Thursday 1 March 2012

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!

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