DV8 has been taking a month off through March but we’re back into it again next weekend on Saturday April 4th at Warners at the Bay from 9pm. We’ve been rehearsing and refining some of our new originals as well as looking through our back catalogue for more material. Any suggestions are welcome 🙂 🙂

It’s been a busy few weeks with 5 gigs last week and another 3 this week. I’ve also been learning a few new songs to test out this weekend at the Salamander Tavern on Friday March 27th from 8-11pm and on Saturday 28th at Mavericks on the marina at Nelson Bay 8-11pm also. On Sunday 29th I’m local at the Exchange Hotel in Hamilton from 1pm to 4pm.

Hot Yogis had a great gig at the Wicko last week and as time goes on we’ll be writing more new funky, fun dance songs. Our next show is at Kahibah Sports Club on Saturday April 18th from 8-11pm.

Hi everyone,

Just back from a bit of a break and looking forward to getting out and gigging again. This Friday I’m at the Duke with Len on bass…… and a couple of solos as well…..Saturday 14th is at Swansea Hotel 8.30-11.30pm and Sunday 15th at Town Hall Hotel in Waratah from 2-5pm.

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.