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Well, it’s all done and dusted. The house is sold and I’m slowly but surely getting myself acclimated to life down on the Southern Fleurieu. 

I moved down to Goolwa last Wednesday (March 23rd) to my parents place initially with the view of finding my own place down this way and I’ve got to say, life in Goolwa is much different to living in Adelaide.

Firstly, the pace of life is so much slower. 

I’ve already been trying to slow down my life a bit since Mara passed away so the change in pace is not that much of a shock but I can imagine that for someone who has come straight from inner city Adelaide life, the pace of Goolwa would be a bit of a culture shock.

Secondly, I’ve been sleeping like a log.

This is amazing considering that I have had so much trouble with my sleeping patterns since… I can’t remember when but ever since I’ve moved down to Goolwa I have been going to bed earlier and getting up earlier and pretty much sleeping straight through the night.

I think no longer having the sale of the house on my mind has a lot to do with my newly found sleep but I think another reason might be that the air is much cleaner down in Goolwa. I’m not sure why that would make such a difference but to me it does.

Thirdly, the overall ambience is much quieter. 

This is because there’s not as many cars on the road, not as many people around and the location of where I’m staying is a little further away from the centre of Goolwa so not as many houses around either. 

This certainly contributes greatly to the reduction in my stress levels and my ability to just be present

Lastly… I can see the stars.

With the lack of the type of infrastructure that gives off light pollution at night, I can see a lot more stars in the sky than I ever could living in Adelaide. Granted, the numbers are less than if I was in the Flinders Ranges but what I currently see above my head still fills me with wonder.

Night time is… Dark. The way it’s meant to be and again, this is another reason why I’m sleeping so well I suppose.

Today I was able to set up my working environment hence why you’re reading this blog post. I’ve almost finished setting up the temporary recording studio and when that’s all done I can start recording music again, something I haven’t been able to do for about three months or so.

Man, I’ve really missed making music.

Once that is all done, the last piece of the puzzle is for me to find my own place so I can finally start moving forward again, living my own life while at the same time, carrying on Mara’s memory and legacy close to my heart.

I remind myself that today is the first day of the rest of my life and I intend to grab onto it and hold on for dear life with a steely determination to not waste one iota of the experience.

Peace,

Corey 🙂

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For many years now I have had the pleasure of performing in Australia’s Premier Police Tribute band The Synchronicity Police. 

With Dave Branton on drums, Greg Adamopoulos on guitar and yours truly on vocals and bass we have played many shows spanning from pubs, clubs, casinos, large auditoriums, festivals and a few Adelaide Fringes in our time, and this year is no different…

But, there is a twist.

Instead of playing the songs of The Police in all of their rock and punk/reggae glory, we’re going to be adding some songs from Sing’s solo catalogue and performing them in a 5 piece band UNPLUGGED!

Yes, The Synchronicity Police present Songs In The Key Of Sting recreating the classic Police hits and songs from Sting’s solo career in an intimate, unplugged 70 minute live show. 

This show has been put together exclusively for the 2022 Adelaide Fringe and if it works (of course it will) I for one would want to be taking this unplugged concept as far as it will go.

The lineup for the show is as follows…

  • Corey Stewart – Bass, Vocals
  • Greg Adamopoulos – Acoustic Guitar
  • Dave Branton – Drums, Percussion
  • Victor Oria – Keyboards
  • Robert Williams – Trumpet 

We are rehearsing for the event at the moment and it’s sounding AWESOME! I cannot wait to bring this show to you all.

Songs In The Key Of Sting will be performed at the Goodwood Theatre @ The GC which is located at 166 Goodwood Road, Goodwood for ONE SHOW ONLY on Tuesday March 8th at 9pm.

Tickets are $35 and can be purchased at the 2022 Adelaide Fringe website. This show is a must for all Police and Sting fans and I would love to see you all there.

Peace,

Corey 🙂

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Musically, 2022 is going to be a busy year for me and it all starts off with a swag of gigs at the Adelaide Fringe Festival so with that in mind, allow me to introduce you all to… Soul Trader.

Soul Trader is a duo consisting of myself and good friend and songwriting partner Simon James Betts and we have four gigs at the Adelaide Fringe starting from Sunday, February 27th at 7:00pm.

Even though it may seem that this is a new venture for me… It actually isn’t.

Soul Trader was initially created way back in around 2003 when Simon and I met each other at an Open Mic  held at the Hyde Park Tavern which was run by my musical partner in crime Darren Zaza.

Simon had already released a CD and had his own material but we joined forces and started writing songs together which in turn translated into performing many shows which then culminated in the release of our 2006 CD titled Pre-Cursor.

After the release of the CD, I left Soul Trader (the reasons in which I’ll go into more detail at a later time) and Simon continued on performing under that name as a solo artist. We did however, continue to write songs together during my time away.

Now, fast forward to 2021 and Simon and I started the Soul Trader Podcast and from there the concept of getting Soul Trader back together as a duo again seemed like the natural thing to do and let me tell you, it sounds like we’ve never been apart.

The songs, the harmonies, the camaraderie, it’s all there and I’m enjoying every bit of it even though it’s the second time around and as for the Fringe shows…

What a way to (re)launch a project such as Soul Trader.

Just to give you an idea of what to expect, here is the blurb taken from the 2022 Adelaide Fringe program

It’s official, Adelaide’s best kept secret is out.

Soul Trader is back as a duo, and ready to serve you an acoustic pop rock feast of fresh original music.

This is the most dynamic duo in the history of dynamic duos, this is not Batman & Robin, this is Batman & Batman. Two powerful singer songwriters coming together to deliver something special.

In an industry flooded with looping pedals and Autotune, Soul Trader is like a delicious home cooked meal in a world of fast food.

With pristine harmonies and guitars pounding out the rhythm, Simon James Betts and Corey Stewart deliver wonderfully crafted songs with energy, cheek, polish and passion.

This will be a night your ears will thank you for a long time to come, so sit down, hang on and experience the aural ride of your life.

Sounds pretty good to me if I say so myself.

As a reminder, the Soul Trader shows at the 2022 Adelaide Fringe are as follows:

Where: 

The Garage International @ Adelaide Town Hall

When: 

  • Sunday February 27th
  • Sunday March 6th
  • Tuesday March 15th
  • Wednesday March 16th

Tickets are $25 ($20 concession) and are available at the 2022 Adelaide Fringe website.

So if you want to catch some great songwriting performed by two likeable guys who harmonise beautifully with each other then Soul Trader (The Duo) is the show for you.

Post Adelaide Fringe plans consist of experimenting with regular live streaming as well as hitting the festival circuit, playing support shows, touring UK and Europe plus… organising House Concerts.

“What’s a house concert?” I hear you ask. Well, watch this space and I’ll let you know soon enough. In the meantime, check out the links above and I hope to see you at one of our Fringe shows.

Peace,

Corey 🙂

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Ok, I’ve been waiting for the right time to tell you all this but… I’m just going to get straight to the point.

I’ve decided that the time has come for me to pack up my things, sell the house and move down South around the Fleurieu Peninsula somewhere from a line due East from Moana to McLaren Flat all the way down to Goolwa.

This move will enable me to be first and foremost, closer to my family (who live in Goolwa and Mount Compass) plus, it will enable me to take a step closer to living in an environment where I can live the life that I want to live…

A slow, steady, simple and silent life. 

I’ve signed all of the necessary contracts which have instructed Harris Real Estate to sell the house and its hoped that things will be finalised around the end of January/beginning of February 2022.

So what does this all mean?

Well, besides having a different home and delivery address and maybe some more phone conversations or online chats via Skype or Zoom, nothing else will need to change as I’m only moving an extra 60-90 minutes away from Adelaide at the most. 

Of course, I’ll make my way to Adelaide at least once a week to meet up with clients and/or to catch up with friends and remember, there will always be a place to stay for anyone who trundles down my neck of the woods.

Most importantly though, I’ll be pulling up stumps on a life that was mostly defined by the partnership between Mara and I but now, with Mara gone, I now have to move forward with my life. This was inevitable whether it be now or later.

The fact is that the home that Mara and I had built together in Dudley Park since 2012 (yes, almost 10 years now) is now just a house that will now always have something missing in it, something that will constantly remind me of all the negative aspects of the last few years so, the time was right to make the move.

I also know that Charlie is going to have more room to run around and be a dog in rather than being either cooped up inside or navigating a tiny backyard plus, I’ll also have more studio/office space to expand SongMachine and ZenWeb into as that will be one of my requirements for the next house.

The more I get used to the concept of moving my life away from the city, the more I realise that this is what I must do and as I’ve mentioned in a previous blog post, one of the main lessons I’ve learned is that life is all about letting go.

I would say that this decision to move down South is the best example of me letting go of something which doesn’t serve a purpose for me anymore that I can think of.

And I’m totally fine with that.

This decision was actually something Mara and I had spoken about on a number of occasions to the point where we had decided it was going to become an eventuality.

I’m so glad that I’m able to take Mara’s memory with me as I know she will love the change in scenery.

Right now, I’m working in a somewhat limited capacity on my laptop as the studio and office computers have been packed away. I’m still able to work but it might take a little longer to get things done but this will be just a temporary inconvenience.

As I’ve only just made the decision and started the process, I really have nothing else to report as yet but I can say that I don’t know where I’ll end up but I do know that there’s a place out there with my name on it. 

All I have to do is have the trust in myself that I’ll find it.

Personally, it’s all very exciting and terrifying at the same time but I know that Mara is there with me in spirit cheering me on from wherever she is and like me, looking forward to what the next chapter will bring.

All I can say is “Watch this space…” 

Peace,

Corey 🙂

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In my last post I mentioned that 2021 was for me… “a year to consolidate my emotions and redefine my sense of meaning and purpose in life.” 

In reflection, one of the things that I realised was the way I was living my life currently was not doing me, my creativity and my health any good at all. 

So, in order to make the necessary changes needed to remedy this, I’ve decided that the way I want to live my life from now on is slow, steady, simple and silent.

Well, what does that really mean? 

A core fundamental belief of mine is that there is no “THE meaning of life” but “A meaning of life” therefore any meaning I have for my life is one that I create and insert into my existence rather than something external that I use my existence to find.

With that being said, here are my reasons for wanting to change my life and live in this way.

Slow 

First of all, there is a reason why the term “rat race” exists. Life seems to be one big rush from one event to another without taking into consideration why the rush is happening in the first place.

We as a society have been duped into believing that the world is a fast paced, busy place and only the fastest, busiest and most ruthless with their time and energy will survive it. 

This has permeated into the toxic world of “hustle culture” exemplified by people such as Gary Vaynerchuk for instance.

I’ve known for a long time that I’ve needed to slow my life down and find a way to get myself off of this perpetual hamster wheel that I (and everyone else in the world for that matter) find myself on at the moment.

By slowing down my life I am able to live my life the way I want to live it, work the way I want to work it and relax in the way that I want to relax. 

Steady

Since Mara passed away, I have gone through a rollercoaster of emotions which have had profound effects on my life in both good and bad ways.

The bad way was that for a period of time I just gave up and let myself go through my grief and got very sick which tipped my body over the edge into Type 2 Diabetes territory. 

The good way was that thankfully the Type 2 diagnosis was the kick up the arse I needed to make the significant changes in my life to where I’m now on my way back to greater mental, physical and spiritual health.

The steady path I wish to take is the middle way of moderation, routine and discipline which I believe are the key factors in me getting on with it and moving forward with my life because with the world the way it is at the moment, it’s so very easy to be put off your centre these days. 

The world around us offers many temptations and distractions all designed to make you become more susceptible to advertising and the prevailing narrative of the times through the various media that we all consume.

Simple

One of my main aims of 2022 is to simplify my life and distill who and what I am into the smallest possible footprint that I can operate in. 

As I mentioned in another blog post, what I want to be essentially doing is getting rid of the things that I don’t need and for me to keep the things that I really do need, the things that will serve my purposes the best.

For example, as a musician I, like most other musicians, suffer from a bit of GAS (gear acquisition syndrome) and because of this I have accumulated a bit of gear that for some of them, I need to find good homes for. 

I know that what I don’t need anymore can be more useful to somebody else so I’m very comfortable doing that.

Simplifying, decluttering, minimalising, whatever you want to call it, is a really essential part of moving forward.

The more simple I make my life, the more time I can devote to what matters to me most, the less margins of error I need to navigate and the less (unnecessary) choices that I need to make.

I’ve been known to overthink things from time to time and because of this I suffer from analysis paralysis on an almost daily basis. Making a choice, moving forward and taking action on it can be a real challenge. 

I know that I need to be clear in my focus and intention, to be decisive with my choices and to take action on those choices with methodical determination. I believe that living a more simple life will help me greatly.

Silent

NO! It doesn’t mean that I’m not going to play music anymore as that’s not the kind of silence I’m talking about.

What I really mean is creating a life in which I can eliminate the unnecessary noise and chatter that happens inside my head and THAT is what I want to eliminate from my life, because as the old saying goes…

“Silence is golden.”

Even though I have gone through some massive life changes of late, internally the monkey inside my head is well and truly active. 

I am getting better at silencing the chatter but I know full well that this is a full time job that will take the rest of my life (and perhaps a future lifetime or two) to master.

As I’ve mentioned before, I can have some issues with overthinking and placing myself in a quieter environment with less distractions will go a long way in helping me to give my inner monkey an extended holiday.

So in conclusion there you have it, my reasons for wanting to live a slow, steady, simple and silent life. 

It’s my hope that by doing this I can create a healthier, more creative and spiritually fulfilled existence for myself and that my creative output from now on, can be the major benefactor of these changes.

Wish me luck and watch this space…

Peace,

Corey 🙂

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I hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas and New Years break that is full of family, friends and maybe some overindulgence as well, a perfect way to celebrate the year that was.

For me, 2021 was a year to consolidate my emotions and redefine my sense of meaning and purpose in life. This is of course due to Mara’s passing just over 12 months earlier.

Plus, with a couple of pretty major health issues (diabetes and hypertension) at the forefront of my mind and knowing full well that there would inevitably be a time that I would need to move on in my life, I also used 2021 as a means to work further on my health and to get myself back to some sort of spiritual centre.

So, with today being the first day of 2022, I want to share with you the things that I’ll be doing for this year.

2022 will be a year of transformation, a reinvention of the self from who I was in the past to what I will become in the future.

Until now I have been processing and grieving the loss of Mara as well as maintaining a holding pattern for my life until such time that I was ready to move forward but I now know that 2022 is the year that this will all be possible.

It will be possible because this year I will…

  • Continue on my path to reversing my Type 2 diabetes diagnosis, lowering my blood pressure and just getting healthier in general.
  • Continue to keep losing all of the unwanted weight that I have accumulated over the years and re-establishing a better relationship with food and what I put into my body.
  • Continue to look for opportunities to expand on my creativity whether it be writing music, performing live, building web presences, creating content through writing blogs, recording podcasts and shooting video for myself and/or my clients. 
  • Continue striving to be the best I can be through self reflection, meditation and living an examined life. I will learn from all the lessons that come my way just through embracing everyday life and all that it offers me. 
  • Continue to keep Mara’s memory alive in everything that I do because she was the greatest influence on me and a champion of the journey that I’m taking on at the moment so no matter what happens next, Mara will always be with me every step of the way..

I can feel the emotional fog lifting a little, I’m slowly but surely getting out of the house and lifting my head above the fog to see what’s happening. 

Right now, I’m in a good place and what I can say is that this year, I’ll be creating more content to see, hear, read, watch and share. After all, how do I know if this transformation and reinvention caper is truly working unless I document it somehow?

Anyways, thank you so much for being part of my personal and musical journey so far and I sincerely hope that 2022 is everything that you want it to be (and much, much more).

Peace,

Corey 🙂

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On the 7th of January 2021, I started my 50th year living on this planet and for me, turning 50 was a pretty big deal. This was because in my head, I finally became my definition of “old” that I held close to my heart when I was growing up.

Now I realise that someone who was 50 years old back when I was a teenager was a much older person in values and attitude but nevertheless, I have become a person who has… 

  • Shifted into a different marketing demographic
  • Eligible for APIA (Australian Pensioners Insurance Agency) products
  • Can enter some retirement villages

My Dad (who is a very fit 72) always says that “you only feel your age when you’re sick” and to a point that is very true.

Now that I’m under a month away from my 51st birthday I’m now able to look back on my 50 years of existence and acknowledge the lessons I have learnt in my life so far no matter how big or small they are.

Life lessons such as…

  • Stop focusing too much on the small stuff
  • You need to pick the right battles to fight
  • There are people more worse off than you… Always
  • None of this is of any importance
  • The older you get, the less shit you have to give
  • Be yourself because everyone else is taken
  • Age is just a number
  • We all want the same things in life
  • Never be afraid to say the word NO
  • Change is the only constant thing in life
  • Nothing lasts forever, everything has a use-by date
  • Honey in coffee is delicious
  • Life is the greatest teacher
  • Quality is far more important than quantity
  • Just because you CAN do it, doesn’t mean you SHOULD do it
  • Action speaks far more loudly than words
  • Silence is more deafening than a thousand voices
  • Life is just too short…
  • Do what you fear the most. What’s the worst that’s going to happen?
  • Always be prepared to take a punt on yourself
  • The truth will always set you free
  • The answers you seek are always inside of you
  • Sometimes the smallest of things make the biggest of differences
  • Always embrace the “Happy Accident.”
  • Routine and discipline is the path to freedom
  • Always be the driver of your own bus
  • Too much information is better than not enough
  • Simple doesn’t necessarily mean easy
  • Life… We’re all making it up as we go along
  • Emotions are unskilled workers, use them wisely
  • Get to know people for who they are, not for what you can get from them
  • Many roads can lead to the same destination
  • Multitasking is a myth, do one thing at a time
  • The greatest joy can rise out of the greatest sorrow
  • Creativity is something that needs to be shared
  • Slow, steady, simple and silent wins the race
  • Owning a dog is the best thing ever
  • YOU are the only you that ever was, ever has and ever will be
  • Never be afraid to say “I love you.”
  • Crying at the drop of a hat is good for you
  • Getting it done is far better than being perfect
  • Being all things to all people will not make you happy
  • We are all enough
  • No matter what happens, it always evens out in the end
  • Sometimes doing nothing is better than doing something
  • When it comes to ideas… Never throw anything away
  • We are where we are through the choices we make
  • If anyone tells you they have the answer… They’re lying.
  • There’s no “THE meaning of life” but there is “A meaning of life.”
  • There’s no better feeling than to be loved by someone who you love

Yes, I know, some of these lessons sound like cliches mixed in with a bit of common sense, but it’s amazing what lessons you remember learning if you put your mind to it. You should really try it for yourself. 

Try to remember a time when something happened that was either a positive or a negative experience and try to see what the lesson you learned from that experience was. Make a note of it and just reflect on it. 

That’s what I’ll be doing with the list above because at least then I’ll have no shortage of topics to write about.

I hope you enjoy what is left of 2021.

Peace,

Corey 🙂

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Today, Monday November 22, 2021 marks the one year anniversary of Mara’s passing. 

At the end of last week I went back to her Mum and Dad’s place in Millicent to drop off some boxes of Mara’s clothes, shoes, photos and her wedding dress. The trip also gave me an opportunity to celebrate with her family what would’ve been Mara’s 50th birthday last Friday November 19th.

The trip was a sad one but a necessary one because over the past 12 months since Mara’s passing my life has been all about letting go of things both physically and mentally. I suppose for me, this is all part of my grieving process.

I was noticing more and more as time went on that things that had once served a purpose are no longer relevant in my life. No longer relevant as in its purpose, not in what it means to me.

One of the hardest things to let go was Mara’s wedding dress but the reconciliation I had was that at the end of the day it would be better for the dress to go “home” to the house where she grew up.

Besides… It’s not my size.

Right now though, I am slowly going through all of the collected stuff that Mara and I had accumulated in our time together and I’m asking myself the same question… “Does this thing now serve a purpose in my life or not?” 

If it does, then I keep it. If it doesn’t anymore then I simply just let it go and at the moment I’m finding a lot of things that don’t serve a purpose to me anymore now that Mara is no longer here with me. 

It’s these things that I’m letting go of.

Six months ago in my post A Tribute To My Beautiful One – Six Months On, I wrote that the lessons I had learnt in that time were…

  • Life is far too short for me to be waiting for permission to do something with it
  • Fear is all in my head
  • I suffer fools even less gladly than I normally would
  • People spend too much time complaining about first world problems

Well, I can add “life is all about letting go” to the list and I’m sure that there will be many, many more lessons to add as time goes on.

In the meantime, I light a candle and reflect on how lucky I have been to have shared my life with such a beautiful, magical and special person.

Peace.

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I put in the word “obligatory” in the title not as a sarcastic inference but as something I am obliged to do for myself and for all of you too.

This obligation was set up by my May 27th post It’s Time To Take My Health Seriously and it is an obligation that I do take seriously.

So, with that all being said… Here is the update.

Since I started my “changes in lifestyle” journey on May 20th, I have lost a total of 22 kilograms and in that time (just under 5 months) I have not once succumbed to the temptation of ordering takeaway food.

This means that all of my meals at home to date have been cooked by me, from scratch and that in itself is a HUGE achievement.

When I started out I was pretty strict on myself and this was partly due to me “punishing” myself for getting my health into such a poor state.

Now, while this worked getting the initial weight off of me, I realised (with the help of a wonderful nutritionist) that my restrictive program was not going to be sustainable in the long run.

I have since then started to add foods into my life which strike a balance between good to eat and good for my pancreas as well.

Compared to when I started (check out my original post here)…

  • I drink more water (but I can always do more)
  • I’ve only just started introducing alcohol again (red wine mostly)
  • Coffee consumption is the same but it’s now black, no sugar
  • No takeaway food (not even once)
  • Occasional walking on treadmill (I’ve got to do more exercise)
  • Food portion sizes are still smaller
  • Still intermittent fasting (eating window of 2-6 hours depending on whether I have a late lunch or not)

At the moment my weight has plateaued but that was expected and all I really need to do is to address some of the issues listed above (especially increase my exercise) and I can start losing some more weight but more importantly, start feeling even lighter, more energetic and sharper in focus.

I’m due for another blood test to see how my blood sugar levels are going and whether I am on my way to reversing my Type 2 Diabetes diagnosis.

I’ll make sure I get it done in the next week but nevertheless, I’m pretty proud of myself and what I’ve achieved so far and I can’t wait to see what I can do for the future.

Mara would be very proud.

Peace,

Corey 🙂

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One can never accuse me of sitting still when it comes to performing live and even though I had taken an extended break from regular gigging, I have always kept my ear to the ground and left myself open to any music opportunity that comes my way.

So, when my good friend Geoffrey Stapleton approached me to put together a band that would play selected covers from the “Great Australian Songbook” interspersed with our own material which will eventually become the main part of the repertoire over time, I immediately said a big YES!

I introduce to you all… The New Normals.

The New Normals consist of the following members:

  • Corey Stewart – Bass, Vocals
  • Geoffrey Stapleton – Keyboards, Guitar, Percussion, Vocals
  • Darren Zaza – Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals
  • Dave Branton – Drums, Percussion

Besides the fact that we’re going to be playing our own material live starting off at 50% covers to original ratio and working our way to a 100% self penned repertoire, the band gives me an opportunity to play bass in a live context again, something that I haven’t done in a long while.

I’m really missing it.

I know I’ve said this before but I consider myself a “bass player by trade” and while I love playing guitar on stage (especially in the context of a soloist) there is something magical to me about singing and playing bass at the same time. Moving the gig forward through voice while locking into the groove at the same time.

I love it.

Our first ever gig as The New Normals will be at Wassail Wine Bar (95 Prospect Road, Prospect) on Sunday, October 24th starting at 3:30pm.

The goal with The New Normals is to have a regular and consistently promoted monthly gig at Wassail and build up the audience by having them come to us, rather than spread the band and the resources too thinly trying to play anywhere and everywhere.

I’m very interested in seeing if this experiment works and get people lining up outside the venue. That would be lovely.