DAVE INTERVIEWS ENIGMATIC BASS PLAYER REX BAILS

DAVE: HI REX, I SEE YOU ARE THE NEW BASS PLAYER WITH SANDBOX. HOW DID YOU COME TO JOIN THE BAND?
REX:I MET STEVE IN WOY WOY BAY, WE TALKED, HE PLAYED SOME MUSIC, I WAS HOOKED.
DAVE: WHO ARE YOUR GREATEST INFLUENCE?
REX: YES, JOHN ENTWHISTLE IS GREAT.
DAVE:WHAT?
REX: NA, HE PLAYS DRUMS WITH THE STONES.
DAVE: YES WELL, MOVING ON, HOW LONG HAVE YOU PLAYED BASS?
REX: NOT LONG, I'M STILL LEARNING THE SCALES.
DAVE: NAME YOUR FAVOURITE GROUP.
REX: COUNTRY JOE AND THE FISH
DAVE: DO YOU USE A GUITAR TUNA?
REX: THAT'S ENOUGH, SOMETHING SMELLS FISHY TO ME.

JOHN & BELINDA'S BIG NIGHT OUT

I MAKE NO SECRET OF THE FACT THAT MY POLITICAL VIEWS ARE TO THE LEFT. WHEN I WAS 20, THE LIBERAL GOVERNMENT OF THE DAY TRIED TO CONSCRIPT ME INTO THE ARMY. I RESISTED, AND IT MADE ME THINK ABOUT POLITICS. THE FACT THAT A GOVERNMENT I WAS NOT OLD ENOUGH TO VOTE FOR , COULD CHANGE MY LIFE SO RADICALLY, REALLY GOT UP MY NOSE. I HAVE VOTED LABOR AND OCCASIONALLY GREENS IN THE UPPER HOUSE EVER SINCE. I WILL PROBABLY CONTINUE DOING SO UNTIL SOMETHING BETTER COMES ALONG. I LIVE IN WOY WOY, ON THE NEW SOUTH WALES CENTRAL COAST OF AUSTRALIA, AND SO DO THE PEOPLE IN THE PICTURE ABOVE. SHE IS MY LOCAL FEDERAL MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT, HE IS A MINISTER IN THE NSW PARLIAMENT. THEY ARE MARRIED, AND ARE A POWERFUL PAIR IN THE SCHEME OF THINGS. YET ACCORDING TO MANY REPORTS, THEY BEHAVED DISGRACEFULLY AT A LOCAL NIGHTCLUB, THREATENING TO CLOSE THE PLACE DOWN, THREATENING STAFF THEY WOULD LOSE THEIR JOBS AND GENERALLY MAKING COMPLETE MUGS OF THEMSELVES. "DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?" IS AS BAD A THREAT AS "I KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE" IF THE ALLEGATIONS ARE SUBSTANTIALLY TRUE, I FEEL VERY BADLY LET DOWN. MAYBE THEY SHOULD MAKE SOME "WORKCHOICES" OF THEIR OWN.

MORE ON POLITICIANS AND BLUES

THINK ABOUT IT. GOOD PUN, EH? WELL, YESTERDAY'S 1ST ANNUAL GOSFORD BLUES FESTIVAL WAS A GREAT SUCCESS TO MY WAY OF THINKING. A SHORT LEAD TIME, (8WEEKS) TO ORGANISE, HARDLY ANY PUBLICITY, TERRIBLE WEATHER, A CHANGE OF VENUE, FROM THE LEAGUES CLUB PARK TO IGUANA JOE'S, AND STILL SOME HUNDREDS TURNED UP. BLUES MUSICIANS AND FOLLOWERS, DESPITE THE SOMETIMES ROUGH IMAGE, AND THE WELL KNOWN DRINKING, ARE VERY WELL BEHAVED. NO ONE DRUNK, NO FIGHTS, NO ABUSE OF STAFF, NO NEED FOR BOUNCERS, NO NEED TO CALL THE COPS. NO STAT DECS. MAYBE BLUES PEOPLE SHOULD BE RUNNING THE COUNTRY.

CENTRAL COAST BLUES FESTIVAL

WOW! WHAT A GREAT DAY! UNDERWRITTEN BY THE LOCAL GOSFORD COUNCIL, TODAY'S FESTIVAL WAS A WONDERFUL DAY, AND GIVEN THAT THERE WAS VERY LITTLE PUBLICITY, THERE WAS A VERY GOOD CROWD. I KNEW PEOPLE WHO EVEN CAME FROM TASMANIA FOR IT. THERE WERE TWO STAGES AT IGUANA JOE'S, ON THE WATERFRONT, ON THE DELLA-BOSCA STAGE IN THE MAIN BAR AREA, WE SAW GAIL PAGE AND PARRIS MCLOUD , THE BLUES BOMBERS, LAST VOLUNTEERS AND BEACHHEAD. ON THE BELINDA NEALE STAGE, IN THE FUNCTION AREA, THE DAY KICKED OFF WITH MUMA JANE CHICAGO BLUES BAND, TORPEDOS, CONTINENTAL ROBERT & THE RINKY DINKS, FOLLOWED BY A JAM WITH BEACHHEAD, MUMA JANE, GAIL PAGE AND PARRIS ON KEYS, AND IT WAS A FITTING WAY TO FINISH THE DAY.

THIS AIRLINE'S A REAL BUMMER!

1St ANNUAL CENTRAL COAST BLUES FESTIVAL

THIS COMING WEEKEND, ON SUNDAY, THERE IS A BLUES FESTIVAL IN GOSFORD. IT IS SPONSORED BY THE LOCAL COUNCIL, WHICH IS GREAT, BUT, IF I WASN'T INVOLVED IN MUSIC, AND KNOWN SOME OF THE PERFORMERS, IT WOULD HAVE PASSED UN-NOTICED. IF YOU ARE LIVING ON THE CENTRAL COAST, NSW, AUSTRALIA, GET ALONG. ARTISTS INCLUDE MAMA JANE'S CHICAGO BLUES BAND, BLUES BOMBERS, BEACHHEAD, CONTINENTAL ROBERT AND MORE, A REALLY GOOD LINEUP, DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE WEATHER, IT'S NOT IN LEAGUES CLUB PARK, IT'S BEEN MOVED TO IGUANA JOE'S, ACROSS THE ROAD.

THERE IS SOMETHING VERY STRANGE HAPPENING IN AUSTRALIA

WE PRIDE OURSELVES ON CULTURE IN THIS COUNTRY, THE ARTISTS, MUSICIANS, WRITERS, ACTORS, POETS, YET WE CANNOT BREAK AWAY FROM OUR CONSERVATIVE, PROVINCIAL, NARROW MINDED PERSPECTIVE, OUR FEAR OF OFFENDING THE RELIGIOUS RIGHT WING, THE BIGOTS AND THEIR POLITICAL PUPPETS.
IT IS A SHAMEFUL THING, THE WAY BILL HENSON IS AT THE MOMENT, BEING PORTRAYED AS SOME SORT OF PORNOGRAPHER. HIS WORK, REFLECTING THEMES OF CHILDREN AND TEENAGERS, HAS BEEN MAINSTREAM FARE IN MOST MAJOR GALLERIES AND COLLECTIONS FOR THE PAST 30 YEARS. YET, AT THE COMPLAINT FROM ONE SINGLE PERSON, THE POLICE HAVE ACTED, RAIDING ART GALLERIES, THREATENING LEGAL ACTION. WHAT A PISS POOR BUNCH OF POLITICIANS WE HAVE. JUMP IN AND SUPPORT THE POLICE, AND IN THE CASE OF THE FEDERAL MINISTER FOR ARTS, PETER GARRETT, NOTHING, NOT A WORD. PETER GARRETT IS A FRAUD. A ROCK STAR FOR YEARS, A CHAMPION OF THE ENVIRONMENT, GETS INTO GOVERNMENT, AND .......NOTHING. HE IS A TYPICAL CHRISTIAN, LAWYER, IN A SUIT, WITH A SHAVED HEAD. WHAT A DUD! WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT.

CAMDEN'S "PAULINE" REDNECK

KATE McCULLOCH IS NOW THE CAMDEN AND DISTRICT FRIENDLY FACE FOR THE ANTI-MUSLIM CAMPAIGN. BUT LOOK AT THE PICTURE CLOSELY, AND YOU WILL SEE BEHIND HER, YES, RUSTY GATES! THE PLOT THICKENS!




AND WHAT'S IT WITH REDHEADS? PAULINE, KATE AND RUSTY? ARE KATE AND PAULINE RUSTY'S LOVE CHILDREN? NA, RUSTY'S NOT OLD ENOUGH. SIBLINGS SEPARATED AT BIRTH PERHAPS? DNA TESTS NEEDED, I THINK!

CAMDEN FOLKS NOT REDNECKS?

IT WAS CLAIMED IN TODAY'S SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, THAT THE GENTLE FOLK OF CAMDEN ARE NOT REDNECKS, FOLLOWING THE LOCAL REACTION TO A DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION FOR A MUSLIM SCHOOL. WELL, I BEG TO DIFFER, THESE ARE IMAGES FROM THE DISTRICT.




THIS OLD PIC IS OF THE LEADING REDNECK IN THE DISTRICT, WHEN HE WAS YOUNG, AND TODAY IS A LEADING COUNTRY AND SOUTH WESTERN STAR, RUSTY GATES.

YESTERDAY'S PIZZA IN THE SANDBOX

RUSSIA WINS EUROVISION

A BAND CALLED DIMA BILAN HAS WON EUROVISION FOR RUSSIA. WITH A NAME LIKE DIMA BILAN, IT SHOULD ENSURE THIS BANDS JOURNEY TO OBLIVION.
THEIR SONG WAS CALLED BELIEVE.


THE TOSSERS BELOW ARE A UKRANIAN ENTRY FROM LAST YEAR.

POLICE RAID SYDNEY ART GALLERY

WHERE THE HELL AM I? HAS THE LAST 43 YEARS BEEN A TERRIBLE NIGHTMARE? AM I REALLY LIVING IN 1965? AND WORSE STILL, IN QUEENSLAND? MUST BE. OUR MORAL PROTECTORS, THE POLICE, OUR GUARDIANS OF ALL THINGS YUCKY, THE PATRONS OF GOOD TASTE AND GOOD ART ARE AT IT AGAIN. OH WELL, SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE. JOH FOR PM!

RETURN OF THE HERBERTS

S.E. ASIA'S LATEST ROCK SENSATIONS, THE HERBERTS, FLY BACK INTO SYDNEY THIS WEEKEND, FOLLOWING A LIGHTNING RETURN TOUR OF BALI. THE FERRY ON WHICH THEY TRAVELLED TO BALI, WAS HIJACKED BY PIRATES AND WAS LAST SEEN HEADING FURTHER WEST THROUGH INDONESIAN ISLANDS.

ANDY JAMES SNOT GOD

ANDY JAMES IS NOW RUNNING AROUND CLAIMING TO BE THE GREATEST ELECTRIC EGYPTIAN NOSE FLUTE PLAYER IN THE WORLD, HE OF COURSE COPIED HIS TECHNIQUE FROM THE GREAT RAHSAAN ROLAND KIRK, WHO PENNED THE LINE, "THE NOSE KNOWS". ANDY JAMES REALLY IS A WANKER, A PRETENDER, A CONMAN. DON'T BE TAKEN IN BY HIS SMOOTH TALK LADIES! IF HE RINGS YOU UP, WHISTLE IN THE PHONE. AS THE GREAT RAHSAAN SAID, "WHISTLE WHILE YOU WORK"! IAN ANDERSON OF JETHRO TULL FAME, ALSO TRIED TO COPY KIRK, BUT WAS ONLY A PALE IMITATION, ANDY JAMES IS CYBER SNOT.

ALAS POOR YORICK

I KNEW HIM WELL