Audrey Auld Mezera & Nina Gerber (wrap-up)

By Greg Pool
Host, TreeHouseConcerts.org

Here's a wrap-up of the visit by Audrey Auld Mezera and Nina Gerber to the Tree House (pictures and after-show interview):

* When Audrey played last, she gave us a baby towel we still use when our daughter comes out of the bath. It's the "Audrey Auld Towel" and the softest thing in the nursery!

* A lot of folks are still talking about Audrey's version of "Morphine," which Bonnie Parker (of Bonnie & Clyde) wrote in jail. The track notes on the album refer to this as "the first recording of her song. The original hand-written lyrics reside in a private collection in Austin, Tx. The tune is taken from the ‘30s song ‘M-O-T-H-E-R’."

* Audrey recently played a concert in San Quentin prison, on behalf of the organization Bread & Roses. She wrote a song for the occasion, which she played this evening. Check out the lyrics and story on her blog at MySpace (October 16, 2006). And here's some pictures of the day.

* Nina Gerber was an accompianist, collaborator, and producer with the late Kate Wolf, who will always be on our Wish List.

* Audrey and Nina drove up separately, but both commented that coming up Highway One through Big Sur was a wonderful thing. Nina said Kate started out playing music in Big Sur.

* I forgot to ask Nina, but in looking closely at the picture of her guitars from tonight, I discovered that Nina was playing Kate Wolf's guitar. It was made by David Matlin. Here are Nina's guitars, including Kate's.

* That makes Nina's performance of Kate's "Backroads" even more special. Nina dedicated it to all the Kate Heads in the audience. Audrey chimed in and corrected Nina with "Kate Mates" instead. Sounds better with an Australian accent!

* Both gals were traveling alone with with their dogs. Audrey had Gypsy, who you can see on the back on Audrey's new album, Lost Boys and Angry Girls. Nina had Tootsie Roll.

* I used to watch Nina perform with her late dog Ticket, who would lie at Nina's feet on stage during the performance. Nina said that Tootsie has had one shot at the stage but is still working up to it.

* One of the highlights was having my mother-in-law, Eve, come down from Napa County to see Nina perform. Eve has seen Nina many times and knew Kate Wolf. Juliet remembers coming home once in Calistoga to find Kate in the kitchen, talking to Eve. Somewhere Juliet has a postcard from Kate to Eve. If I find it, I'll take a picture and post it here.