Dude, where’s my telecaster?

The Maldon Folk Festival in Australia. A jewel of an old fashioned type of festival, with buskers in the streets, sessions in the pubs and great bands and solo performers in the various marquees and venues around the town. I was accepted to go & play this year, and for the first time I took a band with me. On bass I had my right-hand man, Cousin Ronnie, on vocals I had with me my wonderful wife & partner Janette Geri, and playin’ the drums we had the amazing Mr. Fallon Williams. Janette, Ronnie & I were able to cruise up in the middle of the Friday, just before the festival kicked off, and we did this leisurely and with no dramas. Arriving in the beautiful little town of Maldon, in North-West Victoria, we strolled up & down the main street putting up some posters for the various gigs we had coming up that weekend.( Janette was also playing the festival under her name ) Fallon wasn’t able to make it to my Friday night gig, so us three did an ‘Unplugged’ show at a venue called The Penny School. A little, very old brick schoolhouse with a restaurant now attached, I can only imagine what Ronnie thought on first view of this venue. We always play in Melbourne pubs with sticky carpet and huge, cavern like rooms. We had to really strip our performance back, seated, with Janette gently tapping a tambourine to keep us in time. I played finger-style guitar through a tiny little Vox amp with lots of reverb, and this show was undoubtedly one of the best gigs of my entire career! Good friend & fellow muso Maria Forde turned up, and my songs were warmly received and loudly applauded…Great gig!! Janette also had a show here this night, and afterwards Fallon turned up straight from his day gig in Melbourne. Janette & Maria retired to the pub, and the boys and I headed out to the camping reserve and The Guinness Tent to catch some of Andy Baylor’s Cajun Combo…Supoib! Back to our billet with the lads camping in their cars in the backyard, and Janette & I in the splendour of a little girls room, filled with fairies and plush toys, but with two tiny single beds! Night all…zzzzzz… By the time Janette & I rose and got our stuff together, Fallon & Ronnie had headed into town for breakfast, and as I drove back into the main street, I started looking for the service station where I could fill my car up with Auto-Gas…and guess what….the nearest supply was back in Castlemaine, some 15-17 ks away, and I was almost out of gas…After a few phone calls trying to raise a local taxi company, whose cars also run solely on gas & a discussion with the local mechanic, Ronnie & I decided to chance it and head back to Castlemaine to gas up. I was watching my trip meter and the little green gas-gauge LEDs all the way, but we made it and that drama was averted. The gig for that day was a 1.15 @ The Troubadour tent, quite a prestigious gig for the festival, so after loading up our stuff, including the 3 guitars I brought with me, we headed out there only to be met by the hale n hearty countenance of my oldest brother, Stax the Didgeman. We set up, played a very cool set which was enjoyed by most, and finished with a big number and then retired backstage to sell a couple of CDs. After a bit, Ronnie headed off to NSW to catch up with an old mate, and Fallon returned to Melbourne. Janette, Stax and I loaded up my car and off we went for more festival… It wasn’t till early next morning that I sat up in bed and said aloud, “Where’s my Tele?” My Electa Telecaster which I bought in 1979 was not in the room with the rest of the gear!! I bolted, throwing festival timetables and stuffed toys up in the air, rummaging through shirts, guitar cases and bags of newspapers, but to no avail…no Telecaster… I went cold…where the hell had I left my oldest, truest guitar? After a very quick dress, we hightailed it back out to the Troubadour tent, and there, leaning up against a lighting truss backstage in the tent, was my beautiful Tele. It was brought in so as not to leave it in the backstage-backstage area, and there it had been all night. As Andy Irvine finished a rousing recital, Janette slithered an arm through the rear tent-flap and retrieved my guitar…Phew! Back at our digs, I removed the tele from it’s case, and while making soothing, reassuring noises to it, I tuned it up and played for half an hour. Just me and my telecaster. Here are two shots of Janette, me & Cousin Ronnie @ The Penny School gig.