Quiet Time

I've been a bit short on subject matter to bang on about recently, resulting in a quiet old time here in blog-land, for which I make no apology.

Just to keep things interesting, though, I thought I'd share something that Mrs G pointed me at a few nights ago. It's song-writer Peter J Casey's blog, major to minor (also in the blog list, in the sidebar).

Peter writes about music and musical theatre from a deep musical background, using an expert vocabulary, and a wicked, dry wit. Most recently he demonstrated why the songs in the television series "Smash" just don't work in a theatrical sense, and his series of posts on Eurovision are also great fun, with a level of musical geekiness that's rare to read, and even rarer to be able to follow. The blog also includes recordings of some of his songs, mostly funny, some just thoughtful, but all of them beautifully constructed.

If you've got a spare moment you could do a whole lot worse than navigating over there and browsing for a little while. You don't even have to tell him I sent you.

Hand made

The original "Red Special"

After last year's DIY experiences, the Christmas period set me to thinking about what I would like to do in 2013.

I had a terrific home-brewing set-up two houses ago, and have always wanted to get back to that. The shed here in Bendigo, however, is far from thermostatic, and only really fit for brewing in Autumn and Spring - very similar to traditional brewing seasons, if the truth be known. But no, I needed a project to fire the synapses now and feed the soul.

Ever since I was evangelically fed early Queen recordings by my friend Greg, at St Hilda's College, Melbourne University, I've been a big fan of the guitar stylings of Brian May. Now, I am by no means any kind of proficient guitarist myself, more a hacker who's been paid for my talent for faking proficiency better than most. However, that doesn't prevent me from dreaming of greatness, and of playing wonderful guitars. So, I have also held an ambition for some time of owning a Brian May "Red Special".

For the uninitiated, Queen's guitarist, Brian May, built his own guitar in cooperation with his Dad, because he couldn't afford to buy one. The "Red Special" is itself now a rock icon, with its unique sound and place in many of the rock/pop milestones of the 70's to 90's. To have a copy would, to me, be just wonderful.

About a year ago I cottoned on to the idea that it was possible to buy electric guitar kits. You get a raw wooden guitar body, a raw wood neck with the top and frets preset, all the electronics necessary to make it work, and instructions to put it together. I thought to myself how great it would be to be able to build myself a "Red Special". I enquired with the company I'd found, and they said they could do special orders of the things, so I quietly rejoiced and set myself a private timetable to get around to acquiring and building such a thing.

As always, life intervened. The now-famous kitchen reno took over the last half of last year, and by the time I got around to catching up with the guitar kit guys, as far as I can tell they'd gone out of business. Despair! And abandonment.

Around Christmas 2012 I decided to go looking again, and still couldn't find a supplier of "Red Special" kits. So I thought to myself I should back off the gas a little and start small. Build a Fender Telecaster copy as a first step. After all, starting with the thing you really want to work is rarely a good idea, right? I chose a Telecaster because, of all the classic electric guitars, it is the simplest. Only two pick-ups, so the wiring is simpler. But it's a versatile sound, used by guitarists from the vanguard of Rock to contemporary Country. A "Tele" can be a guitarist's workhorse and, built well, will just improve with age.

Thankfully I found a terrific supplier of Tele kits in Perth, and my first one arrives sometime next week. I've made some enquiries with these guys and it turns out they can do a "Red Special" kit as a special order.  Whoo-hoo! However, I'd like to build my own Tele first, then I'm on a promise to build two more, one for a gigging friend in Canberra, and one for my brother in Wodonga. Once I have those three under my belt I reckon I should be ready for the big one.

It should be a really great year. I'm very much enjoying the discovery, comparatively late in life, that I like building and making things. I had been channeled into very internalised, intellectual pursuits from midway through high school, and therefore didn't get exposed to a lot of this stuff until I went looking. I'm finding it very satisfying, and it should be so much more so with things that I can pick up and play.

Look out for the guitar updates!

On Pro-Am Theatre

There's some bitter chatter going on in Canberra's amateur theatre community about Free-Rain Theatre's decision to import professional leads for its upcoming production of "Phantom of the Opera".

Umbrage has been taken that the decision implies that the production team believes there is noone amongst Canberra's performers who can do justice to the lead parts of the Phantom and Christine. There is also the perceived injustice of unpaid performers sharing the stage with paid professionals.

This is a conversation which could turn quite ugly, if it hasn't done already, and I thought I'd take the time to lay out the pros and cons and give you my take on the situation.

Ear-worm central

I am really pleased to have discovered, and re-discovered, some fantastic music over the past couple of weeks. I've also been introduced to an incredible ear-worm.

I have always valued diverse sounds and unique musical perspectives, and I am ashamed to have forgotten how great James Morrison's album "Manner Dangerous" sounds.  Great, modern jazz without the bebop or ridiculous discordance.  Just smooth, rhythmic wonderfulness. I was mucking about on Spotify and blundered into the James Morrison canon, and all of a sudden there I was, soaring up and down with an album which I hadn't heard in probably 20 years. It was a trip and a pleasure and a truly moving experience.

Also in the last two weeks my attention was drawn to the existence of the Queen Symphony, a full symphonic work based on, but by no means a simple orchestration of, themes and melodies from the Queen catalogue.

What a great piece of work that is. I've said to Mrs G that the Third Movement needs to be played as the recessional at my funeral, it is that great.

So I've got some great tunes buzzing around my head.

If you missed Melbourne Metro's public service announcement in the last two weeks, I'd like to know what rock you've been hiding under. Nevertheless, if you've just crawled out from that rock, take the time to look at this. Sublimely ridiculous and horribly, viciously catchy. Minion X has been walking around inaccurately singing the chorus for a few days, which both annoys me and gives me back the ear-worm. But he's singing and recalling stuff and I don't have it in me to stop him.

Unfortunately if you go looking for that video on Youtube now it's pretty difficult to find because of the swiftly growing number of parodies, videos teaching you how to play it, karaoke versions and other spin-offs. Someone's even put together an hour-long loop of the original.

Imagine subliminally giving that ear-worm to someone by looping the loop (so to speak) quietly next to them as they sleep!

(No, dear, I'm not even remotely considering doing this! Really.)

All of which reminds me of the ultimate ear-worm antidote, which I share with you here for free: Kylie Minogue's "I Should Be So Lucky". Memorable enough to get stuck in your brain; forgettable enough to disappear pretty quickly. Hey, presto! Ear-worm begone!

You're welcome!

Going Bananas

It's been a tough week, in which each morning the sun has risen later and each evening it's set earlier.  Winter is upon us, and we're still establishing ourselves in this funny little town, with no local friends and near non-existent TV reception.  

A bright point in this has been reading the Isaacson bio of Steve Jobs, and it's really pretty interesting.  This is the book on which the new film is supposed to be based (not the film already in production with Ashton Kutcher in the lead role).

Remembering Jim Henson

Mrs G was showing the minions excerpts from Jim Henson's 1990 memorial service this evening.  Back then, for those of a certain bent, this was a very big deal.  There are a couple of reasons.


First there's Jim.  I grew up with the Muppet Show, and the Muppet movies.  Jim's absurd sense of humour completely appealed to me, and has stayed with me.  How he was able to touch so many lives with his energy and creativity is a blessing to us all.

In addition, there's his selection of songs.  The clip above features some of his favourite songs, performed by Dave Goelz, Frank Oz, Kevin Clash, Steve Whitmire, Richard Hunt and Jerry Nelson.  This is a long clip, and at the end, if the Muppets ever meant anything to you, you may need a box of tissues.  Near the start, though, there's "Lydia the Tattooed Lady".  I don't remember when I first heard that song, but I remember it best as performed by Kermit the Frog.  Such a strange song for a seven year old to memorise, but the wonder of it is that Jim made it accessible, amusing and harmless to me.

Lastly, this was one of the very first big "celebrity memorial services".  It was very unusual in that it was televised, so it was ground-breaking in that way.  It was also ground-breaking because it was conceived as an entertaining tribute to his fans and there was no casket in the building.  It was just brilliant.

Now, the minions are familiar with Fraggle Rock and a wide range of the Muppet movies (including the latest one with Jason Segel), but they were still mesmerised by this memorial service, and the fact that Jim's dream is still generating entertainment 22 years after his death.  Take a moment to indulge in this stuff every now and then.  It's a genuine tonic.

An introduction of sorts

Why blog?  Everyone’s doing it, that’s why, and if the opinions of every second snot-nosed know-nothing urban man-child can find a home on the internets, then the musings of a trivia-laden middle-aged bloke in the sticks surely can, too.

The title of this blog stems from those stories you hear of people who refuse to use the good china, or wear their best clothes, for fear they will be ruined - and then they die without having ever enjoyed the wonderful things they'd acquired or been given.  Well, Mrs G and I determined long ago that we wouldn't do that.  The best Denby china we got for our wedding has been in use from the day we got it, and still is, nearly 15 years later.


So, this blog is a bit about making choices which capitalise on the best of what you have, not conserving it for some obscure future.  At least, that's what I hope it might turn out to be.