Barry Brown and the GetDown claim to be a result of a dysfunctional upbringing, tropical heat and the combined genius of James Brown and Barry White (among others), which, according to Barry, “adds up to one sickly sweet, cheesy, twisted, horny, sweaty romp into the deeper dirty, flirty side of funk… Terrritory style!”

Having requested a brief history of Barry and band, the question was wonderfully misconstrued and the resulting answer gives a history of their briefs. “Barry likes the feel of lycra, though tropical conditions dictate the use of cotton,” reveals Barry, disconcertingly in the third person. “Historically, young boys in the 1960′s wore Y-fronts, but by the 70′s the very brief bikini brief–commonly known as ‘jockettes’–became fashionable. These days, boxer shorts are preferred by most members of Barry Brown and the GetDown.”

It turns out the story of Barry and crew is quite long and extensive– even with the chapter on underwear omitted. learning some of the story of Barry Brown via a short “What Ever Happened To little Barry Brown” documentary raised all sorts of questions, including “Who keeps superimposing Barry’s face onto various children and minor celebrities?”. But the fantastical back-story seems to be constantly evolving, and followers of the band will someday hopefully be rewarded with answers.

Barry Brown and the GetDown will be having a “Funk party Extravaganza” on Friday 23rd of April at Darwin Entertainment Centre.“Expect the unexpected,” says Barry–a trusted source on such matters. “But bring your laughing gear, funky duds and dancin’ feet. Special guest DJs will be playing the best funk, boogie and disco to get the night off to a great start, before Barry and crew hit the stage.

Zulya plays Darwin Entertainment Centre 4 April

This Playing Australia tour will be in support of her soon-to- be-released fifth album (or third with the Children of the Underground) entitled “Tales of Subliming”, and after the successes which previous albums have had, people will no-doubt be expecting great things once again. These successes include an ARIA Award for Best World Music Album in 2007, Best Album Award 2005 from the Film and Sound Archives, and various other high profile award nominations.

“Oh, I hope it’s better than anything I’ve ever done,” leading lady Zulya explains. “But that’s up to individual people’s tastes. This album is different in a way that it has much less piano accordion than before, and heaps more brass and distorted guitar. But I think it’s very beautiful even if I say so,” she laughs. “It has a strong lyrical concept and many more songs in English as well as the songs in Russian and Tatar.”

Kultour and Artback NT will be touring Zulya across the Territory, starting with Olive Pink Botanic Gardens in Alice Springs on March 28 before travelling up to Tennant Creek on the 30th. Then, on the night of April 1st (the night before Good Friday), a special show at Nitmiluk (Katherine Gorge) including a two course dinner will be held for a limited crowd, before the quintet head up to perform at Darwin Entertainment Centre on Sat 3rd, and then finish the Territory leg of their tour in Nhulunbuy on Wed 7th.

Zulya and the Children of the Underground band portrait

Crassic Park 'Society is Blind' EP Launch poster, click for full size

Suitably apt if a little misleading, since Crassic Park (whose members are all between 16-17) are a rock band with a variety of influences, most of which harkens back to the 70’s. Names like The Ramones, Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin are dropped as heavy influences. And it’s easy to see the effect these bands have had – live shows are a spectacle, the band constantly jamming, soloing and engaging with fans and hecklers alike. The rock n’ roll spirit is there.

Moving on from playing at their school, they put word out that they were looking to gig – and the Happy Yess was glad to give them the opportunity. “We ended up supporting Giants Vs the Sun, which was pretty intimidating as our first gig,” Lachlan recalls.

So the boys have started off on a good foot, and recently recorded an EP at Charles Darwin University, which they will be launching at Brown’s Mart on December 4th. Supports will come from a wide variety of local acts of various genres, including death metallers Slaughtertorall, grunge-rockers Zed Major, Japanese pop-punkers Semishigure, Blastcorp’s electronica/acoustic stylings, and newcomers Hooch, featuring former members of Moses.

Zed Major at the Tease Festival, photo by Nico Liengme

“We’ve really been honing our sound this year, since we found a solid lineup,” explains band frontman Zac East. “We’ve made huge steps forward, we’re working together better now than we’ve ever worked before.”

No doubt their modest successes thus far driving them towards greater things. And while their main influences have come from the bygone days of ’90s grunge and desert rock, their live energy is timeless. They’re ambitious for the future as well.

“We’ll be recording again early next year. But our big goal is to play Bassinthegrass in 2010. We’re pushing ourselves as hard as we can to get there.”

And of trying to keep the rock and roll lifestyle alive in Darwin?

“We like to live pretty rock n’ roll, or at least the Darwin version of it. Sometimes that means drinking and playing Singstar until the early hours of the morning,” he laughs.

Zed Major will play Crassic Park’s EP launch at Browns Mart on Dec 4, and at Happy Yess with Sweet Amber on Dec 12. See www.happyyess.com and Zed Major’s Facebook page and Myspace Page for more.

Darwin will be the final destination on the reggae artists’ current world tour, which kicked off at Merrepen Arts Festival back in May before taking him around the world – including a 2 week stint in Jamaica. Nicky also performed at this year’s Garma Festival, stopping off there between his last gig in Europe and a well deserved break back at home in Melbourne.

“Garma was wonderful,” Nicky says. “Such a beautiful part of the world, and such amazing people. I did a couple of workshops and wrote some songs with members of the community, who were great to work with.”

His live shows are often improvised, both the music and the lineup. He does have a regular band – Bomba – that he plays in with his brother, but travelling light, he finds musicians in each city he travels to and has them jam with him on stage.

“On this tour, some shows have been with the band, some shows have just been with a few musicians from the city I’m in. It has worked really well so far, and the jams are great fun, as it turns out different every time.”

For his Darwin show, Nicky will be collaborating with members of The NEO and other local musicians to bring us some smooth, funky reggae to suit these hot, humid nights.

Nicky Bomba supported by The NEO play at Darwin Entertainment Centre, Nov 21.
www.darwinentertainment.com for bookings and details.