Bigwigs by day, rock musicians by night: the rise of the ‘dad band’ | GoodWeekendMag
Detective Inspector Jon Rouse spends each weekday tracking down online paedophiles. It’s dirty work, painstaking and heartbreaking. He has to piece together thousands of clues in his quest to rescue children who are locked into lives of sexual abuse. “But then come Saturday night, I’m into ‘gig’ mode,” explains the 58-year-old manager of covert operations at the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation .
owners might be “average at best”, those high-disposal incomes and a shortage of time means they don’t want to muck about. COVID has amplified that. “In fact, they’ve been keeping my business going.”Jon Rouse has always been a musician on the side. In the 1980s, he worked backstage on a number of gigs; in 2003, he met the band Duran Duran after their show at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre.
“We’ve got more gear than The Rolling Stones! It’s great, because you can have quality instruments that you never would have been able to afford when you were younger.” Known as the Nobbs, Davis played bass alongside pianist Susan Wright and lead guitarist Rod Neilsen. Davis’s day job was as director-general of the Department of Premier and Cabinet, the most senior public servant in Queensland – and he admits to being somewhat disconcerted when he learnt the band had been booked to play at a government Christmas party.
But COVID has provided an impetus for others to return to music. While stores selling band equipment capitalised on a boom, particularly in guitar sales, lockdown challenged the managing director of workplace mediation company iHR Australia, Stephen Bell, to focus on what was important to him – and he began writing, recording and distributing his tunes. It’s not a full-time gig, but part of a planned exit from a tough job the 59-year-old has been doing for decades.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Fears for dad missing near raging fireThere are grave fears for a missing father last seen near a fast-moving bushfire in WA, which is forging a path of destruction.
Read more »
‘Courageous’ act to kill dad: courtA Castlemaine tradie who pleaded guilty to assisting the suicide of his terminally ill father by shooting him in the head just days before his 81st birthday has been deemed “courageous” by a Supreme Court judge.
Read more »
Vikki’s dad to take on Katter with PalmerThe father of Barnaby Joyce’s partner will take on Bob Katter in the upcoming federal election on a United Australia Party ticket.
Read more »
The anticipated rise in COVID cases in NSW is finally here — and La Niña is not helpingMore than seven weeks after NSW's 'Freedom Day', COVID-19 case numbers in the state are finally beginning to rise as an expert warns indoor celebrations are 'high-risk settings'.
Read more »
Hobart expected to be handed fifth Ashes TestHobart is expected to be formally announced as the venue for a day/night fifth Ashes Test inside the next 24 hours, the first time Tasmania has hosted a chapter of cricket’s oldest contest | danbrettig
Read more »
Transmission in pubs, clubs 'contributing' to spike in NSW COVID-19 casesNSW Health are concerned about transmission events in public social settings such as pubs, clubs and parties that are contributing to the day-on-day increase of COVID-19 cases this week.
Read more »