Merry Muse

Taliska On Tour In ACT, NSW and Victoria, 2014

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Taliska. Image courtesy of Taliska.
Taliska. Image courtesy of Taliska.

Taliska On Tour To Eurobodalla, Jenolan Caves, ACT and Victoria, 2014

Taliska is bringing a taste of Scotland to a parts of New South Wales and the ACT this month. They’re then plying their Celtic trade closer to home in Ringwood and Portarlington (Victoria) and many places beyond.

Hopefully they’ll be near you, and if they’re not, that’s just all the more reason to start loving their music and get them to your town next time they’re back this way.

OR get yourself on a Greyhound or Murray’s bus to one of the three venues, stat.

Definitely like them on Facebook and follow the trails, talents and travails of Taliska.

Who are Taliska?

Claire Patti has a voice that has to be heard to be believed, and she plays the harp (the stringed one), french horn and piano accordion. Claire sings harmonies with the guitar-playing band leader Marcus de Rijk (note the strong Scottish influence in that name — mmm, maybe not so much), while Geoff Jones plays pipes, whistles and bodhran. Angus Downing makes the whole thing fly with his wonderful fiddle playing. Taliska’s traditional Ceilidh will have your feet pounding the tiles.

The mini tour will take in a gig at the always popular Merry Muse in their new home at the Burns Club in Kambah, a performance at the majestic Jenolan Caves plus a house concert in one of the best locations on the Eurobodalla Nature Coast at Congo (just south of Moruya).

T1
Image courtesy of Taliska

Continue reading →

Interview: Rory McLeod (audio)

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Image courtesy of Rory McLeod dot com
Image courtesy of Rory McLeod dot com

No time to make this one pretty this morning! I’ll tidy up later today.

For Canberrians, I would absolutely, literally, monstrously love to see you at the Merry Muse this Thursday:

http://www.facebook.com/events/154810818000213/ for FarceBookers, and

http://merrymuse.org.au/wb/pages/posts/thursday-january-24-rory-mcleod-plus-night-potion-admission-20-mfs-members-22-conc-25-other184.php for the more secular yet still e-conscious of you.

The text is coming soon to Timber and Steel,

Rory McLeod is coming very soon to you (Sydney on Tuesday night, Katoomba on Wednesday, Canberra on Thursday) and all points south and west thereafter.

Unfortunately I underestimated how much sound spill we ha to contend with a 1am or whatever time it was under the grandstand at Illawarra Folk Festival, but you get the general idea:

*** THE AUDIO OF THIS INTERVIEW HAS BEEN DELETED FROM SOUNDCLOUD DUE TO SPACE LIMITATIONS ***

*** THE AUDIO OF THIS INTERVIEW HAS BEEN DELETED FROM SOUNDCLOUD DUE TO SPACE LIMITATIONS ***

And this is a little clearer: the crowd gives Rory a timely send-off on Sunday afternoon:

*** THE AUDIO OF THIS INTERVIEW HAS BEEN DELETED FROM SOUNDCLOUD DUE TO SPACE LIMITATIONS ***

*** THE AUDIO OF THIS INTERVIEW HAS BEEN DELETED FROM SOUNDCLOUD DUE TO SPACE LIMITATIONS ***

See you at the Merry Muse on Thursday night: http://www.facebook.com/events/154810818000213/?fref=ts

2012: An Overheard Productions year in review

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Overheard Productions

2012 in review

[Insert audible groan of indecision mixed with ‘Oh well, why the hell not’-ness.]

I realise that ‘Year in Review’ blogs and lists can seem as passé as flash mobs and….. other things that are passé.

Like saying that things are ‘passé’.

But as per the opening sentence, ‘Why not?’.

As with many things that I’ve written since age 14, this may provide a mixture of utility for others (especially if I’m reduxing your interview or news event) and utility for me. It’s a natural progression from the Year in Review emails and Farcebook notes I’ve written in years gone by.

This 2012 version was prompted by that nonsensical Farcebook function that purports to consolidate your 20 biggest moments of 2012, using an algorithm that was obviously created by a very finite number of monkeys on a finite number of very old typewriters.

Radio

My glittering pseudo-career on community radio took an extended break in May when I hung up my boots from Artsound FM.

I love presenting radio programs. I’ve discovered so much good music, so many talented performers and met so many good people through it. But it’s nice to have a little more breathing room and leisure time.

I tend to throw myself in to things like this, boots and all, somtimes at the cost of sensible balance with other things, so I have enjoyed putting my energies into other areas.

Continue reading →

Jenny M Thomas and the System + The Lucky Wonders, Canberra, Friday 17 August

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Jenny M Thomas and the System
Jenny M Thomas and the System

Jenny M Thomas and the System

with The Lucky Wonders

Merry Muse, Turner Bowling Club, Canberra

Friday 17 August 2012, 7.30 for 8pm

Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/events/474267682592212/

I’m going to have my patented two grabs at this interview.

Firstly, here’s an edited version of a radio interview I did not so long ago with Jenny M Thomas as the album ‘Bush Gothic’ was launching. I’ve just surgically removed a couple of references to the then gig at another venue:

*** THE AUDIO OF THIS INTERVIEW HAS BEEN DELETED FROM SOUNDCLOUD DUE TO SPACE LIMITATIONS ***

*** THE AUDIO OF THIS INTERVIEW HAS BEEN DELETED FROM SOUNDCLOUD DUE TO SPACE LIMITATIONS ***

So, on Friday 17 August, Jenny M Thomas and the System will be performing at the Merry Muse and you can find out all those gig details there now.

Tonight, after Jenny spends approximately an hour in hair, wardrobe and make-up, I’ll be talking with Jenny on the phone from Melbourne to get the latest on what’s going on with her and the System. Gotta keep it fresh, y’all.

And THEN the text of said interview will appear here or on a very fine folk blog — details will be posted here either way.

OK. I think we’re done for now. If you haven’t clicked on the link on the sound file yet, have a watch of this great video from ABC Radio.

STOP PRESS

In sharing the event information with the support act, I stumbled across this video on their Facebook page and, not for the first time this 24 hours, fell in instant metaphoric musical love. Click play and soak into this one like you would a warm tub. Wonderful:

A Punter’s Perspective #35 — Pat Drummond: A tribute while he’s still alive

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Pat Drummond performs at his own tribute
Pat Drummond performs at his own tribute

A Punter’s Perspective

Random observations on the wide, weird world of folk from the side of the stage

#35 Pat Drummond: A tribute while he’s still alive
First published in Trad and Now magazine, May 2012

Don’t freak; Pat Drummond isn’t leaving the planet any time soon that we know of.

However, in this the year that Pat celebrates several major milestones, a raft of talented musicians and others threw together one hell of a tribute show in Canberra to honour the man.

Some milestones: 60 years on the planet, 45 years writing songs, 40 years married, 35 years in the music business, and 25 years since he was arrested for climbing the harbour bridge before it was legal.

Pat, you don’t look a day over 205. Continue reading →

The Pat Drummond interviews, May 2012

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Pat Drummond tribute concert, Merry Muse, Canberra
Pat Drummond tribute concert, Merry Muse, Canberra

Pat Drummond interviews

The day after the tribute night before

Pat Drummond has built up a formidable musical legacy. And he’s not done yet.

So while he could attend his own tribute concert, sit in the front row, and inevitably jump up and provide a fair slice of the entertainment himself, he did just that.

The brain-child of long-time friend Craig Dawson, the night was held at The Merry Muse, Turner Bowling Club on Friday 18 May 2012.

For more details on the actual night, see the ‘A Punter’s Perspective’ column in the May edition of ‘Trad and Now‘ magazine. $4.90 in newsagents and considerably less online.

And for the audio of the actual interviews, click below. My apologies for the quality of the audio; my MP3 recorder is taking a holiday somewhere without me and has resisted all entreaties to Saint Anthony to show itself. So the audio tracks are on a very average voice recorder on my soon-to-be ex-phone.

*** THE AUDIO OF THIS INTERVIEW HAS BEEN DELETED FROM SOUNDCLOUD DUE TO SPACE LIMITATIONS ***

and

*** THE AUDIO OF THIS INTERVIEW HAS BEEN DELETED FROM SOUNDCLOUD DUE TO SPACE LIMITATIONS ***

Thanks, Pat, for the last 35 years. Looking forward to the next 35.

Pat Drummond starts the evening as a mere spectator
Pat Drummond starts the evening as a mere spectator
Pat Drummond, Geoff Drummond and Fred Pilcher -- video to follow!
Pat Drummond, Fred Pilcher and Geoff Drummond — video to follow!

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The Go Set interview with Justin Keenan for Artsound FM and Overheard Productions

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The Go Set
The Go Set

The Go Set interview with Justin Keenan

for Artsound FM and Overheard Productions

Oh lordy, lordy, lordy.

Some days the universe gives you lemons, and you can either make lemonade or a whisky sour — then tip out the sour and chug down the whisky.

Tonight, necessity was the mother of invention, and later on tonight, I’ll post a picture that will explain why this otherwise lovely interview sounds like poor old Justin is at the end of a very long string, talking into a rather large tin can.

Resonance we don’t got; noise modulation we do; and a modicum of normalisation and balancing. But you can’t overdo these things.

Who cares? The Go Set are coming to Canberra on Friday 20 April:

The Merry Muse (Turner Bowlo, Canberra Southern Cross Club)
54 McCaughey Street
Turner ACT
Doors 7.15pm

Support: Chloe Hall and Silas Palmer
$17 full/$14 concessions/$12 Monaro Folk Society members
16yo and less are free if accompanied

And here be the interview:

*** THE AUDIO OF THIS INTERVIEW HAS BEEN DELETED FROM SOUNDCLOUD DUE TO SPACE LIMITATIONS ***

*** THE AUDIO OF THIS INTERVIEW HAS BEEN DELETED FROM SOUNDCLOUD DUE TO SPACE LIMITATIONS ***

The Go Set interview with Justin Keenan for Artsound FM and Overheard Productions

And if you listen to the interview here, or you heard it on Friday morning on Artsound FM, you may have detected two things:

1. Some pretty average sound quality, and

2. A camera click.

Due to some technical challenges and the fact that I really had to get the interview done there and then, I took the shortest distance between two points: a straight line.

Neccesity is the mother of invention -- recording the interview with Justin in Studio Two at Artsound FM with a bog standard speaker phone and my iRiver
Neccesity is the mother of invention — recording the interview with Justin in Studio Two at Artsound FM with a bog standard speaker phone and my iRiver

 

The Go Set plus Chloe Hall and Silas Palmer, The Merry Muse (Canberra), Friday 20 April

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Chloe Hall and Silas Palmer
Chloe Hall and Silas Palmer

Canberra, it’s your chance to see the unusual pairing of The Go Set headlining with Chloe Hall and Silas Palmer as support.

Hear the ‘Tax Office Love Song’ love and other tales of love, stuff, and love and then we’ll kick the chairs to one side and The Go Set will turn the dance floor into sawdust. For more details:

http://merrymuse.org.au/wb/pages/posts/friday-20-april-the-go-set-chloe-and-silas153.php

The Go Set
The Go Set

If this doesn’t get your feet tapping, check for a pulse…