
Michael HawkeSaxophone, flute, clarinet, harmonica, mandolin, guitar, recorder, vocals Hawkey was born and raised in Maitland, NSW, moving the 20 miles (32 km) to Newcastle, NSW to begin his professional career in 1979 (AD that is). The annoying one at the front, Michael engages the audience by a combination of inane commentary, audience encouragement and sheer ability. His “fluid” instrument changes have been likened to the convolutions of an Aussie politician. Michael's showpieces are his ‘fancy dancin' and his world famous megaphone ‘guitar' solo. He has played throughout NSW, Queensland, Tasmania and Victoria, as well as Spain, the UK, and the Netherlands, with various bands including hippy legends Total Fire Band, The Rats, Da Mob, Harlem Shuffle and more recently The Shuffle Kings (as well as a few other career 'highlights' he would rather forget). He has played or recorded with the Radiators, Jimmy Barnes, Ian Moss, Little Patty, Lucky Starr and Greedy Smith. Michael is a Scorpio Dog who likes hosing people and meeting writers. |
Artie was born in Penola in South Australia, and moved to Sydney in the late 80's with seminal rockabilly revival band the Wasted Ones. Arty is a great bass player all round, but his triple-slap solos are something to behold. Impossibly handsome, Arthur has ridden his bull fiddle in hit musicals ‘Buddy',‘Love Always, Patsie Cline' (with Deb Conway), as well as Don Walker's 'Catfish', Young Stars of Country, the Harlem Shuffle and the Wasted Ones, playing throughout Australia, in Asia and the USA. Arthur is a Scorpio Tiger who likes riding horses and meeting people. |
Born in New York City, Chuck lived in Noo Joisey until moving to Sydney at the age of five. Charlie is a consummate musician, but if you ‘gotta have a gimmick', then his is playing trumpet and piano at the same time. The quiet one, Charlie has been famous lots of times in such bands as, Moving Pictures, 1927, James Blundell, Lee Kernaghan, Shuffle Kings, to name but a few and has worked in the USA and Europe. Charlie is a Scorpio Dog who likes horsing riders and peopling meetings. |
Byrnesy is from Maroubra, New South Wales. The smiley one at the back, Andy is a bloody good drummer who has played with so many people his mum's scrap book runs to 12 volumes. His CV includes Groove Terminator, Jim Conway's The Big Wheel, The Clouds, The Moffs, Harlem Shuffle, Jan Preston, Don Walker and his own tribal trance project Loonaloop. He has toured Europe and the USA . Andy is a Gemini Fire Goat who likes heaping peepholes and rorting meters. |
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From the Bondi Jungle, in the eastern suburbs of Sydney – the playground of rich and poor, gangsters and suburban families, surfies and rev-heads, corporate giants and hoboes, sharks and whales; an area of high priced real estate and junk-filled streets, local kids on skateboards and tourists by the truckload. Out of this ferociously fecund forest of multicultural filth, this international vortex of bluebottles and backpackers, this Antipodean urban jungle, has appeared THE JUNGLE KINGS Incarnated in October 2002, these four friends have played together in different combinations and bands over the past ten years. Playing an up-vibe selection of tunes that most people want to hear - what you might call "rockin' rhythm n'swing" – taking their repertoire from the many styles and influences they have waded into on their various pathways to the 21st century. The "rockin'" end includes Elvis Presley and Wilson Pickett to Green Day and a whole lot in between. The "rhythm n' swing" side includes classic swing and jazz by the likes of Cab Calloway, Louis Jordan, Louis Prima, Duke Ellington, Woody Herman, Dave Brubeck, Miles Davis and others, played with a strong rhythmic drive and a classic jungle beat. The band play a vast array of instruments with finesse and grace. Combine this with their highly energised stage presentation and infectious rhythmic intensity, it never fails to bring a smile to the face and a spring to the step of an amazingly broad audience. The end result is a bubbling cauldron of sound - a feast for your ears! Like viagra for dancers, THE JUNGLE KINGS is a talented and exciting "rocking rhythm n'swing" band who know how to get you up and keep you UP! |