It doesn’t come any groovier than Mustang Sally. Wilson Pickett stretches that 12 bar blues to the limit and lays down the groove with such cool sophistication. I love teaching this in ukulele class, especially because Wilson’s version is in the key of C, the ukulele’s favourite key. It means any uke player
My small person has been practising her banjo for hours. It’s seeping through the walls at the perfect volume, providing the soundtrack to my evening. It’s a lovely balance of bounce and repetitive groove with a hint of creepy darkness.
My goodness it is a nice feeling when you set up the ticketing page for an event and the very same day someone buys some tickets. Thank you, o wonderful early ticket purchaser, for booking to see Auld Alliance in July. You put a big smile on my dial!
I have a piano student on Thursday mornings who is an absolute joy to teach. He’s interested and enthusiastic and we have really good discussions about how music works. And that dynamic makes me a better teacher. The photo below is a teaching idea I am thrilled to have come up with last
I did another fun lunchtime gig in the Bendigo Mall today with the most excellent Robbie Melville. I’ve been trying to do some gigs with him for years, but Covid got in the way. This month I’ve managed to nab him for three gigs of Frenchy songs and it’s loads of fun. One
I love old songs, especially when they pop up according to what I’m working on. This one landed on my radar in the middle of making a costume for some events about Mrs Muller, the 19th century Umbrella Maker of Ballarat. The Umbrella Man was written in 1924, but not recorded until 1939.
They let me on the driver’s seat of the No.3, but, no, I didn’t get to drive. Should have asked to ding the bell, though. I can now tick off ‘Do a gig on a tram’ from the list of accomplishments. It was fun and I was glad of my muscle memory tram
A well-designed tea towel is a beautiful thing. Not only does it dry your dishes and hands, polish your glass and swot flies, but it hangs on the oven rail looking fabulous. My new tea towel is from a fabulously fun New Zealand band I met last weekend, called T-Bone. Fine musicians, great
I received these earrings as an impromptu gift. The giver thought I might think them too cheesy. He was wrong. I love them. Teeny tiny piano keyboards hanging off my ears makes me imagine little tunes tinkling off of my earlobes as I wander through the day.
I lost my amazing metal earplugs (they block out the hurting volume but you still hear most of the definition) on the second day of the folk festival. I was tired and they live in a little black pouch that’s pretty hard to see in the dark in a busy setting. I did
