My first gig as front man was support- ing Charlie Musslewhite the legendary American Harp Player at the Blues Club in Queensland. There I felt my calling as a front man. I could play what I wanted and explore the traditional music of the Australian Bush and Jug Bands.
During that period in my life I started get- ting into acoustic blues and folk. I loved the trance like motions of the guitar riffs, this music got me hooked big time. Slow- ly I evolved into having my own style and over the 25 year period I was con- stantly touring Australia under the name of Hat Fitz. This name came from my old man naming me Hat Rick Fitzpatrick. A hard time in my younger days at school. My music brought me to Ireland when I was invited by the late Larry Roddy who was responsible for bringing over Bo Diddley, Honey Boy Edwards and Aus- tralia’s Jeff Lang. For several years I had been coming back and fourth to Ireland. This is where I met Cara and was instant- ly captivated by her voice and presence.
Cara’s Story
Born in Northern Ireland on the 25th of September 1973. I was the first born into a family of two kids.
I was born into a hippy commune as my mother gave birth to me on her own, where she raised me on her own for the first 3 years. I was adopted when I was 3 years old by my dear old man who I call dad.
They married and we all moved in to- gether on the beach in Northern Ireland in a desolate area with very few neighbors. We lived in an old castle with no central heating with my bedroom as the turret.
At the age of 6 I was taken out of my Rudolf Steiner school and my mother and I travelled fearlessly from Ireland to Libya in North Africa to surprise my dad who was teaching out there for years. We lived there for a year till my mum fell pregnant with my little sister. We travelled back in a minute Abarth- Fiat 500.
On our way back I had the pleasure of meeting Italy’s top finalist professional gurner, a dancing bear, Arabs on camels where my dad was offered over a dozen camels for me and a snake charmer with a belly dancer. When I arrived back to school I started every story with “when I was in Libya” and I became known as the girl that had been to Libya. I’ll never forget that journey for as long as I live, driving along treacherous roads through the mountains accompanied by the old cassette recordings of early Hank Williams, Bob Dylan and Blind Willie McTell. Those were my favour- ites at that time.
On the bus on the way to school I would often amuse myself with arrang- ing the girls into 3 part harmonies and would sing from the songs we learned at school. These were songs from the pa- gan times that I later learned were in the Wicker Man film.
The first moment in music that really effected me was when we had a stand-in teacher who was a huge Ledbelly fanat- ic. Instead of singing grace in the morn- ings with him we belted out Ledbelly.
The moment I sang those repetitive mel- odies I felt a wild stirring in my stomach that was filled with deep emotions as it rose out of my mouth and out my eyes in tears. I knew from that moment I was
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