Lost in the Woods

When we lived in Erskineville, we did our shopping at Marrickville Metro – I spent a lot of time there hanging out with my daughter in the indoor playground.

So it’s a real honour for the band to be included in Richard Brigg’s vast & rambling mural at the Met – I look forward to seeing it in person at some point. (photos courtesy of the artist)

From the artist’s instagram post:

“The floor is clean and i still have holes in my shoes; Its been a long project, but the finishing line is very close. I’ll be down at the @marrickvillemetro (just off smidmore street under the new bridge) from around 11am this coming Sunday putting some finishing touches to the wall drawing, all about community stories, people, place and landscape.

“Come on down and say hello if you are in the area; many locals have inspired and been part of this process and it would be nice to share some of the beautiful and amazing experiences that this artwork embraces.”

Pic by Kirsty Sue Elliott

Thanks to everyone who came out last night. Our first gig in 21 months was pretty special. Sold out both sessions (that’s 95 bums on seats), played a solid hour of music each session (half of which was new songs), and the audiences were fantastic.

The band is sounding better than ever, and it was a treat to have Gav Waring join us for a few songs. We’d really put a lot of time into the new material, and some of it is pretty out there (a friend of Rory’s said we’d moved “from Nashville to Detroit”), and it was gratifying to see people digging it.

Big thanks to Elmo from Gasoline Pony, who was very helpful.

We had a gig – our first since Covid – scheduled for July 10 at the Gasoline Pony. But then Sydney went into lockdown again, and that gig has been postponed until August 28.

It’s frustrating. We’ve been jamming regularly, most weeks, and we’re keen to share the new songs. There’s a lot of them. And we want to put out the new album (we’re calling it ‘Your Lights Still Rise’), but we feel like we need to get some momentum happening. It would feel weird, just putting out an album, in the middle of all this.

But we’ll get there. People need to get vaccinated, then vaccinated again, and then we’ll be on our way. In the meantime, we’ll keep writing songs, and playing them, and arranging them. Working on harmonies. What else can you do?

Last year we spent a few days up the coast, jamming and recording. We’re planning on releasing an album of material from that session in 2021, but in the meantime, here’s ‘The Road to the Crater’. Mixed and mastered by Nathan Brand, engineered by Richard Austin, artwork by Rory Toomey.  All the best to you for the new year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-WuQsxf4fM

It’s been a weird year for everybody. Here in NSW, we’ve had bushfires, floods, and then COVID, all set against that low-mosquito-drone of impending ecological ruin and political ruin… anyway.

We were in lockdown for a while, but nothing like Melbourne. WFH has been mostly a blessing  (having steady work at all during this time is a blessing).  I’ve been playing guitar a lot, more than ever, and writing lots of songs.

Brian and Nathan tune up at Stage Door studios, October 2020.

And the band has been jamming. Not every week, but pretty regularly, and we’re sounding good. Obviously it’s frustrating not being able to play to an audience. You really don’t know a song until you’ve played it at a gig. Some surefire classics have been quietly retired after an underwhelming reception from a roomful of friends and strangers.

About a year back we headed up the coast for  a few days to record. My gut feeling was that we had an EP’s worth of songs, but a playback last weekend suggested that we have 12 good songs – enough for an album. There’s a little bit more to do – a guitar overdub here, a vocal there – but thanks to Nathan’s expertise and hard work with the mix, we’re almost there.

So – we’re considering our options as to how and when we’ll get that album released. Hopefully it won’t be too long. And then it will be time to record another. And play some gigs, maybe.

All the best and stay safe.
Brian