Mili's Guitar Blog

The team met up for breakfast – four players, soundman and Al, our tour manager.  After breakfast we said goodbye to Simon and Al, as they are staying in Melbourne for a bit and we went off for some sightseeing.  Guy and I went to see a friend of his who just had a baby and this made my day.  The only pity is that I had a cold by the end of the tour, so I had to stay at a distance. 

Guy’s got some very interesting friends and by now I must have met all of them, but for all those I haven’t met I am introduced to them as:’ This is Mili, who is touring with us!’ – which is all fine., but when people ask Guy to describe what type of performance is it, he says: ‘ Well in Guitar Heaven, usually Simon plays first and does a lovely Celtic set, then we kick the evening off with some groove and then after the interval Mili comes out and does her ‘Prozac set’, before we all come out for a finale.’  Guitar Heaven 2010? Hm….let me think on this one…

All jokes aside, I was sad to say goodbye at the airport and am now sitting on the plane to London reminiscing how great it was to spend 5 weeks playing great music, catching up with friends and family and how everyone needs their batteries recharged.  Mine are set and ready to go.  More about Mili projects shortly, for the next two days all I really want to know is what sleep feels like.

Clean clothes too.  

Signing off,

Deliriously tired & happy Mili.

With Warragul being a late night out, we set out for Melbourne a tad later than anticipated. Driving into Melbourne was beautiful and I must say that I totally loved the whole time we stayed there. We stayed at a fairly central hotel, in the area of Carlton, a decent and happening suburb of Melbourne.  I was quite impressed with the architecture this time around, much more so than when we toured Melbourne in 2007, as we stayed in the CBD that time.

I have some very funny memories of 2007 it was such a busy time, I had 3 radio interviews (2 for SBS and 1 for ABC) and I remember burning a hole in one of my dresses as I hurried to iron all the outfits.  I also remember that in 2007 we played a concert in which the DC boys were so grossly mis-matched with my outfit that for the next day, I decided to act sooner rather than wait for another such disaster. So on the next day I got dressed up at 8am in the morning and went to DC’s door to let then know that the dress I was wearing for the interviews will be the dress I will wear for that night’s concert.  Guy was so angry that I woke them up, he saw the room service ladies walking past and on top of his voice he shouted: ‘Sorry I ordered a blonde. There is no way I am paying for this!’

I wouldn’t talk to him for days after that! But these days we have a good laugh about it.

Back to 2009, though – for most of Friday we scoured Melbourne’s Brunswick and Chapel Sts, good spots for guitar lovers (that is the boys) and some very nice clothes shopping for Mili:) The DC boys never tire of guitar shops, pedals, amps, you name it, but I must say that guitar shops really bore me.  I have the most beautiful guitars I could ever have hoped for and they sound exactly like I want them to, so I don’t feel like I am missing out at allJ I know that grass is always greener on the other side and I am being ignorant, but so be it.  At least for the moment.!

After the spot of shopping we went for a sound-check and got to see the venue, which has all the right elements for our kick-off party.  Small and chic, in the heart of Melb.

It was a very small concert, we organized the venue one week in advance as the original theatre had a change of management and did not live up to the original plans.  So we were grateful that the venue came up at such a short notice, to give our friends and us a chance to say goodbye. 

I played my best set for the tour.  I can officially say that, as it was the last concert of the tour.  Simon played a more upbeat set to suit the venue and DC had a lot of fun on stage.  I had three of my good friends from high-school all sitting in the front row, cheering us on.  They were so thoughtful and lovely.  In fact I never really mention this, but all of my high-school friends are musical, as I went to a specialist music school, so I had a trumpet player, a flautist and a jazz vocalist right in the front row.  The concert was open to all passers by as well, we also got a few weird and wonderful Melbournians, some of them quite mad actually.  One particular visitor had a guitar in his hand and made some very strange noises indeed.

So much so that I was glad that I had played my solo set early on in the evening and that by the time we played the finale, Guy Ghouse was sitting to the right of me, with his muscles on display (he shrunk his shirt in the wash, the dag) & this made a whole world of difference.  I felt very safe. And not only that, I felt surrounded by lovely friends both on stage and off.

So much has happened, I have not had the time to write down all the events.

The concert in Warragul was very well attended and it took place at a lovely church, which had only recently been renovated.  I played very sensitively and believe that the concert was recorded, so am curious to have a listen back, as I may have a ‘Live’ album in the making.  I just remember that it was a very special feeling playing that night as in some ways it was our last proper concert for the Guitar Heaven tour.  What I mean by ‘proper’ is that it was a venue with very good acoustics and a classical vibe to it, something that suits my style of playing.

After the concert we all planned to get a pizza, but the plans changed as we met some other musicians that evening and Guy and Damian wanted to see their guitars.  So we split into two groups and half the entourage went to sleep whilst the other half went to this gorgeous farmhouse, where a flamenco guitarist and his wife (percussionist) live.  I am so glad I stayed up and got to see a whole different side to Warragul.

The playing went on for the next 3 hours.  Desert Child boys have such a wide repertoire and they ended up playing Gypsy Jazz, Blues, flamenco, anything.  They really are amazing in the number of songs they know and the number of styles they convincingly attempt.  As we drove back to the hotel I was left wondering whether I really am a real musician, as I am surely not capable of doing the same.

I still haven’t drawn a conclusion to that, but judging by the fact that I sold out of ‘Stir the Sky’ CDs in Warragul, I had other things on my mind. And that is that the next day was going to be very, very busy.

Three amazing shows at an amazing (newly refurbished) venue. Sounds perfect? Not quite so – it was Guitar Heaven coming to town and we were set to make a mark!

(read on…)

On the night of the 13th, just before the series of concerts, Guy and Damo (Desert Child boys) ventured out to the local pub (with their guitars) – to check it all out and have a jam. This is all very plausible since Guy never sleeps and walks around with bloodshot eyes, a clear asset when it comes to making friends, I am sure:)  Jam they did and so they headed back to their rooms at around 12.30am. Once they got back to the hotel Guy could smell gas and hence he alerted the hotel staff to this.  Since the people at the reception had been at the hotel for the last 3 hours no-one really detected the smell, so Guy conducted an emergency operation ‘Guy Ghouse style’ and he traced the smell back to the kitchen where he discovered one fire burning and three other stove knobs turned on.  It  was clear that this could have become a dangerous situation, so appropriate measures were taken and the hotel was fine in the end. Nevertheless we felt extremely grateful to Guy for saving our lives and whenever we would praise him for it the next day, he would reply with a cheeky grin saying: ‘Guy Ghouse, mate! …Guy Ghouse!’

This has become our new saying for the tour.  Whenever someone does an action of any significance (including parking the car within line parameters or getting out 20 cents for the parking) – if people say: ‘Well done, Simon’ or ‘Well, done Rik, you did well’ the reply is ‘Guy Ghouse, mate!…Guy Ghouse!’

We were so sad to leave Canberra, the shows were really great and we enjoyed ourselves so much on stage. The stage humour  has relaxed so much and the team’s playing is tighter than ever. It’s really more of a comedy show with some groovy playing. We all love each other’s styles and I think that is the ultimate way. 

I really do love my normal life back in the UK, being settled for most of the year and teaching, but the show we give to people as Guitar Heaven is something I could keep on doing forever.  What I find is that no matter where we played on this tour, whether it was a small audience, a church or a nightclub, by the end of the show we win them over 99% of the time. And it may sound blaze coming from myself, but it’s such a good evening out.  It takes the comittment of all of us to make it happen.

Who knows what’s around the corner. Playing music is a blessing in itself, so any opportunity to tour with the Guitar Heaven outfit is a great bonus. I would love to bring the show to the UK next, so will see what happens. I really would love to do that.

Best Wishes

Mili

It’s official, we have completed the South Australian leg of the tour and are now happily roaming around Canberra, practising and psyching up for the next set of concerts. Something very positive has happened in all the time the group has been together, and that is that we are more of a unit and we are much tighter as a group, playing wise, everything really.

Today’s proceedings included a mega breakfast at the luxury hotel we’ve been allocated. Oh, it is soooo nice.  I do love a bit of luxury. After Brekkie we packed up and went for an interview at ABC 666 Canberra – get it- the devil’s frequency! It’s all spelled out in black and red, so we could not help putting Damo up against the wall with the the 666 sign and making him the mascot of the radio show. He seemed to enjoy it and we took quite a few pics.

I knew that with so many concerts lined up in the coming week, that a change of strings would have to entail. I do not like this one single bit, especially since something always have to give. I stayed up till 4am last night tuning them every 10mins and stretching, but nylons are notoriously bad and mine like to be played in as well. That is dedication for you. However, this morning it was clear that it would take another day – so I took my CD to be played  at the interview and made a generous offer to do all the talking, whilst the boys got to play a few tunes live.  They did really well.  The interviewer was fantastic and really good fun, I loved his questions, especially the bit where he highlighted the perils of practise, isolation, difficulty to survive in the musical climate as an acoustic guitarist, etc.. only to then ask for my personal opinion on the situation of the guitar in the modern climate: ‘What is it like for you then, these days, as a working musician?’  - and I replied: ‘Pretty hard, touring with these Guitar Heaven people, really…’ ))

After the interview the group had a day to kill in Canberra, so I tuned for another hour or so, as you do on a Sunday, and then I ventured out for a walk with Rik, our soundman. Now, Rik Van der Velede is truly an experienced roadie, he’s done sound for Frank Sinatra, Metallica, Iron Maiden.  He has a story about every town, every place and is an incredibly kind person. These days Rik prefers to spend time with his partner, doing shorter tours. In fact he told me that he’s seen 50/52 US states and that he doesn’t care about new places anymore, he’s ‘quite happy to see them on SBS’ (equivalent of UK’s BBC).  Rik does not touch alcohol and is very level headed. He had a lot of advice to give. Mind you as we walked around Canberra he allowed his childish side to come out and so we went for a pizza, an ice cream and doughnuts. It was really like walking with a 10 year old at times, yet I heard some very sound advice, both onstage and off and it has made me look at my life differently.

On even a more cosmic note, Guy Ghouse and I caught up later on in the day and chatted about GH in the long run.  Guy is just one incredible person and I feel I should write this down whilst it’s fresh so that I can always look at it and read it to remind me. I am especially blessed that he has met my hubby and knows me since I was about 19, so he can pretty much read my mind on things. In essence we come from very similar backgrounds.  We even have similarities in our playing, although he will never admit to this.  For instance, the other day he tried sitting down and playing my new Sheridan guitar (called ‘Henry’) and he said the sound made him sick (because the guitar is not designed for strumming) and that sitting in the classical position was like the reverse of being born.  Really deep stuff. As if Henry wanted to be held by anyone else but me:) 

So my conclusions for the day are: to keep on learning. I still have a lot of work to do as a guitarist, composer, teacher and also as a human being.  I am just so lucky that I have some incredible friends and family who are there for me and vice versa.  Most importantly, I do not write this down often enough, but  it is my husband who is the most loveliest thing in my life, a person with whom I feel understood completely and who is surely booking his next holiday to coincide with our next tour. Even my mum misses him.

So with that in mind, I am signing off and giving my full focus to the week to come.

Mili

So it all began on a quiet Friday morning and a leisurely drive from Bordertown to Naracoorte. I must say that we had such a great time in Bordertown that we were slightly wishing that we would be performing at their lovely theatre again.  Yet onwards we had to go.

The scene of arrival for a sound-check was somewhat received with mixed feelings – well in my case anyhow, you see, the venue in question was actually a nightclub. I’d only ever played at a nightclub once before and that was a very dear favour for a very dear friend and I thought ‘never again’ in my whole life. So the prospect of the nightclub filled me with a few reservations to say the least. This may come as a surprise, but this turned out to be the best gig so far on tour. Here is how it evolved.

We were given the coolest warm-up room ever – in a 150 year old cottage adjacent to the club.  The atmosphere backstage was great, we had a cat and a dog with us, a huge heater, a massive TV playing a Beatles documentary  - so this was a cool start to the evening.  Simon and I had a chat about who should open the evening and we chose Simon to be the sacrificial lamb. How kind:) I decided to watch the show to get a feel for the venue and what I came to see set us up well for the rest of the show. if you ever get to see Guitar Heaven in action it becomes very clear that Sime is one funny guy, so his chatting away came across brilliantly.

The DC boys have done it all, played on trucks, in sheds, on boats with no amplification and their motto is to pull the gig off no matter what. They blasted the crowd, which left me to think over of how on Earth could I possibly follow that? But follow it I did and after a classy raffle draw, it was time for Mili’s classical corner. I honestly have to say it was one of the best gigs I have played ever – and the audience was so responsive. After the big Guitar Heaven finale – for which we got a few encores indeed, the rest of the evening became one big party, you see the audience would not leave. It was their big night and in a town where not many acts come for a visit, we were more than happy to give them a night they would remember, Guitar Heaven style. So we chatted away till the early hours.

Interestingly enough we were to learn that the Shapes Nightclub, which received us so well and is a seriously promising venue for the performing arts – it was voted the 2nd worst nightclub in Australia on Triple J. Well what one big myth that is, the place is awesome and I would certainly play there again.

After the party we retreated to some fine accommodation to discuss the next day’s events.

More about those in the next entry.

Mili

reporting for Guitar Heaven Quartet, Naracoorte,

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