Bio

I don't have any fancy effects on my songs, I can't afford to have a full band & these recordings, although they are old, they are just simply me & my guitar with a bit of echo thrown in. I don't have a manager, I don't have a band & I don't know alot of people. I keep to myself a bit & spend a lot of time listening to underground (unsigned) bands. I have a slight drinking problem, I go from high to low & sometimes act like an emotional wreck, but hey, no ones perfect & if you say you are, you're fucking lying. I started singing when I was 3 years old, apparently my parents reakon I could sing before I could talk. They often tell me of the times when I was a toddler & would sit in the bath for hours humming tunes to myself, not much has changed then... I started performing when I was 7 years old, my first 'real' audience (besides my parents dinner parties when they would egg me on to sing for their friends, was at the Castlemaine Town Hall as I sang a solo for my school. I was a bit of a loner in school, I was neither the 'popular' , 'brainy kid', 'arty' kid or 'sporty' kid...I was just a kid writing my own songs. I wrote & recorded my first album when I was 13years old, recording it in the back of Doug Falconer's (formal drummer from Hunters & Collectors) shop. At the age of 15 I picked up my first guitar. Actually that's a lie - when my brother was out of the house I would sneak into his room & play his guitar, he would've kicked my ass if he found out I was playing it!! After hassling my mum I had my first guitar lesson at 13 I had learnt a total of 3 chords which led me to my first original song; 'Mr. Know it all' from my first album "Renee Townsend". Going on from there, in the space of a year I had filled two big folders full of songs that I had sat on my bed & wrote. Still at 15 years old, my days were spent busking on the streets of Castlemaine & Bendigo. While other 15 year old girls were playing dress ups & listening to the latest pop music, I was spending my weekends singing & playing guitar on the streets. The money I earned from this I would spend on new strings & more Musical books, leading to my second album "Letting Go" recorded in 2000. When dad (Barry Townsend), advertised in the local rag for a band to accompany me & my original songs, 'Renee & Co' was born. Renee & Co Consisted of drums, lead guitar, acoustic guitar, melody guitar & bass we mixed our songs from originals to covers. Renee & Co lasted 3 years and we played in venues ranging from Castlemaine to Melbourne. After the break up of Renee & Co, I went back to solo performing & writing, this led to some wonderful intimate gigs & some relaxed Sunday afternoons in wine gardens, private parties & restaurants singing my originals. As well as working as a solo artist, I was getting offers to sing the national anthem at sporting events, this is where I met Warrick Harwood. Warrick (formally guitarist in the Aussie Band "Goanna"), took me under his wing & for the next 2-3 years, Warrick & I Played at St Andrews in Melbourne as well as venues around Castlemaine & Bendigo. I then joined Warricks main band "Dozer" with Mick O'Connor (Also from the band Goanna), as well as top musicians who played together for the next few years. Unfortunately as I felt I was finally fitting in somewhere, I suffered an immune illness that led to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, then later on was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia Syndrome(FMS). This has set me back considerably. FMS can be a debilitating illness affecting my muscles and all round well being, it's extremely hard as I still feel the music in my soul & still feel I am missing out. So this is where I am at. In 2000 I released "Simply Acoustic". These songs are fairly old but really tell my life before I got sick. "Her voice over the years has only become richer with more range & a raw maturity that moves through the deep emotion that is Renee". - Matthew Havir I still play every so often at open mike nights & is forever hearing people tell me that I should be doing more with my 'amazing pipes' but it's hard to get gigs when you can't do a WHOLE night. Anyone interested in forming a band with me? Let me know. I am currently doing cit 3 in Business Administration & then will do cit 4 going on to a diploma in Business management & Administration. It isn't my dream of course, music is my dream, my life, my everything..... but I have to eat. I was and still am reaching for a higher meaning an epic journey. Hopefully one day.[color="red"][/color][b][link="URL"][code][/code][/link][link="URL"]