Art News Features & Articles

Turbo Nun flying the flag for local bands
By Kevin Cherry, July 2003

A driving force behind the independent music scene on the northern beaches is Turbo Nun Entertainment Group, a production and distribution group dedicated to pushing local acts and providing a means for them to sell their music and perform live on stage.

Since 1998 Turbo Nun have produced and released three compilation albums - Melody is Weakness, Sensory Deprivation and Blind Naked and Helpless which provided a launching pad for innovative local acts such as Bunt, Voodoo Monkeys, Low Ride and Teenage Hookers for Christ, all of which have gone on to greater success in the wider contemporary music scene, as well as many equally creative but less successful acts.

All three albums have since sold out and have become sort after collectors items by people around the world eager to trace the origins of the Australian underground music scene, which is beginning to make an international impact. A fourth compilation album titled Perfection is Boring is due out later in the year.

Since 2002 Turbo Nun have presented a fortnightly gig at The Manly Rugby Union Club providing an oasis in a entertainment deprived desert for rock fans where they can socialise, see, listen and dance to the latest exponents of cutting edge original contemporary music. The regular event has become a popular night among the local music fans and has begun to attract audiences from outside the area who are eager to catch up with the latest live sounds, especially since the closure of many inner city rock venues.

The philosophy behind Turb Nun stems from the 70's punk culture 'do it yourself' ethos where young artists that didn't conform to what was generally considered mainstream discovered that although they could attract an enthusiastic following amongst punters at their live performances who were eager to buy their recordings, they encountered apathy when approaching corporate record companies. So they decided to manufacture, release and distribute their own recordings.

The innovator behind Turbo Nun Entertainment Group is Canadian born entrepreneur Charles 'Chuckles' Coleman. Before migrating to Australia in 1984 Chuckles had a background in television. As a child he hosted a childrens programme on a local TV station in his home town of Alberta. Moving to British Columbia, he then hosted a music video show in Prince George where he also played guitar in a band but didn't take music seriously until living in Sydney where he saw the band Exploding White Mice at the St James Tavern. This inspired him to form his own band Bone Machine.

While earning a living working for a mail order company that sell giftware to the public via a catalogue, Chuckles decided that it would be a good way to market and distribute independent recordings. Building up a mailing list database, Chuckles began selling Bone Machine's recordings and organising gigs to publicise and finance the recordings. He would also network with other bands that Bone Machine performed with and get their artistic and financial input to produce compilation albums, enabling them to get their music into their fans homes and on the radio.

In 2002 Chuckles collaborated with Stuart Marks of Sunline Studios to organise the inaugural Manly Folk Festival which was held at The Manly Fisho's Club, enabling local acoustic performers and singer/songwriters to reach a wider audience. The next Manly Folk Festival will be held at The Manly Rugby Union Club on Saturday 13th of September as part of the Manly Arts Festival.

Chuckles says "I do believe in opportunities.You basically can't do the things you want to do in a small town where no one wants to see what your doing but essentially if you live in a wider community you can make your own opportunities. I think there's a lot of chances here in the northern beaches to really shake this place up and do a lot with art in general"

The successful collaboaration between Chuckles and Stuart has also led to regular gigs at the Club where they present live performances by local rock bands on every second Friday.