Red dust on the brain

GMS Interview with Doctor D (Donald) and Fergus Maximus

Red earth under grey skies, loud days, quiet rooms, Dust in the bloodstream, humming old tunes. Before the titles, before the first chord lands, Place writes the rhythm straight into our hands. Whyalla at sunset, rust against blue, A colour that lingers, long after you move. The song keeps returning, wherever you roam. Red earth remembers the long way home.

Every story begins somewhere, but not always where we expect. In this conversation, personal story beginnings aren’t treated as distant history or sentimental trails; beginnings are active forces. They are described as the places, sounds, and early conditions that continue to shape how ‘we’ think, work and create decades later.

The royal ‘we’, as in our music makers, song writers, storytellers, and the two main characters sitting in front of me. There is an unhurried ease as the conversation begins.

Again and again, our discussion drifts back to beginnings. Birthplaces matter of course, however take the red earth of Whyalla for example. It isn’t recalled as a nostalgic hint, but more as an imprint, or something that lodges in the body and resurfaces later through colour, contrast, and creative instinct. Even the picture reflecting over us all is soon described as a 50th birthday gift from Fergus’s wife; a photograph of the red earth on sunset.

Fergus says, “I was born in Whyalla and I reckon I’ve got red dust in my brain as evidence. Every time I see that red earth, it does something to me. I love that colour — the richness of it, and the contrast with the blue sky and sea. It’s one of those places that stays with you, whether you mean it to or not.”

For the other character, it was Aberdeen and the London rock band scene that jump started his long arc of life; a life that included medical research, public health physics, music-making, and his eventual migration to South Australia.

However, as a side note, his true, risk taking, juice tingling creative spirit shone out when he, Doctor D (Donald), shares during a conversation about his medical career, “I thought, well….the guitar’s a loud machine and the MRI scanner’s a loud machine, so I plugged my guitar into the MRI and played a chord, and the whole truck shook.” NOTE: We were in a mobile MRI scanner truck in the hospital car park!“

Taking medicine to the extremes, yes?
We digress (already).

Rather than presenting this story through their career paths, Fergus’ and Doctor D’s tales both unfold as a series of deliberate diversions, driven less by ambition and more by curiosity, exploration, and a refusal to settle into a single verse, or path.

I feel the many creatives I talk to when writing GreyMatter articles take this road ie the road trip of life.

Of course, family and history matters: music learned before it was chosen, absorbed through kitchens and living rooms, long before it became a craft for sharing.

What’s striking in speaking with these two very individual characters, is that their beginnings are not singular. They repeat. Their lives restart across countries, careers, bands, relationships, and identities. Scotland becomes London, London becomes Adelaide (becomes London, becomes Adelaide, until migration), as much as Whyalla becomes Adelaide becomes Brinkworth in the Mid-North, then Clare then back to Adelaide and various adventures around the world, and this fair country, but somehow, we always end up coming home to Adelaide!!

Adelaide, with all its intrigue, is the draw card. Even in their music.

From early immersion in rock through bands, stage musicals, and songwriting, creativity is treated as serious work; sometimes collaborative, sometimes disruptive, often poetic, but always necessary.

Music runs as a parallel career for both.

While life sometimes gets in the way ie a tour around Australia happens until reality hits, and a stint at golf happens for a year, until… well, reality hits… the duo have found a gentle beat that works for them.

Think about it, two creative minds meet, one tuned to language, the other one to tone — and the tension between them becomes the point. The creative process is the backdrop.

The songs aren’t arriving into the chilled loungeroom where we happen to be chatting all fully formed;

Sometimes the words lean forward and pull a melody behind them. That would be Fergus.

And other times, the sound arrives and demands language to keep up. That would be Doctor D. (Donald).

A guitar and an MRI hum the same low threat, Two loud machines daring silence to blink first. Steel and strings shaking the parked white truck, A chord hits the magnet and the whole world moves. Science leans closer, curiosity grins, Noise turns to knowledge, risk tuned to instinct. Between pulse and distortion, a truth rings clear: Creation lives where rules vibrate and then disappear.

It’s making original music in style.

Songwriting is the art of turning feeling into form. Words and sound meet to shape something that can be carried, repeated, and shared. A melody gives emotion a spine, harmony colours it with tension or warmth, and rhythm keeps it moving forward.

None of these elements matter much on their own; their beauty emerges in how they lean on each other. Perhaps how Fergus leans on Donald and vice versa.

A song works when the music seems to know what the words want to say, and the words arrive exactly where the music makes space for them.

The creative act itself is quietly remarkable. Songs rarely arrive fully formed; they are discovered through play, listening, missteps, and revision. Sometimes language leads and pulls the sound along. Other times a musical idea demands words brave enough to catch it.

So, what’s missing?

Well, some of their songs have been missing out on the public scrutiny… let’s face it, songs are not meant to be just written! They need to be heard.

You may recall shows titled SWT_HM_ADL or BACK IN ADELAIDE? Yes, they featured many songs about Adelaide! So, guess what. The new show will include 5 songs for Fergus and 5 for Donald, that aren’t about Adelaide. An indulgence if you will.

Or their next adventure!

This indulgence is being supported by The Missing Links (aka the Sweet Songs band), the Fringe show MISSING! (quote) “embraces rock, power-pop, alt-folk, blues and jazz in songs exploring love and loss, joy and regret, science and art with wry humour, sensitivity and occasional twinges of melancholy.”

https://adelaidefringe.com.au/fringetix/missing-have-you-heard-these-songs-af2026

Sun, 01 Mar – Fri, 20 Mar
The Jade
$10 to $20

Fergus Maximus – short bio

Fergus Maximus is an Adelaide singer storyteller, saxophonist and songwriter whose vivid, character driven songs blend folk, jazz, blues and acoustic rock. A natural frontman, he brings wry humour, evocative stories and “random acts of percussion” to stages across South Australia. As half of Sweet Songs with Doctor D, he is an award‑winning songwriter and co‑creator of the Sweet Home Adelaide and Back in ADL shows for the Adelaide Fringe.

Doctor D – short bio

Doctor D is an Adelaide alt‑blues‑rock guitarist, songwriter, author and blogger whose original songs often take a sharp, satirical look at modern life. After years as a guitarist and songwriter in London indie band Sweet Thursday, he migrated to South Australia. His focus is now original music, production and live performance. As co‑founder of Sweet Songs with Fergus Maximus, he writes award‑winning songs for Sweet Home SA, Sweet Home Songs and Back in ADL at the Adelaide Fringe.