yes, i have a daughter.

a peaceful, tiny, perfect girl.

she has an adoring, proud big brother.

feeling very blessed and happy to be home.

i am amazed again at the way being a parent

makes me become more.

just had my first long weekend away since the birth.

llewella thrived. i survived.

what a wonderful response tho, in costa mesa.

we were back at the first ever celtic festival we played.

16 years down the road. and quite the road it has been.

i look forward to a busy summer.

being in the garden with my family.

and playing shows all over the country.

a time of change it is. and more change coming.

i suspect things will look quite different come the fall.

i suspect i will look quite different come the fall.

angus

and asa a big brother.

the little bloke has me smiling and laughing,

and changing my point of view. a lot.

and that's the medicine i want.

so glad to be home in this time.

just being with the family.

tending the garden.

we have a deer proof fence this year,

so we're planning on having a lot more veggies.

keeping the business rolling along too. thanks leels.

amazing things are happening in this time.

20 years since i came here from oz,

with my 2 brothers,

and BROTHER began.

yes, it is quite the time...

we have a busy summer coming.

our busiest since we became 3.

i will enjoy it all very much.

but for now, there's a new human coming ...

angus

can't imagine what people in japan are going thru.

can't imagine what people in the middle east are going thru.

earthquake, tsunami, rebellion, more war,

another crazy celebrity, a royal wedding. what now?

divide and conquer. yes, it's all a distraction, n'est-ce pas?

and yet, more every day are waking up. seeing thru the illusions.

the sun sets. the sun rises. and i'm talking to myself again.

oh, my god. oh, my god. oh, your god. let them talk, shall we?

drew's here. time to be making music again.

anticipating my little boy becoming a big brother soon.

truth and sanity there.
and today? happy birthday little matey ...

angus

as the uprising continues in egypt i think back on our time there
and try to reconcile what is happening with my memories.
warm and friendly people everywhere we went.
an incredible mix of the modern and the truly ancient,
which seemed to highlight the humility of the people.
crazy taxi rides in cairo, straight out of an indiana jones movie.
rich, bustling markets filling the alleys and squares of beautiful buildings
many centuries old.
finding the bargains with my sister and brother in law, ahmed.

the pyramids. words don't begin.
riding horses around them with our dad, big dave.
the big fella perched up on his steed, looking mighty uncomfortable,
stirrups way too short for his long legs.
a far cry from the farm - my last time on a horse, at seventeen.
the ubiquitous hustlers, selling everything from camel rides to souvenirs,
priceless antiquities all.
visiting a place of abject poverty in alexandria,
playing music on the street there.
being welcomed with open hearts and beaming smiles.
table and chairs brought out onto the streets,
and a big pot of tea to share with us.
communicating without words.
the happiest children in the direst circumstances,
following us like we were pied pipers,
smiling and dancing til the end of their neighborhood,
where they shouted and waved goodbye.

and of course, the military presence.
most obvious when we went to do an interview
at the government run radio in cairo.
the only radio in cairo. with heavier security than the airport.
but in spite of all the oppressions, the people were inspiring.
may their will and their good hearts triumph in the days ahead.

with a million or more people on the streets as i write.

good to be home again, tho only for a couple more days.

every time i return home asa is more a person.

bigger stronger faster. cheekier and funnier.

and i am always more enthralled.

by him. by the process.

and now he is to be a big brother.

he doesn't really get it yet

but we certainly do.

i know it will be similar

and yet different in so many ways too.

and so the world will turn.

and our minds will be quietly(or not so quietly) blown again ...

anxious to have that rascal drewski living here.

somehow we've managed to keep the BROTHER beast breathing,

across the years, across continents, across seas.

but it is always easier to move quickly when we're closer.

seems he will drive across the country early in the new year.

here's to a safe journey mate.

angus

my son in the front row imitating dalbo,

or dancing with the other small ones,

or watching me, hand to his head in the sign for 'dada'.

people there from the days of yore.

one bloke who was at our LA show with colin hay 14 years ago.

and the flyer to prove it.

kids, teachers and parents from the school shows we did last week.

a community gathering.

felt good to be so welcomed our first time out ...

we had to move a couple of months back.

a pain the in proverbial but the first place we looked at suited us perfectly.

a mountain view that takes me back to the farm.

and lichen grew up here, so it feels like home for us both.

big back yard, deer proof veggie garden,

fruit trees and an old chicken coop.

maybe next year we'll have chooks. that'll really take me back.

nothing quite like collecting your own eggs.

a goat perhaps? no, just kidding.

one day ...

sonora this weekend with andrew and david.

gold country. they found it there, and the grasses are.

gold that is.

for now, time to soak in the view. and a brew.

angus

and somehow my id had important pieces of info missing,

or kind of flashing in and out, so it wasn't usable at all.

and of course, i had somewhere to be,

a show to play, bread to win ...

then i realized i was dreaming,

and i was indeed already on the way to somewhere,

telling dalbo about the dream.

the stress of flying nowadays,

now that we're all terrorists not tourists,

not like the good old days,

when i loved to fly ...

then i really woke up, at home,

to the sound of asa talking to himself in his crib.

the cheeky, tough little dynamo that is my son,

engages me in this life more and more every day.

he loves tractors, drumming, blackberries straight off the vine,

jumping, dressing up in hats and the moon.

he brings me close to the ground,

(where any good taurus should be, eating the flowers)

when flying these days, even in my dreams, is so often a drag.

pleasanton last weekend. 6 shows in 2 days.

like so many of those celtic festivals,

lots of hard playing, lots of sweating.

and lots of good people, old and new,

reminding me why i still go out and do this.

jamming with the lass and lads of albannach on our final tune.

a mighty way to end the day.

and we will do it again next week in new hampshire.

in the meantime, the boy sleeps again after a long and busy day.

sweet dreams little matey.

and lang mae yer lum reek.

angus

to play music to a pleasure seeking audience in such a setting?

sublime.

next day, a jamming set on the neverworlds stage, in under the trees.
afterwards, dalbo had asa up on his drum kit.

he played there, engrossed, for a good half hour.

and did protest much at having to leave.

boy has rhythm.

first time jamming with my son.

i am a lucky man ...

home then, for a backyard barbie.
i enjoy hanging with the fellas as much i do playing with them.
a very good thing ...

countryside turning gold,

like summer on the farm in oz.

we had a long wet spring here in southern oregon.

but after so many years in LA i always enjoy the rain.

it feels like summer is just now about to spring. so to speak ...

our boy is not really a baby anymore.

it's only brief moments tho we miss the tiny one he was.

most of the time the vital, industrious, tough, smiling,

surprisingly gentle little lad he is now has us captivated.

every day he becomes more. everyday he fascinates us more.

every day he inspires us more. every day he is more fun to be with.

he is fascinated with every instrument i play.

didges, guitar, whistles, even the bagpipes.

and insists on playing them himself in his own unique way.

often he'll drag the big yucca didg over to me to play,

holding the other end to him to feel the vibration

or lifting it high over his head,

stamping his leg maori style.

then he'll hoot into the didg himself,

eyes serious and determined,

his library of sounds growing daily.

he is a great helper in the garden,

carting the watering can from pot to pot,

moving handfuls of earth from one planter box to another.

and always taking time to smell, and sometimes eat, the flowers.

i smile and i laugh all the more because of him.

and i take time eat the flowers myself now and then ...

i have been in the green room a lot more.

making music. getting the callouses hard again.

remembering old songs. learning new ones.

looking ahead to a busy week.

a lot of flying. a lot of playing.

wisconsin and pennsylvania have welcomed us many times

but wyoming is new to us, and BROTHER new to wyoming.

i love being at home and part of me could stay here happily,

playing with asa, growing vegetables, making music.

but another part of me looks forward to being on a big stage,

in front of a big, smiling, pulsating crowd,

making music with my mates.

let the summer begin.

angus

but over the moon to be here.

my boy's beaming smile at the airport,

the best medicine i could ask for.

a ditty from the plane ...

first thing i'm gonna do when i get home

throw away a lot things i don't wanna own

make a lot of room for the things to come

but not before i savour my wife and son

'tis spring and there's much to let go of.

much i've carried around for too many years.

and across the country. twice.

not surprisingly, i enjoyed making music with the fellas.

cape may again. this time underground

while the rain fell above. nice crowd.

we did the colonial games with dalbo this year.

several jamming 'busking' type sets

and a big stage show.

then our first ever 'house party',

felt right to be in an idyllic garden setting.

the reid's backyard no less.

beautiful weather and birthday boy bill on sound.

a good readying for next months shows.

this cheeky cough had me piping and singing

with considerably less lung capacity than usual.

but, we make it thru, don't we?

in the meantime, the new cd.

we're told it's ready and on its way to us.

next stop, you.

'aveagoodweekend.

angus

when he recognizes and responds to my music,

my heart is truly warmed.

today we make the final album decisions -

song sequence, mastering tweaks,

artwork, proofing.

it seems we have the sequence.

a good mix of songs old and new.

of sounds ancient and modern.

BROTHER now ...

it rains here after a few sun drenched days.

days spent outside weeding, planting flowers, erecting fences,
and digging garden beds for veggies.

reminds me of brother hamish, green man.

he with his feet in the ground.

and i think of the huge veggie garden we had growing up.

and the little orchard.
naive for sure, but we were lucky farm kids.

thank you dawnie and dave.

we're looking forward to growing much of our own,

especially with a small and ever hungry human to feed ...

maybe we'll get a goat.

angus