I feel like I'm here under false pretences. The only musical instrument I play is the stereo. But chances are, if you're a country music artist, I've either written about you in the past 20 years or so - or I would know of you. You could say I'm a songwriter without the songs - as I write stories about musicians, music, and people in general. Mind you, I have the utmost respect for our songwriters and always will applaud those people who treat the English language with reverence.Ok - now this is supposed to be a bio of me and I don't even have one. Never had to have one, as I'm usually writing them for someone else. Let's see if I remember how it goes ... I was born in Bingara the day Baystone won the Melbourne Cup as the youngest child of Olive and Malcolm Rose. Dad loved country music so you could say I was raised On Top Of Old Smoky, just North To Alaska cheering on the Goondiwindi Grey. Music was always a part of my life in one way or another, through dad picking and strumming with his mates in the loungeroom, to attending the Rick & Thel Carey show or the Slim Dusty Show when it came to town.I think my journalistic career was pre-destined - with my Nanna Adams and dearly loved Aunty Esther teaching me the alphabet backwards and forwards before I started kindergarten. I've always had a deep love affair with the English language - loved to read and write - but never thought I'd make a career out of it ... until the late Jazzer Smith entered my life. Jazzer was a man who loved words and music - and he loved me. During the precious years I spent with him he taught me so much without being a teacher. I didn't even realise I was the student until after he died in 1987 and my writing career began officially shortly after. Ann Newling, then editor of The Northern Daily Leader, was responsible for that. After a six-week stint as the newsroom editorial clerk, I started writing product related stories, advertising feature stories, community news and music for The Leader from late 1987 until August 2005. During that time I sold ads and wrote stories in a variety of roles for The Leader, The Tamworth Times and their country music-related publications.I left fulltime employment with The Leader in August 2005 to work as bookings and marketing manager of The Pub Group Tamworth. I continued to write my weekly country music page in each Saturday's Weekend Magazine in The Leader, and now the column also appears on the new Tamworth-based website, www.tamworthcountrymusic.com.au, edited by Alison Windmill and created for the web by Tim Blakely from Country Connect.In March 2007 I left The Pub Group to work for myself, as Anna Rose Media Solutions. If you need to get something out in the media - I'm the solution! I write media releases for artists and organisations, do publicity and promotional work - all sorts of things, really, utilising the skills I've amassed over the past 25 years of my working life. I love the freedom of working for whom I like, when I like, doing what I like. It's quite a privilege.I've met some beautiful people in the entertainment industry and in community and business circles. I've met some stinkers too - but sleep easy, I was blessed with the good manners not to name you.SONGS POSTED: I have uploaded some songs from friends of mine - Kellie Cain (Girl With A Suitcase) - great album - and Warrior Girl is one of the awesome tracks on that little gem. Kellie is one of the best acts around, so if you see her name on a poster - do yourself a favour.Song two is from a South Australian friend of mine, John O'Dea, who frequents an outback watering hole called The Prairie Hotel at Parachilna, near the Flinders Ranges. He was so moved by the beauty of the area, together with the fabulous hospitality of Jane and Ross Fargher, mine hosts of The Prairie, that he wrote Parachilna Sunset. If you head into the Prairie on sunset you might just hear it being played. Stick around and tuck into one of the specialities of the house on the menu - FMG - which is a Feral Mixed Grill, composed of camel, emu, goat and kangaroo. JohnO highly recommends the Prairie's Feral Chef, who's the subject of another John O'Dea original.My Irish friend Bap Kennedy has allowed me to post his version of the Hank Williams classic, Lost Highway, so please have a listen. Bap came out to Australia in January 2007 for a lightning fast tour then before we could hand him his immigration papers, he fled the country. If only we could have persuaded him to stay in Australia ... there would be so much more beautiful music about. Visit Kellie, Johno and Bap's sites and hear some more.Cheers Anna
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