I’ve recently completed the ‘away-from-home’ parts of The Nature Of Light Tour. It has been an incredible experience for me to travel to unfamiliar places and share my music with new audiences. I’ve been fortunate to have a wonderful band of friends join me for the trip. We’ve shared some magical musical moments, kilometres, and terrible jokes (that’s mainly my fault). Not only are these guys wonderful people, they’re also incredible musicians and I’m extremely honoured to be able to share the stage with them each night.
Just quickly, the band is:
Tom Jovanovic – Trumpet
Gideon Brazil – Saxophone
Chris Vizard – Trombone
Jordan Tarento – Bass
Aaron McCoullough – Drums
While this tour has been life-affirming for me, it has not been without sacrifice. And perhaps none more so than that of my bandmates. It has meant time away from home, lots of travel, setups, and soundchecks. All of this without much in the way of financial compensation. I am so grateful for their continued generosity of time, talent and friendship throughout this whole tour.
From our performance in the Blue Mountains at Lawson Mechanics Institute. What a stunning part of the world! photo credit: Jeff Davies – Mountain Life
Beyond that, the sacrifices of friends and family back home is of enormous significance. For some of the guys, young families have been missed while away, and for others loved partners back home. But it is with their support and encouragement that we can continue to strive towards being the best artists we can be.
For me, my wife is a constant source of belief and encouragement. Whenever I have felt overwhelmed or challenged, she has reminded me of the importance of this tour. She is constantly proud of me, more than I ever am of myself, and knows that I am happiest when I’m playing and creating my own music. On this tour I’ve missed our anniversary and her birthday – musicians are sometimes (read: often) drawn away from loved ones on special occasions. Samantha has not once complained and instead has used it as a source of encouragement – that the gigs should be that much more special to make it worthwhile.
I don’t say all of this to suggest this tour is anything but a positive experience. I’ve had a great time, and I pinch myself that I should be so lucky to be able to call this my career. I do hope that this post might serve to demonstrate what goes into a tour, even before a gig is booked or a note is played. The ‘sum of the parts is greater than the whole’ ideal is particularly relevant in this case. With so many people pulling together for a common goal, the result is only more special and significant.
We have one more, very special performance in our hometown of Melbourne to close out the tour. It would mean so much to have your support to honour the sacrifice that I’ve talked about here. We’ll be playing Friday October 20 at Jazzlab (27 Leslie St, Brunswick). Tickets and more information can be found here.
