October 5th

This week is Mental Health Week and on JOY 94.9 we're interviewing people in our community who live with mental illness about their experiences. My feature artist for this week was Sandy Jeffs. You may have seen her on the Enough Rope special Angels and Demons, where Andrew Denton chatted with various people who are living with mental illness, and went through a simulated experience of living in their world. 

Sandy Jeffs is a published poet and public speaker on the subject of mental illness, and she herself has been living with schizophrenia for the past 33 years. She also brought in some phenomenally fantastic music and read one of her poems on air. It was a great insight into members of our community who are often marginalised, overlooked and excluded due to a lack of understanding. 

Music Log:

• First hour - Sandy Jeffs selection
  
• The Dixie Chicks - Easy Silence
  
• Emmylou Harris - Red Dirt Girl
  
• Martha Wainwright - Bloody Motherfucking Asshole
  
• Patty Griffin - Mother Of God
  
• Lucinda Williams - Broken Butterflies
  

Guy Blackman came in for a chat in the second hour about his solo release Adult Baby, his wonderful existence as a music aficionado and audiences in different parts of the world. Guy is a musician, runs an independent record label and is a music journalist who writes for The Age. 

Adult Baby is a great collection of tunes that cause an involuntary grin response, it's sweet and original, and worth a spin. Get up offa that thing I tells ya! Do it. The artwork is delicious too.

He's played with a bunch of top notch bands around the traps, including Sly Hats, Sulk and Sleepy Township. He's doing a gig in Melbourne this Thursday at the Toff In Town before jetting to the US with his boyfriend for a holiday, and is allowed to play a gig a week. Details on the myspace.

Second hour - Guy Blackman / mish mash

• Guy Blackman - Gayle
  
• Guy Blackman - Dark and Quiet Place
  
• Guy Blackman - Carlton North
  
• Whitley - Cheap Clothes
  
• Xavier Rudd - Guku
  
• Sarah Blasko - Always On This Line
  
• Holly Throsby - One Of You For Me
  
• Josh Pyke - New Years Song
  
• Mr Sister - Apogee
  
• King Tebbutt and Whistler - Japanese Boy
  

MUSIC OBSESSION OF THE WEEK

Holly Throsby's latest offering A Loud Call has had a fair few plays on the stereo this week, I've had a mooching round the house couple of days and appreciated the stillness and calm in this recording. There's bounce of course, and the lyricism is in the usual gorgeous kooky ballpark of Miss Throsby's albums. If you're not familiar with this lady get on the bandwagon, her voice offers equal parts vulnerability and strength, and the albums are a very visual experience, rich with imagery.

CARD SHARK? NAH, JUST A HAM.

Last night I went to Adrian's 31st birthday and had a freaking ball! This guy is well known for his big bang whizz fandangled hootnannies, and this year was no exception. 

He hosted a poker tournament at the Windsor Hotel, it's a $30 buy in, these poker dudes bring all the fancy pants tables and chips and cards and teach you how to play, all the prize money won by the champion goes to the charity of their choice. 

Everyone suited/frocked up to the nines. There were a fair few hats in the room, and folks were looking Mi-T-Sharp, as they say in the classics. 

I have never played poker before in my life, but I dressed to impress. Slouch hat, aviators (thanks for the loan Trev), hot magenta tie and tequila sunrise shirt. Yeah, my tactics were to make my opponents eyes bleed. I had an entourage of Trev and Dan to blow on my cards each time a hand was dealt. I generally didn't really know what I was doing but somehow managed to come second in the first round at a table of about 12 people, and won the championship round!

Funny funny funny. Beginners luck is a beautiful thing. I'll see you all when I get back from Vegas with my new diamond encrusted teeth and dancing girls. 

All the money went to JOY of course, I think it was about $1,200 or something. Yay! 

NEXT WEEK ON LOCAL AND VOCAL

Next week will be action packed, Hot Little Hands are popping in for the first hour and in the second hour artist Kirrily Anderson will be coming in to speak about her book Creative For A Second, which is full of artwork by people with chronic fatigue syndrome and has a lot of great personal stories about how creativity is therapeutic form of expression. 

I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO

Guy Blackman at the Toff In Town on Thursday

Jordie Lane at Spiegeltent on Thursday

Lawn bowls birthday party on Friday night

The last dribbles of the Melbourne Fringe Festival. Get amongst it!

Riding my bike to places

JENNY OUT

xoxo