Oct 1998

7,000kms and Two New Albums later!

G'day Folks.

Wow! What an amazing life I've had in the last three months; and it just seems to keep on coming. The non- stop touring has taken me across some of the most beautiful, and some of the harshest, country in Australia. Early August took us to S.A. where with my brothers Ron and Geoff Drummond, we recorded a new CD for Malleelands writer, Jeanette Wormald. The result is a great new album called 'Acres Of Blue' which is already getting good airplay in SA. The album which had heaps of input from Geoff, Ron and Producer Mick Wordley, features a duet remake of 'The Old Time Country Show' by Jeanette and myself. This album is available through us at the gigs. Jeanette's songwriting just gets stronger all the time and her writing work with Narranjerri women is especially notable.

Our own new album " Through The Cracks- Live at The Clarendon" will be available from October 14th. Recorded in the wake of the Blue Mountains Folk Festival, this album, although 'live', is not simply a re-run of songs previously presented on studio offerings. It contains a completely new set of songs; ones which I felt would not necessarily benefit greatly from augmentation by a band, or which I felt were best 'live' or which had been somewhat lost or forgotten over the years. A full listing of the tracks which includes 'The Road To Damascus', 'Somebody Else's Slides' and 'The Kelly Option' is on the Website.

After Adelaide, Ron and I headed north to Wilpena Pound. Driving into the pound late in the day we skirted the walls of this gigantic formation, arriving at the Resort in the late afternoon. Due to heavy rain in previous weeks, which had closed many Western NSW outback roads, most of the tour buses heading for 'The Centre' had been routed south and were visiting the Pound, as well.

The Resort was full. There were people there from all over Australia, so I shouldn't have been surprised to find some Sydney people. However I was amazed to find that four of the folks in the audience that night had driven over 3200Km round trip from Sydney in one weekend just to be at the concert that night.

Greg Crispo, John Stefas, Cindy Budai and Theo Niessen have, as result of this LEGEND-ARY effort, been officially elevated to High Order of Remedial Background Singers with Clasp and Bar.

In unrelated incident, a second fanatic was also elevated to this lofty order on the same night. Qantas International 747 pilot, Georgina Sutton who flew into Adelaide in the hope of making the concert in the Pound; missed her road connection and rather than miss out altogether, rang the resort at STD rates and stayed on the phone all night while members of the crowd took turns to hold the receiver aloft. Thanks to all those who took turns with the phone, although Georgina did complain bitterly about the tinny echo that became prevalent about 11PM when she was left for twenty minutes inside an ice bucket behind the bar!

Keith and Lynette Rasheed, the resort's managers, were so impressed by the Sydney contingent that they gave us their plane and pilot next morning, to ensure that we all had an opportunity to see the Pound from the air before we left. Although at first glance it looks somewhat like a volcanic crater, this wonderful ring of sandstone is actually the remnant of ancient valley which was all that was left after it's surrounding mountains had been eroded away. It's certainly one of the natural treasures of South Australia. My friend John Schumann who loves the area deeply And had repeatedly promised to show me through it, failed to front. But to be fair he has been very busy. He has finally made the leap from music to politics and is running for the Democrats in next Saturdays Federal election. For John, whose national #1 band, Redgum were among the most politically charged units of the eighties I suppose it was inevitable.

After the visitors mud caked Ford laser with the NSW plates pulled out for the return journey to Sydney, Keith was gracious enough to take Ron and I out in the Resort's 4 wheel drives for a trek across this amazing and beautiful landscape. (Photos on The Website soon.)

Determined that I would not leave the area until I had climbed the Pound Wall, I rose at 4AM the next morning and made my way in the moonlight up the track to the top of Mount Olsen Baggs and watched the Dawn come up. The poem, which became the basis of the new song 'Wilpena Dawn' was written on that incredibly beautiful morning. The Poem is on the Website.

Bidding Keith and Lynette goodbye, Ron and I travelled North into the river gorge across what was once an ancient seabed which had, millions of years ago, been uplifted and tilted. Subsequent erosion has made it possible to literally travel through time as one drives through the gorge; traversing hundreds of millions of years of geological history, in a space of about 50 Kms. The variation in the rock strata is breathtaking as each seabed layer is crossed. I am not a rock hound but even I was seriously impressed.

Emerging onto the main road, it was 'next stop Marree Pub' to link up with Peter Scott and The Rotary Outback Bash for a wild trip up the formidable Birdsville Track to The Simpson Desert.

Getting away the next morning early, because we wanted to be well in front of the pack and, therefore, in front of the 'sweep' retrieval vehicles, we turned onto the wide dirt road and drove north leaving all traces of civilsation behind us.

We had, I must admit, been a little apprehensive about taking a two-wheel drive Ford Transit full of PA gear up 'the track'. It would have been difficult at the best of times, let alone after extensive rain. The first mudholes, however, weren't that deep and the bright sunshine gave us sense of general optimism. Ron walked them through and we inched the van through along his suggested line; but the subsequent washaways were deeper and they began to pose a considerable bogging hazard. In retrospect, had I known that the entry water in a diesel engine's air intake is nothing short of catastrophic, I would have been less Gung Ho!

But ignorance is bliss they say, and it seemed at the time that the best thing to do was to wind up the vehicle to about eighty and count on the weight of the PA to push us through. OK, we did skid about a bit but it worked pretty well until we hit the one in which the water was up near the windows.

It's amazing that we got through but get though we did all the way to to the Mungaranee Roadhouse for the first show of the Bash. The subsequent week brought days in the Simpson Desert which, after the rain, was covered in a carpet of wildflowers, hot springs, gibba plains and one memorable night where I slept out alone under a big desert moon on top of a dune of soft pink sand. It was fairly chilly about 3AM but the spectacular sunrise next morning more than made up for it. Two great days driving with Ken and Christina Tagg and Ian and Shirley Stratton also yielded some wonderful stories.

The bash was also a fairly serious 'boys and their toys' event which saw Scottie flattening his Holden Jackeroo just out of Betoota when his outside wheels caught a deep rut on a curve. It flipped and suddenly it was 'washing machine' time. Thankfully no one was injured; and it was amazing watching the 'rev heads' descend on the wreck with a million different opinions on how to make it go again. Somewhere in the mix however they sorted it out, and Scottie's heavily modified vehicle rolled into Durham Downs station only about an hour behind the Pack.

Finally it was Cobar where, after much needed showers we discovered that through the auctions and fundraising along the way we had raised $85,000.00 for the Flying Doctor through the Bash. Line honours went The Coonabarabran Toyota Crew who were a stack of fun, as well great competitors throughout.

I am proud to say that Ron and I took out the FORD award despite the presence of some terrific new Ford explorer's . It's not that we were faster. We weren't. It's not that we were more reliable. It was just that they reckoned that anyone who was stupid enough to take a bright blue Transit Van up the track in such conditions deserved to win! Special thanks to Events in Wollongong for the electrical technology needed to mount the desert shows.

The Queensland Leg of the tour was equally wonderful. Teaming up with 4 times National Flatpicking Guitar Champion and Fiddle/mandolin/ didgeredoo wizard, Andrew Clermont who drives even faster than he plays, we headed north. I know that's true because we returned to find that we have a complete photographic record of that tour courtesy of the Queensland Police! If his driving is less than subtle, there is however a wonderful sensitivity in Andrew's playing and it was the first time we had had a couple of solid weeks playing together. By the end of the tour we were really firing as a team.

I discovered so many wonderful people and places on this leg of the tour it is difficult to know where to start. 'Be open to the possibility of the day' is always my motto on tour but with Andrew it was almost as if we could not anticipate what the next hour would bring. One night near Maleny in the Glasshouse mountains with a rare night off on our hands prior to the Gympie Muster we went to a delightful little coffee shop called The Celtic Tea Rooms. We were going to meet some friends of Andrew for a birthday celebration. We pushed open a heavy studded door bundling ourselves noisily inside to escape the unwanted attentions of a torrential rainstorm, only to find ourselves disrupting a concert. A gentleman by the name of Robert "Buzz' Oxford was singing a rich Bluesy voice to crowd of about sixty hushed people without even the aid of a PA. The sound of Buzz's voice as it filled the wood lined tea shop and was delightful. He was launching his new CD 'Opening Up'

After the break Andrew, who seemed to know every one, was prevailed upon to play and he took the opportunity to introduce me. It has been a lot of years since I have played a gig without a PA and this tour was full of great gigs and good memories but that gig was really a highlight for me.

After the Gympie Muster I headed south for a gig on the Gold Coast a fundraiser for Musgrave Hill School. I was amazed at The preparations the the organises had put into hall. which included a full campfire stage set and great sound and light support from Trevor.

A Big Thanks to all concerned.

South again to Lismore, we spent two days with Elizabeth Lord and and Leigh James whose album 'Share' brought them some attention last year. And deservedly so. It has been off my CD player since I got it. Elizabeth, who teaches Voice part time at Southern Cross University in Lismore, arranged a 'Live to Air' concert which was fully videotaped as part of the Television School's course of study. The facility had to be seen to be believed.

The combined songwriting/stagemanship seminar which followed the concert attracted people across the age and style spectrum and was quite challenging.

Both Andrew and I are very grateful to those families including who billeted us out over this period. Especially Milton and Wendy Job in Laurieton and to John Loadsman and Cindy Dunford in Coffs Harbour. Thanks for sharing so much of yourselves and your stories with us. Ten new songs are now completed or are on the way, a few of which were written with my good friend Denise McCumstie on her mango farm north of Gympie, with whom I managed to spend two days writing.

A couple of long drives overnight followed and after abn amazing gig in Patterson NSW where a multude ode of ROVER groups descended on the town for a wild REST HOTEL like event, we were finally within striking distance of home. Arriving back in Sydney to the only bright sunshine that city had seen in weeks, we found our Fledging Galston Country Music Festival at Fagan Park Galston was a tremendous success yet again, with thousands of people turning out to see acts such as Anne Kirkpatrick and The Wolverines. Huge thanks and Congratulations to my fellow festival directors Len Knight and Tony and Vicki Page and to all the Galston Rotary group. Full photos of the event and report are on The Website.

A few hiccups this quarter. Heavy rain washed out The Bullara Bush Expo to which we were hoping to return after several years away and Cart's Bar in Melbourne was cancelled at short notice after what seems to have been some internal management changes.

It's frustrating that Melbourne seems to be 'off limits' for me. Last year I had to cancel a gig there when the engine in my last truck collapsed. I sincerely apologise all those who had planned to come along and I promise I will try to get to Melbourne in the early parts of next year.

On The Home front: At this stage we are nervously awaiting the arrival of our first Grandchild who was due several days ago. In a bizarre development the Blue Mountains Hospital rang Matthew and Naomi today to tell them not have the baby on Thursday as their would be no obstetrician in attendance at the million dollar facility.

So it may be on the cards that we will have to dash to Penrith if the little person chooses Thursday to arrive!

Apart from that, we are well and hope this letter finds you in similar circumstance. As soon as the babe is born there will be jpegs at the Website. http://www.lisp.com.au/~patdrum

Pat, Carol and The Drummond Family

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