The Life and Times of Peter Green
Archive: 25 December 2010 - 9 January 2011
December 25thWollongongThe weather at home hasn't been too brutal, usually I can't sleep, it's always so humid. I hear Mum get up early to start work on the christmas pudding and lunch. I'm making the fruit salad today, despite sarcasm from my uncle or was it humor? At some stage I stumble out of bed, we are waiting on Sis to arrive to open the presents. The house smells of pine from the christmas tree and cooking from the kitchen. I make the fruit salad and tie the pudding bag for Mum-even the non cooked pudding tastes exceptional. Sis arrives with her companies truck so she has some large present inside that. Again we are all spoilt, and that's fine, I like spoiling my old Mum and Sis. I get a new playstation 3 machine (very cool) and the infamous salt and pepper grinders that I wanted. Metallic red. They are so futuristic..... I feel like I could have a star wars lightsaber fight with them. They are very cool, as you use them over the food a small light comes on underneath so you can see exactly what you are depositing pepper etc on- wow! Sis is given a new apple laptop (by her stunningly good looking brother-me), so she can finally get rid of her PC clunker. Apple rules. It's a really nice christmas morning- the family is relaxed. Before lunch we make the traditional trip to the crematorium , extra relatives in the ground this year. The roses are all out and the fragrance amazing, sad to see families leave small toys next to kids graves, must be horrible for them this time of year, saddens me. I need to have a word to God or the Gods about killing off evil bad people first.....and young kids last. Christmas lunch is nice, great pudding mum and she went overboard with the lucky sixpences! We are all so full, an afternoon siesta for us all. I basically hang out with Mum, she drifts off, we did stay up to 12.30 last night talking which was pretty nice & late for her. I scratch some lucky tickets and win $30 (yey-that covers the petrol for the car). Mum is asleep so I watch the Rockwiz Christmas Show in the evening. When asked about 'first concert' one of the panel say 'Crowded House Festival Hall'. Raymond J looks at the camera and says nice things- it's almost like he's looking at me...felt a bit weird. Loved Dugald at the start as the Little Drummer Boy- he's still a sexy old bugger isn't he? I love our old crew- Dugald, Benny, Marcus and Arloe and of course Lloydy. I have a box of really old family photos that I'm borrowing to scan, some very very old-getting into the families history. I keep asking Mum "Who is that, who is that" I drive her crazy. She loves it. December 26thIt was very hot last night, I do miss a white christmas on hot sweaty nights like this.... so little sleep, almost zero. I'm awake by 6.00. Have some breakfast and pick Mark up at his Mums place a few hours later. A fine misty rain covers the highway up to Sydney airport and we arrive with time to spare. Live in the frequent flyer lounge for awhile and use those shiny new Apple computers. Our flight departs on time, on flight Qantas snack was a turkey sandwich this time, glad we filled up at the frequent flyer area.We call into the supermarket on the way home to grab some groceries...and reach Kalorama about 1.30. Banshee cat is happy to see us and the chickens have laid 6 eggs. It's nice to be home such a long day, I'll sleep well tonight. Still 2 christmas presents under the tree, Mark tells me to ignore presents next year for those we don't see. he's so brutal (chuckle). The Dr Who Christmas special is on tonight, it was probably the weakest Christmas special so far, not horrible just not as amazing. I like the new Doctor but there was something lacking in this special. December 27thGreg Skyhooks 60th coming up in a few days time, 100 of his closest friends partying on. I'm hoping to grab as many of the original Skyhooks as possible for a group shot- as early Hook member Peter Ingliss says "The Survivors". Peter's not down for the party so it won't be everyone anyway.... but a 'cluster' of Skyhooks is still a good shot.I see "He Will have His Way" still has some very solid christmas sales. Our lovely mate Wendy at JB HI Fi told me she has been selling heaps and heaps of these..... it's sitting around the top 20 still, I figure it will hit platinum here sometime in February if sales continue. You know it is doing well when relatives at our christmas get together mention it. EMI have such a passion still for all things Finn, which is nice to see. The weather has improved at last so I take some photos of the BEX box for the upcoming Linden art show. Mark will do the PG/Guitar shot with the burning buildings to go out to the people who bought the "Sleeping Gryphon" box set. That will be done in the new year. December 28thI drive to the couriers at the base of the mountain to pick up our 2 Ipod Nano (which Mark calls Ipod Nana!). Otherwise we'd be waiting for another week, I think their drivers are on holidays. Which is fine, I have about 5 things to do on canterbury road. I also put together a "frisky" pack for 2 mates who's marriage is a bit lopsided.... so apart for some treats I buy them some lightweight sexy bits and pieces at SEXY LAND. Good grief who thinks up these names. SEXY LAND- is it really sexy? It's a bit scary going in the doors, not because of gigantic dildo's and walls of porn or penis shaped ice cube trays and lubes , whips, bondage masks, and every rubber good known to man (and then some). I'm always fine about all that, sex toys- whoopee, no big deal! It was a really strange couple walking the aisles. Mt empathic side freaked, "shields up Mr Sulu"!!! I was wearing some cut off Shiroi Niko shorts etc. My arms are getting rather tanned etc I was right for the picking..all alone in a sex store. What was I thinking?and they kind of cruised me. It did my head in, these 2 are so so SO NOT what I'm into. I just wanted to do some shopping (Ok I was shopping in a sex shop!) but still it IS a store and not a beat for swinging creepy couples. I was not going to be someone's tasty morsel , well if it was Brad and Angelina I'd say YES! Thankfully I was saved by a rather sweet girl who worked at Sexyland. (Sweet and Porn now there is a combination) She was cool, didn't need her shopping 'help' but she was a great decoy from Mr and Mrs Strap On! So I filled up a goody bag for my friends and exited stage left before the swingers got out their net gun. I still find sex shops hysterically funny, I think it's the unbelievable size of the giant rubber (sorry elastomeric gel) penis's!!! Maybe I really am 12 years old still!!!! The things I do for our friends, I hope they appreciate this.December 29thTrudi visits at 1.30, always fun to see her and catch up. I tell her she has been shopping at Ishka, one of our favourite stores too. I make a pot of tea and we just chill and spend the afternoon having a chuckle, she's good value. I know she just returned from a few weeks away so nice that she made the effort to come up, swap presents, so only 1 present left lingering under the damn tree.I spend the rest of the afternoon getting bits and pieces ready for Greg Skyhooks 60th birthday. Clean off the smoke machine and find the fog liquid. The regular stores have sold out of this, there must be a rush on smoke machines leading up to new years eve- it pays to own your own fog machine kids!. A parcel arrives from the Finns, huge white disc holding champagne,food and other goodies. Miss K says "was there a christmas bonus included" which made me laugh- god bless her. Seems so long since I received a bonus but I'm still happy to work for these lovely people. Just nice to even get a present out of the blue like that. Thanks guys. December 30thWe have some breakfast and then off to the airport to pick up the Skyhooks Tribute band and their gear. They are called SLYhooks *GRIN*. Gregs sister Rilka calls and we don't have to squash her into the car (as well as a giant fender bass guitar birthday cake). I have a small run in with the head of Melbourne airport- what a cow. It's funny even the airport security think she is horrid. No wonder Melbourne airport is so poorly run and kind of dirty these days. I guess the rot starts at the top. The security people though are amazingly sympathetic and help us out as far as what to do.... I so wanted to say 'happy new year cow" but bit my tongue.The car Greg hired is really small for them, so two are in our car (Mark and myself chuckle that it's so typical the Shirl and Red doppelgangers are in OUR car)...add to that bags and guitars... and it's a full 4WD. We head to the wonderful "Caravan Club" at Oakleigh (http://www.caravanmusic.com.au/) where the party is being held. I make a small wrong turn but a little side detour and we arrive just as the hire car departs... so good timing. I meet Peter who runs The Caravan Club- really nice guy. He says he's seen us at the venue a few times and tells me that Tim Rogers from You Am I will be performing in a month or so. So we'll have to go to that one- after his great performance at the Rockwiz Christmas Special... I'm hoping Tim will be in fine form. The band set up, Greg arrives. ("Happy Birthday Dad" I say-well he is like a 2nd father to us after all). Peter helps Mark grab 2 large tables for the video camera. Yes Markys filming (again) so the event will be captured in HD, anything so he doesn't have to be a social butterfly. I help set up some tables, and head into the RSL bar to get some drinks. I stupidly forget to take my U2 cap off, but the bar girl reminds me it is a RSL (in a nice way), so off comes my cap. At 6.00 we all stop for a minutes silence, which throws some people (I get it). We departs at 6.30 to head home feed the animals grab some food shower and get changed. We are home for 20 minutes!!!! People start arriving at 8.00, we get back by 8.20. (PHEW). So many familiar faces, nearly all the old Skyhooks members have turned up. Red is there with Wilbur Wilde and Reds son. Bongo and the others keep asking "what is the surprise".... he asks Marky "should I start tuning my guitar?" *GRIN* Mark won't tell but says YES to the tuning. Great to see our artist friend Gabe, and a lot of other people. There are a few photographers wandering around- I seem to be photographed with women all night, except for a shot with Bongo Skyhook- who is licking my ear! The bar is an open bar so I have a few Gin and T's! Mark grabs some Jack Daniels, just a tad drunk (hic). Rilkie is MC-ing so we round up some people for speeches, I say I'll do it only if the others chicken out (I have about 6 other things I need to do). Finally Greg is up for his speech which is nice, I'm checking the heat gauge on the smoke machine and the button must off been bumped as a small burst of smoke rolls out and climbs up the curtain. A table of Greg's older relatives cry out "The curtains on fire, somethings on fire"....... of course this sends me into fits of laughter (I'm hiding behind the large black stage curtain!). So it's like the great Wizard from Oz, hidden behind my curtain working the machines... silence broken only by hysterical laughter. The Slyhooks boys are sneaked out through the RSL bar and beer garden (in full 1970's costumes) and we hold the black curtain so they can sneak side stage behind the lovely thick blood red stage curtains. As Greg says his final line of "Life imitates art" the curtains roll open, I give a huge orgasmic bombardments of "fog" and there they are the Slyhooks... with "living in the seventies". It's funny to see the faces of the original Skyhooks- all grinning. It's not a long set about 10 songs or so... but 5 original band members join the tribute band onstage. Sly's V's Skys we've tagged it. The dance floor is rocking... first up Gregs brother... a few songs later Greg is on the dance floor with Gabe... how weird to be the songwriter and bass player of the band watching a tribute band in complete stage costumes playing your songs. I grab Rilkie and dance as well- so all 3 Macainsh 'kids' are dancing to Skyhooks music. It could well be 1975 all over again. I head to the bar to get Mark a drink and run into Miss Bianca and the lovely Geoff Lloyd. Lloydy was an original member of our Crowdies crew- lovely bloke one of the good guys in the industry. As the original Hooks depart stage I grab all the Skyhooks in the room, silly Redmond has already left...so I line up a group shot. I have to fight the other photographers about not taking the group photo, I'm hoping we can get it into Rolling Stone magazine (Australia). Tim the sound man asks if we can drop him home, he lives in the Dandenongs. Which is fine, he's all excited as he has just found out that he will be employed by the Cirque De Soleil people in 2011. We leave at the stroke of midnight. I make a special effort to thank the Slyhook boys and they say we really looked after them so they are happy. I talk way too much going home and notice that Tim lives around the corner from the mansion that we love so much. We decide not to mansion stalk tonight, been a long day and just want to get home. Happy 60th Greg, it was a fine night. I come home to a message that our friends across the road have gone off on holidays and can I feed their dog, cat and rabbit. So yours truly stumbling around the wilds of Kalorama feeding critters at 2.00 in the morning. December 31stI feel ok this morning, a slightly stomach ache but no extreme hangover. Which is good as it after all new years eve. Decide to party, not too intense. Our mate Warwick arrives in the afternoon and our evening partying suddenly became an early afternoon event. It's a fine Summers day here in fact maybe too hot. We have the giant decking umbrella up and I've cooked some greek meatball salad. Smoke a bit of pot and have a few drinks, music playing and some sort of vibe happening. It's good, it's chilled, but fun. At dusk we head over and feed the animals, their cat is called Stan (The Rapist) as he seems to jump on every female cat in the neighbourhood and he doesn't believe in cat foreplay!!! Nearly all our friends call to wish us a happy new year. We are all chatting some deep and meaningful some not.Tania turns up in the evening in time for midnight, fireworks going off in the oval at midnight. I think Warwick's shouts and cheers were louder. A nice way to end 2010, welcome to 2011! It's the year of change, Bic Runga tells me it's the year of the Rabbit! Have a good one all of you. January 1st 2011Happy New Year!It's not a new years resolution, but I've decided to swear less, probably not possible in my job not to swear at all but I'm making an effort. I've also decided that I'm a bit over being the one calling friends so I'm stopping, letting others make an effort. I always seem to be the one putting in a lot more effort these days, I'm sure many of you feel this at times. If it means people drift so be it. Wow how brutal how cool.....*GRIN*. I hear from Nick, just about to send off an email to link up for his interview for the "Ghost Cars" book, he's back in Australia so I want to wipe his interview off the list. This damn book is taking so long, all because the first tour was blown out to a later date, just caused a chain reaction of delays. Drives me nuts. The Queensland floods are so widespread, the size of several European countries joined together. Thousands of people evacuated and nearly 11,000 properties swamped. It's probably going to be the worst disaster Queensland has ever seen. People can donate via the Australian Red Cross. Their website: http://redcross.org.au/default.asp One tradition that continues every year is the placing of my 'real' diary on the shelf in the office. It has about 20 years worth of diaries all lined up so as I put 2010 on the shelf, I always go "Well survived another year"! 2010 was pretty cool in some ways (Kenya! and that wonderful trip to LA-thanks!) but there was also something of a struggle about it. Not so much for us but on a world level. I keep getting these "feelings" from America that the worse is yet to come. Not quite sure what and when but in the pit of my stomach. Just a strangeness and even writing about it here doesn't quite describe it. I don't think I actually mean 'us' but more on a world level like we are tethering on some great abyss and America will take us over the edge. God that sounds negative and horrible..... not sure where it comes from as I've always tried to have a really positive outlook for the future, just something is setting off alarm bells inside my head. Wow maybe the drugs did work after all *GRIN*. Guess we'll see, maybe the main roads of our future are written and it's just the small stuff that allows us to change lanes? Oh way too deep..next! January 2ndIt's a go slow day here, usually happens after new years, we all wind down a bit. It's nice, the body recharges, so does the mind. We head to Ranges for some brunch and it's not that busy. Such a nice day outside you'd think there would be the usual bum fight for tables. Some girls wander up and say happy new year, just regulars. Still feels strange being 2011, I'm so stuck in 2010 still. I check my emails and realize we missed seeing Nick and Nat, I know they'll be back but annoyed that our spare time has dissolved and we didn't get a chance to see them. Worst time of year in many ways, even some of our other friends that live in Melbourne we haven't seen for a month.January 3rdWe head to Eastlands today, I needed to buy more "He will have his way" stock. Since we made it available via us there have been a lot of orders coming in, so I'm just buying them from the cd store. We just come up square but it helps sales and eventually the chart I guess. I'll probably put a final date of late January where we won't have it anymore, but till that date I'll keep looking like a freak going up to the counter with a dozen copies or more. I finally make the effort and buy the 2nd Grinderman album featuring Mr Nick Cave. I love "Worm Tamer' from the album, I think it's my favourite track. I have it sitting on a pile of cds, strangely enough on top of Chers Greatest Hits which I bought for $9.00 purely for 'Walking in Memphis'-a lot of the other stuff on her cd is crap, well maybe 4 good tracks-but "Memphis" shines. How odd Grinderman and Cher... doesn't quite sit eh?January 4thWe work in the yard all day, I'm stripped down to a singlet, somehow I'm actually tanned, mostly my arms but it's healthy. Summer sun and yes I have a straw cowboy hat on, no cancer for me. This 2 acres of land kills us, it's not like it's insanely large, but with all the recent rain and now sunshine nature goes crazy, I swear you can see vines growing. The 3 chickens hang about us while we are mowing and chopping, they talk chicken talk and look for any stray bugs to eat. Such strange critters, sometimes when I'm on the decking they'll wander up and sun bake. We have so many eggs, it's amazing 3 chickens can lay so many. They must be happy hens.January 5thI know I shouldn't of laughed but I did. The hearing today on Michael Jackson's death, one of the people testifying said "he was very white when we found him". I nearly spat my drink on the TV... it might be my very sick sense of humour but I laughed, I'm sorry. Yes I know he's dead blah blah but it's obvious he was addicted from plastic surgery to propofol & lidocaine, the doctor should of said 'no' but it's Michael jackson and he'd score these drugs elsewhere if it wasn't from Conrad Murray. Michael killed Michael fans need to get over it he wasn't innocent and no one forced him.January 6thWe had some sun so we tried for the afternoon photo shoot for the "art" image for the diary box set. We set up a white backdrop (actually it was the back of the Crowdies EAT banner from the gig many years ago).... so that's hanging between two giant gum trees. The problem being afternoon sun is the shadow from the sun onto the numerous trees. I'm in a crappy mood and Mark makes it worse, so we take a few shots and I give up today. Maybe we can use one or two.... hope so just so I can get the silkscreen made for this.A few media people email me about Greg's 60th and a group Skyhook photo that I took. So i send that out. I had a strange dream last night, Keith Richards was in it, nothing exciting and not remotely erotic... just oddball. He remembered me from the Stones band room, "Hey you were the cat that did our band room". Very very strange. January 7thOk the first pack of Miss K's "Godiva" biscuits have been consumed , we are being careful not to pig out, stretch them as far as we can. Yum, god they taste great.We have been enjoying the latest season of Dexter, as always it's left of centre and well written. Vince Masuka is one character that just grows and is funnier each season .... I bet he is a fan favourite. Such a dag so many Vinces in the world. I sneak into the office and answer some emails, there are way too many building up, something like 3200+ now. I chop it down by a hundred. Our office opens next week so back to the grindstone. The Club Charity project is now over the $4000 mark which is fantastic, almost half way- thank you everyone for supporting this. Thanks Deb for updating the total on line too. http://www.frenz.com/fundraiser.php The kind of cute supermarket guy comes up and chats today, he always knows where the lemonata is hidden, think he knows I'm addicted to it. he's funny, the staff at our supermarket are all really nice, always come up and say hello , they even remember our names. January 8thIt's a hot summers day here, I bring Banshee inside, she must be hot in that fur coat... she loves the air con, rolls on her back and is a happy kitty.I find a copy of "Beside Yourself" the Church cd I need, it's on Ebay of course and actually a good price. So few done of this release, I was away when it came out, it's a secondary album to "Forget Yourself" so nice to add it to the collection. I start adding songs to my Ipod Nano, so easy after a few failed attempts..... I love the Nano, and drive Mark nuts singing and occasionally dancing around the house. Watch HEROES Blu Ray and X files tonight. In bed by 1.00. As I go to bed I realize it would of been Hessies birthday today- he would of turned 52. I say a silent prayer to our beloved mate missing in action. January 9thI'm thinking the next glossy mail out from us will be on Neil and Sharon's Pajama Party and nothing else, a full issue on their project...... that's if Neil gets back to me with the expected release date. Saying all that the Finns are on vacation so I don't expect a reply for a week or two.I bought some Italian sausages yesterday so a BBQ tonight, very Australian summer eh? So far it's been a nice start to the year, I have some vibe- and just staying on top of 'stuff'. More book writing coming up for Ghost Cars and Early years books. Hope your 2011 is off to a fine start too. PG |