Mondays 12noon – 2pm – This show ended in June 2013
Presented by John Hibbard & Julian Curwin
The Showdown is a musical bunfight between two irreverent hosts, Julian Curwin and John Hibbard. Their inspired playlist explores a tenuous thread linking the jazz canon to everything else, from film music to Hill Country blues and avant-pop.
John Hibbard was the first baby born in Gosford City and such distinctions haven’t stopped rolling in ever since. While predictably growing, as most folks do, into a hirsute, medium sized adult, he’s managed to retain the temperament and emotional maturity of an unfed bub, all WTF?, where’s my dinner? and I want it NOW! He plays the slide trombone, writes and arranges upon occasion, sings and provides inappropriate interjections on stages across Australia and every so often the USA. John plays with his fellow Showdown host, Julian Curwin, in Julian’s Tango Saloon and their own very special project, Bossa Novacaine. King Curly, Darth Vegas, Zoe and the Buttercups, and the Jess Green Septet also call upon his services, as do the Sousaphonics, though he’s likely to be sacked from that any day now for aforementioned interjections. He’s a conflicted fan of jazz and other musics far too numerous to mention and loves presenting The Showdown with Julian for Eastside FM.
Julian Curwin is a similarly sized adult, who was born roughly one year prior to John, though obviously not in Gosford City. Also a musician, Julian’s weapon of choice is the guitar, though he occasionally finds himself playing banjo, bass, keyboards and other bits and pieces in his various projects. He leads two groups: spaghetti western tango ensemble The Tango Saloon and dinky punk chamber jazz quartet The Fantastic Terrific Munkle, and can also be seen playing around town with Bossa Novacaine, Darth Vegas, Monsieur Camembert, Glitch Jukebox, and more. Musically, Julian enjoys anything a little bit out of the ordinary, and his selections on The Showdown no doubt reflect this. His hope is to expose listeners to music they probably haven’t heard before, and in the name of doing so he happily tolerates the interjections of John Hibbard.