Ladies of Easy Leisure & Gentlemen of Fortune all!
All Hallow's Eve was our first officially-billed Rumjacks show, so we're calling it our anniversary.
We'd like to thank all the mates, bands, promoters and characters who have helped us blast some wind into the sails since then.
Our first 'road test' shows were all in the Piano Bar of the Carrington Hotel, Katoomba, far up in the mists of the upper Blue Mountains outside of Sydney. The original line-up included our dear mates Curly O'Hooligan from Canberra (who would travel miles to help carve out the rough mold of what became The Rumjacks) and the Larrikin Gentleman known Steve Pell, the first man to ever call us a "band", on a drizzling evening in a cold beer garden after our first rehearsal. When I think of those first days, I remember lots of rain and mist, lots of beer (for some), quite a bit of musketeering and bravado and also some solid spontaneous songwriting.
Since then, Curly has departed but can be found wherever there are horses and tinkers down in the tundra region of the Australian Capital Territory. Steve moved down to Melbourne and has been playing in rockabilly bands non-stop ever since.
We've also had our second drummer Matt do a stint about the Goodship Rumjack, and we would very much like to fire a special salute to the ice-cool Black Adam who is now to be found rambling wild and free in Canada, a better bloke you will not ever find. A nod also to Russell 'Haybale' Martin for his time aboard the ship.
Anthony Matters and Gabriel Whitbourne have both come aboard with swagger and gusto and we have tightened the nuts and bolts. With loads of shows and tours slated, we look forward to continuing to play wherever people want to get themselves a blast of Rumjackery.
Special thanks here to Driza & The Handsome Young Strangers, Take It Or Leave It, Barfly Promotions, Pauly, The Snowdroppers, Baz & Evan, Pat from Pug Music and, of course, Punkfest's Cath, Chris & Liam.
On behalf of Johnny, Frankie, Gabe & Anthony,
Will Swan
The Rumjacks
New South Wales, October, '09