D.G. Gray & Co | Musician/band

D.G. Gray & Co

Phone: +61 426 264 744

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25.01.2022 Week 37 in The Gray Files is ‘Ghost Ship’. Another old banger from The Good Ship days. It feels like a pretty well written song in retrospect. The second verse could be half as long but not bad overall. I was absorbing sea based content like Tony Abbott did onions during this time. If we were going to be The Good Ship, I’d best have some appropriate stories, to at least a similar standard to our total lack of seafaring attire. ... I ended up getting in trouble for having too many shuffles but this is probably better than the set filler I initially assumed it was. I’d often write songs according to a perceived hole in the set that needed filling. Or at the very least find an appropriately awesome cover to close the set with. I was self appointed set writer. It’s not dissimilar to an album track listing in that you’d want the set to ebb and flow In fact, it probably also similar to the ‘heroes journey’ in storytelling where it builds, has a decent fall then builds to a sweaty crescendo. Kinda like how I have sex. We had the added complication of having 8 fucking instruments to accommodate in minimising instrument changes as well. I should be a qualified project (or more accurately, crisis) manager. You basically needed an engineering degree to get on the fucking stage. It was a logistical nightmare, as we say in the trade. Particularly as most of the stages we played on were built for a 4 piece band. I’m surprised nobody lost an eye to be honest. We were an OH&S wet dream.

25.01.2022 Song 43 in The Gray Files is 'Macquarie Fields Forever'. I lived in Macquarie Fields from about 4 till 14. Those 10 years are obviously pretty formative so you can imagine that my time there influenced the person that I am today. I know I've written on here a fair bit about my time here. It's easy to harp on about the bad stuff. So I will. There was massive unemployment, and those with jobs were pretty low skilled, I guess what we'd refer to now as the working poor. Regardles...Continue reading

23.01.2022 Song 40 in The Gray Files is 'Come As You Are'. This song is really important to me. It's one of my favourites at the moment, but also the one that chokes me up a bit whenever I sing it. I was lucky/unlucky to grow up in a country town for a little while during my youth. In fact, I moved to Grenfell when I was 14 and just fucking hated it. Sure, Macquarie Fields was a shithole, but I could sit on an old red rattler train for an hour and a half and be walking around Sydney. Gr...Continue reading

18.01.2022 'Second Hand Rose' brings us to Song 35 in The Gray Files. We actually knew a few people in Melbourne when we first moved in August 2013, generally through bands that The Good Ship had played with. On our first Thursday night in town we received a message from Ben Franz telling us that he was playing that night in a little Irish bar near Queen Vic Markets called The Drunken Poet with a country singer that he thought we'd really enjoy. Even though we were pretty fucked from mo...ving and were surrounded my mini skyscrapers of boxes, Bee & I thought it a good chance to catch up with Mr Franz so dragged our sorry asses along. He was performing with Brooke Russell that evening who we did indeed love. With a crystalline voice and interesting songs, Brooke was a great entry into the Melbourne Americana/Country scene. After the show we all ended up going around the corner to what subsequently became one of my favourite bars called Prudence, sat upstairs, got pissed and ordered amazing food from Little Africa next door that 1. they brought over to us at Prudence 2. was fucking beautiful 3. was crazy cheap and massive. So, a pretty good first night out. Meeting Brooke meant that we met a whole heap of other people in that scene, and the fact that Ben played with everyone meant we met a whole swathe of people we otherwise wouldn't have met. In fact, Ben introduced me to Jon & Kell. Jon said he played drums and was looking for someone to play with. I hadn't played for a while post Good Ship (band PTSD) and thought it a good time to get back on the horse. So, basically, we would have had a very different experience of Melbourne if it wasn't for having a catalyst like Ben Franz to open doors and make introductions. Seeing all these great female country singers in Melbourne inspired me to write a song that I'd like to hear them sing. I like that 'Second Hand Rose' is about a woman that may have been ok with being the other woman but has come to the point in her life where that shit ain't cool no more. I like that the C alternates between the major and the minor which I think denotes the joy of feeling empowered to move forward but also acknowledges the sadness that she has felt. Or something. Anyway, I'd love to hear someone sing it if anyone is inspired to give it a crack.

16.01.2022 Vote. Have your say. I may or may not ignore it. Yay for democracy. Thank you for listening to my Ted talk on politics in 2020.

15.01.2022 We scrub up real good in colour. I should ditch the moody b&w motif I’ve been pushing.

12.01.2022 10 tickets left. I repeat. 10 left. Public holiday the day after so we can get on it boi!!! Prob not hey, but good to know.

11.01.2022 Song 36 in The Gray Files is ‘I Wish’. Instead of it being my long awaited Disney number, it is another in the ‘mummy-doesn’t-love-me’ category of songs. A category whose cup is overfloweth I imagine. Pity us poor sensitive singer-songwriter types. I think it was written around the time that Mum told me Dad wasn’t my Dad etc etc. Considering it was their wedding anniversary this week it seems an appropriate post. ... I’m getting to the point in this exercise where I’m having to relearn these songs from absolute scratch. I was lazy for the first 30 odd songs but now I’m getting to the point where I actually have to listen to the songs a few times to work out the chords and write down the words. You know, like I’VE NEVER HEARD THEM BEFORE. You know you’re getting old when..... Anyway, dumb ass me decides to choose a song with only two chord progressions but has not one, but two fucking key changes. I’m sure you’ve noticed that most of the previous songs have pretty much been first take wonders (the little mistakes makes them more human and relatable I say to myself), but this bastard took me 10 takes just to get through it. Obviously, that is the one here. I wasn’t playing that fucker one more time. On that note, enjoy. Did I mention two whole key changes?

10.01.2022 'River Run Red' is Song 45 in The Gray Files. With the Trump Impeachment Inquiry finishing up Friday U.S. time it seems like an appropriate time to post this song. I wrote it a few days after Trump's election. Like the rest of the world (& Trump himself), I was absolutely floored that he actually became President. It felt like all the things that I assumed were anomolies (Brexit, the rise of the right wing in general, Australian political discourse) had actually come to pass ...and this was the raising of the flag of a new era that I thought we were, as a collective species, past. Not so much. This shit has been analysed up the wazoo so me adding my 2.2 cents worth (inc. GST) isn't going to help. I've tried really hard to better my lot in life, and I grew up with a lot of the disenfranchised people that voted for Trump et al, so I think I was shocked that they didn't see the world through a similar lens as I did. Not that my lens was better by any means. Just that I really struggled to understand why they voted for somebody like him, even though I know exactly why the voted for somebody like him. There's that saying that a rising tide lifts all boats in the harbour, but I'm getting more and more convinced that it's just the melting ice caps. As 'we' have generally all flourished (obviously I mean fat, bald, middle aged men. This world can be not very fucking kind if you're Indigenous, female or identify as LGBTIQ), it seems like we are less inclined to either help those less fortunate than us or even remember that we were probably less fortunate ourselves in the not too distant past. It feels like some of us have got a bit Gollum protecting our 'precious', and it turns us into fucking assholes. It's amazing what you can justify when you feel the what you are 'entitled' to can be taken away. I grew up with fuck all. I know I can live with fuck all. Not well, but I can do it. Maybe it's time we stopped being angry at people with a little bit more, or a little bit less than us and get angry at the greedy fucks with more than they could ever use. I like a nice dinner and travelling as much as the next person, but I don't think anyone needs to earn $499,500 per fucking week (hello Alan Joyce. Glad you're bringing value to your shareholders or however you justify earning $208 per minute). Ironically, the 'pay off' in this song is that we all think we are living in the worst of times. And then the next generation comes along and thinks the same. Other than the truism of 'don't be a cunt', I'm not sure what the answer is. Sorry for the rant. Perhaps I'm just as bad a Trump. I mean, I do have suspiciously small hands.......

10.01.2022 Song 39 in The Gray Files is 'Simple Song'. It does what it says on the tin. It sure is simple. I've never actually played this song live. I always forget about it (it wasn't even on my long list for The Gray Files). It is sung from the point of view of somebody that longs for the days when 'real music' was Ricky Nelson & Pat Boone. All these kids injecting the marijuanas and playing piano backwards is all a bit too bloody much if you ask him. In fact, pretty much the exact same thing that people my age are saying about those millennial rat bags and their avocado smashing....

07.01.2022 Song 38 in The Gray Files is 'Old & Grey', (AKA 'Old Daz Gray' when I played it with Jon & Mikey in Melbourne). I love this song. It's probably my favourite at the moment. It moves well and has a great energy about it. Did I mention that I like it? It's basically my version of When I'm 64. I'm examining getting old(er) and imploring Bee to hang in there with me. I'm eight years older than her and nearly everyone in my family die around 70. Her grandparents are all currently 8...5+ or died older than that. Essentially, with bad maths I reckon she'll have a solid 20 years post me dropping off so this song is about me facing that fact and getting her used to the idea of me being a decrepit old dude. I must admit that every time I sing this song I well up after the bridge. The lines from 'When I breathe my last breath, it's your name I will say' get me thinking about leaving Bee behind. It's obviously not a great thought but one that should pop in to our heads every now and then. I think it makes you less likely to take your loved ones for granted if you sometimes consider them not being around. Or is that just me? The best part of this song for me is the line 'Please make sure that I'm dead when I'm put in my grave'. When Bee's step-grandmother was dying, she implored her doctor to make sure that she was dead before they buried her. She didn't want to be ‘scratching at the roof of the coffin’ she said. It's so Jean and funny (she wasn't amazingly lucid at this stage) but equally horrifying that it was an actual concern for this beautiful old woman in her last moments. That line really stuck with me and I wrote this song not long after she passed. She was deaf as a post but I hope she would have liked this song anyway.

07.01.2022 I’m back! (It’s Monday. Give me a break).

06.01.2022 Week 46 in The Gray Files is ‘Done With You’. This is just a simple love story. Two people fall in love. Then fall out of love. Then decide to stay together anyway. Until one of them finally admits what they both know to be true and leaves. And is probably vilified for it by their friends and family for initiating the separation. I’ve seen it in heaps of my friends. Hell, I’ve been in it myself. I was with my last girlfriend for three and a half years. I knew after 6 months... that it wasn’t working but waited for her to cheat on me and break it off for it to end. As unknown by Billie Eilish, ‘you might as well jump’ said Van Halen. I know it doesn’t move much but I like the melody. I can hear some Morriconesque whistling in there too. Come to think if it, spaghetti western guitar too. Looks like I’ll need Clint Eastwood in the film clip now.

06.01.2022 HI EVERYBODY!!!! We have nearly sold half the tickets already (I'm not surprised as every time Tin Star play Junk it sells out). However, if you want to see me attempting to be awesome I'd advise you get tix now. I'll have some accomplices on stage we me which means I'm playing a few songs that don't sound as well played solo so I'd love for you to watch me try to hold it together by the skin of my already large front teeth. Link here: https://tickets.oztix.com.au//e5a8287b-a56c-4d44-9ad3-a1cd

06.01.2022 Song 44 in The Gray Files is '18 When You're 44'. Wow. Another song about my mum? Yeah I know. Daz Gray meet Dr Freud. Dr Freud, Daz. Anyway. I guess technically, this one is not written from primary data collection. I was living in Bathurst 'going to Uni' (ie smoking bongs) when dad started working driving a truck between Grenfell & Sydney a million times a week, a journey of about 5 hours back in the day, and about 8 in the big old pantec truck with no suspension or padded ...seats. I think if the actions occurred as written in this song, it was when dad was finally out of the house and mum had a bit of freedom. It may also just be a story about mum's unwillingness to grow up and do mum things. Who knows? As I lived kinda half way between the two places, I could always jump a ride with dad. As long as I helped deliver or pick up whatever he was doing. So one day I'd be cursing trying to squeeze a lounge up a tiny, almost horizontal stairwell in Paddington, and next be out on a farm in the middle of nowhere covered in lanolin from loading 150kg wool bales to take to Homebush. I hate physical activity at the best of times so I only took up his 'kind offer' when I was desperate. Also, after starting at 5am he'd sometimes be driving back to Grenfell past midnight the same day falling asleep at the wheel and it wasn't how I imagined dying. It was, however, a good way to get to my Uncle Malcolm's house at Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains. He was dad's brother, gay and sophisticated, had a nice house (he had a tv room ie not in the lounge room. I always thought that was a great idea) and he'd let me stay some Uni holidays. He'd take me out to dinner (the first time I ever ate at a restaurant I had dinner with Reg Livermore in Katoomba. I think I ordered steak tartare. I definitely wasn't expecting what I received) and generally let me feel like there was some other life that I could maybe have. He travelled, had a car that wasn't held together with bog and duct tape and had a proper job in management or something. He was like a real adult and somebody to aspire to be. I'd sneak booze from his bar and watch soft porn European films on SBS in his 'tv room' feeling like a grown up. It was my first inkling of thinking I could do better than what I was born into. And because of this, it has come to pass.

06.01.2022 Do you like to hear the stories behind the songs that songwriters sing and write? Do you like the sings of the songsingers that song the sings? How about the stories behind the songs that song the sings? By songsingers? Have I got the event for you. This Saturday at the inimitable Junk Bar. Myself, Sue Ray & Chanel Lucas. Songsingers all. https://facebook.com/events/s/poetry-in-motion/2862937857158583/?ti=icl

06.01.2022 I had to actually work this week (bullshit mate) so I’ve been a bit tardy with my thank you’s. Thanks obvs to the very excellent Tin Star for asking me to open for them. I went a bit crazy and had both Cath & Mal get up on stage so I’m sorry for over complicating a great night. Thanks to Cath Bell & Mal Nebe for getting up and having a crack without the obligatory number of rehearsals. It was so good to gear the songs whole instead of me just whining by myself. ... Thanks to Mia & Jim at The Junk Bar for being beautiful and lovely as always. I really do find it hard to play anywhere else. And lastly, thanks to everyone that came out on a long weekend Sunday night to see some original music. Youse a legends. And thanks to my big mouth for not swearing as much as I did last Tin Star show. Thank fuck.

06.01.2022 Song 42 in The Gray Files is 'What Have I Gone & Done'. I was pretty jealous growing up. Whilst I never expected us to be the freaking Brady Bunch, I was painfully aware of what we didn't have compared to other families (like a den. Who, other than Mr Brady, had a fucking den?). Even basics, like having more than one pair of socks, or more than one towel between 6 kids, were pretty apparent, especially when you would visit or stay over at friends houses....Continue reading

04.01.2022 While I’ve been gallivanting around Sydney for the weekend instead of practicing I’ve realised we only have 7 tickets left for purchase. I’d love to see you there. It’ll be my first show with Mr Malcolm Nebe on upright bass so I’m playing some songs that I don’t usually perform due to them sounding shit solo.

03.01.2022 Song 41 in The Gray Files is 'People Tell Me'. I always thought that I was a nice guy. Turns out I wasn't. You go through life with this perception of yourself. It's probably a mix of how you 'see' 'yourself' in your 'mind' (authors note; these are all richer and deeper ideas than I can brain and will be left to those inclined to ponder these concepts in their own time) combined with the verbal and non verbal clues that you get from your interactions with others. To this end..., I thought that I was quite self aware and could read a room and know how it worked and my place in it. Nope. I mean, it wasn't a total write off, but I certainly wasn't that guy that I thought that I was. There was a particular person in my life that, while I interacted with those around them, I essentially ignored. To their face. Quite obviously, to everybody else but me. I just didn't want to engage with them, so I didn't. Easy. The thing is, I didn't even try. Instead of polite small talk where I show unsubtle disdain for their very existence, I actually didn't even really acknowledge their presence. It was even more of a total cunt act because I didn't think about it. I'm not sure what is worse. Going out of my way to ignore somebody, or just doing it without any premeditation. Either way, it's pretty shitty. It took a whole other conversation about something else for Bee to bring this scenario up and to point out 1. what an absolute bastard I could be and 2. that I wasn't the 'nice' guy that I thought I was so to get off by fucken high horse. (It totally wasn't as harsh as that sounds. She was just pointing out that St Daz could indeed be a bit of a prick. That's the beauty of love. I couldn't even be angry at her). This revelation blew my fucking mind (there's that word again). It really did rock my world and made me really think about who I was and how I treated people. It might be akin to to finding out that God doesn't exist, or that Albo is not the saviour of the Labor Party, or that Trump is an actual stable genius (too far?). This song is kinda about that. I don't like some of the lines (it's a bit my mum ie 'I'm going to be totally me without compromise and if they don't like it it's their issue, not mine' which I don't agree with) but it does make me think of this time of great self-questioning. I've never played this song live before so forgive some of the clunky lines. It's a work in progress. Like me.