Byron Bay Bluesfest 2006 to Brisbane and beyond...

I've decided to reassess life in the past 2 weeks... this trip has gone beyond the point of seeing the sights and getting a photo. Staying in byron wasn't about sightseeing, and the past 2 weeks have just been pretty relaxed. All i've really done is just go surfing or chilling on the beach or playing guitar or thinking. So i am going to take a departure from the previous blog posts, after all the title and purpose of this whole thing is called "no evasion of reality". This is off the bat, here goes...

Never have I spent 5 days of my life having such a continuously great time whilst feeling privileged and completely inspired. The Byron Bay East Coast Blues and Roots Festival surpassed all expectations that I had. It represented a complete freedom to open my mind to every style and variety of music I could physically make it round to and just listen and take it all in. Live music has always been important to me, but i realised that i actually had an identity there i fitted in... i was a real "muso". Years ago i would never believe i would be standing listening to such a wide variety (and i mean wide from rock to gospel and everything in between) and finding it so captivating. There were a whole bunch of artists that were personal favorites I had planned to see, who were all awesome, ranging to those I'd vaguely heard of to those that were complete "finds". It is such a liberating experience to be able to freely wonder around and catch 4 different artists all at the same time. I spent the vast majority of the festival running back and forth not wanting to miss anything. Each day we'd get home at 1am and then be back at the festival for before 12 noon the next day. I would literally be running to the bus each morning. In full I saw bernard fanning (very good), the black keys (if you like 'the stripes' you'll love em), carus and the true believers (twice - this was an amazing gig, full of energy but during one of his solo acoustic songs a guy in the audience had arranged to ask his girlfriend to marry him, she said yes, and when she did the atmosphere was electric everyone cheered, it was one of those special moments you'll always remember. The photo was taken just at that time.), pete murray (twice), tristan prettyman (twice) (Who I also got to meet - more about her below...), michael franti (who i saw more times than dale that weekend), india arie, jamie cullum, david grey, xavier rudd, sarah mcleod (twice) her songs rock, donavon frankenreiter (Who I got to meet after his show. I'd met him before but he was really genuinely cool and was actually thanking me for going to his Abbey Road gig last year!! in between me thanking him for doing it), bob geldof, beth orton, cat empire, christine anu, kieran murphy, the blind boys of alabama (absolutely amazing), damian marley, the sparrows, the vasco era (if you like 'the stripes' but not their wierd stuff you'll love em), jodi martin, martha wainwright (good hussle), mia dyson, rodrigo y gabriela, cornerstone roots, the greencards, eddi reader, jackson brown (amazing voice) and david lindley, slightly stoopid and hilltop hoods.

I'd go as far to say that the festival has represented a landmark in my life. An experience like this has made me realise how important really going for your goals and being true to yourself is. I got to see all these artists that would range from complete megastars to just one unknown person and their guitar, but they were expressing themselves and people were listening and enjoying it. Also, each day Coke had this tiny tent where a well known artist would do a gig to an audience of 100, that they would record for TV, before their main festival set and you'd have to sign up for a draw to get in. I managed to blag my way in every day! I saw Pete Murray, Xavier Rudd and Sarah Mclead 'close up' who were all fairly massive stars and realised that all that separated them from the unknowns was time, hard work and a bit of luck. For many years I've always wanted to do something with my music but for one reason or another (excuses) I've never got my shizzle together. I've found the change of scenery and generally being away very inspirational and it has been very conducive to creativity. Right from the start, staying with Fiona and family where artistic ability and creativity are very much encouraged, to being completely alone walking around a large city having complete freedom to do whatever you want at any time of the day to travelling with Dale where we'll talk frankly and literally about life, love and stuff, through to the festival which is all about artistic expression. I've been working on a number of songs since being here, which I think are sounding pretty cool, and I really plan to do something with them when I get back home. I had plans to buy a new guitar over here, but due to money looking very bleak had brief second thoughts, but after the festival I realise that this is about the only thing in my life that I feel that passionate about to follow through with. Being truthful with myself, i have to follow my heart and get out there and give it a bloody good go. I have actually seen a singer songwriter called Carus 6 times since being in Oz, 3 times in Perth supporting John Butler and 2 times at the festival and at another show in Brisbane. He also plays with a band, The True Believers, and apart from having great music is a real 'performer', he has such a great stage prescence, real energy. I got to speak to him at one of the gigs and he was really stoked that I had seen him all those times and was so into it. He said I just gotta get out there, which i already knew. So I realise I've got to get the new guitar, its going on the credit card for the moment and I'll earn the money to pay for it when I get back. I figure I may even appreciate it even more afterwards. Creativity is a strange thing, the most random day, event or experience will just suddenly grab you and you just have to grab the guitar and a pen. It can come and go so quickly, it can't be forced. Its a strange intangible which is the ultimate form of expression in my opinion. I have written songs before coming away but I feel that being away has really enabled me to embrace what i am feeling, take an idea and turn it into something, its like I have embraced that process of expression. I want to become a better, really good songwriter, I plan to attend some song writing workshops and also get some vocal coaching. I have to actually and physically go for what I feel I owe to myself I realise... especially at an age where i still have the time. Even if its just supplemental at least i'm living the dream.... you know? All i need is a little help and support from friends and family, and i want you all down to hear me! Anyway, after the festival time was up in Byron and it was time to leave for Brisbane. I had plans to stay with an old work friend from the UK that had moved out to one of the outer suburbs of Brisbane a couple of years ago, and it would be bliss to get out of a hostel for a few days.

However, not all was perfect during this time. Add to that mix feelings of a love interest that will (probably) never be to really stuff things up! Basically there is a female solo artist from San Diego in the US, called Tristan Prettyman, who was at the festival. She is not that generally well known just yet, except in parts of the USA. I have always really liked her music for many years and have watched her success grow but seeing her twice at the festival, then at her own gig later in Brisbane and meeting her a couple of times really made me realise how much I like her too. She is also 23 and into music, surfing, etc - I think she is gonna be a massive star, super talanted, etc and I really feel like the people I really like are the ones that are always out of my grasp, unobtainable. I don't really want to go into it too much but its actually a tough thing. Anyway, she did a show in Brisbane, the night after I arrived, in a really small lounge type bar, completely acoustic, Carus was supporting, it was a great show and with some of the drunken banter from a drunken girl in the audience, very funny. It was like being in a living room.


(the perfect couple? i wish!)

I did manage to speak to her for a short while after the gig about stuff like music, the festival, Oz and surfing but there were a load of others that were also queuing. I spoke to her later when they had all gone but stuffed it up and it was also so late and stuff. Maybe one day... So i then also missed my train, which i think was sort of meant to be, then went back in had a really cool chat with Jen, her percussion girl about all of the music/creative thing/travelling alone thing. I've just been meeting so many cool and interesting people and its great to take in what they have to say. So anyway after her brief stint in Oz, hearing all about her surfing in byron and the rest, Trizzy is off back to the States by now...

I have also recently realised how unimportant education is in ones pursuit to be a happy person. We spend our lives marching to the beat of society, needing qualifications and degrees to get jobs, etc. When its the people without these formal qualifications that are often the ones with the real knowledge of the world and the educated outside-of-the-box opinions and knowledge of the world in practice. These people are the ones who make a difference, are unique, rather than being just another carbon stamp of everyone else. I thought about it and it seems that there are only really 3 things that are really important in life - family and friendship, love and following your dreams, i suppose this is what equals happiness...?

So I've now made it to Brisbane and, although i thought i had one, I'm not quite sure what the plan really is. At the moment I am looking to cut my trip in Australia short in order to make it over to the USA and travel the West Coast (San Francisco to San Diego) and New York at the very least. Travelling is a strange mix. Sometimes part of me wants to go home, and part of me wants to keep going. I like the routine i get into at home but on the road there is nothing, no plan. Anyone that knows me will know that I always have to have a plan or know what the plan is. Here everything gets completely turned upside down. But then every so often i get used to just going with the flow, routine is a foreign word.. but I know that when the moment comes when i pull up the driveway at home. I will be out of this bubble, and next thing i know i'm sitting on the edge of my bed. bored. Don't worry i am not on my way back! just writing what comes up, but i am really excited of the prospect of getting to the US, as i love the country. In the meantime however, i am registering with agency's and stuff to find work here in Brisbane and getting interviews. Hopefully, something will come up soon or I'll begin to figure out what the plan is... finally.

p.s: I would really recommend tracking down these artists mentioned above and checking them out, they all have websites. Some others i have been listening to recently are corinne baily rae (who i hear is blowing up in the UK which is great), ryan adams, john mayer, ani difranco, the white buffalo, lior and a US band called butterfly stitch (who's cd i was kindly given by jen lowe who plays percussion with tristan. Its her own band and they kick ass) - check them out!

Taking flight...

During the week after returning from the Gold coast and in anticipation for the festival i settled back into the byron lifestyle much too easily. i'd get up early and go surfing everyday, it was so nice to just be able to grab my board, cross the road and be on the beach. Life seemed un-complex and uncluttered that week, i knew what was coming up so it was just a matter of living each day as it came. Because of this for the first time since perth i felt reasonably settled, just simple things like doing a big shop of groceries as we'd be sticking around or joining a video rental shop. Halfway through the week a massive swell came up from the south and the waves were pumping both in byron and at the nearby point in Lennox Head. It was even so big one day that we just sat an watched as guys got towed into 10 foot bombs in Lennox, which also ended up making the front page of the local paper the next day! It was interesting to see because we hardly ever see the ocean like this back home, it was like something right off a video but it was live.

Its such a beautiful spot in byron out in the water and one morning whilst sitting out there i saw about 5 dolphins 'surfing' the waves just 10 feet in front of me! it was an amazing sight, they were just jumping out of the waves and having fun. It was actually quite humbling. Then the surf went flat for what turned out to be 7 days, which was so crap and put me in a bad mood. One day i even woke up from a dream that there were finally some waves. Getting into the habit of going surfing every day is like any addiction, it gets to the point where you crave it. So in the meantime i decided to finally go about booking the hang gliding that i'd wanted to do for quite some time. I managed to get Dale to come too, so one afternoon in the knowledge that neither of us were covered by our travel insurance for such an activity, our 'pilot' Paul picked us up and took us down to Lennox head. When we pulled up it was perfect conditions, hardly a cloud in the sky. I had really wanted to do it over byron but apparently the wind wasn't right that day. After a quick tutorial which consisted of "run and jump when i say" i was in the air. I was just glad that my take off went smoothly as the glider directly before mine had crashed into a bush at the edge of the 100 foot sheer cliff drop upon taking off... yes i am actually serious! I figured that it happened just so it would add to the story rather than warn me of the risk I was just about to take. Pretty soon we had reached our maximum cruising height of 525 feet, which even Paul was impressed with. The views were pretty awesome to say the least, it would make a good surf spotting method, we were in the air for about 25 minutes, but my concentration on taking photos caused me to feel like i was gonna puke, a bit like reading a book when a passenger in a car. So when we finally touched down i was glad that i had actually managed to keep a hold of my lunch. Like surfing (or any hobby/activity for that matter) its another one of those activities that when you are doing it you are out there living that moment for what it is, not thinking about anything else... i think everyone needs an outlet like that.

Byron Bay to the Gold Coast

As we arrived and drove into Byron Bay it was really weird. Having heard so much about the place over the past 4 years, I had finally made it. Byron is Australia's most easterly point and is somewhat of a hippy mecca. It is the centre for the alternative lifestyle and organic you-name-what. The day after we arrived I went to draw out $20 (about £9) from my Australian bank account to be told I had "insufficient funds". Therefore, the entire week I have been in Byron was spent trying to spend as little as humanly possible. This meant that our dinners consisted of 50 cent's super noodles and egg, pasta or anything on toast. We were real budget travelers now! This was also a pain in the arse as Byron is a big backpackers destination, meaning lots of bars and partying. However, that all costs money! So you have to pre-drink heavily (basically get wrecked and then go to the club or bar, meaning a cheap night) - to do so really cheaply requires creativity as whilst we were traveling up the coast, stopping in each town for one night and then leaving the next morning we hadn't had any real heavy nights out so were in serious need of one! (or three). Since arriving on the East Coast I have converted about 13 other backpackers onto Passion Pop as their pre-drink of choice. We are all now on a major budget and looking to buy the cheapest booze to be found in order to get pissed. For $4.50 this passion fruit tasting sparkling wine, like the daddy of Babysham, is the drink of choice. If you want a really good (aka destructive) night then 2 bottles to warm up is the only way to go. The other alternative is a "goon bag" (a box of wine) but it is so dire that it makes me heave, being the wine connoisseur that I am. So we had a number of good nights out on the Passion Pop in Byron and it now rests very close to our hearts. When Dale gets drunk he gets crazy stupid and becomes a hilarious mess. However I can't talk. One night we went out with Chris and Stuart from Portsmouth (one bottle of Passion Pop and beers) and the other night with Adam and Tegra (two bottles of Passion Pop). Various illegal incidents occurred including broken windows, street wrestling matches, the scaling of shop fronts and a number of other photos which are self explanatory. Oh, dear!!, better luck next time!, supermarket sweep, speedway sweep.

Byron is a reasonably chilled place. Apart from going surfing at a crowded righthand point break "The Pass", chilling on the beach and just generally loitering the streets of Byron, we took the walk upto the Lighthouse and got a picture at the Most Easterly Point sign (to add to my collection of the most southerly point taken in W.A.), checked out a monthly Sunday hippy market and went on a "hippy" day tour to Nimbin courtesy of Jims Alternative Tours. All I will say about Nimbin is that if you want to know about it - look it up, but here is a general street shot and the Nimbin street code! Ohh naughty! We also visited some hippy guys house and got driven down a mountain in time with "Dark Side of the Moon" - its must rank as the most alternative rollercoaster ride in the world!

We ended up arriving in Byron two weeks before the festival so opted to spend a few days further north on the Gold Coast. At the foot of the Gold Coast is a small town called Coolangatta (the "Cooly"). The state line between New South Wales and Queensland also runs through it. It is known for all things surfing and is legendary to all surfers as it is home to the world famous "Superbank" (the Superbank is the collective term for when three of the Cooly's best surfing beaches: Kirra, in the previous photo, Greenmount and Snapper Rocks all link up to form a perfect wave which can go for upto 2 kilometers!!). It is also home to three of the worlds best: Mick Fanning, Joel Parkinson and Dean Morrison (not to mention countless other pro's who have moved here). As soon as we arrived I was in my element. Having spent the past 4 years wanting to visit, having pictures on my wall and watching DVD's of the place it was awesome to finally arrive. Unfortunately the waves were pretty rubbish all the time we were there but it still didn't stop me going for a surf everyday. Whilst out for a surf at D'Bah beach yesterday I met Mick Fanning as he came out the water which was awesome!! (I'd also visited his shop a few days earlier too). Apart from surfing we took a trip further up the coast to Burleigh Heads (another legendary spot) then to Surfers Paradise (which is anything but). Surfers is a high-rise commercial town on the beach, full of tacky rubbish and attractions. On the way back we got caught in a proper tropical rainstorm, we thought the hale (!?) was going to break the windows. We stayed in the only hostel here which had the weirdest people staying in it. It wasn't even officially in Coolangatta, but right by the Gold Coast airport and hell we were glad to get out of there which was a shame as Coolangatta is a really nice little town (but then I am biased). Only problem is everyone here are pro-surfers, which is good to watch but not good to surf with. So the next plan is to get back down to Byron later today before for the festival which starts on the 13th April. I shall be surfing LOTS and we also plan to go hang-gliding over the beach, so watch this space!!

Sydney to Byron Bay

Getting to a computer hasn't been particularly easy over the past couple of weeks as after I picked up my car in Sydney I immediately made my way north up the East coast. Driving over the harbour bridge to get out of Sydney was a little surreal and my first stop was one of its suburbs Manly. The essential and final piece of aparatus for my trip was to finally purchase myself a surfboard. Over the next couple of days I spent my time trying to find the best craft, for the best deal. I finally decided to go for a 7'0 thruster from a local shaper and was set. Spent most of my time in Manly testing out my new craft or watching my favorite sport in the world. If fact I have spent most of my time out in the water since then. Whilst in Manly, I also heard from a Canadian friend Dale (ha, ha) who was travelling at the exact same time as me and after meeting for a few beers in the pub we decided to travel up the coast together, and still are. Its ideal as we are into all the same stuff (music, playing guitar, plus we both have tickets to the Byron Bay Bluesfest over Easter) and have the exact same plans, or so its seems at the moment. So as he got his stuff together and sorted some stuff in Sydney out I took the trip up to the Northern Beaches stretch of coastline staying in Collaroy for a few days. The Northern Beaches area consists of Manly to the south, Avalon in the middle and Palm Beach to the North. Palm Beach is where the soap Home and Away is filmed and I got the obligatory photo outside the "Summer Bay Surf Club". Unfortunately there were no sightings of Martha whilst I was there!! We also made the extremely vertical and sketchy climb upto the Barrenjoey lighthouse there just before dusk and ended up making the decent in complete darkness. I was just waiting for one of us to fall and break our leg.

The next day we set off from Colloroy on our 1000km road trip to Byron Bay. We stopped briefly at the legendary surf spot Narrabean, but there were no waves! The plan was to get up to Byron a week before the festival to check the place out, chill out and go surfing. Then as soon as the festival had finished we could blast our way up to Brisbane and get jobs. At this point my money was running dangerously low, the car had all but finished off any cash I did have. The ideal situation was to get a job immediately, but with the festival in the way this wasn't possible. I asked in every surf shop I came across but due to the time of the year (coming into Autumn/Winter) business was quiet for them too. Our first stop on the way up the East Coast was Newcastle. Original home to the band Silverchair; Newcastle was an unbelievably quiet town. We were there on a Friday night/Saturday morning and the streets just seemed to be constantly deserted. That night we went to the Cambridge Hotel to see some live bands. The Cambridge is also where Silverchair started out playing and as both of us are big fans we had to go and check it out. The headline band that night were called "Faker", weren't the greatest live band ever witnessed but the place was carnage - some guy crowd surfing got carried off on a stretcher! Rock and Roll. Next morning after a surf we set off for our next destination, the aim was to be in Port Macquarie by the early evening. However, en route we decided to stop via the Hunter Valley wine region, west of Newcastle and ended up sampling the wineries and breweries had to offer which meant that we didn't make it to our intended destination! Blasting up the freeway it was actually a bigger distance to drive than we had anticipated and three quarters of the way to Port Macquarie and pushing 8pm at night we realised that we weren't going to make it, so referred to the trusty Lonely Planet to offer a halfway house. We decided upon a place called the Wingham Hotel in Wingham which was described as a "traditional Australian hotel for a reasonable price". When we arrived at this deserted small town which was in the middle of nowhere and walked into the bar, every person there stopped and stared at us as we enquired about the accommodation. We had walked into a yokal/red neck pub, totally out of place, in a town which tourists by-pass on their way to the attractions and resorts. The room was like something out of the Victorian times or a horror movie, but it would do the job for the night. When we went out to grab some dinner the only place open at 9pm on a Saturday night was the local "Chinese" (I use this term loosely) restaurant. The chicken chow mein was delivered to us with uncooked noodles and was like nothing I have ever previously witnessed in a public restaurant . The fact that we were still standing the next morning as we checked out by just leaving the key in the door was a definite victory. There was no time for celebrations however as we had to push on to Port Macquarie and after being throughly unimpressed by what it had to offer we went for a surf for a bit at Callows beach there. We also caught the sunset there and I got a couple of nice shots. Here - and here.

The next morning we kept rolling onto towards Coffs Harbour, but stopped to spend the day en route at Crescent Head a nice little surf town with a very good righthand point break I had heard about. When we pulled up the surf was pumping, it was 32 degrees and perfect sunshine - I couldn't get out quick enough. However, the day took a very quick turn for the worst. After I had paddled out past the breaking waves I realised there was a crazy current going on. It wasn't a rip taking you out to sea but it was impossible to stay in the right position. I got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, got taken about 500 meters over to the side of where everyone was where there were a whole bunch of massive (like 6 foot) waves breaking over extremely deep water. I couldn't even entertain catching them and the current was stopping me from paddling to the side or back in. I was stranded out in the middle of the ocean with all these waves crashing right on top of my head. Not wanting to go over the experience again, I soon got tired out, couldn't duck dive under them due to their size and had to bail my board each time, dive really deep to try and avoid them. When I wanted to come back up for air I was still underwater, getting chucked about in a massive washing machine. At one point I thought that my time was up, I was going to die - seriously!! Eventually, I got past the breaking waves and used the massive whitewaters to bring me to shore. When I did finally get to the beach I puked twice and collapsed on my board. Later than day, we saw guys actually towing into those waves with jet ski's! Thats how big they were. I now look at it as a positive lesson and have been told by other surfers since that you get days like that when you are still learning, but that night I was in bad shape after just 2 beers. So, one near death experience later and we were on our way to Coffs Harbour arriving early evening. We stayed next to the "Hoey Moey" pub which was another red neck pub complete with locals chasing a wild possum round the bar. That night we also met an American couple, Adam and Tegra, from Seattle and had a great long winded debate about 21st century music, film and art. They too were into everything we liked as well and we were to see them again soon in Byron. Next morning we looked round Coffs Harbour, which is just another fishing town up the coast. Then stopped at the Big Banana and then the Big Prawn, before making the final leg of the journey up to Byron Bay.