GANGajang will perform their first shows since the death of bass player Chris Bailey in December including an appearance at the Woodford Folk Festival.
“I’ve got very mixed emotions,” lead singer Mark Callaghan tells Noise11.com. “I’m very excited to be out playing again but at the same time I don’t know how it is going to feel without Chris. It has been an incredible year with Chris passing away in April and then Chrissie Amphlett dying”.
Chris Bailey was the bass player for both GANGgajang and The Angels. GANGgajang haven’t played together since he died. “We were part of the benefit in Adelaide. These will be the first proper shows without Chris. He spoke to each of us individually and was insisted that we keep playing. His reason to be was to play and he played in a lot of different bands including us. When you play music with someone for 30 years you do get pretty close.”
The new GANGgajang bass player is Rebecca Johnson. “She is absolutely awesome,” Mark says. “She has her own band and sings in that. So for us it was a great opportunity to do female back-ups. She is a great singer as well as an amazing bass player. Chris would have said “you should have got her in the band years ago”.
GANGgajang will perform at the Woodford Folk Festival on December 29 and 30 on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.
Other dates are:
December 18, Kincumber, Lizottes
December 19, Newcastle, Lizottes
December 20, Sydney, Coogee Diggers
December 21, Wollongong, Wests Illawarra Leagues Club
Listen to the interview with Mark Callaghan of GANGgajang:
