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TOM DOOLEY PICKS UP HIS GUITAR AGAIN

Dave Guard – ex-member of the famous Kingston Trio – has taken up his guitar again to lead a new TV folk show called, simply, Dave’s Place.

- By Maggie Makeig

Five episodes of the series have been taped in Sydney, and its ready to start sometime in early August.

Permanent tenants of Dave’s Place are the Dave’s Place Group, consisting of Dave, Len Young on drums, Kerrilee Male, a girl singer, and Chris Bonett, the ex-bass player in the Greenhill Singers. Chris also wields a tambourine and takes his share of vocals.

Dave’s decision to go back into showbusiness, after retiring from the Kingston Trio because he was in a "rut" and didn’t see enough of his wife and children, has been rumored for some months. He frankly admits he’s dissatisfied with what he hears on radio and what he sees on the TV screen. He hopes he will be able to do something better.

Since he settled in Sydney with his family three years ago, he has been watching the local scene and hearing the local artists. He also admits with a chuckle that he’s a fan of the Kinks and the Beatles.

But Dave’s Place will be strictly "folky", not "beaty".

Guest artists Dave hopes to introduce on his show include Nina and Frederik, the New Lost City Ramblers, and the Clancy Brothers.

The setting for Dave’s Place is a teahouse, anywhere in the South-East Pacific. It is the kind of place where people go to relax, and to help them do it a bevy of hostesses will serve tea to the performers and the audience. There’s a pair each from Hong Kong, Thailand, Italy and Australia.

Presiding over the gigantic tea urn will be veteran Australian vaudeville star Queenie Paul. She is the show "character" who refuses to watch the show but is solidly absorbed in the telly as the performers go through their paces at the teahouse.

The series is being taped by Fremantle International. They expect Dave’s Place to appeal to viewers in more than 40 different countries, including Canada, Rhodesia, Italy and Scandanavia.

Fremantle International produces the international Romper Room series, the Third Man and Space Station 10. It also co-produces the Magic Boomerang with the ABC and Pacific Films.

The producers chose Dave because they needed a personality with international appeal, plus a wealth of musical background and knowledge.

It’s doubtful whether they could have chosen more wisely.

Perhaps now we’ll be watching Dave’s new group belting away at Tom Dooley, the hit record that started the Kingston Trio on the way to fame and fortune.

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Dave Guard (top left) in a scene from Dave’s Place, a television series to start shortly on ABC-TV.

Folksingers Nina and Frederik will appear as guests in the new show.

-- THANK YOU to Australian Trio fan Ken Bradshaw for sharing his
transcript and scans of the foregoing article for our reading enjoyment.

Last revised: February 23, 2006.