It’s one of the largest publicly voted music awards in the country, with over 800 nominees on the long list whittled down to five in each category (including Best Band, Best Regional Act, Best Venue Over and Under 500 Capacity and Best Festival). Then there are industry expert nominees in categories like Best Album for genres including blues, jazz, heavy, hip hop, electronic, Aboriginal and country.
The after party concert at 170 Russell is legendary in its own right. This year the event falls within Melbourne Music Week and will feature live sets from Melbourne Ska Orchestra, Camp Cope and Tash Sultana, with members from the RockWiz Band once again forming The EG AllStars. They’ll be joined on stage by guests Paul Dempsey, Gareth Liddiard, Kylie Auldist, REMI, Pierce Brothers, Alex Lahey, Gawurra and Freya Josephine Hollick. EG AllStars musical director, RockWiz Band veteran and ridiculously versatile drummer Peter Luscombe has been there for all ten after party extravaganzas and has some enviable memories to prove it.
“One of the biggest highlights was performing Total Eclipse Of The Heart with Bonnie Tyler, with no rehearsal,” Luscombe says. “We rehearsed because we knew she was going to do the show and we knew she wanted to do it in the original key but there was talk that she may not come to soundcheck.
“She was playing a gig in the Palms or somewhere that night, so we didn’t meet her before the gig. She arrived backstage, came onstage during the set, kissed everyone in the band hello, started to sing the song and the place went nuts. She finished the song, went backstage to have a quick drink, said ‘Say g’day to everyone,’ then left. It was a great moment. We all had idiot grins while we were doing it.”
Luscombe knows how rare it is for any musician to have played with so many great artists over the years. “I’ve been pretty fortunate that I’ve been thrown into situations I wouldn’t have got to do if I was just in one band. RockWiz has a lot to do with that. I’ve played with a lot of different people but I’ve also done a lot of stuff, recording with different people in studios. I think I played on my first record in 1983 and I’ve played on over 200 now,” he says. “The highlight for me was playing for Daddy Cool. Gary Young had injured his back riding horses and he was a little uncertain whether he’d be able to do an entire set so he said maybe they could get me to play double drums on a couple of songs. The minute I was there I think he felt the pressure was off him and he was fine and he played the whole gig. We played the entire show double drums.
“It’s a great lineup this year,” Luscombe says. “I’ve played with a few of them before. Paul Dempsey, Gareth Liddiard and Kylie Auldist have all been on RockWiz. REMI we’ve been trying to have on but I’m so glad we get to play with him. It’s a really good mixture of acts and that’s the great thing about it, we get to do the funnest part of the evening every year,” says Luscombe. “We do eight or nine songs of varied styles and everyone who plays in the band is really good at playing different styles, so it’s very satisfying. Last year we played with Blake from The Peep Tempel and it was so great we ended up getting him on RockWiz.
“You get to do so many things with different people that you wouldn’t get the chance to do otherwise. Paul Dempsey is an amazing musician. I’ve played with him a few times on RockWiz, I’ve played with him on a Last Waltz tribute, and hearing them sing those songs it’s like, this is what he does too. It’s in his blood,” he says. “He’s an incredible musician and he’s one of those guys you can rely on to do the work. It’s all in his head and he gets it done. He’ll turn up to rehearsal and he knows exactly what he’s doing and when you work with people like that it’s a breeze.”
By Peter Hodgson
