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Musings

2014 at The Villa Armadilla

Thanks for your support

Posted in Gigs and more by David Mason-Cox.

Our great thanks to all our friends who came to The Gaelic Club last Thursday for our ‘dillos Go Gaelic show. It was great to have your company and to share the night with you in this under appreciated venue.

Of course, being the day before Good Friday, the traffic was horrific so it was a slow drive for a lot of you. And thanks to those who let us know that they couldn’t make it due to Easter holidays. Sorry, we didn’t think of that but we will next time.

However the show was lots of fun! The wonderfully talented Meri Amber kicked off the night with a terrific set of her songs. She describes it as “geek pop” but I’d say she writes great songs on just about any subject. She is a polished and professional performer and delivers her excellent songs with passion. Her vocals,  guitar playing and stage presence are absolutely stunning. We believe that you’ll certainly be hearing much more of Meri Amber. And thanks to Patrick who took these pics, just click on the thumbnails to enlarge them.

The tvery alented Meri Amber
The super talented Meri Amber 

The ‘dillos played two sets and we included a bunch of our faves for you. Nick Lowe’s “Half A Boy And Half A Man” and The Band’s “Up On Cripple Creek” were the most fun for me but everyone had their own personal pick on the night. Of course we also played lots of songs from our four CDs and were all knackered by the end of the show.

This is too much fun

This is simply too much fun!

We will be fired up again for the next one though…it will be special and we’ll keep you posted. In the meantime you can check out some of our other upcoming gigs in various formats on the Shows page.

Mal and the boys looking studious
Malcolm looking studious as dmc & Wayne search for the lost chord

2014 at The Villa Armadilla – the year ahead

Posted in Gigs and more by David Mason-Cox. | Leave a Comment

dmc & The Wild Armadillos are starting to gear up for a busy and exciting 2014 and we wish you a happy and healthy year too. May it be filled with peace and love.

We commenced the year with an impromptu show at The Orient Hotel on New Year’s Day, when Doug and Ferg augmented our regular trio of Mal, Anthony Donoghue and me. It really kicked the gig up a couple of notches and I must say that it was a blast. The joint was rockin’ and everyone had a ball. A definite highlight was being joined onstage by Steve Housden, guitar legend and Malcolm’s longtime compadre, for some blistering tunes. Mal & Steve harmonised sublimely on Bring It On Home To Me and Mal also had the crowd in the palm of his hand when he took the lead vocal on Honky Tonk Woman.

The Australia Day weekend also promises to be a lot of fun. dmc and Ferg play at Well Connected on Friday 24 January, dmc plays solo at The Orient the next afternoon and the band performs as a 6 piece with Dave Z at Bicentennial Park on Sunday as part of Auburn City Council’s Australia Day Celebrations. Will keep you posted about upcoming gigs.

We are also planning a video shoot  in late January and will officially launch this is what we do to media and iTunes in March. Fingers will be crossed for a little airplay and a good review or two.

In the meantime dmc and Doug are working on pre-production for a new album to be recorded later this year. Doug is in charge so we are planning to take a lot less time the the last one!

Reality for the gigging musician

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If last week’s album launch reminded me how much people love and support new music this week’s gigs reinforced the notion that many listeners need the comfort of hearing songs they already know and love.

One of the great privileges I have had in the past few years is to be asked to play for older folk in aged care facilities. Described as “the greatest generation” for good reason, they have welcomed me, listened, sung along, laughed and generally had a good time. At the same time I have all the while been having a ball playing the fabulous songs of their childhood and youth and getting the opportunity to spend time with some of the loveliest people on the planet.

So on Monday and Tuesday I played shows in Randwick and Marsfield and had a delightful time. It is as rewarding to sing It’s A Long Way To Tipperary to them as to sing one of my songs to a supportive audience.

My Friday night gig was playing solo in a pub in the Campbelltown area. Once again I was reminded that approval and customer satisfaction is not a given and that I must work hard to find what every audience desires and needs. Luckily the people were happy to let me know what they wanted to hear and fortunately I had enough repertoire to cover most requests.

An after work audience isn’t necessarily demonstrative, the mood is set for winding down from a tough work day. My job is to help them do just that by playing the music they are comfortable with. Success is not to be measured simply by the applause but by the smile, the wink, the thumbs-up as they leave or, sometimes, the offer of buying me a drink.

The people at Ruse on Friday night reinforced my philosophy that I work in a service industry. If I forget that for a moment they will let me know. If I remember then they show their warmth and appreciation.

I try to remember this every time I share music with anyone. I hope I always succeed.

Thanks to all who helped make our album launch so much fun.

Posted in this is what we do album launch by David Mason-Cox. | Leave a Comment

Well,  our album launch was a great success and The Wild Armadillos and I want to thank you.

It was truly fabulous to have so many beautiful people there…your generosity of spirit thrilled us and we were humbled by your response. We hope that you enjoy the cd as much as we enjoyed playing for you.

And for those who couldn’t make it we thank you for your supportive messages and goodwill.

We make music because it is simply ‘what we do’. We love to play but it becomes even more special when shared with an audience. To share our songs with you is an honour and our privilege.

Thanks from the bottom of our hearts. dmc, Dave Ferguson, Dave Zaikowski, Doug Weaver, Malcolm Wakeford, Wayne Kellett, George Bibicos, Guy Gross and Gary Seach

Welcome and thanks for checking in on our new website…

Posted in this is what we do album launch by David Mason-Cox. | Leave a Comment

Of course the big news at the moment is the upcoming launch of our new album ‘ this is what we do’ on Saturday 26 October at Clovelly Bowling Club.

I must say that, although the CD took years to complete, everything is now rocketing ahead. We are fortunate to have a truly great team and a wonderful support network so the album launch promises to be a fantastic night of music, fun and extended family. As well as playing rockin’ guitar Dave Ferguson doubles as lighting designer extraordinaire and he is working on a minimalist but exciting lightshow and our longtime sound engineer Gary Seach is prepping his PA system a week ahead to ensure fabulous audio quality! Susanne Mason-Cox has put her heart into creating this website and has asked me to rummage through old photos so that you can be entertained by Eighties haircuts and Nineties fashions along with our New Millenium music. Jason Rooke has agreed to open the show and our special guests George Bibicos and Guy Gross are fleshing out our live sound.

We have been busy rehearsing and nursing our parts and we know (almost) every part by heart, to paraphrase The Bugs Bunny Show. And most importantly our friends and supporters have buoyed us up along the way with kind messages and generous reviews and feedback.

The line-up has changed a little and we are adapting to that. We are older and greyer but hopefully wiser and kinder than we once were and we all still have a passion for sharing music with you all.

Thank you for your interest. It is what keeps us going.

dmc