My trip to Australia last January has taken a new twist - I had given my e-mail address to some really talented street buskers my wife and I watched in Melbourne. I just got an e-mail from them yesterday. I sent them the pics I had taken of them, gave them the links to the pics and videos I've shared here. They answered me back thanking me for the pics and for showing them an "amazing instrument" they've never heard of before.

Gotta love the internet, things like this make it worthwhile.

That trip which included the Bob C. seminar was eight months ago, and things like this still make me wake up in the morning briefly not knowing what country I'm in. The jar of Vegemite I found in an Ann Arbor food mart doesn't help either

Yup, Steve - the net is very cool for connecting with new folks. Early this year two young musos from Eastern Australia found me and wanted to buy just a Stick pickup. That was out of the blue! One of them had hired a local luthier to attempt a Stick. For some reason - they thought that I had an extra pickup.

After several communications with these talented fellows they agreed that Emmett's instrument was the best choice. Now they are both getting new Sticks. I introduced one of them to Andy Salvanos and he let him play his instrument. Yup - very cool the internet.
Sean Stirling

Great to hear all that, I grew up on Vegemite and now my kids are!
An essential part of Australian life ( well I think so ) and nice to read you had a good trip down here.

No doubt about the power of the web, its great to be a part of the forum and be able to communicate with stick players worldwide. I've just got home after being without mine for 6 weeks which was rather painful.
Also hoping my new Alto speeds through the production process.
Cheers
B

Steve, that was a memorable trip, and great photos to preserve those memories.

Never been to Australia, but I did get to hang with Colin Hay who is really talented and funny.
but the first time I was made aware of vegemite was thanks to his band Men At Work-

"Buying bread from a man in Brussels
He was six-foot-four and full of muscles
I said, "Do you speak-a my language?"
He just smiled and gave me a vegemite sandwich
And he said,

"I come from a land down under
Where beer does flow and men chunder
Can't you hear, can't you hear the thunder?
You better run, you better take cover."

by the way, Down Under is a great song to play live and it goes over really well!
thanks for sharing your experiences with all of us.
Dave Brosky

I had impressed a Dandenong tour bus driver when we stopped for "gum tea" and snacks. He warned us that Americans usually do not like Vegemite and had never met one that did - until me. He said I restored his faith in Americans There's a proper way of eating it too, I was slopping it on a cracker like salsa and he stopped me saying to spread it thin.

The day after I told Bob Culbertson that story and he said he remembered what Vegemite is from the "I Love Lucy" episode where she got drunk off of eating it in a Vegemite factory. (Pure fiction - no alchohol in it) Some of my coworkers remember that episode too.

Real bummer Colin/MAW got sued over that song almost twenty years after it came out - turned out some record company actually owned the rights to the Kookabura (sp?) children's song, which is played on the flute in "Down Under". Most people would think that song is under public domain. So be careful if you record a song with "Old MacDonald" or "Mary had a little lamb" in the background

Steve, more great stories! wow!

never knew that about the flute solo. thought that was something Greg Ham came up with.
kinda like the 'Happy Birthday" police. yes, it is copyrighted, protected and used to be the most royalty producing song in the world. Even a recent episode of iCarly said "well its a birthday, but we'll sing a public domain song instead. "

I think Bob was referring to this famous I Love Lucy episode for a vitamin tonic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlGm8Qo31Gs&feature=related

enjoy, and thanks again for giving us a reason to live though you vicariously!
Dave Brosky