The Band
When you see Jane Germain & The Lazy Boys, Ian Simpson and Adam Gare live, or listen to the music they have recorded together, you can't help but feel their affinity for the musical roots they love and share – bluegrass, the blues and the fabulous repertoire of vocal duos like the Louvin, Delmore, Osborne and Everly brothers.
Affinity for the sound of an eclectic range of instruments, banjo and clawhammer banjo, dobro, fiddle and mandolin.
Affinity for the stories they tell in song, drawn from from Jane's exotic family history, Ian's years on the road, and from lives real and imagined.
Above all, an affinity for each other; that special quality that the Louvins and Everlys, or Gillian Welch and David Rawlings possess; whether it's Jane and Ian's easy, unforced vocal harmonies or the headlong conversation between their guitar and banjo (or banjo and guitar – sometimes it's hard to know who is doing what!) and Adam's mandolin and fiddle.
Of course all this doesn't just happen...
Ian's been at it since he was in short pants (four decades later he's still got that boyish grin), and in a career including recording over 20 albums with Slim Dusty, he's won seven Golden Guitars at Tamworth with The Flying Emus (he picked up another last year), three Australian National Banjo Championships, an ARIA and other awards too numerous to mention. He's picked for Paul Kelly and fooled around with the Sensitive New Age Cowpersons; no-one's ever going to agree on who is Australia's pre-eminent banjo player, but everyone's will have Ian Simpson on their shortlist!
Jane's musical journey has taken her from her hometown, Sydney, to Western Australia and all the way back to her Chinese heritage (her Manchurian great-grandmother wed a Scottish missionary). She's played all the styles from folk to funk that express her emotions and musicality in a career that's won four consecutive WA Country Music Awards with Ian, and an invitation for them to represent Australia at the 2010 World Expo in China.
For Adam, music is a relative pleasure. After getting his start at fourteen with Ian in The Busketeers, Adam often joined his sisters when their Jam Tarts played in tandem with his Nansing Quartet around Australia and at international showcases like the Edinburgh Festival. After a long stint with legendary bluegrass outfit Uncle Bill, Adam was reunited with Ian in the Sensitive New Age Cowpersons. He's played on a number of Jane and Ian's albums, and is a perfect fit with them as one of The Lazy Boys.
GIGS & EVENTS
Jane Germain & Ian Simpson
Country Arts WA and SmokeFree WA
in association with
Beyond the Threshold present
Jane Germain & the Lazy Boys
Locally presented by Matt Dan Cultural Centre
Mullewa District Office
Phone: 08 9961 1007
Locally presented by Mullewa District Office (City of Greater Geraldton)
Coorow Community Resource Centre
Phone: 08 9952 1266
Locally presented by Coorow Community Resource Centre
Hopetoun & Ravensthorpe CRCs
Phone: 0427 381 530
Locally presented by Ravensthorpe Regional Arts Council
Esperance Civic Centre, The Library, The Visitor Centre
Phone: 08 9083 1566 or visit www.esperanceciviccentre.com
Locally presented by Esperance Civic Centre
Locally presented by Goldfields Arts Centre
Phone: 08 9731 1018 or 0427 089 375
North Collie, Western Australia
The Music
Video
Discography
- 01.Listen to What You Know
- 02.Banjo Pickin' Girl
- 03.No Fun Allowed
- 04.A Moment of Clarity
- 05.Why Do You Hate Me So Much
- 06.Climbing the Munro
- 07.How's the World Treating You
- 08.I'll Love Nobody But You
- 09.Don't Laugh
- 10.Mississippi Shore
- 11.Up This Hill and Down
- 12.I Can't Hear You Now
- 13.Bantams out the Back
Ian Simpson first teamed up with singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Jane Germain on her Chinese Whispers album. No Fun Allowed is their second album as a duo and it's an ingenuous, spirited treat. There are no airs of snobbish traditionalism, nor any flagrant attempts to conjure some "ingenious" new subgenre. Just a couple of highly talented and passionate musicians playing to their strengths and loves. And clearly, despite the title, having a ball in the process.
The pair plays virtually all the instrumentation on this album, swinging between old-timey era versions of the folk forms, country, blues and bluegrass with a distinctly Australian swagger. Germain plays acoustic guitar and handles most of the lead vocals, but is also handy on the banjo. Simpson plays bass, guitars, banjo, percussion, dobro and harmony vocals. Adam Gare steps in with a little fiddle and mandolin when required.
Martin Jones – RHYTHMS APRIL 2012
- 01.Freight Train Boogie
- 02.Lonesome Road Blues
- 03.Blues Stay Away from Me
- 04.Big Road Blues
- 05.So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad)
- 06.Dance of the Fountain
- 07.Darling Brown Eyes
- 08.Living on the Edge
- 09.I'm On My Way Home Again
- 10.Big Boss Man
- 11.Jelly Roll
- 12.Wake Up Little Susie
- 13.I'll Make You Happy
- 14.Lonesome Road Blues –Reprise
The musical chemistry between Jane Germain and Ian Simpson is very much in evidence on this diverse and very appealing album. The pair set out to recreate the sound and style of their live shows together, and they've achieved that brilliantly with a huge dollop of warmth and energy. The album's sound leans towards bluegrass, with some blues classics and a number of other gems. This album is wonderful – organic, dynamic and full of great tunes done superbly. Watch out for it!
Susan Jarvis – Country Music Capital News (NSW)
- 01.Let's Not Pretend
- 02.When You Come Around Here
- 03.Come on and Love me (Like Before)
- 04.Revenge is Sweet
- 05.What Have I Got to Lose?
- 06.Singing Drink Shop
- 07.Doing Time
- 08.Chinese Whispers
- 09.Model Young Man
If you thought you'd heard it all, then an album by an Australian born singer songwriter with Chinese heritage may change your mind ...Country and Eastern anyone?
Keith Glass - Capital News (NSW)
All songs © Jane Germain (except Model Young Man © Jane Germain / Hanggai)
- 01.Free Spirit
- 02.Different Light
- 03.Somebody Tell Me
- 04.Surrender
- 05.Speed of Light
- 06.Living on the Edge
- 07.How Many Times?
- 08.Aint Gonna Run
Free Spirit is a compilation album and includes some tracks from The Honeymoon's Over and Surrender.
(recorded with The Dreamers)
All songs © Jane Germain
Further videos and music can be found at
www.janegermain.com