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WHATS HAPPENING > WAZ E. JAMES BAND
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Waz e James Band 2026
Waz E James is a prominent Australian Alt-Country and Americana singer-songwriter and guitarist based in Melbourne, playing professionally since the late 70s. He has enjoyed success since his early 2000s releases which garnered international airplay including airplay across the US, UK, and Europe. He has worked with established producers in the US with reviews for his 2014 recording Noisy trucks recording with John Beland claiming “Waz is one of Australia's best kept secrets". He is a regular performer in his home town of Melbourne, with a long-term residency with his band in St Kilda.
Andrew Pendlebury has collaborated with Waz for the last decade and featured on guitar in many live performances. He was a founding member of The Sports 1977 to 1981 and from 1986 to 1988 he joined Slaughtermen. He has undertaken other projects and issued four solo albums. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1993, Pendlebury's solo work, Don't Hold Back That Feeling, won the ARIA Award for Best Adult Contemporary Album. From 2003 he has been a member of The Mercurials.
Scott Willson joined Waz has been a member of the WEJB, the pair having met in the 90s on a ”Brokenhead tour”. Scott is a guitarist, musician, and collaborator for renowned Indigenous singer-songwriter Kutcha Edwards. Wilson has featured prominently in Edwards' live band. His previous collaborated with Dan Sulton netting him an ARIA award. His band “Stompy and the heat” featuring Wilson on vocals, gaining regular airplay on public radio.
Stephen Hadley is an Australian musician. Hadley was a member of The Black Sorrows from 1991 to 1993 appearing on the album Better Times (1993). In the mid 90s he joined Paul Kelly's Band and later Professor Ratbaggy. In 1998 he was part of the Singers For The Red Black & Gold who released a cover of "Yil Lull" which was nominated for the ARIA and won an ARIA Award in 2002 for Best Original Soundtrack Album the film Lantana
Dougy McDowell is a Melbourne-based bass player, primarily known as a bassist, multi-instrumentalist, and founder of Precious Earth Records. He is recognized for playing in the Waz E James Band, and is active in the local jazz and blues scenes.\
Scotty Martin is a seasoned Melbourne-based drummer, originally from Adelaide, recognized for his work in the local rock, blues, and ska scenes since the early 1980s. He has played with notable acts including The Giants, Strangeloves, Steve Hoy and the Lost Millions, and Steve Boyd.
MUSIC
Johnnys Sunday Session
, 47 Blessington Street, St Kilda
Every Sunday, 5 - 9pm
Johnnys, 47 Blessington Street, St Kilda
Sunday Nov Ist , Outside Beer Garden, 4 - 7pm
Drunken Poet, 65 Peel St, West Melbourne
Friday Nov 13th , 9 - 11pm
with Andrew Pendlebury
George Lane, Xmas Show
1 George Lane, St Kilda,
Saturday Dec19h , 8 - 11pm
with Andrew Pendlebury, Steve Hadley
& Scotty Martin,
Tickets on Sale
NOISY TRUCKS - THREE CHORDS & THE TRUTH UK June 20 2012
Waz E James
Album: Noisy Trucks
Label: Gravel Road
Tracks: 14
Website: http://www.waz.com.au/
Although Waz E James has been making fine music in his Australian homeland for a number of years, it wasn’t really until his 2009 release ‘Watermelon’ that he started to get some international promotion, mainly in the U.S. This drive for increased recognition will surely gain further momentum when his impressive brand new album ‘Noisy Trucks’ starts to get some airplay in its target markets. The album is pure ‘Americana from down under’ with a heavily influenced Texas feel about it. This is hardly surprising as its recording was split between James’s home city of Melbourne and the town of Brenham, Texas, probably the choice of ex-Flying Burrito Brothers band member, John Beland who produced the fourteen track album.
Without wishing the originality of James’s style to be dismissed, there was definitely an element of acclaimed Texas musician Ryan Bingham within the earthy vocal style and a country/rock/blues tinged sound to the music. This is not deemed a criticism as Bingham is a fine performer and there’s definitely room in the crowded alt-country market for a fine exponent of this sound, of which James clearly is.
James undertakes the writing tasks on all but one of the albums tracks, reaching deep into his creative mind and heart to cover a diverse range of subjects. There’s reference to the traditional country angst of consoling your losses with drink in the song ‘Hair of the Dog’, a track that has also featured on some of his earlier releases. Other subjects tackled include loving a flawed person in the up-tempo number ‘Car Wreck’, the Australian indigenous population in ‘Ruby’ and the usual topic of the futility of war covered in ‘Shiloh Baghdad’.
The sounds created by his four piece band start off fairly mellow with the album’s title track ‘Noisy Trucks’, also the record’s opener which contrasts with the driving rhythm sound of ‘All Night Long’ and the rock infused numbers ‘All I Ever Want’ and ‘Hell for Leather’. There was also a sprinkling of the traditional country sound with a dose of lap steel and dobra on ‘Nothing I Can Say’ and mandolin on the fast moving ‘Headlights’.
Perhaps the finest songs on the album are ‘Angels’ with its accordion accompaniment and infectious chorus and the solitary cover song on the record, the Fred Eaglesmith written ‘Alcohol and Pills’ which is a journey through the history of the demons that have affected and ultimately conquered some of America’s music greats. This arrangement stands alongside the versions of its writer, Todd Snider and Texas honky tonk band, Two Tons of Steel and perfectly sets this hour long album up for its fine closer, the roots- swampy number ‘River Boat Queen’.
Waz E James has produced an impressive solid album that wouldn’t be out of place alongside the more vaunted names in alt-country and Americana music and maybe in the future he will come to the UK to further promote his craftsmanship.
David Hughes
http://threechordsandthetruthuk.blogspot.co.uk/
WATERMELON - THE GUARDIAN April 15 2009
When you come across a CD with the title of, 'Watermelon', you’ve got to expect something different, and when the group on the album has a name like, "The Waz e James band", you have good reason to wonder just what is going to come next, and what comes next is thirteen top Country Rock tracks.
Perhaps it is a little unfair to label the music as Country Rock, without mentioning the blues influence in a lot of the tracks, and a smidgen of Bluegrass sound creeping in here and there. The thing that really got to me with this one, is that it is so very listenable. No loud blaring backing, no strident vocals, just good "punchy", but very pleasant songs. The band hails from Melbourne where they are ranked as one of the city's top "Pub" bands.
Another thing helping them to achieve their unique sound is the gravelly tones of Waz, who does the lead vocals which may be likened to the early Kenny Rogers sound, although where the Rogers tones were soft and subtle, the voice of Waz is more demanding, but never over the top. All top tracks, but my personal pick would rest between, 'Same Old Thing', and, 'When Rita Leaves'. Grab a chance to listen to this one.
NOISY TRUCKS - CAPITAL NEWS July 2009
This 13 track collection places itself firmly in the heart of Australian country music with some excellent playing and lived in vocals that tell the story just as much as the lyrics do. Nine of the ten tracks were written by Waz and there's a co-write with Dave Moll. Rounding at the track are covers of Gillian Welch's 'Everything Is Free', Delbert McClinton's 'When Rita Leaves' and the traditional 'God's Not Dead'.
Gleny Rae Virus joins in on the track 'Same Old Thing' and highlights include the opening 'The Plainsman', 'Hair Of The Dog', the up-tempo 'Hold On To My Love', 'God's Not Dead' (which is given a great modern treatment that will get your feet tappin') and 'When Rita Leaves'.
Waz scores well with his originals and his vocals remind me a bit of Bill Chambers, but with a flavour all his own. There's some tasty pickin' here and although I seem to have missed the relevance of the album's title I have to admit that I really like it.