Súnas News

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2012-04-05T09:55:00.000+10:00

Hi Everyone.

Although we keep this website up to date, most of the action happens over on the Sunas Facebook page. We're very active over there (which is why this blog has fallen off a tad), so come along and say hi.

https://www.facebook.com/sunasmusic

This site is currently going through a massive rewrite that should see it looking a whole lot cleaner and simpler. Not that we don't like it the way it is, but it's time for a wee change.

Cheers,

SMP&M

Sarah's Debut Solo Album is now Available

2011-12-12T11:17:00.000+10:00

Sarah's first solo project, 'As Night Falls' is now available from within our own Store. Sunas played on three tracks, along with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra (that was fun!), Shane Nicholson, Irish accordion maestro Alan Kelly and the legendary Mike Scott from the Waterboys.

It's a gorgeous mix of traditional, contemporary, orchestra, electronica and Sunas, and debuted at number 16 in the charts!

Don't forget to select the correct destination (Australia/Rest of the World)

Celtic Road Now Available in our Store

2011-10-13T20:25:00.000+10:00

Our latest album, Celtic Road, is now available from within our own Store. It includes the bonus DVD Live in Concert.
Don't forget to select the correct destination (Australia/Rest of the World)

Mannie's Neurum Creek Festival

2011-09-23T10:35:00.000+10:00

Where to start… It was a gorgeous morning as I made my way to the scenic camping spot, which is Neurum Creek. I had missed two of the three amazing days of music and mischief and was anxious to see as much of the day’s program as I could. My iPod loaded with music from most of the artists performing at the festival, I happily made my way through Woodford and on to Neurum. It was great to see my fellow bandies and their families, hugs from all and then the essentials, Cider, yes Cider! After being regaled of the previous days of activities, I quickly settled into what can only be described as a brilliant day! It was lovely to see so many friends, all in one spot and with the backdrop of lush hills and the haunting melodies of the fiddle and guitar of Emma Nixon and Tony Vandermeer, I knew the day was off to a cracking start! Beautiful harmonies of gospel singers and the amazing cloudstreet, were only slightly contested by the laughter of children, as they played close by.

I was very excited about the Poachers playing later that afternoon and was planning on capturing some of their magic on film,

“Hey Spielberg, do you want a coffee”?

“Only if you’re making it, Paul”.

So he started to boil the water, as he enlightened the nearby kids on the dangers of playing around a hot stove. Then as if he had never mentioned the dangers of boiling water, Paul started dancing around the stove. For a few seconds I thought Paul was doing a Chuck Berry routine, as he held one leg up in the air and slapped it, as if he was strumming a guitar. Wow! Supper and a show! Then came the realisation that the tortured look on Paul’s face wasn’t Paul trying to belt out a tune, but the scream of pain. Damn, I was starting to get into it! My God, it wasn’t looking good, Paul’s days of performing Swan Lake with the Russian Ballet where over. Being the only one at the scene, I had to help!” I don’t know if we can save it Paul” I don’t think he saw the funny side of this! So I got ice and cold water, and then drank it in a shady spot. No you all know me better than that, I had alcohol instead of water, No really I helped him! At that point Sarah turned up and quickly set off to find our friend Bob who is not only a great guy, but was a First Aid person. I have to say that, Paul did really well to contain his emotions, as his leg blistered like a strip of bacon on a hot grill! Before you could say, anyone want eggs with that, Bob had arrived and sprung into action, patching Paul’s Leg and saving his career in the world of interpretive dance! “Damn you”, I say Bob.

So first came the, “Could I have a water please, Mannie” then it was “can you help me to my chair” then it was “ do you think you could make me a coffee and fluff my pillows” to “I want a jet and a house on the edge of a lake with a room full of guitars and an iPad 2”. Only joking, in all fairness to Paul, he really did soldier on, as we had to perform within half an hour of Paul scolding himself. He got on stage and played his little heart out. You rock, Paul.

I did get to video one or two of the amazing Poachers set. Thanks again to everyone who hung around to hear us play. Once again thanks to Angela Don and Keith for inviting us, and to everyone who helped make it a fantastic weekend!

Take care.

Mannie.

A Long-Overdue Update

2011-09-12T13:43:00.000+10:00

Sorry.

It's been far too long since we've actually blogged about anything. In our defence, we have been terribly busy (and a lot of our day-to-day communication takes place of Facebook most of the time -it's just quicker and far more immediate). But I thought I'd take a moment to post a little something.

Firstly, I have to say thank you. A big, fat, jelly-wobbly thank you to everyone who bought the last cd. It's taken us all quite by surprise. Celtic Road made the top 10 list for ABC Classics & Jazz bestsellers of the year, which for an unknown folk band from Brisbane is pretty cool. The DVD (made by our amazing friends over a NoSuchStudioCollective) is still on rotation on cable TV over 6 months after it was released.

And we're going to do it all again in a couple of months. We're flying down to Sydney to record another album with the ABC in January. It's shaping up to be a busy end of the year for us. As some of you may know, Sarah has her own huge ABC solo project that gets underway in a week or so, and Sunas are contributing a few songs to that (along with some fantastic big name people that she'll reveal later on). You can read all about it at here. We've also got the Gold Coast Festival coming up, along with a nice road trip down to the Bellingen Festival next month. December sees a few local shows, but mainly us closeting ourselves away to write the new album which hopefully we'll debut at the Music by the Sea Festival show in early Jan. Then we'll combine the recording with a trip back to the Illawara Festival and a possible, very special trip to Melbourne. That'll be a busy couple of weeks!

Next year is already on the brew. We'll be off to as many festivals as will have us, recording yet another cd, then later in the year we're planning on heading back overseas.

It certainly is interesting times. Now, back to writing the Neurum Creek blog...

Ten Years in Sunas

2011-05-11T00:00:00.000+10:00

In February of this year I celebrated ten wonderful years with Sunas, and started reflecting on my journey. Goodness - how does one condense ten years worth of experiences and memories into a smattering of words?

I joined Sunas in 2001 when I was 19 years old. I came from a classically trained background in flute, having done all of my grades and smashing a 92% mark on Grade 8 (no apologies for bragging there, it is still one of my biggest achievements!). As much as I loved (and still love) classical music, I was so burnt out by the rigidity of it. There is no room for improvisation, no 'funky version' you can practice for exams, and I began to resent it. My flute was an extension of myself, but I began to think that surely there must be more than just classical music.

Oh yes, there was. Musical theatre!

I enrolled in a Bachelor of Music Theatre uni course & spent a year in Mackay learning the ropes of singing, dancing, tech work, lighting, costuming, workshops & major performances from some of the most incredible teachers in Australia. I loved that year of uni. Unfortunately the dancing was valued very highly, and I have two left feet. My version of dancing makes me look like a frog in a blender. So after a year of music theatre, I came home to Brisbane and started wondering what else was in store for me. One night in February, my Mum & Dad went out to the local Dooleys at Meadowbrook (now known as the Meadowbrook Hotel) with some friends of theirs. My Dad came home raving about this band that was playing, called Sunas. My parents knew I missed music desperately, so after having a look at the line-up (guitar, fiddle, bouzouki & keyboards), Dad enquired as to whether they were looking for a flute player. The bald guy in the band promptly replied, 'Are you sh*tting me?!' Apparently Sunas had been advertising for a flute player who could sing harmonies for months.

WELL. Dad gave me their card and told me they wanted me to send them an email listing my experience. I'd had NO experience in Irish music, but I loved the music from Riverdance & Lord of the Dance (I know - I literally was 'green!'), and I knew just enough to know that I wasn't keen on Foster & Allen. My Mum told me that I should really sell myself and make them think that I would be perfect for the job. Keen on impressing all of Sunas, I sent off a ten page email (I kid you not!) to Paul & Helen telling them how qualified I was.

Paul later told me that everyone killed themselves laughing at my email, because I sounded completely wet & eager. Oh well :) But they loved my enthusiasm enough to want to meet me. We all met up for the very first time at Gilhooleys Chermside, which was Sunas's next gig. That night I met Mannie McAllister (bouzouki & mandolin), Rachel Witney (vocals & fiddle), Helen McDiarmid (keyboards & vocals) & Paul Brandon (guitar).The first song I heard them play was 'Ride On' by Jimmy McCarthy. I completely fell in love with this type of music after watching Sunas play. Their songs & tunes were tight, their sound was so full! And they laughed a lot. I REALLY wanted to be in this band.

I had two auditions (neither of which were known to me!). The first one was simply having a chat over a coffee. They wanted to know about my musical background, but they also wanted to know if my personality would fit in with their peculiar brand of humour. I took the piss out of Mannie & Paul in the first 15 minutes & passed Round One. Round Two was my ability to pick up tunes quickly. Apart from a crash course in jigs & reels from Mannie & Helen, I was on my own. But I love to improvise, and the very first tune I learnt was Charlie Harriss's on my brand new Clarke D whistle. I passed. I was a member of Sunas! Sarah Calderwood (flutes, whistles, vocals). Mannie & I bonded immediately. He's such a naughty boy, we'd giggle and talk utter bollocks for hours. Not to mention rehearsing like demons - it was so lovely to find someone who was as obsessed with music as I was. I love Mannie to pieces, he's my best friend and like a brother to me. Helen & I bonded over crap songs & our dirty, cracked humour. She was my second Mum and a wonderful musical mentor. I miss her every day. Paul & I, well, we bonded in a different way - we argued & traded outrageous insults a lot - we were best friends, but each other's wit-sharpening post (and still are). Paul & Mannie challenge me to be the best musician I can be – they have certainly kept me on my toes. Early on I began to view Sunas not as a band & business, but as family. That’s how we roll, yo.

Here's a pic of my very first rehearsal with Sunas (Rachel Witney took these pics - Helen was away on holiday at the time). Please don't rib me TOO much about my awful hair - not to mention the fact that I was blonde (Paul said I looked like a camel had chewed my head).

I threw myself into my new band - it was wonderful, and I LOVED the music! Rachel left Sunas 18 months later to focus on her family, and I became the lead vocalist. I was awful to begin with! But Helen & Mannie were wonderful support & really helped me to 'find' my voice. I remember Sharon Shannon coming to Brisbane in 2004 with Irish singer Pauline Scanlon supporting her. Watching Pauline sing and the way she used the mic was a tremendous 'clanger' moment for me. I 'got' it, took the ball and ran with it, although I firmly believe that there is always something to learn, so am still developing my vocal technique to this day.

My musical heroes are Kevin Crawford, Flook, Matt Molloy, Kate Rusby, Pauline Scanlon & Karan Casey. My flute & whistle collection is still in its young years. I have exchanged my silver classical flute Max for a gorgeous blackwood Sweetheart flute, called Jeremy (Jem for short). In recent years I collected a cherry red aluminium MK low D called Ruben and a Benedict Stewart rosewood low F called Henry, and I'm STILL not finished (a Grinter is on order…). I name all of my instruments. Yes, they are boys names for obvious reasons.

Gigs are always the number one highlight for me. I cannot ever remember a time when I didn’t want to perform. There are days where I feel physically & mentally exhausted, but the second I step up on stage, everything changes. I’m home & comfortable, and there’s an audience to connect with.

I remember playing at my first ever folk festival - Woodford 02/03. I saw Kavisha Mazzella, Trouble in the Kitchen and Jigzag for the first time and became an instant fan for life. Not to mention aspiring to become as accomplished in performing as they are! To me, Woodford is the type of festival that truly shows what humanity is capable of -for six days and six nights, our crazy world aligns, and we really do see a privileged glimpse of what world peace could be like. I adore everything about it. Yes, even the weather!

Wow, I just re-read this post. It’s rather epic! Ten years of crazy Paddy's Day gigs, of playing in the weirdest places imaginable, of line-up changes, of album set-backs and finish lines, of strength and heartbreak and success. But most importantly, ten years of making and sharing amazing music with amazing people, meeting the absolute love of my life, and the greatest amount of hysterical laughter I have ever been a part of. It's quite surreal looking back at all of this, because for me, Sunas is an ongoing journey. I'm not foolish enough to believe that Sunas will last forever, but I do hope that our musical journeys continue together for a long time. There is so much more I could have written, but I think I’ll save that for the next recap. Who knows where we'll be in another ten years?

The National

2011-04-21T19:16:00.001+10:00

Flying can be quite nerve-wracking for us. In addition to all the clothes we have to pack (regular clothes and gigging attire, and often stuff for different climates), there are the instruments. For us, that's a guitar (big, checked in), a bouzouki (checked in), fiddle (carried), mandolin (carried) bodhrán, usually carried, sometimes stuffed into a suitcase), flutes and whistles (carried). Now, add to that the leads we take (one each, generally 35-footers), the floor boxes (5, each just over a kilo) and we're pretty close to the limit.

We're generally allowed 2 bags each, not exceeding 23kg. Added together.

Now add on the CDs. 100 CDs weighs 17kilos. We have 2 albums, and if it's a new recording, you need a lot of them. They sell. Then there's the T-shirts. This stuff isn't that optional -the money from the merch pretty much pays for the next set of flights to the next festival. The gig fee pays for the food, the drinks, the repairs, cabs to the airport, a new shirt, strings...

And for this festival, the National Folk Festival in Canberra, where it is currently 4 degrees C and we're staying in Tent City, we need to bring bedding. That's a lot of luggage.

Which is why I have to thank the amazing Martin and Jonathan from the ABC who managed to get us special musician luggage waivers, at literally the last minute (they arrived just before we left).

I'm sitting in the airport, waiting for our slightly delayed flight. Mannie and Sarah are sitting next to me giggling about something (probably me). We get into Canberra at about 10pm. We'll dump our stuff and hit the sessions.

It's going to be grand!

I'll blog when I can. Promise!

Paul

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Location:Brisbane Airport, Australia

An Album Update

2011-03-22T19:28:00.001+10:00

It's been a busy month!

Celtic Road debuted on the Aria Classical Chart at number 9, which was fantastic. It held that spot for 2 weeks then to everyone's surprise, it climbed to number 5, then on to #4 this week. Here's some interesting perspective: at #1 is the untouchable Wicked soundtrack, followed by two albums by Cecilia Bartoli, who is currently the highest-selling classical artist in the world with over 10 million albums sold (and currently touring Australia). Not bad for a small folk band from Brisbane!

We've not been blogging that much because we've been out and about. We seemed to have moved away from Myspace onto our Facebook page, and you can find us there very regularly. We've played at quite a few ABC shops in the past couple of weeks, which has been a blast, and we've also been playing catch-up with a lot of the festivals. We should be around Australia quite a lot in the second half of the year -and this half too for that matter, which appearances at the National Folk Festival in Canberra over Easter, and the National Celtic Festival in Victoria in June (which has the incomparable Solas as headliners).

We've also just found out that our live concert is going to be screened on Foxtel soon, on channel Stvdio. I'll post the times very soon!

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It's Out!

2011-02-18T19:08:00.000+10:00

So, finally, after what seems like an age, the new album is out there and flying on the winds. Responses so far have been incredible to say the least. It's an odd feeling, finally being at this point. We're so proud of this; it's been an amazing journey, so thank you to Martin, Geoff, Robert, Bells, Al, Maria, Ange, the Steves, BassLee, Kevin, Cillian, Ross, Doogs, Jen, Ben, Rhydian, Davy, DrumLee...

A Smashing Competition!

2011-02-08T11:13:00.000+10:00

Hi All,

There's a fantastic competition running at the moment for those of you that pre-order the new CD to win tickets to the amazing National Folk Festival in Canberra over the Easter Weekend (April 21-25). This is a complete package including 2 adult season tickets and full camping, and is worth a whopping $780.00.

Here's the link to the order page

This year's National is looking like being the best ever, with overseas artists such as Andy Irvine, Davy Stuart, Nancy Kerr, James Fagan & Martha Tiltson, Alan Reid from the legendary Battlefield Band, and local brilliance like Shane Howard, William Barton, the Crooked Fiddle Band, Eric Bogle, the brilliant Bushwhackers and the wonderful Kavisha Mazella (OAM!). Ah look, there's just too many good people to list, so go here:

National Folk Festival

And flights to Canberra are quite reasonable at the moment so there's no excuse!

Wednesday News

2011-02-02T20:56:00.001+10:00

Hi all,

Few things to announce this evening!

We are extremely pleased to be able to say that we'll be performing at the 45th National Folk Festival in Canberra from April 21-25 (Easter Weekend). This isn't big-noting, it's all official now and we can't wait! We been before in various situations, but never all four of us together. We'll post more info when the program is made official later this month.

The 30-second TV commercial for the new album is complete, and will be screening on the ABC later this month. This is something that we're all still gobsmacked about -us ont' telly! There's even a chance we'll make it onto satellite TV too. 100 personalized preview copies of the album went out this week to press and publicity people, which apparently is unprecedented by the ABC. The level of support and enthusiasm we've been getting from them has been above and beyond, and really, the adventure is only just beginning.

The album launch has been set for Sat 19 Feb, and in a lovely turn of luck we're able to use Ferry Road Studios again. We'll be sending out a newsletter later on this week with all the details, so if you're not signed up, now's a good time, the link is up there to the right.

And finally, we're off this weekend to shoot a film clip for the song Bushes and Briars. This involves us looking all windswept and interesting at some ungodly hour in the morning (for the magic light). We'll let you know how it goes!

Exciting times!

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Sarah's Recording Adventures

2011-01-23T13:34:00.000+10:00

This may sound completely out of character, but I am a complete cynic when it comes to ideas or offers outside of my band and my bandies. I believe the term Paul & Mannie use is 'Ice Queen'.

For good reason. I love this band fiercely. I love what we have built, what we have achieved, how far we have come. I am incredibly protective of everything we have. So much so, that after performing at Dougie MacLean's concert in Colo, when a nice cameraman called Martin gave me his business card and told me he managed a record company, my first thought was, 'Yeah, sure, Sparky!'. This has happened to us before, and nothing ever came of it. Folk bands don't get signed to labels - especially high-profile ones.

Well, as you have probably noticed from the dervish of activity from Sunas HQ of late, I have been proven rather deliciously wrong. The amount of support and enthusiasm from Martin regarding this project was nothing we had ever encountered before. Recording this album has been an undertaking that none of us expected. Apart from a collection of 'classic folk songs' (a term used loosely at best) there wasn't a general idea or plan that was adhered to for the 'Sunas ABC Project'. We had complete choice of what songs we wanted to capture and 'Sunas-ise' for this album. The only plan was to capture the 'live' sound that Sunas is known for. Everything else revolved around throwing ideas at the wall to see what would stick. Martin hadn't heard our versions of any of these songs until we were actually in the recording room laying the tracks down for the first time.

This showed how much faith Martin had (and still has) in Sunas!

We were recorded mostly as a four-piece, literally laying down the songs as though we were gigging or jamming. The other times there was two and two, mostly Mannie & Paul recording their parts simultaneously and Bridget & myself laying down vocals and harmonies or flute & fiddle lines together. Very rarely did we record alone. Even when I was singing solo, someone always made sure they were there for support and to capture the moment with photographs.

Our recording sessions were dream-like. I believe the term is 'in the zone'. We knew our songs were good, but for whatever reason, be it caffeine, humour or Mannie's barking spider, our fingers were tingly and the magic was flowing. We would finish each day looking at each other and asking, 'Did that really happen?' It also helped having Martin and Geoff behind the desk. We could not have asked for two more easy-going and honest supporters for guidance. Sunas has a very high work ethic - so much so that after a particularly fruitful session, Martin called time because he was afraid we would push the magic and lose our momentum. Even so, the majority of our songs were knocked over in two hours.

I absolutely loved every aspect of these weekends. I was living and breathing my dream of being a fulltime musician, something I thought would be a really cool thing to do when I was five years old and singing into a red plastic maraca (I still think it would be a really cool thing to do!). After three weekends blissfully oblivious to the world outside, locked cozily in a big room and sporting fresh midnight tans, we had finished our album and the live concert recording beckoned the following weekend.

And next month, we release our little project, Celtic Road, to the winds. Aptly named, really, because this really has been the most amazing journey for us. Interestingly, because although I'm still a cynic, I think some ice splinters have melted internally, just a wee bit!

Woodford, Day 4

2010-12-30T10:58:00.001+10:00

A friend of mine, a veteran of many festivals in the UK such as Glastonbury, came up yesterday. One of the remarks he made was about how clean the festival site is, in terms of litter and general human debris. I was walking around quite early this morning, long before the gates opened, watching all the scuttling, the fixing, the tidying, and it really struck me how small a piece of the jigsaw performers really are when compared to everything else. The bins are emptied at 4:30 every morning by one of those giant trucks that resembles a mammoth navigating the treacherous lanes and alleys (it wakes everyone up the first morning, as it sounds like giant apocalyptic saucepans being hammered by huge-armed Vikings, but we get quickly used to it). There are gangs out with leveling machines (those big vibrating slabs of metal on pole things) sorting out the track and roads, gravel trucks, bark trucks, electricians, people just replacing a damaged lantern. Every venue has the chairs gathered up, the floors hosed and swept, the stages cleaned. There's an electric milk cart that zips around, loaded to toppling, delivering to all the cafes and of course during this, most of the coffee shops are already open serving breakfast. Backstage water urns are refilled, lost property filed, streams cleared, plumbing fixed, artworks straightened, transfers arranged, water recycled, lasers polished, lost children found, snakes removed, doughnut batter beaten. It truly is an endless list. Kudos to you all.

Today is a quiet one, which works well for us as it's also the anniversary of the passing of Helen. We'll get together a bit later for a drink and a few laughs over memories. We'll be at the ceilidh in the afternoon, then I'll be back on Game On 'due to popular demand' (which is Sandy's nice way of saying I didn't do too badly on Tuesday, despite dropping the C-bomb).

If you're still dawdling about coming on up, please do. The weather is lovely now, everything is open, the program is chokas and everyone is smiling.

Paul. 'Less mud, more doughnut'

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Woodford, Day 3.1

2010-12-30T09:17:00.001+10:00

We had one of those really special gigs last night the audience just seemed to get into it that little extra more than usual. It was odd really, as I was struggling with my sound and Bridget was under the weather, but for some reason it sparked. Sarah jumping off stage to waltz with Johnny from Fallen Angels was probably the best bit, but really it was just the lovely reaction to our new stuff like the Cure's Lovesong that made the night crackle.

It stopped raining in the afternoon, and the evening was just lovely. It stayed cool, with stars dusting the sky. We tried to play some tunes, but the bleed from the other tents was just too strong so we ended up wandering in search of food. Tomorrow it's supposed to be fine!

BBOD stands at 4. I'm cutting back this year, clearly.

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Woodford, Day 3

2010-12-29T23:47:00.001+10:00

Today's blog has been postponed due to inebriation, Byron Bay Doughnuts and Witchy-Poo stockings

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Woodford, Day 2

2010-12-29T09:18:00.001+10:00

Bit of a quiet day today. We had a signing at noon which was nice, as we got to meet a bunch of people that had seen us at the Duck yesterday. Sarah and Mannie chugged off in the afternoon to play a show with Nadia and the Fruit Tingles, while I did a stint on the panel show, Game On. It was quite possibly the most terrifying yet fun gig I've done. Partnered with John Thompson, we faced off against Martin Pearson and Fiona Scott Norman in a show that was part 'Mock the Week', part 'News Quiz', but all Woodford.

The BBOD count now stands at 3. Although last night I was feeling a bit adventurous after the show and recklessly went for the Blackberry-filled version. After much Jameson's it wasn't the best idea, but a flagon of Superb Organic Gypsy Coffee soon put things right.

Then we all scattered to the winds. Mannie went for a wander, Bridget played tunes, Sair went off to watch her friend Sarah the fiddler In the stunning WooHoo Revue while I caught the awesome Arrested Development at the Amphitheatre. I think Sair crawled in sometime around 2:30am. No idea about Mannie, his van is a white, impenetrable enigma.

Tomorrow we have another Duck gig, which we can't wait for. Forecast is for fining weather.

Off to bed, and to dream...

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Woodford, Day 1

2010-12-27T23:52:00.001+10:00

Yes it's been raining, but that's no excuse not to come. This festival is 100% running, and, if truth be told, I think I actually prefer the rain to the shimmering heat. This is a remarkable place. People just get on. Buy wellies, buy a poncho and come up.

So, today, the Byron Bay Organic Doughnut count stands at 1.5.

I've been a bit slack so far, but that's mainly because we have such great food at Campo De Súnas. I have my sights set on a blackberry one for breakfast tomorrow.

We did our first set of gigs today. First up were two appearances at the rather strange Mystery Bus. If you're coming up, don't miss this peculiar venue. It's part theatre, part music, part Carry On film, and very much fun. Sarah, Mannie and myself had a ball.

Then we officially debuted at the Duck & Shovel -our home venue here. And what a set it was! We mixed a few new ones in with some of the older material, and it just crackled. The packed out audience was incredible, particularly during 'P Stands for Paddy', where they managed to get the very tricky 'stomp-clap' rhythm done perfectly. It was like playing with the world's coolest drum kit! The new flooring is great, though it's nice to still look out and see throngs dancing on the grass. Fingertips held up nicely (though they did start feeling it during 'Crooked Jack', but that's more from the gazouki I think).

Really, all I can say is it was great to be home.

Oh, here's our schedule for the rest of the festival (subject to additions!)

Tuesday
12 midday: Signing, Festival Shop
7pm: Paul in Game On

Wednesday
8pm: Duck and Shovel

Thursday
5pm: Ceilidh
7pm: Game On

Friday
10am Concert Stage

Saturday
10:30 The final Duck & Shovel for the year. Expect many special guests!

Sunday
The Night After Party.

Now I'm out of here. The Cat Empire a firing up, then there's seasoning to be done. Tomorrow brings a day off for most of us, though we are signing at the Festival Shop at midday. I, however, will be in training for the night's edition of Game On. Pray for me!

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Woodford, Day 0.5

2010-12-26T16:06:00.001+10:00

It's raining.

Did you really expect me to write anything different?

We're set up in a beautiful gully with a whole other bunch of musos and PeggyHiss, our 7 foot python. The water is literally streaming from the sky. The mountains are wreathed with ever-shifting mist and the valley is thick, green and dripping. At night, it sounds like a jungle, like something out of Avatar (minus the poisonous air and blue people, though this is Woodford, so the blue people are most likely here somewhere). At the moment I love it, but that may change once I work my way through the 10 T-shirts and 10 pairs of socks. Wellies are my best friend at the moment.

It's great getting here early. One gets to settle in before the mayhem and madness. We've already done our poster runs with Cloudstreet, so there's not a toilet wall or tent post that isn't papered.

The only downside to the rain for me is that my fingers are perpetually soggy, and my guitar callouses have literally fallen off. It's going to be fun playing later on. Might have to resort to the old superglue trick if they stay soft like this.

So, tonight we have the secret Troubadour gig. Andrew Claremont, Cloudstreet, Penelope Swales, Ange Takats, Kristina Olsen, Never the Twain... It's a great line up. Wine, Water and Merry!

And the gigs are lining up nicely! Sarah is playing with the Fruit Tingles (so far) and I've been asked to guest in the show, 'Game On', with Martin Pearson, Fiona Scott Norman, John Thompson, and hosted by the erudite Sandy McCutcheon (he told me to say that). I think I'm out of my depth...

Paul, reporting from Moistford.

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New Merch!

2010-12-19T20:23:00.000+10:00

Just in time for Woodford and the Summer! We have a very strictly limited run of new T-shirts.

Available in women's and men's sizes, and in a choice of White, Crimson or Sky Blue, each one is hand-printed and unique. Be the envy of your fellow festival goers with this beautiful shirt designed and drawn by our genius friend Dan over at 2 Inches of Water . They'll be available at our shows, the Woodford and Illawara Festivals, and our Store very soon!
(See if you can spot the little Paul plug on Dan's site)

The Teaser Video

2010-12-11T07:59:00.001+10:00

Hi Everyone!

This website has been a bit quiet lately, basically because we're in the process of upgrading the whole site to a super new shiny one. Shouldn't be too much longer now. We're spending a lot of time over at our Facebook Page, so hop over there and 'Like' it for the most up-to-date news.

Here it is -the new teaser video for the upcoming album:

Teaser Video

Watch out for the more news early next week!

Recording Adventures, Pt 1

2010-09-26T18:44:00.000+10:00

I'm writing this on a brand-new top of the range iPad, in the back of the stretched black Hummer that the ABC has kindly provided to chauffeur us from our penthouse accommodation on Hastings Street, Noosa, to the plush studios overlooking the river at West End (*).

Ferry Road studios is massive. It's the rehearsal and recording space for the Queensland Orchestra, so the actual recording space is about the size of a basketball court, except with funky baffled walls and ceilings, hardwood floors and lots of mic stands. We're trying to record as much of this album as live as possible, so we're set up in a nice little square, close together, with transparent barriers between us to stop the fighting, thrown coffee cups, bodily gasses (and sound bleed). By live, I mean that we're recording together as much as possible. This is really important to keep as much of the energy as we can, and eye contact is also incredibly important. The only time this gets impossible is for the parts when Sarah or Bridget are playing at the same time as singing, and for extra instruments like the bodhràns, mandolin and gazouki.

Yesterday went really well, we got a three-part tune down in the morning, and the afternoon was devoted to one of the new songs. Today it'll be Drink up me Boys in the morning, then perhaps one of Dougie's songs in the afternoon, either Turning Away or Storm.

This is a very different recording experience for us. Martin the producer and Geoff our engineer bring with them about four thousand ear-hours worth of experience (actually, that's sixteen thousand if you think about it), and it's fantastic to get honest feedback (perfect take Paul), and opinion (do your bouzouki *again* Mannie ). Actually, joking aside, it's been brilliant so far. We're stretching ourselves nicely in all the right directions. But it's not all been tea and cookies.

I saw a ghost.

I was coming down the stairs by myself, and when I rounded the corner (the stairs are wide, open plan with a double descent) I saw a blonde haired girl, about 4 years old and dressed in blue, walking silently below me. She didn't pay me any attention whatsoever. I didn't think too much about it until I got the the bottom of the stairs and she was gone. The stairs empty out into the big foyer, so there's nowhere she could have gone to in such a short space of time. Oh, I should mention that the studios are closed on weekends...

I told the others, and surprisingly, neither Geoff or Martin laughed. Martin just looked thoughtful and mumbled something about The Ghost, then wouldn't talk about it any more

Late night trips to the Coke machine have become a whole lot more interesting now.

(*) This part may or may not be exactly true

Exciting Times

2010-09-17T17:02:00.000+10:00

You might have noticed we've been pretty quiet recently. Thanks for all the emails asking about our whereabouts. Other than a few gigs here and there, basically we've been closeted away working furiously on a bunch of new material. And by a bunch, we mean an album's worth.

Yep, finally, a new album. I *know* we've been saying this for ages now, but this is different, this is *definite*.

We've just signed a record deal with the ABC. (That's the Australian Broadcasting Corporation for all you non-Australian types)

It's been an interesting couple of months, but this all dates back to May...

While we were down at Colo, we got to meet a very interesting chap called Martin. He was at the festival on behalf of the ABC to interview and film Dougie (and the other bands there). At the end of the weekend, we sat and had a chat and he said he'd be interested in doing something with us in the future. He gave Sair a card and we didn't think much more about it. Surprisingly, we've actually had quite a few promises like this in the past (though admittedly not from the ABC), usually involving a drunk, slurring man giving Bridge or Sair a card and promising to fly us (or just them) to Europe to be incredibly windswept and famous. Oddly enough, no one ever calls.

Martin did.

Basically, he offered us a recording deal with the ABC. At first, we were a bit hesitant, as the ABC isn't really known for its folk and Celtic, and the albums it has produced in those genres are not much like us, not to mention the fact that production was already underway on our next album and, without sounding too farty, we didn't want to compromise our sound for the sake of a deal. After over ten years as a band, we've never bowed to pressure to become more mainstream, more pubby, more anything than what *we've* wanted. But this offer was great. We'd have total say in what we recorded, the style and arrangements would be completely 'us', and, most importantly, we're free to still produce our own albums.

It's a brilliant opportunity.

So, we're doing an album of Celtic music for a the ABC. I'm not going to reveal what's on it, as we're picking from a very eclectic list that we've all agreed on. I will let slip that Ready for the Storm/The Gael will most likely be there, as will Drink Up Me Boys (a song that Martin heard us perform at Colo, and all-but insisted be included). It's an album where you might be familiar with some of the songs, but it's definitely not a generic cover album. There'll also be a bunch of tunesets on there, and some *very* interesting surprises. There will also be some local and international guests that we're all fizzy about.

So, we hit the studios in Ferry Road next week for a couple of months. We're excited, tingly, a bit nervous, but really confident that it that will be a cracker. We have a couple of lovely gigs coming up (see the Gigs Page) where we'll no doubt be previewing some of the material, and at this stage, the album is looking like a Marchish release. We're going to be documenting the process from start to finish (and of course blogging), and the ABC are even going to be filming parts of the recording for future release. And then of course there will be the life-sized cut-outs of Mannie at your local ABC shop, standing right next to his hero, Andre Rieu...

Wintermoon 2010

2010-09-16T23:47:00.000+10:00

Oh dear, I’m going to have a field day with this one…

We love Wintermoon. There is no festival quite like it. It started when we flew into Mackay and found our way squished with luggage in a minibus. When I say squished, I mean it. In total, there was Sunas (plus Bridget’s boyfriend Tom), Ann Vriend from Canada, the entire Perch Creek Family Jug Band – PLUS our luggage and instruments.

See? Complete squishage.

Prior to arriving, I had an interesting conversation with Jenny, the organiser of Wintermoon regarding our accommodation. Mannie would be banished to his very own tent to ensure his purring would disturb as little people as possible. Bridge & Tom would have their very own tent. And Paul & I, well … Jenny asked me an interesting question:

Jenny: ‘Would you mind sharing a cabin with a snake?’
Me: (pause) ‘Erm, define ‘sharing a cabin with a snake!’’
Jenny: (laughs) ‘Well the cabin we’ve housed you & Paul in is open to the elements, that is, it’s got a roof and four walls, but no glass in the windows & no doors. And a six-foot carpet python has made it her home.’
Me: (pause) ‘Um, okayyy …’
Jenny: ‘She’s very docile; she sleeps during the day and won’t bother you at all. We’ve tried relocating her, but she always comes back.’
Me: ‘Well as long as she doesn’t try to cuddle me during the night, I think we’ll be fine.’
Jenny: ‘Oh great! Thanks so much, we were having a hard time trying to convince people to stay there.’

I couldn’t imagine why! Upon arriving at our cabin, we indeed saw this incredible python fast asleep wrapped in her many coils. Our bed was wrapped in a mosquito net across the other side of the room. I eyed the snake again. As long as that she didn’t come anywhere near me during the night we’d get along fine!

It turned out our worrying was for nothing. The snake moved from one beam to the other and wasn’t a bother at all. I gave her the name of Bess Hiss, and Paul & I grew quite fond of her. Outside the cabin, in her enormous web, sat the biggest golden orb spider I have ever seen – as big as a dinner plate. Jenny told us her name was Charlotte, in honour of Charlotte’s Web, but Paul secretly nicknamed her Spawn of Shelob from Lord of the Rings! I’m really not fond of spiders at all, they creep me out. But I didn’t think Charlotte would bother us somehow (otherwise she would be chased out with something long and pointy!), and despite looked both impressive and icky, she kept to her web. Nice spider!

We met and caught up with all manner of brilliant and interesting musicians. I was asked by our dear friend and brilliant songstress Nadia Sunde if I would like to be a part of her Best Band in the World for the weekend. What a treat! Nadia’s music is infectious, there were lots of cheers (mostly from us in the band having far too much fun) and some great guest harmony singing as well as wonderful audience participation.

The entire weekend was basically a great big party – hot days, cool nights & an amazing line-up of performers! On the last night, after a particularly wilting humid day, I decided to have a shower and freshen up for the night of fun ahead. Paul walked into the cabin before I did & stopped, as he had spotted a snake gliding between the rafters. This one was far smaller than Bess and much faster. Oh & had some sort of tiger markings on it ... so after locating Jenny’s partner Chris, he went off to find the Snake Catcher. There’s something both unsettling and relieving in that the Wintermoon organisers keep a bonafide snake catcher on site! Ten minutes pass and the snake decided that our cabin was far too boring, so it headed out into the night. Meanwhile, Chris comes back and announces that he can’t find the snake catcher, but he’ll take care of it. He then produces a snake handling stick in one hand and a beer in the other – what reassurance!

Feeling rather icky about the whole thing, I decide to go and have a shower in Jenny’s organic house – her bathroom has an enormous bay window that faces out into the rainforest, so showering is a wonderfully organic experience with Mother Nature right in your face. I walked into the bathroom when a little voice in my head literally said, ‘It’s time to face your fears, Sarah’. Remember me telling you that I’m really not fond of spiders? Well I had no sooner put my toe in the shower when I saw something in the corner of my eye. There, on the shower taps sat the biggest, hairiest dinner-plate sized huntsman spider I have ever seen. I completely freaked out at this monstrosity, started hyperventilating and actually said out loud, ‘I’m facing my fears, I’m facing my fears ... f**k it; I’m having a sink shower.’ Fortunately a friend of Nadia’s heard me freaking out and quite calmly picked this thing up in her hand and ushered it out of the window! My hero.

Mannie and I got up to quite a lot of mischief at this festival. A drink vendor sold the most delicious fruit slushies we’d ever had, and so on the last night (it’s always the last night isn’t it?) we added a heap of vodka to them and decided to go and catch the our mates from the amazing duo Swoon and the funky Kamerunga. It was such a great night! The guys from Kamerunga played such brilliant tunes & songs you couldn’t help but get up and dance. So. Much. Fun! On a particularly funky ska track, Mannie, breathless but exhilarated, decided to do his infamous pogo-dancing. I’ve never seen anything like it; he jumps really high and then does a dolphin-like wiggle in the air before coming back down and doing it again. I couldn’t move from laughing so hard. He did this throughout the entire song & afterwards we went to catch our breath. Our friend Julie came up to me and said, ‘Was that Mannie I saw dancing up the front?’
Me: ‘Yeah, isn’t he crazy? Hey Mannie, show Julie your pogo dancing!’
Mannie: ‘No, I’m trying to catch my breath,’
Me: ‘Oh go on,’
Mannie: ‘Nooooo, I’ve shaken up all the vodka & I feel sick’
Me: ‘DO IT!’

So Mannie grinned (he just couldn’t help himself), pogo jumped three times, landed heavily on his left foot, looked straight at me and said, ‘I think I’ve hurt myself...' and then promptly threw up behind a tree.

Not. Good. Poor Mannie! The benefit to all this is that women everywhere came out of the woodwork and helped Mannie get comfortable. One bandaged his foot, another mopped his brow, one gave him drinks of water, and the rest made sure he wasn’t going to try to walk. Turns out Mannie partially tore his Achilles heel and spent two months with his foot jammed into a special boot to avoid surgery.

The next morning we had to play a gig on the main stage at 9am (sob!), and Mannie the Brave (held together by coffee, nurofen & a little bit of water), managed to just get through it (sitting down, of course). We have an interesting sound file of that concert that we'll throw up in the next day or so :)

Colo Celtic

2010-08-25T14:50:00.000+10:00

Firstly, huge apologies for the lack of blogs recently, this is the first in a series of entries called The Catch-Up Blogs!

What do you do when an opportunity presents itself to spend a weekend with a Scottish folk legend & his amazing family in a sleepy town north-west of Sydney?

You go. And you come prepared for anything, because anything can happen when Dougie MacLean & his wife Jenny are in charge.

The town of Colo hosted Dougie and his family as a stunning end to his Australian tour, which also served as a part holiday. Sunas was asked to perform in the series of concerts over the weekend, which was just an excuse for a big catch-up, really.

As we drove into the retreat, an extremely tanned man came over to greet us. Dougie, in his own personal style of greeting everyone, was, well, brown. There's no other word to describe the colour of his skin, he was a deep brown hue. Baked is the word I would use!

'What do you think of my tan, eh?!' was the first sentence out of Dougie's mouth. Dougie's daughter Julie told me that he just loves the sun (not surprising seeing as it rains in Dunkeld 300 days out of the year) and spent literally about four hours per day of the entire tour soaking up the rays. I just laughed. Bridge & I were now the whitest people there -not really a great Australian representation!

The first order of business was a dip in the lovely freshwater creek, which was incredibly refreshing. Again, Bridge, Paul & I slathered on the sunscreen, ever-protective of our pasty skin, while Dougie just ran straight in.

The walk back to the retreat was followed by an absolutely incredible foody chat between Paul & piper Ross Ainslie, who have found a kinship when it comes to anything gourmet. After that it was on. Silences would be punctuated by Ross & Paul discussing in mouth-wateringly delicious detail the dinner menu they would be preparing for us. There were no problems from anyone else!

The next day we were in concert prep. Floors were vacuumed, chairs were placed out, sound gear was meticulously set up. Then Jenny informed us that the ABC were coming to film the concerts. None of us are particularly keen on being filmed, particularly by the ABC! We get uncomfortable, then we man up, get onstage & then... nothing else matters. The music takes over & everything feels right.

Concerts with Dougie mean you are kept on your toes. There was another local band performing with us called Frozen, so rehearsals began in earnest. Dougie songs, tunes with Frozen, and Mannie being asked to accompany Ross on an epic set of tunes, he on bouzouki and Ross on the Highland bagpipes. I could literally see the 'freakout' cogs turning in Mannie's head, but the rest of us knew Mannie would do a great job & were really proud of him. It didn't stop him requesting six or seven rehearsals with Ross though, to which he good-naturedly obliged!

The ABC crew arrived and we met a lovely chap called Martin and his assistant Monica who were busy interviewing Dougie & Ross and filming our rehearsals. Martin started chatting to Mannie, and before Mannie knew it, Martin had set up the camera and began interviewing him as well! I had a bit of a giggle that I'd gotten away with being interviewed before I heard Mannie say to Martin, 'if you need any more info you should speak to Sarah, she knows everything about our tours & trips', to which Martin's gaze (& camera) were directed straight at me. Time for my 'freakout' cogs to turn! The entire time I was being interviewed I was thinking (along with my other bandies, no doubt), 'Speak slowly & don't swear!’ (which, after BBC Cornwall, is the new band motto).

Meanwhile the concerts went off with a bang. Like all good things, it was all over so quickly! Highlights were Dougie yelling at the crowd to ‘Make weather noises (cue audience making terrible whooshing sounds), Dougie’s son Jamie playing the VB beer carton as percussion, Mannie & Ross playing crazy piping tunes and the enormous session of everyone performing the finale of a mash-up of ‘Singing Land’ and ‘Waltzing Matilda’. They were both pretty epic shows, and we finally got to fulfil a long ambition of playing Ready for the Storm with the man himself. Magic.

And then one of the best moments was everyone chilling out on the couch under the carpet of stars with a cider and listening to silence. What a great, great weekend!

Russia -Behind the Scenes

2010-04-01T17:45:00.000+10:00

After Paul’s nice shiny blog about snow and fun, here’s the real truth. For those of you who think being in a band is a glamorous, exciting and easy job, I have news for you:

It’s not.

Well, not quite, anyway. The performing part is about 20% of the package you see in front of you. The rest is a massive flurry of action behind the scenes: networking, rehearsing, travelling to and from gigs, setting up and packing down from gigs, recording, correspondence via email & phone, promotion, festivals, planning and organising.

To a musician, the performance side is simply the best part of being in a band. To a manager, that sweet moment after booking a nice gig is the best part. When you do both like I do, these two elements combined are moments of pure and utter elation.

In mid-February I received a call from former Súnas member and good friend Brendan who asked if we would be interested in playing a nice gig on Sat 13th March for the upcoming St Patrick’s Day celebrations. I said of course, where’s the gig?

He replied, ‘Russia.’ As you do (my hands started to shake here)! I have to say big thanks to Brendan for thinking of us for this gig, because if it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t be writing this blog for starters. From there, it was three weeks of the most incredible amount of stress that I have ever experienced in my life (and this was even before we had boarded the plane!), but I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. Here’s how our amazing gig came about:

We were asked to submit an email to an entertainment agency, and the email was to list who we are, our sound, hi-res pics, pricing and video. Bear in mind, all we knew was that the gig was in Russia (no idea where), it was for one night and if we were successful we’d be flown there & back with all expenses paid. Well we in Súnas don’t do anything by halves. Paul & I worked for NINE HOURS to get this email together – the majority of it was a crash course in learning how to cut the footage taken from our concert at Perthshire Amber last October. Once the email was satisfactory to our critical eyes we finally sent it off in the wee hours of 17th Feb (something along the lines of 2am) and then played the waiting game.

It was five long days before we heard anything. Because I was listed as the primary contact, poor Mannie, Bridge & Paul were on tenterhooks in daily contact with me on the off chance that I had heard something. My most used expression during that period was, ‘As soon as I hear anything I’ll let you know’.

On Sunday 21st I was contacted by a man named Alan who said that it ‘looked as though’ his clients liked us and would ‘probably’ go ahead with us.
That wasn’t a yes in my book! I updated the others, but we still waited. More phone calls flowed between Alan & I regarding visa types and contracts etc, but I couldn’t do anything because we still hadn’t received the all clear! I’m sure he was thoroughly irritated by my constant calls, but I wasn’t going to get my band’s hopes up on the word ‘probably’ (having said that however, Paul gathered everyone’s passports at Sunas HQ, just in case). Regardless of everything, I had a great feeling about this possible trip from the word go. And I bloody held onto it over the next week, let me tell you! Don’t tell me we can’t do it, tell me that it’s a problem and that we can get around it. Never take no for an answer.

After another week of tense waiting, we were given the Official Yes late on Friday 26th Feb. I received one more phone call from Alan telling me all about the gig: It was a private gig for an oil & gas company in a town called Yuhzno-Sakhalinsk in very far eastern Russia. So far eastern that it wasn’t even on the mainland, it is on Sakhalin Island located above Japan. We would be gone for five days in total, including our performance. Alan finished our call with: ‘You need to organise the visas pronto’. I had heard from a few people that Russian visas were a logistical nightmare, so I got straight onto the Russian Embassy website and brushed up on my knowledge. We had to get the visas sent to the embassy in Canberra by Wednesday 6pm at the absolute latest for them to be processed and returned before we flew out. However (of course), it wasn’t as easy as that. Firstly, which visa do we apply for? Business or tourist? My first inclination was tourist, since we were only performing one gig – but because we were performing a gig I then looked at the possibility of the much more complicated business visa. Oh help.

Cue my introduction on Monday 1st March to our absolute angel Svetlana, the company contact who spoke beautiful English tinged with a Russian accent – she sounded like someone straight out of a Bond movie. Svetlana told me we only needed to apply for a tourist visa, and could I email our scanned passports ASAP to book flights please?

Bugger. Our scanner had packed it in. So instead I called Mannie & that night we went straight to his work and scanned the passports (thanks Theo!) while he filled in & signed his visa form & gave me a lovely visa photo that made him look like an illegal immigrant. I then drove across town to Bridget’s place where she filled in her form & gave me a visa pic that was absolutely stunning – she’s so photogenic, not even a visa pic would look bad! Paul & I added our absolutely awful pics – he looks like he hasn’t slept for a year & I look like I’ve swallowed a lemon. I was organising our applications the next morning and feeling quite overwhelmed with the documents we needed when I stopped and looked at our visa photos laid side by side. It made me cack myself laughing!

So I sent out an All Points Bulletin to my bandies:

HAVE YOU SEEN THESE MUSICIANS

• known to be of the Celtic music equivalent

• Slightly hairy, but not smelly

• Will do anything for a pint

• Considered cuddly and extremely dangerous

• Have a penchant for banjos

• Also known by rather naff nicknames

SUBJECTS ARE KNOWN TO SPONTANEOUSLY BREAK INTO SONG OR TUNES. ENSURE YOU KEEP YOUR DISTANCE. IF YOU SEE ANY OF THESE HEATHENS, PLEASE CALL 1800-PATCHOULI.

Aren’t we a pretty bunch. After everything was organised I was speaking to Mannie's wife Annette and filling her in with all the details. The first thing she said was, 'Thank God you didn't send those awful passport photos with the visa applications!' Oops, sorry Annette :)

Lesson: When stressed, find something to laugh about. It lifted my spirits tremendously! There were times through it all when everyone around me was doubtful that it would go ahead, but I chose not to listen. If worst came to worst, it would still have been lovely just to have been asked.

I was then in almost hourly contact with Svetlana. There was so much paperwork we needed for the visa applications, such as booked flights, hotel reservations, hotel vouchers, official invitation to Russia from Svetlana’s company, official invite and details from the Russian travel agent, official ministerial stamped papers allowing us in the country …

Tuesday passed, Wednesday arrived. Svetlana had sent through everything except the Russian travel agent invitations & the official stamped ministerial invitation. We had until 6pm to get the applications in the post before I would panic and have to fly to Canberra in person to get everything done. I spoke very nervously to Svetlana that morning, and she said that it would come through, she would get it organised.

I arrived home from work at 3pm and Svetlana had emailed letting me know that we would receive the documents by 4:30pm that afternoon. I had two flute lessons to teach from 4-5pm, and as soon as my second student had left just after 5pm I raced to the computer, my heart in my mouth.

No email.

Paul already had that defeated look on his face. OhGodohGodohGod, please don’t let this be happening. So started my frantic international dialling to Svetlana, over 20 times which normally put me straight through every time, but Murphy’s Law, this time I was unlucky. I emailed her, knowing she was probably as stressed as I was, but hoping to receive something soon!

5:05pm. Nothing.

5:10pm. Nothing. I will an email to magically appear in my inbox.

5:15pm. Still nothing. I felt like a group of rubber bands stretched to breaking point.

At 5:20pm I sat back in my chair. I couldn’t believe it. For the first time in the past two insane weeks I actually doubted that we would be going Russia. I looked at Paul and tried desperately not to show on my face that the infamous Súnas optimist was firmly and completely pessimistic at that very moment.

5:25pm. An email from Svetlana marked urgent and containing two words (‘It’s done!’) and multiple attachments arrives in the inbox. I stare at it in complete shock and then scream at Paul, ‘IT’S HERE!!!’

5:30pm. Each application is printed and assembled in military precision. I am focused, I am in the zone. I am actually beyond obsessed, I am completely BAT-SHIT MENTAL.

5:35pm. We’re in the car, gunning it to the closest Express Post Box (literally only two minutes away, but we weren’t taking any chances). Paul is driving as though he’s in a rally and we’re in the lead.

5:40pm. I stand at the post box and post the now-very-thick application.

And then I burst into tears. I just could not believe it. It was gone, we could focus on being excited!

Everything went well until Friday morning. We had flown down to Hobart for the Fleadh Ceol and had just finished having a morning coffee (good sign) when my mobile rang. A lady with a thick Russian accent named Natasha (I kid you not!) was calling because there was a problem with Paul’s visa application.

I was gobsmacked, felt the familiar tightening in my stomach and prepared for the worst, only to be told that we had simply filled in the wrong form. If we filled in a specific one and faxed it to her straight away she would process Paul’s visa as long as we sent the original that day. So we called on the magnificent Alistair, publican of the New Sydney Hotel & host of the Fleadh Ceol, commandeered his computer & printer then set about filling the damn form in. It was a lot more detailed than mine, Bridget’s & Mannie’s! Luckily, there was an Australia Post next door to the pub & the form was faxed off before midday with no problems. I emailed Svetlana the details of what had happened, and we spent the remainder of the day getting ready for our gigs at the Fleadh.

Fate was surely smiling on us that day, because at 4pm Svetlana sent me a text telling me that she had spoken to the embassy in Canberra and that our visas had already been completed and sent in the mail!

There was just one other thing to say to my bandies: WE’RE GOING TO RUSSIA, BITCHES!

Needless to say, I was utterly elated