An Anniversary Of Sorts
Feb. 22nd, 2007 09:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
maxcelcatAbout ten years ago, Feb. of 1997 (yes, ok, so I'm mighty old :-P ) I made a conscious decision go to get into live music. Not a hard thing to do here in Melbourne. At the time I was heavily involved the the student radio station at RMIT - 94.9 SRA-FM which has since morphed into the yoof station 90.9 SYN-FM. In fact I helped run it for a couple of years, and built their first website - a far more mundane affair than their current site. But hey, this was 1996. I was playing lots of music on my shows, but it was mostly overseas stuff- Laurie Anderson, Einstrezende Nuebauten, Ministry (hey, it was the 90's, I didn't know any better!) A whole lot of musos used to wander into the station, dropping off tapes and stuff, and by some form of osmosis's, I leaned the names of some decent venues.
The first gig I dragged myself to was Something for Kate at the Empress - back before they got really famous. If that can be said to have ever happened. Over the next little while I spent a lot of time in the Empress, the Espy, the Punters Club (may it rest in peace), the Tote, etc. etc. etc. etc. Drank a lot of beer. Walked home a few times when I was too broke for taxi fare.
Used to follow a lot of bands around - Pre_Shrunk, SEK, BZark, Mississippi Barry, Three, Decoder Ring (before they got crap), New Waver, Sobriquet, Blood Duster, Snog and later Toydeath, The Drugs and TISM (ok, ok, forgive me that last one).
Anyway, this went on for the better part of... Gee, at least five years. Then, slowly, I got busier and I got older and, more importantly - most of these band split up. Of the above list, only Blood Duster, Snog and Toydeath are still going. I lie - Sobriquet still play sometimes, and Decoder Ring are a shadow of themselves. Once you don't have the time to be at a gig three or so nights a week (although my friend Richard still manages this) it gets a bit hard to learn who are the good bands worth seeing.
Plus (puts on old man hat) a lot of the music being played these days seems a bit crap. Jet? Airborne? Come on, derivative (successful) crap, which seems to have lead to many bands down the same road. Pre_Shrunk - two really good bass guitarists and a drummer, bZark - Cello and weird metal moments in otherwise quiet songs. These were interesting bands. SEK were great live... Anyway, if anyone out there can recommend some music I should go see, well, please do!
These days the only performer I see on a semi-regular basis is Justin "Bedroom Philosopher" Haezlwood. Nothing wrong with that - maybe I should get into comedy. At least I get a seat - my knees are getting too old to stand for four hours at a gig.
Ok, enough of this pathetic nostalgia :-)
The first gig I dragged myself to was Something for Kate at the Empress - back before they got really famous. If that can be said to have ever happened. Over the next little while I spent a lot of time in the Empress, the Espy, the Punters Club (may it rest in peace), the Tote, etc. etc. etc. etc. Drank a lot of beer. Walked home a few times when I was too broke for taxi fare.
Used to follow a lot of bands around - Pre_Shrunk, SEK, BZark, Mississippi Barry, Three, Decoder Ring (before they got crap), New Waver, Sobriquet, Blood Duster, Snog and later Toydeath, The Drugs and TISM (ok, ok, forgive me that last one).
Anyway, this went on for the better part of... Gee, at least five years. Then, slowly, I got busier and I got older and, more importantly - most of these band split up. Of the above list, only Blood Duster, Snog and Toydeath are still going. I lie - Sobriquet still play sometimes, and Decoder Ring are a shadow of themselves. Once you don't have the time to be at a gig three or so nights a week (although my friend Richard still manages this) it gets a bit hard to learn who are the good bands worth seeing.
Plus (puts on old man hat) a lot of the music being played these days seems a bit crap. Jet? Airborne? Come on, derivative (successful) crap, which seems to have lead to many bands down the same road. Pre_Shrunk - two really good bass guitarists and a drummer, bZark - Cello and weird metal moments in otherwise quiet songs. These were interesting bands. SEK were great live... Anyway, if anyone out there can recommend some music I should go see, well, please do!
These days the only performer I see on a semi-regular basis is Justin "Bedroom Philosopher" Haezlwood. Nothing wrong with that - maybe I should get into comedy. At least I get a seat - my knees are getting too old to stand for four hours at a gig.
Ok, enough of this pathetic nostalgia :-)
no subject
Date: 2007-02-25 05:12 am (UTC)I know how you feel - I have bugger all spare time. Not that I'm really interested in doing radio - been there, done that.
Eh, some pop culture icons I could live without. If the plane that went down with Airborne and Jet also had Paris Hilton on it, and maybe that Anna-Nicole woman (er, wait a sec...) I wouldn't shed a tear.
Ok, Ok, rather than death, I wish them to live for a long, long time in bitter obscurity spending the best years of their lives working in a video store with only their hair to remind them of past glory :-)
no subject
Date: 2007-02-25 02:28 pm (UTC)More hours in the day, kthx.
Hair. Talking of hair, I also hate Wolfmother.
no subject
Date: 2007-02-26 03:55 am (UTC)There's famous and there's famous... I've met a lot of politicians, but there's no point showing off about that - I mean, have you heard of Martin Ferguson?
Hmmmm... Hair... I had some of that once...
no subject
Date: 2007-02-27 06:07 am (UTC)I'm not surprised you've met politicians. A few years ago Robert Doyle walked past me and my brother when we were busking at Christmas, but didn't give us any money. >_> The name Martin Ferguson sounds vaguely familiar. Who is he?
:O You're BALD? I'm talking to a bald old man online?
Taste? Bah!
Date: 2007-02-27 10:39 am (UTC)I'm sure there's overlap in our musical tastes. I'd make a list of bands, but I can't be bothered :-)
Martin Ferguson is the federal member for the seat of Batman (where I live). He's the opposition spokesman on something or rather, and made himself unpopular here last year by harping on about how uranium mining was a good idea. Don't get me started on politics, I'll be here all night.
And I'm not completely bald!!! Just... working on it :-P
I post pictures of myself on here all the time... Don't I? No, now that I think about it... Well, anyway, here's a picture of me in a suit in Wollongong last year and a a picture of me trying to look cool in my sunnies and finally a picture of my breakfast a few months ago.
Re: Taste? Bah!
Date: 2007-03-01 03:50 am (UTC)Talk about politics all you like; I won't claim to understand it all though. :)
Aren't bald old men generally portrayed as lecherous? I'm talking to a lecherous old man online! Onoes! Well, you look well on the way to being bald in those photos. :)
Re: Taste? Bah!
Date: 2007-03-01 05:26 am (UTC)Politics politics politics Obama Obama blah blah politics... :-P
Oy! We bald men are more usually thought of as... Well, old actually :-P
Yes, we are the people your parents warned you about :-P :-P :-P
The photo's don't lie, my hair has receeded back to about the middle of my head... And it's grey. Fuck I'm old and falling apart :-(