Crier Profile - Andrew Noyes
An excerpt from the Diary of a middle aged surveyor playing Bluegrass in Oz.
Jan 2008 for After the Treacle (alias Keith Pearson's Coup de Grass) at
Tamworth Country Festival
"WELCOME TO THE 36TH JANUARY COUNTRY MUSIC EVENT IN TAMWORTH. On behalf of the city and its nearly 56,000 residents of the Tamworth Regional Council area.. .. .. Something like 2,200 shows and concerts and about 4,000 individual performances with roughly 1,000 musicians. 70% of the gigs are free. More than 50,000 people are expected over 2,300 events at 100 different venues. Sponsored by Telstra and TRC put in over $1.5m."
Had long chat with Dave. He came to Oz from Kent when 18, went home again for a couple of years but then returned to OZ and never went back. Professional musician for 23 years.
Went in to Tamworth to have coffee, and collect K's 10 tonne weight - his banjo or tonjo - and then came back in the rain - it has rained a lot - to rehearse. We needed it - very scruffy. Hope I am good enough. I feel more nervous about playing things properly now than I have for a while. Glad I'm not the front man like Keith!
Conked out as predicted late afternoon. Slept, woke up pain in my chest and very hot. Better now - told by Dave who is very kind that the travel has caught me out probably. He is keeping an eye on me. Others worried I suspect. I'll be ok.
From what I have seen Tamworth on Peel Street is like a glitzy Wild West town - Spanish in feel. I'll take some photos. Sure the Festival is good business for the town.
Friday morning 18th Jan 2008 - GIG no 1
The sleep pill Keith gave me made sure I went back to sleep. Restrung the
guitar ready for his afternoon - blimey! am I really about to perform in my
first residence/ gig/tour thing?! Hope so, but a bit nervous - or is it the
after effect of all that coffee yesterday? Chest pain and very tired. Went to
sleep. What do shops put in coffee? Too much caffeine? Dave said his brother
had a fit once after drinking too much Turkish coffee late one night after a
heavy session playing and working. Must watch my intake. Didn't eat much
yesterday either.
Apparently J and P have to go outside to the loo in the middle of the night - where there are brown snakes lurking! Glad I am here in this lovely house. So friendly and welcoming and it is no worry to them - no fuss, just all rub along. No ceremony just drift along. It's wonderful.
9.45 p.m. Gig today was our first and it went well. 3 sets 9, 8 and then 7 songs per set. Keith did a great job with his spiel. Prepared set lists went out the window however! Found t-shirts with our name on. Must buy one - Dee wants brown. We drove to the venue: the doorman recognised Keith, who is wearing exactly what he did the last time he played here - this costume stuff is very important visually. Our audience cleared out a lot at the end - we were offstage too long at the 2nd break.
After dinner we walked last night down the town centre to get a feel for the place. Very pretty with lights in trees, players under the canopies of the shops playing - one little scruffy bloke in his 50/60;'s playing a 12 string with a really good voice,. I drove home and went to bed. Knackered but feeling ok now. Bloody coffee in large doses!
Saturday 19th Jan
Its 5.30 a.m. - I can't sleep here either! And it's blowing a gale outside in the Lemon Gum tree. The band in the club near Macs play until 1 a.m. every night so I 'm going to have to take sleep pills to get through this!
8.30 - Just got back from hour's walk around the main road in to town. Good exercise. Not raining now. Sun trying to emerge from the clouds. Warm however. Amazing how quickly one slots in to the new weather. Tanned, and my finger nails are growing!!
10 p.m. home again after a busy day - we've only played 2 gigs, 8 more to go! Will I have a voice left? Standing all afternoon singing in front of an air con unit. Not good but nothing I can do on stage.
And the wind is a blowing in the Lemon Gum trees
And I can't get myself to sleep.
I'm all washed up and ready to split/fade
I'm walking (on/to) the edge of danger
Oh take me away to where the air is sweet
Where the land is full of song/to the land of the dried up/lonely billabong
Don't let me leave me alone, a sad old stranger
I'm walking near the edge of danger
Roads to recovery
May god make your miles safe ones
Spent the morning rearranging the set with K and typing it on this pc and then print out 4 copies for each of us. Then went in to town with K being grumpy about Jim! We will never change Jim but he is one seriously good harp player, no doubt about it. He adds enormously to what we do.
Got emails at Telstra tent and discovered I've got some work from Cambridge
City Council. Played revised set with better results although the audience was
thinner at times - lots of big gigs on at Wests today, lots of competition.
Cheating Heart seems a winner - people love it. Thank goodness.
Went back to Wests after driving back here in pouring rain. Watched Aby Poole and the City Limits who were a make up band but very very good. Bought 2 Tshirts, chatted to audience who saw us. Must go and see Rod Lang the promoter here at Wests so we get back next year.
Sunday 20th. - GIG 3
Didn't sleep well again and had to take a pill at 2.30. The band playing at the Longyard pumps out music until 1 a.m. and I can't sleep with that going on - hopeless really.
Chest really bad - lots of coughing. In my vocal chords, not my throat. Sure caused by the air con blowing in my face when singing on stage, or maybe the plane. 10 p.m. I played the gig this afternoon but felt absolutely bloody awful; hated it but the show had to go on. We did 3 sets as usual Keith on from. We are beginning too relax and get better.
Lots of signing to do afterwards for the punters - famous!
Hope I feel better tomorrow. Can't stand feeling like this. Want to go home - first time I have felt like that.
Monday - GIG 4
Went hospital to check up - nasty bugs on planes and Dave said I should go. Only a virus, the nice lady doctor said. Went home, looked at theirs house for which they had roof problems. Played gig but zonked at end. Straight to bed.
Tuesday night - GIG 5
At last on the mend! Taken too long but getting there. Had a quiet morning here after yesterday afternoon's gig at the end of which I had had quite enough. Just shattered and washed out from coughing and the bug. However today was much better. GIG 5 out of 10. My voice held out although it's a bit low. Progress. However we are not sustaining an audience. By end of third set room half empty. People are not staying to listen to Keith rattle on about nothing in particular talking but lyrics. (Learnt some days later that lots of people have to get their internal town bus at 4 pm so that was why they leave!)