Looking for guidance.

[Little Tent of Blue]

G'day to you down under.
Down under you're thinking? yes an old pom here with a bit of a request.

Maybe if I set the scene.
For reasons unbeknown I find myself watching a half hour TV program about the London underground; "The Tube" This particular episode is about giving the buskers a pitch and a licence so they can earn a crust without being hassled by the uniforms.
Now here I'm going to jump the tale and paraphrase some Australian woman, not a busker, a passenger, that was interviewed by the TV, I'll let her tell it.

"Who is this kid? he's from the West of England and has never been within ten thousand miles of Australia. He's got the soul of Aboriginal Australia running through him, it's incredible."

And so he had, and so he was, from the moment I heard the rhythm and beat and tone and feeling, this kid's didge playing has haunted me.

Try as I may, requests (of the TV company) or web searches I can't find anything further, about the kid or his music.

So if any of you folks are in a position to recommend an album or two of good didge music I would be in your debt.

I have been online and there are plenty of sources, but I need some guidance.

Cheers.
Little Tent.

[Ric Raftis]

G'day Little Tent,

Rosscoe will be your man.  He spends time working in the outback away from Alice Springs where he lives though so his visits to the Forum are not necessarily on a daily basis.  I'm confident however that he will be able to recommend some pearlers as there are some great players in the The Alice but I can't remember their names.  I've got some CDs from a white didge player that I heard in Hobart.  I was bitterly disappointed though when I got home and found there wasn't much didge music.

One unusual band I can recommend though is  "Harper".  You have to check the individual CDs, but I saw them at the Maldon Folk Festival.  A lot of their music consists of harmonica, acoustic guitar and didge.  The music is blues and I loved all of it.

Anyway, if you don't wan't to chance Ross missing this, go to the Membership List and email r.magnay at Alice Springs via the Forum.

[Little Tent of Blue]

Thanks again Ric. I might not have learned much in this life but I've learnt a little patience. :wink:  :roll:

"He lives the poetry that he cannot write. The others write the poetry that they dare not realize"

[r. magnay]

Bare with me mate, not off the top of my head, I know my daughter has a mate who plays didge, and I will make a few enquiries, about recorded stuff, I am not a big fan of the didge as a solo instrument but if that is your thing I will do my best to locate something for you, I just got home from bush a couple of hours ago and have a bit happening at the moment, but I will get onto it at my earliest possible chance.

[the grey]

G'day little tent of blue.  Fora number of years we performed our shows out in western Queensland and my old aboriginal mate Ernie Adams taught me how to play.  Each year I would go out and cut myself one and Ernie would paint it for me.  Have four different ones now.

There are some good didge players about and some tell some pretty good stories on them.

My cousin married oneof Ernie's nephews and Michael makes and plays them for a living.

He might be able to help you out.

His web site is  http://www.dreamtime.auz.net/

Yours in bush verse and ballads
Merv Webster

[Little Tent of Blue]

G'day Merv.
Thanks for that, an interesting site.
A bit of an update, I have done some more searching and found the production company and a blogger who'es thing is the London tube, so enquiries are made but don't expect much over the Christmas break.
Hopefully I'll pan a bit of gold and be able to post a spot of music.
Good luck.
Best For Christmas.
Mel.

who'es? who'se? whose? it's got to one of the three.

[the grey]

Goodonya mate.  All the best for 2007.


Bush Poet
Merv Webster
www.users.tpg.com.au/thegrey

[Babe]

who's (who is), or whose (belonging to who).

The journo in me just can't help it.

Babe

[Little Tent of Blue]

It is seldom that I am right, but on this occassion I am wrong again. :oops:

I was working on the proof of one of my poems all the the morning and took out a comma. In the afternoon I put it back again. The Darling Oscar.

[the grey]

Boy! when I started writing verse I suddenly realised, as much as I enjoyed swimming and fishing, I shouldn't have wagged all them English classes.  Always in trouble for my did an dones.

[zondrae]

''

I have been told that the hardest thing about making a Didge is finding a branch with a hole clear through it.

[the grey]

You have to be able to track them white ant foot prints mate and then listen for all that noisy choowing.

No good cutting down a whole heap of trees for nothing.

[Babe]

:oops:

Wasn't meant as a literary criticism. Really!! Just a helpful suggestion. I always forget to put in the dang smiley :!:

That said, until very recently a didge maker lived locally. He's unfortunately left the region to work in N.T. but I remember his didge's well. They were beautifully crafted. If I remember correctly, he left NPWS NSW to go work for the equivalent at Kakadu.

Not that that helps any...

Babe

(really a very nice little pig, after all...)

[Little Tent of Blue]

Eureka!
Happy new year everyone.
It never rains but pours, I found the program "The Tube" and downloaded it, that in course led me to the man, seems like he's moving up in the world.
4.30 AM too late to take anything in so I'm off to the feathers.
Will update when I have sorted some tunes out and hopefuly post a bit.
Peace
Mel.
http://www.anticearthworks.co.uk/sales/cds/thetunnel.htm

[Little Tent of Blue]

G'day one and all.
I was going to edit the the video but in light of being able to purchase a CD of the subject's music I don't think I'll bother.
Surprisingly there isn't that more than a few minutes of didge music scattered throughout the twenty five minute program, 233MB.
So here is a link if anybody wants to download it, and would be very interested in your opinion if you do.
The program is interesting enough in it's own right, but then I have always been a great fan of street music, I think it gives a city soul and I enjoyed such an abundance of it during my years in Ireland.
Just as an aside I had the same experience as described by two of the passengers on the program.
My last day of a holiday in Majorca, a very still autumn Sunday, I partook in the Majorcan "thing," promenading. Stolling along, I heard in the distance, an angel making music.
When I finally arived at the source of this incredible sound, there stood this angel in the guise of a hobo blowing a trumpet.
I sat a goodly while in a near state of rapture listening to this fellow making music.
We got to chatting, and the shorter, we went on the piss at his "local" a little non tourist Spanish bar, and proceeded to get rat arsed on thirty bob bottles of vino callapso.
He more than I, for what ever my Father left me on his demise, he left me a thirst and a frightening tolerance for grog.
As this German, for that's what he turned out to be, started getting worse for wear, the barman explained, "His problem is he makes too much money" something I could well believe.
While he was still coherent, the trumpet player had told me he had once been a member of the Berlin Philarmonic but had come off the rails big time, seemingly there was an obstacale on the track that caused eine grosse katastroph, sounded a lot like a woman.

Peace.
Mel
 :wink:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=3H0JGU1Z