Took it’s sweet time but summer has finally arrived in Melbourne. Mercury set to hit 40 degrees (105 F) later this week. Already a beautiful Monday out there. Here’s a shot out the window from the room above what will be our new venue.

Collingwood – Buildings of Melbourne in the distance.

We were working on the new place all weekend. Bit tired today but all good. More on the venue soon.

Fires out.

Interesting article in The Age yesterday. Apparently the Victorian state government has ‘vowed to implement an ”agent-of-change” planning principle’ for live music venues that ‘clash with new residents over noise complaints’. A welcome development indeed – driven by Music Victoria who represent our live music industry. The article goes on to say – “Residents who move into an area with live music venues would have to bear the cost of soundproofing. If a venue began hosting live music events in a residential area, it would have the responsibility”. How cool is that! Keeping our fingers crossed. Click here to read more.

Pic and article from The Age newspaper, Melbourne 8th Jan 4014.

Here’s one from our video archives – downloaded from China TV (sound gets a little rough) – ‘Sorry Now’ live at Midi Festival Beijing 2011.

See more footage at our Youtube Channel.

Fires out.

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.