Six to Midnight Tour

Day 15 - Day Off, Sydney

2010-08-13T21:54:00.000-07:00

10/8/2010
More of the same. Did some food shopping, nursed a bit of a hangover.
Went to dinner at a cool little Mexican place across the road from the hotel. Joined by Alex, Jo and Piet. Good food and a nice bottle of wine. Back to the hotel for an early night.
Tomorrow, Campbeltown....

Day 14 - Day Off, Sydney

2010-08-13T21:52:00.000-07:00

9/8/2010
Day off today, washing, sleep and more washing. Dinner with an old friend and a few drinks with the boys afterwards. Fun!

Day 13 - Evans Theatre, Penrith

2010-08-12T19:03:00.001-07:00

8/8/2010
We have a 10am lobby call this morning. We're driving into Sydney to check into the hotel, and the band are going to skip sound check so Joe, Pete Timbs, Matt Rule and myself can attend the blockbuster game at the S.C.G. this afternoon, (Roosters vs Saints).
I'm a long suffering Roosters fan, and my team are starting to play well at the right end of the season, so it's a big game for me.
We got our manager (Gregg Donovan) to organize us tickets for the NRL box, so we will be well looked after.
The drive into town is slow. We stop in Blackheath to get some lunch, then wind our way down through the Blue Mountains, and on into the city.
We check into the hotel then it's straight to the game. We eventually get a table and have something to eat from the complimentary carvery.
Taking our seats in the stand for kick off, it's obvious the game is going to be an arm wrestle. The Roosters have the first 20 minutes go our way, then the second 20 is all the Dragons.
The second half is more of the same but we make too many mistakes...
The final score is Dragons 19-Roosters 12. It's a loss, but we played well, and i get the feeling if we meet them in the finals we can reverse the scoreline....

The crew are busy getting the gig set up....

The Evans Theatre is part of the Penrith Panthers Leagues Club complex. Its a big room with tiered seating and a dance floor at the bottom....

There is enough room to put up the backdrop......so up it goes....

Once again there is another freak occurrence at Penrith, although i think he might be faking it this time....

We make it out to the gig and just miss the Snowdroppers set, but Colzy catches this photo of them in full flight....

The Amy Meridith guys are about to take the stage, and I'm thinking they might have a good show tonight...

They come off saying "there were a lot of haters out there tonight". Not such a good gig then....
Phil and i have to do an interview for a gig we are doing in Perth at the end of next month. The guy brings his camera down and we go to one of the empty change rooms knock it over....

We prepare for a Sunday night clash of the punters as me make our way to the stage. Everyone is pretty tired, it's been a long week, but we will give it our all just the same.
It takes the crowd, and us, a while to warm up....

But pretty soon Phil is spitting beer in the air and they start to get moving....

And before too long, it's a really into it Sunday night crowd! It's hard to get people along at that time, but we do pretty well, and all in all, by the end of the show we have had fun. But we sure played everything really fast!....

Finish the show and pile back in the van for the 1 hour drive back into town. Not much conversation, we're all wrecked. Looking forward to the next couple of days off in Sydney.....

Day 12 - Orange Ex-Services, Orange

2010-08-10T21:21:00.001-07:00

7/8/2010
We get a late checkout from our Bathurst hotel, so it's midday by the time we all saunter downstairs and pack our belongings into the van.
The drive to Orange only takes 50 minutes, so we head into town to grab a coffee and some breakfast. That done we set off on the road.
In no time we are checking into our brand new luxury suites at the top end of Orange town. This is definitely the nicest place we have stayed for a while...

I drop my bags in the room and head into town for lunch and a bit of sightseeing.
Orange is very pretty, there are loads of vineyards in the area and you can tell it's a place where wealthy Sydneysiders would come for the weekend. The main street is lined with coffee shops, and shiny new European cars.
Here are some tourist shots...

Tonight we are playing at the Orange Ex-Services club, so i swing past the gig to take a look...

Sound check goes well, no problems, so it's back to the hotel to do some clothes washing, and watch a couple of games of football.
I'm not doing too well in the tipping this week, so i switch off the box and get ready for the gig.
By the time we get down there Amy Meridith are onstage, and the Snowdroppers are packing up. They recon it's a good crowd and a fun gig, but would you trust these faces....

Pretty soon it's our turn to take the stage, and take the stage we do...

Krisso has a problem with his kick drum halfway through, so Kez has to join us on stage for half a song. I think he liked it...

During Chemical Heart Phil got up close and personal with a security guard. Very funny...

The show goes well and everyone agrees Orange has been one of the better stops on the tour. Head back to the band room after the gig and meet a few of the locals. Hang out for about an hour then head to the hotel for a game of dice with Nick and Krisso.
Colzy heads back with the rest of the crew and they settle in to their usual, after gig warm down.
Here is Kez in post-gig relax mode....

And Tony modeling the latest in post-gig crew wear. Shame about the fly, or lack thereof....

Tomorrow, Penrith Panthers...

Day 11 - Panthers, Bathurst

2010-08-07T16:11:00.000-07:00

6/8/2010
Left the hotel at 10am for the 4 hour drive from Wagga to Bathurst. We head into town and grab some breakfast and do a quick bit of shopping. I go into the Sturt mall, but it's just full of bottle shops and chemists..

Pretty soon we are thundering down the road. We go through some interesting old Riverena towns, many of them featured in famous songs by Slim Dusty or John Williamson.
To give you an idea of the style we are travelling, here's the van....

It's soon lunchtime and we stop at a little town outside of Cowra called Koorawatha....

Dotted along the dusty main street is a pub, a mechanics, and a plant nursery connected to a cafe, and that's where we choose to eat. The Triple J Cafe...

I use the bathroom out the back then join the boys inside to order. The cafe is a narrow rectangular room, with long rows of weathered wooden tables and chairs lining the walls. The smell of stale cooking oil fills my nostrils, and the pre-bagged burgers in the bain-marie make me decide I'm not that hungry.
Then i notice this sign on the wall....

Good on you John. If there were more people like you this world would be a much better place.
We keep moving down the road, pass through Cowra (a very tidy town), and in no time we are at the hotel, in the home of Australian motor sport, Bathurst!

The Charlotte Apartments are nice, but it's bloody freezing and the heater hardly works. But it has a great view of the trotting track...

As i turn and face the hotel i have a political vision, forget about Gillard or Abott! Krisso the patriot for P.M......

I'm looking forward to the agenda announcement...
Head off to sound check and check out the gig. This is our first all ages show of the tour, and the kids and the adults are separated by a nylon rope connected by a series of bollards. Must be an honest lot here in Bathurst...

Things are working well at sound check, so we head back to the hotel and watch the Parramatta V's Titans game. Titans win!
Head back to the gig and Amy Meridith are on stage. Check out a bit of their show and the all ages crowd are really digging them.
We take the stage at 10.45pm and have a good show. Once again the security take a while to get it together and our tour manager Nick has to do a fair bit of crowd control.
At one point a couple of boneheads start a fight which spills out a side door onto a set of stairs. We consider stopping the show but it comes under control pretty quickly.
After the gig have a beer with the other bands then head back to the hotel for a game of poker. I go out early and head back to my room for some much needed sleep.
Tomorrow, Orange....

Day 10 - The Capitol, Wagga Wagga

2010-08-05T22:25:00.000-07:00

5/8/2010
Feeling a bit shady as I load my bag into the back of the van. Haven't had a night on the beers for a while, and the lack of match experience shows...
We are driving to Wagga and it's gonna take about 4 hours. Hmmm
After a quick stop at Nuggets Crossing for some breakfast, we head out on the road.
We are taking the highway that crosses over the top of the mountains. It looks to be a fair distance shorter than going through Canberra, although you may have to carry chains in case it has snowed overnight.
Just before we turn off we stop at a petrol station to see if chains are required. The attendant says no, so off we head..
There is a fair bit of snow on the ground, but the road is clear and you can get along at a decent pace...

There are no servos in this part of the world so we stop at an old disused ranger station for a toilet break.
We have a look around, then Joe decides to throw a snowball...

Sean cops a direct hit...

And retaliates with a shot in the face....

Kris avoids the action and goes and finds a friend...

Get back in the car and continue the journey...
The road gets harder to navigate the further we go, but pretty soon we are descending down the mountains, and driving through pastoral land on the way into Tumit.
We hit the Hume Highway for a few k's, then take a turn off about 20 minutes out of Wagga.
We arrive safely and check into the hotel.
Head down to have a look at the venue and do sound check. The Snowdroppers are back with us now and it's good to see them. We have been taking the piss out of them saying they look like Mumford & Sons. They have made up a song for us sung to the tune of Little Lion Man! It goes like this..."it's not your fault it's mine, I liked dead cat in year nine, but Jedediah were better...." very funny!
Phil bought a box of poker chips in Jyndabyne, so we head back to the hotel and get a quick game going before we head to the gig....

The band room tonight looks like the Saloon bar in Launceston before they renovated it...

The gig goes well. Once again it's a big crowd, and they are right into it. It takes the security a little while to realize it isn't a school fete, but they get it together eventually.
After the show we go back to the band room and cool off. My friend Karen and her husband join us for a drink, along with an assortment of people we know and don't know...

It wraps up pretty quickly and we head back to the hotel for a late game of poker. We put $5 each in the tin and deal 'em up.
It gets down to just me and Joe, and he beats me with an ace high flush. Lucky bastard.
Get into bed at 2am and set my alarm for a 10am lobby call.
Tomorrow, Bathurst....

Day 9 - Station Resort, Jindabyne

2010-08-04T22:42:00.000-07:00

4/8/2010
Blue skies and crisp morning temperatures greet me when i step out of my hut in Kosovo village. The view over the dorms is just magic...

Krisso is awake and there is a makeshift tennis court at the "resort", so we head down for another set.
I take this one out 6-1, and that's the match. Final score is 6-4, 6-3, 6-1. Krisso has got a lot of work to do to salvage some pride in the next battle. May i suggest he gets a little court time, maybe a hit out with someone better than me, and that means anyone!
Pretty soon it's time for the crew to load into the gig. Krisso and I go and check out how things are going.
Our truck driver and rigger, James Leydon, has shown up overnight, and he is carrying all our extra gear plus the P.A.. James has done loads of touring with us over the years, and he used to play guitar in Craig Mclachlan and check one two!...

The gear gets loaded in and I notice something really quite bizarre! Tony is helping!.....

The gig itself is a bit of a box, but there is a really low roof over the stage and a strange pointed roof. It's probably gonna be pretty hard to pull a decent sound in here, but Tony is up for it.....

Sean is gonna drive us up to Thredbo village so we can check out the snow.
We jump in the van and head to Nuggets for some lunch before we head up.
The drive takes us into the Kosciusko National Park. As soon as we go past the ranger station we come across an echidna in the middle of the road. Joe jumps out and tries to encourage it to the safety of the other side...

He makes his way over to the scary beast....

And I'm not sure if his technique is fully sanctioned by the RSPCA!...

The echidna is not really responding to the encouragement, and the rangers are right there, so we decide to leave it to the experts....

We get to Thredbo and it's looking good. Lots of snow and cloudless blue skies, so we take the opportunity for a quick photo shoot...

We grab a coffee and watch the skiers and boarders make their way down the mountain. Looks like a good day for it and i wish i had a couple of days off to partake!
We get back in the car and drive around to Friday Flats (the beginners area) to check out the gift shop.
Krisso needs to have a nap so he finds a quiet spot in the sun....

It's time to go back for sound check, so we head back to The Station.
The check is pretty good, it wont be the best onstage sound we've ever had, but we'll get through it.
Amy Meridith, who are supporting us for the rest of the tour, turn up today. They seem o.k. (very polite) and i a watch them run through a few songs....

Head out to the dining hall at the resort and grab a bain-marie dinner...not good.
Then its back to the room to get ready for the show.
Get back to the gig in time to catch a bit of Amy Meridiths set. The crowd are into it. They are basically a pop band, but they have a song on the radio and people seem to be genuinely enjoying their show.
Pretty soon it time for us to take the stage. Its a pretty wild crowd! Lots of stage diving and crowd surfing. Red bull must sell well down here...Its a great show and the large audience seemed to have a ball.
An old friend named Pete was there, so i catch up with him and his mate Brad after the show. We drink a few beers and have a laugh. They end up missing the ski tube so when we get kicked out of the venue it all moves back to my demountable. They stumble out at 4am and i pour myself into bed.
9am lobby call in the morning. That's not going to be fun....

Day 8 - Travel day, Melbourne to Jindabyne

2010-08-03T18:42:00.000-07:00

3/8/2010
Wake up early as it's a 10am lobby call and I have to get breakfast and finish packing up all my stuff.
Another cold and grey morning in Melbourne, but the view is pretty good from our hotel room balcony...

That's the museum you can see in the middle of the park (which i think is Carlton Gardens), and there is is an Imax theatre there as well. At the moment the museum is showing an exhibition called "Treasures of the Titanic".
Get downstairs and load ourselves and our bags in the van and drive to the airport.
We are on an 11.30 flight to Canberra, then it's a 2 hour drive to Jindabyne.
We all check in and head upstairs to the qantas club, then its computers on the table to take advantage of the free wireless internet...

Nick, our regular tour manager, has to do another job for the next few days so we have employed Sean Richards (Bomber, Goggles) to take care of Jindabyne, and drive to us to Wagga Wagga...

Sean is no stranger to the band. He was our regular tour manager from 2000 till 2006. It's gonna be fun to have him on the road for a few days, as we have obviously shared a lot of crazy experiences over the years!
We get into Canberra at 12.30pm and start the drive to the snow...

We go through Cooma, Bredbo, and wind our way up through the hills till we catch our first glimpses of Lake Jindabyne.
I took the next photo when we were crossing one of the dams that was built on the lake during the construction of the Snowy Mountains hydro-electric scheme.....

We stop in at Nuggets Crossing shopping village where i run into an old friend from Byron. We catch up for a bit & i promise to put him on the door for tomorrow night.
Drive 5 minutes out of town and check into the Station Hotel and Resort complex. Resort is a drastically inappropriate word for this place. It's more like a series of demountable huts surrounding a huge pub. Anyone been to a sport and rec camp? You get the picture...
At 6pm we head to the pub for some dinner. We discover there is a poker tournament on tonight! Phil is happy.
Eat, then sit down at the tables. I get knocked out pretty early and head back to my room....
Get a call from Krisso at about 8.30 and there is a trivia night starting up . Hell yeah! Love that shit...
Our team is me, Sean, Joe, Krisso and our lighting rigger Mace. It's a pretty messy affair, lots of tables of drunk snow dudes, and a few English tourists. Our team is called The Superdudes!
After 5 rounds we are tied for first place.
To decide the winner i get up onstage and do a best of 3, paper, scissors, rock challenge against a girl from the other team....
I win!.....but guess what? First prize is 2 tickets to the Grinspoon gig and a case of Barcardi Breezers.
We decide to pass the prize onto the other team, and they are stoked.
Phil emerges from the poker tables...he came 5th.
I head back to my demountable and watch some election news. Sick of it very quickly and it's lights out.....

Day 7 - Day off, Melbourne

2010-08-02T17:35:00.000-07:00

2/8/2010
Typical day off.
Got up, went and did some exercise, pulled all the dirty clothes out of my bag and piled them into the washing machine.
It's actually a nice day in Melbourne today, the sun is out, but the cold biting wind still whips up the city streets.
I get rugged up and go into town to buy toothpaste and deodorant. The city is alive on a Monday morning, people hurrying to work, and to and from the train station at Melbourne central.
I remember i need a case for my new camera so i walk down to Elizabeth St to where i know there a bunch of camera stores. I get lucky on my 4th attempt and find a cool leather cover with a carry strap. Perfect.
Back to the hotel to hang out the washing and do the rest of my day off duties.
Joe brings a couple of people to the room and we sign a guitar for a charity auction.
Make a few calls and organise with Joe, Kris and a mate of ours Rossco to go to dinner at a Mexican restaurant called Mamasita. Phil is going over to Yumi Stynes' house for a home cooked meal, we aren't invited.
The uninvited meet in the lobby at 6pm and walk down to Collins St and head upstairs to Mamasita.
Stylish decor and central American waitstaff are the order of the day at this modern take on traditional Mexican food.
Rossco was Birds of Tokyo's manager till a couple of weeks ago, when he was called to Melbourne airport and unceremoniously sacked.
He is understandably upset, so we drink some beers in commiseration and try and lift his spirits.
The food here is pretty good. We order the tasting plate and i order 3 fish tacos. They are great. Everyone enjoys their food but we all agree it's overpriced.
We head off in the direction of a nearby pub, order some beers and watch the first half of the Manly - Newcastle game.....Manly are getting smashed....Krisso isn't happy.
Back to the hotel and pack most of my stuff into my bag in preparation for a 10am lobby call.
Tomorrow, Jindabyne....

Day 6 - Travel day, Hobart to Melbourne

2010-08-01T22:19:00.000-07:00

1/8/2010
Wake up to a beautiful day in Hobart. Head down to reception and check out of my room.
Apparently both Kris & Phil both won some cash at the casino last night, so spirits are high.
Check in to our Jetstar flight to Melbourne, then get settled in the Qantas lounge and wait to be called.
Watch the footy for a half then jump on the plane.
Arrive in Melbourne and it's wet and cold. Pick up the hire car and drive the 20 minutes into the city and check into The Mantra on the Park.
Krisso and i are sharing a two bedroom apartment. We drop our bags and watch the Sunday afternoon game between St George and The Broncos.
After full time we head down to Nam Loong restaurant in Chinatown and grab dinner. We order the chili squid, chive dumplings & chicken noodles. The food here is awesome and cheap, if you get down to Melbourne you should check it out.
Back the hotel for a movie, watch a bit of the F1, then crash out.
day off tomorrow.....

Day 5 - Wrest Point Casino, Hobart

2010-07-31T16:36:00.000-07:00

31/7/2010
Kris, Phil, Nick & I get in the van at 10am for the 3 hour drive to Hobart. Joe goes with the crew to make a bit more room for the bags.
About an hour into the drive we stop for fuel and something to eat, we come across a servo that looks alright....

They are making some pretty outrageous claims at this place......

The girls working at the food section recognise us and ask for a photo. I tell them about the blog and promise to post the photo. I think i may have a career in food service if the band ever breaks up. I felt quite at home.......

Back in the Tarago and down the road we go. Tasmania is very scenic, but our drive takes us through a lot of pretty featureless farmland.
Nick is driving the speed limit, he has no points on his licence, and the drive is seeming to take longer than expected....

The scenery starts to change as we get closer to hobart, the flatland gives way to more hills and valleys, with the occasional lake thrown in.
About 50km's out we come to a little town called Bagdad...no shit!

We get out of Bagdad without being shot at, but i do see a strange looking animal in a field. It looked and moved like a dog, but was the size of a horse...weird.
We arrive at the Casino at 2pm and check into our rooms. We are staying AND playing here. That's good for us as no hassles getting to and from the show, and we can have a few drinks afterwards to celebrate the end of dry July!!
The view from my room is pretty special. It looks over the Derwent river, and there are yacht races happening....

Grab some lunch then i head back to my room and crash...
I wake up and look at my watch, it's soundcheck time.
The ballroom at the casino has a super high roof and is baically the shape of a box. Tony is gonna have a tough time pulling a sound tonight.
The guitars sound good coming off stage, so satisfied with the monitors i head back to my room to watch my team (The Roosters) take on the Parramatta Eels.
Awesome game! Spotted - the Hayne plane being shot down over Bondi!
Happiness is doing a gig after your team has smashed the opposition....
It's an earlier start than the past couple of nights, so i get down to the band room at about 9pm.
Tony's Auntie lives down here, and they are hanging out when i arrive....

The stage has curtaind wings, so i go and check out the Snowdroppers from side of stage. It's a big crowd and they seem to be having a good gig...

The show goes really well. As far as the crowd goes it's probably the best show so far. We rip through the encores and head back upstairs to unwind.
I have my first drink for a long while and it tastes good!
Rosso, of Merrik & Rosso fame shows up in the bandroom, he is doing some stand up gigs down here so he and his wife Michelle have come to hang out and have a few drinks.
We get kicked out of the venue at about 1am and head downstairs to the birdcage bar at the casino.
I talk to the Snowdroppers for a while, then head to the tables where Phil is playing Poker. I play a couple of hands then decide to find some food.
The resturant is still open so Rosso, Michelle and i sit down with a couple of beers and eat and talk shit for an hour or so.
I say goodbye to those guys and head back to my room for some much needed sleep.
Here is a look at the tour dates. A long way to go....

Day 4 - The Warehouse, Devonport

2010-07-30T16:44:00.000-07:00

30/7/2010

Krisso texts me early, he's keen to get this set of tennis finished. I'm keen to kick his ass so I happily accept the challenge.

And an ass kicking it was. I'm now up 2 sets, 6-4 6-3.

I'll try and wrap it up in 3 sets when we get to Hobart. I think this no drinking thing might be giving me a slight advantage, it's usually pretty close.

Back to the hotel, and it's time to get ready to drive 95km's to the next gig in Devonport.

Joe jumps in the car with the crew as Nick, Kris, Phil & myself pile into the Tarago.

The journey is quick and uneventful.

Kris and I are sharing a 2 bedroom apartment. Settle in there and go for a walk around town.

Devonport must be the closest port town to the mainland. The Spirit of Tasmania car and passanger carrier docks here, and the river that skirts aroung the town center is littered with slipways and cargo container termials.

It's cold and raining today....surveying the windswept scene I feel like I could be in Liverpool, looking over the docks on the Mersey.

I make a quick stop by the gig on my way back. The crew are just starting to get set up. I ask Colzy to call me when the guitar rig is up so i can come down and work on my sound.

That call come about 4pm and i get Nick to shuttle me down there.

It's sounding good today, I adjust the clean tone a little, and try a few different pedals. Tony says he's happy! That doesn't happen very often, it usually goes more like..."IT'S FINE".

Kris & Joe turn up but Phil is crashed out. We run through Ace of Spades with our stand-in singer.....

We do a couple more and it's sounding pretty good, so it's back to the hotel and time to think about dinner!

I find an Indian place just around the corner from the hotel. It looks pretty authentic, plus we are on the water, so I order the fish curry..... BEST FISH CURRY EVER!

We watch the St Kilda v's Essendon game till it's time to go to the gig....

The upstairs band room is actually a bar that they are not using for the night. It's big and has everything we need, so the pre gig rituals begin (drinks, play some guitar, warm up the voice, watch the rest of the game)....

The Snowdroppers are sounding good tonight, and pretty soon it's our turn...

We go back out the front of the venue and walk round to the stage entrance. I give Colzy my camera and ask him to take some photos if he gets a chance.

The gig goes really well. The crowd were fun and really into it. Pedestrian went down particularly well! The band are starting to click now, it was a definate improvement over last night, and it's a good sign for the 30 or so shows to come.

Hang around for half an hour afterwards. Meet some people and sign some autographs, then back in the van and back to what's left of my fish currie. Hobart Casino tomorrow night. Should be a fun Saturday night....the last day of July......

Here are some of Colzy's photos....

Day 3 -The Saloon Bar, Launceston

2010-07-28T22:47:00.000-07:00

29/7/2010
Got up and went into town for coffee. One large soy flat white later, and the fog is beginning to clear. Run into Phil & Kris on my way back to the hotel. They're looking for somewhere to have breakfast so i point them in the direction of the place i went yesterday.
Get back to my room and my phone rings. Shit, it's interviews for the tour that I've been putting off. Oh well, now or never.
"Do you prefer playing festivals or your own shows?" "So, where does the name Grinspoon come from?" Seriously, how many times do you think I've been asked those questions?
There must be a book of standard snoozfest interview questions out there, and both the guys i talked to had read it cover to cover.
I get a call from Kris and he's keen to play tennis.
We take our racquet's on the road, and if we get a chance to play we do. We are of a similar standard (shit), but the matches are always competitive...
Today was my day! We got through a set and a bit and I'm up 6-4 & 2-1. This will be continued at a later stage (i will give score updates).
Back to the hotel.....

Kris and i decide to head into town and grab some lunch, then swing past the gig and annoy the crew. Our sound guy Tony Brian (Brown Arm, Toby) has arrived from Perth. Tony has just had a baby girl so he's in good spirits, but lots more about him later....

The Saloon Bar has changed a lot since we last played it. Before it was a piece of kitch wild west fantasy, bar stools with saddles on top and wagon wheels strewn around the room. Now it looks like an RSL, abeit a new one, but the same harsh lighting and ringading of the poker machines. We'll still get a good vibe out of the place, but it's a shame, i liked it the way it was before.
After surveying the scene for a while Kris heads back to the hotel, and i decide to go for a walk around Launceston.
I head down to the seaport. Its an industrial part of town, but it's old, and has plenty of character.
The hill looking over the marina is crammed full of huge mansions. There must have been some money here once, fishing maybe, but the houses now look run down, the gloss taken from their former glory.
I make my way back through the city and down to the Boags brewery, then meander back to the hotel.
I have a new camera that I'm in the process of learning how to use, so here are some Launceston tourist shots. Trying to set the scene....

We all pile into the Tarago at 4.45 to head off for a 5 o'clock sound check. The crew have finished setting up the gear and we run through 3 songs. Everyone is pretty happy with the sound.
Meet the guys from the Snowdroppers. They are doing the whole tour with us and they seem like pretty cool guys. I think i will go check them out tonight.
The venue is providing us with dinner, so band and crew order, then grab a big table so we can break bread with our brothers. The food is actually pretty good!
After the meal we head back to the hotel to get ready for our 11pm show.....

Oh yeah, and Krisso couldn't finish his steak.....

Back in the car and back to the hotel. Have a few hours to kill so i get organized for the gig, then watch a program about the Australian dream on the ABC. It's an interesting show. Part of a 4 part series, i will have to suss it out when i get home.
Lobby call is for 9.50, and it's back to the saloon bar.
Watch the Snowdroppers. There really good. People are loving it. They look like Elvis's love child being backed up by Mumford & Sons, but the noise they make is great. A real party band, they will be fun to have on tour.
It's our turn next, and we take the stage to rapturous applause.
The gig is good, a little rusty in parts but all in all a pretty good start to the run. I need to work on my sound more in tomorrows check, but apart from that it's an 8.
Joe broke his ribs snowboarding a few weeks back and looked to be in a bit of pain after the show, it's gonna be a tough first few gigs for him (not much jumping around!)....

We get a few locals backstage after the show. Everyone is heading to the Hotel New York for an after party...fucking dry July! I shouldn't really let that stop me from going out, but i do.
One of the guys from the poker night shows up (Chow) and I have a bit of a laugh with him, then it's back in the van and back to hotel.
At least i will be fresh for the drive to Devonport......

Day 2 - Rehearsal

2010-07-28T04:19:00.000-07:00

28/7/2010
Got up early this morning and went into town to buy a new usb modem. After a couple of visits to the Telstra shop I'm finally online (and gonna stay that way for the rest of the tour).
Searched around the back streets of Launceston and came across what looked like a pretty good place to get a coffee and breakfast. I sat on a comfortable lounge, ordered poached eggs and rang my sister.
This afternoon she is heading to Salzburg in Austria to enroll in summer school , so wanted to have a chat before she left.
After breakfast i headed back to the hotel to catch up with the boys and head to practice. We are rehearsing at a club in town that the owners have been kind enough to give us for free.
The place is called "The Hotel New York". Not a lot of New York going on here....

Our stage guy Adam Cole (Colzy, Jesus) and our lighting/production manager Anthony Pertruzio (P-toots, Montana, A.P.) are busy setting up the gear.
A.P. drove the truck down from Sydney, and that includes putting it on a boat! Colzy flew in from Melbourne this morning.....

Colzy has been busy working on my new rig.
He has replaced all the faulty leads and broken bits from previous tours, and now i have all new cables, 2 brand spanking new Blackstar 100 watt amps, and a squeaky clean pedal board that's ready for action...

After half an hour we are set up on the small stage, and ready to start working on the new set...

We are throwing in some different older tracks this tour plus doing a cover as well, so we have a fair bit to work on.
Phil is still memorising some of the lyrics, so he has his laptop with him, and is learning them as he goes.
It's gonna be a good set i recon, but you will have to come to a show to find out what the surprises are!

There are a a bunch of guys who work at the venue hanging around, so we have an audience for the whole afternoon.
As the beers they are swilling start to add up, the applause gets louder, and their opinions of what songs we should be playing start being shouted.
It's actually a lot of fun and i think there are probably less arguments between us because of it.
We start playing REALLY old songs, and the crowd are loving it, and by the looks of the next photos, so are we...

With the set pretty much finalised we pile in the Tarago and head back to the hotel.
There is another poker night on tonight, so we head to the Gunners Arms Hotel for dinner and another shot at the title.
Our tour manager Nick Tkalac (Nicktallica, Neck) has arrived, and we get a counter meal and wait for the game to start.
Phil is knocked out first by Krisso, quickly followed by me! Krisso is the terminator tonight.
None of us get too far so it's back to the hotel and a reasonably early one.

First show of the tour tomorrow, looking forward to it...

Day 1 - Travel Day

2010-07-27T23:38:00.000-07:00

27th July 2010
I wake up at a friends house in Sydney. Feeling pretty clean and healthy at the moment. I have been under the rules of Dry July for the best part of a month now, and have only lapsed once. I get the feeling all my hard work maybe undone over the next 2 months, but we will see.....
Packed and ready i head to the airport for the flight to Launceston. Joe & Phil are on the same flight as me to Melbourne where we will meet up with Kris and get on a 40 minute Virgin flight to the Apple Isle.. (you like that?).
Don't see anyone till we get to Melbourne but its good to see the guys when we all get together. The jokes are the same....but there still funny!
The flight is easy and we arrive in Launceston around 5pm. We grab our bags and our hire Tarago and head into town. We are staying at the Hotel Grand Chancellor hotel. We have stayed here a lot before, and its affectionately known to us as the Shihad hotel, due to a night we had in the lobby bar with those guys a few years back. That night ended with me trying to pass out in the wrong hotel room (i was drunk, it was dark)...but that's a story for Phil to tell, i don't really remember it, but it affected him quite badly.....
Back to the present & Phil has found a pub which is running a poker night! The 4 of us get back in the car and head off to the TRC, which we think is an acronym for Total Retard Club!
This place is kinda cool. A happy bloke named Mark registers us to play in the tournament, and asks a lot of questions, wondering who these strangers are, "Oh you guys! I've heard of you dudes!" Pretty soon everyone in the place knows the poker kings have arrived!
We grab some food then make our way to our table to get the game on.
I have played a little, as has Kris. Phil has played heaps but Joe not much at all so the first few hands were about relearning the rules. Apart from the 4 of us we had 4 more locals on our table. They went buy the names of Beefy, Leroy, Chow and Damo. These guys were hilarious, and i think they were pretty happy to be playing with us. The game was going along nicely, lots of dangerous betting from Krisso, and plenty of mum and wife jokes being thrown around. Then just before the half time break some wanna be Paul Gallen lookalike sits down at the vacant spot left by Damo, and places down his short stack of chips. Hmmmmm...
We play out the last hand and have 20 minutes to stretch our legs.
Back to the game and this Paul Gallen muthafucker is the terminator! He takes out me and Kris with ease, then sets his sights on the rest of the table.
Joe and Phil both survive the onslaught and get moved to separate tables to fight it out with the rest of the players for a spot on the final table. Joe has the terminator sitting across from him and they are locked in battle. The terminator takes Joe out, much to everyones' disgust!
Phil has been calling himself "final table Phil" since we arrived, and he duly makes it there, but so does the Paul Gallen lookalike wannabe muthafuckin terminator! We are really hating this guy now...
Boom! The terminator is knocked out! Followed with much laughter and applause!
But Phil is under pressure now...he goes all in!.....and loses.

Fun night. I drive home (it's still July) and head up to my room to crash. Those guys go to the lobby bar. As i'm drifting off i can hear them stumbling around outside my room and goes a little something like this..
"come on Davvo ya f__king pussy .....hahahahah ....f__king whatever ........pussy .....hahahaha .... f__k this i'm going to bed...."
Rehearsals tomorrow.

The tour begins...

2010-07-27T23:24:00.000-07:00

Well here we go again! Back on tour! This one takes us from Tasmania to Byron Bay, a 2 week break in the middle, then back down south, and across to Adelaide. All in all we will do 30 shows in 60 days, thus saying goodbye to our album "six to midnight" for our Aussie fans.
We are hitting a lot of regional places that we haven't visited for a long time, and will no doubt clock up some serious miles in the Tarago.
I'm writing this blog to keep you up to date with our travels, and hopefully share some funny stories and photos. I will try not to edit too much out so you can get a first hand account of life on the road with Grinspoon......who am i kidding, there is no way i will reveal everything....that is unless i get drunk at a show and get back to hotel and start posting.......and as if that's gonna happen!
I would appreciate your comments along the way and if you want to know anything in particular, i will try to accommodate.
I am gonna try and keep it real, so keep checking as i will endeavour to post daily.
Pat