PHOTO of the Week 'Kev Carmody'

   Kev Carmody has been an inspiration to a huge number of indigenous and non indigenous Australian musicians, including Paul Kelly and John Butler. The collection of interpretations of his songs known as "Cannot Buy My Soul" is a stunning recording and he considers those songs are now those bands tunes. An example would be his admiration for the time and key change from The Waifs with "From Little Things Big Things Grow." The title song itself is a simple but profound testament to Carmody's outlook and his own soul.
   As a cane cutter and hard working man he found his way into music and education, able to achieve 'recognised prior learning and experience' to enter into a Music qualification and get post graduate awards so he could lecture at University. He has never lost his grounded sense of story or the significance of his background and tough life. In recent years his health has suffered and arthritis has made it hard to perform.
   At 'Bluesfest' in Byron the year I went, his was my 'Easter moment' set at the festival... transcendent!! It was honest, unadorned and then all of a sudden he invites a few mates onstage and three members of 'Midnight Oil' [performing earlier as 'The Break'] take the stage and blow us away with rock versions of some of Kev's best songs...
   Anyhow, when an artist like Paul Kelly looks up to you, there's something special about you!!