One established musician.
One up and coming musician.
One interpretor on grand piano.
Courthouse ARTS and NYR are proud to present A Conversation in the Key of… Watch Shane Howard and Alister Turrill in a musical conversation where the shared language will be the grand piano accompaniment of Tim Neal. The artists will trade songs and stories. It will take place in our intimate theatre and be a low fi concert, where people can hear the words and listen to the tunes. This evening will be the fitting conclusion to New Years Revolution, and will be as enjoyable for you as it is for Shane and Tim and Alister. Just like a good conversation…
The first in a series that is happening over 2012 at Courthouse ARTS.
Time: 5pm
Venue: Theatre
Price: Full: $25, Concession: $20, Members Under 30: $15
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Facebook Event Page
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New Years Revolution
About the Artists
Shane Howard
Shane Howard is one of Australia’s foremost songwriters and storytellers.
He was born and raised by the banks of the Merri River, in the unremarkable coastal town of Dennington, South West Victoria, Australia, in the heartland of Irish Famine migration. He was the founding member of legendary Australian band, Goanna, whose Spirit Of Place album resonated around Australia, as did the first single from the album, Solid Rock. It was the first commercial song to use didjeridu and its powerful lyrics and music were a velvet sledgehammer to the injustice that Aboriginal Australia had endured, since colonisation in 1788. Solid Rock topped the charts in 1982–‘83 and has grown to become an iconic Australian song.
In 1983, with Goanna and friends, under the nom de plume, Gordon Franklin & The Wilderness Ensemble, Shane wrote and recorded the song, Let The Franklin Flow, as a protest and fundraiser to help stop the damming of Tasmania’s spectacular Franklin River. Shane Howard has been generous with his time, lending support to numerous Aboriginal, environmental and human rights campaigns across Australia.
In 1993, Irish songstress Mary Black, had a top 5 Irish single with her version of, ‘Flesh and Blood’. He’s also produced tracks for Mary Black and Irish sean nos singer, Mossie Scanlon. He’s produced albums for Archie Roach, The Pigram Brothers, Joe Geia and Jimmy Chi, among others.
His songs travel and he does too. He journeys frequently to Ireland. He’s toured Ireland, Australia, Holland and the US with Mary Black & her band. He was a special guest of the Guinness Tour of Irish Music in 1997, travelling with Ronnie Drew. He was a guest performer for the Australian reception to welcome Nobel Peace Prize winner, Rigoberta Menchu. With Joe Geia, he performed for Nelson Mandela’s Australian visit to Melbourne in 2000.
He was awarded a Fellowship by the Australia Council for the Arts in 2000, in recognition of his contribution to Australian musical life. He was an Australian representative at the 2000 North American Folk Alliance convention and is a life member of the Australian Folk Alliance.
He was named Artist of the Year for the 2005 Port Fairy Folk Festival. In announcing the award, Festival Director, Jamie McKew said, “Shane Howard bridges the land between poet and song-writer; between prophet and singer; even between white fellas and indigenous artists”. He performed Solid Rock at the 2006 Australian Football League Grand Final to an audience of 90,000 people, and again at the 2007 Australian Football League, ‘Dreamtime at the ‘G’ match. In 2006 he performed at ‘Downunder- New York’ with Colin Hay and Austen Tayshus at Irving Plaza, New York. He was a special guest for Senator Bob Brown’s 25th Anniversary of the saving of the Franklin River, in July 2008.
As a founding member of ‘The Black Arm Band’, Howard has performed with the ensemble from 2006 to the present, for concerts at WOMADUK, The Sydney International Festival, Festival of Perth, Brisbane Arts Festival, Darwin Festival, WOMADelaide, The Melbourne International Arts Festival, Remote & Community Touring and the London International Festival of Theatre.
In 2011 he travelled with his 11th solo album, Goanna Dreaming, recorded in Tucson, Arizona, with expatriate Australian, Kerryn Tolhurst. He released a book of lyrics and a childrens book of the song, ‘Solid Rock’ , illustrated with images by the young people from the communities of Mutitjulu, Imanpa & Kaltakatjara, that all have strong connections to Uluru.
Tim Neal
Tim Neal is the best Hammond B3 player in the country. He grew up in Geelong and currently teaches in the city.
He has appeared several times on Spicks and Specs and has played all the major jazz, blues and roots festivals including Wangarratta, Melbourne International Festival and Manly.
He has played keyboards with Jimmy Smiths rhythm section in Melbourne, Mick Thomas, Chris Wilson, Shane Howard and Renee Geyer and in the USA he has played for Bobby Previte, Big Jay McNeely and Randy Crawford. He has played the Rainbow Hotel in Fitzroy for twenty years. Tim is in high demand as a session player and will be the musical translator for A Conversation in The Key Of… at Courthouse ARTS.
