A good fun weekend away we had at the Summer Cherry Festival in Adelaide. It’s a tough drive to do in a weekend, a lot of sore bottoms, a lot of nasty roadhouse food, and a lot of open spaces, pink lakes and road works.
It’s interesting; I’ve noticed there seem to be road works on every major highway every time we drive them. It’s like by the time they fix the highway all the way to the end of it, it’s time to go back to the beginning and do it all again. So there are always those painful 110 zones that have been altered to 60 for a good 10kms in between towns that test your patience.
The drive to Adelaide is usually much better than the drive home. We always start early on the way over, getting the first 3 hours over with before the day seems like it’s really begun. But the way back always sees us sleeping in after a late night, and the day getting to 3pm in the afternoon and knowing we won’t be home for another five hours.
Time in the car is always quite hilarious though. Habits and behaviours of people who you spend half your life with really become engrained in you without realising. Let me share a little light. Rob does this weird teeth clicking thing that is constant. He doesn’t even realise he’s doing it, but I notice it the entire time. Byll will have these intermittent abrupt awakenings where every 15mins or so she’ll half yell ‘do you want me to drive’ while she’s basically still asleep. Josh will always drive the car like he’s kicking back on the couch, one hand on the wheel, head back, cruising. And I will to everyone’s absolute frustration put on the same couple of albums on repeat, until Rob claims the Ipod with a Triple J Dr. Carl or John Saffran podcast.
There’s always a lot of sleeping in preparation for your 2 hour driving shift, a lot of seat swapping, discoveries of new unknown public toilet locations, food stops and long conversations about producers and their work. So there you go, an idea of what it’s like being on the road with us!
Beth
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Sunday, January 10, 2010
A new year, a new album...
For every January of my 2 decade and a bit life, I have been in a place called Mallacoota holidaying with my family. Mum, dad, my sister and I in the same house, on the same hill, over looking the same amazing view of the Inlet year after year. It’s the best place I know, a typical small coastal town scenario where it’s quiet as a mouse throughout the year, and then come summer it doubles in size and activity. But this year is the first time I am not there.
Instead, we are spending January writing and demo-ing for our second album in Josh’s home built studio in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. It’s a bit strange being in Melbourne at this time, I had no idea how quiet this city becomes and how awesome it is driving around streets with half the usual traffic. I like it. So far, we have put down seven tracks with a bunch more in the pipeline. They are all sounding great and it’s making me more excited by the day about the year ahead.
Having said that, demo-ing is just the beginning. First you have to write and finish the songs, then you have to arrange them, then you demo, then you talk strategy for how the album will actually be made, with who, with what money, when, where, etc, etc. Then there’s working out who and where to mix it, master it, how you will be releasing it and so on. But this time at the beginning of such a project is probably the most exciting, or at least it is for me. It’s the creative part. There’s nothing more exciting than writing a new song. You never know when one will come; it’s usually at the most inconvenient times. For example, when you have to be somewhere, late at night and you have to get up early or when you just don’t have enough time for whatever reason. So when that little wave of inspiration comes, you have to ride the wave for as long as it will go and that’s when something great comes out. Songs come from experience. Life on a day to day basis can become so routine and boring if you let it, it happens to me all the time and that’s when the inspiration stops. It’s when we do something crazy, out of character, new and unknown. That’s when the spectrum of emotions starts pouring out and falls into songs.
So I want to say thank you to any person or place who may have inspired this next bunch of songs. Whether we loved or hated you at the time, or were put through a positive or negative experience because of you, you are all little treasures, and invaluable.
Beth
Instead, we are spending January writing and demo-ing for our second album in Josh’s home built studio in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. It’s a bit strange being in Melbourne at this time, I had no idea how quiet this city becomes and how awesome it is driving around streets with half the usual traffic. I like it. So far, we have put down seven tracks with a bunch more in the pipeline. They are all sounding great and it’s making me more excited by the day about the year ahead.
Having said that, demo-ing is just the beginning. First you have to write and finish the songs, then you have to arrange them, then you demo, then you talk strategy for how the album will actually be made, with who, with what money, when, where, etc, etc. Then there’s working out who and where to mix it, master it, how you will be releasing it and so on. But this time at the beginning of such a project is probably the most exciting, or at least it is for me. It’s the creative part. There’s nothing more exciting than writing a new song. You never know when one will come; it’s usually at the most inconvenient times. For example, when you have to be somewhere, late at night and you have to get up early or when you just don’t have enough time for whatever reason. So when that little wave of inspiration comes, you have to ride the wave for as long as it will go and that’s when something great comes out. Songs come from experience. Life on a day to day basis can become so routine and boring if you let it, it happens to me all the time and that’s when the inspiration stops. It’s when we do something crazy, out of character, new and unknown. That’s when the spectrum of emotions starts pouring out and falls into songs.
So I want to say thank you to any person or place who may have inspired this next bunch of songs. Whether we loved or hated you at the time, or were put through a positive or negative experience because of you, you are all little treasures, and invaluable.
Beth
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Reflections on a year...
The days leading up to time-marks such as New Years, Christmas, Birthday’s, etc, never quite seem to sit well with me. You would think that one would look forward to them as a chance to celebrate, party, let loose, use them as an excuse to do something out of character, or as an excuse to do nothing at all. Some use them as an excuse to spoil themselves, over-eat, spend a lot of money or indulge. Some see them as a reason to be well behaved, a reason to keep the peace or swallow words that would much rather be spat out in full force. And others see them as a chance to reminisce, reflect on what has been, treat someone else, write something from the heart, be honest or catch up with neglected family or friends.
For some though, it seems to be a time when they spiral into a subtle state of anxiety, uncertainty and nervousness. Seeing it as a small reminder of what they haven’t done, haven’t ticked off their ‘to do’ list for the year or what they ‘will’ or ‘will not’ do in the form of a new year’s resolution for the year to come. It’s not the best feeling when it gets to the end of another year and the little piece of paper that you stuck up on your mirror which lists ‘things to buy for 2009’ and ‘goals for 2009’ only have a couple crossed off the ambitious list of ten or so! Neither is it encouraging when your New Year’s resolution is the same as last years because you didn’t actually resolve what you wanted to resolve the first time around…
But at least we can cherish the fact that with each new year that goes by either marked by a birthday, Christmas or New Year we get that little bit more intelligent, learn a few more new things, expand our vocabulary a bit more and meet a few more varieties of human. That’s good enough for me!
Beth
For some though, it seems to be a time when they spiral into a subtle state of anxiety, uncertainty and nervousness. Seeing it as a small reminder of what they haven’t done, haven’t ticked off their ‘to do’ list for the year or what they ‘will’ or ‘will not’ do in the form of a new year’s resolution for the year to come. It’s not the best feeling when it gets to the end of another year and the little piece of paper that you stuck up on your mirror which lists ‘things to buy for 2009’ and ‘goals for 2009’ only have a couple crossed off the ambitious list of ten or so! Neither is it encouraging when your New Year’s resolution is the same as last years because you didn’t actually resolve what you wanted to resolve the first time around…
But at least we can cherish the fact that with each new year that goes by either marked by a birthday, Christmas or New Year we get that little bit more intelligent, learn a few more new things, expand our vocabulary a bit more and meet a few more varieties of human. That’s good enough for me!
Beth
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
A night to remember...
What a weekend and what a night!
When, just two months ago, we brainstormed the idea of putting on a show to help send us off to Memphis, Tennessee (where we will be showcasing at the International Folk Alliance Conference in February 2010), we knew that if we could pull it off it would be a night to remember. And man, it was.
It was at one of our band meetings in Nth Fitzroy that we sat down and made a wish list of artists/friends who we would absolutely love to ask to special guest with us on the evening. At first, we asked a whole bunch of people who we have either met and partied with at past festivals, shared line-ups with in Melbourne and around OZ or who have been mentors and been so kind in offering knowledge and support. Thinking that at least half wouldn’t be able to do it or not want to, we crossed our fingers and put our request out there. Well blind me dead, they all said YES!
Wally De Backer (aka Goyte), Bonjah, Sophie Koh, Jordie Lane, Liz Stringer, Austin Busch, Ryan Meeking, Sal Kimber and Michael Barker were our all-star line-up for the special night. We either did covers of their songs, they did covers of ours or we did brand new covers all together. The week leading up to the show was full-on, with back to back rehearsals with everyone, trying to find free time between everyone's busy touring schedules. I have to say that is was such an enjoyable experience rehearsing with everyone. For how many times we have played our own songs and are half sick of them, it was so nice to learn and play new songs and hear ours done a different way.
Cliff Bowden opened the night for us with his beautiful voice and funky-arse trio. Check him out if you haven’t yet! Andrew McClelland compered the night, handing over Port Fairy and Queenscliff Music Festival tix for 2010 to very excited raffle winners. Jono Steer, the bloody legend behind the sound desk who we stupidly forgot to thank from stage at the end of the night, did a mighty job. Hannah and Adrian for running the merch desk all night. And Tom Harris, who took on so many different jobs its hard to keep track of them all.
It was a huge success, lots of smiling faces when I could see out into the audience, and a personal highlight for myself was Jordie, Austin and Ryan’s harmonica battle in the ‘Dear Daniel’ all in grand finale. After an epic day, it was time for an after party at the Night Cat to relax, have a dance and a drink ….maybe two.
Thank you from the bottom of our collective Stevie hearts to everyone who was involved and everyone who came out to support us on a school night. We feel extremely lucky to have friends like you and to have such a strong support team around us. We can proudly say that we made some $$$ which will send us to Memphis for Christmas!!
Beth
When, just two months ago, we brainstormed the idea of putting on a show to help send us off to Memphis, Tennessee (where we will be showcasing at the International Folk Alliance Conference in February 2010), we knew that if we could pull it off it would be a night to remember. And man, it was.
It was at one of our band meetings in Nth Fitzroy that we sat down and made a wish list of artists/friends who we would absolutely love to ask to special guest with us on the evening. At first, we asked a whole bunch of people who we have either met and partied with at past festivals, shared line-ups with in Melbourne and around OZ or who have been mentors and been so kind in offering knowledge and support. Thinking that at least half wouldn’t be able to do it or not want to, we crossed our fingers and put our request out there. Well blind me dead, they all said YES!
Wally De Backer (aka Goyte), Bonjah, Sophie Koh, Jordie Lane, Liz Stringer, Austin Busch, Ryan Meeking, Sal Kimber and Michael Barker were our all-star line-up for the special night. We either did covers of their songs, they did covers of ours or we did brand new covers all together. The week leading up to the show was full-on, with back to back rehearsals with everyone, trying to find free time between everyone's busy touring schedules. I have to say that is was such an enjoyable experience rehearsing with everyone. For how many times we have played our own songs and are half sick of them, it was so nice to learn and play new songs and hear ours done a different way.
Cliff Bowden opened the night for us with his beautiful voice and funky-arse trio. Check him out if you haven’t yet! Andrew McClelland compered the night, handing over Port Fairy and Queenscliff Music Festival tix for 2010 to very excited raffle winners. Jono Steer, the bloody legend behind the sound desk who we stupidly forgot to thank from stage at the end of the night, did a mighty job. Hannah and Adrian for running the merch desk all night. And Tom Harris, who took on so many different jobs its hard to keep track of them all.
It was a huge success, lots of smiling faces when I could see out into the audience, and a personal highlight for myself was Jordie, Austin and Ryan’s harmonica battle in the ‘Dear Daniel’ all in grand finale. After an epic day, it was time for an after party at the Night Cat to relax, have a dance and a drink ….maybe two.
Thank you from the bottom of our collective Stevie hearts to everyone who was involved and everyone who came out to support us on a school night. We feel extremely lucky to have friends like you and to have such a strong support team around us. We can proudly say that we made some $$$ which will send us to Memphis for Christmas!!
Beth
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Adventures at (and mostly before) the IF Awards, by Beth (with some interjections from Robin)
I’m sitting at home with mum and dad, and yes, we are settling in to watch the 2009 IF Awards on SBS that we had the pleasure of attending only 24 hours ago in Sydney.
It was the shortest jet setting trip we’ve ever done (Wrong! We once flew to Canberra for a festival and flew home the same day! – Robin). This is how the day flowed: I woke with just enough time to race up to the shopping centre to buy some skin coloured stockings to wear with my prepared attire that I had packed the night before. Three pairs of stockings/tights (some for Byll as well) and $40 later (oh my goodness, stockings are such a rip off!), I got back just in time to pick Byll up and to catch our flight with our favourite airline, Tiger (I hope that was sarcastic – you know they’re the ones who smashed my guitar, right?! – Robin). I had packed minimal, one dress, one pair of shoes and make up. Byll on the other hand, looked like she had packed for a week.
We arrived at the hotel, that Byll had boasted was only a 10 min walk from Luna Park, where the ceremony was being held, and it couldn’t have turned out to be a more stressful afternoon. I was super excited about the evening and getting to dress up. I hadn’t dressed up like this since my year 12 formal. Only three days before I was convinced that my chosen retro style black and white checked dress was perfect and that I looked sensational as I strutted around the lounge room giving mum and dad a fashion parade. But as I watched my big sister get into her outfit, I got that feeling that you never grow out of as a younger sibling, which was a mixture of admiration, jealousy and disappointment, because she looked absolutely amazing, and I wanted to look just as good. I quickly realised that my only retro black and white checked dress that I had brought needed to be immediately tossed.
This is when the stress kicked in. Their were a few tears when I went to put my never before worn stockings on and immediately pulled a ladder from my ankle to my knee in literally a second, and then to realise that because I couldn’t wear my wrecked stockings I would reveal my atrocious freshly painted grape fruit toe nails, that for some weird reason I thought looked good the night before. So Byll came to my rescue, wiped those tears away and offered her numerous other dresses to me as an alternative that she had come prepared with. I went for the classic black number, and thank the lord all was peachy again.
We met the rest of ‘team Sunshower’ (Robin, Stew and Lorin) by the red carpet. We watched closely while the celebs rolled out of the circling cars doing the drop offs. After chickening out of approaching the red carpet ourselves, we strolled down along side the red carpet to pick up our tickets. It went something like “Hi, we are The Little Stevies, we’re nominated for Best Video Clip tonight”. To our absolute delight and surprise the woman responsible for the tickets immediately responded with “The Little Stevies? Why aren’t you in a car?” Wow, we were meant to be in one of those cars that drop you off at the red carpet and then you get your picture taken! Well we weren’t going to miss out on that! In true Stevie style, ‘team Sunshower’ turned straight around, trekked all the way back to the beginning of the red carpet, embarrassingly found ourselves being the very last group, but walked that carpet like it was only ours.
The ceremony began and our award was second up. We try not to be a competitive band when it comes to these things, but damn we wanted to win. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to take to the stage in the following minutes, but we watched a grab of our clip up on the big screens and I have to say that I was particularly thrilled and proud to see our clip up there for all to watch.
We hit the after party, drank more champagne, danced a little and fed ourselves. I had such a great time and would do it all again in a second…… but I’m never again in my life wearing high heels!!!
Over and Out,
Beth
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
'Dink You' has landed
The new video accompanying our new single 'Dink You' has arrived on YouTube!!
It's kind of half music video, half short film, and it's all about The Little Stevies becoming the first band to circumnavigate the globe by bike.
You can find the long version here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sn_jIvcDkF8
and a shorter version here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdGrtemecgA
If you like it, please spread the word! Post it on a blog, on your Facebook, Tweet it, email it! We want EVERYONE to see it!
Take care,
Robin
It's kind of half music video, half short film, and it's all about The Little Stevies becoming the first band to circumnavigate the globe by bike.
You can find the long version here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sn_jIvcDkF8
and a shorter version here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdGrtemecgA
If you like it, please spread the word! Post it on a blog, on your Facebook, Tweet it, email it! We want EVERYONE to see it!
Take care,
Robin
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