not gone just away
It has been a long time, thank you for not giving up on me.
I've been so busy writing that every time I get onto my laptop I have articles to write for Inpress, and if not that then I am tracking down new CDs to write about for Togatus; this means that most of my reflections go unwritten. I could blether for paragraphs about what has been happening but that would be terrifically dull for most of you.
BRiefly, I have been seeing my life go into a cycle of lots of time working and listening to podcasts, usually from the BBC or Radio National, or ones specialising in Harry Potter or film reviews. In the evenings or afternoons I write, make dinner and almost always visit !B.
That I'm starting to get paid for writing is a bonus, and I have spent this morning tidying up an interview with Todd Hunter (of 80s rock band Dragon) which was great. I've also started a column in Togatus called Reassessing The Classics where I take a classic album and point out why it's overrated. This is great fun as I get to practice turns of phrase I only usually think and systematically bringing an argument down is always a good lesson in why something was constructed in the first place. I try to tackle albums that current musicians may find intimidating and the sooner we take away the baby boomers cultural props the sooner we can make our own valid. Rant over.
I've also been reading Margrave Of The Marshes by John Peel which is totally hilarious, really insightful and incredibly poignant given that he died maybe a quarter of the way through writing it (his wife wrote the rest). A shame it took so long to be released over here. It's hard to pace my reading of it as it's such an important book and I can only hope I can drag it out till The Deathly Hallows is released.
Saw Clap Your Hands Say Yeah last week who were good fun, but not as good as this new band I saw on Friday called The Summer Cats who were really exciting and fresh. Little Red were great too and I'd been reading alot about them, their mix of 50s rock, 4-part harmonies and boy-band RnB was ace. Such sharp dressers too.
Mostly though, the best news is that I've begun gigging again and played my first show in ages on Friday night at The Espy. Though I have to lug around a MASSIVE bass amp (a Laney 8x10 if anyone is interested), it was a great night and went really smoothly. I was in my sailor shirt again and !B said I looked nice, but she would say that. More importantly the reaction was really good and our manager is flying us up to Sydney and back for a gig in June which should be heaps of fun.
I've been so busy writing that every time I get onto my laptop I have articles to write for Inpress, and if not that then I am tracking down new CDs to write about for Togatus; this means that most of my reflections go unwritten. I could blether for paragraphs about what has been happening but that would be terrifically dull for most of you.
BRiefly, I have been seeing my life go into a cycle of lots of time working and listening to podcasts, usually from the BBC or Radio National, or ones specialising in Harry Potter or film reviews. In the evenings or afternoons I write, make dinner and almost always visit !B.
That I'm starting to get paid for writing is a bonus, and I have spent this morning tidying up an interview with Todd Hunter (of 80s rock band Dragon) which was great. I've also started a column in Togatus called Reassessing The Classics where I take a classic album and point out why it's overrated. This is great fun as I get to practice turns of phrase I only usually think and systematically bringing an argument down is always a good lesson in why something was constructed in the first place. I try to tackle albums that current musicians may find intimidating and the sooner we take away the baby boomers cultural props the sooner we can make our own valid. Rant over.
I've also been reading Margrave Of The Marshes by John Peel which is totally hilarious, really insightful and incredibly poignant given that he died maybe a quarter of the way through writing it (his wife wrote the rest). A shame it took so long to be released over here. It's hard to pace my reading of it as it's such an important book and I can only hope I can drag it out till The Deathly Hallows is released.
Saw Clap Your Hands Say Yeah last week who were good fun, but not as good as this new band I saw on Friday called The Summer Cats who were really exciting and fresh. Little Red were great too and I'd been reading alot about them, their mix of 50s rock, 4-part harmonies and boy-band RnB was ace. Such sharp dressers too.
Mostly though, the best news is that I've begun gigging again and played my first show in ages on Friday night at The Espy. Though I have to lug around a MASSIVE bass amp (a Laney 8x10 if anyone is interested), it was a great night and went really smoothly. I was in my sailor shirt again and !B said I looked nice, but she would say that. More importantly the reaction was really good and our manager is flying us up to Sydney and back for a gig in June which should be heaps of fun.