In July 2019 we had a long overdue visit by our good friend and long time Shed stalwart Jem Savage.
Jem has made some outstanding contributions to PBGB songs over the years, but we were all surprised to realise that it had been six long years since he last recorded with us.
You can listen to the songs Jem has contributed to by visiting Jem's Musos Page on the PBGB Blog
Jem, being the husband of Ken and Susie Vatcher's daughter Amy, is a regular visitor to Pambula Beach. Lucky us !!
Last time Jem recorded in The Shed ( 2013 ) he was close to completing his Bachelor of Music at Melbourne Polytechnic.
Now Jem is a full time professional musician, music producer and sound engineer.
Beyond his Bachelor of Music he completed an honours year at the Victorian College of the Arts, where he was awarded the Dr Phillip Law Music Scholarship, recognising innovation in music. Jem is currently a graduate researcher, working his way towards a PhD in Contemporary Music at University of Melbourne.
Busy as that might sound, Jem is also Associate Producer with the Australian Art Orchestra (a combined tech, touring and administrative role). Jem also records and mixes music at Rolling Stock Recording Rooms Collingwood, and is Sound Supervisor for the Bendigo International Festival of Exploratory Music.
Busy enough Jem ??
Jem's achievements just go on and on! For a complete rundown, visit Jem's website.......... www.savagemusics.com.
Anyway, yes, a few weeks back Jem and Ken popped into The Shed for an impromptu visit. We hadn't planned anything but were very keen to capture more of Jem's musical talents, so we asked him if he might be able to sort of "produce something on the spot".
Well yes, as it turned out, Jem might be able to do that.
Just two short hours later, Jem, with Ken on percussion, had finished playing, improvising and producing his take on "Insensatez" (How Insensitive - Carlos Jobim) in honour of recently deceased "father of the bossa nova" Joao Gilberto.
Watching Jem do this was just amazing. He was a one man blur !
He started by laying down a bass track, which he did by playing the line on acoustic guitar then using a pitch-shifter to double it in a lower octave.
Next he added an acoustic guitar track, then some of his signature soprano sax.
Then it was time for Ken to add a couple of percussion tracks.
About ten minutes of Logic wizardry, and voila........... 'Insensatez' ala Jem Savage !
It was amazing to watch, a master class in Bossa Nova and sound production.
Thanks so much Jem and Ken, great to see you in action in the Shed again.