Sophie Bleach
The National Trust Tasmania is excited to present this exciting event as part of the Tasmanian Heritage Festival …
Mick Thomas, best known as the song master of pub-rock icons ‘Weddings, Parties, Anything’, is launching his new book These Are The Days, a joyous autobiographical tale of an inspired and uniquely Australian creative force.
These Are the Days is a book of stories that all starts with the songs. How they got written, where and why they got written, and why they still get played. And its about the people – in the various line ups of the various bands, the people in the studio, and in the audience at the countless shows.
The book follows the stories of 31 songs, each including stories and a song chart. The book is the companion to These Are the Songs, a lovingly crafted compilation album spanning the past eighteen years and more of Mick Thomas’ creative life. From the wry and laconic observations of ‘The Lonely Goth’ to the wit and whimsy of ‘You Remind Me’, the soaring growl of ‘Hard Currency’ to the pure joyous on-the-road fun of ‘Sleep on Your Floor’ and ‘The Last of the Tourists’, this is a classic set of tunes performed by a loose but lovingly selected bunch of players.
Mick will appear at The Tench Penitentiary Historic Site on Thursday 25 May to launch his new book with Special Guest Moderator Anthony Morgan, where he’ll also perform acoustic songs featured in the book accompanied by members of his band the Roving Commission.
Audiences are also invited to a complimentary screening of the convict film ‘Pandemonium’ which features music by Mick Thomas.
Pandemonium is the incredible story of the convicts came from every corner of the British Empire. Between 1803 and 1853 75,000 convicts arrived in Van Diemen’s Land where they were measured, beaten and humiliated. Between 1806 and 1946, 221 people were hanged in Van Diemen’s Land.
The Penitentiary Chapel Site, shortened by inmates to “the Tench”, was the dark heart of the convict system in Tasmania. Behind these walls, 55,000 men ate, prayed, slept and were punished. Pandemonium’ the film is an immersive audio-visual experience within the original Penitentiary Chapel where convicts actually sat, projected four metres tall onto the very walls of the historic building.
This Saturday, visitors are encouraged to experience the history of Clarendon through the voice of animals.
For prices and more information please head to the festival website at www.nationaltrust.org.au/ahf/
