I've added more MP3s to the music page. I've also put some videos from Blackstump 2006 on youtube. The videos have newer songs like 'Levi Loves Trains' and others. You can start with the first part of the stump 2006 performance at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBqktEyJISc

Jono and I got a great spot at the supper club at stump this year. In what was a first for The Amazing Joel Hockey Movement, likely a first for The Supper Club, and possibly a first for Blackstump, we did the show as an arena spectacular!

You can see that there were some audience members behind us as part of the arena spectacular performance. It was certainly not without challenges. I believe that I was getting a little feedback through the foldback at one point with my electric ukelele as I tried to turn around and ensure that all of the audience were involved. I've had very positive responses though and so in future I will be thinking about other new directions that we can take.
I want to say a hello to Elise (from Newcastle if I remember correctly) who didn't make it to stump. And also another hello to the girls from Epping Baptist.

Since it's been so long since I've recorded an album, I'm going to try and find some live versions of the new songs I've written like 'Levi Loves Trains' and put the MP3s up on this website. I'll also try and get some more MP3s from my 'Late Night Shopping' album because I've sold out of it now.

I'm playing at Brisbane City Church on Friday night for the young people. It's good to be back in Brisbane and I think it will be a lot of fun to play back at my old stomping ground. They tell me that they've got a Christian magician who will be there. Hopefully I'll be able to do my Christian hypnotist routine - it is quite surprising.

I'll be playing at AGMF 2007. I'm at the Vision Radio Metro on Sunday at 5pm. I've written a jingle for Home ice cream, and the word on the street is that they will be giving out 100 ice creams to share to randomly chosen artists who do a jingle.

So to get a head start, here are the lyrics:

On the same day, every fortnight
I can't believe my luck
I hear a 'ding, ding' and I look out the door,
It's the Home Ice Cream truck

Practice up, and let's see if we can't score some ice creams to share.

I always like it when Jono can join me for a gig. Perhaps I should have given more thought to our band motto before I told Jono that it's 'band comes last', because I can hardly be dissapointed when Jono can't make a gig because he has something else on.

After seeing both Rhubarb and Wishful perform their last ever shows on Friday night though, I can confirm that our lackidaisical approach to the band has contributed to our longevity. We certainly are 'here for a long time, not a good time'.

I hope you had a good time if you were at the Supper Club to see us play. I'm hoping that my wife and kids (Natalie, Levi, Matilda and Esther) will join me for the gig today and Levi might even join me to sing 'Levi Loves Trains' - I believe it is one of his favourite songs.

Sunday night was lots of fun thanks to everyone at Georges River Community Baptist Church. I was playing at their Gr@nite Cafe. Actually, it just occurred to me that 'gr@nite' is possibly a play on 'great night' while I was deliberating on whether to write 'granite' or 'gr@nite'. Am I a bit slow? Does everyone else already know this? Am I trying to read too much into it? I have to admit that I'm not a fan of words using numbers or symbols in words. It is probably mostly due to how much I disliked the band 5ive, which I liked to pronounce as 'five-ive'.

Getting back on topic, it was a very enjoyable night. Thanks especially to Rhian (and everyone else who helped whose names I don't know) for making some lovely chicken kebabs.

I really enjoyed Mike Frost's talk about the future of the church. He made a point about the god of this world being consumerism and how there is such a big expectation to worship this god (at the altar of Westfield I would add). I've been giving this some thought during the week. It's really easy to get caught up in a mentality of consuming. I remember hearing or reading recently how tithing and charitable giving is such a subversive act against the consumption establishment. This is definitely true. I really like the feeling of rebellion that comes with giving tithes and sponsoring kids overseas or giving to help the many worthwhile charities that are around. You're basically saying get stuffed Messrs Packer, Lowy, Moss, Norris, and others of their kind, and saying that you trust God to provide everything you need.

I had fun at AGMF. I tried out a new song that I wrote called "Grandma Taught Me How To Kill A Cockroach". The song is about my Grandma Hockey. She died 4 years ago - just after Easter, so I was very glad to finally finish this song that I've been thinking about for a long time. I think the song went pretty well. I'll definitely try it again at the next few gigs that I do.

I haven't been writing many songs in the last few years, so I'm always very happy when I do write one just for the fact that I've got another one done.

Hopefully they'll let me play at AGMF again next year so I'll see everyone there again then.

Yes, it is acronym city this easter when TAJHM play at AGMF. I'm not sure if you count either as true acronyms, so perhaps it is just initial-ville.

I'm playing at what I believe is called Compassion Base at 3pm on Sat and then later on Saturday night at 9pm. I think it is called the village stage.