Musicians taking time out from their bands to explore new ideas: it’s not an unfamiliar scenario. In 2008, Simon Bailey and Kris Emond took a breather from their usual gig to jam out some ideas. Recruiting Anth Dymke, this trio would christen themselves Pony Face. They have, in their relatively short life, released an EP and two albums, but their latest venture is something special. Never one to do things by the book, the band has taken on Bruce Springsteen’s 1982 album Nebraska. The story goes that after Springsteen played his Nebraska to his right-hand man Steve Van Zandt, ‘Little Steven’ said: “The fact that you didn’t intend to release it makes it the most intimate record you’ll ever do. This is an absolutely legitimate piece of art.” The album, which continues to cause debate among Springsteen devotees, has nevertheless been called “one of the greatest documents of American life” by Rosanne Cash. For a band to step up to the plate the way Pony Face has to put their touch on it says a lot about this trio. For what is sure to be a special evening, Pony Face, along with a bunch of friends, will play the album in its entirety at The Bridge, Castlemaine on November 28.
