Now back home

We’re back now in Oz...sort of recovering...straight off the plane and back to work so I thought I’d write my final episode of our little tour...

Tracks of the Civil War

Jake and I left Nicki in Nashville and arrived at Shreveport to visit Karen’s parents.  While we were there we decided to visit the site of the Battle of Mansfield (or Sabine Crossroads for you Southerners).  It was the place where the Confederates successfully repulsed a Union invasion up the Red River in an attempt to capture Shreveport in 1864.  It was one of the larger battles in the Trans-Mississippi but relatively small compared to the Battles in the West (between Appalachians and Mississippi) and in the East (where Lee, Jackson and Longstreet gave the Yankees one or two hidings).  It’s a got a great little museum there where they even let us handle some of the weapons of the period.  The curators there are very knowledgeable and enthusiastic.  Here are a couple of sites that tell you more about it... http://www.mansfieldbattlefield.org/state.asp and http://www.civilwarhome.com/redriver.htm.  The site is only about 50 miles south of Karen’s parents’ place in Blanchard, La (just northwest of Shreveport).

On Thursday morning (10^th July) Jake and I said farewell to my in-laws and hit the road for Nashville – which turned into the longest day of this trip!  We decided to go through Vicksburg and visit that battlefield.  Vicksburg was one of the two major battles that turned the tide for the North (the other being Gettysburg).  Lee lost at Gettysburg the same time that Pemberton surrendered to Grant at Vicksburg.  It’s a great site to visit as it was a siege battle so there are still plenty of siege works and fortifications.  Here’s the National Park Site:  http://www.nps.gov/archive/vick/home.htm.  We got there about 9 am intending to stay for an hour...but ended up staying almost 3 thus throwing out our calculations to get to Nashville.  One of the highlights of the battlefield was the USS Cairo...a union ironclad that was sunk but Confederate torpedoes (now called mines).  It was sunk by a couple of anonymous Confederate soldiers using an electrical charge...the first warship in history sunk by such a weapon.  The ship has been raised and made a museum – really interesting.  By this time Jake has become a real Civil War buff (having visited four museums and two battlefields) so we bought a great book “Dummies Guide to the Civil War.”

Busiest Day of the Trip

We drove back up to Nashville...this put us about three hours late in meeting with Nicki but she put the time to good use by getting herself invited to a formal French wine-tasting night (I know – it’s a talent). We hit Nashville at about 7.30pm – in time to meet up again with Rick Caballo (Aussie living in Nashville) for a drink and a chat.  Nicki showed up a bit later but we went straight over to the Hall of Fame Bar where Marlon Dean (Janine LeClaire’s significant other, Nashville based songwriter)had a gig.  We went along – but the guitarist in the band didn’t show up...so I got up with guitar and harmonica...accidently playing my first Nashville gig...!

After all of that it was about 11pm and we were nowhere near Bardstown, Kentucky...we hit the road again for up north arriving in Bardstown about 2am.

Xaviers and the Backstage Cafe

Now our trip has become a blur.  Nicki’s brother-in-law is in the RAAF and is stationed in Dayton, Ohio.  He and his family (Rachael, Shannon-Lee and Tara) made their way down on Friday and camped in our apartment for the night.  It was great to catch up with them again...Shannon Lee (15), Tara (13) and my Jake (15) worked the gig at Xavier’s that night...they did the door, flogged CD’s and sold raffle tickets.  Quite an experience for them.  Great night for us too!  Pauly Zarb is a remarkable entertainer and Chris Bradley played guitar and did a few of his own songs...great singer and guitarist. 

Saturday morning we had breakfast with Don, Rachael, Shannon-Lee and Tara and they headed back up north...before we headed out west to do our final gig at the Backstage Cafe.  Great, small, intimate gig – where we did our final show.  However...this is where Jake accidently left the AC adaptor for our video camera...so the photos and clips are still stuck on our camera...we’ll get some photos up as soon as we locate another adaptor!  I told Jake – welcome to the music world – I don’t know how many guitar stands, music stands, mike stands and leads I’ve left at venues!!  Carla and Bruce run a great little original music venue.  We could ONLY play originals because the ASCAP Nazis have been busting music joints that don’t pay their annual license fees...which are far too high for little cafes like the Backstage to pay!

Sunny California

One more late night and early morning – we stopped to say goodbye to Pauly at 7am...then off to Lexington for our flight to Chicago and L.A.  My sister met us at the airport and she took us to her place at Palmdale – just to the east of the San Andreas fault...she told her husband that she wanted to live east of the fault in the event that the BIG earthquake drops California into the ocean they’d have oceanfront property...so that’s what they did.  My sister and her husband have 3 kids (Katarina 10, William 8 and Amanda 2).  This is the first time I’ve seen my little niece.  She became Nicki’s shadow while we were there (or “Miss Nicki” as they were told to call her....my sister is still VERY Southern so she still enforces those good manners).  The first day there Nicki and I both had about 4 naps – in and out of consciousness...Jake played Wii and Xbox with his cousins.

Wii!

As mentioned in Episodes I and II – Jake has continued to talk about our lack of fitness...and to his credit he continued to exercise...trying in vain to interest us!  My sister has Wii-fit so Jake was eager to get on that.  To start off with he had to do a profile...they do his BMI and do a coupled of balance tests and then determine his “Wii-fit” age...which was 29 for him!!!  We found this hilarious of course so he issued the challenge for his ‘OLD MAN’ to get up there...I came out with a Wii-fit age of 28!  Nicki had her turn and came up with 27.  Poor guy!  (however...it is a balance test...when you’re 15 you’re still not all balanced up!!!).  So Jake kept busy during the day getting his Wii-fit age down to 17!

Back home...

After a couple of days of much needed rest and excellent South Louisiana home cooking transplanted to California (thanks to my sister!) we said our sad farewells (especially as we became particularly attached to the kids).  Big thanks to Billy, Laura and the family – it was a perfect way to end the trip.

Our flight was meant to leave at 10.37pm – but we were on the tarmac for 3 hours while they sorted out some communication equipment problem – so our 14 hour flight became a 17 hour trip!

Sydney was cold and full of pilgrims for the pope...but we’re really happy to be home.

Should have some photos up soon – as soon as we have an adaptor!  Thanks to all of those looking after us – I hope I’ve mentioned everyone.  It was an amazing experience!

OK…first computer since we left the US on Friday (now at my mum’s house in South Louisiana). 

 

Karen dropped Nicki, Jake (my 15 year old son – now employed as a video cameraman,  merch dude and personal trainer for slave wages on this tour) and me on Friday morning.  We had the surreal familiar Australian experience of travelling non-stop for 30+ hours eating bleah food and arriving in the US on the same day you left.  After 3 plane rides + and a 1 hour drive we finally ended up in beautiful Bardstown, Kentucky just before midnight.  (The plane rides – zero legroom on the long haul (thanks for nothing United!) – then we get on a smaller plane on the LA – Chicago leg (I can’t remember what kind of plane…Airbutt 380 or some such) but with more legroom than the transbigditch flight!  The last and shortest leg on some little jet holding about 50 people had the most legroom – go figure).

 

We were meant to stay at Pauly Zarb’s (http://www.paulyzarb.com/) but by the time we got to Bardstown there were no lights on in the house so we woke up a very sleepy and grumpy Indian dude at the local motel and checked in.  However- we worked very hard to get there so we thought we’d go to Wal-Mart (open 24 hours – talk about late night shopping!) and buy a celebratory six-pack!  Wal-Mart may be open 24 hours but you can’t buy beer between midnight and 6am in Kentucky…DANG! DANG! DANG!

 

So – off to sleep and up early the next day – we got ready to go to Pauly’s for rehearsal – 3 of us in the same motel room – half zonked – with Nicki and I avoiding as much as possible Jake’s instructions for us to be do some pushups.

 

We had a great rehearsal that morning – and a beautiful country breakfast at a local café.  The whole town was buzzing with excitement.  Pauly’s band was awesome that morning in rehearsal – even though we weren’t.  Pauly and his wife Claire put us all up in an apartment right in the historic part of Bardstown overlooking the main street.

 

The street concert started about 6pm.  We had a last minute run-thru with the dobro player Matt DeSpain as he had been travelling with the rehearsal.  I was telling him about Karen’s love of bluegrass and how she’s started her own bluegrass band.  He told me he started out playing bluegrass with the Osbourne brothers (one of Karen’s favourites).  He said he was now playing with ‘a fellow named Charlie Sizemore’.  Nicki and I looked at each other and yelled – ‘you’re kidding’.  As you know – if you follow the blog we are huge Charlie Sizemore fans (see album review below).  Matt had read the blog and told Charlie about it.  He was spinning out because he met the people from the story!  Cracked him up…now it gets better – he told us he played dobro on the album, did all the tenor harmonies on the album and did the lead vocal on the track “Hey Moon” from that album.  We were really spinning now…I told him that I sing a couple of tracks from the album in Karen’s bluegrass band…then – instead of running through material for the gig like we’re supposed to he said – let me hear you…so Nicki and I did “Devil’s Plow” and “Blame it on Vern” with Matt DeSpain singing harmonies and playing just like the album.  What a moment!

 

Anyway – the gig went off…the crowd was loud and rockin’ – Nicki was at the sales table for ages.  Pauly’s band was tight as.  A highlight for me was my cousin Kathy and her husband Ray and daughter Cory (about Jake’s age) came all the way over for Paris, Kentucky to see the gig…they were standing right in front of us – and it was a weird moment for both of us.  Although we’ve known each other all our lives (she’s about a year older than me) – she didn’t really know I was a musician – because I had a late start in Australia.  This was my first gig in the US – so she’s spinning that her cousin’s on stage and I’m spinning my cousin is watching…weird feeling – because the context of our relationship changed so much.  The other talent at the festival was amazing…too much to tell about.

 

After the show was over we went back to the apartment – about 1am.  We realized we still needed a fan (air condition is installed this week) so we made a list of other things we needed and headed off to Wal-Mart for another late night shop.  Jake and I got all the items on the list together…we lost Nicki in ladies’ shoes.  So for the second night in a row we end up in Wal-Mart – got home about 3am.  It was really too late for a fitness training from Jake that night – what a shame.

 

Next morning we get up early – to go to Kathy and Ray’s for lunch.  They leave about 2 hours east of Bardstown and we were trying to make it to church for 10am with them and then go to their house.  We got a late start and were really late for church…Waffle House was open however so we stopped there (which gave an idea for a song…”I met Jesus in a Waffle House” – whatever.)  Turns out we were a lot closer to church than we thought – we wouldn’t have been THAT late…anyway – that gave us another song idea that I forgot now. 

 

We had a great afternoon with Kathy and Ray – bbq at their place…beautiful 5 acre plot in the country about 8 miles east of Paris, KY.  Jake and Cory pulled a trampoline up to the edge of their above ground swimming pool and would use the trampoline as a diving board.  Nicki – being a mum – couldn’t watch – she was sure they’d kill themselves.  Kathy, however, is calm as anything.  She’s worked as a nurse in pediatric intensive care for 25 years and still loves it – she’s got the right personality for her job!  We left their place for Bardstown about 5 that afternoon.  It was a real thrill to spend time with them.  Jake starts talking to us about how we should go for a run when we get back to stay fit.  We decide he can do so…we’d stay at the flat. 

 

So we get back – Jake takes off and we go to Pauly’s for a bit.  After we get back to the flat we get a phone call from Jake saying he ran to Wal-Mart and maybe we could pick him up.  We decide he can make his own way back…Nicki also decides to do some pushups while Jake’s on the phone with me…she managed four which consisted of ‘pushup – giggle – drop – laugh’ – then her yelling to Jake while I’m on the phone “I’m doing pushups!”

 

We managed to wean ourselves off Wal-Mart for that night – first sleep through.  We got up early Monday to go to Nashville (too late to exercise).  We dropped off Nicki at 9am and headed down with Jake to my school friend Suzy Gillis (what is it about these Gillis girls?).  She’s married with two kids the same age as Nicki’s kids.  We lost touch when she moved to Huntsville, Alabama when we were 15.  We only caught up in 2003 when the four of us went to their place as we travelled from Nashville to Slidell (my hometown outside of New Orleans).  Suzy and her husband Brad made a beautiful lunch for us  - blackened speckled trout, veggie kabobs, rice, salad and homemade ice cream.  We ended up leaving about 3pm – with a 7 hour drive ahead of us.

 

Jake and I made our way back to my home – it took longer than I thought because I dropped my glasses at a petrol station and didn’t realize it till the next stop!  Fortunately – someone was looking out for us (Waffle House?) and the glasses were still in the carpark of the petrol station – no one ran over them – which means I can see to write this blog. 

Ended up here about 11pm and my brother flew in from Arizona just about a ½ hour later.  We stayed up late talking with my mum and brother – we haven’t seen each other in 5 years so we’re all excited as you can imagine. 

 

It’s my first trip home since Katrina…even in the dark I could tell a lot has changed.  There’s a lot less trees around than there used to be.  I’ll get a better lookaround today – right after training with Jake…

Ex-mascot discovers whole new world

New land, new love penetrates his heart

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

By Tara McLellan

A former Slidell native used to perform as Mike the Tiger, the mascot of Slidell High, but by following his heart for ministry which sent him halfway across the world, he stumbled upon music which became his passion.

According to Bryen Willems, living in Australia permanently wasn't part of his original plan.

"I went to LSU and was involved in a church in Baton Rouge. The church had an association with a church in Sydney that had a minister training program. I studied accounting at LSU but had an ambition to go into the full-time ministry," Willems said.

In 1985, Willems moved to Sydney to do an internship with a church there. He and his wife fell in love with the country and have been there ever since, he said.

Although ministry and accounting are what Willems initially pursued, he later uncovered a gift that came straight from his heart: Music.

"I got into music rather late in life. I didn't play in my first band 'til I was in my early 30's, but it's now my passion," Willems said.

When asked to describe his music, Willems refers to his many influences and advises people to take a listen rather than rely on his description.

"It's a bit of an older sound. I probably sound most like Dale Watson, as far as current artists go. My music is kind of a blend of Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash and Tony Joe White," he said.

Willems still has family in Slidell. His mother still lives in the house he grew up in, he said.

And, although he is hundreds of miles away, he still misses many things about his hometown and state. His list of favorites even reads like one of his songs. "Here's what I miss . . . throwing my pirogue in the back of the station wagon and going to Salt Bayou to do some fishing . . . getting the boat on Saturday morning with my dad and brother and going out on Lake Pontchartrain to fish. During the summers, when it got too hot to fish, we'd put on the water skis. I miss shrimp po-boys and Barq's root beer," he said. "I miss sitting in the woods under a tree at the crack of dawn up at Pearl River turnaround during squirrel season. I miss the Friday night football games at Slidell High. I miss baseball season. I miss my friends from Slidell Junior High and Slidell High School. I miss the Slidell Mardi Gras parades."

One of Willems' favorite memories from his old high school days might be his role as school mascot.

"I was Mike the Tiger at Slidell High. It started as a bit of a joke. My friend, Claude Songy, talked me into auditioning with him. He and I were chosen as the mascot. He was the 'first string,' and I was the alternate," he said.

"For some reason that I can't remember, he couldn't do it anymore so I was the mascot that year. It was lots of fun because I was good friends with all the cheerleaders. So, naturally, I'd mimic their cheers right behind them when they weren't looking. They'd get cranky, turn around and hit me. The crowd loved it. The kids also loved the mascot, pulling the tail and such," he said, adding, "That suit was hot, though."

To order Willems' CDs, visit http://cdbaby.com/cd/bryenwillems or check out the links on www.bryenwillems.com/audio.html.

Published on NOLA.com Wednesday, May 14, 2008 2:18 p.m.

Published in The Times-Picayune Thursday, May 15, 2008

 

http://www.nola.com/timespic/stories/index.ssf?/base/library-147/1210794708292090.xml&coll=1

What a weekend...!  Ted Simpson and Steve Shepherd (Tall Timbre) put together a little tour that Nicki Gillis and I joined in on.  I took Friday off work and rode up with John Lee.  The first stop was for a gig Friday night at Bokhara Hutz Farmstay about 35km north of Brewarrina.  We played there last September and we had just as much fun again this year.  The band was made up of Damien Odell (pedal steel), John Lee (fiddle), Daniel Odell (lead guitar), Steve Shepherd on bass, Dave Roberts on drums and I played acoustic guitar.  We got there and set up on the back of the truck – finishing about sundown.  Cars started to arrive from all over the countryside.  There was a bbq, bar open, big open fires (as it gets a bit chilly there at night).  We did three sets finishing just after midnight – Nicki Gillis, Ted Simpson, Daniel Odell and myself all traded songs through the night.  It was great to catch up with folks there like Matthew Slacksmith (who is also the mayor of Brewarrina!), who’s a huge country fan.  The door prize was a guitar signed by Montgomery Gentry that he owned (before Friday that is...).  I offered to sign it too...he said to wait to see if the winner wanted it signed by me...hmm...I guess I know where I stand!

After the show we packed away all the P.A. and gear – the band all went to bed (as we had to be up early for the trip to Cunamulla) – but there were a whole lot of Waylon and Haggard fans there – so I promised a few songs after we finished packing.  I pulled the guitar out and sat on a table...they all gathered around and we went through a catalogue of Waylon and Hag songs...I wasn’t really singing for them – they knew all the words – especially Graham and Kathy the owners of Bokhara Hutz.  We finished up eventually...I don’t know what time I went to bed...best not to know really.

It’s a great little place to holiday – accommodation was modern and clean.  Check them out at http://www.bokharaplains.com/ .  You can ring them at 02 6874 4921.  They do some really interesting and innovative ecologically sensitive farming there.  

The next morning we were up early for the drive across the Queensland border to Cunnamulla...then a right turn to Nardoo Station.  Carmel and Dave were hosting the inaugural Music in the Mulga Country Music Festival.  It’s exciting to be at an inaugural festival.  It was located at a huge paddock – I think in about 10 years there’ll be 30,000 people there!  It was one of the best organised festivals I’d ever been to.  It was another farmstay location with nice accommodation complete with natural hot artesian spa.

The festival itself had a great lineup of country talent – some of whom I’d never heard.  The show opened with Adam Kilpatrick, followed by Nellie Donavan, the Chitlin’ Brothers, myself, Kellie Cain, Amos Morris, Tall Timbre, Nicki Gillis, Mick Lindsay and Phil Knight closed out the show with some hard rockin’ blues.  It was the first time I’d seen Adam, Kellie, Mick or Nellie perform.  They all did great shows – but the highlight for me was probably Kellie Cain – a Hunter Valley native who picked amazing material to cover as well as some good originals.

We were the backing band – first time I played a twelve hour gig.  Unfortunately Steve Shepherd got called back to work early so I moved from acoustic to fill in on bass.  We backed almost every artist which means we played almost 11 hours with few breaks – needless to say we were sounding really tight as the night went on!  (I finally figured out where all the frets on my bass were).  Unfortunately we were there only one day...the festival started on Thursday and went through Sunday with walk up concerts, Bush Poetry and comedy with Chris Overton, John Roberts and Paddy and Glori O’Brien.

Nardoo Station is another great holiday spot...check them out at   http://www.nardoo.com.au/ or ring Carmel and Dave at 07 4655 4833.  Contact them about next year’s festival.  The weather is beautiful out there that time of year.

Sunday morning we were up early for the all-day drive back to Sydney – made it home by about 9pm – complete with dust from Brewarrina-Cunnamulla.  Now THAT’s a long weekend!

This is just a wrap up of all that’s gone on in my immediate music world.  It was an eventful year – if for no other reason than my launch into the world of being a recording artist.  There were a number of other music milestones in the year as well. 

 

The year started with the launch of my album at January’s Canterbury Country with Nicki Gillis hosting the show and Travis List as a special guest.  Having Nicki involved with hosting was a big treat as she helped with the vocal production, sang backing vocals and did a duet with me on the album.  Gary Brown and Les Scott also played in the backing band on the night.  They co-produced my album and played guitar, dobro and lap steel on the album.

 

We were then off to Tamworth where Nicki and I held a joint CD launch at the Regent Theatre for our new albums with Rose Carleo as guest.  Tamworth was great fun with the first year of “Margaritaville” – the house shared by Tall Timbre band + spouses + friends and myself.  It was barbeques every night by the pool.  I did a number of showcase spots in Tamworth (with Mark Kirk, Steve Shepherd, Dave Hibbert, Gary Brown and John Lee) at various times supporting me.  I also performed as a band member in Nicki’s band for her gigs and played guitar and provided backing vocals for Tall Timbre in their many gigs.

 

We were back in action in Sydney after Tamworth and we had our first Boogie Boys gig at the Cooks River Motorboat Club with Gary Brown, Les Scott, Mark Kirk and Greg McGrath.  It was a real treat to do our first gig there and the end of the night for the last song we had Mary Heard and Mary Anne Burton get on stage and sing backing vocals for “Just a Closer Walk With Thee” to finish the night.  My first review (in Cap News) had just come out – Gary and Les were thrilled to read it the favourable review for our work.

 

Tragically – that was the last gig we did with Les.  Just a couple of days later he suffered a heart attack and died.  We were all shocked of course and we still miss him deeply.  He was only 51.  I’m just glad that he got to see the result of his work and I know he’d be proud of how his friends that he’s helped inspire in music are still continuing to carry on his vision.  I remember one of his last remarks to me.  I had thanked him for the millionth time for all the effort he put into my album and his reply was “if we don’t help each other out we won’t get anything done.” – a most fitting epithet for Les’s life.  We attended the funeral later that week but we had a memorial jam at the Cooks River Motorboat Club on the last Sunday in February.  This is now a tradition with the second one coming up shortly.  We use the opportunity to raise money for the heart foundation. 

 

Back to the album.  Fortunately the album seemed to resonate with a lot of country presenters all over Australia.  It’s really is a “country” album…almost too country for country and it wasn’t appropriate for some programming but overall there was good response and favourable reviews (in addition to Cap News) Country Update, Rhythms Magazine, Hotsource, Bundaberg Guardian and MusicAustraliaGuide (JB Hi-Fi) magazine. 

 

A big, and important, milestone was for the album to be picked up for distribution by The Planet Company (www.theplanetcompany.com) This is a division of MGM that specializes in niche artists of all genres.  I was their first Australian country artist and am distributed alongside the likes of Dale Watson and Charlie Louvin. 

 

We also released a couple of singles from the album during the year “Honky Tonk Song” and “Deep Down I’m Shallow”…the first one almost charted but not quite!  We plan to release another couple next year and a video clip (maybe 2) next year as well.

 

I had a couple of festival appearances…my first at Central Coast Country Music Festival and then followed on by the always fun Port Stephens Festival…right in the middle of cyclone like storm conditions!

 

We did a couple of mini-tours…we triple billed a show - Tall Timbre, Nicki Gillis and me and took it out to Cobar, Bourke and Brewarrina in September.  Big thanks to Big Ted from Tall Timbre for organizing the tour.  He seems to have a knack for organizing these adventures!  A month later Mark Kirk and I went down to Melbourne where we did a show on the Thursday night at the Lomond Hotel followed by a double billed show with Nicki (who flew down on Friday) at the Pascoe Vale Country Music Guild (in both places we were backed three great Melbourne Musos!)  followed with a drive back up north to Queanbeyan where I opened the show for Nicki with an acoustic set and Nicki rocked out with the band for two more sets.  I hope to make a couple of more trips to Victoria in the coming year.

 

There were a couple of international songwriter finalist spots in there as well.  My first single “Honky-Tonk Song” was one of the top five finalists in the Independent Music Awards (http://www.musiciansatlas.com/pages/IMAFinalist/Default.aspx?yr=2008&catid=4#4)

And my second single “Deep Down I’m Shallow” was one of the top 20 finalists for the country section in the Unisong International Songwriting Competition.  (http://www.unisong.com/Winners11.aspx).  I’m also a finalist in the Peoples’ Choice Awards for Best Male Vocalist and “Future Star”.  I hope the “Future Star” comes along soon because I’m getting close to the magic half century and there’s not a lot of time for “Future” anything…I might have to shift into high gear.

 

There were also some major highlights for my partners in musical crime.  Nicki Gillis has gone from an ‘up and coming’ artist to an ‘established’ artist over the course of the year with her album that was released in December 2006.  She’s released two singles from the album that both went to no. 7 on the national country radio charts.  Her gigs have gone from mostly ‘acoustic’ lineups to ‘band’ gigs.  Her festival schedule keeps getting busier…with Central Coast Country Music Festival, Port Stephens festival, Gympie Muster, Broken Hill, Galston Country Music Festival, Mildura…she’s become quite an in demand performer.  She’s won the Coopers Golden Saddle Award and is a finalist in a number of other awards – including a finalist spot in the Peoples’ Choice Awards for Best Female Vocal.  No surprises there.  Her album has done great things for her and she’ll put this momentum to good work in the coming year.

 

Tall Timbre have worked up their second album this year.  It’s now out with the second single just released.  The album was launched in October.  They’ll be doing more touring and I look forward to sharing the bill on more shows with them.  As a lot of you know I played as part of the band for the last few years but I’m now no longer a ‘regular’ member.  It’s part of the natural progression as I’m busy working my music now – it’s hard to be a committed band member so Ted had to get a more reliable band member!  Tall Timbre has, however, picked up a couple of new players in Damien Odell (pedal steel, acoustic guitar, vocals) and Daniel Odell (acoustic, electric guitar, piano, vocals) that add great depth and vocal variety to the show.  I still enjoy doing as many shows with them as I can.  Tall Timbre gigs are an eclectic mix across the whole spectrum of country music and are always entertaining – mainly because the band is having so much fun – and it’s not everyday you get to see a Yowie (Big Ted) who can REALLY sing!  There must be something to it.  The band is a finalist for Most Popular Country Band in the People’s Choice Awards. 

 

There were some other notable mentions during the year.  Our friend Jayne Denham came out of literally “nowhere” in the country music world to put out a notable first rockin’ country chick album with her hot single and video “Chick Ute’.  She’s a great performer on stage and has put together a hot little band with her.  Nicki and I were fortunate to be a part of her launch and be involved in helping make a splash.  She did some great shows in Gympie and has a few late night shows lined up in Tamworth this year.

 

Mark Lucas and the Deadsetters have just released their new album as well.  It’s another great album put out by one of the best songwriters around.  I think they’re starting to get some well-deserved recognition as they’ve slowly built their following.  They’ve consistently put out great music and are one of the best live bands every year in Tamworth.  

 

Another friend and Queenslander (transplanted Western Australian) Rose Carleo put out her first album this year.  It’s a mix of blues/rock/country all featuring her amazing voice.  For those that aren’t aware, Nicki and Rose used to sing in a trio together (with Nicki’s mum) in Perth.  They sound amazing singing together and it’s fantastic to see their success.

 

Closer to Sydney, there are some other notable country music happenings include The Cooks River Motorboat Club’s continued support of Country Music.  Dave and Vicki Hibbert have worked tirelessly in running the Sunday country shows and the occasional Saturday night paid show.  The club is now increasing their support for country music by putting Friday shows back on the mix and introducing Thursday night country jam nights.  This all begins in 2008.  Stay tuned for details.

 

Cletis Carr has continued his weekly shows of musical mayhem at The Bald Rock Hotel in Balmain.  The shows are an eclectic mix of artists from rock, folk, blues and country backgrounds.  Each show is opened by the always entertaining Cletis with a solo spot. 

 

Canterbury Country at Canterbury Hurlstone Park RSL is entering its 8^th year with Bob Howe and the Hillbilly Heaven Band.  Bob’s the ideal host and this year Nicki Gillis co-hosts the show with him every month.

 

Country radio in the Sydney area has powered on with the likes of 2MCR, 2GLF and 2RRR and Radio Northern Beaches all devoting a large part of their programming to country.  Barbara Morison has continued on her famous show on 2SER on Saturday mornings.  “Good Morning Country” is still broadcast and is syndicated nationally through local community radio stations.  The importance of these community radio stations and programming to the country community is not to be underestimated!  They literally are the lifeblood of country music – both for major label artists and independent artists!

 

We look forward to another busy year as we work the album – releasing a few more singles and hustling up some more gigs.  Make sure you get along to one or three gigs and meet the band.  We’ll start the pre-production and writing for the next album this year as well…so that we have the next one out in 2009.

 

Take care

 

Bryen 

Bryen Willems

Too Cold At Home

Leap/Planet

*****

In a country music scene where authenticity is gauged by how strine your vowels can get, Bryen Willems is the real deal.  He is transplanted to Australia from Louisiana, which only goes part of the way to explaining the immediate charm, impact and realness of Too Cold At Home.  The real kicker is Willems’ voice – a shivering, righteous baritone so crunchy it makes Dale Watson sound like Charlie Louvin.  The arrangements and production, courtesy of the late, great Les Scott and Gary Brown, sizzle like a juke joint barbeque.  Bryen Willems is my new country music hero, just as he should be yours.

 

Jason Walker

MusicAustraliaGuide

October 2007

http://www.musicaustraliaguide.com/mag.php?page=80

COUNTRY UPDATE – 2007

REVIEWS

Bryen Willems

Too Cold At Home

Leap Records

 

Too Cold At Home is Bryen Willems debut album, but it feels like an old comfy pair of slippers. Willems’ has chosen some often unfamiliar, but superb songs, to stand alongside his own original compositions. I love the bluesy ’11 Months and 29 Days’ written by the great Johnny Paycheck, and the pedal steel intro and traditional country sound on ‘Too Cold At home’. The lovely “old-timey” song by Roy Acuff called ‘As Long As I Live’ features some delightful mandolin alongside the haunting vocals of Nicki Gillis. There is a wealth of influences to this album, including Cash, Haggard, Miller and even Elvis… I can clearly imagine shaking legs and curled lips when I listen to ‘Another Day, Another Dollar’. Willems has a wicked sense of humour that makes Redneck sound appealing on ‘Deep Down I’m Shallow’, while he takes a sarcastic dig at homogenized “country” on ‘Honky-Tonk Song’. The barroom analysis on ‘Beer & Lipstick’ doesn’t pretend to be anything other than what it is, but the engaging ‘Baby Are You Runnin’ uses intricate references to traditional sounds and earlier songs. Too Cold At Home is a straight-down-the-line country album which is appropriately rounded out by lashings of fiddle and pedal steel on the final song ‘Just a Closer Walk With Thee.’

BRYEN WILLEMS

Too Cold At Home

Leap Records/Planet

 

Folks, we have our very own Tony joe White living and breathing amongst us.  His name is Bryen Willems.  From Louisiana, Willems brings genuine Southern swamp sounds and mixes ‘em up with some honky-tonk, a Nashville outlaw element, and adds some Australian flavour for good measure.

 

Too Cold At Home is Willems’ debut album and portrays him as both a gifted interpreter and an emerging songwriter.  But the first thing you’ll notice about Willlems is that voice – Tony joe meets Waylon in Willems’ sonorous drawl, lending these 11 songs incontrovertible authority.

 

Okay, lets look at Willems’ selection of covers first.  Any album that opens with a Steve Young track will inevitably get my attention and Too Cold At Home kicks off with an explosive rendition of ‘Lonesome, On’ry & Mean’ a version, Willems attests, that has been officially approved by the author himself.  This is immediately followed by a cool and swaggering interpretation of Johnny Paycheck’s ’11 Months and 29 Days’ and by now you have a fair idea of where Willems’ influences lie.  There’s also a sweetly swinging take on Roy Acuff’s ‘As Long As I Live’, a duet that contrasts Willems’ deep tones with the bird-like voice of Nicki Gillis.

 

As far as the originals go, it’s rewarded to hear Willems injecting his own personality into his compositions rather than merely aping his heroes.  ‘Deep Down I’m Shallow’ demonstrates that Willems has a firm grasp of the Australian sense of humour, ‘Honky-Tonk Song’ tackles the age old generation gap issue, ‘Beer and Lipstick is classic barroom ballad, and ‘Baby Are You Runnin’’ introduces an irresistible Western Swing attitude, complete with some feisty fiddle courtesy of Mark Oats.  In fact, Willems’ band is pretty much faultless throughout, suggesting Bryen and the Bayou Boogie Boys would be a live band worth chasing down.

 

MARTIN JONES

RHYTHMS MAGAZINE

AUG 2007

PRESS RELEASE

BRYEN WILLEMS JOINS THE PLANET COMPANY

Bryen Willems (a.k.a the Swamp Duck) is proud to announce he will be only the third Australian artist to be distributed by The Planet Company.

The Planet Company’s Graeme Regan is extremely excited and feels Bryen is a welcome addition to The Planet’s family. Known for their diverse and eclectic catalogue, as soon as they heard Bryen’s debut album Too Cold At Home, they immediately knew they had to add him to their distribution arm.

Bryen’s album is under the Leap Records banner, and The Planet Company look forward to working alongside this small but determined label.

Bryen’s musical interest was sparked only after settling down in Australia, having moved from his Louisiana home with wife Karen. An Australian citizen for a number of years now, his musical influences are of bayou heritage with an Australian flavour.

Too Cold At Home, produced by Gary Brown and Les Scott, is a brilliant collection of self-penned tunes and a treasure trove of country covers – featuring the first single Honky-Tonk Song and the new single Deep Down I’m Shallow.

Evidence of Bryen’s potential has been his recent Top 20 finalist nomination in the UniSong International Songwriting Competition, with co-writer Tim Costello, with his current single Deep Down I’m Shallow.

So if you’d rather have some nancy-boy, sissy, pseudo-country pop stuff, then you’ll need to look elsewhere – as there’s none of that from Bryen Willems.

Having travelled the planet from USA to Australia, it seems like The Planet Company is the perfect home for Bryen’s music.

Too Cold At Home will be available through The Planet Company early August.

www.bryenwillems.com

www.myspace.com/bryenwillemsmusic

www.theplanetcompany.com

BLUE’S COUNTRY MAGAZINE – APRIL 2007

COUNTRY MUSIC ROUNDUP

By Charlie Sparrow

This is a very catchy CD to listen to, and hear it once and you’ll get hooked on it really easily.

Bryen’s musical career was sparked after settling down in Australia, having moved from his Louisiana home (home of the bayou music) with wife Karen. And it shows on this CD release with a mix of country blues, southern swamp music and country rock.

A lovely duet with Nicki Gillis, As Long As I Live is featured on this album as well as a lot of the sounds that have influenced Bryen Willem’s life, such as Ricky Scaggs, Merle Haggard and Chris LeDoux. These are the sounds he grew up on and have been incorporated onto this CD in his own special way.

ALTERNATE HIGHWAY

Let It Slide!

By Keith Glass

Guitars and more guitars feature on our multi-national releases this month with the accent on the raised fret-boards of Dobro’s, steels and a 12 string for good measure.

First up the debut release from Alabama native, Sydney resident BRYEN WILLEMS titled too Cold At Home finds the hobby singer/songwriter/musician getting serious with the help of GARY BROWN and the late LES SCOTT in the producing chairs (as well as various many guitar based instruments) the redoubtable ALLAN TOMKINS on bass throughout and a cast of supporters that includes NICKI GILLIS (vocs). TOMI GRASO (steel) TRAVIS COLLINS and JAKE LARDOT (guitars) loads more but I’m sorry we are out of room. Must talk about the music. Bryen’s worn-in twang is the real deal on a mix of creditable originals (Deep Down I’m Shallow, Beer And Lipstick) and outlawish to reverent covers. For example, STEVE YOUNG’s Lonesome, On’ry & Mean kicks it off and the traditional spiritual Just A Closer Walk With Me is the closer. The crew and artist all sound like they are having the time of their lives and as Bryen commented “making albums could become addictive.” It’s never too late to start cold and take it on home.

COUNTRY MUSIC CAPITAL NEWS – APRIL 2007

SWAMP DUCK

BY DEBORAH MINTER

 
Louisiana-born BRYEN WILLEMS has imported his bayou-style of country music to his new home in Australia.

His music is redolent of humid backwoods lethargy where even the most foot-stomping track is delivered with a laid-back drawl. But it wasn’t always music that inspired him. Like any good southern boy, the driving force in Bryen’s life was the church. In fact, he was studying to be a minister when he and wife Karen moved to Australia and fell in love with the Land Down Under.

“We have made great friends here,” Bryen said. “Our kids were born here. It’s a country that doesn’t take itself too seriously. I like how you can disagree strongly with someone here and still be good mates. It’s also good that no matter how strong your opinion about something is there’s always someone near by to make fun of it!”

“After we moved to Australia I got involved in community radio at 2RRR. I finally got my chance to do my own country program, very early on Saturday mornings. My first day, I planned everything. I put the access codes to the back door and studio room into my diary so I wouldn’t forget them. I got to the station early, laid out all my CDs, my diary notes, my coffee and Snickers bar read to go. I did last minute nervous trip to the loo … and the door to the studio slammed shut behind me I locked myself out! Through the door I could hear the taped overnight program as it ran out and there was nothing but dead air! What a winner!”

Bryen also became involved in the live music scene, working with bands culminating with BRYEN & THE BAYOUR BOOGIE BOYS. Bryen also plays bass with TALL TIMBRE and performs in a duo with songstress NICKI GILLIS. “I play in as many bands as I can because I’m a gig junkie,” he admitted. I’m a sponge; I’m always learning, watching what works or what doesn’t, developing my own sound.”

Bryen combined with another self-confessed gig-junkie GARY BROWN to record his debut CD Too Cold At Home. Gary and the late LES SCOTT co-produced the album.

Bryen’s new single for the album is the cheeky Honky-Tonk Song. “I felt like hearing a good hard core country song. I turned on CMT (as it was then called) and as that time there was nothing on but sappy love song after sappy love song. All the singers looked more like what I would expect on MTV. Now I don’t mind a sappy love song every so often, but this was a constant dribble. So I got cranky, went out and wrote a song to make fun of it.”

Good friend Nicki Gillis sang with Bryen on the beautiful duet As Long As I Live. “Nicki and fiddle player JOHN LEE are responsible for the nickname ‘Swamp Duck’,” Bryen admitted. “We were driving home from a gig when I started talking about ducks. I’ve always liked ducks; how they look beautiful flying, they’re graceful swimming, look ridiculous walking, etc. According to them, I talked straight for about an hour about ducks.”

The album’s title track Too Cold At Home is one of Bryen’s favourite country songs. “The song takes you to a place and time; you can feel the stifling heart and the humidity. The reason it made the title of the CD is far less profound. We were going to name the album Too Hot To Fish, but the weather was cloudy, cool and overcast. So we did a different concept. Once we saw the photo with the chimney we knew we had the cover for the album. The name Too Cold At Home just jumped out as it fit the photo perfectly. Our intention was to do a photo that reflected the album name but we wound up with the photo naming the album!”

That’s typical of Bryen Willems; always open to change, but he knows a good thing when he finds it. Bryen didn’t join the Ministry, but he did become a proud Australian citizen several years ago.

 

Review by Ronnie and Rossco (R & V Photographers)

One great thing about reviewing CD's is that you get the chance to listen to a wide variety of styles.

On odd occasions you discover a musician that is really passionate about his music.

Louisiana born Bryen Willems is one of those musicians.

Bryen has the Bayou country music / Honky Tonk / Cajun music styles all rolled into one tight package in his debut album Too Cold At Home.

• The first track, Lonesome has the feel of travelling on a bus as the countryside passes you by, tapping fingers to the beat of the music.
• The second track, 11 Months 29 Days  has a similar feel-good laid back style.
• Track 3, Too Cold for Home has a real country drawl to it, a pleasant relaxed feel to the whole song.
• Track 4, Deep Down I'm Shallow has an early Creedance Clearwater vibe. Great structure and beat.
• Track 5, As Long as I Live, a duet with Nicki Gillis  is one of those country love songs with fiddle solos and a smooth guitar melody to keep the listener tuned to the last note.

• Track 6, Highway Junkie. What's a country based album without a trucker's song? This is the one! Trucks, wheels,whitelines and long hauls, great song!
• Track 7, Honky Tonk Song, is a tongue in cheek song that makes a mockery of the cheesy sort of country music love songs. Byren's charming grassroots American drawl really give this tune that extra 'punch'.
• Track 8, Another Day, is a racy tune with backing vocals, a snappy feel to the whole track. Made us  think of a farm machinery commercial.
• Track 9, Beer & Lipstick is another song that has a great blend of instruments that intertwine in and out of great lyrics
• Track 10, Baby are You Running. More of the fiddle playing and racy guitar .Impressive.
• Track 11, Just a Close Walk With Thee is a church style hymn that embraces the appeal of country music and rolls it into one.This tune seems to reflect Bryen's earlier aspirations in America to become a minister of the church. You can feel a "preacher to congregation" performance.

In Summary

Bryen Willems has delivered the goods with this debut album. In addition the album has some superb images on the cover and booklet, and an easy to read lyrics sheet.Basically the whole package is out to impress, and yes we were more than impressed.

If you're after a country music CD that has first class music both lyrically and musically then this is an album to grab.

8 out of 10 from us.

What a night…!  Usually I play in Nicki’s band…but tonight we had my band with guest vocalist Nicki Gillis.  We traded songs all night with the Bayou Boogie Boys for the night being Mark Kirk on lead guitar, Steve Shepherd on bass, Dave Hibbert on drums and John Lee on fiddle.

It’s a great room for a live gig…nice dance floor, intimate room but not too small.  The acoustics in the room are fantastic.  Garry Burton (who runs the room) was there on the night.  He took a bunch of great photos of the night – plenty of dancing.

One of the folks there told us after the show…”what a great gig…it was hot…I don’t know what you call the music…bluegrass rock!” 

I don’t know either…it was fun.

Here’s the photos and plan for more Sat night gigs at the Gladstone!

http://www.gladstonehotel.com.au/bryen-nicki/index.html

COUNTRY MUSIC CAPTIAL NEWS – FEBRUARY 2007
SOUND ADVICE - REVIEW by DEBORAH MINTER
 
TOO COLD AT HOME  -  BRYEN WILLEMS (Independent)

Bryen Willems is a Louisiana-born Aussie who brought a piece of the bayou with him when he settled in Australia. Affectionately known as ‘the Swamp Duck’, Bryen writes and plays laidback music with the definite aroma of the bayou; in fact you almost want to slap at the mossies. His brand new CD Too Cold At Home is a fine collection of both originals and great, if not that well known, Cajun country tracks. His duet with the sweet-voiced NICKI GILLIS. As Long As I Live was written by the legend ROY ACUFF. Of his own songs, Deep Down I’m Shallow is a song that could definitely become a cult classic. Honky-Tonk Song pokes fun at ‘bubble-gum pop’ dressed up as country music. Bryen Willems plays music that is rugged, unpretentious, honest and it’s real; to quote his bio, ‘If you want some nancy-boy, sissy, pseudo-country pop stuff, look elsewhere!’

Following is a copy of a review of the new album as it appears on www.countrycapers.com.au and in the Bundaberg Guardian (which I don't get as it's outside my circulation area...!)

Cee Dee Ree View --- Burt Everett -- 1/2/2007

Just before Christmas a CD from Bryen Willems found it’s way onto my stereo The name was completely unknown to me, but from track one the strong American tones made me sit up, and listen. American by birth, and Australian by choice, Bryen left his Louisiana home and headed down under and became an Australian citizen a few yeas ago. Apart from his solo career, Bryen also plays bass for well known Australian Country Rock band, “Tall Timbre”, and has had considerable experience as a presenter on Sydney Community Radio.

I found his debut album, “Too Cold At Home”, a delight. Here is a toe tapping, “Swamp”, or “Bayou” sound, with an Aussie influence. Bryen also illustrates his song writing ability by providing two completele “home grown” songs, and co-writing three more.

If song titles like “Beer and Lipstick”, “Baby Are You Running?”, and “Honky Tonk Song”, lead you to thinking that this is a happy energy packed package, then you’ve got it in one, and the lovely duet with fast rising Nikki Gillis, “As Long As I Live”, puts the strawberry on top on the cake

It was recorded at Unit4 Studios, and produced by Gary Brown, and Les Scott. If you have any difficulty getting this one from the shops, a visit to www.bryenwillems.com should solve the problem.