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Below
are some old entries for old times sake... Nov 2 : Hi everyone. I'm looking forward to the Make Poverty History gig, Dec 8 in Lismore. I'm performing along with Luke Vassella and John Glenn (who I've heard many good things about, but never before met). Luke has put in a huge effort to pull this event together, so all you North Coast types, get out and come along - it should be a fantastic and worthwhile evening! Already we have some movement from the government, so the more support, the more likely Australia will reach it's fair share to meet the MDG's... And I've gotta say, on things poverty related, I had the privilege of seeing the new Mother Teresa film. And oh boy, I wept though it all! Not because it was a bad film (which it wasn't), nor because it had sad stuff (which it did), but because of the joy it brought to my heart to see the life of this fantastic, devoted, comapssionate, strong willed woman played out on screen. Check it out! Oct 28
: "We
hold these truths to be self evident: that all men are created equal" Oct 10 : Life has been but a dream, a whirlwind of tasks and distractions. Now I have awoken. There is music to be played and CD's to be finished. (getting oh so close now!) And today my new Burgin Irish Bouzouki arrived... How sweet it is. Paddy is a brilliant luthier from NZ - check out his site here and have a look at the "shanghai" zouk - the very model you will see in my hands at a gig near you soon... BTW, finished a re-write of a track called "One Blood" - it's now a minor country blues and will be on the roots CD... Take me to the delta............. July 19
: You
can always trust the indies to say the elegant thing. That's why
you're reading this column right?! July 18 : If you're hyper alert you may notice some google adds appearing on this site - I thought it would be fun to see what they suggest relative to the gravity of some of the content...:) Some of them are pretty good! I feel like clicking on 'em myself!! It may also have something to do with me trying to get my head into sales gear for these up coming releases - time will tell - til then, happy clicking... July 18 : Man, I've just been doing a little site cleaning, dusting the dark corners, in preparation for a bit of a spring re-vamp, when I was knocked out by the realisation that I've only played TWO gigs this calander year! Wow, I'm gonna change that real soon. No wonder I've been getting toey lately... :) July 18 : I was blessed yesterday with the gift of Bono On Bono... What I've read so far is up to his usual standards of gabbing, provocation, reaching for ideals - and sliding out of reach of hubris with that perverse and cheeky wit of his. I think the most interesting thing about him is his faith and his optimism. His faith is both spiritual and a part of his character. It is very human, and because of that earthiness, that practicality, it is a challenge and a call to everyone who is tempted to doubt themselves and to despair of others. God bless you man. A great man indeed (- for a rocker!). July 15 : For anyone who feels their mind caving in under the pressure of the relentless demonising of extreme islamicists and radical muslims and is tempted to believe racism will triumph and that a tidal wave of religious bigotry is now unavoidable, for anyone who feels their moral criticism of western imperialism being sapped by those who say it's immoral to blame the west for terrorism, take heart! Fill your thoughts with this conversation between America's leading expert on suicide bombers and a journalist from Pat Buchanan's American Conservative Magazine.... No one could accuse them of being loopy left... It's the occupation, not fundamentalism July 10
: Sometimes
it all feels just too much - July 9 : Well, we didn't make poverty history, but at least there was some movement from the intransigents. Even if we only reduce by one quarter the number of people living in poverty by 2015 we will have done something. And if along the way the bastards drop a few subsidies we can really break out the bubbly. Keep up the good work y'all. See you with a white arm band on Sept 10.... June 10
: While
you're all waiting for the new Steve Bevis CD's (They're coming
ok...) Here's some entertainment from William Rivers Pitt of Truthout.org.
Actually, it might not be "entertainment", but it's
great viewing anyway... Go here Go
here and click on the download links for William Rivers Pitt
| Stand with Us -- 06.08.05. May 1 : Happy B'day Skye! Well, I'm back from Kenya, what a trip! I even have a new tribal name which was given to me by my friends in the village of Kaborogin where we stayed. You can now call me Kimelel - which means, wait for it... "Warrior who overcame the white man" !!! Yes, you always new it was true. You have a warrior in your midst! And the music in the village - wow! What a celebration of life! And what inspiration... More on all of this later... And it was great to reconnect with the Blue Tongue last night. What a fantastic cafe! Thanks to all who voiced their appreciation... Feb 25 :
"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, Feb 17 : Another link. I recently completed a website for Blue Mountain Sound. Owned by Andy Busuttil, and the location for mix amd mastering for my new roots cd. Take a look HERE Feb 17:
It's
a big day - the Hanging Swamp Record website is now on line! Jan 27: Thanks again to all who came out to Candy's last night. It felt good to sing for you. And thanks to Jimmi Carr for his organising and promoting. He's doing a great job for local muso's. He and the band played well to boot. As did Bronwyn, Kuko, and Funk Injection. Keep it up everyone! Back at the studio late Dec and early January was rest time, and boy was it needed. 2004 - what a crazy year! Well, at least I'm crazy for trying to put down two CD's at once! But we're back on deck now. John Stuart dropped by recently to record some damn fabulous slide guitar and mandolin. Thanks John. You rock. And keep your eyes peeled for the new hanging swamp records website. "What?", you say. Well, just keep your eyes peeled and your search engines ready....
Nov 10: Well it was loud and had plenty of energy last night but there's still a few cobwebs to sweep away from the corners! Still, it was great to give the new songs a whirl in public. Thanks for all who came out late on a Tuesday night. Now to finish of this CD... Nov 8: The Bright Side hit the boards at the Cat & Fiddle one more time. Let's see if times have changed... The set consists of the majority of the songs from the new CD. Come along and watch us blow out the cobwebs! Sept 29: "Not Just A Refugee", one of the lead tracks from my forthcoming acoustic CD Border Round The Heart, has been selected for inclusion on a compilation CD supporting Refugees. Thanks Miguel! And thanks to all who came out to Candy's the other night! It was a pleasure playing for you all... Sept 8: Well things are really hotting up on the recordings. Drums and bass were laid down on 4 tracks by Steve and Richard last week. And they were in a really rocking mood! Vocals are going down on song after song. Harmonies are being written, etc...So we're looking good for late Nov/Dec releases for the recordings. Soon all that will be left to do is for CKP to wrap them up in some graphic finery...And tonight is Dylan's first gig! Dylan, Alex, Dom and Jordy. They rock - from Frank Zappa to Tangled up in Blue! Aug 13: Sorry, but no gig @ the Blue Tongue tonight (Steve H is filling in)... Unfortunately I picked up a throat bug this week - which is doubly unfortunate because I'd hired a nice Neumann mic to do some vocal recording this week! Oh, well, it did make the acoustic guitars sound nice! Anyhow, as there's no gig, I'd thought I'd let you in on my morning songwriting workshop. Here's an mp3 of song called "Do It Right This Time". It was written and recorded this morning. Enjoy... Aug 4: Two weeks is a long time in showbiz says Mr Dreamer. But it's been a short time in the little corner of steve bevis. A few tracks have been laid down on the new recordings, a bit of tweaking of eq, a rehearsal with Mr Hibbinski, and Mr Richard Anderson popped by to supply some more of the bottom end for which he is famed. By the way, Richard and Liz are teaming up fora gig this thursday, Aug 5, at the Cafe Church space. Catch them if you can.... And CKP has been digitising footage from the recent gig. It looks remarkably good too! July 15: Great little gig @ Songwriters Live in Balmain last night. Keith's got a fine thing happenin' there. If you're ever in Balmain on a Wednesday night head over to the Unity Hall Hotel. It's a good vibe. There's been some good progress these last few weeks on the recording too. I managed to put together a little playout track for the band CD. I wanted something in Keef's open G tuning, but with a Nick Drake mystical garden element. Mr Hibbinski thought it was cool and very Leppelinish. Which I guess is about right smack in the middle of our two heroes. Chuffed was I & I. And happy b'day to CKP! (& thanks 4 the clothes...I'm finally looking good!) Also, what a great day was had last friday! Liz Frencham came up to record some bass parts and she played brilliantly. We also squeezed in the time to record a demo song for her. Then, to cap off a lovely time, we both headed down to the blue tongue and played an impromptu duo gig. It was sweet, and went down well with the patrons. Music is life! Music is life! June 30 : Sometimes the outcome is not what you'd planned. Last Friday night @ The Journey was another quiet one. But it still turned out to be interesting. Met a couple of other mountains based musos - which is always cool. Then the waitress comes up to me to hand me my dinner. She has a strange look on her face and says, "See that guy up the back? He wants to know if you'll join him for dinner..." I say, "Sure", and wave. It turns out he is Peter Marlow, a photographer with the Magnum Agency in New York! He's been on assignment in OZ for 10 days and is in need of a chat. So we chat - about Wim Wender's photography, Australian Indigenous issues, checking out postcards, fixing your guitar, Learning your first Dylan tune on 3 chords, how the challenge of creativity keeps drawing you on, year after year. The stuff that causes you be up before first light if you're a photographer, or up late at night if you're a musician! Check out his photos. They're excellent... He also said he learnt what "ATM" stood for at the gig...cool. I knew I wrote that song for a reason. June 12 : Read the Mountains Of Music review of last weeks gig @ the Journey Cafe here - Steve Bevis Review - Thanks MOM... Also had another enjoyable night @ the Blue Tongue. With a week off before the next round of gigs, I'm busy doing some recording and a little management/housekeeping... And what a story, eh! Peter Garrett standing for Labour!! Let's hope his wardrobe retains those sharp green taliored suits well into the future - if you know what I mean... I actually saw him in person him recently at a Jubilee Australia third world debt seminar held on the top floor of Govenor Philip Tower, in Sydney. And I can confirm that it is a very nice suit indeed... Hope that in his rush for political media space he also continues on in his role as patron of Jubilee Australia... Oh, and a nice view of the harbour from the top floor of the G P tower too! Those lawyers have obviously been winning a few cases............ And just read that "Wait" was played on FBi 94.5 fm on 21/1 - Thanks Shai! June 2 : Another fine time was had at the Blue Tongue last friday. l had a bit of a croak, but managed to sing thru it... And I'm looking forward to the Journey Cafe this week. A new venue is always interesting - and a little daunting! Come along and see how I fare! Had a great time this week with CKP filming some interview footage of me. CKP asked lots of good questions - hopefully I gave a few decent answers! Some of it might even see the light of day... More work has been done on the recordings as well, which is nice. Lost a few files along the way, but we're getting there! May 21: Nick Dreamer challenged me to make this column a weekly event. Man, people have big expectations! He played his "first" gig the other day, he's got a new CD and he's even got a "#1 fan" helping him out. Man, he;s gonna mow me down! And Steve Hibbins wants me to get a little more organised management wise. Ditto on the expectations front! Anyhow, it's great to have friends to follow me up and egg me on. Liz Frencham, offered to come round and record again - I've really got to ink it in! Phil Davidson keeps trying to connect up. And Andy Busuttil has gone the extra mile and recorded some wonderful clarinet and arabic flute. Meanwhile i've recorded a whole bunch of guitars and vocals. It's been a buzz getting some good sounds out of my little Fender Pro and Danelctro U2 Guitar... Also played at the Blue Tongue Cafe last friday. A good night with plenty of fine feedback and a CD sale. Onwards and... Feb 9: I was in the main street in Springwood reading a notice in a shop window about some guy's "House Concert". It said stuff like: "his mother worked as a backing singer for Elvis"?! Well, I guess anythings possible! And obviously anythings a hook for a potential audience in this world of braying and branding. Just then a woman appears in my eyeline, obviously heading my way. My brain tries to emerge from it's Elvis induced coma and realises she was sitting at a table at my gig at the Blue Tongue Lizard Cafe in Glenbrook the other day. She keeps coming. And as she walks by she says: "Now all we have to do is get you to make music in Springwood!". Brain in 1st gear - I laughed. She smiled - and scurried on... And the moral of the tale? If you want to arrange a gig for me in Springwood - or anywhere else for that matter! - house, hotel, or coffee shop, I promise to sing you a great version of the great man's "You were always on my mind". Well, at least you're somewhere in the back of it anyhow... SAT MAY 25th On performing @ THE GEARIN HOTEL on in Katoomba: I was standing at the urinal in the men's just doing my business between sets when two guys next to me began talking: The first guy says: "How you going?" To which the other replies..."how do you think? I'm at the Gearins aren't I? I'm f*#ked". To which the first guy replies: "yeah, they should call this place 'the last resort'. The 2nd guy then follows up by saying: "yeah, this place has had more changes of management than my mother's had husbands..." What a great night. The management was actually pretty cool. When the freezing, empty music room that we suffered in - playing to the bar staff for 45 minutes (heroic madness I know) - looked like it was about to claim the very last of the warmth from our blood, we got invited to play in the warm, people filled bar. All the old regulars and lots of youngsters out for the night. 2 hours of songs and well wishing from the crowd. And beer. And gathered friends. Nights like this are all worthwhile when a young woman came up to our table and said: "I just want to say thanks for tonight. I'm stuck at home with my baby all week and this is the only time I can get out, and all I can do is come to this shitty place. But you've made it really beautiful tonight...with your beautiful music... so, thanks again." Ya. Places of grace - that resonate to the sound of music. They're everywhere. Just like the Gearin's... For regular updates about gigs, check out the 'news'. |
