Woodford, Day 4

A friend of mine, a veteran of many festivals in the UK such as Glastonbury, came up yesterday. One of the remarks he made was about how clean the festival site is, in terms of litter and general human debris. I was walking around quite early this morning, long before the gates opened, watching all the scuttling, the fixing, the tidying, and it really struck me how small a piece of the jigsaw performers really are when compared to everything else. The bins are emptied at 4:30 every morning by one of those giant trucks that resembles a mammoth navigating the treacherous lanes and alleys (it wakes everyone up the first morning, as it sounds like giant apocalyptic saucepans being hammered by huge-armed Vikings, but we get quickly used to it). There are gangs out with leveling machines (those big vibrating slabs of metal on pole things) sorting out the track and roads, gravel trucks, bark trucks, electricians, people just replacing a damaged lantern. Every venue has the chairs gathered up, the floors hosed and swept, the stages cleaned. There's an electric milk cart that zips around, loaded to toppling, delivering to all the cafes and of course during this, most of the coffee shops are already open serving breakfast. Backstage water urns are refilled, lost property filed, streams cleared, plumbing fixed, artworks straightened, transfers arranged, water recycled, lasers polished, lost children found, snakes removed, doughnut batter beaten. It truly is an endless list. Kudos to you all.

Today is a quiet one, which works well for us as it's also the anniversary of the passing of Helen. We'll get together a bit later for a drink and a few laughs over memories. We'll be at the ceilidh in the afternoon, then I'll be back on Game On 'due to popular demand' (which is Sandy's nice way of saying I didn't do too badly on Tuesday, despite dropping the C-bomb).

If you're still dawdling about coming on up, please do. The weather is lovely now, everything is open, the program is chokas and everyone is smiling.


Paul. 'Less mud, more doughnut'

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Woodford, Day 3.1

We had one of those really special gigs last night the audience just seemed to get into it that little extra more than usual. It was odd really, as I was struggling with my sound and Bridget was under the weather, but for some reason it sparked. Sarah jumping off stage to waltz with Johnny from Fallen Angels was probably the best bit, but really it was just the lovely reaction to our new stuff like the Cure's Lovesong that made the night crackle.

It stopped raining in the afternoon, and the evening was just lovely. It stayed cool, with stars dusting the sky. We tried to play some tunes, but the bleed from the other tents was just too strong so we ended up wandering in search of food. Tomorrow it's supposed to be fine!

BBOD stands at 4. I'm cutting back this year, clearly.


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Woodford, Day 3

Today's blog has been postponed due to inebriation, Byron Bay Doughnuts and Witchy-Poo stockings


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Woodford, Day 2

Bit of a quiet day today. We had a signing at noon which was nice, as we got to meet a bunch of people that had seen us at the Duck yesterday. Sarah and Mannie chugged off in the afternoon to play a show with Nadia and the Fruit Tingles, while I did a stint on the panel show, Game On. It was quite possibly the most terrifying yet fun gig I've done. Partnered with John Thompson, we faced off against Martin Pearson and Fiona Scott Norman in a show that was part 'Mock the Week', part 'News Quiz', but all Woodford.

The BBOD count now stands at 3. Although last night I was feeling a bit adventurous after the show and recklessly went for the Blackberry-filled version. After much Jameson's it wasn't the best idea, but a flagon of Superb Organic Gypsy Coffee soon put things right.

Then we all scattered to the winds. Mannie went for a wander, Bridget played tunes, Sair went off to watch her friend Sarah the fiddler In the stunning WooHoo Revue while I caught the awesome Arrested Development at the Amphitheatre. I think Sair crawled in sometime around 2:30am. No idea about Mannie, his van is a white, impenetrable enigma.

Tomorrow we have another Duck gig, which we can't wait for. Forecast is for fining weather.

Off to bed, and to dream...


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Woodford, Day 1

Yes it's been raining, but that's no excuse not to come. This festival is 100% running, and, if truth be told, I think I actually prefer the rain to the shimmering heat. This is a remarkable place. People just get on. Buy wellies, buy a poncho and come up.

So, today, the Byron Bay Organic Doughnut count stands at 1.5.

I've been a bit slack so far, but that's mainly because we have such great food at Campo De Súnas. I have my sights set on a blackberry one for breakfast tomorrow.

We did our first set of gigs today. First up were two appearances at the rather strange Mystery Bus. If you're coming up, don't miss this peculiar venue. It's part theatre, part music, part Carry On film, and very much fun. Sarah, Mannie and myself had a ball.

Then we officially debuted at the Duck & Shovel -our home venue here. And what a set it was! We mixed a few new ones in with some of the older material, and it just crackled. The packed out audience was incredible, particularly during 'P Stands for Paddy', where they managed to get the very tricky 'stomp-clap' rhythm done perfectly. It was like playing with the world's coolest drum kit! The new flooring is great, though it's nice to still look out and see throngs dancing on the grass. Fingertips held up nicely (though they did start feeling it during 'Crooked Jack', but that's more from the gazouki I think).

Really, all I can say is it was great to be home.

Oh, here's our schedule for the rest of the festival (subject to additions!)

Tuesday
12 midday: Signing, Festival Shop
7pm: Paul in Game On

Wednesday
8pm: Duck and Shovel

Thursday
5pm: Ceilidh
7pm: Game On

Friday
10am Concert Stage

Saturday
10:30 The final Duck & Shovel for the year. Expect many special guests!

Sunday
The Night After Party.

Now I'm out of here. The Cat Empire a firing up, then there's seasoning to be done. Tomorrow brings a day off for most of us, though we are signing at the Festival Shop at midday. I, however, will be in training for the night's edition of Game On. Pray for me!

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Woodford, Day 0.5

It's raining.

Did you really expect me to write anything different?

We're set up in a beautiful gully with a whole other bunch of musos and PeggyHiss, our 7 foot python. The water is literally streaming from the sky. The mountains are wreathed with ever-shifting mist and the valley is thick, green and dripping. At night, it sounds like a jungle, like something out of Avatar (minus the poisonous air and blue people, though this is Woodford, so the blue people are most likely here somewhere). At the moment I love it, but that may change once I work my way through the 10 T-shirts and 10 pairs of socks. Wellies are my best friend at the moment.

It's great getting here early. One gets to settle in before the mayhem and madness. We've already done our poster runs with Cloudstreet, so there's not a toilet wall or tent post that isn't papered.

The only downside to the rain for me is that my fingers are perpetually soggy, and my guitar callouses have literally fallen off. It's going to be fun playing later on. Might have to resort to the old superglue trick if they stay soft like this.

So, tonight we have the secret Troubadour gig. Andrew Claremont, Cloudstreet, Penelope Swales, Ange Takats, Kristina Olsen, Never the Twain... It's a great line up. Wine, Water and Merry!

And the gigs are lining up nicely! Sarah is playing with the Fruit Tingles (so far) and I've been asked to guest in the show, 'Game On', with Martin Pearson, Fiona Scott Norman, John Thompson, and hosted by the erudite Sandy McCutcheon (he told me to say that). I think I'm out of my depth...

Paul, reporting from Moistford.

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New Merch!

Just in time for Woodford and the Summer! We have a very strictly limited run of new T-shirts.




Available in women's and men's sizes, and in a choice of White, Crimson or Sky Blue, each one is hand-printed and unique. Be the envy of your fellow festival goers with this beautiful shirt designed and drawn by our genius friend Dan over at 2 Inches of Water . They'll be available at our shows, the Woodford and Illawara Festivals, and our Store very soon!
(See if you can spot the little Paul plug on Dan's site)

The Teaser Video

Hi Everyone!

This website has been a bit quiet lately, basically because we're in the process of upgrading the whole site to a super new shiny one. Shouldn't be too much longer now. We're spending a lot of time over at our Facebook Page, so hop over there and 'Like' it for the most up-to-date news.

Here it is -the new teaser video for the upcoming album:

Teaser Video

Watch out for the more news early next week!