May/June 2003

Tour dates are as follows:

June 18th, Wednesday	3RRR Live To Air
June 21st, Saturday	Palais Theatre	Daylesford
June 24th, Tuesday	The Clarendon Tix: 02 4782 1322	Katoomba
June 25th, Wednesday	Tilley’s Devine Café Tix: 02 6247 7753	Canberra
June 26th, Thursday	The Metro Tix: 02 9287 2000	Sydney
June 27th, Friday	Brass Monkey Tix: 9544 3844	Cronulla
June 28th, Saturday	Salarium Couch Bar Tix: 49275329	Newcastle
July 4th, Friday	The Corner Tix: 9427 9198	Melbourne
July 5th, Saturday	The Governor Hindmarsh Tix: 8340 0744	Adelaide
July 11th, Friday	The Great Northern Hotel Tix: 66856454	Byron Bay
July 12th, Saturday	The Zoo Tix: 3854 1381	Brisbane

The wonderful band Machine Translations will be playing as well at the main city gigs ie Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane.

The Perth, Darwin, Cairns and Alice Springs section of the tour is to come later... Hoabart will happen probably round the 6th July... We’re just waiting for production specs from the venue, hence it is not in the first announcement… For those of you in northern NSW who attended the Coorabell gig (nice review by the way from the punter on the swarm page!), I know I said I wouldn’t play the Great Northern, but for economical reasons, I’m back there… it does have a good PA and is all set up for a gig, so that’s why we’re back there. On matters live, the band is a bit different from how I said recently... Amanda and Phil are still there, but Sam Dixon and Felix Bloxom are otherwise occupied in the UK, so the rhythm section will be Terepai Richmond on drums and Alex Hewetsan on bass… both fine players and gents the two of them, tho a Sydney band so we'll be rehearsing up there...) The films and visuals are coming along well... new footage, a fella named Simon Maidment and Ian De Gruchy are editing footage with myself to accompany the songs... am certainly looking forward to going out on the road again and giving hotel radio some live life.

Have been working with ol NDW cohort Tim Cole in the Enormodome on a Film Australia documentary on West Papua entitled “Land of the Morning Star” an excellent film, directed by Mark Worth also an old buddy… Mark being the inspiration for me heading to PNG in the first place, he having spent his childhood on Manus Island, his father being in the navy at the Lombrum base there. Mark made the film documenting the Tabaran record and tour as well as having shot the film clips for Up In The Mountains and Act of Free Choice. The soundtrack for this film uses almost entirely tracks off the “Sound of the Morning Star” CD, the soundscapes made from West Papuan material that paul mac, Darren Steffan, Frank Tetaz, Biftek, Pnau and myself did as part of the campaign surrounding the recent concert. Tim will also be engineering Shane Nicholson’s record which I am producing starting tomorrow as we venture up to a beautiful house in Blackwood in central Victoria for pre-production. Am also about to compose music for the CAAMA film Queen of Hearts and the Trevor Graham doco Law and Order over the next couple of months (Trevor directed the award winning Mabo: Life of an Island Man)… A busy time with the upcoming tour as well.

Have been lending a hand to the FAIR GO 4 LIVE MUSIC CAMPAIGN in Melbourne with a number of other Melbourne musicians such as Rob Snarski and Mick Thomas and Andy White. The main line of this campaign is that “Melbourne’s cherished music culture is under threat due to noise restrictions being placed on live music venues. As the residential density of the city increases many music venues are scaling back, or eliminating entirely their live music operations due to the threat of fines or license suspensions… We are basically asking for compromise and consideration in the application of legislation to bring about realistic and practical noise limits, recognition of previous occupancy rights and requiring complainants to be of more than just a single obstinant person before being able to impact on the operation of a venue. Melbourne is a great music city because of its great community radio (RRR,PBS,CR) and because of the number and variety of inner suburban music venues. Tis something worth fighting for.

Have appreciated the supportive comments about the album from those of you who have bothered to write in... Thanks… It means a lot… “Hotel Radio” has been a little slow out of the blocks… But that’s always the case with me… A lot rides on the next single, “100 Flowers in Bloom.” With the subsequent tour… James Littlemore has done an amazing animated film clip based on Communist Asian propaganda films... Lotus flowers, workers in the fields, industrialization, trans Asian express... great kodachrome colour... tis a very talented man James Littlemore... The single contains 5 tracks, including the duet with no Fixed Address’ Bart Willoughby on his song, “Message for Young and Old” which was recorded during the Hotel Radio sessions, plus the rare “15 Nuns Lie Floating in the South Pacific Sea” from the Loudspeaker spoken word project 1996. This track I wrote with Simon Polinski and Boris Goudanoff placing spoken word over a groove and some recordings from the Simbu province that I recorded with John Phillips for the documentary “Boystown”. I hope the whole 100 Flowers package provides value for money, and something new even for diehard fans who would have collected most things... Anyway, here’s hoping we can succeed with the new tour and kick the album along...

The new Radiohead record, “Hail to the Thief” is fantastic... How does a band make such lateral, beautiful, textured records and still have such commercial success… tis sickening...

Westham are relegated...
Melbourne are finished for the year...
My pet goldfish died...
Tis all gone to shit...

(I actually don’t have a goldfish)

Shall see those of you in Australia at the gigs hopefully... Those of you elsewhere, shall keep you informed of developments re album releases in other territories as news comes to hand.

The business in Aceh has been sickening… Kopassus seems intent on destroying their infrastructure… schools and irrigation, and the wanton taking of lives in the mad climate of war is very sad. Shows war not to be the ratings excitement we make it here on Channel nine but just the indiscriminate taking of lives...