The Living End visited bushfire affected regions on Sunday‏

[Matt]

I'm sure everyone else here is on the mailing list, but what the heck...

Just got this email now:

Yesterday we had the opportunity to go to Yea, Alexandra and Kinglake and see first-hand, the devastating effects of the bushfires.

Throughout the day we got to meet some amazing people, all of whom have been directly affected by the fires and we would like to thank those communities for allowing us to come and play for them. It was an honour to do so.

Although the aim was to entertain and provide a distraction for these people, we would like to stress that what is needed more than anything else is money. If you haven't already donated to the appeal, please do so.

We would like to extend a big thank you to The Push organisation for their efforts in getting us involved and for their enduring support of the people living in these ravaged communities. Thanks also to Rae for handing out t-shirts and Ant & Michael for getting the show on the road.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to all those who have lost loved ones and those who are trying to keep their lives together under these extraordinarily difficult circumstances.

- Chris Cheney, The Living End

[RollOn]

Good on them, its good to hear that the boys are doing their best to keep people happy and entertained.

[Matt]

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y255/matt_man01/Fire1.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y255/matt_man01/Fire2.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y255/matt_man01/Fire3.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y255/matt_man01/Fire4.jpg

[Matt]

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y255/matt_man01/Fire5.jpg

Woo stand up drumming.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y255/matt_man01/Fire6.jpg

[white_noise]

lmao at Andys Bin drumming. And in the same pic, Whoever was driving the volvo cant read the no parking sign! lol

[Matt]

What volvo? :s

[RollOn]

lmao at Andys Bin drumming. And in the same pic, Whoever was driving the volvo cant read the no parking sign! lol

i was thinking exactly the same thing. Andy's one talented bin drummer :p
And he's wearing THE HAT!!


EDIT: Thats a toyota babe unless you're meaning the big bus.

[All_torn_down16]

I'll repeat what I wrote in the Bushfire Appeal thread, it's awesome of them! I wonder what songs they played?

[Colezy]

The bus.


Damn, too short! :p And too slow. Several others posted while I typed that :p

[RollOn]

You have that problem alot Nicole :p

[Colezy]

Yeeaaah. Shuddup.

[Caity]

Awwwww that's awesome - these boys are so good!

[white_noise]

The bus.


Damn, too short! :p And too slow. Several others posted while I typed that :p

I get told im to short and to quick

[RollOn]

Please, not on the forum.

[Erin]

Shit! so he WASN'T pulling my leg!!

makes me proud to be a fan :')

[Lainey]

Good on the boys! It was good enough of them to donate their time and $10,000 for the cause but to do this is above and beyond the call of duty.
Well done boyos! :D

[Kacky]

What sweeties! :wub:

[Aaron]

Also mentioned on Triple J's music news (http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/musicnews/s2492812.htm):



The Living End visit bush fire affected regions

The Living End went out to Yea, Alexandra and Kinglake yesterday - three areas in country Victoria severely affected by bush fires. jmag went along to the low-key, semi-acoustic performances, but no other journalists were alerted and it was a publicity-free trip.

In fact, the trip was put together so quickly that people at the first two towns had no idea the band were coming. jmag and workers from The Push - a youth entertainment organisation funded by the Victorian Government - did a sweep of the main street in Yea to let people know the band were about to play, and pretty soon the football oval, which has been transformed into a temporary camp and relief centre for displaced locals, was filling up with local kids. The band set up on the grass and stormed through a set they'd never ordinarily play, including covers of Looking Out My Back Door by Creedence Clearwater Revival and old triple j fave Tainted Love.

Next stop was Alexandra, a more isolated site where locals were set up in tents in a field. The band played an even more impromptu set - with Andy Strachan drumming on a wheelie bin with a water bottle as a drumstick - and gave out merch to those who were short on clothes.
Before too long the entire field - grannies and all - were sporting Living End shirts and getting them signed.

Final stop was Kinglake, where a big crowd had gathered. Kevin Rudd was also doing the rounds, although - disappointingly - didn't come over to scream along to Prisoner Of Society like everybody else. Peppered among the crowd of all ages were fireys, soldiers, and many people bandaged, in wheelchairs or covered in abrasions. Kids hung off a half-pipe and teenage girls broke into impromptu barn dancing, creating a fleeting party atmosphere in a site that was surrounded by blackened, flattened properties.

The band had been nervous about how they'd be received, as the towns have been descended on by rubberneckers and news crews, but the reception was warm and positive - in fact, more Living End hugs were dispensed to the camera-wielding public than ever before, if that's possible.

The full story and photos will be in the April issue of jmag.

http://www.triplej.net.au/artists/living_end/living_end_fires/340.jpg

above: The Living End (photo by Melinda Krause)

16/02/2009 4:48:07 PM

[deano1337]

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y255/matt_man01/Fire1.jpg



looks like their playing on mash :P

[Deadcat Kaye]

Dang those boys are nice, and the push and management...
'specially for gettin it organised so quickly and stuff.

makes me proud to say i'm a fan of em..:wub:

[wizard_23]

This is brilliant! really brilliant! Absolute legends!

[NowhereTown]

the boys are bloody legends!

good on em for getting out there and helping them out, not only with thier cash donation, but performances and what not.

brillient stuff

[Absolution]

*adds to the praise*

Good on ya lads! Fantastic to see them up in the affected areas and doing all they can to help out. :)

[Kacky]

Makes me wish I was even closer to Australia so I can do better with helping out, because around here it's hard for other people to relate and it's difficult to do any fundraising. Kind of upsets me because I wanted to raise a ton of money for the cause. Australia is my second home and to see something like this happen devastates me. :(

[Colezy]

Just donate what you have raised so far Chels. Even if it's $10, it'll still make a difference.

[WakeUpToTheManipulation]

see not only did they donate 10 grand, but they played for them, no fucking ego, no nothing.
not only are they a great fucking band but they are great fucking people..

[Lainey]

well said adam!
nice sig as well btw! ahhh fond memories of that day :)

[WakeUpToTheManipulation]

thanks. nice sig to you too.
but i mean it, this is a band with no ego, and they have even more of my respect, what os above "God" status?
good on them

[Lainey]

Too true.
I thought the world of them donating $10,000 and their time to play white noise on the telethon but this is completely above and beyond the call of duty
Well done lads :)

[Kacky]

Just donate what you have raised so far Chels. Even if it's $10, it'll still make a difference.

I know, but $10.00 to me is very little. I'm aiming for a little more. Mom told me not to waste my time doing a fundraiser at school because I have to leave during the lunch hour now for work experience (the time I was planning to do it) and that we'll donate $100.00+.

[Aaron]

I donated through my girlfriend's workplace, because they pledged to match employee donations 1:1.

[Colezy]

My work have done that too, plus also donated another 20,000 of their own :)

[Craigels]

my school raised $1730.

[Erin]

when we were on camp us year 12s raised 500 dollars(ish) with a feverishly constructed chocolate drive. The rest of our school raised $6000

[Ben reed]

yeah, i think our school's raised about 5 grand just from donations and a free dress day

[carrymehomestead]

Obviously I've been hearing about this (the fires), but being that I'm in America it's been in a random, undetailed, offhand manner. Can anybody give me a nutshell-laments term-version of this whole "Australia Being Dissolved In A Ball Of Flames" thing?? Is this happening to the major cities (you guys are divided into..provinces, right?? like eh....Queensland...Victoria...*scratches head*) Sydney, Melbourne, etc., or is this more of a rural/countryside type of problem....forgive me, I'm retarded about this but willing to learn.

And yes, I realize I could browse around the internet for news articles, but I'd rather just hear about it firsthand from actual Australian people.

[Deadcat Kaye]

the real basic rundown....
The temperature hit 47 degrees with winds blowing at 90kph (which is about 116 farenheit and 55 mph)

So that sparked a fuckload of fires all over victoria, all in bushland but just an hour from the city.
It's all happening in Victoria...The worst of the bushfires is happening on the east side/north east side of Melbourne.
So far the toll is 200 lives lost in the hardest hit regions, which is Kinglake and Marysville, east of Melbourne.
The reason it's so high is the wind changed from a northerly to a southerly wind making the fire front from 1km long to 20km long and made the fire move ridiculously fast and literally(through the night), no one had time to get out, you get the decision "stay and fight or flee" most of those who stayed and fought died. BUt even people trying to escape were killed by their cars blowing up, trees falling.

As well as 21 lives being lost in a deliberately lit fire which is more south.
Anyone else have input, share..I don't think that's everything

[Aaron]

A lot of these town were quite small, and so the damage to them is a huge fraction of what they once were. I think I've heard that Marysville was pretty much entirely flattened, and 1 out of every 5 people there died.

Although bushfires spring up every season in Australia, it's pretty rare for them to take lives. They burn out huge areas fairly normally, but Australia is big and empty so that's not usually so bad for the human population. Every now and then a whole bunch of houses and property are lost (even in our capital city Canberra's suburbs a few years back), but having 10 deaths in a fire season is regarded as pretty serious. 200 is insane, and because so many people around the country have experienced 'close calls' before it really hits home hard.

[Deadcat Kaye]

Not only that, it is RIDICULOUSLY dry, since January 1st, we've had about 2.2ml of rain. Not only was it the heatwave, but it stayed 30+ every day until "Black Saturday"
So basically it's just like pouring fuel onto the whole area....ANYTHING will start a massive fire on this scale.

[Kacky]

A lot of fires occur naturally, and some bush areas need it for reproduction. I know that provincial park officials here deliberately light fires in certain areas of the park (also known as a 'prescribed burn') for certain tree species (mostly ones with pine cones, they need heat to open up) as well as control over a specific. Most of the time they're kept under control, but once in a while they do get out of hand, which takes out a whole section of the park.

As for lighting a fire without some natural cause, that's probably one of the stupidest things someone can do, especially if it kills aprox 2 dozen people.

[Big J.G]

I can just imagine all the things they could do when they catch those mungruel arsonists.

Set fire to their bed while they're sleeping. Make sure they get burnt to the point they are almost dead. But not completely dead because we want them to just suffer.

[Burner]

A lot of fires occur naturally, and some bush areas need it for reproduction. I know that provincial park officials here deliberately light fires in certain areas of the park (also known as a 'prescribed burn')



Similar to a large amount of bushland in Australia where fires are actually part of the habitat's natural cycle. Its called Backburning here though, which, as far as i know, doesn't happen anymore, At least in populated areas, which leads to fallen trees, dry bark, leaves, etc lying around and building up. All the dry creeks don't help either, where there are more trees and no water to wash it down. If backburning was practiced more then the chances of something, it seems its been dubbed "black Saturday", has a minimal chance of actually happening. People haven't learnt to stop fucking with nature's cycle.



*excuse my excessive use of the comma pls.

[drifta_21]

That's the thing, we NEED to have backburning increased, but still remain at a safe level. The Aboriginies were known for creating fires every couple of years to restart growth, and after settlement it's been stopped. We still need to have conservation, but at the same time we need to continue the same processes which have happened over the last thousands of years.

[carrymehomestead]

Wow, thanks for the breakdown guys. I'm sure that's a lot more of a direct and explicit answer than I would have got sifting through any news source.

That sounds way more horrific than what I had imagined from the little information I had. It's crazy how self-centered most of the world (especially us Americans) can be....a tragedy like this gets a quick mention, while baseball player steroid use and Brangelina are taking up the first 20 pages of the paper. Ever since I fell head over heels for TLE, I slowly became infatuated with their country of origin as well, so I've always felt a strange sort of spiritual connection with you Aussies; I still dream of someday emigrating there...I hope this will end quickly, and without much more damage being done.

And, wait a minute....some of the damage was caused by purposeful human tampering?? During a time like this??

Fuckin' A. I can't even imagine that. Ever wonder how some people can be even be part of the same species as you??

[Deadcat Kaye]

That's the thing, we NEED to have backburning increased, but still remain at a safe level. The Aboriginies were known for creating fires every couple of years to restart growth, and after settlement it's been stopped. We still need to have conservation, but at the same time we need to continue the same processes which have happened over the last thousands of years.

But that's just it, the area where these fires hit so hard....no backburning was done...There was ZERO backburning before bushfire season hit.
This is in my area, dunno 'bout western suburbs.

I just reckon there coulda been alot of land saved if there was some controlled backburning goin' on.

[Sarah]

I know down here whenever there is backburning the public get really grumpy about it. They don't like the smoke - dickheads.

[May]

Reckon they'd take a little smoke over complete devastation?
Like you said, dickheads. :angry: