Well blimey how time flys....another month nearly over, indeed another year nearly over and my least favourite month (december) still to come. Still, you have to laugh.
It appears the last blog was on the 1st of October, so I think I'll start with Wed Oct 3rd when I played at The Grove Open Mic. I did 'Gods & Angels' followed by 'Dancing In The Dark'. I'm still raving about Bruce Springsteen as you can see!
The following night was a new venue for me which was Verve Bar in Leeds. This is the latest night run by Haley Gaftarnick. It's a great little downstairs bar, ideal for acousitc sets. A bit like Dare Cafe but with an entertainments license. I played half an hour, and after a bit of trouble finding any electricity (vital for keyboards) I played my set which went pretty well. The set went 'Shadow', 'Nobody Said', 'Whiskey','Money From The Satisfied Man', 'Young, Lost Hopeful', 'How Do You Sleep', and 'These Eyes'.
There was a decent crowd too and I enjoyed the other acts. One well worth watching for in the future. It was also the first time I'd seen Hayley play a set and despite me being a poor spectator (see previous blogs!), I thought that was cracking too.
Friday 5th was spent receeing pub venues for the band. 2 more old haunts were visited, and I left with a favourable impression of one of them-so not a bad night.
On the Saturday I should have been playing with Morris, so to speak, but this was cancelled which left an opening to voluntarily go to Coventry. Yes, you guessed it, Stock Cars again and my first visit to Coventry Stadium since 1986.
Sunday was another spectating job, easier this though as it was Jon Strong. He being the producer of my new album. The gig was at Square Chapel in Halifax where earlier this year I'd seen Gordon Giltrap perform. Jon's not done too many arts centre venues of late, where people actually sit quietly and listen. The night was very succesful I thought, in terms of attendance and the all-important Cd sales!!
Oh how I'd love to do gigs like that. On the solo side of things at least. To have 50 or 60 people pay to watch a set, listen, appreciate and purchase merchandise would be wonderful!
Into the second week of October, and we're looking at Wednesday 10th here. This was my band's latest assault on the public at Sheffield Under The Boardwalk. I played solo pretty well there the month before. Most importantly this was Norm's first gig with us on drums. Given the nature of the band and other's commitments, I can't always have the same line-up, but that's ok as I'm lucky enough to know some great musicians.
Norm is certainly one of those. A true pro and a wonderful drummer, I've worked with him since Uni days in 1998. The set was just the half hour. We did: Eyes, Shadow, Even, Whiskey, Hell, Wishing and So Lonely.
We were on first, so it wasn't too busy, but as with last time there were enough to generate some atmosphere so it went well. I have to say after the last band gig at Zephyr I think I personally needed this one to go better, and it was very relaxed too!
On Friday I ventured out into more lawless zones to look at pub venues. Some point soon this will all hopefully make sense. The band will be playing some of them, in the new year.
Saturday 13th was Atlanta Soul at Northwich. This was memorable mainly for being on stage 5 minutes before the Rugby Union finished. So I saw 75 minutes of England v France and missed the bit where England got in front and won the game. And I don't even like Union.....
The second was DJ Martin The Mod's announcement to the crowd just before our encore.
I think you had to be there but it's still making me laugh now.
"Right then you half-arsed bastards, it's Atlanta fuckin' Soul"
How I wish I'd have said that at several WMCs in the past.
Sunday was Stock Cars at Skegness, and great weather too which is not something you can say very often about Skeggy. This side of things seems to be getting more mentions, so I'll just point out again that I don't race I merely watch. I'm a far better spectator for this than of other bands! Especially those with talented female members!
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Monday, October 01, 2007
As the weddings season winds down, I've found I've got more time or more likely braintime to think about doing blogs.
So for the first time in ages, I've only a week or so to report on.
Last week's major event was the Band gig at Zephyr on Thursday. This featured a stage in the venue for the first time. Unfortunately I couldn't fit on it ( and I'm smaller than average) so I played in the audience pretty much. It was also the debut of the new PA system (or at least the bottom end of it) and so naturally the set up and soundcheck were fraught.
It's at times like this when you realise just what a job has been undertaken doing this. And at the lowest moment you wonder why you are bothering at all! Fortunately this feeling passes but running a band is HARD and everyone who's been on at me to do this over the years would be well advised to remember this at times. It's the best feeling in the world when a band gig goes well, when one is more testing it can leave you with a lot more questions than answers.
Thursday's fell into the latter category, although it still went down well. The pub is small but as busy as ever and we put on a good show, worthy of a few CD sales! There were some touching moments like the Spanish guys who enjoyed it, they were only here for a week! Generally, there's some problems to iron out with the new sound system-and one or two lessons to learn, but I took this on knowing it would be the ultimate challenge......
The previous night I had a tour around looking at potential venues. This is part of what I do and I always enjoy it. It's an effort to eliminate that sinking feeling you get when you arrive at a gig unseen and want to turn around and go home again! It's also good for networking and keeping my face a little bit familiar. I started at O'Donoghues in Wakefield, which is still open and still un-refurbished, and then onto Harry's Bar which is a gem of a venue for an acoustic solo show. They're heavily booked but I hope to get a slot there soon. The really promising thing was that the landlord actually preferred to hear original material-not something you hear very often!
The new Bruce Springsteen album 'Magic' is fuckin Magic. If I was to sum up what sort of songwriting I appreciate the most, then this comes pretty close to doing so. Along with Tom Petty, these are the guys I think influence me the most nowadays. To me, there's something special about making a song sound big and poweful over just simple chord progressions. And the vibe created by their attitude is just what I would love to create. To date, I reckon 'Young, Lost and Hopeful' is the closest I've come to achieving this, and maybe 'I Don't Need'.
The weekend for the first time in ages was fairly restful. It even gave me time to work in the studio a bit. I was at the Stock Cars on Sunday night getting shale in my hair (what's left of it) and generally enjoying something totally unrelated to music. If only there was a way of combining the two!
So for the first time in ages, I've only a week or so to report on.
Last week's major event was the Band gig at Zephyr on Thursday. This featured a stage in the venue for the first time. Unfortunately I couldn't fit on it ( and I'm smaller than average) so I played in the audience pretty much. It was also the debut of the new PA system (or at least the bottom end of it) and so naturally the set up and soundcheck were fraught.
It's at times like this when you realise just what a job has been undertaken doing this. And at the lowest moment you wonder why you are bothering at all! Fortunately this feeling passes but running a band is HARD and everyone who's been on at me to do this over the years would be well advised to remember this at times. It's the best feeling in the world when a band gig goes well, when one is more testing it can leave you with a lot more questions than answers.
Thursday's fell into the latter category, although it still went down well. The pub is small but as busy as ever and we put on a good show, worthy of a few CD sales! There were some touching moments like the Spanish guys who enjoyed it, they were only here for a week! Generally, there's some problems to iron out with the new sound system-and one or two lessons to learn, but I took this on knowing it would be the ultimate challenge......
The previous night I had a tour around looking at potential venues. This is part of what I do and I always enjoy it. It's an effort to eliminate that sinking feeling you get when you arrive at a gig unseen and want to turn around and go home again! It's also good for networking and keeping my face a little bit familiar. I started at O'Donoghues in Wakefield, which is still open and still un-refurbished, and then onto Harry's Bar which is a gem of a venue for an acoustic solo show. They're heavily booked but I hope to get a slot there soon. The really promising thing was that the landlord actually preferred to hear original material-not something you hear very often!
The new Bruce Springsteen album 'Magic' is fuckin Magic. If I was to sum up what sort of songwriting I appreciate the most, then this comes pretty close to doing so. Along with Tom Petty, these are the guys I think influence me the most nowadays. To me, there's something special about making a song sound big and poweful over just simple chord progressions. And the vibe created by their attitude is just what I would love to create. To date, I reckon 'Young, Lost and Hopeful' is the closest I've come to achieving this, and maybe 'I Don't Need'.
The weekend for the first time in ages was fairly restful. It even gave me time to work in the studio a bit. I was at the Stock Cars on Sunday night getting shale in my hair (what's left of it) and generally enjoying something totally unrelated to music. If only there was a way of combining the two!
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