Choose Your Own Adventure

On Scrambling, Gambling & Rambling

Don’t you wish you could see around corners? I sure do.

In the world of pursuing creative goals that I live in, there is a lot of throwing darts in the dark and hoping they hit their target. There’s a lot of making decisions based on limited information, taking risks that may or may not pay off. There’s a lot of scrambling to cover costs and digging for coins in the metaphorical (or literal) couch while you’re waiting for that possible pay off.

I am an optimist and a practical dreamer. I believe in dreaming big, working hard and backing yourself when probably no-one else in their right mind would. When I say backing yourself, I mean investing in a lot of behind the scenes time and effort to make something happen and throwing everything you’ve got at it. I mean carefully assessing the situation and taking a calculated gamble. I believe no one will ever work harder for you than you will. That’s why I have always been a self-managed artist. I think of myself as a keen unpaid intern in my own demanding employ, eager to learn the ropes, wrangle all the stuff and show the world what I can do.

Helmut Newton/French Vogue, Paris 1969. © Helmut Newton Estate

I throw a lot of hats into the ring and things into the wind that never come back and that’s ok. I live by lines in Kristofferson songs, like ‘I’d rather be sorry for something I’ve done than for something that I didn’t do’. I think he was probably quoting an inspirational saying but I’m not certain which came first.

Anyway, back in 2017, I recorded and released my album ‘Lovers Dreamers Fighters’. I was in a kind of strange place, living in Los Angeles, somewhat isolated and adrift. My family had been on the move a lot and I hadn’t found a new music community. I didn’t know any other musicians for the first time in my life. I’d go to a lot of gigs around town by myself with good intentions of striking up conversations and making friends with other musicians whose music I loved but then I’d get shy and just go home. I’m not much a hustler.

But I did decide to send ten copies of my beautiful, limited edition translucent blue records out to musicians I loved, with the dream that one of them might invite me to go on tour opening for them. I wrote a heartfelt note to Uncle Bob, found his address on some obsessive creeper’s blog (sorry Bob) and posted it off. As crazy as it sounds, Bob has a history of taking fairly unknown acts on tour. He took Australian act The Waifs on a 30 date tour in 2003 (great story about being backstage drinking vodka in their undies at the end of the tour when they finally got an invitation to join Bob onstage here). Donna Simpson had asked their manager to send their album to his management and lo and behold, he fell in love with it and issued them an invitation to join the Never Ending Tour. It was hearing stories like this from Donna Simpson that made me resolve to send my album off to Bob. “THERE were times we’d be on stage sound-checking – and we weren’t touring with a keyboard player at the time - and we would hear keys and we’d turn around and there’s Bob [Dylan] on the keys at soundcheck playing along to London Still.” I mean, that’s the dream right there isn’t it? A girl could die very happy after Bob jammed along with one of her tunes at soundcheck. Anyway, a couple of weeks later my record came back Return to Sender, No Such Number, Unable To Forward. I couldn’t help but laugh imagining hundreds of desperado records and letters turning up on Bob’s doorstep daily, that he probably had to pay someone to gather up and march right back down to the Malibu post office.

Even Johnny Cash sent mail to Bob, and it was the start of a lifelong friendship and musical meeting of minds. Also how cool is Johnny Cash’s personalised stationery?

Ian Mackaye (Minor Threat/Fugazi) recently shared this beautiful hustling fan letter that a fourteen year old Dave Grohl wrote to him.

Courtney Love penned this note to Kim Gordon to ask her to produce her debut album ‘Pretty on the Inside’. It worked.

But I digress. back in 2017 I also sent my record to

Kevin Morby's Fam Club

, cos I was listening to his songs all the time and thought just maybe he might like mine too. I was very moved to receive a lovely, complimentary postcard in response. There’s something about another musician liking your work that just feels so nice and like some kind of validation, like maybe you’re not totally deluded. It really strengthened my musical resolve in a musically lonely time.

A couple of weeks ago I received an invitation to join Kevin on his Australian/NZ tour in September/October, which I was thrilled to accept.

Here are the dates. Sometimes half formed dreams do become reality, when you least expect it! I’m very grateful and can’t wait to play these shows. Maybe I’ll see you out there!

To celebrate 21 years of making solo records and releasing them into the world, I have just released the compendium ‘Mystery Hits’ featuring songs from my earlier albums, the ones we love to play live, the ones people tell us they love the most and the ones that got away, all polished up and shiny.

Here it is on Bandcamp and you can find it on all streaming services in the coming days. You know the drill, if you like it, please share it, like it, tell a friend, play it loud with the windows open as you cruise down the highways etc etc:

Thanks for being here. I’m grateful to you too, because I love to write, and it feels pretty great to have people read what you write and listen to the music you make. All this stuff makes my world keep spinning. All the mystery and the dreams and the surprises that pop up and the flowers that bloom from the seeds that you toss out the window along the way… I’m here for all of it. This is the adventure I choose.

Gamble on, scramble on, ramble on x