Generations in Jazz

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BLOG ENTRY 18/05/10

I’ve been away! Spent a weekend in Mt  Gambier participating in the finals for the James Morrison Generations in Jazz Vocal Scholarship. It was awesome to be back in Mt Gambier (having participated in last years’ finals too) and so amazing to meet the other finalists – all these talented young musicians not unlike myself, but so diverse at the same time. Sorry fans, no win, but I’m very happy to say that the competition was stiff and that the winner (one Kate Kelsey-Sugg) was very deserving. A highlight was being able to rub shoulders and play with such fantastic Australian musicians as Phil Stack (of Thirsty Merc), James Muller, Emma Pask, Graeme Lyall, The Idea of North and of course, the man himself, James Morrison. This guy is so generous – after a full weekend of adjudicating not only the finalists for the vocal AND instrumental scholarships, as well as adjudicating division one of the National Stage Band Competition; at our celebration dinner on the last night, instead of sitting back and enjoying the good food and wine, he takes all 12 finalists into an adjoining room, one by one, and gives us all individual feedback plus a chat about music and life in general. What a champ… it’s good to know that the big people still care about the little people.

Checking out Mt Gambier's famous Blue Lake.

Soulaverse at the Funk Club

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BLOG ENTRY 08/05/10

What a packed and electric gig was the 3rd Soulaverse night at the Funk Club! I shared the stage with my mates The Accumulated Gestures who were launching their first single – these guys are like smooth D’Angelo meets the dirtiness of old school funk and soul, and they host a great party! And what is Soulaverse, you ask? Soulaverse is a collective of diverse groove-based artists in Perth, of which both The Accumulated Gestures and I are very proud to be members… in fact, the collective was largely initiated by Donovan, the lead singer of The AG’s. Among us there are bands, beat makers and emcees churning out a range of eclectic vibes ranging from neo-soul to hip hop to electro-funk. At the moment Soulaverse has a monthly residency at the Funk Club – do check these nights out, I guarantee there’ll be a different flavour every month!

Blog Entry 23/03/2010

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Wow… so I’m finally getting a handle on mixing the sound of and editing the CD Launch footage. Don’t you love DIY? A day in the life of an aspiring self-managed musician. Check out the “Videos” tab to relive the CD Launch! In the coming weeks/ months I may put more tracks from the gig up here… and hopefully by then there’ll be more exciting things to report, especially given a little stint of gigs coming up in May and June. Hope you enjoy my homemade videos… plenty of butter!!

Once Upon A Time – lyrics & inspiration

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This song was written in a kind of subconscious stream… I’m not quite sure why I wrote it but whenever I perform it, it moves me very deeply. I guess it’s about confusion in identifying what is true love and what is passing fancy… we all have to tread this path.

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I Look Up – lyrics & inspiration

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I wrote this song whilst I was living for nine months in Alice Springs, which is a small town in the heart of Australia. I dedicated these nine months to establishing a program for kids aged 11-15 called the Junior-Youth Empowerment program – it seeks to empower young people to discover their talents and use them to serve humanity, to make moral decisions, express themselves in a constructive way and to become agents of change in the world. With my main focus being on service to humanity, these nine months were one long spiritual high for me. This song was born out of this high – I guess it’s an anthem of hope for the world. Some of the lyrics come from my convictions as a member of the Baha’i Faith that all of humankind is one family, that we were created to love one another and that world peace is not only possible but inevitable.

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Accidental – lyrics & inspiration

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I wrote this song about a year ago. I was in a philosophical mood, pondering on the wonders of the universe. This world and the human mind are both so amazing that I think that it could be no accident that we are here; that we must all be here for a purpose. To me, science and spirituality are two complementary paths to approaching truth and knowledge.

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Undertones – lyrics & inspiration

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This is an old song that I wrote back in my high school days… it’s about the games of romantic hints that people play.

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I Look Up (Live)

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Message In The Bottle (Cover)

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Blog Entry 18/01/2010

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Hiya! Finally, I’ve gotten some of the website features working… yipee! I’ve never been much of a tech-head, which means I’m learning all of this from scratch, so I’m feeling very proud of myself right now :)

Just finished a big stint of gigs over the festive season and coming back down to earth now, trying to get myself organised for this year. Eek! As I’ve now finished uni, I’m hunting for a day job (music teaching, etc), and I’m looking up grants so that I can perhaps go on tour at the end of the year. Also doing some research to see how I can get a gig playing at a major music festival… that would be great exposure! All this isn’t easy though, and procrastination is currently my worst enemy… *sigh*

Meanwhile, I’m STILL sifting through footage from the CD Launch for something to put online… will keep you posted!