Expecting to fly

The Hawks have imploded, and how.  No way out of this now.  They are in freefall and there is NO bottom. 

With two minutes to go in the game against the Saints two weeks ago they were in complete control.  A fantastic passage of play had seen Cyril involved all the way down the ground. He’d received, passed and received again some 40 metres out, straight in front, for him a bread and butter shot.  

This IS the sealer, 13 points up, and the dream is really alive.  Finals football in 2010 is now a certainty for the Hawks.  What a year.  This will be one of the greatest wins in the club’ s history, and certainly the greatest since Grand Final Day 2008.  

But something has happened, something eerily reminiscent of Dallas in November 1963.  Docklands has its own Texas School Book Depository, its own grassy knoll.  As Cyril runs in to kick he quickly looks to his left,  and, as if terrified by what he has just seen,  lets the ball leave his boot in despair. 

It’s a goal, but there is an umpire on the boundary line holding an orange flag.  Is that Lee Harvey Oswald I see?

The goal doesn’t count and St.Kilda have a free kick 50 metres down the ground. They get the ball to Riewoldt within range, but he kicks a behind.  Hawthorn lead by a goal with 90 seconds to go and have possession, but there is complete chaos everywhere.  Campbell Brown, bloodied on the bench, is screaming, terrified. He knows.  The game is gone.  And it is.

With 26 seconds left to go, there is a ball-up near the St.Kilda goal.  The Hawks, in total panic,  leave goal-side open and McEvoy kicks one. Scores level, siren goes, the unlosable is lost, and so is Hawthorn’s psyche. 

Grant Birchall it turns out is the offender, interchange infringement, stupid cunt!! Went over the line before he should. The Hawks try to cover it up, but simply put, they imlode.  And there is now no coming back.

An unwinnable game against the Power in Adelaide next week, and following that, the Swans in Sydney.  Can’t win that either.  Campbell Brown has broken Del Santo’s nose.  He gets two for that, out for both those.

Then Cyril inexplicably goes bananas against the Power, gets two reduced to one, but, even more inexplicably the Hawks appeal, and he gets the full two.  He’s out for the Melbourne game as well.  It’s like somebody (in Geelong maybe) has pointed the bone. Brent Guerra gets two from the Sydney game and it’s deckchairs all around. 

This is Titanic and she’s really going down. I can’t watch!!

On The Air (Again)

A couple of weeks back I had an offer I couldn’t refuse.  Helen Jennings asked me if I would like to fill in as presenter of her weekly radio program, Roots of Rhythm, on 3PBS-FM. I jumped at the chance to go back to my roots in radio, and present a Jazz and Blues-based music program. 

Over the past year I’ve been taking advantage of a couple of (the lesser-expensive) music download sites, Soudike and GoMusic, to expand not only my knowledge of Jazz and Blues music in general, but also my iPod music library in particular.

I guess I’ve had a pretty comprehensive knowledge of Blues music for many years now, my interest first ignited by the British bands who turned to Afro-American Blues in the early 1960s.  Just who was this Hooker guy that wrote ‘Boom Boom’, ‘Dimples’ and ‘Don’t Look Back’, this Reed guy who wrote ‘Big Boss Man’, this Dixon guy who wrote ‘Spoonful’ and ‘Little Red Rooster’, this Burnett guy who wrote ‘Smokestack Lightning’.’

But when it comes to Jazz, I’m a bit of a ‘Johnny-come-lately.’ In the 60s I have to admit I often sat and pondered the flip side of the single ‘I’m a Man’ by The Yardbirds, ‘I’m Not Talking’, and wondered who was this Allison guy who had written it. It was only some 25 or so years later when I heard the original that I realised it had its roots in Jazz. That was interesting! So ‘Parchman Farm’, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers (with Eric Clapton) and Georgie Fame both did versions of that. 

Slowly, it was coming together for me.  Sometime in 1980s I found a vinyl copy of Mose Allison’s Western Man album in a second-hand shop in St.Kilda and thought I’d better buy that.  Ten or so years later I discovered Ornette Coleman.  But it wasn’t until I started listening to my wife Jackey’s very beaten up but still very playable vinyl copy of Miles Davis’s Bitches Brew in 1999 that I really got it. 

Miles was and is the key.

I stayed with Bitches Brew for quite a while before venturing into some John Coltrane, via my friend, the artist Robert Hirschmann, whose work I’d been commissioned to write an article on for Asian Art News (published Volume 10 Number 6 November/December 2000).  I went forward to Jack Johnson, back to In a Silent Way, then back even further to the two great quintets and discovered Hank and Herbie, Mobley and Hancock.

Today I’m still learning, knowing I’ve still got a long way to go.

Here’s the playlist from my radio show, and some notes on each .

‘Watermelon Man’ by Herbie Hancock from Takin Off,  his first solo album which also features Dexter Gordon on sax (Blue Note 1962).  Thanks to Trevor Hoppen for turning me on to this one. The Manfred Mann version has always been a favourite.

‘Lonely Woman’ by Ornette Coleman from the classic Shape of Jazz to Come  (Atlantic 1959).  With the rhythm section of Charlie Haden on bass and Billy Higgins on drums, this is 4 minutes 59 seconds of sheer bliss. Billy incidentally also played on ‘Watermelon Man’. (And, if you can, check out Charlie Haden’s 22-minute version of ‘Lonely Woman’ from his The Private Collection album.)

‘Willow Weep for Me’ by  Wynton Kelly from Kelly Blue (Riverside 1959) and ‘Wine tone’ by Cannonball Adderley from Plus  (Riverside 1961).  Tracks from two members of the so-called Miles Davis first great Quintet brought together on the album Sides of Blue, released last year to celebrate the 50^th Anniversary of the release of Kind of Blue.

‘I’m Not Talking’’ by Mose Allison from The Word From Moose (Atlantic 1964), then ‘I’m Not Talking’’ by The Yardbirds from The Studio Sessions (Decal 1965).  I really wonder whose idea it was to record this, Jeff Beck or Keith Relf.

Next came a tribute bracket to one of my very favourites, Louis Jordan.  I started with the truly haunting ‘Something for Louis’ by Louis Jordan from I Believe in Music (Concord Jazz 1973). Recorded in Paris just a year before his death, the album features John Lee Hooker sideman Louis Myers on guitar and the great Fred Below on drums.

Then a couple of loving cover versions, ‘Caledonia’ by B.B King from his tribute to Louis, Let The Good Times Roll (MCA 1999) and ‘We the Cats (Shall Hep Ya)’ by Joe Jackson from Jumpin Jive (A & M 1981), the album which turned a whole new generation on to Louis Jordan.

‘I’m in an Awful Mood’ by Eddie ‘Cleanhead’ Vinson from Kidney Stew is Fine (Delmar 1969). ‘Cleanhead’ can come close to Louis Jordan on occasion, and on this album “Cleanhead’ has not only done that, he has T-Bone Walker on guitar.

Next came a thoughtful bit of segueing, ‘T-Bone Shuffle’ by Buddy Guy and Junior Wells from Play the Blues (ATCO 1972), an album some critics say is the best blues album ever recorded. I think it’s pretty good and it features Eric Clapton on guitar.  From there  I went to ‘Snatch It Back and Hold It’ by Junior Wells from his first album Hoodoo Man Blues (Delmar 1965), coincidentally also his first collaboration with Buddy Guy.

A couple of years after Junior recorded his original version, an Australian guy by the name of Matt Taylor came along and switched a couple of the words in the title around and created a home-grown Australian classic, ‘Grab a Snatch and Hold It’ by Chain from Towards the Blues (Festival 1971). When it comes to Australian Blues music, this album is as good as it gets.

‘Blow in D’ was originally released as the flip side of Chain’s single ‘Judgement’ and was included on the 30^th Anniversary CD re-release of Towards the Blues. Having worked as Road Manager with the band in 1971, the song was always a live favourite of mine, as was ‘Dust My Broom’. This raunchy version was recorded live at the Wallacia Festival in January 1971 and can be found on History of Chain (Mushroom 1974).

I finished the program with a couple of personal favourites, ‘Going Up The Country’ by Taj Mahal from The Natchl Blues (Columbia 1968) and the truly haunting vocals of  ‘It’s Nobody’s Fault But Mine’ by Blind Willie Johnson from The Complete Blind Willie Johnson (Columbia).  Recorded in 1927, it still raises every hair on my arm. Led Zeppelin paid tribute on Physical Graffiti.

Thanks for the opportunity, Helen, I’d love to do it again.

I'd like you to paint my portrait

Phil Vincent is 56 years of age and has lived with cerebral palsy since birth.  He has little use of his right arm and walks with incredible difficulty. “As a young child, I was called names,” he says. “I found this hurtful especially when I was called a ‘spastic.’  It made me feel as though I was different and not like other people.  In addition, people would sometimes stare and make remarks about my walking.”

The third of six children and the only sibling to suffer the disability, Phil says his parents were determined to give him every opportunity to have a proper education and were against the suggestion to place him in a workshop after he finished at D’Alton (Special School, as it was called in those days) in Hobart.  “Instead, I went to St. Virgil’s College for my secondary education,” he says. “I was treated well by students and teachers.  The one concession I was allowed was to leave five minutes early at the end of the day.  This was to avoid being knocked over by the students in the rush to get home!”

Phil Vincent has worked for the Australian Taxation Office in Hobart for more than 25 years, after initially studying to be a Catholic priest in Melbourne, the first person with a disability from Hobart to be accepted for such studies. He is an avid Essendon supporter and it was a friend’s suggestion that he look at a portrait of former Essendon great, James Hird, by Melbourne-based artist, Martin Tighe, that led Phil to contact Tighe and commission the artist to paint his portrait.

“My disability caused me to have a very poor self-image for many years, which eventually led to severe depression,” Vincent states.  “A friend of mine had read the article on Martin’s Tom Wills exhibition last October and sent me Martin’s web link.  He told me to make special note of the James Hird portrait. I was impressed with how well the portrait had captured James in action."  

"I’ve wanted to have my portrait done for many years now," Vincent emphasises, "so I took the opportunity of emailing Martin. It was the idea of nothing ventured, nothing gained. I told Martin I was a person with a disability and I wanted to challenge the concept of what defines the body beautiful. Not to be controversial but simply to say I’m a person with a disability and I’m OK with who I am.”

For Martin Tighe, an artist who delights in the macabre this was a rare challenge. In the past he has themed an exhibition of paintings around the famed disappearance of a group of young girls at Hanging Rock, as well as a series of paintings based on the life of the last person to be executed by the State, Ronald Ryan. “The character of Tom Wills interested me because he’s one of Australia’s tragic figures who stumbled over many of the obstacles which life presents”, says Tighe, “and I feel I do my best work in relation to a tragic story. Tom Wills was a man of vision and energy but the hook for me for the paintings was his tragic demise.”

Tighe describes his portrait of James Hird in a similar manner.  “It is a sombre painting,” he states.  “There is no distinction between the black of his Essendon guernsey and the black background, they merge into each other.  It’s a sombre image of someone who’s taking a pounding on a football field.  While he is six feet two and can take a great mark, his physique is quite light so he was certainly an attractive subject to paint.”

Tighe accepted the commission to paint Phil Vincent’s portrait based on telephone conversations between the two and some black and white photographs Vincent sent him.  It wasn’t until the two men met that Tighe actually realised the extent of the disability Vincent possessed.  “When Phil is walking his disability is much more obvious.  When he’s moving he becomes quite hunched over and it’s difficult for him,” Tighe states. “The person who walked through my front door was even more energetic than the person I’d been speaking with on the phone.  I was a little uncomfortable in how much of Phil’s disability I should portray, but I knew it had to be a very very strong likeness.”

Tighe need not have worried. “I was amazed at how well Martin has captured me,” Phil Vincent states upon viewing the completed portrait. “I use a walking stick to get around. And, as you can see in the portrait I’m holding my famous red cap (everyone who knows me will recognise that). Each time I look at the painting I discover something new. My initial reaction was that I thought my expression in the portrait was a little severe.  But now I’m comfortable with that.  And I don’t normally wear short sleeves, but the day Martin took the photographs to base the portrait on was particularly warm.  So that has worked to advantage as well in showing my affected arm.”

All images copyright Martin Tighe.

Full version of interview available below.

Mistah' s Birthday

It's Mistah's Birthday. He's 12. He had a BIG day yesterday at the Street Party for the Brunswick Music Festival. Boy he was admired. And you should have seen the young lady with the hula hoops!!

Courage, conviction, wit and vision

‘It Was Tom’ s First Brush With Modernism’, a crayon and ink drawing on paper by English artist, Glen Baxter, was the quirky image that adorned the front cover of the catalogue for The Biennale of Sydney in 1986, a cowboy looking at a blank canvas (in a gallery?). It was my first brush with Baxter’s work and I loved it, still do. It was also my first brush with Nick Waterlow, the Curator of that Biennale.

The Biennale of Sydney was a very Sydney thing, or so it seemed to me at that time. Melbourne people didn’t care much for it, one way or the other. Indifferent was probably the best way to describe it, but still, I thought I had better check it out.

‘Gotham City Gossip’ was going strong on 3RRR-FM back in those days. An art show on radio, how did I do it, people asked. Easy, just talk about the art. Heard only in Melbourne, Sydney people were entranced, especially people like Ray Hughes. The program had become an arbiter of taste (or, as some said, lack of it).

So when I rang Nick Waterlow for an interview about his Biennale, of course he said yes. We met at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Nick was nervous. So far the press hadn’t been kind. And even though I was asking the tough questions, Nick liked the way I was asking them.

I won’t say we became friends. But we had mutual friends in common, Rodney Pople, Tony Oliver, Robert Hirschmann, Bob Whitaker, and always had a warm smile for each other whenever our paths occasionally crossed. He always remembered that interview.

I surprised him once in England when I was curating Bob Whitker’s survey show for the Monash Gallery of Art back in 2002. I was staying with Bob in Hayward’s Heath. Nick came to visit, curating his own show ‘Larrikins in London’ for the Dougherty. We just laughed. I think Nick was jealous, maybe 'cos he thought I had better work of Bob's in my show. We ended up sharing it and both shows looked great.

I called in to see Nick at the Ivan Dougherty Gallery when I was in Sydney in September. He was in England again. I saw him on the telly a couple of weeks back, with his old mate, Martin Sharp, talking about Luna Park. His hair and beard were long and white, unkempt almost, but that was Nick. He will be missed, terribly.

Place to be

Little wonder it’s been here at Handsome Steve’s House of Refreshment that legions of long-suffering Geelong supporters have gathered for weekly solace for the past 12 months, awaiting the rolling back of the stone in 2009. Last September Geelong lost and so did Gary Ablett Jnr.

But now the headline has changed. “At Last Ablett Wins Medal” says the newspaper banner outside the local milk bar. Gary Junior has finally won his Brownlow. (''It'll be fantastic to be able to go home and tell Dad I've done something he hasn't done'', is the quotable quote. ) And Geelong are in the AFL Grand Final…. again.

A kiosk with a twist, Handsome Steve’s House of Refreshment perches unobtrusively within the grounds of The Convent in Abbotsford. No signs, just a very unassuming entrance hall and an old, wide, wooden staircase. Hard to find, unless you know what you’re looking for. But, once you’re there, you’ll love it.

Combining the great loves of his life, the Geelong Football Club, pop culture and art into what he call his “retirement”, “Handsome” Steve Miller(a guitar player in his own right, but no relation to his namesake, the more famous American one) has created something very special.

Tucked deep within the bowels of the 100-year-old building, situated near the banks of the famous Yarra, old-fashionedness reigns supreme. “You won't find eggs, 'cooked to your liking', skinny lattes, wraps, low fat muffins or light beer,” boasts mine host, on his website. “It's S for Salt, F for Fat, S for Sugar, C for Caffeine and A for Alcohol.”

Some tables and chairs, high stools and a free-standing, T-shaped bar at which to sit. An autographed photograph of former Prime Minister, Paul Keating, an unsigned one of Sir Les Patterson, Elvis and Muhammad Ali (boxing under water) all hang on the walls inside the small, atmospheric first-floor room with a view. Of course, there’s also the sun-deck outside.

In the 1980s, Steve was a member of cult Melbourne band, the Moodists, along with Dave Graney and Claire Moore. They went to London for a while, hung out in Brixton and Vauxhall and..(well too many to mention), recorded the album “Thirsty’s Calling”, the one with the black and white cover, and returned to Australia about as famous as when they left. A poster image of the cover now sits high above Steve and his reproduction 1961 Faema coffee machine. The Go-Betweens and the Triffids also have their place.

Originally, The Convent belonged to the nuns of the Order of Good Shepherd, providing shelter and spiritual support for vulnerable girls and women. Over the past decade the building and grounds have been turned into a lively arts, cultural and educational precinct.

“I am sure the vulnerable girls and women would have preferred art, culture and education to the grinding routine of the Laundry”, says Steve. And it’s his oddball collection of visual art, sculpture, painting, drawing, all related in subject matter to the football club for which he has barracked since childhood, which makes The House of Refreshment truly special. Wall space is running out.

A copper bust of Gary Ablett (God) by Stuart James sits in pride of place on the bar where 2008 just doesn’t exist. Glen Morgan’s quirky portrait of the 2007 Premiership Team hangs on the feature wall (photograph courtesy the artist and Ray Hughes Gallery, Sydney), a newspaper banner announcing Jimmy Bartel’s 2007 Brownlow is pinned close by. Opposite are Sunday newspaper banners heralding Geelong’s record-breaking Premiership win. “I got a DVD copy of the ’07 win on the Wednesday after the game, and played it all day every day right through til Christmas”, says Steve with pride.

“Footy fever, can’t eat, cant sleep”, he says following Gary Jnr.’s win. Steve already has the Herald-Sun banner of Gary’s win ready for the wall. Last week he added a Geelong Cats mirror to the collection, and a few weeks ago a donated Steve Hocking Memorial Sherrin plus a small painted replica of the MCG Scoreboard from Grand Final Day 1963. The Cats beat Hawthorn that year, remember. On Grand Final Day this year, Steve will be in the House, TV on. Promises to be great. That's Steve and me gettin ready.

Paint It (Red, White &) Black

Molly Meldrum’s Richmond fence is painted again.  It must be September.  And St.Kilda must be in the Finals.  Well, we know that. But hey it’s a ritual, and I look forward to it.  It makes my drive down Highett Street that little bit more colorful, especially if the traffic’s banked up. 

Molly must be excited.   “Minor Premiers 2009”.  But Molly, it is a long way to the top if you want to win a grand final, and it has been a long and winding road for your team.  “Since 1966”, Molly says.  No faces of players this year, no pictures just words.

Mistah seems bemused.  He’s never met Molly, but he’s been past quite a lot, on his way to the park.  He gets on a lot better with Geelong supporters, Gem’s dad Tony (Legge) is one.