Remember back in the olden days- ahem – I mean, back in your younger pre-kid days, when you would hang out for your favourite band to tour? Or when you’d eagerly anticipate the announcement of a festival line-up? Heck, I remember actually PHYSICALLY lining up to buy tickets for some of my fave bands. As a mum, I’m still clearly living the rock star life except that I eagerly await for tickets to go on sale for concerts that start at 10am and run for 45 minutes and DON’T FORGET TO PACK SNACKS!
But seriously, kids these days have access to some of the coolest acts, don’t they? One such act is Avocado Smash.
Their shows are a bonanza of musical variety with different languages, vocal harmonies, multiple instruments and dance moves from around the world. We have been gifted some tickets to the Avocado Smash gig at Sydney Fringe Festival and cannot wait! Their Fringe show focuses on food and how it bring us all together. Along the way you’ll meet new friends like Tata the Tiger from Sumatra and Olchaeng-i the Tadpole from Korea, and learn about how cultures across the globe enjoy and celebrate delicious delicacies.
Here is the contagiously enthusiastic JoJo from Avocado Smash!
Through blogging and Instagramming, I’ve been introduced to an amazing Virtual Sisterhood of Creative Ladies.
The Oh Creative Lady series is your chance to meet these incredible, kind-hearted, inspiring <insert ALL the happy, positive adjectives HERE> women.
I am… Joanna, or JoJo, from Avocado Smash, a funky new children’s music group! We make music for modern families – thoughtful, expressive, diverse music.
I live in the Inner West of Sydney, in a little apartment filled with plants and musical instruments. I make music, all day every day! I conduct choirs, teach singing, and write music and perform with Avocado Smash! I love writing music for kids. I get to set aside time in my day to play and have fun. I personally think we all should make more time for playing and being silly in adult life! Kids remind us of this all the time, they get it!
I find inspiration… I am definitely inspired by children – I have some dear friends with brilliant little ones who have sparked ideas for many of my songs – actually they’ve co-written them! I love creating music with children, when we do workshops in early learning centres, it’s an anything goes environment where children can explore their own creativity, whether it’s through percussion instruments, making up vocal lines or dancing freely.
I am excited about … We are debuting a new show at the Sydney Fringe Festival in mid September. I am so excited to share it with the world. It’s a musical bonanza with vocal harmonies, world dance, live instruments, different languages and a lot of silliness. The story is all about food, and how it brings cultures around the world together. It’s a wonderful journey!
When I’m in a creative slump, I… go to the ocean. It clears my head. I’ve written many a song floating in the water, staring out where the ocean meets the sky.
I’m really proud of… putting together a show for Sydney Fringe – it is so thrilling to take our music to the stage! The show we’ve written, with our amazing director Kah Myla is funny, thoughtful, educational and silly!
Someone once told me… to find your joy, and I did – in music. I was actually working as a social worker, which I enjoyed immensely. But music has called me all my life, and it only grew louder as I got older. I actually see my music practice to be a type of social work – creating spaces for people to express themselves through song, whether it’s an adult in a community choir or a child dancing along to a song about eating spicy food – I believe music is important for us all and I feel immensely grateful to be able to share it with others.
My advice to you is … Do what you love.
You can find me at …