We played our first gig with the "revamped" band the other night at
the Semaphore workers club to many delighted fans old and new
(great to see many new faces coming to our gigs). Most of the songs
on the up & coming new record were aired and the guys did a great
job, especially considering it was Deryck's first time.
Special mention goes to Jeff P for doing a little filming, Danzo for
recording and Steve Von Der B for handing over some great new pics.
The Streamliners have spent most of the Easter break at Jim Redgate's
studio once again with a batch of new tunes and the new line up in tow
(see news below).
Most of the CD is done, with sorting and mixing next on the agenda, we
are aiming for a mid-year release.
Watch this space!
We're happy to announce that we have enlisted the services of
guitarist Bill Rankine and keyboardist Deryck Charles in what
is the first personnel change since Steve took up the drums
vacancy back in 1995.
The void left by Sav's departure a few months ago hasn't been an
easy one to fill, but after a few gigs with Bill, there were smiles
all 'round (both in the band AND audience) and it didn't take much
pep-talk with Bill to convince him to hang his hat on our door.
Prior to that, the rest of us thought Bill is far too busy to join
one more band - many of you may know that he also plays with popular
local outfits The Satellites and Southpoor among others(!),
so we considered our chances of him moving in pretty slim. We're pleas-
antly surprised.
Thankyou Bill and welcome aboard.
Deryck has played with Nick and Dennis many years ago in a Streamliners
"satellite" band (come to think of it, we did so few gigs, we didn't
even bother with a name).
It was a New Orleans-style piano group that mostly played Professor
Longhair and Fats Domino covers; styles that Deryck was a natural with
and we had a lot of fun doing this stuff until drummer Ronny Farella
permanently moved to Melbourne.
It's great to have such a musically diverse mix in the group once more
and really good to be working with Deryck again.
Many have asked of Sav's whereabouts at some of our latest gigs
to date. Sav has indicated that he'd like to move on in 2008 but
will be available for specific gigs.
He has been with us since the Streamliners first started gigs
back in 1989, so we're going to miss him heavily.
His unique way of playing without a plectrum, strumming chords
through a rotating speaker "simulator" gave rise to a very iden-
tifiable sound and personal stamp on the Streamliners music.
Above all, Sav's friendly and easygoing nature made life in the
Streams camp more fun than usual. Thankyou Savva - a true pro.
Meanwhile, we have used the services of Steve Salvi and "Billy
Bob" Rankine and both guys have done a fine job stepping in.
We now have the unenviable task of finding a more permanent
replacement for future gigs. We're still looking...
Nick will be appearing as a guest with Sweet Baby James, Rob
Eyers and David Blight at the Adelaide festival theatre Piano
bar on Sunday 24th of June, 2 - 3.30pm. For an afternoon of
thick-as-molasses blues mayhem, be sure not to miss this once
only gig. Entry is free.
Work has already commenced on the next Streamliners release and
will continue over the next few months. This one should be completed
in much less time it took to finish "Moondogs" as some of the band
members are now able to invest larger periods of "hands-on" time
than was previously available.
Consequently, the "Down deep South" re-release project has taken a
back seat for a while (apologies to those that are still waiting!),
but both works will concurrently be in the pipeline very soon.
The night of March 23rd was very well attended despite constant
rain (..wha?...) during the day which created a complete swamp-out
of the city Fringe grounds. This led to most of the festival being
closed to the punters and the only thing going was our show in the
big red tent and the big Ferris wheel next to it. This obviously
worked to the advantage of the organisers and bands on the bill.
Hooray!
A great show, if audience reaction to all ten acts was anything to
judge by and it was amazing to see such a diverse crowd digging the
surroundings.
Our group was different this evening in that Steve Salvi (guitar)
and Gil Atkinson (drums) stood in for Sav and Steve Peterka respect-
ively. The guys did very well, considering we'd never played the tunes
before (cuts played were Jersey girl, 2:19 and Union Square).
Sure hope we raised lotsa dosh for "Beyond Blue". Depression and rel-
ated illness is far more widespread in modern society than we think
and it's time we review and realign our attitutes to this pandemic
killer.
As part of the 2007 Adelaide Festival Fringe, we've been invited to
participate - along many other local acts, in a Tom Waits "mini-fest"
style tribute at the Garden of Unearthly Delights.
This is the third and last tribute, organised by
Andrew Dundon and Troy Loakes (Huckleberry
Swedes)and all profits go to "Beyond Blue"-the
National Depression Initiative.
Tickets may be purchased online through our
MySpace site and there is also a full lineup list.
Stay tuned for further details...
Friends, you can now visit the Streamliners on the new
Myspace page by clicking the red link below. As you may
know, it's the fastest growing social/networking site available to
everyone.
Access more photo's of the band, listen to selected tracks from
the new Moondogs CD or even set up your own Myspace
page, which will allow you to post your comments to the band's site
and mark out your place in their special "amigos" page.
It's fun & it's free...give it a go!
A big thankyou to all in attendance for our launch gig last Nov.3rd!
Thankyou also to all who were involved "behind the scenes" at making
this a special event and in the production of the new CD.
Special thanks to Dave P, Cathy, Pat, Robin and all the regulars at
the Semaphore Workers Club, as well as Joe M, Eddie L, Cate K and Bec
for their assistance on the night...
...and did we mention Jim R, Trevor R, Chook, Danzo, Camera Guy 2,
David S, Paul T, Big Mike, Sue T, Rob, Robbie D & Rip It Up, 3DDD FM
and everyone else we missed that deserves kudos!
An abundance of film footage shot on the night of the launch has
prompted a wave of activity on the cutting room floor!
You can check it out on our new myspace link.
Alternatively, the clip can also be accessed on Youtube
Big thanks to Dan "Danzo" Rankine for piecing it together in the
way only he can...
We're also working on another clip for the song "Moondogs", which will
be followed by one for "Dark Bill" (...this should be interesting...)
There has been a steady demand for our backlog of recordings, as
well as T-shirts that were on sale during the Moondogs CD
launch.
All our current merchandise is now available for online purchase
- just click onto our Shop link and peruse our wares...Stand by
for more cool stuff in the near future.
Deep South - a compilation CD of South Australian blues bands
originally released in 1994, kicked off with four tracks written by
The Streamliners.
These four tracks will be reissued with a bonus fifth track, on an EP
with a working title of Down Deep South.
"Emily", a tune written and recorded during the original sessions
but left behind due to time restraints, showcases the band's early
Rockabilly side, not evident elsewhere.
You heard it right here first folks!
Copyright © The Streamliners 2006