Black Ducks retells a tale from a Northern Rivers bushman of how he used to catch black ducks on the riverbank in Coraki NSW.  His method was so ingeniously simple that the ducks were lulled into a state of relaxation as they awaited release.  Bates gives the tale a very human existential twist.

The work features Geoffrey Bates on vocals and guitars, Nick Peterson on piano, Kym Watling on banjo, fiddle, and backing vocals, and Scott French on keyboards and drums.  

Black Ducks was recorded, arranged, and produced by Geoffrey Bates at Watling & Bates’ Unumgar Studio in NSW, with additional recording, engineering, and final mix by Scott French of Lovestreet Studios, Currumbin Qld and mastering by Paul Blakey of 12^th & Vine Post, Broadbeach, Qld. 

Prophets is a road trip to an uncertain future. 

It features Geoffrey Bates on vocals and guitars, Marcus Schintler on drums, Nick Peterson on keyboards, Scott French on piano and tambourine and Kym Watling on backing vocals.

Prophets was written by Geoffrey Bates, produced by Watling & Bates, mixed and engineered by Scott French at Lovestreet Studios, and mastered by Paul Blakey at 12th & Vine Post. 

Marcus Schintler’s drums were recorded at Comrade Rock Studios with pre-production by Thor Phillips.

Our new single Coolatai Waltz heads out to radio and digital through Checked Label Services on 9th May. The song was written for a wedding in Coolatai NSW in 2019, weaving a ‘tale tales and true' story of the couple’s romance through the town’s landmarks and local legends. 

Coolatai is famous for its legendary black panther and signature events such as the Coolatai Races and Coolatai Vintage Tractor Pull. All of these are fondly featured in the song, along with the Wallaroo Hotel, the local hall, church, and sportsground, and nearby towns in the New England North West Slopes.

Kym Watling sings and plays bass, fiddle, and banjo, with Geoffrey Bates on guitars and backing vocals. Scott French guests on drums, with ex-Texas (Qld.) local Christopher Ridgway on mandolin from Amesville Ohio, USA. 

Coolatai Waltz was engineered and mixed by Scott French at Lovestreet Studios, mastered by Paul Blakey at 12th & Vine Post, written and produced by Watling & Bates, with pre-production by Thor Phillips.

Coolatai Waltz and its flipside Prophets are the first singles from our forthcoming album.

Sat In the Car And Remembered is heading out to radio on 20 September, as the final single from the Small Town Tales album. The song tells of an impetuous trip across the Nullarbor Plain fuelled by the optimism of youth, remembered by an old couple in a parked car in a tired country town. Chasing trains and dodging wombats from Melbourne to Perth while the fanbelt screams and the rain pours down. Would we do it again? In a heartbeat! 

We had the best time at The GAS Old Time Acoustic Music Weekend at the Hillbilly Goat HQ in Brooweena, Queensland in April. We started Saturday morning off with our trademark rooster crow and steeped ourselves in the culture and camaraderie of this fabulous event for the whole weekend. We congratulate the Hillbilly Goats on creating this outstanding venue, which hosts the creme de la creme of old time and quirky acoustic artists in April and September each year. Viva les Goats, viva la Gas!

Our Soundtrack Our Stories is an initiative by ARIA to get local artists streaming in homes and businesses while the live performance sector is down.  We've put together a playlist of music of artists and colleagues linked to Kyogle and the Northern Rivers, so you can find us all on Spotify!

The Shelly Jones Band’s upbeat traditional country sound merges with Watling & Bates’ old time Gothic hillbilly and honkytonk style on this latest single from these two accomplished country duos. 

Written by Shelly Jones, IF YOU KNEW WHAT YOU KNOW is an upbeat tune that challenges one to think about whether they would do things differently in life if they had their chance to do it all again. 

With an infectious beat and a catchy tune packed with perfectly blended harmonies and great musicianship, you’ll want you to kick up your heels and start dancing, even if you don’t know how! 

Produced by Lester and Shelly in their home studio, IF YOU KNEW WHAT YOU KNOW is available on all digital platforms.

Candy Moon, released on Valentine's Day 2021, is available for streaming, download, and home delivery as a CD single!  Producer and guitarist Thor Phillips and drummer Marcus Schintler have bought some hillbilly swing and rockabilly jazz to this old time classic. Candy Moon was written by Kym Watling, engineered by Thor Phillips, and mastered by Paul Blakey at 12th & Vine Post.

Wonderful to see the long-awaited Kyogle Backroads episode, in which we performed for the launch of the Richmond River Independent community newspaper at the Kyogle Bowling Club!

So grateful to receive our finalist nomination certificates for the Tamworth Songwriters Association (TSA) Salute Awards. This year we were honoured with five semi-final nominations, with one of them, Wondering About My Time, reaching the finals in the Gospel category. Thank you TSA, we greatly enjoy the competition!