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Little to express beyond heartfelt thanks this time.
Anyone who wants to relive some of the wonders we experienced down on The Rocks - or indeed those who may have missed out on Good Space altogether - would be well advised to purchase the limited remaining tickets for the final Block Party on Saturday week.
The attractions are too insane to name, though I'll try next edition once more is in the public domain (however it's almost certain to have sold out by then). I can tell you I'll be going track-for-track with Perran who co-directs the place for the final two hours til midnight. It is gonna be loose!
Wednesday May the 19th ~
Slip through the secret alleyway portal to Palmer & Co. and discover Swingin' at the Speakeasy moving freely once again!
Paula Baxter's band is live between 7 and 10, with Pia Andersen on the decks between sets. I bring it home from 10 til close in the early morning. All for free, every Wednesday.
Saturday May the 22nd ~
Thankfully that's it for me in terms of gigs this week. As you'll see from the sidebar to the left there's plenty coming up in the next little while so I'm happy to head north to relax and just be a guest at a wedding for once!
As has become something of a tradition of late, listeners to Jack Off between 3 and 5PM on FBi Radio will again be treated to the joyous selections of the illustrious Jonny Seymour. Tune in, kick back and text love his way on 0409945945. Thank you!
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Well we knew it wouldn't be easy. We understood it may not even come to pass. But right now it appears that we might just get this event over the line.
Our final Recovery On The Rocks takes place on Sunday. Pretty sure I've eqiupped everyone with enough info to make their plans - but perhaps Liz Ham's pics (from the last one, below) might still sway a few of you. It's free to attend but you need to register online here. As I write there are only 67 tickets left.
It's rather a miracle that we've come this far. Not only are we slated to still be able to do this thing despite the extension of restrictions, by virtue of the outdoor courtyard where all of our bands and deejays will play we'll be one of the only places where people can dance in Sydney. Get to it!
Wednesday May the 12th ~
Unfortunately Swingin' at the Speakeasy tonight has dancing on hold til next time but you can still catch The Faculties for free between 7 and 10, when I'll take over from early interstitial deejay (and curator) Pia Andersen to play through til close.
The upside is you'll be able to take in the detail of lyrics and arrangements whilst lounging around - and one man whose work (often spun by me there) really warrants that is Vic Simms, pictured above.
Friday May the 14th ~
It may not cut as deep as Maya Petrovna's profound existential agony (above) but I am mildly disappointed not to again be dishing up a whole five hour set at the Allawah Hotel as Friday sets in.
However I am stoked that local fella DJ Soup will be doing the hard yards instead from 7 - and the minute the footy is over I'm gonna go crash that for some free track-for-track malarkey around 8.30 til 10.30.
If yr in the area swing by. It's absolutely free!
Saturday May the 15th ~
Jack Off bends in beneficence to the natural world and all of it's creatures and forms.
Betty Grumble (above and below) knows this is where life truly resides. Tune in between 3 and 5 for a pantheon of palpable praise and possibility.
Sunday May the 16th ~
Get thee to Good Space for a fully-legal, all-ages, free party to celebrate and commemorate this time like no other.
From midday you'll hear the soothing sounds of Jackson Fester from the pristine speaker stacks in each corner of our sheltered, sunny courtyard.
Then at 2 Aunty Rhonda returns with her equally esteemed daughter Nadeena Dixon in tow to conduct a Smoking Ceremony and Welcome To Country.
As Eddy Diamond and her dad Tony Hughes (whose family home was in The Rocks until the State Government evicted public housing tenants) accidentally double-booked with a vital charity ocean swim in Mollymook, I'll be deejaying from 2PM onwards - possibly assisted by the stars who were so rudely interrupted by multiple rangers on public parkland last time: Robbie Buck and Soup.
Come 3 you can choose between Community Radio performing outside or the extraordinary Max-Headroom-meets-Tim-and-Debbie culture, projections and live music clusterfuck that is The Vidiot (in his debut public show) within.
Around 4 Cheryn Frost brings Hydraulic Fucking to bear on the naked Earth inside, Stressless start their swansong in the yard and The Dancing Accountant gets down in inverse proportion to household (and government) debt!
I'm never gonna play Robin Hood with public funds via official channels again, so please avail yrselves of art and entertainment of such scale and resourcing while you can. Last chance. Let's dance!
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Today I'm sharing some startling photographs taken by the lustrous Liz Ham at our first Recovery On The Rocks (above you see the legendary Vic Simms and his All Star Band of storied peers and great mates).
They are timeless depictions of shared humanity, taken on tragically loaded land, after an an awful recent interval for our species worldwide.
We conjured these two events to galvanise and empower our communities at this crucial juncture - and to bouy our collective spirits. Please keep the afternoon of Sunday May 16 free for the final one. Initial details are here.
Wednesday May the 5th ~
A few hours after we kick off at midday that Sunday we'll again be honoured to experience a Welcome To Country from Aunty Rhonda Dixon-Grovenor and this time also her daughter Nadeena Dixon.
Together they'll be ceremonially setting cleansing smoke free amongst us, directly after a sumptuous set of subtle sound by Limbs Akimbo's Jackson Fester. That's Rhonda above, cutting a rug with the irrepressible Rose Mastroianni (to Vic's band).
Remember if you ever wanna move yr feet mid-week you can do so just a few blocks up George St from our Rocks location, as Swingin' at the Speakeasy unfolds at Palmer & Co. Tonight you'll hear Queenie and The Cavaliers playing several sets live for free (with interstitial DJ spots from Pia Andersen), then I'll spin all the way til close sometime in the early AM.
Friday May the 7th ~
On Friday I'm to play the first DJ set ever at the Allawah Hotel. If you, like the astonishing Betty Grumble (pictured above at the conclusion of her stunning dance across the Quay, footage of which you can see here), hail from down that way, please avail yrself of this free five-hour set, upstairs from 7.
Saturday May the 8th ~
Jack Off remains a mystery even to me. The trials, tears, terrors and triumphs of everyday life - manifest in music. Wired or wireless: 3 til 5PM.
I guess many of us miss the sheer depth of scale whilst busy doing 'other things'. Then there are a good few of us who can barely shake hourly awareness of both impending loss and the elusive movements of the transformational mirror that is love.
Maya Petrovna rarely departs from either domain, manifesting such beauty, terror and hope in the first Recovery's final last act that people are still processing their experience of this intersection of talent, experience and courage.
Hold on to those you hold dear. Share yr dreams and feelings frankly. See you back here next week for more glimpses of the possible, then perhaps we'll gather together once more a few days hence.
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Dancing lights skim the surface of terrible tides.
Wednesday April the 28th ~
Swingin' at the Speakeasy exists deep beneath the city streets, inches above what was the key watercourse for the nascent colony imposed here. The ghosts of the past are present when I play. Listen from 11PM til the witching hour and you'll see.
Saturday May the 1st ~
Jack Off floats endlessly above the Pacific. Last week visitors from overseas serenaded us. This week it's all a mystery. Ends at 5. Starts at 3. Support Sydney, us or even just me. Stay wild. Stay weird.
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Light layers glowing and growing, free of foul play.
Wednesday April the 21st ~
Swingin' at the Speakeasy sees Pia Andersen DJ between sets from Paula Baxter and Dan Barnett's Organ Trio from 7 til 11, before I bring it all home til close. Dancing is uplifting, entry free.
Friday April the 23rd ~
Get deeper down below ground and unfurl as the weekend descends, via my first set in the reopened Imperial basement in eons. 9PM til midnight. Free.
Saturday April the 24th ~
On our return from the fertile dirt of Northern NSW Jack Off goes hard - bringing you multiple live guests from here and overseas!
First hear Philly to Canberra transplant John Sharkey III (accompanied by the latter city's Nick Craft), then catch New Zealand's fast-moving Merk, fresh from the travel bubble opening at last.
Sunday April the 25th ~
Come Sunday we'll enjoy the perfect autumn air out by the greens of the Petersham Bowling Club between 2 and 5PM. Animals and kids caper about as our beautiful, peaceful community comes together.
That remains entirely free. Then, if you feel the urge to party on inside for a small fee you can, as from 7 The Western Distributors Anzac Day Dance Spectacular kicks into gear. Let's twist again...
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Curly cars and sand bars. Bending with the breeze. Off to recite nursery rhymes in northern climes.
Friday April the 16th ~
Gonna get cosmic from the outset with a free nine til midnight bracket at Byron Bay's brilliant new cocktail bar Spott. Join us if yr up that way hey?
Saturday April the 17th ~
Jack Off transmits from 3 til just shy of sunset despite my absence. It brings me peace and joy to know that Jonny Seymour is forever on hand to relay love and light to all our loyal listeners.
In the interim I'll be spinning sweet tunes at the wedding of Katie and Kahlil up in the hinterland.
My eternal respect and gratitude to all who made our first Recovery On The Rocks such a perfect manifestation of healing and community. Aunty Rhonda seems to have summed it all up better than I could ever hope to - she sent this text just now:
Just wanted to say Thank you 😊 For inviting me to do the Welcome to Country It was such a lovely event very thoughtful Loved everything about it The Energy was Ethereal yet Up Lifting something that I feel needed during these trying times 🌈🙏🏽🌞❤️🐳🐙🐞🌈 Stay well Cheers xAuntyRhonda
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Please, if yr gonna take anything from these years of missives from me, take the chance to catch my wise old mate Vic Simms headline this extraordinary occasion that seeks to surmount the sordid history of Sydney and the stress of the past year via love, music, art and community. It was made for you.
Saturday April the 10th ~
Jack Off pleases itself on FBi Radio betwixt 3 and 5PM. Catch up on last week's chat with Peaches here.
Sunday April the 11th ~
The first proper party I've thrown for all and sundry in over a decade, Jack's Hit House - Recovery On The Rocks takes place this Sunday afternoon within Good Space and it's parkland surrounds.
We're hosting a free gathering that acknowledges all we lost during the pandemic, whilst beginning to rebuild individual spirits and our collective bonds.
It will be held on contentious land, where a penal colony was first imposed on the oldest living culture on earth, an area where displacement and dispossession of people in the name of crass commerce persists.
This is an intergenerational, multimodal exchange of music and performance - featuring a diverse array of local artists, bound by sincere intentions to emotionally engage and uplift after the acute traumas of the past year. It will be a safe and inclusive space that welcomes people of all ages, races and sexualities.
We seek to heal the harms endured in isolation by sharing culture in a creative repurposing of an historic outdoor/indoor venue. This involves a clear-eyed look at the stark shape of things: a determination to waste no minutes nor opportunities; to do better, together; to lay a fairer foundation for our future - in hope, gesture and deed.
It starts with us.
Head down to the harbour with yr loved ones to share in true stories, stirring Sydney bands, empathetic deejay sets and sacred/profane shows.
Enjoy life and each other.
Running times are as follows:
Pandemic Park (Bligh & Barney Reserve):
1-3 Jack Shit (DJ)
1-3 Venus Vamp (Tarot)
1.30-3.30PM Sunny Leunig (Magic)
2.15 Aunty Rhonda (Welcome To Country)
2.45 Betty Grumble (Show)
3-4.30 Robbie Buck (DJ)
4.30-6PM Soup (DJ)
6 til 7 The Snacc Pacc
Samson's Cottage Courtyard (Garden in front of both 102A and 106-108 George St, opposite Overseas Passenger Terminal):
3.30-4.30 Vic Simms and band
Sailor's Home Theatre (106-108 George St):
5.30-6.15 Maya Petrovna
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Think you can remember how? Let's try now...
Wednesday March the 31st ~
Pop yr dancing shoes on and be ready in a jiffy as Swingin' at the Speakeasy goes live with Wes Pudsey & Sonic Aces Trio plus Sara O’Connor shortly, kicking off for the assembled itchy-keen swing dancers and friends from 7PM.
After 11 I'll slap some platters on the turning tables and we'll step up for free til the wee hours.
Thursday April the 1st ~
By the next evening, after all of that magical motion, things ought to be going swimmingly.
So join me back at Palmer & Co for a truly-twenties-style celebration of convivial community. Stand, prance or shimmy from 10PM til at least 2. Free!
Friday April the 2nd ~
By now you've ditched any hesitancy (and possibly yr pants), slipping into something more comfortable to sashay in style. Good Friday is gonna be fucking great, as The Great Club stages it's first-ever dinner and dance: a free affair with music from myself all the way from 6 til 10PM.
Book a table and cut loose under the mirror ball in this styling and spacious Marrickville paradise. It's Easter For Grown-Ups and there's even golden tickets, chocolate eggs and bar tabs to be won in the egg-hunt during the evening. Doors open at 4 so you can really make the most of yr new-found freedom this looooooooong weekend.
Saturday April the 3rd ~
I've a few more tasty morsels to share with you too, mainly music to get yr arse in gear live on FBi between 3 and 5 but also a couple of deeper exchanges that exist on-demand.
Middle Kids joined us ahead of their Great Club album preview and performance a fortnight ago - and both their live song and extended conversation was an absolute treat.
Then last week on Jack Off I had the privilege of speaking with Dublin's profound poet of male mateship David Balfe, on the occasion of the release of his debut album as For Those I Love.
I'm not sure I've ever heard a person take such care in choosing each and every word with such sensitivity and humility so as to honour his subjects. Dave's a beautiful human. He's already making a huge difference to those struggling on this Earth via his honesty alone. Please listen here if you get the chance.
Have a lovely holiday all. Please keep next Sunday free for the first major party I've staged in over a decade. It'll be a free, family-friendly, arvo affair right by the Quay. More info next newsletter.
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Still as the night. Solid as a rock. What a crock!
Wednesday March the 24th ~
Succeeding live performances by Arthur Washington & Tilly Street Trio plus the Eamon Dilworth Trio (that run betwixt 7 & 11) I'll settle down to study sonic notation at my little desk til the early hours. Swingin' at the Speakeasy is always free.
Thursday March the 25th ~
I'll roll back down to Palmer & Co. the next evening for a more extended set from 9 til close (around 2).
Saturday March the 27th ~
Settle into the sheer scale of the signal/s on Jack Off this week and you will experience shifts of perception, time and place.
Six years after having had the untold privilege of being granted the only interview Pharoah Sanders conducted on his last tour of this country, we will hear the entirety of his sublime new album with Floating Points and The London Symphony Orchestra - a single piece of music five years in the making.
Listen carefully. 3 til 5PM on FBi Radio.
Afterwards it's off to Coogee to play a private birthday party but there's one more public event...
Sunday March the 28th ~
Get beside the vege patch out by the greens of the Petersham Bowling Club and enjoy nutritious tunes of every stripe for free from 2 til 5. All welcome.
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Tiny frames and moving images that miss you too.
Wednesday March the 17th ~
Down in the depths below George Street Swingin' at the Speakeasy has Miss Pia's Trio from 7, then Clayton Doley's Organ Trio til 11, after which I spin lonely arts til the early hours. All is free.
Saturday March the 20th ~
Jack Off screens space for those out of the race.
Sunday March the 21st ~
Australian Broadway star and showbiz polymath Eddie Perfect is wrapping up the Sunset Piazza season out front of St Mary's Cathedral.
The show has long sold out. If you've a ticket and will be stepping out to the city come a little early to hear stages of sound staggered across the wires by way of warm-up.