The Life and Times of Peter Green
Archive: 8 April - 21 April 2013
April 8thMargaret Thatcher dies- loved and hated. Sadly I have very few good thoughts on this woman. I remember how appalling the English hospital system became and the brutality around the miners and the ever climbing unemployment rate. It seems insane that her funeral will end up costing over 10 million pounds, yet the UK government have chopped that out of the arts areas. Funny how governments always applaud the arts when it does endless benefits around disasters and good causes but conveniently forgets that and takes to that area with an axe when it has to get money for "other things".. even Thatcher would say that spending 10 million pounds on a funeral is bullshit. Meanwhile Morrisseys "Margaret on the Guillotine" seems to be getting a lot of airplay.I start on my daily (morning) water with some fresh lemon juice in it. Vitamin C & potassium, (doesn't potassium help control blood pressure?), balances the old PH (lemons are an alkaline food) and all that pectin fibre that is in lemons helps lose a little bit of weight. I'm thinking of doing this for a year... lets see what the results will be. Of course the moment I start doing this, is the only time in 7 years that our lemon tree at Ailsa Craig has no lemons on it! I saw the promo for "Love Child" on channel 9 soon, lets hope it is as good as the promo for the show. Watching something on free to air tv-what a novelty! April 9thGood to see Russell Morris's new album "SharkMouth" charting. It was almost a self funded release but it's now #6 on the Australian charts (now via EMI). It's great to see something like this do sell well, homegrown and in many ways out of the blue... it will hit gold status soon, which must be a buzz for Russel Morris after all these decades. Good on him-really worth checking out...sticking with the music. So many songwriters just stop, and their lives end up being filled with crap... Russell Morris proves the public can come full circle if you bother to stick with it.Power is out at Olinda while they add new electricity lines in, so it's 3 Ducks via candlelight for breakfast! All very romantic. Quack quack quack. April 10thWell "Ding dong the witch is dead" is proving to be quite a hit in the UK... #1 on iTunes, it will make the top 3 in the UK for sure...what's it been 70+ years since it was out, imagine being so hated and liked-extremes on both accounts.In Australia fossil fuel subsidies to the tune of $44 billion are handed out. How dare people complain about the odd solar rebate.... removing just 5 subs a year will save $5 billion- they should put that money back into something positive and useful like solar energy. April 11thVery cute, Astrid and Wendy hand us a package of Nemish Tarts as a present.. just so sweet, we love the 3 Ducks. Thanks girls... guess I'll be jogging all winter.We watch Emilio and Martin Sheen in THE WAY, which is excellent. The El camino de Santiago-pilgrim trail...actually the christians pinched it from the pagans ....pagans used to walk all the way to Fisterra (end of the world) at La Costde Morta (coast of death). I think at the end of their journey they'd rip their clothes off , burn them and become re-born. Anyway very cool movie, nice film work..Martin Sheen just sensational as always.We love the ol President Josiah Bartlet!!!! West Wing what a show! Hell it's my birthday again in a month (May 11th) the same night The Stones play the MGM Grand in Vegas...tempting. April 12thUruguay politicians have voted to legalise gay marriage-the 11th nation so far....NZ votes soon and it looks like it will be a land slide YES for NZ too if I am reading the numbers correctly. Australia will catch up one day (sigh) what the fuck is wrong with our politicians are they blind to what the majority wants? I did chuckle.. Uruguay... U. R. Gay! Love it.Mark works away on some alternative versions of Skyhooks USA recordings from the "Straight in a gay gay world" sessions from 1976. They are starting to sound so damn cool... he knows his stuff, you are a talented little shit Marky... and so on top of this I am blown away. Love how you can make even a crappy cassette recording sound astounding-it's all the effort you put in, Marky so TOTALLY knows what he's doing. "Is this America" such a great song " I thought I saw the star of Bethlehem, but it's just the light on a holiday inn"! Just so cool...! I always took "Is this America" and played it in my tour bus bunk on every USA tour.... just seemed right...it was born from that first Skyhooks USA tour.... has that "on the road" feel to it..even after all these years. Just heard that June 26th is the day that Australia (and NZ) will have their day in the UN high court. Hearings over Japans filthy LIE on whaling-scientific reasons-sorry Japan you are full of shit and should be ashamed of yourself! You are whaling and nothing more, till Japan ceases this our family will not buy any products made in Japan. We'll protest with our wallets! Good on your Gillard and co (and the Greens) for keeping this moving, Abbott and the Liberals have done jack shit over the years.. I hope Japans bullshit is shown for what it really is. Wow (wipe the sweat) there's a rant for you! April 13thI have coffee with Rosemaree and a quick trip to Bunnings. I use my gift card for some more funky plants for the side areas of the house, plus a few in pots for Marks room...also a cactus with a big nob on the end-almost erotic!!! I find some cool seeds for Mums garden so mail them to her. A very funky bouquet will sprout during Winter if she pops them in the ground now. Home in time to grab the fresh bread out of it's tray, the house smells delicious with the smells of freshly baked bread.April 14th"Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead" climbs to #2 on the UK chart, #`1 again on iTunes. At least this will add a few buck$ into the music industry from the $11 million chopped from the arts!I plant some Thyme, I'm using it quite a lot these days in some cooking. Good to pop some herbs in, add some extra flavour. April 15thI saw a sad news article on an Australian company called Spring Gully. They are a family owned aussie business (60 years now) and they have "entered administration" because they owe debts of $3 million. In 2013 that doesn't seem much but for smaller company's it can be the final nail in the coffin. So i decided to email 3000 mates and we are encouraging ALL Australians , next time they shop to support this Australian company and buy a Spring Gully brand (they stock great honey, jam etc). It's so easy to grab an item and just add it to the shopping cart & you may be saving an Australian company from going under. The company website is: http://www.springgullyfoods.com.au/ So c'mon save Spring Gully! We had 846 emails back saying YES so who knows it may make a difference. A friend emailed me that we also crashed the Spring Gully website from too many visitors (Opps!!).That idiot leader of North Korea, all talk and no action (which isn't a bad thing) I hope the North Koreas rise up one day and kick is fat arse! The word dickhead comes to mind. Yep Kim Jong Un-you officially are a dickhead! No make that officially you are a dickhead! I am excited, I managed to find the Batman TV series on dvd ..so ordered it.. my child hood revisted. Quick Mark to the batcave! It takes 5 weeks to arrive though- waiting! April 16thI call into Dr Chiro who says I don't love him anymore because it's been months since my last visit. Time flies I have been side tracked... I got lost walking to his office, a wombat ate my homework..I have no excuse.. guess I'm feeling "well". Full of wellness. But it's nice to have some corrections, the odd neck pop and those little needles in my back... plus I do get a lot of energy after our sessions. So he hasn't lost me yet! *GRIN*.Nice little documentary on Australian artist Martin Sharp- we thought it was a bit short as Martin is fascinating. He really is underrated. If you want a good investment try and buy a Martin Sharp painting. I got a bit of a buzz about seeing the original "Yellow House" (artist collective) at Kings Cross in Sydney. It existed for about 3 years. I was very very very young and can proudly say I visited the Yellow House with 3 other art students in the seventies.. I mean young (and kind of innocent). I think I was about 14. I met the brilliant Albie Thoms the aussie film director.. (he passed away in Nov 2012)... maybe I just liked his name "Albie" it seemed happy and fun... plus about 3 other artists who were kind of humoured that several daggy art students , very young daggy art students were invading their own little "factory".. very cool pop art everywhere... I honestly can't remember if Martin was one of the artists I met.. I wish I wish I wish I had a camera with me for such things... I remember the person who took us kept saying no as we "are not photographing creatures at a zoo"....... I do remember the smell of pot..maybe thats why I remember very little else from the day. Anyway I digress (sorry).... the Martin Sharp doco was wonderful. Garry Shead is working on a painting of Martin in it & it's brilliant..I'm arm wresting my mate Merelyn T as we both want it-but are paupers and can't afford it! Albie (still alive when this was filmed) pops up and I cheered like some art fan groupie (hey I am we all know that). I'm still trying to find a really great book on the Yellow House and this inspired me even more so to track one down..or at least a Martin Sharp original. April 17thWow the Stones tickets we want in "the pit" area at the MGM show are $5000 US for two..insane, and thats ticketmaster NOT scalping! That is so expensive, next time a fan complains about our Crowded House ticket price I'm going to point them in the direction of the Stones $2500 tickets! Yieks......well there is a $40 million lotto game coming up-think I need to buy a ticket, it's the only way we are going.Cold wet night here, we had the invite to go meet the PM but got totally sidetracked.. I wonder if Julia missed us? The great news that NZ legalised gay marriage happened while the PM was taking audience questions.. one guy Joe asked her about it- a wonderful moment... it's a slow crawl here in Australia but marriage equality WILL indeed happen, so all the homophobes and religious extremists should move out of the way or this ever growing snow ball will plough you over. The gay marriage divorce rate worldwide still sits at 1%, apparently it has dropped below 1%... the straight divorce rate continues to climb, it's around 56% mark. Lawyers must make a fortune from failed marriages. We find a few more Skyhook gigs for the list, up to 980 now. Still 1 or 2 that I'm finding dates for so heading close to the magic 1000 mark. Crowded House at 911 and Split Enz around 750...that doesn't seem right for the Enz..may have to recount that one...still they did have some years where they played only a handful of dates. I'll be trying to put together the list of extra Enz dates this week.... Tim Finn has been very helpful, some great memories from the Tom Petty USA tour. April 18thWell I took a punt and did not win $40 million in lotto, but I did get $29.00.... so money back.Congratulations to Victorias 47,000 teachers for beating this terrible Victorian government and securing a pay rise. Teachers and Nurses will always receive support from our family. I'm still jogging, almost every night, Kalorama oval before the sun goes down..I am the lone jogger guy, laps and laps..did 1 extra tonight, it was more like run, walk, run, walk, walk walk..at the end. France's vote for gay marriage is on April 23rd-I hope it goes ahead and they vote YES. I can't believe people are so small minded or homophobic in 2013 to stop 2 people who love each other from marrying. The times are a changin' and lets hope France becomes the 14th nation to do so. Still amazed that people are now taking up gay bashing in France because two same sex people wish to get married-if someone does that it shows what a pathetic human being they really are-gutless and cowardly. Lets hope the french straight people show some guts and stand up for what is right and homophobia most certainly isn't. It's getting cold in the evenings here, Banshee is now IN the bed, snuggled deep into the peruvian blanket, a feline "bump" all snug and warm. April 19thVery sad news to hear that Chrissie Amphlett lost her battle with cancer on the 22nd. She was truly amazing, we've been fans from day one...have every release and she was exceptional. The fire burns brightly in her, never one to sleep walk through life, passionate and exotic. We were into the Divinyls from day one, if you saw them live how could you not get hooked? Lots of Divinyls being played in the office today and around Australia.April 20thCall in for some coffee at Nellys, she has new coffee cups, bigger and better.. a good cup makes a difference.I carry loads of wood inside as we will soon have our fires on and the central heating. At least when the odd tree limb comes down we have a good supply of wood for the house & a few close friends. I head to our favourite Indian restaurant to grab some dinner, not cooking, I avoid it (cooking) if I've been working outside all day. I drive past one of the entrance points to the hiking trail to the forest and 5 fire engines , cfa head honchos and an ambulance are in the area. The mountain is covered in smoke from residents doing their burning off. A young fire fighter guy tells me they hope the wind doesn't change direction as they have some burning off happening. I find out later a lady had walked off the "cliff" side of the track, hence the now two ambulances. Huge gusts of wind hit so we check the cfa website and it is on the fire area. So we let our neighbours with kids know what is happening, really just to keep an eye on the website. With all the smoke from burning off you are lulled into a sense of innocence that smoke is probably from that. Fire in the national park, our one big fear, one we are use to but always on your mind. April 21stThe sun comes out at lunch time so I give Rosemaree a call and see if she wants to move her hike to this afternoon. Some much needed exercise for us both so a good thing. It's an easy walk this one so she won't have any problems... well hopefully she won't fall off the 'cliff! I'm amazed that someone did. Only one car at the drop off area so it probably won't be packed. We run into a group of hikers who are a bit lost, trying to locate "Sky High" to have some food.... I think I send them the wrong way-opps! Not many animals about today, usually you spot kangaroos grazing... possibly all the burning off by the CFA has sent them elsewhere. I find this such an easy walk, and enjoyable, Rosemaree is good company. The Kyeema plane crash monument is only 1.5 kms away ... you just sit and chill when you get to the spot. Nice calm zone.April 22ndAnother week goes by and another musician dies. Was so saddened to hear of Chrissie Amphlett passing away from cancer. She also had MS so I guess that limited her treatment for cancer. A truly remarkable woman, so vibrant onstage, and inspiration to woman everywhere... I loved her tough arse approach and one of the most unique voices. Those who never saw the Divinyls live missed out on something special, I always feel sorry for people who like middle of the road crap like John Farnham and miss truly sensational gigs like the Divinyls. I was at a Stones show at the LA Coliseum with Mark in 1989 and somehow we ended up with comp tickets from the band. Living Colour & Guns N Roses were supporting. In walked Chrissie and Mark McEntree.... Chrissie looking truly brilliant-she always dressed so well..the crowd loved them even at that stage, before they cracked the usa top 10. I remember Chrissie shuffling by to sit on the same row, they must of had Stones comps too and she just gave me one of those winks.A decade later she was a secret guest for Tim Finn when he played The Conty, at Prahran just a stones throw from our house. I was at the venue for work during soundcheck and basically spent the afternoon with her, "having some fun" as she put it. We ended up back at the Greville street house and she burst into laughter and pointed to the house across the road from #55 Greville st... it had this oddball keyhole entrance- anyway she tells me how she lived at the place in the seventies and you could see all these memories come flashing back. Such a fine afternoon, and it only takes such sad times like someones death to remember them and realise that they are so special. She climbed onstage during the encore and sang with Tim on "Death of a clown" the old Dave Davies from The Kinks song, "Time for a change" the Enz classic and "This Guys in love with you" Burt Bacharach's hit. I recorded some of the show on dat so have to get copies to Tim as it's a nice memento.... so you left the stage Divine Miss A and so many of us were touched by your magic.. and the fire that burn't in you... a huge loss for the aussie music industry too. PG |