last updated 26th June, 2008
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Arts Council Supports
Zephyr Street Acoustic Club was established early in 2006 to provide local musicians and other entertainers an opportunity to perform for a live audience as well as to provide the local community with a good opportunity to support these local performers in a pleasant atmosphere.
The club is an initiative of the Z-PAC Theatre as part of their ongoing campaign to see the theatre used and appreciated by as wide a cross section of the community as possible. The club runs on the first Sunday of each month from 7 until 10 in the evening. The PA is usually set up and ready by 6pm and anyone wishing to have a go before the official commencement of proceedings is welcome.
We are not a club in any formal sense of the word. Entry is by gold coin donation and all are welcome with the focus firmly on finding and supporting local talent. The fact that we are an acoustic club should not be taken too strictly. A PA system is provided and there is no ban on electric instruments as such, as long as the overall sound of the artist or group fits within our overall Sunday evening laid back Unplugged atmosphere.
All genres of music as well as poetry, comedy and improvisational theatre are welcome and, no doubt, others as well. The wide the range of entertainment the more the club will prosper as we are all inspired by one another. We have had folk, jazz, blues, contemporary, country, Irish folk music and a few that fit somewhere in between so far, but we are still looking for more variety. We would like to mix in some poetry, a bit of classical music and maybe some choral pieces.
The format of the evening is a mixture of 'chalkboard' and some slots that are filled ahead of time. The later slots are more popular, so if you want the best chance of getting on the best advice is to come early.
If you have any questions about the evening or are wondering if your particular group or talent would be welcome, please contact Phil Douglas on 4124 1815.
History of The Hervey Bay Branch
George Bezant thought it was time the Bay had an Arts Council Branch and so one early June evening a group of people got together and formed a Branch of the Hervey Bay Arts Council, with George as its first President.
The branch kicked off with An Evening at an Old English Music Hall at the then called The Great Hall, next to the Pialba High School. The show attracted a crowd of about 200. As it has been a tradition after a show, members prepared a supper for the artists.
The Great Hall was to become the venue for other attractions including the Queensland Ballet Company, the Cambridge University's production of The Taming of the Shrew, several plays from the La Boite Theatre repertoire along with programmes of Opera and Musical Comedies, the Melbourne Pops Orchestra as well as several chamber and instrumental groups.
At the time when the multi-instrumental duo, the Cambridge Buskers, appeared at the High School Hall, from the Conservatorium, there was a swimming carnival on and the whistles and starter pistols from the races managed to fit in with the Buskers' arrangements of the 1812 Overture.
Another highlight was having the winner of the ABC's instrumental worldwide competition, a young Chinese pianist, to give his first recital two days after he won. He appeared on stage, along with the audience on the Sunday afternoon following his success in Sydney the previous Friday. He now lives in Hollywood composing film scores.
At the time the Bay didn't have a concert piano, so we borrowed one, and as a result of that, members later decided it was time the Council had one. It was about seven years later a "Piano Appeal" began in honour of a former music teacher, Glennis Shannon, who died suddenly. Her enthusiasm for music and the encouragement she passed on to her students will never be forgotten.
Before we had the grand piano, now in the Regional Gallery, recitals had to be held wherever there was a piano. Nearly all were held at Delfino's Restaurant. Don Camillo Restaurant was the venue for a Spanish Group.
A Trivia night with questions being asked by the former quiz king Tony Barber was a great success. Apart from the Great Hall, other venues have included the Pialba Hotel at which the Arts Council virtually christened the Whale Festival with a dinner and sketches. Many works of various artists were launched at the Marina (now the Balaena) coffee shop.
The then Cinema Caprice was the location for a Russian Ballet company and a show featuring the songs associated with Peter Dawson and Gladys Moncrieff.
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