The Continuing Story of Vostok Lake: news, updates, blogging

So, it’s probably time to give a proper news update, for those who are still friends of Vostok Lake music.

So I’m playing some gig in a dingy basement at 3am, and who should be in the audience but one of my greatest influences as a lyricist and performer, Andrew Eldritch from the Sisters of Mercy. So we go for a drink afterwards and he says he’s impressed by what I’ve done and he wants me to play a “live-in-the-studio” demo gig for some bigwigs in the music industry he knows, at his private studio. But on the day my equipment doesn’t work properly, my voice is shot and everyone walks out halfway through, and Eldritch tells me how disappointed he is in me.

Q.  Jesus you really do like your synth-pop 80s music…

Well, yes. And I love my 70’s prog-rock as well. The two most Critically Incorrect music genres of them all! Let me be more precise – I love Sigue Sigue Sputnik, and – prepare to vomit – I think Emerson Lake and Palmer did some good work in their early years.

CONFUSED? Then let me explain the connection in greater detail…

So. It’s my sad duty to mention that the Auckland Electric Salon has gone into indefinite recess. Great apologies to all our fans, supporters, and insane participants. The decision is due to a mix of (a) organiser burnout; (b) steadily declining interest from both performers and audience.

New music! New gig! But first a few words…

It is mildly disconcerting to go to a museum and to see a large picture of oneself on the wall.

One of the more disturbing things about the Rampage of the South was the number of audients who felt the need to ask me “are you a man or a woman”? When you’re standing there in a bustier, short pants, fishnets and thigh-high boots and some people are not quite picking up the gender signals, it does make you a little worried about your self-declared femininity. I tried a number of responses to this:

– “well, I’m certainly more of a man than you are.”
– “which would you prefer?”
– “buy a CD and I’ll tell you”
– “I’ll show you mine if you’ll show me yours”.

The record of a conversation carried out with artist-novelist Lawrence Burton from Tuesday 24th February 2009 to Thursday 7th January 2010. Mainly interesting for biographical details, in-depth discussion of musical influences, and historically ironic comments about Amanda Fuckin’ Palmer.