BROTHER is watching you

and another year runs it's course.
more shows than last year
and more again coming in 2011.
i still marvel that BROTHER is now a 3 piece.
i never would have imagined.
but here we are and it feels damn good.
we captured the new sound on a live album.
happy with that but ready to be in the studio again.
a good few shows with the 2 piece in 2010 too.
tribal trance experimentation.
and with drew on his way west soon,
many more angdrew shows to come ...

interesting times we're in.
i was thinking of reading 1984 again.
but it seems i don't need to.
it seems we're living it.
being a dad, this is on my mind.
where are we heading?
was it ben franklin that said
he who forsakes freedom for safety deserves neither?
but fear not. BROTHER is watching you too ...


getting on the floor and laughing with my son.
walking in the snow with him
as he watches it fall for the first time.
imagining him being a big brother.
these things are real,
in a world that feels quite unreal sometimes ...
but i feel a powerful year coming.
it will be what we want it to be.
and we want it to be happy, do we not?

angus

chimney smoke

despite the challenges of these times i give thanks for an amazing year.
lots of good people along the way.
some we've known a long time, some we've just met,
and many we knew long ago who have somehow found us again.
the feedback has been wonderfully uplifting,
one of the things that keeps me on this path.
being a part of the ever evolving animal that is BROTHER is a trip in itself.
i've enjoyed the continuing focusing of the sound and show with the fellas.
we are 3 different and quirky individuals but we like each others' company.
and the vision is shared.
here's to our last show for this year!
back at the coach house for the 'out from under' release party.
and back on stage with brother jack. another quirky individual.
i give thanks for being able to make some music with him again too.
and i give thanks too for my amazing little family, soon to be a little larger.
the best paradigm shift ever.
and thanks to you all for a great year.
long may your chimney smoke ...

angus

blown again

misty cold weather here in southern oregon.

warms the cockles of my celtic heart.

good to be home again, tho only for a couple more days.

far flung florida next. sun to spare there.

we played dunedin with brother hamish years ago.

the memories are good. of the people and the place ...

every time i return home asa is more a person.

bigger stronger faster. cheekier and funnier.

and i am always more enthralled.

by him. by the process.

and now he is to be a big brother.

he doesn't really get it yet

but we certainly do.

i know it will be similar

and yet different in so many ways too.

and so the world will turn.

and our minds will be quietly(or not so quietly) blown again ...

anxious to have that rascal drewski living here.

somehow we've managed to keep the BROTHER beast breathing,

across the years, across continents, across seas.

but it is always easier to move quickly when we're closer.

seems he will drive across the country early in the new year.

here's to a safe journey mate.

angus

in a church

our first neighborhood concert this past weekend.

BROTHER in a church. a near capacity audience.

my son in the front row imitating dalbo,

or dancing with the other small ones,

or watching me, hand to his head in the sign for 'dada'.

people there from the days of yore.

one bloke who was at our LA show with colin hay 14 years ago.

and the flyer to prove it.

kids, teachers and parents from the school shows we did last week.

a community gathering.

felt good to be so welcomed our first time out ...

we had to move a couple of months back.

a pain the in proverbial but the first place we looked at suited us perfectly.

a mountain view that takes me back to the farm.

and lichen grew up here, so it feels like home for us both.

big back yard, deer proof veggie garden,

fruit trees and an old chicken coop.

maybe next year we'll have chooks. that'll really take me back.

nothing quite like collecting your own eggs.

a goat perhaps? no, just kidding.

one day ...

sonora this weekend with andrew and david.

gold country. they found it there, and the grasses are.

gold that is.

for now, time to soak in the view. and a brew.

angus

flying

at the airport last night.

arrived to find i hadn't checked in online, so i was on standby.

and somehow my id had important pieces of info missing,

or kind of flashing in and out, so it wasn't usable at all.

and of course, i had somewhere to be,

a show to play, bread to win ...

then i realized i was dreaming,

and i was indeed already on the way to somewhere,

telling dalbo about the dream.

the stress of flying nowadays,

now that we're all terrorists not tourists,

not like the good old days,

when i loved to fly ...

then i really woke up, at home,

to the sound of asa talking to himself in his crib.

the cheeky, tough little dynamo that is my son,

engages me in this life more and more every day.

he loves tractors, drumming, blackberries straight off the vine,

jumping, dressing up in hats and the moon.

he brings me close to the ground,

(where any good taurus should be, eating the flowers)

when flying these days, even in my dreams, is so often a drag.

pleasanton last weekend. 6 shows in 2 days.

like so many of those celtic festivals,

lots of hard playing, lots of sweating.

and lots of good people, old and new,

reminding me why i still go out and do this.

jamming with the lass and lads of albannach on our final tune.

a mighty way to end the day.

and we will do it again next week in new hampshire.

in the meantime, the boy sleeps again after a long and busy day.

sweet dreams little matey.

and lang mae yer lum reek.

angus

that's a bummer man

mmm, that's a bummer man.


a week later ...

2 weeks later ...

hamish for the senate

may you live in interesting times.

my brother hamish,

man of the earth,

has announced he is running for the oz senate.

a sustainable future is his goal.

indpendent, naturally.

i wrote, played and performed music with him for a long time.

shared many a hotel room and compared notes on our passing lives,

and on the state of the world.

he lives his truths.

since taking leave of BROTHER

he has become a protector of his home community.

and an advocate of music and arts.

his is a voice that people want to hear.

he is a man of his word.

and his words, tho often few, are well chosen and ring true.

if i could choose a voice to represent me in my homeland,

it would be his.

it's time for a paradigm shift in politics and those of you who know hamish

know he is a very different kind of human,

with the ability to inspire.

if you can, vote.

he will deliver.

may you live in interesting times indeed,

angus

visit hamish here ... http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hamish-Richardson-for-the-Senate/143971698955042

lucky man

last weekend we played Faerieworlds.

and we were transported to another world indeed.

to play music to a pleasure seeking audience in such a setting?

sublime.

next day, a jamming set on the neverworlds stage, in under the trees.
afterwards, dalbo had asa up on his drum kit.

he played there, engrossed, for a good half hour.

and did protest much at having to leave.

boy has rhythm.

first time jamming with my son.

i am a lucky man ...

home then, for a backyard barbie.
i enjoy hanging with the fellas as much i do playing with them.
a very good thing ...

angus

july 4th

after many years in this country
i just had my most memeorable independence day.
felt like what it was meant to be.
a parade with a history of well over a century.
a community that celebrates together,
packing the streets to cheer along.
at the end of the parade, in the park,
countless booths selling whatever you can think of.
a park that is park is quite a wonderland.
music in the bandshell.
a bandshell in a natural grassed amphitheatre.
lots of good local music.
including angus and didgeridrew.
it was our first airing of the new tribal trance sound.
and the people seemed to like what they heard.
we shall definitely be airing again.
a sunset barbie and fireworks to round off a cloudless day.
it's good to be independent.
tomorrow, in the dark of the dawn,
drewski and i drive to the airport,
fly to north carolina to meet dalbo,
then we all head to grandfather mountain.
a place we haven't visited in 14 years.
a truly spankable absence.
grandfather is a unique place, a unique experience.
looking forward to the return.
and now, laundry, packing and an early night.

angus

turning gold

idyllic weather here in southern oregon.

big blue skies, light breeze.

countryside turning gold,

like summer on the farm in oz.

some early morning gardening, ably assisted by asa.

best time of day to have our hands in the dirt.

a magnificent brekky from lovely lichey.

playing music just now with brother drew.

good to have him here, creating something new.

tribal trance.

bringing the green room alive.

we play the bandshell in the park tomorrow, july 4th.

independence day.

indie day.

sounds like us.

making it up as we go along.

the only rules are the ones we follow.

enjoy your independence

day.

angus

how does your garden grow?

we had a long wet spring here in southern oregon.

but after so many years in LA i always enjoy the rain.

it feels like summer is just now about to spring. so to speak ...

our boy is not really a baby anymore.

it's only brief moments tho we miss the tiny one he was.

most of the time the vital, industrious, tough, smiling,

surprisingly gentle little lad he is now has us captivated.

every day he becomes more. everyday he fascinates us more.

every day he inspires us more. every day he is more fun to be with.

he is fascinated with every instrument i play.

didges, guitar, whistles, even the bagpipes.

and insists on playing them himself in his own unique way.

often he'll drag the big yucca didg over to me to play,

holding the other end to him to feel the vibration

or lifting it high over his head,

stamping his leg maori style.

then he'll hoot into the didg himself,

eyes serious and determined,

his library of sounds growing daily.

he is a great helper in the garden,

carting the watering can from pot to pot,

moving handfuls of earth from one planter box to another.

and always taking time to smell, and sometimes eat, the flowers.

i smile and i laugh all the more because of him.

and i take time eat the flowers myself now and then ...

i have been in the green room a lot more.

making music. getting the callouses hard again.

remembering old songs. learning new ones.

looking ahead to a busy week.

a lot of flying. a lot of playing.

wisconsin and pennsylvania have welcomed us many times

but wyoming is new to us, and BROTHER new to wyoming.

i love being at home and part of me could stay here happily,

playing with asa, growing vegetables, making music.

but another part of me looks forward to being on a big stage,

in front of a big, smiling, pulsating crowd,

making music with my mates.

let the summer begin.

angus

under the weather, over the moon

i'm home.

under the weather

but over the moon to be here.

my boy's beaming smile at the airport,

the best medicine i could ask for.

a ditty from the plane ...

first thing i'm gonna do when i get home

throw away a lot things i don't wanna own

make a lot of room for the things to come

but not before i savour my wife and son

'tis spring and there's much to let go of.

much i've carried around for too many years.

and across the country. twice.

not surprisingly, i enjoyed making music with the fellas.

cape may again. this time underground

while the rain fell above. nice crowd.

we did the colonial games with dalbo this year.

several jamming 'busking' type sets

and a big stage show.

then our first ever 'house party',

felt right to be in an idyllic garden setting.

the reid's backyard no less.

beautiful weather and birthday boy bill on sound.

a good readying for next months shows.

this cheeky cough had me piping and singing

with considerably less lung capacity than usual.

but, we make it thru, don't we?

in the meantime, the new cd.

we're told it's ready and on its way to us.

next stop, you.

'aveagoodweekend.

angus

feet in the ground

as i listen to the mastered songs

i watch my one year old son dance and air drum.

when he recognizes and responds to my music,

my heart is truly warmed.

today we make the final album decisions -

song sequence, mastering tweaks,

artwork, proofing.

after conferring with the fellas this morning,

one in los angeles, one in philly,

it seems we have the sequence.

a good mix of songs old and new.

of sounds ancient and modern.

BROTHER now ...

asa and dad check the artwork

it rains here after a few sun drenched days.

days spent outside weeding, planting flowers, erecting fences,
and digging garden beds for veggies.

reminds me of brother hamish, green man.

he with his feet in the ground.

and i think of the huge veggie garden we had growing up.

and the little orchard.
naive for sure, but we were lucky farm kids.

thank you dawnie and dave.

we're looking forward to growing much of our own,

especially with a small and ever hungry human to feed ...

maybe we'll get a goat.

angus

making it up as we go

yes, it's coming soon. but where are we at right now?

after the night of the concert i initially wanted to mix,

master and get this collection of songs out there as quickly as possible.

but often with music, as with haircuts,

a bit of distance helps in being objective.

also, circumstances dictated otherwise ...

so, after having driven family and home across country

for the second time in 2 years,

we took some time to settle in. a trip to oz was next,

for asa to meet my family and have his first birthday.

and his first surfing lesson.

after getting back to states, the fellas,

guy and i spent a week tweaking and mixing

and are now living for a wee while with the "mastered" tracks,

making sure we're happy with the sonics.

in 'the green house', mixing with guy

we're going for a new sound here, making it up as we go

and how you master a record is part of that process.

at the same time, leels and i work on the artwork and promo plan.

so, that's where we're at for now.

this beast shall be known as 'out from under'.

stay with me in the coming days and weeks

and i shall point my view toward you as we ready this beast for release ...

angus

"Hey, what's happening with the new BROTHER album?" Funny you should ask ...

it's almost ready. but let me back up a little first ...
3 years ago,
when my brother hamish decided to stay in oz after the last tour there,
i came back to LA wondering what to do next.
i'd never considered the thought of BROTHER without him there.
every gig i'd played since high school had been with him.
9 years before, the 2 of us had made the decision to continue
without our other brother fergus (now jack avalon)
and that was challenge enough.
this time decision was all mine and i can't say it was easy or quick.
but the more i thought about how i could make music with just dalbo and drew
- 2 very different musicians and 2 rascals i really enjoy being around -
the more it excited me.
it necessarily meant the sound once again would change.
and more drastically than ever.
somehow that is what seems to happen with this band.
it has kept it very exciting for us along the way musically
and yet challenging for leels from a marketing stand point.
we'd been many things, many bands,
but for the first time ever BROTHER would be a 3 piece.
a powerhouse celtic tribal trio as it were, and as it is.


right away i deliberately gave us the task of interpreting a good number
of the older repertoire we hadn't done live in many years.
at the same time i had a growing list of new songs i wanted us to play.
and that set the stage, so to speak.
now, 3 years down the line we are still a 3 piece
but each of us fills many a pair of boots.
more than ever, big dalbo commands the back of the stage
with his pounding tribal rhythms and presence,
triggering sounds and sampling my guitar when i switch to the pipes.
up front with me, didgeridrew has truly evolved from a a great didg player,
into somewhat of a sonic master.
several didges, keyboards, whistles, melodica and throat singing
are all a part of this tribal dj's arsenal.
suffice to say i am proud of the leap the 3 of us took
3 years ago as a new band, and proud of where we've taken the sound.
i walk onto any stage with these 2 blokes and feel ready for anything.
this new album represents our sound right now. BROTHER today.
we all wanted to get to this stage before realeasing a new album.
have no fear, the sound will continue to evolve.
as we often remark to each other, it feels like we've only just begun.
but for now, it is almost time for the latest from BROTHER.

angus

more images from oz

A bigger slice

australia treats us well.

it's still dark as i write,

the first of the songbirds greeting each other.

sounds i haven't heard in years.

asa blossoms here around his cousins,

watching them in fascination,

imitating everything they do.

quite a different little lad

will fly back to the states with us next week ...
most of our time has been by the sea,

these clearest and cleanest of waters.

i body surf with brother hamish and sister em.

and with big dave, who taught us all how

as soon as we could walk.

we paid a visit to patricia's farm over the blue mountains,

where 'one day' was recorded.

it remains a place of peace and inspiration.
chickens to feed, fresh eggs to collect.

delightfully quirky wildlife to watch.

places of bush that remain as they were before european settlement,

some truly ancient and dr seuss like plants that thrilled us all.

stars from a different part of the galaxy than in the north,

a bigger slice of the way milky.

and they do indeed seem to fill the sky.

the fascination of a small human

seeing it all for the first time.

for me, this is the best way to reconnect,

thru his piercing blue eyes ...

our time here comes to an end soon.

but the opportunity to pause a while,

to be around these places and these people again,

has been quite the trip.

angus

didg lesson from uncle hamish

out of hibernation

with my impending departure i break radio silence.

tomorrow, weather permitting, i fly to the east coast.

there, i meet the fellas and we play what is this year truly

the mid winter festival.

apparently there are feet of snow on the ground.

2003 anyone?

takes me back to this time last year in the catskill mountains.

shovelling snow, splitting wood,

keeping the wood stove stoked, often in the very wee hours of the morning.

a great experience but i am happy to be here now.

we have some bracing weather for sure,

but it doesn't take my time and energy.

in this time of hibernation and preparation

i have been blessed to be with my family.

asa does just about everything as soon as he can.

and with incredible passion.

what he can't do, he practices over and over.

he is my inspiration.

his early inclination to laugh has blossomed

into a wonderful bubbling chuckle.

my favourite sound in the world.

of course he grows incredibly.

his understanding of himself, us and his world does too.

and so we communicate better every day.

an increasingly rewarding experience

as he happens to be the most fascinating human on the planet to me ...

and so, as i contemplate the road again,

i do so committed to making this life of music

complement life with my family.

as we look to fill the rest of the calendar,

it will be with a view to having my greatest inspiration along for the ride,

wherever possible.

this weekend however, i'll be braving the snow alone.

some good hard playing with dalbo and drew. and a beer or 3.

then valentines, a day late, with the love of my life ...

the next day we drive to LA, meet up with the fellas again,

and see how our new live album sounds.

it's been a couple of months now.

fresh ears always helps.

stay warm out there ...

angus