He was “Mr. Indispensable,” singing more than a hundred different roles for Seattle Opera in more than a thousand performances over 39 seasons. Archie Drake epitomized the concept of “the show must go on.” A beloved figure to audiences and colleagues, Archie sang every kind of hero and villain, from comic roles (Bolkonski in "War and Peace") to tragic (King Marke in "Tristan und Isolde"), long (Wotan in "Die Walküre") to short (the Old Servant in "Elektra"), and from every age and style. 

Archie’s journey started out on the high seas, not the high Cs. Drake was born in England, a descendant of the seafaring family whose most famous member was Sir Francis Drake. As a 15-year-old, Drake left his home in Great Yarmouth to follow the family tradition. He served in World War II as a deckhand in the merchant navy. After the war, experience in a choir in Vancouver led him to take up serious vocal study with the renowned Lotte Lehmann at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California. Drake then won a coveted spot in the Roger Wagner Chorale, and traveled around the world on cultural exchanges for the U.S. State Department, singing in more than 500 performances. Glynn Ross asked Archie to become one of Seattle Opera’s resident National Artists after his 1968 debut as Rocco in "Fidelio." 

Drake was a great believer in opera as communication. “For me, opera is basically an exploration of the human spirit,” he said. “You can get more expression into singing than all the talking in the world.”

Here are Archie Drake as Gunther and James McCray as Siegfried in a scene from “Götterdämmerung.” Drake, who sang Wotan in English for Seattle Opera’s very first “Die Walküre” in 1973, performed Gunther in both languages for many years. James McCray was our English-language Siegfried the first three summers. 

GUNTHER: I welcome you, my friend; you see the home of my fathers; the hall you stand in, and all you see, freely you may command them; share in my birthright, land and men: by my life let me swear it! Me, too, you shall command. 

SIEGFRIED: No land nor men have I to give, no father’s house nor hall: all my birthright my sturdy limbs, useless things when I’m dead. Yet a sword have I; I have forged it: by my sword let me swear then! Body and sword shall be yours.

Photo by Des Gates

ARCHIE DRAKE as Gunther and JAMES MCCRAY as Siegfried

Glu - Friends and Enemies
Written by Robbie Macfarlane and Todd Crocker

02 Friends and Enemies

VB VICTORIA BITTER THEME SONG

HR01 - Single mic positioned between vocalist and guitar amp

Dedicated to the hangover and the realisation that eloquence and good manners don’t go hand in hand with a big night out for some of us.

Sunday Morning Saint

Evelyn Is Cool

We at Cold Sleep love nothing more than playing shows and smashing bevvies with mates afterwards. We wrote ON THE BEERS in isolation as an anthemic love letter to absent friends that we can't wait to see again. 
In the tradition of classic Aussie pub rock, On the Beers will have you banging your head before you've downed the first pint. We can't wait to get on the beers with you all in person soon, but until then, crack open a cold one and rock out with us at home ;)

Lyrics:
I’m standing half cut at the bar 
I’m wondering where the hell you are 
It’s your friends birthday, the round is on the house 
And we erupt into a chorus of cheers 
Now all my drinkings done at home 
Your friend’s birthday, well she’s spending it alone 
It seems like years since we were on the beers 

It will be so good to see you again 
But we’ll have to cross our fingers until then 

My garden’s really looking good 
My cooking is delicious, and I guess it’s understood 
It could be worse than being locked in here 
We could be homeless and on the street 
Still, all those times with absent friends 
Are only memories, I hope they come again 
It feels like years since we were on the beers 

It will be so good to see you again 
But we’ll have to cross our fingers until then
--
Photography and edit by Lraig. Also featuring the Heartcore artwork by Apple Leow.

On the Beers

A brilliant new tune from Dawes off their upcoming record ‘Good Luck With Whatever’ in a chilled out acoustic rendition.

Lyrics:
Who, who do you think you're talkin' to?
Is it the man that was here before me?
The one that wrecked you hard and walked
'Cause if it isn't, I'll let you talk
It's clear, that's somethin' you're still workin' through
But who, who do you think you're talkin' to?

Where, where do you think you are right now?
Is there a reason you're still diggin' up the past?
Because you haven't touched your drink
And you haven't stopped to think
If that holds you back from anyone that cares for you
But who, who do you think you're talkin' to?

What do you want me to say to this?
Frankly I think we would be remissed
If we don't remind ourselves
To share the painful memories too
So baby tell me, who?

Do you need to be alone
Can you find your own ride home?
And is that still the house that you can't bear to leave
Does his coat hang in the hall
Or his pictures on the wall
And is there one of us you're trying to deceive?

Oh, babe, the trains will stop runnin' soon
And I don't know how long it's been since you walked away
And after all I said so far
The tender of this bar
Says the only people left here man are me and you
So buddy, who, who do you think you're talkin' to?

What do you want me to say to this?
Frankly I think we would be remissed
If we don't remind ourselves
To share the painful memories too
So baby tell me, who?

Who do you think you're talkin' to?

Who Do You Think You're Talking To - Dawes cover by Cold Sleep - acoustic guitar and vocal

A chilled roots & blues cover of Midnight Oil's new banger Gadigal Land. 

Cold Sleep is a three-piece alternative band from Melbourne, Australia.
Stream Cold Sleep here: https://linktr.ee/ColdSleep
CS on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ColdSleepMusic
CS on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coldsleepmusic

Lyrics:
Welcome to Gadigal land
Welcome to Gadigal country
Welcome to Gadigal land

Welcome to Gadigal land
Do you know our story?
Welcome to Gadigal land

Don't you bring your poison
Don't you bring your grog
Don't you bring your smallpox
Sure to kill our mob
Don't you bring your justice
Don't you bring your gaols
Don't you bring your armies
Troopers on our trails

So welcome to Gadigal land
Welcome to Gadigal country
Welcome to Gadigal land

Welcome to Gadigal land
Have you heard our history?
Welcome to Gadigal land

We don't need your convicts
We don't need your thieves
We don't need your squatters
Or your emancipees
Don't you dam our rivers
Don't you fell our trees
Don't you carve our wilderness
Don't you net our seas

In the land where time stands still
In the land that's in a spell
Every day since the day you came is a day of rage
It's a day of rage

Welcome to Gadigal land
Wenyo wenyo wenyo!
Welcome to Gadigal land
Wenyo wenyo wenyo!

Mudjaru ngaya wunyang
Ngandu bayabawai….ngara
Ngarawa darayawai, darimi
Garamawaimi baya mudjin, wa?
Birrongaingun ngarawan
Always will be Gadigal land

It's unfolding you're unloading
Your high and mighty prison ships
It's unfolding you're unloading
Your high and mighty prison ships
It's unfolding you're unloading
Your high and mighty prison ships

We can live without your muskets
We can live without your guns
We can live without your strychnine
We can live without your rum
We can live without your gallows
We can do without your chains
We can do without the massacres
The sorrow and the pain

So welcome to Gadigal land
Wenyo wenyo wenyo!
Welcome to Wiradjuri land
Welcome to Yorta Yorta land
Welcome to Arrernte land
Welcome to Mirning land
Welcome to Gurindji land
All of the lands
Welcome!

Midnight Oil - Gadigal Land - acoustic cover by Cold Sleep

Frontwoman Ash Lee on the meaning of Liquid Courage: 
"We have never missed socialising  as a society, more than we have this year. This song is a stark contrast between what we are currently doing with our time in isolation, and what we wish we could be doing, hence ‘just a taste of human interaction’."

If you like what you hear, hit Follow to keep updated with our new tunes!

Cold Sleep is a three-piece alternative band from Melbourne, Australia.
Stream Cold Sleep here: https://linktr.ee/ColdSleep
CS on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ColdSleepMusic
CS on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coldsleepmusic

Lyrics:
Sleep the day away, It's all I've been doing 
When I know I'd rather make my way through an ocean of bodies
Just to drink till I drop
In my dreams I'll sweep her off of her feet
To the beat of this song

Excuse me miss can I take you home?
Any excuse to not be alone
We can lie and watch the sky with no obligations
Temporary love got me so high
When I fall I'll fall into your eyes
Liquid courage will pull us through the night

Lie awake motionless, as your wandering mind is longing? 
Just a taste of human interaction, borrowed affection
Cuz you know you'd rather make your way through an ocean of bodies
Just to drink till you drop
And in your dreams you'll sweep her off of her feet, to the beat of this song

I’m no good to you when I’m sober
I overthink things over and over
I sit in the corner biting my lip
But with three shots of Jack I shoot straight from the hip 

Her touch is missing
It's the warmth you're missing

Liquid courage will pull us through
I'm no good for you
Liquid courage will pull us through
I'm no good for you
Liquid courage will pull us through
I'm no good for you
Liquid courage will pull us through

--
Cheers to Lraig for the cover photography.

Liquid Courage

Price City.mp3

Nurseratched currently creating curious music for COVID times. Dig in folks.

02 Friends and Enemies

Nurseratched

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