The Life and Times of Peter Green
Archive: 14 July - 10 August 2014
Peter & his brilliant niece Maddison. (1 year birthday)
July 14thWe work the full day and night, nothing but Neil Finn related!!! We close the office door at 10.00 tonight and head to the house for a very late dinner. Tour dates are being announced for New Zealand soon so covering all areas. I'm stoked that Bic is heading back on the road for these few shows. It's good for her to get back out to some decent crowds- I think she underrates herself such a pure talent bubbling under the surface.I decided to extend our gas bill, just too hard to get to the general store and Origins phone system seems to be having some failure as far as the payment area. You'd think they'd repair it so they could take all our money! Seeing Neil is now back, I mail off all the Dizzy Heights cd slicks to NZ for him to sign, great that he does this-especially for those fans in oddball remote areas that never get a NF release or a chance to see him play. A sales a sale so it all helps too. July 15thI email Nick Seymour a quick thank you for signing the concert tickets. I also send him a few shots of the Peter Jones line ip recording. It's funny seeing Peter J in shots, horrible he is no longer with us, lovely man. I wish I spent more time with him.I also find a goldmine of photos taken in our Toorak Flat back in November 1979, some we have never seen before- we are just killing ourself laughing. That Mark Goulding a total camera hog in those days. I send a few to Mad Dog seeing she is in the photos with Dee... just the best shots and none of me-well 1 very blurry one. Whoever took that photo was very drunk. It seems insane that they were taken 35 years ago! I am loving what we are finding July 16thWatch "Good ol' Freda" on Bluray. I've only seen this once so it's nice to enjoy it on BluRay and also the extras. If you like The Beatles this is a must see. The true surprise though wasn't the main feature. "Freda" is out on Magnolia and usually we skip through all the pre-movie promos but we have to say the 4 at the start of "Good Ol' Freda" were just amazing, so good we bought them! "Prince Avalanche" was one so i tracked it down on BluRay here and grabbed it for a birthday present for MG. The always brilliant Paul Rudd. Plus Emile Hirsch-who put on that astounding performance as Chris McCandless in "Into the Wild". I even like Rudd having a cheesy moustache!Prince Avalanche was a flop , but it's warm and so cool.. we just loved it. I think Mark has also ordered the Big Star doco-movie...such great songs they had. It's called " Nothing Can Hurt me". Good work Magnolia!!! July 17thA very light snow at Kalorama today- for less then a minute. I want the full on snowstorm but that didn't happen. Still I grabbed Mark and I went running outside and danced in it. Like small white feather floating to earth- such a buzz from it. It soon changed to full on wind and lashing rain later on.July 18thWe started heading off for our regular morning breakfast/lunch and were stopped in our tracks by a fallen tree across our circular drive. So we ditched the 4WD and walked to the General store for food and coffee. We knew once we get home if we could chainsaw enough space we'd get the car out and leave it at our second address. Of course it rains a little on the walk, which I don't mind but Marks like a cat who freaks at the slightest drop of moisture falling on him. Nice coffee and we both feel charged. We head home and chainsaw for an hour. It's enough to get the car out, but we know we will have to attack the fallen tree(s) yes two- tomorrow.July 19thI take my Mac to Nellys and do some work. Just an hour. But it's nice and peaceful, no one bothers me while I get struck into 3 jobs. I arrive home and book my flight to Sydney. I manage to get one way booked with Qantas and after that their website crashes which is a drag. Still at least I have my departure flight and also a car booked. MIM here I come. It will be good to see my family. I am still amazed that my precious niece will be turning one.July 20thGreat piece on "Australian Story" on the Thin Green Line - Ranger Sean Willmore is incredible. This will get them a lot of support and hopefully $. The ABC is great-hands off it Mr Abbott- arsehole! Cut the multi billion dollar baby bonus if you actually want to save money-but no you just double that!July 21stEvery day we are getting book orders from the Rocket Pocket Books website. Sadly the excellent "Wings off flies" and "Ghost Cars on the Freeway" are starting to get very low on stock. They'll be the next two books to run out. It's been such a vibe lately, we can't keep up- so allowing an hour every day to nothing but signing and packaging our books. www.rocketpocketbooks.com Grab them now , otherwise you'll be stuck paying high prices later on Ebay.We remember to call both Trudi and Fran for their birthdays. I like calling people, I hate the Facebook Happy Birthday stuff, well around close friends anyway, I find it kind of vile and throw away - so I make an effort. It's like getting a good present for people, a huge part of a gift is the effort - that says a lot. I'm up early and working away on the pre-sale info for Neil Finns NZ dates.... the emails are rolling in. There is a vibe! Lots of people flying into NZ for these last few shows. Great that Bic Runga is special guest. She asks if I'm on the road for it, so who knows. It could be fun. July 22ndMark doesn't want to go out for his birthday, zero fuss... but I think he should do something, so a handful of friends, which will be very enjoyable. I check with the owner of La Lupa Romana and he manages to squash us in for a table of ten. Pissed off with one or two people who don't have the courtesy to actually call and let one know. Don't people have manners? So fucking rude-they'll be told when next we speak. Like how hard is it - it's such a pet hate. They are always the first to get in contact with the endless dramas in their lives. Rolls eyes!July 23rdMorrissey's new album is doing well, #2 in the UK, #14 USA, #8 Germany first week. Good to see. Apparently he was the highest earner for a singer last year-incredible- he just has such a strong following. So loyal to the man.Trim Marks hair, and lock him outside in his boxer shorts... ok we both find that incredibly funny, even with it being a mere 3 degrees out ..how evil am I? July 24thA girl I know who's in the PR area told me about some dodgy new Music Awards beings et up in Melbourne. The lucky (?) award winners decided by a panel. Probably half of them haven't even seen a young band play over the past 12 months. I'll be the first to give a standing ovation to the band/artist that actually refuses to accept their award! Another mate was asked to be on the panel but had the smarts to say "no"!Find our negatives of The Church from March 1983 when they played Alexandria Gardens (Melbourne) . I'm more worried circulation would be cut off because of the very tight pants they are wearing! Such a fine band. July 25thA strange Friday, so many calls came in from band members, some people we haven't heard from in awhile- it's like the world woke up and decided to call. Which is ok. The La Lupa owner finally gets through to me just to reconfirm. It's a full house so we will be nice and squashy!Have a drink with Marky and we cruise down the mountain to Montrose. We are the first to arrive, which is ok- another table next to us with several families and loud kids! Oh Joy. They are a tad out of control-Mark gives them his death stare! The one that says "shut the fuck up or I will murder you in your sleep"! People roll up, and I see other tables staring at us- not sure why, ok all our friends are strange looking so at times it might look like Jim Rose's circus has arrived. Only wine available, but I've sneaked in a hip flash with JD in it for the birthday boy-now to sneakily pour it into the coke. It's really nice to see everyone and lots of laughter etc. A really good night. I like to spoil our friends so I pay for the night- so now we will be eating potatoes for a week *GRIN*. Fuck it, life is too short-good to treat mates. Apart from a wonderful Bluray that Greg Skyhook spoils Marky with he also passes on ROCK COUNTRY book-which I do enjoy. However the Skyhook photo in the book is shit-so many iconic shots and they use that one (urgh). What a fine present. IT's about 3.00 in the morning when we finally get to sleep-the last pieces of fire wood holding out-it's too cold to walk to the garage at the other end of our property and get more. Snuggle deep into bed as the temperature drops to zero. July 26thNeed coffee... not hung over just sleepy. Today is nice and slow.July 27thHappy Birthday Marky- the best bloke I know! Loads of love your way!I scan some snaps of The Numbers- Annalisse and Chris Morrows band- love "Modern Song". We were convinced we had The Numbers debut album on cd but can't find it. I did hear that Aztec Music released "Numerology" which covers the bands full career- including the rare Govt Boy EP (which i do have on vinyl). So excited that I'll have some Numbers to play in the office. July 28thNeil emails, he's busy signing Dizzy Heights cover slicks- I know it's a pain to do such things but he rarely ever complains. I'll just be glad when the damn things are all mailed out! It's taken forever, all our timing was off on this one.Latest polling in, again the Liberals are well behind. Labor 52%, Libs- 48%! Bill Shorten once again Preferred PM by 6%. No surprise, Australia is well and truly over Tony Abbott. July 29thSpend most of today paying bills, that and answering emails around Neil Finn. I looked up and it was 6.00. The day just vanished.July 30thI surrender Mr Gruff my teddy bear from childhood days and wrap him for my niece Maddie. One of her birthday presents. He looks like a rather sparkly egyptian mummy with the paper around him! She adored the bear so much when she visited I thought it was time to pass him down to a new generation to enjoy. Mum can't remember where Mr Gruff came from- "he's always been there" - hopefully that will be the case and MIM can pass him onto any children she has. Mr Gruff forever!!July 31stNathan Brenner calls today so we have a bit of a chat. I will always have time for Natty.A very cold night 1 degree at midnight. I light the big fire in the pool room as well as our heating. Sip a Glayva- to warm us up..nice. We drink so little alcohol these days-funny how that happens. August 1stAugust -really did I blink, did I fall into some long deep sleep and no sexy prince woke me? That's insane, another year rushing past - I'm sure "life" isn't real- it never seems to to be real-well not mine anyway. The scanning is still going on, another huge box of at least 5000 negatives has been done. I am determined to get to the end of this.I print out our monthly sales for Rocket Pocket Books and July 2014 was our highest sales month since RPB started. I'm so happy that these books are loved by so many. The Crowded House & Wings Off Flies will run out next as mentioned, down to the final few. Mark is still signing "Wings"... so those rare Mark Goulding autographs are flying around the world (chuckle). he's got it down pat now- a flick of the wrist and it's signed. I find 2 photos of Hessie in the studio a week before he died, real close ups next to the microphone, recording, so close you can hardly tell it's him- I joined them together and really love the imagery. Sadly in the same batch of negatives, several photos of yours truly in his new black suit- which was for Pauls funeral. The suit photos disturb me more then the Hessie shots. August 2nd.Record Fair coming up and the live cd guys have been brilliant, found a few of the Crowdies CBGB radio discs, I can't believe it's nearly 28 years since Crowded House played that iconic venue. I play our club copy in the office today and it's such a fun show, closer to the Mullanes in some ways to the successful Crowded House a few months later. Brilliant show love it. Hell even having "Breaking my Back" in the set was astounding.August 3rdSo nice to be "home" and have some sunshine. The Wollongonians say it's cold but it feels incredibly warm to me. 15 degrees warmer then Kalorama today. I visit Marks mum , only a quick run in for a cuppa, good to see them. My mum has made me some chunky rolls for lunch and I'm starving so devour it like it is my last meal.We leave an hour later for the hall where Sis and her hubby have transformed it into a pink and white party palace for Maddies first birthday. We head over early to lend a hand but it's all under control. Family members turn up and I have the camera handy, take 120 snaps. Sis arrives with Maddie and I'm grabbing the MIMster and she's chuckling and chatting like crazy. Mums in the corner and even with her arthritic hands she still manages to cuddle this bundle of joy. The family and friends fill up the tables and food and tea and cakes and cakes and cakes... speeches are made, so stoked Mum jumps up for a final word. I help hand out food and yap to all of them. It's a nice gathering, all on their best behaviour (that's rare), MIM stares about-Yes this IS all about you sweet creature-get use to it. Mum has given her some funky walker, rider bike and Maddie is off walking and riding -impressive for a 1 year old. A few hours later and it's time to go. I'm stoked as every single person helps pack up- 5 minutes later it's all gone- what a work ethic. I'm giving Maddie a cuddle in the sun and a few pushes on the outdoor swings etc. She says what sounds like "peetahhh"...and giggles. God this little one melts all our hearts- good work Sis and hubby. Today MIM has a nice shiner- a kid at her play group hit her with toy- so MIM is my little black eyed bruiser. We all say goodbye, drop Mum home, finish the roll, clean my teeth and I'm off to grab a flight. I'm feeling rather tired. head to the freaky flyer thinking i can grab a shower but they are all out of shower packs. The Qantas horror at the door says "NO, no towels" and ignored me. I give her the look of "that sucks"... and a higher echelon walks over and says "I'm sure we can help Mr Green out". She cruises to the very very private managers area and brings back a towel- which was so cool. A long shower and I feel rejuvenated. Flight leaves on time and the Flying Kangaroo lands in Melbourne 15 minutes early. The car is waiting and the valet and I head off, all within 5 minutes. I arrive home to the smell of homemade sausage rolls- thanks to Marky - so nice. Happy Birthday Maddison Ivy I'm still amazed you are already one! August 4thIt seems like the whole world is freaking out about the Ebola virus. I hear people talking about it during breakfast true fear in their voice. It is a worry but there have been such scares in the past. I'm just glad we are nowhere near West Africa...high in the hills at Kalorama we feel somewhat protected.August 5thWorse unemployment numbers for 13 years! In Victoria they are higher then the national average. The one thing the Liberals are very very good at in increasing unemployment. Tick tick tick- election soon.... one termers for Victoria! Napthine should be turfed out-totally useless. We had such great job numbers here before the Liberals were voted in, it has just gotten worse and worse. Pity if you are a young kid looking for a job in this state!We are still scanning, I send Neil a few candid snaps for his enjoyment. So many photos it really is crazy. If nothing else our photo file will be incredible. August 6thI had to find proof for Mark that I won the "Most Beautiful Baby" contest for the Illawarra region.. finally found photos to back up my claim. Mark is not convinced says it's a bowling trophy! I tell him he's jealous. Of course I won would you expect anything less dear reader.If Andy Warhol was alive today he would of turned 86! Still an honour to have that extra minute of "fame" bestowed" upon myself by King Andy! August 7thHad to slap a friend around the knuckles for organising a record company meeting which i did not request. All that does is get my back up and not want me to work with them. Life has changed since 1980, and I wont be railroaded, even if it is good intentions. Not happy Joyce!Nick Seymour helps me out by identifying some young bands in photos I've taken. His memory is great around such things,especially The Ballroom days at St Kilda. August 8thAztec have now shipped my Numbers cd- Yey new music. Mark has a few blurays arriving. One being the complete "Twin Peaks" bluray set- with all episodes, the movie and 90 minutes of unseen footage...and yes the Blu ray box was in deed "wrapped in plastic"-you knew I was going to say that. I return the favour by ordering the Big Star doco-movie -the last thing that I am buying for awhile- have 4 new car tyres for the 4WD-so $900 later! At least they'll last-nice big chunky bastards.Marks tonsil stuff and whatever bug he has still hanging about-I seem ok except for some sniffles- hopefully I won't catch it. We are still fairly healthy especially compared to nearly all our friends. August 9thI'm hesitant to leave Mark while he's sick but take 30 minutes for a quick coffee at the General Store. Weird day on the mountain, hail storm and then the sun.. beautiful outside for an hour. Hundreds of sulphur crested cockatoos fly over, en masse. All white and the odd splash of yellow. Hell I hope all hundred are not trying to fit into our bird house, we have to replace it soon, it's nearly worn out from one too many feathered visitors.I scan while Mark naps... i think we are finally at the half way mark for the photos. I have sent some Crowdies ones to Deb for the www.frenz.com/crowdedhouse/ site (Photography area) just so we have a few fresh photos up. [editor's note: yeah, didn't get to that yet, sorry] August 10thI upload Split Enz performing "What's the matter with you" on the Official Enz facebook page. I love Crombie's harmonica solo at this show. Very cool. The afternoon is spent scanning segments of the poster from the first Skyhooks gig, for Warners to use on their upcoming "Carlton" release. They'll have to do the "stitch" work on it, 101 things to do in the office. Never seem to have enough time.That's it for another diary... Special thanks to Deb for making this happen. PG x |