2009-2010

We played a set at the Retreat in Brunswick last week. It is quite a rough, chaotic joint but after being monstered by the geriatrical scene for the few weeks leading up to it I was pretty much ready to take on anybody.
We played with Stu Perera on blazing lead. the four of us. It was a great night, one of those rooms that sounds great. Just don't try and do anything light or delicate or it'll eat you up.
Being a Sunday night, the room was full of locals too, people wanting to hear some music. We played for about an hour, mostly music from "we wuz curious" and " knock yourself out".
Had a great time. Thanks everybody for coming along!

The Dames did an opening set. thats Clare moore on drums , Kaye Louie patterson on piano and Rosie Westbrook on bass. A guitar-less trio , playing songs from Kaye and Clare. they have started a recording project and will continue on that next year. They all come to the Dames from different experiences and directions but it gels. A great West Coast / Jazz / folk pop sound. They do an instrumental by Kaye called "Dudley" , inspired by the music of Dudley moore. i hope that intrigues.

Started thinking about some new recordings for next year, though I still really enjoy playing the music we released over the this year and last year. Theres a lot of songs that I enjoy playing.From Hashish and Liquor and the Brother Who Lived .We've pumped out a lot of stuff. Time to let it breathe a bit.

Playing guitar has given me a real spark as well. I sometimes feel I have the fever to play it like I was with the football when i was a kid. I can't leave it be.The electric and the 12 string acoustic.

Have a whole set of songs ready to go but am taking my time as to how to put it down. Some of the timings are so irregular I could only do them by myself. No click track or drum beats. Others are pretty pop in their arrangements, my kind of pop anyway.
Thinking of of a 12 string acoustic and bass xylophone type sound for the most part, maybe some trumpet from Stu and Nylon sting guitar from Stu Perera.Short songs and short sounds is my game plan. Minimalist. Have been listening to a lot of adult pop from the 69s. That adult folk pop like Harry Belafonte and Jose Feliciano and, of course Sinatra.
I guess they had great rooms o record in, great mics and great skills.I'll be spending a lot of time getting inside the material before I put it down and will be playing some of the songs at any solo shows I'm doing.

In 2009 I have read many novels and short stories by the Australian author Patrick White. A master. I can recommend him highly. Anything with his name as author is guaranteed greatness.

LIVE IN HELL was a high artistic point in my life. That and the first narrative show POINT BLANK have been the shows where I got to pull all my obsessions together.And all the skills. Each one I see as a song that goes for an hour. And they took me a couple of decades to write, distill and decant.

Have been enjoying discovering that late sixties British folk sound. Bert Jansch,Nick Jones, Pentangle, John Renbourn, Sandy Denny.Totally addictive.

Most else has not touched me really. Kept it all pretty close. Enjoyed the playing and the company of our band and close friends.

Hoping for more of that in 2010.

Oh, and Stu Thomas has recorded a brilliant album called "Escape from Algebra" that should see a release in 2010.

Thanks to everybody who came to a show or took an interest.