one before unlucky

Thursday, March 31, 2005

Since Saturday when I posted my thoughts, I have had hundreds of visits from all over the world looking for details regarding the death of Paul Hester. I feel it fitting therefore, to guide people in the right direction, rather than post details coming from a mailing list, which may be misleading or inappropriate.

A number of arrangements are being planned for the private funeral & for subsequent public tributes, as well as ways to assist Paul's daughters during this period.

For further information & to post your own tribute, please refer to the Frenz of the Enz forum & head to the Paul Hester/LLT threads. This site is carefully moderated & includes the odd post from Peter Green, who is in close contact with all the members of Crowded House.

posted by elliott # 9:45 am

Tuesday, March 29, 2005

Instead of sitting down & creating a fat ass via the courtesy of foil covered chocolate, I went for a bit of a drive with Dad on Sunday.

We drove to Mount Barker to have a look at all the new housing developments going on & literally hundreds of new residences are popping up all over the hills. Mt Barker would normally be right out of the way, being some 40 odd kilometres from Adelaide, but with changes to the freeway, these country towns are more accessible & the land prices are a fair bit cheaper... for the moment anyway!

While we were in the area, Dad remembered seeing a sign to the Mt Barker summit ( I didn’t even know there was one!), so we went-a-searching.

It’s not too far up a steep track & then a walk up a bush path to two separate lookouts, one with picnic benches(???) & then the summit at a height of 1680 feet.

The plaque was placed back in 1966 & shows a number of distances to places in Miles. They should have waited a few months & the metric system would have kicked in! The Aboriginal name for the spot is “Womma Mu Kurta” meaning “Plain & Mountain”. That sums it up very well.

The view from the top is unexpectedly amazing! Albeit a few trees, there are 360 degree views over all the farm lands & out to sea, which is 32 miles away. The above shot covers the view west across the town. Just to prove it, a full photo spanning the entire circumference is in the gallery & even good old dad gets his head in the shot.

Since I'm getting all snap-happy, we have been seeing quite a bit of reptilian wildlife recently. This one was rather inquisitive & had a bit of look through the lounge room window.

posted by elliott # 11:14 pm

Sunday, March 27, 2005

I really didn't expect to read such news this evening. I'm not sure what to feel - sad, angry, they all manage to combine themselves into a form of numbness.

The following is the detail of a message sent to the message boards by Peter Green from the Frenz/Crowded House fan club.

Everyone,

sitting here in the office trying to figure out what to write, we are a bit messed up at the moment.

Last night , our mate, and Crowded House drummer Paul Hester took his own life.

Over the years Paul has swung the extremes of happiness and sadness, but none of us ever thought this would happen. He loved life too much, and it really seems like a bad dream that we hope we'll wake up from tomorrow.

At the moment we are trying to look after Paul's family, he leaves behind two beautiful girls, so if people could not email us that would be appreciated during this incredibly sad time.

It doesn't seem real, but (sadly) it is.

I'll post more on this later on, we are all just getting our heads around this loss of one of our family.

Please take care,

Peter

Anyone who has ever seen Split Enz (in the later years), Crowded House or Paul's own band, Largest Living Things, will know of the presence Paul Hester had on stage. Not too many drummers have the ability to shine through in a band, normally hidden behind tom-toms & cymbals, but Paul could.

I have numerous live recordings of Crowded House concerts & to write down the many funny & thought-provoking quotes of Mr Hester would be a significant task indeed.

Unfortunately the dream is over.

Paul Hester - 1959-2005 - RIP

posted by elliott # 10:51 pm

Tuesday, March 22, 2005

I sent a small mouse to a certain death on Sunday. It was running around the patio between the pot plants & when I finally worked out where it went, I was able to catch it in a piece of pipe. Dad wanted me to drown it after I had managed to transfer it to a jar.

The small innocent face looking back as it shook with fear, connected with that spot in the soul, telling me to give it one more chance at life. It's crazy to let a festy little, disease ridden rodent back into the wild, but sacrificing it's life just didn't seem appropriate.

Instead, I ventured into the reserve across the road & set it free.

Looking back, drowing would have been a better & more humane result. As it scampered from the jar across the parkland, in swooped a bird with a cheap meal on it's mind. It took a number of attempts to catch the mouse & in the end both were diving under a tree. I'm not sure if it's impending doom was realised in the next few seconds but the odds were pretty good.

Hence the moral dilemma! Since I allowed nature to take its course, rather than committing murder, does that mean I'm still an okay guy in the eyes of Buddhists?!?

posted by elliott # 3:24 pm

Monday, March 21, 2005

I was trying to work out what was going on, so I did some research & found an answer.

I've been getting all these hits from the Netherlands looking for details regarding "My Restaurant Rules". It seems, the program is being screened over there & it looks as though it's getting a fair bit of interest.

To quote an Australian Newspaper - "The rights to the Channel 7-devised program have gone global, in deals worth tens of thousands of dollars. The first series - won by Perth couple Ash and Amanda Huish - has been sold to networks in Africa, the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, Israel, central and south-east Asia, Ireland, Korea and New Zealand."

The first series was pretty good, especially when you have a local restaurant which is in the running. It creates a nice state rivalry & ultimately the result was quite unexpected.

I think the second series has been a bit dull to date. The fact that very few people attended the opening service periods attests to that. I can only hope it picks up when voting for the restaurants kicks in.

posted by elliott # 1:09 pm

Saturday, March 19, 2005

I never thought I'd be inundated with so many Mark Knopfler fans searching for concert reviews & other information. Highest week of hits ever!

To satisfy my fellow Knopflerites & their insatiable needs, I'm posting one of my recordings from the concert!! I'll keep the following link active for a couple of weeks, then I'll have to remove it. If the link doesn't work, email me & we'll work something out.

Mark Knopfler - Adelaide Concert - March 13, 2005 - Song for Sonny Liston.mp3

Does anyone know how to change the TOC on a minidisc? I suspect that all my fumbling in trying to change discs during the concert may have resulted in copying over the first few seconds on the show. If the TOC can be replaced, I may have the entire first half of the concert! Such alterations to a minidisc are possible, but I don't have the equipment. For those who read this & know what the hell it is I'm rambling about, leave a message or flick me an email!

On other matters, the stripe poll is still running. It looks like the next colour stripe will be green unless more people vote. Red, Black & Blue are all evens at this stage!

posted by elliott # 11:03 pm

Wednesday, March 16, 2005

I have just found out that Cher is currently staying in a particular hotel at Glenelg. Cher performed last night at the Entertainment Centre & will do so again tonight.

The hotel in question just happens to be the one I worked at during 2003. That should be enough of a give-away!

posted by elliott # 5:45 pm

Last night was the first lecture for the Sound Engineering course I had been planning to do to get me out of accounting.

As you can probably fathom from that statement, I wasn't in attendance! It's been playing on my mind for ages on whether I really wanted to do the course. The benefits of getting into the music business are there, but it still means being locked away in a small studio for hours on end without daylight. I don't need to spend $10,000 on a course to achieve more of the same!

I had the enrollment forms all ready to go, but I just couldn't do it & I don't have any regrets, so it must have been the right decision. I just wish someone had guided me in that direction 12 years ago & life would have been very different.

I'll put my application in to volunteer for the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne next year & I'm planning to go back to Sydney in July for a break. I have this need to travel & get out of Adelaide for a while. I think I'm suffering the negative version of agoraphobia!

posted by elliott # 1:05 pm

After Sunday's concert, I came exceedingly close to jumping on a plane for Sydney to the see Mark Knopfler play at the Enmore Theatre.

It was only because I checked the availability of seats at the theatre & thought they were a fair way from the stage that I decided against.

They only ended up with the place two-thirds full, which would have been disappointing for the band. I should have taken the plunge & gone along. Ahh, the benefits of hindsight!

I also had a fleeting thought of heading to London to catch a Royal Albert Hall gig which MK will do in May, but bugger me, all five shows have sold out!!

posted by elliott # 11:50 am

Monday, March 14, 2005

The review is in!

Just after 8pm last night, Mark Knopfler & a bunch of extremely talented muso’s (unofficially named the 96’ers), walked onto the stage of the Adelaide Entertainment Centre after a thirteen year absence. Two & a half hours later, they left, but only after astounding 3,000+ Adelaide folk.

A mix of old a new material interwoven to cover a career for Mark spanning four decades which has delivered hits, anthems, ballads, soundtracks & those little melodies you find stuck in your head as you go about your daily business. There is a reason Mark is still one of the greats & he proved it to still be going strong only part-way into the twenty-eight country “Shangri-la” world tour.

The setlist is as follows;

Why Aye Man
Walk of Life
What It Is
Sailing to Philadelphia
Trawlerman’s Song
Romeo & Juliet
Sultans of Swing
Done with Bonaparte
Song for Sonny Liston
Donegan’s Gone
Rudiger
All That Matters
Speedway At Nazareth
Boom, Like That
Telegraph Road
Brothers in Arms
Money For Nothing
So Far Away
The Mist Covered Mountains/Wild Theme

I’ve seen three concerts at the Entertainment Centre in the last twelve months & each has had amazing sound quality. From the subtle slide work in Donegan’s Gone to a roof raising crescendo in Telegraph Road, every note came through crystal clear. I had planned to record the entire show but only obtained the second half due to inexperience with minidisc button pressing in complete darkness!

The usual guitars were present with the priceless National Resonator (cover of Brothers In Arms), the various Gibson Les Pauls & even Mark's new Fender signature Strat getting a run. Lots of nice amps on stage, including some brilliant orange Marshalls gracing the area in front of Chad Cromwell's drum kit.

Glenn Worf was back with a new (second-hand) double bass, after serious damage occured to his original during the flight from India to Perth.

A skittle set with the full band playing some of Knopfler’s new material right at the front of the stage, was well received & brought a new dimension to the show after Sultans, which rocked the house. Song for Sonny Liston was brought down to a three piece band & has really stuck with me as a highlight. MK & some hardcore finger pickin' - it doesn't get any better.

Actually, the whole damn thing was a highlight. Mark & Guy performing the Wild Theme after the serenity of Matt Rollins on Accordion for The Mist Covered Mountains was a fitting end & under a starry backdrop.

Richard Bennett & Guy Fletcher are two members of the band who have tour diaries up & running thoughout the travelling. Both give behind the scene access & real glimpses of life on tour.

Merchandise includes the usual t-shirts, a programme with stunning photos & a real heavy keyring. Worth every cent!

Thanks to Mark & the lads for one of the best nights ever & don't wait another thirteen years to return!!

posted by elliott # 10:01 pm

There was a little concert which I attended last night!

Fully worth the six months of patience & lots to report, so I'll post a full review this evening!

posted by elliott # 11:58 am

How's this for stupidity! The Adelaide City Council has decided to give out lollies to smokers they see putting their cigarette butts into bins & disposing of them properly.

How about rewarding all those who don't stand around choofing on little cancer sticks!

Anyway, here's the story from News.com.au - "Street patrols target smoke butt litter"

And this is one scary stat - "Figures show that nationally every year about seven billion butts are dropped – about 525 million of those are in South Australia."

posted by elliott # 11:49 am

Sunday, March 13, 2005

Hmmm, completely slagged off my ISP a couple of posts ago & it looks like I'm stuck with them for the time being. I'm presently unable to get ADSL due to being too far away from the telephone exchange. The official word is "Transmission loss too great", but I'll resubmit each week until it gets through! The exchange is being updated in the coming few months, so I may still get lucky. I am surprised SeNet have not pulled the site off their servers for my comments, but then again - it's only defamation if it ain't true!

I am supposed to be out raging with a few work colleagues tonight, but circumstances beyond my control have prevented such frivolities. Working with people in the hospitality industry can be a pain when trying to catch up with them. Each one works different shifts throughout the day & night, meaning they rarely know when they will actually finish work & tonight it ends up being just too late.

Instead, I'm trying to work out the mechanics of recording to my sister's minidisc player. I think I might need a degree from the Sony University to work out how to edit the title of a disc! The whole point is to do a bit of bootlegging of tonight's Mark Knopfler concert. Before everyone freaks out, it's not illegal & it's endorsed by the band, so long as the recording isn't going to be flogged on street corners for a profit. I just want a copy for myself as a bit of a memory. Sometimes a t-shirt just won't do!

posted by elliott # 12:02 am

Thursday, March 10, 2005

My guitar hero, Mark Knopfler, plays his first Australian show on the Shangri-la tour tonight in Perth. On Sunday night, Adelaide gets its turn & I can't wait. I've been holding my ticket since October 22, so I've had to be incredibly patient. I've also been listening to Mark's latest album over & over again, really getting into it after not being overly enthused early on.

I think quite a few audience members may be a bit disappointed however. The Australian shows are being promoted as virtual Dire Straits concerts, which is far from correct. Only Mark & another talented musician, Guy Fletcher, survive from the DS days & playing large rock shows in huge stadiums like the "Brothers in Arms" tour are long gone. I expect quite a laid back feel, with a good mix of old & new material. For whatever reason, Mark's four solo albums have received little or no promotion by his record company in Australia & it's a shame, because they are great albums.

I do admit that after Knopfler's early works which are quite intense & rocky, his solo works have been more subdued & really require careful listening to really find just how well developed his song writing & guitar work has become.

I love to listen to Stevie Ray Vaughan, John Mayer, Jonny Lang & other performers with great technique, but I know Mark Knopfler will always find a musical direction or approach I hadn't thought of with each new song.

Bring on Sunday!

posted by elliott # 1:41 pm

Tuesday, March 08, 2005

After five years with my current ISP, I'm taking the plunge & on Saturday, signed up for adsl with another provider. It's been a long time coming & will finally sever my links with SeNet who have really lost the plot in terms of service since being taken over by OzEmail. I received notification that the service has been taken over yet again, hence, prompting my escape.

I'm switching to Internode who have a good reputation & for about $10 a month more than what I'm paying for dial-up, I'll have a service which will be 10 times faster & receive ten times the amount of space for this site!

I have about two hours left of paid-up time with SeNet & I don't want to purchase any more, so that's the reason for being a bit quiet of late.

posted by elliott # 2:54 pm

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