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n
1987 a new band called Common Ground played their
first job in a country pub... the name only lasted
one gig and Eureka! was born.
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That
first line up was
Ralph Graham on bass and vocals, Stuart Cowell - bazouki,
electric guitar, mandolin, keyboard and vocals, Marcus Holden
on fiddle and mandolin and keyboard and vocals, Claire Callaway
on guitar and vocals and Perry Johnson on drums.
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Early
in 1988 Claire left to have a baby and Andy Gray joined the
band. Andy brought his mandolin, acoustic guitar and magic
cittern to the group. He also plays wooden whistles and penny
whistle. The Cittern is pictured below and was specially made
by one of today's finest Luthiers Stephen Sobell and shipped
from England. Something like an octave mandolin or an Irish
bazouki, it has a glorious sound and records beautifully.
Eventually
Stuart moved on to other projects and "flying fingers" Glen
Barwick took the lead guitar spot.
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In
1988 Eureka! did a stint in Bangkok at the Shang-ri-la Hotel
for a major Australian promotion. This is a magnificent hotel
with a mix of the traditional and the modern and served as
a base for some fascinating sight seeing in the Kingdom.
An interesting foray for the band and a chance for Ralph to
catch up with a country he'd come to know and love some years
before.
For
a decade Eureka! has gigged in Sydney and around Australia
and the 90's saw the band off overseas again to play in
Guam USA. Here the band took in the sights in the Micronesian
Islands, wrote a song or two and had a crack at scuba diving.
On the way back to Australia a few days holiday was
enjoyed in beautiful Bali. It's a tough job but someone's
gotta do it.
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After
Glen Barwick's departure, Pete Malone played some great
guitar for Eureka! for a couple of years (no piccy!) returning
eventually to his first love Rhythm and Blues. In '94 Bruce
Reid moved to Sydney from Canada and found himself in Eureka!
On electric and acoustic guitar, tasty slide and lap steel
Bruce can be heard on the new CD.
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Bruce, Ralph, the Drummer and Andy. |
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Pete
Ciobo is the drumming force behind Eureka! and follows Rudy
Miranda who drummed for Eureka! up til November '96.
Rudy played on the new CD "Jammin' with Gypsy"- he's now
busy teaching, doing sessions etc.
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