Hi there,
Straight after the G. R Burarrawanga memorial concert held in Darwin on August 25th, which was an emotionally powerful yet serenely satisfying event, I found myself on a plane bound for the US.
Among other things I visited New York for the first time and I can report it certainly is a buzz. It truly is a world city that never sleeps. If money was no object and I was a big city person one might be tempted to live there for a spell. I found myself wandering around the streets, avenues, parks and squares thinking of all the songs I'd ever heard about New York. I thought about the beat writers and poets, the folk singers, the artists and jazz musicians that had come to the big apple. Innovative and ground breaking music, writing and art can be found anywhere in the world, its just that if it happens in New York the world gets to hear about it quicker. Its like New York is one gigantic all powerful radio transmitter.
I suppose a lot of people are attracted to New York and the US generally with an idea of making it on the big stage. I don't suffer that particular affliction. As an ambition, it seems somehow flawed to me, just as fixation on a destination can undermine the journey. I can only write from the life and times I was born into. That's enough for me to do.
Apart from a couple of gigs I did at "aussie" bars in Manhattan, I spent the time visiting galleries and museums and taking in the colourful street life. And yes I had a sobering walk around Ground Zero. I also caught up with Fred Myers, the head of the anthropology department at NYU. I'd first encountered Fred in the early 80's at Papunya. He'd been doing his research in the western desert since the mid seventies. We spent a couple of evenings pontificating on the impact that western desert Aboriginal culture had made to our lives. (We must have been the only 2 people to have ever had that conversation in New York).
I went on to Nashville and wrote several songs with writers there and did a couple of show case performances at cafes. It's nigh impossible to get paid for a gig in Nashville as the place is overloaded with music. I also did a house concert in Atlanta for Jill Sweetapple, who must be my number one fan in the US just about, well at least in Georgia.
I went home via several days in LA, where I played a gig at the Genghis Cohen and wrote a couple of songs with Stephen Rowe (originally from Broken Hill) and Henry Fenton (another aussie from Sydney). Both of these guys have been in the US for a long time and are pursuing their music there.
I can also report that I'm very pleased the ABC have got behind my new album Overnighter and I'm looking forward to the Spiegeltent show with Shane Howard on October 31st, the Tarerer festival on November 10th & 11th and particularly the shows with Sara Storer at the Harp in Sydney on November 30th and the Heritage Hotel in Bulli on December 1st. I heard a sneak preview of some tracks from Sara's new album recently and I was very impressed.
Also I want to thank David Nicholson for the superb job he has done in cobbling together a film clip for "Lights of Hay" from my Overnighter album. You can see by clicking here to play the video
Anyway people, think green, plant trees, save whales and be kind to all creatures including your own families.
That should give you enough to do before I see you next.
Neil Murray