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Spectrum
trio does Tassie
1) The
gig - the imposing Tassie Devils Restaurant & Bar 2) Sound
man Bryan Phillips has
a PA for sale..
3) Robbo's
bedroom - just over the road from Tobacco Road 4) The Giants'
Stu Wood
5) A
bumble bee messes with Mark's garden 6) Tassie Devils Restaurant's
co-owners, Stu Wood and Mark Greig
7) Kaz
wants to dance! And she did too. 8) Mike shows
Kaz how he can take their pic and Kaz is very impressed..
9) Former
5KA jock and now Tassie resident, David Woodhall 10) Folksinger
Alex Myers
11) Matt
Finish's David Hugh Adams and Mike 12) Yorktown French Bakery's
Torben and Helen Donnerborg
13) The
best toy ever - I want one! In fact, gimme three of them! 14)
Leonie and Robbo share birthdays |
15) Macaque
Monkeys preening |
gig
report
Tassie Devils Restaurant - tall tales from Tobacco Road
29.2.08 -
I didn't sleep too well knowing that I had to do the
BAS return before we left for the airport. So, what's new? None
of us had flown Tiger Airways before, but we weren't entirely
surprised to discover that our guitars were going to cost extra.
Thankfully the girl behind the counter exercised her discretion
and it only cost us $30.00, but I could see that we weren't
necessarily going to be so lucky on the way back. At the Tiger
terminal we hooked up with Bryan Phillips, (pic 2)
a long-time mate of Stu Wood and our sound engineer for the
two nights at the Tassie Devils Restaurant. The flight was uneventful,
(I quite like the A23 Airbus), and we were met at the Launceston
airport by Stu and Giants' guitarist Mark Greig, co-owners of
the restaurant. They drove us back in their tour bus to their
Carrick spread to settle in before rounding us up again and
taking us down to the gig to sound check and eat. Stu, Mark,
Bryan and Isaac, the restaurant chef |
who lives there too, are all heavy
smokers, so I immediately dubbed the house Tobacco Road, but
in all other respects it's an ideal place for a band to hang
out. Anybody who knows Mark (pic 6) as the archetypal
guitarist, would be surprised to discover that he has developed
quite a talent for growing things, and even cooks up jams and
chutneys to exchange with the neighbours - all the while looking
as if he could just pick up his guitar at no notice and amble
on stage. It's all part of Mark's second-chance lifestyle, after
he very nearly lost his life some years ago falling down the
Espy stairs and breaking his neck. It was Mark who insisted
I use his Deville amp after the sound check, which I only regret
because I liked it so much I now want to get one for myself.
Anyway, the gig went over very well. Kaz (pics 7 & 8)
whom I remember from the Forth Blues Festival and beyond, was
there, as well as David Woodhall, (pic 9), with whom
we did some wacked-out interviews on Radio 5KA's graveyard shift
in Adelaide in the early '70s. David had cooked up a plan to
do lunch the next day at the restaurant with some of his mates,
so I asked him to ring me in the morning and remind me. As it
turned out, that was a wise precaution.
After some toast and honey I watched some TV with Mark and Isaac
in the Evil lounge while the others watched DVDs in the Good
lounge, where my make-shift bed was, so it was getting pretty
late by the time I crawled into bed. I barely slept, a fairly
typical first-night-on-the-road phenomenon, so perhaps I can't
be blamed for not thinking too clearly. I thought it would be
a good idea to breakfast in Deloraine, twenty-odd k's from Carrick,
and we were a couple of k's down the road when I got the phone
call from David Woodhall reminding me about lunch - at midday.
As it happened, we made it back to the restaurant at just a
couple of minutes before twelve, only to find that, apart from
David and a well-known (in Tassie anyway) folksinger Alex Myers
(pic 10), we were the first there. Another hour passed
before we had a quorum, and then we had a pleasant enough chatty
lunch, although Bill had decided he wasn't going to eat just
then because he'd just had breakfast.
The gig that night started off a little quietly, but by the
second (and last) set we'd really relaxed and Stu actually said
it was the rocking-est set they'd had at the restaurant so far.
It was Robbo's forty-ninth birthday the next day, so we all
sang happy birthday to him and fellow birthday girl, Leonie
(pic 14). At the end of the night I was approached
by Matt Finish's David Hugh Adams (pic 11) who said
he'd thoroughly enjoyed the show and even felt 'inspired'. I
was touched.
The next morning Bill and I took Robbo to the airport before
heading into Launceston for breakfast at Torben Donnerborg's
(pic 12) charming little French-style café in
Yorktown Square in the heart of the CBD, a picturesque location
Bill and I remembered from some previous visit. Torben had been
chatting to Bill on the first night and had invited us for a
free breakfast on the Thursday morning. Musicians never turn
down a free feed, and we duly rolled up and partook of a very
pleasant brekkie - with a slice of lemon tart thrown in. Torben
and Helen said they were going to see Rod Stupid in Melbourne
that night, so we shouldn't have been that surprised to run
into them at the airport - but we were.
The monkeys? (pic 15) After breakfast we wandered round
the town and came across the monkeys in the domain/park, which
pleasantly diverted us for an hour or so. And then it was off
to the airport on The Giants' tour bus (via Perth,
just so we could say we'd been there), and the inevitable confrontation
at the Tiger terminal - where we were duly whacked $120.00 for
the guitars, (we should've given Robbo a couple to take with
him). Two hours hanging round, (we won't do that again - two
hours early is just ridiculous), then we were in the air and
back home in no time.
We won't forget that mini-tour for a long time - Stu and Mark
were very gracious hosts, and Stu has a bottomless well of hilarious
road stories, (quite a few of them involving Mark), that should
be recorded for posterity. I'm looking forward to going back
already.. |
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Ron Glover
hoping that I won't put this pic in Stop Press |
gig
report
Spectrum at St Andrews
25.2.08 - In keeping with most
of the rest of the week, it was a cool-ish, overcast day on
Sunday, and I was half expecting Stan to have the fire going,
but, in the event, the fire wasn't going and it turned out to
be an unusually quiet arvo. Mind you, my son Chris and the rest
of the Vermont St mob made it, and it was really nice to catch
Chris looking very pleased to be there. Almost regular Ron Glover
(pic) was there too, and, as well as buying a swag
of CDs, passed on a couple of CDs of memorabilia he's accumulated
from radio broadcasts over the years, which will be fun to review
on a rainy day. We're off to Tassie tomorrow on Tiger Airways
- wish us luck.. |
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Bill
Bartlett beams down to Oz |
Songwriters
take note
21.2.08 - I often get asked what
I think of today's music, and I suspect that more often than
not it's a loaded question, with my anticipated response a tirade
against anything and everything produced since the seventies.
Well, occasionally that's true, but not most of the time. The
fact is that the opportunities to express yourself musically
have never been greater than now, and while there were some
good things about the sixties and seventies that we'll never
see again, grumbling about it ain't going to change anything.
Take the case of Bill Bartlett (pic) my mate from Jacksonville,
Florida. We first met Bill when he came over to Oz in the early
seventies. In those days he was a program director in Jacksonville,
and he used to program Australian bands like Little River Band
and AC/DC on his shows - even Spectrum and The Indelible Murtceps!
He's retired from the hurly-burly of the biz and these days
writes his own very individual take on hypno-trance music. Check
out his Alien
Amusement Park album and be inspired! |
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Matt
looks thrilled with his gift |
gig
report
Matt Gibson's 40th
17.2.08 - A few days ago I got an e-mail
from Mark, one of Matt's friends, asking if I'd like to get
involved in a subterfuge involving an Epiphone guitar he and
some other friends and family had chipped in and bought for
Matt's birthday. The plan was to smuggle it on stage and play
a song or two with it before calling on a hopefully surprised
Matt and presenting it to him, which is exactly what happened.
(pic) That's the kind of party it was - infiltrated
as it was by a bunch of people, starting with Matt, who cared
a great deal about their music. Mind you, I'm not sure it was
Spectrum particularly that they cared about - the evidence suggests
there's a considerable coven of Frank (and Dweezil) Zappa fans
in Healesville and the surrounding hamlets.
It was quite a long day. We didn't know what to expect and arrived
an hour before the guests were scheduled to arrive - and then
had to wait a couple of |
| hours for the sun to
drop behind the hills so our instruments wouldn't melt down
in the heat. Then it was just a question of avoiding being eaten
alive by the swarms of bloodthirsty mossies and laying back
and enjoying the party. It was luxury to have Daryl playing
with us and I dragged a few songs out that hadn't been dusted
off for a while, but it was all good fun, and I still had a
double episode of The Bill to look forward to when
I got home.. |
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1) Cres
Crisp (keyboards) seen here with Tabasco Tom's band |
gig
report
Laffy's Lounge
16.2.08 - This was the second of the Laffy's
Lounge series at the Upwey Tecoma Cricket Club rooms, and, while
there were some teething problems, there is obviously a lot
of good will and the prospect of a hills' institution in the
making. There was even the traditional brawl at the end of the
night, for heaven's sake, just to make everybody feel right
at home.
It was a bit of a fiddle setting up the PA, and we ended up
patching together ours and promoter (he won't be happy with
that description) Peter Laffy's - in retrospect it might've
been better
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2)
Ariel's Glyn Mason and Howard Freeman 3) Harvey's partner, Faye,
Harvey the lumberjack, and Peter Laffy |
4)
Clare Moore, boring Mike and sartorial Dave Graney |
just to bring ours in. Bill
and I went into the Upwey village to get ourselves pizzas
while Tabasco Tom's outfit (including old mate Cres Crisp
on keyboards) (pic1) was playing its set. In
fact, it was all a bit of a homecoming, with Glyn Mason
(who mentioned that Stockley, See & Mason are getting
back together again!), and Howard Freeman (pic 2),
not to mention Harvey James, of course. Harvey rang
me earlier in the week and offered to play a couple of
numbers with us, which stretched to four, but was all
good fun, not to mention slightly historic, I guess.
After the first set, I was surprised by local resident
(and still King of Pop) Dave Graney coming up and having
a chat, and even more delighted when he and Clare were
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night, having apparently enjoyed the show. I'm not sure
they were still there for the free-for-all fracas. Anyway,
it was nice to see them both and they added the touch
of class the night needed. |
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It
had to happen..
15.2.08 - It was inevitable, what with
the idea being around for so long, but we've been ripped off
- by a bank! Oh well, I s'pose it can't hurt. I saw
this poster (pic) yesterday on a bus shelter on Warrigal
Road. Speaking of Breathing Space, I delivered the
(almost ) final mix of Rocket Girl to Miranda to stripe
onto the clip yesterday. I'm guessing that means the clip must
be close to completion - can't wait to see it!
Not completely related, but banjo-ist Peter Somerville dropped
in yesterday and put some banjo-picking on the Xavier Rudd
song. I'm trying to organise some cameras to film a video so
I can get it up on YouTube soon.. |
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Bilge
tunes up picturesquely |
gig
report
Crudd & Pump at the Clifton Hill Hotel
14.2.08 - I'd spent a good portion of the
afternoon trying to finish a mix of Rocket Girl for
Miranda to stripe onto the clip, (see the first version on the
Videos page), and so I already felt a bit flustered. I'd been
told there was a bit of a flap on 'cause one of the acts hadn't
shown up, but Dave Steel was still doing his thing when I arrived,
admittedly interspersed with some long anecdotes, (perhaps to
cover the non-appearance of his partner Tiffany Eckhardt due
to illness), but in the event we got on stage about when we
were originally scheduled to. I decided to sit down for a change,
and maybe this had something to do with my curious interpretations
of a couple of the songs- in particular Health Kick.
Bill suffered it all with his usual patience and good humour
and held it all together - Kev bless you Bill! As I was leaving,
Miss Vicky pointed out that Dave Steel had left me a copy of
his new album to listen to. Thanks Dave - when I get a moment... |
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Gigs
13.2.08 - Tonight (Wednesday) Bill and I are playing
at the Clifton Hill Hotel Acoustic sessions.
Our old mate Rod Claringbould has been running these nights
for years, and it was this particular gig (when it was in
Middle Park) that enticed Bill and I out to play again in
the public arena after ten years or so in seclusion, so it
would be nice to see some of you there. You might've noticed
on the splash page that we're having a special guest at the
Laffy's Lounge gig (at the Upwey Tecoma Cricket
Club) this Friday in Ariel's Harvey James
- just a couple of numbers, but it should be a bit of fun.
I've just done an interview with the lads at 3MDR and they've
gone to the trouble put up a dedicated Spectrum
site that you should have a look at sometime. On Sunday
I'm up to Warby again judging the Limelight
Kudos for Musos song contest finals. Keep
an eye on the Gigs page for more developments. |
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Adele Spence
and Lou Ridsdale are all vibed up.. |
Breathing
Space - the cogs fall into place
11.2.08 - I woke feeling a little weary from
the exertions of the weekend, but looking forward to a lunchtime meeting
in North Fitzroy with publicist Lou Ridsdale and her accomplice, Adele
Spence. I parked in Pigdon St opposite where the Pigdon Restaurant
used to be and ambled round to the Café Milato, where I was
joined by Lou and a few minutes later by Adele. We discussed the imminent
launch of the Breathing Space EP (and the Milesago
album, of course) and their role in it over a refreshing lunch, which
was when I took the photo. (left) When I got home I rang
back Rod at The Basement Discs and pencilled in a midday show on the
same Friday as the Capers date. Rod said it'll be just like the old
days. Yeah, should be a breeze.. |
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1) The
scene in the Sporting Club after the first set - the place was
buzzing! |
gig
report
Mordialloc Sporting Club
10.2.08 - On the way to Mordialloc, I said
to Bill I wasn't sure there would be anybody at the Sporting
Club, that the agent definitely wouldn't be there and there
was a lift to take our gear up to the first floor. I was wrong
on all counts: the Mordialloc Sporting Club has a core (mostly
local) audience, and we attracted a near record crowd on the
day, Kenny Leroy (pic 5) from Westside Talent, the
read more |
2) Brayden
snaps Mike, Robbo and old school friend, Nady, and Bill 3) 3CR's
Steve Fraser snuggles up to Mike
4) The
two Pauls put in an appearance 5) Westside Talent's Kenny Leroy
gets close to Mike's new red shirt |
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6) The
Sporting Club has a great view of the bay behind the stage |
agency that books the gig came up
and intrduced homself to me at the end of the second set, and
while there was indeed a lift, it was out of order and we had
to lug our gear up the stairs. With the exception of the lift,
I couldn't have been happier to be wrong. Helen Duffield, the
room's manager, and her partner Michael, (who supplied us with
PA speakers, saving another trek up stairs), made us very welcome,
and with the agency, have obviously done a great job in building
up the room. This was our audience, and they were enthusiastic
right from the start. If I'd had the energy I could've sold
a shitload of CDs.. |
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1) Our
generous host, Wild Thyme's Allan Seppings 2) Bill cuddles the
Darcy munchkins |
gig
report
All quiet on the Warby front
10.2.08 - We weren't to know,
but I thought something was up when our waitress asked us if
we were going to the 'big show' later. In the event there was
a sparse crowd at the Wild Thyme, which is pretty sad in such
a tiny venue. Not that we didn't have a good time anyhow, although
my |
| Morris decided to bring an apparent
electrical fault to my attention as I was tuning up, which rendered
my usually reliable nylon-string guitar mute for the night -
I've already booked a visit to Real Guitars' Brenden Mason for
Monday. Our old friends the Darcys (pic 2) showed up
as we were setting up just to tell us they weren't going to
make it as they'd had a huge day in town, and I received an
e-mail apology from Katherine Seppings, cousin of Wild Thyme's
owner Allan Seppings (pic 1) saying she'd come next
time.. Yes, I suppose there's always next time.. |
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DIG
this!
9.2.08 - Just when you
think nobody in the world cares, you get an e-mail from Dave
Dosser confirming what my friend Roger Pyke (Daniel)
has been telling me for months - somebody in radio-land still
cares!
Just a short note to tell anyone who is a fan
that they should listen to the ABC Dig radio digital channel
on Saturday mornings as it is probably the only chance these
days of hearing Spectrum on the radio. Also they play a very
interesting range of different music!! Hey, they just played
Loves My Bag - see I'm not making up stories. You can hear Spectrum
on the radio!!! |
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Brod
Smith discusses phone technology with Mr Pump |
Brod
Smith in talks with Spectrum
7.2.08 - That's the way they would have
put it in Go-Set all those years ago, but these days nobody
gives a toss either way. Still, it's worth reporting that Brod
came over today and we did have discussions on getting
a tour together on the Murray for later in the year, with Phil
Manning mentioned as the other 'head'. As Brod pointed out,
the choices are limited these days with so many boomers choosing
to be dead. I should quietly slip in the fact that the first
gig of the tour was going to be at Capers on Friday the 28th
of March, but that didn't suit Brod, so Spectrum has taken over
the date instead. It looks like it could be the perfect occasion
to launch Milesago and the new Breathing Space
EP - more news to follow imminently.. |
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