The album is finished!
On Thursday the 12th of August at 7am I flew up to Sydney for a day of mastering. 10 songs completed and a half a packet (that’s about 5 bags) of wiz fiz consumed and I was back on a flight home to Melbourne that night. Whirlwind trip and a bit of a tummy ache but now I have a finished album!
The last few weeks have been full of administration in preparation for the release. Contracts, artwork, baking rainbow cupcakes and booking shows.
Now comes the fun part of putting it all together with my creative team of large cats. In fact, a few weeks ago, we spent the weekend prowling around the streets of Melbourne bare foot with an espaliered flowering crab apple. This was not just for fun, although we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, it was for a photo shoot for the upcoming release. It was during this shoot that the term ‘human anchor’ was born when Kat had to use her whole body weight to keep the flash and tripod from taking flight in the howling wind. Needless to say there are some spectacular shots of my hair that would sit quite nicely in the upcoming Melbourne Spring Fashion week edition of Sunday Times.
For those of you who were wondering how our little 42 is going we are happy to let you know that she (we are now decided she is a she) is doing well. 2 weeks ago 42 was adopted out to a new family and is now sharing a house and yard with 10 other hens better known to locals as the Burton Street Girls. She made a friend last week with one of the hens, Red Mama, and although it’s hard being a chook with the very tricky social hierarchy she is fitting in as well as can be expected.
Well thanks again for tuning in. I look forward to writing again soon.
Cheers
TP
Brrring on this winter! I can handle it…….I hope.
On the home stretch……..
It’s that time again. Dejavu? Well yes and no. Yes I’m home from tour and about to tell you all about it. No, it was a chilly 9 degrees when I arrived home! Winter is definitely here. I hope my vegies have survived in my absence.
Brisbane and Gold Coast shows and Unconvention
The Troubadour with Ben Salter and Lincoln Le Vevre – A very quiet night but stunning none the less. My highlight was the gentleman who danced to Linc’s entire set all by himself. This is not a clip of him but i think he must have trained at the same dance academy.
I attended a music industry conference called Unconvention which was held over the weekend of the 12th and 13th of June. I was blown away by the amount of young people in Brisbane working on unique music industry projects and finding exciting ways to market music. I highly recommend you jump online and check out the site if you are at all interested in the music industry. I was lucky enough to play at the after party with the incredible Cowper Band. Amazing live visuals including some cameras connected to Rowley’s microphone stand. These guys are worth seeing live, check out their website for more details.
On the Monday night I played at The Cavern, a great little venue in Nobby’s Beach on the Gold Coast. The place was packed and apparently is this way every Monday night with original local and interstate bands. A really special find in the Gold Coast for an artist like myself. After I played, a lovely gal named Kandy came up to me and asked if I would like to play the next night at The Palmy down the road. Of course I said yes and the next night Mum and I arrived at the very intimate little restaurant with great pizzas and a wonderful audience.
The Joynt was my last show in Brisbane and although it was quiet night the atmosphere was perfect. Such a great run of shows how was I going to top it in Sydney?
Sydney Shows and Song Summit
On Thursday the 17th of June I flew to Sydney and arrived at the venue we were to play at that night. The Raval is a velvet room filled with chesterfields and marble tables. It has a huge stained glass window behind the bar and two baby grands for hire. I could not have imagined a more perfect venue nor audience who listened intently and laughed appropriately.
Edward Deer and the guys from Cogel joined me on stage for Not Unprepared and I Take The Blame as well as Wally joining me for the duet Understand. It was like having my own little super band. So wonderful to share the stage with these fellas again and I am looking forward to our plans for the next few months.
The Sando (Sandringham Hotel) was the last show of the tour and an amazing climax to finish. We filled a little room with tables and chairs and the audience was silent during the performances of all the acts aside from a brief moment when a very drunk biker looking fellow with a scooter in his hand started yelling obscenities as he ascended the stairs. This night was a 5 act bill once again including Edward Deer and Cogel. I would highly recommend checking out the two other acts who played, Andy Gollege and Richie Cuthbert. To top it off here is a little video of the super band. What fun!
I also attended the bianual music industry conference Sydney’s Song Summit and to top it off the APRA awards on the Monday evening. Such a great experience to see so many fantastic australian songwriters recognised for their hard work. No after party for me though, it was time to catch a plane home and get back into the studio.
Mixing this week!
So here we are in the studio, working on Beautiful Town and I can’t help but day dream with this beautiful sunset out the window. Yet another glorious winters day in Gipsland. Andy Stewart and J.Walker are busy on the console and I am taking a little break to write to you all. The end is fast approaching and I am feeling slightly melancoly with the thought of not coming out here for a while. But new adventures await and you are all waiting for the record so I’d better get back to work.
Up-coming shows
I am so excited to announce some more shows.
Friday 2nd July @ The Corner
Supporting Lisa Miller
I have been listening to Car Tape 2 (Lisa’s new album) in the car on the way to the studio and it’s amazing! My new album to get hooked on, you should too.
Saturday July 3rd @ The Studio
PCT Wilsons Rd, Mornington
Mornington Peninsula Music Forum
3pm-5.30pm – Music Forum
7.30-midnite – Performances by all local Peninsula artists
Merchandise!
I am about to begin my own line of merchandise and I need your help. I have been faced with the ethical dilemma of cost verses moral beliefs when it comes to producing merchandise and I think I may have come up with a solution. I have decided to make my own merchandise with a combination of second hand clothing and home made designs. This means that each garment will be completely unique and completely environmentally sustainable. Exciting and guilt free. I have chosen some samples and will be posting examples in the next few weeks. I would love to hear your comments and recommendations on style, size, materials, colours and prints so that I can keep an eye out for a piece that you would be perfect for you.
The Kimberley needs your help
There is a lot of action going on in the Kimberley and I don’t want to preach to you all but I feel the need to spread the word.
As you all know I am from the Kununurra in the North East Kimberley. You may not know that the people of the Kimberley and others around Australia are currently fighting a major environmental battle. Incredibly, the far north-west Kimberley sub-region is the only part of Western Australia, and one of very few in Australia, that appears to have retained its complete native fauna species diversity without extinction since European settlement. The urgent reality is that the WA Government is pressing ahead with plans for a huge industrial hub to process Browse Basin gas and service other damaging downstream industries such as alumina refineries, fertiliser and explosives factories in James Price Point (‘JPP’ – known to its Traditional Owners as Walmadan) Broome, WA. If you are interested in reading more about this please follow the links. If you have read enough and want to sign a petition or donate click here.
Kimberley Dreaming
I wrote this newsletter the other day and the internet didn’t work. It was such a nice story that I thought I would send it out anyway.
As I sit here perspiring over my little laptop covered in red dirt finger prints, Henrietta the honey eater is chatting to her reflection in the kitchen window and a couple of swamp hens scratch around in the garden. A positively cosmopolitan NT back yard. Just one more day on tour and it’s back to freezing cold Melbourne. But let me start at the beginning………
May 20th I arrived in Kununurra to find that the wet season (normally from November till March) was still hanging around. Plenty of mud mixed and a cold beer and I really felt like I was home again.
But as my Mum says there is no rest for the wicked so it was straight into two radio interviews with local presenters Alex from ABC Kimberley and Scotty from Waringarri radio, four shows including 2 Gulliver’s Tavern sets, 1 gorgeous Pump House cafe showcase and a fantastic show with Liz Stringer and Chris Matthews at El Questro Station.
A whirlwind visit and then it was back on the plane to Darwin and straight to soundcheck at Browns Mart Theatre where I supported Sara Stora last night. It was a lovely show and Sara is a very inspiring down to earth gal with a big heart and a beautiful voice. I am almost tempted to play country music again after listening to her gentle yet powerful melodies and stories of life in the outback.
And now I can tell you about the last show of the tour………
Saving the best till last I played with local Darwin band The Moving Targets at the Ski Club. The sandflies were chomping and the sweet smell of sweat and areogard filled my nostrils and I stood facing the water and about 300 people. It was a beautiful way to finish off the tour and about 3 hours later I was on a plane home.
And that brings us to the present day. Wishing I had Henrietta here to keep me company while I plough through paperwork and get organised for my east coast tour next week.
Yep that’s right, like a Yo Yo, I am heading back to the east coast again for another small run of shows and to attend two music industry conferences in the month of June. I am also playing some shows in Melbourne over the next few months so keep you eyes peeled for those too.
For all the gig details please visit the gig page on my website and if you are thinking of coming to the shows please pre purchase tickets where possible as most of the shows in Brisbane and Sydney last time sold out.
Cheers
Tash
A Quick Recap and A Kimberley and NT Tour
Hey Everyone,
Welcome to all those new comers who have signed up at my shows and on the net over the last month. I have been so busy that I have decided to run away to Kimberley for a while. Unfortunately the costs are high so I’ve organised a few shows while I am in the area. Work-a-holic you say? I don’t know what you’re talking about.
So just to recap on the last month. I have supported The Basic’s at their C U Next Tuesday Residency @ the Northcote Social Club in Melbourne. They guys have just announced that they will be continuing the residency into June. I have had a sneak peak at the support acts they are getting in and let’s just say that anyone who makes it to a show is in for special treat.
Paul Greene and Emma Anglesea were a treat to share the stage with at the John Curtin Band Room and Baha’s as well as the little show I played this Sunday gone with the Edinburgh Gardens Collective. There is still two weeks to go for the Edinburgh Gardens Collective Sunday residency so if you are looking for something to do then head down to one and I can guarantee you will enjoy an afternoon of great music.
On the recording front we have all but finished one song and are running on schedule. The second single ‘Not Unprepared’ has been out for a few weeks now and enjoyed radio play on Melbourne’s RRR Breakfast show, Triple J’s Home and Hosed and Roots ‘n’ All along with many other community stations right around Australia. Coupled with some nice reviews in street mags I am pleased with it’s progress. If you haven’t heard the track yet then you can check it out on the audio page of the website. Also the copies are selling fast so if you would like to own one of the 150 remaining copies ever to be printed please jump onto the store and pop one in your basket.
The Kimberley and NT tour
I will be jetsetting to the far north on a midnight horror flight and touching down in my home town of Kununurra this Thursday. It’s been two years since I’ve been home and I’m very excited to be sharing my new songs and stories with old friends. A huge thanks to the team at Airnorth who are sponsoring my flights for this trip, this tour would not have been possible without their generosity.
To check out all the details (especially the all ages show) head to the gig page.
I will also be doing a couple of little radio appearances on ABC Kimberley and Waringarri Radio on the morning of Friday the 21st so tune into these stations if you are with in their throws.
Well that’s all from me for now. Hopefully I will see you all out there along my travels.
Over and Out
Tash Parker
Coming Soon………….
East Coast Tour and Shows June 2010
Album Release August 2010
Album Tour – some time after that
Home Again
Touch Down! It all feels like a whirlwind and all of a sudden I’m back in my winter woolens and diving into mountains of paper work in a dark room in back in Melbourne. Before I completely forget all the amazing experiences I had while on the east coast I thought i’d tell you all about it.
Beginning with a flight up to the Gold Coast to stay with my family for easter and a taking part in the Byron Bay Busking competition. It’s taken me a little coming to terms with the fact but the verdict is in. I am officially not a busker. However, I did witness many great buskers and consoled myself with some fantastic market food.
I didn’t have long to sulk because the next night I played an incredible show at the Troubadour in Brisbane. The other performers on this night Timothy Carrol and Indigo Kids were two inspiring local acts and a great introduction into Brisbane’s vibrant music scene.
A little show with the Matty Devitt Band in Lismore was a good fun pub atmosphere and Matty’s sound was a superb alt folk-rock experience. Unfortunately i was nursing a headache from watching Avatar 3D the night before and managed to leave half of my equipment at this show. But hey it wouldn’t be a tour if things didn’t go wrong.
One last show in QLD at a great bar in South Bank, Brisbane called The Joynt. I shared the stage with 3 amazing local acts Ofa, James Grehan and Pear. The only way to spend your Wednesday evening when in Brisbane from now on is this night that Ofa has begun curating at The Joynt. Each week new local, national and international acts will share the stage and I for one will be signing up again as soon as I can.
A flight to Sydney and then the dread of hiring a car for the first time and driving around Sydney’s inner suburbs ringing up e-toll bills and trying my best not to have a panic attack. Yep it’s official, I’m a grown up.
The first night in Sydney was a great bar, The Brass Monkey, in Cronulla about 50 minutes drive south of Sydney’s CBD an area otherwise known to locals as ‘The Shire’. I was sure that I was driving into an apocalypse as i neared ‘The Shire’ the heavens opened up and i thought again how glad I was that I had purchased that extra insurance for the rental car.
The show was a lovely evening consisting of 4 acts headlining the show Paul Applekamp, supports were, Newcastle act Benjalu, myself and the opening act a lovely young fellow named Andy Kelly.
The next day I lowered my heart rate by taking the hire car back and looked forward to experiencing Sydney’s public transport system first hand.
That evening I played at another great Sydney venue, this time a little closer to town, in Newtown called Notes. I was supporting two local Reggae acts which inspired me to attempt a reggae version of Not Unprepared, very fun but perhaps I am not built for reggae.
My last and I have to say favourite show for the whole tour was on Sunday the 11th of April at the Old Manly Boat Shed. It was a show of firsts with Corgel from Belgium playing their first ever Australian show and Ed Prescott’s first ever solo performance. My first was that i got to wear my new donald duck t-shirt and striped sailor pants for the first time which I bought at a great retro market in Sydney the day before. The night was so incredible as I have never heard such silence from a crowd. Some one even compared the audible ambience, other than the artist playing, to a library. Needless to say we will be doing some more shows together in the coming months and may even plan a tour together for later in the year.
Please check out the links to all the artists that i played with throughout my tour because they were all so amazing and if you like my music then i am sure you will like what they do. Some of them do not have pages but keep an eye online as they surely will soon.
A day of meetings and soaking up some divine Sydney autumn weather and we come back to present day.
Thanks to all of you who came to the shows and signed up to the mailing list over the course of my tour. I look forward to telling you about all sorts of things over the coming months leading up to my tours and album release.
Take care and keep an eye out for my next newsletter which will include updates on the new single’s ‘Not Unprepared’ progress, dates and details for a Kimberley tour in May and another east coast tour in June.
Tash
Heading to the Occident…….
Hi Everyone,
Well I am about to head off to the Nannup Folk Festival but thought i would give you a little update.
I played a wonderful gig at Pure Pop records on Sunday with My Mini Bikes and Gersey. It was a great afternoon aside from the greenhouse effect of the courtyard and as a result I now have hard copy singles for sale through Pure Pop records. So if you are looking to buy a record in a real old fashioned record store then cruise on down to Pure pop. I read on a Cd cover recently and agreed with it…..
‘Buying records from record stores is cool!’
In other news I have some photos of me and my tree from the Thornbury Theatre show I played with The Wishing Well last year in November. These were taken by my good friend James Bryans. You can check them out here.
On the education front I have had my first two lessons in Ableton Live ‘making beats’. Now i know you all think that a little Kimberley girl is the least likely character to be programing electronic music but I’m telling you, I might be hooked. Now i just have to remember not to go straight to the computer after planting veges as my poor little apple is not so white anymore. Thank goodness there is no red dirt down here. Alright, hands are washed, let’s see how i go with lesson 3.
Online music is now available from another source – BandCamp.com a great site where you can get music at any quality and prices can vary from free to nominated amounts by artists. Just letting you know i have a small nominated amount for my music so if you would like to help me save up to get the next single out please jump online. Those of you who already have the tracks, thank you for your contribution. Every little bit helps.
Alright cool cats that’s all from me for now
Tash