Five minutes with: The Cicada Club

The Cicada Club have been getting audiences from all over the Central West up and jiving along to their timeless tracks since they formed twelve months ago. The band is made up of: Tam Wilson on the washboard; Kenneth Smith on the ukulele, harmonica and kazoo; Anne Hulak on the flute, mandolin, piano accordion and clarinet; Alex Hulak entertains on the double bass and Robert Cleary plays the guitar and vocals are covered by all band members. 

I love the band name! How did you come up with it?

Ken, our ukulele player, made it up applying for a gig before the band was even formed.

Great! And, how would you describe your music?

We do roaring tunes from the 1920’s and swinging originals, dancing numbers from the

prohibition period, vaudeville to take you back in time, tunes to cheer you in tumultuous

times and songs to make you get off your doggone caboose and do the lindy hop!

What musicians have inspired your band and if you could open for any Australian artist, who would it be?

New Orleans street bands, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Pokey Lafarge, Mic Conway,

Memphis Jug Band, CW Stoneking and loads more. If we could open for any Australian artist it would be C.W Stoneking.

What drew you to the music industry?

Our love of music and our desire to make others happy by listening and dancing to our

songs.

What’s next for your band?

We are on the cusp of recording some originals. We’ll be doing a lot more gigs out of

Orange, Dubbo, Blue Mountains, Bathurst just to name a few.

Do you prefer to listen to music, or create it?

We all love to listen to music but creating it is another level of fun.

What advice would you give to other bands starting out?

Practice, don’t take it too seriously, have fun! Get confident and stick at it, go play at a JAM

Orange open mic and meet fellow minded people.

What is your favourite venue to play at?

Anywhere that we can create our vibe and take you back in time and drift away.

What was the most memorable show you ever played?

We have loved all our gigs, but our most memorable venue would have to be playing at The

Blue Mountains Ukulele Festival in The Baroque Room. It suits us to a tee! The festival is a

fun vibe across the bars in Katoomba.

What advice would you give to other bands starting out?

Practice, don’t take it too seriously, have fun!! Get confident and stick at it, go play at a JAM

Orange open mic and meet fellow minded people.

Follow The Cicada Club on Facebook and Instagram or see them live at the Birdie Noshery on Thursday, July 20 from 6.30pm.