A NEW "FLAKE" CD THIS YEAR?

WE HAVE TAKEN THE FIRST TENTATIVE STEPS TOWARDS SOME NEW FLAKE RECORDINGS, THE FIRST IN ABOUT 35 YEARS.
IT IS THE BAND'S 40TH ANNIVERSARY THIS YEAR OF IT'S FORMATION, SO I THOUGHT THIS WOULD BE AN APPROPRIATE RECORDING PROJECT. WE ARE STARTING OF WITH A TRACK WRITTEN BY MY FRIEND STEVE MAHER. LINDAY ASKEW, THE BAND'S FIRST GUITARIST, HAS PROVIDED A MIDI DRUM TRACK, AND ROB ASKEW, THE BAND'S LAST BASS PLAYER, HAS LAID BASS AND ACOUSTIC GUITAR TRACKS. LINZ IS NOW HAVING A QUICK HOLIDAY AND WHEN HE GETS BACK, WILL PUT DOWN SOME LEAD GUITAR. i CAN TEN PUT ON SOME SAX, MAYBE BARITONE, AND THEN OLLIE THE SINGER WILL LAY SOME VOCALS. WE ALL HAVE HOME STUDIOS, AND ARE EXCHANGING MUSIC FILES VIA STEVE'S SERVER. LIVE DRUMS WILL EVENTUALLY REPLACE THE MIDI DRUMS.

JIMI HENDLIX?

AS I HAVE MENTIONED BEFORE, I WORK IN A NEW LABORATORY WHERE ALL THE MEETING ROOMS ARE ROCK MUSICIAN THEMED. OBVIOUSLY CONCEIVED BY A BABY BOOMER, OUR CEO PERHAPS, THEY LOOK TERRIFIC. THERE'S ONLY ONE SMALL PROBLEM. SO MANY OF OUR STAFF ARE YOUNG AND FROM NON EUROPEAN CULTURES. A 20 YEAR OLD FROM INDIA OR CHINA LOOKS AT THE ETCHED IMAGE ON THE DOOR AND WOULDN'T KNOW IF IT WAS HENDRIX OR MARLEY, SO, SOMEONE HAS GONE AROUND WITH STICK ON LETTERS TO LABEL EACH ROOM. AT LEAST THEY WILL NOW KNOW WHAT MANY OF OUR DEAD ROCK HEROS LOOKED LIKE!

I USED TO LIKE MARK STIVER'S CARTOONS

ACROSS THE UNIVERSE

THE AMERICAN SPACE AGENCY, NASA, IS TO BEAM THE BEATLES SONG "ACROSS THE UNIVERSE" INTO SPACE NEXT WEEK, MARKING THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SONG BEING WRITTEN. IT WILL BE AIMED AT POLARIS, THE NORTH STAR, 431 LIGHT YEARS AWAY.
DEAR OLD YOKO DESCRIBED THE EVENT AS THE BEGINNING OF A NEW AGE.
SIR PAUL, BEING AS ECONOMICAL WITH WORDS AS HE IS WITH MONEY, SAID IT WAS "AMAZING".
JOHN'S LAST WORDS IN THE SONG ARE, "LIMITLESS UNDYING LOVE WHICH SHINES AROUND ME LIKE A MILLION SUNS IT CALLS ME ON AND ON ACROSS THE UNIVERSE".
I REMEMBER WHEN THEY LAUNCHED "VOYAGER" BACK IN 70'S, INCLUDED ABOARD WAS AN LP. IF AN ALIEN EVER FINDS IT, HOW WILL HE PLAY IT? DO THEY HAVE RECORD PLAYERS?.
THIS IS A PIC OF AN ALIEN GROUP CALLED "ZZARDNAP GNUP" WHO ARE A MINIMALIST POST SPACE HIP HOP OUTFIT. IS THIS WHERE OUR MUSIC IS HEADING?
"ZZARDNAP GNUP" USED TO HAVE A MUCH MORE CONSERVATIVE IMAGE BUT WERE INSPIRED BY OUR VERY OWN MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, PETER GARRETT.
HE HAS BEEN POPULAR IN THE OUTER LIMITS FOR LIGHT YEARS.

COITUS INTERUPTUS !

ONLY IN MELBOURNE COULD 94000 PEOPLE THINK CRICKET WAS SEX. LAST NIGHT A 20-20 MATCH, WHICH IS THE WHAM BAM THANKYOU MAM OF CRICKET WAS PLAYED OUT IN FRONT OF 94000 EXCITED FANS. THE FIRST HALF WAS THE FOREPLAY, WITH THE INDIAN BATSMEN ALL OUT FOR SEVENTY ODD RUNS. THE HALF TIME ENTERTAINMENT WAS THE ROGUE TRADERS PLAYING A FRENZIED 10 MINUTE SET, PERCHED UP IN FRONT OF A BIG SCREEN. THE SINGER LOOKED VERY SEXY, DOING A SORT OF WENDY JAMES POST PUNK/POP NUMBER, AND THEN, OUT CAME THE AUSTRALIANS, BELTING THE BALL TO ALL CORNERS OF THE GROUND, EQUALLING THE INDIA SCORE QUICKLY. THE CROWD WAS IN A FRENZY, WAITING FOR THE WINNING RUNS TO BE HIT FOR SIX, BUT THE INDIAN BOWLER DELIVERED A "NO BALL", AND THE GAME WAS SUDDENLY OVER, AND THEY WANDERED OFF THE GROUND.
TALK ABOUT AN ANTI-CLIMAX!

MARK STIVERS, MUSICIAN, PIANO TUNER, CARTOONIST, ARTIST

I HAVE HIGHLIGHTED MARK'S CARTOONS BEFORE. HE HAS AN ORIGINAL STYLE, AND IS GETTING PUBLISHED. I LIKE THEM A LOT. I COMMENTED ON HIS NEW "SEX MACHINE" CARTOON, AND HE RESPONDED WITH THE "ALLEN ENGINE".










I USED TO THINK I HAD A MACHINE LIKE MARK'S, BUT THIS MODEL ISN'T BAD EITHER. YOU WILL NOTICE IT'S A LOT LESS COMPLICATED BUT IT'S NOT VERY EFFICIENT, AND IT'S DONE A LOT OF MILES.
CHECK OUT MARK'S BLOG AT
http://sactuning.blogspot.com
MARK LIVES IN SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA, WITH HIS WIFE, JENNIFER, AND DAUGHTER, RACHEL.

IS ROBERT PLANT RIGHT, OR JUST SOUNDING LIKE OUR PARENTS?

ROBERT PLANT (LED ZEPPELIN) WAS IN A BAR AND COMPLAINED THAT THE BACKGROUND MUSIC (RADIOHEAD) WAS RHYMING CRAP, AND THE RED HOT CHILLI PEPPERS WAS KINDERGARTEN MUSIC. HE SOUNDS JUST LIKE MY PARENTS 40 YEARS AGO, OR INDEED, MYSELF ON OCCASIONS WHEN LISTENING TO SOME OF TODAY'S MUSICAL OFFERINGS. I THINK IT'S INEVITABLE, WE END UP SOUNDING LIKE OUR PARENTS, AT TIMES. BY THE WAY, HE ASKED THE BAR PEOPLE TO PLAY SOME CAPTAIN BEEFHEART. SAYS IT ALL REALLY, WE LIKE OUR OWN GENERATION'S MUSIC FIRST AND FOREMOST.
BECAUSE WE KNOW WE ARE RIGHT!!!!

THE MARVELS OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY

AT THE WEEKEND, I VISITED MY OLD FRIEND STEPHEN GARD AT HIS BLUE DAWE STUDIO. I HAD WITH ME SOME TAPES I RECORDED IN 1967, ON A SMALL PHILIPS TAPE RECORDER. THE RECORDING WAS OF MY SCHOOL ORCHESTRA AND CHOIR AT THE CANTERBURY BOYS HIGH SCHOOL SPEECH NIGHT, 1967. THE ORIGINAL RECORDER HAD DIED MANY YEARS AGO, AND I DON'T HAVE A REEL TO REEL MACHINE TO PLAY THE TAPES, AND DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT. STEVE HAS A NUMBER OF MACHINES, SO WE PUT THE TAPE ON AN OLD SHARP MACHINE, BUT COULD NOT GET THE CORRECT SPEED. IT SOUNDED ABOUT DOUBLE SPEED, CHIPMUNK STYLE. WE RECORDED IT INTO PROTOOLS, AND WITH THE MAGIC OF PITCH 'N TIME SOFTWARE, WERE ABLE TO ADJUST THE SPEED, AND THEN THE PITCH, TO REVEAL THE ORIGINAL RECORDING. ABSOLUTELY AMAZING STUFF, WE APPLIED SOME EQ, A BIT OF REVERB AND SOME ARTIFICIAL STEREO EFFECT AND THE RESULT WAS PRETTY GOOD. I WILL SEND A CD TO THE SCHOOL AND IF I CAN LOCATE THE MUSIC TEACHERS OF THE TIME, MISS O'BRIEN, AND GRAHAM RUSSELL, I WILL SEND THEM A COPY AS WELL. IF ANY READER KNOWS THESE MUSIC TEACHERS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

THE GOOD SHIPS DAVID ALLEN, AND A BLOODY CAR SALESMAN!

NEWCASTLE (AUSTRALIA) HAS A DREDGE (ABOVE) CALLED DAVID ALLEN
IN THE UK YOU CAN FIND "DAVE ALLEN" THE BARGE WITH SAIL (ABOVE)
AND IN THE US, ON THE GREAT LAKES IS CREW BOAT, DAVID ALLEN, ALL FINE VESSELS. THIS WILL BE THE LAST OF THE DAVE ALLEN IS SOMEBODY OR SOMETHING ELSE ENTRIES, SO I WILL LEAVE IT HERE, WITH DAVE ALLEN, A BLOODY CAR SALESMAN!

DAVID ALLEN, AUTHOR

THERE ARE AT LEAST TWO DAVID ALLEN PUBLISHED AUTHORS THAT I KNOW OF, IN THIS FRANCHISE. BUT THIS ONE IS MY FAVOURITE, HE WROTE "COLDER THAN A FART IN A DEAD ESKIMO".

DAVID ALLEN IS ELVIS

WHAT ELSE CAN BE SAID; THERE JUST HAD TO BE ONE DIDN'T THERE. YES, DAVID ALLEN, ELVIS IMPERSONATOR, WORKS THE CLUBS AND BARS AROUND TEXAS AND YOU CAN READ MORE ABOUT THIS FRANCHISEE AT www.yourelvis.com

DAVE ALLEN, MAGICIAN

ANOTHER MEMBER OF THE DAVE ALLEN FRANCHISE, IS DAVE ALLEN, THE MAGICIAN. NO RABBITS OUT OF A HAT FOR HIM, IT'S DUCKS OUT OF CUPS.

NATALIA PARUZ, THE SAW LADY

NATALIA, THE SAW LADY, DOES A LOT OF BUSKING IN THE NEW YORK SUBWAYS. SHE ALSO PLAYS-
AMERICAN PITCHED COWBELLS
AUSTRIAN PITCHED COWBELLS
ENGLISH HANDBELLS (JUST LIKE DAVID ALLEN, PREVIOUS BLOG ENTRY)
GLASS HARP.
CHECK OUT HER WEBSITE AT http://www.sawlady.com
ALSO, READ HER BLOG, ON THE DAY TO DAY TRIALS OF A NEW YORK BUSKER, GREAT READING.

JEW'S HARP GUILD OF AMERICA

FOLLOWING ON WITH THE WACKY MUSIC THEME, HERE IS A PHOTO OF ASIAN DELEGATES TO THE 4TH INTERNATIONAL JEW'S HARP CONGRESS, HELD IN RAILAND, NORWAY IN 2004. THE DATE ON THE PHOTO IS WRONG.

INTERNATIONAL MUSICAL SAW ASSOCIATION

HARIS GERSHOM FROM INDIA, PROMOTES HIS "HARISHOPHONE", WHICH IS A MUSICAL SAW ATTACHED TO A SOUND BOX, AS A SOURCE OF HEALING. HE IS SEEN HERE AT A BIG MUSICAL SAW GET TOGETHER IN WHERE ELSE, BUT AMERICA.