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!