This week's big news from music man David Kowalski looks at the debacle surrounding Byron Bay Bluesfest's inclusion of controversial band Sticky Fingers on the bill.
AT FIRST glance, this story may look like another case of cancel culture run amok. However, as with many narratives, it is not clear-cut.
STICKY FINGERS COME UNSTUCK
Members of Sydney band Sticky Fingers have had a well-documented history of drunken escapades and violent outbursts described as "racist".
There are also abuse allegations from 2016 (the band's lead singer subsequently apologised to the female musician at the core of the incident, citing bipolar schizophrenia and substance abuse during that time). They don’t need to be rehashed here.
Bluesfest (6-10 April 2023) director Peter Noble wanted to give the band 'a chance at rehabilitation'. Ultimately, a second chance.
However, to earn forgiveness and redemption, genuine apologies and honest attempts to grow are required. The band’s toxic behaviour was explained away in a Triple J interview in 2018 as “boys will be boys”, which is, in my opinion, lame at best, pathetic and unacceptable at worst.
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard were first to say they would pull out of the lineup. Then, when Zambian musician Sampa the Great echoed the same, changes were made and the Fingers were shunted off the bill, probably to stop any further exodus.
If Sticky Fingers have done the noble things Peter Noble claims they have – like setting up music education programs – I can't find any evidence. So, if anyone could point me in the right direction, that would be appreciated.
THE WHITLAMS — STILL COOL AND NOW COUNTRY TO BOOT
Speaking of progressing, once-indie pop stars The Whitlams have gone country in 2023 under the moniker The Whitlams Black Stump Band.
Don’t be too shocked, though. Vocalist Tim Freedman has always been a great storyteller if we think back to '90s radio staples like 'I Make Hamburgers' and 'No Aphrodisiac', and storytelling is central to the country music genre.
In this update of a track from 2002 album Torch the Moon, Tim is joined by vocalist Felicity Urquhart to retell the story of Kate Kelly, sister of the infamous "Ned”. The Kelly family story is one of police harassment, violence and pain. This track tells the lesser-known story of Ned’s little sister in beautiful, empathetic, hushed tones and an updated musical palette.
'I SAW A DEADHEAD STICKER ON A CADILLAC...'
Why does it take such a long time for music we love from the past to catch up with us?
As an '80s kid, I loved the (well-known Eagles co-leader) Don Henley track 'The Boys of Summer' as much as the next kid, but it was only recently that I had any idea what the line 'I saw a Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac'... meant. The "Deadhead” being the logo of '60s band Grateful Dead (who espoused the hippie free-love ideal before hanging up their guitars a few years ago) proudly displayed on the back of a car typically driven by the well-heeled employee of a Fortune 500 company.
It’s a great image and a powerful one — of counterculture kids in the '60s rejecting capitalism only to fully embrace its decadent spoils in the 1980s.
HALLAN FIRES OFF A NEW SINGLE
British band Hallan has come along in leaps and bounds since I first saw them in a tiny corner pub in Portsmouth in 2019, expanding their music to include some innovative synthesiser work along with their raucous post-punk sound.
Their latest single,'The Unwomanly Face of War', comes from soon-to-be-released EP The Noise of a Firing Gun. The track takes its name from a novel by Belarusian journalist and author Svetlana Alexievich, who has collected first-hand accounts of female soldiers fighting on the front lines for Russia in WW2.
Hallan’s vocalist Conor Clements told me (after I reached out on Instagram!) that this track is essentially a retelling of the novel, though filtered through current events.
If it's possible for a song to be at once creepy, chilling and compelling...
Well, this is it.
'THEY DON'T LET THE GIRLS IN THE GAME'
Now that school has resumed and the weather is getting cooler, various professional football seasons are kicking off — the NRL started last week and the AFL this week. Students in playgrounds everywhere are hanging up their cricket whites and donning the boots to kick oddly shaped balls around the back oval at recess.
This track, from fellow educator, country singer, all-around wonderful human being and dear friend of mine, Michael Waugh, reminds us that everyone should be included and be given a shot.
Get your tissues ready…
David Kowalski is a writer, musician, educator, sound engineer and podcaster. His podcasts 'The Sound and the Fury Podcast' and 'Audio Cumulus' can be heard exclusively here. You can follow David on Twitter @sound_fury_pod.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia License
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