A Song-Writer’s Lament 

“Have you written anything new lately?” is a question occasionally asked of a songwriter.   The answers could range from heaps to none or I can’t get started, the dreaded Writer’s block but in reality is totally individual.   The wonderful teacher Pat Pattison has a “Song-a-Day Challenge” & one of his truisms is the “90% of what you write is not your best work”, which as he eloquently states is a licence to write fearlessly & write more than occasional crap.  Personally I like to try & do the work part…

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Melbourne may not be NYC, but Canberra is certainly not Washington DC! 

If you are visiting the Big Apple it is just a short hop down to Washington DC.    One thing the Americans do so well is pay homage to their forefathers and significant others including their Veterans – although not sure the welfare & support for those who serve is great anywhere in the world!

Ride the hop-on hop-off trolley & the operators give a wealth of info on how the monuments are placed significantly with Lincoln looking at the Washington monument & Capitol Hill & Dr King across the way from…

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Hot Town Summer in NYC (back of my neck getting dirty and gritty) 

The air train from Newark Airport is cool but then the NJ Transit transfer to NY Penn is big and imposing with luggage then we just rolled with the wave of people into downtown subway.  Managed to get the A line train, going the wrong way for 2 stations! Then a couple of helpful New Yorkers gave us some good advice! & we were quickly heading uptown (would soon lock in the lingo!) then had trouble finding the elevator so the guns (biceps) are looking good.

 The hotel was only a block and was a small…

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Vancouver – The Land of Loonies & Toonies 

After nearly 4 weeks of West Coast USA getting the head around travelling, our jaunt continued across the border into Vancouver BC Canada, & one of Melbourne’s regular rivals for the most liveable in the world.  Our anticipated spectacular train ride was de-railed by an AMTRAK train de-railing before it reached Seattle! The bus ride was adequate but as it was precipitating profusely there would have not been much to see!

Did the border bus check for Canadian border unloading the whole bus & queue up but…

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Sleepless in Seattle! A truism not to be understated.... 

Our dreams were partially found but in the end better as just dreams. The flight unveiled a spectacular snow capped Cascade Mountains in July, Xmas trees by the squi-millions the air was clean and greener than English countryside hence being called the Emerald City! Also home to the Space Needle, Boeing's aircraft assembly plants, Microsoft, Amazon.com, Costco, Nintendo of America, Starbucks (Can they be forgiven???). Seattle is an elongated ellipse island between Lake Washington & Elliott Bay with a long…

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Il Dolce far Niente 

After regaling you with the story of Two Brothers last week and briefly touching down in Siena I feel a compulsion for my blog to stay in Italy and re-experience “Il dolce far niente” or “The sweetness of doing nothing”, an art sometimes forgotten but perfected over centuries by the Italians (& probably many other cultures but doesn’t sound as enticingly eloquent).  A good friend from Melbourne (Thanks Bluey!) had gracefully shared a contact for an apartment in Venice, Casa de Veronica which would…

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From Santa Paula USA to Siena Italy – the Tale of Two Brothers 

Two Brothers is a song from my new album which began in 2011 after my first trip to the USA to record the demos with Todd in a small town in SoCal, with strong Mexican influences, lots of farms & hills & a wonderful breeze blows up the Simi Valley from the Pacific.  The town is a step back in history & is still a sort after location for many movies & video clip with it’s wide streets & classic buildings.  If you come on one Friday a month (Cruise Night) you will see all the classic cars on show.    …

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Across the Frisco Bay we found (Part 2) 

Hey folks,

Long time no speak but the world at large can be a little overwhelmingly demanding & can lead to bad habits & evil ways.  But enough of my good qualities back to the story.  I have now been twice to the Golden Gate City & am firmly of the opinion that a bicycle ride around the Bay is a must do.  It is a popular past-time & filled with riders of all dimensions & denominations, from road-bikes to tandems & trailers, with joggers & walkers all mesmerised by the views of Alcatraz or the Bridges…

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First review "Songs from the Edge of Middle Road" 

Many musicians weave a large chunk of themselves into their work, and Neil Wise is no exception.  Only two of the tracks on Songs From the Edge of Middle Road were co-written with the help of friend and co-lyricist Dean Anderson; the rest were written entirely by himself.  Wise has drawn from his own experiences and shaped them into tracks that can be both constructive and enjoyable to others.  "Sausalito Slowdown," for instance, covers the impact a California town had on Wise's future, while "Two…

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Across the Frisco Bay we found…… (Part 1) 

San Francisco was always going to be great stay & it was an absolute highlight already, even though I was dreading the drive into San Francisco Airport Car Rental but TT (Tom Tom GPS) was spot on right to the guy waving us in to the lane.   Worked out the Air-train & the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) without a hitch and soon we were on our way to downtown SFC.  Guessed that Powell St would be close and lady luck shone and there we were.   We briefly contemplated the Cable Car & the 3 day pass, but then…

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