Melbourne. A new home.

One year in Melbourne so far and what a ride. I've performed at some great venues and have met some really decent people. Melbourne Australia and Portland Oregon have a lot in common: a vibrant and hugely diverse music community, healthy art scene, culinary wonderland, long, grey, rainy winters, rampant gentrification, traffic...It feels just like home in that regard. The differences are both fantastic and curious. Lots of people from all over the world live in this city. People are crazy for rugby, Australian football, cricket and horse racing. In fact, the AFL finals and Melbourne Cup are state holidays and if you end up working those days you earn double wages. It's windy here, too. The weather, in general, is completely unpredictable and can go from sweltering to bone-chilling in the course of several hours. Political correctness is not the norm. People here will make casual comments and generalizations regarding race that would definitely be considered offensive and racist in the States. You get used to it. People, for the most part, are friendly and hospitable.
I've been writing lot's of music and studying audio production at university. My wife is working in pre-production for a large printing company and brewing beer. We still have yet to purchase a barbecue which is apparently very un-Australian. I figure, we are doing alright, regardless.

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