Finally! After years and years of holding an idea in my head for our debut album. Today thanks to our beautiful fans, we can start recording it for real. It’s been like watching a present under the tree and guessing for so long what may be underneath the wrapping paper (or behind the walls) and being so anxious to open it. Finally my xmas day has arrived and I awake at 5am and run down stairs…

Date: The 21st Century

THE ANIMAL REBELLION BEGINS…

WOW! What a highly create few months of unexpected events have I been living of late. In the last 3 months we have created a new EP shot 3 music videos (Brisbane Artists coming to my house over two nights and painting a forest on the walls of two rooms, a clip we had one week to shoot and edit. Just insane! But so much fun), we built an animal rebellion complete with 40 paper Mache heads, An Ark, A forest, A Noah, New projection, Booked a tour, lost a manager, lost an agent and who ever else along the way and the list goes on.. Crazy thing is we have done all this on a very small budget if any and all with our wonderful fans. Tonight everything kind of hit me. After looking at Feed The Wolf video and seeing the Animal heads created I just couldn’t help but finally smile, I felt so happy. I realised the last 8 weeks ive been feeling so wound up. There has just been so much to do and I have put so many creative ideas out there not knowing how we could pull it off, finally tonight I realised were about to jump again and I think were going to land some were without breaking our legs. Wow I can breathe for a few secs…Its happening, its really, really happening.

Back to the creations. So CBD Art Gallery in Brisbane. Most incredible art space with such a raw and pure energy contained in its walls. Has been the most perfect space to build this animal rebellion, but what has made it all the more special is the people who have been turning up to create with us. Moogie has been directing all the creations, working her arse off, not sleeping or eating to help me get it all complete. Next time you see her make sure you give her a hug and let her know what a wonderful job she has done, cause really people I could not have done it without this fantastic lady she is the bomb. I cant name them all but some of the artist I must thank with all my heart (these guys are seriously just incredible artists and people), most of them will be painting on stage at our Brisbane shows Mellie, Mr Hooper, J.A, Tim, Sundari, Celi, Butchers, Joel, J Spider, Tal, Tom, Mace, Steve, Adelaide & many others. Thank you for making my dreams become reality once again. I’m so grateful.

So here we go from tomorrow we will take off for an animal rebellion tour. Normally im so excited about playing the music but strangely im not caring for the music side as much. Im more excited about the message and being able to march these artworks with all these cool people and being able to watch what you guys create on stage, they are the things I keep thinking about when I can’t sleep; it’s so excited for me. Will be great to see Mina’s collection of Art works after all the shows also. So many things to look forward. Wow.

Also I want to give a special thank to those of you who helped us record and release the new EP. It was such a new experience for me to create and feel so alive in that new cd all those songs are my life there everything I believe in and feel each day and you allowed me to express that to so many people. So thank you. We are going to try our luck again and see if we can raise 40 thousand + to record our debut album in August. New York producer Tidy kid has booked the studio and is hiring out the best gear from all around there world as we speak. We will be recording album over 3 months. We need your help and want you to own a piece if it and help us keep sailing thru uncharted waters. If we can get 1000 people to donate $40 then we got an album, the one ive always wanted to create and waited all my life for. No more EP’s?. Consider it a pre order I guess if you donate $40 or more then you have pre ordered your copy and of course we ill add your name to the thank yous. So if you would like to donate to us a small or large sum of commodities then please email trash@theredpaintings.com we have 5 weeks to find the cash I have no idea how but we will get there. Either im brave or stupid. EEK!

LET THE ANIMAL REBELLION BEGIN…lets hope we don’t freeze to death.

P.S A venue called me this week a little upset and wondering why journalists were calling him asking about the animals that are arriving at the red paintings show. Shhhhhhh!

April - 07 - 2007

IN THE WORLD OF NEGATIVES WILL WE FIND HAPPINESS? NOW WOULD THAT BE A REVOLUTION?

Photo By the incredible "Eugenio Recuenc".

6:07, 6:17. 7:07, 7:16 These times I fluctuate on waking up each and every morning. And I fall asleep around 4am. Strangely enough I don’t really feel tired during the day. Actually I don’t really feel tired at all. And as the pixies say “Where is my mind?” Interesting question. My head is replaying every second of every day for the rest of this year. It won’t give up.

So after the fractured jaw incident, I’ve had to visit the hospital once a week or so for check ups. On my last visit my doctor was too busy to see me so I had to see another doctor. I walk in and he grabs my jaw as if all things should be fine and it should be all healed and ready to eat all things again. I let out a yelp and he said, “You fractured it some time ago now are you all right?” I said, “Hang on, the doc told me that I split it down the side even worse after my seizure.” He looked stunned? “What seizure?” he says, “tell me more.” I tell him the story. He requested to view my new x-rays and after a moments pause after viewing, he looks at me really concerned “Do you realise you have broken your jaw in half and it is slipping out from where your top and bottom jaw join?” Hmmmm no I was told by two doctors that it was a fracture. But that might explain the constant pain and the fact I can’t bite my nails anymore or chew properly or open my mouth wide when I yawn because my jaw pops out of place and I have to push it back in. So annoying when you see different doctors and they all tell you something different. I went from needing an operation to not needing one to now ive got a broken jaw and I should live on milkshakes for the rest of my life. My first reaction; does this mean I shouldn’t been singing? I have to record very soon. “No,” he tells me, “singing and stretching your jaw so it grows back into place is the best thing for it, just have to deal with the cramping and the pain, here is a prescription for pain killers, on your way now kiddo.” Oh great fuck it then im going home to eat what ever I want! I’m too impatient; I can’t do this broken jaw thing.

So where are we at with the circus?

I’m in an interesting place. I’ve been working 18 hr days on TRP designing a fresh, new and most creative idea to date for the last part of the trilogy tour (I think this will be our last headline tour for 2007, only one for Aust this year), getting this new cd together, which has gone from single to EP with some very interesting and different choice’s in tracks. The songs are fresh and I created them in the last few months… It’s full of surprises, hopefully it picks up from the agony “Destroy the robots” put me through or not. I’ve been trying to find as many all ages shows as we can, thank god I’ve been finding them. Last week I was sitting on my computer typing typing typing doing 20 things at once and my brain just stopped like it just switched off, couldnt see or think any more, was a little scary, so I rolled onto my bed and closed my eyes. Hmmmm please please not another seizure. Went and cooked myself a milkshake hmm chunky. Realised I think I need some help. You see I’m insane in the way that when I put my mind to something I put all my energy and time into it to the point were you cant tell me otherwise, I will neglect myself,. Stop eating, sleeping, shower less, wear the same clothes for 5 days and just work, brainstorm, create, work work work constant thinking. I stop hanging out with anyone really which can really annoy people. I just get so busy I don’t have time to listen any more, just feel, as my brain is ticking over thoughts and trying to find more ideas, more creations.

I sent a few emails to some good people I’ve met along the way and found myself an intern in Adelaide. It’s only been a short time but she has been a great help already. It’s as if someone was looking out for me and sent her just at the right time. I even took a break and went and saw 300 and TMNT. 300 was incredible, oh the colours so rich and strong but the turtles hmmmm, all I could think about was what time I was wasting needed to get out but felt so rude…

Highlight for the year. We were approached by a crew who have been shooting a TV show, they call “The Rock N Roll Cooking Show.” Title says it all really. They shoot Aust bands cooking up in their own kitchens then they play a few tracks in their jam space and it’s viewed by people around Aust. I love it, what a great idea. So we signed on the dotted line and became involved instantly. After meeting with the producers who I must say were such lovely people and a pleasure to work with. I thought this would be such a great opportunity to get an audience involved and meet some TRP fans that I would never have really met on a personal level at shows. So we began the idea to run a comp for TRP fans to come to my house for the day and just have fun I guess. After receiving quite a few emails from some very enthusiastic fans some even offering sexual favours for the opportunity, we chose 14. Was a lot of fun indeed, seems everyone was getting along. I ended up playing a song on the piano in my room to 20 people stuffed in my room which made me a little nervous, but I survived. I really missed them all when they left. I think it made me think about how lucky we are as a band that we have such genuine music lovers feeling our colours and how delightful it is for me to have such people involved in my life. Such a strange thing to be bleeding your everything out in these songs and it attracts all sorts of people around the world. I feel as if I’m having a conversation with people I didn’t know, then I get to meet them and most times i find we have so much in common. If I never wrote those parts of my life into a composition and worked so hard to get them out there for people to feel, then I wouldn’t know any of you or you me. It’s created a real community of good people who, through the band, are meeting and exchanging thoughts and feelings and paint. If that’s what it’s all about and I’ve achieved that then I don’t mind if death comes knocking at my door. I’ve put my everything into this project for what seems like forever. I’ve hit constant walls in the music industry but I’ve felt open arms in the real people of this world, the people that don’t paint by numbers have given me everything and some worked harder for this band than for themselves and that’s where I and the band are truly blessed. So I don’t mind the lack of sleep, to the head fucks, broken bones, slammed doors, hate mail, people bitching and telling lies behind my back. It’s all just part of the delightful road I’ve taken, as I walk the staircase to the largest waterslide in the world. Knowing me, I’ll get to the top and it will say ‘ride closed’ and I’ll have to walk all the way back again. I think if that happens I’ll choose to jump and feel the rush of AIR!

Anyway enough of me being so self absorbed.

The last part of the trilogy tour is on the way. It is going to be called the Animal Rebellion Tour! We will march the cities of Aust as animals. Just like the March before the world was flooded and Noah rounded up two of every creature on the planet into an ark until the world’s sins were erased and life started again! I can see that simularity in our time also with global warming, altho i have to wonder if we only have ourselves to blame? So instead of marching for the humans I’m going to bring awareness to them and march for the ones that will most probably be neglected. Most likely first giraffes, prayingmantus, frogs, stingrays, bees, bats, and the list goes on, but because of the crazy fucked up world we live in I’m hoping to have these animals look as if humans have been pushed therse creatures to their limits and have genetically engineered animals to have goats with 20 eyes, chickens with 3 wings, you get the idea…

It’s going to be hard to put together but hopefully with a little help from you all it will be a huge success and bring even just a small amount of awareness to the people who see us. I do ask for help from as many of you as possible. I’m going to need volunteers from all around Aust (but sorry Perth as we cant afford to fly there which sucks big time, I loved playing there so much last year, but sadly we cant afford it.) We will tho be venturing to Tasmania for the first time for a few shows, as we have not been able to get there on previous tours. I’m going to need 20 - 30 people for each march and also as part on the installation for each show later that night on the tour. We will post all the details on our site & myspace in the next few weeks once we nut everything out. You know what excites me most about this next adventure is being able to collaborate with so many people that I would never normally have the chance to meet, especially in this kind of environment and what a great cause; we’re doing it for the creatures of the world. Feel free to bring you pets or break into the zoos. Let the animals run free I say. They have souls too and have just as many rights to live on this planet freely as we do. Most people would argue that they are cannibals and would eat each other so that’s why we need to control! I say, you stupid idiot look around you, we are worse; more destructive and violent than any living creature on this planet. One human being is capable of viciously killing and destroying millions of people and creatures. So let them run free, haven’t we humans done enough damage? If global warming does escalate and take us out don’t you think it’s fair to allow the creatures of the world to at least live the last moments of their lives outside a barred cage? I hate the world for what it’s become it’s disgusting. Even more reason for us to stay as an independent band until the time is right and fair, that way the only people that can control this project will be us and our fans. Freedom can not be controlled unless you allow it to be. Like I said before I would die for this project and when you got nothing, you got nothing to lose!

A part of me has always thought that having a label to back us up was a crucial step to the success of this band and could allow me to just concentrate on the music only, I am so wrong. I came to the realisation that it seems there is no way any label is able to fund my ideas in the country I reside in at this time and after many meetings, talks with music industry people they validate that opinion with their concerns that my songs are not great songs and that they can’t make money from them, i need to sound more generic. I start to lose hope in my ideas and colours created from them. I hit a pretty hard place not so long ago, I had even considered just packing my bags and moving to New York within the month not sure how, but i knew i could do it if i sold all my gear. Just thought I needed to be around the energy, incredible people and life I left behind from the Dolls tour, I had experienced, but then I found a new friend. In my room I’ve had this beautiful piano sitting in the corner. My incredibly cool and life saving uncle Moshe owns it and has allowed me to take care of it. I love him to death. But it’s been at least 3 years and I haven’t really touched it, until this one day. I just closed my eyes and started playing with thoughts of things of late and colours bursting out of the keys. I created 3 songs in a day. The first being ‘We Belong in the Sea?’ which I wrote a string section for as well and will be on our new cd. My piano playing is not great by any means, I may not have any talent but what’s most sweet is the sincerity in the playing, it’s real. It’s not about talent, it’s about truth and most importantly it’s about feeling and feeling every single note and idea played in the 3 minutes the song makes up. Since that day I now play piano on a regular bases. My new best friend ‘Shwarndoff’ an ancient echidna piano hmmm I’m in love. Then came the idea, if we are a band about reality then let the reality of how successful we have been become the reality of our next release and test the waters to see it there is any love for us. So we posted a blog for people to donate what they could to us so we could create for them and for any one else who cares a new cd that had no hidden agendas from business men and could be created in an environment of my choice with the money we could raise. The email has spread pretty quickly within a week we had $1000 and now in its third we have raised enough to record a new EP. So now you can understand why I’m working so hard to get this right. I want so much for the people that would understand this band to sit back and smile when they listen to this disc, knowing that it’s their music as much as mine, that because of them we were able to take our creative ideas out of our bedrooms and back on to the streets; hence why I need to work harder than ever to give you guys the best part of the end of the trilogy. Last tour for 2007 unless we pick up another suited support in Australia! Really don’t think we will tour again in Australia after this one for a very long time. So please don’t miss it and we will make it to Tassie finally.

Smiles this week as I received a very special gift from Miss Palmer. On our US tour a painter from Italy created an exclusive art work that became the tour T-shirt with Geisha dolls and was very much TRP/Dolls style with our name added to it etc... Anyway there are only 160 hand screen printed posters made and she sent me one of them, #3 actually. Definitely put a smile to my face. God I miss them so much, that tour still feels like a dream and when ever I feel shit about what I’m doing and I’m going nowhere I think about how I felt on that tour and become warm and smile my arse off. Feels so so so good oh god playing mad world with those two each night fuckkkkk I’m even crying with happiness as I think about it.

Oh also our new cd will also be featuring a cover of the beautiful Dresden Dolls song, ‘Sing’. I couldn’t help myself doing my own version of this song. Not that there is anything wrong with Amanda’s version, it’s just whenever I hear it I fell so connected to those two kids and their crew in so many ways, has me balling inside every time. I guess I’m recording it more as a gift to them to say thank you for so so much and more. I get to “Sing” this one for them.

I’ll be back with updates. Need to make a milkshake ;) and feed this fucking wolf.

March - 04 - 2007

Wolves and Epiphany's

Painting above created by House of T.O.L.A " Epiphany of The Wolve" Gumball Fest 2007

Hit link to view more works - Houseoftola

So our first well advertised shows for 2007 took place last weekend. I’ve been on this fetish of wolfs of late, so I really wanted to have the theme bought into these show’s some how and what’s more perfect than turning our human canvases into wolfs, especially playing out in the Hunter Valley mountains under a full moon late at night. I decided for show one that I would cross dress and try make myself look as beautiful as possible, so I picked out a nice red dress a blonde wig and a lovely professional cross dresser makeup artist came to my house a few hrs before the show to make me into a classy woman and that she did. I felt so different being so feminine it was quite nice. We had the entire evening filmed. Right from getting dressed to catching a cab and his strange reaction to my masculine voice, to arriving at the venue thru the main gate paying admission fee and sitting in the audience waiting for the red paintings to play. I had my arse pinched a few times which was kind of scary. Then the band finally make it on stage with Andy announcing Trash Mcsweeney has been booted from the band and that they are on the look out for a new singer, then from the crowd steps up this hot chic with no breasts, arms in the air yelling “Pick me, pick me” lucky for them I was chosen and away we rock new songs and all. I started this set with samples of wolfs howling, such intelligent animals these wolfs. Was fun being back playing to our home crowd again, after I got the hang of playing in those strange shoes. I really had fun times. Thanks to all of you for being so cool and rocking out with us. Oh and David and Mina our painters superb art works caught the energy as well, as you always do. Then a pack up for an early flight to Newcastle to play Gumball festival. We arrive to find our manager has not booked the correct transport so after much time wasting we book another car and an hr and half later and we find our way, the sun is the hottest ive felt it all year. Tonight I am most excited for we have some really unique painters on stage one being Bob a 50 year old soul that lives by his paint brush and has been meaning to exchange energies for some time and of course we did not let each other down. Night time falls, moon is yellow and full and we take to the stage. Wolfs are howling people are tripping and away we go. The human canvases want to be naked so his body is painted black including his willy, during the set we had a stage dancer who decided to make out with him while he was being painted. I lost the plot three times in this set the last I ended up trying to eat Bob’s paintings actually the paint tasted really sweet. Set finished, time to breath, thank god. Man these last two shows have been so hot I could barley breathe and there never seems to be enough water. Regurgitator goes on next, rock out for some time even getting the crowd to cheer for us which was nice. Then we pack up say good bye’s and off to our cottage. Lots and lots of wine was bought back. We were drinking pretty hard from what I could remember. Around about 5am and I fell asleep on the couch only to wake to Ellen’s alarm at I think 9am hmmmm. So we pack up and away we go to the airport around 11am, this is were things go down hill. I park the car get out feeling very weird like my head was about to face plant itself into the asphalt. I look up at the others and the last thing I remember is saying “I feel very weird”

This is what I was told happened

I went into a violent seizure – eyes back of my head all that stuff. My head was bleeding and after a while I stopped breathing and went blue. Turns out I was given mouth to mouth to get me breathing again. This all happened around the band and people leaving the airport. Ambulance finally arrived after what im told was a long while and that’s when I came too. Was such a strange feeling I just remember these two guys asking me my name over and over and all I wanted to do was get up and spew. Problem was I had nothing in me to chuck up I hadn’t really eaten for two days so all I could do was dry reach. Into the ambulance I go, they kept giving me oxygen but I didn’t want it my jaw was in a lot of pain for some reason, actually it was fucking killing me. My head? Well I have no idea what was going on, it was like being in a dream that is covered in sheets so you can’t make out anything you can only hear what’s going on. In the hospital I had many ex rays turns out id fractured my jaw quite badly and they wanted to do surgery on my ASAP. I refused I wanted to sleep and then fly home and have surgery in Brisbane was a much cheaper option. My wishes were granted after some time the lovely nurses and doctors let me go and taxi ride to a local hotel I went and slept for the next 24hrs. I’m still alive. I owe my life to those who saved. Thank you. I cant explain how, but i feel much different.

Feb - 04 - 2007

Im pretty sure I woke up on the wrong side of the bed yesterday and fell out of it.

Ever had one of those days were all frustrations and angst and disappointments in you life hit you in a single day? Well yesterday was that day for me. It was like I was walking around like a ticking time bomb on its last few ticks. Might sound so silly to many of you but all I kept thinking about all day, was that I just wanted some one to punch some sense into me. I’m not sure but maybe I was feeling so numb that I believed some chaos would enlighten me again. Anyway I ended up at a metal show last night. Understand I never got to metal shows. But I really enjoyed it. A local band was playing called ‘Western Decay’. Into the mosh I went and jumped around a little having a swell time. It seemed the colour of the screams made me feel better; I guess there is a time and a place for all genres of music. Thank god we have so many in the world that we can all relate to in time. Anyway, I ended up leaving and by this time was quite intoxicated and found that I had locked myself in a stair well and some how from what I can remember lost my step and face planted myself down 10 or so cement steps. OUCH! I had so much blood coming out of my mouth, it was an awful feeling. I ended up loosing my friends and had no phone. I eventually found my way out of the stair case and walked home thru sth bank with blood all over me. I was so embarrassed, trying to hide my face with my arm. After a 30 min walk I made it home and lucky for me my good friends and flat mates were there and took care of me. It was going to take an hr to get a cab to the hospital and none of them drive so we had to walk another 20 mins to get to the hospital. I was feeling so so strange by this time and in a lot of pain. In the hospital I was treated so well the nurse was really gentle with me and I had a few X rays almost vomiting all over their gear. Turns out id fractured my jaw and split open underneath my chin and ended up with 6 or more stitches. They gave me lots of morphine to stop the pain, the whole time I was suppressing the pain just wanting to scream out and let it all go, but there were enough people in the hospital doing it for me so I lay there waiting for the morphine to kick in every hr or so. After 12 hrs they let me out and now im on a diet of Yogo, Jelly and pumpkin soup. Thank god we don’t play for another 4 weeks. Moral of story be careful of stairwells they may bite.

Jan - 21- 2007

Pushing thru

I guess there are times in all our lives were we wish time didn’t exist. That we could only push ahead to the future and close our eyes to certain things going on around us. I feel as though I have just sailed through the roughest seas of my life. 2006 for me was a really hard year to be in this band. Hard because of the people I was involved with and working with, yes. But also because of the adventures and roads I asked my band and crew to take. In the end some decided to jump off, some even decided to take others whilst they were jumping, but a few of us decided to stay and see the storm thru. Thank god we did. We are in a much better place right now calmer seas and time to breathe again, but for how long I really don’t know. i have learnt that for some of us there is a cycle and sometimes you just have to hold your breathe till its over and when its over for me the songs, colours and compositons just pour out my soul and i realise that the only time i am truly happy is when I am experiencing the colors, the only time that i am truly truly happy. I could write forever about my amazing experience’s in America and UK on the dolls tour but I wont right now, let me just say it was the most influential time of my life to date, thank you Chicago kids for saving me at the worst of my life. I realised a lot about myself, the people around me and the world good and bad. I lost alot of material goods and gained a lot of respect and friends from all the bad luck. I will miss playing on stage with the dolls so so much. I still feel a hunger to see them again just the anticipation before each show, just so fucking exciting. But now we wait for our new album to be created and a new tour and stage show to go with it, we will only get one shot at this so pray to god we don’t fuck it up and the mechanics work smoothly enough to see us through. I want to give you all a stage show like you have never seen before, fingers crossed. This for me is the year the revolution comes…

Oh and melbourne? i stayed for 4 weeks and a shooting star named Astrid fell from the sky. : )

P.S We have been working on a cover "Sing" From The Dresden Dolls, it sounds so beautiful. Amanda is a fucking genius. I think we will be def playing this song in Sydney.

Oh and the music that changed me in 2006...

And you will now us by the trail of dead (So divided) my sound track to USA adventures, Arcade Fire (Funeral) they are everything i will never be, Radiohead (Kid A & Amnesiac) Im in love with morning bell, Placebo (Meds) incredible, Interpol (Antics), Dresden Dolls (Yes virginia) Love and kisses, Muse (Gods). cant think of anything else strange not one of those bands are Australian, damn.

Dec - 18 - 2006

I feel as if im living on a bridge

Im catching a one way ticket to Melbourne at 7am. Im not sure when i will return but when I do i will fill the gaps in on my experience of touring America and the crazy times. Merry Xmas to everyone and thank you for an amazing 2006 the paintings this year are priceless. I am truly blessed by eveything that has happened in so many ways. I need to go breathe with my family its been to long...I miss you allready :(

You can’t always get what you want and I guess that’s the greatest gift that we have in life.

The Beginning Austraila & NZ

.

We have just completed, what was for me, I’m not sure of the others in the band and crew, the most incredible and challenging tour of my life across Australia and New Zealand. It all started like this:
First a flight to NZ and for most of us our first ever visit to such a beautiful island. I was lucky enough to be introduced to my first Champagne and orange juice on this flight so I arrived a little light headed. I sat dumbfounded, admiring the people in my band and crew, thinking how lucky I was to be able to share the upcoming and past experiences with them knowing for some of them its been more annoying than fun and not gaining as much as they put into the project; which for me has always been a lifestyle and my only way I know to live. It was nice just to fall into that feeling of appreciation and I was very thankful they had decided to join me on this quest. We arrive for the first show in Auckland meeting Brian and Amanda walking out side the venue as we arrive. Amanda gave me a nice big hug. Finally I see her eyes and Brian’s and I am surrounded by their energy - which I came to realise over the next two weeks they have so much of. Also arriving during our sound check was a sweet young man called Jason Webley. Quite a timid personality, I was very surprised to see him out of his shell when he hit the stage later that night. I sat in awe watching him. Such a pure soul, so much enlightment to give to each and every audience member, weather he felt it or not.
So we hit the stage for show one and Ellen realises she has left her violin at the backpackers so we have no choice but to go on stage without her. She is quickly rushed to the room to collect her violin and ends up back in time for the last two songs. I was surprised to hear quite a large applause for our songs especially people yelling out for “Walls”, which I decided not to play at any of these shows. The dolls came on and, as predicted, blew us all away. I sat and watched every second of their set, mesmerised by the energy and their love for the audience. They seem so real. How lucky I felt to be on this tour with such incredible people. After the show I realise the girls who ran backstage have stolen my hamster in the blue wheel; sad times for me - I really loved that hamster. Now he’s gone forever.
6am wakeup and we’re on the road for what became a 10 hr drive to Wellington. What was great about this drive is that we were able to see some of the amazing sights and mountains of New Zealand. I promised myself I would return for time out after all these tours if I have any money at all. We arrive to be told our set will be pushed early as, well as Jason’s, to make time for a local act which was a bummer, but the show, even though very short for us, was full of energy and most of the crowd seemed to be taken by our sounds. I think it may have been the best we have played ‘Hong Kong’ as an ending song so far. Once again dolls were incredible. Lucky I bought two DI’s, which pretty much saved their sound as the venues equipment was dying all night long. We decided to stay up all night and wait for the 4am flight to the Sydney show the next day but John the kind NZ tour manager put us up in a sweet hotel next to the venue for a few hours shut eye - not that I could sleep, as three people in the room were snoring so loud I thought a freight train was coming through the room. I decided to write a song with the weird timings of their snoring until I finally dozed off for at least an hour. We arrive in Sydney for a pleasant show at the Manning Bar with Coda (Sydney band) who were a really great band. I was surprised to see the walls of the uni had been graffitied with our name and the message of “Destroy the Robots.” - go kids! I think it’s interesting that some people in this world think that when they lay down a slab of cement on the earth they gain complete control of it. Like I’ve always said, “Humans don’t own the earth, they rent it.”
Meeting with A& R - hearing the same old, same old and then sleep. We awake for a flight to Brisbane for the first Australian shows with the Dolls. This show for me was beautiful, if felt amazing. I cant remember it in my head but I know I felt every second of it. Once again the Dolls and Webley were just incredible. I was lucky enough to persuade Amanda and Brian to come around to my house for dinner which ended up becoming more like a party. They were so wonderful to entertain and we all had such a blast. It was nice to have those two in my room just the three of us chatting about music and creating songs and our love for what we do. Amanda jumped on the piano in my room, playing a few melodies. Helen, my dear flatmate, cooked up a huge Greek feast and we all ate up - actually Brian was very helpful, serving the food to all of us making sure we all had a bite to eat. I filmed the whole experience on my camcorder - so funny to look back on. Then it got to a time when we were all falling asleep due to exhaustion and lack of rest, so we part ways and go for shut-eye.
The next day we were up by 6am for Sydney show. We arrive for sound check. I take out my most beautiful and amazing guitar which I have loved and hated for so long now and noticed the back of the neck is cracked. I also notice our roadie and friend Jack has accidentally left all my spare strings and capo in Brisbane - hmmmm not good. This is about the point were the tour went through a real change for me and I was worried things may get worse and down the one side of the street they did. Sound check was great - my guitar stayed tuned so I figured I would be fine. Show time: over 2000 standing in the venue. We kick of first song “It is as it was”. The guys doing on-stage sound have everything back to front it all sounds really strange on stage. Then halfway through the song I watch what seems in slow motion - the guitar headstock just pops out and falls off the guitar, sitting on the floor. I recall watching all the songs and certain memories I’ve had with this piece of wood just spill out across the stage just like a water fall over a cliff. I felt instant loss and sadness and I also became extremely pissed off and rammed the rest of the guitar into the ground as hard as I could. Not sure why but I casually, and with out any care factor at all, grabbed my other guitar and eventually went into the next song. This for me was such an emotional set to play - so stupid its just a piece of wood you’re thinking, I know I know, it just meant so much to me - it was like a best friend in a way. It held many of my inner secrets and thoughts, it was the end of something - seems this tour would be the beginning of the end for a few things for me and the band. In saying all this, the show again was really amazing to play and so were the Dolls and Webley - beautiful people playing with their souls. There really is nothing like it and there will never be a tour like this forever in my life. I cherished every single fucking moment of this tour like it could be taken away from me in seconds.

Early flight to Melbourne we arrive at the venue disappointed to hear and see the venue will be putting us on a small side stage, as the main stage is too congested. Imagine what it’s like playing huge stages in front of thousands of people, then all of a sudden, out of your control, you’re stuck on a stage that’s as small, if not smaller, than playing the Rics bar in Brisbane. Showtime, we have a fair few sound problems and the vocal mic cuts in and out throughout the set - actually I couldn’t hear my vocal or cello for the entire set - it was fun indeed. We ended with me slamming my only guitar alive into the wall and booting it as hard as I could, I then went for a long walk thinking about how unpredictable touring can be. I looked at the sky a lot that night - the stars were as always so beautiful. I remember thinking I hope one day global warming doesn’t get to fucked up to a point were we cant see past the ozone layer that would be sad. I went back to see the Dolls; they seemed different tonight not as much energy or something I don’t know it seems this show just wasn’t like the others. Home time a little sleep and a day off. I awake with a lot a lot a lot of pain in my back. I’d been suppressing it for the last week but this day it was unbearable. I decided to drive to see my mum in Geelong. Half-way there, I felt my back was hurting so much that it was making my legs burn. I stopped to get out of the car and my whole body seized up. I just fell out of the car eventually getting up and walking a lot of the pain off - not fun at all. I eventually got back in and drove home. My mother, who is the kindest woman in the whole world, made me a bath full of porridge and the most amazing meal with vitamins and had me exercising and resting in her hallway - I felt much better. After a few hours, hugs and kisses and back to Melbourne for show two. We were joined by the next few shows by Joel Wyhman, who is actually Cog’s full time engineer and very very dear friend of mine who I have so much respect for. I arrived at venue early so I could make repairs on my guitar and fix some crushed effects pedals - all good again. Lucky for me Cathryn, the Eskimo Joe, manager had arranged for her brother who works in a hospital as a physiotherapist to come see me during sound check. He checked me out and diagnosed me with a possible slipped disk in my lower back which was hitting the nerves and causing me much pain. Seems what I needed was a few days off - yeah right as if! Sound check a crazy time - the positioning of the subwoofers were extremely annoying Ellen and I found out later Wayne, during that nights show, the sound was so big Ellen tells me she had a terrible show. Wayne, after the tour, expressed that he may have lost some hearing in one ear from this show also. Man I must be so deaf and not know it cause I don’t seem to have these problems yet. This show was a strange one for the band for me it was loads of fun and I had a really enjoyable night, meeting fantastic people in the crowd and once again the paintings were amazing. Actually, I must add a really cool Brisbane band, ”Elephant Mojo” were our human canvases for these two Melbourne shows and were also kind enough to offer us their drum kit and guitar cabs - many thanks to these guys. This show, Amanda Palmer and I came on as an encore for the Dolls set and played Mad World for the first time - it was such a beautiful moment. I haven’t smiled like I did for those 5 mins for a long while - happy joy joy!
Next day flight to Adelaide and finally a day off - oh I wish this wasn’t the case. As soon as we hit the backpackers it was pretty much sleep all day. My back was incredibly annoying all I could do was stretch and hope it would be okay for the shows - I slept all night long. The next day, same deal then the news that I knew would kill me for a long time: someone during the night had broken into the secure car park next to the backpackers with bolt cutters and smashed the window of our Tarago, stealing a lot of our gear. Man, this felt so terrible to see. Worst of all, most of the equipment was brand new and had been hired from music stores, or was my own personal gear. We also lost toys, alien in the jar, all the paintings and paints from the tour and so on though we were very lucky to have also not lost many things as well like cello, violin and my effect pedal. This news put a real damper on the show. The Dolls and Webley were very caring to us which was nice later that night before the show. I decided to not play many songs. We played a very different set that night. I couldn’t run my sampler, so a few songs had to be erased from the set but other songs bought a new energy and I would have to say “The Revolution is Never Coming” would have been the best we have played it ever - that night it was really on fire. The Dolls that night also came out with a bang - the energy of this show was incredible and had really picked up from the Melbourne shows. I told Adelaide I would never been coming back to play music in this city again - it was the 2nd time our vehicle had been raided and I couldn’t afford another break in. I figure this city was trying to tell me something, so I’ll keep away from there for now. Met some amazing people this night and Ellen put her violin case out to collect funds for our losses. It was nice to see people putting in their hard earned cash. One man, I was told, donated $150. Thank you Adelaide - you made this night one I will never ever forget. My only regret is that we couldn’t let you guys paint because you always create the most amazing paintings at our shows and I really missed that tonight. Amanda was also so fun to talk with tonight - much love to you my dear. Early flight and we were on our way to Perth, out of all the flights this was by far the most enjoyable. Andy and I were running amuck, getting drunk on vodka and baileys that were given to us by the Dolls engineer Dave – he’s is such a fucking cool guy; I could write a thousand words just on how cool this man is. We arrive in Perth - my back is fucked from the flight once again. I just can’t get use to this constant pain - its driving me nuts. We arrive at a backpackers and most of us decide we don’t really want to stay as it seems a little uncomfortable. We leave in a huff and puff and find ourselves at a really nice central backpackers the city. I hit the bed for sleep time and the night off. Show day this was our first trip and show in Perth was very exciting to be finally playing here and great to finally play to our fan base in this cool city. We arrive for sound check and its decided Brian will also play Mad World with me at the end of the Dolls set with Amanda I couldn’t wait. What’s been really cool for all these shows is the massive line ups at all the venues before doors open. I would try and spend time before shows going out and meeting people, which was a buzz. This show being sold out just like all the others, was so crammed with kids - there were at least 200 extra kids let in. Webley blows the crowd away as always and then as we hit the stage tonight, I had a new energy I’d not had on this tour. It may have had something to do with the fact that Brian was standing right beside me as a human canvas whilst Amanda painted him the whole set, maybe I don’t know, but this show just went bang. The connection between Andy and I was unstoppable and we pounded the next 40mins of music as hard and fast as we could - it just felt incredible. (no thanks to the security tonight, who were being very anal and ended up harassing us at the end of the night, especially the Dolls’ mixer.). Thank you Perth for an amazing closure to an amazing tour of craziness and much fun. I love the Dresden dolls forever. Xx.

And what’s next? A week off and then the tour of a lifetime throughout America and the UK. I have no idea what to expect – let’s just hope this band survives. The unexecpted has already accured and ill just shut my mouth and cross my fingers and hope it all works out. I feel sad yet i should be on top of the world.

Are The Red Painted Dolls Looking For A Door Way?

September - 11 -2006

As you probably know by now Amanda & Brian from The Dresden Dolls have asked us to join their big top circus (metaphorically speaking) around Australia, America and New Zealand. How many bands are offered an opportunity like this? Lots of good people around me at the moment working day and night to make it become a reality. I am very lucky to have these people in my life. Still we have no Record Label and no Agent backing us, its been incredibly chaotic organising such a huge tour but looks like we made it on our own once again. I can only imagine it will be life changing for me and the others. I’m so excited but so unsure about what to expect. Maybe their fan base in the US will hate us? I’m not use to being a support band for so long so fingers crossed their audience in the US accepts us, tho I do believe they will be very open minded, lovely people and it will be a pleasure to warm up their fans. I am so grateful for this opportunity its so exciting that Amanda asked us directly if we would join them and not from a record label or agency. Wow, were playing all these theatres across America with 1000 + people at every show. I also hear they have amazing toy stores in the USA Oh and there’s talk about us visiting Disney Land on the first day, a place ive always wanted to go and feel that happiness in a dream land, Yeah dream on Trash maybe if your wallets full of cash which it won’t be. I don’t think ill say much on this tour just put my head down and loose myself inside the music that’s my job so that’s what ill do to the best of my ability each and every night. We have been discussing cover songs that both bands can do well and we seem to have agreed on “money makes the world go around” from the movie cabaret I think the amazing people in both these bands would do that song so much justice. Hmmm fun times ahead seems dreams do come true if you hold on to them for long enough “ill be holding on to this sweet love”. I’ve been waiting for something this amazing for so god damn long. We have also been on the look out for painters and human canvases for all these shows we want you to become part of the creation and let yourself feel! We have been so overwhelmed by the response receiving over 500 emails from people wanting to be apart of the shows. Anyway I must go pack bags a long journey ahead starting with the Hills Of New Zealand and a 10 hour drive from Auckland to wellington. Wish us luck lets hope we all survive and take care of each other. See you at a show or two…if the world doesn’t end sooner.

The Rapture

Time - Does Not - Exist

As a kid I was bought up heavily on Christianity. Over a period of at least 10 years I went to many different churchs, not sure if I was listening to what the people of each church had to say but I was there and my ears were taking the words and thoughts in from different versions of the bible that these random church leaders were preaching. I remember always feeling so confused as to why we were there and what my mother was getting out of all these words and people we barley knew, but I always looked forward to eating the grape juice and cracker bread if she would let me, not that I really knew why all these people were taking it, even when my mum explained to me that it was taken as a token of respect and we were excepting the body and the blood of Christ. Why care when your 8 years old right? I do however remember a time that scared me and gave me nightmares for years Im writing this because I had that same nightmare just now and have awoken from it once again so confused and I feel maybe even brainwashed to believe it, maybe. Mum took me to a Tuesday night meeting as she did often, some of the people from the church would come together for a more detailed discussion of the bible and what it all meant. Anyway this one time the church showed us a propaganda movie called ‘The Rapture’ (At the time it was more like a horror movie) it was based on the story of these two people, one who was a Christian and one who didn’t believe. One morning the non Christian awakes to find the partner is missing and a radiobroadcast comes over saying that Jesus has come again and all Christian believers have been peacefully taken to the next life. So this person freaks out (As you would) and runs to the local church were the priest sits praying, he too has been left and later you see that he was a drunk, then all of the sudden there are huge weather changes night falls at 1pm instead of 7pm and so on and great fires begin to hit all over and so basically the planet seems to go into this insane chaos of its own. I remember this person looks for help from friends but only has two friends left, these people try to take this lady to the church but strangely enough there are these people who are cutting peoples heads off, these people being so called non Christians who have been given another chance to give their lives’ to God and have refused so they are put underneath a guillotine. This person gets away only to deal with more craziness until finally there is a another coming were more people are taken away who decide to become Christians. I remember also at the start they talk of these great wars between the biggest and smallest countries in the world and about the earth being scorched with fire and people loosing all kinds of power and rights one thing that freaked me out the most was after the rapture people were told they had to receive what looked like a tattoo of a barcode on their bodies, without this people could not purchase food or anything for that matter and if you did not receive this “mark” you were killed instantly with a chopping by guillotine. Im not sure how it ended as it was a long time ago… when your a kid and you parents and church people are telling you this is, what the end will be like and its coming soon, that was very scary and stays with you for the rest of your life. I fell out of the drive to want to be a Christian when I was about 11 to 13 years old, I believed id heard way too much bullshit from these church’s we had been going to and I wanted to live my own life without all this fear. Am I wrong to do so? Have I dug my own eternal burning grave? I’m not sure who really knows? You’d hate to think that when your passing to the next life (If there is one) that it was really that simple to just truly believe in God and Jesus and Bang there’s your eternal life and there’s your sunshine and happy days with out any more pain but I just don’t know what to think. As you can all see the world has always been in some kind of war, some larger then others when I say larger I mean many more animals & people being killed, its crazy because it seems most wars begin from different views on religion and peoples craziness to stand up for their beliefs it fills them with so much power. Its interesting to think also that our environment and the world we rent seems to be breaking down I mean look at the weather we just finished a tour through to Adelaide and it felt like we were still living in Qld weather every day always so warm yet it should be freezing. I’m not trying to scare anyone just wanted to share my confusion and nightmares with you hope you don’t mind. Feel free to chat with me on it trash@theredpaintings.com .

P.S There seems to be a lot of activity of late in the skies. What’s fascinating is that thousands of people around the globe especially certain countries keep seeing the same object triangular with 3 glowing lights on each point and a strange light in the middle and on the ground little white men with white faces. Many of these people who are visited every three years or more (that they are aware off) are now quite certain they are being visited up to every 3 weeks. Is it all just a dream?

The destroy The Robots Part Two Of The Trilogy is Over

August - 19 -2006

*photo above some of the painters and human canvases from Sydney Show @ The Gaelic Club :).

I’m not going to say too much about this tour because I truly believe a lot of the paintings from these shows say it all. That’s what this tour was all about the unity of music and colour. I will say that this tour was, quote from jack rode boy “This tour is fucking nuts” and I was banging my head against a toilet wall for a long while before the Canberra show and so on and so on but I tell you, you cant fake feelings and energy like some of the shows on this tour, the chaos you are living in creates and feeds through your music and explodes out of your pours if you choice to be open minded. In case your wondering the last part of the trilogy tour #3 will come, with so much happening right now im not sure when but it will be very different to the last tour I can assure you that. As always much love and thanks to all of you who came to the shows, painted, were painted on, talked to me during and after the shows, Moshe, Dallas, Moggie, Jack much love and thank you for being apart of what ever it is we are creating. Kiss on the cheek and a tight hug, Go to the Art Gallery check out the paintings its much more exciting than reading this gay journal.

As Your Passing This Life - Mog Why?

July - 22 -2006

Last night we played a Sold Out show with Mogwai. A band that I have loved for a few years now, so you can imagine how excited I was when I heard we had been invited to play main support. The venue had called us earlier in the day before the show to let us know they thought it was going to be a rough crowd and that it would be best not to have a painter for this show so I was expecting the worst and a few beer bottles thrown at my head. We arrived at the venue and Mogwai’s tour manager was really nice letting us have an hour to sound check and giving us heaps of room for our equipment. Were not exactly the smallest band in the world, so I was expecting that we would barely fit on the Zoo’s stage so this was a pleasant surprise. Mogwai had replaced all the venues gear with all new equipment and there was lots of it. The sound system, the desks even the fold back desk was just incredible what was even cooler is that they let us use it all and well it just sounded so so big and crystal clear too (of course this is Mogwai so you would only expect the best) much thanks to Mogwai. I was lucky enough to watch their sound check they looked really tired and later they told me they were feeling jet lagged and just needed to sleep. Anyway show time kicks off and we put our heads down and tried to play as tight as we could without really saying anything to the crowd. It was a very different energy to our normal shows its been a long time since we were the support band playing to someone else’s crowd but lucky for us nobody through anything at us and people cheered after each song which was refreshing as I expected the worst but Mogwai’s fan base are a real treat to play too. Then Mogwai came on and blew many kids away. I think their music captures the crossing of the next life. I see so much colour in them its so cool how they just exploded from the tiniest whisper shhhhhhh then KABOOM. Then pack up time and we were lucky enough to chat with Mogwai and I gave them all gifts Tin Toys and Bubble Gum Bubble blowers which put a smile on their faces, as you can see above. Actually it was amazing to meet these guys, they were so friendly to us considering how tired they were, really really cool guys. It nice when you met people who make the music you admire so much and they turn out to be as beautiful as the music they make. I was so privileged to have played with them. A must see band really like nothing else you’ll ever hear on this planet with no vocals needed their instuments say it all.

How much time do we have?

Monday - 17 - July

I guess that’s the question really? This is the title of a new song that at 11:50pm tonight just some how made complete sense to me. This song has no colour, as this song does not really exist. Well actually it does exist but not in the time you are reading these words. Im not sure that I’ve ever seen a song form in my head over an idea but be completely about everything and nothing at all at once with the opportunity to be so god damn colourful but also not at all.

Can only imagine? Blah blah blah blah

Most of the time I think that people say things that they don’t really believe in, I believe. I mean how do we really even know what we should be believing in?

You know I write these Trash journal entry’s at least once a week, but im always to afraid to upload them because #1 there are people waiting for me to say what I truly feel and sit eagerly with an axe #2 why would you care to read how I feel anyway? I’m just another one, just another form.

Our next tour is going to be full of colour, colour and more colour the only way to destroy numbers is with colour. So let’s paint. Everyone in the room must paint. For this occasion ive decided to bring back the songs that I saw colour in most that I created when I was younger Angel Flummox, Seeds and The chase. I’m not sure that after this tour we will ever play them again but it makes sense to me, to bring them back for now. The rest of this year is going to be life changing for me. I only hope it’s for the best, but I just can’t tell. I just can’t tell. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ : (

Good night you know some of us live inside our dreams.
The question is how much time do we have?

Date: Neither Here Or There.

Ever had one of those days were it feels like you have lived a whole year in one day?

Well today was one of those days for me. The colour of the day from when I awoke till me writing this note, is a colour ive never experienced before, it surrounds all the emotions in my body. Funny enough, I’ve actually felt, not happy but not upset just in the middle I guess, all day long I’ve been watching all these crazy things unfold in front of me. I’m not sure why im telling you this I just know I can feel something that I haven’t felt before so I really wanted to write about it. One of the things I realized is that it’s very important to “hold on to what you got” no matter how tired you are, and to somehow find a way to find a smile again and remember to appreciate the beautiful and supportive people that you have in your life. Lately my life has been a series of on going events that have been terrifying and extremely frustrating but also the most incredibly exciting things have been happening also which I am so grateful for. Maybe sometimes in life there needs to be a balance, like something shit has to happen for something good to offset or vicer versa. I guess im just trying to say that I really do appreciate the things that are in front of me right now. So many times especially over the last year ive told myself that I would give up my dreams because my dreams seem impossible to reach and ive met people that have seemed to have been able to so fucking easily attempt to take those dreams away from me and in those situations ive wanted to run away and leave them behind but I just cant do that, to many good people spending to much time, energy, money, tears and smiles to just let it all go, to those who want to take it so easily. This probably makes no sense to anyone but me. I do apologise ive just felt so much negativity of late and tonight I just saw so much hope and understood again why it is we do what we do with this band. Yes yes I am a looser and many may think I suck and am pretentious but I do all this for music because I love music so much. Music is the most understanding artwork that ive been able to find on this planet and I feel it’s worth my life. I may not be that good at creating it but sometimes i think that it doesn’t matter, as long as I feel it inside my soul and that I do so much (sorry you people are going to think im a nut case).

We had band practice today and we played some of the older songs, was a really good feeling to have those old memories from when I wrote those songs back in the room. I was playing and watching Andy, Amanda, Ellen and Wayne and thinking how amazing these people are and how they are able to bring me back to life and how grateful and lucky I am that they have chosen to go down this road with me cause honestly it’s been a very tuff time and they have all had to endure some really hard and stressful times with me with no financial gain what so ever. We haven’t had a lot of amazing success well not in the industry world as we have had no major backing and even when it seemed we may it was only going to break our pockets more and would only have led us to loose sight of what it was we came here to do in the first place, the success that I have gained has been in the eye’s of our audience and the appreciation we get from people when we play these songs, for some people I’ve met that means nothing as they believe figures show you true success but I disagree. Financially I really don’t know how we are going to survive the next 6 months as the cost of touring with the next two tours with 9 people are insanely crazy especially for some of us but as most humans do, we will find a way. And just for the record I have never signed in my life, a contract to any record company other than to just distribute our cd “walls” if you have heard otherwise then please ask them to show you my signature on the contract because I bet my life there isn’t one.

In other news our next tour is about destroying robots and to do so we are going to feed on colour, lots and lots of it and I would love you all who attend to create the shows for us. Lets leave our mark cause one day in the not to distant future it will end and we will never see each other again, but at least we will still have the paintings to hold our energy, that gives me something to look forward to . Sweet dreams to all off you children I think I might paint a picture tonight it’s been such a long time since I’ve felt inspired to do so. See you soon

June - 20 -2006

Just People & Robots (The Robot Uprising Tour Comes To An End The destroy The Robots Tour begins)

Well it seems the uprising of the robots or humans, not sure who is trying to take over in the real world, what ever the real world is exactly, has sadly for me come to an end. The robots marched major cities, including inside shopping malls, metropolis played behind us every night, beautiful robot canvases were painted by the public, guitars hung from some ceilings, people sang the songs with me from all over, people brought their toys along and I pretty much smiled for an entire tour which is a first, oh and I saw colour at almost every show which was uplifting considering I spent months watching numbers and figures take the joy out of creating. It seems the message of this tour broke through quite well. I believe we played the best shows we have ever played on this tour night after night and I don’t think I’ve ever felt so much energy in a room after each show on a tour. Thank you for making me want to jump out of my skin every night. Because of dealings we have had in the last year I have made the choice at this stage to be a fully independent band which hasn’t been easy for us and in some way I guess that’s what these shows are all about a march for independence. I want to be able to create music and shows that are controlled by the band and their fans and friends, not by life’s commodities or the industry just because it looks right on paper. This new EP ‘Destroy The Robots’ production wise ironically was a label release not a Red Paintings release and I promise you when we get the funds to record the album inside my head ‘The Revolution Is Never Coming” it will be on our terms only so we can truly give you something that is just like feeling us live. It cost a lot of $ to travel around the country and everyday meant so much work driving all this gear to all these shows. Yes I'm a weirdo and yes the ideas we come up with make a lot of hard work but it was all worth it just to see the look on everyone’s faces and to be able to give something exciting back to those of you who appreciate something a little different and true. Financially it breaks our pockets but that will never stop me. A huge thank you to all of you for listening and joining in, who knows maybe one day there will be a revolution, your revolution. In one way it sucks to be back home. I really did not want this tour to ever end but on a positive note its nice to be home so we can begin creating the next part of the Trilogy, the ‘Destroy the Robots’ tour. I’m sure this next tour will hold a few surprises, I'm even thinking of bringing back Seeds, Angel Flummox and the Chase, will have to see what happens. Expect crucifixes, Robot heads blown up and the band completely entranced in numbers until we find a way to be free, hopefully by the end of the show you will notice a change. Not that I believe I could ever change the way the world is nor do I really want to? In this fragment of time it fits the moment. Aren’t you sick of seeing people living in fear? That’s what these real robot makers feed on. On a happier note we scored support for Scottish Art Rockers ‘Mogwai’ in July, finally we get to play next to a band I’ve loved for so so long. I’m not sure how we are going to fit on the stage hehehe.

I must say a huge thank you to Dallas for everything and I mean everything, our rodeo, keyboard player, robot walker, photographer and friend Eric Chan who will be leaving us to move back home to China and start working on is new band ‘forget the G” and to see his girlfriend, Moogie who created the robot masks and other goodies and painted up a storm on this tour including painting the wall at the Green Room shows (Canberra), but im sure we will see more of Moogie on the next tour, Joel the coolest and greatest friend I know in this industry and engineer, the painters, the robot makers, Vanlustbader, The Dawn Collective and the coolest Canberra band ever “First full of nothing” and the list goes on and on…

Things I couldn’t stop thinking about on this tour:
‘Nothing can stop me now cause I don’t care anymore”
Trent Reznor Lyrics. Radiohead and The arcade fire
Why I never want to eat on tour.
How we are all so different yet so the same.
Weather people are using the right colours on the canvas.
Why does it seem we are always driving the wrong way?
That I need a new green coat that doesn’t smell so yucky.
People’s faces after every show.
Why I have been getting up every single day lately with so much energy and determination, what does it all mean?

May - 27 -2006

Lazer lights Marching in Metropolis

Hello my name is Trash Mcsweeney. Why? Hmm because that’s all I am and that’s all I will ever been underneath the feet of the most beautiful people on this planet. Tonight was one of the most amazing and warm shows I have ever felt. Tonight proves that this Band is controlled by its people by its fans, we are all one. Look outside the walls and you see commodities and multiple amounts of brainwashing, Stand up for yourself, walk around inside robots made from curb side junk and there is your statement of truth . Now I understand more than ever how important this is and I will continue to work as hard as I can never sleeping, eating and screaming the revolution is never coming till my vocal chords disinigrate (or someone buys me a one way plane ticket to Iceland). I am blessed by my amazing band, crew and all of you that close your eyes and sing these songs with me. I don’t know why I wrote them It confuses me every day but I swear to you they come from the deepest thoughts and feelings in my soul. Tonight I saw so much color it’s been along time since I saw a rainbow. Thank you so so much.

The Robots come today!

Serial Number : xxxxxxx

.So what happens if you stop caring?

i only see numbers 3854732564323424343434374359432654365430986543098643086918204820948

Are you serious you once saw color in me?

April - 19 -2006

The Great Are Escaping

Painting Created by Adem Pavitt during 'The Great Escape Festival' Tour

Well our first tour to Sydney for 2006 was one of many surprises and let downs and magnificent triumphs. We all met at my house and calendar face (I live with our handsome cello player in case you didn’t know) at 2am and all crew stuffed our new tour van with all sorts of crazy things including Mary and Elliot there was no way we were going to go on this adventure with out those two kids that’s for sure. Lucky for me I was able to sleep till 9am then drive for a few hours until Newcastle (Cambridge Hotel) hit for show one. Great turn out and a huge mix thanks to Joel. Gig one seemed to be a success and we met lots of great people that had come to see us for the first time special hello to shannon. Lots of rain was falling from outside and the venue was leaking water from the ceiling in return gave our mixer an electric shock, he survived thank god! I was most excited to see adem our first ever painter fly up from Melbourne to join us for this weeks shows and as always he was in true form and created and captured all our colors with so much enthusiasim and energy.Ive been missing that for so long. I guess some painters just click and some don’t. Sleeps for all the kids and an early wake up for what I was hoping would be a repeat of 2005 BDO festival. We head of from 9pm to The Great Escape Festival. Arriving some time around 12ish. Load in thru artist entry and play a waiting game till show time. The stage area we are confirmed to play turns out to be an old army bunker with tables and chairs and no fans at all. I knew this certainly wasn’t going to be BDO and it worried me I think my expectations for a grand show had fallen thru the hole’s in my shoes so I sat back and watched our gear get triple handled for no real reason by event organizers and im thinking what is going on here? So the afternoon moves slowly I keep visiting our stage area to watch other acts and it seems not many people are watching the Acts on our stage so I figure this one will be a very small and intimate show but of course fun times and im loving being out of Brisbane and hanging with our crew of great people. Venue spends half an hour sorting out our gear and taking it slowly to the stage area and we begin setting up, costumes on and all canvases out the front, colors ready to be thrown and Mary and Elliot stand above the speakers. To my surprise we walk out to a stage that greets us with alot of loud vocal chords, smiles from all of us as we have been waiting for this moment for some time and then as the pope said not so long ago' IT IS AS IT WAS'. The room was filling quickly so I asked people kindly to rid the chairs and tables and out the venue they went. Playing pickles for me was a moment I will never forget I was sweating my but cheeks off and feeling so overwhelmed and happy and sad all at once tears running down my face I noticed that the audience in front of me were begining to create the colors of our frustration’s and adem seemed to be the conductor on the space ship. By mid set I was so hot I thought I was going to pass out. People were sweating all over and the place had turned into a sauna. In redneck by the end I thought it was over for me as I felt my eyes went back wards and my body wanting to give in. Two bottles of water over my head and no more green jacket kept me alive until mad world and then the end. This show was special to all of us as we were the band no body would have thought would have really cared to see and it seemed that something special was happening within those 60mins. Thanks to all off you who came to smile, paint. Jump around and sing with us the revolutions never coming Id say this was the second best show I have ever experienced in my life and I owe it all to you people. Pack up times and we finish the evening watching sigor ros, such a fresh sound I almost could smell Iceland in his voice. The band and crew retire for show 3. The Sydney show, well this was a funny one we role up at the venue and there’s a small stage and pretty bad PA I plug my guitar in and a guy sitting down tells me to go fuk myself, im like no thank you then he gives me a few more words of wisdom and I decide to mute my guitar. 2 mins later the guy falls of his chair and smacks his head down on the wooden floor I witness the whole thing I just stood there looking at his 70 year old body. Bar staff pick him up and send him home. Anyway I decided to play a lot of older and new songs for this show, the ones I have left behind which is nice. I wrote a new song called ‘some are dead that fall’ which for me was a highlight to play im really loving the drums on this one so simple but so nice really reminds me of winter and the cold cold breeze when I was in china. We were lucky to have a Sydney band called 'dead inside the chrysalis' open up for us, they were crazy kids and were really nice to us all and let us stay with them which was fun. End of show we pack the gear up again, im so over paking that tour van. We sit back and spend sometime looking at adems paintings from the shows, wow they really are something I really love his work and the way he captures our music we really need to get him up here for the Brisbane shows so you can all see what I mean. Sleep child zzzzzzzzzz

Early wake up good byes to adem and James and 13hrs driving with crazy people we make it home only loosing my blankets and 2 pillows and to our suprise we catch 'pickles' being debuted on Triple J which feels strange i guess. Im blessed to be with these people and crew in this band and I can’t wait for the robots tour its going to be so much fun…

1:40 am during tuesday

Look through my things and figure me out.

Three guitars hanging from the ceiling by their head stocks, all plugged into separate amps and separate delay pedals and loop stations. Go to each guitar and create something new on each whilst delaying the sound created and also looping it at the same time.

Guitar (1) I choice to sing “ring a ring a rosie” into the pick up.

Guitar (2) I choose to run my fetus in a jar along the strings using it like a slide but picking notes

Guitar (3) I choose to kick the shit out off and smash my robot toys against it

What will you choose?

Once they combine a lovely sweet symphony grab the microphone which is also connected to a delay and scream the words ‘The virgin Mary was not a white woman her skin was black you dip shit”.

Once you combine this lovely sweet symphony hit a cymbal three times and run all sounds created and sung in reverse then turn of delays and let fade out.

Feburary - 10 -2006

Trash's Anti - Love Ballad For The 21st Century

.

Pickles

Locked inside my dear
Damn you lost the key
Don’t know how you’ll dream
Liiving here with me

Another rainy day
your Heart slides down the walls
you climb the stairs i made
To find nothing here at all.
You climb the stairs ive made to find nothing here

And I cant go on like this tonight
All these empty souls wont fill your life
and I cant go on like this tonight
iI you want me to save my love for you I just cant.

You choose. Im in fear
Of lonliness and loss
Commitments everything im so damned your gone
Commitments everywere im so damn

And I cant go on like this tonight
All these empty souls wont fill your life
and I cant go on like this tonight
if you want me to save my love for you I just cant.

Go on
I just cant go on
I just cant go on x 12

These Soldiers bring our hearts to this war so say no more.
These soldiers wont tear our hearts no more - damn this damned war.

A memory in 2005

Looking back on this year (2005) and im in awe. It was a dream to be a part of the shows we have created and to have the opportunity to spend time with some of the most wonderful people living on this planet today. It was a year full of touring, playing music and creating colors, break ups, new friends and finding some very exciting new toys. Am I happy? Im not sure. Okay so im going to do this month by month as highlights and lows for this year. I’m sure ill miss lots of things that happened but that’s life I guess. Here is some off the memories that I can recall. Sorry if some off you find this offensive. xx

WARNING - Entry contains terrible grammer and foollish spelling mistakes enter at own risk may not understand anything Trash is saying.

January – I wake up next to Lola. It’s a new year and I start drawing up plans and goals and keeping my fingers crossed tightly. OMG were on the Big Day Out but not on the local stage, were on the Green Stage. I’ve never been so terrified but so exhilarated by one show. The hours spent by the band and I preparing for that one show was incredible. I couldn’t sleep the night before; one minute crying with excitement then with fear that we would be terrible and no one would care to see us. I listened to Thom York and PJ Harvey. We had an interesting conversation and as always they were right about everything. We arrive at the Big Day Out and to my surprise we walk out to a tent filled with thousands of people and I could see them running in from all over the festivals grounds. It was a dream and still the most amazing show I think I will ever feel. Thank you to Josh for pounding your soul out for me even though you felt otherwise. I was lucky enough to spend the whole day hanging out with my' Virgin Mary' and some very nice and interesting people like James and Louis from the 'Spree' which was nice. January was also the start to kitty being our full time painter and painting a storm of emotion and color damn we went through some crazy trips and tours and colors with that girl, all good I would hope to think. We also kick off of what I believe was one of most important and best shows of the year for us “The Alice in Wonderland show” it was the best turn out we had had so far in Brisbane and I was excited to dedicate and create music around such an amazing writer and idea, C L Lewis. Emotions spark in January and bass notes start to frustrate me more than ever and then im singing ‘dead adults’ in my head every moment of everyday and I know a change is inevitable but im patient and I wait for the right moment. Or do I? A few days after BDO and we get a call from Evermore’s management. Hey do you guys want to play support for us? A gift arrives.

February – OMG we are going to china not only do I go there but I get to tour there playing my songs in a country I’ve admired for so long and screamed for them to bring there revolution to us sooner or later. This trip changed my life in so many ways I should write a book about it.. It was nice spending time with Lola also in such a foreign land we were having so much fun and she took good care of me. I don’t do so well in big cities with a million buildings and a trillion people trying to rip my arms of or rip my money off or even send me love. What moved me the most about china was the years of culture and respect for the things in this world we would most probably take for granted. In china when you marry the one you love they decorate your room with the color red because it gives you prosperity and good luck so there you go maybe we aren’t that bad if we can give good things to the ones that love us! On the last day of the Chinese tour I sat in a restaurant looking at all the people in their crazy lives and beautiful faces and I couldn’t help myself but cry cry cry inside and out. I was so sad and felt so lost didn’t want to come back home, didn’t want to face my band and all the struggles and hard work and sacrifices that go with it, didn’t want to come back to Brisbane, didn’t want to face the truth of my relationship. I’m a coward and so I missed the plane to Iceland and back to redneck land I come. With a suitcase full of plastic toys and childlike memories. The plane ride back was long.

March – The morning of returning back home I received terrible news my good Chinese friend Eric Chan had lost his father. Such a sad time I was feeling his pain and had spent time with him in Hong Kong while he was visiting his sick father. Poor Eric I think his family had run out of solutions to help their father and modern medicine, well modern medicine runs on the commodities of life most times and your favorite pop song of the week. The only advice I could give to Eric was please find a fantastic Naturopath and start feeding your dad with some natural medicines and an alternative way of approaching the illness. I almost lost my mother to cancer when I was 17 and doctors gave her 3 months to live. My mother’s will to live educated her and she found a positive and natural way to fight the blackness from within and now she’s well and alive. Pretty much straight of the plane one practice with the band in Oz and we were doing sold out shows with Evermore. The first show with Evermore and Faker was strange. I filled the stage with all my new toys and gave gifts to the trp fans from china. I pretty much lost the plot every nigh.t I had a new fire burning with in me and a message so clear to speak. By the last show my eyes were going back inside my head and at the end of the last show with Evermore I believe a guitar accidentally went through the venues mirror ball. They were not very happy charged me for repairs and said we won’t be playing their venue again and I was like hmm rock and roll really is a dirty word. It was nice to feel the energy of kids painting again I‘d really missed that part of our shows while I was away. End of show we were rushed out of the venue. Packing the tour van I ask Ellen, Ellen do you have the car keys for the van? Ohh no I left them on the table in the middle of the venue. Disaster! We ere 2 hours from home keys are lost and we can’t lock the van. Word spreads like hot like fire in the wind and some friendly people who had come to the show start offering us their houses to spend the night at but we decline. Lola and I spend the whole night in the van waiting for a lock smith to come and make a new key at 9am. No rest the next day back into practice and a few days later we are in the studio recording what was hoping to be finally my brain on the disk, just like the paintings on my walls and I had decided that this cd was going to be dedicated to Eric Chan and his family. I chose modern music in Brisbane to record it. I guess simply because Dave Leonard (owner) was the only person in Australia that was interested in working with us and had actually gave me the time of day and sincerely listened to our previous release ‘Rain’ and gave me productive criticism and the advice I needed. I sent rain to pretty much every label across Australia the only other person that was willing to offer me advice was John Watson (Eleven) who is an amazing. So in the recording studio we went. It was a fucked up and a beautiful time and I was pulling my hair out all over the days we were recording. I could though really feel it coming together just how I expected and was so happy with the choice of songs. I decided at the end that ‘portrait of a dead soul’ was a nice finish before the intergalactic tour. I pretty much finalized all the lyrics to most of those songs the day (wee hours of the morning) before I recorded them was so inspired that week it all just made so much sense to me. I could hear lots of whispers around, some negative some positive but I was lucky enough to have my amazing uncle Moshe around me to support me and push me through. It was nice to have it finished and oh yes I was thinking it really is a mad world so what was to come for myself and my circus band? Had we wrapped up a gift for you to see and hear? End of this month I had decided that we needed to change the way the bass notes were being played and the band needed to be revived by a new energy and new way of thinking so low and behold walking through the door I met the sex! A girl with smiles and strange music taste we battle on for yet another day. My good friend Ben Cottrell takes a trip to the forest with us and out comes new photos. Kitty paints the cover art work and after staring at it for hours on end I decided its prefect!

Apri/May – Our new EP, Walls hits stores across the country with pre-order sales and lucky for me Radio like what they hear and airplay begins for Walls. I must say a huge thank you to skinnys for there support to us even when other record stores were having a bitch about us they pretty much backed me up and all my ideas and gave us front shop window displays free of charge and held the most incredible packed out in store that I will never forget a very exciting experience I am so great full for their love and support thank you Simon and thank you Steve!. So we kick the tour for walls and the Virgin Mary took on the Alien for the battle of the year. I spent endless hours putting together the craziest visuals I could find and was lucky enough to come across what I believe could be an authentic autopsy of a one of the alien’s found from the 1947 Roswell crash in New Mexico. ‘Walls’ was the first release id had with a major and an indie label at once. I was expecting big things cause I guess I thought wow with Sony/bmg’s name on it all then maybe it means like were so cool we sell thousands of cd’s and be like all big and stuff. No this road it’s never easy and I learnt that we still were going to have to take each step at a time not missing any on the way up. We sell cds because we tour and tour and play and play and for bands like us it’s the only way I guess because bands like us will hopefully have longevity so it’s a harder and more complicated road. Were I guess as your one hit wonders or POP dream bands that may mime there shows or fuk rock this is fashion bands (or hair) with bad lyrics and rip of every other band that was ever unique and existed, only last 6 months to a year or so sell um…. I forgot what I was trying to say here hmm any way lets move on. A new theme show and ideas had been racing around in my head like a tornado for some time. We all put in (including Kitty) so much effort to put together the ‘Andy Warhol’ show to kick of this next tour. I really wanted to present him to the audience in a very exciting but refreshing way mixing the pallets of The Red Paintings and Warhol I was so sick at that gig (couldn’t shake the illness for weeks after this show) my voice was fucked and I was so angry after the first two songs Id ripped out 4 strings from my piece of wood and had ran of the stage. To hold my emotions together Wayne soothed the Tantrum as always Eric had my guitar ready to go again I focused and the rest of the set was a dream peoples heads shot over monitors (Warhol’s 15 mins of fame thank you to ann. xx), the most incredible artists to ever come out of Brisbane, paintings, the most unique art works, human canvases a packed room of sweaty kids I was extremely exhausted after that show but the next day was practice again so no time to breathe and touring we keep on doing for the next 3 months. I invited a beautiful band from Canada called ‘The Winks” (which Jacinta had introduced me to) on the Australian tour we did lots of dates played what seemed every possible town, fought a bit and had fucked up times, created the most kick arse paintings at least 2 of us coughed blood on the tour actually on this tour it seemed there were always two kids sick all the time throughout the whole camp, we had stuff stolen, speeding fines. In Adelaide I became very ill I sat in bed for 48 hours coughing blood and thinking god my body feels like it’s about to combust. I was so overwhelmed by how friendly and helpful my band were to me as always Dallas, Ellen, Wayne, Moshe couldn’t do enough and were pumping me with pills for that nights show I was so grateful for all their love its nice to be in a band with people that actually care about you as well. I hate canceling shows due to ill bodies so I went to the Adelaide show which had a full room lucky for us (not) ? played terrible spend the hours set staring at the floor wanting to collapse in a heap. I think it was the only show on the tour was we didn’t sell even one CD so I guess we rocked the house. The Winks were awesome that night and were very well received which is nice. You must be thinking to yourself this would suck why go on tour? Hmm I don’t know sometimes I just don’t know but I can tell you I’m always on the edge for that one show that I feel in my bones I can take an audience to wonderland and back with Wayne aka calendar face and then not one of those bad things or crazy happenings really take place and it makes an entire 4 week tour of frustrations into an important memories and I can laugh at it and look upon as a learning experience and so I did. Makes me feel alive. A small break to mend emotions and gather up how we felt and it turns out the branches on the tree were falling of and had been for some time and before we knew it I had drummers coming in every second day to try fill the void again and that’s about the time we give young Eleanor musical notes and an Itenary. This time of the band was very hard for me and I found myself loosing it in everything that I was doing and there was nothing that I could do but just feel numb I hoped to get though it and see hope and new colors during the course of the next days ahead. My relationship with the only girl I will ever love with my entire heart was booking plane tickets. We tried something different for the tours on the ‘’walls’ release. We hired a PR company all the sudden we were hammered with interviews all day long and for the first time had been hit in pretty much all street press, newspapers and radio possible in Australia from the month of the release of the walls EP. To our surprise walls had been received extremely well to the public and press. We were getting mostly positive reviews and triple J after 2 weeks of spot rotation had moved walls to high rotation up to 5 - 6 times a day for months and we were sitting in the net 50 top 3 for weeks including the Air charts. Live studio interviews with Robbie buck and Rosie beaten added to the excitement and people were coming to our shows across the land. It was a surprise to enter into a new town and have people yelling for walls oh god what would a little band like us do with out support from major radio stations? become even more poor on tour I guess. We shot the clip on the tightest budget ever the clip was post poneed and didn’t hit TV till after the release and I had bad energy’s with the director no fun thank god I knew when to bite my lip cause if I didn’t then there would be no clip. Man I seem to have to bite my lip way to many times. I’m surprised I have any left people are so funny especially the ones who think without them the world wouldn’t go on, strange those sorts of people spit in my face and rip of my equipment. I hope they enjoy my PA and my effects pedals lucky for me my best friend owns a music store hahhhahhahahha…..During this time a new painter joins the circus a young lady named Lu –Jane actually she even moves into our house and she begins to create a new journal for the band. Something about this girls paintings that I relate to so well. Lu joins us on many shows and tours also.

June/July – It never stops I get the crazy idea that Mark Ryden has to become a stage show and then its all on again I don’t think ive really slept in the last 5 years. But I must say lucky for me my band and our fans/friends are very supportive of my ideas and collaborate and brain storm with me. Ellen and Wayne are a dream to work with in all aspects of this art piece and we seem too able to make it work well. I hope we do. I also must add that there are many of people that have helped pull all these creative ideas together like Jacinta I don’t think ill ever find such an amazing photographer to work with she has a true unique talent and she doesn’t even realize how fucking amazing she is, there is so many creative solos that have been apart of this band and all its ideas ive seemed to have been very lucky to attract the most creative people, the painters the set designers the musians. The satisfaction of creating something unique together as a team. Sometimes it feels like im in one big happy close knit creative Pluto and sometimes not. And im so so so appreciate of all of you and all of your help to helping me find my dreams and turning them into reality im so lucky to have met you and to have had you in my life I thank you so much so so much. During these months and maybe earlier, relationships were slipping on tour you learn many things about your fellow band friends and crew and to think that everyone is always going to get along and agree with each other is a crazy crazy thought. So we suffered a huge blow well for me it was a nightmare and I knew it was going to leave me numb for along time and that’s when auditions had started I hated this so much it just seemed wrong and I just wanted to run away from all of it and never see any one ive know in Brisbane again but that fire kicked in as emo as that sounds and I pushed on thanks to lovely letters and emails from amazing people that seemed to sincerely appreciate out music and our way of thinking so it was for you that I didn’t kick the bucket. Being in a band like this one for me is very trying the sacrifices needed to fullfill and nuture it seem unfair but without them i wouldnt be writing this to you.

September/October – Of we go short break one day and then the next national tour. This tour scared the shit out of me I was so worried we were gong backwards but I went down the road with what I had ive done it before so I guess ill do it again and gave it everything I had. This was going to be the ‘Mad World’ tour and a mad world tour it was. This was the first tour that we worked with a big booking agency. So all the shows and god there were lots of shows had been completely contracted, riders were amazing yay and things were becoming professional and smooth and the band protected. So now we could breathe a little easier but as always there was so much to do and I was starting to burn out so I asked my good friend Dallas to join the band full time as our tour manager and she excepted walking into something she have never done before thank god I asked because she turned out to be the best tour manager/ manger we could have ever had. she held this band together bye tight ropes when all my red wool was breaking as far as im concerned she saved the red paintings during this tour. I did not enjoy playing 80% of the time I missed josh way to much and I couldn’t hear my dynamic any more I found it hard to communicate so it was very hard for me to be playing my soul to someone I couldn’t truly give myself to musically. We suffered but I hope we learnt so much from this tour and im so glad the people that were on this tour went on it, it couldn’t not have been any other way. Oh and having Matt Handley on the road with us was a dream for ive been loving his songs for the longest time now he probably doesn’t realize it but he helped us get through this tour so much he saved us in so many ways and lived up to be the true person I always thought he was from his amazing songs. I love him with all my heart such a beautiful and passionate man. Back to the tour anyway we hit Vic shows then the gossiping starts to be heard from all over 7 people on the road getting crazy. I hated this and I wanted out and so did everyone else not sure how but the trip to the Great Ocean road and watching the sea saved us. The fresh air filled us with new life and we pushed on again to Adelaide and somehow finished the tour with smiles on all our faces. I think in the end we were very grateful that we could have experienced such amazing and different times in our lives with people that at the start of this we barley knew and even thought we may have had nothing in common with we still found light in each other to get along which was nice I guess. Returning from that tour was very hard my room now had lost all its energy and Lola was gone forever I sat staring at the walls for the next few days just crying continuously I felt completely fucked and lonely and just really wanted to hug my blueberry again but love was never enough. I kept trying to write new songs but nothing would come out and it was scaring me. I thought maybe I will never be able to write a song I can enjoy again and had come to the conclusion that my inspiration and my heart and my soul had been packed in a suitcase and send south. Moshe finds india and it tastes sweeter then honey.

November- Our agency kept booking shows and so support for Grinspoon was next sold out shows to lots of beer drinking 4xxx kids was loads of different fun. I think I know why we gained a lot of fans in Toowoomba which was nice but I think I really annoyed some people with bad taste in redneck jokes it was nice to have Amanda back me up and tell them to go truck themselves. This one was a month of change and I decided on the inevitable to say goodbye to ellie im pretty sure she wanted out anyway. I spent all this month jamming with one drummer in particular still the same scenario just couldn’t get the drums to gel. Then we auditioned a boy called Andy Davis. I have drummed with so many people on the song ‘streets fell in to my window’ and no one could come close to josh’s drums in that song ellie had no idea how to play it and with her in the band there were so many songs that could not be played. Andy walks in first song full band ‘streets’ completely nailed, it was amazing and it was fresh and in time and my arms were not strumming out of time any more it all felt so natural. I saw the entire band look at me after that jam and they all smiled and we all knew we have found someone very special and talented then the quest was on 16 songs in pretty much 2 weeks. With only 2 full bands rehearsal’s and he pulled it off. Right now we are playing the best shows we have every played ive always thought drummers make and break bands now it feels like im back on track again I feel so excited about the new year about the new songs im writing, and about writing new songs and about giving you all the most creative shows I possibly can. First show with Andy was at the zoo in Brisbane for a charity for homeless people we had Andy come in and play only the last 3 songs. I don’t think anyone knew what was going on but when we played streets fell into my window at the end. It was like an explosion went off inside off me. I swear I have never before had a song revive me as much as it did that night. The crowd’s response at the end said it all. There will be no on encores children. This month also seemed to be the start of many deaths to close friend’s family members which create a strange feeling in the air. I realize about this time also that it’s time for me to take a new quest and start planning to destroy the robots but how? James heads up from Melbourne and moves into our house for the holidays. It’s nice to have a friend close to me.

December – All year id always been thinking it would have been nice to have an epic show dedicated to Tim Burton’s amazing films something that was like walking into a dream. The end of the year is here and I really needed to end the year with the best possible show we could put together I knew I was going to loose cash and people were telling me that I was silly to put this show on. I listened to all who spoke to me and decided this show will happen no matter what. With the most amazing prop designers and friends willing to help and people I could trust nothing could stop us. And so we did it. Huge sets, graveyards a beautiful theatre, the electric spurs, amazing people to share my dreams and colors with and to cap it off all tickets sold out. A few weeks before this show I decided Willy Wonka had to displace 5 Golden Ttickets in stores for kids to find. I placed adverts in the paper and decorated the streets with info on the tickets and were to find them. I wanted to give those 5 winners a Xmas show that would make them smile, so I asked them all what they would like for Xmas and tried my best to make it reality. Lucky for Charlie bucket (Rhys Clarke) he wished for free entry to all our shows in 2006 because he can’t afford to attend all our shows so I gave him a VIP pass. I’m sure we will get to know each other well over the next few months. At the end of the the Xmas show the stage crammed with people singing mad world with us whilst snowed fell from above. It felt nice and warm. Not sure if it made me feel whole again. During this time I wrote a song called “Pickles’ it’s been described as Trash’s “Anti-love ballad for the 21st century”. It was the perfect song for me to write at this time. To me it’s a portrait.

And how do I end my new years? I get off my arse and fly to Jacinta Moore in Melbourne and spend the week with her and seeing family. I realize that I was going out with a saint. Cinema love.

2006 © Pickles

Other things that happened in 2005, Begin planning to destroy the robots, lots of amazing art works are created at our shows, Adem paints with us again, mistakes, Billy Corgan, im a looser, Manager-Scott, Realizations, Towoomba, to many broken strings, not enough dreaming, Donald's sensual stage dancing, Joel the Cog kid, Tears & Smiles, Rogue Traders, A Bubble machine, a meat show, Solo show that seemed more like a party, bad and good engineers, broken toys, deniel and his workshop save me every time.

2007

A new year. A new concept. A new color. A new reason.

The great escape, no kissing, working harder, to much touring, overseas, war, donnie darko, lots of robots, the last supper, Virgin Mary, saints, a new van, a new photographer, a new guitar, new geisha’s, Dallas, the drums I’ve always dreamed for, no sleep, bad hair, battles, all ages shows, a male resident painter, more mistakes, one meal a day, cancer, birth, Pay the bills with my guitar, lots of contracts, lots of meetings, rsi, more flights, broken mirrors, robots, lots of recording, no revolution and what ever else falls into place.

From the begining...

ADAM PAVITT:
STAGE NAME: ADEMSKI PAVIROTTI
PAINTINGS SIGNED: ADEM

When it all began with The Red Paintings I had an artist's block; I had not painted in months. I told a good friend of my frustration (Trash). He just happened to be the singer in a very exciting band. The Red Paintings had been experimenting with holographic props and alien abductions on stage. It came to him in a flash "You should paint pictures while we play" he said. I was ready to try anything....... as I walked on stage at Geelong's Barwon Club to a full house, my nerves began to twitch .The music was already pumping, as I had rocked in late. I gave my nods to the band members who smiled. I spied my set-up area with colors laid out and four pieces of chip paper stuck to the wall with masking tape .Grabbing two brushes the music began to pulse through me as a conductor must feel when in full flight with an orchestra. The brushes became splashing, smashing, rolling drum sticks. They became a tenderly drawn violin bow. Then they became the poetic melodies of a true friend transformed into color. Songs about Hiroshima, sacred hearts, stack hats, wasted souls and seeds were all flowing undisturbed from band to brushes. The set had the one hundred or more patrons transfixed. A lot of them had come for The Meanies. Yet it was The Red Paintings' time to shine. As the last song built into a massive wall of sound I was so lost in the moment I missed a silver guitar being smashed to pieces. Someone ran to the stage and asked what I was doing with picture that was dripping down the wall. "I will be keeping this one ", was my answer.

My first painting in months was the most free, exciting thing I had ever created. I had heard of fellow artists making love on canvas, a twist of heated emotion, this had to be close to this type of experience. I had only put brush to canvas in between songs, so somehow it felt like the music was my puppeteer. At the same time I was free to dance, jump, paint with my hands, feet, hair. So the performance seemed very much my own as well as the band's. There was the sound engineer, the photographer, the reviewer and now the painter keeping a record of The Red Paintings' path into the music history books.

These days when I paint with The Red Paintings I am usually catching the band in the middle of a tour. It’s a special time because the band is buzzing on the adrenaline of a new venue and a new crowd. Meanwhile I'm amped on singing most of the words to myself as well as hearing new material. That more often than not blows my mind. I guess I do work to a bit of a formula these days... I usually work form light to dark colors; leaving the last few songs to define the more linear aspects. By this time I am totally immersed in the picture, covered in sweat and paint. The only breaks I take are in between songs because I want the music to dance through me onto the canvas. Besides canvas I have painted on people, foam, blinds, and cardboard to name a few materials.

I've worked on live pieces in sizes from A4 to 2.5m x 3.5m. I continue to look for new ways of applying the paint - brooms, rollers, old ATM cards, foam sponge and good old fashioned throwing all feature. I also like to look for interesting ways of interacting with the canvas whether that is spinning it, shaking it, rubbing against it or doing a somersault through it. There must be infinite possibilities I'm sure. The fun is finding them. Besides all this crazy performance art I'm really proud to be part of a band that keeps their expression pure. With lines like-
-Your uniform doesn't impress me-
-I'm so tired of us wasting our souls-
-In a world full of negatives you'll find happiness-

I feel when I'm amongst all the emotion of a live performance that the songs are truthful, insightful, angry, outraged, awestruck, delicate, vulnerable, compassionate and also containing sweet love.....So the story continues, and I know that every time I paint with The Red Paintings the room is going to be so full of energy that the roof may just lift off. The amazing thing is that I don't think anyone would notice because we would all be so transfixed in the moment.

Cheers, Adem

Dec - 6 - 2005

THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE XMAS SHOW - WHO WILL FIND THE GOLDEN TICKETS?

I, Trash Mcsweeney, have decided to allow five children - just five, mind you, and no more - to visit my factory this year. These lucky five will be shown around personally by me, and they will be allowed to see all the secrets and the magic of my factory. Then, at the end of the tour, as a special present, all of them will be given enough chocolate toes and Sweets to last them for the rest of their lives! So watch out for the Golden Tickets! Five Golden Tickets have been printed on golden paper, and these five Golden Tickets have been hidden behind regular admission tickets purchased at usual outlets. These five Golden tickets can only be found at Skinnys, Rocking Horse or through theredpaintings.com. And the five lucky finders of these five Golden Tickets are the only ones who will be allowed to visit my factory and see what it's like now inside!

Good luck to you all, and happy hunting

{Signed Trash Mcsweeney.}

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Time:Its about this time i decide i dont want to _ _ _ _ anymore just press send i m going to miss you xx.

"lovers: we are only brave enough to say what we mean when its too late to make a difference or you're not the person i want you to be & i love you need not be mutually exclusive" BB.

Air
All I Need

All I need is a little time,
To get behind this sun and cast my weight,
All I need is a peace of this mind,
Then I can celebrate.

All in all there's something to give,
All in all there's something to do,
All in all there's something to live,
With you ...

All I need is a little sign,
To get behind this sun and cast this weight of mine,
All I need is the place to find,
And there I'll celebrate.

All in all there's something to give,
All in all there's something to do,
All in all there's something to live,
With you ...

Nov - 3 - 2005

New beginings..

.

Once again the changes are filling in the gaps and im listening to what every one is saying to me very closely an hoping im making the right decisions for all of us. I don’t mind fuking this up every now and again so that we learn what we need to from these mistakes but I can’t fuck this up any more we have to get it right this time and we have to seal it and then run away to the sun. We will be recording a new cd very very soon we are about to demo the songs shortly and decide on the right tracks. In my heart I want to record destroy the robots, the revolutions never coming and dead children just have to see what happens I guess. Lots and lots of lost notes and words floating around in my head but I can’t seem to capture them all on the one planet not sure why hopefully something makes sense of all of this before it’s to late. I’m collecting as many toy robots as I can if you have any cool robots you would like to give or sell to me id love to have them please email me trash@theredpaintings.com and send love. 10 shows left for us till the end of the year plus we are going to finish this year with a epic Tim Burton xmas show I think this will be our best ever the sets are going to be incredible. After this year we wont be playing many shows till late next year so please come say hi before we hide away...

I would like to sincerley thank you for coming to our shows I've had the most amazing experiences with you singing the songs togther its been fun especially mad world wow what a beautiful and power song that we can share. "Hello good bye my friends I hope you had the time of your life, cant give you much but my soul is yours take it and replace the trash Its a mad world iIs a mad world enlargen your world its a mad world...

Oct - 28 - 2005

We are just another cockroach going out to battle.

Were do I start and were do you begin? You’re traveling around and around inside your head and watching the crows dart from the road to the fence line they watch closely watching in anticipation hoping you break the skull of the road kill so they may eat the brains inside or the flesh with in the rib cage. Nice isn’t it a creature to clean up the old meat… Yeah so we took of on a mad world tour and mad it was. I miss the open fields to each city and I miss the sound of “streets”I miss joel, mandy kane and I miss Sir Handley. I can’t tell you that im happy and I can’t really tell you that im sad but I can tell you that I know you know what I know and that most of you choice to ignore what it is you know is right. I was over whelmed by the amount of emails you have sent to me, I guess most times I think we suck but from what I hear from some of you it’s sounding great and you are appreciating the travels to your towns which is nice to know and makes me want to smell flowers again. Hmm yes well im a different person now you see all the time wasted and the frustration and the ignorance and the heart break has made me emotionless and dull so to the cave of time I go and lets hope I can’t find something in the darkness. I must tell you I have come to the conclusion your best to beat your wife and rape your children and spit on people because there skin is a different color I heard if you do all this successfully god will grant you eternal life. Sweet as hey grab a another beer because aint life just sweet? P.S I’m calling our next release Destroy the Trash I think it has a nice ring to it don’t you? Oh if im wasting your time then whisper softly and I will lay back in the sea of thought and evaporate to the deep blue colors of the _ _ _. Ha yeah rock mate fuk yeah play redneck again fukin rock mate fuck yeah! So the question is what sort of band do you want us to be now? Weve left it pretty open do you think its time to pigeon hole us?

Look into my eyes and they will tell you everything.

I have lots id like to say im sure you will get to hear it all in the space between Hong and Hong Kong.

Oct - 25 - 2005

She bakes me blueberry pie on sundays

.

Yes we are back home from lots of shows, driving for ever and broken hearts Opps! I mean strings. Is it nice to be back? Well the worst part of touring is coming home. Let’s go overseas now please good sir I don’t want to wait to long because then I will have to think. Shh don’t tell any one but Ellen’s violin playing on this tour was incredible and gave me the warm fuzzy’s many many times and the paintings? Lu jane caught my heart falling out to many times. xx Ill be back soon to tell you my secrets untill then look up-wards. hmm i wish i was inside that little red box right now...

Time : The last brush stroke

From The Perspective Of A Red Painter On A Mad World Tour.

Two weeks can merge into an eternity and such a short moment at the same time. I think time stopped when this began - there is no way to measure experience, or love, or music, or heART, in mere minutes, hours, days, or weeks. Sometimes running away with the circus is the best thing you can do. A beautiful wonderful chaotic colourful emotional musical fanciful circus. And we've found the circus never ends; it continues to travel, bringing joy and happiness and experience; and inside it everything is tumbling and painting their faces and dancing and falling in love and performing and laughing and stumbling and putting their heads in the lions mouth and climbing in cannons, dancing on the back of beauty and walking on a tightrope, wondering if tonight will be the night they fall? But at the end of the day the circus is a family who would be lost without one another and the show always goes on and the colours don't dissolve and theres always something to catch you at the bottom. There's always a bucket of paint to fall into when you feel like your fading away. I tend to live my life in short moments - planning for long term is uncomprehendable in my mind - i'm indecisive and everything is always
changing andi seem to be malleable to that.....nothing stays for long-term...it just seems that that is how my life unfolds.... SO often this year i've stopped and thought just how surreal my life has become. How utterly surreal and wonderful and lucky and absolutely amazing the things that are happening around me are.I'm constantly blown away by the wealth of the beauty that surrounds me-these amazing souls that are staying longer in my life than i'd ever expect, and its all happened so soon.It fascinates me how quick things can change - from a small town life , immersed in a constant sea of negativity, to swimming through an enormity of fucking beautiful BEAUTIFUL love..i can't think of any other adjectives to describe it, so i'll continue to repeat myself. I often feel utterly unworthy and i wonder how this all happened because it appears that it all fell from the sky and i'm constantly marvelling at the little pieces of blue and ebony and sparkle that are embedded into my hair and hands and clothes and shoes...floating around in this amazing presence, i feel lucky every second, even though sometimes i forget it. And so here i am now, in Geelong, anticipating yet another night of paint covered skin and being able to bleed my soul onto the canvas just that little bit more, feeling the music-heARTS of 5 wonderful souls replace my insides and i just survive on what you and i creAte . I don't think there's anything better in my life right now than this, i don't think there has ever been anything better than this. You've all taught me so much and given me so much amazing opportunity ; just to grow and create and exist and pour my heart and thoughts out in a way i never thought i could; shown my the way to keys for doors i thought were far too large; and yes i still feel small when i step inside but i think i found the bottle that says 'drink me' and what i'm drinking i think is pure love&art; pure beauty; pure music; pure soul; truth. It may seem corny but i can't describe it any other way. i've never felt so complete. and i don't think words suffice to say how much i love you all for this. You've shown me the way to take the first step to climb to a place where i can string my hopes and dreams and heART onto endless branches,littered like the leaves of trees. I hope that i never seem unappreciative of everything you all do for me; i have trouble being able to express things without the aid of something else pen or paper or paint or camera or some other medium - sometimes it appears my mind and my mouth aren't connected at all; conversations and thoughts and words and pictures and colours form in my mind but thats where they stay until it's time to throw them out in some other way..... and In my habit of trying to articulate everything i can in a stutter of comprehensive words, it appears they've spread like an ink stain rather than the structured sentences they are supposed to be? Last night was a really intense show for me - emotionally overpowering which is why i was so weird afterwards - i had to try and reorder my head into some sort of something because it was just everywhere and nowhere at the same time. I lay on one of the couches near the stage for 15 minutes
just staring at the wall; at a sign on a door across from me which stated " FIRE HOSE " and it became a mantra repeating over and over in my head - fire hose fire hose fire hose.....to the point where i took out my book and my pen and all that came out was a page full of firehosefirehosefirehosefirehosefirehose over a ribcage-trying to force some sort of anything into my head.... but everything was just firehosefirehosefirehose and everywhere i looked there was just bits and pieces breaking away and dissolving into the glow of the orange atmosphere..... spinning spinning spinning ; the small UFO was spinning and i wanted to take it with me and i wanted to be taken with it- i wanted to dissolve along with the bits of decay falling off your shoulders; i wanted you to hug me and tell me its okay but really its not - really we all just got lost; and we're all controlled; and everything we are is attached to everything we should never be because that way we can all fall down; and we fall into the city where the entire shell will crumble and all that will be left is robotic monotony; there's only so much we can do and an entirity of what we should that we cant....so what the fuck are we doing????? explode. implode. it makes my head. disintegrate. everything is e? e-... sometimes this happens but i'm okay. sometimes e-motion is just too much. sometimes i get lost and would you believe it if i said that something as indulgent and beautiful as painting can so often just rip me apart? the brushes rip holes in this fragile covering called skin, and everything that it holds in is liquidated into paint and thats what covers these canvases...and sometimes you overdose..overindulge...over-emote...sometimes you need a transfusion afterwards but theres no matching heART-type nearby... and just when you think everything has leaked away the last drops run from hollow eyes and perhaps, just perhaps, you've realised then that its worth it. suffering has so many levels , and every single one makes me want to throw colour onto the ashen grey that the world is becoming, because won't that at least make it a little bit easier to see? won't that let a few more hearts begin to grow from beneath the layers of desaturation they've been buried under? i like to think that maybe it could. Because what is there to believe in if we can't believe in [he]art&love?

xxoxoxox Lu Jane

On Sept - 5 -2005 I finally realized this?

Even Tin Men Cry.

I keep walking and walking and waiting for it all to make sense why it is that we keep on walking? Then i find myself sleeping deeply in a sea of warm liquid and I notice each and every night that Hitler is the mermaid of all thoughts and conclusions and is watching me ever so closely. Hmmm it brings a smile to my face at least I'm not alone in this lonely sea. Even during the day during my useless day dreams he comes to me becoming my solution to push further and further I whisper ever so quietly "fuck moustache boy I'm getting so tired of starting again!". Thats when the robots reveal themselves under their Oliy skin and Brown paper bags and I yell and scream at the top of my lungs " Gather up all things were passing on to a new life. Make sure they don't see us we cant give them one last go! and now they come!!

Some time in the past with corgan!

A Clock Running Backwards

Music has always been something in my life that has taken me to places nothing else could and in the most significant changes of my life its been like a bridge to adapt to change or to wake up and realize what the hell I was doing or were I wanted or needed to go. Perfect example of this was when I was about 16 and I was at a friend’s house. There was this girl who lived with her mum I was visiting in the middle of the day and everyone was smoking bong's including her mum. Funny when you roll up at a mates place and her mums smoking bongs with you, very strange indeed. Anyway I'm sitting there dazed in my young world at a time when music had never really hit all the emotions in my body at one time and made everything so clear. I guess my ears had not really opened up to the colors music can create weather that's because no one had introduced real music to me or id never heard anything that I could relate to until this one day. Anyway she’s like 'listen to this' and puts on a cassette of Siamese Dream. I'm listening and then it hit me like a fucking revolution in my mind and in my heart. It was the song 'Disarm' that did it to me. It sent me to tears and I played the song for the next 2 hrs over and over again glued to this cassette player then before I knew it I had the funds to buy the entire album on cassette then also on CD. It shaped my ears and sent me on a yellow brick journey. Oh man it felt so fucking good ill never forget it. I fell in love with this beautiful music, then the man himself then his band. It was nice to have a new friend in my life that’s for sure. I have been dreaming ever since about having the privilege to meet him and then recently to be able to support him but this will always be a dream to the man who in some way created me. God bless you Billy Corgan and thank you for the silver fuck you have given to me and the many people on the planet somebody allowed us to rent. Enjoy your tour now the tickets to Brisbane have sold out, looks like I’m not going :( xxoo

Late - At - Night

Destroy the Robots.

After the journey of this latest tour something came from with in me that I never thought I may be able to do again; write another song that I can actually feel. This week I completed it and have decided to call it Destroy the Robots (another blood red song). It will be the title track for an album I will start to form in the next 6 months, it will also contain the track Hong Kong and maybe God save silence. I guess this means album number 8 for me in my head, of course. Its crazy. fuck the commodities of life can really try and weigh you down but I will never allow it to stop me from playing my dreams to the souls of the galaxy. I’m decided I don’t like the species that are visiting earth and I wish for them to disappear as soon as possible. I’m thinking about setting the alien alight this weekend so we can all be warmed by its heartless soul. I really don’t have much else I can share with you right now. I guess because sometimes you cant write down how you feel until you have finished feeling it and it passes you by and right now its hanging me by the throat but im still breathing. I don’t want to become a Dead Adult, please save me if I am.

April - 18 - 05

Aliens are abducting me again.

Its 2am and i cant sleep. Im scared to dream because my dreams are finally coming true.

We have just finished shooting the new music video for walls. Such an exhausting but creative week no sleep lots of shooting over and over again. But what made it so special was the amazing people that have been working on this project. Darren the director is a genius i cant wait to see the energy of these visuals think Helnwein caught in a 1920's stop motion film with Trash rapped in red string waiting for the tin toys to resuce him and you are getting warm. My life is the busiest its ever been and im so tired but ill be holding on to this sweet love....hmmm sounds a bit like a song i wrote thats wierd. Im so excited about the new cd it feels so right this cd the songs have my tears and hearts all over them . I hope you dont all hate it to much.

Lovleyest moment of the day...finding a gift on our back door a picture for me and wayne from some trp fans...him i wonder who you are how do you know were i live? the most beautiful pictures of calender face and the green mesiah. I love U and miss you so much it seems like i havent seen you all FOREVER X . shhhhh were coming soon.

March - 25 - 05

Nailed To The Cross

Lately I feel as if I have been walking on this thin red string, not knowing weather I was going to be able to mentally get through the last two weeks, being back from China has been challenging. I think most people may think that creating and trying to nurture a band like The Red Paintings is an easy thing but it isn’t it’s a huge emotional roll-coaster ride and for me the only times I get to let it go is when I play shows, seriously kids it’s a huge head fuck at times especially when theres people ripping you off and trying to beat you down. Lucky for me im able to channel all the negatives as inspiration and write songs like “Walls” its my only therapy. For me as soon as the band starts creating colors together I find myself relaxed, it just feels like home for me now, in the early days of the band I use to always stare at the ground always to embarrassed to look at the souls in front of me. I use to think to myself I feel so stupid im releasing all my frustrations and pains and loves of my life to complete strangers, how weird they must think that I am. I still sometimes feel like that though these days. But now that I know many of you are actually listening and feeling myself and the amazing players in TRP I feel so at home. So thank you. If I hadn’t reached this point in my life today I don’t know if I would have kept pushing the ideas outside my bedroom and I would probably be living in Iceland by now. With out the amazing band that I have and there incredible talents then there is no way that I would have continued recording and touring live, when your hearing Wayne’s cello take over or Ellen’s violin in rain or in any song or josh’s amazing drums, my head falls out and watch’s from the side of the stage in AWE! As im sure you have already probably noticed. Take me away from this band and im sure you would agree that there is still nothing in Australia like these kids. We start recording ‘Walls’ tomorrow wish us luck, on the re-birth of Christ. From what ive read Jesus was such a cool soul I wish I could have met him in person. Its a sad thing that he had to endure the things he went through. Happy Easter and thank you so much for standing by us I hope we can give you many good times and smiles in return. I love you so much!

P.S I miss China so much, Hello Jide and Eric xxoo. ; ( For china tour photos go to photo's page in Forum!

P.S We start shooting a new video clip in two weeks, hopefully some of you can be apart of it? Its based on the German artist Helnwein, an amazing human being.

A fragment of time that we dont want to fit the moment.

Pick up that piece of wood and use it for therapy.

Hi trash, thanks for the mail and the message on the website. my mum and sister said thank you to you. appreciate your warm message. i really feel it. how was your gig by the way? i wish i could be there... i wish i didn't have to come back for what's happening... i wish i could go back to Saturday, talk to my dad again while he was doing so well...humans are weird ... so many strange things happened ... dad was doing strangly well before his sickness kicked in (just that day.. he was talking to me all time , we made jokes , watching tv and reading newspaper whole afternoon, didnt like he was sick at all). and one thing , the talk my family had while he was put to sleep by those shit they gave him to help him ease the pain.(my family agreed on that though .. he was having a hard time to breath..) he was hearing all our conversation while he had been sleeping for 30hours ... we were talking something happy with my aunt (my cousin's planning to get married ) , we said dad would be smiling if he could hear that... then his eyes opened slowly and looked around ... we let him see our faces and told him everything we wanted .. he wanted to cry i could see ... then he could breath normally again for 2 seconds or so ... and closed his eyes ... and passed away ...i guessed he let it go finally ..he was so strong ... so much more strange stuff ... everything chinese believe in could explain it .. so many strange stories i heard these 2 days ..they are funny to u maybe. and last week, he had all those talks which we can't understand at all while he was sleeping, i guess he was communicating with some other beings... (u think it's Alien, dun you!? lol ) chinese have such an explaination for all that which i can't explain to you in an email, haha. maybe i can tell u someday. things go weird when life comes to an end ... well , i dunno what i typed at all ... but that's how i feel like to tell u at the moment...haha. it was scary, hope this mail didnt bring you any sadness... live our life while we are alive, i think u are doing it well. I will stay strong and work hard, for my family my father and all the people who support me. thanks for your support again.
i will talk to u soon. take care.

March - 10 - 05

Im a little lost today

Well im back in the land of OZ. The trip was amazing. Wish i didnt have to leave but thats the way life goes. Every note and everything i feel this week is dedicated to my beautiful friend in Hong Kong Eric Chang. Im grievimg with you eric at this sad time and im so sorry for your loss i wish there was something i could do to make things better. Life is so hard to predict my friend. I need to go now i cant write anymore this news makes me sad. See you at the show tonight.

Feburary - 09 - 05 - 12 midnight.

Scratche's And Another Fake Disease - (There is no such thing as perfect there isnt).

Im scrared of the color Red.

Hello there you! I have created at least 3 letters for Trash Journal this week but i just felt like an idiot so i would not post them, probably a good thing becuase they were way to honest and would probably piss to many people off. I just watched a great movie called delicatessen's, it makes me sad but happy. I feel im cursed in my life its like every time something amazing happens to me it follows with something terrible to bring me back to earth. I can't tell weather its a blessing or just life playing a game with me testing me to try and see if I will break. Usually I do break but find some crazy reason to keep charging along on the yellow brick road. Lately it has been all the very cool emails we keep receiving from all over the world. Its well, just people and leaves I guess just real and nice and I like it alot. I have made lots of friends with people that don't even really know me just hold a piece of me in my music and like what they see and hear. Well I can tell you sincerely the music that I write comes from my heart and my pain and the pain of others so its just like hanging out with me in my bedroom. Another thing that is keeping me sane is the beautiful paintings, oh my god they are amazing and they just keep getting better and better more feeling, better use of colour and capturing us and the fragment of the moment more and more every show. I haven't been able to load up all the paintings from the shows they willl come soon, but some of my favs are in the art gallery you must see them there great. Thank you so much for painting I love you so much. I do apologie's for not writing a personal letter to all of you yet, I will hopefully get around to is soon. Wow the Alice in wonderland party was good fun, and 'Bo' looked so gorgeous dressed as Alice and Wayne as the energetic white rabbit, Ellen The queen "Off with Her head" and Josh The Caterpillar, fun times for all of us. It was nice to hear you all singing along, actually it gave me shivers. I don't feel worthy to be in the position im in right now. I wish you were all the singers and song writers in the band and I could watch you and sing to your music, now that sounds about right! silly me....Oh yes the Big Day Out after party I forgot. well lets just say Mike from the streets is a legend and a very cool guy, actually I spent most of the night hanging with Louise from the Polyphonic Spree he was the French horn player such a nice awesome guy and we seemed to have alot in common which was nice i so glad i met that boy, we went to clubs together and basically spent time mingling with the music makers of the festival until wee hours of the morning. Every one seemed pretty chilled out and friendly which was nice. I've been writing lots of new song in my head I just cant seem to get them out yet actually I don't even know how to. I guess it will come to me some day well I hope so if not then that's the way its meant to be. im exhausted I really feel drained less then a week and I will be on my first overseas trip to china I'l be there playing all the tunes and painting fish fingers. And how do I feel? I'm really not sure I guess im excited I don't really know what to expect at all. hopefully it shapes me in some way and makes me a stronger person in my mind, either way fingers crossed I at least survive the trip. This heats making my face melt off. Its no fun no fun . See you and thank you again for everything. It's funny now I write knowing that people are reading before I thought I was lost in space I wonder if it changes the way I write? oh yeah apoligies for my terrible grammer i suck i know. Kisses and hugs for you who understand. All i have is my music and my music is my painting. xxoo.. i might see you when i return wish me love, if you wish.

P.S - I wish i could have met Leonard Divinci he would have known what to do.

January - 25 - 05

The Big Red Day Out

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Okay here we go then before i review my big day out day i must say i would never have dreamed that the big day out would have been as blow away as it was for us. I had the most amazing day of my life. Hours before the event i was in panic mode which definetly kept me on my toes. Anyway its about 7.50am on Jan 23rd and were gathered together at our house with painters band members, friends and the virgin Mary and together we all trek down the highway to bdo. On the way i start covering the car with red string not sure why but it felt right. Not alot of traffic at this time and we get into the back stage area with ease lucky for us we have our own band room with little birdy, spiderbait, evermore, the streets, john Spencer, the Spree and others circled around us which was a buzz for all of us, remember this is the first time we have played a big day out so we were all very excited. So we hit the Green Stage to start setting up the show and i run around the front area before 10am with six canvasser for the audience to paint on during our show. To my surprise the stage manager was dead against the idea and said for health and safety reasons we can not allow any painting to go on in the crowd area as there will be to many people, at first i was thinking thats just silly no one will come see us anyway but then when we came out to play and we could see that the whole area was packed with people we could see why they wouldn't allow it, but i do apologise that we couldn't let you paint out the front! xxoo...

So Ten Min's before our set the Geisha dolls hit the stage with Wayne leading a peacefull demonstration in Tai Chi which was a nice way to kick of the show. Then it beings the start of a movie and josh hits the gong and in we go with dead children and the crowd were just absolutely insane i was in awe!!!!! and we were having the time of our lives it was so great for us to hear such an awesome crowd appreciating our music. By the end of the set id thrown into the crowd geisha dolls, my hamster Elliot (which I'm going miss so much) loads of red sting and my soul. We had 4 painters on stage with us Kitty, Jess, ebony and Jack and they looked to be having the time of there life's and painted incredible colors including myself I still have paint all over my back hehehehhehe. By the end of the set my head was moving backwards and i had fallen of the stage and taken along a painting with me and by the end of it all found myself falling of the barrier and into the crowd were i was covered in arms and bodies and hugs and faces with huge smiles its was something i will never forget i remember feeling so overwhelmed by it all that i dropped to the ground and people held me up. Just so amazing for me i would never expected that this show would have had the effect on us and the audience that is seemed to have had. Those of you who have been asking if i did hurt myself when i fell of the stage, well my ribs are sore but it was worth it. Finally i made it to the backstage area passed out for a bit and then out the front we went for a walk .We met so many amazing people its was so cool. It was very surreal i must have given and been hugged by at least 200 people through out the day, how lucky am i! i think my new red dress was a huge hit. So back stage we finally make it again for some cool down time and an alcoholic beverage. Then i hear the virgin Mary call out to me "Trash Its time for me to meet the people". I hear you Mary lets do it. So of we go for A Virgin Mary adventure taking snap shots of Mary with the people in the audience and with band members, at one stage we found ourselves at the local stage and Mary hopped on stage with the monster zouko band and some how i found myself on top of her head now shaking my tail feather until i fell off. The bands were being so fucking awsome and we didn't have that much trouble getting photos with the most amazing music makers, in the first back stage area we met and Mary had photos with Diana ahnaid, Dallas Crane, Butterfingers, swanky Dee, Cut Copy, spazzys who were rocking out all day long, The mess hall, wolf mother, Evermore and le-tigre. They were so adorable too, many people who I've never seen before and a few security guards oh yeah and an old man with no teeth. then we hit the crowds charging along with Mary and taking snap shots with audience members left right and centre it was so crazy and so fucking hot, after what felt like forever we finally made it to the back of the main stage area were we were warmly greeted. It seemed as if we had tripped alot of people out, people were thinking we were crazy but on we charged and Mary met and had her photo taken with members of the Hives, Frenzal romb, Crew from triple J, Slipknot more security members strange people i don't know with cool accents. Oh yeah just after Mary had the photo taken with the hives guy their manager came racing out of their trailer going nuts wanting the photo erased and maybe the camera destroyed, security came racing up and it was getting a little to crazy. then i said to the manager its only for a our website heaps of bands are taking shots with Mary, we just played here", And then he chilled our completely. A big smile came to his face and he was like oh sorry yeah no worries keep the photo, phew that was a close one and on our way we went. some one at this stage must have tipped of a back stage head honcho because she came racing up to us and asked us to leave asap and we were being watched by every security guard and person in the area, and then i was like OMG its System of a Down walking right past lets just get this last shot with Mary., But no luck out that back stage area we went. So back into the crowds we are again people are becoming alot more intoxicated and my head is burning. More and more people wanting photos with Mary or to kiss her make out with her try to de-flower her pretend to do naughty things with her, i must add 98% of these nutters were male. Its was all becoming to much and i just wanted to go back to our tent and chill but it was going to take a good half hour before we were going to make it. someone spat in my face and one dude pushed the virgin Mary and myself over and called us wankers we received a few "Fuck heads" comments but other than that every one else seemed to be enjoying themself's and were very happy to see Mary which was nice. I Must add that the men who were being mean to us were all drinking XX XX Beer. finally we make it back but before we can rest back stage bands are into the whole vibe to my surprise and we have photos with Mike from the streets and his friends mike is the coolest guy such a nice dude, the big day out promoters and i think maybe organizers jumped in for a shot, we had spiderbait, regurgitator, a heap of local bands coming over and joining in on the fun,, The singer from the music he also made out with Mary. Then John Spencer from the blues Explosion had his snap shot and wanted to get our Cd's and tshirt which was cool actually he was one of the most nicest people i met all day so great talking to him and he was so interested in Australia music which was cool. just after this time my head started to spin and i was so happy just so so happy i was having the best day of my life Mary was going of and the people and friends i had around me were just so beautiful and incredibly kind especially James. Then it began the most amazing snap shot of the day we rounded up the entire lineup of the Polyphonic spree for a snap shot with Mary myself and good friend James before their set. it was incredible! by this stage i just couldn't handle it i had tears in my eyes i think even Mary was feeling the same and i thought i saw her smile just for a second there. The spree were awsome especially Tims little son oscar who is only 4 years old he plays drums he is so beautiful what an amazing life he must have. I met a good friend from the spree his name was Louise most amazing person and now a great friend..Okay next i found myself dancing crazingly side stage to the spree it was breath taking the whole band and all their instrumentation so awesome so different to anything seen or felt all day long they were my fix. Overwhelmed again by it al,l i ran out to the crowd and started hugging people and dancing and smiling and laughing and being crazy it was all so much fun. Then the spree finished up there set and the rain started coming down whilst the chemical Bros mixed those fat ass beats. I wondered in the crowds meeting people and receiving hugs from so many kids it was just so nice just so so nice. Then pack up time good byes and hugs to the people we have met and of to the big day out after party which was being held at the touring bands hotel......now thats another story i will post very soon but just to keep up the suspense I will let you know that Bo our bass player had the most amazing night with Ed from The chemical Bros...be back soon we will have all the snap shots and big day out photos posted up sometime this week there so amazing make sure you come back to check them out!

P.S A huge thankyou to Ben Cottrell for capturing our memories and being so incredibly awsome xo.

January - 23 -05

My Insides are Exploding

This could be the end of my life. 3am would be a great time to pass away the perfect time 2 die. I cant sleep my body feels so tense like when you clense your teeth for the longest time. Im walking around the house and I can hear every ones dreams which is nice. Walking out side on the street and the sun is appearing a new day once again. I walk into the rooms covered in paintings from all our shows and im just so over whelmed. Im so silly now im breaking into tears and I feel so lucky and I just dont understand why I do the things I do why people listen why we're playing this amazing festival why I feel pain in myself and in people why I even write the songs that I do. I mean I was always the person most people found it easier to belt on at school I sucked at everything I did I was way to obsessed with falling in love with someone special oh I just put on kissing you, oh this song it makes me so sad and sometimes that is so comforting to know that I actually feel.....im so scared! I can thank my mother for this she fell to the ground so many times yet she still seems to find those butterflies wings to fly once again. wish me luck kisses for all of you with the most gentle kiss you have ever felt and a tear of mine falls down you face and into your mouth and it taste like a giraffe. I still believe this revolution is never coming. its 5.30 am now still no rest but im being soothed my radiohead and thoms singing to me "Im ready, im readdddyyy"

Date - who really give's a fuck the dates just here to contol you anyway

You wouldnt believe it but im so nervous about sunday actually the closer the big day out comes the more sick i feel the less i eat and the less i sleep. Not sure why really guess it freaks me out that one of my dreams in my life is actually becoming a reality in the reality world. Wierd hey? Any way i wanted to say make sure you get your paintings in by tomorrow night becuase were choosing the winner on saturday and were going to take you on one crazy journey every were we go you must follow. How funny was rave magazine? I look like a weirdo funny how the reporter wrote 'virgin mary cut outs on stage' he obviously has never seen us before. I recieved a hair cut today by kiity so I will be flaunting a new look this weekend im so excited the fashion parade begins. Any way not much more to say but other booring stuff like i love you. Oh yeah make sure you all come to the alice in wondeland party i think this is going be a load of fun we have all been coming up with crazy ideas for the show and i purchased this great doll house last week which im going to have a little tea party in dressed as alice. hmm i love chicos there yummy. Any way please dont throw to many things at me on sunday and hug me tightly when you see me and ill hug you back and squeeze your guts out. xxoo..

Portrait of a dead soul

Many of the songs I write I write for people not because I hate them but because I love them. I wrote a new song this week it’s called ‘Portrait of a dead soul’. I’ve been wanting to write the music to this title for along time now and just this week my soul bleed a very dark red color and out came this creation, I think this song is going to make you want to itch very viciously I don’t think I have written any thing like this before. Im worried that way too many people are cold and hungry in this world. I’m so fuked Im stupid because I think I can’t do any thing about it and instead I get depressed and pray for a change in the weather instead the weather brings pain and suffering. I must tell you im so exhausted my brain wants to explode I really don’t know what to do with myself the more I watch Donnie darko the more I understand everything that’s happening in my life and it scares me so much I don’t want to be lonely yet I thrive to be alone, am I just a really weird person? I want to play mad world all day long I love that song it makes me feel at home, when I sing it I feel like crying I can feel the emotions in my body warming up in a hot oven. I’m still receiving mail from people who seem to enjoy our music and want to talk about life and im very gracious that you talk to me it’s nice please keep writing I want to be your friend and want you to share your thoughts with me. I’m scared to play the big day out actually im petrified that I will suck really bad and every one will hate us, I hope not I can see myself just closing my eyes and loosing myself within my amazing band II love playing with these souls its so nice to be around them they actually listen to me like really listen I can see it in their eyes its just incredible. I seem to stay up every night I just cant sleep my head is fucked. I’m going to write more songs I feels as if a supernova is about to take of in my head which means album number 13 when will I ever get more money to record all these gay songs of mine. I want to finish this letter by saying I fuking hate XXXX Beer. Im listening to 'Frozen' by Madonna wow what a cool song and then i hear PJ Harvey sing 'one day there will be a place for us'

i was always like 'people believe in movies' and then i realized its the story the truth that really matters. What am i trying to say?

Im starting to get really pissed about these stupid fuking colorless politicians and i want to assasinate them will you join me? email me and we will think out a plan to make the leaders follow the labeled Trash of this carbon world. Ill be awaiting a knock at the door now from my local detectives, damn!

P.S The aliens are coming and there going to be really pissed off when they find you!

2004 is about to dissapear forever

Art works above created at "the Nightmare B4 Xmas Party" - left by Morgs - right by Kitty.

Our last show for 2004 and were was Tim Burton?

Hmmmm, many of you are all to kind. I'm still on a high from Tim Burton's Nightmare B4 Xmas party. If you attended the show on Sunday then I'm sure you would agree there was a beautiful warm energy in the room. It was nice to see everyone having a good time, receiving Xmas gifts and respecting one another. I've been hanging to do this show. Number one because I wanted to celebrate such an awsome movie (The Nightmare B4 Xmas) and number 2. because i couldn't wait to give you all gifts and thank you so much for your support all year. Even Jack attended with his trusty old pal Zero, and some how Zero landed on top of my head at the end of the show and did you see the Virgin Mary try to take me to the next life? She is a funny lady! Thank you so much for your hugs, letters, emails, thoughts, buying our Cd's, hating us, loving us, not throwing tomatoes at me and painting our music. It means the world to me. Wow! Did you notice the paintings created at the show? I have them in my room right now, and they are so beautiful fuking unbelievable. The 3 paintings were created by Kitty, Morgs and Jess, thank you so much. I had a young lad offer me $30.00 in old Australian dollars he was very cool, he said he couldn't leave with out it and wanted to spread the word of the band through the Art work, but i couldn't let it go. I love to take them home and come down of the shows by looking at them all. I'm so lucky I have almost every show we have played captured in a painting, created by all unique souls. hmmmm its nice, makes me melt. Little kitty your so talented I hope the whole world can see your colors one day xxoo. Also thank you to the people who made and bought me gifts, they are awsome and I never expecting such nice things, I even scored a giraffe Yay!
Thank you to Kamhal for spending the evening with us, your a beautiful lovely man kahmal and you sing like an angel, xxoo oh yes and apologies for my falling of stage and taking out that young lady. She didn't look very impressed, i didn't mean It I promise.

Well folks that was it for The Red Paintings in 2004. I hope you have fun with us. Basically we just sit back for a bit and get ready for the next tour in 3 weeks, Big Day Out and then China and Hong Kong , Now thats going to be a trip. Imagine how crazy it will be when i start screaming "The Revolution Is Never Coming" I think I will leave Redneck out of the set list, I'm sure they will just think I'm a weirdo anyway. Fingers crossed somebody gives us the commodities of life ($$$) when I return so we can bring out more music. Love you all keep writing to me i love it and have a beautiful December. Xx.
P.S Ive been invited to paint at the Dresden dolls gig which I'm very excited about on weds at the Zoo. Its about time the roles were changed and it was me capturing the music on canvas. But the question is can trash paint?

oh and don't forget we are running a comp were we are looking for the most interesting painting created by you that best describes us! We pick a winner which will be a mission and then they come with us to selcted shows on tour in Jan and watch us be freaks and paint our music on stage with us. Should be fun I believe all entries are to be delivered to 4zzz FM in Brisbane a week before the event. So start creating us!

Enter Date here_/_/_

The Revolution Maybe Coming.

Color - The entire song for me is dirty brown, mud with rain drops.

You want it, you need it bad. There's nothing better then this.
And i don't care if your looking at me and thinking I'm wasting my dreams.

Look us now were all gunned down. My father turns and the priest's hold nothing. Covered on the wall the words of war a revolution never coming.

And i wish you had been struck by blindness before your eyes saw what their about to see. Please.To an unknown destination, dear future, but the scientist will never kill me!

Look the good soldiers who simply follow orders, screams die down papa see you soon i promise. Covered on the wall the words of war a revolution never coming...

Shhh don't Tell Any One!

The Catholics! They think the Protestant's knew?
That the Christians could miss the train choo! choo!
(But i hear Kurt Cobain call to the Trail Of Dead)
But i hear Robert Smith call out to Bjork, "Lets go to Mars and start it all again"...

and the violins and cellos take us on the journey about now!

All good things must come to an end I told myself carefully picking up a crumb of bread in reeking soil. Concentration camps sold my faith stand forward japan. Do all bad things come to an end? Just as well God must have heard my prayers the very next day a new boy smiled a new women shook and the night retired, and the night retired.

Hey! Here's a lost story tell it to your kids live without fear say the governments boring. He'll never be the first we'll never be the last, burn the KKK kill the kamikaze stories don't be mislead its not a revolution, its not here to save your soul see it brings you no solution. Its all about power - power over money products falling, drugs making money in our country.

The Revolution's Never Coming
My soul dear Me...
The Revolution's Never Coming
My soul dear Me...
The Revolution's Never Coming
My soul dear Me...
The Revolution's Came And Gone.

November - 20 - 04

The Puzzle and Pop rox0red

..

Let me start this letter by saying I'm not an intelligent person, I'm quite naive, not very funny, take to many people at face value, im a sucker for punishment and I'm the stuff that sits underneath your shoe while you walk across your man made jungle (trash). Let me just make that clear.

Now then..

Life to me seems to be on the same lines as a thousand piece puzzle.Your trying to put this picture together in the hope that you can complete and fit each piece into the right shape's until it forms a complete picture. Each piece of the puzzle is quite unpredictable except you know what it is your trying to achieve at the end because the picture is right in front of you on the box so you're sure you know it is achievable. You have moments were you think you have the right one in place only to discover you got it all wrong and you have to start looking again. You get a few quick ones in the right spot and slowly it starts to form in front of your eyes, you're on your way and its just so exciting your patience and determination are slowly being rewarded, untill someone walks over it and you have to start all over again but the more times they fuck it up the quicker you put it back together again and it goes on and on. Thats basically how the last few years have been for me. And just recently i found one of the most significant piece's of the puzzle and now the picture is moving right along just fine.

I love it when i can see you singing...

"money money money
money money money
money money money".

The Crazy Good Show part 2

.
Well this was one was a crazy night and to the girls who performed i think you were all the stars of the show. The seduction, costumes choreography of it all was sweet, gentle, loud and seductive xx. First time Ive had absinthe last night (thank you Candice and the man with the long hair and nice smile) the right way and argh yucky. When we were playing a lad placed a piece of paper next to me that read 'Have you had a miscarriage?' i was watching him walk to the back of the room and you may have heard me say to someone randomly 'Have you?' his hand went straight into the air. Then i received a letter at the end of the night that Lola found that said 'I have had a miscarriage and i found that inoffensive' well apologies to the man in the red shirt. The foetus looking human in the jar in my hands is actually an alien foetus apparently found at area 51, sorry for offending you.I'm a little bitch you should know that by now. I must add that this gig was a real highlight for us as a band and a real turning point. A huge thank you to Josh, Bo , Ellan and Wayne amazing players but more importanly amazing people that are making me melt in the best way posssible. You are all Gods! What a huge high we are on right now. . .Bliss

I'm overwhelmed by the amount of emails we have been receiving over the last year, Ive even been receiving letters in the mail including the most amazing poetry a huge thank you to all of you for making the time to write on paper and sacrificing even a second to think of us. It fuking blows me away. Its not always positive and i have had some negative emails but I'm pretty sure i know were they come from. Anyway i just wanted to say thank you. It seems some of you are feeling me and the things i have felt and its just incredible to feel you 2 and is a huge driving force to never give up.xxoxoxooxoxooxoxo kisses and hugs to you, all the way to china. I will have gifts for you all at the nightmare b4 xmas show in Dec.

P.S my favourite animal is the giraffe and my favourite colour is deep ocean green. You keep asking so there it is now i feel stupid.

P.S.S we were going to play walls for the first time on sat but we were told to stop playing so we will be playing it for sure at The High 2 Festival next week. If you can not feel this song then i have no soul. Sleep well because i cant.

October - 30 - 04

Walls

Color 1- I cant see it but I can feel it maybe how a blind person feels emotion..
Pick up that piece of wood use it for therapy and nothing else.
How ive been so misunderstood in a world full of negatives there’s happiness?
Color 2- almost red but almost sky blue
I haven’t been this sick for days it’s eating nothing but my head as I watch our worlds collide.
Now that all you have is all you need ill give you all you need to all you need to fly.
Color 3 – White blue
And I don’t know if your holding on to what you got.
I’m so fucking tired but ill be holding on to this sweet love.
Ill be holding on to this sweet love
Sweet love now our worlds colliding and I feel walls don’t you feel those walls, walls wall, walls.

I really needed to write this song right now or else I would have given up on something.

It’s been such a strange week. The places were I live has been the centre of loss and new beginnings. Yesterday we lost the most amazing tree next to our house I know this is a crazy thing to focus on when there is so much terrible war and killings in our world on the young old and innocent but this is something that affected me emotionally and made me feel so sick. I awoke in the morning to hear a chopping at this tree it sound to me like I could hear the tree squealing and all I could see in my head was the visual of someone chopping into the side of my body, that’s not a nice feeling and it bought tears to our eyes. Now our yards been turned into a concrete jungle one huge ugly cement slab to be put into its place thanks to the local church who own our house, I mean yeah why would you want beautiful trees and a place to escape when you can have an amazing colorful lump of man made cement. Fuk me I really hate being me im so sick of myself and the way things are just really over it. Fuck the government and fuck us. The truth of 1947 should have been revealed to the world in its entirety. Don’t be so naïve people there is no truth in this world for you and me except from the ones you love that are next you and you love in return.
I would rather curl up and die instead I have to um live? I’m not sure what for exactly but I’m guessing old age may have something to do with it and a shit load of a pain. Yet I cant wait. I’m sure I will feel differently tomorrow I always do!
The Crazy Good Show will surly be an experiences to look forward to a new begining and the violin's and cello's will take us all to another place with the painters creating our map for the journey.xxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo kiss me please.

October - 22- 04

What is art rock?

The simple definition for this genre of music I have grown to love is a genre of rock music with more complex harmonies than popular rock and often incorporating classical music elements; also called progressive rock which is known to be created by artists in the 1970s such as Jimi Hendrix and Pink Floyd. Any dictionary will tell you that!

What I would like to know is what Art rock means to you? What music do you think has the right to be labeled art rock and for what reason?
I look forward to hearing from you. trash@theredpaintings.com

I believe below are the answers and evidence to any debate that says why The Red Paintings are art rock and it has nothing to do with live painters, costumes or projections. We all have our own prespective of things in this world joy to freedom of speech and a huge thank you to those who voted for a liberating political leader once again, of course im joking.

"Art rock is a sub-genre of rock music that is characterized by ambitious lyrical themes and melodic or rhythmic experimentation, often extending beyond standard pop song forms and toward influences in jazz or the avant garde Avant garde is a French phrase, one of many French phrases used by English speakers. It is often used to refer to people or actions that are novel or experimental, particularly with respect to the arts and culture. Avant garde corresponds with the English word vanguard. Both are derived from the widespread military practice of deploying an Advanced Guard, a small troop of highly-skilled soldiers which would explore terrain ahead of a large advancing army and plot the course the army would follow. The concept was adopted as a metaphor for the work done by small bands of intellectuals and artists as they open pathways through new cultural or political terrain, for the mass of society to follow.The art rock designation is a vague one, since few of today's rock and pop artists openly aspire to the title. Taken subjectively, art rock is a term that can encompass just about any style within the rock n' roll umbrella. To name just a few: Brian Eno's ambient music; the electronica and musique concrete of German "Krautrock" bands like Kraftwerk and Neu!;Peter Gabriel's world music-influenced pop; Tool's textured heavy metal; Joni Mitchell's jazz-infused folk rock; and the sonic experimentation and/or abrasive noise common to many of the so-called "post punk," "indie," and "alternative rock" bands of the past 25 years. Radiohead, for example, is often known as an "alternative rock" band because it arose in the wake of the 1991 grunge explosion, but Radiohead's influences range far beyond those of most bands one hears on alternative rock radio stations, and with acclaimed albums like OK Computer and Kid A they have become by far the most popular current act to embrace the art rock aesthetic.
Critics and fans sometimes use the term "art rock" to make a cultural statement about the state of popular music. Artists whose sound is based in the rock and pop forms first established in the 1960s. Even those who clearly transcend these forms -- are still viewed by some members of the elite, particularly classical or jazz critics, as mere peddlers of product, and thus 'low art'. Identifying certain popular music as 'art rock' makes a claim both for the integrity of the specified work or artist and for the serious artistic potential of rock and pop music in general.
Conversely, art rock is a term that may be used derisively. Those who love pop music for its down-to-earth lyrics, head-banging rhythms, and simplistic, catchy melodies often show little tolerance for music with more serious, or pretentious, aspirations. Especially when used to refer to the excessive song lengths, bombastic arrangements, and high-handed sophomoric poetry that characterized certain "art rock" artists, notably members of the "progressive rock" scene in the 1970s, the term "art rock" can be a powerful touchstone for all that some believe should be avoided in popular music.
Art rock did reach its commercial height with the popularity of the aforementioned "progressive rock" bands, such as King Crimson, Yes, and especially, whose mix of jazz and blues influences, smooth psychedelic soundscapes, and anti-establishment lyrics proved to be just as influential and commercially viable as any "mainstream" music. After the punk revolution of the late '70s put simplicity back in style, and as openly philosophical bands like Pink Floyd drifted toward the mainstream with hit singles and more commercial productions, their "art rock" designation fell away, and a new breed of artists with influences in noisy punk and minimalist electronic music took their place on the cutting edge of "art rock."
Though technically one might think of art rock as the antithesis of punk's straightforwardness, most well respected art rock bands of the 1980s, 90s, and 00s made music informed by the punk ethic, if not the sound, in some regard. In fact, the webs of connections are so twisted that progressive rockers King Crimson and punks the Talking Heads actually converged on very similar styles of music in the 1980s, even sharing the same guitarist.
Both were art rock, because art rock is an aesthetic rather than a sound. The Cure began as a loud, raw punk band, had a series of electronic romantic pop hits, and now gets played on alternative rock stations, but throughout it all held to an atmospheric, edgy style that cannot be put into a single bracket. Sonic Youth began as a wildly experimental venture, influenced by the noisiest fringes of punk and the classical avant garde-- especially the guitar works of Glenn Branca; by the late 1980s, their music was accessible enough to influence a new generation of alt rock and grunge bands, like Nirvana. The Police began as a reggae band, incorporated punk's energy and jazzy drumming, then adopting softer world music textures, and now their hits are played on classic rock or adult contemporary stations. All three of these bands, and many more, are luminaries of art rock, in their own wildly divergent ways.
Though each generation of artists spawns its own set of quickly abandoned labels-- prog, new wave, grunge, alternative-- perhaps in this age of low expectations and cookie cutter radio playlists, "art rock" is the only term that can accurately hint at the variety of influences and unbridled creativity that the most unique bands of any genre aspire to.
Additional confusion arises since some rock musicians whose work is not ordinarily considered "art rock" may nonetheless fit into the category at times. The popular band U2, for instance, continues to appeal to audiences with its heart-on-sleeve songwriting, yet some of its most successful albums were produced by art rocker Brian Eno and others in the electronica world, giving them a more expansive, edgy sound.

October - 14 - 04

THE TRASH MCSWEENEY COLLECTION

16" tall, Super Sculpey, real hair and painted with acrylics.

Finally here it is folks. Now you can get your very own Trash Mcsweeney doll. Custom made by Beth Robinson http://www.genkigirl.org.

October - 13 - 04

Im On My Way To China!

Hello you all. Yes it is a mad world what do you expect?
Well it’s been a good week I lost my job, again….
The good news is that im on my way to China in Feb 05 ticket all booked. I will be touring a great land that has held many battles and has such an amazing culture. I’ve never left this island before so it will be my first time flying across the wide blue ocean. Im most excited about smelling the air when I get of the plane, I don’t know why but I’ve always had a thing about the smells of different countries. Hopefully one day’ The Red Paintings’ will take me to my favorite place ‘Iceland’ and ill will be lucky enough to smell the air there also. Why are you reading this? I think its funny how you come read my journal, I never thought anyone would really care but some of you do, it’s nice. The show with missy was a blast; actually I was so nervous before we played. I find it hard to relax when I don’t have the full band there and it’s just me on my piece of wood and the two geisha dolls, just something I need to get use to I guess, I do love it very much. I’ve been so lucky the crowd has been so warm to us in acoustic mode and its definitely been a great help, I reckon if you watch closely you can see my shoulders drop lower and lower after every song until mad world and then im with you all that are with me. We are thinking about doing something different and having out next tour as an acoustic tour with the full band in support of the new album, do you think it’s a good idea? Less stress, yay.

October - 07 - 04

Who Decides Who's Crazy?

I Love to Love. Once upon a time I was obsessed with being in love. It was all i would ever think about i remember when i first saw Romeo and Juliet with Leonardo DiCaprio and Clare Danes and i was like Omg i want that i want to be able to kill myself because I love someone that much(its ridiculous i know but went to see that movie 7 times at the cinema). I wrote alot of songs about it, always writing words on bits of paper, school buses, my skin. That was until i found enough $$ to buy a recorder. Now i have about 200 or more tapes full of all sorts of crazy thoughts, ideas and emotions. These days i wonder if it was actually love that was inspiring me so much or weather it was just loneliness. Having ears all around me but no one really listening. I guess its the story of many peoples lives and we all express it in our different ways.

One of the most beautiful songs Ive ever heard is "kissing you" the love theme from Romeo and Juliet by des'ree. (I'm listening to it now) The piano at the start makes my body tremble. Omg its so so amazing I cant describe in words how it makes me feel emotionally because no other piece of music has ever in my life effected me in this way. I'm not sure if I'm happy or sad but i feel so moved by it. It has the most amazing beautiful pure and sweet symphony's and it enlightens my soul. I miss that so much in music of today ( Opps forgot about bjork). Being in love with someone is like fucking arghhhhhh so so mmmmmm nice. You think about that person every day, you smile for no apparent reason you jump for joy in a busy street and you feel like a butterfly. Its just me im fuked up.

Some of the things i miss feeling or being in. In no apparent order.

- Appreciating the stars and spending hours looking at them. They are so beautiful.

- Writing all night long till the sun would come up and smoking who knows how many Cancer sticks..

- Living in a tent at the back of my mums house. Watching it gradually fall apart and my stereo player by crazy storms.

- Early Leonardo movies

-The early and mid 90's and being overwhelmed by amazing music that moved us all instead of most of the regurgitated crap.

-A Younger Thom Yorke but your still so beautiful

-My art teacher Tonya mcIver. Squint your eyes.

- You giving me advice and kicking me in the ass. When you got nothin you got nothin to loose

-Trent Reznor please come back quik quik.

- Looking into your eyes for ever...i miss that so much.

- Not having to think about anything

- Being me

- Running and Running and Running and Running in the desert.

- Smashing those fuking pumpkins.

- Australian festivals with original amazing bands. Not the same bands every year. What is wrong with these people. (refer back to early 90's)

- John Mackay and his crazy antics

- Not being in Brisbane.

- Being able to trash my body mind and soul and the drum kit.

- Playing the ballad and hallucinate. Sacred heart.

- First hearing 'Else were for 8 minutes'

- Being little and hearing 'Disarm' and music taking over my life. BC (x)

- Jasmine and Wade in Coffs Harbour looking out for me while I'm running down the beach after ive destroyed my only guitar. What would I do with out you 2 (xxx)

- The old me the old frustrations

-Alice Star Dust. That was Gold!

-Phil, Alisha, Tim, Luke and Nathan it will never be like that again who am I kidding.

-Alice and her red dress.

- Feeling Adem paint in The Red Paintings. I wish you could be here my good friend.

- Alan Barber -feeding through your drums and your soul and you smile and (curly locks)
thank you so much for saving me when i needed saving and being a friend. There will never be a drummer like you!

- You and me always and forever.

- My first real job at Franklin's supermarket and the amazing people i met. Thank you Hussy.

- Watching by baby brothers and sisters grow up.

- Plastik and Tantrum

- Trips to no were in my combie.

-Listening to 'Guns and Roses' and playing air guitar (Troy and Wes miss you guys)
Patience and Sweet Child of Mine,grrrrrrrrrrrr bring on the bandana

- Painting all the time.

- The Alien Abductions.

- Waking up to it all and realizing that its all going to be okay cause time is just an illusion...

October - 02 - 04

The end of the fuckin charade

Its 4.15pm on Sunday 17th of September, I'm staring at the buildings and the walls and they make me feel frightened, I'm thinking to myself its hard to follow your dreams when all the walls are around you and people wont allow you to express who you are and allow you to move it feels like were playing out of time. Walls hold back the trust for one another. About now i close my eyes and i start to smile as i see the meteorites crashing down onto the city. The walls are breaking and whats inside is revealed. No hiding now hehehhehh. OMG here come the UFO's Yay and they take me away up into their lazer beam and into their beautiful ship and their like 'Hey dude come hang with us we understand you and hopefully you understand us' and I'm like yes i do but please we must rescue the kids from all the falling buildings. And so we rescue the kids and then i open my eyes and realise oh damn its just a dream but everything now is going to be okay its going to be just fine. And thats all i have to say about that. 'The Fall of Rome' will tell the tale.The End.

I get home about 7.30 lucky for me i have practise at 8pm with cello and violin with so many mixed feelings in the air and in my life (please excuse me Ive had a hell of a day) i didn't know what to expect but I was most excited because ? well because its Ellan and Wayne of course.
Any way were jamin away the set for this week and Wayne starts to get very sleepie and I'm like Wayne mate your falling asleep his like I'm so sorry I'm just bugged, then we all start becoming very drowsy. Then we finish the Wasps and Wayne starts to play these beautiful sounds on the cello with out even realising it cause he looks pretty dead hehheh sorry Wayne. Then it begins a moment i will never forget we start to click and we create this beautiful song together the three of us and it moves my soul, the words just flow from me like a french movie so real, passionate a time in my life the violin takes us to heaven and the intensity is crashing on all of us. Its the perfect song for the moment and the tour and the band and my life and the world. Ive been dreaming about this song. Its colour is green the darkest green in the deep ocean and i can see it so clearly Yay i haven't been able to see colours for weeks. thank you so much. Tears.

Well let me tell you this tour has been a very trying experience and i feel that i have had to bite my tongue way to often. But thats just the person that i am go on kick me in the back as many times as you can cause i know it makes you feel superior and thats okay because in this fragment of time you might just fit the moment. Well you may think so anyway. I have had many visions of burning out and ending and breaking up the yellow brick road lately but the crazy thing is the email's that keep randomly being sent to me have kept it all alive. Omg you people are so beautiful and kind and those words keep me in the game if you can call it that. Its nice to know that people are really listening and that I'm not just playing to a brick wall. Your words thoughts and emotions will always keep myself, the music and The Red Paintings runnning ever so fast! Bless your souls till the end of time lets take on the galaxy.

September - 26 - 04

Poo - Sushi - Human Canvas - And A Dying Rainbow.

The Picture above is "SUSHIGIRL" handing out sushi for the punters at The Rev.(x)

I feel very tired, exhausted emotionally fucked up. life is beautiful.
The Virgin Mary Tour is finally over. I have had the most amazing experience from this tour but nothing on this tour came close to being as crazy as last nights show at The Great Northern in Byron Bay. I have never experienced any thing like it before.
It was grand final night after all and we did expect a fair few Rednecks and crazy kids but nothing had me prepared for what was about to happen during our 2hr set. Before we hit the stage the place was crammed with people and the 3 canvases out the front had already been painted on not a single note played defeats the purpose of the band really. By the time we hit the 3rd song people had started to destroy the paintings, one painter was hit in the head and pushed into the painting by some crazy people, next thing i know I'm looking down and there is Jesse (painter) swallowing containers of paint and vomiting it back up onto the canvas then another guy who i met after the show beautiful guy ends up allowing his body & face to become a human canvas and becomes covered in paint. For me this is a dream, the sort of chaos I'm trying to achieve with the audience but as much as it was beautiful it was also very sick, i couldn't believe it when i find out that at the end of the set someone did a Crap on the canvas, OMG. I kid you not. Down went their dacks and out came poo on a painting. I was dissapointed to find out that The Virgin Mary was raped by the audience and pushed over some kids told me they saw people pretending to have hardcore sex with her, she is not well she has a huge crack around her waist, paint over her and many wholes lucky for her its the end of the fucking charade! Like i said it had moments when it was really out of control....And if i had to do it all again would I? Hmm ask me again next week. Im sure i would.
It was nice to close the tour with The Virgin Mary at Skinnys Records instore today a big thank you to Skinnys. Thank you all so much for coming I'm sorry if i seemed so distant i just feel like my brain is falling out please forgive me. Thank you so much for buying our new album i hope you enjoy a piece of me.

Just so you know we will down load all the paintings on the tour in the Art Gallery next week, all pictures will be available as prints, so you can catch a piece of the action.....I must sleep now keep in touch kids talk to you all soon, thank you so much for being apart of the circus that i have created...xxoo bless you mary i will miss you!

September - 22 - 04

Ink drys to quickly.

Dear Mr. Bush,

I am so confused. Where exactly do you stand on the issue of Iraq? You, your Dad, Rummy, Condi, Colin, and Wolfie -- you have all changed your minds so many times, I am out of breath just trying to keep up with you!

Which of these 10 positions that you, your family and your cabinet have taken over the years represents your CURRENT thinking:

1983-88: WE LOVE SADDAM. On December 19, 1983, Donald Rumsfeld was sent by your dad and Mr. Reagan to go and have a friendly meeting with Saddam Hussein, the dictator of Iraq. Rummy looked so happy in the picture. Just twelve days after this visit, Saddam gassed thousands of Iranian troops. Your dad and Rummy seemed pretty happy with the results because The Donald R. went back to have another chummy hang-out with Saddams right-hand man, Tariq Aziz, just four months later. All of this resulted in the U.S. providing credits and loans to Iraq that enabled Saddam to buy billions of dollars worth of weapons and chemical agents. The Washington Post reported that your dad and Reagan let it be known to their Arab allies that the Reagan/Bush administration wanted Iraq to win its war with Iran and anyone who helped Saddam accomplish this was a friend of ours.

1990: WE HATE SADDAM. In 1990, when Saddam invaded Kuwait, your dad and his defense secretary, Dick Cheney, decided they didn't like Saddam anymore so they attacked Iraq and returned Kuwait to its rightful dictators.

1991: WE WANT SADDAM TO LIVE. After the war, your dad and Cheney and Colin Powell told the Shiites to rise up against Saddam and we would support them. So they rose up. But then we changed our minds. When the Shiites rose up against Saddam, the Bush inner circle changed its mind and decided NOT to help the Shiites. Thus, they were massacred by Saddam.

1998: WE WANT SADDAM TO DIE. In 1998, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz and others, as part of the Project for the New American Century, wrote an open letter to President Clinton insisting he invade and topple Saddam Hussein.

2000: WE DON'T BELIEVE IN WAR AND NATION BUILDING. Just three years later, during your debate with Al Gore in the 2000 election, when asked by the moderator Jim Lehrer where you stood when it came to using force for regime change, you turned out to be a downright pacifist:

I--I would take the use of force very seriously. I would be guarded in my approach. I don't think we can be all things to all people in the world. I think we've got to be very careful when we commit our troops. The vice president [Al Gore] and I have a disagreement about the use of troops. He believes in nation building. I--I would be very careful about using our troops as nation builders. I believe the role of the military is to fight and win war and, therefore, prevent war from happening in the first place. And so I take my--I take my--my responsibility seriously. --October 3, 2000

2001 (early): WE DON'T BELIEVE SADDAM IS A THREAT. When you took office in 2001, you sent your Secretary of State, Colin Powell, and your National Security Advisor, Condoleezza Rice, in front of the cameras to assure the American people they need not worry about Saddam Hussein. Here is what they said:

Powell: We should constantly be reviewing our policies, constantly be looking at those sanctions to make sure that they have directed that purpose. That purpose is every bit as important now as it was 10 years ago when we began it. And frankly, they have worked. He has not developed any significant capability with respect to weapons of mass destruction. He is unable to project conventional power against his neighbors. --February 24, 2001

Rice: But in terms of Saddam Hussein being there, let's remember that his country is divided, in effect. He does not control the northern part of his country. We are able to keep arms from him. His military forces have not been rebuilt. --July 29, 2001

2001 (late): WE BELIEVE SADDAM IS GOING TO KILL US! Just a few months later, in the hours and days after the 9/11 tragedy, you had no interest in going after Osama bin Laden. You wanted only to bomb Iraq and kill Saddam and you then told all of America we were under imminent threat because weapons of mass destruction were coming our way. You led the American people to believe that Saddam had something to do with Osama and 9/11. Without the UN's sanction, you broke international law and invaded Iraq.

2003: WE DONT BELIEVE SADDAM IS GOING TO KILL US. After no WMDs were found, you changed your mind about why you said we needed to invade, coming up with a brand new after-the-fact reason -- we started this war so we could have regime change, liberate Iraq and give the Iraqis democracy!

2003: MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! Yes, everyone saw you say it -- in costume, no less!

2004: OOPS. MISSION NOT ACCOMPLISHED! Now you call the Iraq invasion a "catastrophic success." That's what you called it this month. Over a thousand U.S. soldiers have died, Iraq is in a state of total chaos where no one is safe, and you have no clue how to get us out of there.

Mr. Bush, please tell us -- when will you change your mind again?

I know you hate the words "flip" and "flop," so I won't use them both on you. In fact, I'll use just one: Flop. That is what you are. A huge, colossal flop. The war is a flop, your advisors and the "intelligence" they gave you is a flop, and now we are all a flop to the rest of the world. Flop. Flop. Flop.

And you have the audacity to criticize John Kerry with what you call the "many positions" he has taken on Iraq. By my count, he has taken only one: He believed you. That was his position. You told him and the rest of congress that Saddam had WMDs. So he -- and the vast majority of Americans, even those who didn't vote for you -- believed you. You see, Americans, like John Kerry, want to live in a country where they can believe their president.

That was the one, single position John Kerry took. He didn't support the war, he supported YOU. And YOU let him and this great country down. And that is why tens of millions can't wait to get to the polls on Election Day -- to remove a major, catastrophic flop from our dear, beloved White House -- to stop all the flipping you and your men have done, flipping us and the rest of the world off.

We can't take another minute of it.

Yours,

Michael Moore
mmflint@aol.com
www.michaelmoore.com

September - 21 - 04

Audiowhore with Zac Black.

  So who will win the election? Week in, week out, this dramatic tussle over who will shape our national identity has been debated and contested. This battle for our hearts and minds has gone on for months now but still there’s no clear cut favourite. Will it be Chanel, Amali, Emelia, Hayley or Courtney? Some have said that the recent Jakarta bombing would cast a pall over this poll but after a two-day respite in honour of the victims, the contestants are back and singing better than ever. They’re giving their all and doing our nation proud in this time of adversity. But still they have their detractors. In a disgraceful insult, the major record labels last week snubbed the chart topping heroes of last year’s Idol elections by refusing to grant the collective Idol party a single ARIA nomination. The very same record companies that have pocketed millions of dollars from the massive commercial successes of Guy, Shannon, Paulini, Cosima and Millsy decided that none of them were worthy of a peer nomination. They’re happy to take the cash each night, but not willing to show any respect in the morning. They’ll pimp away and prostitute these kids off in a mass corporate gang bang but won’t even give them a kiss of affection when it counts. Instead, the lawyers and accountants that run the recording industry have bestowed their praise on Jet and the John Butler Trio granting them a total of 11 ARIA nominations. The rationale here seems to be that the Idol kiddies are mere pop entertainers who don’t require any gratitude whereas a cover band like Jet and a moaning constipated hippy are producing high art worthy of speeches, back slapping and awards. What they don’t realise is that the only difference between Millsy and John Butler is that one sings laughably derivative drivel and the other screwed Paris Hilton. Some other rockers involved in another election are Frenzal Rhomb with their Rock Against Howard campaign. Not satisfied with the benefits of low interest rates and skyrocketing property prices, these inner city punks have decided that they want The Lying Rodent™out on his arse and have gathered together a double CD load of fellow artists who feel the same way. All of the Idol kiddies offered their services to this project as their first hand experience of multinational corporations and exploitation has lead to their support for Latham and his promised class struggle. But in another cruel snub the Frenzal boys told them to sod off back to the suburban shopping malls. What has been kept secret until now is that both Jet and John Butler were asked to contribute to the Rock Against Howard album but refused stating that their newfound millionaire status had caused a reassessment of their political views. They’re both currently organising a Conservative Musicians For Howard tour that will be singing the virtues of private schooling, border protection and a strong and stable economy. Ross Cameron will be the special guest MC.

September - 20 - 04

Will This Ever End?

A video posted Monday on a Web site showed the beheading of a man identified as American construction contractor Eugene Armstrong. The militant group led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi claimed responsiblity for the slaying and said another hostage either an American or a Briton would be killed in 24 hours. In other violence, gunmen in Baghdad assassinated two clerics from a powerful Sunni Muslim group opposed to the U.S. presence in Iraq (news - web sites). U.S. warplanes struck in the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah, killing two people, and a car bomb in the north the 32nd car bomb in Iraq this month killed three people. Insurgents attacked a U.S. patrol, killing an American soldier, near Sharqat, 168 miles north of Baghdad. The video of the beheading surfaced soon after the expiration of a 48-hour deadline set earlier by al-Zarqawi's Tawhid and Jihad group for the beheading of the three employees of a construction company abducted Thursday in Baghdad Armstrong, American Jack Hensley and Briton Kenneth Bigley. A militant whose voice resembled al-Zarqawi read a statement in the video saying the next hostage would be killed in 24 hours unless all Muslim women prisoners are released from U.S. military jails. "You, sister, rejoice. God's soldiers are coming to get you out of your chains and restore your purity by returning you to your mother and father," he said before grabbing the hostage, seated at his feet, and cutting his throat. In Washington, a U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Armstrong's body had been recovered, but the official would provide no information about where or when it had been recovered. The taped beheading appears to be of Armstrong, but the CIA is still reviewing the tape to be sure, the official said. The 9-minute tape, posted on a Web site used by Islamic militants, showed a man seated on the floor, blindfolded and wearing an orange jumpsuit with his hands bound behind his back. Five militants dressed in black stood behind him, four of them armed with assault rifles, with a black Tawhid and Jihad banner on the wall. The militant in the center read out a statement, as the hostage rocked back and forth and side to side where he sat. After finishing, the militant pulled a knife and cut his throat until the head was severed. The victim gasped loudly as blood poured from his neck. His killer held up the head at one point, and placed the head on top of the body "The fate of the first infidel was cutting off the head before your eyes and ears. You have a 24-hour opportunity. Abide by our demand in full and release all the Muslim women, otherwise the head of the other will follow this one," the speaker said. In a video Saturday setting the 48-hour deadline, the militants demanded the release of female Iraqi prisoners detained by the U.S. military. The military says it is holding two women as security detainees in Iraq, including Dr. Rihab Rashid Taha, a scientist who became known as "Dr. Germ" for helping Iraq make weapons out of anthrax. The militant on the video called President Bush "a dog" and addressed him, saying, "Now, you have people who love death just like you love life. Killing for the sake of God is their best wish, getting to your soldiers and allies are their happiest moments, and cutting the heads of the criminal infidels is implementing the orders of our lord." The other American hostage, Jack Hensley, 48, made his home in Marietta, Ga., with his wife Patty and their 13-year-old daughter. Kidnapped with the Americans was Briton Kenneth Bigley, 62. All three worked for Gulf Services Co. of the United Arab Emirates. Armstrong's slaying came on the heels of the beheading apparently by another group of Sunni insurgents of three Kurdish militiamen taken hostage in the north. More than 100 foreigners have been kidnapped in Iraq, some for lucrative ransoms, and at least 26 of them have been executed. At least five other Westerners are currently being held hostage here, including an Iraqi-American man, two female Italian aid workers and two French reporters. Kidnappers released a group of 18 abducted Iraqi National Guard members after renegade Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called for their release, an al-Sadr aide Nail al-Kabi told The Associated Press. Earlier, U.S. warplanes struck in Fallujah, where they have frequently attacked hideouts of the Tawhid and Jihad. Doctors reported three people killed. The U.S military said the strike hit equipment militants were using to build fortifications in the city and that care was taken that "no innocent civilians" were there at the time. Doctors said the dead were municipal workers using a bulldozer on construction projects near the railway station. In the northern city of Mosul, a car packed with explosives blew up in a residential neighborhood, killing its two passengers and a passer-by, police at Al-Salaam hospital said. Police had been searching for the vehicle, which was reported stolen earlier Monday. It was not immediately known who was behind the gunning-down of two Sunni clerics Sunday night and Monday in Baghdad. The two clerics belonged to the Association of Muslim Scholars, a grouping of conservative clerics that opposes the U.S. presence in Iraq and has emerged as a powerful representative of Iraq's Sunni minority. The association is believed to have contacts with Sunni insurgents, though it denies any links with them. It has interceded often in the past to win the release of foreign hostages, and militant groups have asked the association for a religious ruling on whether kidnappings and killing of hostages are permitted. Gunmen shot and killed Sheik Mohammed Jadoa al-Janabi, a member of the association, as he entered a mosque in Baghdad's predominantly Shiite al-Baya neighborhood to perform noon prayers Monday, the association said. The previous night, gunmen kidnapped Sheik Hazem al-Zeidi and two of his bodyguards as he left a mosque in another largely Shiite neighborhood of Baghdad, Sadr City. Al-Zeidi was killed and the bodyguards were released Monday, the association said. A few clerics from the association have been killed in the past most recently in February. But the motives in those and the latest slayings have been unclear. There have been tit-for-tat killings of Shiite and Sunni clerics in the past year, widely believed to be motivated by sectarian sentiments. The Sunni minority dominated Iraq for centuries but is now eclipsed by the Shiite majority and the Kurds, and there are resentments from all sides.One of the association's key members, Sheik Ahmed Abdul-Ghafour Al-Samarie, may have angered insurgents by criticizing attacks against Iraqi police that left dozens dead last week. Al-Samarie said the attacks should instead be directed against foreign troops not Iraqi civilians.The group may have also raised the ire of the militants by failing to act as yet on calls to issue a fatwa, or religious edict, sanctioning the kidnapping of foreigners.

September - 1 - 04

Have You Been Waiting For Me To Say Something?

Argh i love a great leader ex specialy one that use's the word 'Trust' as a way to keep a foot in the door and to pull a dirty flea bag over his people's heads. Watch out kids next you will see your loving and caring prime minister holding little cute Australian babys at the local private hospital -Its so predictable it hurts.What a joke.

August - 11 - 04

Music and people can heal your soul

Good news were on our way to the coldest state in Australia. Very excited because Phil (original violinist in trp and my violin teacher a long time ago) will be playing violin with us at the Nash (Geelong) and Wayne and his cello will be joining us for all the up-coming gigs combining this with the rest of the band means pure ecstacy for me and a huge wall of color and mayhem. I may just loose the plot. It will be loads of fun catching up with old friends and family, never know we may even do a cover on "Insane me" hehehhehe. Sydney was a load of fun but the highlight was Newcastle, the best show we have had as band yet and I was lucky enough to meet some of the most amazing people a huge thank you to Mousemoon for taking us on their yellow brick road. News of the year .Muse are coming next month. Im dreaming.

P.S im in love with Axl Rose at the moment, maybe i have been my whole life. this is a secret of course.

July - 25 - 04

The Green Fairy Absinth Party At The End Of The World !

I dare say that last nights show at the Zoo was definitely a highlight of my life and one of the most creative I've experienced to-date. last night we were honoured to play at a Green Fairy Absinth Party called "The Crazy Good Show" and crazy it was, for a change we decided to play an acoustic set with myself, Wayne and Ellen. I don't think I've ever played a headliner acoustic show before so I was tripping out before we played, but it seemed to all work well. Its an amazing feeling when people are singing along to the songs you wrote. The 4 paintings that were created by people in the audience were incredible and touching. We had people painting with Fruits, Vegetables, Chopsticks and Knifes and Folks, fuk it who needs paint brushes. Good news the young boy who ran off with the painting at Valley Fiesta was at the show and he has decided to give me back the painting in return for some of The Red Paintings goods, yay i love this guy. A big thank you to Wayne and Ellen the two geisha dolls on violin and cello, its such a privilege to play music with you to and i love you both dearly. Big thanks to Ashley and the green fairy's. Yay Sydney's next, I love this city so much and I cant wait to see what they create. Hope to see you at the next show.

On a very important note! I was lucky enough to be invited to the first screening of Fahrenheit 9/11 at the Dendy Cinema, and it made myself and by the look of the audience feel sick, I'm surprised no-body from the audience didn't throw something very large at that I quote "Government Of War's" head. It all seems to be about money, money and more money, the highest power, makeup and celebrity status. Whats that there's innocent people and children dying for nothing shhhh silly don't tell any one! Thumbs up to Michael Moore for an amazing documentary that deserves all its success, Now here is a real celebrity. A change is a comin......fingers crossed it awakens us all. And no i still have not touched KFC and I wont for the rest of my life, my apoligies to the helpless chickens that I have savaged in the past. For more info go to www.michaelmoore.com and for the coolest band website on the planet www.thecure.com......we love robert smith.

P.S Just received a sad call. Lola's little white dog Jess died this week . Looks like its going to be another sad day. Now we have a funeral to attend to when we hit Victoria next month. xxoo

July - 15 - 04

I Know This Is A Long Shot But Please Return My Baby - Reward Offered!

The Valley Fiesta - Wow! That was one crazy show and thank you all for coming and being so supportive and the paintings you created are so beautiful, thankyou, but what was I thinking? End of the show I'm loosing my mind and pitching 4 foot paintings into the crowd. My apoligies if I hurt any one, you all seemed okay which is a good thing. I hear the person that ran of with the Painting (see above) was the boy who painted for us at QUT, so if you are him or know him.please please email me (trash@theredpaintings.com) and return the Painting. I would be so grateful. This piece of art is very important to me and I would very much like to exhbit it at our other shows. I will exchange for another if you like or give you something in return, I understand its my own fault for allowing the painting to crowd surf and I should be punished, but not this time please. Also i lost my two Favourite china hats one with purple tail piece and the black one with the long pony tail, please if you have them contact me and I will hopefully be able to exchange for something in return.

Peace!

June - 20 - 04

The Virgin Mary Bleeds Red Paint From Her Eyes. .

The time is coming again for The Red Wiggles to tour the East Coast and beyond. 'Ive decided to call this "The Virgin Marys Tour" and I will be taking her with me where ever I go. Why. you might ask? Well because she has a beautiful message to share with you all and its very enlightining and warm so you will have to come to a show to visit Mary and hear her speak she has also come because God has sent her on tour with The Paintings to study the effects of live music and painting on the human soul so dont be to alarmed if shes taking notes.

If you havn't heard yet in the local news, the word on street is that members of 'The Red Paintings' including myself had something to do with the recent happenings at St Mark's Catholic Church in Inala (Brisbane) were statues of the Virgin Mary and other religious icons began weeping blood. Thousands of people have flocked to the church since the incident and the outcome has resulted in a wake up call and made people think seriously about their faith. Well, I can tell you it was just myself who was taken to the police station and questioned by Detectives over the incident but I dont think they had enough hard evidence to charge me. They claimed that I had caused a serious hoaxes and had endangered peoples lives and had apparently found my finger prints on one of the statues and other evidence that I choose not to disclose because I fear for my life. After 8hrs of being interigated by detectives I was sent home until further scientific developments revealed more convincing evidence. Did I do it? Well, does the sky cry on a rainy day? I've done alot of crazy things in my life if I was able to pull this one off then you would think even God himself might select me as one of his angels, well I hope so!

I reccomend you all go to www.billycorgan.com and feel the truth of love, and how powerful love can be. Love forgives- Hate controls and the rest linger like shadows.

P.S - My favourite Brisbane band is "Toerag" they're awsome and 'The Follow' how cool is it that there supporting 'Sonic Youth' in Sydney!? nice one Azaria..

June - 6 - 04

Greetings lifeforms,
ONE of my names is Ademski Pavirotti. I am a dear friend of Trash Mcsweeny who brings you the wonderful journal on his thoughts feelings and insights on the world. My part of the planet is in the amazing city of melbourne.Trash has asked me to send a few reports on the goings on in the art and music scene down here.The amount of new art and music coming out of this city is astounding. where to start....well i think the most rewarding gig of late was by a band called The Case Managers.They are an interesting group consisting of 2 doudle bass players,2 drummers and a tuba player. Their recent residency at The Old Bar in Fitzroy certainly was a treat.The band presented the history of the world over 4 weeks,dividing it into 4 parts;The Stone Age,The Industrial Revolution,The Modern Olympics and The Future.The band uses a great loose feel to their music,with large improvised extended jams .Add to this some powerful vocals by their two talented bass players and their jazz style drummer,as well as witty between songs banter,and you have a hilarious night of fun and abstract thought to keep you guessing.Kind words should go out to The Case Manager's tuba player and straight rock drummer who do great impressions of a flamingo and Arnold Swartzeneger respectively Look out for the singles 'i wish i could work for the dole' and 'everybody knows that you can't catch a train from Australia to Bulgaria' in stores soon.Well that all from me.Love to all you arty people in this wide wild world.Peace.... Ademski Pavirott

Hi ya its Trash here. Adem was actually the original Painter in The Red Paintings when the seed was planted and the band was sprouting green for the first time. Back in those days and up till recently paintings were created on butchers paper from the local fish & chip shop or carboard boxes found in dumpster's because we couldnt afford canvases, not that much as changed on the finance front. The most amazing picture i ever saw adem paint was from our first show in melbourne. such a crazy time i remeber sky scrapers of the city and silhouette's
of the band and the colors were incredible, bummer we lost that one i think it disintegrated. We were lucky enough to have Adem paint for us at recent shows in Brisbane (during his own 'Art On Your Sleave Acoustic Tour') and on the 'Just People And Leaves Tour' 03. And fingers crossed on our next tour to Melbourne, thanks Adem I love you and thanks for keeping us updated with the colors of Victoria and for being you and saving my life when i almost died of starvation...

Check out some of Adems paintings in the Art Gallery.

May - 12- 04

AND LIFE GOES ON...

I feel greener on Sundays; maybe because that’s the day we play music together. -

Wow Sydney is such a cool place I think I would like to move there eventually (Not unless I become great friends with Bjork and write nursery rhymes with her, wake up trash wake up noooooo) playing in Sydney is very different to any other state I have played in. I seem to always get a little more crazier when being in that place a little more open and find myself almost loosing the plot arghhhhhhh I love it and I love the people who live there and there energy and warmth. I was stoked to see that people have been coming to our shows just to paint The Sydney show produced some amazing artworks with plenty of creative minds getting in on the action. The thing I love most about this band is watching all kinds of people create colors on the canvases whilst we play, its such a huge buzz, color, art, music, aliens, words, eye noises, angst feelings, hot, cold, deleted, flummox angels, atmosphere, souls, smiles, regret, walls, words, geisha dolls there all created in the big ball of whatever it is that it is and so it is as it was.
A few beers can never go astray right Leigh? hehehheheh love it and love your smile.
When I say to kids my name is Trash there like cool when I say my name is trash to people that are elderly they laugh and thinks it’s a joke, maybe I'm just a joke but at least I'm being me.
I read this quote from a very cool person yesterday and it captured exactly what I was thinking and speaking about a week before last -

"For the longest time I've been of the opinion that Australian music is overrated. Not that we don't have some very fine bands on this little continent of ours, but because a lot of the public takes the attitude that "If it's Australian, it must be good!" Unsurprisingly, this leads to a lot of garbage floating up to the surface, and the occasional good band in the mix gets drowned out in the cacophony of mediocre crud. As much as it pains me to say it, Youth Group are one of those great bands that are getting drowned out; if they were based in another country with a higher signal to noise ratio, they'd probably have a widespread, if largely underground audience. Unfortunately, as it is, they're releasing great albums like "Skeleton Jar" to a largely oblivious audience....." I recommend going to this website it’s fantastic and speaks for its self http://www.halo-17.net

So anyway how are you? and how have you been? I missed you all so much we don't seem as close these days its like your there but your not there were did you go did you loose what it is that you were looking for? please find it because we miss you and we want you back.....and life goes on. Wow this year has gone quick. I want to say a big thank you to Skinny's Music such cool people who looked after us well and have been great supporters for our tunes and ideas, thank you kindly.
I wrote a new song recently its called 'In this fragment of time you fit the moment' I had this title for sum time and could never write the right song to fit it and finally I feel I have and now it all makes sense to me why I had to wait this long, music is funny like that I'm not sure how other souls write but I personally can never force the feeling of a song out when I'm writing, I always find melody's and words pop in to my head at the most obscure times, its a beautiful thing cause when it happens I know its right and I feel it with all my whole spirit. Music is so so wonderful so captivating like a drug it can take you of your feet and move you to a place you never thought you could go to. right now I'm listening to Radiohead live in Sydney show 2, which some how appeared in my mail box so fucking cool hey I'm listening and I can see so many colors all over this show its just so colorful. You see I flew to Melbourne to see Radio head there but unfortunately they canceled that afternoon which left me and many many others in the city very very sad, for me it was like finally I get to see and feel something truly amazing a musical journey that has influenced many for many years I’ve waited so long to be moved to be revived anyway shit happens and the outcome was me and Lola venturing down to Rod Laver arena about 9pm to find 3 people standing at the gate wondering what the hell was going on so I invited them back to The Cherry Bar where we had a great time and Lola won the trivia comp being held by the one and only Helen razor (old school triple j) good times thanks to Emily and Brandon from Alaska USA Yay we love you guys.
For you kids who keep asking me about the film clip to 'Rain' yes its still coming just not sure when its being released to the public yet but I can assure you we will load it on to the website when its all completed, this one I have nothing to do with and its out of my control, but I do apologies especially to the kids who spent a lot of time and effort on it.
Thanks to you all that have bought our new single Rain, I hope you have enjoyed the new tunes and feedback on the new single is always greatly appreciated so please mail me and let me know what ya think, I'm no sure when the album is coming it just cost so much fuking money once again I'm ruled by the commodities of life, To sign to a major or to not sign hmmm what would you do? How else to release a huge record and to get it out to the galaxy, hands together and we pray for a miracle together, together. This album is not just about me and what I feel its about us all, where we are going, if we choose to go or even if we want to go bless the virgin Mary and feed her the food that may help you from starving, I feel useless because I'm still here. I'm sorry if I yelled at you I didn't mean to it hurts for me too...yes we will take bank cheques.

People I would like to thank and express my appreciation

Our manager Moshe for everything and more and for taking me on my first ever sailing trip this week, thinking times.

The cool cats in The red paintings Jazzy, Ellen and Leigh for being true to themselves and believing.

The little 3 year old baby for painting at our show on Monday.

Lola McSweeney you’re a cutieeeeeeeeeeeeeeee I love you xo. sample me baby.grrrr

Zac well you just rock all the time..

Wayne Jennings the worlds most amazing cello player how lucky am I, many thanks.

Billy Corgan for never giving up and always being true to yourself even at the hardest times, please go see the move 'Spun' its kick ass music by Billy C.

Craig Nicholls, song 9 i love it. Your one cool cat.

See you soon, I hope...

April 3 - 04

THE CHINA DOLLS ARE HERE TO STAY!

Wow, aren’t they beautiful! Below are just some of the dolls I have collected in my time. A lot of people ask me why I am so weird and why I have dolls on stage with me what does it mean what does it represent? well if you were to enter my room you would see a huge resemblance from our stage set up, I basically take all the things I love from my room and put them up there with me on stage, it makes me feel comfortable, its just who I am I guess most of the songs I write have been written around all these icons so it would be only fair to take them along with me. Dolls to me are like art works in them selves, captured moments never to be forgotten. Especially hand made dolls which I find at old antiques stores or op shops etc. I like it that I have something that somebody from another country (maybe) once loved and kept them from being attacked by the monster in the closet until they grew up and grew out of it so it was tossed aside like trash, like me... Little people are just so cool. It has been a trying year during the rain launch shows I have lost, trampled on and even used the china dolls heads as picks and so my collection is dying out, to super-glue them back together just wouldn’t be right, so I plead and ask you if you have any Chinese, Japanese dolls or unique dolls etc I could purchase I would love to hear from you please email me trash@theredpaintings.com bless your souls.

Just for the record we are not dressed up to be ‘Goth’. So no, we are not a try-hard Goth band. That’s probably why our music doesn’t sound gothic; because that’s not what we are. In saying that I personally appreciate and admire the gothic culture, & we love the fact that Goth kids have started coming to our shows. Its’ exciting for us to see so many different people appreciating our music, it just becomes a worry when people leave saying ‘pffsh, they don’t even sound gothic!’ It seems some people think that if a band dresses up and paints there face they must be gothic that could be true but in our case its not. I am just, well… I hope I am an opened minded person who is trying to put together something fresh, spontaneous and real without ripping of the Beatles.

The idea behind wearing the geisha out fits is basically because of my fascination with the culture and to mix colors with out it being a "fuck rock this is fashion’ show, that’s about it really. You see, for some people, dressing in this way is a part of their culture, their way of life; it makes them who they are and can be a representation of their religion. But what I see and what you see may be two different colors. Joy to the world, in which we can all be who ever it is that we want to be. Peace and all the rest of it, Trash.

Ps- Ohh. By the way, incase you didn’t realise there are still very young children and adults locked away in AUSTRALIAN DETENTION CAMPS. Yes its been going on for a long time now, even though the media don’t find it interesting to televise it any more, and yes your government does not care and yes he lies to you MOST OF THE TIME, but you make these choices when you vote, but who should you vote for? Apparently we live in a democracy seems to me its hypocrisy, questions or thoughts feel free to write to me, or maybe your prime minister

.

March 25 - 04

SUGGESTIVE SELLING!

Kentucky Fried Cruelty ! Every time I pass a KFC these days I find my stomach churning and I almost vomit with the thought of what procedures are used by these companys to make fast food for our or your enjoyment. KFC are only one of the very many companys in our sick world today that use these unfair procedures. We live in a world where it seems we will do just about ANYTHING for a quick dollar, here are the facts for your enjoyment...

"Chicken meat used by KFC comes from purpose bred chickens known as broilers. Every year in Australia more than 320 million chickens are raised and killed for their meat, at only eight weeks of age. The vast majority of broilers are raised in crowded sheds. These sheds house 10,000-20 000 at one time.

At the turn of the century it took a broiler 94 days to grow to slaughter weight (about two kilograms), today it takes approxmately 35-40 days as a result of selective breeding for quicker meat growth. Selective breeding and the addiction of growth stimulates into feed, results in baby birds with the bodies of adults.

Such accelerated growth rates of these chickens, cause a variety of leg and joint problems. In some cases their legs cannot support their own body weight leaving the chickens to starve or dehydrate, as they are unable to stand up and therefore cannot access the automated feed and water systems found in the sheds.

At a slaughter, birds are hung upside down and pass through an electrified water bath before having their throats slit and then plunched into scalding water to loosen their feathers,a horrible death following a horrible life.

So what can we do?

we can refuse to eat at KFC, maybe join an animal activists world wide in asking KFC to introduce basic animal welfare measures for broilers such as more humane slaughter methods, stopping the use of growth promoting substances, increasing the average floor space per bird, allowing birds to fullfil their natural desire for activity by introducing whole green cabbage into their diet to give them something to peck at and eat."

______________________

The clock ticks ever so quikly people, if this is a subject that effects you also then I suggest you go to www.animal-lib.org.au, www.peta.org or www.KentuckyFriedCruelty.com. Its funny I've been eating junk food like KFC all my life and most of the time when im not eating all the grissle and fat it taste's yummo until about half an hr later when my tummy starts to feel gross, but I still would go back for more a few days later. When you read up on the facts you realise just how terrible this food is anyway, so why would we want to eat it? Lazy I guess, Miss Informed. Naive. Stupid. Mad Human Disease here we come.This is so so wrong people. I do believe the world has many problems due to greed and misunderstandings, if I was to talk about them all then I would be wrtitng to you for the rest of my life and most probably beyond that; this is just one topic that I and many other people would like to share with you. I hope you have learnt something, and will choose like myself to be more aware of the naive world we live in, because if we dont now, well we will probabaly just 'go to mars and fuck it all again'.

"Wednesday, March 24, 2004

PETA ups anti-KFC campaign with 'blood'

By SONJA BARISIC
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

NORFOLK, Va. -- The animal-rights activists who once suggested Ronald McDonald was a bloody butcher are going after Colonel Sanders, contending cruelty is the "secret recipe" for KFC's fried chicken.

Starting next month, Norfolk-based People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals plans to hand out "Buckets of Blood" to children outside KFC restaurants and at schools near the restaurants. The buckets are part of PETA's campaign against what it says are farming and slaughter abuses by KFC's suppliers.

The 5-inch-tall, red-and-white striped containers mimic KFC's buckets. But instead of fried chicken, each is filled with items including a bag of fake blood and bones, a bloodied plastic chicken and a cardboard caricature of a blood-spattered Colonel Sanders holding a butcher knife toward a terrified-looking chicken.

Labels on the bucket proclaim, "Shhh! The 'secret recipe' in this bucket of body parts is ... cruelty" and "The Colonel's secret recipe: live scalding, painful debeaking, crippled chickens."

KFC spokeswoman Bonnie Warschauer initially said, "We don't comment on the corporate terrorist activities of PETA. They are corporate terrorists and just like the United States government, we will not negotiate with corporate terrorists."

Warschauer added that "PETA has totally crossed the line of free speech and acceptable behavior" and "all they want is a vegetarian world."

"They misrepresent the truth about our responsible, industry-leading animal welfare standards," she said. "We're committed to the humane treatment of chickens."

KFC, part of Louisville, Ky.-based Yum! Brands Inc., has an animal welfare advisory council made up of highly regarded experts, Warschauer said. She added that while the company does not own chicken farms, it monitors suppliers to determine whether they are using humane procedures.

PETA spokesman Bruce Friedrich said the campaign is "about getting KFC to stop supporting abuse of chickens that shocks the conscience of any kind person."

A label on the bucket says "Just for you, KFC's suppliers cram thousands of chickens into filthy sheds, sear baby chicks' beaks off with a hot wire, slam the birds into crates (breaking their wings and legs), slice their throats open and scald them to death while they're still conscious. Enjoy."

The buckets are reminiscent of the "Unhappy Meals" PETA began distributing in 2000 as part of a public relations assault against McDonald's. The boxes, similar to the Happy Meals that McDonald's serves to children, contained a stuffed doll that looked like Ronald McDonald holding a bloody butcher's knife.

PETA suspended its campaign against McDonald's in response to an announcement by the fast-food chain that it would improve living conditions for its chickens. McDonald's officials said PETA had nothing to do with its initiative.

PETA plans to begin handing out the buckets on the West Coast and in the Midwest in mid- to late April, then branch out from there, Friedrich said. PETA eventually will have people distributing the buckets all over North America as well as in Australia, India, the United Kingdom and South Africa, he said..."

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http://www.KentuckyFriedCruelty.com

http://www.animal-lib.org.au

http://www.peta.org

"The visitors are sweeping up from where we buried them under layers of denial and false assurance to deliver what is truly a message from the beyond.: There is something more to us and our universe, and it is rich with the potential of the unknown.

They have caused me to slough off my old view of the world like the dismal skin that it was and seek a completely new vision of this magnificent, mysterious and fiercely alive universe.

- Whitley Strieber.