Sydney

I am posting this blog from a tiny (as in 2 computers) internet cafe in Sydney. I am here for the weekend to do a number of pretty exciting band related things...

Firstly, I am about to venture up to to see Don Bartley (aka 'The Don') at Benchmark Mastering to have him master our live CD and DVD which we are going to launch at The Globe on December 6. While this is all happening I have to pop out around lunch time to go and meet Sebastian Chase. Sebastian is an Australian Music Industry icon and to be quite honest I am pretty nervous about meeting him. I am going to talk to him about a range of industry topics and my main goal is to learn as much from him as I possibly can in the short time I have with him. When I finish with Sebastian I will return to The Don and complete the mastering process. This should all wrap up by about 6pm whereby I will return to my hotel (which was kind enough to upgrade me to a suite) and take in 2hrs of free food and drink.

The other main reason I am in Sydney this weekend is because tomorrow (Saturday) I have an appointment with Australia's leading drum store, Billy Hyde's Drumctraft Sydney. The reason I have this appointment is to order a new drum kit!! For any drummer the purcahse of a new rig is unbelievably exciting and this is no exception. For the drummers out there I am looking at a Ludwig Legacy Classic or a Ludwig Maple Classic. There are so many things I love about Ludwig - I love the tradition associated with Ludwig drums, I love the sound, so many of my idols have and/or do play Ludwig and all-in-all they are big, loud, statment drums which suit me perfectly.

The purcahse of this equipment extends beyond personal gratification however. I will also be purchasing electronic equipment which will be used to really open up so many new sounds and possibilities for The Quills. The way I see it, I am actually doing the band a great service here - buying equipment for the greater good! Dave has told me that as long as I come back with a white drumkit he will be happy. I don't think Andrew believes that I will actually go through with it and I'm certain Billy Bodean is just as excited as I am. The drumkit will take 6mths to deliver because it needs to built in the US so more waiting to come...

Anyway, I will blog again when I return to Brisbane and talk about how things went and some highlights from the trip.

I might also mention that it is a pleasure to have my girlfriend, Lara, along for the trip with me. Although she did say she has only come for the shopping!

Peace
Pickering.