Multi-instrumentalist Danny Filmer joins me to discuss his musical journey for this week's episode of the BAND IT ABOUT - Podcast Series. Danny, born at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH), and raised in Blackwood, South Australia, was the youngest of three children. His older sister played the piano and whenever she wasn't at home, Danny would use that opportunity to hop on and play. Unfortunately, in the 70s when his sister decided to move out, she took her piano with her, but luckily for Danny, a family friend Steve Goss who was also a musician, gave him his first harmonica, and his love of this instrument and the blues grew from there. Danny, who also plays the bass guitar, joined his first band 'The Severed Tendons', who later changed their name to 'Endo Plasmic Reticulum' as their bass player, this was the beginning of his gigging career with various Adelaide bands. The 'Spirit Of Alondray' was the first band that Danny had the opportunity to play the harmonica with, but only on a few of their songs.
In 2016 Danny began making and playing his cigar box guitars, initially using a stomp box for the beat. He soon realized that drumming was best left to the experts, so he asked his wife Sue to come out of performance retirement to provide the beat on the Cajon drum for him, they have been performing together as the duo SUEDAN ever since. Danny has been able to write songs complimentary to his choice of instruments, the cigar box guitar, and harmonica, whereas, in the past, the bands that he had played with didn’t allow him to incorporate his favorite instrument the harmonica as much as he would have liked. The duo has a love of Middle Eastern music, which can be heard in some of their original blues compositions. The duo has traveled a lot since 2016, performing at various festivals and busking along the way. In 2021 Danny decided to leave his day job at the winery to enable them to turn Suedan into a full-time career, a risky move during a pandemic, but one that enabled them to take advantage of a time when mandatory density restrictions in venues, had resulted in a lot more work for solos and duos. When the duo isn’t performing at events, they are running open mic’s and busking.
SUEDAN is competing in the Memphis Blues Challenge (MBC) Final on the 27th of August, for the opportunity to represent the Adelaide Roots and Blues Association (ARBA) at the Blues Foundation's "International Blues Challenge", which will be held in Memphis Tennessee in 2023.
Music: "Band It About" theme song, written and recorded for the BAND IT ABOUT - Podcast Series by Catherine Lambert and Michael Bryant.
Outro: "Invisible Magic Guy", written in 2021 by Danny Filmer and performed by Suedan. This song was released in June 2021 on their album "Blues Box Set", which can be purchased online here: https://suedan.bandcamp.com/album/suedan-blues-box-set
Links: all of the BAND IT ABOUT - Podcast Series links can be located here: https://linktr.ee/banditaboutpodcastseries
Suedan Music website: https://suedan.com.au/ Facebook page: https://m.facebook.com/Suedan-2140148932728428/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/suedanmusic/
Di Spillane Host/Creator/Editor.
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