The Audreys have made four records, won three ARIAS and played thousands of shows all around the world over the last 11 years.
But the Brass Monkey, Cronulla will always hold a special place in Taasha Coates’ heart.
“It was nearly seven years ago at the Brass Monkey I discovered I was pregnant with my first baby,” she said.
The Audreys will return to the iconic shire venue on November 9 as part of their Between Last Night and Us tour to celebrate the 11-year anniversary of their debut album.
A busy 2016 meant they didn’t get around to celebrating the decade since the album’s release but the band, Coates and Tristan Goodall, will make up for lost time when they play the record from start to finish including hits Oh, Honey and You and Steve McQueen on the 10-date tour.
Coates told the Leader from Adelaide she looked forward to returning to the shire, where her life changed forever before a gig at the Brass Monkey in late 2010.
“I’d just taken a pregnancy test in the toilets and I was staring at the box that says yes and no and just thinking ‘what the f***’?” she said.
“I came out and sat down. I don’t remember as well as the guys in the band but apparently I pushed a glass of wine away from me with this strange look on my face. That baby just started school this year.
“I didn’t want to tell the band yet, they say don’t announce it too early. So I asked my tour manager who was a friend of mine to get them to bring me up some really weak cordial in a wine glass from the bar so it looked like wine. Because if anyone knew I wasn’t drinking wine people would have been like ‘what’s going on’?
“Then I told my tour manager I think I might be pregnant. Someone from the crowd brought me a wine up on stage and my tour manager snuck over and switched it with the cordial and gave me a wink. I’ll always remember that.”
Much has changed for Coates in the 11-years since the release of Between Last Night and Us. Personally, she welcomed her two children, Finley and Sebastian, and last year married her husband Ray Flowers. Professionally, The Audreys won the Best Blues and Roots Album at the ARIAS in 2006, 2008 and 2011, released four albums and toured extensively across Australia, through Europe and the UK as well as the US and Canada.
The chance to reunite with Goodall also allowed Coates to reminisce. She went back through some of the band’s old memorabilia, old demos, posters and costumes for photo shoots. It was then Coates realised how much had happened in the 11 years of The Audreys.
“I love the doors [that album] opened for us. I love the fact it was sort of honest. We weren’t trying to be cool or fit into a particular style or genre. These were just the songs we were writing and I think it helped coming form Adelaide that geographically we were sort of out of the loop,” Coates said.
“It has been a great career in terms of travel and the people we’ve met. It’s a huge bonus. Obviously I wouldn’t still be doing this, writing and playing music, and with Tristan, if I didn’t love it. We’ve worked together the whole time, it’s a special relationship. He’s my best friend. We squabble and stuff but we always make up and we always have a great time on stage.”
Goodall’s brother, Cameron, an essential member of the band during the recording of Between Last Night and Us, will join them for the tour.
The band will also play the Australian Music Week Conference at Cronulla on Thursday.
Details: brassmonkey.com.au