S P E C T R U M S P E C T R U M S P E C T R U M
 
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September

Craig Horne composes a question		 Mike gets the Horne
28.9.17 - Craig Horne (pic) has been commisioned to write a long overdue appraisal in book form of Daddy Cool and came over to the wilds of Mt Evelyn the other day to chat about my part in DC's amazing career. Of course, like everybody else all I did was watch on in wonder from the wings, but I did play with the Rosses in the Party Machine as well as the monolithic Sons of the Vegetal Mother outfit that spawned DC.
In the meantime you could well wonder if Spectrum hasn't been wiped out in a tragic combine-harvester accident such is the silence pervading our erstwhile semi-regular haunts. It seems the St Andrews pub has (unofficially) dropped Spectrum off their radar, as has the Lomond Hotel (officially) and they were the two mainstays on the Spectrum calendar.
In the meantime, stuff has been happening, albeit behind the scenes. If you were to check out the recently updated Booking page you'd see that I'm rethinking the one-name-fits-all approach and playing with some alternatives.
One of them at least you might be aware of, like the recent addition of former Arielist Glyn Mason to the basic four-piece Spectrum to produce the rather cumbersome but nevertheless descriptive Spectrum to Ariel tag, which already has a track record over the last eighteen months at the Caravan Music Club - and even interstate. That and the even more recent injection of another Mason into the mix, Brenden Mason of Madder Lake, to make Spectrum plus (so new there's no pic and
it's not even on the Booking page yet), means that the ever-constant four-piece version of Spectrum that we all know from decades of gigging around the country is free to evolve into Mike Rudd's Indelibles, (or just The Indelibles), to carry on its eclectic presentation of Rudd's Ancient & Modern shit (with some blues thrown in) at a comparatively modest fee. Then there's 1st BASE, Mick 'n' Broc and even just me on my Todd. (Check out the Booking page)
While none of these outfits are actually working right now it's simply rearranging the deck chairs, but thankfully there are some untapped resources to be exploited. Craig Horne was sympathetic for instance and came up with a couple of suggestions. And, now I come to think of it there are actually some gigs to look forward to. There's the Frankston Guitar 20th Annivesary show that the Spectrum Trio is playing (I forgot about the Trio) in just a weeks's time. Then there's Spectrum at the Marysville Jazz & Blues Festival on the 22nd of October and then the 3MDR Big Gig gig. Hmmm.. I'm feeling better all ready..
 
September

1)The nine-piece 1965 Masters sound check at the Corner Hotel - Rob Pippan on the left 2) Mike gets the audience to sing all of I'll Be Gone
Mike croaks at the Corner Hotel with the 1965 Masters Apprentices
2.9.17 - On Monday evening I noticed my throat was feeling a bit rough and my legs were aching. I gargled and hoped that it didn't foreshadow something more sinister - but of course it did. By Thursday I could feel some energy returning at least, but no voice, which was problematic as I had Spectrum's appearance at the Corner Hotel with the 1965 Masters Apprentices slotted for the Friday night.
By the time we got to the sound check on Friday evening I thought I'd recovered enough of my voice to bluff my way through our forty minute set, as long as there wasn't too much singing and I could get the crowd to sing I'll Be Gone - all of it! Which is the way it worked out and I don't think too many people were disappointed.
Not that that was the point, of course. The evening was by way of celebrating the Masters' place in Australian rock history and with three of the surviving original Masters on stage augmented by six of Adelaide's finest it was a surprisingly satisfying tribute. While it was personally good to reacquaint with Twilights' bassist John Bywaters filling in for original Masters' hassist Gavin Webb on the Melbourne leg of the tour, (I think the last time we met was back on the Long Way To the Top tour in 2004), it was a real privilege meet up with the original MA members, Mick Bower, (one of the early Masters' principal writers), drummer Brian Vaughton and guitarist Rick Harrison.
The surprise was being introduced to Mark Holden's brother, Craig Holden, who took Jim Keays' role for at least half the show. Did a fine job too, and Mark assures me that he and Craig are getting together for some future musical projects. Honestly it was a bit disconcerting seeing them both together though.
Anyway, the good-sized crowd at the Corner, old and young (a surprising percentage of youngsters in front of the stage singing along with the lyrics, which tickled Mick Bower considerably) loved everything the 1965 Masters threw at them. I recognised most of the covers the Masters did as my Christchurch band, Chants R&B, covered many of the same songs. Jim and I found a lot of common ground in his last few years and I suspect he would've approved of the show and be itching to pull on his rock 'n' roll boots and take centre stage.
Thanks to Rob Pippan (pic 1) for thinking of Spectrum to support such a show.
 
 
 
 
 
M I K E R U D D B I L L P U T T . C O MM M I K E R U D D B I L L P U T T . C O MM M I K E R U D D B I L L P U T T . C O MM M I K E R U D D