Chapter Fourteen – 2005-2008

2005 kicked off looking like a re-run of the previous year, beginning with the second year of the Telstra Road to Tamworth competition. Inaugural winner Jessica Mauboy returned and together we played the song she had recorded as her first single for Sony Music (as part of her prize), a cover of Cyndi Lauper’s Girls Just Want To Have Fun. As well as the competition proper, this year the finalists also got to sing with my Hillbilly Heaven band at a showcase held on the big stage in Tamworth’s Bicentennial Park. Highlights of the competition were broadcast as a cable-TV special on the Country Music Channel. The eventual winner was Aleyce Simmonds who shined with a rousing version of The Letter.    

As always, the Tamworth Country Musical Festival included a Tomkins Guitars Showcase which I opened with Diamondtina Yodel, fast becoming our theme tune. Here it is with Warren Nielsen on pedal steel guitar, guitar-maker Allan Tomkins on bass and Terry Phillpot on drums…

The show included dozens of singers and pickers including Chad Morgan, The Baileys, Luke O’Shea & Medicine Wheel, Alby Pool and many more, including Phil ‘The Wiz’  Emmanuel (pictured right) who blew the top off the tent!

Later that night, something different; I took part in one of a series of ten talk-shows called Tamworth Tonight, part industry panel show, part music, held at the Family Hotel and hosted by Bushfaery (Melanie Williamson). Pictured below, at the end of the show the panel holds hand for a sing-along-with-Normie…

Karen and I made a run to the airport to collect our dear friend Gene Bradley Fisk who, having some years earlier been inducted into the Country Music Broadcasters Hall of Fame, was now quite rightly also being recognised as a performer in the Country Music Hands of Fame.

John Nutting was also in town, so I joined him to deliver the Saturday Night Country Gig Guide live from the ABC New England studio. During the same show, Johnno and I spoke with bluegrass legend Trev (T-Bird) Warner about guitars, banjos, the weather, The Shadows and more. To illustrate a humorous argument that it was really Cliff Richard that invented rock and roll, I gave an impromptu rendition of Move It.

 

In February, Johnno came to the ABC Sydney studio and I was there to co-host the entire four-hour show. One of John’s guests that night was the renowned actor Lex Marinos (pictured right), forever identified with his character role as Bruno in the 1980s Australian comedy television series Kingswood Country. At this time, Lex was featured in the TV show Strictly Dancing and was also promoting the National Horse Festival in Wagga Wagga. We reminisced about the 1992 theatre production of A Slice of Saturday Night directed in Sydney by Lex and in which I performed as part of the on-stage band.

Wayne Horsburgh would spend half of each year based in Branson, Missouri, either performing there at the Silver Dollar City theme park, or touring the rest of the USA. We had to schedule his recording projects for the other six months when he was home in Australia. This year, I produced an album for him that would become one of his all-time favourites. It was called Songs of the Islands, Volume One and it featured many Hawaiian-flavoured songs, in the tradition of Marty Robbins and Elvis.

 

With harmony vocals by Wayne, myself and Donna Boyd, exceptional steel guitar and dobro by Graham Griffith, drums by Leon Isackson and a touch of accordion by Doug Boyd, it was all a luxurious backdrop for Wayne’s smooth singing.

Although Hawaii was just out of sight, we could however see the Pacific Ocean while we recorded at my Kenilworth Studio, and the local rainbow lorikeets came to visit. We even let them sing at the end of one track!

 

The following month, Johnno had a night off and the inimitable Jim Haynes filled in for him, broadcasting from the ABC Sydney studio. One of his guests was Telstra Road to Tamworth winner Aleyce Simmonds, and I was there to accompany her on acoustic guitar.

All the while I was swapping hats and guitars as I motored from one gig to another; solo ‘variety’ spots, band gigs and shared cabaret shows with Donna Boyd, Wayne Horsburgh’s package show Love That Country Music, my own Canterbury Country concerts and backing gigs with The Trojans at Petersham RSL every week.

In April, Frank Ifield published the first volume of his autobiography entitled I Remember Me – The First 25 Years. I had been encouraging Frank to document his story for a while, even beginning the process of research for him. Recently, ill-health had kept him offstage for a while, but gave him time to write. He completed the first edition with co-author Pauline Halford and it covers the years that lead up to his first number one hit, which was of course I Remember You. As such, it doesn’t include the years we worked together, but in the preface and…cue Frankie Howerd voice… ‘The Prologue’, Frank paints a vivid picture of our unglamorous 1986 tour of Western Australia and the encouragement I gave him to finally put pen to paper.

Soon afterwards, the EMI record company released The Complete A-Sides & B-Sides featuring all of Frank’s singles released on their Columbia label. Naturally it included the classic 1962 track I Remember You, produced by Norrie Paramor. Frank had recently asked me to create a stereo remix of the track and I added a hint of steel guitar which he had always wished for at the time of the original recording. This version was added as a bonus track to this new 3-CD compilation, which also contained an extensive essay by noted UK writer and broadcaster Paul Hazell.

 

In mid-April John Nutting was once again broadcasting Saturday Night Country from the 702 ABC Sydney studio and I was delighted to be there to sit-in for the show. Special guest that night was Rebecca Lee Nye and I accompanied her on acoustic guitar as she sang Goin’ Till You’re Gone and her debut single, It’s A Heartache. In the following two years Rebecca would be named the Victorian Female Vocalist at the Victorian and National Country Music Awards and would be a regular visitor to Canterbury Country.

Later in the month, our band appeared at the Crows Nest Country Music Street Fair playing for Stacey Morris and Travis List. Illawarra songstress Stacey had won the Australian Open Singing Championship in 1996 after singing in rock bands from a young age. She had just released her second country album Borders and Boundaries which was produced by Herm Kovac, and in the previous month Stacey had won the 2005 Frank Ifield International Spur Award. Travis List was originally from One Hill in South Australia but by this time was forging a career based in Nashville. It was odd to have a country music themed event in the streets of Crows Nest, as the residents of Sydney’s North Shore weren’t usually noted for their hillbilly spirit! 

…with Stacey Morris at the Crows Nest Country Music Street Fair 2005

The ‘Love That Country Music’ cast, backstage at Mounties. Greg Hooper (piano M.D.), Wayne Horsburgh, Donna Boyd, Bob Howe 2005

In May, Donna Boyd invited me to be co-producer for her latest recording project to be entitled I’ve Got My Standards (Vol. 1). It would be recorded over two consecutive days, old-school style, completely live at Troy Horse Studios in Sydney. The band would be Sean Rudd on basses, Bill Kezelos on drums, Glenn Skarratt on acoustic guitar and mandolin, Doug Boyd on piano and accordions, myself on guitars and harmonica, Guy Taylor and Dan Markovina on backing vocals, plus a duet performance by western singer Peter Pratt. It was an ambitious but successful project, with the biggest technical issue being making sure we had a clear line-of-sight between us all, through sound baffles and recording booths.

Donna and I supervised as engineer Brian Cachia mixed the tracks over two further days. We also sat in when mastering maestro Don Bartley did his thing at Studios 301. Running the digital masters through an analog tape machine definitely enhanced the retro sound for which we were aiming. The mastering session also included a ‘bonus’ 3-track EP that in complete contrast, Donna and I had recorded with no other musicians at my Kenilworth Studios. It was entitled Sweet & Crazy, ‘Round Midnight and featured a spiritual hymn, the Patsy Cline classic from the pen of Willie Nelson, and a Thelonious Monk jazz standard, all performed acoustically. One of my photographs of Donna adorned the cover of the EP and I was particularly proud of my guitar and mandolin solos on ‘Round Midnight. Donna sang up a storm on both the album and the EP and the songs would now become part of her live concerts.

At this point, I was really burning the candle at both ends. In the wee hours I was finishing the mixes and preparing the master for Wayne Horsburgh’s next album and in the days either side of Donna’s sessions I was attending rehearsals for This Train Terminates at Redfern, a contemporary dance, movement, song, speak adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ seminal play A Streetcar Named Desire. The production is set in contemporary Sydney on ‘The Block’ in Redfern, which was also where the workshop performance took place, at the Redfern Community Centre.

I was invited into the band by composer/keyboardist Dave Skinner (ex-Roxy Music) who wrote some exciting music for the project featuring Emma Donovan on vocals and a distinguished band – Mal Green (ex-Split Enz), Geoff Oakes (ex-Renee Geyer), Philip Scorgie (ex-Crossfire), and yours truly! The creative team also included Kirk Page (as Stanley), Kerry Johnson (as Stella), Rayma Johnson (as Blanche), script adaptation by Wayne Blair, choreography by Raymond Blanco and Melainie Smith and direction by Marcus West.

Amidst all this activity, I also bought a new car as our Mazda 2 ‘Bubble’ had seen better days. The new Hyundai Getz (instantly nicknamed ‘Stan’) had a slightly smaller boot than the ‘Bubble’, so I took my guitar case along to make sure it would fit, before I handed over the payment. By complete coincidence, the manager of the car dealership was a musician too, so he fully understood.

A couple of days later I began preproduction on an album for the wonderful Emma Hannah, to be recorded at my studio. On the live front I played a couple of great concerts in the backing band for Latino rock ‘n’ roll legend and writer of the 1958 classic hit Hippy Hippy Shake – Chan Romero. At one time he was hailed as a successor to Ritchie Valens and in 1959 he was signed to the same label as Valens, DelFi Records. Hippy Hippy Shake made number 3 on the Australian charts and Chan first toured here with Jerry Lee Lewis in 1960.

It was a busy period for recording and as well as the projects already mentioned, I played guitar, mandolin and harmonica on All Gave Some (Some Gave All) a track for funny-man Col Elliott (in serious-mode) and songwriter Allan Caswell. Remotely I contributed harmonica to two albums produced by Bushwacker Roger Corbett; Window Down by Alex Watt and Kick It! by Craig Giles. Wayne Horsburgh’s Songs of The Islands (Volume One) was released and I also assisted in the compilation of his Can You Hear Those Pioneers? album and both CDs were distributed to Europe by Jasmine Records (UK).

It was time for another OTT Production and Michael Vidale (pictured right) brought me in to work on a track he had recorded with Laurie Allen (of Bobby & Laurie fame) in 1991. With the aid of Gary Brown on dobro and Leon Isackson on drums, we finished off the recording which was a cover of the Dr. Hook classic, Sylvia’s Mother. The track was presented to radio broadcasters to commemorate the third anniversary of Laurie’s passing on June 13, 2002, with love and respect.

September began with watching Jimmy Webb in concert at the State Theatre, performing solo for 100 minutes and making his grand piano sound like an orchestra. He sang all the classics he had written for Glen Campbell et al, and closed the show with Highwayman, a song I would record a few years later with Donna Fisk and Gene Bradley Fisk.

Later in the month I returned to the Mildura Country Music Festival to perform 23 shows in ten days with Donna Boyd (pictured below right onstage at Henderson Park, Mildura). On Oct 1st, I also co-hosted Saturday Night Country as John Nutting once again broadcast his 4-hour show from the ABC Sunraysia Studios in Mildura. Special guests included winners of the Australian Independent Country Music Awards including Stacey Morris (Female Vocalist of the Year) and Tracy Coster (Independent Album of the Year). Pictured below left, me with Johnno at the end of the shift…2:05 am!

Before leaving Mildura, my Tomkins Diamondtina II guitar had its own photo-shoot in a paddock outside of town. It was destined to be the cover of my first solo CD, along with some local cactus that became the background for the back cover.

I played New Year’s Eve at Penshurst RSL Club, doing a relatively early spot which was handy as first thing on New Year’s Day 2006, Karen and I flew to New Zealand for a short but enjoyable holiday. Here we are, pictured in Auckland…

Once we got back, there were a lot of gigs to do in Sydney, so I chose not to go to Tamworth that year. There were three shows to play at Petersham, plus two on Australia Day and one in Bargo, 100 km south west of Sydney, where the local bowling club had amalgamated with Canterbury-Hurlstone Park RSL Club. I put together the same show for both clubs that week, featuring popular duo Sons of the Soil, fiddler extraordinaire and fledging funny-man Wayne Goodwin (ex-Emmylou Harris Hot Band), and Donna Boyd, fresh from being a finalist in two categories of the 2006 TIARA Awards (Tamworth Independent Artist Recognition Awards) for tracks from her album. Most of my regular band were in Tamworth, so I recruited Phil Scorgie, Bill Kezelos and Doug Boyd to join me.

By the first of February, the boys were back in town, along with legendary guitarist from Austin, Texas, Redd Volkaert who was our special guest for a gig at the Bridge Hotel in Rozelle. Redd has played with countless stars, in particular as guitarist for Merle Haggard & The Strangers, and he blew the crowd away with his awesome technique and tasty licks. Local country guitar star Stuie French remarked to me that it wasn’t just what Redd played, but the way he would seamlessly string (no pun intended) all the ideas together, and even sing at the same time. An astute observation. Pictured here, I get to watch Redd at close quarters.

Soon after that, I was honoured to be announced as a Top 5 nominee in the Vocal/Instrumental Performer category of the 30th Australian Entertainment ‘Mo’ Awards. While The Trojans had continued to be nominated every year in the Accompanying Band section, this was my first nomination in my own right, and an acknowledgement from the Variety industry of my continued work as a cabaret artist.

Meanwhile, listeners of Saturday Night Country had voted for their favourite track and as a result, the ABC Country label compiled the hottest 100 tracks played on the show during the previous 12 months. Twenty of those appeared on the compilation CD Saturday Night Country Hottest Hits – Vol 2 released nationally. I was delighted that my instrumental tune Last Cowboy Waltz was chosen to be included on the disc.

My weekly contribution to the radio show continued, regardless of where I found myself at 10.50pm on a Saturday night. I looked forward to Johnno’s frequent visits to Sydney when I would join him for the full four hours or, if I was out gigging, call into the studios in the wee hours for the end of his show. In February, Bill Chambers came to launch his new solo album Frozen Ground and perform a few songs. The booth used for live performances would from now on be nicknamed the Star Chamber.

In March, it was John McEuen, original member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. I had been a fan of the band for decades, ever since I found a second-hand copy of their 1970 LP Uncle Charlie & His Dog Teddy which I treasured. He was actually here in his role as producer of the play And In The End (The Death and Life of John Lennon), but still found time to enthral the locals with his banjo playing and humorous chat. Felicity Urquhart was also a guest that night and we took turns taking ‘fan’ photos.

In April, Lee Kernaghan was there with Johnno to launch  his latest album, The New Bush. Lee also performed two numbers live in the studio with Lawrie Minson on guitar and harmonica and yours truly on guitar.

Producer Dan Driscoll, Lawrie, Lee, and Bob live in the Star-Chamber. Photo by Johnno.

Here’s an extract from the show… with Johnno’s introduction and a snippet of live music plus Lee and myself reminiscing about the 1981 Yackandandah Country Music Festival…the first time Lee heard me play guitar!

Lee Kernaghan could also be seen on the cover of Where Country Is – the latest book from John Elliott, which brought the history of country music since 1985 alive and included historical highlights, artists biographies and “over 200 of the best images ever taken”.

The official book launch was a feature event at the 2006 Telstra Tamworth Country Music Festival. I was delighted that John Elliott (a fellow Charlie Lamb Award winner) chose two of my photographs for inclusion in his book – James Blundell’s triple win at the 2005 (Mildura) Southern Stars and Kasey Chambers 2004 double ARIA Award win. The book was published by Rural Press Limited.

 

In March I released my first album which was entitled Go West. For my debut outing I chose to keep things almost entirely instrumental, save for a few unexpected lines in Apache, a guest vocal on Johnny Guitar by Donna Boyd (lyrics by Peggy Lee), and a hidden track (they were all the rage back then) where I sang the title song, as performed by Groucho Marx in the 1947 film Copacabana.

Many western movie themes were included and the arrangements, which I really enjoyed creating, reflected my love of the original scores by the great screen composers such as Dimitri Tiomkin, Elmer Bernstein and  Victor Young. The CD would become my best-seller for several reasons, not the least of which was the fact that it was my first. From the stage I would say “…I’ve been playing on other people’s albums for thirty years and now I finally have one of my own!”

In April the Raddy Ferreira Orchestra, known in Australia as one of the “finest, swingiest and most versatile dance orchestras”, flew to Brisbane to play at City Hall for the Sri Lanka Society of Queensland annual Charity Ball. As part of the show, we backed Sri Lanka’s ‘King of Baila’, the London-based superstar Desmond de Silva (pictured left). ‘Des’ sold millions of albums and is known for his popular renditions of Sri Lankan ‘baila’ music, which is a style whose origins are in Portuguese and Spanish music. Raddy himself had arrived in Australia from Sri Lanka (or Ceylon as it was called then) in 1969, so baila was familiar to him. In fact, through all the years I worked with Raddy, I was constantly amazed by the different styles he could play with an authentic flair.

The ‘Mo’ Awards began their life as The Variety Star Awards in 1975, changing their name the following year to the Australian Variety ‘Mo’ Awards by the then Chairman, the legendary Johnny O’Keefe, at the suggestion of TV star Don Lane. The name honours ‘MO’ McCackie, a great Australian comedian of the vaudeville era. The awards grew and grew in stature, incorporating a benevolent fund along the way, and expanding the award categories to include Opera, Theatre, Classical and much more until eventually something had to give and it did. In their 30th year, facing competition for sponsorship from other specialised awards, the organisation encountered a financial crisis.

The winners were announced on March 14 and a group of us from Petersham RSL awaited the results over the phone at a dinner party hosted by the wonderful entertainer Mark Kristian.  I was amazed and honoured to be named the Variety Vocal/Instrumental Performer of the Year. For a while it looked like there would be no official presentation, but eventually, I believe largely to the generosity of Ingrid Berg OAM, the award recipients were given their ‘Mo’ Statuettes in an exclusive and private ceremony backstage at The Sydney Entertainment Centre. The trophy that year had changed from its previous design, a silver metallic statue of ‘MO’ McCackie, to a crystal obelisk with the figure of ‘Mo’ laser-etched inside it. 

Ironically, although the function on April 29 was small, it was a very congenial affair, since all the attendees were winners! I was delighted to receive my trophy from two musical giants who were the Patrons of the ‘Mo’s’, ‘Maestro’ Tommy Tycho and Geoff Harvey. Although by now I had been performing as a ‘Variety’ act for many years, I felt a certain recognition of my efforts in that field, separate to my work as a backing musician. At that time in Sydney, I was one of the only local musicians who alternated between being a member of an ‘accompanying band’ one day and as an ‘act’, fronting a show, the next.

I could be found in any number of bands and shows at this time, including my regular gig with The Trojans at Petersham RSL Club. Sunday concerts were being revived there through the excellent efforts of new Entertainment Manager, singer and compere Mark Kristian, attempting to bring back the former reputation of the club as a bastion of showbiz. Mark organised many ‘big name’ guest artists, several of them his personal friends, including singer and personality Patti Newton. When Patti came to sing for us on Mother’s Day in May 2006, it was a badly kept secret that her husband and Australian television legend, Bert Newton would make a surprise appearance, much to the delight of the audience.

On May 17, the Raising Children Network website was launched to provide  “expert, impartial information on raising children from new-borns to eight years of age in an engaging and user-friendly format.” One of the features, Baby Karaoke, was produced by the Raising Children Network in association with Don Spencer and the Australian Children’s Music Foundation. I recorded and performed a lot of the nursery rhyme music behind Don’s vocals. Later they added extra songs and as well as the website, created a free app which is still available. My audience now ranged from toddlers to seniors!

In June, the National Nine television network’s Sunday program produced a profile on Frank Ifield entitled Remembering Frank Ifield. Producers Mike Featherstone and Catherine Hunter’s team filmed Frank and myself at ATA Studio, (pictured left) rehearsing for Frank’s forthcoming spoken-word recording project. They also interviewed me at home and later, many of Frank’s showbiz associates (including Max Cullen, Judy Stone, Brian Henderson, Col Joye, Glenn A. Baker) and recorded live footage from Frank’s award night at  Canterbury Country (featuring Donna Boyd and Travis Collins). Introduced by journalist Jana Wendt, it to air on June 25.

June also saw the release of the long-awaited album from Emma Hannah. We had begun recording at my Kenilworth Studios almost a year earlier and during scattered sessions, we carefully crafted a collection of songs that echoed Emma’s affinity with acoustic folk and traditional songs. Wayfaring Stranger featured fifteen new additions to her recording repertoire, plus a re-make of her hit Angel Of The Morning. We had both made a similar progression in our careers, from classical to folk to country, which was reflected on this album, that also included her sensitive treatment of more modern pop ballads. Emma’s gorgeous vocal sound had been absent for too long and it was a joy for me to contribute to what would become a reaffirmation of her talents.

Meanwhile, my own album Go West was attracting a fair bit of attention. Capital News magazine ran a full page article written by Susan Jarvis and there were positive reviews in 2 Good 4 Words (Geoff Jermy’s Australian Instrumental Newsletter) and Ron Adsett’s website for the Country Music Store in Brisbane, plus lots of radio airplay on dedicated country music shows.

On top of this, there was a serendipitous piece of luck and timing. My local shopping precinct at Bondi Junction had become a major retail mall, but the section at the western end of Oxford Street had been overlooked for some time. Waverly Council had completed the first stage of revitalising that strip of road and decided to hold a promotional event, branding it Oxford St West. While looking for a musical component for their celebrations, they couldn’t believe their luck when a simple internet search revealed a local musician who had just released an album called…Go West!

Plans were made for Singin’ Scootin’ Shoppin’ on Saturday 15th July 2006; a truck stage would be parked in the forecourt of the Bridgestone auto services at the corner of Oxford St West and Denison St where I would perform with my Go West Band and George & the Boys would also play and James Blundell would make a solo appearance; the Mill Hill Bootscooters would dance opposite the Mill Hill Hotel, costumed-actors The Dairy Delights handed out leaflets and Councillor Mora Main, Mayor of Waverley opened the event.

I had helped them organise some classy country street buskers and shops along the strip had copies of my CD to give away. The Bonza Pony Animal Farm would thrill the youngsters. Thanks to the Waverley Council Go West team (Debra, Linda and Ilona) for great organisation and Brent from Bondi Intermusic for the gear and support and the wonderful M.C. Cathy, everything was set for the big day. Except for the weather. It turned cold and the rain nearly washed us away, but everyone played on valiantly until a slightly early halt to the proceedings was called. 

The Dairy Delights salute the Mayor

Ian receives a flyer for the event.

Later in July, on Saturday Night Country with John Nutting, John’s special guest was Melinda Schneider who was launching her brilliant new album Stronger. Here’s an extract from the show, with John and Melinda’s introduction to my arrival, straight from a gig, and us talking about the harmonica and more… (Photo left by Rod Quinn)

In August 2006 I was delighted to be part of the BACK TO THE TIVOLI show, produced and directed by Wayne Cornell and Jenifer Green. For years, this show has broken the attendance records of many venues and kept alive the traditions of the ‘Variety’ show. Each production showcases a different set of performers and this particular trip to Queensland had a bill that starred “…the brilliant comedy/vocal duo The Rhythmaires (Jack & Rod), vocaliste Jennifer Gray, mime/juggler Leo Bonne, tenor Robert Gennari, instrumentalist Bob Howe, host and vocalist Wayne Cornell, the Tivoli showgirls and a live band (under the direction of Barrie Heidenreich)”.

Jack from The Rhythmaires was keen to have a copy of my new CD. When I gave him one he asked how much I was selling it for. I told him $10 but, of course, I didn’t expect him to pay for it. Later, after one of the shows, he walked passed me in the foyer as I was selling my wares, holding up my CD and calling out, “Bob Howe Cd…only $5”. He was a real joker!

The show sold-out all four of its dates – two at Twin Towns Services Club, plus the Empire Theatre Toowoomba and Kedron Wavell Services Club. At the beautiful 1500-seat Empire Theatre, I was happily signing CDs after the show until I realised the table I was behind was mounted on wheels. As the audience of mostly senior ladies pushed towards me, I had to brace the table with my knee so that I didn’t get squashed up against the wall behind me. Eventually the rush died down as they all raced for their transport that was leaving and as I straightened up, I nearly fell over as my leg had gone to sleep.

My mother-in-law Vera had proudly been in the audience with a coach-load of fellow citizens from her hometown of Miles, some 200km north-west of Toowoomba. Some of the ladies hadn’t had time to get one of my CDs, so on the ride home, Vera dutifully took down their orders to pass on to me later. A week later, in the Chinchilla Times, Ethel Priestly reviewed the show:-

While I was at Twin Towns, I picked up a sparkling sequined waistcoat from a little shop in Coolangatta. Emblazoned with a pattern of stars and cowboy boots, I gave the vest its first outing when I opened the show for the wonderful Karen Beckett at Bankstown Sports Club in Sydney. Karen was performing her Songs of Streisand and Friends show that night.

Earlier in the year, when I received my first ‘Mo’ Award, Karen was named Female Vocal Variety Performer of the Year, an honour she would repeat many times. Our paths were soon to cross again when we would both headline on different nights, on-board the luxury cruise ship the Silver Cloud, travelling from Noumea to Wellington. Years later we would find ourselves cruising the Polynesian Islands again, with our luggage and my guitar trailing one port behind us for several days. That’s another story for later… 

 

Meanwhile, The Trojans were nominated in the Accompanying Band section of 9th Annual Australian Club Entertainment (A.C.E.) Awards and while we missed out on that particular gong, our sound and lighting engineer from Petersham RSL Club, the marvellous Toni Venditti, took home the trophy for best Technical Support.  

At the 2006 Australian Country Recording Awards, I was honoured to win the ACRA in the Marketing Excellence category and to be nominated in the Instrumental section alongside Lindsay Butler, Nev Molloy, Leanne Douglas, and the eventual winner, the legendary Charley Boyter. I’m pictured here with my friends the gorgeous Tracy Killeen and Nikki Sweeney (better known as  Sweeney~Killeen) who won in the Duo category.

It was 20 years ago today (“Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play”) and in a previous life, myself, Mark, Jeremy and Greg (pictured left) were all cast members of LENNON – The Musical of the Legend. I had recently had a chance meeting with Jeremy at a Ukulele Land gathering and he told me they had a new band called BLAKHATZ. 

Twenty years ago today (26 September 1986), we were burning the candle at both ends: rehearsing all day for opening night of the show and recording all night for the cast album. Now in 2006, we were having a reunion over a pot of tea. Before long, the boys were showing me their studio and a guitar was thrust upon me, the ‘tape’ was rolling and without so much as a clue to the arrangement they said “…play a solo….now!” I was delighted that my spontaneous contribution ended up on their next CD release.

On the 9th November at Canterbury Country, we hosted the 2006 Sydney Tomkins Guitars Showcase starring a host of pickers and grinners and singers, all celebrating the guitars, basses and mandolins of master craftsman Allan Tomkins. Here is our world-record attempt for the most Tomkins players in one dressing room! I am in the centre, surrounded by Allan Tomkins, Jason-Lee, Gary Brown, Les Scott, Sharnee Fenwick, Briana Lee, George Bruno, Makaylie Foodey, Mark Kirk, Allan Caswell, Cathy Carr, Dwayne Elix And The Engineers (Dave Cook And Steve Sullivan), Nicki Gillis, Duncan Toombs, Glen Bain, Rob Wilson and Mick Manley.

When January 2007 came around, for the first time I had to miss being at one of my Canterbury Country concerts because I was away working on a cruise. After having set the show up as usual, for the actual night I asked singers Bryen Willems and Nicki Gillis, who were scheduled to be on the bill, to handle the hosting duties. They had been such regular guests that I was sure they knew the ropes and they did indeed do a great job. In fact, Nicki had become such a regular that when the situation arose again in February and April, I had no hesitation in asking her to host once more. Very soon Nicki became such an integral part of the shows that I asked her to co-host with me on a permanent basis and happily that is what happened from that point onwards.

I was back from the high seas in time for the Tamworth Country Music Festival. There, I was a finalist in the Instrumental section of the 2007 TIARA Awards, performed ‘Classic Country’ with Donna Boyd at the Town Hall, backed Wayne Horsburgh and Deniese Morrison at Southgate Inn, hosted the Tomkins show at Wests and opened for Wayne at the Tamworth City Bowls Club. For recreation, I attended Donna’s album launch at the TRECC (Tamworth Regional Entertainment and Conference Centre) – titled Luckiest Girl Alive, it marked her change of focus towards self-penned material – and at the Musician’s HQ I was thrilled to watch the legendary Louie Shelton play guitar. Louie’s guitar can be heard on countless hit records, not the least of which is Last Train to Clarksville by The Monkees.

 

Between shows on Thursday 25th January, I was whisked off to the 2007 Australian Country Music People’s Choice Awards, where I was completely surprised to be honoured with a special industry award as Musician of the Year! Host Bob Kirchner presented me with the award which read “…in recognition of your musical skills and how you have brought them to bear over the years for the betterment of Australian country music and the artists you work with.”

 

January also saw the CD release of a new E.P. by Frank Ifield that I had recorded and produced for him. Titled Thereby Hangs A Tale, it contained three monologues narrated by Frank, in the spirit of Tex Morton and (Hank Williams’ alter-ego) Luke The Drifter. For many years, Frank had often included a monologue in the middle of his stage concerts.

Jon Wolfe of Australasian Country News reviewed the E.P. “This little three track offering was a wonderful surprise because I’d just about thought that the art of the recorded monologue was dead. Frank delivers two classics – I’m A Rolling Stone and You’ll Never Be Missed – and one I’d not heard before – Daddy, You Know What? – with panache and a beautifully emotional delivery that is enhanced by Bob Howe’s understated musical arrangements and choral backing from Wayne Horsburgh, Amber Lawrence and Bob himself. I suggest you add this to your collection – it’s a ‘must have’ for anyone with a heart and a soul. Fantastic Frank!”

The three tracks would later be included on Frank’s 2-CD set Something Rare & Wonderful, released in July. At that time, Frank was inducted into the (Australian Recording Industry Association) ARIA Hall of Fame, a well-deserved honour!

Back at Petersham RSL Club in January, Australian showbiz legend Barry Crocker (pictured above) came to perform. Bazza is known worldwide not only for his iconic Australian films during the 1970s including The Adventures of Barry McKenzie, but also for singing the theme tune to the soap opera Neighbours.

The delightful Maureen Elkner (pictured above right) has an impressive C.V. that includes singing back-up vocals on the 1969 Russell Morris classic psychedelic single The Real Thing (altogether now: “Oo-mow-ma-mow-mow, Oo-mow-ma-mow-mow…”), being an original Australian cast member of the Australian productions of Jesus Christ Superstar and The Rocky Horror Show, and having her very own 1975 top-ten hit single Rak Off Normie. I had the privilege of opening for her several times when she performed her excellent tribute to Dusty Springfield, including a February show at the Souths Juniors Leagues Club.

Norfolk Island was somewhere I had never visited before, until March 2007 when I accompanied the one and only Little Pattie and her husband Lawrie Thompson to play at the Rock Around the Rock Festival. With myself on guitar and Lawrie on drums, plus a local bassist and a pianist, we played some fun shows for the residents of the island. The three day trip gave us time to take in the beautiful scenery and history that included descendants of the Bounty mutineers, and the grim remnants of the convict penal settlement. While we were there, all the local gossip was about a current trial that was a few days from ending and had made headline news because it involved the first murder on Norfolk Island since 1893.

Although I didn’t attend the Hats Off to Country Music Festival at Tamworth in July, some of my artwork was there. Attitude Productions in association with The Cancer Council of NSW (Tamworth) staged the inaugural Country Art for Cancer exhibition and black-tie ball/auction. Over $15,000 was raised in total and the art was on display at the Tamworth Regional Gallery in Peel Street. Two of my life drawings and four photos were among the works, which also included artists such as Tania Kernaghan, Rolf Harris, Merelyn Carter, Deniese Morrison, Mark Holden, Keith Potger and many more.

Work continued at a hectic pace: in-between sailing around South-East Asia and my regular land gigs, I appeared in an Allan Caswell & Drew McAlister video clip, produced five new tracks for an enhanced version of Wayne Horsburgh’s I Still Call Australia Home CD, and celebrated Canterbury Country’s seventh birthday with Camille Te Nahu & Stuie French, Roger Corbett, Drew McAlister, Jayne Denham, Donna Boyd, Nicki Gillis and the Hillbilly Heaven Band, as shown in this video…

On Saturday Night Country I made my own singing debut in the ‘Star Chamber’ at ABC Radio Sydney. Later, in July, Lee Kernaghan was launching his album Spirit of the Bush and co-hosting SNC with John Nutting. I joined them for the final two hours of the show and we are pictured here in the ‘green room’ at ABC Radio Sydney in front of a marvellous mural depicting local scenes.

In August 2007, guitar-hero Albert Lee flew in to play some Australian dates. He began with a ‘secret’ dress rehearsal gig in a small room attached to Balmain Town Hall. Backing him up were local band Wheelers & Dealers with my old mate Michael Vidale on slap-bass. It was magical to see Albert’s fret-work from as near as just a few inches away and in a more informal setting. We were sitting so close that Karen was able to pass Albert a wine between songs. Pictured here, from left to right, are Adrian Payne, Albert Lee, Stuie French, and yours truly.

I also included snippets of some footage of Albert at that show, along with some audio from when I interviewed him in Baltimore back in 2004, in a compilation video that I posted up as bonus material for the 10th anniversary of my Capital News monthly column. At that time I redesigned the Cowboys In Cyberspace website after it was ‘dissected’ in the Web Workshop feature on The Lab with Leo program, broadcast on the How To Channel in Australia (Foxtel/Austar)and in Canada on G4 Tech TV.  

In September, in recognition of Cowboys In Cyberspace and Canterbury Country, I was thrilled to be nominated for the Rex Barry Award (Industry Achiever award), the top honour at the 2007 CMAA Australian Country Music Achiever Awards.

The Achiever Awards recognised industry members who have “made major contributions to the development and promotion of Australian country music”. Fellow nominees in this category were John Arnold, Roxanne Brown, Lorraine Pfitzner, Graham Thompson and the eventual winner Mike Smith. At a gala presentation function at the WatersEdge Function Centre in Sydney, I did have the pleasure of accepting an award on behalf of John Nutting who won Media Achiever of the Year – Individual. Pictured here with me and John’s award are the presenters, Gina Jeffreys and Adam Brand.

The Galston Country Music Festival was an initiative of The Galston Rotary Club which began in 1997 as an offshoot of the Galston Spring Fair, founded by directors Tony and Vikki Page, Len Knight and singer/songwriter Pat Drummond. I had been attending since the year 2000, initially because of my association with Festival Patron, Frank Ifield. I lent support via added promotion and sometimes as a judge for the Golden Saddle Award that became a part of the programme.

In 2007 I made my own appearance on the main stage, backed by a fabulous band (Pete Drummond, Chris Soulos, Tomi Graso, Duncan Toombs and Doug Boyd), on a bill that included the talents of young Travis Collins, Kirsty Lee Akers, Amber Lawrence, Karen Lynne and the latest winner of the Cooper’s Golden Saddle Award Nicki Gillis, plus legends like  Dragon, Mike McClellan and Kevin Johnson. Thanks to Terry Phillpot for the photos below. It was another magical day out at Fagan Park in Galston.

In October, I was a guest presenter (pictured right) for the Country Music category of the ACE (Australian Club Entertainment) Awards in Sydney, won by Troy Cassar-Daley, Melinda Schneider and The McClymonts. A couple of years later, my Hillbilly Heaven band would be nominated in the Country Group category for six years in a row and beaten every time by The McClymonts, leading to a running gag at Canterbury Country about our chances against them each year. Sisters Brooke, Sam and Mollie McClymont were of course our friendly rivals and had all appeared at Canterbury Country as solo artists over the years.

Pictured above: ‘The Legends of Bandstand’ show came to Petersham RSL on Sunday 28th October 2007 and it was an honour to play for these wonderful musical friends, all in the one show…what an afternoon!
L to R: Warren Williams, Little Pattie, Judy Stone, me, Frank Ifield, Ian Turpie and Lucky Starr.

On November 3rd, Sara Storer launched her stunning fourth album Silver Skies in Sydney on Saturday Night Country. For the first two hours, Sara performed live with her band (including co-producer Matt Fell) from ABC Studio 227, while Johnno and I commentated from the side-lines. After midnight, the three of us adjourned to the usual Radio 702 studio where for the next two hours Sara chatted with Johnno and myself and answered phone calls from her fans. The album would receive an ARIA nomination and Sara would pick up two Golden Guitars the following January, for the track Land Cries Out. With Johnno being in Sydney, I was able to physically present him with the trophy for his ACMAA Media Achiever of the Year award win.  

In early December, Jim Haynes was the guest host for Saturday Night Country. I joined him for the last three hours and singer Amber Lawrence was there for the last two hours. They were highly amused by the slogan on the back of my shirt – “I’m Hearing ya Bob”. It had been given to me by The BobKatz band at the previous Tamworth Festival, although I’m not the ‘Bob’ in the text. What was a coincidence was that they were the band I didn’t know who had, several years earlier, politely asked if I minded them using the band name I had once used. This year we had ended up staying at the same motel in Tamworth – it’s a small world after all.

Just in time for Christmas, I released my second solo CD, this time called Classic Twang. For the cover photo, I captured a ‘roll-over’ by Beethoven on my Tomkins guitar. The album contained some classical tunes, some classic melodies, and a classy guest vocal by Emma Hannah on the track Plaisir d’Amour. Although I had known that song since my ‘Folk’ days (as sung by Joan Baez), I had become more enamoured of the melody whilst listening to Raddy Ferreira, who would play it on the piano at all of his gigs.

On the CD, Kenny Kitching would join me for two tracks on pedal steel guitar and two on dobro, while the single that I had recorded earlier and included on the album, featured the steel guitar of Tomi Graso. That track was I Listen To My Heart which was written by my friend Frank Ifield and was the B-side to his first and most enduring #1 hit, I Remember You. Before my instrumental version, Swedish instrumental rock group The Spotnicks had recorded a guitar rendition of the tune, which they called Just Listen To My Heart, which had topped the European charts in 1963. Here’s a video in which Frank tells the story behind the song…

For the last edition of Saturday Night Country for 2007, Felicity Urquhart would be the guest host. During the fourth hour, we took calls from the listeners and reminisced about the best gigs of the year. In the foyer of the ABC building in Ultimo, you never knew what you might find on show. It might be a Dalek or the Tardis, but on this evening it was a fun-fair style photo opportunity based on the very popular ABC show Bananas in Pyjamas. Being a good sport, Felicity (B2) joined me (B1) for this picture (below) and producer Dan ‘the man’ Driscoll did the honours behind the camera.

I saw in the New Year by playing a rockin’ gig with my old mates The Mighty Guys and then I flew out to join the Silver Whisper cruise ship in Hobart. A week later I flew back from Napier in New Zealand and headed straight to the 2008 Tamworth Country Musical Festival where it was a very hectic time, trying to fulfil gigs and report on the proceedings for my column. When events clashed, sometimes Karen and I would attend different press calls, with our digital cameras running hot.

First up was a gig with the Nicki Gillis Band at the Tudor Hotel and the next day I did double duties at the Tamworth Town Hall. In the afternoon I played guitar for the Roll of Renown Concert backing artists paying tribute to the pioneers of Australian country music. Acts performing were Carter & Carter, Nicki Gillis (with whom I sang a vocal duet tribute to The Singing Kettles), Brian Letton, Karen Lynne, Geoff Mack, Liam Brew, Kiera Smith and the Young Balladeers. It was also great to applaud Australian country music legends and old friends Geoff Mack and Jean Stafford, who were elevated to the Country Music Roll of Renown.

Later that night, still at the Town Hall, I played guitar for the Lifeline Benefit Concert with Allan Caswell, Deniese Morrison, the Crosby Sisters, Drew McAlister, Rose Carleo, Amos Morris and more. Even later that night at the ABC Radio studio in Peel St, I co-hosted the second half of John Nutting’s Saturday Night Country show with John’s special guest Adam Brand. Johnno and I spent a couple of hours ruminating on who might win the Golden Guitar awards the following week and Johnno proved to be the better tipster.

On Saturday Jan 26, backstage at the TREC, broadcasting live on the ABC, John’s radio panel included Trev Warner, Sue Jarvis, Felicity Urquhart and myself, commentating on the 36th CMAA Country Music Awards of Australia. Pictured below, producer Peter Scott looks on as Australian of the Year and winner of three Golden Guitars that night – Lee Kernaghan and Female Vocalist of the Year (back to camera) Dianna Corcoran talk to John Nutting, Susan Jarvis, myself and Trev Warner.

The panel also interviewed Group of the Year, Sam, Brooke and Mollie – The McClymonts, pictured above with Trev, myself, Miss Susan and Johnno (thanks to Anna Moulder for the photos). Johnno was using a track from my new CD as fill-in music and Lee took a shine to it, so of course I gave him a copy. It amused me later when I realised the newly announced Australian of the Year then proceeded to conduct several more press interviews while still brandishing my CD in his hand.

There were two more gigs with Nicki (one at the Imperial Hotel and one at the Southgate Inn which grew to a 9-piece band), a Town Hall show with Donna Boyd, the Tomkins Guitars Showcase in the big tent (that ran for a marathon 4¹/₂ hours non-stop), a featured spot in Wayne Horsburgh’s show at the City Bowling Club, and countless more press calls. In what had earlier seemed like inspired scheduling, I had booked myself two cabaret spots on the way home – Sunday afternoon at Wests Newcastle and Monday afternoon at Central Coast Leagues Club. In reality the cruise, followed by the festival and then these extra shows added up to exhaustion.

Even so, after one day off I was back at it, behind the camera at a press conference for the legendary singer and guitarist Glen Campbell who was visiting Australia for his ‘very last tour down under’ and performing with various local symphony orchestras. In fact, he returned the next year for one more tour. This photo was taken at his press conference at the Shangri-La Hotel in Sydney where Glen regaled the press with stories of his days as a session-man and member of the famed Wrecking Crew, playing on recording dates with everyone from the Beach Boys to Frank Sinatra.

At one point Glen got side-tracked trying to explain the technique of using a capo on a guitar. He came out with a line that went over the heads of most of the journalists but made me laugh out loud: “When they change key at a bluegrass pickin’ party, you can hear those capos scraping from a block away!”

The next day I was playing a show in Telarah (nearly halfway back towards Tamworth), and then another show with American guitarist Redd Volkaert at the Bridge Hotel in Sydney. Next it was my turn to be interviewed, by Donna Boyd who was presenting her own weekly show A Good Day on Cumberland Community Radio, 2CCR – 90.5fm.

On the 19^th March at the Hills Centre in Sydney, a very special tribute concert was held – The Adventures of Smoky Dawson…A Life Remembered. A pioneer of Australian country music, a true radio star, and an iconic entertainer, Smoky Dawson has passed away five weeks earlier at the age of 94. I had been on many stages with Smoky over the years, mostly in multi-artist shows, and he and his darling wife Dot were always a delight to be around.

Many artists were now out in force to pay tribute to Smoky on this special night, including James Blundell, Graeme Connors, Lorrae Desmond, Jim Haynes, Lee Kernaghan, Melinda, Mary and Rita Schneider and John Williamson. The event raised money for one of Smoky’s favourite charities for children, Bear Cottage. I played behind the Howie Brothers, Normie Rowe, and my old boss Johnny Chester. It had been twelve years since I last toured with Chess, but we had kept in touch and I had also built his first website. I had known The Howie Brothers (twins Graeme and John) almost as long as I had known Chess – since the early eighties in Melbourne when their band was known as 1901 – and they had a long association with Smoky.

Every time I appeared before a country music audience, either after a show or even walking down the street in Tamworth, people would ask me, “…Which one of The Howie Brothers are you, dear..?” It happened so frequently that it became something of a running joke. Most times I would politely explain that we weren’t related and point out the difference in the spelling of our surnames. More recently, John Howie had diversified to hosted musical tours, all around the globe. Those tours are often advertised in The Senior newspaper, so now if I play to an audience of a certain age, someone will mistakenly ask me, “…When is your next tour, dear?”
Here we are, pictured backstage at The Hills Centre – L to R: Graeme Howie, Bob Howe, John Howie and (front) Robert Edge.

The gigs continued: a short tour of the NSW Southern Highlands and Canberra with Tracy Killeen & the Cyclones, a charity concert at Maroubra Seals Club with Little Pattie, Normie Rowe, Frank Ifield and the Sydney Street Choir, and the 8^th birthday of Canterbury Country.

There were more nominations too; at the 32^nd Australian Entertainment ‘Mo’ Awards, I was nominated once again in the Instrumental or Vocal Instrumental Performer category, The Trojans were named in the Accompanying Band section and for the first time, Hillbilly Heaven were nominated in the Country Group category alongside Buckshot, The Flood, The McClymonts and (winners) The Wolverines. I did take to the stage however…to accept the Male Country Performer award on behalf of Wayne Horsburgh who was touring the USA at the time. I was able to present the trophy to a delighted Wayne at the Canterbury Country November show.

In June I travelled to Nashville, Tennessee to be part of the Tomkins Guitars Australian Showcase, that featured a number of Australian country music performers, all playing instruments made by our very own bassist/luthier Allan Tomkins. The centrepiece of the visit was a run of seven shows at the Sheraton Grand Nashville Downtown hotel.

We played from four in the afternoon until eight in the evening and on the first day, slightly jet-lagged, I was looking for the first break in the proceedings. It was then that I remembered that a 4-hour gig in Nashville means you play for 4 hours! Luckily Melbourne band Jetty Road was on the bill with their guitarist Julian Sammut, and South Australian singer-songwriter Sandra Humphries had Henry Czerwonka to accompany her, so I did get a little respite to soothe my fingers.

On drums (and my roommate) was the excellent Peter Figures, who had once been a member of Jeff St John’s Copperwine. One evening Peter and I were returning from dinner and walking down a darkened section of Broadway near the riverfront. A large imposing man approached us and asked, “Do you have any money?” Without losing his composure for a second, Peter replied, “No, we’re musicians…we were going ask if you had any!”

Victorian singer Tracy Killeen acquired and instant fan-club when she met a party of women, all dressed in pink, from the town of Killeen in Texas. The ladies were in town for the CMA Music Festival (formerly known as Fan Fair) and they just happened to be staying at The Sheraton, much to Tracy’s delight. Our own Sharnee Fenwick was happy too and celebrating her 21^st Birthday which, due to stricter U.S. liquor laws, meant she had reached drinking age for the second time in her life. Surely that occurrence would make a good country song.

There were other Australian musical visitors to the Sheraton as well. Wayne Horsburgh dropped in to yodel a couple of tunes with us and Tasmanian Audrey Auld, now based in East Nashville, came to sing in her own marvellous way. In her newsletter Audrey wrote, “Loads of Aussies hit Nashville recently….listening to the Tomkins’ Aussie showcase…I was proud to hear the excellent country guitar of Bob Howe, shuffling the beejesus out of classic country songs, along with Alan Tomkins and Peter Figures.”

The locals were keen to join in as well and two members Gary Allan’s band – Mike Fried on pedal-steel and Tomkins baritone guitar and Jake Kelly on a Tomkins twin-neck – sat-in with us on occasion. Other guests included Chad Harvey, Tom Buller and Brandi Christiansen.

Down on Broadway in Nashville in 2008, bands would play with their backs to the front window…

…so if you looked through the door, you might have seen me playing with Travis List and Allan Tomkins!

We played two other venues during the week as well, stirring up the Full Moon Saloon on Broadway on our penultimate day and then, after our last Sheraton gig, late-night revelries at the Fiddle and Steel Guitar Bar in Printer’s Alley where the Brandi Thornton band warmed up the Tomkins instruments for us. Resident sound man Jody Maphis (son of legendary guitarist Joe Maphis) joined in with us, playing his own Tomkins guitar from behind the mixing desk.

Jetty Road made quite an impression there with Julian Sammut on guitar, multi-instrumentalist Simon Ross, bassist Rusty Cochrane, drummer Ben Cant and identical twin sisters Lee Bowman and Paula Bowman on vocals. By the end of the week I could almost reliably tell the sisters apart. It helped if Lee was holding her custom-made Tomkins guitar with L.B. embossed on the pickguard. They enjoyed my compering abilities and dubbed me the Tomkins ‘Voice of Nashville’.

Travis List was also a part of our show and he was now living in Nashville. He invited me out to Mark Thornton’s Sidekick Sound Studios where I recorded harmonica overdubs on Travis’s version of I Remember You for his next album Cloud Eight. I caught up with friends; artist Lisa McLaughlin who had been part of Terri Clark’s Australian tour crew and would soon be working for guitar legend Peter Frampton, and Brother Jerry Arhelger who I hadn’t seen in person since we toured the USA and UK together in the late eighties.

During the week I also attended a fabulous show at the Ryman Auditorium, the original home of the Grand Ole Opry. Marty Stuart’s seventh annual Late Night Jam -raising money for MusiCARES – which included the legends (feisty Charlie Daniels, Marty’s wife the gorgeous Connie Smith, former Johnny Cash drummer W.S. ‘Fluke’ Holland), contemporary stars (John Rich, Gretchen Wilson, Kathy Mattea), bluegrass bands, up-and-coming talent and much more.

Songwriters featured strongly on the show too, including surprise guest Mel Tillis who sang his own Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love To Town and Kostas, who performed Ain’t That Lonely Yet and Blame It On Your Heart. The man who came close to stealing the show was veteran songwriter Dallas Frazier, who gave us not only If My Heart Had Windows and Elvira, but also the classic There Goes My Everything – as close to a perfect country song as you will ever hear.

The next night I met two of the stars of the Late Night Jam – WSM and Grand Ole Opry announcer Eddie Stubbs (the real ‘Voice of Nashville’) who was broadcasting from the back of Ernest Tubb’s Record Shop with his special guest Connie Smith. Eddie and Miss Connie were delighted to learn that they had Australian fans listening to Marty’s show live via the internet. Eddie sure knows his stuff, having previously been a member of the Johnson Mountain Boys and playing fiddle for Kitty Wells and Johnnie Wright. I made my own long-distance broadcast when I relayed all this news to Saturday Night Country.

Bob Howe and Connie Smith 2008

Eddie Stubbs and Bob Howe at Ernest Tubb’s Record Shop, 2008

During the week, more than one young local guitar picker said to me, “…we love your playing…we dig those old school guitar licks…” to which I replied, “…thanks, but they were new when I got ’em!” It was a whirlwind of a week, but there was time to sleep on the long flight home…

 

Back in Australia, the craziness continued. The day after I landed there was a Canterbury Country concert, followed by a support spot for Judy Stone, The Trojans at Petersham RSL, Back to the Tivoli shows, duo and band gigs with Tracy Killeen (including one in Tamworth), band gigs with Nicki Gillis, Ben McCauley and others. Recording with Don Spencer, Geoff Williams, Geoff Glover and the next album for Allan Caswell, Rules for Love, recorded at the iconic Alberts Studio in Neutral Bay, where I played electric and acoustic guitars, bass, mandolin and harmonica.

In addition to my solo cabaret spots, I decided to try my hand with a ‘package show’, so called because it grouped several artists into one neat ‘package’. Named after my new CD, the Classic Twang! show debuted on Father’s Day at Canterbury Leagues Club (Home of the Bulldogs).

Joining me onstage were Ralph P. White on sax, trumpet, trombone and vocals, and Nicki Gillis on guitar, mandolin and vocals. We performed solo songs, duets and instrumentals and with Ralph onstage, there were always laughs to be had. Pictured left, Nicki shows me that there is more than one way to keep a sax player quiet…Ralph is hoist with his own petard! We had successful shows, but the scheduling proved to be difficult, with all our individual commitments.

Before the end of the year, another Wayne Horsburgh album (Born Free) that I produced was released showcasing Wayne’s versatility as a singer, Canterbury Country reached its 100^th show, I would perform at a ‘showbiz family’ tribute to Geoff & Tabbi Mack, and Christmas would come early with the Back To The Tivoli show at three sold-out concerts in Brisbane and Tweed Heads.

Pictured here, left to right, are “…The Tivoli Dancers, International impressionist Keith Scott, award winning instrumentalist Bob Howe, sensational vocalist Fallon, beautiful vocalist Alisa Gray and producer, host, and international performer Wayne Cornell.”

 

 

 

As if Christmas couldn’t get any better, I had written to Santa and requested a new guitar, designed to my own specifications, including being light-weight for International travel. Down in Santa’s workshop, chief elf (Allan Tomkins) was busy creating the body from Australian Red Cedar with stripped binding and Sparkle Purple gloss nitrocellulose lacquer. It would need to be a hardy instrument because it was soon to get a strong work-out…

 

 

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