WOMAD

Liam Gerner

From Australia

Biography by Andy Morgan, July 2003:Like any country or society, Australia needs its bards; poets or musicians who will sing truthfully and honestly about what’s going on around them and open a window of insight onto the joys, pains and quirks of daily life. It seems that Liam Gerner is the man for the job. Together with his band The Lost Dogs, Liam is forging an essentially individual and distinctly Aussie sound out of a jumble of influences; Steve Earle, Van Morrison, Neil Finn, Billy Bragg, Ron Sexsmith and Midnight Oil. His music has already won him prizes and accolades down under and made him popular with film and theatre producers as a soundtrack composer. A performance at WOMADELAIDE 2003 brought him to the attention of the WOMAD Reading programmers who didn’t hesitate to clear a spot for him on this year’s bill. His debut EP ‘Brother’ has already enjoyed brisk business in South Australia and is soon to be released nationwide. A CD is also in the offing. This’ll be Liam’s first performance in the UK.LIAM GERNERA gentle, all-original acoustic sound from one of SA’s most talented young musician/composers - accompanied by the brilliant Lucky Oceans. Biography taken from www.freshtrackproductions.com.au, June 2003:Liam embodies a new presence in contemporary Australian music. He has been writing and performing since the age of 12 and now together with his band The Lost Dogs is creating a fresh original sound which draws on many genres including folk, pop, rock and country. With influences that range from Steve Earle, Van Morrison and Nick Lowe, to Neil Finn, Billy Bragg, Ron Sexsmith and Midnight Oil, Gerner has a fresh, new and distinctly Australian sound that blended with his gifted lyricism captures his personal thoughts and sentiments of youthful love and political commentary as well as moving renditions of the fear, pain and the confusion of life. The common thread between all of Liam's songs are that they are inherently Australian and an expression of identity and what it means to live in contemporary Australian society.In March 2003, Liam fulfilled a lifelong ambition and played at WOMADelaide 2003 with The Lost Dogs and respected musician, Lucky Oceans. The success of this appearance led to an invitation to the WOMAD Reading Festival in the UK in July 2003.March 2003 also marked the release of Liam's debut EP, Brother. The EP South enjoyed a number of weeks at number 1 in the South Australian Independent Music Charts and negotiations are currently underway for a national release. Liam is currently in the studio working on his debut album which is due for release in July before touring to the UK