Music Lab was a quiet affair with just me, tim Marnie and James and a new barmaid. We did some carols, and some covers and generally filled out the night in front of a meagre audience. Anyway - here's to 2010. Hoooray!

A quiet night. Just me, Marnie, James and Tim holding the fort all night. Dee was on duty. So I led most of the songs all night, but we were treated to a couple from Tim on guitar and vocals, plus James provided a welcome break for me. In the end it felt hard all night to keep up the energy, but I was very happy with some improvements in my vocals through focussing on them more and being more expressive. Then also it was nice do do some harmony with James later in the evening and we all basically enjoyed having the place to ourselves all night. Early on there were a few patrons and there were a couple of new faces throughout the night. But later on there were not many hanging in the main room. Tim forgot the snare, so early in the night was mainly James on drums. Marnie turned up unexpectedly after not finding her mum for their movie appointment. So around 9pm Tim and Marnie went and got snare and a couple more guitars. Finished up about 11:30pm.

Had another really great night tonight after not expecting much at the outset. Turned out everyone had a really good time. At the end of the night we got some really cool sounds happening and Marnie and I carried most of the vocals. Tim, Marnie, Martin, James, Jamie, Chris, Brenden. Dee was on duty for the second time. Started the night with just Marnie and I holding the fort and playing to the usual local thurs arvo crowd. Then Martin turned up and joined in. Among others, we also did new song he'd written with Brenden recently. Then Tim came back from somewhere. James turned up and joined on the drums and mixer. Chris turned up and played some acoustic solo. Then the jammers joined in a bit. Jamie turned up with his hot Gibson electric guitar. I played a bit of piano later on in the jam.

Present were Ben, Tim, Marnie, Brenden and James. Also Ben's friend (Adrian) and a girl came to visit and Adrien also sang some songs with us. Tim turned up later on.

I went to B52s with Dan. Tim looked after the jam night. No Martin, Marnie, Ben or Brenden. Apparently Mischa turned up, plus Ken Cooper, plus young local singer songwriter guitarist Chris (formerly with dreads). No photos or recordings tonight.

Music Lab Rocks

• Walrus jam
• Ben jam
• Ruby Tuesday
• Pretty woman
• Perfect day
• Nobody told me
• Photon
• Jam
• Girl u want
• Just what I needed
• You make lovin fun
• Watching the detectives
• Total control
• Nips are getting better
• Sweet Jane
• Panic
• Pip song
• Ben
• Ben
• Ben
• Watchtower
• Cue 1
• Blues
• Keep on knockin at your door
• Rockin and a reelin
• Complicated
• Running down the mountain

Wow! That sure was fun! Our best night ever by many reports. Tonight we were honoured with not one but two very fine bands performing 30 - 40 minute sets. First we had heavenly hardcore headbanging from Vendetta of the Fallen, and then we had some well delivered classic 70's 80's covers and others from Shotgun Romeo. After that the end of the night was carried out by Marnie, Martin, Tim, Brenden and Me doing various covers. Plus James happily performed some tunes earlier in the night. More photos etc coming soon!

Flaming Galahs started off the night (Martin and Hal) with three old songs.
Then we were treated to duo Jesse and Drew performing a couple of great originals and a cool cover.
Then Tim got up for a set.

Unfortunately they all had to go before the heavy jamming started when it got down to Marnie (FX guitar), Martin (guitar), Brenden (bass), Hal (Piano) and Drum Machine (on drums).
And we pulled out some stunning moments if I dare say so myself. This ones going in the pool room!

• Ben Wilson straight off the plane from up north.
• Anthony who brought his drums to the party when Tim could not.
• New performer Tim Walker - Singer songwriter guitarist.
• New performer Terry who came with Anthony.
• New performer Chris who normally performs originals solo on acoustic.
• Tim and Marnie later in the evening.

In the end there was much music making and fun to be had, as well as cross collaboration and new friends.

Just Tim, Dan and Martin present tonight. So we ended up having the place all to ourselves, and so we proceeded to make beautiful uninterrupted music all night long!

Turned out to be another awesome night of music thanks to the patronage of some new friends!

Had a really great time tonight. Dan could not come as he is unwell today. So I was expecting just Martin and I to be there as Tim has been tied up for the last 2 weeks. But when I arrived I found that Ben was there and Tim turned up shortly afterwards. Then soon after that Mick, Tim (Mick's Son), Greg and Luke turned up too, plus later on Marnie also. Sharon was also expected but did not turn up.

Naturally with all those jammers there, there was plenty of action all night. Put extra effort into getting the sound good tonight and managed to do pretty well I think even though the backing boards were not there.

Oh what a difference a Dan makes!

On duty tonight were Dan, Martin and myself. A night of blissfull music ensued.

Missing Bek, Jiri and Rich very much tonight. Soldiered on regardless however.

None the less, Martin (and I) put in a sterling performance and pulled out a couple of rollicking good jobs by the end of the day!

Present this evening were: Ben, Tim, Sharon, Ryan, Matt, Brett, Rebecca, Richard, Andy, Maryanne, Martin, Marnie and Hal.

Started with me and Matt on drums. Then Martin arrived and joined in so we crooned to a couple of early audience members for a while. After that the Tripsters performed a few songs before Sharon had to go. Then Bek and friends got up to get the jamming started in earnest and kept it up for the rest of the evening.

Very sad to report that Bek is moving to Redfern soon so our new friend may not be able to join us so regularly on Wednesdays anymore.

One feature of this evening was the fact that we had no backing boards to absorb the sound, as Vince is currently measuring up the stage for new curtains and a lighting rig coming soon! So the sound was a little bouncy due to reflections and we had had to keep it all down a bit, but managed to get some great sounds happening none the less.

Another feature was the fact that we had our best crowd ever and managed to pack the place out for a moment or two.

The evening started off with The Flaming Galahs and friends belting out a few of their favourites. Thankfully we were joined by the ever amazing Dan on keys tonight, plus Jiri and Ben joined in with some impro vocals, while Rich jumped on the bass for a bit.

Then it was over to Rebecca, Jiri and friends for another one of their amazing impro sessions with the awesome Richard impressing as always on the guitar. I note that Rich seems to bring a different guitar every night and was true to form again in that respect.

Then it was time for the big debut of the evening - The Dukes. And certainly they did impress! There were a few issues with sound levels at first but they were soon into full swing and by the end of their 20 minutes, they left us all wanting more. The Dukes consited of two acoustics, bass and a lead vocalist, with Anthony as fill in drummer for the night.

By then it was time for an assortment of configurations as the jamming continued for the rest of the evening, until finally at the end we were treated to Marnie's new band project put together tonight for her performance tomorrow at The Harp. She was joined on stage by Tim and Ben Wilson, plus some keys from Dan and some bass from Sasha. As always, whatever she does, Marnie presented another riveting performance and it was great to see her let loose with some of the punky style that she is a natural at. Sadly the recording did not work for that part of the night so you will have to wait in suspense for another chance to catch this amazing event.

Another great night of ear friendly music at the Town & Country.

The acts appearing included The Flaming Galahs (Hal and Martin), MJ Numan, and The Tripsters (Sharon, Ben, Tim and Jamie).

Then after that we had a number of configurations involving Rebecca, Jiri and Richard, and their drummer who they brought along for the first time.

And also we were honoured by Sasha bringing his son to visit us to see whats going on.

A very special thanks to Moses for coming to watch Marnie do her thing, and also for being a great fan of the Tour de France (go Cadel)!

More info and recordings (maybe) coming soon ...

Unfortunately the show had to go on without Martin and Dan due to technical problems tonight, but none the less there was plenty of exciting talent on display, and a great deal of musical fun was had by all in the end.

Tim, Jamie and I performed a couple of laid back songs at the start of the night to fill the early part of the evening out.

Then Rebecca and Jiri on vocals teamed up with Richard on guitar, and performed very impressively after apparently having had a long layoff, and also teaming up with guitarist Richard for the first time.

Then we were blessed with lovely vocalist Sharon backed up by Ben, Tim and Jamie (as the Tripsters), who are getting a great new line up of songs together for their up and coming shows.

At that point the jamming started to free up a bit and as everyone joined in (including Sasha on guitar), and the rest of the night was spent with a variety of interesting musical configurations, topped off eventually with perhaps the finest moment, an all out twin blues jam with the equally exceptional Richard and Ben on guitars.

Tonight was the first Music Lab for the new financial year.

Once again we were blessed with the prescence of Dan (mostly on piano), as well as the band Trip - Ben (guitar), Tim (drums) and Jamie (bass).

Apart from that we also had special guest appearances by a couple of local musos - Anthony (drums) and later Sasha (guitar), and not to mention a cameo appearance by Vince on vocals.

All in all tonight consisted of mostly experimental jamming with instant bands in which musicians freely joined and left multiple times in the one evening.

And the result? A bunch of very happy musos with smiling faces after getting the chance to do what they love the most - being musical!

This was the third Music Lab at The Town & Country Hotel, and tonight we had two Ben's, and one good time!

However the early evening drama involved us possibly being sidelined by tonight's state of origin broadcast, but then finally being allowed to go on with the full show, when our gracious hosts Brandon and Vince ended up bowing to the overwhelming pressure from the clamoring hordes. And on top of that we all received a free beer or two as is the custom at the Town & Country between kick-off and first points on origin nights.

But the big highlight of the night was the Music Lab debut of the very entertaining Ben Briedis who charmed us all with his unique brand of original songs that always tell a fascinating and often humorous story. I hear that Ben has a new CD out called "Messy Bedroom".

But also equally a highlight of the night was the other debut of the evening which was the appearance of our favourite rockin' blues band, Trip. Yes tonight we were treated to the full lineup including Ben, Tim and Jamie, and later on including sometime member Marnie.
(Even though the blues lost out to the maroons in tonight's state of origin match, the blues won over the audience at the T&C)

Other highlights included playing on the new improved stage carpet, lovingly installed and vacuumed by Vince at the start of the night. And last but not least, the late night jam also included an impressive go on the drums by our favourite local drummer, Shannon. It's hard to believe that he has been off the music for the last few years after hearing him successfully rip straight into it with such great finesse tonight.

Songs apparently performed tonight include:

Highlight of the night was the Music Lab debut of Dan McCredie on piano and vocals performing a solo set of classic covers and finely crafted originals.
Special thanks to the Cabarita table (Len, Judy and Terry) for providing excellent support and encouragment.
The night started with the Flaming Galahs performing their originals set.
After that we were once again treated to the entrancing emotions of another MJ Numan set, supported in part by Tim and Dan.
Then Dan took the stage to croon and swoon us all with his heart felt beautiful tunes that took us all back to the glory days of The Quantum Lounge and beyond.
For the rest of the night there was an assortment of tunes and jams including an appearance by the talented and impressive Ryan on guitar.
Feedback from the audience was great and the hotel staff graciously let us go through to midnight for the first time.
All in all. The grand result of tonights experiments were a bunch of beaming faces high on life, music and the fine food and refreshments provided by the Town & Country Hotel.

Songs apparently performed tonight include:

Tonight was the first Town and Country jam night hosted by Tim and myself. Contributing artists included Ben and Tim Wilson, Ken and Carl, Martin and Hal, and MJ Numan. The night kicked off with Ben performing a nice mix of classic originals and well known covers, followed by a beautiful solo set from the ever amazing MJ Numan. After that the Flaming Galahs performed some originals with the house band as backup. Then Ken led us all home with some catchy reggae and rock, until Ben finished off the night with some classic blues jammin' as only he can do.

Many thanks to Vince for artfully manning the mixer and generally providing excellent hospital facilities (oops that should read "hospitality and facilities").

Details:
Wednesday Nights from 7pm
Town and Country Hotel
2 Unwins Bridge Rd, St Peters
Sydney, Australia
Bookings: 0425 252 995

Songs apparently performed tonight include