Kate Grealy: Blog

One of my mates told me I should try writing a blog about my recent trip to Pakistan. So. Here it is.

My first port of call was Karachi. It was 40 degrees celsuis.

Karachi is a mad city, but i really loved it (i will post some photos soon).

I spent some time at Clifton Beach, rode a camel, bought some flowers off a very smart 5 year old 'street' girl, ate 'Student Biryani' each night in Karachi (feeding the feral cats who wandered into the restraunts who always somehow managed to find me, like the poor beggars), and was generally amazed by the city - that looks as though it's about to fall apoart, but somehow manages not to.

I then travelled to Balachistan to the marvelous city of Quetta. I love that place, it is a real-life cowboy city - occasional Taliban hide-out, so-called 'frontier' city. A bully's paradise! Such a strange, funny yet beautiful place. There really were Taliban there.

The hospitality I was shown while in Quetta though, blew me away. Everyone bought me clothes, they took me sightseeing around balochistan (borders Afghanistan, which is a bit hairy at times lol), fed me toooo much, and generally showered me with Love. Yes, it's a very loving culture. Friends walk the streets hand in hand, hugging eachother on departure - as though it would be the last time they would see eachother ...

I went walking in the mountains, went to Ziarat where Jinnah (the 'father of the nation of Pakistan') retired in his later years, saw a 1000 year old tree that had grown in such a way as to show the name Allah (God in Arabic) in perfect Arabic script, and had dinner with some lovely Ziarat locals. The word 'hospitable' can't adequately describe how I was treated by these lovely folk!

Back to the cowboy city of Quetta, where Klashminokovs (otherwise known as AK47's) reign supreme!

I spent most of my time in this city, with its sprawling population of Afghan refugees (and Australia thought it had something to worry about with the boat people). Over a million refugees live here, and they are so poor. They buid mud houses into the mountains, amazing architectural feats in their own right really.

I can't really describe much more about Quetta ... I think that possiby more will come to me, but I still feel as though I never left. It was so great, but it really is a blur!

My last day and a half was spent in Karachi waiting for my flight home.

I stayed close to the airport in a lovely guesthouse owned by an ex-military dude. I absorbed as much as I could the dissonant azans (Muslim calls to prayer) that blared out of each mosque as I knew I was soon to leave. I watched the kite-fights out my window til mid-afternoon when I went for a goodbye walk.

I noticed an electricity in the air. Ramadan (Muslim month of fasting) was coming to an end and people were preparing for Eid (massive celebration for the end of Fasting). There were also Benazir Bhutto posters everwhere. The news broadcasted that she was to return a week from my last day in Pakistan.

As the sun went down and the feral dogs and cats came out, I walked back to the guest-house. I felt so sad to leave, for some reason.

A week later, back in Australia, I awoke to the terrible news that there had been a terrorist attack on the streets of Karachi, aimed at assasinating Bhutto. 150 people had been killed.

I watched a special report on SBS's Dateline about Bhutto's homecoming. The journalist took the journey from the airport to Bhutto's residence, a celebratory parade that continued for over 8 hours with over a milion supporters of the ex-prime minister crowding the streets.

I watched his footage of the PPP's (Pakistani People's Party) supporters dance of joy, and I watched in sadness as the bomb went off not far from where he stood.

Tears came to my eyes as I thought of the many idealistic young Pakistanis I had spoken to, who desperately want political change, and who are tired of the poverty and corruption.

I sadly saw similar hopeful-expectation on the faces of the now-dead, those rallying around Bhutto on what looked like an electric Karachi night.

Beauty fades but dumb is forever

Only three weeks until I do the most exciting gig I've ever done.

I will be performing at the Forum Theatre in a tribute concert to commemorate the tenth year since Jeff Buckley's passing. It is odd that it has been ten years. I was in year 8 at High School in 1997 and had only been introduced to hís' music by a friend of my parent's who lived around the corner. His' music opened up a whole new world to me in terms of composition and style. I idolised him and covered his' songs (badly) at all the accoustic nights in Albyry at the time; Lover You SHould've come Over, Last Goodbye, and Morning Theft were al regularly covered by me, an awkwardish and shy teenager.

To be invited to do this show is truly an honour for me. On the night I will be joined by percussionist Teal-Bain Roben and nick Huggins http://www.apocketfullofstones.com who are both wonderful musicians.

We will perform 'Opened Once' and 'We Could Be So Happy', both from his' album 'Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk', a great album.

PLease join us at The Forum Theatre on Saturday June 2 for this show, it will be an amazing night - for more info please see the calendar page.

I've been reading Bob Dylan's autobiography. A small line from his' book stood out for me: "Be kind, because everyone you'll ever meet is fighting a hard battle". Too true.

Well, I've returned to Melbourne from my trip up to Sydney. I performed at The Brass Monkey http://www.brassmonkey.com.au/whatson.htm supporting Carra last week. It was a great show. Thanks to Carra for inviting me up there, to the mixer and to the venue. I really enjoyed the night.

Recording has once again been put on hold. I have been a little unwell again and ended up in hospital with a drip on the weekend so I’m taking it easy. But these quiet times have inspired me and I have been writing a lot. One of the last songs I had written (see lyrics page) was inspired by the drought, this new song explores a more social aspect of the drought.

There have been a disproportionate number of suicides in rural/regional communities during this tough time. This song is about the anxiety of a woman who fears that her husband may do the same. I was initially inspired after a long chat a friend and I had on her verandah one night. She had told me about what her neighbours had been suffering. Their livestock were now feeding off her own lawn and the animals seemed to cry painfully. She repeated something to me that she had heard on ABC Radio National. A woman called in to discuss her experience of the drought. She told the interviewer, in a shaky voice, that if her husband arrives home five to ten minutes late in the evening she starts to ponder the possibility that he may have killed himself. Sitting on the floor in my room one night, after watching a recording of Paul Kelly’s WOMAD concert on TV, I started to strum some chords and this song came out. A demo version is available on my myspace page http://www.myspace.com/kategrealy. It is called If He’s Five Minutes Late. Here are the words:


A coal-black sky

Three hours before dawn

Lying in bed with open

eyes

Wandering what's to come



The cattle stir

They're eating the

neighbour's grass


It's the first week of

December and

Feed is running out fast


CHORUS

If he's five minutes late

I'm walking out the gate

Calling out his'

Calling out his' name



The midday sun

Nearly burning up the

ground

The ground's as dry as a

tinderbox

A monochrome of brown



The wind it stirs

A hot offensive wind

Carrying a sad sheep's cry

And a neighbour's

Conversation


CHORUS

If he's five minutes late

I'm walking out the gate

Calling out his'

Calling out his' name



The sun goes down

I listen for his car

Stone-cold, I hear nothing

But the beat of my own

heart



The wind it stirs

A hot and restless wind

Sounding something like

the sigh that I breathe

when he walks in


CHORUS

If he's five minutes late

I'm walking out the gate

Calling out his'

Calling out his' name



(c) Kate Grealy 2006

It’s been fantastic to start recording. Nick Huggins is so good to work with, he has a great sense of humour and records really nicely too!

THE EP DUE FOR RELEASE THIS AUTUMN

I have finalised the songs that will be on the album and have started to record them. But before I release it (later in 2007) I will release an EP. The EP contains four solo tracks, some electric, some acoustic. They are:

1. There Was No Mountain
2. Lone Woman at Karbarla
3. Famous Blue Raincoat (a cover of the famous Leonard Cohen song)
4. Finding the Sunlight

It will be a limited pressing that I will launch in autumn of 2007.

THE SONGS AND THE THEME OF THE ALBUM

I will begin recording the band-tracks for the album in late January. There will be strings, piano, beautiful vocal harmonies, mandolin, banjo, drums and more.

The tracks for the album are as follows:

1. Nothing Is As It Appears
2. There Was No Mountain
3. Finding the Sunlight
4. Lone Woman at Karbarla
5. Joy (written by Meg Smith)
6. Famous Blue Raincoat (written by Leonard Cohen)
7. Where the Water Once Was
8. If He's Five Minutes Late
9. Diverging in Time

The title for the album will be 'There Was No Mountain'. I wrote the title track the night before my last politics exam (Politics in the 20th Century). We had a really inspiring teacher, Robert Manne, for that subject and we read a new book each week. All of them were frighteningly personal accounts of politics (much of which was totalitarian) in the 20th century.

One of the first books we read was 'Darkness at Noon', by Arthur Keostler. I wrote a song about the book because my friends Eva Popov and Rene Sephton had organised to all write a song about a book to re-kindle our inspiration. I did it, and 'There Was No Mountain' came out of it.

Upon reflection I have realised that the song, while it describes the political disillusionment of an ex-member of the Bolshevik old guard (as the book describes), it also describes parts of my own personal processes. These processes aren't about political disillusionment per se, nor are they necessarily about being disillusioned. The theme that emerged and which has been emerging in general from my songwriting is that of discovery and change, to sound terribly new-age (which I assure you I am not!). I have just turned 23 and have discussed with many friends (who are also my age) the tumultuous experiences we have all been through in the last few years (between the transitional ages of 18-23). One of the main realisations that have unfolded in many of us is an awareness of the reality that the life we imagined would appear on the horizon as we grew into ‘adults’ never came, hence the metaphor of there being no mountain. The same goes for politics. Humanity so often drags itself through shit on the path to some supposed glorious utopia. But the glorious utopias never really seem to emerge.

But this album isn’t cynical. It isn’t about losing faith or hope as I am a very hopeful person with much faith. I just don't like putting faith in mountains that I can't see. I prefer a hope that allows you to build on something that is real. I reckon Vacalv Havel sums it up well: Hope is "not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out ... [Because] isn't it the moment of most profound doubt that gives birth to new certainties?"

I’ve just returned to Melbourne from North-East Victoria and am going travel again to start recording the CD today in Point Lonsdale.

ARTS SPACE WODONGA

I performed at two shows in North-East Victoria last week. The first one I headlined at Arts Space Wodonga. A big thanks to everyone who came along to the show, I had a wonderful night. My high school music teacher even attended and said that my style hadn't changed heaps but that my technical ability had improved, which was really good to hear.

Thanks to Arts Space Wodonga and the Wodonga city council (Sarah McAlister in particular) for all their help, to Jack for the wonderful sound, to Joseph Thomsen and Allison Jess at ABC Goulburn Murray, to Radio 2AY, to Rene Sephton and Teal Bain-Roben for travelling all the way up there to perform and to my mates Cath Scofield (who helped with tickets) and Paul Broshce who found a spare guitar (a beautiful maton!) for me to use during the set.

THE TROY CASSER-DALY CONCERT

The second show was at Tallangatta with Troy Casser-Daly at the Drought Breaker Concert. It was a hugely successful event, congratulations to Penny Jeffs from Towong Shire Council who organised it. The concert really helped cheer up the struggling community out there. Troy was just fantastic – he has definitely won a fan in me.

Driving by the Hume Weir on the way to the Drought Breaker Concert really struck me though. It is at 7% and it is only the second week of summer. Farmers are shooting their livestock and there have been a disproportionate number of suicides in many small communities during this drought. And remember, it is only the second week of summer ..

A friend related a story to me. She works in a bottle-shop in a very small town in the North-East. A farmer came to pick up some beers and mentioned he had accidentally been short-changed the last time. He said to my friend that $15 is a lot of money when you’re shooting your livestock.

The bore water in the towns have also been opened up and there is quite a bit of tension as to who can use the water. No gardens for country folk. All my friend’s gardens are drying up, as is the lake water. And there is a constant, looming smoke-cloud which is really creepy.

I could go on about this for quite some time, but I won’t. Go to www.droughtbreakerconcert.com if you would like to give some money to these struggling communities who are truly suffering during this drought (that’s not mentioning the tension surrounding the fire season either).

So, in amongst all of this I wrote a new song. Here it is:

'Where the Water Once Was'

Driving down the road
Towards Tallangatta
I pass a place I used to swim at as a child
A stoic tree stands
Amidst the cracked, red sand
Near where the water once was

On that tree is a swing
Once used for diving into the water
But there’s no water


CHORUS
Oh when will it end?
That’s the question they ask again and again
When will it end?


And a heavy haze hangs
Reminding all of the fire’s sting
And everyone’s tired
And smoked-out

My friend she wanders down there everyday
Finds a new place along the way
Where the water had been

“At this rate” she said, “by April there’ll probably be nothing left”
We just sigh and try to talk small again


CHORUS
Oh when will it end?
That’s the question they ask again and again
When will it end?


Last night a friend and I
We were talking til’ late
About crushes + music + God + life

We gasped as we heard the sound
The sound of pattering rain
We ran outside only to watch it
Evaporate


CHORUS
Oh when will it end?
That’s the question they ask again and again
When will it end?


Driving down the road
Towards Tallangatta
I pass a place I used to swim at as a child
A stoic tree stands
Amidst the cracked, red sand
Near where the water once was

Once again, to help out go to

www.droughtbreakerconcert.com

I saw so many fantastic acts at the festival I played at on the weekend. Seeing such wonderful musicians/songwriters perform has inspired me to write, write, and write some more. I can’t wait to play these new songs live. I’ll keep adding my new song lyrics to my Myspace blog, which can be found at www.myspace.com/kategrealy

ABC RADIO PERFORMANCE + INTERVIEW

And, if you live in the Goulburn Murray Region, tune into ABC radio (106.5 FM) on Friday the 8th of December. I’m going to play some songs and have a chat with Joseph Thomsen at 10am before my gig that very evening at Arts Space Wodonga. Rene Sephton will also join me with some of her stunning vocal harmonies. See http://www.abc.net.au/goulburnmurray/

I’m off to Folk Rhythm and Life Festival today (see www.bilyana.com). I’m performing with Rene Sephton (on vocals) and Teal Bain-Roben (on percussion).

I’ve got some new songs lined up, which I’m really looking forward to playing. I’ve been feeling really inspired lately. I just wrote a new song about a book I read recently. The book is titled ‘Darkness at Noon’. The lyrics to this new song are on my myspace page which is www.myspace.com/kategrealy. It’s in the blog section.

I’m also feeling a lot better, but I’ve been told by many people not to be deceived by any seeming well-ness with glandular fever. It’s a bit of a trickster illness really, making you think you feel better while it continues to attack your body. Ah well, what can you do. I’m a bit of a whinger, aren’t I? Anyway, I won't be camping at the Festival as I surely won't get any sleep.

So, if you’re going to the Folk Rhythm and Life Festival come and say “hi”. I’m on at 11am Saturday morning – check the blackboard to find out which stage I’m on.

P.S. I just pressed a new CD, which will be on sale at the festival. The tracks include:

1. Nothing's as it Appears
2. Joy (by Meg Smith)
3. Diverging in Time

THE RECORDING PROCESS

I've had plans to record but I don't think I'll have the CD ready in time for the summer as I have been quite unwell with glandular fever. I will lay-down the instrumental parts but am unable to sing at the moment so I can't complete the songs with vocal tracks.

BUT ...

I am going to press a CD in the meantime comprising of the songs "Nothing's as it Appears", "Joy", and "Diverging in Time".

Copies will be available for purchase online soon and also at live shows.

RECORDINGS OF LIVE PERFORMANCES

As I perform over the summer, however, I plan to record all the live shows I do and release them as a live album sometime next year as I just bought a really fantastic live recording device which I can take with me everywhere!

The next five gigs of mine are out of my Melbourne-comfort-zone. I’ll start travelling up North for the Folk Rhythm and Life festival, then head slightly further up North to my home-town of Albury-Wodonga for a gig at a beautiful venue called Arts Space Wodonga. The next day I will venture a little further to Tallangatta to play at the DROUGHT BREAKER CONCERT with Troy Casser-Daly to help cheer up the farming communities who are struggling very much during this drought. And then, after Christmas, I’m off to Sydney to support Carra (his web-site is in the links section) and also for a short holiday.

I’m really excited about doing some travelling and gigging in new places. Stay posted and I’ll keep you up to date with all the news about these travels (yeah, really exciting, I know – not).

By the way, on a rather frustrating note, my doctor thinks that I have glandular fever. Damn, right in the middle of exams! It’s so hard to study while I’m in SO MUCH PAIN! Anyway, I’ve had a huuuuuge lump on my neck (lymph node) for the last four days which steroids have only just calmed down. I can’t eat solids either. I think that it will be better by the time the next round of gigs start in early December. Some actually claim it’s a stress-related disease, and I’ve had a lot going on lately (study, gigs, work etc) so maybe I’ll heal really quickly once crazy time is all over.

But, the frustrating news is, I may not get the EP done in time for these summer gigs, as I need to be able to sing. I’ll try my hardest, as I know some of you are probably sick to death of hearing Menagerie. Anyway, if you can send some good thoughts my way, I’d much appreciate it and maybe I’ll get the recording done in time.

As I was studying for an exam I came across a wonderful paragraph in a text I had to read by Havel in his essay 'The Power of the Powerless' (1978):

 There are times when we must sink to the bottom of our misery to understand truth, just as we must descend to the bottom of a well to see the stars in broad daylight.

Well, I finally handed in my last essay (only one more exam to go). I'm now getting all the new songs ready to record the EP. I'm hoping that it will be ready by December. If you'd like to pre-order a copy email me kategrealy@kategrealy.com - but make sure you put something in the heading as I get a lot of spam-