Issue 2
Dealer
of the month
Vale
Matt Moffitt
20.8.03 Sydney Matt Moffitt
of Matt Finish has died in his sleep in Sydney. He was 47.
Geoff Marr, who played bass for Matt Moffitt in a recent line-up
of the band told Undercover News Matt died in his sleep on Wednesday night from
a suspected seizure.
Matt Finish and Ariel shared the same producer in Peter Dawkins,
whose son, Paul, played keyboards with Matt Finish just a few years ago.
(At this point I’m beginning
to wonder what’s going on – the circle is getting smaller almost bloody daily.
Aaaaargh!) read
more
Bonus third page of
mindless prattle.
Les
Miserables Lamington crisis 
out! It’s the Feds in-laws..
Okay, it’s been a quiet month for Spectrum, but all the
more reason to gad about attending slap-up openings – like the new Federation
Lighting shop at 323 Canterbury Rd in Surrey Hills, coincidentally
hosted by Mike’s in-laws, Kath & Geoff McClatchy and their
luscious daughter, Michelle. Pop in and see them some time
if you’re looking for lighting or exquisite antique and reproduction furniture.
Tell them you read about them on this website and expect some sort
of reaction..back to the top
return to Mike Rudd & Bill Putt’s home page
capers @ Capers Cabaret
Mike,Bill & Robbo visit Normie Rowe backstage at the
Hawthorn home of geriatric rock, Capers Cabaret. Also pictured is Normie’s horn
section, the alluring Ms Jenny Foote. Normie has been touring
for nearly two months now and is starting to get the hang of it, he told Mike.
Capers was just about the last stop on the tour and was stacked with retirees
from all over the eastern suburbs who gave Normie the kind of reverential reception
the man deserves.
PS
– Brecon Walsh tells me he read in Progress Press that Capers is moving
to larger premises in Hawthorn around December.
Way ‘Til You Drop
One of the more interesting aspects of the LWTTT tour was meeting some of the
performers that, for one reason or another, we’d managed to miss the first time
around. One such character was Tony Barber, rhytthm guitarist with the original
Aztecs. He seemed in perpetual awe and delight at what was going on around him
– maybe because his tenure with the Aztecs (and Rock biz in general) was comparitively
short.
Anyway, not long ago, Tony sent us all an e-mail, informing us he was writing
a book about the tour, and requesting photos and anecdotes. I think most of
the cast were only too happy to oblige, but there were some notable exceptions,
including the Iron Duke himself (Thorpie), who maintains he is the only one
truly qualified to write such a book.
Tony rang the other day to tell me the book is now complete and scheduled for
release in October. Called ‘Long Way ‘Til You Drop’ I’m betting it will be a
great read and I can’t wait to get my copy.
So, what next? A movie?
Issue #2
As well as being in
Thorpie’s original Aztecs (’64 – ’65), Tony Barber has beeen a children’s
TV presenter on the Music Shop and has written over 15 children’s books, (like
The Puggle Tales), designed soft toys for characters and programs such as
Bananas In Pyjamas, Blinkey Bill, Play School, The Music Shop, and of course,
The Puggles. Who better to write about a bunch of professional layabouts who
refuse to grow up?
back to the top
happening.. the spin
Welcome to Issue #2 of the reborn Bloody Newsletter. The few weeks since the
site’s inception have been amazingly busy and fruitful – which is just as well,
because, with the exception of the odd birthday celebrations, the live scene
has been quite quiet for Spectrum of late.
As well as coping with the deluge of enquiries generated by the site, Bill and
I have been able to address some of the outstanding unmixed recording sessions
that have been sitting around for the past twelve months or more. I’m happy
to report that the follow up to Spill (No Thinking) is finally under
way in the luxurious surrounds of the Accidental Music Mixing Suite, based handily
right here at home in Camberwell.
Next on the agenda are all those songs featured in the Spectrum live set that
we’re constantly pestered about, but remain unrecorded. Songs like Bill’s beautiful
instrumentals Jenwah and Little By Little, and the revamped
WHY songs, Silicon Valley and Sensible Shoes, just to name
a few.
People occasionally mumble at me that there’s more to life than recording at
home, but if there is, I haven’t heard about it..
Site reviews
the Mighty Tiges slide towards the bottom of the League table.They
say that time flies when you’re having fun – well, it seems to go
into hyper-drive when you start recording and messing around in studios. It
feels like only yesterday that I wrote my first Bill’s Twang rave, and
now it’s the end of July! Maybe it’s the slowing down as we get
older, or maybe it’s the medication. Anyhoo, it’s been more of the
same; recording in my studio till mid-afternoon, and then off to Michael’s
to continue mixing our last lot of recordings, which lasts until we get interrupted
by dinner, TV, tinitis or tiredness. We still have a few more tracks to mix
and a couple of bits and pieces to re-record, but we should be finished before
you can say “Richmond for Premiers!” (Go Tiges!)
The other highlights of the month for me have been a great gig at the Armadillo
Blues Bar in Mentone and a private surprise birthday party in Camberwell. Michael
and I
(his 50th), and then took over the lounge room and did a couple of blues tunes,
finishing off with the inevitable rendition of I’ll Be Gone.
It’s quite a nice change to go to a gig with only a couple of nylon-string
guitars and harmonicas and play in someone’s house. We do a few of these
gigs each year and they are always a load of fun, with lots of silly photos
and an uncle or someone with a video camera to capture the occasion on film.
So, if you’d like Michael and me to play in your lounge room / kitcen
in an acoustic format, please give our manager Jenny a call on 0419 842 312.
Anyway, time for me to go, I can hear the nurse calling. Something about putting
my clothes back on. Or was it taking them off..? back
to the top
music downloads – have your say
The issue of downloading music off the Net is a vexed one. Record companies
have made their position clear, adopting aggressive measures to attempt to crush
what appears to be a growing problem for the music industry as a whole.
Musicians are divided over the issue. Some see the Net a being a useful merchandising
device – others see it as a long term threat to the very concept of copyright.
Mike Rudd falls into the first category, but is anxious to hear your opinions.
Use the contact us form to relay
your views on this vital subject. Your
feedback
Mutant looms large in SA
For some reason there’s a bump in the graph where sales of Ariel’s worthy Jellabad
Mutant CD are concerned. Big Star CDs & Records have just taken another
hefty shipment of the Mutant, making SA the premier Mutant state. One can only
conjecture why this is – is it that a radio station is actually playing
the thing? Maybe some Croweater in the know can enlighten this column
Ross
Ryan goes too far!
Ross Ryan has gone too far this time. It’s bad enough having to put up with
him in the appropriate journals i.e. trade papers, veterinary publications,
wanted posters etc., but to have one’s otherwise peaceful day in
the easterrn suburbs of Melbourne shattered with My-Name-Means-Horse’s sunburnt
visage peering quizzically at me from the front of the suburban press that
I haven’t worked out how to cancel yet, is altogether too much. I rang him
to complain, but he was far too cheerful for my liking, so I agreed that I
would publicise his website, as long as he promised not to do it again. So,
try Ross’ website on www.coathanger.com.au.
There, that’s done.
Tues. Aug 12 In
scenes reminiscent of the Moratorium marches of the ’70s (only because those
were the last demos I attended), between two and three thousand community and
social workers and their clients, plus parents, carers and other interested
parties, rolled up to Treasury Place at lunchtime to register their displeasure
at a projected thirty five million dollar shortfall over the next three years
for social services.
It was suggested that to make up the shortfall, every man woman and child in
Victoria would have to buy twenty Lamingtons each annually. If the market is
flooded with Lamingtons, their value will plummet, and even more Lamingtons
will have to be sold. Lobby your local member to prevent the looming Lamington
crisis.
back to the top
Well, he does look kinda
sus’ – but Ian ‘Buddha’ Carpenter is our first music dealer
of the month. If you live in the Williamstown area, you can’t help but know
Ian as the proprietor of Off
Beat Music, a boutique-style CD, vinyl and poster shop at 153 Nelson Parade,
pointed right at the bitterly cold (on this day) northerly wind blowing in from
Melbourne city over the Bay. Ian’s getting pretty excited about a project he’s
undertaking with Ian McCausland and Chris
Grosz, reproducing some of the very rare posters that surfaced in Oz in
the ’70s, including some rareties that were never published at all. If you slip
Ian a few shekels, he might evendigup some of our product for you..
