Happy New Year from me and Max! Just got back from seeing my folks in Tamworth. Evacuated before the town’s Country Music Festival begins next week. And this year Guy Sebastian & Shannon Noll will team up for a massive double header – the ‘Rock Soul Show’. Awesome. An Idol reunion. God knows, we need it.

Speaking of re-unions, rehearsing again this week for a one-off Mercy Dash show on Sat 18th Jan. For those unfamiliar, I played in the band years ago. We had a long residency at the infamous Joey’s St Kilda during the late 90’s & early 2000’s. It was predominately a grunge thing, mostly covers. We’re having a ball re-hashing the old stuff. Amazing what sticks in the back of your mind.

Mercy Dash & friends after a show in the 90’s.

Fires out.

If you’re in any way a follower of AFL football (Aussie rules) – you need to see this. Wasn’t sure about posting it. For mine, pushing the line re ‘political correctness’ – if that’s even the right term (you’ll know what I mean). And there is a language warning. All that aside – this is one of the funniest things I’ve seen this year. Enjoy…

Fires out.

Happy Birthday JC. May the year ahead be a successful and prosperous one for you. May it be filled with happiness, laughter and good times with the family. Feel free to drop by & say hello whenever you’d like.

Fires out.

Max Looking out over the roof-tops of Collingwood, standing on the top deck of scaffolding at the back of the building – 8 metres above what will be our venue beer garden. First thing we did was remove a mountain of asbestos cladding from the upper floor. All gone in the first week of November.

Have a great weekend & a beer or two for us. Building crew back on the job tomorrow.
Fires out.

Today, as part of our latest Fire Brigade eNews, we’re officially announcing our very own venue. It’s still several months from opening – we’ve been working frantically since early November. We’ll keep you posted as we progress (still tossing names about too). Here’s an excerpt from this month’s Fire Brigade written by Max…

“Not only will we have absolute freedom to run events the way that works best for The On Fires, it’ll be a multi-purpose space that can be hired by any artist or community group needing a space for theatre rehearsals, dance classes, exhibitions, photoshoots, meetings, concerts and more.

The On Fires venue, Collingwood.

Built in the late 1800s it’s a beautiful old building full of charm in Collingwood, four kilometres from Melbourne’s CBD. Rusted pressed metal ceilings, water stained walls and flaking paint are all part of the appeal. It’s pretty much derelict – one leaking dunny (outhouse), windows rotted away, pigeon poo in spades….

We’ve got a huge amount of labour ahead of us to turn the building into a safe, clean and functioning space but people are already excited. We’re already in discussions about an industrial art display, a fashion photoshoot and a live sculpting exhibition.

We’ll be sharing the restoration/creation journey with you on our website as we shift gears from international touring rock band to venue and event managers…”

Fires out.

Our lastest Fire Brigade News comes out tomorrow – find out what we’ve been up to at TOF HQ. There’s a big announcement coming. Sign up here for your very own Fire Brigade News direct to your inbox. (red box on the right column here)

Mercy Dash upcoming re-union.

Mercy Dash in the 90’s – we thought this shot was a great idea at the time…

Went down to rehearse for the fist time in many years with Mercy Dash last night. We had a ball (great studio in Dandenong). The guys had already had a few rehearsals in preparation for next month’s reunion show – and they were crazy tight. It really was a great session last night. Got home late & pumped up with no chance of sleep. The venue owner Al (who dropped in at reherasal) said the show was almost sold out. If you’d like to come along – drop me a line (comment below).

Fires out.

Sitting around at good mate Stalk’s place on Saturday night & heard this gem from the 90’s. Liz Phair, Polyester Bride. Rising to prominence in the grunge era, Phair sang with a rough sultry-ness, her vocals kinda wavering in and out of tune. Think I might have had a small crush at the time…

Fires out.

Interview from the archives: Max talking on ‘The AU Review’ before our shows in Toronto as part of Canadian Music Week Festival 2011.

Have a great weekend.
Fires out.

Liking this song at the moment. Bag Raiders – Sunlight. Few years old (2010) but jumped into my head last week. Went & watched the YouTube clip over the weekend. Strange things going on here – diggin’ the song though…

Feeling like a sponge at the moment in this phase of the song-writing process. Put the guitar down & listening…

Fires out.

Very early shot of Max and me at the beginning of The On Fires. Showed up on Facebook during this week. Me thinks 2003 (but not sure).

Been having a great conversation with Mat about The Beatles (previous post just below). Jump in if you like.

Fires out.