Tracey Bunn: publicity shot for debut solo album, 'By The Wayside'.
Tracey Bunn is known as one of the Territory’s hard-working musicians…
She’s spent a solid stretch of years honing her songwriting, performance and musicianship in bands such as ‘Doreen’, the ‘Toe-Sucking Cowgirls’, ‘Bareback Riders’, and the ‘Red Hot Bass Chakras’, to name a few..
While the bands might have been playfully named, Tracey has always been serious about her music, evolving what could perhaps be construed as an authentic Territory voice; one that’s come about from toil, endurance and passion…
And the kind of tenacity and commitment that the Territory – and frontier towns like Darwin – are known for..
Her penchant for “Americana”, “Country” and “Folk Rock” seem perfectly fitting here too: music that is bare bones, raw and melodic.. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide with a story to tell.
“Comes a time..” as Neil Young once sang. Come December 2010 it was time for Tracey to put out her first solo album. With nigh on two decades as a professional musician behind her, Tracey launched By the Wayside fittingly in her home town of Darwin, at original music venue, the Darwin Railway Club, a venue at which she has played many times.
Her journey to finishing By the Wayside provided rich songwriting material, fittingly in tune with her love for ‘country’ and impassioned in tone.
Tracey also decided to go to the ‘source’, recording By The Wayside in Nashville with Australian musician and producer, Anne McCue. There she also worked with Australian and American musicians, some of whom she met when she attended the Americana Music Festival & Conference, also in Nashville, earlier in 2010.
A storyteller at heart, Tracey Bunn spent some time with Music NT, where she spoke about her own, and the making of By The Wayside…
Music NT: Tell us about your debut solo album – the title, what inspired the songs, and what inspired making it at this time?
Tracey Bunn: By The Wayside is a collection of mostly introspective songs inspired predominately by my divorce and the demise of the Cowgirls three years ago, but hopefully most of them come across with a positive message.
Timing? It was just a matter of having the songs and finding the right person to record them and having the confidence to do it. I left music for 2 years after the divorce, my confidence was shattered and I needed time to find out who I was and what was important to me. And when I did wake up I realized music was the most important thing for my sanity and my soul. Kind of like the phoenix rising from the ashes!
MuNT: Who did you work with on the album – recording, producing etc? And where was it produced?
TB: Anne McCue was the producer and played most of the instruments on the album. It was recorded at 16 Ton Studios and Anne’s Flying Machine! studio in Nashville. Musicians that contributed to the album were mostly incredibly talented friends of Anne including Aussies Bones Hillman (Midnight Oil) on bass and Mark Moffat on guitar. Ray Kennedy (Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams etc) mastered the album. Lucinda’s producer, Dusty Wakeman, sang harmonies on Wishes, Will Courtney (Brothers and Sisters from Austin) sang harmonies on Wayside and Elusive Feeling, etc etc. So many amazing musicians in that town.
MuNT: You’re about to launch the album – what kind of feedback have you had so far to those you’ve played it to?
TB: Fortunately it’s all been very positive. Stuart Coupe, who is releasing the album on his label Laughing Outlaw Records, loves it. And coming from him that’s a HUGE compliment. He’s been in and around the industry for a while so knows when he hears something good. Or so he tells me! Lots of people I care about all tell me they love it. I’m very excited.
MuNT: What did making this new album mean to you? Is it much different to your previous work?
TB: This album is a collection of songs that I wrote just for me. The songs I wrote for the Cowgirls had to suit the band, the characters and the life that we were living. People expected songs about drinking, sex and partying. There was no room for anything introspective. With this latest batch of songs I wasn’t concerned with the songs commerciality or whether anyone else liked them. They were songs I had to write to release emotional stuff I’d been carrying around for some time.
Tracey Bunn & The Handsome Devils performing at NT writer Andrew McMillan's 'Living Wake', December 2010. Pic: Glenn Campbell
MuNT: How would you personally describe your music? And how did your sound ‘evolve’?
TB: People ask me this all the time, “what category does your music fit into?” Does it have to fit into a category at all?
I’ve travelled a lot and spent time in some amazing places like New Orleans and Mexico and Ireland that have all inspired me and added a little piece of their musical culture to my songwriting style.
MuNT: If we wind back the clock a bit, when did you write your first song and when did you first pick up a guitar?
TB: My mother bought me a ¾ size guitar when I was 8. The first song I learnt on it was ABBA’s Fernando. I wrote my first song in primary school – don’t ask me to remember it though! The first song I wrote that I was happy with – that I actually played to people – was when I was 17. It was called The Pressure’s On. You know, angsty teenage love stuff…
MuNT: Did you grow up in a household with music in it?
TB: Not really. My mother listened to a lot of music on the stereo, mostly 60s folk rock and country. Neil Diamond, Loretta Lyn, Jim Reeves, Kris Kristofferson, Everly Brothers, Simon and Garfunkel etc, but no-one played anything.
MuNT: And how did you come to be making music in the NT – what is your ‘NT story’?
TB: I met [Darwin artist and musician] Colin Holt not long after I arrived in Darwin at a Pekas gig. From there I had numerous bands with Colin and others, including:
2007 – TRACEY BUNN &THE BAREBACK RIDERS: 2-5 piece Original Country/Folk/ Rock DARWIN NT Australia
2000-06 TOE SUCKING COWGIRLS: 3-5 piece Original Country/Cajun/Celtic DARWIN NT Australia
1999-00 HARISSA: 3 piece OriginalH Zydeco/Bluegrass DARWIN NT Australia
1994-95 DOREEN: 5 piece all-guitar Acoustic Alt. Country Covers/Originals DARWIN NT Australia
1993-94 FUNNEL OF LOVE: 4 piece all-girl original Folk/ Pop DARWIN NT Australia
1991-92 RED HOT BASS CHAKRAS: 8 piece 70s Disco covers DARWIN NT Australia
MuNT: Can you tell us about some of the highlights of your music career so far?
TB: Too many to mention… Opening for Donal Lunny Band with Sharon Shannon and Eddie Reader in Lisdoonvarna IRELAND; Edinburgh Fringe Festival, lots of Cowgirls shows, recording 3 albums, recently working with Anne McCue and the whole Nashville experience. Seems it keeps on getting more and more amazing.
MuNT: What do you love about ‘country music’?
TB: Country music is becoming harder to define as there are so many categories of “Country Music”. I’ve recently found what I do fits into the Americana box of ‘Country’ as most contemporary country music these days is almost easy listening pop. Americana is about the rootsier/edgier side to country that tells stories and still retains integrity and honesty in the song. That’s what draws me to this particular genre, the honest storytelling and strong melodies.
MuNT: Anne McCue is an Australian artist you have collaborated with on By The Wayside – can you give us a bit of an idea of your working relationship with her?
TB: I met Anne in 2008 at Darwin Festival where we had a brief conversation about producing.
I mentioned I was looking to do an album where she replied, “come to Nashville and record in my living room!” We met officially at the airport in Nashville and I started an amazing friendship with her from that day on. We have a lot of things in common and share a lot of the same loves: music, beer, fish and chips, beer….!
Tracey Bunn & Anne McCue at Second Fiddle, Sounds Australia Showcase, Americana Music Festival 2010, Nashville. Pic: Ron Baker, Flckr
MuNT: What do you do – and what have you done – for a ‘day job’? And balancing a day job with your music – how do you approach that?
TB: I learned that to make a career out of music it becomes a day job plus more, consuming every waking moment of your day and eating into your creative time to the point where there is none.
Towards the end of the Toe Sucking Cowgirls time, I found I was absolutely exhausted from the day-to-day workings of the band as a business I had no time or desire to write – even the performances were becoming tiresome.
These days I work at whatever I can get so I don’t have to rely solely on the music as income, therefore keeping me excited about my songs and performances.
Patti and Paul from the Roma Bar [Darwin cafe icon] have been very generous and flexible with me, giving me shifts when I need them and time off to perform when I have a show or a tour. I also freelance as a hairdresser and have been doing workshops in hairdressing and songwriting.
MuNT What do you love about making music in the Territory? And what do you find challenging about being based here?
TB: The Territory is where I get the inspiration for most of my songs and I find an energy here that I haven’t found anywhere else. The biggest drawback is the lack of venues supporting original NT music and the distances you need to travel to do tours and festivals interstate.
MuNT: You recently travelled to Nashville as part of an Australian contingent of musicians and industry attending the Americana Music Conference and Festival. Can you fill us in on your trip – give us a bit of a snapshot of what you did there, and any opportunities that have come from it for you?
TB: This trip to Nashville was about doing a film clip with Anne for the single off the album, and to attend the Americana Conference to network it and try to secure management, a booking agent etc to help me get back and tour it next year.
Dobe Newton approached me last year about [me] being a helping hand with his role as Sounds Australia Rep at the Americana Festival, in 2009. He knew I was heading back there again so offered me the same role but with a chance to be a part of the group of Aussies showcasing there this year.
It was great to be able to be a part of the Aussie contingent as Australians are so well-liked over there. I had successful showcases at some of Nashville’s popular venues including The 2nd Fiddle on Broadway, Douglas Corner Café ‘Alternate Roots Magazine’ showcase, a show with Anne at The Dive, and a solo show at The Basement with Bones Hillman (Midnight Oil) on bass and Tim Smith (Sheryl Crow) on guitar, as Anne was out of town.
MuNT: What do you hope people take away with them, after hearing your new album? And will you tour with it?
Tracey performing at The Basement, Nashvile, with Tim Smith & Bones Hillman. Pic: Ron Baker
TB: I hope people will find a bit of inspiration from the album to go out and fulfill their dreams today, not tomorrow, because life’s short and you CAN have what you want if you really want it. Just keep focused on it and you’ll get there…
I start touring the album in January at Illawara Folk Festival, Newstead Music and Wine Festival and shows in Melbourne and Sydney.
MuNT: Looking back on your music career so far, how would you describe it so far?
TB: A constant learning curve.
MuNT: finish this sentence: “In 5 years time Tracey Bunn will be…”
TB: … who knows where, but definitely playing her guitar, writing songs and laughing with her friends.
Tracey launched ‘By The Wayside’ at the Darwin Railway Club – event details here – released through Laughing Outlaw Records.
Visit Tracey Bunn on Reverbnation, MySpace and Facebook, and read more about her trip to the 2010 Americana Music Festival.
And watch Tracey’s music video for ‘Shut Up And Let Me Breathe’, shot in Nashville!
Words: Megan Spencer. Many thanks to Tracey Bunn for the interview.
