The Life and Times of Peter Green
Archive: 20 October - 4 November 2000
October 20th
Spend the day doing run around stuff for the car, was amazed at how cheap the insurance was. AAMI have been really great, the girl that does all our insurance stuff was telling me how she spent nearly all of last night at a wild party around the corner next to Route 66.Rosemaree calls and tells me I wasn't imagining things there is a NEW Anne Rice book released. She spotted a copy at Ackland Street- of course this comes out when I have about $3 left on my Amex card. Oh well a few days won't matter. She couldn't remember the title, I wonder if it was Merrick, I remember reading how Rice was working on this in Jan.1999- a novel that combines the Mayfair Witches and the Vamps. Hope so.
October 21st
Neil is working on the RAIN movie- music. Get a call from NZ asking about certain songs for the movie....."Midnight at the Oasis" is too expensive, so I suggest "Soul kind of feeling" by the Dynamic Hepnotics....all my other choices of real funky stuff we re a bit too expensive too. A man of wealth and taste!!!!!!Get a notice that our Neil Finn/Mark Smith books have arrived and have to clear customs, so we will get them soon.
Drive the 4wd up to Beenami, what an amazing day- incredible sunshine, and all the plants are lapping it up. Have to mow the grass soon or invest in some goats, Lara the tractor (no relation to Thomas the tank engine but we'll gladly sell the franchise on the name)looks bored in the barn. Some BIg animal decided to dig this huge hole....and they say dinosaurs are extinct....it had huge claws whatever it was. The Godzilla of Wombats maybe.
Been working my arse off lately so decide today is a good day to snooze in the hammock and read. Get the guilts and decide to do a 45 minute work out with the kick boxing bag. Practice some new moves, need Jj to show me the best and quickest way- the stretching exercises helped- can now reach new heights with my leg kicks, it's like having 4 arms!!!! The hammock temps me and I get bored, plus the wraps are a pain in the bum to keep on my hands. Guess they stop the bruising.
Incredible sunset on the way home- what a day.
October 22nd
We have breakfast at the New Deli on High Street, everyone comes down to High Street for food, guess we are all lazy bastards on a Sunday. Get spoilt and someone buys me THE FIVE DOCTORS- yes Dr Who on DVD. If you have a chance to watch it, the classic costume moment is the woman who is wearing BUBBLE WRAP and a belt. Like I knew Dr Who had a next to nothing budget, but really Bubble Wrap! Oddly enough it looked ok, must of been the reason why I couldn't remember it when I watched it on tv. The Cybermen seemed to look less scary and more silly as I get older....so much for my Peter Pan complex. When I was about 4 I remember watching the Cybermen from behind the couch...they really scared me walking around those London Sewers in those funky silver suits! Now they look a bit cheap...and I think one of them had a stiffy!!!!! Cyber stiffy! How rude. Dr Who R rated!Toija calls by and cuts MG's hair, give her a glass of red and she cuts it nice and short- gone is the mullet. Looks really good. Great to catch up. The skys are darkening so i think it's going to be a wet week. Mark hides in side in case the rain makes his hair shrink!
October 23rd
The Grey Ghost is still parked here, but she wouldn't start today...am convinced the car is jealous. So I leave a note for the parking people and call the road service people. The council parking inspectors give me a fine, they didn't even bother to read the note and the council woman was so incredibly frustrated...what a bitch. So I did one of my "letters" and told them I will NEVER pay this fine. ...and I won't. The council lady tells me "Oh we tell them to ignore all notes". Pity if it had THERE IS A BOMB IN THIS CAR etc. I'll win, fairness will prevail.Andy White calls and wants me to send one of his cds to the MATAN guy who's fixing his guitar- Mr White has been in Japan....so close to Australia. he should of dropped in for a few gigs.
Buy the new Anne Rice book and gobble up the contents in 2 nights. It's a return to form...yep was the Merrick book. Really good, could be my book of the month.
October 24th
Wake up happy and refreshed.Jj calls and we have coffee, wear my PIMP shoes...yep the Zorba's. Sit at the front bar, and plan our next bit of world domination. The shoes are attracting attention and three different people asked where I bought them.
Johnny has been working on Tans new album, plus he had to mix Jimmy Barnes at Revolver (showcase) last night. Spend an hour catching up.
Aria awards tonight and Tania and Spock are coming by to watch them. Mark wears his fantastic Red velvet shirt and here am I in a pair of shorts and a flanny!!! Forget it- change into a long black velvet Indian Priest shirt with all the extras...find some bizarre Silver space pants from Red balls on Melrose.....throw fashion sense out the window and wear sox! (hey it's cold). At least my hair looks good- gone for the Bowie hang down the face look.....looks more like Iggy Pop hang down the face look.
Spock on time, Tania late, the Vodka and wine is open and I'm in the kitchen cooking. (Does all this sound familiar?).
The Arias, the 14th Arias. Thank God for Vodka- how BAD was Madison Avenue, the girl lead singer can not sing, talk about flat, in 14 years this was truely horrid. Killing Heidi were Killing Heidi, and I'm kind of over them now, all a bit too predictable and Ella is getting what looks like a Beer Gut! Tell me she isn't brewing her own Violet Town Beer again (grin). She's a little piggy Oink Oink...then again Tv tends to make you into a square. Bardot looked great, Boo has on some amazing tartan mini and looks like a sixties girl. Katie's hair has moved from Blue to Copper Red- and Tiffany has been doing many exercises (I Must I Must improve My Bust!!!). You did well girls. To prove that I am not biased radio said the same thing next morning.
Fun loving Criminals were a total waste of time and should just F**K off, drunken pigs. Shiad put the "S" in HIT. Christina Anu was classy and exceptional. Three hours, the Vodka set in and I was becoming the 4th member of Fun Loving Criminals. If nothing else we all had a good time hanging crap on the industry- everyones favourite passtime. Then suddenly it was over... no final song...just credits. All a bit lame....and the Public vote got shown for a whole 3 seconds. The only vote for fans and they didn't even show the nomineees. very pisspoor network Ten.
October 25th
Well Katie tells me that Bardot touched down in Singapore- walked out and 500+ fans were waiting. Keep in mind that this is exam time and mid week.... the screams went up and several tv crews were stampeded (I love that). The fans were incredibly polite passing presents and notes. Everyone expects the album to move from #2 to #1 next week, especially with the instore.Head to the city today and be a good boy with my Amex card.
I hate Sanity music stores, the city one really sucks. They have cd singles with TWO price stickers, one much cheaper then the other. The same single at the cheaper price last week. The guy trys to tell me that's because it's now in the charts- considering the single I was buying has been in the Top 40 for 6 weeks- the guy gave me the fob off so I accidentally knocked over the whole cd stand with my massive carry bag. Opps! Did it again. Just call me Britney. Decided that we will never support Sanity again.Fuck em I say!
Catch train back and everyone is wearing grey or black and not one person smiling....I consider doing a weird smile like The Biscuit from Ali Macbeal but chicken out!
We decide to save the Stuart Little DVD till last......leaves Spinal Tap and the Jurassic Park double...so we go for the Dino's.
October 26th
"Grass" The Movie has started in Australia. Love Woody Harrelson's quote "Nobody's ever died from smoking marijuana. Some nights I've tried but you just can't do it." The advert has the line NO HIPPIES WERE HARMED IN THE MAKING OF THIS FILM!Busy week, heaps of emails from around the globe, the Diary site is bringing them in from some very remote areas. I picture people snowbound in obscure out of the way places with nothing to read but these ramblings...and eventually they look at each other and decide to: 1/ have wild sex 2/ experiment with weird drug combinations (dried banana skins and Yak Poo) 3/Pray for an Alien abduction to get away from this site. All three options would be fun combined.
Walking back from the Post office box and I see this big bundle of flowers with legs walking towards me. It ends up being one of the fans, and in my true stupid fashion I can never remember this girls name- it's not her, it's me, I am so hopeless at peoples names- great with faces. If everyone was named after something on their face it would make things easier for me. Example Big Nose- ROSE, Black Hair Claire, Dry Skin -Jim. Lucky I said face eh, imagine if his name was Mick!!!! Anyway names I am totally crappy.
Anyway the flowers were for me. I stood like I was catching flies with my mouth open.....and slowly moving up the red face scale. Instead of going WOW I went arghh WHY. Then felt stupid, wobbled my feet, grinned my crooked grin and found an ice pick to break the ice I had probably created. Anyway it made up for a real crappy week. So I took her to Globe for coffee, and I think she was going to say WHY! So that's my rendezvous story. Really really sweet. I am lacking in social skills...but she could tell I was blown away. never asked if she reads this, so thanks (and yes I DO remember your name)...
Not sure anything that happened today could top that so why don't I quick and move onto the 27th!
October 27th
How great to see the Australian movie THE DISH at #1 on the movie charts- 2nd week too. It's made by the same people who made The Castle.Sitting in Babble waiting on my better half , and find myself totally entrenched in Sue-Ann Posts "This Life" column. So much better than Red Symon's approach. Today's column was on "Selling Out". She said "She'd rather be onstage at Mardi Gra wearing lederhosen, singing -"Jesus wants me for a sunbeam" and kissing a guy in between the verses....anything but a gig for the Liberal Party" (Grin). My kind of Lesbian. She makes me chuckle. She also talks about the infamous Space Kitten- a planned kit form spaceship that they think will be available in 5 years...it only goes so high, but she's into it. It's a good column, and The Age should have it on their website. Also notice that Deadstar are playing one of the FREE gigs on Nov. 26th on the outdoor stage -Vic. Arts Centre. 4.30-6.30 (Melbourne).
I ponder how close it is to Christmas, I keep telling my Mum all I want are good Nike socks...unless Nike are one of those bad sweatshop companies??? I think that's Reebok isn't it. Now I'm worried...anyway my Mum gets all antsy (very much like Neil Finn....that's why I recognize it!!*grin*) like I have offended her and she gets me crappy socks....still two months to go and already I'm causing Xmas woe. The Gryphon Grinch who stole Xmas. ..all over a pair of socks.
The counter ticks closer to 100,000, I think the hidden agenda plan for the F/16 books is simply release them when we hit 100,000....meant to be heading to Honkers next month for the book printers.
Get a trolley at the supermarket that has wobbly wheels, they never spend any money on trolley servicing- I think Paul Hester told me that (he was a Trolleyologist)...the bad checkout girl is no longer there....the space cadet one, think she was told to leave.
All grey and wet outside, think it's a night at home with Stuart Little. We think Stuart is somehow related to the Pink eyed freak...has the same "smile" nose, ears etc, ok one is a mouse and one is a rabbit- but hey- rodents one and all...I think? OK truth time, I shed a tear during Stuart Little- what a wimp. It's really cool.
October 28th
Wake up early, let Hairball out for a roam and some food, climb back up the staircase and get back into bed. Spend an hour thinking, then catch 40 winks.Spend part of the day getting ready for the next Finn mailout- just boring stuff- envelopes and removing people who haven't renewed. Decide to take all the work into the big kitchen area, it has heaps of natural light, and I can snack whilst I work. A fair compromise.
Keep looking at the lovely pumpkins I have this year for "Samhain", yeah good ol' Hallowe'en is coming around again. The start of the witch year, a united celebration of witches on hilltops afar. Am going to use my Athame to carve the pumpkins this year, well part of them, a bit of magic in each one. Maybe in the back of my mind I want them all to be Jack Skellinton so I'll have to blame Tim Burton if it all goes spookily astray. There is one pumpkin I especially like- it's golden like sunshine with spirally green lines and is the same shape as Marge Simpson's head!!! Have some small orange ones , an Australian garden variety and a butternut...so once they are carved and lit they'll all look like the weirdest family.
Pick up a parcel from Deb at the Post office- it's my AS WAS embroided top, really lovely Hanes shirt- smells so fresh and new, will live in it tomorow. Thanks Deb, it's a perfect fit. [ed. note: you're very welcome]
October 29th
Wake up early and we head into the city. Melbourne on a Sunday, totally deserted, a few tourists and the odd smiling E-raver heading home or to a Monkey for a full day of Recovery. Then again Monkey seems pretty crazy with trapeze and fire-eaters etc. Anyway it's a thrill to be able to park anywhere, cost us a huge 25c. Was going to head to Myers for some breakfast but blew it out as the car park entrance looked lower then the 4 wheel drive....so we ended back up in Malvern. Melbourne is becoming the breakfast capital of the world- everyone eats out now and everywhere is open.Todays latest dvd favourites are:
1/ The Filth & the Fury- A Sex Pistols Film. Julien Temples film is set in the cultural backdrop of London in the mid-Seventies (has it really been THAT long)....goes all the way through to their decaying USA tour. I find it funny how the Sex Pistols themselves have "archives"....the Rolling Stones, INXS and Crowded House...but the Sex Pistols having Archives. Is it like this:
Johnny" Paul Cook pass that fu*Kin8 *$#@ *&^% Video of us pissing off the bus".
Paul" Johnny do you mean the &*^%$# N episode or the #@&^%$# one?"
Johnny:""Oh *^%$ it, just get $#@*&ed".
Paul: "Well *%$^ you too".....
Then again maybe it was really Juliens archive....in 2000 the remaining Pistols members have finally became everything they hated- money, fame and even their own archives! Great dvd, and the 103 minutes includes the documentary "un-defining Punk".
2/ The second DVD is director Spike Lee's SUMMER OF SAM. While the Pistols were taking over London, Saturday Night Fever was burning bright in Manhatten. But on the streets a serial killer dubbed the SON OF SAM stalked the suburbs....and pity if you were a young brunette. Bang! Ritchie is a favourite character- he is a Punk Musician moonlighting as a male stripper (and no he doesn't have an archive-yet!). Basically they suspect that the killer might be someone from their own groups of friends.....and get it wrong.
Mark is pissed off as he wanted to call his biography on me " The Filth and the fury- The Peter Green Story" ...and yes we are kidding. (OK he isn't). Spend the day doing washing, cleaning the staircase and finding vases for all these flowers. Our old housemate Peggy arrives from the States tomorrow, she comes bearing gifts too- the Rocky Horror Show dvd.....so we really should answer the door in fishnets......but I know she'll just say "Nothing has changed..."! (:
Thought the Babble Boys would be worried about us not turning up for breakfast, so Rosemaree called and we both called in for a chocolate milkshake and a damn good gossip!
Head off that afternoon for the romantic night away- thanks to the couple of friends who surprised us with this package. Feel my shoulders relax after a brilliant Spa. Could hideout here for a few months. Have to drive back in the morning, but that's ok.
October 30th
Hmm seems to be a bit of interest in the ol' F/16 diary site of late, notice we are getting a few hundred more people checking it out. The amount of Aussies "taking a peep" has climbed, it's only 3% less then US Commercial, which is about 400 hits. I love that STAT button at the bottom of the site, I actually just play in their and never read this stuff. Maybe the diary site should just be a Statistic Button and no text! What do you think?I just had two interesting emails, both from fans who asked if I was going out with Belinda of Bardot- Mark wants me to say No but I am seeing her mother- but because I'm a gentleman I won't print that (opps). I am lying.
Peggy arrives, and it's really nice to see her. She hasn't adopted too bad an American accent (Phew). Still has all her Australian taste buds in place! It is kind of weird at first when it's someone that you use to live with, many years ago...but it ends up being like old times. Kind of. How can you not love it when someone pulls out a box of SEE's Candies!
Finally mail off Sharon Finn's Three Stooges Dolls. We have had them for what seems like an Eternity, since they moved from the mansion next door. I found them hiding behind the bathroom curtain....so I finally packed them, Mo looks like someone I know (grin)...kidding MG! Mark copied the Bowie STORYTELLERS video, thought Neil would be great on this show...put in a note saying that after a few glasses of Red he becomes a great Storyteller.
He seems really unsure which way to take this new album, even touring sounds like it's an uncertain thing. I know he'll do gigs etc but I think to myself (and you dear reader) have the days of 3 or 4 months tours gone? Guess we'll find out next year. I'm not too concerned, as I'm on an anti tour vibe myself....till people do major tours they have no idea what it's like (and yes I always have fun) but it's this weird reality.
We watch the Rocky Horror Show dvd- God bless Peggles, totally sweet and found a copy- the best package job. More dvds should be like this.
October 31st- HAPPY HALLOWEEN.
Spend the morning carving my Pumpkins, god the yellow stripped one has the toughest skin- I almost need a chainsaw to cut through it. But it's hollow in the centre so that is a good compromise.I go outside to move my cars , and a "gaggle" of school girls are hanging around. The tallest girls of the cluster come up and say "Hey wern't you on Popstars". I lie and say NO what's Popstars. School girls are not stupid, they know I'm lying- I just can't lie. "No you were". The cute small girl tells me she heard that Bardot's office is over their and I kind of feel like Batman walking down Gotham cities main street with only his top half on....SPRUNG. I go and get them a chunk of signed photos, on the condition that they never reveal the location of the Bat cave..opps sorry our office. They agree and are kind of sweet kids..well 16 , 17 year olds.... and NO I'm not a dirty old man just yet! C'mon give me a break.
I go to open the door and it seems VERY heavy, no wonder, there is a Mark Dirty old man clinging on the back peeping at the school girls through the spy hole. I bet he tried to adjust all the security monitors too! He fired a shot at me thinking I was encouraging teen hysteria on our doorstep but he wasn't the one "cornered"......I hope they do a Tom Jones on him when he next takes out the trash! Steal his undies or something........
So back to the Pumpkins, not my best effort, but the magic is still their and they glow just right...and I arrange rows of them on the balcony. I watch the people stop before them, at one stage a big group admire them, a few of the pumpkins sit in the leafless branches of the big tree...Tim Burton would be proud of me! I am his lost son you know.
Oh we did drive to BEENAMI today, while the car was having it's cd player redone. Will need to cut the lawns soon, but all these red wild orchids are springing up. I made the other 2 stooges sandwiches and we lay on the grass and enjoyed the lovely day. The tracks towards the creek are very boggy, they have had heaps of rain so as soon as my boots started sinking we decided to head back to the blankets. Just incredible weather.
I fall asleep in a weird Halloween headspace...a bit "spooky" as Dame Edna would say.
November 1st
Qantas pays up a shares dividend today- love those share cheques of $60 and $70, kind of like the Lotto cheques. We get the final flight points in so officially we can get two First class tickets to America. This will be great.More good news from Singapore as Bardot's album is now GOLD and almost Platinum. #2 on the charts as is the single and they expect both to hit #1 next week. means the girl group has been #1 everywhere they have had a release. The third aussie single will go Gold, I'm working it like a mad thing, and it was a bullet in the charts this week.
At 3.00 the clouds float over and a very dull grey lights transforms Melbourne- you can feel the rain.
Have decided to finish working with the Screaming Jets- just know it's time to move on...so I have a meeting with Aaron tomorrow. Just want to make sure we look after the fans, and do some more work on their new album.
November 2nd
My book of the month has to be the new Anne Rice- "Merrick", really enjoyed it, far better then the crappy old Violin and a few around that time. A good balance of all that is Anne Rice and the Vampire world (and the odd witch). I hope the next book in the series answers the question of Who are the Talamasca Elders are....and how wonderful to have Lestat back with us again, that wicked brat Prince (a great role model if I ever heard of one..*grin*). I wonder aloud if the Talamasca are similar to the real life Immortalist sect?...and speaking of Anne Rice's world. Rosemaree drops in an article on our own lovely Miss Renee- loved her confession that Vampires are SEXY! Renee has picked up the baton of advanced PR and gone for a bit of a run- hopefully the press will fall for her Vampiric charms and give her more media space as the movie gets closer to release.
Our email system has crashed big time so we are trying to answer mail on a sub system and it takes forever, and to make it worse about 400 new emails appear every day. Thankfully my computer hero returns-from his men at work Sth American tour and he will hopefully get us operational again. Will be good to have him back.
November 3rd
The days are strange, very grey like England. Then again after seeing the floods in the UK and Asia a bit of grey isn't too bad. They are saying that the English floods are expected to become a regular feature of English weather over the next few decades.Head into the city and visit Vali, she has a magic yellow wrap around her leg, and her doctor tells her the operation was a success and she is healing incredibly fast (remember she is 70). She keeps telling me that Mark and myself have to attend the opening of BODY ART at the new Melbourne museum, so we'll hopefully make it along. The Museum looks fascinating, I love how they have a huge rainforest inside. Toni is in the studio too, and we all end up having a toast of Rakei. She shows me an older painting she has been working on, she started this one in 1980, and she has added some lovely new pieces too it- her hand and heart are still strong and it blossoms in the form of her work. Nothing like an original piece of art to kindle my inner flame.
Just heard that the free Deadstar show late November is cancelled. Which is kind of good as I think Ill be in tropical cairns for that weekend with the Bardot girls.
Hear that Neil is working with Bic Runga but I forgot to ask how- if its producing or playing on a song for her new album....have to call her soon and ask. Been a bit slack around Bic, then again she has been touring and recording.
Clean out the lower gutters on the balcony, and admire the twist that the Halloween Pumpkins are taking in their days of decay. Their faces are looking old (but not rotting) kind of like a face carved on a knotted tree. have to get a photo with them before they become organic "soup"! Death comes to us all....
November 4th
Decide it's a good day to sleep in. Read, nap, and gracefully descend the main staircase. We are spending the weekend sending out several hundred Neil Finn Once Removed Books, customs took their time but finally they are here, so we have started sending them out in the order that we got orders.I check with Andrew re: the Camberwell Collectors Fair. It's on November 12th (yes next weekend) at Camberwell Civic Centre (340 camberwell RD, Camberwell). Doors open at 9.30 am. We will have a club table in the Foyer for the fans. It's always a good excuse for a massive clean up of the office. So come along and say HI.
We watched the Abyss last night on DVD and unless we go out tonight I think our feature dvd will be Edward ScissorHands....yes more of the Depster and all those horrid Pastel shades (houses ,clothes , carpets). "Give me a person wearing pastel and I'll give you someone who simply can't decide"!
Water the plants in the atrium, and the Guzmania that is growing in the office. I think it's a Guzmania- it's some sort of Hybrid Bromeliad...well I think it is, it looks happy. The wild orchards are showing their faces at Beenami now, I just let them grow and blossom- feel a bit strange even considering picking them for a vase.
The Chapel Street Festival is on tomorrow, it's gotten a bit boring, mostly a food festival....a few bands playing, no one I really want to see. Having a meeting with the travel agent next week about heading to Hong Kong for the F/16 Book printing (at long last), think it's late November.
No other news, Xmas is stretching out it's warm tentacles.... the shops are embracing it already- have to consider where to put the tree this year. Kind of funny as Beenami has an area called Xmas Tree Alley- it's where I plant all of our Xmas trees from the previous Xmas. The wombats are getting refined tastes and nibbling on the bottom layers of the trees.
Spend the afternoon sketching- mostly ideas for the Forest House, on the remote tracks through the rainforest I'm creating two small areas where I'm putting two oldish scultures...beat up statues- both of them out of stone but I want ancient looking- so basically grottoesque ...so you walk down these small winding tracks through the "jungle-rainforest" and catch these obscure creations with vines growing around them. Everything is so lush up their that nature is sure to try and steal back her turf and envelop these monuments. Also I want to find a stone pond for those huge floating Lillys. Should look neat....if nothing else my sketches do (:
better get back to mailing out books.
Goodbye from this small corner of the world.
Peter