WHILE November Shorn might not ignite the hysteria of Bieber fever, they have certainly achieved legendary status in Orange.
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The famous central western bush band is celebrating its 30th anniversary this month.
The Shorn has played over 600 gigs, and have become the go-to band for weddings, birthdays, corporate and school functions, as well as landmark celebrations in Orange and Molong.
Only two of the original band members, Geoff Tonkin and Paul Kelly, remain.
Mr Tonkin says the band was founded in a particularly unusual fashion.
“I actually met Paul when he taught at Cumnock Public School. I think one of my kids was in trouble and I had to go in for a meeting at the school.”
“We got chatting. Paul had heard that I played music and he wanted to start a band.”
The group formed in 1981, initially as a seven-piece, and played its first show at the Canowindra Historical Society.
Mr Tonkin says the band has come a long way since then.
“We only got paid $40 for that gig, and we had to share it among all seven of us!”
The makeup of the band has shifted over the years and it now has four members, with each playing at least five different instruments.
The Shorn has played several landmark gigs, including the No (Army) Base in Orange and the bicentennial and federation celebrations.
“We’ve been taken as far as Bourke, Cobar and Armidale. We’ve got to see a lot of places, that’s for sure,” said Mr Tonkin.
The Shorn performs a unique style of music.
“We mostly play traditional Australian bush music,” said Mr Tonkin. “But we do have some original songs and sometimes we play Irish or Scottish Celtic music”
“The didgeridoo tends to be the most popular.”
Mr Tonkin has lived in Molong his entire life and has been a farmer for more than 40 years.
But in 2003 he decided to pursue a different career path, selling his farm and enrolling in a fine woodworking course at Mittagong.
He returned to Molong a year ago, and set up a workshop selling furniture and musical instruments.
Mr Tonkin remains humble and insists all the band members are only “amateurs”, but they have a very loyal following.
A large crowd came out to the Cobb & Co Festival in Molong last weekend, in celebration of the Shorn’s 30th anniversary.
“We do have some regular fans who have been there from the very beginning,” said Mr Tonkin.
“We’ve played at people’s 18th or 21st birthday parties and then 10 years later they’ll ask us to come back and play at their wedding, which is great.”
So what’s next for November Shorn?
“We would definitely like to record another album, but we’ll have to wait for the other band members to retire first.”