Artists > Rock On With Hoges

            Rock On! with Hoges

"Music is the Best!"

        - Hogans' Famous Music Catalogue
        - Memorable Quotes
        - Music News, Views and Reviews
       

If you would like to email Ray direct to swap thoughts and ideas or contribute to these pages, click here.

Hoges' Famous Music Catalogue

Here it is folks - the famous music catalogue (not as extensive as it once was!), which can currently be viewed online, sorted by artist, then album title.  Eventually, the catalogue will be converted to database format, where anyone who is interested can perform searches by title or artist.

The collection contains LP's, cassettes, videos, CD's and more recently DVD's.  My original CD collection of a few hundred CD's (neatly filed in alphabetical order by artist) was severely diminished during the Great Norwood cd Heist of '92, when burglars ripped off all CD's from A to S.  Not sure why they left T to Z, but my prized Zappa collection was fortunately left untouched.

Drop me an email if you want to chat or are interested in any of the albums  these pages. Click here to email Hoges.

^{_________________________________________}

Memorable Quotes

All the good music has already been written by people with wigs and stuff........Frank Zappa

I'm glad there are a lot of guitar players pursuing technique as diligently as they possibly can, because it leaves this whole other area open to people like me..........Richard Thompson

It's funny how most people love the dead.  Once you're dead you're made for life.......Jimi Hendrix

We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out." ......Decca Recording Company rejecting the Beatles, 1962

Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard, grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em!" ......The Webb Wilder Credo

"Wes Montgomery played impossible things on the guitar because it was never pointed out to him that they were impossible. " - Ronnie Scott - Jazz saxophonist

"... guitarists shouldn't get too riled up about all of the great players that were left off of 'Rolling Stone Magazines' list of the Greatest Guitar Players of all Time' ... Rolling Stone is published for people who read the magazine because they don't know what to wear ..." - Joe (Sach) Satriani

"I would advise you to keep your overhead down; avoid a major drug habit; play everyday and take it in front of other people. They need to hear it and you need them to hear it." - James Taylor

^{_________________________________________}

Rock 'n Roll News, Views and Reviews

31.3.07  Most People He Knew Thought He Was Crazy

Australian music legend, Billy Thorpe, died of a massive heart attack on February 28. He was just 60 and entering a new phase of a successful career which spanned 5 decades.

With his blues/rock band The Aztecs, not to be confused with his earlier surf music band of the same name, Billy brought new meaning to the word "loud". He spent some time overseas and played with Mick Fleetwood's Zoo. He also wrote two autobiographical books,

He will be sorely missed

18.1.07  Jimmy Barnes to have open-heart surgery

AUSSIE Rock Vocalist Extraordinaire Jimmy Barnes is to undergo open-heart surgery to fix a condition that has been with him since birth.

The former Cold Chisel frontman, renowned screamer and vodka consumer will undergo surgery to replace a faulty aortic valve on February 22.

Barnes is said to otherwise be in good health and remains in good spirits, (probably not vodka), and will honour all of his commitments until he enters hospital on February 20.

It is nothing less than a miracle that Jimmy hasn't already burst a valve with his onstage antics over more than 20 years and the Pope should be taking a close look at his survival.

Appropriately, considering the amount of exercise they've had, his mighty lungs are in perfect working order and Jimmy is expected to make a full recovery. Unfortunately, he will not be recuperating at The Star Hotel. Maybe he could manage on some Cheap Wine and a three-day growth.

26.11.06  More Frank

Frank Zappa's last project has been released 13 years after his death. Trance-Fusion is a collection of unreleased live guitar solos from 1977 to 1988 and apart from a little Dweezilling on a couple of tracks, they feature Zappa and his band mates.

The music is instantly recognisable, although most of Zappa's solo workouts, each of which has been given a title, are short. As a rabid Zappa fan I instantly felt it was worthwhile having after all I've missed new music from FZ.  It's very enjoyable and should be of interest to guitarists and fans of this musical genius.

15.10.06  Dixie Chicks Go Off!

After what seemed a lengthy support set from Peter Yorn, the Dixie Chicks followed after a break of about 30 minutes, unlike the first Brisbane concert where the break was closer to 90 minutes! Their Accidents & Accusations Tour presented a 2 hour concert the highlight of which was "Not Ready To Make Nice", their response to the Bush controversy.

The real highlight though was the backing band, a bunch of multi-instrumentalists (mostly strings) who really drove the show along. All in all a thoroughly entertaining show.

09.09.06  Redgum Audio Rules OK!

It's probably not often  that a music/hi-fi buff gets to sit down with the people producing world class stuff in their modest factory surroundings, but I was recently privileged to spend a few hours listening to the exquisite Redgum Audio components at the factory in Melbourne. Ever since I bought my Redgum CD player I have been intrigued, not only with the Redgum products, but also with the team behind the products, designer Ian and his partner Lindy.

I was more than impressed with what I heard from my preferred CD player/amp/speaker set up and also the innovative Redgum surround sound system. I was even more pleased to meet, and spend time with Ian and Lindy, whose hospitality I really appreciated. Hopefully, I will visit again, but I'm definitely aiming to have the "preferred"' system sitting in my listening room the next time I listen!

The Lobby Loyde Benefit Concert  - This was the very antithesis of my musical morning at Redgum, but what I should have expected. At "The Palace" it was very crowded, hot, smoky, and heavily populated by males consuming large amounts of alcohol and smoking. A constant stream of people pushing through on their way to/from the bar/toilet during the acts just added to the excitement. This without mentioning the poorly set up, but too loud PA, various under-rehearsed bands form the 60s and 70s  making mistakes, with their volume controls seemingly glued to "11" as if they were playing an outdoor gig in the 70s . Need I go on? 

Having tolerated most of  the first half,the where Brian Cadd/Axiom were reasonable, I departed the main arena early, but waited to see my favourite band "Spectrum". They were very good, as being a working band they knew their stuff and they played at a level which allowed the music to be appreciated without overloading the dodgy PA. I don't know if following bands achieved this feat as I was no longer in attendance and I thus missed the highlight of the night, Lobby Loyde, the Aussie rock legend, who is dying of cancer. He played well apparently, still with his trademark cigarette! I guess he was setting the example for those blokes in the crowd!

10.08.06  One Day at a Time!

It's not often that I'll watch a music DVD let alone buy one, but I made an exception for The Eagles' Farewell 1 Tour from Melbourne's Tennis Centre. I can't say that I'm a great fan of The Eagles, but Joe Walsh is something else.

He's a fantastic guitarist, a good singer and can write a tune or two. During this concert he played a new song written about his problem with alcoholism called "One Day At A Time".

He said he only ever got drunk once - for twenty years! Anyway the song is great and obviously heartfelt. Perhaps something only Joe would have the courage to do. For me, the highlight of the show!

11.07.06  Vale Syd

05.06.06  Rock Guitarist Awarded $330,000

19.5.06   Excuse Me Just One Moment While I.......

The refurbished turntable has now proved to have magical properties. No sooner had I completed a play through of the Spectrum/Indelible Murtceps catalogue than up pops an email message from Mike Rudd himself advising of a gig to be played by Spectrum Plays The Blues at 5.30. pm on Friday 19.5.06 at the famous Broadbeach Blues Festival. Less than  two day's notice to find the blue suede shoes.

And what a gig it was! First, I arrived early to hear the familiar sound of Worm Turning Blues and thought they'd started without me! Only tuning up and doing a soundcheck, at the end of which I introduced myself to Mike Rudd whose songwriting and musicianship I have admired for over 35 years after first seeing Spectrum at The Myponga Pop Festival in 1971.

I was privileged to then chat with Mike for about 20 minutes during which time Robbo, the drummer, recorded the moment for posterity and Bill Putt, bass player and Mike's long-time musical partner, introduced himself.

The band kicked off with Bill on down-tuned nylon-string slide guitar, Mike on vocals and harmonica and Robbo on drums. They played material drawn from their two albums - Spill and No Thinking. Songs like Baby Please Don't Go, Hoochie Coochie Man, Sitting On Top Of The World, Spoonful, and Good Morning Little Schoolgirl - all made distinctive with Mike's trademark quirky vocals.

They then switched to Bill on bass and Mike on electric guitar and wound up in overtime with their own classic I'll Be Gone. And they were! After a brief but very entertaining set enjoyed by the small, but appreciative early crowd. I now look forward to catching them again either in their native Melbourne or on one of their limited jaunts to Adelaide. You can check them out at www.mikeruddbillputt.com or read more on Spectrum's bio here.

30.4.06   Analogue Is Good!
A luncheon visit by an English friend prompted the playing of some 60s and 70s music such as "The Best Of The Pirates" and The Who - "A Quick One", and even Frank Zappa's - "The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life". All very nice. On cd of course.

A request for The Green Manalishi by Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, (Yes there was a Nicksless FM), led to the dormant vinyl collection. No, not that sort of vinyl - LP records and singles!! Unfortunately, turntable set-up has been a work-in-progress for some time and we could not play the track.

But no more! The Thorens is up running again and sounding great with the new moving coil cartridge, Vibrapods and cones, and a few other performance enhancements. The Green Manalishi and Oh Well! Parts 1 and 2, Rory Gallagher's Tattoo all sounded superb, as did The Indelible Murtceps' - Warts Up Your Nose - A most irreverent Australian album by My Crudd (Not available on cd due to record company intransigence!).

The warm, detailed sound made me wonder again why cds were invented! One reason is you don't have to be a mechanical engineer to set up a cd player!! Also, in this fitness era, a portable LP player would be extremely cumbersome and likely to lead to severe injuries while jogging. Sound quality/continuity would be doubtful.

For me though, while I appreciate a fine cd player (The Beast Lives!), I would never have had the opportunity to spend so much money to accumulate an extensive array of gadgets, tools, cleaning systems and other enhancements were it not for the turntable. Fine tuning my main turntable (I have three) over the years has provided immense satisfaction, particularly when I extract yet more musical information from the humble vinyl groove with the latest modification. 

11.4.06   One Out Of The Box!
"RT" - 5 cds and almost 6 hours of Richard Thompson's more rare and obscure tracks plus a comprehensive booklet and a bonus Vincent Black Lightning Motorcycle catalogue make for a rewarding tour of "The Life and Music of Richard Thompson". Organised thematically rather than in tedious chronological order, the set showcases RT's songwriting, singing and guitar playing of his own material as well as covers of songs by such groups as The Who and UK Squeeze. The set is probably for dedicated fans, not for newcomers to RT and is only let down by the somewhat inconsistent sound quality one might expect from the various sources of the recordings.

18.3.06   Super Troubadour!
Richard Thompson played The Tivoli in Brisbane on Wednesday, March 15 and proved to be a consummate entertainer. His songwriting, singing and guitar playing are considerable taken separately, but in combination they move him into another realm. If that weren't enough, his sense of humour  enhanced his easy rapport with the audience. So impressed were we at the power and delicacy of his playing and singing that we called him back for two encores. One man and a guitar - Brilliant!  

If you're interested in more info on Richard Thompson, check out our artist pages.

17.2.06   Bon Scott Love Letters To Be Sold
An interesting read in today's Herald Sun.  Scott's wife from 1972-74 is set to auction Bon's love letters, which reveal him as a lovestruck, ambitious and, after AC/DC conquered the world, a lonely and confused man.  Click here for more on this.  Be interesting to see what fans are prepared to pay!

Ducati 999 Guitar Debut!
I found this during one my regular motorbike browsing sessions on the web.  It's a very cool story about Tom Truskolaski who rides a Ducati 916 and a 749, and has also played guitar for 24 years.  The concept of the Ducati 999 guitar was first realised when Tom decided to marry one of his greatest passions to another. He started with a box of high quality guitar parts that were just sitting around then contacted Sean Philbin, an artist who also paints bikes, to get the very difficult Ducati logo painted.  Click here to read more, this guitar really rocks!

Southport News
This section is still a work in progress, but one source of rock 'n roll news from yours truly was the "Southport News".  Originally written as a monthly newsletter to family and friends in Adelaide, it evolved into news and views with a humorous flavour and I'm told was much sought after by all recipients.  The "Mudge News" (we now live in Mudgeeraba, not Southport) has often been considered, but so far has not started up again.

Click here to read some excerpts which might give you a laugh.  Most are music-related, generally related to the latest CD album purchases, live concert or additions to the hi-fi system. 

^{_________________________________________}