As I sit in my office here in Sydney I am AGAIN saddened by the fact that another icon Australia music venue is closing its doors.

But this one holds even more sentimental value than most as the Tote, on the corner of Johnston and Wellington Streets in Collingwood, was not only my old local but a venue that gave me some of my first gigs when I started playing music, it was the venue that hosted the very last Best Of The Brat, I went to two very rock’n'roll wedding receptions at, we had one my best mate Marcus’s 21st there so our bands could play and I saw some of the best and formative gigs there, from the Powder Monkeys and The Hellacopters to The White Stripes, Andre Williams and JET.

This venue to me was as iconic as CBGBS and sadly like CBGBS, all amazing things must come to an end.

Read the rest of this entry »

I’m feeling very proud to be from Brisbane today.

It was announced by the Brisbane City Council that the new link from Hale Street in Brisbane (that’s the street next to Lang Park for the football fans) to West End in South Brisbane will be named after out very own Go Betweens.

I feel proud because Brisbane has come ahead in leaps and bounds in acknowledging their cultural heritage. The Go-Betweens, The Saints and others had to leave Brisbane for Sydney (and latter London) to further their career. The late 70’s and early 80’s in Brisbane were ruled by a peanut farmer from Kingaroy names Joh Bjelke-Petersen. Brisbane was an oppressive society. A group of three people in one place at the same time constituted an illegal assembly so you could imagine how difficult it was for musical artists with punk leanings to actually be able to play live shows.

Fast forward some thirty years and we now have a bridge named “The Go Between Bridge” acknowledging the artistic success of Robert Forster and the late Grant McLennan and their influence on music in Queensland. Now that’s progress!