Hey there lovely Internet friends on the other end of the computer.

I have been pondering as I'm currently on the other side of the world playing my own album shows, that Sydney has taken a lot of punches and in reaction been under much scrutiny from public and performers alike about the live scene, how hard it all is etc etc. SO she feels a bit bruised, and in need of a good cuddle, and a good looking after.

And in going through a lot of these thoughts myself I think the solution is of course to get out and get excited about all the amazing S***T thats going on. Complaining will do nothing! 

Because to be frank, as we all should realise by now, Sydney, Australia and NZ host some of the most incredible musicians in the world and we have our own great scenes to nourish and champion. That's how it's done. It's exciting. We have a community full of bad asses.

I am so lucky to call some of these amazing performers my friends. SO long rant short(ish), here's some current and up coming tours that will be INCREDIBLE and I will be there where I can and thought some of you might like to too....

​And I'm sure there's stacks of other great things on too, I'll be keeping my eyes out when I'm back. Or post in the comments if there's something not to be missed???

Lots of love, SB xx

​MILES THOMAS - Tuesday June Residency At The Dock, Redfern with OLLIE THORPE FREEE!

Miles Thomas is a brilliant drummer turned guitarist now singer too! Triple threat. He's just released his first single of his own songs as has Ollie Thorpe who is a brilliant singer and guitarist. The Dock is a great little bar in Redfern and it's free entry so there's not much excuse here.

CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS


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SIMA - Winter Jazz Programme

Sydney (and Australia) has some of the most epic forces to be reckoned with in Jazz and improvisational musicians and SIMA is a great organisation that puts together excellent programmes. My dear friend Zoe Hauptmann has curated this great collection of Winter shows, check it ouuuuutt....

CLICK HERE FOR PROGRAMME, DATES & TICKETS


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I always find the evolution of songs and ideas really fascinating. That what we hear as the ‘final’ result presented to us is often not entirely representative of the kernel where the creator started. It can often be the result of many sessions or brain time to get there. Even short turn over work has some evolution. And I always wonder what the nugget idea sounded or looked like? 
 
Sometimes even figuring out the process you need to use to keep uncovering the idea can take a bit. It is always really interesting to see where  people end up and what got changed along the way and what was the same right from the start.

​ I’m fascinated by that knowing feeling or decision that’s made when something is ‘done’. It’s literally sometimes like the toaster popping ‘I’m ready!’ or it can be a quite grey feeling that there’s nothing left that really bugs you about it so it must be done.
 
On the flipside it’s also fascinating that subtle uncomfortable feeling when something's not quite right, or the very loud screaming ha ha!
 
The idea can then take all sorts of twists and turns and processing to figure it out.
But you know that it’s worth persevering somehow as there is a weird fondness for it still. And that generally is what led you to give it that attention in the first place and push it up the rank over other ideas.
 
There’s a great story about a guard finding a caped man who had broken into the Louvre in Paris in the middle of the night.
He was caught standing by a painting, ‘Hey!’ shouted the guard and approached him. The caped man was startled and turned around suddenly. The guard could see he was holding a wet dripping paint brush and was painting on the painting. He then realised it was Picasso himself, touching up his ‘finished’ work hanging on the public gallery wall.
 
Now I don’t know if this is entirely true, but I can’t bring myself to google it as it’s such a great story. So don’t tell me if you do and it’s not!
 
I guess you just know when you are finished or sometimes you have to decide. And sometimes you have to break into the art gallery in the middle of the night and fix the bloody thing because you can’t sleep until you do. I guess all in all this is what we refer to as instinct.
 
‘Cellophane’ my new single which is the second track to come from my album out in Feb was interesting for this.
There were many versions and it was only the last one that felt right to me and now I don’t even think about it. I know it's finished because it just plays like it always existed fully formed with everything you hear in the final version. But it certainly didn't start that way.
 
In my last mail out I said I’d dig out a demo so here it is..

THE EVOLUTION OF ‘CELLOPHANE’
 

​Here’s a quick home zoom recorder demo (lyrics just appearing at this stage)...
 

 
An initial studio demo with my band...
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And then the finished version here....

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Love to know your thoughts? Some of you might even prefer the demo feel.
 
Anyway, whatever you are doing I hope you can find a little fascination in the flipping of the confusion and clarity coin that comes along with most things in life.
 
Sarah
Xx