Rudely Interrupted
Written by admin2 on April 16th, 2009Filed under: Themes, Auties & Aspies, Blind Visionaries, Deaf Jam, Irked Videos, Irked Audio
The swiftly-gaining-speed rock band Rudely Interrupted was originally formed by Rohan Brooks, a professional musician who was also working as a music therapist/instructor at St. John of God’s Churinga Day Service in Victoria, Australia—teaching the popular School of Rock class to people with disabilities. “Don’t Break My Heart,” Rudely Interrupted’s first single and first music video, took Australia by storm. Since their debut live performance in 2007, “the Rudies,” as they are now known to their loyal (and ballooning) fan base, have captured the hearts and minds of thousands upon thousands of people across the globe, leaving all who see the band perform speechless, amazed and ultimately inspired.
Yeah, but here’s the cool part…
Based in Melbourne, 5 out of the 6 members of the band Rudely Interrupted share a range of both physical and intellectual disabilities (Blindness, Deafness, Asperger’s, Autism and Down Syndrome) but most importantly, a common interest in self expression through music.
Rudely Interrupted are:
- Rory Burnside (born without eyes and has Asperger’s)—lead vocals & guitars
- Constance ‘Connie’ Kirkpatrick (legally blind and has Down Syndrome)—tambourines, bass, nicknamed “the human metronome”
- Josh Hogan (has some physical abnormalities and autistic traits)—drums
- Marcus Stone (only has 20% hearing and has Asperger’s)—keyboards/synths
- Sam Beke (Down Syndrome)—bass & guitar, nicknamed “the ultimate performer”
- Rohan Brooks—manager, backing vocals & guitar
On December 3rd, 2008, the band had the honour of playing to a prestigious audience at the UN’s global headquarters in New York to mark International Day of Persons Living with a Disability.
Importantly, the band has been accepted by the music community and the broader communities—proving their perceived weakness is actually a strength. They’re currently recording a new album (called “Tragedy of the Commons”). They have confirmed shows Australia-wide in 2009 (and then back to the U.S. in 2010 for a North American tour. They are scheduled to play at the very prestigious VSA arts festival at the Kennedy Centre in Washington, D.C. UNTV even shot a rock documentary of their United Nations tour.
The members of Rudely Interrupted are now officially cool!
They even met Tom Cruise.
Watch a video from CNN.com:
Watch The 7:30 Report from abc.net.au:
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Watch a FoxNews.com report:
You can purchase Rudely Interrupted’s music on:
iTunes, Napster, eMusic
To listen to free tracks, visit:
To watch UNTV’s Rock Documentary:
To book the band:
Email bookings@rudelyinterrupted.com
To interview the band:
Email ianwoolverton@gmail.com
To sponsor the band:
Email rudelyinterrupted@hotmail.com
“We feel the will is there. The talent is there. We are just asking the general public to get on our website, which is RudelyInterrupted.com, and make a donation.”
3
AM
Saw the ABC programme tonight. Brilliant film. Loved the whole thing. I can’t play a single note to save my life – so who is really disabled? KEEP ON ROCKIN’