FOR the first time in years, three Goulburn bands will feature on the bill for the Australian Blues Music Festival.
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Bailey Judd and Room 15, The Muddy Malone Trio and The Amphibians will all take to the stage this weekend decked out in suits - but more on that later.
To explain how the three bands work as a unit is complicated. As Blues Festival organiser Geoff Bell put it, “it’s quite an incestuous relationship”... but not in the way you might think.
All up, from Goulburn, there’s Bailey Judd, Luke Watterson, Kial Malone, Will ‘Wombat’ Nell, Dom Gorman and Pat Johnson (pictured).
Each belong to their own band and for some, at least one other. Malone features in all three and Gorman in two, too.
Room 15 is fronted by budding axeman Judd with Malone on bass and Gorman on drums. Winners of the 2015 Blues busking competition, The Amphibians are now a fivepiece including Johnson on vocals, Malone on guitar and Gorman on drums.
The Muddy Malone Trio sees Malone step up as frontman, Nell on bass and Watterson on drums.
All in all, it’s easier to not think about it too much. But where did it begin?
“We all grew up, pretty similar in ages I guess, and we all tended to go a lot to the Upper Room gigs that Anthony Kranitis put on,” Johnson said.
“That was the crucible of where a lot of the musicians now have come from.”
Watterson, jumping in, said the Upper Room gigs were “where everyone hooked up and met, because you were either playing the show or watching your friends play the show”.
“It really brought the whole music crowd together,” Malone added.
“Everyone was in very different bands then as well with a lot of different backgrounds from metal and hardcore through to folk and punk,” Johnson said.
“The interesting thing about that is it started from a punk-hardcore aesthetic and it’s given people the confidence and drive to really pursue their own musical visions.
“So you get blues stuff like this as well and other genres coming from that. It was definitely a positive thing for Goulburn’s young music scene.”
Watterson, laughing, said “as bad as it sounds, the incestuous thing, if there’s people saying it it’s kind of true”.
It’s this kindred-like notion that binds the group together. That and a love of the blues.
While they admit the bands don’t differ greatly stylistically, it’s the subtle nuances each person brings that creates a new combination and a new sound.
“Every musician has their own special touch, and it’s that mix of everyone together that really makes the style of the band,” Nell said.
“If you had to take a stab at it, it is all really the same,” Watterson said.
“This is all blues, this is what we are doing. If you asked somebody to listen to all three bands and say if they sound the same, anybody with half a brain, no offence, would say ‘yeah’.
“As Wombat (Nell) said, flavour is everything - Bailey’s flavour is completely different to Kial’s flavour, which is completely different to Pat’s flavour. And again it comes back to influences and what you grew up on.”
Judd, the youngest of the bunch, said this year would be his “pivotal” Blues Festival.
“I’m stoked with the material I’m writing with these boys. It’s all coming together - from playing gigs when I was a child and learning different things to now, where I’ve got enough that I can develop my own style,” he said.
“Bailey was always the kid with the guitar chops but now he is the adult who is blowing everyone away. It’s awesome to have the chance to play with Bailey. It’s going to blow people away,” Gorman said.
As travellers converge on the City from far and wide, the Goulburn blues crew hope to encourage locals to step out into the streets for the weekend.
That’s where the suits come in.
The group are asking those who live in Goulburn and are planning on attending their shows to dress in Blues Brothers theme. “It’s about getting out and supporting local music,” Johnson said.
“It’s such an inspiring thing to see people you know play music. Hopefully that can be a similar thing to what we had with Upper Room; that younger people can see that and think ‘this isn’t a closed thing, I can participate in it’ and really contribute to local music.”
“I’ve always wanted to play, because I dig the blues, but because I get to play in front of a big home crowd, that’s pretty awesome. For all of us, it’s all our first Blues Fest playing so we wanted a bunch of people to come out,” Malone said.
“It’s ‘G-Town’ represent. A lot of people travel here to see the Blues Fest and this way we know for a fact if you rock out in Blues Brothers gear you’re from Goulburn. You’ve got to be proud of it,” Watterson added.
When asked for a final word before finishing the interview, the opportunity was too good to miss.
“It’s all about the music,” Watterson said.
“That’s it, you said it bro,” Malone replied.
• Room 15 will perform at Belmore Park tomorrow afternoon from 3pm, and at the Tattersalls Hotel from 1.15pm on Saturday.
• The Muddy Malone Trio and The Amphibians will share a set, from 3.30pm on Saturday at Belmore Park.