King Bees

"Good vibes inspire musicians" -- Warrnambool Standard 6th March 1999 - by Kylie Smith - ©Copyright Warrnambool Standard 1999.

It's a performer's dream come true - an enthusiastic crowd of thousands, a wonderful atmosphere and the chance to see a host of other world-class musicians. For Castlemaine musician Brian Keillor-Reed, one half of the duo King Bees, playing at the Port Fairy Folk Festival makes the band's usual pub gigs pale by comparison. "Because of the energy of the venue, there is a real vibe - you don't get that atmosphere in a pub", Brian said. King Bees, comprising Brian and Warrnambool musician Brendan Dowd, had the privilege of being the first act to grace a stage inside the main arena of the festival last night. The pair took up the guitar, didgeridoo, bongos, stompbox. djembe and dumbec (African and Middle Eastern drums) to entertain the laid-back crowd filtering in to the wine tent from 7 pm. King Bees is launching its debut CD "Tales from Akashic" at the festival. "We play what we call groove folk, which is acoustic-based music", Brian said. "We'd like to pursue more festival gigs, it's more fun to do it. It really comes back to the atmosphere, people come to immerse themselves in music". He said the "super-friendly" atmosphere and the mix of different people within the crowd made for a weekend that was not just enjoyable musically, but just great fun.

"Percussion sets tone" -- written by Kylie Smith - published Warrnambool Standard 11th March 1999 - ©Copyright Warrnambool Standard 1999.
FRESH from being the first act to take the stage at the Port Fairy Folk Festival last weekend, the King Bees will officially launch their new CD in Warrnambool tomorrow night. Tales From Akashic is the debut release for King Bees, which comprises Warrnambool’s Brendan Dowd and Bryan Keillor-Reed, now based in Elphinstone, outside Castlemaine. The twelve tracks on the album showcase some excellent guitar work from Keillor-Reed and Dowd’s incredible versatility on instruments ranging from the bongos to the didgeridoo. The rainstick, tambourine, stompbox, chimes, congas, djembe and dumbek (African and Middle Eastern drums respectively) all get a run, adding a world music flavor to the proceedings. The song-writing is low-key, with simple melodies and uncluttered arrangement letting the driving groove of Dowd’s percussion shine through. Highlights include the short and very sweet instrumental Waiting For Lucinda and the tenth track, She Don’t, when the King Bees take it up a notch with some great blues harmonica. The pair received a great reception at the Port Fairy Folk Festival and have now been approached to play other festival and venue gigs. Tomorrow night’s launch will be held downstairs at Images restaurant, with support from Wally and the Kid. The evening will also be a fund-raiser for community
radio station 3WAY FM.

Photos from King Bees CD Launch (Friday 12th March 1999)

 

Wally Edney and Luke Watt