noteslive.net.au

Dig It Up - The Hoodoo Gurus Invitational

Geoff — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 12:00:42 +0000

CELEBRATING 30 YEARS OF RECORDING HISTORY IN 2012
Tickets on Sale Monday 30th January 2012

Notes is truly proud be part of this one day festival running over three stages, featuring Australian and international guests invited by the Hoodoo Gurus to celebrate their 30th anniversary.

Tickets available from www.oztix.com.au

Davidson Brothers + guests

Geoff — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 19:00:12 +0000

Three time Gold Guitar winning bluegrass act, the Davidson Brothers are bringing their high powered acoustic show to Sydney for the first time since 2006. With a recent tour of Europe and appearing on the 2010 International Bluegrass Awards at the Ryman in Nashville USA, the Davidson Brothers are firmly carving their name and sound
into the Australian Music Scene.
This Victroian duo released their fourth Nashville sessions album, HERE TO STAY in july 2011 and it has gained eleven Country Music Award nominations so far as well as a four star review in ‘The Age’ who described it as “THE YEAR’S HOTTEST COUNTRY RECORD… ALL MUSIC SHOULD BE THIS MUCH FUN”.
Winner of multiple Austalian National Bluegrass Championship titles on Fiddle, Banjo and Mandolin, Hamish & Lachlan along with their band can tear down any crowd and convert them with their extraordinary musicianship and entertaining style.
Come down and celebrate, and see why the Davidson Brothers were selected as ‘Most Outstanding Musicians’ in the 2010 Melbourne Prize.

Chris Hillman & Herb Pederson + Brent Parlane

Geoff — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 19:00:13 +0000

www.chrishillman.com www.herbpedersen.com

Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen, two of the most revered figures in the genre of American music now known as Americana, covering country, rock, folk, blues, bluegrass and everything in between, are heading our way in March.

Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen met and first played together in their teens in southern California, and both were noted bluegrass players before they hit their twenties. From there they each went on to be key players in the emergence of country rock, but never left their bluegrass and acoustic roots behind. Chris was playing mandolin in San Diego’s notable bluegrass band The Squirrel Barkers when he was just 17 and by 18 he was in Southern California’s premier bluegrass outfit The Golden State Boys, with Vern and Rex Gosdin.
A year later he was on the verge of leaving music for a while and enrolling for university when he was introduced to three guys playing acoustic guitars and singing Beatles songs and a few originals. The three guys were Roger McGuinn, Gene Clarke and David Crosby and when Chris was invited to join in he jumped at the opportunity. With drummer Michael Clarke in tow Chris was recruited to play electric bass, an instrument he had no familiarity with. But he was a keen student and soon mastered it.

The Beefeaters as they were then known quickly became The Byrds and they went into a recording studio in 1965 to record a Bob Dylan song and the rest, as they say, is history. When a new kid called Gram Parsons joined The Byrds in 1968 the outcome was the classic Sweetheart Of The Rodeo album, generally recognised as the birth of Country Rock, the merging of country heart and sentiment with rock ‘n roll energy and drive.

Hillman and Parsons then moved on to form The Flying Burrito Brothers, the band that was the very essence of both country rock and outlaw country, and had a distinguished cult following that included both The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, whose song Wild Horses was written in honour of them.

Meanwhile Herb Pedersen had advanced from a bluegrass career that had seen him at the age of 20 as a member of the hugely influential and progressive bluegrass band The Dillards to become one of the most in demand session players in the Los Angeles music and movies recording scene, on banjo, guitar and vocals. You’ll find him on such historically significant albums as Linda Ronstadt’s Heart Like A Wheel, Emmylou Harris’s Pieces Of The Sky and Elite Hotel and playing with a hundred others including Dan Fogelberg, Vince Gill, Gordon Lightfoot, James Taylor, Jennifer Warnes, John Prine, Jesse Winchester, John Denver, Johnny Rivers, and on soundtracks for many TV series and movies like The Rockford Files, Smokey and The Bandit, and Maverick.

By the early 1980s Chris Hillman, having travelled through The Byrds, The Burritos, and Manassas with Stephen Stills, was yearning to return to his bluegrass and country roots, and teamed up with Herb to record two mostly acoustic albums for Sugar Hill Records, and soon after that the duo expanded the line-up to form The Desert Rose Band, which proved to be Hillman’s most commercially successful post-Byrds project, with seven albums and many country charts hits. Today Chris and Herb each have their own musical projects and bands on the go as well as regularly touring as a duo, which they have been doing for nearly two decades. In 2009 they recorded a bunch of their greatest hits on a live CD called Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen At Edwards Barn, a wonderful collection of famous songs, many written or co-written by Hillman, that is an acoustic stroll through the history of country rock. The Australian tour starts at The Port Fairy Folk Festival and then takes in Adelaide, Brisbane, The Sunshine Coast, Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney.

Abigail Washburn & Kai Welch (USA)

Geoff — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 19:00:48 +0000

Nashville-based singer-songwriter and clawhammer banjo-player Abigail Washburn has chosen Notes for her only Sydney show on her first Australian tour. She was formerly with the all-girl old-time bluegrass band, Uncle Earl, with whom she spent five years and recorded two albums. Then, with her husband and fellow banjo-player, Bela Fleck, she formed the alternative old-time string band, The Sparrow Quartet, in which they explored the unlikely, but beguiling, connections between old-time American music and traditional Chinese poetry and folk songs. Now, on this tour, Abigail is performing with her current musical collaborator, multi-instrumentalist, Kai Welch.

If American old-time music is about taking earlier, simpler ways of life and music-making as one’s model, Abigail Washburn has proven herself to be a bracing revelation to that tradition. She is every bit as interested in the present and the future as she is in the past, and every bit as attuned to the global as she is to the local. She pairs venerable folk elements with far-flung sounds, and the results feel both strangely familiar and unlike anything you’ve ever heard before.

It seemed just as certain that Washburn would study law in Beijing, as it seemed far-fetched that she’d be offered a record deal when she wasn’t looking for one. And yet, half a decade back she emerged without a law degree, but with a debut album, Song of the Traveling Daughter. Alongside old-timey originals that felt impossibly lush and light on their feet, were songs she wrote in Chinese, and even an instrumental that wove together an old-time banjo tune and a traditional Chinese folk song. It was a new way of hearing both.

In 2008, Washburn and three virtuosic comrades—cellist Ben Sollee, fiddler Casey Driessen and three-finger-style banjo-player Bela Fleck—presented Abigail Washburn and the Sparrow Quartet, a set of seemingly boundless compositions sprouted from seeds of American and Chinese folk. The album extended an imaginative musical bridge between East and West. The world had never seen a chamber ensemble, stringband or bluegrass group quite like the Sparrows. At the request of the U.S. government, Abigail Washburn & The Sparrow Quartet toured Tibet in 2006, something no other American band had done, and also performed in Beijing during the 2008 Olympics. Recently, she played the prominent U.S.A. pavilion at the World Expo in Shanghai. She’s been popular with the Brits as well, singing with the likes of Robyn Hitchcock, Richard Thompson, and Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones, who produced the Uncle Earl album Waterloo, Tennessee. She’s no less sought out stateside; she played the Clearwater Concert, a multi-generational folk extravaganza celebrating Pete Seeger’s 90th birthday, sang Stephen Foster songs backed by the Nashville Symphony during the 2009 Americana Music Festival, and has become a favorite opening act for Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers. Plus, she and Fleck still do shows as a duo; a meeting of the minds and banjos. And why wouldn’t musicians of renown—a great variety of them at that—covet Washburn’s creative contributions? She expands horizons and makes the distances between people, cultures and musical styles seem not so very far after all.

City of Refuge — her latest album — is something completely different, even for her: a sublime marriage of old-time folk music and indie-pop. “This new project,” she says, “incorporates what would’ve in the beginning of my career seemed like an unexpected move, but now feels like a really natural progression of working with people that reach into other genres and other spaces musically.”

With the exception of old-time fiddler Rayna Gellert, Washburn’s former bandmate in Uncle Earl, her cast of collaborators is entirely new. Among them are Turtle Island Quartet’s Jeremy Kittell, who arranged the strings and played a small orchestra’s worth of violin and viola parts; My Morning Jacket’s Carl Broemel (pedal steel and electric guitars); The Decemberists’ Chris Funk (bowed and plucked dulcimer and guitars); jazz guitarist Bill Frisell; veteran Nashville studio percussionist Kenny Malone; Old Crow Medicine Show’s Ketch Secor and Morgan Jahnig (backing vocals); Wu Fei, master of the guzheng (Chinese zither); and the Mongolian stringband Hanggai, who managed to contribute ambient throat-singing from halfway around the world.

There are two particular new faces, though, who were with her every step of the way: producer Tucker Martine (known for his work with The Decemberists, My Morning Jacket, and Sufjan Stevens), and singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Kai Welch, who she stumbled upon playing keyboards with the Nashville band Tommy and the Whale.

Martine framed the album in an expansive palette of supple, modern textures, some coaxed from acoustic sources, others from the sort you plug in, and all remarkably harmonious. “I knew I wanted to go outside of the folk community that I was used to,” she explains. “He had worked extensively with people who do sort of go back and forth between the folkier elements and the more indie rock world.”

In Kai Welch, Washburn found a co-writer and singing partner whose sensibilities, though they compliment hers, aren’t the slightest bit old-timey, which is precisely why she wanted to work with him, and why she has chosen him for this upcoming tour. Australian audiences will be able to experience the musical magic they create!

“Ms. Washburn’s enigmatic songs mingle Appalachia and folk-pop, with tinges of Asia and Bruce Springsteen.” – Jon Pareles, The New York Times

“with City of Refuge, it probably wasn’t her intention, but Washburn ended up making a modern classic.” – James Reed, Boston Globe

http://www.abigailwashburn.com/website/

Sunset Riot CD Launch

Geoff — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 19:00:35 +0000

After a successful tour the USA, one of Australia’s hardest working rock bands, Sunset Riot are very excited to release their new record ‘UPRISING’. Produced by Mark Opitz (KISS, INXS, ACDC, Cold Chisel) and recorded in both Sydney (Studio 301) and Melbourne (Thirty Mill), ‘UPRISING’ is equal parts energetic, hard-hitting, tongue-in-cheek and catchy. Whether you’ve seen this explosive 5-piece circus 100 times or have yet to experience the ‘Riot’, this is one show you will NOT want to miss.

Bridie King with the Foreday Riders + special guests

Geoff — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 19:00:04 +0000

Bridie King is delighted to launch her brand new album, ‘Blue Ivories’, at Notes, and to be joined by the legendary Foreday Riders for this very special event.

Bridie has experienced a love affair with the piano for as long as she can remember and a similar affection for the American music traditions that gave us Jazz, Blues, Gospel and Soul. She has long been considered one of Australia’s top Blues and Boogie pianists and has been a driving force in the Sydney blues scene for three decades.

Get on board a roots music express as Bridie takes you on a wild musical journey from Kansas City down through Memphis, Mississippi and all the way through to New Orleans . The ride takes in all musical whistle-stops - Boogie Woogie, Blues, Barrelhouse, Jump, and Honky-tonk. For the first set, Bridie will be backed by Toby Hall (drums) and Alan Britton (bass), with special guests Pat Powell (vocals), Narelle Evans (backing vocals), and Katie Glendenning (percussion). This will by followed by two sets featuring Bridie King with the Foreday Riders. Led by brothers Ron & Jeff King, The Foreday Riders are true legends of Australian Blues, having been together for 45 years. And they are as good as ever!

The new album, ‘Blue Ivories’, reflects not only Bridie’s years of honing her keyboard skills in bands like Mona and The Wail, The Hippos and the Boogie Kings but decades of both listening to and studying the greats of the musical genres she so admires – artists such as New Orlean’s Professor Longhair, Blues pioneer Memphis Slim, and the quirky grooves of Young-Holt Unlimited. You will discover them all here on this album, lovingly recreated and reworked - all interpreted with both panache and creativity, and most importantly, with respect, and delivered in Bridie’s own unique style.

“…a great roots music talent, with a vast knowledge of the stylistic subtleties of the Blues. Bridie’s piano creates an inspiring foundation for a class performance.” Rhythms, 2010

http://www.bridieking.com/

THE JOHNNY CASH 80th BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE SHOW DANIEL THOMPSON IS CASH

Geoff — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 19:00:36 +0000

Johnny Cash would have turned 80 on February 26th and this year also marks the 8th anniversary of his passing. Daniel Thompson celebrates The Man In Black’s life and music with his tribute show CASH. A former Independent Country Music Male Vocalist Of The Year, Thompson’s rich bass baritone voice emulates the man like no other can.

Thompson’s band consists of Stuie French, rated by many people as the best guitarist in Australian Country music. He is an in demand session musician and producer and the guy you call when you want “real deal” country music. For many years, upright, slap bass player Artie Taylor has been a mainstay of the inner city Country Music scene. The slap bass is vital as the foundation for the Cash sound and few people can capture it like Artie. Drummer Ben Elliot is the most recent addition to the group. He has spent much of the last 10 years as a resident musician on cruise ships in the Caribbean and is an accomplished drummer in all styles of music. Ben has brought the classic 1950’s Johnny Cash sound and feel with him, making his rhythm section combination with Artie a formidable one. At a time when Country Music is becoming increasingly lightweight and pop, these guys are taking it back to basics … playing Johnny Cash’s music with the tightness and raw magic that it was meant to have.
Country Music fans will love this band … Johnny Cash fans will be ecstatic.

CASH brings you songs spanning The Man in Black’s entire career from 1955’s “Cry! Cry! Cry!” and “Folsom Prison Blues” to “I Walk the Line”, “Ring of Fire” and the classic “A Boy Named Sue”, through to his cover, released just before his death in 2003, of Nine Inch Nails “Hurt”.
TICKET PRICE: $30.00 (Inc GST) presale, $35.00 (Inc GST) door sales
STAGE TIMES:

Camille and Stuie French (8.20pm – 8.50pm)

CASH (9.10pm – 10.10pm) & CASH (10.30pm – 11.30pm)

Dan Mangan + guests

Geoff — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 19:00:36 +0000

In a few short years, Dan Mangan has gone from globetrotting folk crooner to one of music’s most promising storytellers. From playing elbow room only west coast Canadian clubs to headlining theatres in major cities across the western world, Dan’s journey has seen him go from someone whose name you see written on a gig flyer to someone whose name you overhear on the street. His critically acclaimed sophomore album Nice, Nice Very Nice, earned him a Polaris Music Prize shortlist, a spot at Glastonbury two years running, sold out shows the world over and accolades galore. Dan now returns with Oh Fortune.
Produced by Colin Stewart (Black Mountain, Cave Singers) and now flanked with a stellar supporting cast, Dan’s rich and textured new album finds him further exploring folk music’s boundaries. With ambitious arrangements made on a ever widening canvas yet coupled with the knowledge of when to lay the brush down and infused with the signature wit and wisdom that have made Dan such a fan favourite wherever he goes, Oh Fortune makes good on the promise of every song he has ever sung. To be sure, this release marks the arrival of a new voice, with world class charm and a universal appeal. Oh fortune, indeed.
The first single from the album is “Post War Blues” is at radio now.

‘Oh Fortune’ is released September 30 through ABC/Universal

danmanganmusic.com
facebook.com/danmanganmusic
twitter.com/danmanganmusic
www.abcmusic.com.au/dan-mangan

Madison Violet (Canada) + guests

Geoff — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 19:00:16 +0000

Finding the good in goodbye is always bittersweet. JUNO nominated roots duo Madison Violet (Brenley MacEachern and Lisa MacIsaac) can attest to that with their latest release, The Good in Goodbye. An album born from their growth, both together and apart, The Good in Goodbye is an open diary of their personal and professional experiences together as friends and musicians, two very unique relationships that affect each other in profound ways.

Since releasing their last album, No Fool for Trying (2009), Madison Violet won the 2009 John Lennon Songwriting Contest for their track “The Ransom,” took home the 2009 Canadian Folk Music Award for Vocal Group of the Year, and were nominated for multiple East Coast Music Awards and a 2010 JUNO Award for Roots & Traditional Album of the Year (Group).

As a follow-up to their breakthrough successes in 2010, The Good in Goodbye captures the duo’s growth and musical maturity. Their distinct take on iconic Americana-inspired up-tempo melodies beautifully contrasts with their breathtakingly sweeping and personal lyrics, creating songs that blend nods to Lucinda Williams and Gillian Welch with radio-friendly flecks of The Court-Yard Hounds.

To capture the intimacy of The Good in Goodbye, Madison Violet returned to the studio with trusted friend and producer Les Cooper (Jill Barber) while bringing a collective of remarkable musicians into the fold, including Joel Stouffer (Dragonette) on drums, Adrian Lawryshyn (Andy Stochansky) on bass, and vocals from Ruth Moody (The Wailin’ Jennys) and singer/songwriter Blair Packham.

Though Madison Violet seemingly made their mark in the last year or so, success was hard earned, spending up to eight months a year on the road, winning fans and champions the old-fashioned way, one song at a time, one gig at a time.

Their first disc, Worry the Jury (2004), was an introduction to the lush arrangements and radio-friendly harmonies that would become a Madison Violet hallmark, with their sophomore album Caravan (2006) further exploring and incorporating country-infused, toe-tapping melodies.

Their breakthrough album, No Fool for Trying (2009) enlisted, for the first time, the help of producer Les Cooper. The record showcased Madison Violet’s heartfelt (and often heartbreaking) lyrics in brilliant contrast to their uplifting arrangements, pushing their graceful harmonies to the surface.

Receiving a mass of acclaim from outlets including the BBC, the CBC, Maverick Magazine, NPR, and Penguin Eggs Magazine, No Fool for Trying made dedicated fans of even the most hard-to-crack critics. Ultimately, Madison Violet captured the attention of Mojo Magazine, landing “Small Of My Heart” on the publication’s distinguished playlist, “Mojo’s Top 10,” in December 2009. Madison Violet also have the unique distinction of being the only Canadians to win The John Lennon Songwriting Contest.

The duo has sold-out venues across North America and Europe, had the prestigious distinction of touring with Stuart McLean’s Vinyl Cafe, and has shared stages with contemporaries such as Chantal Kreviazuk, Ron Sexsmith and The Indigo Girls. With their newest effort, Madison Violet prove on they’re among Canada’s brightest singer/songwriters.

• Grand Prize winner: John Lennon Songwriting Contest Maxell Song of the Year
• 2011 Winner: Ontario Council of Folk Festivals: Galaxie Rising Star Award
• 2010 Juno Nominee: Roots & Traditional Album of the Year: Group
• 2009 Winner Canadian Folk Music Awards: Vocal Group of the Year
• 2010 East Coast Music Awards Nominations:
*Group Recording of the Year
*SOCAN Songwriter of the Year Small Of My Heart
• The Best of 2009 Critics Choice in Country Music People’s Magazine UK (No Fool For Trying)
• Top 200 best bands of all times at WDRW Radio in Cologne. This was voted by 120,000 listeners
at one of the biggest stations in Europe
• #1 on the Country Channel on Ourstage.com for “I’m Your Lady”
• Top 5 Singer Songwriter albums on iTunes Canada.
• #3 on The Mojo Playlist – Mojo’s Top 10 for “Small Of My Heart”

QUOTES
“In the end, it’s all about the vocals. The playing is top-rate, especially Cape Breton-er Lisa MacIsaac’s
native and familial skill on the fiddle and all stringed things, but the harmony blend between the two is
arresting.” www.CBC.ca

“(The Good in Goodbye) is another excellent collection (with a terrific title by the way) from the award
winning duo” – UK Music-News.com

“If there was a purity law for flawless alternative country, “No Fool For Trying” and “The Good In
Goodbye” would satisfy all the premises.” - http://www.kultur-forum-amthof.at
“For an entire evening Madison Violet offered self-penned songs that were very melodic and had all the
makings of classic Americana.” - Wendelstein, Germany

“…the two-part singing and the sweeping musical accompaniment with acoustic guitar, mandolin, fiddle,
harmonica and double-bass, made the concert a unique experience, a treat for all lovers of American folk
music.” - Kölner Stadtanzeiger

“…”The Good In Goodbye” has become a wonder in the very traditional sense.” - www.regioative.de
“Madison Violet wrap their stories in honest songs so that lyrics and vocals are always in the
foreground….This Canadian folk-country duo is no longer a secret.”
“…”No Fool For Trying” and “The Good In Goodbye” have the talent and class to be characterized with
the best works of Neil Young, Gillian Welch and Lucinda Williams.”

“[The Good In Goodbye]’s strong points are the near flawless, rich vocals that sing about love,
bittersweet, goodbyes, and finding happiness in departing.” - The Fulcrum

The Good in Goodbye showcases the duo’s vocal chops on material as varied as Cindy, Cindy, a
good-humoured folk tune that’s been covered in various forms by everyone from Burl Ives to Robert
Plant, and the closing track, an original number called Christy Ellen Francis. - The Ottawa Citizen
“Strong collection of songs, country tinged music that I like, the kind with heart and soul and bags of
originality” – Dave Paskell

“Lovely voices, superb harmonies and great musicianship delightfully served up by two charming and
bubbly singers.” - Crakerjack.co.uk (8/10 live review).

“They started out as a pop duo, but have now become one of Canada’s hottest alt.country tickets, and
with songs that will simply just break your heart and a recent 8/10 review of their third album, No Fool For
Trying, there’s little question why people are calling Brenley MacEachern and Lisa MacIsaac – better
known as Madison Violet – the best female duo to come out of Canada since The McGarrigle sisters.”
Americana UK

Rick Price + guests

Geoff — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:00:17 +0000

Australian singer/songwriter Rick Price has walked the journey many musicians’ dreams are made of. From the very beginning, as a nine year old and the youngest member of his family’s band, music was Rick’s passion. Since those humble yet defining days, set amongst the backdrop of country Queensland, the self- taught artist has forged an internationally praised and respected career spanning more than three decades earning him double platinum status for his greatest hits and numerous industry awards.
Rick relocated to Nashville USA in 2009, primarily to tour with his buddy and great friend, Tommy Emmanuel. Together they toured for one year around the USA and Europe.
Following the completion of this tour, after being back on stage playing to big live audiences, Rick, feeling inspired and re-energised, jumped straight into co-writing with other artists in Nashville. The result will certainly be a surprise to some of his diehard fans. Love, a recurring theme in his new work, where it once spoke of heartbreak and loss, now speaks of hope and transformation.
“The Water’s Edge” indicates new influences and a broader style for Rick. While there are still echoes of a great pop artist, even more so, country and blues meld beautifully with folk sounds to create an album that transcends genre.
Rick Price returns to Australia and SE Asia in February and March 2012 to launch this stunning album.
Every show will be a ‘celebration’ a ‘launch’. ‘The Water’s Edge’, which is his first release of new songs since 2003, has been crafted and honed and is receiving critical acclaim from fellow artists in this industry with descriptions such as ‘genius’, ‘brilliant’, ‘the best yet’, being vocalised.
“The best album I have listened to in the past 20 years”
Mick King, Guitarist
“I listen to this CD as I travel in my car, it is pure genius”
Brian Lizotte, Owner, Australia’s top live entertainment venue

“The Water’s Edge” has ten tracks including ‘I’ve Got It Good’, ‘River’ and ‘It Starts With A Kiss’.
Produced, recorded and mixed by Ben Wisch in New York City and additional recording by Don Kerce in Nashville, this album has all the elements of an international sound combined with the Aussie Rick timbre we know and love.
Audiences can expect to hear all these brilliant new songs and sounds from Rick, but as well he will never disappoint and the greatest hits will be performed as well.