Hi Geelong music lovers, I’m back in town after 3½ weeks on the road, touring from Geelong to Brisbane and back, promoting the new album Dead Man’s Garden.
In that time I’ve done 15 live performances, 22 radio interviews and six magazine/street press interviews, with more to come in the next couple of weeks. The ABC radio facilities in Australia are simply amazing. We truly are a lucky country. I had the privilege of meeting some incredible human beings/music lovers in the community radio stations I visited and formed genuine connections with a lot of them. I’ve been invited to return the next time I’m passing through, and will make sure that I do.
The hard work seems to be paying off already with Dead Man’s Garden debuting at no. 18 on the Australian Blues & Roots Airplay Charts for the month of July, so as you can imagine I’m very excited. The tour included a number of shows where Nina was able to join me on stage and show her incredible versatility as a musician, playing drums and lead guitar as well as those beautiful vocal harmonies.
We had our 2½-yr-old son Arlo with us, of course, so the trip was a genuine family affair and felt more like a holiday a lot of the time … except for at bed time, when all of the stress of being out of his normal routine showed up. (Those of you with kids will understand what I’m talking about.)
Arlo managed to steal the show on a number of occasions when we had early set times and he was able to attend the gigs. As soon as we finished a set he would be up on stage asking for the microphone. I’ll never forget the sight of a bar full of burly workmen in QLD holding their beers aloft and singing ‘Baa Baa Black Sheep’ along with him at the end of one show. The applause was deafening. Then they insisted that he sign their CDs too … which he did with much seriousness and a natural flourish. OMG, what have we created?!
The tour had its highs and lows, naturally. The high for me was in Bellingen NSW, our old hometown. I have a strong friend and fan base there, so that show in particular was warm and friendly and well-attended. The low was probably being shoved in the corner of a café in Sydney with tables of birthday partiers in front of us yelling and laughing over the top of us for the entire two sets … but you learn as you go with these things.
The Melbourne album launch was on Thursdsay, 28th August @ the Retreat Hotel Brunswick and I was deeply honoured to have Dan Parsons opening for us. If you don’t know of him, look him up and buy his self-titled album – it’s a must have. The night finished off the night with one of my favourite Geelong bands, RDZJB who helped bring the party to a climax. That gave me time to sign some CDs then relax and have a boogie to celebrate this wonderful little album that I’m so proud of.
You can follow what I’m up to on my website:
timhulsman.com
Or if you like Facebook:
facebook.com/timtonichulsman
By Tim Hulsman
