Geoff Taylors Blog on the world

When parents don't agree.

2008-07-30T21:59:00.000-07:00

It's a sad state of affairs when divorced parents cannot agree on issues regarding their children. It makes life hard for everyone. Most men are usually left without much input after the divorce, and a lot of women love to throw the whole "I've got legal custody" thing in your face.

Is it any wonder some men do unthinkable things when they feel they are backed into a corner with nowhere to turn. Most women seem to think that they are the only ones who would hurt if they were separated from their children. They are of the opinion that if the father wanted to be with his children, he would not have walked out on them.

NEWSFLASH!!! Most men don't walk out on the children. It's the woman they walk out on. And no truer statement has been uttered than "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned". Women will go to untold lengths to make sure life for her ex partner is never easy again. And they are good at hiding their tracks or making it appear as though they are doing what is best for the children.

It's in these times that most men really understand why they wanted out of the relationship. This woman is psychotic in a very manipulative way. Men start to question what ever led them together in the first place. The resentment steps in and before too long, you can cut the air with a knife whenever the two are in the same room.

She believes she is right and that's all there is to it. Nothing the man says is of any importance any longer. He can offer suggestions, opinions and helpful advice until the cows come home. She will happilly nod her head and agree while knowing all to well that she has no intention in taking his advice.

When things really start to heat up, she will always pull the custody word out of her overcrowded handbag and stop you dead in your tracks. You feel powerless. You don't agree with the way she raises the children but how do you get a voice. As long as the children are fed, clothed, educated and housed in acceptable accomodation and in no moral danger, there is hardly a court in the country that will give the father any power unless he can prove the mother is doing a bad job.

What constitutes bad? Who makes the morale decision of what is best for your children? What if the fathers standard of child raising is somewhat higher than the mothers? Is there a way for the father to get her to up her game? Don't even get me started on child support. How many fathers are happy to pay child support so long as it actually goes on the kids?

I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who know exactly where I am coming from. I don't write these things looking for any kind of overwhelming support from others in the worls. It's my opinions written down as a kind of release of emotions that otherwise get bottled away. It's my therapy. Feel free to comment. I know there are plenty of single mothers now just chaffing at the bit for their right of reply.

Please go your hardest....I've heard every excuse under the sand.

Try to keep smiling......................

Has divorce improved your life?

2008-07-21T23:51:00.000-07:00

Well the topic speaks for itself. Has divorce improved your life? I can say it has certainly made a difference to the life of my children.

How can that be I hear you ask? Well it's like this. I do not claim to be perfect in any sense of the word. I know I know, there are those of you out there that would believe sometimes I think the opposite.

Well I guess we are all guilty of acting a little pompous at times. (I raise my hand). The point I am trying to make is this. I was nothing but a passive father figure while I was married to my previous wife. I left all the parenting to her and occasionally growled like a dumb bear if they annoyed me just to show my dominance in the house.

Well a lot has changed since those days. Admittedly the children were unhappy at their father leaving. That's very natural for any child. It was hard on me too. I have shed more than a single tear over the last 5 years at being seperated from my children.

However, what it has done has made me a better father for my children. I still don't get along with my Ex well, and nor do I want to. (That's a whole different story)

However, my children now have a father that participates in their games and talks to them without raising his voice. A father that wants to teach them how to interact with the world and not just push them out into it. A father who wants to invest in their growing experience and reap the rewards of pride as he watches them take their place in the world as adults.

I now have an overwhelming sense of joy at watching the little things in their lives. Taking them outside to the sports field and watching run and laugh and play and just be children. I am now 41 years old. I have a 21 year old son from a very distant relationship whom I only met recently. I am proud of him and what he is doing with his life evan though I had no part of it.

I have 4 children from my previous marriage who range from 7 to 12. They are all great kids and respond extremely well to my changed style of parenting. I also have a new daughter from my current marriage who is almost 6 months old. I hope to make far less mistakes than I did before. I know I will still make them, but hopefully they won't be ignorant ones.

Divorce has led me down a different path with a new wife who has taught me to handle things in a far better way and to be able to build a better relationship with my children.

So has divirce improved your life? It has for me and my children. Sometimes the hards things turn out to be the best things for everyone concerned.

Kids in clubs.

2008-07-19T18:33:00.000-07:00

Perhaps I'm getting old, or maybe just working in the wrong places, But I have to express my disgust in parents who go to clubs with young children in toe, and are still there after 9pm with little children who should be home tucked safely into their warm beds for the night.

It's bad enough that we as a society find it acceptable to take children into places full of alcohol and poker machines, but to then expect the children to just hang out while the parents socialise is so pathetic.

The morals of our country seem to be ever laxing and on a steep decent. Don't get me wrong, I am not against mum and dad getting out to a nice club for dinner with friends. But to then move over to the bar area for continued socialising while their children are expected to entertain themselves is purely selfish.

What sort of start to life are we giving our kids. Am I the minority on this train of thought? Am I just a prude? Well if I am, then I am. I will allow my children the privilege to choose to hang out at these places when they are adults and not raise them to think it is the standard practice of everyone.

The silent gig

2008-07-13T03:45:00.000-07:00

As a musician, I have played probably thousands of gigs over the last 20 or so years. Playing music for a living is really no different to any other job. You have your good days and your bad.

Today was a bad day, I am yet to understand how a room full of people can sit there going about thier social activities while an entertainer plays song after song to absolutely no response whatsoever.

Am I at a deaf person convention? It is beyond me. Perhaps if I sounded bad I may get a few lemons thrown at me.

Anyway, thats just my two cents worth for today.

One of those days.

2008-07-12T07:34:00.000-07:00

Well it's been a while since I last posted on this blog, so here is the first blog in a long time.

Today was just one of those days. As a fulltime musician, I packed my car this afternoon and prepared to head to work tonight. When it came time to leave, I could not help but think that I was leaving something behind.

Running through everything in my head, I could not put my finger on it. Everything seemed to be covered. So off I went. 30 minutes later I arrived at the venue and carted my equipment inside.

Upon starting to unpack my gear, I realised just what it was that I was missing. Power cords! I had no leads for my speaker of mixer. ARRRGGGGGG!!!!!

So with 40 minutes until my show had to start, I had to drive back home to get some. What a pain in the a%#.......

Needless to say, I began almost 20 minutes late. So you think thats it? Nope!

My mike stand would not stay up. I tried to tighten it, but it kept drooping. So I gave it a good turn. Oop's, there goes the thread. Now it's broken. Oh crap.

On top of that, I had some guy asking me to play all sorts of crap that I don't do. Thankfully he did manage to ask for about 2 songs I actually played.

Anyway, thankfully I managed to get through it all and get back home. Now just to get through tomorrow's:-)

My Space is running

2006-09-24T18:27:00.000-07:00

Get on over to my new page with audio and all.
Geoff Taylor Music

New Song

2006-09-05T10:34:00.000-07:00

After much soul seeking today, I decided the best way to show my deepest sympathy for Steve Irwins family was to write a song in his honour. So I did.
http://www.geofftaylormusic.com/Music/memory of you.mp3

Memory of you is a tribute to the greatest Australian this generation has ever known.

Thanks Steve.

Inadequate Life!

2006-09-05T02:15:00.000-07:00

The Death of Steve Irwin seems to have affected many Australians in a hard way. Today has really hit it home for me. As I hear more and more on the tv and read more on the internet about his amazing life, it makes me realise just how inadequate my life is. It took me 20 years as a musician to finally record my own songs and put them onto a CD. I work a few nights a week and the rest of the week I waste doing almost nothing.

Then I think of the life that Steve Irwin lived. I doubt that he spent a day of his life not doing what he loved. His life may have been cut short, but every minute of it was fullfilling to him. He lived every minute to its fullest. He was a fair dinkum genuine Aussie that we all need to look up to. If more people in the world could live life with half the passion that he did, this world would be a really wonderful place to live.

As for me, I intend to start doing more with my life. I'm going to start getting outside more often and seeing what is around me. I love taking photo's, so Im going to start doing more of it. I probably won't become a world renowned photographer, but at least I will be living life alot better than I am today.

Steve Irwin not only taught us about animals and conservation, but he gave a truly remarkable example of how we all should live our lives. Thankyou for living . You have been an inspiration to everyone.

FAREWELL STEVE IRWIN!

2006-09-04T09:19:00.000-07:00

Its a sad day for Australia and the world, but mostly for your family. My thoughts and prayers are with them as they struggle to come to grips with this tragedy.
Farwell Steve. The world is a little smaller today without you.

People

2006-09-02T20:10:00.000-07:00

I had an epiphany this weekend. Generally in life, the time other people have for you is proportional to the history you share together. You may have known someone since you were five, but if your history with them has been sporadic, then it will remain that way. Genuine friends are hard to come by. You don't make them overnight. And even sometimes when you think you have one, they turn out to be just another acquaintance that you run into from time to time.

We are such a fickle race in Australia. Genuine people are hard to find, but if you find one, be sure you are genuine back because they deserve no less. When all is said and done, and your journey in this life is over, all that remains are the memories you made through strong friendships with genuine people. You too can be a genuine person. Its not a talent, its a choice.

Keep smilin

New Band

2006-08-28T05:20:00.000-07:00

As of yesterday, I now have a new 3 peice covers band called Night Shift. This is the 3rd band in my life called Night Shift. It seems to be a simple and appealing name that describes what we do in a very basic term.

Its great to finally get a band together again. I have been playing solo and in a duo for several years now and long for the diversity of playing live music without backing tracks and being able to improvise at will again.

It will be a few months before we are playing live, but it is going to be fun when we are. And I think we will also get into some original work down the line. Its all good.

Car problems

2006-08-28T05:07:00.000-07:00

I thought I would share this experience with you as there is certainly a lesson for us all in this.

Recently my wife and I went to Newcastle and Canberra for a short holiday. During our holiday, our car started making unusual noises that I knew it shouldn’t make. Upon our return to Brisbane, I sought mechanical advice. It seemed our gearbox had some noisy bearings, our exhaust manifold was leaking and the engine was leaking oil. So I made some enquiries and found it would cost $1600 to recondition the gearbox. Fair enough I thought. Best to get it done before it gets worse and makes more damage.

Now you just know that Murphy is hiding around the next corner. Two days after dropping my car in to the gearbox place, yep you guessed it, the mechanic called. It would appear some of the gears in the gearbox were also worn which was creating a whirring sound in some gears. So long story short, Murphy’s law wins again and the bill shot up to $2800.

Next up came the leaking manifold. I wasn’t about to get stung again, so armed with my experience on several Holden’s I had owned years earlier, I decided to take on the task myself. How hard could it be to change an exhaust gasket? So I bought the gasket and set about replacing the dead one. That’s when the drama’s begun.

First of all, being a V6 engine, its not that easy getting to the side of the engine. Add to this the fact that these bolts had probably never been taken out of the engine since new. So after many colourful metaphors, I finally got the heat shield off. Onto the manifold. I noticed that there was a nut missing from one of the studs holding the manifold on. This was obviously the problem from the start. So I set about removing the manifold so I could replace the gasket and fix the whole drama. After removing the manifold, I noticed that one stud was rather loose in the head. So I reached down to see if I could tighten it up, and guess what? It snapped off in my hand. Murphy’s back.

So I called a good friend who is also a good mechanic to ask for advice. He told me how to get the broken stud out. He also said it would be tricky. But I had to try. So I went out and bought a right angled air drill to get into the side of the head, and tried to drill into the centre of the broken stud. Well as you may have guessed by now, I was not very successful with this endeavour and ended up drilling down the side of the stud. So where did this leave me? I guess the head would have to come off now so I could get the remainder of the stud out and put a new one in.

To do this, I needed a tension wrench and a special hex head socket. So off I went to buy them. I also needed a new head gasket. So another $200 later, I was ready to pull the head off. Halfway through the process it finally dawned on me that the whole inlet manifold would need to come off. It was at this stage I realised I was in over my head. So a quick phone call to a mobile mechanic, and I awaited the arrival of the professionals to help me through this tough spot.

The mechanic arrived, took a look at my mess and suggested we just put it all back together and use some gasket goo on the manifold to help take up the slack of one missing stud. I was happy with this suggestion since I needed my car going again ASAP. We finally got it all back together after 4 hours and another $270.

But low an behold, it was not running properly. Too late, the mechanic was gone. I realised that I must have put the timing belt on one notch out. So the car sat in the back yard for a few more days while I waited for the mechanic to be able to come back. In the meantime, I ordered a new timing belt and new oil seals to fix the oil leak. Tonight the mechanic came back, and $300 later, the car is now working good again and the manifold is almost perfect as well.

So what’s the lesson? Leave it to the experts is the first lesson. Listen to friends advice when they say it could be a little tricky. That’s really their polite way of saying, its above your skill level. This whole situation is a classic example of Murphy’s law at its finest. To add insult to injury, It rained tonight the whole time we were fixing the car, and stopped just as we were finished. I hate Murphy!

Keep smiling everyone.

Finally Finished

2006-07-17T05:04:00.000-07:00

Well the album has finally been completed. I must say, I am very pleased with the end result. I have learnt quite a bit about recording and music production and am looking forward to the next album. I'm a little stuck at the moment as I'm waiting to get my gig mixer back from the repair man so I can put my studio mixer back in its rightful place. I have also decided to purchase Adobe Audition 2.0. Its a damn shame that Apple chose not to continue support for PC with Logic. I believe Logic 7 is very good, but I'm not about to convert to a Mac. After reading reviews, and trying out Audition 2.0, I believe Audition has all I need right now and can hopefully, only get better. Also on order for the studio are 2 19" widescreen LCD screens. Still alot of work involved in getting the studio fully functional, but it will be a fun project. I'll post some pics of the Studio setup as it progresses.

Keep Smilin.....

My First Album!

2006-05-30T04:36:00.000-07:00

Well its been almost twenty years since I wrote my first song, and now I have finally taken the next step toward making my first album. Holy hell, Twenty years! What have I been doing? Well lest just say that the right opportunities never arose. But now with the cost of computer recording getting far more affordable, I decided to give it a go. And I must say, so far I have even managed to impress myself. The first album in what I hope to become an annual event for me is entitled "A long time comming" and features 12 tracks written over the last 20 years including the title track "A long time comming". The album should be completed by early July and will be sold at gigs and through selected internet sites yet to be named. It is certainly an exciting time for me, and although my style of music will probably not appeal to everyone, I hope that some people out there will enjoy what I have to offer. Stay tuned for more info.

Keep Smilin......

The lucky Country!

2006-05-28T04:00:00.000-07:00

America was once known as "The land of opportunity". Here in Australia, our country is known as "The Lucky Country". Well America may be low on opportunity these days, but Australia is still the lucky country even though most of us that live here have forgotten how lucky we are. Its true that sometimes rain may be scarce, but we usually don't have to walk too far to find some clean fresh water. We don't need to bathe in dirty water, and we are lucky enough to have a good sewerage system. And we do occasionally get the odd earthquake that causes damage and leaves some casualties. But at least we don't get severe quakes that kills hundreds or even thousands, and we have never been hit by tsunami's that wipe out entire cities. Sometimes we get devestating cyclones that wreck entire cities, but at least we don't get constant twisters that cross the country hundreds of times per years destroying everything in thier path.

How lucky are we who live in this sunburnt land. How easy is it to forget that although we do have our share of natural problems, they are very few compared to the rest of the world.

So are we really the lucky country? It seems that even though we have far fewer natural disasters, we are our own worst enemy. Gang violence is starting to grow more common. Racial violence is on the rise. Home invasions seems to be the flavour of the month. The country is going to hell in a handbasket. Why? Well my theory is this. Parents do not have the control of thier children that they once had. Now while I am not a fan of parents using physical violence to discipline thier children. However, the do gooders and civil libertarians of this great country have taken things too far. Parents have no rights left to teach thier children in a stern fashion. So what does that give us? A new generation of children that think they can do what they want, when they want. And to make matters worse, when these children decide to have children, they then complain that they cant control thier children any better than they were controlled and raised.

So are we slowly turning the lucky country into the crappy country. We started out as a convict colony, and the way we are going, we will slowly devolve back into one.
The same problem exists in our police and judicial system. I say, one rule for all.
It could not be easier. Lets make the rules and then enforce them for everyone. If people want to migrate to our country, they must expect to live by our rules. White Australians and Aboriginal Australians should all be treated equally. One set of rules for all. I have no problem letting anyone in the world live in our counrty, but they should expect to live by our rules. We are expected to live by the rules of other countries while there, so why not here too. Come on Australia, lets stop being whimps and stand up for what we believe. Lets start pulling our kids into line, and standing up for the standards we want in our country.

Keep Smilin.....

The Sit Down Comedy Club.

2006-05-03T07:48:00.000-07:00

My Wife and I went out to the sit down comedy club in paddington tonight for the first time. I didnt know what to expect, but it turned out to be a very enjoyable evening. The food was reasonably priced and the show was very entertaining. My only critisism was that at times, the intro and outro music was offensively loud. A strange comment comming from a rock musician I know, but it was REAL loud.

However, loud music aside, I highly recommend this venue for a great night out at a very reasonable price. Check it out at www.standup.com.au

Keep smilin.......

Band #11 The new Toybox

2006-05-01T04:43:00.000-07:00

Currently I am heading up a Duo called Toybox in Brisbane. I first started out with Matt Northeast playing Keyboards and doing backing vocals. After Matt, I picked up a young guy by the name of Shane Finney. He was a good singer with a powerful voice but lacked any real stability in his life which lead to our parting of ways last week and he moved to Melbourne. I certainly hope he is able to get his shit together and make a mark in the music industry.

I have just hooked up with a new duo partner by the name of Alan McGregor. Alan used to head the U2 tribute band "The Joshua Tree". So needless to say, he can belt out the odd U2 song pretty well. He also sings other songs in a passable manner too. So you can count on seeing more of Alan in future Toybox gigs.

Anyway, now I'm currently a fulltime musician and loving it. At some stage I'd like to re-open my computer repair business when the right opportunity presents itself just to make a few extra dollars. But Toybox has plenty of life left in it. Hopefully there will also be some original offerings in the next year or so.

Keep Smilin.....

Band #10 The original "Toybox"

2006-04-05T06:42:00.000-07:00

During my time playing in my first duo "Crash", an opportunity arose to join a band as well. As it happens, some good friends of mine had a band that was doing ok. Suddenly at the end of a gig, the singer declared that this had been his last gig, he was leaving town. The drummer saw this as an opportunity to cut loose as well due to health problems. This left my friends with no band. I called around one day to offer my services as a singer and guitar player until they could find someone else.
This is where the table was turned.

Dean, who was the lead guitarist informed me that they had a new female singer, but asked if I would consider being thier drummer. I was a bit dumb founded since I had never really been a drummer. I just happened to have a drum kit and Dean thought it would be a quick way to get the band up and running again. So being the kind of person that likes a challenge, I decided to go for it. I spent loads more money on an even bigger drum kit and loads of cymbals and all sorts of gear that I could afford. I wasn't the greatest drummer to start with although I could keep a beat. Slowly but surely I practiced and found that I could do things I never thought possible.

Toybox went on to play the live scene across northern NSW for two years and was by far one of the most fun times of my musical career. I would certainly enjoy playing with these guys again anytime and I remain in contact with them all.
Toybox was Roz Paul (lead vocals), Dale King (Bass Guitar), Dean Lawrence (Lead guitar) and myself on drums.

Keep Smilin....

Job #10 Servo Attendant.

2006-04-05T06:24:00.000-07:00

Remember the days when you pulled into a service station and someone actually came out and filled your car and checked your water and oil? I used to be one of those guys. And funnily enough, it wasn't a bad job. Admittedly I used to work a lot of night shift, so it wasn't always busy, but it was in this job that I got into 2 way radio. The boss had a washington base station sitting in the corner so I used to turn it on late at night and talk to people all over the world when the conditions were right. It was a good job though. Its always good when you have a good boss to work for as well.

Keep Smilin....

Another lazy day

2006-03-29T01:16:00.000-08:00

Have you ever had one of those days when you had lots to do, but just couldn't get into any of it. Today was one of those days. I felt like doing nothing. I wanted to record some more songs but just could not get into the vibe. So I lazed about and played a few video games and watched some TV. Then of course you get to the end of the day and feel you have wasted the whole day. But nevertheless, I'm sure I am far better for it and tomorrow is another day. All I can say is, if your ever having one of those days, just go with it and get back to normal life tomorrow. You'll be so much better off.

Keep Smilin...

Band #8 "Crash"

2006-03-19T18:59:00.000-08:00

After I left Bastille, I was again recruited by The Axemen as their Bass player. However, not much had changed in that band since I was with them over a year ago. So it very quickly became the same old same old. Then I had a friend suggest that if I wanted to make some good money and get plenty of work, I should consider a duo. Hmmmm, a duo. Could I do such a thing? I had only ever played in bands so far in my career and a duo seemed like such a step back. However, after pondering the suggestion for some time, I was reminded of a guy I knew who used to be in a local duo. He had once expressed his interest in doing some type of musical project with me if the occasion ever arose. Well the occasion was here and who better to start a duo with than a guy who had done it before. So after I finally tracked him down, (he was on holiday somewhere when I finally found him)He said he would think about it and get back to me. Think about it? What was to think about? Anyway, when he got home about a week later, he called and so Began Crash. His name was Matt Anderson. Crash quickly became a very popular act that lasted 3 and a half years and only finished because we both moved out of Armidale. Funnily enough we both ended up in Brisbane. Matt was on the north side and I was on the south. When the opportunity finally arose for us to get back together in a duo situation, he up and moved to Newcastle. And so the show must go on, but perhaps one day we will get to perform together again.

Keep smilin....

Job #9. No Idea.

2006-03-19T18:53:00.000-08:00

Well here is a job that I don't even remember what I was. I worked in a factory for 2 weeks on a machine that rolled and heated fabric. I have no idea. The factory made material. Literally. Took stands of cotton and made huge rolls of material. Myself and another guy worked on a machine that used to unroll the rolls onto the machine. The roll would then go inside a big hot oven type thing and would get sealed in for a set amount of time. Then the roll would emerge and the machine would roll the material through some rollers back onto its original roll and away it went. I have no idea what we were doing. It was a very boring unrewarding occupation. Hence why I only stayed 2 weeks.

Keep Smilin.....

Band #6 Bastille

2006-03-15T17:50:00.000-08:00

After about 18 months with the Axemen, Things were just not going the way I had hoped. They had been talking about recording ever since I joined them, but to date, nothing had happened. I was getting tired of playing the same old songs night after night, so I decided to give notice and go look for something else to do. I decided to form another band with a friend called Dave Bracken. He was not the greatest guitar player in the world, and could not sing for shit, but he had enthusiasm like no-one I had ever met before or since. He was a greast organiser and would practice hour after hour. So there was great potential there. We enlisted the services of drummer Dave Grayson from Grafton and Bastille was born. During its lifespan we occasionally enlisted a keyboard player and another singer. We travelled far and wide across NSW and southern Queensland having good rockin fun.

Keep Smilin.....

Job #8 McDonalds again!!!!

2006-03-15T17:34:00.000-08:00

After the take away shop, there was another stint back on the side shows. Then I left the show to live in Orange NSW. This is where everything started to happen for me. Music, unstable women, and a day job. Orange had it all. Anyway, I was 18 years old and Orange was getting its first McDonalds store. Since I had worked for Macca's before, I thought I'd apply for the job. And I got it. Fulltime McCook. I actually liked the job alot. I worked fairly long hours since I had nothing else going on in my life at that stage. I can't remember how long I lasted, but it was a fair few months. Then one day my immature behaviour got the best of me and I snapped at the duty manager and walked off in the middle of the lunch rush. Needless to say, that job was over for me.

Keep smilin.....

Band #5 The Axemen.

2006-03-13T20:24:00.000-08:00

After Nightshift, I was invited to try out for a band who needed a bass player called the Axemen. They were based in Armidale NSW. I went to a fairly relaxed audition that only contained 2 of the members of the band. It seemed to go alright but no indication was really given. A week or two later I was told that they really needed someone local to be able to fill their comittments. Fair enough I thought. Then 2 weeks later I get a phone call asking if I could do a few fill ins for one or two shows they had. They offered to pay petrol money as well as gig money. Why not I said. Send me your song list and I'll be there. So I went along and played. After the second gig, I was asked if I'd like to stay on as a permanent member. I had no problem with travelling so agreed and became a member of the Axemen. About two weeks later, I found a fulltime job in Armidale, so I packed up and moved. This was a fun band to be a part of. It consisted of two brothers Len and Jason Streeting on guitars, Garry Osbourne on drums and Rick Mickerts on lead vocals. This was the typical pub rock band that was just alot of fun....

Keep Smilin......