Blues News #688
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Blues News #688

On April 22, the Sleepy Hollow Blues Club held a tribute session for one of Geelong’s well-known musicians, Gary Quick, who passed away on the 17th. Gary was a long-time supporter of Sleepy Hollow, and regularly played in the jam and with headliners, especially The Housewreckers and Buxom Blues. He will be greatly missed and we send best wishes to his family and friends. There’s an obituary for him in this Forte.
Also in this Forte, you’ll find a review of Stringybark McDowell’s latest CD “Dancing with the Dust Devils” which he has issued as Stringy and Molly. As you probably know, Stringy and Molly have been living in the dustier parts of South Australia, many miles from conventional civilisation (understandable!) and have recorded this themselves, using their own setup and solar power.
The best news is that they are going to be in town in the coming month and will be launching their CD at Pistol Pete’s on May 10. I, for one, will be looking forward to catching up with them, and hearing the CD material live. Yes, the benefit of being a hard-hitting journalist is that I get that stuff to play with before the rest of you. I won’t go into it too much here, because you can go and read the review, but you know what Stringy and Molly are like – the performance is the thing.
Now, a new band and a new venue. So here’s the pitch: “Immerse yourself in the heart of the Blues brought to you by Mountain Grey! With the fire roaring sit back and enjoy the lyrical poetry…”
Now that’s a high bar, but good for this time of year, we are rapidly heading into the “roaring fire” season, well, inside and behind a grate at least.
Mountain Grey are from Deans Marsh, and consist of front man Mike Robinson Koss (lead vocals/harmonicas/lyrics), Steve James (guitar/vocals), Luke Hynes (upright and electric bass) and the Reverend Kev Foster (drums/percussion/vocals). I take absolutely no responsibility for the veracity of the clerical qualification!
They like to focus on a profound appreciation for all things nature (even in its bleakest and “wintery” forms), capturing an honest and genuine soul of real blues. Steve brings some incredible vintage guitar tones and owns a suave “New Orleans-esque” bluegrass/ragtime style of playing, which is accompanied seamlessly by the dexterous, sharp and precise bass-work of Luke.
All backed by a man who resonates soul, the Reverend Kev from behind the drums bringing an equally creative yet tight complexity tying together the whole overall mix! From what I can see, they have looked from Deans Marsh mostly towards the coast with quite a few gigs in the Otways and at the Lorne Sculpture Biennale.
This seems to be one of the few times they have looked towards the urban landscape of Geelong.
Mountain Grey is playing at the Baker Street Studios, Old Papermills Fyansford on Sun May 6.
So Mountain Grey at Fyansford on the 6th, and Stringy and Molly at Pistol Pete’s on the 10th.