All the Sadness, All the Joy

14 Oct 2016 6 Comments

by Debra Manskey in Biography, Music Tags: , , , , ,

 

Hey, I’m back!

I’ve taken some time off blogging for a myriad of reasons. University got pretty intense, the garden demanded my attention, I had some health things to deal with and work was busier than usual – particularly with the amazing Callum playing his debut gig (an absolute blast, that I will write about in coming days). But mostly, I was too sad to write anything for public consumption that made much sense. 2016 has been a tough year to deal with.

Last month, my dear friend Jacqui passed away and it hit me and everyone who knew her very, very hard. It wasn’t unexpected, her health had been failing for a long time and she was having more bad than good days. Her funeral was a bittersweet affair, with equal amounts of laughter and tears, and punctuated by lots of music. And she would’ve loved every bit of it! I performed her favourite song, “Jamaica Farewell” acapella, which we used to sing together most Mondays.

Below is the last photo of the two of us. It was a Friday session with the Superstars back in July and Jac was having a bad day. She didn’t want to join in – but she still wanted to hold my hand and say cheeky things to Chris the photographer, while the others played and sang 😀

Jacqui and me

Jacqui and me

I’m incredibly grateful that I got to know her in the last few years of her life and enjoyed such a friendship. It was joyous, at times raucous and always filled with music and with love. This was proved again today when one of The Superstars played a beautiful little piece of music and announced to us all when she finished “that was for Jacqui”.

She will not be forgotten ❤

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More Goodbyes

27 Apr 2016 2 Comments

by Debra Manskey in Biography, Inspiration, Music, Tasmania Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Hello friends,

It’s been a rough month. In fact, it’s been a really rough year and it’s only April. I confess I’ve been putting off writing this even though I know the act of doing so will be therapeutic.

In late February, my friend Jeff Weston passed away after a long illness, then another elderly friend passed away in early March. Late last month, my friend Leon Turner passed away peacefully up in New South Wales. I met him in the early 1980s through his youngest son Michael, who is a truly gifted songwriter and still the best rhythm guitarist I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with.

Leon was cheeky, irreverent and had a delightfully wicked sense of humour. I’m sad that I couldn’t make it up to his memorial service but he will not be forgotten by me and all who knew him.  Vale to The Cuddly Man ❤

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Leon Michael Turner 1930-2016

Then, last week my friend Kevin Gleeson passed away. Although he was a handy bass player, Kevin was best known in music circles across Tasmania and interstate for his fierce passion for live local music. There are very few musicians in the original scene statewide (and across all genres) who wouldn’t have come across Kevin as a sound engineer, gig promoter, or enthusiastic punter who just loved going to live gigs. He helped many of us any way he could and was always thinking of new gigs he could set up to showcase new acts as well as keep people like me with paid shows. He didn’t do it for any monetary gain, he did it because he loved the music and the people who made and performed it.

Last week, I went into 936 ABC Hobart with Katie Warren (another incredibly talented local muso) and we talked on air about Kevin and what he meant to us. It was undoubtedly one of the hardest gigs I’ve ever had to do. (Huge thanks to Jo Spargo for making this link available.)

Perhaps the most difficult thing about Kevin’s passing is how sudden it was, although he had been seriously ill for several years. And unlike the other folks I’ve been mourning, he was relatively young – a similar age to me. It hammers it home how precious and fleeting this life is. Vale my friend, may you rest easy ❤

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Kevin Gleeson 1960-2016 [Photo by Mark Young]

As I said recently on social media, I don’t place much store in concepts of any kind of afterlife, but I hope that Kev is having a great time at The Big Gig in the Sky, dancing forever with his beloved, who also left us way too soon a few years ago.

So, my mantra is live your life well, with honesty and integrity and love unreservedly.

Life is short.