Eight years ago Joe began a
song-writing collaboration with good friend, Edmond Kairouz. Joe had sheets of poetry and could hear melodies in
his head. Edmond
played guitar and accordian. The two produced some four hundred songs, inspired
by the music they loved: Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch, Patty Griffin, Townes
Van Zandt, Springsteen, Dylan, Cash; Otis Redding, Sam Cooke, Aretha Franklin,
Etta James; Gram Parsons, Ray Charles, Joe
Henry …
I’m sitting with Joe in a Redfern
café, and taking notes furiously. Joe
is excited. After eight years he has a band, the Torchsong Country Soul Band,
an eponymous debut EP, and an EP launch this month at the Bald Faced Stag in
Leichhardt.
“It was Dennis Aubrey at the Harp in Tempe
who encouraged Edmond
and I to get up and play a song. He came up with the “Country & Redfern”
tag. There is a lot of country music in Redfern,” says Joe.
“But I always imagined my songs sung by a female vocalist, so we placed an
ad in the street press, and Maree [Byrne] sent us a demo she’d made in Ireland. The
first time I heard her voice I just thought it was amazing. In 2004 we started
playing as a three-piece – first time, I think, was at MASS in Balmain at St
Andrew’s church on Darling Street.”
Joined by Mitch Mitchell on bass,
Nick Williams on harmonica and dobro, and Mark Fairhurst on drums (and graphic
design!), the Torchsong Country Soul Band was complete.
The EP is a showcase of the band – six songs, six styles – from folk to
blue-grass, from country-soul to blues. Recorded at Damien Gerard Studios in
May and engineered by Andrew Beck, it will appeal to lovers of rootsy Americana. The sound is
accomplished, confident: three-part harmonies, winding guitar and harmonica
solos, well-crafted tunes. It’s currently available from So Music (183 King St Newtown),
Holey Moley (1/325 King St
Newtown), and Freestyle (412 Elizabeth
St).
The Torchsong Country Soul Band supported by Bare Bones and Steph Miller.
Sunday 14 October from 3pm at the Bald Faced Stag, 345 Parramatta Road Leichhardt. Entry is
$6.
www.torchsong.moonfruit.com
& www.myspace.com/torchsongcountrysoulband
Photo: Andrew Beck The Torchsong
Country Soul Band
Source: South Sydney Herald October 2007