Hair she comes! Hot ticket Tami Neilson kicks off her Songs of Sinners tour, performing in Christchurch tonight (Thursday 25th May) as part of The Cavell Leitch New Zealand International Jazz and Blues Festival with her Hot Rockin' Band of Rhythm, belting out soul, country, gospel and blues.
Tami's tour merchandise features a silhouette of her signature black beehive with the proclamation: "The higher the hair, the closer to God." A couple of us gals working here at the library have been Tami fans for a while. She may just be our alter ego and I fondly remember seeing her play with local boys Marlon Williams and Delaney Davidson at the wee Wunderbar in Lyttelton a few years back.
Tami and her big hair certainly command a much bigger stage now, and the accolades and awards never seem to end for Tami. Possibly even more rewarding for her than a gong was recently getting to open the stage for her idol - blues, gospel and soul singer Mavis Staples.
While she's got hair up to heaven, Tami now has two young boys to bring her back down to earth. Considering how busy she is with touring and family life, it is a wonder Tami has time to curl up with a good book, let alone curl her hair. But Tami loves libraries and literature (from classic reads to chick lit) and she graciously took the time to answer a few questions about her reading pleasures and sings the praises of a good book.
Tami, are there any special books you remember fondly from your childhood?
I was completely obsessed with Anne of Green Gables from age 11. I read the whole series and then moved on to all of L.M. Montgomery's books. I own her entire published works, as well as her more recently published journals, which are fascinating and actually quite dark in contrast to her novels. I have visited her various homes across Canada while touring with my family band when growing up. I still re-read her books regularly. The Emily series and The Blue Castle are my enduring favourites.
What role have libraries played in your life - either growing up and / or now?
I have always loved libraries and spending time curled up with a book. In my early 20s, when we came off the road and settled into the small town in Ontario where my Mom grew up, we didn't have a computer yet and the local library is where I would excitedly go each day to check my emails and write to a certain Kiwi guy that I ended up marrying! The library has played a huge role in my outings with my little ones since becoming a Mum myself - from the time they were babies, I took them to Wriggle & Rhyme and we go every few weeks to swap our books for new ones.
What books are your two young sons enjoying at the moment?
We've read to our boys since they were babies and they love books. We visit our local library regularly... a current library favourite is Super Stan, and we have a huge collection of the works of Dr Seuss, which are their go-to bedtime stories (and Mummy's favourites to read to them!)
Do your kids love your songs (or are they over them) - do they have their own favourites?
They have their favourites, which they perform for us regularly on Saturday mornings. They set up their "stage" on the couch and haul out all their little toy instruments and play their repertoire of ABCs, Christmas songs, nursery rhymes and Mummy's songs. Their favourites are Texas (written for Charlie), Loco Mama (written for Sam) and Holy Moses.
Tami would have a bookshelf the size of Texas if she could...
Tami, any books you’d love to recommend?
Anything by Barbara Kingsolver. Her books and characters never disappoint. Long-time favourites are The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg, The Help by Kathryn Stockett, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (I have a thing for Southern US writers and/or stories set in the Southern States...just like my musical influences tend to stem from there!) also, The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood - such a Canadian treasure, that woman.
What music related books can you recommend?
I tend to always have a musical biography on the go. I loved Shout, Sister, Shout, the biography of Sister Rosetta Tharpe and I'll Take You There bio on The Staples Singers when I was researching for my new show, "Songs of Sinners". What Happened, Miss Simone? about Nina Simone ... and I recently picked up a copy of Roseanne Cash's Composed memoirs when touring through Nashville. She writes so beautifully and I loved that it wasn't a chronological account of her life, just colourful snapshots strung together with the language of a woman who has been writing songs her whole life.
Secret reading pleasures? What do you read when you’re waiting for your curls to set?
Every novel written by Marian Keyes! She's my trashy, chick-lit go-to and makes me laugh out loud. Same with Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series. I think I got up to #17 and had finally reached my fill, but, the very best of guilty pleasures.
What's on your TBR (to-be-read) pile Tami?
I've been working through H is for Hawk for over a year now...having lost my father, it's a hard one to read and gets too close to the bone at times that I have to put it down for a while, read something else and come back to it. It is so exquisitely written that I don't mind that it gets read in short bursts, as it makes it last longer.
I also picked up The Rosie Project from the library the other day on a friend's "light-reading" recommendation, so, it's on my bedside table, waiting for me to finish The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd. I loved her novel The Secret Life of Bees and liked The Invention of Wings, but, am halfway through this one and have to admit I'm a bit disappointed thus far. I don't like the main character and just feel annoyed at the end of each chapter!
What writers would you love to meet?
If I could jump into a time machine and have a chat... C.S. Lewis, L.M. Montgomery, Mark Twain, The Bronte Sisters, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
You travel a bit so I imagine you have to read 'one the go' - are you an eBooks/eReader convert or strictly old-school?
I have a love/hate relationship with my eReader. I love its convenience and the fact that it doesn't take up half the weight allowance of my luggage like books used to when I was on tour! However, part of the reading experience for me is the feel of the pages, I play with them the whole time I read (much to my parents' and brother's annoyance when growing up and now my husband's!) seeing how far I have to go so I can prepare myself for the ending when it's book full of characters I don't want to part with, being able to lend a good book I want to share with a friend, see it on the shelf next to my other books after it's been read (nothing better than a full bookshelf!) and my favourite smell in the world is that new book smell!
Tami, your tour is called Songs of Sinners but you seem so wholesome... can you tell us more about this juxtaposition?
Songs of Sinners is the story of how the gospel and blues music of the Southern States became Rock and Roll. Many artists grew up singing and learning to perform in the church, but then became "Sinners" when they "abandoned" their church congregations for a "life of sin". From Ray Charles, Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Mavis Staples...these artists then influenced future stars Elvis, Bob Dylan and Prince. This tells the story of how many of these more well-known artists wouldn't exist without first hearing those early gospel and blues artists that may not be as well known.
At the end of touring this year Tami will be back in the studio to record songs for a new album.
Tami, with your album Dynamite! (2014) you came out "all guns a blazing" and Don’t Be Afraid (2015) was a tribute to your Dad. Has the next album you’re working on got any ‘feel’ or direction to it yet? What can you tell us about it?
I'm currently writing my new album and the emerging theme seems to be sass! A lower tolerance level for putting up with people's opinions or judgements. A result of getting older, being a mother and losing my Dad all intersecting, I guess. I've also been hugely influenced by performing the Songs of Sinners show this past year and being challenged vocally and as a performer, so I think that is trickling into the songs I'm writing as well.
Get the look: Country Music Hair by Erin Duvall (2016)
This recently published book showcases the most notable bobs, beehives, bouffants, mullets, hats, wigs and curls from the 1960s to the present, alongside interviews with hairstylists and musicians and a full history of the 'dos of the decade with the likes of locks belonging to Tammy Wynette and Loretta Lynn.
Get tickets: Tami Neilson Sings! Songs of Sinners Thursday 25th May at the Charles Luney Auditorium at St Margaret's College, Christchurch
We'll be there with bells, polka dots and sequins on! She is performing material her New Zealand audience hasn't heard her sing before, including music by Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Howlin' Wolf, Johnny Cash, Blind Willie Johnson and Sister Rosetta Thorpe.
Watch: Tami with local Lyttelton musicians Marlon Williams & Delaney Davidson
(Images supplied by Tami Neilson)
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