Frolic Rock

Nancy and Steve have, with the recent demise of The Negotiators, renamed their duo act. They are now known as 'Frolic'. I hope to keep you all updated with where and when they will be playing.

I went up and watched them play at Burra on September 14. Amazingly, I wasn't the only one to make the trip up from Adelaide just for the occasion! There were a total of five of us. Not bad for a duo to have a following that's willing to go that far. I think it meant a lot to them that we all made the effort. I know we all enjoyed the show. So thanks all round.

My own thoughts were several. Firstly, that they're pretty good performers. I don't much like midi based pub entertainment as a general rule, always seems like a humanised juke box full of fakers. Not Frolic, however! They really rocked it out within the limitations of the midi situation. The audience loved them!

Which leads me to my second point - as fun as it was and as good as they are at performing, Nancy in particular belongs in front of a band with a show like the one she puts on! The computer based music of the midi just doesn't have enough guts for what she does. That's just my opinion, but after enjoying Frolic and can see why people would come and see her regularly fronting a band.

So, you might be interested to know that Nancy Steve and I are playing with a couple of other blokes, Gary (Bass) and Mark (Drums) with the aim of playing a gig someone has asked us to do in December. So, I managed to get away from rock'n'roll for all of a couple of weeks before turning up to turn it up again.

It's a very hard game to leave!

Metamorphosis

Hold onto your seat.

The Negotiators are dissolving (have dissolved, actually, by the time this post was actually posted). Outside interests, other commitments, musical evolution, all played their role in the eventual process. Maybe we'll talk about it one day...

But it's not all over. Nancy and Steve still play in the Negotiators Duo. Click here for details of their next gig at the Excelsior on Friday August 31st. Then they play up at Burra on 14th September. It's an ongoing thing.

I gather Barry is returning to the dreams of suburbia and the needs of those close to him.

Chis, well, watch this space. The music ride is certainly not over for him. Will try and keep you informed.

Steve follows his passion. Besides the Duo gigs with Nancy he's seriously jamming with a couple of other bands who play hard gaslight rock.

And me? I hope to play more on the classical again, get a few musical thoughts of my own out there. Might even become part of another 'originals outfit', perhaps working with Nancy and a couple other faces that many of you, dear readers, might recognise.

And a special thanks to Nancy, Mark, Ben, Dave, Terry, John, Sox, Rob, Steve, Barry and Chris (and all the others who jammed with us at practice, on stage or just plain old rocked up to play with us. You know who you are).

It's been a hell of a ride so far. Watch this space to see what happens next...

Duo Gig - Aug 31 at Excelsior

The Negotiators Duo is playing next at The Excelsior Hotel, Hawker Street, Brompton on August 31st. They kick off at around 7:30 pm. Stumps is usually by midnight. Good Friday night out.

And if you didn't know, the food there is pretty good in quantity and quality for a reasonable price (and no, I don't get anything for the plug - I've just enjoyed the couple of meals I've had there).

Sunday Rehersal

We had a rehersal session this arvo. Together about three and a half hours with two decent breaks. No new material as such (except for an impromptu 'Black is Black'(! )). Ran through Lady Bug Love for the first time in a year - very jazz.

Jean Jeanie, Tear Us Apart, Time of Our Lives, Whole Lotta Love, Evie (Pt 1), R U Gonna Be My Girl, Paint it Black, It's Only Rock'n'Roll, Honky Tonk Woman, I Feel Fine, Hard Day's Night, Eight Days a Week, Rock'n'Roll All Nite, Midnight Special, Gotta Get Outa This Place.

As you can see, nothing too new. But is good as there was a growing solidity to what we did today, more of an edge. I know for myself that it is always valuable to go over and over stuff until it becomes 'internalised' and gels. Everything flows better, the music has a spark. Is good.

Duo Report - Excelsior and The 'Bridge

The Duo played last Friday at The Excelsior Hotel (Brompton) and on Saturday at the Hamley Bridge Hotel. Both gigs sounded like they pulled off okay.

I was there before the start at The Excelsior and there were about three dozen in the pub already. Sounds like it didn't drop beneath that in numbers for the whole night, some of the new songs Steve and Nancy introduced sounded like they went down really well. Of particular encouragement to all was the fact that a few old friends of the band dropped by through the evening.

On Saturday night they played out at Hamley Bridge. Again, several dozen through the evening, with pretty boisterous local crowd. Worst thing to happen was that front of house speaker almost got knocked over - need to keep an eye on setting a stage boundary a bit more clearly.

Not sure where or when The Duo play next (though I heard mention of Burra at band rehersal this arvo). I will let you know when I know.

Duo of Duo Gigs

The Duo (Nancy and Steve) play at the Excelsior Hotel, Brompton, this Friday Night. Bit of a party with some of those who were at The Finsbury Hotel last Saturday with The Negoitators.

Then, on Saturday, they play at the Hamley Bridge Hotel, Hamley Bridge. It's about an hour the other side of Gawler from Adelaide. Good country pub rockin'!

Brewbar Gig - 23 June 2007

On Saturday night The Negotiators played in the Brewbar at the Finnsury Hotel. It was a private show put on to celebrate 'Craig's' fortieth birthday. If the last gig was 5/10, I would have put this one a shade over 7. No really bad stuffups, some really good music, an audience partying on and the band having fun. Mixed in with that, cameos and audience interaction, nice venue, decent hours (7:45 pm start), and a bit of chaos as we blew our first ever main fuse. It was a good evening!

Again, I taped parts of the show. I'm only posting now because it was only last night that I got to listen to my recordings from the third and fourth sets. What I heard on the tapes (despite its quite different sound qualities compared to the actual performance - it was, afterall, only recorded on a walkman through the inbuilt mike on el cheapo tapes) only confirmed what I thought at the time, which is what you read above.

There were around fifty people there for most of the evening, a few more at peak and a few less at start and finish. A pretty cool and friendly crowd who got into the evening. I understand that quite a few were regulars at The Excelsior where The Duo (Nancy and Steve) has played several times. Not a coincidence, I understand. They enjoyed themselves, and made for a good audience.

The venue could have coped with maybe four or five times that many people. It was one big low wooden room with an island bar in the middle, decent size stage at one end. Comfortably lit and wooden pannels, it also had a similar decore colour scheme to our previous show - Club 168 (a sort of deep-peach-rose). I'd say it had less atmosphere than the pool hall, but what would you expect - it was a function room. The pool table, by the way, was in use through the evening.

We played four sets. The longest break we had was when the power blew half way through the second set. It happened at the perfect point in a song (ie. end of a verse). What is it with electricity recently? The Barman Mr Fixit in the main (gambling parlour) section of the hotel was so rush rush that he didn't say a single word or heed the barmaid after she'd alerted him to our plight. I'd say he was damned rude. Anyway, he got the power going so all is forgiven.

Musical highlights of the evening included (for me, anyway) the psychedelic bit in the middle of Whole lotta Love and a couple other numbers, Evie, Prisoner of Society and Rock'n'Roll (our encore) going off, an audience who went the distance in (Am I ever gonna) See Your Face Again, a cameo by a 'guest' drummer (thanks, Leonard) for Honky Tonk Woman and All Right Now, a folksy guitarist/songwriter/singer who wrote and sang a song for the birthday boy (as well as interactive version of Always Look on the Bright Side of Life) and at least a dozen people doing 'the aeroplane' in our penultimate song!

The sound was heaps better. Sharon lurked on the mixing desk, and provided encouragement and an ear in the audience when it counted. We did a few other things a bit different. Steve's amp was miked so that we could put it through foldback and thus all hear it easier. I think that allows for an improvement. It also allows front of house control of the guitar volume - not a bad thing. Depending upon the practicality of it, we might also like to consider miking Barry's bass and my rhythm guitar so that all can hear all. That would be a novelty for a rock band!

Areas of the show that will do with improvement are our all round co-ordination (miking amps through foldback could really help here), a bit of a heavier sound (not necessarily my own personal opinion), more thought into the dynamics of the ensemble.

As for myself personally, I really need to nail down those chord changes in the score or so of songs where my brain doesn't really know what my fingers should be doing at some point! That's just a matter of practice. Will do.

Finally, there was a real classic moment that happened. We'd just played 'American Idiot', and Nancy was saying something about the words 'fuck america' in the song. You can hear on the tape the voice of a guy, who was nearly six foot, tall, shaven headed and expressively dancing much of the evening. He starts singing 'Short Memory' (a song by Midnight Oil, listen to it if you can!). So appropriate a vignette to the way the mindset is of so many of generation X these days.

Must go. I'll let you know the next confirmed gig date when I'm told what it is.

1000 Profile Views!

I guess this is something of a milestone, like the thousandth post or something. Has taken me about three years, and the biggest batch of viewers has come over the most recent year. I seem to have shaken off the statcounter on this blog, so I actually don't have a clue at the moment about who is looking at what for how long. And you know what?

I don't care.

The fact that YOU are reading this is enough to make me want to keep going!

Loading Gear

As I write this I'm watching the light play on the Adelaide Hills as the sun sets on Saturday 23 June. The Negotiators play at the Finsbury for someone's fortieth later this evening. Private show.

I spent a couple hours this afternoon helping steve get the band's gear down to the pub. It's a pretty big job for one person so I was pleased to assist. I got to his place around 2:30, and the last of the gear was on the stage in the pub by just after 3:30. Yes, we get to play on a stage for the second gig in a row!

To give the uninitiated an idea of what's involved, the following is a bit of a list of what has to be moved into the van then into the venue then set up then dismantled then packed back into the van and then moved into its storage place until next used.

P.A. system

2 x front of house speakers (heavy) and stands
3 x foldback speakers
1 x mixing desk (heavy - fragile) and fold up table
1 x CD player and CD collections (fragile - for intervals)
6 x microphone stands
2 boxes of mikes and cables
3 bags of cords and cables

Lighting

4 x boxed lamps (fragile)
1 x light rig poles
1 x 'magic light projector' (fragile
5 x extension leads plus powerboard

Musical gear

2 x music stands
1 x guitar rack
3 x guitars
1 x effects box
1 x Marshall speaker box (wheeled)
1 x Marshall head
1 x Bass amp
1 x Laney guitar amp

Drums

1 x Bass drum assembly
1 x Stool
2 x cymbals and stands
1 x snare drum
1x tom drum

General

1 x 'Negotiators' sign

To give an idea of the contents of the boxes and bags - there's something like 6 mikes and associated leads. Terry once measured the length of cabling on stage when fully rigged. Came to something like 200m. It's a lot of gear!

Barry and myself each bring our own instruments, and I bring a crate of 'goodies' which also acts as a stand for the Laney amp.

And yes, I am aware that I put the drums under a different category to 'musical gear'!

Sunday rehersal at Steve's

I've just got home after a four hour rehersal with the band. It was a good session. We worked through a bit of new material and brushed up the worst of what we did at Club 168 (for a gig report, click here). Sharon stayed for part of the afternoon, she was also of the opinion that this sounded much more like us (and much more likable generally).

This is important as there was a bit of a mixed response within the band to our most recent public performance. Readers of this blog will know what I thought. Steve and Nancy were pretty horrified full stop. Barry and Chris were a bit more acceptant, but were obviously relieved to be back on song today.

It was good to have a show that was fairly crap. We were bound to have one after returning from such a long break. Probably better it happened when and where it did rather than at one of our more regular venues (if we have any of those left).

We next play on Saturday at the Finsbury. Apparently it's a private show in a separate room from the main bar. I guess that if any fans turn up they might try and talk their way in, but I can't guarantee it...

I'll let you know how it went, and when our next is.

PS - you'll note I've slightly reorganised the links on the right of this page. Have included part of my growing collection of tab/chord sites, as well as a bit of a consolidated view of different aspects of the band. I'll update these items as time passes.

Duo plays Burra (again)

Steve and Nancy ('The Negotiators Duo') play at the Burra Hotel (again) from about 8pm on Friay night, 8 June.

They always seem to have a great time there, and the crowd seems to be consistently large. I think the locals appreciate the fact they have an act of this performative character play at their mid-north local. I hear there's a few of our suburban friends/fans heading up for the night also. Having seen a couple of The Duo's gigs, I can vouch for the fact that it's a much more rock'n'roll type experience than any other midi duo I've seen doing the suburban rounds (except perhaps for the irish leprachauns who I saw about seven years ago at the Brecknock).

If anyone who's there for the gig reads this post, I'd be real interested to read your comments about it all.

Optimistic thoughts listening to taped gig

On listening to the tape we recorded at our recent performance the ears shuddered at some times, and at others I thought “wow!”. So here’s a little summary of the tape. Hope I don’t offend anyone. Before you read it, however, you should click here to read the report of the gig itself.

Set 1

Major and dominating problem on the recording, as it was on stage, is the destructively distorted bass amplification. Sort of a high tinny sound, but also just dynamically overblown. Ironically, the ‘warbling’ effect of the screechy bass really suited ‘Come as you are’ (Nirvana). Most of the time however, it overpowers all of the other instruments to the detriment of the whole. I don’t think it’s fair to comment further as, on stage, the effect of the bass amp had exactly the same attention blocking effect as it has on the tape. Lesson to be relearnt: if something seems wrong at the time, fix it. We are all responsible.

Set 2

Much much better. Probably the bestest bit about it is the mix. All instruments become audible and you can hear the timbre of the vocals. At the time and from my position this pretty accurately summed up the improvements in my acoustic surroundings as experienced on stage. That, combined with the fact that I had the volume setting on my guitar up a bit more than usual and my greater familiarity with the material, allowed me to loosen up through this set.

The two observations I recall making at the time were that, firstly, it was much better sounding bass now that Sharon had zapped the ‘high boost’ button and Barry had jiggled the EQ, and secondly, that I could hear Chris much clearer and Steve at least enough to get a bearing on him. I suspect the two were related.

We all made clangers, generally of the type which bespeak a great deal of rust accumulated over previous months of inactivity. Still, I’d hang around and listen to a band that sounded like we did during this set. We obviously were as loose as hell, but were equally obviously having fun and having a go. You can hear it on the tape, it’s infectious.

The potential sound we can make was perhaps most evident in ‘The Wall’ medley, and the Stones numbers, Jumping Jack Flash and Honky Tonk Woman.

Set 3

The third set was in the vein of set 2. I won’t linger too much on it. I will, however, mention something about my own playing which bugs me when I listen to the tape. It is that I really was rusty and really stuffed up some songs which I actually know quite well. The long break from the rigours of gigging has left various parts of our repertoire relatively unvisited as a group. And I have been too slack to go and do my homework revision. Tsk Tsk. At least I have a chance of atoning for this before next gig.

Set 4

I think that this is the best set on the tape. This has come as a surprise, as I felt while playing that we were pretty on the edge all the way through (we had all been up and about in our busy straight lives since about twenty hours earlier). However, listening to the tape, I’d say that the raw bones of what we were doing were being adequately fleshed out with determined attitude. And that counts at a rock gig. We certainly don’t ‘cover’ songs necessarily quite like the original, but if we can learn a bit more about dynamics (eg in Paint it Black), tempo (eg. Little Aeroplane) and interaction of harmony and melody (eg River Deep Mountain High) we’ll be able to consistently pull off what we are only presently showing in glimpses.

In Retrospect

I probably wouldn’t have hung around for the first set if I wasn’t in the band. It sounded pretty harsh, let alone the musicianship. The second set – I’d've stay in the pub to listen, but if I had had to go somewhere meanwhile I would have. Third set, the calculus would swing slightly further towards staying. And I’d definitely have delayed departure to all but a wedding or funeral to catch the last set til the final chord of Little Aeroplane. This is what I think after listening to the tape in the sobre light of day.

Thus, even though I have a fair bit of homework and brushing up to do as a musician, I also remain a great fan (how lucky am I!). Being realistic, and knowing my daytime job will reduce its demand on my limited hours and energy back to the level of a few months ago, I remain confident that we will continue to grind out more good rock and roll in the future.

Club 168 Gig - 1 June 2007

The Negotiators played at Club 168 in Port Adelaide last night. It was a latish starting gig, we kicked off at 10:15 pm. Played though till just after 2:30 am, four sets and none of the breaks over 20 min. Took about an hour to set up, perhaps 35 min to pack up. We didn't need to bring our lights, the venue had its own setup (though Nancy got to use her new battery powered lyric light).A good show to blow off the cobwebs as its been over eight months since we last performed together.

Club 168 was a pretty cool place to play. We got the gig, apparently, because another band had cancelled. They put on bands Fridays and Saturdays, with apparently quite decent crowds on the later. We played on a Friday night, with about a dozen in audience at both beginning and end and a peak of maybe twenty sometime during the third set. This was just enough that the large and spacious poolhall/bar/venue, on 1st floor above old shopping mall entrance on St Vincent Street just down from Blackdiamond Corner, didn't seem on the barren side of empty.

I thought it was really cool that there was a bunch of folk there from the Cumberland Hotel (Glanville) - click here for report from our last gig there. One of them said that they'd not noiced us in gig-guides etc for 9 months. Nice to be noticed (that being the time elapsed since we were last in the gig guides. Genuine fans?

The stairs of Club 168 were neither too steep nor too narrow, the room was big but not echoey, and there was a two layer stage (drum platform slightly elevated) big enough to comfortably accomodate us. Their lighting was neatly done, with some quite trippy sequencing around the dancefloor and stage but calm and subdued light through remainder of venue. A comfortable place.

Sharon was there for the first three sets, kept an ear to our sound and made a few minor adjustments to clarify it for us. Without her feed back we wouldn't have known how we sounded at the far end of a big room (which can be quite scary and sometimes embarassing). Most valuable thing from my point which she did was suggest a few changes to the EQ on Barry's Bass Amp. Pulling down the treble and pumping up the bass in the big space all of a sudden allowed me to hear Steve a lot more clearly for the remainder of the gig, and added a definite bottom end to our music. Thanks Sharon.

It's a bit hard for me to judge how we went as a band, I had a couple real fuckups myself so they tend to dominate my consciousness of the evening. On the other hand, for the rest of the show I held my own quite well. I locked onto Chris's drums as my reference point for most of the night, and relied on Barry to give me hope when I realised a couple times that I'd really messed up a chord sequence.

Chris was cruising really well on the drums. He wasn't laying in as hard in the first set as he was later - which was really good 'cause it then cut through the on-stage noise (which sometimes bears little resemblance to what is happening acoustically in front of the stage). Having spent a bit of time focusing on the drums recently at practice and now at the gig, my appreciation for Chris's style as a muso is continuing to deepen. There's a lot of subtle variation in what he does that allows the listener to 'read him' without too much effort, without it descending into ear candy. And he holds a pretty steady tempo without seeming effort.

Steve and Nancy did well as the lead duo. Steve's leads continue to progress along the rock idiomatic line he has been pursuing over the past year. I also think that his melodic tendencies are again making themselves heard - which is his own stylistic infusion into the leads breaks he manufactures. Is good, because there is a balance between the two aspects of his leads now. As he continues to work with modal theory in his personal practice, I expect this will only continue to develop.

Nancy pumped it out as always. She still has a bandaged hand from last week's electrocution (click here for the story) but, with the exception of the addition of her new battery powered stage light and an infusion of electricity jokes, there seems to be no major effects upon her performance. My favorite electricity repartee from the night was when Nancy introduced 'Rock n Roll is King' as being originally and appropriately by The Electic Light Orcherastra, to which I added that it was just as well she's a good conductor!

The most noticeable addition Nancy has made to her performance spectrum has been a willingness for vocal ad-lib as part of the improvisational mix in the extended instrumental rock hypnotic moments which arose several times through the night.

And I guess it's those moments, which sweep away your sense of hear and now and just drop you in the sonic tides of hard rock, that make this game worth all the hard work. And there were several of them in last night's show. Which says to me that if we can get back into a steady groove of rehearsal and gigging we will get a chance to explore yet another outreach of musical experience. Yay!

We play at what I hear is a private show towards the end of this month down in Pennington. I'll probably post before then with something about that.

The Negotiators Duo (Steve, Nancy and a midi machine) play at Burra this coming Friday (8 June). They always have a good show there.

PS We taped the show with a walkman. Upon listening to the recording several thoughts come to mind which I have posted here.

Electric Legend

Nancy seriously electrocuted herself on stage the other night. Don't panic - she's okay.

The Negotiators Duo were up at Hamley Bridge gigging at a friend's birthday at the local (for some photos of a previous visit, click here). End of first song, audience settling in, Steve working his gear (I think) and Nancy standing there completing a circuit with full mains power flowing through. For quite a few seconds she stood there, incapable of moving. No-one seemed to notice. And then the power shorts and she's thrown to the ground.

Not knowing if she's still 'live' or not, the girl scout in her comes out and she tells people to not touch her, supine on the floor. The local Country Fire Service Paramedic dude is apparently doing the same thing. In a few minutes she's having a cup of tea. A few minutes more and the show kicks off again. The paramedical dude stayed til stumps. Apparently there was dancing on the bar before the night was done.

Now that's a rock'n'roll legend in my mind! Still, I'm glad I wasn't there. I would have freaked.

Hopefully NOT repeating that performance, Nancy and Steve front for The Negotiators in our hiatus breaking gig this Friday Night at Club 168 in Port Adelaide from about 10 pm.

For a report on our last gig together (in August last year, for heaven's sake!) click here.

PS Nancy's been checked out medically. All systems OK. The doctor's were impressed!

Unintentional Cookie Distribution

Sorry! Sitemeter have been using this blog, and millions of others, to distribute a cookie into viewer's machines - without permission implied or actual to do so. I believe they have now updated their user agreement, but only following a storm of protest. As far as I'm concerned the damage is done, and when I get around to it I'll be removing their stacounter from this site and (perhaps) replacing it with something which only does what it says and doesn't use you unwittingly for someone else's commercial benefit.

Anyway - if you're wondering what a 'cookie' is, it's a little 'program' that sits inside your computer and reports back to its host about what your computer does. They can be very handy things, but there's no benefit to you or me I believe with the one sitemeter have distributed. It is called specificclick. It won't kill either you or your computer, but if you want to know more about it and how to get rid of it, click here.

Oh - and don't forget The Negotiators are playing down at Club 168 at Port Adelaide this coming Friday (June 1) from 10 pm!

Upcoming Gigs - June 1 and 28

The Negotiators will be gracing the public stage twice in June! This is our long awaited and much sought after return to performing.

June 1 - Club 168 Poolhall - upstairs Cnr Vincent/Commercial, Port Adelaide, from 10 pm
June 28 - Finsbury Hotel - Pennington (?)

The Negotiators Duo will also be playing soon, out at Hamley Bridge Hotel on May 25th from 9pm.

We've been kind of in a holding pattern since late last year when Nancy's voice went away for awhile. I think we've gotten better, but aren't as tight as a band as we could be. Therefore, the first Poolhall gig will be a bit of a testing time I suspect, and we will sink or swim. My instinct tells me we'll rise to the occasion.

We've got a couple practices between now and then. I imagine they'll be fairly focused events. Hope to see you there...

Muse on the muse, Negotiators Duo update

The Negotiators finally got together again on Sunday for a 'practice' (more of a jam, really) at Steve and Jackie's. Played quite a few old classics and a handful of originals from the days of Requiem. There's something that clicks when all five are together that isn't quite there when it's just the four of us. Listening to what we were doing, I could hear that we have grown into a unit. Not a polished unit, but one that when it gets it gets it well.

Every unit has its own sound. Even when they play the same songs, in the same style, they will still have uniquely identifiable groove which is theirs alone. When you hear it, you know. Not all bands have it. In fact, over the years I've seen a lot of performers who haven't 'found their sound'. It always eventually comes down to sounds like going through the motions. When you have your sound, your music comes alive.

It's a bit different than simple performance or technical skill. It is a collective inspiration expressed in the sound of the unit. If there are inspired moments occuring on stage, the moment will shine. Across an evening, a band with its own sound will carry both itself and its audience into the altered state which is rock n roll. As long as it holds its own act together aesthetically.

And with every practice session we do, we get better at this last.

The Negotiators Duo (Steve and Nancy) play at the Excelsior Hotel, Hawker Street in Brompton, this Friday (11 May) from about about 7.30pm.

The Status Quo ...

...continues.

Band waiting to get together again. Seem to have lost the flywheel at present.

The Duo plays this Friday night at Excelsior Hotel, Cnr Hawker and Coglin Streets, Brompton. Start around 9. Hamley Bridge Hotel on May25th.

RIP Lobby Lloyd

I just heard on the radio today that Oz Rock Utter Legend Lobby Lloyd passed away. This bloke was the man who gave aussie rock its kick, dragged it through the front bar and gave it one hell of a working over. I'm no coneisseur of guitar, but I know what I like and I liked him.

Considering that Billy Thorpe passed away earlier this year, we can see the passing of the Aztecs into legend. Sigh. And to think I didn't go to their last gig at the Pier in Frankston (Victoria) last October, when I was practically just up the road! Probably the best 'last gig' show I saw was the Exploding White Mice at the Exeter on Hinley Street. Like most of us, however, most of the time I don't get to say 'I was there'.

I wasn't. I regret that.

RIP LOBBY LLOYD.

Negotiators Duo next play at the Excelsior (Phantom pub, corner Coglin and Hawker Streets in Brompton) on Friday May 11th, from about 9pm.

Playing for sheer fun

We had one of our regular, if not frequent, band 'practices' yesterday. Sadly, Nancy had to pull out at the last moment so it was just the guys. Last time this happened the results might have been fun, but probably not too good on the ear. This time Chris was probably the 'lead' singer, and he was pretty good considering...

We warmed up with 'Wipeout' (no vocals to scare us off) and then got stuck into almost three hours of rock. Not being too picky (except in areas of structure) we just played for the fun of the moment. Or, at least, I did. I think we all kicked back in our own way and just forgot about the gig just around the corner or the dictates of publican's prejudices or the absence of a 'manager' and just got into the music.

Not that it won't be great to get back into playing in public, but it's great not to also.

Don't forget, The Negotiators Duo (click here here or here for pix from another country gig they did) play this Friday night (20 April) at Burra, usual start time (about 8pm).

Upcoming Negotiators Duo Gigs

Tomorrow (Easter Sunday) - Jamestown. From around 7.30 pm.
April 20 - Burra
May 11 - Excelsior Hotel, Coglin / Hawker Streets, Brompton. From around 9 pm.
May 25 - Hamley Bridge Hotel. Probably from around 9pm.

Band still in state of semi active hibernation.

Sorry about the brevity of this post and this blog in general, things will pick up as the band does.

Negotiators Duo gigs - this weekend and last

This Weekend

This Friday Night (23 March) the Negotiators Duo (Nancy and Steve) play their little duo thing at the Excelsior Hotel on Hawker St in Brompton, I think they start fairly early (like around 7.30). Last time they played their it was by all accounts a good gig. I hear there's a few people planning on going so it might be a relatively biggish show. The things I most recall about the pub are its 'Phantom' decor and its food (lots of it and yum).

On Saturday Night, it's off to the midnorth again - this time in Jamestown. It'll be a latestarting gig (say, 10 pm or after?) and no doubt a fairly interesting night. There's a busload or two of jazz people coming by, my guess is they'll appreciate what they see and hear.

Last Weekend

The most recent show Nancy and Steve did was at The Taminga Hotel in Claire. There was a bit of competition on in town, with a band at the 'young' pub, a drunken Karaoke in the middle pub, and The Negotiators Duo in the front bar of the Taminga. Not that I'm biased but I thought the band was okay, I could listen to their pop punk and enjoy it. The Karaoke was crap. The best show in town was The Duo at the Taminga, they held a dozen til the end and had a couple dozen more through the evening. All rocking at one stage. Which is pretty good for a duo midi thing. Need I say more.

(By the way, the band is still rehersing. Not a lot of new stuff, but there's a lot of ground to recover with the old. My ear detects improvement, will be good when we start booking gigs again)

RIP Billy Thorpe & Negotiators Duo gig on Saturday

'The Negotiators Duo' (Steve and Nancy) are playing at Claire, lovely little town in South Australia's Mid-North, this Saturday Night (March 10). They start at around 9.00 pm. I'm not sure which pub it will be at, but there can't be too many! Would be good to see some of you there (knowing, as I do, that you don't mind getting away from the big smoke for a weekend in the country).

The band itself continues rehersal, though of a fractured kind. For example, due personal tragedy only us blokes could make it last Sunday. This allowed for a technically oriented practice which was good, but necessitates further delay in our return to the pubs of Adelaide.

Speaking of pubs, one of the greatest legends of Oz rock, Billy Thorpe, died of a heart attack in the last week, aged 60. Our sympathies to those who knew him. For those that don't know, Billy Thorpe almost singlehandedly put bands into pubs (as early as 1963!), was upsetting everyone with his loudness almost straight away and, with his band 'The Aztecs', made a name both nationally and internationally for loud and aggressive hard rock. The chaos which attended his following was legendary. He was still into the music game, and I understood had recently recorded another album which will now no doubt become a best seller when released.

RIP Billy.

February Flyer

Slightly Modified Version of the flyer we presently leave with potential patrons.

Negotiators Duo gigs review and band update

The Duo played at Excelsior last Friday, and Burra last night. Both were apparently successful gigs. I've seen some folk who were at the Excelsior and they loved it. I wasn't at Burra, but they played a long gig (1.30 stumps) so that's usually a sign everyone's enjoying themselves.

The performed our song 'Fucked Decisions', with a midi track! A 'midi' is an electronic device that allows you generate 'backing parts' over which you perform. Thus, Nancy sang, Steve played lead guitar, and the 'midi' generated drums, bass and rhythm. Usually, these two piece duos use a midi with preprogrammed cover music. That's what Nancy and Steve have been doing. With 'fucked decisions' however, Steve has started learning how to program the midi. This will be very interesting to see where it ends up in an artistic sense!

Finally, we meet for reherals as a band again tomorrow. Hopefully blow the cobwebs off another dozen or so songs, tightening ourselves up prior to remerging with the stream of consciousness and work which is live gigging.

Negotiators Duo - Burra Gig this Friday

Steve and Nancy by all accounts put on another ripper show lastnight at the Excelsior Hotel, Brompton. I left just before they kicked off. They played until well after time, and took a heavy loss of equipment due the audience getting too excited. Oh well.

We (ie The Negotiators) reherse again tomorrow, Sunday. It's expected to get to 40'C.

The Negotiators Duo (Steve and Nancy) will be playing again at the Burra Pub this coming Friday (9/2/07), starting around 7.30. They tend to pull a bit of an audience there. If you want to be part of a classic country pub in a rockin' mood, get on up there. It's not that far from Adelaide...

Negotiators Duo - Hamley Bridge Jan 27

Steve and Nancy at the Hamley Bridge Hotel on Saturday night. Many thanks to all those who came up to support them. Looked to me like everyone had a great time!

...

Reflective moment...

Steve and Nancy play the Excelsior Hotel (Corner Coglin and Hawker Streets, Brompton) this Friday (2/2/07) from about 7.30 pm. They play with a fair bit more guts than any other of the duo acts I've seen over recent years.

Hamley Bridge, The Excelsior, and Rehersals.

Nancy and Steve are playing their duo thingy reasonably often at the moment. This Saturday night at the Hamley Bridge Hotel from around 7.30 should be a fun expedition from Adelaide (Hamley Bridge lies a ways out the other side of Gawler). They've played at Burra a couple of times since christmas. Next Friday they play at the Excelsior Hotel, Corner Coglin and Hawker Streets, Brompton, from about 7.30.

They say it's just to keep them in touch while the band kicks into gear again, but I'm sure there's a certain pleasure to the lack of complexity when you only have singer, guitarist and Midi (computer) music - not all the dramas that go with the band. On the other hand, there's a certain wild energy that you can latch onto with the bootstrap mentality that comes with playing in the band.

We've started rehersing again, a bit more methodically than before. So it shouldn't be too long now...

Thanks Jo.

Happy New Year - 2007!

Have a good one!