added 14th June 2004:
many thanks to everyone who has contacted me about the strange situation with the official Matt Finish website. believe me when I say - I had no idea! that link has been pulled and I've checked the rest. I haven't heard anything from the people who ran the official site, so I'm sorry, I can't give you any information...
some of you have contacted me lately asking where to get the Best Of CD, as well as other bits of pieces on vinyl and CD. I have no idea if there were any Best Of CDs left when the official site went down - it was a limited run (about 500 I think). unfortunately, I'm in the same boat as the rest of you when it comes to the back catalogue - it's a case of having to trawl the second hand shops.
an idea I've been thinking about for a while is a 'swap or buy' page so that you can all get in touch with each other and do just that - buy or swap bits and pieces from each other. I've seen similar pages running off other fan websites. what do you think? it will take me a while to get round to organising, but drop me a line if you think it's worth persuing... but DON'T email with any goodies yet. please :-)
so did anyone manage to catch the Gurus on their national tour? I did. fantastic! don't forget to check out their side projects when they've gotten over touring - The Monarchs: Brad's LOUD dirty 70's rock band; The Persian Rugs: everyone but Rick, think 60's garage punk meets The Archies; and of course Rick's newie The Kelly Gang.
in regards to The Kelly Gang - the site is up so have a look. did anyone catch those gigs a while back? I went to the Empire and had a great night. Martin Rotsey on guitar - woohoo! I'm finding the sound hard to describe though - for the moment the best I can come up with is somewhere between post-Stevie-Plunder Whitlams, and The Ghostwriters. but don't quote me ;-) word is they'll be doing a bigger better brighter CD launch some time in July. I'll keep you posted!
added 13th february 2004:
Rick and others including Jack Nolan, Rob Hirst, Martin Rotsey, and Brad Shepherd have a new album about to come out on Gap Records, under the band name The Kelly Gang. Sounds like they've gone a little bit country, a little bit rock'n'roll, to quote some daggy old song from the edges of my memory... 'scuse my irreverance : ) The album, called "Looking For The Sun" is available pre-release at the following gigs (sorry for the late notice!) as follows -
Wednesday 11 Feb ~ Vic on the Park (Marrickville) - on at 10pm
Friday 13 Feb ~ The Empire (Annandale / Leichardt) - on at 11pm
Saturday 14 Feb ~ Bull & Bush (Baulkham Hills) - on at 11pm
Wednesday 18 Feb ~ The Bridge (Rozelle) - details TBA
I have a scan of a flyer - it's a bit big to post so I'll reduce it before sticking it up next week. The artwork for the CD looks superb including at least three repros of some of the Kelly Series by Sir Sidney Nolan.
in the meantime, there will be a site up at www.thekellygang.com.au (nothing there yet) and there's a snippet of info at the Hoodoo Gurus website here. btw - did you all know that the Gurus have reformed? go here to have a squizz at what they're up to.
added 17th august 2003:
Spider has contacted me with the funeral details. there will be a service on Wednesday 20th at the Sacred Heart Church Darlinghurst (just down from the Courthouse), starting at 11am... this will be followed by drinks at the Cruising Yacht Club at Rushcutters Bay commencing at about 1pm. all welcome.
also: have finally put up the for Short Note. many, many thanks to Dave for his hard work, and for putting up with me nagging him. tabs and lyrics here, just lyrics here.
added 16th august 2003:
very sad news to pass on - Matt Moffitt died in his sleep this week. thanks to Geoff for sending his link in, with a very nice obituary, because otherwise, I wouldn't quite have known what to say here. there was also an article on the Big Pond site, and Melodic Rock. all kind wishes and thoughts to his family.
added 14th december 2001:
very happy to announce that the official website -
www.mattfinish.com - is now up and running. you can order the new cd from them, too! you know you want to...
the CD launch - who was there? go here for a review...
added to the discography - Just A Short Note...the Best of Matt Finish
added 2nd december 2001:
cd launch - Just a Short Note...the best of Matt Finish
8.30pm
Wednesday 12 December 2001
Iguana Bar
13-15 Kellett St
Potts Point
and yes...the album will be available on the night. email me if you have any questions...and I hope to see you there. this is an independant release, so help out by coming along and spreading the word!
added 29th november 2001:
CD launch - yes, there is a 'Best Of' about to be released...yes, there will be a launch...yes, it will be on the 12th of december, and yes - you should come along! more details as soon as I have them...
added 25th november 2001:
new page added for paper - articles and setlists and the likes. have a look - thanks to Mark P for sending me those articles! if you have any, please email me. it would be great to have an archive of these (and photos too).
those who turned up to the Iguana Bar gig on tuesday 20th know that unfortunately Matt had to cancel due to bronchitis. I had no idea until I turned up, either, but my apologies to anyone who turned up...hope you enjoyed Jodee from Akradia and Morgana from Nitocris instead.
added 8th november 2001:
there's a bit of a rumour gaining solidity, that there may well be a 'best of' CD out before very long. I wish I could give a bit more info, but as soon as I know more, you'll hear about it. I DO know, however, that there'll be some acoustic gigs happening soon, hopefully leading to some electric ones as well.
I managed to catch Matt, Rick and Joseph Calderazzo at the Iguana Bar last night (weds 7th nov), at very short notice - otherwise the gig would have been listed here. it was a good mix of songs, mostly from Short Note and By Heart, with some new ones as well (anyone heard 'Surf's Up'? - it's a corker I must say).
so - fingers crossed and stay tuned!
added 28th december 2000:
new page added for pics - so go and have a look. also, album covers in the discography have been redone thanks to the triffic scanner santa brought for xmas. ta santa!
soon to come: setlists, a few more photos and maybe even a review of Fire Hand Ember.
if you're really lucky.
added 18th november:
'Short Note' was voted in at #899 by radio listeners in 2MMM's Top 1000 Countdown, which has been playing throughout november 2000.
the song was a single from the 1981 album of the same name. go to the discography page for more details about it and other recordings. the Short Note cd is still in print, and should be easily available.
added 30th October: website - Fire Hand Ember
added 26th October 2000: name for the band - Fire Hand Ember
go to the gigs page for all dates
added 14th October 2000: Matt Moffitt and Rick Grossman's new band are playing at
the Bat & Ball Hotel cnr Cleveland and South Dowling Streets, Surry Hills
on Sunday 22nd October
$7/$5 concessions
also appearing from 6:30pm: Ceci Herbert, Akradia and Tali Gillespie (ex Yothu Yindi)