A fair go for harmony
Newcastle Herald
Thursday March 31, 2011
AS a lad Jordan Wilson surrounded himself with Bob Dylan and Paul Kelly records while Ben Riley thrived on a mix of Crowded House, Fleetwood Mac and The Eagles.When the two friends met in early high school, they were drawn to the music of the late 1960s and 1970s - specifically the songs of Crosby, Stills and Nash.So it's no wonder that when they formed a band - called Georgia Fair - their music would echo the sounds of the past."Just listening to that kind of stuff, you can't help but be lost in harmony with all their songs," Riley told LIVE this week."So we just really vibed on that and took it from there."The Beach Boys also had a role to play."We were just hanging around at Jordo's house one day, trying to think of a name and we were watching a music documentary on TV about The Beach Boys," Riley said."They were playing at this festival in the US called Georgia Fair, and we thought it'd be pretty cool to play there one day."We just decided to call the band Georgia Fair there and then."Wilson and Riley met when they were about 13 years old, both just beginning to learn guitar.They spent most of their weekends jamming together."It just kind of smouldered along through school then when we left we started writing songs together and it just went from there," Riley said."We started playing the odd show and things began to gain momentum."It is going on about 10 years now since we met."It's good to be in a band with your best mate."The Sydney duo are now on tour with Daniel Lee Kendall and will stop in for a show at Newcastle's CBD Hotel tonight."The shows have been going really well," Riley said."We've had some great crowds and met some cool people."Georgia Fair recently released their debut EP, the folky Times Fly.They recorded it in North Carolina in the US under Bill Reynolds of Band of Horses fame."Our label put forward a few names and we really like the Band of Horses - we're massive fans of that band and as soon as we got on the phone to Bill we really hit it off with him," Riley said."We were really on the same wavelength and it went from there."After a few more phone conversations, the next thing we knew we were over in North Carolina going for it."Reynolds had taught them to open their minds and push boundaries."He was really good at getting us out of our comfort zone just the right amount so we could try new things to make sure that we didn't just keep making songs that sounded the same," Riley said. "He was a really eccentric guy and he came out with some really wacky ideas at the time, but in hindsight they don't seem that crazy because we're really happy with the way it turned out."The band also recorded a full-length album with Reynolds, which Riley hopes will be released within the next few months.Georgia Fair recently recruited the guys from Boy & Bear and also Lisa Mitchell to perform on their latest single, Marianne."We've been playing around the traps in Sydney with the Boy & Bear guys for a few years, so we kind of already knew them," Riley said."Then we went on the tour a year ago with Lisa and Boy & Bear, and we just had such a good time."A few months after that we were laying down this Marianne track and we thought we'd just ask them if they'd like to come in and play on it with us."Lisa was also in Sydney one day, so we decided to go into the studio and lay down some vocals with her as well."It was a very organic experience but we were stoked to have those guys on that track with us."Georgia Fair are fast developing a reputation for their impressive live shows - and that's what it's all about for Wilson and Riley."Touring is the ultimate for us, we find it the best way to connect with people, and the most fun," Riley said."It's a massive part of what we do and we're very proud of our live show - we're constantly working at it to make sure it's exciting and interesting for people to watch and listen to."Catch Georgia Fair with Daniel Lee Kendall at theCBD Hotel in Newcastle today from 8pm. Ticketsare $12 through bigtix.com.au or at the door.
© 2011 Newcastle Herald
