Con artists help make Cheap Fakes a musical reality
Published on 27 July, 2010
The Brisbane-based Cheap Fakes band is about to turn its live music acclaim into recording success, with help from four members who've studied at CQUniversity's Central Queensland Conservatorium of Music in Mackay.
Drummer and percussionist Damian Campbell says his time at the Conservatorium helped prepare him for a career in a working band.
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"It also opened my eyes to many playing styles and musical situations," he says.
"I had already had a lot of experience playing in working bands prior to my time at CQUni and learnt a lot of things the hard way but studying under qualified lecturers and being in a full-time musical environment gave me better insight and greater understanding into the music business and performance world!
"We were taught everything from proper, efficient and productive practice to being competent, confident and reliable and also the importance of good communication.
"Obviously the real life lesson comes from getting out there and doing it but the guidance and lessons at CQCM were worth the time and effort!"
Saxophonist Joshua Appleby graduated from the Conservatorium at the end of 2007 and says his Jazz Studies gave him the tools to extend himself musically, while putting him on the path to becoming the musician he is today.
"I learnt the fundamentals of improvisation, melody and modern harmony. With this I am able to compose, arrange and collaborate with other musicians on a level that otherwise wouldn't have been attainable," Joshua says.
Band members Stephen Smith (baritone sax) and Fergus Scott (bass) also studied at the Conservatorium in Mackay.
Cheap Fakes has just returned home from its ‘Stones and Sticks' album-release tour, including North Queensland and Sydney.
The seven-piece band is about to launch a debut album in Brisbane and will continue to tour nationally and internationally this year. Band members will also head back into the studio to start pre-production on their follow-up album.
Cheap Fakes has been performing a fusion of funk, dub, reggae and dance music to captivated audiences and have become one of Brisbane's most hard-working live acts (with 60 gigs in the first six months since inception).
The band is a regular at venues such as Lock ‘n' Load, The JOYnt, Step Inn, The Globe and The Zoo and has also secured residencies at places like Conrad Treasury Premier's Bar and Jupiters Casino Poolside.