Does anyone come here anymore? I will know you do if you talk to me about this

Old tech audio - new tech interface.

What the hell...

Don't tell me you're all poking each other on facebook or something.

Goddamn.

Had a wonderful birthday recently

Made me think of all those that couldn't be there






As usual, Dewi made the party!

Van damn in Breakin is freakin cool. Where can i get some black lycra like that?!?

Need more

Hai gais, come check out the well-wicked debate you are going to start over here.

I played your little 'media are bad' game, now come play my 'terrorists and cops are bad' game.

But seriously, please peruse and comment at will. Especially YOU, mister lawyer man.

That is all.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY THEEE!!!
BIG UPS BRO.
MUCH LOVE,
J

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/05/06/1178390134752.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1

I would argue that 'foreign journalists' create false images of other cultures, especially in times of conflict. Citizen journalism opens the media-market to local authors who can take control of their cultural identity and how its broadcasted around the globe.

What do you peeps think of the DIY journalist? Are they a friend or foe, a resource or competition, is their bias any worse than the current media agencies?

Norf Melbournites

It's like god's view of North Melbourne!

Wikimapia

From The Land Of The Raptors #7

I apologise. I’ve been a little out of contact lately. My life has been a bit hectic to say the least, and I’ve barely had a minute to call and abuse my estranged daughter let alone sit down and squeeze out an email.

The hecticness (what’s the noun formation from hectic anyway… hecticity?) has been due to three major factors: (this is where you scroll down, see that this is a long post, sigh, and wonder if you can be bothered reading all this right now)

1. Touring. I’ve been playing guitar for a couple quasi-popular Canadian artists. Most recently I just got back from the Northern Provinces where I was supporting a Native Canadian vocalist. We played a number of venues including a beautiful grand old theatre that seated thousands in plush velvet, as well as a string of regional First Nation Cultural Centres.

While I was in Winnipeg I spent some time with a family who had possibly the most amazing dog I’ve ever encountered. She went by the name Thunder and she was a Husky / Wolf cross. Whoa, she was massive. If she would’ve let me put a saddle on her I could have probably gone for a ride. Nah I don’t need no stinkin sled. I’m not usually a dog person, but Thunder was more like a werewolf, and I spent all my time off from playing engaging in mind games and cuddling with her. She was incredibly intelligent and gentle. Clearly her jaws were capable of snapping my forearm in half, but mostly she just wanted to hold hands. Even just the weight and size of her paw was impressive… and she would offer it up while she slept. So adorable and so frightening all at once.

2. I had to move apartments. Unfortunately the landlord of my condo decided he wanted to sell the place. I didn’t get that much notice and it didn’t help that I wasn’t going to be in Ontario when I had to get my stuff outta there. So I had to put my things in storage before I left, and when I got back I had the strange situation of having nowhere to live. It was a sort of spaghettification of my self-image, where on one hand I’d just been feeling like a touring rockstar, and on the other I felt like a homeless and toothless hobo (but with more teeth). So I actually had a month there where I kinda drifted around, spending the first half of the day looking for a new place, and the second half romancing friends and strangers so that I could crash on their couch. The two halves were divided by a soup line.

Funny thing though… I went into my old apartment building to pick up my mail and the concierge told me that one of the tenants had to move out and needed someone to pick up the end of their lease. So as it turns out, after a month of brushing my teeth in the mall and progressively getting more desperate as each house I checked out was worse than the one before, I’ve ended up four floors down and across the hall.

Now that I think about it, you probably didn’t need to know any of that. Waste of two paragraphs really. Sorry.

3. Jam-packed gigging schedule. Haven’t been involved in a lot of recorded music over the last few months, and on top of that the Toronto Film industry has just fallen flat on it’s face since a union petitioned industry-wide strike and a long cold winter. So I’ve had to hustle and get a bunch of gigs to pay the bills. It’s been hard work, but it’s also been a lot of fun. In addition to my weekly Fri and Sat night rotations at various city venues, I’ve got a regular Thursday night where I alternate between a brand new bar called Pero Lounge and one of Toronto’s oldest live-music spots, The Cameron House. So I lug my gear around town a fair bit, but when I get there it’s really rewarding being able to play with some of these guys. I am truly spoilt and privileged to be able to gig with musicians of this caliber.

Oh hey, here’s something funny. A couple of the more pop/shlocky songs I wrote last year have found their way back to Australia. With the help of Chris Pettifer, Grundy’s picked them up for the Neighbours soundtrack. Mmmm, royalties. But how do you like that – gotta travel to the other side of the globe just to get some goddam work in Oz. Sheesh.

Back in February I was lucky enough to be paid a visit by Alex. He stayed with me for a month before heading on through Europe and now in India. I didn’t get to spend quite as much time with him as I would have liked, but we did get the major stuff out of the way – Niagara Falls, the CN Tower, The Bruce River Trail, a Raptors game and about 10 Liters of Sauza Blanca. As he was leaving, he said to me that he would never want to live in this city. Which kind of scared me to be honest. It reminded me of how much I hated this place when I first got here – the weather, the architecture, the franchise culture, the personal attitudes, the social divisions. And I still kind of hate it, but I can’t help but feel like it’s home.

I’ll admit it, lately I’ve been thinking about coming back to Australia. Maybe I feel like I’m getting older and need to settle down into a real life… putting a downpayment on a house and getting a 9-5er or something. But then, I think that’s what I came here to avoid. It’s really odd; I feel much more at home in Toronto than I do in Melbourne, and yet I know I don’t wanna live here forever, and would never do something lending itself to permanence such as buying a house here.

Meanwhile back at home, lots of my friends have babies. I don’t have any babies. I have lots of friends. Babies don’t have any friends. So I’ve got one up on them. But as for my friends… I love and miss them, and perhaps envy them. I’m really happy and thankful for what I have here, but I’m also very aware of what I’m missing out on.

Sometimes I wonder if what I’m doing has any value, or if any success in this field is going to be fulfilling. Maybe I’d be just as content building boats on a pacific island somewhere. What the hell is life all about anyway? You know… the meaning we’ve all been searching for. Anyone worked it out yet?! Holla atcha boy.

You’d have to be a lobotomy patient to consider getting into the music industry now. Last year was the worst year on record for CD sales, and so far this year is 25% below that. (Actually, as an aside, when was the last time you purchased a new album? I’d be interested to know.) The labels are screwed, there are fewer act signings than ever before, and platinum albums don’t exist anymore. Avril Lavigne just had a monster hit that no-one’s ever heard. J.T and The Rolling Stones can still fill a stadium, but the other acts that you might think are big can’t sell tickets or records in any substantial number. Obviously downloads are yet to be monetized, and while bands are getting incredibly (albeit briefly) popular on YouTube and MySpace, they’re not making any money. The bulk of musicians are DIY so producer or engineer roles are fewer than ever before.

I was aiming high when I moved here with intentions to operate in the higher tiers of the North American music industry. But even since I made that decision 3 years ago, that tier has become smaller and smaller to the point of non-existence. I met a guy who penned and produced one of the biggest r&b tracks last year, and he’s not all that much better off for it. No-one’s ever going to hear of him, and he doesn’t feel that he has any form of security in his job. It’s not like back in the day when you write a hit and get hired by Motown for the remainder of your years. He’s actually still living in his parent’s basement in Alabama. And this guy has MADE IT!

Amidst the chaos, I’m still trying to garner what knowledge I can of the industry, both technical and environmental. From these ashes, many a phoenix will fly. As dumb as it sounds, it’s good for music. Marketing means next to nothing – we’ve all become immune. So emails and word-of-mouth from TRUSTED sources are how things spread – which ostensibly is based upon the merit of the work. At least we’re not limited to MTV and Top40 Radio to tell us what we’re allowed to hear. A few things still need to happen – the world needs to adopt a system that will allow musicians to make money from their work (there are a raft of possibilities, including subscription services, fees built into ISP bills, new robust software for d/ls and plays that incorporates auditing… etc etc). A song might cost 0.1 cents, but the upside is that it will go directly to the artist, and the more legitimate listeners, the more they earn.

This is for the big time players to wrestle with. For my lot, I’m trying to figure out what opportunities are arising along the periphery. Again, is this something of value?

So now you know what occupies my headspace, while I’m banging out augmented chords down at the club to pay rent.

And with that, I’m out.


Slang update v2.0
- ‘from time’ (adv) = something that’s been going on for a long while. Eg “He’s been playing drums from time”
- ‘rammed’ (adj) = full to capacity, usually in reference to clubs/venues
- ‘bubble’ (n) = a type of dance where a girl backs up to a guy and lets it flip like a cell phone. I actually overheard a girl say “I’m gonna give him the bubble of his life”
- ‘running’ (v) = trying to get someone to leave, or forcing a particular idea onto someone. Eg “Are you running me?”

PS. A HUGE round of congratulations to Ben & Nadia on the birth of Josephine, to Laurenne & Costantino on the birth of Matteo, to Krissy & Jose in anticipation, to Paul & Cristy on their wedding, to Kara & Ali on their marriage, to Theo & Chloe on their engagement, to Roland & Dewi for sticking up for the rest of us and not getting married or pregnant, and to everyone else for continuing to be awesome.

PPS. If you’re reading this letter, I love and miss you, and hope that all is well with you. Would love to hear back!

PPPS. I’ve attached a few (hundred) photos just to make this post longer and more obtrusive.

While Alex was here we did a little hiking and decided it would be fun to walk on top of the iced over river.

Of course, the ice is all thawing now, and it gives way surprisingly fast. We can laugh about this now though.

This shot is from the CN Tower, facing in toward the bulk of the downtown core. I’ve pointed out a couple areas of interest.

While we were up in the Skypod, I got a call from a friend who was walking along King St. We thought we'd try out the camera's 12x optical zoom to see if we could locate her, which we did. She was across the road from one of the clubs I play at, which is over half a km away from the Tower. Then take in account the height of the skypod (447m), apply a little pythagorean style mathematics and you get a distance of around 700m. Not bad resolution for handheld from that distance!

This was also from the CN Tower. Alex and I took turns of hanging over the banister and taking pics of each other. Security never showed. Note the ice receding along the edge of the lake.

Here’s Alex doing his best Country Road catalogue shot.

Niagara Falls… first time I’d seen it during the Winter. Completely different experience.

Niagara Falls close up. This is down in the middle of the fall. I wouldn’t have guessed it with the pure force of the water pummeling down, but large ice/snow bergs form at the bottom. And ice clings to twigs and other bits of ice around the rim in the foreground.

Alex & I carved out a snowman for kicks. We decided to try to make him semi realistic… this was about halfway. In the end it ended up looking more like a snowvestite, but it was still cool. Everyone in the neighbourhood was dumbfounded – apparently snowmen are usually made by children and people found it strange to see two 26 year olds messing about making quasi-anatomically correct snow people. Btw, once we carved the eyes out, they followed you wherever you walked.

This was taken at the Winnipeg show. 6 piece including the DJ. Crowd of about 800.

Me in Winnipeg

One of the shows I did I was lucky enough to meet (and get kinda messy with) Cee-lo Green from Gnarls Barkley / Outkast. He must be craaaaazy.

You know it's bad when...

"We used to believe that those in positions of political authority would respect and work to protect the rights of all Australian citizens. We now know that to be naive and incorrect," - Malcolm Fraser (!!)

Ex-PM says Australia and U.S. behave tyrannically (Reuters)

I spent a summer wasting...

Happy New Year!

Hey all,
Here are some photos from Halloween. Thanks Mauro... good times. For everyone else I mean. I heard you puked everywhere.

I guess we can rely on Avi to be single enough for the rest of us.

Hi everyone. Dewi and I just got back from the Netherlands, very fun, very fun.

While there, I found out my friend Sandra is trying to be the United Nations Youth Ambassador for the Netherlands.
The voting procedure requires people to vote for her. They can be from any country and all they need to do is email
vn@bkb.nl
with the subject
VN B

Sandra is a highly motivated and talented person who I worked with when I was in the Netherlands. She won awards at Harvard and Oxford, which tend to relfect both effectiveness and fairness in dealing with other members of the committee.

Here is her message, be forgiving of slight english to dutch translation issues. Also, some of the people who read this blog are far more conencted than me so if you are the hub of some other group and they can also vote please forward it to them. This is a huge opportunity for her and she is very deserving.

"Hello there!

Please take a look at this movie.... At the moment I, Sandra van Beest,
am running to be the next United Nations youth ambassador
for the Netherlands (go to www.SandraNaarDeVN.nl/engels.htm for more
information). I believe everyone has right for education and I
strive for equality of men and woman. I need your help to make
this happen.

VOTE
and help make a difference..

go to: www.SandraNaarDeVN.nl/engels.htm
email: under subject: VN B to vn@bkb.nl
sms: VN B to 0031-4411

And give others a chance to do the same.. forward this email!!

Thank you,
Sandra
ps. you can vote 3 times!!"

Cheers
Roland

Totally weird shit. Download for full effect.

From The Land Of Celebrity #6

"Off the plane, on a train, on our way to see the FIFA World Cup..." It's this really annoying ad for Rogers Mobile that I really won't miss. Rogers is one of the larger mobile networks (and cable/wireless internet/magazine media conglomerates) in Canada, and they obviously paid mega-bucks to get their ad in EVERY commercial break during the World Cup. I have the dialogue etched into my brain, as well as the contorted faces of the three ultra-trendy 20-something gimboids as they rock around Germany pretending to be best friends. It's one of those ads that is monumentally irksome, but just gets under your skin.

With the completion of the World Cup, that particularly irritating commercial is no longer on. But now it's been replaced by a sequel. Wherein four friends go on a roadtrip across North America, whilst listening to their mp3 phones and simulating bliss during coming-of-age moments. I'd hack on it a lot more if I wasn't in it. (wha!?) Yeah. See... on the days that I haven't been playing or in the studio, I've been doing some SOC (silent on camera) work for feature films - you know, just mime talking in the background behind Christopher Walken in a cafe or something. It's just something that I've been doing for some extra cash.

But it's kinda snowballed, and in addition to my bg agent, I now have a principal agent. Who occasionally sends me to auditions. I've probably been to about 10 auditions now... and have been cast in a few things. This Rogers commercial is the big one - it's high rotation so the residuals are helping my bank account out to no end. Apart from that, I've been a 'fashion expert' in a life network program called 'Style By Jury', a cinema usher in a show called 'Instant Star' and a surfer-type dude in 'Degrassi'. Yes, that Degrassi. But what aboot the baby Spike I hear you ask.

Funny. I have absolutely no interest in being on television or in films, but these things just seem to be landing in my lap. Meanwhile all these acting types that I meet are furious with me because I've got so much work already, when they're busting their ass for these parts, and I'm only in it for the money and the catering.

Oh, did I mention that in that Rogers commercial, I was a pirate? No? Good.

Now for the real news.

Things have really been picking up for me! I've made some close friends and fallen in with the musical community that comprises Toronto's most talented and in-demand musicians. These are serious players. They do a lot of the session work for the soul/rnb that comes out of NY/LA/TO. Tuesday nights I play in a band with a Keyboardist who tours with Parliament Funkadelic, a bassist who plays on joints by ?uestlove, Mos Def and Keisha Chante, and the Drummer for Rufus. Just to name a few. So it's amazing they're humouring me and letting me play with them... and I'm just blissed out every time we play. Which is about 3 or 4 times a week in various combinations with other players from the same pool.

Oh, I've got a story you might like. I recently got back from a tour of Northern Ontario that I was doing with this band called The Payback. I guess you could best describe our repertoire as sophisticated funk. Anyway, the tour sounded like it would be a really fun time. Which it was. Apart from the gigs themselves. See, the problem was the crowd. We were playing very rural areas (read: backwoods-of-nowhere-inbred-hick-towns), and most of these people aren't really used to seeing live music, let alone anything without a banjo. They were confounded and confronted by the fact that we weren't playing Sweet Home Alabama over and over again. So on one of the last dates of the tour, we had a crowd that was quite hard to win over. And in one brief moment of frustration, I plucked the opening bars of Sweet Home Alabama. 'Durt durt diggurr, ba-durt durt diggurr.' It was incendiary to say the least.

All at once, the band looked at me, horrified, whilst the entire congregation of toothless hicks stood up and promptly ejaculated on the walls in a moment of sheer elation. At which point I stopped. Which was an even worse decision than it was to start. I really overestimated their sense of humour about the whole thing. Hahah... There were these massive denim-clad cowboys standing erect by the pool table in the corner, holding their pool cues in one hand. I was waiting for them to smash them on the edge of the table and rush the stage. It was a Hollywood moment, honestly. So the lead singer immediately apologises on my behalf... "Look guys, I'm really sorry about that. We don't really know the song, and we shouldn't have teased you like that when we can't follow through and play the rest. We don't know it."

Amidst the booing and howling for blood, I heard this weathered and crackly voice from an old toothless guy at the bar, as he muttered forlornly into his beer, "Just play it close." It was a solitary and desperate plea, that really allowed me to realise what a mistake I'd made.

At this point, in my defence, I might just mention that the night prior, our trumpet player had been arrested by local police who were on a power trip. He spent the night in jail and we had to bail him out, and attend the court hearing 2 hours before we went on stage. These weren't the 'good' kinda yokels, OK??

Anyway, we didn't finish the set.

So I've been so busy with all this live playing at night, and stupid film work during the day... I've all but forgone the production side of things. I say "all but" because it's a phrase that sounds kinda cool, but also because I'm still doing some co-writing and production for a couple amazing local artists.

I also say "all but" because last week I slammed my hand in a door. This big metal sonofabitch at one of the clubs I was playing. On the way out to load gear into the car, I gave the door a bit of a tug, and the spring mechanism released suddenly and it flung itself into the perpendicular brick wall, sandwiching my hand in the process. Apparently the door is "just like that" and it "happens all the time." So for the last week my hand has been kinda purple and swollen, which has prevented me from playing (the purple just really clashes with my pink jumpsuit). Which kinda hurts financially, but it's given me cause to focus back on the production - what I came here to do anyway!

So I'm diving back into the sonic arena, tweaking attack times, compression ratios, adjusting noise gates thresholds, brickwall limiting, smoothing frequency curves and whatnot. I'm totally in love with music. Love dynamics. Love the frequency spectrum. Love Hertz. I think that'd be a good name for an electronica band. Whaddya reckon?

Aiight, think I've crapped on for long enough. Sorry it's been a bit duller than usual. Too busy with serious stuff to get into mischief. But whatcha gonna do.

I miss you all, and am thrilled by everyone's various ongoing successes.

Lots of love,

Jesse

PS Please find attached a couple photos of me with Mike Patton. Apologies for the quality - camera phone. For those who are interested, we talked primarily about over-zealous Mr Bungle fans with body-fluid fixations, and the ceasefire in Lebanon.







Slang update v1.3 - The Verb Special
'reach' = to attend an event... eg "yo yo, are you gonna reach tonight?"
'walk with' = to bring... eg "i didn't walk with my phone"
'watch' = to be troubled by something... eg "i don't watch that" = it doesn't bother me at all.
'jook' = to poke, also to 'cork' as in when you hit someone between the muscles such that it hurts disproportionately with the force of the impact.

This is from a while back... but it's still good viewing. Thankyou Jon Stewart, for making me feel less crazy.
Crossfire on Youtube
TDS on Youtube

Why is there no talk of Roland's birthday? There should be talk of Roland's birthday!
Happy Birthday Rol. Lots of good love coming your way from the north. Shmoke a Cohiba for me.

nice one, socceroos. I´m impressed...

Just in case you hadn't heard Hammy's going away/Theo's birthday/Macca's birthday will all be celebrate on Friday 9th June at the Spencer St household.

NOT the 10th.

See you there kido.

From The Land Of Zambonis #5

Ok, so it would seem that Australians don't have such a squeaky clean reputation abroad. Living Down Under we're told that all of the world loves an Aussie... that right across the globe, foreigners have nothing but the utmost respect and fondness for us. Well... I'm here to tell you, it's not true.

But I'm not talking about our political alignments. And it's not our foreign policies. Nor the race riots, right-wing parties or our undeserved harboring of lead roles in major films. It's our behaviour with respect to relationships with members of the opposite sex. Somehow Australians have become known for being so unfaithful that we're deemed incapable of being monogamous. That's right... apparently we're playas.

Obviously, I'm not actively seeking a relationship. So it doesn't bother me greatly. But just in general conversation on the street or amongst friends, I'm finding out that girls are being warned off me due to my nationality. I must've heard it 20 times in the year I've been here. "Ohhh... never be with an Australian guy... you can't trust them... they act all charming and sweet... but they've all got girls on the side." So my question is... who's doing this? I know it must be one of you guys... no-one travels as much as my circle of friends. The McKinnon/Walsh St crew must have spread their seed in just about every nation on the planet. We're an institution. Ubiquitous. The McDonald's of the unattached jetset elite. So which one of you is doing all the f#$%ng? You don't have to stop. Just put on a Dutch accent or something. Coz you're sullying our hitherto good name.

Moving on.

Some of you might know I was lucky enough to be visited recently by Roland & Dewi. And after you've been kickin it solo styles for a year, it's great to see some friendly faces and hear the mother-tongue. (Even if it is a bastardised SA or QLD version). After a quick tour of Toronto (mostly mug and fridge magnet shops) the three of us booted down south to Havana, Cuba to visit with nuestro compañero Fidel. It was an interesting little trip. Much harder work than other cities I've been to. It took the better part of the trip just to learn how to shake off the ever-present and immensely irritating touts. And buying bread was no picnic either. Although the jam and mayo was much easier to come by for some reason. Anyway... I'll leave it up to Rol&De to give the Cuban travel-log. For my part, I was seeking only two things - music and beachfront. To that end, I'll just say that if you're looking for the best in Cuban music... go to Miami or come to Toronto. The Cuban public can't afford to support musicians, Cuban musicians can't afford to buy instruments, and musicians are one of the few vocations that are eligible for travel permits. And once they get out of the country, they never go back. Most end up in Miami, or here.

So since I've been back in Tdot, I've aligned myself with two very well-known songwriter/producers, and convinced them to form a collective under the quasi-cheesoid name The Audio Cartel. I've done this in an effort to land some major contracts with commercial networks for original music. This includes MTV, Canadian Idol and The Discovery Channel. The tree-hugger in me is dry-wretching from the thought of associating with Viacom, but the Evel Kanyevel in me is looking forward to the bling.

Speaking of Kanye... could there be anyone in the world that's more caught up in their own bullshit? I mean, this guy is actually starting to believe his own inordinately narcissistic outbursts. I saw an interview a couple days ago where he gave an "exclusive" to the reporter by spitting two lines from his next release. She gave the obligatory giggle and little claps... at which time he sort of murmured to himself "Yes, yes, it is quite good." Hahah! Holy shit.

Anyway, I could do with some cash. Taking a month off can really kill the momentum when you're an independent contractor. I tried to set up some gigs and production work before I left, but without me being here making the calls and showing my face around the place, things fell in a heap. It's just starting to pick up again now. Been playing with The Payback again (for those who don't know, it's a local 7 piece funk outfit). Hahah, actually we've got a kinda cool gig coming up at The Docks. So, nice venue, good exposure. But get this - we're getting paid in beer. So at the end of our set, we walk out with two slabs each. I don't drink that much beer (y'all know I rock the tequila) so I don't really see the value here. I know this is probably blasphemous to all the beer-drinkers back home who might see it as a perfectly legitimate form of currency, and would probably spend most their salary on fricken Coopers or whatever anyway. Yea, I'm not one of them. So any creative suggestions as to how I might be able to recoup the value somehow are welcome.

So this Canadian winter was no thang. I was all prepared for the worst, and while yes, it was the worst winter I've ever had, it wasn't "the worst" thing I could have had to prepare for. That doesn't make any sense. Too many hads and haves. Let's just say that I was scared shitless from the tales I'd been hearing, but it was out of all proportion. Not because I scare easily, but because people had been warning me about some of the trials of the colder season, but fortunately it was the mildest winter on record. So it looks like this Global Warming thing is really working out for Canada. They love it here. Everyone's buying a Hummer this spring.

Oh man I love playoff hockey. So fast. So furious. I went and caught a game live a few weeks back. Television does NOT do this sport justice. These guys are huuuuge. And they are moving at quite the pace when they slam each others faces into the boards. I was behind glass and I still flinched. Oh yea, and when the puck comes flying at you, you get a jolt too. Or at least I did. I couldn't sit still - I was cheering at everything, flinching and wincing at every crosscheck and dodging the virtually extrapolated path of the puck. I think all the people sitting around me thought I was crazy. Apparently I was getting too excited when goals where getting scored too - I was embarrassing the guys I went with. I guess no-one was as fired up as me; the game was dead-rubber unfortunately, so that may have curbed everyone's enthusiasm a little. Also, they'd probably all seen hockey before.

Alright, better leave some ranting for next time. The next few weeks are going to be interesting - find out about those contracts, playing a few more gigs including a showcase, some more filmwork, my uncle's coming to visit, and I’ll be recording a couple new tracks in the studio. So I'll probably write again soon. Maybe there'll be more content and less fluff. But then again, content doesn't seem so important in today's social climate. Are the Pussycat Dolls big over there too?

Lots of love to all. I'm thinking about everyone heaps. I just don't write coz I suck.

Free beer for anyone that comes and visits!

Jesse


PS Slang update v1.2:
what's good? = "how are you?"
what's really good? = "but really, what's been happening with you?"
minute = a really long time... eg. long lost friends reuniting might say "it's been a minute"
that's jokes = an exclamation when something is really funny. one can also 'have jokes'
large ups = big ups, only... bigger.
off the chain = good
crack = really good... eg "that bassline is crack, guy"
ish = the word 'shit' when you can't actually say shit. origin: the sound when you reverse 'shit' in a vocal track. eg "keep that ish comin fo real bredren"

PPS (Belated) Congratulations are in order: to my beautiful cousin on the birth of one bouncing bambino; to Ali & Kara on their engagement; to Paul on landing his kickass job and of course the upcoming wedding; Melbournites for surviving the Commonwealth Games; and everyone for their various ongoing successes. I love and miss you all.

w00t w00t

Chleo now live at
1/49 Haines St
Nth Melb 3051

You will(should) be happy that we have remained in ya burb. We decided to do so to ensure your survival. We all know that your hearts would break if we moved over the river.

Hi all. Just three quick updates for you all.

Firstly, the worlds greatest party will be taking place on Spencer St (you all know the address). Why? Because it's Theo's Birthday (27th May), Macca's Birthday (7th June) and Hammy' leaving the country (14th June). Come celebrate. There might even be a special appearance from the Lab Raglan DJ Possie (soon to be renamed I suspect). Wild!

Secondly, the next ACDJ forum will be on Tuesday 16th May - details here.

Finally ACDJ are running a fundraiser. We are sreening the film Candy on Wednesday 31st May, Kino @ 6:30. Please see me (or another director) for tickets.

Cheers,

Hammy

Dewi and Roland now live....
9/18 Ireland St
West Melbourne
3003

West Side is the best side
Tidy

Just incase there haven't been enough reminders already, please come to our Forum and CAMPAIGN LAUNCH!:

Lobbyocracy: The Hypocrisy of Democracy
With the Federal Government threatening to raise the limit on disclosed donations from $1,500 to $10,000 there as never been a greater need to expose the corruption of political donations.

The Australian Centre for Democracy and Justice are using their second forum of the year to launch their campaign: www.lobbyocracy.org.

In this forum we will hear how influence is bough at the expense of our democracy through an unaccountable system of political donations. The impacts of these activities are massive, and yet largely undiscussed. They have lead to massive increases in election spending, the further alienating smaller parties, fewer voices in our media, inappropriate development, a continuing reliance on the coal industry and much more.

Find out about the secret back room deals, how money is siphoned through front groups and the impact this has on our democracy. Come and hear why Lobbyocracy is the Hypocrisy of Democracy.

You can download a flyer here.

When: 7pm Tuesday 21st March 2006
Where: Evatt Room @ Trades Hall (cnr Lygon St and Victoria St Carlton)
Cost: $5 (Free for ACDJ members)

Speakers:

* Joo-Cheong Tham
Joo-Cheong Tham is a lecturer with the Law Faculty, University of Melbourne, having previously taught at the law schools of La Trobe University and Victoria University. He has published articles on money politics in a range of academic journals and newspapers. He has also appeared as an expert witness before parliamentary inquiries into political donations and, together with Dr Sally Young, Melbourne University, is currently completed a major report into the funding of Australian political parties. Joo-Cheong is a committee member of Liberty Victoria and a member of the Academic Advisory Group of Democracy Watch.
* Hammy Goonan
Hammy is the founder of the Australian Centre for Democracy and Justice. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree from LaTrobe University and has recently completed his Masters in Public Advocacy and Action at Victoria University, specialising in globalisation, the global justice movement and environmental issues. He is also a part of the Melbourne Social Forum organising committee. Hammy will be discussing the position of the Australian Centre for Democracy and Justice on Lobbying.

We ate at Sylvia’s, a famous soul fool restaurant on Lennox Avenue. It was comfort food – mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese – and it was heart-stoppingly good – fried chicken, candied yams. Sylvia was there, hobbling around the restaurant as patrons watched, her huge gold-framed glasses magnifying her milky eyes and giving her a look of mild bemusement. After, we walked the streets of Harlem, down 125th, 126th, 127th, 128t….looking for a record store we had been recommended but mostly getting lost amongst the tenement buildings and Baptist churches. There are over 400 churches in the area and we must have passed 50 of them in a morning.

We stopped at the freedom centre, the headquarters of the radical women and freedom socialist party (you'd have loved it, ham). We didn’t go inside, just looked at the civil rights posters and t-shirts that decorated the window, the pictures of dead black men who’d been lynched in the South less than 80 years ago, a memory that still exists in the lifetimes of some. The white oppressor is a foe here, something which disquieted my white companion and which clearly keeps other white people away. But it’s easy to see why when you compare Harlem life with the nearby affluence of the upper east and west sides, Actually, they’re incomparable. They’re different worlds altogether.

It wasn’t as bad as I was expecting but I don’t know what I was expecting. Groups of young people hung out on the stoops of buildings and at street corners but nobody was pouring beer out of their 40 oz and saying this one’s for my homies. Little girls with ribbons in their hair ran for their yellow school buses but as they went they ran past old, crippled men who made their slow, painful way along the uneven pavement. Men stumble in to discount liquor stores (the Australian-produced Yellow Tail wines seem popular here) and huge black women get their hair ironed, curled and braided in to the most complex and gravity-defying sculptures.

How can somewhere so close to Manhattan’s wealth and power be so segregated? Is it self-perpetuating – do black and white not mix here because they never have so never will? It’s hard to write something without sounding naïve: it’s not, why can’t we all just get along but, why? Why are there so many people shopping in discount supermarkets when in a few subway stops you can be walking past Donna Karan and Prada? Why are the black civil rights pioneers remembered here but forgotten in Central Park? Why does Lennox Avenue have another name – Malcolm X Boulevard? Who drew this line of distinction between people living minutes from each other?

We eventually left, secretly relieved to be out and away from a place where we didn’t feel invited. It’s not that we weren’t welcome – like most other New Yorkers the Harlem locals appeared indifferent to where we were from or who we were – but we knew and they knew our stay was temporary, that we weren’t from there. We’re going back, we’ve got the address now of the record store we couldn’t find and I’m determined to expand my gospel music collection. I don’t want to be a tourist of black culture but what else are you when you clearly don’t belong?

Hi richard here with performance opportunities:


Look like these handsome chaps...
ZOMBIES!
who wants to be in a large zombie street performance? c’arn I'm trying to get as many people! next wednesday at RMIT at 12pm -help smash the society of the spectecle by actively rebelling against the increasingly corporatised culture of orientation week with spontaneous street performance!

culture jamming is so last decade....the time has come for massive Zombie street throw-downs!

Zombie recruits meet 10.30am on wednesday 1st at kaliede theatre 360 swanston street city.

HOTDOGS!
Who wants to be in the highest rating show on channel 31? We are going to be at the mountain goat brewery (Cnr North and Clark Street Richmond)this friday from 8-10pm. win hotdogs! be witty! On telly!

This one is mainly for Wretched concerning our discussions of copyright over dinner though others particularly of a Goonan or Jesse persuausion may find it intriguing. The project of immediate note is called 'Can I get an Amen?' though the others hold the occasional tantalising and amusing tidbits.

Nate Harrison

happy president's day, everyone!

public holidays all round! no seriously, tomorrow (today) really is a public holiday. what DOES the president do on president's day? goes to the ranch? barbecues some ribs? *accidentally* mistakes a close friend for a hunted quail?

so, on my way in from JFK airport it was all i could do to stop myself from photographing the biggest mag wheels i've ever seen on a domestic-use vehicle. MEGA!! well, truth be told, the minus degrees temperature is what was probably really stopping me, that and the camera flash would have no doubt sparked terrorist fears, but that's one thing i'd forgot to remind myself about the US: everything is bigger. big. the biggest, HUGE. and this SUV was the diesel-fuelled motoring proof. plus, as if to make it seem even more like i'd entered another world, on our way to the wooded burbs where my family live on the outskirts of new york we passed sign posts for such places as 'sleepy hollow' and 'pleasantville'. i kid you not. but then again, caroline springs has it's very own wysteria lane now, doesn't it?

i think i'm feeling woozy...time for bed.

thinking of you all,
d.

Hey peeps... to say i'll be preaching to the converted would be an understatement, but I thought I'd post this up here anyway.

An Open Letter To Americans

Are you kidding me with this "Spy on them, but don't spy on us" routine? What a joke. Why is it ok to spy on the rest of the world, but not you? Do you have dirty secrets? Do you have secrets that are even dirtier than the people of the Middle East? Why does your privacy need to be more tightly guarded than theirs? Or are you embarrassed? Do you really think the government cares what slightly odd phrase you punch into the Google box? It's not like government officials are going to be calling their workmates into their office to snigger at your bi-weekly lust for Japanese porn. We live in an entirely transparent era, where your most powerful defence is your own irrelevance.

It's hilarious you're making such a kafuffle over the debate when it's entirely moot. They're ALREADY tapping your phones and internet connection. They ARE monitoring your communications and have been doing so for many years. You know this! Don't tell me you haven't heard of a little program called Echelon. So then what's the fuss?

It's just another invention in an ever increasing list of faux-issues that are designed to keep your minds and mouths occupied. A not entirely subtle form of misdirection. Waving and snapping one hand while the other one does as it pleases. The American Government is the worst sleight-of-hand magician in the world, who succeeds only because the American public is the most gullible 4-year-old birthday party audience in history.

Unfortunately, the rest of the western world is complicit in all of this, of course. Countries like Australia, Canada and Great Britain have adopted an 'if you can't beat em, join em' philosophy. And why not. Hell, I don't want to start paying $280 for a pair of jeans that I'm currently getting from Cambodia for $25. And like me, there's probably a percentage of American's that feel guilty every time they make the purchase. Although, this is probably the same percentage that are fighting for increased minimum wages.

When I buy a cheap pair of sneakers, or a $1.29 sub, I know that somewhere, somehow, someone else is paying for it. Does it stop me... no. Strange thing about globalisation. When you're on a free ride, you tend not to get off.

And don't blame Bush and Cheney for anything. You think they're controlling it all? They're barely in control of their bodily functions. You guys are the ones always crapping on about democracy. How you act towards your fellow man is the responsibility of every single person on the planet.

I'm sure you already know all of this - this is hardly anything that other people haven't said, and said more eloquently. For my part, I'm just tired of all the meaningless rhetoric. I find nothing more insulting than American people professing their ignorance, or innocence. If you're not going to modify your behaviour, at least be mature enough to take responsibility for it.

Looking forward to hearing from you,

Jesse

A special card for a special someone