Hello Two Oh Two Four

 Sitting here in Melbourne with the door open out to our back garden. (Though we are no gardeners- its a collection of ferntrees and succulents which all look after themselves) The world in turmoil and more trouble every day. Wow. Like everybody, pretty stunned by the warmongers in Palestine and the Ukraine. Embarassed by our government for their subservient military ties with the USA.

We have been in Adelaide for a week helping out as much as we can with my older brother going through some health issues. Christmas and New Year is a tough time to get attended to but the health workers were all great. The operation went well and Steve is in much better shape than when he went in.

We were intending to spend the festive season in Sydney but Adelaide needed us to be there so thats where we headed

Other than time at the hospital we sat with Clares brother Patrick and watched about twenty episodes of THE BOX, an Australian tv series from 1973. Totally addictive. Not available to stream anywhere, only via DVDs which Patrick sources from the company who made it, Crawfords. 

The week before we left Clare Moore and I went to SOUNDPARK studios to put down about ten songs for a projected album. We did drums, bass and guitars. I just needed to get the ideas down and it turned out to be fortuitous as its our favourite studio and its going to be moving in a months time. 

 Pictured is John Olson (who did the Tony Cohen book) in the control room at Soundpark. 

Around that time we also had a loose jam/rehearsal with Stuart Perera out on the far eastern side of town where we all live. 

Stu Thomas was busy at the time playing shows with THE SILVERSOUND and getting his Lee Heazlewood show together. 

Also, around this time Clare and I realized we actually had a 15 song album ready (as distinct from the songs we recorded at Soundpark) for release in 2024 so we finished mixing and editing it and got it mastered by Plutonic Lab. 

It's to be called (strangely) (emotional) and will be released on a classic Compact Disc format. Its an epic collection of songs with everything played by us as well as sax by Dave Wray, pedal steel by Shane Reilly, extra vocals by Will Hindmarsh and Emily Jarrett and harp by Genevieve Fry from Cold Hands Warm Hearts. 

CHWH are one of our favourite bands and they released a brilliant album called Luxury Bat in November. They are a very committed group of people who run their own label and put on their own shows in their arts space at Eastmint, politically committed. Genevieve was at the Arts Centre the day Clare was interviewed with Margret Roadknight for the Always Live Program. Genevieve had played earlier that day and had ridden in on her bike with her harp on a  trailer on the back.

Margret Roadknight and Clare Moore at the Arts Centre.

Clare Moore holding her award for a Lifetime Achievement which she was given by the Australian Women In Music Awards in November LAST year.

We also played a couple of shows in support for the VOICE TO PARLIAMENT REFERENDUM for Indigenous Australians which was sadly defeated by the right wing parties and media in Australia just to flex their negative power and stir up another battlefront in the endless culture wars. These shows were myself, Clare Moore and Catherine McQuade on bass. I wrote a song with Cathy this year and she will be releasing it soon, along with a deluxe film clip made by her partner Brendan Young. The song is called You Came To Me In A Dream and it is super pop! Madly super pop. 

Cathy mixed a track for our forthcoming album as well. She also played bass on it. 

I wore my denim slouch hat for the shows. 

 

Clare Moore and I will be releasing a  single in February and the album in April. (strangely) (emotional)

 

We will be announcing some shows soon. The album will be difficult to play as its a real song based collection, very much studio focussed as opposed to a band sound. On the other hand it is often a very sparse sound with acoustic guitars and vocals dominating. It'll be a challenge and will be so different after such a joyously retrospective 2023. Hopefully we will do an occasional show with Dave Graney and The Coral Snakes. We will see what comes up. 

We still have copies of the double vinyl edition of Night Of The Wolverine available via our Bandcamp site. Your support has been greatly appreciated! 

More, anon...