The Late Gerry Rafferty

Today has been a sad and embarrassing day for me. I have just discovered that one of my

lifelong musical heroes, Scots musician Gerry Rafferty passed away in January 20011.

Rafferty began his career with fellow Scotsman Billy Connolly in a folk duo called “The Humblebums,” who reached moderate success within Scotland. Rafferty and Connolly parted ways amicably as Connolly began to forge what would be a world-conquering career as a comedian, actor and, later, documentary maker.

Rafferty formed the band “Stealers Wheel,” whose single ‘Stuck In The Middle With You’ which became a worldwide hit upon release in 1972. It would re-emerge in the Quentin Tarantino movie “Reservoir Dogs.” Some time after this, Rafferty began a solo career with his album “City To City” and the single of the same name becoming one of his better-known musical efforts.

His biggest hit, however, was the haunting “Baker Street.” To my mind, as a musician, the song is nothing short of perfect. The lyrics, instrumentation and vocal delivery is timeless. The song is a great example of Rafffertys ability to create outstanding melodies which, in turn, lend themselves to great instrumentation.

Unfortunately, Rafferty had a big skeleton in his closet, namely alcohol. Coming from “The Humblebums” to the worldwide recognition of “Stealers Wheel,” then “Baker Street” & “City To City” gave Rafferty no time to ‘escape’ the demands of the big-time, unlike many of his musical acquaintances.

In an interview with Billy Connolly shortly after Raffertys death, Connolly broke down and spoke of a meeting that he had with Rafferty some ten years earlier and was astounded that he downed 10-12 large brandies during the meeting. Knowing that one should only ask or tell a possible problem drinker about their concern only once, Connolly did so. Rafferty brushed of the remark so Connolly left the subject at that.

I believe that Rafferty had more music in him but the drink proved too strong.

He died peacefully at home with his daughter by his bedside.

Take Me To The Station

Due to the personal nature of this particular blog, I will have to refer to the past from time to time in order to clarify a situation. This is one such occasion in order to get the ball that IS this blog well and truly rolling.

Several years ago, due to my alcohol abuse and the numerous seizures that I suffered during my countless attempts at stopping. I was placed on a medication called Valpro. It is also known as Sodium Valproate or Epilim. It is prescribed for anyone who has experienced seizures, be they trauma induced, related to alcohol withdrawal or true epilepsy. It can also be prescribed as a mood stabiliser in people with manic depression, such as myself. Once you are prescribed Valpro, theoretically you are on the medication for the rest of your life. Eric Clapton suffered his first seizure from alcohol withdrawal at the age of 40....as did I.

Over the last few months, I have been feeling out of sorts. I was so out of sorts that I was unable to undertake any home recording. I’ve been edgy and shaky despite also being on Diazepam and Lithium. I visited my Doctor yesterday after having blood taken two weeks ago to check my levels. My Valpro levels were “critically low.” This was due to the fact that I’d gained some 10kg in weight since my last blood sample being taken.

The Doctor, understandably, acted immediately and increased my Valpro by 33%….a drastic but necessary change. I slept as well as I normally do but all day I have felt like I’m walking on cotton wool. Almost floating. Having said this, I have been lucid and have experienced no lethargy that I was expecting.

I am hoping that once my light-headed sensation has settled, I shall resume recording at home and be able to give you updates on my latest album which has been in the pipelines for months due to the aforementioned bout of illness.

In the meantime, I can feel a coffee a cigarette and a ponder on out on the back porch coming on.

Why A Blog?

Having written numerous blogs, the majority of which are music related and more succinctly related to the independent music scene, I have recently received more than a few requests from people to write a blog about myself. To be perfectly honest, as much as I truly enjoy writing, I don't know where to start so I'm doing this by the seat of my pants....as I tend to.


I was born in Kilmarnock, Scotland in 1967 and emigrated to Tasmania in 1979. I currently live in Stanley, a small village of less than 500 people on Tasmanias far North-West coast. Serenity reigns supreme....usually.


I took to playing the guitar after seeing The Rolling Stones perform "Start Me Up" on T.V. For the next 3 years, night after night, hour after hour I would painstakingly work on my guitar playing. I have played in several bands since the age of 16. I quit the band scene in 1995 due to family commitments. I did, however, play occasional acoustic gigs and began recording late in 1998.


I seemed to have a bit of a knack for music recording....probably because I was recording myself and was playing all instruments, thus knowing my limits on all fronts. I had several years away from recording altogether due to a very serious alcohol, namely vodka, problem. I'll spare you the gory details; I think I've put them in print elsewhere and I make no secret of it.

In late April 2007, my abuse reached crisis point. Long story short....I returned to recording purely as a form of therapy. I then discovered a multitude of free music sites where one can upload their songs. Initially, I was over the moon with this and had a friend start my own website. Slowly but surely I started noticing the seedier side on online music for the independent musician....namely money. It seemed that if one paid for this, that or the other 'privilege' in the online music industry, then the better one would fare. This is not necessarily the case. Far from it.


Over the last 12 months I have sat back and watched more and more 'paid upgrades' and 'pay for distribution' sites emerge.

Earlier this year a colleague put me onto Bandcamp. The site is a no-frills, no-fees, high-quality sound-file options and fan discounts. If you look at the player to your left, you can press 'play' and listen to the album in its' entirety as often as you wish. Individual tracks can be downloaded. If you wish to download the entire album, enter the word thistle at checkout to view the hefty discount. Even at this point, you are under no obligation to make a purchase.


Earlier this year I released my first book, "Online Music Traps." The book, which can be downloaded is a comprehensive overview of the internet and providing advice to independent musicians on how to minimize cash outlay where it isn't needed. I am currently working on a second book.


As it stands at the moment, between writing my second book, having recently commenced recording my next album, blogging and family commitments, I'm keeping myself busy. I mention this because boredom is perhaps the biggest trap for the recovering alcoholic.


So....the next time I have a few minutes on my hands and have something informative and hopefully humorous I'll post another entry.

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Having written numerous blogs, the majority of which are music related and more succinctly related to the independent music scene, I have recently received more than a few requests from people to write a blog about myself. To be perfectly honest, as much as I truly enjoy writing, I don't know where to start so I'm doing this by the seat of my pants....as I tend to.


I was born in Kilmarnock, Scotland in 1967 and emigrated to Tasmania in 1979. I currently live in Stanley, a small village of less than 500 people on Tasmanias far North-West coast. Serenity reigns supreme....usually.


I took to playing the guitar after seeing The Rolling Stones perform "Start Me Up" on T.V. For the next 3 years, night after night, hour after hour I would painstakingly work on my guitar playing. I have played in several bands since the age of 16. I quit the band scene in 1995 due to family commitments. I did, however, play occasional acoustic gigs and began recording late in 1998.


I seemed to have a bit of a knack for music recording....probably because I was recording myself and was playing all instruments, thus knowing my limits on all fronts. I had several years away from recording altogether due to a very serious alcohol, namely vodka, problem. I'll spare you the gory details; I think I've put them in print elsewhere and I make no secret of it.

In late April 2007, my abuse reached crisis point. Long story short....I returned to recording purely as a form of therapy. I then discovered a multitude of free music sites where one can upload their songs. Initially, I was over the moon with this and had a friend start my own website. Slowly but surely I started noticing the seedier side on online music for the independent musician....namely money. It seemed that if one paid for this, that or the other 'privilege' in the online music industry, then the better one would fare. This is not necessarily the case. Far from it.


Over the last 12 months I have sat back and watched more and more 'paid upgrades' and 'pay for distribution' sites emerge.

Earlier this year a colleague put me onto Bandcamp. The site is a no-frills, no-fees, high-quality sound-file options and fan discounts. If you look at the player to your left, you can press 'play' and listen to the album in its' entirety as often as you wish. Individual tracks can be downloaded. If you wish to download the entire album, enter the word thistle at checkout to view the hefty discount. Even at this point, you are under no obligation to make a purchase.


Earlier this year I released my first book, "Online Music Traps." The book, which can be downloaded is a comprehensive overview of the internet and providing advice to independent musicians on how to minimize cash outlay where it isn't needed. I am currently working on a second book.


As it stands at the moment, between writing my second book, having recently commenced recording my next album, blogging and family commitments, I'm keeping myself busy. I mention this because boredom is perhaps the biggest trap for the recovering alcoholic.


So....the next time I have a few minutes on my hands and have something informative and hopefully humorous I'll post another entry.

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