Introducing… Amanda Kay and her travelling tale …  

   Since Jan 2012 Amanda Kay has been officially on walkabout.  This involves taking some time to travel to visit family and friends in the southern states without committing to a time frame.  As she was leaving Brisbane a fellow songwriter Steve Skinner invited her to do some backing singing on his new CD.  She drove to Canberra and stayed for a few days then flew back to Brisbane and did the recording. It went really well and everyone is looking forward to the release. She then helped a mate by co-driving across the Nullarbor.  It was an adventure seeing a few new places and meeting new people.  She performed at a few places along the way, including The Jazz Cellar in W.A. which was a great venue, and flew back to Canberra. 

Her beautiful Gibson ES345 guitar had suffered from a crack in the neck. She found a luthier with an exceptional reputation in Sydney so I drove up and spent a few days performing at the Sandringham Hotel (Doc Neeson and Jimmy Barnes were recording there before her set!) and The Cat and Fiddle to very receptive and positive crowds before returning to Canberra. She is looking forward to continuing this slightly abstract walkabout until after the wet season.

At the end of last year she managed, with the support of some amazing musicians, to complete the new C.D.  ‘Chasin’ Rainbows’.  Her original music is an emotional outlet that helps her cope with some of the difficulties in life. She has been writing a few new songs whilst travelling and her song writing is evolving. Augmented chords are starting to creep in and make sense.  She is thinking about further studies in Jazz composition.

Amanda is continuing to take photos on a regular basis and often high praise for her work in this field. She is happy to have some artwork purchased at an auction last year. The artwork was created in an Access Arts project for Peter Vance’s new C.D. He was inspired to gather a few recognised Brisbane artists to come into the studio and paint and draw what the music influenced them to do. He designed the C.D. cover using some of Amanda’s sketches.  The works created in this project were awesome, as was the Jazz music Peter Vance composed.

Amanda’s music is generally about whatever she feels strongly for. She occasionally writes silly songs to make people smile. Some of her most popular compositions are storytelling song completely imagined or about people she sees but knows nothing about. She can spin a good yarn and draws her audience’s in. She is an unusual and outspoken person with a wandering minstrel spirit.

 Amanda Kay’s  album, ‘No Frills’  was recorded  in Tropical North Queensland Australia. The talents of the ARIA award winning arranger,  Tommy See Poy, were put to good use in his studio in Cairns, where he engineered and produced a special album. Shewrote this album straight from the heart and comes out with a soulful folk style. Her melodies gently infuse and listeners find themselves happily humming along with the sounds that are instantly familiar.

Musical Directions

Amanda K  found the call of music whilst working in Antarctica for a year. She was employed as a carpenter on the Australian base, Mawson and spent the year with just 20 expeditioners. During the long and lonely year of isolation K learnt the basics of the guitar and composed her first song, ‘Mawson In Antarctica’, on the return voyage of the ice breaker the Aurora Australis.

Kay’s Story

Amanda Kay is a talented composer. She is performing throughout Australia (from Cairns to Kalgoorlie, from Kununurra to Cooma) and has played in far flung places including Antarctica, New Zealand and Southern Africa.

She is receiving wide spread recognition, especially for her slightly controversial lyric content. Her solo CD ‘No Frills’ is getting airplay on radio and live performances have been aired in Melbourne on Russ Kellets Community TV program. Songs like “I Want To Share My Orgasms With You’ always get a response. Her insight and relationship with music crosses contemporary Music boundaries, unearthing unique melodies and unexpected resolutions. Her vitality on stage creates an energetic and enthusiastic audience.

Her work has attracted some exceptional player to join her in the studio. Administer The Medicine has brought her creations to a new level. It is unique, original and compelling. Her latest release Chasin’ Rainbows is recieving high praise and her audiences fall silent at the striking of the first chord. Please enjoy Amanda Kay