Khancoban & Lee Memorial Warehouse show

Hi folks, 

Come along to Khancoban's warehouse show this Saturday Night. 

It's BYO. 

Lee Memorial Single Launch at the Empress - 23rd October

Come join us at the Empress for Number 2 in the Lee Memorial free download series.

Khancoban and The Orb Weavers will be joining us for what is sure to be a great night of music.

Hope to see you there.

Lee Memorial Single Launch at Yah Yah's July 10

Hi folks, 

We're launching our first new single since early 2009. It's been a tumultuous year and it'd be great to have you along to help us celebrate getting this far.

Lee Memorial at the Old Bar Friday May 28

Hi folks,
We're playing our first headline show of the year next Friday night at the Old Bar. We'll be playing a bunch of new songs that we've been working on as well as a few oldies. Joining us will be the wonderful Cuba is japan and old friends Andrew McCubbin & the Hope Addicts. Hope to see you there.

Solo gig this Friday night.

Eyjafjallajokull volcano photos

Have a look at these photos.They're incredible.

Solo gig at the Old Bar - Saturday 24th April

Hi Folks, 

I'm playing the Old Bar tomorrow night with Cuba is Japan, Disco Nap and Actor/Model. 

I'll be playing solo and trying out some new songs. Be great to see you there if you feel like a night in Fitzroy.

Storytelling at Dog's Bar on Thursday 22nd

Hi Folks,

I'll be doing a reading and telling some stories at this week's
installment of Storytelling. It's a night run by Chris Flynn - CEO and bullyboy of the Falcon vs Monkey empire. Also speaking will be Sophie Cunningham.
Come along to heckle me, air any grievances you might have, or you could even just come to listen and be supportive.

Here's the facebook event for more info: Storytelling at Dog's Bar, St Kilda

First Lee Memorial show of the year - Wednesday 14th April.

A quick reminder about our first show of 2010 next week.
I'm very happy to announce that Pete, my good friend and other half of Sodastream, has joined the band. We've had some great rehearsals and we're all very excited to have him in the team. We'll be playing second on the 14th - so it's an early night - and will be showcasing songs from the new album.
Keep your eyes on these pages for upcoming gigs - or ask one of us when you see us!

Highlights from high school creative writing class

My friend Pete sent this link through. I had to share it around... it's too good. 
qwertyed.com


A few examples to get you going...


He fell for her like his heart was a mob informant and she was the East River. Brian Broadus, Charlottesville


Her eyes were like two brown circles with big black dots in the center. - Russell Beland, Springfield


Shots rang out, as shots are wont to do. -Jerry Pannullo, Kensington


The thunder was ominous sounding, much like the sound of a thin sheet of metal being shaken backstage during the storm scene in a play. - Barbara Fetherolf, Alexandria


The knife was as sharp as the tone used by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Tex.) in her first several points of parliamentary procedure made to Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Ill.) in the House Judiciary Committee hearings on the impeachment of President William Jefferson Clinton. - J. F. Knowles, Springfield

Friends, Neighbours & Toenails

Recently I moved into a tiny flat above a shop in East Brunswick. My two neighbours are good friends of mine and it has been great having them living across the hall. We meet in the stairwell and complain about our working days. We share pasta and lentil soup, and celebrate each others successes by drinking beer out in the courtyard. You could call us happy neighbours. Though despite this closeness, there are some topics that we differ on.

One such example is from a few weeks ago. 

I was cutting my toe nails one afternoon. Its something that I don't do often enough but I endeavour to stay on top of it as best I can. Anyway, so there I was, cutting my toenails when I heard my neighbour come up the stairs and open the door to her flat. My first thought was. If she knocks on my door to see what I'm up to, will I pretend as though I"m doing something else, or instead will I be truthful and tell her I'm cutting my toenails.

It may seem like a strange question, but it's what came into my head. I wasn't sure if she'd think that was too much information or gross, or why I thought she might benefit from that information. Despite being such good friends and living across the hall from each other, we try to ensure that each others privacy is always respected. Sometimes they are difficult waters to navigate and other times it seems it's best not to worry about it at all.

So taking into consideration all these things, I thought it through while waiting for the expected knock on the door. I decided that I probably would tell her. It seemed silly to tell a lie about something as small as this. I did, however, decide I would wash my hands before answering the door. As it happened though, I waited and waited but there was no knock on the door.

I finished cutting my nails, washed my hands then decided to see why she hadn't knocked on my door. What could she be up to that would stop her from saying hi when she got home?

I knocked on the door.
     'Hey! What you up to?' I said with my face up to the door. Without hesitation she shouted back.
    'I'm cutting my toenails!'

The Shopping Trolley - a short film

Hi Folks, 
I have uploaded a short screenplay I completed recently. It's on the screenplay page if you would like to have a read. 


Shopping Trolley (duration: 4 Minutes)

Peter Singer - Climate change as an ethical issue

Whether you agree with his views on other subjects or not, this lecture is the first simple, logical and precise explanation of the climate change debate I've heard.

If, like me, you were baffled and angered by the complete failure of the Copenhagen Climate Summit please take an hour to listen to this lecture.

Peter Singer Speaking on the ABC

Glissando - David Musgrave

I was fortunate enough to be doing some work for Sleepers Publishing when this manuscript arrived in my inbox. I'm very happy to see that it has made it onto the shelves. It's an amazing story and well worth picking up. 

Read more about it:

Ninety Nine Album

I was lucky enough to be asked by Ninety Nine to mix their latest record.
It was a lot of fun, lots of work and now we are finally at the end. Hopefully you've been hearing the first single, Broken Hands on the radio.

The final stage is getting it mastered and this is going to be done by the one and only Kramer, the man who discovered Galaxie 500 and Low and has produced some of the best albums ever made. Very excited about that.

We celebrated by going to see AC/DC at Etihad Stadium. Best album celebration ever.

Wordless - Vivian Cooper Smith

how does it feel
to be on your own
like a complete unknown
like a rolling stone

Bob Dylan

Wordless examines a life without anchors, without precedents and without hope in eternity. It examines life in the dark, without the illumination of understanding and description. It is a meditation on losing a faith and unbelieving in God.

Wordless - Vivian Cooper Smith
Now Showing at C3 Gallery at Abbotsford Convent
3-21 February

****************************************************************************

Check out Vivian's latest exhibition. A challenging and uplifting response to the questions we all think about.

I wrote an essay to accompany the show. It's on the stories page if you would like to have a read.

First published January 2010 in The Lifted Brow Volume 6
- online store

The Police and Twisted Sister in Red River Valley

I grew up not far from the East Indian border in a town called Brahmanbaria. My brother and sister and I lived a happy existence playing among the waterholes, palm trees, rice paddies and brickyards. Our friends were Bengali children from the mission as well as those from a small number of Western families who had embarked on the same grand adventure as us...

Read more on the stories page