The first week back after a holiday is always pretty hectic. Try as I might, I never seem to come back home completely relaxed and tend to stumble through the week in a state of confusion. I shouldn't complain that things are so busy really, I was just tired.
There was one PJ Band gig on Friday at a new-to-us venue the High Park in Bradley, Huddersfield. It's more known as an eating place and they just do a band once a month. Eateries never seem to make for very good gig venues so I was pleasantly surprised at how well this one went. We got a good reception and handed out a lot of cards! Even the call and response section in 'All Day & All Night' (which sometimes features a call with no response) went very well indeed!
On Saturday I had a nice local gig with Atlanta Soul in Luton! This gig will go down in history as (I think) the only gig I've ever missed the start of! I encountered two serious hold-ups on the M1, both cases of shutting the motorway and in one case- a complete standstill of over an hour and the surreal sight of everyone getting out of their cars and wandering about. I can now say I've eaten my sandwiches in the middle lane of the M1, on foot. Over 6 hours after setting off, I finally arrived in time to play the 2nd set. Then it was back up the M1, this time in the clear, reaching home at 5am with the sun rising in the sky. Just a typical Saturday when you play in a band.
NEW ALBUM ALERT
Yes, it's that time of the year again....I'm about to release details of my new album to the mailing list this week. In case you're not on the mailing list (shame on you) the album is going to be titled 'Dare To Be Different' and is now nearly finished, hopefully in time for release in the coming months. I say 'hopefully' as you never know what might crop up before then but needless to say I'm excited about it and can't wait to have another batch of songs finished for people to listen to.
This week is even busier than normal with 3 band gigs Thurs, Fri & Saturday followed by my regular solo set at the Abbey festival in Bramley on Sunday afternoon. Details of all that and more in next weeks' exciting edition!
Monday, June 29, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
The Bells Are Ringing Out
Avid reader(s) of the blog will have noticed the lack of said blog over the past 2 weeks. The reason, quite simply, was I was on holiday in Spain. I don't like to publicise these things in advance too much. Obviously, I don't want to be pestered by fans in my hotel room and spend the whole trip beseiged by autograph hunters, paparazzi and randy women. Well, I do actually but it's just as well I kept my trip a secret.
Returning to reality for a moment, I can say it was a wonderful break. Particularly Barcelona which I thought was a magnificent place. Madrid perhaps less so as it's not really geared for tourists, but I can now add these and other places such as Toledo, Salamanca and San Sebastian to my list of places visited. The highlight of the visit was definetly the fountain display set to music in Barcelona. The lasers off the top of the town hall putting me in mind of Jean-Michel again. What a superb setting! And just to cap it off, the last piece for the dancing fountains was Freddie and Montserrat's anthem-just perfect!
So, now it's back to work again so without further ado there's a few pre-Spain gigs to catch up on. These were on the first week of June starting with a solo slot at Verve Bar in Leeds on June 4th. This one coincided with the bar's 2nd anniversary celebrations and featured a movie theme, leading to the bizarre situation of being served a beer by superman. I'd have preferred Supergirl but Hayley wasn't having any of it. Anyway, the music suffered a bit from the celebrations as it wasn't very busy downstairs. But my set, including 'Brian Wilson', went ok. It was good to hear that they've now expanded to doing Sunday nights as well.
On Friday the band played at the Cricketers in Horbury. This was I think our best session there to date so I was really pleased with that. Then on Saturday we did the Bell&Crown at Snaith which always attracts a good crowd, partly due to it's central location in the village (is Snaith a village or a town?). Both went well so I made my way to Spain content but also in need of a rest...July is going to be a really busy month!
I think that is all, so I'll get on with catching up on the myspace page and everything else that needs catching up on. The 3rd solo album is making headway so I will bring you more news on that soon.
Returning to reality for a moment, I can say it was a wonderful break. Particularly Barcelona which I thought was a magnificent place. Madrid perhaps less so as it's not really geared for tourists, but I can now add these and other places such as Toledo, Salamanca and San Sebastian to my list of places visited. The highlight of the visit was definetly the fountain display set to music in Barcelona. The lasers off the top of the town hall putting me in mind of Jean-Michel again. What a superb setting! And just to cap it off, the last piece for the dancing fountains was Freddie and Montserrat's anthem-just perfect!
So, now it's back to work again so without further ado there's a few pre-Spain gigs to catch up on. These were on the first week of June starting with a solo slot at Verve Bar in Leeds on June 4th. This one coincided with the bar's 2nd anniversary celebrations and featured a movie theme, leading to the bizarre situation of being served a beer by superman. I'd have preferred Supergirl but Hayley wasn't having any of it. Anyway, the music suffered a bit from the celebrations as it wasn't very busy downstairs. But my set, including 'Brian Wilson', went ok. It was good to hear that they've now expanded to doing Sunday nights as well.
On Friday the band played at the Cricketers in Horbury. This was I think our best session there to date so I was really pleased with that. Then on Saturday we did the Bell&Crown at Snaith which always attracts a good crowd, partly due to it's central location in the village (is Snaith a village or a town?). Both went well so I made my way to Spain content but also in need of a rest...July is going to be a really busy month!
I think that is all, so I'll get on with catching up on the myspace page and everything else that needs catching up on. The 3rd solo album is making headway so I will bring you more news on that soon.
Monday, June 01, 2009
We finally hit the jackpot with the weather this week, it's been a pretty hot weekend. I've just completed three gigs in three days, so have retreated to my dayjob for a rest!
Friday was my band at The Plough in Warmfield. As I said last week, it's one of our favourites. This is largely because mine host (where does that expression come from?) Ali is so enthusiastic for what we do, and for live music in general. It was a very warm evening, and I think some people were away or having BBQs and things, but we played a good set to those that were there, and got an encouraging reception, including to some of the original tunes.
Some people have asked which originals we play. Unfortunately they are mainly American fans who can't get to see the shows! But anyway, we play a few off each of the solo albums plus 'Old Wishing Well' which was on an EP called 'Get The Drinks In'. At some gigs we can only really play a few of these, and some get rotated around the rest of the time. One that stands out is 'Hell Freezes Over' which is on 'Lost in Love Town'. You can still buy it.
The rest of the weekend was taken up with Atlanta Soul gigs as I took up my role as keyboard player. We played 2 weddings in amazing surroundings, helped a lot by the weather. I took some pictures of the hall and grounds on Saturday night which I intend to eventually show once I get my flickr account going. I've been saying this for some time I know.
Just a further update on the recording side of things. My third solo album is not too far away now. There's a few songs to finish and mix and then it will be unleashed on the general public. It's called 'Dare To Be Different' which is apt when you consider most of my life's path! Seriously, I'm always proud of the stuff I release and I'm looking forward to finishing this one.
Another busy week coming up with a solo set at Verve in Leeds on Thursday (4th) and then the band plays Friday and Saturday at Horbury and Snaith respectively.
Friday was my band at The Plough in Warmfield. As I said last week, it's one of our favourites. This is largely because mine host (where does that expression come from?) Ali is so enthusiastic for what we do, and for live music in general. It was a very warm evening, and I think some people were away or having BBQs and things, but we played a good set to those that were there, and got an encouraging reception, including to some of the original tunes.
Some people have asked which originals we play. Unfortunately they are mainly American fans who can't get to see the shows! But anyway, we play a few off each of the solo albums plus 'Old Wishing Well' which was on an EP called 'Get The Drinks In'. At some gigs we can only really play a few of these, and some get rotated around the rest of the time. One that stands out is 'Hell Freezes Over' which is on 'Lost in Love Town'. You can still buy it.
The rest of the weekend was taken up with Atlanta Soul gigs as I took up my role as keyboard player. We played 2 weddings in amazing surroundings, helped a lot by the weather. I took some pictures of the hall and grounds on Saturday night which I intend to eventually show once I get my flickr account going. I've been saying this for some time I know.
Just a further update on the recording side of things. My third solo album is not too far away now. There's a few songs to finish and mix and then it will be unleashed on the general public. It's called 'Dare To Be Different' which is apt when you consider most of my life's path! Seriously, I'm always proud of the stuff I release and I'm looking forward to finishing this one.
Another busy week coming up with a solo set at Verve in Leeds on Thursday (4th) and then the band plays Friday and Saturday at Horbury and Snaith respectively.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)