Musos open the mic

HOT on the heels of their winning performances at the Emerald Gems of Country talent search, Longreach musicians are gearing up to strum their guitars again, this time for a local crowd.

Ron Beezley, Emily Harrison, Frankie Calleja and Shannon Schloss are hitting the mics at the Longreach Club next Friday night and are inviting all closet musos to join them.

"It’s a hard game to do a gig by yourself and as an artist I love to perform my own songs," Frankie said.

"It sounds okay, but it is a thousand times better with a band; it’s what I call ‘ear candy’.

"There are a lot of people dabbling in the performance thing, but no one is actually doing it – that’s why I like open mic nights.
"As a solo artist you tend to develop bad habits, but playing with a band you have to stay true to form.
"Working with a band stretches you as a musician – you can’t cover up any mistakes in your performances."

The foursome came together earlier in the year to share their creative ideas and musical aspirations, but insist they are not a band.

"We are individual artists who come together to support each other," Frankie explained.

"We are fairly rough though, we’re not here to put on a show; we are here to have fun.
"Consider it live karaoke."

The trip to Emerald last weekend was a shining example of the passion of these locals, keen to support each other in the unrelenting world of country music.

"Every year I have thought about going to Emerald for the Gems of Country talent search," Emily said.

"But this year I found out that these guys were going, so I jumped on board.
"It was something different and it beats just sitting around and twiddling your fingers."

The Longreach performers were the only musicians to perform their own songs and compositions at this year’s Gems of Country and were justly rewarded with a bunch of accolades.

Even though it was Ron’s first performance in front of an audience, he managed a third place in the Male Vocalist category and stepped up for another performer, Vallis Backhouse, whose partner didn’t show up for a duo.

Shannon and Frankie came second in the duo competition, while Frankie also excelled individually, claiming third place in both the highly contested Country Edge category and the Female Gospel section.

Seasoned performer Emily Harrison had the audience in stitches in the Country Capers section, donning a flannel and pigtails to sing about the ‘one that got away’.

"It was my fifth festival and there was some really good talent and competition," Frankie said.

"I had a ball and it’s a good benchmark– you can see where, as a artist, you fit into the scheme of things."