Happy New Years! I know it’s late. But think of it as a fire-up for 2011! Here are my favourite bits of Peats Ridge Sustainable Arts and Music Festival 2010.
The Lurkers
Come to a far away place. Across Hawksbury River, over Peats Ridge and down the dusty road into Glenworth Valley
Meet the locals. They’re very friendly if a little eccentric.
Wandering entertainment
Enjoy the wildlife. Great for children of all ages.
Less wandering entertainment
And, in the Chai Temple was The Lurkers!
Desert Rat Shorty
Pretty Boy Floyd
With Desert Rat Shorty, Pretty Boy Floyd and Weary Hobo
Weary Hobo
Some in the crowd went wild, occasionally spilling frappéd Indian spiced tea onto woven cushions. However, most punters saved their frivolity for paddles in the refreshing creek preferring instead to appreciate the show by moving as little as possible unless to fan themselves.
Re-live the sweaty pleasures of this festival here and watch this video called 15Mb of Fame by Punk Monk Propaganda. 15Mb of FAME is a fast & furious crowd sourced initiative. All footage was shot by roaming punks meets festival goers and edited on site during the festival & screened in the Rejenr8 geodesic dome [Land of Hopeless Utopians] and on the main stage [the Bellbird], NYE. This is the original version as it was shot & cut on site in those preceding 48 hours of the festival then screened that very same night.
Waking up on New Years Day, The Lurkers continued the adventure down past Bega to Tathra to record our musical subversion at the eclectic Pirate Studios with Dave from Lime Spiders. To be continued…
Yours,
Weary H.
P.S. Many thanks to the talented Mark Snelson for letting us use his photos here
Some of you in the big lurky family might already know (or have noticed) that I’m about five and a half months pregnant. From what I’ve found so far, there are two types of difficulties with being pregnant and travelling round being in a band:
1 – the actual physical and emotion constraints, and
2 – coping with other people’s judgmental comments.
One of the first things someone said to me when they found out I was pregnant was ‘oh you’ll have to stop doing gigs then’. This was astounding news to me. All I could say was ‘um, I disagree’. (This comes along with a litany of other unhelpful advice along the lines of: you’ll have to get a bigger house, sensible car and buy heaps of plastic crap).
5 months pregnant at Peats Ridge Festival: yes, that's lemonade
Why is it that when you announce you’re pregnant, people assume that you have to get a lobotomy and start living a suburban nightmare?
Admittedly, there are definitely some physical and emotional constraints that are very real and need to be factored in:
Oh wow, the exhaustion!
I had no idea I could feel so utterly utterly buggered. For the first couple of months, I would come home from work, sleep for a few hours, eat some tea then sleep for another ten hours. It felt like being on some kind of sedative 24/7. Feeling tired and crap for the first couple of month made rehearsals a bit unproductive. Also, Pretty Boy Floyd and the Weary Hobo have been doing most of the driving when I’ve been feeling so sleepy I could fall asleep any time, anywhere.
Morning sickness
Performing with morning sickness was a bit of a challenge. At a gig at The Shack in Narrabeen, I was dry wretching through the show which was a bit tough while trying to sing. Here’s a video of that show:
Crazy mood swings
I feel very lucky that there’s a lot of love and trust in The Lurkers and the Weary Hobo and Pretty Boy Floyd are extremely accommodating with my mood swings and unexplained tears. Playing music makes me feel so much better and usually the tears dry up after a song or two. A cuddle, some singing and not being treated like a freak are a pretty good cure for pregnancy mood swings.
Travelling
Actually travelling so far has been great. We toured to Melbourne and Adelaide when I was 11-13 weeks pregnant. I was feeling tired and sick for the first bit, but turned a corner about a week in. Being on the road was really great at that time – playing music and travelling with The Lurkers makes me feel good despite the weird hormones pumping through my body.
At the Switch off Hazelwood rally in Victoria (3 months pregnant)
Despite the travelling, it was much easier than being at work, where it’s not really appropriate to cry during meetings.
We’re planning to go back to Melbourne and also do another stint in the rehearsal studio in March, at which point I’ll be 7 months pregnant. We might need to take the driving slowly and plan in a few extra rest breaks than usual.
In our last recording session, the baby actually started kicking in time after listening to “I’m in love with a skinny man” for 90 minutes. I’m hoping that means it’s starting to recognise the music and will therefore feel safe and happy at gigs.
At Pirate Studios near Tathra (5 months pregnant)
Playing at Peats Ridge Festival was awesome, though the heat was full on. Your body is already hotter when you’re pregnant, and it definitely makes the heat harder to cope with. So the chai tent at 40 degrees on a summers afternoon did take it out of me. You can see in this video my hair is drenched cause I had to duck backstage and douse myself in a bottle of cold water halfway through the set.
Performing while very pregnant
This logistical challenge is still to come! My tummy is sticking out a bit, but I can still hold the banjo with no dramas, and I haven’t had any breathing troubles yet. We’ve got a song on an upcoming compilation of Eric Bogle songs, which is being launched at The National Folk Festival at easter – by when I’ll be eight and a half months pregnant. I’m hoping we’ll be there to perform at the launch, but we might just need to see how we’re faring then. There are so many changes in such a short time it’s really hard to know what it will be like.
Hibernation period (baby arrival time)
After the baby is born (due 8th May), we’ve put a line through all of May – no gigs and no pressure as we spend some time hibernating and showing a new little person around this amazing word of ours. But we’ll ease our way back in gently, with a show at Hornsby Folk Club in June, and then our album launch in August.
Lurking with a baby
We’re also contemplating a trip up the NSW north coast in October. We’ve put a window in the back seat of the Lurker van so we can bring this new little character on the road.
Also, before you ask, no – The Lurkers are not planning to become a kids band.
All offers of baby holding during gigs will be taken seriously and are very much appreciated.
Was amazing. It’s in an amazing steep valley on the McDonald River in the Hawkesbury. A stunning place but even more exciting was the music we found there…
In an amazing finger picking guitarist (and banjo player) and tells mesmerising stories that mean you get so much more out of his songs.
Cody Dillon was also amazing… imagine a combo of hip-hop, Leonard Cohen and traditional folk. I know that sounds like I made it up but it’s true. We’re still waiting on Cody to record his music and set up a website though : )
Punk bluegrass ratbags The Lurkers released their first album "Shoot to the Moon" in 2009. They spend much of their time travelling the country in a biodiesel powered yellow van, playing at festivals, parties and protests. Their second album is due for release in 2011.
Lurkerlust 