S
atinatinyabcstudioinsouthbank,melbourne,
withalivefeedinmyear,thecamerainmyfaceandamon-
itorplayingout-of-syncbelowmyeyeline–that’sastrange
place to hear one friend announce the death of another. On
that monitor, Mark Grose from Skinnyfish Music was pouring his
heartoutaboutDrGYunupingu.It’shardtosumupapersonso
succinctlywithintheconventionsofTV.Onlysomuchcanbesaid
aboutaperson’slifeandimpactinashortsegment,andwatching
Mark,IrealisedIwasabouttoattemptthesamekindoftribute.
Countingdown,IfeltalmostlikeIwastryingtosolveanequa-
tioninmyhead,tryingtofindthecorrectanswer.Icouldfeelthe
pressure of time, coupled with the enormity of the subject. My
friend. Every avenue of his being seemed to open into more and
more variables, which only complicated my objective. How could
Idohimjustice?ButonceIstartedtalking,mybrainlockedinto
autopilot.Iwentbacktomyregularapproach:saywhatyoufeel.
TalkaboutG,becausehelikedtobetalkedabout.
Dr G, as much as he was a virtuoso, was also a loving, humor-
ousandgentleperson.Hewasaconsummateshowman,butalso
oneoftheboys.Tome,DrGwasananomaly,notanenigmaor
themystic‘figureofthedreamtime’youwouldfindmentionedin
Facebook comments. I find these descriptions kind of a disservice
totheactualpersonhewas,whileunder-
standing they come from the most kind and
good-natured of places. Dr G, Mark, Mi-
chaelHohnen,andJamesMangohigwould
readthesecommentsandlaugh,knowing
therealcheekyhumanbehindthestoicand
striking press photos.
Michael Hohnen (aka ‘Non-Indigenous
Michael’)introducedmetoDrGonabalconyofaSouthbank
Hotelin2013.DrGwasunassuming–hedidn’ttalkmuchifhe
didn’tknowyou.Ishookhishand,andhehadthelongfingersof
aguitarplayer,aswellasthesofttouchofaclassicalmusician.
Meetinghimcouldbeanawkwardmomentfortheuninitiated,
butIspoketoDrGabouttheonethingwehadincommon:music.
AsIstoodtalkingwithGhesatquietly,smellingtheairasMi-
chaelpickedtheonionfromhisbutterchicken.Itoldhimthatour
people,myfamily(Yorta-Yorta/Wemba-Wemba)andhis(Gumatj/
Yolngu),havehadahistoryofworkingtogetheranddoinggreat
things,andthatheandIweregoingtomakegreatmusictogeth-
er. He replied simply with ‘Ma’ (Yes/OK). I have a picture of this
exactmoment;MichaelhadtheforesighttocaptureitandI’mfully
awareabouthowfortunateIamtohavethis.
Michael assured me that G’s curt response was more than Sting
ofthePolicehadreceived(andthat’sMichael’sstorytotell).It
wasn’tuntilourridetotheABCstudiosforaninterviewthatour
friendshipstartedtotakeform.Westeppedoutofthevananda
pair of fans approached Dr G and instantly turned to water. They
werefawningoverhimlikeyou’dexpectforateenpopsensa-
tion:“OhmyGod,youhavethevoiceofanangel!”Aftertheyleft
Iquipped,“Shit,Iwishmyfanswerelikethat.”Gcrackedup.I’d
neverseennorexpectedhimtolaughlikethat.SuddenlyIfound
another thing we had in common probably more than music. It
turnedoutDrGreallylovedjokes.
Iknewweweregoingtocreatesomethingspecialinmusic,butIdidn’taccountforthefriendshipthatwouldfollow.DrGandIcon-
nectedthroughmusicandlaughter,thesamewayI’veconnected
with many other friends. And that’s where I learned Dr G wasn’t a
figment, he was a character like us. I remember calling the Skinny-
fishstudiosoneafternoontoseewhattheywereworkingon.That
conversation took a detour, and I convinced a reluctant Michael
to relay my ‘inappropriate jokes’ from down the phone, to howls of
laughter from G in the background.
Dr G was very particular about his recording environment, even
specifyingthetemperature.Walkingintoaroomwherehewas
runningtheshowwaslikewalkingintoasauna.“31degreeseven”
wasonthetechspecsforourTripleJ‘LikeaVersion’performance
of “The Hunt” and “The Children Came Back”. I had to remind Mi-
chael that there were three South Eastern blackfullas in this per-
formance, and we would not make it through. An electric blanket
and two heaters were sourced for Dr G.
On our ‘Like a Version’ you’ll hear him reply to the host’s intro-
duction with a cheeky “Hello!” Dr G rarely spoke to the media, but
this is one of the moments he did. It makes me the happiest be-
causeIknewthatresponsemeanthewasreallyenjoyingthespace
he was in. Surrounded by people who loved him, cracking jokes,
sharingourtalentsandmakingmusictogether.
When you’re in a moment, you’re not al-
ways aware it’s a moment. The instant you
become aware you’re in a moment, you’re
somehow automatically removed from it,
yougofrombeingpartofittobeingaspec-
tator. That ‘Like a Version’ performance
wasoneofthosemoments,sowasperform-
ingonstageatBarungaFesttogether,or
whenweacceptedaNationalIndigenousMusicAward.
WhileIwasaroundDrGIwasdefinitelyawareofhistalent.It
wasimpossiblenottobeawareofit.Hecouldplayanyinstrument
youplacedinfrontofhim,andhisvoicewouldcutthroughsym-
phonies, bands, and rap tracks effortlessly. His musicianship felt
infinite. While he was playing, I could say, “Great Wawa, play up
theneckformeonthenextbars”,andDrGhadtheabilitytohit
every note you thought about in your head. Then he’d give you the
notes you didn’t know you needed.
In all this, I forgot to mention my friend Dr G was blind. When
youfirstmethim,that’soneofthefirstthingsyou’dnotice,but
after you knew the man, it’s the last thing you’d remember. He even
actedasaGPSformycousinastheydrovearoundDarwin.Ihave
no idea how he did that – I can only imagine he memorised turns
andhills?Itdoesn’tmatter–wehadmoreimportantthingstotalk
about,likeusplayinginabandwhenIcametoDarwinnext,to
which Dr G emphatically replied with “Oh yeah!”
Iwishhewasallthemagicalthingshislovingfansthought
he was, but sometimes the truly magical elements are the most
human.Thefragilityoflife,andthemomentsweareabletocre-
atewithpeoplewelovewithinthatgiventime–theonesthatwill
liveonafterus.That’swherethemagicis.
I’mgoingtomissmyfriend.Throughourfriendshipwegotto
changethings.Wechangedeveryone’sideasaboutwhatwasex-
pected from both of us. There’s so much to say but at the end of the
dayI’mjustgoingtomissyou,Wawa.TRIBUTE
R& R
32 | Rolling Stone | RollingStoneAus.com October, 20171971-2017
Dr G Yunupingu
Rapper Adam Briggs pays tribute to his friend, who died in July aged 46
“Dr G and I connected
through music and
laughter.”