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Scroll
down to the start of the month |
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Chris
Pearson introduces the original Fiddling Fool |
Looong
is good..
27.2.14 - I didn't
recognise Chris Pearson when he opened the door
at PBS last night just before 10.00pm, partly because
I've not met him before, but also because he's changed
the configuration of his facial hair since his official
PBS pic was taken.
Anyway, we hit it off almost immediately, not just
because he was obviously very familiar with the
Rudd / Spectrum story but he's also a likeable bloke
sporting a pleasantly modulated Scottish brogue
- added to which he actually prefers to play long
album tracks on his show, e.g. he began
by playing Fiddling Fool, followed by The
Crab Saga.
Anyway, you can listen retrospectively to the podcast
if you somehow missed the live transmission. |
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Waxin'
your snatch..
Ross
plays air guitar with The Peaceniks at the arvo
rehearsal for The Flying Saucer Club
gig
report
Ross Wilson & The Peaceniks at The Flying
Saucer Club Sat. 22.2.14
Another
fun night with Ross Wilson and the chaps
24.2.14 - Confusingly The Flying Saucer
Club is actually the Caulfield RSL in Elsternwick,
but although it's not decked out like an alien
space craft, at least it has some innate atmosphere,
which you'll remember I thought was quite lacking
at last week's Ross Wilson gig at the Yarraville
Club. Maybe it was that or maybe it was that it
was the second such gig in a week, but it felt more
relaxed to me and I think the audience warmed to
me as a result. I think I mentioned that we were
going to do Jamaican Farewell which is
a tricky enough song if you heard it in the first
place, but even though it was totally new to the
drummer, Tony Floyd, he had it all down perfectly
and the one-off performance worked out a treat.
Once again, many thanks to Ross and Eric, Chris,
Colin and Floydy for making me welcome and doing
the hard yards to make my spot work so well. |
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Ged
and birthday girl Vanessa Jackson pose with happy
Mike at Tago Mago |
gig
report
Vanessa Jackson's 60th birthday Fri. 21.2.14
A
birthday party at Tago Mago
24.2.14 - The last time the
trio played at Tago Mago I was introduced to Vanessa
Jackson (pic) who asked whether we'd be
up for playing at her 60th at the same venue. As
a result, last Friday we arrived early to set up
and sound check with the enigmatic Dugald. All of
which made for a long night, but the TM lads have
done some good work on the acoustics and there was
an actual crowd in the room, so it was
an absolute pleasure to be there..
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1)
Craig Horne and Jeff Burstin 2) Mike and Broc struggle
with their demons at the Wild Thyme Café
farewell (Wazz)
gig report
Farewell to the Seppings' family at the
Wild Thyme Café Sun. 16.2.14
A
fitting farewell to the Seppings' family at the
Wild Thyme Café
23.2.14 - The Wild Thyme Café
in Warby has been a reliable stand-by Spectrum gig
for years now. Whenever the bookings ran dry I could
always count on Alan to graciously slot in the duo
or trio to play the tiny front room, (the world's
most intimate gig), or more recently to brave the
occasionally challenging conditions on the al
fresco stage out the back. Alan, being the
generous soul that he is, always made us welcome
and would never let us leave without cakes and other
goodies to take home with us, so I leapt at the
chance for the trio to play one final gig in Warburton,
along with a host of other acts equally keen to
thank Alan and Carol and all the Seppings' family
for keeping local (and general) music alive and
well-fed in the township.
It was a pretty impromptu event and there was no
backline provided, but there were two stages set
up out the back and thankfully the early afternoon
showers had blown away by the time we set up. The
Hornets' Craig Horne and Jeff Burstin (pic 1)
played a solid set of blues songs on the second
stage as we set up - and then it was our turn. I
think we'd got through just the one song when Broc's
brand new bass amp started to fade and then died
completely. I half-seriously made a plea for anybody
in the audience to lend us a bass amp before suggesting
to Broc to plug in directly to the small stage PA
- which he did, and we managed to bluff our way
through the entire set. (pic 2)
The rain may have gone, but the flies were having
a field day and I had the distinct feeling that
several flies had gone throught an entire life-cycle
in my hair and ears and nostrils as we were playing
- but everybody was having a battle with the flies
and it didn't really detract from the occasion.
After our set the speeches and presentations were
made to the Seppings' family. Alan gave me a final
couple of fierce hugs and I fancied that I might've
seen the glint of a tear or two in his eyes. The
day was a great success and we can only hope that
the promise of continuing the live music policy
at the Wild Thyme is honoured by the new owners.
Thanks to Alan and the Seppings' family for all
the years selflessly dedicated to serving the people
of Warby and good luck for the future from Spectrum.
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Scratchin'
your back..
Somebody
must have a pic of me with Ross Wilson last night,
but here Ross is back in charge
gig report
Ross Wilson & The Peaceniks at the Yarraville
Club Sat. 15.2.14
Ross
& The Peaceniks welcome Mike back in Yarraville
16.2.14 - We got to the Yarraville
Club way too early for the 5.00 sound check, so
Maria and I went off to get a cuppa down the road.
By sheer coincidence on the way back we caught sight
of Ross Hannaford doing some shopping and looking
very at home in his Yarraville manor and so I was
given further cause to reflect on my history with
the two Rosses. The Yarraville Club turned out to
be an unprepossessing looking place and the function
room was, well, functional. Mind you, it sounded
alright, but it's not a patch on its companion
venue, The Caravan Club, for atmosphere.
Right up until half an hour before we went on stage
I didn't know how we were going to present Woman
of the World and Boy, You're Paranoid.
the two Party Machine pieces in my set. Since we
last performed them Ross has added Paranoid
to his regular set and it's consequently shifted
up a gear in tempo and now the two songs could easily
be seguéd they are so similar. Or perhaps
separated? Anyway, Ross opted for the second option
and had me playing guitar in Woman of the World
instead of bass, which meant, given that Eric's
got all the guitar bits already covered, I found
myself struggling a bit. We'll see where that all
ends up next week at The Flying Saucer Club.
Ross casually suggested I needed another tune to
bulk up the set and Eric immediately voted for Jamaican
Farewell, as he'd gone to the trouble to learn
Tim's guitar parts when it was released back in
1974. Sounds like fun! See y'all then! |
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Now
that's what I call an AMP! Mike models the MD-20 |
Massive
line-up for Wild Thyme on Sunday
14.2.14 - The show planned
for Sunday at the Wild Thyme Café as a thank
you to head honcho Alan Seppings has become a massive
one, with sixteen acts on over the day starting
at 11.30am and finishing at 8.30ish. Spectrum's
on for an hour (we'll see) after The Hornets at
6.00. A full list of the acts is on the Gig guide
page
I hope some of you heard the interviews Ross Wilson
and I did yesterday. If you missed them you can
click on the Neil
Roger's link for the Triple R interview, where
Ross and I managed to do both numbers the ABC couldn't
fit in. (Interview and songs from 01:11:40 - 01:33:15)
Because we were doing Woman of the World
I opted to bring an amp (pic) for George
Martin - I think he liked it.. |
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