| |
| |
|
|
| |
Scroll
down to the start of the month |
|
 |
|
Close
this window to
return to Mike Rudd &
Bill Putt's home page |
|
| |
 |
Morning
of the Earth report
29.8.08 - It's nearly September already
and I've just come back from a couple of days in Sydney attending
a full rehearsal with (nearly) all the musicians involved with
the Morning of the Earth show. You have to be impressed
with the professionalism on display, and I'm sure it's going
to translate into a memorable show too - it sounds
great already. Read all about it (and listen to the Simple
Ben single cut from the show), by clicking on the A
Separate Reality link at the top of this page.
PS - I've just heard there's going to be a Morning of the
Earth special on Channel 9 this Sunday at 3.00pm featuring
the Simple Ben clip. (Damn! I'll miss it!) Oh well,
in the meantime, you can check out the Simple
Ben clip for yourself - hooray! |
|
|
| |
Gary
and Bill give themselves the thumbs up.. |
Mike
and Bill help the Triple R radiothon
27.8.08 - Gary Young has been a mate since the original
Spectrum/DC days back in the early '70s, so when he asked if
we would help out at Triple R's annual subscription appeal on
Monday's Chicken Mary Show, we jumped at the chance. We were
on after Nick Charles, and Gary made us very welcome. I found
it quite difficult to cope with all the distractions, (Gary
had the studio door open to capture the sound of the volunteers
taking calls in the background), but he took the trouble to
call Bill and I later that evening to thank us for our performance.
We even had time to put down some IDs for the Son of Max Show
before I headed back to the van to discover I'd annoyingly lost
my hands-free connection. I hate that.. |
|
| |
Chick
checks out..
1)
The cortege moves off from the Rainbow in St Davids St 2) Mike
finds Bill without too much problem
3)
Part of the large crowd waiting to get into the Fitzroy Town
Hall for the service
4)
The pall bearers make the difficult exit from the hearse 5)
..and into the main hall |
Chick
Ratten leaves 'em laughing
20.8.08 - It was a shock initially to hear
that Chick Ratten had gone, but when I thought back on it, the
last few times I'd enquired after his health he'd gone a bit
vague and diffident on me, which suggested that not all was
well. Chick had this running gag of affecting pity for me being
a Kiwi, and you got the impression from the people talking about
him at the funeral that his life was a series of running gags,
with Chick playing the role of the gruff detractor while at
the same time supporting the local music scene in the most practicable
way possible i.e. by offering employment to local musicians.
Chris Wilson (with Shannon Bourne), Lyndsay Hammond, Dave Hogan
and Dean Haitani were amongst the performers, but the star was
Chick, whose many quips and sayings quoted throughout the afternoon
had the crowd laughing nostalgically. |
|
| |
Bill signs
albums for Paul before tethering the huskies |
gig
report
Crudd & Pump at the Morang Family Hotel
18.8.08 - It was a gamble worth taking, but it all depended
on my recovery from this ghastly lurgy remaining absolutely linear.
As it happened, I was still suffering coughing and shivering fits
on Sunday morning, but I was reasonably certain that I would at least
start off the gig with a voice.
We pulled in to the Morang Family Hotel at just a couple of minutes
after midday - which was when we discovered that we were playing outside.
Under tarpaulin mind you, but outside nevertheless. Michael Whyte
probably told me this when he made the booking, but the information
got lost somewhere in my feverish brain.
The sun was putting in the odd appearance when we |
arrived, but there were threatening
clouds being driven by a wind that was blowing off fresh snow - and
then the sun decided to pull in its head for the rest of the afternoon.
The gig took on the aspect of one of my recurring nightmares -
i.e. the gig that never gets started. It must've taken an hour
and a half to get set up, (mind you, the set up was interrupted by
a very fine lunch that saw the welcome return of my appetite), and
when we eventually did get started, the cold was so intense
Bill and I lost feeling in our fingers and it felt like we were playing
in slow motion at the Corpsegrinders Ball. I suppose the good thing
was that at least I did have some sort of a voice, and it lasted the
entire afternoon. Michael had invited some of his Channel 9 chums
up from Gotham City, but they weren't much interested in the musical
fare, (although there were half a dozen or so children under ten years
having a marvellous time disporting themselves round the stage and
elsewhere), leaving Paul (pic) and his partner Julie
to play at being a responsive audience on their own..
Michael didn't seem to be too concerned at the end of the day, and
good-naturedly threw in half a dozen bottles of various local reds
on top of the fee. He said it would be packed in the summer, and promised
to book the full Spectrum outfit. Now, that's something to look forward
to.. |
| |
Nicolas
Lyon fiddles while Bill lays it down (pic Alana
Galea) |
gig
report
Robbo-less Lomond
14.8.08 - Please excuse the lack
of activity on this page for the past few days. The reasons
are two-fold: my Internet connection has been at a crawl (fixed
as of today) and I contracted some lurgy, which has me still
feeling lousy, but more worryingly has robbed me of the power
of speech.
But, back to the Crudd & Pump + Nic Lyon Lomond gig. I suppose
the first thing to be said is that the audience gave us a very
fair hearing, given that most of them would have been expecting
the regular bass/drums/guitar Spectrum. From a playing perspective
the night it had its moments, and some of them were even quite
nice moments too, but overall we'll still be very glad to see
Robbo back again. |
|
| |
 |
News
from the Robbos in Edinburgh
7.8.08 - I was settling down to do some
reading last night, when the phone rang - once. Then it rang
again properly a few minutes later and it was Robbo! Robbo asked
after the cats and then told me about his first week playing
side drum with the Rats of Tobruk Pipe Band. Apparently it was
full on, with endless rehearsals and performances - a couple
in the pouring rain - but it's calmed down a bit now and he
and Lisa have had a bit of time to check out their surroundings
in beautiful downtown Edinburgh.
Incidentally, I've heard from a representative of the new owners
at the Nighthawk - the trio gig on the 30th is definitely on,
so that'll be Robbo's welcome home gig afterall. Bill and I
are rehearsing with Nic Lyon today in preparation for our gig
at the Lomond this Saturday. |
|
| |
| |
| back
to the top |
| |
| |
|
