Biography

Bursting onto the vibrant Melbourne music scene in 2002, Dave Hogan’s Meltdown, are a rockin’ outfit inspired by classic 20th century blues harp/guitar combos. With 3 albums to their credit, DHM’s debut album “Atlantis Sessions” was in 2003, followed by the MBAS award winner “Little Lies” in 2005 and most recently released Holler and Twang” a country blues album released in June 2009 contains four originals by the Hogan/Adam team and one by Paul Neuendorf. An act not to be missed!

DHM has toured both Australia and overseas and has been a featured act at festivals as diverse as the prestigious Wangaratta Jazz, the Noumea ‘Live in August’, Apollo Bay, Queenscliff and Caloundra Jazz & Blues, to name but a few. Hogan’s history makes him the world’s southern most blues man, hailing as he does from the bottom of New Zealand’s South Island. He started his career in the 1960s with his first band The Unknown Blues. Moving to Australia in 1970 he has become well known over the last 4 decades fronting tough blues act Southern Lightning, electric country blues outfit, The Paramount Trio and the legendary Blues Hangover, which also featured the late slide guitar icon Pete Wells and British bass legend John Stax. Hogan has also been featured as a harmonica player both on the road and on recordings with country artists such as A.P Johnson, Doug Mansfield, Vic O’Neill and Peter Caulton.

Lead guitarist David Adam is a truly inventive player with great ears, good taste, and the uncanny ability to deliver ‘where the hell did that come from?’ solos at every gig. Favouring an ancient gig-worn Strat (once Ross Hannaford’s) sometimes he just opens up the top end and simply roars rock’n’roll then drops it right down to deliver paint stripping blues. David was just 22 when he joined rockabilly blues band The Rhythmatics with Max Vella, Steve Williams and Wayne Burt. In 1984 he continued with that collaboration by joining Melbourne institution Relax With Max, which also featured players like Gary Young, Ross Hannaford, James Black, Greg Ham et al. Later David also became a master of New Orleans style funk grooves, playing with the famed T-Hammer.

Drummer Ken Farmer is known and admired by virtually everyone on the Australian blues and jazz scenes for his ‘playing like no-one else’ drum and washboard skills. There are few people he hasn’t played with since beginning his career in 1960. Ken has over 30 bands listed in ‘Who’s Who of Australian Rock’ – and that’s only up until 1992! Long time friends Hogan and Farmer have been sharing stages for more than 20 years and both were founder members of The Paramount Trio and Blues Hangover. Dave declares Ken to be “the most musical drummer I have ever played with and one of the few true gentlemen in the ego driven music business”.

Original bass player Gordon Johns and guitarist Michael Galvin parted company with Meltdown in early 2008 and have gone on to form instrumental combo The Futuras.

Stepping into the bass role is Chris Farmer, Ken’s wife. She is well known as a founder member of The Mojos, Percolators, Mudcats, and Hoochie Coochie Boys. Equally adept on electric and double bass, Chris has also toured Europe with New Orleans and R&B stalwarts The Sydney Stompers. Chris’s musical knowledge, feel and experience makes the band swing even harder. Joining the Meltdown crew at the same time as Chris is Paul Neuendorf, a wonderful and versatile guitarist and singer renowned for his work with The Dancehall Racketeers, Zydeco Jump, Blues Before Sunrise and Texacali Rose among many others. With Paul, like the Farmers – you name ‘em - he’s played with ‘em.

Recently, the new DHM line-up recorded - “Holler and Twang” – an album with an equal mix of originals and contemporary covers. Indeed, so contemporary are the covers that all the original writers/performers are living and breathing today! While retaining their traditional rocking blues sound, the band’s style has broadened to include a soulful country twang.