Check out the Article writen by David Burger in the Salt Lake Tribune. Hope you enjoy!

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/entertainment2/55994530-223/music-album-com-frates.html.csp

Man, what an amazing day I had today. We left early for the gig to check out the iconic Sydney Opera House, which was one of the most beautiful scenes I have ever seen. I walked around and took a million pictures and shot some great video. I even had a $10 Corona at the Opera Bar, damn! We walked around the harbor and I saw my first aboriginal playing an impressive didgeridoo to an electronic drumbeat. The guy was making a killing performing on the street.  After a few more pictures we took off for Manly to play some music.

As we drove up to Manly the views were stunning. It was a beach town with beautiful boats all over the harbor. We parked outside the venue and went in to grab a quick schnitzel, which is a classic Australian meal (German food that the Australians claim ha). It is basically a breaded/Fried chicken breast. Once we finished crushing dinner we headed out on the street and walked to the beach so I could shoot some more video of where I have been. The beach was clean and the waves were perfect for a nice nighttime surf. People were running up and down the boardwalk getting ready for dinner on the town. We walked back to the other end of the street, which again blew my mind. The Manly Warf was overlooking the ocean with the skyline of Sydney in the distance. These people are truly blessed.

The time came to head back to the Boatshed to watch the first performer. Lincoln Davis hit the stage and the crowd shut up as he started to play his classical guitar. I am not sure how one gets their fingers to move so fast and sing at the same time. He played a flamenco style and I swear he never missed a note. It was extremely impressive. Once he finished it was my turn to play my 6 songs for the extremely quite audience. The stage was great and the sound guy knew exactly what he was doing. It is always a huge bonus when the sound is perfect. As I got to my last few songs I was sweating like a pig because the lights were so bloody hot. It was an absolute blast. Everything went very well and the audience reaction was great. The last guy that went was from Scotland named Karl Broadie and was an award winning singer/songwriter who travels to Nashville often and plays festivals all over the world. He was a pleasure to listen to and learn from. This is a great showcase that I hope to replicate something similar once I get back to the states.

I woke up early to finish my set list for tonight’s gig at the Tipple Bar in Sydney and put in a little practice. After a good workout at Mick’s brothers gym and we were back on the road to the beautiful city of Sydney. We went right to the gig and met Keith who sets up singer/songwriters nights all over New South Wales. These are great nights because it gives musicians like me a chance to play their music in front of an attentive crowd. After a local artist named Christian played first, it was my turn to hopefully wow this Sydney crowed. I decided to scrap the set list that I made and just played whatever song came to me at the moment. The sound was great and the crowd was listening carefully to every word that I sang. It is always such an awesome feeling when you get to play in this environment. I finished my set and was greeted by a few people saying how much they enjoyed the set. It was an awesome session and I even sold a CD to a guy from Detroit, go figure.

The next to artists were amazing! Braden Evans was a great songwriter with a huge voice and could play his axe like a champ. Renee Pony was last on the bill and she had a beautiful soulful voice and will be opening with me for Mick’s band Grayson this Friday night at the Cambridge. That will be a blast!

It was a very uneventful day in Newcastle. Most of the day I worked on Set lists for upcoming shows and my new song. I am excited about the new song and will be able to start working it into shows soon. I went for a quick jog and rested for a huge week of shows and driving around New South Wales. The real tour begins tomorrow (Nov. 20).

It is always a great morning when you wake up on a trundle bed in Sydney Australia. It was around 9:30am when we all got up and started making our way to the porch at Kristi’s home. She has a gorgeous home overlooking their pool. Andrew heated up the Barbie (yes they call it that ha) and threw on eggs, bacon, steak and sausage to help clear the cobwebs from everyone’s head. The meal was out of this world and it made the rest of the day much better. Breakfast was hilarious as everybody brought up memories and stories from the night before. It was a good laugh. Once breakfast was over, we got back on the road and headed back up to Newcastle for a quick jog and some well deserved rest and recovery.

What a great night. The day started off uneventful as we prepared for our drive south to Sydney for Mick’s sister Kristy’s 40^th birthday party. We arrived to the pub early to meet the Edser family before the shindig started. They seemed very similar to my family, very nice and tight knit. His father Dez is a very jolly and fun man who is always looking to joke and smile. His mother was always making sure everybody was taken care of and having a good time. Kristy was very outgoing and excited to be hosting a fun swaray. Tony, Mick’s twin brother, had a sober night but impressively tore up the dance floor in the Edser brother dance style, which consists of mainly shoulder movement. Their youngest sister Lisa was also very happy and full of energy. Like I said, they remind me a lot of my family.

The party was a ton of fun. Open bar, great appetizers and food and then came the speeches. Father Dezi started out with some very kind words about his lovely daughter and how much she cared and loved her brothers and sister and friends. Then came the jokester. Mick killed his speech poking fun at Kristy (in a nice way) and himself before getting to the heartfelt part of his speech. Once the two speeches were through Kristy thanked her guests and invited them all to “cut a rug” as they say. People got jiggy with it until midnight when they all put their arms around each other, me included, and sang (and I’m not joking), New York, New York.

Once the bar kicked us out at midnight, an elite group of us, including an American girl from Cali headed to the final bar of the night. We stumbled across a great place where we talked and joked for a bit longer before ending the night at a Kabab shop, which is another Australian late night tradition. All in all it was a wonderful and fun filled night in Sydney.

I woke up around 7:30am with excitement. So I put my backpack on for some exploration of the busy Beaumont Street. There was a nice coffee shop called Gloria Jeans, which is the Australian version of Starbucks. I sat in there and sent some emails and then took to the street to meet some strangers. I stumbled upon a street musician named Mango who played me an original song about cruzin’ in his kitchen which was interesting. I headed back home at that point to watch a little TV and take a nap while it rained outside. What was on the ole boob tube but the Miami Dolphins vs the Bills game from a few weeks ago. I should have bet on it. Waking up from my nap I was nice and rejuvenated from the jet lag. I got my guitar out and started to prepare for my first gig in Australia. Mick and I arrived at Bar Petite and hour early to set up and meet the manager. After finishing set up, we had a drink with the manager and his friend who was from, yes, New York City. The venue was a beautiful restaurant that was set up and decorated like a living room. The place was packed as I began to sing and the crowed enjoyed the music. I even got another gig out of it! After 3 hours of singing my voice was shot so we decided to head to the local pub for a few “Sherbets” that was about 50 meters from my house. There was a live band that was great and had everybody dancing. Mick ended up convincing them to let us up on stage to sing Eagle Eye Cherry’s song “Save Tonight.” I hadn’t sang that song since High School so it was a struggle getting the words correct, but it was a blast. Leaving the bar Mick figured I should experience what every Aussie does after a night of drinking and took me to eat Pita (Pizza type food) down the street. We headed home at about 2pm and called it a night.

The first day started off great! I had dinner with all of my best friends in Salt Lake and then got to my gate about 2 hours early for my connecting flight in L.A. I got to L.A. and walked right to my seat at the back of the plane. The best news so far was that for the 14 hour flight there would be nobody sitting in the middle seat and I had the window (my favorite).

After watching movies, reading and sleeping for 14 hours, I finally arrived in Sydney Australia. Mic met me at the airport at 9am Sydney time. I was tired but so excited for my adventure to begin. We got into my red Australian knockoff Sedan and headed for the city. Within the first hour of me being there I saw Darling Harbor, Star City ( a Vegas-like casino), ate an Australian delicacy, Meat Pie, drank my first Aussie beer (Tooheys New) and it was delicious. 

We drove for an hour and a half to Newcastle, where I will be stationed for the next 5 weeks. I got a great tour of the coast and the amazing beaches where I will make sure to frequent! Don't be jealous that you are looking out your window at 2-3 feet of snow. I met the very nice people that rented me their home for dirt cheap. The home I am staying in is 5 minutes from the beach, has two bedrooms, living room, kitchen and a bathroom. Not bad for a nomad! We headed to the store to get my cell phone ready for limited use and then shopped for some staple groceries.

I am a bit jet lagged but I am fighting to stay up late in order to get on an Australian mental clock.

I will have my first gig tomorrow night at Bar Petite in Newcastle and there I will play three 45-minute sets for these extremely nice people. I hope it goes well and I can sell some CD's

I will be updating my trip here on my website for the next 5 weeks since I have limited time on the Internet. Keep coming back and let your friends know to visit and follow how my tour is going!

Thanks,

Bry

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Bryan Frates
Bryan Frates Music