I mentioned a while back that I would at some point post a blog explaining the album artwork in a bit more detail. As many of you already know the artwork was beautifully done by Mark Wilkinson. It was based on a very lovely sketch by Wednesday S who also wrote and co-wrote many of the lyrics on the album and was constant inspiration and muse during the writing and recording process. The concept was born out of discussions around the album's themes and includes lyrical references as well as a nod in the direction of musical heroes, and a nod towards my late Father.
I'll break it down into the distinct elements of the picture, and hope to explain as best I can the reasons why they are there.
1. The Kestrel. This is an element that was also present in the artwork of the previous album - on the rear cover of the booklet, there is a Kestrel hovering in the blue sky seen through the window of the room. In the case of "The Delicious Company of Freaks" this was a direct lyrical reference from "These Dark Hills" which include the line "The Kestrel in the clear blue sky tells me you are here today". This all stems from the strong affinity I've had for the Kestrel since my father first pointed one out, hovering above the heathland on the North Downs, just above the Pilgrim's Way. I became fascinated by the bird, its ability to hover in the air, then plunge to catch its prey. Its colouring, the grace with which it moved through the air, its speed. So the Kestrel remains a symbol for my relationship with my Dad, and often on journeys of great importance a Kestrel, or another bird of prey has been near by, watching over me.
2. The Light. It was important for both of us that the title of the album could be represented by light breaking in, and knowing that Mark is a master of capturing light in his artwork, we knew he would be able to portray the sunlight breaking through the window of the ruined folly perfectly. There is also a lyrical reference to "Lazy Sunday Morning" as there are "Dust motes in the air" just below the Kestrel.
3. The ruined Folly. We needed to house the scene somewhere which was a shelter, but that had been taken over by the nature around it. The staircase at the back leads somewhere unknown, which is a lyrical reference to "What comes Next" - "My path divides here, leading to the unknown, but I am ready to prove that I have grown". There's also an element of reference to "Let it all Go" as a Folly is by definition a construction which has no purpose, and the constructs of history, gloom and gathering dust are all things which have no purpose except to stand in the way of your own progress.
4. The Large Glass of Red. This is a direct lyrical reference to "The Light Broke In" which contains the lines "Her colour was filled in, a large glass of red, and so it continued to fill the darker spaces in her head". However, as Clive Hewes rightly questioned - why is it knocked over? There are two reasons for this. The first is a deliberate reference to one of my favourite pieces of Mark Wilkinson's artwork - the cover for Marillion's second album, Fugazi. The second is that the protagonist of the piece is absent, he has left in a hurry and knocked the glass over, the dog, initially starts, but knows his owner will return, as he always does, so goes back to sleep.
5. The Dog. This is a direct lyrical reference to the "Black Hound" in "See you on the Brightside". It is said that Winston Churchill referred to his depression as a "Black Dog" and this imagery has always struck me as accurate. This dog though, is sleeping, and also represents that loyal companion who is always there when you turn your head to find him.
6. The Hat. This is the "Travelling Hat" that I'm wearing in "What Comes Next". It's based on a hat I bought in Hong Kong (after having written the song, we realised I needed a travelling hat to match the spirit of the song, so where better?). The hat stall on which it was bought had a shelf labelled "Big Head". I knew immediately, this was the shelf my hat would have to come from - unfortunately, many of the hats on this shelf were too small for me. This is the hat that fitted perfectly and kept the sun off my head while we were there.
7. The bed-roll. This was one of Wednesday's ideas. There needed to be the sense that someone was using the folly as a shelter, as a temporary home before moving on to whatever was next for them. The detail Mark has put into it astounds me each time I look at it. It describes the well worn traveller without ever having to meet the human who sleeps on it.
8. The Guitar. Well, as the lads who spent 3 weeks crossing America with me discovered, I don't survive well without contact with a guitar for very long, so the guitar had to be travelling too. This is a direct copy from a photo I sent to Mark of my Crafter 12-String Guitar which was used on a few songs of the album. It also shows off the lovely Souldier strap I use for the guitar.
9. The Hills. Having just moved to the Cotswolds, Mark's own interpretation of the landscape behind the folly was perfect, putting me in mind of Leckhampton Hill.
If there are other elements of the Artwork, or indeed the lyrics that you'd like me to explain, please do ask. And if you don't yet own the album please do check out the sounds here: The Light Broke In
Happy New Year to all of you Delicious Freaks :)
Saturday, 3 January 2015
Wednesday, 3 September 2014
The Kestrel and why it matters to me.
Some of you who own my album "The Delicious Company of Freaks" will have noticed that on the rear of the booklet, outside the window of the room, there is a bird seemingly suspended in the clear blue sky. That bird is a Kestrel, doing what Kestrels can do, almost effortlessly, hovering in mid air, watching the ground below getting ready to dive to its prey.
This is a sight I was lucky to see quite regularly on walks with my family up onto the North Downs. The steep verges beside the M20 close to my family home in Wrotham, Kent, made a perfect hunting ground for this graceful and mysterious bird, and my Dad, being a mine of information on all things Ornithological, would always point it out, and then urge me to read more about it in the Observer Book of British Birds, which had pride of place on the bookshelf in the hall.
I was genuinely fascinated by it, and the other birds of prey which shared the page with it (The Merlin and The Hobby). I have fond memories of getting all my felt tip pens out and setting out to copy a Kestrel in flight as a gift for my Dad, and the immense sense of pride it brought when he decided to put it in a frame and hang it, pride of place, beside his desk.
My Dad was a reserved man, never showing too much of any particular emotion, but what was clear, was his joy that his love of this creature had been passed down to me so effectively.
When Dad passed away, I, like many others I know who have lost a parent, felt like a way marker in my journey in life had suddenly been stripped away. It was like everything I had done up to that point had in some way been informed by my Father, and that not being able to approach him to give that advice, or just a nod of "You're doing ok Son, just keep at it" would be impossible to cope with.
It was just a few days after the Funeral when feeling so lost, when driving somewhere I looked to my right to see a Kestrel hovering above a field beside the motorway. Now, I don't mind if you think I'm sentimental, or silly for thinking this, but I genuinely felt that Dad had something to do with that bird appearing at that time, in that way. Since then, when I've been on journeys which I felt significant - driving to gigs, going on tours, going to visit my Mum, and sometimes on an ordinary day, I will always see a bird of prey of some description cross my path in some way.
More often than not it's a Buzzard or a pair of Buzzards gliding high in the sky, sometimes it'll be Sparrow Hawk sitting in a tree (or sometimes on the top of a Lamp Post!). However, the one bird which drifts, hovering softly, often lit by the gentle sun, into my life is the Kestrel. There is nothing which lifts my heart and soul quite so much as catching a brief glimpse of a Kestrel - and that is the reason it features on the album artwork of The Delicious Company of Freaks, and will feature in the artwork of my next album "The Light Broke In".
As for why it's outside a window on the left hand side of the image - well, you can blame Mark Wilkinson's escaping Jester in "Misplaced Childhood" for that one :)
This is a sight I was lucky to see quite regularly on walks with my family up onto the North Downs. The steep verges beside the M20 close to my family home in Wrotham, Kent, made a perfect hunting ground for this graceful and mysterious bird, and my Dad, being a mine of information on all things Ornithological, would always point it out, and then urge me to read more about it in the Observer Book of British Birds, which had pride of place on the bookshelf in the hall.
I was genuinely fascinated by it, and the other birds of prey which shared the page with it (The Merlin and The Hobby). I have fond memories of getting all my felt tip pens out and setting out to copy a Kestrel in flight as a gift for my Dad, and the immense sense of pride it brought when he decided to put it in a frame and hang it, pride of place, beside his desk.
My Dad was a reserved man, never showing too much of any particular emotion, but what was clear, was his joy that his love of this creature had been passed down to me so effectively.
When Dad passed away, I, like many others I know who have lost a parent, felt like a way marker in my journey in life had suddenly been stripped away. It was like everything I had done up to that point had in some way been informed by my Father, and that not being able to approach him to give that advice, or just a nod of "You're doing ok Son, just keep at it" would be impossible to cope with.
It was just a few days after the Funeral when feeling so lost, when driving somewhere I looked to my right to see a Kestrel hovering above a field beside the motorway. Now, I don't mind if you think I'm sentimental, or silly for thinking this, but I genuinely felt that Dad had something to do with that bird appearing at that time, in that way. Since then, when I've been on journeys which I felt significant - driving to gigs, going on tours, going to visit my Mum, and sometimes on an ordinary day, I will always see a bird of prey of some description cross my path in some way.
More often than not it's a Buzzard or a pair of Buzzards gliding high in the sky, sometimes it'll be Sparrow Hawk sitting in a tree (or sometimes on the top of a Lamp Post!). However, the one bird which drifts, hovering softly, often lit by the gentle sun, into my life is the Kestrel. There is nothing which lifts my heart and soul quite so much as catching a brief glimpse of a Kestrel - and that is the reason it features on the album artwork of The Delicious Company of Freaks, and will feature in the artwork of my next album "The Light Broke In".
As for why it's outside a window on the left hand side of the image - well, you can blame Mark Wilkinson's escaping Jester in "Misplaced Childhood" for that one :)
Friday, 22 August 2014
Making "Chocolate Cake" whilst the bread rose.
Ok, I know, a bit of a strange title for a blog, but here's the thing, this is actually what I was doing last night. The "Chocolate Cake" I was creating was an instrumental piece which you can now here on my "Songs from the Hobbithole" ReverbNation Page - the bread was a culinary achievement to be enjoyed by me and my Mum when I visit her for the Bank Holiday Weekend.
As some of you will know, a while ago I set myself a challenge, to write instrumental tracks to order, on subjects, or with titles dreamt up by the ever-inventive minds of my Facebook Friends. They didn't disappoint and I've now completed 4 of the 8 which have been suggested (I'm happy to take more suggestions by the way.
Initially when I was given Chocolate Cake as a title I was thinking of making a sweet, slightly soulful ballad with plenty of Rhodes Piano and slap bass. However, I then chose to take a different direction with it and came up with a way of musically re-creating the word "Chocolate Cake" in the form of, what turned out to be a 3 minute "prog" piece.
So, how did I go about it. Well, thankfully for me the word has 3 chord names in it, some repeated C, A and E, so that was somewhere to start. So, the structure of the song, is intended to spell out the words Chocolate Cake and here's how:
The opening chord of the song is a C minor the second chord is a C minor 7th which is a Harmonisation of that chord, the next is the same chord but played an Octave higher, the next chord is a C but this time it's a major, to bring a little sweetness in, this then moves an Octave lower on the keyboard. Now to the tricky letter L - I decided that in terms of musical theory there wasn't much to play with except for tempos such as Largo so I went with the term "Lament" - here I used what is, in my opinion a very sad and poignant chord, Fminor 7th, ok a small cheat, but it worked for me. Next onto the A, or in this case an A flat as it fitted better with the preceding chord. Now, for T I decided that Tune was as good a word as any, so here is where the melody of the guitar solo kicks in and after once more round the chord sequence it does a key change to land on a juicy E minor Chord. So, if you read all the letters in bold, you should now have Chocolate.
Now back to the C minor as that's the underpinning chord of the piece, then a move to A flat and of course the obligatory Key Change at the end to resolve to an exchange between Es, both minor and major, sweet and bitter chocolate, if you will. You should now have your Cake and be able to eat it too :)
There is another layer to this story however, and that is the number of layers the song has, i.e. how many tracks I laid down to make the whole. There are, in total 13 tracks, which is exactly the same number of letters as there are in Chocolate Cake - see, told you it was a bit geeky!
What pleases me about this, is that I was truly challenged by this task, but I don't think that challenge can be heard in the track, it just sounds simple, and rolls along nicely in just under 3 minutes - and the wonderful thing is, I even managed to find an arpegiator to mimic the sound of an oven timer going off at the end of the track. Chocolate Cake? Definitely. Half Baked? Almost certainly.
Hopefully it's as pleasing to the originator of the idea as it is to those who like their "prog" instrumental, short and to the point :)
As some of you will know, a while ago I set myself a challenge, to write instrumental tracks to order, on subjects, or with titles dreamt up by the ever-inventive minds of my Facebook Friends. They didn't disappoint and I've now completed 4 of the 8 which have been suggested (I'm happy to take more suggestions by the way.
Initially when I was given Chocolate Cake as a title I was thinking of making a sweet, slightly soulful ballad with plenty of Rhodes Piano and slap bass. However, I then chose to take a different direction with it and came up with a way of musically re-creating the word "Chocolate Cake" in the form of, what turned out to be a 3 minute "prog" piece.
So, how did I go about it. Well, thankfully for me the word has 3 chord names in it, some repeated C, A and E, so that was somewhere to start. So, the structure of the song, is intended to spell out the words Chocolate Cake and here's how:
The opening chord of the song is a C minor the second chord is a C minor 7th which is a Harmonisation of that chord, the next is the same chord but played an Octave higher, the next chord is a C but this time it's a major, to bring a little sweetness in, this then moves an Octave lower on the keyboard. Now to the tricky letter L - I decided that in terms of musical theory there wasn't much to play with except for tempos such as Largo so I went with the term "Lament" - here I used what is, in my opinion a very sad and poignant chord, Fminor 7th, ok a small cheat, but it worked for me. Next onto the A, or in this case an A flat as it fitted better with the preceding chord. Now, for T I decided that Tune was as good a word as any, so here is where the melody of the guitar solo kicks in and after once more round the chord sequence it does a key change to land on a juicy E minor Chord. So, if you read all the letters in bold, you should now have Chocolate.
Now back to the C minor as that's the underpinning chord of the piece, then a move to A flat and of course the obligatory Key Change at the end to resolve to an exchange between Es, both minor and major, sweet and bitter chocolate, if you will. You should now have your Cake and be able to eat it too :)
There is another layer to this story however, and that is the number of layers the song has, i.e. how many tracks I laid down to make the whole. There are, in total 13 tracks, which is exactly the same number of letters as there are in Chocolate Cake - see, told you it was a bit geeky!
What pleases me about this, is that I was truly challenged by this task, but I don't think that challenge can be heard in the track, it just sounds simple, and rolls along nicely in just under 3 minutes - and the wonderful thing is, I even managed to find an arpegiator to mimic the sound of an oven timer going off at the end of the track. Chocolate Cake? Definitely. Half Baked? Almost certainly.
Hopefully it's as pleasing to the originator of the idea as it is to those who like their "prog" instrumental, short and to the point :)
Thursday, 31 July 2014
The strange (yet wonderful) world of Recording
As you may know I've been gradually recording my 3rd album "The Light Broke In" with the very able recording engineer Richard Parsons of Rooflight Production. I have also recently indulged myself by getting a copy of Cubase Artist 7.5 and an audio/midi interface for my P.C.
So, I thought I'd give you an insight into the two very different worlds of recording - home alone, and away with friends.
The discipline required for recording in a studio is huge. First of all, you become aware of time as money in a way that has previously escaped you. You also become completely unaware of time until it has disappeared in an 8 hour chunk and you have achieved a lot less than you came in believing you would. So, it's all about having a plan, making sure things are set up correctly, and that the musicians you are working with are up to speed and happy. That said, I've been a little less than conventional on this point. I had written 10 songs on acoustic guitar/piano but was presented with a whole toolbox of fun of adding/layering and arranging songs with creative minds in the studio to help me. So, the recording process became not just documenting what I'd written, but further embellishing, enabling and letting the songs take flight in a new way.
I guess the best example I can give of this is "Last Out of the Valleys" which began life as a slow, Mississippi inspired blues number, languid in pace and soulful in the vocals. Once we got in the studio I had the urge to "funk it up" a little, and with the addition of Patrick Sanders on Electric rhythm guitar giving it the full Nile Rogers, it took on a new life. It is still the same core song, same chords, same lyrics, but with a new shaft of light cast on it from a different angle. That, for me, is the beauty of collaboration, not only with the musicians, but the recording engineer, and others involved throwing their pearls of wisdom into the mix. It makes for a very interesting (if sometimes arduous and frustrating) process. Anne-Marie Helder often describes her albums as her children, and she is right in the fact that they take a lot of nurturing, looking after and coaxing to be brought into the world. The other part of that is letting go, even though it might seem not yet complete, because at some point it needs to make its own mark on the world.
Something which made the most recent recording session even more interesting was having a completely uninitiated visitor in the shape of Clive Hewes. Clive said some time ago "I've seen studios on the television, and watched documentaries about recording, but I've never seen it in the flesh". I invited him along to Rooflight Studios, and it was a joy to see his fascination unfold as we pieced together a song, worked on harmonies etc. His reaction to the songs was wonderful to watch, as was his realisation of the hard work which goes in to making an album sound good. Clive is a true music love, a true supportive and generous fan so to be able to give him something back in the shape of an experience was truly worthwhile.
So, on to the "Home Alone" approach. Sometimes, you just need a gently lit room, a stick of incense and a raft of instruments to chose from to get inspired. The freedom that digital recording at home gives is that time is of no consequence, and you can record as many layers as you like. The danger is of course, no sleep and no finished tracks. So, to solve that issue I requested the lovely people on Facebook to set me challenges of writing instrumentals on subjects that they provided me with. I have completed 3 out of the 8 suggestions provided so far, which range from the sublime to the bizarre and beyond :) These little ditties can be found at Songs From The Hobbithole.
I suppose the thing all of us, musicians and music fans alike is that recording, however, wherever and whenever you do it, is a creative process which takes time, effort, discipline and often money to get right. The end product may not be to everyone's taste, but as long as it was created with integrity, passion and the desire to communicate ideas to others, then it's all worthwhile.
So, I thought I'd give you an insight into the two very different worlds of recording - home alone, and away with friends.
The discipline required for recording in a studio is huge. First of all, you become aware of time as money in a way that has previously escaped you. You also become completely unaware of time until it has disappeared in an 8 hour chunk and you have achieved a lot less than you came in believing you would. So, it's all about having a plan, making sure things are set up correctly, and that the musicians you are working with are up to speed and happy. That said, I've been a little less than conventional on this point. I had written 10 songs on acoustic guitar/piano but was presented with a whole toolbox of fun of adding/layering and arranging songs with creative minds in the studio to help me. So, the recording process became not just documenting what I'd written, but further embellishing, enabling and letting the songs take flight in a new way.
I guess the best example I can give of this is "Last Out of the Valleys" which began life as a slow, Mississippi inspired blues number, languid in pace and soulful in the vocals. Once we got in the studio I had the urge to "funk it up" a little, and with the addition of Patrick Sanders on Electric rhythm guitar giving it the full Nile Rogers, it took on a new life. It is still the same core song, same chords, same lyrics, but with a new shaft of light cast on it from a different angle. That, for me, is the beauty of collaboration, not only with the musicians, but the recording engineer, and others involved throwing their pearls of wisdom into the mix. It makes for a very interesting (if sometimes arduous and frustrating) process. Anne-Marie Helder often describes her albums as her children, and she is right in the fact that they take a lot of nurturing, looking after and coaxing to be brought into the world. The other part of that is letting go, even though it might seem not yet complete, because at some point it needs to make its own mark on the world.
Something which made the most recent recording session even more interesting was having a completely uninitiated visitor in the shape of Clive Hewes. Clive said some time ago "I've seen studios on the television, and watched documentaries about recording, but I've never seen it in the flesh". I invited him along to Rooflight Studios, and it was a joy to see his fascination unfold as we pieced together a song, worked on harmonies etc. His reaction to the songs was wonderful to watch, as was his realisation of the hard work which goes in to making an album sound good. Clive is a true music love, a true supportive and generous fan so to be able to give him something back in the shape of an experience was truly worthwhile.
So, on to the "Home Alone" approach. Sometimes, you just need a gently lit room, a stick of incense and a raft of instruments to chose from to get inspired. The freedom that digital recording at home gives is that time is of no consequence, and you can record as many layers as you like. The danger is of course, no sleep and no finished tracks. So, to solve that issue I requested the lovely people on Facebook to set me challenges of writing instrumentals on subjects that they provided me with. I have completed 3 out of the 8 suggestions provided so far, which range from the sublime to the bizarre and beyond :) These little ditties can be found at Songs From The Hobbithole.
I suppose the thing all of us, musicians and music fans alike is that recording, however, wherever and whenever you do it, is a creative process which takes time, effort, discipline and often money to get right. The end product may not be to everyone's taste, but as long as it was created with integrity, passion and the desire to communicate ideas to others, then it's all worthwhile.
Sunday, 6 July 2014
It's been a long long time, hasn't it?
Well, over 2 years to be precise! The lack of a home computer after my lap-top power-supply decided to die meant that I was restricted to either using the Library computers or work computers in my lunch hour, which, as you'll understand is not conducive to a continuous relationship with the blogisphere.
Well I'm now back in the world of home computing, and a whole lot has happened in those two years. Last time I blogged, I was about to support Panic Room for the first time, on the summer launch gigs of their album S K I N. Since then I supported them on their full tour in November/December 2012 and in a lovely bit of serendipity on the 13th of June (almost 2 years to the day since the first time) I was invited to support Panic Room at The Robin2 in Bilston. A very different set from first time as new songs have been written since and a new album is being recorded, but an old favourite of both mine and Jonathon Edwards' "Who Knows Where the Time Goes" by Sandy Denny was included for old time's sake, as was "The Delicious Company of Freaks" of course.
So, what's happening right now? Well, I've formed a band to play my next album with me both in the studio, and later on the road, all the latest news about that can be found on my new website http://www.howardalansinclair.co.uk.
I am now also back in the world of the television viewer, but since my move to a one bed flat in the leafy parts of Cheltenham, it is less of a drain on my time, and is only watched when either something really good is on, or when I've done all the other important things I need to do and just want to wind down.
I am also once again the owner (well, borrower for the time being, it's on hire) of a Cello. It was the first instrument I ever mastered as a child, and since there are at least two songs on this album which need Cello, I decided it was time to literally add another string to my bow. It's been lovely rekindling my love for the sound and feel of the Cello, and I'm looking forward to using it in a number of ways. A fantastic half hour or so was spent jamming on Cello with a good friend Magic Andy on the Lap Steel. An unusually haunting and sensuous combination of sounds and one I'm going to start working with in my home studio for some instrumental projects, keep an eye on ReverbNation and Soundcloud for new tunes!
So, I'll keep it short for this first blog after a long break, but I'll be back when I have something more profound and thought provoking to say. In the mean time, stay delicious, freaks :)
Well I'm now back in the world of home computing, and a whole lot has happened in those two years. Last time I blogged, I was about to support Panic Room for the first time, on the summer launch gigs of their album S K I N. Since then I supported them on their full tour in November/December 2012 and in a lovely bit of serendipity on the 13th of June (almost 2 years to the day since the first time) I was invited to support Panic Room at The Robin2 in Bilston. A very different set from first time as new songs have been written since and a new album is being recorded, but an old favourite of both mine and Jonathon Edwards' "Who Knows Where the Time Goes" by Sandy Denny was included for old time's sake, as was "The Delicious Company of Freaks" of course.
So, what's happening right now? Well, I've formed a band to play my next album with me both in the studio, and later on the road, all the latest news about that can be found on my new website http://www.howardalansinclair.co.uk.
I am now also back in the world of the television viewer, but since my move to a one bed flat in the leafy parts of Cheltenham, it is less of a drain on my time, and is only watched when either something really good is on, or when I've done all the other important things I need to do and just want to wind down.
I am also once again the owner (well, borrower for the time being, it's on hire) of a Cello. It was the first instrument I ever mastered as a child, and since there are at least two songs on this album which need Cello, I decided it was time to literally add another string to my bow. It's been lovely rekindling my love for the sound and feel of the Cello, and I'm looking forward to using it in a number of ways. A fantastic half hour or so was spent jamming on Cello with a good friend Magic Andy on the Lap Steel. An unusually haunting and sensuous combination of sounds and one I'm going to start working with in my home studio for some instrumental projects, keep an eye on ReverbNation and Soundcloud for new tunes!
So, I'll keep it short for this first blog after a long break, but I'll be back when I have something more profound and thought provoking to say. In the mean time, stay delicious, freaks :)
Wednesday, 20 June 2012
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."
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!!
Monday, 30 April 2012
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.
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.
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