Skiffle lads crack a tune
From make-believe to cruise ship dreams, The Goldonies are an unexpected musical success.
Cameron Douglas, Ben Eldridge, Chris Wethey and Tim Sellars are a skiffle band, a toetapping form of rock ‘n roll. They play Blue Smoke on Sunday evening.
Eldridge said they came together as a stage band for The Court Theatre show One Man, Two Guvnors in 2014.
‘‘I got asked to do the show and it was with these bloody guys here,’’ Eldridge said to chuckles from his band mates.
The Goldonies were tasked with warming the crowd and playing between set changes.
‘‘We were a fake stage band and people started taking interest. The theatre was taking calls asking how people could book us,’’ Douglas said.
Before long they played their first ‘‘off-stage’’ gig at The Darkroom for a friend’s birthday.
Wethey said they put a video on YouTube and a cruise ship entertainment agent got in touch.
‘‘We ended up with this random cruise ship gig [in 2015] between Sydney and Mooloolaba. We only had about 25 minutes worth of material, so we hurriedly had to learn about two hours of material.
‘‘It was a style that none of us had ever really played before, I mean, I really knew nothing about what skiffle was.’’
The lads toured on cruise ships together and individually. All four are musicians in their own right, as well as holding down day jobs ranging from teaching music to managing a library.
‘‘We all got along really well, which was the big box to tick really, for a band,’’ Eldridge said.
The earliest skiffle practitioner was Lonnie Donegan, a Scotsman considered the King of Skiffle in the 1950s and 1960s.
The Quarrymen was a skiffle band formed in 1956 by a thenunknown John Lennon. Paul McCartney and George Harrison joined the band soon after and they eventually evolved to become the hugely popular Beatles.
Eldridge said skiffle was ‘‘just rock and roll really’’.
‘‘The thing that makes it skiffle is that Tim plays the washboard,’’ he said.
Sellars said those who took a punt on their live gig could expect ‘‘harmonies and fun tunes’’.
‘‘The washboard I guess might be new for some people. There are a lot of well-known tunes, so you know, Buddy Holly, the Beatles, The Everly Brothers, those kind of artists,’’ he said.
‘‘It’s always quite special when we get together and play, we really enjoy each other’s company.’’
The group ship out on a cruise next month between Sydney and Auckland. Wethey had done the trip before and nicknamed it the ‘‘chunder line’’.
‘‘Our singer could only stomach jelly and bread rolls, so yeah, it’s going to be fun,’’ he said.
The Goldonies play Blue Smoke on Sunday with Dictaphone Blues. Doors open 7pm, tunes from 8pm.
"It was a style that none of us had ever really played before, I mean, I really knew nothing about what skiffle was." Chris Wethey, double bass player in The Goldonies