HONEY
https://open.spotify.com/album/4dZlOFROwwNrM2UEY9hbZw?si=3PJqMh8GSOiqQOn6d6GCLA
Honey released their debut LP ‘Blessed Bee’ filled with original Australian music in 2016. Already they have been featured on ABC Radio and REAL FM in Australia. As with the previous release, expansive instrumental takes are blended with short and soulful vocal tracks. Richard’s edgy punk rock and electronica side has been soothed into a mature sound, very popular on the highly competitive Australian festival circuit, flanked by Elizabeth’s jazz/classical/soulful style, at times leading towards a phat keyboard style, whilst at other times taking off towards a wistfully arthouse sound. The band earns its stripes with continual live gigs not just at festivals but also at cafes, clubs, wineries and breweries on the Australian east coast, with other singers and soloists regularly sitting in, most recently Tom Hodson (Squeeze Box Trio) Accordion and Mick Elderfield (Southerly Change) Sax.
Honey are a South Coast based duo comprising Elizabeth Walton on Piano/Vocals/Guitar and Percussion and Richard Lawson Guitar/Vocals/Percussion. Formed in 2014 they bring together the 3 worlds of Rock, Jazz and Classical tinged with unusual and ever changing instrumentation and a flourish of Folk and Blues.Their 2 part harmonies and the startling, mature and cinematic sound percolated from years of experience the 2 well travelled musicians have taken. Elizabeth Walton’s’ arrangements lend a spacious and dramatic approach to keys, vocals, and that unique Honey sound. Richard’s years of experience and his solid and rhythmic approach to instrumentation and original works round out a complete package. Honey have played at Kangaroo Valley/Turning Wave and Gulgong Folk Festivals in 2014/2015/2016 and released their Debut EP ‘Valentine’s Day’ in Dec 2014. They are touring the East Coast of Australia summer of 2017/2018
Their first EP Valentines Day was released in 2014
KINGS OF CONGO CONGO
*STOP PRESS…KINGS OF CONGO CONGO JUST CONFIRMED FOR FLAVOURS OF MUDGEE SAT 21 SEPT 2024 AND MUDGEE RACES FRI 6 DEC 2024*
https://www.youtube.com/embed/KiXTmMDO8Ko?feature=oembedKINGS OF CONGO ‘BURUNDI’ EXCERPT FLAVOURS OF MUDGEE 2023
https://www.youtube.com/embed/Eq39GmBTc5c?feature=oembedKINGS OF CONGO SYNCING WITH FIREWORKS AT FLAVOURS OF MUDGEE 2023
“The Kings of Congo Congo will be drumming up a storm in the centre of town at the Flavours of Mudgee street festival Saturday September 23 2023. The local drumming group combines high energy and high volume with precision and coordination to create a powerful sound and contagious rhythms.
The Kings have performed around the local region for over 12 years, from the Kandos Bob Marley Festival in 2014 to the Gulgong Folk Festival in 2015. They drummed at last year’s Flavours of Mudgee and indeed at the first one in 2012, and drummer Mitchell Dover remembers the performance as a great day, with a large crowd gathering and getting into the Kings’ beats as night fell.
Many of the members are young students of Kings of Congo Congo founder Richard Lawson, and although they have only been drumming for a short time – in some cases only a year – the group has an energy and focus that mesmerises audiences. The drummers are committed to improving their skills and say while the discipline of a group performance is challenging, it’s fun to perform together.
Drummer Laidley Rouse compared drumming with the group to a team sport, and the Kings of Congo Congo have been training hard and are ready to play this weekend.
The Kings of Congo Congo will play three short sharp sets at Flavours of Mudgee, and audiences can expect to hear a variety of influences including Brazilian street marches and African rhythms. The drummers also improvise pieces they call their “randoms”.
Flavours of Mudgee will be held in Market Street from 4pm to 8pm on Saturday, September 23 2023.
The street will be closed and filled with stalls and performers, allowing locals and visitors to
enjoy dinner in the street and taste local wine, food and produce in a festival atmosphere.
Congo Congo drum up a beat at Flavours of Mudgee” Sam Paine Mudgee Guardian
Kings of Congo Congo is a Mudgee based percussion group led by Richard Lawson who for over 30 years has been at the forefront of Rock drumming in Australia first with legendary Aussie Punk group the Lime Spiders then as a music educator and successful solo artist/producer and composer.
The group is made up of his best students and drummer mates and regularly performs at outdoor festivals and workshops in the Central West / Blue Mts and South Coast of NSW and further afield.
They have made spectacular appearances at ‘The flavours of Mudgee’ in Sept 2023 and 2024 and stole the show at the street party at the ‘Gulgong Folk Festival’ in Jan 2013. They have also had special guest artists and drummers appear and jam with them including guitar virtuoso Daniel Champagne, Southerly Change members Benjamin Fowler/Matt Sykes, Paul Greene and Funkhouse drummer Aaron Strickland and Beatmeisters famous Djembe master Damion Stirling…
Kings of Congo Congo also run workshops with a few of their drummers touring the Central West and entertaining, teaching and made appearances at the Kangaroo Valley Music Festival in October 2018
THE LONE DRUMMER
The Lone Drummer fights injustice and engages in protest larks, stunts and activities but here he takes part in and EPIC BATTLE against his arch enemy #grimbarista…a no holds barred grudge match with no beats untouched… with IWRC referee @_paul_west_ officiating
Filmed live at Honorbread Bermagui Halloween 2023
The EPIC BATTLE between @lone.drummer and #grimbarista took to take place Tuesday 31 October 2023 with Media star Paul West
Pics here and youtuber to follow
THE STORY SO FAR….2023
We’ve all heard of the classic lone ranger, the enduring fictional icon of American culture, confronting the unethical behavior of the corrupt and instill justice upon the wild American west of old. In Australia, we have the lone drummer, a masked superhero fighting the unjust logging of Australia’s wilderness, home to some of the world’s most unique flora and fauna. The lone drummer is joining forces with a myriad of forest groups, insisting on ending logging of Australia’s native forests. Since 2019 the Lone Drummer has been seen at Parliament House in Canberra, Forestry HQ in Batemans Bay, Princes Hwy Far South Coast, State MP Andrew Constance Office in Bega and many other occasions.
What’s the story of The Lone Drummer – who is he and what does he do?
I am an ex Rock Star Drummer from the Australian band the Lime Spiders known for our wild punk performances in the 80s and 90s last century. I used to be at the core of our performance regularly destroying or trashing my drum kit during the gig. It has been set on fire/thrown off stage and smashed and there is even video of it during a film shoot being thrown off a building and being played with tomahawks as drumsticks.
I’ve never protested before being of the opinion that I could not make a difference against the behemoth of big industry and government in cahoots with it. But now I am so angry and charged that I am expressing it the only way I know how
Why is The Lone Drummer playing for forests and Climate Change?
Climate change is the biggest threat to our existence as a species and I don’t want to go to protests and write letters or articulate it. I am a musician and have problems articulating into words the way I feel. I’m doing this the only way I know how. The essence is to maintain the rage thru rock which is what rock n roll was originally all about.
Music has been a form of protest for eons. I don’t particularly like protest music that is too literal and would rather use allegory, metaphor and art, surrealism in particular…think Dali or Christo covering landscapes
What is people’s reaction when they see a drummer playing solo in these unexpected locations?
After I played on the side of the Princes Hwy just outside the logging entrance at Corunna Forest I have since encountered many people who happened to have been driving past on their daily business. They were perplexed, surprised at first to see some guy just randomly drumming away on the side of the hwy but then they put 2 and 2 together and recognized the issue and it …it resonated with them in a way they couldn’t articulate.
Outside the local members office in Bega [Andrew Constance] it was incredibly loud and shocking. I was intent on shoving it in his face. It could be heard all over Bega apparently. Film crews turned up spontaneously and the engagements online in one day were over 7000
PERFORMANCE ART GETS MORE MEDIA THAN LETTERS OR PETITIONS. IT WAS STRAIGHT TO THE 6PM NEWS!!
What’s coming up next – we hear you’re taking things to a national level?
I played at Parliament House in Canberra on Monday 3 Dec alongside Politicians, Green Groups and normal everyday people asking for native logging to be stopped by 2020…pics below
The Lone drummer has now got some powerful allies who have joined him to form a ‘Lone Band’ to fight injustice on the environmental front.
Richard Burgman [Sunny Boys], who now lives in Toronto Canada and Jon Scofield [Paul Kelly] have donned the mask and cape to play guitar and bass respectively
We did an environmental version of the ‘Bad News’ song as originally performed by the ‘Young Ones’ band spinoff
We performed live at the ‘Forest Uprising’ on Parliament House lawn in Canberra at midday on Wed Feb 13 and a live to air or pre recorded spot with Canberra ABC Radio that morning for publicity to play the song acoustically
LAWSON SCHOOL OF MUSIC
Lawson School of Music
The Lawson school of Music centres around two teachers – Richard Lawson and Elizabeth Walton, with regular guest sessions and master classes presented by professional musicians. All students are encouraged to attempt public performance at their level, and the teachers endeavor to provide performance opportunities.
The Lawson school of Music centres around two teachers – Richard Lawson and Elizabeth Walton, with regular guest sessions and master classes presented by professional musicians. All students are encouraged to attempt public performance at their level, and the teachers endeavor to provide performance opportunities.
Both Elizabeth and Richard perform regularly at festivals and at a range of music venues. Each plays solo as well as in various bands, including Honey, Kings of Congo Congo, Benji and the Saltwater Soundsystem, Lime Spiders and Bella Djemballa and other guest spots.
About Richard
As a professional musician Richard toured the world and has released many recordings in various guises. He helps students prepare for careers in contemporary performance and teaches them an understanding of what life is like in a professional performance setting.
Teaching areas: Kit drums, Timbales, Guitar, Vocal, Composition, Cubase
About Elizabeth
Elizabeth studied jazz improvisation and western art music (classical) at the Sydney Conservatorium and the University of NSW. Elizabeth meets the student where their music is – with a variety of notation and classical techniques, applied to improvisation and composition. “The music is in you, not in the instrument”.
Teaching areas: Classical and contemporary Piano, Classical and contemporary Guitar, African Drums, Improvisation, Composition, Sound Movement, Garage Band, iPhone recording
Music Lessons Terms and Conditions
Students are required to pay by the term. Term fees fall due prior to the commencement of term. Teachers endeavor to make up skipped lessons where the student provides 24 hours or more notice of non-attendance.
Richard Lawson Music 