Hello again music fans.
This is a bit of a rundown of my recent weekend away and the set I played in support of the Wollongong leg of George Huitker's Maliyan 2025 Australian Tour.
I hadn't been to Wollongong for a while. For those not in the know, it's on the coast about 90km south of Sydney. From Canberra it's about a 3 hour drive if you include stops.
I chose to head to the 'Gong a day before the show. Winter is coming in fast in Canberra and the opportunity to get some sunshine and coastal air was a big drawcard. It's clearly not tourist season down there as accomodation was easy to find. I got a fab and groovy place about a five minute walk from both the CBD and the beach.
I am not a fan of the beach. I don't like sand. Salt water tastes horrible and of course there are sharks out there. I do, however, like being at the coast. I like the sound of the ocean and I'm pretty happy sitting on a bench somewhere gazing out to sea. Wollongong is great for a walk along the coast beside the beach. But, let me go out on a limb here and suggest that it is possible to walk without a takeaway coffee and/or without being on your phone the whole time...
I was fortunate enough to catch up with a couple of good friends there. Once by good luck when we were all out walking at the same time, and the next day for brekky at a fab cafe. Other than that I was pretty happy with my own company. I do wonder if the people in the next hotel room enjoyed me rehearsing my set though!
Rarely do I write much about food as it can be a challenging topic for me. I do, however, want to tell you all about the pineapple fritter I had as a treat at Glory Days on Crown Street. For years, every time I decide to get one I am disappointed. They arrive only half cooked, drowned in sugar and generally make me feel like I'd not bothered. Not this time. Oh, my, goodness. My taste buds were in heaven; the best pineapple fritter ever. Cooked to perfection and with just the right amount of cinnamon sugar. I should've gone back for a second one but let's not go too crazy.
Sunday came around with an early morning stroll, the aforementioned breakfast, and the joy of setting up sound equipment for a gig.
Lajos opened the show with poetry readings. This is the man that recently wrote 1000 poems in 1000 days. We'll be needing some of these in a book before too long. Great stuff.
Then it was me. It's been quite a while since I played and sang in public. The fact that I'd lost my voice just a week earlier threatened to make life interesting. I chose my repertoire accordingly and almost got away with it, almost. I chose to play four songs written by other people as well as a couple of mine. Here they are, along with why I chose them. Don't feel that you must read all of this as it is as much a journal entry for me as an expose of my musical scattergun approach.
i. To A Mouse - Robert Burns - https://youtu.be/5kFST60dNgY (read by Billy Connolly)
Lajos had read poetry and I really thought that I was about to lower the tone of the evening substantially so I read this one myself. Somewhere I have a certificate from early primary school in Scotland for reciting this particular poem.
1. Gold - John Stewart - https://youtu.be/reFlgu1vq3Q
I had time up my sleeve so, unrehearsed, I threw this one in. I wrote the lyrics in 1992 for a band I was in at the time. It's not that easy with just the one guitar but I think the song still stands up today.
7. If You Don't Like Hank Williams - Kris Kristofferson - https://youtu.be/J8RSGCJF6gI
There's a demo version of this which I have linked that I just adore. Kris was a smart man who liked all sorts of music and artists and I wanted to channel a little of that vibe. A few lyrics were altered so that Hank Williams is replaced by George Huitker. I'm sure you'll get it when you listen to the original.
And that was me, done and dusted.
George and Evan were up next playing a range of songs from his ten albums. Quiet songs, and 'bangers' as George calls them and everything in between. Lajos and I got up for some backing vocals on two tracks but no-one saw that green trombone solo coming. Anarchy in Wollongong!
Good times indeed.
Cautiously, I think I am now available for low key lounge room shows across the ACT. Book now to ensure disappointment!
Thanks if you read all of this.
The Woozle.
This is a bit of a rundown of my recent weekend away and the set I played in support of the Wollongong leg of George Huitker's Maliyan 2025 Australian Tour.
I hadn't been to Wollongong for a while. For those not in the know, it's on the coast about 90km south of Sydney. From Canberra it's about a 3 hour drive if you include stops.
I chose to head to the 'Gong a day before the show. Winter is coming in fast in Canberra and the opportunity to get some sunshine and coastal air was a big drawcard. It's clearly not tourist season down there as accomodation was easy to find. I got a fab and groovy place about a five minute walk from both the CBD and the beach.
I am not a fan of the beach. I don't like sand. Salt water tastes horrible and of course there are sharks out there. I do, however, like being at the coast. I like the sound of the ocean and I'm pretty happy sitting on a bench somewhere gazing out to sea. Wollongong is great for a walk along the coast beside the beach. But, let me go out on a limb here and suggest that it is possible to walk without a takeaway coffee and/or without being on your phone the whole time...
I was fortunate enough to catch up with a couple of good friends there. Once by good luck when we were all out walking at the same time, and the next day for brekky at a fab cafe. Other than that I was pretty happy with my own company. I do wonder if the people in the next hotel room enjoyed me rehearsing my set though!
Rarely do I write much about food as it can be a challenging topic for me. I do, however, want to tell you all about the pineapple fritter I had as a treat at Glory Days on Crown Street. For years, every time I decide to get one I am disappointed. They arrive only half cooked, drowned in sugar and generally make me feel like I'd not bothered. Not this time. Oh, my, goodness. My taste buds were in heaven; the best pineapple fritter ever. Cooked to perfection and with just the right amount of cinnamon sugar. I should've gone back for a second one but let's not go too crazy.
Sunday came around with an early morning stroll, the aforementioned breakfast, and the joy of setting up sound equipment for a gig.
Lajos opened the show with poetry readings. This is the man that recently wrote 1000 poems in 1000 days. We'll be needing some of these in a book before too long. Great stuff.
Then it was me. It's been quite a while since I played and sang in public. The fact that I'd lost my voice just a week earlier threatened to make life interesting. I chose my repertoire accordingly and almost got away with it, almost. I chose to play four songs written by other people as well as a couple of mine. Here they are, along with why I chose them. Don't feel that you must read all of this as it is as much a journal entry for me as an expose of my musical scattergun approach.
i. To A Mouse - Robert Burns - https://youtu.be/5kFST60dNgY (read by Billy Connolly)
Lajos had read poetry and I really thought that I was about to lower the tone of the evening substantially so I read this one myself. Somewhere I have a certificate from early primary school in Scotland for reciting this particular poem.
1. Gold - John Stewart - https://youtu.be/reFlgu1vq3Q
This song has so much going for it. Firstly it takes me back to my childhood and AM radio. Lyrically I love it; "I jump into my car and I throw in my guitar". The rhythm of the syllables and feel of spitting out the consonants are beautiful things. "California" was interchanged with "Illawarra" and "Alabama".
2. If It Takes A Lifetime - Jason Isbell - https://youtu.be/d82uSO0tn3k
2. If It Takes A Lifetime - Jason Isbell - https://youtu.be/d82uSO0tn3k
Y'all know that Jason is one of my favourite songwriters. His songs, however, are quite difficult for me to sing given his range and level of control. I'm not sure I did a wonderful job with this one, maybe I should have done it a bit later after my voice and nerves were more under control, but I still enjoyed it. For me, this is a song about continuing to move forwards.
3. Love Lies Bleeding - Elton John - https://youtu.be/REfKNbNndzo
3. Love Lies Bleeding - Elton John - https://youtu.be/REfKNbNndzo
George loves prog rock and this was as close as I could get with one voice and an acoustic guitar. I distilled the original eleven minute epic down to a bare bones, Neil Young-esque version, of about three minutes. It has a lot of chords, I needed a capo so that I could sing and play it at the same time, and it was a challenge to arrange and learn. My goodness it was fun though!
4. No Way Nadir - George Huitker - https://youtu.be/puATe3Ty3sQ
4. No Way Nadir - George Huitker - https://youtu.be/puATe3Ty3sQ
I knew that George wouldn't be playing this song in his set and, after trying out a number of his other tracks, I decided to give this one a red hot go. It's got a thousand chords as well but I played it so many times when I was in Junk Sculpture that it's pretty much muscle memory. But...I started it too fast and the lyrics need to come out thick and fast! Then I had the capo in the wrong place so it got a bit of a spoken word / Mark Knopfler vocal styling in places! And I reverted to the original lyrics...sorry H.
5. One's Too Many - https://on.soundcloud.com/udo5TD45qECNiR7h8
5. One's Too Many - https://on.soundcloud.com/udo5TD45qECNiR7h8
One of my originals that's been around for a little while now. I feel like I've played it to everyone I know but this was a whole new crowd and it has one additional lyric I wanted to try on for size.
6. Another Day - Lovesmudge - https://youtu.be/k8KgQzU3tJY
6. Another Day - Lovesmudge - https://youtu.be/k8KgQzU3tJY
I had time up my sleeve so, unrehearsed, I threw this one in. I wrote the lyrics in 1992 for a band I was in at the time. It's not that easy with just the one guitar but I think the song still stands up today.
7. If You Don't Like Hank Williams - Kris Kristofferson - https://youtu.be/J8RSGCJF6gI
There's a demo version of this which I have linked that I just adore. Kris was a smart man who liked all sorts of music and artists and I wanted to channel a little of that vibe. A few lyrics were altered so that Hank Williams is replaced by George Huitker. I'm sure you'll get it when you listen to the original.
And that was me, done and dusted.
George and Evan were up next playing a range of songs from his ten albums. Quiet songs, and 'bangers' as George calls them and everything in between. Lajos and I got up for some backing vocals on two tracks but no-one saw that green trombone solo coming. Anarchy in Wollongong!
Good times indeed.
Cautiously, I think I am now available for low key lounge room shows across the ACT. Book now to ensure disappointment!
Thanks if you read all of this.
The Woozle.
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