Franklyn B Paverty: the Band
Franklyn B Paverty*, an experienced band of energetic musicians, is one of Australia's best bush bands**. Paverty entertains audiences with a carefully crafted mixture of songs and dances.
- traditional Australian bush music varied with folk, country and occasional swing, blues, jug band or old rock 'n' roll music
- bush songs and bush dances adapted to individual audiences. Franklyn B Paverty provides great entertainment for festivals, weddings, parties, concerts, conferences, workshops, etc.
- a spectacular combination of talent, skill, enthusiasm and experience
- over 30 years performing, mostly in and around Canberra
Franklyn B Paverty is one of the most enduring folk bands. Since the mid 1970s Paverty has performed in Canberra and the nearby region and travelled extensively to appear at the nation's major folk and entertainment venues. The band has made nine albums (5 CDs and 4 LPs - see http://paverty.com.au/taxonomy/term/1) and many TV and radio appearances, including the ABC TV series Peach's Gold.
On numerous occasions Paverty has performed at the National Folk Festival.
Paverty performed at the official opening of Australia's new Parliament House in 1988 (see Hansard).
Mr SNOW (Eden-Monaro)(3.43) —I endorse the remarks of the honourable member for Farrer (Mr Tim Fischer) and compliment all those involved in yesterday's opening of the new Parliament House, in the lead-up to it and in its construction. The reception last night, especially with the Franklin B. Paverty bush band, really warmed up the place and made it appear human, which had not been the case before then. It was a real housewarming party.
The band has been part of the celebrations marking 10th (see here) and 20th anniversary of its opening (in 1998 and 2008 respectively).
Each year on Australia Day from 2002 to 2007 and since 2010, Paverty performed at The Lodge for the Prime Minister's Australia Day celebrations. In late 2003, presented Australian music to guests at a lunch for visiting US President George W. Bush. In between public performances Franklyn B Paverty entertains guests at conferences, weddings, Christmas and birthday parties, and folk and other clubs in Canberra and elsewhere.
Franklyn B Paverty is Mal Bennett, Bob Buckley, Graham Chalker, Peter Hobson, Peter Logue and Bryan Rae. Other great musicians who have been associated with the band over the years include David Chalker, Ros Haskew, Fiona Mahoney, Frank and Bernie Nizynski and Dave O'Neill.
* sometimes spelled Franklin B Paverty or Franklin D Paverty.
** Bush bands are a part of Australian culture. Paverty is one of the best and most enduring.
Early days
The band started in the 1970s when the members were students at the Australian National University.
Paverty's own Ainslie Hotel Folk Club created attendance records in the 1970s and presented many fine local and interstate performers to Canberra audiences.
They played for the frequent bush dances at the Yarralumla Woolshed.
Paverty shared the stage with Billy Connolly, The Dubliners, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Slim Dusty, Eric Bogle and many others.
In the 1980s, Paverty traveled regularly to Sydney to play bush dances and afternoon concerts on the Sydney Opera House fore-court.
Band Members
The current members of the band include:
- Mal Bennett
- Mal leads the vocals in many of Paverty's songs. He plays guitar and occasionally fiddle, tambourine or bass guitar.
- Bob Buckley
- Bob plays bass guitar and vocal harmony (bass).
- Graham Chalker
- Graham sings many of Paverty's songs. He plays drums, mandolin and Paverty's notable lagerphone (see a description of a Paverty lagerphone here).
- Peter Hobson
- Peter Hobson leads many of Paverty's songs. He plays fiddle, bouzouki, mandolin and guitar.
- Peter Logue
- Peter Logue plays keyboards: piano and piano accordion. He sings harmonies.
- Bryan Rae
- Bryan lead many of Paverty's songs and plays guitar. Brian owns and maintains Paverty's second lagerphone.
Occasional and past members of Paverty
A number of respected musicians join Paverty occasionally. These include (in no particular order) ...
- Sue Hobson
- Frank Nyzinski
- Berni Nyzinski
- Dave O'Neil
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklyn_B_Paverty
Mal Bennett
Vocals: lead, harmonies
Instruments: guitar, violin, tambourine, bass guitar, mandolin, banjo, ...
dance caller
Mal is a classically trained violinist and former member of the Canberra Youth Orchestra. He started playing fiddle at the age of nine. When he was about 15, Mal discovered his voice and began singing and playing guitar in a school folk band. His early influences included Peter, Paul and Mary, Tom Paxton, Simon and Garfunkel and the Seekers. He has been playing in bands of one type or another ever since.
Mal was a founding member of Paverty in late 1974 and has been a member ever since - singing and playing the fiddle, guitar, bass and mandolin. More recently – much to the consternation of fellow band members – he has realised a long-held ambition and has begun dabbling in the banjo as well.
For many years during the 1970s and early 80s Mal was the resident wandering minstrel and ‘hitchhiker’ at the well known Gundaroo Pub just outside Canberra.
During the late 1980s and 1990s Mal was also kept busy around the Canberra Club scene playing in popular country/rock band Snakes Alive.
Bob (Buck) Buckley
Instruments: bass guitar, double bass, flute & whistle
Vocals: bass harmony, dance caller
Bob joined Paverty in 2003. He is the newest member of the band.
Bob grew up with traditional Australian music. His family was frequently visited by John Manifold, an early collector of Australian traditional music. He started out playing recorder and flutes.
He lived in Newcastle NSW in the late 1960s where he played flute in acoustic and electric folk, blues and rock bands. He learned to play guitar and banjo. He played (banjo mostly) in The Electric Jug Band at the legendary Star Hotel with many legendary musicians. He moved to Sydney in 1972 but continued playing in Newcastle.
In the mid- to late 1970s, he played bass guitar, fiddle and guitar in bush, blues and folk bands in Brisbane. He played bass guitar with the Red Brick Bush Band and with the blues singer/pianist, Wiley Reed. He also played fiddle, guitar, flute and whistle with the Bale 'em Up Bush Band.
He had a short period living in England (1979-1982) where he played fiddle, flute and whistle for step-clog dancers and for morris dancers. He played in a number of English country dance bands and in many pub sessions. He had several musical trips to Ireland.
When he returned to Sydney in 1983 he started Prop-a-Goose, a popular folk dance and concert band. Mostly, he played fiddle and flute. He had a share of the lead vocals. He played for Boadicea Morris. He lead a group of English step-clog dancers who performed on several occasions in the Shell Folkloric Festival at Sydney Opera House. Later he joined Papillon and the Ryebuck Bush Band. He played a major part in getting the Olde Empire Band together.
Bob moved to Adelaide in 1991. He played violin in the orchestra for a number of amateur theatre productions. While in Adelaide, he played with the Rocky River Bush Band and occasionally with Jack's Alive.
He moved to Canberra in 1995. He played banjo with Euphillon, a small brass band with an eclectic repertoire. He played bass guitar with The Drop G's, The Canberra Mandolin Orchestra and Alive and Pickin'.
Graham Chalker
drums, mandolin and lagerphone
lead vocals.
Graham started his percussive career at North Goulburn Primary School (the alma mater of 3 other members of Paverty) and has been beating various instruments and bushes since.
He played in Paverty’s original incarnation at the Burton Hall (ANU) Review in 1970. At that stage the band went by the name Franklyn B Paverty and the Platte Valley Crooners and was more a barber shop quintet than a bush band. In one of our early TV appearances, the band was described as “students out for a lark” by the host of the New Faces series. Printing costs and failing memories lead to the truncation of the name.
Graham is also a member of the Sing Australia Blokes Choir.
Peter Hobson
Vocal leads
Instruments: Fiddle, Electric Fiddle, Bouzouki, Mandolin and Guitar.
Pete has been playing music since his teenage years, when he bought his first guitar and taught himself to play. He has played in lots of different bands over the years, including folk, country and rock bands.
Among the higher profile bands he has played in are Warren Fahey's Larrikins, The Bungendore Country Muster Backing Band, Ulick O'Boyle and the Settlers, the Canberra Mandolin Orchestra and the Canberra Ceili Band.
At present, apart from playing in Franklyn B Paverty, he and his wife Sue together lead the Corner House Ceili Band playing Irish dance music. He also plays with Canberra's Polka Pigs.
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Peter Logue
Peter Logue is an Irish-born musician who has played in more bands and on more continents than he cares remember. He currently plays piano accordion and keyboards but has been known to massacre music on the mandolin and guitar as well as the unique jawlaphone (slapping himself on the mouth in the search for meaningful notes).
In recent years he has played in a Chinese rock band (in Beijing), a blues band in Guangzhou, and several bands in Canberra, including the now deceased Red Hill Billies, the defunct Hopeless Romantics (I was romantic, they were hopeless), and the Canberra Ceilidh Band.
Bryan Rae
lead vocalsInstruments: guitar, lagerphone, drums, ...
Bryan is shy and retiring. It is hard to get him to say much about himself.