kicker of elves...

YOUTH. school days as we're told, are supposedly the best years of one's life. i know that i'm not the only one who was scanning the room for some kind of rope-like material to tie a noose from whenever this statement was made - 'fuck that and fuck you...'. after turning thirty, i have found myself completely lost, isolated and - for the first time in my short life, lonely. well, i call bullshit on this too. SONGS. TUNES. MELODIES. HARMONIES. MUSIC! while i now know that i am NOT defined by my creative output, i also know deep in my fucking guts that LISTENING to music has never been more important. over the last eighteen months i have rediscovered my love for songs and specifically, bands that i long thought i had out-grown or were irrelevent to my thirty-year-old self. as i type this gunk on to a lap-top computer (who woulda thunk it, eh?), i am blasting 'bee thousand' by GUIDED BY VOICES on the shop's stereo. it is fantastic to experience this record again but i am working towards something, 'real' songs written by australians that were in REACH when i was a pup, going to all-ages shows in the western suburbs of sydney. in some ways, these years were the best of my life. thus far though mate, thus far. for i have hope, and i shall attempt to explain why. mixed bills: YOU AM I, MIDGET, POLLYANNA, BIG HEAVY STUFF, SIDEWINDER, DAISYGRINDERS, TWEEZER, LAWNSMELL, EVEN, MEANIES, FRENZAL RHOMB (shudder), REGURGITATOR, CUSTARD, THE FAUVES, SCREAMFEEDER, TUMBLEWEED, SMUDGE, MAGIC DIRT, FRONT END LOADER, SPIDERBAIT(i know...blah), SUICIETY, HARDWARE, TWO LITRE DOLBY, SHIHAD(first two lp's are amazing), EL MOPA, SANDPIT(!), NOISE ADDICT, ART OF FIGHTING, CROW, BLUEBOTTLE KISS, NITOCRIS, SNEAKER...i could type on, but i think that my point has been made. in the early to mid-nineties i would pay my two bucks at the harvey lowe pavillion in castle hill or the police boys youth club in parramatta and watch five or more bands that in today's social climate, seemingly had nothing in common - ie. they played music that fit into genres that were not alike in the slightest. but they DID have something in common - they were bands, putting themselves out there while on the stage or on the floor performing and then (shock! horror!) you could walk up to them and have a chat, AND they listened and spent time with you - no matter who you were or what you wore (clothing or otherwise), as long as you approached with honesty and without arrogance, tim rogers (a local hero - the 'pizza guy') would speak with you, or tom morgan, or adalita, or greg atkinson, or matt handley etc. etc. these people were just that - people, and they didn't have a problem spending/wasting their time talking to a fifteen year-old me, excited as fuck and thankful for their music AND their words. if you fell over in the pit whilst dancing (dancing!), then a stranger helped you up and off you went again, dancing. we were all in this together - punters, muso's, record store staff (thank you waterfront and old, old utopia records!)...even the security at the shows were nice enough (emphasis on 'enough'). it was accepted and expected that you (YOU!), us, all had a responsibility to one-another to keep this thing called love (read: music) going - we all had a stake and if someone slipped up, then someone else picked up the slack. i don't feel this anymore, i'm sorry, but i don't. FBI (the radio station) was better when it was on and off the air. why? because the fundraising shows were fucking corkers and the people involved genuinely gave a shit - it wasn't just a stepping stone for the staff to another higher paying job. it was life. so many fuckers rely on government grants these days to fund their 'artistic pursuits', but what happens when the grant money dries up? they disappear from view, putting on annual 'festivals' of boring, self-serving shite. it pisses me off, and i know that i am not alone in feeling this way - i'm simply stupid enough to say it and put my money where my fucking mouth is.
so, where to from here? well, it's all up to us - you, me and 'them'. for a start, when attending a show and watching a band that you're enjoying - clap when they finish a song for fuck's sake. don't be self conscious, don't even think - react! if you loved that song they just played, then show em! i went to the hamilton station hotel in newcastle on saturday night to watch and listen to some live music, and half the time i was the only one applauding between tunes - school days were shit because of things like peer pressure (SCREAMERS!), and gigs are a release from supposed contraints such as this. YOU have a responsibility to thank these people who lay themselves bare - just as THEY have a responsibilty to do their best to play well and be thankful for an audience, any audience...especially in the year 2010 - a time when everyone's constantly distracted by immediate satisfaction. understand that this thing called love (read: music) is not about immediacy, it's about communication - from me to you and all and sundry. the internet has done us many favours - for a start, major labels are dead in the water. we have a chance to make things better, to look back while focusing on the paths ahead. life, love and art - it's all too important and far too short to waste time worrying about what that cunt next to you or on this screen thinks. DO IT YOURSELF, for yourself AND everyone else. then at least you'll be able to say you tried to create or support or simply be happy. and remember, read this and discard. fuck me and fuck your heroes. fuck school.

...to be continued...