Shane Howard
Encyclopedia
Shane Michael Howard is an Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist, he was the mainstay of folk rock group Goanna
which had hits with "Solid Rock" and "Let the Franklin Flow". After their disbandment in 1985 he pursued a solo career.
. Howard was one of seven children of a Irish-Catholic raised in a cramped factory cottage. The Howard family was a large music-loving family, central to it all was his mother, Teresa Howard, who played the piano and sang. According to Shane' sister, Maricia, the family were colloquially known as 'The Von Trapp Family of the Western District', because they played and sang at everyone's weddings, parties, kitchen teas, celebrations. Howard attended the local Christian Brothers School in nearby Warrnambool
, South-Western Victoria.
"Elder brothers and sisters brought The Beatles, Dylan and Van Morrison and countless other influences into my already crowded imagination". His eldest brother brought a guitar into the house and homework suffered ever since.
Once he completed high school he moved to Melbourne, where he studied at Monash University
for a year, before hitch hiking around Australia, busking and playing any folk club that would let him play his own songs. During this time Howard picked grapes, picked ginger, worked as a screen printer, worked on the railways, washed dishes and taught in Geelong. He studied Education at Deakin University
, Geelong where he was that University's First Student Council President.
and Little Feat
covers. The band performed up and down the Great Ocean Road
, playing pubs and hotels and any place with a stage and an audience. In May 1980, on a doctor's advice, Shane took a month's hiatus from The Goanna Band and traveled to Ayers Rock (Uluru). On the way back to Melbourne and a reunion with the group (who shortened their name to simply 'Goanna'), Howard began working on a song called "Stand Yr Ground." But a new set of lyrics were pouring out of his pen - lyrics that didn't match the folk-rock music that had been Goanna's stock in trade. He put "Stand Yr Ground" aside, and began developing a different, rougher melody for the new lyrics. By the time Howard arrived back in Melbourne, he had a new song for the group to record, based upon his experiences at Uluru, "Solid Rock." The Goanna Band later became the opening act on James Taylor
's Australian tour, which eventually led to a record deal with WEA
(Warner Bros.' Australian affiliate) in February, 1982.
In 1982 Shane's massive anthem, "Solid Rock" from the album Spirit of Place
, recorded with his band, Goanna, was one of the first mainstream pop songs to broach the subject of Aboriginal rights in Australia.
In 1993, Shane made his first tour to Ireland, and Irish star Mary Black's recording of Shane's song, "Flesh & Blood" was a Top 5 hit there.
Shane Howard has spent many years working, writing, performing, touring with, and producing Aboriginal musicians throughout Australia and in 2000 he was awarded a Fellowship by the Music Fund of the Australia Council in acknowledgement of his contribution to Australian musical life.
Goanna (band)
Goanna is an Australian folk rock group which formed in 1977 in Geelong as The Goanna Band with mainstay Shane Howard as singer-songwriter and guitarist...
which had hits with "Solid Rock" and "Let the Franklin Flow". After their disbandment in 1985 he pursued a solo career.
Early days
Shane Michael Howard was born on 26 January 1955 and raised in the Victorian coastal town of DenningtonDennington, Victoria
Dennington is a town in the Western District of Victoria, Australia. The town is located in the City of Warrnambool local government area, south west of the state capital, Melbourne and north west of the regional centre of Warrnambool...
. Howard was one of seven children of a Irish-Catholic raised in a cramped factory cottage. The Howard family was a large music-loving family, central to it all was his mother, Teresa Howard, who played the piano and sang. According to Shane' sister, Maricia, the family were colloquially known as 'The Von Trapp Family of the Western District', because they played and sang at everyone's weddings, parties, kitchen teas, celebrations. Howard attended the local Christian Brothers School in nearby Warrnambool
Warrnambool, Victoria
-Cityscape:The original City of Warrnambool was a 4x8 grid, with boundaries of Lava Street , Japan Street , Merri Street and Henna Street . In the nineteenth century, it was intended that Fairy Street – with its proximity to the Warrnambool Railway Station – would be the main street of...
, South-Western Victoria.
"Elder brothers and sisters brought The Beatles, Dylan and Van Morrison and countless other influences into my already crowded imagination". His eldest brother brought a guitar into the house and homework suffered ever since.
Once he completed high school he moved to Melbourne, where he studied at Monash University
Monash University
Monash University is a public university based in Melbourne, Victoria. It was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. Monash is a member of Australia's Group of Eight and the ASAIHL....
for a year, before hitch hiking around Australia, busking and playing any folk club that would let him play his own songs. During this time Howard picked grapes, picked ginger, worked as a screen printer, worked on the railways, washed dishes and taught in Geelong. He studied Education at Deakin University
Deakin University
Deakin University is an Australian public university with nearly 40,000 higher education students in 2010. It receives more than A$600 million in operating revenue annually, and controls more than A$1.3 billion in assets. It received more than A$35 million in research income in 2009 and had 835...
, Geelong where he was that University's First Student Council President.
Goanna
By 1976, Shane had enrolled in Geelong Teachers College, and was recruiting people for a new folk-rock band. Originally known as the 'Ectoplasmic Manifestation', the group later shortened the name to 'The Goanna Band', their songlists filled with Bob DylanBob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
and Little Feat
Little Feat
Little Feat is an American rock band formed by singer-songwriter, lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George and keyboardist Bill Payne in 1969 in Los Angeles....
covers. The band performed up and down the Great Ocean Road
Great Ocean Road
The Great Ocean Road is a stretch of road along the south-eastern coast of Australia between the Victorian cities of Torquay and Warrnambool. The road was built by returned soldiers between 1919 and 1932, and is the world's largest war memorial; dedicated to casualties of World War I...
, playing pubs and hotels and any place with a stage and an audience. In May 1980, on a doctor's advice, Shane took a month's hiatus from The Goanna Band and traveled to Ayers Rock (Uluru). On the way back to Melbourne and a reunion with the group (who shortened their name to simply 'Goanna'), Howard began working on a song called "Stand Yr Ground." But a new set of lyrics were pouring out of his pen - lyrics that didn't match the folk-rock music that had been Goanna's stock in trade. He put "Stand Yr Ground" aside, and began developing a different, rougher melody for the new lyrics. By the time Howard arrived back in Melbourne, he had a new song for the group to record, based upon his experiences at Uluru, "Solid Rock." The Goanna Band later became the opening act on James Taylor
James Taylor
James Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....
's Australian tour, which eventually led to a record deal with WEA
Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group is the third largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the big four record companies...
(Warner Bros.' Australian affiliate) in February, 1982.
In 1982 Shane's massive anthem, "Solid Rock" from the album Spirit of Place
Spirit of Place
Spirit of Place is the first full-length album by Australian folk-rock band Goanna. It was originally released in November 1982, it peaked at No. 2 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart and appeared on the US Billboard 200....
, recorded with his band, Goanna, was one of the first mainstream pop songs to broach the subject of Aboriginal rights in Australia.
Solo career
In 1987, Shane returned to the pop world, this time as a solo artist. His first solo album, Back to the Track, a self-produced record with his own Big Heart Band, was a classic collection of Australian music, both white and aboriginal. BMG Records signed Shane as a solo recording artist and released his next album, River, in 1990.In 1993, Shane made his first tour to Ireland, and Irish star Mary Black's recording of Shane's song, "Flesh & Blood" was a Top 5 hit there.
Shane Howard has spent many years working, writing, performing, touring with, and producing Aboriginal musicians throughout Australia and in 2000 he was awarded a Fellowship by the Music Fund of the Australia Council in acknowledgement of his contribution to Australian musical life.
Albums
- Back to the Track (1988)
- River - Uluru Music/BMG (VPCD 0827) (1990)
- Time Will Tell - BMG (74321162432) (1993)
- Live in Ireland, Australia and New Zealand - Goanna Music (BH94001) (1994)
- Clan - Big Heart/EMI (13 November 1996)
- Beyond Hope's Bridge (CDBH0101) (5 August 2002)
- Retrospective: Collected Songs 1982-2003 - Big Heart (GR040405) (2004)
- Another Country - Goanna Arts (GA040406) (16 August 2004)
- Songs of Love and Resistance - Goanna Arts (GA010606) (4 November 2006)
- Driftwood - Rare and Unreleased - Goanna Arts (GA09010) (5 February 2010)
- Goanna Dreaming - Goanna Arts (GA100101) (9 July 2010)
Singles
- "Back to the Track"/"Mother Earth" (1988)
- "Just a Feeling"
- "Walk on Fire"/"Love is a River" (1990)
- "If the Well Runs Dry" (1990)
- "Here and Now"/"Without You" (1990)
- "Escape from Reality" (1991)
- "I Shall Be Released" (1993)
- "Flesh & Blood" (1993)