1st March, 2008

Well folks, it's your friendly Audreys guitarist Tristan here and this'll be the last post for this blog.

Yes, album number two is in the can! Now of course I can't give too much away - but I can tell you it's called When The Flood Comes and we're all really proud of it. It's been an amazing trip this last six months or so since Taasha and I bunked down at the Chelsea Hotel in New York to write some songs. Our fantastic producer Shane O'Mara has steered us through the sometimes choppy "difficult second album" waters and now we're gearing up to hit the road!

Big thanks to everyone who helped along the way, especially the lovely guest musicians who added so much...we love you all.

See you at the bar xxx

29th December, 2007

I have to say I have a bit of a home ground advantage on this upcoming album being a Yarraville local and only living 2 mins from the studio…thanks guys. I think my greatest input so far has been pointing the band to the finest drinking holes Yarraville has to offer.
We’re on a short recording break due to being rudely interrupted by trivial events such as Christmas (never heard of it) and the like but will be back in the studio early Jan. All the instrumental tracks are pretty much done now and as soon as Taash lays her magic on the top it’s time to mix this fragile beast and hit the road again…can’t wait!!!
Toby

I blew the old cobwebs off my first bass drum that I had at 15 years of age by request from
Shane after hearing it on the album demos. At first I thought he’d lost it until he chucked
a mic in front of it…damn sweet.

Taash and I rocking the Guiro and Uke (respectively). She made me wear the shirt,
but I drew the line at showing gut, for those familiar with the famous 'More Cowbell' scene.

16th December, 2007

Hi folks, it's Tristan here, your friendly banjoist (ed. is that a word?). While we're all deep in the studio I thought I'd take a moment to surface briefly and show you all how this album began. When Taasha and I cleared The Audreys decks after our "Sheets to the Wind" tour a few short months ago and sat down to start writing we quickly discovered that daily life at home is not conducive to penning follow-up records. Too many interruptions! So despite the genteel and serene nature of our Adelaide Hills abode we checked the cat into our local cattery and took off for that sparkling jewel in every songwriter's eye.....New York City. So here it is in four easy steps, my guide to writing an album in New York.

Step One: Check into the Chelsea Hotel
Hey it worked for Bob Dylan, Jimi & Janis, Leonard Cohen and countless others (ed. though not so well for Sid Vicious what with Nancy showing up dead in the bathtub). This trashed-out dump and sometime home to countless writers and artists for a hundred years is cheap and the staff ask no questions - perfect! A couple of weeks within the confines of these hallowed halls should get us off to a good start.

Step Two: Buy a Guitar!
Well you need something to write on and dragging a piano up seven flights of stairs in the middle of summer just doesn't appeal. After much browsing, ogling and ooh-ahing at vintage guitar shops across the city we settled on this here little gem.

Step Three: Get some perspective
Well this is maybe a little too much perspective, but Taasha and I found that locating a friendly bartender who makes great martinis is the perfect way to get just the right amount. Really gets the old creative juices flowing.

Step Four: When in doubt, head to Nashville
It doesn't hurt when you've been hard at work in a tiny hotel room (the odd excursion to the top of some really tall buildings aside) to go and see your musical heroes play. A side trip to Nashville was in order. We rocked in and checked out the sights, like the awe-inspiring Grand Ole Opry and the Country Music Hall of Fame, then saw the gorgeous Gillian Welch and David Rawlings play to a packed house. "Best Gig EVER" declared a swooning Taash. A couple more nights spent at the boozy honky-tonk joints where live music flows continuously from mid-morning 'til way past midnight and we had just about all the inspiration we needed. Let's hope it translates into the studio.....

That's a wrap my friends. You've had my step-by-step guide to writing an album in New York and now I must get back to recording one in Melbourne.

xxx Tristan

8th December, 2007

Back in the studio again after a week of refreshing down time and despite being in the same small space tripping over each other, morale is good! It is certainly difficult to feel too bad when you are flanked by so many beautiful vintage instruments.
… and with these instruments (and people) we have broken the back of an album’s worth of new tracks PLUS extra special tracks (covers, alternate versions) that audreys completists will be forced to track down.
What can you expect from the new record? Well that would be telling. But you can expect some echoes of the first record, (intimate skeletal ballads, stompin beats, innovative post modern banjo) with some new flavours (spirituals, dirty surf drums, “Bad Seeds” vibes)
But it looks like the Fleetwood Mac stylings present on some of the demos have been filtered out. Sorry, we just couldn't get that one past the committee.
Lyndon

Shane O’Mara, our man at the controls

Yours truly, kicking it out

5th December, 2007

Sixty-something delicatessen sandwiches, less than 3 hours of direct exposure to sunlight and just one and a half bottles of duty free whisky (what restraint!). Despite the hayfever-inducing clouds of couch grass on the hot Melbourne afternoon breeze, the first stage of recording is complete.

Shane O'Mara's suburban studio 'Yikesville' is small in stature but big in eclectic charm and sexy vintage equipment, as you can see below. Once inside, it's a bit like being onboard a gypsy caravan, running musical treasures between the country abodes of Nick Cave and Tom Waits (or maybe I just need to upgrade to a better quality duty-free liquor, and get some fresh air).

Hope you enjoy the pictures, Mikey

30th November, 2007

Hi, welcome to our special album news page, where you can keep track of how work is progressing
on the follow up to our 2006 album Between Last Night and Us.

Here are some pics taken in our rehearsal studio in the Adelaide Hills in October & November, where the new songs were worked up ready to go into the studio. You'll just have to imagine the very bucolic view from our studio. It's all cow paddocks and vineyards out there, just lovely.

Here you can see me playing Tristan's new tenor guitar, bought on a recent trip to Nashville.
In the background is our very retro fridge "Leonard" which keeps our beer almost too cold,
if that's possible.

This is the only shot of the whole band. It must have been taken by our manager Stu,
no doubt while he was enjoying one of our super cold beers.

Mikey on the lap steel, awaiting further instructions...

Ok, so we really have started, ok? Stay tuned for studio pics and gossip. I'll leave that to the boys, they love a bit of gossip.

Taasha xx

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