gds gibson
you know
one thing i realised
is that you guys want me to write about music
more than anything else
after all thats why youre here
so i’m gonna write about music for a while
i’m gonna write about what i know about
and thats my own music
on that i am at least an expert
lemme see
i first encountered music at an early age
music seemed really important to my father
he constantly sang musics praises to me
we listened to the radio together on drives around town
and he talked to me about what he heard
and of course he could play the piano
its his birthday tomorrow
he woulda been 90 i think
anyway
it was certainly inculcated in me that music was a very good thing
i spent a bit of time thinking about music
when the beatles hit i was 9
and after that i was up and running
i wrote a couple of songs in my head at age 10 or 11
they were ok i guess i was certainly no mozart
i took piano lessons but fell out with my teacher
when she wanted me to play classical stuff only
i wanted to learn something i liked
“march militaire” was the final straw i s’pose
some stiff old boring fussy racket
i wanted to play paperback writer or paint it black
so
me and her parted ways regretfully
she said i had the makings of a good pianist
but my idiot/savant brain was going somewhere it didnt like
it never had, it never has , it never will (good name for a song)
so at age 16 i became obsessed with the bass guitar
(who wouldnt?)
master this plank and youre cool i thought
eventually through much trial n error i learnt to play the bastard thing
the mystery of music revealed itself little by little
how it kinda worked and all that stuff
i learned about chords and keys and riffs and basslines
i learned about amps and guitars and PAs and microphones
i learned about choruses and verses and codas and intros
i learned about timing and majors and minors and sevenths and suspended 4ths
i learned about vibrato and tremolo and muted palm ostinato
speeding up n slowing down and volume and tone and sustain
and haircut and clothes and boots and attitude
and booking gigs and moving gear and being on the road
and all that jazz my friends
in the end i got lucky i guess
at the relatively late age of 25
i formed the church
peter k would be an asset to any musical endeavour
but for the church he was essential
already at 24 a beautifully accomplished guitarist
who already was thinking outside the box
it didnt hurt at all our chances that he was tall n good looking either
i was lucky to know him
the 1st drummer i was not so lucky to know
that was a bad move to have him
marty came along and i knew he was right tho
ploogy came along and the puzzle was solved
and then tim when ploogy was tired of drumming
one would have to consider oneself lucky
to know these characters really
and this kind of luck cant be fabricated
i was furiously writing songs
just going for it!
the initial burst of success made me write even harder
a revolving cast of characters often including russell k
and members of his band were there in the room
i produced songs out of thin air for all to hear
i was lucky to have this gift
altho many watched me do it
few could reproduce it
i could spot a good thing for a song a mile off
the smallest sound sent me off
it still does
i am always on the lookout for a spark for a song
i could spot things no one else ever seemed to hear
some feeding back echo
some drum thing
some chord or some word or some name
i guess i was a born to do this
i used to think this was random
but after so long so many people have assured me of the pleasure
they enjoy upon hearing my songs
i am forced to conclude it was meant to be
ive made some people happy here in this world
just an awkward skinny oaf from canberra ACT
i was writing stuff that made people happy
i got paid quite well too
i never made a huge fortune
but i did alright considering it was music
defying all odds and predictions
i made money out of my music
of course by the time this was happening
i was embroiled in my soap opera
LSD trips , swedish girlfriends,
getting signed and dropped and signed and dropped
imagine how it feels getting dropped by a label
pretty fucking bad i tell ya like getting sacked from a job
we spent months in studios recording
we were big in london n new york and briefly even europe
gee i lost myself somewhere in there
we had millionaire managers with rocks of coke and swimming pools
malibu here we come
the fragrant bud the burning nostril the free guitar
restaurant on cafe on snort on drink on smoke on girls
interviews and tourbuses man
famous friends and gullible geese
motels and airports and truckstops and bars
then wham
adulation comes
oh steve you are my hero oh steve you are my man
are you serious
fuck yes look they are…!
these people will do anything for you man
how will you handle that then?
will you pass the test?
probably not…i’d say….
still the music
glowing reviews awful scathing ones too
gets confusing to oscillate between best n worse
too bad theres a photo shoot and a interview
youre late for dinner now old boy
youre letting down your friends
youre too thin or putting on weight
wait youre looking old now
wait youre looking ok
wait theyre not opening the curtains for another ten minutes
wait! they need to rewind the tape
all the time producers engineers agents roadies managers girlfriends wives children breakups
steve come n meet the folks from blah blah records
steve come n meet the folks from hoo hah records
arguments by the tons
everything was arguments where we was eating or staying or playing
you can well imagine
the little blips we get on here is nothing
i am immured to it all
cock? cunt? ive been called that in about 23 languages and 7 dialects
poser wanker donkey and ass
they called me good things too
but i refused to believe any of it
i am a lucky bloke
i led a good life and i met some nice people
i played my music without fear or favour
i hardly ever compromised my music for anything
my music isnt like that
you cant really compromise it or it will die or wither or something
ha ha
so theres some insight into my music
i’m not what anybody thought i was really
neither good or bad
i was lucky and persistent
i had some good DNA from my dad in regards to music (and painting)
i knew some good people
i was in the right place right time (sydney 1980)
cos it was just blossoming into something intense
never before had so many bands jammed so many punters
into so many venues
the church were picked up and hurled along with this explosion
we have survived luckily but for how much longer?
who can tell?
theres some more insight
it isnt up to me all the time
i dont cause everything or not cause everything
still here we are 2013
i rock on regardless
i know that idyllist and skins n heart are miles apart
somehow i reckon tho the 25 year old me would have liked it
i’m still carrying the flag for whatever it is
i love music still
my obsession is tempered but my ardour is strong
the songs were all out there
i just perceived em first
love is a good thing
sk bondi march 2
