Family connections run strong in Sydney group, The Morrisons.
Chief songwriter Jimmy Daley has written a tribute to his grandmother – a distant relative of pioneering British suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst – on the band’s soon-to-be-released debut album.
“After she married my grandfather and had kids she decided she wanted to be a teacher so she went back to school in her mid-30s and did her HSC… Then she went to university and became a teacher,” said Daley, who grew up in Springwood.
Titled Emmeline (Deeds Not Words), the song will be released as a single on March 8 to coincide with International Women’s Day, with proceeds going to the United Nations.
Giving a nod to his roots through song is not surprising for Daley, 30, who owes his musical passion to his family. His father is composer and musician Gary Daley – a member of various jazz-world music bands, founder of Springwood-based concert series Live at the Village and part of the popular children’s group The Lah Lahs.
Jimmy played mandolin in his father’s acclaimed Sanctuary project, a specially-commissioned work first performed in Springwood in 2011.
“Before that I probably wasn’t good enough to keep up with anything that he was doing – I still don’t really feel that I am,” he said. “He’s got 30 or 40 years experience on me.”
Even Daley’s choice of instrument was determined by family.
“The reason I play the mandolin is because I inherited one from my great grandfather – dad’s grandfather – who was the reason he got into music as well. He gave him an accordion when he was a little kid.”
Daley no longer plays that same mandolin in The Morrisons but the instrument’s folk sound is an integral part of the group’s success. Merging distinctly Australian stories with music from the American roots canon – spanning bluegrass, country and folk – The Morrisons have won themselves a loyal and growing fanbase.
“We all love the sound and spirit of American music and really gravitate towards it but we are not American and want to find our own voice through a sonic space that we really love; to find our own voice as songwriters and represent our own stories,” he said.
These stories span from distinctly Sydney topics like housing affordability and the class divide (Cumberland Plain) to national issues like refugees (Two Years in the Mines).
Like many Blue Mountains locals, Daley eventually migrated to Sydney after high school and now lives in Marrickville. Along with almost all the group’s members, he is a graduate of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.
The “anomaly” in the line-up, said Daley, is lead singer James Morrison who has no formal musical training. Another Blue Mountains native, the ex-Blaxland High student’s path to frontman status was almost accidental.
“We were around at [guitarist] Miles’ house having a late night jam one night when Morry got up and started singing a song. It sounded so good that Miles said on the spot that we were starting a band and he [Morry] was the lead singer. We had a gig a week later,” said Daley.
That dynamic has proved a successful one. The Morrisons recorded the 14 tracks on their debut album in four days at Camperdown’s Free Energy Device Studios in December, a task helped by years of honing the songs live.
“It was a long process getting to this point but the actual recording was quite fast,” said Daley.
“I’ve been thinking about the album for a long time… So it’s exciting to get it out there.”
The Morrisons album will be available for download from February 6. They will launch the album at the Metropole in Katoomba on Saturday, February 18. Tickets: www.stickytickets.com.au. Details: http://www.themorrisonsband.com/
