The Life and Times of Peter Green
Archive: 25 March - 8 April 2018
Banshee Space Cadet
March 26thWe think of Paul a lot, I can't help it, Hessie pops into our lives regularly, be it a song on the radio while we are having coffee, or someone that knew him contacts us, or we get the vibe to play the always awesome LLT in the office, even going for a surf, I'm using Pauls old boogie board. I feel sadness but I also feel a joy that we knew him, even more so when he left Crowded House.So when an anniversary of his passing arrives (13 years today!) we make some effort, usually a few fun stories where Mark and myself would roll around on the office floor laughing at his craziness. Mark reminds me of some LLT filming, and the rehearsal room had an abundance of pot smoke, 20 minutes later we all realise the video camera was at a 45 degree angle -and none of us noticed. Some rather "arty" filming that day. RIP Paulo. March 27thThe voting closes today for Max/Foxtels "1000 Greatest Songs Of All Time". It always drove me a bit crazy that Skyhooks "Living in the 70's" song never made it previously, so this year we've asked our Hook loving mates to remember to vote . Even if it just comes in at #999 I'll be content. When shit like that bloody stupid Barbie song make it, one really wants to jump off the highest building. I mean cmon! Some turds can't be polished, the Barbie song is one, and I'll never get Beyonce either, she shits me. Now I've vented, feels so much better. Ha! I have such faith in our fan base, after all this time they still work the magic and vote.I work on a few 'cheats" for tomorrows panel talk at the AMV. So many years to cover and so many artists so it's all a bit diverse, just want to get it right. You can tell it's very important as I trim my few nasal hairs. March 28th"Can I Have Your Autograph"-Panel Chat- Australian Music Vault-Vic Arts Centre.I grab a few shirts and notes and bits and pieces and leave the mountain. I've allowed 2 1/2 hours to get to the Arts Centre, it usually takes 1.5 at the most. I was so glad I did leave early, the traffic and car accidents were horrid. I manage to be late, a whole minute. So not too bad. One of the other panelist was 35 minutes late so my one minute didn't feel too bad. Overall I like the group, it is what it is. I can't be too serious about it, as it's a lightweight subject. If it was 'just the facts Ma'am' we'd all nod off. I'm in the Green room (they shouldn't of named it after me) sipping on a wine, I've missed lunch so my stomach is growling at times. I swap into a red shirt, have to leave my hair long and messy for some other possible filming in a week or two (don't ask) . Jenny the facilitator is ok so I'm next to her out front. We settle in for a sound check. The tech crew are great, all nice and easy. We head back to the Green room while the audience turns up -sold out which is so cool. I run into a lot of people in the foyer- everyone of them just fantastic. Lots of mates too -means so much that they turned up-these are the people who stay on our christmas card list. Ho Ho Ho. So 30 minutes later it's all on. I have a show and tell item, a few fun stories. It seems to roll along ok, some emotional moments (not from me) a few stupid comments ("Morrissey is a racist" - that old chestnut and once again not from me). I bite my tongue as giving a panel person a serve for being a sucker to English tabloid click bait really isn't what I'm about. Oh I just did..opps. The audience are fun, passionate and what could of been difficult ended up being enjoyable. I'm still chatting and saying goodbye to people after it's all over. A final snap by the steps with a few more Frenz and then I grab my mate Sarah and her daughter Chelsea and we are off. I've known Sarah for eons , she's over from Adelaide and dropping her off at a friends house which was close to ours. I give her a mini tour first, we were going by the original Grange Rd flat at Toorak so called in, we stopped triggered some security lights *GRIN* and drove on. I'm still wired so motor mouthing a bit, lots of laughter in the car - so a really enjoyable night and a fun ride home. Love our very special mugs too Sarah-so kind! We will cherish them. I'm thinking perfect for the art room too- with that Vincent Willem Van-Gogh , Starry Night design. March 29thMark orders the latest Star Wars movie on Bluray. JB are saying 4 weeks for it to arrive , which is crazy as the place they are mailing it from is only 20 minutes away. Hopefully they are wrong and it will arrive next week. Marky cleverly uses a few coupons and the postage is a mere .50c.Loads of emails in from last nights Panel discussion, all good, all appreciative. Thanks everyone. I get to sleep in a bit, recharge, which was nice. I spend most of the day promoting Neils two shows with Orchestra at the Opera House (May 30 + 31). Hopefully the shows will give "Out of Silence" a bit of momentum. Some nice reviews of that album. Only 100 tickets left for the Gold Coast show too! Pretty good. March 30thIt's the long weekend over Easter, so I'm actually going to have some days off. Which is both weird, there is a pull to go to the office as I do love it, but I have to learn how to say No and have some ME time, well Us time. Marks going to work on a big outside project, and I'm going to clean, paint and freshen up the roof in the pool room. It's intricate, lots of fiddly edging pieces etc. I carry the big ladder in and get my eye covers and breathing mask on. The Foxtel 1000 Greatest Songs Of All Time is on, so I have that playing while I'm cleaning and painting. Up in the God Zone watching it on the 65 inch tv, I'm sure the fumes from the cleaning fluid are making me appreciate the more trippy songs.April 1stI'm glad they added a filtration system into King Tutans tomb, it will help stop the humidity that is wrecking it. See it while you can , as it may be gone one day.Wow all 3 of our bands- Skyhooks, Split Enz and Crowded House doing really well in the 1000 Songs. Fan power, as I said the other night at the AMV discussion, we really Do have the best fans in the world. I was especially stoked to see Skyhooks "Living in the 70's" make the grade, especially after it failed to do so over the last few years- so to get the clip played, caused a large cheer at Kalorama. Thanks everyone your $10 notes are in the mail!!!! Do people still play April Fool jokes on others, nah not really. April 2ndMy final day on ladders. Of course I miss a spot and see it later on, so have to climb up for one last time. By day four you are a bit over it. But it's looking good. A metal burning heart of Christ crashes off the wall and misses my favourite Peruvian vase by a cats whisker, i manage to catch it mid fall. It would be sad after all this time to safely get this piece back from Peru without damage and then accidentally wreck it here.The Ghost Cars Sold Out sign disappeared off Rocket Pocket Books for an hour -and someone ordered a copy! I really had to dig around for one final copy, but found one. Not sure if we will ever do a reprint , so hold onto your copies as they will continue to value. April 3rdOne of those days where I hear from several Skyhooks, after all these years it's wonderful that the boys make the effort. Everyone is happy that 3 Hook songs made the 1000 list (and only 1 Sherbet song...*snigger*..sorry had to say that). The final result- 3 Skyhooks song, 3 Split Enz songs and 6 Crowded House songs make the final 1000 Greatest Songs of all time. Thanks everyone for voting.I am running out of flour and wanted to make a cake for desert for dinner, so I ended up making 4 little cakes, combined recipes in my head- Mark called it "the bastard" because it's a bit of a mongrel mix of everything. Sour cream, lemon, coconut, grated dark chocolate and even a drop of Cointreau . Tasted pretty good considering it was mostly made up. Maddison moves up in her swim class, I swear my sister has given birth to a fish, MIM loves the water that much. Every Aussie should know how to swim- and besides it's so good for you. April 4thThe weather on the mountain is nothing short of exceptional. It's very hard to stay in the office and work on such days, but we do. I must remember how good this is, because suddenly it will be Winter again and we'll be chopping wood and keeping the fires burning.Happy 14th Anniversary to our mates Merelyn & Maz. Congratulations gals! Home made Hamburgers for dinner. Yum. April 5thI see there is a redistribution of several Victorian electoral seats. Pretty much all good for Labor. If the current margins are correct Vic Labor may well win 3 more seats because of this.My You Tube page is a mere 134 "views" short of One Million , which is clicks over on the stroke of midnight. So cool, one million people have enjoyed the footage we have put up. Very happy with that. I decide I really have no time for people who sulk. Life is too short. April 6thA week till pay day, hurrah. sad that we hang out for such things just for basic survival. Still we are both so incredibly happy- money can't buy that, well yes it can!!!Sis sent Banshee a cat photo cube for a present. It basically has cartoon images on all sides and a hole cut out where Banshee is meant to pop out her head and be transformed int the character depicted . I really didn't think she'd do it, but 5 minutes inside, she explores the cube and out pops her head. Snap! Snap! Snap! goes the camera. What is it with cats and boxes. Every so often you know you've dodged a bullet by not employing someone. Mark said to me, 'wow that was close'. he was right. April 7thAnother exceptional day outside, amazing for April. The decking project is huge , so this fine saturday is spent working on that. A few friends arrive and lend a helping hand. A fun day, lots of laughter. We are all amazed at how wonderful it is today. I cook everyone dinner , a hame of pool and we were surprised that it was actually 4.00 in the morning. Time flies when you are having fun. Really love these people - a really enjoyable night.April 8thPolling results in tonight and Labor are ahead of the Liberals in the 30th consecutive Poll. "Preferred PM" has Turnbull and Shorten neck to neck. We all know Turnbull won't fall on his sword -despite treating that muppet Abbott the same way years ago. Fizza Turnbull just a typical Liberal hypocrite. Whens the next election again. tick tick tick.We watch The Berlin Syndrome movie, Australian backed and filmed in Berlin. A psychological thriller directed by the excellent Cate Shortland. I read Mel Joostens original book that it was based on- it's pretty good. Lost In Space starts next week on Netflix, I think it will do really really well! Danger Malcolm Turnbull Danger! Opps. and finally. The cats out of the bag and 10 days early. It is true Neil Finn will be part of Fleetwood Mac. Mick Fleetwood a huge Finn fan and as some know played drums on a few Neil songs in his studio last year. A couple of weeks ago Neil was in Maui jamming with Fleetwood Mac. As he said "it felt fresh and exciting.." so there you go. I just love that after all this time Neil still has such adventures. Good on him, I'm totally stoked for the guy. Now watch my IN box explode and the media calls flood in. Exciting times. That's it for me, the year cruises by at light speed. Stay safe and happy. Peter |