The amazing adventures of Cazzbo

Yuppity!

2012-01-12T21:02:00.000-08:00

Off to Europe - the Netherlands, and Portugal via Spain.

Back mid-March. Set for lots of adventures, and lots of hard work.

If I get a NL phone sim, I'll try to list it here.

Don't leave messages on my Aussie mobile number - I will not be able to access them.

Instead: Email me -cazzbo (r)at(tatat-tat)hotmail.com.

But don't expect me to be a slave to the inty-net (I'm not). I only have a dumb phone, and will be simply scrounging net access where I can find it, in theatre foyers, etc. Not taking my laptop. Have no iThings whatsoever. There you have it!

Meanwhile I am going to miss trying to turn my garden into... well, a GARDEN.

What's been happening?

Well, I'm glad I posed the question.

New Year's Eve saw Mic Conway's National Junk Band entertain the gathering Parramatta river-side crowd. Then some of us dashed off, re-formed (but not reformed) and played/sang in 2012 as the Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band, in Glebe at the Cafe Church.

Captain Matchbox then journeyed south to Tathra near Bega, for the Tathra Summer Music Festival. I'm glad my car made it, and back, it is not used to such epic drives.

Sculpture By The Sea 2011

2011-11-22T05:00:00.000-08:00

Wonderful. A moment of reflection when the brollies weren't being turned inside-out.

Wind-swept bloom.

"Domestic Bliss" moggy detail.

Migration of polyps.

Bloody nailed it!

Conductors should retire by the time they reach this stage.

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One of the most popular exhibits, this awesome retro vanity rig makes the perfect statement about the environment and the weather!

The bunker below.

The taps won the Sydney Water Environmental Sculpture Prize - seems reasonable.

Blustery brolly weather.

Another popular photo opportunity. This gilded frame, made entirely from found objects, reminds all of the beauty that surrounds us.

The Meeting.

Garage (not Rage) Sale. Free Wine... a tempting strategy!

City snaps

2011-11-08T02:15:00.001-08:00

My morning: City errands + bicycle = winning combination.

I happened to have my camera handy this morning. What an old-fashioned thing to have to say, eh? Quaintly, all my phone is capable of is phone calls (and text messages!).

I sneaked a snappy of this dapper chappy purposefully hack-sawing through a bike lock cable. One can only conclude that it was his bike and he had lost his keys. His walrus-mustachioed and eyebrow-ioed sense of gentlemanly tweed-ride style did not seem commensurate with anyone who would need to resort to bicycle theft!

Meanwhile, if having a city-sit-sit while fingering your iThing makes you feel that you are under-achieving, why not monetize this pastime within the portable signage industry? Opportunities await! -----------------------------------------------------------------------------But why steady your gold sign by holding it or wedging it between the slats of a park bench? That's for mugs. Let's take it to the lext level - hands-free.

Clearly the sign scene has more tricks up its sleeve than I realized. The next day, passing throught the city, I spy this lass with a back-pack-style sign. She was white-earbudded up and thumbing her iPod, idly strolling away from my hasty shot. I know not of these everyday city things and people, not being any sort of worker! And who is buying all this gold from all these gold outlets?

Yup!

2011-11-03T21:12:00.000-07:00

As usual, life's filled with a-little-bit-of-this-a-little-bit-of-that... enough to keep me out of trouble. How can we be in November already? Step on the brakes, someone!

A very recent highlight for me has been launching Christa Hughes' latest album SHONKY (Christa Hughes and The Honky Tonk Shonks). Due to (someone else's) injury, I got the emergency call. Not being in the band, nor on the album, I had had to aurally learn and absorb its entirety in a very short space of time. It was a great gig and I had fun!

As might be expected (or not!) much of my recent sporadic activity has been undertaken while wearing lederhosen and drinking weissbier. (But I don't wear lederhosen nor drink weissbier while tuning pianos!)

Here's somewhat of an example... a snippet on YouTube of the recent Central Coast Octoberfest (no, I didn't know there was such an event, either!) I tell you what, it was quite unusual to be dressed the way we were, Bayerische-mod-ooh-baby, and not stand out from the crowd! The Polka Kings. (The sound is kind of OK if you wear headphones.)

Jack Daniel's Silver Cornet Band had its last hurrah, at the Rocklily Bar, The Star (Sydney Casino) 6pm Monday 7th November.

Jack Daniel's Silver Cornet Band

2011-09-24T02:23:00.000-07:00

Just concluded: a surreal intense flurry of gigs for the purpose-formed Jack Daniel's Silver Cornet Band. The band (brass/sax/percussion) stealthily hit various locations in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, skilfully interpreting the music of AC/DC, Midnight Oil, Queen, Kings of Leon, Muse, The Killers, Radiohead, Franz Ferdinand and more...

Impressive (to me!) was the commissioning of this logo on a kick-drum head for the series of gigs - there's real money in the rock world and the advertising world!

Jack Daniel's Silver Cornet Band uniform logo detail.

A couple of promo pics from the JD Facebook page.

I went all-out with some bell-branding for our last hurrah...

And finally: The JD Engine Room! WOO!

The Piano Lowdown

2011-08-16T23:21:00.000-07:00

One of this week's pianos... a fabulous Bösendorfer at Knox Grammar School. This one goes down to F (below the usual low A). The black keytops are a reference point for the pianist's peripheral vision when playing something outrageously fancy that covers the 'usual' gamut. Reminiscent of the infamous black pudding in Ripping Yarns - where "Even the white bits are black". They sound pretty wanky-amazing, these additional four notes.

City To Surf 2011

2011-08-16T22:28:00.000-07:00

The City To Surf Band, dodging dodgy weather to lift the spirits of the record number of fun-runners. Meanwhile, nearby like-minded jovial supporters lifted our spirits with champagne in plastic cups! Salut!

Indulging in what our fearless bandleader called 'Cazzbo's crowd-surfing'. After the gig I returned to my car to find I had a parking ticket, so I only just stayed solvent, deducting that from my gig fee. D'oh!

Matchbox On Ice

2011-07-01T01:21:00.000-07:00

Winter wonderland comes to Parramatta! Spectacular ice dancing with live music on a open-air rink.

Parramatta Town Hall - 'Winter Nights'. A 'special' shot from Phil's iPhone... magical!

The veranda was our 'stage', affording the best view of the rink action.

But first, preparation of the surface - scrape, scrape!

A black tie event sees the band sprucing up, down and sideways...

Fit to be tied.

Mic and Clare puttin' on the ritz...

The curious case of men and their buttons!

Don a-donning!

Marvellous Magritte people, off to work...

...and their assorted accoutrement.

Mic and a passing Magritte.

Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band at Ormond Hall

2011-06-07T07:00:00.000-07:00

Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band has re-ignited in Melbourne - to honour the halcyon days, Mic and Jim Conway, and for fans young and old.

Firstly, two riotous nights headlining at the iconic Ormond Hall in Melbourne, the site of many a memorable night 'back in the day...', with the legendary Elliot Goblet and Adelaide band The Beards admirably supporting. Then a third night as part of Jack Levi's famous Crimson Goat Club, adding a healthy dose of music, satire and magic to the night's entertainment.

'Microphone' Mic Conway adds his finishing touches. Notice fellow performers the Nelson Twins and 'Gulia Jillard' in the background.

Photographing the gorgeous bogan twins preparing... just couldn't stop looking at them... compelling!

After the gig. Mic - seeing double!

Seeing double with blur... I'm super-appreciative of the kind soul using my camera, but it was patently evident at the time that pressing the shutter without moving the camera was proving to be impossible!

Not 'what gets your goat?', but rather, WHO gets your goat? The Crimson Goat has notched up another great night of variety.

That's it - the van is loaded!

Takin' it to The Beards - Bowlesy and Andrew!

The entrance to Ormond Hall - I should have attempted a daytime shot.

Here's an article on the current Captain Matchbox journey, which was published in Inpress Magazine.

Here's a clip: My Canary Has Circles Under His Eyes (the view from the Royal Box).

East Coast Blues and Roots Festival 2011

2011-04-26T18:20:00.001-07:00

I may be able to share some more snaps from the Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band's Bluesfest experience, but for now, here are the only two I actually took! Meanwhile, we comprise a sizeable chunklet of this series of snippets from Bluesfest 2011 posted to Youtube by a wonderful fan.

Andrew with the (now!) highly collectable watering can used on stage to keep Jim cool. It was leant by our hosts at the Ballina Beach Resort on the condition that it came back adorned with this fine collection of autographs...

Our crowds were wonderful, their energy and their numbers. We even survived having a show up 'against' Bob Dylan - by using humour as a coping strategy!

Gourmet Trivia at the William Wallace!

2011-04-13T20:12:00.000-07:00

Tired of average pub trivia fare that is too focused on "celebrity" pap? --- Fear not!

For no extra charge, you can upgrade and go GOURMET! Savour delectable morsels, fascinating facts (and dumplings from the restaurant, too) and win, win, win!

WHEN? Every Monday at 7:30pm

WHERE? The Sir William Wallace Hotel, 31 Cameron Street Birchgrove (corner of Short St). In the front bar (it's wonderfully old-school and even animal-friendly).

WHO? Be guided through a cerebral celebration by your inimitable host Geoffrey Ogden Browne.

WHY? Hey, it's good to get out of the house and be with friends. So, form a team and you could WIN! Fine booze prizes await you, and a $500 JACKPOT is also up for grabs!

The wall outside the Willy Wally. The unassuming chalk scrawlings which trumpet (albeit pianissimo) the best pub trivia in town! Balmain, Rozelle, Inner West Pub Trivia!

Woodford 2010/11

2011-01-01T06:14:00.000-08:00

Woodford Folk Festival is done and dusted... or mudded... for another year. Whew, challenging conditions, but the rain did ease, and it kept temperatures down a bit (so that is a bonus).

Captain Matchbox rides again!

Jim Conway plays up a storm.

Carving it up onstage.

Mic on the first night, assembling his rack-o-sounds, with raincoat, gumboots and miner's light- all essential.

Mo' better blues.

Mic and Cathy.

Cazzbo and Philthy: juggin' and strummin'.

Don Hopkins.

A blackboard resourcefully re-purposed as a tap-dancing board.

Jim autographs Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band albums for Hat Fitz and Cara.

Andrew's feet in their natural habitat.

Ted Egan - good bloke.

Cut coin jewellery - amazing! This one is a bit of a 'joke one', but the collection is full of utterly extraordinary coins from far and wide, which have been cut in the most intricate and distinctive manner. That's a $1 coin.

Checking out the incredible cut coin jewellery.

Our transport was behind the Street Snail... any wonder traffic was slow...

The nightly parade.

Flying fish...

Flying pigs...

Tutti !!

2010-12-21T17:49:00.001-08:00

Mighty Team Tutti (extended team, with core and non-core members) celebrates! We capped off the end of the pub trivia 'season' with three victories in a row, and have lead the room for the last six months. Go Tutti!

Fergus swept me off my feet!

2010-11-25T18:14:00.000-08:00

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I had the great privilege to score a wonderful ticket to the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra's perfomance at the Sydney Opera House Wednesday November 17. I was able to catch up with one of the horn players in the orchestra, whom I met in Toronto, Canada in June (where we were both 'international guest artists'). So, we caught up for a coffee, I was able to attend the pre-concert rehearsal (as did a few school groups... that's how generous the orchestra and Sir Simon Rattle are!) then I got a last-minute-released VIP ticket. Thanks to the wonderful Fergus McWilliam (pictured).

I wrote at the time, "I thought I might have forgotten what an orchestra sounded like (I hadn't, BTW) but in any case it is immaterial because I have never heard anything as incredibly compelling and electrifying as that performance. I don't think I could be bothered hearing another orchestra now." (That's how I felt!!). Stupendous! The programme was Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances and Mahler's First Symphony.

Then beers and Margaret River red afterwards - perfect!

From the shed kitchen...

2010-11-25T17:41:00.001-08:00

Stepping out with the inimitable Geoffrey Ogden Browne (and the Café Society Orchestra) for the Sydney Jazz Club Christmas Ball (Drummoyne Rissole) - we were instructed to bring a music stand, and a sconce light, if we have one.

Much as it pains me to take this immaculate new fancy music stand I know I must. Heh, it is more likely to have a crossword sitting on it than any form of music (what's that?) it is more likely to be near me as I use my laptop, than play. Is this because I don't have any need to read music, or don't practise? Kind of both, actually.

Sconce? Here's my spontaneous 'solution', actually very functional! I've used wetsuit fabric to protect my music stand from the ratchet clamps, because I can't bear the thought of getting a single scratch on this music stand! I'm such a neat-freak.

I bought this worklight for piano work. I have never used it for piano work, but it sure got a workout during my house rebuild!

Lastly, the trusty homemade beverage holder always gets a guernsey at these gigs, it's essential when encircled in a sousaphone on a crowded stage - 'trapped' as we were recently at a wedding gig, through 45 minutes of speeches, with approximately ten per cent of them in Russian! I have a wetsuit patch to protect the stand from the beverage holder clamps too, but I never give a bugger if I'm clamping it onto anything else! Avid readers of this erstwhile blog might remember the advent of my beverage holder HERE.

In the studio

2010-11-18T03:59:00.000-08:00

Some candid shots during my sessions for The Wolfman... in my own back room.

Waxing lyrical about something highly relevant. Our signal-splitting method looks just a bit Radio Shack, but we got away with it.

Ooh, colour... hmmm, the back room looks a bit messier in colour. That's the tuba stand Sir Eric The Sturdy gave me, I'm finding it very worth using.-------------------------------------------- Photos: Konrad Lenz

A little update...

2010-10-20T04:43:00.001-07:00

Freshly debuted: The Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band Show. Revisiting many of the Matchbox faves with a band built around brothers Mic and Jim Conway. To a capacity crowd (and more) at The Cat and Fiddle Hotel (Balmain)... the band began to finds its feet. Awesome support from ukulele phenom Azo Bell. Next outing: Woodford Folk Festival. -----------
Pictured: Joel Tarling's fab artwork for the band.

------------------------Sound-checking the jug.
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The capacious bootleg of a passionate fan has been opened (on YouTube)... with some nice copy-writing:
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"The debut performance of a new superband brought together by the Conway brothers Mic and Jim..."
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"The Re-Formed (but not reformed) Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band"
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JUG BAND MUSIC (featuring duelling jugs)
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YOUR FEET'S TOO BIG
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THAT CAT IS HIGH
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NAGASAKI
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COCAINE HABIT
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BLUES MY NAUGHTY SWEETIE GIVES TO ME (buried within the anal annals of Facebook).

Warts and all, baby!

Meanwhile: From the East Coast Blues and Roots Festival 2011 (Byron Bay). Here's Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band (re-ignited) a part of a package of BLUESFEST SNIPPETS posted on Youtube by a wonderful fan.

Piano words...

2010-10-20T04:01:00.000-07:00

-The language found in pianos often charms and amuses me. This is a Broadwood piano that I tuned on the set of Underbelly Razor. 'From Geo II to Edward VII'.

'By appointment, makers to the British Sovereigns'.

Here's another. Something about 'expressly' charmed me... it is my piano word-of-the-day.

Moggies...

2010-08-08T06:35:00.001-07:00

Look at this beautiful ragdoll cat and her disgregard for that laptop! I was there to tend to the piano, meeting the cat was simply a bonus. Gorgeous! When coaxed up (if you are low) she will literally hug (embrace) by putting her front paws either side of your neck! (Hug, not choke!)

Moggy: "It's nice here... right here. OK, let's start the interview. So tell me... what is your typing speed?"

This meeting is OVER!

Goannas in the wild

2010-08-08T06:00:00.000-07:00

If you googled 'goannas', welcome to Australia!

I've been trying to remember the camera when I'm out piano tuning. Here's a piano with a particularly ornate cabinet. Servicing this piano was akin to providing a frail old dear a cup of tea and a knee-rug. She's a little more content.

The Beet is ready for music-making.

Tired of toiling with 200-odd strings? Massive tension (per string) getting you down? Or up? Well, why not sample our fine luthiers' sellection in the cabinet carvings? Swap 220 for six with our three-stringed lute and guitar package!

Niagara Falls

2010-08-08T05:11:00.000-07:00

A touristy day in Canada... and well worth it!

Niagara Falls. Enough water spray to provide constant full rainbows.

Complete double rainbows, impossible to capture.

Hosts Scott and Joan.

Boats of plastic-coated tourists are a constant stream, ferrying the adventurous into the spray.

Dudley Don'tright is papped!

IWBC Toronto Canada

2010-07-14T02:43:00.001-07:00

Canada was one heck of an experience! A schedule of varied collaborative feature performances, workshop tasks, and my own forum to wax lyrical on the topic of my multitudinous musical tributaries, and to preach my alternative whatevers in the game of performance, and life! I received wonderful responses to whatever-the-hell-it-was-that-I-did! -- PRE-EVENT INTERVIEW

Sounding off at the Brass Olympics:

"Cazzbo - International Guest Artist".

In performance.

Havin' a sing!

Presenting, then playing Joan's jug from Dauphin, Manitoba.

On stage (or just in front of it) with Scott Irvine.

Late night club music.

Steppin' out at the club.

I have photos of Niagara Falls

(my only genuinely 'touristy' excursion)

coming soon!

Macau moggies, mostly...

2010-07-07T08:06:00.001-07:00

Macau was a blend of its Chinese and Portugese lineage. This meant we couldn’t go wrong with the food! The Macau Arts Festival was the order of the day (or week).
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Let me open, for a change, with a customary post-performance congratulatory bouquet! Another in the series: Flowers In My Tuba. The Dom Pedro V Theatre (venue) is the ‘oldest Western-style theatre in China’ (built in 1860).

A gorgeous cat at the Meow Space in Macau, photographed through the window. Part cat protection society, part gallery, with much moggy-inspired art, crafts and photography.
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The cats are rescued, healed and socialised, then carefully found new homes. The socialising involves a fine collection of fabulous felines roaming the shop, there for the pattin'! Wonderful!
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So much to look at out the window. The store is filled with art, crafts mostly of the type that, though a card-carrying-cat-lover, I did not need to purchase. Many of the photographs (also sold as postcards, for the cat-carrying-card-lover) depicted the cats' stories; cats who had been rescued, healed, socialised and re-homed.

Secr-cat-arial duties! Actually, opposite a staircase, watching for the person who just went up there to come back down.

Still cat with centimetres.

Cute cagey kittens, not quite ready to be trusted to piss-I-mean-roam the space yet...

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"It's a living!" This man cleans and polishes people’s cars on the street. Water in the bucket, cleaning products, rags and dusters at the ready. I wouldn't have thought that cleaning one's car would be high-priority... but this is possibly more a reflection on the neglectful way I approach my own car's scheduled ablutions!

Street siesta.

Somehow strangely conflicted: Yin-Yang graffiti

Impressionistic cityscapes: In the casino district the buildings ripple with colours.

Bubbly building: If The Boy In The Bubble aspired to a mansion... in a prime location... that changed colours. THIS would be it! Look no further! Make no mistake! Inspections: 24/7.

Summit statue.

This sign (in the hotel lobby) advertising the Historic Jogging Route made me wonder about seeing the sights bootcamp-style... um, perhaps not. Imagine the tour group, hearts racing, chests heaving, temples bulging, gleaning historical detail from the tour guide, heart racing, chest heaving… nah, the tour guides would surely be elite athletes! ELITE (it's very hilly, sans the claimed-land casino precinct).

On the other hand, ‘historic joggers’ will surely outlive me!

CAZZBO'S PHOTOS

2010-07-07T06:50:00.000-07:00

IWBC Interview

2010-04-01T02:39:00.000-07:00

I was interviewed for by Janet Anderson for the International Women's Brass Conference website.

1. Tell us about your mentors and role models. Who has inspired you?

Inspiration comes from many seemingly unlikely or unrelated sources. Much learning happens in places other than formal learning environments. I’ve often been inspired by a phrase or idea I’ve heard, with no idea who played, sang or said it. Many performers who inspire me are not musicians.

My first teacher was a brass band cornet player, Shane O’Callaghan. No progress ever again seems as dramatic and exciting as when you first take off from a standing start! His encouragement helped a troubled teen find purpose and passion in music. Before long I spent every moment I could with him, helping to teach the younger students.

Sandy Evans (renowned saxophonist) heard me playing on the street and invited me to join a quartet with her. Sandy is warm, open and generous, and a fabulous player, composer and innovator. She is an inspiration to many women in jazz (and not only women!).

Mic Conway (long-time band mate) inspires with his constant creative striving, great lyrics, openness to (my) musical direction, and his utter doggedness and determination in all aspects of performance.

Peter Sykes (tubist) provided me with my formative professional orchestral experiences. He believed I might become Principal Tuba of Opera Australia, and I did.

2. Do you have a favourite performance from your own career that stands out for you?

Gosh, that’s a hard one! There are a few that I probably should have therapy to block out!

For me it’s all about the moment.

Jazz is like a stimulating discussion between friends, interacting with each other’s ideas. It might be sparkling, witty, pointed, funny, moving, giving, supportive. I love working with able, flexible, interactive musicians where this sense might be tapped. Stan Getz said: “As far as playing jazz, no other art form, other than conversation, can give the satisfaction of spontaneous interaction.” Indeed! And like a good dinner party, fine wines should accompany.

I’m committed to (and constantly) searching for a ‘zone’ where I can come close to really expressing myself, where my instrument feels like an extension of me, where my ideas are fresh, fun, fuelled and inspired by others’ real-time (musical) comments and stories. It’s highly elusive!

But I’m not (or rarely am I) a performer who is searching for zones to the almost-exclusion or oblivion of the audience (the modern jazz clichéd perception). I’m more inclined to still perform to the audience, and want to connect with them. I don’t really play gigs that are so formal or snooty that such behaviour would be inappropriate. And, of course, I can and do modify what I’m doing to suit the situation!

Performance moments that I dig come from all places. I treasure them and use them to combat my all-too-frequent immense frustrations about others’ (and my own!) limitations.

Festival audiences are fantastic! I was sound-checking the jug by playing a spontaneous bassline soliloquy (also to try to demonstrate to the sound crew what the jug is about) and an audience member shouted, ‘We love you Cazzbo!’ - who is not to love that? I love it when I see folk (including fellow musicians) digging what I’m playing. I love supporting other musicians when it’s their time to shine. I often encourage dancers, for the fun of it, and I encourage anyone who is encouraging me!

I love contributing to moments in the theatre that might range from pin-drop silences to the most uproarious laughter. Different audience responses and the subtle variations in every performance are a constant fascination.

Last night I was part of a live broadcast multi-media interactive sound performance, conceived and directed by innovative violinist Jon Rose. To direct the ensemble (spoken word performers, improvising musicians, live radio, ‘scratch’ elements and pre-recorded triggered sounds) Jon devised various hand gestures and cue cards, so that he could then virtually ‘play’ the whole ensemble. There were some magical moments during this event. I used some extended techniques in ways I literally never have before (mostly vocalizing through the instrument, with and without a ‘normally’ played tone) because I was responding to the other musicians, the textures, and the topic: “Talking Back To Media”.

So that feels like a favourite right now, because it was so exciting and stimulating. The focus was intense!

I strive to find positive moments every time I do almost anything!

3. What role, if any, does technology play in your career? (online lessons, Facebook, website)

Technology doesn’t play a particularly large role, but I did make a very humble website, with photos, sounds and ramblings. This website lead directly to my invitation to come to Toronto for the IWBC 2010!

4. How do you re-charge after a tiring tour?

Usually by embarking on another tiring tour! Other than that, I find that averting my eyes from any pressing maintenance issues around the house helps me to relax. Sometimes (just sometimes!) a hotel room can be more relaxing, because someone else has cleaned it and made a little welcoming point on the end of the toilet paper roll.

5. Do you have a favourite performance anecdote?

Here’s a recent one. I performed at the Bellingen Jazz Festival with a band called the Jugalug String Band. Whilst never wavering from my commitment to making the best music I can, I somehow managed to strut out off the stage to play a jug solo directly to a distinguished elderly gent in the audience. I responded to him because he had an utterly pleasured look on his face, and his hands cupped behind both ears to hear it all. Later (on a similar jug-soloing excursion forward off the stage as far as my microphone lead would permit) he danced, I danced, we interacted. He told me, “I’m a geriatric.” I shared those words with the whole audience at the top of my voice, and invited them to congratulate him for being a geriatric! All with a good vibe! Afterwards I learned from locals that he had been very, very ill (and still was) and had last been seen in a wheelchair!! Could music have curative properties?

6. What’s on your iPod?

Exclusively documentary and interview podcasts, no music! Intelligent gab-fest material, mostly from ABC Radio National.

7. Bicycle, Mazda Miata or Lincoln Town car?

Bicycle, with added milk crate for extra functionality!

NJB at the Northcote

2010-03-25T16:58:00.001-07:00

Some more photos from our double bill with The Band Who Knew Too Much (celebrating their 20th birthday, with a cavalcade of former-member guests, and a support band - us!) Photo source.

Slide whistle solo (Mic points the finger).

Cazzbo playing the jug (moody shot).

Cazzbo juggling the jug.

Northcote Victoria, Forth Valley Tasmania.

2010-03-23T06:10:00.000-07:00

GIGS: Mic Conway's National Junk Band recently trekked south to team up with The Band Who Knew Too Much to celebrate their 20th Birthday Bash at the Northcote Social Club Hotel in Melbourne. Many more photos here!

Cazzbo.

Mic and his paper tearing - ripper!

Mic gets a well-earned pat on the back.

Then the band journeyed further south to perform at the Forth Valley Blues Festival. Here's a snippet from the Tassie Sunday Examiner.

Another Tassie media report : Forth Valley Blues Festival

Contact Information

2009-12-12T09:10:00.000-08:00

Give me a hoy! -------"Ahoy-hoy!"

Is it about a petulant PIANO?

MORE INFO HERE

e: c a z z b o [at] h o t m a i l [dot] c o m

tel: +61 408 200 624

Listen to some sounds...

2009-12-12T08:26:00.000-08:00

Snippets for your listening digestion.

These files are residing in a brand new place within the Greater Metropolitan Internet Zone... so they should now RELIABLY WORK!

They should simply buffer up in your default audio player.

Bones - The Ticklers - 1:10 - 976KB

Nostalgia In Times Square - Grassboy - 45 sec - 707KB

A Foggy Day - Grassboy - 31 sec - 495KB

Jitterbug Waltz - Grassboy - 1:10 - 1.10MB

Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick - Mic Conway's National Junk Band - 1:02 - 978KB

Kitchen Sink Love (soon!) - Mic Conway's National Junk Band - 36 sec - 577KB

Mardi Gras In New Orleans - The World's Klang - 55 SEC - 874KB

Toi Toi - The World's Klang - 1:10 - 1.08MB

Bonza Girl (jug and swanee whistle) Mic Conway's National Junk Band - 1:20 - 1.53KB

Make My Cot (wine bottle) Jugalug String Band - 1:06 - 933KB

Dinah with Bob Brozman (Live at the Basement) - 3:03 - 1.21MB

Fanfare For Ten Brass * (composer and tuba) Opera Australia Brass - 1:43 - 1.65MB
(Lapel-mic 'snapshot')

* This fanfare has recently been performed three times at different events in Toronto and London (Ontario) Canada!

My little old self...

2009-10-19T16:34:00.000-07:00

Me, from my now-lamentably-defunct Geocities website... so Blogger has to pick up the slack...

Album Review - Corporate Chook

2009-10-19T16:18:00.000-07:00

Mic Conway's National Junk Band
(Rouseabout)

If Mic Conway loses his night job he could become an economist. The opening Consume is about capitalism run amok and we all now know where that has taken us. Corporate Chook follows the trusted formula of goofy songs, high jinks and expert playing from the likes of Marcus Holden (violin) and Cazzbo Johns (sousaphone). (A High Standard Of) Mediocrity is a perfect anthem for our era.

John Shand

Sydney Morning Herald

Album Review - Tin Can Alley

2009-10-11T04:35:00.000-07:00

Mic Conway's National Junk Band

Mic Conway carries a torch for the idea that music can be fully rounded entertainment, making people giggle, dance and go “Wow!” Thanks to strong songs and a great collective ear for detail, the risk of live fun turning limp on record is sidestepped by Conway and friends. Surprises abound: Carolyn Johns’s nimble tuba line on Ian Dury’s Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick; Bob Brozman’s ravishing slide guitar on Jungle of Love and Cliché Blues; Jeremy Cook’s junk percussion on Bad Cop, Bad Cop. A bewdy.

John Shand

Sydney Morning Herald May 30 2003

Album Review - 21st Century Sink

2009-10-11T04:23:00.000-07:00

Mic Conway's National Junk Band

ALBUM OF THE WEEK

Mic Conway's take on the jug band tradition has always buzzed with originality and humour. Yet the most important part of Conway's take has been how goofy the music itself often is.

Being funny on an instrument is harder than it seems so Conway has enlisted such high-calibre players as Marcus Holden on fiddle and Carolyn Johns on a host of bottom-end noise makers.

You can listen, giggle, drink or dance and all will be the right response. Yes, some of the gags should be taken out and quietly shot, but hell, the album is fun.

There's a boozy version of the Kinks' Sunny Afternoon plus wacky originals such as Kitchen Sink Love, and Men, sung by Ukulele Lola (Judy Backhouse) with chorused grunts from the band which all but steal the show.

John Shand

Sydney Morning Herald December 15 2000

Album Review - Making Whoopee

2009-10-11T04:08:00.000-07:00

Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band
EMI Australia 7243 814858 2 8

Where else could you find quotes from Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, Thus Spake Zarathustra (2001, A Space Oddyssey) and Entry Of The Gladiators (Thunder And Blazes), emanating from various combinations of traditional (and not so traditional) jug band instrumentation? Well, I don't know where else, but the answer is definitely here, on this album. Your appetite for great washboard, harmonica, kazoo, tea-chest bass and jug, will be amply sated by this combo's musical menagerie, along with infectious rhythm and vocals.

The double album Making Whoopee by the Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band is a CD re-issue of two albums; Smoke Dreams (1973) and Wangaratta Wahine (1974).

Entranced by 78 recordings as a child (and literally from a vaudevillian family) Mic's musical interests even as a teenager were moulded by these influences. He formed his first band, the Jelly Bean Jug Band at age 17. Grabbing a washboard, he told younger brother Jim to learn the harmonica. Jim achieved a prowess and musical maturity on the instrument almost instantly ! The Jelly Bean Jug Band evolved into the Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band.

The band's version of My Canary Has Circles Under Its Eyes caught the Australian public's imagination, and was a timely antedote to the "Glam Rock God" phenomenon of the early seventies. Fuelled by a couple of high-profile dee-jays who gave the single lots of airplay, it was a hit. The album Wangaratta Wahine went double-gold, causing the original release, Smoke Dreams, to follow in its gold footsteps. Captain Matchbox, doing its anti-pop/rock thing, performed in all the sorts of places that the "real" rock bands played, and had the heady lifestyle to match !

The gamut spans absolutely traditional gritty blues, (Sophisticated Mama), quaint parlour toe-tappers (Top Hat), to energised hot club (Nagasaki). Mic is a versatile vocal performer. His sweet tone on "My Canary" quite charms, and he can sound straight out of the 1920s with (or without) a megaphone. Check out hot harmonica action from Jim Conway (later a member of Australian blues outfit The Backsliders). Jug Band Music "...certainly was a treat to me" makes an appearance, but the jug itself is rarely entrusted with the sole bass duties, but rather one (or several) will be added to the general texture. A distinct penchant for soundscapes is evident. The introduction to track Wangaratta Wahine is a tableau of traffic on the Hume Highway (where Wangaratta, or "Wang", can be found en-route), and one motorist's arrival at a roadhouse.

The curious and striking image on the cover (originally on the Wangaratta Wahine album) is by cartoonist/illustrator and poet Michael Leunig, who is now a bastion of creative social comment in Australia. It won the award for Album Cover of the Year in 1974.

Tidbits: Mic once organised the First National Jug Orchestra where some 50 players from several bands were organised into sections (jug section, washboard section), each on its own big band-style rostrum, which played en masse ! Mic does a fire eating act as part of every performance (I know, because I can feel the heat !)

We have a saying in Australia... "Do yourself a favour..." and grab this album.

Carolyn "Cazzbo" Johns

First published in 2001 in The Jug Band Rag (a now-defunct online publication).

Just a few of the things...

2009-10-11T03:14:00.000-07:00

...I've carried on my bike. My trusty bike is set up so that it is easy to carry things. I often don't ride with a backpack on my back (especially in the warmer months), it is often tethered in the milk crate, unless the crate is too full. I really can carry an outrageous amount of shopping, and I don't have to hold back much at all on a 'big shop'. Bike loads. Milk crate.

The most recent - a hoe - because it was given to me. My method for carrying items of this type is well-honed.

I rode home a broom in the traditional fashion.

Ambitiously combining the words Bunnings and bicycle. Ten litres of decking stain, a paint roller and tray kit, a pole for the roller (my broom-de-jour), with all manner of oddments in my backpack too.

A self-portrait, ready to go with my Vinnies load.. gently does it!! I whipped up that terrorist-style thingie attached to my helmet to try to be more sun-smart... still not enough, tho... I am considering a hijab... nah, mebbe not...
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But seriously a bike helmet peak never feels like enough shade for my eyes... I'm addicted to baseball caps...
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Well, it adds to my visibility and the other day someone asked me where I got it... told 'em I made it by cutting up a vest.
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Sometimes I just wear a shady broad-brimmed hat while riding.

I had a big clean-out (highly recommended) and took a few of my patented big-ol'-bike-loads to donate to Vinnies. Yes, it's true --- although it is not at all and everyday occurrence --- nonetheless, I probably wouldn't have bothered to photograph the VCR in the green bag in the milk crate on the back of my bike, if I hadn't started this page (right here!) just one day earlier... Did you really keep reading (and understanding) through that entire long sentence??? Yay! Good for you!!

At the post office... one of a few items I sold on eBay I had another bix almost as large that I toted in the backpack. By the way... what NOT to do: underquote postage on an item (this one!) when the winning bid was AUD$0.99 cents!

My decorated milk crate, Sydney Body Art Ride 2009.

Here's one of my car... webs from wheel arches to tyres... it'll sit around in future, but never again for quite as long as it has just sat! Note the windy weather buffeting the web and tearing holes in it as I photographed.

I have carried a tuba (on my back) while riding the bike, in one crazy (or should I say, well-planned) stunt, but that is really NOT something I want to make any sort of habit of. It DID, however, turn the heads of Japanese tourists in Macquarie Street, Sydney City. I recently carried home a lime tree and a chilli plant from the market (why didn't I photograph that??)

I'm not sure how huge this 'department' will get, since the average load of shopping is not really worth photographing (my regular full milk crates). And since I've now been able to actually resurrect my car again, I might just get a bit lazy when it comes to very special big projects.

Sydney Body Art Ride 2009

2009-10-07T06:56:00.000-07:00

Sydney Body Art Ride 2009. From the archive of photos formerly published on my Geocities website.

First things first... decorate my bike! True to form I was doing this during the ridiculous hours of the night before (well, the morning of) in my secret lair. I had this T-shirt I got from Vinnies which I thought would slice up well!

What can be said? The weather was certainly less than clement! But I had committed, and I keep my word. It had been cold and bleak for days, with plenty of rain and wind... and with no scheduled change to the forecast.

Just getting to UNSW for the start of the ride was quite an adventure - navigation on the bike, the weather, and a slow leak in my rear tyre as well. I even 'Euro-styled it*' (rode while using my umbrella) for the last part of my journey to the University, and had so many raincoats and plastic bags!

I even added a natty little cover to hide the crate contents... I needn't have bothered, since by the time I'd filled my bag with all the things I wanted to take it was bulging well beyond the top of the crate!

Painting up in earnest... there I am behind Mr Orange.

Preparing for a 360 degree shot, that camera on the tripod rotated.

We assembled in colour groups encircling the camera.

The youngest member of the Red Team with Dad.

...and with sister, ready to roll in the trailer.

During the ride. Yellow team members' paint a little degraded by another heavy downpour just before we were able to start.

The joyous Red Team.

Now this is ART!!!

Beautifully done!

No orderly procession into the water in colour groups this time... the beach was closed when we arrived. Permission was gained to walk to the rocky area right down one end and wash off there (safe from sharks!) So the event almost became a triathlon!

War paint.

An arty one of the bike at the beach!

Someone else's snap of me Euro-stylin' it* at the helm of the Red Team. I managed to keep my paint on, using my umbrella as I rode during the light rain earlier in the ride, then more for fun and show, until I folded it up and it broke!

* Euro-stylin' it: My term for riding with a hand-held brolly, since it is really is quite common to see that done in places like the Netherlands.

Read a report of the ride on the official blog

Woodford!

2009-10-07T06:06:00.001-07:00

Woodford Folk Festival 2008-2009. From the archive of photos formerly published on my Geocities website.

The Mask Man.

Mic pulls his best "bronze" face...

Awesome lit imagery in the Opening Ceremony.

"You must marimba this..."

Exotic exhibit in the Mutant Barnyard.

With the Space Cowboy in the Mutant Barnyard.

Fabulously and beautifully shaped animals parade down the streets of the Woodford Festival site.

Sign near the entrance queue.

Phil (as usual) does it in style!

Ready in white to carry lanterns in the Fire Event.The beautifully-made lanterns were huge and small, and lit internally for the parade with tea-light candles. We got rained on, but had lots of fun.

Delighted to get an ornate lantern tree to carry!

Giant folk liven up the streets!

Very pretty lights at the very pretty light stall.

Stick people in the Fire Event.

Traditional pyro-finale.

Passing comment on stage...

Tasmania

2009-10-07T05:22:00.000-07:00

The Apple Isle. Well, I was bloody grumpy to begin with, my two flights failed to connect in Melbourne - i.e. the second flight wouldn't wait for the (late) first flight. THEN my luggage had gone AWOL. From the archive of photos formerly published on my Geocities website. I've been back twice, in recent times, for the Cygnet Folk Festival, and for performances in Launceston, Devonport, Burnie and Hobart.

Rush!

Qantas pyjamas (emergency compensatory toiletry supplies).

Convict-hewn wall.

Dunno what's going on here, never figured that out...

The Big Spud in Sassifrass.

Suspended bridge over Cataract Gorge.

Purple plant in the gardens at City Park, Launceston.

Gorge rocks.

Dual self-portraits!

Lyrebird.

More rock-work in a teensy town somewhere!

Sydney Critical Mass Harbour Bridge Ride

2009-10-07T04:36:00.001-07:00

November 2008. From the archive of photos formerly published on my Geocities website. I've intended to ride the bridge in this manner for quite a while, and I've finally done it. Using my recent time in The Netherlands as additional inspiration, I decided the rubbish weather wasn't going to stop me.

I was relieved (I think!) to see I was not the only one somewhat ill-prepared for the heavy rain experienced during the first half of the ride, the pre-ride wait, and much of my trip in from home.

Laps around Hyde Park Fountain to commence the ride, in the good old drenching rain. Hard to tell in these shots, but it really was pissing down.

The pumpin' music steed at a standstill...

and on the Cahill Expressway.

Heading towards the coathanger.

Serious self-portrait with sky scrapers, pre-bridge. Couldn't find my fluoro spray jacket, so wore a black one (not the best for visibility!).

Mobile music and communication.

Bikes on the left, cars on the right.

Not a bad effort, considering the weather!

A view of the bridge you can't normally get from a bike in motion.

Bike lifts mid-bridge. I chose to photograph rather than lift.

I think I can lift my bike thusly... I promise I'll do it next time!!

More mobile music!

A plethora of storage options.

Heading back. Up to the Sydney Harbour Bridge cycle pathway. Arguably a crap bit of infrastructure here... no good if you do have trailers, etc., attached to your bike.

Back home in the 'normal' fashion, Sydney Harbour Bridge cycleway.

Sydney Critical Mass Website

Australia's Big Things

2009-10-04T04:39:00.001-07:00

What of Australia's Big Things? It occurred to me that my frequent jaunts the length and breadth of the country were taking me (quite coincidentally) to many of the Big Things, so I decided I should make a half-arsed incomplete effort to point my own digital camera in their general direction. The sensibility and essence of a Big Thing seems to be uniquely Australian (although there ARE surely some foreign Big Things). Part eccentric folly, part celebration of an area's claim to fame, part attempt to create a tourism magnet of varying strengths, to rejuvenate a struggling area or business, to advertise.I personally think uniformity of nomenclature would make things neat and tidy... "Big _____" (insert name of object, person, foodstuff, and so on). None of this "Golden" this and "Giant" that... no, doens't work for me... BIG!!!!How big? Well, since I've rarely bothered to frame myself (or anyone else) in the picture, size references are up to your imagination (or research).

The Giant Koala - Dadswell Bridge, Victoria. It was up for auction... "Pssst... wanna buy a koala?" More recently it has been bought, and new white detailing has been added to the koalas ears and chest...

The Big Mango - Bowen, Queensland. Nice colours in the paint job!

Part of my idea of photographing Big Things when I happen to find myself near them, is to try to snap from some different or unusual perspective, or capture a detail. Easier said than done, and I'm not sure it's worth it, but I've had a go, where practicable!

The Big Oyster - Taree, NSW. Designed and made by the same blokes who made the Big Merino (Goulburn, NSW). Not quite as impressive (but not as much to work with in terms of shape as there was with the Merino). Now suffering the 'indignity' of urging would-be tyre-kickers to shell out for a pearler!

The Big Potato - Robertson, NSW. All the nicknames and disparaging comparisons are obvious to guess.

And why not visit the Gift Shop? (Below)

Meanwhile, since such a versatile staple food cannot be celebrated highly enough, I bring you...

The Big Spud - Sassafras, Tasmania. Hmmm. Well, we know potatoes have eyes... but do they wear hats?

The Big Cane Toad - Sarina, Queensland. The toad, made of fibreglass, started life as a float in a local Mardi Gras-style parade.

The Big Ned Kelly - Glenrowan, Victoria. Australia's celebrated crimial writ large... My sister lives in this part of the world now... what I haven't told her (understandably) is that I've recently seen not one but TWO letter boxes in my local area shaped like Ned Kelly's famed home-made iron helmet!

The Big Orange - Berri, South Australia. As glimpsed from the Sturt Highway through the scrubby bushland.

The Big Impostor - Somewhere in the Netherlands. Atop a fish shop, a sizeable crustacean.

Big things I've encountered or been near (but didn't or couldn't, or couldn't be arsed, or can't find photograph)

The Big Captain Cook - Cairns, Queensland

The Big Gumboot - Tully, Queensland

The Big Wool Bales - Hamilton, Victoria

The Big Merino - Goulburn, NSW

The Big Pineapple - Nambour, Queensland

The Big Pineapple - Gympie, Queensland

The Big Prawn - Ballina, NSW

The Big Crab - Miriam Vale, Queensland

The Big Banana - Coffs Harbour, NSW

The Big-ish Uluru - Karuah, NSW

The Netherlands 1

2009-10-04T03:50:00.000-07:00

From the archive of photos formerly published on my Geocities website. I've done two extensive tours of the Netherlands, in 2007 and 2008.

Initially the Autumn colours in the forest and elsewhere were unbelievable, and impossible to capture (although I tried, of course). I love the bicycle culture in Holland, and have dedicated other pages of photos to that theme... this page is just a few general snaps, of all and sundry...

Hoorn, a town in the Netherlands. The word "hoorn" means - yes, that's right... horn!

Little elves keep you on track in the forest.

Initially we thought this was the name of my cabin (they all had names) but this sign was on the gate, and means, sure enough "shut" (or "close"). Heh, ahem... well, the name stuck!

Ever played Scrabble in English with a Dutch set? One's tactics must (or should!) change...

Nunspeet Bambi park, with chooks, goats, you name it!

Cute clogs and cloglets. I did see real folk wearing clogs around the street in Nunspeet. Men though, not children.

I liked these amazing light bulbs in the dressing rooms at one of our venues... they were HUGE, seriously as big as a basketball. I loved the retro cartoony filaments, glowing, but not throwing out much light, really!

Say cheese! This sort of sight is certainly not uncommon.

Yummy hot chocolate event... a solid cube of quality chocolate on a stick, and a mug of frothy hot milk - combine ingredients.

Fresh new thatched roof.

Trying on jackets I can't afford... fortunately I am well-trained NOT to shop (generally).

New and old and mossy thatched roof (with skylights?)

No modern brickie would do this for you! I saw many a rural detail like this (and many a farm animal) on a day when I rode my borrowed bike from Nunspeet to Hardewijk.

Self-portrait with multi-coloured umbrella on a rainy day in Amsterdam. This is what I did to warm my ears - I wrapped my scarf around my neck AND head. Eventually I bought an ear-warmer thing that wish I could have found to pack for my return trip!!

Golden light on Gothic scene... I'll have to go through my notes to work out where this was... or tell me, web afficionados... Den Bosch?

netherlands1

2009-10-04T03:49:00.001-07:00

Some more Netherlands

2009-10-04T03:09:00.001-07:00

From the archive of photos formerly published on my Geocities website.

As things became more wintery, nice days and the sun hitting the tops of Amsterdam's typical buildings seemed very special.

Typical modern shopping street in Amsterdam.See more on my Eurostreets page.

Wild-eyed self-portrait in front of a large Poffertjies Salon in Amsterdam.

I certainly found this amusing - conveniently placed ashtrays in the toilet cubicles (at one of our venues).

My colleagues really feel the cold... coffee with mittens!

Arseboom!

Cheese clogs for the tourists.

Novelty cake tin.

Netherlands Cycle Stuff

2009-10-01T05:07:00.000-07:00

The cycling culture here is incredible. A demostration of great vision, and genuinely integrated into the culture.

Belgian folk.

Unroadworthy (and/or dumped bomb).

Section of massive Central Station bike parking lot. Imagine this multiplied by about 50... and then double it... for some idea of the magnitute of this parking station and surronds. Any wonder folk decorate, paint and personalise their bikes!

Typical scene.

No bike in sight, but I quite like the dog going for the bone.

Hitching lifts. So common, Couples and friends in a wide range of age groups travel this way. See more on my BIKE PEOPLE page.

I've got more of these sort of bike art ones, but where are they? I WILL find the relevant disk...

Netherlands Cycle People

2009-10-01T04:42:00.000-07:00

The cycling culture here is incredible. A demostration of great vision, and genuinely part of the culture. I love it that you see young and old on bikes... it is no exaggeration to say eight months (with parent) to eighty! I love it that folk wear their finest clothes (all manner of normal clothes). I love it that folk cycle both fast and slow, but always with a seeming serene nonchalant practical effortlessness (helped, of course, by the flatness of the terrain). I love it that there is no requirement to wear a helmet, no "need", and that cycling is NOT regarded as some renegade fringe activity undertaken by death-defying rebels hell-bent on shitting mostorists. I love it that the law states that cars give way to bikes. I love it that it IS orderly, and the provisions (of bike paths and functional shared areas) work. I love it that the Dutch are (by and large) tall, fit, no-nonsence and almost never obese (despite all the fried snacks available!). I love it that folk older than my mother ride every day. I love it that people double-dink effortlessly (couples, friends). I love it that folk walk (run) their dogs via bike. I love it that there are all manner of devices and seats to transport children and goods. I love the immobilization wheel locks folk have, so you can park anywhere easily (subject to security needs). I love it that you literally see couples riding side-by-side with their arms around each other... true! Gee, this is a long rambling paragraph... are you still reading?

Orange bike lady in Amsterdam.

Santa's helpers with a shy toddler in Nijmegen.

Mum and kid, back streets of Amsterdam.

Pampered pooch.

Dinking is common, as is parents protectively hearding younger children on their smaller bikes.

Check out some more Dutch cycling photographs I had published on a friend's CYCLE ACTIVISM AND CULTURE BLOG. Many more photos to come...

Am I a bike person?

Here I am, smapping an action self-portrait mid-ride on a bike tour of Amsterdam and beyond.

Here I am with borrowed bike on a day when I rode from Nunspeet to Hardewijk for the sake of it. I kept my headphones on (even if I WASN'T listening to my collection of podcasts) because they actually kept my ears warm!

Eurostreets!

2009-10-01T04:16:00.000-07:00

From the archive of photos formerly published on my Geocities website. I find the lights in the shopping streets wonderfully cheery. I'm sure they are designed to stave off depression during the long dark winters, and to let you know where the action is! The following shots are from various towns and cities in the Netherlands...

Plenty more to come, and perhaps some more captions...

London 2007

2009-10-01T03:44:00.000-07:00

From the archive of photos formerly published on my Geocities website.

Sculpture detail.

I noticed this street on a map, so I sought it out for a snap.

Whaddayaknow? The upper left hand corner of the Australian flag, celebrated in a dance floor (Madame Tussauds).

Paxman horns - where I had to seek an emergency repair to one of my tuba valves.

Cute uke at the Duke Of Ukes.

Old and new, Tower and Gherkin.

I had to do the touristy thing of going to Madame Tussauds Waxworks Museum... I was able to give Little Johnny some sage political advice, AND then help to vote him out (postal vote from Holland shortly after). No doubt he's been melted down and recycled into some other Johhny-come-lately by now.

QV and me...

Behind in the composite mural some sportsperson with a tuba... WTF?

Andy... speaking of Little Britain!

Belfast 2007

2009-09-30T07:51:00.000-07:00

From the archive of photos formerly published on my Geocities website. In Belfast, for the Belfast Festival on Queens. Not too many remarkable photos, here's a very small collection.

Attempting to capture the pretty cobblestones on the diagonal at the intersection.

Quite dark in the Merchant Hotel, hard to sucessfully capture any of the incredibly grand opulence! Here's a snap in the rest rooms, of all places...

Coincidently read this tidbit in the airline magazine on the next flight.

A misleading (to me) visual situation lead to me walking at an angle full pelt into a glass wall... big ouch! I pretty much concussed myself AND broke my glasses. Uber-nerdish band-aid look coupled with bruises... and then a tedious early morning walk the next day to source super glue for the delicate plastic surgery.

There are murals like this all over Belfast.

The big bumper sharps relinquishment box full of everything from Lethermans to plastic forks at Belfast George Best Airport. Lucky dip, anyone?

What a bargain!

So pretty! I'm theorising that paddock shapes speak much about cultures... over Germany this type of view just looks so darn neat and orderly! Here it is wonderfully just a little more random and haphazard than you would expect.

Airline Stuff

2009-09-30T07:14:00.000-07:00

From the archive of photos formerly published on my Geocities website. I have decided that themed places may just be the way to make sense of my unweildy chronicle of digi-snaps. So here's a place for ariline stuff. I WAS going to have a page JUST for QANTAS lost luggage apologies and compensations, but maybe that is just a little TOO specific!

JAL - "Loss Of Prestige" as the ice bucket goes tumbling.

JAL - Butter fly!

David Letterchimp (weird Japanese TV during stopover).

Fresh foreign fragiles on the tuba case.

It's the "within reason" followed by a lengthy list of conditions that amused/appealed...

The impressive collection in the Sharps Lucky Dip at Belfast Airport. What a hassle, being forced to relinquish those plastic forks!

No free lunch (bag)!

The first place I usually need to find... (at Schipol Airport Amsterdam). Perhaps I should change my middle name to Afwijkende!

What amused me here? The "Relax and shop" advice, for one thing... then (suddenly) "Final Call" - whoah, that's a pretty radical change of gear!

Sunrise on a too-damn-early flight.

Another window seat moment from the chronicles of Cazzbo.

Missed a connecting flight (due to the second one leaving before the first one arrived) THEN my luggage went AWOL. Not impressed.

QANTAS emergency pyjamas.

Flowers in my tuba

2009-09-30T06:41:00.000-07:00

Here's the latest in the post-performance bouquet collection. This one is from Macau, China.

Well, more 'on' than 'in'. Bouquets received after performances in Holland. Photographed on the stage, in my dressing room, in my flight case. Visible also (at times) is my radio microphone.

Long stemmed single rose.

...in the flight case.

Piano-themed photos

2009-09-30T06:16:00.000-07:00

From the archive of photos formerly published on my Geocities website. A place where I just might put various snaps I collect in my travels as a piano technician, or simply in my travels...

A very small (but real) Kawai. Not much clue that this is a teeny pieeny, but trust me, it is! It's like one of those tiny ponies at the fairground compared with regular (small) pianos. I haven't tuned it - but it was one of the curios at my erstwhile periodic sometime-ago place of employ.

Oi! How did Philth sneak into my piano page...? He's in front of the famous yellow piano at the Bald Faced Stag Hotel.

A friend's Bell piano (UK) with a list of world hubs on the frame... "London, New York, Amsterdam..." and finally, "Sydney, Melbourne, etc." It is the etc. that amused me.

Midway through the Bell piano list... "Guelph".Excuse my ignorance... but I've never heard of it!

This Steinway was a commissioned colour to match the carpet in the Perth Concert Hall foyer.

Woodgrain Boston... one of the six Piano Technology Course pianos given one hell of a work-out!

Very crazy self-portrait as I attempted to document a favourite (but borrowed) tuning hammer (lever).

Unusual brand I witnessed in a shop in Holland.

Steinway upright in a practice room in The Barbican, London.

An apostrophe that is arguably both wrong AND right! Another unusual brand I witnessed backstage in Holland.

Sign near the piano in the Amsterdam Public Library..."If you can't play the piano, then don't play this piano!"

Renovation moments...

2009-09-29T07:27:00.001-07:00

From the archive of photos formerly published on my Geocities website. It is hard to describe the magnitude of my ambitious renovation extravaganza. Basically the house was completely gutted and de-roofed, and a second storey added. No room was unaffected, along with the entire yard. I was the first of the little inter-war cottages to create an upstairs, turning the runt of the litter into one of the better houses in an unremarkable street. A separate room constructed out the back, dubbed 'the humpy' was where I lived for roughly two years whilst simultaneously studying full-time, building and labouring, and trying to keeping my other performance activities somehow ticking along.

This page is dedicated to some rather non-standard images pertaining to my owner-builder experience. I never got around to adding some more conventional 'after' photos.

My hall light... back when I had one...

My builder loves to do this... with a throw... sproingggg! I tried it just once (unsuccessfully).

I'm not really a slob... roofs, ceilings and internal brick walls have been demolished around me and my electrics.

Rudimentary light in my rudimentary bathroom.

Where roof and sky meet...

Internal frame and roof edge. Much more of the original roof awaited removal at this point. Tile by tile, timber by timber...

A friend pops in, outside the first storey.

Landscaping. There's only one way to landscape around here... with a jackhammer. The ENTIRE yard is covered with 6 to 8 inch thick concrete, and underneath that is rock.

An ugly feature prepares to leave home.

Pebbles by the uteful.

This power point annotation is from a very long time ago.

My builder combined builderhood with fatherhood. This very large and bold canvas is the work of his 4-year-old daughter. The 15 litre paint tin is there for scale.

Whoops - dried paint on the boot. Good thing I just bought another pair (strictly for Sunday best).

Many of my scant few original features had to be sacrificed.

The city view I was afforded when I could stick my head through the upstairs roof frame. Progress means I only have a glimpse of Centrepoint Tower from the window, but that is still something!

Mic Conway's National Junk Band at the Bald Faced Stag Hotel - August 2007

2009-09-29T06:50:00.000-07:00

From the archive of photos formerly published on my Geocities website.

A saw point.

Guess who was in town to give us the shits for APEC?

Cazzbo.

Philthy.

www.MarcusIsCrap.com

Philthy and Cazzbo in their natural habitat... blurry!

Sound check gesticulation of some sort (since Philth is squatting in front of the foldback looking worried and expectant).

Jem.

Genuine motion blur - what did I say about blur?

Set list gaffed to the piano! My jug is the silver object atop.

Philthy prepares.

More abuse of the Stag's famous yellow piano.

Gympie Muster

2009-09-29T06:23:00.000-07:00

An eventful trip to and from the Gympie Muster - traversing many swollen rivers. 'Twas a good decision to get a 4WD (Nissan Patrol) in lieu of the more usual tour Tarago.

Whoops... better clean up that vehicle so it shows NO signs of having gone 'off road'.

I dunno why this appealed enough for a snap... words from my somewhat rural childhood... words you don't seem to hear nowadays, well, at least not in Sydney. Is that a good price? I don't even know!

Darwin

2009-09-29T05:30:00.000-07:00

From the archive of photos formerly published on my Geocities website. My work under the musicians' witness protection scheme has taken me here. Here are a very select few snaps.

My camera died just before this. Although repairable, the cost was only $100 shy of an upgrade. Grappling with the disposable nature of this modern world (and the high cost of parts and labour) I bought a new camera, so that I could have it NOW... for a visit to the crocodile farm about 40km out of Darwin.

A special feeding (for us) of Snowy the white crocodile.

Not an albino, but (sans black markings) a blondie.

Positively prehistoric.

Poked my lens through the fence.

Our hosts - a croc guide, croc scientist and croc accountant... true!

Another lens-thru-fence opportunity... a real live open gob!

18-month-old baby crocs.

Inspection of one little fella.

...nabbed deftly by a lady employee...

...he's fine. He? They're all boys (controlled by germination temperature). Boys grow faster and can all-the-sooner visit Paris... as handbags!

An inspection of termite activity somewhere OTHER than my home!

The trusty steed... dual-cab ute.

Roadside stall... honour system with money box.

Cute cocky... at a shop full of unique curios on the way back.

Interesting, the 'no charge' annotation for clarification here.

Christchurch NZ

2009-09-29T04:53:00.001-07:00

From the archive of photos formerly published on my Geocities website. My work under the musicians' witness protection scheme has taken me here. Here are a very select few snaps.

Theatre ceiling.

The whimsical 'Aurelia's Oratorio'.

Aurelia's diatonic alarm clocks.

In my room... a stove/dishwasher!

Chess in the square.

The time is right for coffee... unless I am breaching my 'caffeine curfew'.

Venue: Kiwi Spiegeltent. In the style of the traditional Belgian mirror tent, with NZ themed imagery throughout.

Tent exterior... corrugated - it could almost pass for an 'Aussie' Spiegeltent from this perspective.

Tram in the atrium.

"Trundler"... how quaint!

South Island snow-capped splendour on departure.

A glimpse of the northern bits of our wide brown land, as we head for Darwin.

Critical parts of my camera turn up their toes... waaaah!
A glimpse of the northern bits of our wide brown land, as we head for Darwin.

Byron Bay, Ayr, Townsville

2009-09-24T18:49:00.000-07:00

From the archive of photos formerly published on my Geocities website. My work under the musicians' witness protection scheme has taken me here. Here are a very select few snaps.

Beach moods.

Winter swimming.

Fabulous light patterns in the water...

...constanly changing...

...impossible to capture...

...all seemed beautiful.

The winter sun was soon long enough for decent relief opportunities with others' windswept footprints.

Too early! Sunrise between Sydney and Brisbane.

The tour steed - a Kia Grand Carnival with only 21km on the clock. Am I the only one amused by Queensland's new slogan?

Prices SLASHED at 'Target Country' in Ayr.

A readymade-influenced sculpture in Townsville.I was particularly partial to the thongs - fabulous!

More fetching window seat moments... the afternoon sun behind the wing nearing Sydney.

Cairns, Mission Beach, El Arish, Rockhampton, Gladstone

2009-09-24T17:35:00.000-07:00

From the photo archive from my Geocities website. My work under the musicians' witness protection scheme has taken me here. Here are a very select few snaps.

No baggage weight problems here.

"Butchering".

Krab-werk on Mission Beach.

The crab 'art' is impossible to capture.

A somewhat amusing graphic, but a serious problem.

Kid near the coconut blade.

Coconut splitting blade on lever on the beach.

If two is a bunch, I may be considered to have them, lovely!
-
A quaint but challenging venue.

Cane as high as a pachyderm's monocle.

Rockhampton is full of bull(s). Here's a one-eared bull.

I found it surprising and amusing that my phone said "Rocky" (not "Rockhampton"). How very Australian, or Aussie, eh?

Overly obese weird militaristic aircraft of seemingly Eastern European origins, with its nose open.If you have a better or more accurate description, please submit it! *

* "The aircraft is the world's biggest freighter, Russian-built, and used for large freight that will not fit in other aircraft. These are used every year to bring out to Australia (and return to the US) the fire fighting helicopters used every summer to assist in bushfire control. If my old memory serves me correctly Little Johnny (Howard) was going to buy three of them to put out the bushfires. Once the fires were out, he forgot all about the idea!! Normal!! I read recently that the Russians have commenced building them again."

John Turner Business Development Manager, Aviation Food & Beverage Division

Auckland (NZ)

2009-08-28T23:10:00.001-07:00

From the archive of photos formerly published on my Geocities website. My work under the musicians' witness protection scheme has taken me here, to Auckland.

-
Skytower Observatory.
-

Star Wars-esque view of the lower observation deck from the upper deck.

Observatory lift floor.

Colourful beach retreat - Waikeke Island.

Beach pebbles.

Sunny nook.

Weathered dinghy.

Novel phone number listing in shop window.

City pavement tape art.

Kelp paparazzi, Piha Beach.

Quaint beachside seasonal dwellings.

It was the use of the word 'stuff' that tickled me here.

Rotorua (NZ), Perth, Albany (WA)

2009-08-28T22:36:00.000-07:00

From the archive of photos formerly published on my Geocities website. A mere snippet of snappets from a tour to New Zealand and Western Australia.

Silver fern cappuccino.

Sun-dried fish.

Maori master woodcarvers.

A church in Rotorua. So many civic buildings are wood here.

grave detail. Burials were in above-ground graves due to the heat of Rotorua's geothermal wonders.

Waterfalls and spectacular scenery abound.

Perth: The unusual colour of this Steinway (on the Beck's Verandah stage) was apparently commissioned to match the colour of the Perth Concert Hall foyer carpets!!

The light falls nicely on the Subiaco Hotel (where I didn't drink).

Outrageously early flight... a 5.45am departure, Perth to Albany.

It's still too early!

Festival venue: Albany Town Hall.

Wakes Music and Sewing Centre (Albany). The combination just seemed oddly amusing to me!

Random performance shots

2009-08-28T22:08:00.000-07:00

Random performance shots. From the archive of photos formerly published on my Geocities website.

The "Festival of Andrew" is a tradition... at his dad's beachfront house - Umina Beach.

Cazzbo's athletics at St Albans Festival (Mic Conway's National Junk Band).

Jugalug String Band at the Manly Jazz Festival

2009-08-08T00:26:00.000-07:00

The Jugalug String Band revs up the audience with hot tunes at the Manly Jazz Festival.

Stew Binsted on banjo and Phil Donnison on ukulele.

Hi,

Just a note to say how much we enjoyed your concert at Manly on Sunday afternoon. Good music and a lot of fun. We thought that your sousaphone player was great - just a touch of madness!

I hope someone arranged to do a live recording of this concert. It would make a good CD.

Best wishes,

Jim Young and Janice Potten

LINKS from another Jugalug outing - The Dubbo Jazz Festival

DUBBO JUGALUG PLUGALUG

DUBBO JUGALUG WRAP-UP

Everingham Rotating House

2009-08-07T23:45:00.000-07:00

From the archive of photos formerly published on my Geocities website. A trip to Knorrit's Flat north-west of Wingham NSW to participate in a mini-festival with Mic Conway's National Junk Band then a dash straight back to the Manly Jazz Festival for a performance with the Jugalug String Band.

Marcus and Cazzbo.

Non-rotating, tiny and very basic - the farm house in which the Everingham family lived for many years. It's where most of the band(s) stayed, and it won't be there for very much longer!

Revolutionary!

The family's latest acquisition - a piano with PianoDisc attachment (self-player). Piano tech Cazzbo examines the tuning (but not too closely!). Check out the bushland setting reflected in the piano's music desk... this piano is just possibly taking in too much sun, depending on how the house is rotated at any given time...

Second-generation Swans supporter Tango Conway tries the piano. This shot was through the window.

Both houses shortly before our early-morning departure.

Vampire jet model in the park at Wingham (north-west of Taree).

I don't normally make a habit of collecting mementos of this type (my work would never be done!) but I couldn't resist this one in Wingham.

Sydney Body Art Ride 2006

2009-08-07T23:09:00.001-07:00

From the archive of photos formerly published on my Geocities website.

King and Queen of the Pink Team.

Our red paint is in demand for details on others.

"Horse's arse!"

We had a mounted police escort this year.

Monochrome marshall.

Tandem team.

Fearless leader!

The mighty Red Team numbered 38 this year. We were the largest colour group... this may have had something to do with us having the largest bucket of paint !!

Young lad. It's nice to see both a Simpsons reference AND a correctly-placed apostrophe.

Putting the 'art' in Art Ride.

I'm into synchronisitous moments en route. Is that even a word?

Self-portrait in transit.

And we're beachward-ho!

Apple Shrines

2009-08-07T22:30:00.001-07:00

From the archive of photos formerly published on my Geocities website. The most ridiculous 'department' ever, the Apple Shrine project went into permanent hiatus when I spent eighteen months without any semblance of a kitchen (and not much resembling a house). A very small sample of my apple consumption.

The shrines from my old kitchen bench can live on in perpetuity in cyberspace... why not?

"Attack of the Killer Fruit Labels"

"Untitled"

I'm not sure if (and how) I might revive this project, but one thing is certain, I am not interested in reviving the clutter and disorder of my disfunctional (and defunct) old kitchen.

Woodford Folk Festival 2005-2006

2009-08-07T21:56:00.000-07:00

From the archive of photos formerly published on my Geocities website.

That 1 Guy. Pretty darn amazing, the sounds he got out of this pipe and techno-paraphernalia.

The Old Spice Boys.

Phil tunes up, down and sideways.

Mel, from the band 'Fruit' (tenor horn at the ready) , who was sporting a very contrasting haircut at the their next gig.

Elvis Parsley's new paint-job. See my Woodford 2003-2004 photos to see my last shot of this local Woodford landmark.

Philthy and Cazzbo, and what on earth is that round silver thing on the table?

Birthday boy Marcus. Slim chap, round number!

Phil's trying tricone forces him to dismantle it right before the gig, to locate a sound that guitars are not meant to make! Aaah, so THAT's what the innards of a resonator guitar look like.

'Sprocket' in transit. A pedal-powered percussion and thongaphone phenomenon. Try saying that three times quickly!

The Blueskillet Rovers...

...in a gig that included...

...a marriage proposal from a bandmember......and an acceptance!

The Cloghoppers. A bit hard to see the club juggle and teacup on his head. In another show he played the banjo up there, cool.

Wacko and Blotto... 'Two Clowns and a Chicken' - a different and compelling way to welcome 2006!

Fledgeling didge.

Rainbow bloke hams it up in front of the Rainbow Shop.

Camilla (Perch Creek Family Jugband).

Eileen (Perch Creek Family Jugband).

Lear steps out front.

Christi repeatedly throws and catches his harmonica as the band decides what to play next.

Balmain Acoustica Festival 2005

2009-07-18T04:53:00.001-07:00

The inaugural Balmain Acoustica... a great new festival just up the road from home! I got the chance to make a guest appearances with Azo Bell (pictured) and Jim Conway's Big Wheel. Mic Conway's National Junk Band played, and we welcomed Azo as our guest.

First, a little guest spot with Azo Bell.

Phil and Cazzbo

Bass moods...

You can see the crowd, and a beautiful Balmain day- in the reflections from my bell.

Joining Jim Conway's Big Wheel...

Trading licks with Paul Robert Burton. Mic (behind) is guest vocalist.

Sydney Body Art Ride 2005

2009-07-18T03:54:00.000-07:00

The inaugural Sydney Body Art Ride. The brain-child of Jake Lloyd Jones, the event comprised a human rainbow of cyclists, fund-raising for the Children's Cancer Institute, promoting cycling, and generally providing one heck of a spectacle. Part of the archived collection of photos from my Geocities website.

Phil prepares...

...and anticipates the beach.

-

-
Shark Man!

Off we go!

The mighty Red Team spans generations.

Woo!

Our route is well-chosen.

Winner: Best Decorated Bike.

Converging on South Maroubra Beach ready to wash off our paint.

I'm miles behind my red team members due to stopping to chat to Dr Karl Kruszelnicki and his son (both supportive spectators).

-
Winner: Best Costume. Dr Arthur Chesterfield-Evans of the Democrats eschewed gold paint to sport a geniune historical protest costume."Smokers are dying to bring us the ballet" - a reference to a certain tobacco company's sponsorship of the Australian Ballet.

Winner: Biggest Belly.

LINKS

Sydney Body Art Ride Website

Sydney Body Art Ride Blogspot

I featured in the Sydney Morning Herald (page three)

Yamba Festival

2009-07-07T04:03:00.000-07:00

The inaugural Yamba Festival (2005) was a successful weekend's activities, with a diverse range of acts and artists. Artists included Waiting For Guinness, Women in Docs, The Re-Mains and Nick Nikolas. We played on the main stage (Mic Conway's National Junk Band). Here are some fabulous shots of good friends, the Perch Creek Family Jugband in the main street of Yamba.

Lear's kick drum.

Eileen.

Eileen in full flight...

...then doffing her tap shoes because they were the wrong size, and painful!

Christi on harp, and Dan.

Christi

Dan (from Ragweed Jugband).

Eileen and Lear.

www.surfingthecoldstream.com.au

The Coodabeen Champions

2009-07-07T03:46:00.000-07:00

The Coodabeens do their Sunday Night Show for the typical audience of passionate ABC Radio nerds, Sydney 2005. From the archive of photos formerly published on my Geocities website. I miss the Sunday Night Show!

In a very culinary instalment of Magic Moments, an animated Ian Cover discusses the outrageous price in Sydney of "a couple of packets of chips and a little tub of dip".

L to R: Billy Baxter, Jeff Richardson, Ian Cover, Greg Champion.

Champs serenades.

REAR L to R: Champs, Richo, Cazzbo, Covey.
FRONT: Billy... all framing the "little tub of dip".

Verdi on the Ukulele

2009-06-21T07:32:00.000-07:00

When BO proved unavailable, AO was more-than-ably assisted by another wonderfully talented and visionary AOBO colleague. Who are AO and BO? See the previous blog entry.

Soprano arias from Verdi's Il Trovatore, performed that season, were the order of the day. Beautifully sung, with a wry and satirical lyric (courtesy of my illustrious colleague). My task was to be 'the orchestra'. Verdi on the ukulele, I surprised even myself by making it so.

Trov gets a makeover.

Tasteful yodelling was incorporated into the score, which only partially explains the wardrobe!

The Ballad of AO and BO

2009-06-21T06:42:00.000-07:00

The spontaneously-named AO and BO got down and got back up again to bring some old-school country fiddlin' to town, performing the Mic Conway classic Aussie Country for colleagues at the AOBO end-of-season party 2001.

Big finish!

"The ukulele, the missing link between music and noise."

At the 2002 end-of-season party AO and BO sought to entertain their colleagues with a heartfelt ode to life in the partitioned-off brass area within the Opera Theatre pit. My lyrics strove for timeless yet relevant references to brass players reading magazines in their bars' rest, the resident section fishing-nut, (hence the hat-fish), intonation, workloads, etc., The 'new pit in 2004' line is beyond dated, that promise pushed off ever into the future. I wasn't prepared to wait.

LYRICS

(To the tune of Singing In The Bathtub)

Playing in the brass box

Making lots of noise

Feeling kind of tough now,

Just like one of the boys ‘Loud enough for ya?’

Putting in my earplugs

Got my magazine

Someone’s talking fishing,

All night, or so it seems

Here come the trumpets,

Each with a different tune,

Here come the trombones,

And the tuba’s gonna come in soon !

Bonding with my colleagues,

Who could ask for more ?

We’re gonna get a new pit

In two-thousand-and-four !

Kerazy bebop on the Big Trumpet.

Blow it out your...

2003's Orchestra party saw the usual variety of in-joke-laden skits. AO and BO's contribution was a farewell tribute to departing musical director Simone Young. My notion of parodying My Sharona cried out for those killer riffs on electric bass, and my illustrious partner-in-crime swapped violin for something louder.

The back-drop that they DIDN'T have at the North Sydney Bowling Club.

LYRICS
(To the tune of My Sharona)
-
1. You tried your hand,
with the band
keeping us in tune and in time, Simona.
We're here to play...
you had to pay
for putting us on the line, Simona.

-
CH
Things are getting tense,
hotting up, just a little bit,
All the extra bods,
dressed in black,
sweating in the pit
why why why why why? Woo!
B-b-b-bye, Simona!

-
2. Lots of good reviews...
in the news,
yet there's a tear in my eye, Simona?
Was it the way to go?
I don't know… or just more pie-in-the-sky, Simona?

-
CH / OUTRO

Plum Loco at the Ferragosto Italian Festival

2009-06-18T05:56:00.000-07:00

Plum Loco Clown Band...

...at the Ferragosto Italian Festival, Five Dock, 2004...

...plays Italian tunes and more.

A fellow performer joins us.

My sousaphone "Bell Art" for the occasion... OK, so I don't knit or embroider, this is my "craft". I used contact adhesive (plastic).

No Bloody M4 East!

2009-06-16T03:23:00.001-07:00

A "No M4 East" protest rally was held in 2004. The proposal was 'knocked on the head' in 2005, but unfortunately, it ain't dead yet! Part of the archived collection of photos from my Geocities website.

Step one - make a protest pushie. Step two - drink coffee.

"Ecopella" choir sings very witty songs.

High and mighty.

Did he run out of paint?

Off we go, bikes at the rear.

Nice uni balance en route.

Lee Rhiannon speaks persuasively.

National Folk Festival 2004

2009-06-16T02:34:00.000-07:00

No photos of gigs at the festival site - instead, a few snaps at our billet location in Watson, with our wonderful hosts. Part of the archived collection of photos from my Geocities website.

Brozzo (Bob Brozman) pops in for a cup of tea, after some clothes shopping at the festival site. The logo on the t-shirt says "McDeath".

L to R: Tezza, Cazzbo, Brozzo.

The camp fire (bottom LH corner) is the night-time hub.The TVs are not for viewing (they don't work).

A different kind of pot plant... or is it the kitchen pan-tree? (I'm here all night!)

Phil was a surprise winner in the annual "Gough Off" (Goughalike Competition) matching EGW's neutral expression perfectly. "Well may we say..."

I know cats are un-ecological, but I just love them so much!

Ever spilled your beer?

2009-06-16T02:16:00.000-07:00

After not one, but TWO consecutive liquid casualties on stage at The Clarendon Hotel, Katoomba (taken out skittle-style by Mic Conway's flying props) it was off to the shed-kitchen to cook up a solution!

Since then the beverage holder has found a home on my bass stand, but it is willing to travel for work!

I once attached it to my bike, to carry a take away coffee a short and sedate distance...

Woodford Folk Festival 2003-2004

2009-06-16T01:11:00.000-07:00

Part of the archived collection of photos from my Geocities website.

The tenth festival at the purpose-built site.

Self-portraiture for the sun-smart.

My "brethren-in-lederhosen" in the dance pavilion.

Phil and the capacity crowd nervously await the John Butler Trio. This crowd was in addition to the already capacity Blues Tent.

My guest appearance with The Zydecats (with Lucky Oceans) on the Blues Stage.

Lucky on the pedal steel.

The horn section (Bill and Cazzbo).
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Lucky (button accordion) wears a sousa-halo, with Jeff Lang (left) playing the invisible lap steel guitar!

A local landmark in Woodford township.

The junksters of the future (buskers).

Linsey Pollack (follow my fetching red arrow) rehearses his Macedonian Street Band. I didn't rehearse, just joined 'em for the gig.

The youngest member of the Perch Creek Family Jug Band (Lenny) rejects the toy piano in favour of the ukulele.

Happy High Herbs stall... colourful Woodford.

'Fire people' at the Fire Event (New Year's Night).

Fire egg-timer (and other time motifs) at the Fire Event.

The irony for us was that while watching this event with its theme about the passing of time... we had to assiduously clock-watch and leave early to be on time for our next gig... then most of the audience were late (due to the Fire Event running late).

Fire Event finale - up goes the clock tower (fireworks also emerged from its top).

At the Famous Spiegeltent (Sydney)

2009-06-16T00:32:00.000-07:00

Part of the archived collection from my Geocities website.

'The Many Moods Of Philthy And Cazzbo'

At the entrance of the Spiegeltent before performances there by Mic Conway's National Junk Band.

- Some details from the Spiegeltent facade.

-
Where else would you find a 'lady playing the sousaphone' both ON and IN the venue??