By PETER DOUGLAS
BELGRAVE singer-songwriter, Seamus Anthony, was waiting at Selby Primary School to pick up his daughter when it struck him the Hills area was full of ‘rock dads’.
But not just any rock dads – musicians with loads of talent.
So he spread the word and, with three other local dads, formed folk rock band Creatures from the Bog.
Incredibly, the band is now set to release its debut seven-track EP at Sooki Lounge in Belgrave on Friday, 14 August.
Anthony said his musical mind quickly began to tick over.
“Looking at my fellow ‘tree changers’, with their tattoos and dreadlocks, and hanging about the school waiting to pick up their kids, I thought, ‘I bet there’s some serious musical talent going begging here’,” Anthony said.
“And seeing as I had a bunch of road-tested songs in need of some rock power, I put the word out via the local parents scene.”
Guitarist Jarra Bullen was recruited directly from among the primary school parents, but Anthony discovered drummer Peter de Weijer nearby his home.
Anthony already knew bass player Rob, then from Menzies Creek, via the local flower industry.
Since forming in late 2013, and debuting at Belgrave’s End of the Line Festival, the band has quickly gained a reputation as ‘the baddest dads in Belgrave’.
However, the band has its eyes set further afield than just the Hills.
Anthony has a long history in the inner-city scene, having shared the bill with artists like You Am I, Tea Party, The Mavis’s and more recently, Dave Graney.
“We’ll be hitting the road with this EP for sure, but first we’re ‘gonna’ show the Hills kids how it’s done,” Anthony said.
The band will launch their EP on Friday 14 August at Sooki Lounge in Belgrave with special guests, all-girl rock band Tequila Mockingbyrd.
Creatures from the Bog will start at 9pm.
Entry is free.
