Granny's Grave -- Warrnambool band

Compiled by Michael Schack in May 1999 from information provided by Tim Netherway, Eric Read and Wendy Goyen.

In 1977 members of Warrnambool band "The Mod Squad" splintered in different directions. While Dick Barns donned his cowboy hat for "Nevada", guitarist Tim Netherway headed up "Granny's Grave Band". He was joined by ex-"West Side Federation" drummer Eric Read, a recent departee from a Melbourne country music band, "Homestead", and bass player Peter "Prof" Walters. The impetus for the band came when the new proprietors of the Lady Bay ("Cork" and "Dackers") offered Granny's Grave ten weeks work for six nights of each week (a workload only dreamt of by most of today's musicians).  A fresh faced John Maroniti joined as guitarist, and "Granny's Grave" embarked on a musical expedition that was to span three decades, countless kilometres, and multiple musical genres and members. The band name came from local history - in 1848 the first white woman to be buried in the area, a Mrs. James Raddleston, was interred in the sand dunes at the Warrnambool beach, and the grave site has always been known to locals as "Granny's Grave". Granny's Grave Band was always great entertainment. In 1980, Jake Steele, a reporter with the Melbourne based magazine "Across country", visited the Grand Hotel when Granny's Grave was playing. His report published in that magazine referred to a full dance floor, everybody laughing and having a good time and a tight, gutsy band performing numbers like "Westbound and down" and "Wichita jail" to more mellow country songs like "American dream" and even Willie Nelson's "Georgia". He also enjoyed the one-liners and comedy routines produced by the band.In time, Eric left the band to pursue careers in "The Nightowls" and "Small Change", and subsequent drummers included Roland Evans, Andrew Gray and Graeme Saunders.  John Maroniti left to form the "Motorvators", and Wendy Goyen joined as vocalist/guitarist/keyboard. Wendy was in the band from 1983-1988 and considers herself fortunate to start a music career in an established band playing at least once a week and with bookings a year in advance. The band's set list during her spell expanded to encompass things like Stop your fussin (Toni Childs) and Ain't no sunshine (a Bill Withers song that Wendy continued to sing in Second Line). Among her favourite memories are playing at country functions in places like Gorea West and support gigs for artists such as Col Elliot, Tony Pantano and Ronnie Burns (later to join the club circuit with Daryl Cotton and Russell Morris). In the early 1990s, Tim and the others re-united with another ex-West Side Federation member - keyboard player John "Jack" McKinnon, who had returned to the district after a metropolitan career highlighted by his spell as keyboardist for 70s rock group "Madder Lake".  During this period of its history "Granny's Grave" performed dually as a cabaret band and a pub rock band under the name "Blind Tiger". The original members reformed for the "Rock back the clock" cabaret at the Civic Hall in 1990, and in 1999 re-convened for a 3WAY-FM fundraiser in honour of Hank Williams' birthday (17th Sept.)  In 1999, Prof Walters was the bass player for "Sound Advice" (which also included one of the Granny's Grave drummers - Graeme Saunders), John Maroniti was in the "Motorvators", Tim Netherway played lead guitar with "Old Spice", Wendy Goyen sang with "Second Line" and "Lost in Suburbia" and Eric Read ran a successful telecommunications company (he was observed playing drums at Dick Barns' 50th birthday in 1998).