Fanny Lumsden and Tobias to tour central west Queensland

CMC and Golden Guitar winner Fanny Lumsden and Queensland singer-songwriter Tobias are soon to undertake a four-show tour of central west Queensland. Audiences are in for a huge treat, as both are luminaries in Australian country and folk music - and I chatted to them recently.

How long have you two known each other and have you ever shared a stage before?

F: We met at Gympie [Music Muster] last year. And this will be the first time [to share a stage].

So you obviously got on, as you’ve volunteered to tour part of Queensland together.

T: Yes, and we were on the same bill at Woodford Folk Festival this year and got to talk about doing these shows together – that’s how that cameabout.

Fanny, obviously you tour country areas a lot with your Country Halls tours – but obviously this specific kind of tour, you’re going to a very particular area, so when you were initially talking did you think it would just be nice to tour together or did you have a specific area in mind.

F: We were talking about western central Queensland specifically and getting out there.

Why western central Queensland in particular?

T: The story goes that I played a house concert. There was a Rotary member there, and she had some people doing some things out in Longreach. This guy had been doing a lot of fundraising – small community events to bring the people together – and he was really interested in doing some music. So we talked about doing some gigs together – he also runs a thing called the Western Queensland Drought Appeal, but his main thing was that he just wanted to create some awareness around it, and put on some music events, really just so people could come out and have a good time. I think that’s what the main thing was. And Fanny and I were talking and she really wanted to go to Queensland and these shows came up. So it was just a really perfect fit, and they’re really excited too that these are happening.

In terms of Rotary’s involvement, have they helped you organise it or they’re just making sure

that people get out on the day?

T: It’s kind of been a joint effort, but really they’re the machine behind it.

It seems like such a good fit that I’m wondering why it doesn’t happen more, that they get involved with organising tours because they obviously are in a lot of country towns and they know what their communities need, and bringing storytellers – which is what you are – to those towns would be hugely valuable.

F: I think it’s about finding a motivated person and then also finding people that often maybe they’d think it would cost too much money. I think there’s just a bit of a barrier there – a communication barrier. It should happen more.

So perhaps this is the start of a long and beautiful association between you two and them.

[both laugh]

T: Could be good.

F: We’ll do this tour first and then we’ll let you know. [Laughs] Just kidding – no, it’ll be awesome.

T: Yeah, that’s right.

Fanny, I’m thinking this will be slightly different to your Country Halls tours because you’re not just hopping in your caravan and taking off – except I know you organise your tours ahead. I know you’re from western New South Wales but I’m wondering why you make it a priority to play in country towns?

F: Why not? Basically. They’re just a town like any other town, and you could go to the city and get that. I grew up in the country and I know that people really appreciate it when you bring something to their town. If you live in the country people will travel. They have to drive hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of Ks just to go to live music. If you go there, I’ve found – or we’ve found with the Country Halls tours – they’re so supportive. I’m writing music about that world anyway so I thought why not share it with the people who are inspiring me.

And Tobias, for you, how do you feel about going out into country towns and making music, because it takes an effort to organise that too.

T: I’m really excited. I’ve spent a bit of time playing in rural areas. I’ve never been out to Longreach so I’ll be a real tourist, I think, but I’m really looking forward to it because I know that when you get out, off the beaten track, there’s much more of an appreciation for music and connection as well. That’s what I get excited about. Just meeting new people.

And I suppose also it’s that you’re storytellers going into these towns – there is that sense of an exchange, almost, and who knows what comes out of it for either one of you in terms of songs you might want to write or experiences you might want to document.

T: Yeah. It ticks all the boxes for me, I’m really excited.

Fanny, have you ever been to these towns before?

F: Yes. My dad’s idea of a holiday when we were young was to put the bags in the car and all of us kids and then drive northwest, and pull over to the side of the road and camp. So we would go up to Queensland a lot because he had lots of friends on different stations, so we would go to their stations and help them work as our holiday – which we were thrilled about as kids. So I did spend a fair bit of time there and I had some family who lived up there too. I haven’t been up there for a long time, too – maybe since I was in my teens. It’ll be nice to get back out there.

How did you choose these towns? Some of them are really small – one of them has just over a hundred people. Was it Rotary that suggested these particular towns?

T: Yes – David Phelps, who has helped put all this together, these are the communities that are really close to his heart, and he knows them out there, so he’s chosen those venues.

F: I don’t think that size really reflects how something will be supported, because we’ve found in the Country Halls tours – the Country Halls tours are separate to our caravanning tours. Country Halls are full band, all the halls apply – it’s a really different thing. We’ve found that the halls that we go to that are literally a hall in the middle of a paddock and a hundred Ks or more to another town, they’re the ones that sell out every time. Those are the ones that are way more supported than anything you would put on in the middle of the city, for sure. Because people don’t have choice – they think, ‘Oh my god, something’s happening – let’s go!’ It’s not, ‘I might go to that but I might go to this or I might not like them.’

T: [Laughs] That’s awesome.

F: People will drive hundreds of Ks to those kinds of shows, so when I’m choosing halls – and I’m sure that this will be reflected in the tour – I’ll choose the tiniest, tiniest places over the big places every time.

I’m just wondering at the things you’ve seen in the last couple of years alone. You’ve been to so many different places, it’s amazing.

F: [Laughs] Yeah. What are you wondering, though? [Laughs]

It’s more a comment than anything – it’s a range of experience that a lot of artists don’t have because it is a big commitment to go out to all those destinations.

F: Yes. I just think they’re the best shows ever. They’re just  funnest and,               like Toby said, you get to meet so many other people and it’s like this conversation rather than being a one-way delivery of something. It’s a two-way beneficial kind of thing that happens. It’s a risk, and that’s fun too.

Tobias, how are you going to organise the sets – who gets to go on first, are you going to play any songs together?

T: I think there’s going to be a few local kids in each town who are going to play a little bit first, then I’ll be playing then Fanny, and Dan [Fanny’s partner] will be wowing everyone with their set. And we might have a jam at the end – I’ll bring my banjo and we’ll see how it goes [laughs].

F: I reckon we should definitely have a jam, do some songs together.

T: I think it will be great fun.

You could add to the fun for everyone by springing songs on each other.

F: Haha! I don’t know the words to any songs, I would be so bad at that game.

T: [Laughs]

Shane Nicholson is known for doing Song Bingo, where he hands out tickets and if your number is called you can request a song. He said that sometimes he thinks people giving him the most obscure songs, and sometimes it goes badly and that’s part of the fun too.

T: For sure. I saw him do that at Tamworth – it was great. It was an awesome way to get everyone involved in the set.

You mentioned those local kids who will be playing – is Rotary organising that or are you going to do a stunt audition on the day?

T: It’s funny – putting this together, a lot of people have hopped on board, and there’s a group of people in Longreach called The Music Makers, and they do music workshops with people who want to play music, and they take it out to different and smaller communities. So they’ve really jumped at the chance to help out with that. We’ll be mingling with them a little bit before the shows and then their star pupils will get up and do a number or two.

Fanny, I also wanted to ask you about Broadbeach Country Music Festival and Gympie, because clearly Queensland is going to become a second home for you. What are you looking forward to for each of those festivals?

F: It’ll be the first time we’ve had our band together for a long time. We’ll have the full Thrillseeker line-up, so that will be amazing. And I’ve never played Broadbeach before, so that will be great. Gympie we played for the first time last year and had such a ball, such a fun festival. We’re going to be bringing some new stuff to the set, which is really exciting. It’s going to be really fun. We’re really going to work on our set and hopefully bring our best show. And I’m excited about the other artists, obviously.

And Tobias, you’ve played Gympie, obviously, because that’s where you two met, but have you ever played Broadbeach?

T: No, I haven’t. But I was at the Blues on Broadbeach, and I have to say it’s a fantastic event – the energy there is amazing. There are so many people and the great weather and all these outdoor stages. It’s really great.

The Country Music Festival should ask you, too – you don’t live that far away. You could drive down on the morning!

T: [Laughs] For sure. Maybe.

F: You should call them up and heckle them about it.

Or maybe stand there during Fanny’s set and heckle.

F: Either or. Come on the same and heckle.

Now, Fanny you mentioned putting new stuff in your set, so I imagine there may be a new album in the works – is that the case?

Yes, we just successfully crowdfunded the second album.

I actually was part of that – I should remember! [Laughs]

F: [Laughs] Awesome – thanks! We have announcements about that coming soon. We definitely will be incorporating the new music into the sets. We have some stuff in the works.

At a festival you’re not necessarily playing for your fans – because that’s the nature of festivals. It’s probably a really good opportunity to play some new stuff and see how it goes acros.

F: Exactly. We’ll play some of the old stuff as well, obviously, but I’m all for playing new stuff. It’s just fun for us, mostly. [Laughs] But there are fans who come and they get really excited about the new things as well, and if you’re telling a story around it and you give people context, they’re usually pretty receptive to new stuff, which is great.

And Tobias, I think you’ve always got something creative on the boil, but do you have a new definitive project, like an album in mind?

T: I’ve just recorded a new EP with a very dear friend who’s a music producer. We actually played in our first band together when we were thirteen, when we busked at the markets, Actually, we were in grade four – we used to do AC/DC covers. Singing things like ‘She’s got the jack’ – we had no idea what we were talking about. So that’s been a really great experience. And I’m the process of writing a new album, too – the third album – which has been really great fun.

Have you considered recording these Queensland gigs?

F: No, we haven’t.

T: Good idea.

F: We’ll see how they go. We have all our stuff with us, all our recording stuff, so we can if we feel like it at the time. I’ll definitely document as we go, film things as we go. We definitely won’t be livestreaming because there’s definitely not enough service out there.

The requirements sometimes with social media for artists, I sometimes wonder if they’re too much – you just want to get up and do your jobs.

F: Yes, it is sometimes too much. Especially when there’s lots of other elements or other organisations that are requiring something of you. But I wouldn’t want to take away from the actual event because we were filming it. We want to be focused on having a good time.

Well, I am curious to see what comes out of this – I have visions of different types of collaborations between the two of you. No pressure.

T: [Laughs] We’ll keep you posted.

Thursday 20th July - Longreach Civic Centre – Longreach, QLD

Friday 21st July -  Ilfracombe Hall – Ilfracombe, QLD

Saturday 22nd July - Isisford Hall – Isisford, QLD

Sunday 23rd July- Yaraka Hall – Yaraka, QLD

Concerts in Ilfracombe, Isisford  and Yaraka are free entry. Please arrive early to guarantee your seat.

Tickets to the Longreach concert are FREE – registrations are essential.  Click here to register.

www.tobiasmusic.com.au    www.fannylumsden.net

Interview: Tobias

Queensland singer-songwriter Tobias released the poignant single 'Just a Boy' recently, ahead of the release of his album Alive on 4 November. Tobias has played in other people's bands as well as creating his own songs; now he's focusing on a very productive solo career of writing, playing and performing. It was my pleasure to talk to him recently.

  

You’ve returned to the Sunshine Coast to live – how long were you away?

I moved to Melbourne nine years ago. Before that I did a lot of travelling around the world. I lived in Brisbane. I tried to settle in Noosa but the city lights beckoned. And I’ve just decided to come back now, just to be with family and stuff. It’s been really, really wonderful.

Once you’ve got an attachment to that place, it’s hard to leave it behind.

Absolutely. It was just time, you know – I was ready to come back. And it’s been great for music as well. For songwriting.

On Hastings Street [Noosa Heads] there’s the odd venue that has music, and I know there’s the surf club at Sunshine Beach. Are you finding that there’s a good number of places for you to play there?

Yes. The Sunshine Coast has really changed in the last ten years, and especially lately. There’s a lot of places that still appreciate original music. A lot of venues, and a lot of things just popping up through Yandina and Caloundra and Nambour, Eumundi. All over the coast there’s a real support for local music, and it’s great [laughs]. It’s amazing. People love it up here. They love music. Coming from Melbourne, where there’s a lot of original music and it’s really hard to get people along to shows, up here is very different. It’s very alive.

I’ll backtrack now and ask you a bit about your musical lineage – what lessons you used to listen to when you were young, where you think your musical style has come from.

I grew up in country Victoria up I was about eight. My mum and dad were real folkies. We moved out to the country and always had Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash and John Denver. A lot of folk music from the ’60s and ’70s like John Renbourn and Stefan Grossman. So I grew up with that music and around that sort of art. Dad taught me how to play guitar and I just fell into the style of folk, blues, finger-pickig guitar. That’s where it all started for me – and it hasn’t ended, either [laughs]. I have new love affairs with country artists. I’m just so into Willie Nelson right now, it’s so funny. But also my music’s influence a lot by bands I grew up with in the ’80s and ’90s, like The Cure and The Smiths. Bands like The Shins. I love to think that my music’s influenced by a lot of country, folk and pop – not pop but indie music.

John Denver gives me a bit of a clue about your melodic sensibilities – I can hear pop in your music, in a good way because I love pop music. And I think it’s hard to write melody really well and in a way that suits your voice. John Denver and Johnny Cash is an interesting combination of influences. They’re definitely both in your sound. And country music is storytelling in song, that’s a big part of its appeal

Absolutely – and it’s beautiful, isn’t it, when music does tell a story, and it’s meaningful and you can connect with the music. It takes you out of your life and your body, I reckon.

Which leads me to ask you about your songwriting process – do you start with a story idea or with a melody, or both? Neither?

It starts with a melody or a chord progression but it comes hand in hand with an emotion. If I’m playing something, mucking around, or I hear a melody I’ll play it, but it normally ties in with an emotion I’m feeling, or something I’m remembering, then it snowballs from there. But I find if I just play chords and melodies there’s not much meaning in it and I shelve them. I write a lot of songs every week. I never switch it off [laughs]. But it always starts in the morning – my best times are sunrise and with my morning cuppa [laughs], when my head’s clean and fresh, and when the ideas come freely. I muck around with melodies and chords, and then if it takes me away somewhere the song will get momentum and it structures itself, I think.

With the writing every day, was that something you decided a while ago? Was it a discipline you needed to have? Or do you feel every day that you want to write?

It wasn’t something that I sat down to do – it’s something I’ve always done because I love it so much. And I just need to, it’s one of those things – like eat [laughs]. I’ve got to do it. Sometimes the songs are terrible but sometimes they can be really nice and they might take me away. It’s funny sometimes to have to talk about this stuff. But I’ve always done it.

I always find it interesting to find out about the process. Some songwriters write every day to write things out, essentially, and some like to obey the muse. There is something, I think, to be said for writing out the stuff that isn’t working to get to the stuff that is.

Absolutely. I find that one song might come out of mucking around. I might have to write three or four songs that sound the same, and then one of them comes out of it, and it won’t be until I look back at the demos that I think, Whoa, that’s all the same song. That progression, that melody. That’s a test of a good song, I think, if you always come back to that progression and think, What’s that? [laughs] ‘Oh yeah, that’s what I’m hooked on.’

You talked about expressing emotion in song – did you ever consider taking another path to do that, like painting or writing prose, or was it always music?

It’s always been music. I’ve done a lot of visual art stuff but it doesn’t come naturally to me. Music and songwriting seem to be the best way for me to express creativity and to be whole as an artist, I think. It’s just the way that’s been natural for me, and it always has since I can remember. It’s really nice to be able to still do it and hone that craft. I’ve done a lot of things in my life that haven’t come naturally and have felt very awkward, but it’s beautiful to do something that comes easily.

Do you ever write with other people?

Yes, I’ve collaborated quite a bit. But it’s something I need to work on a bit more. I get a lot out of writing songs with other people and playing with other people. I learn from ear so I grew up jamming – that’s how I learnt to play, and learnt how to play with people on stage.

In terms of how your voice developed – it has such an incredible tone to it. Is that something that came from the ether, for lack of a better term? Or have you consciously modelled it on someone?

No, I just opened my mouth [laughs].

Well, that was a happy surprise!

Yeah, sure [laughs]. It was lucky. I think it’s gotten stronger over the years – but I think it’s gotten stronger with confidence, that’s really what it’s been about. But I haven’t done much vocal training. I said to my producer recently, ‘I’m thinking of getting some vocal training’, and he said, ‘No, don’t! Don’t do it! They’ll turn you into one of those singer-singers.’

I suppose one reason to go might be to avoid damaging your vocal cords.

Yes. I definitely warm up before I perform or record – I’ve got exercises.

In one video on your website, of a live performance, you were playing a very distinctive-looking guitar – it was green. Are you loyal to one instrument or do you have a few guitars?

I have a lot of guitars. I just can’t thrown them out or sell them, so I’m carrying around a lot. That one came to me about two years ago and I haven’t played anything else but that guitar. I just have a love affair with it [laughs]. It just seems to work for me if I look after it. It’s great for finger picking and it’s quite sensitive. I can also bash it out. So I use that guitar a lot. That and a banjo I’ve got.

Was banjo hard to learn?

I think I was lucky that I’ve played a lot of finger-picking guitars and in open-chord tunings, and when I moved to the five-string banjo it was already on open G tuning, so it was just a matter of learning a few fingerings. Within six months I was playing banjo for people like Missy Higgins, Jen Cloher and those sorts of acts through Melbourne and around Australia … It’s been a great instrument, just to play with people. It’s a really fun thing. [American actor and writer] Steve Martin says, ‘You can never play a sad song on a banjo’ [laughs].

Now, on to your album title, which is Alive – why did you choose it?

I think it just sums up the experience of the way the album came about and the songwriting. Each song is really a personal experience that I’ve written about. And the only reason I can experience those is that I feel quite awake in my life right now, and I feel alive for those experiences. And the music itself is quite uplifting. So it was one word that sums up the album. Someone – a producer – said that an album’s just a snapshot of your creative career at that time, and I think that word sums up that time, this time, and the moment, and the album and the way things are.

Which is a pretty wonderful thing – some people might go their whole lives without ever feeling that.

I know. And I forget too that I do a lot of work around being awake and alive [laughs]. I do a lot of meditation and I look after myself. It all really helps.

In choose the songs for this album, did you have quite a few to choose from or were you carefully curating throughout your songwriting process to arrive at this particular collection?

Not particularly. I had about 40 songs to choose from. Some of them I want to use on the next album – that’s another story. It just sort of happened organically. A few of the songs are upbeat poppy, some of them are country, which I really love, and some of them are folk-rocky songs, and I guess I chose them to narrate a story on the album. I didn’t just throw any song that I thought would go in there -- I did carefully consider which would be nice.

I get the impression that you would be careful [laughs].

Sure [laughs]. It’s really exciting to think that in my next album recording – which I’ve already teed up in a few weeks – it will keep the process going and keep the songs alive. Another producer who I really admire said, ‘If you’ve got a bunch of songs, you don’t sit on them – you either record them and move on or just put them aside and revisit them. And I think that’s what I want to do – really have relationships with these songs. Put them onto an album and then I can move on to the next one.

On the single, ‘Just a Boy’, which the notes say is about your mother, it might have been easy or tempting to become maudlin about the subject matter but you really avoided that – so it seems like you approached the subject matter from a position of not necessarily joy – or maybe it is joy looking back at your childhood and knowing your mother.

I’m glad you said that. Even though it is a really sad memory … On my last album I wrote a tribute to my mother’s passing and it was more about the grief. This song is more looking back as a memory of joy. It was growing up and going to Noosa River and fishing – everything just being a really fun, wonderful time. All this warm weather and eating barbies all the time [laughs]. Just a happy time and it reminds me of Australia as well – we love that, being outside and being together and having a barbie and shooting the breeze. It was just a memory and I wrote it when I was feeling a little bit lonely down in Melbourne and it was cold, and the sun had just come out for the spring and I thought, Wow, that was such a beautiful time. I was so blessed to grow up in Eumundi and Noosa and ride motorbikes and make bows and arrows. [Laughs] When you lose a parent at that age a lot of that lifestyle goes, so it’s easy to look back on it nostalgically. But I’m glad you said that because it is a really joyful memory – a really beautiful memory.

And it’s a lovely song. Now, my last question: you’re about to go on tour – are you looking forward to it?

You bet [laughs]. I can’t wait. I’ve got a new tour caravan. I’m going to be on the road for about six weeks I think, doing quite a few shows from Brisbane down to Melbourne then back up to Brisbane and all the way up past Rockhampton, and a few house concerts on the way. I’m really, really looking forward to it. I love being on the road, playing for people, meeting new people.

 Alive is released on 4 November 2016.

www.tobiasmusic.com.au

Tobias tour dates:

SATURDAY 5^TH NOVEMBER | ‘ALIVE’ VIC ALBUM LAUNCH PARTY @ LABOUR IN VAIN – MELBOURNE, VIC

SATURDAY 12^TH NOVEMBER | THE FRONT GALLERY, CANBERRA – ACT

FRIDAY 18^TH NOVEMBER | THE FOX DEN, GLOUCESTER – NSW

SUNDAY 20^TH NOVEMBER | FLOW BAR, OLD BAR – NSW

FRIDAY 25^TH NOVEMBER | ‘ALIVE’ QLD ALBUM LAUNCH PARTY @ BERKELOUW BOOKS, EUMUNDI – QLD

FRIDAY 16^TH DECEMBER | IMPERIAL HOTEL EUMUNDI, QLD

SUNDAY 8^TH JANUARY | IMPERIAL HOTEL EUMUNDI, QLD

Single release: 'Just a Boy' by Tobias

Sunshine Coast singer-songwriter Tobias has released 'Just a Boy', a single from his forthcoming second album, Alive, which will be released on 4 November. The song evokes his childhood in a simple yet moving way, his voice suggesting happy memories but with a catch: they are, of course, memories and whatever happiness they hold is long gone.

Watch the video for 'Just a Boy' below.





tobiasmusic.com.au