Dr Chris Shaw leaves today. He is looking forward to seeing his wife and Sparky and never having to talk to us again. Poor bloke...having to deal with a rabble of annoying morons like us. Admittedly he will have to talk to us a little more cos he's got a couple of tracks to mix when he returns to NYC. Sorry Chris.

We went to Jamie's brother's restaurant Vini last night to farewell Chris and celebrate the (almost) finishing of the record. The food was awesome as usual. We amassed a bill of over a grand due to the copious amounts of champagne, red wine, grappa and limoncello... so we all understandably feel like turd today.

Stav

PS I did an interview today for a community newspaper and the guy said to me "So Stav, that's obviously a nickname, how did you get it?" Um???

So we're 5 songs into mixing and it's way less taxing than the tracking process.  For us anyway.  I mean it's just as taxing (if not worse) for Dr Chris Shaw.  We are yet to see his true black rage but there is a self-confessed sense of impending fury from a man who usually keeps it in his pants.  On that subject, I did try to show Chris one nut the other day but the reflection of the glass kept his gaze aloof from my glory.  His loss really.  Our assistant engineer, Jordan Power, could testify to this as he was fortuitous enough to sight it.  

Thank GOD! Almost over. We should have been done yesterday but Chris, Jake and I got so shtonkered at Purple Sneakers on Friday that we took the day off on Saturday. To deal with my relentless hangover I rented 6 DVDs and spent hour after hour after hour watching them. A bit of pointless Hollywood in "Iron Man", then an intense documentary called "Deliver Us From Evil" about paedophilia in the Catholic Church (which was as excellent as it was painful), then some throwaway journalism about the terrible American Health system in "Sicko" by Michael Moore and finally a documentary called "Manufacturing Dissent" about what a throwaway journalist Michael Moore is. Oh it also mentions he's a cunt. Both fair observations although occasionally the world needs a bit of one sided white propoganda to balance the endless lies we're fed. I guess a ruthless journalist sees the story they want to tell and finds the way to depict that narrative regardless of it's veracity or the manner by which they acquire the elements that comprise that version of the story. Blah blah blah, Michale Moore is a bit of a cunt. But I did enjoy "Fahrenheit 911" and "Bowling For Columbine".

Anyways. Gotta listen to "The Truth Is" then hopefully get home in time to watch the last two films I rented.

Stav

We can't keep being so sentimental and annoying. It ends HERE!!!
So. Here is some fun news about the record.
Me and Stav and Jamie and Jerry and Chris Shaw are still recording overdubs, and its going well. We're using a vintage synthesiser from the seventies called an ARP Quadra. It's pretty hip. It sounds like an orchestra, but an orchestra in a space opera, if you know what i mean.

Other than that, we're almost finished with the recording process, and just have to mix after adding some keyboards and vocals to things here and there. There's still quite a lot of stuff to do, but we're on the home stretch...

Cassette Kids have turned up, and they're recording next to us. It's great to see them after bonding during the O Week tour we did with them, The Music, The Fratellis, Ben Lee and Yves Klien Blue, who are also friends. They were in for a while mixing with Scott Horscroft, and their new stuff sounds excellent.

We all got really drunk last night, and pretty stoned too, after doing overdubs on Ms Johnston, a dark sounding ska tune. It's come up wonderfully, with a couple of vocal layers adding huge amounts to the overall vibe of the song. It's got an absolutely epic end, with Farfisa organ blaring over a crazy timbale breakdown. It's like Latin rave music, or something. You'll love it.

I watched 'Blue Murder' last night, which is absolutely fantastic. If you haven't seen it, it's a mini-series about the late seventies and early eighties crime scene in Sydney, like 'Underbelly' if it was made by the ABC. Roger Rogerson and Neddy Smith are poetry in motion, as portrayed by Richard Roxborough and Tony Martin respectively.

These guys were such unrelenting sociopaths in the mid 80's; they basically ran the Sydney drug and armed robbery scene, often stealing things, confiscating them from their own criminals, and then selling them back on the street themselves. Wacky! They also killed everyone.

There's something fucked about watching Neddy Smith standing on Sally Anne Huckstep's back in a dam in Hyde Park, though. Loene Carmen, who is Bridezilla singer's Holiday Sidewinder's mum, plays Huckstep, just out of interest...
And Sam, the drummer from The Scare, who works at BJB Studios (where i currently are), is going out with Holiday. Six degrees, mofo's!

Anyway, I have to politely hurry Jerry up with his keys parts now...
Jake

Almost done. 2 days to go. Overdub universe. Dear Lord it's endless. But good - I'm sure I'll miss it when we're not making the record.

I watched "Lord Of The Rings - Return Of The King" the other night and the end made me cry. Seriously. Loss of innocence, the loss of dear friendships - that shit is sad. Guess I'm becoming a sentimental bastard in my old(er) age.

Stav

WAR IS HELL

It's not easy doing these vocals. A day ago I had a bit of an emo-breakdown, and I had the day off as a result. We've had a couple of slow days doing things, and I'm keen to get in there and do stuff now. We're waiting for Burke R. and Chris S. to finish editing all our scrappy, scrappy takes together. It's what happens when a) you're making a 'produced' kind of pop record, and b) you CANNOT sing. But i figure, i try and do it, and then we'll see how it turns out. I can't really control it in the end, much as i'd like to.

The band have largely finished their work and gone home to their normal lives, leaving Burke, Stav, Chris ani. d I as a weird outpost on the frontier of the album recording. It feels like the last stage is approaching, and i just want to get it done in a quality way.

There are heaps of kids in the studio, making an album of garage covers with Rusty Hopkinson from You Am I. It's pretty wild. They are about 12, and you get the sense that some of them are probably pretty good. I told one of them my age, and she was like '????'

I had lunch with my ex today, which was emotionally complicated, but ultimately good. Tonight we've got a gig for my other band 'The Break-Up' at Spectrum, which should be great. We're under-rehearsed, but you get that. I'm excited.

I don't know. Life is complicated, especially when you get past twenty five, and you've got more things to think about. But if we do a good job on these songs, then I can feel like I've at least been true to myself and the things i wanted to say over the last three years or so, and i think that's important. Especially in light of how remarkably empty the rest of my adult life is.

This isn't meant to sound depressing, just trying to be honest. Whereas the whole start of making the record was all about fun and getting that energy into the playing, as we get to the end of the recording process, it becomes a bit more melancholy and sometimes scary. Or maybe that's the way I'm looking at it, because of what my life has been like it the last little while.

None of this is supposed to make you go 'oh, poor guy' or anything, but you think about those things, don't you? Oh, the song 'Head Of The Hawk' sounds pretty good to me.

x Jake

I've spent the last 25 minutes trying to keep Jake's attention long enough to post something on this blog. He's too busy espousing various views on various subjects. I, meanwhile, am left in the bitterly cold kitchen of BJB, watching Burke Reid (handsome sod) edit our vocal take mess and guff. Only this and a photo of Bernie Mac are here to comfort me. RIP Burnie Mac. I loved you in "Friday".