IF you head down to the Blues Festival this weekend you may find yourself with a certain sense of déjà vu.
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Many of the more established performers have been here before.
In fact, both ARIA award winner Jeff Lang and Blues legends,The Bondi Cigars, played at the inaugural event back in 1997.
The latter, has returned a few time since and say Goulburn audiences always give off good vibes.
The Bondi Cigars truly are a resounding act. They have more than 23 years of experience under their belts and will continue to grace stages across the country as long as the fans keep turning up.
When they first started gigging around Sydney in late 1989, they quickly became a fixture of the city’s blues/R&B scene, known for their uncompromising no-nonsense style and artistic integrity.
More than two decades on, the band has undergone a few line-up changes, but their music is still as forceful, and alternative, as ever.
Despite the best efforts of fans and critics alike, the Cigars have always refused to conform to one particular genre, instead experimenting to forge their own unique sound.
“We’re not strictly a blues band,” bassist/foundation member Al Britton explained.
“Everybody always tries to pigeon hole us as blues but there are a lot of different influences. We like New Orleans, American soul music, we’re even influenced by rock music. We still love our music. We get out to a lot of gigs and we’re still inspired by other bands and artists, both the classics and contemporary… “(Our front man) Shane (Pacey, who is our main songwriter)’s influences are wide and varied. He puts his own spin on it and it’s just the way it happens.”
The Cigars don’t burn as brightly as they used to. They don’t tour as often as they used to and as mature aged men, with families, day jobs and the type of wisdom that only comes from a life on the road, their wild days are well and truly behind them.
However, there are two things the Sydneysiders will never lose and that is their respect for one another or their independence as artists.
Al said their biggest source of pride as a band was that they never sold out or allowed record labels to dictate what they could and couldn’t play or control their image. As a result, they have always loved what they do.
There are no egos within the band. While there is the inevitable creative disagreement from time to time they always manage to talk it out and get on with the job.
“Everyone has been around long enough to know we have a common goal,” Al explained.
“Everyone is pretty level headed. We know we’re not going to oust Justin Beiber from the charts. We just play the songs we like to play and I think that has been the secret to our longevity.”
The Cigars will perform at the Goulburn Workers Club on Friday, February 8, and will play a selection of songs from all eight of their studio albums.
• The Cigars will perform at the Workers Club tomorrow night, with doors opening at 8pm. Tickets cost $25.50 and are available from club reception or online from: australianbluesfestival.com.au.