The Life and Times of Peter Green
Archive: 11 March - 31 March 2024
 Split Enz Carnival Geek goes on tour with Enz puppets. |
March 11thI fell behind with this issue of the F/16 diary. Between the "Murder" video PR stuff and getting the new Apple Mac set up it's absolutely sidetracked me. So apologies.I woke up with a small stomach ache today. Maybe I tried to be too healthy. It happens, got to get that balance right. One day to go till the Split Enz puppet video is released to the world. It feels weird for two reasons. One, we don't know how it will go, maybe an absolute flop and people and the Frenz won't get it. The band might hate it. Two, it's now reached it's final stage so soon we will be Enz Clip empty nesters. It's too late now, tomorrow is "D" Day, well "P" for Puppet day. March 12thI sit with Marky while he is fine tuning pieces, micro stuff that only we know, a nose here, a puppet elbow on the side. He is like some fine sculpturer. Mark asks me what success is, in my head for this. Around views, "Oh if we get 5000 in 3 months I will think it has been worth the effort. If fans love it , that is the ultimate success". The clip becomes a tad viral, we hit the 5000 not in 3 months but in 8 days. Speechless.March 13thSuddenly The Producer and The Director are nervous. Mark pushes the clip away- "I'm not a Producer" he states- and I have a tiny moment of crisis. I sit down and watch it one final time with my best mate and I just love it. All the confidence comes flooding back. "Opening Night" nerves maybe. Someone pass a bucket.As it is uploading a rain storm hits the mountain. Mark jokes, "funny if the power goes out while we are uploading and no one gets to see it". No not funny at all and thankfully it doesn't. I get everything ready, I start the promotion the minute it is up. Ding! Ding! Ding! Emails, posts the best ever comments we have lift off. We sit and watch the counter turn. The comments come in, everyone of them great. I think my advance promo is working well. As I go to bed I spot our first Radio website mention, really positive little article. Noise 11 and The Music follow with great GREAT articles (thanks guys)-the support is so lovely and appreciated. I sleep well. March 14thI wake up early and head to the charity, my great escape for the day. You know you have a "hit" when the coffee van guy says he heard it on radio (god bless RRR) and he checked it to and loves it.he starts discussing it, that makes me grin.I'm in the car park at the charity and I start posting some images from the video. The Carnival Geek with his Split Enz tour trunk and the Tim puppet sitting next to him at Kalorama Bus Stop is the favourite. Everyone gets it. I think I might get it enlarged and framed for the office. By the time I head into the charity we tick over 1671 views! Radio requests arrive . Its a long day and I ignore my phone going DING! DING! DING! March 15thI hear from pretty much all the Enz. Tim is wonderful , he loves the B/W silent movie footage. Neil is great. "You guys are entering your fun zone…. Well done. It's a hoot"…and then he adds the video to the main page of his Neil Finn website.Eddie sends a reworked, mixed version "for use" (radio etc) which is kind. We swap emails daily as the video grows and grows and grows. Nigel says he loves being in "the back line" again..well his puppet. I think Mal loves it but it must feel funny to have his puppet back in the band but not himself….and Noel Crombie oblivious to it off surfing down at the Prom! Sirius radio in the States give the clip this awesome rave and they start playing songs Split Enz again. Stereogum magazine in the US run an article. I escape for a date night with Mark, really to get away from the clip. Suddenly the phone is ringing like crazy. Like BUSY. We do some grocery shopping and another Pizza but we sit in the dog park. No dogs, not even a cat just a Gryphon and his boyfriend. Ain't love grand. March 16thWell my day goes pear shape as my Apple computer dies. It's been on its last legs for awhile now. Not great timing, middle of my 2 weeks video promotion. So contacts and images, 40,000 archival photos, the VIP list and more.. all stuck inside.I get Mark to go online and buy a new one, thankfully we also had $130 Apple voucher so a tiny discount. Jeff J tells me the Enz article in The Music is trending, it becomes the #1 music article and stays in the trending area for a week. Jeff hasn't had a top 3 trending piece so he is excited. It's a good article too. Such nice words about us as well. My one annoyance today came from a friend who said something so stupid, I kept thinking "you don't really know me at all do you". I bit my lip instead of saying "get fucked". Eds version of Murder gets some airplay and more Radio Stations across Oz run great articles on the clip. I start writing them down: 4CA, 7BU, Magic 931, Power 100, River 1467, 2ST, 2ES, 5CS, Chilli FM, Wave FM, 96FM, Bay 93.9, WS FM, 2NM, LAFM, Power FM SA, Power FGM Ballarat, and 5CC down on the Eyre Peninsula. It's starting to take over. All the girls at Olinda bakery pull out their phones and watch it, they genuinely adore it. I think I blush. I love that Marks name is mentioned in every article. March 17thOur friends have started posting the "Murder" link on their Facebook pages. That's what mates do, when you have a special project you support it. We love them for this.Some paper work arrives around the Film Awards, I fill it in for "Murder", what the hell, zero chance but we'll do it anyway. If the ten millionth of a chance that we win the puppets should collect the award. Tim & Neil should do the voice over. Steve Harley from Cockney Rebel dies….I write "Blue Eyes, Blue Eyes, How come you tell so many lies?" On my hand in magic marker. What a song and what great clip. Chat to Nigel every night, mostly because he can't email at the moment, which is fun. We keep each other updated on Split Enz. We loved "Asteroid City". Wes Andserson, what a talent he is. Cool movie. March 18thI go into the art room and I am slowly taking apart the stage for the video shoot. Not sure if I am being slow in case we suddenly need it or for some romantic movie set notion. I return Martins bricks that were helping support the cat walk. All the stage black rolled as we will use that in the future, we always do. So roll it don't fold it, less creases. Midnight sits on the puppet stage and watches me, I keep expecting her to burst into song.March 19thUp early and Summer is departing as the morning is foggy and dark. I get ready for the charity. Today I get two amazing cabinets for $46 for the kitchen, beautiful Moroccan tiles. The largest will fill this one area that has always bugged me. Mark loves them. The exact same ones go for $476 each so $46 for two is a brilliant bargain. Mark swaps the kitchen around while I work in the office. He has been setting up the new Apple Mac too. All my email addresses are in the old machine so I will wait for people to Email me so I have their addresses again.I have a laugh as Enz man Nigel keeps arse calling me on his new mobile phone while he works away in his back garden. It's always nice to chat to him anyway, even an accidental call. I take my better half to the Mount D pub for dinner. We always time it when it's not crazily busy. Chat to Mark the owner and the cook. He loves music. March 20thI'm sitting at the bakery and see my friend Ros and her daughter Coco. They say they love the clip and Ros shows me Coco's amazing Easter Bonnet that she made herself (she is 11) such a talented kid, she always has been. The community up here has watched her grow up. Jed rocks up and sits for awhile, he has a new video lout soon, a cover of Bryan Adams "Heaven".How exciting, I play the water bill. That's it no more bills. How odd. March 21stI think Richard Wilkins is too scared to play the "Murder" video on his morning tv show. It would probably freak his old housewife demographic out. I let it go, but I do have thoughts of asking the opposition channel. We shall see…and on "World Puppet Day" as lovely Laura pointed out.March 22ndI pay our PO Box 50 for another year, it's handy to have a post office box. Not cheap these days like it was in 1980 when I first paid for the one for Split Enz.I see sales of vinyl grew in Australia by 14 per cent. $42 million in 2023, representing 70% of music sold on a physical format. I visit Pellegrino's and buy some fruit veggies and some amazing steak for dinner. We eat a lot less meat but every so often it's what we need. I put up the beautiful rainbow Hammock present. It looks great and a little kitten jumps up and can't understand why her legs are stuck in the holes. She climbs on me instead and we kitten talk to each other while the hammock gently sways. March 23rdI have my promo schedule out for media and sipping on a coffee working out world domination when I smell the best pie ever. The guy at the table next to me is eating it. I fear I might mug him for it, it smells that nice. I confess how awesome it smells and go and buy one of my own. The best Pie I have ever had at the bakery, we both agree on that. His name is Luke and he has his own little company up here, about to head off for a job but says he wants to catch up again for a coffee so that's cool. A bit of handsome bloke too. As Sharon Finn once said it's ok to window shop as long as you don't buy the product. LOL. Anyway nice guy and an even better pie.The Tasmanian election is on. Only the Tassie Liberals could call an early election because they can't deal with a minority government, get a 12% swing against them and make the entire situation a million times worse. They now have a coalition of chaos. Idiots. Supermarket time, so buy Easter Eggs for home, got to mail them, I'm sure Australia Post will crush them. They always do. March 24thI grab a spare Morocco book for our friend Erin, she heads off in a few weeks, I'll miss the coffee girl. She is fun.A friend calls and she puts on a young music fan; apparently my fan, but I don't believe that. LOL. A nice guy, they are all at a rather wild party so they are a bit drunk I think the youngsters all pulled out their phones and watched the "Murder" video as it jumped 40 views before my eyes. Make plans for us to catch up….when it's less crazy. March 25thI chat to a dozen firefighters at the bakery, several remember me from some of the disaster zones so that's really nice. They are doing some burns up here, getting rid of the masses of dead bush. Keeping the mountain safe. No fires here this Summer so that is a relief.March 26thI'm driving to the charity and my car engine warning light comes on so that is a concern. I speak to Kellie and my mechanics are having 8 days off so it's booked in, in 10 days. Probably sensible not to drive it so will be carless for awhile. I could just grab a hire car but don't think I really need one.Today feels strange and I work out why, 19 years since Paul (Hester) died. The sadness rolls over me , but I think of a few fun Paul moments (so many) and it improves. Post some images and clips on social media. 19 years it seems impossible that it is that long. We watch "Everything In Between" a cool little Aussie movie. Worth checking out. I make spinach and feta pie for dinner. March 27thI head for my coffee via Bus and my mike bus card has expired. The bus driver just waves me onboard. I call Montrose news agency and they have new cards so after my coffee I get another bus down to Montrose. A new card in hand, walk out the door and hop straight on the return bus.As we are going along the stop voice over goes "1056 Megaton street". Yikes obviously a weird cliche. Or the computer is telling me World War III is arriving soon. That was odd. Markys Youtube Wednesday a really potent one today. The Finn Brother rehearsing in LA. This time covering Split Enz "I SEE RED". Very cool- check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sdt9NFrNiJc Chat to Tim (Finns manager) for an hour tonight. Good to be kept in the loop. March 28thI do some morning stuff around my car so call the charity and I'm taking the day off. Just some priorities and they are fine about it. I'm just a volunteer.A box of Easter eggs arrive from Sis , MIM and Mum. It also contains this cool chicken light with an egg popping out that lights up. I give Marky an early Easter present, 4 packs of his faves. All of this chocolate loot will keep us happy over Easter. March 29thA very sunny Good Friday. I bus it again, it's packed, THREE people, in my private bus limo! HA. The bus driver on the return trip an absolute rude jerk. So I told him so.I spend the afternoon working in the garden and chopping out jasmine. I decide I needed a nana nap in the afternoon so dream of spaceships. March 30thTim Finn is playing at the Factory Theatre in Sydney and The Church's lead singer Steve Kilby at Birds Basement . Both will be great gigs.Miss Midnight makes me get up, I wanted to sleep in but she is so cute about it. So I climb out. She nuzzles my feet, she loves living here. She heads out and comes back with a fake Easter Bunny carrot in her mouth and drops it at my feet. Oh cute. I walk around Ailsa Craig and see what flowers we currently have. Tomorrow we head to our friends Peter & Mark (Yes the Others) house for a birthday lunch for Mark. So flowers and a lotto ticket from us. The really warm days have mostly departed, a few days of 7 degrees next week. But tomorrow is an exception, 28 degrees. We watch "Strays" on cable, dog loving, fun. It was done really well. March 31st"Murder" clicks over 5700 this morning so that is fantastic. People are still discovering it and spreading the word. We love that.Sunshine outside and I walk around Ailsa Craig picking flowers for a birthday bunch to take with us to our friends place for birthday celebrations. It's certainly a nice day outside. Well tomorrow is April, one third of the year almost gone. We've done a bit so far, not a wasted year, it feels good. Enjoy your Easter. Love from Peter Rabbit. |