BMA Canberra Band Profile

Plugged in and barking mad, CBR’s The Dalmatians are taking rock back to its folk future! Sporting a line-up that spans the generations, with each member bringing their extensive performance experience to the creative kennel, The Dalmatians prove that not only can you teach an old dog new tricks, but a veteran Rottweiler can help hone a young pup’s fangs.

Band members:

• Wil Allen – lead vocals, acoustic & electric guitar, harmonica
• Jonny “DC” Bolan – guitar bouzouki, acoustic & electric guitars, keyboard, backing vocals
• Naomi Smith – drums, percussion, backing vocals
• Mansell Laidler – bass and backing vocals
• Hayden Kinsman – keyboards and backing vocals

Where did the band name come from?

Jonny is of Croatian heritage; his mother comes from Dalmatia, and he owns a beautiful Dalmatian dog called Lilly. It seemed inevitable!

How did you start on this magical musical journey?

Jonny and Wil met when Jonny needed a muso to fill in a spot with him at the Hamlet (an open-air food village in Braddon) about four years ago. It’s not there now, but many BMA readers would remember it.

They instantly connected around values and ‘acoustic folk-rock with a jungle vibe’ (Wil grew up in Papua New Guinea). Most importantly, a folk-rock vibe was established by Jonny’s incredible use of a guitar bouzouki.

Wil and Jonny began writing, and playing songs at venues around Canberra and surrounds. Jonny worked with Naomi, who knew Hayden, who knew Mansell, and voila! Instant five-piece.

Well, not instant, but a quick osmosis nonetheless.

Describe your sound:

As a duo, we had a very folky world music indie pub rock sound, if that is “a sound”! But with all this additional talent that has come into the band, we are accumulating elements of psych-rock, dance-rock, and chill. And there’s even a tug towards funk!

We are blessed to have the highest pedigree in this kennel, and our sound is always evolving.

Key tracks:

We have four songs on Spotify and other streaming platforms, and an EP is coming with a single release shortly.

Far Away Man was our most recent single, a deep soft-rock number about a veteran’s experience; It’s Only Money is a rallying cry against the greed destroying the planet; and Millionaire is a pumping and humorous rock number.

Our music is on YouTube, with the lyric video for Millionaire sitting on 47,000 views since its release around 12 months ago. The official music video for that song is also doing well.

The music video for Far Away Man, incredibly, has won 54 (and counting) international film festival awards. Wil travelled to France earlier this year to receive one of these accolades at the Cannes 7th Film Awards. Then, after a second trip to attend the French Riviera International Film Festival and help at the Marche de Film in Cannes, he was made Australian ambassador for the Bridge Of Peace International Film Festival.

Influences?

As the primary songwriter Wil says he is moved by alt-rock, pysch-rock, and chill. Jonny, who does the productions and melodic/rhythmic advancements, is influenced by world music, Balkan folk and indie rock/dance.

Naomi on drums loves to smash it and is getting into reggae, Hayden on keys digs funk, jazz and blues, and Mansell on bass brings everything all the time, but has a guilty pleasure around weird and wonderful improv.

Memorable experiences?

Our last gig is usually the most memorable as a band, not for obvious reasons, but because we love performing together and hearing the music evolve.

Our recent gig—The Melting Pot at The Pot Belly Bar with Dana Hassall and HexRay—showed our musicianship and sounded terrific. Big shout-out to sound guy Kurt out there in Belco town!

What do you love about the scene?

The CBR original music scene punches above its weight. We love that bands and musicians are highly supportive of each other, as are the live music fans who are getting around and enjoying original content.

We’re also impressed with the effort that venues make to technically support bands to sound their best.

Proudest moments:

A few years ago, when still a two-piece, The Dalmatians supported one of our heroes, Steve Kilbey (of The Church), at the Belconnen Art Centre’s inaugural live music event.

Steve watched our sound check from start to finish, approached us afterwards and commented on our music, noting we had the right balance of alternative riffs and familiar melodies.

He then invited us onstage during his encore to play Under The Milky Way with him. Wil sang two of the verses alone and backup vocals in the choruses. Jonny’s bouzouki gave the iconic Aussie song an Eastern tinge we are confident will never be heard again.

Wil was heard to say, “Kill me now,” as the applause washed over.

Future plans:

We have recorded at the excellent ANU School of Music Studios on their Neve G96 Genesys console! An EP will soon be finished, with next single, Sunshine, to be released imminently.

The video for Sunshine features a light-hearted twist on the RUOK? theme, which we hope will bring more attention to mental health issues. It’s being filmed at iconic Canberra sites on Lake Burley Griffin, hopefully with assistance from industry.

A shout-out to the generous, intelligent, and beautiful people at MusicACT and #CBR!

What makes you laugh?

Each other. We are such different characters with different senses of humour, and it makes rehearsals hilarious. Also, people we meet who are overly selfish or self focused give us the giggles.

What pisses you off?

Disrespect. We live in a lucky place at a lucky time. Yes, there is sh#t going down, but some people need to take a chill pill and open up to the possibility that happiness comes from connection, not from taking yourself and your opinions so seriously.

Anything else you’d like to add?

Riffing off that last outburst, we just want to say: check us out if you like fun music with meaning! Many fans say they love our sound and being able to get meaning from our thought-provoking lyrics, which are not all about the failings of romantic love.

Can we see your folk-rock frenzy?

Head Smith’s Alternative on Sun, 21 Jan (4pm) tix via the Smith’s website. Hopefully we’ll be at Enlighten in March, too. Come help us continue our cunning plan to infuse The Ds into the Australian psyche!