Howdy Folks. Another well spent afternoon in pursuit of Videoclip footage.
We drove up to Blackheath this afternoon to get some footage of Fettler and I was reminded just how pretty the mountains are.
Blackheath has some delightful old cottages
We went out looking for a location to film us some Fettler and he suggested a church that Tinker's family helped build.
I asked if he thought there'd be anyone about. he suggested that as the next service is in June, probably not :-)
Once again somehow the Call Of The Dutch got us. We'd parked off the road, walked down a dirt lane to film some stuff and were mid way through filming when a bunch of backpackers wandered up and asked us directions :-) They must have followed the sound of fiddle. Hope you guys found the campsite ok.
I'll wait until I release the video before I post any more pics, but the scenery in the megalong valley was stunning.
When we got back to Fettlers place Tink showed us the replica 'one ring' complete with Mordor-ian Writing that she'd dug up in the backyard of their new house. How it got there is anyone guess. I suggested that she keep it secret, keep it safe (GROAN).
I have to go convert the footage to the correct .avi codec and then we'll see how this clip comes together. Stay tuned.
Howdy Folks, hope the weekend has treated you as kindly as ours has us. Except for the 6 channel desk fiasco. Oh and Rosies Quantum Train Station affair (I'll let him tell it).
Friday night saw us head up to the Entrance for a gig at the Lakes. Once again we shall delve into the minutiae of a working band.
First things first, it's time for the OCD/Spectrum moment of the week. A good van pack.
OH YEAH BABY!!
Note the ample rear vision. Packing is now my super power. For my next trick I shall now fold myself into an origami shape and post myself to the Bahamas.
(sigh) I remember when we didn't have half this much gear. Whose idea was it to improve our production and lighting anyway? Pete D! It's all your doing!
Still, we now seem to have found the right combo of lights, sound stuff and...err...stuff. Mr Wizard explains that the Styrofoam bits are there in case he wants to start making a surfboard at a gig, and well we may need surfboard with the amount of Rain we've had of late, WTF happened to summer? But I digress.
Getting out of Sydney on a rainy Friday can prove a challenge:
But never fear, we had assigned ample time for the journey! Packing and logistics? Check. Not all of us proved so fortunate but that's for someone else's blog.
That left Mr Wizard and I to get setup whilst the boys found themselves, each other and their way to the venue
We send our fond 'get a new car soon' wishes to Bill V who wrote his off during our Tamworth Trip (ouch) and is stranded until the gods of insurance smile upon him (I recommend a Van) :-)
Shout outs to Steve and Bernie! Dancing started 3rd song into the set. These chaps cleared the dance floor with some Riverdance Moves, I had to try and snatch a few moments of it :-)
And once begun..
You get the idea. Cheers to everyone who spent the evening with us.
Gig 2 - Bondi Royal ROCK STAR PARKING
Theo organised the most Rock Star of all unloading parking.Bless you Mr Wanders. if you think I get a thrill out of a good pack, you ought to see me when I get a good parking spot. Ya gotta be grateful for all the little victories, they're the stuff of which life is made.
It was Mardi Gras night and the weather held, the city was blocked off in a few directions but our gig was well away from the finish point for the parade so I missed the traffic. Poor Mr Wizard had to drop via Paddington where he called me to remark that the guys in Assless Chaps were already out and about at 6:30.
Welcome to Sydney. Happy Mardi Gras!
I knew there would be plenty of people going out simply to share in the sense of fun that seems to pervade the city around Mardi Gras time and I wasn't surprised to find the Royal pumping.
Cheers to Ms Irene B, for choosing to spend some of her holiday with us, shoutouts to our Dutch visitors from Iowa, our Other Dutch visitors (ye gods Theo is a Dutch Magnet, where he goes, the Nederlanders seem to magically appear), greetings to our Irish/English love match, and a special shout out to JT and the Significant Others, cheers for coming and spending the evening with us.
How was it?
'Nuff said. Big night.
Theo's drum break during Parchment was remarkable, Noodles (Carl) has started singing harmonies and the boys responded very well to an enthusiastic crowd.
It's good to be back.
We have this coming weekend off whilst we do some 'stuff' and then pretty much a run of gigs though until August. Meanwhile I have two videos we're working on so stay tuned!
Saw this posted on Facebook after our gig last night, from one of the people who has spent time with us at a previous gig. Don't know what to say.
Stormcellar were playing at one of my locals on the day my father died, so his spirit would have seen me doing what I love to do;playing or listening to the Blues. Apart from being one of my fave bands they will always hold a special place for me in my soul.
I'm touched. I know music certainly saved my life and I play with gratitude. I've always relied on music to lift my spirits and to provide emotional and inspirational assistance. If we're able to provide that to others, then we serve as we should.
Thanks to the wonderful Elsa for suggesting I go along to a free course being put on by the City Of Sydney and the Sydney Harmony Choir. That was AWESOME!
Musical Director Vicky Dwyer is a Kick Ass teacher - I have been to a few over the course of time and she's the most inspiring Teacher I've seen since the recently departed great Freddy Wilson (jazz legend, hip cat, sadly missed). At the end of the lessons, the Sydney Harmony gets you to come and join in with their rehearsal. Hearing them sing is one thing, participating is entirely another. What a downright joy.
I am a fan of harmony stuff and mad crazy for Harmony Choirs, ever since I saw ZULU (over and over, love that version of men of Harlech!
(BTW by a Czech choir :-), don't you know boyo, the Welsh have some competition!)
Speaking of the Welsh I 've been fortunate enough to see the Morriston Orpheus Choir perform live at the Sydney Opera House and there is something gorgeous about the harmonics from a massed male choir.
Love'em :-)
yes I know, Dear Reader, once again you;re scratching your head and saying '??' and in my defence I have previously stated that I dig all sorts of different musical styles, so yes, to allay the alarmed emails I sometimes get when I post this stuff, we've not gone mad and suddenly included Barbershop in our expanding definition of roots music...but then again.....LOL
Ahem - For any Sydneysiders, if you have always wanted to sing but were never game, come and join the Real Men Sing course, it's only on for another 5 weeks! It's free, its on Monday Nights at the Souths Leagues on 265 Chalmers St in Redfern, it's FREE and it's awesome.
I'm going to make Mr Wizard and Rosie come down so we can pick up our game on Tall Timbers and other songs we do with harmonies.
This past few weeks without gigs has been a very strange time for us. It's one of the first sustained non gigging periods of the last 5 years... How it came about is a long story involving a cruise liner and some other random stuff, but enough of that, it's important to note that we have not been inactive, we've been doing stuff.
Aha! You Say, what stuff?
Well, we've been working on videos for the album for one thing, plus organising the recording of a new song. yep, we've decided to do a single, for the sheer heck of it. I'll fill you in on the details in due course.
This morning we filmed a proof-of-concept mockup for a clip for Black Crow, it went swimmingly, huge thanks to NR for her work, I'd say more but I'd have to do a spoiler alert. It'll take a while but it ought to be worth it.
Speaking of swimming, we braved the deluge this afternoon to go out and film some material for another video clip, this time for Texas Rosie.
Thanks to Sambo for the location suggestion and a thanks to the two blokes who didn't mind us using their Paddock for some filming.
For the shoot, we had to find a Dry bit for the boys to stand and I spent some time working out where to position the camera only to realise that the best spot was...moderately underwater. it's times like these that you wish you were wearing gumboots.
As your be-sneakered foot sinks into the water, you might be inclined to curse somewhat. ok, perhaps you wouldn't. I did. I cursed. I made faces, I squelched and kept the camera rolling. Fortunately every now and again I could take a break and my feet began to dry out...only to find that we needed one more shot and I'd have to go back and step in the...yep, you guessed it. Long story short; I have two very wrinkly feet but some great footage.
Whilst I was filming the video stuff, Rosie snapped some awesome pictures of the remnants of the thunderstorm on the plains.
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