Reviews
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CD review
Caught in the ACT 2005 - 18 track CD Various Artists
Recorded and mixed @ Various, Produced by Various, Engineered by Various, Mastered by Various. Cover artwork Ben Lopez of Paper Monkey Canberra. Photography by Various
Web: www.cdcita.com.au Distributed by; Indi When Recorded; Various
Where can you get it; indi music shops How much should you pay: $19.99.
Style of music, various Sound like; Canberra in 2005.
Here we are at another Caught in the ACT, 2005 to be exact. This is the sixth instalment of a compilation CD which has woven itself into the Canberran musical culture. The artwork looks similar to previous years, top quality as usual and the CD features several top local names like Switch 3, Night Train, Little Smoke, the Tullys and MEATBEE. Ben Lopez of Paper monkey / MEATBEE fame always gets CITA started well, with artwork that is industry standard.
The quality of the tracks varies from very good to some that show potential.
Here's a track by track review...
6. The Tullys, 'A rock and a hard place' Another winning tune from the Tully four member team. Female vocals with the sweet laid back style over a sweeping keyboard. Most Tully tunes tend to be true to the vocals which always come over warm and rich with laid back guitar, drums and bass. It's almost a country feel with a pop influence. Quality recording, quality. I'd like to hear the guys look into chasing their urban influences a little more. Another Canberra band and worth catching if you get a chance.
CITA 2005 is another great timepiece of Canberra music. People in 50 years time will be able to take this baby off the shelf and get an idea of what was going on in the Canberra music scene. While there are a number of quality Canberra acts not on this CD, there's enough quality with enough up and comers to show what's going on.
CITA 2005 is available form Landspeed
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Live Sound Report; Andrew Diprose
Coffee and Chords, The Tullys, Westfield Belconnen
Typically set up with Michelle Tully (vocals) at the front, flanking and set behind her are Cameron Tully (acoustic guitar, electric guitar and backing vocals) and Jamie Tully (bass guitar and backing vocals), at the rear of the stage is the drummer. The position of drummer was traditionally filled by Lawson Tully, but has been rotated continually ever since his move to Nashville, Tennessee, USA, so that he could be with his wife Anna.
Set up takes approximately 60 minutes + 30 minutes for sound check. All care is taken to avoid injury (using legs and arms instead of back for heavy lifting for example). All leads are taped down where possible to avoid tripping.
Techniques Used
Lower end frequencies are frequently taken out of Cam's voice in particular; this is due to the fact that he has quite a deep spoken as well as singing voice. Taking out lower end frequencies prevents what he calls 'bleeding', where his voice loses clarity due to the amount of low end frequencies amplified in it. Beyond that, levels are balanced to showcase Michelle's voice, which is what the band does at every gig; this means that all of the other levels of the instruments are lower than Michelle's voice at all times. The backing vocals in particular are quite quite low, they are set up with the idea of just twinging at an audible level, more designed to enhance Michelle's singing rather than be a feature in and of themselves.
Conclusion and Personal Thoughts
Working with The Tullys was an honour, a privilege and a pleasure. Hopefully I will be able to pick that back up again once CIT is done and behind me. At any rate, I rocked up on the Sunday to Coffee and Chords, which is what they're calling their performances at Gloria Jeans Belconnen. The purpose behind it all is to build a fanbase which will hopefully remain interested and loyal once they hit their downtime when Michelle is having Jamie and her second child.
The sound as always was flawless. I never had to do much when I was working with The Tullys, simply making minor adjustments to EQ and levels, both FOH and foldback. Michelle's voice carried beautifully, pealing upwards with a clarion sound that rose all the way through the three levels of the shopping centre. This was received with mixed reactions; one retailer complained about the noise (they were duly ignored; awesome), another went so far as to come down, buy a CD and begin playing it in-store once the performance was done! Listening to The Tullys is pure listening pleasure. I've never heard a bass player with such a definitive sound as Jamie, his practice pays off well ad this shows in his performance. Cameron is one of those annoying people who picks up a guitar and breaks out something incredible no matter what; then he'll complain the instrument is slightly out of tune. So he's simply awesome to listen to. All in all, it was great to catch up with The Tullys and great to hear them again.
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CD review
The Masked One takes it in the Tully!
The Tullys - My Brother Charlie: 11 track + bonus video Clip
Recorded @ Camelot Studios Canberra - Produced by Trevor Dunham - Engineered by Trevor Dunham - Mastered by Trevor Dunham - Cover artwork by: Maureen Tully - Photography by Shaun, Courtney and Travis - Web : thetullys.com.au - Label: Indi
When Recorded; 2002 - Where can you get it, Maybe Revolution, (sold out) - Style of Music; Folk Rock (Corrs)
The Tullys are: Lawson Tully: Drums, Jamie Tully: Bass Guitar, Mandolin, Backing vocals, Cameron Tully: Lead Guitar, Backing vocals, Mechelle: Lead Vocals and piano
The Tullys are the Tullys. For real, it's a family that formed a band, three brothers and a wife. Mechelle, the wife, writes most of the songs and sings on their debut 2002 release 'My Brother Charlie'.
Their music has been compared to U2, Corrs and reminds me of 'Women in Doc's'. Mechelle's voice has an Australian feel to it and is fattened out on this CD with well placed harmonies. While the rest of the band are mentioned for back ups, I can't really much more than another girls voice, some blokie bits, but most back ups sit down to pee.
The recording quality of 'My Brother Charlie' is very good. It's amazing how local studios can step up to the mark if you get rid of electricity. The drums could be fuller, yeah I know, that ol' chestnut, but the vocals make up for any mixing short falls. Up front, that's my only real pic at this CD, it's sounds like a fantastic local production. Would though, have loved to have heard a track recorded at a different studio, just to compare.
The pics on the CD jacket are high quality studio portraits and fit the music. The Tullys are a polished outfit that produce polished music. The folky sound, makes them for easy listening and great to have on in the background or driving around.
I'd like to see the Tullys spend the dollars and get into a better studio for a couple of tracks on their next endeavour. Mechelle has proved she can pen a quality tune, with the right man at the knobs, the Tullys could really make something of their music, even a living.
The video side of things suits the 'local' nature of the CD. Again, it's the production that lets it down, though is a good introduction of, 'this is the band'. Would have liked to have seen a few more dollars on the video.
That'd be something interesting, now I think about it. Songs like 'My Brother Charlie' would fit right into the shoe of bands like Night Train. A great song can cross boarders in music. And I'd just love to hear their fat ass guitars behind a Tullys tune.
The band does a fantastic study of "less is more", with some tunes stripped back to vocals and piano. I'd like to hear the band go to the other extream a little more, with a liberal helping of fat on the bones of some of the other songs. A good producer would be able to provide the lard without losing the soul of the song.
'My Brother Charlie' is a fantastic, personal, account of life and travels in Australia and essential listing for anyone interested in hearing the future of quality music. The best track for me, would have to be track 4 'It's only love'. A haunting look into the awakening of becoming an adult and discovering the real world around you.
As I said before, to me, most tracks on this CD are keepers, the only thing that holds it back is production, in the right studio, with the right engeneer, these guys could make gold.
This is the Masked Reviewer saying, catch the Tullys, and try and get your hands on this gem of a CD if you see it around.
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Hi Mechelle :)
...we're just listening to the new singles now and they are awesome! The recordings sound excellent. Look forward to seeing you perform live again soon...
Luv Louise & Lee :)
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Dear Tullys
I would like to thank you for performing at Fair Day 2003. Your generous performance helped build a great atmosphere for the day. I have heard a lot of praise for your performance and a lot of people putting 1 Dec in their diaries to hear you perform again.
Your willingness to perform is greatly appreciated and helped to create a fun and enjoyable day. Thanks also for referring Phil the Sound Guy who worked calmly and efficiently throughout the Fair. If SpringOut can ever assist in promoting your future endeavors please let me know.
Yours sincerely
Ian
Co-convener
Springout 2003
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Just a quick note to say we loved your CD's (Jake has been playing them lots!) We bought them when we saw you guys playing at the AIS.
Regards
Suzanne (& Rob & Jake & Bryn)
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Dear Mechelle, Jamie, Cameron and Lawson
We really enjoyed your performance at AIS today. We unfortunately had to leave early to get back to Sydney, but have already listened to the entire album that we purchased today.
Your music is easy to listen to and the lyrics reach deep into the soul. We really look forward to seeing you perform in Sydney one of these days. Keep up the good work.
God Bless
Mike, Debi, Tom and Kev
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Kathleen just lent me the CD - Wow!!!!!! It is fantastic. I thought it would be good - but it blew me away.
You guys have done a fantastic job.
Carolyn
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Dear Maureen,
I took the CD's you sent in my car with me to NSW, and listened to them all the way down and back. I also played them for my family, and what can I say! WOW! I love them! Just the type of music I like.
If you have any promo stuff, like flyers, etc, that advertise the CD, if you send it to me, I would be more than happy to enclose anything to promote the album with all my DVD order that I send out to my Australian customers. I don't know if you have anything, but if you do, I would be more than happy to do this.
Just let me know, Kind regards
Geoff
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Hi,
I was at King O'Malley's on St Patrick's day and I really loved the band. I loved how you guys did some traditional Irish music as well as some more modern songs like Van Morrison and The Corrs, not to mention a few by my beloved U2!
But then I was mesmorised by a song that I believe you wrote Mechelle. I don't know what it was called, but it had some words in it that made me want to cry - about the ones we love... I was so touched by what the song was saying, where can I buy that on CD??
Mechelle, you have a great voice. I even thought you sang Bono's songs better than Bono (and if you knew how big of a U2 fan I am, you would take that as high praise!)
Well I really loved you, and I am looking so forward to when you're next performing and I'm bringing my boyfriend along to hear you too!
All the best, keep up the good work!
Sue.
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Dear Tullys,
On behalf of the Board, Management and members of the Canberra Irish Club I would like to express our gratitude to you for playing a part in the St Patrick's Week celebrations... I had many positive comments about your performance. And I, personally, was impressed with your professionalism and enthusiasm.
Your easy-going attitude made the morning run smoothly and made my job a breeze...
Kind regards,
Julianne
Entertainment Manager
Canberra Irish Cub 23/3/00
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Hi Guys,
I just wanted to say that last nights performance for the charity gig was one of the best that I've heard you guys do. It was fantastic! The music sounded great, and the songs that you chose to perform really suited the atmosphere and the mood of the night.
You are all very, very talented and my congratulations go out to you for all the effort that you put into your performances. I think it well and truly paid off last night.
Thanks again for a fantastic night and I can't wait for the release of the new album!!!!
Carolyn, ACT
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I saw you @ King O' Malley's on St Pat's day and you were just great! You seem to have a well balanced mix of music to suit everyone's taste. I was there with my two teenage daughters and they were wrapt too!!
The other thing that impressed me was how friendly you are, some bands are just way above their audiences, but not you guys! I watched you talk to people afterwards and sign CD's and even have an impromptu sing along with the crowd!
Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I thing you are great, Mechelle has a beautiful voice and the fellas are excellent musicians, I love the drummer with the dreads!! You're all very professional and friendly, all the qualities for success!!
I hope you have every success in the future, I am sure you will look back at your early gigs in Canberra and have a laugh about them from the 'dizzy heights' of Sydney or Melbourne!!!
Keep it up!!! You're on a winner!!
A fan
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Hey Tully Family,
Just wanted to say how much I love the album. On Empty is by far and away the best track. I have been listening to it on repeat for days! I think you always relate it to someone you know. I also love Invincible and the different approach you have taken on the track Day At Sea. This last track sounds different to the others, which I really like. Mechelle, just wondering how you wrote On Empty and what provoked it?
Also to all of you, what your favourite song is on the album respectively?
CONGRATULATIONS
Mat, ACT
