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JULITHA GETS LUCKY
Who knew Julitha Ryan was such a great singer? After a decade
playing piano with instrumental band Silver Ray, Julitha
has unleashed her debut album, The Lucky Girl (available
now on iTunes). It showcases a vibrant voice that reminds
Howzat! of Renee Geyer, which is high praise, indeed. "Renee
Geyer, eh," Julitha smiles, "well, I guess you will get
that if you like to give it a bit. When I was a little jazz
singer, everyone told me I sounded like Blossom Dearie.
What a career arc." Despite Howzat!'s ignorance, Julitha
has always sung. "I have never stopped singing, which my
poor neighbours will attest to. I completed a degree in
voice at the Conservatorium a few years back, though I was
never capable of living the lifestyle required to be a good
classical singer."
The Lucky Girl opens with a stunning gospel piece, The Preacher.
When the song came to her, Julitha was "in such a hurry
to write it down that all I could find was a huge texta.
It made me feel almost instantaneously happy." Though Julitha
sings, "My life is not for the faint of heart", she says
there is "no irony whatsoever" in the title The Lucky Girl.
"I am not a fan of irony," she says. Well, if she feels
lucky, has she got any superstitions? "I went commando at
every single Silver Ray gig."
Asked for her favourite Australian songwriters, Julitha
lists Hap Hayward and Justin Ryda from The Dead Salesmen,
and Gregory Day. Gregory, who has a wonderful Triffids-like
voice, does a duet on The Lucky Girl called Run Out The
Door. "Gregory Day has been one of my dearest friends for
almost 30 years," Julitha explains, "and we've made a lot
of music together. We met over a piano and The Beatles.
He really came to the party for Run Out The Door. I wanted
a duet that was between equal parties in outrage, rather
than a man and some simpering girl."
When Julitha recently sent Howzat! an email, her spell-checker
changed her name to "Juliana". What are the origins of her
name? "It's a name my mum found in the 1950s, and she told
me it was an Aboriginal name from Western Australia, which
I have always been very proud of." Sadly, Julitha's mum
died during the making of The Lucky Girl. A solo album has
been a long time coming - Julitha's first recording experience
was with a group called Neo-Penguin in 1986. "I have no
empirical evidence, but you could probably find a solo album
buried inside every musician," she claims. And as she sings
on the album: "No time to waste now." "I've written a lot
of songs, and have come very close a couple of times to
recording, but until now it has never been good enough,
simple as that. Also, 'you can't ride two horses with one
arse.'"
EVERYBODY WANTS TO … DANCE
Why did it take the producers of Dancing With The Stars
so long to get Brian Mannix on the show? As everyone who
saw him host Countdown knows, Brian was born to be on TV,
even if judge Todd McKenney reckons he looks like "the pygmy
lovechild of Rod Stewart". Of course, Brian is also a throwback
to a less politically-correct time. Witness his YouTube
interview promoting Dancing With The Stars, where he jokes
that there's a fine line between dancing and sexual assault.
While dancing with his "hot" partner, Melanie Hooper, Brian
says he has to "think about the footy, think about the footy,
think about the footy … and while I'm thinking about the
footy, it means I've forgotten what the next step is."
HAPPY RECORD STORE DAY
Times change. Ron S. Peno once vowed he'd never buy a CD
player. Now he's done a vinyl release of his debut solo
album, Future Universe - and he doesn't own a record player.
These here are crazy times. When Howzat! started in journalism
25 years ago, the future seemed bright. Lucky, I'm not a
gambler - I don't have a knack for picking winners. I grew
up in a coal-mining town and I chose to work in newspapers
and music, two industries in terminal decline. But enough
about me. This Saturday is Record Store Day. Get out and
support your local indie store. They need it. And we need
them.
CHART WATCH
Timomatic spends a second week in the Top 10. And Gotye's
blockbuster returns to the Top 40.
If Looks Could Kill TIMOMATIC (number nine)
Into The Flame EP MATT CORBY (14)
Boys Like You 360 & GOSSLING (22)
Set It Off TIMOMATIC (24)
Music Won't Break Your Heart STAN WALKER (34)
Somebody That I Used To Know GOTYE (36)
100% No Modern Talking EP KNIFE PARTY (38)
Jimmy Barnes tweeted: "Man band beaten by boy band. Oh well."
One Direction mania relegates Cold Chisel's first album
in 14 years to a number two debut.
No Plans COLD CHISEL (number two, debut)
Drinking From The Sun HILLTOP HOODS (four)
Falling & Flying 360 (14)
All For You COLD CHISEL (26)
Best Of SIA (27)
Moonfire BOY & BEAR (34)
Vows KIMBRA (35)
Making Mirrors GOTYE (36)
HOWZAT! PLAYLIST
The Preacher JULITHA RYAN
Underwater BUCKLEY WARD
Glutton LIZ STRINGER
Good Clean Fun JAMES REYNE
Bad Reality STONEFIELD
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