Grass Trees & Jeff Buckley

Oof, we are spoilt around here. One can never be bored when one has the bush and beach on their doorstop. This morning I went off for a ride through the bush to get the blood flowing. I'd been to Reformer Pilates last night - the beginner sessio where they teach you the ropes - and could already feel my legs starting to hurt. I know it's going to be good for me, and I loved it and am very excited about it, but ouch. Cycling - moving my legs - might, I thought, stop some of the pain kicking in.

Everything's flowering this time of year - orchids, paper daisies, even these spiked grass trees. It's hard not to fall off your bike looking at all the magic around you. I kinda did fall off - gently, onto some cushiony heath, as I stupidly went up a rocky path, necessitating getting off and pushing. So much for a gentle ride.

All the while I had this in my head - Jeff Buckley's Mojo Pin. My bestie was over last night and we watched the doco. Damn, that man was gorgeous. I feel so lucky to have seen him in 1995 with her. I'll never forget his opening with this song, the starry night sky catching his voice, the halo of light and insects round his head, the fairy lights in the gum trees. Definitely one of my top 5 gigs of all time and I've seen alot.

pale beauty, I love you soooooooo

I hadn't thought of where Buckley got his inspiration from at the time but the fact that it was people like Edith Piaf, Nina Simone, Robert Plant and Nasrat Fatah Ali Khan makes perfect sense.

So here am I in the southern parts of Australia with him echoing in my head, and I tell ya, it's pretty grand. I love a surf or a ride with a good soundtrack in my head.

Poor guy, coping with the fame the way he did - or didn't. He was so very young to cope with all of that. Be caerful what you wish for I guess. It certainly makes me feel rich in my life, cycling round on my e-bike with the milk crate on the back. Simple pleasures. I'm not rich or famous but I'm alive, I'm alive, I'm alive.

Sadly not much surf this week, which is all I really wanna do, but at least I get to inhale salt air.

I was just getting distracted as I typed this. I realise there's a really bad recording of that gig I went to but it was Feb '96 not '95 as we thought. It was at a natural amphitheatre (Belvoir). The sound is terrible. No one had phones. But everyone said it was the most magical gig he did on that tour, and by the following year, he was dead.

There you go. Grass trees and Jeff Buckley. I don't even know where to put this post. It probably doesn't even matter.

May you get out in the fresh air, feel alive, and have awesome tunes in your head, is all.

Riverflows xx