Summertime in St. Albans

Well despite a complicated journey to St. Albans via the Eurostar terminus at St. Pancras International (really), I had a fantastic time at The Horn on Sunday. I once again welcomed in the Summer by playing It's Summertime, but this time accompanied by Sean Watkins on bass, and Bill Johnson on tambourine. I had truly forgotten how wonderful it is to perform live with other musicians (it's been a long, long time) and also to hear the crowd singing along with your song. Nothing much beats that feeling and I think we went down well. Sean and I enjoyed ourselves so much that we've decided to do it all again next Tuesday (12th Feb) at The Boot in St. Albans. So do come along an sing along once more. My friend Kris Gruber took some photographs which I will post when I have them, and thanks again to all those who sang along. I'm also hoping to do a solo performance again this Sunday at the Cross Kings in Kings Cross.

I now have my own Musician page on Facebook, so if you are a Facebook user please do drop by and add yourself as a fan.

I also notice that my plays on Last FM have gone up quite a bit in the last few months, so if you have listened to any of my tracks, and have traced me back here, please make yourself known.

Right off to practice Man In A Suitcase by The Police which is my song du jour.

Liquid Piano and the RAF

I've been working the last four days at Music Live in the Birmingham NEC. I've been helping to promote and sell a guitar accessory product called the Facelift. It's been fun, but hard work and I'm pretty shattered today. As is traditional at these events a fair amount of alcohol and frivolity is involved. My favourite experiences were listening to a pianist and singer in the lounge of the hotel. I'm always amazed by anyone who can make a piano sound liquid and organic and they certainly did that, I was highly impressed.

I also enjoyed meeting a couple of guys from the RAF who were on some sort of blag trip, seeing how far they could get and how many missions they could accomplish without any money. They were funny and articulate guys who actually gave me heart for the future of our country and armed forces, even though they were very, very, very drunk indeed. I bought them a round of whiskies and never had to fork out for another drink all evening... not sure quite how they did it. Regards to John the bar manager too, lovely chap who's knowledge of drinks and generosity knows no bounds.

I also went to try and see my MySpace friend Elite play last week. It was at the Cross Kings which I've played at twice myself, so I was looking forward to going and hanging out. One thing I failed to spot the three times I've been there now is that there are two stages!! One is downstairs and that, of course, was where Elite was playing. So I nearly missed her altogether, fortunately she decided on a whim to play the upstairs stage too, so I got to hear two songs after all. I was so embarrassed I sneaked out.

I've not touched a guitar for four days, as it was the last thing I wanted to do after being bombarded by music of all kinds for four days, but I'm playing at the Montague Arms this Thursday so I'm practicing hard again. I'm reminded of Andy Summers of The Police, who reflecting on rehearsing for their Synchronicity tour said: After two weeks we sounded like a school band, after four a college band... it took us nearly 6 weeks to sound world famous.

This Thursday's gig is hosted by my friend Frog Morris and should be a lot of fun, see below for details.

Dxxx

P.S. Thanks to Peachy for her comments on the previous version of this post, interesting views, about which I couldn’t possibly comment. Ha ha.

Rock 'n' Pop

Couple of chances to see me strum my stuff this week. Tonight I'm off to The Horn in St. Albans, where the music quality is varied, but usually high, and the loos have to be seen to believed! Check the picture.

On Wednesday I venture to a new venue, The Castle, in Notting Hill. (225 Portobello Road, Notting Hill, W11, Nearest tube Ladbroke Grove) I'll be on about 9pm and will be playing for 20 minutes!!

More gigs coming. Plus I've recently jammed with a new bass player who was excellent. Trying to talk my brother into drumming for us on Monday, or at least helping us find a suitable tub-thumper... very excited by this, as it will be a song-led three piece with a lot of improvisation, effects and real impact. I've been dreaming of having a band like this for a long time and it's a good feeling to know I'm close now. BTW, if you are a drummer who likes the sound of a three-piece with some adventure and experimentation thrown in (something between The Police and Medeski, Scofield, Martin & Wood) then get in touch!!

See you at a gig very soon,

Dxxx

The Police

Where am I? Queensbury in Harrow in a church hall. What am I doing? I'm playing live in front of an audience on electric guitar for the first time ever. It's 1986 and the song my brother and I are playing (badly, I've no doubt) is Wrapped Around Your Finger by The Police. I'm playing a white Stratocaster copy through a Carlsbro amp... I really wanted a Telecaster. I fell in love with The Police when they released Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic, and slowly worked my way through the back catalogue. Synchronicity became my soundtrack. By 1986, mind you, The Police were nearly over. They released a remix of Don't Stand So Close to me and then split up. My first gig was a Sting gig, I wished it was The Police.

Where am I? Soho, London. What am I doing? I'm at a gallery looking at pictures taken by Andy Summers in the mid-eighties. I'm not alone, the other guy in the room is another 30-something. I feel rumbled. It's September 7th 2007. I have the Telecaster now. I can play Roxanne and Message In A Bottle. I can even play Every Breath You Take, but it's harder. I've been playing in bands for 21 years... still one thing I haven't done yet... see they guys that started it all play live.

Where am I? Twickenham Stadium. What am I doing? Well you can probably guess. It's September 8th 2007, my friends and brother are all here (somewhere) alongside 55,000 other people. On a stage, somewhere down there, a small figure walks onto a darkened stage and starts to play a gong. It's Stewart Copeland and he's closely followed onstage by Andy Summers and Sting... something I've waited 24 (ish) years for is really happening. I can't actually believe it. The crowd roar as Summers starts to play Message in a Bottle. I panic, I can't hear anything! But the crowd noise abates and I get treated to 2 hours of pop perfection. I cry. Someone buys me a drink. I start to sing along with everything. I'm pleased I know the words to some of the less well known songs. Andy Summers plays some huge guitar solos... why the fuck not. I don't care, I love it. I cry more. Somehow we get home. I don't really remember.

Where am I? The Horn in St. Albans. What am I doing? I'm on stage playing Do You Want To Dance? I improvise some lyrics from Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic. It's Sept 9th. I got to do the one thing that I really wanted to do and never thought would happen. I've been through the gamut of emotions and come out singing. I don't cry. I smile and have fun. Life carries on.

Dxxx