Jim Swan and Ross McKinnon are Boomerang. Two light hearted guys from the sunny city of Brisbane, Australia. Brisbane is the capital city of the state of Queensland. Queensland is Australias most tropical state and home to such world famous landmarks as The Great Barrier Reef, Surfers Paradise and Fraser Island just to name a few. Brisbane is Jims home town having been born and raised there, Ross & family moved to Brisbane from Sydney in the late '70s. Boomerangs repetoire consists of Irish and Australian folk standards as well as a selection of more recent Aussie hits and some of their own creations too. Together they create wonderful sounds and a fun atmosphere in which the audience is often encouraged to participate. Audiences, where appropriate, are often encouraged to drink a lot too (so the boys don't feel so much like alcoholics!!)

Ross' interest in music began with the sounds of the late sixties, early seventies coming out of his older brothers' radio. Inspired by such artists as David Bowie, Bryan Ferry and Mott The Hoople, Ross began playing guitar in the 1980's. It wasn't until a few years later that he became involved in the live music scene in Brisbane, as a live sound technician. After mixing for a then up and coming local band called Cry Conflict , their bass player left, and knowing most of their songs Ross joined the band. The bands' style changed with the addition of Ross' vocals and realising a name change was needed, The Cutters were born. Ross played a major roll in the signing of The Cutters to a Sydney based record label, Mighty Boy Records. As popularity for the band grew and distribution deals were being struck in Germany and Spain, the boys decided it was time to venture overseas. Ross and a couple of members of The Cutters later formed Carousel. Changing from bass back to guitar, Ross formed AppleEye as an outlet for his own songs. In 1995 while playing in Apple Eye and doing a series of gigs with Jims Popproperly, he met Magdalena and after a 2 year long distance love affair, decided to go to Sweden for a while arriving in January 1997.

From a very early age, Jim became accustomed to the sounds of Celtic music, his father being a Scottish bagpipe player. In the early 1980's, convinced that there were already more than enough guitar players in the world, he began to play mandolin and harmonica. Influenced by bands who were mixing Celtic folk with rock music, Jim, together with several friends, formed Yureeka. After 3 years Jim left Yureeka and deviating from folk music, he played in various bands exploring other styles of music such as blues, pop and rock. In late '87 he rejoined two of his mates from Yureeka and formed Popproperly. The trio later grew to be a 5 piece outfit and one of Australias' finest and most worked electric folk rock bands. Over the years they played every style of venue that Australia had to offer from small outback pubs to the mainstage at the National Folk Festival. In 1993 the band left for a six month stay in Dublin, Ireland. They have since, toured Europe every summer, playing pubs, clubs and festivals such as the Vattenfestivalen in Stockholm. At the end of the '96 European tour, Jim left Popproperly and together with his Swedish wife, Annelie, settled in Sweden.

After finding each other in the Skåne district of southern Sweden, Jim & Ross decided to join forces early in 1997 and began playing in May, their first gig being at the annual open day at Österängskolan in Kristianstad (a gig that they have now become a permanent part of). They have been playing as Boomerang for just over a year now and have played in many different pubs, folk parks and summer festivals. Although they take the responsibility of entertaining a crowd seriously, they do have a relaxed and whimsical approach to their on stage presence. They're sure to make you laugh with their, at times, off beat humour. They encourage their audiences to participate in the merrymaking and everyone generally has a great and memorable time with Boomerang. Check out the gig guide and see them for yourself!

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