Goodbye 2020

2020 has been a wretched year. Apart from the political tragedy that is America, Covid 19 has destroyed economies the world over and here in Australia, bushfires, in America tornadoes and floods, the death of so many icons, Sean Connery, Chadwick Boseman, Kobe Bryant and so many, so much more, makes this the most depressing year I have ever known. If a year was going to flush me out of hiding then it is indeed 2020.

So here I am and of course I'm wondering if anyone even remembers me. It has been at least 6 or 7 years since I last picked up my pen here.  So what happened in those 'wilderness' years? Well I'm going through a divorce, I survived pancreatic cancer but I'm having trouble adjusting to having large sections of my abdomen missing, I became a Director of a charity trying desperately to feed the homeless and hungry here in Brisbane. I live alone and have been focusing on my music and photography as a way to get me through the very, very, very painful and difficult days due to the cancer. My music is now available worldwide on Spotify, Itunes, Apple music etc and I'm proud to say it was achieved when the cancer was at its most diabolical. I'm still recovering from surgery the scars of which are so right angled I can't even tell my grandkids tales of fighting off sharks, unless there's something like 'geometric' sharks out there.

I hope during my absence that life has been kinder to you all than it has been to me. I look forward to reconnecting with some very amazing people here. Y'all take care and yes I will be posting regularly again. I wish you all a blessed 2021.

Rory D Grant

I've Got A Woman...No, seriously.

I'm still in 'Country denial'. I don't do country (unless there's a substantial paycheque involved). Anyway, like I said in an earlier blogpost - When I've been well enough I've been sitting in my bedroom with a digital recording deck trying to write and record an album worth of songs. I have about 6 now and need 10 (minimum). This is one of them...as per the request from Delores. You tell me if this is Blues or Country lol?  There's nothing to see on the video - only hear, so you may as well carry on with other things if you are kind enough to listen. Thanks :)

Rory

I don't do Country....

I can't recall if I have said I'm a musician on this blog before. I probably have but when you get to my age memory gets messed up by years of alcohol abuse and record companies slamming the door on the back of your head. Some years ago due to the paralysis in my arm, I hung up my guitar, switched off the microphone and resolved to be content with my memories (however hazy they may be).

Enter stage left one seriously switched on guy. Personal development coach to some of the top exec's in the USA, he heard my music (live and recorded), realised I had movement back in my arm and dragged me kicking and screaming to a cafe in the West End of Brisbane.

"You can sing"

"Yeah..well....I guess."

"You can write songs"

"Yeah...well...I guess"

"You have a unique brand of Country"

Wait...I have what? My head rushed through all the years of recording and playing live to try and pinpoint the moment I did Country.

"I don't do Country. I hate Country." I protested. "I do light rock, the blues and occasionally stray into heavier rock but I don't do Country."

His laughter made me realise he was having none of it. He asked me there and then if I would write an album worth of songs in a year. Short of cash since the paralysis and short of facilities I told him they would have to be "Nebraska" type songs.

"What?"

"Springsteen locked himself in a bedroom and recorded the album "Nebraska" on a cassette tape as demos - the songs had such a unique melancholy sound they were released with little professional sound intervention. I have a little portable recording unit. I'll do demos on it in my bedroom, but I aint going to a studio until I have a whole album worth of songs."

I wrote the first about a year ago.  I played it to my closest friends and listened to my own brand of rock coming out of the speakers at me. The first friend piped up "Good Country song mate. You could do something with that."

"Good what? COUNTRY song?"

A second friend confirmed the opinion of the first.

I grabbed an old CD of mine with 4 tracks on it released as an extended single in Britain (and died a sudden death) and pushed it into the player. "What kind of music would you describe this as?"

They listened patiently.

"Country" They both agreed.

I wrote a second song and gave it a progression and tempo which were unmistakably 'Blues'.
I touted it around before getting an e-mail from an intermediary.

"Hey Rory, great song, heaps of potential. It's being looked at right now by **** ****** as a possible single"

I hadn't heard of  him before so reached for Wikipedia - My heart sank 'A top Australian Country music artist'

"I don't do Country." I thought to myself. I looked at his profile again on Wikipedia and realised just how much money this guy must make. I fired off an email to the intermediary "Thanks John, let him know I've always loved Country and happy to write Country any day of the week. I have an extensive back catalogue of country songs if he wants to listen. He just needs to ask."

Vive La France!

Hide your face in shame book

I love Social Media.

"Sometime between 7am and 3pm, Saturday 20th" they said.

Our internet connection has been dreadful of late and the multi national involved had responded to my wife's Facebook plea for a better connection - they were coming to replace external cabling leading to the house.

Yesterday we waited, and we waited. Nothing happened.

For Rory D Grant, 'the hour of social media' had arrived. I would shame Telstra into action. I took to their Facebook page and unleashed my displeasure, I ranted, I raved, I demanded and disparaged in equal measure.  Bloodied and beaten they responded timidly, cowed, beaten. There it was on Facebook for all to see - a groveling apology was offered and the contacts proffered to rectify what was in their own words a 'let down'. Would I forgive them though?

Pleased at what I had achieved using social media I triumphantly looked across the sitting room at my wife. "I did it darlin', the bastards are sorry they ever let us down, they've grovelled and will re-arrange for their engineers to come out. I love how they respond so quickly when you hang out their dirty laundry in public. Rory D Grant 1 Telstra 0 ."
"Telstra?" My wife piped up.
"Yeah Telstra."
My wife shook her head, "We're not waiting on Telstra Rory, we're waiting on Energex...."

I hate social media.


Rory.

What's up in Wisconsin?

I have so much catching up to do. Had to start somewhere so I thought I'd have a look at which blog posts have been popular in my absence. Some of you know that I have two blogs - this one and 'If the Truth Be Told'. So I thought I'd look at the viewing figures for both, and I looked again...and again. Was this right? Could what I was seeing possibly be right? The smallest post entry I have ever made had not 100 views (which would have been good), not 500 (which would have been awesome) but....are you ready for this? Just short of a quarter of a million views...Yes 236,064 to be precise...did someone highlight it on TV or radio in Wisconsin? Where is Wisconsin lol?

What have I done? Why Wisconsin? So many questions, so few answers. Does this mean I could have been a billionaire if I'd only signed up for ads? Hell I didn't even do much - just threw up a Youtube video and a small piece of text.... The Blog Post in Question

Rory

Just the usual kind of morning....

Just the usual kind of morning today, got up at 5am, went to the shops for milk, said 'Good morning" to a few faces I recognise daily, found a dead body in the bushes, came home, had a shower then coffee....Oh yeah, 'found a dead body in the bushes' that's a bit unusual I guess. He looked dead, felt dead, poor fella - but when the ambulance guys tended to him they assured me there was life in there somewhere. Anyway, whoever he was, I hope he makes it ok. Now that I'm blogging again I guess God has decided to give me something to talk about by way of a kick start.  I do so hope it's not going to be a blog littered with the dead and dying though - I want happy stuff!

Ok I'm making a promise to myself - my first ten blog posts will be uplifting....It's so hot here today though (I'm talking a million degrees), it's not really conducive to thinking and writing...

Unfortunately therefore, the most uplifting thing I can come up with today is this...

Rory.