Mark Olson, a founding member of legendary American, Alternative Country/Rock band The Jayhawks, will be touring Australia this September. Mark is touring to celebrating the upcoming release of his latest solo offering ‘Spokeswoman of the Bright Sun’, with his wife and musical partner Ingunn Ringvold. With an intimate night of live music right here in Newcastle at The Northern Star, Hamilton, on Saturday, September 23rd, special guest on the night will be, the Hunter Valley’s very own rising Americana star James Thomson.
This is music that will speak to you about things that have happened! An album that sounds like you are alone in the desert all by yourself. Remembering childhood experiences and musical instruments and all the joy that took place. We have forgotten because of terrible things that have happened. Is it the truthfulness that attracts you to this music? Listen out of time: Mark Olson & Ingunn Ringvold are singing ‘Spokeswoman of the Bright Sun’, the follow-up of the critically acclaimed Alternative Country/Americana masterpiece ‘Good-bye Lizelle’ (Glitterhouse Records, 2014).
Ingunn Ringvold & Mark Olson
“Our album was recorded during a Joshua Tree summer basically inside our cabin/home but sometimes outside on the porch,” says Mark, “it was warm and I was making a lot of strange ice teas, brewing recipes that came from a herb book I had bought at the local thrift store. We went right from writing to rehearsal to recording in May, June and July time period and I think that is the secret to making a unique album, keeping the momentum of the writing and part learning of the song as you move towards to final takes. The recording sessions with Danny Frankel (drums) took place in the morning before the Mojave heat was on. Danny lives nearby and has developed his own language via his beat communique’s (a type of tambourine Esperanto). We were able to go back over some of the grooves and try different approaches and some of the songs just worked on the first couple of takes. Later that summer we visited with Lewis Keller (bass) in his home in Colorado. We had a time and rather than show him charts and such we went on and on about the themes and significance of each song and how it relates to the recorded folk-rock legacy on certain albums stuck in time. The writing of the music for this album is the desert I long to return to, this valley of string sounds is where I really want to be and what takes up the most time in my heart. The remembering of how I was just a young teenager driving up Topanga Canyon with my Aunt to a bluegrass festival. The sounds of banjos in the Santa Monica Mountains and the beautiful outdoors. That is why now I write mostly outside, under an old Siberian Elm tree that is home to a colony of Bumble Bees. Wow! Look Out! They buzz me on occasion and also just float above my head, hovering in a curious way like some natural apis blimps sent out to observe my lonely work!”
‘Spokeswoman of the Bright Sun’ by Mark Olson will be released by Red Eye Distribution August 25th in N. & S. America and Australia/NZ and Glitterhouse Records September 1st in Europe 2017 followed by extensive touring.
WHERE: Northern Star Hotel – 112 Beaumont St, Newcastle, New South Wales, NSW
WHEN: Saturday, September 23rd
TICKETS: www.bigtix.com.au
FURTHER TOUR DATES:
Sep 06 Grace Emily Hotel Adelaide
Sep 07 The Junk Bar Brisbane
Sep 08 Shambles Brewery Hobart
Sep 09 The Toff In Town Melbourne
Sep 10 The Heritage Hotel Bulli
Sep 12 The Leadbelly Newtown
Sep 13 Smith’s Alternative Canberra
Sep 14 Brass Monkey Cronulla
Sep 21 Star Court theatre Lismore
Sep 22 5 Church Street Bellingen
Sep 24 Grand Junction Hotel Maitland
Sep 30 Dashville Skyline Festival Lower Belford