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Mic Conway’s National Junk Band
‘Corporate Chook’
Mic Conway’s National Junk Band loon onto the stage with their garbage bins, musical saws, sousaphone, ukulele, gum leaf, magic, juggling, fire, tap-dancing, jugs, hubcaps, washboards and, of course, the kitchen sink and make venues jump.
Known by many for Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band, Circus Oz and on various film and TV appearances, Mic Conway has collected together some of Australia’s finest oddball virtuosos, including Cazzbo Johns of Australian Ballet and Opera Orchestra (sousaphone, jug, swanee whistle and bass), Phil “Philthy Dunny Seat” Donnison (National guitars and ukuleles), Jeremey “Junkyard” Cook (garbage percussion) and Marcus Holden also of Fiddlers Feast (strohviol, mandolin, violin, tenor guitar). Witness fire, illusion, passion, irreverent satire, singing saws, flying chooks and musical mayhem.
Since 1997, the National Junk Band has had toes tapping and jaws dropping at festivals, pubs, radio and TV. They have four death-defying albums to their credit, the lastest being “Corporate Chook” (2008) and their DVD of live concert footage and interviews: “Everything You Never Wanted To Know”.
Described as “Bing Crosby meets the Sex Pistols:, this neo-vaudeville band recently had the famous US blues artist Eric Bibb raving about their talent at Woodford Festival. “Mic ‘fantasmagorival’ Conway … those guys are Beyond!!”
More Information: Artist Website | Artist MySpace
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 Mic Conway’s National Junk Band
'Corporate Chook'
Catalogue Number RRR45
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“Corporate Chook” is the latest dish served up by the legendary Mic Conway’s National Junk Band. This album has been baking for over four years, and features seventeen delicious tracks dripping with virtuosity, humour, social and political comment.
Like the band, this album defies categorisation. Sousaphone, stroviol, musical saws, hooters, garbage bins, wash boards and all kinds of strange noises have been folded together to create some stunning originals and “junked-up” popular songs. This is a tasty offering with a difference.
Some of Australia’s finest musicians have combined to make this Mic’s finest album ever, including his work in Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band and Circus Oz.
From a gospel spoof on consumerism, a corporate calypso, John Lennon’s “Crippled Inside” and Leon Russell’s “Tightrope”, to a piss-take of the rubbish of rap music and lots more. Certain to bring a smile to the dial, this long-awaited concoction is cordon bleu for those who are tired of the same old meat and three vege.
Give your ears a sumptuous treat. “Corporate Chook” is to be launched throughout July and August 2008.
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Track Listing: CD1
- Consume
- (A High Standard of) Mediocrity
- Who Gave You A License To Drive Me Crazy?
- Wiki Waki Woo
- Allergic To My Baby
- Crippled Inside
- Just Like That
- Worn Saw Concerto
- Thief Of Old Bad Gags
- Nothing Works At All
- Tighrope
- Goodbye My Friend
- Corporate World
- Political Science
- Hotcha Ooh La La
- Rubbish Wrap
- Race Call of Life To Death
Consume
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Press
What the Media have to Say...
Mic Conway’s National Junk Band
"Seeing the band for the first time today, I can imagine people being transfixed with a permanent smile on their faces. Every performance presents such an array of action on stage, there's no opportunity to get bored or divert your attention from the stage."
(Trad & Now, June 2008)
"If you are old enough to remember when music could be fun, then this CD will remind you who the UK's Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band and George Melley were. If you're not, then welcome to some light relief from the digitanal insertion rationale of contemporary pop and rock. It's called 'entertainment' - possibly a new experience for the under 40s.
Liberally laced with Aussie humour, even John Lennon would smile at the band's rendition of his thought-provoking 'Crippled Inside'. Irreverence and vaudeville aside, there are smatterings of social comment with the excellent Kane and Welch offering 'Just Like That', and Randy Newman's wry U.S.government dig 'Political Science'.
To blend such threads into one album that gels, it takes a bucketful of skills from sharp observation of humanity, through lyrical precision that bites, to what might seem throwaway musicianship. That last ingredient is deceptive. Musical virtuosity abounds here, ably moulded into production by Marcus Holden and the Bloody Dog studio crew as we've come to expect.
Corporate horseshit is rightly put to the sword in '(A High Standard Of) Mediocrity' and 'Corporate World', and the final track 'Race Call Of Life To Death' is blisteringly funny. The definitive track has to be 'Rubbish Wrap', taking the piss out of what is the only justification for genocide - Rap - and all who write and 'perform' it, record it, sell it, airplay it, and waste hours excusing it away as urban poetry.
Jeffrey (Lord) Archer was once asked by a smug literati interviewer why he thought his novels sold so well. "Because they're a bloody good read." the unflustered author replied.
Borrowing from Lord Jeff, "It's a bloody good listen." is how I’d describe this work.
Go buy it and cheer yourself up."
(Geoff Green, Springboard Media)
“This show is an hilarious revelation – you never know what you’re going to get from one song to the next”
(Sarah Thomas, Adelaide Advertiser)
“… highly infectious music, hilarious jokes, dazzling magic tricks, fire-eating and much clowning around.”
(Robert Dunstan, Rip It Up Magazine)
“Aural extravaganza… You enter into the spirit, which is pure fun. Everything is delivered with tongue lovingly pressed into cheek.. in a lovingly self-deprecating style on the unlikeliest array of instruments.”
(Michael Smith, Drum Media)
“The hit of the festival… their CD was so good someone stole it from the ABC library.”
(Robyn Johnson, The Planet, ABC Radio National)
“Defies categorization.”
(Sydney Morning Herald)
“Fully rounded entertainment making people giggle, dance and go ‘Wow!’… Surprises abound … A bewdy!”
(John Shand, Sydney Morning Herald)
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