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

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

"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

archive photos, sentimental fool, costa mesa

 i stepped out with the bleach look sometime in the year before the accident that took us off the road for 9 months. so this must be late '98, early '99? thanks to leila for this shot. i particularly like my joe cocker interpretation.

this was at the vegas renaissance celtic festival. it was so hot the war paint was running into my eyes. i could hardly see. my old bagpipes too, before they fell apart. i'd like to get back to this festival. anyone?  also from leila. what year here leels?

hamish's dreads, not long off the starting block. thanks for this one jude. 2002?

i have had it pointed out

that most archive band photos are most likely not digital,

requiring tiresome format changes, scanning or some such wizardry.

they may also be hidden away somewhere in boxes, in closets, in storage. 

not to worry. 

we shall make this search for classic BROTHER 'looks' an ongoing enterprise. 

when you stumble upon the one that gets you smiling tho,

do send that puppy our way ... info@brothermusic.com

here in the mountains. man, woman, child.

i am very grateful to be around in these early days.

he's still so tiny but growing and changing every day.

it is a privilege to be an eye witness to the evolution of a whole new human.

inspiration for another song today. 

'sentimental fool'. a hint of zeppelin in this one.

which of the new ones to do with drew at the colonial games next week?

a warm up for our return to costa mesa the following weekend with dalbo ...

costa mesa was the first celtic festival we played.

and we ended up having a dream run there from 1994 to 1998.

the only non traditional entertainment. we had quite the monopoly.

costa mesa witnessed our early evolution as a band.

they were incredible days. incredible crowds.

and we? we were pretty clueless. well, i know i was.

there's gotta be some classic archival photos

floating around from those days, n'est pas?

onstage or behind the scenes. 

ladies and gentlemen you have 2 weeks to find your favourites.

spring is truly here. 

new colour - gold, purple, red, white, and a very virgin green -

has pushed thru everywhere.

kind of like the insistent thrusting limbs of a new little human i know.

what a time to be in the moment.

angus

favourite BROTHER coiffs competition

there it is. my brother's new head, 

7 years of dread locks recently lopped for a cancer research fund raiser.

to all who have donated to the cause, our heartfelt thanks. 

many of you have been with us since the early days.

it means a lot that you stay in touch actively ...

i remember the day hamish began the dreads, 

at a college campus we were playing somewhere in the midwest,

after getting in depth advice from some local dreaded ladies.

much as he has loved the dreads,

i know he had thought about a shaved head for a long while,

waiting for the right reason to come. good reason.

and i'd say it's a good look for him.

he always did have more the soccer ball head.

i believe when i shave mine, some distant day hence,

 it will be rather more bizarre looking  ...

so the photo had me reflecting that over the years 

there have been many interesting heads of hair in the BROTHER camp.

i would like to see the quirkiest of them together.

to that end i initiate a competition -

what is your favourite BROTHER coiff?

was it bleach blond? spiked? long and wild? mohawk? touch of mullet? 

you name it.  let me know. better yet, send us a photo and a memory. 

to info@BROTHERmusic.com .

the best we will post, the very best we will reward mightily. 

prize yet to be determined.

i begin with one of mine. a relic from our days with paul mitchell.

this was at a hair show at caesar's palace in vegas. 

those heady days saw us finally stepping up in the fashion stakes,

in ensembles by alona hamoy, designer extraordinaire.

from plaid to leather and beyond ...

in other notable news my son turned one month on monday. 

and turned himself over to commemorate the occasion.

he also gave us his first big smile.

suffice to say he continues to make us very high and very happy.

angus