The Life and Times of Peter Green
Archive: 11 March - 24 March 2013
Paul Hester - Sure plays a mean pinball! Never forgotten.
March 11thYou can see that the Finn-Kelly shows are helping with sales of "Best Of" albums- the Crowdies one jumps another 13 spots this week and Paul Kelly's Best Of up one spot too. Big thanks to Wendy and the JB helpers for directing customers to buy these. You are amazing, probably a huge part of the reason why we achieve gold and platinum status in Australia.I gave the office a bit of a spring clean today-well an autumn clean-is there such a thing? Spiders love gold records so over the next week we'll have to take them all down off the walls and give them a good cleaning. I think the oldest gold record we have is for Enz-"Dizrythmia" from New Zealand, it achieved gold in May 1981-it was only about 7000 units in NZ to do so..and took 4 years to do it! Crazy. March 12thAnother stinker of a hot day. Andy the kookaburra lands on the decking with his mouth open, trying to stay cool. We give him some cold meat which seems to do the trick. Miss Banshee's big red bath comes out of storage (Big Red Bath , it sounds like a Wiggles song!!!) and the cat gets a wash. I entice her with some fresh meat so I can grab her and get her in the tub-once in she is fine, loves the water as you all know. We turn around and spring Meg the chicken eating the meat! Urgh meat eater chicken... just doesn't seem right.... meat flavoured eggs? (I suppose bugs that chickens eat ARE meat too!). I freak as Banshee looks even skinnier or way too lean. It's good though much cooler and no wet pussy jokes from our twisted diary reading friends either, this is not the Are You being Served blog!!!We are in the office for most of the afternoon, emails still rolling in from the Finn-Kelly tour-it's huge, so many from the general public this time around. Good to receive such positive praises. They've been at the Opera House all week and just sensational reaction to the shows. March 13thA very strange vibe at the 3 Ducks this morning, all the heat, people are not sleeping and it starts to boil over. Even the marvellous coffee was a bit average. We just smiled and let the world kill itself! By midday a tiny tiny cool change had arrived (yey) that will slow down the Melbourne madness. I think people are over the novelty of sleeping on the beach on such hot nights.A few more new Ghost Car orders arrive- yey..well kind of, still wading through the final 150 or160 or whatever it is. I am trying to maintain the vibe to do these every day and I am but you start to grind to a halt. I keep saying "just do 3 more"... and I usually do. March 14thSo it's been one year since I went to hospital, not sure how I feel about all that. Hopefully healthier .... still not very nice memory's from that, even if I tried to fake it by making it an adventure.!I email Deb to change the spelling of Thesulah such as in Orb Of Thesulah, after I sent the last diary I went, "Oh shit spelt that wrong".. I do need to proof read one day.. make the effort,,even a tiny bit would be appreciated by everyone. Of course since I put in about the Orb I started getting links left right and centre where you can buy The Orb Of Thesulah.. made me chuckle... I like my own Orb thank you very much. I seems to be a bit average on cloudy days, needs the power of Sol to kick out the vibes. I wonder how many big time musicians have secret ritual rooms, in their houses, trying anything and everything to maintain popularity and another bite of the "hit" cherry. I'm sure Britney Speers has such moments *GRN* was that a 666 I spotted on her shaved head that time! Yieks. We like Britney, at her worst she was hysterically brilliant. I wish she'd go back to crazy Britney, she's more fun. March 15We are really enjoying this season of HOMELAND. It still cracks me up at the start where the camera pans past the sign that reads "George Bush Center For Intelligence"..talk about an oxymoron... well talk about a MORON (take a bow Bush). A decade on now and we are still waiting for all those weapons of mass destruction that you went to war for- lying old horror he is! Plus our dumb arse PM john hoWARd at the time following like a sheep and believing him-shameful even after all this time! Even now I am at odds at how Americans were suckered into voting for dumb arse Bush- an amazing country but one of their worst moments- he's up there in the stupidity stakes with Palin!We get a call in the morning and my sister and her friends have touched down in Melbourne town. A girls weekend, but instead of visiting tomorrow it will be today-soon in fact... "we are on our way". So this throws my plans to have a pile of healthy food (ok and a passionfruit baked cheesecake!!) out the window. I give her the address of KNOX shopping complex so she can drop the girls off, and just arrive with her mate Tina. She gets here so quickly, good old nav man.. takes them the quickest route which is up some dirt track! She is wonderfully pregnant, not massively huge but there is that 4 month baby bump. I bellow hello at the baby (so my voice will forever terrify it I'm sure)! So good to see them, I have a fantastic sister-she does rock...even if she is a slack arse at returning her brothers phone calls. March 16thThe Grand Prix is almost rained out- I care zero... a park is no place for a car race, I watched all the miserable faces in the crowd all frowns and crappy.. if the race was elsewhere in Melbourne like at a RACE TRACK for cars I'd be ok about it, well maybe not it costs the public purse about 56 million and despite the hype does little for tourism ... that money could fix up a lot of schools, re open Lillydale TAFE etc. I hope it rains on the Grand Prix next year and the year after. Now if Bernie Ecclestone was tied to a metal pole during a lightening storm at a Grand Prix I'd attend that one! Him and his poor mans Warhol wig!It's nice weather in Sydney and expected to stay that way as we head into the final Finn-Kelly shows. Sydney sweet Sydney I love your red roof's as Greg Macainsh once penned. It's so funny I always think of that line when we are flying over Sydney and coming in for a landing. Some of the Skyhook band members have a play tonight at the Phillip Island Board Riders anniversary BBQ, one less Hook then Bongos birthday bash. A few people need to be told that it isn't Skyhooks- it's always the people who failed to see them in the seventies that desperately hang on fooling themselves that is the mighty 'Hooks. I'm stoked they have a play and play well, but why can't people just enjoy that without all the "return of skyhooks" bullshit. I told someone it's like Woodstock, either you were at Woodstock or you weren't and no matter how many times they have "Woodstock" concerts now it can NEVER be the same. Still good the boys had a play (and Laura too) Shirl would of liked them supporting the event. March 17thSuch bad/sad news, Aaron Chugg died. He worked in the Grant Thomas office for awhile, and was tour manager for quite a few bands, including our own Boom Crash Opera. A nice guy, wicked sense of humour. Had a stroke and it just went down hill very fast. He was my age too (or slightly older) if I remember correctly.. if nothing else a wake up call to live life to the fullest. sad though as he was a decent guy.So Bowie despite all that hype only manages to come in at #2 on the Australian charts. The record company here spent a fortune pushing the album, I did think it would be #1...but Bon Jovi thanks to their amazing fan base, easily came in at the #1 top spot. They've had some incredible amount of #1 albums in this country and countless tours here-I think they are back for more shows in December if I remember correctly?! Same thing for America, Bon Jovi #1 Bowie only just making #2 only just selling a handful more then Luke Bryan. The English are spending a small fortune on the Bowie promotion, you know it will do it in England.... whatever it takes I hear!!!!!! and Mozza cancelling the rest of his USA tour...20 shows gone ... sounds like he has been sick and rather worn out- I'm happy we got to see him in Melbourne. I wish some smart record company (another Oxymoron?) would give him the money for his new album. March 18thSydney is in fine form at the show tonight and it's streamed via the Net. We've been telling people for a few weeks now....and the webcast goes really well. Starts at 6139 people and keeps climbing to about 20,000, viewing from all over the planet. Only a few hiccups, I'm onto any "HELP" emails. I'm also tweeting live. Mark has it on his Mac and for some strange reason he is viewing it 15 seconds behind me! I'm stoked that our supporters get this chance, endless emails and tweets coming in. There was one sound hiccup, major, that Marks shows me on his spectrograph..and you can hear a BUMP noise and the volume goes from near perfect to average-but still ok.. overall I'm very happy about it all. It's up for 30 days, head to the NEWS area of www.frenz.com/neilfinn/ for the link where you can watch it.March 19thSkip our old tour manager calls, which is always wonderful, lovely guy. Sends me some snaps of Arlo, named after our adorable crew guy Arlo... and a childhood friend of Arlo #2 just had a baby and called it- yep you guessed it ARLO... how funny is that, planet Arlo!Bob Starkie gives us a call about his Bob Starkie Band gig at the Caravan Club. It's on April 7th and an early one. 3-6PM. Two sets, one of 50's and 60's favourites and the 2nd a full set of Skyhooks songs. Should be a really fun afternoon/evening. Tickets - www.caravnmusic.com.au A chance to see this iconic Skyhook play. Tickets at the door a mere $15. March 20thI start on a huge pile of UK Ghost Cars books, after 2 hours my fingers snap off onto the floor and the blue tongue lizard eats them! Well it felt like that, I do need to pace myself.Mark did a count of the Crowdies books we still need to send from the stock we have, and we end up with about 20 copies spare ! So for the moment that is what we have on offer to any late comers. A whole twenty copies. (Email: peter@frenz.com if after a copy & include your country). I just want to keep chiselling away at the older orders and get them all mailed. I have about 100 orders where people have re confirmed their address, so they'll be done last as I'll have to track people down. I know the book has been on offer for awhile but I'm still stoked how many wonderful emails we have received, as well as some cool reviews on the Frenz Forum at www.frenz.com Thank you everyone. March 21stA few people have called and emailed over Aaron Chuggs death, I guess people didn't expect him to die, a stroke and then blam. Makes us all see ourselves for the puny creatures that we are.Greg Skyhook visits which is always a treat, he picked a cyclonic day to do so, trees flying around everywhere on the mountain- plus politicians flying around everywhere in parliament.. talk of a spill so PM Gillard calls the vote but Mr Rudd still doesn't have the numbers, Mr Whippy tells us it's about 7 short. Rudd won't get burn't twice so he won't put his hand up. I tell Macainsh this is a fork in the road, and it's looking like Labor will be picking the very hard road. PM Gillard, tough as she is holds firm and Mr Swan as her deputy. By 4.30 it's all done and dusted and very little change, well a few will go, watch and see. I'm just glad it's awhile for the election, that fool Abbott won't be able to control himself, a leopard sure doesn't change it's spots. March 22ndA weird day, waiting for some pay to arrive to do the big grocery shop and as fate would have it, some share dividends role in - I like that. At the petrol station a $5 note blows onto my foot, the money gods are smiling today. Yay! It happens in three's so I am waiting...waiting..waiting! OK I got some pears for 1/2 price, does that count?Mark is using some amazing software that cleans up sound recordings, it's top shelf.. incredible what it can do. A few musicians have viewed what he's doing and all standing with mouth's agape. Tidied up one of the BCO shows we filmed awhile back, 3000 pops and crackles removed in 5 minutes, tidied up some of the feedback.. just works so well. Ellen and her wife Portia arrive in Australia, looking only a tad jetlagged.. ok they looked a bit sleppier then the koala's they visited at the Zoo! They were mobbed everywhere, massive, almost hysteria...kind of liked it. They look pretty happy together, nice to see. Maybe Australia has grown, 2 girls holding hands - no fuss... we wish them well! Power lesbians the world needs more of them! I made some super sandwiches in the afternoon, from the wonderful Helga's bread, Mark chuckles as I refuse to buy Abbott brand bread. When I made the comment at the supermarket to Mark, the older woman buying bread, said "I agree I'd rather choke then buy anything with THAT name on it"-made us laugh! Still feeling a bit strange at the moment, not really sad just a bit wishy washy, that best describes it. Not as focused as I usually am. I am sleeping a lot. March 23rdGot to see PM Gillard at the press conference at Murwillumbah- announcing they will be one of the first areas that get the NBN, from their new community centre. After the week she had I am amazed how focused and calm she is, most wouldn't be- she really is becoming the iron lady of Australia. I was a bit impressed as were the cheering crowd and usually politicians far far from impress me. Maybe the big clean out was what Labor needed, who knows.One of the Liberal climate change "plans" is to get one million Australian rooftops to have solar panels. Someone should point out to Mr Abbott that the millionth Australian home should have panels over the next week- all done under Gillard and co and zilch to do with Tony Abbott. Good to see, one million from almost 23 million population, pretty good percentages. Our ol mate Peggy has bought an Ebay jewellery "store" some rather cool pieces. Here is the link, worth checking out for presents. If you get something mention "Peter sent me" , Peggles will look after you. She also just told me that shipping is free anywhere in the world too.See we do give free plugs on the diary, plus I liked some of the stuff. Marks says I'm the Oprah of Kalorama (my hips are way more petite!) http://stores.ebay.com/THE-MEMORY-LANE-STORE?_rdc=1 March 24thThe album that refuses to die- "The Very Very Best Of Crowded House" climbs back up the Australian charts. Up 11 spots to #18 on the catalogue chart and re enters the Australian artist chart at #20. Bowie dropped this week- from #2 to #6 on the general chart and nose dives like crazy from #1 to #11 on the digital chart. Justin Timberlake is #1 (puts gun to head!).Rosemaree drops in with her amazing Lasagne and we take a walk to the vintage car rally which is down at kalorama oval-some truly beautiful cars. It's always free and just magnificent machines on a glorious day on the mountain. Miss Jane calls and we chat, well laugh... even I can't print our conversation here...wonderful and bizarre. On Tuesday (26th) spare a thought for our old mate Paul Hester, 8 years gone, probably not a day goes by when I don't think of that sweet man. Time rolls on but nothing but good thoughts remain Paulo! Stay safe everyone, keep passing the open windows. Peter |