Deadheads of Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands

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Are you the only All Blacks fan who wears a Dead shirt to every match? Are you having trouble finding people to trade with in Tonga? Find neighbors here!

GD related events and radio programs in OZ ?

seems to me that Japan got a very active and lively deadhead scene withregular events. as far as i know nothing like it exist in Australia but i hope that i'm wrong about it. a Byron Bay radio station had a night program 'A Long Strange Trip' simular to the Grateful Dead Hour;i don't know if it's still going - lost the link. if somebody here knows more about GD related events and radio programs in OZ,please drop a note

Thin on the ground?

When I was at WOMAD a few years ago I was wearing my Steal Your Base tie die and was accosted by a Deadhead. He informed me that there were five Deadheads in Adelaide. That can't be true. Can it? Happy Trails

Thin on the ground?

Hey mussell8, I am in touch with 2 Adelaide (well one is a bit out of town) Deadheads myself. And I get over there to visit my Mother a couple of times a year and help swell the numbers from time to time.

King of the New Zealand Deadheads

There's not many in New Zealand I can attest to that. At least not ones who actually made it to shows. I was born there and spent quite a few years there at different points in time. I'm the only actual tourhead from there that I've ever met and I've traveled throughout that land many a time mixing it up with the alternative folks of the various towns and scenes. There are a dozen or so that hit up a few shows though that I've run into here and there. There must be at least that many again that I didn't run into. I guess that makes me the King of the New Zealand Deadheads... ha, ha! ;) Are you kind?

Melbourne Deadheads

Just a quick note....I and my friend Dave have been trying to start a Deadhead Club in the Melbourne area, but have had little to no response. If anyone would like to catch up with us, we welcome them. Reply to this and we'll make contact.All the best The Estimated Prophet

Melbourne? Deadhead? Hey

Melbourne? Deadhead? Hey that's me. Been on the bus since, um, early '70s, saw the band only once (Winterland, June, '77) and then went off on a whole grunge>New Orleans>jazz thing until a few years back when I started acquiring a whole bunch of live stuff. Thankfully, the timeslot of my PBS (106.7 FM) show The Pearls has shifted from high-profile, jazz-only Sunday arvos to a much more relaxing 11am-1pm. At the moment most shows are going like this: about 1/3 jazz, mostly pre-WWII; about 1/3 live GD; about 1/3 western swing and country; plus whatever else I feel like playing. I'm getting good feedback on the GD stuff. Some from geriatrics like myself. But some, too, from younger folks. Melbourne's a very hip music city, but AKAIK there's never been regular Dead on public radio. So while various generations here are more than familiar with, say, the Velvets and even the 13th Floor Elevators, the Dead could be a bit of a blind spot. I'd love to get together with any melbourne Deadheads. Send a PM here or go to weirk@heraldsun.com.au ********************** It's simple: Go Socceroos, Go Victory, Go All Blacks, Go Storm. And turn up the volume. And then some more.

Melbourne Deadheads

Hey Estimated, I'm in Melbourne.

GOSH

Deadheads in Melbourne breakin' out all over! *************** It's simple: Go Socceroos, Go Victory, Go All Blacks, Go Storm. And turn up the volume. And then some more.

Melbourne Deadheads

Hey Kenny,I was pretty suprised to see a review of Cow Palace in the Herald Sun. So, that was you! Tony

GUILTY

Yep that was me. The music biz has changed so much in recent years that I've become well used to paying for the stuff I review. The stuff we get sent to the paper is uniformly dire. And with the internet, it's cool to review stuff not available in Oz, although I do get calls from older readers frustrated that they can't by some weird old jazz or country CD I've reviewed at their local Sanity! I'd love to do the new From The vault, but I think there's too much Pigpen on there for me. The Cow Plalace set is holding up real well and has become one of my favourites. I get the odd thing from Greville Records. Although today in the office I have with me 100 Year Hall and Steppin Out. ******** It's simple: Go Socceroos, Go Victory, Go All Blacks, Go Storm. And turn up the volume. And then some more.

ME TOO

Tony also: I read with interest your comments on another thread about buying stuff through official Dead channels. I've been burnt there, too. Never again! As I said to the woman I dealt with last time, it's not just the incovenicne involved in slack service - it's a matter of NOT getting what you've paid for. I.E. - it's theft! ****** It's simple: Go Socceroos, Go Victory, Go All Blacks, Go Storm. And turn up the volume. And then some more.

ME TOO

Their procedures are just not up to scratch. In my case, I eventually got it all sorted. The postage costs are the killer but it seems that USPS have hiked their prices. I just had an Amazon-Marketplace order refunded because the seller couldn't afford to fund the postage out of what Amazon allowed them. Those GD Taping Compendiums are heavy books!

Another from the woodwork

Yet another DH settled in Melbourne.I like the stuff about the Socceroos but the other stuff? the bairn

Ah well each to his own. I'm

Ah well each to his own. I'm probably a bit hyper as three of those teams are going around in the next six hours or so. :) Seems there may be more of us here in Melbourne than any of us figured. I'll be interested to see how this pans out over the next copupla weeks. I'm enjoying the GD Radio Hours shows. ******* It's simple: Go Socceroos, Go Victory, Go All Blacks, Go Storm. And turn up the volume. And then some more.

dead channel buying is cool

I've bought quite a bit of stuff over the years primarily from the Dead shop. Only once did the goods fail to arrive, contacted the shop and they were resent. That's not theft that's super service. the bairn

Yes well I've had super

Yes well I've had super service, too. In the past. But the past couple of times? Nah

let's just say

things are a bit buggy still. But let's also say, it's being worked on. And now, back to Oz.

Melbourne Deadheads

Well, well, well. Nice to see some fellow heads out there.....It would be wonderful to meet up with you all sometime soon. I am traveling to Europe in mid august and back early Oct. I will try and set something up when I get back. Thanks for responding......if you wish email me on kurtperry@tmb.net.au and we'll go from there. Cheers Kurt

Egging on

Kenny, please forget your prejudices and review it. You get to recount the telepathy experiment story for a start. And this is the first show without Mickey Hart. Happy Trails

WTF?

Telepathy experiment? You lost me there. I'll prolly buy Vault No.3 set when my tax refund turns up in a couple of weeks. Hey, hey - very nice to hear from fellow DHs here and through email. Let's stay in touch and get together ASAP. Cheers, Kenny

WTF? Telepathy experiment

The run of 6 shows at Port Chester from Feb 18 through Feb 24, 1971 were dubbed the ESP Experiment. Various pictures were projected onto a screen behind the band and the audience was supposed to focus on these images and try to 'transmit' them psychically to a bunch of subjects in a nearby lab. Apparently it didn't work to well. Those damn hippies couldn't concentrate too long on anything much. These shows were also among the first "Betty Boards" to surface into the mainstream. (Another useful fact to be gleaned from the Deadhead's Taping Compendium Vol 1) Tony

"didn't work too well" is

"didn't work too well" is probably overstating the case for the sceptics. From the report on the experiments in the Fortean Times: The Dream Laboratory’s report on the experiment noted: “The average evaluation of the two judges was computed for each pair of dream transcripts and target pictures. If coincidence, rather than ESP, had been operating, the judges’ evaluation of the correct transcript/target pairs would have been higher than all other pairs one time out of six. For Miss Parise, one correct pair obtained the highest rating. In the case of Mr Bessent, the judges gave the highest score to the correct pairs four times out of six… Thus, for Mr Bessent, the ESP hypothesis is supported. Further, some support is given to the position that the agents must know who the target is to be transmitted to and where he is located for telepathy to occur.” See more at: http://www.forteantimes.com/features/articles/169/the_grateful_deads_ac… Happy Trails

ta

Fascinating - thanks for filling me on that bit of Dead lore. Personally, I can relate to "Those damn hippies couldn't concentrate too long on anything much" more than other explanations.

greetings fellow deadheads

greetings fellow deadheads from down under been on the bus for 40 very odd years and ain'tgetting off till the end. cheers from oz!

Melbourne Deadheads

Hey all, happy to see other Melbourne Deadheads, I knew you guys were out there! A Deadheads Club as mentioned or any other contact sounds great.

melb grooves

OK - a question for my fellow Melbournites: Anyone you can tip as playing around Melbourne these days who does GD-type thing? For the past couple of years, after three decades of incessant gig-going, I've been laying pretty low and doing other stuff. And the decade before that was mostly jazz at Bennetts Lane and elsewhere, so I'm singularly ill-informed. The Paul Williamson Hammond Combo plays every Monday night (free) at the Rainbow Hotel in Fitzroy and are fantastic. Straighahead jazz/blues/R&B in their own fashion, but they groove as hard as anybody. And every week they have sit-in guest which always makes it interesting. I think the clearest GD trip I've ever experienced regularly came froma now defunct outfit called Diana Kiss, which - like the Hammond Combo - had a long-running residency at the Espy. Lineup: Ross Hannaford (gtr), Peter Jones (dms), Jex Saarelaht (keys), Russell Smith (keys/tpt), Stu Speed (bass). Monster grooves all 'round and a Dead-like way with cover versions, same as with the Hammond Combo. And I reckon it could even be said that Hannaford is Australia's version of J Garcia. Then there's a band called Checkerboard Blues Lounge - i suspect they, too, inhabit a jammy world, although they don't play too often. Any suggestions? BTW, I reckon a Monday night at the Rainbow would be a great time/place for a first-up Melbourne Deadhead gathering. Any Monday, all Mondays!

an alternative:

Then again, maybe we could meet at: Motorhead @ The Forum, October 19.

infinitely scrumptious

Here's a tip for my fellow Melbourne souls: Vegetable pakoras, $5; Madhumoti, 95 Irving Street, Footscray. Most often the pakoras I find in Melbourne - especially at the cheaper end of the spectrum that Bennie and I favour - are variously greasy, too spicy and tough as old boots. Not these. No. These are heavenly For your five bucks you get four good-sized patties deep fried just right, non-greasy but crunchy and full of juicy veges, with sweet onion to the fore. Yummo! I'm still finding my way through the longish menu for the other good hits at this newish, clean friendly, cheap eatery that is on the corner oppositie the Dancing Dog Cafe.

Kiwi deadheads - anyone out there?

Hey Folks: Looking for deadheads in NZ for a catch up on old times. Also, I do a little bit of Dead-inspired music when I have spare time with two upcoming shows in Wellington and Masterton (have a look at richardleschen.com). If you can't make it to a show thats cool, maybe we can meet for a coffee while I'm on the road... see ya, R

kennyw's alternative

M-O-T-O-R-H-E-A-D ??

Just kidding

Me and my left-ear tinnitus couldn't handle that sort of strife these days.

long time a Melbourne deadhead

I was a round-eyed little Australian country boy on my first over-seas trip. I used to devour Time magazine in my high-school library to see what the hippies were doing next. I finally made it to San Francisco in December 1970. I was a little late for Haight Ashbury, but I was determined to see what this was all about anyway, so I took myself down to Winterland for New Year's Eve. I was given a ticket by someone waiting outside who had a spare, I was given a big doober to smoke by another freak who thought anyone listening to the 'Dead had to be stoned, and it just got better from there. I have been a Deadhead ever since. I was given Dylan and the Dead for Christmas 34 years on. The expression “ÿou’re a long time dead” can probably change to “you’re a long time a deadhead”.

YUM

Reasons to lurve Melbourne No. 253: Today I scurried up Elizabeth St with a view to partaking of something spicy at one of my fave cheap eats - Bismi's Gold An Fork. But that groovy Indian cafe was jammed with a queue of 20 or so. So I kep on walking towards the market and eventually settled on a new Vietnamese place called Red Wall. I ordered my standard bowl of rare beed pho before I realised it was a hybrid Sino-Viet joint. Now don't get me wrong - I love the variety of food dound in such joints and Bennie and I haunt them in the west on a regular basis. But I've always found that unless a place specialises in pho, it's best not to order it Well blow me down and call me happy, but out it came - as fresh, fragrant, tasty and momentously delicious as any pho I've ever had, anywhere, anytime. The broth was rich and dark, the meat was tender, all was fresh. Sublime. Pho - proof that God exists.

Dead In New Zealand

My name is Peter BersaniI have lived outside of ChCh for nearly 18 years. last summer tour was in 1988, Maine, Massachusettes Saratoga. Buffalo. Have managed to share the love here a bit and have a few friends who "get it" regarding the music. I sit and watch and sometimes contribute here online from my earliest experience in 87 on DNC to active chat in the late 90's. Would love to meet/chat with any other kiwis who remember the good old, well good 78-88 old days. Saw shows from a base in Boulder including Tempe, Red Rocks, Alladin and the bowl, Man I miss it... Love to you all -Peter

mel heads

Hey now!! Thanks Kenny W for the Rainbow suggestion....monday nights might be difficult for me though as I hit the volleyball court for some aggression release. By the way....how's about Hong Kong BBQ in Footscray? Veddy veddy nice. There's another joint by HK bbq that has superb pho...just can't remember the name. Kenny, I will also say that Diana Kiss in it's prime was hot hot hot and they were probably closest to a "jam vibe" as Melbourne has seen...in fact, I just spun the Ross Hannaford Trio cd last week and what a great album too. I'm sure there are some bands around that jam a bit but I've yet to come across them. Actually, a band I booked recently at the Brunswick Hotel called Sonic Attack apparently do very good covers of Hawkwind!! We'll be booking them again later in the year. I am leaving for Europe in about an hour so I'll be in touch when I get back in early Oct! Look forward to meeting everyone when I get back.... think I'll put on Europe 72 now....... theEstimated Prophet

haha

Blimey - Hawkwind covers band? Mebbe that should be our Melb Deadhead gathering. Can you gets us all drinks cards? :) As regards the Rainbow, well I'm only free every other Monday coz of parental duty. Hell, since we aren't talking hordes here I may even cook up a pot of blackeyed peas and have every one around on a Sunday. We'll see ... Nah, I avoid Hong Kong BBQ these days - had a few less than satisfactory experiences there and that's that. Plus, the joint is looking pretty shabby these days. For Chinese BBQ meats, I got to Racecourse Rd in Flemington, which is quite a nice cheap eat strip in its own right. Around central Footiscray, there's a whole bunch of places Bennie and me goes to, depending on what we feel like. And right near the market, there's about three new places - fresher, crisper, menus not dog-eared and so on. I always find that when of those properties turn over to a new business the food and service is automatically higher for a good while coz they're trying real hard. And often they have dishes I haven't had before, or at the very least variations on the familiar. Give us all a yooo hoo when you're back. Happy Trails, buddy ....

bear is a queenslander !

in the australian rolling stone issue 669 is the robert greenfield article/interview with bear.not sure if it's the same lenght than the original article from the us rolling stone. love the part that bear is now catching as many as 225 cane toads on a good night. bear - all the best to you !!!

Well it sure is great to

Well it sure is great to know there really are some deadheads in melbourne i'v e a dear friend who is also on the bus but u don't meet too many can't get my daughter enthused not yet!but who knows,i love the dead because they took risks & hung around for so long just like me! I sure do miss a band that really jams. Cheers Chas

Get yer fix here

Being, sometimes, the last one on the list to receive them from a small GD orientated trading group that I am part of, I have a bunch of data DVDs piled up in my study looking for a new lease of life. All files are in either shn or flac format. I would be happy to pass these on to fellow deadheads of Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. Your only committment being to similarly pass them on once you've converted them into audio format. Please be assured - none of this material is officially available. PM me if interested.

25 year old Deadhead from

25 year old Deadhead from Melbourne. Would love to meet up with some fellow fans. Mark

Hey Blue, stay tuned ....

Looks like we might get something happening in a few months time. In the meantime, there's the Storm and the Victory to cheer for and the AFL to ignore!

another DeadHead in Melbourne

Hi there good to know there are other people who appreciate the Dead's great music - it would be great to meet up sometime who people who don't say "are they some sort of heavy metal band?" or "huh?" i have been listening to the band sice 1969/70 via some school friends (including Frank Gambale's brother, Nuncio) bringing in "Live Dead". The band helped me thru some scary moments. However i never got to see them live - which i've come to terms with now but really pissed me off for a few years. I've got some acid trip soundtracks and interviews with Garcia and the Dead on video and audio amongst some music videos if anyone wants them. Is there any band in melbourne that plays Dead or Garcia (?bluegrass even) music?? anyhow keep me in touch with any planned get together - i have a few email addresses eg gerry.oconnor@bchs.org.au and gerry.oconnor@pvch.org.au cheers - Gerry O'Connor {8>{)}

My surname is O'Connor too.

My surname is O'Connor too. Wonder if we're distantly related... in a typical Dead-related synchronicity ;) Mark

Oh, by the way, I think

Oh, by the way, I think Melbourne's I Spit On Your Gravy did some Dead covers years ago when I saw them at a pub. "Ripple" comes to mind.

Was I being too cryptic?

No one wants to take me up on the offer made in my last posting?

Very interesting, very typical ...

The reposnses to this thread would seem to infer that Melbourne is THE hotbed of Grateful Deadiness in Australia. Yet if you look at the Google map, there's been more visitors from Sydney.

Other affiliations ...

OK we may all be Melburnites, we may all be DHs of one sort or another - but I bet there are other affilations around here, too Myself, I am rapt that ... *The Storm are headed for another (hopefully victorious) NRL Grand Final, while the crowd for this Sunday's game is already up above 30,000. *The New Zealanders are winning in the silly but mildly diverting Twenty20, while the arrogant Australians are losing. *The All Blacks are headed for a union World Cup, while some of the minnows - most notably Georgia (of all places) - have acquitted themselves pretty well. Meanwhile, the Wallabies are doing OK but their scrum doesn't look like it'll stand up to the sort of scrutiny headed their way. *The Matildas are going great guns in the women's World Cup, playing Canada tonight. I'm am less enthused about ... *Melbourne Victory - geeez, four games and four draws. Oh dear - bit of a wobbly start there, boys, especially after the glories of the 6-0 Grand Final. Bennie and I went the Mariners game last Sunday, and he was stoked when dad bought him a Victory T-shirt. (I get by with one of my natty GD numbers). So what's your poison? Given the number of Melburnites hereabouts, I suspect there's prolly a fair bit of support for the lesser football code - Collingwood, Geelong, Kangaroos anyone? :)

Sounds interesting, Ironman.

Sounds interesting, Ironman. Not familiar with those formats, however.

Formats

SHN and FLAC are "lossless" as opposed to mp3 which is "lossy". You need to convert the files to WAV before burning to CD. There is a easily downloadable program called Traders Little Helper which will do this for you. You can typically fit upwards of 4 complete shows onto a DVD in this format expanding out into upwards of 12 CDs (just depends on how long those shows are!). The question is whether you are ready to move beyond the 36 available Dick's Picks and various vault sourced official releases into the realms of trading and bit torrent. There are more than 2300 Dead shows out there!

I dunna believe it ...

A bunch of Melburnites, DH or otherwise, with no sports passions or allegiances. Time to lay off the bongs and head for the footy, fellas ... :)

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July 6, 2007 - 10:36am

212 replies

marye

Joined:
May 26, 2007

Are you the only All Blacks fan who wears a Dead shirt to every match? Are you having trouble finding people to trade with in Tonga? Find neighbors here!

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September 17, 2025 - 5:23am

#1

uncle ken

Joined:
July 21, 2020

2025 Article on the Australian Dead Scene

unclekens.com/blog/knowledge/the-australian-dead-scene
September 12, 2025 - 2:38pm

#2

James Smithells

Joined:
April 19, 2022

New Zealand

Hi Marci. I've been a Deadhead since 1971 and there was a whole social group of us who were totally into them, and all the other Bay Area and West coast bands. Dunedin, in the south of the South Island, wildlife capital of NZ, is probably the best bet to hear bands that play some Dead music eg The Whirling Eddies. John Dodd is the man, an old friend of mine, and plays in numerous bands. He'll know of any others around the country. You should be able to find the Eddies and John on social media. Happy traIls. James Smithells
September 6, 2025 - 4:43pm

#3

Marcikayo

Joined:
August 15, 2025

Deadheads traveling in New Zealand Jan/Feb 2026

Hello,

My name is Marci. My partner Scott, teen daughter, and I are coming to New Zealand from the United States. Is there much of a Deadhead community? Any chance of us catching some Dead cover band live music or other bands that are the blues/rock/folk/magic? We're spending Jan 10- Feb 16 traveling around the South island, and spending the last week around the Coromandel Peninsula on the North Island Feb 16 - 21. Just thought I'd throw it out there. I was thinking it would be so fun to surprise my partner with a night out with some music. Or if there's a cool Deadhead bar/hangout even if there's no live music, that would be pretty great, too. NFA and Thank you!
August 29, 2025 - 7:09am

#4

uncle ken

Joined:
July 21, 2020

Perth DeadHeads - Grateful Dead Fans

Hey Ive been building a small community in Perth, hoping to make it bigger!

Check out our 'Perth Deadheads' Facebook Group!

facebook.com/groups/perthdeadheads/
August 18, 2025 - 6:54pm

#5

rrussell8

Joined:
June 6, 2007

Long Strange Trip

Streaming latest show now. Nice work!
June 2, 2023 - 7:04pm

#6

Ice Creme Kid

Joined:
October 21, 2008

Aussie Radio & Online Groups

Hey now everyone
A Long Strange Trip is going strong Thursday Nights at 10pm 99.9 BayFM or anytime online, just Search Bay FM Byron and click on the program guide.

2 FB groups I admin are
Deadheads Down Under & A Long Strange Trip
Please sign up to them.

Here is a list of recent interviews & guests we've shared with over the airwaves

Previous Guests Include:
Harry Angus (The Encyclopedia Of Jerry Garcia Music Venues)
David Frieberg
Dogs In A Pile
Liz Field ( Cornell Chimes)
Nathaniel Rateliffe
LPGiobbi
Pete Pen (Alligators)
Toni Brown
Dennis McNally
Jay Blakesberg
Lonnie Frazier (Box Of Rain Film)
Dean Budnick
Strider Brown
Denise Parent (Brown Eyed Women)
Gil Man (Might As Well Archive)
Sandy Troy
Catherine Hayes (Publisher of "The Untold Story Of Christine Bott")
Ross James
Mark A Rodriguez (Author of "After All Is Said & Done")
Ben Chakravorty (Jerry Day Australia/Shakedown Prophets Australia GD Cover Band)
Blake Savannah (Deadnecks Melb. Australia GD Cover Band)
Annabelle & Adam deadheaddressarchive
Peter Connors
Jesse Jarnow
Sam Cutler
Tony Masiello (Creator of MAJESTIC STAR)
Brenden (Latin Dead)
J.J. Grey
July 29, 2021 - 6:55am

#7

Strider 808808

Joined:
June 20, 2007

Victory Gardens / Earth Radio

Champagne lifestyle on a near beer budget. Mesquite beans are almost ready also. Wild fruit trees. Bulk food order. Walk as much as I can. Keep from driving as many days in a row as possible.
Baby boomer retirement.
Enjoying the Australian based Grateful Dead radio show, Long Strange Trip. (Bay FM 99.9 Byron Bay) Contrary to some folks notions, radio is not dead. Streaming stations from around the world is an amazing way to get a glimpse, feeling, idea of what’s goin’ on. I really dig stations from Peru,Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Jamaica, Canada (Nunavut) and down under. Add in Tribal radio stations from around the U.S. As i live off the grid in the “outback” of the great Southwest this keeps me tuned in.
July 22, 2021 - 7:34am

#8

Strider 808808

Joined:
June 20, 2007

Been listening

99.9 The Bay fm in Australia rocks out! Contemporary and Aboriginal music, plus a kick ass Grateful Dead show. What’s not to love.
“Listen to the River” looks great. 1971 is possibly my favorite year . Will have to wait for my old fart social security check in a couple weeks to order. Beans & rice , rice & beans, and a victory garden. Apricot trees (in town) , pick, dry and store.
Several weeks w/o ganga. I think the THC is still kicking in from what little fatty tissue i have on me and from all the smoked phatties from all the years combined.
Phatty Patrol wasn’t just the destination, it was the journey & adventure.
July 15, 2021 - 6:43pm

#9

Ice Creme Kid

Joined:
October 21, 2008

A Long Strange Trip Aussie Deadhead Radio 99.9 bayfm

Cheers man, got a lot planned for this go round of the show!
Spread the news :)
July 15, 2021 - 6:23am

#10

Strider 808808

Joined:
June 20, 2007

Holy .....

I hit 99.9 bay fm and the end of Lovelight 8/4/71 comes on. My mind is blown. I love simpleradio. Wow, the ice creme kid. Kick ass!!
10pm - Midnight there in Australia; 0600 - 0800 Mountain Standard Time here. As an early Byrd I can handle it.