The Majishans present..
Nashville: A Rock Odyssey
Recent Photos by Renan Goskin at The Alex Theatre, St Kilda
TONY JOZEF
Helen Hopcroft
Antony Romero
Johnny Ainsworth is a character and song in the show
Antony Romero
Helen Hopcroft
Antony Romero
He's a screamer and a composer!
Helen Hopcroft
Helen Hopcroft
Helen Hopcroft
The brains behind Nashville
About
The Majishans
The Majishans are a group of artists and musicians based in Newcastle and Maitland who combine spoken word and original music to create rock poetry. Nashville: A Rock Odyssey has been described as lyrical, intense, smart, strange and transcendent. Drawing on an eclectic range of influences, The Majishans' spoken word and music is inspired by Middle Eastern riffs, swampy Delta blues, trance and the kind of smoky, guitar-fueled journeys of the Deep South.
Antony Romero
Antony Romero, aka Da Groovemeister, is passionate about most forms of music and cut his teeth playing (cool) pop, alt-rock, soul, funk, and punk in various almost-famous and not-so-famous bands. He comes from a musical family, including an improvisational collaboration with three brothers, Underwater Sessions, spontaneously creating soundscapes where instruments are swapped between tracks.
Antony loves being the engine room in The Majishans, laying down a melodic and rhythmic foundation from which the band creates musical poetry. He plays guitar, bass, drums, blues harp, and vocals. Interesting fact: he is not related to George Romero, director of the Living Dead films…
Helen Hopcroft
Helen Hopcroft is an artist, writer and producer based in Maitland, regional NSW. Helen originally trained as a painter at London’s Royal College of Art, and more recently completed a PhD in English (Creative Writing) at The University of Newcastle, Australia.
Helen believes that imagination – like water – can be poured into many different shaped vessels. As a committed multidisciplinary artist or ‘slashie’, her creative practice includes theatre production, performance poetry, visual art and art direction.
Helen’s writing has been published in The Australian, the Sydney Morning Herald, the Griffith Review and ArtsHub.com. As a vocalist for The Majishans, she writes and performs the poetry on which many of the band’s songs are based.
She once spent a year dressed as Marie Antoinette.
Tony Jozef
Tony Jozef has woven music into his life since childhood. He turns to it to explore, interpret and share the astounding fact that we all are living a human life: conscious of our mortality, our history, and search for meaning. Tony has studied Jazz, Classical Music and percussion, while maintaining a lifelong love for the driving rhythms of R&B and the story telling of Alt Country music. His first album was Natty Dread by Bob Marley and The Wailers, and he still feels an exhilarating sense of wonder when he hears it. As a dedicated multi-instrumentalist, Tony plays saxophones, cello and double bass. Alongside his work with The Majishans, he currently performs as part of The Sempill Street Band and The Broken Hillbillies.
James Carter
After many years in the sonic wilderness, James Carter, based in Maitland has recently reignited his passion for music by completing a Diploma in Sound Production. Over twenty years ago, James worked at Byron Bay FM as a production manager. He hosted a popular radio show for a few years until he started a family, life took a turn, and the coffee industry became his financial driver. James remains passionately curious about sound and the way it affects people emotionally.
While completing his Diploma, he designed a soundscape for The Road to Tibooburra – a new Australian musical featuring songs by Sydney based Steve Kilbey (The Church).
As an unflappable sound technician, James brings a bunch of original sound effects and the ability to create atmosphere from everyday noises to his work with The Majishans.
Crucially, he also makes a great cup of coffee!
