My final week in Australia consisted of a very lazy Monday, lying poolside and verbally abusing flies (did I mention the flies?).  A big weekend of drinking was definitely catching up with me so I chilled by the pool and wrote last week’s blog.  I continued to feed my belly which has now taken on a mind of it’s own and may require it’s own passport.

Tuesday saw myself, Paul and Tony make the 3 hour journey back to Melbourne for my gig that evening, a party put together at short notice by Mark Krunic, with help from Mike Gurrieri who made the initial contact regarding the party although strangely was left off the line up !?  We arrived at our rather nice hotel and headed out for beers in the nearby Belgian Beer Garden.  I’m still loving my iPhone and also the “Checking in” feature on it.  No doubt once I get home the novelty will wear thin  “Andy checked into the sofa”, “Andy checked into the bus stop to collect the kids”, “Andy got admitted to the loony bin”.  If you have an iPhone then add me on Viber or What’s app, message me for my info but don’t expect me to talk to you on the phone, I don’t like talking much.… anyway I digress..

Melbourne is probably the city I enjoy playing in the most whenever I visit Australia, mainly because all the gigs I have ever played here have always been specifically Deep House orientated and the crowds that come out definitely are receptive to a good sing-a-long.  This gig was to be no exception.

The occasion, a Tuesday night, was the eve of Australia Day, a public holiday meaning everyone gets a day off and goes crazy the night before.  Arriving at Pretty Please I was met by Mark who took good care of us by showing us to our VIP booth and bottle of Vodka, which we  started on immediately.  Warming things up perfectly was one of Melbourne’s finest DJs and promoters, James Belias.  At 1am I took to the decks and got to work to the packed dance floor.

The rest of the night is a little sketchy, thanks to the two bottles of Absolut we demolished between us, but I do vaguely recall everyone having a great time and I was gracefully allowed to play to the end of the night, extending my set and finishing at around 5am.

It was great seeing Dave & Joys out enjoying themselves, along with the rest of my Melbourne friends, way too many to mention, and I thank you all for your continued support.  Big ups to Chris NG for coming down to celebrate his birthday alongside a whole heap of Melbourne’s finest DJs and party people.

Special thanks to Mike G for making the initial contact and thanks to Mark and all at Pretty Please for the massive hangover on Wednesday morning.

The next few days were very lazy indeed.  At one point, let’s just say I lost a few hours and discovered another dimension to the music.  I also started thinking about writing a book about my life and how amazing the film would be.  Now let me focus on this for a second.  This isn’t one of those “I’m so cool, make a film about me” kind of thoughts.. however an observation at some of the many things that have happened to me along the way (outside of the music), the places I have visited and the people I have shared my experiences with.  Take a moment to think about your own life, the crazy things that have happened to you and the crazy people you know… imagine the sound track to your life… how awesome would it be ?!!

Again, I digress. I enjoyed a rare opportunity to lose myself, albeit temporarily, inside the music… I had about a thousand different trains of thought, got the munchies and went to bed.

So to the weekend.

The final gig of the tour saw myself, Paul, Pippa and Paddy drive 40 minutes outside of Cobram.  The town of Shepparton is much bigger than Cobram although still relatively “SleepyVille” compared to most places I play.  Having met Richard & Keesha, the owners, mid week and seeing Pioneer CDJ 1000s and an 800 mixer behind the booth, I was confident that the gig would go well.  Walking into the Bullion Bar and upstairs to the open air terrace, we were met by these cool sounds… it was immediately apparent that it was going to be a LONG night.

I’d like to say that the tour ended with the gig of all gigs, unfortunately The Bullion Bar  turned out to be a venue that wasn’t ready for anyone that didn’t play the latest R&B or hip hop/house mash ups on the terrace.  After a valiant attempt to construct some kind of vibe on the dancefloor I admitted defeat, handed over to the resident DJ and left.  I think I had 2 drinks all night, that should say everything that needs to be said !  We all left and I proceeded to seek comfort in the bottom of a doner kebab wrapper.  Even that didn’t go down well… now that MUST give you an idea of the night I had ?

My last day here was one of the hottest of the whole month and I enjoyed baking myself for the last time and preparing for the journey ahead. The serenity of the pool was shattered by what appears to be a full on invasion of locust and flies, so my departure couldn’t come soon enough. My final evening meal was a Chinese, I ate it all until my stomach was about to explode, I thought it only polite !

I finish this report with a smile on my face and a lump in my throat.   I have had a truly amazing time here with some fantastic people, all of whom have been mentioned throughout my four weekly reports.

It’s been a mixed bag regarding the parties I have played at, they kind of play second fiddle to the socialising that has taken place in between events but I take away some great memories from them all and am glad that I was able to vent the frustrations of last year’s end in a positive way.

From start to finish, once again, I have to thank Sam Hussey, all at The Arcade Creative, the people at Base on Magnetic Island, the crew of the Sea Este, Brett & Zach alongside my Brothers and Sisters in Brisbane, everyone in Melbourne, the people of Shepparton and, last but not least, Paul & Pippa and the Cobram massive.  You have all made my stay here one I will never forget and consequently my life is richer for having you all in it.  It is a crying shame I never made it to Sydney this year and I send greetings out to all my friends there.

As I hit “publish”, I pack away my macbook and head for the airport and the journey home…. this is the part in my life story where the actor portraying me (jury is out on who that would be) wipes the tears from his eyes and takes another bite of his Big Mac, before waddling off into the sunset.

I love you Australia, take care of yourselves until next time !

Fatty… out !