Wednesday August 10th
Off we go! We start this tour in Charters Towers with a flight from Sydney to Townsville, collecting two vehicles and driving out west to Charters. Willy Qua is with us for the first week and a bit. He flies up from Brisbane and meets in Townsville. After collecting the Ford sedan and Kia people mover (moonrover as Garry calls it) and some lovely
lunch we head off to our accom in Charters. Garry steel, as you may have gathered has replaced Andrew for this tour and while all the organizing for the tour has gone on, we have been invited to perform at World Expo in Japan
(Nagoya) straight after the tour finishes. In the middle of the tour we also play at the Gympie Muster. It's a bit of a dart board tour with a fair few flights and a lot of driving but it's all good fun. Dinner is at hotel near the park at the edge of town, beautiful steaks etc, much chatting about the upcoming drives and events. There is a lot of organizing to do on my behalf. We have venues to co-ordinate, interviews and Mark has reports to write for the Arts Council. Actually, he seems to relish the job and puts a very creative slant the whole thing. They're very funny and imaginative.
Thursday August 11th
It's Mark's birthday, big deal......Oh sorry, we bought him a cake and got a very nice young lady to serve him coffee and cake etc. The World Theatre is in the main street of Charters lined with Art-Deco shop fronts and deep gutters, which seem to suggest the town copes with huge downpours from time to time. Just recently a theatre company
mainly from Brisbane has performed "Charters Towers, The Musical" in the same theatre with a fantastic response as part of the recent festival. an unusual concept, being a show about the town, where it is performed, but one that obviously works. Quite a novel idea, reminds me of "Waiting For Guffmann". I'm not clothes hunting this time, I have so many clothes now, wardrobes full! My suitcase looks like I'm going to be away for a month... Oh I am going to be away for a month. We seem to be a lot busier on this particular journey and everybody is in fine form. So, off we go to the show....Great theatre, great vibe, good start to the tour. Next it's back to Townsville for a radio interview, lunch with John Nutting (ABC National Radio) and then to Ayr for a 4pm setup.
Friday August 12th
Charters to Townsville to Ayr. After the run from Charters, we find the ABC studios and sit to chat to Nicole Dwyer about our upcoming shows down the coast to Brisbane. She does the drive programme for Queensland and is a great DJ. We are all in good spirits and after lunch with John we head to Ayr for a 4pm bump in. Ayr has changed so much since I was here. Admittedly, I hadn't been there for 20 years but it used to be just a collection of old wooden buildings and tin sheds. The only building I remember is the Police Station for some unknown reason. The Burdekin theatre is a wonderful modern complex with great sound and lighting. Lisa Trevellick, the theatre manager, lived for some time in Gundaroo near Canberra and we swap stories about the legendary Matt Crow's Wine Bar (the only pub in Gundaroo and it didn't have a beer licence). The gig is another triumph (not to be confused with the British motor vehicle!) and we all are a bit tired so sleep is the order of the day. This tour is quite different to the last southern one. On your average day, we drive to a new town, chuck our bags in the motel room, get some time to chill out or look around the town (if we are lucky), sound check at 4pm (sometimes for two hours), a quick bite to eat and then SHOWTIME! It's not what you call a cabaret act but we are developing some silly stuff for onstage.
Saturday August 13th
Clare lived in Airlie Beach for about nine years and her good friend Darren from Gunnadoo is doing the production for our show. We drive to Airlie to catch up with friends, Paul Killingly for one and his daughter Kallulla who at 11 is playing great fiddle. After lunch and a chat we head to our rooms in Prosperpine then to sound check. It's a lovely balmy tropical night so after eating and showering I head to the venue on foot and arrive in good spirits ready for the gig. Clare is the star of the show, with many friends and fans coming to see her. The band is swinging, the PA
is great and we all have a fab time. Kallulla gets up and plays with us and we all go away with lots of fond memories and the like. At his stage of the tour the distance between towns is not so great. We have a bit of time to take it easy. Nonetheless we are pretty tired post performance so after a bit of chat we all fall asleep.
Sunday August 14th
Mackay is the next port of call. Only a couple of hours and the gig is at the sensational Mackay Entertainment Centre. Everything about the setup is great and we have performed in large venues so much now, we are able to utilize the stage a lot more. It's nice to feel close to the audience and get a rapport going with them, but having a large number of punters is also great. There are many people who respond a in very positive way to us and the whole experience of having a continuous schedule of gigs is fantastic for drilling up the music of the group. One other great thing about Mackay is the costume department and props. We dress the stage with musical notes and if I had more time I would have put a couch on stage, much in the way Jethro Tull does. There are some great costumes. In the second set I come on with a curly long-haired wig. Makes me feel like the other fiddlers (Clare and Mark both have curly hair). Mine is straight and grey. Not to be out done, Mark comes on stage firstly in a French maid's costume, then a set of tails, then a Chinese dress jacket and finally a pirates costume! Not to be outdone, Willy comes on play saxophone in a full American Indian headdress!
We've got the next day off and I am determined to get Willy to play on some tunes, so he has resigned himself to being stuck in a motel room with me. The laptop is performing great and Willy has created some really groovy things on tunes for the new CD as well as some other projects I am working on.
Monday August 15th
After a leisurely breakfast, Willy and I work through the material. There's is one tune of mine in three parts which has taken 18 years to finish writing, sometimes that's just the way it is. Another one, is a groovy contribution from Mr Oats and then some songs for Gordon Slattery's project. Willy is a fantastic sax, flute player as well as being
a great drummer, amazing skier and pool shark. His nom de plume is Professor Quill whenever he's running a Trivia Competition. Blah, blah, blah.
The others have gone to look at Platypus in a wildlife sanctuary and as much
I want to go, I have little option than to get on with the work, OR I WILL NEVER FINISH THE STUFF! I just wish we had more time. The tour is really busy and although I love being on the road, having time to smell the roses
(as one would say) is also very important. We are just about to head out bush!
Tuesday August 16th
Capella is a tiny mining town 332kms Southwest of Mackay and I mean tiny, one pub, one hotel and a huge Cultural centre. When we passed through Emerald I expected it to bigger than it was. I guess a lot of these places exist on mining or some sort of beef cattle farming, Sorgum... you name it. It's a tough life. The sound system is a bit rudimentary and I have the job of trying to sort the PA out. The gig is great. People are very responsive and we share a few jokes, some friendly hecklers etc, all in all an enriching experience. But wait! There's a commotion back at our humble accomm and we head back to our digs to find the police telling one of the female? guest to be quiet or else. I tell you it's a rough life out here!
Wednesday August 17th
Early the next morning the motel manager resplendent in his old black tracksuit pants (with matching braces and a cigarette hanging out of his mouth) starts the garden vacuum cleaner up at 8.30am... blimey! So, we get on the road fairly quickly after that and head to Gladstone, about 5 hours away. Now this is a really long drive! We travel
southeast towards the coast through fields of harvested Sorghum. In a conversation with a lady last night I was informed that they spray the crops with Roundup! to stop the crop from growing in times of high rainfall. Apparently, if the crop is too wet the harvest self-combusts! They only feed cattle with the grain though? We stop for coffee at Blackwater and continue our journey towards the coast. Gladstone is a town with a beautiful port dominated by coal loaders and an aluminium smelter. It's much prettier than Portland but has the same aspect as Port Kembla, near Wollongong. The Gladstone Entertainment Centre is a lovely new building and Nicole Heard, the publicity manager, is an enthusiastic, energetic lady with heaps of ideas for creating a larger awareness of the arts in the area. We have a photo call for the local council so as usual we muck about being silly making the photo as funny as possible. We have a couple of days here and after such a long drive from Capella, we are looking forward to taking it easy for at least a day. The gig is in a cabaret style with the band right up close to the audience. We can crack jokes with them and the sound crew are great. The old Challen piano has seen better days. After the gig we get heaps of people coming up staying how much they enjoy the gig and a quite a lot of emails as well. Finally after a 16 hour day, we all fall asleep.
Thursday August 18th
Day off. Not much happening today. Mark pushes Clare into the pool, which she doesn't seem to mind much. Willy is practising and we all are wandering around the place feeling a bit exhausted from the travel. So far, we've all been well and in good spirits. We are going out to dinner with some people from the theatre and it's a chance to meet new faces and make idle conversation. By this time, we are all starting to miss our families and the phones are getting a flogging. John's daughter, Amber (who is also a fiddler) has just moved to Dublin, to work for a film production company. When we go to Japan, he is also going catch up with his son, who lives in Tokyo. There is a lot of organizing for me to do before then. We were able, by sheer fluke, to swap our one tonne van for the Kia and I am hoping with a bit of manipulation to do the same after we get back from Cairns. After a very filling dinner at the local Thai restaurant and a few games of pool with Willy (don't ever think you can beat him!) we hit the sack ready to get on the road to Maryborough.
Friday August 19th
Getting out of Gladstone to head south is not so easy and after going round in circles for ten minutes, we find the road back to the Bruce Highway. We decide to stop at Childers, a lovely town, infamous for the recent backpackers fire and subsequent court case. Willy, Garry and Clare have gone to Bundaberg.... Willy knows every good pub in every town in every country in the world. I am surprised we are not playing at Bundaberg. It's a great town and obviously surround by cane fields and ginger farms. I haven't been there for many years but the smell of the distillery is still strong in my nostrils. Maryborough is a town built on the Mary river (really) and the Brolga theatre is wonderful. We have accommodation right near the venue and the whole aspect of the theatre looks out over the
meandering water. I walk back from the centre of town to the motel through the park next to the river with lots of different species of plants including a Poinciana, which is such a beautiful tree. Dinner is at the pub next to the motel and great food. I walk to the venue and the show is a cracker. We are amazed by the number of fiddlers and musicians in general in the audience. One of the fiddle teachers from Hervey Bay, who came to the Hawkesbury Fiddle Festival with his students, is there and he informs me he is moving to the States for a couple of years. Hopefully, he'll keep in touch. We are now very close to Gympie and tomorrow we'll pop into the town to catch up with some friends from the Muster, but for tonight after a great gig, we all hit the sack.
Saturday August 20th
We are headed for Boonah, near Cunningham's gap. It's a long drive and Willy, Mark and Clare have decided to get up early, drive to the Gold Coast to pop in at Willy's place and then drive to Boonah over Mt Warning.... bit of a long day. John, Garry and I have breakfast in Gympie and after a wander round, head down towards the airport. It's a long drive... didn't I just say that? Once we get past the airport we head across to the Ipswich road but end up going to Beaudesert. Oh well! We finally arrive around four o'clock and drag the gear out of the van. Unfortunately
the lighting techs van has broken down and so the sound system hasn't been set up yet. After a fairly lengthy sound check, we go off for dinner and arrive back for the show. Liz Grimmet from the QAC is here tonight and as we
haven't met here before, we are all interested to see what she looks like and there are bets on the subject. I win, of course! The show is great, although one punter seems disgruntled. I think the boys on the front of house have the volume up a bit loud. Not their fault, the bio box is miles away from the audience. They pull a great sound and we go away feeling very pleased. But it doesn't stop there. We have to drive back to Brisbane, so off in the vehicles. We are leaving our excess gear at the motel for a couple of days while we are in Darwin and Cairns. By about 1.30am, we have repacked and are trying to get some sleep before our early morning flight.
Sunday August 21st
Up early for the Darwin flight. It's quite a long flight and we get to the airport in good time for check in etc. Brisbane airport is full of musicians. On the same flight are John and Natalie Morrison, Liz Carthew (trumpeter, singer), Emile Nelson (who played bass with us for some time), Sam Hawkesley, who along with Emile is working with Christine Anu. Gina Jeffries is also there and James Morrison has just got off a flight from Darwin with James Muller. I find out later that Manhattan Transfer are also on the flight. You can imagine the chatter, having not seen some of these people for a while. Some many of us play together in different combinations so we are trying to see what everyone else is up to. We arrive in Darwin and pick up a one tonne van. It's not really adequate for our
needs but it'll do. Three of us go in the van and the rest catch a cab. We arrive at the venue for an early sound check after booking into the accomm. The performance space has raked semi-circular seating and is perfect for our
sort of act. The sound is spectacular and so is the gig. Almost a full house, which is very gratifying. It's Darwin Festival time and we are in the thick of parties and such. A very big night for us all and time for a bit of a break for our schedule.
Monday August 22nd
Oh dear! Guess who has a sore head! While the others go off to see the crocodiles etc I prefer to lie down.... all day. Oh well, self-inflicted. Darwin is definitely a town at the end of the line. Just the fact that it's closer to our Asian neighbours than it is to other major capital cities is an interesting thought. There is a lot of information
about the bombings during the Second World War. Darwin copped a heap and the government kept it very quiet. The harbour is spectacular and we eat a wonderful seafood buffet at Cullen Bay for dinner. It's a 6am flight so we
all get to bed to try and get 8 hours sleep.
Tuesday August 23rd
Another early start. Off in the van to the airport. So sleepy. A bumpy, 20 minute ride in the van. Willy has gone home, so we take Rodney's drums with us to meet him in Cairns. After a couple of hours we arrive and after picking up a Tarago, we head off to the motel. We aren't able to check in straight away, so we meet in Garry's room. He and Rodney arrived the day before and Garry has hired a Rentabomb. John, Mark and I go off to Kuranda to have a look around for a couple of hours. Clare opts for the sleep option. Kuranda is up in the hills behind Cairns and the elevation makes it a welcome respite from the intense tropical heat. Even in winter it's hot. The markets are a bit of a tourist trap and have some very ordinary juice. Mark finds some postcards made from kangaroo hide!!!! We
have time to visit a friend of Mark's (he knows everyone) and as it's near Barron Falls, we take a squiz. The ride back to town is all downhill and we check in to the motel and get ready for a 4pm bump in. The theatre is a
beauty. We have a large number of friends and family along, Garry's brother Kirk, friends of ours, a veritable plethora. The show is fantastic and the audience (as always) in the mood for an encore. Just on the spur of the
moment, Kirk gets up and plays the accordion... well actually he chews it up and spits it out!!!! Amazing playing!!!! It's also great to welcome back Rodney on the drums. Willy has also been a fantastic comrade in arms. With
yet another early morning flight we head off to Johnno's Blues Bar for a few light refreshments! Talk about a blast from the past. Playing piano is my old mate Bob Howlett. I (well we all did) played in a band with him over 20
years ago. He's always lived life at a hectic pace but he seems a lot mellower than I remember him. He still calls me by my old nickname and we chat about old times. The last time I was in Cairns was when we were playing together and we went to Johnno's Blues Bar. De jam vu! Eventually, exhaustion overtakes us and sleep beckons.
Wednesday August 24th
Early flight back to Brisbane. We drop off the van and get in the far queue! There are a few hassles. Rodney's laptop case is too heavy or something. We also manage to leave his sticks in the van, so I rescue them but the real crunch is the fact that we are an hour too early. I didn't read the schedule properly. It's Mark's turn to feel unwell. We are
headed for Nambour and pick up a Falcon and Tarago from Brisbane airport. We've left some luggage at the hotel in Brisbane, so we after we make a reservation for accommodation at a hotel closer to the airport, we pick up the gear and head north again. It's a fair drive and we don't get to the town till after lunch. I'm driving the Ford, which is a nice change. The manager of the Nambour Motel is a lovely Kiwi lady and John Coker seems to grow taller in stature around his fellow countrymen. She is very happy to wash our clothes and even washes my jacket... ooops that is not really what I meant to do. At least she doesn't put it in the dryer. Once checked in, we go to the Civic Centre for sound check and then a quick shower and food at the local pub. I seem to be getting the hang of this fronting the band. The crowd love it and an old mate of Clare's is in the audience. It's another great gig with a lot of friendly people to give us a boost. We seem to attract our fair share of young fiddlers and we love inspiring them to
different things. Being classically trained myself, I feel somewhat amazed at the lack of ear-training and jamming violinists/fiddlers, call them what you will, get as a part of their rudimentary training. Anyway, enough of the
soap box already.
Thursday August 25th
Nambour is very close to the Sunshine Coast with its beautiful beaches etc. We drive to Gympie and book in at the Convention Centre, very nice. We've got 3 nights for a change and it's got everything. Free breakfast, Internet, lovely outlook, pool tables, ping-pong. John and I decide to drive to Noosa for some oysters, which turn out to be very expensive but fantastic. In fact, they are from Coffin Bay near Port Lincoln. Noosaville is a great spot but looks like Double Bay with the matching price tag. After a great lunch we head back to Gympie. We have one set tomorrow in the Muster Club. A few other musos are hanging around. Wayne Freer and Angus Diggs, James Gillard and Steve Fearnley (The Flood) and heaps of people to catch up and chat with. It is so much better staying here and the Convention Centre and we are going to use the time to relax and recharge.
Friday August 26th
Late afternoon, Muster Club. We are flying. All this time on the road is really starting to pay off. The band sounds great and the audience responds accordingly. With all the different sounds and colours at our disposal, we can really knock people out. It's so much fun to make people jump up and down. There's an Irish dancer as well who gets up and does a great job of entertaining the crowd. All is good. Life is good. The dust isn't even that bad and the drive in and out of the site is quite easy, because it's not raining. A lot of people love what we do because we are
different. It is very difficult to define something that is a composite of diverse influences. Some are there just see us, wow! That's a buzz! Back to the accom and time for the Gympie all-star Table Tennis Competition. I used to play a lot when I was a kid and Rodney and Clare are also interested. Problem is, they have both been keen tennis players all their lives. Rodney is ruthless and Clare is not far behind. I make a good fist of it and lose to them both but not by much. Those two! They wipe all the other participants of the map! James Gillard runs away and hides when Rodney challenges him!
Saturday August 27th
We have two spots, the Crow Bar and the Grove. The Crow is packed and we have a great time. People are yelling and carrying on, we milk the biggest encore! It's great to have a band that can play interesting stuff that gets the crowd going! The Grove is later at night and more relaxed. We have two young fiddlers guesting with us. They are both fifteen and I think they are wondering what hit them. I don't think they've heard of the band and so are quite amazed to see what we do. They get up; the crowd goes nuts, what more do you we need! We get back in the vehicles and drive out of the site to Gympie. For once Gympie is dry, the roads are in pretty good nick and we make good time back to the Convention Centre. There is more ping-pong and Rodney is becoming obsessive. My game is getting better and I think if I spent more time practicing I would beat him, but not tonight!
Sunday August 28th
Check out time is 10am and we are headed back to the Muster site for one last set. It's a warm day and a similar reception from the crowd. The band is splitting up for a few days. Clare is visiting her aunt. Her mum is at the Muster as well and she compliments us on our gigs. She is a classical pianist and doesn't mince her words Mark, Garry, John and Rodney are heading down to the Gold Coast. I have to hang around for Angus Woodhead, sound engineer, with whom I am staying to do some recording in Beerwah. I'm sitting on a bench after the gig when this lady starts chatting to me about my blog of Ireland. People are actually reading this?! Very gratifying! Anyway, I wander around the site till Angus finishes his gig and we get in his car and drive back towards the Sunshine Coast.
Monday August 29th
After recording a few tracks for Angus, I catch a train to Brisbane and then Nerang where Fran Mitchell from Epoch Strings picks me up to drop me off at her parents place in Benowa Waters Mark and Veronica Mitchell (Fran's parents) are wonderful people and staying with them is always a pleasure. Andrew Clermont has driven up from Tamworth and we have the AGM of the Golden Fiddle Awards. It's off to dinner with a cast of thousands in Broadbeach before we head off to Willy's gig. There are lots of singers and players at the gig and everyone has a great time. I crawl into bed very late ready for our next bunch of gigs etc.
Tuesday August 30th
I'm in Mark Mitchell's office. After last night's meeting there are some emails and stuff to do before I head of back on the road. We're playing the Logan Entertainment Centre tonight, near Brisbane and Toowoomba the following day. It's all about timing at this stage. Between now and September 3rd, we do three gigs (one of them in Mt. Isa)
then go to Japan, via Singapore. It's been a wild ride so far. The audiences have been great and we've met loads of people. My main recollection is that we have been working hard and travelling a lot. It's all been worth it. After trying out Epoch's new range of Carbon Fibre violins, John and Rodney pick me up and we head north. Logan is just near where my niece Candi lives and between sound check and the gig I pop in to see how she's going. Her
daughter Molli is about six months old and looking as cute as a button. Liz and Suzanne from the Queensland Arts Council will be watching us tonight along with Candi and one of my other nieces, Maddi and her boyfriend Louis.
It's another great venue and we seem to be blessed with great pianos and sound systems this tour. Liz and Suzanne are very generous in their praise and I feel we might be doing more of this sort thing in the near future.
The tour is nearly over, this part of it anyway. There's sense of accomplishment, satisfaction and some relief in what we've been doing. It's been fun for me, having started the year with heaps of work, then going to Europe for a month (see earlier blog), a couple of days at home then the tour of Southern Australia, then this. And so to bed, rest and another day.
Wednesday September 1st
We are heading towards the Empire Theatre in Toowoomba. A bit of trivia for everyone. Many Aboriginal place names are double barrelled. Wagga Wagga, Curl Curl, Woy Woy etc. Toowoomba is an adaptation of the Aboriginal name Woomba Woomba. It means two (or indeed many) swamps, hence Toowoomba. I love that sort of thing. I am not sure how many non-Aboriginal Australians would know this. The linguistic morphing is truly unique.... I digress. We are in need of breakfast, so we head for Logan Central, which is a fairly non-descript shopping mall. The food court
is being renovated and the concrete drills are a delightful accoutrement to egg and bacon rolls. There is a pretty good Cash Converters store and Garry and I find a fantastic Yamaha power amp. Shame we can't buy it! Off we go
towards Toowoomba, twitting tewibbly. The place is open for us and we need to get some washing etc done. The theatre itself is magnificent, an Art Deco masterpiece. Everything in the place is exceptional. The sound guys are
ready for us at noon, the piano is amazing... it's a Yamaha and what an instrument. The PA is spot on. It's such a pleasure to perform here.No trip to Toowoomba would be complete without a visit to Owen Ray's International Music Store, just down the road. Owen is a living legend. He's mates with Keith Urban and Tommy Emmanuel and has the largest collection of Maton Guitars (as well as everything else from mandolins to accordions) outside of the Maton factory in Melbourne. The boss is not there which is a shame as Garry is totally fascinated by the place. Owen also has lots of vintage keyboards as well. I love hanging out in the shop.
The show that night is great. The audience is loving every moment and so are we. I just can't get over how good everything sounds! This particular theatre runs at profit which is quite rare and the friends of the theatre put chocolates, flowers and drinks in the green room... this is special! We've got a drive back to Brisbane airport to have some sleep before we take a 9am bird to Mt Isa. After we get to the motel, we repack; fall asleep and dream of spending more one night in the same spot.
Thursday September 2nd
On the plane. We arrive just after midday and pick up a Honda Odessy. It's a cross between a moonrover and a station wagon. Everyone, including Garry wants to drive it. Mount Isa is an odd place. The mine dominates the landscape and the main road into town passes by the mine. On the left are the burbs, the right is the mine. The Civic Centre is right at the intersection of one of the main drags and the road into town. It's all a huge case of Deja Vu. Last time I was in this town, I was in a country band playing at what was then Boyd's Hotel (now in the middle of renovations) during the 1988 Olympics. It was a shocker of a gig. The hotel, which is across the road from the Civic Centre, was a blood bath and we were playing in a lovely room called the snake pit. God, what memories. The girl singer in the band (Karen Johns) was going out with Tommy Emmanuel, who with a shaved head was playing drums with Sharon O'Neill and guitar with Dragon. The two bands played at the Civic Centre, the gig we are playing tonight. It was all sweaty bodies and loud music; it's a different affair tonight. The PA is incredible especially for a town like this. The piano is a Steinway in need of some TLC. After somewhat of a prolonged sound check we hop on stage for what is possibly the best gig of the tour. The audience is fiercely proud of the Isa. They love what we do and we are so surprised by their response. After a great night we stagger back to the hotel and sleep, hopefully.
Friday September 3rd
Brisbane, 2pm. Garry and I pick up a Kia Carnival and stuff all the gear into it, then head of to Hamilton to pick up the rest of our baggage. After Garry buys some t-shirts we return to our hotel near the airport. The rest of the guys meet us at the Hotel. After sorting out what we are taking to Japan, repacking etc, I meet up with Liz from the Arts
Council to chat about the tour and return petrol cards and stuff. Then we all go out to dinner in the valley. We find a Nepalese restaurant and finish the night catching up with Peter Jameson (our tour manager for a previous tour in Queensland) at a bar in the valley. He's watching the footy, sharing a few bevvies and chilling out. It's great to see him again. He's in good spirits. After a few quite ales, we head home ready for our flight to Japan next afternoon.
The End for now!