Pigram Brothers
Gig Seeker Pro

Pigram Brothers

Band World Folk

Calendar

This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

Music

Press


"Pigrams open for Sir Elton John"

SUPPORTING ELTON JOHN PAVES THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD TO SUCCESS

Soul, country-folk and the didgeridoo will comprise just some of the styles that will open for legendary pop superstar Elton John on his three-concert tour of Australia this month – playing Perth, Sydney and, for the first time in history, Darwin.

When Sir Elton kicks off the first concert of his tour in Perth on May 10, Broome-based country folk/rock band the Pigram Brothers will open, whilst Aussie soul sensation, Eran James (who supported Elton by special request last year), again graces the pop superstar’s stage for all three concerts, including the prestigious 25 year celebrations at the Sydney Entertainment Centre on May 12.

Then, when the Rocket Man lands on May 17 in Darwin, Eran James will start the TIO Stadium’s open-air concert, followed by blind aboriginal multi-instrumentalist Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, who will perform songs from his Gumatj country, one of the First Nations of North East Arnhemland, and mostly in his Yolngu tongue.

Elton John’s interest and support of new and eclectic artists is legendary – he gave a leg up to Australia’s Catherine Britt who scored a Nashville signing after he made a couple of calls; was the butt of 2001’s mad media storm when he performed a duet with then break-through controversial rapper Eminem at the Grammys; and cited “25-year-old bohemian, sharp, witty and brilliant songwriter”, Ryan Adams and his Heartbreaker album as the inspiration for his 2001 Songs From the West Coast. Elton thanked Adams on the album’s liner notes “for making me do better” and told MTV, “I also like Macy Gray and Mary J. Blige. These people are very inspiring to me. They are young, very talented, and they give me a kick of new life. I've made 40 albums. It's nice to listen to new things."

And it’s new things Elton is promised to hear on this tour: from the saltwater-lifestyle, earthy harmonies of the seven-piece indigenous Pigram Brothers (yes, all seven are brothers), to the elegant soul of teenager Eran James, and the beautiful singing voice, and songs, of Gurrumul.

With Elton’s ear, and influence, genuinely tuned to new and exciting talent, could Australia be the next frontier in scouting new international megastars at the grand master’s hand?

Certainly it’s a distinct possibility for the “I can’t believe he’s white” Eran James. The 19 year old, Melbourne-born, prodigy has been signing since he was eight and signed his first record deal with Universal Music when he was just 13. They say he’s the business, the real deal, and already he’s worked with the same big fish as Craig David, Christina Aguilera, Brandy and Norah Jones.

His debut album Reviewing The Situation was released in 2004 and his sophomore album Ten Songs About Love came out in October last year, just before he hit the road with Elton the first time.

Elton is a fan and the return of James for the multi Grammy winning legend’s three 2008 concerts is a testament to the young talent’s substance.

From the pearling town of Broome, the bright lights of the big city might not be as enticing to the Pigram Brothers who have already shied away from beckoning international stardom.

Their original music has an enormous affinity with the visually spectacular Broome and Kimberley landscapes and captures their Saltwater Spirit and Country. Pigram Brothers songs have become Broome hometown anthems and their CDs are rated one of Broome’s most popular souvenirs.

Despite winning numerous Awards, being featured on national radio and TV programs and being tempted with international Festival spots, the Pigram Brothers will tour only occasionally and prefer to stay at home, be with family, go fishing and stay connected to their country.

They reckon that Broome is a tourist hot-spot and with the several hundred thousand who visit each year, they play some of their biggest gigs and get considerable exposure staying home.

On this occasion however as Sir Elton couldn’t come to Broome Chugg Entertainment are bringing a bit of Broome to Sir Elton and Perth.

Great music, by great artists and you can only see it here.

Sat 10th May Members Equity Stadium - Perth, WA
Tickets through Ticketmaster
www.ticketmaster.com or 136 100

Tickets on sale now!

For more information visit www.chuggentertainment.com

For Perth publicity enquiries contact
Rosita Stangl Publicity on (08) 9367 9994 rositapr@iinet.net.au


- May 10th, 2008


"National Indigenous Times"

National Indigenous Times (Australia)


PROFILES IN BLACK AND WHITE: The Pigram Brothers - Kimberley
country
Issue 113 - 07 Sep 2006
ISSUE 113, September 7, 2006: The recent Darwin Festival featured a gig by Broome's
mighty Pigram Brothers. Long time fan GRAHAM RING took the opportunity to yarn with
Steve and Alan.
"People can actually enjoy it, take notice of the words - then find out what they mean," says
Pigram Brothers multi-instrumentalist and producer, Alan Pigram. "So you work
backwards. When you go the front way they can switch off from you, and you don't want that.
You actually want to get through to people so that they might start discussing things.
"It's a bit like Brand Nue Dae [a legendary Broome musical by Jimmy Chi, which featured
one Stephen Pigram as musical director]," continues Alan. "It's not hard-hitting as a play. But
people who had not given it much thought find themselves singing the words 'there is nothing
I would rather be than to be an Aborigine'.
"These people have never had anything to do with Aborigines, but you can see them singing
along. That's the way in. They take it back to their lounge-rooms and talk about it."
Dear Alastair, You probably don't know me,
But I been here since the dreaming of time...
My innocence is all that I can cling to,
I got no price, I'm not for sale to you.
The tune is an open letter from songman Stephen Pigram to British peer Alastair McAlpine,
who bought up much of the land around Broome. The track closes the band's 1997 Saltwater
Country album, which was produced by Goanna Band legend Shane Howard.
'I never made an album before that was more dependant on the ebb and flow of the king tides - NIT


"ARIA NOMINEES IN FAMILY HARMONY"

ARIA nominees in family harmony
By Andra Jackson
September 21, 2006
Broome in the 1960s had a population of only 1000
and one of the few forms of entertainment was sitting about at home having a family sing-along.
The Pigram family of 12 children had a ready advantage in that their mum was a keen singer in
church and at home, where the nine boys and three girls formed a ready-made choir.
Now, seven of the brothers who form the group Pigram Brothers, and known for their lush vocal
harmonies, have helped put the tropical town in the north of Western Australia on the musical map.
They have also given voice to a new, distinctively Aboriginal sound that has emerged in recent
years.
The group's latest recording, Under the Mango Tree, has just been nominated for its first ARIA in
the world music category.
Speaking from Broome yesterday, the oldest brother, Stephen, 46, said: "There was always music
around our house. Dad used to make music instruments and there were always instruments lying
around . . . odd-shaped guitars."
Like Broome itself - Australian's first truly multicultural town, with Japanese, Chinese, Malays and
other groups drawn to work in its pearl industry a century ago - the Pigrams had a diverse range of
backgrounds to draw on for their music. From their father came an Irish influence, while their
mother, with her Filipino background, injected Broome's typical Asian-Aboriginal mix, Stephen said.
Being taught by Irish nuns and singing in church was another influence; yet another was the area's
country music passion.
The harmonies just happened from them being a family with similar voices, he said.
"We tell the boys to find their own harmonies. They know who can do high and low and medium
harmonies."
They blend so well together that in the creation of their three CDs they have been able to dispense
with the usual separate recording of each voice and are recorded bunched around the microphone
"as one voice".
Stephen was the first to take music outside the family, performing with two friends in the 1970s,
and then with brothers Alan and Philip, forming a covers group called Scrap Metal in 1983.
The Pigram Brothers were formed in 1995 as an outlet for the music they were starting to write,
and Stephen acknowledges the influence of Broome songwriter Jimmy Chi in threading words from
their local Yawuru language in the lyrics.

ARIA nominees in family harmony - Music - Entertainment - theage.... http://www.theage.com.au/news/music/aria-nominees-in-family-harmo...
1 of 2 20/9/06 11:51 PM
ARIA nominees in family harmony
By Andra Jackson
September 21, 2006
Broome in the 1960s had a population of only 1000
and one of the few forms of entertainment was sitting about at home having a family sing-along.
The Pigram family of 12 children had a ready advantage in that their mum was a keen singer in
church and at home, where the nine boys and three girls formed a ready-made choir.
Now, seven of the brothers who form the group Pigram Brothers, and known for their lush vocal
harmonies, have helped put the tropical town in the north of Western Australia on the musical map.
They have also given voice to a new, distinctively Aboriginal sound that has emerged in recent
years.
The group's latest recording, Under the Mango Tree, has just been nominated for its first ARIA in
the world music category.
Speaking from Broome yesterday, the oldest brother, Stephen, 46, said: "There was always music
around our house. Dad used to make music instruments and there were always instruments lying
around . . . odd-shaped guitars."
Like Broome itself - Australian's first truly multicultural town, with Japanese, Chinese, Malays and
other groups drawn to work in its pearl industry a century ago - the Pigrams had a diverse range of
backgrounds to draw on for their music. From their father came an Irish influence, while their
mother, with her Filipino background, injected Broome's typical Asian-Aboriginal mix, Stephen said.
Being taught by Irish nuns and singing in church was another influence; yet another was the area's
country music passion.
The harmonies just happened from them being a family with similar voices, he said.
"We tell the boys to find their own harmonies. They know who can do high and low and medium
harmonies."
They blend so well together that in the creation of their three CDs they have been able to dispense
with the usual separate recording of each voice and are recorded bunched around the microphone
"as one voice".
Stephen was the first to take music outside the family, performing with two friends in the 1970s,
and then with brothers Alan and Philip, forming a covers group called Scrap Metal in 1983.
The Pigram Brothers were formed in 1995 as an outlet for the music they were starting to write,
and Stephen acknowledges the influence of Broome songwriter Jimmy Chi in threading words from
their - THE AGE


"The Pigram Brothers: a top Aboriginal band talk about their Filipino heritage"

by Deborah Ruiz Wall at the Dreaming Festival, Woodford, Queensland 2007



I didn’t know the Pigram Brothers. But on our first night at the Woodford Dreaming Festival, my friends and I simply could not resist dancing till past midnight at their concert. I just had to meet them and find out a bit more about this fabulous seven-member band who I was told has Aboriginal, Filipino, English and Irish ancestry. At the back stage at the close of their second concert, I chased them with a digital camera and a tape recorder.
From the pearling town of Broome in Western Australia, the Pigram Brothers — Alan, Stephen, David, Colin, Philip, Peter and Gavin formed their seven-piece country folk/rock band in 1996. They come from a family of twelve, 3 girls and 9 boys. I found out later how famous and highly regarded they are for their originality and talent. Their work, Saltwater Country won a Deadly at the National Indigenous Music Awards in Sydney for ‘Best Debut Album’ in 1998. Last year, they picked up another Deadly with their hit song Moonlight. The boys were also involved in “Bran Nue Dae” and “Corrugation Road”, classic indigenous musical plays that toured nationally. A critic praised their music as ‘exceptional’, ‘original’ and ‘of the highest standard that enlightens and consumes audiences of all nationalities.’
But what fascinates me is the Filipino influence in their culture. As a child, Colin remembers having pork ‘adobo’, a Filipino dish that was served to them on special occasions. He remembers his uncle who played ukulele with strings made out of fishing lines. They grew up with ‘a whole mix of people’ in Broome — Malay, Japanese, Chinese and all this influence could have crept into their music. In the group, Colin, Stephen and David are the creative drive for lyrics and composition.
In our yarn, I mentioned that before Federation (1901), Australia was predominantly populated by Aboriginal, Asian and non-Anglo people, especially at the Top End. So, it is pertinent to ask in terms of a period in our history, ‘who really is Australian?’ (The brothers laughed.) I reported that in western Sydney, some second generation Filipino immigrants feel they don’t quite fit into either Australian or Filipino culture. The Pigram Brothers said: ‘We grew up in our grandmother’s country so we are all right. We don’t have an identity crisis.’ While growing up, they felt free wandering around in the bush, fishing and hunting. ‘Now Broome is like a suburb. Tourism is all right. It all depends what goes with it. It’s bursting at the seams,’ Stephen said. The Pigram Brothers sing ‘records of times written on times of change’ such as country, lifestyle, things that happen everyday. ‘We don’t have to say too much. We make people aware in more subtle ways,’ Colin said. He gave the example of My Land:
…Local fisherman gotta bagful, gotta big gang, plenty mouth to feed/ Man with the badge say hey you, you’re breaking the rules/ Don’t care what your rule is/ You know a thousand politicians couldn’t change my ways/ My law is the sea and pull of the sun and the moon/ My land by the water, my land by the waterside/ Jirr, milgin-ngurru [1] Feeding on the rising tide.

Indeed the lyrics indicate how from the sea-eagle bird’s eye view, land and nature could be approached. And the Pigram Brothers’ indigenous music teaches through the incorporation of tradition into the twenty-first century using some words from their Yawuru language.
And their multicultural legacy is also acknowledged from their recollection of their mother’s cooking of fish and rice: ‘the cheapest thing you can eat!’ so they have it served 2 to 3 times a week, cooked with garlic and lemon grass. Definitely Malay or broadly Asian influence, they said, and this memory appears in their song of nostalgia, Going Back Home:
…I feel like going back home/Right now while the mangoes are ripe/ Frangipani starting to bloom/And the bluebone starting to bite/ Hey mum I can just taste your fish soup and rice/I'm coming back home to you/Can't hack the pace of this city life/Sooner be dreaming in Broome…

(lyrics: Stephen Pigram)

What about the Filipino connection? They mentioned a few names. ‘San Diego’ on their mother side. Their great grandfather, who came to northeast Australia in the 1880s — ‘Thomas Puertollano’. I gasped, ‘Oh yes, I read about him. He was a pioneer, a natural leader who made an enormous contribution to the setting up of the Catholic missions at Disaster Bay and Lombadina. Historian, Regina Ganter wrote that Filipino Catholics were at the interface between missions and Kimberley Aborigines right from the outset.[2]

In the case of Puertollano, Ganter is critical of the lack of acknowledgment by church historians who record the missionaries as the pioneering agents on Dampierland Peninsula. Ganter argues that the breakthrough for the missionaries was based on Puertollano’s pioneering work. Puertollano had already established fruitful contacts wit - Kasama-Solidarity Philippines Australia Network


"Port Fairy Folk Festival"

Pigram Music P/L
PO Box 1012, Broome WA 6725

December 18 , 2006

on the Pigram Brothers:

We support the efforts of the Pigram Brothers to conduct touring both nationally and internationally in 2007 and beyond.

We have booked the Pigram Brothers at our festival several times and each time we get huge positive feed-back and it is clear their audience across Australia is growing rapidly.

They have an absolutely unique sound, beautiful songs and are beyond fault as far as geing totally professional and fabulous people.

They are great cultural and musical ambassadors for Broome and the broader Kimberley region.

As their profile continues to build it is important for them to build upon their existing fan base and develop new audiences.

This is a classic example of how touring support funding can change the musical landscape forever adding to our cultural treasures.


Dr Jamie McKew OAM
Festival Director

- PFFF


Discography

3 X CD'S:
SALTWATER COUNTRY 1997
JIIR: 2000
UNDER THE MANGO TREE 2006

Photos

Bio

The original ‘saltwater sound’ of the Pigram Brothers’ music defines their hometown, the mythical birthplace of poets and pearlers, Broome, WA. This band of (indigenous Australian) brothers combine to produce exceptional original music delivering an infectious mix of earthy harmonies and acoustic stringed instruments, bringing to life songs about their saltwater lifestyle and homeland.

The songs from the two Pigram Brothers albums “Saltwater Country” (produced by Shane Howard of Goanna) and “Jiir” (produced by NY based Kerryn Tolhurst of Dingoes fame) have become anthems for the awesome Kimberley region of far northwestern Australia, embedding themselves into its ancient landscape.

UNDER THE MANGO TREE is the Pigram Brothers latest release, produced and recorded at Pearlshell Studios in Broome by Alan Pigram.

UNDER THE MANGO TREE was nominated for BEST WORLD MUSIC ALBUM 2006 at the recent Australian Music Industry’s ARIA Awards.

The Pigram Brothers opened the Deadly Awards at the Sydney Opera House in September 2006 and brought home the Deadly Award for 2006 ALBUM RELEASE OF THE YEAR.
Stephen (lead singer and songwriter) and Alan Pigram (producer and lead guitarist) were the first indigenous artists to be inducted into the West Australian Music Industry’s Hall of Fame in February 2006.

RECENT MILESTONES:

2006 ARIA AWARDS:
UNDER THE MANGO TREE nominated for BEST WORLD MUSIC ALBUM

2006 NATIONAL INDIGENOUS DEADLY MUSIC AWARDS
UNDER THE MANGO TREE – ALBUM RELEASE OF THE YEAR

2006 WEST AUSTRALIAN MUSIC AWARDS
ALAN & STEPHEN PIGRAM INDUCTED INTO WEST AUSTRALIAN MUSIC INDUSTRY HALL OF FAME