RIP

In the midst of Covid (but not from) we also lost dear friend performer John Francis who had been a critical part of many realms of performances through the years including The Supper Club in early 2000s and Brigalow/ Tamarisque since the 90s. We miss him dearly! Lavinia from Frances Folk Gathering here with John & I – pic from 2005!

Change in the air

There really has been quite a gear change of sorts of course this year. Some time to sit on the porch and ponder life, time to hang with the grandkids & daughters (we had a wedding during Feb for the youngest), time to take in a few newer and older friends as distance allowed or as in SA, simply felt more confidently at ease for.
Even some mini folk gatherings around campfires despite some curly -6 degree temps at the time! Let alone helping assorted friends and ah – Tuning/ Fixing pianos to “some” degree!! Usually ones trad Tuners won’t touch lol.
See here with Tony Schick here also well entrenched with his “operated” hand!

So I felt, in lieu of the usual touring, (on Covid pause) and the originally planned post fires “free” tour for the sooo hammered south east coast, another approach was to take this kinda forced “long service leave” gap, to put together a collection from the videos folks had offered me from concerts I’d made through the years, which were in my patiently waiting hard drives! Well I’ve made the extensive Totally Gourdgeous & Supper Club DVDs through the years so I’m always plenty keen to explore the medium ever further!

However I do also have a plan to head to the south east corner of mainland Oz during August and do a visit/ catch up tour with my dear partner Sharn Rocco,

To Give !

– an extensive Youtube Library of the last years of diverse performances !
You won’t have been able to see all of them so …

Andrew Clermont’s recent you-tube world to share
versus the earlier years here featuring more Totally Gourdgeous and Dya Singh World Tours

Here I have sorted into various themes or groupings, from some captured House/ Hall Concerts, to the fairly detailed years of my Supper Club Concert weeks at Tamworth.
There is also an extra listing under the Golden Fiddle Awards Youtube site (filmed at The Capitol Theatre, Tamworth), which not surprisingly gained a certain cross-pollination from The Supper Club, as well, for the 14 piece or more across stage pieces & finales! In fact another near fifty vids herein!
In total I’ve put up around 150 Youtubes !! From short stabs of how some “projects’ went, through to over
hour long concert captures ! Huge thanks to Jude Heytman and Peter Cooke for a rather large slice of them!
The latter include the Apostle String Band Tours (captured at Tamworth/ Calala’s Enrec Studio) which I took almost everywhere in the October/ Novembers of the last years –

– here The Apostle Tour with Pete Fidler/ Paul Wookey/ James Gillard/ & tall self
(also included Rod Coe, Lawrie Minson (who feature in the Videos) & Paddy Montgomery)
Then there was this last summer’s story filled Bluegrass – Made in Taiwan (25 year re-union) which did a brief but intensive MountainGrass Festival (VIC) to Moruya (NSW) to Wirrina Bluegrass (SA) lap last

November including Jenny Lester from BC Canada plus Aron Maclean & Jack Melbourne – here at Sussex Inlet House Concert NSW – yay! Ronnie & Sue’s place.

Thankfully I found what was about the last concert I did with Cellist extraordinaire Rachel Johnston, “All Corners Covered” at Rose Sexton’s house ala Mt Beauty. We were in fine form indeed!

There are also a few most recent captures with Goldheist (Hester Fraser) on Piano & stellar songs & voice from Sussex Inlet House Concert (thanks Ronnie & Sue) through to within the wondrous
Blanche Cave – Limestone Caves @ Naracoorte (below)! Plus a few grabs with BluGuru let alone a most surprising archive of this year’s Supper Club which long time fan/ friend Judy Heytman collected patiently (30 hours), which I then distilled/ cherry picked and then some quite artfully edited into clips of feeling like you are right there if in fact not lost in a dream too!

So I do heartily hope you will avail yourself to the library of Vid Clips/ Films to get a sense of not missing out! Plus a chance to see the larger or more ornate version of everyone’s collaborations through these creative years!
Andrew Clermont’s Supper Club & Golden Fiddle Awards Shows
A special note in regard to my diligent and contributing much time, players – and well above the call of duty – who made, in particular, the orchestrations (there be a separate grouping list for them in the youtubes).
The benefit of both – leading up to our January Supper Clubs – which also related very strongly to our Woodford Supper Club years (the last gathering there saw 36 hours of rehearsals within the 6 day festival!)
It truly humbled me to see that come together and (ah ha!!) luckily captured during the Golden Fiddle Awards Showcase 2018 which followed in January – much of that astonishing 74 minutes CD can be attributed to the refinement via the epic Woodford Folk Festival rehearsals, to then “flower” in Tamworth!
And for a point in history – much of the earlier years of “rehearsals” happened at Phil & Michelle’s Fine Earth Foods, Woodford Folk Fest and bonus mention of Andrew & Heather Pattison of The Troubadour/ Wine Bar which gave early venue time to my eventually called “Supper Club” endeavours!
I must mention our Tamworth local sponsor support from Clearview IT
plus Just Better Care NSW helping in particular with Jude Iddison’s return flights from Albany WA to Tamworth each year of late!

Now, “some” of the critical Supper Club players of around that time, and that you’ll see perhaps through the youtubes were (are!) Jude Iddison (WA Fiddle), Quentin Eyers (SA Bass &…), Paddy Montgomery (VIC – multi), James Church (NSW) & Pete Fidler (VIC) on exchanging dobros, Paul Cooper (SA Banjo), Brookie & Daniel Gillett (Tamworth Vocals, Ukulele & Bass Clarinet), Shenzo Gregorio (QLD Fiddle), Garry Steel (NSW Keys incl Accordion), Robbie Long (Newcastle Guitar & Drums), Willy Qua (QLD from Galapagos Duck !) Glenn Skarratt (NSW), String Loaded (NSW Jen & Ray plus youth Olivia, Gabi) –
Jude & mid teens Gabi wrote out a large portion of the orchestrations to the tunes/ songs going back at least 5 years now!

Add to that the bands and/ or the influences through their earlier appearances of Totally Gourdgeous (VIC), BluGuru (VIC), The Cartwheels (VIC), Tamarisque (SA), Siskin River (NSW), One Up Two Down (USA & OZ), and artists like Leslie Avril, Kavisha Mazzella, Taylor Pheiffer (our most repeated guest artist!), The Beez (Germany), Bennett Sullivan (North Carolina – Banjo – this year) plus Jenny Lester this year (Canada), Brendan Radford (QLD Guitar & Songs), Tony Eyers (NSW Harmonica), Chloe Nott (Tamworth Banjo youth), Daniel Watkins & Tom Kendall (VIC) and even Gerry O’Berne (Ireland) – plus …
eg – one January there were 100 artists appearing @ Andrew Clermont’s Supper Club – to put full name to it 🙂

Thus it seemed very important to present these rather unique gatherings & captures in a reachable forum – hence on Youtube – so it could in fact be a present/ gift to those who were unable to make it to these often one-off events!
Let alone re-see with different eyes!
Future Tours?
Not surprisingly, pretty much what all we musos have been building this last decade of touring has suddenly been put on ice or ethereally online, for possibly quite a while.
My initial hopes after the Bushfires had been, to do some support tours through the southeast corner of Australia and give back to the many who have been there supporting the music through the years, let alone those struck with such bad luck of circumstance.
Well perhaps that is not too far off for some communities – you can let us know when things are looking settled enough!?
Tours for me with Paul Wookey or Goldheist or Penelope Swales, who all expressed fine keeness as soon as happy gathering levels are reached again will certainly be on the cards!
Most 2020 festival thoughts from October onward are still juggling with the yes/no of Covid condition at this point.
However in the meantime – an Ask – with options!
Should there be a few folk still in mostly normal life mode and able to appreciate financially, the offerings as well!?
It certainly would be appreciated. I’m not putting up a “gofund” site but simple methods are on my contact page –
http://www.andrewclermont.com.au/contact.htm
And there’s a bunch of New Releases including the 5th Totally Gourdgeous CD – Gourd in the Act and
3rd DVD – The Ripe Stuff ready to go!

The new Totally Gourdgeous single, “I Have a Dream”
(a musical rendering of Martin Luther King’s speech),
was released last December through MGM distribution:
https://TotallyGourdgeous.lnk.to/ihaveadream .
More about the song at http://malwebb.com/ihaveadream.html
The huge 17 track album, “Gourd in the Act”, was released on Feb 14,
https://www.thegroovemerchants.com/Product/85593
Also available on Bandcamp: https://totallygourdgeous.bandcamp.com

However hard copies are also easily sent to you – just email me back!
– $25 per CD – Bank Details are at
http://andrewclermont.com.au/contact.htm

Also recent, is the Golden Fiddle Showcase 2018 CD
– a whopping 74 min wonder! $25

THE Supper Club Book!!

Three years work went into the 120 page 20 year Photo Almanac of Andrew Clermont’s Supper Club available as A4 size $95 and A3! $160
Pages from salubrious single photos through to collages with a few stories & “your” thoughts added in –
I’m very pleased with the resultant quality!!
My whole shop/ info page is at
http://andrewclermont.com.au/sounds.htm
CDs are $25
DVDs are $25 to $40 (double)
Tuition DVDs $30 Didg – $50 the rest

Next Year ! 2021 or just as likely 2022
We can hope there will be some return to “normal” but it seems still little conclusive decisions for a while!
Just as Covid was kicking in I was at the Sandford Bush Festival which in it’s third year was/ is (just over the border in VIC, showing wonderful promise. Full solid plans to keep right on going there – Labor Day (VIC) in March and followed 2 weeks later
with the Penola Coonawarra Music Gathering (stepping in after Frances Folk Gathering pulled up this last year)
Supper Club @ North Tamworth Bowlo realm I will hope we can roll with the flow there with the now usual preamble mini Fests at Nowendoc (now moved to March) and the Chicken in the Window Friday 15th Jan 2021 in Murrurrundi the day before we go for the week’s Supper Club in Tamworth Sat 16 to Sat 24 – 2021.
Yes we did infact run the Supper Club right through the “Pho” Fest of 2021!
Yarra Junction Fiddlers (just east of Melb) Feb and Sandford Bush Fest put off till March 2022

Then there is The National Folk Fest at Easter in Canberra, followed by St Albans Folk Fest 3 weeks later in April with assorted time for tours to spread between – all moved to 2022
Well I hope the spread of pictures made the lengthy catch up all the more reasonable! Looking forward to seeing a few of you in August for a cuppa or cooee, as we saunter passed, if you let me know.
Let alone – give a hoy on the videos you liked!

Tall & musical, real & virtual hugs
Andrew Clermont & realms

Extraordinary concert tours ahead! July 2019 – March 2020
– please help spread the word!

Hi Folks,
we hope your years are being as kind to you as can.
If you made it to any gatherings of the last years which we’ve brought near to you,
a very warm extra thanks! Here’s a catch up and gentle plea to spread the word!
Other ways of supporting the players involved are below, after the Pics!
The Supper Club, BluGuru, Totally Gourdgeous, The Apostle String Band,
plus Kavisha Mazzella (with Rachel Johnston & Trent Arklesmyth – Two if by Sea) all shared some fine touring journeys, particularly this last year which I was most grateful to organise and share in – there was even Clermont’s (Tuition) Clinic at Woodford Folk Fest end of last year where Steve Berry (Ex- Three Chord Wonder days) plus 15 yr old Adelaide fiddle whizz Lucy Kammerman hit their straps by passing on special music knowledge!
but let’s quickly jump to some music plans ahead
July (Goldheist) / Aug (Kelly Country Pick) / Sept (Tasmania with BluGuru) / Oct (Mildura CM Fest) & November kicks into the summer with the Bluegrass – Made in Taiwan Re-union Tours (a 25 year celebration!).

Keep scrolling down for details!

JULY 5 – 20
Goldheist (with me) will tour these more secret places – of elves & ents – magic in music !
from Glen Innes north
through Tamworth (Enrec Studio Sat 6th),
Uralla (McCrossins Mill Sunday 7th 3pm !!)
Sydney ! (Folkswagon Session – Cafe Lounge – Surrey Hills) Wed 10th
Newcastle (The REX – Royal Exchange Salon Theatre) Thu 11th
,Murrurundi (Chicken in the Window Barn Fri 12th) ,
then back near Newcastle
and on to Sussex Inlet south! – see details at http://andrewclermont.com.au/gigguide.htm

Andrew with Jenny Lester (BC Canada) & Jack Melbourne (now Beechworth!)
From Halloween to Tamworth CM Fest (our 22nd Supper Club year!) end of January
A 25 year Re-union after 700 Concerts together in Taiwan in the mid 90s.
Leading Bluegrass artist Jenny Lester (Hungry Hill & Mark O’Connor Fiddle Camps!) had been on a holiday tour in ’95 from Canada – BC and bumped into myself and Adelaide’s Bluegrasser, Trev Warner, in the Pt Fairy Folk Fest green room – our jams were filmed by a Taiwan Documentary mob (though that was a detail we only learned years later).
Coincidentally some music agents from Adelaide had come back with word of a Bluegrass gig at Leofoo Adventure Park in Taiwan that year.
I received a call to be involved and a tumbling 3 years followed co-ordinating about 15 various Bluegrass players from Australia on rotation there.
Thus Bluegrass – Made in Taiwan!
our players!
Daryl (Jack) Melbourne (who had been touring with The Fargone Beauties), Jenny & myself became solid regulars for some years there.
I had the dubious job of running the Oz side of it for those years and then Jack became well entrenched there to the point of Art Director for the music department of one of the larger Museums in Taiwan! Not to mention the odd Bar & Pizza with music venues! I believe Jack clocked up some 3000 performances in Taiwan… give or take..
He extracted Aron Maclean from the Leofoo Can Can Show and the rest is history! The Supper Club/ The Pigs/ …even the guy who stunt-doubled for The Wolverine (Justin Sain !) was entwined in beginnings via Taiwan and that Adventure Park realm!
Paul Wookey from the Apostle Tours mentioned above who toured with me these last years, was also thick in the melee there! Wendy M Jackson whom I’d first met in Seville Expo, The ’92 Kangaroo Bar also got a call from me and was many years later, key to organising The Kelly Country Pick through most of it’s years as well!
Through this summer we’ll be aiming to unite as many of the former participants as we can!
There was a lucky capture of virtually the last concert I did there with Jack & Jenny – which boldly survives to tell the tale!
Live & Stormy : Bluegrass – Made in Taiwan – of the whole show as it distilled itself into. Above is the photo which hung for seemingly another decade, welcoming the patrons through the walkway to the various worlds of Leofoo Adventure Park – oh! And Jack, with Aron, also created the first Saudi Arabia show there as well (including training the Tiger!!)
There will be a curious assortment of stories attached to the tour shows ahead!

Back to 1995 – promo shot at Leofoo Adventure Park !

THE rest of SUMMER!!!
Keep an eye on the Gig Guide here as we get closer to each event!
http://andrewclermont.com.au/gigguide.htm
here’s the festival list you’ll likely catch Jen & I at.
Beyond MountainGrass Bluegrass Festival Thu 7 – 10 Nov VIC (The Reunion) and south NSW coast tour
Wirrina Bluegrass & Roots Music Fest 22 – 24 Nov SA (The Reunion) and concerts on the way across!
Maleny Bluegrass Convention Workshops 10 -15 Dec QLD (Jenny & I both Tutoring)
Woodford Folk Fest 26 Dec – 1 Jan 2020 QLD – TBC we hope !
Andrew Clermont’s Supper Club @ North Tamworth Bowlo 18 – 25 Jan NSW (huge line up including Totally Gourdgeous – our 22nd year)
then I’ll appear at my usual favs into FEB & MARCH
Yarra Junction Fiddlers Convention 14 – 16 Feb VIC (Always special)
Frances Folk Gathering 20 – 23 Feb VIC/ SA border (21st year)
Sandford Bush Festival 5-7 Mar VIC (near SA)
Phew! See you there or at House Concerts/ Halls/ Jams between!!
OTHER WAYS TO SUPPORT!
So the years have generated a number of CDs & DVDs from the smorgasbord of music worlds we circle in.
Plus now there are the Supper Club T-shirts now as well as the epic 20 Year Photo Almanac Book of The Supper Club which includes most of the connected musos!
120 pages of extraordinary photographers work & stories through the 20 years! On special at a neat $100
And various style/ colour T-shirts too! $25 all inclusive of postage!
Give a hoy here or at at Ph 0407753809
Please invest if you can – it all makes the tours more possible!
Hope you can make it to a concert – or plan your own! We can help with House Concerts & Events
Yours most grateful for the years we can do all this!
Hugs always from Andrew Clermont (and just few co-project performers & helpers)

Tour & Catchup – Bendigo to Mallacoota to Tamworth, Canberra and cross to Adelaide Oct 2018

Concerts & Events near you over the next while plus some catch up!

and even if we miss your realm, perhaps your friends are close!

Of course you may find it’s time to host your own gathering – we can help!!

Howdy Hi everyone! Quite the busy year and I hope life has shared some kindness to to all – even if it can be a tad hard to spot, particularly those who wore the brunt of the droughts in recent time. One night in Tamworth there were 800 folk in the Town Hall praying for rain – extreme times indeed!

However a few milestones to mention regardless. The turning 20 of Totally Gourdgeous, that most unpindownable band of how to look at life ever differently! We did a rare tour through the midst of winter (rare given the 20 years and now 5th CD “Gourd in the Act” underway along side a possible third live video

Your Content Goes HerePeter, Paul, James & Andrew… clearly The Apostle Tour!
But of course there is much more to it.
First just quickly, the areas we are going!
Bendigo (Quarry Hill) The Old Church on the Hill, this Fri 8pm
Melbourne – The Lomond, this Sat
Mallacoota – The Mudbrick Theatre Tue 23 Oct
Cobargo Hall Wed 24
Nethercote Hall Thu 25
Sussex Inlet – House Concert (HC) near Tomerong Fri 26
Congo (Moruya) HC Mon 29
Newcastle – Royal Exchange Wed 31
Tamworth / Calala Enrec Studio Concert Thu Nov 1
Murrurundi Chicken in the Window Barn Fri 2
Canberra HC Sun 4th
Mitta Mitta (near Wodonga) – Witches Garden Mon 5th
Beechworth George Kerferd Hotel Thu 8th
Beechworth as MountainGrass Supper Club with
Jack Melbourne, Paul Cooper, James Gillard (Paddy Montgomery (Sat)),The Gordons and a host of festival infiltration! Friday & Sat 9&10th
Back to Apostle Tour with Paddy swapping for Peter!
Frances SA St Aubins HC Tue 13
Casterton Vic Wed 14
Mt Gambier – Limestone Coast Pantry – Thu 15
Spech Guest Louise Adams
Wirrina Bluegrass & Roots Fest Fri- Sun 16-18

Then a massive Supper Club @ The Risk, near Kyogle Sat 24th Nov!! Steve Berry joins Shenzo Gregorio, Willy Qua, Quentin Eyers @ Hanna with Clermont & sound by Stuart Battens!!

More detail of all gigs at
http://www.andrewclermont.com.au/gigguide.htm

The Apostle String Band Tour story!

Andrew Clermont met Paul Wookey at The Snowbird at Mt Hotham in the very early 80s. He had only just got a handle on the fiddle though would soon win his first National Bluegrass Guitar Championship. Wookey on the other hand was already quite the legend, opening for many International Artists.

A few years later in ’88 Clermont would meet James Gillard at Perisher & The Station Inn jamming while he was himself entertaining as Art Gecko Bush Band during the first year of Mt Blue Cow’s existence (recovering from a sliced left hand finger tip injury no less).

Wookey eventually moved to Tamworth where a few jams at gigs would happen between he & Clermont while James would connect with them individually ever so fleetingly but with plenty promise of “we must do more!”

But time gets away and between family & living in 3 different states (one could almost say, worlds!) It’s taken till now for these ships in the night to meet at a port!

Dobro player Pete Fidler & Clermont had a step by step aquaintance through the Harrietville Bluegrass festivals and then increasingly more at the likes of The National Folk Festival & Tamworth Januarys until they could play and parry their music together as tango dancers might – though perhaps more like sword wielding fencers!
Those who have followed bass man James Gillard’s history will recall a trail from Richard Clapton through Mondo Rock, The Fargone Beauties, The Flood, and beloved Shanley Del with performances on an endless list of albums of nearly everyone! His cool tenor voice and stage presence have also kept a glow around him.

Andrew Clermont could be considered a Festival secret weapon! Plays a heap of instruments super well, but more importantly, gathers a whole swag of young through to well ripened players & performers via his 20 years of Supper Club events around Oz and even way out to Estonia!
But even from the 20 years before that, he seems make a musical wish list and then see who is up for it and “Wallah!” up spring country/ folk “orchestras” as very extensively shown in recent years during the Golden Fiddle Shows let alone his International Supper Clubs.
However there is a tour spin-off in the last years, bringing together that Gold Guitar winning Paul Wookey with Clermont – who has his own GG through the Three Chord Wonders in the 80s! They lapped from Melbourne to Tamworth and back playing all days of the week(s).

Wookey famed by his highly adaptive and encompassing voice reflects like magic through 200 years of song & melody – you see he’s not at all a slouch on the flat-pick guitar either! From Eric Clapton style in Cream tribute shows or similarly of The Kinks through to a re-make of the entire Dylan in Melbourne concert of 1966 – just a few years back. Coincidentally a most refined song-writer and with a voice to melt the most hardened soul. And that be still just the tip of the iceberg!
Add the steel of Pete Fidler, also deft on Mandolin, Guitar & Harmony, the wry wit of James Gillard on Double Bass and the years tumble into a seamless catchment of songs that will embrace 2000 years of nods & winks into unforgettable nights of a month’s Apostle Tour! more info at andrewclermont.com.au

Coming up at Woodford Folk Fest this year – Clermont’s Clinic (by request of the Festival) and joined by the mighty Steve Berry on Guitar & powering youth, Lucy Kammerman from Adelaide – do let me know should you want to head for that!

Next Supper Club details are growing – 19-26th January 2019
Special Guests include Germany’s Mensch! Monique! through to Fred Smith and Peter Daffy plus Willy Qua back (Galapagos Duck), String Loaded and a host of return favourites, let alone the forever surprises!
Continuing detail at …
http://www.andrewclermont.com.au/specialevents.htm

Remember to book early for the Golden Fiddle Show @ The Capitol
10am Wed 23rd Jan – it Sold Out last year!!

Please keep Tabs at http://www.andrewclermont.com.au particularly see under Latest News, Special Events & Gig Guide!

Thanks for all the thoughts & help along the way if you’ve been in that position by chance. In this constantly up & down music life it’s your friends & communities which make the trail worth while!
We are most grateful

much thanks, Andrew Clermont

2017 Review – Clermont Tours ahead and 20 year Photo Almanac Book of Supper Club revealed !

Hi fine friends of the great decades of music!
Quick News
A good many of you have been part of the new paths of House Concerts from Melb to Bris – up close & real! The Apostle Tour is directly ahead (Peter, Paul … and Andrew 🙂 ) from Canberra, up the coast to Tamworth & Gunnedah and back through Newcastle, Sydney through to MountainGrass Bluegrass Festival in Victoria’s Harrietville.
The Gig-Guide
Plus Totally Gourdgeous next July for a quick southern lap in our 20th year!! More detail below
The Supper Club also turns 20 next Jan and we have a 140 page photo book (sneak pek attached!) coming out to celebrate! It is A4 landscape with likely a few A3 options if ordered.
Over 8 wonderous photographers created much art of the music they witnessed and I have spent 3 years working through the archives they have provided me with to glean the greatest captures.
More detail
The Apostle Tour will also include visits from Michael Vidale & Rod Coe on Bass –
check in at The Gig-Guide for the appearances near you between Oct 25 & Nov 17
of special note are Sunday 29th Oct in Budgong Valley, Thu 2nd Nov Smiths in Canberra, Sat Nov 4th in Newcastle’s Royal Exchange Salon Theatre and Sydney’s Tara House Sun 12th Nov – but check out the 17 gigs all up and tell your friends!!

Including Chris Rogers sound team, Willow & Linden, Marcus Sturrock, Jude Iddison, James Church, Cielle Montgomery, Jamie Pattagulan, Annette Eldridge, Brookie & Daniel Gillett, String Loaded, Quentin Eyers