What a great night ! Tonight we managed to triple our audience and quadruple the entertainment value all at the same time !

Dr Quantum steered us off the jetty at about 8:30pm for another excellent pleasure cruise through the wonderfull sea of talent that is The Quantum Lounge! There was an electronic music event on at the same time up on level 2, and there was plenty of passing trade travelling to and from the pokies/smoking area. Some of them seemed to stick, which is always a good sign. We ended up getting about 30 people in the main lounge room and probably as many again around the corner with the pokies.

Tonight's new format involved a showcase of all of the regular artists, during the first hour, where each artist performed just one or two of their favourite songs for the crowd, before the next artist got up and so on, through virtually the entire pantheon of regular QL performers!

The showcase started with Simon and new performer, Drummer X, who performed a drummer/dj rhythm jamfest to start us all off very nicely. In running order the rest of the showcase included The Flaming Galahs ("Darkness" and "Girl From The Country"), Son Born Suns, Daxton and Rex Havoc with a poetry reading that got us all laughing and crying at the same time.

Then for the main part of the evening, we were blessed with a full set from the fabulous Son Born Suns. The girls are back! After having been kidnapped and rescued from Lebanon, getting over the flu, and a taking brief hiatus to recover, they are back in Australia, and back at full strength, and showing some fine form if I may say so myself!

Then .. I have to pause for effect here .. something really special happened. I couldn't believe it! Dr Q suddenly anounced that we had a special guest named "Mischa" from NY that was going to give us a special performance. And then - I swear - Debbie Harry walked in the room, through us a CD and told us to pump up the volume, then she jumped on stage gave us the night of our lives by performing the classic "Heart Of Glass" for us! Well I'm pretty quick, and I new there was some thing funny going on, when after that Debbie turns to the back of the stage, does something with her hair then spins around and wham - I swear - all of a sudden it was Kate Bush standing there singing Wuthering Heights, it was almost eerie! Like I say I'm pretty quick, I've worked out a theory that Debbie (oops sorry I mean "Mischa") is supplementing low album sales by pretending to be Mischa impersonating Debbie, with a sideline as a Kate Bush impersonator. Pretty smart eh! Hey remember! - You heard it here first folks!

From there on we were treated to an easy array of excellent tunes and jams from assorted artists, featuring such giants of the QL stage as Rex Havoc, Leyne on spoons, Daxton, Flaming Galahs, and our new friend the lovely "Mischa", who tried to put me off the trail of the truth by singing, strummin' and jamming some lovely new, original songs (apparently written by a Mr X ?), with Martin and Hal eagerly providing backing support.

Quantum Lounge Returns On Fire

I'm happy to report. We're Back! The venerable Dr Quantum MCeed us back into existence at 8:00pm today. After a brief hiatus the Quantum Lounge has returned, and we are all fired up to put on the best little show in town.

As in our manifesto, we managed to deliver an evening of MCs, Songwriters, Poets, Musicians and not to mention a 75 year old aussie gentleman named John Hooper who gave us a quick demonstration of the difference between Domingo, and Pavarotti.

Other special guests included the fabulous Daxton who never fails to impress with his polished performances of all original material.

Then The Flaming Galahs came on stage to perform a set which included 4 brand new songs specially prepared for the new Quantum Lounge re-opening.

Finally, the incredible Rex Havoc wrote and read a poignant new poem all about the amazing saga of the miner's regret.

So we are back, and we are all fired up. Contact the press, the word is going out. Bring on all comers. Let's take the Quantum Effect to the world !!!

The Quantum Lounge is being re-activated at the new time of 8pm-12pm an Sunday nights. The grand re-opening is occuring on Sunday the 18th (June 2006).

For artist bookings, please contact Leyne via thequantumlounge@gmail.com or call Alternatively you can call Hal on 0425 252 995

The Quantum Lounge is being re-activated at the new time of 8pm-12pm an Sunday nights. The grand re-opening is occuring on Sunday the 18th (June 2006).

For artist bookings, please call Hal on 0425 252 995,
or send email via artech@pacific.net.au
Alternatively you can contact Leyne via deyveleyne@gmail.com

The Final Monday Night Quantum Lounge Tonight! After 5 months - Sadly, we have been relieved of our spot at Newtown RSL on Monday nights in order to make way for the new Poker night they are starting up then Just when things were picking up, and after the new format was implemented, and Leyne's promotions were starting to take effect ! I was just thinking how well things were going the other day, 'cause we've started to get had some great acts turning up to perform. Ah well! It's too late to do anything about it now. But wait - there is a chance, we could end up moving to another night or venue! So watch this space to see what happens over the next few weeks.

Any way what a great night it turned out to be! Flaming Galahs (Hal Shorter, Martin Smith and minus David Lucas who is performing in the play "Cosi" at Newtown currently) performed their final set at the Quantum Lounge. We were very happy with our set. It was one of our best so far I thought, though I could be biased. We managed to introduce new parts as per our last rehearsal and generally had a really good time on stage. The night was very special to me 'cause there were a few workmates in the crowd (Elizabeth, Aysha and Tom) who came to see me at QL for the first time. Afterwards we had an amazing performance by guest artist Radical Son who performed some solo spoken words. And another new talent to appear was the young band named The Flooded Basement who performed an acoustic bunch of songs to rousing applause. Simon had to leave early in our set due to rent inspection tomorrow, but Rex Havoc stepped up to the plate to provide some tunes, spoons and some mc-ing to boot! Then after a short speech my Martin and Myself. We sayed goodbye to the last remaining survivors. Until we meet again - in the next life of the Quantum Lounge!

Wow tonight was an incredible night. It just seems like it keeps getting better! And not just The Flaming Galahs. There have been many other great artists performing recently. First time performers at Quantum Lounge tonight included: Sarah Aubrey and the Audio Visual Club, Dax (see http://daxton.com.au), solo performer Marianne, lead singer Chris from Lunar Bug, and a couple of drunk scottish girls in the audience! Regular performers who appeared tonight included: The Flaming Galahs (Hal & Martin only - David not present due to play rehearsals) Rex Havoc (who performed some ) and Leyne.

There was an air of excitment as Sarah and her band took to the stage. While Sarah delivered an impressive performance on lead vocals and acoustic guitar, she was ably supported by drums, double bass, and backing vocals. The sight and sound of a real live double bass always inspires one, and tonight was no exception. Marriane, the girl who came from nowhere, and floated onto the QL stage, appeared next. She performed some meandering, poetic and soulfull songs sitting down solo with vocal and guitar. Many agree that Dax really stole the show ! He performed solo for about 5 tunes (guitar and vocals), each of which was a rousing polished performance featuring some well tuned and lively vocals to accompany some obviously well rehearsed songs. He also has a CD available featuring some of the songs performed tonight.

Finally, The Flaming Galahs took to the stage at about 10:30pm - a late start for us. But by this time the sound was all set up nicely and all was running well. In fact tonight was the smoothest running in the sound engineering department so far ever, I think! We were down a man as David was busy rehearsing for the upcoming version of the play named "Cosi" to be performed at the Newtown Theatre, starting in 10 days or less ! Meanwhile Martin, who has been away all week, returned just in time to attend tonight (and yesterdays reheasal). Performance wise, tonight was best ever in many departments. Most notable was the inclusion of some funky accompaniments by Martin in various songs. We performed "Girl From The Country","Darkness","Sleep Walking","Song For Big","Infinity","Venus". Also I think I raised the energy output level very well for the first 3 songs before I tired out a bit I think.

Ivan turned up later in the evening and told us about the run in he'd had with Chris the manager the last time after I left him DJing for the hairy bears set. Apparently there was a duel between Ivans spun tunes and the house PA system which resulted in him being eventually escorted out. Later he put his side to a higher authority, and we haven't seen Chris since. Ivan sayed he was not feeling too positive about the Quantum Lounge at the moment. He also sayed that he wanted to encourage The Flaming Galahs to all stick together into the future, and to keep on developing, and that we were the reason he'd been inspired about QL in the past, and that he could help us with euipment if that would help us. Wow - what a compliement. Now we must go on ... whatever happens ! All for now, Hal.

There was a good crowd was there to see August ... who was performing upstairs.

Tonight David and I performed without Martin who is away on holidays for a week. We went on stage first after Simon, and alternated between each of our songs throughout the set. Of my songs, we performed Sleepwalking, Running Down The Mountain, Girl From The Country and Darkness. Of David's songs we performed Mystery Girl, I'm Talking Love and ?? Leyne's brother's band also performed for the first time at the Quantum Lounge. They were really great! Two guitars and 1 vocalist. They had a very polished and lively sound. Then Morgan did a solo set of about 5 songs, followed by a collaboration between Morgan, Leyne and Rex for one song. Then Rex performed a few of his songs (with spoons and vocals) in honour of May day.

The whole night went really well - especially considering some of the obstacles involved. All round it was a great evenings entertainment, and we raised the bar I think!

It all started when I arrived at about 6 to find that lo and behold, the mixer was not there beside the stage! So I located the audio guy Tony. Tony explained that it was in use elsewhere, and he'd been told we didn't use it. Then he managed to come up with a solution to get us going for tonight, involving going in through the dj mixing panel. But we still were short on inputs, so I rang David Lucas, and thankfully, he agreed to go and pick up our mixer from Botany, on his way to the gig. Phew! Anyway, it wasn't long before some of the regular troopers arrived including Simon, Josh, Martin, Ivan and Debbie, followed soon after by David. Then I plugged in the little mixer, fired up the special "quantum space chorus" effect, and the night was under way.

Among the throng of people in the crowd, some notables include Amanda from Bondi, Ben the bass player, Pete the guitarist, Chevonne the sultry singer and friends, and Rex Havoc - who later on performed a fine rendition of a few of his rousing anti-war medleys - now you don't see that every day in an RSL club on the eve of Anzac day!

The evening began when Simon warmed us up with a few tunes and croons, and Ivan started up some of his fabulous projections, to get that Quantum feeling going on. Then shortly after 8pm, we (The Flaming Galahs) took to the stage for our ever expanding set. Tonight we performed a new song list where we alternated between David's and my songs throughout the set, with a sprinkling of Martin's masterpieces thrown in. Here is the full song list as performed tonight:

• Running Down The Mountain
• It Goes
• Girl From The Country
• Love To Misery
• Darkness
• I'm Talking Love
• Song For Big
• Mystery Girl
• Venus
• Flowers In The Fields
• Red Sun
• Purple Soul
• Infinity
• Complicated (not performed)
• Sprung (not performed)
• Sleepwalking (not performed)

We were followed by an impressive rendition by Chevonne of the classic Eartha Kitt song "I Want To Be Evil" followed by "Leather", both with Simon on backing music. Then Rex got up for his ground breaking historic performance. Simon then skillfully brought the Quantum Lounge phase 1 to a close for the evening. Then it was time for phase 2 to commence. Ivan took to the dj desk and started injecting strange and beautiful audio and video experiences into the Quantum engine hyper drive, resulting in some rare and special outcomes for all present - including the manager Chris, who wasn't sure if something more conventional might have been appropriate for all the hairy bears coming down from the special dance music event they were holding upstairs until 3am (where the mixer had dissappeared to). Never a moment when something isn't happening at the Quantum Lounge!

No Quantum Lounge this week due to Easter public holiday. In the mean time, Leyne has been busy promoting the concept of an open mic format. So far she has designed a new flyer and lined up some new artists for next Monday!

Another Quantum Lounge performance. A great night tonight. Good sound, good atmosphere. Got the sound really good for other performers. Felt very relaxed and comfortable on stage, though volume not quite right for me. I arrived early to get in an early start - 5pm. I ordered a lovely veal from the restaurant and set about setting up. Found a great Sure mic in the cupboard, and some DI boxes. Set up three microphones and tested out di box. I made some progress in that I discovered the sub actually does kick in on one side, but only over a certain level. David arrived so I set him up on stage and he started performing solo to the afternoon crowd for about 10 songs!. This enabled me to get comfortable with the mixer before everyone else arrived. As a bonus, I also got the chorus effect going on the mixer. Martin arrived and I got him fired up too. Then I finally jumped on stage just as Simon was walking in the door for a quick rendition of Sleep Walking before he got himself setup.

Then Simon provided backing music and performed a few songs until the first artist. Morgan and Benny (Anomalie) were ready to go onstage when their guests arrived at about 8:30 Anomalie performed about 6 or 7 songs. They were followed by us - The Flaming Galahs (Hal,David,Martin). We then performed every original song we could think of for the rest of the evening, up until about 11:30pm! Simon and Josh were able to pack up and leave during my performance while we kept playing, due to the new wiring setup. Then Ivan provided CD tunes to take us till after midnight. Ivan provided some great videos as usual. Tonight featured some great sports and space images. Some other girl artist (named Bridey?) apparently turned up to perform, expecting a crowd like last week, and turned and left when she saw how small the audience was! (Apparently she wasn't feeling well we later found out) Some artists expressed interest in making it more of an open mic night at QL ...

A great night tonight. Biggest crowd yet! Apparently 150 non-members came through the door tonight. Mum came for first time in about a month. Amanda, Susan, Anne and Christine came too. Also Ivan and 2 friends, Simon, Steve, Josh, Angella. Also Morgan and friend as Anomalie Also Candy Royale and very many friends. Also apparently an industry professional was also there. Also Rex Havoc , and Leyne.

Also ran most devices through the house mixer, and setup more mics than ever before. I manned the mixer all night to get the best mix I could for everyone. Forgot to setup music stand. Overall volume was way too low for our set. I was out of sorts and having brain fades, but actually did quite well on reflection.

No info about tonights performance ??

First blog entry. Created very basic web site for my music / blog home page after finally getting a domain name. Here are some old photos of me and David Lucas to cheer up the place a bit.

Performed with Martin. David still recovering from back surgery. Morgan set performed Benny. Spoons guy and drummer girl (Rex Havoc and Leyne) performed on spoons and vocals. Quiet night. Small audience. Simon left early. Chris (the manager) told me not to eat takeaways there. Later he explained he was under pressure from the bosses, and gave me a free beer.

Was a very good night at QL tonight. Our second (or third) time performing our full set. Other performers were: Simon, Son Born Suns, John Dengate There was actually some people in the audience. Morgan's mum was there and it was her birthday.

Great performance tonight. First time performing with my new Washburn acoustic guitar. Performed my full set of 6 songs followed by Martin's Infinity song. David joined us half way through on backing vocals. This was the second ever time performing my full set, and was the best by far. After us, Madonna and Morgan performed their set, and they were really great. Recorded via line instead of mic this time. Also mic-ed up Martins amp to get into the mix (060306qrp). After the girls, we performed two of David's songs (Love To Misery and Mystery Girl). Earlier in the day, David and Martin came over for rehearsals.

Another performance. This time I got down there at about 5:30 and did a full set of my own songs before anyone arrived. Has a small audience of 3 people ! Then performed Sleepwalking and Jazz Ya with Simon and Martin. Then at the end after 10:00 me and Marting plugged in again to do 2 songs while Simon and Josh were packing up (Sleepwalking and Venus). Mum, Peter & Susan didn't come tonight for the first time. David didn't come tonight. Amanda came for the second time. New act Madonna performed for the first time. She bought many friends. Simons planned presentation of a speaker from some group never materialised. Discussed upcoming event with Ivan in bush 1 hrs drive form Sydney.

Simon, Martin, Kate, David and I performed. Martin and I did Jazz Ya. Kate did new song and I sang impromtu Hava Nagilah to it. David and I did a quick improvisation based on Mystery Girl at the end of the night.

Performed at Quantum Lounge. Invited all from Pride to attend but noone turned up! Had a good performance though as I'd been rehearsing so hard and now the pressure was off. Had our first genuine audience members today (3 girls at a table who watched the whole event). I performed:

• Jazz Ya (with Simon & Martin)
• Sleep walking (with Simon)
• Blueberry Pie (With David & Simon)

Performed songs at QL at Newtown RSL:

• Impro on cafe solaire song.
• QL version of Sleep walking with Simon on deck, and Martin on guitar, me on lead vocal plus some guitar.
• Performed QL version of Blueberry Pie with David in vocals, Simon on decks and me on guitar.

Performed my entire repertoire solo at Quantum Lounge to Mum, Cybele & Johnathan, Peter & Susan, Mischa,Kate,Martin,Ivan,Simon,Angella,Sandra etc. Songs performed include: Sleep walking Red Sun Darkness Song for Big Girl from the Country My Sweet Valentine I Write to Venus Plus got good feedback from Kate and Martin.

Yay! My first public performance for a year or more. Performed Blueberry Pie with David and Simon as rehearsed yesterday.

First ever Quantum Lounge organised by Dr Quantum (Simon Bull). Went along to check it out after hearing about it through David Lucas. No performing by me. But david did a little monologue with Simon and Madame squeeze. 6-10 in the evening.