Thursday, April 30, 2009

palmerston north...

palmerston north had a great feel as we drove in. it was extremely quiet….but expected for a tuesday, I suppose. the energy turned rather quickly, though, as we swung by the bar to discover it had been shut-down with all gigs cancelled. quite the unfortunate bit of news to hear following the incredible vibes we’d been graced with in napier….

but such luck led us to a delicious (but freezing!) picnic dinner in the park followed by tea and a jam at monica and sam’s place in wanganui (apparently there are tour-angels there, too!). they were incredible hosts and allowed for a cozy space and many laughs, after such a weird night.

…change is good.

f:)


napier - brazen head ale house

we rolled into napier via roteroua (a town littered with hot springs boiling over into the landscape…very cool…but very stinky!), with an extra night to check out the scene. such a cute little coastal town with great architecture and loads of local wine!

less than an hour into being there, todd ran into an old friend from uni, who he hadn’t seen in years. yet another crazy coincidence. he took us out to a funky little bar and hooked us up with yummy coffee and his restaurant the next day…and a wine tour at church winery…delicious.

the brazen head ale house was a cute little irish pub, who drew a sweet crowd for a Sunday courtyard gig. quite a few local musos and music-lovers strolled in and stuck around for some lovely chats after the show. as it turned out, Steve, a guy we had met the night before, came along with some company and offered to show us his favorite surf spot…which was incredible. we followed him along, us in henry (the tourvan), he and scott in the relaxi taxi (a hippy bus that is literally any traveler’s dreamwheels -- well mine anyway). the bus was decked out with a great sound system, a lazyboy passenger’s seat, a master bedroom and two other bunks, a bathroom/shower and a full kitchen….just off of the lounge room! haha…ah, a home on wheels. We had a mega feast followed by a jam as it rained in this gorgeous little cove surrounded by cliffs and a splendid beach…which we so happily woke up to the next morning….

steve and scott kitted us out with an incredible night of memories and laughs, and insistently sent us off with a tour sponsorship. we could not have been more grateful for the heartwarming hospitality and unbelievably genuine characters of these two fine men.

we all look forward to crossing paths with these phenomenal tour-angels again soon…

f:)

auckland - part deux

kia ora!

picking up the crew from the airport made it all feel real….the start of a new zealand tour. we were all buzzing like mad on our way through the city to feel out auckland, the first stop.

as it turned out an old friend of todd’s works on a fancy jeweler’s yacht and had us climb aboard for a night in luxury. ben and liv…the first of our tour-angels. we laughed and carried on like pirates until the wee hours, when we finally decided to crash in such unstable conditions. waking up to the rolling waves isn’t so delightful the morning after a big one. but we loved it anyway, in absolute disbelief of how amazing this yacht and the night before were….convinced that this start had to mean good things for what was to come in the weeks ahead!

an unforeseen sound issue led us to our second tour-angel: neil. an absolute legend, as far as p.a. sourcing goes -- and just a sheer pleasure to be around. oozing positive energy and lovely things to say, neil hooked us up with a p.a. from music works in auckland and came along to the show. we miss him already!

The café had a warm and cozy, artzy vibe….absolutely my kind of space! the walls were covered in massive photography pieces and other painted canvases. they had an incredible menu and a yummy home-roasted brand of coffee….mmm.

the café was packed by the time we hit the stage…it seemed everyone we had come across over the past few days in auckland had made it down -- the lovely rich, who couched and tour-guided me for my first night in auckland, stanislava from spaceship rentals, who tour-vehicle-sponsored us for our tour, family friends and fellow couch-surfers and other kingsland passerby-ers. great crowd! so receptive and appreciative….and such a pleasure to play to.

we all left the venue super-excited to be here, in nz, doing what we love for people who love it.

ahhhh…this truly is the life.

f:)

Sunday, April 26, 2009

south island tour dates!!


hi friends!!!

heading on down to the south island....


WED 29 APRIL Inter Island Ferry, Wellington to Picton
WED 29 APRIL Lochmara Lodge, Queen Charlotte Sound
THURS 30 APRIL Le Café Picton, Picton
SAT 2 MAY Moutere Inn, Nelson
SUN 3 MAY The Mussel Inn, Tasman
THURS 7 MAY Wunderbar, Lyttelton


...more chch shows to come soon...

will keep you posted!

Monday, April 13, 2009

two pieces…of one fabulous country!

kia ora!

just landed here in lovely mountain country…and although I haven’t seen any mountains yet (it’s nighttime), a good feeling filled me all up inside as soon as my foot hit the soil.

The air is fresh and the people are delightful (well, airport staff are, anyway – but again, I’m optomistic). This country is sure to bring good things, music related and otherwise. Another land filled with wide-open spaces to discover, bit by bit, between songs. Who could ask for anything more….

will bring tales and tid-bits from nz very soon….

f☺

Friday, April 3, 2009

sleepy hollow

oh she sings the songs
as if she's written them
in the space between her lips
where all her love runs thin
she'll break you with a song
oh feel her words chew through
your skin and bones
feel all alone
like it's you she's singing to

oh,
i never knew that i could feel the love
that someone else had twisted up
oh
i never knew that i could feel the love
that someone else was speaking of

oh
let me feel it all
oh
let me feel it all
remind me it's still deep within my soul
it's just sleeping in
and it'll wake up tomorrow

oh how he pulls the words
from under my seat
as though these were verses
he'd never repeat
stretch out all the feelings
like they're mine instead
drunk and shaking
your melody's
gone straight to my head

oh,
i never knew that i could feel the love
that someone else had twisted up
oh
i never knew that i could feel the love
that someone else was speaking of

oh
let me feel it all
oh
let me feel it all
remind me it's still deep within my soul
it's just sleeping in
and it'll wake up tomorrow

new zealand tour dates!

***NEW ZEALAND TOUR APRIL 2009***

north island (with april maze):


SUN 19 APRIL - Brazen Head Ale House, 21 Hastings St, Bluff Hill, Napier. 12-3pm, free entry.

TUES 21 APRIL - Bar Mode - 3 Coleman Pl, Palmerston North, 4410, New Zealand, 7:30pm, free entry.
http://www.myspace.com/barmode

WED 22 APRIL - Lounge Bar 87 High Street North Carterton, 8pm. $5 door
http://www.loungewineandtapas.co.nz

THURS 23 APRIL - Happy, 118 Tory Street, Te Aro, Wellington, 8pm. $5 door
http://www.myspace.com/happybar

FRI 24 APRIL - Hole In The Wall, 154 Vivian St, Wellington, 8pm. $5 door
http://www.myspace.com/holeinthewallnz

SAT 25 APRIL - Aunt Daisy's Boathouse, 28 Bay Dve Titahi Bay Porirua, 7pm. $15 door
http://www.myspace.com/auntdaisysboathouse

SUN 26 APRIL - The Adelaide, Wellington 114 Adelaide Road Mount Cook, Wellington. 5pm, free entry
http://www.myspace.com/the_adelaide

south island (solo - more gigs to come!)

WED 29 MAY - The Interislander Ferry, from Wellington to Picton.

WED/THURS 29/30 APRIL - Lochmara Lodge - Lochmara Bay, Queen Charlotte Sound. wed 8pm/thurs 12pm. free entry
www.lochmaralodge.co.nz

THURS 30 APRIL - Le Cafe Picton, Picton 14 London Quay, Picton, Malborough. 8pm. $6 door.
http://www.lecafepicton.co.nz/

(TBC) - Moutere Inn, Tasman 7175 Moutere Highway Upper Moutere, Tasman 8pm.
Moutere Inn - http://www.moutereinn.co.nz

SUN 3 MAY - The Mussel Inn, Onekaka, RD 2, Takaka. 9pm. free entry.
http://www.musselinn.co.nz

more to come in the south of the south... :)

this tour has so graciously been sponsored by Spaceships and the Interislander:

see our profile here: http://www.spaceshipsrentals.co.nz/faye-blais-and-april-maze/