SAM MCNALLY KEYBOARD MASTERCLASS + THE HAPPY ENDINGS

• Piano and keyboard parts with The Happy Endings, and

• How musical interactions happen, in a group with very few rules and regulations.

A workshop in which the highly experienced pianist/keyboard-player Sam McNally, talks about “what he does” in The Happy Endings, a madcap, fun collective of musicians and singers who simply love playing and mucking around. What “approach to take” in songs that are well-known, in a band with enough “space” in the instrumentation, and enough daring to to take liberties musically. WHICH … must be treated with respect of course. And, a bit of a laugh.

Sam will be playing acoustic (grand) piano and electric keyboards (predominantly, Electric Piano, Organ and Strings).

The Happy Endings’ songs always END “happily”, and often with a surprise. Their repertoire comprises ‘songs everyone knows’ (70’s, 80’s, 90’s and later). Fronted by the effervescent and always-smiling Miss Jenny Robinson, “The Happy’s” don’t do rules much. The band possesses sufficient musical prowess that it can turn on a dime and make an Angels anthem suddenly become some weird Jazz Fusion strut, or turn a ballad into an almost Classical concerto piece. And so much more. These “sudden Left Turns” are what makes The Happy Endings fun, unique and interesting.

Other members are: one of Australia’s finest bass players, Mr. Mark Costa (Marcia Hines, Margaret Urlich, Guy Sebastian, Wendy Matthews, Wa Wa Nee, James Morrison, Emma Pask, and a dozen big name stage musicals), legendary Australian guitarist Raymund Shek (Christine And, Funkstar), and used-to-be American (now Aussie) Chris ‘Tex’ Robertson. Sam McNally is keyboardist for Doug Williams, Stylus and Coloured Stone, and historically has worked with Tommy Emmanuel, Marcia Hines, Air Supply and Sharon O’Neill. He holds a position at Sydney’s JMC Academy, teaching contemporary piano.

This is part of a series of masterclasses at Northside Performance Space, Crows Nest.

Target audience:

• Young musicians who are already band members

• Singers in bands / singers who’d like to be in a band

• Students of Piano and Electric Keyboards

• Professional musicians (any instrument)

Some “Happy Endings” songs that may appear in this workshop:-

• Stuck in the Middle (Stealers Wheel) (Jen) 

• Year of the Cat (Al Stewart) (Jen) 

• Running Up that Hill (Kate Bush) (Tex) 

• Come Together (The Beatles) (Ray) 

• Mad World (Tears For Fears) (Tex & Jen) 

• One (U2) (Jen) 

• Lonely Boy (The Black Keys) (Ray) 

• Never Tear Us Apart (INXS)(Jen) 

• Rebel Yell (Billy Idol) (Tex) 

• Slither (Velvet Revolver) (Jen)