Family Picnic

Hi Guys

Thought Id share some weekend pics.



Troy & I were really wanting to go for a surf over the weekend but it was onshore & small so.....

instead we took the dog & our picnic blanket down to Rainbow Bay & had a windy but fun family afternoon. Just the 3 of us.




I got rope burn chasing after Olly (our dog) & i tripped over the lead infront of a crowd of people & it was very embarrassing but funny, I guess you had to have been there.

Kids love dogs.........

till next week ... bye x

The Arias 2008

Hi everyone.

This past week has been a big one. 

I was so excited to be invited to the Aria awards. Wow what an amazing night that was. 

I could go on forever about it so I'm going to try & keep it short.

I went with Claire & we sat at the EMI publishing table. It was my first time to The Arias. I didn't know what to expect. I met so many great people. The night went way too quick.

The performances were great & the whole thing was so exciting. 

I wrote some songs with Mark Sholtez about a week before so it was great to be able to sit with him & his partner Melita.

Here are some photo's

Lisa, Jess & I 

This is where we sat, couldn't believe it...... amazing seats.

Jake Grigg & I catching up

Below is the talented Mark Sholtez & his partner Melita

The Presets were fantastic

After the Arias had finished we all got onto one of the Aria buses & headed to the after party at the Ivy. By then my feet were killing me but my shoes still looked hot...ha

We were served apple martinis when we arrived ... (yum), looking around the room it all started to sink in..... how amazing the night was.

 

Tim Manton (my manager) & I at the after party

This is Brad Campbell, funny guy :)

Claire & I at the after party

Timmy Commandeur & I, last photo of the night

Till next time, I'm going to eat some chocolate now :)

x.

My Amazing last few weeks

I dont know where to start? Its been a while between blogs so I will keep it short.

I have had an amazing few weeks. I went to Sydney a few times to do some co-writing & met the most amazing people.

My manager Tim and his partner Claire were nice enough to let me crash at their house in Bondi so everything was pretty close by.

The first week I was there I met up & wrote with Melanie Horsnell, Wons Phreely, Josh Schuberth, Cindy Ryan & Jake Grigg.
Wow... was that an amazing first week, they were all so lovely & very talented. We ended up with some great songs.

Here are some photos below of some of my week.

Cindy & I at Revolution Studios.  www.revolutionstudios.com.au


This is Wons, ...check out wonsphreely.com

Jake & I had a great day & had heaps of space for our crap as you can see.

I don't have any photos of Josh or Melanie but visit their myspace & websites.

melaniehorsnell.com

www.myspace.com/joshschuberth

The next Sydney trip ...........

was a week later & I was lucky enough to write with Cindy, Melanie & Jake again. I also wrote with McGowan Southworth (www.myspace.com/mcgowan) which was great cause I knew he was really busy.

It's been an amazing few weeks, I worked with some great artists, & I just feel so lucky.

I can't wait for my next trip.

Sarah x

A Photo Shoot

Got some new photos.

Some of the new photos will be used on new promo stuff I guess, like website, myspace etc.

The shoot was upstairs in an old community hall in Currumbin, (Gecko Hall). 

Visit www.gecko.org.au for more info on their local enviromental work.

The windows were covered with black sheets & the photos were shot with a spot light.

Neva Elliot was the photographer. Neva does alot of fashion photography. 

The photos came out great. www.nevaelliottphotography.com

It was fun, we set the ipod up in the corner & played Amy Winehouse while we were shooting. 

Troy even stepped into some of the shots. He loves the spotlight.

Till next time x.

Songs of Applewoods Experience

This week I was lucky enough to be involved with Songs of Applewood 2008--songwriting project.



The weekend featured 21 or so Brisbane/Queensland artists over a three day period on a beautiful property west of Brisbane. We were to be paired with another artist, then write & record a song in the one day.

I got up early in the morning & started driving the estimated 2 hour drive. I had to stop twice & get directions but finally found the place. I drove up a dirt drive way to an amazing old green church which has been converted to a house & a barn that looked like it was something out of The Little House On The Prairie.



I got to know the other artists over a nice breakfast in front of the fire. After a welcome & a brief from Tylea & Magoo (The owners of the property & hosts of the weekend) we got straight to work.

I was paired up with the talented Steve Grady, a 22 year old Brisbane artist who is recording his debut album.
www.myspace.com/stevegradymusic

We headed over to an old bench in the sunlight with our guitars & started brain storming. Steve had a chorus & a song idea that he couldn't finish so we rolled with that. The concept was about being comfortably uncomfortable - waking up next to someone & there being an awkward silence but still being comfortable in the moment. We called the song 'Morning Birds'.

We went into the little barn & started recording. We worked with producer/sound engineer Magoo.
Steve & i recorded it live & added drums, lead guitar & bass later.
It took a few hours to record, but the result was great.



Later after dinner all the artists got together & listened to the recordings from the day. They were all very different & great.
Cant wait to hear the whole cd.

It was an amazing experience & I feel privileged to have been apart of it.

Tylea said the songs might be avaliable from the Applewoods website soon. Keep an eye on www.songsofapplewood.com for more info

A huge thanks to Tylea, Magoo & Jeff for having me & hosting such a inspirational project.

My Splendour In The Grass 2008

So this was an experience. Never been to this festival before, so I didn't know what to expect. 

We drove to Byron early in the morning & had a yummy breakfast by the beach. We met with a few friends & headed into town. I think everyone else had the same idea so the streets were filled with Splendour crowds all ready to go to the farm grounds with their bright coloured gum boots. We visited an amazing little art gallery called 'Retrospective Gallery' & saw some great pieces by Kill Pixie, Ben Frost, Trent Whitehead & heaps of others before we headed off for the day. 

Parking was pretty easy. We had a bit of a hike through the bushes & muddy farm grounds dodging piles of horse poo through the long grass & until finally reaching the main gates half an hour later. Its all part of the experience.....

Saw so much amazing music on day 1. Operator Please were awesome, The Music & Gyroscope were great too. 

Day 2, after a solo lunch time gig at Coolangatta's Bellakai Cafe, we headed back to Byron with our warm clothing on ready for the cold night ahead. Icelandic band Sigur Ros were one of my Splendour highlights as well as Clare Bowditch.

I live in Tweed Heads, so close to Byron's Splendour In The Grass, I cant believe I haven't been before. Can't wait till next year......