The Audreys

South Australia

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South Australia's The Audreys feature the sultry voiced Taasha Coates and her four dapper suited boys. They burst onto the scene in early 2006 when their debut album Between Last Night And Us was released on ABC Roots/Warner Music Australia to rave reviews. Singles Oh Honey and You & Steve McQueen were on high rotation on Triple J, and they went on to collect that year's ARIA Award for Best Blues & Roots Album. A release on Canadian label True North Records followed and the band spent 2 months travelling through Europe and Canada before returning to do a sold-out national tour of Australia. A string of summer festivals saw the band reeling into 2007, followed by one last lap around the country on their May/June "Sheets to the Wind" Tour before they stop to focus on the recording of their second album. A favourite at festivals and clubs alike, their shows are exquisite, enchanting and always unforgettable.

It's winter 2003. A wild storm descends upon the beautiful Macedon Ranges in country Victoria. Musicians Taasha Coates and Tristan Goodall roll into town like a lonesome highway, tumbleweed at their heel. They berth their beat-up, bright yellow 1974 kombi van and seek refuge in the nearest winery. A wise and fortuitous move indeed, because inside they find a group of enthusiastic bluegrass players jamming by a mid-winter fireside. As the day wears on and the storm shows no sign of clearing, they are invited to join in and soon find themselves falling hopelessly for that melancholy banjo sound. They never look back, their pop song-writing sensibilities forever sullied by that delightful country twang.

Taasha and Tristan had been playing acoustic gigs at pubs and cafes around Melbourne, but took the plunge and moved back to their hometown of Adelaide to get this new band off the ground. Once back in the embrace of Adelaide audiences, the duo sought the contributions of multi-instrumentalists Cam Goodall and Mikey G and began feverishly writing and performing, doing their first gig with fellow South Australians The Yearlings in June 2004. Performing at WOMADelaide in March 2005, they created quite a buzz with their captivating performance and independent EP, "You And Steve McQueen", and then their debut album recorded later that year brought The Audreys all of the right kind of attention.

Between Last Night and Us was recorded in June 2005 in the intimate setting of producer Shane O'Mara's backyard Melbourne studio. O'Mara and the band captured an intoxicating blend of old-timey and pop-conscious sounds with an army of guitars, banjos, violins, dobros, mandolins and anything else they could find with strings on it, all held together by Taasha Coates' assured and captivating voice. Before the release of the album Tristan's brother Cam left the band to pursue his burgeoning acting career, and double bass player Lyndon Gray and drummer Toby Lang joined the band to complete the line-up. Signing in Australia to ABC Roots/Warner Music Australia, The Audreys hit the road to promote the release with performances at clubs and festivals around the country.

In February 2006 The Audreys flew to Texas to perform at the North American Folk Alliance Convention where they were spotted by North American festival directors and signed to venerable Canadian label True North Records, home of Bruce Cockburn. True North released Between Last Night and Us in June, and The Audreys toured through Europe and Canada through May, June and July on an epic trip that took in England, Scotland, Wales, France, Belgium, Russia and Canada’s East Coast. They then returned to Australia for a serious of sold out dates around Australia for their 2006 Winter Tour, proudly presented by Triple J’s Home & Hosed.

Then one crazy night in Sydney in October five Audreys sat at a table in four of their finest old suits and one gorgeous gown surrounded by their peers, happily star spotting and enjoying their champagne, when their names were called out and they found themselves onstage accepting the ARIA Award for Best Blues and Roots Album. Much celebrating ensued.

This was followed by a string of shows and summer festivals, including the sold out Falls Festivals, and then The Audreys reeled into 2007 with the release of the single and video for Banjo & Violin, the third single to be lifted from Between Last Night & Us after Oh Honey and You & Steve McQueen. May and June see the band on another whirlwind jaunt around our great land on their "Sheets to the Wind" tour, their final tour for the year. Then they team up once again with producer Shane O'Mara to tackle the serious business of a follow up album. Wish them luck!

Source: www.theaudreys.com.au

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