music
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5AM
I can hear a cock crowing. I’m at my desk working out a simpler version of the organ parts in No Woman No Cry. Mike is asleep. So is Wookie, in his fluffy cubby hole under my feet. Want to play this for our next shows in north Queensland — Mackay and Emerald — in… Continue reading
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Piano exams — in bare feet! It’s Queensland!
I’ve been entering my students for performance exams. They play their pieces while their parents video them. The angle of the video is quite specific, both hands and both feet must be visible. The parents then send the video to me, and I enrol the student under my teacher code, and upload the video. I… Continue reading
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Roaring Lion opens Bob Marley: One Love movie premiere in QLD
Roaring Lion recently performed at the premiere of Paramount’s ‘Bob Marley: One Love’ movie, in Queensland. Here we are on the red carpet beforehand. It was a really fun time and we were so honoured to be sought out. The reggae bubble responsibility has come to me now, and I’m stoked to have a chance… Continue reading
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A Gift of Lion Art
At the end of our show at Springlake Hotel earlier this year, a fan presented our lead guitarist Maui with a print of a Reggae Lion. We were just blown away by this random kindness! Later in the year, my friend Tracey said, “There’s an Australian artist I really love, and I saw something that’s… Continue reading
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Are we finished now?
I finished teaching and put the piano lid down. Wookie’s head popped out. “Are we finished now?” ☺️ Continue reading
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First theory exam! Woo hoo!
Congratulations to my student D who sat her first online music theory exam with AMEB recently and passed with Honours! The certificate came in the post and she was keen to show me. Yay! 🎉 Well done practising transposition, learning the pattern of a major scale (tone tone semitone…) key signatures, and being grilled over… Continue reading
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Roaring Lion in Kooralbyn; My Two Worlds Meet
“You drive so much for us, Jo. We should come out to you. There’s a practice scheduled the week after the Nundah show. If you could find us some place to jam, maybe we can come out and make a weekend of it.” Maui. Lead guitarist, Roaring Lion That’s how this all started. Roaring Lion… Continue reading
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What the World Needs Now — Wookie video
Wookie LOVES being on my lap at the piano. This is so nice to do. It really might become a regular feature. Of course I can’t play much, but really, who cares? Wookie will end up taking requests I bet. 🐾 Continue reading
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Wookie Update —June 29 2023
Wookie is a Havanese, as in, from Havana, Cuba. That’s where this breed is originally from. Wookie was supposed to be a show dog but he didn’t grow big enough! So at eight months, his owners decided to let him go and we got him instead. Here’s Wookie with his first big bone. He has… Continue reading
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Wookie sees his first surfer
My band Roaring Lion had a practice on the beach at Surfer’s Paradise. Really, I know nothing about beach life, gazebos, barbecues… they teach me so much. Wookie saw his first surfer. Look at that sand. Coming from England, I cannot believe how even the most insignificant beach in Queensland is more beautiful than anything… Continue reading
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Living the Dream
I cannot imagine how Alejandro Larrandaburu felt to be up there on stage, fronting our Roaring Lion band, three weeks into making a life in Australia — from Uruguay — second time around. He spoke to the crowd at the Koala Tavern in Redlands, and said: I would like to thank each and everyone of… Continue reading
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The new face of Roaring Lion
Roaring Lion has been evolving in the first half of 2023, and we actually have four new faces to present to you. Over the past few months, several good people shared the stage with us, and we’ve finally decided how best to go forward as we strive to deliver Bob Marley’s beautiful message to you… Continue reading
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Introducing Wookie
Wookie has recently become part of our family and is the best thing that could ever have happened to us. He’s super helpful. Here he is helping me write this post. He likes gardening… …editing audio… …and teaching piano. Actually he probably doesn’t like it at all and thinks: OMG is she finished yet? I’ve… Continue reading
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Roaring Lion makes a special lady happy at Beenleigh Tavern
Before our gig at the Beenleigh Tavern on November 5 2022, our lead singer Glen posted a message in our group chat. “Hey family, we have a request from a local woman Cathy who would like to make it to our BT show.” Cathy’s message was: “Hi, my mum is a big Bob Marley fan,… Continue reading
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Sunday arvo in Caloundra! Roaring Lion at Kings Beach Tavern, Sunshine Coast
Credits for photos and videos in this post go to Derrin Hill, Gwyn Naera and Aleisha Rangi. ROARING LION played to a packed house of Bob Marley fans at Kings Beach Tavern (KBT) in Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast, yesterday. My head is still in the clouds… KBT had a nice poster up! Our boys… Continue reading
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Signing a Book for CK Wong, Photographer
CK Wong is a photographer in Kota Kinabalu. His work appeared in my blog SabahSongs, as we were all covering performing musicians in the heyday of ten years ago. I was writing about them and photographers were covering events. The other day I was chatting to CK although I didn’t recognise him because we were… Continue reading
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Playing for Datuk CL Chan’s book launch – audio
I was so pleased to be able to play background piano for the book launch for Datuk CL Chan’s book ‘Family Ties’, which is a history of five generations of his family, from their journey from China to Sandakan to Kota Kinabalu. Datuk Chan is the founder of Natural History Publications (Borneo) and he published… Continue reading
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Making Sabah Guitars
Yap Keng Vui, Roger Wang, Gordon Pan, Allen Lin, and Timothy Tang are here in Yap’s workshop. They recently acquired the contents of a Canadian luthier’s workshop in Kuala Lumpur, because he was returning to Canada. So today they are opening all the boxes which have arrived! It’s kids in candy store day! I look… Continue reading
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Sabah 2022: Woodwork, calligraphy and the moon
I’m spoiled from the moment I land in Sabah. Relatives greet me at the airport — poor things! The flight from Kuala Lumpur arrives at such a dreadful time, it gets into Kota Kinabalu at 12.40am and I actually walked out about 1.00am. I am so cared for ☺️. After a few days, it’s time… Continue reading
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Song in a lighthouse guestbook
“I’ve got a strange request,” my friend Karen said on Messenger. “We’re staying in a cottage, it has a guest book, and someone’s written a song in it. Could you play it and send me a recording? It’s for the cottage owners. I’d be so grateful.” Karen and I were friends when we were ten… Continue reading
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Roaring Lion ‘Legend’ album rehearsal
Roaring Lion will be performing most of the songs from the Bob Marley ‘Legend’ album for a gig September 17 2022, at an event launching a new EP by Bradamon. With a 40-minute slot, it means shaping those songs and learning smooth, non-stop transitions between each song. I won’t be with them this time because… Continue reading
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Scenestr interviews – Stanley Jordan and Jazz On The Beach (Perth)
Here are some recent pieces written for entertainment website Scenestr. First is an interview with Stanley Jordan, and the second is an interview with “Jazz On The Beach” founder and festival organiser, jazz singer Catherine Summers. Continue reading
About Joanna
Joanna is British Australian. She worked mainly in financial news in London. In her forties she moved to her parents’ birthplace, Sabah, a Malaysian state on the island of Borneo. She became a pianist at the Jesselton Hotel in Kota Kinabalu and wrote a blog about musicians, which was popular among Sabahans at home and abroad. The blog was turned into a coffee table book when the Ministry of Tourism and Culture expressed interest. Joanna came to Australia in 2012. This is her second blog.
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