This certainly is Ollie! The lot of the session musician - as told to Harmonica Riff Raff by Steve Williams……. In 1993 I got a call from Doug at Toybox, a little studio in Northcote, for a harmonica session. He said it was a weird one. The artist, a Dutch chimney sweep called Bill Cook … Continue reading Harley & Harp
Charles Porter blowing his Crackajack upside down (Photograph- Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales and Courtesy ACP Magazines Ltd). The origins of this dissertation came about due to the discovery of this newspaper report from 1933 (see below) that expounded Charles Porter’s upside down technique in drinking beer and playing the harmonica. It … Continue reading Over Under Sideways Down Hey!
NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT Two - In - One A ten-hole harmonica is used, and the four centre holes are drilled right through the back. These holes are then closed by means of an improvised valve of the accordion type, which can be made from a small spring paper clip. A suitable kazoo is … Continue reading The Great (Harmonica) Kazoo
Harold beltin’ out a tune. I’m not keen on penning articles on animals held in captivity. Their exploitation and treatment in the name of our entertainment has never sat well with this author. There are quite a few tales of elephants in Australian captivity that blew the gob iron that I have refused to entertain. … Continue reading ‘Arold Goes AWOL!
With the Australian Rules football season commencing, I thought it appropriate to fly this article from the grand old (flag) days of the great game. Who would have thought footballers and umpires singing from the same hymn page. I don’t reckon the Mordi Bloods or Frank Vergona ever did. From 1935 to 1940 a Melbourne … Continue reading Football Notes
(Adelaide News, 30th July 1936) From the outset this is not a drug related account about a cocaine (crack) runner. This article (for track devotees) had been written some time ago to coincide with the Tokyo Olympics and now with the opening ceremony days away, it can finally see the light of day. Running and … Continue reading Harmonica Wind
Top left and right: Cockatoo Railway Station & The Tourist Track. Bottom left and right: Cockatoo Creek and Bell’s Mill. Middle insert: Fern Gully. (1921) “From down along the creek came the sound of mouth organs and mandolins.” COCKATOO. (The Age, Melbourne 31 January, 1925) 'Is all the luggage strapped in?' 'Where in the world … Continue reading Sounds of Cockatoo – Mouth Organ & Mandolin
Act I. Back in 1973 at the Shep's household in the not so beachside side of Parkdale (east of Nepean Highway) we had an elderly guest at the table for Christmas lunch, someone we had never met and all the way from the United States of America. This would be the first time the condiment … Continue reading Known Unknowns
"The efforts of the police to discover some clue which may lead to the identification of the two bodies found on Friday in the shaft of Rushworth gold mine, formerly known as the Morning Star, have been continued throughout yesterday and today. The most promising piece of evidence so far has been a Crackajack mouth … Continue reading Crackajack Cold Case
Pinch & Punch Riff Raffers, An interesting insight into how the mouth organ was perceived in the colonies during the late nineteenth century. (Sydney Evening News, Thursday 9th August, 1894) Here's the full transcript with a 'pic' thrown in. THE LYRICAL LARRIKIN MADE MORAL BY MUSIC THE MELODIOUS “MOUTH ORGAN” After having decided either to … Continue reading NFSCD #4-Biting A Chew Off A Plug…
Harmonica Riff Raff 