NOTES FROM UNDERGROUND

Hailing from New Orleans, and harking back to the days of Dixieland and the vibrant blues music of the twenties and thirties, Tuba Skinny is an amazing seven-piece brass band. Comprising tuba, trombone, cornet, guitar, tenor banjo, vocals and washboard, the band evokes the rich musical history of a city that has rhythm in its soul.

Founded in 2009, Tuba Skinny quickly developed a cult following thanks to viral internet exposure. The band rapidly found favour on the international Swing Dance circuit, and showed itself equally adept at performing on stage or, ad hoc, on any old street corner willing to have them.

When Tuba Skinny arrived for their debut Australian shows in June, audiences were blown away by their authenticity, musicianship and charisma. The response to their whirlwind tour, which only included Sydney and Adelaide, was so overwhelmingly positive that the band are heading back for another round of shows in January.

In common with Australia’s CW Stoneking and recent US visitor Frank Fairfield, the band have found a rich vein to mine in the music of the 1920s and 30s. The antithesis of modern computer-generated sounds, the revival of pre-war musical styles seems hint not so much at a hunger for nostalgia so much as a desire for unalloyed authenticity. In a mostly digital world, a dollop of analogue can do a power of good.

Here, after all, is a musical form not dependent on the binary complexities and innate fragility of software for its existence. A stonking PA system is handy, but by no means essential. There is, in the end, something wonderfully cathartic about a band like Tuba Skinny.

The septet make their triumphant and raucous return to Sydney on Thursday, January 12, when they take to the stage at The Basement in Circular Quay.

We have four double passes to give away to this show – which will sell out well before the night. To score one, simply phone The Basement box office on 9251 2797 during office hours.

For a full rundown of shows at The Basement: www.thebasement.com.au

Contact the writer: amasterson@thebasement.net.au