Took this pic a couple of days ago in my mum’s backyard, Tamworth.

Over on the coast now at South West Rocks – beach paradise, the weather amazing.

Have a great New Year’s Eve!
See ya in 2013.

Fires out.

Sitting out on the back verandah after a couple of big days doing the Christmas thing. The last 48 hours we’ve baby-sitted, visited family out in the country and back in Melbourne, and last night played guitar til the wee hours over at Stalk & Kim’s place. Recovering as I write.

Stalk & Kim’s place 2am this morning. (Thanks to Stalk for the pic)

My dad will be here shortly, down from South West Rocks (NSW). Tomorrow we’ll both fly up to Tamworth to see mum for a few days, then out to the coast to where he lives. Feels like a mini tour.

Have a good one.
Fires out.

Last few hours in Mansfield before heading home to Melbourne.

Near miss for the band van last night. High winds brought down half a big tree which just shaved the rear door. Max’s brother got the chainsaw out & we cleared it to get trapped van out. All good.

Fires out.

Mat Ward uploaded these pics to Facebook – taken Friday night at our Christmas party in the park.

Max channels Chuck Berry. Stalk on Bongo.

Sunset Blush (left) & a couple of passers-by who stopped to join in.

As posted yesterday, it was a fantastic night. And we raised a surprising amount of cash for the Smith Family charity, thanks to Leone Young’s bake sale.

We’re up in the country today – the infamous Bonnie Doon.
Fires out.

Thanks to everybody who came down to our Christmas party in the park last night. Perfect weather for a barbie & catching up with everybody one last time for this year. We had these little battery operated amps, thanks to TC, and played a short set before Craig McGrath & Brendan Young (guitarist with Chapter Ray) jumped in & played a few of their favs. We had bongos & shakers all round. It was a great turn out. We’ll get some pics up shortly – we forgot to take any ourselves so we’re waiting on anyone who’ll send us a shot or two.

For us now, it’s off to the country for a few days.

Have a great weekend.
Fires out.

Tonight’s the night, it’s gonna be alright – as the song goes… Yep, it’s the annual On Fires Christmas party in the park, 6pm Browns Reserve – Nicholson St Abbotsford. As posted here previously, we’ll be playing a few songs unplugged which will likely turn into a group jamming thing. So bring your acoustic, your bongos or whatever takes your fancy. Browns Reserve has a playground (great after a few beers) & free BBQ facilities. BYO BBQ food & drinks. We’ll have plates, cutlery, sauce & bread. Looks like there’ll be a few people coming – so bring a fold-out chair or two if you’d like a seat.

Browns Reserve, Nicholson St Abbotsford.

Seeya there.
Fires out.

The Vagrant’s guitarist, Steve Iorio, is now in the alps of Austria for the ski season. Steve’s working there while assisting the setup of April’s European tour (which we’ll be joining them on). He uploaded this video on Youtube a couple of days ago after snowboarding in the mountains of St Anton. Nice work if you can get it.

The On Fires will fly into Europe late March next year to hang with the guys at St Anton, Austria (at the end of their ski season) & play a show or two there. Then it’s out on the road through Germany & surrounding countries during April.

Seeya tomorrow night at The On Fires Christmas party BBQ in the park – Browns Reserve Nicholson St Abbotsford. Kicks off at 6pm. BYO BBQ stuff & beer. We’ll bring the plates, sauce & bread – they’ve got free barbie facilities there. We’ll be playing a few songs unplugged – bring your acoustic & bongos.

Fires out.

The On Fires Christmas BBQ Party in the park, 6pm this Friday 21st December at Browns Reserve, Nicholson St Abbotsford. Bring your acoustic, bongos, bagpipes etc. We’ll be playing a few songs unplugged. BYO barbie stuff & beer. We’ll bring the plates, bread & sauce (They’ve got a free BBQ there).

Browns Reserve, Nicholson St Abbotsford.

Seeya Friday.
Fires out.

As mentioned in yesterday’s post, James Southwell Band hit the stage at POW on Saturday night to warm up the room for Whodafunkit’s EP launch. And warm it up they did. Southwell is a killer guitarist – fusing big fat blues riffs with his own melodic style. Then he steps up to the mic with a powering rock voice to be reckoned with. Southwell has the crowd in the palm of his hand as the band drops in volume behind him & builds to another crescendo, blowing the roof off. It’s classic showmanship. His band are great too. Young guys on bass & drums, smooth then jagged, pounding out a grooving bed you can’t help but move to. And when they rock out you can’t get the smile off your face.

James Southwell Band, POW St Kilda –  15th Dec 2012.

With Whodafunkit headlining (see yesterday’s post), it turns into one of those great nights you don’t see often enough. Happy faces, loving vibe, everybody leaving on a high. Look out for both bands at a pub near you.

Fires out.

Had a great Saturday night down in St Kilda at POW for Whodafunkit’s EP launch. Got there in time to see James Southwell band play their set before the mighty Whodafunkit hit the stage. Southwell is a killer guitarist with a massive voice – a review of their show coming tomorrow. They had the room totally pumped. 15 minutes later, Whoda hit the stage with a bang, starting the show with a big fat classic rock ending, before funking their way into the first song. The vibe in the room was fantastic, a packed POW crowd bouncing & singing along. It was all over too quick – they played a full set, but it went by in a flash. The ‘MORE’ chant went up & the band kicked into an encore.

Whodafunkit live at POW, Sat 15th Dec 2012.

All up, a fantastic show. Got myself an EP, said goodbye to Ben Redlich (Whodafunkit’s drummer who played with us at Revelry last month) & hit the road. Ended up just down the street, kicking back in a souvlaki joint smoking a hooker pipe & meeting a coupla nice guys. We got talking & Jeff turns out to be from Tamworth (where mum lives). The other fella, Sam (I know I’ve got that name wrong) is the son of the golf course owner at South West Rocks (NSW) where my dad lives. Small world. They’d both just recently moved to Melbourne & were blown away by the band scene. Big hello fellas if you’re reading this!

Fires out.