victor wooten and australian nature

Only a few days left in Australia I decided to visit the ocean for the last time and spend a few days by myself in nature, peace and quietness; a bit like taking a deep breath before I jump into the liveliness of Sydney and then Amsterdam/Holland.

So within two hours north of Sydney I found myself at a beautiful beach and a countryside with lush green forests. After walking along the beach for a couple of hours I remembered that I had a book by Victor Wooten called “the music lesson”. I had bought it nearly two months ago when I was in Byron Bay. Although I’ve been reading quiet a lot the last few months, I somehow hadn’t felt like “reading” about music up to now. I started the book and time didn’t mater anymore. It felt like someone opening a curtain and leading you into a different world, that you (strangely enough) somehow recognize. This is the kind of book that after finishing it I want everyone I know to read it too!!!

Being surrounded by beautiful nature and reading these amazing things about music and spirituality is a truly unforgettable experience.

time to say “thank you” and “see ya”

Time has gone by so quickly and I can’t believe that it’s already time to start saying goodbye and especially “thank you!”.

I wanna say thank you to all of my friends who invited me to their houses, made me drink way to much and gave me the feeling of being welcome. Thank you for the the amazing conversations, for the laughter, for the tips that saved me a million detours, for coming to my gigs and for the sweet words afterwards, for the hugs, the enthousiasm and so much more that I can’t put into words…

…Kate for sharing the stage wih me and your magical instrument, for adding beautiful layers to my music and for looking after me so many times in so many ways. You’ve become a true friend. Russell from Songs Alive! for giving me so many great opportunities to perform my music, Laethe and Annie for giving me your housedoor keys and a room that I could always come back to and Annie for helping me getting organized, I would have lost the paper war without you and still wouldn’t have a piano and a car insurance … Brendon, Lia and Ariel for sharing your house so generously with me even though you didn’t know me, you do now and for all the laughter, the rap, the drinks and the fun; Coleby my brother you made me feel at home again, Bo for finding the best car in whole Australia for me! Rachel for just being you, Chang for the humor only a few people understand, Chook and Cherryl for a great xmas, the fantastic motorbike ride and your love, you’ll always be my second parents; Liam for so much, you are highly concentrated inspiration; Kirsty for sharing the stage with me and bringing so many friends to 303, making it one of the best concerts of the trip, Jesse from Tin Pan Orange for sending me the names of some gorgeous venues in Melbourne, Indigo for the cool interview and conversation, Lauren, Emily and Shannon, Jake for “manipulating” my iphone, Mick and Leah for being there, Phil and Julie for looking after me at Woodford, Neal and Marina, Rowena, Karla, Kate, Andrew, Louis, Andy, Jeremy for the violin, Jennifer for offering me your beautiful piano, Dan, Tye, Eli, Marika for an absolut amazing conversation, Chris from the Basement for a gorgeous sound, George for making the 303 gig unforgetable , Paul Mc Queen from SAA and the lovely ladies from Women up Front at Woodford.

THANK YOU!!!

last gigs in Australia

I will play my last two gigs together with Kate Adams at the Lansdowne Hotel on sunday the 7th of feb and monday the 8th of feb at Kelly’s on King in Sydney.

EP review

For all of you who speak dutch…, 3voor12 published a review of my EP.

This is the link.

Miriam on Tripple RRR

A few days ago I went to the radiostation Tripple RRR in Melbourne. I was interviewed and was asked to bring some of the music that influenced me and my songs.

Preparing the show was like making a “mix tape” for someone, which is always fun. You try to think which music the person you make the tape for loves and how the person goes “yeah, that’s the best song…oh, I love this song…that’s my absolut favourite…”. This time I could pick the artists and the songs that inspired me the most during the last months when I was lying in bed not being able to sleep or driving in my car for hours…Antony, NIN, Bon Iver, SIA, Conor Oberst and Cat Power…just to name a few.

The show will be broadcast on the 4th of february at 13.00 (european time) 3.00 (australian time).

This is the link to the stream.

http://www.rrr.org.au/programs/streaming/

time flies…faster than a plane

Today I realized that I have only 12 more days left in Australia and it’s unbelievable for me how fast the last three months went by! I don’t even wanna start thinking about how much I will miss this beautiful country and all the lovely people and friends I’ve met in the last couple of weeks…

So today was the last day of real travelling, I guess. My friends warned me how boring the road between Sydney and Melbourne is, but do you really mind looking at those gorgeous clouds for most of the trip ? I loved it.

Maybe its me, but I totally enjoy sitting in a big car by myself, listening to music and letting my thoughts come and go…

wall art

So I played my last concert in Melbourne last thursday. During the weekend I checked out some nice cafes and did some writing for new songs. I can’t wait to get behind my piano.

On my adventures through Melbourne’s streets I took some cool pics of graffiti, which is nearly everywhere…

303 and tripple RRR

So last night I played my last gig in melbourne at the 303. The sound was fantastic, thanks to George from Iceland.

I enjoyed the living room atmosphere of the venue and the very appreciative audience. Kirsty and Eva were amazing. I especially wanna thank Kirsty for inviting so many of her friends and organizing the things that have to be organized for a gig…

In an hour I will meet with Indigo who runs a show at the local radio station Tripple RRR. We will talk about my tour in Oz, play music of artists I like and some of my own songs. I put a link here of  Tripple RRR and the exact time when this will be broadcasted as soon as I know…

lady’s night at 303

This thursday I will be playing a gig together with Eva Popov and Koto, two female songwriters from Melbourne at the little place I was talking about earlier in my blog, the 303.
Koto (Kirsty Morphett) and I will be performing some of our songs together, which I’m really looking forward to.
Kirsty makes beautiful songs and she really got me working to figure out her vocal arrangements…
I put the links of the two ladies music here:
Koto

Eva Popov

A sunday afternoon at Pure Pop Records

Today I played a set in the courtyard of Pure Pop Records. It’s a little record shop in St Kilda.

If you walk through the store you get to the back, where you find a little bar and a small stage. People were friendly, open and you could easily pick up a nice conversation with the person next to you, wether it was the woman who was going to see the daughter of a friend perform, the french man who told me the beautiful story about how his grandfather learned to play the violin or the bartender who is also a drummer who will move to New York soon.

My music was appreciated and I felt very welcome. Thank you very much for a great afternoon! Places like this are true gems for a creative underground music scene.

I took a photo while being on stage during the soundcheck…