Tag Archives: liz stringer
Dyson Stringer Cloher – 2014 Tour Dates
Dyson Stringer Cloher
Headline Shows For 2014
It’s been a big and successful year for Mia Dyson, Liz Stringer and Jen Cloher. Dyson released her fifth and stunning studio album Idyllwild (see my review here), Stringer has been busy with the new Livingstone Daisies release and filmed her live album/DVD Live At The Yarra and Cloher put out her first ever 10″ vinyl through Milk Records featuring a duet with Tim Rogers.
Dyson, Stringer, Cloher Pictorial – Bluesfest 14
All Photos By Jim Jacob
International Folk Alliance Conference 2014
Folk Alliance International exists to foster and promote traditional, contemporary, and multicultural folk music and dance and related performing arts. The Folk Alliance seeks to strengthen and advance organizational and individual initiatives in folk music and dance through education, networking, advocacy, and professional and field development.
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26th ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL FOLK ALLIANCE CONFERENCE
February 19th-23rd – Westin Hotel, Kansas City, MO
Keynote Speaker: Graham Nash
Special Presentations from Al Gore & Tom Rush
Help Cultivate Livingstone Daisies!
What is the “Burlap Underground” movement?
It’s the emerging army of Livingstone Daisies’ fans who are teaming up to help the band release their debut recording session (effectively album #2). The Daisies released a terrific record last year Don’t Know What Happiness Is (Popboomerang Records) which I have written about in glowing terms – here. The band has also featured in Today’s Top Tune.
Don’t Know What Happiness Is was so good, that I can guarantee that the to-be-released new album will be a ripper. I have just pledged – can’t wait to hear the new material.
The band has a few days to go to reach the target needed to release and promote this album properly! Things are looking good but there is still a fair way to go!
Deadline 17th February 2014 at 16:56 pm EST
The band thank everyone who has pledged so far
Every dollar helps but if you are not in a position to pledge then please spread the word if you dig the Daisies!
“Give that they may grow!”
Check out the project @
www.pozible.com/livingstonedaisies
Early feedback to the new album:
“I can’t believe they shelved such a cool record.”
~ Charles Jenkins
“In the same way that The Saints’ ‘Simple Love’ and Reigning Sound’s ‘Drowning’ can make you laugh, weep and dance in your sleep, the new offering from the Livingstone Daisies can fill your empty life with melodic muscle. So, if you need some hard hittin’ harmony in your head and your heart – lay your money down.”
~ Pat Monaghan – Basement Discs
“Huge & Heartfelt.”
~ Sherry Rich
“The powerpop attitude of The Replacements, Southern rock charm of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and the lyrical sensibility of Alex Chilton.”
~ Patrick Emery
The new Livingstone Daisies album is a cracker of a record! I loved the first album, but think this album is even stronger. The songs are more focussed, jangly in sound, and have great catchy choruses. A memorable release on the ever wonderful Popboomerang label.”
~ Neil Rogers – RRR
Dyson Stringer Cloher – More Tour Dates
One of my best live shows of the year in 2013 was Dyson Stringer Cloher at the Balnarring Community Hall in regional Victoria, Australia.
Now the Australian roots music “super group” are planning to go back on the road again in 2014. As well as Byron Bay’s Bluesfest, they’ll also be playing at Tank Arts in Cairns (Queensland) and the Gum Ball Festival in the Hunter Valley (New South Wales) this coming April.
Best Gigs of 2013
Was 2013 my best ever live music year?
A big call I know but let’s just go through it.
Today’s Top Tune – 19Dec13 – “Safety In Numbness”
Noted Melbourne players Van Walker, Liz Stringer, Cal Walker and Michael Barclay joined forces to form The Livingston Daisies.
The Livingston Daisies – Long May They Bloom
Livingstone Daisies have a pretty impressive line-up, well known to fans of discerning Australian roots and rock ‘n’ roll music – Van Walker (Vocals, Guitar), Liz Stringer (Vocals, Guitar), Michael Barclay (Vocals, Drums) and Cal Walker (Vocals, Bass).
With the release of their debut album Don’t Know What Happiness Is, The Daisies have crafted a record that is a joy to behold – jangly, melodic and thoughtful tunes – plenty of pop sensibility but with a good dose of Scotch and Coke. This offering is short (eight tracks) but immensely powerful and will make you want more.
I can’t wait to see The Livingston Daisies perform this material live. This album should not fly under the radar.
Here are some thoughts from lead singer/songwriter Van Walker.
I know very little about flowers but I read that Livingstone Daisies thrive in sunny, dry conditions, bloom for weeks and close at night and on cloudy days. Does this have anything at all to do with the band name?
Van: The band name came about because we wanted a decisively summer feel to the record. We recorded the album at a beach shack in summer, we wanted it to be released in summer, so though it was recorded last summer, we waited until this summer to release it. The flower only blooms in summer and, though most of us are night-owls, we thought it appropriate for our sound. The name also came from The Viz Profanisauras (an extremely funny collection of slang from the British comic, VIZ).
LIVINGSTONE DAISIES 1.n. Bot. Attractive flowers that come out when the sun shines. 2. n. attractive knockers that come out when the sun shines, causing taxi drivers to mount the pavement, milkmen to fall down manholes & straw-hatted vicars to ride their bicycles into fruit barrows.
So much has been achieved by the band members already, why form this combination at this time in your careers?
Van: It started as just a fun weekend away to record and make music among friends. The initial batch of songs were written by me, and the second batch were also penned by me. But the idea is anyone can write the songs if they wish, we were happy to go with the songs at hand. For busy musicians who are often touring the same material, it’s very welcome to try something different, and most artists generally are not one dimensional, there are always a lot of different sounds they’d like to explore, and old sounds they used to explore that they’d like to enjoy again. Most people become known for one style or genre but rarely is it the whole picture. We all get into many different styles, from rock’n’roll (The Swedish Magazines) Psyche (Go Go Sapien) Garage (Skywest & Crooked) roots & blues (Liz Stringer) folk-trad, pop-rock (Barclay in the Coloured Girls and Weddings, Parties, Anything) to my solo country finger-picking stuff.
How did the songs evolve and how were they progressed to finished product?
Van: The band evolved from a recording session the four of us did, a while back, at the beach shack, where we had fun with some pop rock sounds similar to that of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers and early 80’s Saints. The idea was to utilise the fact all four members were singers, so to get into building harmonies to these jangly pop songs. While we were doing this we realised we were all fans of the Scottish group, Teenage Fanclub. So over the next few months I wrote a bunch of songs more in this style, which ended up being Don’t Know What Happiness Is. If we ever release the first recording session it is more in the Heartbreakers/80’s Saint’s vein.
The vocals to me are beautifully understated but crucial to the album’s sound. How were the vocal tracks laid down?
Van: We recorded the album in four days. Each day we would record a few bed tracks, then of the evening we’d light the bbq and have a drink, and as we could hear the mixes coming from inside, we’d each work out harmonies and guitar parts and go inside and record them. So we built on the songs very naturally, having a good time, and just singing what we thought suited each track. We also avoided using headphones for recording the overdubs, which kept the takes live & loud.
An eight track album is shorter than average – presumably a decision to not compromise on the quality?
Van: We always planned to release the album on vinyl, so although we recorded about 14 songs, we wanted to keep it four tracks a side for optimum hi-fidelity.
On the opening track you talk about putting the bins out on Wednesdays – is that really your bin day?
Van: When I wrote the song our bins did go out on Wednesday. A friend of mine who kindly gives me topics to write songs about suggested the topic Wednesday (because it was a Wednesday when she suggested it) so I wrote the song. However, we moved house about a year ago, and now our bins go out on Sunday. And now I always forget!
Released on Popboomerang Records – http://www.popboomerang.com/bands.php?id=64&page=livingstone-daisies
The Livingston Daisies
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