Performance History
Hothouse was privileged to have so many of the busiest and most amazing players over the years. I can’t mention everyone because we ran for 13 years and I’m afraid I’ll leave someone out! Someone who does need a mention is Bob Brisbane who shared lead vocals with me. Bob was a fabulous addition to the band. In 1996 we supported James Brown to a packed Entertainment Centre. James Brown actually left his green room, hair curlers and all to come out and watch us. He acknowledged us to the audience too, “ A big hand for the band before, they were dynamite! How ‘bout a big hand for our local brothers!“ That’s our claim to fame. Sadly no photos from the James Brown Concert, but here’s a fantastic glimpse into Hothouse: a demo recording of an original song. Enjoy!
My wild past! The Sensational Sixties! What a sensational experience for a young performer. It was super fun, not to mention a great education, to perform music from such groundbreaking past eras. As you can see we dipped into the 70s and I had so much fun being Susie Q.
And then I discovered Jazz on my friend’s Grandmother’s Readers Digest compilation album. Ella Fitzgerald singing the Live in Berlin version of “How High the Moon”. It absolutely blew me away! I’d never heard anything like her scatting. To cut a long story short I ended up studying Jazz at the WA Conservatorium (now WAAPA). I was the 1st singer in the WA Youth Jazz Orchestra and I’ll always be grateful to MD Pat Crichton. He asked me to choose some tunes to be arranged for me by the one and only Will Upson. Of course I chose the same arrangement of How High The Moon and it was such a fantastic challenge for all of us. We were fortunate to tour to the UK and Scotland in 1986 and perform at the Edinburgh International Festival on the Princes Street Garden’s Stage (bottom pic) and at the Aberdeen international Youth Festival. Lucky Me! Grateful.
The birth of Hothouse. The most challenging and exciting band I’ve ever had the pleasure of creating. I was in Sydney as a semi finalist in the Australian singing Competition and saw a band called Supermarket. They blew my mind and got me so fired up that we created Hothouse. A 14 piece Jazz Funk Fusion band. Crazy though it sounds Mike Kingham and I got it together over a few weeks and launched at Fat City Cafe in Nedlands as a 12 piece. The manager was all excited and wanted to get my hair and clothes sponsored. The crazy hair was a result of that idea!
Hothouse at Pinocchio’s Nightclub was such a great gig. 12 became 14 with the addition of beautiful backing vocalists Alison Conroy and Maz Mazak and Beau Smith as lead male vocalist. Sadly I don’t have a photo of him. No mobile phones those days! Of course it was a big beast to organise and get 14 of the busiest and best musos in town to rehearse and lock down dates. The repertoire just got better and better - tunes from Chaka Khan, Tower or Power, Spyro Gyra, the Brecker Brothers, Earth Wind and Fire, Ricky Peterson, Aretha Franklin, Patty Austin, Incognito, New York Voices and more. I still get high on those tunes. We opened for the Festival of Perth in 1987 and did a season at Club 242 in Leederville and The Ozone Bar in Northbridge.
Anyone who has been a part of a BIG band knows that it takes a lot of work and sheer determination to keep the machinery working - hustling for gigs, writing and arranging new material, arranging rehearsals and so on. We were fortunate to get an Australia Council Performance Project grant to hold a successful concert at the Charles Hotel in 1989. This led to a regular gig on Wednesdays at the Charles when Hothouse was really at its prime. We had so much fun!!!
I got to be Grace Slick - loved singing “Somebody To Love” and “White Rabbits”. I was Lulu and sang “To Sir With Love” and never tired of it. Bottom right pic I’m a backing vocalist for Bette Midler. Perth was a different scene back then. We packed the pubs 3 to 4 times a week. It was hard work changing costumes and hair all night, but it was fun and taught me heaps, and I’m grateful.