It's a rare and beautiful occasion when a person is given the opportunity to fly across the globe and make music with the very people who ignited the musical flame within that person's heart during childhood.
I feel like the luckiest girl on Earth.
My earliest musical memory is sitting on my Dad's old guitar case and listening to him play 'The Wheels on the Bus' in a distinctly Cajun Blues fingerpicking style. In the 70's, my father was in a blues jug band called Mud who earned themselves quite a reputation and a substantial following to boot in my hometown, Perth WA.
Hearing that raw, earthy, infectiously wonderful sound produced by Mud for the first time in years as it swept over me at Clancy's Fish Pub in Fremantle, Western Australia, took me straight back to the 8 year old girl, learning her first few notes on guitar... Completely oblivious to the joys of singing, songwriting and telling stories, but acutely aware that there was something in the rhythm and soul of that music that brought her to life. It struck me just how much Snapshot embodies that same sound.
I'll admit, my knees were knocking a little as the band invited me up to begin the Snapshot album launch. But when we started to play, it snowballed into one of the most enjoyable gigs I've ever played.
With a crowd who cheered, danced, laughed, clapped, stomped, whistled, stomped and hollered for more (a tantalising mixture of matured Mud fans and fresh faces), each song came to life with surprising and incalculable vibrancy. In my mind, all I could think was, "Oh my gosh, this is really happening. I AM SO LUCKY!!!"
The joy in being a songwriter is learning from your songs each time you hear them played; the gig at Clancy's was like experiencing Snapshot with fresh eyes, ears and soul.
The whole experience has made me grateful and hungry. Hungry for the UK leg of the tour- particularly the launch on the 8th of Feb (buy tickets here), hungry for 2014 and the exciting new experiences and opportunities it may present, hungry to work with another collection of invaluably talented musicians, and grateful for the big (and little) things that make all the difference in day to day life.
There is a beauty in the symmetry and cyclical nature of life and I, for one, am so very grateful to be a part of it... However small