|
|
 |
|
|
SWEET HARMONY
Deborah Minter
The Northern Territory has uncovered some amazingly talented country artists of recent times; SARA STORER and TOM CURTAIN to name but two. Add the name HARMONY JAMES to the list.
Like many artists to emerge from the Territory, Harmony is a Territorian by choice rather than by birth. “There was no TV at our place so I read a lot,” she said. “I discovered Louis L’amour’s western novels and I was hooked. It inspired me to go Jillarooing after I finished school; if I couldn’t be a cowboy that was the next best thing.”
Harmony found the work rewarding, but dangerous. “I got bucked off a horse and broke my collarbone,” she said. “Just after I went back to work I got charged by two cows. That re-opened the break. It stayed broken for the next 2 years. I ended up having an operation with a bone graft, a steel plate and 7 screws to fix it.”
The injury had a devastating effect on her health, career and personal life. “I was really unhappy. I couldn’t sing or write music. When the one thing you have loved all your life isn’t there you know there is a serious problem.”
Climbing back from that period was slow process. “I had to re-evaluate my whole life. I decided to go to uni and study production animal science, to get back into performing music and to make some changes to the whole way I live.”
Harmony finished her degree and was offered work with Department of Primary Industries in the Northern Territory. “Here in the Barkly the Mitchell Grass downs country is so beautiful,” she enthused. “Sometimes I’ll be out in the middle of a paddock and it’s like being at sea. As far as you look 360 degrees around there is nothing but grass and the breeze. It just makes you feel happy.”
Harmony works hands-on, advising graziers on feeding and breeding programs and husbandry practices. “The job covers a huge area. I tell people I’m doing it because I can break less bones than when I was a ringer.”
Harmony, besides having the cowboy dream, also had the dream of becoming a country music singer. “When I agreed to make the move to Tennant Creek I honestly thought I was sabotaging my chances of being a musician,” she said. “That really bothered me but if I couldn’t be a performer I could still focus on songwriting. I was surprised to find that there is a demand for performers out here. I’ve played at a lot of campdrafts, race meetings and other events. The hardest part is the vast distances. I often drive 500 km or more to a gig.”
Harmony entered and won the TSA Amateur Songwriting Award in 2006. “I was really thrilled until I found out I couldn’t be amateur anymore. I was thinking, oh dear, how am I going to compete with the pros?” In a last minute decision, she decided to enter the prestigious International Songwriting Competition. “I chose Tailwin’ because I had really good responses from (producer) HERM KOVAK and the musicians who worked on the record.”
Tailwind progressed through to the finals and, to her surprise and delight, the song took out first prize in the country section. “The officials tell me I am the first Australian to ever take out 1st place in the country division,” she said, still excited by the news. “Hell, if ROSANNE CASH has heard my song that is pretty cool.”
Harmony has just released the winning song Tailwind on EP, along with three other self-penned tracks, the brilliantly unexpected Somebody Stole My Horse, the uplifting Big News and a dedication to her new happiness, Home.
“I have had so many good things happen over the last 5 years that I can barely believe it. You can achieve so much just by ‘having a go.’ My confidence has gone from barely existing to back in full swing. Sometimes I will just be driving along a highway somewhere and I will just get this strange happy feeling. It’s like a moment where you feel totally at peace with the ways things are.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
