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I generally keep Politics off the set. I mean it's in your music anyway, so what else do you have to say.

But we're reactors to events. We express it in the work we do, reflecting whats around us. As Harry Manx says, 'your tears reflect the world you make'.

History staggers forward taking both tragedy and triumph in its stride. 

Our illustrated world of multimedia and 24 hour newscycles sour our mind with the constancy of slaughter.

Some we dont know about, some we value more than others, each no less a tragedy for our localised measure.

Today, in a newscycle that has made me weary, I am sadder again.

Like destroying ancient statues. Like any act of unreasonability, by any member of the human species, no matter their reasoning. 

100 people gathered together to hear music, to be connected together in a time when we're superficially in one anothers lives through the power of a Like Button.

As a great Australian philosopher once told me, summing up the breadth of the human experience.

Bugger.

Our deepest respect and love extends to the Eagles of Death Metal, to the people of Paris and France, and to all those, in whatever manner, who have come to tragedy today.

Not the first time I've posted this on the site. 

No man is an island,

Entire of itself,
Every man is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thy friend's
Or of thine own were:
Any man's death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in mankind,
And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; 
It tolls for thee. 

Bugger.

You know how I can tell we're getting ready to tour? I wind up doing Tour tshirt artwork.

You know how I can tell when the next album is really getting ready to come out? 

I'm doing album artwork.

Hmmm.

Readers who have been through this before know that whatever concepts are up here may have either no bearing on, or be exactly the same as what comes out on the finished art.

You just never know.

Word came to me down the long grapevine that Millage just got inducted into the Hall of Fame.

A true gentlemen.

I hear that he's reviewing the tracks we cut together. 

It's been a big year for Millage, with a long overdue article in Living Blues, now this Induction and hot on the heels of this will be the album we've recorded with him. Millage is under represented in recording terms so this is some rare stuff indeed.

I was stoked when he was willing to record the song we wrote for him. I'd been listening to his live performance at the first Woodcox lawn party and tried to write something that was in his preferred 'feel'.

But imagine trying to write lyrics he'd find acceptable. I grew up singing 'kookaburra sits in the old gum tree', for crying out loud.

Fortunately, we'd been to the river and been 'schooled'.  

I introduced the song to him at Knux, before the show. He peered at it. Large font on the Laptop screen.

I backed off, not wanting to crowd. What would he think?

I watched him read a line, read it again, do a double take and then move on.

At one point he cracked a smile and looked around furtively to see if anyone had caught the grin. I had, but I didn't let on.

When we took him into the studio, we recorded a bunch of his originals and a few covers.

Would he be willing to try Last Man Standing? Sure, but can he work on it overnight and come back.

Argh. Could be the kiss of death.

Nope. Millage was straight up. The version we did as a guide was too fast for him. We re-recorded the track and worked on the lyrics with him until he smoothed them into his own speech patterns, made the song his.

He liked the idea behind the song and he was gonna 'brag a little'

Me too.

Congratulations Millage.

Howdy Folks.

Firstly, commiserations to the Wallabies. Staying up until 4am's to see your home side get whupped by New Zealand continues to irk. You hear me Kiwis? IRKED! 

Bugger.

I am consoling myself with listening to the desk mixes of Bloomington and ROTK and of course, still listening to Helplessly Hoping. 

Bill described Bloomington as 'a warm bath for your ears'

I was saying only moments ago, stuff that is better blogged here: Getting a studio version of Bloomington has been tough. 

I've wheedled, cajoled, argued, begged, overruled, lobbied, diagrammed and other things I am not willing to write, but willing to do, in order to get this thing recorded.

I am listening to it right now, a desk mix, with a little reverb courtesy of my copy of Audacity. Gettign bloomington out has been a challenge. Yay.

Also, we had enough time to crank out a version of Return Of The King.

Mixing next.

With Bloomington now done, we're closer to releasing Everywhere Feels Like Home.

Stay tuned.