BAND IT ABOUT - Podcast Series

Joel Prime joins me from London to discuss his musical journey which began after he received his first set of drums for Christmas when he was three years old. He initially taught himself the basics, then began lessons with John Zac when he was 6, and by age 11, Joel was playing regular gigs. Joel's drumming prowess was immediately evident, and by being taught by many of Adelaide's elite drum educa...

John Mason's musical journey began when he started playing drums at age 23, after buying his first drum kit from John Reynolds, he taught himself to play. John joined his first Adelaide band 'Jam Company' with his brother and brother in law in 1984, then in 1986 he joined 'Tall Hairy Cats' (THC), he filled in with the Barflys whenever they needed him, and was lucky enough to be part of a live VHS...

Sam Gutwein started playing drums at the impressionable age of 10 when he could finally reach the pedals properly on his father’s kit. Initially starting out on piano, his passion for playing the drums has been a constant throughout his life and it is undoubtedly the power of the instrument and the ability to command crowd and band mate attention that keeps the passion burning. Having played in pr...

TAHLIA BORG from the Adelaide, South Australian band 'Teenage Joans' joins me this week in The Engine Room to discuss her musical journey which began when she was 8 years old. Tahlia played in various school bands prior to 'Teenage Joans' which is her first working band. 'Teenage Joans' formed in 2018, and are an indie rock, pop, punk rock, rock duo, self-describing their sound as "juice-box punk-...

Edward Pollard (Eddie) joins me in 'The Engine Room' to discuss his musical journey which begun when he was in primary school. Ed fell in love with the drums after watching a school friend play. He jammed with various friends over the years and joined his first band 'Oblong' in the early 90s. Ed met Paul Macleod (who I interviewed in season 1) while they were both working in the APY lands, they pu...

Michael Giuffreda joins me in The Engine Room this week to discuss his musical journey. His first band was 'The Gods of Traffic Lights', and his first professional/touring band was 'Patriarchal Death Machine'. Michael is a professional musician, drummer & educator from Adelaide, South Australia, who enjoys playing Progressive Metal, Hard Rock, and Hard-Punk music. I met Mick late 2017 not long...

John Swan OAM, better known as Swanee , was born John Archibald Dixon Swan in Glasgow, Scotland in 1952, and migrated to Australia with his family in 1961. John is an Australian rock singer who started his musical career as a Drummer when he was 11 when he joined the Elizabeth Caledonian Pipe Band. When his mother remarried in the mid-1960s, he was the only child to keep the surname of his biologi...

On Monday the 11th of October, Adelaide guitarist Bob Balsamo and BAND IT ABOUT host Di Spillane were interviewed by Zofia Dendunnen on her weekly PBAFM community radio program 'Manic Monday', to discuss the 'Greg's Wish' Event which is being held at 'The Gov' on Sunday the 17th of October. Many thanks to Zofia for giving us this opportunity to share our event with her audience, and for allowing m...

Kyle Sambell has been obsessed with drumming since the age of 2 when he began tapping out beats on pillows, furniture, pots and pans, and any other surface he could find. His parent's wisely purchased their son his first drum set when he was 3 and Kyle began to teach himself how to play by watching his favorite bands and listening to their CDs. He had some lessons when he was 5 to teach him rudime...

It may have taken me 6 months to finally be able to get Gary Burrows (and Pongo lol) to sit down long enough to record this interview, but it was definitely worth the wait! Gary is a legend here in South Australia, and a well respected musician Australia wide. Born and raised in Adelaide, Gary first began to play drums in the 60s. His first working band 'The Evergreens' released a single that he w...

Jerry Tee was surrounded by music from birth, his father Dimitris Tsitas, was the singer in the band ‘Akropolis Live’. The band performed extensively in Adelaide at weddings, panigiria, and festivals, and Jerry loved going to watch them play, always focusing on their drummer . As a young boy, Jerry Tee would practice every day, for hours, straight after school, listening to old cassette recordings...

Alex Flood joins me in The Engine Room to discuss his musical journey which began when he was in primary school, when he began to have lessons with Jim McCarthy. His next teacher was Joel Prime, who broadened his musical influences, and introduced him to actively listening to music, and adding percussive instruments to his playing. Alex has been the recipient of many prestigious awards including ‘...

CRAIG LAURITSEN is this weeks 'Engine Room' Guest. A few of Craig's performance highlights include: Brian Ferry support at the Adelaide Festival Theatre in 1988. Supporting artist for Kate Ceberano and Wilbur Wilde at the Club Foote in 1989, 3 months, 70 plus performances in New Delhi, India in 1994, 10 months, 80 plus performances with various Blues and Jazz bands in USA in 1994 -1995, the inaugu...

S2 E44 Matt Jonsson aka Trolla Bolla Snatcha Razoo, CLOWNS OF DECADENCEjoins host Di Spillane to discuss his musical journey and artistic heritage on the BAND IT ABOUT Podcast Series. Born in Sweden, Matt emigrated to Australia with his family in 1972. Matt spent 10 years as the drummer in the popular Punk/Rock Adelaide Band the CLOWNS OF DECADENCE , and was for the most part responsible for all t...

Drummer/Percussionist/Music Educator James (Jim) Bailey joins me in The Engine Room to discuss his fabulous musical journey both in Australia and overseas. Jim first became interested in music while living in England, he wanted to play the clarinet, but the school didn't have any available, so he was given a piccolo to take home to try. He didn't have much luck with this instrument, so he returned...

JOHN APPLEBY joins me in The Engine Room this week to discuss his musical journey. John is a self taught drummer who has mainly played with original bands here in Adelaide during his 54 year playing career. John joined his first band WOLFBAIN in 1968, in 1972 he joined BRONZE ELK who later became NEON WATERMELON which was the first Australian band to wear makeup. NEON WATERMELON supported SKYHOOKS...

ROBERT (ROB) BOUNDY studied at the Adelaide College of Music in 1968 under the direction of John Arthur, with section leaders Steve and Larry Todd, in marching band and beginning drum set lessons. In 1970 he joined the Adelaide Highland Pipe Band under the tutelage of Lindsay Chuck and Daryl James until 1974. In 1979 he began rehearsing with past music students from Mawson High School, recording a...

RICK KENT joins me in The Engine Room to discuss his musical journey which began in Adelaide during the 60s Rock 'N' Roll days with The Firebirds who became The Vibrants. The Vibrants moved to Melbourne in 1966, and had several charting hits, "Something About You, Baby", "My Prayer", "Don't Let Your Left Hand Know", and "How Sweet It Is". After leaving the band Rick went on to run his own music sc...

James Judd has played in many Adelaide bands including: Broken Brick, Ralph Richard Quintet, Gini & The Groove, The Toe Jammers, Sons Of MOD, and The Fleurieu Bluesbreakers. James took a break from music and spent 15 years of that time as a Fully Sponsored Motorcycle Rider, winning around 100 races. He competed mainly in Endurance Races and was a Factory Rider for Honda Australia, competing in Unl...

The Engine Room Guest: Laurie Kennedy, has been mentioned in many of my previous interviews due to him having been an in-demand drum teacher and player in South Australia for 40 years. His playing career began in NSW when families gathered together and listened to music shows, drama serials, light entertainment and quiz programs on the radio, Rock 'n' roll was  popular in dance halls, and Jaz...

Steve Todd became a professional musician when he was 19, and has worked in the industry ever since. Born in to a family of entertainers Steve's profession was predestined, his father John Todd was a drummer, his mother a founding member of the 'Ethelton Entertainers' theatre group, and his grandfather a vaudevillian, it was a given that both he and his brother Larry would work in the industry. St...

THE 'MURRAY DELTA JUKE JOINT', (formerly 'The Wreckers'), has undergone an amazing transformation since David Lloyd and Greg Button decided to take on the Live Music Venue in 2020. When I interviewed David for The Engine Room (S2E8), he talked a bit about the venue and I wanted to see what it was like, as my band had played at there in 2019. I decided to check it out on the same weekend that "The...

Moni Lashes (Monica Majcen) , mother of 2 and matriarch of the Adelaide, South Australian Rock n Roll band " The Babes " joins me in The Engine Room this week to discuss her musical journey. The Babes who formed in 2011, are: Moni Lashes on drums, her sister Donna D on lead guitar, their brother Corey Stone on bass, and a brother-from-another-mother, JD on lead vocals. Moni has a unique addition t...

Jazz drummer BEN RILEY joins me in The Engine Room this week to discuss his drumming journey. When in High School Ben was taught by Ray Haughn, who introduced him to the Ted Reed book 'Syncopation For The Modern Drummer', he began having private lessons when he was in year 10 with Laurie Kennedy, and had his first paid gig while in school filling in for Ray Haughn in the band 'Polished Brass'. Ben...

For the past 25 years Mick Rajan has been the drummer for a number of well-known bands in South Australia including ' Just Strait', 'David Blight and The Flyers', 'Rob Riley Band', 'The Jukebox Kings', 'Back In Black - A tribute to AC/DC , and has recently switched from being behind the sound desk to sitting behind the kit for ' ELEVEN .'  David Blight and The Flyers have recently reformed an...