home sweet home...

ahhhhh....i'm here. "home". how sweet it is.

i left melbourne just over a month ago, headed to the land of lakes on a roundabout, let's-stop-everywhere-along-the-way tour. which included places that were not along the way, titled the "sweet home tour". i figured i might as well sneak past some of the people and places i've come to know on my way waaaay down under (like taiwan, california, vancouver, pefferlaw (!?), ottawa, montreal, toronto....and sudbury). little did i know this musical tour would grow to be quite the journey...

the pre-departure period in melbourne was delicious. filled with hearty dinners and heartier conversations, wonderful jams, arty projects, exciting tourganization and much needed calm in my safe space before the stormy unknown of new familiar land. leaving a city i love was as hard as ever, but knowing i'd be back soon and often gave me peace of mind as i took off to taiwan.

so there i was, staring out at the smoggy super-city, back before being home again - in taiwan. a city and home i'd left in a rush, almost two years ago, off to oz, with no looking back. but i was back! crazy feeling to be standing on taiwanese soil again. too good, which surprised me and excited me...and relieved me. we totally made peace. taiwan and i are as tight as ever now, and i love it. so, on with this feeling i slammed into four days filled with three wonderful shows - solidifying the fact that taiwan is, well, awesome. and the people who flock to, are, well, awesome too. the support and turnout were unbelievable. so much so, that i'm already planning my next tour-return. it felt like i'd never left (which is kind of what being back in a place you once lived in always feels like...but in asia it was a whole new level of it. i mean, i was driving a scooter around again - so gooood!). the connections and reconnections made were more than i bargained for on my tiny little tour-stop. i could've stayed another month and it wouldn't have been enough...but i suppose that is the sneaky little spell taiwan is known for.

so i left, unfulfilled, but grateful for so many answers the tiny island provided during my mini-stay. and in california i was, under the sun, basking in perfect-weather-comfy-ness. i was greeted by my fabulous brother and his fiance, with giant smiles and hugs - the first taste of family in two years. ahhhmazing. it felt so good to just be. we caught all the way up, and jammed our little hearts out in time for our first show a few days after my arrival. having neil behind me on drums was like stepping back into your favorite pair of shoes. i can't think of a good adjective for it right now...but it was grrreat. getting over jet lag was grrreat, too. so was checking out the hollywood sights and nightlife, and some fabulous live music (from new friends jen & abby, and oz stunner mia dyson). the second show was lovely lovely. it was great to catch up with some friends and family who made the trek, and have a final stage session with neil before heading north...and closer to home. speding some quality time with the nearly-weds was just what the travelin' muso ordered. soulfood.

landing in canada was an incredible feeling. it felt like a big giant hug. really, it did. overhearing normal, everyday canadian expressions was the weirdest thing. weirdly awesome. i hadn't even realized that some of the strings of words (most) that come out of my mouth are purely canadian...until now. i was literally giggling my way to the baggage pickup, like a madwoman - so insanely overjoyed with being "back home". oh what a feeling.

the mountains, as majestic as ever, are truly the coolest backdrop. and the air here! so thick, and...oxygenated (is that a word?! it must be...there isn't a little red line telling me it isn't. either way, it's definition should read: western canadian air). so i took many a deep breath. and many a deep stare. a good thinking space, vancouver is. after dropping off my bags, i decided to take a nightly stroll on commercial drive...and within minutes, mere hours from touchdown in canada...i ran into a friend on the street. a really good friend, from university. a close neighboor, and one of my favorite people. soooo, canada really IS this small!! sheesh. the reunion was as obnoxious as it deserved to be. too good. needless to say, the show the following night was filled with similarily awesome people from different parts of my life - a sort of reunion for moi. the rest of the week was spent in many a mountainous nook and cranny up in whistler, with an oustandishly super crew. i did not want to leave and cannot wait to get back.

this pattern followed in ottawa and montreal, following an amazing weekend at the eaglewood festival near lake simcoe in ontario - where i was reunited with the rest of my family....and more family(!) who made a surprise appearance, enhancing the whole fab-festy experience. the weekend was a showcase of seriously potent canadian talent. it was an honour to have been in the mix. in amongst this bag of treats, i managed to swindle a little backline drum/bass duo for my gig a few nights later in montreal (the magnifique lyndell montgomery and adam lalonde, who make up two thirds of captain dirt and the skirt), which, apart from a scary sound system was magic. as was my week with besties in ottawa, another dose of homey-ness.

between the special rides and stays with friends, new and old, i had managed to squeeze a whole lot of perspective into my limited baggage, just in time for the last show on the tour - toronto.

this final "sweet home" gig was truly heartwarming. i mean, sure, i've been pumping every online networking site imaginable for like, a decade now (not really), but sheesh - that was overwhelming. the support, turnout, energy and response was just unreal. like a dream (the kind you try to fall back asleep into when you wake up from it). i am so grateful that i will forever have the memory of stepping onto the stage and looking out at that room full of amazing people from all parts of my life. how lucky am i. and to have been able to tell them that i'll be sticking around for a little while...!...not rushing off to make some other far-away-land my home...but here, in fact - "toronto". such super words to spit. a moment in time.

so now i sit, in sudbury, my hometown, where i plan to spend september decompressing, regrouping and reconnecting - cleansing. yesterday, i spent almost twelve hours going through boxes and bins in a closet that contains my life story. so i went through. bit by bit. and relived my life from the moment i left nearly four years ago, backwards to the beginning. letting go of all things unecessary. all things that no longer energize me, bring me joy, or bring me good - nearly half. i realized in doing this, that it was a mere continuation of the thread of decisions i'd been making since i stepped on the plane out of australia. it just so happens that i've been re-evaluating my entire life up until this point, and all things in it. the "journey" home has been littered with tiny signs, answers, realizations, all pointing to a fresh new start. the next chapter.

i knew there was something very special about the feeling i had when the decision to move home was made. home is a whole new set of sweet.


mmm.


to infinity and beyond!!!
f:)

Faye Blais - the Waaay Down Under Tour!!!

hello friends!!!

well, it's touring time again (just can't get enough --- when in oz....)

i'll be hitting the deep down under this weekend and next, first tasmania, then south australia.


voila les shows:


- tasmania - -

thurs - june 25th - hobart - ABC Radio Hobart - 11:30am
thurs - june 25th - hobart - Edge Radio - 4:15pm
thurs - june 25th - hobart - The Republic Bar (w/ andrew marshall & gretel templeton) - 8pm
fri - june 26th - hobart - The Alley Cat Bar - 9pm
sat - june 27th - margate - Brookfield Vinyards (w/ rosie burgess, andrew marshall & dominic francis) - 7pm
sun - june 28th - launceston - The Hub (w/ andrew marshall & gretel templeton) - 5pm


- south australia --

sat - july 4th - adelaide - The Singing Gallery "Sista's in Song" (w/ loren kate & mary webb) - 8pm
sun - july 5th - adelaide - Higher Ground - 3pm

start spreadin' the news!


- more tours -

canadian, californian and taiwan tours to be announced next month! keep checkin' in :)


- more videos -

new animated music video for "canvas" is out! ...check out the cable car sessions, filmed on the new zealand tour, as well!

www.youtube.com/fayeblais


more news to come, soon-soon!

big hugs to ya,
f:)

www.fayeblais.com
www.myspace.com/fayeblaismusic
www.twitter.com/fayeblaismusic

Animated Music Video - Canvas

Canvas - Animated Music Video
Hello Friends -

New animated music video for "Canvas"

Enjoy!



co-produced by Sven How and Xavier Smith (June 2009)

f:)

nz recap, tasmania, adelaide....and new videos!

faye blais music mail - nz recap, tasmania, adelaide....and new videos!!!



hello friends!

i write you, all snug, from the living room...back "home" in Melbourne....

the nz tour is all wrapped up tight -- the sweetest gift i could've asked for. what a country. the month away was one filled with, most literally, the friendliest, most hospitable, kindest people i've ever met (in such potency in place). all this loveliness let the greatest of memories trickle their way into the tour, one city (well, town), at a time.

the north island was a non-stop giggle-fest from auckland to wellington, stopping to play along the way in napier and carterton. all six shows were shared with fabulous melbourne duo, april maze (www.aprilmaze.com), and put together by miss lisa, who managed a tour of super-arty venues, all cozy with listeners. every show was an experience in itself, a great one :)

the south island was absolutely stunning. i drove my way south, stopping to gig incredible venues including the interislander ferry, le cafe picton, lochmara lodge, the moutere inn, the mussel inn, and ending in lovely lyttelton to play the wunderbar, the loons and volcano radio. ahhhh, new zealand. so good. the mountains just kept growing, as did my chillier smile (a very warm smile, but cold on the outside!)....and my longing to stay...

so, a big fat thank you (!) goes out to all of the venue owners, hosts, listeners and friends, who made the new zealand tour an incredible success and an amazing life experience. i look forward to seeing you all again soon...in new zealand and awaaaaaay!

warm fuzzy hugs to ya,
f:)


check it out!

-- shows --
- fri - may 29th - 10pm - melbourne - vibe on smith - w/ dan lethbridge and gareth eunson
- sat - june 13th - midnight - melbourne - live on RRR - the party show
- thurs - june 25th - tas tour - republic bar - w/ andrew marshall and gretel templeton
- fri - june 26th - tas tour - alley cat bar - w/ support tba
- sat - june 27th - tasm tour - brookfield vinyard - supporting rosie burgess
- fri - july 4th - adelaide - the singing gallery - "sista's in song" - w/ loren kate
**canadian tour dates - coming soon (including the eaglewood festival - perfferlaw, ontario - aug 28-30 - get your tix now)!!!

---see more upcoming showson faye's website on myspace on facebook

-- videos --
- the cable car sessions (filmed by kev cahill in wellington, nz) - see "pieces", "canvas" and "shouldn't have"(unreleased) on youtube on myspace
- australian red cross - "the power of humanity" - new brand campaign video sneak-peak, featuring "canvas"!! on youtube on myspace
- noise tv interview (melbourne) and CTV interview (christchurch tv, nz) - videos available soon!
**coming up this month - new music video (animated) for "canvas", new live dvd...and whispers of a new album!!!

-- photos --
- new photos! - photots from the nz tour...and more (including crowd shots -- you could be in them!!) on faye's website on myspace on facebook

-- blogs --
- new postings! - find words from the road, random scribbles, tidbits, song lyrics and oh, so much more :) tourblog faye's blog

-- links --
- website - www.fayeblais.com
- myspace - add as a friend! www.myspace.com/fayeblaismusic
- facebook fan page - become a fan! http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=6...
- youtube - www.youtube.com/fayeblais
- itunes - both albums "first tooth" and "two pieces" available! - itunes

that's all folkies.
muah.
f:)

..

palmerston north...

palmerston north had a great feel as we drove in. it was extremely quiet….but expected for a tuesday, I suppose. the energy turned rather quickly, though, as we swung by the bar to discover it had been shut-down with all gigs cancelled. quite the unfortunate bit of news to hear following the incredible vibes we’d been graced with in napier….

but such luck led us to a delicious (but freezing!) picnic dinner in the park followed by tea and a jam at monica and sam’s place in wanganui (apparently there are tour-angels there, too!). they were incredible hosts and allowed for a cozy space and many laughs, after such a weird night.

…change is good.

f:)

napier - brazen head ale house

we rolled into napier via roteroua (a town littered with hot springs boiling over into the landscape…very cool…but very stinky!), with an extra night to check out the scene. such a cute little coastal town with great architecture and loads of local wine!

less than an hour into being there, todd ran into an old friend from uni, who he hadn’t seen in years. yet another crazy coincidence. he took us out to a funky little bar and hooked us up with yummy coffee and his restaurant the next day…and a wine tour at church winery…delicious.

the brazen head ale house was a cute little irish pub, who drew a sweet crowd for a Sunday courtyard gig. quite a few local musos and music-lovers strolled in and stuck around for some lovely chats after the show. as it turned out, Steve, a guy we had met the night before, came along with some company and offered to show us his favorite surf spot…which was incredible. we followed him along, us in henry (the tourvan), he and scott in the relaxi taxi (a hippy bus that is literally any traveler’s dreamwheels -- well mine anyway). the bus was decked out with a great sound system, a lazyboy passenger’s seat, a master bedroom and two other bunks, a bathroom/shower and a full kitchen….just off of the lounge room! haha…ah, a home on wheels. We had a mega feast followed by a jam as it rained in this gorgeous little cove surrounded by cliffs and a splendid beach…which we so happily woke up to the next morning….

steve and scott kitted us out with an incredible night of memories and laughs, and insistently sent us off with a tour sponsorship. we could not have been more grateful for the heartwarming hospitality and unbelievably genuine characters of these two fine men.

we all look forward to crossing paths with these phenomenal tour-angels again soon…

f:)

auckland - part deux

kia ora!

picking up the crew from the airport made it all feel real….the start of a new zealand tour. we were all buzzing like mad on our way through the city to feel out auckland, the first stop.

as it turned out an old friend of todd’s works on a fancy jeweler’s yacht and had us climb aboard for a night in luxury. ben and liv…the first of our tour-angels. we laughed and carried on like pirates until the wee hours, when we finally decided to crash in such unstable conditions. waking up to the rolling waves isn’t so delightful the morning after a big one. but we loved it anyway, in absolute disbelief of how amazing this yacht and the night before were….convinced that this start had to mean good things for what was to come in the weeks ahead!

an unforeseen sound issue led us to our second tour-angel: neil. an absolute legend, as far as p.a. sourcing goes -- and just a sheer pleasure to be around. oozing positive energy and lovely things to say, neil hooked us up with a p.a. from music works in auckland and came along to the show. we miss him already!

The café had a warm and cozy, artzy vibe….absolutely my kind of space! the walls were covered in massive photography pieces and other painted canvases. they had an incredible menu and a yummy home-roasted brand of coffee….mmm.

the café was packed by the time we hit the stage…it seemed everyone we had come across over the past few days in auckland had made it down -- the lovely rich, who couched and tour-guided me for my first night in auckland, stanislava from spaceship rentals, who tour-vehicle-sponsored us for our tour, family friends and fellow couch-surfers and other kingsland passerby-ers. great crowd! so receptive and appreciative….and such a pleasure to play to.

we all left the venue super-excited to be here, in nz, doing what we love for people who love it.

ahhhh…this truly is the life.

f:)

south island tour dates!!

hi friends!!!

heading on down to the south island....


WED 29 APRIL Inter Island Ferry, Wellington to Picton
WED 29 APRIL Lochmara Lodge, Queen Charlotte Sound
THURS 30 APRIL Le Café Picton, Picton
SAT 2 MAY Moutere Inn, Nelson
SUN 3 MAY The Mussel Inn, Tasman
THURS 7 MAY Wunderbar, Lyttelton


...more chch shows to come soon...

will keep you posted!

two pieces…of one fabulous country!

kia ora!

just landed here in lovely mountain country…and although I haven’t seen any mountains yet (it’s nighttime), a good feeling filled me all up inside as soon as my foot hit the soil.

The air is fresh and the people are delightful (well, airport staff are, anyway – but again, I’m optomistic). This country is sure to bring good things, music related and otherwise. Another land filled with wide-open spaces to discover, bit by bit, between songs. Who could ask for anything more….

will bring tales and tid-bits from nz very soon….

f☺

new zealand tour - april 2009!!!!

hey friends!


quick little line-dropping to let you know i'll be hitting the road again in a few weeks...!

another tour takes me to new zealand, where i'll be sharing stages with the lovely duo april maze check them oot (www.aprilmaze.com)!

so keep on checkin' in...

f:)

sweet low...

heading on down to the where the city meets the sky,
rearview mirrors holding dear where fields of lavender lie.
sounds and smirks and all things done,
wrapped up tight into another day gone.


...it's "back to melbourne", friends. see you all very soon for shows and fun :)

(more to read on the tourblog, as always - see link on right)

f:)

fit for queensland...

the final stretch....tear.

we're up in brisbane now, enjoying a little re-grouping session before the two final shows of the tour.

only two pieces left. how ironic.

the past week - post organic farm - has been a whirlwind of music, sunshine and large laughs. the lovely lady foursome, Jungal (www.myspace.com/jungal3) rolled into byron bay a little early, with plenty of time for us all to catch up since we've hit the road. our shared gig at the rails on thursday was one stop on their mini-east-coast tour, as well. it's always such a pleasure to play with friends. especially these girls. the gig was heaps of fun, as the rails always is. being the transient, exciting little town byron bay is, we made loads of very fresh friends, who made the trek down a few short streets to check us out, which was so sweet. even sweeter though, was seeing the whole crew from jasper hall (the organic farm), all suited up for the event -- and a big night out before the big drive in (to the mountains) for the next day's early start. ah, can't wait to get back there! needless to say, we made the best of our thursday in byron and jammed with some locals outside of the station until the wee hours!

friday saw us all getting our tans on at the beach, before a short trip to byron for Jungal's show with Aurora Jane (who is also very much worth checking out: www.aurorajane.com) in nimbin. oh, nimbin. this little one-street town is one of those places you really only need to stop into once...for the early afternoon. the lush greenery surrounding the place is absolutely stunning, and the storefront artwork is most definitely worth checking out....but the place itself had an incredibly sketchy tone to it. could've just been the massive drug bust that had apparently shaken it up earlier that day.....who knows!?! (either way, we'll be back...sunday, for our last gig. hahaha. well, the gig will be just oustide of nimbin in a super-cute cafe surrounded by the pretty trees, so i think we're safe).

saturday started off with a very early drive down to coffs harbor (approx. 4hrs) for the Open Arms festival, which Jungal invited us along to for their show. great festival! we had an amazing time dancing along in the mud...especially to Blue King Brown - an insanely talented bunch from melbourne, whose lyrics just spill political and social goooooooodness. check them out, tooooo! www.bluekingbrown.com

our sunday show in brisbane was great. we played at a funky little cafe/bistro called "the joynt", here in the west end...which is a super cultured little 'burb (love it. we've been hanging around these bits for the past few days and just can't get enough!). the set was long and relaxed, which just happens to be my favorite. an excellent opportunity to break out some brand new tunes (there are a few!), as well as the old dusty ones. the sound was spectacular, as well, which made it all even sweeter.

so here we are now, just about ready for the two pieces tour debrief...

i want to do it all over again!!!

...more in store...

f:)

in the rough where the diamond sits...

....when i said west coast i meant east. very much on the east side. eek.

Reeling-in the Sun....

As we continued the long drive from rutherglen to belgrave then back again, we found ourselves as exhausted as Ruby’s rubber tires, but giddy with excitement at the anticipation of seeing (and playing alongside!) our good friends, April Maze and Quinn Band, who had invited us to slip in for a quick set at the Marlin Hotel, since, as luck would have it, our touring paths crossed again. This Ulladulla gig was only one hour south of our Nowra show the next day. Ah, fate.

We pulled into Ulladulla with plenty of time to catch a big family dinner with the crew and setup for what was a fantastic(ally eventful) show in this huge, small-town pub on a Friday night. The interesting unexpectancies were all just a lead up to our bar-closing exit towards the beach, for what turned into a three-band-and-friends jam until a disappointing sunrise-shower would have us all in a panic to coil leads and get the full setup of instruments and amplifiers back into our vans. The ‘Maze carried on with us though, despite the wet stuff, for a little circled chant of appreciation of the amazing music that had come before our breakfast-bedtime. We certainly all felt lucky to be alive, living in our respective vans, touring the country in different directions, knowing that our songs would bring us together soon again.

…as it will.

f☺

movin' on...

the "two pieces tour" is now in full force. with 6 shows under their belt, and numerous busking and jam sessions taboot, ruby the van has taken us around rural victoria, up to numurkah, yarrawanga, rutherglen, beechworth, wahgunyah, belgrave, emerald, wodonga, and all the little places in between.

faye and brad have been gigging, busking, driving, sampling some fine australian wine, talking, sleeping, and gigging some more.

we're now at the border of victoria and new south wales. once we cross that line, there's no looking back. no, that's not true. but it's exciting to think about what's ahead. three (or more) states left to conquer. plenty more shows, new people to meet, and i'm sure a few more bumps on the road.


for now, i'll just give you a little list of things that we're learned on tour so far:

- never underestimate the friendliness of the small town country folk

- a three hour drive can often mean 4 or 5 or 7 hours in "ruby time"

- rest stops are our little haven. so are country towns, creeks, waterfalls, and forests

- even if the next gig is that night in a town that's 7 hours away, it still makes sense to stop for a little all-you-can-drink wine tasting

- it's really hard to sing a song while a hundred million flies are landing on your lip. might as well just eat them!

- three people sleeping in ruby ain't all that bad

- four people sleeping in ruby means leg cramps for weeks


long live the road!
x lisa

(and faye, brad, and ruby, too!)

Beechworth-it.

Oh, Beechworth! Your bakery and bottomless coffee: a sin,
Your streets with their “old western movie” grin,
A sepia tone over all who walk about,
Smiles on our faces, worries – without.

Oh, Beechworth! You heard us, as we busked near the Post,
The sun set, wiped your boutiques, as you stood, the finest host.
In water holes, we filled our bellies, water rushing through,
By your lakeside we stayed inside, for sleep we wanted too.

Oh, Rutherglen! You listened closely and some further away,
Through the vines, our voices carried, tired lips, so much to say.
But your happy clappers pushed us through the old familiar sounds,
Such spirit, we could feel it, this Sunday, all around.

Oh, Rutherglen! You lent us your locals, and their brick haven tucked away,
A treat for tired fingers to find such a place and space to lay.
You dipped us in your sweetest fruit fermented juice,
And waved us on our merry way, all well-read and loose.

Thank you!

f☺

from st. leonards to belgrave

after faye and brad's sunday stint at st. leonards vineyard, we retreated back to our good friend kat's parent's humble abode to enjoy a few days of quality r n' r. the winery gig wasn't what we expected, but was still an enjoyable day of live music, good food, and yummilicious local wines.

isn't there some sort of statistic about how many flies the average person swallows in a lifetime? i'd say that we each capped our max at this point! welcome to rural victoria, australia, aka fly country.

next stop -- ruby's in belgrave. it was a bit of a back-track, as we had to drive about 5 hours back towards melbourne. poor planning on the manager's behalf (woops!?). but it was all worth it. our fabulous-o friend kat joined us on the journey to belgrave as we passed beautiful green rolling hillsides, wild animals, and small country towns. the set at ruby's was short and sweet...and we ventured back to the oh-so-familiar emerald backpackers, where faye and i temporarily lived while doing some farm work last month. for some reason, the little town of emerald keeps pulling us back in for more. our sleep that night was slightly more squished than usual, as kat, brad, faye, and i all attempted to find an inch of space to sleep on in the back of ruby. i feel so much closer to these kids than ever before, and there are still many more cosy nights up ahead.

:) lisa

The Street(s) of Yarrawonga

Brad and I rolled in to the cutest town we’d seen since the start, Yarrawonga, a one-strip-wonder just on the border of Victoria and New South Wales. Things just seemed to be happening for us there, where the locals were all smiles and happy chats.

I actually had a pleasant banking experience, which says so much, considering international banking has been an absolute nightmare since leaving Canada……two and a half years ago! The ladies behind the counter were all ears for tour and travel info, genuinely excited about all of our moves and shakes. Needless to say, my quick banking transaction was a little drawn out…so much so, that Brad turned around at the sight of our big convo to grab me a hot bevey from the café he had just raved about, happy to return again. He came back, mocha in hand, with news of a landed gig at the café, if we were into a sunny afternoon session, which the two of us most definitely were.

Nosh Deli is the sweetest little country café you’ve ever seen, with a staff to match. As I walked in to catch up on the details, the five young, smiling faces greeted me, as they’d been waiting for the musos to arrive…so sweet. Excited for the twist to the day, the young ladies caught up on our recent activities and set us up with plenty of hydration for the sidewalk set.

We sat for roughly three hours, the sun scorching our happy faces as we played along for the locals, generous and sweet. The set saw backup singers and dancers, a short support slot by one of the owners’ sons (who is on his way to mega-guitardom), and a heap of cd sales. We left unwillingly, at closing time (which they so sweetly delayed), gourmet food and vegan soap in hand, wishing we could just settle for life and a residency here at the Nosh Deli, in Yarrawonga. …but alas, the tour must go on!

To the street(s) of Yarrawonga: We’ll be back!

heart,
f☺

life on the road is the life for sure

Week one on tour has been incredible, as expected. The lovely Ruby (our supervan) has not let us down, as she’s taken us through country Victoria and all of it’s beauty over this past pile of days and shows.

We left Melbourne in a huff, apartment and unnecessary things behind, towards Geelong, for the first show with the incredible April Maze and Quinn band, who kept us dancing until the wee hours, despite our midday slot for the Foodbowl festival in Numurkah (over 300km away) the next day. We’ve been lucky enough to have played shows with April Maze in Melbourne, and have since been busting into versions of their “Wisdom Teeth”, between spins on Ruby’s player. Ahhhh-Maze-ing (check them out: www.myspace.com/theaprilmaze ). The Quinn band lads are such a treat, as well (http://www.myspace.com/quinnacousticrootsreggae).

We left for Numurkah post-show and wedged a tiny nap in, making it to the festival just in time to set up and play. The town is absolutely adorable. The map wasn’t very hard for us to decipher, seeing as it consisted of a few blocks on the main road dotted with the pubs/venues, which faced each other. Cute. Apparently over 200 musicians made the trek to the first annual, just to be a part of it all, as small-scale as it was. Australians love their festivals, and support them all, big and small, which makes each one (that I’ve been to, anyway) an amazing experience. Our show went really well, despite exhaustion and on-stage delerium. The crowd was the perfect mix of music-loving country folk and fellow Melbournian muso friends of ours. Ahh, festivals.

The rest of the day, we gig hopped the blocks, and caught friends of ours Katt Beams, The Hazelman Brothers and Sal Kilmer & The Good Ole Boys, who, of course, blew us away. The music in this part of the world just makes you wonder what life without constant mega-music-talent around would be like. On-stage and off. As usual, we ended the musical day with a musical evening: a balcony jam on the top of the Numurhak Hotel with Katt Beams and Skiddle, Jessie Mitchell and his crew, and other lovely festival friends. Great times.

We wrapped up our playing on Sunday to friends and locals, all enjoying listening to music outside in the sun as much as we were enjoying playing it. Our early show gave us plenty of time to catch April Maze and Quinn band’s’ sets before saying our “see you soon”s as we all continued-on on our relative tours…

Brad and I stuck around Numurkah for the night to hang with the festival organizers and a few volunteers, with time to kill before our next date. We spent a large part of the next day playing piano and drinking coffee at the ultra-relaxing, mud-hutted, eco-friendly, Nine-Mile Café. Highly recommended. It’s not surprising that Chris, one of the Foodbowl Organizers, started it from the ground up. Such an inspiring bunch, those Foodbowlers are.

Post music-long-weekend, we headed for the hills….for more!



numurkah hotel

' nine-mile cafe

On the road again...

hello friends!

welcome to the tour blog, where we'll be keeping you post-ed on all of the whacky bidness we'll be up to over the next months as we make our way up the east coast!

life on tour is the life for sure!

keep checking in.....juicy tourtails coming soon,
f:)