Project Description
Interview with
NICKY BOMBA
from
MELBOURNE SKA ORCHESTRA
Interviewer – Dave Bruce
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Dave: Hi. What’s your and your band’s name?
Nicky: Nicky Bomba from the Melbourne SKA Orchestra
Dave: So today I’ve got five questions and they’re all basically based around the premise “one”. One moment. We call it a “fuck” moment, and it is part of a “fuck” quiz I designed.
Nicky: F U C K Q U I Z?
Dave: F U C K Q U I Z
Nicky: yeah yeah yeah
Dave: Basically what it’s about is I have a conscious side to what I do. One aspect of that consciousness deals with the word FUCK as a connection to a feeling. My premise is when you use the word FUCK in a range of different ways descriptively, it is connected to an in the moment feeling. Such a great word that we use so loosely that has so much connection in it.
Dave: So just as a first question: In relation to the Aria’s, this Aria award, what was the “FUCK” moment when they said you’re nominated, or when you found out? What was the “FUCK” feeling?
Nicky: Yeah, well first it was the anticipated nervous “fuuuuck”, hope we’re gonna win you know, “fuuuuck”! When they actually start describing the nominees, you have to get placid before hand because if you get too anxious, you get disappointed or whatever, so you have to have a sense of calm and when they go and the winner is…. you see his mouth go mmm… Melbourne SKA Orchestra you go FUUUUUCCCCKKKKK!!!
Dave: Haha. There you go.
Nicky: So the joyous “fuck yeah yeah yeah”.
Dave: ok, number two question. What was the fear moment? You know, “what do I wear, what happens if I lose”, ….
Nicky: ok fear moment
Dave: Just the feeling when you’re told and what you thought and felt.
Nicky: Well I think the fear moment would have been, probably like, if we didn’t win, I didn’t want to get too anxious about. I feared that I would kind of be dumbed down to some kind of disappointment.
Dave: The fear would be to want to present in a particular way and not the other way?
Nicky: That type of thing. It was a great body of work and it was a lot of effort that went into it and I was really hoping that I could, we could, win it for ourselves as an achievement, because there was so many things involved, and so many people and so much love.
Dave: People from Sydney and Melbourne. A huge concern.
Nicky: It really was, just everything was full on I suppose that year. One fear was that it was a going to be a bit of disappointment and another fear I experienced was this morning on the way. It was about 5 past 9 and we thought “I think its just around the corner lets have a little coffee and a little breakfast” and they took so long to bring breakfast out it was like twenty five past nine and we were supposed to be here at nine thirty.
Dave: hahaha
Nicky: And we were like actually a ten to fifteen minute walk away so the fear was like “FUCK we’ve come up the day before and now we’re gonna fuckin miss it!”, so we got in the uber straight away and just high tailed it.
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Dave: Number three question. Tell me one moment or event in your life that’s been pivotal. It’s THE ONE. If you can only choose just one moment or event that was, just off the top of your head, that was bang, that was the change, BOOM, that’s it.
Nicky: I think there was a moment, I mean musically related, there’s lots of personal moments, but I think seeing we’re in a music domain, there was a point where I realised that my art was valid. That this is art, art is really a form of expression and I didn’t have to be kind of…
Dave: What was the moment?
Nicky: I kind of just remember that ! was on a balcony, I was in the bush, I was frustrated that a lot of the things I was doing were not not so connecting, like there was no recognition. We had spent a long time in bands and we saw bands that were coming up that were surpassing us in popularity. So there was a point where I was crumbling in the ambition and the frustration of it all. So I can choose to stop or I can choose to go on. At that point, I said to myself “I believe in myself and I believe in what I am doing and my art is valid and anything goes”.
Dave: How long ago was that? Approx?
Nicky: 2000..like i have been playing since i was 2 years old and I’m 56 now, so would have been around the time I was 40. I was around 40 years old and it was the time I went through my divorce and everything so it was a real kind of pivotal time. And it’s about self belief and when you have that it informs everything else. It informs your life performance, it informs what you say, what song you write and you’re communication with the people, it’s a real kind of sense of self.
Dave: Whoa! Cool. Question number four. One person, I know there’s a million you have associated with when you’re 56, but what one person, any time, had that, you know, momentous effect? Could be mum, dad, could be a teacher, could be last week, could be whenever you want?
Nicky: There’s so many people involved in this band
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Dave: I am looking for one person where you feel, this is like a fuck moment, when you’re drawn to this one person.
Nicky: I would say it wasn’t the person, it was an entity. I would say it was the energy that brought a sense of peace to me and I tapped into that energy, you could say it was the cosmic consciousness and tapping into that. It’s not really a person but it is a sense of belonging.
Dave: Really cool. I call that “The Source”.
Nicky: Yeah, the source, and that source said “you’re okay…what you’re doing is perfect, you are a creative soul”.
Dave: Same time as the last question, or a different time?
Nicky: No this was later. This was actually probably my first revelation about believing forms that really kind of fine tune and like wow! A lot of the problems I had were so first world problems and then, boom!, I think I’m fucking healthy, I’m energetic, I found that sense of self. A lot of people came up to me and would say “I really am inspired by you” and I was never really kind of connected to that and when you kind of hear that you’re kind of doing something right. So it becomes an obligation and a mission to do your best work all the time. To check yourself and stay connected with “I am what I say, actions speak louder than words”. There was also a thing of diffusions or the dissolution of control freak that I was. That welcomes the brain trust, the think tank around you and that for me that is a part of, and you can tap into that and its a real energy. The source!
Dave: Source vs thought, and don’t take yourself too seriously.
Nicky: And when you open it up it’s like wow… the possibilities are endless!
Dave: Fantastic, and I love your adventurous goal to create a song a week. 52 songs in a year, because that’s one of the situations where nothing …. everything becomes available.
Nicky: Yeah
Dave: In something you have to be restricted by things, but in nothing we can do anything, we can be anything, lets do 52 songs next year, or this year.
Nicky: I had to step up and be a real captain, you know so I had to kind of “be”.
Dave: Magic. Really cool Nicky. And finally, question five, what is one message you want to leave everyone with and I know you’ve got a fuckin million to share lol?
Nicky: OK, I’ll just say this. This is my tattoo which is “J I E M” which is joy in every moment, like right now, being dedicated.
Dave: The reason I started Amnplify was to help people with self experiences. I’m not really as interested in the result as much as I’m interested in the conscious side, the feeling, the self experience, fuck moment after fuck moment lol.
Nicky: Yeah exactly, and for me that’s like the more that I remember that, my days are better. Every day’s a universe for me now.
Dave: Nicky, you have been a gift for me today. I really appreciate you, your time, your energy. It’s been a pleasure.
Nicky: Thanks Dave. I enjoyed it too.
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Follow MELBOURNE SKA ORCHESTRA
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MELBOURNE SKA ORCHESTRA
announce massive National Tour
+ New single
“GOOD DAYS BAD DAYS”
Out Now
The beloved Melbourne Ska Orchestra recently unveiled their new single Good Days Bad Days – a showstopper of a track lifted from their most recent album One Year Of Ska – the box set album that just saw them take out the 2019 ARIA Award for Best World Music Album. To celebrate, the epic 25 piece band have announced a huge national tour, which will see them hitting up metropolitan and regional cities across the country throughout the early months of 2020. The group will be kicking things off at the Mullumbimby Civic Hall on February 28, then moving through Brisbane, Maroochydore, Newcastle, Sydney, Wollongong, Canberra, Fremantle, Pinjarra (WA), and wrapping up with a massive hometown show at Forum Melbourne on May 1.
Melbourne Ska Orchestra are a force to be reckoned with when it comes to the stage. Audiences will be blown away by up to 25 musicians performing at a time, and the joyous, energetic vibe of a Melbourne Ska Orchestra gig is one that must be seen to be believed. Multi-instrumentalist and band leader Nicky Bomba enthuses,
“With so many band members, we’re a bit like a soccer team! Our live shows are a community experience. It’s imperative for us to make a solid unifying connection with our audience. We hold the live performance in high esteem, as it’s an ancient ritual where humans come together celebrating life through the wonder of music. It’s a bit of a spectacle to behold.”
The album One Year Of Ska was an innovative undertaking for the seasoned group. They set themselves the mammoth task of recording one new song per week for an entire year – that’s a lot of ska! The band took on the challenge firstly as a way of embracing the idea of creating content for their fans, and also to mimick the old-school Jamaican practice of releasing new songs on a weekly basis to encourage punters to come to their weekly dancehall gigs. It was an epic task for the Melbourne Ska Orchestra, to say the least, as Nicky Bomba reflects,
“We had to move our studio from country Victoria to a studio in Collingwood to facilitate the whole process. It felt like a NASA mission, working around the clock to create, arrange, record, mix and master in time for each weekly launch, which would happen every Friday morning at 9am.”
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The new single Good Days Bad Days is just one of the tracks borne of this intense year of work. Bright, spunky and full of life, it’s everything audiences have come to love about the band. The track reflects on exactly that – the good days and bad days that are all part and parcel of life – with geniuine happiness and wisdom, as Nicky says,
“The Good Days Bad Days sentiment is universal and it covers all walks of life. The second verse is particularly close to home, as it relates to putting our own gigs on – it’s always a risk, and things can turn on a dime. Life is full of the extremes of the pendulum swing. Finding the balance is the key, eh!”
Showcasing the wild intensity and fun that is Melbourne Ska Orchestra in a live setting, Nicky speaks on the video for the song,
“Good Days Bad Days really kicks in with the crowd when we play it live. It’s a universal theme that has almost become colloquial. I love how the film clip captures the raw energy of the live spectacle of the orchestra.”
It’s always nice to be recognised for hard work, and what better acknowledgement is there for a band in Australia than the coveted ARIA Award? Melbourne Ska Orchestra scooped up the well-deserved nod at this year’s ARIAs for Best World Album, a well-respected and competitive category. It’s a meaningful win, as Nicky explains,
“What an honour to have again been presented with the World Music ARIA award. We love the fact that we are flagbearers for the international ska sound here in Australia, and hailing from Melbourne, the multicultural diversity is inspiring. This award is a perfect fit and we are looking forward to sharing our new One Year Of Ska songs with all of our fans.”
Tickets to the Good Days Bad Days tour are on sale NOW, from www.melbourneskaorchestra.com
Good Days Bad Days is out now!
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MELBOURNE SKA ORCHESTRA
NATIONAL TOUR
Tickets from www.melbourneskaorchestra.com
FRI FEB 28 | MULLUMBIMBY CIVIC HALL NSW | 18+
Tickets from http://bit.ly/gooddays-mullumbimby
SAT FEB 29 | THE TRIFFID, BRISBANE QLD | 18+
Tickets from http://bit.ly/gooddays-brisbane
SUN MAR 1 | SOLBAR, MAROOCHYDORE QLD | 18+
Tickets from http://bit.ly/gooddays-maroochydore
THURS MAR 12 | CAMBRIDGE HOTEL, NEWCASTLE NSW | 18+
Tickets from http://bit.ly/gooddays-newcastle
FRI MAR 13 | MANNING BAR, SYDNEY NSW| 18+
Tickets from http://bit.ly/gooddays-sydney
SAT MAR 14 | ANITA’S THEATRE, WOLLONGONG NSW | AA
(U18 ACCOMPANIED BY LEGAL GUARDIAN)
SUN MAR 15 | UC REFACTORY, CANBERRA ACT | 18+
Tickets from http://bit.ly/gooddays-canberra
FRI APR 17 | FREO SOCIAL, FREMANTLE WA | 18+
Tickets from http://bit.ly/gooddays-freo
SAT APR 18 | FAIRBRIDGE FESTIVAL, PINJARRA WA | 18+
FRI MAY 1 | THE FORUM, MELBOURNE VIC | 18+
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