I love spring. The cycle of the seasons visibly turns and every day brings new things in the garden, the chickens are laying more eggs than we can keep up with, and here in Hobart we’re coming out of the hibernation of winter and starting to go out again.
Rhubarb Fool
Vanilla Ice Cream
Wee Beastie Sourdough
And I’ve been busy! In the kitchen I’ve been making Vanilla Ice Cream and Baked Coffee Cheesecake with the excess eggs, brewing and bottling cider, making Rhubarb Fool from the mass of spring rhubarb and my weekly “Wee Beastie” Sourdough. It’s been absolutely wonderful to eat so well, with so much produce coming directly out of the garden.
The garden is always a work in progress but I’ve started planting out climbing beans this week, there’s basil in the greenhouse and too many vegetable seedlings coming on to mention.
And there’s music happening too! I’m in the middle of a unit in Creative Writing for my second major through Griffith University. For my final assessment I’m planning to write a portfolio of new pieces that will become new songs. Depending how it goes, perhaps the core of another album.
Meanwhile, there’s gigs coming up too.
This Sunday at The Brunswick Hotel in Hobart, I’m playing a short set out in The Yard (the beer garden) with a bunch of other local musicians, including the incredibly talented Cassie O’Keefe and my friend Matt Dean. Very pleased also that this is a family friendly show, so feel free to bring your young music-lovers 🙂
Thursday 19th November, I’m sharing a night with Cassie at The Homestead in Elizabeth Street, one of my favourite places to go and hang out with friends. No idea what’s going to happen that one – we might even work out some songs to play together!
Friday 20th November, I’ll be doing the early spot at The Globe Hotel in Davey Street. If you haven’t caught this weekly event yet, I really recommend it. It’s organised by Kevin Gleeson who basically loves all kinds of music and is good friends with so many of us. It’s a great excuse to hang out and have a good time with mates.
And there’s more on the horizon! If you want to keep up to date with my shenanigans, hook up with me on Facebook here.
Yep, it’s spring and it’s busy – just how I like it.
So, last week before the snow hit Hobart, I went on a jaunt up to Burnie and Launceston. I haven’t played in Northern Tasmania for a few years. Too long some friends up there told me – and I have to agree!
Although it was primarily to support Butterscotch Pony launch their single, I found an excellent venue in Cafe Jucobi in Upper Burnie, where the welcome is warm and the food is excellent. There was a very small audience but it made for an intimate gig and we all had fun, despite some pretty awful weather. My heartfelt thanks to Stacey Wing, who not only organised the gig but also gave us somewhere to stay, fed us and is generally something of a superstar in my book ❤
Launceston was great fun! We arrived early at Shots on Wax in St John St, which meant brunch before a lunchtime gig. The coffee was perfect and I can highly recommend the pastrami melts! This was to promote the Butterscotch Pony single launch later that night and the idea was we’d do a teaser of the evening show, each doing two songs from our sets. Also, I had the opportunity to catch up with a friend I haven’t seen for four years. Seeing Phil was worth the whole trip 🙂 I had such a great time and it must have been okay, as Andy wants me back to do a Launceston launch of my solo CD later in the year 😉
Then off to the Northern Club, a beautiful old building in Cameron Street. After dealing with all the usual issues of discovering there wasn’t the right sound gear there for the gig and managing to source that gear, we all managed to get a sound check and had time for a sumptuous feast before the silliness started.
Me being a loudmouth – image courtesy of Josh Troy
It was a great crowd and I caught up with another dear friend I literally hadn’t seen for years – absolute bonus that Mareka had her now adult son and his partner with her. All the acts were great but headliners Butterscotch Pony were their usual brilliant and unique selves. If you haven’t had the BP experience, I highly recommend it!
While I really enjoyed playing, I did get accosted by a drunk towards the end of the night who was happy to tell me what I “have to do”. It was quite hilarious and a little sad when she put her hand up and said “I know what you’re thinking”. I somehow doubt she did…….
After a long few days, we discovered a stuff up in accommodation arrangements, we wouldn’t be able to get to our room until after 3am. *Sigh*
So, I found the all night petrol stop in the middle of Launceston (who make excellent coffee, by the way) I hit the highway with my trusty wing man, and under the light of the blue moon, made it safely into my own bed at 3:30am. Worth the drive ❤
What are your best/worst road trip experiences? Leave your thoughts in the comments – I want to hear your stories!
I’m incredibly honored to be the feature artist that night – which also means I’ll be under examination by MC Matt Dean prior to my set. If you want to hear me rabbit on about my craft, performing and mentoring please come along. As with all ASA Wax Lyrical nights, this is a free show.
At the moment, I’m trying to find out if we can film the interview so those of you who are interested but don’t live here can get an opportunity to see and hear what I’m about.
It’s been a long day. I watched the moon set this morning over My Wellington in Hobart, as I fed myself, the rabbits and the chickens. I filled up on coffee, packed the car and drove off from chilly Hobart to the beautiful east coast.
I stopped a couple of times to stretch my protesting muscles and joints and walk around. One of the things I’ve noticed battling arthritis over the years is that I need to keep moving and if I’m stuck behind the wheel for any longer than an hour I start to fidget. Safer to pull over and walk around for a while. So, first stop was Orford, on the banks of the Prosser River, incredibly pretty as the mist was burning off in the warm winter sun.
So nice to see Black Swans feeding in the shallows and smell eucalyptus again!
Further up the Tasman Highway, I stopped for a stroll along one of my favourite places at Old Man Creek. Nestled into the cliffs, there’s a small camping ground and a gorgeous white sand beach.
Even in mid winter, there were a few people at the dozen or so campsites and it made me reminisce about many camping trips I’ve spent there going back thirty years or so. It was lovely just to walk, breathe in the sea air, listen to rhythm of the waves and watch sunlight on the water. Also, it was surprisingly warm for this time of the year and very sheltered from the prevailing westerly winds. Pretty close to perfect conditions 🙂
As I write, I’m crashed on the couch at the Bicheno Backpackers, very comfortable and full of Earl Grey tea. The sun is slipping away and its starting to chill off quite rapidly.
Tomorrow, I go to say hello to a friend when in actual fact, it is the biggest and final goodbye. Jeff is dying and there’s nothing any of us can do about it. I have strange and conflicted feelings about the whole thing. Above all, I know this is the right thing for me to do, to celebrate this dear friend while I can, with him before he passes away.
Just a quick update, aimed especially at friends in northern Tasmania.
I’ll be playing at Cafe Jucobi, Mount St, Upper Burnie on Friday 31st July. I understand this is a newish venue and becoming pretty popular for good food and live music. Really looking forward to this, as I’ll get to hang out with local music lover and fellow gardener, Stacey Wing.
Stacey is a fantastic supporter and organiser of local live music and the following night is presenting her regular B.L.I.N.G Bash #8. One of these days I hope to get up and play one of these shows, they sound amazing fun!
Saturday 1st August, I’ll be at the Northern Club, 61 Cameron Street, Launceston. Here, I’ll be supporting my dear friends Matt and Michaela (aka as Butterscotch Pony) who are releasing a new double a-side single Bicycle/Planned Accidents Never Happen. I’ll be taking my trusty camera (Wayne) with me, so there’ll also be a photographic record of the ensuing mayhem!
So, if you live in or near Burnie or Launceston, I hope I’ll see you at one of these shows.
Meanwhile, I have to start packing for a happy/sad trip to say goodbye to a terminally ill friend this weekend. I know it’s going to be hard but I wouldn’t miss it for anything.
As I write, it’s early evening in Hobart, already dark and overcast. It’s been unseasonably warm the last couple of days, very welcome after days of frost. It’s currently about 12 degrees C (54 F for those of you in the US) and I’m fairly well rugged up for an evening of reading and writing.
However, tonight I’ve got an eye on other things. My beautiful son is by now on the other side of the world in sunny Rome. At the moment it’s about midday there and a balmy 25C (77F). Although he’s probably jet lagged and sleeping it off, I’m envious! He’s in his early 20’s and has gone off to explore places he discovered in history classes and catch up with friends in Europe and the UK. I won’t see him until late September but I’m sure I’ll hear plenty about the weather, the great food, the people, the amazing architecture and the history when he returns.
Apart from the prospect of better weather than a Tasmanian winter, I think I’m just getting itchy feet to go travelling again. I’m planning a couple of weeks in New Zealand at the end of the year, something I’ve wanted to do for many years but never got round to. At this stage it looks like I’ll be playing at least a few gigs while I’m away but I’m hoping to do some house concerts while I’m there. I love the intimacy of playing to a small listening audience and in my experience, you meet the nicest people at these kind of shows.
If you know of or run house concerts in New Zealand please contact me, I’m keen to learn more and ease these itchy feet!
Love to you all, wherever you are on this beautiful planet……
Well, last night saw the Australian Songwriters Association – Tasmania‘s final gig at Irish Murphy’s in Salamanca Place. It was a raw night to be out and about – the weather here in Hobart has been typically Winter (with a capital W) since last month’s plunge into single digit temperatures. However, kudos to all the brave folks who came out on such a night to support and perform – you are all diamonds!
It bears noting that the opening act was emerging songwriter, Cassie O’Keefe, who has really improved as a performer – so much so that I let her use my Seagull guitar last night!
Cassie has really come into her own in the last year or so, thanks in part to the amazing support of her wonderful family and friends – and shows like the ASA, which provide a wonderful avenue for new writer/performers to share the stage with proven hands like Tony Brennan, myself and the consummate professional, Ian Paulin.
I’m therefore very pleased to tell you all that I’m taking Cassie down to Belfry Studio next month, where she’ll be recording with my favourite engineer in all the planet, Malcolm Battersby. It’s an incredibly gratifying experience to see someone grow from an uncertain child into a powerful young woman, who can turn a pub crowd on a Monday night into a listening audience, and hold them in the palm of her hand. It’s every teacher/mentor’s dream and inspires me to keep doing what I do 😀
Also, I must mention the fine work by the ASA Tasmania coordinator, Matt Sertori. His job has been so difficult over the last few months, with people pulling out at the last minute or turning up late for their set. Seriously, organising musicians is like herding cats, and not for the faint hearted – we are a difficult mob! Matt has kept his temper and his outrageous sense of humour well intact and I thank him for all his support and unwavering friendship over more than ten years of ASA shows.
I’m not sure where the ASA will be heading next, there isn’t a venue lined up at the time of writing – but that in itself is kind of exciting and makes me wonder what we can do next!
Watch this space and stay safe and well, wherever you are on this beautiful planet ❤
Just a reminder wherever you are on this beautiful planet, go out this Saturday and support your local record store – it’s World Record Store Day! It doesn’t matter if you don’t have a turntable or even a CD player. The reality of running a bricks and mortar business in the 21st century means that you can buy not only CDs and vinyl at stores but also t-shirts, posters, books about musicians and other music related things.
I’m heading to one of Hobart’s hidden treasures, R & R’s Retro Music and Clothing Shoppe in the Imperial Arcade, off Collins Street in the city (shop 8/138 Collins Street, Hobart TAS 7000). The owners, Ross and Rhonda are much more than just business people. They’re truly passionate about music and in particular, supporting local Tasmanian artists. They have things in their shop that hark back to my misspent youth and my earliest times exploring the Tasmanian music scene as well as new work by emerging and established musicians. If you live outside Tasmania, call them to ask about their extensive catalogue (03) 6224 4891 or 61+3+6224 4891 if you’re overseas.
Anyway, Ross and Rhonda have kindly agreed to not only open their store this Saturday, but also host a showcase of very talented local musos – including me 🙂 If you’re in Hobart, I recommend you call in. It’s around the corner from my favourite book shop, Cracked and Spineless New and Used Books, who will also be open – just watch out for Mike and Richard dancing along with the rest of us 😉
For locals, if you’ve got any Wild Pumpkins at Midnight recordings, posters or memorabilia, please bring it along and I’m happy to sign it, coo over it and generally reminisce. Hopefully, see you there!
I feel like I’ve lost a couple of months somewhere, it’s been so hectic and now I realise that spring is here and I haven’t done half the things I meant to this calendar year. But I have managed a few that I wasn’t expecting!
The university experience has been wonderful so far although I won’t pretend I’ve enjoyed every unit. At the moment, I’m preparing papers on two of my favourite things – Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds and the personal still camera. And I’ve had to watch classic films such as Rear Window and Citizen Kane. Yes, I’m loving my units this semester!
But today I’ve been distracted from study. Tomorrow night I’m playing at a House Concert in Hobart with wonderful Queensland singer/songwriter Francesca de Valence and Hobart duo Butterscotch Pony in one of their all-too-rare live shows. However, instead of doing a solo set or playing with the wonderful girls in Straddlepuss (more on that next time!) I’m doing a special set with dear friend (and half of Butterscotch Pony), Matt Sertori.
We’ve been friends for a long time and decided early in the year that we wanted to do a music project together that included a documentary about our personal process and the creative world that we inhabit. We’ve done some filming already but will be adding to it at this gig. Meanwhile, our trusty doco guru, Josh Troy put this little gem together to promote this event. I hope it makes you laugh as much as it did all of us!
Please note, there’s some bad language at the end 😉
And we really did decide to call it ‘All at Sea’. The moral of the story is Matt has the attention span of a flea………… ❤
greenhouse and too many vegetable seedlings coming on to mention.
Debra Manskey 