FREE RANGE CHICKS - BIOGRAPHIES

JANE GERMAIN

Jane Germain’s musical journey has taken her from her hometown, Sydney, to Western Australia and all the way back to her Chinese heritage (her Manchurian great-grandmother married a Scottish missionary). She’s played all the styles from folk to funk that express her emotions and musicality in a career that’s won four consecutive WA Country Music Awards (with Ian Simpson), and an invitation for them to represent Australia at the 2010 World Expo in China.


The acclaimed debut, The Honeymoons Over (with the Dreamers) - working with the production team of James Hewgill and Jim Fisher (who also played most instruments), introduced listeners to radio tracks such as Living on the Edge, and Somebody Tell Me The songs she wrote and sang were about feelings old and new - and the music was inventively rhythmic as it was melodic.


Jane continued to take her music in new directions without losing the influences that are so much a part of her identity. Her compositions for Chinese Whispers emphasize free, brushstroke-like improvisations, inspired by her recent experiences with other cultures and musicians and her life in China. With this constant yearning to take her music beyond convention, Jane has collaborated with many internationally renown musicians,including the Mongolian traditional folk musicians Hanggai on the track Model Young Man and Beijing er-hu (2 stringed Chinese violin) player Yang Tian Chuan on the title track Chinese Whispers and When You Come Around Here.


In 2010, Jane, and Ian Simpson released their album, Lonesome Road. The album featured acoustic arrangements of original material and songs from various artists such as Delmore Brother's Freight Train Boogie and Blues Stay Away From Me, blues classics including Tommy Johnson's Big Road Blues, and some bluegrass songs and instrumentals.


They recently released their 2nd duo album No Fun Allowed to rave reviews – featuring songs they have been creating together in their own style - ranging from raging bluegrass, hard driving blues, to swing and down-home country. Jane also made a debut appearance playing clawhammer banjo on three tracks.


Jane’s musical career has been on hold over the past year due to her battle with breast cancer, but is now raring to go!

RACHEL DILLON

On her eleventh birthday Rachel became the proud owner of a bright orange typewriter, a stack of foolscap and a spare ink ribbon. In those days she’d stay holed up in her room for hours on end, inventing high adventure, sci-fi yarns. She kept writing fiction through her teens, poetry and short stories through her young adult life and essays through uni and a marriage, never really sharing her writing with anyone.

Then as her marriage was coming to an end, Rachel picked up a guitar for the first time, the writing turned to songs, and for some reason she decided to start sharing.

Recording an EP of six songs, playing to her family for the first time and finding confidence on stage marked a huge turning point in her life.

Now, six years on, having completed what she calls her "apprenticeship" in performing, and with several songs nominated for awards, Rachel is building on her songwriting skills and working in a number of collaborations, one of them being the Free Range Chicks with friend and mentor, Jane Germain and up and coming Bluegrass fiddler, Elisa Siipola.

ELISA SIIPOLA

Elisa's bio to follow..........

But what I can say is.. that apart from being drop dead gorgeous, she is an amazing fiddle player (and pianist..)

We'll have to wait for her to elaborate on her musical career... sigh...

 

 

 

 

 

MORE TO COME!!! (Page under construction.....)

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