This is amongst the most inspiring work I have ever done in my life. Especially when I see, as I did yesterday, faces from LAST year’s workshops back at the conference, more confident, with recorded albums, working the trade. It is inspirational. Moshito itself has grown massively in the 7 years of existence. It’s not perfect and has taken a lot of flack. Some of it justified, some of it no more than political manoeuvring. But it is improving.

My hope is that we can reach out to other provinces better in the future, take the workshops and some kind of roadshow to the Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, Limpopo and so on.

The line-up of speakers this year is mainly local, but the content is tightly focussed on real, every day problems that the SA industry faces. So far, at the beginning of day 2, it’s going well. There was a record attendance at the first day’s opening ceremony and the amount of new, fresh faces indicates that finally, Moshito seems to be established enough for everyone to be paying attention. For me, after 23 years of work in the trenches of the business, I feel a reward and an inspiration being at this year’s conference.

I have often felt unrewarded, unnoticed and neglected in my work in the music business. But these events have a way of making it all seem worthwhile. Being able to give back some of the hard lessons during these sessions and seeing faces light up with understanding are all the pat n the back I seem to need for those years after all. My only regret this year is that my book could not have been ready on time to promote to all these kids.

A few years back I was being somewhat disparaging about Moshito to one of the international speakers. His name was Andrew Missingham, a producer, drummer and all round good guy. He said to me, if you think the organisation is so flawed, get inside, use it and change it for the better. Now while I am not so arrogant as to say I am changing Moshito for the better, I do like to think that my involvement and that of other like me, has contributed to its growth.

It’s a lesson that I press on many people. If you don’t like the status quo, get involved, contribute, help. Complaining is easy and is the panacea of the cynical. If you are serious about growth and change, the only way is to get your hands dirty.

The South African Music Industry Conference, MOSHITO, hired me to be part of their educational tour around Gauteng. So I spent 3 days of presenting my Start smart workshops to Township kids in Krugersdorp, Tembisa and Sebokeng.

As is always the case when doing workshops, again I think I learned as much as I taught. After so many years of dealing with up and coming musicians, I had in fact become somewhat jaded. However these township kids have so much passion, and so much knowledge. I guess I had been over-exposed to middle class suburban boys with silver spoons in their mouths who have no real hunger to make money from their music. When you come from the ghetto, it’s different. And it shows.

Moshito is making a great effort to fulfil its skills transfer and knowledge sharing mandate. It is my sincere hope that we can soon take this initiative to a national audience and tour the country doing this. Sponsors anyone?

To round off the weekend, I had a massive birthday party on Friday night and caught the train to Soccer City Soweto on Saturday to watch the Springboks snatch defeat from the jaws of victory against the All Blacks.

Our boys are so good. But individual flashes of brilliance do not win test matches. The collective will and patience of the All Blacks meant more hard lessons for us as supporters and no doubt for the team. It was also the first time ever I have heard a ref being jeered by an entire stadium. And he did deserve it. Forget the one eyedness of letting McCaw repeatedly enter from the side and bridge over the ball… just pure incompetence, missing knock ons and forward passes and generally being in the way of the game… we all laughed heartily when he got smeared in a ruck. He should never have been in the way.

The final flourish of my birthday weekend is a leisurely Sunday lunch with my nearest and dearest. Then I shall sleep for a week!

Basically up until end of April, I had no work at all, other than the most incidental and unremarkable. Then for May, June and July I was passably busy. It was Monday 2 august that I worked my first full day of the year, as in at least 9 hours (well it was 12 as it turned out!) And now there seems to be no let up.

I had dubbed the year, “The Year Of Living Quietly” until a friend pointed out that the year was not over and to jinx it already with such a name might not be such a good idea. I listened. And I am glad I did. I LIKE to work! And I love what I am currently working on.

In the past, the New Year lull has lasted as late as April, but never before until August. I suspect it has much to do with the fact that, for the first time in my self employed history, I was not broke at the beginning of the year. And that there was a global recession. Oh yes, and that little thing known as the 2010 world Cup (am I allowed to say that now?)

Oh, and let me explain that when I say work, I mean stuff I am being paid for. I was plenty busy up until August. Mainly with really long range stuff that will maybe start earning me money towards the end of the year and into the next decade. But that doesn’t buy the cat food. Or put beer into my belly.

So, the ¾ year of living quietly has come and gone, and I have my nose to the grindstone in ferocious fashion as I self publish my music industry text book (more on that very soon), finalise my poetry anthology, complete a plain English project, write freelance articles and present workshops and work on the Punk IN Africa project…

Am I boasting? Maybe. I just love my life. Such interesting stuff to do. I mainly feel I am just expressing my delight! This last quarter is delivering a mother load of goodies, more than enough to make up for the preceding 3!

Our government proposes to re-introduce Apartheid style legislation to control the media. In 1994 Mr. Mandela said, “No single person, no body of opinion, no political or religious doctrine, no political party or government can claim to have a monopoly on truth… It has therefore always been our contention that laws, mores,
practices and prejudices that place constraints on freedom of expression are a disservice to society.”

As citizens we need to defend our right to freedom of expression. Join all and any movements you can to oppose the passing of this Bill into law.

It’s amazing how long this can all take. My short story book, A Body Remembered” was the first to see the light of day, thanks to my friend Andrew Miller over at Ge’Ko publishing. The second is due to be “1,2,1,2 – A step By Step Guide To The SA Music Industry.” Much delayed and now under a new publishing initiative, it is due out before the end of September, if not before. The 3rd was due to be Urban 04… but the plans kind of wobbled.

In the meantime, I now have an anthology of poetry in the works, a history of SA punk, a new novel and the rework of an old novel. So OK, shoot me, I didn’t make the 3 books, but this process is well under way. 3 years underway to be precise.

The point of all this rambling is that I have always been wary of plans. Anyone who told me they had a 5 year plan and began to describe exactly where they were would be side-stepped away from at parties. Then I created a plan and embarked on its course. And then I found out some interesting stuff. Much like other outcomes, it’s not a good idea to get too attached to plans. Success has an interesting way or re-routing the best of intentions, even if it is but mild. The difference now is that I have a new life that encompasses these ambitions instead of working towards them.

I guess I have some kind of system in place as well. But while all this bookish stuff has been taking place, I have also entered the new paradigm of writing for TV, making a documentary film, playing live music shows and working at a conceptual level across many media platforms… in short, I have been plotting and scheming in any many of ways about content, intellectual property and ideas and how to make them live, own them, grow them, benefit from them. It’s a very unexpected twist to the road I set foot on. A welcome, wonderful, dazzling one.

In many ways I have become quite Zen about this creative life. Which is not to say I don’t get irate when things don’t work out, but that rather, I have come to understand that I don’t know enough about what the options and possibilities are to be firmly attached to a specific outcome.

What I do now is turn up everyday and work on my ideas and plans and see where they go. I know which highway I am on at least, the turn offs will no doubt become apparent.