So we have come to the end of our mini run of awards ceremonies. And yes we left with no pointy pyramids or glass blocks but we left with everyone’s hearts and as much cutlery as we considered equivalent to the value of the ticket price of attending said shows.

Highlights included:

* Playing in grandiose paper aeroplane costumes made by the incredible Robyn Wilson at View of Courage.

* The Penthouse party in the Philly Jays hotel room - yes! Since finishing their tour with us they now only stay in penthouse suites. It happens to every band that tours with us so line up to support us for 2010’s outing.

* Seeing some rad people take home awards: Sasrah Blasko, The Pykinator, The Steele and many other deserving folks.

* Alex telling Molly Meldrum not to keep it real. Bit of a confusing moment.

* Dave throwing a handful of dirt in his eyes for no apparent reason and ending up with a surprisingly strong allergic reaction and face swelling.

* My forty minute piano recital at the after party. Thought I tinkered a little too deep on the ritardando off that last work but all in all a fine performance. Thank you. Thank you.  No. Thank you!

So all in all good fun was had, heads were injured, Kieth Urban was shouted at and Alex chose the fish, Ned chose the beef along with me and Allan and Dave went for the salted cod.

Maybe when we release our next album (current working title: Blue Cheese), we’ll be considered again for the various nights of nights. Until then, thanks for voting, thanks for listening and see you at the beef and cheese stand at one of the many summer festivals we are playing.

Pankro.

Any guesses as to what this is?

If you said Beyonce, dressed in a dramatically oversized wedding outfit that required four stage hands to fit it from four different angles before she launched into another beautiful ballad at Sydney’s Acer Arena last night then you’d be right!

If you said puffy smegma in a sink, I’d forgive you but you are wrong.

I pretty much had the NIGHT OF MY LIFE last night. I haven’t had this much fun since I single handedly ripped out the rear seats of an abandoned Ford just off the M4 a couple of weeks ago.

To sum:

* Oh my fucking god she was good! I’ve never really been a fan but I can honestly say it was the best gig I’ve ever been to in my life - beating out Bjork, blur, grizzly bear and the Wondermints.

* It made me feel that a life of glitz and glammer, moustachioed, stomach-ripped men in vests that cover pretty much only their shoulders and spandex clad backing dancers is a life I could take part in. I want to play gigs where I walk down mechanically shifting stairs; where I fly over the crowd in a gold lame outfit and land with grace on an extendi-stage; where I sing a cover of Alanis Morisset’s “Oughtta Know” and end a show being lowered into a hole in the stage that is actually meant to be there unlike the hole that’s in the stage at most places we play at.

* Even when we started singing sop christian ballads in the first third I was transfixed. And her all female band was incredible! I even screamed at the slap bass solo!

* And to seal the deal, she brought out a seriously ill young child from the crowd at the end and sang her Halo and pretty much everyone  of the 20 000 strong crowd was crying their eyes out.

Enough said but just had to share that with you. Quote of the night (althought it was only relayed to me) comes from Flo-Rida: “this next track is from my self-titled new album, Roots.” um….

In the style of Alex Moore here are some more creepy photos. And in the words of Beyonce’s oddly communicative video show: “I AM … YOURS”

p.s. the title of this blog is somewhat taken from an excellent dance work by an excellent Sydney group call Post. Check them out when they next do a show.

Hi team. A little while ago Ned, Tim and I pulled together a little lo-fi set of 3 Dappled pearlers for MTV. I think we scrubbed up quite well, and this little session actually inspired us to undergo a more extensive project that we’ll be launching later this year.  Anyways, these videos have just gone live, and well, here they are.  I think they’re pretty rad.

Wooden Ships:

Answer Is Zero:

The Price:

Or head here to see it in the flesh and send to friends and blah blah blah…  Enjoy!

How amazing is Spod? Very amazing.

http://fantasyzewithspod.blogspot.com/

Hey kindly seafarers and woodspeople

Stereogum have dropped us - from their renowned gumdrop thingimo. So if you go here http://stereogum.com/the-gum-drop/song.php?tid=81701 you can listen to a new song from Zounds - entitled Answer is Zero.

Oh boy! I can’t wait for this record to be out!!! It’s such a banger!

G’Day!

We’ve posted the LYRICS to The Price on our myspace page for anyone who would like to take a look.

Meanwhile here are the lyrics to Cold as Ice by Foreigner. See you up in Byron where we’ll be “catching tan” and “surfing tube”.

You’re as cold as ice, you’re willing to sacrifice our love
You never take advice, someday you’ll pay the price, I know

Ive seen it before, it happens all the time
Youre closing the door, you leave the world behind
Youre digging for gold, youre throwing away
A fortune in feelings, but someday youll pay

Youre as cold as ice, youre willing to sacrifice our love
You want paradise, but someday youll pay the price, I know

Ive seen it before, it happens all the time
Youre closing the door, you leave the world behind
Youre digging for gold, youre throwing away
A fortune in feelings, but someday youll pay

(solo)

Cold as ice - you know that you are
Cold as ice - as cold as ice to me
Cold as ice

Youre as cold as ice, cold as ice, I know, yes I know
Youre as cold as ice, cold as ice, I know, oh yes I know
Youre as cold as ice, cold as ice, I know, oh yes I know
Youre as cold as ice… (to fade)

All that she wants…

Hey

I like this clip. It’s by Aleks and the ramps. They seem like fun people. I will be sure to invite them to my next mixed gender party.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUvoFxRu_78

Dappled Cities are having a “Social Week”, all this week.  In much the same vein as I Love You, Man, us five lads are getting together and for recreational activities, trust excersises and group fist pumping.

It started on Sunday when everyone, and more, came over to my super-cool inner-city chic-pad to watch The Logies and shriek at Natalie Bathingswaite.  None of us had ever fully experienced the 4-hour-long smorgasbord of frockery, ashamedly so since we somehow exist in that same entertainment industry… And so we gave it all we had: Alex brought homemade pizza dough, Tim brought a fine bottle of Aussie Brutt, Allan brought his scooter, and Ned brought his premeditated degradation of Gretel Killeen.  And squished there amongst our fine friends, we witnessed the highs and the lows and even the devil himself, or herself.  We’re not tabloid feeders, so rather than dwelling on the worst of it, here’s a clip of one of the funny moments, thanks to Shaun MiCallef:

(However, the clip also includes a snippet of the woeful girls’ bathroom scene.)

Our next appointment in Social Week is scheduled for tomorrow, when the five of us will “tee up” for a game of “nine hole”.  Why is that interesting?  I suppose it isn’t, particularly since we found out (the hard way) that the only one of us who’s any good at golf is Allan’s brother.  Neither is it really that interesting that our round of band-golf will be followed by a lovely band-luncheon at a sunny café in Paddington.  No girls allowed.

But now feel satisfied that this is all preamble to the following.  Social Week will be reach full throttle on this Thursday night when we play a little gig at The Loft UTS aka 11 Broadway in Ultimo, from 6pm.  Unplugged.  Yep.  The five of us, starry eyed, flowing locks, playing the steel-string, ivory and djembe, and nodding along in down-beat tempo, whilst riding segues.  And with 2SER Radio at the helm of the event, we turn the corner into “Socialism Week”.  Ha ha ha.  How anaesthetizing life can be.  That crazy hippy Laura Imbruglia and the HR manager of rock’n’roll Jack Ladder are playing too.  Below is a picture about it.

Gods of dappled are forcing me with lightening to mention these other notable advancements in our career: THE PRICE is the name of our new single, and Tim’s taking it into JJJ for it’s debut airing next Monday.  ZOUNDS is the name of our new record that’s coming round the mountain.  And DAPPLEDCITIES.COM has had a facelift, and now houses more paraphernalia than Jessica Mauboy’s pants.

That blog title doesn’t really have any relevance.  It’s just a flow of consciousness, perhaps describing my BWS hangover.  Last night, Tim and I strolled down the red carpet (unnoticed) into the ASTRA Awards (that’s Pay TV’s version of The Logies), as nominees for Best Childrens Program, Alphabreaks.  That sounds like a lie, but it’s not, and if you’re confused maybe you should read this.  What also isn’t a lie is that the television industry is very very bizarre, and quite awkward at the best of times.  And we didn’t win the award - we were pipped at the post, nipped in the bud, trounced…. by Nickelodean.  If you have some sort of subscription television service, tune into the awards when they’re replayed sometime this week, and try to spot our little faces fall.  Luckily, Matthew Newton was there to pick up the pieces.

On a more musical note, our show down in Melbourne on the weekend was an absolute ripper.  It felt like a “reunion” show, between Dappled and Australia’s coolest city.  It had been over a year since our last visit, and it was a lovely pleasure to see the M-Town contingency as strong as ever.  We found the whole shi-bang very nourishing - lovely venue (Northcote SC) with loving hospitality, lovely temperature, lovely epic rock moments, lovely freaks…. the perfect conditions for pumping blood back into our veins.  Thanks to all who came, you rule, and we promise to return sooner rather than later.

Back back back to Sydney now, and this weekend we will be bringing home The Essential Festival.  Expect wondrous moments of joy and whigg and expanse.  We’re getting back into gear finally, and not a moment too soon!  So don’t not come, please… and if you don’t you’ll obtain little card that will give you access to our new music for free.  Sound like a deal?

And here’s this week’s Brag cover, as supporting material to said festival…  BAMN:

Hey gang,

We are now back home. And, can you believe it, right on the brink of finishing our record. We have a name. Some great artwork. Some totally awesome songs. Now we can start playing again. All the time. Every day. Every hour. Every minute.

We are playing a couple of shows. Melbourne, we’ll be at the Northcote Social Club on the 18th of April. Come along. Sydney, we’re headlining the Essential Festival on the 25th at the OAF. It will be great. We are planning some rather extreme props. And some rather extreme fun.

We’re really excited about getting out and playing again. We haven’t been to Melbourne for way over a year. So we’re pumped to get back there. If you can, please come along and check out our new material.

In other news-

Two and a half men always has one joke in it that is funny. Thus making it bearable to watch. Unlike Everybody Loves Raymond.