The Album cover

The weekend saw us play dress ups in front of the camera at a hidden away studio space in Fitzroy, taking photos for what will end up being the album cover and the face of what The Little Stevies will be for the next 18 months. The fabulous Simon Nicol was the superb photographer who put us in positions, told us where to look and where to put our limbs. I can’t say I’m particularly comfortable in front of a big black lens the size of a basketball, but with a little direction (…actually who am I kidding, a lot of direction) we managed to come up with some very cool shots. Meredith Earls, our amazing artist who does all our artwork was also there acting as fashion stylist, doing the tough job of being brutally honest when it came to outfit choices. Just in time for the mammoth storm that came Saturday evening, we ended up down at the beach to achieve our final shot. You’ve got to give us credit for persistence to get the perfect shot, because there was a whole lot of water soaking us from all angles. Ending up looking like drenched rats, there was no other way to finish up but by hoovering down some very tasty fish n chips by the waters edge. What a fun day.

Beth

Sunday night in front of the box

The Aria’s are a celebration in our family household. It’s been an event for as long as I can remember. Embarrassingly we have been known to dress up, pour champagne, invite friends around and get a bit rowdy in a somewhat party type tradition. But that happens in the lounge room, on the couch, in the privacy our own home where there are not live to air cameras broadcasting it around the country for all to watch. I couldn’t help thinking though whilst I was watching the show that I had looked forward to so much for the past week, that this year’s Aria’s which are meant to be the biggest most celebrated awards for Australian music, were basically an extension of the party I was having at home; scattered, casual and boozy. Putting the performances aside which I thoroughly enjoyed, I couldn’t understand why the big boss in charge of running the show chose to present it with such little class. We Australians already struggle to get noticed on an International stage, so why make it harder for ourselves by forgetting to highlight our best qualities and bringing in the token International guest to make it all worthwhile? Oh well, fingers crossed it will blow our socks off next year.

Until then,
Beth

What has just been

Sitting at home in Melbourne on a Sunday afternoon, in a place where I’ve reconnected with all my everyday things that I have missed so much having lived out of a suitcase for the past two months, I’m collecting my memories of what has just been and am trying to make some sense of it all. Maybe in my wildest dreams I imagined moving overseas for a couple of months to make an record and then tour around one of the largest countries in the world, but not for a second did I actually think reality would present itself with such an opportunity. But it did, and we have had the best time. I’m not going to lie though, it wasn’t all ‘smell the roses’ type scenario; certain parts were more challenging than others. But that’s all part of it, and looking back on it now I wouldn’t of had it any other way because what kind of a boring story would that have made? Ethan Allen, our producer, was superb. As I listen to the final mixes of all the tracks on my I pod, its making me excited and proud and really appreciate what an excellent job he did with this album. So we’ve given birth to this album and now I cannot wait to show it off.

Beth

Midday to Midnight

It’s been 3 weeks since we started recording the album and now only 3 days until we finish. It’s definitely been an experience of a lifetime, and speaking honestly, has been one of the biggest learning curves I think I’ve ever had. Ethan’s studio out the back of a trendy suburban compound of Silverlake LA, has become our nest for this project, where our songs, abilities and creative ego’s have been stretched, challenged, nurtured, crushed, rearranged and celebrated to create a catalogue of music which I’m believing the further we get along with it has become something really special. We have been working six days a week, 12 hours a day, midday to midnight, becoming very familiar with the #2 bus and the local coffee shops along the stretch between home and the studio. On our couple of days off that we’ve had, we’ve ventured out and had adventures. The beach, the shopping strips, the parks, the bars…. And how could I not mention the Mexican food that has become a regular feature in our daily diets. Before, after and in between the music making, there has been lots of skype, pay tv, wine, facebook, yoga, runs around the block and a band viewing session of Fleetwood Mac’s making of ‘Rumours’. Our touring party has now grown to 6 people in a two bedroom apartment, with our sound engineer & manager arriving in the last week making for fun times, dinners around the table and creative sleeping arrangements. It’s been a truckload lot of fun so far and not long til we hit the road for shows.
Until next week,
Beth

Los Anegeles Baby!

So we touched down in Los Angeles just over a week ago to begin recording album #2 with producer Ethan Allan. Two months of recording and touring around the States is what we have ahead of us and I couldn’t feel more lucky, excited and anxious than I do as we speak. We began writing and demoing months ago and rehearsing our pants off whenever we could so we could be in tip top condition for when the record button was hit. After one day off after touchdown, filled with supermarket shopping, getting our bearings around our bright aqua colored apartment base in Silverlake and a visit to Guitar Centre (the biggest music shop in the world) to stock up on supplies for the month ahead, we plunged into five days of live tracking as a band at Red Star Studios, running on little sleep and intense jet lag. Our producer Ethan and engineer for the week, Jim Watts, were truly fantastic. Apart from their great skill in producing records, gee did they make sure we ate well – taking us to all the cool cafes and restaurants that line the streets of Silverlake day after day – quite a trendy neighborhood of LA we’re discovering.

So we have set up camp here for the next few weeks in a city that is so unknown to all of us – who knows what could happen. What I do know though is that this is an album which I am so proud of already and can’t wait to share.

Stay tuned..

Beth

Read more: http://www.myspace.com/thelittlestevies/blog#ixzz106cyJF9X

You've got mail

Something that our band is very good at, is replying to emails. When our manager sends us an email about something, you can bet that it will follow with an enormous string of conversational emails that fill up your inbox in no time at all. So it has become quite normal to log in every quarter of the day to find a bunch of dark blue, bold, unread, irresistible emails that could possibly hold the news that could change our lives at any moment….

What I’ve learnt is the act of patience and what I’ve realised is nothings for certain in this music world that we find ourselves delving deeper and deeper into. So it has become the norm to keep news, plans and achievements hush hush until we are quite literally living them as we speak.

So in that very fashion I’m not going to reveal the exciting details of where we will be recording album #2 just yet – this is just a tease – but I will say that I had a rush of excitement when I opened an email today and took an online guided tour of the Los Angeles recording pad that will become our home next month…

Beth

Welcome to Winter - Part 2

Last Friday was a huge day. We were lucky enough to have been granted a helping financial hand by Vic Rocks to make our 2nd album and the official announcement was held at Cherry Bar, Melbourne. It was very exciting but extremely nerve racking at the same time. Melbourne artist extraordinaire Dan Kelly performed and so did we, as we were both recipients of this round of grants. Dan was fantastic, a true pro. He began the day by so easily making a room full of politicians, media and music industry folk sing a long to his song ‘Bindi Irwin Apocalypse Jam’ – something I was so impressed with. Then it was our turn and I think we did pretty well. The Premier, Mr Brumby, seemed to dig it which was cool and we were asked to do a second song which I think is a good sign.

So after the huge nervous stress of performing in front of some impressive sized lenses and not your normal everyday audience, we headed to sound check at the East Brunswick Club in preparation for our last Melbourne show before the new album. We had the lovely Little Blakes who opened the night for us and the very cool Ben Wells & the Middle Names who we will be spending this week touring with around Tassie. Cheers to everybody who left the couch, the heater and the tv, and trekked out into the icy cold winter to come to the show. It really was such a nice way to say farewell to ‘Love Your Band’ for a little while, whilst we create something quite different and new for you all over the next coming months.

Will be sure to give you details of where the album will be recorded very soon – but for now think EXOTIC……

Beth