THE AUDREYS ARIA WIN FOR BEST ROOTS AND BLUES ALBUM WAS WELL-DESERVED; LEAD SINGER TAASHA COATES IS AN ABSOLUTE GEM.
Interview: August 2006

Taasha Coates is a real charmer. Utterley likeable and disarmingly funny, she fits perfectly the aura that surrounds her group, The Audreys, where she is accompanied by dapper-suited men in a musical cross-genre potpourri that stubbornly refuses tagging. Oh yes, there is lots to like here.

Taasha is in the foyer of the ABC building in Ultimo, Sydney, having consumed breakfast in the “decidedly unglorious” cafe. She’s a real sparkler and bubbles over with nervous energy. “The last time I was here I saw Margaret [Pomerantz] and David [Stratton],” she says. “They are they coolest people. I thought I might chase them down then I thought that would be a dorky thing to do.”

Four weeks into a national tour that stretches over two months and sees the band sliding around the country playing everything from country towns to tiny bars and large festivals as they roll along in the slipstream of their well-received alt country debut album, Between Last Night And Us. Last week WA, this week NSW, next week Bulli one day, Launceston five days later.

Born and bred in Adelaide, Taasha doesn’t think as either a writer or musician she’s particularly influenced by the city of churches how ever she does pose herself a question: “I do wonder if we have a sense of we can do whatever we like because we aren’t influenced by geographical limitations; 10 years ago you had to leave Adelaide to succeed as musical act, now you can do whatever you like as a musician without having to leave if you don’t want. I was looking at the rents here in Sydney, they are so high. I’d starve if I lived here. Adelaide now has a strong independent artistic community. From painters and sculptors to film-makers and musicians.”

It also has the celebrated Adelaide Fringe Festival.

“Yes,” she says, “The second biggest in the world outside of Edinburgh. We’ve been to Edinburgh and people there have said ‘You have to go to the Adelaide Fringe Festival!’.”

The Audreys get around you see. It wasn’t so long ago that they finished a 10-week tour of Canada and Europe. The latter proved a successful blend of intimate club and small festival appearances, but in Canada they took a serious step in the footprints of all the other Australian acts that have gone before them. “In Canada, we are signed to label, True North [the home amongst others of legendary Canadian singer/songwriter Bruce Cockburn], and they are so excited to have us. We played festivals, club shows and some promotional gigs. There was such a great vibe that we just wanted to go back straight away. So we thought, ‘we’ll go back in six months time’. Then we thought ‘nope’ because it would be -40C then and that’s nuts, so we’ll go back in summer.

“I think that apart from the fact that Australia and Canada have a similar musical culture, they are also open to cross-genre music whereas in the US you have to be rigidly country or pop or rock or whatever.”

There’s that cross-genre reference, a musical note that seems to be have been drafted into the very heart of the band when the blueprint was drawn up and it stuttered into existence in 2003. Taasha and guitarist/banjo player Tristan Goodall had been playing acoustic gigs around cafes and pubs in Melbourne when they took what on face value might have seemed a somewhat stupid move - they returned to hometown Adelaide to start a band. But as Coates explained before there’s no lack of possibility there. The pair hooked up with multi-instrumentalists Cam Goodall (Tristan’s brother) and violinist/mandolin player, Mikey G (no relation). Fast forward 18 months, the album is ready after being recorded in noted Melbourne musician and producer’s backyard Melbourne studio but Cam leaves - to concentrate on his acting career - before its release to be replaced by Lyndon Gray on double bass and harmonies while the band draft in two drummers David Ross MacDonald (Canada) or Toby Lang (Australia). The wraps eventually come off and Between Last Night And Us is launched to rave reviews in February.

Taasha gurgles happily that she doesn’t listen to it too much because that would be weird. Similarly, she doesn’t watch any of the DVDs she’s given of the band’s TV appearances. The future does indeed beckon. While the band is still touring behind the current album and has only managed to slip one new track into the current set list it is already planning to be back in O’Mara’s studio next April/May. “It’ll be just like this time only better,” she says. “We’ll go in with the aim of writing the best songs we possibly can. There are five of us in the band plus Shane. That’s six people putting their creative brains together. If you can’t come up with something in that situation then … ” she sighs. “It’s important we keep it organic though. We work best that way.”

And she has nothing but praise for O’Mara who she says held their little hands when they had their “little freakouts”. Taasha had hers. “Oh yes, I recorded after they band laid down all the instrumental tracks first,” she says,” and I came in bug-eyed and spooked when it was my turn. The whisky helped a lot though. I actually take in a little flask of whisky.” Aah, the secret lush life of Taasha Coates. “It’s terribly rock’n'roll isn’t it,” she chuckles. “Seriously, it warms your throat and makes it easier; it’s medicinal … ” Mmm, sure, Taasha. “It is! I’m sticking to that story. I don’t actually suffer badly from nerves. I don’t have any problems with being onstage which is good otherwise this would be a very stressful life. I do like to have a couple of wines before we go onstage though.” She’s also learnt that when you are on the road with a bunch of blokes for weeks on end the first things that fly out the window are modesty and privacy. “I used to be all demure and come out of the dressing room wrapped in a dressing gown with everything on underneath, now it’s ‘oh fuck it’. You do get to know your bandmates very well,” she laughs, “but I wouldn’t have it any other way. We look out for each other, we’re great mates. I always wanted to be in a band rather than be a solo artist working with different musicians on each tour and album. You can carry each other when somebody is struggling and you know each other well enough to know when that is. I really love that dynamic.”

And so the Audreys spin their wheels and the world grows a little bit smaller - just between last night and us.