Making Music While The World Falls Apart

About Making Music While The World Falls Apart

Making Music While The World Falls Apart is a podcast about art, ambition, and keeping going when the world feels like chaos. Join Malcolm McCaffery and Ash Murdica as they talk music, creative projects, big ideas, and the realities of building an artistic life in regional Victoria and beyond. From lifting standards of community music in Gippsland to dreams of pit playing in the London West End, this is a candid, passionate, and maybe entertaining conversation about making music no matter what is happening around you.

Publisher

Mal and Ash

Category

arts

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

6 Apr 2026

Latest episode

30 Jun 2026

Latest episodes

13 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   30 Jun 2026

   Off The Leash with Jeannie Haughton

   Mal and Ash interview local playright and teacher Jeanie Haughton.

2. 

   22 Jun 2026

   Mixing with Chris Gale

   Hire Chris Gale for studio recording, mixing, live sound & lighting https://www.facebook.com/chris.gale.77377Check out Wonthaggi Acoustic Festival 2026https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1511892

3. 

   15 Jun 2026

   Hat Choreography

   Joel Stevenson is Director for Leongatha Lyric Theatre's Billy Elliot July 3-18thGet tickets here: https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1576537

4. 

   8 Jun 2026

   Brass and Belonging with Joseph Bonnici

   Contact Joseph Bonnici https://www.gippslandmusicschool.com.au/ Instagram @gippsland_music_school Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063655894467 Morewell Citizens BandEmail: morwellcitizensband@gmail.comFacebook: https://fb.me/MorwellCitizensBand/ Off The Leash Theatre Garage Girls Drouin - 11 & 12 June 2026 - 7.30pm 13 June 2026 - 5pm Trafalgar - 19 & 20 June 2026 - 7.30pm Bunyip - 26 & 27 June 2026 - 7.30pm https://www.offtheleashtheatre.com.au/Auditions for Warragul Theatre Company The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Auditions https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1582343Leongatha Lyric Theatre Billy Elliot Friday 3 July 2026 - Saturday 18 July 2026 https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1576537

5. 

   2 Jun 2026

   Highly Strung with Katarina Yalizis

   Support Next To Normal https://bit.ly/McCafferyNextToNormal Malcolm will dye his hair hot pink if this raises $2K or more https://bit.ly/LyndaY Get Tickets To Come From Away https://www.basscoast.vic.gov.au/come-from-away-presented-by-wonthaggi-theatrical-group-the-union-theatre Support John Noble's String Quartet Program https://bit.ly/JohnNobleQuartet

6. 

   25 May 2026

   The Clarinet Queue with Kara Emily Morton

   Filmed at Ian Potter centre, Southbank.

7. 

   19 May 2026

   Back To Normal with Victoria Wang

   Support our podcast via our merch store https://themccafferyfamily.com (https://themccafferyfamily.com/) Gippsland Now https://gippslandnow.com.au/ (https://gippslandnow.com.au/) Dogfight RMIT Thursday 21st May - Sat 23rd May https://events.humanitix.com/rmit-redacts-dogfight (https://events.humanitix.com/rmit-redacts-dogfight) Wonthaggi Acoustic Festival Friday 3rd July 4pm-10pm Bush Dance Saturday 4th 9.30am – 10 pm Evening Concert seated by 7pm Sunday 5th July 9.30am – 6pm https://bit.ly/WonthaggiAcoustic (https://bit.ly/WonthaggiAcoustic) SARA BAREILLES As the Baker’s Wife https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obs0mcrxan0 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obs0mcrxan0) What’s Not Inside https://open.spotify.com/album/10xzW5XNPaJoCBKAIdjZYb (https://open.spotify.com/album/10xzW5XNPaJoCBKAIdjZYb) Next to Normal Proshot https://youtu.be/CvrQvUdyp-o?si=oXziQ1ZND4Rxgy9D (https://youtu.be/CvrQvUdyp-o?si=oXziQ1ZND4Rxgy9D)

8. 

   11 May 2026

   Backing Tracks

   Should music theatre use backing tracks? Let's discuss. Check out Ethan's Music at : https://open.spotify.com/artist/5p2zqTWiGPtcgfEVqpblfe (https://open.spotify.com/artist/5p2zqTWiGPtcgfEVqpblfe)

9. 

   5 May 2026

   Stepping Stones

   InstagramInara @narijess.n3tAllegedly (band) @allegedlyabandStepping Stones Theatre Company @steppingstones.tcBackyard Bards @backyard_bards_gippslandNew single “Patience” Dropping 8/5/26https://bit.ly/NarijessPatienceFreaky Friday @ The Roundhttps://www.theround.com.au/FreakyFridayCome From Away @ Union Theatre Wonthaggihttps://www.basscoast.vic.gov.au/come-from-away-presented-by-wonthaggi-theatrical-group-the-union-theatreSafe To Brave Workshophttps://bit.ly/SafeToBraveAnnie Jr Intensivehttps://bit.ly/AnnieJrIntensiveCATS: Young Actors Edition Auditions https://bit.ly/CatsWarragulCJ The DJhttps://www.youtube.com/@CJTheDJAustralia

10. 

    27 Apr 2026

    Volunteering

    In this episode of Making Music While The World Falls Apart, Mal and Ash are joined by Pauline Pearce for a warm, wide-ranging chat about music, community, volunteering, and the many creative things happening across Gippsland.Pauline shares how stepping into community music, radio, theatre, jazz events, brass bands, adult cello lessons, folk concerts, and local volunteering has opened up a whole new world of connection and confidence. The conversation celebrates the idea that it is never too late to try something new, whether that means joining a choir, auditioning for a musical, learning an instrument, going to gigs alone, or getting involved behind the scenes.The episode also highlights upcoming local arts events, theatre projects, community radio, Celtic and folk music, jazz clubs, grassroots venues, and Mal’s plans for a new nonprofit aimed at strengthening arts and culture in Gippsland. Along the way, the trio reflect on why people love familiar music, the value of original work, the importance of local creative networks, and the joy of simply showing up and having a go.A lively, generous episode about saying yes, finding your people, and discovering just how much music is already happening close to home.Moe-Latrobe Valley Jazz Clubhttps://moelatrobevalleyjazzclub.weebly.com/Latrobe Valley Volunteer Expohttps://latrobecity.com.au/event/volunteer-expoThe Escapees - The Side Show Auditionshttps://bit.ly/EscapeesAuditionFreaky Friday - The Round http://www.theround.com.au/FreakyFridayLatrobe Eistedfodd Volunteeringhttps://www.lve.org.au/volunteering.phpCome From Away - Wonthaggi Theatrical Grouphttps://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1566004?3BBR FMhttps://3bbrfm.org.au/Gippsland FMhttps://www.gippslandfm.org.au/Warragul Municipal Bandhttps://www.warragulband.org/Latrobe Orchestrahttps://www.facebook.com/LatrobeOrchestraInc/Gippsland Symphony Orchestrahttps://www.gippslandsymphonyorchestra.com/Apollinehttps://www.apollineband.com.au/Mira Mirahttps://www.miramira.com.au/Traralgon Historical Societyhttps://www.traralgonhistory.asn.au/Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Bandhttps://www.facebook.com/OfficialBonzos/ Samsaruh Voice Activation https://samsaruh.com/voice-activation Alex Cosenko https://www.alexkosenkomusic.com/ Wicker Suite https://www.wickersuite.com/ Liam Kennedy Clark https://www.liamkennedyclark.com/ Mollimor https://mollimor.bandcamp.com/album/trad-time-live Austral https://www.australband.com/ Gallie https://www.gallie.com.au/ Chloe Matharu https://www.chloematharu.co.uk/Bhan Tre https://www.facebook.com/p/Bhantre-100064786833928/ Woodfordia https://woodfordia.org/ Steph String shttps://stephstrings.com/

11. 

    21 Apr 2026

    What Makes Music Good

    What actually makes music “good”? In this episode, Mal and Ash are joined by composer and educator Hannah Comrie-Weston for a wide-ranging conversation about taste, beauty, subjectivity, gatekeeping, and whether music can ever really be judged objectively. From Bach to Baby Shark, musical theatre pits to contemporary composition, they unpack how training, culture, mood, craft, and emotion all shape the way we hear music. Along the way they dive into composition, orchestration, minimalism, creative confidence, and the challenge of making new art in an already noisy world.Hannah's EP Pieces of Lighthttps://hannahcomrie-weston.bandcamp.... (https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbG5uRG14VVEyalFkOVh6aG8zb21uc25qOXk4Z3xBQ3Jtc0tsVWo5SnlDUGcyd1J1cHJpUzVHWUlJR3ZnamtEOE12dmprTFZKZmtVdFcxVkVnSkpBWTFzamcwRXY0ZWgzZ0JWc2NRVk5LbmlSMUxvYjhHUEZuXzEyaWszbzIySkx4bDJUd0RGMldYTDdURWFDRnBsYw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fhannahcomrie-weston.bandcamp.com%2Falbum%2Fpieces-of-light&v=9WOVkmJDLVs)Hannah's Websitehttps://hannahcomrie-weston.com/ (https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbTQ4VER6S1VCU3RvRmpXeXVhZ3VkWDlzbS1Sd3xBQ3Jtc0trS1EzSWhSLVhxVEpnNk5OMkVRWnkxc2duT1FFSXRPOUVlTFdOMXFfMERxZ2UwS1FPNnNGZ01hc1VzV3ZDUnRpczFMdGI2cnJKM2hkSzlGMi1DVmkwTlduLWhuTmktZWN3b1ZBZHl3NTNHVFFvZmtKTQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fhannahcomrie-weston.com%2F&v=9WOVkmJDLVs)

12. 

    14 Apr 2026

    Music Education

    Mal and Ash sit down with local educator Davina to talk about her work as a classroom music teacher, the challenges and opportunities facing music education in Victorian public schools, and what’s happening in Gippsland right now.

13. 

    6 Apr 2026

    Social Media

    Can musicians still make it without social media? In this episode, Malcolm and Ash talk Les Mis barricade-building rehearsals, winning grants, new music festival planning, 90s cover gigs, and what it might take for Ash to break into the London West End as a pit musician.

Contact Making Music While The World Falls Apart

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.