NEWS 0105

Acoustic Beats

Nikki's acoustic remix for urban beat outfit Ouvi Melhor caught the attention of  radio programmers with her dissonant fingerstyle guitar figures working eerily well alongside the deep groove beats that characterize this deadly young band. 

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NEWS 0404

The Circle Game - Springwood Folk

As a teenager in the 1960's, Nikki played her earliest gigs in tiny folk clubs and coffeehouses. Now, thirtysomething years and countless gigs later, and in training for her Seniors Card, Nikki was invited to appear as guest artist at Springwood Acoustic Music Club.

Happily, some things stay the same - a tiny folk club, a keenly attentive bunch of romantics and dreamers for an audience and a lovely opportunity for Nikki to perform her material with the kind of subtlety and attention to detail which is sometimes unattainable in larger and noisier concert settings
- support your local folk club.

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NEWS 0304

In Concert

Thanks to highly focused festival directors Al Ward and Bob Charter, and a delightfully deranged volunteer army, Blue Mountains Festival of Folk Roots and Blues lived up to its reputation as one of Australia's premier acoustic music events.

Nikki's three concerts were well attended and very warmly received - wry smiles and happy feet all round. Go figure upshot of the weekend for Nikki? - most requested song was the decidedly unsingalongable post creationist mini-epic on the theme of "are belief sysrems a health hazard beyond their use by date?" - The 8th Day (see songs page). Is this cause for hope? - definitely.

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NEWS 0903

More Luxury Living: troglodytes

Immensely pleasant gig - private party - ten dangerously mature women celebrating a 50th birthday - the venue? - a giant cave high in the mountains hidden halfway down a cliff in a remote ravine.

The Hatters cave at Bell is an ancient meeting place which has been set up with facilities to enable groups of romantic troglodytes to use the cave in much the same way as it has been used for thousands of years - hanging round a fire telling tall stories, going off to sleep with the massive darkness and sub audible didgeridoo drone of the wilderness just beyond the firelight. A rare opportunity for Nikki to play genuine campfire tunes with a genuine campfire and cheerful companions (and stunning acoustics) - more luxury living.

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NEWS 0603

Who's for Lunch

Winter Magic Festival in Katoomba - Nikki's performing on an outdoor stage - it's mid winter a kilometre above sea level - the crowd are really receptive - the more risky the music, the better - pleasant gig but not without it's dangers.

Near the stage there are hundreds of hungry punters lined up at the various food stalls - it's cold, they're hungry - the vegetarians look pretty calm - the carnivores lined up at the sausage sizzle are restless - they're constantly turning their hungry gaze towards the stage - maybe boredom, maybe something more sinister - alone on stage, Nikki feels uneasy, vulnerable, kind of meaty and tender - who's for lunch.

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NEWS 0203

Make Love, Not Deja Vu

Featuring Nikki's tricksy fingerstyle guitar, a military bass drum and an apparently not well worn enough cliche, Nikki's new tune, 'Make Love Not War' had its first live outing at Katoomba Peace March in December before a surprisingly mixed crowd of concerned citizens.

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NEWS 0402

What the Hell Was That All About

When Nikki found herself on the same bill with Aussie fingerstyle guitar legend, Al Ward (who's reportedly recording new songs with China plate Dan Johnson), along with big time, two-steppin' dance hall twelve stringer, Guy Davis(see NEWS0302), ...did she pack up her skinny looking red guitar and head for the hills?

Hell no, she did what she always does - by the time Nikki has hit the stage, played her weirdo, lefty songs at double speed, taken a bow and bolted, the audience is saying "what the hell was that all about?"

Missing the point by a statistically significant margin, Nikki (rightly or wrongly) claims the "Big Finish" is over rated - audiences can get "Big Finish" fatigue if everyone gives 'em the "Big Finish".

Nikki claims her current work promulgates the "To Be Continued" finish, where the audience is given the option of delaying the "Big Finish" until ...er.. later. She promises to report back on this.

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NEWS 0302

Luxury Living.

Blue Mountains Roots Music Festival was drenched in an intoxicating brew of sublime musics.

Nikki managed to catch a few shows including New York blues man, Guy Davis, laying down some powerful country blues on his big Stella guitar alongside a beautiful baritone voice that moves seamlessly from melody to spoken word and back again.

Aussie blues demon, Damon Davies, was cool as - jokesy stage antics counterpointing a seriously stylish fingerstyle blues and slide show.

Plus a huge serve of retro from the metro - home of the happy feet, Adelaide's rockabilly royalty, "The Satellites", destroyed the dance floor with singular grace and authority.

When a band composes and plays music that's this much fun for dancing & looks so groovy doing it, it's possible to overlook the fact that it takes truck loads of genuine hard core talent to make it happen.

Satellites vocalist, the strikingly beautiful Belinda Hartman swings a rockin' rhythm guitar the whole time while delivering up vocals with the kind of intriguing mix of fragility and toughness that puts her up with the cream of Australia's music women.

So much music, so little time. Luxury living indeed.

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NEWS 0102

Major's Creek Festival.

Major's Creek Folk Festival distinguished itself again in Nov. 2001 as a genuine feel good country hoedown. Heaps of fine performances, laid back rural setting and a couple of thousand cheerful idiots emerging from their tents each morning with no greater ambition than to lap up the ambience until they could lap no more.

Nikki's performance ..er.. sermon in the old stone church on Sunday morning milked every ounce of resonance from the delicious natural acoustics of the venue - playing for a full house, er... congregation, the usually irredeemably secular songstress managed to make even her trashiest post suburban parables take on the aura of something resembling genuine piety.

In a space purpose built for contemplation, chalk up another triumph for architecture over artifice.

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NEWS 0801

Historical implications.

Nikki's outdoor performance at the solstice Winter Magic Festival in the Blue Mountains was more than usually surreal.

It wasn't the thousands of partying adults and children disguised as fairies and frost sprites and all, nor the cheerful women dancing in the sun on the rooftop, but the presence of police with sniffer dogs in the crowd that really put the chilli on the salsa.

Babalu percussionist, John Stuart provided rock solid support on congas.

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NEWS 0501

The title track from Nikki's 'Next of Skin' has been included on a compilation CD called 'Greensongs' - a collection of Australian music on the themes of environment, social justice & human rights being released by the Australian Greens as a fundraiser and awareness raiser.

Other artists appearing on the disc include Kev Carmody, Deborah Conway, Hottentot Party, Shane Howard, Ruby Hunter, Vince Jones, Jeannie Lewis, Neil Murray, Archie Roach, Margaret RoadKnight, Judy Small, Tiddas, Warumpi Band & more.

Phil & Pat from Oz rockmonsters 'Grinspoon' ditched the earplugs to check out Nikki's Sydney Acoustica gig @ The Iguana Lounge in March. A jolly(!) time was had by all.

Nikki is currently in rehearsal for her CD release schedule. She claims someone else must've played the guitar parts on her new album 'cause she sure as hell can't work out how she did it! The live show is sounding pretty tasty though...

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