Not so long ago writer Nick Milligan was having post-show drinks behind the stage at Dashville at the end of the Dashville Skyline festival when singer songwriter Dave Wells approached him.
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Wells wanted Milligan to listen to a new song he had written called Ella. It was based on a character in Milligan's short story, Megalodon, who goes missing in mysterious circumstances.
"He said, 'come listen to it', and played it on one of his guitars," Milligan says. "I was really blown away."
The moment inspired a conversation later, between Milligan and his good friend Dan Flegg, a radio journalist and musician (Baam Baam).
Flegg and Milligan figured the concept of a show about how words inspire music would make for a exciting event at the Newcastle Writers Festival. They pitched it to festival director Rosemarie Milsom who gave it a green light.
The show, Words and Music, is now part of the festival's 10th anniversary celebration. Ten performers, along with readers of spoken words that inspired particular songs, will take the stage at the Conservatorium of Music on Saturday, April 1, from 8pm.
The musicians include Bertie Blackman, Shane Nicholson, Amy Vee, Dave Wells, Demi Mitchell, The Pitts (led by James Drinkwater), Jacob Ridgeway, Elijah Amoss, Dan Flegg, and Gary Seeger and Les Poetes Pop featuring The Callaghan Choir.
The inspirations are as varied as the musicians.
Gary Seeger and Les Poetes Pop - and the Callaghan Choir - will perform a song inspired by Mark Mordue's book, Boy on Fire: The Young Nick Cave.
Elijah Amoss will perform a song that has sprung from the spirit of his friend Ella Paterson's poetry.
Milligan will read a passage from Megalodon to set the scene for Dave Wells' performance of Ella.
Flegg will present a song inspired by the book, Wasted: A Story of Alcohol, Grief and a Death in Brisbane, by Elspeth Muir.
Bertie Blackman, a writer, musician and artist, is the daughter of iconic Australian artist Charles Blackman, published her memoir, Bohemian Negligence, last year.
Shane Nicholson will be performing a piece inspired by writer Nick Earls.
Drinkwater and The Pitts will play a song inspired by the poetry of Drinkwater's uncle, Greg "Willie" Drinkwater, who was a boxer, a poet and and a classic working-class Novocastrian bloke.
Flegg says the concept of connecting somebody else's words with your own song is complex.
It feels like there is a bit of weight
"It feels like there is a bit of weight when you appropriate somebody's work," he says.
"You don't want to take somebody's thing and break it, 'cause they've spent a lot of time putting it together, it's their baby. For you to go, 'I want to use an element of that, I guess and add a part of myself to that', I feel you have to tread lightly."
Milligan knows that feeling from a writer's viewpoint. His story Megalodon, was set in a time when Newcastle people were scared to death of shark attacks. But that was really only the backdrop.
"[Dave] Wellsy picked up on the idea of the girl going missing," Milligan says of Wells' song. "And the fear and grief being experienced by anyone who has someone go missing and the lack of closure. And that's what he zeroed in. His song doesn't actually mention sharks."
The song had Milligan's attention from the first note.
"It's a fantastic song. I remember when I first heard it, I was blown away. It was a pretty momentous thing to hear the story interpreted in that way," Milligan says. "
"Hopefully the writers in our show will experience that."
The format for the night will be spoken word followed by song, with the show estimated at 90 minutes. But it's a first, so expect the unexpected.
