By Natalee Kerr
With five musicians and a historian, Geelong’s Drop of a Hat is a “bit of an unusual” band, according to member Colin Mockett.
But he’s confident that the group’s combining of songs with history provides a “delightful experience” for audiences.
“We’re not your typical music group,” Mockett confided to the Indy.
“We’ve tried very hard to not just do a concert of popular songs, instead we’re making things interesting by adding a historical perspective into it.”
Mockett said the band would share its rendition of some of the “biggest” hits of the last century at a Potato Shed morning concert next month.
Despite performing in morning shows for more than two decades, Mockett still felt “awkward” performing in the early hours.
“Your body is not really ready for it. It’s a very strange thing, but one that is highly pleasurable,” he explained.
“It’s really odd when you’re driving home at two in the afternoon thinking ‘wow I’ve just done a full show’.”
Mockett said he was “very proud” of the 19 songs selected for the show, ranging from The Beatles to Creedence Clearwater Revival.
“All of the band put in suggestions for their favourite songs and then we threw out some and put some others in until we were happy with it.
Mockett said he narrated each song’s pivotal moments alongside a “big screen” displaying artist imagery.
“I place the music into historical context and the band perform it live. It becomes all the more interesting when you get to see and hear about the people who are involved with the music.”
Mockett hoped the stories behind the songs would “surprise people”.
“You might be really familiar with a song but you don’t necessarily know the motivation behind the person who wrote or performed it.
“I hope the audience have those light globe moments and think, ‘I want to find out more about this’.
“They’ll be singing along with the songs and talking with their friends about the background. It’s a great combination.”
Mockett said the band members’ ages “spans the ages” but they were “really enjoying” their music after recently introducing a younger musician to the line-up.
“I’m delighted with the band. We’ve had it together for 20 years but now we’ve got this shift where we’re taking on board the next generation.
“We’re loving it.”
Golden Hits of the 20th Century plays Drysdale’s Potato Shed on 12 November.
