The Time Being | Steve Kilbey

dont let them put their wires in my brain
ive lost the plot
i’m live in americker
i’m a rocking rolling spawn of seitan
i’m the hot wired wi-fi lo-fi fee fo fi fum
i spell the blood of an englishman
(type OH)
i’m that smooth swimmer
i’m that hopping hopeless crooner the sooner the better
i’m wetter in water
i down in the pond
but 2 ducklings got me called
grabham n peckham
i aint chicken, maryland
the rams head tonight
i hope the sound aint too woolly, dont ewe?
i’m lost in my hotel room
i cant find the i-door
i cant use my i-bed
i cant stand the floor
the ceiling is unsealing
the pc is un-pc
everything adds up to nothing
divide it n what do you get
bibbitty bobbitty boo
what is music
noise rearranged
what is art
something you like to look at
what is love
the necessity to reproduce
what is life
a brief brief candle
what is kilbey
an olde olde fool
what is madness
another way of seeing things
why did you name your band the church
i dunno but i wish i hadnt
how was doing yer washing yessaday
loads o fun..tim n i caught up on star enquirers
how is annapolis
pretty pretty
i go down to the water the chesapeake bay
wishing my wifeling was here
because we are big fans of this neck of the woods
because in this hotel several years ago
i told aurora at breakfast
that i had to leave em n keep on touring
her answer : her head fell forward into her oatmeal
and
gee its really special here with all these trees
do people in orstraylia know how lovely the east coast
n midwest are in sweet sweet summertime
oh my word its so love love lovely
sentimental olde git these trees speak to me
oh i love the trees
i love them
i notice each one
i revere trees
i am the arbour man
i am the arboreal lord of leaves
the stumbler pon roots
the branch king
yes i love my trees and leaves
oh my wordy now yes i do
and swan king the elf lord the eater of souls
lord vishnu the preserver
preserve your trees
let the people of this earth be struck by good sense
please leave the leaves alone
believe in the leaves
trees everywhere
plant em grow em
commune with their spirits
walk in cool glades
celebrate summer naked in the beckoning forest
here i am
christian wolfe
here i am
mangey panther
here i am white rosehips moses
here i am stephen jon kilby
here the nut case dash board
here i am
in the summer
seek me
accept no substitutes
i am the time being
i am the killer who slays with love
i am the shy show off
the complicated simpleton
a stupid genius
a professional amateur
the vegetarians will prevail
the yogis will prevail
the music will prevail
the swimmers will prevail
we will all win the lottery
we already have
drink plenty of water
call me in the morning
if you still feeling
green

pittsburgh…..
yeah…i remember…uh…pittsburgh
i do my second yoga session in a corridor outside an office
its warm
the theatre is olde and funky
the vibe is cool n laidback n easy
i guess about 200 people
but guess what
they really like us
they are very appreciative
they really seem to love what we’re doing
but for fucks sake
we are one of the best bands in the world
we are underappreciated
and now 200 folks have just stumbled upon us
here in PA
down in a run down theatre in boho-ville
but when we start to play
all bets are off
the sheer inexorability of our sound
when unleashed full throttle….
i dance about but in truth weariness gnaws at my bones
i still try my hardest but occaisionally find myself drifting off
i think about some daydream
and when i come back ive missed chunks of the song
i strive to be in the here n now
but the combination of internal and external proclivities
always produces a mild confusion in me
everything thats happened to me lately bewilders me
coincidences sinkron-icities
nightmares and visions
i am now where no one else much has gone
my combo of attributes and failings
my triumphs n despairs
my big mouth and hard heart
yeah all of that n more
pittsburgh…yeah…i really enjoyed playing there
we jump offstage before encore
a door opens
ive gone from being onstage playing at a million decibels
to being out on a crowdy boho street smoking mother nature
people drift past like in a lucid dream
i puff n drift
my reality moorings are further loosened
back onstage for some more music
i pluck my bass
i sing my words
it seems i can do no wrong
it all just happens
like driving a car
the music embedded in me by now
it just rolls out like a tap turned on
plucking the bass so easy to do
yoga helps me
yoga got me loose limbed like a goose
yoga suggests things
yoga says jump around if yer happy
rock to the east
rock to the west
stay still
yeah suddenly people are interested in yoga
you can see the proof in me
not because i am extraordinary
but because i persevered and i got the results
and i can bend around like an 18 year old
and boy does it feel good
the yoga is getting me in tune with everything else
dont ask me how it works but it works
it may take years but it works
eventually
its hard work
and the more you need it the harder it is
if you wanna grow young again just do yoga every day
you cant learn yoga from a video
you need classes
and practice it day in day out
the more you do
the quicker you approach some lovely state of grace…
yeah
last nights hotel had a horrible smell
a strange antiseptic smell that had gone off somehow
oh my word it was verily a nasty pong
and could i get the internet to work
could i like hell….
red roof inn…you have been warned
young craigie is playing up a storm with both bands
and charming the locals with his aussie accent
and it will be hard to ever play without the keys again
hes a very amenable chap and always seems to be “up” to something
i feel sure sooner or later he will be snapped up
by a big band
or by a cougar
or by his own success
one can never tell
gary and kerry watching on from cambelltown
we salute you
young craigie is doing quite well
i’m sure goodness and mercy
will follow him all the days of his life
a valuable utility player….for the time being…
the adam franklin guys are great guys
and im loving listening to em more n more every night
we are quite complimentary to each other
theres some great guitar moments in adams set
its unique stuff
now ive driven 4 n half hours to get to falls creek virginia
which is a suburb of washington dc kinda
its close to a loada places
lovely venue
weve presold maybe 300 tickets
boy
signing stuff aftershow is doing my head in
whatever i do or say i feel stupid
its such an awkward situation
i never thought people would fucking venerate us
its a weird feeling to suddenly be me
some old underappreciated n venerated dude
like im confucious or something
the venerable bead
but fuck it all i’m nearly 55
i guess i am arrived at an age of veneration
but this is confusing too
i have not prepared for my role
i dont know how or who to be
sometimes i try to be real
but what is real to someone doing this
long long drives
everynight in a different bed
loud music
adoring crowds albeit smallish ones
people shaking your hand
people telling ya yer great
nice people too
educated people
cool people and uncool people
suave and naive
young n old
boy they like their church
i just gotta smile
and count my blessings
and dont worry I DO
i ring up nk at 2 in morning
she and girls in centennial park sydney
daddy …says scarlet
we’re feeding the ducks and the eels…
in my nasty smelling room alone in the night
i can imagine
how nice it would be…
gonna hit the mat for an hour
hang in there you would be yogis
persist like yer life depends on it
and
in some ways
it does

the day goes past in a blur
i get up
i havent been sleeping so much lately
i go to bed late real late
like 3 or 4 am each night
i still wake up at 7 30
i start to feel a bit disconnected from
whatever theyre dishing up as reality these day
cleveland was a goodish sized crowd…
and a great audience too
its getting easier n easier
the 2 yoga sessions a day are accelerating me
down this path
yoga or magic said crowley
these are the 2 paths
and now i am committed to yoga
my 2 hours a day
i am becoming thoroughly rejuvenated
a spring in my step
a coil in my spring
a bounce in my coil
a step in my bounce
the bass plays itself practically
my fingers are on auto
they decide themselves what to do
the way it should be
anyway we do a real good set
the clevelanders love it
cool
afterwards i sign n meet n greet some fans
people getting quite shy and others getting noisy
a strange situation to be sure
people who been listening to ya for 25 years
what can ya say to em ?
thanks to nick friction n matt n tim for good vibes
nice to meet freddie
selling out on some items
k/k is sold out…what a lovely record indeed…
must get some more in soon
anyway we drive to pittsburgh
a very gothic kinda place
a very very interesting city
dark
full of leafy summertime trees
a certain melancholy pierces it
we playing in old funky theatre in boho-town
everytown gotta boho-town
in dallas its deep ellum for example
in san fran its the haight
in sydney its the cross
in melbourne its st kilda
in new york its greenwich village
in stockholm its sodermalm (i guess)
etc
before soundcheck i have a surreal n lovely experience
a lady called marty offered me some help with my tinnitus
i walked down to her pain clinic
and go upstairs where marty is waiting
a small sprightly lady in her early sixties
a vegan for 20 years
she looks young beyond her years
shes very kind n nice
and she talks to me about her treatments and shows me
various pamphlets
i go off into a bit of a pot/tiredness/relaxed trance
she is a big fan
and even quotes me back
“you can leave your clothes on”
when i ask if i need to take off shirt
she eventually massages certain points along my spine
pacifying nodes of anxiety
she sprays some very cold stuff on my face in shoulders
and then jumps in quick to massage as the muscle relaxes
her boss n mentor appears , quite a colourful theatrical type
hes seventy six but has the mojo of a forty year old
he reckons he can cure 99 per cent of pain if given an hour
he and marty discuss such esoteric matters as how many knuckles
can one fit in ones mouth
(3 is very good…a sign of a relaxed jaw)
the gentle prodding n pulling of the treatment
gets me endorphins flowing
and i feel pretty empty/dreamy
marty lays some lovely healthy food on me
and i give her a box set n some prints
dont know if tinnitus has abated
but an interesting couple of hours
and relaxing treatment
come back to theatre
gonna do some more yoga
gonna eat some fruit for dinner
gonna try for 3 in a row good shows
love on ya forever
sk

the magic bag
a run down kinda old theatre
in a nice trendy part of detroit
very pretty
for dinner i have the best thing of tour so far
a seitan vegan reuben sandwich
just like the real thing but no pain or blood involved
being a veg i had never had a reuben before in my life
but wow i was really hooked
i treated my self to a soy coffee n vegan scone for dessert
i hang around out back of gig
watching it rain
watching the lights come on n off in the carpark
feeling that summer humidity like i was in a film
because surely thats what i am in
people spot me
and i talk to em
and they share some jazz knowledge
smoke that pipe of peace and catching someones cold
we shake hands
we take pictures
we sign records
i go inside n listen to adam franklin
and bolts of melody
featuring our craigie on bass
boy americas got craigie real excited
anyway
adam franklin is a real gentleman
and the band are bloody fantastic
seriously cool guitar music with great sounds
a good match for the church
we go on
the gig is pretty packed
best gig of tour so far (FOR ME)
the strings just zing under my fingers
the words fly outta my throat
tims drums sound like a roman legion moving across a field
inexorable
we are all locked in
i having the great time
when
during you took
a nasty man in audience is raving on at top of his voice
like a mosquito buzzing around
poor sk tries to ignore bad man in audients
but bad man just goes BLAH BLAH BLAH!
and poor sk explodes
before he knows it
threatening the bad man with rude language
all suddenly hot n bothered
the band start up again
the atmosphere is tense
the band chuck themselves into it full tilt
poor old sk transmutes his wild anger into passion
and verily the band doth lock in
re lock
and re lock
and then we cruise on
all the way out the door
swamped by a nice group
who gather for photos n autos
i sign n sign n sign
in the semi darkness cant see a damn thing
the night is warm
the people are happy
i feel pleasantly drained
i feel pleasantly vindicated
i chat to the fans
they are all very very nice
they really really do appreciate us…
how can a man be sad or angry if he is appreciated?
tonite
beachland ballroom
a bit under in tickets as is pittsburgh
so come along please
by all means
sk

in truth
i dont care about what you say
if youre for me or against me
if you think i’m hot or not
or if you think im too old
or too small
or too harsh
or too easy
at almost 55
why should i give a flying fig…..
i AM grandpa steve
so get used to it
or bugger off
and i dress how i fucking like
n if my wife likes it (she does!)
thats enough for me
i am beyond any makeovers or dressing “nicely”
and uh
blah blah blah
voice in another room : aw you hurt the killers feelings

we played well in grand rapids
smallish crowd
biggish venue
but a nice crowd
enthusiastic n generous like most u.s. audiences
we pick up some radio interference in an amp
blah blah
we drive today thru the mother of all storms
like being on the bottom of the sea
i’m sitting in my hotel for a change before the gig
but i’ll be going down for soundcheck soon
am hungry and a bit non plussed
gotta fit in yoga n some ironing
gotta have 5 mins down thyme
heres a pic of me in my room
i not asking for advice
i’m just showing ya me in my room
tonite ferndale detroit
last time we had a brilliant nite here
the weather is rainy n gloomy however
dont let it put you off
come n see this unbuff spotty bag of bones
pensioner with the blurry eye
the ringy ears
and the ruined heartnlungs
and terrible clothes
who posts inappropriate pictures of his SHOULDERS
on his own blog
(the cheek,the hide)
rattle n stumble about onstage
at the magic bag
anyhow
there may be some music
if you can tear your eyes off how awful i look
voice in another ego : ooh hes gone off the rails now

ok hope to see ya at the show fiendss
love
the withered one

hot , little pig
oh god so hot
last nite was mill walky
ok i guess
pretty good 7 n a half maybe
i dunno
i rocked n i rolled
more subdued (sub-dude) than usual
i rock to the east etc
pluck my bass
kilbey health report

1. my eye is blurry
i doubt if it will ever get clear again
i now have to peer at everything with my one good I

2 my blisters are now hardened calluses

3 i personally asked my suave professor in sydney
about jazz
he said avoid stimulants
i said what about jazz
he said alcohol is worse…much worse
for yer heart..?.i asked….
yes he said
what about jazz? i asked again
the doc shrugged n smiled
he did not say yay or nay
it was obviously his opinion that jazz was not especially bad
my seizure was caused by de-hydration not jazz

4 i’m doing a lot of yoga to fill in time
i am seeing grand and rapid improvement
i am loose limbed
i actually feel more able than twenty five years ago
i exhort all my readers to take up yoga
if i have but one true message for ye
that i can say in words
which will make your very dreams come true
IF you can persist
then it is this
practice yoga
as much as you possibly can
it will work for you i promise
give it time
give it time
i have rehabilitated myself
i had no special genetic predisposition
all i had was determination
in 2002 i was a podgy energyless directionless gink
i believed in yoga n swimming n i pursued them
i think yoga is magic
i believe the following things to be very bad for one vis a vis ageing :
cigarettes
booze
tv
cheesey stuff
eggy bacony sausagey breakfasts
milkshakes with loadsa ice cream etc
cell phones
computers
sitting around doing nothing
fluorescent lights
any kind of metal music
arguing bickering quarreling
being envious or bitter
being bossed around
feeling unfulfilled
soon i will be 55
these are the things i have observed
the following things keep you young
swimming
yoga
breathing
chi gong
good sex (with a bad mofo)
not too much or too little sleep
eat only half on yer plate
avoid eating as much as possible
most of us dont need to eat all day
music and singing
hanging with nice people
walking everywhere
meditation
being naive and silly
letting yer fucking hair down
letting it all go
having a hubby or wife you really love n fancy
etc
you already know
you already turned off
hey you
yeah you
reading this blogge
the years passing you by
pants a bit tight this year round the old tummy wummy..?
you better address it
or you’ll have to fight even harder later
or whatever
do what ya like n see if i care
i’m gonna fuckin’ do yoga till the day i die
and at least i’ll croak flexibly

yesterday in milwaukee
i was having a smoke in an alleyway
behind the gig
next door an abortion clinic
complete with “christian” ding dongs
accosting the people going in n out
i was quite oblivious to all this
i was down a dark alley puffing on mother nature
when a worker from clinic spots me
and everyone starts yelling at me
they think (i later surmise) that im a anti-abortion terrorist
or something
everyones threatening to call cops
fuck!!
i go back inside venue
n lay low
later 30 minutes later
i go out to buy something to nibble
n a load of people start yelling
theres the suspicious looking man!!!!!!
a security mans starts trying to question me
excuse me sir…were you down that alley before?
i give ‘im a bit of the olde aussie bluster
the crowd is surprised to hear my strange accent unfold
i admit i do look a bit para military in my get up
did you come from this alley sir ? the security man says
no i came from that alley there….
i say in my best broadest aussie accent
like paul hogan on xanax
or something
he starts walking alongside me
n i walk away faster n faster
suddenly i jump back inside the venue
while a confused crowd mill around
looking for the “suspicious man”
everyone inside is laughing their asses off
n i get called by the mill walky crowd there
“that suspicious man” for rest of the night
jesus…sometimes i attract bloody bad luck
anyway
its a friggin heat wave here in mitch again
its fucking 97 degrees i kid thee knot
last nite stayed at a 39 dollar a night hotel
(oh god it was the flea bag pits)
in michigan city indiana
indiana wants me
lord i cant go back there
any way tonite its grande rapidos
and its a huge venue which could look horribly empty if…
see ya later then

i go up to the roof
dark night
some kind kat from minne apple is
had laid some jazzy jazz on the old jazzmen
and let me tell you childe
that verily it doth rock
serious jazz serious music
seriously wasted i do yoga
its hot outside
the phone interview
the interview down at the station
the interviewers are polite and intellectual types
they seem to know what theyre on about
a long way from some of the turkeys they got
yes theres a lot of quietly intellectual people out this way
sort of low key but very well educated and spoken
up in this neck of the woods i guess
wow i like mill walky
look i can understand why all those old english rockers
settled down in america eventually
i mean olde johnny lennon coulda lived anywhere
but
i dunno
just so many different cities
just so many different landscapes
just so many different people
look
i like america
i love america
i love marilyn n marlon n elvis n jeff buckley
i love greg dulli n tom verlaine n bobby dylan n patti
and beach boys n byrds n bruce n so many others
boy you gotta be weird if you dont like some of it here
of course theres some scary bits and some bland bits
and some stupid bits
but i have encountered this in
australia sweden and england and everywhere else
the people who see us are genuinely delighted
beyond even a london or melbourne or amsterdam crowd
they love us it seems
they truly appreciate it without any preconceptions
critics n fads have little sway here
if youre mediocre, no good review is gonna bullshit a crowd
except maybe in l./a. or new yourk
i pride myself these days on delivering it for all i’m worth
its just fucking stupid otherwise to come here
risk my life on the roads for up to 12 hours a day or night
and then not give it my best shot
so bugger it!
thats what im doing
the songs are singing themselves
i stand back n mouth the words
in sync with something
some big music machine
i get hooked up
its effortless then
this is where i hoped to get
and by jungo here i am
connected
right up
direct feeed adjustable drip
on tap
intra braineously
i know how to do it now
so come on america
gimme one last chance
embrace me to your warmest show biz heart
im sorry everywhere else
but its nice to play here in the states
they invented show biz here
the audience is so enthusiastic
nice people give us veg snacks (thanks!)
people even like our silly accents
little craigie is having a ball but wearing himself out
i dont even know what day it is
i dont even know what time it is
tonite we drive on after gig
to grand rapids
dunno if i been there before
have no preconceptions whatsoever
can only think one day ahead
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******************

anyway
i’m sitting here baxstage
in shank hall
waiting to soundcheck
blah blah blah
my arm is tired
it says
stop now
so
its over
bye

we become becalmed in traffic
stopped to a standstill ion
the trees and forests
the meadows and fields
green
american life in the summer time
i drift off up a river with my sioux friend
we wander thru gentle vegetation for years
we meander through the past
i like the things you sing he says
they are somehow consistent with my own ways
we take sacred herbs and we apprehend reality
by the sandy banks of the rushing river
white birds appear in the blue sky
i say goodbye and walk thru a door in a tree
into a huge restaurant
people doing the tango
a quartet plays in a cage
the waiters dance about
life is easy
life is good
civilization
we smile and order
delicious food materializes
i eat mine down n get up n rush off
outside its raining
windy and rainy like a film set
like smalltown usa
or some blacknwhite tv show i saw at aunty mays
here i am
me
im in america
look here i am can you see me here
wait till i tell dad and kathy
wait till i tell hubba bridge
someone tosses me my bass
i stride onstage in some redlight
wham whack bam boom blam rama dinga lingo
thwack rumble humble brangle dam dam dam boom
crack whack bam bam bim bim wallop danga ding dong
jesus what a racquet
rocking in the free world
everything on eleven
yeah they clap n cheer
wow
alright
go go
hey you gotta admit my knees are in goodshape
rock n roll thats what it is
with a little bit extra whatnot
banga shanga ranga dong ding crash wallop
yeah we play on n on
i scream out i whisper
i rock n jump n thump n all the rest
whatever it all means
how can i tell
i fall down a hole
and im in a hotel having a very very bad dream
everythings going so wrong wrong wrong
beneath the thin veneer
in my bad n naughty dream
i was alone
ALONE!
god dont let me be alone
i woke up with a start
it was 10 a.m.
the pool guy was out there working on the indoor pool
some nice paintings hung on the wall
i hadnt noticed them earlier
the bad dream shatters me somehow
i was crying in it
i do yoga watching the poolman clean the pool
i wonder about his life
about his wife n kids
about his holidays and his car
next thing i’m up on this roof
a guy from alaska whose invented powdered beer
i look out over milwaukee
i think
what made milwaukee famous
made a gooseball out of thee
the guy is a very nice guy however
we talk for a while
we smoke the pipe of peace
we talk of cabbages and kings
he is surprised to see me fly off the roof
and over and out over the greatest lakes
i swoop down over the warm waters
i shoot past boats like a white mist
i see my sioux friend on a shore
we sit together
he surprised i can be so dumb n smart
at the same time
he shakes his head and laughs
i knew youd come back
i alight on the stage
i take up my axe
i go down to slaughter creek
the audience….we slay em
me n my friend
i heft my mighty warhammer in a sonic arc
i crouch low as i take on board your charge
i see my friend disappear in a volley of digital shots
i battle on down the aisles of truck stops
staring through glass cases at beers n wines n coffees n sodas
i must look like a freak
i catch sight of myself
a lunatic loose in the wal-mart
a crazy olde prophet who forget what he was s’posed to say
a jazz crusader all blurry at 3 in morning
at 3 in afternoon
the road truly doth go on forever
i see bikers n trailers n sailors n failures
i see houses and theme parks n giant mice n bulls
i see mansions n hovels
i see the good n the bad
i see the places go by
i see the blue summer sky
i try to hang on to myself
whoever you are now
yesterday is so gone
but isnt that how life ends?
i feel small n alone suddenly
milwaukee is a huge place
a huge city as big as sydney easy
and im down by the lake
homesick n ache
nice room
i hear a foghorn boom
the a.c. slightly sings
like the american road sings
yes it sings its songs
listen says tim
the two sides sing a different song
like a female vox from a mellotron
man you should stop now
stop and get some rest
come in from the heat

chicago
yeah we did alright
my bass n i synch up
i love that fucking piece of wood
its my staff
its my wand
we are in deepest symbiosis
we are in love
no one else can play it like me
only to me does it offer itself up completely
so i play it at the h.o.b. chicago
what a gorgeous venue
what treatment n hospitality
what sumptuous groovy dressing rooms
(tonites is a damp burned out basement)
yeah
we did ok there
afterwards a bit of a feeding frenzy to get stuff signed
people really get into it over here dont they?
people carrying on as if…..
….they just saw the best band in the world……
meanwhile after show drive outta chicago
for hours n hours thru into whizz-consin
(looking just like perth)
stay at another anon hotel
get to sleep at 4
get up at 9
5 hours sleep like death
like black exhaustion
my wife….ah….my wife
sends me some pictures of herself
and i am stunned by her beauty
and how fucking gorgeous she is
and getting better n better with age
the pictures gob smack me
dear nk alias duckling dalton
you are officially the bees knees
and uh
i wish the 13 year old me
had happened upon these pictures
i think he may have had a religious experience
oh my lord!
moving right along
before i become becalmed in my wifes ample charms
we get up early n drive to minneapolis
i like it here
we are playing a very funky old theatre
its pretty bohemian
(is this what the odditorium is like?)
outside hippies n cops n frat boys
sometimes i despair for american malehood
for every brad pitt theres 4 million frat boys
or groan up frat boys
big pink round guys
stop with the beers n meat , fellas
cant ya see whats happening here…?
it wont be the commies or terrorists that getcha
itll be the colonel or ronald the clown
99 billion served says the golden arches proudly
i vomit my contempt
99 billion acres of forests destroyed
99 billion cows executed
99 billion greasy french fries going through sick stomachs
99 billion pigs fat ice creams served up
99 billion extra pounds hanging off the worlds guts
99 million times bad karma
one day we will all look back on this as a horror
the meat industry is the cancer in societys bowels
and the poor victims are the cows and the sick carnivores who eat em
such a shame
such a shame
meanwhile i experiment with eating hardly anything
and throwing myself into yoga
i want to be a performer
i want to rock and never stop
i want the glory and the power
i want the men to envy me
i want to bring the house down
i want to hit you on every level like the devil
i want it all
i want to do it right
i have the best bass n best wife in the world( for me)
the curves and angles
the sights and the sounds
im a lucky man
i hope you understand
more chances than i de-serve or what
my life..a comedy a tragedy a huge lesson
come along and see the show
buy my new box set poem music art thingo
total immersion experience
ok
now for a bit more yoga
ok now for a bit more jazz
ok now for a bit more music
ok now
so go
go n do it
n tell em sk sent ya
and that the proofs in his pudding
and that verily
he doth rock

voice : kilbey where are you ?
i am here
i am here
my dear one
oh i am here
in the deep heart of the night
flying across moors and mountains
travelogue in velvet
doing yoga against a wall in denver
buying a coffee in iowa
checking in here
checking out there
a whirl of green and grey
the miles thunder pass
rain crooked rain
lightning my old mirrored face
onstage i jump like a youngman
offstage i groan with my years
i talk to adam franklin bout t rex
i call nk at home holding the fort so well
(eve has gashed open her foot n cant walk)
i walk through bustling malls n lonely places
i sit at the house of blues drinking orange fizz
i talk to people
i meet people
i sign my stuff
i pitch my product
i strut my stuff
i dance n i duck n i weave
i try to stay awake as tim drives
in a microsleep i stand onstage singing
singing this most lovely song
and my bass pumps oh the most beautiful thing
and im doing garudasana on the interstate 88
my grateful hands accept the gift of music
my father watches on from cockney heaven
he says
youre doing well slim
i pick up my axe i go into battle
a pawn in the aesthetic wars
i rock to save you from yourself
i come from another time n place
i am your ancestors with a fender
i represent the iliad
i sing the odyssey
i strum the anthem of nineveh
i talked in forked tongues
white hippy moses they will call me
for i lead you i know not where
i am a another guy in a best western
i practice yoga 2wice a day
there are but 2 paths
magic or yoga
why not take em both i wonder
as we hurtle along some green and sunny lane
beyond the rainbows edge
the jazz flows a little
thank you craig i like that jazz too
we play like stateless troopers
we overcome obstacles
my co-horts weapons bite hard
my ears ring on in their silence of stone
people say
i feel like i known you my whole life man
i say
yes you have
but i havent known you
altho i wrote it for you
just for me? the punter asks
no just for everyone who wanted to hear this
this 30 years of music
i pulled them damn songs out of my head
and i put them all on a table
and i named em
and i nurtured em
and i loved em all
everyone of my ugly songs
oh i loved loved loved em all
i tried so hard i nearly died
and still the miles go
ka-rump ka-thump
underneath the van
inside we laugh n argue n sit silently
wishing the miles away
i see a guy without a nose
i see people so big they can hardly move
i see people all fucked up from meat n cigarettes
i see arbours of lovely trees and the greenest grass
moonscapes in wyoming
oh america i love you n i fear you
and oh i understand you
whoever you are
i being neither australian nor english
i come here
i stretch out over your ten billion miles
i see the whites n blacks n reds n yellows
i talk to people
i talk to old people n children
i play rocknroll mister
im a fucking singer
in one of the best bands in the world
you never heard of me ?
we zoom off
i pack up my suitcase
i unroll my mat
you see my knees
you see my hands
you see my back
i unfold
i let go
i try to let go
i try to remember n forget
i walk out onstage
the people cheer
theyre happy to see us
i pull my bass around like a drunk woman
i take liberties with it
i finger it n stroke it n i fool around
in turn it hums n croons under my nicely blistered fingers
i tell it do this do that
it resonates
it combines with the drums
it extrudes out into the air
i slip my key into the slot
another room
another mile
just another moonlight mile
down the road
i drive like demon
i dream at the wheel
i dream of my bass
my bass and my wife
i get them mixed up in my dream
both with their curvaceous waists
i read my fucking emails
i check my bank account
i cant fall asleep
i cant wake up
i cant get warm
i cant get young
in the mirror i look a hundred miles old
i sing my groovy lyrics the hoi polloi cannot grok
in denver the hippies grok it and they say wow
i need my glasses..is this shampoo or conditioner…?
i shave
i clean my olde limey teeth
i cant get the window open
i shake hands with some guy
he takes a picture of me with his wife
they both genuinely love me
they treat me like jesus or something
you are a prophet says the ex-exotic dancer
you are the soundtrack of my life says joe everyman
your soy latte is ready honey says the woman in idaho
they keep a restaurant open for us specially
the americans are mostly hospitable
they do not cater to vegetarians in the sticks tho
i live on nothing
AND I DONT CARE!!!
sleep n food are theoretical entities
now skinnier than ever
kilbey has a lean n hungry look
kilbey in illinois
the house o’ blues
backstage like fantasy of warrens
n rooms full of mexican jesus n elvis n skulls n guitars
chuck berry marc bolan cocaine heroin
murder magic and the steamy weather
black bluesmen with wings n snakes
a punctured tyre means no soundcheck
playing music blind like ray charles
im a white king mamba eating spinach dip
i write songs about the distance n the time
both of em disappearing down the end of the highway
someone calls my name
i look up n the dream is gone
yoga n veganism pay off in spades
onstage a wild inchoate energy rushes thru me
oh i have a ball n a ball
n i got some balls in these ballrooms of mars
im steve kilbey and youre listening to kfuk
adam franklins bass player breaks his foot
our young craigie steps up to the plate
altho not a bass player
hes just learnt 8 new songs in the back of a van
and tonite
hes playing em in the windy city
bass player with adam
keyboards with us
good for a boy from campbelltown nsw
the road beckons
the road tells me to ramble n rock around america forever
lets face it
this is where they prob’ly like me most
theres a million cities i could play
places you never heard of
places you’ll never go
cement works quarries glades forests hills rivers
highways
50 cent cones says the same sign mile after mile
the franchises
the truckies on speed
the smell of brakes n petrol
i rock to the east
i rock to the west
my life is unfathomable
a briefest moment in a glorious spotlight
the curtain comes down
alonely in a dark cabin
shooting up a highway like a vein
in vain i hope not
i eat little
i talk my head off
i go mad
i become sane again
i vibe myself up
way way way up
and then gently down to earth
at the best western at 4 in the a.m.
a hundred miles outta town
on the edge of everytown
just like that song i sing
i am everyman
everywhere
nowhere for long
golden sandy babylonian banks on lazy streams
undulating mountains n the distance
shafts of jehovah-esque light
jesus in salt lake city surfing the dead sea
something in the depths some monstrosity
boom boom boom
bang clang rattle tat
the guitars shriek n wail
the voice falters n grows faint
life ebbs n flows
i move to unknown pulses
i am manipulated by unseen fingers
i am wound up and set free
i play n i sing n i play n i sing
hail marc bolan
hail ziggy angeldust
hail bobby zylan
hail johnny winston oh-boogie
fuck yeah!
soon i will be unleashed to rock oh ha ha ha
believe it or not
yes i am a singer mister in this here band
whats that?
what kinda music do we all play?
i’ll tell ya
its only rocknroll
but i like it
like it
like it
yes i do!