Max sealing front wall above venue, Johnston Street below (shot taken 5pm today). Still got holes in the wall letting cold streams of air through. Gotta plug em over the weekend. Liquor license arrived today for Sunday shows in the new venue starting 23rd November. More details coming soon.
Off to Stalk & Kim’s tonight for the usual Friday night jam session.
Fires out.
After a few weeks of disruption (footy, work & social stuff), back to it this week. Below: Max on ladder, touch-up plastering yesterday (room above the venue). Gotta get this room somewhere near finished to move stuff in from the venue, so we can work on the performance space for shows in there starting next month.
A month of ‘Yak Bar Sundays’ beginning November 23rd, doors open 1pm. We’ll be playing a couple of sets along with guest artists, raffle, sausage sizzle, cheap beer, etc. Somebody say ‘footy theme’?
Fires out.
Found this shot over the weekend. Live in London May ’09, at Dublin Castle, Camden.
Played shows the following nights in Birmingham & Liverpool (Sound City Festival). Went from there to Poland, Ukraine & Romania.
Fires out.
This Week’s Vault Post – ‘Skeleton’, featuring live footage from the first European tour, 2007. Shots & video snippets from Romania, Poland, Germany & Ukraine. There’s a live bit at 3 minute mark, from a club in Bucharest (Romania). By that stage, adrenaline was off the charts…
Fires out.
Had a great night sitting up way too late watching NITV – National Indigenous TV. One riveting program after another. That channel’s gotta be one of the most important developments for indigenous Australians in recent times. It’s also a rare gateway through which non-indigenous people can experience the thoughts, opinions, culture & music of the worlds oldest living civilisation. Man, I got into it last night. Had trouble dragging myself away.
Fires out.
Took Mojo down to the Collingwood footy ground this morning. Couldn’t get onto the turf. Pleasantly surprised by AFL State Police sides playing off for the Aussie Grand Final. Victoria v Queensland. No love lost either. It was rough out there in a very good standard of game. The Vics were up at half time (they’ll be well into the 2nd half as I write). Had a chat with a fellow onlooker who summed up perfectly; “Got a million things I’m sposed to be doing. Bugger that, I’m watching a quarter.”
Victoria vs QLD, ALF Police Championship Cup, Victoria Park – 8:30am 8th Oct 2014.
Nothing like early morning footy when you least expect it.
Fires out.
Had a productive conversation with a guy from Victorian Liquor Licensing yesterday. Temp license now applied for – re proposed shows in the new venue starting Sunday 22nd November, running weekly til Sunday 20th December. At this stage, we’re calling them ‘Yak Bar Sundays’ (if all goes to plan). Just like the Yak, where the band started nearly 10 years ago, we’ll have a lot going on. Theme days, half time raffle, party-pies etc, sausage sizzle, guest artists, the infamous ‘3rd set’, audience percussion and a whole lot more.
Pics from Yak Bar, Hoddle Street Abbotsford, 2005.
More details coming soon.
Fires out.
Jamming at Stalk & Kim’s Friday night. Max on mandolin detail.
Pic thanks to Stalk.
Had a long informal strategy ‘meeting’ yesterday. Looks like we’re gearing up for a series of Sunday afternoon shows at the new venue, starting November. More details coming soon. (Yak Bar Sundays)
Fires out.
Polish tour manager, Pawel sent us this pic taken after a show there in 2010. It was the first time we’d toured Europe in winter, which also happened to be the coldest winter there in 30 years. We were buried in snow for the whole thing. None of us had ever felt cold like that.
That’s Pawel on the right. He’d jump on stage & play guitar for some shows. Mark (next to Pawel) came along & played bass. He left mid-summer North Fitzroy, landing the following day in sub-zero Warsaw clad only in board-shorts, thongs & surf hoodie. Problem was, there was no air-bridge from the plane to the terminal. Mark walked down stairs from the plane, along the tarmac and onto a terminal bus through snow at minus 20 degrees. And they took their time closing the bus doors. Classic Aussie arrival.
Fires out.
Paperwork this week for the new venue. Been drawing up plans for an awning to run along the side of the building & wrap around the back, giving some coverage to the beer garden. At the moment, there’s no weather protection walking from the venue to the beer garden & toilets. Need to get the awning done – which includes local council planning & permit process – before returning to work on the venue space.
East elevation, new venue awning in red. Beer garden at back (to the right).
Back to it this weekend, working on downstairs studio rooms.
Fires out.
