Firstly, the week's news: Last Thursday was a very exciting moment in the shape of the debut of the New Keyboard!! I've recently made a purchase after 11 years of venerable service by the old one...it has survived the rigours of clubland better than it's owner.
It was a double first as it was also the debut of a new project. The setting was an open mic at the Chemic Tavern in Leeds, with Katie singing and me playing and doing some harmonies. Me and Katie go back a very long way, and we're still performing some of the songs we did back then, but it was a great night, suffice to say that the magic is still there. I'll hopefully bring more news on this in the weeks to come.
The weekend was dedicated to my 2 favourite sports, with a trip to watch the Bulls in Hull on Friday (we lost, and it rained a lot), followed by stock cars in Birmingham Saturday and Belle Vue Sunday. The Brum trip set a new record for average speed cameras on the M6, with a total of 5 (!) between Manchester and the Second City...throw in a road closure on the way back, and it left me wondering how much more of the M6 it's possible to dig up.
This week:
I've no gigs this week but will be rehearsing and hopefully finding some time to write and record.
And now.....
It's time for.....My A to Z of music!!
Yes...you may remember my ramblings about curation of music last week, well it all starts here :) So stand by for more ramblings as I delve into the archive of music past and present, but mainly past, as I explained last week. To keep things organised, I'm starting at A, with Z scheduled to be reached in about 90 years' time.
1) A-HA: I remember A-Ha the first time around, when their posters covered teenage girls' walls and they were big, really big. As the years went on they were not so big, but then big again thanks to the old Slumdog do-da featuring their finest song.
They've also kept releasing new good quality material, no resorting to covers here. And whilst they'll probably never top the dizzy heights of 'Take On Me' and 'The Sun Always Shines On TV' (this being the finest song I was referring to) they do still have melody, atmosphere and falcettos in abundance.
In fact, it was their latest album 'Foot Of The Mountain' that got this project of mine underway. It got me thinking how I'd like to know more of their songs, as I only owned their first album. So, one double-CD greatest hits album later, I'm pleased to report I'm still hooked.
As a keyboard player with a love for the 80s that goes back, well, to the 80s, it's almost inevitable that I'm still drawn to this sound. It's like a thinking mans Duran Duran. The lyrics are often dark and subtle, they are Norwegian after all. It's hard to believe the band is around 25 years old now. That's a lot of albums under the bridge. From the brilliant opening album 'Hunting High And Low' there's then 'Scoundrel Days' which is less good but still contains 'Manhattan Skyline' which is powerful synth pop at it's best. Then there's the Bond theme 'Living Daylights', and then later stuff such as 'Summer Moved On' and the new album highlights 'Foot Of The Mountain' and 'Shadowside'. There's melodies that move me right through and even though I'd have to drop the keys a few octaves, there remains the possibility of cover versions in the future....
2) THE ANIMALS: Changing direction a little here, I listened to a 'best of' album and it confirmed one thing beyond any doubt: Eric Burdon has one of the best rock voices of all-time!
This is how a singer should sound, end of story. Then there's the organ playing. Actually Alan Price is appearing in Brighouse at Easter, I wish it was on a night I was free to go and watch. I discovered some real gems in this collection, aside from the very obvious ones. There's a narrative song about Bo Diddley that I think will end up on my mp3 player, and also some searing vocals on most of the tracks. Unlike virtually every other musician, I still have time for 'House Of The Rising Sun' too. I've never actually covered it, not over-heard it, and remain quite excited about it. Maybe now is the time to change that, maybe I should get out more. Either way I hope you'll join me next week for more classics, by artisits beginning with the letter A!!
1) A-HA: I remember A-Ha the first time around, when their posters covered teenage girls' walls and they were big, really big. As the years went on they were not so big, but then big again thanks to the old Slumdog do-da featuring their finest song.
They've also kept releasing new good quality material, no resorting to covers here. And whilst they'll probably never top the dizzy heights of 'Take On Me' and 'The Sun Always Shines On TV' (this being the finest song I was referring to) they do still have melody, atmosphere and falcettos in abundance.
In fact, it was their latest album 'Foot Of The Mountain' that got this project of mine underway. It got me thinking how I'd like to know more of their songs, as I only owned their first album. So, one double-CD greatest hits album later, I'm pleased to report I'm still hooked.
As a keyboard player with a love for the 80s that goes back, well, to the 80s, it's almost inevitable that I'm still drawn to this sound. It's like a thinking mans Duran Duran. The lyrics are often dark and subtle, they are Norwegian after all. It's hard to believe the band is around 25 years old now. That's a lot of albums under the bridge. From the brilliant opening album 'Hunting High And Low' there's then 'Scoundrel Days' which is less good but still contains 'Manhattan Skyline' which is powerful synth pop at it's best. Then there's the Bond theme 'Living Daylights', and then later stuff such as 'Summer Moved On' and the new album highlights 'Foot Of The Mountain' and 'Shadowside'. There's melodies that move me right through and even though I'd have to drop the keys a few octaves, there remains the possibility of cover versions in the future....
2) THE ANIMALS: Changing direction a little here, I listened to a 'best of' album and it confirmed one thing beyond any doubt: Eric Burdon has one of the best rock voices of all-time!
This is how a singer should sound, end of story. Then there's the organ playing. Actually Alan Price is appearing in Brighouse at Easter, I wish it was on a night I was free to go and watch. I discovered some real gems in this collection, aside from the very obvious ones. There's a narrative song about Bo Diddley that I think will end up on my mp3 player, and also some searing vocals on most of the tracks. Unlike virtually every other musician, I still have time for 'House Of The Rising Sun' too. I've never actually covered it, not over-heard it, and remain quite excited about it. Maybe now is the time to change that, maybe I should get out more. Either way I hope you'll join me next week for more classics, by artisits beginning with the letter A!!
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