LAST year Ocean Grove was dancing in the streets to the poguish Go Set. This year they’ll be getting down to rockin’ blues and downtown funky sounds.
Headlining the festival is Chubby Rae & The Elevators – a band that is bent on vibed-up, good-time blues – and they follow on from soul brothers Geoff Achison and Suspicious Aloysius.
Marisa Quigley, aka Chubby Rae, the 6’2” redheaded soulful powerhouse, sings the blues like there’s no tomorrow, delivering a fantastic voice and fabulous stage presence.
The Elevators are dedicated blues men, with Jim Dyson, the “Boss of the Boogaloo” on guitar and slide and Karl Inderberg and Craig Chiller holding it all together on drums and bass, Chubby Rae & the Elevators dig deep into blues traditions to lay down grooves that even a corpse could move to. Ain’t that what the blues is for?
Chubby Rae & the Elevators have released two award winning albums; their second and self-penned “She Gets Unruly” winning both Album of the Year and Female vocalist of the Year at The Australian Blues Music Festival CHAIN awards in 2007.
As well as playing their regular gigs in and around Geelong and Melbourne, Chubby Rae & the Elevators have been wowing audiences with their uplifting and infectious shows at music festivals all over Australia.
Seven-piece funk outfit Suspicious Aloysius started out in 2007 playing around the Warrnambool area to a healthy following of funk loving party going supporters.
However these days the band spreads itself far and wide with members calling Jan Juc, Nullawarre, Port Fairy and Melbourne home.
Comprising of a driving rythym section, howling horn section, powerful keys, guitar and vocals, the band brings the stage alive with songs from artists and bands such as, Parliament, Freak Power, Stevie Wonder, The Commodores, Curtus Mayfield, Wizards of Ooze, Galactic, James Brown, Ohio Players, Tower of Power, Sly and the Family Stone, and Kool and the Gang.
Suspicious Aloysius are Michael Murphy on Vocals/Guitar, Dave Lodge on Keyboards, Matt Story on Trumpet, Shelly Ryan on Tenor Sax, Dave Corrin on Bass, Chris Hedges on Drums and Dennis Stevenson on Trombone and Trumpet.
Born in Malmsbury in central Victoria, Geoff Achison discovered Eric Clapton at age nineteen, and his life has never been the same.
He moved to Melbourne in the late 1980s to pursue his dream of playing the blues.
Geoff formed a friendship with Bob Sedergreen during this period and played for a while with Bob Sedergreen’s Bluesbusters.
He then put his experience to use by forming the band Just Blues, which gigged around Melbourne for two years, and eventually gained the choice support gig for Roy Buchanan.
In 1989, Geoff met Dutch Tilders, and shortly thereafter joined Dutch in his band, the Blues Club. He stayed with that band for five years, until, in 1994, he left to concentrate on his own career. He is now considered by many to be one of the finest guitarists in Australia.
Geoff has received numerous awards worldwide, including the 1993 Beale Street Blues Society Talent Contest (First Prize), 1994 Australian Blues Performer of the Year (Runner Up), and was the recipient of the Albert King Award at the 1995 U.S. International Blues Competition. He is also the first guitarist from outside the US to receive an endorsement from Gibson Guitars.
Also on this strong bill are local blues favourites Sambrose Automobile and Jill Meehan.
The events of the day will run as follows. Also see reverse of this page for performance program.
Event: Sunday January 17 from 10am-9pm. Kidzone from 10am-4pm. Market from 10am-5pm. Community stage from 10am-4pm. Main stage 1pm-9pm.
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