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Archives
glitch
27.11.04
- I
didn't realise what I was getting into.. Archives users will
be disappointed for a few days - at least. In the course
of website house keeping I've managed to get myself into a bit
of a mess, and it's going to take a while to rectify the problem.
Sorry. Twiddle your thumbs impatiently in the meantime. |
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1)
Fi reassures the audience while Bill checks the key..
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What
the PA did on its day off..
22.11.04 - With no more St Andrews gigs
till the New Year (!), what to do on a lazy Sunday arvo? Why
not take the PA up to its favourite venue and put it to use
with the swingin' Lil' Fi band? I mean, Robbo was already there
playing drums, (Lil' Fi badly cut her hand in a gruesome domestic
incident we won't go into here, and so is unable to resume drum
duties for another month or so), and Bill was anxious to sit
in on lap steel, so why not?
The PA was very happy too - it's not often it gets a girl to
amplify - so I jumped up a couple of times and stood in on harp
so it wouldn't get too confused.
Or, is that too happy? Anyway, it sure made for a different
take on the usual Sunday arvo at St Andrews.
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2) Dirk
Dubious, Robbo and Fi 3) Bill gives his impression of a man
with his eyes open |
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Torquay
Golf Club 50th un-birthday celebrations go off!
21.11.04 - In the nicest way possible of
course. Michael and Marina Haughton (pic) were kind
enough to invite us to their respective 50th un-birthday celebrations
held at the Torquay Golf Club on Saturday night last. The party
was attended by like-minded persons of a similar vintage for
the most part, with a few notable exceptions in the child dept.
Serious Young Rhys (pic) showed a diconcerting liking
for the drums, (disconcerting for Rhys' parents anyhow, with
the the dreaded Xmas season almost upon us), and Robbo lent
him his djembe to accompany our first set, which he did with
some flair. All in all, a fun night was had by all. |
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Songwriting
blitz at AMS
19.11.04 - Last week I had Ross
Wilson over for an arvo of feeling our way round the
collaborating process, yesterday it was Ross' longtime writing
partner Eris O'Brien's turn (pics)
in the hot-seat. Both days were good fun too, with the prospect
of at least one song on the way - to somewhere..
Now, the next thing I've got to do is hassle Pete Dacy
for the balance of Spectrum's Secret Sound Studio sessions so
we can get that new album under way. |
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What
the other half is doing..
17.11.04 - Ross Hannaford
has an exhibition of his artworks coming up at fortyfivedownstairs,
45 Flinders Lane Melbourne. The show will be run in conjunction
with an exhibition by Ross' wife, Lorraine Austin. Opening night
for both exhibitions is Monday 29 November, 6.00-8.00pm The
exhibition runs from Nov. 30th till Dec. 4th. Gallery hours:
Tues - Fri 11.00am-5.00pm, Sat 12.00-4.00pm
Gerry
Hale and the Innocent Bystanders
had so much fun last month they have decided to do it again
on Friday 26th November at the Czech Club. Doors open 7.45pm.
And they'll be live on on ABC radio 774 after the 8.00pm
news with Derek Guille on Thursday 25th November. |
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MOR
at the Ding Dong Lounge
 
1)
Harvey's son Gabe follows in dad's footsteps 2) Robbo meets
an old friend in
Val Sparnaay
 
3)
Bill, Wendy Stapleton, Wilbur Wilde, Mike and Paul Norton 4)
Somebody knocked Sandy as she took this one.. |
Mighty
Oz Rock premiere
11.11.04
- Jenny's girls all got sick at once, so there was a late change
of plan and, instead of going with Jenny I picked up Bill as
my date to go to the Ding Dong Lounge and catch the Mighty Oz
Rockers inaugural show. We met up with the psychologically reconstructed
Wilbur Wilde out front and had a bit of a chat
before ascending the stairs leading to the Ding Dong Lounge.
Talk about déjà vu! There were far too
many old heads in there to relate, but how about Issy
Dye, LWTTT's Wally Bishop, Wendy
Stapleton and Paul Norton,
just to name a few. We'd scarcely time to say howdy to anybody
before the band was being announced by our hostess Sandy
Kaye and they launched into Crowded House's History
Never Repeats, a faintly ironic choice for the opening
number. There was nothing faintly ironic in the choice of songs
for the rest of the set, which was absolutely what you'd expect
from a band bearing the MOR monicker. (Mind you, the abbreviation
of the band's name is laden with irony). As this over-qualified
group nonchalantly reeled off hit after Aussie hit, I was transported
back to Bombay Rock circa 1982 - the VIP Lounge of
course - and the room began to spin eerily.
By 9.30 I realised I was actually starving, so with the strains
of Howzat! still ringing in our ears, Bill and I made
our exit and went over the road to the Spaghetti Tree and had
an enormous Italian-free meal. Afterwards, Bill went back to
the Ding Dong to fraternise and cadge a lift home, while I struggled
back to Camberwell nervously with the van only able to muster
up parkers for lighting. |
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Rick
Murphy and me. |
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The
search for Geof Crozier - part two
9.11.04 - WA writer, Rick Murphy,
duly showed up at my place today, (after first going to the
wrong house), and we chatted about the elusive magician for
about an hour. Rick knew Geof very well, having grown up with
him, and had some funny stories to tell about Geof's career,
relationships and the whole damned thing. There aren't too many
facts available and I didn't help much, having lost the precious
letter Geof sent me after he came back from the USA.
Rick was philosophical and said there was a certain poignancy
in that anyway, which I thought was quite diplomatic. Should
be a fun book when it happens - get in touch if you have a Crozier
story to tell.. |
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Cameron
wants to know where his T-shirt is..
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No
Thinking T-shirts a hit in Nippon!
5.11.04 - Sales of No Thinking
T-shirts have gone through the temple roof in old Japan as the
craze for everything No Thinking turns the nation upside
down. Ever since the Emperor was seen wearing one when at a
recent Elton John concert, the Volcano Records warehouse has
been ransacked of every size in the striking white Ts. News
of this craze was brought by the Castles, Mark, Waki and son,
Cameron, (the Thorpedo), and family friend, Midori (pic).
The Castles are in Melbourne to catch up with relatives
and recover from the Olympics, where Cameron represented Japan
in swimming and basketball. They're taking a container load
of freshly printed No Thinking T-shirts back to Nagoya
with them. |
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A
couple o' shows while Spectrum snoozes..
4.11.04 - October was humungous, but November is obviously
a time for contemplation. I got these two gig reminders from
Bob Starkie and from a Kevin somebody (?) respectively, so I'm
passing them on for your consideration. The Bongo gig is at
the Pint on Punt, 42 Punt Rd Windsor, but I'm not sure about
the details for the Kev gig, so I've e-mailed Kev's Jennifer
for more info. I'll let you know more when I do..
5.11.04
- And now I do have some more info about Kev's gig. I'll let
Jenny talk the talk: My boyfriend (Kevin Welgus) and I have
built a recording studio that we finally finished this year.
It is on the second |
floor of a factory in Oakleigh.
The studio is built in the middle of the factory space and at
the far end is a very cool live venue/lounge. We have a very
large stage, lighting, PA, desk etc. The beauty of having the
live area and studio together with an audience creates a great
live recording of excellent quality with a true live feel...
..About every three months we have a Jam night which the next
is on Saturday. It is a bit of a mix between a jam and set bands
and is always a great night. We have recorded a couple of these
nights. When I say we I mean Chris Thompson
(you may know or heard of him) from Martin Street Studios and
triple JJJ producer/engineer. Chris has recorded a few people
at Guruland. You may also know the guy who designed the studio,
John Sayers. Check out his web site www.johnsayers.com
There are some photos on his site of Guruland under construction
and a plan of the studio.
Wow! John Sayers! I went to school with John and he was the
engineer on the early Spectrum albums. Unfortunately it seems
John's site is out of commission, so I'll have to wait to find
out what he's up to. In the meantime, if you're the adventurous
type, why not check out Guruland on Saturday? |
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The
search for Geof Crozier
1.11.04 - More than two decades after his last most puzzling
disappearing act, research has started for a biography of
the magical illusionist, Geofrey Crozier. I'm being interviewed
about my personal recollections next week, but I'm sure some
of you out there have tales of being enchanted by Geof's innovative
rock and roll magic show at events like the one on the poster
(pic). If so, I'm sure Rick Murphy would love to hear about
it. Get in touch with Rick at this address: [email protected] |
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We
were wrong..
1.11.04 - In
last month's Stop Press in the article headed Robbo the Hero,
it was alleged Robbo's mum, Margaret, was choking on a vol au
vent. Solicitors for Mr Peter Robertson have asked that the
true facts be presented. It was a samosa. |
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A
bridge too far..
1)
Ned Kelly's spooky wagon wheel at the Vine 2) Woongarra Motel's
Leon ponders the
stage conundrum with Bill and Robbo |
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3
& 4) Happy diners on the bridge oblivious to the entertainment
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A
big weekend in the bush for Spectrum
1.11.04 - Well, Roctober 2004 is history now, but it
has to be said that I'm history too, after the frantic final
phase. On Saturday we headed of to the historic Vine Hotel,
just outside Wangaratta - which was in the throes of hosting
its annual Jazz & Blues festival. As Spectrum have been
repeatedly denied an appearance at this festival, (we know who
you are), there was a certain pleasure in backdooring the festival,
and we had a fun time roaming around the cellar where Ned Kelly
used to hang out.Next morning we arrived at Pfeiffer Wines promptly
at 10.00 am, despite having lost an hour of alleged sleep through
the inconsiderate introduction of |
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with the most curious of all set-ups, which made next the five
hours (!) of playing almost redundant. Pfeiffer Wines are located
in Wahgunyah, fortunately only five (pfeiff) minutes from Rutherglen
where we were accommodated. They have a very picturesque custom
where patrons actually dine (under cover) on a bridge. Carp
and turtles frolic in the waters below and the whole scene is
very, well, picturesque. Unfortunately for us, we were stranded
in no-man's land high on the embankment, playing to neither
the diners nor the small crowd of onlookers that percolated
in from the surrounding countryside. We made our own fun of
course, but it was a frustrating and tiring day, not helped
by the omnipresent dust and the swarm of pflies that persistently
badgered me for my autograph. |
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| Just a quick reminder that
the Oz tribute supergroup Mighty Oz Rock, featuring
Mick Pealing and Ariel's own Harvey
James, will be appearing at the Ding Dong Lounge, (level
1 / 18 Market Lane in the city), Wednesday week (the 10th).
It's open to the public - better check with Sandy Kaye about
door prices on 0418 314 681 if you're interested. Ask Harvey
to play I'll Be Gone.. |
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