Blog

Jerdacuttup!

Esperance ended with a seedy wimper as we set sail for 'Jerdacuttup' a a farming district near Ravensthorpe. I honestly though we wouldn't be playing until the night time... little did I know, we had to get there, set up and play well before the sun went down.

After travelling the necessary k's out of Esperance, we hit the dirt track and found the 'Jerdy Hall'. The massive smell of sausage sizzle attacked my nose, but there was no time to lose... SET UP!!!

Read more... Add new comment

Esperance!

Ok, so I might be a couple of days late on this one, but things got hectic over the last couple of days... that's why I'm just catching up now.

The drive from Albany to Esperance was a long one, but a nice one... beautiful time of year to be down south.

As we arrived in picturesque Esperance we had no time to be idly checking out the sights and sounds as we ploughed straight into setting up for the show that night. Saturday night in Esperance... can't go wrong right?

Our set up is quite intense with banners, lights, neon sign-posts, and a 3 camera projection unit so the audience can get a few close-ups along the way, so setting up takes a few hours.

Read more... Add new comment

Albany!

As we were leaving Katanning, we just HAD to experience the greatness of the 'All Age Playground'... and the childhood memories of the ground proved popular with the rest of the boys in the band, as they ran from the Helter Skelter to the 'Big Satellite' acting like children let loose in a candy store. It was seriously fun to watch.

The trek to good ol' Albs was uneventful, but that CANNOT be said about the gig at the Prem...

Not only did I get to catch up with my primary school bud Reese... but Clay's sister Belinda and her partner Corey came down for a squizzy. Ryan (our sound lad) really nailed the setup today... not only was he swift... but he was NEAT! Needless to say, our stage looked awesome.

A few familiar Albany faces were seen, and the originals were warmly received. The CD sales proved it to me. We did quite well in Albany thank you very much! After showing the crowd the reason we were touring by playing them most of BIG, we went on and rocked the house out... I even picked the right covers tonight... Crunchy Granola Suite by Neil Diamond ACTUALLY was a huge hit with the audience...

Read more... Add new comment

Katanning!

Oh yes... how I came and rocked ye! he he... So the first gig of this little BIG tour was a resounding 'AWESOME'. The stage was set for something a little bit 'cool' and we delivered... shame Katanning thought we said 'COLD'. Holy crap... it was cold, I haven't done a gig for a while where I could see my breath as I was singing into my microphone!

After a slightly 'frosty' reception from the Katanning crowd, (I don't think they were expecting me to play so many originals) We warmed the place somewhat with some groovy covers enough for us to dot the originals in... without causing much of a stir! But COME ON!!! This is the reason we came on tour right? To get the word out about BIG and to sell some CD's to the wonderful people of regional Western Australia who supported me so wholeheartedly during my time on Idol. Time to give back...

Read more... Add new comment

It all starts now.

So as most of you know, BIG is now available. This day has finally arrived and I'm pretty overwhelmed with the positive response it's received already. We haven't 'launched' it yet, but that may be a thing of the past.

The days of recording companies blanketing the stores with albums and fanfare is on the way out. Fancy launch parties where the world SUDDENLY hears about a release are hard to achieve.

These days, it's a creeping release. The filmclip is out there, but it's not playing on the tele yet. The single 'Salvation Jane' is being heard, but it isn't on the radio yet. A launch party for the album is a 'cherry on the top' event that isn't high on the list of priorities, until all of these other things are achieved.

Read more... Comments (1)

So… we shot the clip. ‘Salvation Jane’ the video is in the can ladies and gentlemen. I’ve seen the final edit and it looks cool. For all the nerds out there we shot the whole thing on a Canon 5D which is a stills camera. With all the trimmings and cool lenses we’ve got footage that looks phenomenal; and the coolest part about shooting at 30fps on a still camera? Every still… is a photo. HA! Cool.

My little entourage and the boys from VIS online went out to York and shot it in one day. We did some cool things too. We dropped a piano off a crane. Ahem… sorry… WE DROPPED A PIANO OFF A CRANE! Kim, our trusty crane operator and owner of the farm where we shot it… BUILT a mechanism that released the piano with a single tug. Check out the still shot in the gallery of the piano 50ft in the air.

Read more... Comments (1)

Apr 04

08

Beard

Courtney Murphy Thursday, 06 May 2010 22:55

It's so long now it's getting ridiculous. It's not long before we shoot the video for Salvation Jane where we'll be utilizing the beard... but I tells ya... the shoot won't come soon enough.

Read more... Comments (4)

Mar 03

19

Bated Breath

Courtney Murphy Friday, 19 March 2010 03:40

BIG, the big bad beautiful bastard album of mine is nearly here ladies and gentlemen. I’ve been overseeing its artwork (completed) and mastering (completed) over the last couple of weeks, and by gosh I can nearly taste the launch. We’ve been getting quotes for printing it up while making BIG decisions like what packaging we’re going to do and so on...

If you’re interested, we’re going with a ‘Gatefold Wallet’ design, better for the environment and a pretty cool and retro way of doing CD packaging. Imagine a vinyl record sleeve that folds out... and then imagine it smaller... you’re pretty much there.

As I type this I should be getting some sleep as I have a big day tomorrow. I’m heading out to the piano graveyard near York tomorrow with the guys that will be shooting my filmclip to basically get an idea of what we’re dealing with and get some ideas of how to shoot it. I don’t want to give too much away about the clip itself... but I will let you in on a secret... I have a beard.

I’m excited for the trip out, but at the same time my misanthropic leanings and hedonistic lifestyle make me wish I was staying in my chair at home, VB in hand... watching the IPL. The things I do to get my music out there huh? Ah... I kid, seriously... I’m currently having a pretty mintox time getting the final stages of BIG completed.

Thanks so much to everyone who has joined my Facebook fan page, I was shocked/stunned/awed by the amount of people that signed up overnight. My normal profile was getting BOMBARDED by friend requests... I’m getting dangerously close to 3000 friends now... I don’t know why I didn’t start the fan page yonks ago... anyway... thanks.

Oh while I’m updating everyone, I must mention this wonderful show I’ve been involved in called ‘Theatresports’. If you haven’t noticed my profile on Facebook, it’s the poster for said show, where I play musical director to a wonderful assortment of people performing myriad improvised games on stage while I provide the musical background. It’s been daunting and challenging, but sometimes you just have to do these things; Australian Idol, for instance.

Jump in the deep end once in a while, you’ll surprise yourself at how well you can swim.

Lastly, I wanted to tell you about a podcast that has changed my view on the world. About 6 months ago a friend of a friend was telling me about this ‘Public Radio International’ show called ‘This American Life’, and how it was just amazing stories presented in a well written, DAMN easy to listen to format. He said to give it a go... and that’s what I did. From the moment I subscribed to the podcast (via iTunes) to right now... I’m a massive fan. I wait, every week, with bated breath* for the next episode and devour it... like a jam and cream finger doughnut. I can’t recommend it highly enough. So if you have a little bit of room in your life to let some incredibly fulfilling and soul replenishing stories affect you... please give it a crack.

*While I was writing that paragraph I came upon the lexical phrase ‘Bated Breath’. There’s a fair whack of conjecture over the correct spelling of it... Baited? Bated? Google has just as many hits for both. Though, as Shakespeare used ‘Bated’ and JK Rowling used ‘Baited’ my decision was not a hard one. If I was to use the term correctly however, I should have said ‘Abated breath’... but that’s not the gambit that everyone knows and loves now is it?

I get the feeling I’m over-thinking this.

BIG loves.
Court.

Comments (1)

Feb 02

11

The Next Step

Courtney Murphy Thursday, 11 February 2010 04:06

I've moved into the next phase...

ok, so you might not be excited but I sure as hell am. Tonight, my album BIG was warmly received into the loving arms of Sterling Sound Mastering Studios in New York City. Yes... I'm almost there. A few months back I sent one of the songs away to Sterling to be mastered by 2 different chappies there. It was so I could hear what 2 different sets of ears could come up with for the 'right' sound for the album. Whatever the 'right' sound is. As it turns out, that little experiment nearly backfired completely as the song came back with striking differences in sound... however... both were incredibly awesome. In the end the decision I made was a toughy but i think a goody. I'm getting a chap named 'Chris Gehringer' to master the album. He's got a ridiculously cool resume` of albums under his belt that runs the whole gamut of the 'biz'. He's been everywhere... man.

Unfortunately I won't be in New York to see the magic happen, every single dollar I've had has been sunk into this mighty mighty album. What a dream it would be though to walk the streets of Manhattan with my woolly coat on, making my way up 10th Avenue near Pier 57 walking through those revered doors and watching Chris master my album. That would... rock.

Alas, I will wait for its stealthy return fom home base... I can't wait to hear the shiny shiny wonderous glossy aftertouch that will surely be present when 'she' gets back. Excited? Much?

The lads from Debaser have been working on the album artwork too, and they're not far from completion. So the next NEXT phase after this one? Once Big is back in my hand from Sterling? I'll be shopping the bastard around for the best distribution deal around. that's what you call INDEPENDENT, kids...

Hey stop freaking out. It's coming ok? he he...

Love Court.
Comments (6)

<< Start < Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Next > End >>

Page 1 of 8