Edit history

These Idle Hands was formed in 2019 & operates as a collective. The lineup consists of. Vocals/Guitar -Murray Webber Slide Guitar & Banjo-Kieran Richardt/ Piano & Double Bass-Michael James Violin- Lauren Illig Guitar/Vocals-Josh Morris Vocals- Amaya Coburn Drums/Recording Engineer-Scott French These Idle Hands is a collaborative union of like-minded musicians. Their music is best described as hauntingly retrospective, emotive & impressionistic Alt folk & Americana. The band are always refining & expanding their luminous acoustic balladry. Not afraid to explore the darker aspects of the human condition, their music at times conveys an intensely personal lyrical perspective. These Idle Hands members hail from the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. A bit about the band Murray Webber Murray is a self taught musician with a passion for Alt Folk/Country. His music career began in the vibrant 90’s Brisbane band scene. Having cut his teeth on some of the now infamous stages of The Orient Hotel, The Outpost, & The Playroom to name a few, he has also received critical acclaim for various releases resulting in regular airplay on Triple J & NZ stations. Murray then moved back to Byron Bay and worked as a chaperone for performers in The East Coat Blues Festival & found himself in the lucky position of jamming with international blues legends Taj Mahal, Norton Buffalo & Elvin Bishop. A career pivot soon followed by way of an 11 year stint as a lead performer 5 nights a week in musical theatre, at the popular Gold Coast haunt, Draculas. After leaving his full time performing role, Murray took a much needed break before forming duo (Black Kite) with fellow local musician Linda Angledal & proceeded to release a couple of singles under the name of Heron Blue, followed by his current passion performing & writing songs for These Idle Hands. Michael James Michael’s musical training began just north of Sydney, firstly on piano at the age of 12, followed by guitar shortly after. His wide ranging musical tastes and playing ability makes him one of the most versatile & in demand musicians going. Before moving to QLD Michael had a residency playing piano at popular Newcastle cafe/bookshop Pepperinas. These days he can often be found either performing his own solo instrumental classical guitar pieces around local haunts & has recently performed & recorded with local acts Kate Leopold,Julie Hayes & Heron Blue as well as recording a video of his original material with Linda Angledal. Michael’s starkly beautiful piano parts & double bass are the backbone of These Idle Hands rich sound. Kieran Richardt Kieran started playing on a beat up classical guitar 24 years ago and soon developed a fondness for blues/folk and alternative Australian music. A multi instrumentalist in the true sense of the word, Kieran is proficient on didj, banjo, 12 string, dulcimer, uke, charrango and weissenborn lap & if that wasn’t enough, he also builds his own instruments from scratch. Kieran has busked in the USA, Central America, Europe and Asia. Since returning to Australia he’s gigged extensively with Kate Leopold and helped kick start the morning music cafe scene on the GC. One of the founding members of Leopolds Treat, a band that went on to be awarded Emerging Artist of the Year in the Gold Coast Music Awards in 2016 Kieran now brings his considerable musical experience ( and truckload of instruments) to These Idle Hands. Josh Morris Josh has been writing & performing folk inspired music since his mid teens with a strong penchant for rich layered harmonies & a simple driving beat. Josh began playing on the Gold Coast & has graced the stage with well known local Alt Folk outfit Leopold’s Treat. Followed by time spent in Montana (USA) playing and performing with Bluegrass outfit Babaganoush. Josh’s rich baritone & finger style guitar compliment“These Idle Hands” lush arrangements like a match made in heaven Lauren Illig Lauren started learning violin & piano at an early age, soon deciding that violin resonated strongest (She’s still kills it on the keys BTW!!) Lauren began her musical journey competing in eisteddfods and playing in the orchestra for musicals including Chicago, Annie, The Addams Family, Legally Blonde to name but a few. Then she joined North Coast folk/punk outfit The Moonshiners for a period of two years. She now enjoys bringing her achingly beautiful violin strokes to These Idle Hands. Amaya Coburn Amaya is our songbird. Not just an incredible voice, she also can hold her own on both violin and guitar, playing with the school senior orchestra. Originating from the Gold Coast & still at high school, this hasn’t stopped her from taking the stage with Leopold’s Treat & finding her place as a valued member of These Idle Hands. Having completed a Cert lll in Music Industry at TAFE, Amaya has a keen interest in the business side of music. Amaya has developed a rich uniqueness to her voice which is rarely found. Her vocals sit perfectly with our style of music.