Incurable Sneezes: Selected Poetry and Lyrics 1978-1998 by Clay Djubal is now available from Have Gravity Will Threaten. The collection comprises 16 poems and the lyrics from 14 songs recorded variously by Djubal, along with the bands Shoot the DJ, Some Tripping Diggers and Vice Squad.
Have Gravity Will Threaten has recently unearthed live recordings of Armidale-based bands Helga und der Blitzkrieg and Backlash. “Recorded at the 1987 Sunray Sunday Festival in Armidale the quality of the tapes is surprisingly good all things considered” says Clay Djubal (HGWT). “The Helga und der Blitkrieg performance is particularly good, with the band’s punk rock leanings puntuated by a great brass section – ala The Saints during its Know Your Product phase. Covers of ‘Uptight’ and ‘Hanging on the Telephone’ are a couple of features from the gig.”
The Helga und der Blitzkrieg recording should be available in late November. The Backlash recordings will hopefully follow in mid-December. Any information regarding either band, particularly from former band members, would be greatly appreciated. To contact HGWT go to the ’X-Files’ research page on its website at www.havegravity.com
Have Gravity Will Threaten’s research site has recently added biographical information on Katoomba musician/composer Doiran James (formerly of Armidale, NSW). The bio includes the bands – Kordz, The Zip, The Snoggs, Black and Classic Dry Red.
Have Gravity Will Threaten is currently looking for information on the following artists and bands. Anyone with information is invited to contact HGWT through its website.
We are also interested in hearing from bands/performers who originated out of :
A collective comprising musicians, performers, writers, designers/photographers, Some Trippin’ Diggers was formed by Clay Djubal and Jo-ann Simmons in Sydney in the mid-1980s as a collaborative project following the disbanding of Shoot the Dj. Among the early contributors were Siegfried Mirza and Ian Mitchell (formerly with Shoot the DJ), along with Sydney-based musicians/writers Matt Hirst, Des Smith, David Morris and Ross Stagg. Additional contributions were made by Lyn Stagg and Heather Grigg. A CD of songs recorded during this period (Paralytic with Intelligence) is to be released in early 2009 on HGWT.
After the various members drifted away during the late 1980s Djubal resurrected the project in the early 1990s while undertaking a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Queensland. One of the group’s first productions was The Last Word, a music theatre collaboration between Djubal, local playwright Cameron Davies, writer/director/guitarist Marcel Dorney and a group of student actors. The musical was later produced at the Cement Box Theatre in 1998 by Pandemonium Theatre and Aquarius/Gemini Productions (as the collective was briefly known). During this period Djubal was also associated with both the English Students Society (UQ) and AARK TV, a University of Queensland project supporting local filmmakers and creative artists. ARKK produced a series of multi-media events and eventually broadcast a series of programs called Spark for Briz 31 (a community television station) in 1996. Established with support from Optus, the ARKK project was conceived and managed by undergraduate student (and executive producer) Amy Lee.
During the remainder of the 1990s Clay Djubal completed an MA and began a doctoral thesis in drama (completed in 2005). He continued to write and record music in collaboration with other musicians, notably Marcel Dorney, Cassandra Prucha, and Katoomba (NSW)-based songwriter/musician Doiran James. A double CD collection of songs from this period (The Larrikin Demofestos) was released by HGWT in 2008.
Emerging out of the Armidale (NSW) ’hippy punk’ movement of the late 1970s, Shoot the DJ was a theatrical rock band based in the New England region of New South Wales (ca. 1982-84) and later in Sydney (ca. 1985-1986). The band’s musical influences ranged across a diverse number of popular genres, including classic rock, hard rock, punk, art rock, and bubblegum pop. While Shoot the DJ did not release any recordings at the time, its music was played on ABC radio’s Triple J network
Shoot the DJ formed after the demise of Crash Landing, with the initial line-up being Jon Anderson (formerly with Elsis), Clay Djubal, Doiran James (both from Crash Landing) and Dick Rummmery (ex-Vice Squad). After being joined by Ziggy Mirza and Ian Mitchell the band quickly began playing support gigs for such acts as Matt Taylor, Kevin Borich, Mi-Sex, Idol Minds and the Lonely Hearts. They were also associated with such local bands as Dinosaurs from China, The Zip and Giant Steps (featuring Jon Anderson’s sister, Jen Anderson). Shoot the DJ’s distinctive stage shows (featuring stage designs by Clay Djubal and Jo-ann Simmons) set them apart from all other regional NSW bands. One series of shows, for example, saw them design the stage as a flat – complete with furniture (a bed, stocked fridge, coffee table, lounge etc). Another set required the entire stage (including amplifiers, PA speakers, drum riser and side screens) wrapped in alfoil, creating an electric light show with minimal lighting. The band’s live appearances would also involve poetry readings, theatrical scenes played out by actors, live television broadcasts and a multitude of theme-related props, ranging from skeletons and blow-up sex dolls to original artwork and paintings by Clay Djubal.
The band’s driving rhythm section, largely reliant on sonic compression, was punctuated by Anderson’s quick-fire punk-drivben rhythm guitar and overlayed with Mirza’s sizzling lead guitar work. Three distinctly different voice timbres provided a rich mixture of lead and harmony vocals. The themes explored in their largely original repertoire focused little on traditional rock/pop relationship subjects than they did on life in Australia at that time, and particularly regional Australia (‘Wilcannia,’ ‘On the Nullabor’ and ‘Australian Holiday’). Other themes include : recreational drugs/heroin-related deaths of friends (‘Cop Out,’ ‘Radio 2LSD’ and ‘Frizzy Lizzy’s Fun Factory’) ; satirising cigarette advertisements (‘When Only the Best Will Do’) ; the frustration of having little money and no obvious future (‘Street People’ and ‘Paralytic with Intelligence’) ; life as a musician in a country town (‘Keeping Beat’ and ‘Put the Boy Down’) ; and the questioning of religious faith (‘How Does it Feel, Mary?’). A number of songs were co-written with poet Jo-ann Simmons who had been with the band from its inception, first as sound/lighting operator, and later as lighting operator. She and Clay Djubal were married between 1984 and 1989.
Shoot the DJ temporaily disbanded in 1984. While Anderson remained in Armidale, the other three members relocated to Sydney. Ian Mitchell joined his brother Peter Mitchell in Captains of Industry, while Djubal and Mirza became involved with a loose collective of musiciansd and creative artists known as Some Trippin’ Diggers. Within a year, however, Shoot the DJ was reforemed as a stream-lined three piece band (Djubal, Mitchell and former Grafton guitarist, Nick Miles). Ziggy Mirza, who left to join the band, Native Tongue, later returned to the band as bass guitarist, allowing Clay Djubal to move to lead vocals and keyboards. Although the band recorded an album’s worth of material during this period and undertook a northern NSW regional tour, each of the remaining members eventually began to move in different career directions leading to the band’s eventual demise.
Born into a musical family and raised in Armidale, Jen Anderson’s father was a professional jazz musician before becoming an expert in medieval music. The children were all encouraged to learn an instrument and she chose the violin (with younger brother Jon taking up guitar). As a teenager she became disillusioned with the violin and subsequently took up bass guitar, playing in a number of rock bands during the 1980s, notably Giant Steps. In 1989, barely six months after leaving her home town of Armidale (NSW), Anderson’s talents were discovered by Joe Camilleri when he saw her playing in a duo at Sydney’s Trade Union Club. Camilleri asked her to join his band The Black Sorrows and she shortly afterwards appeared on the band’s hit LP Harley and Rose. With that band she toured throughout Australia and overseas, cementing her reputation as one of Australia’s leading contemporary violinists. After recording Better Times (1992), Anderson left The Black Sorrows to join Weddings, Parties, Anything (1993-1998). She has since contributed to more than 40 recordings as a guest musicians, including works by Hunters and Collectors, The Revelators (with Joe Camilleri), Billy Baxter, Deborah Conway, Nick Cave, Renee Geyer, Dave Graney and the Coral Snakes, Nick Barker, Sherry Rich and the Grievous Angels, and performed on three tracks from the 1998 compilation Didj’un : Singer Songwriters from the Kimberley (‘Make a Move,’ ‘Shut the Window’ and ‘Vision’). She collaborated with Tim Shanasy om Silent Catalyst (1999), and in 2005 she released Jen Anderson : Music for Film and Television.
In 1993 Anderson was asked to compose live music for the black and white silent movie Pandora’s Box starring Louise Brooks. Her critically acclaimed score led to a commission from the National Film and Sound Archive to write the music to accompany a reconstructed version of the original 1919 silent film The Sentimental Bloke for the Melbourne International Film Festival. She and her band, The Larrikins, provided a live soundtrack for the film’s subsequent Australian tour. Since then Anderson has largely written for film and television. Her credits include : the ABC’s Simone de Beauvoir’s Babies, and ‘Wee Jimmy’ (from the Hybrid Life series) ; the Clara Law film Goddess of 1967 (2001) ; the short films Tale of the Paper Hearts (1998) and Helga: Adrift in Wonderland (2002) ; and the documentaries It’s Like That (2003), Einstein’s Wife : The Life of Mileva Einstein-Maric (2003), Hunt Angels (2006) and Vivian Bullwinkel (2007).
Shoot the DJ : From Armidale (in the New England region of NSW) circa 1982-1984; and Sydney (NSW) circa 1985-1986.
Some Trippin Diggers: On-going creative arts collective (established 1985). Specialises in music, music theatre, creative writing and visual arts.
Vice Squad : Hippy/punk band from Armidale (NSW) circa late 1970s.
Health Club : Hippy/punk band from Armidale (NSW) circa late 1970s.
Clay Djubal : Incurable Sneezes (poetry and lyrics)
