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Thursday, 19 November 2009
NO CALEDONIA
We arrived at Sydney airport at midday with about an hour to spare before catching the connecting flight to New Caledonia. I turned my phone back on and received a dozen text messages DONT GET ON PLANE TSUNAMI WARNING FOR NEW CAL...3 EARTHQUAKES IN REGION THIS MORNING...DONT GET ON THE FUCKING PLANE....we went up to the boarding desk for an update but the woman there knew nothing and said that the earthquakes happened last week and that Samoa fared badly.This was all a bit strange and we decided that we were not going to New Caledonia and please could we have our bags and guitars, we want to stay in Sydney [ I don't think I have ever said that before].
The fact that all our stuff was not on the plane and could not be found only added to our doubts.In hindsight we know that it would have been ok, the tsunami warning was downgraded a few hours later, but I have no regrets. At the time there was no way I was going, and Dan was freaking out as well. Anyways, sorry to the festival organisers, I hope they understand. A call to the festival at the time got an encouraging response, something like " If there is a tsunami,you will be alright as you will be in the air". Just imagine for a moment if you will, flying into an airstrip on a little island that has just been freshly fucked up by a major tsunami.....oh yes,we finally got our gear back six hours later......what is following is the actual promo from the gig translated via babblefish, so don't ask me:
“Stupid attention of scene! If you like it drunk and the good rock'n'roll “with old”, dan is what you need. With the program: a splendid voice drunk person, a voyage in the dust of the bush the package of cigarette wedged in the sleeve of the tee-shirt and the guitar country virtuoso of his assistant Scott Wilson on the back bench. Black Elvis will stop with the FF for an acoustic concert with Koné. VERY a good reason to go up”
Tuesday, 21 July 2009
AUSSIE ROCK N ROLL - Never trust anyone over 70
Two recent shows -The Sacred Heart Mission benefit at the Palais and the APRA awards, made me realise that this is not a young mans game. As my own youthful memories run away like wild horses over the hills, I find solace in the belief that I wont have to hang up my rocknroll shoes until I am at least 100 years old, possibly 150 considering medical advances. Things that I learnt from the Sacred Heart show in no particular order; Mick Molloy is a funny bastard, Tim Rogers is making the best music in the country, Kate Ceberano is still a fox, Mark Seymour is starting to look like Nosferatu, Icehouse had some good songs early on but 'Electric Blue' is the worst song ever,and Joe Camilleri is the coolest old cat in the business. Talking about business, the APRA awards is where the industry people gather to get maggoted and eat large pieces of salmon, desperately scrambling to stay afloat and relevant in an ever changing scene. Good to see Bruce Milne there enjoying the festivities and also guitar legend Matt Walker; I believe both snuck in .One last thing - Molly,you don't look a day over 30,35 tops.....
Tuesday, 10 February 2009
St Kilda Festival
Nice to have a break from recording the new album to play the StKilda festival on Sunday. Saturday was spent hiding from the nasty hot weather; my discomfort seems petty compared to the horrors endured by so many that weekend.
Thursday, 18 December 2008
Merdith
Meredith is a cool festival.I first went many years ago,I think it was the second year it was happening.I remember piling into an old Bedford van with six mates,heaps of beer,no food and no tents.I drove while the yobs drank and smoked bongs on beanbags in the back.Arriving at the town of Meredith,we noticed lots of people heading to the festival on foot,having caught trains or buses.Naturally we stopped and jammed another twelve or so folks into the groaning van.The poor old Bedford struggled up the last of the hills at 30kph,but spirits were high and in such close quarters,new friends were made! Fast forward to 2008,and Meredith Music Festival is very well established and into its 18th year.One thing that seperates Meredith from some other festivals is that it was started by and is run by passionate music fans,not by BREADHEADS who are primarily chasing $$$.This fact permeates every facet of the weekend,and not even the Old Testament style downpours could dampen the fervor of the hardy Meredith faithful.Thanks to the organisers and to all the helpful staff and volunteers who made our show there comfortable and hassle free.Lets do it again!!!
Friday, 19 September 2008
The Evelyn
Thursday night at the Evil Inn was quite a blast. We get a very diverse crowd at our shows these days.It featured [ in no particular order],young people,old people,black people,white people,sober people,drunk people,happy people and many others.Thanks to all who came along and made it a great night. The Hello Morning and The Verses did a great job setting the scene before our set. Both bands are gonna do real well real soon......
Thursday, 07 August 2008
New Album on the way...
To all the people that have been asking "WHERE IS THE GODDAMN NEW ALBUM?!!",well,its on the way.I can hear it now.."SO IS CHRISTMAS YOU BLUDGERS!" Im confident that it will be hatched well before the fat man in the red suit rocks up. RECORDING CHECKLIST.........60 litres two stroke,12 milk crates,5 kegs of beer,40 BBQ free range chickens,mylanta tablets,a decent chainsaw and sheet music for '100 Favourite Irish Drinking Songs'. Alright,ready to rock!!!!!!
Thursday, 07 August 2008
London and Ireland
Back to a cold Melbourne winter, not that much different to an Irish summer. No water restrictions there, they get plenty of rain. One old boy told me "It would be a grand country if you could put a roof on it". After a magical Black Arm Band show in London, a scaled down version took off to Dublin. A screening of the film Liyarn Ngarn preceded the musical part of the London and Dublin shows. The film centres on the death of a young aboriginal man in Western Australia and features Archie Roach and English actor Peter Postlethwaite. Pete attended both performances and supplied a touching welcome and introduction on both occasions. You really have to see this film. When it was time for me and Dan to play, we were joined by the great Bart Willoughby on percussion. Everyone took off back to Australia the next morning,leaving myself, Dan and our soon to be long suffering Irish promoter Steve to our own questionable devices.
First stop was Galway, a beautiful city on the west coast, for one intimate show and few days R&R. We behaved like sailors on leave then bolted before the townsfolk left the meeting. It was time to meet up with DAMO! Damien Dempsey is the best thing to come out of Ireland since guiness. Touring with Damien and his merry men was an absolute blast. Sold out shows everywhere and an army of loyal fans. It was hard for us to come on stage first with the crowd chanting "DAMO! DAMO!",but we got a great reaction and even sold all our CDs. Damien's music is tough and honest, and so is he. He is a huge fucker and used to box. I told him that I would fight him when he comes to Australia if he can get down to my weight. He replied "OK,I'll cut both me legs off".
One of the best nights we had was in Clonakilty, West Cork, at a wonderful pub called 'De Barras'.This place was Noel Reddings [Jimi Hendrix Experience] boozer for many years and his bass sits up on the wall amongst all kinds of interesting artifacts .When the shows were over, the instruments appeared, the pints arrive and traditional songs roar all night. John, Eamonn, Tony, Leon, Feagra...SLOANCHE!!! [I know thats the wrong spelling, but it means CHEERS!] On the way back to Dublin,we stopped at Blarney Castle but did not kiss the stone, as it was wet with the slobber of a million tourists. Hard to explain to girlfriends back in Australia;"I caught it off the Blarney Stone, I SWEAR!!.Yeah, right mate. Back to Dublin for a few days, to see Toots and the Maytals. We were given a hard lesson in soul music and got to meet the great man himself. Got to say thanks to Tony for lending me his 1961 Gibson 345 for all the shows. A big thanks to the Lawler family for putting us up and for putting up with us.
Monday, 04 August 2008
Irish food and beverage guide
I assume you have all heard of black pudding, but did you know there is also a white pudding? Both puddings feature heavily in an Irish breakfast, along with sausages,bacon and eggs. My digestive system had never before experienced such torment. I asked many Irish people what white pudding is made of but no one could give me a straight answer:maybe they wanted to spare me from an awful [offal?] truth. Im not a big meat eater, so things got tricky, craving sushi or a pho soup, but the closest I could get was Chinese served on chips. If you like Irish stew or carveries, you will do well. Fresh strawberries bought at the side of the road were magnificent. Predictably,most of my nutritional needs were met via stout. Guiness is number one, Murphys is top stuff and the cheaper Beamish goes well too. A good long distance beer is Smithwicks, but be sure to pronounce it 'Smitticks' or you will face ridicule. My best feed was chicken stuffed with Clonakilty black pudding wrapped in bacon,with a pint of course. When in Rome.....