Fire, flood and pestilence haven't managed to keep The Gadflys down for long, with a string of gigs booked both locally and further afield in 2021.
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Clarinetist, singer and guitarist Phil Moriarty said the band was mid-tour for its most recent album Love & Despair, previously rescheduled after the fires, when COVID-restrictions pulled the pin on performances.
Although Mr Moriarty lives on the Far South Coast, the three other band members live in Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra, which made getting together to perform inordinately difficult for most of 2020.
"Some bright folks have worked the internet to their advantage, bringing live-streamed music directly to your tablet or phone," Mr Moriarty said.
"The Gadflys though are a band who made their reputation playing in front of live audiences.
"In the Darwinian scheme of things, 'adapt or perish', then if COVID was a meteor, and the Gadflys dinosaurs, it's adios and goodbye to them..."
Though the "mongrel jazz" band has taken on a number of different guises over the years, the four current musicians are in fact the original Gadflys, comprised of brothers and founding members Phil and Mick Moriarty (guitar), plus Elmo Reid (bass) and Peter Velzen (drums).
"We had two lives in the 80s, we were more of an electric band in '82, I even had an electrified clarinet, which I confess sounded abysmal.
"Then we split up in '85 and got back together in '89, became a more acoustic thing, with an upright bass and no drums for a while, which gave us entre to folk festivals and perhaps even the adult contemporary music market."
Mr Moriarty also plays with Mikelangelo and the Black Sea Gentlemen, who are celebrating 20 years of music this year, and mused on the fact in 2022 the Gadflys will hit the 40-year-mark.
"It only occurred to me a few days ago, but we might do something to celebrate, perhaps another release, could be a retrospective."
Upcoming gigs on the Far South Coast:
- Nethercote Hall: 7.30pm, Thursday, February 25, bookings: 0447 455 695
- Old Tanja Church: 7.30pm, Friday, February 26, book through Navigate Arts
- Quarterdeck, Narooma: Saturday, February 27, book through Quarterdeck
Followed by another three performances the following week in the Blue Mountains, Canberra and Sydney.
"The Gadflys headed up the Hume from Canberra to Newtown in the days when songs came in mix tapes and every day brought a new band and a different sound. Our music was as fresh then as it is now."
Leah Szanto
Regional journalist covering the Far South Coast of NSW.
Regional journalist covering the Far South Coast of NSW.
