Lifeline benefit gig…

Arna 1.jpg, originally uploaded by Gavin ‘Tex’ Warren.

I went to a Lifeline benefit gig last night… The Basics were the headline act.. great little 3 piece band with ARIA award winner Wally de Backer on drums.  They have a tight sound and obviously had a lot of fun up on stage… click that linkage and check out their myspace page.  Anya (Thanks for the e-mail)  organized the gig and the profits go to a very worthy cause…  The Northcote Social Club was the venue and as you can see from the attached pix.. it was a hot and sweaty night..

The boys from “The Basics”

Guys… being a photographer and Private Investigator… I have to admit… your song “Lookin’ over my shoulder” is a blast! Thanks for a great gig last night… looking forward to hearing more from “The Basics”


 

Lior - Heal Me

I made a little clip for our studio guest this week.  Lior is a very nice young man with a bright future in music.  He has a powerful presence and a great crisp style that will delight and inspire.   Keep an eye out for him on his Australian Tour. Have a listen to his albums Autumn Flow, Daniel or Doorways of my Mind (Live)..  I have removed the video as the sound was a little boxy and didn’t do true justice to Lior’s sound… I hope to go to a Lior gig soon and bring you some photos….  Keep watching… Cheers Gavin. 

The genesis of my “Rock Photography” interests.

   

This pic was taken on December 24th 2000 at the New York City Hall, 123 W 43rd St, New York, NY. The Artist is David Broza, a fantastic Israeli guitarist who I met whilst doing a radio show with Joey Reynolds at WOR 710. I was lucky enough to be in Joey’s studio when David played an acoustic live set… I was blown away… to be privy to that amazing talent in a room with just 5 of us.   (Joey, Kenny Kramer, Sue, David and me) .. oh yes.. and the rest of America listening on WOR710 …. anyhow… David gave Sue and I a couple of Tickets and an invite backstage after the show….  I had a small digital camera at the time  Nikon CoolPix 900 (it wasn’t even a Megapixel camera)….  So I also had a small monocular (telescope) which I attached to the camera as a kind of crude telephoto lens.. crude as in Gaffer tape and rubberbands.. and got this shot… which started my creative ball rolling.            Now I am the proud owner of a Nikon D2X 12 Megapixel Digital SLR camera and a Nikon 200 mm f2 telephoto lens.  I am looking forward to getting down to the Corner Hotel again and shooting a few more artists!… Cheers Tex 

Some of my better work… Thanks for the opportunity Mia!

Thanks to Mia Dyson for giving me the opportunity and inspiration…The Corner Hotel, Richmond was the venue and Mia went onstage at 11PM.  She really rocked the venue and I hope the pics here capture some of the essence of the gig.  Texx 

Rememberance Day 11.11.07

 As a prospective member of the Patriots Motrcycle Club, I enjoyed a solemn and heartfelt rememberance service at the local RSL club.Several members of the Vietnam Veterans MC were also in attendance and this pic I think, appropriately sums up the service.A long poker run was held afterwards with the day finishing up back at the RSL.Beers, bangers in buns and a band were enjoyed by all.Thanks to Gibbo, Sandy, Skinner, Phantom and all others who had a had in organising the 80+ bike ride and function.Needless to say I didn’t win the poker hand 5,6,7,8,10 thats a teaser.Cheers to all!

Texx

A perception of truth.

I had a very strange experience in court yesterday…. ( I can’t make too many comments right now as the matter is part heard) … I faced a very hostile cross-examination regarding an incident that happened over a year ago. Events which have cost me a great deal of time, money and consternation.

A year ago last June I was assaulted and my vehicle damaged…. yesterday I was shown photos, taken by my assailant after the event, that had clearly been constructed to look like the incident happened in a different place. Certain debris was removed from its original position and placed in a different position to try and exculpate the assailant, or to minimise his effort and reduce his appearance of guilt.

To be faced with clearly doctored “evidence” was freightening and tantamount to defending ones-self against perjury.

The counsel for the assailant also attepted to enter into evidence certain things that the assailant had found about me on the internet…. even down to comments that I have made in motorcycle forums. It was bizarre to say the least. Te unrelenting attack took a great toll on me. To be subjected to that kind of scrutiny is harrowing and uncomfortable to say the least.

On the positive side of the coin… The protestations of the assailant when his barrister didn’t ask certain questions or use his phrasiology were quite comical. He was told at one stage, “shut up and let me run this cross-examination - do you want to do it all yourself?”

I can only hope that the arrogance of this man leads him into the witness box…. the Police should have a great case for perjury if that happens.

PS: Be very careful what you say in forums and in websites / blogs etc….. if you work in an area such as I do…. it can all come back to bite you on the bum!

Cheers, Tex

Bad habits passed on from teacher to student…

Recently I was conducting some surveillance in East St Kilda – a predominantly Jewish suburb of Melbourne. Now, I used to work as Security Manager and body guard to the Rabbi Joseph (Yossel) Gutnick and have no prejudices for or against the people of Hebrew faith. That period of my working life gave me a rich insight into the internal workings of both Jewish family life and business.I was maintaining surveillance in the back of my van, completely unseen to the outside world. In the space of one hour, no less than three different women in large vehicles (dropping children off at the nearby school) hit my van.I was reminded by the bumping and grinding of plastic on plastic of a similar thing I had witnessed at the Gutnick household.Chaya Gutnick a teenager of driving age was being given lessons by a friendly older lady. Chaya was learning in the family Toyota Tarago (people mover). As she reversed out of the driveway she hit the neighbor’s car parked across the street. The two bumper bars became entangled and the tarago was stuck… both Chaya and the lady ‘instructor’ got out, looked, shrugged and got back in…. and drove away… tearing the corner off the neighor’s bumper…Neither person even thought about the damage they had caused or witnessed….. and years later it happened to me three times in a day…. Teach, your children well…. as the song goes. 

A sickening thud!

Not unlike a YouTube video… in real life.. thats how I would describe it…I was waiting to turn from little Bourke St into Queen Street to run south… when a bloke on a Gixxer with a Yoshi system at full noise pops a wheelie going south on Queen… I look… as you do… and as he dissapears behind a parked van… I hear the engine cut off and the thud of bike against …. well it was a sickening sound.He stepped off the back of the wheelie (prolly doing about 100- 120 in Queen St on a Monday arvo…. squid) … by the time I got to the scene of the prang, there he was laying there with one foot facing the wrong way and 3 knees in the other leg… witnesses say he was cut off by a driver and stepped off the back…PS: Squid = Sometimes Quick, Usually Injured or Dead

Greetings and welcome to the Texxas blog.

This is just a very quick post to mark my place in the bloggosphere. I will post up more interesting things in the weeks - months etc to come.

Cheers Tex