egypt - rising like lions

thinking of the people of egypt,

with a million or more people on the streets as i write.

our time there a few years ago was truly magical.

an incredible place. wonderful people.

the memories make what's happening all the more real.

my brother in law's family is there in cairo, a part of it all.

the stories we hear are astounding.

of the multitudes shunning violence,

but remaining resolute in their stand.

protecting each other against the government's agents.

doing their best to thwart false flag outrages.

a human shield around the cairo museum.

christians and muslims worshipping together en masse,

protecting each other.

my sister's brother in law, shot in the head with a rubber bullet.

miraculously okay. others not so fortunate.

the words of percy brysshe shelley come to mind.

written in 1819 after the peterloo massacre,

the poem they are from is said to be the first modern statement

on the principle of nonviolent resistance ...

rise like lions after slumber

in unquenchable number.

shake your chains to earth like dew

which in sleep had fallen on you -

ye are many, they are few.

angus

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

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

"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

now, we have done it

home at last.

2 weeks is

too long to

not have you around ...

i am

sublimely happy to be with my family again

after an intense, very full, very memorable time.

there was much planning and work to get to the coach house.

then suddenly we were there.

with brian back on live sound

and guy(pax romana producer)

recording the evening with yossi and shai.

we even had a few cameras rolling.

and leels and james were there from arizona

making sure everything ran smoothly behind the scenes ...

we had a wonderful audience.

very touched that so many people came from so far.

some across the country ...

i hadn't heard my brother play live in many years.

he sounded great.

keeping it in the family,

jack had dalbo on drums and guy playing bass.

dare i say an arse kicking band?

dare

dare ...

we'd decided to be more rehearsed than usual.

more than we've ever been?

after listening to some of the recorded music of the night

with the fellas the next day,

i am very glad we did.

it is certainly the peak of a steady evolution

over the last 2 and a half years.

the plan is still to have a live recording available sometime ...

so, how did it feel,

playing onstage again with my brother?

heart warming. surreal.
and the reaction of everyone there

made it all the more poignant.

jack joined us for the end of the set

for a few of the old favourites.

making music is a blessed thing,

especially with a brother.

jack had suggested the idea earlier in the year

when he and family met my son.

now, we have done it.

and we shall do it again ...

(photos by lisa callamaro)

a happy giving of thanks to you all.

angus

half a world away

today we leave the mountains.

we arrived at the tail end of winter a year and a half ago.

and as i loaded the truck yesterday a light snow fell,

heralding another that we won't see here.

i will remember incredible tasting water.

the smell of fresh cut wood.

lighting fires in the big old wood stove.

gardening. chopping wood. snow shovelling.

being very physical. feeling it in so many muscles.

like being back on the farm.

like being camping.

i feel muscles again now, from lifting and loading.

thanks to t and big john for helping move the backbreakers.

thanks to lichey's mom for helping pack up the house,
for looking after asa, and being friend to steve the magical blind cat ...

satisfaction in getting the pack as good as possible.

years of loading a van on the road have made me a pack master.

i astound myself at how our whole lives can fit into such a small space ...

it has been a time of extremes.

a grey world. a green world. a red gold world. a white world.

bears in the backyard.

fresh native herbs from the forest in lichen's incredible cooking.

sun warmed berries straight out of the garden.

lichen's home made cobbler.

local maple syrup.

playing music with brother t again ...

thanks to bess, t, sar and their families for being our community.

for giving us a place to have a baby ...

our beautiful son is 6 and a half months old and always ready for the new.

he has been mobile a while now.

always pulling himself up to stand on ever steadier little legs.

always looking for a better view. coasting. crawling.

he is robust and precocious. (2 delightful words)

2 teeth have emerged. and an increasingly voracious appetite.

the little fella eats a good 3 meals a day.

and always ready to be happy, to be one of us.

the obvious recognition the last time i came home from a few days away

brought tears to my eyes. he is a simple profound blessing.

i thank my wife for all she gives him ...

and now, the last of the packing,

a fond farewell, then we hit the road to begin a new life.

half a world away.

see you on the other side.

angus

my brother

you may remember him as fergus.

or as bur, the name we called him growing up.

he is jack avalon.

he is my brother.

it has been 11 years

since we shared a stage,

my brother jack and i.

i am excited to finish the year

with a double bill at the coach house with him.

to hear his music live.

to play together again.

makes me feel good ...

and now i head out the door for the airport

and northern california.

see you there?

angus

i'm listening

i haven't felt compelled to write in a while.

so i haven't written in a while.

off the road for a few days.

and, among other things, getting ready for another cross country trek.

it seems we came to this marvellous mountain hideout

to have ourselves a baby. and that we have done.

the circumstances were ideal. and now,

it is time to raise a baby with family and community nearby.

and so, soon, we say our goodbyes.

to good people, good times, good places.

and the best water i've ever tasted.

in the vision we find ourselves refining together

it is the north west that calls ...

in the meantime, a few more shows with dalbo and drew.

on both coasts.

i find myself enjoying what we do more and more.

i am still sometimes astounded

at how this thing called BROTHER

has once again been re invented.

i never imagined it would evolve this way.

we knew we could make it work.

we just weren't quite sure how.

and so we began. we see now. nice one fellas.

i make asa smile and laugh.

he does the same for me.

there is no better feeling.

simple.

so many firsts with him, sometimes every day.

he changes so quickly. and so must we.

keeping up keeps me young.

thank you little matey ...

hey little matey

hey little matey

i know you

i know you

charm all the ladies

charm all the ladies

that's what you do

that's what you do

baby i'm blown away

whatever it is you're trying to say

whatever you're thinking

i'm listening

angus

a worthy ponder

this path i'm on seems to involve a constant stripping away
of those things that aren't really me anymore,
or never really were.
often the question is, how much to reveal?
in a song
in an interview
in conversation
in a journal entry
in a photo, a video ...
a worthy ponder.
i think so long as the revelation, however large or small,
doesn't adversely affect another's life.
and most importantly when that other is family.
what and where are the boundaries?
always on ongoing evaluation.
more so than ever now
with one who will one day be big but is still tiny today and in my care ...

angus

halifax revisited

so, i'm back in halifax for the buskers fest.

we play on the waterfront surrounded by wonderful old stone buildings.

it is a whole different world, playing on the street,

the audience right there with us, ready to be entertained.

BROTHER first played here in 94. the last time was 2001. 

many good memories.

this is the first time here with no brothers

and it is kind of weird to have no one to share those earliest memories with.

gives me a glimpse of the solo performer experience ...

but soul brothers drew and t are with me and the playing feels good.

and best of all, i'm on the road with the family again.

asa proves himself to be a natural for the gypsy lifestyle.

holding the little fella, now so much bigger, so much more aware,

never fails to make everything okay.

all those other tiresome things just fall away.

a beautiful day out there.

time to go make some more music ...

angus

today

we are two years married today.

i just want to find the words

i don't want to say what she's already heard

i look for another way to tell her

i am the luckiest bastard i know ...

family on the road

home again after 9 days on the road.

i only had to be apart from asa and lichey 2 days at most,

for costa mesa last weekend and for our show in oshkosh wisconsin.

otherwise we were together in old LA,

catching up with friends and family and chilling in the warm weather.

but 2 days is long enough for me. he changes perceptibly even in that time.

he expands like his own little universe.

his new squirming body. and his awareness.

i have realized my main mission in life is to keep him smiling.

nothing takes me higher than to see joy emanating from his little face.

so you see, it is quite a selfish mission. i want to feel good.

and his happiness makes me feel really good. thank you, littlest of maties ...

costa mesa revisited was a pleasure.

a funny little stage in place of the grand old gazebo.

but great sound for us, which makes the playing easy.

and dalbo got to use his own kit, big woody, which doesn't happen often.
drewski continues to expand his world and his sound,
and so the celtic tribal 3 piece comes more and more into its own.

i was touched by all the feedback from new and old fans.

this thing called BROTHER has evolved so much over the years.

- out of necessity with departing brothers and changing circumstances,

and because all things change with time.

but people seemed to like what they were hearing.

many hadn't seen us in a decade or more.

i picture the strapping young kilted man,

now in a pipe band and playing several instruments, including didge,

because he heard us at costa mesa a generation ago.

stories like this make me glad i've found a way to keep doing what i do.

take me outside my own perspective of it all ...

revisiting waterfest in oshkosh,
one of those midwest festivals by a river on a perfect summer evening.
dare i say idyllic? and a wonderful welcome after 3 years away.
thinking about a followup show there sometime soon if we can swing it ...

aunt, grandmother, great grandmother, and grandfather
on lichey's side were introduced to asa in his first few weeks,
visiting us here in the mountains for some truly special time.
almost all my family is on the other side of the world. 

not the easiest commute.
i'm happy to say asa has now also met the first of his family on my side.
a delightful afternoon with my brother jack and family whilst in LA.
makes me realize i want more family time, 

especially for him, as time rolls on.
after years of growing up in each others' pockets,
on the farm, in the city, on the road,
gradually the distances between
- sometimes literal, sometimes figurative - grew.
often it seems that's the way with family.
and of course there's always reasons for being apart.
then of course there's always reasons to come together too.
seems like a we have good reason ...

we now have a good number of 'BROTHER looks' photos
from down the years. can you believe there's been 19 of them? years, that is.

soon i will show the best of the rest we've received and the winner.

yes, i believe we may have the one. prepare thyselves ...

angus