Adrian Bryan - musician, based in Hobart, Tasmania
My musical journey began with classical piano lessons thru the mid 1960s - mid 1970s and singing in primary and high school choirs in Launceston, Tasmania. An interest in the drums led to playing snare drum with the Northern Suburbs Silver Band and percussion with the Northern Tasmanian Youth Orchestra, and I was the drummer and backing vocalist in my first rock band Touchwood which formed in 1974.
Upon moving to Hobart in 1976 to study engineering at UTAS, I joined pop/rock band Quicksand (soon to be renamed Albatross) as lead guitarist. Albatross released 2 singles (In and Out of Love in 1978 and Maybe I Care in 1979), both of which reached the top 20s on the local charts. Also during 1979, Albatross was the support act for Sherbet, John Paul Young and Kevin Borich Express, and toured Tasmania as support for The Richard Clapton Band.
In 1980 Albatross disbanded due to some members moving interstate. My guitar playing continued with (often simultaneous) stints in (amongst others) Johnny and the Hurricanes, The Yazoo Blues Band, Armadillo, The Divan Band, The Nerve, Hot Gossip, The Gordon Blue Band (initially on bass), and DC Tenz. I was also working as a session musician at Greco's Studios and developing my guitar teaching practice during this period.
In 1985 I relocated to Sydney with the lure of ongoing gigs, including a Sunday residency at "The Bondi Tram" on Bondi Beach with Johnny and the Hurricanes. I was soon joined by my future wife Angela, former lead singer of The Gordon Blue Band, and we began performing around Sydney as acoustic duo Mirror Image. And to develop my violin playing (an instrument I had been playing for only a couple of years) I joined and regularly performed with the Lane Cove Symphony Orchestra, and in 1987 played first violin for a production of “The Mikado” by the Mosman Dramatic Society. Music instrument teaching was also becoming an important part of my career around this time, along with occasional writing and recording projects.
From 1988 to 1991 I worked with the Roger Thwaites and Emma Hannah Show Band, playing bass for the first 18 months and then lead guitar (and occasionally fiddle). I played over 300 gigs with Roger and Emma throughout New South Wales from Wagga Wagga to Tweed Heads, and occasionally further afield. Apart from the regular club circuit we also performed at rodeos, pubs, agricultural shows, theatre restaurants and shopping centres. Annual performances at the Sydney Royal Easter Show, and tours to New Caledonia in 1988 and to Perth for their Royal Shows in 1989 and 1990 were all memorable, as was a special tribute show (“Here’s to the Man on the Land”) at the Sydney Town Hall in 1990.
After six years in Sydney I returned (with wife and newborn) to Hobart in 1991 and soon began performing (on guitar) with violinist Imogen Lidgett (Immy) under the imaginative name of Immy and Adrian. We played mainly jazz standards, but covered a more contemporary repertoire whenever we were joined by Phil Charman (vocals and harmonica). This trio was known as Immy and the Straightmen. Also around this time Johnny and the Hurricanes was resurrected and started gigging around southern Tasmania.
1992 saw the commencement of my teaching at Claremont College which was to continue for 20 years. Apart from tutoring guitar I also taught general classroom music, ensemble/rock band skills, songwriting, recording techniques and audio design. 1993 saw the release of Immy’s original album Mental Instru which included my guitar playing on a number of tracks, a couple of which we performed live for ABC TV at the Theatre Royal.
In 1994 I began playing violin with the Derwent Symphony Orchestra, and in 1995 I developed a course called “Learn Lead Guitar“ which I taught for a number of years at Adult Education. 1995 was also the year I first worked with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, playing electric guitar on a recording of Christmas tunes. Guitar playing dates with the TSO continued thru 1996: “Symphony Under the Stars“ in February, a performance of “De Staat“ by contemporary composer Louis Andriessen as part of the New Music Tasmania International Festival of Contemporary Music at the Hobart City Hall in April, and performances and recording of the children's show “Incy Wincy" in June.
1996 also saw the formation of Celtic-rock band McSporran, a 7-piece group featuring bagpipes. We performed at a number of major events including the Gaelic Ball, the Royal Hobart Show, the North Hobart Fiesta and the Taste of Tasmania. In 1997 I was appointed as an Examiner of Contemporary Popular Music (CPM) for the Australian Music Examinations Board and worked in that role until December 2020.
Towards the end of 1997 both Voodoo Blue (rock/rhythm/blues) and Mopoke (acoustic/soft rock) were formed, with myself as lead guitarist and backing (and occasionally lead) vocalist in both bands. The two bands performed almost continually for over a decade, Voodoo clocking up over 400 gigs and Mopoke over 350 at venues including The Republic Bar, The New Sydney Hotel, Bridie O’Reilly’s, Irish Murphy’s, The Queen’s Head, The Trout, Temple Place Bar, The Duke Hotel and Wrest Point Casino along with numerous others around Tasmania.
Notable gigs for Voodoo Blue included performing with ex-Chain guitarist Phil Manning on a number of occasions in 1998 and 1999, the Taste of Tasmania in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2005 and 2006, the Southern Blues and Roots Festival in 2000, the Wynyard Tulip Festival in 2001 and the Forth Blues Festival in 2002. Also of note in 2001 we released our CD When Is It Time, officially launched in July at The Republic Bar by the then Lord Mayor of Hobart, Rob Valentine.
Mopoke’s credits included performing at every Australian Wooden Boat Festival from 1998 to 2007, almost every Taste of Tasmania from 1998 to 2009, the Cygnet Folk Festival in 1998, supporting Christine Anu in 2000, the Westbury St. Patrick’s Festival in 2004, the Bellerive Fruit Wine Festival in 2006 and the Taste of the Huon in 2009. Mopoke also performed two highly successful tribute shows at the Moonah Arts Centre: “Bacharach and Fleetwood Mac” in 2007 and “Dusty, Van and the Indigo Girls” in 2008.
During the late 1990s I collaborated with fellow musician Martin Duffy on a number of novelty recording projects. In December 1997 we released the single Oh David Boon, followed in 1998 by David Foster - King of the Axe and The Footy Song in 1999. All good fun!
In 2000 I played guitar in the orchestra for Exit-Left’s production of Les Miserable at the Derwent Entertainment Centre. More musicals followed: Sweet Charity in 2001, Oklahoma and Annie in 2003 and Grease in 2004, all at the Theatre Royal. Other gigs around this time included performing with John Millhouse (as the Voodoo Duo ) on a couple of crossings of Bass Strait on the Spirit of Tasmania, performing at the 2003 Cygnet Folk Festival with the Nic Meredith Band (and subsequent video recording of some of Nic’s songs, a clip of which aired on ABC TV’s Rage), performing at the 2004 Cygnet Folk Festival with West Australian alternative folk duo Ruby’s Grace, and headlining on New Year’s Eve 2004 at the Taste of Tasmania with the 12-piece Riviera Show Band as Musical Director/guitarist.