At the heart of it

The Ships engines deep thrumming in the distant background - the sound and smell of the Ocean lapping against the Harbor wharfs, while its distant body rages itself against the shore, lights glinting across the bay and the murmur of people after a satisfyingly relaxing Sunday chilling to all of the above.

That’s what greeted us as we arrived at Zacks @ Wilsons Wharf. After helping Loz unload and set up his drum kit we took our beers around the side of the building and sat with our legs dangling over the worn concrete wall that dropped down to the harbor waters.

Absorbing it all as we sat there four, the shear size of the cranes used to load the ships against the size of the ships themselves which aren’t small, the realization that this part of the city never sleeps and as such the city doesn’t sleep. Just rests, there has always been a vibe about Durban, a great one, and I’ve always had the sense that it never sleeps, merely moves into moments of restfulness (which are beautiful when you’re in them).

Now I was looking at its heart surely, the clank and clunk and deep thrumping sound of the engine that drives the blood of this city, surely Durban is a tourist town – but this is where it started this is where it grew from, the rest is just the prettiness that has been appreciated. This is the biggest shipping port in Africa, and you can tell, though so often we don’t see it as we’re absorbed in one of its other many beautiful distractions…

I liked seeing the grit of what pushes its pulse though, attractive to me in its own right, the same way that a fathers sweat work streaked arms are attractive to his young child. There’s a security there in its solidity, as Loz said so long as you see the Ships lining up to get into Durban Harbour you know the economy is doing okay.

We finished off our beers and headed inside to tune up our guitars and get ready for the show, it was our first performance in Durban as the band, and we didn’t want to disappoint.

We gazed back over the water at the bump and clang just as we’d loaded the last of Loz’s drums back into his Car, sipping at the last of our beers. The shake of hand and hugged shoulders for a shared experience, then a drive like slumbering pushed blood into one of the city’s resting organs.

Well well well (three holes in the ground). So it's the new year and Zephyr is looking to get "back on the circut" so to speak! Woo hoo! So, to that end . . . . . . . . we have been asked to play at a certain local establishment from 10am 'till 7pm on Saturdays or Sundays. Realistic or not? Hmmmmmmm . . . . . . . . we'll let you be the judge of that and possibly come up with some suggestions as to how we might proceed :-). Hear from y'all soon. Over and out. The Wizard from Oz.

B.O.B. says Bye! (for now)

Once again its been a while since we last updated. Band of Brothers (unofficially abbreviated to BOB) have been going strong and rocking crowds at various places and venues. The Maritzburg Music Club gig was a huge success and the boys rocked "around the clock" til voices were hoarse on stage and hands were aching from the clapping along in the crowd. They even got a standing ovation at the end of the performance, a rare occurence for the usually mellow-maritzburgers.
Band of Brothers then graced Lunar Lounge with a show at the Shamwari stage in Drummond. A few broken strings, some frozen fingers and a broken drum skin later, it all turned out well (with the help of a few glasses of red wine afterwards!) The most recent performance was at Forest Gate in Howick and once again there were broken strings but all in all we pulled it off and the venue was well-suited to the vibey sounds of the band.
Unfortunately White Mountain didnt happen for us this year but hopefully we'll back there soon.

The next gig will be on the 17th Oct, at Cliffy's in Lincoln Meade, PMB. The band will be reverting to Zephyr for this gig and probably sticking with that again more from now. Band of Brothers will not fall away completely but be kept on as a side-project. There is also a fundraiser on the 31st of Oct where Band of brothers have a slot at the Forgotten Falls in Howick so come along and support a good cause (the money rasied will go to Darren Bode's medical expenses as he had a car accident earlier this year).

Keep up the support as the end of the year draws near and "see you there".

CB

Latest Updates & Happenings

Okay it’s been a while since I’ve posted anything here, only our post Splashy write up, quite a bit’s happened since then.
The Band is continuing to play under the Name Band of Brothers, though Zephyr’s not lost and gone, just on the Backburners for now.
All our news, updates, gigs & doings of the Band will still be here on our Blog and the Zephyr Website.

So what’s the update on what’s been happening and what’s going on, since I last wrote Band of Brothers opened for Jason Hartman (brother of Scott who drummed for us at Splashy and when we opened for his brother) Idols winner at Pecan wood estate. It was a great concert and the crowd was awesome. Besides us and Jason another act on the night were Gonzo Republic, who I (and the rest of the Band actually) really enjoy, they’ve got their own unique sound and stage presence. So we had a really enjoyable evening, and it was very cool to open for my good friend Jason (did I ever mention that he taught me to play guitar) just after his Idols win.

Anyway so moving forward with the news, unfortunately Scott being as busy musically as he is with his own stuff and playing with his now very much in demand brother was never going to be a permanent feature, though we loved playing with him, this has now opened the door to new friendships and Musical relationships. Band of Brothers has been joined now by a new drummer in Loz Smith, and we’ve all been working hard together coming up with new songs and teaching Loz some of the older ones. It’s been fun, but now we’re ready to get out there as this new Musical Machine and flaunt ourselves to you the fantastic Public.
Our first gig as this new unit will be at the PMB Musicians club, and we’re really looking forward to entertaining the local crowds, we’re also hoping to head up to the Newcastle folk club a bit later this year.

Then in September (24th to the 27th to be exact) we’re hoping to get into White Mountain Folk Festival – it’s a really awesome festival up in the Berg outside of Escourt, and along with Splashy Fen this is one of my favorite’s festivals. Part of what I love about it is that it’s a folk festival, which basically means all the Bands that play there have to play Acoustics, which makes it such a mellowed out festival with rich sounding easy listening music, and it’s a great time to see some of your favorites bands playing in a slightly different format, with different takes on some of their favorites songs.

Anyway that’s all from me for now, I will try and make some more regular updates to let you all know what’s been happening and what is happening.
For now though that’s all

Peace and Love
Liam

Splashy Fen

So Band of Brothers had it’s first gig at Splashy fen (Click here for Photo's) and it went down really well, we had a few problems with the onstage sound – unable to hear our vocals and guitars that well, but the sound in front of the stage was good and the crowd we’re really great.
The nice thing about Splashy and similar music festivals is being able to meet and chat to other muso’s some who we’ve met before and others we haven’t, maybe even get together and have a Jam around the fire.

Scott, Jeremy and I were also joined by Chris Wyatt on the day - for a last minute addition it worked really well, we’d only had one practice with Scott and that morning did a run through of the songs with Chris but we managed to pull it off. We really enjoyed playing the two new songs “We Dance” and “Trailblazer Jack” and the crowd loved them too. So if you were there at Splashy sitting in the crowd, thanks for the support it was awesome and we’re looking forward to getting stuck into some new gigs soon.

Peace and Love
Liam

BETWEEN FESTIVALS

Its been a while and although quiet online, life has been busy. Christmas came and went with the usual abundance of good food and drink and new year was seen in, civilly in the outdoors as it should be! The champagne was flowing freely though! ;-)
So between festivals Zephyr has been gently floating on the breeze and working on new songs and refining older ones. Liam graced the Maritzburg Music Club with his melodies on Tues 3 March and the audience enjoyed the laid back set. He was followed by some Durban talent that were hip and vibey and well-received by us small-town folk!
Of course the countdown is on til the BIG Splashy Fen and what a weekend its going to be! With the line-up of all line-ups and a new-look Zephyr-morph who will be known as Band of Brothers playing on Friday (11h20) with the super-talented Scott Hartmann (the adopted brother of the trio) drumming for the Mathias' it'll be fun all round and they'll be sure to kick start the second half of the day in a rocking way!
Check out the BIG 2-0 Splashy site for more info and keep a look out for the Band of Brothers doing their thing on Friday!

Caro

The Band of Brothers Project

Myself and my Brother Jeremy have always wanted to get together and play with another talented brother combination, who also happen to be good friends Jason and Scott Hartman – is it a coincidence that they play Guitar and Drums and we play guitar and Bass respectively, that already in that you have your Basic Band Makeup – maybe but I like to think it’s a good omen.

Like us their common genes and similarity of voice produce awesome Harmonies, heck you could take away the instruments and have an awesome male acapela group.

Truth be told we have Jammed with them before, and I (in the days before my brother picked up a bass and realized his musical ability) played a few gigs with them, at one time also as an early version of Zephyr.

Why am I calling it a project and not a band… well “Band of Brothers” is a band, though it’s a side project from each of our respective bands. (the Hartman brothers play and have played under different band names, very often with their Father, Sam. Band names they’ve played in or under are, Samson, Justus, One River and Redeye to name a few)

Of course we’d love the project to grow into a full time Band if it were well received and supported, but that’s something we’ll have to gauge down the line, from all parties concerned. Personally I would also love to do some song writing and hopefully produce a CD as band of brothers, but again as a unit we haven’t all sat down to talk about the possibilities.

For now though Band of brothers is going to be doing a first performance at this years Splashy Fen… well in a sense, because Jason due to his own talent won’t be able to join us. The good man has gone and got himself into the top ten of Idols, while we are super stoked for him, means the full band of brothers will have to wait for another opportunity to get to play alongside one another.

The three of us however are just as exicted to get up and rock Splashy Fen, which we will, so get your camping gear out, because Band of Brothers is heading to Splashy Fen!

Peace and Love

Liam

White Mountain Folk Festival

24 to 28 September 2008

More than music at White Mountain

Start ticking off the days and get ready for White Mountain 2008 – KwaZulu-Natal’s only acoustic music festival that promises more than 40 live acts over five days, as well as a host of other activities for the whole family. Coinciding with Heritage Day and the start of the school holidays, the festival runs from 24-28 September and is held at White Mountain Lodge in the foothills of the Giant's Castle Nature Reserve, just 34km from Estcourt on tarred roads and 200km from Durban.

Included in the line-up are Prime Circle, John Ellis of Tree63, Syd Kitchen, Laurie Levine, Maisha, Black Cat Bone, Cabins in the Forest and many others, all of whom will perform acoustic sets either on the main marquee stage, in the lodge’s 150-year-old restaurant and pub (Tom’s Tavern) or around the pool. See below for the full programme.

Food, beer and craft markets
Aside from the live music, there’ll also be a variety of food stalls and a beer market featuring naturally brewed ales, lagers, draughts and fruit beers from Nottingham Road Brewing Company, Bavaria Breweries, Shongweni Brewery and the full selection of SAB brands.

Not to be missed is the craft market where you’ll find original handcrafted wares, ranging from aluminium flutes and other musical instruments to stained glass, pewter and copper décor items, artworks, colourful hammocks, clothing and jewellery, as well as massage therapy and organic healing creams. Supported by the Imbabazane Municipality, crafters from the local community will also showcase their intricate bead, wire and woven goods. And rest assured, Standard Bank’s Saswitch-enabled mobile ATM facilities will be available around the clock for when the shopping bug bites!

Outdoor activities
With even more outdoor activities on offer this year, festival-goers are going to be spoilt for choice and the dilemma is going to be in deciding how to fit it all in! Kids will be able to enjoy fun and games coordinated by White Mountain’s team of qualified instructors, while adventure-seekers can look forward to abseiling, paintball and a fuffi slide across a nearby 100m-wide gorge, with helicopter flips also available if the weather permits. Or there’s always swimming, hiking, boating or bass fishing in either of the lodge’s two dams. There’ll be great prizes up for grabs for catching the biggest fish, so don’t forget to bring your rods and tackle!

You’ll also have an opportunity to glide on the world’s only ‘self-balancing personal transport system’, called a Segway. These two-wheel battery operated machines work together with tilt sensors and gyroscopes to make for a totally unique experience. Give one a try on the specially designed track which will be operational throughout the festival.

With all of this on offer, how many more reasons do you need to pack up the family and head to White Mountain for a long weekend of fun and music in one of the most scenic spots in the central Drakensberg? Tickets are available at Game stores (R350), Computicket (R400) and at the festival gate (R450). Children under 12 pay R50 – tickets at the gate only. The price includes camping for the entire festival.

For more information, visit www.whitemountain.co.za or contact Pedro at 082 892 6176.


FESTIVAL PROGRAMME

Wednesday, 24 September (Tom’s Tavern): 12:00 Rob & Garth Warren, 13:00 Off The Cuff, 14:00 Hruki, 15:00 Open Mic Session, 18:00 Dani Nieuwoudt, 19:00 Mitch Barné, 20:00 Manuvah to Land, 21:00 Sara Jackson, 22:00 Tresor Riziky, 23:00 Rob Warren & Steve Murray, 24:00 Open Mic Session.

Thursday, 25 September (Tom’s Tavern): 12:00 Bruce Warren, 13:00 Barry Thomson, 14:00 Sern Lagerwall, 15:00 Open Mic Session, 18:00 Shannon Connolly, 19:00 Cornel Meyer, 20:00 Catlike Thieves, 21:00 Candice Nel, 22:00 Jean Morrison, 23:00 Rob & Garth Warren, 24:00 Open Mic Session.

Friday, 26 September (Tom’s Tavern): 11:00 Dr Fly and the Nurses, 11:20 Brandon Hunt, 12:00 Zephyr, 24:00 Open Mic Session. Marquee Stage: 13:00 Cherise, 14:00 Elizabeth, 15:00 Fox Fyre, 16:00 Aden Hinds, 17:00 The Originals, 18:00 Cabins in the Forest, 19:15 Dave McMillan & Roly Struckmeyer, 20:30 Laurie Levine, 21:30 Habit To, 22:30 Black Cat Bone.

Saturday, 27 September (Tom’s Tavern): 11:00 Black Cat Bone, 12:00 Hairy Legged Lentil Eaters, 17:00 Xerox Lions v The Sharks, 24:00 Open Mic Session. Marquee Stage: 13:00 The Ryan Calder Band, 14:00 Angus Burns & Friends, 15:00 Shomon, 16:00 Syd Kitchen, 17:00 Zoe & Somebody’s Child, 18:00 Shannon Hope, 19:00 Van der Hoven feat. Henry Steel, 20:15 John Ellis, 21:30 Maisha, 22:30 Prime Circle.

Sunday, 28 September (Marquee Stage): 11:00 The Association of Weak Tea Drinkers, 12:00 The Bandits, 13:00 Ilan Lax & Friends, 14:00 Hairy Legged Lentil Eaters.