No more Tomorrow for Silverchair or Spicks and Specks. First Ladies of Style. A jam packed week.

This past week has been so busy I've barely had time to rest. It has all caught up with me and now I am sick with a cold. I have spent the day in bed catching up on blogs and watching the TV I missed out on in the week. A meal is cooking in the slow cooker but I cannot smell its deliciousness.

I've seen several bands, acquired two set lists from the concerts (Eskimo Joe and Bachelor Girl), and met most of the members of the two main acts. Here is a sneak peak of me with Bachelor Girl last night.

Concert reviews coming soon. I also interviewed Tania Doko last week. You can read the interview here.

Yesterday I had a girls day/night out with three of the lovely girls I met at High Tea. It was great to catch up and laugh and eat. We did some speed friending at Be My Wingman and had dinner before Bachelor Girl. We went for convenience over interestingness and dined at Nandoes next to The Forum. I had so much chicken at Nandos. I was starving after only eating my cold remedy of pho with chilli and lemon at 11 am. I can proudly say I wolfed down the burger minus the bun, all of the chips, and a quarter chicken with hot sauce. Go me.

I also did a speech at a Grit Media function - more to come about that later this week.

This past week saw announcements the end of two of my favourite things. The music game show Spicks and Specks and the Australian band Silverchair. Both want to finish on a high.

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Spicks and Specks is regular TV viewing for me. And when I go to my parents', Dad and I put our hands on buzzers and take the game very seriously. Mum usually annoys us with talking through the show, but it's all in good fun. I love the segment where singers sing the tune to a song from the lyrics of an eccentric book. Grace Woodroffe sung beautifully using a book about bowel movement. Spicks and Specks is side splittingly funny. Adam Hills has great one liners and team captains Adam Brough and Myf Warhurst know their music. The guests are usually the funniest part of the show. I will miss Spicks and Specks a lot.

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And Silverchair. They haven't released music or toured for a while so I guess it was inevitable they were going to call it a day. Or "indefinite hibernation".

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Their statement:

"We formed Silverchair nearly 20 years ago when we were just 12 years old. Today we stand by the same rules now as we did back then ... if the band stops being fun and if it's no longer fulfilling creatively, then we need to stop.   Therefore after much so...ul searching we wanted to let you know that we're putting Silverchair into "indefinite hibernation" and we've decided to each do our own thing for the foreseeable future.   We assure you that this decision has not been taken lightly. In fact we've been struggling with it for quite a while now.   Back in 2009 we went into the studio to start work on a record. Initially things were going well and as a result we did some shows in 2010 to maintain creative momentum. However, over the months that followed in the studio it became clear to us that we were moving in different directions. Despite our best efforts over the last year or so, it's become increasingly clear that the spark simply isn't there between the three of us at the moment.   As a result we've decided to put the band into 'a deep sleep' while we all do other things that we find more inspiring right now. This means that Silverchair won't be making music together or playing shows any time soon. It also means that the three of us won't be working together unless and until it feels right again.   We understand some of you may be disappointed by this news but we really see it as a liberating and positive step for us at this point in our lives.   We also want to make it really clear that this decision has been made with the best possible intentions. We've always tried our hearts out to make the best music we could possibly make at the time - regardless of commercial consequences.   The three of us still truly care about each other. At the moment Ben’s busy in the studio recording his own music, Chris is working on various business, musical and charitable ventures while Daniel is creating a film soundtrack and working on other musical projects. We hope you'll continue to take an interest in our individual work over the years ahead.   In closing we'd like to acknowledge all the people 'behind the scenes' who've helped us keep this train on the tracks since we first started playing in a garage. There are too many to name but they know who they are and we truly appreciate all their love and hard work.   Above all though we want to thank you for all your support in good times and bad. You've put up with our long breaks between albums, our constantly changing musical styles and lots more. The unbelievable loyalty we've been shown by you our audience, and our friends, has never gone unnoticed or unappreciated. That’s why we wanted to tell you first.   With Sincere Thanks For Your Understanding.   Sweet Dreams.   Daniel, Ben and Chris"

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Silverchair marked the maturing of my music tastes. I loved Neon Ballroom especially Miss You Love, which I wrote about in depth. I wrote poetry inspired by Daniel Johns' lyrics - they helped me explore my own issues of isolation. The Across the Night tour in 2003 was the reason I chose Melbourne as a place to work - I received job offers in Canberra and Melbourne and had bought tickets to Silverchair's Melbourne show so I thought if I lived in Canberra I couldn't make it to see them. I returned to Albury to see them with Powderfinger in 2007.

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And I have always admired Daniel's courage and honesty about his struggles with anorexia, bullying and arthritis.

Silverchair have written and recorded some brilliant music. It is complex and theatrical. I look forward to their solo pursuits.

Emotion Sickness is also a favourite of mine. I think it's a masterpiece.


Vale Spicks and Specks and Silverchair.

Lastly, like so many others, I was inspired by Princess Kate Middleton and Michelle Obama's fashion frenzy when they met in London last week. Stunning. So elegant.

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I tweeted this story and my friend stated "only Carly shares the important news". Indeed. The dresses made world headlines - particularly Kate's which was a steal at 175 GBP. Shoppers eager to dress like a Duchess made the Reiss website crash. You can buy your own Shola bandage dress here - just make sure you call Kate to see if she's wearing it the same time as you. You don't want to be mistakenly papped while wearing it.

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Kate needn't worry about me turning up to the same party as her in the Shola dress, but Michelle Obama better watch out. I am stealing her style.  Raiding her wardrobe. I LOVE this!

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I think these First Ladies can run the world simply on their fashion choices.

Bachelor Girl have loved and lost. And now they're back.

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Last night I chatted to Tania Doko from Bachelor Girl, one of my favourite singer-songwriters from the late 1990s - early 2000s. We talked bands breaking up (vale Silverchair), bands reforming (welcome back Bachelor Girl!) and the obvious cheesy - public transport.

Buses and Trains, Treat Me Good, Permission to Shine and Lucky Me are songs that I still sing along to. Buses and Trains was awarded song of the year by the Australasian Performing Right Association in 1999, and in that year, Bachelor Girl was Australia's most broadcast artist. I told Tania that Bachelor Girl was the last concert I saw before I set off on my new life to Melbourne, eight years ago. I met Tania four years ago at a Darren Hayes concert and then on the plane the next day. I have been in contact with her ever since, asked her for an interview, and true to the name of her previous band, she said yes!

Bachelor Girl are back with a new album called Loved and Lost, and are touring for the first time in eight years. They never officially broke up, Tania Doko told me. She and bandmate James Roche went off to do their own things for a while. Tania was in a dance project called She Said Yes with Jack Jones and Karl Lewis in 2007 - 2008. She's had a job as a youth worker. And for the past three years she's been living in Stockholm and Los Angeles, writing songs. James eloped overseas and now has a child. He did some music recording and composing for the screen.

(Now she's lived overseas, I wonder which mode of transport Tania misses more - Melbourne's buses or Melbourne's trains? "Melbourne's public transport is not good compared to Europe. I love public transport - it gives me a break from the traffic and I get time to think", she says.)

So why did Bachelor Girl reform in 2011? "Now the timing is right for Bachelor Girl to reform, release a best of album with some new songs and do a tour", Tania says. When the tour's over, Tania says, she will return to Stockholm, refreshed and ready to write songs. 

Tania's written songs for Australian singers The Veronicas, Ricki Lee and Renee Geyer - she regards them as strong female singers and praises their vocal talent. She dreams of writing for Adele and Katy Perry in the future.

She's excited by touring, but says things have changed since the early 2000s. "I'm consumed by the preparation", Tania says. She does a lot of her own promotion in addition to the record company's. She's used social media to promote the tour. "To be an artist these days is more than just showing up and doing a gig. There's so many more people you can reach with social media".

The new album, Loved and Lost, features their favourites from their first two albums Waiting for the Day and Dysfunctional, plus four new songs. Tania says the new songs are pop-rock, uplifting and free and easy. She says that during rehearsal for the tour, Bachelor Girl's bass player said the new songs are ahead of their time.

I mentioned to her that Buses and Trains is a timeless song - I think it was ahead of its time in 1999. It's still so relevant. She agrees, but she now sings it in a different way. To her the song is no longer only about love. Getting hit by a bus is a broader analogy. "It's about life. It's about screwing up in life and being motivated to take risks. I'm not going to be stopped by screw ups ".

And the new album takes a new emotional direction. She describes it beautifully. "Waiting for the Day was more about break ups, but Loved and Lost is like a love letter to your future love of your life", Tania says.  

Bachelor Girl are touring soon:
28 May - The Forum 2, Melbourne (tickets via Ticketmaster)
3 June - The Basement, Sydney (tickets via Moshtix)
4 June - The Governor Hindmarsh, Adelaide (tickets via Moshtix)



http://www.bachelorgirl.com

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Music I've been missing - Bachelor Girl, Buses and Trains

Sometimes when I flick the car radio to a mumsy station, I hear Bachelor Girl's Buses and Trains. A classic 1998 hit. I love it, and it remains so relevant.

I haven't driven for a while, thus haven't heard Buses and Trains, but it's in my head. Probably due to affairs of my heart. It's the music I've been missing.

I met the gorgeous Tania Doko, lead singer, a few times. Once, at the Darren Hayes concert at Hamer Hall in 2007.

Then the next day at the airport in Melbourne and Brisbane.

I saw her play at the Victoria Markets with her band She Said Yes.

And also at her garage sale - I have her little letter desk.

Two bits of Buses and Trains resonate:

They're like chocolate cake, like cigarettes

I know they're bad for me but I just can't leave them alone.

And:

A man can kill and still be the sweetest thing

See, I'm still hung up on the wrong guy. I know he's bad for me. But because of this, the good things he does shine like like gold.

And there's the right guy, actually waiting for me. True story.

I need to re-prioritise. And keep the doors to rooms filled with adventure and positivity open. It's the only way to happiness.