Ditching the Television proves to be a breath of fresh air!

Again, I have to apologise for not posting for so long.  It has been, to put it fairly mildly, a tough few months.  The music and teaching have not paid as well as I thought they might and on a few occasions I've been known to raid the penny jar and use Sainsbury's self-check out to buy a loaf of bread. Therefore, topping the internet dongle up has been low on the priority list, and the library has been frequented for the purposes of checking emails and updating the world in short sentences!

However, one decision this period of poverty thrust upon me was to get rid of my television.  I was, in all honesty, watching, or half watching rubbish, not sleeping properly and letting it drain time, energy and motivation from me on a regular basis.  It was also watching the TV licence suck money out of my bank account, and I decided it had to go.  I was, intitally slightly concerned about the lack of it, but then, when I saw the space it created on my desk, the fact I could now fit my digital piano on the desk instead, put my PA mixer on the desk and actually play music through it, and enjoy the sound of keys, I realised what I'd been missing.

By letting the television dominate the space in my home (I live in a small studio flat which essentially consists of a bed, a wardrobe, a desk, a couple of chairs, a few kitchen units and a shower room) I'd let it dominate my life, and now being free of it I began a journey of discovery, not only of music that I'd not listened to in ages (The Best of Gong got an airing, crazy awesome stuff about Pixies and Flying Teapots!), but of books.  I realised that I'd almost completely forgotten how enjoyable reading could be.  

So, in the first few days of having no television, having no job to go to, and not too many commitments I decided to ease myself in gently and re-visit the books that had coloured my childhood with fantastic characters and amazing thoughts.  I read right through my Roald Dahl collection, starting with "Boy" his autobiographical account of his early years.  What's interesting about reading that first, is that you then start to see where a lot of his characters and stories come from as you read through the excellent "BFG" and "Witches" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" etc. etc.  Reading these books as an adult was as exhilarating and wonderful as reading them when I was a child, and I'd recommend any adult who has them in their collection to go back to them.  The quote which remained with me from this revisitation was from "Danny The Champion of the World" it is a footnote to the book  and reads like this "A MESSSAGE to Children Who Have Read This Book - When you grow up and have children of your own do please remember something important, a stodgy parent is no fun at all.  What a child wants and deserves is a parent who is SPARKY".  Now I have to say that my Dad, and Mum are both Sparky in their own way, and that spark inspired the person I am today.  I hope one day to pass that spark on, and I am determined that I should never be a stodgy parent!

So, where do you go from Dahl?  Well, in my world, there is only one answer to that - Go straight for the big guns and read some Albert Camus!  Albert Camus was a French existentialist novelist and philosopher who died in 1960.  He won the Nobel Prize for literature and as Jean-Paul Sartre said "Camus could never cease to be one of the principal figures in our cultural domain, nor to represent, in his own way, the history of France and of this century".  It is a sadness to me that I am not fluent enough in his mother-tongue to read the books in their original French.  However, I am possessed of some great translations.

I can not stress enough how utterly beguiling, inspiring and beautiful this man's writing is.  He has an understanding of humanity so deep and so truthful that one often finds oneself thinking "Yep, that's how it is, I'd behave just like that if it were me".  His characters are so well drawn and his descriptive language really takes you to the places where his books are set.  If you wish to read Camus, I'd recommend starting with his first (and shortest) novel "The Outsider".  It is truly a masterpiece of existentialist writing.  Camus himself, when asked to sum up the book said "It is the story of a man who is put to death, not so much for the murder of an Arab, but for not crying at his Mother's funeral".  Powerful, emotive and moving, it really does just take you away from this world and into Camus'.

I had planned to blog using quotes from the various books I'd read, but having been so inspired by them I felt the urge to share them with someone who I knew would appreciate them, so they are now in the hands of a friend.  I will try to remember a couple of the quotes which I bookmarked but forgive me if they are paraphrased!  

From "Exile and the Kingdom" a series of short stories - "The Artist at Work".  "The canvas was bare except for a word in very small writing which could be made out but without any certainty whether it should read solidary or solitary".

From "The Outsider" "When I woke up Marie was gone, she had said she had to go to her Aunt's.  I remembered it was Sunday, I don't like Sunday's so I turned over and tried to find the salty scent of her hair in the bolster and slept until ten".

From "The Plague" "At Oran, as elsewhere, for lack of time and thinking, people have to love each other without  knowing much about it".

Now, these short quotes don't really do justice to the myriad wonderful writings of Camus (Wikipedia is bound to have an article or two for the curious!) but they stuck in my mind for a few reasons.  The first quote, is from the story of an artist, who had essentially got too big for his boots.  The beauty of the ending of this book, the quote I gave is that this man had spent hours in a special loft room alone, working on this final work and the ambiguity of the word he has written (A later translation has it as "Independent or Interdependent", the meaning is essentially the same) marks out the eternal question of humanity - are we best of working alone, or working together for the "greater good".  The brilliance of Camus is not in answering the questions of life, but in posing them in ways which challenge and refresh the mind!

The second quote is essentially because I have a memory that is triggered very strongly by smell, and I know the feeling of trying to find the smell of the hair of a girl who's shared your bed, just so you can rest easy again.  Camus' character portrait of this young man, Mersault, is flawless, and so true to form that a number of times I was left thinking "How did he know that's how I'd think?".

The final quote is from Camus' wonderful allegory of occupied France, a difficult and at times upsetting read, which nonetheless is very worthwhile reading.  I love the fact that Camus' is so frank about humanity, about love, about life, and the things which get in the way of living as one is capable of doing.

I recently received an email with notes on "The Outsider" produced by my old Parish Priest who is a devotee of Camus.  I'll finish this blog with some words from them, as I think they will give you a great flavour of what Camus was all about!

"The existentialists claim that the human creature is not like the rest of creation: he/she is free to live as they like.  BUT, say the existentialists, the tragedy is that we actually renounce our freedom and choose to live according to fore-ordained patterns of behaviour.  Born a bundle of infinite possiblities, we settle for the wretched uniformity of the cabbage. 
Basically, we live as society wishes us to live.  We conform."

I guess, as a committed non-conformist, I certainly don't live, or wish to live as society wishes me too.  I will remain a long haired, flowery shirt wearing hippy for as long as my hair and shirts last!

A case in point - I had a job interview today, I need to sort a bit of cash-flow out to sustain my live music and beer habits.  Did I show up in a boring suit with a boring shirt and a boring tie?  No, I showed up in my suit with the shirt I bought to play at the Globe, Cardiff which is flowery, to say the least, and my Dad's old tie which is a tasteful black - with Pink Elephants on it!!  I was asked if I'd be prepared to tie my hair back if it was a problem.  Being a job interview I said of course not, however, on reflection - if any of the women in the office have comparable length hair which is not tied back, I'll refuse on grounds of sex-discrimination!

So, the Weekend looms large, and music-filled is the order of the day!  Lewis Creaven's amazing band are playing my local, The Cat and Wheel on Friday night, not to be missed!  Then Saturday daytime I'm at the Seven Stars playing a solo set, followed by guitar and harmony vocals for Chris Stanley.  Then Chris and I will rush off to the Pucklechurch Beer festival to entertain the lovely crowds there.

Then Sunday, oh Sunday, day of dreams come true!  I will be playing a support slot for my favourite band, in an awesome venue.  I will be supporting Panic Room at the Robin 2 in Bilston.  I simply can not wait!!

The power of music, friendship and a good cause.

Firstly, apologies for the lack of blog over the last while.  Those moments of inspiration that inspire me to write haven't been pressing enough, that was until the weekend just gone.

This weekend, in Bristol in 3 venues a total of over 50 local and not so local musicians played over 24 hours of music.  This wasn't just an excercise in quantity, the quality of the musicians present was, to put it mildly, astounding.  I was honoured to be invited to play by the organisers of the event, Sadie Fleming, Rebecca Cullen and Lindsay Bullamore.  They are 3 amazing singer songwriters who, inspired by their experience of the help that macmillan cancer care offered to their friend and housemate Kath who was diagnosed with Breast Cancer around Christmas time, decided to create the Bristol Macmillathon.

This was no mean feat, but using their knowledge of the Bristol music scene and friendships they've fostered in their time playing here they steadily pulled together a line-up which was as diverse as it was exciting.  Local promoter and Acoustic showcase organiser Mark Venus helped to secure the venues, using venues that already had acoustic evenings running on the days, but not usually for as long.  Venues stayed open later, and one venue even donated a percentage of the bar takings on the night, another had organised a raffle for the staff at the venue, and donated all proceeds.  The staff at all three venues were helpful, letting their pubs be taken over by a bunch of musicians, fans, friends, and family, quite a few of whom had their faces painted, (Some more often than others - but more of that later!) others covered in glow-stick bangles, and a band of faithful, amazing organisers in macmillan T-Shirts!  Massive thanks has to go to Spring Garden Live Marlows Cellar Bar and The Hatchet Inn for making it possible.

I unfortunately had to miss most of the first night, due to a rehearsal with my new covers duo partner Graham Higgins (more on that soon!).  I got there at around 10 to a lovely welcome from the organisers.  First thing to do was get my face painted!  Beth Callinan asked what I wanted and showed me a few ideas and photos of faces that had been done.  I told her to do something totally random, whatever she wanted, and she admitted to being better at random!  The resulting mask shaped design was nothing short of amazing, and I was proud to wear it, along with a few glow sticks for good measure.  The place was rammed, rocking with a brilliant bunch of people, amazing acts and topped off with the utterly astounding sounds of Benny Sensus.

I had to miss the entirety of Saturday's event, but for a very lovely reason.  Graham's good friends were getting married, and years ago they'd said "When we get married, we want you to play".  So, we found ourselves at a lovely Pub in the middle of Oxfordshire, with a bunch of generous, lovely party people.  We'd rehearsed a few times, but had only added a couple of extra numbers to the set during Friday's rehearsal.  Cheat sheets were required, but that didn't bother anyone, least of all the people who were up and dancing to the tunes pretty much all through the set.  A highlight for Graham was a couple slow dancing to his original song "You" a beautiful love song, which I love playing lead guitar on.  A highlight for me was kicking the wah-wah pedal into action for a version of "Beat It" by Michael Jackson - acoustic covers don't get funkier than this...:)  A paid gig, a great location, wonderful hosts, amazing crowd, smiles all round.  More like that please!

And so to Sunday!  The longest of the 3 events, a full 12 hours of live music from 12pm to 12am!  The Hatchet is one of my favourite pubs in Bristol so I was very pleased to be playing on that day, especially as so many of my good friends were on the line up.  The planning team were clearly tired, but somehow powered through, fueled only by enthusiasm, cake and the odd can of red-bull.  Tom Scriven, who had been at every event, was there, still standing, somehow, and still brimming with excitement for the music, friends and good times.  Again, my first priority was facepainting.  This time "Something Random inspired by my Shirt" was the instruction.  Beth did an amazing job, creating swirls, colour and really reflecting the madness of my shirt .  I played my set, following the immense talents of Sadie Fleming, which is never easy.  I kicked off my set with a cover of "You've Got A Friend" by Carole King.  If ever there was proof that good friends are there when you need them, the Bristol Macmillathon, and the amazing band of friends who made it happen was it.  I followed up with originals, dedicated to various audience members who've let me know which of my songs are their favourites.  Gypsy Dancer, Division Street, Hitcher and Nine Tenths all made an appearance.  I felt great to be a part of such an amazing event, and that feeling stayed with me right through the day.  Having played early, it was now time to relax, enjoy and listen to the talent on offer, which was immense!  Oh, and drink more beer of course!  But, not before removing one work of art, creating a blank canvas for another.  Sensitive cleansing wipes were applied, and my face was fresh and ready for the amazing talented hand of Kath Williams.  An amazing artist on canvas, her skills were no less astounding on skin.  The resulting tree and sunset design was so good I really didn't want to have to wash it off when I got home, but I feared the pillow case wouldn't agree!

So, a drunken, tired and overwhelmed Howard returned home in the taxi with some of the organisers, and slept soundly until 1pm today!  My lasting memory of the weekend?  Well, there was one very special moment for me.  Rebecca Cullen, one of the organisers, has been having singing lessons with me.  She's only had a couple of lessons so far, but has taken on board everything I've said and learned so quickly.  Sunday was her turn for a solo performance.  She stood at the microphone and sang with such power, passion, clarity and confidence that I was instantly proud and blown away.  She'd come to me asking if I could help her to increase the volume of her voice, and I said yes.  I had no idea that the simple tips I'd given would take hold so quickly.  Every word of every song was audible, clear and defined.  The emotion and style of her voice was unchanged, it was Bex, but more so.  She utterly rocked.

Nocturnal ramblings of the musician's mind

So, it would appear that periods of insomnia/nocturnal behaviour do have an upside when it comes to creating blogs.  It seems, that while the world sleeps, or perhaps wakes to the shock of the alarm, I am at my most creative, or perhaps most verbose!

Since my last blog a fair amount has happened.  I didn't get the job of electric guitarist for Forest of Dean Based Prog-Rock band "Unto Us".  What is nice, is that the feedback given was very positive.  Essentially the answer was "We're going to keep looking, personality wise you were a perfect fit, but playing wise we're looking for something else, we're not entirely sure what yet, but we'll know when we find it".  I will be keeping in touch with these guys and listening out for what they produce because I know with guys like this driving the creative machine it will be magical!

What I took from the experience was all positive. I now know Sling is near Coleford, not, as my bad memory had convinced me, near Cinderford!  I have met three musicians who I will keep in contact with and hope to enjoy the company of in some capacity in the future.  I have realised I am a touch too gentle, polite and lyrical in my electric playing, and perhaps some days being a laid back hippy doesn't pay off...;)  I have also realised that just because I'm not right for that job, doesn't mean I'm not right for so many others, and being in a band creating progressive music is still something I'd really like to do with my time.

After the audition I had a lovely "In Concert Gig" at The Oxford, Totterdown on Wednesday 7th of March with a surprise visit from good friend Jay Webb, who did me the honour of quoting lines from the chorus of my final song as his facebook status that night!  Well, it is his favourite song of mine (Nine Tenths Live).

I had some quality "time out" visiting my Mum in deepest darkest Kent, in the village I grew up in.  There is a wealth of history in the family house, and the builders working to prop up the house from underneath in the cellar appeared to have uncovered a fair bit more history in the shape of various bones between the floorboards and the plaster!  The origin, nature and purpose of them remains a mystery, but thankfully nothing to trouble Miss Marple or any of her sort!

Plenty of gardening, crossword solving, beer, wine and good food and several games of pool with my nephew later I was back in Bristol, with a problem - no singing voice!  I had to bail out of Ant Noel's brilliant acoustic evening at the Merchant's Arms, but was replaced by good friend, fellow musician and stallwart of the acoustic scene Geoff Pugh (I think the mention of a free drink on the table may have swayed him slightly!).  I then discovered my new duo partner of a ginger persuasion Graham Higgins (known better as Gaham due to an unfortunate spelling error on an Alfie Kingston Poster which has haunted him ever since!) was iller than I was, and even more unable to sing.  We'd planned our first assault on the eardrums of Bristol to be at the Pilgrim Inn, Brislington, but sadly it was not to be.

After a few of days of self-imposed quarantine I was getting cabin fever and seeing that both Julie Baker and Sadie Fleming were playing at the Spring Garden on Friday night, I decided what better therapy than listening to other people's lovely voices, whilst self medicating with beer?  I was not dissapointed, not only did I get to see Julie Baker on top form, with her Mum in the audience looking proud and radiant I also became her guitar technician, replacing a string while she borrowed a guitar for a song!  New string on, stretched and perfectly in tune in time for the next number - where else do you get that service for nothing but a smile and a hug?  Sadie was on brilliant form, and with the added bonus of Lindsay Bullamore on Cajon and backing vocals and Bex Cullen on Vocals and Guitar for the final two songs, the "S.Ex.Ay" line up was completed!

Vocal chords restored, all be it with a slight hangover, I greeted St. Patrick's day with renewed faith that I could sing!  A lovely set at the Seven Stars, alongside the amazing talents of Lewis Creaven, Rob Power and Lindsay Bullamore and hosted by the legend that is Tim Rice, I sang a mix of originals, folk songs and a couple of covers.  I threw in an old Irish Folk Song, "The Black Velvet Band" which Rob Power joined in on with gusto from the bar, unveiling his half Irishness again!

Then a period of waiting, and avoiding beer, so that I could perform sober and well at the very civilised Marlow's Cellar Bar for Mark Venus.  The set up in there is wonderful, the sound is engineered brilliantly, the candles give it an intimate quality, and the space has its very own feel and atmosphere, making you want to fill the space as beautifully as you possibly can.  I even felt confident enough in my voice to complete "The Galway Shawl" with an unaccompanied chorus, which silenced the crowd, until the applause.

It being St. Patrick's day, I couldn't end the night there, so rushed off to catch the awesome and ridiculously tight Dysfunktional at the Cat and Wheel (well, it is my local!).  Christian Walsh was on fantastic form on lead guitar, rocking out so hard he broke a string.  I've never seen him sweat so much, he was loving it, little rock-god!  Freya was powerful and unfased as ever, fronting up this unit of skilled musicians, despite drunken people in silly hats dancing in her face, and trying to put their hats, wigs etc. on her!  All in all, a great party band, and a pub stuffed full of party people, some of whom were to beautiful for words, a sweet end to the night.

And so, a new week has begun, almost without the weekend ending, in my case.  I play at the Blue Lagoon on Wednesday, a solo gig of two sets, something I don't often do, and I'm looking forward to trying out a few different songs and maybe breaking out the keyboard for variety's sake.  I've set up a new page for Howard Sinclair Guitar and Bass Tuition here: Howard Sinclair Guitar And Bass Tuition so please go and like it, share it and let everyone know I'm available to teach guitar and bass anywhere in Bristol and the surrounding areas at very reasonable rates.

On a slightly sadder note, fellow musician and all round awesome guy Owain Roberts, from The Reasoning has been missing from his home in Wales for over a week.  He left there to walk the costal path on Saturday the 10th of March and hasn't been seen since.  Please follow this link and like, and share the page especially if you have friends in Wales who may have seen him.  His family, friends and band mates are very concerned and want him home safe - thank you.https://www.facebook.com/findowainroberts

So, until I'm up at a stupid hour and feeling the need to share, please look after yourselves, and keep supporting live music wherever you are! 

Another blog, so soon?

Well, it's clearly that time of the night when my brain, having been largely inactive for the majority of the day, has decided to suddenly come alive.  So much so that I have a swirl of lyrical ideas, various tunes and chord sequences, and yet it would be anti-social behaviour, as defined by the laws of this country, to explore any of them at this time of the morning, especially in a thin walled flat enclosed on all sides by civilised people who are already tucked up in their beds and sleeping so they can go to work in the morning refreshed.

I, however, do not have work in the morning.  At least, there is no defined time by which I must start work, and by the same token, no defined time at which I must stop.  Therein lies the problem with being a self employed musician.  The hours a musician keeps are entirely at odds with those that polite society tends to keep.

A case in point is this evening.  At 6.30pm, the time at which most people would be arriving home from work, or settling down in front of the telly, I was loading a car full of PA equipment, and a guitar, preparing to head down to my favourite, and the best Real Ale Pub in Bristol (That's according to CAMRA 2 years in a row).  The Seven Stars tonight played host to Ant Noel and the Peabody Drakes.  Tonight I was an honorary Drake due to their regular guitarist Chris Webb being employed by his duo partner Alfie Kingston to play elsewhere in the city.  I kind of talked myself into this gig, and arrived unrehearsed, but well prepared having seen Ant and indeed Chris, play the songs in the set a number of times before.  The gig ended at 11pm, but including pack down time, chatting round the table and drinking up time, etc. home time was nearer 1am!

Ant and the Drakes play upbeat, catchy and well crafted songs written and arranged by Ant and interpreted very well by the exceptional talents of the musicians he has gathered around him (James Stallwood - Clarinet, Pete Wilks - Piano Accordian and Alex Pearson - Upright Bass.  I played in with most of the songs and even pulled off a couple of solos, very much more in the Howard Sinclair vein of solo playing than in the Chris Webb style, but they came off ok and I was pleased to have been part of it.  It was a pleasure to not only be able to provide PA and a bit of sound engineering for Ant but also to play in amongst the songs.  These are songs which stay with you for days on end after hearing, and I'm certain I'll be playing them on guitar in between trying to find original thoughts and melodies of my own.

It was great to have reliable follower of orignal music and genuine friend Geoff Pugh in the crowd, who'd arrived slightly later than planned after what sounded like a hellish 12 hour day at work, I gave him a lift home afterwards as he looked fit to collapse, though he still had just enough energy to join in on "Coffee" to reprise his role in Ant Noel's Choir, performed at the Harbourside Festival earlier this year.

This week has taught me a number of things, the most valuable of which is that Bristol is a City rich in real, raw, unspoilt and unpretentious talent.  On any night of the week you, yes you, could get out of your house or flat, walk into a pub or a bar or a cafe in this fair city and see real musicians playing their own songs or putting a new spin on someone else's and singing their hearts out for little more than a beer or bit of friendly applause or if they're very lucky, some money.  And the brilliant thing about all this is, in most cases, you don't have to pay to see it, you can just walk in and listen!

There are so many little gems to be discovered across the city, from Monday right through to Sunday and back again.  Now I've been on the acoustic scene in Bristol for a few years on and off, but I'd have to say, right now is the best time to get out there and catch some live music.  There is an absolute gold mine of talent out there waiting to hit your lovely ears, and makes its way into your hearts.  My biggest tip is next time you're thinking "I wonder what's on telly tonight", turn the telly off, go out and find some real entertainment, it's there waiting for you.

Tomorrow I'm taking a night off to go and enjoy someone else doing the hardwork and nipping up the road to my local, The Cat and Wheel, to listen to the skuffed-up, skiffled-out country sounds of Prairie Dog!

Next Tuesday is audition time, so wish me luck, I will bear news of one sort or another when I know more.

Until then, everyone who's sleeping, I hope you sleept and dreamt well.  To fellow insomniacs/musicians/daysleepers see you on the flip side!

Does 3 dates in two places make a tour?

Well, when your tour partner comes down with a bout of laryngitis after the 3rd gig, and has to pull out of the tour, then it does.  My amazing friend and tour partner Ryan James suffered a total loss of singing voice, but also gained a moment of true clarity and direction through this.  He's taking a break from music for now, but I'm certain the stage will call him, and his beautiful jacke, hat, warpaint and wings out soon enough.

I toyed with the idea of touring on my own, or getting someone else to join me, but I came to the realisation that this tour was about "Ryan James and Howard Sinclair".  No one else, and nothing else, would, could or should replace that.  There was something special about the show we created, and those lucky people of Swansea and Bristol who got to see it, will I hope agree.  Those who missed it, there will be another time I'm sure.

So, for me it was back to the drawing board.  Unfortunately, the bad/emotionally difficult news didn't stop there.  In that same week I discovered my ex-wife is re-marrying at Easter.  Now, we've been divorced for some years, and not in contact, but that sort of news hits you like a very delayed train coming out of a dark tunnel.  At first I shrugged it off and wished good luck to the both of them, then came the memories and the tears and the songs that made me think of what we'd shared.  So, I had a fragile week of it, but made the best of it by playing and singing whenever and wherever the opportunity arose.

A lovely night up at the Greyhound in Clifton run by the ever generous Ant Noel, I played bass for Chris Stanley on a couple of songs, and generally had a lovely night immersed in good company and lovely sounds.  One artist struck me in a way that she hadn't before.  Sadie Fleming, a leading light and regular performer on the Bristol Acoustic scene performed a song which she introduced by saying it was a friend who'd just been diagnosed with breast cancer.  The words, music and tenderness of delivery were breathtaking, and by the end of her performance I was fighting back the tears, with little success.  This was a true triumph of the songwriter's art, to deliver a message born from adversity, and make it at once both heartbreaking and upliftingly beautiful.

So, a new week has dawned on me already, and already I'm half way through it.  A really positive and productive rehearsal session with Graham Higgins, preparing for our debut performance as a duo at the Pilgrim Inn on the 15th of March on Monday.  Then last night, an open mic I didn't know existed, caught my attention!  It's hosted by Linday Bullamore, another wonderful singer-songwriter, at The Blue Lagoon, on Gloucester Road.  A total walk of about 5 minutes from my door, good real ale (A Leicestershire brew called Everards Tiger was particularly fine), and one free drink for everyone who plays.  A great mix of players including Sadie, Bex, Lindsay herself, Tom and Rob.  I played 3 original songs (As I Recall, Division Street and Hitcher) and "Who Knows Where the Time Goes" which went down particularly well with a very inebriated fellow sat singing into his empty pint glass, his timing was off, but you can't doubt his spirit!  I'll definitely be back there.

I'm hoping to get some writing done soon, there's a fair bit of material in emotionally difficult times, so maybe something will come out of the slightly dark week I've just been through.  This week is already looking very much brighter.  Tomorrow I'll be joining Ant Noel and the Peabody Drakes as sound engineer and temporary guitarist at the Seven Stars Inn.  I can't wait, it will be rip-roaringly good!

Sorry for the delay between blogs, I must get into a better routine with it!

Cheers, H

Wow that was awesome!!

I'm not usually one for using the word Wow, or indeed the word Awesome, but both completely fit in this particular case! 

On Sunday evening I took my car loaded with mine and Ryan James's musical equipment down to The Garage, Uplands.  It's a fairly unasuming looking venue, with more chewing gum on the carpet than anywhere else I've ever seen.  We were greeted by a sound engineer who was trying to open up one of the monitor speakers as it had stopped working.  We got everything in, and started setting up on the small, but perfectly formed, stage.  We then got on with moving tables about, giving the place a bit more sense of occasion, and scattering the tables with flyers, business cards and the obligatory origami birds crafted by Ryan himself.

Ryan's soundcheck was not without its trials and hiccups, including the moment he got scared by the sound engineer speaking to him through the PA - the photo is priceless!  My soundcheck by contrast was quick and easy, as was Rachel Rimmer's.

Rachel's set was beautiful, a lush mix of originals and covers, that really suited the early evening and the building mood of excitement of what was to come.  During her set, I got the nicest surprise, Anne-Marie Helder, lead singer of Panic Room, and winner, for the second year running, of Best Female Vocalist in the Classic Rock Presents Prog Readers' Poll, walked in!  She said hello to Ryan, they've known eachother for years and have worked together, then to me.  She stayed for the whole evening, listening attentively to my set, complimenting me on my songwriting and singing afterwards, then chatting to me about Ryan and his set which she, and the rest of the room were rightly blown away by.

I know people will say I'm biased, I am touring with him after all, but I have never met anyone as bold as Ryan when it comes to personal expression through music.  The poem he opened his set with was a real call to arms, an elloquent war cry to all those who have struggled with love, but still chose to wear their heart on their sleeve.  The video is available here: Army of the Loveless

An amazing set of amazing original songs and a few completely leftfield covers followed, and I was left elated, and exausted at the thought of what I've let myself in for!

Since then, I've been working hard on getting ready for Friday's gig at The Grain Barge, Hotwell Road, Bristol.  Can not wait to see all the Bristol lovelies out in force, it will be amazing!

I'll write more soon, but for now, I'll leave you with a line from my song Division Street "Every morning I throw the curtains wide, to watch my flowers fill, the divide".

Work, friends and rock and roll

Well, what a week that was!  The final week of my day job ending with a leaving do last night which left me in a pretty bad mess, but with good people taking care of me, and the real personalities of the people I worked with shining rather than being held back.  I have been lucky in this job, my boss has been kind, supportive, encouraging and brilliant, and will be a lifelong friend. Some of my colleagues have become real friends who I'll stay in touch with and hope to see often.  Others I will forget quite happily.

So, this weekend begins the next chapter.  Today I've been rehearsing, running through songs, playing my 12 and 6 string guitars, fitting second strap buttons on both so I can stand up and play (makes a huge difference to both confidence, and the amount of breath available for singing), and hoping and praying my voice holds up and I can sing through the remnants of my cold.


So, tomorrow I drive to Swansea to join up with my tour partner and amazing friend Ryan James.  We will be playing the Garage, Uplands, Swansea in the evening, and before that some joint rehearsal of the tunes we'll be playing on each other's sets.  Expect some nice percussion on my tunes, and some interesting guitar on his as a result of the collaboration!

This is going to be an amazing show, with support from Rachel Rimmer, a young musician I've not met yet, but clips on you tube and chats on Facebook lead me to believe she's going to be awesome!

Then onwards and upwards to Monday where my day will be made up of chasing venues for the tour, recording and playing for Geoff Pugh in his school studio, a Radio Session for Bristol Community FM then a little acoustic slot at the Mother's Ruin session run by "Howlin' Lord" - a sort of blues playing Johnny Depp look alike!  I am so looking forward to being able to choose where I am, what I do and how I spend my time, but I'm also scared that something will drag me back into the rat race!


I'll write more after the gig, which I know will be amazing, not bigging myself up, I'm just talking about that feeling you get when you're playing in front of people who are there to listen, and you realise they're feeling what you're singing about...there is nothing better!

First Blog

So, this is my first blog.  I decided since I'm about to embark on a new chapter  in my life I should give people a chance to follow the ups, downs, sideways moves and complete u-turns that may occur. 

The first step on this new path is a live acoustic session for Radio Tircoed's - http://www.radiotircoed.com Acoustic show this Friday 3rd of Feb in the evening.  Really looking forward to meeting Stuart Loosemore face to face, and to sharing a studio with my tour partner and avid blogger Ryan James http://abouttimemrwolfe.blogspot.com/

We'll be chatting about the tour we'll be launching and embarking on in February and March and letting you know where in the country will be so you can come and catch us.

Today I've been bed-ridden with a horrible cold which has effected my ability to sing.  Fingers crossed for a quick turn around over the next coupld of days so I'm fit to sing and play live over the airwaves and internet.

There'll be a lot of changes over the next few months, new challenges, new adventures, and most of all, a whole load of new people to meet, work with, write with, record with and of course,drink with!!

Thanks to everyone who's supported me and my music so far, be prepared for some big things in the near future. 2012 is the year for getting things done, join in, get involved and follow my journey alongside your own. :)