Surf and Soul
It is no coincidence the musicians headlining the Noosa Festival of Surfing love catching waves almost as much as jamming. When the Noosa Festival of Surfing swings into action on March 14, it is not just the competitive surfers who will be hoping for perfect waves. Many of the musicians who will perform at the week-long event — sponsored by the weekender — are also eager to head out on the water, including entertainment director Mark Pico.
Although the Sunshine Beach resident often surfs Noosa’s best breaks, he is still praying First Point and Boiling Point are working and will definitely “grab the fellas for a wave if it is on”. The fellas, of course, are Ash Grunwald and several members of the The Beautiful Girls, who Mark has enlisted to perform at Saturday Night in Surf City. Mark admits organising the festival entertainment was a great opportunity to invite some of his favourite bands to create a great night of music that will complement the feel of the event.
“I picked bands I really like and who were stoked to play at such a beautiful place like Noosa. I grew up with some of the boys from The Beautiful Girls on the northern beaches of Sydney and Ash grew up in Torquay, which is the home of surfing,” he says. For Mark, a love of surfing preceded his passion for music, although it was the latter he decided to pursue professionally. “Pushed down by big waves” by his uncle at age six, Mark says he was quickly hooked on the sport. He drew inspiration from fellow Newport surfers Tom Carroll and Martin Potter and was coached by professional surfer Derek Hynd. But after picking up the guitar at 15 and writing a few songs, Mark quickly developed a competing interest in music.
“I was really inspired by my music teacher, John Stone (father of musicians Angus and Julia Stone), who really encouraged me to keep writing. At the time I didn’t have a band so he formed a band with a few other teachers and we did some shows together,” Mark recalls. With diverse tastes spanning New Order and The Doors to Neil Young, the singer songwriter developed his own music style, which his former coach thought would lend itself to a series of surf videos. Derek asked him to compose a soundtrack for Rip Curl video series The Search, carving out a niche as “the sound of surf movies” with his songs appearing in a number of Jack McCoy surf films and Quiksilver DVDs.
Travelling the world on tour playing at film screenings, Mark admits he became accustomed to surfing during the day and performing at night. But after losing his voice eight years ago, he thought his career may come to a crashing end. “I’m not totally sure how it happened and the doctors couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong either, but every couple of weeks I’d lose my voice. It got so bad I was having to cancel shows and I had to take time off,” he explains. But after an operation to remove his tonsils, followed by an extended recuperation, Mark regained the use of his voice, albeit with a different timbre.
“Now I have to be far more careful about how I use my voice because I can’t sing in the same way I used to. I’ve lost a lot of power and I can’t sing some of the heavier stuff, but I have just learnt to use it in a new way and in the last two to three years it has really come back well.” Now writing tracks for a new album, while juggling his festival role, Mark looks forward to taking some time off after it wraps up. But first, he plans to take to the stage and squeeze in a surf or two. “There will be plenty of friends there (at the festival) and it is just a beautiful setting. I couldn’t think of a better place to play,” he says. “And I’ve got two boards set aside for Ash as well, so I hope the conditions will be great.”
Saturday Night in Surf City is on March 20 with gates open from 3pm. Tickets: VIP reserved seat $77, general admission $55.
Details 5473 5676 or www.noosafestivalofsurfing.com.au
THE LINE UP
The Beautiful Girls will headline Saturday Night in Surf City, a celebration of surf-synched rock at the festival’s lifestyle expo in Noosa Lions Park. The three-piece Sydney band will showcase songs from popular albums We’re Already Gone and Ziggurats and may also preview upcoming album, Don’t Wait, due out in May. After the release of Live at the Fly By Night in January, Ash Grunwald will add his own blend of cruisey tunes as well as foot-stomping favourites Breakout and Mojo. Festival stalwarts Tijuana Cartel will get the crowd jumping with Mexican and Latin-inspired electronic sounds. Also on the bill are Band of Frequencies, Kym Campbell and Dave Flower Band.
WORDS KYLIE JACKES
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EVENTS
Introduction to Buddhism Sailing Club, Chambers Island, March 4, (time to be determined). Cost: entry by donation. Find out about Tibetan Buddhism, from meditation and karma to transforming problems. Details: 5453 2108.
World Day of Prayer Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Bokarina, March 5, 9.30am. Cost: free. This year’s service has been prepared by Christian women in the Cameroon. Details: 5493 4774
Bromeliad Market Noosa Bicentennial Hall, March 6, 8.30am-3pm; March 7, 9am-2pm. Cost: free. Hundreds of varieties of bromeliad will be on display with some for sale. Details: 0412 884 116.
Harmony and Humour St Mary’s Church Buderim, March 7, 2pm. Cost: $12. Part of Red Cross Calling, this annual show will include acclaimed violinist Adam Piechocinski, bush poet John Major and singers Bev Gourlay and Aart Schouten. Details: Bev, 5444 8675.
Johnny Lee Clary C3 Church, Kawana Waters, March 7, 9.30am and 6pm. Cost: free. Talk by former US national Ku Klux Klan leader and pro wrestling champion Johnny Lee Clary, who is now an evangelist and promotes peace, acceptance and love. Details: 5493 1243.
Haiti Fundraiser Starts Sheraton Noosa, March 7, 8am. Cost: free — participants to gather sponsors for donations. Sunshine Coast group Sunshine 4 Haiti is holding a two-day walkathon from Noosa to Pelican Waters. Proceeds will support Save the Children Australia’s efforts in Haiti. Participants don’t have to cover the whole distance. RSVPs are requested. Details: Sharon, 0416 080 120 or Stephanie, Stephanie_buckton@health.qld.edu.au
Concert Country Music Hall of Fame, Yandina, March 7, 1pm. Cost: $5 with afternoon tea. Live music including the Yandina branch band. The guest performer is ‘Texas’ Jim Short, who is heading back to the US. Details: Roger, 5313 3056.
Children @ Play Lake Kawana Community Centre, March 7, 3pm. Cost: $15. Antoni Bonetti conducts the Brisbane Symphony Orchestra in a child-friendly program of classics including Peter and the Wolf and Tubby the Tuba. Details: 5437 1170.
Golf Day Noosa Springs, March 7, 11.30am. Cost: from $120, includes lunch. TV vet Dr Chris Brown will MC the second annual fundraiser for the RSPCA’s Noosa branch. The target is $20,000 to refurbish the adoption centre at the Noosa shelter and upgrade online technology to improve public awareness campaigning to support the re-homing of animals. Details: 5440 3333.
VIEW Club Victory Hotel, Cooroy, March 9, 11am. Cost: $18. Guest speaker Antoinette O’Connor will discuss her world travels. The club supports the Smith Family. Details: 5437 1170.
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HEALTH & WELLBEING
Music, Mantras and Meditation Yoga Health and Healing, Peregian, March 6, 2pm. Cost: free, with refreshments. Yoga breathing, guided relaxation and musical mantra chanting. Details: Dagmar, 5448 3113.
Bridge Lessons Caloundra Bridge Club, March 9, 9am-noon. Cost: $30. Learn to play this challenging card game. Beginners welcome. Includes course book. Details: 5499 6471.
Mental Illness Forum Millwell Rd Community Centre, Maroochydore, March 10, 9am. Cost: free. Forum for consumers and carers of people with a mental illness with government and non-government health professionals. Details: 5443 2100.
Group Healing and Meditation Chambers Island Hall, Maroochydore, March 10, 7pm. Cost: $25 with refreshments. Bookings essential. Guided meditation to the sounds of didgeridoo, medicine drum and more. Details: Raelene, 0404 849 723.
-----------------------------------------------------------
ARTS & LITERATURE
Gallery Talk The Cooper Gallery, Noosa, March 10, 11.30am. Cost: $30. Artist Trisha Lambi will discuss her exhibit before lunch at Blue Angel Restaurant. Details: 5455 5655.
-----------------------------------------------------------
FOOD AND WINE
Zonta Maroochy Multicultural Brunch Palmwoods Hotel, March 6, 9am. Cost: $20. Bookings essential. Speakers will include Nambour Community Centre multicultural worker Naomi Wiley, Endah Lestari from Indonesia and Thana Roy Smith from Singapore. Details: 5476 2724.
FUW Women’s Breakfast Connexions Restaurant, Woombye, March 6, 7.45am. Cost: $25. Guest speaker Helen Brierty from the Spirit House shares her success. Details: 5494 7668.
Women’s Breakfast Noosa Springs, March 8, 6.30-8.30am. Cost: $25. Noosa Zonta International Women’s Day breakfast with guest speaker Sue Scheinpflug, CEO of United Synergies in Tewantin. Proceeds will support Unifem Australia. Details: 5447 4499 or 0414 713 955.
-----------------------------------------------------------
SAVE THE DATE
Champs for Charity NoosaSprings and First Point, March 13-14. Cost: auction. As part of the Noosa Festival of Surfing, fans can bid to join their idol for a round of golf and a teams event to raise funds for charities including Surfaid Interntional. Details: www.noosafestivalofsurfing.com
Weekender Issue 616, March 4th 2010
It is no coincidence the musicians headlining the Noosa Festival of Surfing love catching waves almost as much as jamming. When the Noosa Festival of Surfing swings into action on March 14, it is not just the competitive surfers who will be hoping for perfect waves. Many of the musicians who will perform at the week-long event — sponsored by the weekender — are also eager to head out on the water, including entertainment director Mark Pico.
Although the Sunshine Beach resident often surfs Noosa’s best breaks, he is still praying First Point and Boiling Point are working and will definitely “grab the fellas for a wave if it is on”. The fellas, of course, are Ash Grunwald and several members of the The Beautiful Girls, who Mark has enlisted to perform at Saturday Night in Surf City. Mark admits organising the festival entertainment was a great opportunity to invite some of his favourite bands to create a great night of music that will complement the feel of the event.
“I picked bands I really like and who were stoked to play at such a beautiful place like Noosa. I grew up with some of the boys from The Beautiful Girls on the northern beaches of Sydney and Ash grew up in Torquay, which is the home of surfing,” he says. For Mark, a love of surfing preceded his passion for music, although it was the latter he decided to pursue professionally. “Pushed down by big waves” by his uncle at age six, Mark says he was quickly hooked on the sport. He drew inspiration from fellow Newport surfers Tom Carroll and Martin Potter and was coached by professional surfer Derek Hynd. But after picking up the guitar at 15 and writing a few songs, Mark quickly developed a competing interest in music.
“I was really inspired by my music teacher, John Stone (father of musicians Angus and Julia Stone), who really encouraged me to keep writing. At the time I didn’t have a band so he formed a band with a few other teachers and we did some shows together,” Mark recalls. With diverse tastes spanning New Order and The Doors to Neil Young, the singer songwriter developed his own music style, which his former coach thought would lend itself to a series of surf videos. Derek asked him to compose a soundtrack for Rip Curl video series The Search, carving out a niche as “the sound of surf movies” with his songs appearing in a number of Jack McCoy surf films and Quiksilver DVDs.
Travelling the world on tour playing at film screenings, Mark admits he became accustomed to surfing during the day and performing at night. But after losing his voice eight years ago, he thought his career may come to a crashing end. “I’m not totally sure how it happened and the doctors couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong either, but every couple of weeks I’d lose my voice. It got so bad I was having to cancel shows and I had to take time off,” he explains. But after an operation to remove his tonsils, followed by an extended recuperation, Mark regained the use of his voice, albeit with a different timbre.
“Now I have to be far more careful about how I use my voice because I can’t sing in the same way I used to. I’ve lost a lot of power and I can’t sing some of the heavier stuff, but I have just learnt to use it in a new way and in the last two to three years it has really come back well.” Now writing tracks for a new album, while juggling his festival role, Mark looks forward to taking some time off after it wraps up. But first, he plans to take to the stage and squeeze in a surf or two. “There will be plenty of friends there (at the festival) and it is just a beautiful setting. I couldn’t think of a better place to play,” he says. “And I’ve got two boards set aside for Ash as well, so I hope the conditions will be great.”
Saturday Night in Surf City is on March 20 with gates open from 3pm. Tickets: VIP reserved seat $77, general admission $55.
Details 5473 5676 or www.noosafestivalofsurfing.com.au
THE LINE UP
The Beautiful Girls will headline Saturday Night in Surf City, a celebration of surf-synched rock at the festival’s lifestyle expo in Noosa Lions Park. The three-piece Sydney band will showcase songs from popular albums We’re Already Gone and Ziggurats and may also preview upcoming album, Don’t Wait, due out in May. After the release of Live at the Fly By Night in January, Ash Grunwald will add his own blend of cruisey tunes as well as foot-stomping favourites Breakout and Mojo. Festival stalwarts Tijuana Cartel will get the crowd jumping with Mexican and Latin-inspired electronic sounds. Also on the bill are Band of Frequencies, Kym Campbell and Dave Flower Band.
WORDS KYLIE JACKES
---------------------------------------------------------------
EVENTS
Introduction to Buddhism Sailing Club, Chambers Island, March 4, (time to be determined). Cost: entry by donation. Find out about Tibetan Buddhism, from meditation and karma to transforming problems. Details: 5453 2108.
World Day of Prayer Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Bokarina, March 5, 9.30am. Cost: free. This year’s service has been prepared by Christian women in the Cameroon. Details: 5493 4774
Bromeliad Market Noosa Bicentennial Hall, March 6, 8.30am-3pm; March 7, 9am-2pm. Cost: free. Hundreds of varieties of bromeliad will be on display with some for sale. Details: 0412 884 116.
Harmony and Humour St Mary’s Church Buderim, March 7, 2pm. Cost: $12. Part of Red Cross Calling, this annual show will include acclaimed violinist Adam Piechocinski, bush poet John Major and singers Bev Gourlay and Aart Schouten. Details: Bev, 5444 8675.
Johnny Lee Clary C3 Church, Kawana Waters, March 7, 9.30am and 6pm. Cost: free. Talk by former US national Ku Klux Klan leader and pro wrestling champion Johnny Lee Clary, who is now an evangelist and promotes peace, acceptance and love. Details: 5493 1243.
Haiti Fundraiser Starts Sheraton Noosa, March 7, 8am. Cost: free — participants to gather sponsors for donations. Sunshine Coast group Sunshine 4 Haiti is holding a two-day walkathon from Noosa to Pelican Waters. Proceeds will support Save the Children Australia’s efforts in Haiti. Participants don’t have to cover the whole distance. RSVPs are requested. Details: Sharon, 0416 080 120 or Stephanie, Stephanie_buckton@health.qld.edu.au
Concert Country Music Hall of Fame, Yandina, March 7, 1pm. Cost: $5 with afternoon tea. Live music including the Yandina branch band. The guest performer is ‘Texas’ Jim Short, who is heading back to the US. Details: Roger, 5313 3056.
Children @ Play Lake Kawana Community Centre, March 7, 3pm. Cost: $15. Antoni Bonetti conducts the Brisbane Symphony Orchestra in a child-friendly program of classics including Peter and the Wolf and Tubby the Tuba. Details: 5437 1170.
Golf Day Noosa Springs, March 7, 11.30am. Cost: from $120, includes lunch. TV vet Dr Chris Brown will MC the second annual fundraiser for the RSPCA’s Noosa branch. The target is $20,000 to refurbish the adoption centre at the Noosa shelter and upgrade online technology to improve public awareness campaigning to support the re-homing of animals. Details: 5440 3333.
VIEW Club Victory Hotel, Cooroy, March 9, 11am. Cost: $18. Guest speaker Antoinette O’Connor will discuss her world travels. The club supports the Smith Family. Details: 5437 1170.
---------------------------------------------------------------
HEALTH & WELLBEING
Music, Mantras and Meditation Yoga Health and Healing, Peregian, March 6, 2pm. Cost: free, with refreshments. Yoga breathing, guided relaxation and musical mantra chanting. Details: Dagmar, 5448 3113.
Bridge Lessons Caloundra Bridge Club, March 9, 9am-noon. Cost: $30. Learn to play this challenging card game. Beginners welcome. Includes course book. Details: 5499 6471.
Mental Illness Forum Millwell Rd Community Centre, Maroochydore, March 10, 9am. Cost: free. Forum for consumers and carers of people with a mental illness with government and non-government health professionals. Details: 5443 2100.
Group Healing and Meditation Chambers Island Hall, Maroochydore, March 10, 7pm. Cost: $25 with refreshments. Bookings essential. Guided meditation to the sounds of didgeridoo, medicine drum and more. Details: Raelene, 0404 849 723.
-----------------------------------------------------------
ARTS & LITERATURE
Gallery Talk The Cooper Gallery, Noosa, March 10, 11.30am. Cost: $30. Artist Trisha Lambi will discuss her exhibit before lunch at Blue Angel Restaurant. Details: 5455 5655.
-----------------------------------------------------------
FOOD AND WINE
Zonta Maroochy Multicultural Brunch Palmwoods Hotel, March 6, 9am. Cost: $20. Bookings essential. Speakers will include Nambour Community Centre multicultural worker Naomi Wiley, Endah Lestari from Indonesia and Thana Roy Smith from Singapore. Details: 5476 2724.
FUW Women’s Breakfast Connexions Restaurant, Woombye, March 6, 7.45am. Cost: $25. Guest speaker Helen Brierty from the Spirit House shares her success. Details: 5494 7668.
Women’s Breakfast Noosa Springs, March 8, 6.30-8.30am. Cost: $25. Noosa Zonta International Women’s Day breakfast with guest speaker Sue Scheinpflug, CEO of United Synergies in Tewantin. Proceeds will support Unifem Australia. Details: 5447 4499 or 0414 713 955.
-----------------------------------------------------------
SAVE THE DATE
Champs for Charity NoosaSprings and First Point, March 13-14. Cost: auction. As part of the Noosa Festival of Surfing, fans can bid to join their idol for a round of golf and a teams event to raise funds for charities including Surfaid Interntional. Details: www.noosafestivalofsurfing.com
Weekender Issue 616, March 4th 2010
