Whoopee Blues + Q&A
Theatre Royal, Castlemaine - Cinema (Castlemaine, VIC)
Saturday, 26 July 2025 5:00 pm
Screening followed by a Q&A with Director/Producer, Fiona Cochrane.
Brothers Mic and Jim Conway have been making music together since their school days, when they formed the Jellybean Jug Band, which later morphed into the wildly popular Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band. In the early 1970s, Captain Matchbox became a phenomenon, delighting audiences with My Canary Has Circles Under His Eyes and Fats Waller classics as well as quirky originals such as Wangaratta Wahine. Mic’s passion for vaudeville and creating instruments from anything at hand has driven his work across countless bands over the last 40 years, blending performance, circus, and humour. Jim found his voice in Captain Matchbox as a harmonica player, later becoming one of Australia’s foremost blues harp players. With a mix of present-day interviews and extensive archival footage, Whoopee Blues celebrates the brothers’ shared passion for music. The result is an entertaining and emotive portrait of the brothers and their timeless contribution to Australian music history.
Brothers Mic and Jim Conway have been making music together since their school days, when they formed the Jellybean Jug Band, which later morphed into the wildly popular Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band. In the early 1970s, Captain Matchbox became a phenomenon, delighting audiences with My Canary Has Circles Under His Eyes and Fats Waller classics as well as quirky originals such as Wangaratta Wahine. Mic’s passion for vaudeville and creating instruments from anything at hand has driven his work across countless bands over the last 40 years, blending performance, circus, and humour. Jim found his voice in Captain Matchbox as a harmonica player, later becoming one of Australia’s foremost blues harp players. With a mix of present-day interviews and extensive archival footage, Whoopee Blues celebrates the brothers’ shared passion for music. The result is an entertaining and emotive portrait of the brothers and their timeless contribution to Australian music history.