Original post date: Jan 26th 2010



I went to go see The Books last week. They were/are doing an international tour and were kind enough to bless their dedicated New Zealand fan base with a fantastic show. Camera Obscura also featured. I totally appreciate this band and what a great response their music has received. But to be honest i haven’t listened to enough of them to make proper judgement and my heart was with The Books. I promise to Obscura fans i will check them out properly soon.My dear and lovely friend Mike passed on his ticket due to feeling a bit crook. Oh what a blessed moment that was.

Their performance could have easily past as an art installation piece. It wasn’t just music, it was a delicate combination of chopped up video and audio clips match along skill of Paul de Jong on the cello and Nick Zammuto on the guitar and live vocals. Jong brought out a classical element I never before would have imagined to work with such experimental material and Nick’s soft voice and melodic guitar combined their show into a memorable experience. Man, Jong’s face just glowed with appreciation for the sounds being created around him. I had the pleasure of experiencing an awkward moment of buying a t-shirt from Nick acting like your typical stage-frightened in-awe-fan. Sorry Nick. I thought you were great. That’s actually what i wanted to say.
This is their website, I can probs promise you there won’t be any regret if you visit. If you are curious just head down to your local library and have a listen. You can get their CDs on their website as well as a DVD of their videos (highly recommended if you want to really appreciate their stuff).

Let's play catch ups
Most of you probably know me, at least at first.

My brain jumps from place to place on a moment by moment basis. I get obsessed with good things quickly and it shapes me everyday.

So, it will go something like this…

I love cooking. I’ll probably talk a lot about food. Sometimes I was to be a chef and spend hours on the internet planning my life trotting around the globe to state of the art cooking schools. I love truffles, the mushrooms kind in a really extreme way.



yum.

I grew up with Theatre. My mum did her degree when i was about 8-12 when we lived back in Liverpool and her frequent and thought provoking women-dominated groups flooded my lounge once a week. It was great. Now i work with some of my best friends Soph and Kent on various theatre projects which brings me to…

I love sex. Obsessed, Fo’ serious. I did a thesis on whether porn can be used as a feminist text last year. And you know what? It can. The arguments surrounding not just this subject, but sexuality and gender too fascinates me and shaping a lot of the theatre Soph, Kent and I work on in our little company Angry Peach Productions. I respect there are a lot of opinions around the topic and a lot of my work through study and my own projects feature the questions that often circle.




The above photo is from our tech rehearsal for The Piradicals, George’s dildo arrives, a life changing moment. Lucky Lucille shows up soon to lend a hand.

I work in a music store on a casual basis, like any retail the hours are long and the pay is slight but all is made up for when dealing with a product that puts a smile on someone’s face when you find them the perfect thing. The new-release courier drop is like a big box of Christmas on Saturday morning. It’s the little things that count.

Current favourite: She Keeps Bees - Nests (2008)




I discovered this gem a few weeks back hidden behind all the Susan Boyle and Stan Walker’s. If you are big fans of Cat Power or pretty much any earnest female vocalists that shine against simplistic rhythms this one is for you. You can check out some of their tracks on their website



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Transferring to blogspot.

Original post date: Jan 25th 2010
Setting: Home; ex-brothel, ex-drug den, ex-commune, current mashed up family of friends. Photo taken by Michael Harvey with a Polaroid 2009.

Featuring: Dan, Hannah and myself.

Experiencing: A moment in the kitchen