2007

Three people (Dave Nolan, Steve (Stig) Lamberth and Enno DeBoer) sitting around  generally bemoaning that there was nowhere to "play" without the hassle of auditions, heaps of rehearsal and a suitable venue. They came to the conclusion that if this "place" didn't exist, they would have to invent it. After some in-depth discussions they were also pretty clear about what this "Club" was to be about - it was to be a place where musicians, experienced or not, could come and play and meet with other musicians in a non-competitive environment, at minimal cost, where the venue did not dictate what was suitable to be played. The Roleystone Musicians Club was born...

Their idea was that if they put up a backline and PA, they could invite people to come and play. So adverts were placed and in March 2007 at the Roleystone Senior Football Club, the inaugural meeting took place. To ensure that people could play, Dave, Steve, Enno formed the "house" band - to provide backing for people who wanted to perform. Eight people turned up. At the next meet, Crispy turned up along with fifteen more people. At the third meeting, still more. Grant Black joined the crew and brought with him an extensive array of audio and lighting gear. By then it was obvious that was going to need some more "organisation" if it was to keep going.

Club meetings were three hours long divided into 15min segments to ensure everyone got a go. Emails, website and posters were used for promotion. There were write-ups in the local media. Photos were taken at every meeting and published on the posters/website. Posters became collectables! With the help of Grant's gear, what had started as a small vocal PA and a few amps grew by Christmas 2007 into two performance areas, lights, smoke, bubbles. Special guests this year included Malcolm Clark (Sleepy Jackson) and Harm's Way.

By then, there were plenty of backing musicians pitching in, so the House Band became a band in its own right called "the Pollenators" with Dave, Stig, Enno and the inclusion of Crispy (on flute).

2008

2008 was year of consolidation. The format was set. The Club continued to grow. Over 700 people attended Club functions throughout the year - 150 alone at the End Of Year Big Bash. Partnerships with other music clubs, local music stores, local councils and members who provided goods and services to the Club were developed and nurtured.

By the end of the year the Club's mailing list was over 100 people. Special guests this year included Graham Greene and Rick Steele.

"K5", "Harmsway" and "Poison Mushroom" where regular club bands with performances by Kim Bettenay. "The Ferrymen" was consolidated from the club. Mel, Tony and Chris Atkinson were playing regulars. Bob Hart would also visit with his accordion.

2009

2009 saw the retirement of the house band - the Pollenators. RMC gigs outside of the club began - first to the Rock Inne and then outdoors to the Roleystone Autumn Festival. Special guests included Lucky Oceans and Chelsea Gibson. The Club got a "real" web site and was able to provide support to other musical/arts ventures in the area.

Club attendance dropped in this year, but the RMC bands grew and spawned. Grant joined the Ferrymen, and both him and Crispy were away gigging on Fridays. Chris Atkinson and David Atkinson formed "Beatz Wurking". Erhard, Ernie and Josh had formed the BBBlues band. Regular Club performing bands of 2008 were "BBBlues", "K5", "SMS", "Harmsway", "Crazy Train" and "Cougar28".

The End of year bash was the Mad Hatters held at the Senior Footy club with about 60 attendees.

Stig and Dave retired from active duty. Exhausted from running the growing club, they made a call for others to take on the load and continue the legacy.

2010

The call was answered by volunteers who stepped up and in 2010 the club took the next step in its evolution.

Crispy took on the role as President and Strawb as the MC. The RMC committee was born (Mel, Tony Street, Chris Atkinson, Dave Willis, Strawb, Carol, Dale Grimshawl, Erhart, Kim B and Crispy) and the club took the first steps to become incorporated. We moved to Springdale Oval and the club became populated with more acoustic acts.

The club started fundraising to buy a PA of its own. Up to this point the PA had been generously borrowed from a collection of people including Grant, Stig and The Ferrymen.

With the new "Family Friendly" venue, younger bands and performers (from the age of 10!) started to attend with family. Judy and Rod also came on board to provide meals for the club nights.

We played at the second Autumn Festival on the back of a big truck provided by Karragullen Cool Store. Teenage band "The Big Things" made their debut and the "Roley Idol" was hosted by Paul Peacock with young performers from Classic Sounds and Emma's music school.

The RMC also performed and helped with the audio at the Haiti benefit concert with Beatz Wurkin and Jon Doney performing.

2010 was the first year we were involved with Armadale City Concert in the Park Series, performing at Cross park with Bands BBBlues, The Ferrymen, SMS and K5.

Never2L8 and Hawkstone bands were born.

2010 Club performers included Bands of 2010 included "BBBlues", "The Ferrymen", "Manic","The Big Things", "Never2L8", and "Hawkstone". Regular acoustic acts included Jim McDonald, "Beatz Wurkin", Emma and Steve, Peter Hardinge, Ronny Stomp, Bobbie, Jon Doney, Mel and Tony.

The music mentoring program was born with Gary, Tim and Pete volenteering as mentors.

The End of Year bash was "Back to the Eightees" with 100 attendees at Springdale Oval Pavillion.

At the close of 2010, the club had 144 members. Over 850 people had attended the club nights throughout the year, plus another 1500 during public events.

2011

The Roleystone/Kelmscott bushfires in Feb left 72 people homeless and the Brookton Hwy bridge burnt out.

So the Feb club night became a bushfire appeal night with visiting Hungarian Pianist and Composer Tamas Toth as our special guest. All proceeds of the night went to Bendigo Bank Bushfire Relief fund. 150 attendees, including 20 children gathered for our first outdoor clubnight at Springdale. The Rock inne donated the stage, and gifts were donated by Hogs Breathe and City of Armadale. Christine ran the kitchen with a small army of helpers and sold her home made pies and sausage rolls.