Welcome Back Jack

We’ve claimed him as our own, and next week Jack Biilmann returns to soothe our cold Canberra ears with the show that is ‘The Hills Have Eyes’ Single Tour.

Having shared stages with the likes of Tash Sultana, Bobby Alu, Ian Moss, Bootleg Rascal and more over the last few years. A tenacious guitarist with a charming performance style to boot, Biilmann has struck a positive chord within the scene and with ‘The Hills Have Eyes’, he ventures further into well crafted roots territory.

After chatting to Jack about both the tour and his Canberra gig, I’m very pleased to announce that we’re in for a good-ol’ rock show. Here’s a bit more of my chat with Jack:

13 shows on the tour so far, seven more to go including next weeks – what’s been the biggest highlight so far?

I’m originally from Pambula Beach on the far south coast so going home to play the bushfire relief concert to the Tathra community the most memorable so far.

Roughly how many shows do you reckon you’ve done in Canberra to date?

I’ve probably played over 75 original shows since I got here in 2010, not including small bar shows in between gigs.

What impact has the Canberra community had on your musical career?

The Canberra music community has given me a great platform to start out on to see what this game is all about. You know, there are bands who are from Canberra that have become massive and there are ones who are just starting out. Canberra’s music scene has helped me a lot so I’ve tried to give back by mentoring young musicians and helping them on the way. It’s all been a stab in the dark for me so I’m trying to pass that on to the younger generation.

The popularity of your music seems to just keep growing & growing. What can we expect to see next from Jack Biilmann?

Thank you very much! I’ve been on the singer-songwriter trail for the last 5 or 6 years and it’s something I’ll always do. Guitar playing is something I’ll always do so I will probably be doing acoustic tours as well as band-rock tours. I feel like in the music industry there is a real big scene for acoustic stuff but it can restrict you. I just love shredding and rocking out. You can only take it so far by yourself. I love rocking out when my little brother is shredding on the drums and with Toddy our base player too.

When I’m vibing off my little brother who’s on the drums, he absolutely shreds and toddy our base player, I’m gonna rock out (with the influ-ence of Jimi Hendrix in mind). It’s going to be a rock show.

With thirteen shows under the belt so far, Biilmann’s gig at The Abbey on Saturday 21st July (with supports Tori Chard & Northbourne Flats) will be lucky number 14 of the tour, and certainly not one to miss.

Grab your mates. Drink some beers. Come get rowdy (in a non-violent, gig-appropriate way of course) whilst Jack Biilmann gives us a taste of his finest work yet. You can treat your ears to his music here.

Head to www.jackbiilmann.com for tickets and tour information or head to Jack’s facebook page.