neil. yeah.

see it.

this n that

did my first show as a spare tone with the wolftones on saturday nite, at some far-flung suburban beer barn. it felt pretty good being able to crank up the amps and blast some loud electric guitar for a change.

this head cold of mine is entering its seventh hit week, with no signs of sliding down the charts. my doctor says its not bacterial, so antibiotics would be useless, and I just need to rest more. so that's what all the years of degrees and training are for - "doc, it hurts when I do that." "so don't do that. here's my bill."

speaking of....

this guy takes his parrot into the local vet's and says it's sick. the doc examines it for a few minutes before announcing that it's dead and hands the guy a bill for $50. the guy says it can't be dead, as the doc only had a cursory look at it. he insists on another opinion. the doc sighs and steps out of the room for a moment. he returns with a large, aging tabby. the cat climbs up onto the bench and sniffs at the bird. the cat then looks at the doc and sadly shakes his head. the cat leaves, to be followed by a golden retriever. the dog climbs up to the bench and sniffs at the parrot. the dog then looks at the doc and sadly shakles his head as well, then leaves. the doc tells the guy that the parrot is truly dead and hands him another bill for $500. the guy gets angry and asks why this bill is so much more than the first one. the doc says, "well, that was before the cat scan and the lab tests...."

happy b-day to annii, and I hope you find the right terminal at the airport this week.

is it just a matter of time, sharona?

I'd only recently learned of the knack's doug fieger's brain tumor surgery, and the latest is that he's making something of a recovery. unfortunately his bandmate, drummer extraordinaire bruce gary succumbed to lymphoma yesterday.

in spite of being dogged by that "one hit wonder" tag, the knack were a great live band, and I'll always remember getting to jam with bruce when he filled in for ginger baker one nite at the topanga canyon pub jam sessions back in '82.

the weekend gig marathon wasn't as bad as I'd expected. adrenaline can do that, i suppose. at any rate, all the gigs were well attended, enjoyable and worthwhile. the only real down side is that I seemed to have picked up this respiratory virus thing again. c'mon spring.....

happy b-day to my lil sis, terri. now that I have all three of your kids on my myspace page, the distance doesn't seem as far.

np - douglas spotted eagle / canyonspeak

the life of a working class musician

had a longish rehearsal yesterday, and was just about to head out the door to relax and unwind at a pal's gig when the phone rang. could we do a last-minute gig at a local pub? my fingers said no, my musos heart said why not, my 'bills-to-pay' folder said you'd better.

so it's a fitting preface to today's marathon, which sees me headed out the door in about an hour to set up gear at the merton, then to the commercial to do an afternoon set with val and justin at 3pm. then at 6pm, I'll jet across the peninsula to do my sunday session, for which my guest has prewarned me he may be too ill to attend, in which case I'll end up playing on me own all nite.

then, it's pack up, drop off the guitars and head back down the peninsula to the unity and join the boys in the wolftones for a few numbers, as I'll be filling in for a few upcoming shows.

all told, about ten hours' playing (plus set up/tear down equipment time) over roughly 27 hours.

cue dire straits' "money for nothing":

that ain't workin' / that's the way ya do it / you play your guitar on the mtv / that ain't workin' / that's the way ya do it / get your money for nothin' and your chicks for free

the gypsy gal's been toiling in the kitchen, working up some snacks for the set breaks. she's brought me some hummus to sample and critique (sidenote - while it's not as good as mine, she makes a pretty decent dip). being a musician and producer, I tend to analyze food in an audio fashion, as if the tongue was a sensory graphic equaliser. "the bottom end and midrange are solid", I remarked, "but it needs more mid-tops, especially around the 3-5k range". "huh?" she replied. "a little more garlic, lemon and some more cumin powder", I explained.

well, I knew what I meant.

np - this week's "americana roots music" podcast (rss feed)

meanwhile, back in the studio...

a couple of tracks from the ordinary madness album have joined the others on my music page, along with a groovy new player fer yer dining and dancing pleasure. I'm also gonna start putting up a few odds n ends on my myspace page, some old demos from the warner/chappell studios, some live stuff etc. just trying to keep your interest - heh.

the long touted compilation, the downunder years is finally coming together. we've begun the artwork and mastering, and australia's big rock records will handle the release. I'll also (finally) start recording the new album in september at my pal chris's groovy spiral studios here in sydney's sw. we'll do the album the same piecework fashion as we're doing the blues pirates one, so it'll be finished when it's finished. I'm not expecting to see it out til after the 1st of the year, realistically. but it's coming - at long last.

np - kasey chambers / carnival

jamming for blue genes

just got word that a short vid clip of the finale of the Jamm for Genes fundraiser is online. So have a look here.

am I out of my mind?

after enjoying the past nine months of repeatedly stating "no more fooderies", we've not one - but two - very intriguing carrots dangled in front of the gypsy gal and I. she's not happy with her current gig, and has been aching to get back behind the two-group for a while now. on top of that, a good pal in melbourne has been toying with the idea of throwing in her sucky job and heading across the border.

I gotta admit, I do kinda miss pottering around in a commercial kitchen. that last place was too hard after our chef left, and the first one was a great vibe, but underequipped and located smack in the midst of anglo whitebread heaven, who thought my cuisinary concoctions too "exotic" for their tomato sauce tastebuds.

but being back in the city, in a trendyish neighbourhood may be a different matter. I have a few people to meet with this week, we shall see what eventuates from this, and whether I need to sharpen my knives again...

great turnout yesterday for rich and fi's spot at the merton. there should be a couple of music clips on their site sometime later tonight - in other words, when I get around to it.

happy b-day to miss meggs.

np - ryan adams / love is hell, pt. one

her name is rio, and she rezzes in a sim....

some of you may be familiar with the relatively new metaverse called second life - I've mentioned it before, as I've "performed" there a few times.

it's an amazing concept, and I'd remarked from the beginning that it was just a matter of time before more real world musicians started finding their way inworld to reach fans. so it looks like duran duran are next cab off the rank. stay tuned. this is only early days yet.

oh, and some cool net radio stuff in the pipeline. details as they finalise.

weekend redux

yes, as anticipated, it was a busy weekend, but a lot of fun was had by all. the jamm 4 genes gig was a little underattended, due to the torrentuous rain that deluged sydney on friday....

... and a sidebar - what is it about sydneysiders and rain? this is a city that straddles a large harbour, next to the ocean. every summer, the populace gorges itself on boating, swimming in the harbourside pools, surfing and generally frolicking in the waters. but let a few drops fall from above, and they all fear they'll melt a la the fabulous margaret hamilton's character in the wizard of oz.

/end rant. anyhoo, the gig was a hoot, in spite of the smallish crowd. I was ably backed by the deadsetter's rhythm section. the setlist:

teach your children / graham nash
she knew elvis / cc, from the 'abc sessions'
dylan / cc, from 'wooden nails'
for what it's worth / steven stills
good riddance / billie joe armstrong (done country rock style, with a sidetrip into a pink floyd tune - you woulda had to have been there)

saturday was our regular monthly gig at the bald rock pub. it's always a good one, and this was no exception. I'm just trying to recall who it was with the bright idea to head up to the untidy, er, the unity pub afterwards, as I didn't get home until after 3am.....

.... which normally isn't a big deal, as I usually sleep in a bit on sundays. but my pal annii was flying in early. so onwards to the merton, which became my b-day party of sorts. we had the place completely packed at one point, many many thanks to all who turned up to play and just hang out. huge thanks to the gypsy gal for all the great food, and to annii and whomever else who helped out. it was probably the best birthday I've had in eons.

I'll post some pics shortly on the gallery pages as well. but for now, back to the routine..... heh.

np - tennessee ernie ford / 16 tons

they say it's yer birthday....

.... it's my birthday too, yeh.

funny things, marking the dates of our being dropped into this mortal coil. for most, it's a celebration. for some, it's a painful reminderof the passing years, lost loved ones and our own fragile mortality.

for me, it's pretty much just another day.

the leo party was a great idea that ran for a while, where a bunch of us born within the same month would congregate for a joint bash. this'll be the first time in a few years there won't be one, but I think we're all too tied up with our own biz to organise anything. however, I've decided to turn my sunday gig into a quasi-party, so if you're in sydney, drop in.

and with the weekend's gigs upon me (see earlier posts for details), I may not be posting til afterwards. so I'll wish miss eden a happy b-day for today as well, and best wishes to my buddies and musical legends rich and ronnie for tomorrow.

np - penguin cafe orchestra / preludes, airs and yodels

hey new yorkers

a very cool artist pal, gretchen witt is playing the living room on friday - go see her, you'll be happy you did. details are here.

np - chantal kreviazuk / in this life

gimme three good reasons.....

..... to smile this weekend:

1) the annual jeans for genes children's benefit is on this friday 4th. I'm performing as part of a show at the orange grove tavern in lilyfield, it's a great cause and y'all should get along to it;

b) the monthly bald rock gig on saturday;

3) the sunday merton session this week will be my annual b-day bash jam session.

I've been digging thru a stack of dat tapes from my publishing back catalog, dozens and dozens of old demos, many of which I really don't recall writing, let alone recording.... sheesh. but there's a few rough gems there, I've found something called "strangers" which is a talking blues style fingerpicking thing that I might include on the upcoming "greatest non-hits" compilation that my publisher and I are well, compiling.

if you need a good giggle, check this story of a barmaid who asked to see a customer's id, and was shown her own.