February 14th at the Gunyah was an interesting night for many reasons. Firstly for being Valentines Day and a really packed room. Great to see so many there…Secondly there were at least 4 people having birthdays on Valentines and Thirdly, we had a number of unusual things happen…Our first set was challenging at times, not being able to see anything when the light show went haywire then some drunken young mischief-makers decided to sabotage our sound by creeping up on our sound tech Brian and turning all the knobs and sliders in different directions. Consequently we took an early break and re-set everything while getting the trouble-makers turfed out. In the second set the same guys snuck back in and one threw a thong at me and hit me in the head. They were thrown out again this time for good.

The night was full of excitement and celebration and the dance floor was packed with enthusiastic, smiling people. By the third encore the house lights had come up and we finished with a long jammed out version of Kings X which had some drum and bass solos, flights of guitar fancy and unusual twists and turns…thanks everyone for a great night!

Sunday February 22nd was another fantastic afternoon. The new Fender Blues Deluxe USA guitar amp is sounding brilliant and can now be miked through the PA. I spent the first half of the day playing my 1971 Fender Strat and the last part playing my 1972 Fender Tele Thinline. Both guitars sounded sweet through the new rig.

Our next gig will be at Warners at the Bay on Saturday April 4th. Stay tune!

Lots and lots of solo gigs lately…I’ve brought out some songs from my Helium Heart album back catalogue and started to play them again ever since learning them again for a birthday party for a guy, Wayne, who is a fan of the album. It was great to continue performing them with all the glorious sound of stereo chorus through an open-tuned acoustic guitar. I’ve also been including lots of Hot Yogi and DV8 solo acoustic songs recently at certain gigs. Thank you to all the original music fans at the Bay Hotel at Bonnells Bay last Sunday. I’m so happy that you requested all those original DV8 and Hot Yogis songs for the whole last set.

This week I’m solo at Warners at the Bay on Thursday February 12th from 7-10pm. Friday 13th is solo at The Northern Star and Sunday I’m solo with a view on the top deck of Redhead Surf Club after Surfest from 4pm to 7.30pm.

It’s been a while since we did the Wicko in January but we have another Wicko gig coming up on March 21st Saturday arvo from 5-8pm. Last time we played we realised that we wanted to write more dance songs with interesting new grooves so keep an ear out for those.

Australia Day Eve at the Mark was fantastic….I was very happy with the new amp and a range of new and old songs. Great to see a big crowd and everyone dancing too. Our first February gig is Valentine’s Day February 14th at the Gunyah Hotel in Belmont from 8-11pm. Come along and bring your lover. We’ll be honing some new original songs at rehearsal this week also. Here we are rocking out with Ben at the Wicko last month. Stay tune!

I’ve had such fun over the last few weeks doing solo shows from Salamander to Nelson Bay to Carrington and Pokolbin and everywhere in between. Using my old BBE Sonic Maximiser has fattened up the acoustic sound and I’ve de-tuned my new Martin down a tone and a half to be able to play some songs I’ve wanted to do for ages. I’ve been enjoying especially singing “Short Note” by Matt Finish and a few other more obscure songs. Also I’ve been attempting some different DV8 songs solo like “Call of the Wild” and adding more blues stuff to the set when I can.

Looking forward to playing solo at The Duke of Wellington on Saturday January 31st from 8.30pm.

Saturday January 17th at the Wicko saw the YOGIs reconvene for the new year. I was so happy to see such a huge crowd and some wild dancing to songs like Tide is Rising and 21st Century. We’ve decided that we need more dancing songs so I’m well into writing a few funky new dance tunes already. Rosie and Len are really taking the rhythm section to new heights and it’s fun for me to be able to fly over top of their solid grooves.

Our next show is again at the Wicko on Saturday March 21st from 5-8pm. see you there.

It’s been 3 great gigs in a row since NYE. The Wicko really rocked and so did our Australia Day Eve gig at the Mark Hotel. Thank you all for coming out and dancing and soaking up the rock n roll with enthusiastic abandon. We’re looking forward to recording soon and our next show at the Gunyah Hotel in Belmont on Valentine’s Day Saturday Feb. 14th from 8pm.

For all the guitarists, I’ve just purchased a Fender Blues Deluxe amp ( a made in USA original ) and had it rigged up in tandem with my Fender Twin last Sunday. It’s a great punchy sound with a tad less volume for all those small rooms.

Below is the Stab in the Dark album cover which was recorded at the Bel-Air Hotel in 1981 by Mark Tinson. Photography and artwork by Wayne Bunt. Released through EMI Custom. 

Hot Yogis have been reinvigorated with the addition of Craig “Rosie” Rosevear on drums toward the middle of 2014. Len and Rosie really lock in on those funky rhythms. Rosie is best known for his years on the Screaming Jets drum throne and also has had many, many years with DV8. He’s also an educator, motivator and generally good-hearted switched-on kind of guy who knows how to rock.

We’ve had some great afternoon shows at the Wicko and will be back there on Saturday January 17th in the beer garden from 5-8pm.

Another first for us is having our music from the album “Under The Wire” included on the film/DVD called “Broughton Island” by Keepin’ It Reel Productions. It’s an honour to have our music provide atmosphere to such a beautiful, pristine paradise in our own backyard. Check out the DVD when you can. It’s informative and humorous and especially interesting if you’re a fisherman or a lover of camping and the great outdoors.

2014 was a great year for solo work with many exciting shows, parties, weddings and a couple of Lizzottes original shows….I learned lots of new songs and wrote a few as well….2015 is already underway with 2 solo gigs under my belt…I enjoyed a new gig at Cardiff RSL Club on Friday January 2nd where I pulled out some old DV8 songs like “Lighten Up Your Load” and a few Hot Yogi songs….and a really special afternoon at Harrigans, Pokolbin on Sunday Jan 3rd. There’s something very freeing about playing solo acoustic gigs. I enjoy the chance to respond to the whim of the moment and pull out all kinds of different tunes whether old or new, originals or covers. Some of my favourite venues have been the Bay Hotel at Bonnells Bay, Mavericks at Nelson Bay, The Criterion at Carrington where I feel a real joy and appreciation from people. This week I’ll be at the Criterion at Carrington on Friday January 9th from 7.30pm to 11pm and also Sunday Jan 11th at Toronto Hotel from 2-5pm.

We had a brilliant time on NYE at Warners at the Bay with DV8. It was great to see Craig Pevy dancing down the front after such a long time. It was a packed house and a really good feeling in the air. Travis was “on fire” on the drums and we all enjoyed jamming out. Plenty of people were there who now live away from Newcastle. Lovers of our music who now live in place like the Gold Coast or Sydney and rarely get to see us were so happy to be able to have a dance or just listen.

We’re also playing the Wicko on Saturday, January 10th from 8.30pm and at the Mark Hotel for the Australia Day weekend as usual on Sunday 25th January from 4pm to 7pm.

We’ve written lots of new songs and plan to record them this year in the studio. We also recovered a lot of old unreleased material from the Rock City vaults and there’s a few gems including the original demo of Blue Sashes which was eventually recorded by The Screaming Jets and which now is back in our set list. For all the Belmont people we’ll also be at the Gunyah Hotel on Saturday February 14th and then back at the Premier Hotel on Sunday February 22nd from 4-7pm.