AMBER LAWRENCE RELEASES ’3′

The release of her new album ‘3’ sends Amber Lawrence’s multiple award-winning country music career soaring as high as the giant jumbo jets that fly over her home in Sydney’s inner-city suburb of Mascot, not far from the international airport.

Yes. Amber’s an inner city girl. She’s lived in the hustle, the noise and the hubbub all her life but it has never diluted her passion for country music and its endless themes of heartbreak, story-telling, love, joy, fun and core family values like loyalty. Now ‘3’, (named simply because it’s her third album) adds another dimension to a career that has been on a sharply vertical lift-off since Amber took up singing and song writing half a dozen years ago and rocked the industry with her burgeoning talents that include five Golden Guitar nominations, six number one songs, the Horizon award, TV performances on major shows like Mornings with Kerri-Anne and Spicks and Specks plus tours and stage appearances with artists including Adam Harvey, Beccy Cole, Melinda Schneider and Lee Kernaghan.

‘3’, with its mixture of upbeat optimism, personal happiness and resilience along with some references to deeper issues including courage in the face of hardship, is another step upward on a sharply-angled career path that has seen Amber delight audiences all over the country – from sold out Tamworth concerts to the Gympie Music Muster – and vastly expand her fan base.

Her own experiences of life’s upheavals, including the death of her father, becoming an aunt to her sister’s two children and lost loves and the pursuit of new ones, have broadened Amber’s musical experiences and her maturity shows on ‘3’. Throw in Amber’s early experience of being dumped by a boyfriend who had given her a guitar so she could learn to play and boost her career and you get some idea of what ironies shape her lyrics. 　Songs like ‘Everything’s A Song’, ‘Everybody’s A Mess’ and ‘Huge’ talk about the importance of personal contentment and emotional stability instead of looking enviously at other people’s lives that may not be as perfect as they look.

‘Everybody’s A Mess’ has already generated such enthusiasm among Amber’s fans that it will be the first song released from the album as a single. “My last album was on a positive note as well but it was more based on moving on after the death of my father” she says. “This album says I know what life is all about at this point in my life and I’m making the most of it, good or bad. I have my glass half-empty days like everyone else but most if the time it’s half-full”.

Adding to her already glittering career lustre is Amber’s insightful skill to write one and co-write the other 12 songs on the album with some of the best known lyricists in country music, including award winner Colin Buchanan, Mike Carr, who wrote song of the year ‘Real People’ for Melinda Schneider, Sam Hawksley, Paul Greene, Suzy Connolly and Golden Guitar winning producer Rod McCormack, whose professionally deft touch in the studio is behind the unique sound.

Amber’s partnership with Buchanan produces the most poignant song on ‘3’, ‘The Man Across The Street’. It tells the true story of Bill, a young, returned Australian solider whose stark memories and ghastly experiences in Vietnam haunt his waking hours. He turns to alcohol for daily solace while sitting on the verandah of his house at Mascot across from Amber’s. One day Amber, a toddler, wanders toward the busy road risking serious injury or death from passing cars until she is scooped up by Bill and returned to her mother in the nick of time. Amber’s song was meant as a thank you for the now vanished Bill for saving her life but it became a metaphor for the actions of not just Bill, but all of the Australian soldiers who went to Vietnam and returned emotionally impaired unable to fit comfortably back into society.

The song expanded into a bigger picture to embrace the hundreds of young Australians who sacrificed so much of their own promising futures to protect their country. Not just Bill, as Amber sings ‘but a thousand more like him who paid the price.’

“Maybe he didn’t want to fight but he was told it was for the greater good of us all. So it became much bigger than him just saving my life when I might have crawled onto that road.”

“It was really emotional writing it. Those soldiers tended to be written off when they came home because they were young and no one realised there was a problem. With hindsight we know how he suffered.”

Amber’s family lost touch with Bill over the years after he moved but she remains hopeful their paths might cross if he hears the song. Amber also linked with Australia’s armed forces when she entertained troops in East Timor in 2007.

Amber’s debut album ‘The Mile’ and its follow-up ‘When It All Comes Down’ – which earned three Golden Guitar nominations – were commercial and critical successes. ‘3’ continues Amber’s evolvement into one of the most successful country music artists in the country, loved by fans and respected by industry super stars such as Lee Kernaghan and Adam Harvey, who brings his honeyed voice to track 6 ‘The Peace I Keep.’

“She writes great songs, sings with conviction and delivers a great show,’’ says Harvey. “Her talent and her connection with the audience put Amber ahead of the other young artists in the industry.”

Also joining Amber for a duet on the album is ex-Australian Idol finalist and Home and Away star – Axle Whitehead. Axle’s smoky vocals are a perfect fit for Amber’s on the sexy track 9 ‘My Attraction’. “Axle’s a great singer, who is a big fan of country music – so it was really fun to work with someone outside the normal realms of Australian Country Music”, says Amber.

By her own admission Amber was a late starter as a singer, spending her immediate post-high school years at the University of NSW completing a degree in Accountancy, a profession not known for producing an abundance of country music performers. But she says she is now secure in her confidence that country music is where she belongs and where she is staying. “I wouldn’t want to be any other place,” she says.

Amber came up with the ideas for her songs on ‘3’ but called in song-writing partners to give the finished product a distinctive twist in comparison to the first two albums.

“I wrote almost all the songs by myself on the first two and didn’t want ‘3’ to sound the same,’’ she says. “But I still wanted the songs to be my songs, to tell my story. The song writing sessions were successful because we had clear ideas in our minds as to where we were headed.”

“It’s my truth, it’s my take on the world as I see it right now. Life throws us curve balls and the only thing that’s constant is change, which always makes for great song subject matter. ‘3’ represents where I’m at personally and creatively at the moment. I’m very proud of this album.”

‘3’ was released through Core Music and Sony Music Australia on 20 January 2012.

AMBER LAWRENCE – ‘3’

TRACK BY TRACK

Everything’s a Song – Amber Lawrence / Colin Buchanan

A song about so many of the things I have experienced in my life so far – the boy that has my heart, the man I used to love, the good times that I had when I was nineteen! The lyrics came from out of no where when I was chilling out on the couch one day. I really loved the first verse, but was just a bit stuck on the chorus. Bring in Colin Buchanan! I played him the verse, he loved how it flowed, and we were able to finish the rest of the song in about an hour!

Essentially I guess this is a bittersweet song about how music gets us through all the times in our life – the good, the bad, the happy, the sad, and everything in between!

Try – Amber Lawrence / Drew Mcalister / Tamara Stewart

“I always try’… apparently this is my usual response whenever anybody gives me a compliment! I was talking with Rod McCormack one day about the upcoming album, and he said that the songs I’d presented were really good – and I said ‘well I try’… so Rod said, why don’t you go and write that song! So I did, I took the idea to a co-writing session with Tamara Stewart and Drew McAlister, and on a balcony in the Blue Mountains we wrote ‘Try’.

Everybody’s a Mess – Amber Lawrence / Suzy Connolly

“Everybody’s a Mess” is really just another way of saying ‘the grass aint always greener’ – albeit a much rockier way!! The older you get, the more you realise that everybody has their own problems and issues, so we should just get on with our own happiness, and not worry about how ‘together’ others seem to have it…cause everybody’s a mess!  I wrote this song with Suzy Connolly, and really it’s all about letting go of the comparisons and worry and just ‘turn it up and let it go’!

The Man Across The Street – Amber Lawrence / Colin Buchanan

Of all the songs I have ever written, this is definitely one of my favourites.  This song is a story about Bill, the man who lived across the street from me when I grew up. The song tells a story about how a young man, who came home from Vietnam a troubled, misunderstood and changed man, saved my life in the blink of an eye by saving me from getting run over on our street, but also on a much greater level.  I must thank Colin Buchanan for helping to turn my true story into something I am so proud of.

Huge – Amber Lawrence / Mike Carr

Life has it’s twists and turns – we just don’t know what’s around the corner. So if I have any advice on life to give, it’s all in this song! I read a story about a women who had survived cancer. After going through the shocking treatment and staring down death, she came to the realization that we spend too much of our lives worrying about little things that don’t matter – building them up to be these big things. Really, what we should be doing, is taking the small moments in life – like playing with your kids, ringing your mum, witnessing an awesome sunrise – and make those moments HUGE! (thanks Mike)! This song also features me on my first ever whistle solo : )

The Peace I Keep – Amber Lawrence / Rod McCormack

This is a really honest song. A song about how many of us put on that face each day that says ‘Yeah I’m fine’…when some days things aren’t just fine. I know I do it sometimes. I just love this song…especially with the added smooth vocals of the one and only Adam Harvey! You may like to also call this song, ‘the mountain railroad song’!

Hide the Crazy – Amber Lawrence / Mike Carr

It’s a well known fact amongst us girls that sometimes we need to ‘hide the crazy’. Ok ok, this song is a little tongue in cheek, and yes the advice given in this song is useful in a 1950’s pre-feminism kind of way…girls “if you want to be his obsession, this aint no time for confession”. Despite the advice, this song is a whole lot of fun!!

Stars in My Eyes – Amber Lawrence / Suzy Connolly

This song was created from one line in my songwriting book which said ‘I won’t apologise for the stars in my eyes”.  I’m generally a very positive person, and I was discussing the music industry with a legend of the industry. He mentioned that “it wasn’t like the good old days”, and I replied “well I wasn’t around in the good old days, so I’ll just have to deal with it as it is”.  He replied with a smile “oh you make me sick – you’re too bloody positive!”… Hence the song – I’ll never apologise for these stars in my eyes, ‘cause I love looking at the world this way!

My Attraction – Amber Lawrence / Sam Hawksley

It’s time for a love song…or is this more a ‘longing for someone’ song? ‘My Attraction’ is a little bit sexy – about wanting someone, so bad and feeling the pull of attraction. Is it for real, or is it a dream? Who knows! And how much fun was it for me to sing it with my guest vocalist Axle Whitehead – he nailed it!

Time of Our Lives – Amber Lawrence / Paul Greene

It was appropriate that in preparation for the recording of this track I poured myself a nice glass of wine – I mean you have to live in the moment, and if that means pouring a glass of nice red in the studio – then so be it!  The song is about being in the moment – how we will always look back on our life and think how good it was and how good it could have been – but it’s really here for us, right now to absorb and take in this very second.  I wrote this song with Paul Greene on a wonderful South Coast writing trip.

Pretty Little Liar – Amber Lawrence / Sam Hawksley

I took the title for this song from an ad for a TV show of the same name. I’ve never seen the show – and I know that titles aren’t copywrite so we wrote another love song based around pretty little liars.  My definition of a pretty little lie is one that makes us feel good…. no damage done…and a little bit sexy!

Where Am I – Amber Lawrence

The quickest song I’ve ever written. I wrote this song in a motel room in Tamworth – the same motel I used to stay in with my parents for the first few years of our attendance at the Tamworth Country Music Festival. 3 years on from losing my Dad to Leukaemia it was very confronting and sad to be back in that same motel.  Almost in a half sleep, I imagined that I had seen my Dad, but he wasn’t back here on earth with us…. I was somewhere with him, and I didn’t know where I was – or whether I was supposed to be there. I just adore the production on this song.

Princess  – Amber Lawrence / Katrina Burgoyne

This song really speaks for itself…it’s just fun!

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NEW COUNTRY SINGER, ADAM PRICE’S FIRST ALBUM DEBUT – PAINT YOU A SONG

Adam Price might only be a new-comer to the Australian music scene, but his first album is a very nice revival of some old classics through to some of his own new originals.

Only starting his career in February this year with his first hit single Faith, Hope & Love written by Gina Jeffreys, Rod McCormack, Mel Sommers and himself, this album is Adam’s first step in a promising country music career.

Adam’s story is a success story all in itself, being diagnosed with Leukaemia in July 2010, getting through the ordeal and being blessed to co-write Faith, Hope & Love with Gina Jeffreys, Rod McCormack and Mel Sommers.  Faith, Hope & Love is his story as he went through treatment and eventually achieved remission by November 2^nd 2010.  This song has a very personal and intimate feel to it, and has pulled on the heartstrings of all who have listened to it… It’s a song that even Gina said “gave her goosebumps” whilst writing the lyrics.

The album also includes a range of songs written by the highly respected Australian country music singer/songwriter Mel Sommers, who lives locally in the suburb of Teralba in Newcastle. He is someone who Adam really looks up to and respects in the country music industry, having given Adam a lot of encouragement, mentoring and the courage to make his start in the Australian country music industry. Mel’s great song Roll With The Punches was a song that helped Adam get through his stay in hospital… Adam says it best, “I listened to all of Mel’s songs whilst in hospital, I love the meanings behind his songs and the words he writes touch a deep part of your soul and really resonate with you in everyday life, but Roll With The Punches helped me get through the toughest parts of my journey in hospital, it gave me the strength to keep on keeping on and never giving up until you WIN”.

Mel’s other songs on the album Let’s Be Lovers While We Can, Love Gone Wrong, Shoulda Coulda Woulda, Brindabree and the original Words & Flowers (which was released on Adam’s first single CD) are also songs which describe life, love, and the journey we all take through our lives. Especially Shoulda Coulda Woulda which is a bright, fun song about how we all look back and reflect on what we should have, could have and would have done differently if we had the chance.

Love Gone Wrong tells the story of finding true love, how difficult it can sometimes be and the pain involved with not finding it.  Let’s Be Lovers While We Can explains how things change in life and how to make the most of every moment and love life and others nearest to us to the fullest right at this moment; and Words & Flowers is a beautiful acoustic song about how actions speak louder than words when it comes to love.

The album also has two songs that were respectfully and beautifully revived from the late Smokey Dawson. Homestead of My Dreams is an old favourite of a great many people, and the way in which Rod McCormack composed the music to this song, found Adam struggling to sing it without tears in his eyes… “It took me a great while to overcome the emotion of music, mixed with old Smokey’s beautiful words, but we did it and I absolutely LOVE how it turned out”.

Paint You a Song is quite a rare acoustic version which Adam couldn’t seem to find anywhere else (since he heard it many years ago on a tape that a friend of his mum’s gave him). How the song came to be on the album, was from a request of his mother Daphne Price that he decided to bring the song to life and put it on his album.  Rod McCormack did a sensational job of arranging it the way it is (and it certainly gets the approval of Adam’s mum)!

The song Broken Bridges written by local Sydney songwriter Maree Stacey is one which really resonates with Adam. It tells the story of how life is way too short to hold a grudge about anything (let alone with those you hold closest to you in life) and that you need to act on forgiveness sooner rather than later, as sometimes it can be too late.

“When I first received the song demos from Maree, I listened through them all and they were all fantastic, but I always keep an ear out for that one song that JUMPS OUT at me on any album or list of songs I hear, and Broken Bridges was the one song that did. I loved the meaning and tune of the song and it was presented by one of Australian country music’s great voices Stuie French who sung the demo so extremely well, hence probably why I loved it so much (on top of the words written and the storyline).  I sure hope it resonates with people and brings a need for them to call a loved one they may not have spoken to for a long time, and with any luck resurrect the friendship or bond they once had”.

Adam’s first new single Under Your Spell believe it or not, came from a dream of his where George Strait was on stage singing the song… “When I awoke from that particular dream, I rushed downstairs and got straight onto YouTube and Google to see if there was a song by anyone called Under Your Spell (just in case I’d heard the song and was dreaming of someone else’s lyrics and tune) but to my surprise the tune and words were 100% unique. I nearly didn’t take the song to Rod to hear the concept of the song, but I’m definitely glad I did after hearing how it turned out”.

The second single Something About You was a tune that Adam had in his head for a couple of years before it actually came about.  After speaking to quite a few musicians and songwriters to develop the song further (as Adam was stuck on the first two lines in his head) he began to think maybe this song wasn’t supposed to be recorded. But when Adam presented it to Rod McCormack, he really liked the idea and played a nice little tune to it which matched exactly with what Adam was thinking, and so Something About You came into existence.

We really hope you enjoy this new album, and Adam really looks forward to you connecting with him online and at shows near you very soon for feedback.

A Special Message From Adam

TRACK LISTING

Adam’s Websites & Links

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MULTI-AWARD WINNING COUNTRY MUSIC STAR ADAM HARVEY GOES HOME TO THE THINGS HE LOVES WITH HIS NEW ALBUM ‘FALLING INTO PLACE’

Adam Harvey, one of Australia’s most accomplished country music performers, reaches a new pinnacle of achievement with his seventh studio album FALLING INTO PLACE.

With a career that spans 10 years, 3 Gold albums, total sales upwards of 300,000 albums and 7 Golden Guitar Awards; including 2 for Album of The Year and 2 more for Male Vocalist of The Year, Harvey is already at the forefront of Australia’s most acclaimed country music entertainers and has the runs on the board to show for it.

FALLING INTO PLACE brings to life the friends, family and people who share Adam’s idyllic life around Bateau Bay on the NSW Central Coast. Adam has shown that home is an inspiring place for his heart by using its sanctuary and surroundings to write and record the new album, with longtime producer Rod McCormack at the helm.

FALLING INTO PLACE is Harvey’s most personal album. He sings about the things that have genuine meaning in his life; his wife and family, the mates he drinks with at the local pub, the characters he’s met and his love of fishing. “I think people will recognise the characters I sing about and relate to them amongst their own friends and relatives,’’ he says.

Adam invited Beccy Cole and Troy Cassar-Daley, two Australian country music artists that he admires the most, to co-write songs and contribute vocals on tracks on the album. Both are Adam’s close friends and regular touring partners and therefore the inspiration came easily. His frequent songwriting partners Colin Buchanan and Rod McCormack also contributed.

“I wrote the title track Falling Into Place with Troy. It’s the story of when I was offered a record deal provided I moved from Melbourne to Sydney (or closer to it!).  I was studying horticulture and had doubts about tossing in a regular wage to chase a music career but my wife Kathy bought me a little plaque that said:  ‘As long as we’re together the rest will just fall into place’. It’s one of my favourite songs on the album.”

Cassar-Daley has a similar sense of satisfaction about the song; “I really wanted to relate this song to both our lives”, he says. “It’s about a bloke’s fear of failure starting out on a career of any sort and the girl who holds it all together while he’s out there paying his dues”.

This song holds pride of place as the motivating force behind the feel of the album, the rest came naturally.

Bordertown is Adam’s own experience of a modern day dilemma of reconciling working away from home with romance. “I wrote this with Bucko and Rod. It’s from my truck driving days when love was young and I couldn’t wait to get home to see Miss Kathy”.

Hooked is self-explanatory if you know how much Adam loves fishing. “Even if I don’t catch anything it’s good for the soul and gives me time to think.  As the chorus says: “bad day fishing beats a great day working”!

Beccy Cole’s contribution with Adam includes the humour of  A Good Woman Can, a song about men and woman and the way men perceive females. “It goes over really well at our live shows and I think it’s a winner”.

Adam says One More Beer with its sing-along chorus is an audience participation hit at his concerts and he’s been waiting for years to get a chance to record it.

“Troy and I wrote The Hair Of The Dog in about an hour. It tells the story we’ve all experienced of waking up after a big night and wondering what the hell made you do that to yourself.  Troy sings on the track and it’s got a good Buck Owens feel about it”.  “It was a song that came together quickly” says Troy Cassar-Daley. “I wrote some of it on a plane boarding pass and finished it with Adam at his place. It’s lots of laughs”.

Everything I Own Has Got A Dent… “It’s got a great feel about a hopeless guy who’s heartbroken and treats his possessions with the same carelessness he treated his girl”, Adam says.

Built to Last is about an old workmate in Victoria who drilled into Adam the need to get tasks done competently and who would not tolerate shoddy work.  He was always saying things like ‘you’ve got to do a job right’ and ‘back in my day we used to build things to last!’ Rod and I came up with an Alan Jackson style song.”

The Bay Hotel “it’s a typical night out at our local pub.  A great bunch of characters, add nice cold beer and you have the recipe for a big night out.  Some of the boys even came to the recording studio and sang on the track with me.’’

The album also features three revivals, each given a unique re-interpretation by Adam’s warm rendition.

You Don’t Know My Love was a Conway Twitty song. “I thought it could stand up as strongly today as it did 30 years ago. Once a great song always a great song”, Adam says.  “It is the first single from the album.”

Dig Two Graves was originally recorded by Randy Travis, who is one of the best Country singers ever and this song has been a favourite for years. For me it’s a love song from a bloke’s point of view. I relate to this song because it’s exactly how I feel about my wife”.

“The last track is called Closing Time and I think it’s a perfect ending to any album. Lyle Lovett wrote and recorded the original version. It sums up perfectly that feeling when the show’s over, the crowds are leaving and you’re packing up in an empty room with just the sounds of empty bottles going in the bin, or cleaners working”.

FALLING INTO PLACE reaches the challengingly high standards Adam Harvey has set himself since arriving on the country music scene as a songwriter and performer a decade ago. This album will be welcomed by his army of fans around Australia and internationally as further testament that he just keeps getting better.

TRACKLISTING

1.  Built To Last

2.  You Don’t Know My Love

3.  Everything I Own Has A Dent

4.  Hair Of The Dog feat. Troy Cassar-Daley

5.  Dig Two Graves

6.  Falling Into Place

7.  The Bay Hotel

8.  Bordertown

9.  I Wouldn’t Be Me

10. A Good Woman Can feat. Beccy Cole

11. One More Beer

12. Hooked

13. Closing Time

Links

www.adamharvey.com.au

www.facebook.com/adamharvey

www.youtube.com/adamharvey

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Beccy Cole Releases ‘SONGS & PICTURES’

Forget all you know about BECCY COLE… Her much anticipated 7^th studio album, ‘SONGS & PICTURES’ showcases the  real woman, artist and for the first time ever, the exceptional songwriter that she is. SONGS & PICTURES is all the proof you’ll need to see Beccy’s all grown up!

Whilst she has remained at the forefront of the country music scene for almost twenty years, performing for The Prime Minister, touring with international superstars and sharing the stage with the likes of THE WIGGLES, KASEY CHAMBERS, JOHN WILLIAMSON and GLEN CAMPBELL to name but a few, it is now that the effervescent BECCY COLE has finally come of age.

SONGS & PICTURES will cement the Australian country music star as an honest and revealing songwriter only complementing her reputation of all-round entertainer. Through her words and music BECCY COLE presents and exposes her vulnerabilities, personal stories and lets you see through her eyes and feel the moments that have shaped her life. This is BECCY COLE’s most personal album yet.

Lyrics such as “I don’t need someone to tell me who I’m supposed to be, there’s enough of that stuff always ringing in my ears” and “I trust everyone but me, only music sets me free” sets the tone as the multi-award winning BECCY COLE shares herself in music like never before.

The talented songstress can proudly lay claim to having written every song on this release. SONGS & PICTURES is honest and real, yet has a touch of the humour that we expect from Beccy, highlighted in the very funny, SINGER SEES IT ALL.

The first single, ‘SHINY THINGS’ debuts Cole’s songwriting freedom with its fun, upbeat and infectious melody that instantly reminds you why BECCY COLE is an Australian country superstar. Knowing how tough the industry is, Cole’s ‘WAITRESS’ pays tribute to those chasing their dream whilst waiting for their moment. A chance encounter with a bar waitress in Nashville who took to the venue’s karaoke stage and sang like Beccy has never heard before, was the inspiration for this track. A way for Cole to salute the many unrecognised talents around the world.

The heartfelt and autobiographical ‘ONLY MUSIC’ leaves you feeling like you know the artist as a person and more-so a friend, as though you’ve been let into the inner sanctum of her thoughts and emotion. Take in ‘GLORIA’S ROSES’ and ‘PURPLE HILLS’ and appreciate the sincerity of the stories sung. ‘HERE I GO AGAIN’ will have you tapping your feet and tackling the dance floor whilst ‘LEAVE THE LIGHT ON’ will connect with any lover that has yearned for their heart to return to them.

Essentially, this album gives you all of Beccy and willingly so, her stories that she has waited to share with her fans.

To ensure this release represented her new found musical freedom, just look at who Beccy enlisted to help tell the story. In an unprecedented move, Beccy chose to record every track with her long standing band of road musicians consisting of MAL LANCASTER (drummer/manager), DUNCAN TOOMBS (lead guitar) AND SEAN RUDD (BASS). Complementing this change in direction was the collaboration with producer and multi-instrumentalist Shane Nicholson. Notable inclusions are ex husband /close friend, fiddle player Mick Albeck as well as special guest and COLE’S best friend KASEY CHAMBERS dueting on a new version of song MILLIONAIRES.

Even the cover art of the album seems to shout, “this is me” with a painted portrait by JUDY NADIN, an award winning freelance illustrator who captured the artist’s style in an artwork masterpiece.

Having already racked up an impressive 7 Golden Guitars, 3 Gold Records, 2 Entertainer of the Year awards and a legion of loyal fans, until now BECCY COLE could claim to having been there and done that! She is the real deal, a divorced working single mother who still delights audiences with single-handed pushups on stage whilst belting out one of her hits or taking her audience on a journey and story.

Her latest offering SONGS & PICTURES demonstrates she is much more than just a live performer, here is an album giving testament to the talents of a songwriter, BECCY COLE has come into her own!

After almost four years since a new album material release, Beccy took no chances when settling on her SONGS & PICTURES project, “I am so proud of this album, this is me with all cards on the table, warts and all. It’s been almost 4 years since I have recorded new and original material and now I know why, I had to wait until SONGS & PICTURES came to me”, says an excited Beccy.

BECCY COLE’S SONGS & PICTURES is released on 30th September 2011 through CORE MUSIC.

The full tracking listing for SONGS & PICTURES is:

1. SHINY THINGS

2. WAITRESS

3. PURPLE HILLS

4. WOMAN IN ME

5. ONLY MUSIC

6. HELLO HAPPINESS

7. MILLIONAIRES (FEATURING KASEY CHAMBERS)

8. SINGER SEES IT ALL

9. GLORIA’S ROSES

10. HERE I GO AGAIN

11. AUSTRALIAN WOMAN

12. LEAVE THE LIGHT ON

13. SONGS & PICTURES

For more information please log onto www.beccycole.com or contact:

BECCY COLE MEDIA AND ARTIST REQUESTS:

DEB EDWARDS PUBLICITY | e: deb@001.com.au | m: 0418 801 850

CORE MUSIC PUBLICITY:

KRISKAT PUBLICITY & MANAGEMENT

e: kriskatpublicity@iinet.net.au |m: 0414 334 348

BECCY COLE –SONGS & PICTURES

TRACK BY TRACK

1. Shiny Things - Beccy Cole/Lyn Bowtell

My focus has been interrupted by ‘shiny things’ all my life. This song is about embracing who I am rather than the struggle I’ve had with life’s distractions.

Co-written with my dear friend, Lyn Bowtell, ‘Shiny Things’ came easily during a day of laughter and reminiscing. So pleased with the production and feel of this song, Shane Nicholson is a treasure.

2. Waitress – Beccy Cole

Her name is Wendy. She was the woman serving drinks in a bar that I stumbled across in Nashville a few years ago. Her voice had me in absolute awe, this waitress was the most talented and extraordinary performer I’d ever seen and her story broke my heart. Moving from South Carolina to Nashville to be a star 18 years ago, she is still trying. I had seen some of the world’s finest that week, but Wendy stole my attention. It occurred to me that I am just so blessed to be living my little girl dream of singing around my Country when there in that bar was a woman so much more talented than I. I love my job.

3. Purple Hills - Beccy Cole

My son came home from school and with a heavy heart, informed me that he was the only boy in year five not invited to Cameron’s 11th birthday. Talk about heart wrenching. I remembered being left out when I was a kid and this led me to draw many parallels between childhoods. I was different, there’s no mistaking that. 286 pictures of Dolly on my wall and a love affair with the purple hills that surrounded my home. They were beautiful to me. A noxious weed to some!

This song is a celebration to those of us who have ever felt left out, because as I often say to my son, I wouldn’t have it any other way. My band make this song special. And I crack every time that boy’s Daddy starts playing the fiddle (he admits tearing up too…).

4. Woman in Me - Beccy Cole/Travis Collins

This song’s melody has been around the world and back! Trav and I wrote it as a ballad but when I got it home, I decided to write a new chorus, some extra verses and turn it into a retro Country song. The cool thing is, Trav kept it as a ballad and recorded it with the old chorus! I love that there are two versions of this song floating around, especially as I believe him to be an amazing talent. The song is about all the crap in life that has contributed to ‘The Woman In Me!’ I love the way the band filter into this track, it’s perfect for the feel. 

5. Only Music - Beccy Cole/Cindy Boste

I wrote this song in Brisbane in a sad moment. It occurred to me that throughout my life, when I hit rock bottom, I crave songs, I need to lose myself in music. Music really does set me free and I LOVE that I still get to escape, no matter what. I took the bones of the song to amazing songwriter Cindy Boste who added the most crucial melodic elements, she completed it beautifully.

6. Hello Happiness - Beccy Cole

OK, so I may fall in love a LOT, but I rarely write about it! I suppose maybe it’s because it means I’m cementing something. I actually wrote this song when I was single; I was hoping it might come true! I LOVE singing this song live, my band invented the feel and my guitar player, Duncan, gave it a heartbeat with the guitar parts he wrote.

7. Millionaires – Beccy Cole/Kasey Chambers

Friendship – the best word to describe this song. Kasey Chambers and I know almost too much… Our journeys have been different but in 25 years, we’ve always been either cheering or praying for each other. I’m SO proud of Kase, not just her obvious achievements but her incredible heart and generosity. She does more for others than anyone will ever know. So when she brought me this song, my pride beamed. I love the humor as well as the honesty of this song – some of which I can’t believe we say out loud!

8. Singer Sees It All - Beccy Cole

I started my life on stage at age 14 in my Mum’s band, Wild Oats. 4 hour shows, 3 times a week was sometimes very hard but I’m blessed that I had such a great opportunity of learning my craft. To play crowds that don’t listen makes you want to learn what to do to get their attention. And boy have I seen it all from up there! This song is a tongue in cheek look at what I have seen from the vantage point of the stage – yep, the singer sees it all!

9. Gloria’s Roses - Beccy Cole

Gloria is my grandmother, at 92, she is beautiful. Ever since I can remember, Grandma has tended to the biggest and sweetest smelling roses I have ever come across, much like the love she has given her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. After my last heartbreak, I started to heal by remembering the strength that my Mother and Grandmother have shown me. Bless those amazing women. If only I could actually put some of this wisdom into practice as well as songs.

10. Here I Go Again – Beccy Cole/Kasey Chambers

Here’s a song about a girl who gets weak in the knees and finds it very hard to function due to the constant smacking across the face that a potential new love gives her. The bluegrass feel of this song is typical of the music I grew up with, it makes sense that Kasey and I broke our songwriting drought with a song like this, we played songs like this in our first band.

OK,
it’s about me…

11. Australian Woman - Beccy Cole/Luke Austen

My  friend Bec Buchanan inspired this song. Bec and her husband Ross lost Mac and  Neeve, two of their four children along with Bec’s brother, Danny in the Victorian fires in Kinglake two and a half years ago. To say that Bec touched my heart is an understatement. She’s nothing short of incredible as a mother, a  wife, a human. Much can be learnt from her, a true Australian Woman. I wrote half the song but couldn’t continue without blubbering so I took it to Luke Austen who handled the subject perfectly with his kind heart.

12. Leave The Light On – Beccy Cole/Lyn Bowtell

The first line of this song is ‘get yourself dressed BIL.’ BIL stands for ‘Beccy in  love!’

I think we meant to write a song about a girl with itchy feet searching for something she already has. I love the 80s feel this song has, I feel like Pat Benatar when I sing it! Shane Nicholson did an awesome job with the production of this track, its such fun.

13. Songs & Pictures - Beccy Cole

The title track of my album is about friendship. Judy Nadin is the artist who illustrated the cover of my album as well as the other illustrations and artwork throughout the booklet. Jude and I are so alike, two creative Scorpios who live in either their heads or the clouds – or both. But devoted hearts we have and we’re perfectionists in our work (her more than me!). I wrote the song as a gift to thank her for her constant and never failing friendship, especially throughout my breakup. The song also highlights her lovely outlook and how she helped me see the world in colour for the first time in a very long time.