What If This Is It?

This sitting in one place is starting to become bothersome. It messes with your head, utterly and truly. All of the sudden you find yourself in a world financial crisis with jobs scarce and people in certain countries beginning to speak the word "depression".

Maybe I chose the wrong time?

Regardless this isn't cool. Mental stress reaches an all time high and there is no way to unwind. Thoughts become muffled, run together, and then become muffled into silence. It becomes so difficult to speak because everyone is feeling something. Meanwhile, a few thousand miles away, a 35 million dollar party goes off in Dubai. Maybe these people have the jobs? maybe they have the money? What is one to do. I can't say I have ever been afraid of not working, and while not afraid I do believe I am getting a little bored with it. Everyday becomes a struggle for head space and direction. I'm sure many people out there are feeling the same things I am.

On an even worse note, last weekend Fritz Hilpert of Kraftwerk has to cancel the Melbourne gig as he is in hospital with heart failure. Poor Fritz. I hope he is doing better. I heard rumors they did keep their Perth gig midweek but as to their appearance in Sydney this Sunday who knows?! I hope you are feeling better Fritz!

Website Of The Week <-right here

I might have found a new calling albeit a strange and mostly useless one. Who doesn't listen to music? (that was an easy one) Who cares what the A&R knobs throw at you online and on the airwaves? (getting tougher) Who cares enough to test out new tracks to have some kind of say against the big bad music machine? (shaazam!) Check this website. It appears that... well actually it works as I have already done it, that you sign up, test 5 tracks at a time, and then basically accrue points to download free tracks from amazon. Now I am not up to the free track stage yet, and if I were I am not sure I would find anything I like, but I would safely assume that compensation is easily made. You also get to decide what style of music you evaluate based on three choices. So next time you are bored and the thought hits you.... go out and check out ANY type of new music. It's that good stuff that makes the world go 'round!

Mark Farina

So I have been a bit slack. This whole having a job thing somehow solidifies the head every evening reminiscent of hardening concrete. That with the 2 day recovery from the gig has put me behind. It was a late one kicking off about midnight and finally got in about 5 am. Regardless, it was ROCK SOLID, and well worth the decade wait I have had to endure to see one the world's finest technical djs. He was on form with some seriously bumping beats. He dropped a classy Marvin Gaye remix of "What's Going On" along with some usual hip-hop inspired sounds. It was a constant bump, every time you looked around you didn't see a still person all the way up to 4 am. As for the djs I have seen, Mark Farina definitely was more approachable and willing to get down to the fan's level. This was really good to see, someone so influential in the music of this time who was just happy to be with anybody who was digging it. All in all I would say this was one of the top 5 gigs I have been privileged to be a part of... Thanks Mark!

Kraftwerk

So this poignant little laser light hit me in the head the other day. The phone rings and suddenly someone on the other line chooses to remind me of just exactly who I am and what I do. I guess when you travel a good deal and have a drink or two people who call choosing to remind you of things makes you a bit apprehensive. I'll always remember the wise words of Tupac Shakur.

"Always looking for a payback, some punk that roughed up way back."

EEEK! Another fine reason I chose to be a lover and not a fighter. So said person is ringing to tell me he hired me for a job. Admittedly he did text me the day before and told me to keep a certain day free. When I asked why his response was, "Look, if it was any of your business I'd let you know. Until then, just shut up." Somehow, some way that translated into, "Hey mate, there are some prominent musicians coming to town and we are covering the gig." I still have yet to figure out how it translated but it did, now just shut up.

And so goes another fantastic dj booking. Global Gathering Festival is hosting Kraftwerk (the godfathers of electronic music), as well as Dj Sneak and a few other choice folks. This is set to become a crown jewel in the music photography collection so stay tuned for some bits and bobs from the show in a few weeks.

Something (not) So Funny

So I was reserving this space for a bit of humor. I mean who wants to just gripe, or moan, or wank on about the state of the world? Our depressing economy? A presidential election? I wise someone once said, "It is easier to say what you don't like than what you do." Oh so true.

So I have been meandering through the mire of stagnation... or sitting still for those less dramatic, and it seems to get tougher by the day. There is something to be said for free wheeling through life. It seems as though most of the modern ails I appear to have cropped up only because I stopped moving. Now that I am still it makes them worse. Sometimes things are viewed much easier in passing. Like in the back of a taxi while passing a wreck. I am not sure that my being attached to this scene is of any help to said scene!

I live right outside of King's Cross in Sydney and for all the travelers out there you know it can be the biggest scary smile you have ever seen on a weekend. I pass through it sometimes and just look in disgust. How could society become this manky? But then, I have a few saturday night beverages on the other side at the Darlo Bar, a personal fav, and end up walking back through to get home. It always seems to be more alive and colorful... as if maybe it is looking at me with same eyes saying how could he be that manky?!

Maybe I am just worried that the burbs have eyes! Alas though they do not. Thankfully at least the week has shed a little light my way as I will be photographing Kraftwerk when they touch down in Sydney in 4 weeks. Music always brings the week back up.

Unusual Headache

So my mate Damien says that we are going to see the movie, "The End to Poverty?" as part of the make poverty history day. He was a few minutes late so I found myself in a pub with a much awaited Guinness in front of me watching the cricket. The split second did pass where I realised I could just stay there, sun coming in the window, a beer I had waited weeks for, and no doubt a proper smashing of the Indians by the Aussies.

Not so.

Pulled from the pub I found myself out front of the theatre, cigarette in hand, contemplating if I was in the wrong for attending a movie like this wearing a man bag that I clearly remember purchasing in a hidden room of a dodgy mall in Malaysia... undoubtedly produced from child labor. Of course halfway through that thought Mr. Mandla appeared with some crack about beer and fags and I found myself being whisked in.

Somewhere in the beginning of this whole process I was standing up with the whole theatre reciting a poverty pledge which was to be recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records. This was not only a first for me, being in the book that is, but also a stern reminder of my favoured beers old slogan, "Guinness for Health!"

That's where the fun ended. By no means am I going to belittle the poverty movement, it is a serious issue and does need everyone's attention... but holy begeezus brainwarp. Your mind just shrivels up by the end of the movie. With so many raw, real, and generally depressing facts laid on you there is no choice but shrinkage. My head hurt from facts that no one person can change. To put this in context, I don't get headaches. Maybe after that 10th coffee of the day at 3 o'clock when I know its my own damn fault and I just need to drink water but that's about it. For those of you that might have caught Massive Attacks 100th Window tour where they used the giant, stage sized screen to pummel world military facts into your head so that you just left a mental mush, that's what it was like. In essence they were just laying it down for us, telling it like it is but, well... IT is bad, and it hurts... and you should see for yourself. If that doesn't pry you out of your seats, which most likely doesn't, it was also an official selection at Cannes this year.

Inform yourselves. Make your own decisions... I hope you don't get a headache too.

www.makepovertyhistory.org

Stan Getz Had It.

The question is where did it come from? I have spent the day walking around this city trying to muster up the conviction to believe that what I was doing was actually some form of job hunting. I know it was, I just find it hard to convince myself. All my life I have walked to find the answers but more importantly I have found that if you walk you end up in more of the right places at the right times.

And then there are days like this where no amount of walking will relinquish any answers, clues, or even a small hint as to what in the hell you are actually supposed to be doing with yourself. Overcast was not only the sky. So I turn to good old Stan Getz to ease the malaise I find myself in.

Settling down, most likely, was never meant to be easy. I just don't think people talk about that part of it, especially not in some kind of infomercial way while having pints at the pub. I can hear myself now, "I walked for days and days, the city was like a vast desert wasteland I couldn't over come. And then it hit me!" Who tells stories like that?! Most likely me when I am older and more of a wanker than currently prescribed to be.

I spent a lot of times, good and bad, walking the world's streets looking for some kind of resolution to something. One time in Singapore I was slightly tipsy, my good mate Jason and I heading down these little lane ways onto our next adventure. For some reason a 7-11 was calling my name. Amidst the laughter I stepped in for what was most likely a tobacco related purchase. (what goes better with alcohol?!) The song playing inside then hit me like a bamboo rod someone had been holding back waiting to let go of just for me. Another memory dredged up of something gone wrong long ago. While it didn't ruin the night it did however mean that this memory would be stuck with me for the evening, ready to reappear the minute the conversation went quiet, the glass empty, or the queue at the bar was just 30 seconds longer than I wished. I still can't shake that memory.

Moments like this where nothing is really wrong, just a bit intangible and confusing like a coarse memory, that is today. There is always tomorrow right? Maybe tomorrow I'll be more settled. Maybe tomorrow I'll be employed. Or maybe I'll just have an even deeper grasp of the subtle nuances of daytime programing.

Photo Gumbo

Photobucket Album

What happens when you stop moving?

A good question no?

The thought does scare me a bit but what can you do. This year sees me settling down in Sydney in search of things I can't quite put my finger on. Don't get me wrong, when settling down a city of 4.28 million people is a good start. Tons to do and see, plenty of niches and cracks to fall into. Forgive me for saying so, but this doesn't feel completely right. Look I have always loved Sydney as a stop over, a small break, or even a week away. This city is pretty serious on the scale crawl to breaking land speed records. Travel has taught me that not all cities are meant for everyone, I love Paris, but it still holds more bad memories than good ones.
Needless to say this little hiccup in time here in Sydney is destined to have some of those adult like leaning curves. Domesticity is not something you pick up over night and I find most days I feel like a dog allowed in who is knowingly going to pee on the carpet but has no way of stopping it. Couple that with the almighty job hunt in this lack luster global economy and one might come to see why at least 3 cups of coffee are necessary to make it through the day. Where does it all lead is the big question, what happens at the end just seems a bit large at the moment.
So all these years that have passed I swore I would kick start this blog. Seems I was too busy traveling. Most of my traveling stories rank up there on some weird Tucker Max level which do not always make them conducive to randomly sharing. I guess that's what happens when you live for the night and photograph those that do.
Bring on the hindsight and I'll see what bits I can dredge up for you. It all begins here, it has to go somewhere, might as well do the driving.

Late Night Amsterdam

Moments in Madrid

Charlotte's Finest

Much respect and love to Philen, Darcy and their fine rugrat for a fantastic Eater Day. My favorite cuban, 18 holes of disc golf, and one fine meal at the end. Thanks guys, your house rocks!

Proper Football!

Many thanks to Mr. Goodyear for last nights birthday ticket to the Asian Champions League match in Melbourne. It was a fine, fine match between Gamba Osaka FC and the Melbourne Victory. 4-3 win to Osaka ("konichwa bitches!") was chock full of excitement from both sides. Good scoring from the start with some really good headers from Osaka. I think I was one of the 150 people out of 23,800 that was wearing a Japan jersey but alas there was no hooliganism unless you count the gay boy that tried to put his arm around me a crosswalk! (I know, WTF!) He hopefully just liked the digs I was wearing. If you have yet to ever see a proper football match in a proper stadium I would do it, absolutely live atmosphere.... even if your mate books you into the dry seats!!! Cheers Gerry.

http://www.gamba-osaka.net/en/index.html
http://www.theage.com.au/news/soccer/victory-shattered-by-43-loss/2008/04/09/1207420487619.html

A little birthday party

If you happen to be anywhere near this favorite haunt of mine please drop in and say g'day. Big thanks to Brendan for letting me take over one of his bars again and as always much respect to DC for the fine musical stylings we will surely be privileged to. I hope to see you there!

Good Morning.... I think.

Wow. 7:26 am and a few cups of coffee. It seems, as I have been told, that my blog has been lacking. True. I have wrestled a bit with it for far too long now and should just start writing.

Normal things don't really happen to me. 5:30 am came and I was up which finds me lucky enough to catch my mate Andy Ward's show on TKO FM from Costa Blanco, Spain.

http://212.48.126.106/TKOfm

Thanks Andy, I needed the head space. It's been a long 6 weeks with seven countries in all. I highly recommend that at some time in your life you check out the island of Santo Thomas off the coast of Honduras. It sounds all fine a good really... I travel a lot. Yeah, maybe it is. But you have unexpected early mornings like these. Some good some bad. I'm not a Dj which is probably a good thing. My schedule is hectic enough.

So what's been going on? Polaroid gives up on film. Ouch. TSA still makes flying through the states worse and worse. 18 Holes of disc golf and my favourite Cuban Cigar have been a highlight this time out. I saw snow... enough about that. Much respect to the TOP boys in NYC for an eventful night in the pub! HUGE.

What can I say. Maybe it will get easier to write. There are so many stories to tell, just worried about the nagging and whining that could appear during certain parts of the working year. I guess we'll see how it goes.

Viva La Blog!

The lights were bright.

Somehow we made it...
The wind is certainly brisk here but to be able to stretch the legs in this town after being on a ship is so wonderful.

On the road again

... Or at least it feels like it. A few more cruises through the caribbean and then back to Europe. Afterwards a stint in Miami and on the slow road back to Oz. Look out for more info coming this way.