Stormcellar Band Home Page

Fare thee well Lansdowne Hotel, Sydney loses a musical incubator.

It's been ages since we played the lansdowne for beer money, for hours, to students and drunken backpackers and people who didnt give a ***t about who was playing as long as there was some noise to drink to.

I'm not nostalgic in an 'OMG think of the children' manner, but I'd like to acknowledge the loss of another development habitat for music.

According to the press release, don't worry, there'll be a space for music, etc etc, and in no way am I disparaging their motives or intent, but face it, the sheer value of residential property in Sydney and the changes in the culture of how we socialise is assigning the music development ecology of the Aussie Pub to the dustbin of history.

Observers of the changes in the system might point to Lock Out laws, RSA, RBT etc which are 'good' outcomes for the community but fundamentally change the nature of external socialisation, and to some degree and where the money comes from. No booze? No Speakeasy, simple logic.

Again, that's just societal evolution. The upsides are less drunken binge fighting aggressive behaviours (or so I read).

Music will remain a part of us, so I am sure the live music scene will continue to morph and evolve in some way.

I'm not sure that Gastro pubs are the answer and the pokies? Well... How come we can work on the societal ills of Music as Noise Pollution (ie: property rights for upwardly mobile new residents), the Violence/Alcohol link (lock out laws) but we're still happy for Gran to pour the pension into the Electronic Dalek of Bank Account Eating? Hmm.. Seems we're selective about just how much 'good' the public can bear...

I maintain my bizarre Keynesian-ish stance on music. That somehow there is an economic basis for its existence. It's part of the human experience.

So instead of paying $30 for a bunch of beers and the band getting $3-5 of that towards their fee, we might have to go back to accepting a cover charge for a few bucks if we want musicians to be part of our society.

So fare thee well Lansdowne, thank you for the gigs where a bunch of Sydney bands, including the likes of us, had a chance to do our stuff.

The Venue is dead, long live the Music.

Stormcellar at the Town Hall Hotel Newtown, Friday 7th Aug with Matt Ross

New songs new songs, come and hear us try new songs, unless the boys chicken out (maybe). From 9pm-late. With Matt Ross.

Town Hall Hotel Newtown.

Postcards from Catho

When this is the scenery, it's not such a bad day

I'm still listening to new guide tracks whilst I type. I frickin love this new song.

Ok. so maybe we had a good day and I'm bouncy. I'll go with that.

What a combo. Glorious weather and a whole bunch of very mellow people. I had some great conversations about music with Jim, Paul and Steve.

Rebecca had the on stage sound going well and we benefited from recent development work on the new songs.

Cheers to Harvs, Jo (she shifts her shifts to be there, cheers Jo) and all the folks who ventured all the way from the Front Bar to the Back Bar :-)

Some days you just appreciate the sunshine and a chance to roadtest new songs.

We'll be bringing in a few more by the next show this week in Newtown.

Aah.

So relaxed.

Work, gratitude and the fragility of things.

Howdy Folks.

I'm listening to another guide track as a write this, and it's a very nicely formed early draft.

We've gone on a Tom Petty trip for this track and its working title is 'Pretty Petty' in homage.

In keeping with the valley theme, the lyrics are straightforward, if not a little influenced by the excellent Prog work of our mate Terry Lyndon (PS Mr Wizard says Terry's remastered album is amazing).

The boys working last night

Once again I took a moment to happily wonder at another song that was different, out of the box and surprising. How rare and fragile a thing.

The work continues, and that's enough.

Sadly they wont let me play it tomorrow Mr Wizard says I'm just excited by a new shiny thing. He's right. Oh well.

The Real Estate Agent From Porlock - a brief moment in modern Sydney songwriting.

As any sentient being within 3 billion light years knows, Sydney is in the middle of a housing market frenzy the likes we haven't seen since someone threw a bucket of chum into a tankful of Great White Sharks.

We got doorknocked on Saturday by a very smiley real estate dude and this morning, whilst working on some rather Naff lyrics for a song for Danny Cox, I received a rather too well informed caller who knew my name, various details and proceeded to invite me into a discussion about selling houses, as hadn't I heard about the riches to be made on my street.

Ok, so here's my thing. This song for Danny is risky. It's got a good sentiment but is in severe danger of going Beyond Cheesy. I mean, we'll take risks, sure, but this stuff is tough. Just the right side of cheese/heartfelt sentiment and we have a passionate, well thought out song with anthemic potential OR OMFG WTF hahahaha.....
As Mark Twain once said, the right word is the difference between lightning and lightning bug. If I take this risky song to the boys before I have tweaked it Just Right I may be met with Hoots Of Laughter and therefore FLOP. Back to drawing board.

So, I sit here, deleting line after line, re writing, scratching my head, no, too sugary, so, bad rhyme, no OMG what was I thinking, no that word...hang on...hang on...what if I...could it...yes...it might.. I might just...

RING RING 'Hello, MJEB? This is EXPLETIVE from EXPLETIVE DELETED reaI estate I just called to talk to you about...'

I will admit, if he had a better line for the song than I did I woulda accepted the intrusion, but Sell Sell Sell didn't rhyme :-)

I'm not sure whether to thank him or cuss :-)