Hi Everyone
Just thought I would hijack the Wireless Cranium to let everyone know that tonight, Saturday May 19, sbs will be repeating the episode of Rockwiz that featured Wireless Cranium's very own Jiggy!!!
For those of you that missed it first time around, hopefully you can catch it tonight.....
Jiggy, sorry for placing a post on your blog without informing you first!!
Showing posts with label rockwiz. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rockwiz. Show all posts
Saturday, 19 May 2007
Tuesday, 18 July 2006
RocKwiz DVD launch!
Last night Pete, Dean and myself went to the RocKwiz DVD launch, a party which was held in the Gershwin Room at the Espy. It was all a bit mysterious; the invites were only for ex-contestants and they clearly stated that it was an "invite only" event, and that we couldn't even bring anyone along. There was a lot of speculation before hand - was there going to be a free bar tab? Were they going to do any filming? Were we going to be able to mingle with the celebrities?
[Sidebar: See previous posts about Pete and Dean's appearance, and my appearance on RocKwiz.]
When we arrived and Pete offered to buy the first round, it became clear that at least one of these speculations was true. There was a free bar tab, and suddenly I regretted driving. There was also free finger food; suddenly we regretted buying that kebab we had only eaten 15 minutes ago.
After a few quiet drinks, a few nibbles, and a quick chat with Brian Nankervis, we were led to the front of the Gershwin room where Brian and hostess Julia Zemiro gave a spiel about the success of the show, and about the RocKwiz DVD which was about to be launched nationwide. Shortly afterwards they drew a raffle (we were all given tickets as we entered the Gershwin room); Dean was one of the lucky three who won a RocKwiz backpack, which included a copy of said DVD, a RocKwiz duets CD, a T-shirt, stubbie holder, alcohol of some sort, badge and playing cards.
Then there were some more speakers: the head of programming at the SBS (whose name escapes me) talked a bit about the show, and Mushroom boss Michael Gudinski talked a bit about the Australian music scene in general. This was followed by a live performance of the Johnny Cash hit Jackson by Vika Bull (from Vika & Linda and Black Sorrows) and Dave Larkin (from Dallas Crane); and a performance of the Tom Petty/Stevie Nicks hit Stop draggin' my heart around by the legendary Tim Rogers (from You Am I) and Rebecca Barnard (from Rebecca's Empire). Then the four of them got together and did a nice cover of the Byrds hit So you want to be a rock 'n' roll star.
Tim Rogers in action
[Photo courtesy of MarkG]
After a bit more chit chat from Brian and Julia (and a sneak preview of the DVD on the big screen), the formalities of the night were over. And this is where the night started to get interesting...
Pete, Dean and I (together with MarkG, the husband of a work colleague who was also on the show) decided to mingle a little bit with the celebrities who were there and get some happy snaps.
[Warning: Lots of name-dropping ahead.]
[Sidebar: See previous posts about Pete and Dean's appearance, and my appearance on RocKwiz.]
When we arrived and Pete offered to buy the first round, it became clear that at least one of these speculations was true. There was a free bar tab, and suddenly I regretted driving. There was also free finger food; suddenly we regretted buying that kebab we had only eaten 15 minutes ago.
After a few quiet drinks, a few nibbles, and a quick chat with Brian Nankervis, we were led to the front of the Gershwin room where Brian and hostess Julia Zemiro gave a spiel about the success of the show, and about the RocKwiz DVD which was about to be launched nationwide. Shortly afterwards they drew a raffle (we were all given tickets as we entered the Gershwin room); Dean was one of the lucky three who won a RocKwiz backpack, which included a copy of said DVD, a RocKwiz duets CD, a T-shirt, stubbie holder, alcohol of some sort, badge and playing cards.
Then there were some more speakers: the head of programming at the SBS (whose name escapes me) talked a bit about the show, and Mushroom boss Michael Gudinski talked a bit about the Australian music scene in general. This was followed by a live performance of the Johnny Cash hit Jackson by Vika Bull (from Vika & Linda and Black Sorrows) and Dave Larkin (from Dallas Crane); and a performance of the Tom Petty/Stevie Nicks hit Stop draggin' my heart around by the legendary Tim Rogers (from You Am I) and Rebecca Barnard (from Rebecca's Empire). Then the four of them got together and did a nice cover of the Byrds hit So you want to be a rock 'n' roll star.
Tim Rogers in action
[Photo courtesy of MarkG]
After a bit more chit chat from Brian and Julia (and a sneak preview of the DVD on the big screen), the formalities of the night were over. And this is where the night started to get interesting...
Pete, Dean and I (together with MarkG, the husband of a work colleague who was also on the show) decided to mingle a little bit with the celebrities who were there and get some happy snaps.
[Warning: Lots of name-dropping ahead.]
L-R:Me, Tim Rogers, Pete, Dean.
This photo was taken shortly before Dean asked Tim the meaning behind one of his songs, at which point Tim told him that it was about his ex-wife. Dean was a bit apologetic at this point, and Tim told him it was cool and gave Dean a kiss on the neck to let him know that there were no hard feelings.
[Photo courtesy of Pete]
L-R: Mark, Tim, Rebecca Barnard, Me.
As seen from the photo, Tim was clearly inebriated at this point of the night.
Mark: "You're excited? Feel these nipples!"
Me: "I'll have what he's having"
[Photo courtesy of MarkG]
Rebecca Barnard looking at one of the photos on Pete's camera.
Tim: "Hey baby!"
Pete: "Somebody...please pinch me"
[Photo courtesy of MarkG]
Me with my old RocKwiz teammate Ross Wilson (of Daddy Cool fame).
Yes, this is the same guy who sung the Aussie rock classic Eagle rock.
Me: "I can't wait to post this on my blog!"
Ross: "I've come to clean your pool..."
[Photo courtesy of Pete]
Dean with his old RocKwiz teammate Linda Bull (of Vika & Linda and Black Sorrows fame).
Dean: "I knew I shouldn't have had the garlic sauce in my souvlaki before..."
[Photo courtesy of Pete]
Unfortunately, Pete's old teammate Glenn Tilbrook didn't make the trek from the UK to come to the DVD launch. So Pete missed out on his team reunion.
This photo was taken shortly before Dean asked Tim the meaning behind one of his songs, at which point Tim told him that it was about his ex-wife. Dean was a bit apologetic at this point, and Tim told him it was cool and gave Dean a kiss on the neck to let him know that there were no hard feelings.
[Photo courtesy of Pete]
L-R: Mark, Tim, Rebecca Barnard, Me.
As seen from the photo, Tim was clearly inebriated at this point of the night.
Mark: "You're excited? Feel these nipples!"
Me: "I'll have what he's having"
[Photo courtesy of MarkG]
Rebecca Barnard looking at one of the photos on Pete's camera.
Tim: "Hey baby!"
Pete: "Somebody...please pinch me"
[Photo courtesy of MarkG]
Me with my old RocKwiz teammate Ross Wilson (of Daddy Cool fame).
Yes, this is the same guy who sung the Aussie rock classic Eagle rock.
Me: "I can't wait to post this on my blog!"
Ross: "I've come to clean your pool..."
[Photo courtesy of Pete]
Dean with his old RocKwiz teammate Linda Bull (of Vika & Linda and Black Sorrows fame).
Dean: "I knew I shouldn't have had the garlic sauce in my souvlaki before..."
[Photo courtesy of Pete]
Unfortunately, Pete's old teammate Glenn Tilbrook didn't make the trek from the UK to come to the DVD launch. So Pete missed out on his team reunion.
The three of us with Julia Zemiro, the hostess with the most-ess.
Julia: "Get these weirdos away from me"
[Photo courtesy of Pete]
Julia: "Get these weirdos away from me"
[Photo courtesy of Pete]
We left shortly after, playing the You Am I classic Hourly, daily on the way back home. We were all on a bit of a high from the great night (although Dean and Pete's high may have been more alcohol-induced than mine :)
What a night!
What a night!
Sunday, 23 April 2006
A chat with Brian Nankervis
On Saturday night I was at the Pause Bar in East St. Kilda for my friend Sheri's 27th birthday party. My fiancee Lorin spotted Brian Nankervis at the bar early in the night, and just as we were leaving I spotted him near the rear exit and had a bit of a chat with him. For those who don't know, Brian is an Australian comedian and the creator and co-host of SBS music quiz show RocKwiz. Those who have been paying attention will know that yours truly, Pete and Dean have all had our moment in the spotlight on this show.
He's a genuinely friendly guy; I told him that I'd been on the show on the episode with Ross Wilson and he immediately said "Ahh yes -- Take me to the river" which was the cover version that Ross Wilson and Nessa Morgan (the other celebrity on the show) sung at the end of the episode. You can tell he has a real passion for the show, which is really great to see but also expected because the show is his creation and his "baby".
I also told him that I had been at a recent filming of a season 3 episode of RocKwiz, and I asked him to confirm that the shows are definitely longer now (the night ended after 11:30pm compared to 10:30pm in previous seasons). He confirmed that season 3 episodes were indeed longer, and after editing they will be 45 minutes on TV. He said he's heard mixed comments about the length of filming for season 3 episodes, and I told him that in all honesty it was a long night but that I still really liked the show. It sounds like the show may be continuing for some more seasons which is great news -- we need more shows like this on Australian television and less formulaic reality shows.
Sheri also told him that she had recently purchased the Let the blood run free DVD, and Brian said that the show will always have memories for him as it was the first "theatrical" TV show he had been on.
After posing for a photo or two, Lorin and I were on our way (we were actually leaving anyway). A nice end to an enjoyable night out!
Friday, 10 February 2006
Watch RocKwiz this Saturday night!
For any Australian readers out there, make sure you watch RocKwiz this Saturday night.
It's the episode with Pete and Dean on it, good mates of mine and contributors to this blog. It's finally going to be shown, and only 5 months after it was recorded!
It's on SBS from 9:15-9:45pm.
UPDATE: I forgot to mention that Pete's teammate is Glenn Tilbrook* of Squeeze fame!
* I just thought I'd mention Mr Tilbrook, because every time I do, The Squeeze Reader links to me. Nothing wrong with spreading the word a bit further :-)
Wednesday, 7 September 2005
Dean & Pete on RocKwiz!
Dean and Pete (known as Wally Raffles and nomeatpete around the blog circuit) did us all proud last night when they both made it on to the debut of Season 2 of the RocKwiz on SBS. They also did table 6 proud when they represented us, cutting through the fierce competition in the auditions, each making it on to the 2nd episode that was filmed.
Dean ended up in a team with Linda Bull, a member of the Black Sorrows and Vika & Linda, where she performs with her sister. Pete had Glenn Tilbrook of classic UK new-wave outfit Squeeze on his team.
It was a great game, with Dean and Pete both doing extremely well for their teams, but in the end Dean's team took home the trophy. Congratulations to both of you! Co-host Brian Nankervis kindly informed us that the episode will be shown in late-November on TV.
Chris Bailey of classic Aussie punk rockers The Saints played in the first game we saw, and he seemed to be off his face. Most likely on alcohol, because he was sipping a red wine throughout the whole game. He came up with some "interesting" one-liners, some of which may be considered inappropriate for television, so how much of the episode makes it to air is yet to be determined. But it's SBS, so I guess anything is possible :-)
All in all, a very enjoyable night!
Tuesday, 22 February 2005
RocKwiz
Guess who was on the SBS show RocKwiz which was filmed last night?
Bzzzzzzzzzzz! Try again.
Yes, I made it on to RocKwiz. It was filmed at the Espy Hotel in St. Kilda. ChrisQ (a guy from work) asked me in the last minute to replace someone who couldn't make it. I thought, what the heck, it will be fun watching the show. Didn't think I actually had much chance of making it on the show. Things weren't looking good when we arrived. Chris was under the impression that we had a table booked, but when we got there apparently we were in standing room only. Well, it wasn't really standing room, it was more of a "sitting on an unnumbered table" room. Well actually, it was the same room. Just our table didn't have a number on it. So it didn't look like any of us had a chance of getting on the show at this point. Here's how the contestant selection worked. Each numbered table gets a sheet of trivia questions which they have to answer as a group. In addition, there were several wildcard entries from the people in the standing room, and we were in this group. Everyone on the table contributes to the answers, and then each table had to nominate a person who they felt could best represent their table. I was chosen by our table. On to the next round...
Next, the selected contestants went up on stage (where the real show is filmed) and we did a mock show. The warm-up guy (good ol' Brian Nankervis) acted as the host for the mock show, asking the questions. We all took turns buzzing in and answering questions. Then some members of the crew chose 8 people to be contestants on the real show. I heard my name being mentioned by some crew members, and nervously waited the call out of contestant names. Right near the end, my name was mentioned! I was on the show.
For anyone unfamiliar with the show, each show has 2 teams of 3 contestants. 2 of the contestants on each team are audience members, and there is 1 celebrity contestant who sits in the middle. So of the 8 audience members selected, 4 were going to be in the first show filmed, and 4 in the second show. I was selected to be in the second show, and I was very glad about this as I hadn't actually seen the show and I wanted to see what the format of it was like before competing on it :-)
The first show commenced. The 2 celebrities were Lisa Miller and Robert Forster of the legendary Brisbane band The Go-Betweens. Being a big fan of the GB's, I was a bit disappointed that I wasn't on the first episode and in the same team as Robert, it would have been fun to chat to him. But ahhh well. When each celebrity comes out, they sing one of the songs they are famous for. I didn't recognise what Lisa Miller sung, but Robert Forster sung German Farmhouse from their 2000 reunion album The Friends of Rachel Worth. Great stuff!
At the end of the show, Lisa and Robert sung the classic Blondie smash hit Picture This as a duet. And that was the end of the show!
After a so-called 10 minute wait (more like 25 minutes), the 2nd group of contestants went up on stage, including me! I was put on a team with a guy who was wearing Elvis Costello-esque glasses, so in hindsight it would have looked pretty cool if I had worn mine as well, but I'd left them back at my table. The lovely host Julia Zemiro came up to all the constestants to introduce herself, and then told us that the first question she was going to ask us on the show was what our first album that we purchased was. I started thinking very hard here, should I be honest, or should I say something that is wittier? Technically, the first album I acquired (my Dad actually purchased it from overseas), was the Cocktail soundtrack. But I'm fairly sure that the first album I purchased was Even Worse by "Weird Al" Yankovic, and I thought that would get more laughs, so I said that instead.
Then the celebrities were brought out. Before they come out, Julia does a "Who am I?" by saying clues about the person who's about to come out, and constestants can buzz in if they know who it is. The first person to come out was Vanessa, but for the life of me I can't remember her surname. She was born in New Zealand, and moved to Australia when she was very young, and lived a gypsy lifestyle here with her family. I know she's fairly well known, she's very familiar looking, but I can't remember her name. Maybe after seeing the episode on TV, someone can fill me in on what her name is, and I can update this blog :-) The other team guessed who she was and she ended up on their team. The next celebrity was Ross Wilson of the legendary Aussie band Daddy Cool. The other guy on my team (who was quite a gun) guessed who he was from the clues. Ross was on our team!
And then the game started. Overall, it wasn't as nerve-wracking as I thought it would be. It was really laid back, kind've like a pub trivia night with cameras and lights pointing in your face. I stumbled on a few questions, but also contributed a bit (although nowhere near as much as my fellow audience team member, who was gunning it). A few questions I knew the answers to I missed out on answering because I didn't buzz in quick enough.
Vanessa and Ross Wilson ended the show with a duet of Al Green's classic song Take me to the river.
In the end, we won by 1 point (actually 5 points, but there was 5 points for each correct answer so it equated to 1 point). We didn't win anything (it's an SBS show, they don't have a very big budget). But I was definitely on a high after leaving the show. I asked Julia (the host) if Robert Forster was still around, because I had the CD of The Friends of Rachel Worth in my car and I wanted him to sign it for me. Brian Nankervis gave me directions to the dressing rooms, and I went up there but unfortunately he had left already. A disappointing end to a great night out.
If you want to see me on TV, I suspect it will be on Saturday 5th March, at 9:15pm on SBS. That's assuming that it's filmed a week in advance.
I hope this makes up for the Double Dare debacle of 1989!
Bzzzzzzzzzzz! Try again.
Yes, I made it on to RocKwiz. It was filmed at the Espy Hotel in St. Kilda. ChrisQ (a guy from work) asked me in the last minute to replace someone who couldn't make it. I thought, what the heck, it will be fun watching the show. Didn't think I actually had much chance of making it on the show. Things weren't looking good when we arrived. Chris was under the impression that we had a table booked, but when we got there apparently we were in standing room only. Well, it wasn't really standing room, it was more of a "sitting on an unnumbered table" room. Well actually, it was the same room. Just our table didn't have a number on it. So it didn't look like any of us had a chance of getting on the show at this point. Here's how the contestant selection worked. Each numbered table gets a sheet of trivia questions which they have to answer as a group. In addition, there were several wildcard entries from the people in the standing room, and we were in this group. Everyone on the table contributes to the answers, and then each table had to nominate a person who they felt could best represent their table. I was chosen by our table. On to the next round...
Next, the selected contestants went up on stage (where the real show is filmed) and we did a mock show. The warm-up guy (good ol' Brian Nankervis) acted as the host for the mock show, asking the questions. We all took turns buzzing in and answering questions. Then some members of the crew chose 8 people to be contestants on the real show. I heard my name being mentioned by some crew members, and nervously waited the call out of contestant names. Right near the end, my name was mentioned! I was on the show.
For anyone unfamiliar with the show, each show has 2 teams of 3 contestants. 2 of the contestants on each team are audience members, and there is 1 celebrity contestant who sits in the middle. So of the 8 audience members selected, 4 were going to be in the first show filmed, and 4 in the second show. I was selected to be in the second show, and I was very glad about this as I hadn't actually seen the show and I wanted to see what the format of it was like before competing on it :-)
The first show commenced. The 2 celebrities were Lisa Miller and Robert Forster of the legendary Brisbane band The Go-Betweens. Being a big fan of the GB's, I was a bit disappointed that I wasn't on the first episode and in the same team as Robert, it would have been fun to chat to him. But ahhh well. When each celebrity comes out, they sing one of the songs they are famous for. I didn't recognise what Lisa Miller sung, but Robert Forster sung German Farmhouse from their 2000 reunion album The Friends of Rachel Worth. Great stuff!
At the end of the show, Lisa and Robert sung the classic Blondie smash hit Picture This as a duet. And that was the end of the show!
After a so-called 10 minute wait (more like 25 minutes), the 2nd group of contestants went up on stage, including me! I was put on a team with a guy who was wearing Elvis Costello-esque glasses, so in hindsight it would have looked pretty cool if I had worn mine as well, but I'd left them back at my table. The lovely host Julia Zemiro came up to all the constestants to introduce herself, and then told us that the first question she was going to ask us on the show was what our first album that we purchased was. I started thinking very hard here, should I be honest, or should I say something that is wittier? Technically, the first album I acquired (my Dad actually purchased it from overseas), was the Cocktail soundtrack. But I'm fairly sure that the first album I purchased was Even Worse by "Weird Al" Yankovic, and I thought that would get more laughs, so I said that instead.
Then the celebrities were brought out. Before they come out, Julia does a "Who am I?" by saying clues about the person who's about to come out, and constestants can buzz in if they know who it is. The first person to come out was Vanessa, but for the life of me I can't remember her surname. She was born in New Zealand, and moved to Australia when she was very young, and lived a gypsy lifestyle here with her family. I know she's fairly well known, she's very familiar looking, but I can't remember her name. Maybe after seeing the episode on TV, someone can fill me in on what her name is, and I can update this blog :-) The other team guessed who she was and she ended up on their team. The next celebrity was Ross Wilson of the legendary Aussie band Daddy Cool. The other guy on my team (who was quite a gun) guessed who he was from the clues. Ross was on our team!
And then the game started. Overall, it wasn't as nerve-wracking as I thought it would be. It was really laid back, kind've like a pub trivia night with cameras and lights pointing in your face. I stumbled on a few questions, but also contributed a bit (although nowhere near as much as my fellow audience team member, who was gunning it). A few questions I knew the answers to I missed out on answering because I didn't buzz in quick enough.
Vanessa and Ross Wilson ended the show with a duet of Al Green's classic song Take me to the river.
In the end, we won by 1 point (actually 5 points, but there was 5 points for each correct answer so it equated to 1 point). We didn't win anything (it's an SBS show, they don't have a very big budget). But I was definitely on a high after leaving the show. I asked Julia (the host) if Robert Forster was still around, because I had the CD of The Friends of Rachel Worth in my car and I wanted him to sign it for me. Brian Nankervis gave me directions to the dressing rooms, and I went up there but unfortunately he had left already. A disappointing end to a great night out.
If you want to see me on TV, I suspect it will be on Saturday 5th March, at 9:15pm on SBS. That's assuming that it's filmed a week in advance.
I hope this makes up for the Double Dare debacle of 1989!
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