September 2006 - Queensland Tour
The Queensland tour was highly enjoyable despite small audiences. Gregg Telian and I played some great music with some wonderful young musicians in Josh Hatcher (sax), Dave Bell (drums/percussion) and Steele Chabeau (Double Bass). I was welcomed back to the Brisbane live music scene with as much enthusiasm as I have for it and I offer many thanks to Eddy and Gill from the Tongue and Groove in West End for their support and encouragement; Alison Mckenzie at the Mad Ass Folk Club; Mary, Anne and many other members of the Kookaburra Folk Club; and a HUGE vote of appreciation goes to Matt and the team at The Vue Lounge in New Farm who were effusive in their welcome to have us perform at their great venue at such short notice (after The Press Club double-booked our gig).

September 2006 - South Coast Tour
A delightful surprise awaited Gregg Telian, Paul Haller and myself when we performed at the Cootamundra Arts Centre the night before the Gundagai Festival. Isabel Scott and her committee have worked tirelessly to create a unique centre for the arts in this country town and their welcome was nothing short of very warm and friendly. Despite a number of major events happening in town on the same evening, a decent crowd of locals turned out for the night and proved to be a highly appreciative and supportive audience. If you’re passing through there, make it a point to check out the Centre – and if you feel inclined to support their fundraising efforts, it’s a worthwhile cause.

The first Turning Wave Festival at Gundagai was a great success and I commend the organisers, Pam Merrigan and her team, who did such a terrific job. I enjoyed the fest immensely, especially: performing at the St Johns venue; participating in the Women, the Stories, the Poems, the Songs workshop on Sunday morning with the funniest bunch of women I’ve met in a long time!; hearing some great music from some great artists, in particular Mothers of Intention and Urban EXentrics; and catching up with my increasingly large folk ‘family’.

March 2006 - Central West Lightening Tour
We were welcomed warmly by Dubbo at the start of March for a short tour. Our first gig at the Red Earth Estate winery saw us perform to an appreciative audience scattered under the stars with their picnic baskets (and some great wines!) on a balmy evening. Some of those people love to party! The night ended with a conga line (that's a first for us!) dancing around the grounds and Maureen just couldn't help but join in!

Saturday morning saw the trio live and roving at the local farmers' markets and snapped up by the local television crew. We met some great folks including a few from the Newcastle, Hunter and Port Stephens area - what a small world! Saturday night we performed at the Imperial Stay in Narromine - a delightful upmarket restaurant/cafe/bar - under their purpose-built music shell. And we have to say, it was one of the best stages we've worked on. The hospitality by the Imperial team was superb and we couldn't believe it, but the owners are Newcastle ex-pats!! A little private show for a local retirement home started our Sunday and we finished it with a bang at the Dubbo Folk Club - a small but discerning crowd who gave us a heart-warming reception. The local media got behind the tour and gave great support, for which I thank them immensely.

It's always a good sign when the muso's ask on the way home "when are we going back there again?" ... rather than: "Let's NOT go back there again!" ... so I'm starting to plan the next trip and we're looking forward to seeing some new friends again.

Oh ... and here's the quote of the month from Bret as we were driving through town on our arrival: "Gee, this place reminds me a lot of Dubbo." Gregg's still giving him loads about that one!

January 2006 - Illawarra Fest
The famous Illawarra/Jamberoo festival is no more, however full credit to the Illawarra Folk Club for reviving the festival in a new format. Held at Bulli over the Australia Day long weekend, the 4 days of festival was just brilliant!

The organisers delivered a mighty program filled to abundance with many 'known' and many 'unknown' acts. The quality of the music was superb and the festival was rich in diversity. Based in the showground and using nearby clubs and hotels, the facilities were jolly good and all venues were easily accessible.

Performing as a trio with Gregg Telian and Bret Van Kriedte, I had a number of spots and great response from audiences. We trialed some of my - and Gregg's - new material, which was very well received. I also did a performance workshop and main stage concert with the group Beeswing, so had ample exposure during the fest - AND enough time to check out quite a number of other performers.

Jigzag, of course, being the highlight - such a polished trio of superb musicians and fantastic original material. And there were some other new joys for me, too, including a group called Junior - loved their material, loved their sound; Women in Docs were a real treat, funny, beautiful harmonies; and EcoBeat who just ‘went off!’ in the dance venue with their exciting blend of beat-based world music. And great to see Tamnesia again (I first saw them at the Majors Creek Festival), this time with the addition of a 4-piece women’s backing vocals.

A truly rich, diverse, thoroughly enjoyable festival - well done and thanks to Russ Hannah, Dave Di Santi and the organising committee, the sound technicians ...as well as the volunteers - the cement between the bricks.

November 2005 - Major Fun at Majors Creek Festival
This was my first year on the program at this delightful little festival. Well organised and run, it had an 'intimate' feel and friendly atmosphere and I thoroughly enjoyed being a part of the event. The weekend was filled with some excellent talent and interesting displays and workshops. Highlights for me were the groups Fellowship of the Strings (innovative arrangements to some great old songs - especially 'knights in white satin'), Tamnesia (funky blues & gospel), Doomsday Preachers (gospel rock) and especially a young trio called One Night Jam (tight group, great sound, fabulous songwriting, excellent stagework). I'll definitely be applying again next year.

September 2005 - Highlights of the Queensland Tour

• Discovering the vibrant live music scene in Brisbane - and the way this city embraces original music - I'm looking forward to going back there next year.
• Discovering the distinctive music and style of a Brisbane-based band called Moot ... keep an eye on these young musicians; they're the most exciting thing I've heard in a long time.
• Learning that a cello can be made to sound like a bass, a fiddle and a guitar, too!
• Playing with the courageous trio of Mike & Gina Gray and Pete Foley who stepped in with just a week's notice when my backing band backed out (maybe I need to write a song about the Wrong Way Band!) They did a magnificent job under challenging circumstances and thanks to their delightful sense of humour, we had loads of laughs.
• Playing with an excellent replacement saxophonist called Josh Hatcher who wrapped some beautifully smooth melodies around the original songs in the sets.
  ... and the lowlights ...
• Discovering just 4 hours before our first gig that our sax player wasn't coming.
• Arriving at our accommodation on the third night and discovering that the term 'resort' can still apply, even if it WAS 50 years since the term was bestowed!
• Discovering that what constitutes "blues" at one venue DOESN'T constitute "blues" at the next - and that some venue owners think they know the difference!
• Arriving at the last gig and discovering that the venue had been overbooked! There were 5 bands that night - some of us had trouble staying awake that long!