Jen Cloher

TOP TEN ALBUMS OF THE PAST DECADE

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Cloher) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 09:36:00 +0000

I’ve been reading everyone else’s top ten albums of the year and stumbled across Paste magazines top 100 albums of the decade. It got me thinking - what were the top ten albums of the last decade for me?

I thought it would be hard. So many great albums, how would I fit them all in? But it was actually much easier than I thought. Sure there were some amazing albums released in the last decade, a lot of them not here on my list. But I realised that for me, the top ten albums are the ones that take me back to a moment in my life - as corny as it sounds – the soundtrack to that time in my life.

We all have them, the records you put on and the memories flood back. The images might be of a house you lived in, or someone you loved, or a day you took a drive and listened to the album and had a good cry. I'm a big fan of driving and crying.

As I compiled my list I had a sudden sense of how much had come to pass in my life in the last decade. I felt a good dose of nostalgia as I thought about these albums. I realised how much I LOVED these albums and still do.

My list isn’t about covering all of the genres of music, I’m no expert when it comes to hip hop for example. Nor am I a music editor who needs to assert how musically brilliant or edgy a release was in order to uphold their reputation. I don’t even listen to a whole heap of music, there would be hundreds of albums that I might have liked better than the ones below, that I’ve simply never heard.

For whatever reason these are the records that found me and owned me. My list.

I encourage you to take the time to do the same. It feels bloody marvellous.

1.Time (the Revelator) – Gillian Welch (2001)

2. Fox Confessor Brings the Flood – Neko Case (2006)

3. Yankee Foxtrot Hotel – Wilco (2002)

4. Seachange – Beck (2002)

5. Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea – PJ Harvey (2000)

6. Sunset Studies – Augie March (2000)

7. The Covers Record/ You are Free – Cat Power (2000/2003)

8. Abattoir Blues/ The Lyre of Orpheus - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (2004)

9. Essence - Lucinda Williams (2000)

10. Wires – Art of Fighting (2001) & Future Suture - Ned Collette (2007)

MISGNOMER

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Cloher) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 11:25:00 +0000

The flight to Perth is like going to New Zealand or Asia. You get a good old fashioned proper meal with wine and beer if you so desire - none of this snack pack rubbish with more packaging than actual food. Then a B grade movie and an icecream. Before you know it - four hours have passed and you are safe and sound in Perth.

Some facts: Perth like Melbourne is flat. The Short Macc cafe in Fremantle has the BEST fruit and muesli EVER. Felicity Groom & The Black Black Smoke are an excellent band. Bunbury hasn't changed since we last visited in 2006.

In fact the SAME football team were staying at the Prince of Wales this time around but instead of bursting into our bedroom in the middle of the night (like last time) they chose Alex, Matt & Andrew's (Black Black Smoke) room instead! The boys awoke to find a young nubile footy player standing naked at the end of their beds at 3am... A different take on the virginal offering.

On our drive back from Bunbury to Fremantle we took a little detour to the Ferguson Valley. It was reminiscent of some of the lusher parts of NZ or Tassie. We went with the sole purpose of visiting Gnomesville and weren't disappointed,. Thousands of gnomes were planted there from all over the world, fulfilling their destinies in purpose built houses and living the dream. Geoff considered taking one of the gnomes but I reminded him that such an act would bring him seven years of badness.

Our show at Mojo's in Fremantle was a good one. Despite being our first ever headline show in W.A a nice big crowd turned up and filled the room. It was an interesting mix of people of all different ages and backgrounds - I like this, it means you aren't a fashion band.

We'll be heading back to W.A next year for the Nannup festival and will definitely play another show of our own in Perth.

Next stop Adelaide!

JC/ESEA
x

Big Fat National Tour.

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Cloher) — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 13:54:00 +0000

Well our second album Hidden Hands has been officially launched!

We had plenty of pre-orders online, a sold out launch in Melbourne and a packed house in Sydney - thank you for your support!

We are now excited to announce our biggest tour yet - with our first ever headline shows in Tassie and WA.

Check the shows link for dates, you can book all of your tickets online at:

http://jencloher.oztix.com.au/?Event=11098

Look forward to playing for you soon.
JC/ESEA
x

PRE ORDER Limited 50 copies of our new album.

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Cloher) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 11:04:00 +0000

It's a couple of weeks until our new album is out, but we are offering 50 signed, very limited edition copies of our new album HIDDEN HANDS.

The first 50 copies will also include an exclusive previously unreleased download PLUS the chance to win one of three JC/ESEA show bags, which include:

- Double pass to our national tour in September (nearest town to you).

- Limited Edition Tour EP.

- JC/ESEA Tee in your size.

To grab a copy visit our friends at Music Plug http://www.musicplug.com.au

They are reliable, fast and ship to anywhere in the world.

We look forward to playing for you soon!

Jen Cloher & The Endless Sea
x

Tour EP now available.

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Cloher) — Sun, 03 May 2009 07:08:00 +0000

If you missed out on grabbing a copy of our Limited Edition Tour EP when we were touring with Mia, you can now buy a copy at Music Plug by clicking on the STORE link on this website or copying this link to your browser:

http://www.musicplug.com.au/manufacturers.php?manufacturerid=132

There are three tracks all previously unreleased.

1. Eden With My Eve
2. Ode To Warren Lan Franchi
3. Ruby Night

There's only a few copies left - being a limited edition and all!

JC/ESea
x

The Latest

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Cloher) — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 00:15:00 +0000

The Endless Sea shot side of stage at The Athenaeum in Melbourne. Photo by Kisha Bari.

Hey Folks

Firstly a big thanks to all of you who made it out to one of the Mia Dyson shows. It was for me musically, one of the best tours we have done yet. The Endless Sea were in great form and I felt incredibly privileged to have some of Melbourne's finest musicians and songwriter's performing in my band! Mia's partner Lloyd Barratt delivered impeccable sound night after night and it was brilliant to walk out on stage with the confidence we would sound our best.

Laura Jean, Jen Sholakis and I stood side of stage each night listening to Mia's songs and marvelling at what a truly great talent she is. We reckon she is going to become big in the States!

For those of you Overseas or those of you who were unable to make it to a show, the Tour EP will be made available online (with a link from our Myspace page) from the beginning of May.

Due to a couple of delays we have pushed the release date for our new album Hidden Hands into June. We will have some launch party dates up real soon for you.

If you want to see some photos of the tour make sure to become a friend on facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jen-Cloher-and-The-Endless-Sea/9406917757

Thanks again for coming out to support our music, for those of you in Auckland, I will be doing a farewell show and EP Launch at the Wine Cellar before I head back to live in Melbourne town, check out the details at our myspace page http://www.myspace.com/jencloherandtheendlesssea

JC/ESEA x

Mic Hubbard gets some lady wookie love on the road.

Limited Edition Tour EP

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Cloher) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 04:21:00 +0000

Hey Folks,

We are excited to hit the road with Mia Dyson next week! Mia has super talent Liz Stringer playing guitar in her band and we have the incredible Laura Jean joining us once again to play piano in The Endless Sea...

A couple of weeks ago I went to this beautiful house about an hour out of Auckland with my friend Tom Healy (who played guitar on our November tour). The house sits right on a cliffs edge overlooking Piha beach. Piha is a black sand beach right next to Kare Kare where they shot The Piano. The ocean is mighty, that real sense of power and wildness of the open sea...

So we got to work and recorded a three track EP. We liked one of the tracks enough to include on our forthcoming album - the release date is still looking like April. The other two songs are previously unreleased material, songs I have loved but never been able to find a place for.

The EP will only be available after shows on the upcoming tour - we have pressed a limited edition of 200 copies. A little collectors item so to speak.

The artwork featured above is by Eva Collado.

See you soon!
JC/ESEA
x

Mia Dyson

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Cloher) — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 10:54:00 +0000

Tom Healy and Jen Sholakis in their touring bonnets.

Firstly, thank you for coming out to see us play around the country in November. We had a great tour, warm, attentive audiences, incredible hospitality and great food. ALL of our favourite things. We have some photos on Facebook so make sure to go have a look if you feel like seeing a bunch of nerds hanging out together.

The good news is that we aren't resting for too long, we will be out again touring with Mia Dyson before she moves to Boston. We did our first ever national tour with Mia back in 2005 so it's a nice bookend to be doing her farewell tour in 2009. Dates are up now!

And of course we have a new album coming your way early next year...more news on that soon.

JC/ESEA x

On The Road Again!

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Cloher) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 02:56:00 +0000

Aaaahhhhhhhh such a good feeling to know that in just two weeks we will be hitting the road again for an east coast jaunt with our friend Laura Jean. (Adelaide, Perth and Tassie we promise to come your way next year for the album tour). I love Laura Jean, she is one of the most talented songwriters and musicians I know. LJ helped produce the album with us and we have even managed to finagle her into playing piano with The Endless Sea for the tour.

We also have a couple of new members along for the ride - Biddy Connor on viola and musical saw and Tom Healy on electric guitars. Biddy Connor arranged strings and brass for our forthcoming album (out early next year) she is an amazing player and I am very excited to be playing with her. Tom Healy is a kiwi chap I met while living in Auckland, he is originally from the Marlborough wine region. We call him Tommy Badapple for no good reason. He is young, super smart and ridiculously talented.

In case your wondering what happened to Andrea (Droid) Sumner our violinist and comedienne - rest assured she lays safely in a shallow grave just west of Melbourne.

Michael Hubbard our regular axeman is touring with his other band !?#! Downhills Home, supporting famous American rockstars like the Dandy Warhols. He did play on the album though, and will be back on the road with us next year.

Andrea is living in Madrid. We miss her.

Jen Sholakis is still schlappin' the skins and Lord Geoffrey laying down those fat bass lines we have come to know and love.

SO it's going to be new and fun and a bit of a ride for everyone. Can't wait to see you there.

JC/ESEA x

Recording the Album

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Cloher) — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 05:07:00 +0000

Hey Folks,

We just finished recording the album at Woodstock Studio's in Melbourne. Paul McKercher engineered the session and Laura Jean helped myself and the ESEA on production duties.

We had lots of guests including Liz Stringer banjo, Jodi Ludwig-Moore (Dirty Lucy) mandolin, Grant Cummerford (Jeff Lang) double bass , Kynan Robinson (Des Peres) trombone , Eamon McNelis trumpet, Ben Carr saxophone, Rachel Kim violin and Ross Calia on piano.

Our current line-up includes Biddy Connor viola (the Droid now resides in Spain!), Laura Jean piano and vocals, Jen Sholakis drums, Lord Geoffrey bass, Michael Hubbard guitar and Tom Healy (our new kiwi axeman). It's a big band and it's sounding like a much bigger album sonically.

We start mixing the first single this week and should have something for you in the near future.

Our album is scheduled for release early 2009 and we are announcing a November tour in the next few days.

Stay posted as JC/ESEA camp starts up again for your listening pleasure! We just put up a new photo album of the sessions on our facebook and myspace pages, all photos were taken by our friend Rebekah Davies.

More soon
JC/ESEA x

New Album

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Cloher) — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 11:21:00 +0000

We are heading into the studio this September to make a new album. We recently spent a week demo-ing new songs at Adelphia in Melbourne and it felt great to be back playing as a band again.

We will be hitting the road for some shows in November so you'll be able to hear some of the newies. More about all of that soon.

Oh and for those of you on facebook - we now have a page up there too

Look forward to playing for you soon!

2008

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Cloher) — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 11:59:00 +0000

in march last year i moved to auckland to be closer to my mum who is living with alzheimers disease. it was a hard move to make as i love melbourne, my friends and the music but moving here was the best thing i could have done, always follow your heart. i have been on many tea and scone dates with my mum, have been writing new material, cooking, seeing lots of live music, walking in the mountains and swimming in the sea. i hope to record a new album and play some shows later this year. thank you for your messages and enquiries about my progress in this area! i love playing live music and i miss my band, so i hope to return to australia to do more of that in 2008.

my favourite albums from 2007 were new buffalo's somewhere anywhere, pj harvey's white chalk and ned collette's future suture. there were also songs i loved by feist, the national, arcade fire, the phoenix foundation, mia dyson, downhills home, low and ryan adams. my stand out live shows of 2007 were nina nastasia & jim white and ryan adams & the cardinals. my favourite new discoveries of 2007 were whiting tennis and nina nastasia. i am very much looking forward to new releases in 2008 from melbourne's laura jean and liz stringer as well as catching pj harvey, sonic youth (performing daydream nation) and wilco LIVE in the next couple of months. see auckland ain't so bad!

see you soon
x

Meeting the Dalai Lama!

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Cloher) — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 05:59:00 +0000

Despite heavy rainfall the One Earth concert went ahead at the Sydney Domain on Friday the 15th of June. I stood side of stage watching the Dalai Lama deliver his address on 'Peace through Inner Peace'. I had to pinch myself a few times to realise that I was standing so close to the 14th Dalai Lama, the supreme head of Tibetan Buddhism, a lineage that dates back to 1391!

Another personal hero of mine, Senator Bob Brown opened proceedings and later, those who braved the weather were treated to fantastic (if somewhat shortened) sets by Mia Dyson, Blue King Brown, Lior, Ben Lee and of course ourselves.

My personal highlight was meeting the Dalai Lama, something I hadn't counted on. I put my arm around him for a photo and thought "Is this appropriate? Here I am with my arm round the Lama, how truly suprising!" He was little, lighthearted, warm, giggled a lot, found Andrea (the Droid's) lip piercing rather amusing (kindred spirits?) and had a simple message.

Our inner world reflects our outer world. Find peace within and we contribute to peace on a global level.

Here are some shots of us with His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso.

Goodnight & Good luck

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Cloher) — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 12:04:00 +0000

We played our last headline for a long time (perhaps ever) last Saturday the 16th of December at the East Brunswick Club. It was fitting that it was in our hometown of Melbourne, in our stomping ground of East Brunswick, with a crowd consisting of friends, family and loyal fans. The people who have supported us since our first ever headline as The Endless Sea, only blocks away at the Rob Roy, back in September 2004. Yikes! It's been over two years of fairly constant touring, room sharing, car sharing, girlfriend break ups, newly found husbands, roadhouse iced coffee's, egg and lettuce sandwiches, lumpy beds, country life soap, falafel rolls, nursed hangovers and absolute pant wetting laughter.

After we came off stage it hit me how chemistry just happens. We are the most unlikely people to have ever found each other. We all have very different music taste. We wouldn't have chosen to hang out with each other at school. We never look good in photos together. Yet here we were two and a bit years on, still together, playing better than ever as a band and really enjoying each others company.

The show itself was special partly because we knew we could be making a little history as The Endless Sea and partly because headlines for us are a rarity. As Droid our violinist said before we went on, "We play headlines so rarely that I always get a surprise when I look out at the audience and realise they are there to see US!"

Recently I was misquoted in street press as saying The Endless Sea were going through line up changes and that this would be our last ever headline show. What I said was who knows? It could be...People move on, move overseas, have babies, join other bands that tour to Sweden, become monks. Life is so random, so impermanent, that change is all I can count on for a fact. For that reason I wanted to hold onto the other night and cherish it as though it were the last time I might ever share the stage with these incredible musicians.

I am going to attempt to write another album in 2007. Take a break from touring and spend some time with my family. We have a mini tour with Laura Veirs in late January (trio mode) and after that I am hanging up my touring boots for a time.

I want to thank all of you that have come to our shows, left messages, sung along, taken photos, danced, played our songs on the radio and spread the word. Nothing is more powerful than word of mouth. Thank you.

I want to thank all of the musicians who have taken us out on the road with them and shared their stages, hearts and hotel rooms.

I want to thank all of the musicians who have supported us. How lucky we have been!

And most of all I want to thank my beloved Endless Sea who have kept me in good humour, played with all their might and made the last couple of years ones I will always hold close to my heart.

Post ARIA's

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Cloher) — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 02:42:00 +0000

I’ve never been one for awards ceremonies, they always seem so forced. There are some people who love them. I have one friend who is the star of awards ceremonies. She wears a frock like a second skin, sashays around the room being her normal charming self and dances til the wee hours of the after party. I envy that woman! Despite all of the well wishing from friends, fans and family, when the ARIA’s rolled around on Sunday I can say in all honesty, I was feeling pretty anxious. Being nominated was cool but frocking up, making small talk and cracking industry jokes has never been my strong point.

There are always those moments amongst the glorification and artifice that stand out. Those exhilarating little windows where the world seems ‘right’ again and music justice is served. ARIA highlight 2005 was watching my friend Mia Dyson take out the best blues and roots album. This years ARIA highlight was watching Taasha Coates and the lads from The Audrey’s win the very same award. These moments are the musical equivalent of man landing on the moon. One small step for The Audrey’s, one giant step for independent music making…

Other moments that had that same taste of goodness were; Bernard, Clare and Kasey’s harmonies alongside Bedge’s sublime fiddle playing, mention of the now sadly defunct Arts Victoria Music for the Future program in Clare’s acceptance speech, The Oils getting a thunderous welcome into the Hall of Fame and (undoubtedly the most entertaining) hearing my elderly mother Dorothy, after a few glasses of bubbly, declare that Wolfmother needed some speech writers and that The Veronica’s parents were ‘very irresponsible to allow them out that late at night - they should be in bed!’

But my most treasured moment was at the very beginning of the night. As I was approaching the end of the red carpet a young woman called me over to the side and asked me to sign a beautiful piece of art she had painted on wood. It was dedicated to the song ‘Rain’ and it reminded me why, as music lovers, we do what we do. It’s not to be exclusive and famous. It’s not to wear the best dress or know the most people in the room. It’s not to win or to lose. It’s about keeping our hearts open, hearing our truth in the words of others and remembering that in this industry and in this world – there is room for EVERYONE.

Long Time Coming

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Cloher) — Thu, 07 Sep 2006 15:04:00 +0000

I have been in NZ for the last couple of months absorbing music both live and recorded. I have seen Jolie Holland, Okkervill River, Lawrence Arabia (NZ), Punches (NZ), Youth Group, Ladysmith Black Mambasso and next week I will see Ron Sexsmith. I have been listening to Ned Collette (OZ), Sonic Youth, Townes Van Zandt, The Mint Chicks (NZ), Kelley Stoltz, Golden Smog, Donnie Hathaway, The Band, Iron & Wine, Chuck Berry, Neil Young, Neko Case, Lightnin' Hopkins, Cassette (NZ), Band of Horses, Downhills Home (OZ), The Old Crow Medicine Show and Jim O'Rourke.

I highly recommend, as passed onto me by Mia Dyson, 'This Wheels On Fire' the autobiography of Levon Helm from The Band. He has an incredible knowledge of southern blues, rockabilly and country which he shares with an insiders intimacy. You get a very different slant on the famous 'Last Waltz' documentary and on Robbie Robertson...ahhh band politics.

I finally bought a copy of 'Be Here To Love Me' the excellent but sad documentary on the life of Townes Van Zandt. It's bizarre watching him walking around derelict trailers with a shotgun and a bottle of plonk then cut to him singing the most heart wrenching, beautifully constructed songs on stage.

I have discovered a couple of things about New Zealanders that I hadn't noticed before. When they say 'woman' it sounds no different to when they say 'women'. They just say woman to cover both the singular and plural. It's purely a pronunciation thing, their grammar is impeccable, but try it. Next time you are with a Kiwi fresh off the plane ask them to say 'women' and be AMAZED...

Also they have this really indulgent desert that I've never noticed on previous trips. It's a banana baked inside of filo pastry and then covered in caramel sauce with a scoop of Movenpick maple and walnut ice cream. It's mindbendingly good, although now that I read back over that description it sounds wrongtown.

I get back to Melbourne in a couple of weeks. I always find it odd coming home after I've been away awhile. Everything looks and feels different. I walk into my place and I feel a bit cheated that life has been going on around me, without me being there. Weird huh?

We will be touring again in October, this time with Josh Pyke and Princess One Point Five as well as playing a few regional festivals. We have also been asked to play Falls in Tasmania and Victoria over the New Year which we are very excited about! We'll let you know as soon as our own 'end of year' December headline shows come to hand.

JC/ESea
x

Post Jose

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Cloher) — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 13:32:00 +0000

Playing at the Athenaeum is something else. I had never been in there until Saturday. It's a beautiful old theatre with balconies that sail up to the heavens. Backstage is a maze of little dressing rooms with old school theatre lights around the mirrors. It's even haunted. The stage manager told me that some nights he comes in and gets chills to the bone when he opens up in the dark.

It's rather unnerving playing to a theatre audience. The moment the lights go down you can hear a pin drop and everything feels incredibly intimate. It's like performing under a microscope.

It's a show that will stay with me for a long time. It felt special to be able to take the songs back to their bones and only play what was needed. It was great to be able to hear the intricacies of Andrea's violin or Michael's dobro. The songs were breathing again.

Jose Gonzalez possessed a lot of humility. He was smaller than he looks onstage. I liked listening to him and his bandmates speak Swedish.

We will be back with some shows in October.
JC/ESea
x

Channelling.

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Cloher) — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 13:07:00 +0000

For any folk in Victoria, Channel 31, Melbourne's community TV station (the one that launched the illustrious career of media magnate cum wonder boy Rove McManus) will be screening highlights from our Corner show in June. The program is called Asylum and here are the screening times:

July
Tuesdays at 11:00pm
Thursday @ 12:30am!! Wednesday night for those who get confused with am
Saturday @ Midnight

or you can go to:

http://www.channel31.org.au/

and check out the weekly TV guide.

I had a lot of fun doing a ROCKWIZ episode for the next series starting July 29 on SBS TV and myself, Andrea and Michael were recently guests on the new DIG TV ABC program (for those with a digital television!?). We'll let you know the exact dates closer to the time.

JC/ESea
x

THANK YOU

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Cloher) — Sat, 24 Jun 2006 16:44:00 +0000

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.

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Cloher) — Wed, 21 Jun 2006 06:39:00 +0000

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.

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Cloher) — Tue, 13 Jun 2006 01:16:00 +0000

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.

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Cloher) — Tue, 06 Jun 2006 12:01:00 +0000

"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.

Freud under Fluro's

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Cloher) — Sun, 21 May 2006 13:34:00 +0000

Thank you to the wonderful crowd that turned up to our instore on Friday at Readings Cd's and Books. I have to admit it was a new experience...you have nowhere to hide under fluros and you can see everyone - looking at you!

The great thing about instores (that I had never considered until doing one) is that people under 18 can come, parents can bring their babies and it's free! Once everyone was sitting down and I had made the rounds of babies, I started to feel a little like Patsy Biscoe (remember that pristine bob) settling in for some poetry with song. Had someone presented me with a pot of tea in a cosy, it would have felt entirely appropriate.

The best bit was toward the end of the set when I looked behind us to see a woman had snuck onto stage and was busily checking out the psychology section. Band schmand! I need some Freud.

Home & Hosed

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Cloher) — Sun, 14 May 2006 11:58:00 +0000

Our June tour dates have been announced and shows have been posted on the site and on our myspace for all to see. We will be touring with Brisbane's Andrew Morris and Melbourne's Laura Jean. Triple J's Home & Hosed are proudly supporting the tour - God bless 'em.

Andrew Morris has been touring around the country and overseas in Bernard Fanning's band for the past year and his recent emails would suggest he is looking forward to taking his own show out on the road again. He has his second album due for release later this year.

Laura Jean has just released her incredible debut album Our Swan Song. The first single I'm a Rabbit, I'm a Fox has been getting a lot of love from Triple J and community radio around the country. Biddy Connors' will be joining Laura Jean on viola for a couple of her Sydney/NSW dates.

We are honoured to be touring with two super talented songwriters and we think it's going to be a very special bill.

See you there...

JC/ESea
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We Heart Sydney

noreply@blogger.com (Jen Cloher) — Mon, 01 May 2006 11:54:00 +0000

Aaaahhhh Sydney with your sunshine and exceptional Thai restaurants, thanks for making us feel so welcome. Full houses on both the Thursday and Friday night at The Vanguard was way more than we had hoped for. After a bit of a shaky start with the van breaking down 20 minutes out of Sydney on the M5 and the obscene law that NSW tow trucks will only tow Victorians 8km!? it felt like we could have been in for a bumpy ride. Not so! We encountered some of the most intent, respectful, listening audiences we have ever had the pleasure of playing to. It's one thing to have a full house in your own town but to come over to Sydney and get that kind of a welcome totally blew us away. Thanks for making it so huge for us.

Love

JC & The E Sea
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