Hi All - Yesterday went well. Lane Way sold out so there were around 5000 people present for the experience (not sure how many were watching The Nothing but it looked like an awful lot). Chris got a fantastic response from the crowd & thoroughly enjoyed himself even though our slot was moved back an hour & he was getting tired. Hopefully there will be no negative consequences of the gig on his health. We did 4 songs but were cut short due to the evening running behind shedule. Shayne had a great time playing with us too.

Lane Way seemed successful so hopefully it will continue as an annual event. There were the usual festival issues - queues for beer, food, some sound problems - but with a little tweeking all should be fine. Great spot for it too - particularly as night came - the buildings around us were beautiful. Congrats to the Lane Way folks & to Rosie & Ben in particular for helping us organise The Nothing set.

Stefan & I loved the Dirty Three set the most though what we heard of Daniel Johnson was good too. The Black Lips are a good fun live band who aren't above stealing from the Beatles & Stones.

I've asked IT chap Hayden to put some pics in the Knox Box & hopefully some live footage will emerge soon which we'll put in there.

Chris had such a good time that we will probably look for other opportunities for The Nothing to play in the not too distant future.

Roy

Hi All - Thanks for those movie suggestions, I'll run them past Chris tomorrow. We're getting ready for the Lane Way gig on Monday & feel in good fighting form. I'll let those of you who aint gunna be there know how it went on Tuesday & maybe see if I can get some footage to add to the Knox Box.

A bunch of us are really pleased to find that The Mountain Goats are heading this way for a gig on April 8th at the Kings Arms in AK (and on the 9th at the San Fran Bath House in Wellington). Chris is keen to go along. If you're not familiar with them I heartily recommend The Sunset Tree - it's not quite as accessible but I'm slowing falling in love with last year's The Life of The World to Come too. The common difficulty upon first listen is John's voice, but if you give the disc a couple of spins it quickly becomes about as addictive as any substance you've had problems with. Great stuff that sticks in yer head like mad! Wahoo.

In my internet trawling I just came across a glowing review of Stroke in Pitchfork which gives it a highly respectable rating of 8.2. What sort of sales in the US this is going to translate into I have no idea - we were unsure enough about NZ!

Best

Rod

Hi All - Chris was in good spirits yesterday - he annoyed me & Shayne by trying on shorts in our presence; not a sight for the faint of heart. We're watching lots of old so-called B (& lower) movies at the moment. Last night I was introduced to the joys of Reptilicus (1961) which iMDB rates a mere 3.5 & a reviewer claims as one of the worst movies ever made (after Plan 9 From Outer Space) - what's wrong with these people haven't they seen Stone's Alexander: Director's Cut ? - nigh on 3 hours of unrelenting misery! Reptilicus was much more fun. It's Alive (1974) was another goodie that I'd never seen. But one of my faves of recent days was The Giant Claw (1957) - where a severely distorted turkey from another galaxy attacks. Anyone out there got any suggestions for films Chris might like?

Chris also played me a couple of Danger Man episodes, where Patrick McGoohan stars as a Bondesque figure in a sixties telly program. Good stuff.

We had to cancel yesterday's practise for Lane Way as Stefan (drummer) was taken ill, but we should be up & running again tomorrow.

'Stroke' is doing well in Australia, getting good reviews & reaching the top of several Album of the Week lists. We're really curious to see what happens when it comes out in the States.

Best.

Rod Merkin

Hi All - I've been swanning about drinking cider in the Auckland summer so have been a bit slack on the blog front. Chris is well, although he did have another seizure recently - it's mostly a matter of getting the medication at the correct level I believe. Most days he hangs around at home listening to music & watching DVDs with his mates. Several days a week he goes to rehab for therapy or to band practise. He also walks a decent distance each day. There is still no major development with his speech, but I wouldn't expect any big changes & we just hope for gradual improvement. He's very pleased with the way The Nothing is working out with Shayne & is looking forward to performing at Lane Way on Monday.

Best

Hi - We're all really upset to hear of Jay Reatard's death. Jay visited Chris last year & they planned a US tour together before Chris had his Stroke. I never meet Jay but received numerous e-mails from him when putting 'Stroke' together - he was always fun, energetic, enthusiastic & a huge supporter of Chris & Chris' music. His version of 'Pull Down The Shades' was the final track to arrive for the NZ version of 'Stroke' & we enjoyed laughing with him over his note that claimed it was 'recorded in a batroom (sic) in Denmark Sweden'.

Barbara, Chris, myself and our friends all offer our condolences to his friends and family.

Roy

Hi All - 'Stroke' has gone gold in NZ! During a BBQ in the fine Auckland summer yesterday we had a wee presentation for Chris where Pete Baker from Rhythm Method records presented Chris with 2 spray painted slabs of vinyl. Some drunken loon in the assemblage yelled 'speech, speech'. Chris did his best to respond.

Chris is ok - he's got a cold at the moment which is making him feel grotty as a grot. The lowered medication does seem to be helping though.

The Nothing will be playing Lane Way music festival on Feb 1st at the Britomart in downtown Auckland. The honorary Nothing member for this outing is the fab Shayne P Carter on guitar. It looks like a great line-up (Daniel Johnston, 3Ds, The Dirty Three) & there are still some tickets left if you're keen to see Chris up & performing again.

All the best folks.

Roy.

Hi All - I'm back. Thanks to Rod for looking after the site. I don't think the turkey farming will fly &, afterall, who would smuggle beers to Chris? Bolivia is a great place though & thanks to Rosita & Rodriguez for the barn.

Chris had another fall, nothing too serious but it took him back to hospital where they checked his blood & found that he had too much of the anti-epilepsy medication in his system. He has been a bit wobbly for a while so it's good to have an explanation. When I saw him he was tired and foggy but hopefully that's the medication adjusting & him recovering from his fall & not a step backwards in his recovery. It's always a bit rough when you see him take another blow.

Someone sent a comment about free downloads of the album - I take your point that it's a pretty low thing to do but there's really nothing we can do about it. But thanks for your concern.

Roy

Hi All - Roy is still away so I'm posting again. I received a postcard from him in the Bolivian country side where he is investigating a possible future career in turkey farming, having grown weary of the big city.

Chris has been in good shape over the last few days. He's been working on an exercise with his right arm that involves holding a tapering tube & twisting it sideways. It's impressive to watch Chris work at this as it's obviously difficult for him to continue for the full 20 minutes required. And obviously it's great to see some controlled motion returning to his arm. Yesterday he popped up from his chair & said 'teeth' to me before ambling away to brush said articles - it was conscious & deliberate, so quite an achievement.

Rod