Back in the glory days of the Noosa Festival of Surfing, when the tribe would gather from all parts of the globe for “8 days of pure stoke”, two of the nicest regulars we had, guys I looked forward to catching up with each year, were the Proudfoot brothers, Lucas and Ben, young Indigenous men from the Tweed Coast, who, as well as surfing brilliantly, were born entertainers.
One of my fellow members of the Proudfoot Appreciation Society is my good mate, John Brasen, back then one of the co-founders of the festival and now editor of Pacific Longboarder. On the occasion of Lucas releasing a surf tune video for the kids’ market (which, by the way, is brilliant), JB last week re-posted an online piece which sums up the Proudy story very well, and is published here in part, with permission of PLB:
We first ran a six-page profile of brothers Lucas and Ben Proudfoot in the mag back in 2003, and at the time the rippers from the Tweed were fixtures in the finals of many longboard comps around Australia. Older brother Lucas had recently finished top 10 in world tour events in Mexico, Spain and France, and was ranked 13th overall in ’03. But the Proudy brothers had a lot more going on than chasing results in competitions.
Lucas had already been performing with the Minjungbal Aboriginal Dance Group for nine years and Ben had been with them for five, and their dancing had recently taken them overseas to festivals in Japan and Taiwan. Their mother Sue was a music teacher and father David a school principal and guitar player and collector, so the boys had grown up in a home full of instruments and inspiration.
Throughout the Noughties Lucas was busy touring and recording his original songs with his rock/soul band Max Judo, and while Ben headed off to WA for a career in landscaping architecture, Lucas and the band played more Aussie pubs, clubs, and festival gigs (including the Noosa Surf Fest) than he cares to remember – along with three full tours of colleges across the US.
While all things must pass, you can’t keep a natural front-man down of course, and, now a dad himself, Lucas is again entertaining packed houses and this time around they’re the most receptive and fun crowds imaginable — kids!
Over the past 10 years Lucas has performed to some half a million children in schools and festivals, become an ambassador for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation, performed original songs on ABC’s Play School, and the live “Proudfoot + Friends” interactive comedy-musical singalong gigs just keep getting bigger.
“Children’s audiences are super fun, but you’ve got to be really on your toes as they’re also your most honest and brutal,” say Lucas. “As adults we try to complicate stuff and you have to aim for simplicity – rhythm, rhyme and repetition – but you don’t dumb it down or they’re onto you. It’s stand-up comedy really, and storytelling and live music with no backing tapes. Over the years I’ve learned to perform with the kids and not at them, and you always have to give it 100 percent. Every gig . . . I love it. Recently it was Brisbane City Hall with 1000 kids, and then a school on the Tweed with 32, and I enjoyed that just as much.”
And yeah, Lucas is still going for a paddle.
Do your groms a favour and check out Lucas’s content via these social platforms:
YouTube: @LucasProudfoot
Insta: @lucasproudfootmusic
Heat, you flamin’ beauties!
It wasn’t the result we were hoping for at the Gabba last Sunday night, but what a dramatic, gutsy season the Brisbane Heat have given us in the Big Bash League.
As a confirmed cricket tragic, I’ve had to ration my viewing over the past couple of months of test matches and whackathons or nothing gets done, but I’ve seen nearly all the big moments, including these three heroic stands:
At home on 19 December, Matt Renshaw and Jack Wildermuth score incredible centuries as the Heat chase down the Scorchers’ 257 with one ball to spare, on a night when more records were smashed than you’d see at a Greek doof-doof party. The total of 36 sixes was easily the highest ever in any BBL match, while the match aggregate of 515 runs marked the first time the 500-run barrier had been passed in the league. The Heat’s successful run chase was the biggest in BBL history, and the third biggest ever worldwide.
At home again on 2 January, Maxie Bryant and Xavier Bartlett added 66 off 25 balls to pull off a remarkable four-wicket BBL win over the previously undefeated Melbourne Stars.
Bryant, who walloped an unbeaten 48 off 26 balls, should have been out when he was on two, when he edged off Peter Siddle, but the Stars failed to review despite a half-hearted appeal by wicketkeeper Sam Harper.
And on 15 January, away in Hobart and needing the win to stay in finals contention, Renshaw pulled off an incredible juggling act boundary catch to set in motion a complete collapse of the Hurricanes, who were chasing an easy target.
For my money, Renshaw gets Heat player of the season, but everyone played a part. Guts up, and bad luck, boys.
