THERE APPEARS TO BE something called the Olympic Games being held at the moment.  As you will know, I am a sports fan, just not particularly of the sports that make up the games.  I used to follow Track& Field Athletics avidly, but that interest faded a long time ago as Rugby League became a summer sport and more and more athletes seem to get caught cheating. 

I've felt fairly indifferent about the olympics as an event even though I'm going to watch the Tennis next week.  Tennis being the one sport I do follow.  This indifference continued well into early Friday evening, but my cynicism began to melt and by the time the Opening Ceremony started I must admit I was fairly keen.  I thought the event went very well and I did feel a sense of 'belonging' which I find is a nice feeling more people should try more often!

Gigs
My 'solo tour' (consisting so far of 2 Leeds venues) has continued with appearances at The Chemic on July 19th and The Ship again on July 24th.  I can't exactly how much I'm enjoying doing these gigs, nor really why.  Being self-reliant is clearly one aspect I enjoy.  Another is the 'back to basics' feel.  If I didn't mention it before, I've been practicing and performing arrangements I've been working on, rather than just going in the hope of remembering all the words and ploughing through each song.  Now I go with an idea of dynamics, where songs should be louder or quieter, a radical approach I know!  Being obsessed with figures (did I mention Beach Volleyball ?), I'm enjoying annalysing which songs go down better than others and which ones I play better...it's something that fascinates me and if it seems a bit over the top all I can say is it's something I'm very passionate about.  I even sold a CD last Tuesday so things must be going fairly well!  I think another factor is that it's been so long since I played some of the songs live that they have regained a vital freshness. 

Web
I'm continuing my root and branch revamp of my web presence by having a go at Facebook Timeline.  Believe me, there's plenty I could have a go at about it.  I like the idea of entering in milestones such as previous album releases, major gigs, band events, break-ups etc....that's the obsession with figures again...but I find that once the info is on the page it looks very messy.  I can't honestly see that fans find it easy to follow, the wall was far easier being as it was straight up and down.  I hope things settle down but as always Facebook seem to conspire to make life awkward, especially for musicians.  If you're interested to see how I'm getting on with it you can have a look at my page here.

Listening
Again, a very varied range of stuff.  'Lies' by Guns N Roses is more of a mini-album which shows off both sides of their character.  Heavy, fast-paced live tracks followed by acoustic songs that are as melodic as they come, 'Patience' is a very tasty song I must say.  Other blasts from the past included 2 of the most expensive albums of their era:  Michael Jackson's 'Bad' still sounds awesome.  It's actually the first time I've heard it on CD and about 20 years since I've heard some of the songs at all.  The production is still fresh, brilliant synth bass sounds, and just some great pop songs in general.  My favourite is still 'Smooth Criminal' but the title track is well up there.  I had to laugh because I thought for years track 4 was called 'Librarian Girl.'  I hope no-one ever heard me singing along to the lyrics on my Sony Walkman...
On the subject of lavish production, I also listened to Def Lepperd's 'Hysteria' album.  This is the other side of the coin to Quincy Jones/Jacko.  It's all glossy but the songs just aren't there to me.  OK, I love 'Pour Some Sugar' as it brings back memories of a Dallas nightclub, but other than that it seems to me however hard Mutt Lange tried to make them sound exciting, he was essentially polishing a turd, and boy was he polishing it, one layer at a time.

And with that delightful thought I'll see you next time, thanks for reading.