Reflections from Kathy Pike

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Common Place Dreams is a testament to the production and musical talents of Darryl Thompson. His vision for the songs and his absolutely stunning instrumentation on the album was a true gift to me. The songs were recorded in the Sounds Good Studios and the T.L.C Studios in Melbourne. There were so many generous souls who got behind this project and helped make it happen.

 

In the early 1990’s in Adelaide, I was a busy mum raising a young family with my husband Greg. My music career had been put on the shelf and I felt the immense discomfort of artistic block. On a visit to Melbourne, Darryl Thompson challenged me to write a song a week and declared, “Kathy, you just need to do it!”. I once again found that place of creativity and expression all because of that one life giving and challenging conversation.

 

Greg offered two wonderful poems that I turned into the songs “Water, River, Sea” and “Bring Me Chaos”. Dear friend and talented lyricist Sandy Boyce offered “Words, Words, Words” to address the perils of modern day newsgathering. The artistic collaborations where songs were created with other folks was a deeply satisfying experience.

 

The songs that I composed by myself were in a sense, a kind of artistic healing. So much that was held tightly inside of me all of a sudden found expression and a voice. Composing, arranging and recording this album was an amazing experience for which I will be forever grateful.