Up Close & Personal

"Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius power and magic in it."
Goethe

A brief history

Born in Adelaide, South Australia to a musical family, (my great-grandfather, Clarry Young started the first orchestra/band in Adelaide, played a mean piano and could play anything by ear) I was trained classically from a young age in Viola at the Elder Conservatorium, South Australia. In my effort to keep up the premise of being a respectable member of the music world, I performed in professional orchestras and got myself qualified with theory and practice certificates. But you can’t pick up boys if you’re stuck in the middle of an orchestra(!!!!!!) so with the help of some school mates and some very interesting school camps, the singer was born!

But what about your real job? If I had only not asked what happened to the advertisement after I sung it I probably wouldn’t have been working in advertising agencies for 10 years...but that’s my big mouth for you. Let’s face it, the money’s great in advertising so you can’t blame a girl for getting sidetracked, but I was always singing albeit sometimes just to the shower curtain and always, always writing my little songs that I never dreamed anyone would ever hear... .and secretly wishing that they would.

Anyway I quit!

Well, that’s not exactly accurate, the advertising agency I was working for went into liquidation (too many long lunches I fear) so I figured it was as good a time as any to take the plunge. How to do so was a mystery but I decided that I wasn’t going to go back into a highly paid job that would take my mind off the task ahead. One of my friends told me about a telemarketing company that employed actors and musicians on a casual basis... It turned out to be my friend and foe for several years and it introduced me to Elliot Wilshier.

Parties are good!

There I was, sitting next to Elliot, singing away to the cd that was playing at one of the very few( ! ) parties that young telemarketers have to stay sane. "Would you sing backing vocals on my cd?" says Elliot. . . "Sure" says Louise trying to contain herself and then venturing .."if you’d produce a little song called ‘So Long’ that I have written".

Did I mention all the disastrous relationships?!

Well how else can you write sad songs - don’t worry, there’s been some great ones too but they just ain’t good fodder!

One Track turns to Three and then Twelve Answering telephones is not exactly the most lucrative way to fund a cd recording (nor is gigging for that matter) so "Come on-my house "has been a long time in the making. After ‘So Long’, Elliot produced two more for me,(’Tell Me All Your Secrets’ and ‘Get What You Need’ which he co-wrote) with the help of Gary Fredericks at Big Swing Productions.

Then came the amazing talent of Bill Risby at a piano duo gig at the Sheraton as he sight read my music, "These are nice songs... who wrote them?" "Me". . . "We should record them, I’ll help you".

The Best Week Of My Life

A tiny studio underneath the Sydney Opera House is where I spent it, with the cream of Sydney’s musicians and an engineer with boundless energy called Colin who was convinced that he couldn’t hear properly unless he had his shoes off (Don’t ask me?!) This is where we recorded and mixed the other 9 tracks for the album in 7 days. Watching the songs come to life was amazing, the musicians were amazing and generous as was Bill who slept there for most of it!

Why "Come on-a my house"?

It’s the only cover on the album and I must admit that when I brought the CD, complete with harpsichord solo, into the studio all of the boys thought I was demented. But I remember seeing Rosemary Clooney (you know George’s aunt) sing it in a midday movie when I was about 10 and thinking "wow I want to sing that song one day". So, if I had to put a cover on the album, and everyone insisted that it was a good idea, then it had to be that one.

If You Believe

The stories that have brought me to here are too many to mention, but since I have set my course there has always been someone to pop up and help me along the way. In particular are the musicians who have taught me more than any text book could teach, like Peter Northcote, Gordon Rytmeister, Craig Minshull, Kere Buchanan and, of course, Bill Risby (there are many more). And. . . . at the risk of getting "oh wow man" on you, I reckon Goethe had the right idea.

So, What Now ? Gigging, writing and saving up for my next album, of course !! Oh, and trying to maintain a sense of humour!