COURTYARD MUSIC

Free in Freo

The Fremantle Arts Centre’s Courtyard Music program kicks back every Sunday afternoon from 2pm until the end of March. Entry is free. Find out what’s on and when at fac.org.au.

For some, the inevitable end of year rising of the mercury means nothing more than a long succession of sweaty, sleepless nights and a hike in power bills as the aircon is worked like a pit pony until temperatures drop again and we can get back to hypocritically complaining about how much we miss Summer. For the good folks at the Fremantle Arts Centre, though, it means the return of Courtyard Music.
Running every Sunday afternoon from October through to March, Courtyard Music sees an eclectic collection of musical acts strut their stuff in a relaxed, family friendly atmosphere. Over the years the acts have run the gamut from the WA Youth Jazz Orchestra to country-doom wildmen The Kill Devil Hills and all points in between, with this Sunday, November 17, seeing the Arts Centre play host to Perth musical mainstay Roly Skender.
“Yeah, it’s a solo gig,” Skender confirms. “Normally I play with my band, Stoney Joe, and this will be the first solo show I’ve done playing those songs. I guess it’s just gonna be me and an acoustic guitar as opposed to all the other instruments and the beats and all that, but apart from that, I guess basically the songs are what they are and I try not to interfere with that too much, and try my best to make it a good set, I guess.”
Indeed, Skender is no stranger to the Courtyard Music program, having performed under its auspices on previous occasions.
“Yeah, we played last year as Stoney Joe,” Skender tells us. “And it’s a really beautiful place to play. It’s a great afternoon. Those Sunday afternoons have been going on for quite a long time, and the fact that it’s free means there’s quite a regular crowd down there as well. It’s always fun.”
And for a musician like Skender, a big part of the Courtyard’s appeal is the laidback and idiosyncratic vibe of the venue, which is a far cry from the usual endless procession of pubs and clubs that are the jobbing muso’s normal lot in life.
“There’s definitely a cross-generational thing going on,” he explains. “There’s old ladies and young kids and everything in between, really. It’s a good one to bring your kids to, that sort of thing, which us in the band have quite a few of these days.”
For music fans with long memories, though, the most intriguing aspect of the show is that Skender is playing alongside Rooster Police, which means that this is a reunion of sorts.
“That’s my friend Matt (Cheetham, of Downsyde),” Skender elaborates. “We used to play together in a band called Circus Murders in the ‘90s, and we’ve since gone off and done different things. He’s more in the hip-hop world these days, and playing bass and doing beats and things like that, and I’ve sort of focused on my guitar playing and finger picking and song writing and stuff. But his Rooster Police project is more... it’s hard to describe, really. It’s a solo kind of electronic pop music, in its own way. It’ll be an interesting match-up on the day. It’s good to be playing together in some form.”

_TRAVIS JOHNSON