[from a band press release]
A melting pot or musical cauldron of American roots music, chunky boogie, and western swing, 60's Honky tonk, tex-mex, blues and R'&'B, cajun, rockabilly and some latin influenced rhumba style country. Quite a mouthful but everything we do makes people want to dance. Tom Forsell
The Moonee Valley Drifters have been kicking out their own particular brand of "Country" music since 1985 and are still going strong. With two critically acclaimed albums and hundreds of gigs behind them, the Drifters are still pulling in the crowds and keeping their feet moving to the groove.
Their music attracts a lot of tags when it comes to style. Tex-Mex, blues, Western Swing, Cajun, countrybilly are just a few of the tags applied to the band but as one reviewer said "Forsell... likes his country hardcore". The Drifters basically play the 'roots' music that gave birth to 50's Rock'n'Roll.
Lead by singer/song-writer Tom Forsell who also does duty on Rhythm Guitar and Accordian, the Drifters are currently a five-piece. Rick Dempster is on steel guitar and harmonica, Jeremy Rasmussen on drums, Brendan Shearson on lead and Paul Pyle on double bass.
The Drifters released their first album Boogie Woogie Fever through Brunswick Recordings in 1988. The band had a break through 1989-90 while Tom was in Texas playing up a storm but got back together on his return. Their follow up album Juke Joint Johnny was released mid 1992, again through Brunswick Recordings. The reviews speak for themselves.
The Drifters have had a song "Back in the Saddle Again" in the Gerald Murnane Film. Forsell's "Here I Go Again" was part of the soundtrack for the Melbourne cult film "Holidays on the River Yarra" which was well received at the Cannes and Berlin Film Festivals.
The Drifters had a tune "Here I Go Again" in the top 20, number 18 for 3 weeks on 2SM in Sydney in 1992.
[From the Moreland Leader, 12/7/04]
MUSIC Kate Kyriacou
WHEN Tom Forsell was a kid, his parents thought it would be a good idea if he took up the accordion.
And while he did not think it was so popular at the time, long-time Brunswick resident Forsell and his band now have a following of fans who attend their every gig.
The Moonee Valley Drifters has been around since 1985, developing a sound described as a mixture of roots, older style country, swing, Cajun and rock.
"The accordion is really versatile. You can do anything with it,"Forsell said. "Rock 'n' roll, blues, all sorts of things."
Forsell has had a lifetime of music study, part of it spent in country music capital, Texas.
"I played in the States for a while when I was living in Texas," he said. "It was good - the scenery wasn't so great. It's not a nice looking state, but there is a lot of good music there.
"I met a lot of interesting people there, including Buddy Holly's sister. Her daughter is a singer and let us use her PA for next to nothing."
With almost 20 years of performing behind them, The Moonee Valley Drifters have a fan base of musicians and music-lovers.
"The group is a sort of institution in the area," Forsell said.
"We have three or four CDs, we've played at Byron Bay, Tamworth and all those places. We do a lot of solos on bass and drums, some three-part harmonies with steel and acoustics."
The group will play at the Retreat Hotel, Sydney Rd, Brunswick, on July 17, 5pm to 7pm.