ricky maymi is the rockers rocker

he plays all the instruments

he understands all the fundamentals

hes a harsh taskmaster

he whips stuff into shape

he had warned me that my controlled explosion hoffmen

were rocking harder this time round

back in perth n freo we’d been very kinda restrained

energetic n stuff

but musical director ricky

was keeping himself n the boys from cockburn on a tight leash

and then ricky musta thought

we playing a shoegazer psychedelic  club in the middle of melbourne

so he unleashed himself n them crazy hoffmen in spades

and then he fucking cracked the whip on me

theres not too many geezers could force me to rehearse long n hard

only mwp and ricky

we got to the club

twice through the whole fucking list

we rehearsed for like 3 n half hours then did the gig

adrian hoffmans got dark hair now n he attacks the bass with confidence

i didnt listen to him all night

can you imagine that?

he just fucking effortlessly nailed it properly

you felt him but you didnt really listen because he was so good

thats right

sometimes the best bass is so right on you dont notice it

shaun hoffman on drums is a fucking powerhouse

i said you used to be controlled explosion

he said yeah….

i said now the controlled is gone….!

and he laughed n said  something about it being rickys idea

ricky has unleashed the kraken

he himself is loud mean and totally rocking

impeccable stuff

he was like a wall of music at my side

he was like directing the whole thing

a truly unique character hotheaded and filled with boundless energy

you cant fob him off with half arsed excuses

i tell him i need a break

he says i think you should have a break after this next song

after the next song

i say i need a break

he says you should have a break after this next song

anyway we hit the stage

i start singing like bob dylan kinda

hoarsely declaiming the words angrily

i hear my voice boom out over the music

have i told you bout the neverness hoax …..?

i mean what the fuck does that mean

that means that never never happens

understand…?

anyway back to ricky he plays a blinder that night

like a football player always in the right place at the right time

we rip thru the set like we’re neil young or something

i cant believe how rickys got the band rocking

i mean its unashamedly rock ok

its pumping its loud its nasty its emotional

its valve bouncing rocknroll

the hoffmen rhythm section are world class

anyone could pick em up n be happy with em

ricky is the one of the best utility man in the world

he can do any job in rocknroll

and he’d kick any band up the butt that needed it

and he’d be brutally honest too n wouldnt mince words if it was lame

luckily he is a dedicated rocker and one of the best ive ever seen

he totally understands every musical trick or effect i ever pulled off

ricky could pick up any instrument n play it

at a church rehearsal a few years back

he amazes me by stepping in for every member of the church

at a rehearsal one day

someone would go off n ricky could play his part perfectly

hes got a mind like an encyclopaedia

hes got the arrangements in his head for all instruments

he must have thousands of songs in his head

boy could he play guitar

you could say i was a happy camper

i shouted out my songs and i felt real happy

good call

good club

good audience

very fucking tasty gig i reckon

these guys made my music rock n i love to rock

i didnt used to so much but now i do

stamp yer foot n bash yer geetar rock

nice one to all concerned

fabulous to see my true fans there

i love these true fans they are my lifeblood

they know who they are

special mention to kate who was smiling big x

special mention to diamanda galah who always been there x

special mention to lisa who yelled out this is a great set! x

special mention to melissa who is always so calm x

special mention to mary who sees the silly side of me easily x

special mention to donald ooops to much smokey dokey!

special mention to sam s a true original n impeccably eccentric

special mention to rob mc from triffids who was amazing on lonely stretch

ah thats enough……

the next day i flew outta melb early to drive for a while to parramatta

a suburb of sydneys sprawling west

i was one of 3 judges judging a sidewalk pastel competition

or a chalk the walk as they say

the other 2 judges were really cool n fun people too

so it was a real pleasure

ive judged a few things now n its hard

there were some really great things

n nothing stood out as the obvious winner

the theme was the blues

however you wanted to interpret that

there was robert johnson at the crossroads

there were blues playing koalas

there were blue smuggled birds

there was a blue angel who won both judges n peoples prizes

there was a guy trying to rig the peoples prize by stacking the ballot

his large extended family stood around his work

glaring n smiling at the judges

wow! i guess the 5000 dollar prize money  woulda come in handy

its a pretty good chunk of money

i wouldnt mind winning it myself

anyway we looked at all the works

we talked it out

i reckon the best one won

i had a good time

wish eekie coulda been there

i know she would have had some thoughts on things

ok then

see ya soon

thats it!