Tradition dictates that I review 2011, as I've done it now for the past 5 years... so let's do it again now. Suffice to say, as you can probably tell by the state of this blog, I did not spend 2011 blogging :) I'd say I did spend a fair bit of it tweeting though, and I developed a socially acceptable addiction for Facebook and LinkedIn.

In summary, 2011, as every other year always is, was extremely busy, but on the whole, a pretty great year. I've just spent the last 10 days off work, doing pretty much nothing - stayed at home, cleaned up, organised stuff, played with the kids, etc. I didn't realise how much I just needed to stop and chill out, and with time to reflect, I'd definitely say that 2011 was pretty full-on. But I'm not looking back on it with any overwhelming sense of negativity. Certainly there were some hard parts, but for the most part, it was a productive year and as a family, we moved forwards in leaps and bounds.

Again, it's quite easy to break the year into 2 parts; work life and home life.

Let's start with work life. Well, 2011 was pretty massive. Let alone all the "work stuff" that I probably can't talk about here, there was stacks of stuff that did happen that I can talk about :) For starters, I officially changed roles early in the year, moving from being the General Manager to the Managing Director. What did this actually mean? In essence, it was a watershed moment for the CEO to officially hand over the reins to me, and I inherited the final few bits of OBS reporting into me. Other than that, it was business as usual, just trying to make OBS an awesome place to work. Which I think we managed to succeed in again, as we ranked for the 3rd year in a row in the Top 10 of BRW's "Best Places to Work" - pretty significant for us, but a good reflection on the company and our culture. Other than that, I managed to get along to a "corporate event" for the first time in a long time - entertaining some customers at the Australian Open Quarter Finals (which I enjoyed a lot). We opened an office in Perth - which whilst taking a lot of planning, only resulted in a couple of trips over there for me. The office is going well, I'm very proud that we managed to get it up and running. Oh, and finally, we did something we'd never done before - we ran a company-wide internal conference, called "OB1" (probably my crowning glory - coming up with the name for that one). It was on the Gold Coast for a couple of days, we flew everybody in, talked about and workshopped "Stuff"... it was something I am extremely proud of. Can't wait to do it all again :)

In terms of home life, we all had our rewards and challenges. Affecting us all was Aurora's first year of school. For her, it was immense - she had highs and lows (making friends, fitting into a community, the excitement and the tiredness that each day brought), and she learnt how to fluently read and write (which, at the moment, amazes me daily). The flow on effect in the Neumann house was pretty big as well - daily schedules were rearranged, Atticus suddenly found himself alone a lot of the time and Steph and I got more involved with the school than we probably expected. It was pretty big news all round. Aurora handled it well though, and I'm really proud of her transitioning to being a preppie. In 2012, she'll change schools (for a variety of reasons), which will probably bring a whole new set of challenges - but after this year, I think as a family we're reasonably well prepared for it. Otherwise, Aurora continues to develop and seeks to understand the world a little bit more every day, which is a wondrous thing to observe as a parent.

Atticus grew into a real little boy in 2011, which was a joy to watch. His personality developed a lot, but his speech took (and is continuing to take) a little longer to catch up. He's been seeing a speech pathologist for the past 9 months or so, and is making progress, if not a little slowly. It's hard to see him so frustrated in not being able to communicate effectively - and that frustration usually channels itself into him acting out (often physically). As his language has gotten better though, he's developing a calmer, more agreeable personality (and maybe moving out of the "terrible twos" as well). Other than that, he's proven himself to be a very funny, very affectionate little boy, and he, along with Aurora, continue to be the centre of my universe.

For my Facebook friends, the children's musical education is continuing well. In 2011, I was pretty committed to exposing them to a lot of different genres, bands and songs, and have managed to keep it up most weekends. Aurora's favourite bands are The Get Up Kids, Jimmy Eat World and the Beatles. Atticus likes music that gets you moving - Jamiroquai had a big effect, as does anything funky or particularly rockin'.

Steph was a real rock for me this year. Upon reflection, I'm amazed at everything she did this year, and the support she gave to the whole family throughout the year. At the risk of starting to sound like an Oscar acceptance speech, she really did underpin everything we achieved as a family this year. She made Aurora's first year at school as comfortable as possible. She led Atticus in his speech improvement. She instigated us (as a family) learning keyword signing to help Atticus communicate (which was very effective in hindsight). She acted as an invaluable counsel for me on work stuff that was going on. And she struggled with her own challenges all throughout that - me having some pretty heavy travel periods throughout the year, her making new friends in the school parent community, a serious neck issue that sidelined her for a few weeks, as well as a million other things. She's a friggin' champ. 2012 is going to be a big year for her - more on that later - but I have no doubt she'll eat it up, as she does with pretty much everything. She's an inspiration.

In terms of concerts, I managed to get out and see a couple of decent bands... Tool, Iron Maiden, Stone Sour/Sevendust/36 Crazyfists, the Soundwave festival (Primus, Coheed and Cambria, Millencolin, Slayer), A Day To Remember, Kyuss Lives, The Get Up Kids, Children of Bodom, Opeth. It's hard to pick a highlight... there were so many amazing moments. I can tell you that Maiden and The Get Up Kids were a bit disappointing though... fortunately I'd seen them both perform way better at earlier concerts, so they get a free pass. I already have tickets for 4 concerts (!) in 2012; The Dresden Dolls, Soundgarden, Soundwave 2012, Bodyjar/Game Over... so I suspect it'll be another big year of music (which suits me just fine)

Onto reviewing my goals for 2011;

• Spend time with Atticus, helping him develop into a great little boy



• Spend time with Aurora, helping her get through her first year of school



• Keep connected to my wonderful wife



• Stay healthy and try to get healthier



• Make OBS a great and successful place to work
  

I'm happy with all of them - I didn't really get any healthier... but didn't get any worse, and I did see a specialist about my knees and discovered the official problem with them... so that's arguably looking after myself/getting healthier :) Suffice to say, with my health, I don't feel I'm getting worse (or better for that matter).

So that's pretty much 2011 in a nutshell. It was a big year for everyone I think - and we made it through, which I'm really proud of. We did some great stuff. I hope 2011 was a good one for you.

Cheers,

Andy

Black Hockey Jesus makes me almost cry every time. And this time he didn't pull any punches. As the father of a daughter it just hits my heart like nothing else. Read it here;

http://thebhj.com/journal/2011/2/26/7.html

Well, Soundwave 2011 was a few days ago, and I've got to say... it's the most impressive festival I've been to. Friday's day of festivities was well run and near perfect (assuming you can't really do much about the lines for food / toilets, etc.). And it's consistent in terms of quality - the last 2 years have been great, this year was no exception. Every band I saw I was impressed with (with the single exception of Rob Zombie). It's hard to pick a highlight; it would be a 4-way tie between;
1. Primus' live version of Tommy the cat
2. Seeing Gary Holt perform War Ensemble with an ultra-tight sounding Slayer
3. Screaming along to Coheed and Cambria
4. Hearing Millencolin perform one of the best punk albums of all time live in it's entirety.

It was a fantastic day.

Here's what I managed to see throughout the day;

Taking Dawn: ??
Taking Dawn: ??
Monster Magnet: Nod Scene
Monster Magnet: Tractor
Monster Magnet: Dopes to Infinity
Monster Magnet: Dig That Hole
Monster Magnet: Medicine
Monster Magnet: Look to Your Orb for the Warning
Monster Magnet: Powertrip
Monster Magnet: Space Lord
Bullet For My Valentine: Your Betrayal
Bullet For My Valentine: Pleasure and Pain
Bullet For My Valentine: Raising The Demon
Devildriver: Clouds over California
Devildriver: Pray For Villains
Devildriver: Hold Back The Day
Devildriver: Meet The Wretched
Stone Sour: Through Glass
Stone Sour: Hell & Consequences
Stone Sour: 30/30-150
Primus: Seas of Cheese
Primus: Here Come the Bastards
Primus: Those Damn Blue Collar Tweekers
Primus: Pudding Time
Primus: The Last Salmon Man (New Song)
Primus: Over the Falls
Primus: John the Fisherman
Primus: My Name Is Mud
Primus: Tommy The Cat
ill Nino: The Alibi of Tyrants
ill Nino: Liar
Slayer: World Painted Blood
Slayer: Hate Worldwide
Slayer: War Ensemble
Slayer: Postmortem
Slayer: Hallowed Point
Slayer: Americon
Slayer: Payback
Slayer: Mandatory Suicide
Slayer: Temptation
Slayer: South of Heaven
Coheed and Cambria: In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3
Coheed and Cambria: A Favor House Atlantic
Coheed and Cambria: Here We Are Juggernaut
Coheed and Cambria: The Camper Velourium III: Al The Killer
Coheed and Cambria: World Of Lines
Coheed and Cambria: Devil In Jersey City
Coheed and Cambria: Welcome Home
Rob Zombie: Thunder Kiss '65
Rob Zombie: Dragula
Melvins: The Water Glass
Melvins: Evil New War God
Millencolin: No Cigar
Millencolin: Fox
Millencolin: Material Boy
Millencolin: Duckpond
Millencolin: Right About Now
Millencolin: Penguins & Polarbears
Millencolin: Hellman
Millencolin: Devil Me
Millencolin: Stop To Think
Millencolin: The Mayfly
Millencolin: Highway Donkey
Millencolin: A-Ten
Millencolin: Pepper
Millencolin: The Ballad

And I heard some Iron Maiden on the walk to the carpark. I'm glad I saw Maiden, Stone Sour, Sevendust and 36 Crazyfists in sideshows before Soundwave - it made it much easier to get to see everything I wanted to.

Now, just 362 days until the next one :)

Labels: Concerts

Well, it's been a milestone week at home - Aurora is officially at school. I expected to feel a little sadder than I did taking her to her first day as a "preppie" - instead, I felt then, and I feel now, a great sense of joy and expectation at the opportunity and potential in front of her. It's only been a week, but I've been really quite thrilled to hear about her "at school" - what they did, doing sport for the first time, making friends, playing. I'm sure the novelty will wear off soon, but for now, it's genuinely heart-warming. She looks pretty grown up in her uniform - see below for a pic. In the weeks to come, we'll see how she takes to school in general. At the end of this week, she was just exhausted by it all (understandably!). Exciting times :) I can't wait to see how it goes :)

Labels: Aurora

I know it's a bit later than usual, but here's my goals for 2011. They're considerably simpler than years gone by - maybe that's me just getting older... or maybe it's acknowledgment that less is more :)

• Spend time with Atticus, helping him develop into a great little boy
• Spend time with Aurora, helping her get through her first year of school
• Keep connected to my wonderful wife
• Stay healthy and try to get healthier
• Make OBS a great and successful place to work
  

So, it's that time of year when I do the yearly wrap up. This is the 5th year I've done it (here is the 2009 post, in case you're interested)

In summary, 2010 was a really busy year, on all fronts. It feels like my entire year was spent in one of 4 states;
- Working
- Travelling (usually on a plane)
- Playing with the kids
- Seeing a live band

Working;
To say that this was a really big year at work is a massive understatement. I look back very proudly on 2010, and I'm really thrilled with what we've done with the business and our people, but at the same, I'm quite tired... and more than once this year I lost my shit at the amount of work I had to do :( I spent a lot of my year not only trying to do my job, but also doing the job of roles that we just couldn't find the right people to fill (one role took 6 months to fill, and meant a huge amount of additional work for me). I also spent a fair bit of time interstate (Sydney and Brisbane in particular) guiding and working with management and the teams there... which meant I travelled a lot. Since joining the Qantas Club in March, I have taken 40 domestic flights and 2 trips to the US (more on that later)... and that's just the Qantas flights - there were a few Virgin Blue ones in there as well! On a work related note, I was really proud of us on a couple of occasions; first, coming 3rd in BRW's Best Places To Work in Australia. That was a real badge of honour, and something that I feel really strongly about upholding (not the ranking - the feeling that OBS is an awesome place to work). I was also really proud of us winning Microsoft's Education Partner of the Year award for our work on the FUSE project. Not only is it external validation that we know what we're doing, but it's a testament to the real effect we have on students and teachers in this country - which is pretty cool when you think about it. I still continue to love OBS and what we do... and I love my job. Being able to make decisions at this scale for a company like OBS is something I feel privileged to be able to do (and I remind myself of this when I get stressed). And the people I work with continue to be fucking ace.

Travelling;
Steph and I took the big leap this year and headed over for a week in New York... by ourselves! None of it could've been possible without the fabulous assistance of Marc and Danyse, to whom I will forever be in their debt. Marc is one of my absolutely dearest friends in the world, but he really went above and beyond, looking after Aurora and Atticus for 10 days (Atticus was only 13 months old at that point). The trip to New York was wonderful. It was just what Steph and I needed - some indulgent, "us" time (mind you, we're still paying it off :D). Honestly though, I think we both found it to be a complete "game-changer" for us as a couple, and it gave us both a bit of an escape from reality for a short while. Upon our return from New York, we spent another few days as a family in Adelaide, and I MC'd the wedding of our friends Alex and Jenni. I can now tick that one off the list :) Having MC'd, I now know it's a big job, and one I'll likely take a pass on again :) I loved their wedding and had a blast doing it though, and they make a great couple :) In July I headed over to the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference, this time in Washington DC (where I hadn't been before). I really enjoyed Washington, although didn't get too much "tourist time" there. I did get to go to the Air and Space Museum, which was mind-blowing. In August/September, I headed to the local Microsoft conference on the Gold Coast - I got no "tourist time" there at all, but enjoyed the weather nonetheless :) Also in September, Steph and I had a weekend away without the kids to Sydney to see Wicked (by far the greatest stage show I have seen). It was nice to have a night away, and felt nice to be flying for pleasure rather than business. Our final trip in 2010 was to the mighty Ballarat in November for a family weekend away. It rained, Ballarat was pretty crap all round, my childhood memories of Kryal Castle were irreparably damaged, but the kids had fun :)

The Kids;
Like 2009, this year had a huge focus on the kids. Atticus developed a lot during 2010, and Aurora continued to grow into the little person and personality that she is. While nothing massive stands out with the kids, Aurora and I did start going to Chinese Playgroup together in September, which we both enjoyed a lot. Other than that, I think both kids would tell you that I'm a pretty fun, clever, loving and fair dad still, and that's the main thing. One thing that did have a huge effect on me this year was reading Cormac McCarthy's "The Road". As a father, it just floored me. Thanks again so much to Pauly for giving it to me to read.

Concerts and Music;
This year I had the fortunate pleasure of seeing a lot of concerts, and getting a fair bit of variety in as well. In chronological order, I managed to see Dirty Three, AC/DC, Soundwave (Faith No More, The Get Up Kids, The Weakerthans, Jane's Addiction - what a great lineup!), Jimmy Eat World (Soundwave Sideshow), Devin Townsend, Slash MTV Special show, John Mayer, Mumford and Sons, Slash (again, in a headlining show), Metallica (with Lamb of God and Baroness!), Biffy Clyro and Public Enemy (just a few days ago). The best show of the year was certainly Biffy Clyro - something I had been waiting for a long time, something I got to enjoy with a few friends, and probably the band that dominated my musical horizon in 2010. Metallica in full stadium mode and Slash in small club mode (at the MTV Special Show) were probably tied for second spot - both very different shows, but both reminded me why I will always love their music. In terms of stage/theater, it was a good year - I got to see Mamma Mia, West Side Story (in New York), Wicked (in Sydney) and Mary Poppins - all great shows (well, Mamma Mia was OK... not great). I also got to do Karaoke for the first time this year (yes, it's true), and I had a blast doing it.

Other interesting stuff;
Of course, my AFL team, Collingwood, won the Grand Final... eventually. I can now look back and laugh, but at the time, I think years were shaved off my life in that first Grand Final. I think I went to the footy only twice this year, but one trip was with Steph (who attended a game for the first time, and loved it). I also did pretty well in the work Footy Tipping competition, coming 2nd out of about 50 tippers. My health was pretty good this year, although I did have a bad run for a bit when I fell down an escalator at Flagstaff station, suffered a series of colds from the kids and then got a 5 day bout of gastro at a VERY inconvenient time. In terms of TV, my favourite series in a long time, LOST, sadly came to an end. Initially it left me feeling a bit flat and unsatisfied, but over time (and a few re-watches) I've come to appreciate those last few episodes so much more. Inception was an awesome movie. Just thought I'd throw that in there. We finally got a new TV in December, after about 12 years with the old one. It's pretty cool - not extravagant, it does the job nicely.

Finally, to my unquestionable highlight of 2010. I got to meet Slash. I still can't believe it, 8 months later. I fucking met Slash. Wow.

Now, onto the review of the 2010 goals I set myself;

Goal: Get healthy.
Check: I did go to the gym throughout the whole year, and have been now on a regime of multivitamins all year. I feel healthier than I did last year. My health check this year, compared to last year, is improved. I didn't lose ANY weight though... so that's something I definitely need to improve upon.

Goal: Have some great holidays.
Check: New York, Adelaide, Ballarat (questionably).

Goal: Read more.
Maybe: I read a bit this year, but probably not enough

Goal: Quit Smoking.
Check: What a great goal, I got to do it twice :S I did quit for a few months, took it up again for a few months, has now been 2 months since the last cigarette, and I happily don't foresee any in my future :)

Goal: Keep on blogging.
Fail: Massive fail. Website went into limbo for 8 months! LOL.

Goal: Play a gig somewhere.
Fail: Just didn't get it together unfortunately... unless you count Karaoke :)

Goal: Meet my long list of OBS related goals.
Check: All going well so far :)

Goal: Don't kill the garden.
Check: surprisingly, all good. Steph takes a lot of credit on this one though :)

Goal: Be an attentive husband and father.
Check: Reckon I did a good job this year

Goal: Write and record a killer song.
Fail: I have written a great riff, but just got too busy. I managed to play a lot of guitar this year... but didn't record anything unfortunately.

Not overwhelmingly achieved, but enough of the big ones for me to stay happy :) I will post my 2011 goals in the next few days.

So, 2010 proved to be a very busy year. I probably didn't see you (the reader) as much as I would've liked. Overall, Aurora, Atticus and Steph were the motivation for me breathing, eating, moving, working and living this year, as they should be every year. This year was probably most challenging on the work front (both the content and quantity), and most rewarding in seeing the kids grow and develop, as well as the time I spent alone with Steph, both at home and abroad. No doubt I'll look back in years to come at 2010 as a whirlwind year.

Here's to 2011. I love youse all. See you then :)


Andy

So, dear reader (yes, you are the one reader remaining), you may be asking yourself such questions as, "Why has Andy suddenly popped back up in my RSS reader?", "Did Andy not have anything interesting to talk at me about in the past 8 months?" and "Will reading this be worth my time?".

To cover off your (assumed) first question, I finally got off my ass and fixed this website. Unfortunately from May 1 this year, Blogger (Google) stopped supporting using Blogger to manage a blog and publish it to your own domain (in my case, www.andrewneumann.com). I thought I had fixed it at the time through a series of unwieldly nerdriffic changes to my website and DNS, however this proved unfruitful. And I never really got around to getting it sorted - until now, when I am on holidays and have time to fritter away on such trivial pursuits... 8 months after the website being put on pause. To your second question; Yes, plenty has happened in 8 months, believe me. I've also been very busy. I will write my yearly wrap up post tomorrow which will cover off the high level things. And finally, you be the judge, was it worth it?

Good to be back :)

I'm back, baby. I'm back :)

Stay tuned for some more Andy lovin' in the next few days.

Sounds far more ominous than it actually is...

I've migrated my blog tonight, effectively splitting this website in two. My blog will now reside over at a custom domain on Blogspot (blogger), whilst the rest of my website (the pics, concert reviews, etc.) now exists on website.andrewneumann.com. Hopefully the experience for the end user (i.e. you) will be seamless. Of course, this plan could all fall apart and the website may disappear off the interwebs forever. Or something inbetween. More likely.

I just need to wait for the DNS changes to go through. Check back again soon :)

Labels: Music

I thought I'd drop a quick note about our first 3 full days in New York City... and what we've done. Just bullet points for now, as it's late and time for bed. Suffice to say we're having an AWESOME time. Best holiday I think we've ever had.

Thursday

• Hop on/hop off tour through Downtown
• Walked the Brooklyn Bridge and back
• Did a bus tour of Brooklyn
• Had a beer in a great local pub
• Watched a taping of "The Colbert Report"

Friday

• Hop on/hop off tour through Uptown
• City of New York museum
• Had a spectacular vegan lunch at "Candle Cafe"
• Saw "Date Night" at the movies

Saturday

• Queued up and got discount Broadway tix for West Side Story tomorrow
• Spent most of the day in the Village
• Got pretty drunk together at a bar
• Had a spectacular vegan dinner at "Caravan of Dreams"
• Went on an open-top bus night tour of New York
• Bought chocolates from Hershey's

That's it for now. Big day again tomorrow. Loving it.

Time to do a goals review for 2010, given we're a quarter of the way through the year (I know!)

All up, doing well. Here's the scoop;

• Get healthy. Well, I've joined the gym and have been regularly going, with a personal trainer as well. It's all going very well, even though I'm finding it pretty bloody hard at times.
• Have some great holidays. Well, it's all happening right now - Adelaide and New York! More to report back later...
• Read more. Have knocked over a couple of books lately. Reading pretty regularly.
• Quit Smoking. All good - last cigarette I had was over 6 weeks ago, and apart from the odd craving here and there, it's all under control.
• Keep on blogging. Pretty ordinary on this front - kinda lacking here. Oh well :)
• Play a gig somewhere. Nothing yet... still got time to get this organised.
• Meet my long list of OBS related goals. Lot of focus lately on this.
• Don't kill the garden. The garden is going pretty well - we've even got a mower!
• Be an attentive husband and father. Definitely good on this front.
• Write and record a killer song. Song mostly written, not recorded yet :).
  

That's it for the time being.

I was laying in bed the other night at about 1am thinking random thoughts and Sale of the Century popped into my head. It did so, because I was trying to analyse myself a little bit and work out why I a.) love numbers, b.) know a whole bunch of shit about trivial things and c.) my brain works at a rapid pace (for better or worse sometimes). And I think a lot of it comes down to Sale of the Century. I watched it almost every night as a kid and REALLY enjoyed it. I loved keeping a tally in my head of where the scores were at - especially during the final question time (a mad dash of questions throughout, from what I remember, a 60 second period). And I loved answering the questions, and any I didn't know I'd be straight into encyclopedias, dictionaries, Mum and Dad and any other source to learn more. I do believe it honestly helped me grow an inquisitive and fast-paced mind as a youngster. Perhaps it's time to look at the new version (called "Temptation" I think) and see how it shapes up, so at some point I can get my kids onto it.

I've been a bit absent on the old blog for a few weeks - sorry about that. Life has gotten in the way a bit... in a good way. Let's do a quick recap of where my head, heart and body have been at, eh?

I went to Soundwave a couple of weeks ago. The weather was ace, I had a grand old time. Alex and Jenni came and stayed at our place for a few days (more on that later), and Alex, Elaine, Chris and I all headed in for the day's events. Whilst there I caught up with Pauly and Sean (separately) - who again, I've been meaning to call since the event, but haven't gotten around to... Anyway, back to the day itself. I started the day with a song from Sunny Day Real Estate, then saw Baroness, a bit of Isis, all of The Weakerthans, a little bit of Paramore, a little bit of Placebo, all of The Get Up Kids, a bit of Meshuggah, the start of Anthrax's set, then finished with full sets from Jane's Addiction, Jimmy Eat World and Faith No More. Phew, that's a lot of bands. Highlights of the day were;

• Baroness - they just rocked out, looked like that were having a great deal of fun, and delivered a very heartfelt "thank you" at the end of their set. Very cool.
• The Weakerthans - wow. A huge highlight. They had a great sound (considering they were playing in a big tin shed), and played two of my favourite songs of theirs; "Everything Must Go" and "Left and Leaving". They were a great break in the day from the otherwise punk and metal acts
• The Get Up Kids. They played a short set, certainly not long enough for my liking, but they opened with "Holiday" and closed with "Ten Minutes", so I was one happy punter.
• Jane's Addiction. Similar to the last time I saw them, they played a set full of classics, and did it with style. It was good to see them again.
• Faith No More. I was kind of excited to see FNM again, but not over-the-top like a lot of my friends were. I guess having lower expectations was a good thing, as they just blew me away as a result. I loved their set, even though it did feel a bit wrong seeing Jon Hudson playing guitar - he just seems like a ring-in to me... Was great to hear Chinese Arithmetic live, and the rest of their set was pretty solid.

So, Soundwave, was again, a roaring success. That's now two for two, back to back that they've kicked ass on. I'm impressed - hope it gets the same momentum/airplay as Big Day Out to challenge those guys to lift their game as well.

As part of Soundwave, Alex and Jenni came to stay with us for the weekend. That was a real treat. Alex hadn't seen the new place, and the kids just loved having them there. We had a great night on Saturday, just having a big old chat about life and the universe, and we even dusted off our wedding video to give them a chuckle. Boy, I love our wedding video - done by a friend of ours, it's one of the most "out there" wedding videos ever I'd say. It's scary, beautiful, weird and wonderful all at once. Hard to explain. Suffice to say, I think Alex and Jenni enjoyed it. I know I loved seeing it again (must've been at least 4 or 5 years since I'd last seen it).

What else have we been up to? Well, Sean and I also put together a slide/swingset a few weekends ago for Aurora. That was harder work than we anticipated I think... LOL. We had a lot of fun doing it though, and it was nice to spend some time with Sean - seems like forever since we have.

Work has been busy. I've been travelling a lot. In fact, I'm on a plane right now on the way to Brisbane for the day. I better go, as we'll be landing soon. Sorry for the abrupt ending.

Back soon I hope :)

there was a guy
an under water guy who controlled the sea
got killed by ten million pounds of sludge
from new york and new jersey
this monkey's gone to heaven

the creature in the sky
got sucked in a hole
now there's a hole in the sky
and the ground's not cold
and if the ground's not cold
everything is gonna burn
we'll all take turns
i'll get mine, too
this monkey's gone to heaven

if man is 5
then the devil is 6
then god is 7
this monkey's gone to heaven.

Labels: Lyrics

Wow, it's been a while between songs, and to be honest, this isn't the best one to return on. It's really crap quality production, and a VERY under-developed one at that. Awesome way to build it up Andy :) I'm posting this though, as I distinctly remember when and why I wrote it, so enjoy it for the story, if not for the song itself :) The song is a drum click track, 2 guitars (recorded on my old Ibanez, to get that whammy effect in the riff) and 2 vocal tracks most of the time (with some distortion).

I wrote this song after a pair of good friends of mine broke up their long-term relationship. It was a sunny day, I'd met one of them for lunch, they broken the news to me - I think it had only happened 1 or 2 days beforehand, I was a bit shocked actually. I was doing a contract at AAPT at the time, and the guy I was working for was away on leave - I had his office. I returned to work, and whipped out the lyrics pretty much as they appear below, working from three different perspectives/voices; how he felt, how she felt, how I think I'd feel (NOTE: I was not involved in the break-up whatsoever!). Some of the lines relate to him, some to her, some to how I thought I would cope with the situation. I went home and recorded the song that night.

Here's the lyrics;

And the demons rape my mind again
I'm paranoid of all my friends
And I hope your God can save me from this sin
I'm verging on insanity
A break from life is what I need
So I'll leave this place and everything I see
Love is great and love is grand
But the aftermath I cannot stand
So I'll drink all day and see another band

Do you ever wonder why you're lonely?
Do you ever wonder why I care?
It's because you are thinking of me
I'm the man inside your head

Insomnia drops in and out
I lay in bed filled up with doubt
While she's out fucking friends I'll live without
I'm breaking up, I'm falling down
Devoid of life, without a sound
My mind goes (? not sure what this word is?), my heart begins to pound

I wonder what you'll write about me
I remember all the things they've said
You know you cannot live without me
I'm the man inside your head

And it wouldn't be a proper Andy Neumann song if there wasn't at least one major fuck up in the guitar solo (pretty badly missed note - d'oh!). That was 11 years ago, and the couple in question was Steph and her ex-boyfriend (who was also a good friend of mine). Don't think I've ever told Steph that I wrote a song about that...

Labels: Songs