I'm going to tell you a story about one man and how cool he is. 'Bleu' or William James McAuley III is officially in Australia. He touched down at some point today... not totally sure. He flew in from Los Angeles. I first heard about Bleu when I was living in a big shiny mansion during my Idol days. My beautiful brother Kieran sent me a CD to make me feel a little less homesick over there, as well as enlighten me to the new music he had been listening to at the time. Track five on this compilation disc was a song called 'We'll Do It All Again'. I couldn't listen past it. I remember the moment I heard it... I was lying in my single bed, in between two other single beds occupied by my good friends Marty Worrall and Daniel Belle; and I was trying to get to sleep by listening to some music. Every emotion I felt at that time was heightened and exaggerated by my circumstances... including simple pleasures like listening to music. By my third listen in a row of this amazing song... I realised I was in tears. It wasn't for any real reason that I can pinpoint... perhaps homesickness, perhaps missing Jane, perhaps the lyrics hit me in a way I wasn't expecting... either way it was a really pleasant cry. It was then I made the decision that if I had the chance, I would perform this goddamn wonderful song on Idol. Luckily my chance came up not long after that. About half way through the season, we had a show called 'Up Close & Personal'. Which was a completely NON-JUDGED show. How perfect an opportunity it was... suddenly song choice was completely non-reliant on 'playing the game' and simply what I would love to perform in front of millions of people. 'We'll Do It All Again' was to be that song. A little time later, Bleu sent me an email saying that someone had put him onto the fact that I had performed his song... he saw a little clip if I remember rightly. He thanked me and said I did a good job; That meant so much to me I can't express. And then moving on a few more years later, the meeting was held to discuss who should we get to mix the album. A few names were tossed around... most chaps I hadn't even heard of... but I wasn't going to have this incredible album I've been slaving over be messed up by a bad mix; and honestly... the mixing of an album is about 50% of the work. Ridiculously important. Then I thought 'who would I WANT to mix my album'... instead of who could I settle for... and I thought of the gods like Jack Joseph Puig or Bob Clearmountain or even the god of gods Jeff Lynne. That's when it hit me... my ol' mate Bleu had recently released a new album under the name 'L.E.O.' It was an album of original music but an homage in the production style of Jeff Lynne. Genius. get Jeff Lynne? puh... how about Bleu? After a little negotiation, the promise of some kangaroo spotting, and some help in learning to say "as long as there's no bull dust in my coldie, she'll be apples"...in a perfect Aussie accent, Bleu agreed to be my hero and mix my album here in Perth. He'd never been to Aus before and was keen to rectify this oversight. So he's arrived in the Eastern States right now, and I have 9 days to finish off the rest of my harmonies on 'Big' before he flies to the west coast to get cracking on mixing. Deadline is nigh. I'm going to hang out with one of my heroes in less than two weeks... and he's going to be a part of my album. I'm the luckiest guy around. Love Court.
Posted: 2009-05-15 05:38:16Author:admin

I'm done. Put a fork in me... I'm done. Too many times, I walk around this city and I see a sight that just confuses me yet makes me giggle. The level of Bogan in Perth is getting ridiculous. This is the first VERY subjective blog I've done, and I swear if I offend anybody... don't hate me... get yourself your very own special blog and write about how MUCH you hate me. Dudes walking around with Mohawks and Mullets... doodle cuts. Trying to be fresh and trendy... inadvertently looking like a dick... with white rimmed sunglasses. The one that makes me giggle the most is when you see this creature in the night-time... they'll still be wearing their sunnies on their head, or ... around the back of their neck. Oh boy. Then you've got the patriot. These 'lads' are more often than not accompanied by either the Australian flag in the form of board shorts, or a Southern Cross tattoo somewhere leg oriented. How fresh.. how novel. Don't get me wrong; I love my country too... but you'll never see a bumper sticker on my car that reads 'Fuck off we're full'. What a pile of crap that is. You can't be serious with this stupid bloody sticker. I'm certainly not the first to have a 'cry' about this controversial 'statement', or I won't be the last... but I just needed to make it clear that bigotry is a sure sign of a really low intellect as far as I'm concerned... Some pointless decal of the Southern Cross on my Holden Ute. You know the type... I guess I've digressed from my original point; White Sunglasses and a Doodle Cut. I understand trends and the need for fashion conformity amongst young men with low self esteem; but seriously lads... who was the guy that came up with this new dick look? Some fellow named Brendan or Wayne who just finished cleaning the toilet with his hair, and then rocked up to the pub with his little sister's sunglasses on his head by accident and then one of his little clone mates named Luke or Damo or something just had to copy the new look. I certainly didn't mean to rant as much as I have done... I just get angry... no... angry is the wrong word... down... yep... down with the thought of the dumbing down of society. Give it ten years, and all the teachers will be teaching the kids to spell it 'Definately'. ...and you know what? if you just read the last sentence and wondered what was wrong with the spelling of 'definately'... you could very well be part of the problem. Love Court. P.s. Happy go lucky blog next time, I promise.
Posted: 2009-05-01 02:44:23Author:admin

I remember hearing stories of how when they came home they weren't just spat at, they were verbally abused, they had pig's blood thrown at them... they were derided. My dad was in the Vietnam War in 1969. It's such a foreign word in my insular world. WAR. But sure enough... he's got the broken down body to prove it. He was in 5RAR, a battalion that I recognise by their 'Tiger' logo. He walked through jungle all day carrying an M60 machine gun. He was shot at, he was blown up. He did his time, day to day not knowing if he was ever going to see home again... he survived and came home. As time marches on and we lose our precious ANZACS, so should we move on and start to recognise more and more the men who really didn't get the recognition back when they needed it the most. This Anzac Day, I'll be thinking of those men. I'm not shying away from the legacy of the WW1 veterans, or even our surviving WW2 veterans... but my day of honouring those who fought for my country will be spent thinking about those young men, going to a country for a reason they probably had little clue about... fighting simply because they were told to. I may be out of line there, and if I am, I apologise. I've seen the way my dad copes with life now; how it has affected him, and I think... there must surely be hundreds of men in this country that were never offered the support that they needed and deserved. So many men whose kids have grown up into their late twenties and early thirties now, having troubles coping with stress and life, because they took on their father's grief. When you see a telecast of men walking down the street tomorrow... know that it isn't a re-hash. These amazing gentlemen deserve our support, respect and love. My heart is filled with gratitude for the men that went away from our wonderful shores to fight so our shores stayed wonderful. Tomorrow isn't a day of mourning. It's a celebration... of men who lived and died for us... ...and I'll bet you anything if you celebrate and honour these men tomorrow... ...you'll see some diggers with pretty big smiles on their faces. Love Court.
Posted: 2009-04-24 20:29:33Author:admin

My beautiful girl had another 'age celebration'. I dunno, I just decided birthday is SO passe. Age celebration... I like it. So yeah, she isn't really that INTO doing stuff for her 'A.C.' so I decided I'd treat her to a little family time. Her folks, my in-laws, live in Yallingup and it's always the elixir we both need whenever we get a chance to get down there. It is funny though, Yallingup is such a coastal community and very much a beach/oceany way of life... but I can count the times on one hand I've actually been in the ocean down there. That's not what it's about for me. John and Alison are my parents in law and you couldn't ask for a better set of 'second' parents... and they are always so inviting whenever we get there; and the relief that overcomes Jane is almost instantaneous. It's like the world washes off her and she becomes a little kitten... I don't want to sit here and gush about the love I have for my wife suffice to say... it's simply awesome. ...and it goes a long way in calming me down too. So yeah, I took her down to see her folks and to have a birthday dinner cooked by her dad. John cooked the most fabulous (yeah, I said fabulous... you wanna fight about it?) Rabbit stew thing. With olives and white wine and stuff... phew it was mintox. Then Alison went to a local cake market place and picked up a cake which can only be described as euphoric. It was like a pavlova only SO much better. With coconut and stuff, it may seem like hyperbole, but I swear it's in my top 3 cakes of all time. We came home today ready for my gig at 7th Avenue in Midland and although I really enjoy that gig, I must admit my heart was still down south. I feel like I was almost recharged and then we had to come home again. You know when you charge your phone fully, you get the full life of the battery out of it, but if you just put it on and charge it for a little while, it seems to go flat pretty quickly? Well... that's the best analogy I can come up with for our little trip down south... ...simply not long enough. I hope everyone is lovely tonight... lovely and relaxed. we all deserve it. Love Court.
Posted: 2009-04-22 04:01:35Author:admin

Hey everybody, hope you're all enjoying your Saturday. Mine has started gloriously with a quick surprise visit from my niece, and then some blueberries and yoghurt with a Vegemite topped English muffin. OH SO GOOD! I'm about to start getting the show on the road as I have a massive gig tonight playing for the Toyota people... Should be fun... I should have asked for payment as a new car. As long as it's not a Yaris. Just not a fan is all. I thought I'd say a few things about my day in the studio yesterday with Don. Don is actually Mark Donahoe, pronounced 'Donahue' but spelled differently... don't worry I've brought it up SO many times now. Don is the producer of the album and pretty much, the half of my brain when it's come to doing anything on the album. I love it sometimes we get 'in the zone' and we really are thinking along the same lines. We'll both know when a take sucks, or when the vocals aren't sounding right. Anyway, yesterday was one such day. We're at the stage where we're working toward the deadline of May24th... as this is when my main man 'Bleu' is flying to Perth from the states to mix it. So exciting... seriously... exciting stuff. So all the harmonies need to be completed by then... so we've been furrowing our brows and letting our bum cracks show with a flurry of work. I'm pleased to announce on this date that, 'Second Best' and 'Margarita' are absolutely completed and ready for mix. 2 down, 9 to go. 'She's Not One Of Those Girls' has been my white elephant. The song which has remained up until yesterday as lead vocal less. That is, of course, obviously, until yesterday. I absolutely nailed a lead vocal for this song after SO many attempts it's almost embarrassing. So now it has a lead and all the vocals... I'd say it's finished but Don wants to try one last little instrument thing in the solo bit. Certainly a big day in the studio. But HOW exciting right? I just can't wait for everyone to hear it and seriously wonder how we got a sound like that in Perth. A big day for a 'big' album. For those who don't realise the slight esoteric joke here... the album is called 'Big'. I named it after the nickname for my package... oh that's just not right at all... I didn't give it the nickname... it was just that every girl who saw it would call it that... and I guess the name just stuck... ... .... .... he he he.... ... ........ Nah, it's just a BIG album... and I'm a BIG dude recording the album... and the sound on the album is BIG. THAT'S why I called it 'Big'. Stay tuned for the next installment of the 'Final Sessions of Big'. The finish line is so visible, Stevie Wonder could see it. Love Court.
Posted: 2009-04-18 14:18:50Author:admin