by Alice Bulmer | Dec 30, 2018 | Becoming Alice, Music
This is the story of how I became a fiddler. I’ve been fiddling for more than three decades. I’ve played fiddle across a wide range of genres. I’ve played in covers bands, bluegrass bands, folk groups and alternative rock bands, and bands that play Celtic music and...
by Alice Bulmer | Aug 21, 2016 | Becoming Alice, Music, New Zealand culture
This is a post celebrating some of the women who have inspired me to make music. Growing up, I didn’t see many women musicians. I spent a lot of time looking for role models and people to play with. Plenty of men have inspired me as well. But, identifying as a...
by Alice Bulmer | Jul 13, 2016 | Books, Ecology, Music, Tools of resilience
Niki Harre’s book Psychology for a Better World is about how to make sustainability sustainable. “The bottom line is that as change agents, if we don’t offer people happiness, they won’t be attracted to what we do, and they won’t stick with the activity we’re...
by Alice Bulmer | Jul 13, 2016 | Becoming Alice, Music, New Zealand culture, Storytelling
Recently I attended a citizenship ceremony welcoming new citizens to New Zealand. The new kiwi I was accompanying wasn’t exactly fresh off the boat. My husband Matthew Bannister arrived in this country in 1979. After 37 years, he was finally getting around to becoming...
by Alice Bulmer | Feb 1, 2016 | Becoming Alice, Music
The bass player is the unsung heart of a great band. They’re standing there on stage with a huge bass guitar, and an even bigger amplifier, but hardly anybody notices what they are playing. The impact of the bass is almost subliminal. Listening to recorded music, most...
by Alice Bulmer | Jan 21, 2016 | Becoming Alice, Family skeletons, Music, Tools of resilience
How can music improve the lives of people with dementia? Every couple of weeks I drive to Auckland to make music with my mother, Sue. It’s fun and joyful for both of us. My mother has dementia. It has been gradually progressing over the last five years – maybe longer...
