Uncovering "UnderCovered"

It's been a long hard slog but FINALLY the new album has gone to the Cut wizard - it's in the pipeline and with any luck should be completed and available late April.

This one will be a collectors item!  I'm having only a very small run cut and it will be a case of 'first in gets a copy'  ....once the run is sold, that'll be it.   I'm not planning a launch event for this one and you'll need to be on my mailing list to get notified when UnderCovered is available.

So to tantalise your musical taste buds, here is a wordy preview:

• Title:   UnderCovered ..... because my music IS under-covered, it's one of those hidden gems that when unexpectedly found is likely to surprise and delight you, and the title is a wordplay on one of the tracks "Cover Your Load"
• Recording:  the album has been fully recorded, edited, mastered at the studio of Rob Long here in Newcastle where the exceptional studio skills of Rob are another of those 'hidden gems'.   Rob has also done a lot of the instrumentation on the album including: Bass, Drums, Dobro, and a little of the guitar work.  Russ Redford played harmonica and did some backing vocals.  Di Lenham played clarinet on track No. 4 "Carrying Burdens"  for me.  Katriona Hamilton sang lead vocals on the track "Wanna Be".  I am most grateful and very blessed to have such generous musicians contributing to the project.
• Tracks:  there is a  track listing on the January blog post ...Tracks 5, 7, and 11 were 3 songs written especially for the show "Between the Lines"  which was performed here in 2010.  Gemma's Song was written for the character - a 16 year old troubled teen.  It needed a young voice - and a new title - which is how come Kate was invited and accepted to sing on the album - she is an emerging young artist in her own right.  
• Behind a few of the songs: The track "Wise Woman" was written specifically for this project in celebration of all the amazing women in my life - recognising that each one of us is uniquely different and must travel her own path. The track "Carrying Burdens" was written a few years ago for a dear male friend of mine who shall remain nameless - I endeavored to have that track included on the "Luminous" album but it didn't make the cut.....it did for this album.  "Grey Day in Melbourne" is not a poke at Melbourne itself!  I LOVE visiting Melbourne.  This song was inspired by the city because even at it's greyest - it has a rare beauty.  The grey reference reflects the nature of cities around the globe - how each wears its public face yet is comprised of individuals ...all different yet interconnected through the Divinity of Humanity but divided by the contradictions of humanity.

Typically - like all of my albums - it's going to be hard to place this one into just one specific genre/category.  There's a mixture of ballads, blues, pop, a distinct contemporary folk track, and a short bite of Mozart - go figure! Guess my albums are just like me - multi-faceted, hard to define, impossible to pigeonhole.

Don't miss out on your copy of UnderCovered  - it's quite a journey.

Cruisin' into the new year

Well, a new year...a fresh start....wondering what 2012 is going to bring to me and where it's going to take me musically.  With some major projects now off my agenda I'm praying for patience to let new things unfold [not an easy task for me] so it's a relatively laid back start to the new year for me.
I've locked in some dates at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Newcastle {I LOVE that space!} for 3 shows/5 performances between March and July.  Check the "Projects" page of this blog to see what's coming up{well, in a few days - I haven't got to that page yet!}.  And of course, I'm expecting to release the new album UnderCovered in the next couple of months - I know, I know, I promised to have the artwork at least to show you this month...but believe it or not, I'm still waiting for my buddy to finalise the design into the template!! 

So in the absence of a piccie - can I tantalise you with the track titles?

1. Day is Done
   
2. Granny Hell RETITLED "PLAY"
   
3. Wise Woman
   
4. Carrying Burdens
   
5. Fancy That
6. Grey Day in Melbourne
   
7. Gemma's Song Retitled "WANNA BE"
   
8. All Dressed UP
   
9. That's How it Goes
   
10. Cover your Load
    
11. Sheri's Song Retitled "ENIGMA"
    
12. Dona Nobis Pacem

 More about the tracks in upcoming blogs.
In the meantime ....what do you think of the new design?  Any feedback is welcome.

Have a great 2012 yourself - more music to you
 

Created vs Discovered

OOPS!  Running a bit late and we're ALREADY in November! Anyone else scrambling to catch up on all the things they'd planned to do in 2011?

If you're really efficient and have started your Christmas shopping, can I remind you that the gift of music lasts a heckova lot longer than a box of chocolates!  And you can get 5 albums here for $50 - cheap as chips!  Put your order in today.

I heard the tail end of an interview on ABC radio this morning [Conversations] with past prime minister Paul Keating and I just loved his philosophy on the Arts.  I know I'm not going to remember his exact words so forgive me if I paraphrase him ......"..music is the greatest of the Arts because music is not representational.....and  unlike science which is waiting to be discovered, music comes from being created....". He spoke of the importance of creativity in thinking and a direct quote: "A government which has no premium on the Arts is going nowhere".  That's great Big Picture thinking.

For those of us engaged  in Community Arts, we know - and we see - the value of the Arts in our micro-society, our community.  We see how music for example, connects people from all walks of life.  We see how music reaches out to the lonely and uplifts the spirit of the depressed.  We see how music motivates and inspires individuals around us. We see how integral music is to the community for any celebration.  It's not rocket science - but it's invaluable to our society.  Be nice if there was greater understanding of this at government and business level.

May your coming Christmas season be filled to the brim with the blessing of music.

• NEW ALBUM   it's kinda in limbo at the moment - cos I ran out of dough to get it cut!! [ahh, the challenges of being a full time muso]  But it's already got a title ....."UnderCovered"...and the artwork is done [just being reshaped by a buddy to fit the boxes].  I know I promised last month to share more information about it in this Posting ....but I want to wait til I have some of the artwork ready to show you at the same time.  Have patience - it'll be worth the wait, I promise!

Paint my world Pink!

Golly gosh!  There's so many musical initiatives happening round here lately that it's hard even for ME to keep up with it all.  Some of the highlights though, over the last month have been;

• Finished recording the new album and decided on a title.  Dollars are so tight though that I've had to opt for doing my own album artwork rather than hire the person I wanted to do it for me.  I've also had to defer getting the first run done until I've got a few more shekels in the bank!  sigh!  the life of an impoverished muso - always new challenges!
• the Women Upfront concert last Saturday night - which was also a fundraiser for Heart Magazine Heart Magazine - was a winner!  It was just great to see so many women performers up there putting their work forward.  It was a great turnout ...and wonder of wonders, I had so many helpers that everything just ran like clockwork.  No stress for me!!  Did a few songs of the new album and got great response [and that's always satisfying]
• and the new chorus group that I'm coaching - Found - also found their voices on Saturday night and put in a "pearler" of a performance.  There's so much work that goes into pulling such a group together but it is SO satisfying.  And they're a great bunch of people - weekly rehearsals are always a hoot.

So in the next issue, I want to share more with you about the new album ....some of the songs and the stories .... and test out the cover piccie!  So stand by - you might win a copy of the new recording.

In the meantime, it's head down tail up working on the next projects - the Multifaith Concert which I'm organising in Newcastle for Mattara next week;  the Folk In Broke festival is only a matter of weeks away - see more at Folk in Broke festival; the next Savoy Supper Club is going to be just a top night - check the blog in the next few days for new info on that -  Savoy Supper Club ;  as well as 2 new shows coming up at the Royal Exchange theatre in December "Krackers"  - check it out at Royal Exchange Salon Theatre Newcastle  .  Gee I might even catch up on some sleep after Christmas!

ciao bella!