Big time is rocking - Mentor program gives youth band a chance to do demo
By Candice Holznagel

Noosa News, July 21 2006

When David Wayth and his mates get together they make quite a bit of noise.

Well, what can you expect when you put four creative teens together and hand them a string of instruments.

Meet No Parkin – one of Noosa’s youth bands, consisting of David on lead guitar, Dom Everett on vocals and drums, Matt Upton on bass guitar and Shaun Tobin who sings and plays guitar.

Since their band launch in 2005, the Good Shepherd Lutheran College students have performed their original hits right across the Sunshine Coast.

Now they are edging closer to the ‘big time’ with the release of a demo CD.

The boys hit Noosa’s Advance Studio during the July school holidays thanks to an initiative of Creative Noosa.

Creative Noosa, which is entering into its second successful year, is a council-funded arts program based at the Cooroy Butter Factory.

And it was the unit’s latest music mentoring program that saw No Parkin take their sound to the studio.

“We got offered two weeks (in the studio) and it was to teach us and give us a background in recording,” David said.

“It gave us a really cool demo CD. We spent the two weeks in the studios and had mentors. It was heaps good to get in a real studio.”

Creative Noosa manager Bernice Childs said the ongoing music program was one of many initiatives.

Since its launch, the organisation has hosted an array of workshops and events including the ‘Shout out Loud Festival,’ which focused on street poetry, music and hip hop.

Following a successful first year, Ms Childs is looking forward to Creative Noosa’s second year.

“We’re already planning and looking at next year’s Shout out Loud Festival. We’re also looking at developing programs for senior citizens who have various skills in art”.

As for Noosa’s younger generation, they had welcomed the Creative Noosa unit with open arms, Ms Childs said.

And No Parkin is proof of that.

With the extra skills the band had learnt via Creative Noosa, David hopes No Parkin will forge a national or international identity.

“We want to get somewhere, but be famous not to be famous,” he said.

“We want to get somewhere for our love of music. I can’t really say why I love music… I’ve got my guitar in my hand and I have been playing for two hours.”