Foster
- some old friends and Robbo's lonely birthday
)
Robbo blows out a solitary candle after the first set at the Rhythm
Café 2) An old friend
(the ageless Shirley) gives Robbo a consolation hug
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Rhythm
Café giggle
Michael Blyth, (left) the proud owner of the Rhythm Café
and unrepentant saxophonist (but we won't hold that against him)
finds himself in the Land of the Giants as Spectrum loads in. Michael
joined Spectrum later that evening for a blow in a couple of tunes,
which was a lot of fun too - but we don't encourage it.. |
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Spectrum
in your backyard - it doesn't get
better than this!
Bernie
Bicknell (2nd right) and family pose with Spectrum after a most
satisfying 50th birthday bash
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Birthday
bashes - a growing trend
24.2.04 - This last month has seen Spectrum
make surprise appearances at a couple of 50th birthday parties for
Spectrum fanatics - and they've been great fun for everybody concerned.
Great fun for us, because we're playing to the best kind of audience
- naturally well informed and having a great time to boot - and
inevitably it's a very emotional and memorable moment for the birthday
boy.
Of course, it doesn't have to be a 50th birthday. In fact, it doesn't
have to be a birthday at all. Getting us to play at your party or
function isn't as difficult or impossible as you might think, and
we appreciate the variation.
If you're toying with the idea of surprising that very special old
fart with his favourite geriatric band, give Jenny a call and see
how easy it all is.
You can contact Jenny on 0419 842 312 |
Spectrum try and hold Dave Brewer down when they played at his 50th
in Teesdale recently. Teesdale's half an hour the other side of
Geelong, and we had a lovely evening playing in Davo's carport -
until the lights came on.. |
The bugs,
the bugs! One of the less savoury aspects of playing in the country
was the abundance of cockchafers infesting our gear, hair, hairy
backs - everywhere! |
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Spectrum
finds a new home in Barwon Heads
23.2.04 - After dithering for simply
ages trying to find somewhere in Geelong that might be a pleasant
alternative to the forgettable De La Ville, we ended up twenty-odd
K outside Geelong in picturesque Barwon Heads, playing to a sell-out
crowd at Café Phill's (or is that Phill's Café? -
I think their info on the Net needs to be updated).
The
view from the stage at Phill's
Anyway, a fun night was had by all, marred only by young
staff member Michelle having her money stolen by some blow-in rap
fanatic.
We were delighted to catch up with a lot of old friends on the night:
the Van Loons were there in force, as was Janette from Bradyworks,
and Bryan Cropley, who had come all the way from Sydney to celebrate
his 50th! |
The Brady
Bunch's Janette and Spectrum
Mike and
the much-travelled Bryan Cropley |
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The
unique world of Hugh McSpedden
12.2.04 - I promised an in-depth profile of
one of Melbourne's most endearing and enduring icons a little while
ago, and to that end I hurtled up to Hugh's Warrandyte retreat this
fine morning, camera in hand. When I knocked on the front door at
11.20, I heard the frantic scuffling of feet and an equally frantic
voice bellowing, 'You said 11.30 you bastard!' I stood there for
fully 5 minutes while Hugh made himself presentable, until finally
the door creaked open and Hugh's bassett features peeked out.
I was ushered in to Hugh's open plan lounge-cum-master
bedroom-cum repository for all things Hugh. Actually, the
whole house and its environs are a repository for Hugh's scary picture
book collection of curios, and.if I'd been concerned that there
might have been some radical changes since I was last there, (like
he'd gotten rid of something), I needn't have worried - there was
probably more bric-a-brac per square inch than the last
time I was there some 5 or 6 years ago.
Hugh was mildly disconcerted when I told him of the reason for my
visit, and said he was rather hoping that I had a Spectrum gig in
mind where he could use his projections. Hugh's slyly humorous projections
were a visual highlight of Spectrum's gigs in the '70s, before the
bland lightshows we expect today became standard. I do hope we get
an opportunity to use Hugh in the near future so that missing dimension
can be presented to a new audience - or the old audience again
for that matter. |
1) Hugh
(who else?) 2) the multi-purpose lounge with Jacobs ladder
 
3) some spare
prosthetics 4) the master bedroom / lounge mezzanine
 
5) the
view from the kitchen 6) the ironing board plus ballast in case
of high winds
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7) Hugh's
industrial light & magic workspace |
Hugh's
schedule
Hugh will be presenting Mandalas to Go at Federation Square
this Saturday night (the 14th) ('It's not up your alley - it's a
hippie thing'). Hugh's found a new generation of followers in the
E-children who attend raves. His next Earthcore show will be at
the Sidney Myer Music Bowl on the 8th of March. Hugh's Steam powered
GRAM-O-PLANE, or Proto-Lysergic-Acidophilustrescope, (featured in
the December Stop Press) will be chugging along at the Warrandyte
Village Festival (March 20 - 21) and will no doubt be a feature
of the parade. |
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Inaugural
Rosstown Hotel gig meets with local approval
8.2.04 - Spectrum played the Rosstown Hotel
last night (after months of hesitating), and had a terrific night
with a large and enthusiastic crowd of Spectrum-starved Carnegians.
We came across some old pals too - Bill Smale (who hosted the Heaters'
The Unrealist launch all those years ago) and his fast-growing
son James (pic right), not to mention ex-Arielite Glyn
Mason and Christine James, who very kindly shouted me a pre-gig
shot of Ouzo
that very nearly got things off to a rather
tipsy start.
Check the gig guide for upcoming Spectrum gigs - and feel free to
suggest gigs you may feel are suitable for the eclectic musical
meanderings of your fave mature-age band.. |
The Pump
hugs James Smale and dad Bill. |
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Blank
bit rethink
So,
instead of a blank bit, we'll have a Meditation pic. This one (right)
was taken on the way back from Thredbo, and could even be the headwater
stream of the mighty Murray. We stopped for a bit and had a paddle.
(Well, not paddle exactly - I did stick my finger in).
I love the smell of fresh stream water - takes me back to when I
was a kid on the farm in Canterbury .. |
Meditation pic
Thredbo - a river
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Bill
ponders the Meaning of Life, the Universe, etc.
Further
evidence that the Seasons of Change project is a reality. Here's
a pic of Bill being interviewed for the SoC DVD on the banks of
the Black Lake on Trevor Young's Wombat Gully property. |
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