20 Square Blocks

Its not easy throwing caution to the wind and following your dreams.Although some may argue slugging away at a job you have zero passion for isn’t either. But at some point in our lives most of us find ourselves at this exact crossroads. Joe Baxter chatted to me about why he chose the path of most resistance.

For this third and final episode on Grainery Lane, we chat to audio engineer, Rex Hardware. Rex taught at the school of mines by day, and at night Grainery Lane proved to be an ideal training ground for his students  as they worked on some of the earliest known live internet broadcasts, in the late 90s.

Hap Haywood is the definition of jack of all trades. The thing is, he’s actually pretty damn good at all of them. From fronting bands like The Dead Salesman to dipping his toe into the world of comedy to polishing symbols for the Screaming Jets. Hap and I chat about all of these things and how Grainery Lane intersected his world. 

In the vibrant post-punk era in Ballarat, The Grainery Lane Theatre was a bizarre and much loved institution running purely on  adrenaline, high levels of creativity and masses of love. Kiri Smart spoke to us about what the company was and why it was so important to artists of the city.

Seth Leslie, while very happily working in Robotics today, used to be a drug lord, an angry police officer and a best friend. In fact, as an actor he would be anything the call sheet would tell him to. Seth sat down with us and spoke about his time in Hong Kong, acting in an unknown language and dubbing for Japanese Anime.

A musical journey with Dr Jacinta Dennett discussing her instrument of passion, the harp.

Graeme Quick is a researcher, historian and well rounded professional horseman. In fact he was recently awarded the James Stewart bequest for his Phd on social economic and cultural history of horses in Ballarat. 

Graeme gives us a unique look into Ballarat’s history, using his insight and knowledge to transport us back to 1832 to reveal just how the horse has shaped this city.

Lily Mae Martin is a visual artist who graduated from the Victorian College of the Arts in 2008 with a Bachelor of Fine Art majoring in Drawing. I spoke to Lily about scholarships, Tasmania and her Waterloo paintings which came during a time when she changed her direction in life to aged care.  

If you’re a fan of board games, Dungeons and Dragons or just your average computer nerd, then you’d probably love GUF. Mark Carter, one of the owners and founders of GUF tells us about growing up in the 80’s, writing computer games and getting kidnapped in Kashmir.

I don't know much about 13 year olds....although I guess a long time ago I was one.  I was interested to know what goes on in the mind of a teen in the twenty twenties and, being this time of year,  see what they have to say about Christmas.