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March/ April 2009

 

YACKANDANDAH FOLK FESTIVAL

There are lots of things that make a music festival enjoyable. One is the company of fellow music lovers and of course, the music itself but Yackandandah was terrific for us because every gig was within walking distance from home. Because Allie and I moved to Yack in May 2008, this was our first Yack Folk Festival.

I had a few of my own gigs, plus a couple with Lachie Cossor's band, Red Dog's Folly. We'd been getting together on Thursday nights having a run through the set list. The end result was two very successful gigs. I played bass on one song and was hoping like mad no one listened too hard to it! It was good getting back on the fiddle. Thanks for the job, Coss.

I had a ball at my own gigs. The Saturday night one at the Star Hotel was amazing. I had been feeling a little flat during the day, perhaps due to a slightly "refreshing" evening the night before, but as soon as I started, I woke up and remained awake then for the rest of the gig and further into the night. The stage was in the beer garden and the place was packed. I had a mosh pit of youth up the front singing out occasionally, requesting songs- the sillies. I've been singing a beaut old Gospel song called "Working on a Building" which I pinched from Tim O'Brien and that works well as it I sing it with the fiddle playing harmony notes that can sometimes be a three part. I still need to polish it up a bit, but I love doing it and will continue to do so.

The Ploughboys were playing and I had a bit of a saw on the fiddle with them. They're off to Europe again later in the year......lucky sods. Tony O'Neill and his son Declan came around home for a pick on Saturday. Man, those boys can play! It was a good chance to hear my old Takamine dreadnought copy get played. One of our local luthiers Joe Gallagher refretted it for me not long ago. It's not the greatest axe in the world, but it's got a bit of age on it now and is playing very nicely. Tony taught me a tune he wrote when he was a kid, but I forgot it as soon as they walked out the door. I have to play a new tune for a good hour for it to sink in.

I guess the highlight for us was seeing the April Verch Band play. They knocked our socks off. It's not often you get to see a world class band do its thang. I guess as fiddle player, I found it particularly interesting to hear the Canadian tunes with their often different timing and April is a mighty fine player. All of the players are equally good on their chosen instruments and that makes a band so strong. April's step dancing blew us away as well.

AWAY TO QUEENSLAND

A few days later, I was off to Queensland for a ten day run with James Blundell, Bec Lavelle and Jeff Mercer. We started at Mulgildie which is inland from Bundaberg and slowly worked our way up to Cairns. It was good to be in the hot weather but sometimes I wished it was a bit cooler because I like the cooler weather but the hot weather was good even though I like the cooler weather but I don't really care.

This trip included two nights on Hamilton Island in tropical luxury. Justin Blank, the entertainment manger there looked after us like royalty. We were given passes to go snorkelling on a tour with twelve others, so Bec and I went. The water was a little cloudy but that didn't matter as I got see a big green turtle which was one of my tour highlights. We went to Whitehaven Beach where the sand is fine and squeaky and pretty much the colour of your fridge (if your fridge is white).

We did an outdoor show on the second night and played to people who hadn't bought tickets and could leave at any time, but they all stayed, listened and had a ball as did we. Thanks so much to all at Hamilton Island......I don't know when we'll be back but I hope it's soon!

A TERRIBLE HOUR

The next day I went for a walk up to the highest point of the island. Half way up the mountain I felt nature calling and not in a fluid capacity, but..........you know...........I needed to send a fax and there was no machine. I wondered if I should turn back, but decided to keep going as the desire to lose weight wasn't THAT strong. So up I went but by the time I reached the summit (and what a summit- I was practically standing on top of PARADISE) all I could think of was a toilet. So down I went.........with nearly three kilometres to walk before I reached my lavatorial Nirvana. I won't go into details but with a hundred metres to go I was sweating, shaking and I'd gone grey. I was terrified. I have had nightmares about it since but I'm gald to say the story had a happy ending. There will be more details in my eventual autobiography.

INTERESTING

Back on the Mainland we travelled to Bowen and played a beaut little show at the Yacht Club. After the show we met a very interesting character. Her age was somewhere between 35 and 45 and she sported a very friendly smile, a neckerchief (or whatever you call them) on her head, a Navajo shaker ( for percussion, not salt) and an interesting looking handbag. She made a mistake however in asking me, "So what's you're story?"

No good, that question- for me, anyway. I gave an answer that covered a few bases and then asked her what her name was and her name was Wings. I asked her if she lived in Bowen, but she said no, she was a "free spirit". Fair enough. (I just wished that "free spirit" might mean a free splash of Scotch, but no such luck). Needless to say, Wings was a topic of conversation in the car next day. It's not every day you get to meet a free spirit called Wings.

SHOWS OVER ALL

I would like to thank Jason for terrific sound on the last of this little run. James, a pleasure as always- a true gentleman with a bagfull of great stories to tell. I love "Age of Grace"- when you sing the line about "laughter from the quarters" I can smell dried grass under a moon with a hint of dew on it. I'm sure you'll know what that means. Bec- you looked after all of us like we were you're kids.....I hope our behaviour was okay and well done on getting a fine album out there. Diana- our unofficial photographer/official photographer- great to see you again. Travel safely and thanks for the great snaps and vids on my 2GB USB stick! Jeff- great to play the old time tunes and share laughs about everything from people to noises we sometimes make without meaning to. Looking forward to seeing your new mandolins and uke.

That's all for now.

Arigatou Gozaimasu.

Pete

The shows with James Blundell and Bec Lavelle have been very enjoyable so far. We have more dates on the horizon.........going to QLD at the end of March and will get to see Cairns again - terrific! Jeff Mercer and I have been getting a chance to jam out on a bit of old timey stuff which is a lot of fun. They're great old songs, a lot of them - especially the ones with pretty tunes and violent lyrics. Those old songs about death and love and jealousy and death are more aggressive than a lot of the woosy stuff you see on the Saturday morning video shows. I'm not one for violent songs, but the way some of these oldies are presented really amuses me and the violence is definitely diffused by the merry melodies.

Jeff says he's looking about for a Gibson mandolin so he can return the one I lent to him years ago, the one he plays on the show at the moment. I bought that instrument at Cash Converters for $160 in a case. It's an ugly A5 copy but it sounds great and has paid for itself numerous times. I'm not in a huge hurry to get it back because the other day a bloke here in Yackandandah named Ian gave me a beaut little mandolin that was handmade in Scotland and it is a ripper. It's got a hell of a voice and I'm looking forward to getting back into a bit of mando playing.

This weekend (20th-22nd of March) we will have the Yackandandah Folk Festival and I can't wait. For the first time in my life, I will be able to literally walk out the front door and be at a festival. I've got several of my own gigs and a couple with Lachie Cossor's band, Red Dog's Folly. Will give you an update on it afterwards. I'm hoping we can make a big pot of mulled wine for the cold evenings and then play till our fingers drop off.

In the down time between shows, I'm writing for a new project (comedy) which will more than likely be a live dvd with an album.......both live, I guess. Will keep you posted.

To K.C in the States- hope you're well.

Mata ne,

Pete

Tamworth 2009

    Just walked in the door having returned from my 19th Tamworth Country Music Festival in a row. Allie and I drove from Tamworth to Sydney on the 26th (Australia Day) and flew from Sydney to Albury on the 27th, drove back to Yackandandah, checked the mail and the tomatoes and turned the cooler on.
    Every festival is different and this year I had a ball doing my show at the Services Club. I had a couple of guests on the show, Melanie Dyer from Inverell who at fifteen displays a surprising maturity and depth in her songs and singing. I also had my old Ploughboy colleague, Damian Howard (still of The Ploughboys) get up and do a few tunes including some of his own which was great as it gave me a bit of a rest. I didn't have much in the way of new song offerings this year, but the one I had went over well. Those of you who haven't heard it will hear it in time......I intend to make an absolute squillion out of it.
    There were two acts I wanted to see while we were there and we saw them both on one night. They were 8Ball Aitken and Paul Greene. 8Ball had us jumping all about the dance floor of the Central Hotel. I love his voice and his songs. He paints good pictures. Then at nine pm the dress code changed for some strange reason and those of us wearing thongs (flip flops) had to leave. Bloody stupid rule- I don't know who had that bright idea but it would have pissed a few people off. At least we had somewhere to go after that - the thong friendly Good Companions Hotel to see the last set of Paul Greene's gig.Man, that bloke knows how to get you cranking! Anyone who missed out on Paul didn't have a complete Tamworth in my opinion.
    We had a fantastic house to stay in while we there. Thanks very much to Barry, Pam, Gary, Judy and Bec for your wonderful hospitality and friendship - look forward to seeing you all again soon.
    I had five nominations in the Golden Guitar Awards this year and lost all of them. Just as well really, because my New Year's resolution was not to win any awards and for the first time in my life, I've stuck to a resolution. Being nominated five times and winning nothing makes me one of the most successful losers in the Awards' history! It was great to see the Davidsons win for best instrumental.......well deserved - they are world class, those lads.
    We had a good time - Allie and I walked the red carpet. Man, that's an interesting show. We really enjoyed watching the humourous poses of some of the glamourous girls as they had their photos taken for various publications. The old leg out, hand on the hip and pout seemed to be popular. Just as well I didn't try it or I would have popped a button on my shirt.
    Had several refreshments at the after party where I got to catch up with Laurie Minson, Geoff and Tabby Mack and Kris, Jess and Rox from Compass Brothers. 8Ball and Bird Henson were there and we had a good yackity yack with them.
    Mum and Dad, Tom, Paul and his family were in town as well to watch me lose and the icing on the cake was the now famous "Chardonay Show" by The Bushwackers out at the Longyard Hotel on Sunday afternoon. We danced till we were covered in sweat and all in all enjoyed the best party band there is.
    Tamworth is a good start to the year.....it seems to give me a bit of kick in the arse and tells me to keep writing, practising and gigging.
All the best and see some of you at a gig soon.
Sayonara.
Pete





November 2008

The Maldon Folk Festival is probably my favourite of all I play at. I've tried to work out why and I think it's because it never gets any bigger or smaller and it's always a heap of fun. Thanks, Mike Ruggles for the best bio I've ever had written, Lynda and Pam for getting us all sorted and Wendy and Barry for putting us up.

    Thanks also to my special guests, Greg Champion (we often "guest" on each other's shows), Tanya- one of the fiddle players from Celtaclysmic and of course, Pat (aka Wallet Man) from Heatherton .........or somewhere.......who helped me sing "Sort Of Dunno Nothin'" at a couple of gigs and rocked the joint with his genuine portrayal of the teenager in the song. A few people asked if Wallet Man was the teenager in the video. That was Travis Kesek, but Pat does a great "live " version. I guess the fact that Pat is fifteen has something to do with the authenticity as well!

    There was some great music as always and Allie and I got to spend some time listening rather than having to rush about madly. We also had a few mulled wines and the odd Guiness so the listening enjoyment was intensified and the cockles of the heart were warmed. I'm not really sure what cockles of the heart are, but like I said, they were warmed.

    They say the Yackandandah Folky is a pearler too, so I'm looking forward to that! Anyhow, that's all for now.......I was going to write a huge story here but I might go outside for a while now and look at the people walking down the street and also the people walking up the street.

    Drive safely and love your neighbour.

     Pete
 

The shows with James Blundell and Bec Lavelle have been very enjoyable so far. We have more dates on the horizon.........going to QLD at the end of March and will get to see Cairns again - terrific! Jeff Mercer and I have been getting a chance to jam out on a bit of old timey stuff which is a lot of fun. They're great old songs, a lot of them - especially the ones with pretty tunes and violent lyrics. Those old songs about death and love and jealousy and death are more aggressive than a lot of the woosy stuff you see on the Saturday morning video shows. I'm not one for violent songs, but the way some of these oldies are presented really amuses me and the violence is definitely diffused by the merry melodies.

Jeff says he's looking about for a Gibson mandolin so he can return the one I lent to him years ago, the one he plays on the show at the moment. I bought that instrument at Cash Converters for $160 in a case. It's an ugly A5 copy but it sounds great and has paid for itself numerous times. I'm not in a huge hurry to get it back because the other day a bloke here in Yackandandah named Ian gave me a beaut little mandolin that was handmade in Scotland and it is a ripper. It's got a hell of a voice and I'm looking forward to getting back into a bit of mando playing.

This weekend (20th-22nd of March) we will have the Yackandandah Folk Festival and I can't wait. For the first time in my life, I will be able to literally walk out the front door and be at a festival. I've got several of my own gigs and a couple with Lachie Cossor's band, Red Dog's Folly. Will give you an update on it afterwards. I'm hoping we can make a big pot of mulled wine for the cold evenings and then play till our fingers drop off.

In the down time between shows, I'm writing for a new project (comedy) which will more than likely be a live dvd with an album.......both live, I guess. Will keep you posted.

To K.C in the States- hope you're well.

Mata ne,

Pete

The shows with James Blundell and Bec Lavelle have been very enjoyable so far. We have more dates on the horizon.........going to QLD at the end of March and will get to see Cairns again - terrific! Jeff Mercer and I have been getting a chance to jam out on a bit of old timey stuff which is a lot of fun. They're great old songs, a lot of them - especially the ones with pretty tunes and violent lyrics. Those old songs about death and love and jealousy and death are more aggressive than a lot of the woosy stuff you see on the Saturday morning video shows. I'm not one for violent songs, but the way some of these oldies are presented really amuses me and the violence is definitely diffused by the merry melodies.

Jeff says he's looking about for a Gibson mandolin so he can return the one I lent to him years ago, the one he plays on the show at the moment. I bought that instrument at Cash Converters for $160 in a case. It's an ugly A5 copy but it sounds great and has paid for itself numerous times. I'm not in a huge hurry to get it back because the other day a bloke here in Yackandandah named Ian gave me a beaut little mandolin that was handmade in Scotland and it is a ripper. It's got a hell of a voice and I'm looking forward to getting back into a bit of mando playing.

This weekend (20th-22nd of March) we will have the Yackandandah Folk Festival and I can't wait. For the first time in my life, I will be able to literally walk out the front door and be at a festival. I've got several of my own gigs and a couple with Lachie Cossor's band, Red Dog's Folly. Will give you an update on it afterwards. I'm hoping we can make a big pot of mulled wine for the cold evenings and then play till our fingers drop off.

In the down time between shows, I'm writing for a new project (comedy) which will more than likely be a live dvd with an album.......both live, I guess. Will keep you posted.

To K.C in the States- hope you're well.

Mata ne,

Pete