More Than A Whelan

Cookie Baker

Cookie Baker is an incredible singer-songwriter and I am bloody thrilled to have Cookie as my special guest this week. Welcome to Episode 25, we are still alive! Happy quarter century to us. Cookie Baker has shared stages with many esteemed Australian artists, including Augie March, Kate Miller-Heidke, Ben Lee, Angie Hart (Frente!, a previous guest on this show, check out her episode here), Mick Thomas (Weddings, Parties, Anything), Little Birdy, and The Audreys. Her album will be released in 2019 following the release of three singles, Little Engine (which has an amazing video!), The Summer (with Tim Rogers) and Don't Start A Fight.Cookie begins by telling me about her upbringing in rural South Australia, performing concerts to her family on the front veranda through her Young Talent Team microphone. Fast forward to 2019 and now Cookie helps to run an artist's residency with her family on a neighbouring property called the Ballara Art & Lifestyle Retreat - Artist Residency Program.Once a year for the past 5 years Cookie travels to California to mentor with the Bay Area Girls Rock Camp, which reminded me of Melbourne's own Rock and Roll High School which began in 1995 right here on Easey Street, Collingwood! The very same street where More Than A Whelan is recorded every week at Castaway Studios! Rock and High School was visited by many alt rock luminaries including L7, Bikini Kill, Babes in Toyland, Sonic Youth and The Breeders. You can read about its amazing history and achievements here.I also ask Cookie about If You See Her, Say Hello, a Melbourne based all women choir collective founded in 2015 by Cookie. I've been lucky enough to see several performances by this collective, all of them stunning. Including this 2016 show as part of the Brunswick Music Festival, where you can see Cookie fronting the choir herself. At the same show Gretta Ray performed her original song Blank White Canvas with the choir. Gretta has gone on to huge things since then, recently performing on stage at Rod Laver.Cookie Baker's upcoming full length album has been slow cooking over the last ten years. A digital only release is slated for mid year with a limited edition vinyl lp coming out in late 2019. To keep up with all things Cookie Baker keep an eye on her website and follow her on Instagram.I ask Cookie about her thoughts on the #metoo movement's impact on the Australian music industry, in light of recent news of Ryan Adams bad behaviour.*CLARIFICATION: I say that up until now the #metoo movement 'hadn't involved musicians much'. What I actually meant to say was 'high profile, internationally known musicians.' It has in fact already involved many local and international musicians. And rightly so.WHELAN & STEALIN'I read a poem mysteriously sent to my address with a beautiful leaf in the envelope, by sender unknown! But I believe was written according to the prompt The Journey of a Leaf by Ag. If you would like to see a picture of this poem and a very beautiful leaf head to the More Than A Whelan Facebook or Instagram pages. And please like or follow us or rate and review us while you do!I also read work from an upcoming guest on More Than A Whelan, Ruth McIver. I read an excerpt from her book The Sunset Club. Really looking forward to having Ruth on the show!Cookie Baker weighs in also for Whelan and Stealin' with a stunning cover of Glory Box by Portishead.This week I respond to the prompt 'Detroit' by Shane Jesse Christmass by writing a poem about... Detroit. Thanks Shane! You are our official More Than A Whelan Muse of the Week! You'll be getting some sweet MTAW merch coming your way care of our good friends at Luxe Country.And that's a wrap for Episode 25! Please visit our Luxe Country store for exclusive More Than A Whelan merchandise. Thanks to their generosity proceeds from their sales go back into keeping us alive. Please also consider liking, following and rating us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.Whelan, out.

Madison Griffiths

Madison Griffiths is an artist, poet, activist and podcaster. She was co-host of the podcast No Chill. And is writer, producer and presenter for her newest podcast Tender, the story of what happens when a woman leaves an abusive relationship.I'm so thrilled to welcome Madison Griffiths into the Castaway Studios for our first studio episode of 2019. Our previous ALL DOG themed episode was held at the wonderful Merri Creek Tavern. Our next live show will be held on Wednesday May 1st, 2019 at Merri Creek Tavern. Put it in your diary. Madison tells me her origin story as writer which all began when Vice published an article of hers in 2016 called An Open Letter to My Vagina: Sex, Pain, and Vaginismus In 2017 Madison and Lucinda Price had a live online conversation called No Chill as part of the Digital Writers Festival. This went on to become a six part podcast series presented by Pedestrian TV. On the three year anniversary of leaving an abusive relationship Madison had a powerful dream that motivated her to start her own deeply personal and powerful podcast called Tender. Madison then tells me about her experience performing on a poetry open mic for the first time. And we discuss how vibrant the spoken word scene is in Melbourne. The best resource in Melbourne for things spoken word is Melbourne Spoken Word. Go there to discover upcoming events, workshops, competitions, publishing opportunities, mentorships, EVERYTHING relating to spoken word. There were many amazing creative prompts posted on both our Facebook and Instagram pages this week. Thank you so much. Keep them coming in. At the moment, every week on the show we will give away a More Than A Whelan koozie (stubby holder) to my favourite creative prompt of the week. Madison reads an original poem of hers called A Meadow in response to the prompt : Hair. Its power, its stigma, how it changes us in the eyes of others AND ourselves. This was supplied by Matt H Kennedy. Thank you Matt. You are More Than A Whelan Muse of the Week!I chose two prompts to inspire a new poem.The prompts were...Breakdown in communication by Johnny Moretti. The risks and joys of sleeping naked by Annie Molenaar. AKA Celebrant Lady Love. and Unholy MatrimonyFlip It and Reverse It.I nearly always sleep naked.I say nearly because sometimes I will fall asleep in my undies or t-shirt or both.But every time I awake, I am liberated from my clothing.Sometime during the night I have removed them in my sleep and I never have any memory of it whatsoever.I imagine myself wriggling from the cocoon of my clothing bit by bit during the night and sometimes I forget about exactly where that clothing goes and I'll think where the hell have all my undies gone?Until it's time to change the sheets and there they are wedged at the end of the bed, sometimes two or three pairs Curled and cuddled up like sleeping cats.When alone in a house, as I often up when house sitting, I will often rise naked, and walk bleary eyes into the kitchen to turn the kettle on, maybe whack a muffin or two into the toaster.Sometimes I'll even drop a banging hiphop playlist on to put a little boost into butt and a little sass into my strut as I start grooving around the kitchen.One such morning at a house sit in Carlton I was doing exactly this when I suddenly thought I heard a sound above the banging bass thumps of Missy Elliott.When I looked up , there was the cleaning lady lugging a vacuum cleaner down the hallway. She had her head down and hadn't noticed me yet.I panicked I was in open ground there wasn't enough time to flee.I seized the closest object I could find to protect my modesty.So when the cleaning lady finally looked up, there I was holding a frying pan in front of my groin.The owner told me the cleaning lady wasn't coming until the next day, the cleaning lady was told something else.A breakdown in communication of mortifying consequences.She dropped the vacuum and returned from whence she came.I fled to my room and shut the door.Missy Elliott kept booming throughout the house, singing "Is it worth it? Let me work it I put my thing down, flip it and reverse it"Our Golden Muse of the Week this week is Annie. Congrats Annie! You'll be receiving a piece of More Than A Whelan merch supplied by our generous supporter Luxe Country.Visit our online store here!Whelan and Stealin'For the segment where my guests and I choose a piece of work to cover, Meredith reads a poem by Olivia Gatwood called Alternate Universe in Which I Am Unfazed by the Men Who Do Not Love Me.I read a poem by Salena Godden called It Isn't Punk to Ask Permission.WORLD OF WHELAN As DJ Hot Wheels I'll be MCing and DJing the Palais-Hepburn official launch on Friday Feb 22. 7pm until late. FREE ENTRY.Meredith's wonderful podcast Tender is a finalist in the Frankie Good Stuff Awards. You can vote for her right here!Thank you to our generous supporters Castaway Studio and Luxe Country.Thank you for listening.More Than A Whelan does not exist without you. I am super thankful.Whelan, out.

Live At The Merri Creek Tavern - Now I Wanna Meet Your Dog

To launch Season 2 of More Than A Whelan the show was recorded before a live audience, for the very first time, at the Merri Creek Tavern in Westgarth. All DOG themed.
Last year musician Ben Mastwyk was our guest on the last episode of Season One. I interviewed him in his Collingwood living room and he spoke of his beloved golden retriever Bea as being his co-writer. As Bea would guide him on their walks together to places and thoughts that would inspire the writing of his songs.
Very sadly Bea passed away early this year after a long beautiful life, loved and admired by many, especially her guardians Ben Mastwyk and Rhiannon Hardingham.
It was Ben Mastwyk who approached me with the concept of presenting the first episode of More Than A Whelan in 2019 as a live show and to dedicate the entire show to DOGS.
And I am SO happy he did. And thus More Than A Whelan presents Now I Wanna Meet Your Dog was born!
This was truly one of the greatest experiences in my life. Something magical happened in that luscious performance space at the Merri Creek Tavern on Wednesday 6th February. So much show that we plan to make live shows a regular occurrence now. Keep watching this space for details.
A raffle was held on the night with very generous support from our very first official sponsor the wonderful Luxe Country! We decided to donate all the proceeds from the night to a wonderful group called Team Golden Oldies who adopt old unwanted dogs and give them all the love they deserve in their twilight years. Please visit them online as they sell wonderful items that help them to pay for the cost of keeping these dogs. Their vet bills alone were over $12500! Through the raffle on the night we managed to raise $200 for them.
We are very excited and grateful for the support of Luxe Country, our very first official sponsor. You can visit our online store right here! For the moment you can look pretty damn cool in a More Than A Whelan or Now I Wanna Meet Your Dog cap, more stock including t-shirts will be added soon! And thanks to the generosity of Luxe Country all proceeds from the sales will go directly to More Than A Whelan. So your purchases will help to keep us producing this show. Visit the store now!
I began the show by reading a poem by Ted Koozer called 'The Death of a Dog'.
I then welcomed our first guest of the show, Jadan Carroll, author of Definitely the Best Dogs Of All Time, illustrated by Molly Dyson.
We focused on just a few of many of the different famous dogs from throughout the history of the world, including the fascinating story of a poodle called Masterpiece, covered in more detail in an episode from a wonderful true crime podcast called Criminal.
We also spoke about the story of Hachikō, a dog who spent nine years waiting at Shibuya station in Japan waiting for his master who had died.
And lastly we touched on the hilarious dog Riley who is famous for becoming a meme.
The wonderful Amarillo were our next guests, who began by performing an exceptionally wonderful song called Lemonade from their album Eyes Still Fixed.
Kelly Day (Broads) joined us next for a performance of a song called What Kind of Beast Is This from Broads self titled EP. We are very excited for the impending release of their new album and will have both members of Broads as guests on the podcast in the not too distant future.
Following Kel's wonderful performance I read an incredible poem by a poet recently departed from this world, Mary Oliver. The poem is called Her Grave. There is in fact a collection of all her poems on dogs called Dog Songs.
Justin Bernasconi is one of Australia's finest guitarists. He first performed a song called Puppy Blues from his album Barefoot Wonderland. I was then extremely honoured to have him accompany me, completely unrehearsed, for a poem I wrote especially for the evening called Dogs Know the Secrets of the World.
DOGS KNOW THE SECRET OF THE WORLD
In the past the present and future,
I am a dog.
Because why would you be anything else?
Dogs know the secrets the world
and they try to deliver them to us all the time.
We take the secret of the world and we gaze upon it trying to decipher its code but a mangy old tennis ball covered in slobbery spit is a difficult code difficult to decipher.
But we do not judge
We hold the very secret of the world aloft and fling it back into the world.
And then the secret is delivered back to us by the most loyal of creatures.
And that's why to quote, what I believe is the greatest song ever written by Australian band The Fauves,
Dogs Are The Best People.
They make us involuntarily smile.
They make us voluntarily smile.
They are they always there at the opening of the door.
they return us to the state of a child.
In the past, in the present and the future.
In my most secret of secret worlds.
I am always a dog because why would you want to be anything else.
Following Justin Bernasconi I welcomed to the stage poet superstar Emilie Zoey Baker. EZB had the entire room in stitches with a poem she wrote exclusively for this event called 14 Reasons Why Dogs Are Cooler Than People.
A clip of this performance is available to watch on the More Than A Whelan Facebook page.
Previous guest on More Than a Whelan (Episode 22) was our next performer on the night and delivered an incredibly touching and beautiful tribute to the dear departed Bea, as Golden Firelight was the last song they wrote together by the Yarra River.
The incredible Van Walker, accompanied by Mitch Dylan closed the night with two original songs on dogs. The first called Happy Dogs was only just released earlier this year through Green South Records. The second was a song called Timbuktu.
I want to profoundly thank all of the performers and audience members, including our two special guests golden retrievers who came along, Stan and Lulu for making this such a night to remember.
The inaugural More Than A Whelan show is just the beginning. The next live show will be on Wed May 1st at Merri Creek Tavern. Put it in your diary now!
Whelan, out.

Ben Mastwyk

Ben Mastwyk is the Liberace of the Australian indie-country scene. He brings the flash and the style but backs it up too with brilliant songwriting and psych tinged arrangements. Sean has a chat to Ben over his dining table about power animals and the inspirational power of flâneuring, among other things. Ben's latest album, Winning Streak, was nominated for Best Country Album in the 2018 Age Music Victoria Awards.Sean begins the show by reading his poem, Suicide Is Never Funny Unless You Dead.Suicide is Never Funny Unless You're Dead.I wrote this. I wrote this in chalk on the pavement outside the church at the end of my street.I started at the front door of the church and I worked my around the block.I didn't know how much chalk I would need so I took a whole bucket with me.I'm not stupid.This is the first lie I have told in this poem.I'm writing this. I'm in present tense now.I'm intensely present now.My script is cursive and considerate across the sidewalk down Rucker's Hill towards Merri Creek. I'm writing a letter asking the author to respond.There is so much to be explained.My flow is slow but steady.The air is cold and as sharp as a box.I like this weather. It reminds me of red lampshades, warm kitchens and the comfort in being sad.I'm writing all this from the front door of the church at the end of my street and I'll go as long as I have to.I have many questions but I have never enjoyed the closing credits of answers.While writing this letter on the footpath I pass many mailboxes.At each mailbox I pause to feel if the heat of a love letter is burning inside.I hold out my hands at a safe distance and feel... nothing.Nobody writes love letters anymore.I remember a letter I wrote once to which I have received no response.A high school crush.Her name was blank blank.It was the last day of high school and it was a now or never situation.I cut my heart out and squeezed it all over the page like a red lemon. Email would have been easier but we didn't have it in those days.I gave the letter to a friend and asked him to place it in her hand because I knew if I attempted such a thing, I would surely catch fire.She has never responded.But I remain hopeful.When Nick Cave sings 'Bukowski was a jerk! Berryman was best!' he's referring to the two American poets, Charles Bukowski and John Berryman.In 1972 Berryman jumped off a Minneapolis bridge to look at life from a completely different angle.He missed the water, landed in the mud and died from slow suffocation. Take note from this and always check your flight path in advance. The mud sucked the life out of him through underground tunnels and drew it all back into the core of the earth.Suicide is never funny unless you're dead.And then the core of the earth is a wonderful place to laugh, sit on a box and warm your hands in front of the eternal pile of burning love letters.I'm writing all this on the pavement from the front door of the church around my block and now it's taken me to the Westgarth Bridge under which I stand.I've written several more lies in this poem now but they're all wearing tuxedos and have the best intentions.I come across Berryman and Bukowski, two serial liars like me, standing under the bridge.I think they live there. I think they're friends now. I think maybe they haven't been accepted at the campfire circle surrounding the burning love letters in the core of the earth. And that's why they're hanging out in my neighbourhood.I call upon the authors to explain.Bukowski just waltzes over and simply pisses on my chalk written letter on the pavement. This somewhat dilutes the intensity of my presence.Berryman looks at me and says "I feel like getting confessional. I'm scared, but I'm willing. I'm sure this is a preposterous attitude, but I'm not ashamed of it."By the time I finish writing his quote I'm a block away from them.I look up, I've gone full circle. I'm outside my door.I stand beside my letterbox.I'm intensely present.I hold out my hands, in search of the heat.There's something coming off the letterbox, like a tiny slow burning star.I reach for the envelope and I'm dizzy with the possibilities of it all.Is it her?Sean and Ben chat about the benefits of staying busy to stop yourself from going crazy. They talk about Ben's process of songwriting and his constant muse, a beautiful golden retriever called Bea. See the More Than A Whelan Instagram or the More Than A Whelan Facebook page to see a photo of Ben's four legged co-writer.Ben performs a piece of micro fiction inspired by the creative prompt 'Pomade' by Kim Jeffs.And then inspired by the creative prompt 'Silent Songs' by Ian Gostelow, Ben performs an original song especially written for More Than A Whelan.Finally Ben Mastwyk honours MTAW with one more original composition! Inspired by the prompt Love Spy, supplied by a previous guest on MTAW, Malcolm Hill.Thank you so much to our Muses of the Week and their creative prompts for Episode 22, Kim Jeffs (Pomade), Ian Gostelow (Silent Songs) and Malcolm Hill ( Love Spy).Finally Sean closes the show with a poem inspired by the prompt Confession Booth for Dogs by regular prompt contributor George Dunford. Thank you George for being our final Muse of The Week for Season 1!Confession Booth For Dogs (inspired by MTAW Muse of the Week George Dunford)They line up around the block.To get it off their shoulders.That heavy heavy burden.The crimes are plenty.From dry humping the neighbours cat into a state of trauma, to rolling around in shit in the backyard and then spreading out and sleeping on the good couch, to digging that hole in the back fence to freedom and then once having escaped realising that at home you get fed every day so you come back in a few hours while everybody has been trawling the neighbourhood for you and you're like 'what's up guys, you miss me?'At the Confession Booth For Dogs they enter one by one and address the shadowy figure behind the screen.Every breed, every size.I'm no scientist but to the best of my knowledge dogs are the only animals that exhibit shame.Think about that moment.When you come home to find that Charlie the cocker spaniel has managed to tip the bin over and spread its entire contents throughout the whole house.You turn to him to say 'what the fuck Charlie?'But he already knows he's in trouble.His chin is touching the floor.And his little chocolate eyes are rolled up to you.And his whole face reeks of shame and he pleads you to forgive him.It will never happen again, his face says to you.And who can stay mad at that face.When I was a kid we had a dog called Max.He hated wheels. Not me. He loved me. He hated actual wheels.He especially hated the wheels on the lawnmower,but even more problematic was that he hated the wheels on cars and when he escaped, which was often, he would chase cars and try to nip at their tyres.One of his sins that a typical dog might go to confession for was that he would dig up the garden all the time which drove my parents crazy.So when I got home from school one night and I entered the back gate and Max's face was dripping with shame I knew he had done something wrong and I assumed he had gotten into the garden again, so I walked around trying to find where, he meekly followed me, head as low as it can get.But I couldn't find any evidence of garden destruction.We had stopped by the Hills Hoist clothes line.And I turned to Max and I said 'what did you do?'And it was only then I noticed that all this time his mouth had been firmly closed.He looked up at me, slowly opened his mouth and suddenly a bird flew out of his mouth.And even though it was covered with dog spit. It somehow managed to still take flight and disappeared over the fence. Stunned I looked back to Max. He looked back at me.And I heard his inner thoughts saying 'I finally caught a bird with my mouth, but once it was in there, I just didn't know what to do with it."

NEL MAMA BOHO

The super talented, proud and passionate Nel Mama Boho joins us in the studio for Episode 21. Nel's impressive resume includes producer, writer, journalist, host, actor, poet and comedian! Her presence is pure fire.Sean starts off the show with a poem called 100 Cows, which was originally published in Going Down Swinging. Issue No. 24.Sean welcomes the incredible Nel Mama Boho into the studio. They almost immediately get into a suburb dust off as they discover they grew up in rival towns Frankston (Nel) and Mornington (Sean), or 'Frankston South' as Nel refers it as. LOL.Sean first experienced Nel's work as they were on the same bill for the R.A.P. Party event at Howler only two weeks earlier, programmed by Candy Bowers and originally founded out of England by Inua Ellams. You can watch Nel's performance right here.Nel also discusses her 2018 show Frankghanistan, see a promo clip for the show right here.Sean And Nel also discuss her development as a writer or 'diarist' as she likes to term it.And the origins of her powerful poem Run Bitch Run which Nel performs live in the Castaway Studios.Through running marathons Nel has so far raised over $21,000 for the Cathy Freeman Foundation. and through the foundation had the opportunity of meeting Cathy Freeman and watching the clip of Run Bitch Run with her personally.Nel mentions the amazing work of Life Apparel, showcasing indigenous art through all kinds of clothing and giftware and we want to give them a shoutout here too.WHELAN AND STEALIN' The segment where Sean and his guests read the works of other writers.Sean reads a poem called Sky Dancer by Emilie Zoey Baker. Nel Mama Boho reads a poem called Candy Royalle, Nel's mentoress for a year. REST IN POWER.MUSE OF THE WEEK POEMSSean reads a poem called The Room of Lost Colours. This poem was inspired by three creative prompts by MTAW listeners. Thank you to our Muses of the Week.George Dunford - 'The hole under your house where discarded memories are gathering.'Alice White - 'Salamanders'.Rebecca Vespertine - 'The Room of Lost Colours'Nel Mama Boho bravely freestyles her poem right there in the studio inspired by the listener prompt 'Irving Mosquito'. Sean apologises profusely right here for forgetting to mention him by name while recording, but THANK YOU CRAIG KAMBER! You are a MTAW Muse of the Week! 4. Craig Kamber - Irving MosquitoWORLD OF WHELANLook out for Nel's upcoming show for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival called Invincible Prince Versus Michael at Circus Oz, directed by Candy Bowers.Sean is hosting a tribute to Nirvana's Unplugged Album at the Workers Club on Sunday 16th December. Sean will also read a poem at this event detailing his real life encounter with Nirvana at Kings Cross train station in Sydney in 1992. Tickets and details available right here.

Oneslashsixth AKA Aaron Stephanus

So thrilled to chat to 1/6 in the studio for Episode 20, not only about his fantastic work as a rapper but also about the breakdown of his marriage, which I, as a marriage celebrant, conducted only 18 months ago.Sean begins the show by performing a poem, written using the Kanye West track 'Monster' as a creative prompt. Which was written exclusively for the R.A.P. Party gig. held at Howler Bar. These gigs are held all over the world but this was the Melbourne debut.Sean welcomes 1/6 to the show. They begin by talking about his work with Public Opinion Afro Orchestra and their brand new album Naming & Blaming. Available now! The Flea by John Donne was an early inspiration for 1/6 and first sparked his passion for writing when he was in High School.The FleaBY JOHN DONNEMark but this flea, and mark in this, How little that which thou deniest me is; It sucked me first, and now sucks thee, And in this flea our two bloods mingled be; Thou know'st that this cannot be said A sin, nor shame, nor loss of maidenhead, Yet this enjoys before it woo, And pampered swells with one blood made of two, And this, alas, is more than we would do. Oh stay, three lives in one flea spare, Where we almost, nay more than married are. This flea is you and I, and this Our marriage bed, and marriage temple is; Though parents grudge, and you, w'are met, And cloistered in these living walls of jet. Though use make you apt to kill me, Let not to that, self-murder added be, And sacrilege, three sins in killing three. Cruel and sudden, hast thou since Purpled thy nail, in blood of innocence? Wherein could this flea guilty be, Except in that drop which it sucked from thee? Yet thou triumph'st, and say'st that thou Find'st not thy self, nor me the weaker now; 'Tis true; then learn how false, fears be: Just so much honor, when thou yield'st to me, Will waste, as this flea's death took life from thee.Sean and Aaron eventually go deeper and discuss his wedding last year, for which Sean was the marriage celebrant and has since dissolved. They discuss the fragility of relationships but also the notion that a relationship should not be defined by the way it ends.RACING THE WATER LINE.Sometimes I'm a truck driver for your love.I'm a road train pushing air through the Nullarbor.You on the other side of the desert, waiting by the half empty pool in the gloriously shitty motel on the desert's edge.I think of the last photo you sent me.A piece of foolscap with three words written on it.SANTANASATANSANTAAnd then you messaged me saying "I think about them all walking into a bar. There's a joke in there somewhere, surely. I just don't know what it is. I'm trying to read between the lines but all I see is red jazz fusion. And there's nothing funny about jazz fusion. Maybe the joke is that they exist at all." You said. And that's why I'm a truck driver for your love.There are spies in the sky that know nothing of love.Because love can only be observed from the ground.Vertical distance is the great distorter.Everything is perfect from above.In the cabin of the truck I listen to pitch shifted Nirvana. Why? Because it's fucking terrible when Nirvana meets Hanson and I'm feeling too good right now and I need my internal scales balanced. There's a lot of time to think on the road.Your enchanted platinum blonde hair that is literally made of magic. It vibrates and purrs like a tiger when it lands on your shoulder as you flick your head back at the peak of the orgasm.Out on the road I fly past a cemetery. Even at my speed I see and hear the four old school friends lowering the fifth member of their old gang into the ground and I hear the song they sing in unison. 'Summertime Sadness."Which is not the song you expect four old Aussie blokes to sing as they lower their old chum into freshly churned soil and that's why life is the greatest show in town.'Kiss me hard before you go. Summertime Sadness. I just wanted you to know. that Baby, you're the best.'And I flip to that one moment when I almost had everything.When I had the opportunity to turn the words that churned inside.And I didn't.Because when I get closest to the prize, I downsize, in fear of falling.And now I'm a truck driver for your love, hauling precious cargo, crates full of my neuroses.You're waiting by the ever diminishing pool, the water slowly evaporating under the brutal desert sun.But I know that if i can get there before the last of the pool water has gone, then everything will be okay.Thank you so much to my muses of the week! Their creative prompts are listed below.Satan - Shane Jess Christmas.Santana - Matthew Sigley.Santa - Jessica Grant.Driving Trucks Would be A Shitty Job - Gram Morris.I'm currently trying to read between the lines of the technical documentation... - Martin Bush.Spies of love - Malcom Hill.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUD-TrPW-V4 discuss the relivance of pitch shifting old songs in a means to eradicate the awful cover band by showing the irrelevance of intentionally confronting music. - Max Everett.Enchanted hairdos - Jenny O'Keefe.The song four old school friends would sing when your coffin is lowered into the ground. - George Dunford.What would you have said, if you felt like you could have said it? That one time, when it almost happened and you almost had all the things your strange and good soul wanted? - Kirsti Whalen-StickleyWhelan & Stealin'For this segment Sean does something a little different to the usual and reads a listener email by Penny Waller Ulmer written in response to the radio play written by Mileta Rien for last week's episode of MTAW.

Mileta Rien

Episode 19 of More Than A Whelan breaks new ground as for the first time we have not one, but two short radio plays created exclusively for the podcast inspired by our listener creative prompts with special guest scriptwriter, poet, Mileta Rien.Sean begins the show reading the song lyrics to the only song he's ever written called Chewing Gum & Wine.Chewing and Wine.From your dress to the floorFrom the bottle to the doorYou never asked for muchExcept 'don't be poor'Which I wasAnd I am.You put donuts in the saladThen I told you I had had itBut by the end of a moderately priced ShirazWe were fucking like rabbits.Chewing gum and wineChewing gum and wineThat was our tale.Separately spectacularBut together doomed to failI went to a Steiner schoolYou thought that was really coolYou said that you home studiedAnd learnt Shakespeare in the poolWhich is also coolLike reallyChewing gum and wineChewing gum and wineThat was our tale.Separately spectacularBut together doomed to failYou liked wearing pleatherIn all kinds of weather.In the winter that was cleverBut the summer was not so kind.Chewing gum and wineChewing gum and wineIt just can't work together.But don't worry baby.You'll be fineYou'll be fine.You'll be finnnnnnnne.*A CHAT WITH SCREENWRITER MILETA RIENSean has a chat with Mileta about her path to becoming a writer and subsequently a screenwriter.Mileta and Sean read a radioplay called Green Sea Glass, written by Mileta based upon a creative prompt by Penny Waller Ulmer. The prompt being about a true story left by Penny about collecting sea glass on a beach with her father as a child and then many years later travelling on the same beach and seeing the same green sea glass on the beach. Thank you Penny!Sean, Mileta and MTAW producer and head honcho of Castaway Studios, Derek Myers are the cast for Sean's radio play inspired by three creative prompts by Penny Waller Ulmer.Those three prompts are...If your thoughts think you.A clogged wishing well.Red chinese wedding umbrellas.Thank you so much Penny for all the inspo! You are definitely our muse of the week!Mileta then tells MTAW all about her new web series 'Keep Me in Mind'. They also discuss the success of TV shows that started out life as web series such as http://thekateringshow.com/ and High Maintenance.WHELAN & STEALIN'Mileta reads a passage from the book 'Last Chance to See' by Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine.Sean reads some nihilist dad jokes from McSweeneys.WORLD OF WHELAN.And finally for the World of Whelan Sean talks instead about the world of Dan Lee, Castaway Studios stablemate and co-host of What Now. Dan's play Bottomless, is currently on at 45 Downstairs. GO SEE IT!

Madeline Leman

More Than A Whelan turns eighteen! To celebrate we have special guest Madeline Leman of Madeline Leman & the Desert Swells fame in the studio to talk about her songwriting practice. And we even share a shot of Icelandic Vodka to celebrate our eighteenth episode.Sean begins the show by reading a story of his called A Metaphor For Sex. Written using the song I Want Candy by Bow Wow Wow as a creative prompt. Published in a collection called Normal Service Will Resume by those wonderful sweethearts at Cardigan Press.To celebrate episode 18, Sean, Maddy and MTAW producer Derek Myers take a little shot of vodka. Salud!Sean and Maddy have a chat about her path to becoming a singer/songwriter and discuss recent single Diva With the Fever of Change and its incredible music video directed by Jessica Barclay Lawton. And then we're super lucky to have Maddy perform Diva... live in the studio spoken word style.Maddy then performs an original track written about the nature of creative people who may seem confident on the surface but may also have crippling insecurities just below the surface.Sean reads a poem inspired by two creative prompts supplied by MTAW listeners. Thank you for being our muses of the week!The creative prompts are....Crow standing on my face - Cameron SemmensLike trying to fuck under a drum tight top sheet - Rebecca VespertineMaddy reads a brand new poem called Mother of Pearl based on an encounter with a dead seal on a deserted beach.WHELAN & STEALIN'The segment where Sean and guests read works by other writers.Sean reads an excerpt from an essay by Melissa Broder called I Took The Internet Addiction Quiz and I Won. From her book So Sad Today.Maddy sings an utterly beautiful cover by John Prine , the song Speed of the Sound of Loneliness.

Manisha Anjali

Sean is delighted to welcome special guest poet/painter/performer Manisha Anjali into Castaway Studios. She is the author of Sugar Kane Woman, a collection of poems about the dreams and hallucinations of exiled Indo-Fijian women. Her works have been published in Seizure, Mascara Literary Review, Blackmail Press, IKA Journal and Lor Journal.Sean opens the show with a poem titled This Is How It Works. One of his many poems arising out of having his heart broken into a million pieces. LOL. (shoutout to Dyana Gray.)Sean and Manisha chat about Manisha's poetry and his first encounter hearing her perform at Girls on Key.Manisha performs a couple of poems including debuting one new piece that has never been read in public before.Sean reads a poem titled Are You a Good Poet especially inspired by More Than A Whelan listener supplied listener prompts.Thank you to our Muses of The Week!Mileta Rien - leggings as pants' and 'fortune cookieLuce - SpacemanMeg Mundell - Pigeon eating a fortune cookie!Penny Waller - TyperwriterGretta Olsen- Mantis ShrimpCameron Semmens - Sloth (sorry Cameron forgot to mention your name on the show!)Whelan and Stealin'Manisha reads a poem by poet Christina Conrad.Sean reads a poem by the late David McComb of the Triffids from the collection Beautiful Waste. The poem is called Nocturne vs The Girl With The Faulty Pleasure Instinct.

Natasha Johanna

Wonderful musician and songwriter Natasha Johanna joins Sean on Episode 16 to talk about her creative process and Sean talks a lot about death! Yay for death! Yay for Brisbane Goths. Sean begins the show with a piece that was especially written for Cafe Philosophique De La Mort, a series of events held in November at the Alex Theatre, specially curated to break through the taboo surrounding conversations around death and dying. A better relationship with dying leads to a better relationship with life.Sean talks to Natasha Johanna about her creative process, the making of her new ep and the release of her wonderful new summer jam single Belmont Park. You can also listen to Natasha's earlier work here.Sean reads a brand new poem inspired by listener supplied creative prompts. The muses of the week this week are....Nerissa Ronan - Powerful OwlsHeather Marsh - Body as a map. (Also the title of the poem!)Cameron Semmens - Entering history through.Sophie Moon - Ten paces at dawn.Stephanie Robinson - Vintage child.Jenny O'Keefe - Adrenaline Fizz.Heather Forbes McKeon - Knock knock knock.Whelan and Stealin'Natasha reads the work of Kate Tempest. She reads a poem called On Finding Photographs You Took Of Us. from the book Running Upon The Wires.Sean reads the work of Kim Addonizio. A poem called The Numbers from the collection Tell Me.World of Whelan (WOW)Sean closes the show by reading a poem that was specially written in response to a photographic work by Clare Rae.Recorded by Derek Myers at Castaway Studios, Collingwood, Australia. insta: @castaway_studios