Archive for the Strathalbyn Category
Life, Love and the Death of a Cowboy
Posted in 12 string guitar, Adelaide, Adelaide Fringe, Alternative Country, folk music, guitar, harmonica, Jamie McPherson, love, Music, rock, Strathalbyn with tags birdwood, fringe, live, music on February 23, 2013 by Jamie McPherson
June Newsletter from The Official Jamie McPherson
Posted in 12 string guitar, Alternative Country, CD, chilli, folk music, Funeral, guitar, lyrics, Meeting Place, New Orleans, Newsletter, Songwriting, Strathalbyn, Uncategorized with tags ballad, country, jamie, mcpherson, music, songwriting on June 11, 2012 by Jamie McPhersonJune Newsletter from The Official Jamie McPherson
Welcome to the June edition of www.jamiemcpherson.com.au
NEW BLOG ABOUT JAMIE!
That’s right folks. The laughing bard himself, Mat Drogemuller, in his quest for greater musical enlightenment, has featured yours truely in his blog. Besides being a serious musician, Mat has a brilliant writing style that is both funny, imformative and extremely entertaining. Mat and I conversed over many emails and this ripper of a blog was what came out of it. There were many other things we talked about that didn’t make it to the blog, but I suppose that is just for us to know and you to puzzle about. Maybe one day one of us will publish our other gems of wizdom, but until then, I highly recomend you read not only this part of the blog, but also the other extremely entertaining blogs.
You can read Mat’s blog, The Laughing Bard at http://thelaughingbard.com
NEW SHOW ANNOUNCED!
Who cut the cheese? Well, you can find out in September at The Cheese Factory Studio Gallery.
CHEESE FACTORY SESSIONS
The Cheese Factory Studio Gallery is open on the THIRD SUNDAY of each month offering a delightful afternoon of…
LIVE ENTERTAINMENT, PRODUCE PLATTERS, LOCAL WINES, COFFEE, SWEET TREATS, VISUAL ARTS & CRAFT…
and
Songwriter and balladeer
JAMIE McPHERSON
Jamie’s songs are stories of love, life, death, family and friendship, strange people in stranger lands, observing the world around him and the people who have occupied it. Often his songs incorporate his love of the Australian landscape and his ancestral home of Scotland along with some good old fashioned penned cowboy ballads. His words and melodies are firmly rooted in all these worlds and have a definitive Australian take on folk and alternative country music. And he is never afraid to poke fun at himself or the society we live in.
So, come on down and cut some cheese!
at
The Cheese Factory
Great local food and wine served at 1pm and show starts 2pm. Get ready to taste some of the best South Australian wines and yummy platters and sweetie treats!
CHEESE FACTORY SESSIONS – between 1:00 – 4:00pm The Cheese Factory Sunday, September 16th, 2012 239 Kondoparinga Road Meadows South Australia 5201 Aus (08) 8388 3725 Price: Adults $10 – Children $5
http://www.cheesefactory.com.au/cheese/home.html
What’s been happening?
Well folks, Tikarma and I have been quite busy. It has now been a year since we settled into our new digs in Strath and we are wondering, where has all the time gone?
Besides a few stellar shows, I’ve been busy writing a few new songs. Two which I just love are ‘Love, Served Me Chilli’ and my all time favourite, ‘A Sunny Day in New Orleans’. One is a bit of a ballad and the other is a New Orleans jazz funeral song. I can’t wait to get the studio up and runnig again, as this one will be full of trombones, trumpet and clarinet, and who knows, maybe one day it might be played at my funeral. One day…far…far…away! You can check out the lyrics and the blog for these two songs in the Blog section of www.jamiemcpherson.com.au
Speaking of funerals, I suppose I can not go past the very sad passing of two great musicians who have been a real inspiration to me. Donald “Duck” Dunn and Levon Helm. These two great men have been pivitol in forming my love of music and who have been a great influence on my own music. They are both sorely missed, and our thoughts and prayers go out to their families and loved ones.
The website had had a minor tweak in my bio. Just to bring it more in line with the musical direction I seem to be heading. Nothing major, but if you want to check it out, just go to the Bio section of www.jamiemcpherson.com.au
And, as you know, I have had the great privilage of being featured on Mat Drogemuller’s blog, The Laughing Bard. We had a real blast and a lot of laughs conversing about all things musical, and you can read the results at http://thelaughingbard.com
Also, you will have seen that a new show has been added at The Cheese Factory. This venue just looks brilliant and I have heard by several sources that the food is just to die for! So, I urge everyone to mosey on down and check it out. Preferably for my show, but if you can’t make it, take a drive down there anyway some time to see some amazing artwork! And, they are on the net at http://cheesefactory.com.au
The good news is that CD sales have seen to be suddenly taking off again, with CD’s sold in far away places such as Austria and Germany and picked up by a major distributer in the USA. Also, Myspace plays have gone through the roof along with doing well on the Reverb Nation charts reaching number 3 for South Australia’s folk charts, and not too shabby on the national charts either.
Meeting Place is still for sale at www.jamiemcpherson.com.au as well as all the major international distributers on the net.
Tikarma’s been quite the busy little bee lately! She has finally finished the archive of all her poetry, and it is just brilliant! It has been a real joy to re-read these gems. Truely, a great talent! Now, she is building up a backlog of new poems to be put in the archive. When will she find the time?
She’s also done some wonderful paintings, and the one she is currently working on is a real gem! I can’t wait for this one to be completed! To check out her website, just go to www.tikarmavodicka.com
Also, we now have set up a Ravenwood Studios page on Facebook. This is for all things Tikarma and Jamie. Just head on over to www.facebook.com/Ravenwoodstudios
You might notice that for the next few months, both Tikarma and I will be quite quiet as she will be undergoing two lots of surgery. All will be good, but her health and recovery will be taking top priority for us.
So, that’s what’s been happening in our world. Wishing you a great musical June and in the meantime, feel free to check out all the webpages.
Beannachd leibh,
Jamie
Jamie McPherson Songwriter/balladeer/composer/live performing artist
March Newsletter from www.jamiemcpherson.com.au
Posted in 12 string guitar, Adelaide, Album, art, CD, Dail Chuinnidh, do-wop, folk music, Gaelic, Gaidhlig, guitar, harmonica, Highland, Jamie McPherson, Jeremy Watson, lyrics, Meeting Place, Music, Newsletter, painting, Photography, Recording, rock, Scottish, Songwriting, Strathalbyn, Tikarma Vodicka, Uncategorized on March 21, 2011 by Jamie McPherson
Hello and welcome to the March edition of www.jamiemcpherson.com.au.
It’s been a busy month behind the scenes but we are moving ahead nicely. The big news is the CD launch will be at the beautiful Singing Gallery in McClaren Vale on 03 April 2011. This is an all ages show and we will be having a brilliant line-up including Matt Reiner, Pasquale, The Self Preservation Society, Bob Molloy, Dave Clark, Tikarma Vodicka and maybe some other friends will drop on by. Why the big stellar lineup for a CD launch? Well, that’s easy to explain. It will also be my 40th Birthday Bash, and damnit, I want to hear some great music! And these guys will deliver.
Also, the good folks at Music SA have been kind enough to have me as their featured artist for a couple of weeks. Their hard work, dedication, support and encouragement never ceases to amaze me! Not only myself, but many a South Oz musician owes them a debt of gratitude for all they have done for us here. You can check out their website at www.musicsa.com.au and read some great articles and reviews, including a few on myself.
And, talking about Music SA, I have also been fortunate enough to have the CD reviewed by Mr H.W.Bones on the site. It is another wonderful review and I am just chuffed with it! You can read it at the bottom of the Newsletter or go to the Music SA website.
The last bit of big news is on a more personal note. Tikarma and I are currently in the process of moving our Ravenwood Studios. It is an exciting time and my studio is being packed up as we speak. We will still be in beautiful Strathalbyn, just on a different side of town.
Wishing you all a great time of music for March, and I hope to catch as many of you as possible for my CD Launch and 40th Birthday Bash next month.
All the information on the CD Launch and the article and review from Music SA are below. Feel free to have a read.
Beannachd leibh (brightest blessings),
Jamie
‘Meeting Place’ CD Launch & 40th Birthday Bash
Sunday, April 3rd, 2011The Singing Gallery
Meeting Place CD Launch and 40th Birthday Bash – 2pm-6pm 133 Main Road
McLaren Vale South Australia 5171
Aus 0413 358 618 [map]
Price: $10, $5 concession
Come celebrate the launch of Jamie’s Debut CD, Meeting Place along with his 40th Birthday. We’re having some friends along to play and bring it all back home.
The lineup includes-
Jamie Mcpherson
Matt Reiner
Pasquale
The Self Preservation Society
Bob Molloy
Dave Clark
Plus the poetry of Tikarma Vodicka
This will be an all ages and child friendly event. Enjoy fine music in this ideal location. Tickets at the door. Children under 12 free. BYO
The latest article from Music SA –
featured from 11 march 2011
Strathalbyn’s very own folk and alternative country artist, Jamie McPherson, is gearing up to launch his debut album, Meeting Place.
The much anticipated album, which has been 3 years in the making, will be launched at The Singing Gallery (in an all ages show) on Sunday 3rd April for his CD Launch and 40th Birthday Bash. The show starts at 2pm and includes special guests Matt Reiner, The Self Preservation Society, Pasquale, Dave Clark plus the poetry of Tikarma Vodicka. That’s a full afternoons entertainment in the picturesque surroundings of McLaren Vale.
Meeting place is a eclectic blend of traditional folk, rock and country blues combined into a wonderful life brew that encompasses life, death, love and the stories of a self proclaimed balladeer and songwriter. Jamie started writing the album about 3 years ago and decided to throw himself into his music after a huge life change made him re-elvaluate where his life was going. He decided to immerse himself into his passion for music.
“When I initially set up my Ravenwood Studio, I envisioned the album of just being more along the lines of a traditional folk album. Just myself on vocals and guitar and maybe blowing the occasional bit of harp. I’ve had no formal musical training at all, so I was very surprised to find I had a talent for composing and scoring music. All the songs I wrote on guitar just began to grow into full arrangements. The next thing I know, all my influences of rock, country and blues came forth and the songs took on a life of their own. It is a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to genre, but luckily there is the label of Alternative Country, in which it seems to fall into nicely”.
Jamie did a soft launch of the album online in December just for fans and friends, and has already recieved some positive media interest from overseas music critics who have picked up on the album.
“I was very surprised to hear from music critics in Italy, the U.K. and the Neatherlands who had heard parts of the album on CD Baby and wanted to do reviews of it. Most of the reviews are in, and so far they have been excellent. I’m very chuffed with them and a bit overwhelmed to be honest.”
Here are what some the critics are saying about Meeting Place-
“A very personal cocktail of blues, rock and folk…” – Paolo Caru, Italian rock critic
“On the one hand the sound of the wide open space, reminiscent of the The Triffids, on the other, a passionate approach reminiscent of Kim Salmon, both confirming his authentic Australian roots” – John Gjaltema, altcountry.nl
“As quickly as I put it in I took it out to make sure I hadn’t mixed it up with a new Leonard Cohen release, but no – definitely Jamie” – H.W.Bones, Music SA
Jamie will be selling his debut album at the launch event. Tickets can be purchased for just $10 ($5 concession and children under 12 free) at the door. Come visit the beautiful former Congregational Church in McLaren Vale on the Fleurieu Peninsula for an afternoon of music in this idealistic location. More information is available from www.jamiemcpherson.com.au
‘Meeting Place’ CD review from H.W. Bones, featured at Music SA
lp: meeting place
Meeting Place - Jamie McPherson
First time I ran into Jamie McPherson was at a gig he was playing at Higher Ground on Light Square and I proceeded to talk at him for quite a while about the high ornamentation of the rosette on the feedback stopper of his twelve sting Takamine guitar. In addition he had on a Johnny Cash t-shirt which was instantly appealing. Nice chap, looked like he’d just come down from the mountains with his beat up hat on (which he effectively has, coming from Strathalbyn). What I saw on that day was an almost traditional folk performance, great and heart felt lyrics as much at home on stage as around a campfire.
It was with great interest I received Jamie’s debut album ‘Meeting Place’. Wonderfully packaged and looking slick as any major label release, with some great pictures of the artist lounging in various uncomfortable locales and a thought provoking painting by Jamie’s wife Tikarma taking up the back cover really rounding it out.
I popped ‘Meeting Place’ straight into the cosmic destruction player to see what Jamie had been cooking up in his home studio ‘Ravenwood’. As quickly as I put it in I took it out to make sure I hadn’t mixed it up with a new Leonard Cohen release, but no – definitely Jamie. The first track ‘Midsummer in a Summerland’ would not by any means be out of place on a newer era Cohen release, very clever lyrically and that same almost Casio drenched production on this, which is a nice easer into ‘Meeting Place’.
Throughout listening to this album I found myself more and more drawn into Jamie’s lyrics. He has a great eye for detail and even things that may be termed a cliché written by a lesser lyricist are dealt a deft and skilful hand on Jamie’s watch. In the tradition of many folk/country performers a wry and often dry humour surfaces in many of the songs which helps to lighten some of the lyrical load.
Jamie is not afraid to try his hand at various styles within the folk/country umbrella either, there are times where musically this release strays into almost doo wop territory along with a good sprinkling of rock and roll (that’s right – both kinds of music rock AND roll… Ba DAM Ching). The only cover on the album ‘No Expectations’ shows a further range of where Jamie is coming from in terms of influences.
If I could offer one piece of advice I’d love for Jamie to find his own voice a little more on his next release. I have had the pleasure of hearing Jamie play live and I can hear a lot of that voice in these recordings and it’s really a treat, but there are occasions where it does sound like his voice is borrowing from some of his heroes. This is something that is easy to do subconsciously whilst recording, but when you have got a voice with as much character and strength as Jamie’s I’d love to hear it push through stronger on the next one release that he puts out.
In all this is a great release, professionally packaged, raw and heart felt, and for this listener’s ears, definitely autobiographical. I look forward to the next instalment!
All album photograph images are copyright 2010 Jeremy Watson Photography
‘Meeting Place’ painting copyright 2010 Tikarma Vodicka
February Newsletter from jamiemcpherson.com.au
Posted in 12 string guitar, Adelaide, Album, art, blues, CD, Dail Chuinnidh, do-wop, folk music, Gaelic, Gaidhlig, guitar, harmonica, Highland, Jamie McPherson, Jeremy Watson, keyboards, Meeting Place, Midsummer, Music, painting, Photography, radio, Recording, rock, SCALA, Scottish, Songcatcher, Songwriting, Strathalbyn, Tikarma Vodicka, Uncategorized on February 6, 2011 by Jamie McPhersonHello and welcome to the inaugural newsletter from jamiemcpherson.com.au. Not only is this February’s Newsletter, but also the wrap up for 2010.
Meeting Place - Jamie McPherson
The big news for 2010 is the soft launch of my debut CD, Meeting Place, in December. After 3 years of hard work, the CD is finally here and it both looks and sounds great! I’m just chuffed with the way it came out. The stunning photography on the album is done by one of my dearest friends and one of this country’s greatest photographers, Jeremy Watson.
left inside album cover
right inside album cover
Also, the back cover of the album features the wonderfull painting “Meeting Place” by my very talented wife, Tikarma Vodicka.
back album cover
This 45 minute CD takes you on a musical journey through my world of sound and song, with nine original tracks plus the Rolling Stones classic “No Expectations”. Here is the first review for the CD by influential Italian rock critic, Paolo Caru-
“A very personal cocktail of blues, rock and folk, McPherson draws inspiration from Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash and Leonard Cohen and invites us on a very personal journey through his musical microcosm. Ballads, folk rock, singer-songwriters, a cross between blues and rock for a diverse disk.”
Paolo Caru – caru.com (Dec 12, 2010)
Also, this just in, a new review from altcountry.nl in The Neatherlands –
“The wide Australian space blows through the lungs of Jamie McPherson. In short, a rural landscape. Slowed movements. Singing with a certain reverence. That sums up what Meeting Place (home) by Jamie McPherson has to offer. The landscape is most clearly experienced in the first number of the album, A Midsummer In a Southern Land. It tells of the surroundings of Stathalbyn, South of Adelaide, where McPherson lives. On the one hand the sound of the wide open space, reminiscent of the The Triffids, on the other, a passionate approach reminiscent of Kim Salmon, both confirming his authentic Australian roots. Just as in America, Australians also have other roots further ashore and for McPherson that is Scotland. The title number confirms this. McPherson began with music after his son passed away. He records in his own studio, this is evident given the still somewhat amateur like sound quality . A little more dynamics and tighter playing wouldn´t have gone astray. Nevertheless, certainly enjoyable this Meeting Place. Available via CD Baby”
3 stars out of 5
John Gjaltema – altcountry.nl (Feb 05, 2011)
December saw the launch of my website www.jamiemcpherson.com.au . This site provides a one stop shop to purchase a CD or merchandise, listen to a few tracks, leave a message or catch up on the latest news. Also, you can veiw some of the pictures Jeremy Watson took for the Meeting Place shoot. Hopefully in the new year, we can get some more of his stunning shots from this session online. At the moment, he is off in Sri Lanka doing wonderful work with the kids there, teaching them photography and helping to heal a country through children sharing their photos and lives.
Besides buying direct from jamiemcpherson.com.au, there are plenty of places to now buy Meeting Place. We welcome our first retail partner, Jeff’s Books in Strathalbyn, to be the first shop to offer Meeting Place. Also, there are plenty of online retailers to buy the CD from including CD Baby, CD Universe, Caru.com and Amazon in the USA, UK and Japan. You can also download the album in MP3 format from CD Baby, Digstation, iTunes, Amazon, Shockhound, Last FM, Zune and eMusic.
2010 was a great year for live shows too! After the sad demise of Macrocarpa in Mount Barker, we saw some good shows during the year. The highlight was definately The Singing Gallery in McLaren Vale with Rob McDade, Andy Salvanos, Paddy Montgomery plus the poetry of Tikarma Vodicka. Such a magical night! Other great gigs were a couple at Higher Ground including my SCALA debut, an afternoon at the wonderful 90 Mile Wines, Foster and Relative Kinship Care Week at Dunreath Homestead, The Victoria Hotel for the Strathalbyn Antique Fair and The Jade Monkey as part of the Nefarious Nine. I got the oppertunity to play these gigs with some fantastic musicians including Tristan Newsome (The Self Preservation Society), Mosby, Daniel Pitman, Anthony D’Antonio, The Kemp Brothers, Matthew Hill, Rachel Cearns, Peter McIvor, Sleepless and many others.
2010 was also a good year in radio, as I appeared on Radio Adelaide’s Songcatcher programme for a chinwag about my songwriting and music as well as playing a few of my tracks from the album and artist influence songs from Wall of Voodoo and The Band. I also got some brilliant playtime on 5EFM on the Fleurieu Penninsula. So, it was such a great joy to switch on the radio and then here my songs come on. A real blast!
Also I got to see some great shows from friends such as The Self Preservation Society, Matt Reiner and the Aunt Sally’s and Colonel Kernal.
It was a year of ups and downs personaly, but on the whole perseverance proved to be a good bet to make and I am happy with the way things have turned out. So, it’s upwards and onwards.
January has been a quiet time, doing admin, plugging the CD and organising shows. March will be a special time as I will be turning 40, and to celebrate there will be a special show at The Singing Gallery on 03 April with some special friends to help ring it in. It will also be the official launch of the CD! Hopefully, to continue the celebrations, in March there may also be a joint 40th birthday celebration show with Rob McDade, who also shares this milestone. Something we are trying to organise. Also I will be performing at The Great Australian Shave on March 10 in Mount Barker, to raise money for Leukemia research. More details of these shows will appear next month as we get things finalised. So, stay tuned.
Other plans for 2011 including hopefully upgrading the studio, writing and recording, playing more live shows as well as working with Tikarma to record some of her wonderful poetry. We did a test disk last year and it sounded fantastic! She has a wonderful voice for reading her talented poems and we got some great feedback. I’m definately looking forward to that!
Thank you all for your support and encouragement during 2010 and hopefully 2011 will be a brilliant year! Remember to visit www.jamiemcpherson.com.au to purchase a CD or tee and get all the latest news.
Beannachd leibh (Brightest blessings)
Jamie
Jamie McPherson
Songwriter/balladeer/composer/live performing artist
Meeting Place – Jamie McPherson’s debut CD
Posted in 12 string guitar, 4 Wheel Drive, Adelaide, Album, art, blues, CD, Dail Chuinnidh, do-wop, folk music, Gaelic, Gaidhlig, guitar, harmonica, Highland, Jamie McPherson, Jeremy Watson, keyboards, Land Rover, lyrics, Meeting Place, Midsummer, Music, painting, Photography, piano, Recording, rock, Saunders Gorge, Scottish, Strathalbyn, tea, theremin, Tikarma Vodicka, whisky on December 7, 2010 by Jamie McPhersonMeeting Place is more than a place. It is a state of mind. Every time you think fondly of a friend or a loved on, that is Dail Chuinnidh. That is Meeting Place.
Meeting Place is also the title of my new CD. And it is on sale now at www.jamiemcpherson.com.au
Meeting Place - Jamie McPherson
Yes, after three years of hard work, I finally have the CD in my hot little hands and it’s on sale now. It’s been a hard slog but also a great learning curve and has been very rewarding. This CD has represented a lifelong dream and it’s been a wonderful experience writing, composing, arranging and recording. Many hours spent in the studio learning new recording techniques, writing instrument scores, trying to get tracks right, wrestling with vocal takes and then countless hours of late nights and wee hour mixing tracks and then mastering. And on top of that, all the legal jargon and law one has to learn with copyright both in Australia and the USA, organising artwork and CD production as well as the sales process. But I got there in the end. And I loved every minute of it!
The first thing you’ll notice in looking at the CD is the fantastic cover. One of my dearest friends and one of this country’s finest photographers, Jeremy Watson, did all the photography for the album. I’ve looked at all his photos for the shoot many times in order to pick the shots for the album and to approve the proofs from the design company, and I have to say I still get excited every time I see them. He is a true master of his craft. For the album shoot, we got into Jeremy’s Land Rover with his equally talented assistant, Astrid Innes, and headed up to a wonderful property called Saunders Gorge. It is a mixture of wilderness area and sheep grazing land on the rugged Eastern slopes of the Adelaide hills, overlooking the Murray River flood plain. It was a fantastic day full of photography, 4 wheel driving, good cuppas and plenty of laughs. The cover was shot in an old ruin down in a valley by a wonderful creek. As you can see, this shot just screamed to me “Album cover!”. Jeremy has a great sense of capturing the spirit of any person or project and when I gave him a brief on the concept of Meeting Place, he just ran with it. Normally I would be quite controlling with something like this given my background as a film maker, but having Jeremy as the photographer, I felt very comfortable in leaving it 100% in his hands. I just told him that it’s his shoot and his eye and I wanted his vision to come out as the artist. As you can see, it was the right course of action to take. I didn’t even dream of a cover shot so good!
left inside album cover
When you open it up and look at the left inside cover, you see yet another of Jeremy’s great shots. This shot was truly magical and gives a great sense of a meeting place. Sitting by a cairn high on a plateau. It gives a sense of a place of magic and age. This could have been a meeting place for hundreds of years and here it is being used by myself, maybe waiting for someone. He captured it so well, and the original shot looks even better than the one on the album after the designers reworked the background colour so one could read the text. This is one of my favourites! And it also appeals to my Highlander blood!
right inside album cover
The third shot of Jeremy’s is the inside left, where the plastic tray is. This was also done high on the plateau by an old stone wall. I thought this was a great shot of me addressing the camera and I do love old stone walls. And it is the perfect segue into the back cover of the album. Stone wall to stone wall.
back album cover
The back cover is a wonderful painting by my beautiful wife and very talented artist, Tikarma Vodicka. She did such a brilliant job with this painting, and it now hangs proudly in my studio. As you can see, it is two pannikins on a stone wall. To me, this adds a bit of mystery to the album art. So far, all’s you have seen is me at various meeting places, but now with the two mugs, you know that someone else has been there with me. And just seeing the pannikins only, it still captures that sense of isolation in the landscape, as now we don’t see anyone at all. I gave Tikarma the concept, took a few photos so she could see what I was trying to describe and out of her paintbrush came this very beautiful painting. I was just completely blown away! This is Tikarma’s second painting that has ended up on a CD cover and one can see why. She is such a great talent.
But enough of these talented people. Let’s talk about me, or more importantly, the songs on the CD.
Track One – A Midsummer in a Southern Land
It’s a bit ironic that the first track on the CD is actually the last track recorded. I decided to go with this as the opening track as it gives a sense of place. I wrote this song on a Midsummers day out in my patio. As usual, I had spent the morning with Tikarma, drinking cups of tea and watching the wildlife come into our back yard in Strathalbyn. It was so wonderful and varied that I had to put it into song there and then. All these birds and animals going about their daily life was a story in itself. I wanted the verses to be nice and intimate and capture my little part of the world, but I wanted the chorus to be an anthem, proclaiming with pride that this is my land and home. Tikarma provided the backing vocals on the chorus, as I just didn’t want this to me my song, but everybody’s that loves this land and all that dwell in it. This is my tribute to a country I love so dearly.
Track Two – Don’t Cry Me a River Murray
This song is one about a very serious issue in Australia, particularly in South Australia. We have a very ancient river system that has been a part of our lives ever since our Aboriginal brothers settled in the region during ancient times. When the first white explorers set their eyes on her only a couple of hundred years ago, it was still in a pristine condition with dolphins swimming all the way from the sea up to Mannum. But a couple of hundred years of irrigation seems to have destroyed this beautiful river beyond full recovery. If we act now, it will recover a great deal, but never to its once pristine condition. Hence my words “It’s too late for sorry…”. It is so saddening to see the damage that has been done to the Lower Lakes and the Coorong just on my back door. The river system including the lakes and Coorong have always played a magical part in my life and it does bring me to tears thinking about it. I do not think of this song as being political as such. To me it is more about myself and my connection to this river.
Track Three – I Don’t Care
This song just started out as a guitar riff, with the concept for the lyrics popping in my head as I played it. It reminded me of that crazy guy you see on the street and got me thinking as to what his story was. Maybe his joyous eccentricity was a way of hiding behind a deeper hurt he could not confront. I imagined him losing the love of his life, so in order to feel happiness, he created his own mad delusion, so as to never feel pain again. I put in some organ in this song to give it a bit more of a carnival feel, being reminded of the hurdy-gurdy at Semaphore Beach. I wanted us to feel his delusion of happiness. I recorded a fragility on the vocals that tell his story and then came in strong on the vocals for the voice of society to distinguish between the strength of the every day against the delicate fragility of one man trying to just hang on.
Track Four – Road of Bones
Road of Bones is about death being a part of life. As one grows older, one sees death all around them. This song is essentially about myself and my acceptance of that. Over the years I have been touched by death many times and now I know it is for me to accept that it is a part of my life. It doesn’t mean my grief is any less as a loved one passes on, but that I accept that this is a part of life and all things must pass. You may notice on listening to this track that it sounds like it has been recorded live. Let me assure you that this is in fact studio trickery. My “Bennie and the Jets” moment. As I was writing and recording this song, I kept on thinking how rocking this song would be to do live. So, I decided to capture that in the studio. I especially love the keyboards on this one, which is an old clavichord run through a phaser to give that great effect.
Track Five – You’re My Only Vice
This is the start of my love song suite for the album, even though it is very tongue in cheek.Tikarma kept on joking that everyone likes me, so I imagined writing this song as someone with a huge ego. I may be the saviour of the world, but she is my only vice. It is about ego and love. This is definitely one of my favourite tracks and one I am very proud of musically. I love the blending of styles from country, blues and do-wop. I had a lot of fun arranging and recording this song and was chuffed with being able to blow a bit of harp at the end along with the organ solo and the theremin. I hope you enjoy listening to this song as much as I enjoyed making it.
Track Six – Doing Serious Time
This is my “Me and the Devil” song. It is about the folly of youth and growing up when one finds the love of their life. This song is very much about me. I left the recklessness of youth behind when I saw a better life with the one I love. It is about the Devil coming along and saying “What the hell has happened to you? You’ve changed man!”. The argument ensues and in the end the Devil concedes that he can not compete with her. Love trumps every time. As this song is more a story, I recorded it live in the studio in one take. Just me and my guitar and then some harmonica dubbed in afterwards at the start and end. I didn’t want the music to overshadow the story at all. I think this is a story that many a man could tell and hopefully many find a truth in it.
Track Seven – Be My Valentine
The funny thing about this song is that it started out as a Valentine Day card. I wrote a few of the words on a card to Tikarma and she commented that it sounded like a song. Well, that’s just like a red flag to a bull. The next thing I know I was in the studio and writing a love song. I wanted to do a classic love song of an older era, simple structure and melody, where the sentiments are all in the lyrics. It is about celebrating love through all the holidays and asking for a commitment of love. I kept the instruments on this a bit old school too, with the piano being the main instrument along with organ and violin and strings fading in as the song progresses.
Track Eight – Dail Chuinnidh (Meeting Place)
This is where it all began. With this one song. Dail Chuinnidh is a place in the Highlands of Scotland where my family comes from. The translation from Gaidlhig is “Meeting Place”. I wrote this song during a very happy time in our lives when Tikarma was pregnant with our son Alexander. I was thinking of my favourite whiskey one day when the words “With heather and honey and fine Highland peat” popped into my head. All of a sudden I had the love song I always promised Tikarma I would write for her. It is about love, life and the joy of family set in the Scottish Highlands. The lyrics of this song is a celebration. If you notice a bit of sadness to the recording, it is because our little Alexander did not survive childbirth. This was the most horrible time of our lives and something we will never get over. I had finished the recording on the first anniversary of his death, and I suppose as an acknowledgement of our grief and sadness I recorded the vocals and violin a bit sadder to reflect our loss. Also you will notice Tikarma’s backing vocal on it that has such a wonderful etherial quality to it. It just makes the song. This song is a turning point in both of our lives, both good and bad, but an important turning point no less. This will always be my gift to my two greatest loves, Tikarma and Alexander, with love always. We will always meet in love and life
Track Nine – No Expectations
This Rolling Stones classic is my one cover song for the album and rounds off my love song suite. It is a song of love lossed and I thought it was a good way to close off this part of the album. It was in fact the second track I recorded as it is a song I have always enjoyed playing and always wanted to record it in my own style. I loved putting in the organ and building the song up a bit slowly with the drums and then the piano to add a bit of colour. I am happy with the way it came out and how it sits in the album.
Track Ten – 12 Bar Odyssey in B flat
The final track on the album. This is my second simple song of just vocal and guitar. I wanted to write a song about what it is all about to me. The music. I have noticed that a lot of the albums I love often finish with something simple and basic and decided to do the same. I wrote the lyrics with archetypal images of blues and rock music that many of us can relate to and give a sense of place in music. I do love the way the vocal sounds on this song. I hope you enjoy it too.
Well, that is my new album, Meeting Place. I hope this blog gives you a sense of the CD and where it comes from. To find out more, you can go to my website at www.jamiemcpherson.com.au and even purchase a copy there.
To view Tikarma’s fantastic paintings or even read some of her wonderful poetry, please visit www.angelfire.com/poetry/twistinggoldenthread
To go to Jeremy Watson’s website and look at more of this man’s amazing talent, please visit www.jeremywatson.com.au
Below, for those of you that may struggle trying to read small print, is a copy of the album credits –
Meeting Place
Jamie McPherson
1 A Midsummer in a Southern Land [5:45]
2 Don’t Cry Me A River Murray [3:41]
3 I Don’t Care [4:38]
4 Road of Bones [4:01]
5 You’re My Only Vice [4:49]
6 Doing Serious Time [4:11]
7 Be My Valentine [3:16]
8 Dail Chuinnidh (Meeting Place) [7:06]
9 No Expectations [4:25]
10 12 Bar Odyssey in Bb [3:31]
Total Running Time 45:44
Jamie McPherson – vocals, 12 string guitar, harmonica, keyboards, arrangements and drum programming
Tikarma Vodicka-McPherson – backing vocals on Dail Chuinnidh (Meeting Place) and A Midsummer in a Southern Land
All songs written and arranged by Jamie McPherson Copyright © 2010 except No Expectations by Jagger/Richards
Recorded, engineered, mastered and produced by Jamie McPherson at Ravenwood Studios, Strathalbyn, South Australia
Cover and album photography by Jeremy Watson © 2010 Jeremy Watson Photography
Photography Assistant Astrid Innes
Back cover painting “Meeting Place” by Tikarma Vodicka © 2010 Tikarma Vodicka
Photographed by Jeremy Watson
This album is dedicated to Tikarma and Alexander, with love always and forever.
A very special thank you to Tikarma Vodicka. Your support, encouragement, inspiration and love made this album happen.
Special thanks – Jeremy Watson, Tim Inglis, Tim Wright & Wright Guitars, Tristan Newsome, Matt Reiner, Rob McDade, Elizabeth Reid, Matt Swayne, Kyle Fiske, Tim Buck, Robin Willhite, Peter McIver, Quiet Pop, Music SA, APRA, Disk Makers, Kym & Mike Kuijpers, Mum & Dad, Vera, Bob, Stan & Pietra and all the brilliant musicians I have had the pleasure of playing with and all the punters who came along.
This recording Copyright © 2010 Jamie McPherson
All rights reserved
Thank you for reading, and for all those that purchase a copy of the CD, many thanks and happy listening.
Beannachd leibh,
Jamie
Songcatcher interview on Radio Adelaide, 30th August 2010
Posted in Adelaide, CD, Gaelic, Gaidhlig, Highland, lyrics, Music, radio, Recording, SCALA, Scottish, Songcatcher, Songwriting, Strathalbyn, tea, Uncategorized, Viking quilters, whisky on September 5, 2010 by Jamie McPherson
Radio Adelaide
Hi all,
For those that missed it, here is the transcript for the recent Songcatcher show on Radio Adelaide featuring yours truly. I make no apologies for spelling, grammatical errors, accuracy or bad humour. It was a long show, but a lot of fun. And a BIG thank you for my hosts, Clayton and Claire. It was a blast! And now….on with the show!
Intro
CLAIRE
Welcome to Songcatcher right here on Radio Adelaide 101.5FM and online at radio.adelaide.edu.au and this is Claire and with Clayton across the desk and we’re back 9 O’clock Monday night
CLAYTON
Howdy. Yeah, it’s lucky the sun went down today, or I might have stayed out in there and I wouldn’t have been able to make it for 9 O’clock tonight but…
CLAIRE
I think I just got a touch of sunburn.
CLAYTON
Wasn’t it beautiful. Bring on Spring!
CLAIRE
I like Winter but, yeah, bring on Spring.
CLAYTON
Indeed. Now, as part of Songcatcher later on in the show we’ve got the last segment of Music in the Blood. Michelle Smith from Rhythm Sticks, little interview series on Murat Usell from the Melbourne outfit called Unified Gekko. So, he’s born in Turkey and now an Australian based musician. That will be fun.
CLAIRE
Appeared at WOMAD as well.
CLAYTON
Indeed. This year. And of course, as is the Songcatcher tradition, we have a Songcatcher. We’ve gone out and caught one live. He was out in the street wandering around. We grabbed our net.
CLAIRE
And we said look…We’ve got you now…Hog tied.
CLAYTON
Well, we had to put some cheese out and a few jelly beans and things like that. To entice him into the studio. It’s Jamie McPherson. Welcome along Jamie.
JAMIE
Thank you there Clayton, thank you Claire. It’s a pleasure to be here.
CLAYTON
Now, you’ve ventured all the way in to the city from Strath.
JAMIE
A bit of a drive
CLAYTON
A bit of a drive? A pleasant drive I imagine?
JAMIE
I love it! Especially at night-time it’s just brilliant!
CLAYTON
And, you work out that way as well as live out that way?
JAMIE
Yes indeed. Work in Mount Barker and live in Strath, so I get a lovely 20 minute drive every day. And it’s just fantastic seeing the countryside. Just going to and from work.
CLAIRE
Ahhh. Would be beautiful.
CLAYTON
What a life aye! And tell me, Mount Barker, do they consider themselves city folk these days?
JAMIE
I think they do actually, yes. There’s still that attitude of a small town versus big town. So, it’s changing, getting bigger and hopefully not too big.
CLAIRE
I hope not.
CLAYTON
OK. But, while you’re out in the country at the moment, at Strathalbyn, it sounds like you are enjoying it out there. You’re a city boy originally from way out west?
JAMIE
Western suburbs, yes, so around Lockleys then Grange, Flinders Park, all around there. So, that’s where I was born and bred and I still love that bit of Adelaide, but definitely my heart is in Strathalbyn.
CLAYTON
Mmmmm… There’s got to be a song in that too, doesn’t there?
JAMIE
I think there could be.
ALL LAUGH
CLAYTON
Now, your first serious musical gigs I understand was a tenor drummer with the Mount Barker Caledonian Pipes and Drums?
JAMIE
Yes, indeed I did that for quite a few years. Playing with a nice big pipe band, just going around all the suburbs and country towns doing festivals and fetes, Christmas pageants as well as even did a big tattoo down at the Entertainment Centre which was just amazing. There were just bands from all over the world. From America, the Seventh Fleet Band, Chicago Emerald, all those bands. It was just absolutely amazing just playing with several hundred musicians at the same time!
CLAIRE
Ah, it would have been great meeting all those people too.
JAMIE
Oh, it was. Especially the Malaysian people were just absolutely gorgeous. So warm and friendly. We spent a lot of time with them and they just made it!
CLAYTON
OK, well there’s lot more introduction we want to do, but we’ve got a pretty tight ship tonight.
CLAIRE
Yeah, Jamie’s had a colourful life in all of his different careers.
CLAYTON
But we better get to our first track if that’s alight. Now, I’m told Claire’s organised Jamie to introduce it because it’s got a rather unusual name?
JAMIE
Yes, this name is actually a Gaidhlig name, which is Highland Gaelic. It’s called Dail Chuinnidh, which basically means “meeting place”, so that’s why I have subtitled the song Meeting Place.
CLAYTON
I never have guessed that, and I typed that out!
ALL LAUGH
CLAYTON
So, there’s a difference between Highland and Lowland Gaelic is there?
JAMIE
There is a difference, but Lowland Gaelic does not exist anymore. But, it’s easier to say Highland Gaelic as opposed to Irish Gaelic and Welsh and Breton and everything else. But technically it’s just called Gaidhlig.
CLAYTON
Here we go…Meeting Place
PLAYS DAIL CHUINNIDH (MEETING PLACE)
CLAYTON
Come on Claire, we’re going to have the Gaelic pronunciation courtesy of you now.
CLAIRE (in a Scottish accent)
Dai Chuinnidh
JAMIE
Very good!
CLAYTON
Isn’t she good!
JAMIE
She is fantastic! There’s Scottish blood in that lass!
CLAYTON
You can tell she is not one of those hopeless monolingual Australians like some of us!
JAMIE
Oh, that’s right!
ALL LAUGH
CLAIRE (in a Scottish accent again)
Yes, that was Dail Chuinnidh by Jamie McPherson.
JAMIE
Very good!
CLAYTON
Oh dear oh dear. She is getting in to it, isn’t she?
JAMIE
I love it! She’s fantastic!
CLAYTON
She must be hanging with that husband of hers too often.
JAMIE
Well, I think she should change her accent now.
CLAIRE
Just speak more like he does?
JAMIE
No, not that way.
CLAYTON
Just more like you do I think is fine with us. “With heather and honey and fine Highland peat, the waters of”…now, Claire? Lochan dory one…?
JAMIE AND CLAIRE TOGETHER
Lochan Doire Uaine
CLAYTON
Oh, there you go, see! Yeah…well…”The place where we meet, I’ll toast to your health, to your life and our love, to the Sith below to the Gods above”. And there’s quite a bit of Gaelic there, isn’t there?
CLAIRE.
Well done Clayton. You got to the Sith below. Well done!
JAMIE
He did a great job!
CLAYTON
It looks like sith and I was thinking Darth Vader is in here somewhere, but no, it’s just a different language. Now, I imagine this is dedicated to your wife?
JAMIE
Yes, indeed.
CLAYTON
And to a firstborn who um…
JAMIE
Unfortunately passed away.
Clayton
…is no longer with us?
JAMIE
Yes.
CLAYTON
Time for a cheerio call at that point I reckon. You better say hello.
JAMIE
Hello to my beautiful wife Tikarma. And, that song was Dail Chuinnidh. And that was for both Tikarma and Alexander who we love dearly even though he’s passed on.
CLAYTON
Mmmm…a song of positive affirmation that’s a bit of a turning song too for you. A metamorphoses from this wild young man who evidently isn’t with us here tonight, to a settled husband and father.
JAMIE
Yes, well that was pretty much what the song was about. I think it’s about the recklessness of youth, and I was a very reckless youth at that, and it’s just about meeting that one person that just changes your whole life and then you’re happy to grow up.
CLAYTON
In terms of your writing was it very difficult to actually find? It’s right to feel that positiveness in it. It’s not always easy to actually write a positive song. Some people actually say a songs got to be sad and they’ve got to be minors in it.
JAMIE
No.
CLAYTON
And sometimes songs with a bit of anger and angst are a bit easier to write.
JAMIE
Oh yes, but I think it all depends on your frame of mind and where you are in that moment. And where I was in that moment was that my wife was there pregnant with our son and I was daydreaming about whisky one day and those lines came through my head. So, it’s a song born of whisky and love. So, what else do you need in the world?
CLAYTON
So, does that mean that if you hadn’t found your wife, whisky would have been your wife? Your surrogate or something?
JAMIE
Oh, it was for a good many years. And we still have a thing going.
ALL LAUGH
CLAYTON
I guess that is part of the Scott is it? Is that how it works?
JAMIE
Oh yes definitely! I think so, yes. I think the drinking of whisky is a chance for someone to actually drink the land that your forefathers came from. So, every time I have a single malt, I can actually taste the water and the peat and the earth that where my ancestors came from. And I just think that is magical.
CLAIRE
And then, there are songs that have influenced you as well and artists that have influenced you. Tell us about this influence that is coming up now?
JAMIE
That would be the 80’s band Wall of Voodoo and the reason I chose that one was actually for the singer Stan Ridgway, who’s been a tremendous influence on my life with my music. Just his songwriting ability, the way he can tell a story and he’ll tell a story from finish to end and to me that is what music should be about. Songwriting is about telling stories. Some true, some not so true. He is a great man and a great musician and he’s just released a new album, and I just listen to it the other day and it sounds absolutely fantastic!
CLAYTON
Call of the West. Wall of Voodoo.
PLAY CALL OF THE WEST
CLAIRE
And we’re back with Radio Adelaide 101.5 FM. Songcatcher is the show and we’re streaming live at wwwradio.adelaide.edu.au.
CLAYTON
And a little while ago we were listening to a track Call of the West, which is from Wall of Voodoo. And the songwriter Stan Ridgway is one of the influences of our songwriting guest tonight…
CLAYTON AND CLAIRE
Jamie McPherson
CLAYTON
Who hasn’t run away yet.
JAMIE
No, I’m still here. Yes, I’m just waiting for the cheese that you said that you enticed me off of the street with.
CLAYTON
And the jelly beans.
JAMIE
And the jelly beans indeed.
CLAYTON
We’ll break out the nibbles later maybe.
CLAIRE
Oh, we better.
CLAYTON
They might be cyber nibbles though.
JAMIE
Cyber nibble. Ahhh, any nibble is a good nibble.
ALL LAUGH
CLAYTON
Now, a rather interesting thing that caught me in your bio Jamie. At the age of 17, you go out and buy yourself a guitar and harmonica.
JAMIE
And that’s pretty much all you need.
CLAYTON
Well, it’s a big challenge though. Were you making music before that time?
JAMIE
Ah, no, no. I wasn’t….
CLAYTON
So, this was before your drumming days and all that stuff too?
JAMIE
Oh yes, this is long before, so yes, I always loved music. Never studied music at all. I was never blessed with that opportunity. And, to be honest, I never thought I could, so I bought myself a guitar and harmonica and started playing.
CLAYTON
So, not one instrument and I thought I’ll nail one of them, but, two instruments as well and no doubt you thought at the time I’m going to start singing as well? So, three really!
JAMIE
Well, I wouldn’t call my voice a well-trained instrument. To me, the voice is an instrument but I consider my voice that old battered up instrument that you have in the corner of the house and you pull it out and have a play and it just suits its purpose and does what it should do.
CLAYTON
Taking three things at a time is a challenge.
JAMIE
For any man doing more than one thing at a time is a challenge!
CLAYTON
What was it that happened at 17 that said “I’ve got bucks in my pocket, I am going to buy a guitar and a harmonica and I am going to make some music”?
JAMIE
Well, I think you just nailed it on the head there. I had bucks in my pocket, so I was out there earning money the first time in my life, and for someone who absolutely loves and adores music, the first thing you are going to do is spend those bucks.
CLAYTON
Not on a CD or record player…or CD player…
JAMIE
Oh no.
CLAYTON
…your favourite bands box set?
JAMIE
No, not quite. Well, to me, there is so much great music out there and to be honest, I could send myself broke buying every CD I ever wanted. So, you know, why not be your own jukebox?
CLAIRE
What were you listening to that inspired you to go get that guitar and harmonica?
JAMIE
Back then that was mid to late 80’s, so I would’ve said Wall of Voodoo would have been one of them, and…it’s hard…there would have been Paul Kelly, a lot of Bob Dylan, a lot of Rolling Stones. A lot of the good old classics.
CLAYTON
So, one of the questions maybe, that goes with it as a supplementary that might be did you buy yourself a hat at the same time?
JAMIE
Ah, the hat. I think the hat came a couple of months later…but yes… You must always have a bonnet on your head, so…
ALL LAUGHING
CLAYTON
You have to know three chords first before you can wear a hat properly.
JAMIE
And, once I got the three chords nailed down I got my special certificate to say I am now qualified to own a hat.
CLAIRE
Oh, you’ve done well. At 17, that was quite an accomplishment.
CLAYTON
Indeed. So now we heard a little while ago that you hadn’t really studied music, and even after the purchase you didn’t. How did you start picking up how you use these things you now had?
JAMIE
Well, just a bit of time. Just messing around. Just studying what music is. There is a mathematical component to it. I was never good at maths, but when you can make beautiful music. And so yes. Having a good study and going with the vibe and where it takes you and just loving the sounds that come out.
CLAIRE
That’s brilliant!
CLAYTON
How many chords was it before you started writing your own things?
JAMIE
Well, to be honest, I was a very late bloomer in writing and it…wasn’t… I’d occasionally just grab someone elses tune and write silly lyrics to make people laugh…
CLAYTON
So, starting off with parodies and things like that?
JAMIE
Yes, exactly. But, I never seriously wrote a song until Dail Chuinnidh there, which is about 3 years ago.
CLAYTON
So, impending fatherhood was a trigger?
JAMIE
It was a great motivator indeed. And, when you had so much joy in your heart, and so much in your life, why not?
CLAYTON
We better get to another track I think about now.
CLAIRE
Let’s hear more.
CLAYTON
We have more. The next one, A Midsummer in a Southern Land. Now I guess that wasn’t written in the deep dark of winter?
JAMIE
No, definitely not. No, that was actually, literally Midsummer’s day when I wrote it.
CLAYTON
Now, Midsummers day? When you say that to an Australian, what do you mean Midsummers day?
JAMIE
Well, Midsummer in Australia, give or take a day, because the sun and Earth move around very weirdly, it’s normally around the 21st December.
CLAYTON
So, we’re talking about Solstice time?
JAMIE
Yes, indeed. Well, that is Midsummer. So, I wrote that song just basically sitting out in the patio, a lot of cuppas, and talking with my wife, that we spend a lot of time doing. Just watching all of nature in Strathalbyn go by, and I felt just inspired.
CLAYTON
You know, having spent 20 odd years in Adelaide, I’d say midsummer’s somewhere about February.
JAMIE
Well, that’s hot Summer. That’s damn hot Summer in February!
CLAYTON (LAUGHING)
It’s about middle for me. Anyway, here we go. A Midsummer in a Southern Land.
PLAY A MIDSUMMER IN A SOUTHERN LAND
CLAYTON
That was A Midsummer in a Southern Land, Jamie McPherson, from a CD that isn’t quite released just yet, which I think is going to be called Meeting Place.
JAMIE
Meeting Place indeed. So, hopefully it won’t be too far away. Looking at October sometime, so just waiting for the artwork to come in from two very talented artists. One, my wife Tikarma. She’ll be painting the back cover, and another one is Jeremy Watson, who’s in my opinion, one of this country’s greatest photographers and also a very good friend. So, looking forward to that.
CLAYTON
OK, so there are some mechanicals happening in the near future. In terms of the songwriting for that particular song, now we’ve heard it started at Midsummer, which we have decided is the traditional Midsummer…
JAMIE LAUGHING
After great debate.
CLAYTON LAUGHING
…of the solstice. That’s right. The debate continued once the song was on, I can tell you out there. Alright, so we’ve got a time. Now we’ve got a place. It was at home?
JAMIE
It’s at home, in the patio with plenty of cups of tea.
CLAYTON
Plenty of cups of tea. Is that describing a state of mind?
JAMIE
Oh well, that is pretty much my life really.
CLAYTON
Is tea a great inspiration for you?
JAMIE
Tea is…basically moves this world. You sit outside…
CLAYTON
I thought that was laxatives, anyway…
ALL LAUGH
JAMIE
Well, that’s a different type of movement. But that’s the thing, you can sit out, have a cup of tea, everything just falls into place. Life goes perfect.
CLAYTON
OK, so you’re out there on the solstice. Enjoying cups of tea with some very pleasant company I’m taking it. What was it then that says Alright, I’m going to stop what I am doing. These lovely conversations and things like that and get my guitar out and be an antisocial slob and write a song?
JAMIE
Well, I ran out of things to say to the wife. No.
ALL LAUGH
JAMIE
No, it was just sitting there and watching all these birds fly in. These lorikeets and the magpies and our lovely blackbirds and seeing a couple of lizards that day. And to me nature is just awe-inspiring. That’s why I live out in Strathalbyn. Just to be close to it and it’s just so good for the soul I think.
CLAYTON
Well, you’ve certainly caught some of that directly in the lyric. It starts out “The lorikeets on the lawn. A new day is dawn. The Sun King raises his hand. Mr Blackbird hops about. His wife so devout. It’s Midsummer in this Southern Land”.
JAMIE
That’s right. To me that’s the start of a hot day.
CLAYTON
OK. Now, in terms of musical idea, it sounds like an idea for a lyric came before anything else?
JAMIE
With that one, yes, definitely the lyric did come first. I was just so moved to write about it.
CLAYTON
So, you had a few snatches of ideas from the birds and the sun and things like that. And you did actually write verses and pen to paper…
JAMIE
Oh, that’s right.
CLAYTON
…how soon after that was it that the guitar came out and you started to work something out to it?
JAMIE
Pretty much within the hour. I think it only took me an hour to write the lyrics, or under an hour with a few cups of tea in between. And straight away, I just picked up the guitar and the music was just there in the words. So, it just came and happened and within a couple of hours, there it was. A Midsummer in a Southern Land.
CLAYTON
How true would it be for you that the music is in the words?
JAMIE
Oh, definitely. To me the music is always in the words. When you’re writing as a songwriter there is always a musical content to the lyrical content. And to me, words will write the music. And also it sometimes works the other way. The music will write the words. Occasionally I’ll just start playing something on guitar and there will just be a phrase or line just singing out to me saying “I belong to this music!” So, I think there is a real symbiotic relationship between the two.
CLAIRE
Sounds like true songcatching actually, doesn’t it?
JAMIE
Oh definitely! It’s definitely songcatching and I think that is a great term for your show because it just describes it perfectly.
CLAYTON
So, we’ve got to a point of about one hour where the guitar came out. Approximately how long did it take do you think once the guitar came out to sought of have something that said “Oh, here is a working draft that is almost presentable”?
JAMIE
Well, as I said, pretty much within two hours I had the song, vocal and guitar. And so, there it was for me and then it was just the matter of getting into the studio and writing out the arrangements for it and just taking it from there. The arrangements for me come quite easy. Once you have the basic song there, pretty much everything else just fills your head.
CLAIRE
Are you using a specific computer program for your arranging?
JAMIE
Yes, well I use my recording software which is Cakewalk’s SONAR. Basically I just sit down and bring up a few staves and just write the music there. And, have a bit of a fiddle around with all the different synthesisers and just try different things.
CLAYTON
So, to do that you’re getting a recording to a click track or something like that you got the timing right?
JAMIE
Well,I tend to record all the other instruments. basically the other instruments, all the soft synths, what they’re called before hand. So, basically I’m just sitting there with musical notation and just writing out the notation. And of course, it all fits into place.
CLAYTON
And then you’re adding the live bits and voice later on?
JAMIE
Yes, that’s right. So, once I’ve done the drums, the bass, keyboards and violins and things like that, I’ll just sit down and record the guitar through. Record the vocal and maybe add a bit of harmonica or something else to it.
CLAYTON
In terms of editing, do you go back at some point and look through the draft of the lyrics, the draft of the melody, and think hard about how they work and how long? Or how short? Or if there is enough…
JAMIE
No, I tend not too. No, to me once the song is done the song is done. Basically, it’s a creation, for better or for worse. It could be better or it could be worse. But at some point you have to let go of it. And let go and take that leap, and hopefully it will be a good song.
CLAYTON
OK. I think we better move on to another song. What do you reckon Claire?
CLAIRE
Oh, I want to hear what else Jamie has chosen that has influenced him.
CLAYTON
Would you like to introduce this one?
JAMIE
Yes, this song is by The Band. It’s called King Harvest (has surely come) and I’ve just chosen this one as I love all the musicianship of all the guys. Garth Hudson’s keyboards! Lovely, I hope you enjoy.
PLAY KING HARVEST (HAS SURELY COME)
CLAYTON AND CLAIRE TALK ABOUT RADIO ADELAIDE’S SWING NIGHT, LIVE MUSIC FEST, SUBSCRIBING AND A CHANCE TO WIN A DANISH GOOSEDOWN QUILT
CLAYTON
Now, there you go. Now, we better get back to Songcatcher I think Claire. We’ve been having a silly sort of fun and we should get back to our serious, I’m going to put on my serious voice now.
CLAIRE
I’m not going to be serious because Jamie McPherson’s here and he’s not being serious.
JAMIE
No, anything but serious. I’d just like to say those Danes really know how to make a quilt. It’s what the Vikings were famous for wasn’t it? Just going all around the world, invading countries and showing them how to quilt?
CLAIRE LAUGHING
That’s right!
CLAYTON
There you go. Nothing…I can remember pictures of the Vikings dressed up in quilts!
JAMIE
Yes, that’s right!
CLAYTON
Scare any man!
JAMIE
Oh, indeed! A big blonde man with a battle-axe and a quilt is…will get you shaking in your boots!
ALL LAUGH
CLAYTON
Now Jamie, I’m really interested to let you tell the story. Once you had written this first song which you had written when your good wife was with child. Was it something like a floodgate once it started? What happened there?
JAMIE
It was. It was very hard to stop writing. All of a sudden it was a revelation that “Hey! I can write songs”. Because I always told her for years “Oh yes, One day I’ll write a song for you”, and all of a sudden it happened. So, just thinking about love and thinking about whisky. It was great!
CLAYTON
And drinking tea.
JAMIE
And drinking tea. Drinking tea indeed.
CLAYTON
Have you ever had the habit of drinking whisky and trying to write?
JAMIE
Not while I’m writing. I’ve done a few times recording. I’ll just have a few drams of Highland malt just to loosen up the throat. A few drams later is just like it’s a bit warm in here. And all of a sudden not quite so steady on the feet and I don’t know, it was like there was an earthquake happening in the studio.
CLAYTON
Well, I know for me a glass of red wine goes down very well. But you don’t want to read what I might have written. Or, what I have tried to have done…
ALL LAUGH
JAMIE
I’d love to see what you have written after a few glasses of cab sav there.
CLAYTON
No, it’s a bit embarrassing actually. Yes, Never mind. Um, performance skills. Where did you gain performance skills to go along with this guitar, harmonica and singing?
JAMIE
Well, I suppose it was just do and you learn sort of situation. I’ve been fortunate that I’ve worked in various industries within the arts. A lot of filmmaking and sound engineering and things like that. So, I think it’s made me a lot more comfortable just being able to be behind the scenes and watching people do it. And it’s like well, “Hey, I can do that!” So yes, then it’s just getting out there and doing it. And yes, sometimes the nerves will hit you and that’s understandable. That’s all part of it.
CLAYTON
But one of the things is get out there and do it and give it a go.
JAMIE
Oh that’s right exactly! If you don’t get out and do it, then you can’t say you’ve tried.
CLAYTON
Our time is rapidly retreating so we’re going to get into the next track right now. This is the last one. You’re My Only Vice.
JAMIE
Oh yes, it’s so true.
CLAYTON
And it’s not about me listeners.
JAMIE
It was. I wrote it about you Clayton.
PLAY YOU’RE MY ONLY VICE
CLAIRE
Now you’re listening to Jamie McPherson singing You’re My Only Vice. What else have you got to tell us Jamie?
JAMIE
Well, I’ve got a gig coming up next month there on Thursday 23rd of September. Part of SCALA. It’s Peter McIver night. So, with very talented and good friend, musician Peter McIver and he’ll be playing with Chris Koto. As well as his band Sleepless. And Emmy Love will be playing on the night too. So, should be a great night!
CLAIRE
Good SCALA night!
CLAYTON
Sounds like fun. Actually, I’m on the week after that.
JAMIE
Are you?
CLAYTON
We’re going to have a special Songcatcher version of SCALA.
JAMIE
Oh brilliant! I might have to come along to that one!
CLAYTON
Should be fun.
CLAIRE
Well, I’ll be coming along. Just to have a look around there.
CLAYTON
I need a heckler.
JAMIE
You need a heckler? You’ve got a couple here.
CLAIRE
Jamie, thanks so much for coming along.
JAMIE
Ah, it’s been an absolute pleasure.
CLAYTON
Thanks indeed mate. And, safe traveling all the way back to Strathalbyn this evening. Cumming up very shortly is Suzie Hutchings and her wonderful, wonderful show Crossing Tracks. Before that we’ve got a little section of Music in the Blood by Michelle Smith featuring one of the men from Unified Gekko, who is Murat Usel. I think I can pronounce African words well.
JAMIE
I think you are doing great! There must be African in your blood there.
CLAYTON
It doesn’t make sense. I haven’t got any African in the last few hundred thousand years that I am aware of?
JAMIE
It’s all DNA.
CLAYTON
Anyway, here it is. Music in the Blood. Ciao.
END OF SHOW
Musings of Jamie McPherson 