IVA DAVIES & ICEHOUSE - SPELLBOUND HIGHLIGHTS

What's happenin' is this…

In March, Simon Lloyd journeyed to his native soil of England. He has plans to visit his family, but will keep in contact with the management office. He was creating a computer game, whose theme was sort of a mystery (literally!), but nothing more has been heard of it.

Steve Morgan has just come off a very successful year. He worked as the music director for the Australian production of Hair and played bass during the performances as well. From that, he slid right into the production of Jesus Christ Superstar, whose soundtrack copped an award at the recent Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Awards. Both shows are available in Australia in CD form, but Steve only appears on the soundtrack of Hair.

Steve recently went up to Sydney and stayed at "Hotel Davies." He did some work in Iva's studio, and also put pen to paper with Tony Llewellyn. Steve is now back in Melbourne, and can be seen performing with a cover band or two in various clubs throughout the city. We've been reassured, however, that should Icehouse hit the road, Steve will be right where he should be - up front, stage left.

Paul Gildea has been working and touring with Rick Price, a solo Australian singer, who is well known for his session work. Rick recently won an APRA Award for his song, "Heaven Knows." Paul is enjoying playing with Rick and is also still happily married (with children). He's penned a song with Iva, which we hope to hear on the new album. Prior to his work with Rick Price, Paul had also done some extensive touring as part of James Reyne's band.

Mr. Paul Wheeler is hard at work with Iva, writing, recording, and eating chocolate! He had been touring with the Living Daylights, but that came to a halt once he began working with Iva. Even so, we hear he may again record with the Maybe Dolls, a band he played around with in 1992. Paul even ended up being pin-up material as the Maybe Dolls enjoyed some popularity! Will it happen again?! If it does, let's hope he'll not repeat the "short, dyed jet black hair" look… keep it brown with the blond highlights, Paul!

Going way back to 1991, Paul spent nine months in the Los Angeles area, and hopes to have the chance to return again soon.

Tony Llewellyn is a busy guy! He's in the process of writing some commercial jingles between writing poetry, only after the songs he's composing! *Whew!* Tony is actually planning to release a book of his poetry, which we really hope is successful for him. He's also in the process of looking for a recording/publishing deal. Good luck, Tony!

As for Iva, well, his news update is included in his interview in this issue , and will continue in the second issue. However, not covered in the interview was this story: Iva's recent arduous task of being a judge for the 10th Annual Miss Whale Beach Beauty Contest! This isn't the first time he's been forced to endure the torture, poor boy… but to help him with this daunting prospect he brought along sort of an "Icehouse Posse" which consisted of Simon Leadley and a couple of other guys from Trackdown Studios, windsurfer Scotty O'Connor (he had to be there, though, as he was also a sponsor of the event), and a few other surfing chums of Iva's. Paul W. and Tony rounded out the gang. Iva, with grim determination, soldiered through the event, and he chose the new Miss Whale Beach based on her poise, talent, and… er… um… personality. Being named Miss Whale Beach leads you to exactly nowhere, not even on to Miss Sydney or Miss New South Wales. Just a sash that leaves a strange tan line diagonally across your middle…

Oh, and for those of you who had heard that Iva produced the Living Daylights single, "Sliding," Iva told us that although he receives credit on the record, the version they released was not his production…

A source told us of a happy gathering that could have turned tragic. Andy Qunta and Jane Wareing were hosting a gala occasion (barbeque) at their lovely home in the Los Angeles area. It was a beautiful day, Mother's Day to be exact. Jane was waited on hand and foot. Andy did all the cooking and Jane was showered with flowers. Their guests were enjoying the sunshine and their daughter Alexandra's sweet laughter. They had consumed the delicious food when one of the guests, Guy Pratt, noticed "The Menace." In a large green tree hung the ghostly form. It swayed with the branches and was completely silent. The guests stared at it, the afternoon suddenly chilly with suppressed terror. Andy, through clenched teeth, told of the many valiant times he had tried to rid his home of this Abomination. But, every time, it eluded his grasp. The once happy group fell silent and the watchers felt they were being watched in return. Suddenly, the fair-haired, brave, young Sir Guy leapt to his feet and declared he would vanquish the Beast himself. He sped across the lawn, followed quickly by Andy, and flung himself into the tree! The Menace did not move. Guy climbed higher and yet higher, causing the ladies below much concern. Andy stood at the foot of the tree, bracing himself to move should Guy fall. But fall he didn't! Brave Sir Guy did battle with the Foe and won! He swept its foul presence from the tree and flung it to the ground! After its death throes ceased, Andy swept the discarded corpse up and, crumbling it in on itself with his bare hands, threw it away like so much garbage. Guy jumped from the tree with a manly flourish as all applauded. He had slain the Foe and came away with nary a scratch! One of the ladies at the gathering, Miss Cheryl, thought to catch a portion of the incredible event on film. Los Angeles is again the safe, happy place to raise a family it once was, thanks to Mr. Pratt!

Ummm… this is Kristin here… I have to correct our source on a few things. I was at the barbeque and, well, Jane did all the cooking. This was something we ribbed Andy about for a bit. Also, the "Menace" was a dirty sheet of plastic stuck in the tree. But, Guy did climb the tree and take it out. Cheryl did take pictures. Oh, and Andy did throw it away. Guy was thinking of making this a job when he isn't playing bass for Pink Floyd:"Just call 1-800-PLASTGO. Guy will come to the rescue!"

One of the residents enjoying the safety of living in the L.A. area, newly provided by Guy, is Mr. Bob Kretschmer. Guy has even had the honor of being one of the few living people to actually see Bob in person. Bob, although being somewhat of a hermit, is still hard at work making wigs for those in Hollywood in need of them. Once of those persons is said to be Jack Nicholson. In which movie Mr. Nicholson will be appearing that required Bob's handiwork, that was not reported. Bob is said to be growing his own working material, his hair having reached collarbone length.

Pam and Keith Welsh are proud parents once again!! Actually, the little fellow is well on his way to being a year old! Nicholas Harley was born on October 9, 1992. He joins his beautiful and very-grown-up sister, Genevieve, to make a complete set for Pam and Keith. Pam is very much in demand as an artist and is having… er… fun juggling motherhood and her career. Keith is still the "manager extraordinaire" and handles such acts as Boom Crash Opera, the Angels, the Sharp, and the newly acquired 1927. How Keith manages to work with all his bands and pound his chest over the birth of his son at the same time, we'll never know…

One thing we're not sure if Icehouse fans are aware of is a book by American authors Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon. It's called Born To Run and you can find it in the science fiction section of your local bookstore. The reason we bring it to your attention is that on the acknowledgement page written by Mercedes, she thanks Icehouse for its music and Iva Davies for being the visual inspiration for the character in the book by the name of Tannim. (Tannim is a human whose best friends are elves and who has a little magic under his belt as well.) If you like science fiction, it's a pretty good book and it doesn't hurt to see Iva as the main character! Iva was given a copy of the book for his birthday last year and we still await his review… sigh… he says he only reads "classics."

And that's what's happenin'…