News from Annette & Kim

Hi Folks

Most of June and July was spent getting ready for Barham although we did have a very good concert on the 30th of June to help raise money for Big River fm in Dargaville. A full house for the concert in spite of the bitterly cold southerly whistling through the town. The artists for the show were Double Trouble (Reba and Taylor Ryland) and Shaun Ryland from Auckland, Carleen Still and ourselves. We were all ably backed by Urban Country. A great night was had by all and everyone left the hall wanting more. Thanks Phil and the Big River committee for inviting us to perform on the show.

On the 27th of July we left for Barham. It was a 3 hour flight to Melbourne where we were met at the airport by my cousin Trish who looked after us for about 4 or 5 hours before we caught the bus up to Barham. Once at Barham we settled into our accommodation and prepared ourselves for the coming week. Ruth and Joyce had set us up in the awesome Murray River Apartments with Alan and Nancy Carroll, Amber King and her mum and Dennis Marsh who arrived on the Thursday. We did about 20 fourty minute sets during the week alternating between the Auditorium where the dancers were to the Coffee Shop where it was sit down seating at the café. It was an awesome week where we met some new friends such as David and Cynthia Pearce, David lent me his beautiful Martin guitar for a couple of our sets which was very much appreciated, Peter Horan a piano virtuoso, Peter sat in on a couple of our band gigs which was a absolute blast, Sandi Dodd who did an amazing take off of Dolly Parton on the Finale show, she definitely had all the attributes to pull this off, Leah Briggs and her partner Mick Wilson who played Steel guitar in the band, hopefully we may see Leah and Mick at the Bay of Islands Festival in 2013, Geoff Evans a real gentleman of country music who has been performing for about 50 years, Margaret Bates from NZ who is a regular performer at some of the Aussie festivals and of course the band ,Denva, who were just awesome. Thanks Kerran Keats (Guitar),Billy Arnold ( Drums), Karan Johns ( Bass) & Mick Wilson (Peddle Steal) for making us feel so special. We also caught up with some old friends as well. Ex-pat NZer Kim Ritchie who just loves hearing the kiwi accent and vocab we use, choice one bro, Laura Downing who is always good for a laugh, very nice to see Laura again, David and Heather Hoffman who will also be at BOI festival in 2013, Stephen Cheney, who performed his “Country Gentlemen Show” on the Wednesday evening, we missed Narrelle though who was looking after her sister, Cameron Mason, George Farnham, awesome to see you again George, and Anthony Tenace, the sound man in the auditorium for the week, all very good friends we met in 2011, it was nice to catch up with all these people again. We were prepared for the finale this year and if you are lucky we may post the video on our face book page. It is the only way to explain what we did. Alan Carroll, who mced the show, said we were Dave and Mable so that’s who we were, Dave and Mable. And then the week was over. Thank you, Joyce and Ruth for inviting us to perform at the festival it was a most enjoyable week and for looking after us so well. We look forward to perhaps seeing you all again in 2013.

We then headed off with our Aussie mum and dad, Dale and Barb, who tiki toured us back to Melbourne via Echuca, Bendigo and Ballarat for a few days of R’n’R. Along the way we paddle steamered the Murray River, visited a Holden museum, rode the trams through Bendigo and the stage coach at Soveriegn Hill gold mining township in Ballarat. Ballarat is where Dale grew up and where Barb says it never stops raining. It was raining the day we were there but Dale said that that was very uncommon. We had to take his word on that. Thank you, Dale and Barb, for looking after us again. All we had to do was jump in the car and be chauffeured around Australia. It was great. Then it was over and 14 days had gone just like that and we were home again. Check out the photos on our web and face book pages to see what we got up to.

Friday the 24th saw us back at the Dargaville RSA. As I have said before it is always nice to get back to my home town to entertain. We had a good audience who either sang and danced the night away or just sat and listened to us sing and tell of our adventures in Australia.

That’s about all for now. Hope to catch up with you all somewhere along the line.

Take care and keep it country

Annette and Kim

Hi Folks

The main highlight of the month has been the release of our Patsy Cline and Jim Reeves tribute album “Annette and Kim sing Patsy and Jim”. Mike McCarthy has done a great job of engineering the album and we are very happy with the final result. As I mentioned last month we were looking for a less expensive way of producing an album and doing six solos each meant we would spend less time in the recording studio thus saving us a good deal of money. Sandy from sandybgraphics also did an awesome job on the cover design with photos shot by Colin Probst at Making Faces Photography. We were hoping to get the album finished for the Bay of Islands Festival but ran short of time. However our tour group to Norfolk Island were the first to receive copies as part of their welcome packs at the Country Music Festival. Speaking of which, we had another great group of 25 people join us on Norfolk this year. They had an awesome week with fine weather prevailing. Some of the group managed a swim at Emily Bay while a couple ventured out on the horse trek during the week. We also enjoyed the Progressive Dinner, Half Day Tour, Mini Golf and Walk in the Wild, For Whom the Bell Tolls cemetery tour and the Island Fish Fry. Annette and I were also guests on the New Zealand Showcase along with Brendon Ham, Mellissa and Chet O’Connell, Phoebe Ball, Georgia Trebilco-Baker and the head line act Suzanne Prentice. This was an amazing show to be a part of with backing by The Huckleberries and Echo in Harmony. We would like to congratulate all the Kiwi contestants that competed in the Trans-Tasman competition. You guys did a fantastic job. Well done to Hayley Smith for taking away the major title. I know Sonya and Dennis were very proud of their girl. Daniel Cosgrove was a worthy runner-up to Hayley and Vicki Evans picked two prizes on the night one being the Dead Ringer Band Encouragement Award and the other the Allen ( Puds) Buffet Perpetual Trophy for Most Original Song for her song “Lipstick Stains”. It was a great show just a pity that there were not more competitors from Australia this time.

Annette and I also entertained Friday lunch time at the RSL to a very appreciative crowd. This is one of our regular spots on our tour and we must thank Tony and his team for allowing us to perform there. The week was finished off with a farewell dinner at Seaworld Restaurant on Saturday. We hope everyone had an enjoyable week with us and we look forward to seeing you all next year for the festivals 20th anniversary. Registration forms are now available for next year so grab one quick or contact us to put your name down for a tour package.

We must not forget the Bay of Islands Country Rock Festival held the on the 11th, 12th and 13th May. It was great to get back to the festival after a couple of years away and perform with The Mountain Mist Band. These guys are a pleasure to work with and are so talented as well. Big THANK YOU’S to Ian, Richard, Tiny and Andrew, for supporting us, not only for the festival but any shows which we need them for. Also to Susan, Loie and Debbie for making it possible for the guys to play with us. It was great to catch up with Royden Donohue and his dad Ken who had been invited over from Australia. We first met Royden when we performed at the Barham festival in February 2011 and were so impressed that we recommended him to Shirley for the Bay festival. He had a fantastic time and it looks like he will be back for the 2013 festival as well. He is off to America in August to do his Elvis show. Check out his web site if you haven’t seen his get up. We also managed to catch our very good friend Grant Reha-Timoti in Russell and provided some entertainment for the crowd while we were there. Have a look at some of the photos on our web page and face book page. I think that jacket does suit me. It was also nice to catch up with Renny and Jenny Hantler and their sons Matt and Jeremy. This family have some of the best harmonies in country music anywhere in the world in our opinion. They are just magic to listen to. Also caught up with my long lost rally Craig Robertson and his band and hopefully we may have organized some future gigs together down the island. We also made a point of sitting in on one of Inertia’s shows. This is the band that our drummer Richard regularly plays with. They are so entertaining to listen to and a great bunch of guys and girls to boot. The weekend was a great success the weather held out and it looks as though it will be a starter for next year. We certainly look forward to being there again. Thank you to everyone that came along to our shows and for buying our cds. It is much appreciated by Annette and I. We are busy at the moment practicing for the Barham Festival which is coming up at the end of July. We have a stack of new material to learn so have our heads down and bums up. We fly out on the 27th of July and the festival begins on the 29th running through until the 5th of August. We are then going to spend a few days unwinding with, Barb and Dale, our good friends from Adalaide who will eventually get us back to Melbourne on the 10th so we can fly home.

That’s about all for this month. We look forward to catching up with you all somewhere down the line.

Take care and keep it country

Annette and Kim

February/March 2012

Hi Folks,

Not much gigging to do in April. However we have been kept busy organizing our tour to Norfolk Island and we are really looking forward to this year’s tour. We have 25 people joining us who are going to have an awesome week enjoying the sights and sounds of Norfolk Island and the Country Music Festival. We are also excited that we will be appearing on the New Zealand Showcase along with this year’s Headline Act, Suzanne Prentice. We have also been finalising arrangements for our trip back to the Barham Country Music Festival at the beginning of August and have just about got that nailed down. Now it’s a matter of hard out practice ‘til then. We have also been getting ready for the BOI Festival and have managed a couple of rehearsals with The Mountain Mist Band. They are great guys to work with and we are really looking forward to the festival this year as it will be our first time back for a couple of years. AND, The other BIG project that we have been working on is our new cd titled “Annette and Kim sing Patsy and Jim”. We have been busy selecting songs, getting photos taken, arranging the graphics for the album cover and recording the vocals with Mike at Manuka Studios. It has been steady progress which we are hoping will see the album ready for the BOI festival and if not then it should be ready for Norfolk Island.

Just to give you a bit of an insight into the album, Annette grew up listening to Patsy Cline and I grew up listening to Jim Reeves. So we thought what better way to give tribute to these two legends of country music that have had such a big influence on our country music careers than to record their songs. Some of the songs may not be familiar to some of you but die hard Patsy Cline and Jim Reeves fans will know all the songs on the album. The songs have certainly brought back a lot of memories for Annette and I and we hope that will be the same for those that listen to the album. So keep an ear out in May.

Take care and keep it country

Annette and Kim

January 2012

Hi Folks

Just to bring you up to date on what we have been doing over the last couple of months. On the 4th of February I ventured down to Paparoa to Tiny and Loie Heathcotes country music day which was once again well supported and may need to be moved to a bigger venue in the future. Tiny plays bass for us in The Mountain Mist Band. Clear and warm weather made for an enjoyable day. We once again appeared at the Whangarei RSA on Friday the 24th and on Sunday the 26th we were Lucky enough to be invited to do a one hour spot at the Project Promise fundraiser held at Kensington park which featured local acts Kosher, Enertia, The Kiwi Rock Legends band plus ourselves and the main act from Auckland , The Mermaids, which featured local singer Tammy D’Ath. Awesome weather saw a good crowd turn out during the day to listen to and watch all the entertainment that had been organised. We were back at the Kamo club on the 29th to celebrate the Dance Sections 12th birthday always a good gig this one with everyone up and dancing and having a good time.

On the 10th of March we took a short trip up to Waitanga to play at the Accountants National Convention held at the Copthorne Hotel. They had been heavily crunching the numbers all weekend and were ready for the figures to blow out and have a good time. Thanks Alan for the invitation to perform for you all we had a great time. This was a busy weekend for us as well as on the Sunday we headed to Pukekohe to do a guest spot at the Franklin Country Music Club. Their fund raising concert was held at the Pukekohe town hall with a good crowd turning out to enjoy the entertainment. We must thank our good friend Lynette Porter and the Franklin club committee for inviting us to perform.

On Thursday the 22nd we were back at the Kamo club for the Affiliated Clubs Convention. Clubs from all around New Zealand had converged on Kamo and there was a massive crowd for the week. We made some great contacts that will hopefully see us getting work further afield in the future. On the 30th we were back with our very good friends at the Dargaville RSA to entertain and meeting up with some of those joining us on our Norfolk Island Tour. That was about it for February and March.

Take care and keep it country

Annette and Kim

April 2012

Hi Folks

It’s great to be back and forging ahead in 2012. On Saturday the 28th we had organized to play at the Manurewa RSA on our way through to Te Aorha. We entertained a small but appreciative crowd in a very well set up venue. We would like to thank Steve and his team for allowing us to entertain for them. On the Sunday we headed through to Te Aroha for their charity concert to raise funds for the Lions Cancer House which they run in Hamilton. We were joined on the day by other guest artists Graeme McCardle, Grant Tetley and Dennis August who also did an admirable job of compeering the show . There was great walk up entertainment by club members from various clubs in the surrounding districts. The Lions ran a sausage sizzle for lunch and with the great crowd that attended on the day the club raised $2762-00 for the cause. So well done everyone and thank you Te Aroha club for inviting us to be part of the concert.

Take care and keep it country

Annette and Kim

December 2011

Hi folks

We have finished all our gigs for the year. We had a great time with the Kamo Club Dance Section Christmas Break up on the 7th again this year and it was awesome to see so many familiar faces there supporting the night. There were a number of raffles drawn on the night and a couple of door prizes to some lucky people. This is always a nice gig to do and we look forward to seeing everyone again on the 29th of February for the Dance Sections 12th Birthday celebrations. The Friday night saw us playing at the Whangarei RSA where another good crowd had turned out to dance the night away. Although we have a short break until January 14th we are still busy organizing our tour group to Norfolk Island, selecting songs for the New Zealand Showcase and also for the Bay of Islands Festival which we hope to be at in May. We will also be practicing for the Charity Concert in Te Aroha on the 29th of January. So it all doesn’t stop for us over Christmas.

We would like to thank you all for your continued support during the year and hope to catch up with as many of you as we can in 2012. Until then we would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a safe and happy New Year.

Take care and keep it country

Annette and Kim

October / November 2011

The 5th of November was the wedding day for Judith and Neville Silby and I was still a one man band but feeling a little better about it after my test run at the RSA the week before. A lovely ceremony and dinner were held at the Towai church and hall with family and close friends. We wish Mr and Mrs Neville Silby and Judith all the very best for their future together.
On the 12th we headed to Te Awamutu for the annual charity concert organised by Val and Ray Thurgood. We were the main guest artists this year and a good crowd turned out for the show held at the Bible Chapel. There was a great line up of supporting acts however the show ended on a sad note with the news that former drummer and well known local identity, Ken Rangi, had passed away. We send our sincerest condolences to Ken’s family and friends.

On the Sunday we were off to the Vue Bar at Hamilton Casino to perform. An interesting venue this one to play which we are slowly getting the feel for and look forward to performing at in 2012. Once again thank you to everyone that came along to support us especially Lynette Porter, Joy Adams and the team from Aaron Court Motor Inn. We headed off at about 4:30 and made it home around 9:30 after stopping for dinner in Albany at a very nice Thai restaurant which Annette had previously visited and which was introduced to me by my son and daughter in law.
We had a couple of weeks to recoup before our big expedition to Nelson for the Hospice Charity Concert organised by Phil and Barbara Steans, Bob and Hilary Young and their team of helpers. They flew us down and put us up in a very nice motel, Parkside Motel, for the weekend. The concert was very well supported and joining us on the show were Joy Adams, Graeme McCardle, Maureen Thompson and local junior, intermediate and senior entertainers from the Nelson region who did an excellent job. We must thank the Good Time Country Band for the excellent backing they provided. They were; Erol Goodall on lead guitar, Paula Connor on rhythm guitar, Jim Palmer on bass and Luke Connor on drums. Paula had given birth to her and Luke’s third baby just a week before the show. That’s dedication for you. Well done Paula and well done band. Thank you also to Phil, Barb, Bob, Hilary and Marg for their awesome hospitality. I also managed to catch up with two of my first cousins, Brian who now lives in the Abel Tasman region and Dorothy who lives with her husband Brian in Blenhiem. Dorothy brought her three grandson’s , Luke ,Ben and Jack who are my third cousins, along to see us perform. We had a fantastic weekend even though I was a bit under the weather with a stomach bug. We must also thank all those kind folk who supported us by buying our cds. It is very much appreciated.
Also on the weekend of the 26th were the NZCMA EOY Awards and I had an original song in the competition representing the Auckland Country Music Association Awards. As I was unable to attend the awards our very good friend Neil McKenzie-Hall had agreed to sing it for me and blow me down it won. So I am very pleased to say that I am the NZCMA Songwriter of the Year for 2011.WoHoo. Thank you Neil for singing my song I have heard that you did an awesome job of it. Congratulations. By all accounts the whole show was excellent so I have been told. Well done to the NZCMA also. We must also congratulate Phoebe Ball for taking out the top award and two very awesome young ladies, Reba and Taylor Ryland aka Double Trouble, for being Overall Runners Up in the intermediate section. Well done girls.

So that was November done and dusted as well. We will catch up with you all in December.

Take care and keep it country

Annette and Kim

August/ September 2011

Hi Folks

It has been a busy couple of months so I’ll try to be brief. The 2nd of October I was invited to do a guest spot at the Coastal Country Music Club in Tauranga. What a great club this is with around 200 people attending the club days held at the Tauranga RSA. They have an awesome band, great singers and make sure they all enjoy an awesome day of country music. It was nice to catch with some old friends as well. Thank you to Karen and the committee for having me.

Friday the 7th October saw us back with our good friends at the Dargaville RSA. They still know how to have a good time here and it was good to see old family friends Roger and Gloria Seymour there.

The following Wednesday we had a great afternoon with the woman’s section of the Whangarei RSA for their 66th birthday celebrations. Yes, that’s right 66 years they have been going. There were ladies there from as far away as Pukekohe in the south to Kaitaia in the north. We had an awesome afternoon of song and laughter but no dancing on the tables. I had heard that they were renowned for that. Ha ha.

One of the main events for October was the concert we had been asked to organise for the Kamo Club Dance Section Spring Fever weekend. We rounded up The Mountain Mist Band, Ian, Richard, Tiny and Andrew and invited two talented young ladies ti join us as guests Reba and Taylor Ryland aka Double Trouble. Dennis Pabirowski once again provided his talents on sound. Dennis has a great feel for the sound that we like and is a pleasure to work with. M.C. for the show could only be the consummate professional, Robyn Lilley. Always a pleasure as well to work with Robyn as he knows how to keep a show humming along. Thanks Robyn and to everyone that made the show a great success. We look forward to perhaps doing it again next year.

On labour weekend I made a flying visit to the Tauranga Star Awards to sing my original song “She’s Not The Leavin’ Kind” in the finals concert. The finals concert was excellent with an awesome band, Bakkus, giving the singers a lift to their performances and well run by Merv and his team of helpers. I came away with runner-up but the All Blacks won the Rugby World Cup albeit by one point. So that’s 24 years finished with and we can move on. Yippee.

Friday the 28th we were booked to play at the Whangarei RSA. Annette was a little under the weather but to her credit she rocked up ready to go but we convinced her to go home and rest. There’s no doubt she’s a trooper. I did the show by myself which went surprisingly well I might add. Thanks to Lynda and Colin for helping pack down the gear after the show. It was much appreciated. Wow, that was October done and dusted.

October 2011

Hi Folks

Just to keep you up to date on what we have been doing during August and September. A big weekend for us on the 12th, 13th and 14th August beginning with a Friday night gig at the Papakura RSA. Thank you to Anne McGarry for helping us get this gig and to the folks from Franklin Country Music Club for coming out to support us. It was great to catch up with Lynette, June and Marlene. Saturday morning we headed through to Te Aroha to see Annette’s Uncle Jim and Aunty Molly to entertain at the Rest Home where Molly was staying. We had lunch with Jim then headed to Hamilton where we would be attending the Kiwi Pro-am National Country Music Awards Concert. We were one of the top three finalists in the Best Group/Duo category. It was a great show with an awesome finale which featured Dennis Marsh, Eddie Low and Tony Williams singing How Great Thou Art. The overall results for 2011 were:

Group/Duo of the Year – The Topp Twins
Male Artist of the Year – James Ray
Female Artist of the Year – Tami Neilson
Country Music Legend Award – Dennis Marsh
Horizon Award – Vicki Evans

On the Sunday we made our debut appearance at the Sky City Casino Vue Bar. Which was very exciting. Thank you to everyone that came along to listen to us. We really do appreciate your support. We will be back there on Sunday the 13th November after the Te Awamutu Charity Concert.
Sadly on Monday the 15th Aunty Molly passed away. We attended Molly’s funeral on the Thursday where Annette sang two beautiful songs at the church service.
The 26th saw us back at the Dargaville RSA a little worse for wear but willing to give it all we had left.

At the beginning of September we got together with the boys from the Mountain Mist Band to practice for the show we are doing on the 15th October for the Kamo Club Spring Fever dance weekend. Once again we have Reba and Taylor Ryland joining us as our guest artists. This is going to be a great show.
On the 10th of September we had an awesome afternoon entertaining at the Blind Institutes afternoon get together.
We must wish our good friend Len Fields a belated Very Happy 80th Birthday for the 24th of September. Sorry we couldn’t make it to the celebration Len but we hope you had an awesome day.

We look forward to catching up in October. Take care and keep it country.

All the Best

Annette and Kim

July 2011

Annette & Kim are very excited to have been nominated for the Kiwi Pro-Am National Country Music Awards : Best Duo/Group 2011.  Being held at the Founders Theater on the 13th August 2011. Along with Micheal & Ashley, and the Topp Twins.

Annette & Kim are also very excited to have been nominated for the “Best Duo Act “in the “European Country Music Association Top 100 Country Music Radio Charts Awards 2011.” This is due to our success with the Hillcrest Compilation disc, produced by Ross Allen and receiving  Airplay through out Europe.

May / June 2011