Princess Penang And A Very Angry Badger

We're mad we are... Thursday night was another great fun event. It was Old Chap evening at the Montague Arms, and many a fine moustache was seen paraded in this truly unique venue. Frog Morris kicked the night off with some readings from a particularly spooky looking pulpit. He was followed by Will Noble on piano and Daniel Lehan reading from his childhood diaries (1957 - 1972). Following on from that it was my turn to entertain. With Frog pointing to lyrics pinned to a coffin lid (don't ask, I have no idea where they got it from) I proceeded to lead the crowd in a rousing chorus or two of It's Summertime. After that was the world debut of my version of the well known folk tune - Angry Badger (Arr. Frog Morris) - with increasing amounts of chaos I used my VoiceLive processor to add choruses of mice, and a doom-laden deep voice for the final line of the last verse! This is all a bit different from what I usually do, but great fun, in fact I had to stop myself laughing from the stage as it descended into farce towards the end.

If this wasn't enough - Princess Penang (Alex Staiger) was also in the house... healing people and providing advice and therapy from her stall. Amongst the items she uses are a yellow lollipop, a toy cow that poops jellybeans, marshmallows (for sculptures) and a strap-on phalus (a symbol of luck and fertility, so I'm told). Many people were healed during the night, and the picture shows the Princess listening to Frog's heartbeat during a comprehensive physical examination. Sound like fun? Well it was and we'll be doing most of it again, plus more in Whitstable Biennale during the weekend of 28th-29th June... do come along and join in.

The evening was wrapped up by Mr. B the Gentleman Rhymer... who previewed new songs for us. Tell me, where else can you get that much entertainment for £3?!



Other news... Many thanks to Giggles! for a great review of my CD on her blog, I'm still happy to send a CD to anyone who would like one... click here for details.

Don't forget I'm playing tomorrow 15th June 2008, 7.00pm at the 15 Minute Club @ Prohibition Bar & Grill, Unit 1 Tower Bridge House, St. Katharine Docks, East Smithfield, E1W 1AA. I'll have some CDs with me for everyone who'd like one, so that's another extra reason for coming along.

More news soon! Have fun,

Dxxx

Come On Chaps

Tonight will be another of those fun nights at The Montague Arms in New Cross. It's Old Chap Evening tonight and the featured acts include Mr B the Gentleman Rhymer (a hilarious take on rap songs, but done in the Queen's english!), Daniel Lehan and Will Noble. I have a cameo part too as I will be performing a sing-a-long of my track It's Summertime alongside Frog Morris, who will be conducting and leading the rousing choruses! We're also planning to debut the sing-a-long version of Angry Badger, so make sure you are there nice and early. Oh, and I almost forgot, technical issues permitting, I should also be debuting my TC Helicon VoiceLive processor tonight... no idea what I'm on about? Well come down and find out.

Also making a rare appearance will be the amazing Princess Penang (Alex Staiger) - a therapist and self-help guru, who cures all ills through the use of lollipops, balloons, marshmallows and trampolining to heavy metal riffs. Got a life issue you need help with? Then come along and let the princess heal you!! Her "Old Chap" will be making an appearance too... it's an unmissable night!!

On Tuesday I played a new open mic night at the Bunch Of Grapes in London Bridge. It was a (depressingly) excellent evening with many, many acts from the UK and further afield shining for just two songs each. I especially enjoyed Eddy Jay and Jo Faith amongst so many other great acts. The featured artist was NY born Bill Grady, who was a spell-binding mix of Paul Simon and Jason Mraz... fantastic lyrics, well delivered, definitely one to watch! Nice guy too, who was working his way through the English bitters... glad I was sticking to the Guiness!!

DON'T FORGET

My next gig is this Sunday 15th at Prohibition Bar & Grill in St. Katherine's Dock, East Smithfield, E1W 1AA - be there from 7.00pm to catch a great set.

You can now buy You're Not Alone from Lulu - it features one of my written pieces (previously unpublished) and 105 other bloggers. It's in aid of charity too, so buy a copy for all your friends!!

Dxxx

You're Not The Only One - Charity Book for Warchild

Peachy has finally done it! With fellow bloggers Ariel, Desperate Sarah, Ms Robinson and Vi she has compiled, edited and published a book of short pieces submitted by bloggers from around the world... including one of mine! I'm very excited and pleased to be in the book and am looking forward to getting my copy (or two). If you would like to check out more details then go here.

The book is being sold in aid of the Warchild charity, so please consider buying a copy or a few to give to your friends and support this great project.

Pure Gold (Well Nearly)

Despite what Peach says about the place, I can't seem to keep away from New Cross. Last night we travelled there to catch the end of year show for the music degree students from Goldsmith College. They were performing at the Albany Theatre which is a really nice venue. The music was of a high standard. Hannah was first up with a few nerves, but nice songs, good playing and some super harmonies. Next was Joe Bentley, who confused me somewhat as his singing style was soul, funk, Jamiroquai style - but he and his band appeared to be dressed as posh farmers. Still it was a pretty good show.

Finally Katrina Simon took to the stage and produced the most professional display of the evening. She has a great voice and performed some moving songs.

Live In London

My friend Tudor who came along to last Wednesday's gig had a go at recording the first half of the set, and the results weren't bad at all. So if you missed it, or were there and want to hear some songs again, here you go:

I Need Your Love
When The Snow Fell In Denver
Lightkeeper
Vulnerable

Happy listening, next gig:
15 Minute Club @ Prohibition
15th June, 7.00pm
Prohibition Bar & Grill, Unit 1 Tower Bridge House, St. Katharine Docks, East Smithfield, E1W 1AA
15 Minute Club is a bit different. They feature lots of up and coming acoustic acts from London and the surrounding region... everyone get just 15 minutes... and so do I. Come along and check it out.

Dxxx

Blagging It In Notting Hill

The Blag Club was not what I was expecting. I've played at places called the Something Wonderful Club or similar before, and they are not really "clubs" at all, but just a name for a particular booker's night at a pub or venue. But the Blag Club really is a private club! The first clue I got was when I walked past the entrance completely as it was a small nondescript door next to Rymans in Notting Hill Gate. The next clue (and this was kinda the clincher) was the big sign on this door that said Private Member's Club. There was a buzzer, that I duly rang and in turn was duly buzzed in.

It was a super little place actually. Everyone was very friendly and the stage (though small) had a proper monitor and the PA was clear and loud. They operate a system whereby they decide what order the acts play on the night by how many people they get through the door by 9pm. This is all fine and dandy, but of course quite hard to tell people who are eating up the road what time they should arrive by in order to hear my set. I plumped for 8.45 to be on the safe side and then revised to 9.00 when I realised that that was the earliest I would actually be playing.

I ended up in the middle of three excellent acts (Laura & Cornelia were the others), which meant I didn't actually play 'til about 9.40. The set went well, and included a number of firsts: 1) A brand new song 2) My first use of the tambourine (played with my foot) on stage 3) New jeans (H&M - £39) 4) A new haircut (Strandz - £15). Now you don't often get that many premieres for £4!

Here is the set (with links to the songs on my website, so you can click and play the set for yourselves at home):

I Need Your Love
When The Snow Fell In Denver
Lightkeeper
Vulnerable
The End Of The World pt 1 (this recording is just a demo)
The Fool I Am

I just want to add a BIG, BIG THANK YOU to all those who came down and made the evening really fun, most especially Peachy, Alex, Adrian, Tudor and Chris.

I can't wait for the next gig now, see you there!!

Dxxx

P.S. The free CD offer still holds... just drop me a line.

P.P.S. I forgot take any pictures of the venue (oops), so instead I've uploaded a picture of my loft being lagged.

The Start...

Well, here it is. Rough as anything, and I'll probably only leave it up like this for a bit, as I have big plans for this song. But I hope you enjoy it as much as the fox in my garden, who rubbed his nose in the grass and then trotted off without so much as a "by your leave". This is one take, guitar and vocals, with only one tiny overdub (can you spot where?) - I still haven't got the feel for the lyrics, or the guitar part 100%, but it's a start. The stray tambourine sound near the end is when I threw my pick away to hit the rhythm part, it just happened to hit my tambourine lying nearby.

So over to you... let me know what you make of it.

The End Of The World part one MP3

Dxxx

P.S. Don't forget you can hear this song live for the very first time TONIGHT - Weds 28th May 2008 - Notting Hill Blag Club - 1st Floor, 68 Notting Hill Gate, London W11 3HT - nearest tube Notting Hill Gate. Be there for 8pm.

The End Of The World pt1

I started writing this song a month or so ago whilst watching The Day After Tomorrow The chord sequence suggested itself straightaway, along with a strong urge to sing "It's not the end of the world", at the refrain at the end of the verse. I thought at the time that this was a bit cliched, especially as I ended up writing global-warming-is-upon-us kinda lyrics, inspired by the theme of the film. After the initial burst of interest, I shelved it as it wasn't really inspiring me.

Weeks later I improvised some new lyrics to the chords and it started to be about something else entirely... now it kind of conjures up the idea of a person suffering from mental illness or possibly hallucinations, and the verses started to shape from there. I've been on both sides of the mental illness equation and I know that it often affects the people around the person suffering more than the victim themselves, especially in cases of mania, schizophrenia or Alzheimer's. Recent play-throughs have been interesting as I manage to work myself up through the refrains... not actually singing, but kind of implying the words "I'm waiting for the end of my world" that the title suggests. I may or may not sing that bit live, it all depends. I really like the "How can we stop you screaming?" line, which is actually inspired by Whitley Schrieber's book Communion, and a man who believes he was abducted by aliens. At least I think it's from there... it might have been from a dream.

Anyway, without further ado, here are the lyrics. Demo to follow when I have the rest of the second verse and the melody/form pinned down. I will definitely play a version of it on Wednesday at the Blag Club in Notting Hill - even unfinished I have a lot of belief in it.

The End Of The World pt1
================

There's a hole in my heart,
Where the blood runs cold.
I've been told that I better calm down,
But I never could do what I'm told

So I'm looking down on myself,
And I can't feel my own skin.
I hear this clown say I really feel down,
But the joke is wearing thin

I'm really struggling here...

I think I've been here before?
On the slide or roundabout.
There's something I've been meaning to say,
But the words just won't come out.

I'm really struggling here...

How can we stop you screaming?
(We're only trying to help.)
How can we stop you screaming?

I really shouldn't be here,
This is all a mistake.
I think I might even know who you are,
If I can just recognise your face.

Why is my brain speeding up?
Why is the room changing size?
I'm sure that we can clear this all up,
If the doctor's stop telling me lies

I'm really struggling here...
I'm waiting for the end of my world.
I'm really struggling here...
I'm waiting for the end of my word

How can we stop you screaming?
How can we stop you screaming?

I'm really struggling here...
I'm waiting for the end of my world.
I'm really struggling here...
I'm waiting for the end of my word


(D. Callow 2008)


Yesterday I saw the slides of Nan Goldin set to the (live) music of John Kelly and Patrick Wolf in the Turbine Hall at Tate Modern. A very inspiring performance, especially by Patrick Wolf, whom I had not heard of before, but is a very talented multi-instrumentalist with a fantastic vocal range. Apart from getting a sore bum from inadequate cushioning, it was a very uplifting evening.

Dxxx

Who's Fit?

On Tuesday I was in Kentish Town (how can a town be Kent... ish? I can't say I spotted any oast houses or fields of Oilseed Rape), for another splendid SoundBites night at The Abbey. I was treated to some very tuneful and skilful playing. I didn't catch the name of the first act, but it included a very good Djembe player. Slightly scarily the second act, Craig Brauns, had quite a high pitched voice and from the loos it sounded like a girl singing, but it turned out to be a bloke in a hat and flares. Nice voice though, kinda like Rod Stewart on reflection.

After these turns was my friend Wayne with his band Fit & The Conniptions, I never did ask him who was Fit and who was the Conniptions... it's all nonsense anyway! I have to say that his band were excellent, featuring multi-instrumentalist Paul Tkachenko on bass, and a super drummer (name TBA) who arrived ten minutes before they played. As if in recognition of their excellent playing Wayne decided to wear a tie for the occasion. I was pretty impressed enough to blurt at the drummer that I'd like to employ him, before stumbling off to the loo (again! Well Guinness will do that to you).

The final act included a new harmonica (apparantly the others had given up the ghost because he didn't warm them up! Consequently much warming up of the new harmonica was in evidence) and a kazoo... plus some creative heckling from the audience. Regrettably I had to leave to head home before the end, but it was still a fun evening.


Btw, I have a horrible feeling that Frog Morris and I are the Statler and Waldorf of the contempory art scene in the UK... check us out halfway through this great video from Alex Staiger.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPuSK0yT3WA

Actually that's probably unfair on Frog.

I've also been booking some more gigs this week, full list below.

Have fun!

Daren
xxx

P.S. A have another new song on the way, lyrics and demo to be posted here first!

28th May, 8pm - Notting Hill Blag Club
1st Floor, 68 Notting Hill Gate, London W11 3HT

12th June, 8.30pm - Montague Arms
289 Queens Road, New Cross, SE15 2PA

15th June, 8.00pm - 15 Minute Club
Prohibition Bar & Grill, Unit 1 Tower Bridge House, St. Katharine Docks, East Smithfield, E1W 1AA

29th June, 6.00pm - Whitstable Biennale
The Smack Inn, Middle Wall, Whitstable, Kent

9th July, 8.30pm - Montague Arms
289 Queens Road, New Cross, SE15 2PA

16th July, 8.00pm - Club Fabulous
The Fiddler’s Elbow, 1 Malden Road, Chalk Farm, NW5 3HS

Art Art Art... oh, and Music

On Thursday I ventured up to Bethnal Green to the first birthday bash of Art Art Art. This was at the VINEspace gallery in Vyner St and was another eye-opening event. Chief amongst the highlights were Lee Campbell sticking Evening Standard posters to the wall whilst playing What A Wonderful World This Would Be, then chanting the headlines and shouting into the world's worst megaphone before setting off down the road on a one man protest, shouting Down Down! I also really enjoyed the performance from Holly Darton and Jenny Hunt, which was practically indescribable, but featured dance moves, exercises, overheard phone conversations and party poppers!

After some delicious cake the main events were over, but as we loitered outside the Victory pub it turned out there was one more piece to view. Broadcast live from the Bun House pub in Peckham onto a screen in the pub was what could only be described as a female crotch shot. We discussed what it could be, was she about to give birth, or was it porn masquerading as art?! The answer turned out to be that that it was a close-up of a life drawing class as was soon revealed when the camera changed shot.

Megaphones, cake, party poppers and naked models... that's what I want for MY birthday dammit.

Anyway, in other news... do stop by Global Icon and rate my tune The Fool I Am, which is currently lying at number 108 (hopefully not out of 108!!!!) in the Pop & Rock competition.

If you've not yet had the indubitable pleasure of singing along to It's Summertime... your next chance will be Thursday 12th June at the Montague Arms as part of the Old Chaps evening - featuring the sublime Mr B the Gentleman Rapper.

I've also been practicing very hard for the Blag Club gig on the 28th May, do come along as I think there will be a good crowd and I'm hoping to put on a really good show. Oh, and don't forget to email me if you want a free CD!!

Love to all,

Daren
xx

EXTRA

You can now check out highlights of the evening on video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPuSK0yT3WA

From Kings Cross To Notting Hill

I had a good time at Cross Kings last night. I met some nice musicians and was chuffed that some friends made it down too. The full set was I Need Your Love, Lightkeeper, When The Snow Fell On Denver (my first live request!! Thanks Vicky!!) and The Fool I Am. There were some great acts on and the evening was highly enjoyable.

Next gig is a really good one too, so please do come along if you can make it!

Wednesday 28th May
Notting Hill Blag Club - 1st Floor, 68 Notting Hill Gate London W11 3HT

I even get paid some real cash money for everyone that comes to see me, so do let me know if you are thinking of coming along!!

All the best,

Daren
xx

Free Stuff

This week I've been mostly putting together packs to send to radio stations and to get gigs. Nothing too exciting, just a Sampler CD a piccie and a sheet with some basic info. In the course of doing this I usually end up with a few CDs that are "seconds", that is to say they didn't quite print right or the songs aren't in the right order. Rather than bin them I usually take them to gigs and give them away, but since I have friends and fans who can't often make it to gigs, I thought I'd see if anyone fancied a free CD. If you do just email me an address to music @ darencallow.co.uk (you'll need to remove the spaces) and I'll post a CD to you. All I ask in return is some nice words about me on your Blog or (if you don't have a Blog) just to the people around you, ha ha.

Apart from pimping myself, I've also been to see a screening of Laurie Anderson's latest video work and got to see her in person doing a question and answer session. Very interesting and amusing person - I was very impressed. Talking of the art world, I'm also playing at the Whitstable Biennale with my friend Frog Morris on June 29th. This is actually quite a big deal in the UK art world, so I'm looking forward to it.

I'm also playing at the Notting Hill Blag Club on May 28th... but more on that later. The next gig is this Sunday at Cross Kings in King's Cross... 8pm.

Dxx

The Fool I Am - Demo

Here it is then in a more complete form. It's still just a demo, mind you. It needs real drums, real trumpet and a bass line of some description, but I'm pretty happy with it so far and thought I'd share. Hope you are having a good weekend!

The Fool I Am - MP3

Dxx

You Win Some...

I played the Duchess again last night, it went well... there were two other acts worth checking out:

The Bee's Niece - all the way from Norway, via Manchester. Lovely delicate songs with very well thought out lyrics. Lovely girl too!

Simon Andrews - great songs and now, with the lovely Katie, gripping harmonies. Well worth a listen.

My set went okay, The Fool I Am is proving a winner, and Obsession and I Need Your Love went down well.


On Wednesday night I went to see Laurie Anderson play. Now, I always get a mite suspicious when I see musicians sitting down to play... but fortunately Laurie was standing and despite my seat being a bit uncomfortable it was a very mesmerising 2 hours of playing. The songs/pieces veered from funny to thought-provoking to sublime. Very interesting and entertaining, if occasionally quite hard going (it's not exactly Pop you understand). I came away very inspired, albeit with a numb bum.


Hoping to record The Fool I Am very soon, if not today. Curiously I noticed that my song I Can If You Can contains the line "If you want me to be a fool, then I am", I hadn't made the connection before.

Next few chances to see and hear me play:

11th May - Cross Kings, Kings Cross
15th May - The Duchess, Battersea
29th June - Whitstable Biennale

plus, I'll be at The Montague Arms, New Cross next Thursday lending my support to Second Thursdays.


...And You Lose Some

I really hope Boris doesn't get in. He's a funny guy and all that, but running the most cosmopolitan city in the world... please god no! As Will Self put it, I'd rather have a lizard in charge than a clown.

Manning The Bar

Last Thursday I tramped up to Mannings Bar in Hendon with my guitar to play a set. I had been looking forward to this gig for a while as it was the first time in a bit that I'd had the chance to play a full set. The venue itself is a small stage and PA in the bar and myself and the other act were well looked after by George who hosted the night and did the sound. Initially it was myself and two bands but one act had pulled out so my set got even longer. They had been hoping to stream the concert via the internet, and I excitedly texted a few people I knew to check out www.theshowliveonline.com but in the end they couldn't get the streaming working so nothing got broadcast. Shame, but they should have it working for next time so that will be exciting for my far-flung listeners, plus I have a copy of the video on the way to share with you. My set went pretty well from what I could judge and I felt confident to include Vulnerable, which I only tend to play in more intimate venues. The new song The Fool I Am got a second airing too, check out the post below to hear a rough version of this tune.

My full set was:

All I Want
Do Your Want To Dance?
Obsession
Lightkeeper
When The Snow Fell In Denver
The Fool I Am
Vulnerable
I Need Your Love

The act after me were Skeleton Gun who had schlepped all the way down from Manchester for the gig. Despite the lead singer having a cold (and them having to beg, borrow or steal a few instruments, including my guitar) they played a great set. The singer was so on form that at one point in their set I found myself standing next to the bass player and drummer at the bar! They were good lads and even put up with me telling my Ian Brown story again (well the lead singer was wearing a t-shirt saying "I Happy Slapped Ian Brown" so what can you expect?!).

Looking forward to the next gig now, and the video from this one, so I can enter the YouTube world once again.

Love to all,

Dxx

P.S. Thank you sooooo much to all those who came down to support me... I owe ya one!

Go Or Stay

I've written a new song, which I've been battling with for a long time. It's got the best melody I think I've ever written and it's taken a long time to get a structure and a set of lyrics that match. I think I've managed it, but why not come down to Mannings Bar tomorrow and be the judge yourself. Btw, it's actually not about anything at all, but rather an example of a song which is just about strong writing. Having said that I'm hoping it will resonate with people's lives if they've ever had to make a decision.

I'm still trying to decide what to call it... the choices so far are Go, Go/Stay or The Fool I Am... any preferences?

Go
==

Go if you want to go,
Stay if you want to stay,
Just don't expect me to be waiting here endlessly.
Life is a mystery, to everyone including me,
I don't pretend to know the rules,
Just don't take me for the fool I am.

They all let me down,
My body that is failing me, the words escaping me,
They crumble to the ground,
And lie there soundlessly.

But I'm never tongue-tied
I've always got something to say,
But not today so...

Chorus

It all drags me down.
The decades of misery that stained indelibly.
And left their mark on me, there for the world to see.

But I know my own mind,
Surely I'm okay if you're okay, thanks but not today so...

Chorus

Go. Stay. Go. Stay.

I don't know what I've done.
I just know someone has to pay, but not today so

Chorus

Stay if you want to go,
Go if you want to stay,
You know that I'll be waiting here endlessly.
Life is a miracle it created me it created you,
I don't pretend to know the rules,
Just don't take me for a fool,
I don't pretend to know the rules,
Just don't take me for a fool,
I don't pretend to know the rules,
Just don't take me for the fool I am.

(D. Callow 2008)

Random II

Ostriches
I saw some Ostriches today in a field near Chesham. They are quite amazing creatures from a different time and space, they used to be dinosaurs dontchaknow. They can make the most amazing sound by inflating their necks - it sounds a bit like a didgeridoo.

Near Death Experience
I cut through a live power cable. It went pop, like someone popping a crisp packet. It burnt a 2mm hole in my metal clippers. The RCD in the house fuse box tripped. I didn't feel a thing.

Radiohead
I'm doing a remix of Radiohead's new single Nude. Lots of people are doing it. I think it's kinda cheeky that they charged us 79p per track to download the individual stems.

BBC6
I've put my name forward to appear on Tom Robinson's unsigned band podcast and show on BBC6. My friends Wayne (Fit & The Conniptions) and Victoria & Jacob have already been played. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Floorspot
I will be at The Duchess in Battersea Park tomorrow night to do a floorspot. Come along from 8.30 and join in the fun. Mine's a Guiness.

Love to all,

Daren
xx

P.S. Two new songs on the way too!

Live in North London

Next gig:

24th April 2008, 8pm
Manning’s Bar, 73-75 Brent Street, London,NW4 2EA

Sign Me Up!

I've been working hard on new mixes and songs for my demos this week. Finally I feel that they are completed enough for public listening. I've also produced some artwork to go with them, so I hope you enjoy the whole experience. As I'm hoping to use these demos as part of a package to get gigs and management / recording companies interested so I WOULD APPRECIATE SOME FEEDBACK!! Lay it on me... anonymous posters can do it too... your thoughts are very useful to me as I'm very close to these songs and sometimes I really can't hear them... anyway, here we go.



I Need Your Love
This is a song that was on my very first Air demo!! But it's evolved a bit since then and with a bit of multi-tracking I've come up with something in-your-face, yet fun. I hope! Stick with it as there are good bits all the way through to the end. Check it out, and don't be shy with the volume:
I Need Your Love



Obsession
Another song with a few versions kicking around, but I'm really trying to display a range of ideas and sounds, so I'm pushing this sparse version again. The ticking clock is actually a metronome, and the clinking sound just before the vocals come in is ice in a glass of whisky (really). Ideally I'd love someone to pay me to record all these tracks with real drums, they would sound so much better, but in the absence of that (or until I save up enough cash myself) then the Garage Band drums have to suffice.
Raw Obsession



Minneapolis Hungover Tired Awake
A more recent song that I've tidied up for public consumption and added a little percussion. Let me know what you think. Btw, can you spot the references to the Pet Shop Boys in this tune?
Minneapolis Hungover Tired Awake

That's it for now. I really hope you hear something you like, and if you fancy helping me out then please tell your mates, download the track to your iPod and generally pimp me around. Thank you!

A few gigs coming up soon too:

7th April, TBC
The Sun, Clapham Common
Open mic spot

24th April 2008, 8pm
Manning’s Bar, 73-75 Brent Street, London,NW4 2EA
An unplugged night at this North London venue.

11th May 2008, 8pm
Cross Kings, 126 York Way, London, N1 0AX
Featured slot at this wonderfully eclectic open mic night

26th June 2008, TBC
The Duchess, Battersea Park
A full set at the prestigious Duchess Showcase night

Love to all,

Dxxx

If They Were Looking Down, What On Earth Would They Make Of Us?

Another busy and somewhat surreal few days. On Sunday I played a floorspot at a night hosted by Brett Gowlett at the Cross Kings. It was entertaining in several ways, firstly I managed somehow to hook my guitar onto the wrong hole in my strap so it was hanging about 20cm lower than normal. Of course this doesn't sound like much, but when you are used to it being a certain position it makes it a bit more interesting than it should be to get your hands to go to the right places. Anyway, I think I got away with it.

Immediately after me there were two female stand-up comedians asking us to "flick our bead for Jesus". not me personally you understand, but the fellow girls in the audience. Their images of Jesus as a pin-up hunk are etched in my mind!! After them was a series of other performance artists and poets who swam in a paddling pool, recited strange poems (and a truly hilarious version of There Was An Old Woman Who Swallowed A Fly) and recited weird and wonderful facts about the world! Needless to say the usual gaggle of white male middle-class singer-songwriters who performed in between were somewhat nonplussed. Brett is hosting another evening at the Hobgoblin in Islington on the 7th April if any of this takes your fancy, I'm hoping to play there too.

On Monday I went to see the Barbican's current art exhibition - The Martian Museum of Terrestrial Art, which is supposedly a museum of art as curated by visiting Martians. In fact it was a really enjoyable and absorbing modern art exhibition, which has been rightly praised by critics and public alike. I felt very glad to have seen it on a quiet day as I took the time to view every piece and was really taken by it. I don't think I've ever seen modern art in such an accessible and thought-provoking context, so I can't really recommend it enough.

Last night I sat and watched a video tape of Level 42 live at Wembley. It reminded me of a time way back when my friend (and my brother's best man) Andie, who was friend's with the band, threatened to get me an audition as their new guitarist. He was deadly serious, but fortunately it never came to pass. I was immensely relieved as I was scared shitless at the thought! Anyway, the video brought back loads of memories, and served once again to reinforce my belief that you should never let keyboard players sing!!

Currently I'm still working on a new recording, but I'm confident it will be finished enough by the end of today to get an airing. I'm also off to see my friend Jack Stafford play at the Troubadour tonight if anyone is at a loose end.

Okay, that's enough ramblings for now - back to the recording desk.

Dxxx

It's All Just So Unwrong

I had great fun yesterday afternoon. I was taking part in an afternoon of music, poetry, art and comedy hosted by Frog Morris at the Sun & Doves in Camberwell. It was part of a big month-long extravaganza loosely co-ordinated by The Guy Hilton gallery.

The afternoon didn't get off to the best start as Frog hadn't got a lead long enough to allow his Mac to be plugged into the PA. So he left to go to buy one and fellow performer Theo Morris took the opportunity to tune the Stylophones (!) with his friend Tom. Eventually Frog returned with a lead that was almost long enough, and with the aid of a table and a chair managed to get the laptop connected. The entertainment then kicked off with Theo Morris, (occasionally accompanied by Tom on Stylophone and air guitar, and Frog on vocals) performing songs about a goose, an overly large sofa and an angry badger.

The main event of the afternoon was Frog and Mark Quinn's Unwrong quiz. This is a great fun event in which there are no right or wrong answers and the audience are encouraged to submit surreal or funny answers and prizes are given out liberally. I tried to get into the surreal mood by answering all the questions in white pencil on a sheet of white paper, but I think I may only have been sabotaging my chances of winning a prize, as they couldn't read my answers. I did somehow manage to win two prizes over the afternoon, including writing the question for the answer "Sombrero" for which I wrote, "What is the saddest hat?" - Sombre-ro.. geddit?! Okay, so I'm no comedian... just as well that I was playing music then.

My real contribution to the afternoon was three sets of my own songs, starting with All I Want Is You and a new version of The Chosen One (which I will be recording next week). The second set was longer with Do You Want To Dance, Obsession, Lightkeeper and I Need Your Love. Since this was an art and comedy event, I also performed my Summertime Sing-a-long song - It's Summertime - which went down very well, with adults, bar staff, children and fellow performers all singing with gusto!! Thank you all so much for joining in.

More tunes from Tom, Theo and stand-up from Frog and Mark followed and the quiz answers became steadily more drunken. Towards the end of the afternoon I think Frog had a bit of a break-down as he decided to not be outdone by previous performers at these events. As the audience watched in horror he stripped to the waist, produced meths, cigarettes and large kitchen knives and then proceeded to stand on a chair blindfolded threatening to gut a small fish!! Common sense finally prevailed and with the help of his fiancé and three random small children he was talked out of it and ran crying from the pub! We hope he recovers okay.

Well this was certainly a different and entertaining afternoon, and if you fancy joining in something similar do check out Second Thursdays at the Montague Arms in New Cross, where Frog, Theo, Mark and myself are regular performers. You never know quite what might happen.

In other news one of my songs has been playlisted on IAC's Pretty Darn Good radio station and the new recordings are proceeding well. Also, do check out my brother, Haydn, playing drums in my Dining Room.

Love to all,

Daren
xx

It Would Be Wrong To Miss It

A New Look

A few weeks ago I had great fun doing a photoshoot with music photographer Kris Gruber. It was very enjoyable to hang out with him for a couple of hours and getting used to being in front of the lens again. It was freezing cold, and I only had on the jacket and t-shirt that you see in the pictures, but we managed to surpass the vision I had in my head for the pictures, so I was very happy.

Getting the disc with the pictures spurred me on to redesign the website, so please head over there and take a look:

http://www.darencallow.co.uk

My music has stepped up a level in recent weeks, with radio play, better gigs and new songs on the way so it's great that the website can match up to that.

Talking of gigs, don't forget that tonight I'm playing two sets at Finnegan's Wake in Ealing Green (W5 5QX). This is a great venue, and although the weather is supposed to be lousy tonight, I can assure you that it will be well worth the trip. So come along and hear me in the flesh.

More songs, more pictures and just generally more... on its way.

Daren
xxx

COMPETITION: A free CD with tracks of your choice (my tracks that is - cheeky!!) to anyone who can work out where we are in the pictures.

Goodbye Old Friend - II

I was never quite sure how it would work out when I realised that the guy who wanted to buy my old mixing desk was in Slovenia... but somehow it did. After about 30 emails and much tooing and froing we made it and the package left my house on the 12th and arrived in Ljubljana today at 3pm. Check it out here on the FedEx site.

I've had it for at least ten years and it's seen valiant service with many live acts and a few recordings across London, and now it has a new lease of live in eastern Europe. I'm hoping I might get to visit it some day.

Three Chances To See Me Play

There are three great chances to see me perform songs live coming up:

Tonight! 13th March
3 songs acoustic floorspot at the wonderful Duchess Bar in Battersea Park - 8:45pm
The Duchess, 101 Battersea Park Road SW8 4DS

Next Thursday - 20th March
Full acoustic set and extra songs in the round at the sublime Finnegan's Wake, Ealing Green - 8:30pm
Finnegan's Wake, The Green, Ealing, W5 5QX

24th APRIL 2008, 8pm
A full acoustic set at this new central Hendon venue - great for all you North London folks.
Manning’s Bar, 73-75 Brent Street, London,NW4 2EA


Plus, a fourth way to hear me play is to check the new podcast

Have fun, and see you all at a gig soon - or drop me a comment!

Daren
xx

DARE8 - The Lullabies Podcast

Okay, here it is, podcast number two. This one features the three songs I recorded for my Lullabies From The Wheels Of The Bus* project. You can download fuller versions of these songs from my website (see link above), and if you like any of the tunes please do spread the word and link to this blog or to the podcast.

DARE8 - The Lullabies Podcast

You can now subscribe to my podcast now by using this RSS link.

Once you have listened, then open your diaries and make a note to come and see me play on 20th March at Finnegan's Wake on Ealing Green.

Daren
xx

* Many thanks to Alex Staiger for the title of this project, and the album artwork.

Random

I have been tagged by (the highly readable, and ever so slightly addictive) Having My Cake to write down seven strange facts about myself...


The rules are as follows:
1. Link to the person who tagged you
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Share seven random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog.
4. Tag seven random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.
5. Leave a comment on their blogs so that they know they have been tagged.

Okay... not sure any of these are weird, but hopefully they are random.

1) For years I couldn't spell vacuum. I just refused to believe that a word could have two "u"s next to each other.

2) When the book Communion came out I became very scared of aliens invading my house. I couldn't even look at the cover it spooked me out so much, although ever the gluten for punishment I bought the sequel too.

3) I have a (these days mild) phobia about using the phone.

4) I once came second in a fancy dress competition with my brother (in 1977 at a Queen's Silver Jubilee party) dressed as St. George and the dragon.

5) One of my songs has been played on BBC Radio 1 (by DJ Steve Wright). My first band was called Air, we still get confused with the French band of the same name - although since we formed in 1986 we kinda beat them to it.

6) My surname means naive and innocent. In the book of Star Wars, Luke Skywalker is described as a callow youth.

7) I have been onstage with the Pet Shop Boys (in a white forensic suit wheeling a huge wooden cut-out of Neil Tennant's head during a very literal stage show for the song You Were Always On My Mind).

Which leads me nicely on to the fact that I'm recording a new podcast this afternoon... this time featuring the three tunes from Lullabies From The Wheels Of The Bus. Stay tuned - should be on-line by about 5pm.

Oh yeah, and I tag, Peach, Vi, Nobby & Me and Clarrisa - although it's a kinda soft tag, as I don't actually mind if you want to be tagged or not - your choice.

Daren
xx

P.S. My song Vulnerable is play listed on two US radio stations: Radio KWSS 106.7 FM in Arizona, USA and Paridize Radio - do swing by their sites and put in a song request... thanks!!

P.P.S. I hope the photograph is suitably random for you. Hee hee.

Ealing. Sober. Excited. Finnegan's Wake.

It's a fair old trek to Ealing Broadway from Crystal Palace, but well worth the trip. Thursday night saw me making said journey to appear at a showcase at Finnegan's Wake on Ealing Green. It was a really fun night with a small (but attentive) audience and three really good other acts. As seems to be the case quite a bit these days I was on first, but really enjoyed playing All I Want Is You, Obsession, Vulnerable, Do You Want to Dance and Lullabies. Although I had intended to play Home, but I had a mental block and couldn't actually remember the chords?!

Up after me was Rebecca Cross, who had actually come over from San Francisco to play (which is actually the biggest trek any of us had). She played a very soulful and enjoyable set. She was followed on stage by Victoria & Jacob, who have an eclectic mix of acoustic guitar, xylophone, melodium and sleigh bells. Victoria has a great vocal style, and their set was mesmorising and sparse.

Finally Jack Stafford took the stage sporting a fantastic moustache (the facial hair quotient on stage was very high, with my goatee and Jacob's full beard) and played a very entertaining and clever set. He'd come from Amsterdam, and Victoria & Jacob were from Cambridge, so we really were a far flung crowd.

Not only were all the artists great performers and entertainers, but they were also thoroughly nice people, and we all had a great evening despite the small crowd. Many thanks too to Tristan who did the sound and hosted the evening.

I'm working on two new tracks this week, and hoping to get another podcast recorded on Tuesday this week. Stay tuned!

Live At Finnegan's Wake, Ealing

Do come along tonight for a great acoustic evening of entertainment.

Doors are at 8.00pm and the show starts at 8.30pm

Full line-up:
VICTORIA & JACOB
DAREN CALLOW
REBECCA CROSS
JACK STAFFORD
5 MINUTE POP PROMO

****INTERVAL****

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE 2ND HALF OF THE SHOW WILL BE ENTIRELY ACOUSTIC AND CANDLELIT IN THE ROUND WITH EACH ARTIST PLAYING A SONG EACH IN SUCCESSION UNTIL 11.00PM

Finnegan's Wake, Ealing Green, Ealing W5 5QX

You Are Not Alone - Update
==========================

The deadline has been extended to March 9th... so get your submissions in and help support the Warchild charity.

Full details
here.

Round 'Em Up

It's been a busy week. After my podcast debut on Sunday I ventured out to Kentish Town on Tuesday to see three excellent bands at the Bullet Bar: My Federation (very tight performance and some interesting hooks - very silly website too, check it out), Drookit Dogs (bags of raw punk energy and attitude) and perennial favourites Fit And The Conniptions (Wayne has been having a tough time busking and broke a string in this gig so do visit his website, download a song or two and lend him your support).

Friday saw another trip to the Montague Arms in New Cross. This time as the filler in a rather odd pub quiz sandwich. It was strange to play to the drunken Friday night crowd rather than the (more attentive) 2nd Thursday's art crowd. There was a fair bit of heckling, but thanks to the two girls, Mark's friend and the sound guy who led a clapping fightback from the front. I actually enjoyed it immensely and played a full set comprising:

All I Want Is You
Lullabies From The Wheels Of the Bus
Obsession
Minneapolis. Hungover. Tired. Awake (complete with vintage Boss BF-2 Flanger!)
Do You Want To Dance?
Vulnerable
I Need Your Love

Thanks again to Frog Morris and Mark for letting me play, looking forward to the next one.

Next on my to-do list is to record some stings for broadcast on NAB - "My name is Daren Callow and you are listening to NAB radio..."

I'm also heading to St. Albans again this Sunday for a floorspot at The Horn and next Thursday I'm at Finnigans Wake in Ealing. See you there!

P.S. I am desperately looking for a bass player and drummer to become permanent band members, check out the Gumtree ad here and pass the word on.

DARE5 - The First Podcast

Okay, here it is. Best not to say too much, but let you download and enjoy. Please do leave your comments so I know what you all think. You'll find three songs on this podcast - All I Want Is You, I Need Your Love and Do You Want To Dance?

Enjoy,

Daren
xxx

DARE5 - The First Podcast (9.5Mb) - 13'52

Plan B

It's Sunday today, and it is traditional that I stomp off into the night and play a floorspot at the Cross Kings in Kings Cross or The Horn in St. Albans. Tonight, however, I thought I'd try something different. This time I'm going to bring you my floorspot live on the internet. Well I say "live" but I don't actually know how to do that, so I'm going to record it "as live" and then put the MP3 file up for you to all hear. I kind of PodSpot if you like. This has three advantages for me. Firstly I don't have to venture out on a cold night, secondly I get two of my songs on disc for future usage and thirdly, I get to reach a potentially much wider audience.

So here's how it will happen. At about 8pm I'll set up the microphones and play my two songs into the computer. Once I've had a chance to listen and tidy up the file I'll put a link up here so you can download it. I guess it will be available no later than 10pm, just in time for you to listen before going to bed. So check back later for an update and let me have your comments as always.

Btw, to all my readers without a Blog, you can leave comments too if you wish... just click on the 0 COMMENTS (or it will say 1 COMMENT or the number of current comments) link below and type away. You can leave comments anonymously if you wish.

See you all later!

Daren
xx

Giving Winter The Boot

Great fun at the Boot in St. Albans last night. Sean and I managed to romp our way through It's Summertime, Obsession and Do You Want To Dance. It was great to have Sean's playing and backing vocals again. It makes me hanker for having a proper band again. After the duo stuff I did All I Want Is You and I Need Your Love on my own and all the tunes seemed to go down well.

The super photos on the Blog today are by the wonderful Kris Gruber and are actually from when we played at The Horn the other week. Check out some more here. Oh, and that's Bill Johnson lurking in the background with the tambourine.

I'm looking forward to recording a couple of popular live tunes this week, so stand by for more listening pleasure.

A Good Idea

My friends Peach and Vi (with others) are putting together a book of short stories for charity. I just wanted to lend my support and encourage you to support this too. Click here to see what it's all about and get involved.

Made it to Cross Kings last night, but not early enough to play. Never mind, there were the usual collection of interesting and varied acts. There were Bob Dylan and Neil Young lookalikes, a female pianist, a pair of likely lads (who looked like cockneys, but were from Finchley) and a variety of other talent. Always worth checking out on a Sunday night.

Next gig is at the Boot in St. Albans on Tuesday with Seany Boy again.

DARE2 - More Than Ever

Time for another remix. Today I have the delights of Elite and her tune More Than Ever. This is another great pop tune and at just over 3 minutes it's a great length and I didn't tire of it at all whilst mixing. In a similar way to my first remix I decided to strip things back and really let the vocal come through. The vocal take on this is very good and quite spine-tingling in my opinion. I added a few synths and re did the drum part with extra handclaps for a dancey feel. Anyway, enjoy and let me know know what you think.

More Than Ever - Elite - 3'03

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.

Extra Fun At The Montague Arms

Someone worked out that January had an extra Thursday, so Frog Morris and the 2nd Thursday's crew trooped down again to run the Unwrong Pub Quiz. This was similar to a normal pub quiz except that there were no wrong or right answers, surrealism and creativity would win prizes! It was also accompanied by some suitably otherworldy music.

I was the light relief whilst the questions were marked. I'd noticed recently that annual events are happening earlier and earlier these days. For example, Christmas starts around the middle of September and Easter eggs often make it into the January sales these days. With that in mind I decided to have a sing-along of my Summer anthem to welcome THE START OF SUMMER!! The weather did it's part too, with the worst weather of the year so far. Perfect English Summer conditions, as if to re-inforce my point. I printed up some lyric sheets and encouraged the (admittedly small) crowd to sing along, which they did with gusto!! So well done to everyone there for a very fun evening. I'm doing the Summertime sing-along again at The Horn this Sunday, so do come along and join in.

As far as the quiz went there were prizes for everyone. I won a laser pointer for my answer to the question "Discuss?" when I drew a picture of a discus. Although co-host Mark though it was a UFO. He had a point. I'm disappointed I didn't win anything for guessing the question to the answer "Norway". I wrote "Complete the well known Frank Sinatra song; I did it _______". Geddit?

I was so enjoying the evening that I forgot to get any pictures. Ah well.

7

My best friend Peach has tagged me to blog a list of seven things of which I approve. Now as she points out this is not the easiest exercise in the world, but I guess the randomness of it is part of the fun. So this is by no means a definitive list but rather the first seven things that came into my head (minus music which since this is really a music blog and not a "personal" blog as such I thought I would have a holiday from).

Did you know that the number seven has ancient and spiritual meaning far beyond its basic value as being one more than six. In the bible it was used on many occasions to signify special meaning. God created the earth in seven days because of this significance (not some literal event), something utterly lost on Creationists. The idea for and length of the week also came from these origins, rather than the other way round, in case you were wondering. The "clean" animals were loaded into the Ark in sevens as opposed to the "unclean" animals that were loaded in twos. Seventy times seven was thought of in much the same way that we think of infinity now, ie the biggest number possible rather than the more prosaic meaning of 490. Anyway, history lesson over, here beginneth the list:

1. Englishness - not some flag-waving nationalism mind you, but the concept of living and being in mainland England and the elements of character this implies. By it's very nature the English are a mongrel race and this is what I whole-heartedly approve of. The Angles after all were Germans and so, for that matter were the Saxons. Along the way we've acquired heritage and genes from the Scandinavians (Vikings, Norsemen), Italians (Romans), Celts and (god forbid) French (Normans) to name but a few. More recently you can add African and Indian influences to the melting pot and you come up with the thing that I call Englishness. I get the feeling that it's all to do with intelligent, itinerant, creative people coming here and then being beaten down by the weather, whilst simultaneously falling in love with the range of natural beauty we have here and creating the slightly curmudgeonly, highly original race that we are now. A land of real diversity.

Did you know that the UK's most popular dish - Chicken Tikka Massala - is an example of this hybrid culture... it's an English invention dontchaknow. Oh and did you also know that the Romans gave the Scots bagpipes and haggis (amongst other things). The less said about the Romans the better though.

2. Football - well actually all sport. It is after all the more civilised version of war and for that alone I endorse it. We cannot survive as humans without tests of strength and tribalism, and since I am utterly opposed to war, sport is the next best thing and should be encouraged as much as possible.

3. Scepticism - I have nothing against other peoples views, and I do not claim to know anything definitively. I cannot disprove the existence of aliens, fairies, the spirit world or god. But I know that I prefer to treat with them with a healthy dose of scepticism and don't believe it makes me any less an interesting person. I'm not even asking anyone else to follow my lead in this, I just know that I approve of that way of viewing the world, and that's about that.

4. Science Fiction - on the other hand I do like to take my brain on journeys through the extraordinary. I like to dream and I like to create worlds and stories in my head. I've read comics for as long as I could read, and now I enjoy Sci-Fi more than any other literature. I still long to climb into my spaceship, pick up my laser gun and crusade across the universe...

...AND BEYOND!

5. BMWs - by which I mean all purveyors of German sports cars.

6. Guns for Kids - at the risk of sounding a bit "they did me no harm" heere I'd like to vote for this one too.

When I was young a company called Airfix produced a small range of 3/4 size guns based on real weapons and quite clearly aimed (ha ha) at kids. They were must have items in my eyes and I spent my childhood running around the garden and the local streets and woods in a variety of para-military outfits shooting anyone that got in the way. Even at home I had a large collection of toy soldiers (from ho/oo & 1/32 scale figures to Action Man) with a bewildering range of authentic weaponary. In 1977 I swapped my lego Sten gun and cap guns for an Imperial Blaster and lightsabre, and carried on doing much the same.

In the Scouts I fired .22 rifles and pistols (real .22 guns, not air rifles mind, although we did shoot them too), I also had a 4 inch sheath knife and at least two other pen knives. I loved war comics and war films and even to this day I dream about stumbling across a new realistic arsenal in some imagined toy shop. In my mind I drove tanks, submarines, warships, jet fighters and death stars. I built forts and emplacements and drew the things I couldn't create on paper. I must have spent hours documenting and inventing these grisly scenarios and you know what...

...it didn't do me any harm.

7. Goths - they have the best clothes, get to wear make-up and bondage gear and listen to better than average music. They are all sweeties too. What's not to like?!


I think everyone I know has already been tagged, but just in case you haven't then I tag Cake and Nobby & Me.

First Gigs Of The Year

Thursday 31st January - The Montague Arms
289 Queens Road, New Cross SE15 2PA

Someone spotted that January has an extra Thursday this year, so the 2nd Thursday's crowd are back with the Unwrong Quiz Night, along with comedy, art and music (not necessarily in that order). Since all the yearly events (e.g. Christmas, Easter, etc...) are happening earlier and earlier every year, I thought I'd welcome the Summer with my summertime smash: It's Summertime


Sunday 3rd February - The Horn, St. Albans

A cheeky floorspot at the popular Sunday night in St. Albans. This time reprising It's Summertime with original bass player - Sean Watkins. Anyone fancy playing drums for us?! Lyric sheets will be available for a mass sing-a-long.

CD Review: Picture Perfect / Vivid (Outfit Records)

I have a strange love/hate relationship with music. None more so than when handed a demo CD to listen too. I find it hard to do. But, of course, I should try to expand my musical vocabulary at all times and expose myself to all kinds of aural stimulation. So to that end I have decided to carefully listen to, and in fact review all the CDs I get given and here's where this will happen. Hopefully this exercise will be good for me and interesting for you... but I'm sure you'll let me know.

First up is Picture Perfect / Vivid. Now I came across this CD in central Croydon where the artist himself was selling his homemade CDs in the street. Now, I'm a sucker for an artist promoting himself so I bought a CD (£2) and vowed to listen. This was no easy task as this self-styled "mix-tape" is a daunting 20 tracks long!! Those who know me will understand that rap is hardly my forte, but I like to think I can enjoy anything good.

So what's good about the CD? Well it's certainly bombastic and in your face. You are never in any doubt who you are listening to as Vivid name-checks himself on almost every track. Actually that's something that other bands should take on board - especially live. I saw a really good Japanese band at the Hope And Anchor the other week, but they never mentioned their name and consequently I can't track their music down. The production is mixed, but mostly good without ever being special. (Btw, if you fancy hearing what I would think of as a special mix then check out Ride by A Mountain Of One - thanks for the tip Robin) It has the usual smattering of samples, some of which I couldn't place - a pitch shifted Elton John sample on Wonderful made me chuckle.

On the downside, it is very long. But I guess this kind of CD is for listening to at a banging house party where Bacardi and Red Stripe are flowing like water, with the bass turned up bowel-shakingly loud and the atmosphere hot and heavy. In which case it would probably go down well. Some of the lyrics are a bit "out there" - my favourite is "She wears my semen like Nivea face cream"!! In the end I've given it 3 out of 5, but really it should be 3.5 'cos there is one track that stuck out for me and that's Salute, which interestingly is the only track produced by Versa. Urgent strings, in your face drums and plaintive rapping make this the top track for me.

Okay, that's it for now, follow the links to check it for yourself:

http://www.myspace.com/absarmi

http://www.myspace.com/vividdonvito



Next up, Rex Kwondo and my own remix of More Than Ever by Elite.

Normal Service Almost Resumed

I went up The Horn again the other night to see the eclectic Astral Gurus play and was happy to bump into Sean and Bill. Sean used to be the bass player in a band called Normal for which I was the second guitarist. When I left, Bill took over. Sometime after this the lead singer and creative driving force behind Normal - Stevie Simmons - died of a brain tumour. It was a sad and traumatic loss at the time and came in the midst of one of the worse periods of my life. Fortunately things have improved since then and I'm glad that Sean and I have stayed in touch. In fact Sean collaborated with me on my summertime anthem - It's Summertime - which failed to trouble the competition judges at XFM, but is now the biggest download from my website!! We have vowed to reprieve it for a live performance at The Horn in the next couple of weeks.

On top of this, Bill has an unfinished Normal song on his multitrack recorder. He's keen to finish it as a tribute to Stevie and this is a great chance for me to wheel out my electric guitar for a change. I'm looking forward to working on that too.

One last piece of news is that I have the next track in my remixing series to work on, and it's a cracker. I'm really looking forward to getting to grips with it towards the end of the week. Btw, if you are an artist looking for a re-mix of a demo, please do get in touch.

More very soon,

Dxxx

DARE1 - L'echarpe Perdu

It has long been a desire of mine to enter the world of mixing and production, so to this end I have approached some friends of mine with the offer of a free re-mix for one of their songs. This is to provide me with items for my portfolio and to get valuable experience in a range of music and styles. It also gives me a great opportunity to share some music with you which I am fond of, but which is not mine.

First up is a really charming song by the name of L'echarpe Perdu (I believe it means the lost scarf, but I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong) by Fit and the Conniptions (otherwise known as Wayne Myers. When I listened to his original mix I was really struck by the chorus and even though this is a very short song I felt it had potential. One happy accident is that Wayne forgot to send the drum track through originally, and I realised that it had a really good feel without it. So I left the drums to come in later and let the song build more gradually. I loved the simple harmonies on the chorus and enjoyed layering these up and then adding some 70s style strings to build the end. It's only a mere 2 minutes and 13 seconds, but I believe it's perfectly formed (I mean the song rather than my mix).

Please take a listen and let me have your thoughts. If you know of anyone who would like a track mixing or some help with producing a demo please get in touch. I am looking to do one or more tracks for free, and then a few at reduced rates to help gain experience.

Enjoy!

L'Echarpe Perdu - Fit And The Conniptions - 2'13

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

May I wish all my readers and friends a very happy and prosperous 2008! My 40th year, dontcha know?!

Normal service will be resumed next week, but look out for new songs and re-mixes of some of my friends material as I develop my production and re-mixing skills.

Lots of love,

Dxxx