THANK YOU

You know how sometimes you are standing in a venue watching a band and you imagine what it would be like to be up there playing to all of those people? And you go off into a little bit of a fantasy of how that might feel and you wonder what that performer is thinking. What's running through their head? Are they nervous? Are they having fun? Are they thinking about getting home and having a hot toddie and a bath? I digress...

Last night we finally made it onto the Corner stage as a headline. It was one of those nights that feels like a good dream. The rider (booze and food) is generous, the people you have asked to come and support you are some of your favourite bands, you know the sound and lights are going to be hitting the mark, everyone seems happy and the room is filling up nicely. Even the cd's you have selected to play between each band set are making you smile.

Then you walk onto stage and feel a packed room receive your homecoming show with absolute respect.

That was last night at the Corner.

I got a call from the Droid (our violinist) this morning saying that the hour she was onstage last night was one of the best hours of her life. Sholaki (our drummer) echoed that sentiment. There's just nothing better than playing live music to people who 'get it'.

So to EVERYONE who came out of their homes on a wintry eve around the country to show their support - we want to thank YOU for making our first headline tour something we will never forget.

Love
JC/ESea
xx

QLD miserable one day, raining the next.

Ok so I am going to blow the myth on Queensland being this sunny retreat old people escape to in their twilight years to play bingo and get quietly shickered on pimms while the sun warms their arthritic bones. Queensland rains and rains and rains in winter. There you go. Myth busted! So while we are on this theme, here are the top 3 myths about Queensland that we managed to bust apart whilst on tour:

Myth 1: Qld is always sunny in winter. BUSTED!

Myth 2: Four X is a beer. NO IT"S NOT - BUSTED!

Myth 3: Bananas are cheaper. BUSTED AGAIN!

That said we had some FANTASTIC shows in Queensland.

Brisbane was sold out!

People stage dived (i kid you not!) on the Gold Coast.

A crazy gang of sheila's let us join their dragster bike gang (the Roadking Tredley's) and even made us transfer Tee Shirts!

And the hospitality was top notch wherever we played, drinks flowed, food was made with love and people were up for a good yarn.

Although my bathers never made it out of the suitcase, in my desperate attempt to get a cheeky tan on the side before returning home to arctic conditions, your craziness and enthusiasm inspired us to live a little!

JC/ESea
x

The definition of COLD.

1. Putting a heater on side of stage at the National in Geelong whilst playing a gig with scarves and jackets on.

2. The night air in Ballarat that is so cold you are sober the minute you walk out into it.

3. Waking up in the middle of the night in Adelaide after the adrenalin has worn off and putting on your tracky dax and another top so that you can go back to sleep.

4. Needing to put your nose under the covers because it feels like it's going to fall off.

Cures to the COLD.

1. Laura Jean and I invented - THE DOONA SUIT - a full body jump-suit made out of a doona (quilt for those outside of Australia) that has an internal heating mechanism and a hood that inflates into a pillow. It also has an internal homing device and can fly so that when you need to get home after a gig you can set it to your destination and fall alseep in heated doona warmth.

2. Dancing crowds that like a cheeky ale.

3. Dancing with Scotty from Andrew Morris/Gin Club to 80's disco. That man has ALL tha moves.

Thanks Geeelong, The 'Rat and Adelaide for braving the COLD and coming out to warm us up.

JC/ESea
x

Oomy.

"Touring is exhausting!", remarked Callen (our violinist Andrea's partner) after accompanying us on the NSW leg of our national tour. Indeed...
I awoke this morning truly broken after a glamorous ten hour drive back from Sydney and crept down to my local organic vegie store where my friend Hannah sorted me out with a Kahuna massage. It's an Hawaiian full body extravaganza which I highly recommend to anyone feeling a little creaky/cranky/manky this winter. I am now recovering after being instructed to drink lots of water so I don't feel worse tomorrow...

Tour highlights in this order:

1. Watching Laura Jean break people's hearts with her incredible songs.

2. The Lebanese food Jad's mum prepares at the Brass Monkey in Cronulla. I would walk over broken glass to eat her falafel and dolmades.

3. The packed house at the Annandale in Sydney on a freezing rainy Saturday night. We thought that after two sell out shows a month earlier we would be pushing our luck and were preparing for the worst...

Lowlights:

1. The Droid's (Andrea's) overuse of the word 'oomy' to describe the stomach virus she brought along on tour.

2. Lord Geoffrey Dunbar (bass man) finding glass in his potatoes in Katoomba.

3. Me, Sholaki (our drummer) and the Droid getting up at 6am to drive from Katoomba to Sydney to appear on Virginia Trioli's ABC Sydney breakfast show (such a fan!!) setting up our instruments and microphones, with headphones on, eyeballing the big V, only to discover the Snowy Hydro debate took precedence...next time Trioli, next time.

Thank you to everyone who made it to a show - you continue to surprise us.
JC/Esea
x

I love this shot of Michael our guitarist and Joel Plaskett from Canada, backstage at the Spanish Club.