Nearly fifteen years ago I found myself gasping for air and fighting for my life on the beach at Sunset. I’d managed to stab myself in the throat with my board, when an inside double-up broke on my head. Kneeling on the beach, a crowd gathered as blood spilt down to my chest and a flap of skin in my neck fluttered with every attempted breath. Miraculously, I’d missed my jugular vein and carotid artery by centimetres, but as I later lay up in Queen’s Hospital recovering, the doctors made it clear my singing career was over. They informed me the board had taken out a vocal chord, permanently restricting my breathing and ensuring I’d never sound the same way again.
I never really had a singing career to be truthful, but I was feeling pretty down and certainly lamented the fact I wouldn’t be able to sing along to my favourite tracks without sounding like rusty nails dragged across a cheese grater.
That’s when Jack Johnson stepped in to lift my mood. While I was getting slayed at Sunset, Jack (who actually lives right on the beach near Pipeline) had been in Australia on a tour. My girlfriend spotted him in a Sydney cafe and asked if he could write a good will message to her dumb boyfriend who’d made his board into a bayonet and was now bailed up in hospital with a self-inflicted wound.
Jack happily obliged, reaching for a piece of paper and writing a message in red pen – a rather fitting colour given the blood-spilt circumstances.
When my girlfriend showed me the hand-written note and told me the story behind it, I chortled through the hole in my throat. Jack Johnson’s impromptu get-well card lifted me out of my self-pity and kick-started the road to recovery. I’ve still got the piece of paper – the silver lining in an otherwise sour memory.
Anyway, I never got a chance to thank Jack or hear him play live and now he’s coming to the Byron Bay Bluesfest. And I can’t wait to be in a crowd as he rolls out one of those timeless rock lullabies that you can’t help but sing along too – even if your voice is totally buggered.
This Year’s Bluesfest is stacked with great names, many with curious surfing connections. With his catchy, Ozi-folk lyrics and celebrated live performances, Ziggy Alberts has cultivated a dedicated following. Like Jack, Ziggy is also a gifted surfer, just as comfortable laying down a rail carve as he is on stage.
Check out the full guide and ticketing info’ for Bluesfest here.
Meanwhile, both Jimmy Barnes and Garrett, who has featured in Tracks several times over the years, will be playing solo gigs at the Bluesfest. In a weird quirk of history, Peter and Jimmy were once introduced by Captain Goodvibes at a Horden Pavilion concert? Jimmy reflects fondly on his encounter with the hilarious Pig of Steel in his recent memoir, ‘Working Class Man’.
Then there’s Ben Harper who has as many surfboards as guitars and once told a journalist for ‘Drift Europe’ magazine, “Often I’ll be sat in the line-up and an idea will pop into my head, and I have to frantically paddle in and write it down.”
Ben has often said Byron is his favourite place in the world to surf so you can expect him to be in the right mood when he hits the stage to ‘burn one down.’
And don’t forget the infinitely versatile Robert Trujillo who fronts genre-bending outfit Infectious Grooves. Trujillo is best known as the surfing bass player for Metallica. When in Oz, Rob regularly hangs and surfs with Snapper Rocks surfing icon, Jay Phillips. However, on stage at Bluesfest he’ll be joined by band members from Velvet Revolver, Suicidal tendencies and Slip Knot to create a punk-funk supergroup that’s guaranteed to create a formidable wall of sound.
Once again the Bluesfest offers a five-day whirl of eclectic music entertainment and the kind of otherworldly atmosphere that only a festival like this can bring. Who knows I might even run into Jack and get to say thankyou for the note.
Check out the full guide and ticketing info’ for Bluesfest here.
