I was a regular punter at Rhubarbs and idolised Python Lee Jackson guitarist Mick Liber who many years later became a friend. 1967 I met Terry Wilkins who was a friend of bass player Kydric Shaw in my first band the Electric Acid Plant. (Later, Terry's younger brother Dennis Aubrey became probably my best mate, godfather to one of my sons.) The Electric Acid Plant had a Saturday night residency at SCREW (the Society for the Cultivation of Rebellion Every Where) in Goulburn St. When we took nights off for better paying gigs we'd line up, as deps, Black Alan to start the night off and the Original Battersea Heroes to take over as soon as they could get there after a 10 pm finish at the Trolley Car Wine Bar. First saw, and was most impressed by, Renee Geyer and her piano player in a band called Dry Red in a Bondi wine bar, then they turned up at Whitty's in a fantastic band called Sun - best stuff she ever did, still got their album.
1970 I had a solo 7-nights-a-week residency at the Ball Pants in Kings Cross but would (on Saturdays I seem to remember) line up a few volunteers one after another to take my place for long enough to walk to Whitty's and catch a set of the Foreday Riders before getting back to complete the night at the Ball Pants. Great lurk that was. I used to adore Wally's harp playing at the Oxford and French's and learned "What's That Smells Like Fish" from him, but when he briefly joined my band the Layabouts in 1977 it didn't work out -
A favourite gig for me was Crossfire at French's on a Saturday arvo and in 1978 was overwhelmed to find myself doing the very same spot with the Layabouts. Others playing on different nights included Midnight Oil (who did nothing for me). One Saturday I stayed back after our arvo gig to check out a punk band in the evening and felt surprisingly at home amongst all the punks - the band spat at the audience and the audience spat at the band, no offence taken on either part and I joined them all going off together to a party in Kings Cross after the gig. The Layabouts held a party at French's to celebrate a year of the residency but, a year later, after two years of stepping over mandied-out bodies sprawled on a stinking soggy carpet to get to the stage, we'd had enough and passed the gig on to Beachhead.
I just checked an old scrapbook and found an article I wrote in 1975 for my column in the Paddington Paper. The headline was "It's a Terrible Shame About Taylor Square" and it had things in it I'd forgotten. I also found but haven't gone through at this point a 1973 article on Blackfeather I wrote for Soundblast mag along with reviews for various publications on records by (amongst others, mostly OS artists) the Original Battersea Heroes, Jeannie Lewis (2), Captain Matchbox, the Foreday Riders and Ayers Rock. Two articles on 2JJ as it was then known. One on The Foreday Riders, another on a Hush concert along with a letter from a reader disgusted with the use of the word "fucked" (which was quoted from an audience participation song) and the editor's defence of me. Lots of other snippets about the time and place. Ah, maybe I should resume work on the 'Life & Times of Me' like everyone else seems to be doing - none of us will probably ever get published but at least our grandchildren will read 'em. It's worth doing. I was really moved to read my father's accounts of life in the bush in Victoria, NSW and Queensland in the 1920s, 30s and 40s. Probably should try to get his stuff published first I suppose.
1970 I had a solo 7-nights-a-week residency at the Ball Pants in Kings Cross but would (on Saturdays I seem to remember) line up a few volunteers one after another to take my place for long enough to walk to Whitty's and catch a set of the Foreday Riders before getting back to complete the night at the Ball Pants. Great lurk that was. I used to adore Wally's harp playing at the Oxford and French's and learned "What's That Smells Like Fish" from him, but when he briefly joined my band the Layabouts in 1977 it didn't work out -
A favourite gig for me was Crossfire at French's on a Saturday arvo and in 1978 was overwhelmed to find myself doing the very same spot with the Layabouts. Others playing on different nights included Midnight Oil (who did nothing for me). One Saturday I stayed back after our arvo gig to check out a punk band in the evening and felt surprisingly at home amongst all the punks - the band spat at the audience and the audience spat at the band, no offence taken on either part and I joined them all going off together to a party in Kings Cross after the gig. The Layabouts held a party at French's to celebrate a year of the residency but, a year later, after two years of stepping over mandied-out bodies sprawled on a stinking soggy carpet to get to the stage, we'd had enough and passed the gig on to Beachhead.
I just checked an old scrapbook and found an article I wrote in 1975 for my column in the Paddington Paper. The headline was "It's a Terrible Shame About Taylor Square" and it had things in it I'd forgotten. I also found but haven't gone through at this point a 1973 article on Blackfeather I wrote for Soundblast mag along with reviews for various publications on records by (amongst others, mostly OS artists) the Original Battersea Heroes, Jeannie Lewis (2), Captain Matchbox, the Foreday Riders and Ayers Rock. Two articles on 2JJ as it was then known. One on The Foreday Riders, another on a Hush concert along with a letter from a reader disgusted with the use of the word "fucked" (which was quoted from an audience participation song) and the editor's defence of me. Lots of other snippets about the time and place. Ah, maybe I should resume work on the 'Life & Times of Me' like everyone else seems to be doing - none of us will probably ever get published but at least our grandchildren will read 'em. It's worth doing. I was really moved to read my father's accounts of life in the bush in Victoria, NSW and Queensland in the 1920s, 30s and 40s. Probably should try to get his stuff published first I suppose.