AustLit

'When reading Frances Peters-Little’s new book, I was thrilled to see a mention of Jimmy Little’s 1999 comeback gig at Sydney’s Hopetoun Hotel (the ‘Hoey’) in Surry Hills. I was there that night. In fact, the Hoey was pretty much my lounge room at the time. My own band, Youth Group, played there a lot, as did other like-minded, scrappy rock bands of inner-city Sydney. But this was something different, something with more gravitas. Little had just released the Messenger album, a collaboration with Karma County’s Brendan Gallagher, containing versions of loved Australian indie rock and post-punk songs, such as The Church’s ‘Under the Milky Way Tonight’ and Paul Kelly’s ‘Randwick Bells’. These recordings were informed by the singing styles of an earlier era: gospel, jazz, early rock ‘n’ roll all fed into it – as did Little’s enveloping, warm, tremulous voice, his imaginative phrasing, and the nuanced arrangements. It was as if he had taken these songs back in time, laid them flat, rebuilt them, and then returned them back to the end of the twentieth century. Watching Little’s version of The Go-Betweens’ ‘Cattle and Cane’ on the ABC’s 10:30 Slot you can hear how personally he inhabits the song. Dressed in a suit, taking his time with the lyrics, he appears to be singing about his own rural childhood (one so different to that of Grant McLennan, who wrote the song). He draws on a deep wellspring of experience in his phrasing of the words. Messenger gave a new angle to Little’s career – bringing him to the ears of new audiences, like those of my age and background – and helped listeners understand the robustness of these songs.' (Introduction) 

'Four books into my career, I’m still learning to discern promotion that is paid for from that which arises ‘independently’ from the community. When I wasn’t invited to do events at interstate bookstores as a debut author in 2016, and again as a sophomore in 2018, I assumed it was because the booksellers weren’t interested in my work. Now that I’ve just completed my first interstate book tour, and am casually employed at a bookstore that sometimes hosts events, it’s glaringly obvious to me that most bookstores don’t have the budget to cover the costs. It’s also obvious that, even if they are covered by a publisher’s marketing budget, the onus often remains on the author and their networks to ensure that events are well-attended. While an event in my home state was at capacity, thanks to family and friends, I opted to cancel two others when my publicist informed me of the low booking numbers.' (Introduction)