Rock'n'roll tribute takes regional stars from small town to big stage

The duo will be portraying George Burarrwanga and Gordon Butcher Tjapanangka in the premiere of Big Name, No Blankets, a musical stage show which tells the story of the legendary Warumpi Band.

The Warumpi Band was one of Australia's first major influential Indigenous rock groups, known for the popular song Jailanguru Pakarnu [Luritja for Out from Jail], the first rock song ever released in an Indigenous Australian language.

The band was also known for black anthems My Island Home and Blackfella/Whitefella, and for launching the solo career of iconic singer-songwriter Neil Murray.

The Tamworth brothers' journey to performing Big Name, No Blankets in Sydney's Roslyn Packer Theatre began when Goori was contacted by the Ilbijerri Theatre Company to audition to play Gordon, the Warumpi Band's drummer.

However, after hearing Googoorewon sing, the company knew they had their Warumpi Band front man, meaning the search for a drummer was still on.

"Because they still needed a drummer, one of the co-directors Rachael Maza asked me if I knew one," Goori Knox told ACM.

Not only did he know a drummer, his brother was one who performed with the original Warumpi Band.

Teangi Knox was in Brisbane doing gigs with their father when he got a fateful call from Googoorewon.

"Goori said 'Do you know about Big Name, No Blankets?' and I didn't even allow him to finish before saying yes, I'm in," Teangi said.

"I didn't care what I was going to do. I could've been pushing props around, I just wanted to be a part of it."

As the sons of blues singer Buddy Knox and grandsons of Australia's "Black Elvis" Roger Knox, the Knox brothers are no strangers to performing.

Roger Knox regularly toured with the Warumpi Band, and Buddy Knox often filled in for the group whenever they needed a guitar player on short notice.

It was this relationship which led Teangi to perform with the megastars at the young age of 19.

"When me and dad played with them in 2006, at first I just went to watch because that's my favourite band," Teangi said.

"Then when we were getting ready he said to chuck in my bass guitar because I might have to play. I was like, holy damn."

As it turned out, the elder Knox's premonition was correct, and the Warumpi Band needed a spot filled.

"I didn't even know he knew all the music, I just knew he could play," Buddy Knox told the ACM.

And play he did.

"I wasn't nervous because of the crowd, I was nervous because this was Warumpi Band. You don't often become a part of your favourite band," Teangi said.

But now Teangi is joining his favourite band for the second time, in a production that has taken more than five years to put together.

The crew has had extensive consultation with friends and family of the Warumpi Band, including original member Sammy Butcher, to ensure accuracy.

"Sammy always said he wanted to bring hope to black people, give them something to make them smile, and every time we finish a rehearsal he always says it at the very end," Teangi said.

"He says it now and he said it then, it's all for the younger generations to look up to. He's been saying it for more than 30 years."

Googoorewon says the band was - and continues to be - an inspiration for Indigenous Australians everywhere.

"Their songs were authentically them, telling their own story. That's what blackfellas have always been about, telling their own story," he said.

Many of the Warumpi Band's members became personally involved in promoting reconciliation and cross-cultural understanding between black and white Australians.

The band itself also donated much of the income from their record sales to campaigns fighting against the closure of Australia's remote communities.

"I'm happy I can be a part of this particular story because it's still completely relevant. Everything they were talking about back then is still there and should still be spoken about," Googoorewon said.

"We've had things help us, movements that put blackfellas in a better light, but it's not like we're that far ahead of where we came from. There's still more opportunity."

Both brothers say they've worked harder on Big Name, No Blankets than any other project either have been a part of, rehearsing six days a week for the last few months to pull the show together.

"It's fun, stressful, hectic, intense, but most of all it's worth it," Googoorewon says.

He said one of the best parts is seeing his brother come into his own as an actor.

"It's Teangi's first-ever acting gig and he's in a packed-out Roslyn Packer Theatre," Goori said.

For his part, Teangi says the only thing harder than acting is stopping himself from playing the Warumpi Band's full songs.

Many of the other actors will be on prop instruments, but Teangi will move directly from a real drum set straight into an acting role.

"There are bits of the songs with underscoring, so it's not the full song it's a verse and then there's dialogue, then another verse," he said.

"I have to hold it in because the song is so good and you wanna play the actual thing completely."

The musician says he's grateful to the Ilbijerri Theatre Company for giving him and his brother the opportunity to continue a legacy that shaped the way they live.

"Everybody from Tamworth out west know Warumpi band music. You go out there and start playing the guitar part and they know what it is. This show is about keeping it alive," Teangi said.

Big Name, No Blankets premieres in the Roslyn Packer Theatre in Sydney on Wednesday, January 10.