The album is complete! Cookie Baker's debut album 'Gala Day' is finally recorded, mixed, mastered and in shops ready for you to purchase! How awesome is that?? Well, I'm quite excited, as this little baby has been a little while coming - a year to be more precise. There was a very joyous handing out of the finished products by Holly herself at the wonderful Grace Emily, and if nothing else, the artwork looks bloody amazing! So, if you're wandering past a JB-HiFi, may as well pop your head in and see if you can get a squizz at it. ;)
So now that the album is all finished, there's not a whole lot of Cookie Baker going on for the rest of this year, which I for one am quite happy about. We had a couple of gigs last weekend which were amazing, even if i got completely ruined by the late night shenanigans they led to. On Friday the 7th we supported Epicure at the Adelaide UniBar, a place that I hadn't been to in a number of years, but seemed as though it was stuck in the early naughties - it was LOUD, raucous, and the place was filled with smoke. Not by smokers, like it would have a few years ago, but by a smoke machine, which pretty much had the same affect on me as a room filled with cigarette puffing maniacs would. But never fear - the gig was fantastic, even if I did manage to break a string after the first song, by, get this, putting my capo on! It didn't even have the decency to snap while doing a totally awesome rock 'n roll strum. Ugh... And then I had to change it by mobile phone light on the side of the stage. But even still, I think I managed it in under 3 mins, which I was quite chuffed with. Didn't get home until around 4 the next morning however, so that pretty much killed me for the rest of the weekend. Then we had another gig on the Sunday arvo at the Wheatsheaf which was FANTASTIC, even though I felt like I had drunk copious amounts of alcohol the whole day. I couldn't focus on anything and felt so bloody vague. But the place was packed, and it was great to see so many friends there, some whom I hadn't seen for ages. So I've spent the last week or so trying to recover from that weekend.
Had clinic today, and to my surprise, my lung function is back up to 65%, after being around 60% only a couple weeks ago. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that I did my first yoga session last night in about 4 months. Man was it hard... it wasn't until afterwards that I realised that I had been in an intermediate class, but that's cool - I figure if I can (almost) keep up with it from now on, it'll be a great thing to aspire to. But it felt so good to feel my body working like that again, and to feel my lungs really get a good work out. Still a ways to go before I start to feel really healthy again, but for now, it's going great. I've got another clinic at the end of December to see how I am and whether I'll need another admission before we go on tour in Jan. The last thing I want is to get sick halfway through that. That would be shite... But for now, things are awesome, and I intend to keep them that way.
We have a best friend's wedding on Saturday which we are playing at, and then our last planned gig for the year on Sunday afternoon, so I'm really looking forward to that. For those who are looking for something to do, we're playing at the Whitmore Sq Arts Fair with a couple of other AWESOME Rads bands (The Sea Thieves and Brillig) so come on down and say 'Hi'. It would make me smile anyway...
Rating: 8.3
What I'm listening to: Cookie Baker - Gala Day
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Gigs, yoga and a Gala Day
Monday, October 13, 2008
Clinic, Yorkes and Spring!
A few things to get through, so let's not dilly-dally with pleasantries.
The biggest thing I should mention is that last weekend we went over to the Yorke Peninsula to Holly's parent's farm. Step (Holly's mum) was having a bit of a shin-dig for her 50th that she also decided to make a fundraiser for the Women's and Children's Hospital, and thought it would be a good idea to book the band to play down there. We had an absolute ball! I had dad's car, which makes the drive a hell of a lot easier when you have power steering. It especially made it easier since I had injured myself the week before. Oh yes, I fell off my bike and fractured my elbow. Good times... But anyhoo, the weekend was awesome, with picture perfect weather, lots of friends and a bit of relaxing as well. Was just a pity we couldn't stay longer than a couple of days. 
On the day we came back, I was a bit slack and didn't do any of my nebs or physio, which led to me feeling a little bit poorly. I had clinic the next day, which proved that my lack of discipline caused a bit of a drop in lung function. A bit annoying... I still haven't really gotten any better, so I'm hoping that will turn around this week.
I'm loving the weather at the moment. True Adelaide spring weather. low to mid 20's, clear skies, and daylight savings started about a month early, which is wreaking havoc with my mobile, but I'm determined to stick it out and hopefully my calendar will sync up again. We did our first beach dinner on Saturday night, which was a blinding success. Definitely something we will have to keep doing regularly. We had our first bbq of the season last week as well. It's the type of weather where you just want to be out doing stuff, even if it's nothing exciting.
Things on the Cookie front are getting a bit exciting. Album is coming out on 1st of November, but for the eager beavers, you can actually pre-order a copy of the cd from https://www.just-secure.com/mixmastersrecords/order_GC.html (and that includes anywhere overseas). She is also the featured artist on the MusicSA site, which you can have a gander at http://www.musicsa.com.au/. Not too many gigs coming up as we really want to relax before the madness starts in Dec, however we are supporting Epicure at the UniBar on November the 7th, which should be a blast! Haven't seen those guys before, and I'm really liking their stuff. AND I think tix are only $15, so no real excuses not to come along. :)
I'm pretty sure that's it. Oh, the boys (cats) had their first experience in catching a bird today. I was sitting in the lounge room and heard this really awful shriek, and first thought something was wrong with one of the boys. Then i realised that they were chasing a disabled bird that couldn't fly throughout the house. I picked it up, took it outside and threw it in the air to see if it was actually broken (which it was), and then watched the boys run up to it thinking that it would be destroyed in the next 10 seconds. I was wrong... the boys just kept going up to it, sniffing it, giving it the occasional wack on the noggin, and then just watched it. When the bird realised that it was pretty safe and not going to be eaten, it went under a fence into the next door neighbours back yard. Stupid cats...
Rating: 6.0
What I'm listening to: Cookie Baker - Gala Day
Monday, September 29, 2008
Long overdue...
Yes, it's been over a month since I last wrote, and because of that, iCal has deleted everything that was written in it before August 30th (which is what I use to tell me what I've been doing to write here), so we'll see how I go...
As I wrote last time, the cf ball was coming up, and I'm glad to say it was bloody amazing. SO much fun! As usual, I drank my year's worth of alcohol in the one night, but happily and strangely enough, didn't get too drunk (as in passing out or throwing up drunk). Got a bit tired towards the end, but that's about it. There were around 500 people that went this year, so it's definitely getting to be quite a big affair. Next year I'm determined to get on top of things early so I can book more than one table and get a whole bunch of us there. We didn't do a whole lot afterwards - hung around the bay for a little bit, and then went back to Joelie's where we all pretty much flaked out and went to bed. Such a good night though, and I'm so happy for all my friends that came along. It means a lot to me.
As planned, after the ball I got myself admitted into hospital for a couple of weeks of iv's. Warning: major bitch sesh coming up. This had to have been one of the worst admissions I've had in a long time. Due to a code white (no free beds in the hospital) my admission day was pushed back from Monday to Thursday. I had my drip put in at 11am, and then had to wait around for my bed to become available. Come 7pm and finally I could move into my room. However, the doctor that was on the ward hadn't written me up for any antibiotics, so they didn't start my treatment until the Friday afternoon. Brilliant... then I had to move rooms. And then after a week they made me do the rest of my treatment at home, which I really don't like doing. But due to the shortage of beds and their new program of sending patients no longer in an 'acute' state, I was made to leave. By the time my iv's had finished, I didn't feel that great still, but I had had enough of the whole thing, so I didn't really care. Luckily though things picked up once I finished my treatment and as of right now things are going really well.
While I was in hospital there were a couple of really awesome gigs on. The TinPan Orange kids from Melbourne popped through Rads for a couple of shows, so Cookie and I supported them at the Grace, which was such a pleasure. Only problem was that I had pretty much had no stamina whatsoever, so after we finished playing, I was sitting on the ground completely ruined and not much company. But TinPan Orange were brilliant, so it was all worth it. :) The next weekend the Grace was having it's 10th birthday, which was an invite only event, and formal dress. Even though I was still in hospital, and didn't want to overdo anything like I had done the week before, I knew I would regret it if I didn't go. We played a small set of around 4 or 5 songs, and I sat down the whole time, just to reserve as much energy as I could. I didn't stay too long this time though, and was back in my dingy hospital room by around half 10.
I have a new job! Believe it or not, Jaan has managed to get another pretty cruisy job that fits in quite well with his continuously-needing-time-off lifestyle. It's at a post office, and quite a lot of fun. Only problem is that it's really not enough hours, so I still have to stay at Alpha, and I'm not sure if I need to still look for something else. But for now, it's a bit of extra cash, so we'll see how I go with that.
Last weekend we also went down to Victor Harbor for a few days to relax. Poor Alice was feeling very poorly for a day, so we didn't really do a whole lot, which still suited me fine. A couple of friends popped down as well for a day, and we went to Port Elliott for some lunch at the bakery there (which is the best!) and did a whole lot of walking around. It's really nice to be in touristy areas on the coast during the cooler months where you get to really enjoy the beauty of a place and see why it became a tourist spot, without stupid people everywhere.
On Saturday night just gone, Alice's brothers held a dinner party at their house. The theme was 'Paris in Spring', and there were around 30 people invited. It was bloody amazing! Everyone dressed up awesomely, and there was tonnes of wine and magnificent food. There were dining tables strewn throughout the kitchen and lounge room, candles, dim lighting, it really was something special. And the food... man o man. Peter is one helluva cook. Starters was bread, olives, pâté, and some veggies. For main course, we had potatoes, chicken in this wine sauce thing, and the meat was falling off the bones and melting in your mouth. And for dessert we had pear and almond pie. To think every single bit of this was home made, just blew me away. I hope they'll be doing another one soon...
Next weekend we're going over to Yorkes to Cookie's parent's farm for her mum's 50th. She booked us to play there with a couple of other people, so we're really looking forward to that. I'm especially excited to go as I've only been there during summer where everything is dead and brown, and I've been promised that all the fields at this time of year are green. It'll be quite lovely me thinks. Just to get away again for a couple of days will be all I need. To play some music while we're there is icing on the cake.
I think that's enough. Oh, one last point - Cookie's cd is finally finished! Mixed, mastered, everything. It sounds pretty good I must say... For those interested, release date is Nov 1st, but I think pre-orders are from Oct 1st if you're super keen. I'll post details when I get them. But yes, good times ahead!
Rating: 8.9
What I'm listening to: Cookie Baker - Gala Day
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Winter hibernation
So with the whirlwind of interstate beauties visiting Rads over, life has returned to normal. I'm back to being a housewife while I try to find a job, Alice is working her 4 jobs trying to support me, and I'm spending many more nights at home while it's freezing and wet outside. Brilliant. No, seriously, as bad as our summer was this year, I am absolutely LOVING this winter. It's cold, it's been SO wet, it's just amazing. Our front and back lawn now resembles something like the Amazon forest, but I don't care. Better than the dust bowl we'll have once summer comes around again. But enough on the state of our flora.
As I said, not a whole lot has been going on of late. Been to a few friends' exhibitions, which have all been successful and awesome. Adelaide has some serious talent. We have had quite a few dinners with friends, which have been lovely. It was Alice's birthday, so we made sure we could just hang out together since she's so busy with her work. Unfortunately she woke up feeling quite crook, so the majority of the day was spent with us lying on the couch watching bad/awesome crime shows on Fox. Not a bad way to spend the day really. And then we went up to Coriole for a family dinner.
On the Cookie front mixing for the album is going great. 4 tracks done so far, and they sound AMAZING. This is gonna be one corker of an album. We also had the pleasure of recording a little interview and song on 'The Adelaide Show' on Nova, which was tonnes of fun. I think you can actually find it on itunes as a podcast. And a couple of shows have been booked for WA in November, so it'll be great to get out there. I've never been, so I'm quite excited.
As for health, it's not going that great. As I said last time, clinic went well, but since I wasn't feeling tops I went on some oral antibiotics for a couple of weeks. They seemed to work, but as soon as I finished them, I noticed my health declined a bit straight away, so I'm pretty sure I'll be going into hospital after the cf ball, which is next weekend. That's cool though. Especially with the shows in WA later in the year, I want to make sure things are all under control before I head off.
Rating: 6.7
What I'm listening to: Sam Buckingham - My Own Horse
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Sez and The Buck hit Rads!
The week included quite a few shows, which just seemed to get better and better as they went on, trips to the Pancake Kitchen, Ying Chow and Cibo for gelati, as well as a couple of days of pretty much vegging out, watching bad TV and chatting.
The final show was at the Wheatsheaf Hotel, which pretty much guarantees a brilliant night. On the bill for that show were Sarah, Sam, Xavia (from local outfit BrotherSister) and Cookie Baker. It was such a special night, tinged with a bit of sadness knowing that this was the last time the girls from the east were playing in Rads for who knows how long.
I seriously doubt that I can handle so much awesomeness. The last month has really been a whirlwind of emotions, mostly amazingly good, but it's all a bit too much. I'm hoping that the coming weeks will slow down a bit and I'll be able to find my footing again.
Some other things that have been going on the past week: I had a clinic appointment on Tues, and I really wasn't looking forward to it. I still don't think I've recovered from Sydney, as I'm pretty much tired all day every day, and my chest is quite a bit clogged up. However, as it has happened before, I did my lung function and the results showed something quite a bit different - the best readings for a couple of years. So go figure... I went on some oral antibiotics anyway to see if they help me start to feel a bit better. If not, I may then just admit myself for another 2 week stint, especially since towards the end of the year things are gonna get a bit nuts with Cookie Baker stuff, so I wanna make sure I'm good for that.
I also went up the hill to record my last guitar track for the album, so that went really smoothly and sounding rad. If all goes to plan, the recording should be completed by this week! Then there's the mixing... so it won't be available for a little bit yet, but still, progress is progress.
STILL needing a job, but I'm thinking maybe the reason I haven't got anything yet is because of my health stuff, and once that clears up, some doors may open.
This weekend is the Coopers Alive event, which is a ' new initiative that aims to encourage local artists to actively participate in planning, promoting and evaluating their live performances, as well as providing an entertaining and creative showcase for all music-lovers to enjoy'. Basically it goes over 2 nights and 4 venues, with each venue hosting a different genre. We're playing at the Wheatsheaf as part of the folk 'n' roots showcase, along with The Fiddle Chicks and The Huckleberry Swedes. It's gonna be a fricken awesome night. I'm also going to the Jade Monkey the night before to see Mr Wednesday and BrotherSister. Big weekend me thinks...
Rating: 5.8
What I'm listening to: Sam Buckingham - My Own Horse
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Sydney and post
The Cookie Baker train went to Sydney for a week, where amazing times were had by all. Alice left jewellery shops in a spin with her awesome designs, we saw some incredible bands, made some bloody close friends and to top it all off, played a friggen sweet show. Poor Cookie had a devil of a cold though, so her poor throat suffered greatly from the one show, but being the trooper she is, she passed with flying colours.
The one gig we had was at The Excelsior in Surry Hills, where a good friend of ours Renny Field was doing a residency for the month of June. He kindly invited us to play at the final show, along with the gorgeous Sarah Humphreys and The Falls. It really was an amazing night. It was so good to hear Renny play again, especially with his band. They are the shit. And I hadn't heard Sarah Humphreys with her band before, and it really blew me away. Lucky for us she is coming down to Rads next week for a couple of shows. Yeeha!
We also went to the cd launch of our good friends 'The Mischief'. What an awesome night. They played brilliantly, the sound was great (luckily so since the sound guy was an absolute twunt all night and I was scared the boys would have shit sound for their set), and Joelie (violin player that plays with us) even got up to do a song with them! It really was a special night and I feel quite privileged to have seen it.
The rest of our week in Sydney involved staying out late ever night drinking and hanging out, getting up early every morning to get together with everyone for coffee, a few little touristy walks, a birthday party, and some emotional high's and low's that were worthy of a B grade movie. What more could you ask for in a holiday?
On Thursday we had a gig at The Gov as part of Winter Warmers, a new thing they have going in the front bar during winter. Open fire, great food and wine, and of course great tunes. It was fantastic!! Just what we needed after such an intense week, and it was so good just to play again. Then on the weekend the lovely Joelie had her birthday party, so it was another late night of shenanigans and live karaoke. Brilliant.
We had to get up kinda early the next morning though as we were due at Mixmasters to record hand claps, clicks, random shouts and hitting things. It was also the first time I had heard any of the material since that first weekend away in September last year, and may I say, it is sounding absolutely brilliant. Even though it still has to be mixed and all that, the way it's sounding at the moment, it's only going to get better, so I'm quite pumped for it. And believe it or not, there's not a whole lot to go - mainly the strings, which if I remember correctly, are booked in for Sunday this week. Sa-weeeeet!
I'm still in need of a job, so that's a bit annoying. I've been applying for more and more places though, so I'm hopeful something will turn up. My mind is still in a race from Sydney as well, so prob best that I'm not doing too much at the moment anyway. The Sydney trip did take a bit of a toll on my health, as I had expected, so I have a clinic next week to see how much damage was done. Strangely though, as soon as we got back home, I started feeling good again, and as of right now, I really don't feel too bad at all. But we'll wait till Tuesday to see how everything is.
Rating: 7.3
What I'm listening to: The Mischief - Sixpenny Scrapbook
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Busy, busy, busy
So in the past month I've been out quite a bit to see some bloody amazing Adelaide bands. First was The Audreys for their Adelaide leg of their tour. It was at Her Majesty's Theatre, a place I hadn't been to in forever, and forgot how gorgeous it was. It was all seated, so a bit different to their gigs of late, but it worked really well. They played awesomely, the sound was fantastic, and that's all I can think of to say. I also saw BrotherSister, another band that Ryan (drummer for Cookie) plays in. Man, these guys are incredible. There is a video floating around on youtube I think, but if nothing else, check out their Myspace to have a listen. Bloody brilliant.
A good friend of ours (and his band, The Mischief) came from Sydney last Thurs to Rads for some shows that Holly booked, which took up most of our time last week. They are the most hilarious bunch of guys, and they fit right in to our way of life. The biggest gig of theirs however was at Jive on Saturday night with a local band called Colonel Kernal and a band from Mildura called Jackson Firebird. The Mischief are amazing - I can't quite describe their style, but it's somewhere in between powerpop/country/folk. Anyway, that doesn't matter, because all that matters is that they're amazing. Jackson Firebird then came on, and it's one of the most organic, dirty rock I've ever seen. Just a drummer and guitarist, but they don't even need a bassist. Very, very good. And Colonel Kernal, well, there has been word on the street that they guys are incredible, but it's taken me until now to finally see them, even though I realised I have a couple of friends in the band (that's Adelaide for you). I'm just repeating myself here, but again, these guys are just insane. You've got jazz/rock/blues and mix in some metal and you are on your way to beginning to understand what I'm talking about.
Last week we also went over to Mildura to play at the Chef's of the Future competition. It's a week long thing they have in Mildura to find the best chef at the TAFE and surrounding areas. The food was amazing... the gig was great fun, and I got to fly on a tiny plain to get there. Not the best fun, but it's definitely made my fear of flying a little less horrible.
And then on Sunday we had our long awaited Adelaide Fringe encore show at TInCat Cafe. To have everyone together again really was something special. The afternoon show was great, and even though there were a few spots of rain, it managed to hold off for our performance. We were also blessed to have Joelie join us for these shows, who's violin playing really did add a little something that wasn't there before.
For the evening show however, the heavens were threatening to open up as we were setting up, and it was a bit stressful. It wasn't until the last minute that we decided we best be safe and move inside for the evening performance. It definitely made things a bit more squishy, but it was one of the most intimate shows I had ever done, and ended up being something really special. We (and I think the audience) had a great night, but it was tinged with a bit of sadness as Timmo was leaving for New Zealand for around 6 months. But that's cool - he'll be back and then all is well again. :)
So we're now in Sydney, staying in a bloody awesome place in Paddington, and we have our one and only show tonight at the Excelsior with Renny Field, Sarah Humphreys and The Falls. It really is going to be a bloody amazing night, and I will do my best to take lots of pics and vids. Ryan and Joelie made the trip as well, so it will be a Cookie Baker format we haven't done yet. I'm sure it will be great.
Health is alright... I realised in the taxi on the way to the airport that I forgot my hypertonic saline, which I use for physio (win for me), so I have to walk down to the hospital this morning to see if I am able to get some more. I'm sure it will be fine. So I'm going to try to take it as easy as possible, but I won't be too worried if I need an admission when we get back to Rads.
Rating: 6.2
What I'm listening to: BrotherSister - The Wundertales
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Another 3 weeks, another bunch of stuff happens
So we had the Mixmasters gig at the grace I was telling you about last time. What a bloody amazing night it was. Holly, Joelie (new violin player) and myself were at Holly's beforehand just so we could go through the songs one more time to make sure we all knew what we were doing (since this was the first gig we had with Joelie). We got there around 7:30 to catch the second half of Delia's magical set. Delia is a local girl who is just bloody amazing. I thoroughly recommend you check her out (here). The place was already packed by the time we got there, but it was only the start of things to come. So we got on stage, played through our set, which was just amazing. The crowd were super responsive, everyone was drinking, but not messy drunk, and we just had a ball. Joelie was magnificent, and there happens to be a vid of a song floating around on youtube, so have a look if you wanna see it. There was also Radelaide's leading music reviewer there, so check out his space to see what he wrote about the night.
The next week was pretty quiet apart, but the weekend was filled with shenanigans once again. On Friday night, some good friends of ours Andy and Jess invited us to the Magill RSL club for dinner. It's something they try to do regularly, and after going there, I see why. The place is full of old diggers who are bloody hilarious, and the nicest/most genuine people you have ever met. There is all this old war memorabilia around the place, 20c pool, and you get a feast for $8. Bloody bargain. After dinner, we walked back to our place and showed them Twin Peaks. We had been planning to get them to see it for a little while, and after the pilot episode, they were hooked, so we followed it with another 2 eps. We endeavour to make this a regular thing, so that's something to look forward to each week. Suckers...
Saturday night we went to another friends house for his 30th. It was a night filled with food, drinks, music and karaoke. Can't ask for much more really. One particularly funny part of the night involved a couple of the party guests (who had come dressed as police officers) went outside to confront some punk-arse teens doing burnout's across the road. Needless to say the teens crapped their pants and fled. Funny stuff.
This weekend was again filled with fun stuff, including a bloody big night last night. Tom was having a birthday 'do at his place, so we got there around 11 or so, and found ourselves leaving by 3. We found out today that Tom didn't get to bed until 8, and that the party didn't actually finish till 12 the next day. Troopers.
On another note, I really need to get another job. Alpha has pushed me down to one shift a week, which doesn't really cut it. I have had a few options, so we'll see where they go. Hopefully I'll be able to get something soon and I won't have to live off Alice's pay.
We have started getting our stuff together for our TinCat show later this month. It's gonna be a fricken sweet day, 2 shows, 7 of us on stage, and some new tunes as well. Those who are thinking of coming really better ring TinCat and book their tickets as they are selling like hot cakes and I can guarantee that there will be none left at the door on the day.
And then straight after TinCat is Sydney! And we got word today that Joelie is coming as well, so all up it will be Joelie and Cara, Alice and me, Ryry and Holly. Not a bad troop I must say.
Health is going about the same as last. Not feeling 100%, but it's not getting any worse, so I doubt that I'll get myself admitted before going to Sydney. Instead I reckon I'll keep a course of orals on me in case things start to flare up, and then if the trip affects me a bit, I'll prob just admit myself once we get back. No biggie. :)
I'm thinking that's all there is to say. Don't you hate it when your G string breaks?
Rating: 6.8
What I'm listening to: Sarah Humphreys - Teapot Trees and Love Birds...
Sunday, May 18, 2008
No internet (and internet back), ugly parties, gigs, and dvd’s.
So there's been parties, gigs, cold nights and sunny days. We went to an 'ugly' party, where my effort for the night was to shave my face, except for my manly moustache. Awesome. I actually haven't got rid of it yet, but it's all blended in with the rest of my facial hair now, so it's not so noticeable (and disgusting).
I had to leave that party prematurely to see one of Ryry's other band's (Mr Wednesday) play. They have been around for ages, and I don't think I've ever seen them. Well, I may have in the good ol days, but since I can't remember anything of what they sounded like, it's much easier (and almost more accurate) to say I've never seen them. Anyway, all garble aside, they were bloody amazing! The place was packed, and even though they took to the stage a bit late, no one really seemed that fussed. Can't really say too much more, other than they are awesome and I can't wait to see them again.
The night before Timmo was doing a solo show at the Worldsy, so Alice and I went down to have a beer and listen. He certainly seemed much better than he did the previous night at Kate Miller-Heidke, so much so that his face was a normal fleshy colour, and not completely white. Luckily he was on first, as I was still pretty knackered from the previous nights shenanigans. But once again, really, REALLY beautiful stuff he has. So many talented people around... makes me sick.
The next week consisted of a couple exhibitions, a birthday dinner at a Thai restaurant, and our internet getting cut off. Not because we are naughty or anything, but because I found that I could be paying less money for faster net. Who's been a schmuck? But in order to get connected again, I had to disconnect from the old provider, wait until the codes cleared off the phone like, THEN wait 5-10 business days for the new one to get connected. Ugh. By my count, Friday (yesterday) was day 4, so hopefully we have net by next week. If not, I think I may very well cry.
It's now been a week since that last paragraph and we have internet! About bloody time... I didn't end up crying, but Alice could tell something was up. All good now though. :)
Not a whole lot been going since then sadly. It has been raining all day and night, so that's been brilliant. Really cold rain as well. Not that rain is usually warm, but it just feels extra cold. Which is nice. And apparently it's going to continue all weekend. Go us. Since tonight was going to be cold and wet, Alice and I planned to have a dvd night. We saw the final episode of Scrubs, which despite being a homage to 'The Princess Bride', was a tiny bit of a let down. But I guess the whole writer's strike thing kinda screwed up the writing for the show. Anyway, bring on season 8.
Then we decided to FINALLY finish watching 'Wonderfalls', which we had started I don't even wanna think about how long ago. But it was bloody brilliant. Seriously good stuff. Thoroughly recommend it if you haven't seen it. Next on the list is 'Pushing Daisies'. We'll get to that in the next few day's I'm sure.
We have a gig tomorrow night. Mixmasters (the studio that we are recording at) is having a 5th birthday, and a whole bunch of artists that have recorded there are playing at the Grace. We're on at 8 for half an hour, and we have a new inductee to the Cookie Baker 'collective' - an AWESOME girl by the name of Joelie on violin. It's gonna be incredible.
Health is going alright. I was a bit shit a week or so ago, but I think that's clearing up now. I'm still tossing up whether I should get another admission before we go to Sydney in June. But at the rate I'm going now, I think i'll prob leave that for after we get back. Just thinking out loud really...
Rating: 7.2
What I'm listening to: The Audreys - When The Flood Comes
Kate Miller-Heidke
We arrived around 4 in the afternoon and before we even walked in we could hear the opera-like warm up's of Kate Miller-Heidke, and I found myself grinning like a school boy who had found the answers to the day's test. This was going to be a great night.
We saw Timmo arrive, the trooper he is, and all rushed over to see how his appendix was holding up. To think he only discharged himself from the hospital that day says something about him - extremely dedicated or extremely stupid. Luckily it was the former.
We got our gear on stage and started to plug everything in so we could make some noise. Due to the Gov's weird shape and acoustics, we were warned that sound check could be a bit of trouble. But with Brett at the helm of the sound desk, we had full confidence in him and that he would get the sound as crisp and beautiful as it should.
Sound check went along quite smoothly, apart from having to turn off the front of house speakers so we could hear our levels in the foldback on stage. We ran through the new song as a band for the first time, and went surprisingly smoothly. Well, not really surprisingly since we have some of the most talented musicians in Rads.
Once we were happy with how it all sounded, we all went back to Holly's house to get some grub and run through the new song once more, pretty much to make sure I knew what I was doing. But it was all sweet, and we enjoyed our gourmet pizza knowing that we were totally going to nail the song.
Due to the fact that the Foo Fighters were playing across the road the same night, do you think we could find any parks? Ryry decided to do the honourable thing by driving 5 blocks away, while I did the opposite and parked illegally in the carpark right in front of the door, blocking 4 other cars in. Hey, they would have been there for the show, so I doubt I would have to move out of the way until the end of the night. So it was all cool.
When we walked on stage, there were already the faithful KMH fans leaning on the stage and that extended to most of the room. It wasn't packed mind you, but there were certainly plenty of people prepared to stand and watch us until KMH took to the stage.
We started the set with 'Clean Sheets and a Bottle of Gin', just to kick things off with a bang. The crowd were surprisingly receptive and seemed to like what they were hearing. There was even a couple right at the front who were dancing away. Mind you, I have no doubt that alcohol played a part in their shenanigans. Either way, I'll take it. :)
The set was incredible, the sound was bloody awesome, and the crowd were great. We got to the last song, the newie, and played it like it was one of our oldest and most familiar. All until the very last chord, where due to me blissing out a tad too much and not really paying attention to Ryry's tempo slow-down, finished a whole beat too early. I laughed. Alot. It seems like a regular thing for me to do now - final song, final chord, mess up. Well, not mess up. As Timmo says: "There's no wrong notes in music - just bad choices".
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Music coming out of the wazoo
Man time flies... it's almost been a month since I last wrote, and heaps has been going on. A quick rundown...
Monday, March 31, 2008
Gigs, rain and wineries.
It's raining!!! Well, it has done, and it's been so bloody brilliant. I'm still finding myself completely amazed every time I hear the water hit the roof or the ground. Anyhoo, other than the cooler weather and rain, things have been going great.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Mildura and Sydney
Bloody hell - what an amazing couple of weeks I have had. Hopefully I can remember all of it to tell you all...
I guess first port of call was our Fringe show. Every show ended up selling out, so you can imagine every performance was amazing just from the atmosphere alone. I can't thank everyone who came enough - you all make it the special event it was. I can tell you all that we were all quite emotional after the final show on the Sunday, especially Cookie. So much so that her voice was pretty much completely gone by the end of the show, but being the trooper she is, even gave in to the request of an encore, so what did she play? 'One More Time' by the one and only Britney. Brilliant.
There wasn't much time to get all sentimental though as on the Tuesday we had to drive the 4 hours to Mildura. By this time, there was a massive heatwave beginning in Adelaide, and Mildura is ALWAYS hotter than Ads, so we were blessed with temps between 37 and 41 for the entire week we were there. However, the heat aside, we had a bloody amazing time. We had a couple of side shows while we were there before the big final night one, and we saw some awesome acts that were part of the festival as well. But the big night was the Sunday night when we played at Music Under The Stars at the Perry Sandhills. Man, what an amazing place. Out in the middle of nowhere, they set up a stage in the midst of all these massive sand dunes, and thousands of people come, with picnic rugs in hand, and set up for the evening of music. Around 3000 people rocked up, but seriously, we were so blown away just by where we were, we didn't even notice them all while we were playing. It wasn't until we finished and walked out to where our friends were sitting that we realised the scale of the crowd. It was just insane. Then Ben Lee closed the night, and he was great! I have to admit that I haven't heard much of his stuff, and hence not the biggest fan, but I gotta take my hat off to him. He performed brilliantly, and the crowd absolutely lapped it up. And all done in acoustic mode as well, with just one other guy accompanying him on keyboard. And despite some of the negative reports I had heard about the guy, he was nothing but awesome to us. Had a few nice chats with him, and that's all I can really say about it.
So we came back to Adelaide for a few days before flying to Sydney. Cookie being the hard and tough musician she is, decided 'it would be best' to stay in a 5 star hotel for a couple nights upon arrival. Hey, I wasn't going to argue with that logic. So we made ourselves comfortable and tried to enjoy it all... ;) We played 4 shows during our week there, and they were all excellent, and all totally different. We did the first two supporting a friend of Cookie's (Renny Field) which were just amazing. He is the shit. Seriously, if he's ever in your area, you HAVE to check him out. He's actually going to the UK and Europe mid year, so just something to keep him in mind.
The last 2 gigs we did were at Balmain and Manly. The Balmain show was part of a night called 'Poptarts' which is a showcase of female songwriters, and it was here that we had the pleasure of seeing a girl by the name of Sarah Humphreys. We had met her a couple nights before as she was singing back-up's for Renny's gig, but when we realised we were both playing the same show in Balmain, we just about lost it. And I'm not kidding when I say everyone should check her out. Her album (which I bought on the night) is one of the most beautiful things I have heard in a LONG time. But yes, the whole week there was so much better than I had expected. We met some of the funniest people, and I think 80% of our time was spent laughing. And I just got a call from Cookie today that she has already booked another gig for us up there in June. Good stuff! But in the meantime, we have a couple gigs here in Ads that are going to be fun - supporting Angie Hart (of Frente! fame) at the Wheatsheaf Hotel, a couple of stints up at Nepenthe Winery, and we just got a call that we're supporting Kate Miller-Heidke at The Gov, which will be a full band show. Oooh yeah!
Well that's a quick rundown of the last two weeks. Oh, one more piece of news - Alpha Video, my place of work for the past 8 and a half years, got sold on the weekend, so come mid-april, I will officially be un-employed. Awesome... so if anyone knows of any casual jobs where they would be cool with me taking some time off every now and then (hospital and music) hit me up. :)
Healthwise I'm doing amazingly well. I definitely thought that I would be suffering a bit after the trips, but my lungs have held up fine. Hopefully that will continue.
Rating: 8.5
What I'm listening to: Sarah Humphreys - Teapot Trees and Love Birds...
Oh, and I’ve put pics up from all things the past month (Fringe show, Mildura and Sydney), so if you wanna see what things have looked like for me, check em out on my Flickr site. :)
Friday, February 29, 2008
Exciting times ahead!
Not even going to try and explain why I haven't written in so long. Just not worth it. Slackness is a wonderful thing.
I'll start off with I just got out of hospital in Tuesday. I wasn't that sick when I went in, but with all these gigs we got coming up, I thought I would go in and get pumped full of drugs so that (hopefully) I don't get too sick with all the travelling.
So what gigs are these? Well, it started last night with the opening of our Fringe show. Despite a couple of sound issues when we were setting up, it all turned out awesomely, and we had SUCH a ball. Thanks to all who made it out. Really looking forward to tonight's show. I think it's been dubbed the 'parents' night. About 4 of the people in the band have their folks coming tonight. Should be awesome! I think there are still a few tickets left for Saturday night's show, so you can either call Fringetix or just go to http://tix.adelaidefringe.com.au/ticketing/EventDetails.aspx?EventGuid=bfb97430-1834-481f-916a-3fd07508eb5e to book.
So we have a break on Monday, and then on Tuesday we drive up to Mildura for a week while the Mildura-Wentworth Arts Festival is on. We are doing a couple of shows throughout that week, and then we are supporting Ben Lee on the final night of the festival in the Perry Sandhills. It's gonna be massive. So pumped for that one! Then we get back to Adelaide for a day or so and then fly off to Sydney for a week for some more shows. We're doing a couple with Renny Field Band and also one in the Blue Mountains. We then come back home and we're supporting Angie Hart at the Wheatsheaf, which is gonna be a gorgeous show, so I highly recommend people come and check that one out. I have a feeling I may need another admission when all this is over, but that's cool.
So obviously since I was just in hospital, my health is awesome at the moment. My lung function went up to 68% while i was in there, which is pretty much up towards my best since going to the hospital when I was 18. Can't really complain about that eh?
Trying to think of what else has been going on... Oh yeah, it was my birthday last week as well, and while I was in hospital for it, it could have been worse. It was quite hot while I was in, so it was nice to be in an air-conditioned building all day, and not doing much aside from lying in bed watching tv. The nurses even got me a cake. Pretty sweet... Alice has taken me on 3 of 5 mystery dates, and they have all been awesome considering it's Fringe time and there are TONNES of acts to see. We went and saw Frank Woodley on the opening night of the Fringe, then Jimeoin the following night, and the best of the Edinburgh Festival on Sunday night. The next 2 are after we get back from Mildura.
Autumn has also hit with a vengance. I always forget that when it arrives, the nights get cold straight away. No grace period at all. Days are still quite pleasant, around mid twenties, but then the nights get down to low teens. It's so annoying because during the day you are all hot and not even thinking about needing warmer clothes later in the night. Yes, it is a difficult life I lead. But I'm strong - I can push through it.
Right - I think that's about it. Sorry again for not writing for so long. Ah well. At least you've had a break from my ramblings for a while. :)
Rating: 9
What I'm listening to: Sia - Some People Have Real Problems
