8th October 2010....
Today we have a house concert at Janes place. Getting back into NSW I’m starting to get a flu again, I think the change in weather is causing a few cold and flu issues. I think I’ll sleep for a week straight when I get home : ) We get back home for 4 days and then Stew and I have to fly to Noosa – Stew is presenting a workshop on Marketing with Music – a workshop specifically about the jingle business. Not bad, we’ve been doing it rough for 3 months and when we get back we can rest in a luxury apartment for 5 days…..that will be a treat.
I spent the morning helping out Jane by doing a bit of tidying around the house and setting up the seating for the concert. I’m really looking forward to this.
Our performance areas at Jane's house..
Stew pondering over brekkie while I'm breaking my back cleaning : )
Evening
People were meant to be arriving at 7PM for a 7.30 start, but it didn’t turn out that way. People were wandering in anywhere between 7pm to 8 pm so we had to wait for late arrivals. We didn’t plug in and play until 8.30PM. Tonight’s gig we were playing for donations. The hat was being passed around, so hopefully with that and a few CD sales we’ll get a few hundred dollars.
The night started off well, with Jane dancing around and joining in with the Tambourine during certain songs. After a while I had to confiscate the tambourine : ) Some songs don’t work with the tambourine…I’m sorry Jane : ) There was a lot of wine and champagne being passed around so our audience was a little rowdy.
Snez and one of our audience members 'Debbie'. Freddy was a hit at the concert. His ears always get in the way of a good shot!
House concerts are not really a huge thing in ....Australia..... In ....America.... they’ve taken off like a storm. So I’m hoping that I can get a tour next year comprised with more house concerts because it seems like the place for us.
Some of our guests waiting for the show to start
Tomorrow morning we’ll be heading off for our last gig in Nowra at the ‘Tea Club’.
Sunday we’ll be home.
9th October 2010....
I rang The Tea Club in Nowra this morning to confirm that all is good with the gig and the lady that answered who was the owner said ‘I don’t think we’re opening today….can you hang on’ as she spoke to her husband. Meanwhile I’m building up some ‘why-weren’t-we-told!’ fury while I’m waiting for her to return to the phone…. “A frigin’ phone call wouldn’t have gone astray!” Anyway she tried to fob me off and told me to call back in 10 minutes. I told her that I’m on tour, on the road now and heading for Nowra and I need to know NOW whether I’m coming to Nowra or NOT!
She said “I think it’s safe to say you won’t be playing…but ring back in 10 minutes and we’ll give you the number to Eric who is the independent booker". I already had Eric’s number because I remember organizing the gig with him. I left a firm message on his mobile to ring me back urgently. We made an executive decision to start heading home. I was so angry that the muso’s are always the last to know. It’s so disrespectful. I’m always making an effort to be polite and professional and I’m realizing in the music industry, polite is not always the way to go.
I definitely made a mistake in leaving my phone call to confirm the gig on the morning of the gig. I should have done that days ago. I’ve learnt my lesson to take care of business from my end and to stand up for myself when I feel I’ve been wronged.
Anyway Eric rang and turns out he hasn’t worked at The Tea Club for some time. He sold the venue a while ago and these new owners couldn’t handle the live music part of the business and cancelled a few acts, but didn’t get around to letting most of the musos know! Typical. Eric was very apologetic and I felt a bit better about the situation. He told me about another possible gig in the Shoalhaven: he’s setting up a venue on a farm and said we’d be welcome any time to play there, the next time we come through. Sounds interesting.
So our tour was cut short. I didn’t mind really. I’m starting to get the flu, got a headache and feel a bit burnt out. I’m looking forward to getting home and having a rest for a couple of days. We headed over to my parents house who live in Shellharbour, to catch up and stay over night. It will be nice to see them and get a home cooked meal and an old familiar bed … and our own bathroom – luxury : )
As we drove home Stew and I looked at each other and realised ‘Hey! We just made it all the way to Broome and back, safe and sound successfully’. Man! We’ve got heaps of new stories to tell and a whole new outlook on life, which I’ll share with you at our next local show. Coming from the country into the city feels so weird (so many rules), but I’m sure we’ll adjust very quickly. Freddy will be so depressed when we get home : )
I just want to thank everyone who’s been following the blog for your support. I will post one last blog tomorrow and then through the next couple of weeks I’ll be posting video’s and other things on the blog, so keep an eye out.
xxx
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