My Mates in Music – Tim and Ian

This story is in memory of my two music friends, Tim Shaw (1958 – 2015) and Ian Farrington (1947 – 2014).  

This is a story and how the three of us kept in touch and stayed connected throughout our lives from 1971 – 2015.

Over forty plus years.

This is dedicated to all the partners, and the next generation – Beau Shaw, Zoe and Zeke Farrington, Saul Calikes, Oriel, Chale and Anaya Dodge.

“We are the music makers,

And we are the dreamers of dreams,

Wandering by lone sea-breakers,

And sitting by desolate streams;—

World-losers and world-forsakers,

On whom the pale moon gleams:

Yet we are the movers and shakers

Of the world for ever, it seems” – Arthur O’Shaughnessy (1873 – The Ode)

My Mates in Music 
On reflection of my relationship with Tim and Ian, if I had not met them, I would never have left Tasmania, stuck on the island just like my father and his father and a line of three generations before him.  ‘Two headed’ jokes about Tasmanians aside, Tim and Ian enabled me to break away and to sail off on an adventure.  We formed a band, with their collective influence changing my life forever.  Tim and Ian placed me on a new path. This is our story – the story about my mates, Tim and Ian, whom I knew and loved, and who will both be dearly missed.

In 1973, as a young 15 year old in Hobart, Tasmania, music was everything.  Everyone around us, who had an interest in playing music, wanted to form or join a band.  Having an instrument and jamming was the action every weekend, for us ‘wannabe’ musicians.   George Goerss, a local neighbour with a formidable double Marshall stack and Gibson Red SG guitar, introduced me to Tim, who was also a keen aspiring guitarist.

Tim, George and I met for a weekend jam, and I was so impressed with Tim’s guitar proficiency – with his huge Marshall amplifier and his Epiphone ES335 guitar.  Both George and Tim were, to me, very accomplished lead players, belting out Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin riffs that even Mr Page would have approved of.

I first met Ian Farrington, who was 11 years older than me, in a music store when I was just 13 years old.  Ian was a local drummer playing around Hobart (previously from Adelaide/UK – had previously been married in Adelaide with two children) who sold me my first Guyatone electric guitar with a built in drum machine.  By 1974, (Tim and I were 16) and with the advent of Countdown on TV, we became even more determined to form bands, which is what we did many times over.   I would make weekly trips to Hobart, from Howrah, on the eastern shore, to visit Ian at the music store (I was the kid playing “Stairway to Heaven” over and over on all the latest guitars in store).  He recognised my passion (or felt sorry for me) and offered me a job to work in the local Allan’s Music store in the heart of Hobart. It was to be only to be temporary over Christmas, after which I would attend Matriculation College (year 11 and 12), however, after some intense discussion with my parents, I felt that music was my future, an acting career could wait, and continued to sell musical instruments with Ian’s support and mentoring.

Hoadley’s annual ‘Battle of The Bands’ in Hobart, hosting a competition for live bands at the Hobart City Hall, and the chance to go to the “mainland,” created stars in our eyes and ambition in our hearts.

From 1974 – 1977, Tim, Ian and I played in several local bands – COUTA, Laughing Moon Band, Johnny and the Hurricanes, and Mace. Tim’s first “real band” were amazing, with Tim taking the lead vocal role as well as guitar.   My band at the time was with Ian, “Tracks”, which had George Goerss (lead) and Brian Parkinson (bass) with me on rhythm guitar. We performed, headlining Tim’s band at the Lauderdale Tavern, as the music industry in Hobart was relatively small and everyone knew each other.

Eventually, Tim and I created a band together with Ian and Brian Parkinson, called Big T Express.  It was built around the quality and prowess of our lead guitarist and singer, Tim. We pumped out Doobie Brothers tunes along with the Eagles, George Benson and some good Aussie pub rock. We were young aspiring muso’s, at that time, and we enjoyed being paid, laid and having extreme amounts of fun J  – uncomplicated.

(From L to R –  “Big T Express” – Greg, Tim Shaw, Wayne Matcham, Ian Farrington, Brian Parkinson (Wayne left the band early in the piece).

Ian and Tim created a small band, with Glen Tweedie on bass and went on the Ivan Damen “pub circuit,” to far North Queensland and ‘the mainland’.  It was sad to see my friends go, however, while they were away, I developed into a bass player and honed my skills in this rather than guitar.

In six months they returned back to the Wrest Point Casino, Portlight Bar, in Hobart, to take up a residency.  Knowing now that I was playing bass, they sacked their current bass player, and asked me to join the band.
‘Sweet Sound Invasion’ became our name, a three piece band tackling Stevie Wonder, Boz Scaggs and a host of new radio friendly disco and funk ‘70s (pre punk) sounds.

Six months in the Portlight Bar, living in house at the Casino rooms with all the dancers from “Merci Beaucoup” was so much fun. As you can imagine for Tim and I at 18/19 years old, also for Ian at 29/30 years old, more fun than we could ever handle.  We performed six nights a week from 9pm – 3am.

When the six months ran out, we travelled to Queensland, first stop – Jet Club, Coolangatta, Gold Coast.  We Tassie boys, use to the cold weather, got to wear shorts, swim and see the sun!  I remember doing our first band support to the infamous “Bill and Boyd”.

Our band agent by this time was Mal Barnes, working for Graham Hutchison at AIA, and we had to wait a few weeks until we knew which town we would be send to play in.  We went to Fortitude Valley in Brisbane, to a strip club, and asked to be the regular band, knowing we would be departing in a few weeks.  The house band had been there for three years, and Ian and Tim had convinced them we were better than them. Many stories to be laughed about now – but the mafia WAS real in Brisbane at the time.
Say No More J

Our next stop was Gladstone. Tim and I purchased matching Escort Panel Vans. Tim had a green one and I had a yellow one.  Ian had a red Holden Sandman. We thought we were so cool!  We even gave them names. Mine was Ernie and Tim’s was Fred.
Tim and Ian had previously toured to Gladstone, so they knew most of the locals. We changed the name of the band to “Jo Jo” (“Jo Jo” being the opening line of the song, “Get Back” by the Beatles – one of our regular songs at the time).  Whilst in Gladstone, Ian gained a good lifelong friend, Frank Van Haeren.

I recall one evening, we held a drag dress-up theme.  At the end of the night, we found both the Escort’s tyres slashed.  Apparently, the old bass player, had had an ‘alleged’ affair with a locals, wife and the husband wanted revenge.  Priceless, was the look on the face of the local cops called to the scene in the carpark, observing us all dressed up in drag. (Tim looked so cute in his hot pants, with Ian, Frank, Tim and I in dresses with full make up jobs J)

                                                                      Jo Jo and Friends – Gladstone (1978)
Tim had a calling, and was getting itchy feet by now.  He wanted to become a professional “ridgey didge musician” and to try his luck in Sydney – where all the action was.   We encouraged him to go and to pursue his dream, so he did, and off he went to Sydney in 1978 to find himself.
While we were settling in our new guitarist, Bill, and a keyboard player (“the Fox”) I met Julie, my wife of 35 years, thankfully to Tim’s nudging (he left the band that same week I met Julie).   Jul was on holidays in Townsville, and had come out with her sister and friend to see a live band.  Fortunately for us, we were that band, the rest is history.

In Townsville, we missed Tim and his chess matches, cheese and bacon sandwiches and the sense of humour he bought to any situation. However, Ian and I held the band together for a month, when Ian had an offer to join a large touring show band, “The Valentine’s”.  I joined a band in Mt Isa with Greg Shaw (he later became the manager of Keith Urban). Greg loved to ski, and I wanted to play music, casually.  In three weeks I was back to Brisbane, reconnecting with my new love, Julie, and “wooed” her back to Hobart for the next two years.

So, by mid 1978, I was back on the island, in Hobart, with Julie, a beautiful sweet girl I had met on the road whilst the band was playing in Townsville. Tim was living the good life in Sydney.  Tim was seeing first hand, the bands that we had only heard about – he got to jam, play and sing with many of them, as he was recognised as a talented musician with a rising star.  Tim would send me cassette tapes of recordings he made of the Emmanuel Bros, Crossfire and the many bands from the Mansell Room.  “Supermarket” was one band that Tim really loved.  With singers, Barry Leaf and Ron Barry out front, Tim was so inspired, recognising Ron Barry as his mentor and lifelong friend.
This was home to the “muso’s muso’s” – Tim had found his home and was in the space he had dreamed of always being. Tim belonged in Sydney and he was immersed in the bustling, vibrant music scene.

He was so excited, when he was asked, by Col Joye, to take his band to New Orleans World Expo 1983.  He was really becoming a “soul brother,” musically, which opened up his opportunities on his return to Sydney to play and jam over the years with the likes of Daryl Braithwaite, Aaron Neville, Neville Brothers, Col Joye, Ricky May, Tommy Emmanuel, Jackie Orszaczky and many more.  He performed regularly on national midday TV shows – and every few weeks we would chat about our lives, and how they were unfolding.  Of course I was now married to Julie (in 1980 and living in Brisbane) with Ian as the best man at our wedding. By 1984, we were raising two young children (a third arrived in 1989). Tim was single, and loving it, still out pursuing his love of live music. Tim married his first wife, Carol, which only lasted a very short time.

I recall Tim getting a J O B once.   I think it lasted three weeks – maybe Val Morgan??
Tim and I would always catch up when I visited Sydney, and as our lives continued to unfold, Tim would call on the way to a gig on a Saturday night.

Ian left his showband, after being on the road a few years, he married Lyn Linning.
Ian decided to move to Sydney and he joined Australis Music as their Tama and Paiste Product Manager, moving to wholesale of Fender Australia in the mid 1980’s (they were also doing Rogers Drums and had just been released from CBS).  Ironically I had rejoined a music store in Brisbane, Palings Music in 1984, as a young manager (after four years with Kmart as an Area Manager – my once and only corporate gig.)  Ian and I would stay in touch through our music industry association, and Tim would see Ian regularly in Sydney.
I remember Tim calling one day in mid 1986, and telling me that the “Tim Shaw band” and players were at an end.   His new band was his new Atari Computer, music software, a PA and guitar.
He became the master of the one man band. He was the first in Australia who did it best, with quality gear.   His voice and “processed vocal harmonies” enabled him to tackle some large instrumentation pieces from the likes of Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins.  TIM was a “wall of sound”.

Our love of deep and meaningful discussions started on the topic of the assassination of JFK.  Tim had read a few books about it, and became quite knowledgeable.  We discovered the same outside interest and passions, and both gained a deeper understanding through mutual discussion on ideas of the way the world worked – and our role in it, together.
Philosophical debates became a regular interaction with Tim and I – sharing music – ideas and books – as we both became avid self learners towards the mid ‘90s and onwards.
This continued on an ongoing basis, as we both explored the greater meaning of existence, science, spirituality and the theory of everything. Tim excelled at bringing new topics to light, particularly around ‘taboo’ subjects and theories.

Tim had remarried, to his new love, Clare.  Ian and his new love, after divorcing Lyn, was Michelle, whom he met whilst travelling overseas, bringing her back with him to Australia. Julie and I were still together.  Ian was at that time, a director of Rim Shot Music, who had remarkably taken the Zildjian cymbal company away from Yamaha Australia (no easy feat).  Ian had many good years building up a drum wholesale business, and they were living together with Tim and Clare, in Newport Beach, on the northern shores of Sydney.

I had started a music store in 1989, Music Worx, in the Fortitude Valley and had six great years building the local music industry in Brisbane.  It all ended in 1995, and I tried many new experiences until I returned to Ellaways Music in 1999.
(for my history in detail from 1985 in Brisbane, see the work in progress – https://gregdodge.wordpress.com/2010/04/11/brisbane-music-1985-2010-25-years-of-reflection-part-one/   )
In 1998, we were pleased to hear, like most, that Clare and Tim were having a baby.  When he was born, Beau, became their main priority.  As the years rolled forward, Julie and I went out with them and their new addition, Beau.  Tim adored him, and sang his praises regularly on our phone calls. He gave me constant updates on his drumming, guitar playing and anything else he was into. At 9 years old, he fully mastered the “rubik’s cube”, as we all know this was no easy feat especially for a 9 year old. Tim, as a father, was extremely impressed and proud.  We knew that Beau was going to be a special young man – and that he is.

Ian and Michelle now lived in Noosa on the Sunshine Coast, in Queensland and settled to have a young family.  They ran a music and bazaar store at Noosa Junction for a number of years, and Ian and I would catch up occasionally when we could.  Tim, of course, would always call us to keep us all connected with the latest happenings.

In 2003, Ian had been diagnosed with the early signs of Dementia. His father had also had it. He had started to visit Nepal with his local church, where they set up an orphanage, did lots of drumming and music.  When I went to see Ian last year, I had been told from our mutual friend, John Valente,  that he now resided in a nursing home.  I was so pleased to re-connect with Ian after many years, and meet, for the first time, his daughter, Zoe and sadly, a week later Ian had passed away at 67 years old. Frank, also his lifelong friend, had visited minutes before he passed away in Franks arms.

A few weeks ago, Tim had decided to take his life into his own hands, and leave this world, which was very upsetting news for us all. I had only just talked to him the previous weekend, and had anticipated calling him to discuss a YouTube video he had shared.  He had been unwell, had some ongoing life issues, and decided that it was his time to go.  I respect that from Tim, as he always knew his own mind.

It made me realise firsthand how fragile life is, and how we must always be there for each other when the going does get tough.  Both Ian and Tim taught me so much about life and music, and gave me some wonderful experiences and amazing memories.

Today, we each have a new generation of Shaws, Farringtons and Dodges, who no doubt are proud of their Dads, as they go about experiencing the happenings and opportunities of what living is all about. The highs, the lows, the twists, the turns, and best of all, the great memories of lifelong, loving, friendships and a real “soul family” that goes beyond this world.
Tim and Ian were my ‘soul brothers’ and like all of us who had the pleasure to know them, they will be dearly missed.
   

                Tim Shaw (1958 – 2015)         Ian Farrington (1947 – 2014)
I Love you guys, great knowing you both….

Greg Dodge
Brisbane, Q’ld
January 2015