| EMILY'S
BLOG |
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| ____________________________________ |
Barack
Obama
[06.05.08] |
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| Last
week I finished reading Barack Obama's book 'The Audacity
of Hope'. I thought it was brilliant. He comes across
as intelligent, kind, confident and humble - a rare
combination. If he manages to stay that way, I think
the world could be an infinitely better place with him
as President of the USA. |
| ____________________________________ |
Playing
Glastonbury
[02.05.08] |
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I'm
very happy to say that I'm playing the Acoustic Stage
at Glastonbury on Saturday 28th June. I'm touring in
May and June with American singer-songwriter Eric Bibb,
playing as a duo with my Aussie bass player Christian
Dunham, then we'll be joined by drummer Geoff Dugmore
for the festival. Can't wait!
In the meantime, my song 'Keep Walking' has been remixed
and is being released as a single in the UK and across
Europe next month. I hope you'll be hearing it on your
radio before too long. It's a song about persevering,
which feels very apt right now.
Hope all's well in your world.
xx |
| ____________________________________ |
Free
Tibet rally
[05.04.08] |
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Tomorrow
(Sunday 6th April) at 2.30pm, Argyle Square, London...
So we were there, with thousands of other people standing
in the freezing cold in Argyle Square with banners and
flags, listening to songs and speeches in support of
Tibet. And though it didn’t make the news (no
violence, no dramatic pictures), it happened. People
in London, in Athens, in Paris, in San Francisco - all
over the world, people are protesting, making a stand.
I think China getting the Olympics is the best thing
that could have happened. Suddenly the spotlight is
on them - on Tibet - and suddenly human rights, not
war or money, is in the headlines.
xx |
| ____________________________________ |
Singing
in the snow
[23.03.08] |
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It's
Easter Sunday and I'm sitting beside a window in a house
on a green hillside, playing my guitar and watching
the sun go down across the valley. It's snowing and
there's a blackbird on the wall outside singing its
heart out. It's moments like this that make me glad
to be.
Hope all's well in your world.
xx |
| ____________________________________ |
What's
happening in Tibet
[16.03.08] |
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| Have
you turned on the news today? If you are anywhere in
the world except China, you’ll hear about an uprising
in Tibet against Chinese rule. Peaceful protests started
by Buddhist monks a few days ago have turned bloody
and now tanks are rolling into Lhasa. Demonstrators
have been given until Monday night to surrender. If
they do, they will be treated ’leniently’.
Considering the average jail sentence for Tibetan political
prisoners is 10 years and 11 months, and considering
China executes more than 1,000 of its own people every
year, I wonder what their idea of leniency is.
His
Holiness the Dalai Lama no longer asks for his country
back. He asks for Tibet to become a peace zone, to
have some autonomy in its own affairs within the People’s
Republic of China, for his people to be allowed the
freedom to practice their Buddhist religion without
fear or censorship. Here in the West, the Dalai Lama
is regarded as a symbol of compassion and peace, a
living example of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther
King’s legacy of non-violent resistance. In
Tibet, people cannot own a picture of him or even
mention his name without risking being thrown in jail.
There
is no democracy or human rights in Tibet - or in China
for that matter. But that won’t stop hundreds
of runners and jumpers going for gold in Beijing,
just like our business leaders and governments who
in the name of ’freedom’ drop bombs on
one country and do business with another. My heart
goes out to the Tibetans, and the Chinese soldiers
shooting at them. In the words of another Buddha,
they know not what they do.
Om
mani padme hum.
|
| ____________________________________ |
An
anniversary
[10.03.08] |
| |
Sometimes
life is stranger than fiction. This is my story.
Five years ago today I got a phone call out of the blue
that changed my life. I had this friend, an Australian
guy I'd met in London years ago. He'd got me into playing
guitar and we were good mates. He had a lot of shit
going on in his life and eventually I helped him get
out of London and back on a plane to Australia. A few
months later I got an email with a postal address so
I could send him some of my song demos. After that I
heard nothing more. His email address stopped working.
A few years later I was in a bad way. Heartbroken, just
out of hospital, I didn't know where to turn or what
to do with my life. My sister suggested a change of
scene – she said try and find your old friend
in Australia. On 10th March 2003, I sat down to write
a letter to the old address he'd given me. I'd just
written the words "I don't know if this letter
will find you cos it's been so long" when my phone
started ringing. It was him, after 3 years of no contact,
calling me from his shack in the Australian bush.
Sometimes signs are subtle, sometimes they're a bolt
from the blue. I got on a plane and didn't look back.
One thing's for sure, you never know what's going to
happen next :).
xx |
| ____________________________________ |
London
showcase
[07.03.08] |
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i
did a London media showcase on Wednesday night at the
Buddhist Temple at Oxford Circus, the first time I've
ever played with a live string section. I can't tell
you how exciting it was to hear my arrangements performed
live (on both my albums I recorded all the string parts
one by one in a serious labour of love!).
Big thanks to all the string players from the Royal
Academy - Jae Yoo, Robert Ames, William Burrows and
Colin Alexander - plus acoustic guitarist Phil Hudson
and my bass player Christian Dunham for a fantastic
performance.
Thanks also to everyone from my mailing list who responded
to our invitation and came down to the gig - it was
great to see you there and your support was much appreciated.
I look forward to seeing you at the Royal Festival Hall
in May if not before... I'll keep you posted.
xx |
| ____________________________________ |
'Keep
Walking' on GMS compilation
[28.02.08] |
| |
The
title track of my album 'Keep Walking' has been included
on an album of 'spiritually uplifting music' chosen
by Aled Jones, presenter of 'Good Morning Sunday' on
BBC Radio 2.
Aled plays the most fantastic, eclectic music on his
radio show and this double-CD includes tracks by Eva
Cassidy, Sarah McLachlan, Aretha Franklin, Jeff Buckley,
Bill Withers and Eric Bibb to name but a few.
A fan sent Aled one of my CDs last year and he started
playing my songs on Radio 2. The Don McLean tour and
a licensing deal followed and my life has changed completely.
So I may be completely biased but he really is just
as lovely in person as he sounds on the radio.
'Good Morning Sunday' is released on 10th March - check
it out.
xx |
| ____________________________________ |
Royal
Festival Hall & other gig dates
[18.02.08] |
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| Just
confirmed: I'm playing the Royal Festival Hall in London
at the end of May supporting Irish singer-songwriter
Paul Brady, followed by a month's tour of the UK and
Ireland with American bluesman Eric Bibb. I can't wait
to be back on the road again.
The
sun's been shining here in London - nothing like a
clear blue sky on a winter's day. I've been busy doing
radio interviews for the BBC and writing out parts
for the string quartet who are playing with me at
a showcase next month.
My
current tour schedule is up on myspace and on my website.
More gig dates, including festivals, will be confirmed
soon - if you want me to keep you posted, just join
my mailing list.
Thanks
for your support - I really appreciate it.
xx
|
| ____________________________________ |
Radio
2 interview tomorrow
[19.01.08] |
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If
you're up early tomorrow morning, you can hear me on
BBC Radio 2 talking to Aled Jones on his show 'Good
Morning Sunday'. I'll be on around 7.30am.
xx |
| ____________________________________ |
4
star album review
[15.01.08] |
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My
new album 'Keep Walking' was given a 4-star review in
the Financial Times last weekend. You can read it here.
xx |
| ____________________________________ |
Clouds with silver linings
[10.01.08] |
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There's
a old Hindu saying: if you don't worry about a misfortune,
within 3 years it will become a blessing.
Armed with a new minidisc recorder (yes I am old-fashioned
and I like it that way) and my guitar, I've spent the
past 10 days sitting on my bed with songs pouring out
of my head like I never lost all those ideas, just made
space for new ones. So right now I'm in a state of solemn
gratitude for this strange and wonderful life that gives
us all these clouds with silver linings.
Hope all's well in your world.
xx |
| ____________________________________ |
Cops & robbers
[04.01.08] |
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| We
celebrated our first cold Christmas in years by eating
and drinking as much as possible and were still in festive
mood when we came back to London to find our room completely
ransacked. Everything of any value was gone, except
our guitars. They even took my ancient minidisc recorder
with all the songs I've been working on these past few
months - now no doubt in a dustbin somewhere in London.
I'm gutted. But I also feel sorry for those 2 robbers
- they obviously haven't heard of karma. You can lose
the police but you can't run from your own shadow.
xx
|
| ____________________________________ |
With love & thanks
[19.12.07] |
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| This
week I was interviewed on 'Woman's Hour' on BBC Radio
4 and performed my song 'Falling On My Feet'.
I was really touched by the reaction of some people
who were listening and got in touch with me through
my website or myspace. It was also great to hear from
some long lost friends who also happened to be listening
that day.
It's been an amazing year. Thanks so much to all the
people who've heard my songs and let me know what
it means to them – it makes it all worthwhile.
Wishing you all a very happy Christmas and New Year.
em xx |
| ____________________________________ |
The shack menagerie
[10.12.07] |
| |
It's
Monday morning and I'm sitting in a studio in London
doing a radio edit on 'All That You Wanted'. It's a
beautiful clean studio. The only creatures here are
human.
On the other side of the world the shack menagerie is
growing. In our absence the bat that lives in our live
recording room has had a family. Dudley's returned and
taken up residence in the ceiling and now a new snake
has appeared - a small brown tree-snake with a big attitude.
Apparently he investigated every corner of the shack
and tried to frighten a jumper lying on the floor before
retiring under the fridge.
The best news is Dudley hasn't eaten the Bills after
all and they are still happily living in the toilet
cistern. I'm hoping they'll still be there when we return.
xx |
| ____________________________________ |
Reasons to love London
[30.11.07] |
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As
I've said, I've been feeling a bit homesick. Sometimes
it's like I'm living on another planet a million miles
away from our Australian bush.
But sometimes I love London. Yesterday I was sitting
in a cafe at Victoria Station and this pigeon marched
in like it owned the place, taking no notice whatsoever
of anyone and carrying out what looked like a military
inspection of the premises.
Then I went to Soho and sat in my favourite cafe drinking
cups of chai and watching night fall and the city light
up like a Christmas tree. Someone smiled at me. Then
we went to St Martins-in-the-Fields at Trafalgar Square
to listen to some Bach by candlelight.
And just when I was thinking my day couldn't get much
better, sitting opposite on the tube on the way back
was a man with a paper bag and a big red rose sticking
out of it.
These are some of the things that make me happy - animals,
people, hot drinks, lights, music and flowers. On either
side of the world.
xx |
| ____________________________________ |
New
songs on myspace
[19.11.07] |
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I've
put up 2 more of my songs on myspace
today - thanks to Cate for reminding me.
xx |
| ____________________________________ |
Wishing I was home
[18.11.07] |
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I
don't know if it's the frost on the ground or the darkness
in the afternoons but right now I would gladly sit for
3 days on a plane to be driving up that dirt track through
the trees with the sun on my face and the sounds of
the bush in my ears. I wouldn't even mind if Dudley
was still lying in state on the sitting room table when
I got home.
Talking of giant snakes, I just heard he's left our
shack after spending the last 2 days there wrapped around
the bottom of the toilet. According to my dear friend
Aki who is shack-sitting for us, this made going to
the loo 'interesting'. Ummm...
The good news is we've just signed a UK/European licensing
deal for both my albums which is a good enough reason
to stay on this side of the world for the time being.
And I'm looking forward to a cold Christmas (it's just
not the same in 42 degrees) with TV and turkey. Ahh,
I'm feeling more cheerful already.
Hope all's well in your world.
xx |
| ____________________________________ |
Live
session on Radio 2
[04.11.07] |
| |
| Last
night I did a live session for the Bob Harris show on
BBC Radio 2, playing 3 songs ('Stranger Place', 'Anything
You Do' and 'All That You Wanted') with my Aussie bass
player Christian Dunham. Presenter Gideon Coe was standing
in for Bob Harris. He finished the session by playing
the title track from my new album 'Keep Walking'. You
can hear the show at http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/listen/. |
| ____________________________________ |
Hypnosis
[01.11.07] |
| |
I've
always had a phobia of snakes. Couldn't look at them
on TV or even in books. Singing my songs on stage at
pubs and folk clubs held similar heart-palpitating fear
at first which I managed to get over with large glasses
of red wine and a swig of brandy.
Then this summer I was offered the chance to tour with
Don McLean and play some of the biggest concert halls
in the country. Instead of 50 people in an audience
there would be 2,000. For days I went around in a dazed
state of complete terror. But by the time I came to
walk out on stage at the first gig, instead of bottling
it, I loved every minute of it.
And the main credit for that goes to an amazing man
called Stuart Taylor. Stuart is a clinical hypnotherapist
based in Bristol, England who cures people of their
fears, phobias, addictions and anxiety attacks. If you
have any of them, I highly recommend you go and see
him.
http://www.taylorhypnotherapy.co.uk
xx |
| ____________________________________ |
Radio
2 interview today
[28.10.07] |
| |
| This
morning I was interviewed by Aled Jones on his Radio
2 show 'Good Morning Sunday' and he was as lovely in
person as he sounds on the radio. |
| ____________________________________ |
Playing
the Royal Albert Hall, 26th Oct 2007
[27.10.07] |
| |
Last
night I stood on the stage of the Royal Albert Hall
and sang 7 of my songs to a crowd of about 4,000 people
and part of me was thinking maybe I'm dreaming this,
but don't wake me up! Big love to all the family, friends
and fans who were there. It was one of the best nights
of my life.
em xx |
| ____________________________________ |
Big
snakes and stages... the Royal Albert Hall
[25.10.07] |
| |
I
should be back on our farm in Australia making cheese
right now but instead tomorrow night I'm playing the
Royal Albert Hall in London. It's surreal to think that
4 weeks ago I was playing a folk club in Bishops Stortford.
Since then I've been touring the UK and Ireland with
Don McLean, playing my songs to 2000 people a night
instead of 50, standing on the stage of some of the
biggest concert halls across the country, listening
backstage to the band from Nashville playing 'American
Pie'... does it get better than this? Huge thanks to
Aled Jones at Radio 2 and his producer Hilary Robinson
for giving me the break that made it all happen.
And then amid all this excitement we get a call from
Australia to say that a giant snake has decided to squat
our shack. Dudley's been quite happy for years scaring
the shit out of people like me up in the goat shed but
I guess he fancied a change of scene. We've been absent
for 4 months now so he obviously thinks we're not coming
back and it's fine to get his feet under the table (metaphorically
speaking) and knock over lampshades and eat all the
mice in the piano.
Unfortunately he can't be evicted until 2 strong snake-friendly
people can heave him off the sitting room table and
out into the paddock. Fortunately I'm on the other side
of the world so one of those people isn't going to be
me :).
Hope all's well in your world.
em xx |
| ____________________________________ |
Touring
with Don McLean
[29.09.07] |
| |
I
was supposed to be flying back home to Australia this
week after playing 32 UK gigs in 3 months on the road,
but now I've cancelled my plane ticket and am heading
off to Ireland to play the first of 16 dates supporting
Don McLean on his UK & Ireland tour. I might miss
the shack and the sunshine, but I don't mind staying
for that.
Tickets will sell out fast, so check out www.don-mclean.com
and book early.
em xx |
| ____________________________________ |
Live
gig video
[11.09.07] |
| |
A
few weeks ago I did a gig at the infamous Square &
Compass Inn on the Isle of Purbeck. It was one of the
highlights of my 32-date UK tour. Click here
to see a video.
em xx |
| ____________________________________ |
BBC
Radio 2 airplay
[09.09.07] |
| |
This
morning I was profiled on BBC Radio 2 as the Sunday
Spotlight for Aled Jones' show 'Good Morning Sunday'.
He played my song 'Back Home' (which you can hear on
myspace). Check out http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/shows/goodmorningsun/ontheshow.shtml.
Big thanks to Andy Cole for contacting the show about
me.
I'm doing interviews with BBC Radio Cambs, Swindon,
Birmingham and Bristol this week, and performing in
Cheltenham, Swindon, Bristol and Gloucester before my
last London gig of this tour at The Troubadour in Earls
Court on Thursday 20 September. All gig details are
on myspace or my website - if you can make it, it'd
be great to see you there.
em xx |
| ____________________________________ |
On
the road... part 2
[09.08.07] |
| |
After
the Secret Garden Party festival, we have a few days
off in the wilds of Cambridgeshire, consuming more cider
and the infamous brown soup in the Queens Head pub in
Newton (aside from the Square & Compass in Worth
Matravers, possibly my favourite pub in the world).
Tour bus finally fixed, we head south to the Half Moon
pub in Bishop's Stortford for a gig at the Acoustic
Club, playing the showcase at the end of their open
mike night. I've always loved going to open mike nights
and this one is just brilliant. It's on every Monday
night so if you're ever in Hertfordshire, go check it
out.
The next night we do a gig in the oldest pub in England
– St Anne's Castle in Great Leighs, Essex - built
in 1147 or something. It has low ceilings and a resident
ghost who apparently likes to ring bells in the night.
The ghost keeps a low profile while we're there and
the lovely Hutton brothers and some fans from the night
before turn up to see us play. 24 songs and several
hours later we find ourselves on an empty M25 (ahh,
heaven eh?) heading towards the southern suburbs of
London.
After a few hours sleep we're on the road to Brighton
for the Lewes Guitar Festival, where we perform outside
in beautiful gardens under a boiling hot sun for an
hour and 15 minutes (I am eternally grateful to the
lady who gave me some sunscreen!). After the set, I
do an interview with a local TV station which you can
watch at http://www.itvlocal.com/meridian/locallife/?void=87046.
There's also some footage on YouTube - do a search on
my name at www.youtube.com. An old friend turns up out
of the blue to make my day.
Next day we're back in London playing at the Barfly
in Camden Town, and that evening I'm falling asleep
into my bowl of pasta, despite having decided that coffee,
cider and sandwiches don't substitute for a hot meal.
Only another 19 gigs to go before we get back on a plane
to Australia again. Next up is a chapel in Suffolk and
a club in Brighton… I'll keep you posted.
em xx |
| ____________________________________ |
On
the road... [UK]
[30.07.07] |
| |
| So
I packed my bags, said goodbye to the frogs and spiders
in our shack, and left the farm and bush behind as we
headed for Brisbane airport.
Oh
joy, 22 hours in a plane… again. This time I
stopped overnight in Japan where despite spending
hours at the back of every queue in the airport, once
I actually got to the hotel everything was great –
a bed, a hot shower, the best spaghetti bolognaise
I've ever had (bizarrely enough), and the Teachings
of Buddha next to the Gideon Bible. What more could
you ask for?
So
I get to Heathrow the next day and there's my bass
player who's somehow made it through customs despite
his haircut, and we head off into the bus station
with our guitars and bags and coffees in hand.
First
off to the lovely Larmer Tree Festival near Salisbury,
where it's raining. Rain is something we are really
short of in Australia but here in England it's summertime
so it's pissing down. Fortunately at the festival
the tent stayed dry, we did our first gig and I had
my first pint of cider in years. Ahhhh… this
was something of a revelation! Apparently though cider
is now cool here so I find myself being fashionable
which is worrying but I can't help it for now. Cider
is definitely the drink of this tour.
We
do gigs in London, Cambridge, Hayling Island and Lymington,
before turning up at the Cambridge Folk Festival,
again to a small welcoming monsoon. By this time I'm
half wishing I'd brought my wellies with me from Australia
but they have been known to contain tarantulas so
I thought best not. We open the festival, meet Paddy
the sound-man who I haven't seen for years, and play
in the Festival session accompanied by Heather Downie,
a very talented young harp player from Scotland.
In
between times, our very reliable and trustworthy tour
bus has broken down with an as-yet-undiagnosed-but-possibly-terminal
case of paralysis. This is where touring gets interesting.
We hire a car, weeks old with an MP3 player and coffee
holder (I am easily pleased), and head off to the
Secret Garden Party festival for a gig on the last
night. This is like turning up sober to the end of
an office party, but once again cider comes to the
rescue - despite being cider that looks the EXACT
colour of piss, it tastes lovely and makes me feel
much better about everything, including the sight
of the toilets.
We've
got a few days off now before we head into deepest,
darkest East Anglia for gigs in Hertfordshire and
Essex. If you're in the UK, check out my tour dates
and come hear us play. Cider donations will be gratefully
received.
Hope
all's well in your world.
em
xx
|
| ____________________________________ |
Bed
hats & blessings [at home in Australia]
[22.06.07] |
| |
Last
night I went to bed in my hat. No this wasn't a bipolar
symptom but just the fact that shacks made from wood,
tin and potato sacks are not very warm in the arctic
temperatures we've been having here in the Australian
bush.
And now I'm sitting here, still wearing the hat, typing
this on our terminally erratic computer with a brown
cow outside the door threatening to munch the power
line, and Tom Waits on the stereo singing one of my
all-time favourite albums, and I'm counting my blessings
of the past month.
Starting with the Dalai Lama, who came to Australia
and gave a public talk in Brisbane. I can't tell you
how amazing it was to actually be in the same room as
His Holiness, even if the room was the size of a football
pitch. I was in tears. He talked about how important
it is to teach our children 'warmheartedness' –
compassion - and how he hopes this century will be one
of dialogue rather than force. He talked about forgiveness
- how to separate the person from the action - and how
he applies this personally to the Chinese and their
actions in Tibet. It was just wonderful - I felt so
privileged to have been there.
And then yesterday I met Tariq Ali. He was here on the
Sunshine Coast in Australia, being interviewed by ABC
Radio and I'd been asked along to sing some of my songs.
In case you're wondering, Tariq Ali is a novelist, political
campaigner and bit of a revolutionary figure back in
the day. Mick Jagger wrote a song for him, Marlon Brando
invited him to dinner, Henry Kissinger lost a war of
words with him. Like the Dalai Lama, he is one of the
sane voices in the world. And I got to shake his hand!
And on top of all that, 3 weeks ago my life changed
completely and forever. Everything is the same and yet
something happened involving two very small words that
I never thought would make such a difference - but it
has and I have never been happier :).
xx |
| ____________________________________ |
Rain
and romance
[12.05.07] |
| |
Today
it rained. Here in the Australian bush, we've just had
our wet season pass by with barely a drop. I come from
the UK, a country where rain is 'miserable'. Here, rain
is a miracle. There are kids out west who have never
seen water fall from the sky. But now for once the clouds
aren't just taunting us but pouring rain into our water
tanks and dams. The dust is damped down, the brown grass
is a bit greener, and we've got drinking water again
on the farm.
But I wasn't going to write about water, I was going
to write about Robert James Waller. I read The Bridges
of Madison County years ago. It was the only book apart
from Watership Down and The Color Purple that made me
cry (yes I'm Piscean and a terminal romantic in case
you're wondering). I sat on the sofa in my London flat
with a box of tissues and bawled my way through the
last 20 pages. It was fucking great in that way tears
can be sometimes.
Anyway, I found another book of his - Old Songs in a
New Café - in a charity shop here in Australia.
It's a collection of his autobiographical stories from
the 1980s and his compassion, wisdom and love of life
shine through every page. I loved it. It reminded me
that alongside the arms dealers and despots, there are
lots of Robert James Wallers in the world as well.
And where would we be without rain and romance? |
| ____________________________________ |
The
joys of new technology
[01.05.07] |
| |
There
are apparently good and bad sides to most things, but
for me as an independent artist, the internet is a complete
blessing. It makes my whole life possible.
Picture this: I'm sitting here in a shack in the middle
of Australian bush. The walls are made of potato sacks,
the roof is tin, the floor is a concrete slab. Outside
are trees and hills and creeks, dingos, kangaroos, snakes,
spiders and a billion other creatures. We have no heating
and no TV but in one corner there's recording equipment
and in another is this computer and a wireless modem.
Which means you can read this, wherever you are, in
a city on the other side of the world, in another timezone,
another season even. I can write and record my song
here, and you can listen to it there, with not one A&R
man to come between us. I don't know about you, but
that cheers me up no end ;). |
| ____________________________________ |
Lyrics
[22.04.07] |
| |
All
the songs from both my albums 'Keep Walking' and 'Stranger
Place' are now available on iTunes, so I've finally
got round to putting all the lyrics up on my website.
Check out the music page at www.emilymaguire.com. I've
illustrated them with some of my own photos from here
in the Australian bush (and beyond). You can also hear
clips from all the songs there too.
We've just confirmed a gig at the Secret Garden Party
festival in the UK. I'm also playing the Cambridge Folk
Festival, Larmer Tree Festival and a festival at the
Inn On The Beach on Hayling Island near Southampton,
as well as about 20 other dates in pubs and clubs across
the UK between July and September 2007.
Can't wait to be back on the road, playing guitar for
3 months instead of making cheese here on the farm.
I'm sure the spiders will miss me :). It will be spring
here when we return so we'll have to search the shack
carefully to make sure we don't have an eastern brown
for a flatmate. Harry and Harriet will no doubt have
had a zillion babies by then. Ah well, so it goes...
the big question is, will it rain?
em xx |
| ____________________________________ |
Meeting
Harriet & the blues
[13.04.07] |
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So
a month has gone by, and my head's done years of time
inside itself. The sky's still blue, the hills still
green, everything is as it was and yet nothing's the
same. Buddha said your mind creates this world. I'd
like to see through his eyes.
One interesting thing that's happened, aside from my
mental gymnastics, is the appearance of a huge rainforest
spider called Harriet in our toilet (this is south-east
Queensland in case you're wondering). Harriet is the
girlfriend of Harry (the Huntsman Spider) who likes
to scare the shit out of me by absailing from the top
of our fridge as I'm opening the door. Harry is about
the size of my hand.
Harriet is not much smaller and has clearly taken a
liking to our toilet bowl, please don't ask me why.
You can see her legs sticking out from under the rim
(is this too much information?). We tried to extract
her with flushing and coat hanger but to no avail -
she simply stalks back up the pipe and into the cistern.
This somehow dulls the excitement of actually having
a flush toilet in our bathroom which works but no-one
now wants to use.
Anyway, apart from trying to evict Harriet from the
toilet, I've written a new song (you've got to have
the cloud to have the silver lining), made lots of cheese
and booked lots of gigs for the UK where I'm doing an
'unplugged' acoustic tour this northern summer with
my bass player Christian. If you're around for any of
the dates, come and say hello.
Hope all's well in your world.
em xx |
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Happy
days...
[18.03.07] |
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Today
I managed to get tickets to hear His Holiness the Dalai
Lama give a public talk in Brisbane. To a Buddhist,
this is a bit like a Christian going to see Jesus, so
as you can imagine I am ecstatic.
So much so, I don't even mind the fact that I've just
discovered a big pile of snake poo on the bathroom floor,
which means there was a snake in the shack last night
while I was in bed happily dreaming about hot water
and a flush toilet...
yes I'm afraid, being human, after two whole weeks of
intense gratitude and appreciation of our new hot tap,
I now want MORE (a flush toilet would truly transform
our shack into part of civilized society!).
... but then I don't suppose the snakes would care -
they'd still go on the floor. Actually the poo is a
good sign cos it means they're about to go into hibernation
for winter, so I can stop walking around the farm with
my eyes glued to my feet and going face-first into a
spider's web. Ahhh, I love it here...
Hope all's well in your world.
em xx |
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Radio,
wellies and a huge spider
[12.03.07] |
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This
morning I was making goats cheese up at the dairy
and my partner Christian comes up to tell me that
my song 'Keep Walking' has been put on the national
playlist for ABC Radio. Our local station ABC Coast
FM has been playing it for the past 6 months, but
now it will be played on all 60 ABC radio stations
across Australia.
Naturally I tried to remain calm and dignified (as
dignified as you can be wearing white wellies, rubber
gloves and a shower cap), but this is the best news
I've had all year (apart from hot water in the shack)
so instead I squealed and squeaked and bounced up
and down in my wellies like the eight-year-old I really
am inside (aren't we all? she says hopefully). In
case you're wondering, wellies are gumboots - I live
in Oz but I'm still a Brit.
Anyway, it's 38 degrees in the shade up here in the
hills and I've just spotted a fucking huge spider
heading for my shopping bags. There's no way it's
coming to the supermarket with us today - frogs are
one thing, but this could give the check-out lady
a full coronary and we'd be permanently banned from
Nambour Plaza. This would be a devastating blow as
I am terminally addicted to the stationery department
in Big W... is this too much information?
Ah well, while I've been writing this, the spider
has disappeared... but which bag?
em xx |
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Back
Home (new song)
[09.03.07] |
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I've
put up another song on myspace from my new album 'Keep
Walking'. It's called 'Back Home'. To me it's a song
about reincarnation and the rain cycle. To you it's
about whatever you want it to be - all my favourite
songs by other artists are about me, not them.
em xx |
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Back
to the shack
[01.03.07] |
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After
20 hours of head-splitting sinus agony on the plane
from London, followed by 2 days glued to the sofa in
a jetlag semi-coma (yes I'm playing this down), it's
now a week since I arrived back home to our farm in
the Australian bush. My eyes have adjusted to the sunlight,
the dirt-encrusted floor, the spiders on the walls,
and the possibility of a snake in every nook and cranny.
Little Bill the bullfrog is alive and well, and I am
feeling happy again.
And today I am positively RADIANT, with the momentous
development of hot water in the kitchen sink. With matching
taps! Being human, in about a week's time I'll be taking
this completely for granted but the time being I am
in a state of divine appreciation.
Hope all's well in your world.
em xx |
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Album
review
[14.02.07] |
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Still
in London but just 5 days to go til I'm on a plane
back to civilisation in the Australian bush...
Making me feel it's all been worth it, just got the
first review for my new album 'Keep Walking' from
IndepenDisc in New York. [Read reviews here]
xx |
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Gigs
in New York
[06.02.07] |
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Back
in London after 5 fantastic days in New York doing my
US debut gig at Mo Pitkins, and launching my new album
'Keep Walking' at Pianos NYC.
Despite freezing -10c temperatures outside (I thought
my Aussie rhythm section might never breathe again),
we rocked... so much so that I managed to break a string,
which gave my bass player the perfect opportunity to
grab the mic (he's been waiting for years) and do his
Aussie accent… photos, video and audio will all
be up on my website at www.emilymaguire.com very soon.
And the best thing of all? All that time I've been sitting
in a tin shack in the middle of the Australian bush
making friends on myspace and then I finally get to
New York with my band and there they are – real
people, real faces, come to see us play. Micki, Bryan,
Steve, Pete, Gary… thank you all so much for coming
down, and everyone else who was there on the night to
support us. We really appreciated it.
Finally, big love & thanks to promoter Lena Chen
of Chilen Music for organising the whole trip –
and for generally being such an inspiration and motivation
to us. Being an independent artist is great at times,
and fucking hard at others… people like you are
priceless. It was such a pleasure to meet at last after
being friends for so long… can't wait til the
next time.
We'll be back soon...
em xx |
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London
gig
[24.01.07] |
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First
London gig of this tour tomorrow night at The Troubadour
on Old Brompton Road. I can't wait. I've got new boots,
which always help a girl get up on stage, even if The
Troubadour has pretty big boots to fill… Bob Dylan,
Joni Mitchell, even Jimi Hendrix have all played there.
I'll be headlining with my Aussie bass player Christian
and drummer Shane, singing songs from my new album 'Keep
Walking'. If you're on this side of the world tomorrow
night, somewhere near Earls Court in London, come down
and see us – it'd be great to meet you in person.
em xx |
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Beam
me up
[08.01.07] |
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Standing
in the supermarket, strip-lighting glaring down on my
tear-filled eyes, people everywhere, like ants, rain
falling in the darkness outside... I'm standing holding
an empty shopping basket, my soul shrivelling up inside
me, wishing with every ounce of my being that I was
back home on that green and sunlit hillside 18,000 miles
away.
I have no skin, no barrier between me and the mass of
humanity that is Kilburn High Road. It takes a day or
2 to grow a shell, to grow comfortable inside it, to
become a Londoner again. Guess I'll just keep walking... |
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