Figtree Words and Music

ftr / Boy Racer (EP)
Lime Spiders / Live At The Esplanade
Blue Valentine / Blue Valentine
Figtree Renaissance 1
Figtree Renaissance / Stone Fruit

ftr / Boy Racer (EP)
FT103

Sheena is a punkrocker!!!!!! She is also Carina Barbro Hägg's protector who rescued her from a plane crash in the 80’s in the jungles of Guyana Richard was doing research into herbs and indigenous tribes when he heard about the fabled love child of Hollywood songstress/siren Yma Sumac who legend has it was lost in the jungle some 20 years ago Carina spoke no English having picked up a weird Swedish dialect but now her grasp of the language is better than most uni students She still thinks Darth Vader is called Geoff Vader but with help and medication is coming round Now again with Sheenas help through the services of youtube they have formed their own company…….ftr It will be manufacturing a line of drinks [soft not hard]….chewing gum and edible undies and eventually would like to branch out into international travel and ship management…..

but first….. See and hear this….. their ode to cycling and sex.

Plus dance mixes.

Lime Spiders / Live At The Esplanade
FT102

The legendary Lime Spiders first exploded into the unsuspecting ears of the music public in the post-punk era of the early 80’s. Described by US Rolling Stone as “the Sex Pistols on acid”, the Spiders’ sound was inspired by everything from 60’s punk/pop/psychedelia, to the more innovative 70’s rock and late 70’s punk

Oct 29th sees the release of their long awaited album,” LIVE AT THE ESPLANADE”, a scorching set including 2 previously unreleased songs, Society Of Soul & The Dead Boys.The band have announced a national tour, with Ged Corben and Dave Sparks on guitar, Phil Hall on bass, Richard Lawson on drums and Mick Blood out front. Tour dates as follows:

1/11 BARWON CLUB HOTEL – GEELONG VIC
2/11 ESPLANADE HOTEL – ST KILDA VIC ( Album Launch )
3/11 GAELIC CLUB – SYDNEY NSW
9/11 MIAMI TAVERN – GOLD COAST QLD
10/11 STEP INN – BRISBANE QLD
30/11 AMPLIFIER BAR – PERTH WA
1/12 MOJO’S BAR – NORTH FREMANTLE WA

Blue Valentine
FT101

There is a hidden new talent emerging in Regional New South Wales. Two pure voices have combined to create ‘Blue Valentine’. The awesome raw talent and vocals of Fiona Harris has combined with the prodigious and legendary force of Richard Lawson to create a unique and ethereal blend of Country, Folk and Pop Music.

They met quite by chance over two years ago when Richard happened to see Fiona performing with a musical friend of his at a local vineyard in Mudgee. He was still playing in another band at the time but the seed was sown that day.

Blue Valentine have now been performing for just over a year and have already firmly entrenched themselves in the local music scene garnering praise and gathering plenty of work. They have turned into one of the hardest working and most sought after duos in Mudgee.

Live, they use no backing tapes, no gimmicks; just a guitar and two voices. But the combination of their soaring harmonies and their emotional and soul felt delivery is proving irresistible to anyone who hears them. The CD departs from their 2 voice / 1 guitar live display to incorporate all possible elements in the recording repertoire. Celtic Harps, Mandolins, Classical Piano and Flute, Piano Accordions and Irish Pipes combine with Richard’s keyboards sound scapes much like Simon and Garfunkel or the Indigo Girls at their recording peak.

www.bluevalentinemusic.com

Figtree Renaissance
FT100

The core of the band Fig Tree Renaissance is four members, Richard Lawson, Brian Mann, Tom Kazas and Carina Grace. The outfit also draw on the contribution of other artists, depending on the setting and scale of any given gig or recording project.

The aim is to create a hybrid identity within the music community, enabling them to freely move through musical adventures under the name of Fig Tree Rennaisance. The group play ethnic and conventional pop/rock instruments, making their sound both refreshing and difficult to label.

Richard Lawson is the founder and main song writer for Fig Tree Rennaisance. From 1983 to 1992 he played drums and contributed backing vocals for the rock band the Lime Spiders. This band released four albums, reaching number one on both the Australian and American independent charts. The band toured Europe and the USA and contributed to the soundtrack for the Australian hit movie 'Young Einstein' and several American films.
In 1992 he formed the band Kcrunch with Brian Mann. This group released two CDs.
Richard has now moved further into the area of music composition, concentrating on keyboards and guitar and has been approached to compose the sound track for an Australian film (working title 'A Thousand Miles Away').
He is currently playing in a Mudgee band called Blue Valentine.

Brian Mann has extensive experience in the music industry, performing, recording and touring with bands including Screaming Tribesman, Lime Spiders, Kcrunch and Ed Kuepper. He plays all forms of guitar - bass, rhythm and lead.

Tom Kazas is a composer, performer and producer. He has released two albums with the psychaedelic group The Moffs and two solo, instrumental albums. He is resident composer at The Takeaway Theatre / Hellenic Theatrical Group. Tom is a multi-instrumentalist, covering guitar, electric keyboards, piano and a variety of ethnic instruments.

Carina Grace is the vocalist, also supplying voice effects such as the announcer in track 1. She is a classically trained soprano with extensive theatre and opera experience in Sweden. She moved to Australia in 1986 and worked with the Young Actors Players and the Rocks Players Theatre Group. She has performed in clubs in Japan and India and has a solo show in Sydney.

CD Credits:
Composed by Richard Lawson
Produced by Tom Kazas
Arranged by Richard Lawson & Tom Kazas
Engineered by Tom Kazas
Assistant Engineer Phil Munro
Photos by Cher Breeze, Jennifer Obrien, Larry McGrath & Jenni Carter
Cover Art by Benevision
Cover Painting "Allegory of Spring" by Botticelli, which hangs in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence
Special Thanks to Matthew O'Brien, Sharon Lawson, Andrew Byrnes & Sarah Peet

Dedicated to Bruce Lawson

REVIEW: Review Figtree Renaissance Harbourside Brasserie; On the Street 22/11/94

The inner city has had a love child.

A fix of beauty, a hint of exotica with danceable interludes, melodic pop, instrumental meditation, a voice that fills the air with free form echoes of Bulgaria, the experience that fell under the moniker of Figtree Renaissance had their CD launch much to the glee from the audience, which was healthy in numbers.

The arrangement of the compositions written entirely by keyboardist Richard Lawson – formed a natural progression between styles and moods, beginning with a slow instrumental atmospheric build up entitled ‘Brief Affair’, which cruised into ‘Sadness 1’, containing a melody and drone that delicately lifted the mood in readiness for the ensuing cultural feast.

‘God must be a woman’ was the most poppy tune, which somehow didn’t seem to gel as well as the others.

Moving on, Vocalist Carina Grace announced, “ Let’s go a little bit bazaar”. The dimly lit dance floor became a venue for cavorting cheeky Turkish dancers, inspiring various embarrassed reactions from innocent bystanders who suddenly found themselves being shimmied against – all to the tune of the Eastern-scaled and exotic ‘The Bazaar’, an infectious piece, highlighted by Andrew Byrnes’ conga frenzy.

The ethnic theme linked the set beautifully. ‘Sadness 2’, continuing the theme of ‘Sadness 1’, with the addition of rich Bulgarian inspired vocals by Grace who later took on the role of destination announcer in ‘Euro- Express’. This was about a train trip through Europe and covered ground that resided between ‘80s German hit parades, Nina Hagen and the film ‘Zuqua Baby’.

Meanwhile, instrumentals had an ambient feel, giving the set space. These were sometimes hypnotic, especially when guest musician Jodi Williams added awe, thought and inspiration into ‘Crystal Creek’, and probably quite a few minds as well.

All of these elements formed an exciting assortment of influences and atmospheres. It was faith-restoring to see a gig so full of freshness and innovation. The aim of the group is to cross-fertilise sounds within the music community, hence their rare performances are to be savoured.

Alina Turner

Fig Tree Renaissance / Stone Fruit
FT104

The long-awaited follow up to the debut album, Stone Fruit will be released in 2008, with samples and downloads available from www.myspace.com/figtreerenaissance.

For a blow-by-blow diary account of the recording, click here.