a trip out west - 2010

Played in WA for the first time in a couple of years.
Did a show in Perth on a Thursday which was nice but light on for audients. Then did a show at Bunbury which was cool and rough. People yell and scream while you’re playing.
Actually, people out west are jarringly direct in their language when they talk to you. Kind of uncomfortable sometimes but everybody is also very generous and immediately familiar.
The promoters of gigs work their asses off and go around town with flyers and leaflets. they put in!
The Bunbury junk shops there are pretty amazing. I came away wearing a mint pair of AMCO BOGARTS. Wide legged , high waisted 70s dress jeans with a stitched seam down the front of each leg. Class. Great books, like all seaside spots in the road.
The show at Clancys in Fremantle was wild. I was playing through a Vox AC30. I never liked those things but I was getting a monster sound from it. The room is great there, a big high stage and ceiling. It was one of those warm Perth nights. Many old friends in attendance. The Honeys were on the bill as well.
The next day we did a couple of sets at a boutique brewery / restaurant at Margaret River. We played on a stage outdoors, (in the shade), to people laying on the grass. We had to keep the volume down which was a nice contrast to the night before. A Velvet Live 69 club level of playing. Its hard to keep it subdued like that.
Apparently the neighbours complain about the noise, though beyond the sun bathing punters all we could see was a flock of sheep and some grapevines.

Flew back on Tiger Airlines which is a goddam relief as opposed to the fantasy Island jive ass crew that run Bransons planes. Tiger is cute and real. In melbourne we walked across the tarmac for ages into a baggage area near the freight section of the airport. Like we were in a colonial outpost.

Doing a lot of music at the moment. Clare Moore and Stu Thomas are playing with Jane Dust as part of her band, the giant Hoopoes.
Clare and I are also rehearsing with Harry Howard to play some of his music live. Thats me on bass, Clare on drums, Harry on guitar and vocals and Edwina Preston on keys and vocals.
Clare is also almost finished recording and mixing her album project with Kaye Louise Patterson which will be coming out as THE DAMES.
Stu Thomas is also looking for a label to release his album, the STU THOMAS PARADOX- ESCAPE FROM ALGEBRA.

Then there are also intensive rehearsals underway for my new album. We have a set of songs and are going to start playing some of them soon. Starting at our gig at the Paris Cat (Goldies Place- Melbourne) on Feb 26th and then our shows at the Retreat on the 14th and 28th March.
Songs so far include "midnight cats", "mt gambier night", "playin' chicken", "field record me", "life's a dream", " I'm not the guy I tried to be", "to be and not to be", "I don't wanna know myself", "champion blues", "cop this, sweetly" , "I live far out" and "hey people".

We will also be visiting Launceston, Hobart and Adelaide in April and May.