Disc 1 1.  Lighthouse 2.  London Still 3.  Take It In 4.  Love Serenade 5.  The Waitress 6.  Fisherman's Daughter 7.  Papa 8.  Crazy Train 9.  Brain Damage 10. Don't Think Twice It's Alright 11. Lies 12. Haircut 13. The River 14. Gillian 15. A Brief History 16. Bridal Train (Studio)
		Disc 2 1.  Willow Tree 2.  When I Die 3.  Sunflower Man 4.  Flesh and Blood 5.  Highway One 6.  Bridal Train Introduction 7.  Bridal Train 8.  Since I've Been Around 9.  Here If You Want 10. Billy Jones 11. Company 12. Spotlight 13. Shelter Me 14. Shiny Apple 15. Crazy/Circles

A BRIEF HISTORY was nominated for 2 ARIA Awards, in the BEST INDEPENDENT RELEASE and BEST BLUES & ROOTS ALBUM categories.

A BRIEF HISTORY reached No. 1 on the AIR INDEPENDENT CHARTS soon after it's Australian release, and remained high on the charts for 35 weeks.

Released October 2004

Disc One: Tracks 1,2,6,8 recorded at The Athenaeum, Melbourne (5th March 2003)...3,14 recorded at the Hifi Bar, Melbourne (8th November 2002)...4,15 recorded at Hifi Bar, Melbourne (9th November 2002)...5,11 recorded at Tilleys, Canberra (6th Feb 2002)...9,10 recorded at The Metro, Sydney (18th Jan 2004), 12,13 recorded at The Belvoir Ampitheatre, Perth (3rd Feb 2003)...7 recorded at The Fremantle Arts Centre, Fremantle (22nd January 2004).

Disc Two: Tracks 1,3,6,8 recorded at The Metro, Sydney (18th Jan 2004)...14,15,16 recorded at Tilleys, Canberra (6th Feb 2002)...5 recorded at The Fremantle Arts Centre, Fremantle (22nd January 2004)...9 recirded at The Athenaeum, Melbourne (5th March 2003)...10 recorded at The Civic Theatre, Newcastle (5th April 2004)...11 recorded at The Hifi Bar, Melbourne (24th January 2002)...12 recorded at The Belvoir Ampitheatre, Perth (3rd Feb 2003)...13 recorded at the Hifi Bar, Melbourne (8th November 2002)



Josh Cunningham from The Waifs talks about the A BRIEF HISTORY
http://www.amo.org.au/qa_interview.asp?id=600

Are you excited about the release of the live album? Does the band get nervous when unleashing a new record on the public, or just excited?
There is never any nerves for me personally - usually excitement and relief. Making a record is always a big project and getting to the end of it is always a great feeling of accomplishment.

With this particular record, there were so many hours of listening to and choosing songs and being a double album, there were twice as many songs to mix. On the eve of release, I feel relief that it's finally about to come out and after listening to it a million times in the process, I never have to hear it again!

When/where did the selection of tracks for "A Brief History" take place? How did you go about selecting which songs would be used, and which recordings - what was the criteria in choosing them?
There were certain songs that had to be on there - crowd favourites like Crazy Train for example. Apart from that, we wanted to have a broad representation of the band’s recorded work so we wanted songs dating back to the very first album and recordings that dated back a fair way as well.

It was then a matter of listening through to multiple versions of the songs we knew we wanted and choosing the best one. There are also surprise packets where you hear a great version of a song you hadn't considered or a particular moment that just has to make it onto the record.

There is obviously a toss up between musical and recording quality versus atmosphere, vibe and special moments. Obviously you are looking for all those elements to come together but it's not always the way and you sometimes have to make a choice.

Most of the listening to decide which songs were chosen was done in the Tarago or on the tour bus while we were on the road.

Can you talk us through one of your favourite songs on the album – what it's about, why do you especially like this particular live version, etc?
My favourite song on the album is "Crazy". It's a cover of the Willie Nelson song made popular by Patsy Cline and it was an entirely spontaneous moment where Donna was telling a story about Vikki getting drunk and standing on the bar in a Canadian ski resort and singing it.

Vikki launched into the song, the band picked it up and the crowd went wild. It was a moment of pure magic and I can't listen to it without feeling that excitement again.

What do you think are - if any - some of the biggest challenges faced by bands in Australia when it comes to the business of making music?
The "business" of making music can be very tough. For an independent band starting out, you are quite often booking and promoting shows, dealing with touring logistics, production issues and the whole myriad of things that need to be looked after in a business sense.

Add to this the fact that you are (most importantly) also responsible for writing, recording and performing songs, it can be an exhausting process that can swamp you. Juggling these demands is always the toughest thing.

What's the best advice you ever received about making music, and who was it from?
The best advice about making music I ever received was from the movie "Crossroads" when Wilie Brown says to Lightnin:

"...if you spent as much time with your hands on this guitar as you do on that girl’s ass, you just might get somewhere..."

Take home message: you have to be dedicated, devote lots of time to it and forgo some of life's other pleasures in order to be successful at it.

What would be your dream line-up for a gig, and why:
Dream line up for a gig: Nat King Cole, Janis Joplin, Nick Drake, Ray Charles, Jimi Hendrix, Elliot Smith and Townes Van Zandt.

Why: if all those people were able to be on the same bill, it would mean that they would all be still alive and blessing the world with their wonderful talents.

Who's an Australian musician you particularly admire? Can you tell us why?
Jeff Lang. He is the most gifted guitar player and an artist who gives everything and performs with incredible passion. He is a real road warrior too and just loves being out there playing live - a musician in the true sense of the word and an inspiration to many.

What do you want people to feel when they come see the band play live? What do you get out of it?
When people come to see the band, hopefully they feel the same enjoyment from listening and watching us play our songs as we get from playing them.

The relationship between artist and audience is unlike any other and it's a truly wonderful thing to experience. When the room is full of magic, it's an incredible phenomenon and hopefully, people walk out of Waifs’ shows feeling like they had as much fun being there as we did.

Lastly, what's the best thing about being part of the Australian music scene for you? And the worst?
The best thing about being part of the Australian music scene is that it is producing so much great music that is succeeding on an international level.

It goes to show how strong Australian music is and how well aussie acts can write and perform. To see artists like Kasey Chambers, Jet and John Butler Trio doing great things overseas, it makes me proud to not only be part of the Australian music scene but proud to be Australian too.

The worst thing about being part of the scene? It would probably be seeing the truly amazing acts that we have that struggle to stay afloat and make ends meet. There are so many incredible artists out there that should be living comfortably by virtue of their talents, but aren't.