Byron Bay of Plenty

Well, well, well oh Rambling Masses,

Here I am, fresh back from the Byron Bay Blues Fest, though fresh is perhaps not the best way to describe my current state after 5 days of fun, frolics and music. "Quietly Contemplative (Dog Tired)" or "Nice Smile On Face After A Magnificent Festival" may be better descriptions.

For those that went to the BBBF, it was nice bumping into you, and my, weren't there a lot of you!

For those that would like to know a bit about the joys of BBBF according to Pete, cast your eyes over this particular wordy ramble:

After a joyful trip up from Sydney to Byron Bay, with a few stops along the way for wizard adventures and lashings of ginger beer, we (being Three-Knees, Carnie-Queen, The Hobbit, Big-Dancer, CD and yours truly) set up the campsite (thanks for booking Carnie-Queen, you legend in cowboy boots).

This was made easier with assistance from fine weather, years of setting up the old tarp, and Big-Dancer's new Go Go Gadget - the caravan. Never have I camped in such luxury. Top work, buddy. What will it be next year I wonder - personal hovercrafts and a bio-dome?

One of the greatest things about these multi-stage music festivals is the ability to walk around and choose the music that grabs your fancy. If you don't like an act, you mosey on over to another tent and give that a go. With 4 tents to choose from at BBBF, not only do you get to listen in on your favourite acts, but you get to discover some hidden gems that had never before delighted you with their sparkle.

For me, the acts I knew about and which left a real impression were (in no particular order other than vaguely chronological) Lee Scratch Perry, Gomez, Joss Stone, Bo Diddley, Fishbone, Eric Burdon & The Animals, The Ghostwriters, Paul Kelly, and Taj Mahal.

The acts I knew nothing about (but was very pleasantly surpised) and which I'll be checking out more of were Dallas Frasca, Ben Kweller, AYO, Paolo Nutini, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Old Man River, Bluezone, The Neo, Kaki King, Chris Smither, Larry Carlton Blues Project with Robben Ford, and Piers Faccini.

We camped at the Byron Bay camping park just across the road from the festival, and so it was a mere 5 minute amble over whenever the urge took us either way. Good for those cross-kneed waddles back to camp for a toilet break when the queues at the festival got longer than 7 km.

Lucky we were so well prepared - it rained on and off throughout the festival days and nights, and we had the pleasure of several big downpours. It got pretty sloppy at the festival on the last 2 days.

This didn't get us down, though. The only blight on an otherwise perfect trip was the rather lacklustre security of our campsites. Groups of kids were roaming around, flogging anything that wasn't locked in cars or vans. People lost a fair bit of grog, and anything else they were silly enough to lay tantalisingly in the open.

We were lucky - the only real theft incident of note that we had was on the last night of the festival. It was also a masterfully executed sting operation with a twist. A few of us who shall remain nameless left a "present" for the pack of little rapscallions - a bottle of whiskey with about 5 cm of fine malt liquor left in it. A little extra flavour was added to help restore the Karmic balance of the Cosmic All.

The bait was taken, and you can chalk one up for the good guys. I could wax lyrical about the intricate and ultimately satisfying joys of poetic justice, and I just did.

Sorry, I got distracted by a shiny thing. Now, where was I? I should be getting back to the music, for that is one of the two main reasons for going to the BBBF, the other being the fine companionship of great mates in the only hippie communal environment left for us to experience - the camping trip.

THE standout experience for me at BBBF would have to be Chris Smither. Amazing that his first record came out in 1970, and I had never heard of this incredible man. Stylistically, he combines the best of folk, blues and (dare I say it?) country. Despite being a great guitar player, this plays second fiddle to his amazing lyrical prowess. I was rewarded with song after song with the most amazing words and poetry. The writer in me instantly connected. His between-song monologues were incredibly insightful comments on life, and his dry humour was a delight for me.

It's funny how everyone has their own ways of connecting with the world. Funny and fantastic - so much variety! What you are resonates with things you experience in the world around you (call it Hippie vibrations if that tickles your fancy). Big-Dancer and Three-Knees are guitarists, and I saw their joyous rapture at the Larry Carlton/Robben Ford show. That's how they connect.

Me, I'm a big fan of the music, certain instruments, minor chords, stage presence, and all of the multitude of things that make up a live music experience. What I really connect with, though, is folk-style deep lyrics that starts this war in your head - at the same time you are trying to feel the music and trying to dive deeper and analyse the lyrics. That's the writer in me. I watched/listened to the Larry Carlton/Robben Ford show beside Big-Dancer and Three-Knees. I know enough about what I like with guitar music to know when to nod appreciatively at Big-Dancer at just about the right times. I think that I almost had him fooled ;-)

But I don't get the depth of experience that the two guitarists do. They analyse sounds, chord structures, action, tuning and a bunch of other things that I can't begin to imagine. The whole experience is able to give you much greater enjoyment if your levels of appreciation become more sophisticated through knowledge.

That's why I love lyrics. I know by my gut a great number of different techniques by which the message in a poem can be delivered to the reader, whilst at the same time providing its own soundtrack through the sounds of the voice as the words are either spoken or sung. Poetry and music are very closely linked, and I'm not just talking about the prevalent use of the rhyming couplet.

Chris Smither got me diving right in and analysing his lyrics. I came out both awed and inspired. If you ever read this, Chris - thank you from the bottom of my heart and the top of my mind.

Lee Scratch Perry was very pleasant. Through my rather unusual love of Dub music, I have a number of Scratch's albums. He could be called the Godfather of Dub, so it was a great pleasure to see him live. What a strange weird little man he is, bless him.

Gomez was a standout for me, too. Great voice that lead singer has, and the music rocks.

Bo Diddley - man, what a legend. Dwayne Dibbley? Noooo, how come I got to be Dwayne Dibbley? Seeing Bo again was a true delight. The man IS blues.

Joss Stone - punch one through the knuckles. Great show - very polished and real.

Fishbone were very funky, and their stage presence makes for an amazing act. Great use of the crowd surfing whilst singing at the same time - would have been easier if they had radio mikes instead of roadies feeding out the mic cord. Still, they somehow managed it. The lead singer brought out the largest saxomophone you've ever laid eyes on - it was almost as big as him. He blew about 10 notes through it, and I am sure that an earthquake happened somewhere because of it. Then he put it away again.

Eric Burdon & the Animals - man can that guy still belt a tune out! These guys were brilliant. Loved the songs, big hits and small.

The Ghostwriters - some great moments. Despite not quite being Midnight Oil, they still belt out some fine tunes with traditional gusto. They deserve more recognition, I think - one of Australia's forgotten bands.

Paul Kelly - Fungus was right - "The Yanks have Bob Dylan. We've got Paul Kelly." The man is an icon. Every song just shouts out Australia from the top of the coathanger. He should be the next President.

Taj Mahal - solid blues music with a great sound. Despite his keyboard incident, he went on to wow the crowd.

Dallas Frasca - good guitarist and a powerful, hard voice. She should invest in a drummer, though - I couldn't get that stomp box beat out of my head for days.

Ben Kweller - awesome sound, great bluesy-rock.

AYO - so sad I only caught a song and a half at the end of her show. Amazing presence, and an incredible sound. Her voice has this amazing quality to it, and her phrasing is delightfully different.

Paolo Nutini - once again, only caught the last few songs. The adjectives are getting a bit repetitive, but Paolo's music was fantastic. The CD Big-Dancer bought shows a slower, more mellow side than what we heard in the big closer songs.

Bela Fleck and the Flecktones - Future Man rocks! This was probably number 2 behind Chris Smither for me. The banjo was great, though I can't help feeling stuck in a Dukes of Hazard car chase every time I hear it. The bass player was the most remarkable I have ever seen. I stood transfixed as he slapped through solo after amazing solo. Saw these guys twice, and loved every minute of it.

Old Man River - another new find for me. Bought the album and love it already.

Bluezone - saw a few songs and was very impressed with their sound.

The Neo - from Darwin. I was lucky enough to catch these funky freaks. They have a great bunch of tunes, and they sound great. Kinda Cat Empirish ska.

Kaki King - along with Bela Fleck, this has to be my number 2 at the festival. Her live show is breathtaking. Such an unassuming, almost shy presence on stage, and then this amazingly intense unaccompanied guitar music hits you right in the kisser. Very unusual tunings (just reading from the blurb about her - as if I'd know about unusual tunings...) and a very unusual use of percussive techniques on the strings and guitar body (I could work that bit out by myself). She also did a couple of songs where she sampled loops and licks from a slide guitar and added these progressively to compose wonderfully full-sounding pieces of music, adding layer upon layer.

Chris Smither - I thought I'd mention him again, just 'coz he's tops.

Larry Carlton Blues Project with Robben Ford - I saw Robben Ford many years ago at the Basement, and was an instant convert to his genius. I hadn't heard of Larry Carlton before (philistine that I am). They were incredible. Virtuoso guitar playing without the bravado - these guys are true giants of the genre.

Piers Faccini - amazing wailing vocals. Sort of Cold Play meets Muse. Enjoyed it heaps.

Big-Dancer criticised me for my blog posts being too long, and here I have gone and done it again. Will I ever learn?

'Til next time, oh Rambling Masses, whenever the fancy takes me.

Hypocrisy and the colour Beige

Greetings Rambling Masses,

Well, here I am, about to head off to the Byron Bay Blues Festival, to blast the cobwebs and negative vibes out of my skull with some fine music and the joys of the communal camp. However, I just couldn't resist the call of just one more gentle rant before I go...

Hypocrisy is an interesting concept. The pot calling the kettle black, people in glass houses throwing stones, and so on. I would like to draw the attention of the Rambling Masses to what I feel is one of the finer cases of hypocrisy in the modern age (at least in Australia, anyway).

I refer to our illustrious leader, "Beige" Howard - the man with so little spine that he seems to be an evolutionary throwback to the gastropoda class of creatures. Let's inspect the definition of gastropods:

There is usually a definite head, bearing one or two sensory tentacles and a mouth that is often equipped with a rasplike tongue called a radula. The lower surface of the animal is modified into a large, flattened foot, used by bottom-dwelling forms for creeping about. The foot and other soft parts of the body can usually be completely withdrawn into the shell.

Yes, that definitely sounds like our Beige. And what slimy trail has this particular snail left in our political landscape? Let's explore this important question, whilst also returning to the introductory concept of hypocrisy:

Point 1: Every time that talk of saving the environment springs up (you know, little things like the ratification of the Kyoto protocol, actually getting behind and backing development into our greatest and most abundant renewable energy resources such as wind and solar, moving away from the intensely stupid concepts of coal and *shudder* nuclear power, stopping logging of old-growth forests), this spineless Beige twerp brings up the same old tired arguments - "mnah, errh, I will not do anything that puts Australian jobs at risk, mnah, mneeeh".

Point 2: (And here is where the delightful stench of hypocrisy wafts like a vast tsunami wave under the nostrils of the Rambling Masses) Beige jumped onto old George Dubya's leg faster than you can say "lap dog" and started to hump for all that he was worth. What I am referring to is the signing of the Australia-US Free Trade Agreement. Did our fine snail stand up to the monied powers and actually broker a decent agreement for not just us, but for our future generations? Naaaaaah! Of course not. So now, we are stuck with an FTA that guarantees Australia loses billions of dollars each year (and probably tens or hundreds of thousands of good old Australian jobs).

I bring the following salient points to your attention:

1. Pharmaceuticals - Australia’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) guarantees Australians some of the cheapest medicines in the world. That’s why US pharmaceutical companies lobbied to undermine the PBS throughout negotiations for the Australia-US FTA. Among the biggest and richest corporations in the world, these companies argued that because consumers in Australia can buy medicines cheaper than in America, the PBS is an unfair subsidy which should be changed to allow them greater profits.
   
   
2. Agriculture - Despite a promise to Australians by Prime Minister Howard on November 21, 2003 that "if we can't get something quite big on agriculture then we won't have a free trade agreement", the FTA delivers few new export markets to farmers. At the same time, it threatens local markets by giving all US imports into Australia (many of them subsidised by the US government) "immediate duty-free access", and by making changes to quarantine standards to allow more US produce in.
   
   Quotas for Australian beef exports to the US will remain for the next 18 years, until 2022, before free trade is instituted. Australian dairy exports will be allowed to increase to a tiny 2% of US imports. Sugar is excluded from the deal.
   
   However, local produce which will be threatened with increased imports of subsidised US produce including processed foods, soups and bakery products, fruits and vegetables, dried onions, fruit and vegetable juices, dried plums, potatoes, almonds, tomatoes, cherries, raisins, olives, fresh grapes, sweet corn, frozen strawberries, and walnuts.
   
   
3. Quarantine - The FTA will also give the US unprecedented influence over Australian quarantine laws by creating a new body to oversee quarantine, on which the US government will sit. The US Government has stated that using this new body, "food inspection procedures that have posed barriers in the past will be addressed, benefiting [US agricultural] sectors such as pork, citrus, apples and stone fruit."
   
   Opening up Australian markets to these US imports will not only threaten Australian growers, but will bring in new pests and diseases against which current quarantine rules protect.
   
   
4. Manufacturing - Under the FTA, more than 99 percent of U.S. manufactured exports to Australia will become duty-free immediately upon entry into force of the Agreement. U.S. manufacturers estimate that this elimination of tariffs could result in US$2 billion per year in increased U.S. exports of manufactured goods - that is, an increase of US$2 billion per year in Australian imports.
   
   Trade unions have predicted that this change will result in tens of thousands of jobs lost as local production is displaced by imports from technologically superior American manufacturers.
   
   Even Toyota Australia has warned that the FTA could destroy the Australian car industry, causing manufacturers to move to the US, where production would be cheaper. Whistleblower website Crikey.com.au has also published rumours that Ford is considering the closure of its Factory in Geelong, Victoria as a direct result of the FTA.
   
   
5. Environment - The FTA will undermine Australia's existing environmental laws and fetter Australian governments seeking to legislate to protect the environment. And while US law requires a formal environmental assessment of all trade agreements, the potential environmental impacts of this agreement for Australia have never been formally assessed by the government. Many serious questions about the environmental consequences of the AUSFTA therefore remain unanswered.
   
   The Australian Conservation Foundation makes this point about the FTA's potential impact on Australia's environment - The FTA Investment Chapter obliges the Commonwealth Government to compensate US investors if Australian laws on the environment, human rights or labour standards "significantly interfere" with their investments. This provides greater rights to US investors than are currently enjoyed by Australians under the Australian legal system. If this obligation is breached, the US Government will have the right to seek compensation.
   
   
6. Australian Culture/Audio-Visual Content - Local Content Rules in Australian TV and radio ensure that Australian stories and Australian voices are heard over the deluge of American programming. But the US, not content with this, has used the FTA to limit Australia’s right to regulate its film, TV and radio.
   
   The US has reported that "the FTA contains important and unprecedented provisions to improve market access for U.S. films and television programs over a variety of media including cable, satellite, and the Internet."
   
   
7. Intellectual Property - The FTA significantly increases the rights of intellectual property owners - mostly large corporations - over users - mostly ordinary people. Changes under the FTA include:
   
   
   • extension in the term for copyright material from life of the author plus 50 years to life of the author plus 70 years. Such increased copyright protection will impose serious costs on the public who will have to pay to use large numbers of everything from music to film and books which would otherwise be in the public domain. Further, this restriction will stifle creativity, discriminating against new and small artists who are further restricted in their ability to use material which would otherwise be in the public domain.
   
   
   • enormously increased powers for copyright-owning corporations, enabling them to disturb business, attack normal consumer practices, and suppress information;
   
   
   • draconian requirements of Internet Services Providers which would be burdensome for those businesses, and intrusive into the activities of businesses and consumers;
   
   
   • issue of patents for mere descriptions of business processes, which is completely at odds with the very notion of patents, and seriously constraining on the conduct of business.
   
   Among other effects, these changes will limit the ability of Australian software developers, companies, and users to benefit from and contribute to the Open Source software industry. Again, this benefits large software corporations such as Micro$oft, and stifles the creativity of ordinary computer programmers.
   

So, what do you say, oh Rambling Masses? Is it not finally time (long overdue in my opinion) to go to your local hardware store, spend up big on snail pellets, and start throwing them at Canberra?