The Time Being | Steve Kilbey

here in boston
at some weird place we playing at
gonna post a partial interview with gavin mckillop
filmed in l.a. (maan!)
yesterday disappeared into the fog of some distance
today seems empty and strangely sad
someone mentions mandrake
random instances freak us out
for instance the freezing cold dressing room
people turning up in the wrong places
pianos drift from the empty apartments
the drums bang bomp boom
the crush in traffic
feeling tired without my medicine
weird weather ominous
i forget the questions i sposed to ask

unreality sets in
i push on
i sing i play
detroit
madison
no
lyonesse
no
atlanta
hartford
ilium
constantinople
i look in the mirror
oh ageing down the ages
we pull in somewhere for gas
i check my monitor
i lose my key
i lose my patience
i eat some cashews
a large soy latte please
more guitar in the left speaker please
can i sit in the front
can we stop soon my legs are aching
hotels blur by in green and brown
goodbye everybody
i gotta go
gotta leave you all behind n face the truth
i drink some booze
i drink some water
pack my case
unfold my guitar
stretch out on my mat
i zoom along thrum thrum hum thrum
i get in i get out i get in again
smoke some more
play some more drive some more
forget some more
unreality has set in
new york
tokyo
london
munich
everybody talking bout
pop music

i just wrote a whole blog for an hour
it disappeared into the ether coz i was on the wrong network
now its gone
no time to write a new one
boo hoo

hallucinating in suite 16
airport inn
the weather is sleeting
sleet such a lovely word
some spring you got here cleveland
some big fat spring
in my opaque window room
with my un-ironed clothes and my un-ironic close
wind howls n prowls outside
in here i get used to my little lonelinesses
pleasant loneliness as i drift off in my reveries
i fiddle round with things ordinary things
like i-this n i-that
have i-succumbed ?
i-dunno (now available in dull grey)
and
i-already
(place expression of interest !)
meanwhile we limber up for saturday nite in cleveland
home of rock
epitome of rock
in a way cleveland is everytown
in a way the church is everyband
in a way tonite is everynight
see?
they say i lost my marbles
but i see the white glow which pierces my hearts nadir
i feel the omnidirectional wake of the spirit
i apprehend the fleeting fractionated implosion of energy
is that death or life then
mornings ease themselves slowly to day
slowly today my mirror beacon
my views of the streets and rhodes
my turning suspending flow of articulated trucks deliver words
i huddle next to the heater
the houses in o’high-oh
some seem so inviting
some seem so foreboding
as we zoom down snow road
i live my whole life inside each house
as me who is not me
a girl going to high school in the forties
her dad who works hard
no tv no drugs no internet no nothing
booze i guess and ciggies yeah
well the winters were cold but the summers were lovely
ohio says kilbey we understand each other
ohio says we have our moods but we have our moments
indiana says ah shuttup
texas says whats going on here!?
california says dude chill!
oregon says i’m not saying anything in this stupid blog…!
washington says put tacoma into one of your songs
west virginia says well………
new south wales says at least better than old south wales
victoria says we got the italian places in carlton on lygon street
nineveh says im here waiting for you steven
rome says we have laid waste the beer rider
greece says greece is the word its got style its got meaning
ur says errr..?
atlantis says ^^^^^^^^^^^^
noahs ark says””””””””””””””””””
mammon says $$$$$$$$$$$$$
the sleet says *******************
the orgy says %%%%%%%%%%%%%%
the train tracks says ===========
leaning tower of pizza says / /

ok
now go home while i do some yoga!

ME

who am i….?
i as born in 1954 in welwyn garden city herts england
at an early age i learned to breathe
at a later stage i got my 1st bass
suite 16
never been kissed
did a deal with some devil
my dad said watchit slim !
i immediate bass addict
i want to make your inside vibrate to the pulse
i want to sync up my lips to the unsinking star
i go n make a fucking record
bingo! yes!
gotcha
eventually confused
whisked here n there
berlin brazil babylon nineveh
ohio
hi
oh hi
i in ohio
tonight
of all places in some airport hotel
my room is not too shabby
my window is opaque
i can see nothing but grey thru it
my foggy dazed eyes
my ringing ears
my sore throat
my confused mind
a nervous poet type
a dopey aesthete
an austere venerated old boy
oh i type the light fantastic
oh i sing i dance i fall asleep
sorry i am absent today
decided little steven was feeling kinda bilious and
thought he better stay home deep in my id
where he sits in the mirror in lyneham
fiddling with his ludicrous hairdo and plucking his violent bass
no
his violin bass
boom boom boom he wants to play so well
he can feel it but it cant happen
that boy wants to play then
like i play now but time needs its space
let me be a rocknroll star he prays to his graven craven image of
marco boleyn
who presides over this teenage room of rock adulation
behold the wardrobe is plastered with pics of
alvin lee
neil young
and other black n white pages torn from go-set magazine
the boy hasnt heard some of em but he likes the look
the beatles arrived 6 years ago
the b n w world exploaded into colour glo
now i got me my long hair
now i got me my bass
now i got me my amp
many many years later
ohio
the ohio express
the 1st time i heard the word ohio
a bubblegum band
yummy yummy yummy i got love in my tummy
chewy chewy chewy chewy
warped kinda catchy songs
ohio express
wow that sounded exotic to me then
me n tim n pete go eat dinner in a diner
its almost empty
i have a boca burger
the lights make the waitress look like a cadaver in her skinniness
the food is dead n over cooked
the world is a blur of cars rushing by in a drizzle
last night was last life
we played on a stage and we did well
the people clapped n cheered and i smiled
i sang a song or 2 which meant something to em
i shot my words at them and some got hit
they remembered things
old times
past n dead loves
old houses and gone homes
the smell of something familiar but absent
what am i doing?
is it good or bad or neutral?
this is what i have been practicing all my life
to pluck that string
to sing that word
to write your song
the soundtrack to your 9 lives, cats
my voice oh you can trust it
cos it doth not sing of money thing
my song belong in the throng of throngs
universal and subconscious
my songs are just love in a sonic form
love congealed into sound
us 4 who love to make this music
we try to jazz it up
we try to imply not step on your “i”
you should infer thats what we prefer
love this music that now belongs to you
oh i came a long way to ohio today
travel by thought
travel by stone n gravel
travel by wheel whats the deal
travel by gps guided by mech voices
ohio
a knight off
a knight at the altar of altered states of america
east coast time being
mean time
my room is quiet and sealed
i hear a distant wind whining in some place
but the sound is comforting n far off here in my room
my bed is big enuff for 4 me’s
i could sleep sideways
i could sleep hovering above it
i could sleep with the stars god knows they are so low
the crescent moon is icy
the whole night says stay in lock yer door
the room is green n brown as usual
tasteful paintings abound
heavy drapes
i am safe at last
can hear n see nothing
like a luxury jail
fire alarm winks green
ok
now im gonna do something else
but…. what………?

sitting backstage in chicago
waiting to go on at 8ish sharp
park west baby
oh yeah nice venue
we drive up from madison
madison turned out nice
nice gig
ok
drive up
stop at starbux
soy latte soy oats soy smoothie
balmy weather
warm weather
sunshine
we drift along
discussing this n that
fly along the road
hit traffic in chicago go slow
here we are
feeling a bit numb
feeling a bit dumb
feeling like some thing
i sing i play i try to remember the words
i old and tired too
so old and tired too
remember no spring chicken
no dolt in his prime
an old geezer pushing himself on the endless road
in a room with no windows
air conditioning pumps too remorseless
in the darkness where i freeze n dream
shuddering under crispy sheets
and plumpy pillows
i wriggle as i dream of my other lives
suntanned against white sheets
freckled and faded
deep in some night alone
at the presents clocklface
at the very very edge of time
confused reluctant
regrets i hadda few
oh columbus
oh vienna
this means nuffink to me
down by the river
i shot by maybe
i hurtle hopelessly onwards towards my death
everyday i die a little more
everyday i cry a little more
pick up my guitar
n play
just like yessaday
i get on my knees and prey
people assail me with their ideas
shake your hand
hand your shake
i dunno
im a stupid fucking singer
i make up words
i make up musics
i drive around from town to town
on the edge of everytown
i everyman
i more than most in the least
i travel in your mind
alone in your head n you cant get in
ok i gotta stop
i gotta entertain em
i gotta sing
i gotta go

madison wisconsin
comes into focus
the miles tick by like minutes
miles by minutes by moments by memories
inanimate objects communicate with me a la proust
tim drives down the sunshining highway
ah freedom
the journey unravels
we stop for a starbucks
we have a discussion n sure enough a woman says
you all aint from around here are ya?
nope i say
have a guess where hes from pointing at tim
my goodness i couldnt possibly guess she says
last night now officially a light year behind
the last half turned out good
the crowd n band locked in on encores

i walk around madison trying to keep fit
a real nice clean civilized place it seems
i go down to their great lake
gee it reminds me of sweden i gotta say
i could be in sweden on a summers day
lotsa scandic names too
nice little theatre too
i feel strange tho
i am not escaping the years fast enough
i need to move away faster than the age allows
sit upstairs in nice dressing room
its a lot better than portland gig backstage = closet
im pretty sleepy
underwhelmed
wondering why not enjoying myself more
put much into these performances
i try to do my best
it takes concentration
then afterwards i wake up early
we do soundcheck
cop a nice dose of feedback
same old but different
ok thats enough
isnt it

its intermission in mini-apple-is
have done a smooth first half
its chile on stage some fan blowing cold n hard
my skin is dry n itchy and i feel like a prisoner within it
every now n then i sing like a lark
but sometimes more like a turkey
yeah
playing bass ok
my bass sounds nice tho
so warm n natural all right
not that many people here
i mean not too bad but not too many
thats disappointing but hard luck eh
theres a lotta stuff out there
lucky we have anybody on some levels
anyway gonna relax for 3 minutes
then play some more
love on ya
kilbey

kilbey
eternal strangest stranger in strangely familiar strange land
forget whatever you thought you knew about texas
texas is green baby
these aint no badlands
texas is lush and green and full of life
not the crazy desperate frantic life of australian nature
but the sedate peace of say a sweden or germany in summer
leafy as all fuck
you want birdies chirping n squirrels running up n down trees
(did i ever tell you all my kids think i resemble a squirrel??)
(devil-squirrel!)
if you want soft balmy zephyrs
if you want gentle clouds drifting on a sky thats not so blue as australias
an older sky
a sky that seems further away and less revved up
in contrast to austin texas
sydney seems like a place where someone jumped on the colour graph
and intensified brightness contrast and saturation
because sydneys nature is wilder and more colourful
its more primitive too
busting out all over the place
at austin and dallas airports
long beautiful yellow weeds nod in the breezes next to the landing strips
jackrabbits are loping about
seems to be a loada rivers n lakes everywhere
it rains a bit
i remember being in hotel rooms in houston
unbelievable lightning and thunder raining down on the smitten earth
i sit alone as usual in room in 1988
why im sitting at a keyboard writing songs for hex
i got this ensoniq brand sequencer
i bought these little coloured cartridges with sounds on em
i go straight home after gig n i work on music all night long
i got a studio booked in new york at xmas 88
gonna record n finish an album with dt
(who also somehow managed to get loads of pics of herself in my bob lurie biopic)
but wow
yes it really rains here
i wrote that song mercury towers here
the music anyway
i was obsessed with writing these things on that sequencer
building up little interlocking phrases
a record totally ahead of its time
see the movie tarnation in which diviner is used
no one could dig this groovy trip at the time
but it is good
ah yes
and texas surprises me
a seductive place
youd say i couldnt imagine sk living in texas
but i could
what…leafy quiet bohemian enclaves
with all the latest doodahs if youd want em
ok some people are saying
what are you doing there exactly old killer bean
well i met via the net a chap
who is guiding me in net related matters i know little of
a crash course in logic
am recording a brand new song for ye
talk about thetimebeing.com
which aims to bring you more kilbey with less fuss
a total one stop shot for your quadruple kilbey fix
more behind the scenes than ever EVERYWHERE!
more old stuff rare stuff stuff from the vaults
more poetry more blog more photos more rants more raves
more of whatever you want
whenever you want it
whatever it is
(even more hyperbole!)
so we figuring it out
maximising my puny clout
kicking a gaol
etc etc
i drove his porsche today a little bit
it didnt seem to have that much more poke than tibor really…
until i floored it n it reared up like a black stallion who was being
stabbed with some silver spurs
after that i had more respect cos that frightened me a little
i had vegan chorizo n vegan black beans tostadas
i had a pommy granite n raspberry doodah with vitamin x
etc
now will do some more music
2morro join other donkeys in minneapolis to resume the tour
oh yes that had you forgotten…?
ok
this has been a great relaxing informative healthyish respite
thank you kmcc!
you others see ya tomorrow in min
bye

look
i know i’m spoiling ya
but
what the hell
austin is really nice
speek to ya tomorrow