“What you may ask, there’s been nothing posted here for 18 mths”.“I know I can’t believe it too”. I did my last proper gig in March of 2024, 6 months after I arrived in Melbourne, then didn’t book another. I am not quite sure why but I think I just needed a break to recapture myself. I also needed to settle into my new home. July of this year I started writing a blog entry because I had decided to get back into it all but after a few open mics the fizz fizzled away.
So, after taking time to withdraw, consolidate and recuperate I have started to get my mojo back. I heard that Leonard Cohen retired to a Buddhist Monastery for 9 yrs then came back with great gusto. I didn’t quite do the monastery thing lol, quite the contrary actually. I have spent the past 18 months, enjoying Melbourne and all it has to offer, including great friends, places to visit and the list goes on and on. I also have been back to Perth to visit my daughter twice a year and then there was my overseas trip to visit family in the UK and Sweden, so not exactly doing nothing.
So I have started to get into songwriting again and I have played at a few open mics and recently I did a couple of songs at a songwriters night at the Nighthawk Bar in Collingwood. It was a great night and really good to get on a stage with great sound and a listening audience. Here’s a clip of me singing a new song “Home”
Back in July I played at a bar called the Ringo Barr, in Brunswick, Melbourne. it was a great vibe and we had a lot of fun there. Here’s a few shorts of me singing “In My Name“
The other news is that I have found a bass player which is very exciting. He’s motivated, loves playing my originals and plays brilliantly, can sing and is really easy to get along with and we have a lot fun. We will be getting a set together over the next few months to go out and perform which is very exciting. Well thats it from me for now but there is going to be a lot more to come in the new year. So wishing you all an amazing festive season and New Year folks!
They were absolutely right! Actually it’s bloody freezing today!! 🤣
Yep I have succumbed to making comments about the Melbourne weather. Whenever I say that I live in Melbourne the first response that I get is “it’s cold in Melbourne” 🤣 yeah I know it is but the people are so so friendly here that I am staying for now.
I am downing tools at the moment after an incredibly chaotic, busy 7 months since my arrival here. Melbourne is a hive of creativity with, I believe, more culture and diversity than Perth, and there is so much more to do and see here too. I got hit by a virus (no not the C one) just a bog standard one that stopped me in my tracks and reminded me to take a bit more care of myself and to remember that “nothing is something worth doing”.
Humph Hall
I want to share the amazing experience I had of playing with Susie Bishop at the infamous Humph Hall in Sydney in February. It was an amazing evening. Susie and I met through the refugee advocacy and activist network a few years ago now and found that we had so much in common that a friendship grew over time but we had never met in real life. I totally admired Susie’s incredible violin playing but I didn’t want to ask her to join me at Humph Hall because I knew she had just had a baby, and that she was already in high demand most of the time. Then a mutual friend suggested that I ask her and he promised me that she would love to play with me so I took the plunge and asked. Susie was like “I would absolutely love to play”…..I was so excited at the prospect. Not only did she offer to play but also offered me a room during my time in Sydney.
It was so lovely to meet in real life and to meet Susies new born baby girl Julia and her family. The gig was 2 nights away and Susie had never played any of my songs before so we had a little rehearsal in her garden. I had no idea how Susie liked to learn songs, some people need charts, some need to hear the music beforehand. Some like to have the sheet music before you actually meet to rehearse, but not Susie she just listened to the first few chords and off she went with beautiful melodies and rhythmic sounds which totally enhanced each song. I was immediately totally at ease knowing that she would be able to do whatever came her way. Not that I ever doubted it of course 😁 but there is always a level of apprehension when playing with another muso for the first time. Although I have to say Susie is not any muso she is a classically trained violin player who can ad lib or improv at any folk or jig gathering.
Off we went to Humph Hall the next night and amazingly we were playing with the same band that I played with the last time I was there in 2017, well not quite the exactly same band there were a couple of extra members. We discussed which songs we would play together at the end. A great night was had by all. I would have to say that Humph Hall on February 18th of this year which was also my birthday was one of the most perfect gigs I have ever done. Wayne and Giall do such a fabulous job at Humph Hall. They book events every week and always put on a light supper and generally make everyone very welcome. Wayne also films the event which means we get a professional video at the end of each event. I am going to post them at the end of this blog entry.
Thornbury Local
In January I had a busy month with a couple of band gigs. I started playing with a band over the holiday period because they needed a vocalist for a couple of gigs so I was very happy to oblige but the condition was that I could also play guitar 😁
It was a great experience and we even scored another couple of gigs from the 2 that we did in January which was awesome but it also kept me very busy, way to busy actually so I had to stop at the last gig and come back to my own music endeavours.
The Thornbury Local was a solo gig on a Sunday late arvo early evening in March. It was a 2 hr original gig which I hadn’t done in a while and I had also played at a 60th birthday with the band the night before so it was really testing my agility. I absolutely loved the Thornbury Local gig, the owners and bar staff were amazing. The audience were really attentive and it was an overall really positive experience. It was also lovely to see so many friends there too.
YouTube Videos
Here are the videos that Wayne took starting with the group song of “Leaving on a Jet Plane” by John Denver.
I know it’s crazy but we are already into the 2nd month of the year and still the sun hides behind the clouds here in downtown Melbourne 😅 and the thermometer is stuck in the mid 20º section. I am sure that will change but I have been told “you’re in Melbourne now” 🥳 ….. yeah they almost have a smile of glee when of reminding me of that point.🤪 But guess what? I LOVE IT ❤️ all of it.
MOE
I have been so busy since arriving late September last year. Moe RSL was great fun. The lovely Alan Edwards from the Musicial Australiana show on Gippsland FM was kind enough to organise a radio interview then a gig at the Moe RSL. It was the end of year Christmas gig so it went down a real treat. I even won the raffle which was a washing basket filled to the brim with Christmas goodies that I am still ploughing through. 😍
CERES
Sunday 14th January I had a lovely surprise at the CERES Organic Market and Bakery, what an amazing little hub of activity. It was lovely to see so many familiar faces too. I played 2 hours of original songs about all the things closest to my heart and what an amazing attentive audience. ❤️
Here’s a little clip of me singing one of my favourite songs Women of War.
BAR 303
Then last week I was invited by Peter Vadiveloo,Cate Taylor and Phil Hudson and the Grand Kompanions to play a few songs at their gig at Bar 303 in Northcote. It was such a great night of original music and so lovely to share it with other great musicians who are passionate about the same things as I am.
Hopefully I will be able to do more gigs like that in the future. There are so many more opportunities here in Melbourne to connect with like minded people who are seeking the same in their musical and artistic adventures.
Upcoming!
HUMPH HALL IS NEXT!
I am really excited about this one! The last time I was at Humph Hall was February 2017 which was before I even started writing songs that reflected my 6 years of involvement in refugee advocacy and activism. It was even before my first trip to Manus. I am incredibly excited also because Susie Bishop, who is an extremely talented violinist amongst other things, is going to join me. I connected with Susie through the advocacy network, she too was doing all she could to support the refugees who had been medivaced here and locked up in hotels and detention centres across Australia for years. From the first time we spoke on the phone I knew she was from my tribe and even better still she is a musician too. The Sunloungers will also be playing on that evening, I played with them the last time I was there and we had a lot of fun. We will probably play a few songs together at the end of the evening like last time which was a huge amount of fun.
March 5th I will be playing at the Thornbury local solo. It’s a venue that supports original music so looking forward to playing a heap of my own songs there. I also have a new side project. 🤪 I have joined a band and we are playing a bunch of fun covers and I am having such a blast! More of that to come next time folks. Enjoy what life has to offer and see you soon. ❤️
I hope you are all well and enjoying the final few weeks of the year. I have well and truly got myself settled into life in Melbourne and I love it!! It’s December 15th 9am in the morning and the temperature is 13C outside with much rain falling from the sky …..no no I am not complaining but ….does the sun actually ever come out here 😂 😂 😂
Jokes aside the gigs are starting to happen with the first one being just over a week away at the Moe RSL which is a town in the Latrobe Valley just an hour and half South East of Melbourne. This gig was secured by radio presenter friend Alan Edwards from the Music Australiana show at Gippsland fm 104.7. who has been a playing my tracks on his show for a number of years now. So it was a lovely surprise when he asked if I would come on the show and then play at the RSL that week too. There are so many more places to play here and even though I have been slow of the block I am starting to find the venues that are most suited to my style of music. I will be playing at the CERES Organic Markets & Bakery on Sunday 14th January which I am very excited about. 10.30 am is the start time so please come down for a coffee, cake and some groceries. I am assuming it’s going to be a bit warmer by then 😂 😂 😂 although not counting on it 😂
Me at Humph Hall in 2017
My next stop is Sydney in February I will be playing at Humph Hall in Allambie Heights. The last time I played there was April 2017!! I can’t believe that much time has passed already!! Then March is when I will be playing a 2 hour set at The Thornbury Local on Sunday, March 5th and you can see all the times and dates on my “upcoming gigs” page right here or just follow me on Facebook or instagram. I am currently spending my time getting familiar with Melbourne and checking out that venues that support original live music. I am keen to find a few band members to form a duo or trio while here in Melbourne so if you have any friends who you think will be interested please send them to me. I am in Parkville currently but looking to secure accommodation in Brunswick long term.
Wishing you all the best for the holiday season and the New Year and I look forward to sharing more shenanigans in the New Year.
It’s coming up to that time of year again when we all start to get into a mad panic about the holiday season and the pending New Year and I haven’t event updated my blog on my month in Melbourne. Not through lack of trying though, I have just been busy as usual and feeling like I am not really getting much done. I had the best time in Melbourne back in August which started with a house concert at my very good friends home in Parkville. Cate Taylor joined me and we played solo sets to an incredibly appreciative audience. My friends Jo and Dave lavished us with the most delicious food and drinks too which was so generous. Just about one hour before the house concert Jon Von Goes from 3RRR fm Melbourne called me to talk about my Melbourne gigs and my latest release “Pledge my Soul” and he also wanted to know more about my involvement with the refugees that were sent to Manus and Nauru in 2013. We had a great chat and he also asked me about my amazing mentor Angie Hart.
Me and Angie at Open Studio
A couple of days later I played at Open Studio in Northcote, it’s a beautiful intimate venue and some people who heard me on the radio came which was amazing. I played a solo gig for two full sets which was actually quite confronting, it’s been a while since I played for that long to an attentive audience. But I had the most beautiful surprise when Angie Hart and her sister Rebecca Hart showed up to watch me play. I actually even felt a bit nervous and found myself working hard to maintain my cool…..oh the life of overthinking and worrying about what others may think. I knew all along that Angie would never in anyway judge and would be sending nothing but good vibes my way. It was an amazing night and so nice to catch up with friends who came too.
A few days later I went onto 3CR Community Radio to talk to Aine McAllister about about a few things music and issues that inspire my songwriting like, Ned Kelly who is an Iranian refugee still locked up in Perth Immigration Detention Centre and about other refugees still waiting for a permanent pathway. I also played a song live in the studio.
My last gig was at The Lomond Hotel where I played as part of the Writers Block evening. Three artists get up on stage and play a song each and so we go round again three times. It’s a very special evening organised by Barb Waters. Barb mentioned that there would be a Viola player there and that I should ask him to play with me. So I asked him if he was interested and he was. It was quite scary though because I had never met him before and I was playing original songs that he had never heard before. It takes an extremely skilled musician to be able to accompany someone that they have never heard before. Anyway I took the plunge and wow he was amazing, he played beautifully and came in on each song and just played perfectly with me. I found out after that he was Jason Bunn who is an amazing viola player that plays for Orchestra Victoria which was a total OMG moment!!! On my arrival back from Melbourne the months of Sept and Oct have been quiet but a few weeks ago I was invited to play at the Garden Party for St Paul’s Beaconsfield which was a lovely last gig in WA for a while.
What’s Next?
I am at a turning point and since covid started I haven’t not gone back to my usual format of the previous 8 yrs. I had quite a system going where I would write songs, record and release them and then tour those songs. It has been so much more difficult to plan in the past few years and much of the music industry has taken a hit for the worst. But there are signs of life again and I am seeking out new options. So I am going to Melbourne for an extended period, I am not sure for how long yet. I want to play music and I am hoping to make some music connections and maybe be inspired to write some new material, but who knows what is going to happen. I have not made any plans except that my flight is tomorrow and my car is already on a truck going across the Nullabor. So watch this space folks. I am going to leave you with a pic of me and my son that I took yesterday when I left.
