Our trip to the UK was a huge success. In our first 24 hours in London I rehearsed with my musicians, performed a gig and went into the studio to record an 11-song CD. Talk about upping the pace! "Oh, Lady Be Good" went down a treat with shows at Frizzante and The Blind Tiger in London and then a 7-show season at The Jazz Bar in Edinburgh.  I was so delighted to be back on the multi-show performance day in Edinburgh. After performing 9 shows over the course of 3 days in our first few days in Edinburgh I was in my element and loving every second. Far from being exhausted at the end of the performing day I find that audiences give me back more energy and inspiration than I give out and I end up being totally re-invigorated. There's clearly a need for shows where babies and their carers are targetted - half of our baby shows sold out before we even left Brisbane. We recieved great reviews and Baby Loves Singing, Dancing and YOU! was an officially "SOLD OUT" show according to the box office people who give you a lovely white wreath to attach to your show forever more. You can catch a little bit of footage here if you like. I'm part way through writing what a hope will be a mildly entertaining blog about the whole experience (those with a 13 month old baby will guess at the content and perhaps understand the delay in me getting this finished!), so stay tuned for more ...

 

It was going to be hard to convince any airline to let me fly long haul to the UK last year when I was 35 weeks pregnant with Ella, so sadly I had to miss the Edinburgh Fringe Festival ... but not this year! With great excitement I'll be travelling over to the UK for shows at the Edinburgh Fringe and London in August. I'll have a great little roadie (Ella) and a roadie friend (mum) to present two shows "Oh, Lady Be Good" and "Baby Loves Singing, Dancing and You" as well as gigs to promote and shop around my EP "Stepping Stone". "Oh, Lady Be Good" will be performed at the Jazz Bar in central Edinburgh with my great friend and musician Greg Gottlieb (doule bass) and a wonderful Italian guitarist Giovanni Cacioppo. "Baby Loves Singing, Dancing and YOU!" is my workshop/performance aimed at new parents and grandparents to arm them with some simple skills to instill a love of music, rhythm and dance in new bubbas. Needless to say, I have a very keen assistant to help me test ideas for this show.

In preparation for Edinburgh I am delighted to be joining two other acts also heading over to the Fringe in a series of fundraising gigs. I'll be performing with Jo Loth and Out of Abindgon for some exciting gigs in the leadup to our departure. Hope you can get along to support local talent giving their all to get to the biggest performing arts festival in the world.

Fringe Benefits: June 5, July 7 and one more date tba.

A strong flood recovery effort has done the hard yards and life is somewhat back to normal for most of us, though quite a few are still doing it a bit tough. Our thoughts are with them. Our beloved Brisbane Jazz Club (situated right on the bank of the Brisbane river) experienced quite an extraordinary outpouring of generosity in the lead up to the flood and in the subsequent cleanup the clubhouse has been polished up to be even better than before. I was honoured to perform as guest vocalist for the first gig back at the club on April 8 and also attended the Gala re-opening on May 7 which was a fabulous celebration with Premier Anna Bligh and Councillor Geraldine Knapp attending for state and local governments. Our performance on Easter Sunday morning was also a great success and truly, the club has never looked better. Hats off to all involved.

The Queensland Government are celebrating Queensland week in a big way this year since so many people have experienced challenges from the flood disaster. I'm honoured to be singing for the Heroes Ceremony at Suncorp Piazza on Sunday 12 June where thousands of heroes will be recognised by state and federal government leaders. It's sure to be a really special event.

Merry Christmas to all!

It was my pleasure to be involved once again in the Hon Premier Anna Bligh's Christmas Concerts this year. We travelled to Toowoomba and Cairns for the concerts which played to full houses. The show featured music, dance, poetry and choirs and I also got to feature my dad, Alan Western, who joined me for some beautiful duets and Christmas carols. Tnee (keys) also kept the band cooking with Steve Powell (drums) back from Japan and the ever faithful Jeremy O'Connor (double bass) keeping the groove strong. They were beautiful concerts and really got the spirit of Christmas going for us.

I rashly decided to take Ella on stage at the end of the concert in Toowoomba which drew a big clucky 'oooh' from the audience, followed quickly by a gasp as my perfect child spewed in front of Premier Anna Bligh and the 450+ strong crowd. I made a glib comment about her giving them all a "little present ... your own white Christmas" at which point Ella responded with a gush of more spew all over the stage. This time it was a fairly hearty laugh that ensued as i leaned down in my bejeweled gown to mop up the white puddle - ahh joy - that will be a good 21st story. I've gotta say though, it was the most enjoyable part of the concert to have her with me and generated a genuine engagement from the audience, you could literally feel the atmosphere become warmer - nothing like a bubba to bring the barriers down.

I took her on stage again in Cairns and this time the response was the same ... although she did hold back on the spit up section ... which is good considering the Premier wanted a cuddle!

My first gig back after giving birth was a 40s style swing set for the State Library to launch the beautiful exhibition "Of Love and War". I sang some great swing and ballads from the era and backed by my wonderful band and I also invited two great young singers, Madeline Luke and Georgia Temple to join me in some Andrews Sisters tunes.

Of love and war explores the relationships forged during times of conflict, and the emotions felt by couples as a result of separation, loss and reunion.

It details the excitement of blossoming romance, passionate affairs and whirlwind weddings that have taken place since the First World War, and continue today.

It tells of sweethearts and lovers separated by war, the loneliness and trauma that could tear some apart, and the anguish of those who had lost a partner. Finally, there are the stories of the survivors and their new beginnings when peace returned: the joy of reunion, the challenges of relationships built on wartime experiences, and the new discoveries by war brides resettling in foreign lands.

Join in the local discussion on the State Library of Queensland's Of love and war blog.

View more information about the exhibition.

Take a free Volunteer guided tour every Tue and Sat from Mon 9 Nov, 11am.  Meet at slq Gallery, level 2.  For group bookings, please contact State Library’s Visitor Services on 07 3842 9985.

An Australian War Memorial Travelling Exhibition presented by the State Library of Queensland.

Venue slq Gallery, level 2
Date Fri 6 Nov 2010 - Sun 20 Feb 2011, open daily 10am-5pm
Entry Free

http://www.slq.qld.gov.au/whats-on/exhibit/online/loveandwar

Skitch Tease & Wake Up Fi

I was delighted to perform as musical support act with a recent comedy double bill at the Brisbane Powerhouse. Liz Skitch and Fiona McGary were both wonderful performers and played to sold out crowds. What a great idea to have a little musical warm up before the show and at interval. More of that we say, more, more, more!

 

In early November, Tnee and I are getting hitched. We're right into the plans for our big day and I can't wait to party with our friends and family. As a seasoned wedding goer (singing at ceremonies and receptions) and an expert event organiser (yes, I am BOSSY!) it's a bit of a dream come true to have this event to put my energy into for the next few weeks, though the real dream come true is Tnee who I can't wait to marry. More news (and pics no doubt) in the next email.

I've recently received some funding to help promote my debut CD. It's very exciting times and over the next four months I will be writing, arranging and recording my CD. Yep, it's been a while coming but I am looking forward to working with some great musicians and arrangers to make the CD the best it can be. Stay tuned for more news.

On August 3, Tnee and I jumped on a plane heading for London via Singapore. I must say that every time I go to Singapore I like it more and more. For four days we basically ate ourselves into a frenzy in the countless foodhalls found in the basement of every building. We also found a grungy little rehearsal room and started getting up to speed with the mammoth task of Edinburgh ahead of us. We arrived in London on August 7 and drove straight up to Edinburgh. With one day to check out the venue and finish rehearsals we then stepped onstage at the Jazz Bar to a nearly full audience. Phew, the next few shows were a bit tough as we tried to massage the show around the Edinburgh jazz audience, and we came good after about show #4! In week two I began Ella, Marilyn, Marlene and Me, my one woman musical theatre show. Again shows went well and the afternoon time slot worked a treat. We also began The Dinosaur Show at 10am. All in all I performed 36 shows in 31 days. There were three days in a row where I performed all three shows each day and amazingly, by show nine of those three days I think I turned in my best performance yet! Funny how things go.

A week in beautiful romantic Paris staying with my aunt was delightful. Tnee and I wandered around the city lost in its beauty. We even recorded "J'ai deux amour" for an upcoming doco about Paris.

Back in the UK we started the UK rural touring part of our trip. We performed in six villages in the Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire areas for the UK Rural Touring Scheme. These were beautiful places with real senses of community and some pretty amazing, eccentric people to boot! We performed in whatever the village centre happened to be, a church built in 1132, a renovated scout hall, a fully fitted out proper theatre ... they were all different and all a great experience.

A little time in London and then it was time to head back home. 42 shows, 9 venues, 14 beds, 6 planes, 4 hire cars, over 2000 audience members and many thousands of kilometers later we were back in Brisbane, ready for the next chapter ...

June was filled with crazy cabaret for the A-Z of Cabaret produced by the Brisbane Cabaret Festival for the Queensland Arts Council. Working alongside Sandro Colarelli, Alison St Ledger and Bryan Probets was a dream not to mention the top notch band headed by Helen Russell on bass and comprising the wonderful musicianship of Jamie Clark (guitars), Sue Porter (keys) and Kym Ambrose (drums). The shows were great fun and I enjoyed hamming it up with Earth Kitt-style sex kitten moves in I Want to be Evil, trying to channel Lena Horne for a beautiful rendition of Stormy Weather and trying my best to hold the longest note possible for Johnny One Note. I had a great time trekking through the Qld west, drinking beer, fossiking for sapphires and eating the same pub meal dozens of times (no sushi in the outback I'm afraid!). It did get absolutely freezing at times, though that didn't stop Sue and I going for an early morning walk, frost and all. We did come home to shouts of 'you townies are crazy' from the open windows of other tour members still cosy in bed! The country folk were delightful and all in all it was a blast ... though my bottom was glad to see the back of the tour bus.

In May we travelled to the beautiful Port Villa, Vanuatu. As you can see from the front page Newspaper article, we were in pretty good performance company! We arrived in Port Villa to meet our charismatic and million-miles-an-hour host 'Mack'. Having brought the double bass on the plane we proceeded to pack the massive white roadcase precariously into the tray of the ute and garner drap-jaw stares of amazement from every person we passed! We performed in cabaret style in Crystals on the Saturday night and then a Sunday sunset show overlooking the pool. The backdrop was amazing with top to toe glass overlooking the bay. Yep - it was a pretty tough gig (ha!). We even got to drink specially made shots in the Voodoo Bar where Mack's special marketing ploy is to periodically set the bar alight ... the photo says it all. We've been asked back and plan to head over in May next year ... fingers crossed!

It was really a fantastic experience. What more can a band ask for? When you get to work with and meet such nice new people, it's wonderful. You meet different artists, hear different sounds. Having such a classy venue is a treat too, plus a great crowd to play to. Travel is fun but when it is combined with music it is even better! When you stay in swanky hotels (Britannia hotel rooms ) it can really make you feel like a rock star! Some organizers really know how to spoil the musicians.