppelin

...just to name a few of our crazier choices!!

I have really good memories of this time - I remember jamming on drums with Matt Lane to songs like The Song Remains the Same. We had a lot of fun and laughs and even got some gigs.

Places we managed to play included:

Steve Mason's birthday party

The Victoria Hotel (double-bill with legendary Bathurst band, Wicked*)
Kelso Sports Club ??? (I think that was the name!)

Heath Murphy's birthday party at Katoomba Masonic Hall - we slept overnight in Brett's car!!

There may be others but I am having trouble remembering.

The great thing about Shiyan is that we were really into writing original songs. Brett in particular was really good at coming up with really nice chord progressions, and he put lyrics to his own tunes as well. He was a massive inspiration to me in those early days, and we eventually managed to put together a demo of four songs. The names of the tunes were:

Youth Flight - a frantic, metallic rocker

Sunset Masquerade - a whimsical, acoustic & electric fantasy tune

Before the Dawn - from one of Brett's chord progressions with lyrics

...and one other tune the name of which I can't recall off the top of my head.

Listen to 'Sunset Masquerade' here.

The demo was recorded at Chris McCusker's studio in Raglan - which was very convenient for me as all I had to do was walk to the studio! It was such a great experience, being in a proper studio set up, putting down our songs on tape for the first time. Unfortunately I wasn't too impressed with the mix, but still it was a good time had by all.

Shiyan was a really fun band to be in, but as with all my bands, as soon as we recorded our demo we split up! But Brett and I kept the flame alive, and soon we were fortunate enough to get into an even bigger and better band...

Thanks for the memories, guys - it will always be a happy memory for me being in Shiyan.

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* Wicked, later called Black Rain, were a well-known Bathurst band who gigged a lot. Their members were Craig Glawson (bass), Julian Casey (guitar), Damien Casey (drums), and lead singer Kelly Peck.

At one time I was in a band with Jules and Damien, we played songs from the Doors amongst other things. We had one gig at a hotel in Orange which went fairly well, but it didn't last. Jules was an excellent guitarist, though, professional and great to work with, and his brother Damien was one of the best drummers that I knew.

Edit: I actually found a photo of the guys from Black Rain - it seems to be the one and only picture of them out there!!! Features the vocalist, Kelly, and bassist Craig.

With thanks to www.flickr.com/photos/d_neese/. 

Remembering Shiyan...and more, part 1

So this blog is about a band I was in from 1994-1998, Indigo Rush. But before that, from 1992-1994, I was in a little outfit called Shiyan.

First a bit of background. I had discovered music at a very young age - before my conscious memory, in fact - and other than piano lessons for a couple of years I had never really done anything with it. I had taught myself to sing listening to radio while being driven around in the family car.

Then gradually my musical horizons expanded. I was a radio addict, but in 1989 I discovered an album called Appetite for Destruction. I had been a fairly uptight Catholic schoolboy, half convinced that heavy metal was the devil's music. But when I listened to Appetite (ironically lent to me by a school classmate) my world was turned inside out. Somehow, these five guys from the mean streets of LA got inside my heart, mind and soul and showed me a new horizon.

Then in 1991 I finished high school and was just kicking around at home waiting for uni to start the following year. A friend turned me on to Led Zeppelin, which at first I just thought was a god-awful noise. Then one night, while giving their debut album one last try, somehow I suddenly got it. It was like a religious conversion - suddenly, Plant's wailing, Jimmy's emotive guitar, Bonham's powerhouse drums and Jones' throbbing bass suddenly all made sense. I wanted to learn it all - bass, drums, guitar and to sing like Plant. It was at this time that I taught myself guitar chords, started singing again and I started to write rudimentary songs.

At uni I met a very unlikely candidate to be in a band with, but nonetheless fired by idealism we started a band called Backslash. The guy's name was Alex Kelleher, and he claimed to be able to sing. He did show me a couple of squeaky falsetto notes - his way of imitating Vince Neil - but claimed he really could sing properly. I guess I sort of believed him, so it was arranged he would sing and I would play bass (which was becoming my main musical expression of choice). We christened our two-man group Backslash - in honour of the computer craze sweeping the world and the fact that Alex was doing an IT degree.

I had no idea how we were going to recruit other members. Alex was from Canberra and knew no-one in Bathurst, and I lived at Raglan and similarly knew hardly anyone. But a mate's sister, on hearing from me that I wanted to be in a band, recommended a guitarist she knew - Craig Heterick.

So a meeting was arranged. Craig soon recommended two other musicians that he knew - a wandering minstrel that hardly anyone knew how to find in the pre-Facebook, pre-mobile phone era, a guitarist by the name of Brett Stevens. The other was a drummer, Daniel Murphy.

And so with Alex on vocals, Brett and Craig on guitars, Dan our drummer and myself on bass, suddenly we were a five-piece group.

Our first rehearsal was in Dan's backyard, he lived on Russell Street if I recall correctly. Expectations were high, at least for me, since this was my first time playing properly in a group. It was somewhat ramshackle - I had a fairly crappy practice bass amp - but everyone made up for that with enthusiasm.

We started in on the first song - fuck knows what that was now - and we all watched as Alex stepped up to the mike to sing the first notes. He opened his mouth, took in a breath - and nothing happened. He shook his head in embarrassment and stepped away from the mike. We were all like, OK, first time nerves that's fine. He had a couple more goes at it - but each time with the same result.

So - eventually we all agreed that Alex had to go, and to my surprise I was asked to step in. I could certainly sing, but for some reason I just wanted to be in the background playing bass. That seemed cooler to me than being upfront. Nonetheless I took up the mantle.

Backslash didn't go very far, we played a birthday party in a shearing shed at Burraga - a farming community outside of Bathurst, with a ring-in drummer who was attending my uni and who hailed from Palm Beach, Sydney. Ha ha what a bit of culture shock for him! Nonetheless, Jeremy Allen did well to adapt but I think it did his head in a bit.

Eventually, Brett, Dan and I decided we could no longer continue to improve as a band with Craig on guitar. We all liked him but sadly we just felt he wasn't keeping up with the rest of us. So it was down to me to give him the news. It was one of the most difficult things I had ever done, telling this nice guy he no longer had a place in this up-and-coming group, and even though he was upset he accepted the decision.

So now we were a three-piece - but not for long. We found another guitarist, a guy even more elusive than Brett had been - Matt Lane. He was also heavily into Led Zeppelin, in fact it was Matty who turned me on to one of Zep's less accesible albums - Presence. (That album remains one of my very favourite albums of all time.)

So now we were a four-piece:

Dan Murphy - drums
Brett Stevens - guitar and vocals
Matt Lane - guitar
Anthony Tobin - bass and vocals

The name for this new band was given by someone in Dan Murphy's family (his brother? his brother's girlfriend?), and was taken from the Native American tribe, the Cheyenne.

Coming in part 2...Shiyan - influences, gigs and misadventures.

I was a highwayman...

Indigo Rush used to rehearse mainly at Brett's work - a cabinet-making business in a warehouse-style building on the Bathurst highway, near to the Mars factory.

Here is a picture of it as it is today.(Click pictures to view larger...)

Imagine my surprise when I swing the view around and see this on the other side of the highway. BTW, I didn't know that this new building had been built at this location.

Ha ha ha! :)

Edit: I am reliably informed that Brett's old workplace was in fact demolished some time ago, and is now a thriving McDonald's outlet. Ironic, really...McDonalds was our band's road meal of choice when out and about!

A

Our gigs

I've been trying to remember lately some of the venues where we played gigs. Here is a list of places I can recall:

• The Clubhouse Hotel, Blayney
• The Tavern, Bathurst - (now the Waratah Sports Bar and Grill)
• Bathurst Rugby Leagues Club - (now Panthers)
• The Family Hotel, Bathurst - (now Shanahans)
• The Commercial Hotel, Bathurst - (now Jack Duggans Irish Pub)
• Canowindra Golf Club
• Cowra Civic Centre (Battle of the Bands)
• The Tooheys 1000 Street Parade
• Warragamba Workers and Sporting Club
• The Courthouse Hotel, Lithgow (I'm guessing that was the venue...)

I've been trying to remember if we played any gigs in Orange, I can't recall. So if anyone can add to this list, please drop me a line in the comments or via Facebook!

Thanks

Last edited: 21 Oct 2012

Band photos...

Yeah baby.

Thanks to the magic of Facebook, I can finally share some photos of Indigo Rush in action.

These photos would be from about 1995, the first two showing us performing at Canowindra Golf Club, where we had a sort of semi-residency. Actually it was sort of my favourite venue, mainly because the guy kept inviting us back and paying us fairly well!

From left to right: Dap (guitar and vocals - I miss the Strat), Garry (bass, vocals and MIDI), Anthony (vocals and shaggy mop), Cameron (the hidden & glorious drummer) and Brett (guitar, vocals and funky stage moves).

 Below: a silly publicity shot of us ... somewhere in Bathurst.

It's back

Hey there readers

Thank God I saved my old IR blog as an .xml file. I've missed it lately so here it is, fully restored thanks to the ability to import blogs back into Blogger.

Enjoy
A

The Rush begins

I want to look back on how Indigo Rush started, so in this post I will take a stab at detailing how it all began.

Brett Stevens and myself had played in a ramshackle band called Shiyan, in which we had gigged around the Bathurst area, recorded a four-song demo and done surprisingly well in the short time we were together (that's another story). But after some rather odd behaviours from certain members Shiyan broke up, and for a year or so Brett and I continued to hang out socially.

Brett had heard of a guitarist called David Powter (long before that other guy with the same name), so we went to check him out at a gig. I remember we went to his share house in Keppel Street in Bathurst, where he seemed like the most outgoing, affable and fun-loving person I'd ever met. I was pretty uptight at this time in my life, and Dap seemed like the friendliest guy I'd ever seen! So right away the three of us struck up a friendship and soon we were vibing musically as well.

I don't know how two scruffy ex-Shyian members convinced a pro like Dap that we were worth his time and trouble but after a few discussions - where Brett did most of the talking - he was convinced that we could do something together. There was enough musical common ground to go forward, and I think it was mine and Brett's sheer gall and unbridled enthusiasm that sealed the deal.

Dap had played in several bands prior to us and was already something of a seasoned, even cynical, professional. So maybe we were the breath of fresh air he was looking for - and so was he for us. Also, his current band had a female vocalist and while this certainly drew crowds, having me as a male vocal would allow Dap to play more of what he personally liked.

Dap's first genius idea was to recruit Cameron Ashpole - his drummer in Out for the Weekend - for the new band. His second master stroke was to look up a legend, a man and a bass player who in his time had PA'd for The Hoodoo Gurus, had played in many local bands and was an engineering guru and computer whiz. Oh, and he had his own PA - which the rest of us didn't and needed desperately. And while it was not our original intention to be a five-piece, the fact that this guy had all the gear was too much of a necessity to pass up. (Certainly at this time both Brett and myself could not afford the gear!)

We (somehow) managed to convince this mysterious figure from the mists of Bathurst's golden time of rock - Garry Anderson - to come to a meeting at Dap's new digs in Lambert Street. He sat down at the kitchen table, seeming like he was wondering what the heck he was doing there, judging by the smirk on his face. But to our credit we soon won this veteran over. We outlined the kinds of music we were interesting in doing - the best of some of the older stuff (Zeppelin, Van Halen, Queen) and the new stuff (Green Day, Third Eye Blind) and everything in between. Once again it was our enthusiasm and the prospect of being the kind of versatile, kick-ass band not seen in Bathurst since the good ole days that made him come around.

It was agreed that Garry would receive an extra share of the proceeds from gigs for his contribution of PA gear. Garry and Dap would also contribute their knowledge of contacts at local venues, and Brett knew a couple of people as well. Phew - lucky for me as a rank novice that I had all this terrific experience to support me in the new group. It was an exciting time - for the first time I was going to play with guys who actually knew the local area and the local industry, who had played extensively in the past and actually knew their shit - and could get us proper gigs (unlike in my previous band)!!.

I still recall our first gig, at what was then called The Tavern in George Street (now The Waratah Bar & Grill - how fucking tame is that!). Garry had gotten access to begin setting up in the afternoon (it was a Friday), and after finishing my casual shift at Mitre 10, I went to give him a hand. I can't tell you how fucking cool it was for me, as an inexperienced, know-nothing kid, to head in to a venue and see this nice guy Garry smiling over at me as he was setting up the mixing board and the PA in the dim day time lighting of one of the most popular venues in town. The fact that it was for something I was a part of was a feeling I will always cherish.

The gig was a massive hit. People had no idea who we were, but they knew the songs we were playing. And it went off. There had not been a versatile covers band like us in town for a long, long time - the music scene in the country had declined massively since Garry's heyday in the 80's - and the crowd lapped us up. Plus, all my years of bedroom mike and singing practice came to fruition in that moment.

Afterwards I was absolutely drained but the feeling was incredible.

So that's how it began. Four fantastic years of fun, hanging out, meeting girls (but not a lot of "action" I can assure you!), singing my heart (and throat) out and playing around the countryside. Together with my time at uni it was the very best time of my life up to that point.

Band member profile - David Powter

Also in this blog I'm going to write a series of profiles of the four other band members, based on what I can remember about each of them. Bear in mind that this was fifteen years ago now! Also, I may not know everything about them as when we were in the band we were pretty focussed on the band; I don't remember too many conversations that I was involved in where we talked about what we did outside the band...

So to the subject of this post.

David Anthony Powter - or as we all called him, DAP - hailed from the small NSW country town of Condobolin. (Current population: approx. 2,800). There he attended high school, and qualified as a teacher. When I first met him, Dap was teaching in primary schools around the area (including my own Raglan Public School) and playing in bands at the same time.

Dap's influences were Stevie Ray Vaughan, Cold Chisel, Van Halen, and many others that I cannot recall. He could play just about anything you gave him, and was a consummate professional in the studio.

Dap was always one of the friendliest, nicest, and one of the most considerate blokes I'd ever met. (This was in stark contrast to my own behaviour at the time - more on that in a moment). I didn't drive, and Dap always had no problems in picking me up from my home at Raglan, 10 k's out of town, and taking me to band practice. In fact if I remember rightly, the guys had a system whereby they would take turns picking up their singer - what a bunch of guys eh!

Dap was a Scorpio if I recall, but unlike a lot of Scorpios Dap had a really pleasant disposition - most of the time. Certainly if crossed or mistreated then the dark side would emerge, although this happened only a couple of times during the time I knew him. And only once was it directed toward me (again - more on that in a moment).

As a school teacher Dap was possessed with a great sense of humour, always enlivening rehearsals with his sense of fun, and a great deal of patience (again - usually toward myself!). Indigo Rush would have been nowhere near as much fun as it was if it wasn't for Dap.

Also, Dap was a seasoned musician who had been performing for a number of years before Brett and I met him (more on this in a later post about the origins of I.R.) I think his band at the time was Out for The Weekend, in which Cameron Ashpole was also the drummer (we poached them both for our new band, tee hee!). Brett and I had ended our previous band and we were not really looking for new members, but when we met Dap and realised what a great guitar player he was, and well we knew it was the right time to start again.

Some of my greatest memories involve going over to Dap's share house, which at first consisted of the bass player with Out for the Weekend and two girls. This for me was my big discovery of girls and how they operated, since I'd had a rather sheltered life and gone to a Catholic private school and had basically no life experience. So knowing Dap enabled me to experience a whole new world, of laughter, friendship, togetherness, getting to know girls, making silly mistakes, and of course, music and performing.

I won't go into detail about the not-so-good-times, but let's just say that I was, I can easily admit, highly immature at the time. I was new to all this fun stuff, and I just wanted to suck the marrow of everything I could. I was therefore incredibly selfish, whereas Dap, Garry and Cameron who were a little older, wiser and more experienced than me, all knew more about giving and taking, sharing and being generous. I knew fuck all about those things, so usually I was a taker. I think I knew this deep down so I tried to give my role as the singer 150%, especially on stage. But in the end I made things hard for the guys, and when I later returned to Bathurst and bumped into Dap he didn't want to know me. Which hurt at the time, but looking back and seeing all the things I did, I can understand.

The last I heard of Dap was that he was no longer in Bathurst and was playing with a band called Razor Glass. I've tried googling Dap but nothing ever comes up. It's probably for the best. I wish Dap nothing but good fortune and a lot of happiness, he was a great mate and a great band member.

As mentioned in a previous post, Dap contributed the song Rushman and the original riff to Foreign Land to the band's catalogue. Dap could always make any song sound good. Good on you, mate, maybe we'll meet up again when the karma is cleared.

Edit, 18 Oct 2012: I have now found Dap, Brett and Razor Glass on Facebook. Also Garry Anderson's oldest boy, Chris, plays bass in Razor Glass.

What was Indigo Rush

From 1994 to 1998, I was lead singer in an Aussie rock outfit called Indigo Rush.

We were based in Bathurst, in country NSW, Australia. We gigged extensively around the local area, playing in surrounding towns like Orange, Blayney, Cowra, and Canowindra.

We were primarily a covers band, but we did put together a demo of 12 songs, one of which - Rushman - made it onto local radio station 2BS, and thanks to helpful family members it reached no. 9 on their Top 40 request charts.

The members of Indigo Rush were:

David Powter - guitar, vocals, songwriter
Brett Stevens - guitar, vocals, songwriter
Garry Anderson - bass, sound & studio wizard extraordinaire
Cameron Ashpole - drums, percussion, wildman
Anthony Tobin - lead vocals, guitar, songwriter (that's my real name by the way)

We were a powerful five piece, and crowds always responded to our balls-out, hard rock style of playing.

Our set consisted of mainstream rock such as Green Day, Led Zeppelin, Third Eye Blind and Van Halen but also quirkier choices such as songs by Edwyn Collins, Faith No More, and our own original tunes. Worked into our set were originals such as Rushman, Deep Inside and Brave New World.

This blog will reminisce about the times and tunes of Indigo Rush. Please enjoy this memorial to a great time in my life and a great band.