Contact: (03) 9580 4054 mob:0417 380 210
email:chenier5@live.com.au
Snow Townsend: vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica, accordian, genuine Stetson "Panama", and stamina.
Shane (Chenier Fitchette) Fitchet, drums, percussion, banjo-uke, and "San Juan" Stetson.
Mike Parker: Acoustic and electric bass, guitar and amp hire, and Royal Stetson "Oxford" trilby.
More often than not, Don (Juan) Farrell: electric and acoustic guitars, sunglasses, coffee, and vintage amplifiers.
Tony Persic: guitars, Twinings tea, Gretschaholic!
WE PLAY GREAT TOE-TAPPIN' STUFF! THE LIKES OF JOHN PRINE, BILLY-JOE SHAVER, JIMMY BUFFET, J.J CALE, THE AMAZING RHYTHM ACES, RICKY NELSON, TONY-JOE WHITE, THE TEXAS TORNADOES, WAYNE HANCOCK, BOB DYLAN, PAUL SEIBEL, DANNY O'KEEFE, MR CASH, STEVE EARL, DWIGHT, DAN HICKS, RANDY NEWMAN, MR PRESLEY, and MERLE HAGGARD. THROW IN SOME OLD COWBOY SONGS, HIGH QUALITY ORIGINAL MATERIAL, A SERIOUS DOSE OF TEX-MEX AND SWAMPY CAJUN BLUES AND YOU'VE GOT THE BONA FIDE TRAVELLERS!
Hired guns:
Fred McHenry: accordian, vocals, drinks rider, and high country management and Akubras.
Michael Schack: bass guitar, dobro, ten gallon Stetson. Michael Warshall: drums, trucker caps, sportcars, and handcrafted beers.
Pete Bird: Bass guitar, technical genius, a man of many hats!
Influences
John Prine, Wayne Hancock, James McMurtry, The Band, Doc Boggs, Billy Joe Shaver, Paul Seibel, New Lost City Ramblers, Dan Hicks, Jimmy Buffett, Robert Zimmerman, The Texas Tornadoes, The Amazing Rhythm Aces, The Long Ryders, Webb Wilder, The Felice Brothers, C.W Stoneking, Cheech and Chong, Larry Storch, Bob Wills, Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Hop-a-long Cassidy, The Cisco Kid, Rin Tin Tin, The Real McCoys, Ma and Pa Kettle, Bob Denver, Maria McKee, Peter Case, red wine, and good times.
Sounds Like
We're heavily influenced by the 1970's, the stuff we grew up with, and all that old timey stuff your grandma and grandpa listened to before rhinestones, satin, and big hair abducted Nashville and sent it to the K Mart bargain bins!
When Snow Townsend's Bona Fide Travellers pull into clubs on the Lost Highway they don't need to flash driving licences or CV'S for the guest book,
they are genuine horsemen with the notches on their guns, guitars, drums, fiddles and holsters. The Bona Fide Travellers are a riveting roots band whose members were in the vanguard of the progressive country scene of the seventies.
The members rode in the same posse as The Dingoes, Greg Quill's Country Radio, Saltbush, Hit & Run, Dead Livers, Bluestone and many more.
Cyber chappies and chappettes might have called them alt-country if they emerged in the new millennia.
But back then the Station Hotel in Prahran and nearby Reefer Cabaret vied for honours with T F Much Ballroom and other north of the Yarra venues in a hipper country era.
Their exploits were chronicled in magazines diverse as Juke and Ram and bi-weekly Truth before the mainstream dailies discovered the sub genre.
Snow's Wild Beaver Band featured on Live At The Station Hotel 1976 vinyl album with The Dingoes, Myriad and Saltbush.
The album was released on Lamington in 1976 and reissued by Missing Link in 1981 - another of the highlights was Dingoes song Marijuana Hell.
I fondly recall writing about Snowy - front person for One Armed Bandit and Wild Beaver Band, for counter culture bible Digger as J.J. McRoach booked country artists as a soundtrack for his historic 1977 run for the Senate as the honourable candidate for the Australian Marijuana Party.
McRoach, maiden name Peter Olszewski, gave exposure to the genre as editor of street magazines such Australasian Seed, Weed, Greed and Need, Flash and Ram before he graduated to Truth, Playboy and People where country was his music of choice.
McRoach, David Pepperell (aka Dr Pepper) and Colin Talbot embellished support of the genre with books on subjects ranging from dope, politics, yabbies, Phil Ochs, road trauma, Far East dictatorships and love.
Unlike today, where the joys of the Internet ensures freedom of speech is a given, this was an era where Draconian droogs hunted and hated alternative magazines!!!
THE BONA FIDE TRAVELLERS - THE PLAYERS:
SNOWY TOWNSEND:
Graham "Snowy" Townsend, known as Snowy Cutmore by some such as Station Hotel pint-sized promoter Mark Barnes, has played in a vast galaxy of bands.
The Wild Beaver Band and One Armed Bandit reigned from the seventies and new recording act The Operators made their mark in the 1990's.
The Operators released an album and The Bona Fide Travellers have a CD featuring songs such as Willis Allan Ramsey classic North East Texas Women, It's A Long Way To Nashville and The Ballad Of Honest Sam.
Snowy was also the creative font for a seventies Bacchus Marsh country festival where his line-up was truly alternative to the matching shirt mainstream acts of the day.
Chad Morgan and Saltbush headlined the December 30 show at Bacchus Marsh Race Course where other acts included One Armed Bandit, Dead Livers, Country Ltd, Hit & Run and Country Grass.
Admission was a mere $4 at Bacchus Marsh and The Age broke ground with generous feature story by Alan Attwood - latter day Editor of The Big Issue.
MIKE PARKER (bass), came from across the ditch (New Zealand) with The Slippery Sam Blues Band in the early 80's having previously played in many top line homeland outfits.
Mike also graced Melbourne stages with Kenny Joe Blake and Snowy's "The Operators".
SHANE FITCHET:
Shane Fitchet swung from the ropes with Detroit garage and Surf influenced indie outfits dating back to the late seventies - they included The Remains, The Fermented Heads, Total Strangers, Buzzwagon, and Timmy Tiptoe and The Toecutters.
"The monikers say it all!", says Shane.
"I've come out of 15 years of drumming retirement to play with Snowy but my last bands were The Swing Club, an indie pop/rock/surf band fronted by two female guitarist/vocalists that consistently gained singles of the week status in Juke, Ram, Beat, and InPress in the mid to late 80's, and a brief stint in The Badarts (indie pop) both live and recording, then Musicland went bust and The Swing Club's debut album ended up in some tip in N.S.W!
DON FARRELL: guitarist extraordinaire! Just loves all things guitar (particularly Fender and G&L!) does our Don. Don has been a professional musician for over 20 years and has played with Mick and The Aces, Sons Of The Outback, Monique Brumby, Neil Murray (still does), The Dead Livers, and The Silverstring Outlaws, to name just a few. Don is also an in demand guitar teacher.
TONY PERSIC: electric guitar, Gretsch and Bigsby action! Tony was a member of Melbourne's rock-a-billy legends, THE STRAIGHT 8's, for 16 years ........ say no more. Tony is our newest member and promises plenty of James Burton and Carl Perkins' style pickin'. Tony adds a new dimension to our sound.
MICHAEL SCHACK: dobro, acoustic guitar, bass. Not content with filling in on bass duties, Michael has thrown his 10 gallon Stetson into the ring as our occasional dobro plucker,(also acoustic guitar, and vocal duties). Michael is a founding member of the seminal and legendary 1970's Melbourne outlaw country rockers, THE DEAD LIVERS, who along with Snow's Wild Beaver Band, and One Armed Bandit ripped up Melbourne stages! They still goin' too. Lost in Suburbia, The Rusty Buckets, The Louise Clancy Band, are also concurrent projects for Mick.
........ courtesy of Dave Dawson www.nucountry.com.au
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Thank you very much for the Link Up & Sharing your music Nice to meet you through cyberlink! Keep up da Great Work! Wishes you All the Best in 2009! Enjoy your Week!
JUST WANNA SAY HI & HOPE UR OK........... THANK U 4 THE MESSAGE!!!!!!!!! HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HUGSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS KISSSSSSSSSSSSSSES ALL MY LOVE 2 YA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOVE FANTASY
JUST WANNA SAY HI & HOPE UR OK........... THANK U 4 THE ADD!!!!!!!!! HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HUGSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS KISSSSSSSSSSSSSSES ALL MY LOVE 2 YA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOVE FANTASY
Thanks for the compliment mate. My musical tastes have well and truly diversified in recent years. There is nothing I enjoy more than seeing our local bands doin their thing. Country, rock...Epicure, it's all bloody good.
Hey thanks Guys, great having ya'll for a friend. I'm enjoying your songs, love your sound!! Stop by and say hello anytime, you are all ways welcome. Thanks again and God Bless
"Ticklin' The Strings" by Sweet Hollywaiians
Amazing Japanese hot string band playing 1920's, 30's, 40's style hawaiian, swing, calypso, blues, italian music and originals,featuring vintage instruments.3 songs with Robert Armstrong and Tony Marcus(from Robert Crumb and His Cheap Suit Serenaders)
"The Sweet Hollywaiians have probably the best feel for this 20's music of any string band working today. They manage the rare feat of sounding relaxed even when their playing is hot, are top notch musicians with tasteful arrangements and a full, rich, warm sound.Plus, they have a nice gamut of tunes, from King Nawahi to Giovanni Vicari to Bobby Leecan. See them live, if you can, for an unforgettable experience. If you can't, buy their Cds!" ~ Terry Zwigoff
We have the CDs back now and we are pretty stoked and really excited to be launching it with The Woohoo Revue and Jamie Hay. Not long now (Sat 22nd @ The East Brunswick Club)
Come join the party!
Click below for tickets
Hi!
It..s time to make history.
Please, visit our web and vote to choose the best Garth Brooks #1.
The best tune will be our 2009 International Country Music Day Song.
Thank you!
Thanks a lot for the add ! EletriKa sounds completely different from any Metal band you have ever heard. The Brazilian rhythms and the Portuguese language added to the songs makes its style unique, giving birth to a new kind of Metal. If you are really looking for something new about Metal, you should check EletriKa out!
Online Now!
