Deep in the Noosa Hinterland, far from the chatter of the city, the gumtrees and stars once bore witness to a sonic revolution – the Duelling Banjos. The fully-playable instruments come from the musical mind of Steve Weis, and served for years as the gateway to his harmonious homestead and the many wonders within.
But now the banjos duel no longer.
Steve forged a reputation as one of Australia’s pre-eminent scrap metal artists – he even crafted The Black Ant up the road – before transforming his estate into an intergalactic soundshower.
His gnarled artworks create an aural tapestry that is at once alien and familiar, soothing yet rhythmically unnerving. Steve’s recycled behemoths are a meditation on the very essence of life and love.
“Many years ago I had the experience of grinding with an angle grinder on a big, complex steel form, and started to hear a celestial melody,” Steve opined. “I also found that as I moved my grinding disc around on the surface, I could find sweet spots that caused this melody to play stronger.”
Bigella and moi were lucky enough to join these melodic marvels on their farewell tour, just before the house was sold and they left Kin Kin forever. We found The Big Banjos to be beautifully detailed, charmingly rustic and – most importantly – really, really big!
As we were strumming away, we were approached by one of Steve’s disciples. A kindly chap, he whisked us off on a magical mystery tour of the estate’s sprawling grounds.
What we discovered beggared belief. Whimsical sculptures and vibrant tropical plants decorated the soundgarden. Our spirit guide regaled us with stories of wild parties and quiet moments and extraterrestrial visitors.
It was a celestial voyage that we would never have embarked upon if we hadn’t gone looking for Big Things.
The Day the Music Died
“Some people say I’ve got small man complex,” Steve once told a journalist, as they explored his choral kaleidoscope. “But I do like big, I like scale. I like magnificence. I like to have the feeling there’s something bigger than us.”
To visit Steve’s acoustic highway is to forever see and hear the world differently. So, when Bigella and I discovered the manor was to be sold in early 2024, we wasted no time putting in an offer.
Unfortunately, a Big Potato t-shirt and a lifetime subscription to Land of the Bigs Premium weren’t quite what Steve had in mind, so we lost out to some other lucky duck.
The sculptures scattered around Steve’s sanctuary were split up and auctioned off in February 2024.
“Can we get the Duelling Banjos?” I begged Bigella. “Can we, can we?”
“Bigs,” she sighed. “The Big Guitar you got from Surfers Paradise is gathering dust in the attic.”
“I guess so.”
“And you can always see Chango con Banjo next time we swing by Mexico City.”
“Well,” I shrugged, “I have been meaning to get a new poncho!”
The Banjos were picked up by a Bigthusiast for just $2500. Sadly, they will have been removed from the property by the time you read this.
And so, Steve Weis’s wonderland has been consigned to a curious corner of history. But every time a breeze slams a rusty door closed, or an iron roof shudders at a passing storm, I shall be reminded of this remarkable artist, and his bombastic Duelling Banjos
