He was inspired by Christo.

Like I said, I’m working hard for the money. Which is cool, since Felice is not here, it’s good to be occupied, but I’m wondering whether it should have been labeled the “Bob Lefsetz Festival” instead of “Australian Music Week.” I quoted them a price, my standard overseas fee, but they kept adding on obligations, like a podcast with Ken West.

I didn’t even know who the guy was. They told me he started the Big Day Out. That I was familiar with. I said yes, but I was worried, there was little biographical information online, I like to talk to people whose work I know by heart, having studied it for decades, so I was wary.

I didn’t need to be.

That’s what the newcomers don’t understand, the ethos and viewpoint of the oldsters, who were inspired by the music and built the business, before the corporations, before it was fully-formed.

So Ken West went to art school. Which was kind of funny, because it was a good ten years after everybody in the U.K. did. He testified about the oddballs, those are the ones who used to make music, the fringe, those that couldn’t fit in anywhere else, they couldn’t be brands because not only did they not know anything about corporations, that’s not what they cared about.

Ken didn’t care about money, he cared about art. I told him he’d been pushing the envelope…he said he’d thrown it away.

But you need money to live. Ken didn’t want to be on the victim end of it, he said he was not a self-promoter, he did not want to be dependent upon other people buying his art, listening to Christo, he saw another way, events, spectaculars based on great art.

Now the Aussies have accents. And my hearing is not great. Was Ken really talking about Christo? The guy who sets up umbrellas and gates and encircles islands? This is the first time I’ve ever heard anybody in the music business mention him.

But it got even better. Ken started talking about the danger in events as they got bigger. How the tendency is to play it safe, but you shouldn’t. Three people lost their lives with Christo’s Umbrellas installations. Ken decried the Gates in New York, it was too safe. But Floating Piers, those 24/7 walkways in Italy? Where people in wheelchairs could roll off and die? That rang his bell.

So Ken hired a band because they came with a PA, and he wanted the band he was managing to play, and it was cheaper to hire this band with their equipment than hire a PA by its lonesome.

And then his friend Nick Cave… Whoa, how did Ken get here?

Well, he flew to England and convinced New Order to tour Australia, when they hadn’t even performed ten dates. Their soundman was held up at the border, he filled out his visa form wrong, they hired a studio engineer who got it all wrong and the first night sucked. Live is a crapshoot.

And Ken becomes friends with the Violent Femmes, they’re big Down Under, they ask him to be their tour manager in the States, which he does, $250 a week and he had to get himself over the ocean. He learned people were the same everywhere, but he’d rather live in Australia.

The Femmes wanted Ken to be their manager, but that’s not his interest, but inspired by Lollapalooza, Ken started a festival, to sell more tickets he booked Nirvana to open, just after “Smells Like Teen Spirit” broke. He had them for $5,000, but he gave them $4 per head on the merch, they walked out with 38k. It was the right thing to do, no contract said Ken had to.

And now Big Day Out is rolling, all over Australia, even New Zealand. But when you have a success, money is attracted, but Ken credited his TLC with keeping Big Day Out going. Then again, he was thinking about it 24/7, it took over his life.

Now if you know your history, the Big Day Out ultimately cratered, went kaput, even though C3 got involved. And Ken’s been sitting on the sidelines for five years.

Is he coming back?

Probably not. He’s following the scene, but he believes science is driving the culture. That you can make mistakes off the radar, make breakthroughs that can change the world.

Ken laments the fact that acts can no longer woodshed in private. He says sampling killed the music, now you can’t tell whether a track was cut in the seventies or today.

And I’d like to explain both of these concepts to you, but I’m not sure I fully grasped them. The mics were turned off, but we kept on talking, because it’s these personalities who built the business. Not MBAs, not pencil-pushers. Alas, one of Ken’s initial tours was funded by a dope dealer, who got his 30k back a year later.

And every Big Day Out was a roll of the dice, where Ken had his entire fortune at risk. Was it worth it?

His partner said no, took money off the table.

But money is not what excites Ken, he wants to wow people, catch them off guard and impress them. He wants to change the culture. He wanted the bands to hang during Big Day Out, get to know each other.

It was a traveling circus.

But they put Ringling Brothers’ out of business. They don’t do that no more.

And they not only don’t make the Big Day Out anymore, they don’t make people like Ken West in the music business. Where the money is secondary to the effect, where you want to transport people to somewhere they’ve never been, where you want them to remember to the point they keep coming back.

You’re born with it, I tell you.

And it’s these limit-pushers who are changing the world.

Are you one?

How do we sleep while our beds are burning

I woke up at 6:30. Maybe reasonable for you, out of the question for me, the last time I saw the sun rise was to catch a flight, I like the darkness, when everybody’s sleeping, when the world is mine.

I wasn’t quite sure what to do with myself. I ended up going to breakfast. I’ve got to ask you, why do they undercook the sausage? And the bacon should be CRISP! I could barely look at the bacon, I took a few bites of the sausage and got grossed out and immediately ate some yogurt to kill the taste. There’s protein in yogurt, that was breakfast, at an ungodly hour, would I have enough sustenance to carry me through?

To Studios 301 to do a podcast with Peter Garrett.

This was hard to make happen. It was confirmed, then canceled. I was told that Peter had a hard out at 11:50, he needed to get to the studio to record with his band.

We were there early, so I got to look at the gear. They had every tape recorder, that high end Technics that isolated the tape, two track Mitsubishi digital, I actually saw two of them, a couple of Studers. From a bygone era, before digital. And there were racks and racks of outboard equipment, this is how they used to make records. The studio was a sacred place, not just for anybody, it was expensive, it was the belly of the beast, it was where you made records, my heart still goes pitter-patter when I’m in the inner sanctum.

And then, while I’m checking out the iMac Pro we’re going to record on, avoiding the 72 track desk mere feet away, Peter Garrett arrives.

I’m intimidated. I feel like I’m imposing upon him. He’s almost 6’5″, he’s got a bald head, you know the type, irritable, asshole… BUT HE WAS NOTHING LIKE THAT!

Peter was warm and congenial. Like maybe someone I went to high school with, well no, nobody I went to high school became famous, no one took the road less taken.

And most musicians are reticent, their music speaks for them. But Peter… I was thinking of his choices, ones I was too afraid to make. Then again, he’s confident, his parents supported him, the opposite of my upbringing.

And Midnight Oil was an indie band before they signed to Columbia and were all over MTV. It was about the message, they refused to be compromised, actually, “Beds Are Burning” was not written to be a hit, but to be part of the soundtrack of a minor movie. Excellence comes when you’re not trying to execute it.

And we talked not only about the Oils, but Peter’s tenure in the government. As minister of education (should I capitalize that?) He was passionate and nice, I didn’t know they made rock stars like this.

But the best part was when we turned the mics off, after ninety minutes of conversation, long after noon, long after Peter was supposed to be gone. Actually, we’d still be there talking if I didn’t have a video commitment at 1:30. We were sitting there, analyzing the world, Peter’s smiling…do you know how good it feels to feel connected, to be listened to, to wrestle with the issues with someone who wants to? It’s what I live for! I always find I resonate most with the artists, even though I’m afraid of them. Joe Walsh reached out and volunteered himself for a podcast…I told him I’d been afraid to ask him, I hate imposing upon people, but it made me look like an amateur, I never believe I’m a member of the club, but it’s astounding how few of these people are intimidating, I felt like Peter was a friend for life!

And then we went to Fox Studios, to record this interview. When the lights go on, or down, depending on whether it’s a recording or live, I turn it on, this is when I deliver, because you never know what will put you over the top, usually the thing you were reluctant to do. And I’ll be honest, I wince when I find myself telling the same stories over again, especially when there are people in attendance who’ve heard them, but I try to tell myself they’re new to the audience.

And then we went to ABC, the Australian Broadcasting Company. The public outlet. I had my picture taken in front of legendary cartoon characters who I had not grown up with, the building was empty, maybe because of the Melbourne Cup, the famous horse race, but…

Then I did a radio interview and by time I got back to Cronulla it was time for my next gig, a dinner. I’m just running on adrenaline, like I said, I’m working hard for the money.

And I ran into this guy who started Australia’s third biggest ticketing company, from scratch, sixteen years ago. After listening to him for five minutes, I knew he’d be successful at anything he did, because he was passionate, he believed, he was his product. That’s what they don’t teach you in music school, not even entrepreneur programs, you’re born with it, it can be taught, but only those born with it are great at it. Find what you’re great at, you can’t compete with the naturals unless you’re one too, even if you put in the 10,000 hours, you can learn the notes, but you can’t write the song.

And I meet the guy who runs the arenas. And Don stands and thanks all the sponsors, usually sponsors are there to be ripped-off, but Don truly made them feel included.

And then we ate dinner.

Geoff had told me his partner made great Lebanese food. I had no idea. It was phenomenal! I overate, but I can’t stop when it’s that good, and I hadn’t eaten lunch until three p.m., I was running on empty.

And I got into a conversation with Adam Lewis, who lives in L.A. but I only see in foreign countries, he’s here to sign up bands, to do their radio promotion, publicity.

And these conversations are free-flowing, like the alcohol, everybody gets loosened up and tells stories and you feel part of a fraternity, of lucky freaks, we couldn’t do anything else, but we’re privileged to have fun doing our jobs, to never stop talking about them. As I said earlier today, go anywhere and say you’re involved in a hit record, a hit band, and all the billionaires will go ignored, that’s the power of music, the money is secondary, it’s the personal impact. As Peter Garrett said, it energizes people, gets them motivated.

And hours into this dinner conversation, the topic switched to television, it always does, politics and TV, that’s what people want to talk about today.

And Adam said he wished he could watch more TV. Huh? Isn’t everybody trying to watch less? So I ask him what he watches, and he says reality shows. He starts testifying about “Below Deck,” Felice is hooked on that too, it’s upstairs/downstairs in the private yacht world. But the show Adam liked best was…

DR. PIMPLE POPPER!

I thought I didn’t hear right. Couldn’t be. That wasn’t the name.

Adam said it was.

Okay, that was the name of the doctor, but not the show, right?

No, it’s the name of the show!

So I Googled it and it had its own Wikipedia page, so it was real.

And everybody at the table starts testifying about the show, about the growths these people have, how Dr. Pimple Popper saves their lives, how they’ve been afraid of leaving the house… HOW DID I MISS THIS?

I like to feel I’m clued in, I’m reading all day every day to take the pulse, but I’d never heard of “Dr. Pimple Popper.”

That’s the power of people, that’s the power of conversation, that’s when you feel most alive, talking to others, listening and learning.

The time has come, a fact’s a fact

Like global warming, like the power of a liberal arts education, like music. It’s what you do about it. Peter believes you can’t do it alone, it’s about getting together with other people, compromising, making the sausage, executing. It’s all right to complain, but you’ve got to do something.

There are people all over the world doing something. Not that the power of the individual should be dismissed, Greta Thunberg single-handedly motivated students to stand up, to protest, to tell the old men in charge that action needs to be taken. And then she declined the Nordic Council’s environmental award, and its prize money. It’s not about her, it’s about the cause. That’s rock and roll. An unfiltered opinion rendered by someone who is not sold out and is unwilling to cripple their vision.

These are the people we need more of, these are the people who change the world, people who believe it can be a better place.

Where we can feel free to watch “Dr. Pimple Popper” without worrying about our planet burning up.

Peter Garrett wants you to wake up, Greta Thunberg too, because when the beds are burning you don’t want to go up in flames with them.

People are inspiring.

I was inspired today.

Tune in tomorrow, Tuesday November 5th, to Volume 106, 7 PM East, 4 PM West.

Hear the episode live on SiriusXM VOLUME: HearLefsetzLive

If you miss the episode, you can hear it on demand on the SiriusXM app: LefsetzLive

They’re treating me like a rock star. As in shuffling me from place to place for publicity. Tomorrow is radio, today was photography for the newspaper interviews I did last week. You can see how relationships matter, at least in terms of promotion. A team of pros build you.

First we went to Geoff’s venue, the Brass Monkey. There were posters all over the door, even one of me, but what struck me most was the tribute bands, the seventies have not died. One was a doubleheader of Eagles and the Doobie Brothers…does the promoter know Irving manages both? And speaking of Irving, there was a Steely Dan tribute, and last Saturday they had Fleetwood Mac. Then again, Amy Winehouse plays too, it’s not all oldsters. People are fans of the music.

And then the photographer for the “Australian” showed up.

He came with a suitcase full of gear, even a bag of lights. And he started shooting, all angles, changing lenses, I kinda cracked up that out of all these shots, they’d probably only use one.

But as John was setting up his umbrella, I asked him about his gig. He was the last photographer left, they’d all fallen by the wayside in the great internet crunch. He shot everywhere, like…Iraq.

Yup, during the war, they got ahead of the Americans. It was John, a reporter and an interpreter. They got accosted. Had guns pointed at their heads…talk about feeling alive.

And then we went downstairs into the venue and John shot even more. I was digging it, it’s good to be the focus of attention, then again, I’m sure it gets old and overwhelming, assuming you’re on the rocket ship to the top.

And when it was all done, we walked down to Geoff’s office, killed some time, and then Don and I went down to the beach, for a shoot with the “Sydney Morning Herald.”

Now you’ve got to know how beautiful the beach is. It’s green and then blue and the surf today isn’t that big, but there were people out there, albeit in wetsuits. I asked what the flags were about, figuring they were warnings not to go in the water, but actually it was just the opposite, you’ve got to swim between the flags, to avoid the rips, if there are no flags, don’t go in.

And Cronulla Beach is…a resort town. Little did I know I was coming to Australia on vacation. Then again, like Donna Summer, I’m working hard for the money. A podcast tomorrow, two radio shows, and then podcasts and panels, sometimes twice a day, until I’m gone.

So we amble down to the beach and there’s a blonde woman with one camera. Yup, she’s got a Canon similar to John’s, but that’s all. I figured we got the B-team, after all, I’m B-level talent at best.

And this woman Kate has me walking down on the beach. I’ll tell you, I was wondering whether to take my shoes off, there’s nothing worse than getting sand in your shoes, then again, that Dido song said just the opposite:

I’ve still got sand in my shoes
And I can’t shake the thought of you
I should get on, forget you
But why would I want to
I know we said goodbye
Anything else would have been confused
But I wanna see you again

“Sand In My Shoes” is about a vacation romance, you know, a fling to be forgotten, only the protagonist in this song cannot, forget that is. Isn’t it funny how what we think is the sideshow becomes the main show.

And I got into Dido because of hearing “Life For Rent” in my mother’s car, with only FM and no satellite. Repetition builds bonds. And when I got home to California I looked through hundreds of CDs until I found that one, and then played it over and over again, discovered “Sand In My Shoes,” even went to see Dido at the Wiltern.

She recently put out a new LP and it didn’t even make a ripple in the water. The paradigm shifted. Funny how you stay the same and times change and you’re done.

So after leaning against rocks and standing by the lifeguard shack, I asked Kate about her gig.

She just came back from Syria. She started telling stories of the Kurds, of going to funerals. How the Kurds hate Trump and no one in the world trusts America anymore. These were not the words of a talking head on MSNBC, Kate had been there, she’d felt it.

Had she been shot at?

“We all have.”

And it soon became clear Kate was part of the fraternity, of journalists.

Recently she was in the Congo. She’s not an adrenaline junkie, she just needs to tell these stories, people need to know them.

And I’m standing there talking to her knowing she can’t get rich, but her life is richer than most of the people who are.

And I asked her what was going on.

Kate said it was about resources, that’s what everybody in the world is fighting for. That Trump’s troops made sure the oil flowed, he was in the process of making a deal with Chevron for its distribution.

And I can’t stop talking to Kate. You see most people are uninformed or unable to tolerate contrary opinions. Then, there are facts. She’s talking about Erdogan’s movement of Turks into this tiny strip, with little infrastructure. She showed me pictures of the Americans leaving, with their tails between their legs. But somehow, it’s all about abortion, identity politics, anything but the real issues.

Now thereafter I went in search of Coke. As in Coca-Cola, caffeine-free, the diet iteration.

I eventually found it in the IGA.

And now I’m back in my hotel room contemplating.

One thing I like about my heavy schedule is the excitement of interaction. As I like to say, walk out the front door and you have no idea what will happen.

And the truth is to a great degree the media is a disinformation society. I’m not talking about Fox and fake, I’m talking about perspective and holes. Unless you have boots on the ground, unless you’ve been there, oftentimes you don’t know. Kinda like the reporters pontificating on what the people want without knowing them.

Everybody’s got a story, and I want to know it.

What are you willing to risk?

Kate doesn’t want to die on the job, but fear won’t keep her from doing her job.

This is who she is.

Who are you?

“Sand In My Shoes”

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P.S. After our first date, I told Felice I was listening to “Sand In My Shoes,” I told her “I wanna see you again.”