Episode 32 – Jordan McDonald (Frankie’s Pizza by the…

 

It’s safe to say that Frankie’s Pizza by the Slice is Sydney’s hot spot for live music. Attracting the best live acts in the country, Frankie’s is also a hub for many celebrity drop in’s from Priscilla Presley to Slipknot. Jordan is the man who runs the entertainment and makes sure those beer kegs are kept full. We have a great chat about what makes Frankie’s tick, why the venue is successful in a widely publicised ‘weak’ Sydney music scene, his love of beer and how Frankie’s have been able to embrace the craft beer revolution.

This episode is highly recommended to anyone who appreciates or is involved in live music/entertainment. A lot of great perspectives to take away and hopefully people will be able to apply these in their own areas. This is also a great listen for anyone running their own business as there are some great points raised around creating experiences and ambience to ensure the success of an establishment.

I’ll leave you with these final words from Jordan – “We always stay to true to the original recipe of free entry, Rock & Roll music and no guestlists or VIP treatment. Everyone is priority. Losers like Jennifer Lopez will see the appeal and try to rent the joint for exclusive parties and shit like that but no matter what the dough, we never take the bait and so punter loyalty stays strong.”

Show Notes

Check out Frankie’s Pizza by the Slice via their website and Facebook.
Check out this live clip from Frankie’s second birthday which features their ‘World Famous House Band’ and also The Art, Dead City Ruins and Cosmic Psychos. A great insight as to what happens every Monday at the venue.
Community Run Petition – Keep Sydney Open
Check out Jordan’s band ‘The Art‘ and on Facebook.
Arlene’s Grocery in New York

 

 

Be a wanker! Be creative!

I’ve been pretty lucky. For a large chunk of my life I’ve been in the company of many creative people. Musicians, artists, performers, and the like. Overall it’s been a pretty supportive group that are open minded and embrace their creativity and the creativity of those around them.

With that being said, however, I have also experienced the other world where many people don’t embrace it. They see anything that is even remotely artistic as ‘pretentious’, someone who’s ‘a wanker’, ‘self obsessed’, ‘useless’ and associate anyone who embraces their creative side as person who has no direction in their life, no purpose and even at times is seen as someone who is lazy.

That was the reality that I have seen, and I still see it to varying extents depending on the social circles you step into. It’s funny because even to this day, if I tell someone that I play in a band, depending on the person, I tend to get a smirk and a back handed compliment which usually insinuates a level of immaturity that I have, and that one day I’ll grow up and do something of worth. That’s even before being asked what kind of music I play!

For me, it’s no biggie. I’ve always had a passion for music and an alternative way of living and thinking. While I’m far from perfect, I’ve always tried hard to have an open mind and embrace other people’s decisions, especially if it challenges the status quo. What I do find frustrating, is seeing people that I come into contact with who have locked themselves away from the world and refuse to embrace their creativity. This is usually out of fear of what others may think about them (see my other blog – Fear of Fear, for more info on this mindset). In some cases this results in that individual lashing out at other people’s attempts to be creative, because it’s bringing to the surface a deep fear and frustration that they have.

So what’s the point of all this dribble? The point is to do what feels right instead of doing what others think you should do. If you have a longing urge to write, then write! Poetry? Go for it. You’d like to sing? Hit up a local tutor or just start making loud noises! Even if it’s simply to think creatively in your life as a whole. Challenge the norm. Think outside the box. Try something different to see what result you get. Do things with meaning and purpose. If you make a mistake or it doesn’t turn out the way you want, then it’s still a success. Why? You get to take away an experience and have the satisfaction in knowing that you gave it a shot. On top of that, you’ve strengthened your creative mind which will no doubt lead to more growth and satisfaction in the future.

Take the first step, face any fears that you’ve created and disregard the negativity that may come from those around you who struggle to open up themselves. Connect with yourself, connect with others. Do something because you WANT to. Be a wanker! Be creative!

 

Episode 31 – Mick Jeffery (Aversions Crown, Widow the…

 

Video store clerk and male model by day, metal road warrior by night. Mick Jeffery is best know for his dashing good looks and riffing abilities in both Aversions Crown and Widow the Sea. We speak about the crap load of touring that he’s been doing over the last 12 months, and the professional approach taken towards it in comparison with some other bands who do the same thing. Lots of great discussions around being in a band with plenty of insightful observations.

Dig this chat? Reach out to Mick and say hello!

Show Notes

Aversions Crown – Official webstore, Facebook
Buy Aversions Crown music from Amazon. Amazon also supports this podcast!
Widow the Sea – Official webstore , Facebook
Purchase Widow the Sea ‘Aphelion’ via JB Hi Fi, Google Play, Spotify and iTunes.
Link up with Mick on Instagram and Facebook.

 

 

Fear of Fear

Fear. I don’t think a lot of people understand the word at times, or more so realise that their actions are often being ruled by it.

This isn’t about fear in a situation where your life or health depends on it. We all know that there are circumstances where we need to be controlled by our fear to remove ourselves from harm. In most every day cases, however, this response system is never needed.

The fear I’m talking about is the negative underlying beliefs of ourselves that tend to prevent us from being happy. Here are a few examples that I have pulled from myself and those who close to me.

“I’m not good enough.”
“<Insert name> will more than likely not approve.”
“What will other’s say behind my back?”
“I’m wasting my time.”
“Plenty of people are better than me.”
“I don’t want to lose what I currently have.”

Any of those sound familiar? There are of course many many more, but those are some common ones that I hear from others and I’ve had similar conversations with myself over the years. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes you have to make a decision to put your focus elsewhere that will produce a better result, but there are many instances where the negative internal dialogue such as the ones noted above have prevented us from simply having a go and increasing our chances of finding happiness.

What I’ve found is that most of these self sabotaging fears never really eventuate when you get the guts to take that step into the unknown. It’s almost never as bad as what it seems. Let’s break down the list above and fllllessssshhh it out.

Please note: As with everything in life, its all about perspective and there are many of them (ie: I’m no fucking expert). This is just one perspective from little old me.

“I’m not good enough.”

– That could very well be true, at the moment. Do you think that some of the best people out there were just instantly talented from the get go? Sure, there are a small number of ‘freaks’ (used in the most enduring way) out there, but the majority need to start from nil. You have the privilege of starting where the majority of others have also begun. You might not be good enough yet, but you can be or at the very least be miles better by simply starting.

“<Insert name> will more than likely not approve.”

– Sometimes we worry too much about what others think. Many of us feel pressure from our partners, parents, friends, etc that might not actually exist. This is always a delicate area because relationships with people are extremely varied, however sometimes we create scenarios in our mind with regard to another person’s perception of a situation that may not always be true. I have found personally that many people in my life have assumed that someone might think negatively of them or a potential decision/point of view, but have never actually discussed it with that other person. It’s only later, long past the time, that they discover that the other person did not care whatsoever and as a result, that opportunity is long gone or you’ve wasted a lot of emotional fuel bottling it up. My tip would be to talk to those who’s opinion matters, rather than make an assumption. From there, gauge their reaction and then make a decision as to whether you take on their comments/opinions, or not.

Adding to this very quickly, in those instances where you do receive a backlash from those close to you, you need to take time out to distinguish whether or not their concerns are justified or if emotion is taking over their stance on the subject. Sometimes people’s resistance to a subject or situation is more from their own fears or even previous failures, rather than a true reality of the current situation and having your best interests at hand.

“What will other’s say behind my back?”

– Who gives a shit? Yes, I know. I’m sorry. Easier said than done. Unfortunately for people, we do tend to worry about what others may say. You will find, however, that in most cases, nobody is talking about you. Shock horror. That’s right, most people are too wrapped up in their own world to worry about speaking ill of you. In those cases where others are in fact being vicious behind your back, chances are its due to their own fears and insecurities rather than specifically what you’re doing. The way I see it, if people are talking about me then it means that I’m doing something that is involving action and having an impact one way or the other. Remember folks, it’s all about perspective. I would much rather follow my gut and act on something, regardless of the outcome, than hold back and do nothing at all.

“I’m wasting my time.”

– I see this like failure and it doesn’t exist. As many of the greats say, it’s all feedback and results. There is always some form of benefit from every experience. Of course, there are times then you’re in a counter productive situation and you need to break out of that experience or action/task, but even then it wasn’t waste of time. There is always something to be learnt and built on. This fear should never be a road block to stop you from getting started.

“Plenty of people are better than me.”

– I hate to say it, but there will always be people better than you. There will always be someone more intelligent, stronger, prettier, and better at the things that you love most. That doesn’t mean that you cannot achieve greatness and deep satisfaction in your life. Always aim to be the best you can be but never be disheartened when someone does 1 better. Turn that into fuel to always improve. Be motivated by those who are several steps ahead and learn from them. In the end, every step that you make towards the things you love is far far more than simply doing nothing at all.

“I don’t want to lose what I currently have.”

– I think if you are genuine and you can justify your decisions and actions without hurting or severely impacting people in a negative way, you won’t lose the things that mean most to you. That is not a bullet proof approach of course, but in most cases these fears are not justified and the outcome of confronting a person or situation turns out to be a lot better than initially expected. In those moments where you do lose out, it’s a great opportunity to reflect and see whether you have really in fact lost something important in your life or if in hindsight it’s been a positive change.

 

I’m sure there will be plenty of negative nancies that won’t agree with what I’ve written, but as I’ve said earlier, this is just one perspective. It’s something that I’ve seen a lot of from people that are close to me and it’s definitely not unique to only a small number of people. Fear is a healthy thing to have, but the challenge is taking a step back and realising whether it is a legitimate fear worth acknowledging, or something that is simply holding you back from happiness.

Finally, I’ll end on this. If there is something that you’re holding out on. Something that you’ve been putting off for a long time and it’s eating you up. Imagine the worst possible outcome of making that next step/decision. Think about how that worst scenario would impact you and your life (excluding situations involving death/physical harm). Really blow it up. Once you’ve done that, think about what you would be forced to do if that situation would occur. What would you do? How would you survive? What would you need to do to make things right? Take some serious time to think this over. You’ll find that in the very rare event that anything remotely like this occurs, you’ll realise that you will be able to get through it. You’ll know what needs to be done. With that in mind though, it’s simply unlikely that this the worst possible outcome will ever happen, because our minds always over-inflate a situation out of fear. This is the very thing that stops us from doing more in our lives. If you’re prepared for the absolute worst, then you’ll make that next step with far more confidence.

Are my drawings getting better?

Episode 30 – Month to Month with Milton Mendonça…

 

Part 2 of Month to Month with Milton is now up! Lot’s of chatter around the Avantasia tour that Milton is involved with. We touch on our soon to be regular crazy people and band recommendation segments, reflect on some brief thoughts on the 70,000 tons festival and also paying our respects to Piotr Grundzinski of Riverside who shockingly passed away several days earlier.

Show Notes

The unfortunate passing of Piotr Grudzinski of Riverside. Watch the tribute video from the band here.
Milton’s recommendation’s of Riverside – Found (The Unexpected Flaw of Searching) and Discard Your Fear.
70,000 tons metal cruise. Check it all out here.
Milton’s favourites from the cruise – Katatonia, Rhapsody of Fire, Firewind, Children of Bodom, Tsjuder, Fallujah, Squealer, and Dragonforce.
Avantasia – Heard of them? Check out Dying for an Angel, and Scarecrow.
You like? Well, Avantasia are playing Friday April 15th at the Playstation Theatre in New York City. Tickets available HERE. You know you want to!
Milton’s band recommendations are both Riverside and Avantasia (he broke the rules, but for good reason!).
My band recommendation is Ragdoll from Perth! Great melodic rock. Hear their song Break You.

Breaking through incoherent mutter

You know how much energy it has taken me to stop, sit down, and starting typing this? Honestly, to try and slow my brain down just enough to get that *little* bit of focus to begin tapping away was such a hard task. But hey, here I am and I’m now on a roll.

Have you ever driven somewhere and find that you can’t remember how you got there? Might be a morning or afternoon commute. It can be a little shocking at times, because you know, you’re driving a large and heavy piece of metal and you kind of need to be SLIGHTLY alert, right? I guess you still are, but good luck keeping your mind 100% focused on the road ahead of you.

This happens all.of.the.freakin.time to me. Not just driving, but talking to people, reading, watching a documentary, working, eating, walking, sleeping, breathing… you get the picture. Basically, I always find my mind elsewhere. Distracted. Never in the moment. Never understanding or more importantly appreciating what I am doing right then and there.

The other interesting thing I find is that things are always great after they happen. Don’t follow? Let me explain.

So, I’m out at a gig/show (easiest example for most reading) and have a good enough night. Might be some beers, a lot of socialising etc but it all happens so quickly that before you know it, you’re home again. Good enough night, but life goes on. Now, fast forward 5 years and recall that same night. There’s probably a good chance that you will recall a “fucking awesome night” and say something along the lines of “that was the good old days” or whatever. I used to think that it was a case of blowing things up to be better than what they were at the time (you know, over embellishing), but I think its more of a case that I simply was not appreciating what I was experiencing then and there. In the moment. Only when time has passed and has made the heart fonder (sound familiar?), that you start to miss particular times in your life and appreciate them more.

Remember that other old saying “you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone”? I’ll tell you why you don’t know. You don’t know because you’re not paying attention. You’re not stopping in the moment and thinking “hmmm, what do I have to be thankful for?” and finding a true feeling of gratitude. You’re instead in a subtle and unconscious state of panic. You’re thinking about the next task, the next adventure, the next unattained achievement that is currently out of reach. It’s like when you suffer, stress and frustrate yourself so much because you’re trying to master something, achieve something, attain a material object or person, but then when you have it, you’re instantly onto the next thing. No time to stop! Just got to keep going and going and going and going.

Now don’t get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with being a high achiever and constantly setting goals for yourself. Achieving one thing, ticking it off the list and moving on. It’s fine and if anything it can be quite healthy. The problem is that word that I mentioned earlier. Gratitude. A word that most know the meaning of, but have so rarely experienced it that they don’t really know its true essence. I certainly don’t. Hell, I torture myself trying to get to the core of the word. What kind of experience does gratitude give? What does it FEEL like? Have I experienced it? Do I really understand it or am I simply telling myself that this is how I should feel regularly. I know one. I’m certainly over-thinking it!

Nudging this rambling amass of words back on track, the point I *think* I am trying to make is that I think we all just need to calm down. Calm.the.fuck.down. Nothing is as bad as we make it out to be (disclaimer – in most cases) and all of those distracting thoughts that tear us away from the moment, are simply throwing us into a spiral of in-cohesive dribble, where we find ourselves waking up on the other side wondering how we got there. Wondering where those minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and even years have gone.

So nutshell here, and maybe I’m simply talking to myself more so than anyone else (therapy session anyone?), is to sit still. Breathe. Feel your heart beat. Feel your lungs expand and contract. Listen to what noises are around you. See who else is around you and continue to build on that. Add to it and slowly see that your world might not be as chaotic or as stressful as you might normally make it out to be. Some of those worries and fears might actually be things that are easy to resolve because you can now put some focus on them, instead of letting it be pushed to the back of your head by other easier and more distracting thoughts.

This is my interpretation of what mindfulness is. It’s not perfect and you might be more confused than before you started reading, but this is where the journey begins, continues and never stops. Always looking to be mindful or finding moments of mindfulness. Never forcing it, but always working towards having better awareness. Day to day, moment to moment.

 

Note: If you’re struggling on auto-pilot and trying to find some clarity of mind, give episode 26 of my podcast a shot with Dr Craig Hassed. He studies mindfulness and is the author of many books on the practice. I highly recommend picking up the book Mindfulness for Life, which is a great introduction. I’m still new to it all, but as I mention in the episode, the little that I have learnt has already had a dramatic impact on my life. You have nothing to lose!

Episode 29 – February Alone

 

Thirty days hath September,
April, June and November.
All the rest have 31,
except for February,
which has 28 days clear
and 29 in each leap year.

It only happens every four years, so to celebrate February 29th, I’ve put together a bunch of ramblings about this special date and some background behind the leap year. Oh, and it’s episode 29! It was just meant to be.

Show Notes

30 variations of the ’30 days has September’ rhyme.
Why do we have a leap day?
Article: Leap Year Proposal: What’s the Story Behind it?
Heaps of fun facts about February 29th via Wikipedia.
The February 26 incident (that ended February 29). Read all about it here.
Did you know that Rare Disease Day exists?
Turner Syndrome – Not nice!

I suck at drawing…

 

Episode 28 – John Maher (Carmen’s Road Safety)

 

It would be hard pressed to find anyone who hasn’t either been directly or at least known of someone who has been impacted by a road tragedy. On a daily basis, a large majority of us put our lives in ours and others hands as we step into cars and venture onto the road. We trust ourselves and those around us, however time after time we see instances where things simply go wrong. In many cases, these tragic events could have been simply avoided, which further adds to the anguish felt by those who are left behind.

John Maher’s experiences with road tragedy are not unique, however his story is. In fact, it’s Carmen’s story, his daughter who was killed in a car accident, November 1995. John travels across the state of Victoria and various parts of the country speaking to high school students and businesses to tell Carmen’s story and spread the important message of road safety.

Many of us here in Australia during the 90s were exposed to shock and scare tactics via graphic content featured on television campaigns and police visits at school. Whilst it didn’t beat around the bush, it left many feeling disconnected and thinking that it couldn’t possibly happen to them. Carmen’s story is all about perspective. It’s about finding responsibility in yourself and those around you, as a road tragedy doesn’t only affect the person in the accident, but everybody who is left behind.

I hope you take something from this chat with John. Whether it be some more awareness of your own driving, or simply showing more appreciation for those close to you. I would also ask for you to reach out to John and let him know your thoughts, and even more so if you’re able to help spread his important message to others.

Show Notes

John Maher’s website here.
Carmen’s Road Safety Facebook page. Please support John’s message by liking it.
Listen to John on ABC radio here.
Victoria Road Death Annual Tolls here.
Article – Crash victim shares road safety message with students.
Article – Father shares tragic car crash story to save lives.

 

 

 

Episode 27 – Anwar Rizk (Metal Obsession, Metal Journalist…

 

Anwar Rizk has been a notable part of the Australian metal scene and in particular in Melbourne for quite a number of years. Running the Metal Obsession website, Anwar has a big focus on highlighting and pushing amazing Australian artists, playing heavy music. In addition to that, Anwar also has built up a reputation as a great photographer and dabbling in tour promoting and band management.

A lot of hands on experience over the years with a lot of stories to tell.

Now, I must admit that I had a number of things planned out to talk to Anwar about, however once we got talking about the lock out laws in Sydney and local band promotion, we went off on a long and deep tangent that we had a hard time getting out of! Highly recommended for those in bands or regular live music punters. A lot of great insights and perspective which I hope will result in many takeaways and more discussion in future.

Warning: This episode is LONG, however it is well worth listening to. I also have not had a chance to go back and pull out all of the information for the show notes, so i’ll add to the page over the coming weeks as I find another 3 hours to go back and listen to it!

Hot tip: Take a few breaks along the way to give your bladder some relief. I didn’t!

Show Notes

Check out Metal Obsession via – Website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Contact Anwar via email here.
Article: Sydney lock out laws: Would the last person in Sydney please turn the lights out?
J. Krishnamurti Online – Access his teachings here.
Wacken Open Air Festival.
Want something promoted? Maric Media is your answer!
Article: Heavy metal music combats emotions like depression, anger, study finds.
Hear Anwar on ABC Breakfast radio ranting about heavy metal!
In a band?

Episode 26 – Dr Craig Hassed (Mindfulness Professor)

 

Mindfulness. I recently discovered the wonders of this practice through a book entitled ‘Mindfulness for Life’. From this book I’ve discovered that many of my day to day habits were carried out in auto-pilot without any thought. Many of these habits were in fact of the bad variety which caused a large amount of stress in my life. Luckily with a small amount of practice in mindfulness, I’ve been able to dramatically reduce a lot of the daily anxiety that I face on a day to day basis. The exciting part of this discovery is that I wouldn’t even say that I’m good at being mindful, but the small attempts that I do make have already had such a positive impact on my life, that I feel encouraged to share this hidden secret (at least it was to me), with you all.

My guest this week is Associate Professor Dr Craig Hassed. Dr Hassed co-wrote the book I referenced above along with Dr Stephen McKenzie. I reached out to Craig to ask him about the book, his work and also to help me introduce mindfulness to you all. I hope this episode opens a new door for you and begins a journey of more awareness in your life.

Show Notes

Reach out to Dr Craig Hassed here.

Free online course through Future Learn – Mindfulness for Wellbeing and Peak Performance
Meditation Australia
Smiling Mind
Mindful in May
The Connection

Books with Exisle Publishing
Mindfulness for Life (Purchase via Amazon and support not only Dr Hassed but this podcast!)
Mindful Learning
The Mindful Home

ABC Radio Report – Mindfulness Meditation
Sydney Morning Herald Article – My School Report: Craig Hassed