The Snowy Mountains of Music Festival. Just sounds exciting doesn’t it? And we certainly were excited to be involved in Dave De Santi’s new vision, the first ever festival to be held in the Snowy Mountains, on the opening weekend of ski season.

So once again we found ourselves at the airport, although at a new and strange time... no 5am flight! Woohoo! We flew in to Canberra (at night!) and were greeted by Sarah’s fantastic Grandad, and were instantly welcomed with some chicken soup (A Dorothy special made just for Mannie) and apple pie. What a welcome! Unfortunately it was a very quick stopover, as we had to be back at the airport the next day to await our bus to the snow.

We were surprisingly organised and arrived with plenty of time to spare (no comments please) so of course the bus was two hours late. After many coffees, and a great catch up with our good mate Enda Kenny (the people you find wandering around Canberra airport), we squashed onto the double-decker bus and were on our way. There was a brief lunch stop –and might I say the best impromptu deli picnic with Lindsay Martin and Enda, red wine, prosciutto, vintage Cheddar and all – then off we went. You could feel it getting colder as we got closer, and although we were separated on the bus, we were all nervously watching the time, as we were due on stage at 5pm and still seemed to be a long way off. We phoned ahead to say we were running a little late, to which Dave said ‘no problem’ and said we could just go on when we got there.  A big thanks to Bruce Mathiske who took our place on stage and performed superbly as usual! We ran on stage at the Smiggins Hotel (to Sair and my horror with no make-up and wearing jeans!) but had a blast and a great start to the festival.
 
Rockstars that we are, we had a quick dinner and found our accommodation, ready to snuggle in to our warm beds for an early night (of course after Mannie dragged his mattress into a snore-proof chamber). We woke up early the next morning, a little disappointed to find that there was still no snow, and headed off to Perisher in search of breakfast, coffee and our first gig at the festival opening.  We were greeted by Dave himself, arms full with a very welcome sight... a tray of butterscotch schnapps :) Yum! From this point on, we were hooked! The opening concert was great, very laid back and a glimpse at some of the entertainment still to come.  We ducked off for a quick grocery shop and then straight off to our next gig at Basil's Bar. We had a schnapps-sponsored gig and had a great time! Sair and I were surprised to catch up with an old friend, Liam Dorney, who we had both met during our pre-folk years at the Brisbane Regional Youth Orchestra (apparently we were there at the same time and had no idea!). Liam was now playing with the uber-cool Gold Coast band, A French Butler Called Smith, who we caught up with numerous times through the rest of the festival.

That night (still with no snow –but a definite drop in the temperature) we ventured up to watch our good friends Humbug, who were sounding as good as ever. We had a great singalong and very brief catch up before heading back to our Smiggins Chalet for a gourmet delight ala Paul. I love travelling with someone who can cook! We give him a sweet potato and some chicken and he whipped up beautiful curry (accompanied of course by the requisite $13 bottle of butterscotch schnapps). Thanks Paul!

Ok... now for the good stuff... SNOW!
 
Mannie came running in to our room pointing at the window (at arse-O'clock I might add). What an amazing sight! It had just started snowing lightly. I sat, glued to the window for about an hour (having never seen it snow before) and then decided we couldn’t possibly sit inside while this was happening outside. We got ready as quickly as possible, and then the others proceeded to watch me run around and take photos with a giant smile on my face. Sairey was just as excited and was willing to pose in a million photos with me (the boys having grown up in snowy weather were slightly less impressed with being asked to wait for photos every 3 steps). The rest of the festival was a bit of a blur. We had some more great gigs, more snow photos, more schnapps, catch ups and pics with the amazing Davidson Brothers, more schnapps, battling snow-covered roads with our fearless transporter Barney, watched a beautiful concert with Enda and Lindsay... and of course more photos and schnapps.

 

I will take a moment to describe one of the funniest parts of a festival in the snow. Our beloved Mannie. He alternated between grumbling, shivering and complaining (quite a sight with his beanie pulled down low and his giant army coat – thanks Bernie)... and then pretending to ski (highly entertaining and surprisingly he didn’t fall once!) and making snow angels. And of course the boys had an ongoing snow-ball fight every moment we were outside.

 

This was a truly amazing festival and one I will never forget! Despite the bus having some dramas on the trip back, we were still buzzing when we made it back to Sarah’s Grandparents' place for a couple of hours sleep and then you guessed it... back at the airport at 4.30am.

Pick the member of the band who doesn't have an iPhone or Mac permanently attached to them… well that would have been a good excuse if I hadn't been home for 2 weeks. So, it's been a while, and we've been very busy. Paul's Woodford blogs explain far more than I could ever hope to write about so I'll just skip that and go straight to Tasmania. Or to be more specific, the Cygnet Folk Festival. (There's also the Stanton adventures starring Helen, Rabbit, Di, Sam, Buffy and Twinkle… but I dare-say one of the others will fill you in about that).
 
Beautiful 15-degree Tasmania. Much more civilised than walking around with a wet sarong and a fan. Well that's what we thought until we saw our 'showers' and longed to be back in the Woodford campground. We arrived at the Cygnet folk festival in Helen's red truck and quickly went off to find out about our accommodation (being an interstate act we were being billeted… or so we thought). Our accommodation for the weekend turned out to be a massive scout hall, thoughtfully equipped with mattresses and bedding (mine, Paul's and Sair's up one end and Mannie way down in his snore-proof corner), our own toilets and to our delight – a kettle and coffee! A huge thanks to Leanne for setting us up so comfortably. The showers however, were a different story. Picture this: a bucket, a rope, a temporary stall and shower curtain and one monster wind sweeping through the room. After attempting to shower using the kitchen sink, Sair and I eventually braved it, taking turns holding the shower curtain in place for each other so we could at least use our bucket in private. (The next day Roz Pappalardo took pity on us and offered us the use of their shower – thanks Roz!).
 
So I guess I should actually go back to some sort of musical reference, seeing as we were at a festival with quite an amazing line up. Within minutes of arriving we had run into Dougie MacLean, Andrew Winton, various To'Rags and Roz, Geoff and Silas from Women in Docs. It was going to be a good festival. We kicked off the night watching Women in Docs rock it out in the town hall, before heading down to our own gig at the RSL. Despite some technical failures (and a very unhappy Paul having to play without his gadgets), the gig was great and it was amazing to catch up with some old Tassie friends (and a few that followed us all the way from Brisbane!).
 
Later that night, still on a high from the gig, Paul and I left sleeping beauty 1 and 2 in search of some fun… and maybe a wee dram. As we wandered the treacherous streets (bit of a Paul-writer moment there) we wound up at the middle pub (as opposed to bottom pub or top pub – I'm not joking), and were instantly claimed by none other than Dougie MacLean. Having made it through the streets himself (not an easy task after dark in Cygnet) and studying the choice of sessions being played madly throughout the pub, we decided that instead of playing it was necessary to drink and solve the problems of the world. Which of course we did. Take that world! We also decided that an inter-band, inter-country, inter-festival gig collaboration was necessary and settled upon a time and meeting place for the following day to hatch our plans.

 

So it was that we found ourselves on the verandah of Dougie and Jenny's cottage, playing and singing, taking silly photo's, and watching Helen's absolutely delighted expression as she convinced the MacLean's to visit Stanton after the festival. The end product was a guest appearance of the Bronzed Super-god himself (a bit of a joke after Dougie had played wearing sleeve-less tops and shorts up at Woodford and had acquired a decent tan) during the Sunas concert that afternoon. With a newly arranged version of Green Grow the Rashes, and the debut of Dougie's newly purchased tuneable didgeridoo during Travelling Man, you couldn't wipe the smiles of our faces. The day only got better with an impromptu session in the beer garden of the bottom pub, where Sair and Dougie attempted to out-smut each other through song.

 

Somewhere in there was a workshop, another gig, more catching up with friends (in particular sitting outside the pub for a good few hours with Chanel and Geoff, before being taken over by extremely enthusiastic Morris dancers!), drinking, the discovery of the curry box, and poor Sair battling the flu and coming very close to losing her voice. Sickness aside, it was a brilliant weekend and the fun only continued as we headed back to Stanton for another week or so.
 
That's all for now…

So first of all I should apologise for the delay in this blog. Unlike some people in this band, I don’t have an iPhone attached to my hand so it has taken me a little longer to find time to sit down and write this.

Our medieval tale started quite a few weeks back, on a Saturday morning in the Queen Street Mall. We were playing at centre stage as part of Brisbane’s Fete de la Musique, a brilliant day of multicultural music all around Brisbane city. We had a fantastic time and were happy to see a few familiar faces in the crowd, as well as lots of unfamiliar ones (some who even bought CDs!). We were un-phased by the photographers and film crews... until we learnt we were being shown on a big screen somewhere in France, at their own Fete de la Musique. Bonjour to any new French Sunas fans :)

Ok, moving on to our first medieval experience. The costume shop. What a great place! We tried on just about everything slightly medieval in sight, and are please to report that the Romeos found their Juliets.

From here we piled back into Mannie’s van for a trek up to Brendale, and Megan’s birthday bash. Now there are many stories to be told here... let's just say Sair and Paul were very inebriated (and quite vocal about it!). We handed over the set list to the birthday girl, made friends with the ‘balcony people’, who even ended up joining the party, heard some interesting MC work from our very own Sarah (ask Mannie about that one!), and saw a spectacular display of Paul’s strength (dropping an entire carton of Mercury cider – how very very dare you Paul!). 

So that was a typical Saturday in the life of Sunas... then one week later...

The Medieval Faire. Once again jumping into the Mannie-mobile, we headed North, this time to Caboolture. What a sight! The room was gorgeous, with long tables, banners and lots of velvet, and the high table up on the stage. Of course we figured that’s where we should be, so we wandered up (in our jeans and t-shirts) and found some tapestry-clad people to direct us to our performing area. All jokes aside, everyone looked fantastic and we met some really great people that night. And Mannie discovered that Spatchcock does taste like chicken!

We were also lucky enough to have the ever lovely Helen travelling with us, so we have her to thank for many of the pics through the night (which hopefully Paul will be putting up soon!).

Well that's the end of ye olde blog for me, and back to the real world for another week (until Childers Festival of Cultures this weekend...)

Bye for now

Listening to: 'Town of Athlone' by Karan Casey

Ok so here’s my side of the story… as far as I remember.
 
Sair and I had just come back from the National Folk Festival and were starting to think about when to have the launch. My friends George and Davydd had suggested that we do a joint event, as they had just recorded their first album also. After seeing them perform at the National, Sair and I were set on the idea of a double launch (seriously – these guys are amazing!) and were ready to discuss our options. We had a list of venues to consider and were throwing around a few different ideas when George announced that he was leaving on a 7 week tour with his family band, before leaving for America. This meant that to do a double launch, we had 1 available date, and it was in 2 weeks time.
 
From my knowledge of the function world, I figured that most places would simply laugh at us for suggesting that this type of even could be pulled together in under 2 weeks. But the Jubilee Hotel came to our rescue, and through many many emails, lists and ‘teacher moments’, I managed to squeeze some preferences out of the other 5 and convey what we wanted (quite specifically) to the Jube.
 
This would have all been fine… until the day before the launch. I woke up feeling ok. Had some breakfast, went for a walk… and had a bit of a pain in the stomach. Within an hour, I couldn’t move and off we went to the GP. He barely looked at me before sending me off to the hospital and another hour later I was in surgery. Of course I took it all very well…. Or maybe not… My poor family had to deal with a very distressed daughter going through lists and details just in case I wasn’t able to make it to the launch. My surgeon was extremely supportive (Thanks Dr Adib!!) and said that he would put it on my chart to have me discharged in time for the launch. (Mind you at this stage he thought I was just attending, not playing). The nurses however, thought I was totally insane for attempting to go out, let alone play in a concert less than 24 hours after surgery….
 
Anyway, as you all know, I made it. Very tired and sore, loaded with painkillers and possibly still a little sedated, I made it to the launch about 15mins before the doors opened. From here, I remember very little. I know that there were a lot of people there (thank you and I’m sorry if I was a little vague), there was food and drink involved (which I was not allowed any of), and there was music (some of which apparently came from me!).  Mannie followed me around making sure that I was sitting down and not doing anything too stupid, Sarah was equally concerned stopping me from lifting things, and Paul… sent me a tray of mini-appendix-looking sausage things and told me that I could be easily replaced! (Feel the love)
 
Ok, well that’s the end of my launch experience. I am now almost fully recovered and will be back to gigging this weekend at Fiddler’s Green. Thanks to everyone for looking out for me at the launch, and I hope you all had a great time. I think the others have thanked just about everyone else, so I’ll just echo what they said and leave you there until next time…

Thursday
 
I’ve finally managed to close my suitcase (not an easy task with a very awkward shaped fiddle stand taking up much room) and I’m waiting for Sarah to finish work and pick me up. I’m listening to Dougie McLean, my Christmas present from Helen (who we’ll be seeing in a few hours). I can’t wait. I’m nervous about a few things – our live to air session in the morning on ABC radio, meeting Rabbit (Helen’s husband who I’ve heard many interesting stories about – but no idea why he’s called Rabbit) and, the possibility of Mannie and Rabbit running around naked (apparently this is quite a regular occurrence –something in the Tasmanian air I think). But despite all that, I’m starting to get excited. Hopefully I haven’t forgotten anything essential. I have my fiddle and my boots… what else would a girl possibly need :)
 
Friday
 
We woke up at Stanton, Helen and Rabbit’s beautiful home and B & B. We only had time for a quick cup of tea and a flying stop in at Passions café before heading off to ABC radio for a live spot. Apparently Sunas was made famous last radio appearance by Sarah being the second person to ever say ‘arse’ on the ABC (second to Kate Miller-Heidke I might add – one of our idols!). This time the language remained kiddy-friendly and we managed to go for a full 30 minutes without saying anything too stupid… Well except for my declaration again classical music, which wouldn’t have been so bad if the person interviewing me wasn’t Christopher Lawrence! Oops. He took it well, and was seen later that night enjoying some of our non-classical music at the New Sydney. Helen was ever helpful, holding up a ‘classic ABC’ sticker to point out my mistake – thanks Helen!
 
From there we headed off to Jackman and McRoss for lunch which the others had been raving about since I joined the band. I wasn’t disappointed! We finally arrived at the New Sydney, picked up our room keys and lugged all our stuff up the many stairs (which will later prove to be a problem for one band member in particular….)
 
With no rest for the wicked, we went straight down to the bar for a quick cider and session, where I was surprised by my good friend Beth, as well as meeting some of the long time Sunas friends, The To Rags and Brian Owens. One cider turned into another and before we knew it, it was time for our 11pm gig.
 
Now here I would like to point out that Sarah and I were sharing a room at the hotel, and before we went to bed, Sarah warned me that she occasionally mumbles in her sleep. I didn’t think anything of it until about 3am when I very distinctly heard from the top bunk “Go team, we can do it! We’re nearly there”. Go team Sarah!!!
 
Saturday
 
Saturday morning we awoke nice and early to head off to the markets for a bit of busking. On our way, we decided to stop for a bite to eat – bad move! Sarah described the coffee as ‘arse in a cup’, Mannie was fairly sure that he was given a used tea bag, and the toast was a charred black piece of cardboard with something vaguely resembling egg on top. Paul was nearly crying at this point, having missed his morning coffee, so he followed his nose off to Starbucks.
 
The story of our busking became quite well known throughout Tasmania, and I’m sure the others will describe it in their own blogs, but lets just say there’s a very unhappy unicyclist somewhere in Hobart now. Sorry!!! We just wanted our 20min spot to make our $17.
 
The rest of the day was spent eating, shopping and drinking before our gig at 9.30 that night. I had a great gig and enjoyed a few quiet ale’s afterwards with Sarah. Despite what others may tell you, we were very ladylike, remained coherent for the remainder of the night and even managed a few tunes.  Well… that was me at least. Sarah on the other hand become very good friends with everyone in the pub, was carried upstairs and proceeded to collapse on the couch before informing us she was just going to head back down for another drink with Mick before bed. To her credit, she managed to get herself onto the top bunk and wasn’t even all that seedy the next day!
 
Sunday
 
Sunday started with a late greasy breakfast at Harbour Lights, with a very-friendly-but-slightly-too-happy waitress. The afternoon concert was very relaxed and we took the opportunity to try some of the more mellow songs and tunes. Sarah got everyone singing The Yorkshire Couple (I may be making up the name of that song – but whatever it was I really enjoyed it and was thrilled to see the entire audience participating!).
 
We then had to say our farewells before heading off for a final night back at Stanton, where we sat and looked at the millions of stars (I swear there’s not that many in Brisbane!!).
 
Overall, I had an amazing time and everyone involved in the Fleadh Ceol should be really happy with how everything went. The organisers, MC’s, musicians, hotel and bar staff, sound guys and audience were all fantastic and I can’t wait for my next Tassie trip.

Where do I start… Woodford was amazing! We had a great time gigging, camping, eating, drinking, shopping, running around in the mud, listening to fantastic music and just generally soaking in the brilliant Woodford atmosphere.

It was my first time as a performer at Woodford, and hopefully not my last. Before I go too much further, I would like to say a huge thank you to all the people that supported us at the festival, and for those who took the time to stop and chat to us while we were wandering around. I felt a bit like a celebrity, if that’s possible while walking around soaking wet and muddy in a tie-dye petticoat and purple gum-boots.

So, from the beginning… I was firstly very excited that my little car ‘Cheryl’ made it through the mud to the campsite, and even more excited to discover that our tents were still standing as we had left them a week or so earlier. We managed to organise the camp site, with Mannie’s van holding up the side. With a few arguments about whose table was better (mine of course!) and which equipment should be used (also mine… with the exception of a really old saucepan that Paul named 'The Cancer Pan'), we set up a fairly comfortable home for the next few days. Or so we thought. Within hours it was muddy and leaking, all the while with Mannie sitting dry in the back of his van laughing at us ‘real campers’.

Our first gig at the Concert tent was a great experience. We had our doubts about a 10am gig so early in the festival, but were surprised to see a huge crowd who seemed to really enjoy the music (or were particularly good at pretending!). Our other gigs saw the same response, and we even ended up being invited to play in some chalkboard concerts which were a real highlight.

The whole festival was like a dream to me, and I feel so lucky to be in this amazing band! While there are many more stories to be told (just ask Mannie about the stinky bugs!), I’m going to leave it there for now with a huge thank you to everyone for welcoming me into Sunas, and to everyone at Woodford for a fantastic 6 days of music, mud and fun.

Early one Saturday morning, three little musos went on a trip. They travelled over mountains to reach their destination… Woodford Folk Festival. It was time to set up camp. The womenfolk were well prepared to show off their tent assembling skills, despite much mocking by the man-folk (aka Paul).

Ok enough of story time. Let me just say, I am Queen of Bungee! Even Paul was impressed with my skilled use of the bungee cord. It was a fun day. Very hot and very dusty, but fun none-the-less. We missed Mannie again, our second trip to Woodford without him, but the three of us managed to secure a great camp site and rope off a spot for Mannie’s van (should he decide to join us on our next trip up).

And of course in true Sunas style (as I am fast learning), we stopped for a quick bite, which ended up being gourmet scrambled eggs ala Paul. We were surprised to see though, that the always friendly Woodford folk had ripped us off with only 11 eggs in our carton.

Aside from a missing egg, a blistered finger and the scorching heat, we are definitely feeling the Woodford vibe and are very exciting for the festival next week. See you there!