Gina's Diary

January 2007 Archives

Diary Entry #14 (part 2)
31st January 2007

Hi again!!!
Where was I? That’s right, Sunday night at Starmaker….
Well on Monday I went to the Bluegrass Night at “The Pub” which is organised by my hubby Rod McCormack. What a night!!!! I got to sing “Little Circle” from my new album with a wonderful bluegrass band….Rod on guitar, Trev Warner on banjo, Jeff McCormack on bass and Mick Albeck on fiddle. Aleyce Simmonds was in the crowd and agreed to come up and sing the harmony part with Rod. It was beautiful!!
I guess you know the story behind this song??? I’ll tell you just in case…… Rod, Jim McBride (Nashville songwriter) and I wrote this about my wedding band.
It all started about 9 years ago when Rod proposed to me on a white sandy beach up in Qld as the sun was setting. Very romantic (Except both our Mum’s were peering through the windows of the houseboat we were staying on!!!) Anyway I cried when he asked me and we then went back to the boats to tell everyone and commence a huge celebration!!! I said to my Mum, “Can I try on my Nanna’s wedding band to see what I look like with a wedding ring on my finger?” It somehow fit me perfectly and was exactly the same size and colour as my ring! My Mum cried and said, “Well Nanna would love you to have it!” This year my wedding ring will be 85 years old! My grandparents were happily married for 65 years and then my mum had it (my parents are the most happily married couple on earth!) and now Rod and I have it…. Well I think it carries with it the tradition of love and commitment, trust and love and all those wonderful things it takes to have a great marriage. There is pretty well nothing this ring hasn’t seen! It feels like my charm, my treasure, my symbol of true love and that is what the song “Little Circle” is all about!
I met so many women in Tamworth who heard me tell that story and they said that their ring was just like mine too!! Wow!!!

That night my friend Lou Bradley launched her wonderful new album there too!!
Oh she was fantastic!!!! Her album honestly is one of my favourite records but I was blown away by her presence on stage!! Very funny! Very charming!!
My favourite story she told that night was when she said how her little boy told her she looked beautiful in her yellow dress and gorgeous curly hair all wild and unruly!! “You look very beautiful Mum” he said, “Just like a pineapple!!”
Oh I am still sitting here laughing a week later!!!

Tuesday morning we had our annual fan club morning tea. This is always one of my favourite events. It’s always small and intimate and we just chat about anything and everything and sing some songs! I am so lucky I have the most wonderful friends in my club!!! They always make me feel right at home and we sure did enjoy tasting some of my Mum’s home cooking!!
We had our regulars, including Mark who travels all the way from Canada!!!! And he introduced me to some new friends too who travelled even further than he did!! Oh I met soooo many people there that I have forgotten your names!!! Uh oh!! I know you are reading this from America and I hope you had a safe trip home!!!

Ooh forgot to tell you I also got to perform at the Graduates Concert from the College.
That was fun, though I was nervous they were watching to see if I practice what I preach after we did a fairly intense workshop on performance!!!
So rewinding for a minute, I through my back out on the first day of the festival pulling on my cowboy boots and then I think because I was walking a little weirdly, I broke my toe!!!! So I spent the entire festival all taped up and in pain but still smiling!!
I broke my toe by kicking the lounge in our apartment!!! I wasn’t cranky or anything, just stupid!!! I cried it hurt so much and had to hovel down to the media centre feeling sorry for myself!!
Then over the next two days, I got bitten by two green ants!!!!
Couldn’t believe it!!!
Finally my back started to feel a little better and I did it again by picking up our little boy!!!!!
The hardest part was walking in high heels!!!!
I guess you are probably guessing by now I am not very brave!!!! It’s true! I think I may have a very low pain tolerance!!! Rod jokes that when I was in labour with our son he had the anaesthetist on speed dial!!!! (Ooh there’s a word I can’t spell!!!)

I was also lucky enough to get up and sing with Beccy Cole and Kasey Chambers!!!
Kasey and I were Beccy’s bridesmaids when she got married and she is currently celebrating 10 years of divorce!!! So Kasey and I call ourselves the “Bad Luck Bridesmaids!!” We sang the song that we sang at the wedding, “Strong Enough to Bend”. We were all laughing that on their wedding day the Priest was running his finger across his throat trying to get us to stop singing (but we kept going anyway!!) In hindsight we all joke that this may have been an early sign the marriage was not gonna work!!! Nowadays Mick and Beccy are the best of friends and happier than ever living their separate lives and both enjoying their gorgeous little boy Ricky!

Wednesday was my album launch and you’ll just have to tune in again to find out all about that tomorrow coz it’s my bedtime!!!!
Oh I don’t know how long it takes to get over the festival, but I’m trying!!!

Thanks for reading!!!
I will write to you again tomorrow!

Live well, Laugh often and Love much!!

Gina xxxx

Diary Entry #14 (part 1)
30th January 2007

Well hello everyone!!
I have just arrived home from 11 hot days at the Tamworth Country Music Festival!
What a great time we all had! (Though I am sure I’m not the only one who is very tired!!!)

I will start off with the best news from the festival….. Jackson (our little boy) learned how to swim without his floaties!!!! Yeah!! He spent almost all day every day in the hotel swimming pool with Nanna and Poppy (Mummy and Daddy were busy performing!) and also with Adam Harveys kids, Beccy Coles little boy and Kaseys little boy too!!! I’m sure he thinks the main reason we go up to Tamworth is so he can hang out with his little friends in the pool!!!

I got to open the whole festival at Bicentennial Park with the mayor and many other celebs! Hardest thing about it was I had to arrive on a horse drawn carriage with the mayor, and right before I went to the show, I put my back out pulling on my tight cowboy boots!!!
So trying to get off that thing in a lady like way in front of 10,000 people was difficult to say the least!!

That was Friday, so then first thing Saturday morning I went in to see a physio, and like magic, he fixed me!!

Saturday I got to sing at the roll of renown concert which was a real blast!!! I sang my mum’s favourite song “Crazy” with an amazing band, and I was so covered in goose bumps when they played I almost forgot to keep singing!!!
The reason I have started singing “Crazy” again is all my Mother’s fault!! When we were in recording my new album, one day mum came up to the studio for a visit with our little boy and asked the band (Who are all incredibly expensive by the way!!!) if they would record her favourite song!!

I said, “Mum, we can’t do that!!!!” and she went home! Anyway, as soon as she left we recorded her song and surprised her with it for Mother’s day!! She cried and cried!!! (Happy tears!!!) Well my mum knows how much those muso’s would normally cost to do that, so now she is paying them all back in cakes and biscuits!!!! Ha ha!!! (Everyone loves my Mums cooking!!!)

Sunday I was a guest judge and performer at the Starmaker grand final (This is the talent quest that I won in 1991.) Well you know how they say, “Gee I wouldn’t want to be a judge in that”……..they were right!!!! It was so hard to pick!!! They were all fantastic!!!!! I just wanted to hug them all!!!
Kirstie Lee Akers was the winner on the night and she really did sing well!!!!

Gosh, I have so much more to tell you, I think I will write a few extra letters to you this week, coz I am so tired from the festival I am starting to make too many typos!!!!

Tune in in a few days and I will tell you how I broke my toe, how I got to sing at the awards, (unexpectedly!), how my album launch went and how I walked the main street of Tamworth with all the big stars (And still with a broken toe!!)

Talk soon!!
Live well, Laugh often and Love much!!
Love Gina xx

Diary Entry #13
17th January 2007

Hi everyone and welcome to my 13th letter!!
I can’t believe 13 weeks have come and gone already since I have been writing these letters!!

This week is the little love of our life, Jackson’s 4th birthday! Wow, I just can’t believe it! I originally hadn’t planned to have a party because last year we had a ridiculously huge party and this year we have to leave for the Tamworth Country Music Festival straight after! But, Mummy melted!! We are going to have just a little one at a local play centre where they do everything! Jackson will just love it and it’s pretty stress free for the Mum too!!! All of his little friends will be coming (Except his very best friend in the whole world Eli who is in New Zealand!!!!) But I am sure he will have fun!! It really is hard having his birthday so close to Christmas! Jackson really doesn’t even know what he wants because he is still playing with all of his toys from Santa!!!

I have been doing lots of media again this week for the release of my new album. Keep an eye out in your local newspapers and mags!! (If you’re in Australia). It really is busy at the moment! Tomorrow we have our final full band rehearsal for my Tamworth Launch concert! The band is incredible!!! I am so excited!! We are using big screens to run footage, and I have a couple surprise guests coming on the show!!! We are going to play all of the old hits, lots of songs from the new album, and just a few of my favourites! I have decided to get a few people up out of the audience to dance and I have lots of surprises in store!!!
I am looking forward to the show sooooo much!!

Also at the festival we will be having our annual fanclub morning tea on the 1st Tuesday of the Festival. If you’re in town please feel welcome to come. (You will just need to get in touch with our club president Dianne through the website for details) Would love to see you at the Walk of Life too if you are around on Thursday. (this is a fundraising event I am holding with all the big stars to raise money for the Leukaemia Foundation. (Check out the website for details if you’re interested.)

Anyway, I have to finish off this week on a sad note. My fanclub president Dianne’s Mum sadly passed away and I want to take this moment to express deepest sympathy on behalf of myself and all the fanclub members. Dianne, you were a beautiful daughter and I hope that knowing we are all thinking of you at this difficult time may bring you some strength. Big hugs and much love Di!

Live Well, Laugh Often and Love Much!!!!
Gina x

Diary Entry #12
11th January 2007

Hi everyone!!

Hope you’re all well and happy.

This week was the week we had to take the Christmas tree down…..always makes me a bit sad, and makes the lounge room look empty for a while!!

Jackson made a wish on one of those little white fluffy things that blow around the backyard (very technical term for a plant I know!!)  Anyway, he blew it in the air and wished that Santa would come back!!! I said, “Darlin, the good news is, it’s your birthday in a few weeks and it will be a little like Christmas all over again!” He was very pleased.  I can’t believe my baby is almost 4!!!

The whole family travelled up to Tamworth last Sunday for a few days.  Rod and I were teaching at the Country Music College of Australia.  It’s a college where talented people from all over Australia come to learn all aspects of the industry from some wonderful teachers!!!

Rod spoke to the group about record producing and looking for new talent etc and I did a performance workshop. It was so much fun. I have come up with a theory that Australian country music stars are mostly successful because they have the ability to be warm, real and connect with their audience.  So we spoke in great detail how to do this and we did some practical exercises to demonstrate how we can all be warm and sincere and just generally nice in every day life!!

While we were in Tamworth we also booked positions for posters and organised logistical details for my show.

It really was a worthwhile trip. The best part about it I think was how much fun Jackson had in the pool at the motel with Nanna and Poppy!! He is just loving his swimming!!!!

We went out to dinner at the Powerhouse on the last night and the funniest moment of the trip was when Jackson noticed in the corner of the restaurant a statue of David. Of course he couldn’t help but yell at the top of his voice, “Nanna and Mummy, look at this mans doodle!!!”  He thought he was very funny!!! And then when we got back home, he demonstrated to my brother, his Uncle Jeff, just what the statue of David looks like!! I will let you imagine how he did his demonstration!!

We all laughed for a very long time!!

Today I am heading off to Sydney to do some promo for the new album. All the way there in the car, I will be listening to a cd of the set we will perform at the Tamworth Festival…..My next few weeks is going to be full of promo and preparation, so I am hoping to get through this very busy time with a little more sleep than I had last night!!! (Jackson wakes up and wants to sing and talk for a few hours sometimes and he seems to be in tune with the days that Mummy has to get up early!!!!)

Oh, how do you combine Motherhood and working again??

I’ll keep you posted and I’ll learn as I go!

Until next week!
Live well, Laugh often and Love much!
Love Gina x

Diary Entry #11
2nd January 2007

Happy New Year!!!! I really hope this new year brings you all love, health and happiness!

We went down to the waterfront and watched the fireworks with thousands of other people! Our son Jackson absolutely loved it!!!! We of course finished the night off with another game of my famous “Round the Table Tennis”. So much fun and laughs!! My long lost cousins stayed with us, and we all really did have a wonderful time!

If you have been listening to my music for a long time, you may remember my song, “Not So Distant Star” that I wrote about my Aunty Nita, many years ago.

Well my beautiful Aunty died about 11 years ago and her last words to my Mum were, “please take care of my kids.” Her kids of course were already grown up and leading their own lives, and somehow we all just lost touch. My cousin Nadine found my Mum last year and now we are all reuninted and I am sure my Aunty Nita is smiling down from heaven…….

It just reminds me how important family is and how we should really all take care of each other. Love each other and be grateful to be important in somebody’s life.

My cousin’s Nadine and Brooke look at my Mum and see their own Mum’s face for the first time in a long long time. They see their own funny little mannerisms and traits, even habits and tastes and realise that they are just like us. These funny little things are making us all realise that family roots run way deeper than we could ever comprehend.

While I count my blessings that I have such a close knit family, I am now proud that we are somehow filling a little missing piece in the heart of my cousins, who must miss their Mum so much. In return we have found love from a whole new part of the family we almost lost forever.

I don’t really have a New Year’s resolution this year, I just want to do all that I can to be happy and loving. I would really like to have lots of success with my new album!!!! But above all, I want to be the best mum I can possibly be, and the best wife to my gorgeous husband!!!

I hope you have a wonderful New Year and may all your dreams come true, whatever they are!

Until next week!
Live well, Laugh often and Love much!
Love Gina x