I was going to start a separate thread for this, but then I realised than some dead abo doesn't really deserve a thread all to themselves. Nevertheless, shout 'Glory', for Jesus has just sent some vile old abo degenerate who tried to play black metal on the didgeridoo back to Hell!
The Australian yirdaki (didgeridoo) player Alan Dargin invented a uniquely fast, powerful, non-traditional style, dubbed "rock'n'roll didgeridoo". At his favourite busking site on Sydney's Circular Quay, he was a familiar figure to tourists and locals alike for two decades. He recorded five albums with various colleagues and travelled widely outside Australia, performing in the US, Japan and Europe, in 1993 playing the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. His most widely seen appearance was as an actor, however, with a cameo role in the 1994 movie The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.
Dargin was born in the small town of Wee Waa (the self-proclaimed "cotton capital of Australia") in New South Wales. His father, Frank Dargin, was a singer/songwriter from the Wiradjuri community, and although the young Alan was raised by a non-indigenous stepmother, he learned didgeridoo from Wiradjuri elders. Having a foot in "blackfella" and "whitefella" worlds would influence his musical development.
Dargin's recorded output included the albums Bloodwood (with Michael Atherton, 1993), Two Stories in One (with the group Reconciliation, 1994), Cross + Hatch (with Michael Atherton, 1998) and DidgeriDuo (with Gary Thomas, 2001). Although able to play in the traditional style, Dargin preferred to reflect his own love of jazz, hip-hop and reggae, saying, "Who am I to put tradition on the stage?" According to Atherton, the company that released Bloodwood folded shortly afterwards, and royalties for subsequent sales over the internet have never been paid.
Dargin's health was poor as a result of years of alcohol dependency – which he had conquered – and periods spent living rough, but after veins in his throat burst, he was warned that his forceful style of playing was also endangering his life.
Dargin was born in the small town of Wee Waa (the self-proclaimed "cotton capital of Australia") in New South Wales. His father, Frank Dargin, was a singer/songwriter from the Wiradjuri community, and although the young Alan was raised by a non-indigenous stepmother, he learned didgeridoo from Wiradjuri elders. Having a foot in "blackfella" and "whitefella" worlds would influence his musical development.
Dargin's recorded output included the albums Bloodwood (with Michael Atherton, 1993), Two Stories in One (with the group Reconciliation, 1994), Cross + Hatch (with Michael Atherton, 1998) and DidgeriDuo (with Gary Thomas, 2001). Although able to play in the traditional style, Dargin preferred to reflect his own love of jazz, hip-hop and reggae, saying, "Who am I to put tradition on the stage?" According to Atherton, the company that released Bloodwood folded shortly afterwards, and royalties for subsequent sales over the internet have never been paid.
Dargin's health was poor as a result of years of alcohol dependency – which he had conquered – and periods spent living rough, but after veins in his throat burst, he was warned that his forceful style of playing was also endangering his life.
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