Ahh, the Clouds.....they were heady days. You will find masses of stuff on the internet about when we started and ended, who was in the band, what albums we released and when, etc......and some of it will be true and some of it will be false. Here's my take on it.
    The Clouds were a fiery bunch of individuals, of that there is no doubt. Two of the most productive band line-ups, mainly because we were together for quite a few years and we put out the bulk of the material, were Stu Eadie, Dave Easton, Trish Young and myself, then Raphael Whittingham replaced Stu on drums.
     Trish and I are both Aries, Dave and Raph are both Sagitarians and Stu is a Leo...all fire! Another interesting factor for those of you who aren't completely skeptical about such things, is that the Chinese astrological signs for Trish, Dave, Raph and me are all diametrically opposed. Two sets of opposites. Make of it what you will but I think it's significant.
     Star signs aside, all members of the Clouds brought brilliant musical ideas to the table....Ben Nightingale delivered one of my favourite guitar lines in Midwinter, Andrew Burnes gave us a great drum hook in Motherson and Rob Phelan played the beautiful 60's lead solo in Cloud Factory. Hooks are everything I reckon, whether they are vocal or instrumental, the more a song has, the better!
    We didn't get together as friends. We didn't know each other at all before we played together. We got together on the strength of our music and what we had to contribute musically to the group. We grew to be friends, confidants and comrades united against the insensitivities of the record companies and the fickle cold shoulder of the radio stations and music industry in general. Our fans however always remained loyal and we thank them deeply for this.
    Each member recalls different highlights and stories. We travelled a lot! If we didn't have to catch an early plane, we wouldn't get up until well after midday. We were young and didn't really have a life outside of The Clouds. It was fun, it was hard, it was noble, it was insane. The best times for me, were without doubt in the rehearsal room.....then again I remember fondly the op shopping we did all over Australia and other parts of the world, when op shops were still packed with bargains and gems. 
    So now, fourteen years later, after we called it quits, we are about to play our songs again.  I love our songs, the parts each member played in making them shine, the way they make me feel.
    Trish, Raph, Dave and I toured the East coast of Australia in August 2011 with British acts, Jesus Jones and The Wonderstuff and had a complete ball! Loved it so much we have booked three headline shows.
Friday 18 Nov at The Oxford Art factory in Sydney
Friday 2nd Dec at The Fly By Night in Fremantle
Sunday 4th Dec at The Gov in Adelaide
We will come to Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra and hopefully Hobart early 2012......and you never know what other shows we might do. Just keep checking in.
Thank you Robert Gjessing from Harlequin Photography for the great action shots below. These were taken at The Palace in Melbourne, Aug 2011.