“For someone who didn’t have too much idea
of what was going on in the world outside Australia, the thought of travelling
around the world playing music to different cultures seemed an interesting,
exciting and very scary prospect. ...I left Australia for the first time in my
life in 1987. I bought an around the world ticket for a year, not intending to
go for more than a few months. My budget was small, only $1,500 spending money
and $1,000 in the bank in case of an emergency. My backpack was just a simple nylon
pack with a light aluminium frame. I had my guitar, a Pignose amp, about 8
inches in diameter which ran on 8 large batteries and a guitar cable. I fixed
the Pignose to my back pack with wire and gaffer tape, to make it easier to
carry.
...If you want to travel around the world on
a working holiday, playing and performing, earning enough to cover your food,
accommodation and travel expenses, still have enough money left over for other
great times and hardly spend any of your own money... well, welcome to
troubadour travels.”
-
- Graham
Cain, 'Troubadour Travels'
Watch this
space for a full Leng Pleng review of
Graham’s book Troubadour Travels. In the meantime, check out www.troubadourtravels.com
for further excerpts, photographs and to purchase the book. The man himself
will be performing an early-evening show at The
Exchange this Saturday. Graham has also taken over the reins of Bring
Your Skillz – the open mic session taking place each Monday night at
Slur. The hugely experienced performer also shows off his talents during his
weekly slots at Sharky Bar (Tuesdays),
Bar Barbados (Thursdays), and Sundance
Inn & Saloon (Fridays).
Bacano hit Sharky Bar on Friday for a special show celebrating the birthday of
Brentrix - the band’s percussionist
and backing vocalist. Brentrix is a
talented harmony singer with a large kit bag of interesting instruments such as
guiro, triangle and shakers made from discarded tin cans. His snappy sense of
dress and flowing platinum-blonde locks make him a familiar face on the Phnom
Penh music scene – many happy returns, Brentrix.
Bacano, along with the newly-created
Luis Latin Trio, have helped fulfil
the long-felt need for more great Latin music bands in Phnom Penh. Pavel & The TenTipz also rock many
Latin classics as part of their repertoire – the trio play Oscar Rock Cafe on Thursday and Slur
Bar on Friday.
Fresh from three
live dates in the metropolis of Hong Kong, Joe
Wrigley & The Jumping Jacks return to Bodhi Villa in Kampot on Friday. The gig reunites the ‘Tallest
Rhythm Section in South-East Asia’: drummer Andy Potter and bassist Andre
Swart. Dwarfing their lead singer (and everyone else in the room), the two
star players keep the 1950’s rockabilly music flowing with plenty of ‘train’
beats and walking bass lines. The weekly live music and DJ party is always a
great a night and should be particularly fun on this occasion as venue
impresario Huge Monroe celebrates
his birthday. The ‘Jumping Jacks Express’ bus then continues on to
Sihanoukville for a show at The Led
Zephyr on Saturday night. The band members are returned to their normal
Phnom Penh habitat for a gig on the 16th August at FCC – The Mansion.
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Andre Swart performing with Daniel Talstra. Pic - Alex Leonard |
Bob Passion provides the must-see Phnom
Penh gig of the week at Slur Bar this
Saturday. The singer, guitarist and self-styled ‘Artgitateur/Artventurier’ is a great performer and always dresses
like a rock star. He is a co-organiser of the annual Kompong Som Khmarnaval
celebration and works to help underprivileged Cambodian children in
Sihanoukville. On Saturday Bob will perform fun, high-tempo punk music with
both The Schkoots and Lop Lop.
The party continues
until the early hours of Sunday morning at Meta House with the launch of Space
Garden. This is a new residency featuring German DJ Antaro of the ‘VooV
Experience’ music festival and the ‘Spirit Zone’ record label. Expect
progressive house and techno. Meta House told
Leng
Pleng that the night will feature ‘special drinks, ambient floor, light
and art installations, video projections, chill-out area, performers and lots
of surprises!’. Sounds like a cool way to end the night.
Until next
time, stay safe out there and.... see you around the traps!
JACK DIAMOND
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