Ishmael and the Return of the Dungongs by Michael Gerard Bauer

Author:Michael Gerard Bauer [ Bauer, Michael Gerard]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 978-1-921988-70-7
Publisher: Scholastic
Published: 2010-08-28T04:00:00+00:00

25.

THE RETURN OF THE DUGONGS

‘What, you mean Dad’s old band?’

I didn’t know much about the Dugongs except that they were formed when Dad was at uni and were only together for a few years before breaking up. That was about it. Of course Dad still strummed away on his guitar every now and then – he even taught me a few chords. But he never really talked much about his Dugong days. Mum neither.

Once I Googled their name, and apart from a million sites about marine creatures, the only reference I came up with was, ‘The Dugongs: Rock band of the mid to late 1980s. Had strong local cult following but split when seemingly on the verge of wider success.’

‘That’s the one,’ Mum said. ‘When I first met your father at uni he was always going on about this band he was in. We used to talk sometimes before or after our American Lit tutorial. That’s where we studied Moby Dick,’ she said with a wink at me.

‘Yeah, yeah, I know all about that – let’s just stick with the Dugongs, OK?’

‘Well, your father and I became friendly and then one day he told me this band of his had a gig at uni. He asked if I’d like to come along to see them play, and I said yes.’

‘Were they any good?’ Prue asked.

‘The Dugongs?’ Mum said, as if the answer was obvious. ‘They were wonderful. Everybody loved them. After that first time I went to all their shows.’

‘Groupie chick, huh, Mum?’

‘Fan, Prudence, fan,’ Mum said with an evil eye.

‘But when you saw them play that first night, that’s when you really fell for Dad, right?’

‘No, not exactly … That’s when I fell for Billy Mangan, actually.’

‘Who?’

‘Billy Mangan. He was the drummer. Ron and Billy were best mates from school. They were very close. They wrote songs together-the next Lennon and McCartney they reckoned. And Billy … Well, he was gorgeous. All the girls had their eyes on him, not just me.’

Prue leant in closer. ‘So … before you got together with Dad … did you and Billy …’

‘Sorry, Prue, we’re not in the Big Brother house. Billy was lovely, he really was. But so was your father … and he made me laugh.’

‘He made you laugh?’ I said. ‘That’s it? That’s what did it for you?’

‘Don’t knock it,’ Mum said. ‘It sure beats the alternative.’

‘So what’s all this got to do with Uncle Ray’s email and Dad turning into one of the extras from Dawn of the Dead?’

‘Well, Ray was their bass player.’

Prue and I exchanged a look. ‘Uncle Ray was a Dugong?’ I said.

‘Of course. There was Ray on bass, Billy on drums, Leo McCrae on lead, and Ron on rhythm and main vocals. They had a huge following around the local venues-you’ve got no idea – and when Ron and Billy started to write more of their own stuff, they became even more popular. Some of the bands that were around at the same time went

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