Hey there Offtopics friends and welcome to the first newsletter of 2025!
A confession has to be made, dear reader. I’ve been a little reluctant to put pen to paper (or fingertip to keyboard in the more accurately contemporary sense). Why is that, you might ask? Well… the truth is I, in my guise as the chronicler of this newsletter, have been quite happily in a state of indolence over the Christmas and early January break. Part of that is to do with happy exhaustion post album launch. I’ll indulge in a little bit of a recap later, but suffice it to say, the success of the event earned us all some quiet reflection time.As a result, I’ve been so blissfully inactive that it’s only just occurred to me that the same cannot be said for The Offtopics!
Unbeknownst to me, they’ve been quietly labouring away on a variety of projects for 2025 which is already shaping up to be an intriguing year. So, without any further forbearance, let’s dive right in…
First Gig for 2025
You’ll have to wait until March for this, but what a gig it’ll be! The Offtopics will be playing two massive sets of fun, funny, dancey music at the Lorne Bowls Club. The bowlo, as it’s known was taken over recently by Polash’s dear friends Anna and Simon from In The Skies Art and Music. This gig has been years in the making and everyone’s super excited to make it happen with the full seven-piece band. Readers of this newsletter will know that Polash has an extended relationship with Lorne via his father and the McIldowie family but you might not know that Offtopics tenorist, Richmond Giles Esq also has an Otway connection as his parents live in Anglesea. To add to the fun, we’ve got the notorious Darius Kedros mixing us at this one, so you can expect some of the extended sonic shenanigans he mixed into our album live. We’re also welcoming a new horn player to her first show with us that night. This is a must attend, bucket list event for all of us. Get on down! Get your tickets at the link below and there’s a Facebook event here if that’s your jam.
The album launch will be on Saturday 30th November at The Retreat Hotel, Sydney Rd Brunswick.
More details to follow. To stay across everything related to the launch, pre-sales, pre-orders for the album, listening parties and more – subscribe to our mailing list or follow us on Instagram or Facebook.
Things are moving quickly now. Don’t get left behind!
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I’m still waiting for one of you to write in with a suggested demonym for those of you who live in that place Mailchimp unromantically calls “The Offtopics Mailing List”. I can’t keep referring to you as “Offtopics Friends” forever. It feels like such a placeholder…
And while we’re at it – what should we call this newsletter? I’m leaning towards calling it “Hot Topics”… though admittedly, that name DOES put me in mind of The Hot Gossip dancers that boggled my juvenile mind during re-runs of the Kenny Everett Show on the ABC back in the day. Ah… memories… But before I let myself get mugged down memory lane, best not to go… ahem… off topic and move on to the hot topics (Ah ha!) of this newsletter.
We’ve got a couple of shows to announce, two Offtopics shows, a plug for Linc’s forthcoming album launch, more docos at Sunday School of Rock and a sad farewell to one of The Offtopics’ management team.
Let’s get on with it!
The Offtopics at Shotkickers – Friday 13 June
We’re bringing our punch-drunk funk, unsteady rocksteady and slapstick soul to a last-minute surprise show at Shotkickers on the spoooookiest night of the year – Friday 13 June!
Shotkickers has been rapidly rising over the last couple of years as the IT venue for Melbourne’s independent band scene in the north. They’ve shown their dedication to live music by investing in a top quality sound and light system which means you can both SEE and HEAR your favourite bands achieve sonic clarity without being so loud they deafen you. Shotkickers was on our radar as a possible venue for our album launch but we couldn’t quite accommodate each other’s dates. So when there was a surprise cancellation we thought, “let’s do it!” It’s a pretty short lead time to the gig though – so we’ll need your help filling the room!
This is our FIRST Melbourne show since last November’s album launch. Bring your dancing crocs for what promises to be a very special night with the full 7-piece band with support from Ngiyampaa man PIRRITU.
Polash met Brett Lee aka Pirritu at a music management workshop a few years ago. He has an interesting story and writes sweet, soulful tunes in a singer-songwriter vein. He can also rock a killer jumper. Pirritu will be an excellent warm up for all the bombast and silliness to follow.
Some of that silliness includes a guest appearance by our old friend Madeleine Clare to duet on Mr Tonight. Don’t miss the delicious awkwardness that occurs when she and Polash gaze deeply into each other’s eyes. It’s magic!
And there’s a Facebook event here if that’s your jam.
The Offtopics lounge about at BaBs Friday 25 July
It’s a while away yet but we’re planning a different sort of gig to the big extravaganzas we’ve been producing lately. For a free-entry show at BaBs (aka The Brunswick Artists Bar) we’re reverting to a tight 5 piece R&B group for a night of deep soul, reggae and roots mixed in with our original songs. BaBs is a tiny place. It’s a bit like playing in your lounge room so make sure you come wearing your comfiest tracky pants. Linc won’t be joining us for this one. He’s snowed under with other commitments that include a trip to Canada with Kutcha Edwards and his own album launch. (More about that next). Filling in on traps for him will be ex-Frente! and current Marcel Borrack TD Band drummer Al Barden.
Come have a mulled wine and see The Offtopics attempt things they wouldn’t normally do in a smaller, tighter line-up.
Sunday School of Rock
Sunday School of Rock has been pootling along happily at The Henkel Street Cinema. Enthusiastic lovers of concert films and music documentaries have been gathering on the second Sunday of the Month. Numbers ebb and flow but so far there seems to be a core group of movie goers finding the curatorial choices intriguing enough that they come to every session. Last months’ installment of Miss Nikki and the Tiger Girls is followed by Mozart’s Sister this month thereby continuing the theme of girl power and women kicking against the pricks… and stretching the definition of “rock” in the process.
The July installment is Kneecap the movie which expands the ongoing theme of resistance to include de-colonisation. The movie’s also meant to be frickin’ hilarious so that’s not to missed either. “Mozart’s Sister” is on Sunday 8th of June and “Kneecap” is on Sunday 13 July.
There’ll be an announcement about what’s on at Sunday School of Rock for the second half the year in the coming weeks. Polash is yet to program it, but rest assured it’ll be as weird, wonderful, thought provoking and fascinating as what’s been on to date.
The Deans of Vinyl
Most of you will know about Linc’s band The Deans of Soul but did you know that they’re launching, as Linc puts it, “their first vinyl release”? Presumably he’s referring to a 12 inch record with music on it and not a jacket, or a couch or reconditioned seat covers for a 1976 Datsun 120Y… It’s quite probable that, IF it is indeed a record, then it’ll showcase some of the songs they recorded over the last year like this one:
They’ve cleverly linked themselves to the Northcote Social Club’s 20th anniversary celebrations and they’ve lined up Indigenous artists Candice Lorae and our friend Pirritu to open for them so it should be quite the soiree.
When is this launch of a vinyl record (or couch or jacket) you may ask? It’s on Saturday 26 July. I expect I’ll see you there.
Some of you already knew but here it is made official in the Hot Topics Newsletter. In late March the band’s assistant band manager, studio captain and deputy bookings coordinator passed away. We’re not sure, but we think she was almost 16.
This photo was taken just a couple of weeks before she took sudden turn for the worse, losing the ability to eat or drink. Here she is “helping” to load the car before our show at the Lorne Bowls Club. She was a real people dog and would even come to the occasional gig. One that springs to mind was the one at the Cross Street Hall where she disappeared and I ended up having to drag her out of the men’s toilets.
She was a firm believer in the fundamental goodness of humans. She came into our family when she followed my ex-brother in-law home. She was a young pup, lost on the mean streets of South Kingsville. Her microchip was scanned and her erstwhile owners declared the unthinkable – they didn’t want her! So she joined a family who already had a dog named “Bangers” and thus she became “Mash”. I never learned her original name.
Her new family moved to Macedon and she became a country dog. Then that family moved somewhere she couldn’t follow. They moved to Thailand while Mash remained with another young family in Macedon though she’d occasionally get some town time with us in Brunswick. This arrangement became more or less permanent during the dark times of the Pandemic. She kept us sane. Pretty much every day she did something funny, or unusual, or annoying that gave us something to talk about so we didn’t retreat into ourselves. She found half a kebab under a bush by the footy oval and so became a devotee of “The Kebab Fairy” praying every day at the magic kebab bush for the next few years.
Her legend spread through the neighborhood. Her people skills were renowned and I suspected (with some justification) that she was quite a bit more popular than me. The vet nurses at the Essendon Veterinary Clinic called her “our queen” when featuring her in their social media posts. When I stopped in for a beer at The Foreigner Brewing Company I found this sitting on the taps – awaiting my arrival some days after her passing.
Her portrait now hangs permanently on the wall at Foreigner as a mark of her popularity amongst the regulars.
After her death I got a song stuck in my head. You might have expected it to be something like Yusuf Islam/Cat Stevens’ “I Love My Dog” but with the unpredictability of grief it was something else entirely. I found myself playing the Irish standard “Raglan Road” over and over again. The song was adapted from a poem by Patrick Kavanagh first published in 1946 as “Dark Haired Miriam Ran Away”. It was one of several poems inspired by the unrequited love (she liked him as a friend) Kavanagh felt for the much younger Dr Hilda Moriarty. Decades later Kavanagh met Luke Kelly of The Dubliners and the poem was set to the tune of an Irish Language song “Fainne Gael an Lae” from the mid 19th Century. In another odd coincidence, a line from the poem, “along the enchanted way”, had been co-opted by William Blacker for the title of his memoir about Romania. Former Offtopic keys man, Mark Bretherton had insisted I read the book before our 2023 trip to Romania citing it as one of Prince (as he was then) Charles’ favourite books. The book I could take or leave… probably the latter. I was definitely more into the song.
In the immediate post-Mash period I mostly played the version I knew which was from the “Irish Heartbeat” album by Van Morrison and The Chieftans.
But I also obsessively sought out other versions of the song including those by The Dubliners, Sinead O’Connor, Mark Knopfler and even the version by Ed Sheeran which I won’t bother linking because frankly, it’s crap.
I worked out the chords and transcribed the lyrics. I’d pick up a guitar and bellow out the words at random moments in between whatever jobs I was doing.
And bit by bit and by such and such grief did indeed become “a falling leaf at the dawning of the day.”
While in her high energy younger days she was sometimes the “Monster” Mash, in her golden years she grew into our “Sweet Potato”.
Heads up everyone! The title track of our new album is dropping as a single THIS THURSDAY 3RD OCTOBER on all digital platforms.
The song hangs around a repeated, gritty guitar riff that Polash might have found at the sonic intersection of Leo Nocentelli and Lowell George. Tim’s bass and Linc’s drums are in lockstep steadfastly marching through a funky swamp while Huw’s electric piano subtly ornaments their efforts. After the initial rhythm sessions were done, Tim flexed his percussion muscles adding guiro and triangle to the mix. Rich then contributed Tenor, Baritone and Alto saxophones in an arrangement partially inspired by the Reverend Al Green’s “Ram”. The bridge part then deviates towards an even more unlikely source of inspiration: The Goodies! Before things get too silly, Linc steps out from behind the drum kit to provide a guitar solo that elevates the mood. Linc chose the notes carefully and within his solo is a nod to our late bandmate and much beloved guitarist, Dave Sheehan.
Feel it in the dance now. Feel it in your pants now. Feel it all night. Alright!
Built around a gruff and swampy groove, the song makes no pretenses at being anything other than an insistent call to action: come and dance! No excuses. Don’t worry about tomorrow!
Stream it anywhere you like from this coming Thursday using this link… or look it up on the platform of your choice.
Is when we’re throwing our epic, star-studded launch party at The Retreat Hotel in Brunswick. Tickets are on sale NOW and can be found at this Eventbrite page:
Naturally there’s also a Facebook event (if that kind of thing floats your boat.) There’s a little bit of information there but no need to go all Meta as we’re going to tell you all about what’s on offer right here in this newsletter.
Doors will open at 7pm after which the opening act will be That Gold Street Sound. We’re not doing things by halves here. We’re putting an 8-piece band on first. If you’re unfamiliar with TGSS then we can best describe them as the archetypal Melbourne Soul band. They do a particular thing and they do it well.
Here’s a clip of them doing something particularly well on Brunswick St. They must have got up pretty early to avoid getting run over.
That Gold Street Sound and The Offtopics go back a long way. It was nine years ago at Yah Yah’s that the bands shared a stage. Since then, it’s fair to say the two groups have gone in different directions but there have been some parallels. Both bands had an overseas adventure in the last couple of years. Both bands have been lying low while recording a killer new album. And of course, both bands have a fabulously attractive lead singer.
Ahem…
Moving right along.
We Offtopics are on stage next. We’ll be playing songs from the new album and we’ve got a couple of very special guests. Mady Brennan aka Madeleine Clare appeared several times with us live over the years to duet on Mr Tonight and we just had to include it on the album. The launch wouldn’t be the same without the quirky dynamic she shares with the Love Wombat.We’re also going to be joined by The OG from G-roy, Melbourne’s Queen of Soul and Hay’s finest export – Kylie Auldist! She’s best known for her work with The Bamboos and Cookin on Three Burners. Their song “This Girl” turned into a European club hit when it was remixed by Kungs.
Check out the original version below
Kylie and Polash have been friends for years having known each other from the Fitzroy Funk scene of the 1990s. Soul survivors? Perhaps. They’ve hung out at numerous gigs together over the years, played Christmas carols and even written a song together.
We’re really looking forward to hearing La Auldist’s unique pipes on a couple of Offtopics songs at The Retreat.
To close the night, legendary Soul Time DJ Vince Peach will spin a selection of soul and funk tunes. It’s no secret that Vince has been a great supporter of ours over the years. Getting him to agree to play didn’t take much arm twisting as he said, “I was going to be there anyway!”
Now you might be wondering why we’re putting Vince on last. Isn’t it normal for the headliner to go on at the end? Well… yes, but what also tend to be normal is that you end up extremely keyed up waiting to go on at the end, do your show, get stressed about packing up before the venue kicks you out and by the time that’s all sorted all our friends have gone home!
It can be quite deflating…
We really want to be able to party with everyone afterwards so we’re thrilled that Vince is going to be there to let us do that. We’ll have a boogie, grab a drink or three, get in some selfies and catch you by the merch table.
Speaking of Merch…
We’re on track to pick up the vinyl version of Tomorrow Is a Month Away in a couple of weeks. CDs have already landed. There’ll also be a selection of Tees and Teatowels (YES! TEATOWELS!) available to purchase on the night. Everything features the tasteful design work of Rebecca Stewart our masterful illustratrix. If we can persuade her to bring a few along you might even be able to pick up a copy of her debut graphic novel “Infernal Regions”.
Why are we pushing merch so hard? Honestly, we’re doing it for YOU! The launch is on the 30th of November. There are hardly any shopping days till Christmas after that. Seriously, we just know you’re going to see the perfect gift for that music lover/comics enthusiast/baker in your life.
That’s all for now!
There’ll be another couple of updates on the socials as more info about the gig emerges. Get in early with your tickets. In the next newsletter we’ll let you know about the timeline of events leading up to the launch including the next single drop. There’ll be info about the dates from which you can stream the whole album and an informal get together/listening party to celebrate the LP.
Hi friends, it’s the Love Wombat here. What is the “chute”? Weeeelll… it’s a tipping point where you start to feel like there’s an inexorable slide down towards the end of the year. There’s just SO.MUCH.GOING.ON and you’ll feel like you have less and less control over it all as the onslaught of parties, events, deadlines, festivals etc form such a critical mass that they exert an accelerating gravitational pull on you dragging you down until you burn up on re-entry while all you really want to do is drink a cup of tea and reflect on what a crazy year it’s been.
But you can’t because it’s not the end of the year yet. It’s barely the end of the third quarter and you still have to talk about what’s coming up next.
So with that in mind… SAVE THESE DATES!
It’s not the years it’s the mileage
Ok, so maybe I’m not using that expression properly (inconceivable?) but I couldn’t think of anything else for the subheading. Yes, the band only has three more shows this year (and not until late November either) but an Offtopics newsletter wouldn’t be what it normally is without talking about a lot of other stuff that’s going on. And there’s a LOT to talk about. There’s non music stuff to talk about like my recent success coaching a fifth hockey Grand Final win for The Old Carey Hockey Club, there’s also the forthcoming Voice Referendum (spoiler: The Offtopics are all voting “Yes”), there’s an overdue reflection about the Comfort Music season at La Mama and then, there are all the “family gigs” by Offtopics players in their other bands. I’ll give them each a spruik at the end of the newsletter. So it’s not only our stuff that’s pouring into the chute for the last quarter of 2023.
But first… our gigs coming up!
Friday Session at The Post Office Hotel
The Offtopics return to The Post Office Hotel in Coburg for a fabulous Friday session. Two sets, free entry, beer, funk, rawk and good times. Last time we played there The Matildas won making the nation deliriously happy. We’re not saying the events are connected but according to most people on social media these days, causation and correlation are the same thing. You want the nation to be happy don’t you? Don’t risk it. Come to the gig. At the very least you’ll make the Love Wombat happy as it’s his birthday around then.
If a Facebook event is of any value to you, you’ll find one here.
There’s gold to be found in Eldorado
Musical GOLD that is. The Offtopics are returning to make an appearance at The Festival of Folk, Rhythm and Life in the first weekend of December. Eldorado is a tiny township just outside Wangaratta and this is the 27th year of the festival.
Speaking as a Wombat… I heartily endorse the efforts of the FRL Echidna (see above). My first appearance at FRL was back in 2004 and it was a little shakey, to say the least. We were there as The Grenadines (you can find their work on Spotify.) Later, that band matured into The Deans of Soul but back then a fledgling band rocked up for their first festival appearance only for the drummer’s stool to collapse as he got a cramp in his forearm. The bass player got stoned off his head and squirted the rhythm guitarist with warm lemonade. After that one of said rhythm guitarist’s patch leads died. By the time we sorted that out I think we’d managed to play one complete song before we were ushered off the stage. Somehow we survived and were invited back.
Since then, FRL has grown from a hedonistic party with some bands around a bonfire in the Skermer family back yard to a mature festival attracting approximately 3000 attendees of all ages. Over the years they’ve raised tens of thousands of dollars for the Mittagundi Outdoor Education Centre with music, food, talks and children’s entertainment. It’s a solid weekend if you’re into live music and camping.
I recommend you see if you can get some tickets here.
The last gig for 2023 at The Coburg RSL
The last Offtopics gig for 2023 sees us return to The Coburg RSL on Saturday 9 December for an afternoon show. Free entry and two sets of free ranging, danceable choons will be on offer. If the weather’s good we’ll play outside and everyone can enjoy sunshine, food, music and the RSL’s excellently curated list of local beers.
We’re really looking forward to this show as it’s going to let us see out the year in our preferred laid-back and groovy style.
You can find a Facetious Book event here but honestly, I think we all know how diaries work by now. Just put it in your calendar and come along for a drink and a boogie before the end of the year.
Winners are grinners…
Some of you might not be aware that I have a parallel life in community sport – specifically hockey. I’ve been a player most of my life (there’s probably either a rap or a country song in that…) and a coach for the last decade. The 2023 winter season ended with my team winning their Grand Final. Here’s a photo of the team looking very pleased with themselves. I’m quite pleased too… but mostly I’m relieved. Someone once asked the legendary Australian Olympian, cricketer, parliamentarian and coach Ric Charlesworth what coaching was. He replied, “what’s coaching? It’s taking pressure and stress onto yourself to help other people succeed.” I’ve always remembered those words and I try to derive as much pleasure from having a part in other people’s success as winning my own. In the performing arts we usually don’t have much control over our own success. It’s all highly dependent on other people, what else is going on – even the weather plays a role. But we still get a full helping of stress and pressure. Sometimes the pressure is accidental and sometimes we make our own.
This year’s been no different. I got hit with a hockey ball very VERY hard in mid-July which resulted in an undiagnosed sub-chondral fracture of my femur. This meant that I ended up doing my sold out season of Comfort Music at La Mama standing on one leg. (Cue old man rant: kids today don’t know what it is to really push themselves. insert either or any of “soft”, “woke”, “snowflake” in the rant etc etc. Full disclosure here: I tried getting ChatGPT to write a rant about how “kids today don’t know how to work…” and it kept trying to placate me with:
“I understand your concern, but it’s important to approach this topic with a balanced perspective and avoid making sweeping generalizations about an entire generation. While it may seem like some young people today have difficulty with work habits, it’s crucial to remember that not all kids fit the same mold, and there are numerous factors at play.”
Bloody hell! I was looking for a piss-take and I got something more reasonable than anything you’d find in the letters column of any of the tabloids today! AI’s not replacing human creativity any time soon…)
So anyway, I’m proud of my stick to it-ness despite being injured. I wouldn’t have been so proud of myself if I’d pushed myself to the point of necrosis in my femur – but it turned out ok. By the time I got an MRI it had virtually healed completely. The season went great and I got a lot of warm responses. What next though?
The Comfort Music team are forming loose plans to do a tour of New Zealand in April 2024. We’re very much in the planning stages right now.
Comfort Music on Tour!
Between us we have a few contacts in Whangarei, Wellington and Queenstown. The show is basically me and an acoustic guitar telling stories. It doesn’t need a lot of tech so it can go anywhere really.
The show is SO low tech that it can be done in people’s homes. In fact, I’d always thought of it as a parlour show rather than a theatre piece. In the coming weeks we’ll be adding a page to The Offtopics’ website and you’ll be able to see what it takes to host your own performance of Comfort Music. It’s pretty easy really. All you have to do is get twenty or so of your friends together in your lounge room, have enough places for people to sit where everyone can see the show. It goes for about 50 minutes and then afterwards we can have some drinks and nibbles. Who needs to go out when I bring the entertainment to you?
Why we’re voting Yes in October
If we don’t often weigh in on the issues of the day it’s because we’re more focused on people having a good time. Our mission is to help you laugh, dance and clap your hands. BUT – it’s not accurate to say that The Offtopics are apolitical. It’s just that our politics are implicitly progressive rather than made explicit. It’s more by accident than intention that you haven’t seen The Offtopics at a benefit gig lately. (In fact, we were asked to play at a couple of events supporting the Yes campaign but the dates didn’t work for us. Huw and I were performing at our good friends’ wedding for one of them – see below – while I’m going to be on a flight for another.)
It’s also not my style to directly tell you what to do or how to think. Indulging in long, uninvited rants or lecturing people about the historical context of something… well that’s different – but I don’t tell you what to do after that. In this case, let’s just say, we are all voting Yes and here’s why.
Firstly, you might think that you don’t know any Aboriginal people and therefore this isn’t all that relevant to you, but you do know someone. Our drummer, Linc, is a Goreng Goreng man from Brisbane. He’s pro-Voice himself, but that’s not the reason I’m voting Yes. Linc and I have made music together for 20 years and we disagree about things from time to time but we agree about this.
You might think that us Offtopics are all bleeding-heart, inner city lefties who went all goo goo at John Farnham singing “You’re the voice” (what a banger, though) while Cathy Freeman won the gold and that’s why we’re voting Yes. Nope. Appeals to emotion or other normative arguments usually fail with us. We like facts. We like evidence. We don’t buy into scare campaigns based on questionable assertions.
The biggest reason why we’re voting Yes is because we hate corruption, waste and lack of transparency. We all remember when there was an institution that did some of the work the Voice would do. It was called ATSIC but the government of the day found it inconvenient and got rid of the entire body on the flimsiest of pretexts because they didn’t like the chairman. Imagine if ICAC was able to do the same in NSW? It would be like them saying “Gladys Berejiklian is corrupt” and then doing away with the entire NSW government. If you want to know why the Voice has to be enshrined in the constitution – that’s why. It’s to stop the political parties that are closest to the mining sector from doing away with it as soon as they’re in power.
Some people, particularly on the so-called progressive no side, have been saying, “The Voice will be powerless so it’s all pointless anyway” but that simply isn’t the case. While it’s true that the Voice can only advise government, even conservative constitutional scholars agree that there’s an implied obligation to listen to the advice. This doesn’t mean that they have to follow the advice but in practical terms it does mean that governments and bureaucrats have to justify when they choose to ignore what the Voice says. At the very least this leads to greater transparency around decision making. It avoids scenarios like the one in which a functioning alcohol detox centre in remote Queensland is shut down for no good reason while another is built a few kilometers down the road. Why did this happen? Well, as far as I could tell when I was looking into it was that, post election the new State government didn’t like that the centre had been built by their predecessors and there was an opportunity to help out the building contractor (who also happened to be a party donor). This kind of thing happens quite a bit and if you want to know why so much money that’s meant to help Close the Gap gets wasted, stories like this are the reason why.
The No Campaign say, “If you don’t know then vote No” but we say, “If you don’t know then find out.” and here’s a good place to start.
Offtopics Family Shows
Someone extremely ignorant said to me today, “In case you’re unaware, most musicians have different acts going on simultaneously”. They were being passive aggressive obviously. Normally I deal with passive aggression by pretending it doesn’t exist, but in this case, I’ve subscribed that individual to this mailing list, quoted them verbatim and soon I’ll be sending them this newsletter. How’s that for passive aggression?!
Will that individual immediately unsubscribe?
Probably!
Am I being petty?
Absolutely!
But if I wasn’t petty from time to time how would you notice the contrast when I did something altruistic? Speaking of which, here’s me promoting some other people’s shows.
First cab off the rank, Linc and the Deans of Soul are playing that Yes Campaign Benefit we couldn’t do on the 1st of October at Bar 303.
Rich has a Merlo Shindig with Short Order Schefs on 11th of November.
Tim’s band Johnny Longshot are playing in the Jamaican Music and Food Festival on 2nd December (after which he’ll haul his Holy Arsebutts up the Hume to FRL)
Hope to see you at one or all of these gigs!
That’s all the goss for now. There’ll most likely be one more newsletter for this year where we reflect on the highs, lows and medically induced in-betweens for 2023. Hopefully there’ll be some more to say about the 2024 NZ Tour and maybe even some teasers of future recording in the works. I might even have something to share from my collabs with La Auldist, but until then…
“Do you think you’ll see The Offtopics again, Monsieur President?”
“I don’t think. I know.”
Hey there Offtopics Pals,
It’s your P.A.L. here – that’s right, it’s me – Polash A Larsen, your friendly neighbourhood funk dynamo just dropping you a quick line to let you know what’s in the offing for the next couple of months.
Firstly, let me apologize for the radio silence. Looking back I’m stunned to see that the last update was aaaaalllll the way back in late June. I suppose I could put a positive spin on it and say that we Offtopics take our commitment not to span our subscribers seriously, but the honest truth is, as George Harrison said, “it’s been a long, cold lonely winter”. The last mailout was full of optimism about future gigs and my efforts to fundraise for mental health and suicide awareness through doing LOTS of pushups. While we did get to play an absolutely amazing show at POME in late July, pretty soon we were packing up again and well on the way to making Melbourne’s the world’s longest lockdown. Our Macedon gig was postponed for the third time and our August, September and October POME shows were cancelled…
BUT… like the rest of that song goes – HERE COMES THE SUN…
The band is fully vaxed and all our worries have been axed. I’ll be celebrating my birthday on the night of Saturday 27 November and, as it happens, The Offtopics are playing at POME that night.
If, like me, you’re ready and eager to participate in the vaccinated economy, then I’d love to see at the gig. Honestly, the only birthday present I’ve been dreaming of for the last few months has been playing at that gig. Tickets can be booked here:
If you’re not quite ready for an outing, and hey, a lot of people I know are still feeling squirrelly at the thought of being out and about, then you can watch a bit of the show online via POME’s social media pages. The good folk at POME have locked us in for Friday 17 December as well where we’ll have a couple of special guests to help celebrate Festivus.
So what else has been going on? It hasn’t all been doom and gloom. In fact I was recently pretty chuffed to see that artist and illustrator Aidan Jarvis stuck us into his inspo list to drive his drawing through Oz Music Month. We’re amongst some legendary names there, and I’m pretty curious to see how my lines affect his lines.
I’ll be heading out for a little road trip on Saturday 20 November as my friends down at In The Skiesin Lorne have invited me down to do a solo acoustic show. There’s a clip on Facebook of the show I did there almost exactly a year ago.
At some point in the next couple of weeks I might be getting called upon to fill in for Brett Dellavedova on rhythm guitar for a Short Order Schefs outdoor Jamaican music extravaganza. Keep an eye on the socials for when that happens – because when it does, it’ll be at short notice. Speaking of the Schefs, this won’t be my first collab with them. As some of you might remember I did this tribute to Toots Hibbert with them last year.
Since then we’ve been slowly working on a series of recordings around the working title “Dancing with Polash and The Schefs”. I’ll look forward to sharing that when I can.
That’s probably enough news for now. I think you’ll agree that three live shows (and possibly a cameo with someone else), all within a few weeks of vaccination targets being reached is cause for cautious optimism. I really hope I can catch up with you at one the shows listed below.
Soul, Funk and Ska at the Macedon Lounge – Saturday 24 July
Well, here we are on the other side of a snap lockdown in Victoria and live music is more important in the community than ever. With that in mind we’re taking a double-headliner show with our friends The Deans of Soul to the Macedon Lounge on Saturday 24 July for the good folk up there.
This will be an all ages, free-entry gig so if you’re in the area, bring the kids and pile on the winter calories while we put the “go-go-go!” in “dinner and show”.
You can find a Facebook event here if that sort of thing is useful for you: https://fb.me/e/1degMoKOL
Back in Richmond the following week…
Our monthly residency kicks off at P.O.M.E on Saturday 31 July. There really is no place like P.O.M.E…
Based on our first two performances there we’ll be experimenting with our show which means new songs, new schtick and… NEW STEPS! (apologies for the Strictly Ballroom Reference… though Tim will do the pasodoble to make up for it). There are even plans to make use of P.O.M.E’s unique projection set-up to make things interesting.
It’s tough being a band that plays dance music when a global pandemic forces the government to go all Footloose just to keep us alive. But we’re committed to taking creative risks while keeping the biological risks under control to keep the show fresh and fun.
POME’s great, the staff are amazing and the cocktails will blow your minds! What’s even better is that our first residency show coincides with POME’s Oysterlux experience so come down to one or all of these shows there. The combination of Oysters, Cocktails and The Offtopics are proven to be great for your mental health!
Today marks the final day of the Push-Up Challenge to raise awareness and funds for mental health causes. Polash has been a passionate pusher-upperer for three years now. By the end of today he will have completed 3318 push-ups across 25 days to raise money for Lifeline.
We’ve got big gig news for you with a slate of gigs starting in July. Yes, we know we’re not even into June yet but if you’re anything like us then HEAPS of notice is needed before even your pinkie toe ventures out the front door. That stakeholder management takes time!
So with that in mind, here’s a slew of gig dates for you to put in your diaries. Hopefully we’ll see you at a couple at least…
The Macedon gig is something Linc and Polash have been working on almost since the day Linc moved his family up the mountain. Both of them have a lot of community in the Macedon area – particularly amongst the cats and dogs.
Linc took up the reigns this year as the juniors coach of the Macedon Cats Football Club while Polash has a dog-sharing arrangement with a local family.
Both The Offtopics and Linc’s band The Deans of Soul will play for the good folk of the Macedon Ranges on the 24th of July.
Mash the “wonder dog” stars in this video clip Polash made during the second lockdown in Melbourne.
Following on from that is the start of our monthly residency at P.O.M.E. What can we say about this venue? They’ve been so good to us, offering us our first post-Covid live show back in March and then another one in May. Things have gone pretty well since then to the extent that they’ve locked us in for five more shows throughout the year.
The lucky folk who came to those both of those early shows would have picked up on the evolution between the two gigs including this impromptu duet between Linc and Polash.
Photo by Lorinda
We’ll continue to keep things fresh and different so you can expect new songs, special guests, obscure covers, danceable tunes and of course the deliciously awkward pre-show interview conducted by Bernie the proprietor. For some, watching Polash squirm before the show is the highlight of the night!
Photo by Lorinda
Bookings for our shows at this amazing venue in Richmond are live now on their website.
That’s all the news for now! Don’t be afraid to drop us a line if you want to get in touch or you’d like The Offtopics to play at your event. We’d love to hear from you!
Here’s the big news first. Our gig at P.O.M.E in Richmond was such a success that they actually asked us back. So here’s an official invitation to attend our return show on Saturday 8 May or as we refer to it – the alternative Australia Day.
We’ll kick off around 7:30 with two sets of music. Last time we nervously plucked our way through 17 original songs but we’ve got the bit between our teeth now and we’re aiming to go over and above with even more slapstick soul, unsteady rocksteady and punchdrunk funk than before.
Part of the deal at the Palace of Magnificent Experiences is that they film and livestream the gig. You can see a little bit of it at this link: https://fb.watch/4LmRcXUCf7/
Don’t worry shy people – the cameras stay focused on the stage for these things.
Put it in your diaries, folks.
Photo courtesy of Ian Row
There’s so much going on but we’re going to try to squeeze it all into this newsletter regardless.
Friday 23 April sees the return to the lands beyond the Quinoa Curtain that special event known as the Merlo Shindig. Polash’s good mates The Short Order Schefs are putting on a show dedicated to their love of Jamaican Music. Offtopics bass man Tim Webb will be there with his own band Johnny Longshot boldy holding down the support slot while playing their special blend of Rocksteady and early Jamaican Pop.
Word on the street is that your very own Funk Dynamo will be taking care of MC duties on the night to ensure that it’s a Funky Reggae Party. Here he is in action with The Schefs back during the Melbourne Lockdown with a tribute to the late, great Toots Hibbert.
Behind The Music with Ellie D
A few weeks ago Polash sat down for an extended chat with Toowoomba Music Entrepreneur Ellie D, who also happens to be the driving force behind the brand new digital radio station OzNow.
The pair of them recorded a leisurely chat about all things music business and creativity and that episode is now available wherever you find your favourite podcasts. Check it out!
Well that’s a wrap on the news for now. Don’t forget to put the P.O.M.E gig in your diaries and we’ll see you there!
The Offtopics 