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| Supporting the STICKY FINGERS - spirits were VERY HIGH |
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| Locking in with Gonzalo on the BASS |
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| Drop Legs |
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| Coffs Harbour Jamout |
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| Brunswick Heads Pub |
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| Studio Jam Sessions |
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| One of many messy Byron nights with our crew |
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Children of the 90's - Drop Legs
Drop Legs n Sticky Fingers |
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| JUMP JUMP JUMP - Gold Coast Warehouse |
After a fairly solid amount of time blissing out in Byron Bay - it was time to hit the highway again - this time with the band. Never pictured myself in a full band - and actually jumping on a smokey bus to go and play a bunch of shows! Unfortunately my love had to stay home on the grind - though I promised that if the band got bigger, she could quit her job and hit road with me!
As the end of the year drew closer, we decided it time for a good and proper DROP LEGS East Coast tour. Driving south surfing and playing music had always been a dream of mine and I was pretty ecstatic about the whole mission. We teamed up with our good friends from Brizzy - Desmond Cheese, planning to hit 8 spots from Brisbane to Melbourne. We played a banging opening show up in West End, Brisbane to a full house on the 7 December. Spirits were high and before long, we were all piling into a 12 seater bus amongst surfboards, skateboards and music gear.
Desmond Cheese rockin the Motor Room in Brisbane
Makka ft. ArteZeus in the drivers seat
Free camp jam somewhere on the Central Coast
Band shot!
Driving South on the Pacific Highway I was dreaming of all the waves we must be passing and started to understand the sheer size of the East Coast. We stopped at a bottle shop where it was free wine with any purchase - Clancy bought a snickers bar and scored 2 free bottles!!! After a couple of frosty roadside beers, someone forgot to lock the trailer and it flew open around a corner spewing congo drums and stands all over the road. Luckily nothing was too damaged and we thought we learned our lesson. Surely enough, after our next pit stop - same thing happen, this time we donated a crate of spray cans - which were exploded all over the road by trucks, leaving these big purple, pink and yellow splotches all over the road, call it street art.
We pulled off the highway at Crescent Head and headed down a dirt track for about 10km's, setting up camp on a mini headland on a patch of green grass. With Jake on the camp stove and free wine flowing - we ripped out all the gear and played some nice grooves under the stars. I also learnt that night that my grandad and biggest inspiration had left this world - it was a somber time though my reflections of his life and achievements gave me strength and determination to achieve something good in life. In a nutshell - he was a Kiwi growing up in Brisbane - coming from a big split family, times were tough and he was put in a boys refuge with his brother for years. He must have drawn from the struggle as he went on to go to college and study medicine, and in the meanwhile played footy for Australia and fought in the second world war. He raised a beautiful family of 7 in Rockhampton and left us with beautiful memories and values I hope to pass on one day. RIP Poppa!
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| Central coast endless potential |
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| Jumur Kelinci |
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| Jamming at the hostel car park |
Next morning we woke up, burnt through some more dusty tracks and stumbled across a huge headland with a back beach stretching South as far as the eye could see. We ran down and found perfect 2 to 3 foot shorey A- frames. The whole crew were hooting and hollering and with angry storm cell blacking out the sunlight - it really felt like we were amongst the elements. Makka was on the the headland watching the storm until a massive bolt of lighting exploded on the neighbouring hill, it sent us all sprinting nervously to the van!
We wrestled with tropical storms all the way to Sydney and arriving on the famous Manly was a little bleak - no one would take us in and we were freezing drinking red wine to keep warm. We eventually found a cosey ma n pa joint and nested up - ready for the show!
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| Me n Gonzalo otw to play |
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| Rockin out in Mona Vale |
The swell was massive in Sydney and we got some bombs out at Manly to wash away the previous nights party. The gig that night was in Mona Vale and we were greeted with free jugs, pizza and tequila shots and before long we were rocking out with punters and a bunch or Lani's family. Another sick night of music that finished up with an alcohole fuelled skate session on the Manly esplanade - wicked.
As we cruised south the landscape, weather and vibe changed and after another sick gig in Jase's home town South of Sydney we retreated to a beautiful farm near Bendalong. We set up a fire, and jammed under the stars in hoodies and beanies. Next morning the surf was cracking and we all indulged until a big ol noah swam under me, making his presence know and mine non - existence, especially as I was the last out. The next few days were spent winding through beautiful green hills and thick Eucalyptus forest, camping in the bus at night and surfing remote, frigid waves in the mornings - that coastline one of the most beautiful in the world. Next stop - Melbourne - buckle up...
