Home Coming

Jarrah and I will head back to WA in November for some shows and I can't wait. It'll be a tour/ holiday and will be so great to catch up with friends and family in Perth and Dardanup. We'll be joined by a great percussionist/drum kit player Dave Szental. WA never ceases to show us a good time, and I'm sure this year won't disappoint.

Check out the tour dates and we hope to see you there!

November

Saturday 19th, 1pm - Moody Cow Brewery, Ferguson Rd, Dardanup. FREE
http://www.moodycow.com.au/

Sunday 20th, 12pm - Wild Bull Brewery, Pile Rd, Ferguson. FREE
http://www.wildbullbrewery.com.au/

Sunday 20th, 4pm - Hackersley Winery, Ferguson Rd, Ferguson. FREE
http://www.hackersley.com.au/

Tuesday 22nd, 7pm - Perth Blues Club supporting Toby, Charles Hotel, North Perth. Tickets on door.
http://www.perthbluesclub.com/

Friday 25th, 8pm -  Clancy's Fish Pub supporting Joe Black Trio, Fremantle. Tickets on door.
http://fremantle.clancysfishpub.com.au/

Saturday 26th - Linda Skrolys and Russell Sheridan Exhibition Opening(invite only)

Sunday 27th, 3pm - Rock and Roll High School Reunion Concert, Eliot St Bar, Bunbury. Tickets on door: $10
http://www.rocknrollhigh.com.au/main/page_gig_guide.html

Photo by Tony Gough

Kensington flautist flouts the norm

-By Mark Smith

KENSINGTON flautist Asha Henfry has never been one for convention when it comes to music.

Where others follow traditional classical and orchestral paths while learning the instrument, Henfry has always preferred to take an individual view.

Therefore agreeing to a random request to join Melbourne 1970s style psychedelic-rock band Jarrah Thompson while living in Perth last year was to be expected. The move has paid dividends, leading to a six-week Brazilian tour earlier this year, an appearance on Programa do Jo - Brazil’s equivalent of David Letterman - and a spot on the band’s second album Rio Claro.

This month Henfry will join guitarist Thompson on a three-month national tour in support of the album’s first single Dream on the Way.

The duo will be joined by the full band for the single’s launch at Northcote Social Club on October 28. Henfry described the band’s live show as a blend of experimental world music with a blues/rock vibe.

Tracks on the band’s Myspace page reveal a sound that throws back to Jethro Tull, Ted Nugent and Led Zeppelin.

“It’s an exciting time,” Henfry said of the band.

“Jarrah has been working hard on this for a long time and we are getting to the stage where we are starting to get some interest from festivals.”

Jarrah Thompson Band will perform at Northcote Social Club on October 28.

To book a flute lesson with Henfry, email ashahenfry@gmail.com

The Tapestry Record at Frankensound.

Roly Skender at Frankensound Audio Lab did a great job of recording The Tapestry's arrangement of Spanish Dance by Kai Stensgaard. Percussionist Callum Moncrieff also helped us out playing magically on the cajon. It was a really fun night and we were really happy with what we managed to capture. As Roly is so multi-talented he also managed to record it all on video! Check it out!

If you like what you see you can come and see us live at The Blue Room in Northbridge, Perth on Saturday the 14th of November at 7:30pm. The concert will feature with Indian, Japanese, Portuguese and Spanish flavours by composers Kai Stensgaard, Gareth Farr, Ravi Shankar and Piazzolla. It will be a relaxed evening of interesting music for flute and marimba.

The Tapestry at the Oxford St Markets - Leederville.

Earlier this year my very good friend/colleague/ex-housemate Holly Norman and I formed a percussion and flute duo named The Tapestry. Holly is an amazing percussionist and muso, playing a lot lately with WASO (the West Australia Symphony Orchestra). Although, when she plays with me there isn't so much of the timpani or crash cymbals but more of the cajon, djembe and marimba. I try to mix up my style a fair bit too using some ethnic flutes like the Bansuri from India. Our sound is one aimed at drawing on flavours from around the globe. We don't try to be authentic with our sound but more take traditional tunes and make them our own.

The Tapestry creates an improvisatory and relaxed vibe perfect for outdoor markets! Our first busking gigs were at the Fremantle Markets pub, which was great! The crowd often took a little bit to get going but once they did they were very responsive. After a few months we came to the conclusion that if we wanted to keep playing there and actually earn a bit of cash we were going to have to play some covers....which we really didn't want to do. So after a few quiet months we started busking again at the Field of Greens Fresh Fare Market which is an offshoot of the Oxford St Markets in Leederville, Perth. The market is held behind the Aranmore Catholic College on Franklin St, Leederville every Sunday from 8am till 12pm. It's a gorgeous dog friendly market full of delicious things to eat! Both times that we have been there the organisers have been so friendly to us, the kids have been great (thanks for dancing!) and we have made a lovely bit of money as a bonus. As Holly commented today playing at the markets is just like going out for coffee with a friend, a perfect Sunday morning treat.

The Tapestry will be playing at the Oxford St Markets again for sure!

Live at The Little Creatures Loft with Mitch Becker

I recently did a show with Mitch Becker, a muso who's only been in Perth for a short while. I introduced myself after hearing Mitch and his girlfriend Sylvie play at the Mojo's Open Mic Night (which was a real hoot by the way!). Mitch uses an awesome percussive technique on his guitar, somewhat reminiscent of Flamenco. Mitch (guitar and vox), Sylvie (vox) and I (flute, of course!) played a very chilled out gig at The Little Creatures Loft.

Flute Salad!

So a little while ago I stumbled across the cutest Japanese man. Heita3 on Youtube, makes all his flutes out of fruit, vegetables, broccoli, carrots, asparagus, capsicums, apples, radishes and even ostrich eggs. He seems to be able to make anything into a working instrument! Some aren't as successful as others, but he admits all this himself. But not only is Heita3 a skilled craftsman, he is also a crack up to watch. The mind boggles.....he's great!!



On further research I found Heita3 was not alone and there are many people around the world making flutes from fruit and vegetables. The best thing about this research is that I found a couple doing it right here in Perth! I'm always surprised when I find out there are awesome people like this Western Australia, I bet there's a whole lot more. You can check them out here: http://www.flutenveg.com/. It seems as though Alain Thirion and Kerry Fletcher have done a whole lot of vege flute making in their lives and I'm really keen to check them out.



There are so many people doing great things out there and it all gets me totally inspired. I'm off to try making my own vege flute! I'll let you know how I go.

Biography

After the completion of a Bachelor of Classical Music with Honours at WAAPA, flautist Asha Henfry has been on a journey of musical discovery. Studying at summer schools across Europe with renowned flautists Peter Lukas-Graf, Ian Clarke and Wil Offermans gave Asha the desire to explore her love of the flute beyond the boundaries of classical music. Whilst travelling through India, and immersing herself in its culture and music, Asha’s love of non-western styles also grew stronger.  In Western Australia she formed the flute and percussion duo, The Tapestry and played with Chris de Groot’s Annexia Ensemble, performing his award winning compositions for silent films. Asha moved to Melbourne in 2010 joining the blues/rock outfit The Jarrah Thompson Band. During the bands 3 tours of Brazil she was exposed to the sounds of Brazilian choro and was instantly drawn to its joyful, virtuosic and playful sounds. Upon returning to Melbourne, Asha turned her interest to choro music and other Brazilian genres and soon after became a member of Panorama do Brasil. As a passionate advocate of Brazilian music in Melbourne, Asha also plays with choro group Sexteto Zona Sul, lead by guitarist virtuoso Doug de Vries, at national festivals and renowned Melbourne music venues. 

Please email me for performance or teaching enquiries.
ashahenfry@gmail.com.