And now for the ‘Ethiopian Serenaders’…!

Songster of the Ethiopian Serenaders (USA)

Here’s an interesting snippet from 1850, indicating the early presence of blackface minstrel shows in Australia, even before the gold rushes. Minstrelsy, deriving from the ‘Jump Jim Crow’ comic song fad, was in Australia shortly after it first appeared in the early 1830s and was amazingly popular up to the end of the nineteenth century, and beyond. (Offence alert: racist language).

Ethiopian Serenaders

A company, of performers, calling themselves Ethiopian serenaders, have recently arrived in the colony, and are giving entertainments at the Royal Hotel. This description of amusement had a great run when first introduced into England a few years since. The singing consists of what are generally termed " nigger songs," which are accompanied by an accordeon, a banjo, (which much resembles a guitar,) a tambourine, and the " bones," or castanets, and from the excellent time kept by the instruments, the effect is most pleasing. One of the company, Mr. Howard, has a most sweet voice, and his singing of several plaintive airs, accompanied by himself on the accordean [sic], from which he elicits most delightful tones, was much admired, as was also the solo of Hark the Merry Christ Church Bells on the banjo. The performance on Wednesday evening appeared to give much satisfaction to a numerous and respectable audience.

The Sydney Morning HeraldApril 5 1850, 3.

One of the intriguing aspects of Australian folksong is the extent to which it used American tunes, even well before the era of recorded music. The minstrel shows from America and Britain, as well as other touring entertainments, are the prime suspects for the spread of these imported tunes and songs. 

This English band was probably the first minstrel group known to have appeared in Sydney. ‘Blythe Waterland’s Serenaders’ performed at the Royal Hotel on 1 April, 1850, and at other venues. Their leader was Henry Burton (stage name ‘Blythe Waterland’, also a founder of Australian circus). The band, which included two members named ‘Howard’, toured country centres as well as Melbourne, Launceston and Hobart and returned to Sydney as ‘The Ethiopian Serenaders’. 

Their repertoire included ‘Lynchburg Town’, ‘Walk Along John’, ‘Johnny Boker’, ‘Dandy Jim’, ‘Old Grey Goose’, ’Ole Dan Tucker’, ’Boatman's Dance’, ’Jenny get your hoecake done’, as well as that show-stopping church bells number. For sea song tragics (me included), it’s interesting how many of these were shanties. It was not unusual for minstrel shows to include a wide variety of other styles, not excepting sacred music. These travelling entertainers quickly generated local imitators who continued to spread the repertoire and aided its adaptation into the folk tradition

The instruments mentioned have also been influential in the tradition here. Certainly the accordeon, banjo and ‘bones’, here referred to as ‘castanets’, became popular. But what happened to the tambourine? Did it become the ‘jingling Johnny’, said to have been a possible precursor of the bush band lagerphone? 

Many will equate tambourines with the Salvation Army. But, from this and other accounts, it seems that the tambourine was quite commonly played as percussion in a variety of bush and other more or less spontaneous ensembles, as well as by professionals. All this was long before the Salvation Army was formed in 1865.

Maybe those Sally Annie timbrel troupes just frightened everyone else off?

Graham Seal

THE EARLIEST BUSH BANDS

A 'bush band' c. 1905, SLQ

The first mention of a ‘bush band’ seems to be in the surprising context of a visit by the Duke of Edinburgh in 1868. The Sydney Mailof 15 February that reported a reception for his Royal Highness at which a Volunteer band – a military style brass band – played in the usual manner for such events. After the Duke had departed, guests danced quadrilles to the music of this band, but a ‘bush band’ was also playing, quite a lot, it seems:

‘There was another band upon the ground - what was called "The bush band" - which also favoured the public with much melody. Its harmonies, however, were more of a lugubrious and sentimental character than those of its rival, and it was consequently less popular. It was, however, the centre of a small knot of applauding amateurs de musique who seemed to appreciate "Ah che la morte" and "The heart bowed down," &c. ’

The following year, His Excellency Governor Weld was received at the Roman Catholic Mission at Victoria Plains, Western Australia.

‘While His Excellency was at supper, a bush band was got up consisting of a violin, concertina, triangle, and a large tin dish which answered instead of a drum; several popular airs were played; and His Excellency was very much pleased, for he knew that every one was doing their very best, and with the best intentions.’ (The Perth Gazette and West Australian Times, 19 November 1869, 2-3).

It is likely that some, or all, of the members of this bush band were Aboriginal inmates of the Mission.

By the 1880s, bush bands seem to have been an accepted element of the colonial music scene. As reported in the 18 January edition of the Warwick Argusin 1886:

‘The new year was ushered in in this part of the world in the usual fashion. The stirring strains of the bush band - composed of first and second kerosene tins, an asthmatic concertina, a wheezy comb, and a couple of broken-voiced tin whistles - burst upon the stilly night as the clock struck 12. The atmospheric disturbance was something terrific - and the wonder is that we have had a day's fine weather since. The roisterers made the usual round of the pubs. At the first - host Holmes' - the 'cute landlord warned his visitors that it being after midnight, and consequently 1886, the new Licensing Act was in force and he dare not open his house or sell liquor between the hours of 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. "We don't want you to sell it, shouted the tin whistle. But the landlord was obdurate, and the thirsty ones had at last to go empty away. They were more successful elsewhere. Having gathered plenty of eatables and drinkables, they returned to the Royal and made things lively for a short time; then, leaving their instruments in pledge for what they did not get, adjourned to the recreation reserve and disposed of the "wine and wittles." Most of them have quite recovered.’

The essential connection between bush music and booze seems to have been well established by this time and spontaneous ensembles of this kind remained a small but important element of community music-making. When the folk revival produced the original Bushwhackers band of the Sydney Bush Music Club in the 1950s, the only changes were the addition of the bush bass, probably derived from the brief skiffle craze of that era, and the lagerphone. 

The spirit of handmade music remained the same. From the 1970s, the ‘second’ Bushwackers [sic] band (originally Bushwackers and Bullockies), took the style to a new level of electrified volume and professional performance standards. Many other ‘bush bands’ also formed in this period and one or two remain today, though the bush dance fad that largely supported these groups has long gone. 

Time for a revival, perhaps?

ACKNOWLEDGMENT: The historical research on which this article is based was mostly undertaken by Dr Graeme Skinner of the University of Sydney, used with his kind permission - see his excellent site, Australharmony.

Graham Seal

Recording Verandah Music

Recovering from three days recording songs and tunes at the National Library of Australia. Great sessions. Thanks to NLA staff and especially to our engineer Greg Downton for the clever stuff.

The results will be edited and turn up on the NLA digital site in one form or another. We’ll post a few tracks as well in various places, so watch out for notifications.

AFTER THE FESTIVAL ...

Our Crims, Crooks and Cops session went well on the Saturday, as did the Tassie Verandah Music session on Sunday. Thanks to Erin Collins,Kris Willis, Geoff Iliff and Kerrie Maguire and our enthusiastic audiences.

Our next stop on this journey is a three-day recording session to document our repertoire and associated collections and researches. We might post a few items on Soundcloud as well.

VERANDAH MUSIC AT THE 2018 NATIONAL FOLK FESTIVAL

We're back at the National this year after a sold-out performance of The Music of Mawson's Men and a good session on Tassie traditions on the Sunday afternoon.

At the National we'll be presenting another Tassie session with the help of a few friends as well as a new show on crime in folklore, called 'Crime, Cops and Crooks' (plenty of material there). 

If you're at the National, come and join us:
 

 Crims, Crooks and Cops - Trocadero  31/03/2018 3.30-4.30pm

Tassie Tunes and Tarradiddles - Trocadero 01/04/2018 10:00 - 11.00am

Rob will be doing a few other gigs, including:

Trocadero  30/03/2018 13:00 - 1:00
Tales and Tunes of the Darwin Stringbands

plus a few Live at the Lounge interviews

And don't forget the National Folklore Conference at the National Library on March 29. Entry is free (but registration to g.seal@curtin.edu.au) and there will be a great lunchtime concert featuring the Darwin Rondalla Stringband.

Does it get any better!?

VERANDAH MUSIC AT CYGNET FOLK FESTIVAL, 2018

We're returning to Cygnet after two years for a couple of performances:

THE MUSIC OF MAWSON’S MEN, Cygnet Folk Festival. National Library of Australia Presentation.

Saturday Jan 13th 3-4 Huon Christian Life Church.

Join Erin Collins, Fred Pribac, Geoff Iliff, Pat Cranney, Denis McKay, Jason Roweth, Graham Seal and Rob Willis for The Music of Mawson’s Men.

The Music of Mawson’s Men blends music, recitation, readings, archival and recreated audio and visuals into an entertaining one-hour stage presentation using the same instruments played in the hut as the men battled isolation, emotional deprivation and madness in the ‘home of the blizzard’ during the 1911-1914 Antarctic expedition.

They had a variety of musical instruments, a number of song books, a wind up gramophone and small number of records to entertain themselves for the duration. There are a large number of references in the expedition diaries to the music, parodies and songs they enjoyed. A wide variety from traditional shanties to the latest ragtime songs. Written and produced by Graham Seal and Rob Willis the production also features images from photographer Frank Hurley (NLA collection) and stories from the diaries.

Verandah Music: Tales, Tunes and Taradiddles from Tasmania

The Verandah Band

Huon Christian Life Church, Sunday 14 January, 2018 3:15 PM – 4:15 PM

A presentation of traditional Tasmanian songs and tunes and stories from the collection and research of Rob Willis and Graham Seal. Rob is a leading oral historian who has worked extensively with the National Library of Australia. Graham is a folklorist and historian at Curtin University. Rob and Graham are both experienced musicians and will be accompanied by Olya Willis.