Virtual Travel Log: Melbourne, Week One. ...Ever had some massive expectation? Seething anticipation caused by being overdue for destined opportunity? Then you reach that destination and its like, BOOM!, everything youve been looking for then some? Yeah, thats my buzz here. Nine days through, heres how they panned out... Evening of Friday the 4th- Rode up with Jarvis to catch a late flight. Sat between him and a Dunedin-ite dudette. She was chats, snap and C.C & dry all the way to Tullamarine. Landed and passed customs without quarry. At the arrival gate, heard a hearty Check! and knew the band brothers Ollie & Matt hadnt forgotten the plan. Direct to the new abode for an Irish coffee, long awaited band discussion, met the neighbors and watched a quick trike roll down the hill. Nek day- got a gig on! Brendan Neal celebrated his 30th with LDL performing an afternoon set (a year to the day since our last performance, the Anatomical Design album release) at Soundbar in Hoopers Crossing. Without Doc Watson there on keys; the vibe is different, although familiar, refreshing, exciting. I play with a click live for the first time, synched to keyboards which scream out front of house via a MIDI control panel, the new band mate behind the curtain- Roland. Crack the crown royal, the party dont stop til late the next evening. Sunday- warmth by fire, balloons, ring-on-a-string, David Allan Coe, chariots swinging, cherry flavored shots, cake baked in the shape of breasts wrapped in black-lace and icing: thick, sweet and pink like pork-belly.. Wish I had pictures. Monday- well, hell, I should get a bit more organized. Sim-card (+61 04 38887796), bank account (wheres my card Westpac..? Damn you and your vampiric-fanged logo, Im going to ANZ), taught Aaliyah to play Smoke on the Water and the intro to nothing else matters on guitar. Groceries and other productivity. Started a new job on Tuesday. I now work part-time in a kitchen alongside awesomely alternative staff. The boss has green/blue/mermaid hair and she calls me babe, which is a welcome change from working trades around Hamilton in ceilings and the like, with workmates calling me Bert.. Smith & Daughters is a rad restaurant in Fitzroy with an all Vegan menu: avocado ice-cream, mushroom soup, potato croquettes, the whole bit. Mans gotta eat- but it dont gotta always (or ever, if you dare) be meat. I also work next to two of my best mates from intermediate-school days, James and Vinnie. The income stream is hugely appreciated in this new transitory stage. Richie Larsen, good ol pal + ex-STC band mate and I catch up after the shift and Im introduced to Chapel street. We have a few hearty brews and watch some standup comedy at one of the following pubs.. Young & Jackson, Ruby Tuesdays, the lucky coq (haha), Wonderland. Afterwards listen back to some of the music we co-composed from the last year or three, its a trip listening to the tunes again after not hearing them for so long.. Wednesday- (are you getting bored of reading this? Cause Im kinda bored of typing it. I do appreciate your interest. For me its a practice in self-exposé perseverance and decent memory recall) Breakfast, and a damn good one at crown V or somewhere in Elderswick.. So many suburbs to get to know. Trains and trams are the main modes of transport here and they offer some mighty fine in-rail entertainment in form of spray-painted bomb tagging. Its like a never ending screen, rolling out images and wisdom of the street. I find it highly preferable to blank painted wall. Beautiful artistic expression. Melbourne is a city that houses and promotes much artistry. A smile is shared and often incited by others going about their day with a mindset of get-it-done, helpfully, interestingly and all people accepted with any form of self expression. A little bit of grime, but thats city life. Large populace brings big opportunity.. Started to read Rex Brown: Official Truth. Band meeting to discuss original merchandizing, symbiotic branding, and upcoming gigs: band battle at the Espy on August 10th (winner gets signature drumsticks, Im thinkin black-dip grip with gold-calligraphy), an artist collaborative at The Den in Richmond later that month with live street artists and Logic playing a set. Fun ahead. Thursday- This day I wanted to be back home because Great-Frank had passed earlier in the week and I felt distant when wanting to be a supportive family member. It is unexplainably peculiar how death and new life often coincide. I wished, sending prayers and messages of strength and love for the day of the funeral. What more can a man do sometimes? Worked a shift. Although we get music played in the kitchen, its usually rap wocka-flocka or something ghetto. Today however there is a brief moment of metal and Im particularly stoked when I hear Slayer - Angel of Death. Cheers boss, youre a babe. Blasted those suds and got through. Finished Rexs Autobiography. What a dude.(!!!) Friday- Saw a music shop near home in Ascot Vale called Mini-Mozarts. Went to have a look. Turns out theyre looking for a drum tutor? Well, how perfect! Introduced myself, quickly wrote and emailed a musical résumé. Gotta follow this up. Got a library card, borrowed some books. Spotted a mean Transformers Camaro, and met up with a friend who was over from NZ, in Harbor town. We have drinks and I show her around town. Dinner at a legit Japanese restaurant, Hanabashi. Watch the sushi master at work. I order some raw salmon, avocado, pine-nut dish. It looks like a square of cat-sick when it arrives, but I dig at it with a spoon anyway and it tastes more palatable than its presentation. Still, I prefer my side of salmon-skin salad, but my date definitely ordered the tastier dish, choosing some sweet Duck. We go to a show I heard about in Brunswick. Its at a venue owned by a magician, Dane Certificates Magic Theatre. The first act we catch is a female with a good voice playing a Juno synthesizer. The second is a dude who layers up electronic noise and blasts through a harmonica occasionally... Intense!..? (You gotta drop the beat somewhere, aye brah..) The third is an improvisational rock outfit with a violin. The guitarist breaks a string while they warm up and I know this has been a failure in post-dinner entertainment. It has, however, still been a very interesting insight into some of Melbournes underground music. We giggle on the way back to the Docklands. Late start on Saturday, shift at 1pm. So, breakfast?.. Yeah. I run for the tram at 12:30, spilling soy-mocha and Marlboro ash everywhere mid-blitz. A lovely couple over from Canberra talked to me en route and explain there are mountains where theyre from. So thats where this cold winds coming from, huh. Gotta visit them slopes sometime. We pass a protest for the Palestinian state. The police presence is excessive (go Israel). Some statue street performers hold the most impressive poses, the kind it would take years of yoga and core-strength to achieve. Another guy sits across from me, Zumbian, 54, funny as hell. Lived on the street for 18 years. Opens the conversation with How can I get a girl to kiss?.. I dunno dude, charm. Hes loud and kinda awkward but I play along and laugh a lot. At work at one, supposed to start at eleven!? Damn man- the place is stacked and the whole shift is a battle. I catch the the wrong train home and what should be twenty minutes takes two hours. Sorry, The Bennies gig be damned, Im getting some shut-eye. Today- Flatmate Matty: Dom, want some coffee? Me:Yeah, yes please bro! (Still in bed) Matty:How bout some B & E? Me: Oh, hellyeah dude! (Hopping out of bed, feeling a trillion bucks. This place rocks and its a new day.) Worked on Logic Defies Logic cover art. Wrote a ridiculously long Facebook status on a slow cellphone detailing my Melbourne experience thus far.
Posted on: Sun, 13 Jul 2014 07:07:02 +0000
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