Stormcellar Band Home Page

Alright it's T-4 and finally we're more or less ready.

One day, in the distant future, the background details will make interesting reading.

You can no more liberate touring from the task of overcoming obstacles than you can liberate a fish from water.

The smoke and fires have made life hard for us as well. Not as much as our good mate Pete D, who we send our respects to, or to a few other Friends Of the Band, but enough to share in the common disaster.

Some of our mates in the states have stepped up to help us get it together.

In particular, the assembled collective of the good ship Stormcellar extend our thanks to Travellin' Mac and Susie for going above and beyond the call of duty to make things work for us, as they have done now since 2013.

Yeah imagine that. We started touring the US in 2013.

It's been said that to see afar is to have stood on the shoulders of giants. I'm not Mark Twain enough, or Banjo Patterson enough to improve upon Newton speaking of Hooke (I only know this cos Hooke's Bio has been random background reading).

When i think of it, it feels more to me that if I have traveled afar, if I have voyaged, it is because I have found shelter, kinship and courage in crisis.

I watch the US and the media presentation. How can we not. I wonder if maybe those better angels of the American nature are merely waiting to alight once more on shoulders and whisper the divine, simple understanding, that we are more alike than not.

We have a great blessing before us, to travel again, to voyage once more, after a careening of the ship these last three hard years.

Once more we make sail. 

Thank you O, W & M from T. Thank you to Mr D.G and the KC All Stars and Frank for the welcome. Thanks to the Sydney Blues Society, patrons and members, and thank you to all the places that have opened the bar at a late hour for a weary traveler.

The whole world is made and remade from a single act of kindness.

EDIT 16 jan -

I GOT THE SUNDAY TIME WRONG it's 6pm start. ARGH!!

Last two shows before we head O/S for a month.

Thanks to Alex C for spotting 2 things to fix.

Every day I get up check the weather.

Not the temperature, the Air Quality Index.

Based on how breathable the air is, I plan my day.

There's a thick layer of dust on my blinds, my bookshelf.

We had a few days of clear air. This morning I looked outside and shut the window again.

'Moderate' particle count.

Sad about Cobargo

Saw pictures of Before and After in Cobargo.

Cobargo is a pretty, 'quaint' small town that Rosie and I have stopped at many a time, for many a cup of tea and a snack while on tour.

There's less of it now.

That makes me sad.

Facebook Divorce

Facebook have refused to change their approach to managing propaganda.

I have no beef with lines of code, or servers, or computers, or the folks that program them.

I definitely have beef with people who give matches and a petrol can to children and say 'experiment' while running ads about how fun playing with fire is.

Since Twitter banned political Ads I have made an effort to use that platform instead.

https://twitter.com/stormcellarband

We are not immune to propaganda.

Even little old yours truly spends time thinking about what I post.

For our mates and family who have been serving our society on deployment, we have focused on the things we do that remind them of home.

For our friends who need a mental break, we focus on the positive, on sharing the great peace and satisfaction to be gained from music and creating things.

I refuse to accept that a billion dollar company puts less effort and less consideration into the effect that Propaganda plays in shaping public discourse.

Facebook is now the vector for the virus of state based actors running propaganda, and as it has been documented, the intelligence services and trolls of State based players are becoming sharper, more clever and better at hiding their tracks.

I continue to try to reconcile the need to do my job for the band and my realisation that continued engagement with the platform is adding energy to a bad situation.

Tour Planning

One day, when our work is Declassified, I might say a few more things about tour planning and work.

For now, let's just say that being a Self Propelled Artist means understanding that no one is coming to rescue us, no manager (except maybe Roger), no record label, no bag of cash attached to a chicken running in circles.

If something gets done it's because we do it.

It has taken a group effort to get US Tour 5 underway and the fires have directly hampered our efforts. I lost a few weeks of momentum due to Chest Infection from the smoke and from managing other stuff that arose from its effect on family.

Thanks to our good Mates in the States, some luck and some pluck we are moving towards a worthwhile tour with some very positive events lined up.

There is quite an amount of work to be done, and still to be done, to get this together.

First Show Of The Year Was Great

Thanks again to the musos who had volunteered to join us for last Thursday. It was originally meant to be our US fundraiser but that went by the wayside.

Despite a few hiccups in timing, the first show of the year was a cracker. Mr Wizard had a particularly good night, with the exception of forgetting his solo in 'Julie' :p

We have 2 more shows before we go o/s, come join us if you get a chance.

Meanwhile the work to get ready for the 2nd half of the tour continues. Gear, logistics, you name it.

If it's quiet on the blog you know why :-)

Under the circumstances we are calling tonights show a normal show rather than a fundraiser for our US trip.

Firstly it's now on late and secondly there are more important things to donate to, consider wires.org.au for help with saving wildlife affected by the fires, or foodbank.org.au to assist with those in need of some basics.

Our great thanks to the Muso's who had volunteered as guests.